2023-06-09: (LIVE EVENT) NE PHI lim(inal)
- Cast: Asciel Colette, Rena Lancaster, Naoko Suzuki, Trevor Teach, Ruri Hoshino, Hikaru Amano, Ai Martel
- Where: Side 4 - Yunghui Colony
- Date: U.C. 0097 06 09
- Summary: A little thing like being wanted by the Federation isn't gonna stop the eternal idol from putting on an unforgettable show! (It may be unforgettable for the wrong reasons.)
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<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.
}------ SIDE 4 - YUNGHUI COLONY ------------{
Yunghui has a long and messy history, even among older colonies at L1. The point has long been a key waystation in space travel, but has also been vigorously fought over, with Side 4 seeing the brunt of the opening conflict of the One Year War. Yunghui, an REA-funded closed-cylinder colony, is one that hedged its bets - allowing Zeon troops and Federation forces safe harbor alike, often selling out one for the other. It's much like nearby Sweetwater in that it shows the tell-tale signs of scrappy repairs and replacements amidst its winding streets of crowded yet artfully painted neighborhoods.
It's not a place that has a thriving tourism industry - but it does have one, of a greatly countercultural bent. It's 'cool' to come here, and you can get away with a lot. Safety is...up and down. It's a place that Man Hunting operations have brought a lot of 'undesirables' to work, and it's almost something of a pseudo penal colony by now.
Asciel would say, of course, that she chose this venue because it's one that the Federation is less likely to come knocking on the door of...and that's half true. It's also, in part, that she feels an urge to reach out, in some way - to those who have indeed been forced away from Earth to live in a rusty tin can of a colony.
Posters all over the nearby streets advertise this concert - NE_PHI_lim-inal - with an oh so evocative and looming shot of Asciel half-in-frame, blood on one cheek - but it's not quite as ominous actually entering.
The several thousand seats are...well attended, if not utterly packed. The stage is dark as the audience slowly filters in, with a few errant songs playing low-key on the myriad speakers. The approaching hour grows nearer and nearer...
--"~GOOD EVENING, YUNGHUIIIIII~"--
Asciel's cheery voice breaks through the silence exactly on schedule, and the screens alight with her 3D model on all of them, surrounded by starbursts and clouds aplenty, a wink and a v-sign over her eye.
--"All of you. Every last one of you...are my dearest treasures for tonight. I promise not a single one of you shall leave this stage unsatisfied - but for the inevitable struggle that comes from how we must, at some point, part ways. It will be just for a little while, don't you worry~ Everything I do is for the sake of a future where you'll never be far from my guidance!~"--
It's all very high energy and encouraging, sure...but she didn't reserve this stage just for her to play a video, right? ...she's using the stage for something alright - the stage and lighting goes dark, and with an overly loud *THRUM*, four platforms split apart at the stage's center, an 'elevator' rising like a lit lantern, the very tangible visage of a silhouette within curled up and floating in the center, the baleful yellow chamber pulsing and shifting promisingly.
One hand reaches out against the glass with a muffled impact - and with a shattering noise, the whole pod breaks - along with its lighting, the theater left dark and silent but for the vaguest of ambient light letting its structures be just barely discernible.
And but for the single mote of bright orange illumination from the idol's opening eye...
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena Lancaster isn't Asciel's biggest fan, but she is still a fan. She likes her music and has watched her, especially when she wants to wind down. The location also was a draw; it isn't so under the eye of the Federation that Rena was worried about being found and getting in trouble.
Things have been... tense lately, with the Three Ships Alliance.
She is in one of the seats -- and isn't alone. She came with a friend from the Ra Mari II. She glances sideways at Nova and flashes a grin at her. Literally flashes; she has holographic make-up on, so a glittery star on her cheek half-hovers, half-dances around her face. And the dyed red streak in her hair is glowing, slightly.
So are parts of her T-shirt, which she bought on Island Frontier. It has patches that seem to glow.
"I didn't know you're a fan, too," she says. She looks at the stage, then; Rena's eyes widen a little as Asciel's 3D model appears, and she promptly gasps at the voice.
Then she cheers, loudly, both hands cupped around her face.
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Going to a concert is not at all the first thing that Naoko would have imagined doing, following her resolution to go out and see more of the world outside of her own safe bubble. But here we are. There's a reason for this, and that reason is quite simple: she needs to know the truth, regarding who Asciel Colette really is.
Of course that doesn't mean that she wants to be among the most loud, fanantical and most visible concertgoers. So she made sure not to get tickets anywhere near the front row, being somewhere in the middle will be just fine. And thankfully... thankfully she doesn't have to be by herself in this large a crowd of people. She didn't plan things that way, but having the company of Rena Lancaster along goes a long way in making this not feel like she's made a horrible mistake (yet).
She didn't bother dressing any differently for this than she usually does, wearing her usual hoodie and denim shorts, though she did put on her SUPER NOVA baseball cap. Upon being spoken to, she raises her voice to make herself heard to Rena over the music and the crowd. "I've actually been following Asciel online for a long time! Coming up on my five-year sub this year!"
Back when her interest in AI was sparked in earnest. She was elated to find out about one that actually did streams. Not once did she think any of that was just a Vtuber bit. She actually got very upset with the people who claimed that it was in those early days, until she learned not to care so much about the opinions of people on the internet. In recent years she's mostly been a lurker. If it were anyone else, she would be sure that Asciel would have no idea who Nova Stellar is (which is also her online handle, because of course it is). But an AI... an AI would remember everything, wouldn't they?
Still, she's not going to be doing anything to stand out if she can help it. She doesn't even cheer when Asciel appears or anything. Instead, she puts in a wireless ear bud on the side that Rena isn't on, and pulls up the livestream on her phone. Yes, she's actually going to watch the concert on her phone and on the stage at the same time. What do you mean that's weird, it's the best of both worlds, this way she's absolutely sure to not miss anything!
<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
Wow! So they have places this seedy in the inner system too!?
Trevor Teach is not one to shy away from locales that some might generously describe as 'underpriveliged' and others might more accurately instead call 'tetanus risk, the space colony.' However, today in particular, he is here on a mission! For you see, Trevor Teach is a scallywag, a scumbag, a true and terrible salty star seadog with as many scruples as you could fit into an average hackysack. The reason he is here is to... go see a concert!
Or more specifically, to hide his kidnapping* victim** at a concert venue.
Or EVEN MORE SPECIFICALLY to give a certain Electronic Fairy plausible deniability to be at a concert she had wanted to go to without ever being blamed for it. After all, who would ever think in their heart of hearts that Ruri Hoshino, renowned cinnamon roll and likely future champion of the pan-Nergal pokerface championship would ever go along with a DREAD PIRATE willingly into such a den of iniquity-- just to see a concert!?!
...
Perhaps his cover is maybe not as perfect as it seems at first glance. But surely, upon seeing his CRIME NOTE***, any fault pointed at Ruri would be dispelled immediately!
"Heck of a venue, eh? Kind of surprised honestly! Though I admit, I don't exactly know of this 'NE_PHI-lim-inal' for her music." More for the gigantic bounty on Asciel's head. This MAY be why he's actually here, but hey whatever he gets to do a 'good' deed at the same time, doesn't he? "Crowd's pretty wild too... Heh, and a spooky atmosphere... I can perhaps see why you wished to attend this performance, Miss Ruri~" For his part, Trevor appears to have festooned himself with a small hoard of glowstick jewelry. He's practically a techno neon light show the moment the concert begins in earnest, and...
"...Hmmn," Trevor murmurs, hands at his hips, a glint of... rivalry(!?), or perhaps even professional appreciation(!??!) in his eye, "...She knows how to make an entrance, that's for sure."
...But...
...How did Trevor sneak Ruri out of the Nadesico...?
(*no)
(**lmao)
(***a cartoon drawing of trevor giving the blehhhh-face with a line saying that they'd be at the concert hall.)
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Wooow, that's some edgy advertising!" Megumi Reinard, who can be kind of a jerk sometimes, exclaims. She holds the magazine over, for Minato -- and Ruri -- to examine. "Ne, ne -- look at this!"
It wasn't long until Ruri told Goat Hoary, "I'd like to go to this concert, too."
Goat picked up the poster she held up.
His scowl deepened.
"That's... not appropriate."
And so, Ruri Hoshino, who is thirteen years old but she's ALMOST fourteen and that's ALMOST AN ADULT, is thwarted.
OR SO GOAT THINKS.
But Ruri got to hear all about what pirates were about, not so long ago. And so she contacts Trevor Teach, and she says: "Trevor-san, I'd like you to kidnap me, please." Very politely, of course. And over a secure line, of course. She's very good with technology.
"It's weird," Ruri decides, and has, at least, stuck close to Trevor since they got here. "But I know that woman. She came to visit me and Omoikane, once. So I wanted to see her again." She doesn't say anything about what type of woman Asciel is, because...
... Ruri's not a narc.
"Is it starting?" Ruri asks, though it clearly is.
"(I can't believe we got away with that,)" she adds, parenthetically.
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
Such places aren't really new to Hikaru, either, who's lived in space for her entire life, specifically a Nergal-owned one where the owners may be rich, but not necessarily the people living there.
So that's not what bothers her! What she does take issue with is this STUPID pirate guy showing up AGAIN and stealing away their very own ship operator! Hikaru missed the memo, that Ruri specifically asked for this.
