ArchivedLogs:In Which A Picture Is Taken, With A Lot Of Flash

In Which A Picture Is Taken, With A Lot Of Flash
Dramatis Personae Allison, Blink, Taylor
In Absentia	2017-08-10 << holy crap wait until Alice hears about this! >>
Location <NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side
Spacious and open, this coffeeshop has a somewhat industrial feel to it, grey resin floors below and exposed-beam ceilings that have been painted up in a dancing swirl of abstract whorls and starbursts, a riot of colour splashed against a white background. The walls alternate between brick and cheerfully lime-green painted wood that extends to the paneling beneath the brushed-steel countertops. There's an abundance of light, though rather than windows (which are scarce) it comes from plentiful hanging steel lamps. The walls here are home to artwork available for sale; though the roster of prints and paintings and drawings and photographs changes on a regular basis it has one thing in common -- all the artists displayed are mutants. The seating spaced around the room is spread out enough to keep the room from feeling cluttered. Black chairs, square black tables that mostly seat two or four though they're frequently pushed around and rearranged to make space for larger parties. In the back corner of the room is more comfortable seating, a few large black-corduroy sofas and armchairs with wide tables between them. There's a shelf of card and board games back here available for customers to sit and play. The chalkboard menus hanging behind the counter change frequently, always home to a wide variety of drinks (with an impressive roster of fair-trade coffees and teas largely featured) though their sandwiches and wraps and soups and snacks of the day change often. An often-changing variety of baked goods sit behind the display case at the counter halfway back in the room, and the opposite side of the counter holds a small selection of homemade ice creams. A pair of single-user bathrooms flanks the stairway in back of the cafe; at night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits up the stairs above the coffeehouse. Dinnertime! At Evolve that means bustle, noise, a long line currently at the counter, mostly packed tables. A pair of police from MID lingering over their coffee and cupcakes get a wiiide berth from many of the other patrons -- as does one table near the front whose trio of occupants all look even more /decidedly/ Not Human than might otherwise be expected here; antenna and hard shell and myriad insectoid legs on one, another whose craggy-cracked face seems to have lava glowing through the fractures, another who is just an amorphous mass of greenish gel. At a different table, across the room, a pair of teenagers have been half-tittering behind their hands, a camera surreptitiously coming out to snap a picture -- at least until one jet-black hand reaches over the boy's shoulder, just as quickly deletes the photo and hands the camera back. Taylor has a carafe (labeled Soy Milk) in his hand, a carton of the same tucked under his arm, a Highly Disapproving look on his face. Tall and broad, the obsidian-skinned teenager looks even bulkier than usual, t-shirt (it reads BLACK LIVES MATTER, the I in 'lives' and all of the 'matter' written in red in contrast to the rest of the white letters) bulging but only the standard two arms currently in /visible/ evidence. "Seriously? You come here to pull this shit, you're out." With a small shake of his head he continues winding his way through the room to a side counter where sugar, milks, creams, condiments, utensils, all live with shelves underneath for collecting used dishes in bins. Perhaps in consideration of it being a busy time of day, Blink actually comes in through the /door/ this time. She's wearing a light-weight short-sleeve lilac tunic, a mult-layered skirt in darker purples, and black strappy sandals, her hair tied up in a loose fishtail braid. She considers the line, looks for a moment like she might leave, but catches sight of Taylor and waves. "Is the special extra great today?" she asks aside, kind of faux-conspiratorial, not actually whispering. Clearly she isn't too worried about the quality of the special, because she gets into line anyway. The doors open to reveal a semi-familiar face to the cafe, as well as social media and the music charts. Allison heads in after Blink a few minutes later, wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a white sleeveless shirt with the words: Mutie Cutie, across the chest in pink cursive. She tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she gives a glance about, taking