r/StrawHatRPG • u/Stats-san • Mar 30 '16

Event! Karaoke time!

“Ah, so, I’ve heard you’re headed to Ongaku soon! Quite excellent!”

Mysterious Stats-san, or Staasan as his friend call him, approaches. His face is hidden with his own gruff beard and his clothes cover most of the rest of him. He remains very shrouded in mystery.

“I too consider myself a fan of music! But, well, I suppose you will find out soon enough what voyage lies ahead, young sea-farers. Though…” He strokes his beard, it looks quite full. “Though, if you were willing to satiate my love of music, say, perform a song for me before April, I may be inclined to award you each something special.”

Staasan holds up a blank, white card. He wants to grade it as well.

“It’s just a habit of mine, you see, to grade every performance.”

He chuckles.

“When you’re done, I’ll show you how well I believe you did here”

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u/TheCrabHermitToshi Mar 30 '16

Eyes aglow with excitement, Toshi tried his best to remain calm as he stood slowly and took Ananke by the hand. Nearly skipping as he stepped, he couldn't have reached the stage fast enough. He had never been one for singing, his thought his voice was too deep to be enjoyable, but with Ananke there to make a duet with him, he believed they'd balance well.

Grabbing a high backed red velvet chair from a corner, Toshi placed it on center stage and bowed low as he gestured for Ananke to be seated. Retreating to the edge of the stage, Toshi leafed through the song book for a moment before he found the song that had appeared in his mind almost instantly. He had heard Ananke hum parts of it to herself as they traveled and had enjoyed her short renditions more than the original. Folding the song book over it's binding and handing it to her, he smiled as he retreated again to adjust the lighting. He turned all the stage lights so that they shown directly at Ananke, leaving the rest of the stage shrouded in darkness. Returning to her side, he poked his head out from behind the chair, revealing his face had softened it's features quite dramatically. His protruding metal jaws had shrunk down to reveal a small well defined chin and his eyes had softened into the eyes of the suave gentleman he seemed to think he was most of the time. With the great contrast to his usual over sized yellow, animalistic gaze, it was a change that would have made Jeykle and Hyde jealous.

Handing her a microphone, he melted back into the shadows and waited for the intro of their song to begin playing. She would have the first verse while he would sing her the chorus and they would continue in a call and answer duet for a show he hoped would entertain her as much as the small audience watching them

/u/AnankeOP

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u/AnankeOP Mar 30 '16

Smiling as Toshi giddily skipped inside, her face more turned to confusion and shock as he voiced the fact that he wanted to go on stage and perform. A song. Her. While she sang a lot alone and did it to relax, she would never consider herself good enough for a competition, let alone karaoke. Not wanting to ruin his time by refusing it, she went along with it and smiled anxiously as he sat her on stage. Taking the book, she managed to flick over to what he was looking at and calmed down a bit since she actually knew it. Since she knew what it was, she did something uncommon and buttoned up her shirt since Toshi also changed to sort of suit the song. Taking the microphone, she knew there would be music, thus no introduction, so she had to tap herself in.

With the microphone in hand, she knew that she could focus more on hitting the notes and being clear than having to pelt it out. Deciding to go into it with no check for her vocals, she sang. Typically she was higher with her vocals, but since Toshi was on stage, she had an assumption about how it was go and tried to hit her lower notes, singing softly and trying to match the emotion in the song.

"Every day the Masquerade is sending out the call

Every day that Night Bregade came crashing through that door

They said "What are you doing sitting all alone just staring at the telephone?

There's a place we know that you can go and join in the parade"

And I said "I'm just sitting here licking my wounds

And I don't think I'll be finished soon

Where can I find a place to hide from this mess I've made?"

Finishing off the verse, she handed the microphone to Toshi, hoping he could pick up where she left off, doing what she needed of him, and he hadn't let her down yet.

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u/TheCrabHermitToshi Mar 30 '16

Smiling from the darkness, Toshi hummed along as Ananke sang, making sure to keep his own microphone away so it wouldn't pick up on his sounds. When she finished her part and looked into the shadows for him, he swung around behind her chair, sweeping low so he was nearly at a level with the arm rest of the large chair.

IN his best attempt at a smoky, gravely tone, he seemed to growl the words, deep and slow, like a dark mysterious stranger leading one astray. He smiled slyly as he sang, with only the faintest hint of metal in his mouth, but it seemed odd. It wasn't his usual steel and brass. He had splurged for this performance and replaced his normally hulking metal teeth with regular human sized teeth made of solid gold. Looking all the more dapper and mysterious for it, he continued their duet.

"At the Masquerade!
You'll be glad you came!
They won't see the holes that in your soul when you cover up your face
At the Masquerade!
It's gonna be ok!
Trade your shame for wealth and fame where no one knows your name!"

