2025-06-11: Ketchup Catchup
- Log: 2025-06-11- Ketchup Catchup
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Alouette Pommier
- Where: Near Bay Tower - Unspecified Britannian-Style Burger Restaurant
- OOC - IC Date: 0100-06-11
- Summary: Alouette and Akane have their first real catchup in a fair while over burgers.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane has a busy few weeks behind her and some exciting ones ahead. The wedding planning is done and dusted, and they run out of time to make meaningful last-minute adjustments on June 16th; they have honeymoon plans, even. Akane's been visibly relieved -- having one less thing off her plate to make 50 phone calls a day about has her stress levels markedly lower.
That said, there are a few things that would make her stress levels even lower to get off her plate, and some of them, conveniently, she gets to! She's invited Alouette to a Britannian-style burger restaurant close to Bay Tower to discuss... mostly their lives, but probably a little bit of work business too. It's inevitable, even if the meat of it is 'there's a bunch of documents on your desk that I need you to read and prep for, and some that the rest of Blue is going to need.'
But she wants to start by keeping it kind of light. While she's gotten much better at this sort of group-coordinating activity, it is something that takes more energy than it gives back.
With the casual introductions and logistics of sitting down for a meal out of the way, Akane settles in. "How has class been lately? I see you on campus sometimes but it seems like it's usually when I'm running behind." Akane is always a little bit running behind on campus; it's the rigors of a packed schedule. "We've always had something else to talk about when we see each other for work stuff, so I feel like I haven't asked in a while..."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
It's been a while since Alouette's really had a one-on-one moment with Akane - it's not as if their specific fields never interact, but it tends to be rather snappy business - it's usually not good news when Intelligence has to coordinate with the Mobile Corps. That said, a lunch meetup is more than welcome - even if the Alouette of the past would probably prefer to get to those documents sooner and skip the social aspect to it.
"Britannian-style, huh? That's a pretty bold choice when meeting with 3G Blue... I'll just have to make sure Ms. Hatsu- Hana doesn't catch wind of this~" Alouette teases, as they get prepared for their meal - light ribbing more than anything, considering they all know the Hatsuno family owns one of the chain's primary rivals. "I could go for some fries, though!" From the way Akane's been setting this up, it's clear Akane is hoping for something more light, so for now Alouette keeps to the small talk - even if she's kind of anxious about those reports.
"...Well. It's class, you know? Part time studies hardly take precedence over work... especially in times like these." Alouette answers with kind of a shrug, but not to suggest she's disinterested in the conversation - but maybe a little with the studies themselves. "It's not that there's any problems to speak of, though." She taps her fingers on the menu in front of her. "What I'm really dying to hear about is how the wedding planning's going. You have been really on top of that, haven't you?" She asks, with a smile. "Were you thinking of western, or Shinto, or...?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"I have had a Tropical Burger at least twice a week for the last two months," Akane says, a little embarrassed to be called out on her burger disloyalty. "Sometimes you just need a change of pace..." It is very tempting to doomspiral about this interaction and take it fully seriously but Akane reminds herself that that serves literally no one, not even Hana.
So she moves on to the topic she started, instead. "Yeah... there's a lot going on. I might go down to part time for a little while if this lasts much longer... but it looks like things are going to ease up for me personally soon." Thinking about work draws her to the proper conversation for a moment, and it looks like she's considering starting that grim conversation...
... but Alouette turns almost immediately to wedding gossip, and that... does excite Akane. "Planning is just about done... we're doing a Shinto-style wedding and then a hotel reception." She rubs at the back of her head, admitting, "I kinda like the small attendance at Shinto weddings..." ... even now, Akane's a little bit anxious about crowds.
... Alouette is invited to the ceremony proper, though. She's among Akane's closest friends.
"I'm nervous, but I'm kinda excited too..." Akane brings a finger up into her hair, twirling it a bit. "I really can't wait to see Rikka in a shiromuku..." Her lips curl up a bit at the mere thought. "I feel like I'm being a pain in the butt wanting the outfit change between the ceremony and the reception, but... it's important to me." Akane's relationship with her Japanese heritage has always been a little awkward -- at once craving the weight of tradition and chafing under it.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"Oh, no... it's not that big of a deal," Alouette replies more quietly when Akane's embarrassment becomes clear, a little tempted to doom-spiral herself about it, considering she still relies on social conventions picked up from others, and it didn't go over all that well this time. Instead, she just quickly moves on to the next topic, like Akane.
"It's like things have started to pick up and slow down at the same time... I don't really like it." Alouette agrees, about a lot going on, but leaves it there for now. "Considering you're getting married to your boss, it must be pretty easy to ask for time off now, right?" She adds, with a wink - and then listens to the details about the wedding. "Sounds exciting... I imagine it's much easier to book a shrine now that spring's over, too." She considers.