notice of the activity in the room. With a deep breath, she heads for the counter to step in line and to snag a menu. The sight of Taylor is easy to catch with his tentacled frame, tilting her eyes upwards at his height. From behind Blink, she peers over at her. "Hey, I really like your skirt. It's super cute." She says in the way of conversation. "There's this lemongrass banh mi so that's /pretty/ excellent. I think people have just been happy lately that the weather's not shit." Taylor's back is to the others as he pours the soy milk into its carafe, tosses the now-empty carton in the trash. Not actually looking at them doesn't seem to preclude /notice/, though; his brows inch slowly higher as Allison arrives. /Other/ people's recognition probably help with this, a few whispers and stares especially from the teenage-side of the cafe; but whatever running mental commentary the telepath is picking up from the room he keeps it to himself. He does turn, though, tentacles still nowhere in sight but one mostly human-looking hand gesturing toward the counter as Blink gets in line. "I just got off, actually," he says to the green-eyed girl, "If you're down for some /blatant fucking nepotism/ I could sneak back and make you a food, no line." The smile he gives Allison is warm. Easy. His eyes linger a beat too long on her shirt, admittedly; entirely less visibly, his /mental/ attention is listening just a bit closer to the various surface-level thoughts skittering around the room. "Mmm, banh mi," Blink says, "and I won't complain about the weather, either. Anyway gracias but you don't have to do that, I'll wait in line like everyone else." << I am /so/ hungry, though... >> When Allison gets into line behind her, she gives her a polite, close-lipped smile, then does a double take. << Hey, that's Allison Blaire and...she's a /mutant/ how did I not hear about this holy crap wait until Alice hears about this! >> But she shakes it off at the compliment. "Oh! Gracias, I actually made it myself!" She twirls, the lower two tiers of the skirt flaring up. "I make a lot of my own clothes." She pauses, licks her lips, and blushes. "You're...probably sick of hearing this? But my sister /loves/ your song," she says, then adds quickly, "I like, it too!" Her eyes go back kind of unconsciously to the words on Allison's shirt, though. "No, I never get sick of hearing it. I love the message of the song. My team did a great job working with me on it." Allison says with a grin to Blink. "I think more music needs to be about loving yourself, no matter who you are. My album that's coming out next month is going to have a lot more of that in there. So, you know me. What's your name?" She asks as she flips the menu open to take another peek at the drinks in search of something fun and fruity. "And what's banh mi? That sounds neat." "It's a sandwich. On a baguette. Full of --" Taylor frowns thoughtfully. "/Delicious/. You got a new album out?" He's staying kind of line-adjacent, drifting along mostly to keep pace with Blink's place in line without actually getting in himself. "Er, I mean, /coming/ out. That's pretty neat, when's it gonna drop?" His eyes are drifting away, skating absently around the tables with a kind of /reflexive/ appraisal. Scouting them for What Needs Doing before ducking his head sheepishly and looking back to his present company with a low self-directed mutter, "Right, shift's /over/." Though his eyes drift back briefly to the nearby table of teenagers. Still chattering low and excitedly to themselves over their phones. It's a moment later that he takes out his own phone to check it, the absent-minded habit of someone who's grown up never really disconnected from it. His smile brightens after this. "Hey cool," cheerfully as he tips the phone out toward the others to show the screen, "we'll probably get mad business from this!" It's a snapshot of them, standing together in line, Allison's shirt visible; it's been posted to Instagram with the caption: 'OMG BEST DAY EVER! Who knew we had such DAZZLING mutants? So excited to see her here!! #evolvecafe #mutantpride #dazzler #allisonblaire' "Oh no, I'm being so rude!" Blink's eyes go wide again and her face reddens again. "My name is Blink. I mean, that's not really my name, but I go by..." She laughs, still blushing. "Call me Blink. I'm sure my sis has already pre-ordered the album, she's pretty on top of her music. I'd probably still be stuck in the oughties without her." She glances up at the chalk board reflexively but lets Taylor describe the banh mi, though she nods in agreement. "It's so good, especially with a dash of hot