2022-05-05 - Cinco de Mayo Karaoke

It's Cinco de Mayo and Americans love this holiday way more than Mexicans do, so the Pourhouse is rockin'. Mexican beer! Margaritas by the pitcher! A weirdly upscale special on ceviche, Davis do you think this is a tourist bar or what? And what would a Pourhouse holiday be without karaoke.

Itzhak is kneeling on stage as the party goes on around him, trying to get the equipment to work, and he's probably on his third or fourth Corona-with-a-lime-in-it-don't-judge as he curses and messes with wires.

The door swings open and in walks the form of Willow, a cigarette held between her lips and her hazel eyes fall over the room, taking everything in. First night in town, a good place to start, though she eyes the karaoke machine, "Bettuh start drinking ." is said in a think New York accent, and she soon decides on the barstool, slipping on to it and giving the drink menu a look.

Ava might have been here for a little bit herself, enjoying the margaritas early. Liquid courage for singing, perhaps, or maybe it's just stress relief. For once she's in jeans. Jeans. Yes, she actually owns a pair. Don't tell anyone. At least there are still a pair of booted heels. Dangerous ones at that.

Her current glass of liquid courage is finished before she strides over towards the stage and leans against it with an amused look towers Itzhak. "For the sake of not wanting to have to treat you for electrical burns tonight, do you want a little help?"

He was just heading out for a drink, or five or something. Not having realized what day it is, Jonathan steps into the room a bit thoughtfully. Heading straight for the bar, he looks around at the people present, then back to finding himself one of the stools, dropping into it perhaps a bit heavily. There's a glance over towards the scene for a few moments, and then his focus is back at the bar and the people on either side of it.

Park never misses karaoke...unless there was an exam, or a gig, or she was getting her nails done that day...so here she is! Dressed in a blue figure hugging spandex jumpsuit, she is also kicking lots of blue mascara along with a blonde wig - all very Agnetha from ABBA. Does that give a clue to what she will be singing this evening? She has researched Cinco de Mayo to sing an appropriate song. Once she discovered it wasn't about condiments and it was more about battles, her song choice crystallized.

A quick signing up to sing before she looks around in excited wonder at the audience. A wave to anyone and everyone before heading for the bar.

Itzhak is a little dressed up tonight. Very tight jeans, boots laced with rainbow ribbons, and, of all things, a crop top. It's black and has faded, cracked lettering reading 'If It Ain't Baroque Don't Fix It'. He's got scars on his belly, ugly clawmarks that have well healed but left their mark.

"Are you an electrician and a doctor?" he sasses Ava, squinting up at her while his hands do something on their own in the guts of the karaoke machine.

"Rosencrantz," Davis calls, making a show out of waving his watch (actually a Fitbit but who's counting), and Itzhak yells back, "Give a bitch a minute!"

Willow decided to start on beer, can't go wrong with beer, at least not in her books. When Johnathan joins her at the bar, an easy grin comes to her lips and she raises the frosted mug in greeting to him, "You gonna be singin?" She asks of him before the mug comes to her lips for a long, hard pull. While waiting for the answer, she looks over the room, noting who is scared shitless to sing, like her, or who is more the type to just get up and go.

It's chilly out, but Joe can't be bothered with a jacket. He's in a white t-shirt and dark jeans, with his usual battered boots on; the scars and ink on his arms on display. Look at him pretending he's blue-collar.

He pauses to hold the door for Ruiz, giving the Mexican a patient look. It's more Javier's holiday than anybody else here, but then, Americans will use any holiday as an excuse for inebriation. Witness Saint Patrick's Day.

Curiosity brought her here -- at least, that's what Ariadne would admit. No evening shift at Espresso Yourself tonight, so she came to see what all of the fuss is about at the Pourhouse. She drifts in the door, comfortable in a matte dusty-blue blouse with a twist-gathering of fabric about her chest. Its wide sleeves mean comfort and draping; paired with a pair of cream-colored slacks and a pair of low-heel ankle-boots, she's got smiles for anyone she recognizes.

It is a karaoke night though, so she too drifts towards the stage to see about signing up. Her list is considered. Ambient light shines off her dyed underpaneling of her deeply-auburn hair; celestial hues shine. She's taking neurotically good care of the dyed portion, apparently.

"I dunno, is she?" A funning remark thrown in Itzhak's direction follow by a twiddling wave of fingers. "Hey Ava," adds the barista before she selects her song off the list. Her meander over is lazy, her adjusting of her small courier-style purse across her body moreso. "Starting to see the familiar faces wander in." An idle observation while she scans the room and bar length itself once more.

Georgi Sworn hasn't been here before, and is somewhat taken aback by the themed evening, but apparently it's a tourist bar. She rolls with it, because a discount margarita is a discount margarita. She's seated at one end of the bar with a good view of the stage, and about one and a half into the pitcher she decided not to order. She glances around, sipping from her large glass as more and more people file, wander, dance their ways in. She's dressed in white slacks and a white blouse with a deep v-neck. Her curly hair is left down and a little wild.

For tonight's little shindig, de la Vega's 'dressed up', too. The black, snug-fitting jeans are his usual fare, but the fancy calfskin boots with the pointed toe sure as hell ain't. In lieu of the dressy shirt Joe surely wanted to wrangle him into, he's donned a tee with the lettering como se llama? with a picture of a llama in the background. No jacket tonight, but plenty of ink decorating those guns, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets as he informs Cavanaugh that, "It's not my fucking holiday, gringo. We don't even celebrate it, where I grew up, you know? It's an American thing."

There's a brief pause as he hears Willow's question, offering her a bit of a grin in return. "Sure, why not." It's said a bit absently, before he adds, "Even though I wasn't aware there were things happening when i decided to get out." He smiles, "Haven't done any karaoke for many years, but still, it was fun back then."

"Hey Ari! Did you get that text I sent you? Priceless isn't it? You cherish that until your dying days!" Ava grins, dimples full force. Sparkling eyes turn towards Itz before she's putting her palms on the stage and pull herself up. "You manage to be both adorable and a pain in the ass, Itz. People can be two things," she offers back towards his sass as she strides over. "Four hands are better than two, let me help." She stoops down and peeks to help fiddle with wires.

Willow swivels back around so she can face Johnathan and lets out a laugh, "Don think you'll see me up there." she places the beer mug down and thrusts out her hand, "Willow, pleased to meet ya. Just moved here from New York." In case you couldn't tell by her accent "Hopin to find my big book break here."

"Americans always do that. When we get our hands on a holiday, it always turns into an excuse to get shit-faced drunk," Joe allows, easily, as he saunters towards the bar. "Look what we did to Saint Pat's Day or Halloween. It's how we roll."

He catches Itz's eye, does the little two fingers to the eyes, then one pointed at the fiddler, but he doesn't try to drag Ruiz that way. Not enough liquor in him to try and play drunken match-maker, not yet. Something faintly speculative and definitely amused in his gaze as he watches Ava, but he turns back to the bar without comment.

Itzhak snorts, because 'adorable and pain in the ass' really does kinda sum him up. "Nononono, I got it--" and POP as the sound system comes on. People cheer sarcastically. Itzhak stands up, snatches the microphone, and announces, "Up yours, it's Cinco de Mayo karaoke and guess who gets to be the MC because Davis is busy or some shit."

A drunk and possibly stoned Rosencrantz is at the helm, what could go wrong?

As he scans the crowd he spots a whole lot of people he knows, particularly Cavanaugh, and he can't help it, a certain hopefulness tilts his eyebrows and...yes, Ruiz comes in after. Itzhak sucks in a breath.

"Okay, uh," pocket dig for slip of creased paper, "first up we got Park, always a good time, am I right? She's doing 'Billy Don't Be A Hero' by the Paper Lace, and I gotta admit, I never heard this song. Take it away, Mee!" And he hops off the low plywood stage.

"I did get that text," confirms Ariadne for Ava. "Mad skills indeed, doc." She watches the doctor ascend the stage with a half-hidden smirk and makes a bet with herself until how long Itzhak raises his voice again. Movement towards the door makes her glance over towards it. Ah, some familiar faces. An up-nod towards Joseph and Ruiz both before she fetches out the phone in question. Thus, she continues her easy lean against the stage --

-- at least until texting is interrupted by the sudden whoomp of live wires and acoustics. "Eeep!" Scooting off to one side, she laughs to herself and ends up sitting on the edge of a table not too far from the stage. No drink for her just yet, it appears; she's more inclined to people-watch at this moment.

Jonathan smiles, shaking the offered hand. "Jonathan," he replies. "It's a pleasure to meet you, and welcome to town." There's a brief pause, before he adds, "Book break? What kind of book?"

