★ blind the masses with a grin, stir up the media

[liedol]

⭐ Who: Ai and you!
⭐ When: End of May through July
⭐ Where: Various prompts around Yumemigaoka and the Dream Sphere
⭐ What: An Ai catchall for the next month! After a suspiciously well timed vacation out to Hokkaido, Ai's back in Yumemigaoka and ready to catch up on everything she missed. I'm also down for doing closed/private prompts so hit me up on Discord if you'd like to plan something!

Comments

[hanamane]

[There's something about that laugh that makes him wonder, for a moment, whether he tread on something delicate by accident. It was Ai's usual laugh, of course, but it felt... different somehow. Perhaps it was his age (and with it the inability to yet fully grasp the larger, darker nature of this life), but the notion of the Hoshino twins being put into danger just to be with her hadn't even crossed his mind. Of course, that was how he had Awakened, and countless others before him, but... somehow that didn't even occur to him that would be the same for Ai's children too, should they ever become Dreamers.

So, very much ignorant to the turmoil in his Senpai's heart, he straightens back up, removing his head from her shoulder as he does so (and probably leaving some remnant glitter there too, that lil shit)]

Oof, yep, that's true. Ruby would probably manifest a whooooole lot of Torments in grudges alone if she got left out. And I don't even want to think about Aqua...

[That boy could be super intense sometimes!! And no doubt any creatures his bad feelings would spawn over here would be nasty. Hanako cackles a little at her plan to win Aqua over, however, knowing full well it would work like a charm.]

You could even tempt him with a personal duet! Ah... not that he seems like he's all that into the dancing stuff, but he'd definitely make an exception for you, at least.

[He slips his hands into his pockets, idly toeing at the sparkling dust on the ground (what did these manifest from, anyway? A fear of microplastics?), moving for the sake of moving... until he pipes up, tone deceptively innocent:]

Hmm... Senpai, the stuff Torments leave behind... it's not really toxic is it?

[... Hanako. Hanako, what are you planning--]

[liedol]

You can just imagine it, right? A whole herd of Torments all spawning out of pure jealousy and all the complaining about whoever got left behind making their job harder...

[ See? When she says it like that, isn't it a funny joke?

Casually dusting off her shoulder (and all that glitter onto his head), she jumps at the chance to change the topic. Too much vulnerability today!! ]

I've ever heard of anyone getting sick... but I also can't say I've ever really tried messing with it. What've you got up your sleeve, huh?

[hanamane]

[Yes, too much vulnerability!! There's been a distinct lack of staying silly here, and they need to rectify it immediately. So the moment Ai asks him that question, he immediately has an answer at the ready, barely batting an eye as he replies:]

Glitter bombs! ☆

[The absolute lack of shame in his voice when he says that, oh my god--]

I mean... those guys went and had a big ol' party without us around, so I was thinking, maaaaaybe we can get a little revenge of our own? Just a little, though.

[Amane, it was not the Union's fault that you got sick and she went on vacation when the Dreamerversary happened, just let it go already]

[liedol]

[ Should she be encouraging this behaviour? Absolutely not, especially not given how much trouble Hanako gets into as it is. But does she actually plan to intervene? ]

Ohh, do you really think you could pull that off? I'd never thought of trying to make anything like that from what gets left behind...

[ of course not. ]

How would you make sure it doesn't disappear when you go back, though?

[hanamane]

Mmm... I guess I can put some of it in my pockets, and just... throw it at folks? [Pocket sand, but make it sparkle] It's not like I'm going to the actual offices or anything any time soon, so as long as I can get it out of this place, I think it could work.

[Because unless he pulls an Ai Hoshino himself and goes into the real world DU building in a hat and shades, he's pretty much blowing his cover by stepping in there, so any and all revenge had to happen while he was in the Dream Sphere. Though that does beg the question whether anything on his person while he was here last time disappears when he comes back again-- all the battle damage to his outfit usually gets repaired when he returns, so presumably things get reset to a degree, but...]

Or!! I can just roll around in it and throw myself at people instead!

[Like a cat running around the house covered in flour, but instead of a cat, it's a 90 pound boy dusted in glitter °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° Whether he's serious or not is... debatable, but BOY does he look thrilled at the idea of being a walking sparkle menace]

[liedol]

Hmm... [ Ai makes a point of looking him up and down, gauging his height and overall Troublemaking Boy Size. ] That's probably not the best idea for a whole lot of reasons but most of all...

[ She brushes a little glitter off his hat, where it was just... sitting in a pile... ]

Most people around here who see something small and sparkly diving at them are gonna think it's a Torment. You might end up getting smacked around before people realize what's going on.

[ It would not be entirely undeserved, given that this would be A Prank In Process, but still. ]

[hanamane]

[He sneezes as Ai sweeps off some of that build-up on his hat, the sparkly debris swirling up in little clouds as it drifts back down onto the ground. There is no doubt going to be some inexplicable glitter dust in Amane's bed for WEEKS once he wakes up from all of this, but... STILL. Worth it. A part of him wants to point out the irony of that statement of hers, when he's only really a centimeter smaller than she is these days (an incredible feat, when he's still one of the shortest boys in his middle school class!!), but he's gonna set that aside for the more important matter at hand here:]

Soooo... you're saying the pocket sand is the better idea, then?

[... no. That's not what she's saying AT ALL???]

[liedol]

I'm saying that if you're going to prank people on this side, you'd better be ready for the consequences.

[ So she's not encouraging this behaviour but she's also... NOT... not encouraging this behaviour........ ]