A piece of the action

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	Ivan Karelin (FoB) @ikarelin_hana
Vista City is a crazy town and Vista City never sleeps at night #dayoftheninja
05 Dec

[ What's this? Ivan's not writing in haiku on his Twitter? What could it mean? Taking a page out of Doctor's book, solving the puzzle will lead people to a new Flowers Over Bones single titled "Vista City" on their favorite music service. For a limited time, it's at a reduced price because "It's the Day of the Ninja." That's really the reason given, but the truth is... it's Ivan's birthday. This is his way of giving back to the fans. ]

[[ OOC: Original song and translation here. Headache prevented me from rewriting the whole song, but it's about surviving life in the city and liking it to being a ninja on various missions.

Vista City is a crazy town
And Vista City never sleeps at night

In this layered city underneath the stars
The masses all sleep and dream of going far
The suits hold their talks and deals in the bars
They pick and they choose
Who will win, who will lose

Step to the stage and worries abandon
Sing with your heart, don't even slow down
Sneak to the rooftops and to the other side
If you get caught, there's nowhere to hide
Don't go yet, we're going all night
Grab your sticks and bow and all right
Got my bachi right here and ready to write
Get in my way and there'll be a band fight ]]

Comments

[i_am_not_cute]

[HEY. HEY NINJA BRO. WERE YOU DOING SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN YOUR ROOM.

'CAUSE PAO-LIN JUST CAME IN SINGING THE MAIN HOOK OF HIS NEW SONG, HOLDING A PLATE OF SPECIAL COOKIES SHE BOUGHT JUST FOR YOU.]

Ivan's birthday is a crazy day, and Ivan Karelin is never gonna sleep tonight~

[ -- not because of anything naughty, you gutter-minded folk. She means because of all the sugar from these cookies. Just look at them.]

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[ And nightmares. Don't forget his nightmares.

But sugar is a much better reason to be up all night. ]

Who are you, and what have you done with Pao-Lin?

[ Usually he's the one bringing food to her, not the other way around. He gets food? Ivan sticks an origami into his book and closes it to place on his nightstand. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[What, is he sleeping on a pillow box even in this 'verse --

Pao-Lin pouts playfully at him.]

Pao-Lin is right here, bringing you your birthday gift! Buuuut if you don't want it...

[Act quick, before she inhales the cookies like Kirby.]

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[ More like being beaten up by Jake and Kriem and Mad Bears and being shot at by Lunatic, though not fully remembering it yet. ]

Now that seems a little more like the Pao-Lin I know. I do want some!

[ However, he fully intends to share these with her. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin giggles and holds out the wrapped tray of cookies out with both hands.]

Happy birthday, Ivan. You're an old man now!

[Rude, Pao-Lin, at least wait until he's shapeshifted into one -- ]

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Nineteen's not old...

[ And technically, he's not even that because he had just turned when he was taken, so he's around 18.5 really. ]

Did you make these?

[i_am_not_cute]

Nah. I wish! I found them in one those little Asian bakeries and thought you'd like them. I haven't tried them yet, but everything else I've had from the bakery is great!

[But Pao-Lin likes practically anything she eats, so...]

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They're cute.

[ He unwraps the tray and places it on his bed. Then he proceeds to pull out his cell phone and take a picture of them. Gotta have photos of these. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

Make sure you say they're from Chiu Quon Bakery if you're gonna post that picture somewhere.

[They're a great place, so Pao-Lin wants to make sure they get good business.]

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I was thinking about just keeping it for memory's sake... but if they are as good as you say they are, maybe I could put this on my blog.

[ Pao-Lin would know good food, and he trusts her judgement. It would give the bakery a little boost. (He doesn't have a crazy amount of followers like some of the others rising higher with fame.) ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[She sits down on his bed.]

If you won't, then I'll post it on mine! [Of course her blog is filled with food porn. Also fashion porn, but that's not relevant to this conversation. OR IS IT]

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It could still fit the aesthetic of my blog. They are flowers, and it is a special occasion...

[ He is seriously debating on how this would work for his image or not. He slowly started introducing origami flowers to his blog and expanded it to origami in general, but that was more strategic. This would be more plopping it down and being a stand alone photo.

