2022-12-18: LoZ: Island Paradise

• Log: LoZ: Island Paradise
• Cast: Ranka Lee, Ruri Hoshino, Yurika Misumaru, Alto Saotome, Anita Rosetta, Sheryl Nome, Hikaru Amano, Rin Starking, Celebro, Emilia Eschonbach, Grace O'Connor, Brera Sterne, Lucine Azul, Teletha Testarossa
• Where: A Beautiful Pacific Island
• OOC - IC Date: 12/18/2022
• Summary: Facing some delays, the production team for the upcoming movie 'Bird Human' call in some additional help to the island where the filming is taking place.

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<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

This movie deal has been in negotiation for months. The film in question is
 tentatively titled 'Bird Human' based on the biography of Shin Kudo, and is
 about a supernatural incident that occurred during the Huffman conflict.

Elmo Kridanik, Ranka's manager, been back and forth with the staff of director
 George Yamamori this whole time and received only a lukewarm reception for his
 troubles.

They liked the Promo of Cat's Diary they sent, they had positive things to say
 about the Demo for Azure Ether.

Still nothing. What finally cinched it was when production difficulties began
 he worked out a deal to have GUTs students to be involved as 'Interns' and
 'Extras' on the set, to learn the ins and outs of movie production.

Aka: The free labor appealed!

And for all of his hard work, Elmo finally clinched Ranka a part in the film,
 the part of...

... Mayan Girl A. She has no lines. It's good exposure though! Exposure is
 good given their internet advertising problems.

Nergal affiliates were invited given that the Producer is being heavily funded
 by Nergal... though they're expected to lend a hand and be off the clock
 while doing it, shamelessly taking advantage of more free labor!

An invitation has been extended to Nergal and the Federation's top pilots in
 order to participate in the action scenes.

They actually get paid.

Direct transportation has been arranged to a small Isle in the South Pacific
 for filming and accommodations at a hotel on the other inhabited side of the
 isle are luxurious.

For the set itself? The sun shines bright across the sky as a pleasant warm
 breeze blows across the site, the gentle curve of the coastline sporting
 multiple elevated huts and a humble wooden dock that extends out from the
 shore.

Just beyond the huts is a line of trees leading unto cliffs and ravines and
 even stately mountains that jut out of the center isle like giant fingers.

The film crew are all hard at work, showing off the various areas of the set to
 the GUTs students, the makeup stations, the crew trailers, the props - the
 landing pad where SMS has multiple variable fighters at the ready.

The GUTS students will note that the perimeter of the set is marked off, and
 warned not to go beyond it. Crew members will murmur that wildlife attacks
 have been frequent, perhaps tipping the GUTs students off to the production
 difficulties that necessitated bringing in 'interns'.

There's a station for pilots by the docks which is serving nice little
 non-alcoholic tropical drinks, and Luca is grilling up burgers.

Ranka herself is in costume already, a strapless and sleeveless blue thigh
 length dress, accented with white, standing barefoot on the sand and ready for
 filming later in the day.

The lead actress playing the part of Sara Nome, Miranda Merin, a true beauty
 with perfectly tanned skin, silky orange hair worn in a side curl and dark
 blue eyes; currently wearing a priestess dress addresses her from behind.

"My, my! I remember you... from Miss Macross? By how you're dressed, you must
 be in the film."

"Mmm-hm! Mayan Girl A." Ranka beams at her, "It's good to see you again!"

"Likewise!" Before she tells her openly and quite audibly without her
 expression changing, running a hand through her hair, "Try your hardest not to
 ruin my movie, okay?"

Ranka's big red eyes blink as if she'd just been slapped and only just realized
 it. "I'll try." Miranda seems delighted by this, "Wonderful! Then I just know
 we'll get along."

Meanwhile, at a shaded tent nearby, the director, his assistant and the
 producer are all chatting it up just as audibly around a table.

The director is utterly silent, arms crossed and eyes shaded by sunglasses as
 his assistant does all the talking with the producer, "Like I said, the
 director feels that this song doesn't fit the image of the film at all!"

The Producer's reception to this causes him just to grouse lightly, "But we've
 called for five retakes already... I don't know how many more we can..."

The assistant gets up and slams his palms on the table, passionately addressing
 her, "The 'Song of the Wind' that Sara sings is crucial to the director's
 vision for the film! We're using the Sheryl Nome song you forced on us as the
 main theme, but we will not budge on the 'Song of the Wind'!"

Meanwhile at the nearby refreshment station for pilots, an irritated looking
 man with dark hair in a pilot suit walks up, apparently the lead actor? Given
 that it says 'S. Kudo' on the suit, "Which of you is supposed to be my stunt
 double huh? My contract specifically said I'm not going to get in any of
 those death traps-"

He thrusts a hand towards the landing pad and the variable fighters, "-so I
 want to be sure none of you are going to make me look bad in those cockpit
 shots."

Noone knows the answer to this question yet as it hasn't been decided, but he's
 very insistent that he be told the answer right now.

OOC Note: This is a social scene. Intro your characters in whatever capacity
 you'd like on the set, but you'll want them at least within hearing range of
 the action here, if not present. If you need help on a reason for being here,
 or what your character is doing let me know and I'll work with you! Various
 conflicts and some character related revelations will occur! You're welcome
 to engage with them and the NPCs however you'd like, but remember: Actions
 have consequences which may affect how things go down in later scenes.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Before they went on this trip, Minato Haruka was sure to give Ruri
 sunscreen and firm encouragement to use it.

        "I've never been to the beach before," Ruri reflects, looking down at
 the container of Pure Shield. (Of course that's what Minato uses!) Certainly
 she's seen the ocean -- the Nadesico parks in seaside docks often enough --
 but the beach is different. Her expression is positively serene, as she
 says: "Somehow... I'm happy."

        Ruri, of course, isn't attending the set of Bird Human to act -- unless
 one wanted a particularly emotive rock, perhaps.

        No, Ruri... is technical support.

        And so she types on a laptop at a table someone's set up for her, head
 all buried in her screen. She looks up, with a frown, as she hears the lead
 actress talking to Ranka. "... fool," Ruri mutters, to herself, before she
 goes back to solving a lighting algorithm error.

        Megumi's a cruel person, but are all actresses like that..? And
 actors, apparently. Ruri's frown is a subtle thing, a ghost on her face, but
 it paints her a petulant child as she types. ... she's probably not the focus
 of this scene, huh? (Hey! Don't point that out so obviously!)

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        When Yurika heard that Nergal was going to be backing the production of
 a movie, there were all sorts of stars in her eyes. Movie stars! Because
 obviously it meant she was going to be one! After all, she's always been
 excellent in front of the camera, ever since she was a little kid at the front
 of the campaign for peace on Mars!

        She emerges from the Nadesico in full glamorous makeup - her best
 necklace and most classy evening gown, tied up in an elegant bun with just a
 few side bangs, and the highest of high heels.

        ...And is promptly tasked with moving props between shoots.

        "-and what's worse, after I went through all this effort to look my
 best, after I put on my best dress - which tore like AN HOUR AGO-"

        "You told me this an hour ago," head chef Howmei, clad in very plain
 and normal clothes for this kind of work, interjects, while scurrying around
 to provide food to the various stagehands.

        "And they didn't bother specifying at all that we'd be needing to go
 through this much work going here-"

        "They told eeeeevery single one of us," Howmei sighs, sipping her own
 potato soup to test.

        "When I'm not even going to be HNNNNNNNHHHHHHH in the actual MOVIE by
 the end of this? It's unfaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiirRRRRR!" Partly a call of
 strength while Yurika struggles to heave a fake tree out of the way even
 though there's SO MANY trees on this island, because they just HAD to need a
 tree in this specific location that didn't need one-

        She's going to be like this all day.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        It's no real surprise why Alto is here. With SMS being a subsidiary of
 Nergal and definitely geared towards the use of Variable Fighters, they're
 helping to provide some of the machines, pilots included, to help record the
 combat scenes. Which Alto is grateful for, as it gives him an opportunity to
 support Ranka.

        Plus, Sheryl's here... For some reason... And he is technically still
 her bodyguard, so there's that too.

        Alto has just finished transferring his Messiah from the Nadesico's
 hangar to the movie set's landing pad and so is still in his pilot's suit.
 He's currently trying to grab a drink from the refreshment station, something
 which he's been too busy to do up until now so has been looking forward to it.
 He was just in the process of asking for something when a rather noisy
 individual interupts.

        Alto's eyebrow twitches for a moment, before he turns to look at the
 lead actor. A quick glance combined with the man's words make it easy to
 figure out who he is. Plus he has the whole 'entitled actor' act down
 perfectly. So Alto tries to remain as diplomatic as possible-for Ranka's sake
 mostly since this role is a big deal to her-as he replies, "Look, we won't
 know until the Art department has had a chance to look at the Valkyries. It's
 their call which one they're going to use as the Phoenix." After all, it'll be
 there job to alter the appearance in post to make it look like one of the old
 VF-0s.

        "Now if you'll EXCUSE me, this station is for REAL pilots." Alto turns
 back, trying to go back to ordering his drink again.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

There are some things that will draw Anita's attention like a vice. An
 all-expenses-paid trip to beautiful island, where she gets paid to fly? Where
 she'll get fed and gets time to relax in beautiful environment?

Yeah. Of course Anita's going to snap that opportunity up. Besides, she's
 spent the last few days in a spooky abandoned colony. She needs something
 she can unwind with.

And so, one thing leads to another, and right now Anita can be found at the
 pilot refreshment station. She's in one of the pilot suits provided for the
 movie. She has a cup filled with some sweet, fruity beverage in one hand,
 enjoying a moment of peace and quiet.

...Or she was, until the lead actor shows up with some complaints. She
 watches him, and watches Alto scold him. And then, still staring at 'S.
 Kudo'... Anita just - siiips nonchalantly at her beverage.

