5193/Renaming Shenanigans

Renaming Shenanigans
Date of Scene:	15 February 2021
Location:	The Sing Sing Karaoke Bar
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Katsumi Oshiro, Nessa Donovan, Jennifer Walters

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Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Night has fallen over the city of New York, and those who seek entertainment are just starting to come alive. Indeed, even with supernatural threats and criminals lurking about, the denizens of the Big Apple won't be dissuaded from their vices!

Katsumi Oshiro hasn't been one of those in a while. She's minded herself rather well, by her typical standards, and kept out of trouble in America. Well, for the most part. Excuse one or two bar fights, arguably instigated by her. But with life taking the turns it has, and her not returning to what could charitably be considered 'home base' one night, one might be pardoned for suspecting things might be getting to her. Indeed, the realization (and visual glimpsing) of a /deity/ staring at her has left Katsumi with a painful inability to sleep at night. Every little flicker of a shadow, every creak, every bump has her jumping and jerking, with dawn's first lights finding her huddled in a ball near the pillows of her bed hugging her knees.

She feels like she's going crazy. This must be what Lovecraft was writing about. A human, seeing what humans ought not see. Beyond the veil of the material world and into the bloodstream of the ether, the mortar holding binding together the building blocks of reality. It's horrifying. It could induce nihilism in the most effervescent soul, the realization of one's own insignificance. But that's really the problem, isn't it? Insignificance isn't the issue. It's /not/ being insignificant. That eye, what once appeared as a glassy void until it revealed itself with a blink, lain affixed upon her. No one else. Her. Judging. Waiting. Expecting.

She's never felt less human.

And exactly none of that translates into the text she shoots off to Nessa and Jen. They're going out tonight! She hasn't given them any kind of choice! They were given an address and place to meet! Katsumi took a taxi ahead, and is now waiting outside on the sidewalk of Little Italy, dressed rather nicely! Well, for a punkette, at least! A slitted, provocative red dress, gold bracelet, chunky black boots and ever-present choker make up tonight's fashion. She lingers just enough at the doorway to keep warm!

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Going out doesn't tend to be much of Nessa's thing. Especially not places where there are actual /people/ at all hours of the night. The request for meeting up somewhere doesn't leave her with much room to really figure out what she's doing. Dressed in a pair of black leggings and a long forest green tunic-style, the outfit completed with a pair of brown ankle high boots, is just casual enough but also dressy enough for whatever the heck they'd planned on doing. Which she still wasn't sure of.

Stepping out of the taxi she'd taken on the way over, the blonde stops to raise an eyebrow at Katsumi's outfit. "Well, uh, okay. I wasn't expecting this to be a... fancy thing. Am I underdressed? You look really good." She shoves her hands, noticibly ungloved, into the pockets of the light coat she wears over the ensemble. "What are we doing?"

Jennifer Walters has posed:
A night on the town! How exciting! Jennifer hasn't had one of those in a while so she jumps at the opportunity to get all dressed up to go out. It's only about half way through her makeup that she realizes that she's supposed to be keeping a low profile. She doesn't want the cops to be called on her again, so, with a sigh, she twiddles the little dial on her unstable molecule uniform to transform herself into plain jane Jennifer Walters.

This form doesn't have nearly as many options for going out on the town. Before She-Hulk, it really wasn't something that she ever did. Afterwards, if she was going to go out she'd do it with *style* and go green. So now finding something that *isn't* frumpy business casual is going to be an issue.

Eventually she drives her (now way too big) Cadillac to the address listed in the text, and parks not too far away. She gets out, and is dressed simply. Tight jeans, heeled boots, blouse, and thick wool jacket. She spies the pair that she's meeting up with and walks towards them hand raised in greeting. "Hey guys!" the brunette calls out.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
As Nessa arrives, Katsumi's oddly-colored eyes light up. Whatever else, the ice-witch is an immediately uplifting presence, and despite Nessa's obvious trepidation about attire, she bounces to her and reaches to hook her arms around her shoulders in an affectionate hug. That hug might be a little telling, though. It's tight. Tighter than usual. Not crushing, but almost desperate somehow. "Show ya when Jen gets here," she murmurs into her ear, eyes happily shut. If she minded Nessa's clothing choice, she made zero comment about it.

Joined by a brunette, Katsumi leans back from the blonde to regard her curiously. It's a /stark/ difference in appearance to her. She's actually never seen her non-Hulked before.

"Wait.. Jen? Is that you?," she asks. An inquisitive glance is shot to Nessa, as if she might offer some explanation.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The hug is certainly telling enough that Nessa is concerned. She quickly hugs Katsumi back, squeezing tight in some sort of returned reassurance. "You okay?" She asks, her tone low, but she relaxes her arms so that if Kat wants to go hug her friend it's easy to escape and do so. She also takes a moment to squint a bit in Jen's direction.