sauce." She cranes her neck at Taylor's screen. "Whoa, that person's Instagame is strong. Are you...I mean, you /are/ a mutant, then? The shirt..." "Oh. I thought it would be a drink." Allison laughs with some amusement in her voice. "Is it Indian? It sounds like it could be Indian. If it's good, maybe I'll try one of those. But yeah, I have an album coming out next month. Going to be called Leap of Faith. Going to have a lot of dance tracks on it." As he shows them the phone, she glances over at it, smile faltering for a brief moment before she chuckles. "At least they got my good side this time." Her jaw shifts in thought before she gives a grin to Blink. "Got the shirt on Etsy a few weeks ago from this girl named Fish Head. I have no clue if she has a fish for a head or if it's just her online handle, but I thought it was really cute. If you want, I can snag you one too." The question about if she is a mutant gives her a long pause, before she says, "Well, I mean .. my Wikipedia article doesn't say I am." She gives an impish grin along her lips. "Though I'm sure that may change in the next few hours now. A week or so ago, someone took my picture here and I wigged out about it, but then I kinda saw something go down the other day which sorta .. I don't know .. opened my eyes a bit." She takes in a deep breath and holds up her right hand, giving her fingers a wiggle as they begin to glow in a myriad of colors. "I kinda have my own special effects on stage on the cheap." "Vietnamese," Taylor says with a small shake of his head. "They're really good -- well, /good/ ones are really good. Bad ones are -- whatever." Taylor's smile brightens at the demonstration (even as across the room Allison's tiny excited-eyed fan club is goggling still more). "Hey that's neat! And convenient, too. Pretty rad." He's still got his phone out, perusing it kind of desultorily before he tucks it (still buzzing rapidly) back into his pocket. "It is a pretty great shirt. And I'll /totally/ look out for when that album drops. Good luck out there. And, uh, welcome to the -- club, I guess." His chin is jerking up in a quick nod, and he stretches one hand out to offer Blink a fistbump before he goes. "See you 'round." "I would definitely recommend it." Blink smiles nervously, glancing around the cafe. << Wow, did she just come out /right freaking now/ while we were standing here? That's ballsy. And it's gonna to go viral /so/ fast. >> "Gracias, but I don't wear a lot of t-shirts...tends not to go with my medieval fantasy look, you know?" She's blushing again...or /still./ Her eyes light up, literally and figuratively, when Allison demonstrates her lights. "Nice! Mine's...a little less flashy, but I also come with my own special effects. I mean. Not just the..." She waves a hand vaguely at her head, and that hand is briefly enveloped with purple light. The light dissipates as she bumps Taylor's fist. "See ya, Taylor!" Her smile when she looks back at Allison is wider now, less guarded than before. "And yeah. Welcome to the club. That's gotta take so much courage, coming out when you know there's so many eyes on you all the time, people waiting to tear you down for any little reason. And this is hardly /little/!" "Well, I saw someone the other day nearly get her ass kicked by three assholes down the street from the cafe the other day. I jumped in and pulled my camera out and threatened to post it on Facebook. Not sure if you know her. Paige? Girl who looks sorta like a goat? I saw what she was going through and how hard it must be to be different. It's easy for me. I can hide it. My powers are just walking glow sticks. They don't even do anything far as I know." Allison says with a bit of nervousness in her voice as she takes in a deep breath, shaking her hand off once the fist bump ends, her own glow fading away. "So, I'm a celebrity. I have a huge fan base. Maybe the world needs someone .. that can be a positive image for mutants. Be a bit less scary for them. Try to educate them. At least the younger generation. I know I'm going to get hell for it. I know my father is probably going to disown me ... and I'll be living with my grandma." She rubs the back of her neck. "And it means I'll have to register. But .. I shouldn't live a lie and watch others suffer while I sit in my ivory tower." She takes in a deep breath, giving a glance about the room before looking back to Blink. << Well life, it was nice knowing you. >> "I know Paige," says Blink, nodding more times than it seems like she needs to, "we're neighbors, and...yeah, people who wear their freak on the outside catch the worst of the violence, usually. Some