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Post by kwanramen1313 on Aug 1, 2016 6:58:06 GMT
Coolmeyer's Legitimate Bar:
"Oooh? We're all done here?"
Akira gave a knowing wink to Aya.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you too~"
She turned to Rin.
"Let's go then~"
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Post by melcaroni on Aug 2, 2016 13:34:32 GMT
Coolmeyer's Bar:
Lady Blackrose looked at the tip with a bemused smirk-- Had Aya known how much she made usually, she might have not bothered. But who really cares. Perhaps one day, Blackrose would remember this when someone came in to ask for a hit. And then Blackrose would go "nah, she tipped me three dollars that one time." This is very strategic finance management. "Thank you, come again!" The woman called as the three girls left. The Cool Girl now sat at the bar, drinking her cold hot chocolate in silence. "Well, they seemed pleasant." Lady Blackrose said, wiping down the cups, "Did you get their contact information for later?" "Nah. I'll get that from Dad if I need it." CG said, downing the last of her drink. "By the way, Auntie... When was that concert again?" "About twenty minutes ago, now." "Hm." CG said, wiping the milk from her mouth coolly. "Alright, then I think the place has probably cooled down by now. I can't perform on a stage that isn't sufficiently cool, after all. Fire up the Coolmobile, Auntie-- I've got a stage to go to." "Dear, you do realize that your father's van is in the shop?" "...Oh, was it?" "Yes, been there for a few days." CG's eyebrows slanted just enough to convey irritation, but not enough to betray any actual emotion. "Tch... That old man didn't tell me." "Well, he did say he was keeping his hands out of your career," Blackrose replied, stacking the bottles back into the minifridge. "But this is what being an idol is all about-- Running into obstacles, looking for a solution, and then terminating said obstacles with a shotgun and dumping the bodies in the bay." "Hmph." CG said, getting up. "Alright then, fine. Since when does the Cool Girl need a ride from her Dad anyways? Don't wait up, Auntie." With that, the Cool Girl threw on her coat (wait wasn't she already wearing it? Maybe she took it off just to put it back on.) and headed to the door. With a swift kick, the door opened and the cool twilight air came pouring in, as CG stepped onto the mean streets of the city. The Cool Girl then ran off into the night, headed for the Shibooyeah Subway Station.GRAND LAND - Open Air Stage:
The first thing Melody could hear as she left the dressing room were the angry chants of "LOW QUALITY, LOW QUALITY", "WHERE M3LO-D", and a few disparate cries of "MAYBE WE SHOULD GIVE THEM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT DUE TO THE LOW AMOUNT OF INFORMATION WE ARE OPERATING ON". But those were quickly drowned out. If Melody had no idea what to do before, then she was in debt to the brain-bank now. The Cool Girl hadn't shown, and the crowd had already started flocking to Chirpy to voice their discontent at this "low quality rip-off". The Executives were starting to panic, and nobody could seem to find out where the shades-wearing twin-tailed girl of the hour had gone. With the concert running late, they'd decided to go to something called " Plan T", and rushed Melody to the stage. The show had to go on. So there she stood, clad in her idol outfit and microphone. She was almost used to it now. This one was a bit more revealing than usual, though extra care had been taken to make sure the one part of her body was very heavily concealed-- This time around, they'd given her a huge, deluxe-size fan with which to hide her buck teeth. It was already wearing out her arms. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" A voice boomed from over the speakers. "Thank you for your patience! We apologize for the inconvenience, but now, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for! These two new rising stars are here to sing their way into your hearts, and bring happiness with their songs! Please, put your hands together for tonight's stars!"That was her cue. Melody took a breath, raised her fan, and stepped onto the stage. The lights flared, the crowd cheered, and her music kicked in as she ran onto the stage, striking the "cutest" pose she could without breaking her spine. "Here she is, the idol from the deep-- With the voice of a siren and the refreshing breath of the sea; It's your very own, M3LO-D!!"This dramatic intro solicited a whopping two cheers, before Melody adjusted her stance to show some more thigh, earning a rousing applause from that. "And with her tonight, debuting on the big stage, is a new fresh face-- So cool that the polar ice caps need to put on a sweater! Outer space wishes it were as empty and soulless-- Give it up for... THE COOL GIRL!!"
Melody's eyes flickered to the stage next to her, where a spotlight flared up and a spray of icy cold mist rushed out from the stage-- She had no idea what was about to happen next, but whatever it was, she would just have to go with it. She could do this-- She'd been an idol for a while now, and she wasn't going to let this get in her way. Just do it like any other time. You can do it, Melody. You're no lazy idol. This is the last concert of the day. When this is done, we're gonna crack open some soda and sleep till the break of dawn. Just one more push. That's right... She could do it. She knew that whatever it took, she could get through it. She was ready. What ran out onto the stage beside Melody was, decidedly, not the Cool Girl. "YO YO YO MINNA-SAN!" Cried a middle-aged Tips pulling off his best teen voice as he rushed onto the stage, clad in a loose-fitting dress, quickly thrown on wig, and discount-store sunglasses. "ITS ME, THE COOL GIRL!" Melody screamed.
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Post by inspectoralnoodle on Aug 6, 2016 14:32:22 GMT
Murphy's Office
"Awww, is Mama-chan too tipsy to remember wittle ol' me? Ahuhu~" Mei giggled, getting off the window ledge by cartwheeling to the office floor. She playfully walked over to Murphy and swept the bottle of alcohol from the desk. She eyed the label as she continued her little talk with the drunken man.
"You ARE right, however, idols have never seen this kind of huge bang until recently. Seeing all the young girls - and some men," she stopped for a moment as the mental image of boy idols flashed in her mind. "...young girls and boys all joining in on the fun, waiting to become the next big idol and take all the Fame... only for their dreams to be crushed! It really is sad, Mama-chan..."
Meiryo takes a drink out of the bottle, feeling the strong bitter taste of the liquor flow down her throat and sit warmly in her stomach. She let out a satisfied "Aaaah~" before placing the now more empty bottle back on the desk. She wipes her mouth with the sleeve of her coat and sits on top of the table.
"buuuut I'm still an idol myself, and I've got vewy speshul people I've gotta protect!" she says, already seemingly drunk from the amount she drank. "Now as for my name..."
She blinked once, a short moment of silence setting.
"Gee, why dont'cha look it up Mama-chan. Meilody Osashima. I think. Ahuhu~"
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Post by DreadLasagnaArchduke on Aug 11, 2016 4:58:10 GMT
Outside the Apartments
Ace drummed her fingers on the top of her cane for a moment. "...We shall take this into consideration, foolish one. You may go now." she said, taking the expired debit card, the receipts, and the gum. "If we cross paths in the future, I may not be so generous, but for now, this shall be sufficient. Rest assured we shall continue to watch. Farewell, mortal." she posed dramatically once more, then tapped her cane loudly on the ground, the army of rats scurrying back toward her. "Now then, children, come along. There is much more work to be done." she strolled away calmly in the opposite direction, disappearing into the night as mysteriously as she had appeared.
Once she had walked a bit away and was out of earshot, she stopped. "Not a bad haul for tonight! Potato chips, change, spaghetti in a can, receipts, even a few sticks of gum! We're practically billionaires! And they told me I couldn't act! MWEHEHEHEHEHEHE! If only they could see me now! Anyway, it's getting late, we should probably head back to the lair. Onwards!" she speedwalked down the dark streets back to her hideout, the swarm of rats following intently.
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Post by The Agnolotti Raichu on Aug 11, 2016 8:13:18 GMT
Outside the Apartments:
"Some demon." Gwen mused as soon as she was absolutely positive Ace was out of earshot. She merely shrugged her shoulders, and kept going. It was great to have an excuse to get rid of some of that trash. But of course, it was past midnight at this point. She needed her sleep! Shivering, she continued to her first-floor apartment.
She just hoped the two girls that lived upstairs wouldn't make such a racket tonight...
Dogyo Streets:
Aya nonchalantly pressed forward through the night, holding her hair so that the freezing winds wouldn't whip it around in all directions. It was convenient that Aya's house wasn't too far away from either Coolmeyer's or Gwendalyn's office. (At least, it probably wasn't too far away...) Aya checked the time on her phone. 9:43 PM. There was still plenty of time for her to make it home, even if it was a distance away.
47 minutes and 12 seconds later, Aya had arrived at her doorstep. The lights were still on. Good. Someone was still awake. She opened the door, removed her stilettos, and shook the doorknob, creating a small racket and letting whoever was awake know she was home. Soon enough, a wiry woman with her bleach-blonde hair done in two buns came down the stairs to greet her.
"Oh, Aya darling, you finally make it home!"
"Hello, Mother." Aya gave her mother a small smile and a quick hug.
"We were starting to get worried about you. I'm glad you're okay. How was your day? I haven't seen you hardly at all!"
"It was good. I made four new friends today."
"Well, that's fantastic! Did any of them know about those music things you do?"
"Yes. Two of them. One of them challenged me to some sort of music contest."
"And how did that go?"
"I won."
"Great job, dear! Oh, that reminds me of something. You won't be recording tonight, will you?" As soon as Aya's mother posed the question, Aya checked the time again.
"Not tonight."
"It is getting late, isn't it? Your father has already gone to sleep. I think you should too."
"Okay." Aya got ready for bed and headed upstairs to her room, where she plugged in her phone. Checking Chirpy and IdolTube wouldn't take too long, right? No new Chirpy messages. That was fine. Although she found the number of subscribers to her IdolTube channel had gone up significantly. Over the course of today, she picked up three hundred eighty new followers. Perhaps performing live wasn't such a bad idea after all!
Aya shut down her phone, and promptly fell asleep, unconcerned with any of the new people she met today.
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Post by hessehl a la marinara on Sept 16, 2016 4:01:35 GMT
Ramen Shack:
*thump*
Gretta passes out on her bowl of noodles, "Auch!" She is awakened by the hot, salty and beefy Ramen, you can see how her face seems to be dissolving. "Oh no, my makeup!"
