2775/Hanging at the Crown

Hanging at the Crown
Date of Scene:	29 September 2025
Location:	Game Crown Arcade
Synopsis:	Amy and Miho are hanging out at Crown Arcade when first Minako and then Usagi join them. Sometimes, you just need a little normal.
Cast of Characters:	Amanda Faust, Miho Inada, Minako Aino, Usagi Tsukino

---

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Man! It has been awhile since I played DDR much. I guess with all the games on my computer, and all the magic stuff distracting us, it's easy to forget the arcade exists and this is all here?" Amy makes a wide, sweeping gesture after stepping inside, having invited Miho out to play one of the type of games Miho mentioned enjoying.

    "I've got a roll of quarters -- err, well, coins anyway," she holds up one fist clenched around the aforementioned item, "and an outfit allowing for freedom of movement without any accidents," she sweeps her other hand down to indicate her red tank top and black yoga pants, "And a friend-or-possibly date! Dance game here we come!"

    And after that deliberately dramatic introduction, she strides towards the games with a smile!

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho laughs a bit as she walks with Amy. When Amy talked about DDR, she got out her best Hip Hop outfit. Its a very loose cargo pants with suspenders that hang off the sides, and a tight fitting black short T-shirt. The ice mahou hugs Amy by her hip a bit. "Have you tried do free style DDR style before?", Miho asks. "If not, be careful, and I'll go easy on it.", she teases.

    She giggles a bit. "Friend or Date? Why can't it just be both? Just to make it easy. Or do we have to have a youma attack us for it to count?", Miho teases a bit. She's really loosened up as of late. And she's been going out a bit more since she's come back from Kyoto.

    Miho purrs a bit as she looks around at all the games in the arcade. This is Amy's world. Just like how Miho's is all about music, mixing, and dancing. She stretches a little bit as she preps her body to go. "Should we do some warm up songs first?", she asks.

Minako Aino has posed:
The lights of the arcade were always a lure to Minako among other things. The arcade itself of course was tempting, the cute boy working here was another huge reason, and of course the cafe which sold some of the best icecream milkshakes was a third. It was a trifecta of things that would ensure Minako spent a good chunk of time here when she wasn't doing other things!

Dressed for the Autumn weather she wore white leggings under an orange skirt topped of with a white blouse. Over it all was a brown and white checkered jacket that was easily as long as the skirt was on her. The tell-tale red bow was worn as well sweeping her long blonde hair out of her face as she strolls leisurely through the row of games while sipping off a milkshake in a shade of 'probably not natural' vibrant pink.

Her path naturally brings her by the DDR machine as well with it's louder music and flashy lights where she pauses to lift her free hand to wave at the familiar Amy. "Ah, Amy-chan! Here to play for awhile?" A nod is given to the unfamiliar Miho as well with a bright smile. "Hi!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "I love your look, by the way," Amy notes. "Definitely wearing that sometimes when it's a little cooler..."

    "You know, I heard the term before, but I never understood? How can it be freestyle DDR, when you still have to hit the arrows?"

    Can't it be friend and date? Amy smiles, "Word!" And holds out a hand for a fistbump. Warmup songs? "Oh yeah, definitely--"

> Ah, Amy-chan!
    Amy turns and smiles, "Hi, Minako-san! Yeah, DDR is one of a few games Miho plays, and... you're at the arcade a lot, right? Do you?" She jerks a thumb towards the DDR machines.

    And looks between them, trying to recall, "Have you met...?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho blushes a little bit. She returns the fist bump. The girl can only giggle a bit as Amy asks about freestyle DDR. "I'll give ya an intro into it.", she tells. "Let me do a solo first to show you.", she says. The girl takes a moment to nod her head to Minako. "Hello!", she says, adding a formal bow.

    "When we go out clothes shopping, I'll see about finding some cargos like this for ya.", Miho tells Amy as she finishes stretching a little bit. The girl offers a warm smile to Minako. "Are you here for the games, or the cute boy that looks a little bored?", she asks Minako. "Just asking!", she says.

    The young mahou takes in a deep breath. She leans against the bar, and then pops her back by stretching against the bar. "Amy destroys me in fighting, puzzle, strategy, RPG...Basically everything save for DDR.", she admits.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino glances to DDR with a grin at the familiar game along with the question. As if she wouldn't play that. "Of course I play! It's good practice for dancing. Though it's not really dancing-dancing. That takes more skill, but it never hurts to still get the timing in that this offers!" Surely it had nothing to do with her competitive streak.

