BACKSTAGE

[Pai]

shoujoubrave
The stomach acid seemed to raise a little as the next honeybun went down, but the alien was eyeing the rest of the food table, now. "Human food... less health."

They seemed to pause, looking back to Riku again. "Gru food... more goods. Less... no-use."

This time, they didn't take the honeybun. Had they finally tapped out?


cosmicguts
The Gru attempting to draw on their face is still there, and has gone back to their conversation over their Commgrunicator. Florence can overhear bits of their side of the conversation, but the other side is in garbed alien language.

"Yes... yes, I know they've grown tiresome? Yes of course I don't agree? But when you're asked to back for them what can you even do? Like you can't just say no to someone like that? At least it wasn't one of the others?"

Scattered along all of the empty vanities are various cosmetics written in a mixture of Gru and other earth languages; seems like they reached pretty far to get their skincare products and makeup. There are creams, compacts, lipsticks, gels, palettes; the alien ones look rather standout against the rest, but otherwise it all appears to be straightforward.


Aussie
The attendant wouldn't notice Paige; it seemed that they'd gotten caught up yet again in frustration with zipping the garment bags.

All of the tags would read to be in an alien language she couldn't read; though there were also printed the clear universal (literally, it seemed) washing symbols printed uniquely on each one. The one she grabbed seemed to indicate "GENTLE CYCLE", "NON-CHLORINE BLEACH ONLY", and "TUMBLE DRY". There was also an additional symbol that had a circle around a fire symbol, which could be assumed to mean "FIRE RESISTANT"

Seen in the light, the garment appeared to be...

Totally transparent in the light?

[Teale]

Okay. Take two! And considering he just got blobbed by two alien guards. It was time for a new outfit that wasnt covered in slime. This time he wouldn't try to make friends with said alien in the costume area. If Mary where hear he would damn well never hear the end of getting caught like a child red handed. Good thing she wasn't so he can try again, this time with a little more sneak in his step. Popping back into the costume area he didn't even hesitant in grabbing a bag tightly zipped up with what he hopped was a good outfit, or at least something that made him look alien.

Ducking out of the room he caught the sight of his best friend. Not wanting to yell out to her he pulled out his phone and texted her while making his way to the dressing room.

To: Paige (Aussie)

    [Don't mess with the alien in the costume end, they do not care for help at all.]
    [ Wanna meet up by the dressing rooms?]

[Aussie]

Paige set the garment bag on one of the vanities, lifted her sunglasses onto the top of her head, and squinted at the tags. The transparent material was fascinating; she was already running through a list of all the outfits she could use it for. But that was an investigation for later- for now, she had hoped for something that would make her blend in a little more. Instead she seemed to have picked up an outfit that was only good for streaking through a burning building. 

A groan made her look up, and suddenly she realized that one of the aliens at a nearby vanity wasn't actually an alien. She just couldn't immediately tell thanks to his outfit and the layer of powder that was all over him. In a voice loud enough for him to hear, but not to draw any undue attention, she asked, "The hell happened to you?"

Before she could wait for a response, though, her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she saw the message from Marcus. At least he's not a quitter, she thought to herself with some pride. Turning her attention back to the man covered in powder, she put a finger to her lips and winked at him conspiratorially before gathering up the outfit she stole and heading to meet Marcus at the dressing rooms. 

Sliding into an empty dressing room, she caught Marcus's eye, gesturing for him to join her before shutting the curtain. This time she took the opportunity to pull the outfit out of its garment bag and more fully examine it. 


((Quingee , cosmicguts , Teale ))

[shoujoubrave]

"Aah~ I see. Well, it seems like the table's starting to become empty. I'll go ask someone to stock it up for you~" It's time for her to bounce. With a tiny smile and wave, the blonde hopped up to a stand (grabbing a pear bc boy) and taking herself away. Thank god the recorder's still rolling within that hidden place in her outfit, else she'd have to try and piece together it's broken sentences. Well, anyway. The blonde strode off, taking an awareness of her surroundings all the way until she dodged behind the curtains of the POWDER ROOM. This, my friends, is the time where she finally checked her phone.