She runs as fast as the speed of light to the bathroom. 10 minutes pass, 20, 30 and at least she gets out the bathroom. The alcohol seems to have disappeared from the petite girl. "Zoie, I'm so sorry for you seeing that." She sits down again and asks for the bill, Ramon looks a bit sad that RBL idols were already going. " Wasn't the ramen great?! I loved the fact that Ramon put extra chunks of meat." It was obvious that Gretta wanted to change the topic of the conversation.
I can't let Zoie having a bad image of me, at the end of the day I am now basically her mother...her mother.
"My mother! Zoie tomorrow I need you to present you to my parents, I have this tradition to seeing them once a month. So after doing Idol things will go meet my parents." You could hear the melancholic tone in Gretta's voice. "Would you like to know something about them before meeting them? Go ahead and ask, you know Ramon always takes a lot of time to bring the bill, in hopes we order a drink or something, so let's have a nice mentor-protege chat."
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Post by The Agnolotti Raichu on Oct 2, 2016 10:00:37 GMT
January 6 - The Ramen Shack:
Thump.
It took all of what little self-control Zoie had not to laugh as hard as she could at Gretta's howl of agony. While she ran off to the bathroom, presumably to redo her makeup, Zoie kept on downing her ramen and Plebsi. Unfortunately, Zoie had never gotten the hang of how to use chopsticks, so she had to use her fingers like the imbecile she was. Although... Gretta was taking a while in there... maybe she had to throw up, too. Zoie sniggered.
When Gretta reappeared, she looked good as new, and more importantly, sober.
"Oh, jeez, you really did puke, didn't you?" Zoie's pupils narrowed, but Gretta changed the subject before the question could be answered. Gretta was talking about her mother. Zoie opened the floodgate of sass that she called her mouth, but knew from the tone of her voice to shut up this time. Zoie let her gaze drift, but quickly snapped back to Gretta when she realized she was being asked a question.
"Huh? Oh, sure. Go ahead with your thing." Zoie had her fingers clasped against her sternum, her eyes opened wide, her lashes batting rapidly, and a dopey smile plastered all over her face. Even when she was being respectful, Zoie came off as rude, sarcastic, and abrasive.
January 8 - Aya's House:
Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-
Aya turned off her 7:30 alarm and stretched, her arms greeting the nearly-empty bedroom she resided in. This was fine. Aya wasn't one for decoration, as long as the room was functional. She got up, showered, and did her hair before checking the time again. 9:12, like always. Good. Today should be a good day. As soon as she finished dressing, she descended her staircase to the dining room. Looking around Aya's house, one could get the feeling she joined the music industry because she thought it sounded like fun. It was notable that, while it wasn't quite a mansion, it was located in one of the wealthier portions of Dogyo. Aya's parents were already almost finished with breakfast by the time Aya showed up.
"Oh, darling! Right on time, as always!" Mrs. Radiata called out. There was a playful tone in her voice that Aya didn't really pick up on. "Well, come on now, don't just stand there..."
"Okay." Aya sat down at the mahogany table and looked at the food in front of her: three pancakes and a sliced apple. The pancakes were still warm, too. Today really was going to be a good day.
"Need anything to drink, honey? Lemonade? Orange juice?" Mrs. Radiata got up from her seat, while Aya mulled it over. She remembered back to her fight against CG.
"Peppermint tea, if we have it. If not, lemonade is fine." Mrs. Radiata was already at the fridge when Aya responded, eyebrows raised in shock.
"Really... Well, that's certainly different. It would depend on how much your father is willing to share with you. You know how he is." She fired a teasing glance toward her husband, a perpetually well-dressed man with black hair and stubble, along with purple eyes that were difficult to read behind his glasses. He returned his wife's glare with a smirk of his own.
"C'mon, Marie. You of all people should know I'm not that much of a penny-pincher! To think I'd refuse my daughter something that simple would be Terrible..." Mr. Radiata's smirk grew bigger.
"Oh, Oliver, don't you dare..."
"...With a capital tea." Marie groaned at her husband's awful pun. In their eighteen years of marriage, that was one part that never got any easier for her. She admired her husband for his quick wit; she only wished he didn't squander it on those awful puns of his. Aya, however, never failed to lap that kind of thing up. This time was no exception, as she was nearly doubled over from laughing so hard. Marie sighed.
"I don't get you two sometimes..." Marie shook her head dismissively while she threw a few teabags into a kettle. After adding the water and heating up the stove, she turned back to Aya. "It'll be about six minutes, darling. Did you ever tell your father about a couple of days ago?"
"A couple days ago? I don't think so. Go ahead, Aya. Maybe now I'll finally get an explanation for how your little shopping trip lasted more than twelve hours!" Aya's father gave a soft chuckle and glared intently at his daughter. Aya, in turn, started searching for the right words.
"...I started performing. Live, I mean." Aya and her father held gazes at each other. The silence in the air was almost tangible, as the man tried to wrap his head around what his daughter was saying.
"So... you were serious about that whole music thing, huh...?" Oliver's voice dropped a bit, and took on a more serious tone. "You really think you're big enough to start going out?"
"Yes. I've even already performed against someone... and won."
"Really, now...?" Oliver kept up his glare, seemingly not satisfied yet.
"Yes. I've also met someone who's far more experienced than I am. She's nice. I plan on meeting her again today."
"Hm. You always were confident... You know what I say?" The man's smirk returned as he put his hand on Aya's shoulder. "I say go for it, champ! If music's what you really want to do, chase that rabbit until the sun goes down! Although... try to have a backup plan in mind, in case you find out you weren't as prepared as you thought. Make sense?"
"Yes."
"That's what I like to hear..." The sound of the kettle whistling started piercing the room. "Heh. Order up. Might want to hurry. You're burning daylight, kiddo. When you hit the big time, you can't take those days off like yesterday." Aya nodded, excusing herself to pour herself some. "Hey, can you please get me a cup, too?"
Aya nodded again before staring intently at her mother. Marie seemed a bit lost in thought for a few moments before finally saying: "Oh, go ahead, sweetie. Make it three." Aya briskly walked over to her cupboard and pulled out three teacups. However, she only poured tea into two of them. She set the two full ones at the seats of her mother and herself, while she gave the empty cup to her father. Oliver stared at the empty cup, confused for a moment before turning to Aya.
"Hey, champ. Doesn't it seem like something's missing here?" Oliver smirked while Aya looked at the cup again and shook her head.
"No. It is exactly as you requested." Silence hung in the air for a few moments before Marie had to hold back laughter. Finally, Oliver had caught on.
"Oh, so the girl thinks she's funny!" But it was too late. All three of them were sharing a hearty laugh now. "Aya, eat up and get out of here, you rascal." Mr. Radiata had gotten up to fix his own cup of tea, while Aya ate her breakfast. About fifteen minutes later, Aya was getting ready to go out into the new day.
January 8 - Gwendalyn's Apartment:
Gwendalyn stretched as she woke up. It was another January morning, meaning it was cold and she'd have to take more coffee than usual. She didn't seem to care that it would do horrible things to her teeth, as long as it got her through the morning. After her morning shower (she still wasn't sure if she had gotten all of the trash juice out of her hair) and coffee, she decided to check her phone. She didn't have too much to do before she was supposed to go into the office...
...Right?
Checking IdolTube, Gwen seemed to be getting about the same number of hits as usual. So far, so good. Nothing really worthwhile in the comments either, other than the generic "UV BRITE IS TEH BEST EVAR1<3" comments and such. But in the recommendations...
"Oh, really, IdolTube? Stop giving me new groups to listen to, now I'm curious..." It seemed like the group that the IdolTube algorithms wanted Gwen to hear so badly was called Legal Aidoru. Gwen... didn't know what to say about them. They seemed kinda vanilla, although most groups sound the same on camera, anyways. She'd have to keep them in the back of her mind.
Moving on to Chirpy... yup. #nicehat was still trending. Gwendalyn was curious as to where that even came from... A few fascinated taps of her screen, led her to a certain article: "Nice Hat/Nasty Idol." It seemed the article detailed a couple of performances given at the local school by a group apparently called ACD48, whatever that was supposed to mean. Looking at the performances, the young woman with rusty orange hair seemed to have the spotlight due to her... terrible, terrible acts. She soon figured the "48" in their name stood for the number of people they left alive at that school. To think, those cameras were supposed to dissuade the yearly mass murders...
Right. Lastly, her budget. She loaded up her tables to see how much money she had compared to the start of the week. Aaaaaaaand she was still more than a hundred dollars short of where she started. Gwendalyn stared at the figures blankly for a few moments before jumping into action.
"OH CRAP I'M WAY BEHIND FOR THIS WEEK!" Maybe she'd have to pay that group a visit. She could try Idolpedia to figure out where they were at, but there was no way she was going to add that to her web history. So she just had to think it out. The group was called Legal Aidoru after all. So Gwendalyn thought the best place to look to be... a court, obviously. Gwendalyn put on her signature black jacket, and her red coat over that, and started moving to the Dogyo District Court.
