Afterparty 5.0

[forcegalactic]

[There's not much that can be believed about that trial. Or that execution. Still, like before, two hours after everyone leaves, they'll find a note slipped underneath their doors.]

We have to stick together. The dining room is there for anyone that needs a quiet space, and I cooked dinner.

Hibiki made some coffee and dessert for all of us.

-Mordecai Benmont Jiminy and Hibiki Ganaha

[Today's selection includes potato pancakes and a light coffee cake. Hibiki has lit two more candles in the dining hall. It doesn't take long before Mordecai lights a third.]

Comments

[nankurunaisa]

[She has no idea why he's getting so worked up about this in the kitchen. She also has no idea if being distracted from Rakka and Morty's murders in favor of murder people is a plus or not, but she's not really in the place to tell Barkeep to knock it off.]

W-well...I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that. At least it sounds like it's over for now, right?

[Whoo, boy, now she feels like he needs comforting.]

She sounds really great, Barkeep-san. I wish I could meet her. I don't get to talk to my family often at all aside from the telephone, so I kinda get what that's like. It can be really hard.

[forcegalactic]

That part definitely is, at least...

[He thought he could get over this trial easily, but no. He could have done more to keep Rakka and Morty out of danger. He could have stopped Dio from doing something so stupid. His wife might be in danger.

Mordecai needs some comfort.]

You're a singer, right? They make you travel a lot at your age?

[He doesn't know much about the life of traveling artists, but he assumed Hibiki would have more contact with her parents than that.]

[nankurunaisa]

It's not that I travel a lot, it's that I moved for work to begin with.

[She already mentioned her dad dying, but she can spell it out a bit more clearly.]

The best part about an idol is that I get to try all sorts of things and speak to people and buy nice pets and live in a nice place, but the most important part is that I'm sendin' money home to my mom. Okinawa is on a different island than Tokyo. I haven't spoken to my brother in over a year, and my mom is really busy, too. It's kind of...

[Lonely.]

W-well, I'm fine, of course! There's nothin' a girl like me can't do! Women are really tough!

[It just feels like without her connections that she might disappear.]

[forcegalactic]

...I have to agree, that is a lonely life for someone your age. You got friends at least to help you through, or an adult to supervise you, right?

[Teenagers aren't that great at living alone, no matter how much they think they can handle it.]

And don't you start with actin' you're fine without talkin' to your family! It's hard enough when my wife doesn't call for weeks, it has to be hard for you!

[Just...stop acting like you don't need other people, everyone. Just...please...]

...Are you homesick a lot?

[nankurunaisa]

I have a Producer, but I live and commute alone. It's not so bad! Really. That's why I have Inumi and Hamuzou and...

[She rattles off the names of all of her pets. Sorry, Barkeep.]

I miss my family a lot! But my mom has her own life, and...my brother and I don't really get along a lot. That's why we're gonna get outta here, so you can see your wife and so I can talk to my brother! Nankurunaisa!

[Not "if", "when."

But ouch. That last question.]

Mm. I miss Okinawa a lot, but I love Tokyo, too. Sometimes, it'd feel like if I didn't succeed, that I'd just...sorta disappear.

[forcegalactic]

[Uh. That word didn't translate for some reason. It must be some kind of exclamation like Croach's "Bagropa!". It probably translates to..."awesome", or something along those lines.]

Y-yeah. There's a lotta folks that are worryin' about us. Family, my friends, and your pets. [It's so sad that her only companions are animals.] But you gotta talk to other people, too. Spendin' all your time with animals ain't exactly the sign of a healthy mind.

[Hibiki has to talk to her brother ASAP. It would do her a lot of good.]

Why not? You still got your family and home. It's not like it's the end of the world if you ain't the most famous. Heck, most people never accomplish much, and they find a way to be happy.

[nankurunaisa]

I have plenty of people to talk to! I'm an idol, remember? There's twelve other idols at my agency, and we all work on jobs together and perform on stage together. Takane's even been over to spend the night.

[The animals are just there for when no one else can be, in other words, in addition to being awesome ALL of the time.]

It's just a feelin' I get sometimes...it's kinda complicated. D-don't think anything of it, okay?

[She definitely picked the wrong person to share that with.]

[forcegalactic]

Talkin' to fans ain't the same as talkin' to friends. Work friends sometimes count, and that's only if you spend time together long enough.

[Being a celebrity sounds lonely. Really lonely.]

Look, I lived most of my life without powers. Even before that, I wasn't the most amazin' bartender in the solar system, and I doubt my novel will ever be picked up by a major publisher, but that doesn't mean I'm not happy. I'm doin' what I want, I have friends, I have a lovely wife, and life is peaceful. If people leave you because you ain't famous, well, they're not good friends in the first place.