NaraMoore ⛩️👻八尺様👻⛩️ at FediDec 18

Ikiryō 生霊

FanFiction #KaigaiIdol #Phoebee (Commissioned by Phoebee)
#Wss366 MastoPrompt 12/18

•──⋅☾Chapter 1 Part 1 of 2☽⋅──•
•─⋅☾Phoebee the 2.5D VTuber☽⋅─•

We followed the man across the main room of the apartment.

“Your guests are here,” the man said quietly at a half-open door. “The kitoushi, Miyazaki-san and her partner.” He turned to me. “What’s your name again?”

I replied, “Miyazaki Kanoko.” They might be the only thing I said today, which was fine by me. I would leave everything to my sister, Kao.

He smiled, looking unsure how to introduce me. I sympathized—it was the sort of hesitation you excused in someone who wasn’t from here.

While we waited, I looked around the apartment. It was furnished in a Western style with Scandinavian-looking furniture. There was plenty of blonde wood, and a blue glass vase of tulips sitting on a table. The view outside the windows was unremarkable. It wasn’t bad, but it was clearly not a luxury suite.

Kao and I stood listening to a pleasant voice seeping out of the inner room. “I have to bid the Phoebee’s #Hive goodbye,” it said. “And buzz off to see some important guests. [Giggle] Remember, I won’t be streaming again this week. But if you're in Japan, I’ll be performing at the ‘Out Box’ on Wednesday and at ‘Flowers’ on Saturday.”

“Now who should we raid?” the voice continued. “MeowitsMartha” is streaming “Yakuza 14. I can’t stay, so give her a happy Phoebee #Hive hello! [Giggly laugh].”

There was a pause followed by a tired sigh. Soon after, a petite woman in a light green and white dress emerged from the room. She was cute in a totally Western style. It wasn’t something I would have been able to pull off. She smiled the way someone does when they expect to be met halfway. Her shoulders were relaxed, her steps careless, yet the polish of idol training still showed. The bright smile wasn’t careless at all; she knew exactly where everyone in the room was.

“Hello, I’m Phoebee, and I am so pleased you came. Won’t you take a seat?” she said and gestured to a couch. Her voice was high and girlish. Her bright smile and attention moved easily from face to face. When it reached you, it paused just long enough to make you wonder if it was intentional.

We greeted her, took seats, and were soon sipping drinks brought by her companion.

“So, Pheobee-san, what’s the problem?” Kao asked, skipping the small talk. Having grown up in the States, she’d never learned to read the air. I hoped nothing had gone wrong already.

“Oh, just call me Phoebee.” It was unclear to me whether this was Western familiarity or the persona of an idol. I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

“Okay, Phoebee. You can call me Miyazaki, and this is my partner.”

I bowed my head, but otherwise continued to let Kao do all the talking.

[Continued in the next post]

#MicroFiction #TootFic #Serial #NMFic

Show threadNaraMoore ⛩️👻八尺様👻⛩️ at FediDec 18

Ikiryō 生霊

FanFiction #KaigaiIdol #Phoebee (Commissioned by Phoebee)
#Wss366 MastoPrompt 12/18

•──⋅☾Chapter 1 Part 2 of 2☽⋅──•
•─⋅☾Phoebee the 2.5D VTuber☽⋅─•

“Thank you for coming, Miyakaki. I’m an idol and a 2.5-D VTuber,” she said, setting her drink down. “One of my acts involves playing a clone of myself. A week ago, someone impersonating me did a stream—my fans were certain it was me. They carried it off flawlessly.”

“I hope you didn’t watch it,” Kao injected.

“I tried, but it had been deleted.”

“It’s best not to watch those things. They're often cursed. But go on.”

“Then, a friend reported seeing me at a restaurant. They had even talked to the person, thinking it was me."

She bit her lip before continuing. "But I was streaming at the time. Last night, it finally called me. Talking to myself was disconcerting, to say the least. There were pauses and inflections just where I would put them. We shared the same hopes and fears. She asked if she could take my place at one of my shows."

“That’s worrying. It means it's getting closer to you,” Kao said.

“My Japanese manager urged me to call you. They were very concerned it might be an Ikiryō.”