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Post by ramenigma on Nov 14, 2016 8:34:28 GMT
Dogyo District Court
"Man, Dick." Mayah cheered on her group's manager/attorney as they exited the court. "You really showed that prosecutor back there!" Richard "Dick" Bureaucracy, defense attorney. A buff man with hair done in thick black spikes. Think the guy who is totally not Kira Yoshikage but wants a simple life with his pet cat/plant. That one. That guy. From Jojo. You ever watch Jojo? It's... It's okay. It's a "classic" though, really, I don't see the appeal but ANYWAY WHERE WAS I? Oh yeah. He wears a large blue fur coat and a pink-red tie, a golden attorney's badge glistens on the lapel. To further the look, he wears a large blue pimp hat with a red tiger fur trimming and a large, fire-y feather sticking out of it. He flips up his aviators and grins as he walks out the court, his gals hanging off the trim of his coat. "You know it, babe. Couldn't have done it without you. Thanks for digging that bullet out the trash, gurl." "No problem, Dick!" Mayah gives a genki girl grin, graciously. "I'm so glad it helped." "Hell yeah." He pumps his fist in a victory pose. "We never would have gotten that five time child murderer off the hook without it!" "I don't know, Big Daddy." Trudy, tips her tophat, and clings onto his arm. "You always find your clients innocent, no matter how tough it might seem." "But that's because Dick's clients are all truly innocent!" Mayah pouts. "...Yes." Richard coughs. "Innocent." He stops and turns around, his gold chains (the word OBJECTION in gold) clanging against his chest. He smirks. "Look, Babes." He begins. "This was a team effort, okay? I couldn't have done it without you (or that Verity girl at the art studio who makes fake diary pages), you know that?" They titter a little. "Look, Baby." He points at them, one at a time. "You smart. You very smart. You let me object. You let me do what I need to win my cases. You smart. You loyal. I appreciate that. And if you continue to follow me, Gurl, I'm gonna show you courtrooms you ain't never seen before." He stops and takes a swig from a flask he has in his pocket. "And, ya know, we're gonna go to the top. I'm gonna win another case and you're gonna pull off another fly performance. And another one. Another one. Anutha one. And anutha one. We're shooting for the stars!" He walks up to them and puts his arms around them. He lights a cigar and begins to puff. "But until then, Mr. Afton's case just bankrolled our next big performance, so that's hella fuckin' dope. You feel me, Gurls?" "We feel you, Mr. Richard/Dick/Big Daddy!" "Hell yea." ------
ACD48 Offices"I'm going to kill that fucking bitch and gouge out her eyes." Rin growled. "Maybe use them as dice at the local fucking casino. Goddammit." Rin had been stomping around the room ever since they returned from Coolmeyers. You could practically see the steam coming from her ears as she wrung an invisible neck. Her eyes were bloodshot and her teeth kept grinding against eachother in sheer rage. She saw THAT. She knows about HER.
In her mind, it was made up. There was no way in hell that... Aya, was it? That she was going to live. She would make it her mission, her purpose, to cut her into tiny little pieces and feed them to that edgy sunglasses wearing fuck she was with in the form of a McRonalds Large Mac. I mean, really. What an edgy... "I'm so cool and hip" waste of... Like, That jacket? Indoors? Why?! It's not cold enough to warrant it you poser shit... Finally, she slammed her head down on the table and rolled her head over to face Akira. "Aki~Nyan~!!!" She grinned, all cutesy like. "I'm feeling murderous! Tee~hee~<3<3!!! Tell me we have good news in the, uh, dirt jar~! <3 <3 <3 :3"
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Post by The Agnolotti Raichu on Nov 15, 2016 1:17:14 GMT
Outside the Dogyo District Court:
Gwendalyn put another stick of gum in her mouth as she passed by the courthouse. Stopping for a bit, she eyed the building closely. This building was supposed to be some unyielding pillar of justice. A place for truths to be laid bare. Yet, as of late, rumors had been flying of corrupted prosecutors, overly persistent defense attorneys, and judges easily swain by a female (adult or otherwise) who was either deemed attractive enough, or able to properly flaunt her assets, or any combination of the two. Gwendalyn shuddered. At least Gwendalyn, being who she was, didn't have anything to worry about.
So she started up the stairs to enter, when she bumped into someone. This was a quite large man, done up in a blue outfit that made him look like some sort of aristocrat from the ghetto, further justified by the young women clinging to his arms.
"Oh, whoop! Sorry about that, sir! Guess I should watch where I'm going, huh? Aren't I a huge klutz?" Gwendalyn said, bringing the heel of her hand to her forehead, still grinning her ditzy grin. "But anyways, mind if I get a name? And... the names of your... uh..." Gwen ended that thought by clearing her throat. "Yeah! That! For posterity's sake, y'know?"
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Post by bbladerxring on Nov 16, 2016 18:04:52 GMT
The Anime Store
Onashi Hitsuki still didn't understand what she was doing here. There were about to be some big changes in her life. She had to be focused and take them seriously. She had done a lot of practicing for this new career, this new lifestyle, and things weren't going... ALL bad with it... but she was still nervous. And what was she doing to ease those nerves? Standing in the middle of an anime store with a crowd of other normal teenagers.
Very professional, Hitsuki-chan. Ease your nerves by being in a place BOUND to bring up some bad memories. Haha, you're a goddamn genius, you clever, clever girl. Why, if they handed out awards for-
...Don't... bring up... AWARDS! You never won any, you idiot! And it's not like you were going to!
Right, right, sorry... the masculine side of me can be a little insensitive, can't it?
How do you know it's not the feminine side?! Even I don't know which one I am! What makes you think you do?! Just because I'm the softer, more understanding one?! Is that it, huh?!
Hitsuki violently shook her head and slapped herself upside the face, not really caring that she was in plain sight of the public. She had to set herself straight somehow and act normal. If Hitsuki was ever normal in the first place. Nobody at school seemed to think so... hey, nobody here was a former classmate that might recognize her, right?! No... she only went to school as him. So there was no need to worry about that. She sighed with relief and began browsing through the various volumes of manga available, hoping to find something reasonably priced. She had money, but it's not like she was a millionaire... it was best to pick wisely.
Ooh~! What sort of manga are you looking for, Osuji-ku- Ahaha, I'm sorry, Hitsuki-chan! Is it something aimed at boys? Or perhaps girls? Oh, or is it something naughty?! A girl like you should really think about doing something to relieve yourself of all this stress, you know!
Shut up, you insensitive macho masculine-acting jackass! What the hell is wrong with you?! Why are you putting so much pressure on her at a time like this?! She needs you to support her! Not to bully her! You JERK!
I AM supporting her. I'm trying to normalize this entire situation for her by teasing her about it. You aren't doing jack shit except letting her continue wallowing in her own pain and misery. If you really gave a shit about... Osuji-kun, Hitsuki-chan, whichever we're calling her now, you'd be pushing her a little harder to help her get through this. For that soft, feminine, caring and loving front you put up, you sure like seeing your fellow girls like this... bit of a sadist, aren't we, Italic?
Your macho bullshit never fails to piss me off, Bold! Of course I care about Osuji... Hitsuki... MYSELF! OURSELVES! That's why I'm trying to take care of her! You realize girls are delicate, right?! You'll break her if you push her too hard! I bet you never thought about that, did you?! NO! Because you never think about -ANYTHING-! You act without caring how it impacts others or the world around you! So typical of boys...!
"OH MY GOD, GIVE IT A REST, YOU TWO!!!" Hitsuki internally screamed at the bickering inside of her head, knowing it wouldn't do a damn thing. Bold and Italic never listened to her. They only listened to each other. They both SAID they cared about her, but neither seemed to regard her as an actual person. They would constantly subject her to this bickering, even when she didn't want to hear it. They didn't seem to really care how she was really doing, even when she believed she was communicating with them. After a brief compliment, they would simply go back to arguing again, as they seemed to be destined to until the end of time itself. Perhaps they would still argue then... Hitsuki wondered sometimes. Was Bold really the masculine one, or simply a feminine voice who acted masculine? What about Italic? Was she truly the masculine personality, who just happened to act feminine? Was Bold "Osuji"? Was Italic "Hitsuki"? Perhaps it was silly to think so much about it... Bold and Italic didn't actually exist, after all. Even if Osuji and Hitsuki both did.
See?! She's angry at us now! This is all your fault, you insensitive bully! I'm important to Hitsuki-chan's recovery! I understand how she feels so much more than you do! How dare you try to drive a wedge between us, you foul man!!!
"No, Italic, it's your fault too." She grumbled quietly under her breath. Nobody would hear that, hopefully. And anybody who did probably wouldn't think anything of it. Perhaps it was best to look in the discount section. It was a lot more responsible. She didn't need some epic story to take her mind off things. Something simple would suffice. She really didn't care what sort of genre it was.
Oh my. Our Hitsuki-chan is growing up, is she? Keep it up and you'll settle down and find yourself a nice boy to make babies with in no time! Italic will say it's too early, but you should really start thinking about it now, you're at the age where you need to plan your future! What are you going to name your first born if it's a boy?! What if it's a girl?! Are you gonna introduce them to Uncle Bold and Auntie Italic?!
Hitsuki didn't know if Bold and Italic could read her facial expressions. She REALLY hoped Bold could see the one she was currently wearing, so he was aware of her disapproval. God, those two were such a pain sometimes... even if there were times she enjoyed their bickering. And times she felt comforted by them. Bold seemed to think of them as siblings, but she wasn't sure she agreed. Sometimes it felt like she was their mom. In a way? Maybe she was. These two were born from her, after all. They wouldn't exist without her. Hm. What did Italic think about this? Maybe she'd ask her, later. She basically never agreed with Bold, so the answer was sure to be different.
...Anyway, she flipped through the selection of manga, rather disapprovingly. Maybe she just wasn't in the mood for it, but nothing seemed to catch her interest. "The Neko Army Takeover"? How silly. "Scandalous Stakeouts at the Swim Club"? How... lewd. And just the cover for it...! Two girls and a boy, and their tight swimsuits seeming to rapidly deteriorate for now apparent reason, other than the obvious one. It was probably one of those naughty books Bold wanted her to read. She placed it far, far out of her sight, her face turning a bright red as she fantasized about the contents of the book. Perhaps she'd actually come back for it later... but she probably wouldn't.
...The last book... DID catch her interest. It was... beautiful. It was silly. It was cheesy. But it was also... heroic. It was exactly the right combination of three things. And it was a huge part of her past. Who she REALLY wanted to be, not just who she was content with being. What she really wanted to do. Where she really wanted to be.
Justice Robo was on the cover. And it was autographed by Tsuyotoko Osuji. That's right... she... wait, he...? Whatever, Osuji signed a lot of these to promote the first film, which went over like a flying whale. But she didn't actually have time to read this comic... she was too busy actually working on the film. Erm, she meant, Osuji was, Hitsuki had no part in that. And after things fell through, she kept her distance from the material and merchandise that WAS produced, at least for a while... she knew it was going to hurt.
Hey. What are you doing, you idiot? Go buy it. This is something you really want. You're the most important person in all of this, Hitsuki-chan. What makes you happy comes before anything else. Don't ever forget that.
Bold, NO! Don't you realize the implications of this?! She'll be ridiculed if she's seen with something that was rejected this badly! It's hard enough for Hitsuki-chan being stuck in a career and a lifestyle she doesn't really want to live! Don't make it even worse for her by making her live an unsuccessful one! How can you encourage her to damage her career like this?! You say you do, but you really don't care about her at all, do you?! Someone like you doesn't deserve her, at all!
