12508/Preparing for popstar bootcamp

Preparing for popstar bootcamp
Date of Scene:	30 November 2020
Location:	66 East 11th Street, Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	Andrea introduces Shannon to an opportunity and talks bootcamp
Cast of Characters:	Rage, Cannonball, Barghest, Nightingale

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Rage has posed:
Now that Andrea and Jay are back from Kentucky for a five day Thanksgiving trip, she had made a few calls to her friends to let them know that they're home. One in particular got a text message stating they had a surprise for her and to pop over if she wanted since she planned on being home all day and out of the spotlight. As usual, with any trip outside of New York, it becomes a 'thing' with the press and celebrity buzz news as pictures of her and Jay spread about online. Good thing for image inducers.

Currently dressed in a pair of black yoga pants and a baggy white t-shirt with a teddy bear on the front of it, she is looking comfortable and lazy sprawled out on the couch with her brother as she flips through the news. Her head rolls back and to the side, staring at him, then squints. "Glad you and Grace had some alone time. You show her around and impress her with all the cool stuff we have here?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has been out Christmas shopping, and offered to let Shannon come with him if she wanted to. After a bit of shopping and picking up gifts for family, family and a few odds and ends, Sam and Shannon find themselves riding up the elevator to Andrea's place.

Barghest has posed:
Remarkably, there was still food in the house when Andrea and Jay got home. That's not to say Nevada didn't eat all of it, he just had the decency to order groceries to replace them. So he can eat more, as he is now.

He's sprawled out on the other branch of the couch with his head angled towards her's and is chewing on a cold chicken tender as he remarks, "It's not like she hasn't seen a good bit before, but yah, we hung out and did some cool stuff around the city. How'd the trip go?"

Nightingale has posed:
     It was a rare chance Shannon got to spend much time with her adopted older brother these days, so when the chance to go out and do a little Christmas shopping came up, well, she was all over that! She's gone all-out in the spirit of the occasion, with a garish pair of red and white striped leggings, dark red boots, and a long, hunter green sweater with a raggedy-looking Christmas tree on the front of it.

     And the tree had lights.

     Oh yes. It was ugly sweater time!

     And did anyone mention those silly fabric antlers on a headband--with little sleigh bells on the tips? Oh yes, she's wearing those, too, and at that very moment, is attempting to plop a pair onto Sam's head as well! "We oughta do this kind of thing more often," she's saying, giggling. "It's good to just have a bit of fun."

Rage has posed:
"It went great. I brought home a ton of jams and moonshine for us to play around with." Andrea says with a grin to him. "And biscuits. His mother made a ton of them. But besides that, we didn't do much. I just went shopping. A lot. But we mostly stayed around the house playing with the kids. We only got swamped by a crowd once in Lexington when we hit up the big city."

At the sight of the camera feed displaying Sam and Shannon in the elevators, she reaches out and taps a button on her phone to unlock the doors, then hits the intercom.

"Hey guys. Come on in. Door is unlocked. Nev and I are just vibing on the couch."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will let Shannon put the antlers on him with a bit of a sigh. He leads her into the room with the others "Hey, there how you doing?" HE will lean over to hugs Andrea in greeting and nod to Nev.

Barghest has posed:
"Mmmmbiiiscuuiiiits." Nevada groans in that way one'd expect a dog to if they could speak. Sluggishly, he rolls onto his side and then upright with a few quiet grunts and grumbles as stiff bones protest the twisting motion. "Well, I'm glad you actually did some relaxing. Sounds like it was a good time. Doing the same for Christmas?"

As she goes to unlock the door, he looks towards it expectantly and grins to the familiar faces who walk through. "Heya Sam, Shannon. What's up? And hey, I still have one more day of November before we get rolling with that Christmas stuff."

