1755/Liked and Subscribed

Liked and Subscribed
Date of Scene:	15 July 2024
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Hinoiri and Double Trouble spend time together, now that Hinoiri is out of the hospital. Also: Hinoiri finds out she did launch her channel, after all.
Cast of Characters:	Double Trouble, Hinoiri Kirara

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Double Trouble has posed:
    Since Hinoiri got out of the hospital--something Double Trouble worked very hard to make sure happened--the two roommates have seen a lot less of one another than their usual. Double Trouble still has work, but now, work isn't helping Hinoiri any more. They've been juggling their work with Obsidian, Dianora's classes at Radiant Heart, and trying to spend quality time with their also busy--and unfortnunately now good--girlfriend.

    Today was a weekend day. Double Trouble and Hinoiri had both had things to do in the morning, but the chameleon got back to the room in the early afternoon and has been watching Mexican telenovelas on their tablet while eating pocky on their bed ever since.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had, admtitedly... been feeling like more of a drain as of late. Not drained. Like a drain. Like all she did was.... cause problems. It came about as an effect of not having power, not having a home, the stress of having to ask other people to constantly save her...

And not having money.

She was trying to find ways to keep herself busy... but she had, admittedly, been avoiding her girlfriend. Jsut a bit. so when she got home, she stopped outside the door for a minute. She could hear the telenovellas inside... And once again she had that gnawing fear in the back of her mind.

'Am I boring now?'

Double Trouble kept trying to keep her safe, but a part of her worried... it was just obligation. Not care anymore. What did Hinoiri have to offer them? Offer anyone?

But, well, she had to try eventually. She knocked on it once, alerting Double Trouble she was coming in. Well, knocked twice. A quick double rap, so they'd know she was alone.

She then pushed the door open, stepping inside. "Heyyyy," Hinoiri said, sliding the door closed behind herself and, slowly, walking over to sit by her.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Double Trouble has posed:
    They'd worked out the knocks so that Double Trouble could comfortably be themself in their room, and could change into Dianora when needed. Of course, it wasn't the most complicated system. Somebody else could easily fool them. But nobody had ever tried. Nobody knew they were there to be fooled. Dianora was Hinoiri's roommate.

    Double Trouble tapped their screen to pause their video and looked over their shoulder as Hinoiri stepped into the room. She walked over and sat down next to them, and they draped themself all over her. An arm around her shoulder, a tail around her waist, their ankle over hers. They missed her. "Oh yes. The best thing just happened," they say with a grin. "You got here."

    Then they turn back to the tablet, and press play, "Isabella just learned how Diego's family wronged her parents when she was just a baby. They'll never let her get married!"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara made a small smile when Double Trouble... well. For lack of a better word, acted like a spoiled, attention hungry puppy on her. Lounging all over her. "Really? I don't even come with tidings of drama. It's just me today," she said with a light chuckle, before leaning against her.

"...So ummmm... The whole... rose thing happened the other day. And there's.... obviously *something* going on. Are you a part of it, or does it not involve you? Should I be concerned?"

Her hand slowly inched out and, gently, stroked down their back.

"And gasp! How can their parents stand in the way of true love like that? So cruel, so vicious!" she said, putting up her best 'shock' look.

Double Trouble has posed:
    "I know right? Isabella and Diego just want to go off and teach people how to farm sustainably, but her parents put up obstacle after obstacle. It's so infuriatingly awesome," Double Trouble says, squeezing Hinoiri and leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. The girl on the screen is sobbing in broken Spanish. There aren't any subtitles. Did Double Trouble learn Spanish just to watch telenovelas? Yes they did.

    But then Hinoiri asks about the other day, and Double Trouble hits pause again. They set the tablet aside, and turn onto their hip and throw their leg across Hinoiri's, their hand resting on her chest, the heel of their palm between her collarbones. "It absolutely does not involve me," they say, rather firmly. "It doesn't involve any of us. It's a huge problem. Beryl's gone completely off the rails."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort. "Really? Shouldn't they just have the... wait, no, they don't have that here. Rude. I guess some parents are just pretty controlling, huh? Poor girl."

She then cocked an eye and snorted at the over dramatic theyfriend she had. Even if she was feeling down on herself... it was hard not to feel a little joy when their girlfriend behaved like this.

"Really, has she now? So does this mean that all the assassins will be going after her instead of me? Cause they're really.... actually, they're pretty inefficient. Aside from when they weren't. But I don't think Chaar was an assassination attempt so much as just... pissed off at me," she said sheepishly. "I... really... shouldn't have taken an interest in her... in any of them... really. The more I tried to help them, the more it seems to have made them hate me."

Double Trouble has posed:
    "We can all hope," Double Trouble says. "I managed to stop the one, but I'm only one chameleon, and you've always been so punchable." Is this the first time they even mentioned that they stopped an assassination attempt? Well, yes, yes it is. Of course they held onto that juicy tidbit to drop into conversation weeks later. That's just the kind of drama queen they are.

