Deux ♔ Heaven’s BBS ♔ Video

[priforprince]

[ I. Sparkling Knight ]

Posted: June 21
From: Anonymous

[ It’s the most peculiar thing. Without anyone’s willing it, or any clicks on the thread topic, a window pops up on the BBS of its own accord.

At first, there’s just static. Then, a countdown, grainy and jittery on the screen:



Followed by…darkness. Pure, unadulterated darkness, for several seconds more. The darkness lingers, undisturbed and silent, for several seconds, and is interrupted only by - a voice. It’s not yelling, it’s not whispering. It’s simply speaking, as if you and it are sharing an intimate moment together. It’s a sultry, deep voice. Regal, too. ]

Stellar nurseries. Cradles in the darkness of forsaken galaxies. Nestled to their bosom, a single gleam is born.

[ A flicker of golden light flashes in the center of the screen, then twinkles out. ]

To this world deprived of true radiance - appearing, lo, now on stage.

[ A trail of purple sparkles and rose petals streams through the darkness. ]

A new era dawns.

[ Lights up! Music up, immediately - the ringing of bells, the sounding of trumpets.

And the show begins. ]

Watch on YouTube

[ Lyrics are here. ]

[ When the performance is finished, the lights go down again, replaced by a sign written in ornate letters, with a sunburst in the corner: CELEPARA TALENT AGENCY, by SHIKYOIN HIBIKI. NOW SCOUTING.

And then the video switches itself off. But don’t worry. As Hibiki's very first boon to the world as a god, it's listed on a message board.

You can watch it as many times as you want. ]

[ II. Private to Natsuru, Felicia, & Maria - From Apollo ]

[ Hibiki’s sitting at a desk with a laurel pattern on a door behind her. She’s got her crown of golden laurels tucked behind her ears, too, except instead of wearing her usual purple jacket and trousers, she’s wearing a business suit. ]

Senou Natsuru. Felicia. [ A pause. ] Maria Cadenzavna Eve.

I have something to discuss with all of you. Please accept my invitation.

[ And Hibiki sends along a little attachment. It’s a purple envelope with a pink heart on it that shows you a fancy invitation if you click on it. Apparently she wants you all to stop by this afternoon.

Also, since the “paper” the invitation appears on is monogrammed, it looks like Hibiki took the time to program this herself. ]

I await your presence.

Comments

[pathofheaven]

Pure Amore Love? Is it so good you have to say it twice?

[ Wearing purple, weird French, a pretender to the throne that rightfully belongs to Tendou Souji... ]

How do you feel about scorpions?

[priforprince]

....Scorpions?

[ She's trying to put the metaphor together and nothing's clicking. Guess it's honesty hour, then.

Smug will return when she's finished rebooting from the metaphor freezeout. ]

...Somewhere between overcooked noodles and dung beetles.

video

[koshien]

What are you supposed to be the god of, drama club?

[ SOMEONE INSULTED MEI'S HONOR so here he is, i'm sorry ]

video (also, these boys made my morning, zomg)

[priforprince]

A slightly grander scale than that.

[ She's in a fantastic mood! It'll take more than some critic on the Internet to get Hibiki down.

Now, let's see. She's usually winning over female fans. What might someone else be interested in... ]

Do you like movies?

[video]

[mithrarin]

I get the feeling I'm probably going to regret admitting this...

But that was actually pretty good.

[video]

[priforprince]

There is no greater pleasure than having successfully entertained.

[ You should definitely regret admitting that. ]

I

[very_goodman]

[A very simple and short response comes back from Barry's phone:]

Game on.

[priforprince]

Your move.

[ Barry has no way of knowing she's typing this at her desk in a business suit with a chessboard set up in the corner of said desk. One of the white pawns, a heavy piece of ivory and gold, has been moved forward a square.

This should be an interesting exchange of blows. ]

[timeshields]

[Between the faux magical girl transformation and the swords, there's a bubbling of anxiety that she doesn't want to examine. She needs to just leave the feeling alone.

She won't go looking thinking about the memory. But she has some questions that don't make her want to recoil.]

