2025-12-19: My House
- Log: My House
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Tsubasa Seki, Hazuki Nakao, Fuuka Yamagishi, Katsuko Yoshinaga, Roger
- Where: Level-up! Con, Akihabara, Tokyo
- OOC Date: December 19, 2025
- IC Date: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 (Morning)
- Summary: It's time for Level-up! 2012, a video game con in the heart of summer. Tsubasa goes to score merch for Reiko, Katsuko hopes to score exclusive Gunpla, and Hazuki, Roger, and Fuuka are attending their first con. Kazusa and Wakana show up in a joint cosplay effort, but their fun is cut short when Kazusa's dad Kazuki catches them, and he is... not exactly approving.
- Content Warning: Emotional/verbal abuse by a parental figure
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Level-up 2012 is in full swing! The convention hall is bustling today as con-goers mill about, whether strolling along to check out things as they go or rushing to get to a panel that's about to start. It's a celebration of video games in particular but also the wider media landscape they inhabit: panels from industry insiders to offer insights into how particular games were developed, stages for companies to make announcements on, booths to show off up-coming or newly-released games, or for independent creators to show their love with fan-made wares, and even an arcade with cabs ranging from the earliest arcade days to hot new titles like Ultimate Night Parade 4 Remix Lightning Edition! There are some small tournaments underway, as well, but also... there's plenty of cosplay!
Various characters have been brought to life, in many levels of fidelity, as they wander the convention floor. And it's this particular bit of fan engagement that two high school girls step into.
One of them is Kazusa Motojima, currently decked out in a costume consisting of a dark pink halter top, metal belt, black pants, bracers and boots, and a trailing sash. And most crucially, a mask that covers the bottom of her face. Next to her is Wakana, wearing a similar outfit but in dark blues, wearing a similar mask and a long black wig. Both outfits are detailed, with custom tailoring and props.
After they entered they stepped off to the side, out of the flow of traffic, to check each other's outfits one last time. Kazusa fussed with her costume, then turned to show her back to Wakana. "How do I look?" she demanded.
"Perfect!" said Wakana cheerfully. "Check me over?"
"I'd better be," said Kazusa hotly. She turned back to look over the other girl as she did a spin. "Yeah, you look great," she said sincerely, but less effusively than her friend.
"Hey," said Wakana gently as she turned back to face her friend, stepping forward to place a hand on Kazusa's shoulder. "We look good, and the masks will keep anybody from recognizing us. And everybody's gonna be too dazzled by our moves to even care who we are."
Kazusa huffed and looked away from Wakana's earnest gaze but then slowly nodded. "Right. You're right," she said, her voice softening. "And... thanks. You did a really good job putting these outfits together."
"I couldn't have done it without your amazing sketches as a base!" said Wakana cheerfully. "You ready?"
"Yeah." Kazusa's smile didn't show behind her mask, but it reached her eyes. "Let's do this."
Together, the pair set off to go explore the convention together, heading out into the main convention floor.
ELSEWHERE
A stern-looking older man in a crisp black pinstripe suit with short black hair scowls as he looks over the crowd. "This 'convention' represents a significant outlay of resources. Why should we be allowing one of our newest titles to be available for free?" he said, gesturing at the Night Parade cabinets currently set to free play. "We don't even collect any of the admission fees-- we are paying to give our product away. And the cost of storing, maintaining, and transporting those older models..."
The man walking beside him was less formally dressed, and a handful of years younger. "I understand your concern, Motojima-san," he said, smoothly, choosing his words with care. "But consider it in terms of marketing and goodwill. Having the new Night Parade cabs here will generate buzz with our core demographics, plus they're also set to be featured in a tournament later, which will raise their visibility. They'll only be available 'for free' for a limited time, as well."
Kazuki Motojima looked at the younger man sharply, and with no small amount of disdain. "For your sake, I hope you're right about. Rest assured, I'll be looking at everything the Motojima Corporation is spending money on very carefully."
"Of course, Motojima-san," said the younger man, used to this routine by now. "Please, if you'll follow me this way, I'll show you more of what this investment is doing for the company..."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
A con... it should be a pretty good time. Tsubasa's not the biggest into video games -- they're a card guy, they have a killer Faerie: the Beckoning deck which might in fact be shoved in their pocket right now -- but they've played a few. It's a good memory from Reiko's place, and...
Like, they figure she's too old for this shit now, and probably busy working her job. So, like, maybe they rock up here and grab some Drake Adventure merch for their case worker. Y'know, casual-like.
Today's hair is cyan, magenta, and yellow, falling in a metalhead shock down to their deeply tanned neck, framing a face painted with cyan and white makeup. They have a checkered tank-top that ends before their belly starts, and gunmetal grey cargo pants around their hips, and all the space between A and B where you'd expect to see skin is actually covered up by a second tank top in neon blue and black.
Except -- no -- that tank is way too tight against their skin. That's no tank top! That's a binder.
(They're not dressed up as any kind of character, though... even though it kind of looks like they are. They just have a very distinct look; surely the kind of thing which would only be sanctioned in fiction.)
They're presently at one of those booths at the edge of the artist's alley, looking through some Drake Adventure buttons someone's pressed. "Pre' cool," they comment, as they hand over a button of the protagonist himself. "Lemme grab this one."
Thanks to Mementos, they actually have a little yen in their wallet! And thanks to grabbing some (way more expensive, that's how it always is) official merch earlier, they even have a bag to toss the badge into once the vendor's expressed happiness that they like her work.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
A real Japanese gaming con! Hazuki's heard about the ones in the West, sure, but never been to one in Japan!
She's going through artist alley, though she hasn't cosplayed - her dysphoria prevents that every time she considers it. So instead, she's got a t-shirt reading Drake Adventure's famous quote, 'I DON'T WANT TO RULE, I WANT TO QUEST' in English with a depiction of a dragon, with a little skirt and stockings (she was at least a little brave!!) on. This obviously renders her hatless, though she is wearing her flower-clasped choker.