    "Though I have no idea who they'd send after Beryl. Probably just leave her out in the cold and get out of the way when Sailor Moon and her friends show up to stop her," Double Trouble says. And then shrugs. "But that's just what I would do. Really, it's the only play that follows the narrative formula."

    They lift their hand up to brush some of Hinoiri's hair out of her face and then cup her cheek with their palm. "You've always been too good for them, Hinoiri, darling. Literally. Even when you were playing at being evil, you were trying to be helpful. That's unexpected on our side." Double trouble smirks, thinking of how long it took them to trust one another, and then goes on. "I imagine your going good feels like more of a betrayal to some of those folks."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, then sighed. "I'm.... I can't even be surprised. I wonder how many assassination attempts between you and my other colleagues who like me have stopped before I was even aware of them. And no, don't tell me. I imagine it's better for you to just hold it for later arguments," she said in a teasing tone.

"... Well, unless you'd rather brag about it. As for Beryl... yeah. I imagine the sparkles are already amping up for a strike..." Once again, her mind wavered to a... recent message she received from Rashmi. And another bit of guilt.

"... I just... I wanted to prove I was good enough. Beating them with a handicap wouldn't be enough... But now, I guess... Well... now I don't even know... But yeah. I... wasn't going to join the sparkles, either. I learned a lot from Obsidian and was planning to take all the trade secrets... there. Leave them behind."

"... But then Obsidian double crossed me and now I've managed to learn a very 'buck 'em' mentality. There's really not much point to keep the secrets I learned from Obsidian from the sparkles when they stole back all the pay I'd earned helping them uncover those secrets, is there?"

"... I don't think I'm good, though..."

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble had always imagined that when Hinoiri inevitably went good, they'd be there to pull her back to the dark side. But now that she's finally free of Obsidian and has put down the dark energy, they just don't have the heart to try and claw her back. Even as bad as it's been, and as much time as she's spent in the hospital, she still seems more herself. She doesn't know who that is just yet, but at least she's faking less. Double Trouble loves her too much to do anything other than support that.

    They pat Hinoiri's cheek and then lean in to kiss her forehead. "You're cute, did you know that?" Their arm slides past her neck and they slide down to nestle their nose into her neck, their head resting on her shoulder. "And it's adorable that you still don't think you're good. You and I both know that you won't give up until you figure out magic for yourself again. It can't be the dark kind, because we know where that takes you, so the only option left is the good kind. The sooner you can accept that deep down in your heart you're good, the easier that's gonna be."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort. "I'm cute? Really? Honestly, at this point I'd have figured you'd think of me as more 'boring' than 'cute'. Am I your little pet now?" she asked in a teasing tone. "Double Trouble's trained unicorn?"

Still, she grinned and, slowly, a hand moved up to stroke the back of her head. "Well... I mean... there's purifying... good magic, which... I doubt I qualify for. You need to be a good person for that. And well... I've run tests on Loyalty, while I managed to teach her a bit of Kirakirafantastica magic... it really didn't respond to me in the slightest like it did her. But... Takashi has... suggested some things he might be able to help me with. Ways to use magic without dark energy."

She gave a soft, gentle sigh. "I... admittedly... after... Chaar... I don't... I don't think I could ever be Sunbreaker again. The idea of hurting someone like that... of making them feel that way... it... it scares me..."

Double Trouble has posed:
    "You made mistakes, Hinoiri, my love. That doesn't mean you're not a good person," Double Trouble said, nuzzling their nose in just a little more before just completely melting into her. "Even good people make mistakes. The difference is in how you go about making up for it later. And look at you taking accountability and trying to grow and learn from your mistakes. Villains don't do that." Aren't they a villain?

    "And of course you wouldn't be Sunbreaker. She was always just a product of your trauma, darling. When you figure out how you sparkle, it'll be something else. Love and friendship does not burn like your fires used to."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times before giving a very light, amused snicker. She then leaned up and placed a kiss against her scaly lips. "Mmmmm. They don't, do they? And you know, I thought you were supposed to be one of the 'bad guys' too? Or are you just there because the drama is..." Pause.

Rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you're entirely with them for the drama. So, now that I'm no longer lighting myself on fire, how many people over there still keep you entertained? And you know... some people might argue that 'blowing up the sun' is a bit more than a mistake."

Double Trouble has posed:
    Double Trouble's eyes closed and they just lingered in that kiss for the few heartbeats before Hinoiri spoke. Then their eyes opened, twice because they have two sets of eyelids. They looked at her and grinned. "Well, with you gone, I think I'm gonna have to stir up my own drama. But I've been recharging. Besides, keeping track of what Beryl's been up to has kept me pretty busy." Because Beryl went and got busy being a ruthless villain, as expected.

    Their lip pulls back to show their sharp teeth in that grin, and they say, "But if I start stirring up drama, it might hurt your friends." They lean in to kiss her again, and then murmur, "How are you going to feel about that, darling?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "Annoyed. Especially if you get stabbed again. I mean... you were with me. You should know as well as I do that Obsidian can't win this battle. No matter how many schemes they have... more magical girls will keep popping up. As long as their goal is world domination or destruction, rather than bettering themselves? They'll fall on their faces."