ME?! Not care about her?! For a lady, you sure have some grapefruits! YOU'RE the one who doesn't want Hitsuki-chan to have something she really enjoys, that's very important to her! Sure, people might judge her for it. Who cares?! She'll NEVER be happy if you keep denying her little things like this! You've let her push you around like this for too long, Hitsuki! She's the one who doesn't deserve you! You better walk out of this store with that book, or I'm gonna be REAL pissed at you, got that?! I wanna see what happens to Justice Robo too, y'know!
...She appreciated that Italic was always there to think about her in the long term. And that Bold was always there to think about her in the short-term. It was like a free counseling session. She rarely made a decision without being aware of the short and long term effects of each one.
"...Thank you, Bold." She hugged the book tightly as if it were a stuffed animal, or someone she truly loved. "...I'm sorry, Italic. But he's right. I can't throw away what I love because it's not accepted anymore..."
People may have noticed the display of affection towards a manga book. They might have thought she was weird. They'd have thought she was even WEIRDER, if they knew what kind of book it was. That was fine with her. Perhaps Hitsuki was a little weird. But being weird was just who she was, and she never wanted to change it for anybody... and she was sad when she had to do so.
The courage of Bold, the heart of Italic, the work of Osuji, but most importantly, her own passion and determination gave her the motivation to walk to the counter and slap the book on it, an expression of warm happiness shining brightly on her face. The overweight otaku man at the counter yawned, then looked at the manga, then back at Hitsuki, raising an eyebrow at her.
She chuckled and blushed a bit, knowing she had to prepare for a response. That was fine.. she used to be an actor. "It's... it's for my little brother!" She scratched her head, laughing a little more. "It's embarrassing, but he's really into stuff like that." She struck a dramatic pose, mimicking the days of when she would actually play the character of the manga. "BEWARE, EVILDOERS! OR THE SWORD OF JUSTICE SHALL IMPALE YOU ALL, AND ROAST YOU LIKE THE VILE SHISH KEBABS OF HEALTHINESS THAT YOU ARE!" She shook her head, pretending to be ashamed of what she just did. "It's so silly, and childish! But he's my little brother, and I love him. So, I have to get him what he wants."
The otaku shook his head, took the book, and handed it back to her. "You can have this, it's free. Nobody's going to buy it. It's been wasting space on the shelf for too long. Tell your brother I said happy birthday." He replied callously, obviously completely unaware of the girl's true feelings.
...Hitsuki was expecting that. The blow of how everyone looked at her... his... dammit, THEIR work. She had to stop looking at her and Osuji as if they were ever really two different people... they probably honestly never were. It glanced her, but... after all the mental preparation she did, she could take it. She swallowed and happily accepted the book, putting on a ruse of faux joy and gratitude. "Um... thank you, I'm shocked! That's so generous of you! My brother will be so happy, I want him to come here and meet you!" ...Well, THAT would be a problem now, wouldn't it? "And the actor even signed it... this is so sweet of you! You don't suppose we could bring him to this store, would he? I'm sure he'd love to come!"
That... that was an interesting proposal. Osuji was still very much alive and well. She could become him again, at any time. She... kind of wanted to, actually. She spent most of her life as him, and being Hitsuki was still a little strange for her... she didn't want to give it up completely, but she wanted to know it would be okay to be him again. Even if it wouldn't be very often, anymore. But would the otaku really be interested in that...? She... she hoped so. And if not, she hoped he would be nice about it.
Instead, he shook his head. "I wouldn't let that hack inside my shop if he paid me what's left of his vast fortunes, after that flop."
...Welp, so much for that. Hitsuki could feel her heart rip in two clean halves as the otaku cruelly dismissed the proposal. She hugged the comic book tightly as if it was the only thing in the world that could comfort her. ...And it was, honestly. "I... I see." Was all she had to say in response, her voice being much less chipper and cheery than it was moments ago.
The otaku wasn't done. He looked at the girl with the strange interests before him, and glared at her, not caring that he seemed to have done something to damage her. She didn't fit the mold of the usual customer in his shop. He didn't like that. These "fake" fans of manga and anime, who did it to appear hip and trendy... she was one of those, wasn't she? She certainly gave off the air of it. She clearly did not follow any of the current trending series. No matter which way you looked at it, this girl wasn't a real fan of manga at all. And she was going to get a lecture of it.
"By the way, you're a pretty bad big sister to be filling your brother's head with this garbage. You should be ashamed of yourself." He scolded her and picked up a manga featuring a group of schoolgirls. You could guess what they were supposed to be, from how overwhelmingly popular the idol industry had become. "A REAL big sister would introduce him to higher quality forms of media, so he could be rid of this nonsensical rubbish plaguing his life. You see, this new manga, which I will NOT be giving you for free, is called Mega Idols Deluxe, and your brother would actually make FRIENDS if he cared to follow the deep and intricate story arcs and relatable characters featured within..."
Hitsuki couldn't bear to listen anymore. She held the Justice Robo manga tightly to her chest and ran out of the store, sobbing as she was humiliated and berated again. And... IDOLS. With the IDOLS OF ALL THINGS. It's like this horrible man knew all of her weaknesses and insecurities, zoned in on each and every one of them, and scored a critical hit. Idols... no, she didn't hate idols. She enjoyed the concept a lot. How could anybody hate it, really? Young people performing onstage to inspire others. It was a very noble cause. One that fit well within the ideals of justice. His definition of it, anyway. It was just... what it did to her. But it was wrong to hold that against the culture itself. She knew that. She knew anyone didn't MEAN to alienate her. She just... wished they could coexist. But the world decided they couldn't. It was acting or idols. And idols won.
Are you happy, Bold? You made her deal with that repulsive man. And look at how much she's suffering now. This never would have happened if you didn't goad her into dying that damn book. I'm so sorry he made you do something stupid, Hitsuki-chan. I'm so, so sorry...
What the fuck? I'm not sorry! And you shouldn't be sorry! And Hitsuki-chan shouldn't be sorry! The only one who needs to be sorry is that goddamn otaku! Hitsuki, you aren't that dumb, right?! Please don't tell me you took what that jackass said seriously! Not after that whole thing about holding on tight to what you love, no matter what other people think! Be yourself, dammit! Stop caring about what other people think! Especially him! He's not worth it! And if he tries to hurt you again, I'll fucking kick his ass! Got that?!
We reside in HER body. "Kicking his ass" would result in HER doing it. Which would result in a scandal for her career and an assault charge. Which could mean potential jail time. This is why I say you don't really care about Hitsuki-chan. You don't consider ANYTHING that might endanger her, and act on your own beliefs and interests.
Shut the fuck up, you... NERD! Of course I care about her, I'm part of her! That's why I'm actually standing up for her and telling her she doesn't have to worry about those assholes, because they aren't important! But you embrace her misery so easily! It's like you WANT her to be that way! And besides, the long term is supposed to be YOUR part of things to worry about! And you're always telling her to listen to you, too, so how the hell are you any different?!
She did her best to ignore Bold and Italic on the way home. She could tell they both loved her, in their own twisted ways, and were both trying to comfort her, in the only ways they knew how. But it just wasn't working right now. She couldn't pay much mind to it. Her heart had shattered into a million pieces at that anime store, and it just wasn't going to glue itself back together that easily.
The walk back home felt like it took an eternity. She wondered if she was ever going to get there. She wondered if it was worth the effort. Italic said she should probably calm down and take more breaks. Bold told her to stop being a wimp and keep going. Then Italic scolded Bold for being so insensitive and said he should act like more of a gentleman. Then Bold yelled at Italic again for constantly trying to shield her from any negativity, and that what he was doing was the only way to make her stronger and help her overcome this. She didn't catch the conversations word for word anymore. But the argument was something along those lines. In other words, their usual nonsense.
Hitsuki's Apartment
When she finally got home, she hung up her coat and kicked off her shoes. She had a lot of time to think about what just happened on the way home, ant it didn't seem to help at all. She was still damaged. It really wasn't getting any better at all... no matter what she did. But wasn't that the story of her entire life? Every time she tried to do something great and heroic, it ALWAYS came back to bite her in the end. No deed goes unpunished, as they say. Maybe it was better she wasn't Osuji anymore.
...Silence. Wasn't that odd, considering what she was thinking about?
"Hm? Italic? No comment about how bad things happening is no reason to stop being good...? Bold? Weren't you going to berate me for acting like such a victim? What's gotten into you two...? Talk to me? Please?"
It was strange. And honestly troubling. Hitsuki had always been able to hear Bold and Italic, and referred to them as such ever since she learned the names of the text styles in school, which was one of her few fond memories there. Them not speaking to her was very unusual. They NEVER stopped talking. So... why did they, now? Was it because she stopped listening to them...? No, that definitely never stopped them before. Why would it now?
She sighed. Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe they needed a rest. She was sure they'd come back eventually, although she hoped they hadn't gotten sick of constantly watching over her. It must have been tiring to do so, with all these things happening... perhaps they just really needed a break. ..Do entities like Bold and Italic need breaks? Aren't they supposed to always be on duty? Did that matter? No. No, it didn't... as she shook her head again, she noticed the drink she was making.
Coffee... yes, coffee. His favorite drink. The one that would guide us all to true justice. The one that would keep our eyes and ears wary when evil struck, and wouldn't ruin our bodies and teeth like those foul, unhealthy carbonated beverages. Yes, coffee would keep your muscles strong, your body fit, and your eyes wide, wide open. She remembered a speech like that he made once. She stifled a giggle as she imagined it playing out. The giggles turned into chuckles. The chuckles turned into hysteric fits of laughter. Oh, Hitsuki, you moron... things hadn't changed nearly as much as you've been fearing they have. She couldn't tell if that was Bold's thought or her own, but it brought a smile to her face. She sipped the hot drink of fearless, energizing justice and struck a pose, doing her best impression of Osuji. She still hadn't forgotten a single thing.
"The divine taste of this coffee is truly a fine demonstration of your dedication to justice! I must thank you for your brilliant job at revitalizing this grand hero, Hitsuki-san!"
Hitsuki set the mug down, pretending to blush and be flattered by the compliment. "It's no trouble, Osuji-kun! I'm honored to help out such a brave, strong man, who does his best to protect me at all times!"
