yumemigaoka | ★ my genius, flawless idol for life

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ai hoshino

★ my genius, flawless idol for life

⭐ 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???

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[ December is a busy month for a whole lot of reasons even when you're not a celebrity but while her contracts might say otherwise, Ai's #1 work priority will always be the Dreamer Union and with everything that's been going on, there's absolutely no shortage of work for her to be worrying about.

When she's not worrying about variety shows, fan meets and whatever else an idol gets up to at Christmas, Ai can be found at the DU office, helping to manage schedules, run office-y tasks, answer PR emails, take PR calls, do PR meetings... it's, uh, a lot of PR at the end of the day.

Her being a busy lady doesn't mean she's too busy for her coworkers, though. If you're a DU regular it's not hard to catch her flitting busily around the office and she makes a point of having open office hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the afternoon so if there's anything you need to trouble her with, why not drop by for a visit? ]

[ Have you heard Dreamer Ai-Doll's new Christmas single yet? DON'T WORRY. YOU WILL! As well as ad spots on TV stations, her smiling face is all over the city — Ai dressed up in an artfully casual and disheveled winter date outfit with a bashful smile and holding a box containing presumably a Christmas cake. What exactly this has to do with getting you to buy Fujiya confectioneries isn't entirely clear but... going by the way they're flying off the shelves, it sure is working!

This is probably helped along by the 'fan meet lotto tickets' bundled with certain kinds of cakes — buy enough and you'll be able to attend a private concert with live signing by Ai-Doll herself! And if you're extra lucky (or you buy enough sweet) then you might even get a ticket for the handshake event where you can chat with Ai herself and have her sign some things for you...!

Yeah, it's pretty scummy. But it pays the bills.

If you're lucky enough to get a ticket for the live show, then you'll be happy to know that Ai knocks it out of the park as usual, smiling brightly enough to rival all the Yumemigaoka illuminations put togeher — just like a real pro. She's still wearing a just-barely toned down version of that smile at the handshake event afterwards and her voice is warm. ]

Thanks so much for coming all this way to see me! And in this horrible weather, too — thanks so much for your support!

[ You've got five minutes to get some chats in, so make it count!

... but if you happen to be a fellow Dreamer or a regular she sees at the DU, Ai blinks in surprise a few times... then she giggles and wrinkles her nose. ]

Jeez, did you really line up all this time just to get a handshake? I'm impressed with your patience!

[ Ai's got her schedule pretty well figured out by now. Out of the office at 5PM, train at 5:15, home for 5:45, or thereabouts. After so long of working at the DU she's practically got it down to a fine art... which is why it's particularly odd that anyone making their way into the station now will spot her pacing up and down on one of the empty platforms, talking into her phone. She's definitely not dressed for the evening chill, with just a relatively light jacket over her clothes, but her furrowed brow seems to be more to do with the conversation she's having as she walks back and forth. ]

No, no, don't worry about— it's just a delay, right? I'll be home ASAP. Just my bad luck that the weather turned, huh? I'll figure something out. Just make sure you get dinner and head to bed once it's late, okay? [ ... ] Mm. Mmhm! [ ... ] Me too. I'll see you soon, okay?

[ She ends the call and only then does a huge sigh come pouring out of her in a cloud of white. She doesn't even realize she's not alone until she turns from the tracks to see if she can't get herself a coffee and — ]

Oh! [ She blinks — and then smiles sheepishly. ] Looks like we're stuck waiting for a little bit...! They said there should be one along in about half an hour, so long as there's no more delays.

[ In all the chaos in the months that'd followed, Ai had almost forgotten it'd happened — before anything had gone awry with Mio or Ango, before any of those effects had touched the waking world, the Vale had been at risk of vanishing. All the other Stabilized locations had come unglued as well... but the Vale was the one that had gone afloat entirely. There'd been some attempted investigation but the Disturbances that had followed had taken up so much of the DU's focus and...

Both of the Disturbances had vanished once the person at their heart had give up on them. Even if she wanted to, there was no way to go back and investigate them. And she has no way of knowing if there's any connection here at all, but... there's nothing to lose from looking.

