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Post by Vena on Jun 1, 2018 2:01:22 GMT
 Press onkeep going until you can’t
Catching his starting Pokemon and the events that followed had been far more eventful than Varland had anticipated when he'd journeyed out to the ranger station to test his luck. The act of catching her went more smoothly than he'd thought it would, thankfully, considering where they'd found her, her type, and her attitude. He'd decided to name his new partner Primadonna (Or just Prima for short), as he thought it fit with her personality. She'd scoffed a bit at it, but hadn't complained enough about it to warrant him considering a different name. She seemed more pleased by the nickname, much less of a mouthful than her full name but still elegant sounding enough that she enjoyed it. At least, he assumed. She'd stated it would do, but she'd had a content air about her that relieved him. He was glad their journey together was going to be starting off on the right foot.
On their way out of the ranger station one of the rangers had stopped him and asked if he'd be willing to take on an additional burden. He'd been shown an egg for a Togedemaru (though truth be told, he didn't know what sort of Pokemon it was. He didn't know every species that was native to regions outside of Hoenn and this one was definitely unfamiliar), and had been asked if he'd be willing to take it along with him. Something about the rangers having their hands full was the reason, he'd been too distracted by the egg itself to listen too much to the reasons they were letting it go. It had been a long time since Varland had hatched an egg; not since he still lived back on the family ranch. Breeding and hatching Pokemon had been drilled into his skull so much, it had felt strange not handling a single egg in the last four years. Looking at its smooth, grey shell really took him back. He probably shouldn't have taken it with him; he still didn't have a steady source of income after all. He wasn't sure how he was going to take care of himself and Prima yet, so he definitely shouldn't have considered taking in a baby.
...In the end, his sentimentality had beaten out his more rational side. Feeling the weight of it in his hands felt right; he traced the brown and yellow speckles with his thumb as he carried it out of the station and made his way back down the mountain, and it was there that he found a man waiting for him. It felt like he'd been waiting for him, but that couldn't have been right. Right? He was probably asking everyone who came down the path the same question about a job. Had he read his mind? Prima had mentioned how unfortunate his financial situation seemed too- despite his spruced up clothes, could people just smell the desperation wafting off of him?
They talked for a bit; turned out the guy was a cameraman who had been booked for some Unova show but had too many commissions to worry about to deal with tailing some celebrity around the region. Something about the situation seemed off to him, but the moment the man had mentioned how well the gig would pay it was all Varland could do not to seem too eager to accept. It probably wasn't strictly legal, working someone else's contract for them, but as the man himself had said who here would even know? Hell, the guy even said his name was Varland Ravi, only two letters off from his own Revi. Maybe this was an act of fate after all. If he'd thought a little more about it maybe he'd see that such a coincidence might have been more than that, but he was already to enthralled by the idea of spending his entire journey sleeping indoors and in comfy beds and eating three square meals a day to think too hard about it. Plus, this meant he'd be able to treat his Pokemon well too. His worries about taking care of the egg had left as quickly as they'd arrived.
After a beginner's crash course in camera operation and the basics of filming, he gave Varland the camera and supplies he'd need and he had finally shipped off to where he was supposed to meet this guy and where his journey would properly begin: Cassiopeia Village. How long had Kaleo been waiting? Wait, or should he call him Avarice? He had no idea which one the guy would prefer when he was off-screen and the Other Varland hadn't mentioned it so he'd just have to remember to ask him about it later. Thankfully, his employer had shown him a few pictures on the web before he'd left and the man was as easy to spot as he'd been hoping. Thankfully it didn't sound like the two of them had ever met, so slipping into this new gig should be a piece of cake. Hopefully.
"Yo! Hey! You're the guy I'm looking for, right? Avarice Black?" It felt weird to call the guy he'd just met by his stage name like that, but they were in public and he didn't know if he should be using his real name willy nilly. Didn't really know how much privacy the guy wanted. Wanted to be safe than sorry; getting off on a bad foot with the guy he'd be romping around the whole region with was asking for trouble. "Name's Varland Re- Ravi, and as of today it looks like I'm gonna be your cameraman. How soon are you gonna be ready to film here? We're supposed to start off with you getting your starter Pokemon, right? Think we can get permission to film in the lab?" That was what Other Varland had told him anyway. Hopefully Kaleo couldn't sense his nerves; he was swimming in unfamiliar waters in more ways than one and he didn't want to step on any toes. He just had to try and act like he knew what he was doing. Fake it 'till you make it, right?