worse than others. Me...my special effects also let me beam myself away, so I don't get it too bad." She bites her lip sympathetically. "That's awful! About your father, I mean. I hope he can love you as you are, but a lot of parents out there just won't. It's wonderful you're trying to like pay it forward for other mutant kids, though." Her smile is warm now, then goes wider, more excited. "Oh! You should meet Ryan! Ryan Black, you know? Of course you know, lo siento." Blushing again. "Yeah, I heard of Ryan Black. I'd love to meet him actually. Big fan of his music as well." Allison admits as she rubs the back of her neck. "My father is a lawyer and our mother left us because of his .. ah .. strong personality a long time ago. I don't know how he is going to take to me being a mutant. Maybe things will be okay. I think disowning a celebrity daughter may look bad for him anyways and I got money now to get my own place and claim emancipation. But, we'll walk down that road when it happens." She rocks back and forth a bit on her feet. "You sound like you have a cool power. I wish I could learn to figure mine out. I was thinking of .. I don't know ... poking about Xavier's and seeing if they'd accept me." "There are a lot of ways parents can hurt their kids that doesn't involve a public spectacle," Blink says softly. "But I hope your father comes through, even with his 'strong personality.' Perdon." She turns to the counter as her turn comes up and orders a bahn mi and a lemonade to go, paying for it before stepping aside to yield her place. "It took me years to master my powers. Took years to even learn to use it safely, to be honest. A place like Xavier's can definitely help! They're small so it's probably hard to get in, but why not put in an application and see? It can't hurt." "I suppose it won't hurt. Anywhere else that you know of? I'm a Senior right now at school, so I'll be graduating soon and then ... college? Maybe gotta do online studies now." Allison says as she shrugs her shoulders upwards with a soft sigh. "So, Blink, that's a cool name. Who's that guy that you were talking to? He's huge. I bet he can throw cars or something, huh?" "Mutant schools?" Blink bites down on her lower lip. "None in /this/ country, that I know of." She smiles again, if a bit more shyly. "It's a nickname I got growing up, because of my powers. I'll show you sometime when we're not in a crowd." Her eyes dart reflexively in the direction Taylor left in. "Oh, Taylor? I don't think he can /throw cars/, but he's pretty strong, yeah. He just graduated from Xavier's actually, and he works here." "Ah. I see. So now he works in a cafe, huh? No college options for mutants?" Allison asks curiously. "I don't know how that works to be honest. I haven't read up on it. I doubt they are throwing scholarships left and right at us these days." She tilts her head to a table and heads over, taking a seat as she continues to scan through the menu. "So, what do you do outside of picking up sandwiches?" "Plenty of people work while they're in school, I did." Blink shrugs, leaning back against the counter. "And some mutants go to college. I did, too, but it can be pretty tough. It's /expensive/ for one, and hard to afford without the support of parents, which a lot of mutant kids don't have. To say nothing of the stress of bigotry and just outright getting expelled for being 'dangerous.'" Reaching into a pocket of her skirt, she pulls out a swirling purple and green business card that reads, 'Blink' at the top, and beneath that, 'Rapid Courier Services', with a number and an email address below. "I also work for actual courier /companies/, but I do some freelancing with people who are willing to pay to get their stuff /really/ fast." She blinks at Allison when the girl heads for a table. "You might want to place your order, so you don't have to wait in line all over again." Right about then, her food arrives in a brown paper bag, and her drink in a paper cup. She bows to the barista and takes her meal. "And I'd love to join you, but I was supposed to pick up my sister after work. Picnic in the park, that sort of thing. She's going to be /so/ jealous I was talking to you, I'll have to introduce you sometime!" Glancing around, she steps away from the counter to the emptiest spot she can find. "Take care, and good luck with your application! Oh, and /this/ is how I got the name." So saying, she makes a flourish with her free hand, which glows purple, and flicks the light from it. The light expands rapidly into a swirling, misty portal. With a wave at Allison, Blink hops through the gate, which closes behind her.