"I don't think we've met before, no. Pleased to meet you, I'm Minako Aino."

A sip to her drink comes as she can only offer a shrug. "Both. Cute boys are just as important as games."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks. "Cargo pants are like, literally one of the very few things I'm already quite familiar with shopping fo--" but then she brightens up excitedly, "wait, is it different now? Are there like, different styles? I guess for dancing you'd need to make sure it's sized just right or you might rip the inseam... and what is the difference between pants and joggers, anyway?"

    She smiles to Minako, "I know it's not the same, but it's fun and good exercise, DDR helped me keep off the freshman fifteen-- err, um, I mean, I guess here it'd be the freshman seven, or five or so...? Kilos...?"

    She didn't even notice the cute boy. She looks around for any other patrons in sight and lowers her voice, "So which one is the cute one...?" A rare opportunity to practice this sort of talk/gossip, actually, so she takes it, curious.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho giggles a bit as she kisses Amy on the cheek, and thumbs to the boy whose working the prize counter in the back. She takes a moment to put a few coins in the machine as she set it to Dual Pad, Single player mode. She picks a few songs to go back to back. The girl sees the song starting to load up. She steps off the pad, nodding her head to the beat. "One, two. One, two. One, two, lets go!"

    The mahou leaps over the bar on the back of the machine. She goes into hip hop style dance as she plays. Its clear she knows this song very well, as she's not even looking at the screen. Its almost like a dancing performance as she hits the right arrows, on both pads. It doesn't take long before finishes her third song.

    "Freestyle. You play the game while doing real dancing. Some songs are really easy to do this with. I love Drop the Bomb and Bumble Bee.", she admits. The girl steps off the pad, and gets a bottle of water. She blushing a bit, a bit out of breath. "And the pants got to be loose enough that you don't rip them as you go into a wide dance movements.", she says.

Minako Aino has posed:
In a conspiratorial tone Minako leans in closer to Amy, not at all perturbed by the quick kiss that Miho had given her, to point out the boy in question. "That's Motoki, his sister and he run the arcade. He's such a sweet guy!" A wistful sigh comes as she describes him although she knew from experience he was completely and utterly oblivious to flirting. That didn't STOP her of course.

When Miho takes a spot on the DDR machine she moves back again to watch the other girl with a sudden keen interest as the movements occur. Her eyes flick from Miho, to the score, to the difficulty level. A clear assessing situation comes over her as she grows serious. "Mmm. Yoga pants are loose around the calf and ankle, hug around the hips and butt, and are usually a bit stretchy so you can perform stretches without the fabric showing off too much."

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy smiles, cheeks reddening in a bit, and turns to Miho, only to wonder what she's pointing at -- having forgotten what she just asked -- so she looks over, "Oh, that g--?" but the game announces DUAL PAD mode and Amy's eyes widen as she turns to watch. Dual Pad mode? Dang, Miho is clearly an expert in this game as far as Amy's concerned.

    Minako explains, and Amy nods, "I've talked with him briefly a couple of times, he seems nice... and we saw his sister in the future, wow that's weird to say out loud." She has no frame of reference and no comment as to his dateability, but notes Minako's reaction.

    She watches Miho and oh. Miho is not just someone who can play on dual pad mode she's someone who has memorized the-- what's it called again, chart that's it, Miho is someone who has memorized the chart and she's like, actually dancing and yet somehow also doing the song, how on Earth...

    "I know, they're what I'm wearing today, I meant different styles of cargo pants, but I confess I've never thought about pants in such detail of fit. Is that more fashion stuff...? I guess it's fashion and practical considerations..." but, her thoughts on that are distracted by Miho. "are you seeing this?"

    Amy holds her hands out, palms-up, to indicate Miho. "She's actually dancing. You're actually dancing?! And doing the game?!"

    Once the song finishes, she cheers: "Wow! That was a warm-up?! I... I was just gonna start with Candy at like 2 or 3 to get back into the swing of things..."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
As Miho is completing her demonstration of skill, another excited teenaged girl enters the building, complete with cat on her shoulder and a complete absence of homework. Luna isn't even nagging this time, still pleased with her for actually doing her schoolwork all summer and managing to scrape passing grades on her tests.