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Post by spectre on Jun 1, 2018 4:45:07 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
Roughly two days had passed since he'd gotten his starter. Apparently there was some sort of drama about the camera guy going off grid? He thought it was something like that, at least - from the way his manager had flat out gone for his jugular while reaming him out, apparently he wasn't the only one contributing to the shitshow. The thought was both comforting, unsettling, and annoying all at once - on one hand, the fact that a guy had straight up DISAPPEARED was very clearly a problem, but... man, he'd been hanging out here like a loser for SO LONG. Chilling in town for like, 3 days, was waaaaay too much to ask of a guy. Straight up cruel, almost. At least, in the meantime, he'd spent most of his time doing strength training and getting to know his starter a little better. Which... was a slow process, made up of small victories it would seem. The first of those being that he hadn't minded being nicknamed, at least - apparently 'whatever' was fine, but he didn't think Medi would fit, so he went with Hibi instead. He'd gotten a shrug, but no complaints, which was good enough for him. Maybe someday he'd want to know it was short for Hibiscus, and that the weird swirly white hat thing kind of looked like one of the flower's buds. But, considering they had more pressing concerns, that could wait another day. Staying in Cassiopia hadn't done well to assuage his fears that he was going to be returned; he wasn't the most talkative guy to begin with, but the comments about that seemed to be increasing. Which, in turn, lead Kaleo to try and change the subject - small things, mostly, not wanting to dig in too soon, but they were typically enough to either silence him or get him going about something else. If Kaleo had the self awareness to realize he might have been bothering the Pokemon, however, he hadn't realized. Considering how the other hadn't even wanted to go with him at first, whatever pearls of non-self effacing commentary he could get out of him were satisfying. Just now by the statue, in fact, he learned that a Meditite was not only a fighting type, but a psychic as well. Which, of course, warranted only one response from him; "Bro! Dude, what the fuck, that's so COOL!!... Wait, shit, we gotta test this."<<No, we don't.>> He got flatly as a response. Kaleo pouted a bit.
"C'mon, pleeeeease? Just tell me what color I'm thinkin' of?" He clasped his hands together as though begging, attempting to come up with something tricky enough that he was confident the other wouldn't be able to guess through parlor tricks or psychology or whatever smart people said psychic hotline people used. After a brief pause, the Meditite closed his eyes... and, after a few seconds, sighed audibly. Although Hibi did not audibly say anything in response, a thought in the Pokemon's voice gently probed through the 'color' he was channeling to speak to him. {{...Chanting 'pineapple' to yourself over and over isn't a color, Kaleo.}}Kaleo's eyebrows instantly shot to his hairline, and, almost on instinct, he'd jumped to his feet, quickly sliding an arm under the lower portion of his jacket to assure the sudden movement didn't disturb the purple and orange spotted egg resting against the zippered portion at his waist. That, too, he had become accustomed too more quickly than he'd realized. "...Shit?!"In this moment of revelation, his giant form had likely blocked Hibi from view, which to a foreign party likely just made him look like he was very surprised by the statue. It was, of course, then that someone had to address him. Still googly eyed, he'd turned to face the source, blinking a few times as he forced himself to relax a little. Looking absolutely batshit in front of a fan probably would have added to the ongoing conflict, no doubt. He nodded a little in response to confirming his identity. And then the guy started explaining himself. His efforts to chill, however, instantly evaporated upon the guy (Varland? That sounded familiar...) introducing himself as the cameraman. "DUDE! Where WERE you!? I thought you like, fuckin' DIED, man. Boss Lady said you went missing and..."... and it would be likely good to let him finish. Avarice trailed off, the crinkle never quite leaving his brow. Guess the boss really hadn't been lying about him going out of the loop suddenly... biting the inside of his cheek to try and prevent himself from spilling anything else, he'd nodded, letting him finish before speaking again.
"... Huh. Well, whatever happened, I'm glad you're okay. I guess Boss Lady didn't get a chance t'update you... but that's, like, old news, V."He stepped aside, extending his arms to show off the Meditite, who had taken to silently meditating (or dozing, it could have been either) at this point, with a grand gesture. "This is Hibi! Charming lil' bastard, ain't he?"The Meditite opened one eye, took one look at Varland, and nodded before returning to his state of concentration. Kaleo smiled a bit at him in a manner rather reminiscent of a proud new parent before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning his attention back to Varland. "'Fore we get to figuring out business tho, I'm more curious about you, man. You're... a lot more rugged than I thought you'd be. I was picturing like, this cranky middle aged fuck from ya e-mails."Do you have any filter at all. He snorted a bit to himself, quirking an eyebrow. "But that ain't the point. What happened to ya, anyway? Boss'll prob' wanna know."PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.odele1]width:500px;height:85px;margin-left:-50px;background-color:#bca451;color:#f5f5f5;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.25);position:relative;z-index:1;font-size:8px;line-height:100%;[/newclass] |
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Post by Vena on Jun 1, 2018 23:53:04 GMT
Press onkeep going until you can’t
He should have probably expected the barrage of questions. He’d been trying to go over some excuses in his head on the trip back to town; Other Varland hadn’t really gone over that plan of attack with him. He’d been too eager to leave, and he hadn’t even thought it might be an issue though in hindsight of course it would be. Sounds like his employer had gone completely off the radar and hadn’t told anyone a word about it. What a mess. Whatever, he could sort it all out. He had to, lest he risk losing out on this opportunity before it even began.
“Sorry, some stuff kind of happened and I lost my old phone when I got into the region. So I haven’t really been able to contact anybody since I got here, since all my contact info for you guys was on there. Again, I’m real sorry about that. Glad you were still hanging around here, at least!” He was curious what Kaleo meant by old news, but the other man quickly stepped aside and showed him just what that old news was. A Meditite? The Pokemon briefly glanced at him, to which he bowed his head slightly, and then he was promptly ignored once again.