So she goes looking. With winter thoughts chilling the Dream Sphere, the Vale's entirely frosted over and the usually sloppy ground is hard and crunchy underfoot. It's easier to navigate, but it also means that what she wants to do might be a little more difficult...

Before she can get started on... whatever it is she's got planned, though, there's a crack of ice from just behind her and she spins in time to see a nasty looking group of Torments making their way across the frozen grass to her. She huffs an impatient sigh before cracking a smirk and summoning her weapon to hand. ]

If you're that eager, I'm happy to make a little time to dance with you!

[ Maybe help a girl out if you're around? ]

[Being the New Guy admin means that his role is not fully set in stone yet. Which means Sylvain is doing a lot of taking work off of other folks at the DU to lighten the load. Which is fine, he feels helpful and it means there's always someone to ask how something works if he doesn't know. Everyone is scrambling for the holidays, and after whatever that Disturbance situation was happened. There is one worker bee in particular who seems to be scrambling more than everyone else.]

[Of course Sylvain knows who Ai is. She is practically the face of the DU. He's also no small fan of JPOP so he may or may not have listened to her music some while he was learning japanese. He isn't exactly starstruck by her, but it sure is a strange feeling seeing someone onstage onscreen and hearing their voice on recording, and then meeting them in person in such a mundane setting. Either way, he wants to introduce himself to everyone and especially all the pretty ladies, so he finds out from someone how she takes her coffee and brings her in a disposable cup from the break room. He knocks on her open door politely.]

Hello, sorry for interrupting.

[ It takes a beat longer than it maybe should after he speaks for the typing to stop and when Ai looks up from her fancy tablet (pink and sparkly, because of course it is), the words she'd been rattling away seems to be swimming in front of her eyes still. Then, blink — her eyes snap back into focus and just as quickly she snaps on a smile, too. ]

Oh, you're not interrupting at all! [ he so obviously, clearly is interrupting — but she says it so warmly that it's hard to argue. she gestures to the chairs facing her desk. ] Here, come in and take a seat! I just have to fire out this email and then we can chat.

[ That's what he's here for, right? ]

[She is so convincing it actually wraps back around to make him feel guilty, even thought he's here to offer help rather than actually take up her time. Maybe he's just too used to passive-aggression.]

I actually just came to introduce myself and make an offering.

[He holds up the cup he has and places it safely on a clear spot on her desk.]

Cream and extra sugar, right? You looked so busy I figured you might need a little fuel. I'm Sylvain, just started here and I was told to do the rounds and see if I can take some work off of people's plates.

[Only partly true, but it's close enough. He has good pronunciation, but it's certainly clear to native japanese speakers that it isn't his first language.]

[Ango only catches the tail end of Ai's conversation, but it sounds like she's letting someone know that she'll be home late... and from her lovey-dovey tone, it's gotta be a guy, right? Well, damn, good for her! She deserves somebody worth going home to, even if an idol has to keep her personal life under wraps.

Ango has nobody to go home to, or even a home to go home to for that matter. He's been camped out in the basement of DU HQ since returning from the Dream Sphere (it turns out that the online rumors are true and the DU does have a secret basement level, but it's mostly filled with old fax machines and janitorial supplies). There's a sento and a laundromat not far from headquarters, so the arrangement is surprisingly cozy. It's not in Ango's nature to spend too much time at home, though... so after work, he wanders.]

Oh, yeah, I heard that the snow knocked a power substation offline.. it's probably gonna be a while. Half the system is gridlocked right now, so I figured I'd get on the first train and see where it takes me.

[Has he been avoiding her ever since the Disturbance? Uh... maybe a little. Most of his coworkers seem content to let him laugh off the whole thing, but Ango knows he won't get away that easy with Ai.

Belatedly, he notices that Ai's not wearing a coat - with the station being so close to the office, she probably didn't think she'd need more than a jacket. Ango hurries to shrug off his own heavy coat. Well, it's not actually his coat, but anything that spends longer than 2 weeks in the lost-and-found box in the DU's coat room is fair game as far as he's concerned.]