Usagi Tsukino takes note of her friends gathered around the DDR machine and catches the very tail end of what Miho has up her sleeves, and offers some little claps when it's over, sidling up to Minako and Amy in time to hear more discussion of fashion.

"She's really good, huh? We better not let Hinoiri-chan find out, or she'll get all competitive again."

Usagi is not offering to play, though when Miho joins the rest of them she says, "Hey, Miho-chan, Amy-chan, Minako-chan. How's it going? Is DDR the main event today?"

If so, she will happily be their cheering station, while doing absolutely none of that. Luna concurs - "If so, Usagi-chan and I will guard your snacks and bags from the side, so she doesn't concuss herself."

Miho Inada has posed:
    The Ice Mahou pants a bit as she settles against the wall. "Oh...wow...S-sorry. I got a bit carried away. I missed playing this game in public.", she admits. There's a deep blush there as she leans against the wall. She sips her water a bit as she cools off a bit. Miho kinda brushes her hair behind her ears a little bit.

    "Evening, Miss Usagi. And DDR was my escape from the shrine dances.", she admits to. Miho looks to Usagi, and back to Amy a little bit. She hipbumps Amy a little. "I've been getting back into the game as well, since you know, after school activities require me to dance a bit.", she tells.

    "Umm, whose next, and wait...Ummm, huh?!", she says. Miho stops, and stares at Luna for a second. She rubs her eyes a little bit. "Is there something in the water?", she asks. Miho looks at Amy a bit. She hasn't seen Luna yet.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino glances over without a hint of surprise when Usagi shows up! Of course it's just because she's easy going about seeing her friends suddenly pop up. "Usagi-chan! Luna-chan! Artemis is down in the you-know-where if you get lonely," she adds with a quiet aside to the feline before she just offers a side-hug to Usagi.

"I never danced like that on DDR before but I'm willing to give it a go! I bet I can manage it." Bold, confident, and yet somehow she doesn't sound like she's bragging. Yet. Maybe soon.

Miho's reaction to the talking cat causes her to glance aside to Usagi, then back again offering a brilliant, innocent smile. "Huh? What about the water? Oh you should try the milkshakes here they're really good!"

Amanda Faust has posed:
    "Usagi-chan!" Amy gives her a quick hug, "And Luna." A quick pet from head to tail. And then holds up the roll of coins in her hands and wiggles it. "That was the plan!"

    Amy giggles at the hipbump, "In public? Ooh, if you can 'freestyle' I guess it's kind of a performance, huh? Neat... well, I'll try not to put in too bad of a showing."

    Her smile fades to confusion at the question about the water. "Huh? What do you mean?"

    In the meantime, she walks up, and handles Candy on Easy decently enough. "Well, that was easy enough. Let's try..."

    Burning Heat. Medium. "Wait, wait, it's coming back to--" FAILURE.

    "One more time. I almost had it!"

    She misses a lot of steps but doesn't fail the song, barely. Afterwards she lans back against the bar, "Phew. That was... oh man, it comes back to you like riding a bike! A little more practice and I can do this!" She grins, and looks to Miho. "...You're on a whole other level, though."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi doesn't run into Miho often, but she's noticed the girl doesn't always seem to have the most stamina - that's why she glances at her in concern at the way she's clearly a bit worn out from that dance, and even more so when she mentions water. The fact that it's Luna that's provoked that reaction goes over her head, preventing her from reassuring Miho.

"I think the water's okay, but if you're not feeling well, maybe you should sit down? A break is only a break when it doesn't wear you out! Right, Minako-chan?"

Luna, who had not missed the obvious, rolls her eyes a little, stretching to butt her head up against Minako for a moment, before declaring primly, "I may just join him. I'm sure there's something interesting to observe on our systems."

Amy takes her turn as this is being discussed, and Usagi turns to watch, Luna clinging to her shoulder as she moves. "Whoa, good job Amy-chan! That's how we do it! Normie girls for the win!"

Not that Miho and Minako aren't normal, but when it comes to being 'idol-y', they're obviously on that higher level.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho just blinks a few more times as she hears Luna speak again. She stares. "Talking...Ok, I really got to get used to weirdness.", she says. The girl shakes her head a little bit as she breathes out. "I just haven't been working out as much as I used to.", she admits. Miho giggles a little bit as Usagi goes, "Normie girls for the win!"