Nightingale has posed:
     Giggling, Shannon just sticks her tongue out at Nevada. "I'd say 'bite me' but I'd rather that wasn't taken literally. Christmas is my thing and I'm rolling with it. Deal." Grinning from ear to ear, Andrea and Nevada both get hugged tightly in turn. "Missed seeing the clan up here this Thanksgiving but it's a lot for them all to travel en masse, I guess. Maybe next year?"

     Looking back to Andrea, she just chuckles, ruffling her wings and settling them in neatly behind her. "Not too much, just getting a little holiday shopping done. Mostly crafting materials for me, I'm making a lot of my presents this year, too. Studying, all that happy jazz. Looking to sit for my EMT exam next summer, so there's that to prep for, too, once my folks give the go-ahead. But what about you? What've you been up to?"

Rage has posed:
Returning the hugs, Andrea grins at them. "Jay didn't wanna do a huge thing for Thanksgiving. Just have dinner and hang out with the family. I wanted to have a big thing, but nooooo. So, it is what it is. At least Christmas I get to call the shots this year." She says with a giggle, blowing some hair away from her eyes.

"I haven't been up to anything. Just school. Glad for the holiday break. Homework is killing me. Management is killing me. Everyone is already asking about a fourth album and I'm over here just wanting to watch Netflix and snuggle up with my dude."

"But, anyways, Dazzler is now recording some songs with Jay's old bandmates, the Blue Pirates. So that is exciting. Speaking of music, I got something for you, Shannon. You keep subtly naaaaagging to me about wanting to do some real music and my producers gave me a song and I like it, but it's not for 'me'. But, I told them I have a friend who did backup vocals with me and this is a song I think would work for your voice."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and says "They played together for home coming." He offers about the band. Once Andrea starts talking about something for Shannon he just lets them talk not wanting to interupt.

Barghest has posed:
Nevada returns the hug once he hauls himself up out of the couch proper. "Well that's a busy schedule. Nothing going on here, just helped Megan with something a bit back but that was the extend of my excitement lately. Drinks, anyone? Snacks?" He asks while headed for the kitchen.

"What about you, Sam? Anything exciting in your world?" He asks of the eldest Guthrie while he begins digging in the fridge for likely snack candidates.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Actually, I think the only thing I really said anything about was having trouble getting my ideas out into finished form," Shannon replies. However, her eyebrows flick briefly upwards. "At least you have a dude to snuggle up with. I might have to smack one upside the head to get the idea across. Keep getting friendzoned. And really, why can't they just let you recharge your batteries once in a while? You won't do anyone any good if you don't get that chance."

     A new song? This could be intriguing. "Huh. Maybe that'd jump-start some ideas. What's the song about?"

     With a glance and a smile of gratitude over to Nevada, she calls out, "If it involves chocolate, so much the better. Even better if it's peppermint and chocolate." Because, you know. Christmas. It's a thing.

Rage has posed:
"They won't let me recharge because I make them money. Which I guess is a good thing because I make money. They're also doing a lot for my charity so I can't complain 'too' much. It's just an exciting time." Andrea says with an amused grin. "There is nothing wrong in being friendzoned also. Jay zoned the shit out of me for almost a year until he finally worked through his stuff so that he could get into a relationship again. You're gonna be a Senior next year, right? You'll just have to strut around campus like I did and soak up all the attention. All the boys will come runnin'."

Rolling to her feet, she gives her bare toes a wiggle, then steps into a pair of barking wolf slippers as she heads over to her entertainment center. She pulls up a screen and taps in a password to unlock her 'beta' songs. As she uses her finger to scroll along the large LCD screen in front of her, she says, "Don't mind the vocals on this. It's sang by the song writer with a basic guitar. So, it's rough. It's a little bit pop, a little bit country. A real girl power song about getting past a jerk who stole a kiss from her and led her on."

As she taps on a track called Miss Me More, she toggles the volume up a bit to play.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "Not a lot different, working with the club, spending time with Alexis. You been up to anything?" He will ask Nevada, letting the girls talk music "Did Jay and Andrea bring ya back any deer jerky? If not need to get him to have some sent up for ya.""