“A quiet guy, huh? I think it’ll be interesting to see the way you two play off each other. I bet the audience’ll eat it up,” he noted, thinking that sounded like something a TV guy would say. He wasn’t too hip on the industry lingo, but he’d heard people talk about the chemistry of on-screen actors plenty of times. This was kind of like that, wasn’t it? He’d never had to worry about other people’s chemistry before. Right now, he was a little worried about his own chemistry with Prima. He’d let her out soon, but he figured he should get things squared away with Kaleo first.
Crap, now came the really hard part. Questions about himself. Other Varland hadn’t said a thing about his history or anything, so he really had nothing to go off of. And he couldn’t just tell him about himself for real; a famous cameraman would never have been scraping by on the streets like he had. “Rugged, huh? Well, I guess I do like to keep in shape. Especially for assignments like this, I gotta be able to keep up with the people I’m filming, y’know?” he laughed, shrugging a little at the middle aged fuck comment. It’s not like it was really about him, so it was like water off a duck’s back. “Gotta sound extra professional in those emails. Never know who might read them, right? Gotta make sure I sound serious so people will respect me. Don’t worry, I’m a lot more laid-back in person so as long as we get done what we gotta get done, I won’t have to go all middle-aged fuck on you.” He winked, having a bit of fun with this now. Kaleo didn’t seem like a bad guy at all, and that was a huge relief. Seemed like he’d only have one drama queen to deal with on this trip.
And now he had to figure out ‘what had happened to him’. And he had to make it believable. He kept his tone steady and confidant; that was the easiest way to try and cover up a story. “So long story short, when I was taking the trip over here by boat some guy on the cruise liner knocked into me on the deck and my phone got dunked in the ocean. There was no getting that back, so I wasn’t sure how to contact you guys. I had to make a pit stop up at the ranger station, and I guess I just prayed you’d stay put until I managed to make it back.” He snagged Prima’s Pokeball off of his belt, gesturing to it. “Figured it wouldn’t hurt for me to have a few friends for the big journey either. Never know what we’ll run into out here, and I thought it’d be better to be safe than sorry.” That sounded relatively plausible, right?
“Anyway, I should probably introduce you guys too since we’ll all be traveling together. This is Prima,” he said, tapping the button and holding his breath as the small ghost candle began to take form. Instead of landing on the ground like he’d hoped, she chose instead to land on his shoulder. He tried not to seem too concerned about her flame being that close to his collar, or more importantly his hair. He replaced her Pokeball back onto his belt, shifting the egg he was still holding onto for a moment until he could hold it with both hands again. Prima looked Kaleo up and down and sniffed.
< Not bad, I suppose. As he said, my name is Prima. You’re charmed to meet me, I’m sure. Please treat my manservant well; I don’t want you running him too ragged now! Ohohohohohohoho! > Varland tried not to look too embarrassed about her comment. She certainly hadn’t forgotten their promise. He prayed Kaleo wouldn’t judge him too harshly.
| WORD COUNT 857 NOTES i'm sorry for her |
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Post by spectre on Jun 4, 2018 23:02:50 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
It was.... incredibly hard not to interrupt him with more questions, admittedly. As much as he tried to wait patiently, it was a little hard to miss the way the corners of Kaleo's mouth would twitch whenever Varland came up with a new explanation - why was his 'professionalism' so blunt? Was he just a bad writer? Did he really think he and Hibi would have a good dynamic on set? Why did the camera guy get to hang out on a cruise liner and not him??? He wanted a redo!... But all of that was forgotten the moment he'd released the Litwick (he knew what that was!! he'd seen them back home!) from her Pokeball. As she'd floated onto her trainer's shoulder, his effort at maintaining a more neutral resting expression faded into a small grin, a very soft 'hm!' of delighted approval escaping him from somewhere in his throat. He'd never seen one of the ghost types in person before - she was really cute! ... And, if her appraisal was any indication, she'd had quite the attitude. If him being 'not bad' wasn't enough, the manservant comment would have sent him rolling if he hadn't bitten down on his tongue when he did. What escaped him instead was a noise between a cough and a snort, dutifully stifled by a fist rising to his mouth in hopes of making it seem more like the former. Ultimately, the sheer force of attempting to contain it actually did cause him to start coughing, and he turned away for a moment with his other hand raised with a gesture asking them to wait a moment as he regained himself. When he turned his attention back, however, he faced the pair with a wide smile.
