16990/Grand Openings and New Opprotunities

Grand Openings and New Opprotunities
Date of Scene:	23 January 2024
Location:	Tailor Shoppe
Synopsis:	Art gets visitors to his new shop, and makes an offer to Sunny to fill in as his apprentince! Things get uncomfortable at the end, but noone got hurt. Yay!
Cast of Characters:	Mark Grayson, Sunny Harlow, Caleb Dykstra

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Mark Grayson has posed:
It's finally gotten back to the point where Mark was more than willing to go out in public again and be social with the people in his life. When his mother had sent him a flier about the relocation of a certain shop to New York, he had to share the information with Sunny and of course, make plans to visit. It wasn't that far from the apartment, and getting out of the place was a good idea.

Arriving at the door, Mark pauses for a moment. "What if he doesn't want to see me, Sunny?" he asks, looking towards his girlfriend. "I mean, he was my father's best friend... what if I'm just a reminder of something he no longer wants to affiliated with, which is why he moved here in the first place."

Which means, for the moment, Mark is frozen at the entrance, hand on the handle, unsure if he should go in or walk away.

Sunny Harlow has posed:
"I think someone who makes a career out of clothing and protecting superheroes isn't going to be like that." Sunny, offers as she moves through the door, herself dressed comfortably in some winter leggings and a coat, even a simple white scarf around her neck and her hair tied back in an attempt at a high bun.

"I think he's probably as shocked by things as you are, we are...but he kept doing what he was doing."

Her hand moves, making to interlace fingers with Mark's own to reassure.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Sunny and Bunny were always a reassurance to Mark when he needed them to be. The last couple of months have been terrible on him. But in all of that terribleness, Sunny has been there with him. And now, as her hand settles on his, he nods. "You're right, of course." he says, giving her a smile as he's dressed in a pair of running shoes, blue jeans, and a heavy coat that's not needed, but like Sunny, the pair of them have to keep up appearances of normal humanity.

Leaning over, there's a light peck to Sunny's cheek and a warm smile to her, worthy of her name. "And we won't know until." Turning the knob, he opens the door to allow Sunny to enter first before he follows after her, the small bell ringing to alert Art of customers.

Fortunately, Art is already upstairs as he hears the bell and turns to the pair. "Mark!" he greets warmly. "Hello, my boy!" comes his rich tones as he comes up to the counter. "And you... don't tell me, I'll remember... Sunshine, right?" he asks Sunny. He's only met her once, so it will take a couple of times. "Welcome to my shop! Feel free to look around. How's the threads holding up?" he asks the pair.

As Mark looks around the shop, he relaxes slightly. "Thanks, Art... I'm glad to see you too." he admits honestly even as his eyes land on a picture on the wall of Art and Nolan arm and arm and holding up a large fish.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
It's not like Caleb wasn't curious about this shop, but it just so happens that there's this kid sister, you see, who's a bit of a super-hero buff, so she had to come and have a looksie at how they make it. So, you could say that his plans to have a look at this shop have been placed ahead on his log-term to-do list.

He walks in, having a casual look around first; way ahead of him is Sheila, looking at the costumes and their fabrics.

"Ooooh... So pretty...", she says, her gaze stopping on a particularly sparkly one, like it was covered in glitter.

"Yeah... If you want to be a bullet magnet", Caleb comments. He shudders at the thought of being hit by a bullet - which has happened before. "Whoever wears it better hope it'd be bullet proof...", he frowns at the style, "And really be into the 70s disco vibe." Which is so not him.

Sunny Harlow has posed:
Reassurance and literal brightness personified, Sunny following along where she needed to and drawing Mark along with her where she needed to. "Sunny," the blonde corrects with a grin, although to be fair he might know her as 'Indestructibelle' a little better. "It's good to see you again Art, glad to see the new store."

She does spot Mark looking at the picture, a little squeeze of her hand in comfort for him before she looks up, spotting Caleb and Sheila's arrival with a blink. He wasn't wrong after all.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark keeps Sunny's hand in his, thankful for her presence. The reminders are easier to handle now, even if Sunny has to tug him along on occassion, he's grateful for the company. His attention turns from the picture back to Sunny and then to Caleb and Sheila. "She's a little young to be a superheroine?" he asks Sunny in a little confusion.

Art snaps his fingers. "Sunny, right!" He doesn't call her Indestructibelle, there's others present and he doesn't share secret identities. "Your outfit working out for you? I wanted to make sure you had enough pockets for your gadgets. Kids and their gadgets these days. I should make you a jacket." he comments, pointing at Mark.

Mark laughs and shakes his head. "I'm good!" he offers with a small smirk, before Art glances over at the other pair. "That's because I created that for Dis-Tech Knight back in '77." he explains to them. "That was one of the first suits I created when I first started on this path. And... that reminds me."