Light footed, Mainio makes his way into the room and towards the bar. Magnetically drawn to be in contact with a beer. With two secured the quiet Finn finds himself a place to sit down and watch. Settling in comfortably, left leg over his right knee and leaned back with a bemused smile as he watches the antics unfold

"Oh my gosh!" Park squeals as she points at Ruiz's t-shirt. "I love alpacas! Everyone having a good time!" Once she reaches the bar, Park gets the barkeeps attention with a wave. "Could I get a sarsaparilla please? Make it a double. I'm not working tomorrow." To those congregated around the bar, Park will attempt to give hugs - whether they want them or not. And then the announcement she is on! "Oh, gotta go!"

Park bounds up onto the stage and waves to the crowd. "Hello, Cleveland! I didn't know what Cinco de Mayo was at first. Maybe some kind of food with cheese and mayo, but I used the internet to find the truth. Like we all do. Anyway, it turns out that it's a celebration of a battle. So, what better thing to do than sing a song about battles?" Though she looks like she is going to sing 'Waterloo', her true song has already been revealed. "It's a pretty sad song though but I've pumped up the disco elements. I mean, we're here to have fun with war, right? And singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth. Then it's a soap opera."

The music starts up and so does Park! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX-JeV37Uqw&ab_channel=big80smusicvideos

The marchin' band came down along Main Street

The soldier blues fell in behind

I looked across and there I saw Billy

Waiting to go and join the line

And with her head upon his shoulder

His young and lovely fiancee

From where I stood I saw she was cryin'

And through her tears I heard her say

Billy, don't be a hero, don't be a fool with your life

Billy, don't be a hero, come back and make me your wife

And as he started to go she said, Billy, keep your head low

Billy, don't be a hero, come back to me

Ava flinches at the pop that she is so very close to. "Oh god." Willow gets a grin for a moment. "We'll see if you sing the same tune once you've got some liquor in you." But then Itz is talking, so of course all her attention shifts. There's a fond grin for a moment before the stage in turned over and she has to hurry off. Sure, he can just jump off but she has heels. There's a shift and a lean, and a hop.

Does Itz let her hook his arm? We'll see, if so, he's suddenly getting dragged in Ruiz and Joseph's direction, Ava tossing a wink over her shoulder towards Ariadne. She whispers up to Itz. "He called you his boyfriend the other day," she assures. "C'mon."

"Joseph! Javier. Nice to see you guys." She is drunk enough to play matchmaker.

Joe's trailed toward the bar by a slightly shorter Mexican and his low, warm chuckle. "I like getting shit-faced drunk, too." He takes a lean against it, and digs out his wallet. "It's understandable." His dark eyes rove over a few of the faces assembled, familiar and not. And gravitate toward one in particular, when that voice comes over the sound system. Like he'd mistake Itzhak Rosencrantz for anyone else.

He runs his tongue along his lower lip slowly, purposefully. Then turns toward the bartender. "Give me a tequila." He pushes a crumpled bill across. And.. yep, there goes the tension in his shoulders as he catches a glimpse of Ava approaching with his ex-boyfriend in tow.

Willow shifts a few stools closer to Johnathan so she doesn't have to yell over the music, "I want ta collect stories, bout ghosts, or strange happenings and put them in a book." seems simply enough, right. When the first singer bravely takes the stage, she shifts her attention to them and when necessary, claps her hands together, that's what people do at these things, right.

Sworn tips her margarita back as the karaoke is about to start, waving to the bartender to order another. At this point, she should have got a pitcher. She sweeps the salt off the rim of a section of her glass before sliding it across the bar, nails sliding down the stem. "One more, thanks." Also what she said last time. Cash is slid across the bar too. She keeps her eye on the stage, at least for the moment.

Itzhak lets Ava take his arm long enough until he realizes he's being towed. Then he slithers away, uncoiling like a snake that needs a fresh hiding place. "Guys," he mutters from a safe distance, and if there's a flash of a glance from under his lashes at Ruiz... well, it's subtle. Right?

No not really. Not any more than his damn crop top or rainbow laces.

Park is singing and she really can sing! Once she gets past all the lame puns. Itzhak jerks his thumb in her direction, appreciatively. "Girl got pipes."

Ariadne gets flashed an impish grin. "Hey, you," Joe says to her. "Not gonna bring your buddy, let him sing along?" he asks her, as he hitches his way up onto a stool, rather gingerly. The limp isn't in evidence, not yet, but it's only a matter of time.

Then Ava's trying to haul Itz over to them, and Joe goes a hair poker-faced, as he leans over the bar to request a Jack and Coke. Middle of the road when it comes to the way he drinks, and even odds if he'll be one of those leaving reeling drunk. "Hi there," he says to Ava, amiably enough. "How you doin'?" Southern drawl lazier than ever. "Hey, Rosencrantz."

Jonathan takes a few moments to order himself something to drink. Both beer and something stronger, before he grins at Willow's words, "Sounds quite interesting, collecting those kind of stories. I'm sure you will find something interesting around here." He smiles as he listens to Park's singing. "Quite good singer," he offers.

"Samwise? Nah, he's a crooner, but he can't hold a note," Ariadne laughs in the Joseph's direction. "I'm here for the human singers tonight."

Hipping off the table, she makes her way over to the bar and sees about a dark beer. She's boring, what can she say? But if it ain't broke, don't fix it -- thinking this makes her glance at Itzhak's shirt again with a grin of appreciation. Puns. Very good.

She's in time, at least, to hear Willow explaining to Jonathan about putting things in a book. Ghosts, was it? "I mean, there are some haunted places around here. I'd start with the bridge if I were you," she shares with Willow. Jonathan gets a friendly up-nod. Park? She gets a soft 'whooo!' and some clapping. This is the cheer section now, folks.

Willow nods to that, laughing, "Hope so, don wanna have ta keep livin in my car." She also looks towards the stage, hey, don't want to be rude, right, just cause you're the new girl, doesn't mean you have to also be the rude girl. Hearing Ariandne's words, her face lights up, "Yah, thanks, good place to start.." her beer is drained and replaced with something stronger, scotch on the rocks.

Ava got him far enough at least, before he slithered away. Conversationally close is close enough for her, apparently. There's a smug air about her for a moment before she orders herself and Itz both another drink. Him because she figures he's probably going to need one to get through this. Her because they're yummy. Also singing in front of people is hard.

"It's been a while," she offers to Joseph. "I've been alright. Getting into trouble like I do, but still alive and kickin'. Driving people crazy." There's a big grin for that as her eyes flicker towards Ruiz and then Itz. Case in point. "How about you? How have you been?"

There's a nod of agreement towards Park having pipes. "Don't expect anything like that out of me, Itz. I do not have pipes. My mouth is quite talented. But not at singing."

Park does her best to keep the mood up through the song. And, yes, she has a dance routine involving marching and firing guns and generally dramatizing the whole song - while looking like a dancing queen.

The soldier blues were trapped on a hillside
The battle raging all around
The sergeant cried, We've got to hang on, boys!
We've got to hold this piece of ground
I need a volunteer to ride up
And bring us back some extra men
And Billy's hand was up in a moment
Forgettin' all the words she said
She said

Billy, don't be a hero, don't be a fool with your life
Billy, don't be a hero, come back and make me your wife
And as he started to go she said, Billy, keep your head low
Billy, don't be a hero, come back to me

I heard his fiancee got a letter
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud he died that way
I heard she threw that letter away ...

As the marching drums of the music fade away, Park pouts for a moment. "Told you it was a sad song." But the smile is immediately back as she bounces around. "Thanks for listening. Everyone have a great time tonight! You should all sing! Oh, and if you need any dental work done, please come and see me. Or if you need a DJ. DJ Dental in the house!" Now to see whether that double sarsaparilla is ready.

Suitably impressed Mainio sets his beers down long enough to clap for Park's impressive signing and dancing performance. Then he goes back to his sedate observation. Merely content to sit back and enjoy the evening after a long day elsewhere.

"You're lucky on that front. I grew up with a Husky mix who thought he was an opera singer. Damn thing must've been part hellhound," Joe retorts to Ariadne, giving her a thumbs-up.

Then he's bobbing his head in agreement to Ava. "Has been," he drawls. "I been keepin' okay - this town ain't killed me yet." The bartender sets his drink down before him, and he lifts it in salute to her before taking a swig. Park gets applause, but he's still clearly focused on the trio around him.

"Thankfully, I haven't had to live in my car at any point so far. Been a while I felt I was living on buses and sometimes planes, but not cars," Jonathan replies, before he offers a nod and a smile to Ariadne. "That does sound like an excellent place to start," he offer, taking a sip from his beer which seems to be more of a craft beer kind. There's also applause offered for Park's singing. "Well done," he calls out.

