13001/That's Show Business! - Holiday Hope Release Party

That's Show Business! - Holiday Hope Release Party
Date of Scene:	04 November 2022
Location:	Club Escape, New York City
Synopsis:	Another successful release party is had for the Holiday Hope fundraiser. There is an interesting turnout to their guest list. Chimps, Tigers, and 10 year olds, Oh my!
Cast of Characters:	Michael Hannigan, Detective Chimp, Felicia Hardy, Thomas Blake, Tawky Tawny, Richard Swift

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Michael Hannigan has posed:
Although Club Escape is known to have a bit of a wait on regular nights, there is not much of a line right now. But there is the faint sounds of a pulse coming from within the building. The sign outside stating that a special event is going on inside is more than enough to indicate it's not quite a regular night there. A hired car pulls up, letting out several dressed up persons, each of which carrying cards. As they show their passes, the man tending to the door opens it, granting them entrance.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thumpa Thump Thump. Thumpa Thumpa Thump Thump Thump.

This Friday, Club Escape has changed. While still a place of fun, it has also become the host of the spirit of hope. Holiday Hope to be precise. Tonight is the release party of the seasonal charity album that was released earlier this week as part of one of the many efforts to raise funds for homeless shelters in the New York City and Boston areas. Not only do the proceeds from the sales of the album benefit the cause, but so do the tickets that go into this limited person event. One nice thing about this event in particular is that those who pre-ordered an album were also put into drawings for several thank you tickets.

Although the amount of persons in the building have been limited to maximize breathing room. It's actually hard to pick out the admission winners from those who have gained access through other means. There is a variety of outfits here, from high end dressy attire, to ?well at least it?s clean? street clothes. Unless one were to identify the musicians already, a few of the honored guests could probably have been mistaken for ticket winners instead.

While the release party is for a holiday album the music currently playing is most decidedly not that. Upon the stage area, local band Mudder Trucker is setting up while the DJ provides music in the meantime. There is no written schedule of who is performing when and where but based from the release parties of the years prior- tonight will likely highlight local bands that the album musicians would like to promote while the album contributors make the rounds to greet those who have supported the cause in some way or another.

For those who would like to go more into detail of the various shelters that are benefitting from the album sales, a private room to the back has been opened up for shelter reps to set up their displays and answer questions regarding donations and volunteering. While the door is open, the walls do provide enough sound buffering. Like the main room, it too has a manned bar.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp had heard of the event, and Mike did help him with an event recently. He bought tickets not sure if he was going to come to the event or not. Tonight he had no plans so, he figured he would come check it out. He actually dressed up tonight, dress pants, and a button up shirt, but he does still have his jacket and hat. He may get a few odd looks, but he holds his ticket up to show the man, not speaking yet, unless he has to.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Brazen is a word often used to describe Felicia, and while this still stands true, it might be in a very different way.

    This evening at the end of one of the bars, one of the private rooms in the back, is a young girl, with long white hair, and a pair of fancy looking goggles that are also her glasses, Felicia Hardy sits with a box of markers on the bar top. She's seated on her knees on one of the high chairs and is drawing with a marker on a coloring book. Her tongue is out and curling around her cheek as she concentrates before she looks up.

    Eyes HUGE in the goggles she wears as she brushes her hair back behind her ear carefully, meticulously and not quite expertly controlled. "Can I have a big red?" She asks the barkeep and then frowns when told, again, they don't have big red. "Oh yeah. More Coke please then!" And she goes back to her work on coloring in Elsa.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake feels like a jerk, wearing cut off marksman gloves. Especially after seeing a number of posers wearing the same. He just couldn't conceal the abuse he'd put his hand through. A deft job with the concealer pretty much hid the cut to his cheek, especially in club lighting. Concealer, his bangs and a pair of sunglasses hid the other cut on his forehead. Aside from that he was dressed pretty natty and he found he was regarded as attractive.