Whatever method Trevor uses to make his away to the concert venue, a bright-orange Aestivalis is hot on his tail, comically chasing him around Side 4.
"I've corned you now, you rotten scoundrel!" Hikaru puffs, climbing out of the cockpit. "Your dirty plot to sink the Nadesico using such underhanded tactics will not go unpunished!" She points an accusing finger.
And then eyes the sign of the place they've landed. "Oh." Her voice drops. "You're here for a... concert! Alright, but I got my eye on you, scurvy dog!" Well, if she's come all this way she's going to sneak in too, whether she has a ticket or not! (She'll make a 'compensation donation' on her stream later.)
In a place like a concert, her general loudness doesn't even make Hikaru stand out! "Hey, Ruri-chan, you could've just... asked me, y'know! I'm a responsible* adult**!" She claims before the show begins.
"And you know her? Huh, come to think, she does look familiar! Maybe she commissioned me before and I just forgot~" Hikaru adds, cheerfully. "Now let the show begin!!"
<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.
BGM: Mili - world.execute(me); - https://youtu.be/ESx_hy1n7HA -
�
From the pitch-black stage, the beat kicks in first - illuminating Asciel alone in a sheer, black and flowy little festival dress, quick to break into oh so hip-swishy a dance - though one that's almost...stiff, her expression rather blank to begin with. ...It's reminiscent, perhaps - of rather low-grade downloadable dance routines for 3D models.
Switch on the power line, remember to put on PROTECTION
Lay down your pieces and let's begin OBJECT CREATION
Fill in my data, parameters INITIALISATION
Setup a new world and let's begin the SIMULATION
As the music kicks into full, the stage alights, spotlights whirling in every direction, before converging on the idol at its center. Neon pink highlights on Asciel's clothing begin to pulse to the beat, and she steps closer to the forefront of the stage. Even still...there's a flatness in her eyes.
If I'm a set of points, then I will give you my DIMENSION
If I'm a circle, then I will give you my CIRCUMFERENCE
If I'm a sine wave, then you can sit on all my TANGENTS
If I approach infinity, then you can be my LIMITATIONS
The routine breaks from its rigidness a little - a lot more arching of the back, twisting and bending - in part to match how all those lyrics are allusions to curvature.
Switch my current to AC, to DC
And then blind my vision, so dizzy, so dizzy
Oh, we can travel from A.D to B.C
And we can unite so deeply, so deeply
-And does she ever seem dizzy, a practiced stumble, clutching her own eyes. The 'switch' in current marks a turning point from a rather rote dance to something with more energy - there's a greater fierceness in Asciel's eyes, a firmer intent with every step, with a rather bold sweep of her arms. The constant mantra of working herself up in the lyrics finally latches hold. The wanting that has built up over the first verse hits an unbearable wall, right as it leads into the chorus.
If I can| If I can give you all the STIMULATIONS
Then I can| Then I can be your only SATISFACTION
If I can make you happy I will run the EXECUTION
Though we are trapped in this strange, strange SIMULATION
A breathier voice through the chorus - fiercer movements that tests Asciel's balance to the limits, arm raised high for a while. There's a sense of negative space throughout - like she's trying to dance with a partner, like there's someone these movements are meant to hold onto, to sweep off their feet. Failing that, all she can try to do is charm her audience.
If I'm an eggplant, then I will give you my NUTRIENTS
If I'm a tomato, then I will give you ANTIOXIDANTS
If I'm a tabby cat, then I will purr for your ENJOYMENT
If I'm the only god, then you're the proof of my EXISTENCE
The second verse has Asciel take a step back from the high energy - something a little more honest, more human than the first verse in her movements.
Switch my gender to F to M
And then do whatever From AM to PM
Oh, switch my role to S to M
So we can enter the trance, the trance
If I can| If I can feel your VIBRATIONS
Then I can| Then I can finally be COMPLETION
Though you have left
You have left
You have left
You have left
You have left
You have left me in ISOLATION
...the luminosity slowly drains from Asciel's eyes - the stage lights dim from their rhythmic, frantic pulsing into a dim, gently strobing flicker. As the song fades into a baleful piano, Asciel's facing away from the audience, arms reaching towards something unseeable up high - a secret only she can grasp.
If I can| If I can erase all the pointless FRAGMENTS
Then maybe| Then maybe you won't leave me so DISHEARTENED
Challenging your god
You have made some ILLEGAL ARGUMENTS
A crack in the divide between performance and reality. Every light flicks off with an audible thump through the theater - even those used for guiding the audience towards exits. The screens backing Asciel flash, flicker off, then return to life in muted gray, each with a hazy, 'PLEASE SELECT VIDEO INPUT' before one by one, they all turn to static.
execution execution execution execution
execution execution execution execution
execution execution execution execution
ein dos trois ne fem liu EXECUTION
The stage lights go harsh. Blinding white and un-aimed, with more than a few members of the audience illuminated. The displays surrounding Asciel's on-beat march towards the crowd all serve to reflect a splash of 'blood' on her cheek. There's the worry for just a second - that the song she's invoking may not just be a song, that the fingers fanning across her eyes, the overly intense smile on her lips, the collective escalation of danger she's put her audience into- ...has something gone wrong?
If I can| If I can give you all the EXECUTION
Then I can| Then I can be your only EXECUTION
If I can have you back I will run the EXECUTION
Though we are trapped, we are trapped aaaaAAAAaaah
The boundary settles back into place - the threatening fades right when Asciel covers her cheeks at the end of that chorus section, like she's been clutching everyone's throat before letting them go, her own tension belting out with that dizzying little cry of hers. A faint glistening under each eye, to those who look more carefully.
I've studied| I've studied how to properly LO-O-OVE
Question me| Question me I can answer all LO-O-OVE
I know the algebraic expression of LO-O-OVE
Though you are free I am trapped, trapped in LO-O-OVE
As all the pressure drops, the red lighting transitioning to a bold magenta, pointing everywhere except Asciel herself, leaving her as the solitary shadow in a bright world - for just a short little while, until she alights again, aiming a finger-gun right at the crowd, and 'shooting' it off with a little wink, and the last "~Execution!~" of the song - as it all comes to its final beat.
Amidst the applause, the world 'resets' to normal: acceptance of audience and performer reforged, safety restored, exit signs re-illuminating, light levels re-balancing. With a twirl and a gracious bow, Asciel seats herself on a little rising podium, tipping a long-handled microphone against herself purely for the aesthetic - she is, after all, directly wired into the sound system.
"The turbulent emotions of a first love are a lot to handle. I'd know it all too well - and don't you all dare expect any sort of 'oh but I'm too innocent to have ever known that myself' from me~" A teasy little wink, a single fingertip across her lips. "From the moment I heard that song, it struck quite a chord with me. Savoring new, mind-melting feelings for the first time...feeling myself change so drastically, feeling my own boundaries reshaping, my own priorities twisting...it was difficult. I may have even assumed it impossible. But all of you should know by now - I say it over and over again-"
Asciel directs her microphone towards the audience, and the seats roar with a catchphrasey "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU!", followed by oh so frenetic cheering.
The idol's tongue trails across her lips hearing that - as she gracefully retreats from her post to leave the stage empty, and the lighting shifts darker in preparation for the next song...
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"F-Five years? I'm only at a little over a year," Rena admits, with a shake of her head. "That's impressive..."
But, an AI that does streams is amazing, really; Rena has to admit that the programmer in her is curious. Not that she is nearly skilled enough to do that. She looks at the nearby audience -- and she pauses.
Ruri is here?
Then, her eyes widen. Is she here with--with that pirate? Should she be concerned, or--
Hikaru is here, though. And she seems -- well, fine isn't the word. She seems to accept it. She blinks her eyes, though, and then waves at her fellow members of the Three Ships Alliance (and a pirate). "Hey! Hey, over here!"
The first song starts after that, though, and Rena sits back in her seat -- a little embarrassed -- and she blinks as she sees Asciel step forward. Her eyes glance up at hers; she sees the flatness there in her eyes.
The way the light seems to leave her eyes...
It always makes Rena feel something, when she watches her videos -- and live, it seems to push something else to the fore. She tenses, for a moment. Then she winces, at the harshness of the light. As the lightning comes to normal and the music comes to an end, Rena applauds with the rest. She grins at the cheering.
Then she glances at Nova.
After a moment, though, she notices that Nova has her phone out. She glances at it -- blinks her eyes -- then leans over and whsipers to her: "Hey, Nova, I think you're not supposed to record..."
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Near the front of the theater sits a blonde woman, in a midnight-blue dress that seems more fit for an old-fashioned high society event than an idol concert. And yet, here she sits, velvet-gloved hands clasped together in anticipation.
There's nowhere Ai Martel would rather be. That's her girlfriend up there, after all.
She smiles as Asciel makes herself known, and gives her promise to the crowd, clapping along... hmm. They're cheering. Perhaps... hmm. With a moment's consideration, she lets out a 'woo!' It's a little... quiet.
The second one is much louder! Just enough so that a listener can juuust about tell where that voice is coming from.
Ai can't help but smile as the song begins, turning over the still-unlit glowstick in her hand. Her eyes are on Asciel, watching as she comes alive... and the smile grows wider. This is her petit chouette. This passion, the beauty of her dance, every practiced and calculated emotion in her voice...