Then, she jumped upwards. Her mouth flew open, and she overreacted as if she had just heard the biggest shock of all time.
"WHAAAAAAATTT?!"
She gasped, cupping her hands to her mouth in pure shock.
"Hitsuki-san... LIKES ME?! Nnghhh! NOOO! But that CAN'T BE!!!" She dramatically fell to the ground and clutched her heart, as if she had just been shot with a painful bullet of truth. "The lead star must be romantically faithful to his fiance and co-star! But... but to break the heart of a young woman interested in me..." She shook her head violently, the struggle truly getting to her. "That... that isn't the true way of justice at all! But it's such a vile thought! I mustn't entertain it! I MUSTN'T! Hnnnggghhhhh!!! What to DOOOOOO!?!?!" As she slowly slipped her hand over her forehead to complete the illusion of the desperate, troubled actor caught in the middle of a love triangle, she burst out laughing. She didn't even need to try to act the emotion. Her next line was completely genuine.
"Osuuuuji-kun!" She laughed, pounding the floor in her fit of joy. "You're soooo silly!!! It's why I love you, of course~" Wiping the tears of joy from her face, she stood back up and had another sip of the coffee... hey. That's right.
The manga. She didn't take that home NOT to read it. She gazed proudly at the signature on the cover, wondering if she should call it her's, or his. She thought back to something that was troubling her earlier. Was it fair to separate herself from Osuji? They were the same person. But they also... weren't? She still didn't really understand how she saw the situation. But she liked to look at it this way. That Osuji was still very much alive within her, just like Bold and Italic are. And just like Bold and Italic, he would always be there to protect her, to make her laugh, or to comfort her when she needed it. ...Maybe other people would think of it as very, very strange. But it was fine if people thought that. This is what made her happy. And though herself, Bold, Italic, and Osuji were all very different, they all had one thing in common.
All of them loved her. And all of them wanted her to be happy. And to reject all of that didn't feel right. Tears of happiness streamed down her face again, as she brought the manga to her bed.
"...Thank you so much, Osuji-kun. I love you... for real, this time." She gave a warm smile to herself as she kissed the signature on the cover. "Stay with me forever, okay...?"
Suddenly, she felt something strange. She felt like she was supposed to hear something... but she didn't. And though they still hadn't said a word, she could feel the presence of Bold and Italic again. She didn't know why, or how... she just KNEW they were paying attention again. She could only explain it as Bold about to say something, but Italic stopping him. And perhaps, for the first time in his existence... Bold listened to her. There was no doubt about it. They were quiet, but they were very much present.
"Of course it goes for the both of you too, silly." She laughed quietly, wondering if that was what Bold wanted to ask. "The two of you cause me so much trouble. And sometimes you pick REALLY bad times to start fighting. But you're always there to give me advice and comfort me, regardless of whether or not I ask for it. The two of you are very important parts of who I am... I don't know what I would do if someone took you away. So, I love the both of you, too. And you better not leave me, either. Got it?"
...Again, although they didn't speak to her directly as they usually did... she knew they understood. And she knew they promised not to. Perhaps she had just been with them so long, she didn't need to hear their voices anymore. She just... knew what was on their minds, now. She didn't think they listened to her own thoughts or understood her very well. Perhaps she was wrong...? Perhaps they did care about her own feelings. A lot more than she believed they did.
"All the same... I'd like to have a moment alone with Osuji-kun. That's okay... right...?"
They understood. And they stayed quiet. And she smiled, in response.
"You're the best friends a girl could ever ask for. Or a boy, for that matter." Laughing at her own stupid joke, she did find it weird she even needed to buy this comic in the first place. His likeness was featured in it. Which also meant that her likeness was. Surely one had to be handed to her, as part of the royalty deal. In fact, thinking back, she KNEW she received one. But she just couldn't remember what she did with it. She was meaning to read it, but filming simply got too busy, and then... she just never found the time to, and then she could never find the copy she was given again. What happened to it?
It didn't matter right now, did it? She had it now. A piece of his legacy she had never seen before. A piece she had always wanted to. But was just too scared to. It was right there, in her hands. She instantly forgot about all of her recent hardships, and remembered how much fun she had with him. And this was the legacy they left behind... she was proud of it. And if nobody else enjoyed it? Then that was okay. It made the both of them happy. Nothing else mattered.
She opened the book, and to her delight, she saw his face. She saw the usual kind of ridiculous things he would say written on a speech bubble, and started laughing again as she read them aloud.
"I get it, you stereotypical bully-types... You think it's cool to pick on others. You think it makes you intimidating and big. You think it earns you respect." Osuji, out of his Justice Robo suit, confronted a pair of bullies at school, who were standing over a crying young girl, weakly looking up to Osuji as if he were her knight in shining armor. Hitsuki usually thought of herself as the brave action hero in these scenarios. Tonight, she related more to the maiden in distress. The bullies scoffed at him, and prepared to attack, but Osuji had other ideas in mind.
"But you're not... BECAUSE BIG BOYS DON'T CRY!!!!" And with that, he threw several raw onions in the faces of each bully, then quickly crouched down and struck them between the legs. The mean bullies ran off crying and the sobbing schoolgirl jumped into Osuji's arms, as he comforted her and said that he would always protect her from evil. As long as she never went there herself.
Her love and enthusiasm for her past lifestyle rekindling, she turned to the next page, and read it all out loud with an enthusiastic voice, the same way a child would unwrap a Christmas present, eagerly awaiting the delightful treasures that await inside.
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Post by bbladerxring on Nov 17, 2016 17:15:31 GMT
enigma approved legal double post
Hitsuki's ApartmentHitsuki yawned, rubbing her eyes as she awoke. She had finished the manga, then promptly fell asleep while clutching it in her arms. Despite everything that was happening, despite everything that awful man at the store said, for the first time since she was told she had to give up film... she was happy. She still missed it, obviously. But if this was what her life's become, then it wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be. "Good morning, Osuji-kun." She yawned as she placed the manga on her nightstand. She didn't re-read manga very often, but she had a feeling this might be one of those books she'd read more than once. Oh, he gets a good morning, but we don't?! Hmph. So much for that whole "I love you" spiel from last night, huh?!Bold! Don't be such a needy little brat! You know Hitsuki-chan cares about us! But Osuji has a special place in her heart. If you really love her, try to understand her feelings more, instead of always thinking about yours!I get that, you bossy bitch! I just wish I didn't have to keep prompting her to get attention!Prompting her is what puts stress on her in the first place, you rotten, selfish, childish boy!Osuji laughed as Bold and Italic started their usual routine, over a much gentler subject. They didn't get along any better over things like this, but overhearing their conversations amused her and filled her with delight. It was like things were back to normal again. As normal as they were going to be, at least. Maybe it wouldn't last. But at least it was for today. "Good morning to you too, Bold and Italic." She laughed at the banter of her children as she started making coffee. She wasn't really in the mood to cook breakfast. Maybe she'd skip it. Or maybe she'd pick something up on the way... or she'd just eat after her scheduled meeting today. Food wasn't really important to her right now. But coffee... coffee was. She'd been avoiding the drink for a while, and she couldn't understand why... but after being reminded of the health benefits of coffee, she knew it was important to consume massive quantities of it. Jeez, now you're DRINKING his favorite drink, too?! Marry him if you love him so much, why don't you! Or just start dressing up as him again, since I don't really know how you're supposed to hold a ceremony with yourself...
Will you stop it?! Please ignore him, Hitsuki-chan. I promise you, we're both happy you're feeling better. Even if this moron picks the weirdest way to show it...
Christ, Italic! You don't have to spell EVERYTHING out for her! Hitsuki understands me a lot better than you think!
And how, I'll never know! Hitsuki-chan! Please give me private tutoring on how Bold thinks! If I have to live with this idiot for the rest of eternity, I have to learn how he works SOMETIME!...You, uh... you do remember how this works, right? I'm always here. With her, and unfortunately, with you, too. It's literally impossible for you to have any sort of interaction with her that I don't know about. Which breaks your heart, I know. I know you've always wanted some special female bonding time with Hitsuki. Not my rule! How do you think I felt when you kept spoiling guys' night out?
!! You... you, big, mean, insensitive male trash! Ugh... I swear to god, if I wasn't holed up in here with you, I'd NEVER want to speak with you! I'd build a skyscraper in the middle of the ocean and live on the top of it, just so I'd never have to deal with you ever again! I swear, are all boys this rotten, or is it just you?!
Now who's being insensitive? Osuji's a boy too, you know. Be careful when you say things like that, Italic. So let's say it's just me.
...I'm sorry, Hitsuki-chan! I'm sorry, Osuji-kun! That was careless of me, to be so rude...! But you can still go fuck yourself, Bold!Hitsuki couldn't stop herself from bursting into laughter. It was rare of Italic to get so worked up, or to say something she regretted. She usually thought about what she said before she said it. And it was even more rare of Bold to be so mature. She wondered if Osuji's increased presence changed them at all, or if they just weren't used to it yet. In any case, even if she could give Italic private tutoring sessions, she knew those two would never understand each other, or get along. And that was fine. Them agreeing on too much would defeat the whole point of having them, really. She looked at the clock as she sipped her coffee. There was still plenty of time before her scheduled meeting with a manager to assist her with her new career. Even including the time it would take to shower and get dressed. She must have gone to bed really early last night... or she just slept very peacefully. Perhaps both. She needed a good night's sleep, so she was hardly one to complain, anyway. Still, since there was time... "...What did he do with that, anyway?" She wondered out loud as she looked at the manga. She gave it another look. She KNEW she had a copy of this comic before, one that wasn't signed, since it would be silly to own a manga that... That... had your own... signature on it...!!! Right... That's right...!!! Yes... that's right. She remembered what happened, now...The young actor sat alone on a park bench, relieved it was all over. He had done it. He finally finished off the big project. He dreamed of it his whole life- he had finally starred in a movie of his very own, and it was the morning after opening night. He hadn't seen it on the big screen yet, himself. He needed a break. It was a lot of fun to do, but it was also a lot of work. And he'd be starring in many more big projects that would become famous around the world... so he had to take a break, for his own sanity.
