Zoie - Sign/Log

"Erm, her style is really loud and kind of maudlin in its intensity, in my opinion, but if you wind up liking it more power to you," Oswald tells Katie. "Her music is on Youtube, and so is the time she attempted to physically tackle a paparazzi photographer. Oh, Sigur Ros? They're an Icelandic leftfield electronic group. The lead singer rarely sings in a language... actually, a lot like this young lady did," and he motions respectfully in Karin's direction. "Instead he sings in a kind of nonsense syllable language he calls 'Hopplandic'(sic). It's quite haunting, and it has a very good sense of dramatic buildup. You should check them out."

"I only wish she'd tried to physically tackle the paparazzi photographer in the swan costume," Petra says sadly. "Missed opportunity, there." She shrugs and reaches for a salt shaker after Karin heads for the stage. She smirks as she aims to pour a bit of salt onto the murder weapon, now that she's come back to life. She was faking dead, for Zoie's benefit, and is sitting at a table with all present except Karin, who's heading up to the stage to sing karaoke. I suck at setting, so I hope someone fills in more details.

This time, Karin does select a song as she takes the stage (Welcome to Karaoke night, Zoie. Run while you can!) although the microphone is again turned off and held loosely at her side. The song begins with a haunting melody, instantly recognizable among the pizza crowd as Marilyn Manson's version of Sweet Dreams. As Karin's voice joins the music, it again carries to the corners of the Pizza Palace without amplification. The corsetted woman begins to move, or perhaps better described as 'writhe', with the music, her gaze smoldering as it rakes across the crowd watching her perform, giving the feeling of making specific eye contact while looking at no one in specific.

"I'm not really much for music," Katie admits, speaking to Oswald. She's on one side of the booth with Joel sitting next to her. Petra's on the other side. Karin and Oswald are included somewhere in the mix of places to sit around said table. "I never got to listen to it much until recently, but I'm still learning what I like. I don't think I like Bjork though." Petra ruins everything!

And don't forget the sunflower, its pot set so that it sits at the table as well, claiming a chair probably better used housing a paying customer. (Key plot detail, there) The customers are staring at Karin -- mostly college kids at this hour, and they seem pretty into it. More than one pimple-faced nerd is staring at her slack-jawed. It's the writhing, man... the writhing. "I had no idea we had music for that," Joel marvels again at the breadth of the karaoke array, though he seems impressed by Karin's talent. He is dressed as though he should be working, but he isn't, he's slacking.

Life is filled with all sorts of curious questions. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do we have to pay taxes? What happens after death? What is the true answer behind religions? Will Daddy stop drinking? Will Mommy stop crying? Why does that man with the white van offer me candy and tell me that it will only make me a little sleepy? --> Most of these questions go unanswered. The next question in life? Why is Zoie running in the door. Worse. Why is she carrying a stop sign? Why does it have written on it: Collaborate and listen? All these might be answered, or they might go down in history as unanswered. Regardless, there now stands a dainty blonde and a street sign.

Oswald flits his eyes over to look over the slack-jawed young men, and just closes his eyes, chuckles and shakes his head, turning back to listen to Karin for a few moments. "She's a real stage presence," he notes quietly, shortly before Zoie runs into Pizza Palace with the big red sign, and the bespectacled, lanky older man turns to regard her, leaning forward and turning around in his seat to get a better look.

Karin could only be more upstaged if Zoie had run in naked with the stop sign. Presumably, she didn't, but Katie looks her way anyway.. ducking Karin's smoldering gaze before can make her eye. A nudge for Joel, and she says, "I think a misdemeanor is in progress."

Joel observes a few more seconds of smolderwrithe before he notices someone has come in the door... someone he knows... who is holding a stop sign. Joel blinks once, and again. "No, Petra finished her song," he replies to Katie, dryly. Then he lifts his voice to Zoie, hands spread palms up. "Hey, Zo, what the hell, the fuck you got a stop sign in my workplace for?"

