Lights and Shadows

Penn Crane || 22 || Backstage Broadway

[the-obstrovsky]

open!

[the-obstrovsky]

Jon laughed, shaking his head. “No, no!” he said, waving his hand. “I do not own this establishment. I may know who does,” he added with an innocent-enough look-away. His blue eyes were back on Penn though. What luck… he thought. ‘But I don’t really invest in things like clubs or bars. Too fleeting in this town. So what music is on the list tonight? Anything worth dancing to?”

[pennedxin-blog]

Penn let out another laugh, clearly far more at ease now than he had been the other nigh. Maybe it was the fact that it was a chance meeting, or maybe the fact that he was doing work he really loved, but either way, the conversation was easier. “No? But in restaurants?” He hummed, giving that some thought and tapping at his chin. “Not sure? Depends on what kind of dancing you like to do. I pretty much only know how to white boy shuffle in a club or lose my fucking mind in my bedroom at home and neither of those dances are appropriate for here.”

[the-obstrovsky]

open!

[the-obstrovsky]

If hearts could jump… Jonathan’s posture, ever calm, turned casual. “I frequent the place from time to time. It’s ah - well it doesn’t matter…” he sat up more. “Do you have to work soon? Perhaps you could sit, keep an old man company?”

[pennedxin-blog]

“You’re not old,” Penn laughed, moving a little closer and took a seat at his table. “I already did most of my part, and I don’t need to be up there again until the set change. I’ll let you know. Let me guess. You own this place too?”

[the-obstrovsky]

open!

“Quite surprising. I didn’t think you would ever venture into this bar.”

[pennedxin-blog]

Penn stopped and blinked up at the man, a quirk flickering over his lips when he recognized him. This time, he was head to toe in black, sticking to the shadows. "I mean, not really my scene, but a friend of mine heard the light and sound tech was out for this place and I picked up the shift. What are you doing here?”

[haildioson]

“That’s what matters, I guess, I dunno, what do I look like a fricken vocational expert?” He huffed, irritated by questions not even so much as implied by Penn, but irritated nonetheless. He determined none of it was his business, mostly because it had become boring. “Nope, you got yourself into this, you’re invested now.” He walked past the other, so grateful for the dim light that he was almost not put-off by the shoddy appearance. “You in the middle of redecorating?”

[pennedxin-blog]

“I don’t know what a vocational expert is,” Penn laughed, clearly not taking it personally. He wasn’t one to take much of anything personally. “I’m still not going on a coffee run for you and buying it after you dropped your coffee,” he said blandly. “Nah, I don’t want to change too much. This is mostly how I found it. I just like that people don’t come down here.”

[pennedxin-blog]

Concussed || Penn/Julian

[pricklypearsfordays-deactivated]

“Oh, alright,” he said with a bit of a nod as he looked around a little more. He spied a few familiar comics and smiled a bit. “We could get our nerd on and binge watch Game of Thrones if you’re not familiar with it… Or we could watch all five seasons of the X-men series from the nineties?” He said that last part with a Cheshire-like grin. Comic books were something he had fallen into when they were first introduced, a few of his compatriots had teased him a bit in the beginning, but as they only grew in popularity those naysayers grew silent.

As he hooked up his mac he said, “I have Uncanny X-Men number one and Detective Comics number twenty seven, you know the one where batman made his first appearance. They’re both in mint condition, you should come over for a peak when you’re free. Of course I have a few others first issues, but those are the crown jewels of my collection.”

[pennedxin-blog]

“I don’t think I have the brain power for Game of Thrones right now,” Penn chuckled, crawling into the bed that was more a nest of blankets than anything else. “I’m always a slut for 90′s X-men.” The oddity of the statement didn’t really reach him, but he could be excused for the slight near-brain damage, right? Right? Whatever. 

When Julian said what he had, Penn stared at him for a moment, blinking blankly. “Sorry, I think I have a concussion. Did you say fucking first X-Men and first appearance of Batman? Are you kidding me right now?”

[haildioson]

“That’s what a job is, dude.” But he only nod along has he had to pay attention to where he was going, coordination fail him a little, especially in the dim, although it was comforting. “Lawyers can be criminals too, right? But your job, like of the kind stranger who does everything for me, and I feel 100% better and super thankful. So that I’ll want to thank you later and stuff. You know.”

[pennedxin-blog]

“Maybe, but that blows. I’d rather do something that doesn’t make me do too much work. Courier is a lot more fun anyway. I like running, and I like biking, and I like my boss. He’s a good guy and he pays me well enough that I can cover when my roommates can’t make rent.” He shrugged, not bothered by the thought that Nick might be a criminal. He probably was. “Maybe, but that’s not really my business. That’s his personal life.” A soft snort and he rolled his eyes. “I think you might be overestimating how invested in this I am.” He ushered the man through the door and into a small room with dusty furniture someone had left behind. It wasn’t well kept, but it was clear that Penn frequented this place. Graffiti was on the walls and floor, a set of warm blankets, and a a short stack of comic books. 

[urbex-abandoned]

La Ruche et Plouf

Si un jour vous voulez refaire fonctionner cette chaudière il va falloir s’armer de patience et de beaucoup de seau pour vider cette pièce.

En plein coeur de l’usine au sous-sol, réside la salle de chauffage de remplis d’eau impossible d’avancer plus loin ,l’eau doit monter au moins aux genoux.

[urban-tombraider]

A last look back and into the darkness we go, to explore the basement and all that is to come.

