sweetdevil | 71st ♫ | is it love? is it like? never felt it in my life

[ At that, Ai laughs. ]

Of course not! [ Ah. That might have come out sounding nasty if it weren't for the smile she's still – always – wearing. ] Nobody can ever teach you to be an idol like me.

[ And before Tap can speak, Ai reaches out to give her a playful, big sisterly boop to the nose. This is what she's looking for, right? This sort of older, wiser guiding star, someone she can try and emulate but never really be. ]

Because you can only ever be an idol like you. Right?

[There was a world where Ai opened the door and it really was her manager coming by to pick her up. Aqua got to grow up like a normal(ish) child. He's still not that affectionate, but he does, clearly care for his mother. Not that he ever really calls her that. Ai is Ai, and the person he once was has a hard time seeing her as his mom.

He's a quiet, overly serious child, and watches in pure delight as she finally gets to perform at the dome. All her hard work has lead up to this.]

[She wrinkles her nose at the boop, her ears making her resemble... well, a bunny who has just been booped.

But she brightens up.]

Miss Ai-chan... No wonder you're the best idol!

Aiming to be the best is what you have to do as an idol, right? [ SHE'S STILL... NOT DENYING IT... ] That's what the audience wants to see - a perfect show of everyone performing at their best!

[ Anything less would be just human, after all. ]

If you're still worried about it, though... hm... why not audition to be in a group? You're not totally fixed on going solo, are you?

A group...?

[That idea had... never occurred to her.

She could try that... and it'd be helpful, but... Could she do it?]

You're a genius!!

[ somewhere, B-Komachi's dome performance ends before it can begin – in tragedy.

somewhere else, it ends with Ai on stage with B-Komachi, half-blinded by stagelights and an endless constellation of glowsticks waving back and forth. she doesn't remember much of the concert, just vivid tactile impressions – the unrelenting heat of the stage, the pounding of music up from her feet, ice cold sweat down her back and the burn of muscles pushed past whatever limits she'd ever dreamed up for herself before.

The standing ovations last for what feel like hours.

It is hours later when Ai is finally able to stagger back to her dressing room. There'd been an impromptu afterparty with all the staff and she'd done her best to stick it out despite every bone in her body crying for rest. But she knows her two most important fans will be waiting to congratulate her when she steps inside, so she allows herself a moment to rally her best smile before peeking in.

The commotion she'd expected doesn't come – Ruby's conked out on the sofa, worn out from all the excitement (and after insisting to Aqua, at length, that she'd be the first to congratulate Ai) and waiting for her quietly is... ]

Aqua. [ Her smile softens and turns a little sweeter and warmer, along with her voice. ] You didn't feel like taking a nap with Ruby?

[ Preen, preen. Yes, compliment her genius. ]

It's more fun dancing with a group, anyway. When you're working hard with your friends, it hardly even feels like work!

[ Not that Ai – or any of the other girls in B-Komachi – would know anything about that anymore. ]

Do you have any friends who'd like to sing and dance with you? Maybe you could start a group with them.

[... Well. At that, she kind of... droops. Her ears curl downwards, even.]

... Um, well... Not really. No one I know from my home is here. And I don't know who else here would be interested in a group... It's hard to talk about music and stuff with people, since everyone here is from so far in the past...

[Aqua’s got more stamina than Ruby does. He’s not sure exactly why, but it did let him stay up longer than she managed. Not that he’s surprised, she really put her all into cheering on their mother, the shining star on stage.

It really fits here, though he does have to wonder if she’s going to continue doing this forever. As Goro, he’s very aware that idol careers are extremely short, in comparison to almost anything else within the entertainment business. She’s been getting some acting roles, and she definitely has the charm to keep on modeling. There are avenues open to her, especially with the amount of fame she has.

Aqua would be surprised if the director didn’t keep making use of Ai on screen somehow.]

Congratulations, Ai.

[For a wonderful performance.

He still doesn't move to hug her, finding it a little bit too strange.]

I wasn’t sleepy yet.

[ immediately, Ai has a premonition brought about by what can only be called finely honed idol instinct. just a feeling of: oh if she doesn't play her cards right she's going to get volunteered into a group with this girl, huh. quick, damage control time. ]

Well, you've got an amazing opportunity! This is a chance to blaze a trail and establish something all your own. Isn't that exciting?

You're doing a better job than me, then. I'm exhausted!

[ She gives him a little grin and reaches out to gently pat the top of his head. Ruby's a much more physically affectionate girl, hugging and clambering all over Ai every chance she gets – Aqua's more reticent. It's in her instincts to scoop him up and hug him as much as she does with Ruby, but she gets the feeling that he's the type who needs a little bit of breathing room.

