Scene #2949: Wish Factory: Serious Auditions 2

Owner	Pose
Gabriel Agreste	The second round of auditions is a very different affair from the first. Where there had once been hundreds of hopefuls overflowing the Hotel Augusta's ballroom, now there is just the two of them, invited back to the hotel for the second round of auditions. Two conference rooms have been reserved in the hotel, one for the audition itself, and the other a matching waiting room. Each of those who passed through the auditions had been given the same instructions: to arrive at least fifteen minutes prior to their audition time, to be prepared to reveal the answers to their brief assessment survey, and to come dressed to impress. The last really shouldn't have needed to be said, but it was. The assessment survey had been comprised of three simple questions: 1) If selected as the winning model, what would you do with the grand prize money? ) What do you want from a modeling career? 3) What is your greatest ambition? Not the most difficult questions, all things considered, but with only one directly related to modeling, might be enough to give pause, particularly in light of their conversations with Kyubey. There are three girls scheduled for callbacks today, plus whoever they might have brought as their plus twos who are welcomed into the waiting room by Musashi Nyarth, the co-CEO who had once sported flowing red locks now wearing her long hair slicked straight up ion a devastating mohawk, now forest green and tamed with enough hair gel to give a glam rock star envy, a gold star on her face, purple painted lips, and orange earrings shaped like spheres, the size of a mandarin orange. She wears a spiked black collar around her neck, a maroon leather half-jacket that's open to reveal a lined crimson corset, and is wearing black pants that could painted on, legs tucked into red leather boots with a three inch heel. "You're the squirts for the callback, yeah?" She calls when the girls come in sight, "Get on over here, come in, come in! Akane Ayanami, Asagao Tonba, Kogane Uzushio?"
Rei Hino	Rei Hino - no, 'Akane Ayanami' - looked down at the paperwork with a bit of disdain. She had arrived here with 'Asago Tonba' but she was less here to win any pizes and more here to try to figure out just what Kyubey had in mind. If she could stop even one girl from making one of those contracts, she could consider her presence here a success. Or at least not a waste of time. For now, though, until she'd figured out what was going on, she needed to be in the running, which meant she'd answer the questions like she thought they wanted them answered. 1) I'd keep some of it for myself and my family, but I'd start a charity of some kind with the rest. 2) I want to make people smile, and show people they can really benefit from letting their true selves out. 3) I want to be loved and adored, and bring joy wherever I go. 'Akane' made a face at the paperwork after she finished it. She couldn't bring herself to write something homemakery about 3. Of course, this was all terribly at odds with the attitude she'd showed to the recruiters, but she wasn't thinking about that. Perhaps, to her downfall.
Mamoru Chiba	Given her mix of milkteeth, adult teeth, and inability to whistle through said teeth, and also her height, Asagao Tonba can't be more than eight, and has certainly not come alone. There's an affectionate but gently skeptical young actual-adult with her, but he's mostly on his phone, as if fully aware that he's not the one driving this Zamboni of social avalanche. He looks average. Asagao herself has curly dark green hair and glasses, and for her, 'dressed to impress' means wearing a double-pair of shimmery dragonfly wings sewn to the delicately reinforced jacket of an honestly cute black-and-green boy's dress suit. And of course she has sparkly black deely-bopper antennae! "I was tempted," she tells Rei brightly across the table, "to wear my cat ears instead. But they didn't match, and I think models are supposed to match." Camaraderie is supposed to be really important to impress upon people when you're making them into friends, except Rei is probably too old to take her seriously. She adjusts her deely-boppers with a philosophical expression and they bobble gently, sparkling; she grins her adorably toothy smile at the wildly-dressed Musashi. "That's me! The middle one! I'm Asagao!" She swipes her paper off the table and holds it out. "Do you need these answers?" the little girl asks, green eyes wide, holding the paper out. 1) Take care of my family, invest so I can keep taking care of my family, put myself through medical school, and cure cancer and make the cure public domain. Then afterwards, go to outer space! And maybe get a submarine. And after that, start working on other medical breakthroughs. Cures for LOTS of diseases! Leprosy! Tuberculosis! Find a way to get viruses out of people so they don't strike again later on down the line! I have so many plans... 2) More seed money, tips and tricks for seeming nonthreateningly appealing to people who won't take me seriously anyway, and friends. 3) I think I covered that in the first question.