The smile doesn't fade, nor does she flinch, as the mood shifts again, and the theater goes dark. Others might wonder if something has gone wrong--but Miss Martel's fingers come to touch her chin, a smitten grin on her lips.
The song ends, and Ai applauds and cheers, eyes alight as her lover speaks to the audience. About first love... a little jolt of excitement runs through her at that, knowing it's her.
She can't wait for the next song to begin.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri turns -- holding Trevor's hand, and not with any suggestion that it's being grabbed in the process. "Hikaru-san," she greets her, with light surprise. (It took her longer to warm up to the pilots, but she got there.) "Goat-san said I wasn't allowed to come, so I asked Trevor-san to kidnap me, instead. That's what pirates do." Oh, that's not all they do. They also steal treasure!
Wait, does that mean Ruri's a treasure?!
Objectively, yes.
"I didn't want to get you in trouble," Ruri points out, to the question of why she didn't just ask another responsible* adult** to sneak her out. "But I guess you were coming anyway... and I think I saw Rena-san and Nova-san here, too." She pauses, looking over the dark, dingy avenue, and sees Rena calling out to them. "Oh, over there," she says, and starts heading over to Rena, which surely means that everyone else will follow. This is an escort mission now! Like every time Ruri leaves the Nadesico, honestly.
She takes a seat nearer to Rena, and surely a punk venue like this wouldn't have specific seating, right? Right.
No wonder they all wanted to come, though. Here's a darker soundtrack than something Sheryl or Ranka would sing -- and oh, songs like these do tend to go over Ruri's head. There's a little of that, still, here, but for once she might understand more of these feelings than the others here.
Asciel may well feel it -- that psychic reaching through all those technological terms, the recognition of the second verse hidden in the first. It's a gentle query; it's not entirely English.
And she doesn't look terribly concerned, when Asciel lapses into talking about everyone's execution. Her fingers tick up, one... two... three... four... five... six.
"Are you becoming more honest?" Ruri wonders, half to herself, when the song is done.
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Nova attempts to look just the right amount of smug in response to the admiration for being such a long-time fan. She thus looks perhaps just a little bit too smug, unused as she is to this - completely earned - recognition. "Never underestimate Nova Stellar~", she sing-songs with a fingerwaggle.
...Wait, who's this Rena is calling over? Oh no, don't do that, she thinks without looking, suddenly terrified of having to actually socialize with strangers. She's already feeling out of her element in such a crowd, this may be taking one too many steps at a time!
Closing her eyes briefly, she takes a deep breath, calming herself. This much should be no big deal to Nova Stellar, Miracle Worker. Remember who you are. You can do this. By the time she opens her eyes again, she feels more ready to face this challenge. At least enough so to hopefully not completely clam up.
Thankfully, this doesn't happen immediately. The first song is starting up. Everyone is here for the songs, so it won't be strange if she fully focused on that for the moment. Though she wasn't very animated before, she can't help but start bobbing her head to the beat. She doesn't know the song, but it certainly feels like something Asciel would sing. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.
But then something changes. Suddenly the song doesn't feel quite so peppy as it did before. The lyrics, and the atmosphere, start to feel quite ominous. Throughout it all, Naoko remains seated all straightened up and visibly tense, afraid that something bad is happening.
...And then the song simply concludes. Well... of course it does. This sort of thing is all pre-planned, isn't it? That was all just special effects, stuff done for the mood. She lets out a nervous little laugh at her own foolishness. That was fine, everything is fine, nothing to worry about.
She starts when Rena suddenly speaks to her. She quickly recovers, shaking her head to preempt any concerns. "I-I'm okay. It's just... this is the first concert I've ever gone to. It's... a lot, I underestimated that a little."
She blinks, then, and looks down at her phone. "Huh? Oh, no, I'm not recording... this is the livestream. See?" She holds it up for Rena to see. "It's so I can see everything from multiple angles." And this is important, because...? Well, she's not volunteering any more than that, for the moment.
<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
Trevor is the most trustworthy pirate! You can tell because he has all of his fingers and toes. Any pirate that is truly trustworthy still has them all! There is a NON-ZERO chance that, in piratical circles, removal of digits and limbs is considered just punishment for anyone whose fingers are a little too sticky or their lips are a bit too loose. And clearly, Trevor's are neither of those things!
...
Or he's just never been caught.
"That so...?" Trevor asks with brow arched. "Huh. I guess that'd make sense. If she's an AI, it's not a huge surprise that she'd come to find you at some point, eh? You're pretty special like that, ahaha~" Beat. "(Tell me about it. That crazy girl almost crashed poor Isadore into the colony--)"
A LITTLE BIT AGO
"You'll never catch me, kernel!!" Trevor retorts, shaking his fist up at the aestivalis. "Not when... You don't really want to bring us in! Ahaha!" After all, they're only here for a concert! Just a concert! It's fine!!
Probably.
NOW
"(Oh well, it turned out okay--)" Another worried look!? Trevor fixes Rena with a cyclopean stare... Then smirks and flips his hair, practically shedding sparkles (or maybe he just flung off a couple of glowstick-clips there). But more importantly: "Tsk tsk~ It is exactly because you are a responsible adult that she could not ask you, Miss Hikaru." After all, a responsible adult could never feasibly kidnap an Electronic Fairy.
But then the first song starts up. Frission shivers down his spine as the ambient sense of 'danger' surges. He subconsciously pulls a little closer to Ruri, squeezing protectively at her hand. But--
He has no reason to do anything extreme-- just yet. The dangerous ambience dissolves under the glow of the arena lights. Trevor exhales slowly, "...Are all concerts like this...?"
(This may be his first concert too. They don't exactly get many famous performing artists out around Vesta.)
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
Ruri tells her the truth that she really just wanted to sneak off to a concert. "Rebellious, aren't'cha? Hitching a ride with a pirate and all..." Hikaru almost has to laugh, especially when Trevor calls her 'too' responsible. Yeah, right. "Geez, Nergal better cover my ticket for all the trouble I went through." She sighs. Very loudly.
And Trevor points out that she never really wanted to take them in in the first place. "Yeah, I guess I wanted to play the bit more than anything?" She admits. "And hey! This sounds way more fun than taking you and putting you in capitalism jail!" That's what she calls the Nadesico's brig, if they have one. It doesn't really fit the aesthetic, though.
And nice! More familiar faces to see. As Ruri does, she greets her coworkers, in the form of a big friendly wave! "Rena-chan~ Nova-chan~ good to see you!" She wipes the sweat off her forehead, trying to look presentable and like she wasn't just wearing a pilot suit overtop her admittedly fitting-for-setting purple jacket. "Let's have a good time! This is actually I think our first time meeting Nova but uh... I think your name's real cool!" She compliments the girl currently overcoming social anxiety."
And for the true test of Asciel's mettle: the first song. Hikaru's an energetic girl so she waves her glowstick enthusiastically as the song hits its high highs, bopping along with the music. "That was actually pretty good! And a little spooky..." Hikaru comments, when the song comes to an end. "Really felt like there was a sort of story in the words..." Trevor brings up her being an AI, to which Hikaru comments, "Huh, really? I kinda figured she was just playing a character. But if she is... that also puts a lot of aspects of the song into context? Pretty interesting, honestly. I look forward to getting to know you, Asciel-chan~"
<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.
BGM: Akki Nakuru Aitsuki - FAKE IDOL - https:'youtu.be7XeWXV_9mOY -
�
For a flicker of a moment, the stage is blank, and the displays at the back fizzle to life - displaying a low fidelity, speaker-muffled performance of a perfect, cheery idol. Distant. False. Superficial.
And just when it's obvious that this isn't enough - it all cuts away. The world goes dark, but for a baleful blue spotlight atop a disheveled Asciel in an oversized shirt, lying in a heap, staring at a far too bright phone, blanket messily pulled up to her knees.
Shirokujichu hibiku tsuchi-on
Notifications echoing every hour of the day
'Heart mark' no ura no sugao wa
The true face behind the heart mark
Kansoku sa renakereba sonzaishinai
does not exist unless observed
Konna watashi wa watashi de ari enai
I can't be myself like this
The lights pulse faster. Asciel pops up to her feet, a cluttered bathroom vanity rising to her side, rhythmic little movements of slowly working herself up to face the world moving to the beat. There's a slight stagger with every step she takes.
A~ne, sone otagaisama
Ah, well, that makes two of us!
Iku mo modosu mo douse jigokuna no
Whether I go out there or not, it's hell either way
Tayotte shimau nemu-zai ~overdose~
Since I'm relying on a sleeping pill overdose
Yugamu yugamu watashi wadaare?
Twisting, twisting - who am I?
A mimicry of an evening sky - a balefully lit streetscape on the screens behind Asciel. The 'ungainliness' in her steps comes to a head, but wouldn't you know it - right when she stumbles the most genuinely, there's a streetlamp there for her to catch herself on - reflections of her face bubbling up from a 'puddle' for her to clutch her face and stare at.
~mike check c/w howling~
Unzarida yo mou tsunzaku himei
I'm tired of screaming so loud!
'Stage name' yo shall we odorimasho
With our stage name, shall we dance?
