#urlgh0st

"Try it and you're getting zapped so hard your eyeballs turn into jelly, bitch."

There's something like... Giggling alongside it, breaking in and stuttering the music on and off.

@urlgh0st || 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵

It takes Rocky a moment, but he notices something's off.

The tune isn't flowing as smoothly, jittering and cutting out on many notes; what should be a pleasant rhythm is made jarring . . . and yet the sounds overwriting those notes are equally jovial. Laughter, it seems. As if someone is starting and stopping the music, giggling impishly between each beat.

"sh-show me how, you d-did that." Eyes flick over to the pool table. Curious above all else. "you're g-good at it."

Columbo had a habit of immersing himself into whatever he was doing: Whether it was looking for clues on the scene of a homicide or playing a round of pool such as this, his mind often couldn't and wouldn't fire on all cylinders unless it was deeply engrossed and fascinated in what he was doing. It was another quirk of his that he'd given up trying to understand and hide long ago, when he'd first made lieutenant.

Because of this, the innocently posed question almost makes him jump...instead, it just makes him whirl towards their direction, still gripping the cue stick with one hand.

The eyes are the first thing that comes to his attention. They don't have the suspicious, smug gleam he's come to associate with the killers he tends to arrest, and yet he can't quite shake off the hunch that they're still not the eyes of an average person. The grin only adds to the picture as the lieutenant is able to pick out a tooth or two that looks more like a fang than a normal tooth. That's all before he notices other odd details, his brain immediately shifting gears and picking up on little things that probably meant nothing because he wasn't on a case: The bell necklace, the fingerless gloves...

He forces himself to not go any further with this line of suspicion, scratching his head with one hand as he sets the cue off to the side. Doing his best to play up the idea that their words had needed a second to sink in after his game in the process.

"Evening," he greets. "Just finishin' up this game...judgin' by your question, I guess you were watchin' though, huh?"

📺⭐🟥⭕ What a weird looking darkner...

Are they from around here? A... tourist? Not to stereotype or nothing but they're reading as almost Cyber World-y. Ah well-- none of his business to single out a stranger just because they're out of place, he supposed. After all-- there was a time all kinds of people visited here, before the worlds got pulled apart.

But he admits! He's... used to people being a little more... excited to meet him?

" Err... of course!! " Nonetheless, the host happily grants them their wish, pointing with a flourish in assorted directions. " Concessions are that-a-way, pal! Looking for something more filling? Try our in-house, in-frozen TV Dinnah meals at Dinner And A Show-- that-a-way! We also have icecream, sodas, ( and something a little stronger for the adults ) down THAT-a-way! " Hey, he's not a bad usher! Even if it's not his job...

hercules. | @urlgh0st

pipsqueak.

ryland ... doesn't always have a routine, but there are a few things that help him wind down if he's trying to fall asleep, instead of fighting it. (aside from the usual; brushing teeth, washing face, etc). he dims the lights to something soft and warm, to try and get into the feeling of winding down for the evening. it doesn't always work, but sometimes it does. he'll put on his cosiest cardigan, or wrap himself up in his cosiest blanket. he will often lay awake thinking, so to try and combat this he needs to "empty his head", try to quiet his mind, by either making a mental or physical list for the next day, or by scribbling down the last of his thoughts. it's not quite journaling ... it's a little too chaotic for that, but that's probably the closest comparison. and he sets, like, three alarms. he doesn't trust himself to wake up. without them

rocky's routine is very structured. they don't like stopping mid-task, so they will finish what they're doing, or come to a natural 'pausing' point if it's a particularly large project they're working on. regardless, rocky will complete something (a repair, a calibration, a smaller project) so that the day feels 'closed. he checks his surroundings. it's instinctive, eridians ensure their environment is stable before resting. usually, this involves finding someone to watch them sleep (adrian, grace), but in the years rocky spent alone, it involved finding the 'safest' part of his workshop to tuck himself away in. he hums to himself, a low and resonant chord that humans can barely hear. the vibration helps regulate his internal systems and signals his body to shift into 'rest mode'. (this is usually done by a mate, almost like 'singing' a lullaby, but ... again, in the years spent alone, rocky has adapted to do it himself)

sleep headcanons and character asks