Barghest has posed:
Nevada pulls out a block of cheddar, some pepperoni, and some of said jerky - who's bag he wiggles in indication - and then digs in the cabinets for the necessary crackers and a tub of hot chocolate mix. Then he gets to putting a pan of milk out on the stove to start warming up, because only savages make hot chocolate with water. As he plates the snacks, he says over his shoulder, "I like the beat of that song, it's catchy."

"And eh, nothing special for me. A few little projects but that's it. My life's pretty boring, er.. my job aside, that is."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon closed her eyes, listening to the song, drinking in the beat. Even with just a simple guitar part, she could feel the power behind it, the beat enough to have her bobbing her head to and fro, making the bells on her antlers jingle in time to the song. By the time the second chorus comes around, she's doing a little twirling dance step, and belting out the lyrics.

"But I miss me more
I miss my own beat, to my own snare drum
I miss me more
Miss my own sheets in the bed I made up
I forgot I had dreams, I forgot I had wings
Forgot who I was before I ever kissed you
Yeah, I thought I'd miss you
But I miss me more...."

Rage has posed:
"Woah-oh-oh! Woah-oh-oh!
I miss me more!"

Andrea croons out with her on a few verses from her spot on the couch that she sprawls out next to Nevada again, reaching over to snag a slice of cheese and rolls it up before taking a bite. She taps her foot along the ground as she listens, giving a glance to her brother with a smirk upon her face. "Toldja she'd sound good. I want it to have one of those slow burns where it starts off slow, then put some growl in the voice as it hits the chorus, then let the song take off from there, like a semi truck. Vroom. This song has potential to be a real banger at least on the country charts."

She gives a glance over to Sam and lifts her brows. "What do you think? You're the country expert."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles and says "Stereo type much?" HE teases Andrea, and then says "Sounds pretty good to me, they looking to actually have Shannon record it and put it out on a sampler or something?"

Barghest has posed:
Nevada sets the plate of snacks out on the island while he turns back to start mixing chocolate powder into the pan of hot milk.

"At least a genre crossover style has the chance to hit more stations and charts, right? Get more ears on it."

Then he's collecting up mugs and filling them before adding some marshmallows and setting them out on the counter for grabbing. "There, snacks up. Ain't gourmet, but totally edible."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Daaaaaaaaamn. This song's got some serious potential. You sure you don't want to record it?" Shannon can't quite resist loosening up her stance, bouncing about on the balls of her feet a bit, letting off with a right-left-uppercut combo while belting out, "I miss me more!"

     It seems the song hits closer to home than she'll let on. There is a definite fire blazing in her pale blue eyes, and an almost feral grin as the song finishes. "You pick the good ones. So... what about the deets, what do we have to do to get this ball rolling?" The snacks are attacked with gusto, several crackers, pieces of cheese, and a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows falling prey to her hunger.

Rage has posed:
"Yeah, I don't want the song. I've already did my first album talking about breaking up, then my second album about getting over it, and Neon Dreams was more of 'my' music where I got to sing about everything I'm doing now. I think it's a great song and the song writer on it is really special. I love her work and I've done a few songs of hers before in the past and co-wrote with her. My management wants to give this song to another girl on our label, but I told them to give me a week to convince you since they remembered you from that song you worked on with me."

Andrea reaches over for a cracker from Nevada's bag and takes a crunch off it. "But, long as you want to do it, I'll have my lawyer talk to you. I'll have him work with my agent and sign you to an exclusive single for the label. You wouldn't be 'signed' to Sony or anything, but I'd have you logged as a Starlight artist. That way I have more control of you and you're not bound by red tape of Sony which can get nasty and tricky. I just want you to have fun with the song and creative control. Less chance of you wearing a bikini or something and singing this by a poolside or whatever stupid gimmick some bald guy comes up with. When it comes to mutant artists, I'm not going to let them touch you like they did me. I love everyone at Sony, but sometimes they try and force trends that aren't there yet."

