4153/Home Monster Movie: Doctor Gross-O's Creature Carnival

Home Monster Movie: Doctor Gross-O's Creature Carnival
Date of Scene:	26 May 2016
Location:	Neo Arcadia-00001
Synopsis:	A few Confederates decide to make a home movie involving mecha and kaiju.
Thanks to:	Thanks to Ariah, Kord, and Taro for making this scene hilarious!
Cast of Characters:	56, 276, 399, Count Kord

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Taro (399) has posed:
NEO ARCADIA - TARO'S APARTMENT - EVENING

    Normally Taro's apartment is impeccably tidy, with everything tucked into its proper places in cabinets and drawers, the knickknacks on display free of dust, the curtains pulld back from the floor to ceiling windows to showcase the small enclosed balcony and the city below.
    Tonight? Not so much.
    The floor cushions and coffee table have been pulled back into into his charging room to further open up the living room floor, which has been taken over by a haphazardly designed city of cardboard buildings with construction-paper streets and trees. The curtains have been pulled closed, with a couple of extra lamps from Zarenna's apartment set in the corners for extra light. The space that opens into the kitchenette is occupied by a vidcam on a tripod, while the foyer and rest of the kitchen area are overrun with props, puppets, and leftover costume bits.
    Taro hmself seems to have also been roped into this, as he's wearing a pair of lab goggles fresh from the mid-twentieth century on his head, along with a labcoat of an even older vintage. Why? Well, apparently it's very difficult for him to tell Kari and Harriet no...

Ariah (56) has posed:
     It doesn't take especially long for Ariah to arrive. She has her house chores finished, and doesn't have too much trouble getting to where she needs to be. Clad in her usual uniform, her staff held in a neutral stance... she rings the bell. And awaits. Perhaps with a companion. She has never done a movie before. And has seen only very few. Books are her forte, but she knows some things. And perhaps imagines her talents might be useful in some capacity.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari and Harriet are busying themselves with fixing little things on the 'set'. Zarenna, their master, is setting up backgrounds in a different room to serve as backdrops for conversational pieces. The roboticist has thoughtfully brought some snacks and drinks for any organic guests that may turn up to help with this production.
    The doorbell rings! Kari hops over to answer it... somehow. Pressing the button with a hop. She's got bits of scotch tape clinging to her, but she seems cheerful as usual. "Hi Miss Ariah!"

Count Kord has posed:
    In lieu of his armor, Kord has arrived wearing some kind of medieval-age commoner outfit with a black vest, black slacks, brown boots and a white shirt. His face is covered by that vaguely bird-like mask he wears during casual occasions. He adjusts his black gloves nervously and glances aside at Ariah with curiosity in his pale blue eyes. He leans over and wonders, "What is a movie, exactly...?" He keeps his voice low, but he looks to the door in surprise when he sees it open, straightening up.
    "Hello," he greets, in that romanian(?) accented and deep voice of his.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Bringing snacks was wise on Zarenna's part, as Taro wouldn't have a bite of food in the apartment otherwise. The man appears to only indulge in a variety of teas and a bottle or two of wine...
    "Come in," Taro says as Kord and Ariah step inside. It is still his home, redecorated as it is, and so he should be polite. "And good evening. I would offer chairs, but they seem to have been stacked up." Deadpan humor or serious, it's hard to say exactly which between his voice and faintly dour expression. Then, in answer to Kord's question, he continues, "A movie is somewhat like a play, except the images and sounds are recorded to be viewed again later."

Ariah (56) has posed:
     Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Ariah's dietary needs are available, unless Kari's master is up for a snack break at some point. Perhaps it's good she had a meal before arriving. "I could not have explained it better," she says as she nods to Taro. "I was struggling with a proper explanation beyond 'moving pictures', to be honest. Films were still fairly new be a few decades in my time..." she says quietly, offering her hand to Kari if she wanted a lift. And help getting the tape off of her little self. "How may I help? I can offer my magic in a myriad of ways."

