17430/Busking Beginnings

Busking Beginnings
Date of Scene:	16 March 2024
Location:	Bryant Park
Synopsis:	In which, AJ met MJ and Patty, and their attempt at getting coffee was interrupted.
Cast of Characters:	Allen-James, Mary Jane Watson, Patty Sloan

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Allen-James has posed:
    It's a lovely day in Bryant Park, early spring, with the start of buds on the trees. The weather is a bit blustery and cool, but it's clear with only a few clouds in the air. Jackets flap in the gusts of wind, and hats have to be held sometimes.
    Allen-James is, as he often is, trying to make a few bucks. A violin is in hand, and he's sitting on the wall of the promenade outside the Library. He's got a violin case at his feet, and it's got a smattering of bills and change in it. His mismatched sneakers tap the stones of the promenade as he seems to look off into the distance for a moment, considering something. He's between songs for a moment, taking a drink on a cup of coffee settled on the wall beside him, before he shakes himself, and looks around. Seeming to come to a decision, he hefts his violin, and draws his bow along a string in a slow, shifting note, almost a wail, before launching into an upbeat fiddle song, trying for cheerful in the afternoon sunlight. Like many buskers, he's better than you might expect, with crisp, precise fingering, and surprisingly good bow control, dancing through notes with light, fast strokes.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's a lovely day in the park. Mary Jane is out walking, her cell phone held against her neck as she would speak into it. "No, Aunt Anna, that's not a cupholder. How old is your computer? Uh.. When did you get it?" Some quick back and forth talking. "Huh. I think that's a CD drive. Cool, I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid. Can't remember the last time I listened to a CD either.." she would muse over. "Anyways, gotta go Aunt Anna, send May my love and ask her to save some cookies for me."
    As she would hear the sound of the violin playing as she would go to put her flipphone away. Moving to listen to him playing and go to tap her foot along to it.

Allen-James has posed:
    The wind tousles Allen-James's curly black mop of hair as he sees the pretty redhead stop to listen to him play. He sits up a bit straighter, and the fiddle song reels into a fast flurry of finger work, as he nonchalantly gives her a toothy grin, and a wink over his violin, trying for a bit of showmanship now that he's got an audience, even if it is a slender audience of One.
    Talking, for the moment, is prohibited by his lean of his chin against the rest on his battered, shabby, all but broken instrument. It, like the young man, has seen better days. There's a worn spot on the body where the bow was struck too many times, there's a large gouge along the back of the neck of the bow, as if it was used to parry a knife at some point in the distant past. None of that matters to AJ his fingers dance down the fingerboard. His skill level is obvious, professional even as he lounges and shifts around, he never misses a note, never misses his timing.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She takes a few moments to appreciate the music, then goes to tap her foot along to get the timing right and make sure she's matched to it. The song isn't quite familyar over in her mind as she goes to quickly match the meter.. A quick few taps on her phone to open an app to identify a song, and it goes to buzz along until it gets it. Then, taking another momentw hile the phone would put up the words and the pitch, and she takes a breath..
    And goes to sing along. She's just a hair off; the song is unfamiliar and she's keeping up with the playing and also going along by the reader. Her voice is good, as are her vocals. Just not quite as professional as the man that's playing.

Allen-James has posed:
    Being a professional concert violin player is all about precision, speed, and concentration. Being a professional busker is all about adaptation, though, and Allen-James has been busking long enough to adapt quite well to the unexpected. Like, for instance, a beautiful young woman joining him by singing. His toothy grin widens, and he stands up, and taps his foot steadily, audibly, as he slows down a bit to match the pace of her singing, rather than making her try to keep up with him while singing an unfamiliar song.
    In fact, when he realizes what she's up to, before she joins, he subtly shifts to the refrain, so that she can easily join in, and then lets her choose what verses she wants to sing of the light humored Irish song about springtime.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
She appreciates him going to match her, and she would return himw tih a smile over and keeps up on her phone to make sure she's not manging the words. Her enunciation is good, even if she's jsut a hair off. If she were in a bar, a few people would probably be correcting her - or they'd just tell her she hadn't had enough to drink to properly do it. She would go along with him and move to keep on tapping her foot, trying to sync up with him better as she would sway her hips, humming along. She could sing - not spectactularly.

