The Great Pretender || Open

[rubykomachi]

⭐ Who: Ruby Hoshino
⭐ When: Month of March
⭐ Where: Various
⭐ What: Catch-all open posts for the month of March
⭐ Warnings: Familial Stress, stuff typical to OnK, esp in the stuff to come later in the month

Comments

Pump It Up with Ruby || Early March

[rubykomachi]

[Ruby has a lot of big entertainment industry dreams, and those require a lot of physical stamina. Not that she's complaining, of course: she can hardly sit still at the best of times, and getting to move around is when she's at her most happy. So she tries to keep to a routine of dance practices, stretches, and as she's doing now, jogs through Yotsuba Park as spring finally promises to start springing.]

Whew! Go me... [It's been a hot minute since she's gotten to properly do a run, so towards the end, she goes to take a swig of her water bottle, and finds nothing but air.] Oh, come onnnn...I'm gonna dehydrate...

[If nobody catches her there, she can also be found at Ozora Curry after a run. She never eats a big breakfast on those days, so afterwards she's starving.]

Protein! Whatever's got protein in it, please! [She needs to make sure she doesn't wolf down her curry, of course: what if she gets recognized as an upcoming idol?! ...wait, that might actually be the kind of gimmicky contrast that would get some attention. Let her take a trendy photo of her plate for her socials, actually.]

[thestarknows]

[Junna walks into Ozora Curry, wearing -- funny enough, it's not really her color or style, usually -- a brown hoodie. She's looking less... like she was just in a Disturbance and absolutely run ragged. There's a bit more of a spring to her step and she's got some of her old cheer back.

She blinks when she spots Ruby, and then she smiles. She remembers when they tried to make chocolate together. That was... an experience...

She lifts a hand and waves.] Hi, Ruby-san. Do you mind the company?

[rubykomachi]

Junna-senpai! Yeah, c'mere, c'mere!

[Ruby waves over to Junna, a little extra excited to see her out and about considering the Disturbance they just went through.]

You look great! Trying a new look after conquering your dream demons?

[thestarknows]

Thanks. [The excitement is nice to see! Her confidence could use the boost, even if she's doing better. She walks over, taking a seat next to Ruby.]

Something like that. It's--uh--it's a gift from Lisa. [She smiles.] I'm glad it looks good.

How've you been?

[greaterspeed]

[he's not even doing regular runs (because why would he?) but he spots Ruby when he free runs every now and again, usually just giving her a casual wave if she spots him before slipping away again. Any other circumstance, it would be suspicious as hell... Actually, it is kind of sus! Except for the fact that sometimes he's just lounging up in a tree somewhere...

And it's from up a tree somewhere that Ruby hears Nikki's voice all down;]

There's a vending machine you could always grab a drink from. Just back the way you came!

[looking up reveals Nikki, sitting on a tree branch, pointing over yonder. He loves the convenience that having so many vending machines has! And the conbini!! There's just no beating Japanese Conbini Culture~]

[rubykomachi]

Oh, awesome! Thanks, Nikki--?!

[Ruby looks up in shock at the voice.]

How'd you get all the way up there?! Jeez!

[greaterspeed]

No problem~!

[he waves down from where he's sitting, sunglasses sitting neatly on his face]

The same way anyone else would; I climbed! Hup-! [he swings his legs over, hangs down for a moment before dropping down. He tucks and rolls when he breaks the fall before ending in a crouch... Then hopping to his feet like it's nothing.

Giving Ruby a salute, there's a moment of blessed silence before he destroys it with a very clear;] Ohayogozaimorning!

park;

[traceofeffort]

[Lisa is also on a run this morning! Or, well. "Run" is probably a very, very loose word for it; hair tied back into a ponytail, sweating like she's been going for a while, her pace can only be described as a light jog. But... she's trying? She seems like she's about out of juice, though, as she's already slowing down by the time she spots Ruby and lets herself coast to a walk, then to a stop, puffing more than a little. She grins at her, but... she's going to need a moment.]

