43 - video/action for Celadon Training Center;

[islandshore]

[The feed opens with a shot of the Training Center lobby. There's a festively decorated Torterra in the background. Riku himself is clad in a Santa hat and a red scarf, with an incredibly flat expression.]

I hope you're happy. I know I'm not.

[He sighs, clears his throat and then... sings.

Anyone familiar with hokey Christmas songs should recognize it-- Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It's not sung terribly or anything; Riku's in tune, and his singing voice is pretty decent. Unfortunately, he's carrying the song without any whimsy. It's weighed down by his grouchy demeanor, complete with a scowl. It's clear he's not enjoying this one bit.

And by the time the song draws to an end, he slaps a palm over his face, tosses the hat aside, and groans.]

No, you aren't getting an encore performance. Hold your laughter, I know it's embarrassing. Just...

[Sigh. Public karaoke. Why did he even make that bet?]

Merry Christmas.

Comments

[heartdive]

[ in the background.

ON THE FLOOR. ROLLING. WITH ALL OF THE LAUGHTER ALL OF IT. ]

[islandshore]

[Oh yeah?

OH YEAH?

Guess who's getting tackled?]

[video]

[shadowdive]

[Nope, not holding his laughter.]

[video]

[islandshore]

Don't make me get Phantom.

[falseshore]

[Oh, you wanted him to hold in his laughter? Too bad, this is the most amusing thing he's seen in a long time, and you will have to deal with his cackling on the other end of the video feed.]

[islandshore]

You know that's your voice too, right?

[beforethedarkness]

[Riku he is kind of embarrassed for you.

You might be closer to him now, buddy, but he's staying far away from this one.

At least he's not laughing?]

[islandshore]

[Riku is just going to fume. Over here. By the wall.

Ugh, that was horrible.]

At least you're not laughing.

Voice

[for_realsies]

Nonononono!

You have to really mean it for it to be a Christmas song. Sing it again and smile!

*...At least she's not laughing?*

Voice

[islandshore]

Yeah, no. I already said there won't be any encore performances.

[usedconfusion]

Oh come on. Put a little funk into it.

[islandshore]

Kind of hard to do that when I wasn't exactly thrilled about it in the first place.

[video]

[brokenmemories]

[She wasn't laughing, thankfully.

Just...horribly confused. She doesn't know what to say about that performance.]

[video]

[islandshore]

...I lost the bet. That's pretty much all there is to it.

[lightofheart]

[ At least Kairi's laughter isn't obvious, but she's definitely giggling behind her hand. Oh Riku... ]

[islandshore]

Kairi...

[Sigh. He just sort of... wilts at this point. Man, all his friends think it's hilarious.]

Guess that's what I get for making that bet.

[video]

[paladinlost]

Your performance was somewhat lacking in spirit, but still perfectly acceptable.

[No laughter from Cecil, but his smile is definitely amused.]

[video]

[islandshore]

I don't know about that. There's a reason I don't usually sing...

[Translation: someone lacks faith in his skills.]

[namelesshero]

7/10.

[islandshore]

Well, it's better than nothing.

[He chuckles dryly. The fact that he was at least semi-decent comes as a surprise to him.]

[Video]

[friendyousohard]

"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake?"

... Was this song trying to be creepy?

[Yes. Twilight just called Santa Claus creepy. Feel free to dogpile her for that one, people.]

[Video]

[islandshore]

[Twilight... Twilight, pardon Riku as he laughs. That has to be the best response to this whole message.]

No, and that's the worst part. Santa's supposed to be a cheery, lovable icon, but then you get lyrics like that.

Re: [Video]

[usedconfusion]

Y'wanna know what song is really creepy? Baby It's Cold Outside.

video;

[ghostytrainer]

[Okay, so he's giggling a little bit but he's also clapping.]

Bravo, bravo!

video;

[islandshore]

And you're being honest about that?

[Pardon his skepticism, just. Someone's modest about his singing skills.]

[licentious]

I can just feel the holiday warmth just by looking at this performance. [ Which was total sarcasm. ]

I'm sure all the boys and girls will now know just how overworked Santa's elves are. [ Slow clap. ]

[islandshore]

Yeah, yeah. Believe me, I'm just glad it's over with.