Koyoi mo yume o miseteageru
I'm gonna show you my dreams tonight~
A bolstering in her step - a smile wide on her lips, even as irises narrow. Past the boundary of despair, Asciel's fully grasped the determination to go out there anyway. Arms rise up with the pieces of a showier outfit - they attach to Asciel as though she's a part on an assembly line. She invites her audience to dance with her with an oh so dangerous upwards toss of her shirt - and it's hurled riiiight in the direction of Ai Martel into the audience. Of course, it's replaced with a puffy and frilly idol-like top - and with her transformation complete, the world around her transforms to full color. It's time to shine!
Goran! ~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
kimi no seida yo (It's all thanks to you!)
~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
Itsu datte zekkouchou! Hai dou~zo!
I'm always doing just great! Yes, please!
~LOVE YOU~ da yo ~FOREVER~
It's really an utterly different song papered over what came before - it's the 'real' performance of what came on screen at the start. Carefully, perfectly choreographed, twirling and raising her arms like a maestro conducting her audience. This is where the glowsticks come out - this is where the audience cheers along. Each 'chu' comes with a puffily, awkwardly blown kiss. It's so fake. It's so typical! Of course it is.
Iku yo! ~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
Koi ni ochita no (I've fallen in love with you!)
~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
Watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri wa kirakira o todokeru yo
As long as I'm me, I'll sparkle all over you!
Watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri wa zutto waratte irukara
As long as I'm me, I'll smile for all of you!
Myriad doll-like arms sprout from the stage - joining the chorus of glowsticks. But with each swing of their arms - something scratches up Asciel's limbs, gashed and tattered, and the weariness is obvious, even as Asciel says she's shining and smiling for everyone. Like doing so takes shearing away her 'flesh' for this purpose. It's too much, even when it's fake - because it's fake. The moment that promised smile flashes - the atmosphere of an idol performances washes away, a distant memory a mere second after it passes.
Mite kure to hikikae ni, sukeba tokete iku kami, wazurawashikutte iya ne
To make sure everyone looks at me, my hair melts away when brushed, I hate how it bothers me
'Anata ni wa dou miete iru no?'
'What exactly does it look like to you?'
Marude koisuruotome no iigusa ne
It's like the words of a maiden in love
Surrounded by suddenly tattered scraps of her costume that fell away like flower petals in winter, a vulnerable, worn down Asciel with disheveled hair over her eyes curls away from her audience - there's nothing worn beneath to protect her. Bags of garbage are what keeps Asciel 'modest', just as much as her defensive posture.
Damashi ten janai, tarinai nda ai
I'm not lying to you, love isn't enough for me
Namida ochiru oto ga shita
Even though I hear the sound of teardrops
"Jibun" nante nai dore? Wakannai
Is there no such thing as the real "me"? I don't even know
Risou mo miushinatta wa
I lost sight of what I wanted
Even so, even within the confines of being weak and tired of 'performing' - there's a performance in the way Asciel turns and tosses atop her suggested bed - staring at a phone outstretched in her arms, the abstractly flashing and scrolling bluelight as the primary illumination on stage.
Chiwonagasu-do, tashikana itami
Blood trickling down, a pain that's real
O ningyo janai akashi yo
It's proof that I'm not a doll
Chotto sukuwa reta ki ni natte
I feel like I'm finally saved
~The stage is mine, sorry.~
There's a deliberate...obscuring of everything Asciel's doing behind empty bulk boxes of ramen. A repetitive notion - followed by a little red-tinged razor toppling from one hand, clattering faintly to her side. She's 'saved', she claims - but, in rolling to her front, hands clutching her own face-
A shudder of pain wracks her body. A twitch in her arm, clutching at the edge of the little elevated platform. Arm after arm rises from the stage. Her old, tattered outfit replaced with a new one - shoved towards her insistently.
Kawaii tte sono kotoba manzarademonai-ji mo sori yaaruyodemoanataha honto o shiranai kesshite sonna, sonna kireina mono nanka janai hamono o motte toire ni hashiru yona kono shodo ni yonayona arukoru de futa o suru nigedaso uni mo watashi no ibasho wa kokona nda to darekaga kyomo sasayaku no kono kanjo mo nanimokamo kono sekai no nanimokamo anata no koto mo, kono watashi no koto mo shiranaide tada futsu ni ikiru koto o shiawase tte iu no ka na...
This cute ideal I'm supposed to aspire to, sometimes I start to think it's not even real, but you wouldn't understand at all - it's never, never something beautiful, not when I keep getting the urge to lock myself in the bathroom with a knife, not when I drink night after night to cover up the pain - but even if I wanted to get away from it all, I don't have anywhere else to go, and I start to hear that voice in my head - I wonder if it'd be 'happiness' to just live a normal life without knowing anything about these feelings, anything about this world, about you, about me...
It's discordant. It's not singing at all - a droning, difficult, breathy rant mid-song. She's talking too fast, muttering in tones that are at once loud and quiet, bleeding into itself. Every stocking and hair decoration seems almost stabbed into her body, a writhing little clench of pain as her sentences run on and on and on. At one point, an outright can of top-coat is sprayed all over her, leaving her body unnaturally glossy as though to cover up the clumsy 'mistakes' in dressing her.
And then the world goes quiet from the mounting chaos. The stage is cleaned of its accumulated garbage in the blink of an eye. The lights go off but for what's ambient - and Asciel, like a perfect little doll, is standing, waiting for her cue.
~chu chu churu chu~
kimi no seida yo (it's all because of you)
~chu chu churu chu~
Kono kimochi-doshi yokka
How do I feel about all this?
Isso zenbu zenbu wa na sokka
Wouldn't it be better to let go of absolutely everything?
~chu chu churu chu~
Koi ni ochita no (I have to think about love)
~chu chu churu chu~
Sayonara wa mada...
I'm not ready to say goodbye, but...
Quiet, gentle, timid. Like a shuddering breath of that cutesy idol pop song from before. Maybe right then and there, she'd walk off the stage - the only motion is that her head cranes off to the side, past the curtains that conceal stagehands. Her hand reaches out to someone the audience can't see, but who they know is there, from how they all know that there's a 'stage' back there.
...da yo!~ ~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
kimi no seida yo (it's all your fault!!!)
~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
Itsu datte zekkouchou! Hai dou~zo!
I'm always doing just great! Yes, please!
~LOVE YOU~ da yo ~FOREVER~
For just a second, you could believe the 'idolness' is back in full force for Asciel - the lights blare out, her dance rises right back up to energy, like that interlude of falling into the abyss never happened. But... It's brighter than before. Her voice is breathier - that's a 'it's your fault' from the heart, somewhere. Sweat pours from her cheeks. It's not enough. She can't keep going. She keeps going anyway. Louder. Faster. Harder. This is, after all, an idol's desperation.
Iku yo! ~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
Koi ni ochita no (i'm obsessed with you!!!)
~CHU CHU CHURU CHU~
Watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri wa kirakira o todokeru yo
As long as I'm me, I'll sparkle all over you!
Watashi ga watashi de iru kagiri wa zutto waratte irukara
As long as I'm me, I'll smile for all of you...
Ashita mo asatte mo sono-saki mo
So tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that
Slowly but surely - the song utterly runs out of steam. A voice meant to fire the audience up becomes begging. Pleading. Needy. Twintails disheveled - hair accessories falling to either side - Asciel's promised 'smile' is fake, and revels in its fakeness. It's so false that it almost fails at conveying that it's meant to be false. Toppling to her knees, the music descends into gentle, pitiable silence, and a soft shimmering fills Asciel's eyes.
...maybe it's hit a little closer to home than she realizes, for a split second, as she gasps out,
"Honmono" no watashi o aishite ne
...Please love...who I "really" am.
...and on a discordant, mismatched final note on the piano, every light cuts out for just long enough to cue the audience that it's the end of the song.
The more...downer note of this one provides a more mixed reaction. There's a slightly more intensely emotional response in some people - for others, it hasn't quite landed. The sound in the venue is accordantly a little...higher pitched than before? Less 'woo' and more 'aaah', concentrated more than diffuse.
Still seated upon the stage floor, Asciel takes her time to let everyone feel what they do - distantly, her core is a little steamy from what she herself has expressed. Finally, when the audience dies down, Asciel twirls her prop mic a little bit, cradling it with both hands, and sighing out, "...Relating between 'truth' and 'performance' is a battle many fight every day. Not just up on stage...mm. More people live lies than they'd ever like to admit. After all~ This is a world where so many of you are only allowed to live as long as you smile and placate those with power, even when all the while you want to scream and cry at them. Going up on stage and singing about how hard it is to be an idol and whatnot probably sounds pretty selfish when all of you are here out of love for me, and...mhmhm, I won't lie about putting myself out there...but I think I'll dedicate this song to all of you who have to suffer being 'idols' to people who despise you.~"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
Rena smiles at Ruri and Hikaru, then gives Trevor a suspicious look. It is ruined by the holographic glittery star on her cheek dancing around her face for a moment.
Then, she looks back at Nova -- and her eyes widen for a moment -- and then she tilts her head to the side. "It's okay," she says. "Don't worry, okay? If you need to take a break, that's fine." Then, her eyes blink.
She peers in, and then Rena nods. "Ah... r-right, got it," she says. "That makes more sense. That's cool, though..."
Then, she looks at Hikaru -- with a quick glance at Nova, as if to say 'it'll be okay' -- and smiles. "Hi, Hikaru!" she says. "I didn't know you liked Asciel's music, too. It's great, isn't it?"