Gabriel Agreste	The third girl, Kogane Uzushio, is a little taller than average for a twelve year old, with thick, curly red hair that's been teased into a mass of ringlets and bright green eyes. Her skin is lightly tanned as if recently kissed by the sun, and her freckles are covered up with concealer. Her dress is a shining gold without being metallic, silken and well tailored, with a black belt giving some semblance of a shape to her body. She's twelve and smiling with an effort at poise that doesn't hide the eagerness in her eyes, and she swans up to the front and says, "Yes, I'm Kogane," with a tone that's aiming for casual but really is as eager as one could expect. "Are we auditioning alone, or together, because -" "That really, truly depends on you three," Musashi says, collecting 'Akane's' form, then Asago, and then Kogane's, when the redhead remembers to hand it over. "You can all come in, and I'll tell you how this works -" And she backs off just in time, Kogane hurrying on in, with the others likely trailing behind. The waiting room they've been welcomed into is a conference room, tables removed and chairs lining the walls to make a square with an empty space in the middle. At the back of the room, nearest the entrance, is a table laid out with plenty of snacks - French style, this time. There's two large charcuterie boards with various cheeses, berries, grapes, fruit spreads, nuts, cured meats, and crackers - petit fours of various flavors - crostini flights each spread with different toppings: tapenade, whipped cream cheese and tomato, ricotta and pepperoni - and of course plenty of fizzy flavored waters and juices. Models are often encouraged to diet and abstain, but that doesn't seem as though it will be the case here. There's the white with brown markings cat, Nyarth, perched on a chair by the snack table, busily devouring sardines. At the front of the common room is a door that connects it to the other conference room, closed, for now. "Is that room where the auditions are happening? Because I want to go first -" Musashi's smile twitches, slightly, and she sucks a breath through her teeth. "You know what? Go right ahead, and I'll just talk to Akane-san and Asagao-san and her plus one." If Kogane takes it for a bad thing that she's frustrated the co-CEO coordinating this whole thing, she doesn't seem to show it, because she darts for the closed door, opens it, pauses, and then struts in before letting the door shut tight behind her. "Wow," Musashi says, then gathers herself. "Sometimes, you just have to get out of the talent's way... now, as I said to Kogane-san, you can choose to do your auditions solo, or you can audition together or you can go it alone, whatever you think works best for you. It's not me you have to impress, or Kojiro - it's our client, who's in that room prepared to see your audition. The only thing is, your guardian can't step into the room, though they can be here, waiting."
Rei Hino	'Aykane' turns to regard the small girl talking about cat ears. "Well, I think at your age you can get away with a little bit less matching, especially if it makes you seem cuter." she notes, offhandedly. "And it's also important to have fun." she notes. Rei's eyes are open and bright, looking around as they're brought into the room - but not in the way a prospective model might be. No, instead she's looking for the white of a fur coat, or a twitching tail. Her eyes find the regular cat, but, that's no wishmaker, so she's not as stressed about him. But the food does get her attention. Not to eat it, of course, but the way it feels out of place. Like it might be trap, in a modeling contest like this, to pig out or something. That's such a mundane concern, she thinks. Well, if Kogane is rushing ahead, Rei really can't make it awkward by pushing her way into the girl's audition, much as she might like to be there in case anyone offers her a contract that's more binding that legalese. "I'm fine to work with the others, here. I'm able to work with others, and I'm certainly not worried about anyone outshining me anyways!" 'Akane' notes boldly.
Mamoru Chiba	The Pretty Soldier of Funny Disguise Names and Also Classiness gets a crooked little quirk of the mouth from the eight-year-old, who is definitely trailing behind, a little further than the others, because she doesn't want her brother to see Kyubey. "You don't have to come with to this part, you can call your girrrrrlfriennnnnd." He is very amusedly aware that he's been dismissed, and he nearly reaches to ruffle her hair-- but ''hairspray''. At any rate, finally, Asagao's jogging to join the others, then walking slower and trying to pay attention to Musashi, and part of her wonders why someone (KOGANE!!!) would be so-- OBFUSCATING. Perhaps... opprobrious? Certainly odiferous~! --no, no, unhelpful thoughts; the little girl shakes her head and the deely-boppers bob about crazily for a second. She pays closer attention, wings fluttering behind her with the delicate grace of DIY engineering as she catches up to Musashi and Akane. Thereafter her attention's split between Kogane shutting the door, Musashi, Akane, and the petit fours and juice. Luckily Kogane shutting the door doesn't last long. Dragonfly-girl nearly trips turning around with her plate and cup, and ''catches'' herself but pales a little, checking to see if anyone saw that. Or is admitting to having seen that. No? Thank goodness, her face remains intact. She sits at the table too. "I'm ''very'' shiny," she says, then bites into a little cake. She considers for a second, then puts her pinky up as she holds the other half of the petit four.
Gabriel Agreste	Whatever discussion Kogane is having with the client looking for models is quiet enough that they can't hear it through the door and walls. Musashi nods at Akane and Asagao, noting idly that it might be fitting for the two A's to stick together while K runs off alone. She snickers quietly when the older brother is warded off, sent to talk to his girlfriend by a little girl with a lot of confidence. Musashi also absolutely sees it when Asagao nearly falls, but she doesn't try to catch her, and she doesn't make it obvious she noticed anything. "Confidence is always good," she nods towards Akane, then looks to Asagao, "And shininess can't hurt your chances, if you're what the client's looking out for. Just keep it in mind that as they say, there can only be one. Client's looking out for the next face, not the next faces." Musashi had taken a glance at the paperwork, and the sappy answers given, and she's figuring on the little girl being honest and the teenager trying to play towards good girl points, but either way - it ''really'' will just depends on whatever the boss wants from them. And within a few minutes, the door opens, and Kogane walks out, looking lost in her thoughts. She crosses the room, and only then looks back - "By the way, I'm thinking about taking the offer - which they ''totally'' gave me - but who knows if he'd do the same for either of you." And she tosses her head and rushes off. Musashi shakes her head, and does not say, 'what a brat', but her face is absolutely saying it. She walks to the conference room door, and thrusts it open with aplomb. The conference room on the other side of the door is situated such that all they can see is a portion of the long wooden conference table and comfortable office chairs that are inside, no stealing a glance at who or what awaits them, probably to make sure that those who come after don't get an extra glance to prepare over those who went first.