"And I don't want mutants to be a trend. I want you to be yourself. Shannon Lance. Singer. Not Shannon Lance. Mutant gimmick. So, once the contract is written up and you approve of it, which you will, because my lawyer will not fuck you, we will get things moving. Also, you gotta go through popstar bootcamp. You'll hate it. You'll throw up. You'll also really learn to hate Michelle, who is my choroegrapher, but it prepares you for the music video, learning the stage and moving about it, eye contact with the camera while moving and keeping on beat. It's about two weeks long, forty plus hours. You're gonna see a lot of up and comers too. It's competitive, but not a competition if you know what I mean."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will get a bit of the jerky himself, and looks over to the girls "I am sure Alexis can start getting her in shape for the dance stuff. I know Stevie used to put us through our paces." He comments on the dance part. He does add "Least you have a trustworthy contact with Andrea." He tells Shannon and munches a bit of said jerky.

Barghest has posed:
"Fourty plus, plus school? That's a hell of a schedule." Nevada chuckles around a piece of jerky crammed together with a cracker and cheese. "Least winter break is soon, right? I think. I was home schooled, but, seems like most schools usually break around Christmas and New Years."

He collects up a handful of additional snacks and a mug and returns to the couch to put his sore bones back on something soft. There he settles in, listening to the chatter while munching on food.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Andrea, the one thing I've found in my time at school so far, is that the only real competition is against yourself. The rest is all bullshit in the end. Still," Shannon muses, taking a long sip of her hot cocoa--and winding up with a marshmallow 'stache for her trouble. "...sounds like it could work. I'd rather go with Starlight anyways, just on the tales you've told of your time in the industry. At least I know you wouldn't screw me over."

     Her grin widens, and she just laughs, shaking her head. "I did a little bit of community theater back in Connecticut, and I learned to respect the Rockettes. You have no idea how hard they train till you work with a former member as a choreographer. This Michelle can't be any worse than that... can she?"

Rage has posed:
"I was serious about the throwing up, I didn't get to the crying yet." Andrea says with a grin. "This is like .. real life you know? This isn't school popularity contests. You are going to be seeing a ton of girls who are /starving/ to get into the industry and they don't have an Andrea Jackson to hook them up. These are girls who have clawed their way out from the streets, from YouTube, from Snapchat, from singing on the Subway. You're also walking in there with wings, so you're gonna have an immediate impact and spotlight on you. Also, being bee-eff-effs with me? Don't be surprised if it gets intense. It'll be professional of course, but intense. These girls are gonna purposely try and out hustle you on the dance floor and vie for attention. You're just there to get sick popstar abs, endurance and understand the mechanics of a stage. Just focus on you and Michelle. But seriously, she is gonna make you throw up."

There's an amused grin on Andrea's face as she takes another cracker out of the bag. "I hated popstar bootcamps. I did it five times. But damn, it prepares you for the tours, the stage, the spotlights, the audience. Oh man, there is this one course where they just crank up audience noise as loud as they can and then force you to do five songs in a row and if you miss a single step or pop and lock, Michelle will scream until his lungs hurt."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie 's brow raises a bit and says "So it is more to get into shape than just learning things, was going to ask why ya went through it more than once." He chews his jerky a bit and says "Least both of you are used to some serious workouts.

Barghest has posed:
"Yeah, working out till I throw up and pass out? No thanks. I'd rather do it drinking." Remarks Nevada from the couch as he sips hot chocolate. "At least I can eat away that hangover with a platter of bacon and eggs and no one is there screaming at me about it." And this is why he isn't a performer. "But there's gonna be assholes in any line of work. You just adapt and keep on going."

Nightingale has posed:
     "I really do hope some of those singers get their chance, too. They've worked their asses off, they deserve it. As for being friends with you making things intense? I'm getting the vibe that Michelle is pretty much going to be a 'Don't think this means you can slack off' sort of person, right?" Shannon lets out a short, quick huff of laughter, and has another swig of her cocoa. "Good. So we'll get this ball rolling, and see where it goes."

