Public Sing Me A Song (performances/karaoke night, open to anyone who can justify being on Coruscant)

[BB-4001A]

The Nautolan hopped off the stage.

He'd been impressed with Iris Arani 's vocal range, but then... she was his master. Musical talent was sort of to be expected. Or, at least, a high tolerance for music. But whatever. It had been fine.

Plus, what's sung is sung. Let's be future oriented!

Next up was the one, the only, and the amazing Caltin Vanagor

Not going to lie, Zak was singing along in the audience, even as the youngling bopped along through the assemblage as he looked for that Jedi he hadn't known that had performed before him.

When the young Nautolan found him, Arlo Renard was sitting at the bar. A bar that was missing its Jasper Kai'el , because the bartender seemed to be working the room.

Which, hopefully, he was coming back. Because Zak wanted to order...

...something...

Did he want a carbon freeze? A hyperdrive?

Maybe he'd let The Dread Pirate Cyborg-Arm pick.

Also, where was Jalen? Why wasn't he vibing with this? There was a serious lack of the P-Team in this club.

Bounding up into an empty stool next to the unfamiliar Jedi-turned-musical-artist, the Nautolan launched right into Maximum Zakitude. Which was not to be confused with maximum effort, by any stretch of the imagination. "Hi! You... you're... you're, like, song was amazing! Are you a Jedi?"

It was then the boy looked around, obviously thinking aloud as he realized, "Wait, is everyone in the club a Jedi?"

That seemed to be the case.

Turning his attention back to Kai, the Nautolan asked the hard questions.

"Anyway, I'm Zak! What's your name?"

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Inanna…"

"Amani..."

"Alicio told me you wanted to speak. I guess he was right."

"Yeah." Inanna hesitated before taking the now empty seat beside Amani. She didn't mind the Mirialan sending the bartender away; she hadn't planned on ordering any drinks anyway. The bitter taste of alcohol brought back too many bad memories. Besides, she couldn't even get drunk anymore, so what was the point?

But onward to the purpose of this meeting. "I, uh, planned to contact you eventually, but things got pretty busy on my end, and I just didn't have the time. Then I happened to be visiting an old friend, and noticed you were here, so... I figured I might as well take the chance while I had it."

She gestured toward an impeccably dressed woman with long blonde hair slicked back. This was Tahiri Levine, the actual owner of the Cobalt Club. At the moment, Tahiri had overheard the complaints of a younger woman ( Corazona von Ascania ) who appeared to be upset that they didn't have the expensive wine she wanted. "We'll be sure to order those in the future," Tahiri said patiently. "In the meantime, perhaps you'd like to try something from our menu? I remind you that all our drinks are on the house tonight."

Enough beating around the bush. "I'm sorry for causing a scene. I thought Alicio had... well, played me, and I think in the depths of my rage and hurt I thought I was maybe even doing you a favor. But all I really did was embarrass you with my misjudgment. I apologize for that."

The spectacular performance of Caltin Vanagor briefly distracted her, before she turned back to Amani. "You know, if people are apologizing to you, that probably means you're a good person," she remarked.

Amani Serys​

 

[Kara Jade]

It surprised Kara when it seemed the stars had aligned and provided her an opportunity to enjoy a night out for herself. She had always been doing something after Ilum, be it recuperating, dealing with the pregnancy or the quandary that had been finding herself a new Master. Not to mention the in between times where she had tried to track down Cass’ father, to no avail.

For tonight however, her son was being babysat leaving Kara a whole night to do whatever she liked. Which that in of itself was a daunting thought, it had been far too long since she could even entertain the idea of doing something for herself.

But then she heard of a special event being hosted at the Cobalt Club, hosted by Starlin Rand . Someone she had only ever heard about until tonight. The fact they were allowing anyone to take the stage and sing was an enticing thought for her.

It had been far too long since she indulged in that old interest.

Kara had slipped into the club a bit later than the others, and took a quiet spot off to the side. She was surprised to see Arlo Renard , and couldn’t help but glance over to where Iris Arani was seated at the bar.

Would explain the sudden alcohol intake.

It was a surprise to see Iris of all people doing her damndest to seemingly get drunk. But Kara supposed she had been away from everyone long enough to not be up to date on things.

Then all of a sudden, the chaotic ball of energy that was Zak Dymo was tugging at Iris’ sleeve indicating it was their turn next. Kara wouldn’t deny she was very curious to see what the young Nautolan had in store.

He certainly didn’t disappoint with his song choice, although it was a pleasant surprise to see Iris singing. But it more importantly made her smile to see the young woman had the time of her life.

