yumemigaoka | ★ my genius, flawless idol for life

[ Units aren't always a strictly official thing and not necessarily something that always calls for meetings and paperwork... but Ai's well aware of the position she occupies in the DU and the resulting scrutiny any Unit associated with her would come under, official or not. It seems safest to do this all as by-the-book as possible, then, even if it's a bit more stiff and formal than she necessarily would've liked it to be. To offset that, she's asked the girls to meet her in the DU lounge rather than her office (it's a little less scary, right?) and when they arrive, she's already serving hot cocoa from the coffee machine alongside the pile of snacks and cookies she's got waiting for them at the table.

Once she spots them, Ai's face lights up. ] Good morning...! Sorry to ask you to come so early in the day — I didn't have any other times I could guarantee we'd be able to chat for as long as we needed. Come sit down! You can dig into the snacks, too — I got way too many from sponsors this month to even try and eat by myself!

Heyo!!

[ If there was any fear at suddenly being called in, it clearly isn't showing on Hibiki's face as she cheerfully throws open the door to the lounge and all but slides inside, as energetic as always. ]

Ah, snacks! Thanks, Ai-san!

[ Something that might be clear about Hibiki at this point is that her stomach really is the way to her heart. She slides into one of the chairs, immediately taking one of the cookies and practically shoving it into her mouth... ]

...ah!

[ ...only to realize that this might be a bit rude and sheepishly slowing down. ]

[Lisa is not quite so carefree as Hibiki, but she's... starting to get used to this Ai and how she operates, just a little. If it were a serious conversation - or worse, a dressing-down for whatever reason - she wouldn't do it in the open, in front of whoever could wander into the DU building. So she really does just want to talk, and probably not about anything too dramatic. Which is fine, she reflects, as she cautiously follows after Hibiki and demurely accepts one of the chairs on the same side. She's had enough dramatic to last her a few decades, in the last few months...]

Good morning, Ai-san. Thank you for your hospitality, and for taking time out of your busy schedule.

[She's... still hiding behind formality a little bit, but her tone is less stuffy than it was last time; it's friendly enough, though not casual. She's not exactly relaxed, but she's not particularly tense either, as she takes a cookie herself and snaps off a piece, delicately munching on it. Better not to get crumbs in her scarf, it's a pain to get them out. She's very careful not to laugh at Hibiki's enthusiasm, though her smile is a bit indulgent.]

I can't even imagine the kinds of stuff you end up with, with all your... [she gestures at Ai meaningfully-] you-ness.

[ Ai just laughs and waves a hand - dismissively, but not unkindly. ]

No, no, you don't have to be so stiff with me. You can just relax — both of you.

[ Which means Hibiki can go back to machine gunning cookies if she likes. Peace and love on planet Dreamer Union. ]

Around this time of year, it's mostly sweets and chocolates and all sorts of things I really shouldn't be eating too much of. [ She grins. ] It keeps the snack cupboard nice and stocked, though!

[ And don't mind her if she steals a cookie as well— ]

Anyway... now that things have settled down a bit, I was thinking we could take a bit of time to make our Unit official. What do you think?

Ah! Really!? Then...!

[ Back to machine gunning cookies she goes! As well as any other snacks in her vicinity. How this girl maintains her figure while being all too eager to down all of this junk food will forever be a mystery... either way, formalities are dropped very quickly on her end. ]

Mm? You mean we weren't already?

[ Don't mind the fact that her mouth is full while she says that. ]

[Well, if Ai is asking, she'll... try to relax? We'll see if it stays that way, but for the moment she offers Ai a grateful smile, both for the at-ease and the encouragement to snack.] I probably shouldn't eat too much of it either, especially since I have so much of my own sweet stuff to make and I need to test at least a little.

[But the explanation of why they're actually here gets her attention, and she perks up a bit, the piece of cookie in her hand pausing a moment before moving the rest of the way to her mouth while Hibiki questions it, crunching thoughtfully. After a moment to swallow:]

That sounds good! What are you thinking? Team building exercises? Initiation mission? Karaoke box, although now that I say it that would be really weird ?

[Lisa, you can't just invite an idol to karaoke... although she doesn't retract the offer or look at all like she regrets voicing it.]

We're sort of... [ She tilts a hand. ] Unofficially official, if that makes sense. We all agreed to work together but there's nothing down on paper yet. The DU likes keeping track of who's working together in a Unit, just so we know who's out in the Dream Sphere together and where we might be able to use them if any emergencies come up.

[ She decides not to sour the mood by reminding any of them of the emergencies that have very much popped up in the last few months... not that any of them probably need reminding. Especially not Hibiki. ]

Once we are official, I think some training as a team could be good — heading out on Torment Hunts, doing a little exploring... and maybe some karaoke, too. [ She gives Lisa a little wink. ] But before then, I'd like us to be officially signed up as a Unit. I've done all the boring paperwork parts but before I submitted it, I realized there's something we're missing. We don't have a name yet, do we?

