isleofavalon | and every time it rains, you're here in my head, like the sun coming out; ota

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and every time it rains, you're here in my head, like the sun coming out; ota

🧙 WHO: Miwako + uuuûüùúūuuu
⚔️️ WHAT: Beach episode, creepy-cute teru teru bozu, and cathartic ~~drunken~~ karaoke! + closed prompts
🕒 WHEN: Throughout first half of June
🗺️ WHERE: Beach, outside the inn, Ren’s karaoke bar
⚠️ WARNINGS: Alcohol consumption.

𝕒 ✿ 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓱 𝓮𝓹𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓭𝓮

[ Miwako is sporting a frilly pink lacy bikini and a no-makeup makeup look, with her long pastel pink hair let down fully, hanging all the way to her waist, straightened at first this morning, but made wavy by the seawater. She didn't go to the mission. She just saw a beach party going on on her way home from work and was like "sup, summer," that's it. Y-You think she fought?! In any capacity?! Ha!

She is gonna take a whack at a watermelon, though, and it... is... a little pitiful... The best she gets is a loud, hollow thwump sound. At least that means it's ripe?! ]

Heeeeh.....! Miwako isn't strong enough to break it! Here, you do it, I give up!

[ Well, that was some short-lived bravery. She passes the stick off, defeated, to whoever is standing beside her, feigning dramatics by tucking her face into the crook of her arm and turning away. FAILED! ]

𝕓 ✿ 𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓾 𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓾 𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂-𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷

[ Miwako is a noble soul this month for helping clear up the weather by making teru teru bozu dolls for the sprites to marry. She loves this quest, and the basket of sweets in return aren't so bad, either — she happens to love those, too. But find her leaning out her living room window, arranging a whole collection of teru teru bozu... Except... Why do all of hers look like that…?

She's added little curly yarn pigtails to all of them, some with pink hair and some with blonde, with little green or pink flower caps, and they all have big pink or red pouty lips... Some even have eyelashes! They're cute, but... also a little unsettling? She's put too much effort into this. But she's happily adding a couple more when she accidentally knocks over all the half dozen dolls she's already had sitting on the windowsill.

She hails whoever happens to be passing by her window in the street, crying out in alarm for her own klutziness. And whenever whoever finds themselves nearby should happen to look up between the dolls and the girl who made them... why is there such a strong resemblance?! ]

Oh, no! Teru Teru Berry-chan!!! Oi! You, there! Nee, nee, can you help me?! My Happy Angel Berry-chan dolls! Oh, nooo... They fell in the mud... And on her wedding day...!

[ She's wearing a big pink pout to match theirs now... ~~creepycute...~~ ]

𝕔 ✿ 𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓽 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴

[ Those who know Miwako may not be able to tell if she’s truly less happy than she seems; she’s fantastically charming at masking her troubles. But after six months here officially, she’s reached a strange tipping point, even if things have been turning up in her favor with her design dreams and her magic. Emotionally, it’s getting harder being spirited away like this. She’s never been alone this long in her life. She doesn’t have her boyfriend/lifelong best friend, she doesn’t have her friends from school at Paradise Kiss, she doesn’t have her sister or her family… She doesn’t even have the cats! What’s more, she’s very close to running out of “Magic Medicine,” and while she’s sure she could find more konpeito candy to refill it, or even something new and different to suit this realm, she’s anxious that the magic jar just doesn’t seem to work as well here in Avalon. Her stomach problems have certainly been far worse this past half year than they’d been in years.

So what’s great for stomach problems caused solely by anxiety instead of a literal placebo? Drinking. Okay, maybe not, but that’s what she’s chosen to self-medicate with lately. But she’s barely eighteen and doesn’t want to drink alone as much as she has been, as it often just makes her feel even more alone; she’s getting restless being pent up at home, too! So, after having been inspired by a recent visit to her friend Jinguji Ren’s karaoke bar, she’s picked up a new weekly habit: karaoke therapy.