    The ice mahou takes a moment to adjust her clothes a bit. "Go Amy! You can do it!", she says. The girl gets another bottle of water for Amy. "Think of timing as like a fighting game! You're doing a split frame counter? I think that's what its called?", she suggests. When Amy is done, Miho gives her a bottle of water.

    Miho looks at Minako a moment, and smiles a bit. "After a time or two, it feels more natural to play it like that then it does the normal way.", she offers Minako. She leans on Amy a little. "Nah, I just got more practice at it then you do. You beat the crap out of me in all other games!", she says.

    She looks at Usagi a moment. "Just...not used to talking...cats? Luna...is her name, and she is a cat, right?", she asks. Yeeeah. "Sorry. I'm trying to get out more, and getting used to things.", Miho tells.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino accepts the headbump from Luna with the grace of someone quite used to such a greeting. Of course she had Artemis too so it was something she'd long since grown accustomed to. "Right! Besides if it's just you two alooone it could be a date even," she teases back to the Mauan with a mischevious grin. After all she knew about Diana!

The remark of a date though does cause her to glance down at her watch quickly though with a soft 'oh right'. "I'm supposed to help mom put together an outfit for her date with dad tonight. I should get going!"

Valiantly she cracks open the top of her milkshake to just pour the contents directly into her mouth rather than let it go to waste! She wasn't about to run around town with a milkshake in hand. "Mmph! Brainfreeze! GAH. Okay it was great seeing you all I'll catch up with you later bye!"

With that she rushes off.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy giggles a bit as she realizes Miho hadn't seen Luna before, and smiles at the cheering, determined to do well.looks shocked at being declared a 'normie'. "I-I-I'm not, I... I just haven't played this game in awhile!" She blinks. "Wait, but you're a gamer too..."

    She stretches and looks to Miho, "I... huh. I hadn't thought of it as a fighting game, it's more... recognizing patterns and how to do them when they come uip... was how I was doing it, anyway. Ah! I see! If you know which dance moves do which patterns..." She drinks the bottle of water, and smiles, putting an arm around Miho.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Talking? ...oh! You meant about Luna?" She laughs a little, not meanly, but well, it's been a while since Luna surprised someone! Luna herself baps Usagi with a paw, rolling her eyes. "Of course she meant me. Inada-san, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Luna, Usagi-chan's advisor."

Her voice is a bit girlish - not overly young, but certainly enough to peg her as one of Usagi, Amy, and Minako's age group, an older teen, but still very much a youth at heart. She's a black cat with all the dignity in the world and wine-red eyes, almost as unusual as her talking is.

"And while I am technically a cat, my species is known as Mau."

Unfortunately, all her dignity evaporates when Minako teases her about a date, and she puffs up like a cottonball, hissing, "Minako-chan!" as Usagi bursts into cackling giggles, not caring even a little bit for the paws that lash out to bat against her skull in punishment.

"Obviously I'm a gamer," she says when Amy rejoins them, "But compared to people like Miho, Minako, and Hinoiri, we're just not on that level, you know? So you going up there is great!"

Victory for normal skill kind!

Her eyes quickly go to the arm around Miho's waist, and despite wanting to be as pokey-proddy-tease-y as Minako is, she instead asks as casually as she can, "Did you two want to hang out together?"

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho smiles a bit as Amy catches on a bit. "Yeah. That's how I was able to dual pad without looking at the screen. I've done those songs for so long that I can hear the beat. I know which dance move to use with the song.", she says. "So...It's a bit choregraphed. It just flows out when I get into it like you do with other games.", she admits to Amy a bit.

    The girl looks at Luna a bit, and bows. "It is a pleasure to meet you.", she says. The girl extends her hand, palm up. "S-sorry if this is insulting.", she says, seeing if Luna sniffs her hand. She takes a deep breath as she watches the cat.

    She watches Luna go to town on Usagi's head, causing her to giggle a bit. Then Amy wraps her arm around her waist. She blushes a bit, and leans over a little bit on Amy before wrapping her arm around. "Sure! Amy's helping me come out of my shell a bit. And I've promised Mamoru that I would help out a bit more. I'm still nervous about using my...gifts on others though.", she says, blushing a little bit.