Rage has posed:
"Oh, yeah. Anyone in this bootcamp already has a contract and is with a label. Some will make it big, some will barely get by, some will flop. It's how the industry is." Andrea says as she bobs her head, popping in another cracker into her mouth for a crunch. "Any of those girls can be chart toppers. Luck plays a lot into it. You coming in as a mutant singer though will piss people off. It's gonna make you work harder, to prove that you belong and you deserve to be there and not just cuz you're getting a mutie hookup by yours truly. But, I wouldn't be giving you this chance if I didn't believe in you, or believe that you can do this. If you can do the Danger Room, you can handle Michelle. He has been with me for four years. He has made me cry more times than anything else in the world, but that's because he loves me and he wants to see me succeed. He's going to push you as hard as Mister Summers. But you'll also hit /every single step/ that you need to hit when the lights and cameras are on you, and the crowd is roaring, and all the crazy that comes with being on stage. He will turn you into a professional popstar."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods a bit listening to this and looks to Nevada. "We got taught ballet and some other dances from a professional dancer, she used to really give my buddy Berto hell, as he would slack off

Barghest has posed:
"Oh yah?" Nevada says as he looks over to Samuel while chewing on the end of a piece of jerky. "I hear dance is good for things other than the obvious. I know a lot of NFL players take it up. I get the idea, but it's never really agreed with me for obvious reasons. Lazy yoga is more my speed of things, and at least that I can YouTube and fit it in when I'm feeling up to it."

Nightingale has posed:
     Glancing over at Nevada, Shannon nods, giving a little flick of her wings. "You heard right. I started picking up staff fighting from Mr. LeBeau last year, but Triage and Sam both suggested dance might help with that, too. So I've been in Alexis' ballet class ever since. Don't get me wrong, she's as sweet as they come, but when it's time to get to work, she's very no-nonsense."

     A light laugh escapes her, and she looks back over at Andrea, her eyes twinkling for a moment. "Great. So we pretty much have a Mickey here. 'Get up, you sonofabitch, 'cause Mickey loves ya!'. That about size it up?"

Rage has posed:
"More like .." Andrea clears her throat loudly.

"Hey Andrea! Just because your last name is Jackson, doesn't mean you can dance like Janet! You miss that step one more fucking time and I will personally break that ankle of yours with my own bare hands! Get your ass off the ground, don't you even think of looking at your water bottle and you hit that fucking step! You hit it so hard that you make my eyes pop up or so help me Jesus you will be here all night! I GOT ALL DAY GIRL! ALL DAY! I already watched Oprah this morning so I am /set/!"

There is a quick snap of her fingers and a headbob, giving a stanky 'bitch' face towards Shannon with a flutter of her eyes before she breaks out into a grin.

"And I'm serious, he will snap my ankle. I ain't miss a second step yet though, but he got strong hands and long fingers. I'm sure he'd snap Logan's foot and that dude got metal all up in him. I ain't about to test him. But he is really good at his job. When you work on an actual music video, or when you go on stage with a team, it just mentally prepares you for what to expect."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie chuckles a bit and just shakes his head a bit to this. "I find I am more and more happy all my dancing was more exercise than anything else. It took me a bit before I was comfortable dancing in public.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ha. Yeah, I've got a funny feeling we might actually get along. He'd be hard on me, but I can be even harder on myself. We'll do fine." Running her fingers through her hair, she flops down on the sofa with the remains of her hot cocoa, letting out a long sigh. "Music video, on stage with a team, out in the field with a team, it doesn't matter. Same idea."

     Glancing over at Sam, she cracks a smile, raising her mug towards him. "Hey now. You'd better not be putting down your own skills as a dancer, big bro. I remember when you and Alexis were convincing me to sign up for her class, you did pretty damn good."