"Can't say I'd be against spending more time here in more pleasant circumstances."  Failpost is go, off to make more failposts!

Months pass and the group is able to secure several jobs. Their success rate skyrockets and they wind up with enough pay to last them a while (well... that 2,500 creds would have last a while on its own too, but still).

Month 4 is just starting when Nivi gathers the group and says, "We have become known pretty well around here. We've been offered a job just... posing for cameras."

Juros says, "Well you guys certainly are photogenic."

Kevin found time to go on a shopping spree and treated himself to a pair of mirror sunglasses and a colorful shirt with a palm tree print.  He liked them so much he got a matching set for each of his friends - in the appropriate size of course.

Kevin does his best celebrity impersonation, peeking over the top of his sunglasses, pointing at Juros pistol style, and clicking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth before saying, "Like, right back atchya, dude!  Hah.  We should like, do lunch some time!  Hahahahahah!"

  "Did they specify just what kind of photo shoot it was, Nivi?"  Could be for a kitten calendar, for all they know.

Juros smiles brightly at Kevin. "Thanks!" he hops up and down on all fours. "And yeah! Totally should. Also; thanks for the shirt and sunglasses!"

Nivi nods. "Yes, Kevin. Thank you." she has a bright smile and copies Kevin's "peek over glasses" pose.

Juros paws at his nose to try adjusting his sunglasses, but mostly leaves them be.

Not a single kitten in the group, so kitten calendar would need a new agent.

Nivi shrugs. "There's different kinds?"

Juros seems just as lost as Nivi on that one and looks expectantly at Hakkof.

"Like, totally!" Kevin answers, "There's like, three main kinds.  Hah.  News, endorsement, and glamor.  Hahah.  The last two are the ones you like, get paid for.  Hah."

He takes a mock serious posture and tone.  "'While it is easy to get like, overly nervous at a photo shoot, Hah, don't go the other extreme and like, treat it like a game.  Hahahah.  Do you really want your fans to see you like, picking your nose on the poster they ordered?'  Hahahahahah."

  Hakkof was more thinking of complaints from customers if he posed for a swimsuit calender.  Ugh, spacetober.  Why couldn't it Spacember again?  With the goat?

Juros says, "Well... three of us are guys. Only one is a girl. So chances that they want glamour or relatively low. I'm pretty sure none of us have become dreamboat material yet. But I am surprised we have become photo material already..."

Nivi says, "Well whatever the photoshoot is for, it's easy money. But no, Hakkof. They didn't say what kind. I guess they expected me to know?"

Kevin laughs!  "Like, no way!  Glam isn't like, just for girls, dude!  Hahahahahah!  Dude.  Like, check it out.  News..."

He pulls up a picture of a famous space sports dude on his portable device and shows it to the others:  https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/s...1d6e5ddcda7dc93b62e9

"Like, endorsement...."

He pulls up another of the dude: https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/s...b6790ae4afad8d67b7f1

"And like, Glamor...."

He pulls up a final picture of the same dude:

https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/s...703349e82bc8cd139fb2

"That dude made like, millions off glamour!  Hahahah.  Since they didn't say what kind, it's probably like, a mag shoot.  Which is kindof like a hybrid.  Hahah.  They pay once instead of like, negotiating royalties.  Hah.  Unless they're like, trying to take advantage of Nivi being new to this.  Hahahah."

  "Royalties would assume people still care about what happened to us in the near future, but I do see your point."

Nivi giggles with a smile looking at the pictures. "...someone you look up to, Kevin?"

Juros says, "I don't see a problem with money being thrown at us for standing conveniently in front of someone's camera. As long as they don't want embarrassing pictures of me. You can't pay me enough to have pictures taken of me wearing a tutu, for example."

Nivi says, "So are we all in? I think there was a bonus mentioned if I was able to get us all to agree to it."

Kevin is smiling big, thinking about the kinds of wrestler poses Hakkof might wind up in his royalties-earning shots, nods, and aloha signs.

"Dude.  You'd like, make a killing!  Hahahahahah."

He nods to Nivi's first question.  "Like, totally!  He' like, the dude that put extreme sports on the map!  Hahahah."