"What to buy, what to buy... Roger! Is there anything you want?" she asks, looking through the art. She ends up at the same table as Tsubasa, looking over the buttons, and sees them in the process. She admires their look for a second, giving a thumbs up. "I really like the way you present yourself!" she says, her English accent bleeding through as she potentially fumbles her word choice. Counterculture! Open queerness! It's awesome!
And then, a glance to a button. "Roger, look how cute they are!!"
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fuuka hasn't actually been to that many conventions. Her parents wouldn't let her, for one... and also, she's a bit of a homebody and doesn't really like large crowds.
Lately, though... she feels like she has a bit more courage. This might be a bit throwing herself into the deep end, but the timing is convenient. If she misses this one, it might be a while before her schedule allows for her to take the time out again.
And so, here she is, wandering the show floor and looking at all the sights. Today's outfit is a green light sweater and a long skirt with a floral pattern. She doesn't really... look like the kind of person who belongs here.
And as she's wandering the floor she spots... a pair of cosplayers! ...She doesn't recognize the game they're from, but, true to Wakana's word, Fuuka doesn't recognize either of them either.
"Oh, your costumes are really good..." Fuuka compliments.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
A girl walked into the convention, her head bowed a little, allowing the brim of her plain, unbranded baseball cap to obscure her face. What parts of it the khaki-dyed headwear and its resultant shadow did not hide, the tinted lenses of her sunglasses and the cheap (but markedly opaque) mask served to cover up instead. Her hair - black as pitch and normally straight as a ruler - had been woven into a purposefully messy bun, leaving the skin between her neck and the thin, neutral-toned jacket exposed enough that she stood a reasonable chance of staying cool at that time of year.
All in all, she seemed to be a rather unremarkable - if somewhat unkempt - individual. Not particularly messy, but she certainly did not strike the sharp, pristine, carefully-crafted image that Katsuko normally aimed for. Yet, there she was, in all her disguised glory, sharp eyes darting from stall to stall in the hopes of finding one particular thing. Her eyes lingered on a few spots, and she made a mental note to return to them if time permitted, but even a casual observer would have been able to see that they were hardly her priority.
That went doubly so when her glances finally took her towards one particular booth. "TITANOMACHY: THE OLYMPIAN ALLIANCE" the sign above it proudly declared, the font and colour scheme instantly recognisable. It belonged to one of the nation's foremost mecha franchises, after all - anyone that had even a passing familiarity with anime and gunpla as a whole, Katsuko silently wagered, would have at least have a vague recollection of it. Without a moment's hesitation, she strode towards it, her normal measured gait replaced instead with one marked by haste and focus.
There, at the front of the line - a rather short one by con standards, given how early Katsuko had arrived - was her prize. A limited edition version of the game. The game itself was secondary, however. Katsuko's eyes were on the merch. The first part was a case - embossed metal with paints applied as precisely as mass production machines would allow. Up close, it was perhaps not an excellent example of craftsmanship, but it was a nice display piece nonetheless. The second was a statuette of the MKI ZEUS unit, holding aloft its signature Thundergun, cast in precisely-moulded resin - a true collector's item, if ever there was one. Third was the pièce de résistance - the one thing that she refused to leave the con without.
The gunpla kit.
It was more than a simple kit. It was more than just limited edition. It was one of only a relative handful, available to only the earliest of con-goers or those with exceptionally deep pockets and no qualms about dealing with scalpers. It was wrought from the highest quality plastic that the company dared to use. It had been looked over by the company's most eminent artists and designers, each part sculpted to their precise specifications. It was the prototype of the KRONOS mecha, the Titan faction's foremost unit, available then and ONLY then.
From behind her shades, Katsuko focussed like a hawk, ready to claw at anyone that dared to try and cut in front of her.
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
"Wow! Everything looks like so much fun!!" This is not the first time an exuberant young man has said this. He casts something of a youthful presence, but is also just... kind of a strange-looking person to begin with. He's a heavy-set guy with a few features that border almost cartoonish, with an upturned nose almost (almost!) like a pig's snout, a smaller shoe size relative to height, and other things of that ilk.
Is he a high school student, or someone who just crossed the threshold of an adult? It's hard to tell. But there's a joyful, playful energy about him like he's in a space he feels like he means to exist in.
He's not cosplaying either. He's in very plain clothes that at least fit well, with a strong preference towards the color red for some reason.
"Eh? Hazuki-chan?" He looks in her direction from whatever things he was looking at, doubtless something bright and fun on a video screen. He tilts his head in contemplation. "What kind of games are those?" He asks of the artwork and other knick-knacks. He is very play-brained, and it is miraculous he hasn't took off for the arcade games yet.
(This is because he's having so much fun being with Hazuki anyway that he wouldn't stray from her. He may also be so intoxicated with excess stimuli that just being around her is a grounding thing.)
"Hello!" He says to Tsubasa as Hazuki greets them, kind of guileless but earnest.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Oh wow, I love your crazy do!" chirps the artist at the booth with the custom-pressed buttons. "And all the wild colors. You doing a character or just a vkay look? Either way, glad you like the buttons!" She makes change handily as she hands over the button. "And here, if you ever want more--" she passes over a business card with a website listed on it.
"Fantastic shirt!" she says to Hazuki as she approaches. "Lemme know if anything catches your eye, okay?" She turns to Roger next. "Oh, a lot of these are from the game Drake Adventure. It's a series of games where you set out on a quest, usually to save the world. And I've got buttons from all of the mainline games here."
Over at Katsuko's booth, the two people working it are handling transactions as quickly and efficiently as possible. One of them, a guy in his 20's, handles change and wishes his customer a good day, then looks to Katsuko. "Good morning, miss! What can I get for you today?"
Meanwhile, Kazusa and Wakana are walking around, looking at everything in the artist's alley. They both stop when Fuuka compliments their outfits. Kazusa blinks in surprise, glancing at Wakana with a look that says. 'Wait, is that?' Wakana just gives her a quick look back and nods, then looks to Fuuka.