There were concerns, of course. Critics were panning the film the next morning. But he was sure that would be fine. That's happened to so many other movies that went down to become classics. There were numerous examples of this. Justice Robo vs The Evil Space Rhombulans was sure to become a smash hit, he just KNEW. His heart and soul was poured into it, and everyone always praised him for his talents. So how could it be anything but a success? It was best not to worry about these things. And it wasn't his job to worry, anyway.
It was the time to relax. The revival of Justice Robo was a really big deal. They even went out of their way to have a famous artist produce the manga. Chisato... something. He couldn't remember the full name, but he remembered she was really good. He'd always wanted to read it himself, but there just wasn't time... but now there was. He had achieved his dream, and he was finally on break. And he was sure to be accepted into that school to become even BETTER at his profession... though he had his concerns about school in any form.
But it was fine. If this was the life of an actor, it was truly a glamorous one. But it was one he needed a break from. Just as he was about to open the book...
"...Eh?! No, it can't be!!!"
Startled, he set the manga down, to see a young girl of elementary school age before him, a confused expression on her face. When he looked into her eyes, she started beaming, and jumped into the young man's arms, tightly embracing him. "Omigawd!!! It's really you! I thought I was dreaming, but it's REALLY you, Osuji-sama!!!"
...Well. Seems one fan didn't agree with the initial criticism. And he cared a lot more about inspiring the young people than he did about the critics. As the actor, that was his duty- to interact with and care about the children, who would then go on to make their own films, after growing up watching the ones he made.
"Aren't you the most precious little thing?" He smiled at her and patted her head, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He fantasized about children worshiping him all the time... he never thought in his wildest dreams it would actually happen. "To what does this brave hero of justice owe this honor, little girl?"
The young girl looked up at her hero... her idol, speaking as if she'd just been to outer space for the very first time. "I saw your movie last night! Mom and dad didn't want me to, but I snuck out and saw it anyway!" As soon as she confessed this, she shied away from him, turning her head. "Um... I'm sorry. Disobeying your parents is bad, isn't it? I've violated one of the moral codes of justice, haven't I?! I'm so sorry, Osuji-sama!! To do such a disgraceful act... I'm not worthy of meeting you!" She buried her face into his chest and started bawling. Osuji was surprised at first... but he started laughing, softly. This girl was ADORABLE. She really did memorize everything about that movie... she must have enjoyed it very much. Words couldn't express what that meant to him. He thought it best not to try... and she was far too young to understand. It was best he kept humoring her.
"No, generally it isn't good to disobey your parents, but... Justice is a funny thing, you know?" He smiled as he raised her head upwards toward him, allowing them to make eye contact again. "This is the real world... it's very different from the one in the movie. In this world... things are a lot more complicated, it's not as simple as following a catchphrase." He wondered if the girl's parents would approve of someone they didn't appear to be fond of lecturing her on life lessons. But this girl just met her hero... what else was he supposed to do? "I can't really say whether what you did was good or bad, until I know why you went against their orders to come see my movie."
She gulped, and took a deep breath, preparing herself to explain something to him. "...They don't think I should like stuff like this. They don't think it's girly... they don't think I get along well with the other girls at school. And I don't!" She sighs, disappointed. Almost like she wish she had a girl she could talk about this stuff with. "I say all your catchphrases and stuff, but nobody gets it, and they think I'm weird! And the teacher tells me I'm being loud..." She scurries off his lap, suddenly uncomfortable there, but sits down on the bench next to him, leaning against his shoulder. "...I love what you do... but nobody else gets it." She hung her head. It was odd. She was right there, next to the man she adored and admired, and wanted to be like. But... she still felt so lonely. She felt less so when Osuji took her hand, offering a tight grip.
"I see... your parents are in the wrong, then." He explained with a smile. "Justice Robo is for everyone. Not just boys, and not just girls. Anyone who has a liking for this sort of thing should be allowed to enjoy it, in any way they so choose." The girl gasped. She was probably expecting to be scolded... but was being praised by the man she idolized, instead? "It was very brave of you to go against their orders to pursue your own passions and dreams. A lot of kids don't have that kind of courage... maybe you should turn the volume down a bit, but... promise me you won't ever lose that quality, okay?" He lifted her back up on his lap, tightly hugging her. "Promise me you won't ever stop pursuing the life you want to lead. No matter who tells you you shouldn't. Not even if it's me or your parents. You choose what you want to do. Okay?"
The girl squealed with joy, and hugged him tightly. "They are wrong! You really are just as cool as you are in the movie, Osuji-sama!" She held her hand over her chest, then saluted. "I promise! I promise I'm gonna chase my dreams, even if my parents or Osuji-sama tell me it's bad for me!"
Osuji roared with laughter again. This girl was the cutest thing on planet Earth... and he honestly had so much respect for her. She was clearly very brave. None of his praise was manufactured to make him look good, or to make her feel better... no reporter was here, after all, and her parents wouldn't appreciate this conversation, most likely. This was all about her, and how inspired he was by a young girl with this attitude.
"That's the spirit! You're a very brave young lady, and the forces of justice are proud to count you amongst them! I can count on any help from you, right, fair civilian?!"
"Uh-huh!" She proudly nodded her head, mesmerized by his speech. She took a quick glance to the side, and saw the manga he had laid down earlier. Suspiciously, she picked it up... and then back down, as if she'd just found the holy grail. "Oh...!" She exclaimed, loudly. "T... this is...!"
"...Oh, yes!" Osuji picked up the manga, and showed it to the girl. "These were all done to promote the latest heroic adventures of Justice Robo! I trust you've read this already, loyal and just civilian?"
Tears started to form in the girl's eyes. "N-no..." She stuttered, hanging her head. "I... I haven't..."
Hm...? Osuji wasn't angry, just... confused. She loved his work. She was willing to sneak into the theater to go see him. So... isn't a little strange she didn't have this? "Eh? Why not? Your loyalty as a fan clearly isn't in question..."
She paused, relieved he didn't seem angry, and confident he would understand, after how kind he had been to her. "I... can't find it anywhere." She explained. "And even if I did, I don't know how I'd be able to afford it..."
Oh, was that it? Well, there was an easy solution, then. Without saying a word, Osuji extended his copy of the manga to her. She stared at it blankly in response, as if she wasn't sure what to do. Surely he wasn't OFFERING it to her. That would simply be silly... she didn't seem to get it, so perhaps he had to give her a verbal prompt after all.
"Don't worry. It's not a trap! I checked it very carefully. You have nothing to fear, brave hero-in-training. And even if it was dangerous, I'd protect you from any trouble, okay?" He gave her a salute as he continued to hold out the comic. "You can always count on this brave hero to help you when you need it! And don't go forgetting it, faithful apprentice!"
The girl stared at him, a stunned look on her face. It stayed that way for a bit. Then she ran into his arms and gave him another hug. She never seemed to tire of his embrace. He didn't tire of hers, either. "OSUUUUJJJIII-SAMMAAAAA!!!!" She cried so hard, she might have stained the manga. "You're the absolute coolest...! Thank you!!! I'm gonna marry you some day, when I'm way older!"
He laughed. He knew she didn't mean it. Kids said stupid things like that all the time. Heaven knows he did when he was growing up. Hell, in ten years she'd probably outgrow this obsession, and her friends would be making fun of her for this story in college, while she turned bright shades of red. He didn't expect this phase to last. But he was honored that a child, even if it was just one, looked up to him in such a way. It was truly a dream fulfilled.
"Would you like me to sign it?" He offered. She nodded, and he took out a pencil, and wrote the kanji for his name on the cover. As soon as he was finished and offered the manga back to her, she took the pencil from him as well, and also started writing something on the cover. And then she gave the book back to him... confused, he took the book back, and went to see what she had written.
"Mieko-chan...?" He asked, curious. "Is that your name...?" She nodded. "Uh-huh. My name is Mieko-chan." She held up the manga proudly, and held it close to her arms, like she would protect it with her life. "And this a gift from Osuji-sama that I'm very honored to receive. I wrote my name on it too, so I'd always remember." She bowed to him, showing him a sign of respect.
Oh my god. That was the sweetest gesture a child could offer to an adult. She was far too young to consider marrying, but if Osuji ever had a daughter, he wanted her to be just like Mieko-chan. Osuji hoped he didn't see her wipe the genuine tears from his eyes. It moved him so deeply to matter this much to this little lady. "Mieko-chan... I think you're the sweetest girl in the whole entire world." He wasn't exaggerating, either. He meant it. "Promise me something else. Promise you'll stay this kind and nice forever, no matter how great of a hero of justice you become. Okay?"
She was way ahead of him. She giggled and shook her head. "Silly Osuji-sama! Everyone knows heroes of justice must have hearts of gold! And if Osuji-sama thinks I have one, then I'm never going to lose it! I won't let them pry it out of my cold, dead body!" She danced around, getting a bit carried away with her monologue. "Besides, Osuji-sama doesn't want to marry a girl who's cruel and evil. So I'd never let myself become that way!"
He chuckled as he shook his head, again brushing off the remarks about marriage. Just a phase. She'd get over it. "Very good, Mieko-chan! I was just testing you, of course, and you passed with flying colors!" He patted her head, genuinely proud of what she had done. He looked at his watch, started by how late it had gotten. He loved this girl's company, but... she should really be home by now.
"Hey, you should really be home by now, Mieko-chan..." He pointed out. Her once proud expression sank. It was clear she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay here with him forever, and train as a hero of justice. She wanted to become his apprentice for real... but even though she was a kid, and kids could dream enormous dreams, she probably knew that was too much to ask for, deep down inside. But she was happy to be able to even be able to see him this much. She never dreamed it was possible.
"Y... you're right." She picked up her backpack and tucked the manga they had both signed away, seemingly in a hurry. She was scared of her parents yelling at her even more than they usually did. And she knew Osuji was right. She didn't like it at all. But she was right.
"...I mean it! I'm never gonna forget this! I love you, Osuji-sama! I wanna be just like you when I grow up!" Mieko waved at her hero one last time, before she started scampering off to her home, quickly as her little legs would take her. Osuji called after his faithful apprentice, wishing he could do more to help her with her struggles.
