[ open mingle post ] don't you see the starlight, starlight?

[holyshihtzu]

Who: EVERYONE
Where: O'Hara's Wacky Wonderous Wonderland Bowling Alley (and Smoothie Bar)
When: The evening of February 9th
Rating: Keep it PG-13, kids
Summary: This is a mingle log! You are encouraged to post top levels and tag out. Juliet is having her grand opening of WWW. There is bowling, karaoke, and all the pineapple smoothies you can stomach. Gifs and more info below the cut!
The Story:




GRAND OPENING
On the 10th floor in room 10, everyone in the mansion is invited to the grand opening of O'Hara's Wacky Wonderous Wonderland Bowling Alley (and Smoothie Bar). Party goers are free to make use of the state of the art, pro-level bowling lanes, and they can find the perfect sized shoes and weighted balls in the supplied closets. There is also the option to show off their talents on the karaoke stage. The smoothie bar offers every flavor and combinations of drinks and snacks. There are also couches if you would rather just hang out and watch!

Comments

Louis | OTA

[teamfun]

Bowling lanes

It's been years since Louis has gone bowling. It's a distant memory for him, a little fuzzy around the edges at this point- heading out with his parents back when things were better. Back then, he couldn't even carry a damn bowling ball and had to pretty much push the thing down the lane with both hands. He vaguely remembers there being little plastic barriers to stop the ball falling off into the gutter.

He doesn't have such things now- not that his aim is any better. Despite spending years in a living dead hellscape, Louis has never had much of an aim. He can't hit the broad side of a barn door - and as such he's not doing a great job of actually hitting any of the pins. Not that it seems to sully his mood at all. No matter how terrible his game is, he'll laugh and include others in his mirth. It's all for fun, after all.

"Wow, I don't think they even have a fancy bowling term for how bad that shot was, huh? Do you think I can get an award for Worst Bowler? I'd like my name on a little plaque up above the door if that's the case. Just saying."

Karaoke

Louis is absolutely there for karaoke. He may lean towards classical for his prefered musical genre- but that doesn't mean he won't sing a couple regular songs, too. He does gravitate to some cheesy numbers though- stuff that other people can bop along to. His voice isn't actually half bad - and he has enough stage presence to spare and then some. He'll dance around, charm the audience, make the entire thing a big production. Delighted to make people laugh. Though there is a chance he'll try and pull you up onto the stage to sing too.

"C'mon! It's great fun!"

Wildcard

Maybe you'll find him lounging on one of the couches, or perhaps at the smoothie bar- surreptitiously ordering two different flavours and then trying to mix them together to see what the resulting drink is. Or maybe he's just wandered into the orbit of wherever you are with a smile and wave. Anything is possible.

Karaoke

[jamminshield]

Steven's eyes shine as he follows Louis onto the stage. "You don't have to tell me twice!" Really, the only reason he hadn't gone up by himself was that he wanted Louis to take as long as he wanted with his solo turn. "Let's do this!"

[teamfun]

Steven is the most precious kiddo in this place and Louis would fight anyone who said otherwise. Or...probably not. Because neither he nor Steven like violence all that much- but the thought is there and that's what matters.

He laughs, all the same, giving Steven some primo finger-guns.

"Heck yeah, Little Dude, let's do this! What song do you want? Your choice!"

[jamminshield]

Yeah, Louis, maybe try challenging nay-sayers to a karaoke-off instead?

Steven returns the finger-guns and then he bobs excitedly. "Ooh ooh ooh! I don't know what to choose... something upbeat and fun! Do you think they have Haven't You Noticed I'm a Star?!"

[teamfun]

It's the best way to deal with ALL of life's problems, obviously. He grins at Steven's enthusiasm, it's always infectious, which is exactly how enthusiasm should be in Louis' book. Especially the friendly kind.

"I've never heard that one before," he admits. "But if you lead on it, I'm sure I can pick it up as I go."

[jamminshield]

"Okay, great! Let's do it!" Excitedly, he soon starts to sing the lyrics while dancing around.