Here, take this!

[The coat is ridiculously oversized for someone of Ai's stature, but he can't just let her freeze. As for himself... he's had colder nights, he'll be fine.]

Edited 2023-12-05 00:25 (UTC)

[It's an open secret that Connor? Generally avoids the DU. Absolutely never shows up there, because quite possibly the only person more busy with PR stuff than Ai is Connor. Also he hates it, especially now that people are constantly asking him about Dreamer Crimson, but someone's talking about maybe filming the next season of the show in Japan and people responded positively when he answered a question about Ai in his recent Q&A video so it was strongly suggested he should either be a fan of her or be friends with her.

And also he needs to choreograph something to her new Christmas single to be performed at some sort of Christmas event? He's been on a nonstop PR train for the last month and the finer details of why he's doing things are slipping away from him. The point is that he's spoken maybe five words in the same room as Ai and apparently people are now suspicious because he never hangs out with her and he's never mentioned being a fan of her before. So he was told to "fix it" and the only way he can think of to "fix it" is to maybe get a selfie with her? Or something? She's also in the industry. Connor assumes she might have some ideas too.

He heard through the grapevine that she's usually around the DU office on Tuesdays, which is a rare mostly free day in his schedule, so he stands nervously outside her office for a moment before knocking.]

Um... Hoshino-san? Do you have some time?

[He has gotten... almost comfortable talking in Japanese! It still sounds a tiny bit stilted, though.]

[ Oh, a newbie... there'd been a horrible moment there where Ai had realized she didn't know his face at first glance and resigned herself to spending the entire conversation dancing around the fact that she had no idea who he was. She's gotten better with names and faces as time has gone by out of pure necessity, but there's so many people coming and going from the DU at all times that a few of them slipping her mind is inevitable. Especially with a schedule as packed as this month's.

But! A newbie means she can slide right into easygoing people pleasing mode without spending half as much energy on it, so that's what she does. ]

Oh, you're a lifesaver! [ She immediately scoops up the coffee and takes a sip without even gauging the temperature, which is about as obvious a tell as to her stress levels as she'll ever let on. ] I get the feeling you're about to become everyone's favourite person in the office for all the wrong reasons.

[ she has no idea how right she is ]

Oh— [ Ai visibly dithers (you know, more than she already was) for a moment over accepting the coat before a nasty wind whisks through the station and she promptly decides she'll take surviving the wait for the train over looking polite while she does it. ] Thanks...! You'd think I'd know better not to risk it when it comes to winter this far north...

[ She pulls the coat on, shimmying her hands through the comically oversized sleeves and then wraps it around her as tight as she can. It doesn't fully solve the issue of a Yumemigaoka winter, but it takes the sting off a little.

... it's kind of awkward, trying to come up with something to say to him. She usually finds it easy to chat away with Ango but now...

After a moment, she hitches her smile back on. ]

You're out late! We're not working you too hard, are we?

[He can't quite tell if it is the coffee or his words that does it, but she seems to go from perfectly poised and sugar coated to something a little more real. She feels less like a Customer Service Machine at least, so he takes it as a win. He chuckles mildly at the praise, but there is something earnestly pleased in his eyes when she sips the coffee and looks pleased with the taste.]

As long as I'm someone's favorite, I don't think the reason matters all too much.

[SYLVAIN NO]

Haha, it's more like I'm hardly working... I've had so many meetings and debriefings that I can't get anything else done!

[He waves his hand vaguely, as if that explains why he's been avoiding her.

Out of concern for his mental health (lol) Ango has been on light duty ever since returning from the Dream Sphere, so he hasn't gone on his usual survey patrols... but that's only given the Research Department more time to question him about what they're now calling "Night Terrors." Apparently the order to not subject him to any disciplinary action came from the Boss Lady at the top of the DU, but even Ango realizes that's wholly contingent on his ability to provide useful information. Especially since unlike Mio Kasuga, he was fully conscious for most of his Disturbance. Hopefully, the DU's current focus on him will give that poor kid a break.]