"Thanks!" says Wakana cheerfully. "We're from Fatal Klash. I'm Gidama, and this--" she's gesturing to Kazusa. "--is Nireema!"
Kazusa pulls out her prop sai to pose with them briefly, then puts it away. "You a fan of that game?" she's doing her best to sound casual--not at all like she sounded the last time she meet Fuuka.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Eh?" Tsubasa asks, turning to Hazuki -- orienting on her as an individual rather than part of the /crowd/ as they hear her addressing /them/ and glancing her over in turn. "Oh, thanks. Nice look on you, too... stockins' really tyin' th' shirt together." They nod to the vendor, looking pretty pleased to get /another comment. "Uh, I ain't in cosplay or nothin', but I am pre' VK, yeah." Visual kei, that is.
They lift a hand in a wave to Roger. "Yo. Name's Seki," they add, and they're using boku as a pronoun just like any young man would, "like, Tsubasa." And that's presumably last name and then first name, because that's how the Japanese do it. They do shift a little over to the side, politely, to avoid blocking access to the artist's stall; someone immediately fills the gap, because artist alleys are like that. "Yeah, like she said --" the artist in the alley, that is, "it's an RPG, y'know? Surprised ya got it out West, tho'... I heard it's way more popular over here." Tsubasa can't really localise Hazuki's accent beyond 'somewhere in the West', though.
(They kind of figure that Roger looks a bit weird because he's foreign, too. They're not really trying to do that in any kind of malicious way, just... he probably looks way more normal in another country?!)
"Tho', I mean, if ya wanna get all philosophical-like 'bout it, th' artist's alley's kinda a game, too... like, you see all this cool shit people made an' you wanna buy all of it, but you got a budget, see? So you gotta be hittin' th' tables what sellin' th' stuff you like most first, else ya gonna run outta yen 'fore you find th' best shit..." Tsubasa gets this thoughtful expression on their face as they start philosophising on the nature of cons, only to look a little embarrassed as they look back to Hazuki and Roger. "Uh. Or... whatever." They're cool. They're super cool and not a teenage accountant.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki waves a hand to Tsubasa. "Hello, Seki-san! Really? Thank you!" She shifts aside as well, not yet ready to buy a button. "It's not as popular as other franchises, but it's still sold in England... they briefly called it Drake Knight. I've played it!"
And then, she remembers to introduce herself. "Ah, Hazuki Nakao, it's nice to meet you! This is my friend, Roger."
She listens to the philosophy... "That makes sense... I've been to Night Parade tournaments but nothing like this, there's rarely merch."
She glances over to the crowds, seeing Gidama and Nireema. "Oh, that's Western fighting game characters! Fatal Klash was known for being pretty gory... I never liked it, too focused on dial-in combos..." what is she TALKING ABOUT
"Do you play fighting games, or just RPGs?" She asks Tsubasa, curious about them.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Katsuko offered a polite - if very obviously hurried - response to the person manning the booth. She endeavoured to remain as polite was expected of someone like her, but there in front of her stood a collection of items that would take pride of place upon her display shelf. They were items she had awoken at an ungodly hour to attain, and shunted her way past innumerable throngs of bodies in order to lay her hands on. Were anyone to see the glint of manic energy in her eyes, they would have understood why she acted and spoke with such haste.
Her manner became noticeably more relaxed the moment she got her hands on a bag. One she carried with all the care and gentleness that a mother might her newborn. She was glad for the disguise for more reasons than just hiding the fact that she had tastes that society at large would have disapproved of - the smile she wore, slight though it was, may as well have been a cheek-splitting grin for how different it was to her usual stone-faced demeanour. So engrossed was she in the thought of putting together the kit the moment she got home, that she almost walked right by a pair of cosplayers with remarkably well-crafted costumes.
Bright colours and flowing fabrics managed to catch her eye before she had a chance to make it to the artist's alley, however, and she came to a slow halt no more than a few metres from the pair. Something about one of them seemed oddly familiar, and were she to study them closely enough, there was a very slight chance she might have managed to suspect their identity. However, so distracted was she by the costumes, that she almost forgot to look at the faces of the people wearing them - or the person that had already begun speaking to the pair.
"Remarkable..." Katsuko said, not even attempting to hide her fascination with the outfits before her. "It must have been hard work to make costumes this good." It was not an empty compliment, nor some gesture to try and get in their good graces. Katsuko spoke with such frankness that it would have been difficult to think of her remark as anything but a genuine observation. She blinked, then noticed a third, and looked to Fuuka before standing back a little. "Apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt."
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fatal Klash... Fuuka might not have recognized the characters, but she's heard the name of the game, at least. The only characters she can name are the iconic ninjas, though... So when Kazusa asks if she's a fan, Fuuka looks sheepish for a moment.
If she had any suspicions, Kazusa's casual response would've cleared them. It's so different than their previous encounter...
"I'm not very familiar..." Fuuka admits. "But I could see the passion in your costume work. You must be big fans, yourselves."
She pauses, though, as someone else speaks up from nearby. She offers Katsuko a small smile as she apologizes, and shakes her head.
"No, it's okay, you weren't interrupting..." She assures.
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
"Oh! Drake Adventure! I've heard of that!" Roger smiles widely. "I want to play all of them!" ...He wants to play all the things. He tilts his head as he leans to the side. "Can you play any games with these buttons?"
"Hello Seki-kun!" Roger greets in turn, reflexively. "It's like she says! I'm Roger!" ...Roger as in a strange surname, or, is he literally just introducing himself with the English name Roger? As Tsubasa talks about the strategy of the game of the artist's alley, he presses his fingers together as he looks a bit sheepish. "Oh, that kind of game! I play it all the time."
what
"It's hard. You have to be careful with money. Sometimes you have to use it when you don't expect to..." He is describing this very strangely, like this were a completely new concept at his age. Sheltered, or...? He smiles genuinely and warmly. "But everyone is playing that game, so it must be a lot of fun or they wouldn't. Okay! I'll play that today here too!" He considers the matter of the unexpected purchase of a pressed button. There does not seem to be any pattern or pretense to what he ends up choosing - just that he picks two.