His attention turns to Sunny. "You got any more designs? Mark here told me that you have won different costumes and like designing them. You got a portfolio?" he asks. "I'm looking for an apprentince." comes the explanation.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb looks at Mark, "My sister wanted to see the shop." He shrugs, "See how the superheroes get their costumes done." He chuckles.

His eyes fall upon Sunny, "Hey, Sunny! How's it going?" He asks, "Getting some cosplay designs made here?"

Sheila, at the mention of cosplay, is looking gleeful at Indestructibelle.

Sunny Harlow has posed:
"It's holding up, quality fabrics really make a difference. I actually had some ideas for..." she begins, nodding at the mention of her other costumes only to blink a little and look back at Mark with a bright grin. "An apprentice?" she questions, excitement clearly gleefully bubbling as she nods, but whatever gushing about her own costumes and ideas comes to redirect as Caleb addresses her and Sheila's eyes bring a little modification to what she'd say.

"Yes! Caleb, hi!" she begins before nodding. "There's a couple of more complex designs that are tricky, leathers and stuff too thick to hand stitch. Corsets are a pain like that!"

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark has a habit of sharing little tidbits of information now and again, and he might have totally let it slip how much Sunny loves making outfits. For the moment, however, his attention is on Caleb, "You went to Happy Harbor last year, right?" he asks. "I think I saw your around campus."

And he's willing to handle an introduction himself since Sunny needs a moment to compose herself. "I'm Mark." a grin. "Nice to meet you, since I see you already know my girlfriend." That said in a teasing lit to Sunny as he offers his free hand to Caleb. To Sheila, he nods. "She has made some really awesome costumes. Even has her own Pintrest page."

Art listens to the four talk, but his attention is still with Sunny. "I'm not getting any younger." he explains to Sunny. "I'm hoping to retire in the next decade or so and would love to have someone to help pass down my teachings to. I'm not any van Dyne or the like, but I do a'ight." he comments with a small grin. "If you're interested, you could put together a portfolio for me, we can look it over, but what you presented to me so far is promising."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Nice to meet you, Mark, I'm Caleb", he says, shaking Mark's hand. "And I still do go there. I'm doing a catch-up on a few years I got behind for... Health reasons." The last words seem to be searched for.

But moving on, "And this is Sheila, my kid sister. She goes to Happy Harbor too, way ahead for her age." He says that with a grin - she had a good teacher.

To Sunny, he remarks, "Yeah, corsets... Pain to make them, even more a pain to use them, or so I'm told." He gives a thumbs-up, "But hey, you got some designs, and now you might get to implement them. You like it, from what you told me before... Seems like a dream job, right?"

Sunny Harlow has posed:
A little chuckle at the introduction, Sunny grins up to Caleb's words and bends down towards Sheila, nodding lightly. "Nice! The last ones I did were a character from an older anime thanks to a request poll, but you'll have to give me the address so I can look it up."

She looks up at Art', another nod and well...clearly she was keeping herself restrained from the excited bouncing on the spot or hugging Art she almost certainly wanted to do.

"I'll have one here by this afternoon Art, you won't regret considering it."

Mark Grayson has posed:
Mark returns the handshake and nods at Caleb's explanation. "I've moved on to college, Sunny and I go to school together. But Bunny is considering HHCC, so might see you around campus." He doesn't elaborate further than that, instead his attention is on the conversation at hand. "I don't really do the cosplay thing, but Sunny's managed to rope me into being her photographer for some of her shoots." he explains.

Art chuckles at Caleb's comment. "I didn't say it was a done deal. Want to get a look at what she's capable of. Seen her cosplay for females, want to see what she'd come up with for the guys. That's what I usually work with. Most women want another woman to do the work for them, so I admit I'm playing that angle as well." A grin at Sunny. "Sorry kid, figured I'd be up front with you on it."

But when she mentions that she'll have one here in the afternoon, he chuckles. "I look forward to seeing it, then. Once I've looked it over, we can discuss the particulars about it."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Caleb can make costumes too!", Sheila says with bright enthusiasm to Sunny and Art. "You should've seen the Batman-themed costume he made me for Halloween. I really wanted the Power Girl, though..."

And that's when she gets her hoodie pulled over her head. "And I said 'no'.", Caleb replies plainly, not delving more into it. "But no", he changes the subject, "I just whipped up some ideas here and there into what seemed to be a functional costume, that's all." He adds, "Had to be a bit of a tailor to fix some clothes over the years, so..." He raises his hands, "But it was nothing fancy or anything. I just did a lot of mending and scavenging. And reusing... And crafting, I'll admit."

Shifting to Mark, he says, "And you just might see me out there, or Sheila here. We're often about, we go to the dorms."

Sunny Harlow has posed:
No comments on Power Girl, but even if her 'under-clothing' costume was of a similar cut, even Sunny didn't wear the 'window' that the Kryptonian went for. Instead she comes back to Art's comment and a look towards Mark before considering lightly. "I'm sure I can come up with something. Mark just might have to put up with being roped into testing stuff for me."

