1898/Boy Oggling

Boy Oggling
Date of Scene:	28 August 2024
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	Date Night for Ami and Usagi! Ami's sharing her love of boybands with a concert that she's brought Usagi to. After some time spent at the merch tables they abscond with their loot to enjoy the show and oggle some cute boys!
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Usagi Tsukino

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Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno was prepared for tonight! She was prepared for quite a few things to be honest but this was perhaps one that was surprising to be prepared for. She's dressed in a blue checkered halter dress with a bolero jacket over it was worn in a style that Kenji might call 'Rockabilly'. Of course she had to look good tonight, it was a date! And a concert! A double-whammy and she wanted to make it a good night all around.

Precisely why she's obtained concert tickets to see a popular boyband that was in the city tonight. Precisely why she's got LED glowsticks (with a safety strap!) in her bag that she pulls out to offer one over to Usagi.

"I don't know if you know any of their cheers, but it's at least fun to try to work along with them. I really hope they wear the costumes they did in their latest video! They looked so good in the suits and leather pants. Plus the dancing was really exciting!"

Ami was gushing more than she tended to about anything other than, maybe, science. Or math. Or her computer.

"Oh, do you want to hit the merch table before, or after, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi Tsukino had known about the date and she had known it was for a concert - but aside from that, she hadn't had too many details, having wanted to let Ami surprise her. She'd decided on the cooler side of her wardrobe when dressing, picking her trusty black miniskirt and a pastel pink shirt with matching sneakers to round the outfit out. In her hair were little guitar-shaped hairclips, an accessory picked up from a store and then never worn and never thrown away.

The time had finally come! Just as she'd known it would! She was so right to ignore her Mama's lecture about hoarding accessories!

The glowstick is excitedly taken (and the safety strap fastened to her wrist), and Usagi looks delightedly at Ami.

"I don't know any of them, but I bet I'll pick them up, it can't be that hard, right?" Oh, you sweet summer child. "Ahh, this is so exciting, Ami-chan!"

It really is. A concert, a date, normality - it really was sweet.

"Um... maybe we should try now, in case they're sold out on anything by the time the show is over?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno reaches down to take Usagi's free hand in her own. It's a firm grip, but her hand was soft other than the small callouses from where her pen would rest as she studied. The amount of writing she did wasn't so much these days with the availability of taking notes on a laptop but she still enjoyed writing things out, too.

"All right," she agrees readily with a quick smile. This was nice. This was very nice, getting to share her hobby with her *girlfriend.* The thought of that term didn't even leave her unsettled as sometimes the thought of a boyfriend would. Then again, this was Usagi, someone she knew and trusted and liked and-- Her thoughts got away from her as she continues to grin looking maybe just a little too lost in thought while gazing at the blonde next to her.

"Right! I would like to see if they have any limited edition items. You're right, they would sell out quickly. It's this way." Of course she knows the way! She saw the signs pointing out where coming in.

As they approach the tables with t-shirts, drinks, more LED wands, posters, pins and other such items she considers with a little frown.

"Should we pick up something for the others, too? Mamo-kun, Tamaki-kun and Kazuo-san?" SHE wasn't dating them, but. That doesn't mean they weren't part of the group.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Ami's hand is warm, and mostly soft, save for her writer's callouses. Usagi's is pretty soft too - her gloves protect her hands from forming callouses where she grabs her Crescent Wand and tiara, and though her skincare routine is lazy, it certainly does still exist.

"I had no idea you were into boybands," she says cheerfully, as they walk through the venue. She follows trustingly in Ami's path, confident that her girlfriend will guide her way. "It's super cute though! You've got to tell me more about these guys after the show."

Watching her get all excited was really, realy cute...

Once they're near the table, she hums as she considers all the merchandise - "Um, well, Mamochan loves bands, so that would be nice! We could get them keychains, maybe? I don't know if they'd wear pins, but everyone's got keys! And you and I should get matching shirts!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Oh, of course! I don't watch much television but music is always nice to listen to when I need a break from studying." Ami would NEVER listen to music *and* study. She could of course but it's a bad habit to get into and if the others caught her doing it they might want to do the same, and then they'd get even MORE distracted. That was just a slippery slope right there.