Kara sipped on her drink, gaze wandering around the club as she noted more familiar faces. Then Caltin Vanagor arrived with who she assumed was his wife. It had taken an amusingly short time before a chant started going to ‘encourage’ the Jedi Master to take the stage. Ultimately though, it was his wife that got him to his feet and heading up. The interaction was incredibly sweet and heartwarming, though it also reminded Kara of what she was missing.

It was entertaining to see someone usually so stoic and serious letting loose a little. Tonight seemed to be a night for folks to step out of their comfort zone. Speaking of…part way through Caltin’s song, Kara made her decision, standing up from her seat and heading towards the sign up point.

While she was waiting, she caught sight of Valery Noble quietly slipping into the club. Although it was clear the woman was trying to keep something of a low profile, so Kara simply gave her a subtle nod and smile.

She stood watching as Thelma Goth 's name was called and she took to the stage. As well as another familiar face, Silas Westgard ? Wait, what was going on between those two…

And then she saw the rate Thelma’s face was turning red at the idea of singing a love song.

 

[Iris Arani]

Tonight was going to be a good night. The colors were all bright. People were talking. Even Kai was talking to people without any issues. Hell, Zak didn't have any problems. Then again he pribably didn't know anything. She watched him run off before glancing around the crowd.

Saw Caltin. You bet she was chanting to get him up there singing. That was good. Wasn't going to be the only one, if she could help it.

She plopped right down, clearly a bit buzzed. Smiling off all the good vibes. "What'r you doin' here big guy? Like seein' me sing?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Cobalt Club
Tags: Starlin Rand , Corazona von Ascania , Amani Serys

"Rum and Coke, if you've got it."

"You got it," Jasper nodded.

That was easy enough at least. Amani's face seemed to indicate that they needed some time, which was fine. He didn't want to interrupt whatever it was that they were talking about. It seemed important. A flood of requests came in to their system next, all... luxury wine? Someone was clearly not aware of the establishment they were in. As he looked for this specific patron, a familiar face caught his eyes: Corin Trenor . That was a shock. Corin had seemingly up and vanished without a trace. Jasper had actually been kinda worried for the guy. They never really knew each other, but Corin had sort of been the de facto leader of their generation, or at least their group anyways. He was an intense guy, sure, but Jasper held respect for him. It was enough respect to leave him be, as Corin was clearly trying to keep his presence on the down low. That and it seemed Iris was going over to bother him anyways.

He paused for a moment to see Thelma Goth and Silas Westgard take the stage. They had been together at the charity event hosted by the Hapans, so this was really the nail in the coffin for any suspicions anyone may have had. Jasper found it all to be rather amusing, especially when Thelma became flustered upon the request of a love song. Still, he was happy for his friend. They'd have to talk later.

Jasper finally found the patron in question... Corazona von Ascania. That wasn't much of a shock. Nobles always tended to stick out, which he always found somewhat entertaining.

"So you're the one who keeps asking for luxury products," Jasper remarked with a grin as he approached her. "A place like this doesn't typically carry drink like that. Besides, they're poor additions to cocktails."

Jasper quickly mixed something up, a fruity beverage with a mead base, berry syrup, Sunfruit juice, and two drops of Thermal Detonator to give the drink a hint of smokiness. The knight put an umbrella into the now purplish gold concoction and handed it to her.

"Why don't you give that a try," he suggested.

 

[Corin Trenor]

It was a week off Denon, a few hours off the task. He first wished to state as much, to inform Iris of it, but that would be cause for concern - even off the mission, there was then another one. Too much of that Kaze influence, Corin understood, and opted to smile faintly out of one side of his mouth instead. Just another hint of that influence.

"Heard you and some of your friends were here," too distant to be his own friends, the recognition of such never crossed his face though. "Just off-world for a little bit. Figured I could stop by."

Iris Arani

 

[Arlo Renard]

Chugging his ice water down in less than a minute, Kai sensed the little Nautolan kid approaching and turned his head.

"Hi! You... you're... you're, like, song was amazing! Are you a Jedi?"

"Yes." Kai's answer was automatic. But then his face fell. "...Er, I was. But not anymore. It's complicated."

The kid's assessment was more or less correct. Most of the people invited were friends and colleagues of Starlin, so naturally most of them were Jedi. "Yeah, I guess..." Kai surveyed the room; more people had arrived after his performance, among them Master Valery Noble . Kai ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with her.

