Scene #2464: Emi's DMs Are Not Ok, or 'Twenty Seven Messages But Only One Question'.

Owner	Pose
Emi Hoshino	Emi had been napping. But Emi is never just napping, now is she? One disadvantage to being a dreamer of their proficiency is that its very hard to turn it off, to just turn ones self over to the dream. Or, at least it is for her. She sits on the black sands of her beach, watching the aurora cast its light down on waves rolling in made prismatic by its reflection, of shimmering violet crystals that pierce the sky. She draws figures in the sand with her fingers as she leans back on them, KenKen by by her side. She'd done good, hadn't she? Even if everyone was convinced she shouldn't blame herself for the events that happened to Hinoiri, they don't know that it was her fault they ever knew her in the first place. She'd tried to show off, demanded to be 'known', and someone had paid the price for her folly. It was a lesson. Not the one the others girl wanted her to learn, no, but it was her lesson. Of course, the girls (and Mamoru) weren't wrong either, not entirely. She's done good, right? They'd all helped her when she needed it, and while she was not ... entirely comfortable with being burdensome to others, she respected the willingness to risk everything on something none of them could have been fully prepared for. Which meant responsibility demanded that she prepare them better, because she was going to need their help again. Home demanded it. "What time is it?" asked Emi, aloud, KenKen stirring. "It's not your fault, you know," the spider chimes in, answering the question she's dwelling on rather than the one she actually asked aloud. Emi shot the spider a bit of a dirty look before letting her mind half-waken. Her eyes slowly flickered open, even as her body remained unmoving. The familiar sense of pressure and breathlessness that accompanies sleep paralysis was ever present when she did this, but she was used to it. She always makes sure she's asleep facing a clock for just this reason. Her phone, on its charging stand, prominently displayed the time. ..and also that she had a whole ton of DMs. Only one person ever DMs her like that. A moment later, she's sitting up in bed, having woken herself from her dream all the way, and picks up her phone and opening it to the messages. Yep. Definitely Amy. See, right there, 27 texts under the heading of 'Goethe Girl'.
Amy Faust	After school, Amy delves into research. She's been trying to lucid dream almost every day -- or every night, rather -- since a couple of days before the emergency sleepover, but has had no success yet. Her dreams the past couple of days have been weirdly ''violent'', but that's probably coincidence. So it is that she's looking up lucid dreaming stuff. It mostly hasn't changed since she remembers originally looking into it, maybe a quarter-century before. There's stuff about trying to will yourself to have a lucid dream, and reality checks so that you can test you're in a dream. People ''have'' thought up reality checks she wasn't aware of; things like seeing if your finger goes through the opposite palm, or trying to breathe while pinching your nose shut -- ooh, that one's smart, she thinks, and a lot of posters are praising it while a few say it doesn't work for them, which is how most of these things go. Others have also noticed their smartphones act weird in dreams, confirming her own experience there. If she can't get down a technique for inducing a lucid dream while falling asleep, her backup plan is to try and train herself to somehow ''notice'' when clocks or books or phones don't work and realize it's a dream -- or to make innocuous reality checks something she does regularly. Speaking of phones.... Should she maybe ask Emi about this? But she doesn't want to bother her. Hoshino-san said she probably can't help anyway, since she's used to having dream powers and it all comes naturally. Still... could there be something Hoshino-san could teach her? Even like, some little reality check she hasn't thought of could be helpful. <PHONE> You text Emi Hoshino: So hey uh do you have any advice on dreaming/lucid dreaming? <PHONE> You text Emi Hoshino: I know you said it was mostly natural for you but maybe there's something you do helpful all the same? <PHONE> You text Emi Hoshino: I looked into techniques, most of them expect me to wake up in the middle of the night and then go back to bed. That's why the one I tried wasn't working, I was doing it when I went to bed. <PHONE> You text Emi Hoshino: I mean that works out since I sometimes get up a couple hours early to pee, but so far I haven't gotten them to work after returning to bed (And so on)
Emi Hoshino	Emi scrolls through the many (many) texts from Amy. Reads them all. She also has other messages, like one from Mister Sato. Nagging Authority Figure: REMEMBER OUR MEETING TOMORROW. Emi groans. Right. Lunch with Sato tomorrow. Still, she'd rather respond to Amy's many texts, and she does. Emi Hoshino: I really need to get one of those encrypted messaging apps in case Sato wants to read my messages. Hi, Amy. I'm about to get some tea. We can talk abuut dreams if you want to join me.
