[OPEN] fuck timelines

[flowerclips]

[ after fucking off from the dungeon, leaving the daitengu all alone and sad (invite them too, guys :'( ), it's time to have fun. at whatever agreed upon time, the ou hirajiro gang is here to finally get some good r&r. rei has been extremely excited so she's early in front of the bathhouse, holding a bag of her belongings. she waves down anyone she sees. come faster!! let's get this show on the road! ]

Bathhouse time, hoooooo!!

[ for things in the bathhouse, there are your usual spa options: a sauna, jacuzzi, pedicures, manicures, that kind of stuff. have fun, everyone. ]

Comments

iv

[reveilation]

[ Nobody checks for drinking age but Kido sure side-eyes the people who order alcohol. She's here to sit back and listen to the music and silently judge people from the corner of the room. ]

[infiltrationtools]

[A little earlier, Akira was singing some 2015 pop songs that he remembered liking. But he's taking a break to drink and eat, so he sits by Kido with a plate of gyoza and some fruity looking drink.]

Hey! You feeling okay?

[He's maybe like two drinks in?]

[reveilation]

[ 2015 is beyond Kido, who's from 2012, but she likes pop songs and gives Akira a smile when he sits down next to her, despite being very linefaced most of the time here. ]

Yeah, I'm good. You look like you're having fun; your singing's not bad.

[ She steals one of his gyoza because it's right there and she can. Akira can order more. ]

[infiltrationtools]

[By all means, Kido, take the gyoza. It doesn't solve all of life's problems, but it's never made them any worse.]

Thanks! I'm not trained or anything, but I like singing.

[Had he ever been given an opportunity, he would have been one of those musical theater kids. But right now, he's a little bit tired and a little out of breath and a little bit tipsy, so he settles in next to her.]

Do you think you wanna try?

[reveilation]

[ It's a little surprising to her, to hear that Akira likes singing. She supposes it's because they usually meet under more serious circumstances, and it goes the same for a lot of them— seeing everybody just hang out and have fun together, it's a little strange, but very nice ]

Oh. Um... Maybe later. [ The usual excuse meaning "maybe never" ]

I like listening to music a lot more than I like singing. It's really different, hearing it live... I miss it a little.

[infiltrationtools]

[It's not a thing he ever really... talks about, because despite having this inner desire for theatricality, his presence in the real world is extremely subdued, and his presence in the dungeons and Metaverse mostly just channels it into excessive backflips and flourishes as he beheads Shadows. So he has a decent voice, but he doesn't always hit the notes all the time, doesn't know how to hold a mic, and so on and so forth. It's just a thing he does in the shower or when he's alone in Leblanc at night.]

[Someone else has stepped up to put on a show, anyway, so Akira lets that singing offer pass on into the night.]

Did you see a lot of live singing at home, too?

[He doesn't know a lot about Kido's home life, he suddenly realizes, apart from... the depressing bits.]

[reveilation]

[ Kido breathes a sigh of relief when the mic is passed on and she's spared for another four minutes, though talking about this sort of thing isn't all that much easier, even with Terry screaming Vocaloid songs in the background or whatever. ]

Not a lot. But my mother— my birth mother was a singer. She performed in a small cafe, but she was... amazing. She loved it when people cheered for her. People always said she looked like she was having the time of her life on the stage... Most of this was before I was born, though.

[ Kido's home like is sort of also the depressing bits, sorry. ]

She loved life so much. But she died when I was five. Live singing always makes me think of her.

[ But they're happy thoughts just as much as they are sad ones. They're warm thoughts. ]

[infiltrationtools]

[ ... ]

[Akira nods. His expression changes a bit, moving from an outwardly cheerful smile to something quieter and more respectful. Still a smile, but with a very personal understanding of all the conflicting feelings she must still have.]

That's... a good way to think about it. You're remembering her as she would want to be remembered.

[He looks down for a second (as Terry attempts to hit the high notes of Tell Your World) and thinks about what he wants to say next. Is he drunk enough to be upfront with her? It's Kido. With someone else he might not, but... this is Kido.]

