2023-01-15: Friends ~ENEMIES~
- Cast: Alouette Pommier, Ennil El
- Where: Tsutsujidai High School - Arcade
- Date: U.C. 0097 01 15
- Summary: Alouette and Ennil team up to take out TarabaWORLD Crash's secret boss, and she comes to an unpleasant realization about her new friend.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette normally isn't one to shirk her duties for the sake of playing games. But she has constantly been telling people to take breaks and get rest, and she doesn't exactly want to be a hypocrite for not taking her own advice, either.
So with talk of a fully (mostly?) functional arcade reopening in Tsutsujidai High, Alouette decided to check it out. After all, there's a Tarabaman game...!
Alouette hasn't actually played TarabaWorld CRASH, so she doesn't quite catch the unusual and kind of eerie differences found in this version. She's mostly just happy to see the Taraba from the one she watched, Eclatant.
She's quite the fast learner when it comes to understanding the controls and gameplay loop, despite not being nearly as much of a gamer, as say Mamoru.
But no matter how hard she tries, she can't make it past the game's secret boss, the final kaiju from the Eclatant series, Tenne Blaster (or is it Tenebrous Star?).
"...Merde." She hisses at the game screen, as Eclatant falls once again. Another game over. (She's taking this WAY too seriously isn't she?)
Alouette is about to try another round, when she.. gets a strange feeling from nearby. Not quite a psychic sensation, but something she knows she felt before. She just can't quite parse what it is...
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"Alouette! It's nice to see you taking a break."
Ennil El looks fairly cheerful today. The arcade's been a nice place for her lately! Lots of pleasant memories. Her hair's gotten a bit past where she's usually comfortable, but she's taken the effort to pull it together into a cute ponytail, clearing it away from those sparkling opalescent earrings she always wears. (Alouette always puts so much effort into her hair... It's impressive.)
She sidles up to the cabinet without asking, looking down to see the game processing Alouette's recent defeat. She gives the younger girl a wan little smile, and a friendly wave. "Hmm. Maybe it's easier with two players?"
And, again, she doesn't really ask. She just flicks through characters, idly, letting them glaze by her. "Comment a va?" X4... Captain Zeon (a little grimace)... Mika, Dark Hinoen (the cursor hovers, but she passes on), 60... Kai. Hmm. Yeah, she'll try that.
"Did you get into stuff like this when you were growing up? Or..." She drums her fingers on the cabinet, quietly. "For Shinjo's sake?"
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette's shoulders loosen and she loses some of her tension. She tries her best to present as someone who was not, in fact, just seen swearing at a children's video game.
The pressure hasn't actually gone away, but she's happy to see Ennil again, regardless.
"Oh, bonjour!" She places her hand off the joystick, to wave. "Your hair looks different this time... it's a really nice look." Especially how it makes those earrings really shine. She thinks a lot about hair and what it says about someone. (Alouette's hair of course, looks the same as last time. She hasn't put any less effort into fluffing up her hair into those unique, distinguishable curls even despite the circumstances.)
Ennil doesn't quite ask, but Alouette still makes room in the cabinet for the two-player seat. "Sure, let's try it. I think the boss probably gets tougher on two player." And as if to confirm it, the prospective health bar seems to almost double in size. "But we do have the advantage of a multi-fronted assault. Which I prefer to just call teamwork." She grins. "Like in a real kaiju battle, really..." She stares off at the screen, remembering the vicious fight against Nanashi B a few weeks ago. Will that be Akane's last kaiju...?
"Ah, well... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tired." Alouette answers Ennil's question, as she scrolls through the character choices. "But that's why I'm here, right?" For her part, Alouette picks Eclatant again. "I usually don't play games, but I always feel at my best trying something new. That's, ah... why I'm trying so hard to beat Tenne Blaster here." She laughs.
And then the next question... Alouette averts her eyes away from Ennil for a moment, thinking of how to answer. "I'd never heard of a Tarabaman in my life growing up. I... never had time for toys and shows, I guess." The only games she really was able to play were mind and learning games, too.