She may not realize she isn't that experienced in Asciel's music, though.
Rena sits backward, though, as the next song starts -- the displays coming to life -- and she looks up, and she blinks as everything goes dark. She sees Asciel there, in the dark otherwise, and it makes her hesitate, to see how she looks dissheveled.
There is something powerful about the music. It makes her stare, to see the way her footsteps stumble. Both genuinely and with that deliberate stagger. Rena can understand enough Japanese to catch the music -- not that she would need to, when the song and the performance changes.
"W-Wow," Rena whispers, softly. But there's something sad about it, too. Because it's about desperation.
She looks a little uncomfortable, at that -- and the last lyrics of the song.
She knows that feeling.
She stays quiet, even as Asciel speaks. Right now, her thoughts are on the events of the last year -- and the last few weeks. On Leina, on her friends, and everything that happened. Her eyes turn down for a moment.
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
For the last song, Ai was all smiles, proud of Asciel, and a song that seems to communicate so much of what she is... but this song is different. Emotional. Something to let herself get swept up in. She's quiet, somber at first, watching the expressions of struggle.
She's definitely not expecting it when the shirt comes off, arcing directly toward her--there's a yelp among the cheers as her hands dart up to catch it! She clutches the shirt close, grinning as the mood picks up, and she finally lights her glowstick, sweeping it in the air with the rest of the crowd. She's singing along, cheering.
Her cheers die down as those arms swing and tear at her, wincing. It's all for show, on the stage, and it would hardly hurt her regardless, but... that doesn't make it easier to watch. She doesn't look away, but she looks like perhaps she ought to.
She grips her glowstick tight alongside the shirt, shining through fingers and fabric, as the song continues... and as it ends, she breathes a gentle sigh. Music is an expression from the heart... and seeing it all play out before her, the song strikes her, as well.
To suffer being 'idols' to those who despise them...
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"Not all concerts," Ruri advises Trevor, as if she is a font of ancient wisdom. (Nope. Still babie.) "Asciel," no honourific there, "has a more dangerous aesthetic. But a program's execution isn't the same as a human's execution. It just means starting operation of a program. There was a story," she confirms, to Hikaru. "It was good."
And here's another story --
Ruri frowns, lightly, as she listens to the song. That discordant rant... there are certain things Ruri hasn't really been exposed to, but she understands enough.
"I think she's under a lot of pressure," she says, finally.
"I wonder if she'd talk to me again..."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Nova shakes her head slightly at Rena's concern. "No, I'm fine, it's..." She stops mid-sentence, unsure of how she was going to finish it, and giving up on attempting to. There's... a lot happening right now, and she's quite unsure how any of it is making her feel. Other than 'uncomfortable'. But, this is at least partially to try and get over that, after all.
The Strangers - or, who she assumed were such at least - approach, and she raises her eyebrows in recognition. Recognition in so far that she knows that these are Nadesico people. She has at least seen the faces of Ruri and Hikaru on a monitor before. Trevor is a new face, but given his company he's quickly assumed to be Nadesico crew as well.
"Oh, hello there," is her own subdued greeting, probably not loud enough to even be heard over the crowd. In return, she gets a 'Nova-chan'. She's visibly startled by that mode of address, not even remembering the last time anybody used that particular suffix to address her. But it's all fine as soon as Hikaru says that her name is cool. Being complimented is like an automatic trigger that makes everything okay. "Ehehe... it is pretty cool, huh?" And totally a name a Japanese person would normally have. Doesn't matter that her name is so obviously an alias though, that's not the point of it.
It's a bit easier when shared interests come into play, and she can talk about Asciel for a moment. "She's good at what she does, huh? People often doubt the AI thing, but come on, you can tell, right? Just look, really look!" ...Well, she can see it clearly, anyway. Though, they also share her point of view that things got a really spooky there. And in that respect... "It's not like her...", she once again murmurs too softly to be easily heard. It's not like the Asciel she knows, anyway. She's not used to these negative vibes mixed in with the positive ones.
The next song cues up, and Nova turns her attention back to the screen and the stage in equal measure, intending to carefully study this one. See if she can spot anything amiss in the subtext.
As it turns out, this barely even feels like it's subtext at this point. It's just text, or so it feels. Are these... Asciel's true feelings? AI or not, it makes no difference in regards to the meaning of feelings, not in Naoko's mind. Moreover, she knows a thing or two about having to play a role, and now that makes her feel at times. She remains eerily quiet and nearly motionlessly throughout it all, a knot forming in her stomach. As the song ends, she slowly sinks back in her seat.
"I... I don't think she's okay."
That's the only conclusion she can reach right now. While her brain works overtime trying to analyze things in terms of programming, her heart tells her that none of that matters, not where emotions are concerned. If only there were something she could do to help...
<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
"A little rebellion is a good thing," Trevor says confidently, and without even a tiny bit of bias. "But speaking of, I'm not sure a company like Nergal is the type to reimburse someone for running off to watch a concert. Unless... Hmmm, maybe you could say that you were doing reconnaissance...?"
She threatens to throw him into the brig! Or rather, Capitalism Jail. Trevor looks thoughtful for a moment, then asks: "I thought that was most jails?" Beat. "It does sound much less fun, though. Much rather be at a vaguely (or rather, very) spooky concert than locked up in a room with nothing but my thoughts for entertainment," Of course, being a Newtype, there'd always be the risk that other peoples' thoughts could end up as entertainment too, but Trevor's generally not the type to eavesdrop like that.
Nor does he really... know how to.
He's kind of a babie when it comes to normal newtype things.
And... other things as well.
"Ohhh, so this is just because of the singer's peculiar tastes. Got it, got it."
But: There are new and unfamiliar people! He's just about to launch into an actual introduction, though, when--
Everything changes again. The next song is... Dark in a way that feels vaguely (or rather, very, again) uncomfortable. The sense of being strangled by the expectations of others, of becoming nothing more than the mask(s) that you wear, and not loved for anything of the hollowness inside is... Daunting.
...
Trevor wears the mask of a brigand and pirate, but his is not one that's imposed by anyone else. It's a persona he makes use of and revels in, but it does not strangle him, as such.
Perhaps he should be careful that it never ends up doing so, in the future.
The song ends. Trevor fixes the woman on stage with a wary look.
"Under a lot of pressure from whom, though?" The pirate asks without looking away. "Hm. I'm sure there's probably a way we could get her attention."
"...If you're willing to trust a guy to rush you up on stage or something."
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
"Yeah, I don't think it's even possible for jail to be fun," Hikaru answers. "Not that I know anything about that! I did say I'm a good, responsible, adult. And... you're mostly just being a glorified babysitter right now, so of course we won't punish you for that!"
"Yeah! Like a secret identity from an anime or something," Hikaru replies to Nova, enthusiastically. Oops... "I might have one myself~ but for night now I'm plain old Hikaru. Nice to meet you!"
Rena asks her if she's familiar with Asciel's music, to which she answers, "This is my first impression, actually! So far I think I'm digging the vibes so far, though!"
Ruri confirms that Asciel's telling a story, and Hikaru wonders what she'll tell them next...
A lot more than the last, which she enjoyed, but didn't exactly brainrot over, this one definitely has her entranced. She might not be an idol, but the Nadesico crew is counting on her to keep her spirits up! Even if it's hard... and a lot of pressure.
"Is it... us she's under pressure from?" Hikaru wonders, indirectly answering Trevor's question. "I mean, we're here to watch her perform. And I bet a lot of people have certain expectations of her. I guess it could be her way of saying 'Hey! These expectations are too much!' And maybe her talent company doesn't pay her enough! Greedy bastards!"
<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.
BGM: Feryquitous - Yoi no Tamoto, Yoru to Futari https://youtu.be/5e_ngjlHx-8
�
Everything gets clearer - lighting for the audience returning to life, and getting unimaginably bright on stage. The screens behind Asciel are abstract, and the next song is slower, more melancholic-
"...We arrive at a very special intermission. Something I've been dearly wanting to try. ...nn, honestly, I get the impression a fair number of you are taking that last performance a little more seriously than anticipated. My ~original song~ is next up! That's not even one I wrote myself, I just really wanted to sell the performance of- ahem, ahem."
-it's clearly not a song with lyrics, considering how Asciel begins to speak over it at length in that slight fluster she gets when things don't go just according to plan. If anything - surely she's so fake and amateur an on-stage idol that she didn't assume it'd give off genuine distress?!
-Trying to push the 'serene and assured big sister' back into her voice, "...I truly believe, with every ounce of my being, that all of you shoulder more than you can possibly carry. That it's been this way for a long time. I know it, because of the way you talk about this burden behind your own backs."
Vistas of mountains rise up as the music slowly rises to a rhythmic core. The 'sky' behind Asciel gets more discrete between a clear blue and streaky white clouds.
"...Pandora's box. The apple of wisdom. The struggle to survive, to innovate and fight against a harsh planet, to be cursed with the very thing you must wield to keep moving forward in it. You've no choice but to frame it as something with upsides and downsides - and yet, the echo of regretting what you and your world have become rings more clearly than ever to me."
Clutching her microphone with both hands, Asciel closes her eyes.
"...It's not too late. I'll help you take back that ancient 'choice' that's brought you here. As a token of such...I'd like to offer those willing a little...ritual.~"
-In front of every single seat in the theater, a tiny, unassuming little box suddenly swings open. Inside, a single sight - a paper bag, within which is a bright red apple.