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord takes note that he stands head and shoulders above pretty much anyone else in the room that isn't a Shinki. He has a wide-eyed look as he looks around the room. He pauses to look at light fixtures or other bits of technology that aren't present in a medieval age, but he doesn't have any other questions about them. He takes off his mask and finds a place to set it, revealing that the imposing man couldn't be older than his mid-twenties, and he has some strange markings up along his neck and face that look like his veins got turned black or something. And his eyes! Black sclera, weird blue irises, white pupils. He's got some red stubble on his face, otherwise, and a manly, healthy romanian visage.
    He makes for the snacks almost immediately to peruse them like a hungry animal. "I have no idea what we're doing," he admits, "Will that be a problem?" A beat. "I have seen plays before," he adds, so he isn't COMPLETELY clueless.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari is helped up by Ariah and bwees as the mage and herself get the bits of tape off of her. "Ooh! Live special effects would be so cool!" She says to Ariah. It's good that others have stepped up to explain what movies are to Kord. Kari would have probably made things confusing and less understandable.
    Zarenna helpfully distributes the scripts to Taro, Ariah, and Kord. "Well, with a voice like yours, you'll simply have to be the narrator." The woman says. She points to the microphone stand. "That's a microphone. It records sounds so they can be played back later. So your lines are everything marked 'Narrator'." Taro is the villain; Doctor Gross-O. And apparently Harriet will be the monsters unless somebody has a better idea. Kari, being the way she is, has cast herself as the mecha that beats up the monster. The script is simplistic and corny, something that was clearly written by Kari with some editorial help from Zarenna.
    Harriet starts cleaning herself up. "Why am /I/ the monster anyway?"
    Kari hops down and hugs her sister. "Because the monsters should always tower over the heroes of the story!" And then a serious moment. "Also because you move a lot better in the costumes than me."

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Video entertainment has been popular for centuries here," Taro notes, "as has theater...ah, thank you, Zarenna." He takes his copy of the script from her with a nod, then begins to thumb through it rather quickly.
    ...oh my. Kari has spent an inordinate amount of time in front of the television, if this script is any indication...
    "Because I thought we decided I was too tall to play the monster?" he answers Harriet as he crosses stage left - in this case, across the living room - to join her. "Besides, your face is more expressive than mine."
    He hints a faint smirk at Kord. "You say that as if any of us knows what we're doing. We're all strictly ameteur filmmakers here."

Ariah (56) has posed:
     "Elevating me to 'amateur' is being extremely charitable," Ariah says with a faint smirk of her own. Her voice is cold and almost deadpan, thickly French accented. "I am afraid that my special effects are limited to one color, however. But do tell me what sort of things you were requiring? I should be able to form just about anything you may need... even if there may be strings attached.." she considers, never having analyzed her magic from an angle where she'd need to project it differently.

Count Kord has posed:
    Kord picks up the script he's supposed to read and opens it. He reads it over, his face seeming to immediately show incredulity and some kind of confused amusement. He's definitely outside of his element here. He looks between Ariah, Taro, Kari and Harriet and then asks aloud, "Filmmakers? Is a movie called a 'film' as well?"
    After he asks that, he looks back down at the script, thoughtfully reading it while playing with his sharp fangs with his tongue. "This should be easy enough..." he murmurs, remembering how narrators typically spoke during plays that he went to.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Kari and Harriet are manning the cameras at the moment, with a microphone on a pole held by Zarenna.
    The script begins 'In a world of justice and cake...' and cuts to Doctor Gross-O monologing about his latest creations designed to take over New Positron City.

Count Kord has posed:
    "In a world of justice and cake...!" Kord speaks into the microphone, his voice rumbling with a passion he doesn't normally show. He could be a good movie trailer narrator, or really a good narrator for anything serious at all. His accent is a little much, he does sound a little like Dracula when he puts that much effort into it.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Lights, camera, and action!
    "New Positron. Phah. New Gross-o has a much better ring to it." Taro's expression has only shifted into a deeper frown, with hints of a scowl, but his pitch and his waving of arms is spot on for a movie scientist villain. "Soon, SOON, I will unleash you, my beautiful monster," and he makes a dramatic gesture in the direction of Harriet, "upon the world, and they'll never know what hit them! Bwahahaha!"