Willow easily laughs, "I don suggest it, get's cold! But I'm hopin to find a place to live soon." she grins, not looking all that worried, but hey, she's from New York. Once Park has finished her set, Willow claps and then lets out a loud wistle, before exclaiming, "Awesome job!"

De la Vega, at least, isn't going to give chase. Drink in hand, he stays slouched against the counter, shoulder to shoulder with Joe, though pins the tall mechanic with his gaze as he backs off from the pair. "Hey," he greets finally. And if you squint, you might even be able to spot something resembling a smile, before he downs a swallow of his drink. Then his attention turns back to the stage as Park finishes off her set. Applause from him as well, once he's set his glass down.

Leaning up against the bar with her beer bottle, Ariadne looks away from the stage towards Joseph again. "Oh god, no. No song of the people for me, noooooooo, no, thank you. I'll stick to a Windhound who thinks he's Pavarotti only now and then, not when someone breathes wrong."

Park completes her song and gets another clapping round from Ariadne in turn; "Well done!"

Itzhak is loitering anxiously, long frame fidgety, half an eye on Park because she really is entertaining as hell, but it's obvious that the lion's share of his attention is on the burly Mexican in the thousand-dollar boots. "De la Vega," he says, faking cool with no success whatsoever. Upnod.

Then Park wraps up and he's got to attend to his duties, namely MCing and gassing up the crowd. He heads back to the stage even though Davis is trying to signal to him that there's a mic behind the bar, and he's drunk enough that his stride is a full rolling strut. All loose and lanky, he springs up on the stage.

"That was Mee Park, ain't she a delight? Fuckin' nailed it, Mee!" Itzhak finds his beer where he left it on stage and takes a swig, then what the hell, just chugs it all, tossing his head back.

When he comes up for air he's flushed. Out comes the paper again. "Next up is Ariadne, she's a marine biologist and I love her hair, she's gonna do 'Everybody' by Backstreet Boys, which we all need after that depressing ass song, Park. C'mon up Ari!"

There's only the briefest of pauses when the first singer calls out dental services and DJ too after finishing. Sworn applauds the performance, calling out, "Nicely done!" for Park. She'd raise a glass, but her refill is only just incoming. If the performer comes anywhere near her place at the bar, she asks between songs, "Did you say dental services?" She's a few drinks in, so maybe she thinks she heard that wrong.

Ava shakes her head as Itzhak nervously stands there and then hurries off back to the stage. "I swear to god." Her margarita is placed on the bar along with his beer. His beer will sit there for now as a lure. She takes her drink and slowly turns her gaze towards Ruiz. "/Hey/?" is chided. "Really?" There's a scoff and another head shake. "You guys are the worst. Talk to him."

Joseph gets more of her attention now, with a warm smile. "Good. You're not allowed to die. Doctor's orders." Ariadne is getting called up to the stage, so she's getting a WOO from Ava in encouragement. As Park comes down, Ava glances over and lifts her glass in a cheers gesture. "That was amazing."

Oh god, was that her name?

That was her name. Ariadne blinks up at the stage with an expression briefly owl-eyed before she ends up laughing aloud. A primp-primp at her hair at the compliment, thespian enough, before she ditches her beer at the bar for the stage and the mic. "Ah...yes, thank you, Itzhak." A twiddly-fingered wave out at the audience. "I'm really not drunk enough for this, but you know what? We're going to give it a shot. Let's go back to the high school days we all love to hate. If you know the words? Sing along. If you know the dance moves? Even better."

The song comes on, winds up, and transitions into that recognizable beat. Cue cowbell. Toe taps. Hip switches on the beats. A breath.

Everybody...

Dramatic fist-pump down in front of her body.

Rock your body --

Dramatic point at audience.

Everybody...

Rock your body right...

Backstreet's back, ALRIGHT!

It's on. She's sober. God help her.

Park is touched and humbled by the praise, though that doesn't stop her handing out business cards to anyone she can reach. And also encouraging them to get on stage. "It's so much fun!!" Once she's back at the bar there are a bunch of people she doesn't know. This will not stand! To all she says, "Hey! I'm Park Mee, or Mee Park if you prefer. I don't mind if you call me Park or Mee but some people find Mee confusing. Like, when they say to their friends, 'Hey, do you know Mee?' And of course their friend would say, 'Of course I know you, silly.' And the first person would sigh and say, 'Not me, Mee. Do you know Mee?' And their friendship would dissolved into philosophical acrimony and that's not nice. I don't mean to ruin people's friendships."

At bring the evening down, Park offers an apologetic frown to Itzhak. "Sorry!! I can do something bouncy later if you like!" Applause and loud cheering for Ariadne as her name is called. "Oh my gosh! A marine biologist. How cool is that! I think it's awesome that the Marines care enough about their soldiers to study biology. And who doesn't love the Backstreet Boys!" She looks around at others to ensure that no one could possibly disagree with her. No one is that mad.

At Sworn's question there is an enthusiastic nodding from Park. "I just graduated dental school. It's the family business. I mean, I want to be a musician more than anything but to keep my parents happy, I had to do graduate in oral studies. "Do you need a check-up? Open up and say 'Aaaahhh'." It seems Park is happy to have a look there and then.

Jonathan nods again as he hears Willow's words. "Let's hope it works itself out very soon," he offers, with a smile. Taking a sip of the stronger drink, before he sees Ariadne head up onto the stage. There's a bit of a grin as he hears the song choice, No dancing to the song now, though.

Joe whistles for Ariadne. "Make Same proud!" he tells her, grinning. He's comfortably propped up at the bar, only sipping from his drink. Not disposed to hurry about getting drunk, tonight. Honestly, half the entertainment is watching Ruiz and Itzhak sidle around each other.

Ava's attempt at intervention has the corner of his lip curling up. "Will do, ma'am," he says, in mock deference. He doesn't second her urging, instead diverted by Ariadne's performance.

"What the fuck did I say about meddling with my love life?" grouses de la Vega, shooting a dark look Ava's way. He downs a slug of his tequila, then leans in close to murmur something to Joe. Hand slid along his back, and up, until he can grasp the nape of his neck firmly. He flashes a grin at the end of it, then gives him a little shove away, scruffs his inked fingers through the older man's hair, and pushes to his feet. A glance goes to Ariadne's performance, but the Mexican's headed for the hallway that leads to the bathrooms, it seems. Probably needs to take a piss.

Willow grins, "either it will or it won't, no point worrying right." When she hears Backstreet boys, she woops and jumps from her spot, moving quickly to the dance floor. She manages to remember most of the moves, and giggles; she even manages not to fall flat on her ass in the process.

Itzhak sings along to this one, dancing in place and maybe a little bit doing some of those Backstreet Boys moves, don't judge. When Ruiz leaves heading for the bathroom, Itzhak's eyes follow him, and that's probably not all that wants to follow him. Then he glances at Joe, eyebrows up, like, well?

"You said, and I quote 'You trying to tell me what to do with my love life?'" Ava says in a gruff mimic of his voice. "To which I replied, yes, I am. Because that guy over there deserve every happiness in the world, and I'm going to do whatever the fuck I can to make sure he has it." Yup, the guy in the crop top and rainbow laces. That one. His dark look gets a challenging one right back.

Are her cheeks a little flushed? They might be. Does she hide her face after that with a really long drink from her glass? Sure does.

Backstreet's back, ALRIGHT!

Needless to say, the song is jammin' and so is Ariadne. She has no formal dance tutoring, but (roughly) everyone was in aforementioned high school at one point or another -- plus, she's sober. Still, she attempts to do the dance from the infamous Halloween-themed video minus her mic-holding hand. Willow joining in makes her laugh in mid-line, frankly in delight. A point at the young woman and shout of "Yes!" into the mic between lines of singing.

The song ends and she freezes in a fairly dynamic pose, pointer finger high into the air. A reel of laughter before she throws up her other hand. "Thank you, Gray Harbor, I'm out!" The mic is set back into its holder and she descends from the stage to return to her beer. A cough or two before she takes a long swig. "Yep, that'll do," she murmurs to herself. Good, her shenanigans (for the moment) are complete. An idle scan of the crowd.

Who's the next victim?

Joe grins crookedly, nodding at whatever it is that Javier mutters to him. But then there's that little exchange, and he rolls his eyes towards the ceiling, like he's beseeching some deity for patience. Then he informs Ava, a little flatly, "Don't worry about it. Them circling each other like tomcats gearing up for a fight just means the make-up sex will be that much more intense."

