[Grappl] Karaoke Calm Down

[Dubski]

Deanna Duncan pursed her lips as she waited outside the karaoke bar, hands stuffed in her tan jacket pockets. She wore a top, short skirt, and boots, all black, as she prepared for what was going to be a blind date on the Grappl app. It was something that Deanna felt desperate enough now, not for lack of being able to find anyone to connect with, but to just get her mind off of what was bothering her. A fun time out would have to do the trick, and the platinum-haired girl seemed to have a rather optimistic view of it.

She got on rather well with her Grappl match, talking back and forth until it was suggested they go to a karaoke bar. Figuring that it was better to go there with someone else than alone, Duncan agreed, and now she was standing outside the medium-sized bar, two stories to accommodate a big space for partying up on the top. The music was loud and everyone was having a blast. And Deanna had a smile on her face.

At least, until Duncan took another look at the camera woman waiting close by, and she gave her a brief scowl, then stuck out her tongue. “You’re seriously just going to creep on us all night? Like… you can’t just screw off for a while?” asked Deanna, receiving a simple nod in response. The silver maned girl let out a sigh, rolling her eyes upward. “That’s weird. And you’re probably weird for it too,” said Duncan, letting out a low groan.

“...Okay, fine. You’re not weird for it, it’s probably your job. I’m in a weird space right now, alright!? So just back off. But not backed off enough that you don’t get the footage you need for this thing so I can get paaaaaid.” Deanna Duncan sang the last word, garnering a confused thumbs up from the camera woman. Then, Deanna would stand around, looking a bit antsy.

“...But you get why it’s weird though, right? You probably don’t want to be doing this. Like the other girls have had weird dates, I bet. And I don’t think this will be a weird date, because I can just bail on that as soon as it gets too weird, but I’m pretty normal… ish. As far as a wrestler goes, right? Because…” Deanna continued to speak, rambling on to the camera woman who had no choice but to just listen to it, and hope that Duncan’s date would arrive soon in order to put a swift end to the girl’s awkward chatting.

Spoiler

[Leira]

Elle Alresford didn't often do the online dating thing. Actually, that was an understatement. She had not once done the online dating thing. She had not had the most difficult time finding dates on the rare occasion she had free time in high school because, frankly, she knew she was no slouch in the looks department. Finding dates she actually wanted was another task, but Elle could find positives in just about anyone.

Those facts had all been true in a dinky-doink little town in California, though. Elle was the small fish in a big pond in Japan, and for all her thinking she could handle it, she was well aware that she neither knew anyone (save for her mother!) nor had the free time she needed to fraternize like a proper young twenty-something. If she could skip a few steps, use a website, and get at least a friend out of the deal by way of someone with whom she found some compatibility, she would take it. She only hoped she didn't make this one cry if she became too much for her. That, that had kind of been the most awkward thirty minutes she had ever lived in her life. She widened her eyes and tilted her head to herself. "Yeah, no thanks. Wanna be seen at LAW again."

Dressed well but not to the extremes in her breezy red maxi dress that showed some shoulder and cleavage, covered by a jacket at the moment, along with some white boots, Elle strolled up to the place she and her date would meet. They both liked singing and karaoke, so a karaoke bar served as the obvious choice. As she whirled around her corner, her near-ever-present giant braid bouncing against her back, she heard someone speaking hard at someone else nearby. Not aggressively, but rapid-fire, like she had to explain the secrets of the universe. Elle crossed one last obstacle, wide-eyed, to find who had to be her date as the one doing the talking. She wasn't here for the cameraperson, anyway. Maybe some other day.

Rather than interrupt the in-depth conversation, Elle eased her way closer until she had made the chatting duo (though it sounded like only one was chatting) into a trio, peering up with fascination into her date's face to see if she noticed. It was fascinating hearing her speaking though. She could give Elle, who thought of herself as long-winded, a run for her money. Bemused, the California girl just kept watching.

[Dubski]

"...You wouldn't be surprised the weird looks I get as a wrestler, trust me. Even weirder than the look you're giving me right now, actually. But it just comes with the vocation, I guess," concluded Deanna Duncan, eventually. She could have, and probably would have, gone on for even longer had she not noticed someone standing close to her and watching.

Deanna slowly glanced to Elle, dressed in her pretty red dress, and Duncan smiled at her, then pointed her thumb at the camera woman as she addressed the newcomer. "Sorry, this is a reality TV thing. It's not some kind of documentary or anything, because that sounds like it would be tragic," explained the platinum-haired girl before shrugging slightly. "I mean, I'm in it, so it sounds plenty tragic to begin with. And maybe even more tragic because my date is either slightly late or has ditched me altogether."

Letting out an awkward laugh, Deanna ran a hand through her hair before placing it on her hips and grinned at Elle. "But if I did get ditched, then maybe I'll see you at the bar," said Deanna in a more flirtatious tone, offering the girl a wink. If her date didn't show up, Duncan figured that she could at least try to have herself a fun time somehow anyway.

[Leira]

Geez! She was adorable already.