How did you do that?

[priforprince]

[ ...she's got a sharp one, here. But still no match for Hibiki. ]

When one has captivated the audience's hearts to a sufficient extent, any feat becomes possible.

[ BOLD FACED LIE. That's how it works back home.

Here she used illusion powers and is currently pretending she doesn't have the headache to prove it. ]

Did it please you?

[papillonprincess]

[ Well there's her entertainment quota for the day reached. ]

Have you considered going professional?

[priforprince]

Much more than that. This is but a taste of what my former residence enjoyed.

Their loss is your gain.

[ And someday soon, she'll have her cake and eat it too. When her grand plan is finally completed, and her dream comes true -

Ah, but that's just for her to know. ]

Text; Hachiman

[koukai_kirai]

You made it sound like that was going to be something important.

text ♔ from Apollo

[priforprince]

Did I fail to fascinate?

[ You still watched it, after all. And it's all right. Hibiki will win even your frozen, shriveled, deprived heart over before long.

What could be more important than that? ]

video

[neraiuchi]

[ Once he's gotten control of himself, Miyuki figures he should reply to this himself, since he's orchestrated what could possibly be either a very good idea, or a very bad idea.

He wipes his thumb under an eye, snickering a little still, before fixing his glasses. ]

Hoo... Ah, that was certainly impressive. [ A little golf clap. ] And look at that, it's possible that you've already gotten a recruit! Well done!

video ♔ from Apollo

[priforprince]

You're another baseball player?

[ Why on Earth did her performance attract baseball players.

Well, it's a new demographic, she won't turn them away. ]

II

[maidhem]

[Of course Felicia would accept the invitation-- how could she not, when it was so lovingly designed with herself and a couple of other people she had met in the Near Shore in mind? She enjoyed the times she spent with Natsuru, Maria and Hibiki-- although, she hadn't realized that the all had anything in common besides their circumstances in Tokyo together.

Clearly they did-- and that connection made Felicia all the more curious.

After ensuring that she didn't have anything important to take care of that afternoon, Felicia at the designated location in something summery and floral. It was a small miracle that she wasn't wearing breakneck heels, but flats were far more comfortable to wear in the humid summers of the city.

Hands anxiously clutched around the tiny purse that held her belongings, she wandered the exterior of the building in search of the appropriate entry way...]

[priforprince]

The door you're looking for is over here.

[ The castle gates open behind Hibiki, who might have set them to open and then immediately teleported herself out here just to point that out. She will then forget she knows how to teleport later this very day, due to anxiety brought upon by the presence of entirely too many loud people and entirely too much nail polish, but she doesn't yet know that fate awaits.

She's still in her business suit, but she's holding a small cluster of light blue snowdrops, which she offers to Felicia. ] Thank you for answering my invitation.

[ And while looking so lovely, too! Yes, she only needed a single meeting to be sure. Felicia is a genius. ]

II

[thirdbeauty]

[Of course Natsuru was going to accept an invitation from Hibiki. Any invitation! Though this one in particular seems to be related somehow to that 'talent agency' thing that she posted, which just makes her even more excited to see what Hibiki wants her for. And Felicia and Maria, too?! She had to check with Maria to make sure she was okay with her going in the first place, anyway, so she also used that time to check and see if her god knew anything she didn't about this. But Maria doesn't know any more than Natsuru does, apparently...

Oh well, she'll find out soon enough! She doesn't go right away, since she's still in her work uniform. And as much as Hibiki had complimented it before, she doesn't want to keep showing up in that same outfit all the time. So she takes the time to change into a dress that's somehow more casual, but almost equally as pink and frilly. She's not trying to appeal to what she knows of anyone's tastes here, honest!

She's familiar with the temple by now, so she steps inside if it seems open to visitors like last time. Or if not, she might knock on the first door she encounters just to be sure. But if nothing bars her entry, she makes her way inside, heels clicking on the floor with every step.]

Hibiki-sama?

