banjoanjo

Lostman Grafitti

SOU MIYANE - Central District: Tamagakahara

---

Miyane recognised that tall stature in an instant, a swift bow presented before she spoke.

“No need to be so formal, Kaneko-san,” she spoke in their native language.

Kaneko Ohta. The sole owner of Tamagakahara, as well as several major properties throughout Japan. A genius in playing the market, Kaneko was rumoured to have made his fortune through massive, high-risk investments, as well as Bitcoin back when the currency was more than just speed-searing the ozone layer. Miyane had never looked into the specifics. All she knew was that it took more than just some shrewd company decisions to amass that kind of wealth.

The guy was darn handsome, which likely helped. Incredibly well-dressed, Miyane believed she’d spoken to the designer of that suit brand in Milan last Fall. Striking blue eyes. Somehow still a bachelor.

On top of that, he was just all-around decent. He made pleasant conversation, greeted her staff on the same level as Miyane, even remembered her nephews’ names from a one-off conversation. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d done the same for everyone in Tamagakahara. He certainly possessed the decorum and intellect to do so. A businessman, inside and out.

The man was completely spotless. No wonder Daehyun was so jealous.

“Well enough,” Miyane replied, returning the smile. It wasn’t hard around him. “Though I encountered some connection issues at the plaza earlier.”

Lostman Grafitti

@ERode

Oh dear. But yeah, that's fine.

Lostman Grafitti

SOU MIYANE - Central District

---

“<<Um, Miya-ssi,>>” Hyejin began, an apologetic smile on her face, “<<Mine’s acting up, so...please?>>”

Miyane blinked. Her scowl was half-formed, sunglasses doing well to obscure what irritation did leak through. She reached for her own phone to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“<<You’re devastating me.>>”

“<<Sorry!>>”

Further scolding caught in her throat as warmth caressed her hand. Another blink. Heat. Everything else in her handbag felt normal. The idol pulled the iPhone out. Yes, it was distinctly warm to the touch. A result of the café heating maybe?

It wasn’t from overuse. The usual volume of messages had been received. No one in the 8team groupchat spamming with news of a new project. Daehyun was likely still filming. The company was quiet, as usual.

And yet, the phone refused to function. They were in the dead centre of Tenoroshi but there was zero reception. No satellite, no internet. Hell, even the apps weren’t opening properly.

“This goddamn timing…”

Miyane threw her chin upwards, a loud groan ready to release, when she saw that something managed to go her way today. The thug was walking away. In his place, towering over the addict, was a familiar head of blond. This timing, indeed.

“<<Good thing someone stepped in, huh?>>” Hyejin chuckled. Her thumb was still uselessly tapping away. Her gaze wasn’t on the window any more. “<<I don’t think the police were going to get here.>>”

Miyane followed her sight. The rest of the café patrons were doing the exact same thing, fiddling with their devices. Turning them off and on, tapping at screens, getting visibly frustrated as the plastic bricks in their hands refused to comply. The phone in her hand remained warm, but the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach was searing.

And yet, none of it compared to the cool irritation she was famous for. What a disaster of a lunch this turned out to be. All she wanted to do now was sit at home.

“<<If we’re done here,>>” Miyane said icily, “<<then I’m going. The taxi rank is only a block away.>>”

She didn’t wait to move this time.

Lostman Grafitti

SOU MIYANE

---

“<<Sit down.>>”

“<<Don’t try to stop me, Miya-ssi! How can those people just walk by?>>”

“<<The desire to travel to-and-fro without receiving a boot to the chest is quite universal, Hyejin-ah.>>”

She had filmed a commercial for a bakery chain last week. The manicure still looked fresh, her grasp more delicate than usual as she lifted the cup to her lips.

It wasn’t her first choice, opting for a window seat or getting lunch at the hip, downtown café currently sheltering them, but Hyejin had insisted on both fronts with equal vigor. Miyane, for the life of her, could not be bothered questioning her reasons. Likely something about fresh air, or keeping up with the city, or taking in the view. Never mind that the view was the same as it ever was in Tenoroshi, with today’s climate providing an ambient bleakness to the whole damn thing.

