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 Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 4:18 pm
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Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 5:01 pm
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Sascha was grateful for the cold breeze washing off the ocean and over the deck of the bistro. He didn't have that many formal shirts to begin with, and would prefer not to sweat through any if he could afford it. He hadn't needed to attend so many professional meetings so closely together since... ever. He'd taken to standing up by the railing of the waterfront restaurant's outdoor seating area. Sitting was wearing too heavily on his nerves.
The atmosphere of Civisect only further compounded the sensation of self-consciousness that blanketed Sascha. It was as unpleasant as it was unfamiliar. He'd quickly come to the realization that he'd only ever visited the city during Bloodfest--the one time of the sweep when lowbloods were welcomed, or at least gently tolerated. The bistro he'd picked was nothing special. Sascha wanted to make a good impression, but he was also a lowblood with a lowblood's budget. It was waterfront, but small. Sascha would have used the word "rustic" if he'd been a tactful individual. Despite this, the hostess had initially greeted Sascha by informing him that the restaurant wasn't hiring.
One awkward correction later, and Sascha found himself seated on the deck awaiting his would-be sponsor. Sascha felt a little crazy, but knew the potential payoff would be worth the risk. Said risks were mostly imaginary anyway, Sascha reasoned. Childhood biases aside, Sascha was confident under the right circumstances, Lorata would a be a perfectly reasonable person. Probably. Hopefully.
Sascha leaned over the railing to watch the little fish wriggle in pursuit of luncheon crumbs.
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Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 10:16 pm
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Lorata had never been to this particular restaurant before, but it seemed nice enough, quaint even, and she couldn't help but like that it was on the waterfront. As she stepped out onto the deck after briefly speaking with the hostess, she wondered if it had been a conscious decision on his part to meet her over the ocean. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of it either way, so she brushed off the thought and made her way towards the yellowblood, her approach heralded by the click of her heels.
"Sascha," she greeted, coming to a stop at the railing by his side. She glanced over it momentarily, down at the fish in the water, then looked back to fully consider his appearance. Then she tilted her head, let her curls fall over her shoulder just so and gave her usual bright smile. She hadn't forgotten what he'd done when they were kids, of course, but she was curious to really see if he'd improved since then. So many trolls seemed to have. "This was a pleasant surprise!"
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Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 12:10 am
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By the time Sascha realized those footsteps were headed directly his way, Lorata had already crossed the modest deck and stopped at his side. Sascha straightened his posture and rolled his shoulders. His pressed shirt was already starting to feel uncomfortably tight. "Lorata," Sascha greeted in turn with a mirrored smile. Sascha had never lost a fight over nerves before. He wasn't about to let this interaction be any different.
"Thanks for meeting me out here," he continued with a smaller, almost apologetic smile. Technically he'd been the one rolling in from Chittentown. However Lorata could have climbed out of the depths of Gl'bgoly'b's trench, for all Sascha knew. He wasn't willing to make bets. He was the one looking for favors, after all.
Sascha raised a hand in gesture to the table he'd been initially seated at. It had a pitcher and two glasses of water sitting on it. One of the chairs was wearing Sascha's blazer that he'd shucked upon arriving.
"Of course I'm sure you know why I've asked to meet with you," Sascha continued while walking back to his seat. "You're a sponsor for the upcoming Superstar Authority event, and I'm a contestant. I'd like to know what it will take for a partnership between us to work."
Quick and to-the-point. Sascha could have tried chatting about the weather first, but felt even someone he'd spoken to as little as Lorata would have called bullshit a standard Alternian distance unit away. He didn't want a sponsorship from her because he thought she was stupid.
...Granted that might have made this exchange a lot less intimidating.
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Posted: Sun May 21, 2017 1:37 pm
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"Straight to the point. I like that." Lorata took her seat across from him, brushed out her skirt, and then lifted her hands to begin counting off on her fingers. "Well then, that's easy. I'll just need to have you go through the hardest setting of the obstacle course a few times, a full medical history and blood samples, an oath of undying loyalty and- Ah, sorry." She moved a hand to her mouth to cover a sudden giggle.
"I shouldn't joke when you're being so straightforward." She folded her arms on the table, tapped a nail against it thoughtfully as she arranged her thoughts to what she wanted to say in all seriousness. "'Alternia needs heroes.' It seemed like the best way to sum up what I was really looking for, in the end. So I think, first of all, I'd like to hear what that means to you. Do you consider yourself a hero?"