"Plus they're all so cute, and skilled at dancing. They put a lot of work into what they do! I'll point them out to you once they get on stage," she agrees with a solemn nod. Of course she was going to at least until the music started and she got distracted by everything.

The mention of shirts earns a thoughtful hum. "Shirts are a good idea. We can get him the tour shirt," she decides, "And we can get which ever one you like for ourselves. Oh!" A particular shirt catches her eye, and she steps forward to pick it up. Turning toward Usagi she holds it out to show it off.

"This is from their 'Walking on Water' video!" It shows a series of very handsome boys wearing various oufits with iceskates at a rink. "Doesn't Kazuo-san like that ice skating anime? We should get this for him!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Of course it's when she needs a break from studying, Usagi thinks affectionally. Because of course Ami-chan could never do anything as terrible as listen to music and study!

"Of course they do! You'll have to show me all your favorites. My friend Wako-chan has a Viewtube channel, to share her singing, and she puts a lot of work into her voice... for these guys to be professionals they must do a lot!"

Or they're extremely pretty and won a show, but who is Usagi to judge? Ami loves them, and that means Usagi loves them as well! Boy Band in Law!

"Yeah, that would be great - Mamochan can get the tour one, and we can get... oooh," while Ami is digging up what will be called The Shirt soon, Usagi catches sight of a particularly out there design, featuring each member of the idol group seemingly falling through the sky in various poses. It's whimsical and cute, and she - really likes it? She grabs one to show Ami.

"What do you think of this one?" A beat as she takes in the handsome boys on ice skats. "Oh that's adorable. We've got to get it! Mamochan mentions that anime all the time when he's talking to Kazuo-kun, I think it's an in-joke? So that should be great!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno considers the possibilities of an in-joke being ruined by a gift from someone NOT in on the in joke... Naw. "Then it'll be perfect." With this decided she folds the shirt over her arm, and turnss her attention back to the table to peruse for other items.

"I think I should get something for Mako-chan too. Rei-chan and Minako-chan are together, but poor Mako-chan doesn't have anyone yet. I don't want her to feel left out. I never see her wear t-shirts though so maybe a keychian like you suggested. Or a bag charm," she adds looking at a few of the other options.

Right up until Usagi holds up the shirt she spotted which earns a broad smile. "Oh that's such a nice one! Yes, let's get one of those each," she agrees while pausing to consider. "What's your size?" They weren't that different, but Usagi was a bit more. Um. Grown in areas. Than she was. Not as much as Minako of course but close.

Spotting another shirt she gestures toward it. "Oh how about that one for Mamo-kun?" It's another of the tour logos, but with the group holding roses and offering them around to one another. It has the English words 'Popular With The Boys.'

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yeah! I think we should get something for Mako-chan too, so she knows we were thinking about her!"

She's pleased with the very thought, and she scans the items carefully, considering. Makoto would definitely hate it if they got the wrong size, but would she like a bag charm if she didn't like the band? Well, wasn't that the same issue with keychains? Hmm...

"I think we should get this one -" and she picks out a bag charm of one of two of the band members, one with very fluffy hair, posing with bouquets. "It's cute!"

And then Ami is talking about their shirts, and she examines them critically - "I'm a size bigger than you, but I like baggy t-shirts for band stuff, so maybe two sizes bigger than yours?"

Then it would be comfortably oversized! And could shrink safely in the wash.

"Oh, oh, I love it! And Mamochan is very popular among boys!"

She almost but did not quite read it correctly.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
It was a tough choice. Granted they could all just get them as 'night shirts' but even then who was to say what might be the wrong or right size? Learning of Usagi's preference though Ami gives a solemn nod as she sets to work choosing the proper sizes. Her own is a bit large for her as well. She enjoyed them for lounging after all (How else could she hide her boyband addiction if she wore them out?)

"Excellent! Then boys should be then... Probably..." Boys sizes were different though. Ami pauses to do some quick calculations in her head while her arm was becoming increasingly covered with merch that she was intending to get. The hawker behind the table was keeping a close eye on the girls to help once they were done picking what they want.

The little bag charm is regarded with an emerging grin. "Ah, excellent! I think she'll like that he has flowers, too."

