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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 18, 2015 22:19:05 GMT -5
"All right then, see you next week," Suki told the men, getting the bag full of galleons and handing it to one of the henchmen as the others left the secret back room. "Take that to the Don, and if I so much as hear from him its missing even a single cent, its your head. And I'll have the executioner himself take your head and hang it in my walls," Of course being a woman, the man didn't like to be spoken like that by her of all people. But in the business, she was a woman of status, and she had gotten dirt already for the Don, which was her job.
She had gone out to the actual front of the bar, sighing as she fixed her headpiece holding most of her hair. She went to the bar and got herself to a shady corner table in the front, a server getting her a drink. She was too much of a regular here, though the staff know her as Suki Holland, that woman who always gets a drink at this speakeasy. She looked further on at the performers, sighing. Such nice songs they played... Though they were missing something. An instrument... a saxophone.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 18, 2015 22:40:18 GMT -5
Two bars in a little town. Ana had told him as much, but he was only just starting to get a picture of how important this little town might be. It went to show how pointless Prohibition was, when you compared the number of bars from before, to the number of Speak-easies now. He was hardly going to complain though, these shady, illegal bars thrived on music, and were perpetuating jazz like never before. This was his time. Though he hadn't yet managed to get a gig in this bar, the offer would be forthcoming. He just had to wait, either until his reputation reached someone clever's ears, or Ana mentioned him. For now, he was happy to spend a little bit of his saved coin on a drink.
He could see a woman drinking alone, who'd just come out of some seedy back room. Perhaps she was the right person to casually mention something to. Either that, or she might make good company. Drink in hand, he moved across the room and too the seat perpendicular to her at the same table. It would be rather too forward to sit right next to her, a strange woman alone in a bar. He wouldn't have thought twice about sitting next to Ana. "I think maybe two of them would have a shot at a gig in the city. The rest should keep their day jobs," he commented. Hopefully she actually appreciated music- he couldn't stand people who didn't care at all. Like apparently the numbskull Heath.
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 18, 2015 23:07:52 GMT -5
Suki didn't flinch or get surprised at all when a strange and random man just sat there adjacent to her seat. She had stopped getting surprised when all she does most of the nighttime is to wait for her any man to just present himself to her. She was beautiful after all, and she also attracted information, so she had thought this man was just the same as everyone. But when he had casually made the comment about the performers, she was intrigued, well she'd never had that thrown at her for a first starter to a conversation before. But well, luckily for him, she had her own opinions.
"No, they don't have anything against this woman who sings here some nights," Suki causally said. "If you think they have a chance, you should hear the woman, her name I heard was like Annie? Ann? I forgot," Suki sighed out, taking a sip of her drink. "These two are fairly good, they need a little bass to their jazz, if you ask me. But usually performers in speakeasies like this one lack something," she shook her head. "But who cares of a woman's opinion, not today, not these times," the blonde said sadly.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 18, 2015 23:21:45 GMT -5
"You do have good taste, that's nice to know. Ana and I go back a ways. We played the other place a couple nights back, like a bloody reunion. It's anyone's guess why she isn't hitting up the big times right now. She certainly isn't talking about it." It definitely was nice that there was someone here with a good ear. Bass to their jazz, she wasn't wrong. "Don't get me wrong, they're not Broadway material. But they could fill some time in slightly dingier bars than this, and only have to grovel a little bit." This was music that you spoke over, that filled the silences made by a good long drink, and he took one to honour the thought.
"Believe me when I say that I know enough asshole male critics to tell you that the opinion of a woman, especially on music, is at least as valuable as a man's. Professional critics that wouldn't know a piano from a kid playing the drums with a rubbish bin and two twigs." Knight had had more than a little bit of beef with a couple of shitty critics, and after he was passed a magazine with a female critic's opinions, he'd been somewhat converted to the idea. Not to the point of any kind of demonstration, though, of course. Then there had been a couple of past flings, who had been more than a little bit opinionated- anyway, he wasn't going to talk down to a woman he didn't know, especially not one involved with a mob.
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 18, 2015 23:48:18 GMT -5
She nodded off, feeling a bit bad since she basically forgot the name of his apparent friend. She looked at him and sipped at her drink, "She's a star, definitely... I'd introduce her to people I know, but it seems I never catch her off stage. But I think about it, there's a lot of abuse that comes to being one of a big name," she mused. "I figure I might as well not give her that misery," she thought about it, but the people she knew were abusers. That much she knew. She knew the right places to find the wrong people, sadly. But when you work for the business, there's no mistaking that in the right places, the people you would know would only be as good as dirt. Most men didn't know how to treat a woman, most men treated her like that. But again, she did it for the business. To her it was nothing, it was a job.