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Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 10:54 pm
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Sascha's face was surprisingly calm as Lorata listed her "terms." He was a little disappointed an obstacle course wasn't part of the deal. That sounded like a lot of fun. It certainly sounded better than any more of these meetings. He cocked his head in interest to hear what Lorata actually had to say.
Sascha's immediate reaction was to feel his mind wipe itself at Lorata's question. If he didn't prefer the obstacle course option before, he was ready to jump the railing and swim there now.
Still, the thought struck a chord in Sascha. As much as he wanted to tell Lorata what she wanted to hear, Sascha realized he didn't even know what the "real" answer was. Heroes were kid stuff. Even when Sascha was the right age for saccharine wiggler stories, they hadn't meant anything to him. He was just some lowblood from Chittentown. To call him a cog in a machine would be too generous. Being a cog implied your removal would result in the system ceasing to work. He was a cog in a junk drawer. Maybe someone would find a piece of equipment he'd fit into. Maybe he'd just gather dust with the billion other identical cogs. Even Sascha's powers couldn't change what he meant to society. What could a "hero" do? What had a hero ever done for someone like him? Heroes were for other people. Heroes were for highbloods. Heroes were...
"Yeah. I am." Sascha pulled himself up in his seat where he'd been staring into the middle-distance. He watched Lorata from across the table. "I got where I am tonight on my own power. The networking. The personality. The strength, physical and otherwise. Regardless the circumstances, when opportunities were presented to me, I took them. I made deals. I shed blood. I made them mine. I've got an honest-to-Gl'bgoly'b shot at becoming the face of Alternia. Barring that, my work--my sacrifices--could very well put trolls back in space. I proved myself then and I'll do it again. Forever. Not 'as long as it takes for it to stick,' or 'until something easier comes along.' Defeating evil? Championing the weak? If there's something I gotta fight, I'll do it. I'll do it for no other reason than because I can. If no one else is able--if they're too soft or scared... Well then I'd better give 'em something good to watch from the sidelines."
"Heroes are winners; I'm a winner."
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Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 9:23 pm
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While Sascha thought about the question she'd presented, Lorata geared herself up to respond to whatever answer he decided on. A 'no' was the most logical and likely answer, and while she might have to adjust based on whatever reasoning he added to it, spelling out what she thought heroes ought to be for him wouldn't be hard. If he said 'yes', though, she was more than ready to shoot him down. There was no possible way that he qualified, as far as she was concerned.
Her eyes narrowed as he began to speak, chin lifting just slightly, and she readied that rejection as she waited for him to finish. Somewhere along the way, though, she lost the words. Somewhere along the way, she'd leaned in instead, hanging on every single thing he said. Her mouth opened and then almost immediately closed again as she fumbled for how to respond. Sascha, she desperately reminded herself, had in the past insulted her, targeted her, all but ignored her. She wouldn't have come here if he hadn't had potential, of course, but-
He wasn't supposed to have been perfect.
"That's-" She paused, tried to shake off that daze with a giddy little laugh, but the word was well and truly stuck now. "Oh my glub, that's perfect. That's exactly it! Have you always been like that?" She hadn't meant to be, but she was laughing again, delighted despite herself.
seekingCylem help i didn't expect this
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 9:04 pm
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Sascha felt oddly spent after his response. He wasn't used to dwelling on his motivations, or anything, really. He was a troll of action. Thinking without doing made his horns itch. That was the whole reason he was out there at that restaurant with Lorata in the first place--in the competition at all. Acknowledging the scope of what he hoped to accomplish was more nerve-wracking than he cared to admit. It was much easier to perform a routine or pick a fight. They were skills that could be improved through practice. The cause and effect were quicker. Cleaner. Less likely to invoke an existential crisis.
Sascha breathed slowly through his nose. Inhale. Exhale. One step at a time. Right now he just had to get through his conversation with Lora-
"-Eh?" Sascha blinked. His face fell slack. Quickly, but clumsily, he retooled it back into an expression that made sense. He was confused, skeptical even, but certainly not unhappy with this turn of events. "Yeah? I mean, yeah. It's not like we've spoken much, and not since we were kids." Sascha laughed with relief as much as triumph. He grinned in a pointed manner that felt familiar to his jaw. "'Hero' might be debatable depending on who you ask, but no one can deny that I'm a professional. Fighter. Performer. Helmsman? If you're down, I'll make sure this partnership works out well for you."
Sascha vaguely remembered what Chiara had told him in her office, but couldn't remember whether or not he cared.
