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

[rubykomachi]

So I-I...I can't do anything. I just have to accept this is what they're gonna say about her.

That's terrible. I hate it. I hate all of it.

[Her phone shakes in her grasp. The behavior is beyond what a normal fan would feel defending her idol.

Of course, Ruby Hoshino isn't a normal fan.]

[thezekeinator]

If you liked it, that'd be really weird.

[What was Ai's endgame, in all of this? Zeke has wondered that ever since he found out, and now his fears were all coming true: this was the only possible way it could end. The slimmest hope that the secret would hold until Ai was retired and out of the public eye had never been realistic.]

You need to take care of yourself first, though, and you're not doing that. Whatever happens, Ai will be worse off if you're hurting yourself to accomplish nothing.

[rubykomachi]

[Ruby lets out a small sniffle.]

I won't feel better until I know she's okay. And I...I don't. She was so--she was so sad.

[It's not like Ruby hasn't ever seen her mom get discouraged or scared over the years, but it seemed like Ai could always find a way to bounce back. Ruby always thought she was unstoppable. But how do you bounce back when the world's turning against you? When the monster is right outside the door?]

Hey, Chaos-senpai...has, uh...anybody that's not with the media tried to get in here?

[thezekeinator]

No clue. [He doesn't work for the DU! And even if he did, he's not a doorman. As much as he'd like to help, he can't offer lies in good conscience.] This'd be the worst place for someone to try, though. If there's a place in the world where every single person is on Ai's side, this is it.

[rubykomachi]

Okay. Well, you're right. Someone would have to be really dumb to try and break in here. ...or really nuts.

[Who she's thinking of may not be the former, but the latter? He's definitely the latter. Ruby looks around, then her voice lowers a little.]

Senpai, how much did Ai-san tell you about...you know. The father?

[thezekeinator]

She didn't say a damn thing, so that tells me enough to know that 'not welcome back' is too charitable for him.

[Sure, Ai really wants to gush about her kids whenever possible, and he gets that. The opportunities are painfully few and far between to be sure. But to love her kids so much and offer not a peep about their father... yeaaaaaaah.]

[Also when he considers the ages of all concerned, Ai's idol role, and what the circumstances had to have been around that time? Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.]

[rubykomachi]

Yeah. When I was little, I was told that if anybody came up to me and said he was my dad...I needed to stay away from him.

I don't know a ton about him, but I know enough to know he's bad news and that this is probably all his fault.

[thezekeinator]

Sounds about right. And that'd explain a few things I was wondering about too. [Things suspicious enough that he couldn't bring himself to ask, simply because Ai wasn't explaining.]

Guess you didn't take after him in the slightest!

[rubykomachi]

Of course not! I'm nothing like him!

[There's a slight edge that comes back to Ruby's voice, similar to when she was grumbling to herself about social media comments. Pure hatred.]

If I ever get my hands on him...he's gonna regret it.

[Bit of an understatement, but hey.]

[thezekeinator]

I'd tell you to wait in line, but in any fair world you're tied for second. Damn shame there'll be none of him left by the time he got to me.

[As lightly as he says that... there's a certain level of tension in his figure that hints it isn't just a joke.]