No answers will be forthcoming from her. She doesn't want to be on the hook for
 making up for the lead actor if she can help it, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        It's not as though they couldn't have used one of the beaches on
 Frontier's various islands for the setting of the movie. Honestly, that
 probably would have saved a lot of time and money. But no doubt there's appeal
 to using the actual Earth, and one of the actual islands near the
 Mayas, for production. Sheryl can't blame Director Yamamori for that one.
 Surely these weird wildlife attacks wouldn't be happening there.
        
        It's not a big deal, though. It's a beautiful island with a gorgeous
 sun--a prime opportunity to buy and use a bottle of Nome Pure Shield; make
 your purchase today!--and she disembarks the Nadesico already in a swimsuit, a
 slinky dark blue two-piece that hugs tights to her curves. A windbreaker
 protects her shoulders and arms, but she doesn't bother with pants. Silvery
 sandals adorn her feet. Her trusted manager is likely by her side, having
 successfully nursed her back to health after her cold (cold) last night.
        
        She smiles and giggles over at Yurika's kvetching as she and Howmei
 move all manner of props and food. She shoots Ruri a wink too while she passes
 by, but to Yurika, she says, "What did you expect? They aren't going to cast
 someone at the last second." Not unless she did something to really wow
 them, or unless there was an emergency, but Sheryl isn't going to put any
 ideas in Yurika's head. She likes the Nadesico captain, because there's no
 stopping her once she does get that idea, but this project's already had
 enough delays.
        
        For her part, Alto, Sheryl's part in this project is singing the
 main theme song for it, something that Grace negotiated with the producer
 months ago. No one had mentioned that there was maybe some dissent between him
 and the director about using it, so while she heads towards the refreshment
 station to greet (read: annoy) Alto, she overhears the argument between them.
        
        "I heard that. You say you were 'forced' to use my music?" she declares
 as she marches on over there. She holds a glare for a couple of seconds, just
 to make them sweat; then she giggles and relaxes. "Just kidding! I didn't
 write the music or lyrics for this one, so it's no wonder it doesn't fit the
 image. If you like, I'll rewrite it myself." She rests a hand on her hip. "I
 just finished an important project--" and she won't be able to see it through
 because of Tsutsujidai's disappearance, she keeps to herself, "--so I've got
 the time to redo it from scratch."
        
        Does she actually, Grace?? Doesn't matter, because she already said
 she'd do it, so she's doing it.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

Nergal's funding a movie... how exciting! Aside from the lavish funding,
 they're also calling for their top pilots to act as stunt doubles. The Three
 Angels were an obvious go-to ask, and so Hikaru Amano is here, courtesy of the
 Nadesico!

Now, next to Yurika Misumaru, Hikaru hardly stands out at all, sporting a
 simple green sundress and straw sunhat. "Ehh? But you're the captain, can't
 you just order them to give you a better job?" No Hikaru - that's not how it
 works, but it is funny to see the Captain ordered around like that instead.

And so, Hikaru makes her way to the pilot's lounge. She starts to take a sip of
 her (hopefully) non-alcoholic tropical drink, when she's interrupted by the
 rude lead actor. Hikaru marches to her own drum though, so she's not
 particularly bothered by him, unlike Alto.

"Dunno!" She shrugs lazily. "But if it's me I'll give it a good WHAM and KABOOM
 just for you," she bleps. Well, the robot itself, it's a little different from
 her good ol' Aestie - but it can transform too!

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin Starking is bourgeois enough - technically more the petty aristocracy but
 WHATEVER FOLKS SHE AIN'T GOT NO TITLE AND NO CLAIMS - to not see the downside
 of providing labor for free.

The question is what CAN she do? Well, Rin has the kind of charms that make for
 good background color, although she is going to need some makeup due to a real
 wicked bruise in the bikini area that is taking weeks to heal up. ('Tennis
 accident,' she has explained, with a laugh.) Until such time as these have
 happened, she has been assisting with Crew Technology.

Or at least, that's the plan.

"Ohh! Wildlife attacks? Is it the snails from the old war?" Rin oos and aas as
 they're shown The Perimeter. She looks past it, adjusting her glasses
 thoughtfully.

BUT THAT WAS THEN AND RIGHT NOW

Rin is running in blue-jean shorts, sneakers, and a CREW shirt complete with a
 little blobby icon of what is PROBABLY one of the historical characters on the
 back and left breast, in lieu of the obvious tropical bandolier. (See above.
 Seriously, that bruise looks like a map to the Treasure Star somewhere in the
 Milky Way at this point.) She has a shoulder bag. "Mic cell check! We got
 replacements! Full charge for old! Mic cell, we are collecting mic cells!"
 Which is putting her on a trajectory that's taking her near the production
 table.

She is coming from behind S. KUDO and is continuing to project this call.
 "Remember, folks, a dead mic and YOU'RE IN THE BLOOPERS. Come on, if you're in
 doubt, swap 'em out! Dead cells for full!"

<Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.

Toward the edge of the perimeter of huts, a man in a black CREW shirt WHUMPS a
 heavy box onto a pile of them, and grunts as he stretches out his back. His
 shirt indicates he's with the camera crew. "Friggin' location shots," he
 mutters. "Never know what these arteur directors are gonna do."

The barking from the production tent earns a bitter laugh, and he rolls his
 neck. "Alright, so that's a solid three hours before filming starts," he
 snorts, derisively. "Probably got time for a--"

A noise from the far side of the safety line catches his attention. "...shit,"
 he mutters. "Damn it, you kids, we told you not to go back there for a
 reason!" He barks, stomping off in an immediate lather, storming up the path
 and peering behind the trees. "GET..." he says.

There is no GUTS student back there. Just a Critter. Looks sort of like a
 capybara? Cute.

"Kuh," he mutters. "At least it's nothing dangerous. Get on, you," he says, and
 attempts to shoo it off.

Then it opens its mouth and SOMETHING fires directly into his face.

Several minutes later, he returns to the set area, his walk a little stiff. His
 eyes scan around, his head shifting only minimally.

"Kiete karekareta," he chuckles.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia had volunteered for this before Tsutsujidai had vanished. She
 had almost given up- but a few real meals, a good night's sleep, and a ride to
 the station to get her to this real actual tropical island. (She even brought
 her own makeup with her, just in case. Aren't internships the best?)

        Still, it's a test of whether she can actually make a living doing
 this. Stage makeup is a different skill, but makeup for the camera, she's good
 at that. And of the many things Emilia is, key amongst them is a hard worker
 looking for a distraction from her woes. She's been wearing a plain white tee
 with CREW on the back, denim shorts, basic sandals and fairly standard straw
 sunhat. She's also wearinga silver bracelet with two green gems- untreated
 green fold quartz for those with that particular skill set- and two earrings
 from a matching set, one a sun, one a moon. Oh and an appropriate amount of
 Pure Shield.

        She's not made of steel!

        The problem with an outdoors shoot, while everyone's dithering around,
 is the lighting keeps changing and that means... periodic touch ups! The
 extras and background characters not so much, but it gives her an excuse
 since... well, they're not trusting the leads to an intern.

        Carefully moving as to avoid the technical support beach chair- Emilia
 at least remembers spilling a drink on the young lady running it so long ago,
 and really does not want to cause another incident- she makes for Ranka...
 only to overhear the 'conversation' and Emilia's blood boils. To so blatantly
 bully Ranka, just because she's the star... No. This might be Ranka's break.
 She's not going to ruin it by causing a scene.

        "Y-you okay?" She asks, quietly, with a small makeup kit in hand. Milly
 would probably call her out- but Emmy's not as bold as her. "Sh-she's a
 j-jerk." Emmy's voice is soft and quiet as she mimes touching up Ranka's
 makeup to buy her recovery time.

<Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.

        Just as it's no surprise that Alto is here, it's no surprise when Grace
 shows up pretty much wherever Sheryl goes. Just as it's not a particular
 surprise that she has come to a beach shoot wearing the exact same dark green
 business suit dress that she seems to almost always wear. This time around
 though she carries with her an umbrella. A useful tool to be deployed and
 dutifully held for her charge should she indicate some sense of fatigue. Even
 with Pure Shield protecting her wholly biological skin, it pays to take every
 precaution against both sun damage and heat exhaustion!

        The Fairy's Minder does take a moment after arriving to scan the
 various individuals moving about and their current activities. Her eyes first
 catch the sight of the Director and assistant having a tense discussion
 regarding the song choices in the film. She just smiles passively, for now,
 seeming to be content to allow them to hash out the details. There's no need
 for her to bring the thunder on something so minor.

        Her eyes then cross the path of a certain Ruri Hoshino. Her expression
 doesn't change, but there is a brief moment where her glasses catch the light
 and obscure her eyes from vision. It's been a while since the two have
 interacted, and at least their last meeting wasn't too fraught. However there
 still seems to be a sort of tenseness there?

        Speaking of tense...

        Just when Grace had decided not to lean in on the matter of the main
 theme, Sheryl's own ears had picked up a particularly poor choice of words on
 the part of the stage crew. Grace sighs, before dutifully walking behind
 Sheryl to where the discussion is ongoing. Her face takes on a decidedly
 suffering look when she suggests she has time to redo it from scratch.

        At that point, Grace speaks up: "We do have the time..." She agrees,
 but the way her tone trails at the sentence hints at the but to come: "...
 but Sheryl has been under the weather a bit lately." She says this to the
 directing staff and producers, but the way she trains her gaze intently upon
 Sheryl makes it clear who she is speaking to. "As such we'll have to
 request strict limits for studio recording hours. And any requests to
 revisions to lyrics or tune will be sent through me, no exceptions."

        Saying no to Sheryl was never an option, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.

