☆A little little fun

[iitrebel]

Who: Those who signed up to perform, and anyone else
What: The Double S Charity Concert is go!
When: January 24th throughout the day
Where: Archer Park
Warnings: None planned

☆A Little Little Fun



On the morning of the 24th, the sun rises over Vista City and, more importantly, Archer Park- a series of rooftop parks connected to each other by bridges and overflowing greenery of all sorts. It's a popular on most days to start with. Today, however, is the day of the Double S Charity Concert. Thus, it's more packed than usual.

One of the park "islands" is home to a concert stage, and that is where the concert is taking place. All throughout the next couple of days, various musicians will perform songs they've written about or dedicated to another in the industry. With the entertainment value of the idea and the fame of the musicians, of course the place is packed.

The stage is where every musician will end up at throughout the day, performing for the masses, but behind it is also a rest area for them to either bide their time or just hang out. It's supposed to be restricted to just those musicians participating, but frankly... security is lax just enough that bandmates and the such could duck on in to see their friends. No fans, however, sorry. It's not the most impressive of places, with seating areas and a salad bar and all the pizza that could possibly be ordered, but hopefully it's good enough. This is also where one can find event organizer Jenny around, in case they need to bring anything up.

Of course, no one is required to stay back there while waiting their turn, or after they've done their performance. Attempts to raise money go beyond just the concert. Double S has all sorts of stalls set up, whether to explain to people the various causes they can specifically pledge support to, or to sell merchandise. Can't forget the food stalls. There is, of course, a stall showing adoptable animals. There always is.

Finally, there's one last thing Double S has set up for any willing celebrities. It's a meet-and-greet area for the fans, where they have the chance to meet their favorite musicians. Giving out autographs, taking pictures with fans... There's even a karaoke set up for everyone to use. Musicians can sing solo, or with others from their label, or even with a lucky fan. AKA feel free to get NPC MP here. Hopefully, it'll get some good publicity for those interested in that kind of thing.

Tickets have been made astonishingly cheap in the hopes that more people will show, with anything else being made up by merchandise sales or donations.

Comments

Haruka Tenoh | Spectator/working

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka can hear the music from the concert from all the way over here on this street, but she isn't planning on approaching or buying a ticket. Instead she's hanging out here next to a fancy, swanky limousine - the chauffeur company she works for had asked a few of their drivers to be "on call" to seize the opportunity to ferry any needy band members back to their lodgings afterwards and maybe strike up a long-term business relationship.

So here she stands, excellent posture, hands in her pockets, waiting to see if any potential marks wander by. Spotting someone, she steps forward, removing her chauffeur cap and placing it over her heart. ]

Excuse me. Could I be of assistance...?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

...Wait, seriously?

[Jecht had only wandered out of the concert to catch a breath. Big as he talked and as big a show as he put on, he couldn't pretend he had the full energy he had at half his current age.]

[And there's someone standing out by a limo?]

They got you sitting out here half-able to hear this awesome concert waiting in the half-assed hope someone's gonna blow out early?

That's cruelty.

[actsmagnificent]

The world is cruel, sir.

[ Haruka bobs her head politely. Her personal tastes don't tend towards respecting anybody till they've earned that respect, but she has this uncanny habit of naturally being good at everything. Apparently that extends to working in the service industry, too. ] Did you need a ride?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Sir. [Groaning, Jecht runs a hand down his face.] Making me feel so goddamn old... Okay, kid, tell me what the deal is. I hire the limo, what're the limits?

[actsmagnificent]

No leaving the city. [ Haruka recites these smoothly: she's not usually one for details, but she can do whatever she puts her mind to. ] Ten percent extra charge for trips lasting more than four hours - waived if I can leave and come back. Please leave the vehicle as clean as you found it...

[ A tiny grin. ] And no using it for illegal transactions.

[ But rock stars would never do that, right? ]

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Right, right. That didn't answer what he wanted to know, though.]

Suppose I didn't want you in it for a bit. That covered or are you stuck with the thing?

[actsmagnificent]

What sort of trip are you planning on taking, sir?