Juros' comment makes him laugh.  "Dude.  You might be surprised how many like, can be paid enough!  Hahahahahah!"

To Nivi's second question he nods, and thumbs-ups.  "Like, totally!  Hah.  Here's hoping this isn't like, totally another trap!  Hahahahah!"

   He nods, "May as well then"  He looks over to Kevin  "It probably isn't a Trap, Kevin."  It will have an unrelated disaster befall them instead, that just happens to have been in the area.

When the bunch report to the guy in charge of the photo shoots, they find a human in a business suit. He explains that the first set of shots are going to be of them posing "reenactments of the arena fight".

10 credits to each of the crew just for this photo shoot session. Juros looks slightly uncomfortable at first, but soon gets into it as the photos tend to make the group look more heroic than they really were.

Also there at the photo shoot is some plain-looking woman who approaches the group with a proposal of still more photo shooting for a similar pay (10 creds per photo session), but for a couple calendars she is working on.

Kevin nods and laughs to Hakkof's statement.  "Yeah, like, totaly more likely some random danger completely unrelated to photos will like, totally pop up!  Hahahah."

At the photo shoot he comments.  "Like, Glamour.  Hahahahah."

When he hears the pay he laughs some more.  "Like, woah!  Hahahah.  Aren't these like, the kinds of photos dudes get royalties and junk for?  Hah.  You wouldn't take advantage of a nice Blissian being new to this, now would you?  Hahahahaha."

  "We would like some specifics first, either way.  The subject matter of today's photos was one they neglected to mention."

The photographers shrug. "Nobody knows yet if this stuff will sell. But if you want to take the risk, we can offer you bunch a royalties percentage instead. It will likely amount to 10 credits being payed to you over the course of a year rather than up front. Might even be more like 7 credits if you go royalty route, but there is no way to be sure."

They then look at Hakkof. "You'll have to be specific about what you want to know before we can give you specifics you would be satisfied with. It's a photo shoot. With an approximate 10-cred pay-off per shoot. We'll be having you sign papers that say "yes, we consented to these specific photo shoots" and then we pay you. What more do you want to know?"

Nivi shrugs. "Well... we know one shoot is reenactments of the arena fight. What's the other shoot?"

The lady photographer answers, "One calendar will be space-themed, showing you all in your exploring outfits in various situations like piloting your craft, or exploring the terrain of some planet. The other calendar I was going to work on was going to be a race-themed calendar that features scenery and culture references from your respective worlds."

Juros sits and watches, tilting his head curiously.

"Totally like, heard that before, hah.  Manager said, 'Until you get like, mondo famous, you won't be offered up-front dough on top of royalties.  Hah.  So like, always ask for royalties.  Even if you're like, hard up for moolah.  Hah.  'Cause you like, never know what'll get mondo popular overnight.'  Hahahahah."

To illustratek his point, he pulls up a viral video of a formerly obscure music group.

"Royalties option for me.  Hahah.  Even if I like, wind up with fewer creds.  These all look fun to do anyway!  Hahahah."

  "I see your point, Kevin.  Of course, that's far less likely without someone to say I told you so to when they made the wrong choice."  That said, he turns to the lady and says "I'll go with the straight payment, in this case."

  Oh the sacrifices Hakkof is making for you, Kevin.  Getting paid more now, so you (might) get paid more later.

Photos are shot. The space-themed one includes:

Jan: The four of them in space-suits, leaping over a rocky formation on some kind of moon-like location with the camera looking up at them.
Feb: The four of them in their ship's control room, hanging out and having a good time eating pizza. The pizza, of course, is a specific kind, which the photographers inform the group is sponsoring this specific calendar.
Mar: Nivi in a space suit, sitting at the navigation computer and looking at the viewer curiously in a kinda bunny pose.
Apr: Hakkof is lifting a small, trashed space craft in order to get to some sponsor-brand pizza that was underneath it.
Jun: Juros in space, tethered to the ship, apparently happy he is finding the sponsor-brand pizza floating there.
Jul: Kevin doing extreme space-boarding in order to deliver sponsor-brand pizza to a happy customer (some cat named Marlin).
Aug: The four of them on a rover, rolling along on an alien world.
Sep: Hakkof in space, running by using small asteroids as stepping stones (hahah)
Oct: Nivi in space, just kind of floating there in a half-curled pose and waving to the viewer.
Nov: Kevin and Juros racing each other in space. Juros is doggy-paddling while Kevin is "swimming".
Dec: A Christmasy celebration with the four of them sitting around a tree exchanging gifts.

