2022-11-01: Charity Single
- Log: 2022-11-01: Charity Single
- Cast: Sayla Mass, Sheryl Nome
- Where: Macross Fleets - Cafe
- OOC - IC Date: 0096-11-01
- Summary: Sayla Mass negotiates a little charitable work from the Galactic Fairy.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla Mass hasn't actually spent much time on the Macross Fleets following their recall. This has been, she's realizing, a mistake. This is what colony life could have been, had the Federation not been choking them for so long. She's never seen so many Macronized Zentradi, and the accessibility built for both is incredible. In some ways, it hurts a little. In others, it's what could be.
For now, though, Sayla has chosen a nice cafe with a reputation for discretion. Not for her, for once, but for the person she's meeting. She's ten minutes early, and hasn't ordered yet. This is, after all, a big opportunity for the foundation- and a chance to remedy an earlier an insult she made. She does however, have a bottle of chilled water, and a glass poured for each of them.
She's dressed in a brown suit, with her jacket slung over her chair, with a slightly frilly white blouse underneath. Is she tense? Yes. She also doesn't have her laptop out, but she is doing some work on her phone with the hand that isn't in a cast. That's also a cause of frustration but... This is still light duties, right?
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Getting away from the Earth Sphere (and thus, from the Federation) is arguably one of the best things that could've happened to the fleets. Who knows how much worse it'll get now that they've been recalled and had their fold engines essentially taken apart? For Sheryl, the politics of it are above her head; she likes what she's seen of the Earth itself, but she's far less impressed by the people governing it.
Not to say that everyone visible is bad people. Grace might have had a bad experience with Sayla, but it's not like she meant to hurt her feelings. She seems all right enough to Sheryl, so when she contacted her team requesting to discuss a possible future concert, she decided to talk with her directly. Grace is a real Wonder Woman of a manager, but she can take a break once in a while and let Sheryl field this one for once.
That said, Brera is likely just outside the cafe, keeping an eye out. Either way, though, he isn't with Sheryl when she strides inside the cafe, dressed in a sunhat, dark shades, and a pale pink babydoll dress with dark pantyhose and matching purse and heels. It only takes her a moment to spot Sayla, and with a smile she takes the seat opposite her.
"Hi~," she lilts as she settles in and folds her legs, smiling. Bowing her chin, she adjusts her shades just a bit down her nose to peep at her over them. "Nice to finally meet you face-to-face, Dr. Mass. We didn't get a chance to talk much at that charity party." That smile fades as her attention goes to Sayla's injured hand. Sayla's overall tenseness isn't lost on her either. "Looks like life hasn't been such a party for you lately, though. Would you rather get straight to business?"
As if she hasn't already, in a sense. Sheryl doesn't introduce herself, either. Does she really need an introduction?
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla stands as Sheryl approaches, offering her good hand to Sheryl, then sits when she does, whether it's taken or not. "Miss Nome, it's a pleasure." Sayla give her a smile. "My ward is a huge fan, though that seems that's hardly a surprise at this point." She does pause momentarily at Sheryl's concern and nods. "I was unfortunately on the receiving end of a high speed collision. I should be recovered soon enough."
Sayla can appreciate moving straight to business. "I don't mind at all. I imagine time is in short supply for you." Less so for her right now. "Ms O'Connor mentioned you were interested in working with some charitable groups in the Earth Sphere, and I appreciate your willingness to discuss this after my carelessness toward her. Are you familiar at all with the Yumi Foundation's work?" It helps to work out how much she needs to explain.
The waiter comes by, and Sayla orders herself a latte. She'll keep things simple here, even if she's paying.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl accepts Sayla's hand and shakes, smile bright and confident as it normally is. It's probably at this point that she notices Sayla's other hand--it would be hard not to notice. Still, her smile returns at the mention of her ward being a big fan.
"It's more of a surprise to find someone who's not a fan," she declares almost smugly. It might toe the line of a boast, but is it a boast if it's true?
At least she grimaces in sympathy upon hearing how Sayla got that cast. "In that case, you're actually looking really good," she says.
She doesn't tell Sayla that it's okay with regards to her carelessness; it's true, after all. On the contrary, Sheryl appreciates in turn that she acknowledges it. While she can smile and be nice for the camera, Sheryl's much likelier to deliver a sweet barb than to just stay sweet. It's nice to see someone who knows when they've screwed up.
"Not really," she admits of the Yumi Foundation. "I've of course heard of it, and I know you do charitable work, but I don't know the details." Grace would probably know, and if she didn't she could easily find out at the speed of casual conversation, but she's of course not here.
As for Sheryl, after a moment of thought, she orders herself a flat white. She isn't hungry, but a nice, hot, creamy drink sounds like it would hit the spot right now.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
"Honestly, that sounds about right." She seems rather calm about this. "It's not the worst I've had, for better or worse. I'll be fine." As they move on to business, though, Sayla nods. "Alright. I'll give you a runthrough then."
Sayla, surprisingly, doesn't pull out a powerpoint on her phone or anything.