Instead his gaze found Iris Arani again, engaged in tipsy conversation with Corin Trenor . Kai pursed his lips. Not that it mattered to him anymore whether the two of them were together, but... some part of him had been hoping that he could talk to her. The rest of him knew it was a really bad idea, and that he should just stay away from her for the rest of their lives. She probably didn't want to talk to him anyway. Even if she had said "you look good" to him only a few minutes ago...

"Anyway, I'm Zak! What's your name?"

"Kai." He held out a fist to be bumped. "Three letter name gang."

Zak Dymo​

 

[Iris Arani]

"Our friends."

Iris practically waggled a finger in his face to make her point. They were as much his friends as they were hers. Or so she'd make it if they weren't. Corin was here for once, so why not try to give him more reasons to come by again?

"I don't think I've ever heard of you takin' a break though. Is there someone here you're lookin' into? You need some help?"

Corin Trenor

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Sing
Tag: Thelma Goth

Song

Since turning 18 Silas hadn't had much time to let loose. Talk around the temple seemed to indicate there were quite a few people going to a club, a place which was perfect to forget all your worries for a few hours at least. Silas wasn't much of a drinker, but now he had reached that age he was willing to give it more of a try. After all, the club did promise a week's worth of free drinks if you got on stage in front of everyone and sang. To the padawan, it sounded like a sacrifice worth taking. And with that, he signed up for the duet section beforehand.

Walking into the club clad in smart clothing, he saw some familiar faces around the club. Finishing up on stage Caltin Vanagor was singing a few tunes quite fantastically, which was only shown when the crowd clapped loudly for his performance. Keeping a low profile was his Master Valery Noble who Silas wasn't expecting to see here. Either way, he'd make sure to say hello soon enough.

Silas walked up to the stage after Caltin had cleared away and climbed up confidently. Whoever it was, he was sure they were going to put on a show! yet, when his partner did appear that all seemed to be thrown out the window. Thelma, a girl who had kissed him and ran off not so long ago was only a step away from him. Silas's eyes widened in surprise, his face going bright red from the coincidence as a whole

"Oh... Um..." he said with a nervous shuffle, looking away from Thelma to see the crowd before them shouting out different songs, most of which were love songs. Gulping, he couldn't decide what to choose "I-I guess we let them choose it," the teen said before motioning to one of the stage crew to pick one at random "I'm sure it won't be that bad..."

Oh boy, was he wrong.

After a brief song, the slow and melodic song began to play. Sure enough, it was a love song and one that was putting them at risk of cringing to death. Anxiously, Silas began moving his body to the song and now and then looked to the lyric screen before them with the words to sing together.

"Love, love is strange
Lot of people take it for a game
Once you get it, you never wanna quit
After you've had it, you're in an awful fix
Many people don't understand
They think loving is money in the hand
Your sweet loving is better than a kiss
When you leave me, sweet kisses I miss"

In all regard Silas was a naturally alright singer, there was still work and the tone of awkwardness didn't really help either. Once the guitar solo had kicked in, he took a chance by lightly grasping Thelma's hand and moving along with the music face to face "I'm sorry, but it's better than standing there and doing nothing" he whispered with a small smile, awkward and cringing to the bone "What are you even doing here anyway?! I thought you weren't the type of person to sing" he whispered again, just before the second part of the song kicked in.

Afterward, he'd need more than a few drinks to wash this away
​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Jasper Kai'el Caltin Vanagor Desric Terassi

As she was handed a cocktail, Cora gave Jasper a quizzical look. This was certainly not the tea she'd ordered, but she was feeling adventurous.

Even if they did stock tea, it would likely be the type of prepackaged store-bought swill.

Taking a cautious sip, she pulled back in surprise. "Oh!" She exclaimed, not expecting the fruit juice to have such a kick. "This is…nice." She decided, and put her lips to the glass for a more generous gulp.

The performances continued to entertain, especially so with Master Vanagor's fun song choice. Cora found herself feeling lighter, laughing and cheering along with the rest of the crowd. The little ocular droid was playing some lovely music now, and Cora's eyes traced her departure to Desric's shoulder. Slipping out from her her seat, she made her way to the other end of the bar.

"Desric! I hadn’t expected to see you here." She greeted him with jovial energy, settling into an easy smile from her buzz. "I didn't know that you had such a musically talented friend as well." Her attention turned to Cadence, nodding in approval. "What do you call that song?"

 

[Thelma Goth]

The moment Thelma heard the first few notes, she froze in horror. Why, why, why did they have to pick THAT song?!

So mortified was she, she nearly missed the first line. To make matters worse, her singing was downright awful. Maybe it was the stress of the situation putting a strain on her voice, but she sounded like a loth-cat trapped in a duracrete mixer.