Ariah (56) has posed:
     It takes a moment for Ariah to figure out just where she is, reading the script and looking up as 'Gross-o' starts his monologue and begins to spout exhibition. She sets the script aside on the nearest flat surface and grips her staff in both hands, pressing it into the floor. She focuses and frees a hand, gesturing out towards Harriet and Taro. Her ability to shape her magic into nearly anything serves her well as she manages to form white-blue mana into jagged, cheesy, cartoony lightning bolts that flash around the pair, complete with a rather substantial crackle and thud of thunder as they burst out of existence.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Harriet is dressed in.. plush looking dinosaur outfit, and the camera is super close in on her to mess around with the scale. "Rawr." She says. Then she does it again because apparently Kari said something about /emphasis/. "RAWR." Guess that'll have to do. She waves the plushy arms menacingly, or sort of menacingly. "I will destroy New Positron City for my master. And eat the Super Positron Mecha Force's Headquarters. Especially their ace pilot, Wanda Sho."

Ariah (56) has posed:
     And then there's dead air. Ariah picks up the script and looks up as the camera is on her for the moment. She blinks in confusion and glances down at the script, then back up at the camera. There's a moment where she realizes what's going on and her eyes widen. She looks frantically at the people in charge and... has no idea who is ACTUALLY in charge. Or who put her in this role. She coughs, "I, Wanda Sho, shall use every ounce of my might, and the power of-of my Super Fighting Robot, Vulfkanger-ZX to protect this city and its cake at any cost!" Wanda SHo is... French? She does a fist pump for emphasis, still looking like she's so horribly out of her element.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    The camera is shakey but it shows Kari in her Dire Wolf Armor stomping across the cardboard city. She's providing her own music, which is basically her humming some kind of Ultraman-esque theme loud enough for the microphone to pick up. A name-badge, carefully sized to the shinki, reads "VULFKANGER-ZX" in Sharpie. "And now, monster, you will taste the feats of /justice!/" And the camera pans back to Doctor Gross-O, who will undoubtedly reveal the monster's nasty trick!

Taro (399) has posed:
    "Bwahahaha!" Doctor Gross-o is clearly borrowing the laughter from another mad roboticist as he points in a most dramatic fashion in the direction of Wanda Sho (who will no doubt get her picture cut-imposed by the Vulfkanger-ZX in post-production). "You -think- that machine of yours is strong, but it's no match for my grandest creation of all," He makes another grand, theatrical gesture toward the plush dinosaur, "Tyrana-Raptor!"

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Harriet lumbers across the cardboard cityscape trying to look menacing as she knocks over the cutout buildings. She tries to make a roar sound, but the naturally quiet shinki ends up making a kind of SQUEAK instead as she barrels towards the smaller Kari. She strikes a pose, and here Ariah's special effects are needed to make it look like an icy wind is striking the armored Kari, who is pretending to struggle against the icy wind. And it cuts to a reaction shot of Wanda Sho dealing with the cold hard truth.

Ariah (56) has posed:
     The falling building is accompanied by a blue-white explosion of magic that shakes some of the other buildings a bit. She looks at the script and does her best to make an 'icy wind', spreading tiny motes of mana through the air and sending them past Kari. Some of the magic sticks to her, though, before vanishing silently. At least it isn't like ACTUAL glitter. Kari would never get it off. Again a pause before she realizes it's her line, and the genuine look of surprise is good as she blinks at the camera, "A-ah... no...! I. I cannot fail New Positron and its people! Its confectioners! People of the city, lend me your strength! Lend me your love! Show Doctor Gross-O the power of the heart!" she tries her best not to wear an incredulous expression as she turns it over to Taro for his own realization.

