8204/No Business Like Show Business

No Business Like Show Business
Date of Scene:	11 October 2021
Location:	The Cafeteria of the Gotham Cable studios. Lunch time.
Synopsis:	Thomas meets Demona. Mairin is repulsed by Thomas.
Cast of Characters:	Mairin Moran, Susan Sullivan, Thomas Blake

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Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin slides into the studio cafeteria and off to the side a bit as she scans the tables. But, of course, she isn't even really sure who she's here to see. At least no tenough to know him by face. So she just shrugs and motions Demona to the line for food. "Shall we get something to eat?"

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    "Can I just keep you company?" Demona asks through the speaker in her skull-themed gas mask. "I'm not hungry," she reminds her friend. She's currently wearing the hood on her hoodie up, but it's fairly loose over her head. Her hands are stuffed into that unified hoodie pocket. Her black clothes and the black, skull-motif mask stand in stark contrast to the Beauty and the Beast girl's backpack in bright purple and yellow on her back.

Thomas Blake has posed:
However there is no question who 'Catman' is. In fact he's wearing the same costume from the night of Mairin's rescue. Thomas Blake is sipping a cup of coffee and talking to a prop's man. Probably. The man has a Them of the Crime jacket and several firearms. Thomas points to a revolver with an attached silencer and shakes his head. The man grins makes a note of it and then departs. Thomas nibbles on a donut. When he notes Mairin's entrance he cocks an eyebrow at her. Small wave.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin would kick herself, but instead she just gives an apologetic grimace. "Of course. Sorry." She's about to head for the line when she spots Thomas' wave. She's not sure how she missed him before. Batman she is not. So instead of the line, she points him out to Demona and heads his way, her expression becoming more firm the closer she gets.

    "Is it safe?" she demands when she reaches him.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona is happy to be in a place where people only glance with curiosity at her, as though wondering what she's filming, rather than staring at her. She follows Mairin like a 5'10" puppy, glancing around nervously at all the people eating and talking and such. She bumps into Mairin as the woman stops to talk to the person they're there to meet.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake gives Demona a look. Then he shrugs. "I thought it was safe. You friend there, looks like she expects a gas attack any minute. Get some thing to eat or drink if you want. Have a seat. I spoke to the producer about repairing the robot and brought your name up, and only your name." For his part, Thomas has his cowl pulled back, and is smiling.

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin gives a little eye roll. "Not the cafeteria... the Robot. Did it survive the transport, is it still in one piece?" She takes a seat, ignoring the invitation to get some food. Work comes before food. Always."

    "I don't want someone else to repair her. They'll probably mess it all up. I'm going to have to re-work half the elctrical in her as it is."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona spins a chair around and sits in it without taking off her backpack. It's not very lady-like, but since when does a woman hiding her face care about such things? She is quiet and lets the kitty and Mairin talk, at least for now.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake takes another sip. "It's a he. Not that it matters. The producer's office is on the third floor. Ask for Pete. If he doesn't give you enough parts or facilities, come see me. I'll get what you need. The robot was mine. I don't like my things treated like... " His voice trails off. The actor playing Mr. Freeze, Sorry Sub-Zero is grimacing in pain with headache, a dish of ice cream before him. Yes. Some theme criminal is going to sue the production. Omens like that can't be ignored. "Anyway see me. Who's your silent friend?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin considers this for a moment, then motions to Demona. "This is Demona. She's my assistant." She pauses in case Demona wants to chime in with anything. "WHy was *he* left in that run down lair? If you like your things treated so well?" A bit of the edge and ice has fallen from her tone. Thomas is being nothing if not polite, and it isn't like he's the one who kidnapped her. Quiet the opposite actually, though she's not sure how much of it was saving his things and how much was saving her. Either way, he helped. So she should really be a bit nicer to the man.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona lifts a hand and gives a curt wave to their potential client as she makes brief eye contact. She folds her arms on the back of the chair and goes back to nervously looking about. She glances at Mairin as she notes the change in attitude. That might help a little, but there's something about this place that has her on edge. Maybe just this one building, maybe all of Gotham.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake links his fingers and says, "The robot was confiscated when I... fought Batman and escaped. It should have been in dumped at sea. Someone diverted him and eventually that poser got his greasy fingers on it. By all accounts THAT robot was dumped. So officially this is another. I doubt very much that poser is going to take me to court. Therefore, I have it, it's mine. See? I want him repaired."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    That explaination... actually makes a lot of sense, and Mairin's posture shifts from antagonistic to just on edge. She even reches down to put a reassuring hand on Demona's leg. "I understand. Well then I'm sorry someone else stole what was yours. I can definitly repair him. And personally keep him maintained. It'll take a bit to get the parts and do the labour, but I can assure you he'll be as good as new. Better, actually. There have been some advancements in design since you built him. I can encorporate those and increase both his durability and efficiency."