[ Haruka should have taken in account how bad she is at answering questions before applying for this job. ]

Well, this could go many different directions, all of them sparkly

[faithfulflame]

[After a while, mostly after Ivan and Luce play, Rei's had more than enough of spectating and the crowd. She needs air, and she's really planning on going home. That's what she did often enough, and her bandmates and manager got that. She was lucky, they generally did make arrangements for her mental well-being and anxiety. She played, she rarely made a fuss and lacked the diva personality, and if the worst thing she wanted to do was have a boyfriend and take mental health time then it clearly seemed like a winning play for Virgo Entertainment.

She strides out into the parking lot, heading to her little car, just minding her own business when someone walks up to her and starts talking. Someone tall...so Rei's eyes have to look up. And up. She's still short, of course, and her manner of dress is different than Haruka might recognize. A pair of brown slacks, a nice red blouse with matching sunglasses, a distinct lack of her necklace, though there's a string of prayer beads and other bangles jangling on her wrists. She looks smart, snappy, like she's trying to dress to impress and she definitely sells it. Except in her eyes. Where you'd expect to see confidence there's none...but there's definitely surprise.

Surprise and fear.

She drops her purse and stumbles back, away from Haruka.]

You!

shiny human is already present, so

[actsmagnificent]

[ ...."you," indeed. Haruka had hoped chauffeuring would help her with recon. She hadn't expected to run into Rei this quickly. Or for Rei to recognize her face.

The rest of the reaction is immaterial - all that matters for the present is to act as if Rei is a total stranger to her. They aren't in a position to make their move yet. This could be an opportunity, and yet, taking it's not worth the risk.

So instead of acknowledging that recognition, she blinks, and acts as if she wants to start forward but knows her place too well for that. ] I'm sorry - Miss, are you all right?

[ Haruka's cover is not going to be blown. Not until it truly can't be helped. ]

thankfully gold is not.

[faithfulflame]

[There were a lot of things that Rei Hino probably should have done. Run away, go find the Doctor, pick up her fallen bag and continue on were all viable options. But not the ones Rei took. She just stood there, mouth halfway open, staring at the chauffer like she had a second head. It'd been months. Months and months of those visions, dreams of palaces of marble and cities of crystal, monsters that gave her nightmares and women that seemed somehow too perfect for the world...one of whom gave her even worse nightmares. No.

She knew this was the woman from her memory. She knew it, beyond any shadow of a doubt. That voice, talking about a mission and space...and Bill had somehow commented on it too. Something about this woman. This was her Edward. Her mysterious gang of rough men, her gaggle of strange women inside a police box. Only this time it wasn't in her head.

That conversation with the man...Reborn. Was that the same? Were people from those visions real? Were they not just delirium induced fantasies?

Slowly, processing everything taking an obvious toll on her, Rei set herself, braced for impact...]

Are you real?

what are you talking about, he loves helping, he'd be such an asset

[actsmagnificent]

Do you need to sit down?

[ Haruka reaches for Rei's arm. She knows trying to touch the other girl is a gamble - as is not acknowledging that she has a hunch, at least, about what Rei is asking. But she has to trust Rei to figure this out herself, this early on. She can't say too much, lest Rei confide in someone who can't be trusted.

All she can do is try to take Rei gently by the arm and, if successful, lead her to the limousine, so Rei can sit in the doorway if necessary (to also prove Haruka has no intentions of, say, putting her all the way in the limo and then driving off). All she can do is to prove by the weight of her fingertips against Rei's skin that she is real, that this is happening, and that she's concerned about Rei. That she's here for Rei. ] I can't apologize enough...

yes, he'd bring the managers down immediately.

[faithfulflame]

[The touch is definitely a gamble, as it's incredibly unwelcome. Rei's entire body goes rigid, her fingers balling into tense fists. It takes all her willpower not to slam on the breaks and drive one into the stranger's stomach. Instead, she reaches out and grips the tall woman's arm. Hard. Supernaturally so. Her divine strength in human form. It's as much a warning that funny business won't be tolerated as it is a way to show the touch wasn't wanted...but she'll allow it.