Taro (399) has posed:
    Doctor Gross-o's eyebrows raise along with his arm, as if to shield himself from that power. His relative lack of dramatic faces isn't keeping him from otherwise hamming it up. "No! Not the power of the Heart! Tyrana-Raptor! Stop her! Stop her now!"

Ariah (56) has posed:
     The special effects for poor Taro are glittery white and blue hearts that... probably help with the shielding of the face business. Toss toss toss. Sparkle sparkle. <3 <3

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Harriet raaawrs flatly and wrestles with the smaller shinki for a bit, seeming to get the upper hand as they grapple and trash buildings left and right. This occupies a good five minutes, the larger shinki and smaller shinki play-fighting (and trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all). It ends with Tyrana-Raptor standing menacingly over the fallen Vulfkanger-ZX, looking as smug as Harriet can make the plush suit look. And then the mecha leaps to her feet and shoulder tackles the monster! And then she strikes a dramatic pose as her opponent gets ther feet in time to be blasted with smoke grenades and flashy lasers. Dramatic special effects! Dramatic hero music courtesy of Kari's humming! Victory reaction from Wanda! The bitter taste of yet another defeat for Doctor Gross-o! Cue the credits!

Ariah (56) has posed:
     Explosions! Noises flashes! Ariah spends the whole five minutes throwing energy around. Harmless energy that has enough force to maybe nudge a ping pong ball around when it explodes. But it sure looks neat with the pair play-fighting like that. Beams and flashes and pops and pews and pows! Ariah looks almost winded from the rapid-fire casting she's had to do non-stop, almost as much as a real battle, though the lack of heat and force in the effects certainly helps keep costs down. Hooray for low budget movies. When the camera gets back to Wanda, she blinks, "The power of love conquers all! If you wanted cake, Doctor Gross-O, you should have just asked! New Positron City will stand tall (despite the extreme collateral damage) for another day! Only eat cake as a part of a balanced breakfast, kids! ...insert super-kawaii victory pose here... huh?" Then looking unsure of herself, Ariah does a double V-for-victory pose, her lips curving into a forced smile that lasts for as long as needed until the camera shifts back over to Taro.

Taro (399) has posed:
    "My plans, they're ruined...ruined!" Doctor Gross-o's head hangs in the shame of defeat. Then, he gives a theatrical sigh. "Mark my words, Wanda Sho. You and the Vulfkanger-ZX cannot defend the city forever. Tyrana-Raptor and I will return. And when we do...we will feast on cake!"
    Dramatic vanish!
    Cue credits.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna phews as running around as both the camera operator and microphone holder was tiring. She looks at the pair of shinki as she plops down on the floor of Taro's apartment. "Okay... time to clean up you two."
    "... Do we have to?" Kari says.
    Harriet's not arguing. She's trying to get the suit off. "... The zipper is stuck." she says, waddling over to Taro for help as Zarenna admonishes Kari for being a bad guest to Taro.

Kari Wolf (276) has posed:
    Zarenna also thanks Taro, Kord, and Ariah for their part in the production. It certainly looks like the shinki had a lot of fun with the whole thing.

Taro (399) has posed:
    And with that, Taro returns to his usual demeanor. "Here." He gracefully drops to the floor as Harriet waddles up to him, reaching down to carefully tug and wiggle the costume's zipper till he can work it free. "Congratulations, Harriet. You've now joined Number Nine and I in the ranks of Esteemed Monsters." There's a hint of a joke in his tone of voice, not complete deadpan for once.
    A glance to the others. "I doubt there's going to be a red carpet premiere, but I'm sure Zarenna will make suire we all get copies once it's ready."

Ariah (56) has posed:
     Ariah doesn't look too worse for the wear. And she might have actually had a little fun. When all the smoke clears and things are said and done, though, she moves to the 'city' and kneels down, "I can help you clean things up, since I helped destroy things as well." She looks at Harriet and Taro, a real smile coming. "Next time I will bring Aurora for the sequel," she says with a nod. "We will give Kari a 'Big Hero' pin, and Harriet a 'Giant Monster' pin to commemorate things?"