shatterings | 03--video

03--video

[ If you've spoken to Naminé before, you might notice she looks far more at ease now. Being around people who actually like her and mean her no harm has done wonders for her, and there's even a small, content smile there. She's sitting cross-legged on the floor, and in her lap is a Chikorita.

Making sure not to disrupt the sleeping Pokémon, she holds up a (probably familiar) feather. ]

... Is it normal to have things like these floating around? They're beautiful, but... I'm not sure what their use is.

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[Are they triplets? They all look the same! But different hair colors...]

Uhmm... well, I want to meet Nami-chan to see what kind of talents she has!

Extremely high charisma, for one. Typhon and Aphrodite both took to her immediately.

[The newest interloper doesn't look like one of the sisters, though with her white hair and red eyes she could probably be taken for Xion's mirror image. She's breaking in to the conversation on her own gear, adding a separate image to the broadcast rather than crowding the current one.]

We can go to Goldenrod, but we won't be staying long. That city will trap you if you aren't careful. As for you, Namine, if it turns out you have singing talent I'll teach you personally. Kairi can vouch that I'm the best person for the job.

Really? Perfect!

[This girl looked like a lady. But when she mentions that she would be the one teaching Naminé, Rise huffs.]

I'm no staying in Goldenrod for long! And if she has any talents, I want to teach her! I'm already an idol, and an idol should be the one to teach a potential idol!

[ oh god you two probably don't realize that Very Bad Things™ happened the last time people fought over her

Yeah, she's definitely blushing and flustered--she's stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange, and she's trying to find words for her thoughts. ]

Um, I... wouldn't mind if you both taught me... [ Two is better than one, right? ]

[Rise doesn't want to back down, but this is three people against her. Nami-chan, you might mean well, but Rise is starting to feel deflated. It wasn't fair! She only wanted to talk to Naminé, not these other three girls! She's starting to look highly irritated and close to tears. All she really wanted was another female friend, and it was blowing up in her face.]

No. It's fine. It's not like we know each other! If she wants to teach you, then whatever. I don't care anymore!

[ Oh-- oh no. Let's defuse this situation first. ]

Rise... I would really like it if you taught me, too. A-and if we... became friends. I would like that a lot. [ She's able to communicate that more easily now than before--friends were something she had a severe lack of, before. But this place is a second chance--and Naminé's doing her best to take it. ]

B-But...

[She sniffles and is trying hard not to cry. She feels happy about the words, but there's still that one issue that she feels like she can't handle.]

I-I only wanted to talk to you, and then all these people showed up, and it's not fair!

[And now she does start crying, dropping her Gear in the process. All you can hear now is crying. After a moment the Gear moves and there's an Eevee. She huffs at the screen. How dare you make her cry!]

[There's a long, awkward pause, and then Ilya breaks it by sighing, raising a hand to her head and rubbing it as though she's starting to get a headache.]

It's a shame you feel that way. We all come as a set, and to get involved with one of us is to get involved with us all, sooner or later. Perhaps we could have shown a little more restraint on introducing ourselves so quickly, but it's never been a problem in the past.

[She waits a little bit, tapping one finger on her chair and thinking it over.]

Kairi, Xion, let's pull out of the conversation for now. We can discuss things with Namine later.

[What in...? That all happened so fast. What? What? What's going on.]

I'm so confused.

[But nonetheless, Namine is free from the leaning of one sister at least. Xion's off to contemplate what button might have been pushed in that whole mess.]

I'm just glad someone else is getting the singing lessons.

[She shrugs, taking Xion by the arm and leading her off. They'll catch up with Nami after and figure out what exactly they did wrong.]

[It takes a bit for Rise to calm down enough to realize that the three other people were gone. She sits down next to Himiko and wiped her tears.]

O-Oh... I'm sorry, Naminé...

[She feels utterly horrible. Making friends with girls is difficult, and she's scared three of them away because she was getting frustrated. If they hadn't interrupted, this might have gone a lot better. She now knows that if she keeps a video feed like this open, she was going to have more interruptions. This was good to know for the future. It was also good to know that if she wanted to talk to Naminé in person, well, there would be three other people, and that thought made her nervous.]

I guess they probably don't like me now. You don't have to come to Goldenrod if you don't want to... I just wanted to meet another girl who might like to be an idol with me. I-I can find someone else if you're not interested.

[ She shakes her head, still a bit overwhelmed by what just occurred. ]

Please don't apologize... I hope I didn't do anything wrong...

[ Because Naminé does think it was something she did, sadly enough. There's a sincerity in her expression that might be hard for Rise to ignore. ]

It's nothing like that... [ A pause, and she holds Li a little closer. ] I... I do still want to meet you. In Goldenrod. And I'm not sure what an idol does, really... but I would be willing to learn.