One for Hazuki...
And one for Tsubasa, if they desire.
(it's okay, somehow he has stumbled onto part-time work in some very strange and fortuitous circumstances out of sheer enthusiasm)
"Nice playing with you!" He says in earnest to Tsubasa.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Rock on!" The artist says to Tsubasa, then switches her attention to other customers as they step aside. A customer such as Roger! Who wants to play all of them. "Hey, they're all great games, but they can take a while to finish." Can the buttons be used as a game? The artist blinks. "W-well... Not usually, but... I've heard of some cons organizing scavenger hunts, and they can be part of a game then?"
But Roger gets two buttons: One with the series' signature monster, Blob, and Melog, a man made of bricks.
Fuuka's not very familiar. "Well, it's more of a Western game, so it's not as big here, so that's understandable." Kazusa even sounds... casual, saying that. Even if she's a bit nervous at being caught out still.
"I don't really play it," Wakana confesses, still enthused. "But I love the character designs! So this was an exciting project to work on."
But Katsuko shows up, and fortunately for both Kazusa and Katsuko, they're both wearing masks to hide their faces today. (This was, in fact, part of Kazusa's selection criteria for their costumes.) "Oh, thanks. Waka-chan did all the hard work," Kazusa admits. "She put the costumes together."
Wakana elbows Kazusa's side playfully. "Hey, don't count yourself out, Kazu-chan. You got all the reference materials and design sketches I needed."
Surely, this could be any random 'Kazu-chan' and 'Waka-chan', and not two specific Shujin students.
Kazusa rubs the back of her neck. "Well, I guess that's true..." she admits.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Katsuko nodded curtly at Fuuka, silently and swiftly acknowledging the response. The lack of anything spoken might have been construed as a little rude, but when she turned to face the two again and was once more left rapt by the craftsmanship of their cosplays, it did not take a genius to figure out where her focus truly lay.
"You're both exceptionally skilled." Another statement delivered with a matter-of-fact tone that left little room for doubt - she meant what she said. If what she said and how she'd said it was not enough, Katsuko only glanced briefly upwards to make eye contact before studying every intricate detail - from the seams to the masks to the trims, and everything in between - might have served to make her statement more believable.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Roger-san, Nakao-san," Tsubasa nods, and of course it's -san, because they've just met her, it's inappropriate to -chan a girl you just met. (They don't question 'Roger' as one name too much; maybe some foreign countries don't have first names. It would be rude to snark about it!) "Cool. I ain't, like, a superfan or nothin'," they add, on the topic of Drake Adventure, "but like... there's this woman what really helped me out who's huge into it, Officer Shimizu, so I wanted to grab her some neat shit."
And then Roger asks if he can play any game with these buttons, and, like -- "Heheheh..." Tsubasa cracks a grin, briefly, before their face returns to its stoic default. "You're a pre' funny guy, Roger-san. Reckon a button that could let ya play any game'd be way costier, tho'." They think he's making a joke and not, like, legitimately asking... but they're at least intending to laugh with him, not at him. "Or, yeah, scavenger hunts," they add, nodding to the artist.
He plays the game, though, and Tsubasa blinks as they are offered a button. "Thanks, man," they nod, as they accept it. "Good game, yeah. Hey, this ya first con? Don't forget you can buy shit for yaself, too." They say 'buy' and not 'grab', because now they're starting to piece together that he might actually, legitimately be that literal.
They rub at the back of their neck, admitting, on the topic of fighting games: "Yeah, I played a couple. Ain't gon' win no competitions or nothin', but stuff like Groove On Fight, Night Parade, Punch Boxer... kinda where I settle when I hang out at th' arcade, y'know?" Of course they would. They have so much pent-up aggression!
"Huh, they from a Western one?" Tsubasa turns, to behold Gidama and Nireema. "Man, wonder if there's a Western fightin' game 'round Tarasino shit... that'd be sick." Quinton Tarasino, of course, is known for his hyper-violent movies over in the West... and probably not known at this stage in his career as being a nightmare to work under.
"Those is some pre' good designs, tho'... gon' go tell 'em that," and Tsubasa pauses, and adds, looking back to Roger: "Cosplayers dig gettin' told their fit is tight." If it's his first con, like... y'know.
Tsubasa ambles up to Kazusa and Wakana, just in time to hear who put the costumes together. "Hey, you stitched this all up yaself?" They ask Wakana. "Sweet digs. Really like the work on them masks... gettin' the right kinda fabric for that ain't nothin'." With a light pause, they add, looking to Kazusa: "Gettin' references fer this shit ain't nothin', neither. Diggin' through art books, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
"Officer Shimizu? Uhhhh, from Yongen-jaya?" Hazuki has a good memory, because Reiko was memorable and nice, and she got the impression it's the same one! "She showed me around when I got lost once and brought me to a used electronics store! She's really nice..."
But, as Roger gives them buttons... her eyes brighten. "Roger! Thank you! You're not getting yourself one?" She echoes Tsubasa, smiling brightly.
When Tarasino is mentioned... "I don't think so. He seems too stuffy. Maybe he'll get a guest character into it?"
As they approach the cosplayers, though, Hazuki definitely doesn't recognize Kazusa and Wakana. Instead... "Oh, those are really good! I wish I had your courage to wear cosplay in public... how long did it take?"
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
"Oh... it probably would," he considers of the cost of a button that would let him play the games, as if taking a moment to take stock of the troublesome burden that is 'introspection' and 'doubt' and all these other extra things piled on top of his greatest desires like some manner of functional(?) addict.
Still, he smiles warmly at the surprise of not buying anything for himself from the buttons. "It's okay! I know what I want to do. I want to play the games later!" The arcade games, he means.
"I love the arcade! It feels like a home." He follows along, but as Tsubasa decides to talk to the cosplayers, he hears the word 'play.' He looks to Hazuki, tilting his head. "How do you play 'Cos'?" He blinks the once. "Is this something a lot of people are playing right now?"