Allen-James has posed:
    In this sort of environment, any singing is enough to attract attention, and the unexpected duet is getting Allen-James more attention than normal. He bobs himself up and down in time to the song, as a couple people come up, and start clapping to the beat, encouraging the violinist and the singer. A few people passing by toss some cash in the case, as they wander by, and AJ manages a bow without even pausing his song. A couple of young college students begin impromptu dancing with each other, and for a few minutes, there's a small party on the promenade.
    Of course, all good things must end, and a good song is no exception. AJ finishes with a reeling flourish that isn't, if you actually know the song, an actual part of it, but it sounds damn good, and he gives a bow to a smattering of applause, and waves for MJ to take a bow as well. "How bout that voice, folks?" he says with a smile. "Thanks for coming in."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
It's hopefully getting the busker a bit more than he would just playing. Maybe getting other people to join in, put out some applause.. Or at least to appreciate it. And maybe get the man just a bit more attention. "A pleasure. You're among the most talented performers I've seen out this way in ages." The girl would glance over at him appreciatively and clap her hands.
    "Thanks for tolerating me. I'm not that good so glad I was able to help a bit."

Patty Sloan has posed:
Today is a day for exploration! At least that was the original idea for Patty Sloan. She was going to Start in Mutant Town and explore the city a little bit. Sadly that has lead to her getting lost. As she wonders into Bryant park, she looks around trying to find where the devil she's managed to wonder to. "Okay this is obviously not Central park. Too small." She comments to herself as she walks along.

Today the college girl is wearing an Xavier's T-shirt and a pair of ripped up jeans. Her ever present purple and white sneakers are on her feet. Her wings are belted down so no one can actually see them.

Allen-James has posed:
    "The wages of a mispent youth." AJ claimed, a bit of sadness hiding in his eyes as he gives the woman a wry smile. "And nonsense. You've got a fine voice, and you know how to put some emotion in. There's plenty of singers on the radio with less talent than that." The crowd is breaking up, but a few are hanging out to see if the violin and singer will put on a repeat show.
    He glances around, and drops his voice conspiratorially, "Plus, you're pretty, which, you know, gets the tips to roll in." he says with a wink. He hears a college girl comment about Central park, and he shakes his head, "This is Bryant. In midtown. If you're looking for Central it's up north. Subway's over there.." he motions towards the subway stop not far from the library. "Just get on the line headed north."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would grin, "Could be better. If I had the time, the training, and the passion. Just was something I did but never really got into. I can respect anyone who can perform and put passion into it. You're definitely one of the types that can." She doesn't ask 'what you doing out here'. That's definitely not polite. If the man wants to share his story, then that's his call.
    Glancing at Patty. "No, you can be pretty sure it's different. Central Park has the Metropolitain."

Patty Sloan has posed:
"Bryant Park." Patty looks around and smiles. "This is a nice park!" She smiles and quickly pulls out a few dollar bills and drops them in the busker's Case. "Thank you for the information. I was just out exploring. I went from mutant town all the way here." She comments and then gives a polite smile to him. "You play well!" She states before giving a polite smile to Mary Jane. "I don't really know what that is." She blushes. "Sorry I am not really familiar with New York City. I'm from a small town in Pennsylvania and I got to school outside of the city."

She doesn't go into any more about the school she attends as she doesn't want to cause any trouble. "I actually wanted to explore the city and kinda got lost. Go figure right?"

Allen-James has posed:
    "Well, you know. Passion is just a matter of motivation. But alas, Violin isn't exactly the easiest thing to get recognized with. If you haven't been to Juliard, what are you even bothering with it for?" Allen-James is clearly joking, sounding like he's mocking himself, even as he looks wistfully across town.
    He lets that go, and turns his attention to the young woman. "The Metropolitan... The Met?" he tries a more colloquial term "A rather large, world renowned art gallery which people come from other countries to visit?" AJ prompts with a chuckle. "Welcome to New York, regardless. Life's always interesting around here. What's your music?" he asks both of the women, as if giving her a pop quiz that contains the most important of personality delineations.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smile, "Yeah, also a matter of time. There's only so many things you can push aside until you're not able to focus. If you want to do something, it deserves to be done properly. I'm not great at doing things halfway. If I can't do it right, then it really doesn't deserve to be done by me." She would lgance at Patty. "That's hard, the city's really laid out well. Everything's on a grid."