Once or twice a week, find her at Ren’s karaoke bar, singing her little heart out, at least two songs per night every time. Is she a gifted singer? No. Is she a bad singer? Also no! But she has an appreciation for music and has her own particular tastes and connection with it. A deeply emotional person who grew up in love with a passionate punk guitarist. Maybe her own song choices* aren’t quite what her boyfriend would choose, but he’s not here, and that’s exactly the point. This is her catharsis. And regardless of what her voice sounds like, what counts is, in that cathartic mindset, she has stage presence and charisma. She looks good up there in her fashionable ensembles every time, doing cute off-the-cuff dances and playing with her light magic to create delightful subtle illusions (when she’s drunk enough to lose the inhibition); and really, just putting on a good show is really half the battle. ]

*((ooc: player’s choice what song is heard or if she’s even gone on stage yet at all! Maybe she’s in the audience watching your character sing! open to all karaoke scenarios!! ))

𝕖 ✿ 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓭

(( ooc: I need more CR with Miwako big time, hmu on

summerdive to plot and chat! hit me with anything! Miwako’s off the walls, she’d harass your character on the street if she thought they were hot, haha, let’s do anything… ))

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[Sake eventually found a spot near the windows and curled up there. Not falling asleep but keeping an eye on the room. Meanwhile, Mitsuhide had started to scratch Chimaki under the chin.]

Is that so? During my time, most foreigners were Portuguese, so I don't hear much about French culture, even though we do get some goods from France. It's interesting to hear that the sweets from there are popular in the Japan of your time.

[He wondered how many of those sweets has Nobunaga discovered yet. Perhaps he should look into that.]

[A soft chuckle as he looked over to the Moon Rabbit Mochi.]

Ah, so they're just like the legends about the rabbit on the moon. How interesting. Lord Nobunaga might be jealous that you have a familiar who brings you such treats.

Hehe, Miwako already promised Tono some treats made by Mochi, don't worry~

[ She grins at the mention of Nobunaga. They'd bonded immediately over sweets in the first place, so it's only appropriate. She nuzzles the rabbit in her arms, but then has an idea, her face lighting up even more. ]

Nee! Have you even heard French language before? It falls beautifully on the ear~ Here, wait— ...This song is famous all over the world in my time, for many decades...

[ And Mochi is kind of clumsily slung over her shoulder like a busy mom with a baby, as Miwako reaches over to grab her phone from the stand where it'd been sitting beside the Greentooth speaker vase. And after a moment of putzing, suddenly the song that had been on in the background is cut short with a sharp horn, as chanson fills the air...

By the magic of Avalon, they can all understand other languages as if they knew it, which has been particularly thrilling to Miwako, who already was a fairly worldly and open-minded person to begin with back home on Earth, but despite all her English rock music and Italian fashion books, she didn't understand any other language but Japanese. Being able to hear these other languages and magically know what they're saying has been one of many miracles in her experience here, one that thrills her every day on her music app. To hear a classic song like this and feel the meaning, not just the feeling, and hear the poetry, it's captivated her... Understanding this song in particular makes her wistful for her boyfriend back home, having not seen him in six months, having had no one speaking soft words of love to her in six months, so the song hits bittersweet — but it's so beautiful, she doesn't care, and wears a lopsided smile through it. She's kept herself busy musically, at least.

During an instrumental break midway, she comments, making eye contact with Mitsuhide and inclining her head slightly, a warm but slightly sad smile on her face. ]

Beautiful, right...? French is often called "the language of love," heh~

[Mitsuhide closed his eyes and listened to the music, paying attention to the lyrics. There were a few words he recognized thanks to over hearing some of the Jesuit missionaries talking amongst themselves. But he didn't know that the language possibly could have been French at the time.]

[Either way, even he had to admit that the music was lovely. Mitsuhide always liked music, and was actually pleasantly surprised when he found out that he could listen to it anytime through his smart phone. Some of the more modern stuff wasn't exactly to his taste, but there were a few exceptions. But this somehow, sounded older than what he had been hearing since his arrival to Camelot.]

[When the song ended, he gave a bit of a nod.]

The French language is certainly different from what I've heard before. I may have heard a few words in passing while at the ports back home, but I think the nanbans mainly spoke Portuguese.

Though, other than the contents of the song, I'm can't say for sure I would see it as the "language of love."

[Sure, it sounded nice, but why refer to it that way?]

The French are known for being very romantic and intellectual, though~ The Italians are known for being very romantic and sensual, too. Both are beautiful languages~

[ Another classic French song comes up automatically on the music app next, evoking a similar mood as they continue chatting. ]

But, mm, you're right! In your time, you likely heard Portuguese or Dutch. No French or Italian or — ah, even English yet, nee? That's not til, um... E—Edo-jidai? I think?