"Uh, don't look at me..." She comments to Kat, giving the slightest hint of a shrug.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Yup," Jen says, with a helpless raise of the shoulders. "It's me. Plain old Jennifer Walters. I'm trying to keep a low profile while I'm out," she explains. "The last thing that we need is for somebody to panic and call the cops on us."

"So!" she says, clapping her hands together and rubbing them against the cold that she now so acutely feels, "What's the plan?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"Oh." Katsumi blinks at Jen. Then a smile; an odd smile, the non-predatory sort that isn't commonly found on her face. But there's a quality about it that's also distinctly unsettled, uncomfortable; it's worn, rather than felt. "I like it."

Magenta eyes return to Nessa, smile still present on her face. The mouth opens, but she doesn't respond to the question she'd presented. Instead, it closes again, and she pats her shoulder once before pulling away.

"This way! You'll see!"

There's no trickery here. Katsumi's determined to have a good evening, to take her mind off of feeling watched, feeling oppressed and terrified. So she's going to subject those closest to her to something familiar! And likely uncomfortable. Alright, maybe there was a /little/ trickery afoot. And as soon as they enter the doorway and descend into the shadowy depths, they'll all be assailed by an amateur rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", belted with more enthusiasm than talent.

"Karaoke!," she chirps over her shoulder.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
While hanging out and spending some time together itself isn't really trickery, when Nessa sees exactly what they're doing as she heads inside, she stops in her tracks. "/KAT/." She makes a face like she's eaten something sour. Pale skin might even be the /slightest/ bit paler. "Why didn't you tell me this is what we're doing so I could pretend to be sick or something?"

She's at least making it very well-known that she's not fond of this plan. At all.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Oh my God," breathes Jen, holding her head in her hands in embarrassment. "Karaoke." This might have been something Tall Green and Beautiful She-Hulk might have just jumped into, small mousy Jennifer Walters is getting ready to die. She looks over at Nessa's reaction and puts on a brave smile. "C'mon!" she says with confidence she doesn't feel. "This will be fun! You just have to..." she makes a whooshing jumping motion with her hand, "get over the initial embarrassment."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro realizes that her entourage has frozen behind her, and she pauses to turn. Thankfully, Jennifer seems to be putting on a brave face! "Yeah! It's just that startup shock! Everyone here sucks, no one cares! S'just about making a dork of yourself! Hell, most of the people in here are drunk anyway, they're not gonna remember!"

And then after a moment, she adds, "Please?" It's not a saccharine coo, but there's definitely something laced in her voice; a certain begging neediness that's just subtle enough to be missed by those not paying attention. But to Jennifer, who's been privy to recent happenings, and Nessa, who'd experienced that unusually tight hug - it may be more apparent.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa does not look happy. Especially not with Kat giving her that tone of voice. Her expression is frustration for a moment. "I don't sing in public," she states, but that tone seems to get her. She scrunches up her face for a moment and lets out a breath. "One song. I'll do one, you guys can do the rest. That's it." She's agreeing, but she's certainly doing her best to drag her feet. "And you /owe/ me for this."

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer picks up on the tone of that "Please," and snakes an arm around Katsumi, and pulls her into a one armed hug. "Of course," she says softly. "But I /am/ going to need to get a bit liquored up before I'm going to go sing." she admits.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro is tugged into a hug! She makes zero resistance there, just kind of bundled into Jen's side. She nods quickly to her, blueblack bangs abounce. "That's fine! I was planning on having just a little, too!" Then more towards Nessa, the nodding continues. "Just one! One's fine!" She'd settle for Nessa just lingering around, really. The idea was to be with people who've been supportive, points of positivity. People she trusts.

Ducking a bit, she tugs the closest individual - Jen - along, expecting Nessa to follow. "Let's find a table! Or booth! You guys have a preference?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The blonde is taking the opportunity to scope out whatever table or booth seems the most out of the way, and when she follows after Kat, Nessa answers quickly. "Booth. Easy to hide in. Don't have to deal with people as much." She's doing her best /not/ to fidget like she's uncomfortable... but she's certainly looking a lot more self-concious than normal. "Okay, right. Maybe the alcohol will help."