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Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 2:02 pm
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"I'm down," Lorata agreed immediately, with a quick and earnest nod. "You've got all the qualities I wanted. All you've got to do to keep me happy now is show that attitude to Alternia and inspire more trolls towards it." She seemed entirely convinced that was something he'd have no trouble doing, now. "And let them know I'm here to help, of course. Easy, right?" She winked and then clapped her hands together excitedly.
"Which brings us to the fun part! What do you need from me? I'm providing all of my competitors with goggles and glasses for their booths, of course, but aside from that?" She tilted her head, considering him again, as if staring long enough would make a shopping list magically appear. Which immediately reminded her of a shopping trip with another yellowblood and the odd reluctance she'd noticed there. Better get that out of the way first. "And don't even worry about beetles! If it'll help you, it's yours, no matter the cost."
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Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 7:21 pm
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The turnaround was too quick for Sascha to feel completely calm, even if Lorata's giddiness was his best-case scenario. He wanted to ride the wave of Lorata's sudden, but sincere optimism. However, Sascha knew this endeavor wouldn't be easy. He maintained his grin and leaned forward in interest.
"Well that first part should be a no-brainer." Sascha laughed and tried to look at ease under Lorata's scrutiny. "I've got other sponsors to help carry the weight, but I'll happily accept whatever backing you're willing to supply. I've got, ah... Phoenix Down Bakery, the Underworld dance club, and I'm one of Chiara's Death Dancers, if that tells you what kind of image I've got going thus far. If you've got suggestions for how to sell myself or your 'brand'--I guess it's our brand now--I'm all ears."
Sascha ran a hand through his hair, pulling his bangs out of his face. He hoped the namedrop of Chiara wouldn't cause a stir. Still, it was a legitimate question on his part, and Sascha would take any opportunity to get Chiara's request off his to-do list as soon as possible. The information of his employer was public knowledge. If this was any kind of surprise, Sascha would rather it pop off where he could see it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 7:02 pm
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Lorata nodded thoughtfully through as he listed off some of his other sponsors. Phoenix Down was another Civisect sponsor, she liked Cerpin well enough to agree to share a potential hero with Underworld in this case, and she could see why Chiara would- The seadweller paused suddenly, mentally rewinding back to exactly how that had been phrased. 'One of Chiara's Death Dancers.' Did that imply that he'd already been working for her, before the need for sponsors had come along?
Now that the thought had occurred to her, it felt true enough to accept without even asking for him to specify. Of course Chiara would have the nerve to keep a legitimate hero candidate away from her attention even after they'd reconciled. Lorata's bright smile dimmed immediately, weighed down by the familiar rush of irritation and something she might have been able to pin down as jealousy if she'd ever been able to admit it to herself. How had Chiara gotten her claws into him while she'd spent all this time thinking he was no good?
'Maybe she hadn't had time since the letter' warred with 'she should have known anyway' and settled at last into the decisive thought that this simply wasn't fair. A hand snaked out to grab her purse, reached in to retrieve a neatly folded pamphlet, and then she leaned over to press that to the table in front of Sascha. JROTC was clearly written across the top. This wasn't going to be an answer to what he was asking, but it had become a necessity now.
"I'm going to need you to join this." A slow blink later, she remembered he wasn't the one she was annoyed at. Her smile warmed again. "You don't need to advertise it, not yet, we've already got that covered for the competition, but it will be important for later on." She gave a little laugh. "And I'm afraid you really might have to go through that obstacle course, but I'm very interested to see how you do at that anyway."
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:55 pm
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Sascha wasn't good at reading people by any stretch of the term. To that end he was able to convince himself he was imagining Lorata's dip in mood out of paranoia. Thankfully for him, Lorata didn't seem inclined to press whatever issue Chiara posed. Instead she presented Sascha with a pamphlet.
"Uh, sure," Sascha replied without even reading the paper. He managed to overcome his uneasiness to properly retrieve the pamphlet and look it over. "Huh," he continued, suddenly feeling his confidence return. "This is actually pretty rad. Hell yeah, sign me up." Sascha lowered the brochure from his face, revealing a broad grin. "If I'd known about this as a kid, I probably wouldn't have gotten into half as much trouble." Of course he also might not have found top secret information while spelunking derelict buildings for fun. He'd still end up on the fast track for a nice military position, but probably with a fraction the skin grafts. He folded the paper and tucked it into his jacket pocket.
"Hope your obstacle course record holders aren't too attached to their titles." Sascha laughed.
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