Groovy Tunes, Sunday

[furnaceface]

Jono's husband was a child again, so he really didn't need to come into the Groovy Tunes to see that most of his stock had been turned into toy instruments in order to get the picture. But it certainly helped cement the whole thing in his head, yes.

And to add insult to injury, every time he turned on the stereo, it insisted on playing the Kidz Bop covers of whatever was on the radio. Even if they were songs that had never had covers. It took him a good hour of pleading before he gave up on the stereo entirely, settled down with a small toy piano, and started to poke at it to see if he could make actual music happen with that, instead.

[OOC: Same probable SP warnings are gonna apply all across the board, of course, but open!]

Comments

[tigerundercover]

Raven was chasing small animals around town today, shaped like a little, fluffy white wolf, but she drew up to a stop, ears up and alert when she passed the music-shop-theater combo. She nudged the door open with her nose and trotted up, tail wagging, and howled a greeting to Jono.

[furnaceface]

//Awooo,// Jono said in greeting right back, blinking over to the- oh god, that was too much cute all in one little ball of fluff. //Well, hello there, sunshine.//

He plink-plink-plinked out a jaunty little tune on the toy piano, and then set it aside so that he could smile - more or less - down at Raven instead.

//And how are you today, luv?//

Look, he knew a very limited number of people who could turn into canines, here. Unless the island was messing with people again, he was pretty sure he knew who this was.

[tigerundercover]

The wolf turned into a tiny blue moppet, likely confirming those suspicions. "Using telepathy is cheating," she said. "But I guess since you don't have a mouth it's okay this time."

[furnaceface]

//Just this once? Well, good,// Jono replied, amused. //I suppose I'll work on having a mouth next time around so I've got no excuse, then.//

The going was, ah, slow in that department, mind.

[tigerundercover]

"That's a good plan," Raven said. "Is that a piano? It's so teeny!"

[furnaceface]

//It is, in fact, a very teeny piano,// Jono agreed, picking it up and holding it out to her. //Would you like to play it, luv?//

He had no idea what it would be come Monday, but for the time being, the teeny piano was rather delightful, wasn't it?

[tigerundercover]

"Sure!" Raven agreed.

And turned into a (small, but still) elephant, plopping down to sit and wiggling her front feet in preparation for using them to hit the tiny keys.

Assuming she managed to through all the delighted giggling, anyway.

[furnaceface]

Good lord, but that giggling was infectious. Not that Jono could laugh outright, but he was doubled forward somewhat, shoulders shaking and an amused twinkle in his eye.

//I can honestly say that a tiny musical elephant is a first in this shop,// he shared. //I almost want to frame this moment.//

It was a delight. A delight.

[tigerundercover]

"I am one of a kind," Raven said. And extremely amused to get to turn into whatever she liked without the risk of getting murdered for it.

She pounded away on the little piano for a bit, making quite the racket, then shifted back to her natural shape and sprawled out on the floor, panting. "Big forms are hard."

[furnaceface]

//You'll get th'hang of it with practice,// Jono promised, leaning forward to give her his closest approximation of a grin. //Worth it, though?//

[tigerundercover]

"Uh huh! I almost never get to practice at home. Well, except looking like this." She shifted into a little blonde girl. "I'm real good at this one, now."

[furnaceface]

//You are,// Jono agreed, nodding a little. //I like your other face better, though.//

Well, he did.

//It's more you.//

Blonde Raven made his mind twitchy. Possibly in the same way that his insisting on wrapping his own face made some of his friends twitchy, too, come to think of it.

[tigerundercover]

"That's what Kathy says, too," Raven said, shifting back. Jono wasn't as much fun to tease as Kathy was. "And it's fine here. But back home it's too dangerous."

[furnaceface]

//Believe me, luv, I understand,// Jono replied, waving vaguely at the eternal spill of flame coming from his face and chest. //And you do what you have to do in order to survive. We all do. Thank goodness for this place, then, where we can all let our guard down a little in good company.//

[tigerundercover]

"Yuh huh," Raven said. "But it is still important to practice. That's what Charlie says."