Did you know that the DU has actual lawyers and accountants? I ran off into the Dream Sphere to escape some bad debts to some even worse people, but it turns out that I actually paid those loan sharks off ages ago... they were just exploiting the fact that I'm really, really bad at math. After a few strongly worded letters from the DU's legal department, it seems like I'm in the clear. So I guess the Disturbance was all over nothing... haha...

[He attempts to laugh away his problems, but even Ai has probably realized by now that while his financial difficulties may have been the inciting incident that drove him to escape into the Dream Sphere, they were only the tip of the iceberg.]

[Tycoon doesn't mind the Dream Sphere. He has an overall ambivalent opinion of it even. After all, he'd never bothered with it before his own awakening even as his sister talked endlessly about it and the Dreamers associated with protecting it. It just wasn't the first place he would normally run to in order to pass the time. What happens in the Dream Sphere is so ephemeral and seemingly inconsequential that he'd never paid it any mind.

It's hard to believe it's only been three months since he's moved here at Sara's insistence. It feels like it’s been much longer.

The loud crack of ice snaps him out of his reverie (ha). Upon spotting the gang of Torments, Tycoon instinctually summons his weapon before he runs through the ruins. He jumps off a pillar before kicking down one of the Torments near the back of the group, sliding a bit further than he intended to due to and nearly falling because he hadn't been anticipating the ice on the ground]

Are you okay- Eh?

[Three months. Enough time to learn to prepare for battle. Not enough time to learn to keep his wits about him before jumping in headfirst]

[Bruno spends most of his time in this sort of area, in the Dream Sphere. Other Dreamers don't hang around places like this just to socialize. If he runs into anybody, they'll be on a hunt, and then he can help them and be gone without ruining a bunch of kids' fun dream adventures! Two birds, one stone!

Today, he'd seen a lone Dreamer facing down some Torments. Not the biggest crisis. Plenty of Dreamers could handle that much by themselves. But the vision is far too brief to tell how good at fighting this particular Dreamer might be, and he's already in the Vale anyway. Safer to just go and make sure.

Back in the day, Bruno had always stuck close to Pepa in a fight. Juli's healing food could be tossed from a distance, but Bruno was the human shield; he wasn't any good at the fringes. He's always at the fringes now, though, and he's adapted. From a distance, without saying anything, the mysterious cloaked figure makes a sweeping gesture, sending a wave of shadow rushing across the ground to attack the Torments as well.

..........on closer inspection it's a bunch of little rat shadows with little icy teeth and claws. Seems regular.]

[ 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. ]

[ She puffs a little laugh out across the surface of her coffee as she takes another sip. ]

If you're still saying that by the end of the week, then I'll be really impressed. Winter and the new year are when we get reaaaaally busy, you know. Well, I guess we're busy no matter what time of year it is... I'd say something like "the city never sleeps" but sleeping is exactly how trouble gets started!

[ She titters at her own joke before setting her coffee down and starting to sort through some of the papers scattered around her desk. It's organized chaos, it's fine. ]

Alright then...! If you're here for an errand, I won't disappoint you. If I hand some of these off to you, would you mind getting them filed in those cabinets? [ she gestures over her shoulder. ] It's mostly contracts and PR stuff, so you just need to file it by type in alphabetical order.

[ Her office hours are when Ai does the boring stuff that doesn't involve talking to other people — so when Connor knocks on, she's in the process of decluttering the bottom drawer on her desk that files and printouts disappear into, never to be seen again. Her head pops out from behind it as he speaks and though it takes just a second for the recognition to click, she gives a little 'oh!' and promptly stands up properly from out behind the desk. ]

Connor-kun, I thought it was you! [ Names still aren't her forte, but a kid like Connor getting churned through the entertainment industry? She's carving his name on the inside of her brain of that's what it takes to keep it there. ] They've really been keeping you busy, huh? I was wondering when we'd see you around again! Come in, I've got plenty of time today.