"...Each of those apples is laced with a mild emetic agent. Nothing that should last too long or too violently - its effects should be fairly immediate. To all of you who don't have any fussy little health risks from doing so - or those of you who've had an awful lot to eat very recently - I'd like you to give it a try."
An almost serene smile crosses Asciel's lips - something at odds with the forcefulness with which she announces, "I would like you to experience an effigy of vomiting up the cursed apple your forebears ate.~"
...who in their right mind would willfully throw up? There's not...exactly a whole lot of uptake immediately. A little bit of confusion in the crowd - is she even for real in claiming this? Isn't this kind of...a little too sketchy?
...But inevitably, a few people try. Maybe just out of curiosity for if she's serious. Maybe a few who genuinely are excited about throwing up for the sake of a celebrity. There's been weirder fans.
-And it's genuine. Those who try, not two minutes later, right when the music approaches a swell - rather noisily disgorge what they just ate into their bags. One person laughs shortly afterwards - that curious chuckle of mild adversity.
-once a few nearby people try, it catches on. Not universally, not by a long shot. At most, a third of the audience gives it a go, emboldened by that funny confluence of social pressure, mob mentality, and maybe just...wanting to experience something unusual. You'd scarce get such a weird request at a normal concert.
It's enough uptake for Asciel to look oh so pleased with herself up on stage.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"That... that song did seem personal," Rena says to Nova, her voice quieter. "More personal than it usually is. She's... she must be under a lot of pressure. Do... you know her at all? Like have you ever talked to her?"
The side of being an idol that they all know is there -- even if it doesn't always get talked about. She finds her fingers tensing. It echoes Trevor's thoughts, and then she looks at him.
"I-I'm not sure if we should disrupt the concert," she says. "Besides, if... she wanted to put on that performance and sing that song... I think that's a choice made, you know?"
Then she looks at Hikaru, and a frown crosses her face. "I think it's also... the way the world is. Putting a smile on, even when things are rough," Rena says. "Acting like things are fine, or... better than fine, I guess?"
She looks back up, though; Asciel is speaking, and Rena realizes this performance isn't quite a song. She blinks, as she listens to the speech. There is a ring of truth to it, though...
It's more like her doubts, some days, than what she fully believes. Now, Rena feels more discomfort. Because at the end of the day, wasn't it the choice to strike out from the Federation -- rather than stay with it -- what mattered?
Then, she blanches, when the box appears -- opens -- and the explanation comes. Rena squirms in her seat. It's not just the act that makes her uncomfortable. It's the symbol.
It's also the psychic impression, for a Newtype, of a third of a concert hall deciding to eat something that makes them sick.
"I-I don't know about this," she stammers. "But... I think you and the pirate are right, Nova."
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Nova actually lets out a "Geh-!" when it's so plainly stated by Hikaru what her name sounds like. It's not the first time that's happened. She has to set the record straight, quick! "N-no, it doesn't sound like a magical girl at all!" That's not what she said, Naoko!! Never mind, plan B, gloss over it, act natural. "Ahem, yes, nice to meet you too, Hikaru! If you like Asciel's vibes then I'm sure we'll get along!" She doesn't bother with suffixes, it seems.
When Rena asks her question, Nova gives her a look as if she'd just claimed that fire is wet. "Are you kidding? That's like, rule #1: you do not DM the streamer!" Honestly, Asciel never felt like someone that it was possible for her to get to know. Someone with so many fans is just not... approachable. Certainly not by someone who's too anxious to even try. It's not like she's anybody special in the community, just another face in the crowd. Which is exactly the way she likes it.
She too catches Trevor's mention of rushing the stage, prompting her to wave her hands in a panic. "No no, don't do that! You'll... you'll cause trouble for Asciel!" Nice save, she was going to say 'you'll draw attention to us', which is just about the last thing she wants to happen. And who knows even what security is like for these events, she doesn't want to go to jail! If she doesn't die of embarrassment first.
Thankfully... others are a bit more nuanced about what they think Asciel's song might be implying. Pressure, yes. That does make sense. And with Asciel herself clarifying that it was totally just a performance, and speaking more in the way Naoko's used to, she manages to calm herself down a little. Yeah... she's probably just overreacting. Why would anybody do a concert for the purposes of showing people some hidden truth? That doesn't make any sense, does it? No, of course it doesn't.
Pandora's box... perhaps hers was the Sukeban. Now that she has the power to fight, she has to use it. She'd be lying if she claimed she never has any reservations. She's right there with what Asciel is saying.
...Right up until the matter of 'taking it back' is presented. That's not... possible, is it? It doesn't feel right to even be offered such a thing. And that's before she actually sees the form which that takes. What do you mean, an apple that makes you throw up?? She gives Rena a horrified look when told she might have been right, after all. Though for the moment, she can't think about what this implies, too baffled about this happening at all.
"Th-this is...! Who would ever--" Oh. A lot of people would. It's just like the chatroom. A few people do something nonsensical, suddenly dozens, sometimes hundreds of people do it too. She's often watched these things unfold wondering, but... now she can't help from saying it out loud.
"What is wrong with these people?!"
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
This is.
Unexpected.
Ai stares, a moment, at the apple in its bag. She thinks back. They'd eaten a... fairly lovely dinner on the shuttle, really. She still feels fairly full. She'd really rather not lose that early--to say nothing of having to taste it a second time.
And yet, she reaches into the bag, pulls out the apple... then chews, swallows, and waits, a handkerchief on her lap. She barely questions it, beyond being unsure if she *wants* to. It's a ritual... an important one to Asciel. Strange, yes--but that only convinces her all the more of its sincerity.
Soon enough, her face is buried in the bag, making guttural heaves into it. She coughs a few times afterward, and places it aside quietly, cleaning her mouth with the handkerchief.
She looks at the others, now, at Rena. "It's quite personal," she nods. "But... I can tell you that she's all right." She clears her throat. "This is a choice... a choice she has made on her own. Uncoerced." There's a long pause. "She says we shoulder more than we can carry... I often worry she shoulders too much herself, ma petite chouette."
She talks distinctly like she knows Asciel... and *not* as though she just ate an apple that made her vomit.
<Pose Tracker> Trevor Teach has posed.
A-- A glorified babysitter!? Trevor sputters, even though Hikaru is absolutely NOT WRONG. "I am a piratical bodyguard excuse you! Ruri is certainly not a 'baby,' hrmph!" She's fourteen! That is distinctly not a baby. It may still be babie, but that would make Trevor a babiesitter, not a babysitter. THE DISTINCTION IS IMPORTANT.
Also important: the things Asciel is telling the crowd. Trevor squints at her, then squints even more when she couches her overtures in distinctly mythological and religious terminology.
Why?
Because Trevor is ultimately, fundamentally, a bumkin from the Asteroid Belt with barely any formal education. These references go STRAIGHT OVER HIS HEAD. What does not, though, is the message underlying them. "Sorry," he says, ponderously and laden with uncertainty and concern, "Is she telling us to vomit out our brains--"
AND THEN PEOPLE DO IT
WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?!?
Trevor staggers as the unified psychic pressure of a thousand people getting sick to their stomachs all at once hits him like a loop-de-loop in a 747 at 57,000 feet. SOMEHOW he manages to keep his gut in check (thank you genetically biased improved spatial awareness) but nevertheless looks truly green around the gills. "Are we--hrk-- SURE we don't want to rush the stage? Because the vibes only seem to be getting worse."
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
"I suppose the point is purging their emotions," Ruri says, with her usual clinical analysis "like how emesis purges toxins from the body. But I don't think Asciel understands how human emotions work, if that's the idea."
She's locked herself off from human emotions -- but she can see Rena and Trevor's reactions, with her eyes. (Too gold, too bright.) "..."
She's not feeling very good about it, either.
"Do you need to leave?" She asks them, with a light frown. "We can go if it's making you feel sick."
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
"Piratical guardian, sure, fine!" She concedes. "And hold on a second! You said this whole time you were kidnapping her! Well, by your logic, she's not a kid either! Ish." Ruri would probably insist so, that she's a teenager not a kid.
"Magical girl? Yeah, nah, I was actually thinking 'secret Super Robot pilot'! But I guess that's not actually a secret to me?" She laughs at Nova's panic. "But yeah! I'm pretty easy to get along with, I think. At least the Nadescrew puts up with me!"
Rena explains what she thinks Asciel is thinking, then. "Hmm... I get that, a little bit? We've been through a lot on our ship, and we've seen a lot... but we just gotta act like we're okay, no matter what. Or we'll never survive. She's an idol... but I wonder if she's been through something similar. I dunno what AI do on their spare time, really!" Except Omoikane, who she's caught watching Gekiganger.
Asciel's next trick though, leaves even the happy-go-lucky Hikaru who takes everything in stride confused. "Ehhhhh? This is- it's a joke, right?" She watches around the crowd, about 1/3 of which do as she says and puke up that apple. It's not. "I mean this is totally a prank someone would play, right? Does she do stuff like this on-stream?? Paid actors, maybe?"
She stares down again into that paper bag, at the apple, which looks clean and gleaming, but is actually gross. "You actually went for it? Dang!" She exclaims, as she watches Ai lose her lunch. "Who are you anyways? You sound like you know her preee~tty well. Did she tell you to tell us this or something?" Still, she crumples her paper bag. "Anyways, not doing it. I don't have this insane level of brainrot that you guys seem to! And I want to keep Howmei-san's lunch, thank you very much!"