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Booth," answers Jen. "But really, either is fine." She nods in agreement with Nessa and manages to find an open booth for them to sit in. "Wow. I haven't been drinking... like really drinking in years. I mean, when I'm She-Hulk, I can /drink/ sure. But I don't get buzzed or tipsy or anything." She purses her lips and amends, "Unless it's dragon wine. Boy, that was a trip."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
And so, they pile into a booth! Katsumi is sure to let Nessa slide in first, and she then scooches in next to her. No risk of anyone accidentally bumping her who isn't, well, her! Plus, Nessa's just a comforting presence to have near. She always has been! "And if you guys want food, they probably do that here too. I think. Maybe." They don't.

A waitress saunters by, and Katsumi perks. "Oh! Uh, I'll do a sake bomb!" She looks to the other two expectantly.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I come from an Irish family where drinking's considered a family hobby," Nessa notes with a hint of amusement. She makes herself comfortable on the inside of the booth, clearly pleased with the positioning to be away from the general populace. "Irish whiskey, neat," she orders, then gives a glance to the other two. "I know that sounds stereotypical, but Irish whiskey is /much/ smoother. Better aroma when you don't have it on the rocks, either."

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer raises a hand and orders, "I'll take a Manhattan." She purses her lips and asks, "Do you do fries? I could do with a big bowl of French fries." She shakes her head. "My family wasn't much of a drinking family. Dad liked his beer after work, mom drank wine socially. I never really did much in the way of drinking when I was in college. Too much of a bookworm."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro gives Nessa a bemused look. "I just ordered a sake bomb," she reminds. "We're both being stereotypes."

The waitress politely notes that they aren't serving tonight. So maybe they do food! But not tonight. She does offer to bring peanuts, however! Those are complimentary! And she's then hurrying away!

"Okay! So who's going first!? Is it me? Am I doing it? Ah! I need to see what songs they have!"

And just that abruptly, Katsumi launches from the booth to rush at the songbook near the stage.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa seems little worried about the suggestion of food, but she watches as Kat darts off to find the songbook. She shrinks down into the booth a little and looks across over at Jen. "I hate doing this," she says, her tone low and conspiratorially. "But I think she needs it. Maybe I should buy a round of drinks for the rest of the bar so that everyone passes out and doesn't notice our singing."

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer can't help but look disappointed at the lack of fries, but nods at the complimentary peanuts. Peanuts are good. She hunkers across the booth to converse with Nessa in low tones. "She definitely needs it. She's having something of an existential crisis on the cosmic level. Did she tell you what happened the other day?"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro has located the book! It's a massively thick, black-bound tome filled with likely hundreds of song titles. But that's how a karaoke bar finds success! Nevermind how very different this setup is to the karaoke clubs Japan has in great supply. This is more communal! And that, to her, is fascinating and a fun concept. And she at least seems distracted from her thoughts as she pours over the selection.

It isn't long before the waitress returns to the booth. A complicated drink is set where Katsumi once occupied, a small cup hovering over a larger glass filled with an amber liquid. Irish whiskey, served chilled without ice to Nessa. And to Jennifer, a Manhattan - with an additional helping of peanuts on the side. She'll have to shell them, herself, however.

BZZZT. BZZZT.

Katsumi's phone is going off. It's been left facedown on the table.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
There's a bit of worry that crosses Nessa's features at the mention of 'the other day'. "No," she replies. "Given that I don't know what you mean, I imagine she hasn't yet. Is she okay?" It could explain that extra tight hug. Her lips press together in a thin line. "Do I have to beat someone up?"

There's a laugh. It's a joke, obviously.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer nods her thanks to the waitress, and takes a cautionary sip of her Manhattan. Finding it to her liking she nods her head and takes a deeper drink. She pulls the bowl of peanuts towards her and starts unshelling them. "I wonder what she's going to sing," she muses to herself.

"No, nothing like that," she responds to Nessa. "I had a friend... an Avenger... come to help her out. To see if we could get some questions answered about what's going on with her." She's silent for a moment as she cracks open a peanut to eat. "It turns out that a God has chosen her to be its... I don't know. Hand? Representative? Avatar? Something like that. It didn't seem to be an evil thing, but the enormity of it kind of frightened her. They went diving in the Astral Plane and she saw something that really spooked her."

Katsumi's phone catches her attention, but she doesn't reach for it. She's not that kind of nosy person and respects her friends privacy.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Couple of girlscouts!

Though the buzzing has stopped and the phone lay silent, they still have a moment to wrap up their thoughts about the situation, it seems! Katsumi seems to be smiling to herself as she finds a few things, perusing them patiently. But she winds up finding something with a nod to herself. The large book is shut, and she replaces it on its stool. Something is dialed in, and it's queued! She should be returning shortly!