Brera is here. Which is to say, glance over at the general group, and suddenly
 one may notice there's a Brera here where one did not notice a Brera
 previously, an ever vigilant bodyguard to Sheryl.

Which is impressive, because he is in virtually the same outfit he is always
 in, which is not an outfit put together for blending in. Or necessary
 anywhere. It seems impractical. But this is Brera. Surely he finds it
 practical, somehow: this low cut jumper and leg warmers ensamble, currently
 topped off with a pair of shades. At least he's wearing them outdoors in
 sunlight this time, but given the obviously cybernetic nature of his eyes,
 light filtering may never have been the reason.

He folds his arms, watching the proceedings with disinterest, his gaze only
 catching and stopping at -- who else -- Ranka. Miranda receives a look for her
 demeanor toward the Ranka in question. Not any descriptive look. Brera's empty
 face does not muster enough of an emotion for that, except for the slightest
 twitch in his brow.

Then there's Emilia. Brera's face should probably do something here. So should
 his emotions. Guilt would be appropriate.

But nothing happens.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        "Ah, so... VF-171. That... is a manual, it says. I haven't seen any in
 the Nadesico's hangar. It would be a nice change of pace," Lucine idly
 comments, getting her drink.

        Dressed in a sleeveless undershirt and shirts, the metal pads look odd,
 placed on either shoulder, but they're there for the flight-suit's sake. She's
 not about to go around in a red and black suit in this hot weather.

        The local source of tension in the area (there are several, are movie
 sets like this always??) catches her eye, and Lucine watches the suited man
 exchange worlds with Alto and Hikaru.

        "Ah...." This must be one of the famous actors in question! She can see
 the nametag just fine, but, for some reason, she makes a show of squinting her
 eyes, as if the bright sun bouncing off the pristine white sand had
 temporarily damaged her eyesight as she moves in for the kill.

        "Ah, please excuse my co-worker's no-nonsense approach.... We're not
 used to having to stand around like this, ah..." She smiles, and tilts her
 head, shoulder-length hair draping against one shoulder.

        "...... I'm sorry, who are you, again?" Her eyes widen, 'finally'
 looking at the nametag on the poor actor's suit. She makes a show of bowing
 her head. "Oh, Mr. Kudo. I apologize..." She pauses. ".... You must be one of
 the staff!"

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

There's a certain sense of strangeness to it all, for her. The tropics weren't
 new; Merida Island is in the tropics, and the sight of trees, warm weather,
 and such wasn't the oddest thing out there. Maybe it was the reasoning. Not
 for politics, not on orders, but for some sort of leisure. Something oh so
 heavily recommended by Mardukas, worried as he is for various things. Had the
 past week been that obvious on her face?

...There's not much to mull about it, at this point. It certainly has been a
 whirlwind ever since the disappearence.

Which! Was! Why! A CREW shirt, a lanyard with the obvious [INTERN] badge, some
 workhorse khaki shorts, hair in a braid, workhorse sneakers,
 workhose...baseball cap...Perhaps Mardukas should lay off of the clothes
 shopping a bit, but she had to admit: Military-grade clothes did work for this
 type of environment.

The TDD-1 was stationed at a leap and a bound away, anyways. There was zero
 chance of any attack. Hopefully. A contingency of Mithril soldiers ready to
 deploy would be enough Mental Satisfaction to have the Captain be in such a
 crowd.

...What a crowd. It's all she can do to try and keep herself down, laying low
 as a GUTS student and enjoying the sights while taking a minute, small break.
 Put things here, shove things there, make sure the boom mic was setup,
 surreptiously tighten a few nuts and bolts here before the vibrations shook
 them loose...Really, a bunch of small things that wore on a person.

...Ah, do the cables look right? They do, they do. THe natural instinct to pick
 up on the vibes, to shift attention from one thing to another. Even the tech
 side looked fine...Was this what it was like, being under someone and not
 being the forefront?

...She kneels down to check on a boom mic. Everything looks fine until the 6th
 adjustment. Really, it's fine, this mic is good enough for what it's rated!

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Let it not be said that Yurika's persistence in repeating such things to Howmei
 fell on deaf ears, because eventually a crew member asks, "Would you like to
 be in the movie? I'm sure I can get a pretty lady like you a part."

Not far away, Prospector's glasses gleam, as he starts to work on how much good
 PR this will be for Nergal if the Captain of the Nadesico becomes part of the
 film.

(He definitely didn't slip the crew member a hundo.)

"Maybe we can justify an increase in the advertising budget." He muses.

A fellow member on the cinematography team walks up to his compatriot walking a
 bit stiffly, and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, mind lending a hand over
 here? The humidity here is killing us during our checks. Think it's a
 problem with the cooling system keeping it at the dew point- but I'm not
 familiar with this new model."

-=-=-

'S. Kudo'... does anyone even know the Lead Actor's name? Ah well. Alto gets
 this shocked then prideful look out of him like 'How dare you speak to me like
 this?'

Before he looks at Hikaru like she sprouted another head, "Wham? Kaboom?
 What? Look obviously it's not going to be you Lady." With an aghast look at
 Lucine, "Do you - not know the FIRST THING about the film? Amateur!"

Before he turns to lay into Alto, "As if I'd be here for that. Have better
 back near my trailer for the real cast." Before he then gets closer to Alto,
 as if scrutinizing him, "Doubt they'll pick you either, you're just too
 'pretty'."

He then just whirls on Rin in annoyance, "Mic check!? Look I thought I told
 the sound team not to bother me until we're five minutes from filming!
 Where's the Boom Operator? Bothering me with this peon. I'm going to give
 him a piece of my mind!"

He promptly turns to start to take off - storming up to Tessa, as he thrusts a
 finger in Rin's direction, "Get a handle on your crew! I don't want to be
 bothered ag-"

He squints at her badge, "-Wait are you an INTERN? Why is an INTERN doing some
 of the most important checks!"

-=-=-

"I'm okay." Ranka tells Emilia as she touches up her makeup. "I guess because I
 was the runner up at Miss Macross she sees me as a threat?" She murmurs to
 her, remembering what Sheryl told her about how other amateur idols will see
 her.

Ranka then checks her compact to take a look, and grins, "Wow! You should show
 Bobby, he'll be super impressed with your work." Before she tilts her head to
 the side subtly, "Oh! Brera! How are you enjoying the air out here? It's so
 nice isn't it?"

As Sheryl approaches the table, the producer stands suddenly, "Ms. Sheryl! I
 promise you, we're not forcing anything at all!" As he gives the assistant a
 desperate look to back it up.

When it turns out to be a tease, the producer deflates with relief. Between
 her and Grace's statements. The assistant and director confer on her offer,
 the director leaning over to murmur in his ear, "He says to let him think
 about it and we'll get back to you by later in the day."

Grace's statement may have instilled some... doubts there. Given all the
 production delays, if Sheryl fell ill after agreeing...

There's a voice then that speaks behind Sheryl, the tenor in her voice one
 she's heard perhaps a million times from someone in awe of her, an obvious fan
 about the gush, "Sheryl! I-I'm so glad you're here! I play the lead role!"
 ... is Miranda Merin.

Not too far behind her is Ranka and Emilia, and Ranka waves at Sheryl with a
 smile.

BBSYS: Post 544, 'G Pliers Project' has been published to Walled Garden by Guy
 Shishioh.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        The tree is finally out of the way, and Yurika bawls and sniffles into
 Hikaru's shoulder a little melodramatically. "Hikaruuuuuuu, all I wanted was
 to be a movie staaaaar uwaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh. Blaaaaaahhhh!!!!"

        A strange phrase is suddenly uttered in earshot. "Kiete karekareta,"
 Yurika hears, and she perks up, only to see a crew member seeming to wander
 around slightly aimlessly. A most devious plan is formed. A true masterstroke
 in villainy.

        "Hiiiii! You there! You seem like totally un-busy and you're also not
 in the break room so I'm gonna assume they forgot to give you something to do
 so here! Move this this and that in 30 minutes before they break for the next
 scene, okay thanks byyyyeeeee!" And a list of various tasks and chores is
 shoved into Celebro's hand. Has Yurika saved the movie from disaster? Or
 merely given him more cover to do as he pleases!? Only time will tell. And
 shortly thereafter, Yurika caaaaaasually sprints as fast as she can in heels
 in pursuit of the offer to actually be part of the movie by another crew
 member, swiftly getting herself a mimosa to swirl around all classily and
 luxuriously. "Aaaah, Ranka, darling-! I hope you're feeling better, since I
 was rather worried about you!" Yurika interjects, putting on her most
 socialite-ey of voices, before that fades away. "Oh, but where are my
 manners?" She turns to Miranda and the producer, "I've been the one taking
 care of Ranka, the one and only Captain Misumaru of the illustrious Nadesico.
 I hope her rising star's been obvious to you~ Anyway what's the role that I'd
 be suited for? I'm sure I have the talent and acting chops to do anything at
 all!!"

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

There's a particular sense of satisfaction at gingerly running her fingers over
 each delicate piece of equipment; They all make sense in her head, the quick
 sight of each and every boom mic set in place. Here would be best. And here.
 And here. And he-

Before being shunted out of her own world, grey eyes focusing on the man who
 did such a cruel thing, pulling a girl out of her work. The light jump and the
 backpedal right into that same mic, barely maintaining its balance before
 pulling it back upright. Safe!

"Important? They're already setup and ready to go...Mostly. Someone didn't
 properly set the restraints all the way in, so they could have come off during
 the filming proper." Machine movements meant extra bracings, especially for
 equipment with such thin rods! That wasn't to say she wasn't intimidated,
 but...

