15789/West Indian Day Parade

West Indian Day Parade
Date of Scene:	04 September 2023
Location:	Brighton Beach
Synopsis:	Caleb, Joan and Stephanie all bump into one another, and Joan's bot Bailey, at the West Indian Day parade in NYC.
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Joan Wright, Caleb Dykstra

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Stephanie Brown has posed:
The West Indian Day Parade and carnival is the culmination of New York Caribbean Carnival Week. The series of events regularly draws around 2 million visitors. The summer has been a hot one, though today the weather has thankfully dropped down to only near ninety, resulting in a big turnout.

There are food vendors and people hawking all sorts of merchandise along the parade route. Drinks are to be had everywhere, with various blended and iced drinks quite popular against the heat. The attire ranges from regular tourist wear, to those who came dressed for the theme which shows a lot of skin, feathers and sequins. People have camped out along the parade route where floats and bands will soon be coming down the street.

Stephanie Brown had come up to New York investigating a few leads in a potential case of election interference into Harvey Dent's campaign. Having a few hours to kill before security at a building she's going to be entering is cut for the overnight shift, she makes her way down the street, wearing shorts and a tank top and sunglasses. Her blond hair is pulled back in a pony tail. She stops at one of the stands, getting frozen green drink in a glass that is nearly a foot tall.

Joan Wright has posed:
With the hot temperatures, Joan ends up doing something she rarely does. She has willfully lost the cargo pants. Considering her love of having pockets this is quite a sacrifice for the woman, but not much of one.

Cargo SHORTS are a thing after all. So on her off day the Damage Control employee has opted to spend it amongst the masses, wearing bright green cargo shorts, white tennis shoes, and a bright yellow tee.

Despite the bright color choices, Joan dos not really stand out amongst the crowd as bright seems to be the way to blend in today. Yes Joan is blending in QUITE well.

Save for the fact she's got a very brightly decked out Kord Bot floating along behind her. Bailey was never one to conform to appearances. Even amongst her Bot brothers, she was the one that opted for a different color scheme. But along with the blue and pinks today, Bailey has somehow come into possession of a lot of brightly colored feathers attached to her. The manner in which this new bot outfit was acquired is not fully explained but considering the look of appreciative glances shot the bot's way. No one is complaining. And what worry is there beyond that?

The hot weather however does lead to the need to get refreshments and soon Joan and Baily Bot have joined Stephanie's line.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Back in Gotham, Caleb's never been much for parades - never had time for parades, in fact. (Were there even parades in Gotham, with the risk of some criminal wanting to screw it up for the commoners?) But let's not digress.

To enjoy himself somewhat, the teen is actually grabbing a cold soda and drinking as he watches the parade pass, moving somewhat alongside it.

And that's when he spots a floating bot. A familiar floating bot, in fact - Bailey.

Huh.

So, he looks for the other familiar face, Joan.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie takes a long sip of her drink as she moves aside from the line, sliding back into her pocket the phone that she used to pay for the frosty beverage. Her eyes are soon drawn to the hovering drone, which decorated for the festival she probably takes to be just part of the entertainment.

A band nearby starts up. They have those cool sounding Caribbean metal drums, the resulting music giving the Brooklyn city street a very island feel to it.

A number of people begin dancing to it, while others tap their feet along as they wait for the parade to start.

Joan Wright has posed:
Caleb doesn't have far to work with Bailey zooting up behind the architect. As they're in line, Bailey takes the time to slowly rotate, taking in the sights while her companion takes in the menu and prices listed. Spotting a Caleb looking her way, one of the bot's manipulators rise up, giving a feathery wave. There may have been some beeps and boops in there as well but the sound of the music drowns that away as the bot shoots up, spinning round to see the source.

Joan, who has made her way to the front is in the process of paying for her own ice cold drink when the robotic equivalent of 'wheeeeeee' reaches her ears. Card held out, Joan's eyes widen to the sight of Bailey flying upwards. "Bailey!"