Mm, mm...

[ Hibiki hums, nodding along to what Ai is saying. She kind of gets what Ai is saying, and honestly? She's glad that Ai is handling it. All that paperwork would fly so far over Hibiki's head, but she supposes that being an idol already means dealing with plenty of paperwork.

...but her eyes light up specifically at the mention of karaoke. ]

Ah! Karaoke!! Great idea, that'd be so much fun!!

[ ...ah, wait, that's not the main point, is it? Hibiki quickly sits herself back down. ]

A-Ah, right! A name! Hm...

[ Alas, she's coming up blank for now. ]

[Lisa nods as well; it makes total sense that the Union wants data on who's in the Dream Sphere, it'd be a disaster to lose an active Dreamer. And beyond that, anyone under Ai-Doll's nominal command is probably going to be a force to be reckoned with, so of course they'd want to keep tabs... eh. It makes sense. She smiles at Ai's wink, but recognizes what the problem here is, and nods again, more sharply.]

A name, huh... well, we might want something music-related, yeah? Given the Dreamers involved. Something proper and stuffy might be good for appearances, but- [A pause and a glance at Ai, who despite her position is still a relatively playful person when she feels like it, followed by a glance at Hibiki, who she doesn't know that well but Lisa suspects is pretty easygoing. There's a certain vibe here-] I think something more casual and lighthearted might fit us better. [A shorter beat, and another glance between them, checking her enthusiasm just a little.] Is that... reasonable?

[ Ai laughs - not unkindly at all, just pure delight. Proper and stuffy huh? The cat's long out of the bag on that one, even before Hibiki and Lisa entered the picture. But she's still trying to be considerate of Ai as an adult, huh? She's a good kid. ]

Of course it is! Really, when it comes to a Unit name, just about anything is fine so long as you all like it. There was a trend in the States for a while where people went for something simple and just called themselves "Team Something or Other"...

[ Producing a pen from her pocket, Ai flips over one of the spare bits of paper and quickly writes their names on the back before circling them. ]

Now... what do you think comes to mind first when you think of the three of us?

[ Hibiki's hand shoots up. ]

Songs!! Or, um... music!!

[ She's doing her best to try and help! Though Hibiki's not really sure where to go from there, so she's promptly back in her seat and scratching her head, deep in thought. ]

Mnn... maybe... Symphony... something...?

[Lisa's cheeks pink a bit, but she understands she's not being laughed at, so she just smiles through it. Still, the question's posed, and she hums.] Hmm. Let me think for a second... [She closes her eyes and lets herself sink back into her chair, a soft puff escaping her as she lets her mind drift, just a little. A name, right...? Or at least some kind of keyword. Something musical. Three of them, with space for one more. Bright and peppy. Spontaneous, or maybe reckless. One well known ~~legend~~ artist grouping up with two newbies.

Her tone is a little dreamy - slower, almost distant - as she lets her thoughts just float out of her mouth.] Mm... Symphony is good. Trinity. Chorus. Harmony... harmonics? Synthesize. Synchronize. Unit- no. Amplifier. Spotlight... shooting star....? [Her brow creases, and she seems to wake up, eyes fluttering open again as she shakes her head softly.] Sorry, I lost my train of thought, and I feel like most of that wasn't helpful. Um... I'm thinking something, I don't know, cute? Sparkly? But I could also do something more energetic? [A beat.] Dissonance, between being cute on the outside and being able to punch things anyway? Bleh, I can't really settle on anything...

[ Ai writes all these down as they go, nodding along with a little smile - they're already speeding along with ideas at the slightest push which is good because she had absolutely no clue where to start herself. Three heads really are better than one, even in the Waking World. ]

This is a really good start...! I think staying away from anything that's specific to there being three of us would be a good idea in case our lineup ever changes but the idea of us all matching or syncing up...

[ She circles a few more words - 'music', 'harmony', synchronize. ]

Harmonic something-or-other might be a good start... hm, how does 'Harmonic Blend' sound?

Ah! That sounds really good! Cuz' we all blend our styles together and stuff! Plus, it's cute, too!

[ Lisa especially had plenty of good ideas, especially since Hibiki was struggling in that regard. ]

I like it! What about you, Lisa-chan?

[She'd just been throwing out words a second ago, so Lisa's happy they got something useful out of it! Leave it to Ai to be good at teen-wrangling.]

Blend... yeah, I could see that. I like it, I think!

[Someone else made a decision she can work with! This will do.]

Heehee, alright. We'll go with that for now. If we come up with something we all like a little better, we can use that but until then, it's not bad, is it?