“Many people don't understand, they think loving is money in the ham—ha-hand…!” she sputtered. The correct lyrics were displayed on a screen near the stage, but she was so distracted she could barely focus on getting the words right.

As if fighting for her life through “Love Is Strange” wasn’t enough, during the guitar solo Silas reached over and took her hand. Her sweaty, clammy, limp hand.

"What are you even doing here anyway?! I thought you weren't the type of person to sing"

“I just wanted free booze!” she blurted. There was no time to say more. The spoken dialogue back-and-forth part was up next.

Silas better say “Sylvia”. If he changes it to my name to try and be cute, I think I’m gonna pass out…

Silas Westgard​

 

[Tenn Kalos]

For someone who preferred to sit on the sidelines and not speak unless spoken to, Tenn found an unexpected sense of solace in singing. The lyrics were prewritten, rehearsed, and didn’t even necessarily have to make sense. To him, it was easier to cut loose through music than it was to stumble through an unwanted conversation.

Even still, the idea of showing that off in front of a crowd was a big ask of him, but he went in with the mindset that worst case scenario, he could just book it and never see any of these people again. And if all went well, then playing music was an easy way to get paid. Sure getting out of his shell was nice and all, but money was the real incentive.

…Singers did get paid, right?

Too late to wonder about that now, when his time to hit the stage was next. The padawan had made a bit more of a conscious effort with his style for the night, running a hand through his auburn locks in one final checkup before taking his place in front of the crowd. Tenn cleared his throat, and with the band behind him, began to sing.

He got halfway through the second chorus when he suddenly spotted a familiar face. Corazona von Ascania ? Then more. More padawans. And masters too? SINCE WHEN DID JEDI GO TO CLUBS?

Tenn missed the memo. He figured he’d be playing for a crowd of strangers only. This was much worse. His face turned bright red, but considering that messing up now would only seal his fate, he kept singing. And as soon as he was done, Tenn immediately made a beeline off the stage, and tried to reach the exit before anyone he knew had a chance to stop him.

 

[Maran]

People were here. Singing. Drinking.

Ugh she didn't want to drink again. But Jasper Kai'el thought it'd be a good idea for her to come along. Hang out with some of the other kids, make some friends. She already had friends, didn't she? Not really. Corazona von Ascania was there. Drinking. She was old enough to drink? Of course she was. All the Jedi seemed to be these days. Ignoring the fact she'd already gone drinking before. With Lukan.

Not that she'd tell anyone. No way she'd tell anyone.

Just sit, suffer in silence. Wait till it was over, go home. That was her plan. Until she saw one of the singers.

Tenn Kalos just made it down the stairs to see an all too smug looking green face grinning wide up to him. The fact he actually looked decent singing up there aside, she was going to use this against him. Time for revenge on the cheater.

"So you sing now, huh?"

 

[Desric Terassi]

Starlin's heckling drew an annoyed <What a jerk!> from Cadence and a glare from Desric.

If left alone, the two might have opted to launch a denial-of-service attack on Starlin's home network or execute similarly petty vengeance. Perhaps it was for the best that an acquintance ended up interrupting that particular line of thought.

"Ah, Corazona." Smiling warmly, he leaned his hip against the bar. "It was actually Cadence here's idea. She wanted an audience with Jedi in it!" Was she a bit buzzed? That was unexpected, but perhaps it was a special occasion.

Making a happy chirp, Cadence's eyebot bobbed a bit closer to Cora.

"Glad you liked it! Did you notice the kyber-resonance?" The screen at the centre of her current form shifted to display a thoughtful face. "It doesn't have a name, yet - I made it up just now. I like to plan out the start and then see where it goes!"

Corazona von Ascania | Starlin Rand​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani crossed her arms, still a bit closed off physically. She never quite maintained eye contact, but she listened, grounding herself in a more receptive state of mind. This was what they both wanted, no? She just needed to hear the words.

"I'm sorry for causing a scene..."

Amani finally looked up at her, recalling the humiliating experience that had brought them to this point. It still hurt, but the apology, and admittedly the passage of time, had helped to ease the sting. The mirialan seemed to relax a bit more, turning around to lean forward against the counter. Inanna's final comment got a dry chuckle out of her, "I guess that's one way to interpret it…"

She looked up once more, "...Thank you. I appreciate the apology. I don't want us to be enemies, or whatever," Amani managed a soft smile, "And, if Alicio's already started to make peace with you, I guess I probably should as well," Another chuckle.

Then, Amani proffered a hand, "Friends?" She smirked, "Or acquaintances. I'm not picky."