The card is quietly taken, run, and handed back in the process.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb approaches the bot standing out in mid-air. "It's okay. I might be the cause of her excitement." He approaches Joan, smiling some. "It been a while, and you probably don't remember me, but I figure she remembers. We had a talk, one that started because of Bailey here." And it's not impossible that memory fails, because his stance is much different - he's not bending as much, trying to keep hidden, nor is he dressed in old, almost torn clothes. He's definetely projecting an aura of self-confidence. "I'm Caleb."

His eyes glance upon Stephanie, the girl in the crowd. A polite smile if she looks his way.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown has one of the bystanders, a black man in his forties or fifties, gently pull her over into where they are dancing. Stephanie joins in, her one hand swinging the drink about between taking long sips of it. She laughs and is enjoying herself, more onlookers joining in the dancing or standing to watch.

She glances over as the drone flies about, climbing up into the air. The blond coed takes another sip of her drink. Too big of one for the cold drink apparently, as she moves a hand to her temple. "Oh wow, brain freeze," she says with a soft laugh. Her tongue is also a little green from the drink.

Joan Wright has posed:
Hearing Caleb, Joan's eyes leave the little bot as she looks to the young man. It has indeed been awhile, but considering the tantrum Bailey had last time, it wasn't forgettable. Well, the event. The name's still lost. But Caleb soon corrects that.

"Hello again Caleb. I'm Joan." Feeling something cold upon her hand, Joan glances down to find the drink she had ordered being shoved her way. Oh right! The line.

"Thank you." She acknowledges the vendor before shifting to the side, tugging off the sliver of straw wrapper that protects her drink, "How are things going for you?"

Bailey doesn't settle but instead ends up arching a bit in her flight path. Finding dancing going on, the little bot lowers near Stephanie and her new found friend. Manipulators lift up in the air as the bot moves side to side to the rhythm, chittering and beeping along the way.

"...I think Bailey's found this to be an interesting event." Joan comments to Caleb as she starts to step towards the bot's new destination.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Well, she's not worng", Caleb says. "Crowds are not usually my thing, but ever since my moving from Gotham, I found to have some time to relax and broaden my horizons a little."

He looks at Bailey, and calls her out.

"Yo, Bailey...", and - get this - he makes a series of funny beep and boop noises in a playful tone to her, all finished with a thumbs-up.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown's brain-freeze seems to pass enough after a few moments that she at least pulls her hands down from her temples and gets back into dancing to the metal drums. "Is it always this much fun around here?" she calls over to the man who pulled her over to dancing.

"Not always, but this is the best week of the year here. Except for maybe Christmas!" he calls back.

She turns and sees the festively decorated drone has seemed to join in the dancing. Stephanie lets out a little laugh. If she hadn't noticed Joan and Caleb interacting with it, she might wonder if Oracle was piloting it.

As it is, Stephanie reaches out, and if allowed gently takes hold of one Baily's manipulators, turning the little bot about like one might spin their dance partner.

Joan Wright has posed:
As Caleb beeps and boops at Bailey, both manipulators bend upwards, crossing over as if to cover an imaginary mouth. There's a flurry of displeased beeps before the bot zoots back into place with the dancers.

The little manipulator rests into Stephanie's hands as the bot continues dancing.

Joan's phone beeps. Looking to the display on the screen, she sighs and looks to Caleb. "...She doesn't appreciate you speaking about her motherboard that way."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Okay, you know those times when it looks like your brain is gonna explode - or implode - in embarassment that you just wanna wilt and die? Caleb has hit it just now, as revealed by letting his head drop. "I think I just wanna go hide in a corner, now... And maybe fade away..." For weeks, he's gonna have it stuck in his head where it all went wrong. "It was all just turning out to be a fine day, the Dykstra mouth had to fumble it."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown turns Baily about again, then lets go of the manipulator, only to have her own "manipulator" taken by the man who turns Stephanie about in turn.

After, she looks around, eyes settling on Joan and Caleb again as they talk. "Is this yours?" Stephanie asks Joan with a motion towards Bailey. "Really cute decorations," Stephanie, says, the blue-eyed blond flashing a warm grin over to the woman.