He catches Itz's glance, approximates a shrug by rolling his hands over to expose the worn palms, and then gives a little jerk of his chin to indicate that the musician should follow the cop. Get to it, dumbass.

Enjoying the music as he takes another sip of one of his drinks, Jonathan looks to Willow as she moves to the dancing, glancing between her and Ariadne up on the stage. Applauding loudly at the end of the performance. Even if he didn't plan on showing up here, it's already been quite a good time.

Sworn blinks when the enthusiasm of Park Mee/Mee Park comes rolling toward her position and asks for an open up in a relatively dark bar. "Just had one a couple of months back, but will need another in four or so. New in town, probably staying. I'm also not drunk enough to open my mouth to a stranger in a bar." She reaches for her newly delivered drink with a laugh. "Yet." She does flash her teeth when she grins. Pretty white, pretty straight. Pretty pretty. Someone cares about dental hygiene.

"Margarita?" She glances at the stage when Ariadne goes up, offering Mee a drink. She claps for Ariadne's performance.

Willow woops and jumps up and down, "Awesome job!" She yells to Ariande, though since the song is now over, she returns to her seat and reclaims her drink, grinning a little around the rim of the cup, "Okay, /that/ was fun." She looks to Jonathan, her new best friend, or the only one she knows the name of, poor guy, "you goin up next?"

The thing is, he's not really accustomed to people talking back to him. So when Ava tries to parrot his voice, and then actually answer his rhetorical question, it gives de la Vega pause. He slows his (already pretty slow) roll, pauses, and turns to squint at the brunette like she's grown a second head.

Then he squints some more at her. "I can't decide if you want to be his girlfriend or his fairy fucking godmother. Also, you're cute when you blush." A flick of his dark eyes to the Georgian. "Also, fuck you, Cavanaugh." Middle finger flipped, and he's off again.

"You should totally stay" Park nods enthusiastically to Sworn. "Like, this is totally the best town ever. And it has the best dental service." A little pout at Storm not opening her mouth but Park soon shrugs it off. "Yeah, in this place, people are likely to toss a peanut in."

"Margarita? No, I'm Mee." Park even offers her hand in greeting. "Oh! You mean the drink? Ooh, yes please! Strawberry." A cheer, applause, and jumping up and down for Ariadne. "Woo-hoo! That was awesome!" She gleefully points at Willow. "Shake it, baby!!" Then back to Sworn. "Are you going to sing? You totally should sing! Singing is amazeballs and awesome-sauce. Sing like no one is listening and dance like no one is watching. Unless you're a stripper, then you probably want to dance like someone is watching."

It's really a good thing Itzhak didn't quite catch what Ava said to Ruiz. He was busy trying drunkenly yet gracefully to get down one of those moves, you know the one. Ari finishes and Itzhak whoops for her. "Hell yeah! Put 'er there!" 'There' is a high five, of course.

Next victim! Itzhak squints over at Davis, who points at Jonathan while sighing because he knew something like this was going to happen. "Right on, next we got Jonathan with the classic, 'Beer in Mexico', so super thematic. Who is that by again?" A pause to scroll through his phone. "Kenny Chesney, no idea who that guy is, hit it like it said somethin' about your ma, Jonathan!"

Off stage again, and, yeah, he has to piss too, it turns out, so he saunters off to the bathroom. Hey that's a lot of beer he's got on board.

When it comes to Itz there's no backing down for Ava. Doesn't matter if it's the Chief of Police or a Dragon. But, of course, his comments has her choking slightly on the drink, so it has to be pulled away. Oh god, drinks down the air pipe. There's coughing and choking for a second as she pounds a fist against her chest. "A good girlfriend could manage both," she retorts with a slight scowl, her voice strained.

Her eyes flicker back to Joseph, and she finally cracks a smirk. "Well then I'll take it as a good thing. I'm also gonna steal his seat." Which she does immediately. "Wooh! Ari, that was amazing!!"

Joe responds to that middle finger by blowing a kiss back at the cop. Settling in for the next performer, expression still deadpan, albeit with the faintest hint of amusement. "You applyin' for the job?" he wonders of Ava, voice dry.

Ariadne gets a grin, though. "She's right," Joe confirms. "You're real good."

The door opens and shouldering his way in is a very large, very broad shouldered man. Wearing a hoodie and jeans, Myles moves in with a casual gait, his hands pushed into his hoodie pockets. His eyes flick around those present in the bar, as he heads over to the bar himself.

"Well, I..." Jonathan begins before he hears Itzhak's announcement, and he nods. "Sounds like it's my turn." Draining the stronger drink, he looks to his beer. "Look after this for me," he offers, before he moves up onto the stage. "Can't hit it like that, I'd probably get arrested," he comments to Itzhak's words, offering a bit of a chuckle, before he adds, "And for you folks listening, I apologize in advance. I'm sure the bartender would love the extra work of pouring the drinks you need to get this out of your system. Been a few years." And then the song starts, with the guitars and all, and Jonathan begins singing:

"Starin' out into the wild blue yonder
So many thoughts to sit and ponder
'Bout life and love and lack of
And this emptiness in my heart

Too old to be wild and free still
Too young to be over the hill
Should I try to grow up?
But who knows where to start?

So I just
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away"

Of course a high five for Itzhak and his boogie-woogie-ing right down. Ariadne laughs and then shoots a shameless fingergun at Ava in turn, once the doc is finished half-inhaling her drink for some reason. The barista's out of the loop as to why. "Thanks, Ava, Joseph!" she calls back from a few bar stools away and lifts her bottle. "Might do another one later, who knows, but I need another beer in me first."

Maybe unwise. It's about 11% ABV. Two? More in the redhead and she might not make it off her bar stool safely.

For now, she does, meandering over to plonk down on the bar stool to Ava's other side. "Either of you two going to brave it?" she asks of Ava and Joseph beneath the beginning strums of Jonathan's song. But lo, a familiar face. "Hey, Myles," Ariadne greets with a twiddling of her fingers off of her dark beer. Dragon's Milk, the label sports.

"Peanuts, yes. And who knows if they've washed their hands," Sworn says to Mee. "The funeral home was a nightmare to paint, so I've got at least 6 months in me after all that." She sips from her drink and says, "No, no. Not going to sing. I don't sing." She raises her glass. "I drink." She considers the enthusiastic woman's words. She clears her throat, takes another drink.

"Only dance like a stripper if you're being paid."

Well Willow can't dance to that, though she still listens, hell, it's not like it's her up there. Noting Myles, she grins wide and rises her drink to him, "Evening!" Okay, she said hi, she then looks over the group again, taking curious note on how they all know eachother, though that probably makes sense.

Enter Perdita Leontes, not long after Myles. Dark hair up in a high ponytail, red lace crop, short black pleather skirt, black sheer tights, and a cropped pleather jacket, perfect for cleaning the lingering after scent of the bar off of her, later. She hesitates in the doorway for a split second, looking a little lost. Though she's been here a few times, the scene is still more casual than she's used to, and it shows, just a smidge.

But then she's spotting people she knows, and approaching them with a bright smile, suddenly at Ariadne's side. "Caught the tail end of you singing, you sounded great."

"Myles!" Ava spots him as he walks in and waves a drunken hand wildly in the air to gesture him over to where they are. Oh oh pick us pick us! "Didn't know you had such a great singing voice, Ari. We'll have to do this more often. I'm singing. I figure I have enough alcohol in me at this point where if I screw it up, I will not care at all." She giggles at that.

Joseph's question gets a little hiss of breath in response. "I tried. He's really only got eyes for one." There's a flicker of something before she forces a quick smile over it. "So I'm gonna make sure that one doesn't fuck it up." There's a more natural smile as she glances to the bathrooms and then back towards him. "So he's the boyfriend you mentioned before?" Not Itz, obviously.

A Perdita appears. "Dita!"

While he isn't that much of a singer, Jonathan tries taking that back when it comes to enthusiasm, as he makes his way through the next verse and the chorus. Then comes a guitar solo, which is done as an air guitar there on the stage. Grinning as he looks out at the crowd, he starts on the next part of the song.

"Maybe I'll settle down, get married
Or stay single and stay free
Which road I travel
Is still a mystery to me...

So I just
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Do my best to waste another day
Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico
Let the warm air melt these blues away"

As the song turns further into another guitar part on the way to the end, he finishes off with the last part of lyrics.

"Down in Mexico..."

And then it's done, and he lets out a bit of a laugh. "Thank you. Hope I didn't hurt anyone's ears too much." It's said lightly and with a wide grin, though. A light jump takes him off the stage, and he makes his way back to the bar, where he can get another sip of his beer, even if it's not actually in Mexico.

