one step at a time

how much does my muse value companionship? do they constantly keep people around them, or do they prefer to be alone often? do they have or desire to have many friends? do they see every meeting as an opportunity to make a new friend?

ann is fairly selective with her inner circle of friends in a way, like she won’t really become close with people who aren’t honest and kind -- but she values companionship highly and really does like being around her friends! i mean, she doesn’t particularly want to see them every second of the day, but would definitely get a little restless/anxious without talking to them for a while.

“ Wait – a crush…? What gave you that idea? Seriously, it sounds like the stuff they want to know about for magazine interviews,” and she’s done quite a few of those! 

how would my muse describe their childhood?  how much has it impacted the person they are now,  or will become as an adult?  around what age did they or will they start to mature,  and why?  do they wish to go back to their days as a child,  or have they embraced adulthood?  

ann would definitely use the word lonely to describe her childhood, since she was never really able to form lasting connections (even with the au pairs her parents hired); everyone was constantly in and out of her life. it impacted her by having her be independent from a young age, both emotionally and skill wise (as shown in p5R, she isn’t ignorant when it comes to household chores). 

she was really understanding about it though, and doesn’t harbour ill-will towards her parents for anything -- she’s actually thankful for the opportunities to live in so many places, and get to know so many different kinds of people. being exposed like that, to different personalities and cultures, has made her much more tolerant and patient. it has given her an interpersonal maturity beyond most of her peers, and leaves her affected by people’s eccentricities, or even their negative behaviours (and doesn’t take things to heart).

“ You don’t have to thank me! It’s what friends are for, right? ”

She’d downed him in one blow, and now it was an All Out Attack on his preconceptions of city life. Everything he’d been told led him to believe city folk were all rude, inconsiderate snobs who liked to look down their noses at others. He probably guessed that they were all taught that country kids like him were all backwards, uneducated morons. Such was life, full of injustices and unexplained contradictions.

Now all he had to do was act cool as a cucumber.

“Oh, uh, right. Kanji Tatsumi. ‘Snice ta meet ya’n all.” He fell into step beside the young woman with a half-cocked grin. “So, you uh. You got friends inta this stuff, too? I mean, ‘scute, so I can totally understand why. My- uh, my Senpai’s cousin, she’s the damn cutest little girl, she went through somethin’ real rough last year, an’ I’ve kinda been lookin’ for somethin’ that might help cheer her up. When I heard that some of the shops here in Shibuya might have what I was lookin’ for, I rented a hotel room for the night so I could track it down an’ get some rest before havin’ ta head back out ta Inaba.”

“ Wow, wait! You’re really doing all of that just for her? “ coming to an unfamiliar city, and renting a room ... there’s awe clear in her voice as she takes it all in, her expression softening. so that’s why he’d been so upset that he couldn’t find it ... it hadn’t been for him at all.

“ To be honest that’s pretty amazing, Tatsumi-kun! There really aren’t that many people who would just go out of their way like that... at least here in the city. “ to most people in tokyo, it would probably sound unbelievable too, like a lie... but there’s something about Kanji that tells her he’s being honest, and she always trusts her intuition about these kinds of things.

“ But ... okay! If that’s your reason, then we definitely have to find it now! “ she  grins at him as she picks up her pace, bounding off towards the first place that seemed fitting. ann was totally pumped now to help out kanji and this little girl. “ Maybe this is a good place to start? “

she enters the store with him in tow, chatting easily as she picks through the aisles. there were a ton of things here, ranging from plushes to different kinds of merchandise, everything crammed together and overflowing from the shelves.  “ You know, even if we can’t find the Buchimaru-kun stuff I’m sure she’ll be happy with anything from you, Tatsumi-kun. Especially if she knew the lengths you went to get it. “

does my muse desire romance?  is it something they would actively seek out,  or prefer to happen more  ‘  naturally?  ’  what is their love life like?  do they have any exes or past flings,  or crushes?

ann definitely likes the idea of romance! she spends quite a bit of her time watching romantic comedies / reading mangas about it -- but it’s not something that she feels she needs to have. like she’s definitely pretty guarded and careful when it comes to this kind of thing, and it needs to feel right to her before she’ll even pursue it! she’s been approached by waaay too many creepy guys ok, she knows better lol.

i also DEFINITELY think she’s had a few crushes before, even if she didn’t really understand what her feelings were all about? but she would just reject everyone since her family was constantly moving around so much. 