    "Anyways, I'm up for it if Amy is. Whatcha got in mind?", Miho asks. She offers a smile as she seems to relax a bit more.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy blinks at Luna hissing. "Ah... you don't like Artemis that way?" She blinks at Usagi discussing tiers of gamer. "Ah... Minako is that goo-- wait, Hinoiri got that good at videogames?!" She blinks. "Well, guess there's no reason why not. Dang, good for her. And I didn't realize how--" She starts to turn to compliment Minako's skill, but she's gone. "--good she was. I'll have to play her in Virtual On... think she'll kick my ass?"

    Amy turns back to Usagi and smiles, "Yeah, sure! It's been too long since we hung out."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Luna sniffs Miho's hand, seeing no reason not to, and says, "It's not offensive; I'm not a human, and don't need to be treated entirely like one." She's really not bothered!

...BY THAT, ANYWAY. With the hissing, she's clearly bothered by something -

"She just doesn't like being teased," Usagi answers for Luna, clamping a hand over her mouth so she cuts it out. "You can claw Minako up later, I promise! Don't go scaring Miho-chan."

Luna huffs but subsides, and Usagi runs her words back, realizes what it sounds like, and well - she did get her answer anyway, right?

"Yeah! I'd love to hang. If Mamochan told you to help out more, it's a good idea," this to Miho, before she answers for Amy, "And Hinoiri-chan's really good depending on the game. She got all obsessive and hyperfocused and tried to be the best at everything so she's got a good base. She can't beat me at the games I'm top in, but she's a good challenge!"

And then, "You know, I heard you talking to Minako-chan about fashion earlier, and it made me remember how surprised I am I never really introduced you to my Papa. I mean, you met him, at New Years, but, like, really introduced, you know? He knows all about fashion, for work."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho and Amy are leaning against each other, talking to Usagi by the DDR game. The young mahou takes a deep breath as she watches Usagi attempt to calm the wild Luna down a bit. The young mahou settles in a bit as she nods her head. Miho is in some very loose cargos with suspenders, and a tight fitting black short t-shirt. She seems to be relaxed a bit.

    "My money is on Amy beating her though. But I suck at knowing much at any other game but the dancing games. And the occasional otome games.", she blushes a little.

    "Any plans? Or just kinda float around here, challenging each other in games?", she asks. The girl thinks about what Usagi had said. "Oh! Do you think he can get some Psycho Bunny stuff at a slightly cheaper price? They got some good stuff, but its all men's stuff. I love the bunny roger motif! And we were talking about how some clothes are better for things. Like this is good for my hip hop and club style dance moves!", she says.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy takes a long sip of water. "...Ahh!" And shrugs to Miho. "Hard to say. I've heard the Japanese VO masters are experts in close combat, which I don't have any real practice in countering. I mean, you have to block and counterattack yeah, but it's all timing. She might run circles around me."

    Beat.

    "...Right so in the original Virtual On, there was this thing where if you jerk the sticks to the side as you attack just right, on your screen you just attack normally, but on your opponent's screen you circle around them, which... I forget. Probably throws off the lock-on or animation timing or something? I've never played against someone who actually knew shit like that. Whatever tactics the competitive scene has developed for Force, I've probably never even heard of..."

    She smiles. "They'll probably pick it up quickly, honestly! It's true, I'm not... well, I wouldn't say normie, but I'm that old Onion headline: 'Tragedy: Local man too good at fighting games to play with any of his friends, not good enough to play competitively."

    Amy explains, "I tend to fall into patterns since I can't think through inputting the commands that fast while making decisions... although years of fighting for real may have helped a bit, hoo boy. So when I play that kind of game against someone unskilled, they struggle to land a hit because my practiced reaction is too fast -- but a skilled player can see I'm going to do it and bait me into it, then punish me."

    "I'm surprised youmas and dark generals haven't used this more. Get me to dive or rocket jump then follow up before I can move again... although now I've gotten pretty good at midair stuff, so jumping doesn't leave me as wide-open as it did at the start."

    Amy blinks as Usagi's papa comes up. "Oh! Right, you did say he was the family black sheep 'cuz of the fashion thing..." Amy thinks about this. "Uh, wow... d'you think I'd really know enough about fashion to uh, not waste his time? I mean... I am just learning what I think looks good, but like..."