Park's eyes go wide with interest as Sworn explains what she's been up to. "Oh, are you a painter? Cool. I'm an artistic person too. You painted a nightmare on the funeral home walls?" She thinks on this. "I guess that would be appropriate but a bit harsh. You should have painted Elysium Fields. Oh, well, yes, everyone at the strip club gets paid. I DJ there sometimes. DJ Dental. It's a pun...sort of...about how at raves everyone chants 'Mental! Mental! Mental!'. Well, they did twenty years ago." She giggles suddenly. "Oh, I see what you did there. Paint stripper. Very clever."

Time to cheer on Jonathan. "Woo-hoo!! Awesome!! My ears are fine!" she screeches before back to Sworn. "How about we do a duet? Oh! I know what we can sing even!"

"Not tonight," Joe tells Ariadne. "I don't do it but once in a blue moon," he explains. Still nursing that Jack and Coke, lids drooping a little, sleepily. He lifts his glass in silent greeting to Perdita.

Ava's comment has him giving her a sidelong glance. "No, he doesn't," he tells her. "Trust me on that one. He's just hung up now 'cause they've got the collective emotional intelligence of a box of rocks between them. Too busy fucking to talk," A shake of his head, but it's not denial of her question, more sage dismissal of Itz and Ruiz's paired foolishness. "Yeah," he says. Not that he's objecting to Itzhak and Javier sidling away with each other, or so it seems.

There are greetings, some drunker than others. They flicker a smile on the big man's lips. "Ay everybody. Happy cinco de drinko." Ariadne gets an up nod from the big guy as he moves to the bar. Willow's cheers gets a lingering look and an eventual up nod. His drink doesn't take long before he's finally looking over to Ava. There's a flicker of a smile at Ava's greeting and he raises his newly acquired glass to her in cheers.

He slowly ambles over to Ava, offering one arm up to her. "Ay. How's everybody doin'?" Myles rumbles lowly.

"Aw, thank you, Ava. Can't wait to see what you pick," the barista tells the doctor -- and really, she can't wait. Ava is drunk. "And well, maybe it'll be a blue moon soon enough here." An idle, friendly smirk at Joseph before she glances towards the door.

"Dita!" comes the echo of greeting. Ariadne lifts her beer towards the other woman. "Hey, glad you could make it -- and you're sweet, thank you. I've been told that I get better when I'm not sober? Question mark...? Maybe I'll sing again, you never know. Get a drink, pull up a stool," she then invites of the stool next to her in turn.

Jonathan's song finishes and she calls out, whoooooooooo, a sustained note before whistling again. "Good job!"

Willow finishes the remainder of her drink and then slides out her cell phone, "Shit, is that the time, I gotta go." she slips off of the stool, saying this to no one in particular and slides on her jacket. She pulls her wallet out from the pocket and drops some money onto the bar to pay for her drinks.

Let's be honest, it is a suspiciously long time before Itzhak reappears. Nobody needs to pee for that long. When he comes back out, he's grinning stupidly and acting like he's being smooth about it. Spoilers: he is not smooth.

"Heard you the whole time, Jonathan, it's fuckin' loud enough in here!" Jonathan gets a big thumbs up. "I like that one, turns out. Okay, uh..." What was he doing again? Itzhak stands there until Davis cues him, yelling across the crowd, "NEXT SINGER!"

"Fuckin' A, next singer," Itzhak says, "that's our own Doctor Ava! She's doing 'Stupid For You', by Waterparks, and man, I really gotta catch up on this stuff the kids are listening to these days. Ava!" He waves her over, grinning like a loon.

Jonathan has managed to get some of his beer into his system as he hears Willow's words. "Heading out?" A brief pause, before he adds, "It was a pleasure to meet you, and I hope we meet again." Raising his glass in a salute to her, before he lifts it in a salute to those that cheered for his singing too.

"Something like that. I had it painted dark colors, something suitably somber. It used to be white." Sworn thinks on Mee's questions. "I'm better with makeup than house paint, but there's an occasional puttying in my profession. A bit of sewing." She can't help but smile a little as Mee's associative speech goes on and on. Her usual smile is a soft, close-lipped smile. There's just enough tequila in her bloodstream to make it easy to go with the flow. "I don't sing." The flow appears to end at getting up on stage. She orders up a margarita to shove over to Park though. "Drink that." She claps for Jonathan's performance.

When the undertaker's phone rings, she barely hears it. It's a truly irritating bong sound. Sworn fishes it out of her pocket to have a look at the screen. Her expression doesn't change for a few seconds, and then she glances at her glass, nearly empty. How many was that? "Fuck." The phone's tucked away again and she asks the bartender for the biggest coffee he can manage in anything resembling a giant cup. "A coffee bucket will do."

Javier prowls on out not too long after the skinny mechanic. Close enough that it's fairly clear whatever business he had in there might've started as needing to take a piss, but it sure as hell didn't end that way. He tracks Itzhak across the room for a moment or three, then ambles off toward his seat at the bar.

Only to find it occupied by an impertinent brunette. "Off," he instructs Ava, with a thumb instructing her to take a hike. Then he reaches around her to fetch his glass of tequila, and asks Joe, "What'd I miss?"

There's a slight tilt of her head and Perdita's brows raise a little, "Ava, hi, how much have you had to drink?" it sounds mostly amused, but there's perhaps the slightest undertone of concern. She flashes a grin at Joseph, though. There's plenty of people to take care of the Good Doctor for a while, at least.

"You should definitely sing again." Dita tells Ari. "I'll be right back, I'm going to grab a drink." Myles gets a flash of a smile, then Dita's ordering herself something bright and fruity... and then Ava's being announced to sing... Oh boy. Itzhak gets a look. Perdita knows him well enough to know exactly what's happened... which is confirmed when Javier pops out not long after.

An arm is offered up and Ava leans into Myles wrapping both of her arms around his stomach and squeezing around it, snuggling in. "I'm so glad you made it! You totally have to sing." Her head tilts, chin resting on his torso as she looks up. Up up up, it's a lot of up, he's very tall. Sparkling eyes twinkle drunkenly up at him in a hopeful pout. "You're gonna sing for me, riiiiight?" Look at those lashes. See how they flutter?

Something about what Joseph said pulls her out of that for a moment and she straightens herself up, finally, leaning her back against the bar with a laugh. "Or maybe it's just me?"

Oh, it is her! But for singing! Ava hops up. Ruiz's command gets a smirk. "Talking about me getting off, or your adventure in the bathroom?" Even drunk she manages stunning well in those heeled boots. Making her way up onto the stage, she reaches up to pat Itz's cheek with a grin. "There's a beer for you over by Joseph, get your grinnin' ass off my stage. I'm sure it could use the rest." There's a wink before she moves to take the mic. "I may be a coroner but that doesn't mean I can't bring a little life into the room," she purrs into the microphone with a giggle.

Hey, tell me what you want me to say
You know stupid for you
Hey, can you come and come out and play.
*You know I'm stupid for you.

I'm color coding my moods
You're yellow, I'm natural blue
Let's get together and be green like my insides

At least I'll match your eyes
Jealous and hypnotized
Let's match our faces and be equally in love.

Myles laughs and shakes his head. "Fuck no, I'm not gonna sing. Maybe if I have.. Four or five of these." He raises his glass up towards Ava, and her fluttering lashes. If they have an effect on him, there is no outward sign of it. He takes a long drag of his drink, dark eyes going over to Perdita who gets an up nod.

Jonathan continues drinking his beer and listening to the one singing now. There's a smile as he looks around at the others present, before he drains the rest of the beer.

Itzhak blushes, scowling at Ava, which is ruined by the fact that he's the color of a tomato. He launches himself off stage, almost stumbling but not quite. "Dita!" gets greeted. "How's by yas!"

The look she's giving him just gets responded to with a grin like an egg-sucking dog. Then Ava is singing and Itzhak whoops it up for her, as official whooper-upper. "Sing it, girl!"

Myles gets a nod from Joe, a lift of his glass. But for once, the booze isn't enough to set Commander Motormouth going. "Just timing," he says to Ava, and pauses as if he'd say more. But it's clear that it's not going to register, and he shakes his head again.

Javier's question has him looking that way. "Just good singing," he says, simply. "Not too much else."

"I mean...I might, you never know," Ariadne replies to Dita with a grin. She leans her back against the bar, knees crossed, and watches Ava depart for the stage. The coroner does earn herself a laugh at the shameless pun. A twitch of her booted foot back and forth in time to the beginning of the song itself.

Then? Ava's singing. A glance over at Myles. "Knowing Ava, she's going to see about those four or five, you watch out."

If Itzhak's the whooper-upper? The barista is back-up. "YEAH, SING IT MORE!"

