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where: any place that would allow for an open mic night (0/5) @chqstarter

"I give them points for going up there, but not enough to save them from themselves." As far as comedians had gone, they were okay but there were too many jokes that brought an awkward silence to the crowd more than laughter. Chance shrugged. He knew what it was like to go on stage and be nervous, but some of the jokes fell flat and left people wishing for the few that made them laugh. "There's plenty of material to work with but they keep skipping it for the same jokes that everyone's heard a million times before, you know, in my lowly opinion. I'm saying that 'cause I don't know if I could go up there and do the same thing. At least not without a guitar."

for: @chqstarter ( open! ) location: outside hell & high water

"I'm just being honest. I cannot tell a lie about people's attractiveness," she said, raising her hands like there was nothing she could do about it. Kendra scratched the cat's head, still loving him despite all the drama. "I'm too much of a worrier to just wait around. My dog Oz ate a single chocolate chip one time after I first adopted him and I brought him to the emergency vet bawling my eyes out," she admitted. Of course he had been fine, but she had been an absolute mess. She nudged Magnus to go into his carrier, but the damn thing just started cleaning his face like he didn't even notice. Only when he was good and ready did he go in. "Do I get to sit in the VIP section? I need a good spot so I can throw my underwear at the stage."

"You'll be front and center near me, because I'm not about to let Ripley get a chance at you or your underwear," he joked back as he finished off the rest of the chart into the system before he set it aside and glanced back at the others. The cat was safely secured, without a real threat to their wellbeing but he was glad that he could assure her that nothing was actually wrong. "No you're good. We're always asking pet parents to be better safe than sorry, even if sometimes you're paying for us to tell you that they're fine." He would rather that than the alternative as he marked the last thing down and closed the board so the chart was tucked inside. "Anything else you wanna know before I have to leave? As much as I would rather stay in here and chat up you and your cat, there's a few more patients on my docket for the day before the end of my shift."

It's not the response she's expecting and that's likely why it hits her harder than she could have ever predicted either. He's always been sincere, there's no doubt from her there, but to hear it plain and simple makes her heart swell. Diminishing her contributions, especially around filmmaking, had been a problem weighing on her for a while. It's very easy to doubt herself when she's been struggling for so long — there must be a reason why she can't come up with a solid idea, and there must be a reason why nothing she films now takes off even a fraction of the way her ( singular successful ) short film about Mason had. Once she'd come down off that high and let the industry burn her out, the magic fading away had stripped her of her confidence, too, and it bled into all aspects of her life. Even if she didn't show it all that often, hidden in jokes that held more truth than she'd let on, she needed to hear Chance's words, not necessarily in this exact moment, but in this state. Gently, she mumbles a soft, "thank you," knowing it's as telling as she believes it to be. However, she can't resist— "I don't know about keeping the beat, but I can certainly try," with a much more comfortable grin.

Chance grinned. "We can practice it together. You'll see that as long as you're playing with the beat well enough, that it always adds something rather than worry about being off the beat." Honestly, it might bring more of a sound to the band that they were missing but he wasn't about to shove an instrument in her hand and push her on stage. Not yet anyways. "The offer is always there, you know, on the off chance you want to take this talent on stage with the rest of us," he added with a laugh. His phone was long gone, but there were plenty of thoughts coursing through him at ideas of what the band could come up with next to get their name and sound out there.

"Go with your gut. Don't go with your gut. Whatever you wanna do." He wasn't in the business of telling people what to do, and he was sure the recipient would be happy no matter what. "But tulips are nice. I think it's a good choice. Sorry I wasn't more helpful."

"My gut is as confused as you sound." Though he knew it came from a place where the other was trying to be helpful as he scanned the bouquets that were already made and found one that looked nice and he could pronounce even if he couldn't name everything in it. "You were more helpful than I have been by standing here asking these things to speak to me. So thanks for that. I've got one, which means I'm one step closer to fixing my shit with my parents."