Amy Faust	Goethe Girl: There's always <ed: we need to make up a fake name for Signal>. I haven't gotten around to trying <ed: fake name for Matrix> yet. Goethe Girl: Sure! Where are you going for tea? Goethe Girl: Wait he can TAKE YOUR PHONE!? That's an invasion of privacy and also what app you use won't matter! How is this legal?! Goethe Girl: I think there was some talk about secure communications on our computers; you could talk to Mizuno-san or Entrapta about that. But also you should ask the Senshi for a communicator. I don't know how they make them. I think Mizuno-san makes them?
Emi Hoshino	Emi Hoshino: did you forget I am a criminal amy Emi Hoshino: just to the cafeteria I guess. Emi Hoshino: who's the senshi Emi Hoshino: who's mizuno-san Entrapta is the ... wait that was the girl in the vents wasn't it?
Amy Faust	Goethe Girl: A criminal?! You are underage! And privacy is a human right! Okay I don't know if it is in Japan and it isn't in America if there's a warrant, but it should be. Goethe Girl: The Sailor Senshi! Sailor Moon, and then there's one for each planet. Well, there's Pluto but I haven't heard of a senshi for any of the other dwarf planets. Well, Prince Endymion -- he came to the dreams with us! -- is Sailor Earth but he's a guy so he doesn't use the naming convention. Then there's the -ites, the Shitennou, you saw a couple of them too, I guess they're not technically Senshi but they're affiliated. Mizuno-tensei is in the 11th grade, she knows some stuff about how magic computer tech works. She's the other [Amy] sort of, since you'd write her name in romaji as [Ami], and in English those are both pronounced the same, like mine. And yes Entrapta is the girl in the vents. Goethe Girl: On my way, see you soon!
Emi Hoshino	Emi Hoshino stares at her phone in helpless confusion for a long moment, both at what she perceives as Amy's helpless naivete and the whole explanation about 'Sailor Moon'. There's just so much she doesn't know, and is helpless to understand just yet. Some of it just makes her bury her face in her hands. Still, she pretties (goths) herself up and picks up her favorite parasol, places KenKen on her shoulder, and departs. Now that she knows magical people can see her, KenKen has been demanding4 'walkies'. Sometimes, she's even scratched at the front door of the dorm with her forelegs like some kind of arachni-cat hybrid. It's great. (It is not in fact great.) Emi is soon enough in the cafeteria, parasol in hand, looking for all the world to be as serene and unmovable as can be. Looking for Amy, now, she first orders herself a boba and then takes her seat when she finds her, or otherwise takes one if she's not here yet. Given the time it takes for her to get ready to go out, she's presuming Amy beat her here.
Amy Faust	Kenken wanting to go out like a cat would be absolutely ''adorable'', if Amy knew. She considers, briefly, how to dress, meeting someone she knows likes to look fancy. She doesn't really have anything between 'school uniform' and 'yukata' though; One of Princess Serenity's dresses is fairly casual but ''also'' it's mostly white and she's going to eat and what if she got food on it! Amy is waiting in the cafeteria in her school uniform when Emi arrives. "Oh uh, you're here!" She smiles, "I'll grab food then..." And she'll get a sandwich and a soda and a water. "So um... what about dreams are you willing to talk about?" Amy looks over Emi and wonders something. "...Where do you get clothes?"
Emi Hoshino	"I'm given a small amount of cash to meet basic expenses. That includes a clothing budget. I manage through a lot of online shopping and some things I sew together myself." Emi knows how to sow? It's a practical skill for many a goth if we're honest. She settles into her seat, twirls her parasol once more, and snaps it shut before taking a drink of boba. "Well, I was thinking I could answer some of your questions about lucid dreaming and also remind you that I am like totally a criminal. I am a pro delinquent, remember, very good at it my one and only job of being lazy, skipping class, and sleeping all the time." She makes a little V with her fingers and places them before her eye. It's a common gesture in Japan, after all, even aside from Usagi!"I've got a meeting with Mister Sato and it was a good reminder to you know delete all the incriminating criminal conspiracy notes I've been keeping." Emi has never watched the Wire. She doesn't know.