He follows to Kazusa and Wakana. He can tell that his new friend Tsubasa and Hazuki are impressed. "You are both very good at this game, 'Cos!'" He says to the cosplaying pair, because if the two he's with are saying it's good, they must be good. "I want to play it one day too..."
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Katsuko only gives her a nod, but Fuuka doesn't seem insulted. She's the quiet type, herself, so she can understand. So instead, she just offers her an encouraging smile - and a nod of agreement, as she comments on how skilled the costumes are.
"Oh, I see... That makes sense." Fuuka replies with an understanding nod, as Kazusa explains that it's a Western game. Yes, she thinks she remembers that - she knows it's popular, but not so much here. Wakana doesn't play it, but she loves the character designs. "They're very evocative, aren't they?"
Kazusa explains that 'Waka-chan' put the costumes together, while Wakana says that 'Kazu-chan' handled the reference materials and design sketches.
They're clearly just nicknames. What's there to read into that?
"You two must make a really great team." Fuuka encourages.
It's at this point that more people arrive to compliment the cosplayers. Fuuka steps aside to make room in the growing circle.
"Oh, hello, Nakao-san... It's good to see you again." She greets with a small smile. "Who are your friends?"
She thinks she'd recognize Tsubasa if she'd seen them before, with that bold outfit... and Roger...
...He feels familiar somehow, but she can't quite place it.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Thank you," says Kazusa at Katsuko's compliment, sounding quite pleased. She takes her sais out again to pose for Katsuko, and Wakana quickly does the same with her fans, to get the full effect.
"We're really glad you enjoy them!" adds Wakana. She turns to Tsubasa as they approach. "Yep! And thanks!" She nods affirmatively at the mention of the masks. "Yeah, it was kinda tricky getting the trim attached to the mask with the proper fit, but I got it in the end."
Under any other circumstance, Kazusa might have had something to say about Tsubasa's outfit. "Yeah, and they weren't easy to find... I, uh, might've gotten the raw models out of the game files to work with, too," she admits, a little sheepishly.
It's a little awkward admitting she's good with computers. But it's fine, nobody here knows who she is, right?
But now she recognizes Hazuki, who's also just approached. Awkward. (Trust in the mask, Kazusa.) She looks the other girl over. "Uh, yeah, thanks. It's... our first time, actually. Drake Adventure, right?" she aks, nodding to the shirt.
"We're been working on it for a few months," chimes in Wakana.
Kazusa might be a bit more relaxed and chill right now. But she is not prepared for Roger complimenting them on 'Cos'. "Uh..."
Wakana comes to her rescue. "It's short for 'costume play'--because our outfits are costumes, see? And thanks!"
Fuuka remarks on them being a good team, and Wakana looks to Kazusa with an excited look. "Wanna show them just how good a team we are?"
Kazusa looks around at the people gathering around their cosplay. "... yeah. Yeah!" She's actually feeling excited. People like the costumes, and they've got something special planned. "Okay, okay, back up, give us some space," says Kazusa, shooing people away from her.
"Excuse us, please," says Wakana more politely, as they try to clear a small bubble of space.
When they have their space, Wakana and Kazusa face each other. Kazusa takes up her pair of prop sai, while Wakana takes up a paper fan painted to look metal. They start a mock fight, attacking each other with thrusts of their prop weapons and graceful kicks. But they fight as a graceful dance, with grand sweeping motions that make the dangling sashes on their belts twirl and flutter, deftly blocking and redirecting blows over using direct hits. They circle each other in the tightly confined circle that they made, precisely using their props as they attack, duck, and dance out of the way of each other's attacks.
The choreography is fast and precise, the two girls moving together in perfect synchronicity born of hours of dedicated practice, and at one point when Wakana goes for a low sweep of her fan Kazusa vaults over her, planting a hand on her friend's back for the briefest of moments to make the transition. In its way, the routine is every bit as technical as something they might perform in competition for the school's Rhythmic Gymnastics team.
But the motion attracts the attention of Kazuki Motojima, who scowls to his younger counterpart. "Is this part of what we're paying for, for children to play fight in public?"
"Fans celebrate in all kinds of ways, sir," says the younger man, putting extra emphasis on the word. "It's the same reason the convention invites doujin artists and game makers to attend, too."
"I see a disruption and potential liability should someone get injured," retorts Kazuki. "Need I remind you we are sponsoring this farce?" Kazuki turns to make his way through the crowd. "Coming through," he snaps, with a tone of aggressive authority in his voice. He pushes his way through the crowds until he's standing in front.
Right as Kauzsa takes a backstep into a space she thought was clear, bumping into the older man. "Oof--"
Wakana stops immediately, frozen as she stares up at the man. Kazusa, though, quickly turns around. "Ahh, I'm so sorry--" But she freezes too, eyes widening in terror as she beholds who it is she's bumped into.
Kazuki's eyes narrow with cold, furious intensity. His hand snaps out and he roughly yanks down the mask, revealing Kazusa's face for everyone to see. "Kazusa Motojima..." he says, his voice low and dripping with scorn.
Kazusa trembles, her voice shaking as she quickly bows her head, her cheeks flushing in shame. "O-- Otou-sama..."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah, that's her," Tsubasa nods. "Reiko Shimizu... she really gives a shit, y'know? Dunno where I'd be without her." And if it's weird for a guy who really looks like they're about to bust out 'IZZIIIIIT' to be speaking so highly of a cop... well, that's a fun little mystery!
(Tsubasa may in fact have busted out an 'izzit' or two previously, but the narrative here assures all red-blooded Englishmen that this was merely translation convention and they were throwing out some Japanese slang interjection or another.)
"Man, gettin' th' Bridesmaid into Groove On Fight would be sick," Tsubasa adds, apparently not minding Hazuki calling THE GENIUS OF WESTERN CINEMA stuffy. They figure she's probably read more interviews than them, on account of them not actually understanding a lick of English.
