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 Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 1:20 am
Sometimes it was nice just to get out of the house, away from her thoughts and training, her building and constant mental activity. Sleep, of course, was one option, but sometimes that failed to really clear her mind. She went to sleep thinking, dreamed of what she was thinking of, and woke up thinking about that dream.
One of the things she liked to do to clear her head when it got too clogged, along with reading Shakespeare or sitting outside, was write. These weren't stories that would ever get published in the paper, unless it was a particularly slow news day, but rather pieces she gathered for herself, writing a collection of small character pieces on people she observed doing interesting things.
She would watch, or sometimes just listen if the situation called for subtlety, taking mental notes all along until she was able to pull out her trusty notebook. It was old and worn, the binding at the top of the pad pulling at the paper, the outside rung holes broken and frayed. It was still good, though, as it wasn't quite written on every page. If she could, she would then go up and ask a few questions of the person, though she never wrote down their names. That wasn't the point.
Then she would take all her notes and observations home, to write up a short piece for a blog, of sorts, that she used to keep everything accessible and organized.
Usually she wrote about funny, strange, or distinctly unique moments of people being people. Which, a surprise to her at the start, weren't that hard to come across. At least they hadn't been. Today, she was keeping her eye out for something interesting, but the park seemed rather empty as she strolled through it.
She wondered if she would see anyone at all, let alone anyone she might want to write about.
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Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 1:50 am
Lumiere was a simple small-time model for now. But she wasn't going to be satisfied with that-- No, she aspired to farther heights. Unfortunately, she just wasn't quite there yet. She firmly believed, with enough skill and luck, she would be able to advance from her model status to something more, working her way up to a singer or an actress.
She glanced around, surveying the park, empty at first glance. Her hands raised to come together, crossing at her chest as a melody worked it's way up from her throat. A loudspeaker sat on the bench off to the side, playing the melody, accompanied by a bottle of water and a purse.
Her voice raised in the empty area, clear and concise as the girl who sang it, seeming quite concentrated and intent on her current task at hand. There were flaws.. but there was certainly some kind of potential in there. Whether it would go any further than that was unknown.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 12:55 am
Gently hadn't be expecting to hear music while on her hunt for something interesting. That, of course, made it interesting to her and she instantly followed the sound through the park. She had been nearby, lucky in her wanderings to lead herself near a fairly deserted part of the park, and she soon spotted a girl near a park bench.
No one else was around.
Taking out her notebook, she started to take notes. She wrote about the scene, which was simple enough to set, then took notes on the girl herself, the set up of the loudspeaker and bench. Simple background notes first, so she didn't forget the little details, before she started writing about the girl herself.
Why would someone come to the park to sing? She wasn't looking to make money, or she would have set up where someone might actually be able to see and drop some quarters into a hat. So she must have been practicing, and didn't want anyone to hear her.
A few missed notes piqued Gently's interest, and she moved from her hiding place slowly. She didn't announce herself, just watching, but now in plain sight, as the girl sang.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:43 am
Lumiere's voice eventually lowered to silence as the song ended, the beats following soon fell to silence, the model breathless and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She extracted a handkerchief to dab at her forehead, her cell phone ringing. She stepped over towards the bench, swiftly flipping open the cell phone to answer an urgent call.
"Six AM? That's perfect. I apologize about the inconvenience though-- In front of my house.." It became apparent that she was conversing about some modeling shoot if you recognized the magazine names (albeit, small time) when her eyes caught an unfamiliar female, meeting her eyes. Lumiere's sideways glance indicated Lumiere did not like being watched, her hands working to gather the loudspeaker and the contents of her bag, ending the conversation briskly.
"The park's free for you to use." She gestured towards the other, packing up the last remains of her items.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 12:06 pm
Gently did recognize the magazine names, considering they were print media, and often discussed at the office when she deigned to drop in for assignments or to help a copy editor with her story. Or whenever the Editor wanted to see her to tell her they weren't going to run her stories, or why she needed to be more careful with what she wrote about the 'terrorists'.
When the pretty young woman seemed to notice her, Gently grinned broadly, shaking her head immediately.
"Oh, don't go! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable! I'm very sorry, I was just listening to you singing and wondering... uh... why you were doing it!" She hurried to follow the girl, so she got the impression not to leave. She put her notebook away, switching to 'mental note' mode so she didn't make the girl even more uncomfortable by questioning her.
"Do you sing here often? I've never been on this part of the walk before, I thought I'd try something new, and here you are! It was quite pretty. Are you practicing for something?" Compliments never hurt, and she couldn't say it had been terribly bad. Not perfect, but who was? She thought it was interesting and rather brave to be singing in an open place like this, anyway.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:05 pm
"Why?" Lumiere tipped her head, briefly analyzing the other. Some eager note-taker, was she? Notebook in hand-- Deemed harmless at first glance. Bombarded with questions, Lumiere looked a little more then startled that a stranger was taking such a keen interest in her. SHe tipped her head up .. Her expression may have been disinterested (as always) but the fact she was staying said something small.
"Once in awhile, I practice here. It's a dissatisfied model's ambition to move up to actress or singer.. or at least mines." She admitted, lowering her bag and loudspeakers back onto the bench. "Pretty? You can just call it the way it is-- flawed. It's nothing compared to what the industry can provide on the spot." Lumiere stated, sitting one one side of the bench. The silent action could be taken as a gesture for the girl to sit on the other side.
It probably was. It would have been polite to gesture obviously so or offer her a seat but in Lumiere's point of view, it was a gesture that didn't need to be spoken.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:29 pm
Gently just continued to grin, innocent enough, shaking her head. She really hadn't meant to put the other on edge, though her approach had been sudden. She just didn't want her walking off, and the best way to get her to stay was to ask her some questions and hope she was a polite person. A rude one, generally, would just walk away, but most people felt compelled to at least answer, even if they did so in short terms and with heavy sighs.