She nods, at the mention of Shinjo. "Mm, she was the one who introduced me to the series. She said Eclatant was how she learned French, can you believe that?" She manages a smile there. And the way that French kept improving the more they talked still isn't lost on her. "So we watched it together. Even if it was while she was using... that kaiju, I still liked the show for what it was."
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"Oh, uh. You think? Thanks... You're the second person to tell me that, actually." There's a bit of a blush there. Fortunately, the arcade screen glowing up washes it out, a little.
She's still getting a feel for the controls, but Ennil's always been a fast learner for this sort of thing. Still, it's not quite working. It's not that she doesn't know what she's doing, exactly... She just can't find a rhythm. Tarabaman Kai charges right in to the boss's face, gets clocked by one of those famously unfair final boss attacks, and gets bounced back. There's a cute little timer-blink animation and the character fades off the screen, but now it's Ennil's turn to grumble under her breath at a video game.
She is listening, though. "Yeah. I've been working hard, too. I do stuff like this so the guys can't get on my case when I pull them off the job. You should've heard Borr when they caught me working off the clock. Calibur's easy - he likes to knit anyway - but getting Max to relax is like pulling teeth sometimes." She's so... familiar with them, now. "It's important to make the time, though. People -- ah, human beings need food, sleep, and care in order to live."
She sighs and flicks through the characters again. Maybe Kai just wasn't the right fit? Alouette seems pretty comfortable with Eclatant.
...hmm.
"Oh! Same here, honestly. Well, I had toys - building blocks and little mechanic kits and stuff like that. But TV and stuff was never a big part of my life. I missed all this." She shrugs. "But Akane's really into it, huh? It's her window into the world... Man, imagine learning a whole language just from watching a TV show. That's kind of impressive!"
This time, it's Dark Hinoen who joins Eclatant on screen. Maybe that'll make the difference?
BBSYS: Post 622, 'Hot or Not' has been published to Cutscenes & Logs by Sayla Mass.
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Even if the arcade screen quickly flashes it away, Alouette doesn't fail to catch that hint of a blush. "Hey, you can't just tell me that without also telling me who the first person was." She teases, but she's also a little curious.
Although they hoped that the advantages of two-player would work in their favour, this round unfortunately wasn't even close, as Eclatant goes down not too long after Kai. "You know, for your first time you're pretty skilled." Alouette breathes out, as she quits back to the player select screen. "Ah, but we kept getting in each other's way. Apologies for that," she adds. "Next time, for sure! Right?"
Despite it clearly not going well every other time she's fought this boss, she's back to Eclatant. You just can't fight Tenne Blaster without Eclatant!
"Wow... you really are part of the team now." Alouette notes, as Ennil talks about each of the NGJHS... except Vit. Huh. "But you're right. We need each other, too. Ikumi told me that's what it is to be Brave, you know." She smiles.
Alouette nods, as Ennil goes into her childhood. "Mine was - well, it wasn't really a happy story. The people who raised me were mostly interested in seeing how smart I could be." She shrugs, too. It was all like a game to her, testing her intelligence, but come to think of it, it wasn't really as fun as this is.
"She has a really unique worldview when it comes to Taraba and kaiju." Alouette says about Akane. "I know she cares about it a lot, but I don't think it's all as bleak or hopeless as she does."
The next round is much more close, as Alouette quickly adapts to Ennil's own, more aggressive charging techniques - fighting carefully to support her. But in the end, the boss still remains with a sliver of health as it takes the last of Tarabaman Elactant and Dark Hinoen lose the last of their own. "Okay, that was better." Alouette tries to remain positive, even if she is internally screaming about this result. "We need to make sure it can't use that attack it has when it gets low... it has way too much knockback."
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"Oh, mm." It doesn't even occur to Ennil that she doesn't have to. She's being asked a question - she doesn't lie. "Vit, actually. We came by the other day... He made these earrings, you know."
Now she's really red. The screen darkens as Alouette goes down and it moves back to character select, and she doesn't even have that to cover for her. "Mhm. It's fine! I was overdoing it. Still figuring stuff out."