"Well I'm glad my opinions won't go to waste this time. I like a little talk of jazz myself, I feel like its revolutionary, a mark of a new age for us," Suki said, sipping at her drink again. "And yes, I do know what I'm talking about. Let me get you in a secret," she smirked and leaned in, "I play the sax," she whispered enough for him to hear. "And I plan on continuing on learning how to play it better during my free time," she said as she leaned back again in her seat with an indifferent expression.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 19, 2015 0:10:52 GMT -5
"That sounds fair. From what I know, Ana is more than capable of finding her own misery, in droves. But to happier topics, I propose we venture. After all, right now, in a bar with a beautiful woman and my none-too-shabby self, music that doesn't make me want to gouge out my ears and a beer that has more alcoholic content than my piss, spending time in misery seems a waste." He finished his beer, and waved for a waiter whenever one was free. He certainly knew better than to be rude to anyone who handled something that you consumed. That the woman clearly spoke from experience was saddening, but he could hardly be righteous about it. After all, he'd accepted money from and played for people just as bad.
"I'm definitely the right person to have a little jazz talk with. Hell, given the chat I'm more than happy to talk anyone's ear off. Jazz is everything, where I'm concerned." He laughed, knowing that there was a shorting of adjectives in the language to express his absolute obsession with the style of music. "You're a saxophonist? That explains a lot. This town is turning out to have some talented people secreted away. Perhaps I'll get to make a band after all. Piano, vocals, sax. All it needs now is some strings."
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 19, 2015 0:33:04 GMT -5
It made her sad to hear how the singer she was fond of... Was also driven to the ground in misery that seemed to cross women in their time. She smiled at the man who has seemed to be of nice company. "It would be a waste for me not to enthuse about jazz and takes in my opinion just as well," she told him truthfully. Conversations like these were rare for her, usually as a healer, her conversations consisted of short things, and being a fisher... well shorter things that were of her interest, all the mob stuff scared her and bore her.
Suki looked amused at the man ready to talk her ear off about jazz. She could provide him much gossip about it, like Ragtime publisher John Stark going out of business, which she predicted was the end of horrid ragtime music. And also The Jazz Hounds and their continuing popularity in the muggle world... Suki had chuckled at his words, "Well I'm always up for a play of jazz in the night, so you better find those strings so we can hit it up here and there sometime," she offered. Despite the odd job, she wouldn't pass this one up. "I've been up for my own twist of muggle Coleman Hawkins for the sax, if I say so myself," she cheekily said. Now usually she wouldn't brag, but this was probably one of the rare chances she could about her secret saxophone abilities.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 19, 2015 2:35:11 GMT -5
"Good conversation is indeed rare, but all the nicer for the general lack of it. To be plainly honest, I'm not sure what folks that don't jazz spend their time talking about. I image it's rather dry, though." He'd been to a café once with the intention of finding out, after a particularly fantastic night and a particularly horrific headache the morning after. It had turned out to mostly be coffee, politics and investment. Three things he definitely did not care for.
"I'm glad to hear it. If I can hunt down every bit of talent in this town, we could have a really competitive band going. Haven't yet played a regular act with a group, we pianists tend to be interchangeable half of the time." He let himself laugh for a moment, then shook his head as if to wave it off. "Now there would be something to hear. Would you believe I played for the Jazz Hounds a couple times? They've really hit it big in the last few months, lucky sods."
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 19, 2015 20:18:48 GMT -5
She chuckled at his words, he seemed determined to really get out there and find the talents. Suki finished her drink, smirking. "Oh really? Well They've certainly hit it up, shame you didn't get a little bit of their shine," oh what a real shame it was, Suki had sympathized.
"Suki Holland, frequenter... Healer at New York General Hospital," she told him, looking at the performers again, thinking about something, "Well now I'm quite interested to see what you can offer now with the piano," she chuckled, "Or any interchangeable instruments you play, not everyday do I meet someone who's come into close contact with The Jazz Hounds," she wanted to add something but couldn't find it in herself to tell him, too personal. Plus, she didn't just cozy up to people she just met. Or anyone really, it was her life as a fisher that made her this way.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 20, 2015 2:40:10 GMT -5
"The day I rely on someone else to get my shine is the day I'm hardly a good player any more. There's more than enough room for a number of brilliant jazz musicians, and I'll make my way there eventually." And even if he didn't, he had had the best of times being mediocre, and chasing greatness. Discontentment was not something that came easily to Knight, and it more than showed in his music. He fancied himself a man of simple pleasures, music and drink. He'd never taken to tobacco, an expensive habit, and not one that he felt an aspiring singer should indulge in.
A healer? There was a surprise. Especially so far from the city- but. "Excuse my confusion, but I'd gather from your commute that you're one of the many around here who've dabbled in the esoteric arts?" If she got confused, he'd simply change the topic, but she had to be a witch. There was no way she bothered to go into the city on a barge every day. "We most certainly must play together sometime, band or no. I still have my well-loved piano from my first day in the states. I think I've spent nearly ten times what I paid for it keeping it together." And no small amount of magic, either.