Oh God.

It was his worst fears all over again. Suddenly, he was an eight-year-old child, trying to hide the tears from his parents as he looked at yet another one of his creations that had gotten ruined and made fun of. All the feelings came rushing back, the impotence and the anger, the insignificance of his choices. His breath caught and his pupils dilated slightly as he braced himself for what was to come-

Only for all that to be blown away by her question. He was a six foot mountain of muscle and scars, yet she didn’t even bat an eye. Was this the foritude of a city girl?! No wonder his Senpai went back- if everyone in the city was this tough, he could only imagine what their thugs were like. Still, though, he couldn’t help his knee-jerk reaction of shoving his hands into his pockets as his cheeks burnt a light pink, averting his gaze to literally anywhere else that wasn’t on the girl in front of him.

“Oh- uh. S-sure, I guess. ‘Scool, I guess. Ain’t- ain’t like ‘swhat I’m really lookin’ for, but whatever, y’know?”

ann observes in silence as his face begins to grow warmer, eyes darting away from her. it was obvious that this stranger was embarrassed to talk about the whole buchimaru-kun thing, although ann can’t really see why ( -- who cares if a guy likes that kind of thing? even if he’s tough? ). she refuses to make him feel any more uncomfortable though, and decides instead to take a different approach.

“ Oh! Well ... In that case, thank you for agreeing to help me look for it! “ she fixes him with a smile, her words coming easily, confidently. “ My friend totally loves Buchimaru-kun, and it’s nice to have some company in a huge mall like this. “

“ Ryuji - ! “ ann lifts an arm above her head, waving to him from among the busy subway crowd. “ There you are! Geez, did you really have to keep me waiting? “ despite her words, there’s excitement on her face as she rushes towards him, purse bouncing along the curve of her waist.

“ -- Just kidding! Sorry if this is kind of a hassle... I don’t know much about sports-related injuries, so you’re the first person I thought of to ask for help. “ despite everything, shiho had insisted on wanting to be active again. volleyball had been something she’d genuinely enjoyed, and she’d expressed a desire to one day return to it ... but with the rehab and everything still going on, ann wanted to help her out.

Emma thought it was a little strange how many famous students went to Shujin Academy, herself included. There was Haru Okumura, the daughter of one of the richest men in Japan, and there was also Ann Takamaki, a model who has done projects overseas.

Emma envied Ann, to a small degree. Not harsh envy that inspired hatred and competitiveness, but a small pang that was only occasionally felt. What she was jealous of was Ann’s mature charm. That was something Emma could barely grasp, even in her few years off idol work. Emma’s talents didn’t lie in a mature persona, but rather in a innocent one that her fans adored. But she didn’t want to be viewed as an innocent idol, she wanted to be mature just like Ann!

At first it was just light observing, seeing how Ann would act with friends or acquaintances, but Emma needed a more hands-on approach. Which is how she found herself walking up to Ann in the cafeteria, a wanting smile on her face.

“Ann-senpai?” She asked, trying to get the other’s attention. “May I talk to you for a second?”

@agidynne​

she turns towards the sound of her name, curls bouncing with the motion -- there’s a palpable excitement on her face when she sees just who she’s being addressed by, and she can’t help but smile at her underclassman.

ever since the rumours about ann and kamoshida had been cleared up, her peers had seemed to find it a lot easier to come and chat with her. she’d been finding herself getting approached more and more often by classmates, and even sometimes people from other years and groups. it had made coming to school a lot more fun for her.

“ Of course! “  despite their gap in age, ann had definitely heard about emma -- although it had mostly been chatter from the guys in her class about how cute the younger girl was. 

not that she can blame them, though: the charm of a popular idol was kind of hard to miss.

“ H-hey -- ! ” her lips purse into a pout as she’s snapped back to reality, not having expected the press of joker’s pen. it wasn’t usually like her to become this distracted, but ... well, with everything going on lately, it was hard to care about math and english homework.

“ Yeah, if you don’t mind? I just can’t stop thinking about, well ... everything.  ” she leans back in her seat, chest falling with a sigh. “ Like, a lot of our classmates have started talking about life after high-school, and I honestly don’t even feel ready to begin considering that kind of stuff. It makes me realize how much of a mess I can be. ”

there isn’t any malice or negativity to her words: just simple acknowledgement. these kinds of realizations were actually things she liked! they were motivation, and a reason to get better.