"...Who are you, again?" Being out of touch with popular culture takes its toll
 on people.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto finally gets his fruity drink. He goes to take a big gulp from it
 since he's thirsty-

        -The lead actor gets all up in Alto's space. He reflexively twitches,
 causing some of his fruity drink to spill across the front of his suit.
 Damnit, that's going to get sticky if it isn't cleaned up quickly. Alto's
 eyebrow twitches again, only enhanced further by the 'pretty' comment.

        Alto snaps back at the actor, "Like I'd want to be you anyway!" Alto
 storms away at that point.

        For a whole six feet to the other side end of the refreshment station.
 Grabbing some paper towels he tries to dry off his sut, before letting out a
 sigh of frustration. Alto then turns to Anita beside him, offering a
 (non-sticky) hand, "Alto Saotome, with SMS. I don't believe we've met before.
 I'm guessing you're here for the stunt piloting too?"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin is hearing S. KUDO in some length just by the nature of what her whole
 "deal" is, and she is not thinking highly of the guy. Rin, for her part,
 aggressively pursues OCU drama products and is not super up on film, but this
 entire production just sounded too good to be true. And hey, VFs are exciting,
 even if they're on their way out, right?

And then he wheels on her.

Rin simpers at him, lips pursing and bringing up her arms in a defensive hunch
 as if she'd just been kicked at what he's saying. She makes noises that sound
 a lot like 'b b b b b b b buh' and then when S. KUDO turns away she
 immediately drops the act and looks towards several other onlookers, jerking a
 thumb after the guy and rolling her eyes. Then she pushes her glasses up the
 bridge of her nose.

Rin walks after S. KUDO and gets nearer to him, actually a couple of paces
 behind him, as he unloads on Tessa. She leans over a little to look at Tessa,
 who she maybe hasn't really seen face-on in a long time. She blinks at
 something, and then -

An opening. "M-m-m-ma'am this is Mr. Crom Thuse he's playing Sh-sh-sh-shi-shin
 Kudo he's SUPER important w-we should do anything he says!" Rin gabbles from
 behind this duly dubbed individual, although she's folding her arms as she
 does it instead of miming out the actions.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Honestly, Grace really does spoil her. Carrying around an umbrella so
 Sheryl can have a patch of shade wherever she goes? It's too much! ...Or it
 might be too much for some. Sheryl's matured in the year or so since she met
 Alto and Ranka--the Sheryl Nome of this time last year would be throwing her
 own fit about the director letting amateurs help out with movie
 production--but she absolutely still accepts this as her due, just as she
 accepts Brera's shadowing presence as her due.
        
        So when Grace continues to fuss, following up Sheryl's offer with
 caveats and boundaries, Sheryl scoffs. "I'm just fine now! It was just one
 little cold," she protests at her, though it's just as much for the director's
 benefit. If she's going to have her name on this production, she doesn't want
 them using a song they aren't satisfied with. That's why she worked so hard on
 Obelisk--and she's still frustrated she won't be able to perform it the way
 she wanted to. Still, she trusts Rikka to carry on in her stead. ...She
 doesn't really have another choice.
        
        Still, she doesn't actually stop Grace from managering her way into the
 interaction. It is literally her job, after all. When Director Yamamori says,
 through his assistant, that he'll think about it, Sheryl nods. "Take your
 time," she says, tossing her hair. "I know you'll come to the right decision."
        
        As she turns away for the refreshments stands, she spots Ranka and
 Emilia--and then Miranda, approaching her with the familiar blush of a fan.
 Sheryl actually recognizes her; after all, she was one of the judges at the
 Miss Macross contest that Miranda won. She smiles back at her.
        
        And then steps right past her, towards Ranka and Emilia.
        
        "Hey, Ranka. I see you're climbing up those stairs just fine," she
 says, one hand on her hip. "You've got a part in the movie, right? I heard
 from Grace." She looks over to Emilia. "Are you doing the make-up, Emilia?"
 She winks. "Making good use of your talent!"
        
        She might say more, save that Yurika swoops in to gush at Ranka and
 introduce herself to Miranda. Now Sheryl pays attention to the Miss
 Macross winner, folding her arms and watching in amusement. She even shares a
 glance at Grace and Brera about it, though if Brera understands what she's
 glancing at him for, it'll be a miracle.
        
        Overhearing the actor for S. Kudo tell Alto he's too pretty to be a
 stunt double gets a choke of a laugh out of her, though. She refrains from
 saying it aloud to spare Alto's pride, as he's already storming away over it,
 but is he wrong, really?

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita watches as 'S. Kudo' tears into everyone... except for her! Lucky! Saved
 by delicious fruit juice. She finishes off her cup and acquires another,
 though she does spare a glance to see how the others took his little outburst.
 After a moment of consideration... Anita smirks.

"...Well, someone clearly wasn't picked for his personality, am I right?" She
 jokes, trying to lighten the mood - and maybe smooth things over, if anyone
 actually felt hurt by his outburst.

Alto approaches, then, offering her a hand. With a smile, she accepts it and
 shakes.

"Yup, that's right. Anita Rosetta, Londo Bell - nice meetin' you." She greets.
 "I'm looking forward to flying with you."

<Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.

Yurika, the world's #1 cutie (self-proclaimed), charges A Certain Man
 with...certain tasks.

He just kind of LOOKS at her, a piercing, silent, unnerving stare that wait no
 hold come back he's face acting here--

He is left with a list. He looks down at it. ...

Then he looks up at the new guy who pats his shoulder with a request. He
 squints. Hm. ...hm....there's so many interesting things here, but...

...he hands him the list Yurika just foisted on him. "Trade you," he says, and
 marches off to take a look at the indicated cooler.

While he goes, he idly pats his pockets down, and ends up pulling out his
 wallet.

However weird that might seem, what he's actually doing is glancing at the ID.
 Yamada? There's people actually named that? Sure, OK.

<Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.

        If her words with regards to ensuring Sheryl's health and safety, even
 at risk of her not being able to redo the song recording, have caused some
 doubts among the director and production staff... Grace shows no commiserate
 concern. After all, why should she? Among her duties, she must do her best
 to ensure the long term health and viability of her star client.

        ... and if this leads to a rebellious Sheryl Nome trying to go outside
 of the limits set upon her and ends up suffering because of it, well, it's
 certainly not the fault of the well-meaning manager is it?

        'Just one little cold' comes the protest. Grace opens her own mouth as
 if to protest... but apparently decides that having a disagreement in front of
 the producer, director, director's assistant, and all the crew actors and
 guests would be unseemly. Instead she allows her mouth to close, and inclines
 her head slightly as if in ascent. Though perhaps Sheryl will be understand
 that this is usually a signal for 'we will talk about this later' from Grace.

        The sound of an awed fan approaching from behind Sheryl is one that is
 all too familiar for Grace as well. Along with her client she will turn to
 take in the visage of Miranda Merin. The lead actress of the movie. Grace's
 smooth features take upon them the shape of a well practiced smile while she
 lets Sheryl turn on the charm.

        After all, there are other matters that demand her attention. The
 stiffly walking CREW member in particular tickles her significance detectors.
 Her gaze shifts towards him, and her eyes alight briefly with the tell-tale
 light of a bioscan. A bioscan that is interrupted by Yurika's abrupt push
 into frame and just as abrupt pushing of duties onto the unfortunate crew
 member. To this, Grace gives a slight smile and the motion of a knowing sigh.
  She has been aboard the Nadesico enough to hvae heard of the ship's unique
 captain, after all. Instead her gaze briefly flits towards Brera before
 returning toward the matter at hand between Sheryl and her fans.

        It would be slightly LESS miraculous if Brera understands what is meant
 by Grace's glance.

        As Sheryl steps past Miranda, Grace offers the girl just-as-practiced
 apologetic smile before turning her attentions towards Ranka and Emilia.
 Rather than speaking up herself she just offers the occasional nods in
 agreement with what Sheryl is saying. As usual she is allowing her client to
 take the lead. Grace's nods designed to provide support or force to Sheryl's
 words while Grace stands dutifully to her side.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

Hikaru can't help but giggle a little at Yurika's dramatics, until miraculously
 her wish is granted! "Wowie.. lucky! Guess Nergal's right about money solving
 everything sometimes~" Maaaybe she should ask for some funding for her art
 sometime.

Again, Hikaru doesn't seem wholly bothered by "Kudo"'s frankly, RUDE, response.
 "Yeeeeah, maybe not! Else I'd probably read the script more, hehe.." Not that
 it didn't interest her at all, otherwise she wouldn't have showed. But it's
 not her preferred romance trope OR type of robots, of course.

And when Alto is told he's too pretty for a stunt double, Hikaru chimes in.
 "Yeah, he definitely has the looks of a lead, doesn't he?" Whether that's a
 compliment for Alto or a scathing insult for the actual actor is up for
 interpretation!

And finally, introductions are made after a bit of an awkward start with the
 actor's comments. She can't believe she forgot introductions, that's like, her
 favourite part! "And I'm Hikaru Amano, from the Nadesico! Blood type B and I
 like manga, pizza crusts and soggy rice crackers!" She greets mostly Anita,
 who would be less familiar with her, outside the Nergal infrastructure. "Let's
 do our best out there~"

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine's smile doesn't budge an inch. One could even say her smile grew
 .05 sizes bigger that moment. ".... Ah, well, I found the idea of going to a
 tropical island to do something that involves no real combat while being
 provided food and board by gracious staff a very tempting offer. If I were to
 involve myself on the movie set, I might bother the many great members on the
 set..."

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine's smile doesn't budge an inch. One could even say her smile grew
 .05 sizes bigger that moment. ".... Ah, well, I found the idea of going to a
 tropical island to do something that involves no real combat while being
 provided food and board by gracious staff a very tempting offer. If I were to
 involve myself on the movie set, I might bother the many great members on the
 set..."

        His first mistake was yelling at crewmembers. His second was making his
 reaction oddly pleasing to toy with.