"Please help me, yes. All of that, yes. I can't show up empty handed again with nothing but an apology and Emily laughing because yet again, here I am trying to make up for being stupid." And fucking off with keeping on touch with them. At least with flowers then it felt more sincere, despite them all being sincere moments but he could visibly relax when Bianca started to help him pick out flowers. "Honestly at this point, I would go with anything they showed me if it got me out of here and heading home to family dinner. Though if you could point to what you think is the prettiest, I could use that for future reference too," he added with a cheeky grin.

“Okay, now you’re definitely overthinking it,” Julian said with a small laugh. “Just get the blue. She’ll like them because they’ll make her think of you.” That much was true of the flowers Julian was getting for himself, anyway. He directed Chance’s attention to a blue bouquet in the same reasonably-priced section of arrangements in the store. “The right price range is nothing to expensive. Or at least that’s how it is for me. I’d hate my niece spending too much on me.” He had to physically stop himself from just grabbing the flowers off the stand, shoving them into Chance’s hands, and ushering him out of the store. “Go, don’t be late—oh! They’ve got those gift tag things at checkout, see if they’ve got a cat one. For your dad.”

He was overthinking it too much and Chance knew it, if anything he needed someone to tell him what to get by this point so that he could move on and get over to his parents' house before he was thirty. It looked like he might be there that long if he didn't pick one soon enough. "Oh yeah, I can feel it because I'm about to walk out of here with a tree if I'm not careful. One of the people working here is going to just walk me out of the store before too long because I've been here that long already," he replied with a heavy sigh as he shook his head and focused on grabbing the blue bouquet that looked pretty nice. His mom would love them. "I'm bound to be late if I'm here any longer, thanks for the help." He grinned at that cat comment. "You sure you don't know my dad? That's definitely up his alley."

The recommendation was entirely welcome — the last time Amara had really allowed herself to venture through what Colorado had to offer was few and far between; the closest she’d gotten to any of the sights had been through the window of her flight, soaring over the views. Having only been in town a few months, she’d been so focused on establishing the fashion house and the relocation, that she hadn’t really had a chance to enjoy everything her new home had to offer. So, Chance’s insight offered her inspiration, and she nodded with a smile, “I… have to be honest,” she mentioned with a sly expression, ducking her face for a moment to keep from any backlash that could be received, “I don’t think I’ve spent any time by the lake yet.” Lowering her voice, like sharing a secret with a friend, “I go for a lot of runs, but I keep it pretty local — and by local, ‘round my home. ——- Maybe it’s time I branch out, get down to the lake. Bring Mercedes out this way too.” At the mention of her name, she barked excitedly, which Amara responded to by crouching by her dog, and scratching behind her ear, shielding her eyes as she looked up at Chance. “You should join me, and show me exactly where I should be spending my time.”

Chance leaned in slightly when she lowered her voice, as if they were sharing a secret so no one else around could hear it but it was one that had him smiling in response. "That's fair. I think it took me awhile before I went out there for runs before it turned into afternoon naps, usually with Ripley or Em. I don't think I'd do it on my own for the first few times until I got comfortable out there," he replied, though he could see how it would be something out of anyone's comfort zone to do it on their own, even with a dog. Though Mercedes was a good dog to have by anyone's side, Chance could only grin a bit wider at the invitation. "If you're looking for a guide, then you've definitely come to the right place. My specialty is places to nap or night life hot spots where you can get some decent food without a crazy crowd." Those were what he enjoyed the most, though a lot of it came from going out with others in the first place before trying it out on his own. "I can do that. I am great at that. And we're in the perfect place to get anything we might need too for a picnic in the park."

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 . . . * chance ( @chancemonroe )

"You'd be surprised how many people say that to me. Someone suggested I wear the scrubs on stage, more for the look than the convenience but honestly it's a thought." Chance joked around with the other, glad that his shift was practically up now that the second to last dog was being released. There was only one more in the back, but they'd be leaving any time soon which meant they'd all be able to go as most had already been done for the day. "I caught him before he was able to take me down, though I can't say the same for another," he replied with a small laugh, more amused than his coworker had been when Thor tried to hop on them as well. "It's all part of the job, but some days you hit the ground harder than others. She was smiling later when he apologized with some slobber."