"Gosh, you have so many skills. I sew too. I make cosplay costumes" Park grins. "Maybe we can make something together sometime? Awww, don't you want to make music with me?" Cue pout before a shrug and the grin is back. "It's cool. No need to sing. Ooh! Margarita! Yummy!!" She gets right onto that drink before looking towards Ava singing her heart out. "Gosh, isn't she so pretty. Everyone is pretty in this town." A grin to Sworn. "That's why you'll fit in here." Though there is concern when coffee is asked for. "Aww, do you have to go? Boo!! Did I give you my card? You should totally call me. And come and get your teeth checked."

The remainder of his tequila's downed in a single toss, and de la Vega's already knocking his knuckles on the bar for more. Of Joe, he enquires softly, "What's going on? You seem.." Quiet. He seems quiet, compared to usual. Commander Motormouth, indeed.

Ava's singing has him looking up and over, though, his expression an appraising one. Apparently the girl can sing. If he manages to catch Dita's eye as she passes him by, he'll give her a wink.

Sworn leans against the bar, an elbow on it, brushing a hand over the thigh of her white slacks. She looks to Mee and gives her another of those little smiles. "Why thank you, Mee, is it? Georgi Sworn. Forgive me, I was distracted by dentistry. I'll sober up a minute before I go." She sighs at her phone. "Duty calls. The job's not going to get any more dead, but my clients don't like to wait, as a rule. Yes, give me your card," she agrees, holding out a hand, palm up. "Do you sew all styles?" When her coffee arrives, she dumps half a glass of ice into it and then takes a couple of sips, impatient for the ice to melt.

Beer finished, Jonathan quietly slips out of the bar now, smiling a bit to himself as he does.

Normally, Ava would be a lot more composed on stage and in general, likely. Knowing that she was going to sing, however, meant that she was prepared enough in that liquid courage to get up there and sing her heart out. The whoops and hollers only encourage more of it. One of the familiar voicing whooping it up means her attention is drawn in that direction as the lyrics belt out. For the first three lines before they're quick to dart out over the crowd again because there may not be enough liquor in the world to make her that bold.

You're playin' ring round my head,
I'll wear you like a halo.
You're a symphony, I'm just a sour note.

I'll take what I can get.
The best is hard to grip when everybody wants you.
And everybody wants you

Hey, tell me that you want me to stay
You know I'm stupid for you!
Hey, can you come and come out and play
You know I'm stupid for you!

The song finishes until it's end and she takes a breath, and a bow and scampers off the stage.

Itzhak gets a roll of Dita's eyes, but she's smiling as she mouths the word 'Slut.' at him... and gives him a thumbs up. It's not like she can talk much, her ex is still in her apartment, rent free. As Ava begins singing, Dita puts her fingers to her lips and gives a celebratory wolf whistle to further hype her up. It seems to be the thing to do, after all. She returns to her group of compatriots, and Javier's wink gets a slight shake of her head and another roll of her eyes... but she's still smiling. Whatever makes them happy... or rocks their socks off, as the case may be. She leans toward him, saying, "At least I haven't seen any sombreros, yet."

Even Itzhak isn't drunk and stupid enough to miss that, and he turns red again, blinking. Then gives Ava an obnoxiously loud whistle, applauding. "Nice, right? Hella nice! Great job, she's a doctor, an electrician, AND a singer.

"Okay, next, and last, we got Mainio, hey bro I hope I'm saying that right. Come on up and sing us Eye of the fuckin' TIGER!"

Oh boy, he's drunk. Itzhak swaggers off stage like a disaster looking for a place to happen.

"Just listenin'," Joe says, mildly, offering that curling little smile to Javier. He's only had about half his drink - one of those nights where he's decided to nurse it to the bitter end, rather than get tanked enough to get up on stage and massacre some poor song.

With a quick stride that practically screams 'now or never, face the terror'. Mainio takes the stage. He raises his right hand over his head in a wave and grins weakly to the audience. Once he realizes he still has a beer in his left hand he quickly downs it and sets the bottle off to the side.

"Ha-Low." Mainio manages in an awkwardly nervous tone that throws his accent front and center. 'R's are rolled, vowels and consonant combinations do things to each other that are likely illegal. "I uh, do not know any fighting songs that would be here in." Mainio grins bashfully and looks first left than right and motions towards the Karaoke device.

"But I do know one song that was in fight movie of fighting." The Finn grins as sweat starts to damp his forehead, and a rather familiar beat begins complete with cymbals and techno drums. As the guitar and the pedal base kick in the older man is already bobbing his head.

"Rrri-sink up, back on de street. Toouk mai time toouk mai chances."
"Vent the distance noaw buack on mai feet. Juu-ost a man ja hist vill tu surr-viv-eh."
"So many times, it happens tuu faust. You change yourrr pass-scion for da glorrr-eh"
"Don't lose your gree-ipe on de dreams oft da past. You must fight jus-too keep dem all-eve. It is de Eye tuft de Tai-gore, de thrrr-ell of da fight!"

It takes a few moments for the awkward aural assault to finally end. Until with another over the head wave the older man makes his way off the stage and towards the deepest darkest depths of the building in pure embarrassment.

Myles is clapping heartily for Ava when she's done. He's on his second drink now, his brows slowly rise higher, higher, higher when he looks over to Mainio starting to sing.

Park produces a card from somewhere in her jumpsuit to place carefully on Sworn's palm. "Nice to meet you, Sworn. I hope your clients won't mind you being a little late. Oh, I can sew all kinds of things." Another sip of her margarita before looking concerned at the iced coffee. "Are you okay to get back to work? I can drive you if you want? Wouldn't want you to get in an accident. Accidents around here can be...dangerous."

Another singer! Park cheers on Mainio as he hits the stage and it doesn't even hit back. "Oh my gosh! He's so good. Everyone is so good! I'm not sure if the band I am in still exists but maybe there's the talent for another one here tonight?"

Ava gets a big whoop and holler for completing her song. Ding, level up. The doctor is also offered a high-five for her efforts. "Well done!" -- and watched to make sure no disaster comes of sitting down on a stool. Sometimes, those stools move. Sneaky things.

But then, there's Eye of the Tiger sung as she's never heard it before. "WHOOOO!" After all, she's one beer in. Cheer squad? Present. "Epic," she comments to the others as a whole, grinning.

Setting the empty bottle on the bar, she bids of Dita with faux-solemnity: "Guard my stool with your life." Because she needs to powder her nose, as it were. Off the barista sashays briefly to do just this.

Sworn stares at Mainio as she tries her level best to drink at least half of the coffee without scalding her throat. She pauses only long enough to say, "That was a thing." She tips to her feet and slurps another big glug of coffee. "I'm glad I stayed long enough to hear it." There's a smile again before she brushes a hand across her hip, standing just long enough to see that her stance is steady. She takes Park's card, reads it, then tucks it into her pocket. "Thank you, Mee." She doesn't answer about her sobriety until she's perched on tall heels for several moments without listing to one side or the other.

"Don't trouble yourself. Stay, enjoy the night. If I can't drive, I have no business calling myself a functioning alcoholic." With that quip made, the brunette smiles to Mee, then strides for the door on spotless white stilettos. A cup of coffee that big and an outfit all in white—who can say how long it'll last.

That was not your standard rendition of 'Eye of the Tiger' and Itzhak looked poleaxed for half a second, before giving Mainio the mystery man a yell of approval. "I dunno who that guy is, but I like him!" he announces to anybody who will listen.

Is he going to sing? He gets back up on stage, again, and checks his pocket, only to find he's out of names. "Okay, uh, that was it! Happy Cinco de Mayo, motherfuckers!" Maybe not.

Ava gets more cheering from Dita, too. She's got that piercing whistle thing down. Ow.

The empty bar stool is, indeed, guarded... with Dita's butt. What? Jimmy Choos are for looking cute, not standing for long periods when there's a free stool... and then Mainio is taking the stage, and Perdita's sort of tilting her head at him like she's seeing a puppy dog... "He's adorable. I want one." is whispered to no one in particular, as Dita sips her drink, which still hasn't left her sight or her hand.

When Mainio's rendition ends, Dita finds herself cheering again, with a wide smile, finally setting the drink down to applaud.

He's not going to press the issue, clearly. Not here, anyway. Javier simply grunts in response, eyes on Joe and then eyes on the stage as Ava finishes up. He gives her a round of applause, and leans over to listen as Perdita says something to him. Grimaces slightly. "Los señalas, les patearé el culo."

And then some other guy is getting up to sing.. what the hell is that? Eye of the Tiger? Is this 80s night, or what? He laughs, but gives the guy a wolf whistle of encouragement, and applauds again when he's finished.