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 20, 2015 23:02:31 GMT -5
"If you're out here to find every single talent out there in this town, you're going to most likely end up with a bunch of us magic-dwelling folks. It's not a big mystery when you said every talent you literally mean it," she was a keen observer, but she was also a gambler. A rather good mix. Mostly she took her words as a gamble, but she knew exactly who were and weren't the wizards in her speakeasy. It was a look— no, a glance, that she could tell. It was somehow unexplained, but it just happens.
Suki had her cat-like smirk on her face, "Sadly, I don't own a saxophone. I steal them from my brothers," she told him, quickly changing the subject. "You might have to supply me with one, and a saxophone costs a bit of a lot right now," she murmured. "Perhaps, we can pull in Ana," she suggested to him. It seemed a pretty chill idea, actually. Just playing with a bunch of newfound friends didn't sound too bad at all.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 20, 2015 23:32:50 GMT -5
"Touché. But while this bar might be familiar to you, this is my first visit. Discretion is always the wise choice for someone with secrets, and I hardly know a man- a person without at least one." Clearly Suki knew the patrons of the Speakeasy well enough to be confident in speaking so straightforwardly, a luxury that he didn't exactly share. It had also been quite some time since he'd been able to be candid about his abilities, being a wizard as well as a jazz musician often didn't meld well together. Though he assumed there had to be a couple of up-and-coming bands exclusively in magical circles, after all they'd had wireless for much longer than Muggles.
Knight waved a hand at her minor problem of not actually owning a saxophone. "If you're as good as you say you are, there are plenty of ways to procure an instrument. A little loan from the bar, a little bit from my hardly-empty coffers, and you've got yourself a sax. Or, of course, there are less upstanding ways to obtain one." He waggled his eyebrows and grinned, feeling quite safe from being accused of anything untoward.
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 21, 2015 22:27:28 GMT -5
"You might find that I don't have a secret, but I have much that isn't mine to tell," she murmured. It was the honest truth, she had nothing to hide as Suki. But as an Antonucchi, she did. But Suki Antonucchi wasn't her anymore, it was merely a persona that she seems to take quite automatically with an empty feeling nowadays. "What do I have to hide, ask me good sir," she didn't get a name, he didn't throw it to her.
Her lips tightened to a line, "I can't loan from the bar, tried that once... And I don't dabble in anything less upstanding than borderline illegal," she mused. She didn't want to have more of a bounty than what she has now. She's trying to avoid the high and dark life that she lead. But she didn't have any problem doing it when she's in the zone, and she could get what she wants in a snap when she was Suki Antonucchi, but she'd rather use a legal method. Either that or not get a sax at all, that's how much she detests her counterpart.
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Knight
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Post by Knight on Jun 21, 2015 22:42:29 GMT -5
"You're a witch. To most of the world, that's more than enough of a secret." Knight was slowly brought to the realisation that he had not actually given Suki a name to call him by. "Good sir is hardly a good fit. Call me Knight, everyone else does." That was because Lawrence was a horrifically bad name, in his opinion. Not a good name for a pianist, or any musician, really. No self respecting musician, anyway.
Nothing less upstanding than borderline illegal, that was a shame. "A pity. I'll get you a saxophone, don't worry about it. You can just pay me back as the band hits stardom," he laughed. It would take a while to earn any of that back, but he'd keep the technical ownership of the thing until she could afford it. That was hardly unfair of him, and he wouldn't limit her access to it. It was insurance. He was a musician, not a millionaire, and as far as he could see the two usually remained separate.
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Post by Suki Antonucchi-Holland on Jun 21, 2015 23:02:16 GMT -5
"I am a witch. That is also a secret that is not mine. I would happily give that secret away even if it meant my prosecution," the blonde had said with empty eyes as she looked up at him, "Knight... a peculiar name for a peculiar man, in a good sense of course," she assured him. "We are peculiar people with peculiar names," Suki wasn't an Italian name, but she figured her mother was high when she was giving birth to her. She also figured that was the case with Pietro and River. Of course, Pietro was a good name, but who the fuck would name their kid River? Or Suki? Her mother must have been on some really strong stuff.
She started to smile as he mentioned stardom with the band. Another thing she could do, she could ask the right people and sweet-talk them and she'd get him to the stardom he wants/ But obviously that wasn't how he wanted to rise. No self respecting musician would rely on the mafia. Of course she could afford buying a saxophone with her healer job, but the initial problem was, who would sell one to a woman like her? "I will, don't worry about it, Knight. I only need a saxophone to play, you know. Then when our little kitty-caboodle band gets our hit, I'll buy my own. Or well, I-" she thought about it and then mentally slapped herself. How the hell can she be so fucking stupid?! After all these years... "I have an idea, a completely legal way to get me a saxophone that I'd never thought of, and both of us would feel really stupid after I tell you my idea," the blonde bombshell told Knight.
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