He has his practiced neutral expression. It served him well when he'd meet his parole officer. Wonder what ever happened to Slappy? Still this is not his usual gathering. His date for the evening flew. Literally. He looks over the crowd, wonders what the take is on this operation? He notes the guards, the exits, the alarms. Old habits are hard to break. He does note Detective Chimp. What are the odds?

He makes his way to the bar. Sits on a stool, then notes the coloring book next to him. Then he realizes: kid. Not merely a short skinny woman. Not even a tween. He gives her a noncommital "Hey." He asks the bartender for a White Russian.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
As folks make their way through the festivities, they are greeted with the faces of the various celebrities who have taken part in the album's creation. The members of Deaf Butterflies is busy entertaining a group near the stage while the musician Rot Weiler is doing his best to charm a set of ladies who most definitely came here together.

Unlike last year, the Boston based band, Boston Zombie is NOT the last act to show up. The entire active group is in the back room! There's Rossy 'Glossy' Winters, Davian 'Die' Winters, Jeremy 'Jaws' Smith, Aaron 'Stitches' Harris, and Jean-Charles 'Blue' Baloo. While none of them are wearing their trademark masks, their choice in attire do reflect some nod to the design most associated with them. Blue's is the most tasteful with just a small embroidered fleur-de-lis over the breast pocket of his shirt. His wife, Carole Baloo, who is simply stunning in her dress, likely had a say in that.

Near the Boston group, one Nick Drago stands. Dressed in his higher end attire and his hair a tad wild, he is definitely channeling his rocker persona as he speaks to the other musicians who have anchored all three albums with him.

Nick catches a glimpse of Thomas as he heads towards the bar. The musician flashes a smile to the former costar and immediately looks to the doorway to see if the other half of the couple made it. Not spotting her soon after, a curious look is given. "Excuse me." He states to the group before heading into the main room to look around. Maybe she got distracted?

Tawky Tawny has posed:
Thanks to his buddy Mike introducing him to some of the local characters, Happy Harbor's resident talking tiger has managed to secure a paycheck for the night by acting as venue security. Because what better muscle could you hope for than a six and a half foot tall anthropomorphic tiger? He's currently stationed on the floor near the the front of the stage, where his height advantage allows him to keep an eye on the most raucous area of the gathering. He's wearing a suit jacket over a black t-shirt, and black slacks, none of which appear to be tailored, but fit him tolerably well enough. Also sunglasses, even though he's indoors, because he thinks they look cool. He's very much trying to stay "in character" as the cool professional security man, standing ramrod straight, feet shoulder-width apart, hands folded at the waist, seriously observing his domain.

Although this facade breaks down when he sees his friend and kind-of landlord Tom arrived, whereupon he breaks into a big, toothy grin and waves his hand gleefully in greeting.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will nod to Nick if the man notices him, but he is heading to the bar as well. His brow raises a bit, having half expected Thomas, after all he knows he and the guest of honor have worked together, but the kid does get a brow raised, but who knows maybe one of the waitresses or bartenders could not get a baby sitter. He starts to order a drink and then sees the tiger man waving towards the area he is at, and thinks to see if he knows him. Instead he looks to the bartender "Beer." He says first words spoken here and then to Thomas, he will nod towards the tiger "Friend of yours?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Elsa's hair is now an awful-ly lovely shade of green. And this does the ten year old proud. A sharp nod is given and a giggle to herself before she's looking up from her studious work to the man who may have addressed her and asks him the deepest question a ten year old can.

    "Huh?"

    The girl smiles softly before tilting her head and starting to look down but she pauses.

    O.M.G! A MONKE- A TIGER!!!