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's eyes are a bit wide at the mention of something that sounds to her like /trauma/. "She's--she's okay though?" She glances in Katsumi's direction, but seeing her dial in the song she doesn't really get much of a chance to question further. Katsumi's phone isn't even noticed as now the blonde's just sort of watching the Japanese woman in concern.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer looks worriedly out of the booth at Katsumi. "Physically? Spiritually? Yes. I think she's fine. But I'm pretty sure that she had her entire worldview shaken to the core, and that takes its toll." She looks back to her peanuts as she shells another one. "I've dealt with cosmic beings before. It's a real head trip if you're not prepared."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro returns to the booth and eagerly zeroes in on the sake bomb, complicated-looking drink that it is. "'Sup, nerds!," she offers affectionately afterwards, complete with sideways tilt to nudge her shoulder against Nessa's. And then comes great concentration, carefully removing the supporting rods before letting the shot of sake plummet into the more rich, amber liquid below. It's a small, overpriced show! All for a girl who generally doesn't drink.

But tonight, Katsumi's making an exception. She lifts the glass to take a draw from its contents, at first cringing at the alcoholic sting, then seeming to ease into it. Afterwards, she glances between them, nonethewiser about their topic of conversation or her phone's previous buzzing. "I miss anything?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Glancing back over to Jen and then back to Katsumi, Nessa offers a smile, scooting to make sure Kat's got room to make herself comfortable in the booth again. "You missed us talking about how awesome you are. We didn't want it to go to your head, but now you know." She takes the glass of whiskey in her hand and takes a good strong swallow of it.

"So you find a song you wanted to do?"

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer's expression softens from worry into a grin at being called a nerd. Yup. That's definitely her, now. A huge nerd. She nudges Katsumi's phone towards her. "You got a call, too."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro tilts her head to rest her cheek on Nessa's shoulder in an unabashedly affectionate way. Sure, it might be a little awkward, but in the pit of Katsumi's stomach, she really just needs to leech some positivity where she can get it. Support is important. Feeling wanted is important. Wanted and normal.

Perhaps more to the heart of the matter, feeling /safe/.

And fortunately, she's with the two strongest people she knows. She doesn't care that Jen looks very normal right now. She knows who she is and what she can do. And she remembers what it was like to be taken care of when she didn't have that shoulder to nestle on.

Her phone?

She gives it a curious look without lifting her head. She collects it in hand, unlocks the screen, and- immediately, her head lifts. Her expression deadens. There's a long period of silence from her, with the only telling motion being a very hard swallow. She slowly lowers the phone again, the screen already blanked back out. She continues to stare at the black screen for a number of seconds, and she lifts her glass.

"Yeah. I found a song," she says, her voice even.

She begins drinking the contents of the glass in earnest.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's eyes go from Kat now to back across to Jen with some clear concern. For a brief moment, she seems torn as to what to do, then slips an arm over Katsumi's shoulders. "Everything okay?" She nods just slightly towards the phone. A moment later, she adds an easy exit if she doesn't want to talk about whatever it is. "Did you want me to do a duet with you or something?"

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer's eyebrows furrow in concern at Katsumi's reaction to the phone call. Nessa asks the question that's on her mind, so she doesn't push. She gives Nessa a grin, knowing the kind of sacrifice she's willing to make for the sake of her friend's well being.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Chug. Chug. Chug. Katsumi has to pause for air, hissing in the aftermath of the drink's smooth burn. And then she's right back to it for the final vestige, polishing off the contents.

The glass sets down on the table.

"Email," she replies, her throat a little burned. "Nothing we... didn't expect."

That's all the spoiler she gives to either of them. She isn't touching the phone at this point, though. It gets to stay right there in its baleful resting place on the table. She shoots a glance to Nessa, then Jen. "You two can. I already signed up. I'm gonna get something. Came here to drink right? Let's do that." The smile she adopts is thin, not quite reaching her eyes.

Scooting to extract herself from Nessa's arm, Katsumi gets up to manually head to the bar to make her order. No desire to wait for the waitress to swing by!

Nessa Donovan has posed:
The blonde once again looks over to Jen from across the table when Katsumi goes to get a refill. Nessa's definitely looking worried. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it was something about her being fired or something along the like," she frowns. She leans out of the booth a bit to peek in Katsumi's direction before she reaches for her own glass to down the whole rest of it. "I didn't know it was gonna be this kind of a night..."

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer shares a worried glance with Nessa, as she watches Katsumi down her drink in pretty much one go and then head for the bar to get another. She nods solemnly at Nessa's guess as to what the email contained. "Yeah. I think I'm going to keep my drinking to a minimum so I can drive her safely home."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
Katsumi Oshiro isn't gone long this time. She returns with practically a flounce, clearly taking that moment to reboot Positivity Module.exe. Upon reaching the booth, she pivots to slide hip-first into the seat, probably bumping into Nessa along the way. "Hey!"

