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| Log Title | |
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| Participants | Alison Brooklyn Hotwire Lorna |
| Synopsis | Dazzler gives her first concert in New York City! |
| Location | O'Toole Box Pub |
| Time | January 23, 2016 |
| Posted By | Lorna |
It actually took some string-pulling to snag the stage on a Saturday night, even if the venue isn't really all that impressive and she's not actually taking home any money for this. While most of the bar remains very bar-like, people clustered around tables or bellied up to the bar, the seating near the stage has been rearranged to provide a better view for the audience. Tables are still present, but have been pushed to the sides, chairs clustered around on two or three sides only, so that everyone has at least a side-long view of tonight's event. Currently, the stage is still empty, and a bored-looking waitress wends about the crowded and wobbly tables, taking orders before the show starts. It's not a huge crowd - the name Dazzler isn't very well known this side of the Atlantic, unless one closely follows the indie music scene in London. Still, fliers promising a mutant performer have done their job to bring a decent crowd of curious onlookers.
Hotwire has heard about a concert and gotten curious about it. She liked music, and decided to check it out. She bought the ticket to this concert. It was crowded and she wasn't fond of crowds. But this seemed like it would be worth it.
Sneaking out of a school run by a telepath is a little bit on the tough side. Whether or not Lorna was actually successful in her venture without getting caught is completely another matter. There was just no way she was going to miss out on a chance to get another autograph for her collection because of a silly snowball fight gone wrong. Certain that she won't be seeing any of the teachers in this particular bar, Lorna is actually dressed to the nines with a sparkly purple tank top and some jeans that look as though they were painted on. The shirt is enough to garner enough attention, though hopefully not too much should the wrong type of people come in. Wrong type being some of the teachers she's trying to avoid.
After a few more minutes, the woman of the hour takes the stage, jogging up from one side. She's dressed all in white, jeans tight and her tank top covered in glitter, with her jewellery sparkling in the spotlights. She lives up to the name in bling alone, if nothing else. Hopping up onto the stage, she offers a grin, her mouth and chin the only parts of her face left uncovered by the artful mask, translucent white on the edges, and an opaque lilac in the middle, her eyes lined in the same colour. She doesn't squint against the glare of the hot lights upon her, like most would, but just offers a nod in greeting to the crowd as she steps up to the microphone. "Good evening everyone!" she greets enthusiastically, falling easily into the pre-show banter. "Thank you so much for coming out tonight. Some say I'm crazy for doing this, and maybe they're right, but, well, here's hoping we can prove them wrong, yeah?" There's a warm grin with that, inviting them all to join in the experiment going down here tonight, the masked mutant, public but not.
Hotwire finally finds a seat. She watches the brightly colored musician on the stage. This will be interesting indeed.
Clapping wildly, Lorna gets lost in the moment quite easily as soon as the dazzling mutant comes on stage. She even lets off a really loud two fingered whistle. When the waitress comes around again, the young green haired woman orders a drink, more specifically, something pink and fruity. It isn't long before it's dropped off at her table and the young woman is sipping on it. Hey, if she can help it, she's not going back to school until Monday morning five minute before class begins.
"Then let's get this show on the road!" Dazzler enthuses, making a gesture with her hand that brings down the house lights in their area and shifts up the spotlights a little, as the opening chords to 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' start playing through the speakers around her. Okay, that was all just mundane soundboard stuff, but as her strong voice sets into the song itself, the light show takes on a life of its own. For this poppy little upbeat number, the light around them shatters into thousands of little dots which begin dancing around on the floor, ceiling and walls, spinning and swirling in complicated patterns that are almost dizzying. Some of the audience, chosen at random or for convenient placement, end up with little rings of the lights spinning around them or dancing over arms, hair, their drinks and tables. The Dazzler isn't holding anything back, jumping right in with a triumphant start.
Hotwire is in awe of the effects and the music. She can understand what she's seen of concerts on TV. The music really gets one rocking.
The green hair on the young woman with the pink drink isn't the only thing that's the color of jealous. As some swirling rings of light envelope her neighbour to the right, Lorna's face downs in a little pout. The music is just too upbeat though, and in an effort to get her own lights, the young woman gets up from her seat and proceeds to the dance floor. She's the first one up, but before Dazzler's first song is over, she's joined by quite a few other women and some young men.
Some of the people at the bar seem surprised at this interruption, despite the obvious set-up with the stage and the posters. A woman shrinks back from her drink when the light comes too close. She pats her boyfriend on the shoulder and they both eye the stage, not quite in awe, not quite in anger.