Jesus, so many messages. There's no time to answer every single one of them, right? Nicola, Paige...And probably Marcus as well, if he's still around. Shouldn't really risk attempting to reach out to the others, since she doesn't know her own limit just yet. Well, let's try this....Those specific three in mind, the girl pressed her phone to her mouth and murmured: 

"I'm in the Powder Room."

Thankfully, this power can actually be useful for once. Glancing at the cute puffball, she started to idly make her way around, trying to find some items or things of interest.

....Why is there pink powder everywhere?

[ Quingee , sorry to attack ur ears Teale , Aussie, renacorn ]

[cosmicguts]

Florence kept a good ear out for the alien, even discretely taking his phone out and pressing record on a video so he could record the voice. He tugged at one of his pink cheeks, pretending to be in a mood- when something caught his attention and he looked to the side to notice a female.

"..."

He places a quiet finger against his lips to match hers.
At least she doesn't rat him out.
Who she, he has no idea. But she's cool now in his books. For now.

As the woman left. Florence sat down, purposely taking out the Commigrutator he had found, it looked similar, so hey. He might as well let himself embrace is......Ugh. Gru self.
Florence looked down, and he totally secretly pockets some of the alien make up before sighing out loud. Grabbing what seemed to be eyeliner.

Wait let him check, he took off the cap and drew a tiny dot on his finger. Liquid eyeliner, that's fun. But hey, it works. He leans into the mirror, carefully trying to apply some to his eye. (Of course, he does a little prayer to the eyeliner gods first.)

"I totalllyyy feel you there." Florence suddenly said, keeping himself focused on the mirror. "Backing up them? Must be exhausting."

[Aussie, Quingee]

[Pai]

Teale Aussie
The dressing rooms are found to be empty, a good place to examine things more properly.

The garment Paige had found was a layered dress, except that it was difficult to tell that there were any layers at all, considering the garment itself was almost entirely lacking opacity, save for a subtle sheen at its edges and folds.

The garment bag Marcus had grabbed, on the other hand, was feather-light; but considering it was on the rack, tagged, and zipped up tight, clearly it still contained something.


shoujoubrave
The hungry alien watched her carefully as she walked away, before deciding to slide itself under the catering table. Their eyes never left her.

The room is entirely empty, made of curtains on two sides; the only thing in it is the tremendous puff that seems attached to the ceiling, and a large amount of pink powder all over the rest of the room--the walls, the floor, the curtains. It's very pink and coarse, but it has an unusual shimmer to it, too.



cosmicguts
The eyeliner gods blessed him this day. It came out perfect.
The eyeliner itself dries on clear, however, despite applying in a dark, opaque black. Weird. There was an unusual shine to what left behind, however; dewy, and almost.. reflective?

"I dunno, I guess it's not too bad, but they were so much better to back for in the last few eras? Now it's like I'm not even there?"

The alien paused.

"Wait a sec? Was I talking to you? ..."

It turned to stare its drawn-on face toward Florence, squinting in confusion.

[cosmicguts]

Florence blinked at the eyeliner as it comes out clear, and yet...reflective? He turns his head right and left to look at it. Well then. He looks around, spotting some eyeshadow and opening it up, hey, listen. He's gotten this far, he might fucking as well. Right?

He starts carefully applying it, he's not sure how to do to this, so he goes in lightly. Meanwhile listening to the gru talking.
"Augh, I know right? It just makes you wanna go solo, try out the big stage by yourself. You know? They've grown to be so big headed. I wonder what happened." Florence responded, paying attention to his make up when he notices the alien looking at him.

He picks up his own Commgrunicator from the table, holding it up and wiggling it. "Thought I might as well make a visit." He twirls the eyeshadow brush in his hands. "Anndd I wanted to touch up my make up. But in any case, something happens to get you so down about it?"

[Quingee]

[shoujoubrave]

"...." CLICK.