Ivan, no. That is going too far away from the true meaning of the cookies. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

Too bad your birthday isn't close to Halloween. Otherwise we could have flower cookies over bone cookies!

[why this. why these two.]

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[ Cookies in bone shapes other times of the years are usually meant for dogs. Finally Ivan pops a sakura cookie into his mouth and smiles. But a strange thought comes to him. ]

... Don't we know someone who has a birthday on Halloween?

[i_am_not_cute]

Huh? I don't think --

["So we were the only ones who didn't know about his birthday..."

"It's not our fault. We had our hands full yesterday."



Pao-Lin blinks hard. What was that just now?]

Ivan...

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[ He hears similar words in his head along with the image of... a large pink rabbit plush. Is he going to have more plushie related nightmares? Bears and bunnies?

Thankfully, he doesn't seem to see more than that, and the bunny plush doesn't do more than sit on the bench. ... yet ]

He got a stuffed bunny as a gift, didn't he? A pink one?

[i_am_not_cute]

[She sees the bunny plush as clearly as anything right in front of her, for just a moment: a simplified floppy thing with blue details against the pink. It's a very cute thing, but not something she expected the recipient to like. And besides that...]

Yeah, but...who is he? I think I would have remembered if someone had a birthday on a holiday...

[The answer evades her no matter how hard she tries to chase it down, swift and loping and disappearing from her sight.]

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... I thought he was someone from my music academy...

[ Could he have introduced someone like that to Pao-Lin? Probably, but... did he even have any friends in that music academy? The idea doesn't sound right, doesn't sound wrong. It's frustrating when he has thoughts like this. ]

I'm probably not the person to ask. I've had memory problems ever since I got possessed.

[i_am_not_cute]

[But how could this person be from Ivan's music academy if both he and Pao-Lin know them? Ivan hasn't talked much about his academy days, and Pao-Lin is sure she would have remembered such a distinctive birthday.

At the mention of the possession incident, Pao-Lin frowns a little more in concern.]

Have your memory problems been getting worse...?

[Not much too bad has happened to her personally, but she has heard things from acquaintances, seen them in her bandfamily. She tries not to think about it too much but the dread of her being the next victim does weigh on her mind.]

Read: Stern Bild City is a crazy Town and Stern Bild City never sleeps at night

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It's hard to tell. I mean, I feel like I'm remembering random things but not remembering others. A few times writing my new song, I had a feeling like I was writing the wrong name down.

[ But he couldn't think of what else he'd write instead. It was the strangest feeling of deja vu ever. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

You know, now that you mention it...I kinda feel like I've seen Vista City before. Or, I mean, I have seen it before, like in books and stuff. But...

[The tiers of Vista City invoke strange waves of familiarity that Pao-Lin can't place. She has never traveled outside of her hometown until she got signed to Virgo Entertainment, but when she walks the streets of Vista she feels like there are things that are missing in the city.]

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Yeah... I can't really explain it. I've just been chalking it up to my memory problems.

[ He wonders if he saw a movie that used Vista City as a backdrop but digitally added other features to make it seem different. Or maybe a video game set in the area but in a different time. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Memory problems...

Pao-Lin rests her fingers lightly on the edge of the cookie plate. Her next words are whispered.]

Ivan...do you know anyone named Mr. Tiger or Barnaby? Or [what was the other name in that vision she saw] a "Blue Rose"?

[She hasn't really spoken about what she saw (remembered?) that night in the basements, mainly because she hadn't thought too much about it. Something tells her that it's not important, that there are other things she should be focusing on, and because Pao-Lin wants to be a productive member of the band, she pushes those thoughts aside.

But the fact that both she and Ivan seem to know the same person...does he know who any of these other three are?]

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[ The only name he is sure of right now is Edward's. However, he has seen both Wild Tiger and Barnaby on their Double Chaser... though he can't connect the names to their appearances. ]

Not really... and I guess you don't mean the Tiger from System Crash.

[i_am_not_cute]

[Shakes her head.]

No. [A small laugh.] He's not old enough to be a "Mr."

[It's no big deal, something inside her insists. Don't think too much about it...]