[priforprince]

[ The castle gate opens for Felicia, yes! And, as she walks down the hall, the host will step out from where she'd been conveniently waiting behind a pillar. A small bouquet of multi-colored poppies are held in one hand. It is....greatly to her distress....that try as she might to pin you elsewhere, you scan as a pop idol in her head.

But she'll be damned before she gives anyone anything but the most appropriate flower.

That dress Natsuru's wearing gets an appraising glance and a nod. ] Adorned in petals like a rose in first bloom.

[ Here, have your poppies. ] A fitting centerpiece for this bouquet.

II

[declamando]

[As soon as the invitation is issued, Maria is quite sure she knows what Hibiki's about to ask of her. And perhaps, given that break in her speech, Hibiki already knows what her answer has to be. With Sheryl gone, Maria is the resident professional of Sparkle Motion, and as much as working with Felicia and Natsuru would be an enjoyable experience, she can't turn her back on the agency she entered first.

Despite that, outright refusing the invitation would be rude, so Maria heads to Hibiki's temple regardless. She's in something a bit more like her older outfits today, shorts instead of a skirt, boots instead of heels and a rather dramatic jacket, even if it's also quite thin due to the summery weather.

Tracking down the entrance in good time, Maria knocks firmly, but politely at the temple door.]

[priforprince]

[ The door opens to reveal a bouquet of pure white lilies.

And Hibiki. Hibiki is holding the lilies. She got the door herself.

The lilies are offered to Maria with a calm, sure smile. ] You came, I see.

[ Even if you already know what she's going to say. ]

video;

[untodeath]

Bravo, my dear! That was quite the show!

[ Grell is so enthralled, that she has to back off the camera a bit! There's a definite spark of intrigue to her eye - and if that weren't convincing enough, perhaps the cheek-splitting grin is! ]

With showmanship like yours, women may dominate the stage yet! [ There's a finger twirling into her red hair, at that. ] Speaking of, I'd like to know more about this talent agency.

video ♔ from Apollo

[priforprince]

[ A fan already! Well, that's only to be expected. Hibiki smiles, happy to oblige. ] But of course.

[ She reaches beneath her desk to pull out a square placard on which a sword-and-heart-shaped-symbol has been drawn. ] The CelePara Talent Agency is a group scouting only those with enough natural talent to be considered "geniuses". When their combined radiances resound with each other on stage, the resulting spectacle should be enough to banish the negative emotions giving rise to ayakashi. We will truly create a Celeb Paradise.

[ A thin-lipped smile. ] No smaller sparkle could move such emotions.

video;

[latentforlife]

[Shuusei pops on just to clap. That was fun to watch. Really, really dramatic but it's not like he cares too much about that.]

video ♔ from Apollo

[priforprince]

[ It was the perfect amount of dramatic, thanks ever so. The perfect everything. Of course.

The applause makes Hibiki smile, all the same. She's in a good enough mood to be answering all these fans one-on-one. Personally. Feel honored, please. ]

A receptive audience is the greatest of all pleasures.

Text - From: Kairi

[pure_radiantics]

Woah, how'd you do that Miss Apollo?

text ♔ from Apollo

[priforprince]

Were you impressed?

[ "Miss Apollo". You're cute. ]

Closed ♔ Natsuru & Maria ♔ In the same post for convenience

[priforprince]

[ After leading Maria to an office, Hibiki takes a seat at her large wooden desk and presses a button. One of the doors on either side of Hibiki's desk slides open, revealing a waiting room full of entertainment and performance-related history materials, as well as a small practice corner. Said room happens, presently, to contain Natsuru. ]

We're ready. Natsuru, please join us.

[ Come and stand next to the desk with Maria. Whom she has no idea Natsuru, you know, knows. Very well. ]

[declamando]

[While Maria is only really here for as long as it will take for the inevitable offer to be made and Maria to turn it down as politely as she can, she does start slightly when she realises that Hibiki's planning to talk to them together. It could make things a little more awkward than Maria would have liked them to be.

Still, she covers the moment with a slight smile.]

Now I really don't have an excuse for having been late. [Since Natsuru lives in the same temple and all.]