[ She's quiet for a while before adding softly, ] I would still like to be friends. If that's okay. [ Because there's something about Rise that Naminé feels drawn to. It's strange, because this is the first time they've spoken and it's only over video. But Naminé can't ignore how she's feeling, and so she just... goes with it. ]

No, it wasn't you at all! I got mad because they were so rude, just barging in like that! Don't they let you make your own choices without having them involved? You guys might be sisters, except that one girl, but you don't have to be joined at the hip.

[Rise has no siblings of her own, so she doesn't quite get why siblings always banded together. All of her friends were only children as well as far as she knew. She watches Naminé for a while before answering, pulling her Eevee into her lap and holding her close.]

Idols bring people happiness. I wanted to make people happy, and I loved idols when I was little! I can tell you more when we meet.

[Her face is rather blank at the moment. This girl was so honest with her feelings. It makes Rise feel a bit ashamed of all the times she used her acting skills to fool people.]

I'd love to be your friend, Nami-chan! I'm sure Himiko does, too!

[ She takes a moment before replying. Ever careful with her words, this one. ] Well... I think they got excited, because... [ And this? Their behavior? It's different, yes, but Naminé cherishes it. ] ... They want to see me happy, I think. [ There's a lot more to that than Naminé lets on. Divulging her past wasn't ever something she'd considered, mostly because... she's afraid. ] They're really very wonderful.

... Make people happy? [ Ah. Well. ] I... I can try to do that. [ There's a lot of hesitance there. A lack of confidence. ]

You would? I'm glad. Thank you, Rise.

... I don't mind Xion, because she's nice and has Kawa. But the other two, especially that girl who is clearly not your sister... they could have been nicer! [She's pouting, but it's not a serious pout. More a pout out of jealousy. Would things be different if she had siblings? She had her Ni-chan... but he wasn't blood.] Being happy is good, but don't forget you're your own person, okay?

It's hard, I won't lie, but the smiling faces makes it worth it! [She'll tell her about the stalkers and fans later.]

You don't have to thank me! I'm glad you want to be my friend! [Finally! Another female friend. That makes... two? Nami gets a happy smile.]

They're very... enthusiastic. [ That's the best word to sum them up. Rise's words--you're your own person--catch her off guard, and she's speechless for a while. Naminé knows, really, she's not her own person. She might have a heart, but having a heart doesn't change who she is. ] ... Okay.

You must be very good at it. [ She can tell Rise genuinely loves what she does. And that has Naminé wondering... if she finds it difficult to smile herself, how will she make others smile? ]

Don't... you have a lot of people who do?

Good! It's okay to do things that don't involve them! Like making friends! That should be up to you, not them. Like with Pokémon, too.

[Fake smiling and real smiles are different if you're a molded idol. But Rise doesn't want to do that anymore. Her smiles are genuine.] I hope so! Else I wouldn't have so many fans~

Eh? Hm... I have my friends at home... and I have you and two others I would actually call 'friend'. I mostly have guys talking to me who think I'm cute. I think there's even a guy who really, really likes me. But that happens a lot! [She's very confident about her appearance.]

I... I know. [ It's just that she does like them being so involved. It's nice. Of course, she'd be hesitant to tell Rise this, because then she'd need to explain why. ]

You have a lot of fans? [ She's in awe, actually. Color her impressed. ]

It... really happens a lot? [ Naminé can't... really imagine people being interested in her like that, despite Ringabel's comments. ]

Oh yeah! This is my Eevee, Himiko! [She looks down at her furry little friend, who gives Naminé a happy little chirp as a greeting.]

Well, yeah! I'm on TV a lot, and I do concerts, signing, hand shake events, commercials, model for magazines... so, all kinds of stuff. That gets me fans~

Yeah... sometimes it's really annoying because really gross guys try to ask me to kiss them or be their girlfriend... [She's gotten good at shooting guys down.]

Himiko... Hello. I hope you're not mad at me anymore. [ And she gives the little critter a wave and a small smile. ]

That... does sound like a lot to do. [ Rise's getting more and more impressive. She can really do all that--maybe without breaking a sweat? Wow. ]

A-ah... I see.

[Himiko chirps again. It's not you! I can't be mad at someone so sweet!]

It takes a lot of hard work, but I get to travel a lot! Oh, and tons of cute clothes!

You learn really quickly how to slap someone effectively!

Before here, I've never worn many different clothes... Is it fun, to wear so many different ones?

[ Slap someone... she's not too sure about that. ] I... I see.

Yeah~! You can pick out a style you like, colors, fabrics, patterns, accessories... there's so much! Let's go shopping when we meet~!

It doesn't happen a lot.

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03--video

[Video]

Making this completely ridiculous: [Video]

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