High fives! Ava will take it. She returns Ariadne's high five with a laugh and very flushed cheeks. "Thanks. The alcohol really helps, to be honest. I would not have done that well sober. Or at all." There's a laugh and a turn, just in time to focus on Mainio and his rendition of Eye of the Tiger. She whistles and lets out loud applause when he finishes. "Go gym dude!" she yells towards him, having forgotten his name from the other day, and from when it was just read a few moments ago. She's drunk, shut up.

Making his way to the bar, Mainio offers a few awkward smiles and nods to those about. Then a last over the head wave of embarassed terror. He quickly arrives and motions to the bar tender. "I did the song." He states simply. "I need beer because I do the song in front of the people." As the beer is produced, it is quickly sucked down. "I did the song and I need to pee. But eh not in front of the peoples." With that Mainio vanishes into the bathrooms. Quietly muttering to himself. "/I did the song/."

"Pensé que eras un amante, no un guerrero." Dita picks back up her drink, taking another sip... but then Mainio is being adorable again. Perdita shakes her head slightly and grins, "I love this town, some days."

Park offers a cheerful farewell wave to Sworn before heading back to others gathered around the bar. "Hello again, everyone! Gosh, I thought I was in there but it wasn't to be. Everyone having a good time? Who was the guy who sang Eye of the Tiger? He was so good. And I think it was brilliant he decided to sing it like Ivan Drago. But wasn't that a different Rocky movie?"

Mainio's performance has Joe snickering helplessly into his drink. A drink that's vanishing with far more rapidity than before. Maybe he has decided to get drunk in earnest, for the evening. He's certainly got the beginnings of that betraying flush, as he props an elbow on the bar.

Javier blows a little breath out, pffff, at the accusation from Dita. "Si te dijera eso, estaría borracho o solo," he retorts in a low, amused rumble, downing some more of his tequila. A glance to Joe, then back to Perdita with a chuckle "No soy un amante."

Ava snorts into the new drink that she just ordered. "I think the men's bathroom would probably say otherwise."

At least part of Park's observation is heard: "Haven't seen any of the Rocky movies."

And on that bombshell, Ariadne returns from the lady's room. "And you took my seat, Dita! You were supposed to guard it! I am betrayed! Nah, stay there, I'm good, I'll lean against the bar," she then amends with a bright grin. A wave-down of the bartender and a second Dragon's Milk, please, to be drunk very slowly now. Very slowly.

"Where's Mainio? Meant to tell him he did great." A glance around the room.

Leaning against the bar, Myles is now on his third-- fourth? Drink? He's found a stool at the bar and is just leaning against the counter as he slurps down his glass. Totally content to just continue drinking quietly.

There's a surprised little gasp of laughter from Perdita as Ava speaks up, "¡Olvidé cuántas chicas blancas hablan español aquí!" she reaches over to high five the other woman, grinning at Javier, in turn. "Are you sure you're not a drag queen?" she asks Ava, "That was some well timed bilingual shade."

"Mainio? He went to the men's room, I think. Said something about not wanting to pee in public, which is... generally good form." Dita hops up out of the stool, landing easily on those heels of hers. "Just keeping it warm, don't worry." she pats the seat, grinning. "All yours."

Park finishes off her margarita with a satisfied slurp before it is time for her to hit the dancefloor. "Time to dance!" she yells as confirmation before disappearing. Is there actually music to dance to? Doesn't matter. She will find something.

"Not sure which way he went," Joe says to Ariadne. "But he was certainly a great finale, huh?" A glance down takes in that his drink's almost gone, and he's lifting an inked hand to summon the bartender for another. Otherwise, fairly content to be dreamily oblivious next to Ruiz, as the conversation flows past him.

"Aw, thank you." Inclined to sit after her first beer, Ariadne does return to her bar stool, though not without a friendly little squeeze of Dita's elbow first. "And I'll tell him the next time I see him." -- tell Mainio about his performance and how well-received it was, she means.

Then Park is disappearing at a rapidly effervescent pace and the barista blinks before she laughs. "I like her enthusiasm," she muses before sipping her beer again.

"He was a great finale for the main group though," she replies to Joseph, glancing over at him with an easy grin. "He's got a big pair. That's a hard song to sing, in reality, and he just went up there like he meant business. Bam. No fucks given. Brilliant." Beer is sipped. Supposed to be sipped slowly.

"You know what?" Javier's just tipsy enough to pivot toward Ava, glass of tequila in hand, looking like he's about to take a big ol' bite out of her. "I didn't fucking ask for your opinion, y chinga tu madre, pendejo." There's no real heat to his words. If he was actually pissed, he'd probably not be grousing about it. Most here know de la Vega well enough to know he only spars with people he tolerates.

To Joe, "I think I need a fucking smoke," as he tosses back the last of his drink and starts to pat himself down for said cigarettes.

Myles doesn't know. Myles doesn't know Javier.

The words prompt the very large man to shift at the bar, turning to face Ruiz more fully. His large shoulders squaring up, he doesn't say anything, or approach. Just looks down at Ruiz with a tight lip while he takes another slllurrp. From this current glass of dark liquid.

Ava may totally end up in the back of Ruiz's car in that cage if she keeps it up, but it doesn't stop that cheeky grin from curving her lips. Dita's high five is returned with a giggle. "Unless I have been moonlighting in my Dreams without any knowledge of it, I'm going to have to go with no." Sparkling eyes dance towards Ruiz though her words are directed towards Perdita. "I just can't help it when he leaves himself open like that."

There's no flinch as Ruiz pivots towards her, Ava just leaning in to kiss the tip of his nose. "So feisty. You needed much longer in the bathroom if you still have this much energy though. Also, my mom died two years ago. So that'd make it a little tough." She reaches for his front pocket and taps on the cigarette box helpfully.

There might be more playful words but she can feel that protective aura that is Myles shifting behind her. Because he doesn't know, and she knows he doesn't know. She leans her weight back against Myles in a relaxed position. "So Myles, what drink number are you on so far? Karaoke might be over, but I'm still gonna get you to sing for me." See? Everything is fine.

Myles's shift has Joe raising his eyes to look at the larger man. Still quiet, but the quality of that stillness has changed. He doesn't have to bristle or bluster, merely waits patiently to see which way this little interaction ends up leaning. "Sounds like a good idea," he tells Ruiz, quietly.

Then Ariadne gets that lopsided grin again. "Right? That's how you do karaoke. No self-consciousness and plenty of guts."

"She's very energetic." Dita tells Ariadne, smiling, with just the slightest shake of her head. "I pity anyone who tries to tell her she's not supposed to dance right now."

And then Javier is cussing out Ava (albeit playfully... for him...) and Myles is disapproving. "Listen, the karaoke machine is still up there, ripe for the taking. Just because the MC's ducked out doesn't mean the party has to stop." She flashes her most disarming smile at everyone. Nobody needs to get physical... though with alcohol, who knows.

"Myles, have you met Javier? Chief Javier Ruiz de la Vega, this is Myles Webber. He's a... bail bondsman?" the last is a slight question, like her memory isn't quite sure on that detail.

He may not know the guy from a hole in the wall, but the look of someone getting all bristly and protective? Well, Javier sure recognises that look. The big guy gets a once-over, and after he's dug out his pack of cigarettes -- with a smirk thrown Ava's way for the help -- he pushes to his full height. His very unimpressive height of not-quite-six-feet.

"Hola," he mumbles in greeting, sticking out a heavily tattooed hand to Myles. The cop's not bodybuilder huge, but he clearly takes his physical training seriously. Like a compact pitbull.

"No kidding." Another glance over at Dita. "Whomever thinks they're going to stop her is just going to get bowled over."

The barista's eyes travel beyond Dita to Joseph in turn and she shoots him a grin as well as a nod. "Gotta shine while you're up there, spotlight's on you anyways." Ariadne seems about to add more, but that's her phone going off in her purse. "N'aw, really?" grumbles the redhead as she fishes out her phone. A sharp 'ugh'. "Sister. Gotta take this. Here, Dita, you can have my seat, I can't hear in here anyways. Excuse me."

With that, she departs from the bar while the phone is at her ear. "Look -- girl, slow down, I can't hear y -- yeah, I'm in a bar, where are -- no, I'm not -- " Good luck getting a word in edge-wise, apparently.

Sisters.

Ava's reaction has Myles looking down at her somewhat confused. His brows slowly knitting. He looks down at Ava with light confusion. His brows screwed up as he reaches over to pick up his glass. Ava leans into him and his free hand comes up to settle on her waist briefly. "This is my second." He very clearly lies with a lazy smile.