        "Ah, "pretty" good?" Lucine places a hand on her cheek. "... Your
 compliment is noted, Mr. Sudo." She looks to Hikaru, hoping she might chime
 in. Wait, have Hikaru and Alto worked together?

        She had expected Alto to be his usual self, even as Kudo leaned into
 his space. Alto has had much more experience than she's had, after all, so--

        The explosion of anger from Alto following the spilled drink manages to
 surprise Lucine, who takes a step back, making a quick side look towards
 Hikaru. What... was that?

        As the actor extraordinaire storms off, Lucine's smile fades to
 something more sober, and she dips her head down. "... I should have played it
 more straight instead of egging that actor on. Now he's going after more
 people." As her head bobs upwards, she notices Yurika 'volunteering' someone
 in the distance. "... Ah, I should see what Captain Misumaru is up to."

        By the time she reaches Yurika and the completely ordinary staffer, the
 former has moved off. "... Ah--" She hesitates as the two staffers exchange
 lists, then rubs the back of her neck, frowning. "Ah, which direction did
 Captain Misumaru go, by chance...?" she asks, trying to disguise her awkwardness.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        "M-Maybe." Emmy says, very quietly. "B-b-but I've s-seen... lots of
 g-g-girls who act l-like her at. My old sc-schools." She turns, as Ranka calls
 out to Brera and Emilia freezes for a moment, turning to see the young man-

        Brera is here to wait for no one's signal, blades extending from his
 arms as he launches himself for the prefab, one of those blades poised for
 Emilia with no other announcement for frenzy and rage.

        She pushes Ranka behind her, putting herself between the girl and the
 murderous cyborg. She moves both hands to the grip of the pistol, like she was
 taught. But this is her first on foot combat. She pulls the trigger three
 times.

        It... it might be okay if Ranka doesn't remember, but she finds herself
 staring at him. She's nervous, anxious, on edge. Is she between Ranka and him
 again? What will he do, knowing she's here. Anything? He did... rescue her
 after all.

        She's brought back to it by the girl gushing at Sheryl. Genuine, or is
 she a social climber? Guess she'll see. Emmy doesn't wave at Sheryl, going
 back to work, checking Ranka. "D-do you n-need anything? Sunscreen?
 W-w-water?" She's still trying to make up for that incident.

        She can hear the talk though. Sheryl was sick? And then Sheryl
 approaches them and those nerves skyrocketing. Even if she's not crushing,
 it's no joke that Sheryl changed her life. (Had she really winked at that
 section during the concert?) "Y-Yes, Miss Sh-Sheryl. N-Not all of i-it,
 j-just. Um. Assisting."

        What is Sheryl laughing about. Her manager, too, Ms O'Connor. Emmy
 smiles politely, but tries not to draw attention. Hers is a very focused,
 practiced polite smile- the sort she had to use in rare occasions with
 Grandfather's awful friends, or mean teachers.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

The member of the camera crew gives Yurika an odd look as as he approaches his
 buddy, he eyes the list, then Celebro hands it off to him, "Oh hey! Come on
 man you know I don't have time for this shit-!"

And promptly is left with the task list to do. With a defeated sigh, he moves
 towards the first item on the list. "Never liked that guy."

-=-=-

Alto AND Hikaru both get death glares. Before he calls out to Lucine, "IT'S
 KUDO! KUDO YOU AMATEUR!" 'Crom Thuse will remember that' (But will we
 remember him?)

Tessa comes face to face with S. Kudo. The technical stuff is actually over
 his head, with actually deescalates him for a moment, until she doesn't know
 who he is, "LISTEN-!" He goes red-faced with rage, but... Rin correctly
 identifies him and his importance. He thrusts a finger her way, "What she
 said! Look just don't screw anything up or heads will roll!!!"

He then takes off to his beach chair on the other side of the set. He's got 2
 hours of quiet time in the sun built into his contract.

-=-=-

"Oh! Thanks Emilia but I think I'm good right now. Especially after that
 touch up."

As Sheryl tells the Director that, he inclines his head fractionally, and him
 and his assistant start to confer.

Sheryl walks right past Miranda and up to... Ranka!? Miranda is in disbelief
 at first, then annoyed.

"Yep! Gosh I still remember when we had that treat together and I told you
 Elmo was working on this for the first time. It seems so long ago-! But now
 I'm here!"

She then gestures to Emilia, "She's so good! I'm sure she could do it
 professionally."

Ranka turns around, and her eyes light up, "Oh Captain Yurika! Yes - yes I am.
  I'm sorry if I was any trouble. Emilia this is Captain Yurika."

Before Yurika then starts to hype her up to the Producer and the Miranda. And
 Ranka has this bewildered look like she doesn't know what to do.

Miranda quirks a brow, "The Captain of the Nadesico? You mean that ship that
 made a huge mess last year? ... Anyhow I'm not sure I know what you mean by
 Rising Star 'Captain'? I haven't heard of her making any kind of splash yet."

The Producer however looks thoughtful, "Well I did hear the tapes her manager
 sent - they were actually really good." The only problem is that she's just, a
 total nobody right now. Still, it's got him thinking about her tapes again.

Miranda just looks furious that Ranka's being given the time of day. Between
 the snub by Sheryl, and now the compliment by the Producer, she just looks
 absolutely livid.

And all of that fury is now being delivered in a glare Ranka's way, who withers
 slightly. Still, as the star, she feels it's beneath her to address her
 right now.

... she'll take care of her later.

Hikaru's instincts on Alto being beautiful enough to be the lead are almost
 immediately validated. The moment that Alto greets Anita, the Director and
 his assistant all but erupt out of their seats.

"Excuse me but did you say you're THE Alto Saotome?" The portly assistant asks
 in sudden enthusiasm and the silent director suddenly grabs Alto's hands, as
 the assistant asks.

"Please, would you be in our movie? I saw your stage performance of Princess
 Sakura from 'The Eastern Tale of Princess Sakura!'"

This isn't a surprise to Ranka, who knows this now, but she looks distraught
 that this is coming up, as she knows how awful this can be for Alto.

To anyone who looks up Alto on their phones, this comes up with only the
 cursory of internet searches:
 https://neoshinka.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/macross_frontier_ep10_princess_sa
kura_400.jpg

You'd think an island like this would get terrible reception, but... no. Alto
 may curse his misfortune here.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto does indeed have a lot of experience with actors like that. At
 first you're all polite to them and the like, since you believe them when they
 make you think you're not as 'important' as them. But after a while it wears
 you down and you start to realize it's all bullshit. And then there's a point
 where you can't take it anymore. It's one reason why Alto clashed with Sheryl
 so often in the early days.

        Thankfully she turned out to be an exception to the rule.

        "You too." Alto replies to Anita, then turns to Hikaru, remaining
 silent as she introduces herself. While he's not flown with the Aestivalis
 pilot yet, he's obviously run into her a number of times on the Nadesico with
 how often he flies from it.

        With introductions out of the way, Alto is just about to say something
 when he suddenly finds his hands grabbed. Initially very surprised and
 confused, he replies, "Y-Yes?" I mean, as far as he knows. How many other Alto
 Saotomes could there be?

        And then he's asked to be in the movie, "Eh!?" But then the assistant
 explains why... Alto's expression quickly changes, going from
 confused/surprised to annoyed. He pulls his hands from the directors grip,
 "No." Apparently that's all that needs to be said as far as he's concerned and
 he storms off again, this time trying to get further away then just the end of
 the refreshment station.

[Entertainment] Zan> Huh. Regulos spin-off episode. 'First Mission'. And it's
 set after Destined Crossroads.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl does understand this signal. Beyond simply being managed by
 Grace, she's been living with her for years now. Outwardly, she ignores it,
 but inwardly, she's bracing herself for an argument later.
        
        Right now, though, is a time to use her social influence for good. She
 hadn't heard what Miranda had said to Ranka, but she'd caught a glimpse of
 that look on Ranka's face, and Sheryl is no stranger to rivals trying to tear
 someone starting out down. For now, she nods as Ranka gushes at her about how
 they'd talked about this before. She remembers that too, of course, and her
 smile grows.
        
        "You'll be the cutest village girl of all," she says with a wink. Is
 she serious or is she kidding? It's hard to tell.
        
        Emilia meanwhile seems petrified to see her, so she simply gives her a
 nod. "It'll be an important step in your own future, so keep giving it your
 all," she tells her and Ranka both. "The better you do for yourself now, the
 more freedom you'll have later." Her confident demeanor melts into a sympathic
 look at Emilia in particular for a couple of seconds--but she refrains from
 saying anything about her circumstances directly. Emilia might just implode if
 she did.
        
        She does note the way Emilia tenses up at the sight of Brera, though.
 Having not been filled in on that particular part of the rescue mission, she
 does give both of them a curious look. Assuming that she's intimidated by his
 general vibe, Sheryl tosses her hair. "Ah, Grace, I'm parched! Let's go get
 some refreshments," she announcements.
        
        With a wiggle goodbye of her fingers to Ranka and Emilia, she heads for
 the refreshments stand, hopefully kiting Brera away. A shame he won't get to
 spend more time with Ranka--and that he'll have to spend that time around Alto
 instead. (Oops.) Sheryl will make it up to him later.
        
        Of course, doing this means she's approaching just as the director
 and his assistant practically leap on top of Alto, begging him to take part in
 the movie. Sheryl's lips purse, and she picks up her pace to hurry after him,
 putting on a sunny smile once she catches up.
        
        "I come over to say hi and this is what I see? What're you so grumpy
 about this time?" she teases him, as if she hadn't heard a thing. If he lets
 her, she'll reach up to poke him in the cheek. "Keep scowling like that and
 your handsome face will stick that way. Won't that be a tragedy~!"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Hikaru introduces herself in a bright and exuberant manner! Anita chuckles
 good-naturedly, nodding in her direction.