The race-themed one includes:
Jan: Nivi guiding the other three through the Blissian capital.
Feb: Kevin showing the other three how to climb a mountain.
Mar: Juros teaching the other three how to use head-mounted weaponry. Kevin is playfully trying to lock horns with Hakkof.
Apr: Hakkof giving the other three combat lessons.
Jun: The four of them all eating at a table merrily. Each of them is eating food traditional / specific to their race, but symbolically, they are eating off each others' plates.
Jul: Nivi being taught by the other three about money.
Aug: Kevin happily offering poison ivy while chewing on some of his own and the others giving nervous smiles.
Sep: Juros being taught how to use an exo-suit that has arms with hands.
Oct: Hakkof ducking in order to enter a room the others easily entered. They all look at him welcomingly.
Nov: Hakkof holding the entire team in his arms because he can.
Dec: The four of them at a Christmas party of some kind that has all kinds of other people from other races. The four of them are clearly caroling together.

And of course, there was the arena fight pictures.

After the photo shoot, it is late and the group is able to retire to their ship (which is as good a "home" as any since space craft are designed to be such). Nivi yawns and stretches. "Good job, everyone."

Juros gives a wide doggy-yawn while doing the typical butt-in-air dog stretch before smiling and saying "You guys sure are photogenic..."

"Like, totally," Kevin agreed with Hakkof.

During the shoot, he's generous with his boasts about his friends.  "Dude!  You like, shoulda seen 'em in the real arena fight!  It was totally radical!  Hahah."   "Hah!  Juros got the skills!"  "Nivi - the cutest boss ever!  Hah!"  "Hakkof could totally handle something that heavy for realz, too.  Hah!"  and so on.

During this own shoots, he jokes around.  "Dude!  Like, space pizza is taking the idea of frozen pizza way too far!  Haha.
'Directions:  To begin thawing from absolute zero, slowly pour liquid nitrogen over pizza.  Hah.  Too quickly and pizza may like, totally shatter from sudden rise in temperature!  Hahahahahah!"

To the compliment he smiles and alohas.  "Thanks!  Hah.  And like, totally back atcha!'  Hah.  Dude.  I've totally got a craving for sponsor-brand pizza with poison ivy topping!  Hahahahahahah!"

  "Well, it helps the sponsor is actually decent pizza."  Even if the calendar might imply the delivery people are very accident prone and nowhere to be found.  The delivery guy may have been crushed to death under the ship, but at least the Pizza is okay!

Nivi gives a tired smile to the group and then says, "I had fun. I hope you all did too. I'm turning in for the night. Good night, guys."

After Nivi heads off, Juros looks at the other guys and says, "So I was thinking... as much as I like our little group being just us four, what do you guys think about the idea of recruiting a bit to help our chances in the future?"

Kevin smiles when Hakkof compliments the pizza he likes and gives an aloha sighn.

To Nivi he nods.  "Like, totally fun!  Hah.  And we didn't like, get kidnapped either!   Hahahahah.  So like, sleep tight and stuff!  Hahahah."

To Juros' question he thinks for a bit.  "Dude I dunno.  Hah.  Like, we've been doing ok lately.  Hah.  New dudes means more people in like, mortal danger when our good luck streak ends.  Hahah.  But like, safety in numbers and all.  Hah.  Hmm.  Dude.  I'm like, so glad I'm not the boss!  Hahahahah."

  Hakkof shrugs.  "We do seem to have finally had a good patch on our own.  Though I guess if more help would actually fit, it might work out."

OOC: My opinions on the matter are entirely based on letting Tim or Chris want to play more characters if they wanted to.