She does brighten when Alouette calls her 'one of the team', even if she doesn't really speak up on it. She just nods a little, doing her best to focus on the fight... It's not quite there. It was a good effort though.
"Ikumi sounds interesting. I know he's a friend of yours. Kaworu apparently reached out to him recently for me - in case I need the Braves for something. I could've asked you, I know, but he offered. And I didn't want to trouble you with it..." She smiles, then focuses back on the screen. Dark Hinoen again? She flicks through the options for a bit, stops over Mika...
No, she doesn't like his vibe. Too familiar. Back to Dark Hinoen, then.
"Mhm. To tell the truth... I like her kaiju. I think they're really creative! I just wish they weren't... well, you know. It's sad to see them used this way." She sighs. "Yeah. I think I'm getting the hang of it. This one is way easier to control for me than the last guy."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"Oh, really! I suppose Vit's always kind of fancied himself as a ladies' man." Alouette responds, not quite picking up on why that's so embarrassing, until she realizes - if Ennil is turning so red, then it must've been a genuine comment. "And, wow.. I wasn't aware he had it in him. I mean, you probably know him better than I do, but..." There's more to that laid-back scoundrel than meets the eye... Hyper Agents are really interesting people.
"Ah well, it's not any trouble..." Alouette reassures Ennil. "But Kaworu certainly made the right choice recommending him." She nods, going for a combo on Tenne Blaster. "A lot of people think he's standoffish, but he's really not. He's a good listener, and always seems to have sound advice at the right time." Alouette declares strongly. "So I think - I know he would be happy to help. Even if he's a little shy, sometimes." She smiles herself.
"Although, I wonder..." she starts, looking back at the screen intensely. "I wonder why Kaworu asked him about you specifically? Is... something wrong?" She frowns. Is it something to do with that strange feeling she got? She's starting to put the pieces together, and she's sure she doesn't like it.
But whatever the case, she turns her attention back to the game. She's gradually gotten to know Ennil. And she knows that she is not a malicious person.
Akane's kaiju... being such an intimate victim of one of them recently, Alouette's feelings on them are complex. But she half nods. "As something of a designer myself, I have a lot of respect for her work too. Although they're better when they aren't crafted just to exploit someone's weak point."
"It's not her fault, either. And it is sad. The most recent one, before it was torn apart... it didn't even look like it was half finished." Nor did it have a name. "It reminded me of being rushed to complete a deadline... or else." She concludes, grimly. "I think we know whose fault that is."
If the last attempt to defeat Tenne Blaster started on a better footing, this one is undoubtedly on a worse footing. Alouette, this time, has a hard time finding her rhythm as each of her combos ends prematurely, and Eclatant proceeds to take a massive kaiju beam to the face.
But with Ennil's improving mastery of Dark Hinoen's moveset, as well as a few lucky rolls on what Tenne Blaster's AI does, Alouette gets herself back in the game, managing a perfect dodge on each subsequent hit.
And with one last hit, Tenne Blaster is done for. As this is a secret boss fight that may never even been meant to be programmed into the game, there is no dialogue, as the kaiju wordlessly fades away just as the player characters do. <CONGRATULATIONS, PLAYER 1, PLAYER TWO. YOU ARE TARABA MASTERS" sprawls on the screen, before they're returned to the title screen sandbox mode.
"I'm really surprised that was the run. But we did it!" Alouette cheers. "Although I guess I usually fight best with my back to the wall." She grins. "Well," she watches the sandbox mode play out. "Fancy a 1v1?" She still has time to kill.
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"He's a sweet guy. He works way too hard to try and impress you, and then when he stops trying so hard, you notice him paying attention to the smallest things..." Ennil's voice is unusually warm. "I have a lot of fun with him! And -- It was nice. To. Sing for him..."
She shakes her head once, fiercely, cutting that one off firmly. "Don't ask."
Still, Alouette moves on to the next thing, and Ennil is a little reassured by the way she talks about Ikumi. Stand-offish types like that who are just careful about letting other people in... she likes those, actually. They're easy to get along with.