[ She's recollecting her history lessons... Hanging out with Mitsuhide and Nobunaga is gonna put her scholarly memory to the test. Which is not a test she's likely to pass, granted, so she's proud if she's right about anything. There's a reason she went to art school... ]

[The other song seemed interesting. Still romantic but more about the sea. Mitsuhide definitely found it interesting how there was a wide variety of subjects in music from the future.]

Enlgish… That’s the language of the British correct?

[He’s heard about the British but has yet to meet one in person. Rarely they make the voyage to Japan in his time.]

Mm, mm! That's right! Although— many more countries speak English now, too, that, um— I don't think existed yet in your time? I'm not sure... But there's also the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Scotland— wait, I think those were countries back then, maybe... Ehhh...

[ She's puzzling herself needlessly. She waves her hands, as if waving the thought away, and takes to her phone again. ]

A-Anyway! I know a lot of English music. My sister lived in London when she was my age! She won a scholarship to study in university there. She speaks perfect English still! Here, here, this is something totally different: David Bowie! He's one of my favorites~

[ And a whiny, melodic guitar riff begins, before being followed by a strange, somewhat nasally voice. But— it's all cohesive somehow, too. ]

This album is a rock opera about the world ending in five years and then some alien superstar — Ziggy Stardust, the name of this song — and his rock band, the Spiders from Mars, show up and cause a sensation, but eventually Earth culture corrupts Ziggy... The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, is the album's full name. It's so cool! This is from um— the early 1970s, I wanna say '72 or '73? David Bowie caused a sensation back then, himself, hehe~

[ Talk about how music can be about anything in the future... ]

[Her naming other countries that may or may not have existed during his own time period made Mitsuhide wish that he paid more attention to about when talks about countries came up. Though, at the time, he was more concerned with bringing peace to Japan that anything happening outside the small island country was far from his mind.]

[The music started up again, and he listened carefully to the lyrics that the man was singing. He definitely had an interesting way of singing, though Mitsuhide did enjoyed it in a strange way. It was definitely better than some of the screaming that he heard from the "metal" music that Lord Nobunaga introduced him to.]

That's a very... Strange story line. [Though some of the folk tales back in his time were equally as strange to him.] But the music is actually quite pleasing. The 1970s you say? That is just about four hundred years from my own time.

[And music had changed that drastically?]

[ Miwako is delighted watching the expression on Mitsuhide's face, even if it doesn't change that much... She's enjoying trying to pick it apart. She quickly takes to her phone again as the song ends, a coy smile on her face. She catches his drift. Music has changed that much! ]

Nee, nee— Mitsuhide-sama... Miwako wants to show you Japanese music, too... This is a band me and my friends all love. From the 1990s. A visual kei band. They're inspired by many European styles from many eras, but— I can't say how, but there's something distinctly Japanese about them, too... I'm so curious, standing from your time— Can you hear it?

[ From the speaker now pipes up some distant wind chimes and then suddenly drums and piano and violin, not at all Japanese instruments. But beautiful, far more melodic than anything she's played so far, really. The lyrics are far more emotionally explicit than anything from his time, she knows, but the candor must be refreshing, perhaps. She's sitting there with her knees pressed together, looking quite smitten and staring at him with expectant eyes. As the music plays, after waiting a minute or two to let it have its due impact, she even hands him her phone directly, having looked up on AOL images some pictures of the band in question, whose celebrity has clearly transcended many different worlds enough to be able to register on the AOL network at all. She's also pleased to know this; this is not the first time she's shown someone Malice Mizer here. The multiverse is baffling, but often validating. While he scrolls, the song has ended, and transitioned into another song on autoplay in the background, giving him a better example, even, to form his opinion. Though, the lyrics of this one are a bit more vague, relying on imagery and nature, and thus perhaps more familiar in style. It's still certainly... different from anything he's heard, Japanese or not, she imagines, but as she somewhat unconsciously sings along with the choruses at parts of both songs, her lighthearted smile is frozen on her face, so curious and fascinated about his opinion considering his time period and standing and just who he is at all... She's still processing how she knows these historical figures at all and has flashes of surreality looking at his face occasionally. Still taken by his beauty on top of it, of course. How lovely would it be to see Mitsuhide in some over-the-top visual kei get-up, she can't help but imagine now... ]

Edited 2021-08-06 22:35 (UTC)

[Well, this was certainly different, but it was actually nice to hear songs in his own language, even if the dialect is a bit different. The style of instruments did throw him off a bit, but he was able to recognize some, thanks to the Nanban bringing their own instruments from Europe. But she was right, there was a Japanese feel to the music and it wasn't just because the lyrics were in Japanese. It was like the band had taken a style that was very European and twisted it to make it Japanese like.]