Not in here though. Soundproofed windows, gentle heating, the atmosphere of a place where everyone who was anyone knew they had to visit at some point. It blanketed their senses. The café’s other patrons conversed onwards, oblivious to the incident taking place outside. Too important for a faceless grin in the crowd.

“<<Did you visit Gangnam often back home?>>” Miyane asked lightly, the conversation still proceeding in Hyejin’s native language. The restrained smile on her lips corrected itself when Hyejin reached for her phone. “<<What are you doing?>>”

“<<Contacting the police.>>”

“<<Don’t do that,>>” the idol frowned.

“<<But someone needs to do something. You’ve already finished your coffee anyway.>>”

“<<Yes. Because I drank it in peace. Peacefully.>>” Fourteen years of media conditioning enunciated the statement. “<<I might have enjoyed the quiet more than I did the coffee itself.>>”

Hyejin caught on. Finally. “<<Right. Low profile.>>”

“<<Thank you.>>”

“<<But—>>”

For god's sake.

“<<—no one has to know you’re here.>>”

“<<No MiA. Just a representative of TS Entertainment. The company has had enough run-ins with the authorities for the current century.>>”

Hyejin pouted some more. Rummaging for more pleas, likely.

“<<He’s getting hurt.>>”

“<<I can see that.>>”

“<<Why are you so against something being done?>>”

“<<Because it doesn’t ma—>>”

She stopped herself just in time. That was close.

Hyejin’s undyed brows furrowed together. “<<Doesn’t what?>>”

“<<Nothing.>>”

“<<Miya-ssi?>>”

Because it doesn’t matter. Tenoroshi was a city that trundled relentlessly, always forward. Permanence was a privilege few could acquire. It wasn’t cruel, it was just a fact of life. Hell, she quietly admired it. An entropic devouring of the masses. The man could get peacefully assaulted for the same reason a girl that had once dominated the worldwide charts could sit in a café undisturbed. Tenoroshi was her destiny.

A suitable resting place for a fallen idol.

“<<Actually. Do whatever you want,>>” Miyane shrugged. Her glasses case clacked open, pulled from her LV handbag, and she adjusted the sunglasses on her face.

“<<Really?>>”

“<<Yes. Call them, then we’re leaving.>>”

The manager nodded rapidly, beaming. “<<I knew you cared.>>”

Miyane waited without reply, giving the café a cursory glance in preparation of exit. It was easier this way. No sulking to deal with later that night. She’d probably saved a bottle or two of soju as well, in the long run.

The call completed in little time. She practically leapt out of her seat.

“<<Your Japanese has improved,>>” Miyane remarked, leading them both to the door as she did.

“<<Ooh, for reals?>>”

“<<Indeed. You have that overseas boyfriend in the bag.>>”

“<<Miya-ssi!>>”

Lostman Grafitti

@ERode

Can we control our NPCs for these scenes?

Lostman Grafitti

@Savo

I'm cool with that. If they ever did have a conversation it'd likely be a brief one of her giving him a chance to leave before she calls security. Thinking the guy is just another kid fan trying to get a glimpse of Daehyun.

Lostman Grafitti

@Asuras

Ye, I don't mind them having met. Miyane probs would've gave a big flashy autograph accompanied by a flaky "follow your dreams, kid". Depends on how pushy Mana is, there might have been a brief conversation too.