Calculations done she picks out a size for Mamoru, and one for Kazuo, and hopefully neither was too big or too small. Time would tell.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Always better to go big, right? Because if shirt too big you can still fit into it, at least."

Not that she'd know! From experience or anything!

Usagi waits patiently as Ami makes the choices for the boys, looking over the merch, waving her glowstick here and there.

"Yeah! I think she'll like that, he's got flowers, he's cute, and it's not tooooo band-y, so even if she doesn't like the band, she can still like his cute face!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It's perfect," Ami agrees as she settles on the load of shirts. It's all then handed over to the vendor along with a credit card on top and the request of, "I'll need a bag, please." No she was not making Usagi pay. Come on it was HER date idea after all! "Oh, also a couple bottles of water too." It would help once things started up. She wasn't certain how good Usagi was at hydrating yet.

Loaded up with gifts and new merch for herself, she looks quite pleased as she takes the bag back to sling over her arm again.

"I'm glad things are going well so far tonight. I know you and Mamo-kun have some issues with your dates." She knew. She was usually following with the others! Or a good chunk of the time at least. "It's nice to get the chance to do this. We should find some good spots before the show starts!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Thanks," Usagi says when they've received the bag, trying and failing to hold it. Who knew Ami-chan was so strictk - wait, she totally knew that. She smiles, a little lovestruck, because it is one of the things she likes about Ami, even if it's also frustrating when she wants to escape from studying.

"You mean how like, ninety percent of our dates end in disaster? I haven't seen anybody else we know from uh, work, so I'm hoping that's a good sign! There's a rule about that online, right? Ten percent being safe or something?"

She's seen it mentioned on websites, but usually in English, and machine translations just were not reliable.

"It is! Let's find our spots, so we can make sure we get to see the show from the best spot. We've got to take pictures, you know? Make sure everyone knows we had an amazing date so they'll be super jealous!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami Mizuno was totally not strict! Okay she was. At the moment she's just making sure their precious merch isn't going to be accidentally forgotten or dropped or smooshed beneath feet if dropped. Again she takes hold of Usagi's hand, laughing a bit at the thought of probability being applied to the likelihood of dates being interrupted by youma. "That's an interesting theory! I'll have to look it up sometime. If there really is a mathematical formula that could help to determine when incidents might occur, it would be very helpful! Likely it's mostly chaos theory though."

Here Ami pauses, at least in chattering, as she leads the way back through the crowd intending to find a good spot. "Sorry," she adds with an embarassed duck of her head. "I shouldn't think about math right now. This is for fun and to spend time together. I need to get better at that." That's what she really needed from Usagi: Learning how to be a TEEN and not just... A Doctor-to-be.

Once some good spots are selected she turns her attention to the stage where the lights were begining to circle around, and music starts to ramp up preparing for the introduction of the band on stage. Ami clenches her hands in front of herself gazing with wide, eager eyes, clutching her LED glowstick like it were some holy relic.

"Ah they're about to start! Oh that's the leader, he's very charismatic. The next one is the smart one, the one with the glasses, and Oh! There's the bad boy! He always gets scolded for taking his shirt off!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi laces their fingers together casually, swinging their arms as they head off to find seats. She doesn't mind the math talk, especially if it could mean a solution to finding the PERFECT time to go on a date!

"No, don't be sorry," Usagi says immediately, waving her free hand, "You like math! Just because I don't doesn't mean it's not like, neat and stuff. We can spend time together and have fun and you can use that big brain to try and see if math can solve our dating problems." There's a laugh, but not a mocking one - just a gentle, amused one, at the thought of needing math to fix their problems.

But soon, they find their seats, and the stage starts to light up even as everything else dims, and music starts to play to hype everyone up, and Usagi bounce-bounce-bounces in her seat, the anticipation getting to her.

"I'm ready, I'm ready!" GASP "Do you think he'll take his shirt off today?! Ami-chan, this is so exciting!"

Later, there would be photos on social media, immortalizing the experience - selfies of Usagi and Ami in their seats, stealth pictures of one or the other, and of course, plenty of pictures of the band. The final picture is a slightly blurry selfie of Usagi and Ami pressed close, holding their glowsticks and new shirts, laughing for the camera.