Amy Faust	Amy blinks and looks a little shocked as Emi lays it out. On a stipend, she's able to dress like ''that?'' "But girl's clothes are so expensive! I-I mean aside from like basic T-shirts and stuff... You really get it cheaper online? But then how can you be sure about the sizing if you can't try it on first, aren't sizes unreliable? And you actually know how to ''make'' clothes? That's pretty cool!" She blinks. "Oh. I see. If the size is wrong, you have the skill to retailor it." Criminals... Amy cocks her head to the side slightly. "You aren't hearting anyone; 'criminal' sounds rather harsh. That's like calling a software pirate or marijuana user a 'criminal'. Like, ''yeah, technically,'' but only according to greedy evil people." "You don't have to delete them! I could hold on to them for you. Or you could store them online with an account he doesn't know about, possibly encrypted."
Emi Hoshino	"Sizes could be if I didn't know how to sow, yeah, and I'm not very tall so its easier." It's true. Emi's not even over five feet yet. "I wouldn't say I know how to make clothes, really, but I can adjust a lot of things and sew them up if I have to. It's not a lot of money, and you're right that clothes, especially girl clothes, are really expensive if you want quality... but like used clothes and trades aren't a lot easier to manage. It takes up a lot of free time to look this good." She gestures at her dress. "I mean, I can delete them, maybe not 'erase them fully' for good but yeah, I need to do something for conversations that would like really weird to him. Like texts about 'Senshi'. I can pass that off as some dumb manga, though."
Amy Faust	Amy blinks. "Used clothes. I didn't think of that. There's stores for that?" "He's '''''reading all your texts?!'''''" Amy looks ''scandalized.'' And then realizes she raised her voice and tries to quiet back down. "Like, I thought you meant he would ''if he suspected something'' and that's bad enough, but this is seriously messed up!" "Look, some folk have resources. Maybe we can get you another phone he doesn't know about or something. I mean, practically speaking, he's not searching your entire person and room every time, right? We can set up a way to backup your phone to your computer before the meetings and then restore it... Encrypted messages need to be in a place he won't know to look, if he sees an app for that on your phone he'll get mad." Amy frowns and taps her fingers on the table, thinking. "All this because you don't go to class? You're smarter than me. I didn't realize school was BS the ''first'' time around. Like, clearly you can learn stuff just fine, you learned sewing and tailoring, even if we don't count magic or dream stuff."
Emi Hoshino	"It's not that he does it all the time, to everything, it's that I don't know when he's going to or how much, and that's sort of the point. Maybe he won't find anything. Maybe he will. I don't know, can't know, and that's designed to help make sure you stay on the path to reform. It's not any different in the states. Like, I saw on TV that they can just make you pee to check you for like drugs? What even IS America? Sounds rude." She makes a face. "I'm sure he's not gonna read ALL my texts, like I text a lot, but if he reads the WRONG texts it could be a problem. It's better to just like ... ask people to be mindful, I guess. I hadn't really thought much about it but its not like I was getting many incriminating texts until now," She squints at Amy for a moment. "Yes. All because I skipped class," she agrees in the tone of voice that suggests she's just going with it because it's probably better than what she actually did.
Amy Faust	Amy's eyes remain wide as Emi reminds her of the importance of random checks, and that in America criminals -- and sometimes others -- can be subjected to random drug tests. "Yeah? It's inhuman, it's expecting fear and treating you as subhuman to 'improve your behavior', which shows that he doesn't actually care about ''you'' at all, he just wants to bully a defenseless kid, you're nothing but a potential good result he can wave in front of his superiors." "...And I didn't say America's right either, I mean, they're still capitalists with a private prison system and no rehabilitative justice. Just because people in charge do things doesn't make them ''right'', Emi, I think you know that, or you'd be doing whatever that Sato asshole says in hopes of being praised as a good little girl." She wasn't getting incriminating texts until now. Amy nods, "Yeah, you didn't have other magicals to talk to until now." Amy sighs, and sips her drink, thinking about if there's anything she can do to help a friend -- and a good person who goes above and beyond trying to sacrifice herself to protect everyone -- escape this abhorrent treatment.