Hey, Ruby-chan! Nice weather... to be outside this morning... yeah?

[......there is a red sport bottle in her hand, and judging by the way it's wobbling, it's not empty.]

[rubykomachi]

Hi, Lisa-senpai!! [Ruby is also a little wobbly, but gives a perky grin regardless.] Yeah, it's, uh...okay this is one of the first jogs I've gotten to go on this year so I'm kiiiiinda trying not to pass out.

[She may be overdoing it a little, but she can't help wanting to go all out with stuff like this.]

[determinationtofist]

[ Stamina is, indeed, a very necessary skill to have. Not that Hibiki knew much about what you need to be in the industry, let alone being an idol... so she's mostly just going along with whatever Ruby says they need to do.

Fortunately, stamina is something that Hibiki has in spades... and while she never expected to use it for anything other than fighting— ]

Sheesh, Ruby-chan... you gotta space out your drinks, you know!

[ Hibiki's worked up a sweat herself, but unlike Ruby, she looks totally nonplussed. Hibiki came with the intent of training together with Ruby, but it feels more like Hibiki is Ruby's coach.]

Here! But save some for me, 'kay?

[ She hands Ruby her water bottle, sweating hard but still looking like she could run another ten laps if she wanted to. ]

[rubykomachi]

I'm trying, but--it's hella hot right now. Maybe I should get a bigger water bottle?

[She visibly perks up when Hibiki offers her own water, squeezing her friend's hands as she takes it.]

My heroooo... [Ruby takes a quick guzzle, cutting herself off before she gets carried away by the lure of hydration.] There's gotta be a secret to building up lots of stamina super fast! What's yours, Hibiki-chan?

LET'S GO HIT SOMETHING || After March 10th

[rubykomachi]

[Ruby's pissed off this week. It's not as if she can straight-up talk about why with most people, though, so her best idea is to put this into some more productive energy as Dreamer Soleil. She hops up to the peak of the Abandoned Dojo, looking around for something to hit.]

Come on, assholes, bring it! [Quite a few of the Torments are eager for a fight as per usual, but is Ruby going to be able to handle all of them at once? Only time (and potential assistance) will tell.]

[lonelyrollingstar]

[Ouji — or rather, Dreamer Cosmos — was still getting the lay of the Dream Sphere, having only been a Dreamer for about a month and change. He’d ended up at the Abandoned Dojo by chance while carefully exploring by himself. This was supposed to just be recon, so to find not only other Dreamers but Torments was deeply surprising. He flinches both at the sight and at the rough language.]

A-ah!

[So yeah there’s a 4’8” little guy staring at the scene from across the way. He calls out to her:]

Are you alright? D-do you need help?!

[…He’s honestly a little scared the answer is going to be “yes”.]

[rubykomachi]

[She notices the extremely tiny and nervous Dreamer across the way, and starts to reconsider the idea of fighting all of these Torments solo.]

I don't know but come help me fight them anyway!

[She cracks her whip at the closest Torment in challenge.]

[reluctants]

[ .. oh gosh.

Suddenly Prisma is feeling really, really glad that she decided to go train today. Usually she never goes that high up, but she did notice a bit of a commotion, and she got worried enough to check it out..

And it seems like she checked it out for a good reason. The moment she spots Ruby surrounded by all those Torments, her eyes go wide with surprise and worry. ]

Wha-- What are you doing?!

[ Ruby, does this seem like a good idea?? In any way?? She's pretty sure it doesn't! ]

[rubykomachi]

[The large numbers do start to seem like a slightly bad idea once Soleil realizes that her whip can only really handle three at a time. However, help is on the way!]

Heyyy, Prisma-chan. Uh...would you believe training--yikes! [Ruby ducks out of the way of one blow.] These guys looked a lot less sturdy from a distance!

[flatcola]

[ Some people are helping, apparently, when they come across Soleil.