"The Yumi Foundation was created to take care of War Orphans after the One Year War, but it's remit has gradually expanding. While they're our focus first and foremost, we try to support them into adulthood as needed and check in as we can. We also now provide relief to the colonies and wartorn areas where existing infrastructure and services are failing." It's a brief overview, but it's what she needs here. "I can have the full brief sent to you, if you choose to work with us."
That done, Sayla gets a little more serious, if that were possible. "If I am honest, Miss Nome, I fear our services will be in high demand soon, and even with the donors and grants we have, there simply isn't enough to go around. Your aid, either in the form of a concert or acting as an ambassador, would be a huge help. But I want to be up front: The Yumi Foundation does not allow donors to direct where their aid goes. We help as many people as we can, however we can. Is that something you will accept?"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Since Sayla seems over her own injury, Sheryl doesn't dwell on it; she doesn't know her that well, and she knows if it were her, she wouldn't want someone fussing over it. Instead, she leans back in her seat, fully removing her shades and hooking them on the hem of her dress, and listens to what Sayla has to say.
War orphans... Her eyes soften a little, but for the most part, she keeps it professional. Sheryl isn't precisely a war orphan herself, but she's close enough for it to hit home--especially if the Yumi Foundation is all about supporting these children into adulthood. It's something she sure could've used on Galaxy. Sure, she has Grace now, but meeting her was a coincidence (or so Sheryl believes). If not for that...
Her focus sharpens when Sayla makes dire predictions of the future. "Why do you say that?" Still, whether it turns out she's right or not, the cause is one that Sheryl can get behind. "That's fine by me. You're already focusing on something I think is important."
A pause. "Now, I've got a manager for a reason, so I'm not going to say yes or no right off the bat! But like I said, I think your cause is important. I don't know that I've got the time to be an ambassador, but we could definitely set up a concert at some point, I'm sure." She smiles slightly. "I'll definitely talk to Grace about it, at least."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla is *very* closely watching Sheryl's reactions, and confirming them against what she feels. She wants to know if she's truly earnest- she's worked with VIPs before who've turned out to go Blue Cosmos the week after.
"Frankly Miss Nome, because of the last four major conflicts in the Earth Sphere, I fought in one and provided aid through three. I studied the conflicts and how they unfolded so that I could do my best to act proactively. G-Hound are the Titans with a nicer coat of paint, Blue Cosmos are accelerating their anti-Spacenoid, anti-Coordinator agendas and ZAFT are responding to the threat with increasing violence. Organizations like Celestial Being seem to arbitrarily decide who gets to die and who gets to thrive. There's unrest all over the Earth Sphere, a lot of it valid. I know there was danger, but the Macross Fleets avoided by not being here." There's a mild tinge of envy in her voice, as she shifts backwards in her seat.
"Of course." She's not going to argue with that- it's frankly a very sensible call. "I can have all the information sent to you and your manager to go over. Is there anything else you'd want to know now?"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Fortunately, while Sheryl might be keeping her outward reactions subdued for the sake of being professional, they do indeed match up with how she feels. Sayla will probably sense that this goes beyond being sympathetic, even--though maybe not exactly why.
She does frown, lips pursing, when Sayla goes into the last four major conflicts on the Earth Sphere. As a colony girl of the Macross fleets, she honestly knows little about them--enough to know that they happened and that the related organizations exist, but not much beyond that. Still, Sayla speaks with authority, and Sheryl has no reason to doubt what she says.
"The culture in the fleets definitely seems very different from the Earth Sphere," she replies. "But it's not exactly the same from fleet to fleet either, and we've had to face our own danger, too." She heaves a sigh, shoulders sagging. "Though at least it's never been from our own governments." (To her knowledge, anyway.)
Is there anything else, though? Sheryl considers for a moment, then wonders, "Where exactly would you want us to put on this concert?"
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
The why doesn't matter, frankly. The fact the she cares is enough of a vote in her favour. The fact that she endured Sayla's blunt explanation with grace is another point. "...That doesn't surprise me. A lot of people who left on the fleets believed in Space. Those too fearful to leave Earth..." Her thoughts wander to a woman she never met, but who left a wound on someone close to her. "They stayed here and stewed in their fear."
Sayla pauses, for a moment. "Von Braun or Copernicus is where I would go. It's close enough to Earth and the Colonies for as many people to reach as possible. We typically arrange attendance for some of our beneficiaries to attend as well. They deserve some good experiences as much as anyone. We want them to have full lives, not just survive."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Believed in space... It's a little odd for Sheryl to think of it like that, but it's true, isn't it? The Macross fleets were all about exploring space and finding a new home for humanity. She wonders what those people think of the fleet recalls.
But only for a moment. After all, it doesn't change her job or what she has to do. A smile creeps back up at Sayla's suggestions. "Ooh, I've been hoping for an excuse to perform on the Moon. It's the focus of so many romantic stories, but we never had anything like that at all on Galaxy. Or any of the Macross ships, really. It'll be a nice opportunity."
Giving people good experiences and full lives... That's definitely something Sheryl can get behind. Most of her fans might be sort of an omnipresence to her still, but even as an omnipresence, she can want to give them a good time. "Then I'll talk to Grace about it, and we'll get back to you," she declares. (Maybe not her or even Grace directly, but someone will.) "I'm looking forward to it, Dr. Mass~."