The taping is at 6. I'll get there a little early for makeup and wardrobe.
[Gaku ducks his head slightly for a moment as they pass the fans, annoyed that he has to do so. Back home was different, somehow. Still, he lets the officer run interference for him, and gives a charming wave back once they're safely away from the studio.
Rather than heading for home, Gaku heads toward the TV studio, hoping to find a cafe nearby.]
I'm actually the one who requested you. I run the agency. It's been complicated for a little while. I didn't think success would come without drawbacks, because it never does, but people being this aggressive again is the worst.
So you’re your own boss? [ His coworkers had failed to mention, they’d only sent him on his own. It seems like a lot of work for one person, impressive in its own right, but Gaku doesn’t seem as satisfied or pleased with it as Jyuto would expect from someone who’s built himself up from the ground all over again. Getting famous again… it can’t really be that easy, can it? ]
You say again. Does that mean your fans were out of control in your own world, too? [ A beat. He’s almost certain, but he asks the next question anyway, ] Do you happen to be Japanese? I’m Japanese myself, and I always wondered how idols could handle such a life. [ Even division representatives deal with a certain amount of recognition, but the Jyuto feels it more similar to the reputation of a wrestler than that of an ideal man. Rap battles are the new age of violence, after all. Idols live in a completely different world. ]
Kind of. Co-owner, really. Anyway, it's what my old man did back home, so I felt like it might be a good fit.
[He's a proud but genuine man, and it's not his fault his looks are so distinctive. He hates dodging the fans, but lately certain things have gotten out of hand. He listens attentively as they walk, then looks at him in surprise.]
That's surprising... you, too? Japanese, I mean. I keep seeing people I think might be, but then they're from somewhere else entirely. [Gesturing up, Gaku indicates a billboard with his own half-naked visage on it. He smiles, but as Jyuto has reasoned out, he doesn't seem satisfied. Something's hollow about it all.]
There was some weird stuff going on back home, for a while. Kidnappings. Espionage. Some bad rumors. We almost lost our careers entirely because of one guy's grudge. But we came back from it, and even if it cost us some time and some pride, we felt like kings again for a minute there. Then I came here. Tenn and Ryuu work harder than anybody I know here, and we're still climbing. [He shakes his head.] I feel like people feel more entitled to us, here. Less like they love us, more like they just want us for weird stuff.
You may not be wrong in feeling that. Because of our ability to produce Chroma, prismals tend to see us moonblessed in a different light. [ Jyuto’s studying the billboard as he speaks, and he blinks once as he tries to digest what may be happening in the climate of Gaku’s fanbase. He’s assumed from context that Tenn and Ryuu are work colleagues. In any case, it seems that Gaku’s become used to a fair share of scandal. Jyuto continues staring at the whites of Gaku’s teeth on the inflated print, quiet before he speaks up. ]
Forgive me. I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to pop idols. [ He knows a hand full of others from his own world who might, but. ] I suppose I just assumed that the delusion was, in part, what fuels and keeps the idol business rolling. There’s an ongoing fantasy of knowing or understanding someone that you don’t really know, and the hope of them caring about you in turn as an individual— a statistic impossibility. The number of relationships someone can comfortably maintain is said to be somewhere between 100 and 200.
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[Gaku ducks his head slightly for a moment as they pass the fans, annoyed that he has to do so. Back home was different, somehow. Still, he lets the officer run interference for him, and gives a charming wave back once they're safely away from the studio.
Rather than heading for home, Gaku heads toward the TV studio, hoping to find a cafe nearby.]
I'm actually the one who requested you. I run the agency. It's been complicated for a little while. I didn't think success would come without drawbacks, because it never does, but people being this aggressive again is the worst.
no subject
You say again. Does that mean your fans were out of control in your own world, too? [ A beat. He’s almost certain, but he asks the next question anyway, ] Do you happen to be Japanese? I’m Japanese myself, and I always wondered how idols could handle such a life. [ Even division representatives deal with a certain amount of recognition, but the Jyuto feels it more similar to the reputation of a wrestler than that of an ideal man. Rap battles are the new age of violence, after all. Idols live in a completely different world. ]
no subject
[He's a proud but genuine man, and it's not his fault his looks are so distinctive. He hates dodging the fans, but lately certain things have gotten out of hand. He listens attentively as they walk, then looks at him in surprise.]
That's surprising... you, too? Japanese, I mean. I keep seeing people I think might be, but then they're from somewhere else entirely. [Gesturing up, Gaku indicates a billboard with his own half-naked visage on it. He smiles, but as Jyuto has reasoned out, he doesn't seem satisfied. Something's hollow about it all.]
There was some weird stuff going on back home, for a while. Kidnappings. Espionage. Some bad rumors. We almost lost our careers entirely because of one guy's grudge. But we came back from it, and even if it cost us some time and some pride, we felt like kings again for a minute there. Then I came here. Tenn and Ryuu work harder than anybody I know here, and we're still climbing. [He shakes his head.] I feel like people feel more entitled to us, here. Less like they love us, more like they just want us for weird stuff.
no subject
Forgive me. I’m not the most knowledgeable when it comes to pop idols. [ He knows a hand full of others from his own world who might, but. ] I suppose I just assumed that the delusion was, in part, what fuels and keeps the idol business rolling. There’s an ongoing fantasy of knowing or understanding someone that you don’t really know, and the hope of them caring about you in turn as an individual— a statistic impossibility. The number of relationships someone can comfortably maintain is said to be somewhere between 100 and 200.