InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Shotgun shuts his cakehole..."

Henry Stillman (henri_with_a_y) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2011-07-27 07:27:00

Entry tags:

henry stillman, stepford cuckoos

Who: Henry & the Cuckoos
Where: Central Park
When: Yesterday
What: Busking and stuff
Warnings: Unlikely

Henry'd been glad that his guitar was one of the ones laying around Artan's studio, and while it was, of course, newer than the one he was used to, it was still his and that was all that mattered.

It had been a while since he'd gone busking, even at home, and the first time he'd done it since becoming a walking anachronism. It didn't take him long to find a spot in the shade near the turtle pond, humming quietly to himself as he made sure the guitar was still tuned the same as it was when he'd left the house.

There were a few people out and about, and he didn't recognize anyone, but that was hardly a surprise, and he had no doubt he'd draw a crowd soon enough, he always did.

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fiveinone
2011-07-27 03:21 pm UTC (link)

The Cuckoos weren't the first ones to gather by any stretch of the imagination. They preferred a fashionably late entrance. And it was certainly hard not to notice the four identical women dressed in striking white summer dresses. Their eyes were strange, a soft white glow to them. They kept to the outskirts of the crowd, at first, looking nonplussed. People tended to be uncomfortable around them, though, and slowly the crowd around them thinned, relocating to another spot in the circle.

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henri_with_a_y
2011-07-27 03:51 pm UTC (link)

The thing with Henry wasn't just that he could actually sing, and not that he had showmanship, which he did, voice dipping and rising in all the right places to make it seem like he had an emotional investment in the song, but it was something behind the voice, some quiet, inobtrusive little tug at the heartstrings of the listener.

Henry sang in emotions, either his own, or those of the crowd, or, if he was really into it, the song itself, though that took more than a warmup like he was doing now, which at the moment was The Times They Are A'Changin', more understandable than Dylan, but with the same rough edges, and where Bob would have played harmonica, Henry whistled, bright and clear.

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fiveinone
2011-07-27 08:05 pm UTC (link)

The Cuckoos were more restrained with their emotions than the rest of the crowd. They observed him with a cool disinterest... But truly, if they had thought he was a waste of time, they would have walked away. Very rarely did they do things unless they wanted to do them, and now they were standing nearby, listening. They would have chosen a different piece, but... He played it well.

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henri_with_a_y
2011-07-27 08:11 pm UTC (link)

They were hard to miss, and while they didn't seem to be the most attentive audience, at least as far as the emotional connection went, he couldn't help but smile at them anyway, giving a nod of greeting.

Once he'd finished with the Dylan he sat back, shaking his head, "Have to take a breather folks, if you've got any requests just write them down on a dollar bill and I'll get to them momentarily." He grinned, getting a laugh from most of the watchers, a few of them actually doing so and others wandering off.

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fiveinone
2011-07-27 08:26 pm UTC (link)

The girls gave him a slight nod, acknowledging his attention. Once he took a break and the crowd thinned, they approached. "This is what you do?" they asked, speaking in unison. The nearest sister smirked at him. Another Cuckoo glanced over when a small child holding her father's hand dropped a bill in his case. Another had her back turned to Henry and was looking at the turtles, apparently not at all interested in conversation.

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	henri_with_a_y 2011-07-27 08:30 pm UTC (link)
	He gave the little girl a wink and a crooked smile before he replied, giving a shrug, "Sometimes, when I'm bored. It's kind of the only hobby I really have." Because really, working for his mom was just that, work. "So, I'm Henry, don't think we got that far on the computer." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	fiveinone 2011-07-27 10:56 pm UTC (link)
	"A hobby," one of the women repeated, a brow raising. They wouldn't ask for autographs, but he seemed talented enough that it should have been more than free time. There was something special about the way he sang. Something more than human. "We are the four-in-one," they said, speaking in unison once again. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	henri_with_a_y 2011-07-28 12:21 am UTC (link)
	"I'd noticed that." He said, fingers picking out a melody, something rambling and looping, no real song there, just something of a medly, "You have names? Or just a title?" He shrugged, "I don't mind calling you by a title if you prefer though." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fiveinone
2011-07-28 02:52 am UTC (link)

One of them rolled her glowing eyes. They didn't have a problem with names, they just didn't really identify as individuals with them. They had their purposes, though. "Phoebe," "Mindee," "Celeste," "Esme," they said, each one speaking their name. "Cuckoo," Esme, the one that had rolled her eyes, added.

Mindee, the one who had been momentarily distracted by the turtles, stepped forward to look at Henry's hair inquisitively.

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henri_with_a_y
2011-07-28 03:15 am UTC (link)

"Cool." He said with a nod, arching a brow, just slightly, at the hair-inspection. He didn't mind it, really, a lot of people were fascinated with it. It seemed to absorb the light in a way that hair didn't, usually, and aside from that it looked to be more the texture of feathers than of hair.

"So, does that mean you're the Cuckoos?" It was plain curiosity, no sort of mockery in the tone at all.

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	fiveinone 2011-07-28 03:27 am UTC (link)
	They nodded. They weren't sensitive about the name. Still, Esme did watch him to see if he was mocking them, but she seemed satisfied. "You're a mutant?" they asked as Mindee reached out to touch his hair. An invasion of his personal space, yes, but they were four beautiful and slightly creepy women, they could usually get away with it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	henri_with_a_y 2011-07-28 03:46 am UTC (link)
	He peered up at her from over his sunglasses, the eyes would have given him away as a mutant, red iris, black scelera, it was why he usually kept them covered, even indoors. He was the jackass who always wore his sunglasses at night, "Yep." He didn't mind the hair-touching, really, though his hair touched back, clinging like butterfly feet just for a moment. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fiveinone
2011-07-28 04:00 am UTC (link)

The women lifted an eyebrow when they saw his eyes, recognizing the pattern. A thought transmitted through the four-in-one, probably originated by Esme or Celeste: Did Gambit mate with a Gorgon? "It's a shame you hide those," Celeste said, a small smirk on her lips.