Bright magenta eyes flit from Jennifer to Nessa, and a few times further between them. "What's going on? You two are okay, right?" She notices Nessa's drink has mysteriously depleted, and she notes, "Hey! Good timing! I've got some drinks coming!"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa doesn't answer the offered questions, instead offering Katsumi a sheepish smile. "You know, I think you're the only person who could ever talk me into /karaoke/ in public. You have no idea how hard that is to actually do. Superheroes have tried and failed, and I'm not making that up. It's true!"

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer drains her Manhattan, and nods at Katsumi. "Good. I just finished mine," she says with a grin. If Katsumi isn't going to let things get her down right now, then she isn't going to push it. "It's true. Superman was here right before you showed up trying to get her to go inside and she stood her ground."

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"S'my superpower. Getting pretty people to sing karaoke," Katsumi notes. And to their credit, she isn't pressing the question of their mood. She just wears that smile that doesn't quite carry the same shine as it should.

The waitress comes by with a tray, setting shot after shot of clear liquid down on the table. By the time she's finished and leaving, it's six in total. Did she know they were about to finish their drinks...?

"Vodka!," announces Katsumi, who wastes no time in lifting the nearest, stubby glass and shooting it. The recoil is instantaneous and possibly even painful to watch, Katsumi cringing hard with eyes squeezed shut. "Haahhhh!" The glass is plunked back down to the table at last.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Well thanks Kat, now you've made me feel /so/ special if you do it to every girl," Nessa notes, offering a half-smile. The vodka is noted and she cringes sympathetically, unsure if she's actually gonna go for a shot herself. "No big deal that I refuse to sing anywhere but the shower and I'm super self-concious about singing in public," she adds, though her tone is a little quieter with that one.

She grabs one of the vodka shots anyways and downs it with a wince.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer's eyes go wide as the six shot of vodka gets laid out before them. "Wow, Katsumi. You really want to suplex your liver tonight." She shakes her head and grabs a shot for herself and downs it with a small cough. "Woo!"

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"Yeah," Katsumi nods to Jennifer. "Sure. Why not, right? Why not just... drink 'til I can't remember shapes and colors anymore?" It's posed as a joke, but there's an underlying bitterness to her tone that can't be masked. Enough alcohol can be like a liquid lobotomy, right? Less facial destruction, but the same effect. She can maybe spend a little time outside of her own head, outside of the world, outside of that eye, or her contract's elimination-

Suddenly, Nessa registers. She looks to the blonde with a small frown, and she scoots in close to her. "Hey. I didn't mean it like that," she says, voice softening to a gentile level. It's a challenge, keeping the volume high enough to be heard over a stumbling Moby tune, but she's working on it!

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa looks a bit sheepish for having spoken up, so she clears her throat. "Yeah, hey, no worries. We're here to help you feel better from whatever you need to feel better from. Just let me know what I can do to help you, okay?" She rubs the back of her neck with one hand. "So what song did you pick out?" She asks, clearly trying to change the subject.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
Jennifer can't say that she's totally on board with Katsumi's plan on getting so obliterated she can't tell east from down, but honestly? She doesn't have any better advice. Especially after the blow that must have come from losing her contract. So she just leans forward to find out what it is that Katsumi has in store for them.

Katsumi Oshiro has posed:
"Be Nessa," Katsumi replies to the blonde as she loops her arms around Nessa's nearest bicep in an unabashedly needy cuddle.

While latching onto Nessa's arm, she looks back to Jen. "..Okay, no judging me. I just wanted to do something... y'know, upbeat. Happy. Something different."

"Aaaand next up, we have Katsumiiii~," calls the announcer.

With a squeak, the Japanese diva scoots back from the bench to stand. She takes one step towards the stage, only to pause and lift one shot of vodka, downing it. And then a second in rapid succession, ending in a bleary-eyed coughing fit. "G-gahh.." Her cheeks are thoroughly rouged at this point, and she turns to make her way onwards.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa offers Kat a quick reassuring squeeze to the arm as she slides out and heads towards the stage, and she takes a moment to look back towards Jen. "... she's going to be so drunk at this rate. I really hope she doesn't get sick everywhere. I do have to wonder what she's gonna do." She turns her attention in Katsumi's direction again. "I really wish I didn't have to sing at all," she mutters.

Jennifer Walters has posed:
"Yeah," agrees Jen. "She'll get one, maybe two songs out before she can't stand anymore." She gives Nessa a sympathetic look when she mentions singing and offers, "Want to do a duet with me? Will that help any?"