"I can't help it if I make a scene
Stepping out of my hot pink limousine
I'm turning heads and I'm stopping traffic
When I pose they scream, and when I joke they laugh

I got a
pair of eyes that they're getting lost in
I hypnotize by the way I'm walking
I've got them dazzled like a stage magician
When I point they look
and when I talk they listen, well

Everybody needs a friend
and I've got you, and you and you
So many I can't even name them
Can you blame me?
I'm too famous..."

[teamfun]

Yeah, he has never heard this song in his entire life before. But as promised, Louis does his best to sing along. He waits until Steven gets to something that sounds like it can be a chorus, trying his gosh darn best to sing along- though fumbling on a few words.

But that's all the fun of karaoke, right? So long as a good time is had, getting words wrong is part of the ~magic~ When the song is done, he laughs.

"Dude, that was a cool song. Who sings it?"

[jamminshield]

Steven really gets into it and then dissolves into giggles at the end. He doesn't mind if Louis doesn't know the words - it's just great that he's going along with this song.

"Oh, it's by [INSERT ARTIST NAME HERE]. It's really catchy, right? I did this song at a Beach-a-Palooza once, and it went really great!"

[teamfun]

Louis was always in for this sort of thing for fun, over actual substance. And this? This was a goddamn blast. He has no idea who that is, but he doesn't stress about it. It was a great song and that's what matters.

"I have never in my life been to a Beach-a-Palooza, or, in fact, any kind of Palooza, but it's pretty evident that's something I need to do."

lanes;

[keephersafe]

"I'd have you beat..." R replies with a wry smile. Louis might have terrible aim, but R isn't sure if he would even be able to feel the weight of the ball if he picked it up. There's a good chance he'll actually put a hole in the lane if he makes an attempt to bowl.

Which is why he's been sitting and watching Louis play, rather than making any kind of go at it himself. He knows bowling alleys. That is, he's aware of the concept. He'd found his way into one while he was Dead, once or twice, but he'd never really understood the significance.

"Maybe you should try... not aiming for the gutters."

You know. Just saying.

[teamfun]

He tries to throw R some real shade, but the smirk across his face ruins the whole effect. You really can't pretend to be mad at someone when you're having this much of a good time, it turns out.

"Wow, thanks for that Expert Bowling Tip, R. Be sure to include that in your latest book."

He picks up another ball, testing the weight of it, before turning back, offering a smile.

"Wanna give it a try? You can't be worse than me, that's pretty much guaranteed."

[keephersafe]

Good thing too, or R might have been worried he'd actually insulted his friend by accident. He's got a lot better at this whole 'social interaction' thing, but there are some occasions when he still trips up without realising.

"Don't think so," he replies, shaking his head. "Probably break something."

It won't take much pressure to make him cave, despite his protests.

"Don't know my own strength."

[teamfun]

At least Louis is well used to people with low-to-minimal social skills. R's a goddamn chatty delight compared to Violet- who Louis adores to the moon and back.

"I'd say that makes me wanna see it more, but this place is still super new and I don't think I could sleep at night knowing I played a part in making Juliet cry."

He turns away from a game he is never going to win, offering a smile.

"How're you, Bud? Enjoying the ambience?"

[keephersafe]

The young man shrugs, glancing offside and tilting his head slightly into the movement. He can see it now. Semi-numb fingers fumbling with the ball and the next thing you know, it's ten feet in the air and there's a hole dented into the lane.

Better to come back another time, when he won't be making a complete tit of himself in front of everyone here.

"... It's nice," he says, letting his eyes move slowly around the room, flitting from person to person. "Don't normally like crowds."

[teamfun]

Louis would come along to that for both for both moral support and also provide a good distraction so R can make a quick exit. Because that's the sort of thing that friends do for one another.

"It's got a different feel to it than usual crowd-heavy places, right?" he cants his head, folding his arms. "More...relaxed. I think it helps that the lanes mean we kinda have our own little space to ourselves anyway."

[keephersafe]

"Yeah. Something like that."

He stands up and runs his fingers over a few of the bowling balls before he picks one up, fitting his thumb and forefingers into the holes like he's done it a hundred times before.

"Lots of these in the city. Places like this. Haven't been used in a long time."

