discomposer | golden peacock inbox

[Print it out, frame it, make hundreds of copies, build a shrine with them... Some of his fans probably do that stuff with his photos.]

Well, I guess that's true...

[It's not like he hasn't sent Jun plenty of pictures of him. They're just usually not sweaty ones! But this seems like it could be good for Leo's education, so...]

Fine, but hold on a moment!

[He gets off the couch and disappears into the main bedroom again. When he returns, he's holding a stuffed animal—not the white bear belonging to that child he posed with at home, but a stuffed toy won from the arcade machines at Chickadees!

He sits back down, hugging the stuffed animal to his chest. This kind of cute photo, with him wearing a cute sweater, called for a cute prop! And a cute smile, but that goes without saying.]

There, all set! ♪

[ Leo will not be making a shrine, Hiyori. What he WILL be doing is probably worse by Hiyori's standards? Because, well. He takes the first photo and doesn't focus it long enough, and he's too zoomed in on another, and so on and so forth...

After each one he goes "whoops" and then, like, sends the mistake to Jun in its own message.

By the time he gets a clear photograph and grins he has sent Jun like, seven cryptid level photographs of Hiyori weirdly framed and focused and getting somewhat better each time until his successful shot.

Then he sends that one, too! ]

I did it~!

[As an idol, Hiyori has no problem holding a pose for a long time. He's used to photographers wanting to take multiple shots, and he's always happy to let people bask in his beauty! Still, watching Leo fiddle with the watch haphazardly is... something. He continues to smile beautifully, despite the repeated "Whoops" not inspiring much confidence. But surely at least one of those photos will come out right. He's taking so many, after all.

Hiyori takes Leo's grin as a sign of success and sets the stuffed animal aside, scooching over so he can look at Leo's phone screen.]

I told you to wait for it to focus, didn't I?

[Still, seeing the final photo displayed on the screen and not any of the cryptids, he smiles again.]

But I guess it all worked out. Now we wait for Jun-kun to acknowledge how cute I am...♪

[He doesn't realize Leo sent all the mistakes, too...]

Looks like I'm a genius here, too~

[ Says the man who took eight tries to get one decent photograph...at least Jun will immediately understand the explanation for the cryptid photographs when he sees the sender, since Leo is often enough of an explanation for anything even slightly confusing. ]

Was the toy a present to you?

It's more that you kept mashing buttons until you succeeded, kind of like a child would do! But since my cute face and my cute pose were both captured, I have no complaints~♪

[Jun might have some complaints about the spam, though. He may very well be puzzling over the messages he received right now! But it's still him and Leo for the time being.]

Oh, that?

[He picks up the stuffed animal he just put aside and sets it on his lap.]

Sort of! Jun-kun won it for me at the arcade. And I won him something too, using my own skills! ♪

[He puffs up with pride.

And then says, more thoughtfully:]

That was shortly after we arrived. Those suit tattoos had just appeared, and we were feeling stressed out, so we went there as a pick-me-up.

[It was back before he and Jun were even dating. Back when the kidnapping was fresh, and he thought they'd be home soon. It's odd, reflecting on how things have changed since then, as well as how they haven't.

But he hates to focus on gloomy stuff, so after a moment he says:]

Speaking of pick-me-ups, let me show you something funny!

[Then he reaches for his phone.]

[ Arcade games are pretty fun. That far back then, something treasured, and Leo decides he wants to keep the photograph, too. He should get one of Nami at some point as well, because he's pretty sure he doesn't have anything of Rinne.

It never occurred to him to take any. ]

Funny? Is it gonna be some kind of picture you took? Or a weird toy? Or a song?

Close!

[He pulls up his camera roll, finds what he's looking for, and turns the screen to face Leo.]

It's Tsuum-Tsuum! ☆

[Specifically, it's a picture of Tsumugi covered in snow. There's even some on his glasses!]

Remember when we had that snowball fight? All that snow fell down from a tree and landed atop his head! He looked so silly afterwards! ♪

[Hiyori's face is full of cheer as he recounts this. Poor Mugi.]