She's clearly worried though, and that bothers Ennil. It's why she didn't want to bring things up. She takes a moment to breathe, to try and talk around the problem in her head. "I guess you could say that. I'm worried about... what happens, when Alexis makes his move. Listen - you know... I really care about Gridman, and Akane, and Tsutsujida, right? I'm really happy here."
Why would that be a problem? She doesn't elaborate. She lets things move on. She focuses in on the game, and when Alouette falters she steps it up. When Alouette catches back up, she smiles.
"Yeah. I hate that guy. He makes me feel... really rotten."
Alouette poses the idea of a 1v1... Yeah, that might be what she needs. This time, without hesitation, she goes straight to Mika. She tilts her head at Alouette, giving her a... strangely grave little look as the light from the cabinet catches in those strange, cat-like eyes.
"Je suis ton ami, et je ne suis pas ton allie. Tu comprends?"
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
Alouette listens carefully as Ennil, to put it accurately, gushes about Vit. "I see, I see...! Truthfully, I don't always get along with people like that. But I can appreciate when someone does small things, just for you." She makes a few slow taps in the controller absently.
Alouette covers her mouth when Ennil very fiercely tells her not to ask. "It's okay. I won't. Although, I've been learning singing myself. I haven't actually sung for anyone before..." She says, a hint of her own embarrassment in her tone. "It's a little nerve-wracking, to put my heart into my voice like that." She admits.
Alouette raises her eyebrows slowly, when Ennil talks around her problem. But she parses at least some of it. "Even if we defeat Alexis, things won't be the same." Alouette confirms. "I don't know what the future will hold... but I haven't given up on Akane Shinjo, either. Or Tsutsujidai and the Gridman Alliance." The future, or lack thereof... that's what Ennil is worried about, isn't it?
Tarabaman Mika... she recognizes him from the Taraba show Mamoru likes. The "evil" Taraba.
"...Oui." Alouette responds, and her heart sinks. "We can't fight while the city is like that. So let's do it here, shall we?" The duel between Tarabaman Eclatant and Tarabaman Mika commences.
Alouette doesn't hold back, not even against Ennil, but for all her valiant efforts, she's not quite up to the task. Her controls feel like butter, as she whiffs attack after attack. It was easy to fight as a team, but...
"Not fair, that's my weakpoint." Alouette says with a smile. "I hate fighting friends. But unlike before, I still won't give up." Even now, she hasn't put down the controller. "Still, I hope you'll at least give Mamoru and Ikumi a chance."
<Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
"Hmm." Ennil tilts her head, a bit, though she appreciates Alouette not prodding, even in a friendly way. She's so charming. And seeing her express her own worries like that... "Well, I hardly sound like Lynn Minmay myself," which is a little revealing even if she swore she wasn't going to talk about it any further, "but I think you've got the right idea, at the end, there. It's not about doing it perfectly. It's about... letting someone see who you are, and what makes you want to sing. It's special."
Alouette puts it together. She's incredibly smart. That's always been obvious - After all, she'd been helping out with Junk, and she does important work for GGG. Ennil's heart sinks a little, too, to see her upset - but she wanted to see if Alouette would understand.
"...Thank you. I don't want to be rough with Akane Shinjo's heart... especially right now. But I also won't -- can't hold back. You understand."
Alouette does. And Ennil doesn't - That same aggression that had gotten her crushed without support before is vicious here. She spends the whole round on top of Alouette, pressuring every weakness. There's no meanness to it - she's not the kind of toxic gamer who exposes weakness just to punish you for it, to show off what they can get away with. She's just efficient.
"Yeah," Ennil echoes, a little bitter amusement in her voice. "I can be pretty unfair. ...It's not like I like it, either. I'd just hate it if... you didn't take me seriously, and you got hurt. If you found out for the first time like that... I don't like being a dishonest person." She nods, a bit, as she readies herself for round two. "Well, that's why I asked Kaworu. He knows you guys better. Maybe he'll help them understand what to expect."
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
"Mmm, I think you're right. It's why Sheryl Nome is so popular right? She has a good voice, that's true, but I just know her songs come from the heart." And she's not saying that just to say it. She's already heard Obelisk - a song she wrote just for Akane, and gave to Rikka. She liked Sheryl before, but that made the idol extra special to her.