Patty Sloan has posed:
"Well that just shows I'm an expert at getting lost!" Patty exclaims to Mary Jane. She laughs a little but really feels silly over the whole thing. "Okay so North the Central Park and... The Met." She looks at AJ trying to confirm what is there. "I've never been to an art museum. My home town mustly had statues to like Civil War soldiers and stuff."

She awkwardly stretches and winces a little as her wings strain against the belts holding them down. "Oh I like umm all sorts really. I like Classic rock a lot. And Pop music. I don't really like country a whole lot. I do like Lo-fi beats too." She states answering the question about the music.

Allen-James has posed:
"Lo-Fi is great." the young man opines with a smile, and a nod. Allen-James smiles slightly, "Oh, I know all about wanting to do things right." he chuckles, and mmms, "Never been to an art museum. Well, the Met is.. America's Louvre, maybe? It's worth seeing, if you can get in. Go in the morning some time, spend the day wandering it." he offers by way of advice. "There's a lot of art if you're into it, all over New York."
    AJ glances over at the case, visually counting the money in it, trying to decide if he wants more coffee, or to eat somewhere other than a soup kitchen tonight. "Would you ladies like Coffee? I'd say my treat, but I seem a bit short. There's a nice shop across the way though, that doesn't mind my 'look'." he says with a chuckle, as he heads over towards his case to scrape his change and bills into the pocket of his tattered hoodie, before tucking away his instrument and its bow.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smile, "Yeah, it's right up there with the Smithsonian. If you ever have a spare month, go up to DC and go through all the museums." She spoke wistfully in the way of someone that wished they'd been able to but was never able to scrounge it together. "ANywyas, pleasure meeting you. And my treat to both of you, I can cover it." She would offer the two. "There's a few places nearby."

Patty Sloan has posed:
"I totally will. I look forward to it. Maybe once I get a job..." Patty comments as she looks northerly. She smiles and looks back to AJ and to MJ. "Coffee sounds great." She grins. "I am good to go wherever. I mean I'm already completely turned around."

She smiles and extends a hand to both Mary Jane and AJ. "My name is Patty. Patty Sloan." She looks at the two. "I am currently a college student who is trying to decide what she wants to study. I have no idea. I have been given some options but I am a far way from where I need to be to go follow up on those options."

Allen-James has posed:
    "A pleasure to meet you, Patty. I'm Allen-James... Vincent... Ramses-Denholme... the Fourth. You may, if it pleases you, call me AJ." His voice is haughty and 'high society' sounding as he rattles off his name, but a smirk as he finishes hints that it's all a big joke to him. Possibly. Those who are actually up on high society would know that there /is/ a Connecticut family near Heartford with more money than sense, whose last name is Ramses-Denholme.
    "I would love a cup wherever you would like." AJ opines to Mary Jane, motioning off towards the streets.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smile, "Mary Jane Watson. Pleasure to meet you as wlel. ANd nice to meet you Patty." SHe would offer her hand over to each. "Just remember it takes awhile to get places. The subway is your best friend if you're wandring. The city's laid out very specifically, which makes it a lot easier to get around in than say Paris or London."

Allen-James has posed:
    AJ gives MJ's hand a gentle shake, and smiles. "Subway's great, but actually a bit more confusing than just walking a lot of times. The street grid is pretty self explanatory Alphabets one way, numbers the other." he motions up at the street signs as he walks. "The subway lines follow the grid, sort of, but meander a bit when they have to." he explains as he finishes packing up his case, and slips it onto a sling that he slings over his back, and tucks his hoodie up to hide much of his face.

Patty Sloan has posed:
"A pleasure to meet you both. AJ and Mary Jane." She shakes both of their hands and smiles. "Thank you for the directions, Mary Jane. I will take the subway back then. That should work for me. I just need to get back to Mutant Town and then catch an Uber up to my school." She sighs with a bright smile on her face. "Sorry I am still getting used to the fact that I am an actual College girl. I was looking forward to it and saving money for it since I got out of high school."

She falls in line behind AJ to go get coffee. "I am game for any coffee I can get at this point. I haven't had anything to drink since the coffee I had with my breakfast. I was going to stop and get some water but I kinda got pushed out of line a few times while trying to get some from a hot dog cart."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would head along. " Then you'll want the stuff that's really, really vile. Difference between coffee you get out and coffe the places that the people who work the graveyard shift go. There's the bottom of the pot, industrial grinder things that makes you hallucinate."

