fandomtownies | Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

"Your face is funny."

Hello to you too, Delirium. She was more interested on Jono's face, actually, so proper manners were temporarily lost.

Okay, Jono. Relax. Take it with a grain of salt. Don't glare at the girl who had walked into the shop. She wasn't saying that to be cruel.

... He hoped.

//I fail to see anything funny about it.//

Horrifying, maybe. Hideously disfigured, sure. Not really very much on the humorous side, though.

Del tilted her head to a side. "I can't see your mouth, and you are talking in me head." A beat. "It sort of tickles, like fishies in a bunch."

..."I'm looking for a Jono. Are you a Jono?"

Tickling fish voice. That was a new one, if ever he'd heard it. But it certainly beat some of the obscenities that people back where he was from might have used to describe his telepathy.

//I am a Jono, or at least I was one, last I checked. Can I help you with anything, luv?//

"Hmmmmnope, I just wanted to check out Didi's boyfriend."

Because there was no other way to say something like that for Del. "Are you a venrtiligoguistic? Talk with your, um, tummy? "

Well, Didi had mentioned that her sister had been on the island. And that this wasn't the same sister that he'd met, though she was the same, all the same.

... Which had confused the hell out of him, to some degree. But this was Fandom. The headmistress of his last school was a student here, and she was younger than he was. He'd take it with a grain of salt. Very, very figuratively.

//I think if the fish are inclined to speak, they'll do so all on their own, luv,// he offered. //I'm a telepath, not a ventriloquist, though I suppose if I were to take up the profession I wouldn't have to worry about lettin' my lips move.//

Now there was some sick humour, Jono.

"Um, fishies speak, when you pay attention; they say the funniest things." It would much funnier if someone made them talk though. "You would be cheating, but I don't see your lips moving." Hm, then how did he- "Oh! You are very good. And a telepath."

You needed to see her on the TV Comedy class; Delirium wasn't the person you wanted to spend jokes on and expect a logical reaction.

He kind of wanted to pinch her cheeks and offer her bubblegum, actually. Much the same as the last Del that he'd met. Maybe Didi could invite a few more Deliriums, and he'd just amuse himself for the rest of his days with these wildly twisted conversations.

//All of the above, yes,// he agreed. //Dare I ask what it is that fishes say, gel?//

There was probably an unwritten law about getting more than one Delirium in the same universe at any given time, but that was why people experimented, right?

"Depends on their mood." Del was relatively serious now, which in someone like her offered some odd contrast. "If they are in a good mood, well, they could tell you of prettyawesomecandy places, where doggies run free and fishies fly high." Her mismatched shiny eyes were evidence enough of the marvels of such world. "They also make jokes, but I don't get those; they are too complicated. Some are about chickens and streets." She was trying to remember one now, but she wasn't really sure if Jono would get them.

"And some talk about politics. Yuck, politicians are a bad sort of crazy."

//Couldn't agree more, there,// Jono replied, idly picking out a tune on his guitar. //I've yet to meet a politician that I can get along with.//

Interesting, considering he got along just fine with the anthropomorphic personification of Death. Fine and then some.

Del giggled at Jono's voice on her head. "It tickles!" It was going to be more complicated than usual to talk with him.

"They don't want to get along with anyone; they want to tell people what to do and think. Maybe they need a really universal remote control, so they can zap zap zap! people into jelly zombies." Nothing more obedient than a jelly zombie, learn something every day.

Jono... really, really didn't want to know what a jelly zombie was, he decided all at once.

//Can't say I've ever been one of those before,// he mused, trying to keep his tone as neutral and hopefully un-ticklish as possible.

Considering it had a tendency to bounce about and echo a bit, that was going to be a challenge. //Now, is that a literal sort of jelly?//

"Is what a literal sort of jelly?" Didi asked, wandering in. She'd let Del run ahead so she could meet Jono on her own terms, but she could only stay away for so long.

She waggled her fingers in a wave, "Hi, you two."

"Jelly Zombies (http://sf0.org/media/GummyGirl/main_braaaains53045.jpg)! They are very obedient and only need water...and candy. Not brains. Brains are made of bubblegum."

It was cool when someone explained stuff to you, right?