"Well, I'm glad you won't. And I do. At least I can respect your discretion."
The Ruin Apostles once decided Tsutsujidai was a perfect paradise to await the end in a kind way. Now it's fallen apart, shown the ugly seems of the world, while also displaying the miracles of humanity. By all means, right now, it's against everything they stand for. Yet, Ennil won't. Alouette was right she isn't the malicious sort, at least.
But that uglier side of Ennil does show in their fight, as she proclaims that she's an unfair person, but at least she won't be dishonest about it. "I guess so... I'm glad you told me the truth, anyways. It means you aren't such a cruel person after all.
Yes, Alouette lost, but she's still alive. She can be grateful for that, as she moves into round two. "I think you can trust Kaworu. He's the person who has been teaching me music, but he's wise about so many more things too." She nods. "You want them to know what to expect. Well that isn't very unfair, is it?" Even now, she is capable of being teasing.
Alouette does much better in Round 2 - she too knows what to expect. Every time Ennil goes for a weakness, she inadvertently exposes a weakness of her own, which Alouette chases with an efficiency of her own. "Got you~!" She cheers, as Tarabaman Eclatant holds Tarabaman Mika in a whole fifteen-hit combo.
"So...we're tied." Her town drops back down a few pitches. "We could do a tiebreaker. Or we could leave the score up to the real world." She eyes the screen and turns her gaze back to Ennil.
[OOC] Alouette Pommier says, "bluray: tone not town... " <Pose Tracker> Ennil El has posed.
Alouette teases her about not being so unfair, after all.
"You're a kind person. Your friends... all sound like kind people." Once again, in Ennil's voice, it sounds like a problem. "I wanted to run away, actually. I'm good at vanishing, if I want to be. But now that I'm here, there's nowhere to run away to. And you and your friends ended up here, too..."
Now she's off-balance. She keeps pressing in, treating Alouette like she did last round - but that just exposes how unsafe she's being, how willing she is to commit even when it opens her up to be hurt in return. She rumbles a bit, in her throat, and narrows her eyes.
"And since I know you won't run away... This is the only thing I can think to do."
She jumps in, looking to fake Alouette out. It's a fake-out - no aggression at all. Exactly the kind of thing she wouldn't do last match - trying to provoke Alouette. Nothing. She lashes out. Alouette catches her out again. She shakes the controls, drums on the buttons, but she's totally caught. It's a clean combo, and she's stuck watching as Mika gets bounced around the screen without being able to do anything.
She laughs, a little bit. "You sure did. Hey, Alouette, listen." Her tone turns serious... There's a coldness in those usually welcoming soft blues.
"We're friends, but you don't belong on my side of this. If I'm going to trust Mamoru and Ikumi, I need you to trust them too, okay? If you're stuck worrying about me... You won't be able to be where you need to be, by Rikka and Akane's side. They're dear friends of yours as well, aren't they?"
She draws her hands up off the controls, putting them up in a little shrug. "So we'll settle this then, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Alouette Pommier has posed.
“You think so?” Alouette softly asks, when Ennil calls her kind. But she nods in agreement when she calls her friends kind. “...Yes. I know what it’s like to want to run away, too.” She admits.
“I thought it meant I wasn’t strong enough for them anymore.. But it was them who convinced me to stop running, honestly.” She looks back at those eyes of Ennil’s, and then a quick glance at her earrings. “And maybe… not running away has been good for you, too.”
That extremely serious tone from Ennil does catch Alouette off-guard for a moment. “Ah… I can be pretty selfish, myself. And I definitely got a little carried away.” She laughs nervously. “But you’re right. I haven’t forgotten.. that I need to be there for them, too.”
In that case… she puts her own hand off the joystick. “Let’s leave it a tie for now,” she decides. “We’re not allies, and the way we fight is so different. But as we are right now, I’m not certain if we can settle this.”
“Besides…” that small, sly little smile returns to her face. “I know we’ll have plenty of chances for a rematch in the future. Because I trust them, my friends. And did you know?” She asks, and immediately answers herself. “I trust you, too.”