Oba-chan! [ Leo beams, grabbing Hiyori's wrist to drag the phone closer before letting go once he's done. Whoa, he hasn't seen or heard this guy in way too long - though it's not like he's in danger of forgetting. ]

He always gives off a vibe just like he's had something like this happen, huh, even when it hasn't!

[Hiyori nods along to that assessment.]

Yes, yes he does! ♪ Luckily, his fans don't see him as someone misfortunate. They see him as a magician! But coming across that picture was so nostalgic...♪

[And so is every other picture in his camera roll. Tsumugi's wasn't the only face he hadn't seen in about a year. He proceeds to scroll back, the screen still tilted towards Leo, causing other pictures to appear in succession: pictures of him and Adonis and Leo all posing with that white teddy bear for the kid; then some pictures of Mary playing in the snow and dressed up for Christmas.]

Thanks to his hair, Tsumugi-kun always looks a bit like a poodle. But speaking of dogs, Mary also looked cute playing in the snow! ♪ Look, isn't she adorable?

[ It's easy to laugh and smile for an animal. Cute, pictures from home, and Leo's eyes flick over Adonis with his lips curled up, and he's all peaceful and calm until the exact second he isn't.

Hiyori's seen flashes and bits of Leo being serious before, usually over text or in a flippant way that comes and goes in a heartbeat. And then, further back, a time when he'd been serious almost all the time and killing himself with it - something Hiyori hasn't seen in years, but -

But there's suddenly that edge. The desperate, utterly determined one that had him throwing himself at fine - at Eichi - in the past until he'd broken on the stage set up to break him. Leo's all at once surging forward even though he'd already been the weirdly close he is when he's being friendly, moving on instinct more than rational thought. One hand on Hiyori's knee and one on his wrist and his expression is like he's never smiled in his life before and he's pale, not flushed, but Leo's never been so abruptly wanting before ever because he just realized: ]

Hiyori - [ Never done that before, either, but - ]

Pretty 5. Flavor - Getto Spectacle -

[ Normally he doesn't care about answers. Normally he likes to imagine silly things or serious ones and the things that are true matter so much less but Leo's fingers are gripping way too tight.

Hiyori's phone has pictures of things he likes and does in it. A phone from home. And while Leo can recognize people from it, while he'd vaguely wondered about other new songs it might hold, he didn't until just now think -

Naru. Two reasons there might be Naru. Maybe Rittsu at that tea circle. He knows Suo grew up in the same circles but doubts he's that lucky, and there's no fucking reason for Sena, but -

Naru and Rittsu. He wants to see them - he wantswantawants to see them. He hasn't seen them outside of his own head since he got here and Leo feels like he's gonna be sick and he feels like he's gonna fall apart, but - ]

[Anyone would smile after seeing Mary. It's impossible to do anything but smile, even as these photos fill Hiyori's heart with longing and trigger a worried pang. Where is Mary right now? In Ibara and Nagisa's care, or frozen in time somewhere? Will he ever see her again? These are questions he's pointedly trying hard not to think about. He wants to keep that pleasant mood up, for his sake but also for Leo's. Leo, after all, confided in him that his suit makes him more depressed.

He has plenty more photos of Mary to share. But while he's scrolling to another one, he feels that hand suddenly grab his knee, and his eyes dart up from his phone and his dog and then he sees Leo. Not smiling but looking wild-eyed. His own eyes widen and his brows shoot up.]

Huh—?

[He shifts underneath that hand, tensing beneath Leo's grip, but he doesn't shove him off, even though he's kind of scaring him. At first he doesn't get it—Leo's just saying the name of his circles and his shuffle unit. Are those requests? For photos? But then he thinks about it for a second—what those things have in common—and then he does get it, all too horribly well.

"I keep forgetting how lonely you must be," he'd typed earlier. It's not because he lacks empathy, for all that his words can be mean. It's because Leo always seems so carefree, like he's off on his own little planet.