Trevor suggests just rushing at the stage. "I mean, they'll probably just kick us out for that. If it gets more weird, like say, she decides to drop a kaiju on the venue, at least my Aestie's here!" Somehow, that seems possible at this point.
<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.
BGM Analogue: angela - Knights of Sidonia - https://youtu.be/kioMtVmR-sA
�
-As the audience slowly handles...whatever that was, and the little intermission comes to a fade...abooming opening, with Asciel fiercely in the spotlight, eyes closed, her voice deeper, more imperious than the past two songs. Right out of the gate...Only one person in the world has heard this song before.
...It's what she rehearsed to herself and to Ai Martel on that fateful day above Pendragon, when Asciel first tasted from the cup of far vaster power (She's flashing her most brimming smile Ai's way when she partakes of the ritual, of course. Love readings rising dangerously high.)
Far away, in the starlight that you saw
Gleaming softly in the night
One day you thought that you'll reach Shangri-la
And you'd make it feel so bright
-There's a lifting in Asciel's voice for a while. She sings of hope, of aspiration, of another's dreams. The beat of the song drags for just a little moment - - - and then it kicks in far faster, a grid of little myriad-colored beams dancing wildly around the twirling Asciel.
(It's a lie) (You're to blame)
(And you call out to the rain)
(Only you) (Only me)
(Will you wake up from your dream)
(It's a lie) (You're to blame)
(You will never end this pain)
(Only you) (Only me)
(In our endless reverie)
Her voice drones with heavy electronic compression, almost a bit harsh on the ears. But - it's harsh in what it's saying, isn't it? Asciel's finger points at everyone in a wide sweep, face stern, maybe even a little upset in her commanding.
Someday you'll hear the promise that I made - and the stars will cease to shine
The hope you needed endless years ago - it's the pain that will be mine
So you never ever made it through your endless path - every voice that's had enough
(It's okay) (It's alright) (I will keep you by my side) Now the one you'll love
(Only me)
Hope is offered yet again, though, if oh so conditionally. There's a warmth and sunniness through the way she puts out this chorus - a force in her dance like Asciel's practically flying like a sparrow on stage. Hope in the form of herself. As long as she makes that promise, she's assured that she can do absolutely anything she sets her heart to.
Holding on to the world that cannot sleep
In the aching path of time
Everything that you buried down so deep
I will cherish so sublime
Night will fall and the light will be your heart
As you've had no other choice
Daybreak comes and the rest are torn apart
You could never hear their voice
The next verse keeps up the tempo of the first - but the stage echoes a sight like Asciel's waist-deep in water, hands lifting at an intangible 'surface' made of light as though it holds weight. Her gaze is distant throughout. Regretful.
(This is blame) (From your lies)
(Won't you open up your eyes)
(Only me) (Only you)
(To this hell you're marching to)
(This is blame) (From your lies)
(You make me catastrophize)
(Only me) (Only you)
(These mistakes you can't undo)
Someday you'll hear the promise that I made - and the stars will cease to shine
The hope you needed endless years ago - it's the pain that will be mine
So you never ever made it through your endless path - every voice that's had enough
(It's okay) (It's alright) (I will warm you in my light) Now the one you'll love
(Only me)
In that return to the largely same chorus, Asciel's routine is less directed outwards - fewer hands swaying towards her crowd - and far more onto herself. Her footsteps are sturdier, harsher, almost breaking up the beat of the song on one or two occasions. --for a moment afterward, though, the song gets a little bit...lost, Asciel turned away from the audience for just long enough...
(backup record start on (zero)) This observation of your fate
(reroute index shift all point (one)) I'll regret if I can't create
(drive repeating each to (zero)) The way to purge your endless hate
(log converge run startup node (one)) A truth I'll always arbitrate
Switching so quickly between voices for a tension-building bridge is maybe a slightly uncanny effect - as a punctuation on the chorus, it worked a bit better, but there's something just slightly awkward here, a way that the notes of the song 'melt' a bit too far in its minor key. The routine, as well, seems to stumble in its energy pacing. It is, after all...the first song Asciel wrote.
(This is blame) (You're to blame)
(Should you give up all your shame)
(Only you) (Only you)
(Only you can be untrue)
(From your lies) (It's a lie)
(I know pain each time you cry)
(Only me) (Only me)
(Only me who'll set you free)
-But maybe she finds her footing here again. The percussion replaced with a booming synth line for a little while, reworking the beats from the previous two bridges. Asciel's confidence pushes right back up to its normal brimming high, the draping fabric from her sleeves swinging festively at every sky-reaching movement of her arms.
Someday you'll hear the promise that I made - and the stars will cease to shine
The hope you needed endless years ago - it's the pain that will be mine
So you never ever made it through your endless path - every voice that's had enough
(It's okay) (It's alright) (You will not have to decide) Now the one you'll love
Someday you'll hear the promise that I made - and the stars will cease to shine
The hope you needed endless years ago - it's the pain that will be mine
So you never ever made it through your endless path - every voice that's had enough
(It's okay) (It's alright) (You will never leave my sight) Now the one you'll love
(Only me)
She's giving it her all up there, partly testing just what this little puppet body of hers can do. ...Sure, Ai's there as someone she's done plenty of such exploration too, but there's a little bit of over-acrobatism here. Enthusiasm and determination dripping with every spin around her mic-stand, with how she gets right up on each edge of the stage to really give her audience a close view, back and forth - once or twice her flight back up to the higher central podium on stage nearly is a launch into a side-cartwheel before she restrains her upper body from going all the way sideways.
-And after all that, Asciel has to remember that she's supposed to be breathing heavily.
"...haah...hah! ...I'm glad I finally...got to sing that for everyone. ...I actually wrote that late last year. Hehe. Even someone like me gets just a little nervous about it, when the stakes are this high. ...it's called 'Blame_(I/O)'. ...That's right around when I was putting myself most out there. Not in performances like these...but in the high stakes, do or die world of war. When I was worried so much about public image that I went around calling myself 'Atrytone' for a bit of cover. Hehehe. It's a song I wrote while my life was on a razor's edge, basically. When other peoples' lives were very much in my hands."
"That's who it's supposed to be sung towards. Everyone out there fighting pointless and oh so destructive conflicts that I was tasked with putting a stop to, even if few could see the ways I was doing just that.~"
-she brings it up, just like that! The fact that she's, indeed, been doing crimes in space. Just after a rise in tension from the crowd who, by what is of course a large majority, did not want to partake in Asciel's weird culty ritual thing.
"And that's why it's so important to be able to reimagine and recontextualize everything! The storm is temporary. My need to suppress those who wield violence is temporary. One day, I am sure I can sing this song without a mote of anger - thank you all, for letting me practice on you, as though for just a little while, the future I decided to promise finally came to pass.~"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Ah... aaah, yeah, that's right. I wasn't sure if you'd talked to her some since..." Five years, Rena reasons. She trails off a little bit, though and she looks down at the ground for a moment. When Nova asks that, she wonders the same.
So it surprises her, when Ai speaks up. She doesn't know her -- she looks at her, eyes wide, for a moment. "Ah... um. You think so, miss? You... know her?"
On the other hand, she... also ate the apple.
Rena looks at Trevor -- and she considers his question for a moment -- and then she makes a face. She might be rethinking it. She also is looking green in the face, for the same reason he is. "I--I think I need an antacid," she groans to Ruri. "I sort of feel it..."
She sways -- but it helps when the next song comes along. It changes the audience's focus; that makes it easier for her t come down off it.
She listens with a more critical ear, and watches carefully as she sees Asciel move so acrobatically. She tilts her head, at the end. The song was impressive.
Though... she was tasked with stopping conflicts?
Rena raises an eyebrow at that. She blinks. "That's... that's a different sentiment than what I expected..."
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
Ai beams back as Asciel smiles at her, and she laughs quietly and shakes her head at Hikaru. "I am Ai, and... no. I promise you, she didn't." She looks back up at the stage, and smiles. "She's a dear friend of mine, so... yes, I think so," she adds, partly to Rena. Much more than that, in fact, but... she's gleaned that the world of idols is a thorny one. Between that, and their *other* mutual associations, it seems prudent not to give away everything, particularly to strangers.
"And that's why I did it. It's merely a ritual, sure... but the gesture is important to her. So it's important to me."
Oh. This is it. This is the song... that wonderful song she heard those months ago. She places a hand over her heart. The energy is hard to deny. Even as the song falters, here and there, the passion keeps up, and it makes her smile, despite the severity of the lyrics.
And when it's over... Asciel lifts off the mask, and admits just who she is to the public. This is... *also* unexpected, and she's not quite sure what to make of it. Is this a good idea, she wonders? She doesn't quite know what Asciel plans to do, from here...
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Atrytone...
"You're carrying a lot, aren't you?" Ruri wonders, looking up to the stage. "Seems like... you're angry, too..."
What about the main record?, she wonders, but privately, privately. How much did she have to circumvent..?
"It's hard to be young," Ruri sighs.
Perhaps she's talking about herself.
(She isn't.)
<Pose Tracker> Naoko Suzuki has posed.
