2026-11-09: Gossip Time
- Log: Gossip Time
- Cast: Hana Fukami, Maya Amano
- Where: Aoba Way - Parabellum, Aoba Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: November 09, 2026
- IC Date: February 06, 2013
- Summary: Hana and Maya both want to get to know each other better, so Hana suggests drinks at a bar in Sumaru. While getting /very/ smashed, they talk love, careers, and more!
(|================================= Aoba Way =================================|)
-=================================================== Sumaru City/Aoba Ward ====-
Ample shopping can be found at the stores that dot Aoba Way, but not just the
normal kind. Aside from a door to the Velvet Room for Persona Users, one can
hear and spread all kinds of rumors at Kuzunoha Detective Agency. At the
internet cafe Double Slash, one can surf on the web to find some of those very
rumors *and* munch on various snacks served at the back bar by an apathetic
teenage boy. The blue carpeting and wall-to-wall aquariums lend the place a
relaxing atmosphere.
The bar Parabellum has a more noir vibe, with a mostly wooden interior, brown
leather seats, green glass lamps, and brick pillars along the walls. The elderly
barkeeper offers a number of unique mixed drinks, all named after weapons...
which might be a clever cover for the fact that, according to rumor, he sells
*real* weapons. The fashion boutique Rosa Candida offers the latest in trends
and (per rumor) armor, its decor stark yet stylish, with clothes and bags alike
on display for customers along the walls and on a central table. A pair of
changing rooms are naturally available; to use them, just get the permission of
the saleswoman in red first.
Etheria offers spa treatments to the weary among bright lamps, stained glass
windows, off-white decor, and an esthetician with a giant blue crystal crown.
The name of the place fuses "ether" and "materia," and the treatments are
effective: those who use this spa walk away feeling refreshed in mind and body.
And, of course, it's not Sumaru City without a local Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy
branch. This one looks the same as all the others: aisles and walls laden with
medicine of all kinds, overseen from the back counter where magazines are
available by one of seven identical sisters. Satomi Sister #1 runs this one; an
English-language piano version of the store's theme plays here. "Always in the
side of those who fight: our local... drug store~ o/`"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
As a proud new member of Team Whoop-Ass, Hana has... not actually done a ton with the supernatural yet since her Kingdom. But she's been on the lookout! She's just been kind of busy with work and her personal life. Part of that personal life, though, is getting to know her new friends a little better.
This is what brings her to Parabellum, in a corner booth at the moment with a cocktail called an Angel Trigger, waiting on one Maya Amano. She asked Maya if they could go out for drinks, and opted to base that in Sumaru rather than asking Maya to come to her. Thus, it's early evening; work is done for most people, and it's... very cold out.
But that's fine! Because inside it's warmer. Hana's in her usual style--a teal dress today instead of pink, her jacket folded on the seat next to her. And she's in a good mood.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Hey, sorry I'm late!"
Maya races up to the booth, her hair tousled by the winter winds. She sets her bag down and then slides in the booth next to it.
"It's cold outside," she says. "Let's get a drink to warm ourselves up!"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Some people just get really pretty effects from wind. And some people just look harried. Hana thinks Maya is one of the former.
"Definitely," Hana agrees with a smile, and slides over a second drink. "I got you this 'Double Action'," she says, "But if you want something else, I'll just make it my second!"
She beams. "How're you? Other than cold, I suppose. I definitely don't look forward to walking back outside!"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Thanks," Maya says appreciatively, beaming right back. "It's actually one of my favorites."
Maya's hand curls around the glass, droplets of condensation cooling her already cold palm. After a few drinks, though, that won't bother Maya at all.
"Busy, today was deadline day. Now that it's over, it's time to treat myself!"
And as if to demonstrate, Maya takes a long swig of her drink and sets it down on the table with a solid -clink-!
"What about you? Has work been busy?"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Oh? Lucky!"
Hana smiles, and then listens to the matter of deadline day. "Definitely," Hana agrees with the time to treat herself--and laughs, before doing the same, tilting her glass and her head back to down a long drink.
"I can tell this will be fun!" she enthuses, leaning forward. "Oh, not terribly. We're back in the regular rhythm, which means my time aside from work is pretty much my own!"
"...But keeping up with three partners is a little more time-consuming," she admits with a lopsided smile. "...Let's get some more of these."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Three?" That comes as a surprise to Maya, but she isn't at all judgmental about it; she's just never heard of someone having so many partners before!
"I'm not sure I could keep up with even one!"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Mm!" Hana nods. "Haha, I started with just the one, which made it a little easier. I was reluctant to go into it before... But I wanted to get to know all of you better. Definitely you, Amano-san!"