She does sit, though. Quite convinced that this woman is completely real, Rei looks up into her eyes and with a tremor, asks the big question.]

Who the hell are you...?

literally. he'd trip them.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka doesn't so much as flinch from that grip - it's surprising at first, but all right, she'll roll with this. It seems there's more going on with Rei's particular situation than they'd been briefed on (that, or Haruka was so focused on one part of said briefing she missed others). Does this mean they'll have to accelerate their schedule...?

That's a pain. They're reliant on someone else to get them off-planet. But Haruka will resent the inconvenience later. Now, she just sits next to Rei, looking for all the world to anyone walking past like a concerned employee taking care of a client who'd had a dizzy spell. A tiny smile touches her lips for a moment, then vanishes. ] Isn't that something you have to figure out yourself?

[ Hah. Doubletalk. Who is Haruka, yes: if Rei's memory is starting to return, she should know the answer to that. But also - who is Rei? ]

[hearted]

Hey cuz!

[It's 'Di', bopping over with her arms full of glasses.]

Want to try one of Brad's fabulous milkshakes before you head off?

[actsmagnificent]

[ ....For some reason, pretty much every word of that, from "cuz" to "Brad, unsettles Haruka. Yet her intuition hasn't worked properly since joining the rescue team, so what is it...? What is this odd uneasiness....?

Haruka laughs a little but doesn't accept. Minako seems to have infiltrated well. ] I'm still on the clock, so....

[ Sorry! One can expect nothing less from responsible, wholesome Alex Himmel, who lives to serve superstars. ]

[hearted]

Ah, of course. Alex the professional.

[She nods.]

You're gonna tell me about all the super-cool stuff you did when we get home, right?

[Minako, hon, that's not what professional means.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka just smiles. ] Enjoy the concert.

[ She will tell you what you need to know.

Haruka does not tend to think that people need to know things very often. ]

[hearted]

[She huffs just a little, but she can keep it cool.]

Do you want a CD since you can't stay? You've gotta have something to tune out all that work stuff when you're done.

[actsmagnificent]

What about you?

[ Whether Minako wants to give Haruka a CD is up to her, not Haruka. ] Are you finding plenty of things to do?

[ Can she expect recon information to come out of tonight...? ]

[linkthismemory]

[As 'Nora' is wandering by, she does take a detour to say hello. Her coat has been folded over her bag by this point and she's still got her sketchbook in her hands. She's clearly been drawing judging by the fact that she's got graphite all the way up one arm and a smudge of it across her face where she must have been putting her hair back.]

You're not too bored, are you? Being stuck out here.

[She's smiling, but she does look somewhat distracted.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ One of Usagi's new friends, she sees. Haruka shrugs, still in the persona of the mild-mannered chauffeur for hire. Mostly. ] It's not my genre.

[ She taps her face where that smudge of charcoal is on Namine's. ] You've been busy.

[linkthismemory]

Oh!

[She wipes her cheek with her hand, and basically manages to just make a slightly larger mess.]

I could see things clearer, since we were here.

[She runs her fingers over the edge of her book.]

I thought I should try and draw some of it while they were still playing.

[actsmagnificent]

Capturing it for posterity, huh?

[ Haruka hasn't talked much with their roommates, since she's been preoccupied with setting her own plans in motion. But while said plans require them to act like they all get along, why not?

Not that she sees how making sketches will help in the long run, but she'll give the other girl the benefit of the doubt for now. ]

[linkthismemory]

I can see how-

[Namine pauses, and then frowns. That's too forward in this place. Someone might here. She'll have to explain better, later.]

I can see more clearly since.. My friend is here.

[Namine finally just opens her book, seemingly not pleased with her own explanation or any she can come up with, and it will show Sora on the stage, connections drawn between him and people in the room. People he cares about. And then there are two fractured, damaged, chains.

Linking straight to what must be Namine and Riku.]

When I'm with him, I can see it better. What they did.

[actsmagnificent]

[ ....That makes sense. Haruka nods, taking in the sketch and what it's likely implying - this isn't the first Artist she's met. There are some things, for some people, that words can't convey. ] It's a good piece.

[ She understands now. ]