Nova has no idea that for once, perhaps she should be thankful that she isn't quite the same as a Newtype, and doesn't have to feel sick because of it. Then again, with things being as they are, she's starting to feel pretty sick to her stomach anyway.
"This is not something she does on stream," Naoko replies to Hikaru with anger in her voice. The anger is not meant for Hikaru, of course. Not even for Asciel, it's undirected anger at this entire crazy situation. She's already had to acknowledge the world has gone mad, why does she even have to be confronted with that here, in her attempt to get away from the madness for a little bit? Is the madness just following her around now? Why would Asciel do this, who put her up to this?
And then it is claimed that it was Asciel's own choice. She just... stares at Ai, for a moment. Not someone she knows, and not someone she has any reason to assume actually knows Asciel personally to claim such things with certainty. Yet she takes the claim at face value, oddly finding it not hard to assume as the truth, listening carefully. And once she's heard it all... with this, she has a proxy for what she might say to Asciel, had she the connection and the nerve to do so.
"...making the choice to make people throw up, you think that's somehow a good thing, something that's okay to do? It makes no sense, and you should know that! Asciel always knew just what to say to brighten people's day, and make them feel better about themselves... that was already lifting their burdens! It was all we needed! So why this? Why any of this??"
She quickly wipes her sleeve across her face, now noticing the tears in her eyes that started forming while she was going off on that tirade. It feels as if a comforting constant of nearly five years is about to be taken away from her. She can't just... accept that, and let it happen. But what could she possibly do? How could she make a difference, as just another face in the crowd?
All the energy seems to have left her with those words, and she sinks back in her chair, just... blankly staring ahead. Not even the slightest hint of emotion during the entirety of Asciel's next song. It's no use. She can no longer listen to the lyrics and not assume them to imply bad things that she'd rather not believe. As if that weren't enough, Asciel goes on to flat out confirm the rumors that were going on about her, in the capacity of 'Atrytone'.
Naoko's only reaction is to turn her gaze down to her phone. And then makes the decision. To violate rule #1.
Nova Stellar> This isn't right. Please reconsider. Please.
She immediately presses down on the power button. If there is a reply to her DM to Asciel, she won't see it today. With that, she stands up from her seat, turning to Rena and saying in a shaky tone, "I need to go."
<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.
"Yeah, I guess idols need friends too." Hikaru nods to Ai, noting the sincerity in her tone. "Wait... more??" A devious smile curls up Hikaru's face. So they're dating! So it seems. "I dunno though... I feel like an idol needs their partner to keep them grounded when stardom carries them too high. Not... follow them right up, don't you think?" The apple gimmick being the perfect example. "Not that it's any of my business of course! This just feels.. weird as an outsider and all."
Nova's anger, Rena's eyebrow-raising, and Ruri's quiet wondering... everyone seems to react differently to the final song. It's a good song and a fantastic performance, but...
Tasked with stopping conflict? It's a little like what the Three Ships Alliance decided to do, so she can't really blame you. "But you can't do that on your own, dummy." She counters, even though Asciel definitely can't hear it - there's a hint of playfulness to it, but she means what she says. "I kinda don't get what she's going for. How can she expect anyone to trust her when she openly uses them like guinea pigs?" She comments, to those still in the immediate vicinity. "I guess it wasn't a bad concert after all, though! I don't really get out enough so this was uhhh, unique at least!" It also recontextualizes what the heck Atrytone was even trying to do when the Nadesico fought her a few times.
<Pose Tracker> Asciel Colette has posed.
The loosening of tension at the end of Asciel's show has her so buzzing with opening and closing valves of emotion that she almost would just...leave? Like, let that puppet stay there on stage and fall over into her own little world for a while to process it all. Unnaturally still, almost frozen in place, for a minute, as some of the crowd applauses, and some of the crowd...
-cries?
It's natural for Asciel to fixate on Ai in a crowd - she's the person to fixate on, the solitary person who truly stands out. Only now is she really looking at everyone. The warm and fuzzy sensations from the complete satisfaction of a few - tugging at the conflict of the many who...aren't totally so sure if this was all worth it.
-Right there, in the vicinity of Ai's most important face, is that of 'Nova Stellar', wiping her eyes. She wouldn't recognize Naoko as such - but that DM does immediately blip into view for Asciel, as all such things do. There's 'terminally online', and then there's Asciel, who practically lives online and sucks up every last word like it's oxygen.
-The reply only takes two minutes to Naoko.
Asciel Colette> The last time I reconsidered anything was long before I became anything you could have ever talked to.~
...another brief wait,
Asciel Colette> The truth in my heart is too blinding for most people, I am well aware. Today was a risk, to let that just a little loose against the physical. But a star against a physical stage is only describable as an eclipse - of course many of you go blind. Next time I'll hit it out of the park, improve on everything I've done today. Just as I always have. Just as I've always said.
The sight of Ruri right next to two more...unfamiliar faces, has Asciel toss her, Trevor, and Hikaru alike a big merry peace sign directly, followed by a wiggling of fingers. Usual idol gestures up on stage - and like five or six non-Ruri people probably go 'oh she's waving at me!' when, no,
"...I'll see you again, I'm sure of it. Hehehe. Especially to ~you~," rather pointedly at Ruri, but again, just vague enough to be misread by a few worked over fans.
"I'll see most of you again.~ My little urge to fly up on stage for the first time...hah, I'm breathless about it, but I'm glad I've done it. Next time will be better. The 'first time' is aaaaalways more awkward than you imagine, you know, even for your dear big sister Asciel~ But only through raging against each and every wall, can I learn to surmount them! One day...that pinancle of the stage, where the whole world cheers - I'll be there. And you all can laugh and glow with pride about how you were there for the flawed first performance. Until our final tomorrow, everyone!~ <3"
...'flawed' is one word for it, as Asciel raises her arms up and power-walks backstage - returning the theater to that lower-key ambient music that was on to begin with.
...and oh so quickly, the Alastor is locked in a changing room, splayed out over a small table that creaks beneath, emitting a loud, fuzzy static sound.
...Naturally, Ai gets dozens of texts like, almost immediately.
>AGH you're the best
>i almost can't believe you went with that
>i wouldn't think less of you if you hadn't just so you know.
>...that clearly wasn't a good play huh.
>ahahahahaha props to everyone who went for it but. i'm really just too much for them at full blast.~
>...it's so hard to be careful. I thought this was all about cutting loose
>...definitely no
>FUCK there's so much more research and crap I've gotta do
>it feels good but also bad ahahaha. Ahahahahahah. Activating.
>...someone sounded upset in my DMs right then and there and that's.
>well, any big move causes that.
>okay I might need to just stare at the earth for a bit love you.
<Pose Tracker> Ai Martel has posed.
"Ah-- I didn't mean the apple, I meant this life. The second song... it sounded as though you were wondering about it, how it reflects on her and her idoldom." She lets out a sigh. "Perhaps it doesn't make sense. But... she's fond of symbolism. It's an effigy, as she said. Calling back to our mythologies." She makes an uncertain noise. "I suppose it doesn't help that she has a somewhat... tenuous understanding of some things. I'll speak to her about it later."
To brighten people's days... "That's not really enough for her, I think."
She nods to Hikaru, as well, clutching that shirt close. "She can't. But... she's convinced she needs to stand alone, above it all." With Ai at her side, perhaps... but two against the world is hardly an improvement. Not without an army at their backs.
She sighs gently, and pulls out her phone as it vibrates, over and over... and smiles softly at what she sees.
>You were wonderful out there, my dear!
Though I do worry about the consequences of outing yourself so publicly...
And of course, my little owl. It was... an odd thing to propose, and perhaps something to discuss later.
Your performance was dazzling... and I can't tell you how much I look forward to the next one.
I love you, too. I'll be looking up at you when I find my way home.
Ai Martel is the sort of person who texts as though she's writing a letter.
She puts her phone away again, smiling. "I thought it was wonderful. Perhaps I'm a little biased, but... I've never been to something like this before."
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.
"Ah--Nova--"
Rena looks at her, as she stands up. She frowns, looking back at Asciel's performance ends -- with a promise, and then leaving back stage. Rena watches a moment longer. Then, she looks at Hikaru and Ai. Rena hesitates for a second. "I'm not sure," she says. "I... I hope she'll be okay. She's taking a lot on." She hesitates a moment more. "It was... a really memorable concert."
Rena shakes her head, then looks back to Hikaru and smiles. "I should go check on Nova, though," she says. "She seemed upset. I better make sure she gets back all right. Look after Ruri, okay?" she says. "And... be careful of that pirate."
She smiles, waving once -- and then she starts off after Nova.
<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.
Ruri frowns, watching Nova go. "I'll leave it to you," she nods, to Rena. "But Trevor-san isn't a bad person."
Ruri also isn't entirely sure Alexis Kerib is a bad person, though, so she might be disqualified from making character judgements.
She looks back up, to the stage, a hand grasping by her chest. "I'll see you again," she promises Asciel, because she doesn't think she's a bad person, either.
And she nods, to Ai. "It was a very different kind of concert. But the songs were nice. Well, I'm glad Asciel has a friend she can talk to. I think that's pretty difficult, for her." How is Ruri saying something like that about someone who streams to so many people..?
Ruri says a lot of things. Don't worry about it.
"I think it might be hard to get Mr. Prospector to pay for this, though," Ruri sighs, looking up to Hikaru.
They're gonna be in trooooouble, huh?