"I-I'll treat him as though he were my own, milady. Good t'meetcha both." He tipped his ballcap and bowed his head a little for effect, but it did nothing to dispel the tears of laughter that threatened the corners of his eyes. Hibi, watching his floundering efforts, just shook his head. "...How's that gonna work? If he's our manservant for pay, but she gets waited on for free, shouldn't we get extra services?"Avarice raised a hand to 'cough' again twisting himself a little to face the source of the deadpan tone properly. "Heebs, c'mon, he's not our manservant, he's a cameraguy." Hibi blinked lazily, checking the ends of his fingers as though he had nails attached to them. "Isn't it the same thing? We make him carry our shit and take only good selfies of us." He paused, looking back up at his trainer as though he were the only one present here. "Betcha he's just babysitting the Litwick for some star for extra cash."Avarice went quiet then, as though imparted some sort of great revelation. He fell silent for a moment, glancing between his starter and the other pair before him, before asking as delicately as he could manage; "...is it true? I've never actually been on television shows before... are cameraguys just, like, celebrity manservants?"Dude. PHARAOH LEAP. |
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Post by Vena on Jun 5, 2018 5:50:50 GMT
Press onkeep going until you can’t
It didn’t take long after Prima opened her mouth before Kaleo started coughing up a snort. As he held up his hand and turned to cough even more, Varland could only wonder if that sudden coughing fit had been legitimate, or if he’d been using it to cover a laugh. The expression on the other man’s face said it could be either one. At least when he turned back to them he had a smile on his face. It was a little infectious, and he couldn’t help his own smile returning. “Nice to meet you guys too,” he agreed, and Prima took the tipping of his cap and slight bow very favorably.
< You see? Now this is what real manners look like! You should be taking notes, > Prima noted, and suddenly Varland wished he was anywhere but here right now. She’d never let him live down barging into that old house on her, would she? She gave the smallest of bows in return from her perch, and Varland had to jerk his head to the side before her flame could brush his cheek. < Charmed to make your acquaintance, mister Avarice. >
It was then that the Meditite spoke up for the first time, and once more Varland prayed the ground would swallow him up and get him out of this line of conversation. He expected it from Prima at this point, but he’d been hoping at least Kaleo or his Meditite would give him a break. This was the exact opposite of a break; Hibi was talking about him and Prima like they weren’t even there, and the worst part of it was Kaleo was going along with that line of questioning pretty readily. And even worse than that, Varland didn’t actually know if they were right or not. Were cameramen pack mules, doing whatever the stars or directors required of them? He knew as much about TV production as Kaleo seemed to. O. V. hadn’t mentioned anything like this to him; did he think he wouldn’t take the job if he knew that this was in the cards?
< Before we go any further I’ll have you know the only one he’s doing extra services for is me, > she said, eyeing Hibi with a bit of a huff, < Though if you ask me in advance, I may give him permission to assist you depending on what these ‘extra services’ you have in mind are. > There was a brief twinkle in her eye and Varland hoped he’d never have to find out what ‘extra services’ meant to her. < In addition I am not being babysat, and he is indeed my trainer. Well, like I said, more of a manservant really. He barged into my home demanding I go with him, can you believe the nerve? Barged in without knocking, mind you. And then he had the audacity to ask me to accompany him on the road! Can you believe it? Whisked away in the middle of the night by a mysterious uncouth man I’d never met before! It was a scene straight out of my novellas, > she continued, tapering off into a dreamy tone toward the end. Varland was even more speechless than he was before. How…how was he supposed to explain his position in that whole mess properly?
Instead of worrying about that too much and avoiding an argument with Prima that would probably just lead to more embarrassment in the end, he focused instead on Kaleo’s last questions. He hoped this sounded legit. “Well…kinda? I mean, not quite to the ‘manservant’ extent. Maybe something more like an assistant? At least when there’s only a few of us on assignment like this. I can help out with things, sure, but please don’t expect me to do all of the chores and stuff everywhere we go.” He hoped that wasn’t to firm a stance to be taking with a star, even if he’d never been on TV before. Maybe he should backpedal a little. “That’s not to say I would mind doing all that stuff, because I can, but as long as we can all be respectful about it then it’s cool.” Maybe he backpedaled too much. He’d basically said he’d be his manservant too. Hopefully Kaleo would show him a bit of mercy.
He was so far out of his depth here.
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Post by spectre on Jun 6, 2018 17:07:42 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
Well, he'd been half joking about the whole 'extra services' thing, but that did make the conversation take a particularly enlightening turn. Hibi had let the Litwick say her piece, explaining how she'd been kidnapped (?) by her now-trainer, an affair that she described as being like her novellas. He was sort of surprised that there was someone out there who ACTUALLY bought into that sort of shit, but... well, here they were.