Hiyori nods, his throat feeling tight, and announces:]

Right, Pretty 5 first!

[And then he starts scrolling fast, the pictures blurring together.

Getto Spectacle was recent and he would've come upon those photos first if he'd kept going back in order, but there are more Pretty 5 pictures. So many. They all love taking pictures of their clothes and accessories and fancy drinks. And of themselves, too, even when they're not dressed fancy. It doesn't take long at all before he finds one where they're all posed together. Him, Tori-kun, Mika-kun...

Arashi.]

See? Look!

[He thrusts the phone more towards Leo, not that he wasn't already close enough to see anyway.]

We took this one together completely on a whim! And then we added cat ears, because Arashi-chan told me about some app that lets you add stickers! Aren't we the cutest?

Edited 2024-12-23 03:42 (UTC)

[ When he'd left Yumenosaki back then, Leo had been able to see Knights on television or online whenever he really felt like it. Back then it had been something like repeatedly grinding his hand into an open wound, but he'd still done it sometimes anyway just because he couldn't help himself and Madara never made him stop. Here, that hasn't been an option and it wouldn't hurt in the same way it had then anyway.

This time around Leo didn't deliberately leave.

His grip loosens immediately and the hand on Hiyori's wrist lifts and it's like Leo wants to touch the phone screen but he doesn't quite do it. It has that open wound feeling to it, kind of, but in the way that makes him feel more settled.

It's not like he forgot her face. But he hasn't gotten to see it in ages, and Leo's attention is still singularly focused like it is when he's composing, but instead he's just memorizing, again, the face of one of his best friends. ]

...Mm, she sometimes would teach us about filters or stickers too. Well, me and Suo, anyway. [ Leo's always more annoyed with his phone than he isn't until he needs it - always losing it because he doesn't care - and Tsukasa is the kind of buttoned up to whom unbending to use cute apps is an Event. ] I used to use those alien stickers that she sent me a download link for, that you can use on messaging apps?

[ He'd spent a solid week sending nothing but stickers to his unitmates. ]

[He's already spent hours looking at Nagisa's face. And Mary's. And even Ibara's. Leo hasn't had that kind of time, and so Hiyori lets him look for as long as he needs.

It is a good thing. Being able to see the face of a loved one again, even if it hurts.]

Ah yes, those! It's a shame these watch things don't have that option. I've already gotten bored of using the same emojis. But you know, that app she showed me was pretty fun. You could even add text! For example, here~♪

[He pauses, then, not wanting to interrupt Leo's viewing time. But he's just moving to another picture that also has Arashi in it, so he goes ahead with it—it's something like this with the circle name written across it in cute pink font. And the five members are all looking cute, too, of course.

Then he adds, casually:]

She was the best at making circle meetings fun. Along with me, of course. The other three were always a bit soft-spoken, but she was good at bringing them out of their shell.

[ Leo's pretty sure pictures from a phone from home can't be sent to a watch, but he wonders if Hiyori will take shitty small copies on the watch for him from it if he asks.

He ends up drawing his knees up, looping his arms around when he notices he'd gotten grabby about the pictures he's still watching. ]

Yeah, Naru was always kind of a moodmaker for us, too. Everyone else leans to kinda snappy, depending. [ Leo isn't exactly that - he's easygoing and even nicer than Naru is underneath it all, but Leo is also easily the most mercurial of all of them, swinging from brightly cheerful to throwing a temper tantrum to forgetting all about it within the space of five minutes. When he sets the mood it's a rollercoaster. ]

Well, everyone else has caused more problems overall, anyway, Suo aside. Well, he did kidnap Magi's kid that once?

[ #Knights, the unit of crime sometimes ]

[For continuity's sake, we'll say it's possible to transfer pictures from a smartphone to a smartwatch even if it's not instantaneous. Since getting his phone back, he's tried showing off Mary pictures over the Network! The rando he was showing them to really didn't care, though. Sharing these Pretty 5 pictures with Leo is definitely more worthwhile.

He blinks at the comment about Tsukasa, taking a moment to remember what that was about. The summer of the MDM seems so far away now.]