Did Riku literally just take a picture of the puff ball? Why yes, yes she did. Sans flash, of course. God, this place really is empty...Was it only for this single gru? No matter, pull out a tiny lil paper baggy out of her bag -- scooping up some powder into it and sealing the ziplock. It's best if we get at least a few samples out of this place~ And by few i mean two baggies worth.

She didn't stay for long though, as she was quick to open the curtain once again and tiptoe into the first dressing booth she could come across. Only feeling 'safe' when shutting the booth curtain, she flopped to a sit on the tiny little chair and finally let out a breath, pulling out her phone.

TO: Paige

                   I'm in the dressing booths now
                   Hope you got some goods for me

Finally batting her hands free of the powder caked on them, she sat back. She'll wade it out a bit, keep her ears open.

[ Quingee , Aussie ]

[renacorn]

Seeing the tiny gru react the way it did pretty much told Nicola that approaching them probably wasn't best plan of action, but she was trying to at least be professional here. She was no stranger to working in a backstage setting. Things didn't always go according to plan, so she hoped this gru would be more... understanding? Maybe that was an error on her part; however, she would still try to work her way around this.

Raising her sunglasses higher, to rest them on top of her head, Nicola offered the gru an apologetic smile, “Oh- sorry, I didn't mean to surprise ya.” she said.

Listening as the gru spoke in an almost panicked tone, she blinked, feigning a bit of ignorance. She reached up to rustled her hair lightly, “Ah- no 'course not. I'm not here to get anyone in trouble. I'm just here to get a run down of the equipment being provided, so my band knows what else to bring for our act.” she tried to explain, still keeping up her usual professional stage hand persona.

She then flipped over the opened notebook she was carrying to let the gru read the information she had already written down for her cru's band, their equipment, ect, “See, we have a bunch of stuff we need prepped before we go on tomorrow, so that things go smoothly in welcomin' the main act.” she said, “We'll prep everything ourselves- but we've never performed on a gru's stage before, so we're not familiar with all of your technology yet. We wanted to make sure everything we're gonna bring can link up- or if we have to arrange for some sort of adapters.”

She frowned a bit as she pulled out her personal card, the one she usually gave out to places that hosted live entertainment. She held it out to the gru to try and give the impression that she did work in this field, and that she wasn't lying. (Even though she kind of was in regards to her purpose here.) She even had some papers the band signed to prove they were a legitimate act for tomorrow. 

“My manager wasn't able to make it, but I was let in by the guard at the door to briefly discuss this with someone- so long as I made it quick. So I'll be out of your hair soon.” she lied, “Just hopin' I could be pointed in the direction of one of your own stage hands, to get the information I need.” she stated, “I'd like to avoid technical difficulties delayin' the show by gettin' everything figured out before hand.”

[Pai]

cosmicguts
"What? Solo? Are you crazy? That's ridiculous? Why would I ever do something like that? I can't believe you'd suggest that? You already know what happened to my solo career decades ago? I was trying to forget that? I can't believe you'd bring it up? It's like I don't even know you anymore?"

The Gru was clearly growing emotional, the makeup they'd applied slowly started to melt off their shape.

They looked over to Florence for reassurance, their "face" already more than half melted. "Do you hear this? What a [REDACTED]? I can't believe this?"


shoujoubrave
Remarkably, the puff seemed to allow her to take the powder. They'd been left alone, so that was fine with them.

The dressing booth was empty, save for a chair in the corner and some miscellaneous trash. Alien trash? Either way, it still seemed like trash.


renacorn
The Gru looked quizzically down at the human's businesses card--they lacked the apparent appendages required to actually hold it, so they instead stared into the words on the card, seeming to try and make some kind of sense of it. "Yes, yes, I see that these--these are credentials, however, how-e-ver..."

The small Gru seemed to fix their attention back up at Nicola. "The proper individuals you will need to see for such a task--such a task as this would be found upstairs, on the catwalk, the catwalk, you see? This is no place for stagehands, you see, this is for preparation and rehearsal, but the, theee hands that you would need to fixate your attention to are upstairs, upstairs in the audiovisual booth."