[ She jots that down in some of the paperwork - there's a few more forms she has to fill out back at her desk, but this is mostly just so it feels nice and official for the girls. She turns the paper around and pushes it and the pen across the table towards them. ]

Just sign here and it'll all be official! And then we can get to chatting about training and schedules.

Mm, not bad at all!

[ Hibiki quickly takes the pen and signs her name without any hesitation... which when concerning putting her signature on paper, probably isn't the best habit, but oh well. ]

Ah, that's right... what kind of training will we be doing? Singing stuff? I already train pretty regularly.

No, it sounds good!

[Lisa is not quite so cavalier; after Hibiki is done with the document, she takes it and gives it a somewhat more detailed scan. She does trust Ai, but she isn't going to agree to something without understanding what she's signing herself up for. It doesn't take terribly long, but it's visibly a fair bit longer than Hibiki took. She has enough attention to spare, though, that she can add a small comment:]

Singing practice would be fun but I can't promise I'll get very good. Teamwork training, maybe? [She has a free moment to give Hibiki a lopsided smile.]

Actually, it's a little bit of both. This is technically the kind of thing idols do, which is how I got the idea... but I was thinking that the two of you could do some dance practice. On this side.

[ Ai gives them what she hopes is a reassuring smile. ]

I don't have any plans on turning us into B-Komachi or anything like that, so don't worry! But dancers — and idols especially — have to do a lot of things while they're active on stage. It's not exactly the same but you have to split your attention while you're fighting Torments on the other side, right? So I want to help you two really nail down how it feels to do that so you can take it into the Dream Sphere with you.

Dance practice? Ah, that sounds like fun!

[ She can remember watching some of Kanade's own dance practices back when she was being trained by her. She hadn't participated... but still! For once, Hibiki actually completely understands what she's hearing. ]

Mm, that makes sense! I've always thought that the way idols are all so coordinated is super incredible! I never thought about it that way, though!

[Lisa's kneejerk reaction is to frown and raise an eyebrow, but she does her best to suppress it; if anyone knows about idol-grade training, it's Ai, and given Ai-Doll's well-earned celebrity status on the other side, it must be more than talk.]

I could... see that, I think. And you're right that coordination and multitasking could only help us. I have a sinking feeling it's going to take me a little while to catch up to Hibiki-chan, though. [Lisa is not a dancer; she's used to making the music, not performing in time to it. Still, she agreed to give Ai a chance, and she can't go back on that in the first sixty seconds.] That's not a no, that's just a... please be patient with me.

Even if it does, is that so bad? I'm not asking you to practice because I want you to be perfect right away — I want to try because I know we won't be. Rehearsing things without the same kind of immediate pressure as a Torment Hunt should be good for getting you used to moving like that and it'll help you feel a lot more confident when it comes time to do the real thing. That's what rehearsals are all about.

[ And if she's right... Lisa definitely needs a bit of a confidence boost. As the senior Dreamer here, it's Ai's job to figure out how to do that. ]

We'll learn some super simple choreography and then a few other exercises as well. We don't need to get them done perfectly — just good enough that we feel pretty sure about what we're doing.

Mm, exactly! Besides, I train a lot, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be great at dancing right away either! We'll get better together!

[ She scoots closer to Lisa and leans up against her, all sunshine and smiles. ]

Plus, it'll be fun! Right?

Together, huh... [It all... sounds reasonable enough. And Lisa spent long enough talking to Ai about her hangups before - never mind the hangups Ai-Doll saw the hard way, back in the Sanctum that time - that she's pretty sure Ai's seen through her at least a little bit, and so the fact that she's suggested this plan means she thinks she can make it work... and that's circular enough logic that she can feel she's brushing up against a headache, so she lets the thought go.

By all rights, Hibiki coming into her bubble should put her hackles up, but... the positivity is something Lisa desperately needs in her life, and it doesn't quite push her out of her comfort zone. She doesn't quite relax, but she lets herself put some of her weight back against Hibiki, attempting to communicate her acceptance - of the idea and of Hibiki, herself - without words, in case she tries and doesn't make herself understood.]

Right! It'll be good to learn something new. If I can keep myself from getting distracted, anyway. Dance practice with Ai-san is somewhere on my bucket list. [She gives Ai a sunny smile of her own; despite her misgivings about being able to keep up, she's on board.]

Heehee. I'm not exactly as good a dance teacher as I am at training Dreamers, but I'll definitely do my best. You guys can let me know if there's any songs you really really like and I'll see if I can't come up with something for you based on them. If it's something you're already into, it should be more fun to learn things for it!

[ Motivation! Maybe she won't be as bad at this whole dance teacher thing as she's expecting. ]

Speaking of Dreamer work, though... since we're going to be working together, do either of you have any trouble spots you'd like to have covered? Or something you'd like to work a bit harder at learning, maybe?

★ my genius, flawless idol for life

★ DU Lounge — Unit Meeting (Lisa, Hibiki) — December 4th

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)