"You wanna play, huh? That's cool, man. Maybe we'll play a round later." Tsubasa's inclined to be more inclusive to the newbie congoer; they've intuited that Hazuki is definitely the one showing him the ropes, here, and they figure she'll have a way easier job convincing him this shit is cash if the people he talks to are supportive.
"Huh, you pulled the raws?" Tsubasa blinks, looking more impressed, when they come to the coses. "Thas', like... decompilin' an' shit, right? That's some serious code junk... kudos."
They add, hearing Wakana explain: "You, like, take a character from a game or a movie or whatever an' make their costume," Tsubasa explains, to Roger, as they amble over. "An' then you take photos like you were really those characters. Some people get on stage an' perform, too." (Here, they reflect, briefly, on Hazuki praising their bravery.) "You get all kinda people tryin' it at cons... reckon you might find some folks tryin' their cosplay out 'round Akihabara jus' fer local meetups an' shit, too."
(For all Roger seems to really not get how this stuff works, like, Tsubasa's explanations don't have a condescending attitude attached; maybe he's sheltered, or maybe he's just Kinda Weird Like That, but Tsubasa's pretty happy to meet people who are Weird Like That in the middle. ... and if he's just sheltered, like, that probably means he's new to the country or something? Most likely, right?)
But Wakana offers to let them see how good a team they are, and -- it looks like they have a performance rehersed, too. "Oh, sweet," Tsubasa says, backing up to give them a bit of space. It's a real impressive routine, too; Tsubasa wonders if they're gymnasts, or something.
Except --
Except someone closes into Kazusa's space.
Tsubasa's hands close to fists, beside them, as they see the look in his eyes. (They are not just angry.) He yanks her mask down, issues her full name... and there it is.
The same way they address their own father.
"Hey!" Tsubasa steps forward, gesturing to them. "Motojima-san, ain't her fault, I -- I told her she oughta show some moves like in the games, yeah?! She wouldna done that shit on her own!" It's a lie, obviously. It's not even a very good lie. It's just...
They know that telling him to lay off isn't going to do shit.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Roger is okay! And they might all play games later... Hazuki nods. "Okay!"
Tsubasa gets a nod about 'Shimizu' giving a shit. Hazuki is a little bit ACAB but not enough to dismiss it! The bridesmaid comment also gets a smile...
When they approach, though, Fuuka is there! "Oh, Yamagishi-san! This is Seki-san who I just met, and...Roger!" She leaves it at that. Fuuka will know who it is, as she winks lightly.
But Kazusa and Wakana are unrecognizable. But when they start doing their tricks, she's in awe. Her eyes watch every motion, lit up. Impressive... beautiful... graceful.
But then, someone comes in, stops the show, and *grabs Kazusa* by the mask- wait, that's Kazusa? No, ignore that, Hazuki's freezing on the spot. It's only when Tsubasa steps forward that she does so as well, as hesitant as she is... there's a lot of people watching.
"...don't touch her," she settles on, disdain in her voice, instead of taking the same approach as Tsubasa, because there's something infuriating about seeing that building every second, something blinding her.
"You don't have the right."
Whereas Tsubasa has very personal experience with this kind of parent, Hazuki faced a different kind of parental trauma... but was also taught to never let someone put their hands on her. Kazusa doesn't deserve that, either.
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
"Oh! So it's actually called 'Costume.'" Roger, enlightened, nods happily. Does he understand the difference? Uh, we'll see. He listens along to any other explanation attentively. Whether he actually absorbs that information or not, only time can tell. For his apparent age, however vague, there is a certain youthful enthusiasm one might attribute to younger minds and hearts. He just looks so happy to be here and play, in whatever capacity he has tried to understand what is being played and how.
And then! The demonstration! It is delightful for a time! But, there's a sudden stop, and a sharp change in mood all around as Hazuki gets actually angry. Roger flinches... and proceeds to push his fingers closer together as he bows his head.
"What you're doing doesn't seem like it's very fun. Everyone here is having fun... did you want to play something else other than 'costume'?" He asks of the sneering Kazuki Motojima, completely unaware of the weight of who this is.
"..."
"Do you like buttons?"
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
At the pair's behest, Katsuko moved backwards with sharp, precise, steps - though she made certain her precious cargo was secured, so as not to risk jostling it and damaging her goods. Even if the disguise was not in place, it would have been difficult to discern her expression - the closest she came to even letting a muscle twitch was when she blinked. As ever, the truth of it lay in the minutest details of how she acted. The focus with which she looked to the two, the way her eyes flitted between and followed them, her utter silence as she watched it all unfold... She said nothing, but not out of boredom. She was rapt.
"Such passion... Such grace..." Katsuko murmured. Silent as she normally was, even she could not help but voice her admiration for such a display. She herself was no athlete - not by any stretch of the imagination - but she recognised skill when she saw it. Skill that was hard-won and honed through trials she had only read of, until it had been honed into a fine point. She spoke no more, but Katsuko's continued interest spoke volumes of her thoughts towards the performance. So captivating was it that she scarcely noticed anyone approaching.
By the time her ears pricked up and she heard voices approaching from another angle, it was too late to carry out any action of any real substance. Sharp eyes darted towards the source, scanning for whoever was bold enough to voice such an opinion openly, and she watched as they drew ever closer to the performance being put on. She thought to warn them - any of them - but before she could take so much as a step forward, one half of the pair collided with one of the men approaching. She blinked, remained in place, and watched as all hell broke loose.
The reveal left Katsuko silent. Shock was part of it, of course. To not only see the Motojima patriarch storm into the event in such a manner, but unmask his daughter with such venom in his words and his actions, left even the normally unflappable Katsuko at a loss for words. The fact that it had been Kazusa beneath the mask did not help organise her thoughts either. She blinked behind those glasses - once, twice, three times, as any subsequent one would dispel the vision before her and reveal a more mundane reality. Yet, there she was, with a stranger attempting to step in and take the blame for it.