Allen-James has posed:
    AJ smiles and nods, following along. "I have had some truly terrible coffee here in the city. I think one place makes it special with a dollop of motor oil." he opines with a chuckle. "I've been.." He pauses, tensing at the sound of a police car that isn't far, though it flies by without ever turning down the street beside the park. His eyes shift around, darting as if watching for anyone watching him, before relaxing again.

Patty Sloan has posed:
"Okay I will take your advice on where to get coffee. I am definitely not into drinking motor oil or coffee that will make me hallucinate. Both of those would be really not good!" She laughs. "The only stuff I have really had is the stuff we have at school and Coffeebucks stuff. And those are everywhere." She shrugs. "What do you have in mind, Mary Jane?"

She stretches again. Again she winces but quickly brushes it off. "Anything is good right now. I am totally gonna have a caffeine boost to get me back!"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "WEll, it's what you need when you hvae to keep going. And someday they'll find a way to just put caffeine directly into veins." She'd seen the Russians drinking things which she was reasonably sure they used the rotary assembly of the Hellicarrier to grind and mix.

Allen-James has posed:
    Allen-James snorts softly, untensing as nothing comes of the siren, and no one seemed to be looking at, or for, him. He does notice the other girl's wince, but doesn't say anything about it. He just returns to a discussion of coffee.
     "That's actually a common misconception that a strong coffee has to taste bad. It all comes down to the grind and..." This time, it isn't a siren that cuts him off, it's an explosion, and gunfire. They're walking beside a rather upscale hotel, and it's a third story window that blows out, as a man in cheap body armor and some kind of AK variant jumps out after the shock wave, slinging a grapling hook up at the ruined stone and brick around the blown out window, and spinning to fire back into the hotel room.
    AJ hesitates only momentarily, as the explosion rips through the air. He should just duck for cover. He should just run. He doesn't know these two well enough to risk himself, and risk revealing himself...
    But there's a big chunk of wall spraying out and down towards them, and he's pretty damn sure that it'll hurt someone. So, instead, he jumps upward, forming a single step of glowing orange in midair to jump further, and begins waving his hands in broad circles, 'painting' glowing domes over the sidewalk. An orange glow appears over his face as well, concealing it slightly. He falls back towards the earth, and he twists, whipping his violin off his back so that he can hit the ground in a roll, as shrapnel and wall bounce off the two umbrella sized force fields he threw up... more or less over where the young ladies he was walking with. He swings his hand again as he skids to a stop, throwing up another, much smaller shield to protect himself, and his violin.

Patty Sloan has posed:
"I've heard of different roasts but I always just got the cheap stuff from the store. Usually the store brand knock off of a name brand. Maybe I should try some different roasts." Patty turns to look at MJ, "I can understand that. I still would prefer not to be seeing things that aren't there from a cup of joe." She smiles a little and just continues walking along.

Then everything changes. The explosion causes her to nearly fall on her butt. Then there is that person who comes with an ak looking weapon. And then, A chunk of the building comes down. Quickly she moves but she isn't quick enough to get out of the way. She then sees AJ making shields. "Wow!" She comments. Her attention goes to the man with the weapon. Her eyes close and a very strong gust of wind comes down on the man. She doesn't do anything to make it clear that its her doing it, but she is certainly doing something. "There are people in there..." She states as she looks up at the building. "Anyone care if I go in?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Well, isn't that interesting? And Mary Jane is once again at the center of a robbery. She goes to duck down and then glances over at Patyt, her eyes wide. "Is it a guy with a mask and a gun? Or aguy with a mask wearing spandex and something really shiny on him?" By that she meant was it a run fo the mill armed robbery or was it something by a supervillain. An armed robber wouldn't bother to rob a coffee shop, so that made it likelier to be a supervillain. Just please let it not be the one she was thinking of, please let it not be teh one she was thinking of..

SHe goes forwards to call out to the other people int he area, "Come on folks, let's all just get out of here in an organized and calmed fashion. We're all New Yorkers." They should be used to this!

