farfromgrace | momquest: a quest for moms

momquest: a quest for moms

[ It's another day in Tokyo-D, and the relentless cycle of content generation for the masses goes on; how long have you been filming this drama, exactly? And it's not that it's a bad show, per se, but the fact that it's really dedicated to showing the gritty realities of combat and using practical effects for it is... kind of a lot.

Also it can't decide if it wants to be a show about frenemies or about enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies. Cowards.

And besides, it's not home, is it?

It occurs to you on break at the really honestly lackluster buffet table set up for the actors and any surviving extras that... there's really not that much security on this show, all things considered, unless there's something you're not seeing... ]

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[ she tilts her head. ]

"I never really thought about it like that, but—well, isn't the reason basically everyone watches Imepro because it's really encouraging to see heroes overcome adversity?"

[ she looks a little embarrassed, saying that. ]

"Or, at least—I guess that's why I like watching some of the programs, since it makes me feel like I can get through really hard days, too?"

That's... a really beautiful way of looking at it, Michelle. Truly, I'm sure they all strive very hard, on that show, but—

[ look, what does it matter if she uses a flimsy lie? she'll still ride this as far as it goes ]
—mmn, I'll tell you a secret: I work at one of the offices responsible for forwarding fanmail, and it's not something that most fans seem to write to say.

There are probably many Imeeji idols who would like for someone like you to write to them.

[ she looks down at her apron, shyly, and tucks a lock of hair out of her face. ]

"Well, ah—maybe I'll try and send a letter sometime, then. After all, I'm pretty invested, so—"

[ She looks back up, and an odd look crosses her face, but she smiles again, a little sheepish. ]

"So, well—I'm really, really glad you think so, and, um... I guess, er—Mistress, I know you wanted some time to consider, so I'll leave you to it and return shortly—"

[ What... kind of odd look? ]

Of course—I'm sorry for keeping you so long with this chatter.

[ Possibly Michelle was just embarrassed, or got distracted by some thought, but... well. Better to check her exits, and her reflection in the table knife while she's at it. ]

[ she does seem very cute and easily flustered, and scampers off, catching one of the other maids on her way to what seems to be the kitchen area to ask her a question.

so that leaves you alone with the menu and time to check these things, yes. at the very least you seem to have come in at a time without too much traffic, and the way to the exit does still seem to be clear. you catch your reflection in one of the table knives (not terribly sharp, could use a lot more polish) and—

oh. oh that's probably a big problem that all your illusions seem to have dropped, huh. ]

[ Only the fact that she was bracing for this exact worst case scenario keeps her from cursing both loudly and elaborately.

This has absolutely never happened before and she is still inclined to blame Liar Hell, but really she doesn't have time to analyze the situation—she just needs to book it.

(It's too bad: if this hadn't gone so completely wrong, maybe she could have tried to leave Michelle an autograph.)

—But no, she is hurrying out the door as fast as she can manage without outright running, trying to at the very least change her clothing back to the suit as she does. ]

[ there's a feeling of like—a fizzle at the tips of all your extremities, as you try to re-illusion yourself again, and you realize, as you book it to the door, that you can't—it's just not working.

at the very least, no one seems to be stopping you, although you're now keenly aware that the staff is definitely watching you, slightly alarmed, as you go. ]

[ Fuck.

But she stops herself at the door: at least none of the "maid" courtesans seem to be looking to cause her any problems. So she turns around, and gives a polite bow. ]

...Ah.
Well, that's embarrassing, isn't it? You all put me at so much ease that I must have dropped my concentration—it's quite an achievement; no wonder Ruby likes it here.

I hope I haven't caused too much trouble. Before I go back to work... well, if anyone has something small you'd like me to bring back to someone, it's the least I can do.

[ It's just another "idols come to meet you" event, alright. Definitely. ]

[ They all sort of like, look at each other, kind of nervously, like—they know something's up, but also this celebrity's being nice?—and one of them, a redhead, scrambles for a scrap of paper. ]

Well, um, actually—I have a grandmother who's a fan of the show, Mistress, er... Miss Amaranth, and I know she's fond of one of your sons... so if you could let him know that she wishes him well?

I'm sure he'd be very glad to hear from your grandmother. Just let me know whether to bring it to Lucifel or Persephone—unless, of course, you mean one of the ones on LiliS.

"Oh, Lucifel, I mean—I don't know if saying it's Annie's grandmother would mean anything to him, but if you get the chance..."

[ she scribbles something on the sheet of paper, too, and they all sort of peer over at it and sign it; it ends up saying "Ganba sensitIV! <3 The Staff of Café Maidreamy" with signatures from all of them. ]

[ This is... so cute... Sometimes, fans are good, actually... ]

Oh, I'm sure they'll love it. And I'll be sure to pass along those well-wishes—it's the feelings behind them that matter most, after all.

Now, I really should get back to work; I don't know if Celestial Glory will turn out to be any good, but I hope to do well in my own role, at least.

[ It's... well, it's truth-adjacent.
So she will in fact collect the card for sensitIV before heading back out the door to the little side-street. ]

[ off you go!!!

the question is, where to next, especially since it seems like your illusions are... continuing not to function, which makes you rather conspicuous, since you can't disguise yourself or your naginata. ]

[ That's the question, isn't it. Honestly, what is she even thinking, wandering around without anything the least bit resembling a plan? She could cut her losses easily at this point; after all, she's not far from the tee-vee building, and at worst she's just a "troublemaker."

...But gods does the idea grate—trotting obediently back to her little cage.
And apparently, if she knows the layout of Tokyo-F, she knows the layout here.