Emi Hoshino	Sip. "Yeah," says Emi, "I'd like to note you're being harder on him than the person actually subject to his checks. Sure, he's being a bit of a jerk, but he's not a bad man. He's sincere, honest, and upright. He's an asshole to me but its because he cares about making sure I don't fall in with the wrong crowd." A smile plays at her lips, just a ghost of one. "Too late for that."
Amy Faust	Amy looks at her seriously. "Yeah, because you're ''used'' to it, you think it's ''normal''. Like yeah, even I ''kinda'' knew adults were full of shit about some stuff but I never ''dreamed'' they were just setting me up to fail the moment I graduated! Your calibration for what's acceptable is all out of whack!" "Supposing he's just so earnestly naive that he actually thinks treating you like this will ''help'' you, I ask you this: If that mysterious red-haired girl shows up to your next meeting and ''explains'' to him that he's failed a basic understanding of human social understanding, none of this is supportive at all, it's tactics that were taught to him to ''make you feel scared and powerless''..." "Is he going to say 'oh, shit, you have a point'," "Or is he going to say, 'listen up, no snot-nosed little brat can tell ''me'' what to do, I'm reporting you to your principal and calling your parents' -- because what ''really'' matters to him is looking good for his job, rather than helping you live a better life?"
Emi Hoshino	Emi Hoshino just stares at Amy blankly for a long moment. "...please do not do that, Amy. You'd only make things harder on me, and worse, you'd embarrass me. I think you're making a few too many snap judgments here." Next, with Glynn Washington! "You're also making an unfavorable assumption about me even though I know you mean well. Now, please, leave Mister Sato to me. The things I have to deal with aren't any different than anyone else in probation in Japan, even if it offends your sensibilities and your sense of justice and fairness, which I do appreciate. Now, you wanted to know some lucid dreaming tips." Safer ground to retreat to.
Amy Faust	Amy's nails scrape against the tabletop as she balls her hands into fists as she's asked to not fight injustice, because Emi's opressors would react by making it harder for Emi -- which proves to Amy that her judgement of them is correct. "You're a good person, and a friend. I tell myself to keep out of larger world affairs because I don't have a place in that world, and that's how I justify not going out and assassinating CEOs and corrupt officials. Because ''that's'' not my fight, it's ''your'' fight and ''your'' world to live in and have a place in." "But this? This is interfering with ''my friends'' and in magical matters." Amy takes a breath, and lets it out, and slowly relaxes her fists. "However... I won't act rashly. But we should really plan to resolve this later." She sighs, and sips some water. "Yes. I'd like lucid dreaming tips. I've researched online, but like, you're a real expert, you know? And I'd like to be able to see the Dreamscape again, and do cool stuff, and..." She looks down at the table and lowers her voice almost to a mumble. "...fix it when I dream of being a guy again."
Emi Hoshino	"Amy, the agreement we made with the court is why I'm here, at this Academy. If you mess it up, that goes away. The plan to resolve it is patience. It will resolve itself with time. I did what I did, ok?" Emi is going to leave it at that for the moment and instead focus on something she can help with. "...I'm sorry. That must have been hard for you. I can imagine it'd be hard for any trans girl or trans boy. The dreamscape, yeah, you'll get to see it again probably. But the thing is, you really need to start with your own. Getting out of your own dream into the dreamscape -- they're not the same thing - is really hard. Mamoru could do it, but only just, and I had to help pull him through, and he's really good at dreaming. You were able to resolve it quickly, though, and make yourself a girl. The real issue is that it sounds like on a certain level you may still contain doubts that could manifest them that way? Or it's just you were a boy for most of your life," she doesn't know the half of it, "and so sometimes you still instinctively see yourself that way? Fixing the underlying issue of your self-image will help you not manifest as a boy again -- but sometimes, you may just manifest that way because you're in a memory." She's musing aloud now. "Our dreams are not us but they reflect us, they are touched by the world and the energies we pass through on a daily basis and little things we internalize. What have you internalized, Amy?" she asks, leaning back with a sort of relaxed serenity, lazily sipping her boba. "Those are the things you need to figure out, because the key to lucid dreaming isn't just a trick of the mind, it's the ability to recognize when something isn't you. It's not control. It's about recognition. About yourself, about the shape of your world even when everything tries to tell you otherwise."