Out in the street, the parade has started. A local school's marching band comes first, but close behind them is a float, decorated to portray a Caribbean island. Men and women in skimpy carnival attire dance around the float, while others on the float are tossing out goodies to the crowd.

Joan Wright has posed:
"I wouldn't worry about it too much." Joan assures Caleb as she puts her phone up. "Once she realizes boops are not your primary language, and that your translator is little off, she'll likely just suggest a driver update and that'll be that." She looks over to Caleb, "Good effort though. You managed to make words."

Bailey's manipulators bend once more seemingly to cover what could be termed the mouth. But the manner seems a bit more joyful as the beeps and boops come across more pleasantly. Joan smiles to the compliment as the pair join Stephanie's grouping. "Thank you. Bailey dressed herself today."

After encountering one of the many vendors situated in the area. As the parade starts to move along the street, Joan glances up to the float coming along. The architect gives a warm smile. "Thank you for dancing with her. She seems particularly excited today at the new inputs."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"You kidding?", Caleb looks at Joan. "This is the nightmare of first contact, the stuff that triggers wars." Deep breath. Calm and relaxed.

To Stephanie, he nods - whether again or for the first time, in case Steph missed it in the middle of the crowd. "Hey there." The wave is new, however.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown gives Caleb a smile and a wave in response. Her eyes go back to the drone after hearing Joan's comments. The young woman's expression turns even more curious. "So is it... she... purely AI driven? Not something you're controlling?" Stephanie asks.

She looks back to the drone saying, "Very beautiful decorations. Blend in beautifully with the carnival." Not sure how much, if any of that, Bailey's AI might pick up on.

One of the people up on the float tosses out a necklace, a mix of beads and feathers. The decoration flying through the air over the heads of the crowd lining the street, and right towards Joan, Caleb, Bailey and Stephanie.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan smiles to the questions being posed and nods. "She is AI driven and has developed quite a personality to go with it. I don't control her, but she does listen to me when I ask her to do something."

Whether or not she follows through is another story.

As Stephanie brings back attention to Bailey, who seems more interested in the floats. But the compliments do register. The little manipulators giddy clap together in response before Joan's phone beeps again.

Joan glances to her device. "She says 'Thank you.'" Joan provides.

One better not dare say that Kord Industries doesn't raise POLITE bots. Or at least in this instance.

As beads are thrown out, Bailey zooms up, snagging a pair in mid air before coming down. Offering one to Stephanie.

Joan looks over to Caleb as she puts her phone back. "Trust me, I've had my share of bloopers around her. It's a learning process."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Well, she does have some reflexes on her", Caleb says as beads are thrown and handed. "I'm sure it'll turn out just fine in the end." He kinda expects the little bot to have a bead thrown at him, now - insulting motherboards is kinda captital offense for AI contacts. "Although at this point, I think maybe vocalization of human languages would be key to understanding."

To Stephanie: "I'm Caleb, by the way." He looks at Bailey, then back to her. "You interested in AI and bots?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown gives a smile to Bailey as Joan passes on the message from the bot. When the bead and feather necklaces are caught and one offered to her, Stephanie takes it and slips it about her neck. "Thank you!" she says. "Now I have a souvenir to show when I get back home."

She takes another sip of her frozen drink. It definitely is good to have, as even the relatively cool day compared to the rest is still pretty warm. Especially while dancing.

"Nice to meet you, Caleb," she says, and gives him a wave as she tells the trio (Baily included), "Stephanie."

She sips her drink a bit more and then glances at her watch. Time to go get into costume and make her way through the sewer tunnels to the building. Not something she's looking forward to. "I'm going to go meet up with friends, nice meeting you. Take care!" she says before heading off.

Joan Wright has posed:
Joan nods, watching as Stephanie puts on the necklace Bailey gave her. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Stephanie." Joan advises, glancing as the little bot waves fervently to the departing woman. "Well this is turning out to be a nice outing, isn't it Bailey?"

Joan looks back over to Caleb, "I'm sure by the end of the day, she will have either forgotten, or have replaced the information with something else."