"... I just don't want you getting hurt, Dee. You... you're... special to me..." Hinoiri mumbled, her face going a little redder. "And... I think... I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I... I don't want to see you like that ever again. Especially not now, when I can't protect you..."

Double Trouble has posed:
    "Yes, well, I learned my lesson from that crushing defeat," Double Trouble says, because they weren't stabbed, they were very nearly completely flattened. "Besides. Now that you've gone good, I can't draw that kind of aggro pretending to be you. The subtle drama is way more fun, anyway. You should have seen how easy it was to mess with Adora and Glimmer and their friends back in Etheria. They all trust each other." They snort. "Well, they did then at least. Now they know who I am, so I expect they're a little smarter."

    They lift their head up and gaze into Hinoiri's eyes, brushing their fingertips along her cheekbone. Right along that deepening blush. "Don't worry. You won't lose me. You're stuck with me forever, Hinoiri Kirara. I'm your consort." They say, and then they giggle as they melt back into snuggling her, nose nuzzling into her neck again.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snicker, shaking her head. "Please, be subtle but not dead, okay? I really do like you. There's not exactly a lot... well... any chameleons like you where I'm from," she said, in a teasing tone. "And certainly none here. And... I've never been good with trust, honestly." Then blinked as she caught the irony in that statement.

She did cringe when Double Trouble called themselves their consort. "You... know you mean the world to me... but... I don't... think... I'll ever have a role that holds a consort. I'm... not destined to be a sovereign of anything, you know that right?"

Double Trouble has posed:
    "Unlike some people I know, darling, I don't have a death wish. Don't worry," Double Trouble says with a laugh. Their hand lifting up to wave the idea of them dying away. Then they lay it back down on Hinoiri's shoulder as they snuggle in more. "Consort's just another word for a ruler's spouse, and I think you can still have one of those. So I guess that makes me your fiance then."

    They give a happy sigh. "It's gonna be so good. We should start posting romantic stuff to your channel. You know they'll eat that up. How many likes have you gotten on that first video you posted?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snicker. "Oh? I guess we could be the... I don't even know how many people's now engaged. You know, I think people get engaged as kids more often here than they did back home. But... I doubt I'm going to be a ruler of anything, you know... unless you mean the spouse. I could... have one of those..."

She gave Double Trouble a tight, affectionate squeeze. "Thank you... for everything. And I doubt I've gotten any. I mean... I never even posted it? I spent so much time editing it but, well.... in the end? I don't think anyone would ever care to watch something like that. I was ridiculous."

Double Trouble has posed:
    "What do you mean you never posted it?" They reach behind them to grab their tablet and then unwrap their tail just enough to form a little tablet stand with it above Hinoiri's lap. A couple taps on the screen and there it is. Hinoiri's Let's Play, and it was posted days ago. The same day she made it. However many likes it has, it's definitely more than one. DT liked and subscribed. DT hits play and lets Hinoiri see the glory of her own performance.

    "Have you watched the other content creators in this space? You're supposed to be ridiculous, darling," they say. "You were brilliant."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times. She blinked. And blinked.

And then blinked a few more times.

"W-what?" she asked, giving a soft little squeak. "I was... what? I never posted this. I never-- o-oh buck. Nobody *here* has seen it, right? I should take it down. How do you delete things from the internet?! If Takashi sees this he will *never* let me live it down. Oh buck what is USAGI sees this?!"

And her face... couldn't get much redder. "Can you die from embarrassment?"

However, she did... read some of the comments. "Oh... huh. That's... not so bad. It-- GAH! Okay, SOME of it isn't so bad. And... I think I'm safe. I don't think anyone we know saw it."

Yet.

Double Trouble has posed:
    "Why would you want to take this down?" Double Trouble asked with sincere disbelief. "You were brilliant! Don't read the comments. Never read the comments. Not on your own content, just on other people's, and only so you know that the comments are always full of blowhards who have no taste. Besides, nobody is perfect on their first video. Half the fun of finding a new creator is watching them learn their craft."

    Everyone would see it soon enough. The internet was forever. Double Trouble already knew this. They were an insatiable consumer of media. Hinoiri? Well, she had things to learn. "Besides, you need to figure out a thing now that your thing isn't blowing up the sun. I say you should lean into the channel. You're a natural."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara opened her mouth to object, then she sighed. "You... really think I was brilliant?" she asked, scrolling back up, out of the comments. Finally, she sighed. "Yeah. I guess... yeah. Besides, it's not like... many people will see this, anyway. It's just my first video... and it was kind of fun. Heh."

She relaxed after a minute. It wasn't like anyone she knew would see it. So... it was fine. It had even been fun to make, too. So there was no need for her to worry that much about it...

She then tapped on the tablet and.... "Come on, let's watch more of Isabella and Diego's adventures." Ohhhh, she was listening!