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"And, if Alicio's already started to make peace with you, I guess I probably should as well."

"He had better have made peace by now," Inanna muttered, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't save him from a recent assassination attempt only for him to still hold a grudge."

But her apology had been accepted, and that was all she had really hoped for. She shook Amani's hand.

"Meh. I'll settle for you naming one of your kids after me." Snorting, she got the attention of the bartender. "A strawberry lemonade, please."

Amani Serys​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora blinked owlishly. "The kyber-res…renaissance? That's a good name for a song." She took another generous sip of her drink, finding that she'd already managed to drain half of the fruity cocktail. A satisfied gasp slipped past her lips, most unladylike.

"In any event, there appear to be plenty of Jedi in tonight's audience. It was a lovely performance." Cora's polite smile and practiced words made appearing sober somewhat easier.

To herself, at least.

She had to do a double-take at the next performer, face pulling into a surprised expression when she recognized the auburn haired young man with the lovely voice. By the end of his performance, Tenn had darted off stage and Cora's drink was gone.

"Excuse me, bar man! Yes, I would like another one of these, please." She held up her empty glass, shaking it gently in her grasp. If she'd been told the name of the drink, Cora had already forgotten. Even though Tenn was somewhere in the periphery, she'd figured he'd left the venue.

"It was quite tasty." She commented to Desric. Even the minuscule amount of alcohol she'd consumed sent a pleasantly warm buzz spreading from her stomach outward to her limbs. Cora felt…energized, in a strange way. She giggled. "Are you going to go up there, Desric? You should! It looks fun!"

The blonde gratefully received her next drink from the bartender with a courteous smile.

Desric Terassi Tenn Kalos Maran Jasper Kai'el

 

[Makko Vyres]

M A K K O​

This was not his scene. Not Coruscant, not the Jedi Order and certainly not karaoke.

The violent hacktavist turned - or being slowly moulded into - Jedi Padawan was used to dingy clubs owned by his former gang, the Fractal State. The lower levels of Coruscant likely would have remindes him of home. Darkness, dangerous streets and loud electronic music you could lose your senses to whilst on a spice high.

He would have left some time ago, but Makko had been nursing his fourth beer and didn't want to leave it. He had also noticed that not only were some of his fellow students in attendance, they were actually getting up on stage and singing.

Makko felt alienated enough as it was. He wouldn't miss out on the spiciest gossip - spiciest public gossip - amongst his peer group just because he felt a little bit out of place.

 

[Tenn Kalos]

The exit was in sight. He had nearly made it. Then, a certain green face cut him off.

"So you sing now, huh?"

Of course. Of course it would be Maran . Tenn skidded to a halt, panickingly glancing around to see if any others were coming in to flank him. A few of them, Corazona von Ascania , and Thelma Goth he now saw, seemed to be preoccupied. Was every girl in his class here to bear witness to his singing? The padawan turned back to Maran, deflating into an unamused expression, though unable to hide the redness still faintly burning on his cheeks. "When the mood strikes me…" He grumbled.

"What are you doing here, Maran?"

"What are any of you doing here, actually?"

 

[Jand Talo]

When the stage was clear, a lone figure dressed in casuals approached, an acoustic guitar in hand.

Jand wasn't overly fond of singing, despite the fact as a Nagai he had incredible vocal range, and could literally hypnotize (some) sentients with varying frequencies. Nonetheless, Jand walked over to the band and whispered a few words to them, before he approached the front of stage and looked out over the crowd in the establishment. Perhaps it had been someone who dared him, or interaction with another who introduced him to the instrument, or maybe he wanted to experience something new...

"Anyway, here's Wonderwall."

Jand began to play the guitar, the simple notes rehearsed in private, but now played convincingly:

♫ Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
And by now, you should've somehow realised what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now ♫​

From behind, the band began to join in, as Jand continued to sing:

♫ And backbeat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before, but you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now♫ ​

Maybe he was singing about somebody, maybe not, or perhaps it was a song that was simple enough to learn instrumentally:

♫ And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall ♫​

As the song continued, Jand used his voice to reach higher notes, to inflect emotion and convey feeling in those that might have listened. And all the while, his gray eyes stared at the back wall, behind the audience, as he thought about other things and places and individuals in his life.

* Song continues... *​

There was a vocal crescendo toward the end, as Jand hit the ranges easily, and then finished the song...

♫ I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me ♫​

The music faded, Jand stopped singing--

"Thank you."

--and without another word he stood up, walked from the stage and walked to a far corner to stow the guitar he had borrowed...

Open​