They blinked at the hair, a surprised smile on Mindee's lips. "It really eats scissors?" she asked, nudging his hair again with a knuckle.

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	henri_with_a_y 2011-07-28 04:04 am UTC (link)
	"Mum's got them too, hates hers, guess that rubbed off on me." He shrugged one shoulder. There was a crooked little smile at the question however, and he nodded, even as his hair clung just a little more securely to her finger, "Yeah, unless I'm the one doing it. Or Cass, it lets Cass near it with the scissors. That's nothing though, mum's used to eat birds." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fiveinone
2011-07-29 03:43 am UTC (link)

"Perhaps it should let Cass near it more often," Celeste remarked dryly. Esme was more focused on the eyes. She knew those were an x-gene mutation. Not magic or alien powers, but a mutation. This place wasn't crawling with those. "We like them," they said in unison. "Cut the hair, lose the sunglasses and we actually wouldn't mind being seen in public with you." Esme waggled an eyebrow at him suggestively before adding "Or in private."

Mindee twirled her finger in his hair, letting it wrap around her. She raised a brow though when he mentioned eating birds, and her hand hardened into diamond.

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henri_with_a_y
2011-07-29 03:50 am UTC (link)

"Oi, and who said I might want to be seen with you in the first place?" Was the reply, though it wasn't as sharp as it should have been, even though he was trying, mostly it was just curious, the same as he usually was.

That loop of hair slid away from Mindee's finger once there was nothing to actually have purchase on for clinging. His own fingers were already finding chords again, picking out a melody, about ready to start playing again.

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	fiveinone 2011-07-29 04:18 am UTC (link)
	"You don't have to say anything," they said, amused. "We're telepaths." And they were quite sure of themselves. They were gorgeous and interesting. What wasn't to like? Mindee withdrew her hand and let it return to normal. It was a bit disappointing. Like someone had given her a new toy to play with and then taken it away. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

henri_with_a_y
2011-07-29 04:25 am UTC (link)

He arched a brow over his glasses once more, "And what, if I may ask, are you getting off me right now?" That was definitely more of a challenge, because like his mother, and Remy as well, anything deeper than surface thoughts was just white noise, like a radio caught between stations, or a television tuned to a dead channel.

His surface thoughts, right at the moment, were mostly engaged in chords and deciding what song to start with and just a little bit at about how full of herselfs half of the Cuckoos were.

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fiveinone
2011-07-29 05:33 pm UTC (link)

"That you're curious about us," Esme said with a small smirk. Who wouldn't be, when faced with such a strange bunch? "And that you still don't really get it."

"We're the four-in-one," they said again, in unison, before Esme continued on her own. "Half of us can't be something the others aren't." Unless you considered that bitch, Sophie. A muddled mix of sadness and anger flashed among them, with most of the anger coming from Esme. Perhaps they weren't entirely truthful with themselves.

"And that you're busy with your little songs," Celeste added, her nose turned up a bit. If anyone was going to be disinterested here, it was going to be the Cuckoos, not Henry. They would be the ones to do the blowing off.

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henri_with_a_y
2011-07-29 06:04 pm UTC (link)

There was a crooked smile at that, giving a shrug, "Well that's what we're all here for, right? Sit tight, I think you might like this one."

He settled in to singing Your New Cuckoo, and while the original was sung by a soft-spoken, even wispy woman's voice, and Henry was neither soft-spoken nor a woman, his voice was clear and sweet and turned the song into something more folky.

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	fiveinone 2011-07-29 07:12 pm UTC (link)
	The Cuckoos moved back into the crowd, rearranging themselves. One of them sat on a large stone by the pond. They tried to look disinterested at first, but one of them smiled once he'd gotten into the song. The others smirked a bit, apparently satisfied that they had made an impression. They hadn't heard the song before. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	henri_with_a_y 2011-07-29 08:07 pm UTC (link)
	It was easy to gauge the flow of the crowd's emotions, at least it was for Henry, being a quarter Shadow and at least half empath. Once he'd finished with the first song he segued easily into Sweet Sir Galahad, and while he didn't really sound much like Joan Baez, he had the same feel she did, and that was what he usually went for. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fiveinone
2011-07-29 10:26 pm UTC (link)

At the conclusion of the Cardigans song, a smartly dressed and obviously wealthy man found himself compelled to place six one-hundred dollar bills in Henry's bread jar.

The girls didn't seem nearly as interested in this song, though. They were contemplating leaving. True, they didn't have anything else planned for the afternoon, but they didn't want anyone thinking they were too important.

Still. Interesting mutant boy was interesting. Even if he does need a haircut. His hair is interesting, though. Sort of fun. Fun? Slinkys are supposed to be fun, that doesn't mean people should keep them on their heads. It's a mutation. Not every mutation can be attractive.

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henri_with_a_y
2011-07-30 05:26 pm UTC (link)

He had arched a brow at the money, but it wasn't unheard of, even if it was unusual, for someone to tip him quite that much. He had a feeling he knew who to thank for it though, winking at the nearest Cuckoo.

It was usually this time that he whipped out the heavy artillery, which either meant making somebody turn on the waterworks with something like the Corries' Mothers, Daughters, Wives, or leave everyone feeling empowered with a couple old union songs. He decided to go with the latter, smiling crookedly as he stood, starting in on Jefferson Airplane's 'Volunteers'. Apparently Henry had a thing for songs that had been sung at Woodstock.

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