It's always exciting when she realizes something like that – something that reminds her the two of them are little people all of their own, growing into people who one day might be totally different to Ai. She's excited to see what sort of adults they might be. ]

So what did you think? What was your favourite part? My top fans numbers one and two have the most important feedback of all!

Edited 2023-05-04 18:59 (UTC)

[ This much affection is what he can take as a thirty-ish man in a child body. Everything else would be so strange for him, but he's aware that's his own problem... It would've been nice for Ai to have two normal children, but this is the world they're in.

His eyes shine bright when he remembers the performance. It may have ended hours ago, but it feels like he's been replaying it over and over again. The way the stage lights illuminated her and the others in the group. ]

B-sign!

[ It's such a perfectly catchy idol song. So perfect that it's hard to even pin down his favorite moment. ]

[Tap's ears perk back up! ... In alarm, rather than excitement.]

Huh?! Wait, weren't you just suggesting a group instead of doing it on my own?!

Exactly! You've got a unique opportunity to start a group all on your own!

[ If it sounds like she's intentionally trying to confound the poor bun at this point then... well, you wouldn't be WRONG... ]

Wouldn't that be exciting? You could decide all for yourself and the friends you make what being an idol means for you.

[Tap can't help but feel like she's being confounded.... but at the same time, everything Ai is saying is accurate! And surely a perfect ultimate ~~getter~~ idol would never try to deceive or confound someone on purpose!]

Hm...

... Wait, but I still don't know how to sing or dance for real!

Hm...

[ This is the part where she'd just reiterate that Tap needs to go and learn from someone but she stops, with a thoughtful look on her face. Tap had been the one to hurry over here, introducing herself and bouncing off the walls with excitement but the more they talk... ]

Tap-san... are you scared of trying to connect with people?

... H- Huh?

[She freezes in place.]

W- What do you mean...? Why would I be scared of that?

[Bullseye... Well, not that Tap necessarily realizes it herself, yet.]

[ So, Aqua can shine like that as well. She sees it less often from him than she does Ruby, so it's always a nice surprise to spot a little of that glimmer. ]

Heehee, good choice. Want to know a secret? That's my favourite, too.

[ If only because it reminds her of the twins – she still sees their little coordinate glowstick dance every time she hears the opening chords of the song. She wonders if Aqua remembers that show and then decides that surely he won't. Not even prodigies have memories from that young. ]

Now... were you both good for Miyako-san? No trouble at all?

[ She'll definitely hear from Miyako later if there was, but it's good to hear it from the horse's mouth. ]

Who knows! But it's just something that keeps coming up. You're scared of going to music and dance teachers because you're new to this place... and you're also scared of trying to connect with idols you could form a group with because they're not people you already know.

Being an idol is all about connecting with all sorts of people from the stage... so why are you so scared of doing it face to face?

Well... I mean...

[Her ears droop.

Congratulations, Ai, you have successfully bamboozled the bunny into the new topic.]

... I was kinda, a shut-in, you know? I said before, I only did stuff in a game, you know? And if someone's scary in a game, I can just log out... And even if a PK happens, I'm not really hurt, but...

[ He doesn't think he shines at all. It's one of those things he can't gauge from the outside. He watches in Ruby and Ai enough that he'll never measure up to their star power. And that's fine.

A smile back, happy that they can share this little secret. It's nothing important, but it's something sweet to hold onto. ]

We didn't cause any trouble.

[ They were transfixed. And it's not too weird to do the light pen dance at this age. ]

And being on stage is easier? Because there's more distance?

[ psychoanalyzing the bun!! ]

Hmm, is that so? [ There's a teasing lilt to her voice like she's about to question it – but then she reaches out and gives him another pat on the head, ruffling his hair a little as she does so. ] That's good. Everyone's got their work cut out for them keeping a show like this running, so you must've gotten a little lonely... you two weren't bored waiting, were you? Did anyone keep you company?

[ ... She says, knowing that a few of the girls from B-Komachi had floated over to the twins to gasp and coo over them during one of their breaks. She's playing dumb just to test the waters a little. ]

[The hair ruffle doesn't get batted away or anything, but he's never going to be as cuddly as somebody like Ruby. Still, a normal child would enjoy this kind of thing with their mother, right?]

We weren't bored at all.

[With so much happening, it's hard to even have a dull moment.]

Some of the girls came by.

[He has no reason to be as secretive as he is in another life. Not when Ai is still here and alive.]

Yeah!

[She seems to brighten up when Ai gets her.]

... Well, not that I've ever been on stage before. I was in a commercial once, but that was as my character... But if it's a stage, even if there's danger, I can fly away!

71st ♫ | is it love? is it like? never felt it in my life

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