[teamfun]

"Same for us. I mean, my school's pretty far into the woods- so I'm mostly only guessing. I stayed the heck away from civilisation when the world went to hell."

Which is exactly what kept him and the others alive. Where people used to congregate, was now the domain of the walkers. He hated that his school was in the middle of nowhere when he first got there. They were cut off from the rest of the world - to aid in their healing or some bullshit. It once felt suffocating. But it saved their lives, in the long run.

"I went a little before, though," before he was sent to Ericson's. "It's kind of a shame this sort of thing is lost to the world now, huh?"

It's too loud. It'd attract a swarm in no time flat. Here though, here they can sit and enjoy it. Like when things were normal.

lanes

[slapfight]

And when he looks to his left, he'll realize that the position for Worst Bowler has been filled by four-foot-eight worth of green girl who can't even pick up a ball and is making a big show of how hard she's trying to do it anyway. She's managed to get one off the rack and is sort of just hauling it around uncertainly until she finally collapses on top of it mere feet from the end of the lane.

"Hnnngh." Yep. Worst bowler. Can't even pick the stupid bowling ball up. The irony is that she can lift cars with her magnetic field, but physically this is beyond her.

[teamfun]

This is...almost tragic. Louis watches her haul the damn bowling ball like she's carrying a ten-ton weight. Which, he guesses, given she's like the tiniest person alive it is to her. He arches a brow, then steps over to her, moving to crouch to be closer to her level.

"Uh. You need a hand there, Triangles?"

[slapfight]

"I can lift an entire Earth vehicle with my will." Peridot is now grumbling with her body thrown over the bowling ball like she's using it as her own personal fitness ball. "And yet heavy polymers elude me." Stupid... Non-metal ball. Ugh.

"What is the point of this game? To showcase how physically strong you are?" What is this? A game for quartzes? Maybe they should call it Quartzing.

[teamfun]

He laughs, not completely at her but...yeah still a lot at her, as she rolls around on the damn thing like a pointy, angry leprechaun. He cants his head, grin wide because she's adorable.

"No shit? Well, sometimes those polymers just show up and ruin it for everyone."

He doesn't even know what a polymer is.

"I think it's just to roll the ball down the lane and hit the pins? Like it's...science getting the right angle to hit as many pins as you can."

It's a dirty trick, tempting her with science, but he's not in the least bit sorry for it.

[slapfight]

How dare you, sir.

Peridot lifts her head, her expression the very picture of 'I know you're playing me, but you're right.' She shifts her gaze to the lane, to the pins, and then back down to the ball. He really is right. There's a significant amount of math in this, and she does love that satisfying feeling of bringing an equation to completion.

She slides off the ball and plants a foot on it to keep it from rolling away. Elsewhere there's a crack of pins that startles her briefly. ...And then delights her. That's a good sound. "Oh, I get it. It's like calculated, controlled destruction that doesn't actually cause harm to the surrounding area."

[teamfun]

He sees that look and raises her one (1) lopsided grin. He watches her stare down the lane, hell, he swears he can see the math buzzing around in her head. He nods enthusiastically.

"You got it! It's a great way to let off steam," and here, he lays down the killing blow. "And show everyone playing how skilled you are. Back in the old world, there were leagues and trophies and everything."

[slapfight]

"For this?" That may have actually lost her briefly. Mostly because she's not really grasping how one calculates these things. There's a set number of pins. Are you supposed to get the most cumulatively or is it about the way you knock over the pins? The wheels keep turning, but there's a shine in of ambitious madness behind that visor.

Maybe... Just maybe... She needs assistance. She can repeat any pattern she witnesses- it's an ingrained Peridot technique- but she needs to witness it and properly.

She holds up the ball to him inasmuch as she can. "I'll need a demonstration in order to understand the finer details."

[teamfun]

"For this!" he agrees, spinning slowly, arms outstretched, to give her the true scope and glory of bowling.

He watches her mull it over, grinning wider. Because hell, if he can get her to unwind even a little, he'll take it. Besides, this sort of thing is fun. He'd like her to have some fun.

"Okay, but I promise you my aim is terrible. I can't hit the broad side of a barn door, so the chances of me hitting those pins are pretty slim. But I can show you how to suck at it."