That just makes it sound like his seniors are a bad influence!

[He wasn't around for the Izumi kidnapping scandal, but given his social connections to some of the Knights members, we'll say he's heard about it through the grapevine.]

But I guess you're still a better influence than Eichi-kun...♪

[He goes quiet for a moment after that, looking down at the picture. Should he switch to another Pretty 5 pic? He's pretty sure he has a solo one of Arashi in there somewhere. But instead of doing either, he looks at Leo and says this:]

Want to go through the pictures yourself? I don't have anything I'm trying to hide in there.

[He is the ideal idol, after all.]

Hey, I'm not the bad influence for that part of things, though! [ Leo isn't a kidnapper. The high bar of Knights innocence, here, because more than one of them can't honestly make that claim....

But he will take the phone when offered. ]

Is there a way for me to get copies of them? [ He's never bothered to save anything but pictures of sheet music here so ]

[He answers affirmatively at once.]

Yep, that I can arrange! It took me a bit to figure out, but basically you just have to upload them to some cloud server thing. That still works apparently. Though I can't get any Internet connection on my phone, and I can't reach any of my contacts, either.

[Not that he expected to be able to. He figured there'd be no signal.]

But once I do that, I can send them over the watch just like a normal picture! Unless you were hoping for print copies. I haven't made any of those yet, but if I go to one of the shops, they might be able to figure something out.

[He's willing to try. He gets the importance of all this. As for what Leo will find on his camera roll?

Lots of photos. So, so many. He wasn't a social media addict, but taking pictures that could be uploaded to the official accounts was part of his job. And he'd never hesitate to spam people with images over text conversations, either. Pictures of trinkets he found in shops, pictures of cute desserts or drinks he ordered, pictures of scenery, pictures of things that reminded him of someone he knows (like a gemstone that calls to mind Nagisa's eyes.) Mostly, though, it's a lot of pictures of loved ones.

For starters, Mary! He has so many of her. Pictures of her alone or with him or with Jun, pictures of her frolicking outdoors or snuggled up indoors, pictures of her dressed for Halloween or sakura-viewing. There are pictures of himself, too, of course, since he loves himself and his own looks: mirror selfies and cafe selfies, photos taken dressing rooms or behind the scense of some photoshoots, selfies with other familiar faces. And then there's the unit he loves. His camera roll is a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes content, including some funny candid shots. These are the photos that tend to make it onto their public social media accounts. But there's more private, domestic stuff, too: Nagisa proudly holding a plushie of Ibara, wearing a face that would definitely not suit his persona, or knelt on the ground petting Mary; Ibara with a funny smudge on his face from tapping a pen against his chin.

And then there are the pictures of people outside his unit. The photos featuring Eden members heavily outnumber the photos of people that don't, but that doesn't mean there aren't still plenty of the latter. He really did take a lot of photos at Pretty 5 excursions, both group shots and otherwise: photos of the various members trying on clothes and accessories, holding up plushies, gathered around cafe tables. Arashi features in lots of them, and there are at least a couple where the main focus is on her: here she is trying on make-up, there she is sporting a grin and wearing sunglasses. She's more photogenic and confident in her looks than Mika or Aira, after all.

There only seems to be one group photo of the tea circle. It was his idea, actually: he had so many pictures of Pretty 5, but none with them, and that seemed a bit unbalanced. The trade-off is that this means Eichi Tenshouin's mug is there on his camera roll, waiting to jumpscare him, but he decided that trade was worth it. This is sadly all Leo will see of Ritsu, though there is one other relevant photo: a black cake that seems to be oozing some type of red filling. It's rather creepy-looking. Why take a photo of that? So he could post it to the Eden groupchat with the caption "You won't believe how good this tasted! I know it looks horrible, but it's absolutely delicious!" <--- That's why. Then he just forgot to delete it afterwards.