//Well, I guess I'd be right out of luck if I got zapped with that remote,// Jono mused, unable to keep that hint of amusement out of his tone.

That probably didn't help the tickles much at all.

//Hello there, luv. Yer sister and I were just having a conversation about...// Actually, he wasn't certain quite what it had been about, anymore. //Fish, I think.//

[I hate to bail, but it's waaaay past my bedtime. Slowplay is love?]

"Fish," Didi echoed. "Fish are very important things. So are brains."

She eyed Jono, trying to make sure he hadn't been broken, or anything. It didn't look like it.

"Fishies keep a lot of secrets!" Didi should know; she had seen Del walking her Fishie before. It was a very smart fishie.

See? She hadn't broken anything of Jono just yet, because he was such a nice guy.

//But apparently, not political ones?// Jono glanced back at Didi, and then gave his shoulders a shrug. If he'd been broken, he was certainly doing a good job of hiding it. Even to himself. //Which is likely for the best, I should think. Political fish wouldn't mean anything but trouble.//

Clearly he'd never met the Vice President of the United States of America, who was currently living in the water cooler down at the freelance police station.

"But what about mermaids?" Didi wondered, flopping onto the floor so she could sit and peer up at the other two. "They have kings and stuff."

Sorry, Ariel.

"Mermaids are pretty cool!" Not that Del knew her roomie had been one, but hey, they were! "They have tails and fishies all the time, and water and, and, and...Kings aren't really politicians, I think." Well, some were, and some weren't, right?

"Human politicians are the yucky ones." And with that she also sat on the floor, because little sisters tended to follow the example of their big siblings.

//It's a shame that I've never met any other sort,// Jono mused, looking down at the two girls and feeling... Well, tall.

He hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged and shifted about so that he could sit down beside them. And now he felt short. Fair enough.

//Of course, they can't all be that bad.//

"The only one I ever really liked was Emperor Norton in San Francisco," Didi answered, running her fingers through Jono's hair. "Well. I like everybody. But he was my favorite."

Del was too out of it dreaming about fishies; you could actually see a pair floating around her head.

"He was the nicest crazy man I've ever known." So nice he almost seemed sane...or something along those lines.

//Bit of a unique individual, that was,// Jono mused. //Read a bit about him, once. A person could almost get ideas, readin' about a bloke like that.//

Hey, if any old crazy man could come to America from London and proclaim himself emperor, Jono wanted to be next.

Ariel couldn't remember what Jono had said about when he worked; really, she couldn't be blamed. There was a lot of digest in the past few days, and there were classes and then she had to make sure she remembered the room numbers of all the cute boys she'd met so far...

...anyway, she had some time to kill before her workshop (marine mammals! Hello, easy A!), and was exploring the town, and gawking at the complete amazingness of everything and being kicked out of a few other shops for touching too much stuff and at least once trying to walk on out with a gorgogoff or two, when she came across the Groovy Tunes, recognized the name, and decided to check.

"Jono!" she would have cried out, if she actually had vocal capabilities. But, since she didn't, she just burst in through the door and had to make up for what she couldn't say with the brightness of her smile.

And then got instantly distracted by the merchandise, because ooooh shiny!

//Ariel, luv!//

Well, he had invited her to swing by to see if he was in, and so it wasn't a terrible shock when he showed up, fortunately. The distraction was really more amusing than anything, and he actually set his guitar down to wander on over to investigate what she'd gotten into.

//See anything you like, gel?//

Ariel glanced away from the CD she had been shaking and holding up to the light (she wasted absolutely no time in inspecting treasure, really), with a lifted eyebrow and a cool glance that said Are you kidding? It would have been far easier to ask if she'd seen anything she didn't like yet.

Which she hadn't. Except maybe that jerk that didn't want to help her and Delirium at the picnic.

But she held up the CD, the expression gone inquisitive for an explanation on what it was.

And maybe if she could keep it. Just one! For a new collection. Maybe two. Or seventeen hundred...she wasn't picky.

Hey, compared to Jono's collection, seventeen hundred would be a good start. Maybe.

//Yer don't know what that is? Yer must be from a fair ways off, then.// Either geographically, or chronologically, or possibly both. The joys of Fandom. //That's a CD. A compact disc. If yer put it into th'proper machine, it'll play music.//

He held out his hand, to see if she was willing to hand it over so that he could demonstrate.