Gabriel Agreste	On the other side of that door, Akane and Asagao are met with the rest of the conference room: hardwood floor, luxurious rug in the center, with a lovely carved oak table and comfortable office chairs, a pair of dual screens from Zoom connectivity, and... two figures, at the far end, already seated. One, familiar: Kyubey. The other, entirely unfamiliar: A tall, thin man dressed ostentatiously, his unnatural charcoal-grey skin covered near head to toe, save for the exposed skin of his face. His short hair is two-toned, the top-side jet black and the underside a glowing bioluminescent seafoam green, neatly cut but flaring so the glow is exposed. His eyes glow the same color, the sclera a jet black. Framing both eyes and the sides of his face are the gold filigree wings of a butterfly. He wears a close-fitting bodysuit of an unreal looking fabric, looking somewhat like a bodice with slim lines of black leading down his body. His shoulders and much of his chest are covered by a dark teal heavy fur mantle, evoking the furred body of some butterflies and moths, and four jet black pieces, like the limbs of an insect, jut from near the shoulders. A black jacket with white edges by the wrists covers his arms, while his torso is covered by a bioluminescent exoskeletal art nouveau breastplate with strips of glowing cloth trailing from the bottom two corners, attached at around the bottom of the ribcage. His legs are clad in near-hip high boots, their color a gradient of that same deep teal to the shining bioluminescent seafoam green that dots the rest of his attire. From his back, extends a lowered pair of art nouveau lunar moth wings, edged in gold, glowing that same bioluminescent seafoam green. His hands are covered in black gloves. The butterfly miraculous is a pendant at his throat, fitted within that breastplate. He's extravagant, and yet alien, menacing and yet beautiful, arresting the eye. If either girl is able to sense magic, they'll feel the disconcerting presence of Dark Energy in the room. "Hello, girls. Speaking one after the other, please share with us your answers to the assessment survey sent along with your audition date." The speaker is the ostentatiois man, whose voice is rich and smooth, his Japanese accented. He does not introduce himself. Kyubey, sitting on his own office chair, looks exactly as he had at their last encounter, tail flicking cheerfully. <<And, please tell me if you've thought about what I said last time!>>
Rei Hino	'Akane' makes a face at Kogane, which is some parts annoyed and some parts 'you poor dear' - but that's most of what can be done there. She doesn't know just how concerned she's going to be about the idea of the young girl taking the offer in just a moment. "Well, the good news is..." she says to Asagao "... whatever they're looking for I suspect the crossover between us isn't a lot. So you know, we can both work to ensure we both shine bright, without stepping on each other's toes." she suggests. But when the two of them do enter the room... Akane doesn't want Kogane or anyone else to take the deal. There's something terribly unnerving about a... decidedly not perfectly normal looking european businessman sitting in a chair with Kyubey also seated next to him. And the threat of Kyubey is more in contracts and things she's heard of, but the threat of his 'business associate' is just firing all of her Emergency Alert Sixth Sense triggers; that is someone suffused in Dark Energy, that is a threat, a problem. She takes it in stride, though. She's used to wearing a mask over her feelings. <Your friend there has a... fashion sense that's making me question a lot more than just what you said last time.> Akane replies mentally to Kyubey as she grimmaces. The delay is enough that she might not be the first one reading her answers.
Mamoru Chiba	They all know by now that Kogane is a wild brat, and this display cements that firmly. Asagao's lips purse and her nose wrinkles, and she pops the rest of the treat in her mouth and finishes her juice in a hurry, then flitters after Akane, smiling. When they get there, Asagao's green eyes widen behind her glasses again as she takes in Hawkmoth 2.0, and then it is super obvious that her eyes are ''shining''. Yes the room is oppressive and feels definitely like it's a big flashing warning danger sign, but the absolute SWAG of this MOTH MAN. She ''finally'' blinks, realizing that two questions have been asked, and that this feels somewhat like having been blamed for that one kid's face getting broken that one time and called into the principal's office, but the principal is actually a really cool-looking demon of some kind and he's backing the little cute thing that wants them to wish for something... and this just seems like a worse and worse idea. Asagao's eyes close and she smiles. "I couldn't think of a wish to make," she confesses to Kyubey a little sheepishly. And then she reads her own answers with a glance and recites them, the first answer getting wildly excited and the little girl speaking faster and faster in the joy of her plans-- the second answer's more practical, and the third sounds like it came directly from the Asagao's mother. "So... none of those things are things I'd use a wish for. That's the kind of thing you'd use to bring back the dead, and I don't want to get caught in that fairy story for Obaa-chan, even though I miss her a lot. Besides, don't wishes like that always have a cost?"