"It's one of the most important days of your life... so I think it's as good of a time to be a pain in the butt as any?" Alouette laughs a little, hearing Akane's excitement. "Besides, I'm sure she can't wait to see you in a kimono, too~" Ultimately though, she nods more seriously when Akane says just how important it is to her. "I don't think you need to worry too much... as long as you're both happy with it, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane is more than happy to leave the doomspiraling where it lies and let the moment just be mildly awkward and then moved on from. She knows Alouette enough to know there's no malice or even particularly much burger tribalism involved here.
She's scrambling for footing, though. "Yeah, that's a big part of it... I don't know what it's like at Blue, but at Red it's like... there's always something happening but it's never really something we can do anything about. It's always just, like, signal that leads to nothing." The comment about getting married to her boss, and the ease of scheduling, gets a big laugh. "Yeah, hehe... I'm really glad we landed the date we were hoping for in August, but it wasn't that competitive. We're looking at a week off and then something exciting the next full weekend after that." Akane's expression turns mischievous as she adds, "I'll tell you if you can keep a secret."
Alouette offers a little encouragement -- both on being a pain on it and about their happiness being important -- and Akane nods to her. "... Yeah, you're right," she agrees.
She feels like she should touch on business before too long... but lingering at this place in the conversation is nice too.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
It's hard to imagine there's much tribalism in it for someone who still struggles to see food as more than a table of nutrition values -- but then again, this was always more about the conversation than the burger in the first place, so Alouette is more than happy to get to that.
"...Those strange readings, right? Along with more bouts of extrasolar contact than usual." Alouette prompts, before laying out Blue's situation. "It isn't great. BioNet is happy to take advantage of the confusion, as they always have... and there's been some unusual movement from the Gaia Sabers, too." She frowns.
"There's no doubt that U.C. 0100 has marked a rise in science crime, but the problem is much the same as yours - none of it is overt, so there's little we can actually act on without potentially causing trouble with NUNE." She concludes. "So you can imagine why I was a little worried to see an urgent report from the intelligence division." If nothing else has, that probably provides Akane with a good spot to bring business up without putting her on the spot.
...But first, Alouette feels catching up on each other's lives is important. "I've heard the 'June bride' tradition is pretty big in Japan... so going for August feels like a good call. I'll be sure to make sure Old Man Akamatsu- ahem, the Chief gets me the time off~" She sees Mischievous Akane activate, and that always means something interesting. "I kept the proposal a secret for you, so what's one more?" She agrees.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"... I'm just glad we're finally treating the Gaia Sabers like a science criminal organization, even if there's some other questions involved," Akane says, with a small sigh. "Maybe this is just me, but I don't feel like being a military or whatever gets you a pass on not being a jerk."
She knows intellectually that 3G's position is a precarious one, and has even developed some appreciation for what that entails over time... but that doesn't mean she's not still the girl who'd delete someone for not apologizing about bumping into someone, either.
Nodding to Alouette as they linger for a few more seconds on pleasure, Akane says, "So Rikka had this kinda... unfeasible dream of having this decently big-name band play our wedding reception. If we'd had a bigger budget, I wouldn't have been opposed, but I think the only way we could have made that happen is some serious cuts in the guest list... we had a fight over how feasible it was."
Akane pulls out her phone, and with a few swipes, pulls up a ticketing app. "I scored tickets for their concert in Susukino the weekend after our honeymoon! No matter what happens, don't tell her."
... It really is time to talk about work, huh. "But... right. Work." Akane sighs. "We're tracking those guys who were trying to kidnap Repli-Compoids. We've done about all the signal and money tracking we can... the rest is up to Blue. You guys have more resources for this anyway." ... it is personal for Akane, though.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"...Honestly, I feel the same. It wouldn't have been logical to immediately jump on saying they're the same as when the Vist Foundation had control over the Federation, but something was fishy from the start." Alouette agrees. "And that's exactly why we can't just sit on our hands when it comes to them..." She appreciates Akane's mindset on just 'not being a jerk', too. "Whatever their reasons are, a lot of people suffer when they throw their weight around like that."
Her expression lightens when Akane has a secret to share. "A fight, huh?" She doesn't see anything wrong with that - it's normal for a couple to have their disagreements. "But isn't that lucky~ which band is playing?" She asks, and then just lets Akane have her excitement for a few moments, before giving her a lighthearted laugh. "Ehehe, I'd really rather not be the person to ruin your honeymoon... so don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
She lingers in that moment just a little longer, before work inevitably takes the center stage of the conversation. "The ones who fronted as a day spa, right? It's good to have an update on that front... I just hope we'll be able to catch them before they manage to target anyone else." Which means it'll be an operation for 3G Blue... "I'll devise some battle plans based on the information as soon as I can. I'd like to avoid making this a city battle if I can... or a battle at all, really, so we might be relying on our lighter units."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane nods, with a little bit of obvious downturn in mood, at the explicit mention of the Vist Foundation. It's... Akane takes some pride in having been part of the (very large) effort to put Martha and Dr. Murasame behind bars, but...