Music? Although it might not have even seemed all that possible, Ariel lit up a little more. She may have always skipped out on rehearsals back home, but she still loved music, and not being able to sing was starting to get her a little down if she stopped being excited for two seconds.

So this proved an interesting conundrum for Ariel. Music? Or shiny compact disc?

Clever girl that she was, Ariel handed the CD in her hands over to Jono, and then just snatched up a different one from the shelf to hold appreciatively to her chest, and presented him with her best Ready! smile.

And Jono actually sent out another of those echoing laughs of his, shaking his head in amusement as he turned and made his way over to the stereo.

//I suppose askin' what sort of music you like isn't going to be very helpful, if you don't know what these are,// he mused as he went, opening the case and slipping the CD in. //For whatever reason, I can see you enjoyin' bubblegum, though.//

Jono, for the record, couldn't stand bubblegum pop. Too perky for his tastes.

... If anyone asked.

In any case, he was going to hit play, now.

[Feel free to mod whatever music starts playing! Ariel was the one to pick up the disc, after all!]

Bubblegum? What was bubblegu--

But Ariel didn't get too much further in that thought process, because the music started blaring (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSoTCjs39rI) and Ariel, jumping about a mile, dropped her other CD and put her hands to her ears, as if that could help very much. She looked at Jono with wide, shocked eyes.

Music? That was human music? Are you serious?

Jono was... going to be a moment. He was trying not to die of completely non-physical laughter, here, and then, once he'd managed to regain something that vaguely resembled composure, he was going to reach over and turn off the stereo.

//Right, then. Melodeath is completely out,// he mused. //Something softer, luv?//

He took a moment, wandering the aisles in search of something that would hopefully appeal a little more to a perky girl who thought that a canvas sail was high fashion. After a moment, he returned with his hands full, with a selection from pretty much every genre he happened to pass by.

And then he set the stack down and picked out whatever was sitting on the top. He was a man on a mission, now, and was watching her face carefully to see what sort of reaction she'd have to the next selection.

//Better, at all?//

While Jono was out searching the aisles, Ariel was just going to stand here and stare at the stereo, as if half expecting for it to randomly attack, as if feeling like it should be completely slayed and how could Jono just abandon her in front of it like that? But she'd face sharks before; she could handle some...black...box...thing...

When he returned, she passed a surly look over, the sort that said if this next CD was anything like that last one, she would take that scarf right off his face and throttle him with it.

But it was clear that her judgment evaporated the moment the music started, shoulders relaxing and a smile slowly brightening her face. Her eyes joined in, dancing, as soon as the operatic vocals started in, as well. This was music; this was more like what she was used to, and there was even something a little different, something that really made her body start to move a little with the beat in a way that Sebastian's music could never quite inspire in her. It made her want to--

--and she could dance now, on legs and everything! Her smile blossomed even more as she turned wide, excited eyes on Jono, eyes that made it very clear that something was going on inside that pretty little head of hers. A little plot and a little pleading, because he still wanted to be the best sibling ever, didn't he?

Well, he certainly wouldn't be opposed to carrying the 'best sibling ever' title, no, and he'd never really been opposed to dancing, either.

But that 'something is percolating in Ariel's head' vibe was making him eye her warily nevertheless.

//Yer askin' me to dance with you. Aren't yer?//

Oh my.

Uhh-huuuuuh. Ariel smiled sweetly at Jono, before pushing just a little more please please please through her gaze. It was such a lovely song for dancing, and she'd always wanted to do so on legs, on actual legs, feet and toes and knees and everything. Who better to show her than her trusted, amazing sibling? Who didn't want to do anything at all to disappoint her, right?

Ariel stepped back a little, pulling herself up, poised and ready, as she held out a hand for the gentleman to take. No turning back now. When Ariel decided she wanted to do something, there was nothing that could stop her from doing it.

Edited 2010-05-11 21:33 (UTC)

Well, so long as it wasn't particularly close dancing, Jono supposed there really wasn't any harm in it. And it wasn't as though he had two left feet or anything of the sort, even if all of the dancing he'd done in ages had been with Didi. He was perhaps a touch rusty.