{Wow. Sounds like a real crude dude.} He replied somewhat blandly, attempting to conceal the vague sense of amusement behind a facade of disinterest. It was kind of hard to see this dude kidnapping anyone successfully - sure, he looked kind of rough, but the Litwick also visibly had him under her thumb, considering he hadn't bothered to stand up to her on... any of these accusations, actually. Interesting. {My trainer's pretty dumb. He told me so himself, so I have to look out for him.} The comment prompted a small 'hey now,' out of Kaleo, and he'd smirked a little bit as he continued. {Are you sure your rogue manservant can be trusted? I don't want this poor, stupid guy taken advantage of by some home invading criminal.}That got his attention. Kaleo turned to the two Pokemon, an eyebrow quirked but otherwise flat in expression. "What kind of weird-ass conversation are you two even having?"{An important one, unless you want him to sweep your ass away into the night too.} Hibi replied simply. Avarice just shook his head, sighing. "M'very sure that won't be a problem, I could take V over here any day of the week. ANYWAY," He punctuated the word, as though that would put an end to the line of discussion as he turned his attention fully back to the other human... apparently not about to get into his capacity to fight him without prompting. "I wouldn't ask ya to do that. I only know a lil' bit about filming from like, music videos n' stuff, so you gotta be responsible for the cameras n' shit. But I'll handle the boss lady n' do my duty of bein' hot and charismatic n' stuff." He winked, raising his hand in a sort of 'ok' symbol with his thumb and index finger together. Apparently modesty would have to be someone else's responsibility. After a brief pause, a thought occurred that that might not have been entirely what Varland was asking, and he spoke again to clarify, shoving his hand back into his pocket. "...unless ya meant like, travel chores? I ain't the useless kinda guy who dunno know how t'do housework, so we can split cooking n' cleaning or whatever." His mother would probably ream him out otherwise. Celebrity or not, she'd raised him and his siblings to contribute equally to the household; leaving EVERYTHING like that to someone else seemed... sort of uncomfortable at this point, really. PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.odele1]width:500px;height:85px;margin-left:-50px;background-color:#bca451;color:#f5f5f5;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.25);position:relative;z-index:1;font-size:8px;line-height:100%;[/newclass] |
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Post by Vena on Jun 9, 2018 18:27:14 GMT
Press onkeep going until you can’t
Prima nodded in agreement, Varland again trying to make sure her flame didn’t come too close to his face as she moved. < The crudest! He really could stand to learn a few manners. Honestly, he has no idea how to treat a lady, > she lamented, and Varland couldn’t help the light flush that spread across his cheeks at the accusation.
“C’mon, that’s not true,” he said, Prima giving him a deadpan look in response, “I didn’t think anybody ‘owned’ that run-down house, okay? If I’d have known, I woulda been a lot more tactful about it!” At least he could stand up for himself a little bit.
< Doubtful, but I suppose we can leave it at that for now. > Varland highly doubted that himself, but he would take what he could get for now. Unfortunately that momentary peace didn’t last very long, because Hibi was making some wild accusations about him now. Take advantage of Kaleo? Avarice? He still wasn’t sure which name he should call him by, but now didn’t seem to be the best time to ask. Before he could speak up though Kaleo did, and somehow that seemed to make things even worse. Looking at the guy he probably could take him any day of the week, not that he had any inclination to fight the guy. He couldn’t believe things had spun so out of control so fast.
Prima opened her mouth to speak but he began before she could have a chance to, thankfully cutting whatever new accusation she was going to make off at the pass. “I can promise all three of you I’m not here to sweep anyone else away into the night, or fight anybody, or any of that stuff. Just, uh, here to do my job and all that.” Thankfully it seemed that line of conversation was over for now, because Kal kept right on going. Thankfully he said he’d take care of things with their real boss, because he was certain he’d never be able to fool anyone who actually had met with Other Varland before. He smiled a little, shifting his weight over to one leg as he relaxed a bit.
“I can handle the cameras no problem. Just, uh, let the boss know I’m sorry about the lateness and all that jazz. Unexpected things happen in show biz, but from here out I think things’ll go a lot smoother.” At least, he prayed they would. He said he could handle the cameras, but it’d take some time before he was really used to using them. That crash course had been nice and all but there was still a lot of first-hand knowledge he was lacking.
“Oh, cool! That sounds good. I just, uh, wasn’t really sure how you’d feel about all that. Since you’re a celebrity, and all. Usually they’re more fussy about that stuff and have other people to do it for them.” Again, he was counting himself lucky to wind up working with a guy who still seemed pretty down to earth. It’d be better for both of them in the long run.
< Oh, no need to worry about chores, dear, > Prima started, Varland trying not to sigh aloud as she turned her attention to Kaleo, < that’s what manservants are for, aren’t they? There’s no need for stars like ourselves to bother with little things like that. Leave it to the little people. > This time he couldn’t hold back his sigh.
“Prima, let the man do what he wants to do. He already said he didn’t mind splitting them,” he said she she smiled like he didn’t know what he was talking about.
< All I was doing was giving him the option! It’s only polite, isn’t it? > The two of them had vastly different definitions of polite, it seemed.
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Post by spectre on Jun 9, 2018 22:54:19 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.odele1]width:500px;height:85px;margin-left:-50px;background-color:#bca451;color:#f5f5f5;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.25);position:relative;z-index:1;font-size:8px;line-height:100%;[/newclass] |
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Post by Vena on Jun 11, 2018 14:58:29 GMT
Press onkeep going until you can’t
Prima regarded Kaleo thoughtfully as he spoke, clapping her tiny hands together in delight s he’d finished. < You’re absolutely right, mister Avarice. Not only do you mind your manners, but you’re so thoughtful as well! It’s awfully sweet of you to consider what kind of service this newbie would be able to offer if we were both running him ragged! > She gave one of her signature laughs, and it sent a brief chill up Varland’s spine. Just how ragged did she plan on running him? < When he becomes more well-adjusted to his new role, I will gladly offer his services to you once more. And you! > She turned back to Varland, and he nearly leaped a foot into the air at the sudden addressing. <Again, you better take notes on this man’s politeness and thoughtfulness. I’ll expect at least double out of you! >
“Okay, okay,” he tried to assure her, but that had been the wrong thing to say. She gave him a very pointed look.
