536/A Day in the Park

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A Day in the Park
Date of Scene: 15 March 2020
Location: Cathedral Square - Founders Island
Synopsis: Daniel Hastings, a man out of time, finds the purveyer of #GothamHope, taking pictures about town. The two have a discussion about the state of the city and the world, and Daniel gives Phoebe some food for thought.
Cast of Characters: Phoebe Beacon, Daniel Hastings




Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It was a beautiful spring day in Gotham, slightly overcast, with the threat of rain down to a middling 10-percent as the afternoon wore on. In Cathedral Square, the hustle and bustle of the Gothamites as they work through their afternoons, the high-end shops passingly crowded, crime down due to the constant police patrol, and nestled among the towering edifices to greed and the sobering truth that truly, the patron saint of lost causes would be the patron saint of this city there is a small park, beset with benches and statues of a sacred nature.

    And atop a little statue of St. Francis of Asissi, there is a little bird, currently looking curiously at the large iris of a camera that a teenager is pointing at it. Some birdseed has been scattered about, and the teenger is carefully poised hanging over the back of a bench, her dark hair bound in braids and pulled carefully into a bun at the back of her head, her fingers in fingerless gloves, wearing some sturdy jeans and sneakers and a jacket that promotes on of the highschools on the other side of the city

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Lost in the crowd is a bloke dressed nicely enough. Oh it's not Versace or any of those expensive name brands you'd expect from the economic hub of Gotham but he gets by. It would seem that he's taken to turning about and taking in the various sights such as they are. Not that there's much green space here. Lots of stone and statuary.. except.. and then his steps are drawn towards a pocket of trees and benches. As the girl and her camera come into view, he pauses.. waits for the click.. or at least for her to straighten up from her voyeuristic intent. "Pet project or are you a professional?" He inquires with a jaunty sort of smile and a British accent.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe straightens up and stretches one of her arms out a little bit before the voice speaks up, and she gives a little startle, turning with he rdark eyes narrowed -- and then straightens up a moment, giving a wry little smile.

    "Oh, ah... little bit of both?" she ventures with a little laugh. Her jacket is open, and her t-shirt, in dark gray, has #GothamHope etched in white on it.

    "I'm a blogger trying to bring a little more sunshine to the city."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Recognition comes to rest upon Dan's face, "Ahhh. You're the.. very nice. Heartily approve. Everything I hear about Gotham is.. well.. frankly.. depressing." He gives a small shrug. "So I thought I'd give it a little tour and see if the rumors were right. Thankfully, fate would have me happen upon you, of all people." He smiles and dips his chin to her. "So I have to say, keep up the good work. A little ray of sunshine on a dark day can truly make the difference."

    Shifting his attention from her to the small park, he muses, "It's a pity this place isn't larger. It truly does lend a little bit of.. hope.. to the soul." There's flash of a wink to her. "You.. don't do requests do you? Next time.. a big splash of color. A bluejay.. or a cardinal. It would be a nice contrast to the wall of gray don't you think?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Gotham has its issues, but they're being worked on. Slowly, but worked on." the girl replies as she sits down on the bench, and stretches her arms a bit, and gives a shrug. "I mean, we're a city that is currently best known for our crime rate and a man dressed like a bat fighting the crime rate. It'd be nice if we could also be known for our art museums, the science center, the fact that the Waynes kinda shamed a lot of rich people into donating money for the good of the city in the past and maybe Bruce Wayne could step it up a liiiittle bit but..." she gives a bit of a grin.

    "And I featured a cardinal pair on the last blog entry. I like 'em. And robins, but cardinals hang out and kick the blue jays away from the feeder so that the smaller songbirds have a chance."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Daniel tilts his head as if.. did he miss something? So into the pocket he goes and out comes the phone. Tap. Taptap. Tap. Scroll. "Ahh! So you did." He lowers the phone again. "Blue jays are bullies? I did not know that." There's a slow nod as a mental note is made. "I'm afraid I'm a physicist not an ornithologist. Not for lack of appreciation for birds. The majesty of flight. It's a wonderful thing." His smile returns brightly. "As for the art museums and the science center.. I'll have to make a note to see them then. Was there anything else I should put on the tour since I'm here?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh! well, I don't know much about physics myself. I'm more a history-philosophy type." she jokes, and then she sticks her hand out to offer to shake, Not to mention forgetful of my manners! Phoebe Beacon, Gotham Hope Blog. How do you do, Doctor...?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Oh heavens!" Daniel is likewise reminded of his manners by the young lady and accepts her hand quickly with a vigorous shake. "Hastings. Daniel Hastings. It is a pleasure to meet the bright future of Gotham, Miss Beacon. Truly." He smiles again before taking his hand back before she might think him some manner of.. sort. "There's nothing wrong with learning from history. I only wish more people had." He offers the last with a small lament of a sigh.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Oh! You spoke at the memorial in New York, I recall the name. I had it playing while I was tending my plants -- so faces are kinda a little harder but I..." she ventures, and she looks Daniel up and down, and winces "Thought you would be older."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Daniel can't help but laugh at her wince. "Quite alright. So did I if we're splitting hairs. Or.. in my case space-time." He winks again. "I honestly wish it were an easy story to tell. Suffice to say, when you meddle with the laws of physics.. be prepared to take the bull by the horns. Thankfully, I was able to at least wrestle it into submission and so you see me now.. rather than simply constituent atoms."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "That sounds like a fascinating story to hear!" the girl exclaims, rubbing the back of her neck. "So you're some sorta physics superhero then?" Phoebe questions, sitting down on the bench. She grabs her backpack, and cracks open a bottle of water, offering it to Daniel first.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    There's a slight tilt to his head and arch to his brow. "Well.. I don't know that I'd call myself a superhero.." Still, he's sitting down and accepting her bottle of water. "But I try to do what's right by people. Genocide is never okay, for instance. Bigotry, hatred of whole peoples.. this country used to think that was worth going to war for. Now.. we have people within who want to spread Hitler's lies. So.. someone has to fight it, hmm?" He takes a pull on the bottle then settles it on his knee with a dip of his chin to her. "Thank you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Certainly. If I'm asking you questions, it's only fair that I offer something in return." the girl gives a smile, and cracks her own bottle.