[cosmicguts]

Oh.

Okay let's not mention their solo career again- fortunately enough, it doesn't seem the alien realized that he had said that.

But now he's got an emotional gru, which could be good- or bad. "Jesus Christ, do they have like- no respect for you or your feelings?"

Florence shook his head, finishing up his eyeshadow and was moving to the mascara--- but oh god the alien's face.

He can't believe he's about to do this.

The currently pink haired boy pushed himself, walking over to the gru. "But sweetie, your make up is running, that's no good." He leant against the vanity.
"Look, how about this, we get this shitty guy out of the way," He gently and carefully picks the gru's communicator and places it on the vanity a little further away if the gru let him. Offering them a charming smile with his...pinkness and half touched up face.

"And you can talk to me instead. Andd I can touch up your make up too if you'd like, does that sound good or?"

[Quingee]

[Pai]

cosmicguts
"What?! It's running!? No wonder it's gone blurry, oh, ohhhhh..."

The makeup continued to melt, until the Gru had no face left, and there was merely a glop of concentrated product in a shimmery, sparkly mess on the table of the vanity they were in front of.

"Please? Help me get my face back on? I can't see without it when the eyes come off? Help? Who are you again? I hate this? This planet is the worst?"

[cosmicguts]

Holy shit. They can't see without the drawn-out eyes? This gru...was actually kinda pitiful- like. It was still eugh, and it'd be great if they left. But dang, that sucks?

"Just call me a friendly helper and a friend if you want." He chuckled in a friendly manner. Looking for the makeup and picking up the pen that he's pretty sure the other had been using beforehand.

"Alright bud, let's see if we can get those eyes back at least. Stay still for me." He taps his chin, trying to remember how the eyes looked beforehand. He has a decent image in his head, he just hopes he can convey it well on the alien.

With that, he lent over. "Okay, here we go." And there he goes, starting to carefully draw out the eyes again.

Hopefully, he can get this right.

Quingee

[tin]

A concert huh? Out of all the things she expected extraterrestrials to do after they invaded a concert certainly wasn't an event on her list. For better or for worse Evelyn was used to doing outrageously dangerous things with Luka, so sneaking backstage was a cakewalk for her. Sneaking past Gru was also something she wasn't foreign to. Evelyn was curious about what exactly this whole show was about, she wouldn't doubt if it was an actual normal concert since the Gru are unusually chill but never hurts to be sure! Who knows with the Gru's advanced tech they could turn it into some mind control thing you would always see in tv shows or some wild stuff like that.

The vanities drew her in first while she snooped around, it helped that the Gru and guy around there seemed relatively harmless. It helped that he looked like a humanized version of cotton candy. She overheard only a short bit of their conversation before butting in, didn't sound like things were going too hot for the pink dude and his friend.

"Everything going ok here?" She beamed at both Mr. Cotton Candy and who she assumed was his friend or something along those lines, her gaze went over to the melted mess of what she assumed used to be make-up on the table. "I'm...assuming if this used to be make-up that you forgot the primer and powder? I can see where the powder went through." Evelyn smirked while eyeing him.

Turning her attention to the products scattered on the vanities she looked over them, attempting to find makeup wipes for him and maybe some not so used powder for his melty friend.

[ Quingee | cosmicguts ]

[cosmicguts]

INSERT KILL BILL SIRENS HERE.

At the sudden new voice, Florence had stopped halfway drawing the first eye, looking over at the woman. Oh.

Oh no.

He quickly reached over and placed his hand against her mouth as he tried to muffle her last words, pressing his spare finger against his lips.
God, he really hopes the alien didn't hear that.

He quickly looks around him, grabbing his phone. Careful not to stop the recording, he quickly types up a message and shoves his phone in her face.

'Dont say anything. i'm trying to be an alien. play along here and i'll buy you lunch or something.'

Florence dang hopes she's a fan of food, I mean, who isn't though?

[real quick reply to tin :3c]