Even so, the reveal was not the most shocking part of it. Rather, it was Kazusa's reaction. She was used to jabs and barbs, pointed looks and unresolvable tension. To see her fold so immediately, and after such an action on the part of her father... It left Katsuko at a loss. It was a wrinkle in her plans that she'd not factored in, and planning around such a variable was something she believed would prove troublesome. Thus, she decided to step back, and allow the situation to unfold without her input. There was no reason for her to blow her cover, nor to risk earning the ire of someone with Motojima's influence.
Once more, she was glad for the disguise. Katsuko had no love for Kazusa, but those cheap lenses and that thin sheet of fabric were about the only things that hid the venomous glare she shot towards Kazusa's father.
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Kazusa mentions getting the raw models out of the game files to work with, and that draws Fuuka's attention. She looks her way with interest.
"Oh, you did? That's really impressive... I understand it's pretty difficult, especially if it's in a format that's not set up for that..." She remarks. It's something she hasn't tried herself, being fairly new to games, but she knows enough to know just how much work that would've taken. A glance is offered to Tsubasa, too, who also seems to be aware just how difficult that is.
Hazuki greets her, though, and Fuuka offers her a smile back as she introduces who she's with. Seki-san and... Roger?
Like... Roger Roger...? That wink seems to indicate, in fact, yes. Fuuka stares at him for a moment, and it's hard to reconcile what she knows... 'How??' crosses her face - but she doesn't ask that question. Not here.
"Then... it's nice to meet you, Seki-san - and to see you again, Roger-san." She offers with a polite bow of greeting. "I'm Fuuka Yamagishi."
But her comment about how good those two are as a team seems to have encouraged Wakana and Kazusa to show off. They seem excited... So as requested, Fuuka moves aside to give them both some space - and then she watches, as they both perform.
...It's not just their costumes. They both move incredibly well, too - how long did it take them to choreograph this? Or, was all of this just on the fly...? Either way, it's impressive - but then, suddenly, someone barges into the circle, and removes Kazusa's mask.
...Oh. She recognizes her - it's hard to reconcile the person she met today with the way from back then.
But that man, her father... He seems all the worse. Fuuka freezes for a moment, intimidated by the intensity...
...And here, she finds the courage she thought she'd found tested. She isn't... good, at situations like this. Shadows she can handle, but people like this...? But as others step up to defend her, Fuuka... swallows, and steps up too.
"Motojima-san..." Fuuka murmurs - this one, for the younger of the two, before looking up at the older.
"I'm sorry, sir. We wanted to see them perform. It's our fault." She offers apologetically, doing her best to try and back up Tsubasa's lie.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
The raws! "Well... the assets are usually stored in a separate file, so if you know, ah... the format they packed it in... but thanks." She nods as Fuuka expresses how difficult it is. "Yeah, some of them can be, there's some tricks, though... I just happen to know a few." Having grandparents in game development might be cheating, though.
Still, she's never had to explain this to anyone who might appreciate the answer.
... It feels weird. Nice, but weird.
Wakana, however, is more enthused as she chimes in on Tsubasa's expanded answer. "Yep! Just like that."
This is definitely choreographed, though, not on the spot. They were planning on this.
Kazuki stares down at Kazusa, and in the moment the difference in height is a vast gulf, with how Kazusa can't bring herself to look up at him. "So this is the kind of disgusting display my daughter puts on behind my back."
But Kazuki won't get to speak his piece uncontested. Tsubasa is the first to speak, trying to argue that they suggested Kazusa show off some moves. "Mind your own business. And do your parents know their son is out wearing such garish makeup? Disgusting."
Hazuki is the next to speak up, and Kazuki's eyes narrow at her. "She is my daughter, you don't have a right to tell me how to raise her." Hazuki's not wrong that Kazusa doesn't deserve this, of course, but Kazuki isn't the audience for that.
"This is not about 'fun'," Kazuki snaps at Roger next. "This is about my daughter's future and how she is squandering it on this childish notion." He scoffs but otherwise doesn't answer about the buttons.
Katsuko, at least, is spared Kazuki's ire. There's too many people speaking up that he simply doesn't have the time to take notice of everyone else who isn't.
Kazusa keeps her gaze steadfastly down. She can't bring herself to look at Fuuka, despite the use of her name, nor anybody else attempting to help her.
That doesn't stop Kazuki from looking at Fuuka, though. "Don't patronize me. I know what my daughter is like." And he very clearly doesn't approve.
Wakana has been frozen in fear, but Tsubasa's and Fuuka's words inspire her to action. She tries to step forward, to build on their effort, her words fast and frantic. "Please, Motojima-san, she wouldn't even be here at all if I hadn't asked her! I just didn't want to come here by myself--" She freezes in place as Kazuki's gaze locks on her next.
"Wakana Oosaka," he snaps, certain in his identification of the other girl. "Take off that ridiculous mask. I'll be talking to your parents about your role in this shameful display, too."
The other girl lowers her head, slowly pulling down her mask. She says nothing.
Kazuki turns his attention back to his own daughter. "As for you. This is how you repay me for everything I've provided for you? We provide you with a superior education and coaching, and this is what you turn your skills to? You're turned yourself into nothing more than a circus performer or a carnival show."
Kazusa still can't lift her gaze, but her breathing is rapid as she glances around at the hushed crowd. "Father, please--" she starts, her tone pleading. "I won't do it again, I promise. But please, don't do this here--"
"I'm not the one who decided to make an embarrassing spectacle of myself in public," scoffs Kazuki. "You are a disgrace of a daughter. I'm ashamed to know this is how you've been treating my good name." He leans in closer, his contempt growing more concentrated. "But I can see now that I've been far too lenient, letting you indulge in your little childish fantasies behind my back."
With a sharp gasp, Kazusa looks up into her father's eyes, her own eyes widening still further. Her cheeks are already wet, and her thin, trembling voice reveals a dawning horror. "Oh no--"
Kazuki smirks cruelly. "Oh yes. Did you think I didn't know about that secret you and your grandparents have been hiding from me? That I wouldn't find out? I only permitted it because I thought you would eventually tire of these childish notions. But I see now I was wrong." He stands upright again. He looks to the other man he'd been walking around the convention with. "I'll be leaving." He looks to Kazusa and Wakana. "And you two are coming with me. It's high time I sorted you out. I will not tolerate anything less than a proper, well-mannered daughter bearing my name."