    She pauses, cocking her head to the side. "What is the studio going to use him for? I mean... you say he's yours, but the studio is the one paying to have him repaired."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona jerks when a hand touches her leg. As her head spins back to look at Mairin, she relaxes just slightly. She looks embarrassed as she returns her gaze briefly to Catman, then goes back to glancing around, shying away from every passing patron so she isn't touched.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake smirks. "Big season finale... hopefully not a series finale. A fight between the Music Master or whatever they call him and his musick'd zombies and an alliance of the cops and themed criminals. It should be fun."

He regards Demona a moment and then says, "If you want everyone here to notice you, you're going about it the right way. What's the problem?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    "Well I can guarentee you he'll survive the battle. And after the finale? It's important to me that he has a permanent home with someone who cares about him. Not just some studio storage lot where he'll rust away."

    Mairin looks over to Demona as well, with more than a little sympathy. Perhaps wondering if she should have asked Demona to come. She thought it might be good for her to get out of Ney York, but Gotham is hardly an improvement.

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona looks at Thomas, then at Mairin. She looks back at Catman to say, "This place...the energy here--the qi--it's sour. Not spoiled. Not rotten. Just...sour. Something's wrong with the people here. They're burning themselves alive. There's so much fear, so much self-loathing, so much depression, all hiding behind smiles and false gratitude." She hugs herself. "It's kind of hard to concentrate." She looks at Mairin again, her eyes pleading.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake looks around the cafeteria. "You need to learn to give zero fucks. Yes, you can cut the tension here with a knife. Yes, there is all kinds of self loathing. But this is not your concern. Lions don't care about the tension and stress of a gazelle. They're just focused on lion concerns. Do similar. Why are you named after a character on 'Gargoyles'?"

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin frowns at what is, to her, a simply horrible way to live and the actual embodiment of what is wrong with Gotham. However, well meaning Thomas' advice is, she simply cannot stomach it. So she stands. "Thank you, Mr Blake, for your actions the other night, and for giving my name to the producer. I think I will go find him now and get this contract finalized."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Demona makes intense eye contact with the cat man. She stands almost as though she's being lifted and her legs have nothing to do with it. In the same movement, she turns the chair around and sets it under the table. She reaches up to behind her head, beneath her stocking cap. With a practiced movement, she removes both it and her gas mask. "Because I'm a monster," she says as she reveals her face.
    Demona closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath through her nose. "Oh," she lets out. She takes in another breath as a sublime bliss washes over her. "This place is awful, and I hate it," she says, her current expression not really meshing with that. She takes in another breath and lets out, "But such an abundance of life."

Susan Sullivan has posed:
    Beneath that skull-formed gas mask, thematic though it might be, Demona's face has the bone structure of a beautiful woman. However, her teeth are sharp fangs, her skin is pale, translucent, and hairless, her ears are long and sharp like daggers, and her eyes are pinpricks in pale blue irises in bloodshot sclaras. The form may once have been beautiful, and it may still be that to many people, but apparently not to Demona, as apparently all she sees is the monstrousness of her features.

Thomas Blake has posed:
Thomas Blake looks at Demona a moment and then chuckles. There is appraisal in his eyes. No revulsion or fear. "Well you're just an actor here. You might get a compliment on the makeup job, or asked what you're filming. I've... I have a significant other who, trust me, can give you a run for your money on her bad days. I can also appreciate the beauty of predators. Thing to remember is, you are not alone. We're all monsters. Most just think they're higher up on the food chain than they are."

Mairin Moran has posed:
    Mairin looks back and forth between the two, then without another word to Thomas, takes Demona's hand in hers and stalks out of the cafeteria.