    "Do you think it'll come down to a war within the US then, if the bigotry remains? I'm pro-Meta, for the record. It... wouldn't sit right with me just to label someone an enemy because they have a talent I don't."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "I.. certainly hope not." Daniel answers after a moment of somber thought. "People /can/ change.. they just.. have to have a reason. Need /something/ to show them that we all have mutual needs. Food, water.. love.. there is a basic humanity in all of us. The problem lies in a lack of empathy. An inability to see others' needs as our own.. or even before them. And then there's power. The wealthy, for instance, can control the poor through that wealth. But how do you control someone whom has a power you lack? And can never have?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The girl's fingers curl reflexively at the idea of control. And she exhales. "You really can't. You can make laws against them, and provided they obey laws then they're self-limiting, but if they don't... then you mark them as terrorists. You make others afraid of them. Isolation is a powerful weapon." Phoebe reflects, "And I think it's that threat that makes a lot of people try to hide in plain sight. Because you don't want people to *be* afraid of you."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "So how do you combat that propoganda? The lies. The fearmongering? This is the same lunacy that Hitler spawned in the thirties.. and if we're not careful we'll have the forties all over again." War. "You have to combat it with people. People not willing to listen. Not willing to be paid off. For whom principle is more important than 'acceptance' or being one of the clique. But that's the rub isn't it. At least we know what the method is.. and hopefully people are better informed now than they were then."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe leans back a moment, tilting her head back and looking to the gray skies over Gotham.

    "... that's part of the reason I run my blog. It's easy and totally acceptable to be doom and gloom in Gotham. It's part of the city identity 'Things are bad in NYC, but at least they're not Gotham!'" she frowns a moment, and she rubs the back of her head as she brings her head down. "And... I also think that's why having out there superheroes is so important. There's good people, there have always been good people. People who smuggle babies and children out of ghettoes, who throw other country's passports out the back of a train to save as many as possible." she snaps her fingers, and points "Like that doctor in Poland who went against the Nazi's and said everyone in the village had this super-communicable disease and save the town that way. And everyone who hid people in attics and floorspaces to smuggle them away -- and that goes back to this country too. I don't know if the Underground Railroad helped any of my ancestors so that I could be here, but I'm happy they worked hard." she states, and she gives a wry grin.

    "This is why I like history. It's full of awful things, sure -- but also full of rebellious acts. Even small rebellious acts."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
"How.. would you like to be able to be more than a twitter account? I.. assume you know enough to make your own web page?" Daniel inquires after a moment of thought. "Open one of those.. patreon.. or you know an account that takes donations.. and I'll pay for your webpage. I'm not wealthy but I can do that much. Who knows. Get enough of a voice going and you might just make that difference you're talking about." He smiles broadly. "You're inspiring me, after all."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    At that, the young lady blushes, and she rubs the back of her neck "Ah, there's... complications with taking donations and being a big voice." she breathes out. "I don't want my mom finding out that I'm going out in the city all the time either... she worries."

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Daniel gives a vague gesture at her t-shirt. "Might want to reconsider the attire then. Unless you plan on lying and just saying you support the message." His smile is amused. "Well.. whenever you're ready then." He fishes out his cell phone from his pocket again and taps away. Shortly thereafter she'll get a dm from an 'jeanlucpaillard' that reads simply 'hello'. No doubt she'll hear the ding on her phone. He just gives her a dip of the chin.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "She thinks people send it in from all over the city. And like I said -- no one really... pays much attention to the shirt, except the random visitors." she motions back to Daniel with a smart smile, and then her phone chirps happily, and she draws it out of her pocket to check -- and sees the message.

    "Jeanlucpaillard?" she questions, and glances back to Daniel.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Daniel cracks a smile as if there's a joke in the name somewhere. "Picard was taken." He admits. "And who doesn't enjoy a paillard?" Leaning over, he pats her on the shoulder then rises to his feet. "Truth be told, if I hadn't seen you taking the picture of the bird.. I probably wouldn't have made the connection either. Still. Keep up the good work and.. if you're ever in a pinch.. just drop me a line. I don't know about 'super' but part of my job description has taken hero to a new level." He winks.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe lets her eyebrows come up, her lips pursing a moment as she watches the man draw up, and she rubs the back of her head.

    "Ah, well it was nice talking to you, and as someone who went from Way Back Then to Now via wrestling physics you're a pretty interesting person." the teen gives a small grin, and gives him a bit of a wave.

    "Take care Dr. Hastings!"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    "Coming from someone of your generation, that's kind of you to say." Daniel replies with a soft laugh. "You be safe, Miss Beacon. Do keep posting your pictures. You can at least be assured that they brighten one person's day at the least, hmm?" He tips her a snap salute then turns to rejoin the throng beyond the park.