Lostman Grafitti

-Takamagahara is Central, Tenoroshi Docks is Eastern, Takamagahara is Central.
-I'm cool with discussing pre-existing relationships, but people are unlikely to have ever seen Miyane in person unless they spend a considerable amount of time trying to sneak onto the filming set at the Docks. Or hang out way too much at local karaoke joints.
-Not particularly for or against a Discord, though personally I don't think a group of this size would really need one.
-For Miyane's sister's hider, it should read 'Sou *Miori'

Otherwise, it's time to chiiilllll

Lostman Grafitti

Miyane Sou

_Credit

Identity:
- Miyane Sou (莊 美夜音 Sou Miyane). 서 미아. MiA. She'll respond to all of them with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
- 32 years old. 14th year as a member of legendary idol group, 8team (currently on hiatus). 3rd year since Japan debut.
- Hobbies include spilling lives on hit mobile game, Lolly Lobber, building figurines, binging local dramas, karaoke, piano, drinking with her ex and manager.
- Currently occupies the 5th floor of Hanshin Building of Tamagakahara.
- 163cm. Not allowed to weigh more than 50kg. Pale skin, well-maintained. Long, natural hair, unkempt these days. Usually barefaced. Dresses richer than you (when she actually goes outside).

Psyche: She considers herself rational.

Elegant under pressure. Charming, maybe. They called her 'fatal' back in her prime. Those years of media conditioning classes had railroaded her into playing the ice queen of the group, but that persona wasn't completely unfounded. Miyane deems most things not worth emoting, to the dismay of many.

Beneath all that, she's exhausted. She's got her reasons, of course, but most social obligations seem to tire her out to a more severe extent than most people. If you're a stranger (or... anyone, really), the most you can expect from her is an autograph and a withering smile before she conjures some flimsy excuse to leave. There are only a handful of exceptions to this rule.

She's tired. So she hides. She's tried the resurrection thing and that only panned out mildly well. Knowing the feeling of having the world in your hands isn't all it's cracked up to be. Any middling success that comes after might as well be a failure if it's not breaking through all the ceilings.

So yeah. Miyane considers herself rational. Because the only other word she could use is 'cowardly'.

Background: They called them the nation's girl group.

Not her nation, exactly, but they welcomed her nonetheless. She was too young to realise the significance of it all when she passed the overseas audition.

It only took that one song. One smash hit and success erupted like an atom bomb. They became legends, transcended to previously inconceivable levels of cultural significance. They weren't just another throwaway idol group. They represented an entire continent.

Miyane, or 'MiA' as her stage name dictated, always felt like the ugly duckling of the bunch. She struggled with the language longer than she liked, was a bit too serious on their TV appearances. Too stiff, too foreign. The girls loved her nonetheless, and she loved them back. Maybe a bit too much.

Because when that stupid, bullshit scandal hit, she didn't know what to do. She hid. Then she ran. Real quick too. Didn't stop to even look back and see if they forgave her for taking off.

There were a lot of scrapped ideas. Plans that fell through. She recycled them for their own purposes, trying to reclaim even just a fraction of what she had in Korea. And it worked, to some extent. Her name re-emerged in Japan, risen like a phoenix. There was talk of 8team's next big soloist. Then the usual vitriol caught up and she went back into hiding.

Now she keeps to that barren apartment. Shuts the sunlight out and just... waits. Patiently too. She waits to be forgotten; waits for the end, and with it, sweet release.

Quirks:
- Tugs on her sleeve when stressed. Sniffs the scent of fabric softener from her sleeve when even more stressed.
- Fluent in Japanese and Korean. Speaks enough basic English and Chinese to hail a taxi in their respective countries.
- Theme

Lostman Grafitti [Character Driven Urban Fantasy]

I did have one in mind, but I think it'll be more fun to have you make it up to see what I can improv around it.

Cos I based it around the Korean idol industry and the wacky real-life scandal stuff that comes out of it ranges from "slept/smoked pot with an underage trainee" to "bought real estate one time" to "is an actual pimp, also evaded a shit ton of taxes" to "accidentally used the Imperial Japan Snapchat filter on Korean Independence Day" to "was exposed using legally prescripted anti-depressants for professionally diagnosed mental health issues, how immoral" to "straight up sexually assulted someone" to "stared too long at another idol".

So feel free to shop around.