//Fine.// Rusty, and taking her hand. //Do yer dance often, luv?//

Ariel positively beamed with success, carefully taking a moment to settle into that quintessential pose, one hand in his, the other on his shoulder, that she'd seen associated with human dancing, like what she'd seen on that precious music box in her grotto. She shook her head, starting to feel a little sheepish now that she was actually there, hoping she didn't mess it up. Of course she danced; she could rarely stop moving. But this was entirely different; this was with feet and legs and...

...a boy. Ariel found her blush deepening just a little bit as she looked at Jono expectantly, hopefully.

//Well, that'd make two of us, then,// he offered, letting his hand settle somewhat tentatively on her back. //I'll promise not to step on yer feet if you don't step on mine.//

... Was she blushing?

He'd ignore that. And maybe just start moving with the music in something that more or less resembled a waltz.

Ariel smirked, letting Jono know that she made absolutely no such promises, and then they started moving and every other thought in the entire world completely left her brain. She was dancing on feet, and the music was just so beautiful and moving....

Everything would just fall into place naturally, moved by the music, right?

....right?

Well, in theory, at least, though Jono strongly suspected that he was going to end up leading this dance, or else they'd end up in an awkward heap on the floor. Which was fine and well if you liked being a human tangle, perhaps, but Jono was having enough trouble not flailing at this proximity as it stood.

//Yer know,// he said, after a moment or two of attempting to follow some sort of actual dance step before giving up and settling on a 'go with the flow' mentality, //there are probably places that offer lessons on this sort of thing, at least on the mainland.//

Lessons, huh? So that's how it was.

Ariel shot a look over at Jono; she thought she was doing pretty darn good for having only had legs for four days! And he was totally spoiling the mood with comments like that. So Ariel closed her eyes, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin to show just how dignified a dancer she was, and kept moving.

And, oh look at that. Somehow, she'd accidentally stepped on his foot.

Oops!

Edited 2010-05-11 22:38 (UTC)

... Jono had totally deserved that, and he knew it, and so he was going to just wince one eye and keep all projected psychic expletives on a psionic thread that was nowhere near Ariel's brain.

See? He could be polite. To some degree.

//Of course, I meant that in case you were interested in keeping up with people who have more experience at this than I do.//

Ariel gave Jono a brief look that let him know she wasn't believing that whopper for a moment, but she let it pass quickly, not about to focus on things like that when she could be twirling...or at least attempting to...circles around the floor of the shop. Imagining for all the world that she was at some big, brilliant human ball, and everyone at the whole gathering was just watching them and envying them their grace and class.

...Ariel's imagination was pretty good. It would have to be to work that one out.

Were Jono the sort to eavesdrop, he'd even be impressed. As it stood, he was working, more or less, on not running them into the displays.

Still, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to at least indulge her a little, moving his hand outward and up, trying to encourage her into a twirl. If they were going to dance to David Usher, then he could at the very least make an effort to make it enjoyable.

Ariel didn't need much encouraging at all. As soon as his arm went out, she could feel it in the very spirit of the music what she was supposed to do. She let it take her unfamiliar feet, spinning outward, stumbling through the whole turn fantastically, and then twirling back and pretending nothing happened at all, la.

She'll get it! Eventually! She was sort of getting the waltz steps by now, at least.

Which was, should anyone ask Jono, going to be considered a victory.

//Not half bad,// he decided, directing something not unlike a smile in her direction. //Let's give it another go around the room, and we can try that one again, if yer like?//

[[SP is looove?]]

Ariel smiled proudly, chin lifted with just the right amount of adorable excitement to keep it from seeming haughty, and she did well to restrain her nod to a smooth, concise bob. Yes, indeed, good sir, that sounds like an excellent course of action, indubitably.

Now if only she could keep herself from wanting to giggle with delight.

//Very well, then. Let's see if we can make it 'round th'room before the song ends.//

And then, he was going to kind of lead her off around the folk and country sections, in a bit of a sweeping motion that he was going to pretend was intended to be graceful, there.

Okay, if anyone prodded at him long enough, he might even admit that this was sort of stupidly fun.

[[Wooo!]]

Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

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