"I'll never forget you either, Mieko-chan! That's my promise to you, as a hero of justice!" And... deep inside, he wished he was a little more like her these days. Full of love, passion, and energy. He wasn't so sure he had all of the qualities Mieko had. He was sort of jealous. Now he had adult responsibilities, and had to grow up... just a little bit. As much as he had to.
He never got to read the comic, as much as he was curious... but that was fine. Mieko wanted to read it more. So, she deserved to have it more. That was only fair. Besides, Justice Robo would become a massively popular franchise, propelling Osuji into superstardom. Mieko would eventually get caught from all the times she'd have to sneak into the movie theater. Maybe he should send her tickets for the sequels. And with all that money, fame, and public adoration Justice Robo would bring him, one simple comic could be replaced, easily.
He would buy another one. As soon as his mind was completely free from the stress of the reviews.
...Mieko-chan. Did... did she forget? Or was she there all along, and just needed a little prodding to come back out again? Hitsuki really wanted to believe it was the first one. Osuji would be very hurt if she forgot that story, for sure. Wait, more importantly...! Osuji's name was the only signature on that cover, right?! She hastily checked the cover again, and breathed a sigh of relief. Mieko's name wasn't written on it. ...Mieko still probably outgrew that silly obsession. She didn't really have a choice but to, after the huge plummet of Justice Robo, and just movies in general. Still... Hitsuki wondered how she was doing these days, or what came in to replace that hole in her heart. She'd probably never find out, but... she couldn't help but wonder. ...Shit, she spent a lot of time lost in thought, didn't she? How much time did she have left? Bold would get angry at her if she was goofing around for too long, on such an important day. Italic would be more understanding... but she'd still be disappointed, too. ...False alarm. There was plenty of time left. She felt relieved, but she should still get ready. It was a big day ahead of her, and not preparing wouldn't be professional. She undressed and got into the shower, humming some of the songs she had learned to herself. She wasn't quite confident enough in herself yet to start SINGING them spontaneously, but this was the first time she was even humming them... so it was a good start, at least. Trying to dance was out of the question, naturally. She was bad enough at that when she WASN'T in the shower... besides, that would be dangerous. As she was drying off, Hitsuki took the time to play around with her hair, trying to figure out which style she wanted it in. Ever since she began the idol lifestyle, she became a lot more interested in playing around with her appearance, and trying different looks each day. As Osuji, she picked a concrete appearance and never strayed too far from it... it wasn't like a boy to spend hours in the mirror doing makeup. But as Hitsuki, she felt like she had a lot more freedom and things she was willing to do... or maybe she just hadn't found the look she was really comfortable yet. Maybe that was it. She hadn't been Hitsuki for all that long. So... she still didn't really know who "Onashi Hitsuki" really was, yet. Of all the personalities inside of her, Hitsuki was easily the most quiet and undeveloped... but that was fine. It would all come in due time. Both the personality, and the appearance... for now, she decided to wear her hair long and straight, just to see how it would go over. It was the most... natural look she had, with no real grooming required, and it looked well enough. It was worth a shot, right? What to wear was a different story... she was expected to look cute, is what her team told her. That meant she had to look cute. She rummaged through her selection of outfits, unsure of which one to pick... how cute did she want to go? Would over-the-top cute be offputting? A lot of these girls must be like that. Perhaps the market is getting over-saturated... and they wouldn't want anything TOO cute. So... be cute, but don't be JUST cute. Whatever she wore would have to convey this kind of personality... "...I don't know... what do you think, Osuji-kun?" She realized asking her other selves for help developing her current personality, her current character, could potentially be chaotic and disastrous, as well as confusing... but she only had a few hours. They were the only people she could turn to for advice. And once she did... as if on command, she could feel Osuji's mentality taking control of her body. He shunned the plain and boring outfits, tossing them out of the closet, so they wouldn't distract him. He finally took a uniform he liked, and held it up so Hitsuki could see... and she felt herself in control again. She examined the outfit his personality led her to... ...Well, she knew Osuji wouldn't pick something normal. That was why she asked for his help in the first place. But she was certainly not expecting this. It was a very... loud schoolgirl uniform. It was colored dark, with bright shining stars and a few planets scattered across the design. An outfit with an outer space theme? She had no idea she even owned such a thing. Where did THAT come from...? He even picked a set of white stockings with comets on them to match, and a set of blue heels to complete it. "It's good in theory, right...?" Hitsuki wondered out loud. "You have to stand out, you can't be the same boring old girl they see every day... so you've got to look and act confident. AND cute." Hitsuki nodded and clenched her fists, her eyes filling with determination. "This is certainly unorthodox... but it's worth a try! I'll do it, Osuji-kun... I believe in you!" Bold wanted to make a quip about how she was even dressing up in what Osuji wanted her to wear now. Italic stopped him before he could. Hitsuki laughed. Poor Bold. How was he going to take it if she got a real, physical boyfriend? He was jealous enough over Osuji as it was. You better not! His whining is insufferable enough as it is! It'll be even WORSE if you actually start seeing someone, and I'll have to deal with every second of it! Don't do this to me, Hitsuki-chan! I'm warning you, young lady! You better noooooottt!!!!
Young lady? So, Italic thought of herself as Hitsuki's mother? That was sweet... even if she thought Bold and Italic were far too immature to be her parents. Not that she was in any position to complain about maturity... she still considered herself very immature, too. Even Osuji was immature. It seemed to be a recurring theme amongst them. At it's heart, an idol was still a job where she could feel like a child. It had that going for it, and perhaps it was better to see this as an opportunity to still be able to live her life as freely as she could. To enjoy it while she could, and to not worry so much that it wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she was growing up. With newfound resolve, she left her apartment, confidently walking towards the opportunity of a new life... and trying not to trip over her heels the entire way. Jeez, they weren't exaggerating... these things do suck to walk in! ...At least they looked cute.
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Post by kwanramen1313 on Nov 18, 2016 2:06:58 GMT
ACD48 Offices
A wide, yet slightly disturbing grin appeared on Akira's face.
"Oooh, yes, Rin-chaaaaaaaan~"
She proceeded to open up the jar.
"We have some good info here!"
She reached her hand inside the jar, pulling out a (slightly) dusty file of documents.
"In here... We have her address, photos of her place, phone number, emails, and family ties~ All sorts of fun and useful information~"
"The question is... When will the fun begin?"
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Post by The Agnolotti Raichu on Nov 21, 2016 4:16:16 GMT
Dogyo Streets:
Well, at least it was warmer today than a couple of days ago. Aya could once again be caught strolling through Dogyo's urban jungle, careful to attempt to avoid the area in which Coolmeyer's Diner resided. Where she was going, not even she knew. Wandering aimlessly seemed to be working for her before, and if it works, why change it? That seemed to be Aya's logic as she took some other left turn. As she passed some other, notably non-Coolmeyer-branded seedy-looking bar, some sort of sound drifted into her ears. It sounded like a trumpet, or some sort of other brass instrument, playing briefly and intermittently.
Aya started drifting toward it, and soon, she also heard someone singing whenever the trumpet wasn't being played. Only logical, considering it's really hard to sing and play trumpet at the same time. She kept walking, and soon found the source. There was a man sitting on the street corner, a very small crowd gathered around him. Six people, by Aya's count. Seven including herself. He was quite tan, and his greying hair and wrinkled face told Aya he was probably in his late forties, maybe early-to-mid fifties. He wore a beige three-piece suit, accompanied by a red tie with rose patterns on it, and brown dress shoes that looked like they were polished very recently. He was currently blowing a huge note on his trumpet, perhaps signifying the end of a song. Sure enough, when he was done, the other people around him clapped softly and politely.
"Thank ya. Thank ya very much. Yer all wonderful!" The man slurred his words slightly when he spoke, but not so much that it sounded like he was intoxicated or anything like that. A few people tossed some loose change into the trumpet case by his feet and went on their way, others stuck around to listen to more. He started right into another song. There wasn't a flashy introduction; he didn't even give the name of the song he was playing now. It was a much slower song, heavily swung.
"I see trees are green... red roses, too..." His singing voice was... certainly different. It was kind of raspy, but it had its own charm to it.
"I see them bloom... they're for me and you... And I think to myself... What a wonderful world..." At this point in the song, he delves into his own trumpet solo. It wasn't too often Aya listened to jazz music. After his short solo, he goes into the next verse. This pattern holds until the very last line, where he slowed down the song even further.
"And I think to myseeeellllf... What a wonderfuuuuuullll... woooorrrld." Aya clapped for him, as well as the rest of his minuscule audience. As the man kept playing his music, Aya watched the audience members come and go. However, she herself still stayed, seemingly mesmerized by the man's voice and trumpet. After a number of songs, the man spoke up.
" 'Scuse me. You there, young lady with the pink hair. I 'preciate that yer stayin' so long to lissen to me, but don't ya got places to be?" Aya whipped out her phone to check the time.
"I don't believe so." Aya's response prompted a laugh from the man. It was a guttural sort of laugh, but not so much it scared people away. Well, most people anyways.
"Ya don't believe so? Hyeh heh heh heh heh... Aw man, people like you really know how to make a guy like me laugh, ya know that? Either ya got plans or ya don't, right?"
"That makes sense."
"So do ya got plans or no?"
"...Not currently. I still need to schedule that meeting with my friend." Aya recalled Gwendalyn's number on her phone and held it to her ear. A tone played in her ear. And it played again. And again. And three more times before she heard anything.
"Hello, this is UV, in the flesh! Well, not really, since you just tried to call me. Either way, I'm not available, so go ahead and leave a message, and I'll get to you quick as I can, 'kay? Buh-byyyye!" Aya simply hung up. "Hm. Not available. I'll try again later."
"So ya don't, then. Let's get to know each other a bit then, hmm? What's yer name, young lady?''
"...Aya. Aya Radiata."
"Mm-hm. Well, Aya, most folks call me Chet. Well, okay, most folks call me the guy on the corner with the trumpet, but ya get what I mean." He started laughing again. "Hyeh heh... Now, come over 'ere a sec. Look at all these folks walk on by. Tell me. How many of 'em d'you think would stop... well, at all?"