"Nice meeting you too. And yeah, let's." She agrees, before looking toward
 Lucine as she laments that maybe she should've played it straight. She shakes
 her head, offering her a reassuring smile. "Nah, guys like that... He was
 gonna find people to bully no matter what you said. You didn't do anything
 wrong."

Alto echoes her sentiments... but it's almost immediately after that he is
 approached by the Director and his assistant. Anita steps quickly aside.
 Apparently, Alto's someone special? She's curious, of course - but the way he
 suddenly goes from 'confused' to 'annoyed' makes her quietly decide that
 asking would be a bad idea. ...She'll still look it up later, she decides, and
 when he storms off, Anita slips in to cover his retreat.

"Hey, Mr. Director?" Anita says, smoothly stepping in to block the direct path
 Alto took. "Your lead actor over there-" She says, nodding in the direction
 'S. Kudo' left. "Was wondering which of us pilots would be his stunt double?
 Sounds like he was, uh... pretty eager to meet 'em."

<Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.

It takes a small moment for recognition to scan over Tessa's face, marking Rin
 mentally down as one of the poor GUTS interns as well. Misery breeds company,
 as they say. And company breeds...understanding that this is the lead actor.
 Her countenance flickers from understanding to astonishment to mute nodding,
 keeping her face locked onto the other's as the triade came out.

Crom Thuse, playing Shin Kudo. She vaguely remembers the introduction;
 Something about how he's the perfect fit on-camera. Mostly. Regardless, the
 last sentence is finished off with a traditional bow without words, gazing as
 the back of that vexing man walked off...

...And she sighed. "Thank you. I don't think he means bad...I think." A
 question left for the ages, taking the precious few moments of comfort to
 doublecheck that mic. Okay, adjusted and braced in case a Variable Fighter
 stomps too close. "Have they had you working along the backend stuff as well?
 I don't think I've stopped since sunrise..."

<Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.

The bioscan results...LOOK normal? Normalish? Maybe he has a health condition.

'Yamada' who is currently CELEBRO (who doesn't show up on bioscans because of
 Ultra Villain nonsense, and also because his possession abilities do not
 remotely make sense if you make any effort whatsoever to figure them out from
 a physiological standpoint) finds the cooling system, nods to the fellas
 around, and just...kinda listens to what's going on. Interesting. Filming.
 Yes, the human practice of entertainment. Their special effects shows are
 novel, but speak too much about the power of hope and companionship, which are
 things that suck and are lame. He knows.

He's seen them burn to ashes many times. Kehehehe.

He takes twelve seconds to look at the cooler and then just reaches in, GRABS
 the condenser pack with his bare freakin' hands, and then flips it over and
 plugs it back in.

"There's a trick," he says to any crew who happen to find this a horrifying
 lapse in safety procedures, and then turns around and walks back to where the
 production tent is gathering eyes.

He catches Grace's eyes for just a moment. His slightly burned hand slips out
 of his pocket and flashes a small device. About the size of a thumb. Looks
 like one of those fancy metal fidget toys, honestly. A second later she
 receives a single network handshake packet in a Bionet protocol.

He slips it back away. Apparently that was the whole message. Very to the point.

His eyes do linger on Sheryl a moment after that - and then Ranka, longer.

And then to Emilia, apparently more interested in her bracelet than the ongoing
 showbiz drama. For now, at least.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Mr. Thuse stomps off, which is probably for the best for everyone - even him!
 Maybe he can de-turbulate his theta in the tropical sunshine.

Rin gives Tessa a well practiced little weak smile, even as she steps forwards.
 "I'm not so sure about that, but I guess this could be stress displacement or
 something," she says to Tessa, now completely relaxed and normal. She reaches
 behind her neck to rub it for a moment. "Hoooh, well, it's kind of a lot of
 stuff... I sort of talked like I had sound experience because I did some setup
 at school... I'm not even eighteen yet, haha..."

Good thing Britannia doesn't have stringent child labor laws! Am I right, folks?

"Do you want to get something to eat? I'm like passing out," Rin tells Tessa,
 "I need to get something in me ASAP or I'm going to cack it right here on the
 sand." With this, she turns towards the craft services space, giving out a
 couple more calls for audio battery pack exchange along the way.

"Oh wow, tropical punch!" Rin says, at the sight of, well, guess. As she gets a
 cup of it, she overhears something, and waits for a moment before telling
 Hikaru, "I couldn't help but overhear. Soggy ones, huh? What's the appeal for
 ya?" and then immediately drinking her punch. Just, straight up draining the
 cup, although she turns a little so one gray eye is pointing right at Hikaru
 throughout. She's listening!

<Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.

        "Becoming famous takes hard work and dedication, but it does have a
 surprising way of sneaking up on you. It probably doesn't hurt to have a
 special someone believing in you along the way?"

        With that, Grace offers an enigmatic smile. To Ranka, to Sheryl, and
 even to Emilia. What she said, and how she said it, suggests there is a
 hidden meaning behind her words. But by the look of that inscrutable smile,
 which looks as if it would be at home on the face of some Sphinx, it seems
 like she is perfectly comfortable to allow each of the three to draw their own
 conclusions.

        Not that she has too long to act so enigmatic. Sheryl mentions she is
 parched, and Grace dutifully attends her. No doubt Brera will just as
 dutifully follow the pair even if it might mean he has to enter closer
 proximity with a certain Saotome.

        Once arriving at the refreshment stand, Sheryl's attention is drawn
 away by Alto and the revelation of his former life as a Kabuki prodigy. This
 gives Grace ample cover to excuse herself. She first approaches the CREW
 member responsible for the stocking of the refreshment stand. "Ms. Nome is
 parched. As you might understand, anything less than premium spring water
 chilled to an exact temperature to allow optimal rehydration of vocal chords
 would be unacceptable. Please feel free to take your time to review your
 stock carefully ... remembering that it's just Sheryl Nome who is waiting
 on you to deliver." All of this delivered in an even and polite tone. No
 doubt enough to send the CREW member scampering.

        Meanwhile, her gaze returns to that of a certain 'Yamada', who
 apparently just grabbed a condenser and flipped it with his bare hands. At
 first this raises her concern level. Then, however, he retrieves something
 from his pocket. She watches him silently ...

        The handshake packet is returned with a ping marking its receipt, and
 just as suddenly 'Yamada' seems of far less interest or concern to Ms.
 O'Connor. Instead she turns her gaze back towards the CREW member who holds
 out a few bottles fresh from the cooler. Her eyes slide across each of them,
 taking a quick measure their temperature, before selecting the one that meets
 the criteria she dictated earlier. "Thank you." She offers, before returning
 to Sheryl's side open and then offer the freshly retrieved water bottle.

<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.

        Lucine looks over at Anita and Hikaru's comments and smiles softly.
 "... Yes, I suppose so. .... You don't think I was being too harsh, Hikaru?
 People like that do sometimes rub me the wrong way, but.... you would think
 being in such beautiful environments would make someone a little happier, but
 I suppose, that is his own hell he must deal with..." The latter two sentences
 could apply to more than one person, due to how Lucine unintentionally phrased it.

        Which could mean more than one personm due to how Lucine
 unintentionally phrased it.
        
        The director and his assistant's reactions to Alto offer more intrigue;
 Alto is very pretty in his own way, Lucine would admit, but... clearly, this
 needs investigation!

        Celebro is given a curious glance, as he.... burns his hand?! If there
 is novel way to get a Newtype off your scent, that is one. Especially
 unintentionally. "A-ah...."

        He's walking away. Clearly, the man knew what he was doing! And he's
 off, to do business things, back towards.... ah, yes, she was going to look up
 Alto's name like a proper co-worker who respects the privacy of the people she
 works with!

        Because we can't have nice things, Lucine taps in Alto's name into her
 phone. "Ah... the signal is good here..."

        ......

        "........ Ah, he is very pretty..."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

Lucine glances a look Hikaru's way and she just kinda shrugs again, agreeing
 with Anita's assessment. "Yep, she's right - jerks like that aren't really
 scary if you know how to make 'em run off like that," Hikaru looks rather
 proud of herself - she has experience with this sort of thing, and also
 proud of Lucine - for trying to assert herself.

Hikaru overhears some of the talk from the crew in the distance. "...Yamada?
 Didn't that guy die?" She asides to herself, not really audibly.

Anita politely asks the director what the situation with the stunt doubles is.
 "No real preference for my role, here!" Hikaru chimes in. Long as she gets
 paid, and able to spend time in the cockpit in a not life-or-death situation
 for once in her life.

Hikaru takes another sip of her own tropical punch, when she is approached..!
 "Ehe, well.. people usually tell me I have weird tastebuds. A lot of people
 think they're no good anymore once they get soggy, but I think they're just
 fine, so I'm usually the one to eat them." She responds, attentively to Rin,
 with a smile on her face. "Same goes for pizza crusts! Can't imagine just
 throwing 'em out." Besides that, the food back on Satsuki Midori 2 generally
 wasn't so good as what Chef Howmei cooks up on the Nadesico, so she'd grown
 used to it.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Ranka's compliment mirrors Kallen's, back before the pageant. Today
 she's finally tarting to believe it. "M-m-maybe with proper t-training." She
 answers, being complimented in front of her favourite singer. Celebrity. Idol.
 But the earnestness froom Sheryl, to keep giving it her all...

        Hard to top a pick-me-up like that. Ai's help last night had sorted her
 out a bit, and this launches her up even more. "I-I will! Th-th-thank you!" Oh
 gosh. Emmy can give a small wave back, and she looks to Ranka a bit
 astonished. She's definitely uplifted from-

        -a time Ranka doesn't remember. Emmy looks around now, as people move
 on and sees...