I... lost my mom, too. Later than you, but... my memory of that far back is still not very good.

[She's not dead, but she's also not coming back.]

[reveilation]

[ Kido nods a little, because yeah... her mother was bright and cheerful, full of warmth and love and people loved her. Remembering her mother is always in stark contrast to how she thinks about herself, who can be blunt and very crabby even on good days. But maybe there are still parts of her mother within her, and it's those parts that feel hurt when Akira tells her his mother is also not in his life, and that he doesn't have much memories of her either. ]

I'm sorry to hear that... What memories do you have of her? It's okay if you don't want to share.

[overstrain]

Kiiidooooo~

[ He's slumping on her side. ]

Sing something with your beautiful voice... I wanna hear you sing!

[reveilation]

[ And now she's sitting here silently judging the person next to her. ]

No.

[ But she leans back against him, because otherwise he'll probably fall over and she'll be forced to shove him off onto the ground. ]

What's the point if you're too drunk to remember?

[overstrain]

Okay fine. You'll probably woo everyone in the room anyway. Miiine...

[ ... ]

I want a private show later.

[reveilation]

[ Kido puts a hand on his back and tips him forward down onto the floor. ]

[overstrain]

[ He falls but now he's climbing up Kido's... legs... ]

Why did you do that?!

[reveilation]

[ Of course she would make things worse for herself. With a sigh, she stands and takes Terry's hands so she can haul him up too, and thinks about turning him around and directing him to the other side of the room if she feels like it. ]

I didn't do anything. You're just drunk.

[overstrain]

[ Terry just slumps over again once he's hauled up so now he's using Kido lap as a lap pillow. ]

You tipped me over... this is a terrible place to tip me over.

[reveilation]

There isn't a table in front of anything, so it's fine.

[ Man, she really wants to just roll him off her lap again, but she just puts her ice cold hands on his face. Shhhhhhh. Drunk Terry shouldn't be allowed to talk. ]

What'd be a good place to tip you over? Maybe I'll oblige.

[flowerclips]

[ i'm here for that sister duet. ]

Neechan, we should pick a song out together!

[reveilation]

[ Terry: i want to hear you sing
Kido: no
Rei: i want to hear you sing
Kido: okay ]

Oh... Sure. What sort of songs do you like, Rei? Pop is pretty easy to sing to. I don't recognize a lot of these other songs.

[ Since Kido apparently listens to happy pop music a lot, she probably knows those best ]

[flowerclips]

[ kido has a real rei bias and rei is happy for that. she's glad that they can do a song together and she goes through the list. hmm. she scrolls down the list in the book and then has her finger land on a particular song. ]

Oh, how about this one? "Nippon manju"? It has manju in its name!

[ if it has food in its name, it's clearly good. i hope kido or rei does the metal parts perfectly btw ]

[reveilation]

[ Holy shit. Kido's never heard of the song so she just goes "Oh that's a cute name" so they're going to sing this. Kido can do the metal parts. She's dying of mortification less than halfway through the song but she can sing the metal parts and will get through the entire song...... ]

[flowerclips]

[ i am so glad that kido is singing the metal parts. rei can sing the cute parts and i'm laughing imagining kido doing metal. ]

Wow, you were so good, neechan! You got your voice so deep and cool!

[reveilation]

[ Rei doing metal is hilarious, but yeah, Kido is better suited for it, even though she passes the mic on asap once the song is over. ]

Thanks... I think. What part of that song was manju?

[flowerclips]

[ well, she's screaming over here with terry while kido is probably just a few steps away if you want her to scream too but for different reasons LMAO ]

Umm, maybe the entire song was a metaphor for manjus, like the outside was pretty and the inside was sweet.

[reveilation]

[ Oh my god, karaoke is just kids screaming into the mic ]

What part was I singing, the pretty or the sweet?

[ Her throat hurts? Metal is hard on the throat. ]