    Felicia starts to feel a bit overwhelmed, and confused. Did she wander into the main room of the place. She didn't want to be in here, but here she is, and yet she can't stop looking at the Detective and half spinning to face the Tiger-man. But she's incredibly shy, and with eyes like a deer in headlights, she is overwhelmed and looks back down to her coloring book and chooses to focus her attention there.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake finger guns the tiger and gives him a nod. Hopefully this will lead to more opportunities for Tawny. He waves at Nick in passing. "The tiger guy? Yeah sure. I have a soft spot for big cats and other wild creatures. How've you been, Detective?" He gives a little nod at the child and silently does a WTF? Well he is a detective. Maybe he knows what's going on? Then he notes the deer in the headlights look. And where the Hell are her people? But he gives her his wring blood from a stone grin. Indicating the book he says, "She looks awesome with green hair. You're quite an artist. My name is Tom. Is your mom or dad around here?" Mom a/o dad are going to get a foot up their ass. Felicia gets a large hand offered for a shake.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Nick pauses at the area between the open doorway and stage, skimming around before glancing over to the waving Detective Chimp. Nick lifts up his hand, returning the greeting as well before turning to look to the nearby Tawny. "Have you seen a Fairy wandering around lost?" He asks, curiously.

Another familiar face in the form of Wade Shaw approaches the bar, coming to the side of Felicia furthest from Thomas. A plastic bag crinkles as he sets it down on the counter. "They didn't have much to pick from," Wade states, pulling out two flimsy books containing pages of an off-white dull tone. "But they had a Christmas themed one and a kitten themed one." He sets the coloring books down next to the white haired child before rolling up the bag. Wade glances over to Felicia's newfound companion, "Oh hey Thomas! Nick's over talking wi-" Wade pauses as he glances over to Boston Zombie, "...Where did he g- " The studio owner sighs, "I'll be back."

Wade starts to step off but pauses, moving over to the remaining figure at the bar, giving him a smile and some form of acknowledgement.. "Thank you for supporting our fundraiser." He states to Detective Chimp, offering a handshake before he heads off.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia looks up and is about to respond to Tom, but he goes through a whole lot real fast and the last question gives the young girl pause. "N-no..." And her voice cracks. In that way that only young kids allow to happen because they haven't gained control over their vocal chords. She's about to cry and the goggles thankfully obscure her eyes enough that when she looks down, tears don't immediately fall down onto her nice black dress with tiny pretty diamonds like stars in the night sky.

    She doesn't look up when Wade comes around, but she doesn't seem excited about the books either. At the end of the bar, still, Felicia was trying to be small and out of the way, but she did want to party and dance but got scared. And now she's feeling scared all over again.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp watches this and shakes the man's hand when he is offered but does frown a bit. He watches the girl and Thomas and sighs a bit, and decides to add in "So don't worry about him, he is mostly harmless." He thumbs towards Thomas " And I only bite when I have too. I'm Bobo." Yup he uses the cuter name "You know your one of the few people who don't stare at me and point. You met a talking chimp before?" He asks her friendly enough.

Tawky Tawny has posed:
"I guess that depends on what kind of fairy you mean," Tawny replies, glancning down at Nick and then scanning the room again with renewed purpose. "I haven't seen any of the little bitey garden type fairies, unless you mean the ones that don't bite but are purple - but I guess I haven't seen any of those either. Then there's the ones that look just like humans, but since they look just like humans it'd be hard to know if I saw one or not." His nose twitches. "Can you describe what they smell like? It'd be easier for me to pick one out that way."

Richard Swift has posed:
The shadows coalesce into a sharp dressed man. The Shade was watching.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia didn't shakes Thomas' hand, she didn't want to, she also didn't exactly trust the man who chose to sit next to a kid at a party for adults. She could have seen he was trying to be helpful, but she doesn't have the filters to see the world that way. Through the eyes of a ten year old. She doesn't mean harm or offence, but she is cautious and being mindful of her surroundings.