She smiled, listening to the story and nodding her head. Dissatisfied model, huh? She liked the sound of it, in her head, and wondered what had her so dissatisfied with one career to want another.
"So, do you not like modeling, then? I mean, I get the allure of wanting to act or sing, flawed or not, though I thought it was pretty, but some people would also kill to model. You don't like it, so much?"
Sitting on the other side of the bench, she tilted her head at the other, not minding the lack of invitation: she had just assumed that by sitting down the model had wanted her to do the same. Or at least didn't care if she did. Which was good enough.
"My name is Gently, by the way. Gently Ponsonby." She murmured the second part of her name.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:34 am
"Well, modeling only gets you so far. Wouldn't you want to stand somewhere secure? Acting or singing allows you that secure spot.. securer than a model. I'm simply not good enough yet." Lumiere admitted, her purple eyes looked heavenward, concentrating on the vast sky. It seemed that this model had particularly high standards.
"I made a bet with myself. It's not a bet I'm planning to lose." The side of Lumiere's mouth crooked in a complicated smile, mixed with an competitive edge. She turned towards the female as the other introduced herself, holding out her hand in an handshake.
"My apologies-- I should have introduced myself first. I'm Lumiere Estelle Aileron. Just call me Lumiere, Gently." Her other hand lifted to tuck a stray blue lock of hair behind her ear. "What brings you out here? I had chosen this spot because of it's seclusive nature.. but it seems that it wasn't so secluded after all."
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:49 pm
Gently looked surprised, but nodded her head, unable to keep her eyes from turning skywards as well. She was rather like a child, in that 'if you point she'll look' kind of gullible sense. It wasn't her fault, she just had exactly the right kind of attention span for it to work on her, looking where ever someone else was looking, to see what they saw.
It was a good way to see interesting things, most of the time.
"I've always heard acting and singing were fickle careers. I guess, on the other side of things, I have the idea that modeling would be more secure," she looked thoughtful, but tried not to dwell on it too long. Lumiere was speaking again, anyway, and she nodded her head. Betting with oneself, giving goals and reaching them no matter what, was something she could understand.
She took her hand and shook it vigorously, laughing.
"Well, it was pretty secluded. I heard something in the air and came to take a look, but I was off the beaten path already." A slight fib, but she thought it was for the best, "maybe a little farther wouldn't hurt." She frowned suddenly, though, and looked at Lumiere curiously. "You've a really pretty name. Lumiere... what was it? I've never heard that before."
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:49 pm
"You flatter me." A amused chuckle emitted from her calm exterior, her fingers curled in slightly to shield her chuckles. "Lumiere Estelle Aileron." She repeated, offering a smile towards Gently. "I moved to Destiny City just recently-- I'm afraid my family tree doesn't go very far up so the name would be uncommon, if not non-existent in these parts."
"Gently Ponsonby. Would they be the adjective or a reference to the old british term 'gent?'" Lumiere wondered aloud, her tone tipped with curiosity. It was strange, if one knew the circumstances. Their negaverse and senshi personas would have never gotten along like this.
Thank god none of them would ever know the other personas.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:51 pm
Gently nodded her head, looking thoughtful, but interested. She grinned, shaking her head and laughing. At least the subject of names focused on her first rather than her last. She wasn't too fond of her last name now, though she supposed it was a silly hang up from school that she really needed to get over.
She chuckled again.
"I don't think so, though it may well be. My parents never explained why they named me Gently. I stopped asking, eventually. I think it was a dare," she grinned.
Of course, she was just as oblivious as her companion that they were on different sides of the battle, as it were. And that they had met before. She was just enjoying the conversation, and the meeting, and planning to write a nice little story about it.
She sighed, though, thinking she might be keeping the singing model a bit too long. Standing, she offered her hand.
"Well, I didn't mean to keep you, if you were going to head out soon. Thank you for the song, and the conversation! I think you'll be singing in public, on purpose, soon enough." She smiled brightly.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:12 pm
"A dare.. What an interesting method." Not one that Lumiere would have used.. but that didn't lessen it's unorthodox appeal. Lumiere had little interest in her last name. Not that it was boring nor was it dismissive but Lumiere had nothing to say about it. And when one had little to say, ignorant, it was far better to just keep seal your lips on that section and move forward.
She looked at her watch hidden under a gray sleeve, the sudden realization of time hitting her as Gently started to make her exit. Lumiere did need to go if she expected to be punctual with her manager. Following Gently's movements, Lumiere stood as well, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She extended a hand, offering Gently a small smile.
"Thank you for being such a cheerful companion. Who knows if that time's coming soon? But nevertheless, when it does and if we have the chance to meet again, don't hesitate to renew our acquaintance." Lumiere valued relationships as much as she valued her job-- to some degree. It wasn't as if fame allowed the arrogance to ignore past meetings, on the assumption of their insignificance.
Everything was significant in one way or another.
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:22 pm
Gently chuckled and nodded, half imagining her parents standing over her incubator, laughing, one of them losing a bet and the name being settled. Maybe they had bet on her being a girl, or a boy, and whoever lost had to suffer the silly name the other had picked. She didn't know, she had never asked, though she remembered them giggling about it once but clamming up when she came into the room.
A family secret, she supposed. But her parents had always been happy and eager, just like her, so she never felt the need to question them.
Gently eagerly shook the other's hand, offering her a bright smile and a nod of her head.
"Any time! I look forward to seeing you again," she seemed positive, at least, that they would get that chance. She waved, taking a few steps back, wanting to be polite. She paused though, and pulled a business card, which was printed on pink paper with excited font, and offered it to her. "In case you ever wanted to call me!" she explained, before heading off.
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