Abandoned sanatorium that took a part of my heart, Germany, May 2015.

[the-obstrovsky]

“Ah,” Jon said, eyes lighting up when Penn illuminated on his life. He was backstage, not the sidelines, behind the lines. “Lighting can mean everything,” he said, shifting to hook a leg over knee, turning more to face Penn. “Like the timing of a song. Sets the mood. Broadway though, I do love to go see a play when I’m able. Tell me… what’s your favorite?”

[pennedxin-blog]

This. This was something Penn could sink his teeth into. Once he was on the topic, he, too, turned toward Jon, one leg hiked up onto the seat and a far more animated look on his face. “It does! If you can’t see the actors, or set the tone, then there’s no reason for it. No way to do anything. And for a concert? What’s to look at if there’s no mood lighting, no shifting in it? Oh, dude, yes, I go see anything I can get cheap tickets to - and trust me, I’ve gotten hella good at trading favors for tickets with the other techies. I’m still trying to get in to see Hamilton before it goes out, but I saw Kinky Boots and it was so good. I saw Lion King a while back and it was so fucking beautiful. Oh, and once, I got to see Into the Woods and it was so good. Have you see the original play version? Not the movie, that was shitty, the play with Bernadette Peters? She’s so fucking amazing. You need to see it.”

[zeemoriarty]

[hanukkah-hotties]

[snowshxe]

The brunette boldly reached over, wiping the syrup off his face and tasting it. “At least I won’t be only eating them in just butter, very good syrup,” she mused. Morgan was making it easy on the other boy. Greyson has actually had the witch lick his face before. “Looks like we’re going to need some more napkins though,” she teased.

[pennedxin-blog]

Penn paused, going still to let her wipe at his face. He let out another laugh, wiping at his own cheek now to get rid of the last of it. “This much pancakes, we’re going to need tons of them. I always do.”

[snowshxe]

“Morgan,” she said, smiling. When the drinks came she smiled happily and waited for the waitress to leave before turning her drink into an Irish coffee. The woman pour pure whiskey into her cup of coffee. “Little hungover and this helps a little more than just keeping dry,” she mused as she took a sip. “Plus, it’s the only way I’ll drink this coffee from  here.”

[pennedxin-blog]

Penn snorted into his soda when she dumped alcohol into her drink, dark liquid splashing onto his face. Laughing, he wiped it with a napkin and only succeeded in smearing syrup on his cheek as well. “Yeah, I’ve been there.” He hadn’t but he could lie to make a person feel better. “The coffee from here is pretty atrocious. That’s why they have to give out free pancakes to get folks like us to sucker into coming.”

[snowshxe]

Morgan laughed, a big smile on her face. “Of course, who wouldn’t want free pancakes?” The brunette took her coat off, setting it on the chair as she sat. As the waitress came to take her order, she gave a sweet smile. “Yes, I would like four pancakes, bacon, sausage, and hash. And then just a cup of some coffee please.” 

[pennedxin-blog]

Penn already had a plate of food in front of him (his third plate of pancakes, actually) so when the waitress looked at him, he just lifted his glass for soda to keep from spewing food bits and gave her a pleasant, pleading smile. When the woman walked away, Penn took another drink to wash it down. “I’m Penn, by the by.”

[pennedxin-blog]

@snowshxe

The diner was packed - as in, no seats left open in the place. Tables were starting to be seated together. Penn was at a small table, but it wasn’t being spared either. When he saw someone being led to the small square, he moved his things out of the way and gave the woman a small smile. “Free pancakes, amirite?” he asked, trying not to talk with his mouth full.

[the-obstrovsky]

Tipping his head, Jon crossed his arms casually. He was still trying to nail down just what it was about the lad in front of him… the list was merely growing. “It’s a flattering color for you…” but then, shows. That word had Jon’s eyes narrowing in curiousity. “You are an artist when not dealing with Nik’s list?”

[pennedxin-blog]

“Oh, no,” Penn laughed, shaking his head instantly. “No, god, I work backstage. Lights, sound, props, whatever I can get into on crew. Lights is my favorite. Unless casting lights in just the right way counts as art, I’m not artistic in the least bit.” He laughed softly again, shaking his head a little more. “That’s what I’m in New York for. I work on Broadway when I’m able to get on a show, but that doesn’t always happen. That’s why I work for Nik. I can’t make rent and groceries and stuff on a check that doesn’t always work out.”

[haildioson]

“Well, I mean…anyone can make a livin at sex work, there’s a lotta types out there, yanno?” He did concede construction work wasn’t likely. “Courier seems cool, though, you ever run drugs or money?” He always looked for the glamour in anything; including the dirty stairs they were walking down. “Don’t wanna spend the money…but so long as you do your job right, I won’t need another stranger.”

[pennedxin-blog]

“Yeah, but finding the niche seems like a lot of work,” Penn sighed. He didn’t argue, though. He’d seen the kind of people who could carve a life for themselves on the streets, and he didn’t doubt it was possible for him, just that he knew he would never have the kind of temperment to deal with it. "I couldn’t be a prostitute or a stripper any more than I could sell burgers for a living. We can’t all deal with the teeming masses day in and day out.” He wrenched open the door, which made a loud creaking sound, and then used his phone as a light to lead him down the musty hallway toward the only door standing open. “I dunno. I might have. I don’t ask what I’m taking, but I work for a lawyer, so it’s not likely. What do you mean do my job right?”