    Though the monkey speaking to her gives her a smirk. "I do live with a lady who has tiger fur all over and she's very VERY soft. And a girl with eight. NO. Ten. wait. Maybe nine tails. They're also very soft." She says with a smirk towards the monkey, "And you have the cutest name! I like Bobo." She pauses to scribble some more on her drawing and then tears it out. "Here. You can have this. I'm done." It's not great. Elsa with green hair and a green dress. No shading or any kind of advanced techinques, but the colors are MOSTLY in the lines.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake isn't aware of it but he indicates his concern to Tawny. He has no idea how he communicates this. He really doesn't care about the how. He does it. Consciously he's concerned he just scared the bejeezus out of a little girl.

"Oh, honey. I didn't mean to upset you. You're obviously in good hands with Mr. Shaw there. I'm sorry. I can be a little scary at times."

This is a big understatement. The contrition in his voice /is/ sincere. He turns back to his drink. Let the talking animals handle this. They have a human quality he sometimes lacks.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Nick tilts his head in thought. "Well, the one I'm thinking of isn't quite bitey but she looks like that type. Only bigger." He lifts a hand up, indicating a height about half a foot shorter than Nick. "About that tall, give or take an inch." Nick offers, "It's fine if you didn't. Was just curious if someone l-" The inquiry to the scene stops him mid thought, "Uh- I never had reason to smell her."

"Nick!" Wade calls out, walking over to the musician, "Did you see Thomas come in? He's over at the small bar. You might want to get your hellos in before Eric gets here with the new project reps." Nick blinks, "...right." Nick looks over to Tawky, giving him a nod. "Great seeing you around, Tawky!" As the musician's steered towards the bar, Wade looks over towards the tiger. "Sorry I haven't stopped by to see how things were going. The minor issue threw some of us in a loop. But, glad you could help out with the event. Did you ever resolve the uh...living situation?"

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will take the picture and looks it up before folding it carefully to put into the inside pocket of his jacket next to his flask. "Don't think I have met either of the, but then again I don't get out of Gotham a lot. And yea, a friend gave me that name, my real name people can't really say, throats aint built right and all. " He tells her. He does hold his arm out and says "You can feel if you want, but my hair aint as soft as foxes and such," He offers his arm out so she can touch his forearm if she wants.

Richard Swift has posed:
The shadows almost scream as they open up to reveal a man, dressed to the 9s, top hat, suit, cane, and highly polished shoes. His dark eyes scan the area, as he almost glides towards the wall. After all, his invite was in his pocket, and his dark gloved fingers were on his cane, waiting to hear what was promised.

"A night, a night to remember..." He says, almost to himself, his voice slippery and background noise. After all, he had lived for over a hundred years, and his strength was not being there while watching.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia has a big smile on when talking to Bobo and giggles even, "I would like to try, maybe other people can but they're ashamed or afraid they'll mess up?" Felicia notes, as she leans forward, one hand on the seat of the stool she's sitting on and one hand out to touch Bobo's fur.

    "Whao, it's ... different. Like sandpaper or a cat's tongue." To be fair she did say she's used to a fox and Tigra. They have to be soft. Right?

    Taking her hand back and sitting back on just her knees, Felicia looks back towards Tawky and then asks Bobo, "Is he soft? He looks soft." But she wont go find out. Not yet. She has to color in Olaf now.

Tawky Tawny has posed:
Tawny isn't sure how he knows that Thomas is upset either, but after crashing in his front room for a while now, he's gotten... well, not used to it, but he accepts that this is a thing. He tilts his head and leans over to look across at his buddy to see if he's all right, and just sees him sitting at the bar with no obvious cause of distress. Hmm.

"Oh, so sparkly and wings but kinda short? Nope, haven't seen anyone like that," he replies confidently to Nick.

"Oh hi Wade, no problem," he smiles at the next man to approach him. "I'm happy to help! And it's good experience for my resume too." He pauses to give a suspicious look at a passing young man, but a quick sniff seems to assure him that nothing is off there after all. "Oh, nothing permanent yet, but Tom is letting me stay at his place for now. It's really nice of him. I'm saving up money in the meantime so I can get an apartment, and go to school!"

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake finishes his drink and gets up to leave the bar. He nods to Bobo and Tawny. He stops when he sees the Shade.