"It is a bit of work, but it's definitely worth it. I suppose with your work, though, you'd have a lot less time for that sort of thing--my show has pretty set hours..."
"They work in TV too, you see--Teruo's a meteorologist!"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"I wanted to get to know you better, too!" Maya responds, grinning. She doesn't really have many friends in the industry outside of her co-workers, who for the most part, she was friendly with. But other than Yukki, Maya wasn't sure she could call any of them friends.
"Oh, that Teruo?" Maya clearly recognizes the name -- you can't watch the news without getting the weather! "All of you work together, do you all live together, too?"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
If Hana has her way, Maya will have at least one more!
"I'm glad to hear that. I know we're all doing very heavy and important things together... but getting together for a drink now and then is good for morale, isn't it? We can't work if we don't play a bit."
Then, she beams. Maya recognzies him! Teruo is a big man, a former baseball player in university, and is a very popular weatherman. "We do! Just before I fell into that 'place'," she says, "We finally managed to get a lease on a beautiful apartment. ...It had been difficult before; as far as a lot of renters are concerned, Teruo and I are two 'young men' renting together," she says with a roll of her eyes. "But with the four of us, it seems much more 'normal' to them. ...And, well, four incomes makes for a very nice living space."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"You're going to show me sometime, right?" Yes, Maya is inviting herself over -- but who wouldn't, at the prospect of seeing a big, beautiful apartment. The apartment they shared was neither of those things. And a lot of that was actually Maya's fault.
Whoops.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Of course!" Hana says, and there are practically little flowers above her head as Maya shows interest. "You can meet everyone, too. Oh, so you know--Sa-chan and Ya-chan aren't actually 'out' at work, yet. ...And we're kind of still debating some of our internal 'arrangments'...? It's sort of complex."
"But they'd love to meet you, too. I can't imagine who wouldn't; you're such a warm presence!"
The server comes around with their next set of drinks around this point.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya takes the opportunity to drink while she listens to Hana's explanation -- which turns out to be good timing as the server comes back with another round of drinks just as she finishes her own.
"My lips are sealed!" Maya promises, taking her new drink into hand. "We should really get together as a team soon! I really want you to be able to get closer to everyone!"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
New drink!! Hana quickly finishes her last and accepts the new one. ...This is definitely going to be one of those heavy drinking nights, which is why she arranged a ride instead of planning to drive.
"Thanks," Hana says. "So people assume they're just friends--or that they're our girlfriends respectively, instead of... both." Pause. "You know what I mean, I think."
She smiles. "I'd like that. I'd particularly like to see Serizawa-san more. She has such a sense of style! And you two seem close."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"We've been friends since high school! We both went to Sevens together. If you ever need any lingerie, Ulala can help! She works at a lingerie store not too far from here!"
While that might seem like a pretty inappropriate topic for someone you've only met recently, Maya doesn't seem bothered at all bringing it up. She's not the sort of woman to follow social expectations, either!
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Oh, so long?" Hana smiles. "My best friend from high school lives in Iwatodai; we stay in touch, but it's not quite the same." Then her eyes light up. "Really? Someone familiar to talk to about it might be nice, actually--I'd love to surprise Teruo and the girls, but I get a little nervous with strangers..."
Maya's clearly very free-spirited, and that delights Hana.
"Then I don't know Suou-san very well yet, either--but he was very dashing when he was talking about justice, wasn't he?"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Yeah," Maya agrees, nodding. "He's got a strong sense of justice. You never have to worry him; he's always going to try to do the right thing!" For better or for worse.
"That's what I really like about him. He's a really good guy! Nothing like the guys I dated in high school."
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"It's really refreshing," Hana says of Katsuya's sense of justice. "It really makes me think the world can be better."
Hana takes a sip of her drink, taking this one a little slower. "He is," she reflects. "And oh ho, I detect a story!" she says. "Not lucky in love?"
"I only saw one guy in high school; it didn't turn out so well. But in university, things were a lot more exciting!"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya waves a hand in front of her. "No fun stories," she assures Hana. If she had any, she'd definitely share them! "But I haven't dated anyone since my junior year of high school. I guess right now it's more important for me to put my job first."
She wanted to be able to balance work and family... and right now, she wasn't sure she could do that. "I'm not even sure there'd be anyone out there who'd be interested in me!"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Aww. Well, I won't ask for the un-fun stories," she assures Maya, and then listens. Since junior year... That's been a bit. "That makes sense," Hana says. "Your early years with your career are so important."
"Oh, I'm sure there'd be plenty," Hana says then. "You're a successful career woman, and beautiful besides. And you dress well! Anyone would be lucky to show interest in you!"
"I just think it's important that everyone get to take such things at their own pace--for me..."