Elle nodded along her understanding. She barely skipped a beat in her chatter, and the flower girl chose to absorb it all as she tucked her coat together a little more tightly in the front to combat the slight bite to the evening chill. What was cuter than the chatter, though, was the self-deprecation (Elle could relate...) and the fact that Deanna didn't stop long enough to ask or more closely inspect or do basically anything to figure out why Elle was standing there. And the pass wasn't the smoothest Elle had ever heard, but it still made her break into chuckling.

To slowly reveal herself, she checked her watch. "My watch might be off, but I don't think she's late." Oh, she was even by her watch. By two minutes. She tended to wander around and lose time with the slightest provocation. She liked to stop and look at things, and that hadn't been half of the trouble she had on the walk over. "She might have almost gotten knocked in a ditch too, but she won't be telling you that story. It's embarrassing as hell," she continued with a cute scrunch of her painted lips. People just didn't drive the same in Japan as they did in the U.S., and the roads were so much more narrow. She had almost gotten bumped by passing vehicles at least twice.

She peered back up from her watch again and let loose with her cutest smile and wiggle of her fingers. "Do you see her yet?"

[Dubski]

Deanna Duncan watched Elle, her brow quirking in a bit of confusion as she spoke. She gave her a cautious look, seeming a bit confused as she glanced over at the camera woman and the girl was recounting almost getting knocked in a ditch, but she managed to laugh slightly as she tried to parse what she was getting it. Because it was becoming oddly personal for someone who just walked up to chat. But then, she had come to the realization, shielding her face with a hand on her forehead. "Oh! Oooooooooh..." said the platinum-haired girl sheepishly.

"You're my date!" exclaimed Deanna more enthusiastically, holding out her arms. She would then step forward to close the gap, giving a firm hug to the girl and speaking in an excited tone now that she had finally encountered her date. "It's good to see you!" After a couple moments for a hug, Deanna would then pull herself back, keeping her hands on Elle's arms and taking a good look at her.

A beautiful brunette. Athletic-looking, an exceptionally cute smile, a generous chest, and she certainly knew how to dress to impress. She felt like she may have reached the jackpot, since her personality seemed to match the looks. She felt like she could certainly have a good time with this gorgeous girl. And Duncan took that moment to watch her, smiling warmly. "...I have no idea who you are," concluded Deanna, her smile faltering and she looked quite confused again. She kept up on LAW pretty decently, but she swore she never saw this girl around on TV or backstage. The app was for LAW talent exclusively, so she would have had to be contracted.

And Deanna could have made that comment more gracefully, but her mind was still rumbling as she tried to think of who her date was to be more careful in asking. Still, it seemed pretty certain that Elle would explain it to Deanna sooner than later.

[Leira]

Elle broke into outright laughter when it dawned on her date that she hadn't walked up only to smell the roses. Again, Elle put a few notches in the cuteness column. The Californian certainly had her clueless moments, so she wouldn't judge. She hadn't given Deanna a clue outside of her approach and her date-worthy clothing anyway.

An enthusiastic hugger, Elle tore right into the one offered with enthusiasm and a big squeeze like her date was an old friend she was glad to see after a long, fond absence. "You betcha! Here I was starting to regret that I hadn't written it on my forehead," she joked as they pulled back from each other. She rubbed at her forehead as if still pondering it. "The last time I had anything written on me, it was the wrong marker." Thinking it unwise to mention "it was a fun body writing thing I was trying with another wrestler" the first minute they met, she kept that part to herself. She hadn't been able to wear a bikini for weeks in the middle of summer.

With Deanna evidently giving her the big, bad lookover, Elle posed with that tilt of her head to the side she had seen in modeling shoots to let her date get a good look at her and hopefully like what she was. Elle was more subtle, but she did the same. She loved the hair. The eyes were killer, too. She appeared stacked up top but on a body built a bit more slenderly than Elle's own probably due to different approaches to wrestling. As it was, they both seemed satisfied, which made it all the more amusing how her date ended the scrutiny.

Elle laughed again, hard enough this time that she had to cover her hand with her mouth to avoid showing all of her gums. "I'm Elle. Alresford. I've been in Japan all of six weeks." She looked at the sky like it held more answers for her. "And my contract only started fouuuuuur weeks ago? Three and a half? The rookie of all rookies."

[Dubski]

Deanna Duncan was fortunate for Elle properly introducing herself, having been lost prior to it. She had to admit, she had expected to have matched with someone with a little bit more renown. Not that it mattered all that much, especially for tonight. She was happy to welcome any camaraderie, especially since Elle's personality seemed to mesh well with her own. She certainly didn't know any Elle Alresford. "Oooookay, now it's all starting to make sense," said the platinum-haired girl, tapping her own temple with a finger. "Yeah, I was kind of expected Astrid Arvidsson from your messages... but you know, this works too," joked Deanna, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand.

"But um, welcome to LAW! Welcome to Japan! I am a monumentally shitty host, so do not expect me to be able to do any kind of decent job showing you anything aside from that inside of that bar and the bottom of a glass and some of the most sublime karaoke you have ever heard in your entire life," said Deanna, smiling warmly at Elle.