[ Ango laughs like it'd all been some joke at his expense but in sharp contrast, the smile Ai had been wearing gradually slides off her face and in its place is something more honest and troubled. Her brows furrow as she looks at him and for a moment, her lips part like she might say something. But then her mouth closes into a tight line and the way her eyes narrow a little looks like frustration.

He probably doesn't know what she's seen. There's no way he would've wanted the Disturbance to cram all of it into her brain and she feels... dirty, somehow, for knowing any of it at all. But especially knowing it while Ango's so ignorant and smiling like a fool. The way she smiles when she knows she isn't convincing anyone of anything, but she just hopes they'll stop asking questions.

Ai swallows and her fingers curl a little tighter into the coat. It's still a little warm. ]

Why are you pretending it's funny?

[ Her tone isn't accusatory but it's unusually quiet and firm. ]

You wanted to run away and never wake up again. How could I laugh at that?

Whoa! [ Torments later — protecting a fellow Dreamer's dignity now! Ai-Doll manages to swoop in an loop an arm through his to steady him before he goes over and flashes him a grin once she's sure he's not going down. ] That's a close call, but you're not out yet!

[ Ai-Doll, evidently, isn't having any trouble because of course Dreamer Ai-Doll would have no issues sliding around on the ice even in her heels. Idols, man. ]

How do we want to do this, then? Think you're ready to take the front?

[ I-IS SHE REALLY ABOUT TO TURN THIS INTO A TEACHING MOMENT??? ]

[ She wonders for a second if she's seeing another Torment — she doesn't quite have the sense for this sort of thing some Dreamers develop so she has to go entirely off her eyes and her learned instincts. A sinister looking figure like that in a dream usually suggests a Torment but it's rare for them to linger on the outskirts of a fight like this when other Torments are already advancing...

But then that sweep of magic passes through and something in her settles. Okay. Dreamer. Good to know. ... except... this is in no way a Dreamer she knows. And what's with the mystery getup?

... Okay, Torments now, questions later! ]

Try not to get dazzled!

[ That's called out as a warning to this mystery Dreamer as, with a grand sweep of her wand, Ai-Doll pulls a great flurry of stars raining down from the dismal sky above, homing in on Torments and striking them into dust every time they connect. ]

[For a moment, Connor just hovers in the doorway. It's one of the moments where it's clear he's barely an adult, still a teenager who has never really been afforded the luxury of being one. There's always been work. Always some way to keep from disappointing his mom.

Then it's gone and he flops down in one of the chairs.]

Christmas, you know? [He's quiet for a moment before he says:] So I may have made a mistake and I need help fixing it.

[The problem with more or less being treated as an industry vet by his management is that he's expected to fix most of his own problems. Other people only intervene when the problem is as big as the problem that landed him in Japan to begin with. Things he can't be expected to fix on his own.

His current problem isn't one of those, so here he is. Having to ask someone else to help him out, because he didn't really think about the overlap between another Dreamer's fanbase and his.]

[he should really learn to adapt to his environment better... Tycoon is momentarily distracted watching Ai-doll skate around with practiced ease before he snaps back to attention]

The front...? [It takes a second for him to realize what she means. But he adjusts his stance to steady himself with a nod, tightening his grip on his weapon as he does] Right, got it.

[if she is, it's not in Tycoon's nature to turn it down. But he doesn't know what Ai-Doll's abilities are... His older sister probably mentioned it to him during her usual idol/celeb/Dreamer gushing sessions. Alas, he had learned the fine art of 'tuning out your sibling while they're gushing about something you only sort of care about' and, honestly, doesn't remember much of what was said other than "Isn't she the best?!". Well, no time like the present to learn, right?

If she has any suggestions or pointers, he'll wait for to finish before jumping back into the fray]

[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.

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★ my genius, flawless idol for life

★ Dreamer Union — All month

★ Around Yumemigaoka - 1st to the 20th

★ Koubai Train Station — December 8th, 6:30PM

★ Vale of Sorrow — Third week of December

its Wednesday my dudes

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

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I had to rewrite this tag and just noticed a major typo in the previous one I'm a mess I'm sorry

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