He abruptly turns and walks off. Kazusa and Wakana meekly follow, neither of them able to look at anyone in the crowd or each other as they follow the Motojima patriarch out. The chipper sounds and flashing displays of the convention carry on, but none of that can reach Kazusa as her world falls apart.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
In Tsubasa's eyes, Hazuki is much braver than they are: much more able to make that kind of declarative statement, rather than trying to redirect the man's anger to another target. They don't see, perhaps, how brave it was to step forward first.
They're not about to judge Katsuko for stepping back, either.
Fuck, man, they feel bad for Roger, too. Whatever's going on with him, he's... he's doing his best, man.
What they're really grateful for, though, is Fuuka backing them up -- because their plan is bad but at least it's a plan, and they can hear how scared she is when she's doing it. Before all this happened, they'd accepted her introduction, but -- man, what a shitty thing to happen right after.
Poor Wakana, though... she had the same idea they had. They wonder if her father does it, too.
Her father tells them to mind their own business, though, and Tsubasa flinches back for a moment as their fist tightens at their side. They're at least relieved they pass enough that the obvious insult doesn't come to his mind; it's little relief. "You -- y-you're one to talk, man!" They snap back, when he calls them disgusting. "Whatever, jus' -- cut her a break!"
He will not. Tsubasa trembles, both in anger and in empathic fear, as he takes them both away.
They think of the way they never let Makoto come home to visit them, back before they were them.
They had a damn good reason.
"Fuckin'," Tsubasa starts, when the two are meekly trotted off.
"Everyone in electronics an abusive sack a shit? Fuck. Fuckin' --"
They kick at the ground -- "FUCK!" -- as they turn and storm out of the convention centre.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
'...you're a bad father,' are the words that don't leave Hazuki's lips. She's stunned all but silent, making a 'mm' noise.
But as he takes away her passions, her interests, tries to mold her, her anger becomes cold and silent. She watches him take the girls away. She watches Tsubasa get angry and leave. She watches...
Nothing, because her eyes close shut. She tunes out the world... Roger might have to wait for her. When she finally opens them again, she's turning towards the arcade cabinets, less of a spark to her.
"Come on, Roger. There's nothing we can do right now, let's go play."
But this is definitely the kind of thing she'll talk to Kazusa about when they're in school. Maybe she can do something. Maybe this is the type of thing, too, that she is fighting against as part of In Unizone.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Katsuko watched as judgement was passed, listening and looking, but never caring to act. She said nothing in response to him, remaining tight-lipped and glaring no matter what provocation reared its ugly head. It was a sad state of affairs, that much she could not deny - she had no love for Kazusa, but such treatment was inexcusable. The fact that it came from her father, of all people, only served to deepen the bitter taste the entire interaction had left in her mouth. But she had no interest in risking her own neck - and, potentially, what little progress she'd made in her investigations - because of some moral outrage.
She stole one last look at Kazusa, and frowned. Part of her was a little upset that she'd not intervened. Being able to foster some goodwill with Kazusa could have gone a long way, given how hard it would have been to worm her way into Kazuki's good graces. But that opportunity had come and gone, and to wonder what could have been was useless. Perhaps, she supposed, she could still salvage things. She could show concern by 'noticing' Kazusa didn't seem well. She could go through Wakana, or another of her friends, feigning concern and pretending to be too nervous to ask directly. There were many variables to consider, and a crowded convention hall was not the best place for it.
Sparing not a word for the others gathered, Katsuko turned on her heel and left.
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
Somewhere in all this, Fuuka's suspicions are confirmed when Roger passes a glance that suggests familiarity. "Oh! It is nice to see you again!"
It doesn't cross Roger in the moment that his appearance here would be frightfully problematic in the eyes of SEES and their mission. He's just that happy to see her again.
...But to catch up to the actual present series of events...
Roger visibly flinches as Kazuki Motojima speaks his mind about what this is all about. It's something Hazuki might be passingly familiar with, when Roger doesn't quite understand what he's seeing or hearing - he freezes, like he doesn't know what a proper human reaction is. It takes Hazuki rousing him to go play somewhere. 'Play,' he understands, cherishes, seeks, desires, as the fundamental core of his being.
...
But that core has been wrapped in a human shell, as if so troubled it dares cast a counterweight.
"Future?" He asks aloud, far too late for anyone relevant to that discourse to weigh in meaningfully with Kazusa's father, especially with Tsubasa having stormed off. He presses his fingers together. "They were having fun now. Why isn't he happy that she's happy? It doesn't seem fun to not have fun."
His simplistic line of reasoning and attempts to wrap his head around it eventually loses out towards migrating with Hazuki towards a thing he much more clearly understands. Play! Arcade games! Playing with everyone as someone.
...But the whole of it still weighs on him the entire time, as is the burden of having an odd grasp of a human consciousness.
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Roger greets her back with familiarity. That's... definitely him, alright. Fuuka doesn't know how to process this.
"That's really interesting... I'll have to look into it." Fuuka enthuses. She's definitely going to go looking it up when she gets back to the dorm. Even if she likely isn't going to use this information, it's just nice to learn how to do new things.
That's later, though - but for now, she's faced with the reality of Kazusa's father. There's not much she can do in the face of him. His very presence is intimidating - and she freezes, when that gaze turns her way.
...The awful weight of expectation... Parents who expect you to be and act a certain way...
...It's a familiar sort of suffering - not her exact sort, but close enough to sting. She wishes she could say more... but she can't. Not that it would help, if she could.
She stands, with her hands clasped in front of her, and watches as Kazusa and Wakana are pulled away.
...For all that she can fight and support others in dealing with Shadows and other supernatural threats, she feels so powerless here.
Tsubasa stomps off, and Hazuki and Roger leave.
"...I... don't feel well." She murmurs after a moment. "I should go..."
And with that, she turns to leave the convention hall, herself.