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-*'''Log: Legend of Zero: Island Paradise'''
-*'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Ranka Lee]], [[Character :: Ruri Hoshino]], [[Character :: Yurika Misumaru]], [[Character :: Alto Saotome]], [[Character :: Anita Rosetta]], [[Character :: Sheryl Nome]], [[Character :: Hikaru Amano]], [[Character :: Rin Starking]], [[Character :: Celebro]], [[Character :: Emilia Eschonbach]], [[Character :: Grace O'Connor]], [[Character :: Brera Sterne]], [[Character :: Lucine Azul]], [[Character :: Teletha Testarossa]]
-*'''Where:''' A Beautiful Pacific Island
-*'''OOC - IC Date:''' 0096-12-18
-*'''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.''
-----
- <Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
-<poem>
-        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!)
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
-<poem>
-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!
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
-<poem>
-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!"
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
-<poem>
-        "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!"
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
-<poem>
-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!
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
-<poem>
-        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!!"
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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?"
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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?
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
-<poem>
-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."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
-<poem>
-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~"
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
-<poem>
-        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..."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
-<poem>
-        "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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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~!"
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
-<poem>
-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."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Teletha Testarossa has posed.
-<poem>
-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..."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
-<poem>
-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!
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.
-<poem>
-        "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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
-<poem>
-        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..."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
-<poem>
-        "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."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
-<poem>
-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..."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Celebro has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Grace O'Connor has posed.
-<poem>
-        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."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
-<poem>
-        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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.
-<poem>
-        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 &#42;is&#42;
- 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."
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
-<poem>
-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.
-</poem>
- <Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.
-<poem>
-("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.)
-</poem>
- <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...!
-</poem>
-[[Category:Logs]]
-[[Category:Phase 1]]
-[[Category:Phase 1, Turn 2]]

Difference between revisions of "2022-12-18: LoZ: Island Paradise"

Latest revision as of 17:59, 12 February 2023

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