[furnaceface]

It took Jono a moment to reconcile 'Charlie' with 'Charles,' and in the time he managed that, he was struggling to keep another amused look off his face.

//Charlie's a smart lad,// he settled on. //Can't hurt to keep working with your powers. But it's important to remember who you are underneath. We all wear masks to survive. Doesn't mean they should replace us, either.//

[tigerundercover]

"It'd be way easier if it did," Raven grumbled. "I mean, I definitely still wanna be able to be an elerphant when I wanna, but I don't like being blue."

[furnaceface]

Well.

Break his heart a little more, Raven. Though Jono wouldn't claim for an instant that he didn't understand.

//If I could make the world safe to live in no matter what colour you were, I would,// he noted, brow furrowing as he looked down at the floor. //That part... is still a work in progress.//

Humanity was still horrible.

[tigerundercover]

"People're afraid of what they don't understand," Raven said solemnly, clearly quoting something. "And being afraid makes them angry and then they decide they need to kill you." Her face crumpled into an angry scowl. "Should just kill all of them back. That'd show them."

[furnaceface]

Jono closed his eyes at that and bowed his head. He couldn't deny that he'd thought much the same on more than one occasion.

//Killing them back only gives them more reason to fear us,// he murmured. //Gives them more reason to fight us. I know how easy it can be to want to hurt them the way they hurt us...//

He kind of trailed off at that, and then shook his head, at least in part to clear it of the other corners of himself, all chewing and spitting at the idea of a petition for peace.

//Your safety is important,// he said, instead. //Learn to fight, learn to keep yourself alive. Survival before revenge, luv. Survival always.//

[tigerundercover]

"I'd like to see them try to fight when they're dead," Raven grumbled. "But I guess so."

[furnaceface]

Oh, no, Raven. You most certainly did not want to see them fight when they were dead. Not that Jono said as much, but he did wince a little.

//Just survive,// he repeated. //And don't forget to make time to live while you do.//

[sharp_man]

It was a little strange living in a house with an adult, and Jono was different than most of the adults Hannibal had met, but he did seem nice at least, and he didn't have any problems understanding Hannibal like the others did, so coming to visit him here was...hopefully okay.

But Hannibal was still peeking in a little unsurely.

[furnaceface]

Oh, Hannibal. Jono would know you were coming from a mile away, even if you were tiny. He glanced up and offered a little nod once he realized he wasn't alone in the room, and then waved a little, inviting the boy inside.

//Get tired of spending the day alone? C'mon in. Make yourself comfortable.//

The great thing about being a telepath but also having learned a fair bit of Lithuanian was that he could use what bits of the language he had, and then psionically embellish a little bit to split the difference.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal walked in, looking around, and then his eyes lit up. "You have lots of music!"

[furnaceface]

//I'm selling lots of music, anyway,// Jono agreed, shrugging his shoulder. //Most of it's toys right now, though, but you're welcome to poke around and find something to play with, if you like.//

[sharp_man]

"I can play piano," Hannibal offered, though there didn't seem to be one around. "Play me music?" he asked. Music was always good, and if Jono didn't mind him asking...

[furnaceface]

//That, I can do,// Jono replied with a nod. //Would you like me to attempt to play something, or would you like to see if we have any recordings you'd enjoy?//

[sharp_man]

Hannibal chewed his lip, thinking. Music on discs had more variety and sounds, but he didn't want to insult Jono by not choosing him.

After a minute, he straightened up a little. "Something good."

However Jono might interpret that.

[furnaceface]

Well. An answer like that could be just about anything, couldn't it? Jono considered, looking at the stock and wondering what the island had done to the records through all of this. He didn't particularly want even a tiny Hannibal to question his taste in what constituted... good.

So he shrugged, and reached for one of the guitars that still, miraculously, managed to function like a guitar, if smaller.

//I think I can manage something.//

[sharp_man]

Hannibal nodded and sat cross-legged on the floor facing Jono, listening intently.