Experimentally, she tries summoning up first Juniper Tree's bark armor, then Nightingale's breeze: favorites, both, not to mention invaluable for respectively defense and swift travel. ]

Edited 2020-11-26 03:39 (UTC)

[ the bark of Juniper Tree responds to your call, and begins to cover the skin of your arm, and then—stops, abruptly, halfway up. Nightingale summons a breeze for a moment, but it's charged with that same sort of crackling static feeling that makes the hair of your arms stand on end.

you also, in the middle of experimenting with all this, become aware that there's definitely people walking briskly, coming toward you from some direction, talking in a way that sounds like they're agitated. ]

[ That settles it: like hell (ha) is she getting escorted back like a naughty child.

So whatever she's got will have to do. Amaranth call up the breeze again, stepping into the petals as she does—and uses it like a small personal chariot: staying low to the ground in case somehow this fails her too, but going far faster than she could on her own two feet.

...And she flies off down the first new side-street she can find—whatever is heading further away from the over-bright main street. ]

[ staying low to the ground is a good idea, it turns out; the wind keeps dying out, leaving her feet skidding across the pavement before it starts back up again, sometimes too strong in a way that threatens to pull her feet out from under her.

unfortunately all streets in liar hell are an over-bright neon dream. how anyone thinks this is akin to yu-shan is deeply unclear, honestly. but there are less-busy streets, at least, even if you turn some heads and elicit some murmurs and in some cases some shouts as you pass.

Ahead, there's a number of little shops, cafés, a sign that points the direction to the train between Delphi and Vengeance. a store selling those "television" display screens in the window might catch your attention with—well, your face, actually, briefly, since it's playing bits of what you recognize as Imeeji Idol Productions as you pass—it must be re-runs, from the uncomfortably-familiar, perky introduction from the pigtailed host:

"Clasp your hands in prayer, hope real hard, and maybe you'll get a front row seat—" ]

Mela's tits.
[ This is starting to be genuinely concerning.

Once it feels like she's put enough distance between herself and where she started, she pauses; lets the wind fade fully, consoling herself with the fact that, if anything, she's attracting more attention with flashy powers. And apparently if she stops using them, she can just start claiming to be a Demeter impersonator.

So now she's walking. It's high time she found herself some corner to really properly figure out what's wrong with her. If there's not anything resembling a little gacha alley like she found before, she'll head for one of the little cafés. ]

[ there is an easily-found alley with vending machines, and, yes, more gatcha. liar hell loves gatcha. (liar hell is also significantly tidier than vengeance; on one hand, you can't hide behind large garbage, on the other hand you don't have to hide behind garbage. ]

[ ....Does the gacha take imeeji points as currency....

—No, there absolutely is not time for that. She takes a few deep breaths, centering herself as she eyes her reflection in the glass of the machine.

Treat it like any other training: break down the motions until she knows them by heart. It's stupid to go looking for trouble if she's not prepared to defend herself once she finds it. ]

[ She begins with a few twirls of the naginata—both to put herself at ease with the familiarity of it (they could not take this from her, at least), and also to make up for where the inferior weapon is unfamiliar.

Then she tries weaving in bits of LiliS powers to the combat drill: she has practiced this sort of thing countless times, shifting fluidly between illusions and limiting senses; supplementing strikes by riding the breeze.

So.......... how's that working out for her. ]

[ next community upgrade, perhaps, for the merch.

even with an inferior weapon, it's not as if you haven't trained with weapons that needed better balancing or craft to them. it's easy enough to pick up where you need to compensate for the weight, to figure out how hard you'd need to swing it to do a lot of damage, or just a little.

but when you start calling on your LiliS powers—well, all you have to practice on with cutting senses is yourself, and it just doesn't... happen. trying to summon the Nightingale's breeze this time almost feels like a shock to your nerves, like you just touched something electrically-charged and had to pull your hand back.

it's all the powers you theoretically have at your disposal that seem to be on the fritz. maybe it's just the sheer distraction of liar hell, with its bright lights and constant blaring advertisements ("fabric so soft it feels like you've been touched by an angel!" "heaven answers those who believe! but for the rest of us, there's Nimbus Chocolatiers") but it doesn't feel like that's really the case. there's something wrong.

and you don't have too much time to figure out what, because someone does a double-take, running past the alley—several someones, in fact, in the professional attire of Imepro Security, and it's clear they're looking for you. ]

Edited 2020-11-26 05:36 (UTC)

[ Oh come on, she hasn't even gotten to the good part. She's not sure what the "good part" is yet, but she didn't make it this far just to return empty handed. ]

Pasiap's gem-encrusted balls.

[ No children here; she can really use her full vocabulary of foul language—and apparently she needs it.

Amaranth takes a quick turn around the next corner. She just needs some café or shop; she'll go inside the first building with a door she can open. ]

[ It's a sort of low-end convenience store, kind of like the "conbinis" that Tokyo-F has, now, but with much more cramped aisles, shelves packed close together with an assortment of food items and knick-knacks. the shop attendant, a young man in a canvas apron, looks up as you enter, clearly thinks about saying something, and then clams up, seeing a weapon.

security's in hot pursuit, and you're definitely outnumbered; there's three people following you, and you're not quite sure they missed you coming in here. there's a door labeled "staff only" at the back, and a bathroom, but otherwise there's not much else as far as places to look for a potential outlet. ]

[ She is, at this moment, grateful to Exael. Amaranth catches the young man's eye again, then gives a reassuring sort of smile. ]

Oh, I get kind of look a lot! [ voice airy ]
It's a great costume, right? I'm a professional impersonator—this is just a prop.

May I use this establishment's restroom?

[ ...she's already heading towards the back, though, aiming for the staff door. Hopefully that put him at ease, but she doesn't actually have time to wait for an answer. ]

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