        A real goddamn creep. She works at a maid cafe. She knows the type. Her
 hand covers her bracelet non-chalantly. He's crew... He is unlikely to try
 anything. ...And if he did there's a murder cyborg who will definitely
 interfere. Probably.

        Her phone beeps- "Ah!" She gives an apologetic smile to Ranka. "I
 n-need to t-t-touch base with the other i-interns. I'll b-b-be cheering f-for
 you." She's Ranka's supporter. after all. She's here to support. "I'll
 v-vertex you t-tonight!"

        A few moments later, she's walking over near Rin, the drinks, and some
 others. "R-Rin!" She's still getting to know the other student but... a fan
 knows a fan. "Rin, I g-g-got to t-talk to-" She stops, looking over everyone
 and seeing... a GUTS Intern she doesn't recognize. Emmy curtseys to Tessa in
 Britannian fashion. Still looks silly with shorts. "O-oh, um, h-hello! I'm
 Emilia, I-I'm helping w-w-w-with m-make up. N-ice to meet you!"

        Yeah that pick me up did wonders.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        "Mmmmm, yes. A tragedy." Alto doesn't sound convinced. In fact the idea
 seems to amuse him just a little bit as he responds to Sheryl.

        Alto does go on to explain though, "They asked me to join the movie's
 cast. I declined. I gave that kind of life up years ago, I'm not in any rush
 to go back to it." Plus given their obvious interest in his previous work, he
 wouldn't be surprised if they try to give him a female part. Like hell that's
 ever going to happen again.

        Alto glances around as he storms off, watching the various crew and
 GUTs members doing their work. It is starting to bring back memories, sending
 a bit of a shiver down his spine. Maybe he should go and join Ruri over there.
 She usually doesn't give a crap about this kind of stuff. It'd be refreshing.
 Mmm, maybe not, she looks like she might be enjoying her solitude on the
 beach. Best not to ruin that.

        His attitude cooled a little bit, Alto stops his storming off, which
 also gives Grace a chance to catch up. Alto gives her his usual professional
 nod in greeting. Funnily enough that about sums up their typical non-work
 related interactions. Not that Alto has anything against Grace, it's just how
 their relationship has developed.

        Hoping to not-so-subtley change the subject, Alto turns the attention
 to Sheryl, asking, "What about you? I'd be surprised if they haven't tried to
 pull you into a part. Hell, if you wanted you could probably get the lead
 female role."

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Despite how flustered and lost Ranka looked a moment ago, withering under
 Miranda's stare, she's immediately flushing bright pink, at Sheryl saying
 that, "I um!"

Ranka suddenly has this day dream like image in her mind of having two unique
 jagged spears plunged into her hut door.

"Right! I'll- I promise I'll keep giving it my all!" Ranka rubs idly at her
 cheek, being careful not to smudge her makeup.

Whereas she gives Emilia a worried look after what Sheryl says, that but it
 becomes a thoughtful look. Could this be a way for Emilia to escape her
 circumstances?

Ranka doesn't notice the 'creep' but her hair leaps when Emilia's phone beeps,
 and "Oh hey! It's okay! I'll see you later Emilia!"

Alto refuses the director and his assistant, pulling his hands out of the
 Director's grip, the man watches him move away in silence, before leaning over
 to his assistant and whispering something - who runs off.

The Director then looks at Anita at her question. His stare is stoic, but
 exuding competence. He adjusts his shades... then keeps staring as he turns
 to Hikaru as she speaks about her weird tastebuds to Rin...

... there's a thumb to his chin, and then he points Hikaru's way. He's
 decided something, but what? He aint saying! He's just walking away now!

Meanwhile Ranka's attention just turns onto Sheryl, and Alto from afar, her
 expression falling as she observes them.

A CREW member is accosted by Grace, and she sputters, before eventually, "Y-Yes
 Ma'am!" And she scrambles off to do that- before coming back, "W-What is the
 correct temp- no no nevermind I'll figure it out!"

And rushes off again.
Meanwhile a crew member looks at Celebro burn himself by yanking out the
 cooling unit, he just stares at him, as Celebro explains and then in a rare
 show of wisdom for humans, "Didn't see nothing."

He goes back to what he's doing. Leaving Celebro unsupervised for whatever
 dark mischief he desires.

-=-=-

Elmo Kridanik in his tan untucked shirt, purple tie and violet slacks runs out
 onto the beach, and up to Alto, before asking him, "Mister Saotome. Could I
 speak to you off to the side for a moment?"

Assuming Alto complies... he only takes him off still within earshot of
 basically everyone, Sheryl included...

~Not long after~

Cue the very proud full-blooded Zentradi man, who fought in the War... in full
 dogeza, on the ground, arms forward, and face in the sand.

"Please! If you agree to be on the cast they'll increase Ranka's screen time!
 Any part is fine they said! Even just standing around!"

He's out of earshot of Ranka however, who'd honestly be horrified that Elmo is
 doing this. She already knows what sacrifices Alto made for her of doing
 things he didn't want to do, from the life he'd left behind.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        For good or for ill, Cele-Yamada doesn't blip on Sheryl's radar
 whatsoever. He's just a guy who's walking funny, who happens to look her way,
 and who around here hasn't looked her way at least once today? If he is a
 creep, between Brera, Alto, and Grace, someone else will take care of him. And
 indeed, Grace does reach the point where he is 'handled.'
        
        Sheryl gives Emilia and Ranka one last grin, pleased by their
 reactions, before she heads off like the diva she is, immediately ditching
 Grace to handle the refreshments she said she wanted to chase after a boy.
 Grace understands, she's sure.
        
        Alto doesn't seem to believe her, though, and she scoffs. "It would be
 a tragedy for me," Sheryl says. A second later she realizes the unintended
 implications, because she adds in a red-cheeked, flustered rush, "I-I have to
 put up with you being my bodyguard, after all, which I'll just remind you
 means the way you look reflects on me! With your terrible fashion sense, your
 face is your only saving grace!"
        
        Still, he explains properly, and though Sheryl had actually overheard
 after all, she pretends as though she hadn't. "Hmmm... So that's what they
 were jumping at you for," Sheryl says, seizing hold of something she's already
 had an emotion about and thus can act nonchalant about it, especially with
 Alto slowing and stopping.
        
        Grace takes the opportunity to approach with her water. "Thank you,
 Grace," she says, tossing her hair back and taking a moment to drink and fully
 regain her composure. It is precisely to her liking, from temperature to
 mineral flavor, and she takes that fully for granted.
        
        Alto's question actually gets a laugh out of her, and she stretches out
 an arm and pulls back the long windbreaker sleeve. "Does this look' like the
 skin tone of a Mayan to you?" she says with wry humor. "As ironic as it is,
 I'm just too fair to pull off a convincing Sara. Blame my father."
        
        As matter-of-fact as she says that, though, there's something sad in
 her blue eyes about it. It doesn't last, but it's certainly there.
        
        But then Ranka's manager rushes up, asking to talk to Alto. She raises
 her eyebrows at him, but shrugs at Alto. Seems like she won't insist on
 hanging around for that. She does give him a rueful look when Elmo
 absolutely fails to maintain an indoor voice for the interaction, though.
        
        "Pretending like I didn't hear that one is going to be a stretch," she
 murmurs sotto voce to her manager before taking another drink.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita nods along with Hikaru as she agrees, and responds to Lucine's smile with
 one of her own.

"Yeah, I get that. Me, I can't deal with anyone who comes on so strong, you
 know?" She replies, and then nods. "Right? This place is nice."

She's still fond of the artifical beach back home, but... it's good to see the
 real deal.

But for now, the Director! He stares at her, she stares back. He doesn't answer
 her vocally - but he does point at Hikaru. She looks her way, and shrugs.

"Looks like you're the lucky one this time." Anita says with a shrug. Lucky for
 what, though? Who knows! And with that, she hears Lucine's comment, so... she
 leans over, taking a quick peek too. Where she sees...

"...Huh, he is pretty." Anita comments, an eyebrow raised.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Hikaru reveals her dark truth. "Oh, so it's more of a guilt thing?" Rin says to
 Hikaru, quite conversationally. "Or is it like you eat anything that you
 aren't like ALLERGIC to and you get to like it? You know, I once played this
 game that had a system like that. You could just like, catch bugs --"

Emilia saves Hikaru from hearing a bunch of Gamer Nonsense; Rin brightens at
 her. "Hey~! Oh I'm gonna guess it's Sheryl!" (She says to Hikaru, "I kissed
 her once, technically, it was pretty wild. Complete accident! I explicitly
 mean Sheryl Nome BTW.")

Back to Emilia, to whom Rin approaches. "You should eat something if you're
 this worked up - OK, maybe you should drink something first..."

To Hikaru, Rin says, "I guess that was kind of a weird way to -- wait, who
 died?" Her head turns for a moment. "I mean there's tons of people in Japan
 and Area 11 named Yamada, I think I know two guys and that's just people who
 picked apples. Unless that's his FIRST name..."

<Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.

Yes. Total creepasaurus. Emilia covers her bracelet.

Those crystals, Celebro thinks. That was...

Kiete karekareta. How VERY interesting.

Now that he's had to out himself to Grace, he elects not to openly leer at
 Sheryl Nome, even though her throat is positively tempting. Something in the
 vocal harmonics...no, that's not it. There's another step to the encoding? No.
 Might be the wrong tree entirely. He'd need samples.

...might not be worth annoying the cyborg. He'll think about it.

He turns to shuffle off. Maybe he'll go help that guy he stiffed earlier. Could
 stand to build some rep, if he's staying.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto gives Sheryl a flat stare at the comment about his fashion sense.

        Of course he completely misses the alternate implication of the
 previous one.