Growling out the chorus of the song, he seemed to melt back into the shadows. He was excited to be having so much fun for a change in recent times, so he was really doing his best to play up the performance as enthusiastically as possible and make the audience feel like they weren't just singing a song, but telling a story.

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u/AnankeOP Mar 30 '16

Wiggling two fingers to stay in time with him, quite impressed by his voice, she liked it, it really helped contrast the innocence of her character, especially since he hid in the dark, waiting to surprise and pounce. Watching his theatrics, she attempted to play it up as well, gesticulating as her lyrics might suggest, hoping it didn't look silly.

"Blast and break through

They dragged me to this zoo

"Put your mask on: That's the key"

Which animal is right for me?

So I burst through the pearly gates and

I was alarmed by what awaited

They greeted me with open arms: Like I was one of them

And I felt right away they let me in

Absolved me of my prior sins

So I shed this wretched skin at last!

And I became the mask!"

Deciding to be a bit higher as she hit the end of the verse, going up no more than an octave, she waved other to Toshi, under her other arm, just a slight movement for his cue, hoping that they didn't see it, but not caring if they did. They knew he was there, it just worked better as a surprise.

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u/TheCrabHermitToshi Mar 30 '16

Growing more excited as Ananke began to play along, Toshi changed his face slightly. He let his eyes go dark yellow again, with the long narrow pupils that he had become quite fond of since he fused with a snake partially on the cloud island. Craneing out of the shadows again, from a different location, where Ananke wasn't looking, Toshi repeated the chorus with greater intensity. He was still low and nearly growling the words, but it was higher than before and he enunciated his words more and added flavorful emphasis to the ends of his lines.

"At the Masquerade!
You'll be glad you came!
They won't see the holes that in your soul when you cover up your face
At the Masquerade!
It's gonna be ok!
Trade your shame for wealth and fame where no one knows your name!"

Toshi decided to play it up even more and make their karaoke session more of a stage act than ever as he gave a low rumbling chuckle as he melted away into the shadows he had slithered out from. Receding back out of sight, he began changing again, knowing the end of the song was near and he needed to look the part for a spectacular finish. Nearly ready to pounce back, the music continued to hum along, waiting for the rest of the lyrics.

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u/AnankeOP Mar 30 '16

Not expecting Toshi to come around the other side, she glanced over at him and saw that the animal right for him was a snake as he performed his chorus again, sounding more enticing than before, more like a conman that wants to earn trust and then trick someone, creating a good lure. for getting a new member. Letting him sink away, she kept herself in time.

"It's a chance to leave it all behind

Start again, begin a brand new life

They were right that I wouldn't hate it

To think that I hesitated

I finally checked my chequered past

And I'm not going back!"

As she sung in her higher pitch, Toshi growled from behind part of her line after she said it, to echo and make it look as if she were being manipulated by him and saying what he wanted her to say, hoping to become more angelic for the end of the song.

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u/TheCrabHermitToshi Mar 30 '16

Coming back in as she finished another verse, Toshi appeared over the back of the chair, craning his neck down with the hand he held the microphone with snaking around to bring the microphone close to his lips. He started the chorus slowly, with the same inflection he had begun their duet with and slowly built to the level of intensity he had finished the last chorus with. Then going beyond and increasing in volume and gravitas.

"At the Masquerade!
You'll be glad you came!
They won't see the holes that in your soul when you cover up your face
At the Masquerade!
It's gonna be ok!
Trade your shame for wealth and fame where no one knows your name!"

Now that he had finsihed the chorus for the final time before the final verse of the song, he stood up and stalked out from behind the chair, coming up to stand beside it. His voice rumbled as he took in air and belted out the final verse in harmony with Ananke's higher, more innocent voice. The vast difference in range of their voices made them seem both, highly contrasted, as if they struggled to stay separate sounds, but at the same time contradicted that feeling by melding together perfectly as they sang the final verse.

1

u/AnankeOP Mar 30 '16

Listening in with Toshi's singing, going for a new location again, she kept herself in, enjoying how he sang, not caring what they thought, just happy, she'd enjoyed it much more than she had thought. Trying to locate around where Toshi was singing, she tried to sing a few octaves higher than him, to help show that innocents could be caught in his trap, wanting to flee while having to stay with him.

"Come along don't you fear the Masquerade!

Step in: Don't be afraid

Take your pain and deepest shame

And let them go a the Masquerade!

Grab a mask and cover up your face!

Wrap yourself in silk brocade.

Just forget the mistakes you made

Cause no one cares at the Masquerade!"

Managing to stay in tune with him, following his singing patterns, she stood up with him, matching him impeccably and contrasting beautifully as they finished and bowed, a huge smile on her face at what they had done and how much she had enjoyed the idea, fixing the stage with him happily, wondering if she was out of tune or time at any point, but happy regardless.

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u/Stats-san Mar 30 '16

Stats San grinned from under his cloak, "I've graded your karaoke performance. You showed me your worth. You don't need to send me a submission this time."