"...I don't know. Perhaps a lot less, considering there's a trumpet in your hands and you're not playing it."
"Hm! Maybe you're right. Let's see!" Chet put the trumpet back to his mouth and played a short lick, maybe four measures at the most. Plenty of people turned their heads toward the commotion, but nobody actually stopped. "Huh. Still nobody. Why d'you think that is?"
"Well, jazz music is rarely played these days."
"That what ya think it is? Then wouldn't more people come in, wonderin' what that noise is? I think what yer tryin' to tell me is that ya think jazz is dead, right?"
"...It certainly isn't as prevalent as other styles."
"See, that part's true. But jazz ain't dead. Disco's dead. Classical's not far behind it. But jazz ain't dead. Ya know how I know? Did ya ever lissen to the radio about a month back? S'long as the radio's playin' them Christmas songs, jazz is still alive. Even if it's only fer a month, jazz is alive."
"I see." Given Aya's neutral expression, one can be forgiven for thinking she didn't see.
"So tell me. What kinda tunes do you like to lissen to?"
"Hmm. I really like most of the styles that came into being recently. Techno, electronic, especially dubstep." Chet recoiled a bit in shock.
"Huh. Wasn't sure what I was expectin', but it sure wasn't that. That all just sounds like noise to me." There was a pause, and Chet started laughing again. "Hyeh heh heh heh! Aw, man. I love doin' this shindig. Look at us, a poor old man and a rich young lady-"
"Wait, sorry. How did you know I was wealthy?"
"It's how ya carry yerself. It's yer long pink hair and yer high heels. It's that vacant expression yer wearin' on yer face. Ya just gave me the feelin'. Anyways, like I was sayin', we're pretty much exact opposites, we just met each other, and we're talkin' and gettin' along like we been friends fer years! This is why I love doin' this. I get to meet so many good folks like this. And if you weren't so interested in my blues, this wouldn't have happened. Yer a real cat, Aya." This prompted no immediate reaction from Aya, as she seemed to be processing what he just said. Afterward, her first reaction was to inspect her own left hand.
"...I don't have any fur." Aya stated plainly, causing another fit of laughter from Chet.
"Aw, man. Like I said, people like you always make people like me laugh. I didn't mean like the house-pet. I meant like a friend. Cat can be anyone, from the richest man to the lowest man. Politicians, bookworms, farmers, to anyone in-between. S'long as two people can have a nice talk and listen to good music together, they're both cats. Ya understand?" Aya didn't say anything back. She just offered him a small smile.
"Oh, you got a beautiful smile. It's like I always say: Keep smilin', and the world smiles with ya." Come to think of it, Aya had realized Chet had never dropped his grin while the two were talking. "Now, I got a little ditty in my head, and need to get it out." He played the same lick he had just played earlier, but started to add vocals to it.
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing..." Aya just listened while Chet played his trumpet again, watching the people go by, stopping occasionally, and going about their business. She'll just have to remember to try calling Gwendalyn again soon.
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Post by melcaroni on Nov 23, 2016 6:09:40 GMT
GRAND LAND:
Sweat ran down her face as Melody's body shook with adrenaline. It hadn't been a particularly hard performance, but with her manager prancing and cheering beside her in clothes several sizes too small for a grown man, it had easily been her most stressful yet. The day's work was catching up to her and her body needed relief.
"Wow, what a great performance from M3L0-D and The Cool Girl! Give it up for them one more time, folks!"
The crowd cheered, but Melody was deaf to it. She merely waved her hand, her fan covering up the frown of exhaustion on her face.
"Alright guys, that's it for this GRAND concert! Please exit through the gift shops and dont forget to buy our CDs..."
The announcer droned on, and mercifully, the stagehands signalled Melody back. She let out a sigh and walked as quickly as she could-- Until Tips' foot suddenly shot out in front of her, sweeping her tired legs from beneath her. Her fan flew from her hand, and sailed through the air as her face, exposed, hit the floor.
CRACK.
The amphitheater let out a collective gasp of shock, as all heads turned to the stage. For a moment, there was silence as the crowd turned between the fallen Melody, and the smirking, devious "Cool Girl".
"Don't think I didn't hear those boos from the audience!" The Tips Girl declared in his raspy teen girl voice, "I see what your game is, M3L0-DORK! You're trying to make me look bad! Well not on MY watch!"
The crowd began to murmur in shock and dismay as they realized what had just happened. Instantly, smartphones were whipped out, photos were taken and videos started, Twit-- I mean Chirpy began blowing up with #IdolTrip.
The Tips Girl stood over Melody.
"Alright, time to play along," He whispered, kneeling down beside her. "You haven't forgotten the whole point of this concert, right?"
Melody slowly pushed herself off the ground, and promptly hurled her fist directly into Tips' face.
THWACK.
This time the audience went wild, with every phone in the park trained on the stage. Security stood by the sides, waiting for the okay to jump in. A few more seconds, they reasoned, would give enough for a viral video.
Tips was still reeling from the first punch when Melody grabbed him by the collar and proceeded to hit him twice more across the face, bloody welts left in her wake.
"Good! Good!" Tips said through his now-swollen cheeks, "Now I'll pretend to hit you and--"
Melody swiftly kicked him in the balls, and Tips hit notes only dolphins could hear. That was the finisher-- Tips dropped to the ground, twitching like a dead cockroach, and security rushed in to restrain the two idols.
Melody spat blood from her lips as a pair of handcuffs clamped around her wrists and the roar of the crowd echoed in her ears.
"Ooh, she really did a number on him." One of the suits muttered from backstage. "Put in an order for some M3L0-D themed bandages."
As the idols were escorted/dragged off the stage, a single figure in the crowd stood, the only one not rioting. A young girl who'd seemingly just come in, and stood motionless at what she'd just seen.
The Cool Girl slowly removed her glasses in disbelief, her bright green eyes wide with shock.
"What. The. Fuck."
Murphy's Office:
Coolmeyer casually raised a hand over to his keyboard, typing in the name "Meilody Osashima" and hammered "enter" with his thumb. He quickly snatched the bottle back from Mei, defensively cradling it like it was his child, then glanced between Mei and the screen.
"...You trying to pull something, kid?" Murphy asked slowly, eyeing the girl suspiciously. "You're not Meilody Osashima."
With that, he whirled the monitor around, revealing a face that looked strikingly similar to Mei's in every way, except for one small detail:
"Meilody Osashima has RED highlights!" Murphy declared, slamming his bottle on the desk. "...Quit trying my patience, girl, and tell me what you're REALLY here for."
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Post by ramenigma on Dec 6, 2016 10:57:05 GMT
Dogyo District Court
"Ay! What the fuck!?"
Dick jumped back at the slightest touch from Gwendalyn and began brushing at his sleeve as if she were made of garbage.
"Who's this little vagrant-ass, filthy-ass, little shit-ass ho?" He rudely and loudly demanded of his posse. They, in turn quickly began typing away at their phones.
"UV Brite." Emma spouts, robotically. "Real name? Gwendalyn Summers. Idol. Decently well established, but has no group and is thus useless. Has boring likes and dislikes, generic. But aren't all the older idols? Her catchphrase is 'Let's dance 'till the sun comes up! Tee hee!' Irrelevant, of course. Because she's got no group. A loner."
She pauses.
"Not worth our time."
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Emma." Dick yawns and leans in close to Gwen, his teeth shining. "Hey, you know who I am?"
He whispers it menacingly before switching to a boisterous, sneering chuckle.
"I'm DJ Dick. The best goddamn lawyer/manager/rapper in the entire fucking music industry, yo! The fuck is low-level gutter trash like you doing bumping into me? This coat? Worth more than your entire career. You want me to sue your skinny little ass?"
He pauses.
"Okay, well then. Real talk, ladies. I've got business to attend to so... Girls." He snaps his fingers. "Mess up her face for me or some shit."
His assistants nod eagerly as the y get into position, and their manager begins to walk away.
"Oh, and UV Dull... It's polite to give your name first before asking others."
And with that, he's outta there.
ACD48 Office
"Well, we've got some good leads." Rin nodded. "We'll start scoping out her home tomorrow. Maybe leave a few threatening calls. Really rattle her."
Well, their plans weren't interrupted. THAT, at least, was in Rin's favour. As a result, she found it soothing. Relaxing. Just knowing that SOMETHING was within her control and not someone else's was... comforting. It seemed to calm her down a bit, at least.
With that she gets up and yawns.
"But, for now, I say we deserve a good nap. Today was pretty exhausting, wouldn't you say?"
Dogyo Channel 4 Evening News
"Hahaha. What a story! But, really, Janet. That kitten did die."
Uchikizu chuckled and straightened his tie like he wasn't slowly dying inside. Every day it was another scandal, another piece of pop culture garbage. Celebrities, politicians and the dumbest bottom of the barrel wastes of human space crammed in little mugshots in the corner of the screen. Spreading lies and libel without haste, because unbiased reporting is boring reporting, isn't it?
This is what he spent years studying journalism for. The media's mindless masturbation of mindless monetary mediocrity. Deep inside, he wished someone would stick a shotgun in his mouth and just...
"In other news! Up and coming idol M-Three-Lo-Dee, real name Melody Urashima (seen here choking on a bee), has been arrested for assault on other well known (well known? really?) performer during a joint performance. The Cool Girl (seen here with a set of plastic toy dinosaurs) was taken into hospital with, uh, multiple fractures and wounds about 5:00pm this evening. Melody Urashima was taken into police custody for the attack and is currently waiting for her trial."
"Looks like she'll be getting jail time, or worse, her performer's license revoked!"
"That's right, Janet! We still have no word on what exactly caused the vicious attack, but we DO have a clear view on it's effects."
"That's right, Uchikizu. According to our current reports, sales of idol merchandise is plummeting. Looks like favour with the idol industry is starting to drop."
"Indeed, indeed. It's a dark new future for idols worldwide... On the subject, Melody Urashima's manager could not be reached for comment."
"Now, onto our next story. The Horoscope Killer remains at large and has claimed their sixth victim, the beloved manager of the group BokuImo; Oni Chan. He was stabbed multiple time in many vital organs, including his MOST vital organ. His huge... heart. The identity of the killer is still unknown. More at 11..."
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