[The first song was clearly a romantic one, something that really wasn't a thing during his time period. People just didn't express such things through music and art so it was odd for him to hear.]

[When she handed him her phone to look at the pictures he arched a brow.]

They're painted like geishas...

[Which was odd, considering most of the band were men. It did make some sense for the one woman. Or at least he thought it was a woman. Something told him that he could be wrong about that, but he couldn't tell based on the pictures alone.]

[When the second song started, he started tapping his finger in time with the beat. The lyric were at least more similar to the songs of his era. Songs that told some kind of story instead of expressing emotions.]

[He soon handed the phone back to her.]

I can tell you like them not just for their musical talent. You seem to also like their clothing style as well. [If the poofy dress she wore when he first met her was any indication to that.]

((ooc: had to look up to see if Kabuki was a thing during the Sengoku and sadly it didn't start until 1603. So he couldn't make that comparison..))

Edited 2021-08-07 04:16 (UTC)

[ Miwako looks sheerly delighted, watching his reaction, analyzing his face as he listens. When he makes his commentary, saying they're painted like geisha, she just grins even wider, but lets Gackt speak for her in song. She notices Mitsuhide tapping his fingers along to the beat and it pleases her so much, more than she can say. So she doesn't. Just sits with her knees pressed together like this, smiling to herself like a little fool.

But when he mentions their clothes... That's a whole different kind of smile as her face lights up! ]

Mm! That's true! Mana-sama— the one in the dresses and wigs... He was a major trendsetter and helped create Lolita kei! He pushed to launch a magazine called Gothic & Lolita Bible — which Miwako has a subscription to, hehe~ — and also started his own fashion line called Moi-même-Moitié! It's darker than my tastes, but— he's a talented designer as well as a talented musician and model! Malice Mizer had a huge impact on their genre of music...

[ Another lightbulb goes off in her head. ]

A-Actually! Oh! Oh! Mitsuhide-sama— [ Remember, she had a few shots before he got there, painting the room on her own. It's a due break, but... her energy is still high. She hurriedly takes to her phone, looking up another something with clear urgency, and suddenly: a high-pitched voice accompanied by a koto fill the air. ]

This is another visual kei band — visual kei is like... Japan's answer to glam rock. David Bowie was a glam rock artist. But we did something all our own. And this band — Kagrra, — they draw on Japanese history and traditional aesthetic for their music and costumes~ You must hear!

[ To show any band to Mitsuhide... Suddenly, it's them that seems most important. So many of their songs are in the style of Heian poetry, reference nature with particular profundity, use koto and shakuhachi as main instruments along with the Western guitars and violins, plus the modernized kimono and hakama, flagrant disregard for tradition blending it with something entirely new, yet a clear respect and pride and patriotism... She can barely contain her excitement to share this with him once it comes to mind. ]

[Ah, so he was wrong about the one band member being a woman.]

This Mana makes a more convincing woman than some actors that I've seen during my time period.

[When she took the phone, he watched in amusement. It was quite obvious that she was passionate about her interests. That seemed to be a common thing for those who are from the future. He seen the same with Mai, whom he is now sure that she was telling the truth when she claimed to be 500 years in the future.]

[The new song from this other band appealed more to Mitsuhide though. Mostly because it did have some of the traditional elements that he was used to. Yes change, and new things were good. He agreed with Nobunaga on that. He just thought that one shouldn't completely ignore the old and traditional completely.]

[He gave a bit of a nod.]

It definitely sounds similar to some of the music of my time, as far as lyrics go. And I can at least can recognize the koto among the instruments that are more common for music of your time.

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and every time it rains, you're here in my head, like the sun coming out; ota

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i love that these are her canonical interests, makes threads like this so much funner for me lol

She does have great taste in music!

Paradise Kiss leaves so much wiggle room for real life interests like this, it's great~

I squeed a little when I saw it was Malice Mizer. I haven't heard their music in ages!

THROWBACK RIGHT. i love playing a street fashion expert character from 2000s Tokyo. amazing material

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