Mark Grayson has posed:
"That's awesome, Sheila. I'm sure his costumes are great, too." Mark offers as he gives the young girl a grin. "I suppose a Power Girl without her lack of symbol wouldn't be so bad." He shrugs his shoulders at that. And then Sunny is speaking up and he laughs. "Doesn't that come with the relationship?" he asks her playfully, a squeeze of her hand and a smile shot her way. "Anytime you want me to try something. Maybe you can even take pictures." A small smirk.

Art in the meantime is looking over Caleb's outfit and hmming. "Nice work, son." he offers to him off-hand. "You do that yourself? Looks pretty good." He offers to him as he returns to jotting down some information. "Hey, Mark?" he thinks to ask. "How... how's your mom doing?" comes the halting question.

And while Mark and Art had already talked once since Nolan's 'death', the question gives him pause. Sunny can feel the hand tighten in hers. If she wasn't a Viltrumite like him, it might've hurt. "She's okay. Coping. She told me she was going to try to get back in the office today. Wouldn't let me argue on it, so. I suppose she'll tell me later? I'll let her know you checked on her."

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Caleb looks at Mark when he says 'lack of symbol', just blinking. Eyes dart to Sheila...

"Her lack of symbol? But she doesn't h..." For a moment she doesn't get it.

And when she does, she's massaging her arm, courtsy of a well-timed brotherly elbow. "Buuuuuut anyways!", he quickly cuts off. "Sheila, go see some of those costumes over there, see what you think of them." And there she goes.

"Uhm, thanks. I did add a few pockets to this old thing." Some kevlar padding too to avoid stray bullets, knife sleeves, shuriken sleeves, grenade pockets... Among other things, but nothing he could openly admit to, right? Legalization fees and all that, plus, costumes are friggin' expensive!

He looks at Mark, listening. "Coping..." He can relate (assuming it's the subject of loss). "Sorry to hear about it, man. My condolences."

Sunny Harlow has posed:
"That's basically just a leotard and a cape Mark," Sunny points out, but she doesn't say much more than that, her own attention drifting to mention of Caleb's creations and such until topic switches to Debbie, drawing the blonde's gaze upwards. She didn't really know what to say, she doesn't really want to comment, so all she could do was squeeze Mark's hand and offer a little lean of comfort when Caleb makes the assumption that most of the world ould.

Mark Grayson has posed:
"If you don't know what's going on, I'd suggest you not speak on it." Mark growls out quietly, even as he closes his eyes, Sunny pulling him to her as he lets out a breath. "I'm going to step out a bit." he offers to Sunny, placing a kiss to her cheek. "If you still need to hash out things with Art, that's fine. Just need a quick breath."

Releasing Sunny's hand before giving her side a squeeze, he heads to the door, to step outside and cool off, literally.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"So... It wasn't what I'm thinking", Caleb says after Mark leaves. He turns to the others, "My bad, I guess."

"So, if I may ask, what is a superhero costume made out of?", he asks Art.

Sunny Harlow has posed:
"It's...still new, and personal," she offers softly to Caleb as Mark makes his exit, considering for a moment before looking back to the man still remaining in the store. "It's been good to see you Caleb, shoot me a message sometime. Sheila too," she offered before making to follow her boyfriend out and check in on him.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Art looks unsure at Caleb. "The costumes you see up here are for entertainment only." he states, in a well-practiced tone. "We do not do liscenced costumes, so if you're looking for a Power Girl for your sister, that isn't going to happen. I do work on original ideas and concepts." he shrugs his shoulders. "It's a niche market, but it's one that I believe in." And it's true, all the stuff that is display here is cotton, polyester and other durable and readily available fabrics. There's another glance at Sheila running around unattended and frowns.

"If I were someone who did make those costumes, there's plenty of materials for them. Kevlar and ceramic cloth, other metal laced cloths. If you're looking for something that involves unstable molecules and the like? I'd go see Doctor Richards or Janet van Dyne." Not to say that he may not have access to it, but again, he's not sharing that with anyone he's just met.

"Need your suit altered? Need a costume made for a party? I can do that."

With Sunny starting to leave, Art calls after her. "Don't forget that portfolio!" he reminds her. "At your convience." A grin and he shakes his head. "Poor kid." he comments about Mark. "Glad he's got support, though."

Outside, Mark has not travelled that far, leaned back against the building, willing to wait for Sunny to be done with her business inside. When he sees her come out, he raises his hand in a wave. "Sunny!" he calls out to get her attention.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
"Nope, no Power Girl costume for my sister", he shakes his head. (And inside it, 'hell no' echoes out.) "And she's twelve, she knows how to handle herself around a shop."

He listens to the info Art provides, nodding and chuckling. "Bet they don't come cheap, either...", he says about the unstable molecules.

He looks at Sunny and nods, "Okay, I'll text. See you soon."

Sheila looks up from her window-shopping, and she waves, "Bye, nice to meet you, Sunny!"