Amy Faust	Amy frowns at the mention of the court but doesn't rant further for now. You were able to resolve it quickly, "''This'' time, because we had our real magic, thanks to you. In the past, whenever I gained lucidity and tried to force it, I just woke up." She nods at 'most of your life', and, since Emi has latched on to this, when she mentions memory, Amy elaborates, "I don't really relive memories ''per se'', but sometimes, like, the situation still carries assumptions from the past. Sometimes I'm back in school in the US, or still living with my dad there, or still living in my old apartment as a guy... sometimes it's jumbled and I'm going to my old school as a girl, or still here but going as a guy, and maybe I see old friends here too... you know?" ''What have you internalized, Amy?'' Amy gives a thousand-yard stare and is thinking really hard about how to uh, say this. "...A lot of bad shit. Humanity's cruel imagination, dehumanizing eachother. Because I'm searching for feelings like mine and they're all jumbled up with stuff like that. And one day if things go really wrong it'll all become my Familiars and mess with whoever's trying to put me down; Sorry in advance if that's you." Beat. Changing the subject back, Amy looks curious. "What do you mean, when something isn't me? When things are trying to tell me otherwise? Like... a way of thinking about any dream that's not what I want as-- recognizing it as 'not me' and firmly rejecting it?"
Emi Hoshino	"You're on the right track," says Emi, hoping that Amy won't notice her eyes are browner than usual. Lucid dreaming and what works is different for everyone, and this is just her best guess as to what might work for Amy. It seems plausible, anyway. "You'll get there, you just need to work through some of this that way." She pauses, thinks for a moment. "I guess, in a way, that's what dreaming is for, right? Discovering the shape of you."
Amy Faust	Amy feels emotionally tired, after getting all fired up, and reining herself in, and then swerving between serious subjects... she kinda feels like she could use a nap. "Sorry for dumping all that on you. I guess I'm carrying a lot." She sips water. "The shape of me, huh? I don't follow. It seems like I've learned far more about that when I was awake." Amy blinks. "Well. I suppose there have occasionally been dreams where I'd find out, just what I'd do if I'm put in some impossible situation. Sent back in time, or got magic powers to fight... I know that if I got youthened ''even more'' and had to go to school with the first-graders I would be absolutely ''dreading'' being surrounded by six-year-olds taking those classes, for instance. And having to remind myself not to swear because the adults will make a fuss." She smiles. "Well, that part I have to deal with even at this age. It seems like 'impossible' situations happen more often in waking life, nowadays." Amy shakes her head. "Sorry, I guess I rambled a bit. Um, is that the way you meant it, though, or am I missing the point? Sorry, I can be kinda... slow to get what people mean, sometimes."
Emi Hoshino	"Yeah, you seem to be," muses Emi. "Tell you what. I'll pay a visit to your dream tonight and we'll see just what happens. All right?" She stretches her arms out over her head. KenKen continues to be napping on her shoulder. She's been quiet the whole meeting. She's just cuddly!
Amy Faust	Amy brightens. "Oh? That'll be really cool!" She smiles, then looks at least a ''little'' uncertain. "I think... I hope you don't see anything too weird." Still, she's smiling faintly. She looks down at the table, then back across it at Emi. "And I'm sorry, for like. Getting all up in your business and complicating your life. And, and being so interested in dreams that I keep bugging you." She looks down at her drink. "You like. Have your normal life figured out that's working for you, and I... now that I think about that, I can see how important it must be, I kinda long for a normal life too. And all I did was... rant at you, and dump my stuff on you, and... sorry."
Emi Hoshino	"...y-yeah. Normal life. All figured out. That's me. The queen of self knowledge and understanding." Emi can hear Hinoiri cackling at this notion somewhere in the back of her mind, but she nods. "Shit, Amy. How old do you think I am? I'm like fourteen and shit. I'll see you soon, huh? And whatever I see, I promise I'll never breathe a word."
Amy Faust	How old? "And you're wiser than me. You figured out a bunch of stuff was bullshit before it was too late. Believe me... these past... almost 21 months, I've seen that a bunch of extra years ''really'' doesn't, like... I'm not that different from you. You can be wise and smart at any age, and there's so much I didn't ''live'' and didn't ''know'' all that time. I'm as new to a lot of things as my classmates are." And, her cheeks pink a little. "Appreciated, thanks." "So... what are you gonna do after this?" She finally takes a bite of her sandwich.
