week 4

[airlockedmods]

[Just like the previous week the status quo is restored with frighteningly quick efficiency. PAL still makes the morning and night time announcements through the PIP on each Champion's arm, and still the Champion unitards are freshly laundered and re-hung each morning in their closets. Even the glass roses Choromatsu and Takumi broke after the trial in their fit of anger have been replaced with fresh ones. All signs that there was anything amiss this weekend are completely gone.

There's a new floor to explore, their "reward" for a job well done.]

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday



[ooc: Don't forget to to turn in your AC for week 3, submit your memory regains and put in your threads for the Benefactors!]

Comments

[misanthropicprinciple]

Karaoke isn't supposed to end well. It's karaoke. Come on, you can definitely at least outperform Church.

[brokencode]

I won't... act like I wouldn't be able to do that but... I don't think you want to be put on trial because I died of embarrassment, or anything like that.

[misanthropicprinciple]

Angel. Live a little.

[brokencode]

Junpei...

[Just like with Kip, Angel relented. She really needed to work on saying no.]

Pick a song for me?

[misanthropicprinciple]

Are there any songs here that you know?

[brokencode]

[Angel fixed the man with a brief, flat look, before shaking her head. Come on, Junpei.]

Years of isolation, remember?

[misanthropicprinciple]

Yeah, but no music? Damn, girl...

[Hmmm. Junpei rifles through the selections, and: Aha.]

Here. Half the people here should know this one. They'll help you. You ready?

[Too late, if not. He only asked after the song's already started.]

[brokencode]

[Since she didn't have much choice in the matter, Angel simply looked from Junpei to the crowd. Already, she was going pale, and the butterflies in her stomach quickly turned to nasty, vicious claws. She took a step forward, then one back, hovering awkwardly between boldness and fear.

Junpei wouldn't take no for an answer, though, of that she had no doubts. And so, she stepped forward, drawing in a breath of air and opening her mouth.

But no words came out.]

[scourgingstars]

[calling from the back of the room while pouring another drink because this human liver is getting a stress test:]

You're fine, Angel--you can handle this!

[Morale Boost is active!]

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Yes, thank you, Ardad. As Angel struggles to find her voice, Junpei--gently, for all the fuckery Ardyn's powers are doing to his powers of empathy--starts:]

You are my fire
The one desire...

[brokencode]

[Much as she might have wanted to run away before, Ardyn's encouragement seemed to put her at ease in that strange, tingly way it had prior. Rather than turning away from the crowd, she glanced toward Junpei, then to the screen nearby.]

Believe me when I say
I want it that way.

[Her voice wobbled in the slightest, and came out just as soft, if not softer, than Junpei's had. But an attempt was made, and she didn't outright die of embarrassment, at least.]

[misanthropicprinciple]

[There we go. He leans in so he can see the screen and still help her along with the melody, but he's not gonna get any louder. This is Angel's show.]

[brokencode]

[Discomfort still lingered on the corner of Angel's lips and within her chest. With Junpei, though, it was a bit easier to focus. The eyes of the assembled crowd weren't only on her. It made it a bit easier to swallow the spotlight.

By some miracle, she hobbled through the song. Some of the notes were harder to hit than others, or missed completely, but it didn't matter. By the middle, a smile had begun to form on her lips, and by the end, she was grinning in sheer delight.

She even managed a clumsy bow, when it was all said and done.]

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Clap clap clap.]

Brava. Encore.

[Mou ikkai! Okay, no.]

See? That wasn't so bad, right?

[brokencode]

No, that was... kind of fun, actually.


[Uh. Better step away, Junpei, otherwise you're getting a hug.]

Thank you.

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Oh. He's surprised, but it's not unpleasant. It's just too bad he can't fucking feel his own fucking emotions because Ardyn is a fucking dumpster fire. After a moment, he kind of returns the hug? And pats her back.]

Uh, you're welcome. And now, next time, you've got a song you know lined up right off the bat.

[brokencode]

[The miniscule affection is good enough for her. After a short while she pulled back, satisfied smile on her lips.]

I can be a one-trick-wonder. That is what they call it, right?

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Heh.]

That's either a one-trick-pony or a one-hit-wonder, but as the current magical successor to the Lucian throne, I'll graciously allow you the two-for-one.

[brokencode]

[A palm was pressed to her chest, while she forced an exaggerated expression of gratitude and awe onto her face.]

A true honor, I am certain. Thank you, Lord Junpei.

[misanthropicprinciple]

[Smirk smirk smirk. He pats her head, patronizing to the utmost.]

Think nothing of it, loyal subject. Just one of my many virtues as a leader.

[brokencode]

[Junpei's ministrations netted him a playful roll of the eyes, and the slightest downturning of the lips. She crossed her arms over her chest, then let out a huff.]

My gracious leader is so kind.