There are behind-the-scenes photos from Getto Spectacle, too. A few where the members are dressed up backstage, and several where they're dressed more casually, sitting around the dorm. They all lived together in Crazy:B's old room, after all. Speaking of Crazy:B, Hiyori's roommates show up a few times, too. Here's Kanata trying to entice Mary with the isopod plush; here's Rinne with Mary. It looks like Rinne took that photo himself.

There are some photos of people and places Leo won't recognize. Those are photos from home, mostly. He doesn't have as many of those as one might assume, given how often he invokes his family name. But an idol's schedule is busy, so perhaps it's no surprise he isn't home very often. Either way, he was living a full life back home. There are photos from around Reimei, of Mary growing up in his and Jun's shared dorm room, but a huge chunk of the pictures were taken during that first year of ES. He had a happy life there, and remembering that fact feels like a blessing and a curse and a terrible heartache all rolled into one.]

No, digital is fine. I can't lose my watch, after all. [ His phone had always been another matter. Leo was constantly leaving it places and the only reason it had even ever had a lock code was due to Sena choosing one and programming it in. Knights was totally used to Leo forgetting about his phone somewhere or just not answering it a solid half of the time.

They'd probably enjoy having him have a phone strapped to his wrist and inescapable actually - ]

I want a picture of you and Nami, too, when you send 'em! I didn't notice until recently but all I've taken pictures of have been music.

And aren't we lucky for that~♪

[He doesn't know about Leo's history of last smartphones. But, you know. It wouldn't surprise him.

(And Ibara would probably enjoy being able to permanently strap a smartwatch onto all CosPro idols. Especially Shu from Valkyrie, who apparently never returns his texts!)

He smiles at Leo's request for a picture of him and Jun, still letting him go through the camera roll.]

That can easily be arranged. Jun-kun and I were in three different units together back home, so I have plenty of photos like that. And I also have some on my watch! In fact, I might just let you see a top-secret one~♪

[This time he starts going through his watch's photos.]

[ Leo's lingering on that fucked up pastry Ritsu cooked with a soft smile, but his gaze flicks up to Hiyori easily enough. ]

A secret~? I like those a lot, but what's that even gonna be?

You'll just have to see for yourself!

[The photo is a few months back, but it isn't long before he finds it. He brings his wrist in front of Leo's face.]

Now here we go. Don't we look adorable? That shop has just the cutest outfits~♪

[As promised, the photo shows him and Jun. But it's not just any photo. It shows them trying on two very special outfits: a green maid outfit with a matching frilly headdress for Hiyori, and a pink strawberry-themed maid outfit for Jun, complete with matching strawberry cat ears. They're in the dressing room of Alice & the Parrots, faces pressed together, Hiyori winking cutely at the camera and Jun looking rather embarrassed. The latter would be why the photo is "top secret," but Hiyori seems happy to show it off.]

[ Leo's pretty sure the secret isn't the costumes, anyway. They're both idols. While Leo can't recall off the top of his head anything in the Eden or Eve lineup that was that showy with skin (he pays more attention to the music than anything else, anyway) it isn't like any of them are unfamiliar with throwing on whatever a show calls for.

Mostly he's thinking it's kind of a Ra*bits vibe. Nazu and his kids would totally fit in this kind of thing, wouldn't they?

So the secret is probably either Nami's expression or how close they're getting, but Leo figures the latter isn't a huge deal given Eve's whole theme, and adding the contextual knowledge that Hiyori can be pretty territorial.

Not like Leo has experienced it much since no one who has known him for even five minutes would take his actions towards Jun as anything other than excessively friendly - presumably anyone Hiyori didn't know half as well probably wouldn't be able to get away with saying "I love you" or texting Jun at weird hours or begging him for cooked snacks in so on without being on some kind of list, but none of that from Leo means much other than he likes the both of them in his usual open way. Actually, neither of them has responded in any surprise or confusion to his I Love Yous or late, so they're at the level of "oh the catchphrase" tolerance that Knights reached way back when.

He takes Hiyori showing something like that off to him as a measure of trust and friendship and beams back at him. ]

Nazu's kids fit this kinda vibe, don't they? Though it works pretty well on you guys too! You're the type who likes to tease your partner, huh?

