raisetheearth | 2- [Video] [Gateway City]

[Arlene's never been comfortable with internet forums. She's not actually very computer literate, and the Network reminds her of those faceless posts anonymously sharing and judging opinions. But the draw was impossible to resist; once she knew about her Number, just knowing what she does about this group of special, interesting and unique people was enough to make her contact them.

Cameras seem to follow them, after all, and she's spent the last 15 odd years being practically invisible.]

Hello! Um, hi. Can you see me? Hear me? I'm Arlene Machiavelli, maybe you've heard of me.

[She grins, brightly at first, but it fades quickly. It's unlikely that she'll be recognized, and she knows it.]

Or maybe not. I, uh... did some modeling back in the day, though. People ask that all the time, if I did, so it must be kind of obvious.

[She laughs again. Her smile's broken. She knows damn well that as soon as a person is talking herself up more than others are, she's in trouble, coming off as big-headed rather than accomplished.]

I wanted to say thank you to the people who helped me out during that... whatever that was, with the dinosaurs in the zoo. I got really lucky, and you guys were so nice. So... now that I'm a part of this secret society too, do I have to pay membership or booking fees or anything? I want to do it right but I also want to make sure it's not some kind of scam. Only idiots fall for those.

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[Speaking of people cameras follow! Here's a possibly much more familiar face showing up with a bright smile.]

Ah, another new person, huh? It looks like there's a lot of us showing up all of a sudden. [A short laugh.] Well, nobody asked me for money or anything yet so I don't think you have to worry about that. It's just the occasional dinosaurs we need to watch out for.

[Oh... oh, shit. It just figures that the first person who responds to her first calm post, where she wants to make a decent impression, is an actual movie star.]

I'm not trying to be weird or anything but... are you in magazines? I feel like I've seen you in magazines.

[... Oh, come on, really? First Lilly and now her. Her shoulders sag a bit and she looks... maaaybe a tad annoyed but it's shaken off soon enough.]

You probably have, yeah. I'm Kirara Hoshimoto.

[Maybe old ladies don't make it out to the movies that often.]

Kira Hoshi...

[Well that's frustrating.]

...Nice to meet you, Kira. I'm Arlene. I read a lot of tabloids, but I can't remember what movies you're in. I haven't really... gone to see a movie in a few years now, so that might be why.

Kirara.

[She bristles a bit at the slip. It's not Arlene's fault, she knows full well that her name is a bit tricky in English, but it just so happens that that particular nickname is reserved for one person and Arlene ain't her. Better to have a pronunciation fumble than step on that.

... Okay, okay, chill. She's gotta keep her face up here. She gets that smile again.]

Ah, sorry, I just finished a really long day. I've done a few things here and there, but I just finished up starring in Valhalla not too long ago. I think there's still some theaters showing it, actually.

[It's the first actual "big" movie to come out since the invasion. Lots of theaters are showing it.]

[Fucking Japanese names. ]

Kirara. Got it.

I just finished up a long day, too. I haven't seen movies because I'm so busy. I'm expecting a call from my booking agent any day, actually.

[Fucking movie stars.]

Oh... right.

[Relative newcomer she may be, but she knows what expecting a call "any day" means. What has she gotten herself into here?]

So... modeling, huh? What kind of modeling do you do? Fashion, or...?

[Oh, God, this is going to be awkward isn't it? Well, she'll at least try to approach this as tactfully as she can....]

[Arlene knows, too, which might be why her tone is getting tetchier and more forced-cheerful by the second.]

Any kind of modeling. Fashion, yeah, makeup, high fashion, runway...

[She's basically listing off all the different kinds of modeling she knows.]

You're cute. You should really consider it.

Fashion, high fashion and runway, huh?

[She sounds less impressed than she could be. Probably because "any kind" is probably the most bogus claim you can make about just about anything.]

Thanks, but [she raises a hand, as if waving off the suggestion] I think I'd rather stick with the career I have going now.

Yeah, all those.

[Totally. Why doesn't the uppity little cute star sound more impressed? Ugh. Because she thinks she's better than Arlene, right?]

Well, if you ever want some pointers for breaking into the industry, let me know.

Yeah. All those.

[God, please save her from this conversation.]

Actually, I think I'm supposed to be on the cover of some magazine pretty soon. What's it called...? Ah, whatever, my agent'll remember.

[The one she talks to every day. Sometimes even more than once a day!]

Hm. Yeah, it can be hard to keep track of all of them.

[She knows every single fucking magazine name.]

Edited 2015-09-11 05:39 (UTC)

Yeah, there's tons of them.

[She sighs a little.]

Those shoots are always such a pain too. I mean, you've gotta go through the whole hair and makeup thing for any public appearance but they really go all-out for those things. Sometimes, I'd rather do a hundred interviews, y'know?

[Being an actress is way better, is what she's saying.]

Yeah, I definitely know.

[She doesn't, really, even though she's gone through worse for a much smaller and less impressive payout.]

So, what are you working on currently, or if you're not, what's on the horizon?