And as Deanna was about to start guiding them inside, she recoiled slightly and let out an awkward laugh. "Aaaaand I'm sorry. Very sorry," sputtered out Duncan. "I'm Deanna Duncan, you may or may not have seen me on LAW. Kind of a low key big deal if I'm being honest with myself, but aiming for the high key part," explained Deanna, extending her hand for Elle to shake. "And this is my hand, to shake." She then pointed to it with her free hand, shrugging with an awkward smile.

[Leira]

"Oh, that's an ouch." And not one of the first few lines anyone wanted to hear from her date: I thought you would be someone else! She mocked a killer arrow striking her just below the left breast and mimed the resulting wound. "I'm off to a bad start if I'm not even the right person."

It did make her wonder what she had said to give Deanna that impression, but with the comment likely (likely?) in jest, she figured it didn't merit her asking. Plus she would have to try and act like a LAW champion the rest of the night which was a role she couldn't too well play. What could she do? Plant a little seed in her seemingly distraction-prone date's mind. She leaned in to do just that, lowering her voice as if she shared a secret no one else could hear. "But you never know. Maybe I am Astrid Arvidsson in disguise." As she reeled back, her eyebrows raised like she had dropped a shocking truth bomb.

Elle couldn't say Deanna dug herself a singular hole with all of her various and sundry comments. No, her date liked to hop around. Dig several different, smaller holes. In addition to believing Elle would be someone else, she dug a small hole about being a bad host, then she dug another hole nearby explaining that she had extended her hand for the shaking. Elle chose not to interrupt her. She stuck to lips pursed in faint bemusement, a nodding head, and eventually, clasping the hand.

"I'm gonna take all that one at a time..." She held up both hands once the shake had ended to start counting back through all of Deanna's thoughts. "Thank you for the welcome. If you can keep me standing up straight long enough to get to the karaoke machine, you've done a good job. Ummmm. Sorry that I haven't heard of you, but that's because I'm oblivious and stick my nose in too many projects besides wrestling?" She thought that covered everything.

[Dubski]

Deanna enthusiastically shook Elle's hand with a big grin on her face before stepping back, listening to her. She laughed when she mentioned having to be kept upright. Duncan was certainly capable of going a bit too overboard on drinks herself, and even earned a nickname from it by her friends back home. But she did shrug in understanding when she mentioned not knowing her. That wasn't too surprising.

She almost remarked that Elle may have known her tag partner, but... That probably wasn't the thing to bring up now. Sore subject, currently. And Deanna was doing this to forget about it. So instead, the platinum-haired girl wrapped her arm around Elle's shoulders and began to walk towards the entrance of the bar with her date. "I get it. Although I'm sure you were expecting Kyoko Akan and got paired up with me. I get it," teased Deanna Duncan, winking at the brunette.

They got inside the bar which was packed and loud with music and people chatting. There were colorful lights shining over the whole bar, giving it a more uplifting party atmosphere. Deanna would then turn to face Elle again and then said, "And... Hey, I don't know if this is wrong to mention or whatever, but if I seem like I'm a bit... I don't know, all over the place and saying stupid things. I am. And that's normal," said Deanna bluntly before holding up a hand. "But! But I'm probably more of that because I have to admit I'm a little bit nervous with the date, the camera, and... I'm excited for this! And then you're outrageously pretty, and that does not help the nerves either." Deanna probably could have gone on longer, but she tried to stop herself there, her lips tightening to keep herself from rambling even more.

[Leira]

Elle's sort of woman, she didn't waste any time pulling the two of them closer. Good, because Elle found it so awkward when two people who agreed to be on a date acted like they needed to stay six feet apart at all times to avoid offending the other party. Elle didn't hesitate to swing an arm around Deanna's waist herself until they both got nice and snug. So embraced, their banter continued, Elle giggling in her throat.

"At the very least, I can be sure you're not Kyoko. Ninety-five percent of your stomach isn't on display." Her legs were however in that skirt, and Elle found them far more interesting than any old stomach, even from someone whose reputation for showing off her abs had even reached Elle's attention. "And you're only selling yourself short. Maybe, when I closed my eyes, I imagined 'hottie in all black under platinum hair.'" Come to think of it, they made a nice contrasting pair between Deanna's sleek monotone attire and Elle's far louder reds, whites, and pinks.

The bar certainly smelled like a bar, though better than any in the States that Elle had visited. She wasn't much of a drinker, which was why she figured she would be stumbling after two or three. It was fine, it was good. After weeks of stress to get her and her mom both moved, some absurdity and stumbling and singing like a lunatic sounded good, and besides-

-ohp. She had been ready to compliment Deanna, and her date gave her even more reason. Elle snickered in glee. "You're getting points for calling me pretty in the middle of an honest admission." She poked the woman in the nearest arm. "But you do you, I'll listen as best I can, and...I guess I didn't have a third point."

As they reached the bar proper, Elle finally let her go and started swinging into a stool, making sure her dress offered just a bit of thigh when she did. Had to give Deanna something to enjoy. "Judging by what you said, you're a bigger drinker than me. Any recommendations?"