< Okay……? > she made a brief gesture, looking fairly unimpressed. It seemed to click then.
“Oh! Of course, Miss Prima. Ma’am.” She nodded approvingly at the fix in his addressing of her but sighed all the same.
< You’ve got your work cut out for you, manservant. I’ll work on whipping you into shape later. > Varland suppressed a groan of despair; if he let it out there was no telling what she might do to him.
And that wasn’t the end of it, either. Now Kaleo was straightening up and turning more serious on him, which…maybe he should have expected. He was admittedly taken aback, though, with how he’d been acting just moments before. He felt almost leveled when he looked at him from under his sunglasses. He’d planned on taking this job very seriously, of course, but this only reinforced that he would need to work extra hard. If he didn’t, he could be replaced at the drop of a hat. That was just how it worked in the industry, he supposed. Someone was always clamoring to take another’s place. “O-Of course! I always give my jobs one hundred and ten percent, so don’t worry about it too much. Don’t want you to have to go through the trouble of finding a replacement, after all!” At least part of that was true. He did always give work his all, and this job was far too good to simply let go of.
…Though, if what Hibi said was true, had that all been some kind of tough guy act just now? If it was, he’d definitely fallen for it. Well, fallen for the spelled-out implications at least.
< No, nothing from me! I’ll allow my manservant to conduct his arrange duties with you. > How generous.
“I’m good, too. Though, if we won’t be filming you getting your starter, how will we be kicking this off? The Boss give you an idea of what she wants instead?”
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Post by spectre on Jun 12, 2018 2:29:53 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
Phew! Seemed channeling the patrons from his Hano Service Days(tm) had paid off. But watching trainer and Pokemon together in the aftermath of his response... Kaleo couldn't help but feel a little bad. He'd... kinda thrown Varland under the bus (or, more appropriately, over the fire) to save his own rep there, hadn't he? Whoops. He clasped his hands together behind his back briefly and internally asked for the other man's forgiveness for both subjecting him to the mercy of the lady as well as his own ego. He'd... hopefully get used to both in the days to come. At least he seemed really dedicated to his job! That was... all he could ask, really. He fought the urge to start smiling again as he gave a curt nod in response, considering the question that followed. What did the boss want them to do in lieu of not visiting the lab?... "She wanted...er..."...Right, what DID she want? His manager had been pretty mad after he'd revealed he'd chosen without consulting her. He'd... admittedly just sort of just pulled his head away from the phone and tuned her out when she was taking a chunk out of him. He combed over the bits and pieces he did get during her tirade. He needed to think of what was best for his career, blah blah blah, he couldn't keep doing things like this, yadda yadda, something about fighting... oh!! "YOOO, I remember now! I was supposed to find a rival and fight 'em!" He proclaimed with a very small fist pump at his side, as though recalling that would get him a gold star. He regained himself shortly after, however, and re-folded his arms as though that would somehow help contain him if he felt a need to bust out with another recollection. Stern neutral face back on. Avarice cleared his throat.
"...I mean. Due to the unscheduled nature o' the situation, the boss hadn't, like, planned for somethin' specific, so she thought we could ad lib with another individual starting off their journey."And then, a bit quieter, "...Uh, but I feel weird just askin' people to be on TV..." 360 Words ● Vena ● oops all kaleo PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.odele1]width:500px;height:85px;margin-left:-50px;background-color:#bca451;color:#f5f5f5;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.25);position:relative;z-index:1;font-size:8px;line-height:100%;[/newclass] |
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Post by Vena on Jun 16, 2018 16:19:41 GMT
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For a moment, it looked like Kaleo wasn’t sure what it was the boss had asked them to do. He worried for just a moment, but it wasn’t long before the other man’s face flickered from thoughtful to knowing. As he called out that Yooo Varland felt a brief moment of relief before he said what it was the boss wanted.
A rival? Wasn’t that something that only best friends or those guys on TV did? …He almost slapped his face in the realization that this was going to be aired on television, and that was most likely why the boss wanted Avarice to find himself a rival. That was something that the audience was sure to eat up, wasn’t it? Though, it had to be believable. And he wasn’t sure how any random guy off the street could believably establish something like that with a guy he just met. Unless Avarice did something to piss them off and they would proclaim their revenge, though that also seemed like something you’d only see on TV. …Dammit. Didn’t they usually hire other actors for stuff like this?
“A rival, huh? I mean, I guess our best bet would be to hang out near the lab, but I don’t want them thinking we’re just a couple of punks hunkered down looking for a fight,” he sighed, though that was almost almost true. “It’s better to ask someone than just candidly film them though, isn’t it? We'll have to ask people somehow. Most people’d have to give consent. Maybe the nice people at the lab would let us post a flyer or something?” That was always how he found his jobs; notices tacked to a bulletin board with little slips with phone numbers attached to contact the client.