Mind just seems to be watching and taking notes as long as Soleil seems like she's got things under control - in fact, she's more interested in how seasonal changes affect the Dojo than anything else. ]

[rubykomachi]

[Well, Mind will be treated to some dramatically falling cherry blossoms as Soleil engages with a nearby fighting Torment. They seem more interested in her fighting style than actually hurting her so far. A few motions Soleil has are more sword-like than what the whip allows, which does result in her tumbling back when her rope doesn't have the steadiness to block a blow.]

Ouch. Crap...

[She's looking pretty outnumbered and struggling to take down the Torments at a faster rate than they can get back up.]

[tworo]

[Dreamer Miraidon was just relaxing in the Abandoned Dojo, trying to appreciate the cherry blossoms. But the sound of a fight is obvious, so he gets up after a second and goes to investigate. Most Dreamers are actually more experienced than he is, considering all the Circumstances; still, upon seeing the sheer number of Torments that have gathered on the higher levels, he calls out:]

Do you need help?

[His voice echoes weirdly behind his face-covering helmet, but it also helps to amplify him.]

[rubykomachi]

Oh! Cheese guy!

[Soleil looks at the various Torments all eager to spar upon her provocation, and then back at Miraidon.]

Uh, little bit? Didn't think everybody at once was gonna take the "bring it!" challenge, soooo....whoops?

Flame War || March 25th (cw: doomscrolling, misogyny, death threats)

[rubykomachi]

[Ruby left school early yesterday, and hasn't gone today. She's staying cooped up in the DU Office to take advantage of the increased security to get some privacy.

However, she can't resist the urge to stay updated on what's going on. The scrolling impulse keeps coming up, and the moment she sees the name "Dreamer Ai-Doll" or "Ai Hoshino" on her feed, she ends up in a spiral of replying to people on her burner account and working herself up into an outrage.]

"Just a liar like the rest?" Why do you think she was doing it? It's because of entitled creeps like you who've never had a real girlfriend! Go die, you disgusting piece of shit...

[It's like every inane post she reads gets connected to ten others. Ruby always knew that people were going to be cruel, but that doesn't make it hurt less.]

[thezekeinator]

[Bonk. That's a pen lightly tapping her on the head.]

The fire's gonna keep burning whether you're tossing fuel on it or not, but feeding it isn't gonna get you anywhere.

[Zeke looks tired, and perhaps more terrifying, professional in a nice suit and tie. Everything he's been doing on his end, for what little it's worth, requires a level of seriousness that he normally does all he can to avoid.]

[rubykomachi]

Oof.

[Ruby looks up, still clearly angry and hurt by what she's been reading, and seeing Zeke uncharacteristically tired and serious isn't helping her mood at all.]

So what is gonna get me somewhere?! I can't just ignore it like it's kindergarten bullying. This is serious! What if-- [Yeah, they're blocking the doors to the DU and nobody's found their house yet, but it's only a matter of time, isn't it?]

[determinationtofist]

[ Hibiki has had to coop up in the DU herself. What with being part of Ai's unit and all, reporters are pretty eager to get to Ai through her. Fortunately, while Hibiki might be dumb, she's not stupid.

She... hasn't been able to talk to Ruby yet. Mostly because... well, now that she knows about Ai's secret, one thing keeps replaying in Hibiki's mind.

She pointed it out to Ai, once, how similar she and Ruby looked. Hibiki had said it without thinking, without even considering that it might be anything more than a coincidence, but... ]

Ruby-chan.

[ ...She wants to ask. She wants so badly to ask. Hibiki isn't immune to curiosity, after all. But... she keeps it to herself and, in seeing Ruby begin to spiral, puts a grounding hand on her shoulder. ]

[rubykomachi]

[Ruby pauses her frenzy of typing at the feel of Hibiki's hand and the sound of her voice, and it does keep her from getting herself into another pointless online argument.

She thinks about how close Hibiki has been to both her and Ai, and how she'd hidden the truth for so long from her friend. From so many people in her life. What would Hibiki think if Ruby told her the truth now? Would she feel betrayed? Would she be angry about being lied to for so long?]

Hibiki-chan. ...are you...mad at Ai-san too?