... well, the feelings -- all of them -- linger.
She takes a breath, then sighs it out, pushing her brown-black hair back a bit. Right. More present issues.
(... The two aren't exactly disconnected, admittedly.)
"It's, um -- the guys who did the Flyheight anime opening," Akane says. She doesn't think she's actually pushed Flyheight on Alouette very hard, despite being with it since it was only a manga and an LN, courtesy of Rikka... maybe she needs to give that a quick nudge. "I'll send you the link on VERTEX in a bit."
Akane nods to Alouette about the day spa, agreeing, "Yeah, same. We don't know how many bites they got before they ended up on our radar, either... knowing they were looking for Repli-Compoids does kinda limit it, though. There's only about 500 missing persons cases of people on the Tsutsujidai family register, and about 70 percent of those have been cleared outright... we could have zero, but even the upper bound on healthy people ages sixteen through forty with enough money to go to Nouvelle Tokyo and go to a day spa is about 40 subjects, and that's pretty generous math. I'm guessing it's like three tops..."
... Running the numbers is something that started as anxious for Akane but now makes her feel much better.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
...It was one of the worst times in both of their lives, so Alouette gives Akane her space when it comes to the Vist Foundation. It doesn't really stop her from thinking about how the Gaia Sabers' actions may very well be following from theirs, possibly on an even larger scale, though.
I think you probably mentioned that one at some point, but I've never heard any of the music." Alouette taps her cheek, as she tries to place 'Flyheight', not really being as much of an anime person as Akane or Rikka. It does add some context though, because some of those anisong bands are expensive. "I'll definitely have to check it out." She nods.
She turns her focus back to Akane's briefing on the plot targeting Repli-Compoids. "It sounds like we'll probably have our answer soon," Alouette nods, about the potential number of missing cases. "If there are any victims, then rescuing them is going to be our first priority. But I have to wonder... why Repli-Compoids?" She frowns. "If they're just looking for subjects, it limits their potential base considerably for little difference from your average Natural in the long run." She crosses her arms. "But if it has to be Repli-Compoids, it almost reminds me of..." She trails off, really not wanting to namedrop the man.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
"Flyheight is so good," Akane says, clearly a little excited. "Rikka picked it up and then she got me with it, and then it finally got an anime pretty recently..." ... Akane's definitely dragged Rikka a little bit more into the Otaku Swamp, even if the nature of the swamp is somewhat different...
The plot gets Akane's attention. "It could be any spacenoid, but the double discount for OCU refugee colonies has us going with that," Akane says. "It's such an odd thing to do, right? Because even with that discount, the odds of someone from a colony with that kinda designation having the money to come down here aren't great -- putting the promotion on really only gives you Tsutsujidai's PLANT and like one other one... and there's only one reason you'd want that." She has some other reasons to believe this -- like the toxicology report and the cross-comparison between the other known attempted victims -- but she's not discussing those in public because those are very classified.
"... That's what I thought too," she eventually admits, about Murasame. "It could be a few other groups, but that's our frontrunner pick. We'd need to see what they have to operate from or if they have any mobile weapons to really nail it down... Anaheim technology would narrow it a lot."
Shaking her head, she says, "It's really weird. The differences from a Natural, like you said -- those are really small... it sucks that they're convinced that they have something special." Her head hangs a little. "... I know I'm dwelling on it kind a lot, but this sucks."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette makes a mental note about Flyheight, and seeing Akane's excitement about it, decides to prompt her a little. "A Rikka show, interesting... what's it about?"
"Right. Something tells me this isn't just an act of good charity for the OCU's refugees." Alouette nods, when Akane explains her conclusions in a little more detail. "I think Porc-Auto's probably our best bet for trying to track down whoever is backing them, but we'll probably need to send someone to back him up too..." She trails off, deciding to leave this train of thought for when she's actually sitting in front of her desk.
The possibility of Murasame escaping does worry her, though. "...I really hope it isn't him," She admits. "But you're right... they're chasing an ideal that barely even exists, and people are getting hurt because of it." She shakes her head - because she can tell this is weighing heavy on Akane, too. "I know it can feel like your fault... but it really isn't." She looks over to her friend. "Repli-Compoids are their own people now... and it's those people who are trying to take that away from them, not you.