Either way, it would take them precious time to find someone to play the role of rival, so it looked like they were on their own to figure something out to film in the meantime. “We need to send them something though, right? Maybe we could just start out with a little something introducing you and more importantly Hibi to the audience. Most of the viewers will probably know you, right? Though they’ve got no clue about your partner.” He pondered a little more, trying to see what other on-the-fly ideas he could come up with. “And if we really need to film a fight right off the bat we’d either ask around in the village square, or I guess…I could battle you? Not as your rival or anything, but would the boss need your first fight to be against this rival?” If he filmed from where he’d have to stand for a battle, he could get some nice head-on shots of Avarice and Hibi. And it wasn’t guaranteed, it was just a suggestion. He’d go along with whatever Kaleo decided; it was his show, after all. He was just trying to stay useful.
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Post by spectre on Jun 16, 2018 17:50:31 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.odele1]width:500px;height:85px;margin-left:-50px;background-color:#bca451;color:#f5f5f5;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.25);position:relative;z-index:1;font-size:8px;line-height:100%;[/newclass] |
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Post by Vena on Jun 20, 2018 4:43:47 GMT
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Admittedly, Varland hadn’t really considered…any of that. It showed how much he knew about show biz. Kaleo was right though; just because someone would be willing to battle now doesn’t mean they’d be willing to answer the call every time they needed a rival battle to spice things up. Or that they’d need to pay the other person. Of course; that made sense. He was starting to get a little lost when he started mentioning exposure, but he figured that basically just meant she’d wanted the other person to be the equivalent of an unpaid intern on television. That didn’t really sit right with him, either. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess I hadn’t thought too far ahead what hiring on someone else would mean,” he admitted, though he made note of what Kaleo had said for future reference.
He figured only doing a short meet and greet segment with Hibi sounded like a good idea too, but that sort of left them back at square one. If they couldn’t pull someone off the street, where did that leave them? It was hard to think any farther, because he caught Kaleo’s eye and the way he was looking at him. …For a lot longer than someone would normally stare at someone else. Did he have something on his face? Before he had much time to think about what he was being eyed up for one of the most devilish grins he’d ever seen spread across his face and he was more concerned than ever. The only suggestion they hadn’t covered yet was-
Yep, he should have seen this coming the moment he threw himself into the ring. He’d initially been hoping it would be a one-time thing, but it sounded like Kaleo wanted to do something kind of grandiose. Since he had to do half of the filming he wouldn’t actually be showing up on TV much, but the thought of being on television was kind of nerve wracking. Sure, he said they could hide his face, and sure, he said they could get someone else to dub over his voice, but he would still know he was on TV. And who knew? What if even through the smokescreen his family could somehow figure out it was him, and then they came out here to drag him back to the life he’d escaped? And who the hell was Mark from accounting? Not that it mattered, since the boss wouldn’t recognize his body anyway. …That was kind of a weird thought to follow up Mark’s hot bod. Before he could say anything however, Prima lit up beside him. He’d almost forgotten she’d still been seated on her shoulder, as she’d been surprisingly quiet. Of course, that was never bound to last.
< I think that’s a fantastic idea, mister Avarice, > she hummed, looking quite pleased with herself as she turned to Varland with a twinkle in her eye, < Can’t you just see it now? Me, dazzling every person and Pokemon alike that tunes in? I was made to bask in the limelight! > She sure was something, alright. With the way they were both looking at him now, he knew it was too late to back out. He held in his sigh, and tried to look at the positives. Both he and Kaleo would get to practice their battling, which would be nice. And who knew? Maybe this would actually be kind of fun.
“How could I possibly say no to you two?” he chuckled, shaking his head a little before adjusting his weight. “Though, I don’t think plain old me would make a very interesting rival. Should I play it straight, or should I try…acting? What kind of rivalry do you think would catch people’s interest most?” Would it be something dramatic, something funny, or could he just be his plain old self? It might be kind of fun to act, though he’d need some kind of direction. He’d been in a single play in his life, and he was about eight years old and had played villager number two. Really his highlight performance. How could he possibly top it?
< You'll be a bad boy from the wrong side of town, obviously. Everyone loves a good hero-and-villain story! And bad boys are always popular, which means people will pay more attention to me! > she preened, and Varland had to cough to cover up his quick laugh. "I know you really like this idea, but you need to remember this is a show about Avarice, not about you," he pointed out, and she simply rolled her eyes. < Well the director doesn't know what they're missing out on! And if we do well enough, who knows? Perhaps I'll get my own spinoff show! Ohohohohoho! > Yep, in one ear and out the other with her. He really shouldn't have expected any different.