The words fade from the song, the music pouring out of the speakers at a seeming crawl, like the music wants to be sped up a little and is never given free reign. Although Karin fails to keep up with the lyrics, instead somehow managing to make "And why does that sign say to collaberate and listen" at least match the beat and tone, if not the intent. The spell completely breaks as she breaks down laughing, sinking to her knees as she gasps for breath between peals of amusement. In the background, eventually, the music edges to its conclusion.

"Please. That's like a felony, at LEAST," Petra says goodnaturedly to Joel, though she tries to punch him in the arm, and then the side of the head if that doesn't work. They're love taps, though. LOVE TAPS. She does wonder idly at sighting that stop sign, "...is it Hammer Time? I could've sworn that wasn't for another hour yet."

Zoie walks over to the table calmly. What sign? She is still holding it as she smiles at the people clustered. "Hiya." Her voice is soft and shy, while she gives Karin an apologetic smile. The girl then looks at Joel blankly and offers in an almost 'duh' sounding voice. "Someone would steal it if it left it outside."

Oswald grins along with Karin and even laughs awhile alongside her - he must like the way she moves! But his attention is mostly centered on Zoie, for the moment. An eyebrow raises.

"I need to be going," Oswald says. "Nice to meet you all, I had fun. I'll be back tomorrow." After hearing parting words, he's gone!

"Howdy, Zoie.. what are we supposed to listen to?" Katie drawls, spurred to curiosity enough to ask about the stop sign she holds.

The microphone gets left on the stage for anyone to go lay claim to, as Karin manages to calm her laughter enough to at least reclaim her seat at the table housing Petra, Joel, Katie, a sunflower, and a nearby Zoie holding a stop sign. "I hate you so much," Karin lies, trying and failing to glare at Zoie as whatever drink is close enough to lay claim to gets consumed.

Joel is not deterred by Zoie's duh tone, and eyes the stop sign with disapproval from where he sits slacking off at a table. "Right. Where did you get that, what are you going to do with it, and why do you care whether or not someone takes it?"

Damian arrives for a night of pizza and sweet sweet musical torture. Sure, he still has to pay for his pizza, but since he buys the least expensive type, he can get a bone thrown to him for letting staff pick his tune. This is important business, far more important than people, so he just waves when he sees folk he knows and starts around to the karaoke machine with whatever prepicked number in mind, to plug in and get to rockin'.

"Because it's mine. You wouldn't like it if I took your stuff." Zoie looks at the flower in a seat for a few moments. "Here sign, make a friend." She slides the sign against that chair as she looks at Karin. "I'm sorry that I ruined your song. You can sing it again and I won't walk in the door. I promise." Her lips curve up a bit at Katie. "Um... to the ice... ice... baby?"

Katie doesn't get the reference, as has been well established, music is not one of her areas of knowledge. "Oh," she says, looking a little puzzled, but accepting it all the same.

"Still failing to answer where you got it and what you're planning to do with it," Joel points out to Zoie, though he seems to be growing to accept the stop sign as part of his surroundings. "Damian," he calls then, "Why the hell are you letting other people pick a song for you? You know that when you pay for food you get to pick whatever song you want, right?" " "Word to your mother," Petra says to Zoie gravely, and then grins as she spots Damian. "Deeeeeee! Hello there! Sing us a song, you're the karaoke man! Sing us a song tonight! DAMN I need a lighter for times like these." ZERE IS NO POSE ORDER.

Damian snags up the mic after a quick sip of soda, and a keen bass line comes along, a guitar riff kicking in. Petra, also known as the Damian Fan Club (The entirety of it, sadly), gets a finger pointed at her as he declairs in his best deep voice, "I'm. To sexy for my love. To sexy for my love, love's going to leave meee.." Enter keyboards and grooviness, stage right.

Zoie opens her mouth to explain to Joel and then turns to /stare/ at Damien. What the hell? The perplexed look fills her expression before she attempts to drop into the nearest open seat... or occupied.