    Amy waves her arms vaguely. "I don't even know what there is to know. What, like, the fashion equivalent of knowing about circle-attacks is."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Maybe," Usagi considers. "I mean, there's gotta be games that Amy-chan's tops at that Hinoiri-chan's only explored a bit of; there's way too many games otherwise, you know?"

Amy explains about her personal theory of fighting-game-strategy-struggle, which makes plenty of sense to Usagi - of course someone who's better than casual but not good at actively planning and strategizing in the moment would hit a glass ceiling!

"Honestly, that sounds about right! But I bet you are better now, because you've learned to be more flexible! You should give it a shot!"

Encouragement, yeah! Come on, find that passion!

"It's good to keep up a hobby, you know, a kind of active one, and since I'm not going running with Naru-chan and Kazuo-kun, I like focusing in on my gaming." Sure, gaming isn't the most active thing in the world, but it's more active than reading manga or watching reality TV all day!

And then... she pauses, blinking at Miho in shock, probably at her casual audacity. "Uh... ahaha, you know, usually people wait until we're better friends to ask if they can score a sale off my Papa? He gets a lot of samples for free, sometimes, with the people he works with."

Her reprimand - and it is a bit of a reprimand - is soft, and she easily flows into a warmer topic, "Papa's been in magazine editing for ages, and he loves fashion. There's not a lot of people who aren't designers or stylists who can keep up with him on that, but he likes talking to people, still! Especially people trying to find their style. Especially people he thinks could influence me to quit our cold war of style. He'd probably enjoy talking to you sometime."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho isn't quite used to certain things. It shows from time to time. This is one of those times where she blinks a few times. She pauses a moment. "Oh crap. Sorry! Sorry! Just used to things back home where people came by, and offered stuff to Dad, and he gave it to students!", she tells. The girl blushes horribly. "They would wear it out in public, and...Oh, right...Sponsorships...", she says. The girl squeaks a bit. "Dad was a Professional fighter.", she explains.

    She takes a deep breath. "I'm getting used to how much a lot of my stuff costs now that I'm away from Kyoto. Back there, I usually hung around with a lot of the families back there. I didn't mean to offend.", she goes.

    Miho sighs a little bit. "I have my dad's gift of putting kicking myself in the mouth.", she explains. Miho starts to fidget with her prayer beads bracelet.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy beams a little at Usagi betting she's better now! And she nods about hobbies. "I don't wanna just read manga, something I want a bit more like... mentally active? Or physically active. I... If I didn't have to do magic stuff, as crazy as it sounds, I might have tried for a sport? Basketball or volleyball maybe..." She blinks. "Wait, I'm short. Well, there's tennis, and football."

    She didn't fully process the implications of what Miho said while she was thinking, and she starts to give Miho an awkward look, but she explains, she was thinking in terms of what her dad does.

    Amy gives her a squeeze with one arm and then pats her shoulder. "I usedta put my foot in my mouth all the time. People here are... better, about giving you a chance to explain and actually listening."

    The redhead looks back to Usagi. "Well... I do like talking to people. If he wants, I'd be happy to try!" She smiles.

    And then looks confused about something. "But, what do you mean cold war of style? Does he not like how you dress? Because uh... every one of your outfits has looked pretty good to me! I uh, wonder if I could pull some of them off, but I don't want to copy you, you know?"

    "Also, Miho's outfit today is definitely a style I like too. Although, speaking of fashion:" She turns to Miho and looks at her pants, "What are the hanging straps for?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"You know, Minako-chan's a really good volleyball player, so being short doesn't get in the way that much. Now... if you're not very coordinated, on the other hand..." Like a certain bunny...

The good thing for Miho is that on Usagi's end she hadn't actually been all that upset - in fact, while she'd been slightly offended, she was also pretty impressed by the sheer bold audacity of how transactional Miho had been for a moment there, leaping for personal benefit the second she could. The explanation isn't... good, but the quick apology and obvious regret is plenty to help.

"It's fine, but maybe think about how things sound a little more next time," she say, waving it off, "I mean, I can see why your dad got sponsorships, but when my Papa gets gifts they're usually - well, haha, they're definitely because brands want to make better deals and try to bribe him... but it's also usually thanks from the photoshoots he organizes and lets through, and for the articles that get spotlighted. So you know, it's all relationships, not just like, handing stuff out."

She hasn't actually said what her dad does, so she takes the moment to say, "He's the editor at Popeye."