The people dancing do score themselves some lights, spots on the floor that spin around them and zip out from underfoot at the last second before they can be stepped upon. The concert goes on, another upbeat song to set a cheery atmosphere, with the lights going from dancing spots to waves of colour. Dazzler then shifts to a slightly lower key, moving into a ballad, Fields of Gold, as the light plays the part of these fields and the sun in his jealous sky, golden waves washing over the floor, while a brighter spot drifts over the ceiling instead. The performer on stage is keeping all her attention on her own show, only really noticing those who are having as much fun as she is.
Hotwire watches the show. In fact, for the first time in a long time, she's turned off her scan. probably because of all of the electronics in the place, she was getting over loaded. But now, that she has, she can enjoy the concert to it's fullest.
When the music slows down, Lorna is left by herself as couples begin to sway together to the music. Such is the life of the terminally single, always left out in the cold when the slow dances start. Moving back to her seat and her drink, Lorna flops down and gazes at the woman on stage. Her right elbow rests on the table, her hand cups her face, and her left hand lifts the glass to her lips to take another sip of the drink.
It's unfortunate with the beautiful spectacle that there are people who aren't enjoying it. But the ugly truth is that some of those towards the back aren't here for the concert in the strictest sense of the word. Since it's been a few songs, they've had time to knock back a few drinks and simmer on their asses till that liquid fire ignites. Then, as a herd, a couple of guys nudge each other and begin to move forward towards those getting into the music. Those at the edge of the dancing crowd will find themselves rudely shoved out of the way so that these punks can get closer to the stage, and the performer.
Hotwire watches, and even her seat gets bumped into by someone trying to get away from those heading towards the stage. This is not good. Where are those that suppose to keep things from getting out of hand? Where are they?
It's taking quite a lot of Dazzler's focus to keep up with the dazzling light show, so she doesn't immediately notice that she's upsetting some of the bar's patrons. She's already into her next number, something a little more up-tempo again, when she notices people getting pushed aside as a rather surly looking crew heads ever nearer. She's too much of a professional to falter in her singing, though the lights around them turn a little brighter, so that she can get a better look at what's going on there.
The rudeness of the men barging to the dance floor has Lorna raising her eyebrows just a little. In a small effort to quell the madness, she eases out of her seat and taps one of the men on the shoulder just as he's about to step onto the dance floor. "Want to dance?" she asks, pasting her brightest smile on for his benefit. Whether he looks good or not, she's attempting to at least make some semblance of peace with the gentleman. Maybe he just feels a little unloved by the community. Unlikely, but she's had a drink which makes the world need a hug.
You paged Scott with 'If you're around later tonight we should finish the scene!'.
Ohhhh, great, as if she needed more distractions tonight! All the girl wanted was to go down to the bar, get a drink, maybe shoot some pool with the crew (the street crew that she hands out with, that is), the whole nine yards. They aren't even to the bar, and already she knows it's going to be one of those nights. The din from the bar is audible with her ears before it's audible with her mind, courtesy of the brick wall that separates the street from the bar (out of sight, out of mind, quite literally in this case!). But boy oh boy, when she opens the door to place, she gets a real migraine. Music, lights, a gang of dudes steaming up to toward the stage…it's practically sensory overload! "Holy shit!" she hisses out, already clutching at her temples, wincing as their aggression wafts off of their minds with hardly any effort necessary to read it at all.
While several of the men have made their way to within tossing distance of the stage, one of them is detained by Lorna's interference. "Not to this shit," he starts to say as he turns. The instant he spots her, though, and that bright green hair, he squints more aggressively, "And not with you." She could've dyed it herself, but no one ever said these were the most tolerant guys in the world. Meanwhile, his friends up ahead don't seem to be getting too grabby. They are so far content to just cup their hands to their mouths and shout derogatory remarks: "Go back where you came from!" "Mutants can suck it!" "Hey, Dazzler, wanna—-" Yeah, we're censoring the rest of that.
No, Dazzler doesn't wanna. She gives the hecklers a look, though the effect is severely limited by the mask that she's wearing. She takes a step back from the edge of the stage, bravely finishing off the song, since it was nearly done anyway - and the show must always go on. As the music comes to a finish, the lights fade out, leaving just the regular spotlights provided by the pub. "We're just having a good time here, guys. No need to get like that. Have a seat, enjoy the show." She tries to keep it light, her voice echoing through the microphone as she talks levelly to them.
Hotwire has never really liked mutant haters. And these fellows are disrupting a concert. Her first concert and these fellows are being a pain. Where are the security? Or even the bouncer? Hopefully these fellows won't cause too much trouble.
Lorna tries not to be at all put off by the man's obvious rebuttal to her invitation. So with a shrug, she just spins on her heel and heads back to grab another pink drink. When the men start hollering obscenities and lewd remarks to the singer, the former model opens her mouth to yell something back at them but is stopped just in time when the performer takes charge of the situation. She's here to have a good time, that's all, she doesn't need to become a spokesperson for mutant rights. Not when her powers are still fresh and volatile.