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Post by spectre on Jun 22, 2018 16:27:52 GMT
[attr="class","odele1"] kick it out EVERYBODY WANT THE KEY AND THE SECRET TO RAP IMMORTALITY LIKE I HAVE GOT WELL, TO BE TRUTHFUL THE BLUEPRINT'S SIMPLY RAGE AND YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE EVERYBODY LOVES TO ROOT FOR A NUISANCE HIT THE EARTH LIKE AN ASTEROID, DID NOTHING BUT SHOOT FOR THE MOON SINCE
Ah, the Litwick shared his enthusiasm, at least. Varland seemed a bit more muted about the whole thing, but he'd agreed, and that was the important thing. Although... it seemed that the former had her own grand ideas on how this was going to go... which she, too, didn't seem easily shaken from. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to cover up a small snort that time. "Sorry milady. Ya can be a star, but there's only room on this orbit for one sun, ya dig?" Hibi opened his mouth as though about to comment on this, but apparently thought better of it as his trainer continued. "Ya man's cool, but that'd be hedgin' in on my brand. It'd be kinda lame f'you both if like, I'm both the bigger AND badder dude, yanno?"He'd... just sort of look like the villain on his own show, then. Not that that wouldn't be sort of interesting, but he had a feeling he wouldn't hear the end of it if they went for it. Though... that just put things back on square one. What SHOULD he be doing? If Varland was just acting like himself, there was a higher chance someone would recognize him. Not that he seemed to be a particularly colorful character in the first place; though maybe that was just because he didn't know much about... him... Wait. "Ooo! Shit! I got it! You can be, like, a mysterious guy!" Avarice started, pointing towards Varland. "Everybody loves mysterious guys. Plus, ya don't gotta worry 'bout gettin' into character right away. Ya can make up whatever ya want later."{...Wouldn't he have to work at being mysterious, though?} Hibi frowned. He wasn't much of an expert on any of this either, but wasn't this sort of thing planned ahead of time? {Not that it matters, but that seems a little... flimsy? To build a personality over.}"Mysterious people don't need personalities." Kaleo proclaimed rather matter-of-factly. "'Sides, I think V could pull it off. All we gotta do iii-iisss..."He trailed off as he removed the snapback from his head before setting it firmly, bill forward, on Varland's head. Not having the hat over the bandanna on his head sort of just made him look like a pirate (something Hibi had a bit of a giggle to himself over) but that particular notion was lost on him. After a moment of thought, he tilted the bill of the hat down a bit to hide the other man's eyes within its shadow before stepping off to admire his handiwork. "There! Perfect." PHARAOH LEAP. [newclass=.odele1]width:500px;height:85px;margin-left:-50px;background-color:#bca451;color:#f5f5f5;text-shadow:1px 1px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.25);position:relative;z-index:1;font-size:8px;line-height:100%;[/newclass] |
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Post by Vena on Jun 30, 2018 16:39:40 GMT
Press onkeep going until you can’t
Prima scoffed just a bit as Kaleo tried to explain that though she could be a star too, he’d still be the center of attention. < “Your Brand”? Hmph. Well, if the bad boy thing isn’t going to work, do you have any brighter ideas? > Varland sighed. She could have put that a little more gently, but he supposed it would be easier pulling teeth than to expect any sort of delicacy to her words. That was just something he was going to have to get used to. It was times like him that made him miss Benny; the Meganium had had such a way with words.
Both Varland and Prima startled at Kaleo’s exclamation, though once he’d started explaining his idea it seemed that Prima had yet another twinkle in her eye. Uh oh. < Ohohoho, a mysterious fellow has a certain kind of charm to him that not even bad boys exude, > she hummed, turning to appraise Varland up and down. < Your sleek jacket would work just perfectly for a mystery character! …Though we have to do something about your face. You’re too easy to read, dear. Not very mysterious at all. > Varland felt a little offended at that, but she had a point. He wasn’t always the best at hiding how he was feeling.
“Well, I guess I could try being mysterious. Like, a stranger who just blew into town as you were leaving, and what? I feel like battling you for a mysterious reason?” he pondered, and Prima nodded enthusiastically. She had still been facing him and Varland jerked his face out of the way of her dangerous flame once again.
< I like the way you think, manservnt! Perhaps further down the road, the reason behind your mysterious challenges will be made clear. People love a good mystery! They don’t like unanswered questions, so they’ll keep tuning back in to find out the answer! > she grinned, and Varland nodded.
“I guess that’s true. Guess that’s why stuff like amnesia is such a popular trope,” he mused, and Prima practically glowed with that thought.
< A mysterious man with amnesia! I never would have taken you for being someone who is genre savvy, > she laughed, and Varland flushed a little with embarrassment.
“I don’t know if I’m going to do the amnesia thing, it was just an example,” he sighed, listening now to Hibi and Kaleo chat about how difficult it might be. Any kind of acting would probably be difficult for him, but at least mysterious gave him a blank slate to work with. Didn’t even have to decide anything until later. It seemed Kaleo had the answer to Prima’s sighing about mystery as he walked up and plopped his hat on his head, examining his handiwork for a moment before adjusting it down so that it covered part of his face. It made things kind of hard to see, but at least it covered his eyes.
< Perfect! And now nobody will be able to read you like a book, > Prima approved, and Varland rolled his eyes in the safety of his disguise. He’d have to consider getting his own hat later though, the audience would be sure to notice that Kaleo’s hat would disappear one second and reappear the next.
“Think I should give you the hat or something after we battle? That way you can still wear it, and I’ll just pick up a hat of my own when we get to the next town. People’d probably notice the hat appearing and disappearing like that,” he noted, and that seemed like something someone mysterious might do, right? Cryptically leave his hat with the hero as he departed? He was at least trying.
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