“Or a doppelgänger. Either way, it sounds like it wants to take your place. Would you like me to perform a cleansing or an exorcism? In some cases, cleansing alone is sufficient. Ideally, both would be done—but there are also charms.”

“I don’t think it wants to replace me. It called me "Mommy" and cried a lot. Can I let it perform just one show, and then could you convince it to go home? Please!”

“That sounds like an Ikiryō. My mother would have called it a soul fragment. It’s risky, but if you want, we can follow your path.”

"I would dearly love to do that. I mean, if I were them, I would want that.”

The words had barely left her mouth before Kao and I both started reciting a mantra. When we finished, Kao explained, “It is best not to open some doors.” His voice was calm but firm.

“Sorry. But I would like to do it.”

“I suggest you take shelter at a shrine while the show is going on. I’ll give you an address. They can also give you charms to ward off further entanglement. While you're there, reflect quietly on any desires or attachments that still cling to you. If you recognize it, commit it to an ema: either a promise to fulfill the desire if it is wholesome, or a vow to release it. Be sincere but humble.”

Pheobee took out her phone. “I’ll tell her.”

Kao held her hand out in response. “Tell me where to send the message. I'll take care of it. There are already too many #cords that need severing.”

[To be continued later]

#MicroFiction #TootFic #Serial #NMFic

Show threadNaraMoore ⛩️👻八尺様👻⛩️ at Fedi

Ikiryō 生霊: Diamonds are Forever (*)

#FanFiction #KaigaIdol #Phoebee (Commissioned by Phoebee)
#Wss366 3/1 Side #MastoPrompt #asterisk

The music stopped with a sound like a needle scratching across a record. The club fell silent. Penlights froze in the air.

Just as the audience began to murmur, Phoebee spoke. “This is my last performance…”

The noise in the hall threatened to become a roar. The penlights drooped. Faces too stunned to cry stared at their idol. Heartbreak was moments away.

But the performer held up her hand and continued in her perkiest voice. The twinkle of little mirrors on her tea-green costume matched the gleam in her eyes. “But don’t worry, you’ll see me up here on stage just like always. It’s okay if you don’t understand. The most important person in the world does. I can sense them here. Now, I would like to sing part of a song. It’s not mine, but it’s how I feel.”

Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever young

          [Forever Young, #Alphaville, 1984]

I stood in the back watching all this. With what I knew, the lyrics took on a decidedly sinister sound. The words weren't uttered by the real Phoebee, but by her doppelgänger. Young indeed, not more than a month old.

But there was someone else I was looking for: “The most important person in the world.”

I pointed to a figure stage #side. “Look, there she is.”

The figure in question was difficult to see in the sea of fans. She was petite and wore a floppy hat and heart-shaped sunglasses.

“Is that the real Phoebee?” Kao asked. She was obviously having trouble seeing our employer. “I told her not to come.”

“I guess she couldn’t resist,” I replied.

The woman onstage—the doppelgänger or perhaps an ikiryō—came up to the stage barrier and took the real Phoebee's hand. I couldn’t hear what the performer said to our client, but she joined the singer onstage.

“We need to get backstage right away,” Kao said, and we hurried toward a #side door.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #Idol #NMFic #Yokai

Mar 1 at 5:54pmWeb
Show threadNaraMoore ⛩️👻八尺様👻⛩️ at FediMar 1

Ikiryō 生霊: Diamonds are Forever (*)

#FanFiction #KaigaIdol #Phoebee (Commissioned by Phoebee)
#Wss366 3/1 Side #MastoPrompt #asterisk

[Continued from previous post]

The two women had already left the stage by the time we forced our way through the crowd and reached the back.

Like the back of many clubs, the walls were covered with graffiti and posters. The smell of the performers’ sweat perfumed the air. In our hurry, we brushed past girls preparing to go on stage. Fortunately, they recognized we had business there.

We entered the dressing room and found her alone, calmly fanning herself and drinking from a bottle of water. She greeted us with a smile.

“Is she the real one?” I whispered to Kao, who shrugged.

Phoebee stood and bowed. “Thank you very much for arranging this. Everything has been dealt with.”

She put on the floppy hat and sunglasses, then moved to leave. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to prepare for buppan.”

As she passed us, I thought I heard her sing, “And diamonds are forever.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #Idol #NMFic #Yokai

Forever Young by Alphaville

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