He makes a slight thumb jerk at Felicia, shielding it with his body. He leans close and whispers, "Heads up Mr. Swift. That little girl is sharp. She recognizes a bad guy when she sees one. It sucks when you... try to do something good and screw it up. You know? I don't bother trying for a while after that. I may call it an early evening." He might not. But the rest of the evening he'll be Catman if he does.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp looks to the girl and says "Probably, I aint met him so I don't know for sure, but I suspect he uses some type of conditioner on it." He offers and then he makes some chimp noises "Thats my name," He explains to her, he is hesitant to tell folks his real name but hey it is a kid.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Wade nods, "Either way it is a big help. And- you're right. Experience is experience." The studio owner pauses as Tawny's glance fixates on the passing man, opting not to interfere with the tiger's job. The former bassist glances over as well before the tiger speaks again. The blond looks back to Tawny. "Good to hear! Seems you've mastered one of the harder things already. Knowing when to accept help when it's offered. You'd be surprised how many people stumble on that." The studio owner pauses, considering the theme of the party, "Well. in context, maybe not too surprised."

As Thomas makes his declaration to Shade, Nick ends up adjusting his approach to join the duo halfway between Tawky's post and the bar. Nick looks to the on the verge of departing Thomas and then looks to Richard, "Welcome to the party. Glad you guys could support us."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    Felicia hears the sounds Bobo makes and then jumps down from the stool and does her very best to recreate the same sounds with full lungs and a tiny diaphram. She's little after all. And it doesn't sound close, but it's the old college try. She smiles big at Bobo. "I'm sorry. But only way to do it is to ... well, do it." She giggles even and then looks up to Richard.

    "Um... Hi?" She asks, again meeting someone new and not having any idea who they are or who they are in relation to her. "I'm just a kid, shouldn't you go talk to the musicians?" She asks. Feeling awkward and even blushing with all the attention coming to her that she was trying to avoid, but seems to be accepting it as happening.

Richard Swift has posed:
"Mr. Blake. Indeed. I do not know, having never screwed it up." Maybe once or twice. Shade's eyes follow Blake's words, and finds their way to Felicia. "I hear you are sharp." Even though mostly a whisper, the people involved can hear his voice sharply and clear. "It is an honour to meet you. I will, indeed, go talk to the musicians."

As Nick speaks to him, Shade nods, and almost smiles. "Thank you. You are too kind. It is good to be here." His eyes glance absently at Chimp.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Hearing the young voice, Nick glances up and over to Felicia, giving her a smile and a nod before he looks back to Shade's response, "Do be sure to check out the bar at some point while you are here. It is included in the ticket."

Great news. But that makes it all the more unfortunate for those who may have bought a ticket and got turned into a 10 year old right beforehand. But hey, it's not every day you get the single, childless, and rich owner of a recording studio make a panicked run to a corner store just to track down some kid appropriate coloring books. It's in the club district. It took time. So that's kind of a win.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp nods a bit and says "Not bad for a human, but not quite right, good try though. Luckily though since I can talk normally,w e can talk in english and ya don't have to hurt your throat trying to say that. You can stick with Bobo, or most folks call me Detective Chimp." He tells her.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
    "Thank you mister Shaw." Felicia says as he's already long gone and she's gathering the coloring books, all three of them and her markers into the grocery bag.

    A hand drops a ten dollar bill on the bar and Felicia smiles to the barkeep. "You pour a stiff coke, that's why I like ya kid." She says obviously it's a bad joke, but she's cashing out.

    "I loved meeting you mister Bobo. Hopefully we can meet again. And please, go pet the tiger for me. I would like to hear how soft he is." She says with a smile and a soft hug of Bobo's shoulders if he'll let her. "Byyyye!" She says with a soft wave as she moves with a skip motion towards the door.

Richard Swift has posed:
The Shadows engulf the Shade with welcome coldness. As he disappears from sight, the Shade tips his cap to all present. A night to remember.