Emi Hoshino	"Probably try to see if I can talk to Usagi or Hinoiri. I didn't tell people at the time because everyone was so freaked out but we saw evidence that the Salarymen had, like... learned about ... She mumbles It sounds a lot like she said 'Kirakirafantastica', though, and just couldn't quite manage to say it out loud. "And they tried to get in. I guess they ran into a whole lot of trouble doing so it doesn't look like its an immediate issue, but she should know." She pinches the bridge of her nose. She can't believe that she's actually a frigging unicorn. "And I need Usagi to like help set up parties? I don't do parties, but we're going to need some excuses for why we're all sleeping in proximity and stuff so I can take people to do like ... dream ... training shit ."
Amy Faust	Amy looks serious. "Nightmares can cross dimensions? I wonder what otherdimensional nightmares might come here we can't even ''think'' of..." Amy pouts. "You know, I kinda thought maybe Witches were something like that before I found out the truth. Who knows, maybe the Salarymen originally came from another dimension too?" "I can't say I know much about setting up parties either, but as for excuses, uh... do a bunch of teenage girls really ''need'' an excuse to have slumber parties and sleepovers?"
Emi Hoshino	"Yeah, but if it doesn't look like a party people are gonna get suspicious. Also, if I didn't tell Usagi to plan them, I think it'd actually crush her." Emi is getting to the more important, secondary reason here.
Amy Faust	Amy blinks. "Is there actually more to slumber parties than like... showing up in your pajamas and then like... watching movies and playing games and talking about boys? Well, about relationships? So like, externally, as long as we all go somewhere with pajamas and sleeping paraphernelia, it looks like a slumber party, right?" "What is there gonna be? Cake? Balloons? We're not old enough for it to be like a bachelorette party." "...Who is like. ''watching'' and gonna see us all go over to some room in PJs and go 'a-ha! this must be a ''fake'' slumber party!" Amy can't help but smile at the absurdity of it. "Are there slumber party police who will be all like, this isn't a ''real'' slumber party, you're clearly just all getting together for ''fun''! Which is, like, what a slumber party's about anyway, right?" Amy scratches at hr cheek a little in thought.
Emi Hoshino	"Look, I just don't want anyone to figure out what we're actually doing, and how vulnerable we'll be at the time. There are bad guys out there, you said it yorself, and a big dose of mundanity and versatility will help make things seem completely and abjectly normal, and that's good! People do things, and they don't always do them the same way. Given the ulterior motive isn't the party but the dream, it's very likely someone paying the right kind of attention could like get shit figured out and I really don't want that. You're all vulnerable and I don't have any magic on this side." She drums her fingers on the table. "Also, but the rich kids at my school always really planned their parties, even the stupid slumber ones." She wrinkles her nose.
Amy Faust	Amy ohs, "Good point. See, smart! Even at '14 and shit'." She smiles. Although she pouts slightly with concern as Emi mentions the rich disdainfully. She stands up and walks around the table. "Sorry you had to be around such people. I hope you're finding better friends at Radiant Heart." She leans over to hug Emi.
Emi Hoshino	Why is everyone so huggy around here?! Emi accepts it, but she does kinda of crunch up in the process, shoulders raising and so on "It's all good, Anmy. You're very sweet. And I guess? Like, there are cool people, even if I am one of those rebellious, smoking delinquents... even if I haven't been able to have a cigarette in forever because Hinoiri keeps threatening me about it." A wry look croses her face.
Amy Faust	Amy lets go at the scrunch, and then blushes at being called sweet. "I mean, I sounded rebellious earlier too, I'd like to think... I can't give you advice on the smoking though. Sorry you're having to deal with withdrawal." Amy holds a finger to her chin and cocks her head to one side slightly, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if healers can like, heal physical addiction?"
Emi Hoshino	"It's ruining my mystique," complains Emi of not being able to exist in a cloud of acrid, foul smelling smoke. "My mystique!" She shakes her head, sadly, "Ah well. I'll get by. I can smoke in my dreams. And maybe, I have no idea. I heal pretty quick but so I'm sure that I'm going to be very fine."