Allen-James has posed:
    Rubble bounces off the shields easily, which don't move from midair at all, reflecting the shrapnel and stone back more or less towards the building, and away from the street and the people around the area.
    "You want to go up there, into a firefight where at least one person used explosives?" AJ's voice is half muted and distorted by the glowing orange 'mask' of force field energy over his face. "Looks like a standard, if excessively well equipped robber." AJ says with a shrug to MJ, as he tucks his violin under a nearby bench, and shifts his hoodie to hide as much of his head as he can.
    The hotel, stretching upward above them, is nice, near the park, between the park and a shopping area they were headed towards. Now with smoke pouring out of it, there's blaring fire alarms from inside it, and a sprinkler system that has cut on, adding to the chaos inside it. People are backing away from the scene, giving a wide berth to the sudden combat zone, while also pulling out cell phones to record the excitement.
    The man who was swinging on a rope lets out a yelp, and slips downward, as the win slams down in a downburst, throwing off his aim, and making him drop his AK from a firing position to grab onto the rope with two hands. The gun swings from a sling, attached to his body armor, as someone else fires a pistol /out/ of the hotel room.
    "And whoever is in there is shooting." AJ points out.

Patty Sloan has posed:
Patty looks like she is in deep thought over the whole thing. She looks at the downed gunman. Focusing again, she tries to use the wind to blow the gun away from the man. "I... I don't know if I can do this but someone's gotta help the people inside." She frowns and takes a deep breath. Fear flowing through her as she hears the gunshots. "I freaking hate guns." She comments as she turns her top around and rips it down the middle. She spins it around and tucks her hands into her top. A moment later two belts drop to the ground and two pair of wings poke out of the back of her top.

She looks up at the hole in the wall. "Its worth a shot right?" She shrugs and flutters her wings a little. "Any advice?" She asks AJ and MJ.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shake her head, "No, we want to try and mostly keep everyone out of here. First, evacuate people. Then assess things when the area is clear. Try to distract the robbers. At the end of the day, stolen things can be rpelaced. People are a lot harder to. So try not to risk anyone's safety. That includes your own." She would take a breath over. "I'll try and evacuate the area and make sure that no one is hurt from shrapnel. You two able to cover things inside?"

Allen-James has posed:
    "Don't get shot." AJ's advice is succinct and practical. The gunman slides down a little further, hitting the wall, and groaning as his body armor proves less effective against walls than he might desire. Another, similarly dressed guy leaps out, grabbing the rope as well, and the two of them start sort of rappelling downward, as a third man, looking like he's wearing a silk robe, and carrying a pistol moves to the edge of the smoking hole, and begins firing a pistol downward at the two body armored thieves. AJ hisses a curse, and starts to wave his arms and move quickly painting large windows of forcefields in the air between the gunfight, and the crowds, which start running for cover as the angry man in the robe fires less discriminately than perhaps you might desire if you were in a spectating crowd.
    The second gunman lifts his rifle, and sprays bullets upward, but at least that's not towards a crowd of civilians.

Patty Sloan has posed:
"Dammit." The blonde states as she takes cover under the shield. Her attention goes to the men coming out the blown out hole. She growls and this time, the wind blasting downwards is a lot stronger, Easily tropical storm levels. "I guess we know whose shooting!" She exclaims to AJ. She watches, Hoping to pin the shooters down with her wind. "This is nuts. EVERYONE CLEAR OUT! GUN!" She screams out trying to get people to flee.

Allen-James has posed:
The force of wind tears at the thieves, and the man standing in the blasted out wall. The man in the robe scowls downward at the street, but decides he doesn't want to risk a precarious position leaning out to shoot downward with such winds going around, and steps back, into the darkness of the hotel room.
    The crowd, having had enough of the excitement, are dispersing rapidly, fearful of the gunshots and the gun.
    The two gunmen let out cries, as they're whipped down and against the building again, and this time, when they slip, they fall downward the remainder of nearly two stories, landing on the pavement with a heavy sounding crunch.
    AJ stares at them, and glances up at the smoking hole in the wall, as people start streaming out of the hotel. MJ is doubtless occupied trying to get control of the scene, and AJ gives a glance at Patty, and shrugs, as he moves to pick up his violin case, face still hidden. "Good work. See you round." he says, turning to jog towards an alleyway, with all due haste, like most of the other people in the area.

Patty Sloan has posed:
Patty hears sirens in the distance. "I think you have a point. Thanks for saving my butt." She states to AJ. Quickly she looks around. "I gotta get out of here." She talks to herself. The wind stops on the gunmen for the moment. The girls wings flutter and a gust of wind whips up under her. She is launched upward, flying high into the sky. "Oh god oh god!" She is shaking in fear at this point. Quickly she moves and flies her way to the roof of the Hotel. She takes off running to the north. "Gotta get back to Mutant Town." She keeps going, Rushing to freedom and avoiding the incoming police.