"Well, for me, most of my 'dating' experience wasn't very serious. I was just having fun. Sometimes the serious ones are the most painful when they go wrong."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya nods. "But what you have right now is serious, right?" It definitely sounds serious to Maya! "How did all of you get together?" That sounds a lot more of an interesting story than Maya's high school dating fiascos!
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Oh, yes, very," Hana says. "We're at the stage where we're working out the logistics of things like living together, marriage, children... We're quite devoted to each other."
She smiles when encouraged, and drinks a little more to help the story come easier. "Well, at first it was Teruo and me, and then Sa-chan and Ya-chan, together. They were friends of Teruo--indeed, Sa-chan and Teruo used to date!"
"And, well... We had a bit of openness, in our relationships, you see. But we found that what started as 'fun' grew into other feelings, and soon, we weren't just two couples anymore."
"...Some people might not approve," she admits, "Of the circumstances. But I don't think it's so different from other sorts of friends growing closer."
"It's helped, because... well, since my ex-fiancee, I haven't had an easy time dating women. So easing into it that way was really nice, actually."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya nods throughout the entire explanation, committing this information to memory. This is new territory, even for intrepid reporter, Maya Amano.
"So are all four of you together _with_ one another?" Maya draws a square in the empty space in front of her, then an X in the middle of it.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
New territory can be fun! Hana for her part is just glad Maya is interested instead of off-put. ...And, two drinks in, is very forthcoming.
"Mm, mostly," Hana answers of if they're all together together. "Teruo and Sa-chan are mostly friends these days, but they do care about each other. Sometimes, though! And Ya-chan and I have a date soon--we're still getting to reach that point, ourselves, since it's been mostly the 'square' otherwise, with Ya-chan and I on opposite corners. But we're making that line close, too."
"To be honest, we're still working out some of the details in how we explain it to others."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"Your explanation made sense to me!" Maya says with a wink. "So you're doing a pretty good job so far. What are you worried about?"
Maya leans forward, knitting her fingers together.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"Great," Hana answers, and laughs a little. "Thanks."
"Well... Publicly, Teruo and I are together, and that's it. But some people assume it's me and Sa-chan and Teruo and Ya-chan. ...And legally, it can't be me and Teruo unless I... you know, finish certain... requiremetns," she says delicately.
"Which I'm not certain I want to do. For a few reasons..."
"I don't remember if you got to hear what the 'other me' said, but there are some questions, right? About... kids, and who marries who, and all of that."
"So that's mostly what I'm worried about. We're all happy, but they're all past 25 and I'm already there..."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya sets her chin atop her hands and nods, her fingers bobbing in tandem under the weight. "There's already a lot of pressure for us to get married." Maya is immune from that, but thankfully, her mom is not among the ones making passive-aggressive comments about her single status. "And when you add more people to it, it has to get more complicated!"
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
Hana takes some more of her drink--there might be another in her future--and then, "There really is. Less so for me... but still some, given my audience. They find it relatable that I've found a 'good man', so long as I continue to perform as they like. ...Some of them would still like me if they knew the truth, but some would be very turned-off."
"Sa-chan's parents, for instance, want her to settle down with a nice man soon. But they're aware that she's 'bi', at least. Ya-chan doesn't talk about her parents as much."
"It's complex, and... there's things I still have to discuss, with Sa-chan. You may remember what the 'other me' had to say about that. I obviously don't want things to go badly for her. ...But at the same time, I'm not exactly a 'nice man', either."
She drinks more at that one. "But I suppose that's life as your 20s go on..."
"You, though! I think it's quite admirable that you can keep focusing on your career in spite of such pressures!"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
Maya waves a hand up-and-down in front of her. "It helps that my friend and family are supportive." It sounds like not all of Hana and her partners' friends and family are onboard.
She grabs hold of her drink and takes another swig. "Besides that! You're doing good for yourself, too! Even in spite of," Maya gestures vaguely, "...everything."
Supernatural and not.
<Pose Tracker> Hana Fukami has posed.
"That's good," Hana says. "It's so much harder without family support, isn't it?"
Not all, indeed. Some could be made to be on board... and some, probably not.
"Thank you!" Hana says. "My career... I'm still hoping to break more into acting," she says, "But the show is still going well. For as long as that's true, I hope to stick with it."
"...'Everything' has been pretty difficult, but I'm happy."
She finishes her drink--and lifts it as if in toast. "It's starting to go to my head a little... Let's have another!" she says brightly.
"And of course, if you ever do decide to focus on romance a little, you can tell Hana-chan!"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
"I will," Maya says, though she's not sure she'll have anything to talk about anytime soon. "As long as you tell me about yours, too!"