Fortunately for Brooklyn, one of the few folks she's traveling with keep her from falling over or anything, as she does her little wince and overwhelmed thing. It's not enough to make her pass out, but she's dealing with the din of the crowd via ear, AND the din of the crowd via thought…the latter of which is louder, clearly. It's like walking into a bar that's two or three times as packed as it seems to be, with everyone talking very loudly…but having it all beamed RIGHT into the middle of one's head…ouch! Of course, the advantage is that she knows just what's on the minds of those thugs: first, they're humans, and none-too-bright; second, they're pretty worked up, which makes thoughts easy as pie to read. "Damn man, I think they're gonna try and jack that singer chick up…" she comments, idly, to one of the three or four people she shows up with. Whether she's prepared to do anything just yet…well, that's up for debate!
Yeah, it'll take more than a look with these guys. Possibly, it'll take the slow moving but well-intentioned muscled men coming towards them. But since they're coming from the front of the pub and have to make it to the back with the stage, there's time. Time enough for one of the guys, enjoying his drunken moments, to pull something from his pocket and chuck it at the stage. It's only a sparkler, but it goes off with a whizz and bang that elicits some tension out of those nearest stage. "Hey, look! I can do that too!" The guy guffaws. The first one encourages another, and another. Apparently, someone came prepared. Then there's an actual firework up there which goes off with an even louder FZZZZZZ and comes dangerously close to burning strands of hair off the people it whizzes by on the way towards Dazzler.
Alison lets out a little shriek of surprise as the sparkler goes off near her, suggesting she's more uptight than her oh-so-casual talking them down would suggest. It might be a little painful, since she accidentally shrieked into the microphone. More painful, however, is getting hit with a firecracker, which is what happens to the singer next. With just enough time to throw an arm up in front of her face and turn away slightly, the low-grade explosive hits her in the upper arm, causing her to drop the microphone in surprise. The speakers amplify the bump against the stage and then a slight squeal before going quiet again.
Hotwire frowns. The idiots! Fireworks, and even in a bar! They could get someone hurt! Well, maybe one of them should feel a bit of pain. Of course, if she does it right, the fellow is either going to think a firecarcker went off by accident, or one of his buddies got him. She focuses on the one fellow that seems to be the 'leader' of the group, or to my more exact, focuses on his cellphone, where ever it is on him.
The firecrackers catch Lorna in mid gulp and she ends up spraying a mouthful of pink delicious all over the floor in front of her. "Oh geez! Security! Someone help her!" It doesn't actually occur to the tipsy young woman that hey, she could be someone that helps. At least not right away. After another large swig of liquid courage, the green haired young woman darts off toward the stage, her shield turning on and reaching out about an inch around her skin. Hopefully the firecrackers have steel in the fuses, that way she won't earn herself a post Pepsi commercial hairstyle. Whether she makes it to the stage or not… well that is completely up to the ruffians surrounding the singer.
"Jay-sus Effing Christo…" Brooklyn hisses out a little, watching all this transpiring. "I just wanted a beer and some pool. Even got cash for it today." Anything to make the headaches stop and get her precious booze, right? Brooklyn ducks inside the pub a little farther, and slides herself down into a chair farthest away from the action. Her ever present companion, an iPod, makes a little appearance, as she pops in the earbuds and closes here eyes, trying to concentrate just a little more than before. It's like her version of the la-di-da game!
What Brooklyn tries next…well, it's a little tricky! In her seat, she squirms a bit, focusing on the three thugs in front of the stag. Her brow ripples with the effort, and her breathing becomes very labored. She's charming the three thugs in front…putting them under an illusion. It's a pretty basic illusion, as far as they go. She makes Dazzler disappear, making the stage look blank…and making the 'main' thug look like the woman in the eys of the other two.
Lorna's efforts to push through meet with some jostling and pushing, however successful that may be against her shield. The supposed leader lets out a startled cry as his cellphone turns against him. He looks quickly around and then turns promptly back to Alison, narrowing his gaze. Seems he blames her for whatever the hell just happened. Clasping his hip, where his now-useless phone sits in a holster, he glares at her. "You bi-" And then she's gone. Lorna's way becomes quickly clearer as the remaining hecklers find themselves suddenly confronted by an empty stage, forgetting the green-haired one so they can look around in confusion. There she is! Assuming Alison must be a teleporter or something, they turn on their leader with angry expressions. "Find her," he orders them. "Find her and-" He gets no further than that for the first bouncer has finally managed to push his way through, also pinpointing this guy as the eye of the storm, grabbing him from behind in a choke hold and starting to haul him away from the stage.