"See, now that one is one I knew we had," Joel keeps up running commentary about people's choice in karaoke songs. "That one is popular, among the people who are being humiliated by their friends, or the people who think they got it goin' on... or Damian." He scoots Oswald's unoccupied chair to make sure Zoie lands in it and not on the floor, then hmms to Katie and Petra, "I should probably actually get back to work at some point."

"Ah," Katie nods, as if this is one she's actually recognized. "I've heard this one before," she seems pleased to finally recognize a song. A glance at Joel, and she smiles, "I reckon you probably should.. Deliveries are slow tonight?" She pulls out her phone to check the time, but slides it away without comment.

Petra bounces in her seat along with Damian's song, and she for one is hella into it. So far she's liked every song tonight, so maybe they're all really good performers. That or, given her own performance, maybe she just has no taste. "Whooooooooooooooooo," she adds quietly. "Need a damn LIGHTER," she repeats, as though staff honestly want people holding up lighters. When Joel prepares to make his leave, she grabs his sleeve, or tries to, and then punches him lightly. Or tries to. "See ya 'round, yeah?"

Damian has totally got it goin' on! But he's also a glutton for punishment. One of the two, for he does indeed do his little turn on the catwalk, yeah, on the catwalk, he shakes his little tush on the catwalk while making sure that everyone knows through amplified vocals exactly how sexy said tush happens to be. But now I'm curious as to whether he actually rocks, or totally botches.

Katie stares at Damian's sexy dancing, totally distracted from her phone and the suggested departure by Joel. "Wow, I've never seen dancing like that." Katie doesn't have cable tv, so is somewhat innocent!

Zoie looks up at Joel, her ass savior, stands up. "Hey Joel, remember the thing that I like totally texted you about?" Oh my God! He got her pregnant! You heard it here first! ".. Um... can we like meet up somewhere alone to talk about." And exchange funds for the womb washing. Then she smiles at the others at the table. "So like.. is everyone singing? I want to see Katie go up next."

"Just wave your cell phone around, isn't that what people do?" Joel says to Petra, when she mentions a lighter. There is a nod for Katie, though he's not getting up just yet. "Carmen would be yelling if there were deliveries to make, but if I was nice I'd be helping out with the in-store stuff and earning my keep a little." He blinks a little as he watches Damian, stunned in place as he marvels at the incongruity between the dancing talent and the singing. He could be on America's Got Very Specific Talent. Zoie breaks the entranced spell, and he looks over at her. "Alone? What do you have to say to me that needs alone, didn't you just want dinner?"

"Me? Oh, no.." Katie blinks, sensing threat she comes out of the trance Damian's Dancing has put her in.. "I reckon I'm not any good at singing."

"Sing sing sing!" Petra chants (quietly) to Katie, and smirks at Joel. "Yeah, that's what I usually do. I just feel like a lighter is more apropos tonight." That said, she rises from her seat, taking one last drink of her water, and starts moonwalking away from the table. Kinda. She does NOT have Very Specific Talent, it appears. "Night all!" Petraplayer is tiiiiired.

"Night," Katie calls back to the moon walking Petra, giving her a bit of a wave. "It is gettin' kinda late, I reckon," she says, probably working on her excuse to not karaoke.

Damian sings alright, but that's probably what's keeping him out of pizza-parlor fights and denying him stacks of singles shoved down his pants. So maybe being a little terrible and scratchy tonight while claiming he's ever so sexeh is a small miracle? Well, either way it goes, he's definitely far too good for your party, not to mention Milan, New York, or Japan, as well as his car and his hat. Which is thrown at Petra since by her catterwalling he knows she'll protect it from doom. Hopefully.

Zoie looks a bit nervous to that question. "Um... yes to dinner and um...teeeeea." That one is stretched out before she offers. "I um... it's personal, Joel." Her eyes then move back to the man on stage with a tip of her head. "He'd be fun to take dancing, Lucian wasn't that fun."

And with that, Petra steals Damian's hat. It rhymes. She puts that thing on her head and hightails it out of there. Awwww yeah.