Popeye Magazine is one of the biggest fashion magazines in Japan, and her dad being editor-in-chief is no small accomplishment.

"And that's why we're in a cold war," she laughs, nodding to Amy, "My style is good, but we got into it a little - jokingly! - when I was twelve, because I was always dressed up from stuff from brand deals and gifts from the fashion houses he worked with, so I decided to get 90s about it, and it broke his fashionisto heart. The fact that I kept up with it made him finally understand how disappointed grandpa was when he didn't go into law."

From someone else, this would be a sad story - from her, she's clearly amused.

"And don't worry about copying me, I don't mind at all! You'd probably like different color palettes anyway!"

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho blinks for a long moment. A very long moment. Yup, she just had to offend the daughter of the Editor in Chief of Popeye. She stares for a long moment. "Why do I feel like I just insulted a Gracie to their face?", she comments. The girl takes a long breathe, and does shrink a little bit. "Also, Amy, the straps...Well, its for flare, and for flirting a little bit. Its based on how I decide to wear the pants.", she tells.

    Miho coughs a little bit. "I can let my pants be super baggy, and put the straps up. That way my pants can ride low.", she explains. "Basically flirty low without them falling off. Or I can let them hang as part of the style.", she tells. Miho shakes her head a little bit. "And maybe next time there's a major music festival around, I can show you the other reason for them. There's a lot of dance movements that are kinda heavy on clothing.", she explains a bit.

    For the most part, Miho spends a bit of time, cheering Amy on in games after that.

Amanda Faust has posed:
    Amy has never opened a Popeye magazine in her life. But she's probably ignored it on magazine racks and heard the name as that of some hoity-toity fashion magazine. "Oh. ....He's the editor? Oh. So a big deal?"

    She does laugh at the way Usagi tells it, at 'now he understood how disappointed grandpa was', but pouts slightly at the implied dig at 90s fashion. Is this how Taro feels, sometimes? "Hey, being old doesn't make it bad fashion! People are drawing inspiration from the old when they make the new all the time, even I know that! And, and for you it's unique, right? Sets you apart from what everybody else is wearing. It's not like you're copying exact outfits out of old fashion magazines. Aren't you innovating and being cool in your own way?"

    Her own pallete. Amy nods. "I-I mean... uh... colors and black and white and some pastels maybe...? I-I dunno I didn't really try those for daily wear... But like, accessories like my jacket and flannels'd be fine too..." She looks away, rubbing her head. "I um... maybe tried to do some very basic research on this... O-obviously, my favorite colors are red and black and green." She looks back to Usagi, "...But I thought red and white was the main scheme to go with for the magical girl outfit, you know?"

    Miho explains the straps. "Ohhhh, they're suspenders? That's... a look..." Amy stares into space tries to imagine what Miho describes. "Ohhh, I see. Huh."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"No idea what a Gracie is," she admits to Miho with a laugh, wondering if that was meant to be an inside-thought. "But I mean, it wasn't an insult? Just a little foot in mouth, and we're all going past it, yeah?"

Amy is asking outright if her dad's a bigwig, and Usagi shrugs, "A bit, yeah. Big-wig enough to get invited to Princess D's party outright, back then."

And that had been a party with legitimate royalty and celebrities, a pretty big deal. Sure, he'd been working the event, but he'd been invited to do so for a reason.

"That makes sense - multi-purpose clothes are fun! I've never really been good with those, but I like the styles I manage," like her current outfit, a favorite eye-bleedingly pink and orange combo that clashed in a way that.. surprisingly sort of worked. Maybe it's the fact that she's wearing one such outfit that makes her giggle at Amy's dismay over her 90s style being treated as bad.

"90s isn't inherently bad, even if it is out of date by like, thirty years, but I definitely pick clothes that work in spite of themselves, not because of them. It's something that makes Papa sigh into his coffee."

And she's definitely not insulting her style. She enjoys it, and has for years - it's no longer just about winding up dear papa.

"Starting with colors you like is great! And then, some complimentary colors, and figuring out the fabrics and cuts and stuff, like, do you like short skirts, long skirts, no skirts, that kind of deal. What you like to do in clothes matters, too. It's not really about like, body types or anything the way people think, it's all about attitude and what you want people to know about you."

It's a conversation that can - and does - stretch for a while, as they play games and enjoy snacks at the arcade.