Myles slowly looks over to Perdita, his brow arching. Chief. "Chief." He repeats flatly. "Chief of police?" Myles slowly looks back down to Javier, looking even more confused. There's a slow blink as he looks over Javier, as if trying to understand him. Myles looks down to the hand offered to him. Hesitant at first. "Myles Webber." He reaches up and takes Javier's hand. "Safe Harbor Bail Bonds. Nice to meet you." He grunts giving a single shake before he pulls his hand back.

With Ari heading off and her prime real estate stool vacated, Dita takes to it once more, setting her drink on the bar. The woman gets a finger wave, manicured nails painted with mini-Mexican flags as a small touch of her maternal heritage, at least. "Yep. In the flesh. Head Copper himself." she holds out both hands in a sort of 'tada' Vanna White pose, as if he's a new car someone just won.

"He's not bad. For a cop." there's a playful smirk at Javier with that.

Ava makes a slight wincing face as Perdita introduces Ruiz as Chief. That might not help matters. That face stays until the handshake is done and Myles doesn't do his cop' reaction. There's a nice relaxed expression that takes over after that, shoulders relaxing back against Myles fully now. "Two, huh? Sounds like a load of bullshit to me."

Her eyes flicker over to Perdita, watching her 'tada' with a giggle of amusement. "You're so damn cute. I know you know that, but you probably don't hear it enough. Oh! Oh! I have the best picture to show you." Speaking of the head copper.

Joe's apparently of the same mind when it comes to a smoke. He doesn't bother to introduce or excuse himself, though. Simply slips down from his seat and ambles for the door, fishing a rather squashed packet of Lucky Strikes from a pocket and tapping one out as he goes.

Javier tries to smile as introductions are made, but it comes out kind of forced. Like an old dog that tried to bare its teeth at someone, and got whapped on the nose with a rolled up newspaper for it. "Chief," he repeats, sliding Perdita a look, like, did you have to? "Of Police. Yeah." He shakes firmly, and releases the guy's hand before tapping out a smoke. "Nice to meet you, too. Think I've been by your place once or twice." He doesn't mention what for.

To Perdita, with a snort, "Sabes que soy tu favorito."

There's another quiet grunt. While Myles may glower or give cops shit, even he knows. You don't fuck with the chief. There's an amused smile down to Ava leaning against his broad frame, a little more relaxed now. "Mm.Well start countin' now, hm? You can tell me how many I'm on." He grunts when she says it sounds like bullshit. "And how were you plannin' on gettin' me to sing?" Perdita's small display gets a slightly amused smile and another grunt. Not bad for a cop. He gives a nod, glancing back to Ruiz. "With my old man?" He grunts, shaking his head. "He's dead. My partner and I took over. You probably know my ex-wife's father. Aldrich. Hank Aldrich. Yeah?"

The look gets a very pleased, perhaps slightly preening expression from the young woman, like she's glad to have ruffled his feathers just a bit. What? He reminds her of her favorite uncle on her mamá's side. Joe's departure gets a little finger wave, too.

There's a sharp exhale of laughter from Dita, and she rolls her eyes at Javier. "Si, mi favorito cerdo." her own Spanish is a bit rusty, with a strong American accent. She snatches up her drink, absently dipping a nail in it to stir, before she takes a drink, letting the two men chat, now.

"I have my ways, you know. I can be very cunning. Very crafty!" When Ava is sober, this may be true. But at the moment, that might not be the case. "But I figure if you get drunk enough, you'll forget that you don't want to not sing." Yes, clever plan indeed.

Hank Aldrich. The name earns a scowl from Ava. "Can't wait until that one's on my table." Which is a polite way of saying that he should go ahead and die.

Drifting away towards Dita, Ava tugs out her phone and unlocks it, scrolling for a second until she finds what she's looking for. Her phone is angled just towards the other woman so that she can see the screen.

"Ahhh, vete a la chingada," is accompanied by a helpful middle finger when Perdita calls him a pig. Then Javier's returning his attention to the bail bondsman. "Hank Aldrich? Shit, of course I do." He takes a lean against the bar, and toys with the cigarette between his fingers, watching the other man curiously. "He was a legend on the force. Retired not too long ago." The corners of his eyes crease up with crow's feet; not quite a smile, but not not a smile, either. "You don't like cops, do you. I don't blame you."

"Mm." Myles rumbles down to Ava. Until her plan is just waiting for him to get too drunk. "Not gonna work, Ava. I'm very good at being drunk and not doing what I don't wanna do." He flashes her a small smile, hand dropping as she pushes off to amble over to Perdita. Ruiz's comment on Hank's 'legendary' status has his lips thinning. "Yeah." He grunts. Another glass is served up. "I grew up a black guy in Gray Harbor and I dated a white cop's white daughter... Good cop, I'm sure. Shitty person." Beat. "Nah. Not very much." Shrug of one shoulder. "There's good people everywhere. There's idiots everywhere. In every job. I think that job attracts more of the latter is all."

"... O Bari Devláika." Dita gasps, at the picture Ava showed her, her eyebrows raising beneath that thick fringe of hers. "You got him to..." one slim hand rises to cover her mouth to keep the laughter from spilling out. "You're a mad woman." she whispers to Ava, then turns to Javier. When he flips her the bird, she snorts a laugh. "You wish." She shifts, just slightly, smirking at him now.

"I like the other mustache better." she mutters to Ava... but then she's giving another of those sympathetic looks to Myles.

"A good cop doesn't do what he did to you. He abused his authority to mentally torture a kid. Dating his kid or no if I ever see him I'm gonna sock him right in the face. Or set his pants on fire. Or something." Huff! There's that defiant puff that Ava gets when she's talking about defending someone that she cares about. It's not at all frightening, likely.

Perdita is distracting her with laughter, and her expression easily shifts back to a grin. "Yes! I am mad. Very cunning. Very crafty. Mmhmm." There's a lot of bobbing of the brunette's head, proud as a peacock.

A glance is sent in the direction of the two women conspiring over the ridiculous picture of -- no doubt -- de la Vega in a giant handlebar mustache. The cop watches Perdita a beat when she smirks at him like that, then turns back to Myles. "Well. I said he was a legend. Didn't say shit about him being a good guy. Plenty of racist fucks on the force. You know how many death threats I get in an average month?" Mexican Chief of Police, shithole little whitebread town, build the wall, you get the picture. "I'm sorry," he adds, sincerely. "You ever have any trouble with one of my people, you let me know, yeah?"

There's a flicker of a glance over to Ava with a small tick of his lips up. "Yeah? You gonna protect me, Ava?" He lets out an amused laugh before downing the rest of his current glass. He glances over to Ruiz. "Heard." He offers his hand out to Ruiz to shake his hand once more. "Nice to meet you brother. Stay safe." He rumbles, looking like he's planning on ambling out, himself.

"I'll help." Perdita mutters, not particularly quietly. "I'll hold him down, you hit him," to Ava. She doesn't look like she could hold down a raging house cat, let alone a grown man, especially a former cop... but she seems pretty certain...

And then, much like Ariadne before her, her own phone is going off, a slightly waivery woman's voice singing, softly, 'Suki romnyi gogyaver.' She sighs, draining her drink. "Annnnd that would be my cousin. I've got to take this, sorry."

"Alo?" the phone, with its rose gold case, is brought to Dita's ear as she drops a 10$ on the bar for the bartender, motioning for him to keep the change, as she heads toward the door. "Dhvani? Kalmisáwo!" And then she's out the door into the night, herself.

Ava nods towards Perdita with a nod. "It's a plan." There doesn't seem to be any question in Ava's mind as to whether or not the two of them could pull it off. They could, she knows this. The look Myles gives her is met with a knowing shrug. "I will. You can count on it. You can wipe that look off your face, too, young man or I'm going to get a step ladder and remove it for you." It's offered with a laugh.

"Don't think that running now gets you out of a song. I'll be getting it out of you one way or another. Ask the Chief. I'm wily." Ava pockets her phone into those skinny jeans and gives Ruiz a little nose wiggle.

"Bye Dita!"

"Yeah get a ladder and come up here and see what you can do for me." Myles rumbles with a grin in a low tone. He's pushing up from the bar, giving Ruiz a parting nod as he lumbers over to Ava. As flirty or suggestive as his words or tone may be, the hug he gives her is neither. A brief one armed squeeze before he's all but stumbling his way out of the bar to pad home, probably to a Nicasia just super excited to see him in such a state.

The handshake's accepted, brisk and firm once more, though not overly so. "See you around," Javier murmurs, then backs off, lifts two fingers in farewell to Ava, and prowls away to see about that cigarette and that Georgian who's skulking about out front.