Who, me? ♪

[He smiles, not even trying to deny being a tease. Then he adds:]

It's because of Jun-kun! His reactions are funny, not to mention cute! But well, you're not exactly wrong that these outfits don't suit our images too well. And Jun-kun got embarrassed, which is why it's top secret. But I figure Leo-kun can be trusted~♪

[Leo's assumptions aren't wrong. Compared to someone like Monika, Hiyori's never been worried Leo would move in on Jun. Leo's the type who loves everyone! Not to mention he just rejected the idea of Jun (and Hiyori) having sex in front of him...

It's always been easy with Leo. Hiyori got cursed that one time and kept hitting on him, but Leo let every come-on roll off him. He doesn't have to worry about showing an ugly side of himself here and having Leo spread it around ES afterwards. Leo's lack of concern about propriety, his preoccupation with music, and his forgetfulness are all blessings, even if the latter can be troubling in other respects.

And even if Leo's not nearly as clueless as he looks. He remembers the important stuff, right?]

I have pictures of us wearing other clothes, too, of course. I'm sure Jun-kun wouldn't mind if I sent those ones.

[He swaps the picture to one of him and Jun sitting in a cafe, a strawberry parfait between them.]

[ He did reject the watching thing, but it also does really run very counter to what he can handle, even if he didn't really say that part. Sex without kissing was difficult enough for him in a lot of ways - sex without even being an active participant would be something he could do but it would probably fuck with how okay he was in the long run. He'd tried to spin it a way he could handle it, but...

He's happy just like this. Leo's the type who withdraws when he's moody or sad at all, but he's also the type who thrives on connections with other people, enjoying hanging out and talking to them even though he tends to get caught up in his own world way too easily. After a little while of hanging out with one of the other idols Leo usually feels warm and happy and recharged even if he felt unsettled at any point prior. ]

I won't share 'em out. I definitely wanna see if I can print the ones of Naru and Rittsu, but I don't think those are secret so it's fine, right? I was thinking maybe I'll pin 'em to one of my walls in the studio.

[ Won't that just look like a shrine to Naru...or more probably Hiyori since literally no one here knows who Naru is, but whatever, Leo wants something of Knights in his favorite place to write. ]

I'm lucky I have friends who are better with phones than me. ♪ Though thinking about it, I'm probably not the only one back home who didn't take pictures all the time...? I mean, I do have a ton of pictures of Ruka-tan and a lot of Knights, but half the time I didn't know where my phone was and Sena had to go cancel it and get me a new one.

[ Why couldn't he do that himself. ]

[One day someone will kiss and fuck Leo like he deserves. Perhaps even one day soon. Hiyori's very serious about the matchmaking!!]

Nope~♪ Those ones aren't secret, so feel free to print away. I might do the same with some of my photos, too.

[Not that he has a studio to put them in.

The main reason he hasn't printed anything yet is because he doesn't know when the rooms will shift back to normal (and thus where to hang pictures), and also because he's slightly afraid it'll hurt his heart a lot. Seeing Nagisa and Mary's faces each day without being able to contact them, that is. But he doesn't want to run from them, either, and he definitely wants to remember what their faces look like. Perhaps that pain is what he needs to motivate him to get home, whatever that may take to achieve. (And Naru shares Hiyori's self-obsession to a degree, so who knows—maybe she'd appreciate having a shrine!)

As for the anecdote about losing his phone all those times, well. He stares at Leo in silence for a moment, before he smiles again and chirps:]

... yep, that sounds like a pain, alright! ♪

[Like looking after a child. He's suddenly very glad Leo can't lose his watch.]

In addition to all the normal reasons that'd be a problem, an idol's phone getting found could cause all kinds of scandal. I'm guessing you didn't have any sensitive pictures or messages either, though, huh? And Sena-kun must've taught you how to password-protect your phone.

[Pause.]

Or did he?

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🎀 unless there's something else you'd like them to talk about?