★ my genius, flawless idol for life

[liedol]

⭐ Who: Ai and you!
⭐ When: its fucking dember
⭐ Where: Mostly in Yumemigaoka, with some planned Hunts and stuff in the Dream Sphere
⭐ What: Wow, that was pretty decidedly awful!!! Unfortunately, there's no rest for the wicked OR the DU's idol so even though she's a little running on fumes, Ai's still got a busy December ahead of her...! With DU work and idol work and holiday obligations all on her plate, the real question is: how does she ever find time to sleep???

Comments

2/2 (cw: talk of weight loss)

[reluctants]

[ ... Suddenly it seems like the girl is hit by a realisation, the dreamy look disappearing from her eyes entirely, replaced by grim reality. ]

.. ah! W-wait, doesn't that mean I'll have to work super hard in January?! I mean, if I'm going to be eating that many yummy treats, I'll have to lose weight again later..

continued cw as above

[liedol]

[ . . . Ah. Of course. Illya's getting to be the age where she'd worry about that kind of thing, right? Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise, but it makes Ai feel all sorts of itchy to hear it coming out of her mouth. Illya's only just barely a teenager — she's really still just a child — and that's not something she should be worrying about in the least.

Ai gently squeezes her hands one more time. ]

Who says you have to? You're growing up fast, aren't you? It's good to eat tasty food so your body has lots to work with while you're growing. And besides — one of the privileges of being a kid is getting to spoil yourself with sweets sometimes.

[ Her smile turns warm. ]

You'll still be the same clever and brave Illya-chan either way. So long as you're happy and you feel good about yourself, isn't that what's important?

continued cw as above

[reluctants]

[ Well, it is terribly hard to ignore any word that comes out of Ai's mouth at any given time. It seems to make the young girl pause, at the very least, like she's overthinking both her own thoughts and Ai's advice.

Illya doesn't pull her hands away, but she does look a little more reluctant. She glances around, making sure no one else waiting in line can hear them, and then slowly speaks. ]

I read in a magazine though that it's important.. [ And Illya is definitely at that age where she's easily influenced-- if the way she absorbs everything Ai tells her is anything to go by, honestly. ] .. and that no boy will ever like me otherwise.

continued cw as above

[liedol]

Hm, did you? [ Casually, like she isn't suddenly boiling with anger a little bit. It's bad enough that girls who do modelling and idol work get blasted with this kind of thing from every corner when they're working but Illya's just a regular girl minding her own business. Can she really not relax even then? ] That sounds like a pretty tacky magazine to me.

[ She gives a disapproving huff just to really emphasize it and then leans in again, her tone a little gentler. ]

If you heard a boy saying he didn't like one of your friends because of how she looked or because she'd put on a little weight, you'd think he was really mean, right? The kind of boys who get stuck on those kinds of things aren't the sort of boys you'd want to get interested in you in the first place.

[reluctants]

[ There's a slight nod when Ai asks her that question. It's a little reluctant, but it is true. Illya would never stand for anyone mistreating someone she cares about, even if she'd have to timidly stand up for them.

.. the next part, however, doesn't seem so cut and dry. ]

But what sort of boys should I get interested in me then..?

[ Granted, this isn't exactly the sort of thing they normally talk about.

But that's the trouble with Dreamer business - you get so caught up in it that there's hardly ever time to talk about anything else. Like regular girl problems Illya may be having at her current age, especially with media everywhere being so oriented to blasting specific messages at girls her age.. ]

Do you think I should get boys interested in me? [ In.. general, Illya???

(Sorry, Ai, she literally has no one else to talk about these things with, apparently.. You are the mom now..) ]

[liedol]

[ Of all the places to be having girl talk... is what she would think if this was anyone except Illya. The impression she gets is that... there probably aren't a whole lot of other people and especially not other adults Illya gets the chance to have talks like this with. It's a little sad but it's even more worrying — it means she could pick up influences from anywhere and she clearly already has been.