Alison, meanwhile, follows her microphone in falling to the stage, catching herself on a knee and her good arm before ending up sitting down. She holds her arm tightly against herself, a red stain forming on that nice white clothing. Doubled over with a grimace of pain, it's hard to tell just where she got hit exactly.
Hotwire didn't her plan worked as well as she had hoped. But at least the bouncers finally get to the mutant haters. But maybe she should head on up there as well, Help get the mutant haters on their way.
Ignoring the men chasing after each other, Lorna rushes up to the stage, her shield extending to envelope the other woman. Placing an arm gingerly around her shoulder, the green haired woman cants her head downward to try to peek at the masked face. "Hey, can I get you to a doctor or something? You're bleeding…" Captain Obvious has entered the building on that note. Complete with cap and cape. Lorna's eyes dart out toward the crowd and she tries to pick the best route of escape for the other woman. The back alley just isn't very smart, probably the front door? Maybe just call the ambulance and have them escort her out? "We can call the ambulance? I mean… That stuff burns, a lot. When I was younger I got hit with a roman candle and that burned like the dickens."
Good thing the bouncers get back there quick…holding a triple illusion is rough. She can't go more than a couple of minutes like that. But it seems to have done the job, as the bouncers finally get back there and pick up one very confused-looking main thug who suddenly transforms from the singer back to his normal self in the eyes of the others as soon as the burly bouncers get their hands on him. Accordingly, in the back, one pink-streaked blonde groans and slumps down in her seat. "Oooowwwww," she groans out, as the other ratty-looking street punks she came in slide in around her, sitting down and sort of keeping an eye out for their resident telepath.
The bouncers are quick to start shuffling the thugs away, dragging them off, probably to a blind alley somewhere to show them a demonstration of why they should never show their faces in O'Tooles again. The real heroes of the evening go unnoticed, which is so often the way. There's a sound of surprise from one of the thugs as the masked singer suddenly transforms back into his boss, but that's the last that's heard from them.
Dazzler, meanwhile, remains seated on the stage. As Lorna joins her, she looks up at the green haired woman, her own mask slightly askew, but thankfully still firmly in place. This isn't really the time to be outed. "I- I'll be okay. Just … a cab maybe?" she asks, cringing slightly behind the mask as she tries to move. With her good arm, she gropes for the microphone, a performer until the (literally) bloody end. "Uh, thank you for coming out. I'll, uh, I'll see you again soon," she bids to the remaining crowd, minus those anti-mutant hecklers, before switching off the microphone and setting it aside on the stage.
Hotwire frowns a bit. The singer is safe, but looks pretty shaken. She has her bike. It's fast and she could get the singer to a clinic at the very least.
"A cab? Sure… I'll just .. Oh, I have my phone!" Pulling the little device out of her pocket, Lorna quickly plugs the number in to a local cab company and gives the injured woman a smile as she waits for the other end to pick up. "Hi, I need a cab at O'Toole Box Pub in Greenwich Village. Can you send it right away?" Pause. "Thanks.." Once she hangs up she turns toward the other woman with a little bit of a worried expression. "It's going to take about a half an hour, they said they're really busy tonight."
Brooklyn isn't likely to confess to anyone what it was she just did, but that's ok by her. She can do without any more anti-mutant heckling tonight. In fact, with those assholes gone, it's actually quieted down to a pretty normal din, the sort of thing she's gotten used to dealing with on a regular basis. She watches the girl off stage, admitting that, even if she didn't see but the bitter end of the performance, what she did see was alright. And the girl does her own lights, which is pretty effing cool…but wait. That's not the same chick she saw in the Chinese market was it? Nah, couldn't be. She's much too tall.
Alison works on getting herself sitting up properly, so that she can move on to the second stage of her plan, which involves getting to her feet. "Half an hour?" she repeats incredulously, pausing in her efforts to get upright. "This is Manhattan. I'll - I'll just go out front and flag one down," the blonde grits out determinedly, returning to her attempts to get to her feet. "If I can just get home, it'll be fine."
Hotwire head towards the singer. In a strong Arabic accent, "You look hurt. I got fast bike. Take to clinic? Care you need yes?"
Alison looks surprised as the Arabic woman addresses her. There's a pause as she considers the offer. "I'm … not sure I'd be able to hold on," she points out, gesturing at her all-but-useless arm. "Really, it's fine. Thank you, guys, but I'll just - ooh." She staggers slightly at the headrush, but manages to get to her feet. "I'll flag something down," she finishes. That, or call for a car service, but that might raise questions if she went about announcing it as her alter ego. Another reason to avoid the hospital as well, since she can't figure out how to pull off the Dazzler/Alison switch without revealing herself on the way.