        When she points out the flaw in his plan, he takes a moment to glance
 over her. It's true that with her complexion it'd require a lot of makeup to
 get her close to how the Mayans are supposed to look. And at that point it'd
 start looking unnatural. Not to mention uncomfortable.

        He unfortunately knows that from experience.

        Before the discussion can go any further though, Ranka's manager
 interupts them. Alto tilts his head a little with mild confusion. Elmo wants
 to talk to him about something? Alto can't imagine what. He has no problem
 with it though so nods, "Sure." He gives Sheryl a shrug at the same time as
 hers, before turning to follow Elmo towards a more secluded part of the beach.

        Soon after, Alto stares in some surprise at the sight of Ranka's
 manager bowing face down in the sand. He partially reaches out as if to get
 the Zentradi man to rise, but stops as he makes his request to Alto.

        Alto takes an instinctive step back, his instinct once again to say no.
 But then Elmo mentions the incentive. Tch, to think they'd stoop so low as to
 use a young girl's career as bribing material. This is one of the reasons he
 hated the show business scene...

        ... Unfortunately though, they got him good. Alto moves a hand to pinch
 the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he considers the request. Between his
 own distaste of the prospect of acting again... And helping Ranka out...

        Well, it's not much of a choice is it?

        Alto sighs in resignation, "Fine. That Shin actor mentioned they needed
 someone for some stunt work. I'll do something like that." It's probably the
 closest role to not-acting he can ask for.

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

At Lucine asks Hikaru if she thinks she was too harsh, and even if she's not
 used to it, she tries the best she can regardless. "Nah.. I think with some
 people, you kinda have to be that harsh."

And to Lucine's own vague statement about beautiful environments, Hikaru offers
 her own piece of wisdom, if a bit uncharacteristically serious. "Mmm.. I think
 maybe they lost sight of how special those beautiful environments really are."
 At least in the view of someone who grew up in something bleak as a corporate
 space colony.

And that tone is replaced by lighthearted bewilderment, as the director...
 points at her and just leaves. "Eehh? Me?" Does that mean she's taking the
 lead or what? "Seems so!" She replies, cheerfully to Anita. Hikaru's luck
 comes and goes but she can count on it... sometimes!

And finally she turns her attention back to Rin, who's surprisingly interested
 in her food habits, and also chatty! Hikaru can do chatty. "It's more like the
 latter! Maybe I'm easy to please, or maybe I just like the underdog food, hehe"

She's totally unphased by the Gamer Nonsense, really - but the following topic
 catches her interest just a little. ("Ahaha how does something like that even
 happen?" Who's she kidding; shenanigans like that bound to happen on Nadesico
 all the time.)

Her musings about Yamada also catch Rin's attention. "...Yeah, I think it's
 someone else. Apparently his soul name was 'Gai', not Yamada!" She never met
 the Gekigan fanboy to mourn him but.. she feels they definitely could have
 gotten along.

<Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.

        You mean you DON'T know the precise temperature for rehydrating vocal
 chords? On a set with several famous or up and coming musical talents? For
 shame. Obviously even asking a question as the person in charge of the
 refreshments would be grounds for being demoted or even fired from the
 production entirely. Luckily for that particular CREW member though Grace is
 far more practiced at pretending she didn't hear something.

        After all, in the end it works out well enough. Through careful
 selection of water quality and Grace's tech allowing her to pick bottle at
 perfect thermal load has led to a satisfied Sheryl.

        At least, briefly satisfied. Sheryl mentions her parents or, more
 specifically, her father and what sort of impact he must have had on her skin
 tone. For her part Grace says nothing, though there is a brief look of
 concern to her expression as she catches a glance at Sheryl's eyes.

        Elmo, Ranka's manager, rushing up is met with mild bemusement from
 Grace. For a brief time they are standing close, and it is at that moment
 that one can see the stark difference in caliber between Grace O'Connor and
 Elmo Kridanik. And that is even before he is reduced to begging, loudly, to
 request Alto's place in the film on behalf of his own client.

        ... it's a shame that Elmo doesn't have the SMS pilot under contract.
 It might make putting him in the background of a scene a much simpler matter
 and requiring far less begging.

        Grace gives a polite laugh behind one of her hands when Sheryl mentions
 how it might be hard for her to pretend to not hear that. She notices through
 Brera's vision as 'Yamada', Celebro, shuffles away. That adds a bit to her
 mirth. While she's aware, somewhat, of who he is... she's still uneasy
 towards his presence so close to her own projects. His departure means she
 has to be less on guard. Though... there is still the matter of bringing one
 of her 'projects' in hand...

        "Perhaps that is enough for today?" Grace says gently to Sheryl. "If
 you're still planning to redo the theme from scratch we'll need to make sure
 you're in top condition before recording starts."

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl's life would be easier in some respects if Alto were a bit more
 socially aware. Then again, maybe not. Because he doesn't notice those other
 implications, he doesn't tease her back. That would've been unacceptable.
        
        (Or maybe Alto's perfectly socially aware, and he's pretending not to
 notice back? Acting isn't just for the stage...)
        
        But it would be nice to know he'd noticed. Sheryl frowns to herself at
 this thought as she watches Alto acquiesce to Elmo's outright begging. For
 Ranka, she has no doubt.
        
        At least Grace definitely noticed. That's the best part about her
 manager, even if it's also sometimes a vexing part. For now, she sighs and
 nods in acquiescence. "Oh, all right. But make sure to get me a copy of the
 script. I want to review it before I start working on the lyrics."
        
        There's no question in her mind that Director Yamamori will take her up
 on her offer, so she'd best get started now.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia nods excitedly at Rin's guess. "Mmhmm!" Still she blushes a bit
 red at the mention of Rin's indirect kiss story. (Is that really how it
 works?) "O-oh, you're r-right. Um. I-I should..." She walks over to the drinks
 (the interns get Craft Services? Nice!) and asks for a water. Rin will
 probably have to prod her again to remember food later, but she *is*
 excitable, for the first time since...

        Well, since that mission at least. She walks back, taking a drink,
 coming back to people talking about a guy who died that no one knew. That
 seems.. awkward to bring up Sheryl talk after. Still, she casts her eyes
 towards creepo supreme far away again, and rubs her bracelet. "I w-w-w-wonder
 how we'll get th-through the sh-shoot in time..." She says, quietly. "We've
 b-barely gotten anything d-done y-yet."

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

It's true that Elmo has no inside voice. Thankfully it was JUST out of range
 of Ranka's hearing, she's watching it subtly from afar out of curiosity, but
 eventually she realizes she might be caught staring... and eventually moves
 on from there.

When anyone looks for her next she's just gone.

Thus she doesn't see the moment where Elmo's eyes light up, "Thank you! Thank
 you! I'll go let them know!"

Elmo tears off running back to the set in his enthusiasm. At least he's
 working hard for Ranka? Even if it's cowing to shady show biz deals and
 having zero shame or pride.

The assistant in the background hears from Elmo, and there's some excited
 chatter over by the tent.

Eventually another production assistant comes over to Grace, "Director Yamamori
 has decided to take Sheryl up on her offer. We'll have someone get with you
 to hammer out the details for the special accommodations you're asking for"

-=-=-

~Epilogue~

The assistant moves over from the side to the Producer. "There's a problem
 with Scene 47. Crom Thuse says its not in his contract to do an underwater
 scene."

Cut to Crom Thuse who's standing up from his beach chair, a suit has brought
 over his contract, he's just knocked it right out of his hands.

The Producer replies, "It's fine. Don't even bother renegotiating his
 contract. After all-" he points towards Alto in the distance, "-we have a
 suitable stunt double now right?"

The assistant's eyes light up. "That's right!" Suddenly the future looks
 bright, after all...

... if the famed Alto Saotome is doing the underwater kiss scene, then both men
 and women all over the Earthsphere are going to melt watching it.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

("Well, it's a long story... I'll tell you sometime~" Rin asides to Hikaru, on
 the topic of BIG SMOOCHES WITH CELEBRITIES. It is better, Rin feels, to string
 out your clout as long as you can)

"His soul name?" Rin says, as she picks up a sandwich wrap that contains at
 least one protein compounent. "Is that a thing? Like did he do a past life
 regression? I mean, sometimes you have more than one name you can use, I
 guess. Or oh, there's a thing in Japan where you can read the Chinese
 characters in different ways - they use it for puns and stuff, it's pretty
 nuts."

Munch, munch. She swills down another half-cup of tropical punch. "I guess I
 shouldn't assume you don't know already, but I know a ton of people from the
 colonies have Japanese names even if it's from their like, great-grandpa! Are
 you with Nergal?"

Rin actually has no idea if they're not supposed to eat this food, but nobody
 specifically told her not to, and that's how she lives her life. As only a
 starved dog can do; blaze a path on the untrodden road o/~

"I guess we have to get everything organized and then we grab it all when
 things are perfect," Rin guesses to Emilia. "They do amazing stuff in editing,
 you know. And if that fails, there's always CG, too!"

(If necessary, she will put the other half of her wrap in Emilia's hand some
 time in the next ten minutes.)

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

<poem> Hikaru looks forward to hearing Rin's story when she gets the chance! As for

the topic of soul names, Hikaru listens attentively to Rin's possible
explanations, but... "I think he maaay have been a huge fan of mecha heroes.
You know, like that one guy, Guy Shishioh? It's a pre-ee-tty popular name
these days!" Of course, that's just the guess she made based on being told Gai
was a Gekiganger superfan, just like her.

Hikaru nods when Rin asks her if she's with Nergal. "Yep, I'm one of the pilots

with the Nadesico." She takes a sip of her own. "I used to be from Satsuki
Midori 2 myself, but after the Jovians got it, the Nadesico's my home now."
She doesn't spite it, though, she's generally happy on the Nadesico.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Rin-chan. Looks like we'll be working together

quite a lot now, huh?" Making new friends is always nice...!