But that's fine. Ai's had a lot of practice being an encouraging senpai and a doting mom. She's a good enough substitute for the job.

Gently but firmly; ] I don't think you have to if you don't want. You've already got a whole lot on your plate right now, huh? So I think it's okay to focus on all that stuff if that's what you decide is the most important for you. You're working hard and doing your best at being a Dreamer, right? Are you having fun with it?

[reluctants]

Um..

[ Sure, she is working hard. Even Illya can admit that much. That's not the part that has her thinking this hard - it's the question that comes after it. ]

I'm not sure about fun.. [ That's a big word to use for it! ] But it's important, I like feeling like I'm doing my part..

[ Does that make sense? Illya isn't sure, but she is speaking to Ai from her heart here.. ]

Sometimes you just get a little worried you're falling behind on other things, right..? Have you never felt like that before, Ai-san? [ Maybe a.. slightly bit more appropriate of a question for a meet-and-greet.. Relatively speaking, anyway. ]

[liedol]

Heehee. I think I get that. When you're doing your best at something, even when it's hard — even if it's not exactly fun, it still feels like you're getting something special out of it. Not that it makes things any easier...!

[ She's shooting for 'encouraging' here, sure, but that doesn't mean she's going to go right to putting unrealistic ideas in poor Illya's head. By the sounds of things, she's had plenty of those already. ]

But I get what you mean there, too. Back when I first got started as a Dreamer and especially once I had my solo debut... I was always feeling I was falling behind on pretty much everything! Even nowadays, there's plenty of times where I feel like I'm not getting as much done as I want to be doing. But when you're just one person, there's only so much you can do, right? So you have to give yourself a little breathing room.

[reluctants]

[ The girl looks like she's taking it in for a moment. She slowly nods, like she's thinking she might understand, or maybe she just feels a bit of relief that a worry like this is relatable even to someone like Ai..

.. but before she can say anything, Illya glances over her shoulder, only now suddenly seeming to realise something. ]

A-Ah-- W-Wait, I'm holding up the line, aren't I?!

[ N-NO..!! That's not okay! She can't ruin Ai's very special and important meet and greet..!! ]

[liedol]

[ And of course, Ai laughs. Warmly and fondly, at least. Certainly not at Illya's expense. ]

It's alright! We have a little timer that goes off once your five minutes is up. Let's see...

[ Ai glances off somewhere under the table separating them out of Illya's sight then beams at her again. ]

You've still got a whole minute left! So just enough time to tell me one or two more things, if you like.

[reluctants]

A minute!

[ She says it like it's precious time. Mostly because Ai says she has enough time to tell her one or two more things.. And that means Illya has to make them count, right?!

(Maybe she's momentarily forgetting she can easily tell Ai more the next time she sees her.. It's not like her talks with the other are that infrequent, after all..) ]

T-Then.. [ For a moment the girl seems like she's panicking as she's trying to think of what to say out of the myriad of things she could tell Ai.. But then she suddenly - and quickly, it's probably only due to Illya's young bones that she doesn't snap her back at that speed.. - bows. ] T-Thank you, Ai-san! For having taken care of me this whole time already.. I-If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be where I am now!

[ She's not even sure whether she actually would have become a true Dreamer without the other in the first place, really.. ]

[liedol]

[ Professional as she is, even Ai's not totally invincible... no matter how hard she pretends to be. Illya being here at all has been a bit of a surprise so she's totally, utterly unprepared for her to bow like that. The surprise of it is all over her face but it's not an unpleasant expression at all - it's soft, bemused and fond and it only takes a second for it to break into a smile.

She really shouldn't do this while everyone else is watching. But Illya's much more than a fan - she's one of Ai's precious trainees.

So, ignoring the ripple of murmurs that goes through the waiting crowd, Ai bows to her in return. ]

I've been glad to do it. Getting to see you do your best and blossom really has been lovely, Illya-chan. Let's keep working hard together in the new year, too.