ic Teenage Dream [OPEN]

Dracostern · March 10

Cerebral and Cerebellum

"Interesting." Their academy seemed rather restricting to Iris, though some people did prefer that kind of thing so she would not speak out against it, though she was a little suspicious about all of this. Still, they were here for fun not looking to pick a fight. "Well I hope we can meet up again so-." She was cut off by the chanting that Sam seemed to have started. People were getting into it, even her own twin!

Daniel was excited, he couldn't wait to hear Multiplicity play, and no one was really talking to his specifically now so he was getting a little bored as well. So when the chant started, he was obviously going to join in and so he would! "MUL-TI-PLICI-TY! MUL-TI-PLICI-TY! MUL-TI-PLICI-TY!"

Iris shook her head, she had been cut off but she wasn't going to hold that against anyone as her gaze followed her brother's to the stage.

Kaede Kimura · March 11

Blue Bolt

Vueriz gave Neko a grateful look as she revealed a tiny disguise, nodding profusely at the offer. She was glad when neither of the strangers seemed to be bothered, apparently being former Claremont students, but after one close call she didn't want to tempt fate.

Now disguised, she held her hand up to the strangers to shake. "I'm Vueriz, it's nice to meet you both. Provided it wouldn't interrupt Neko's disguise, I'd be happy to go see the others."

She paused briefly as the sounds of chanting began to filter into the room, before sheepishly adding, "And it might be a good idea to not delay the band any further, before they start a riot without us."

TheAbsurdist · March 11

Jonah arrived like the big guy he was, slouching, and hiding his face in a hoodie and a ball cap for the national parks service, wearing a pair of heavy cargo pants, and he glanced about at everyone else. He wanted to get out and be supporting for the classmate, he liked Bernie, if just because she was game for adventure. He hadn't really interacted with her boyfriend, but he had to be cool too, right?

Now, he kept his appearance more human, given... well they had to get here, and he didn't want to fly (listen it felt weird to do it) or wander around all blue skinned up. He moved up to the classmates he recognized, as the chanting started up, a little uncertainly as he glanced behind him to make sure he wasn't like blocking anyone. Nodding to the other people he saw, the twins were easy to find before he tucked his hands into his hoodie's pockets.

He started to say hello, but the chanting started and he felt a bit awkward, and sort of joined in.

Avenger Assembled · March 13

Neko/Owain

Neko pulled her disguise down around Vueriz like pulling the cover on an umbrella, standing back with a confident smile as she saw her friend's transformation. "You should look how you would like to look," she whispered to her. With that, she hopped up on the stage. Winking down at Blue Bolt, she spread her arms wide, catching the attention of the crowd. Glowing, translucent cats seemed to form in the air around her, dancing in an intricate pattern before they flew out into the crowd.

Laughing in a voice that carried across the room, she said "Hello, friends! I am Neko Musume - the Internet's favorite catgirl! Supaa-kawaii!" She gave her usual double-V signal, making her fangirls in the crowd go wild. Up close, Blue Bolt could see the seeming transformation in Neko, as if a light had been flipped or a switch thrown, turning her into someone who projected More glowing images appeared, fast-moving clips of Neko herself from her show. "I am here to introduce you to my friends -"

Meanwhile, Owain, having exchanged phone numbers, had returned to his friend group looking very pleased with himself, sitting down next to Michael but casting his gaze towards the group from the other school thoughtfully.

"MUL-TI-PLI-CI-TY!" With every syllabus of Neko's words, another member of the band seemed to appear out of nowhere - Bernadette clearly visible as the star she was along with her usual crew but each backup singer bore a novel disguise, each of them kitted out like a different era of rockstar. There was a pink-haired glam rocker and rockabilly babe, and others that seemed to shift around when the eye wasn't on them. "And they are ready to par-tay - ROCK AND ROLL STYLE!"

Sweating just a little, Neko disappeared into the backstage, where she could have a little privacy and concentrate on maintaining the illusion. It wouldn't show up on cameras, of course - but that would only add to the band's mystery.

Thevshi · March 13

Multi-Girl

Another of Bernadette’s disguised duplicates came to join the rest as Neko provided an illusion to help conceal the fact the backup singers were all duplicates. As they heard the chanting from outside, Bernadette could not help but grin. "I think Vueriz is right, we had better get out there." She said before giving Charlie a quick kiss before he and Vueriz went to join the other Claremont students in the crowed.

The band waited at the edge of the stage for Neko to introduce them and cover their arrival with her illusions. Off to the left edge of the stage (from the audience’s view) a piano had been set up, which was somewhat out of place. Bernadette moved to the microphone set up in the center of the stage near the front edge, while her disguised duplicates took up places to the right of the stage near the bass player.

The Irish redhead looked out over the crowd with a wide smile before she glanced back to Summer who had just finished getting all set up. The lights in the club dimmed and soon the main lighting was just those shining onto parts of the stage.

The first song began with Bernadette singing with a low raspy crackle in her voice as she was accompanied by some guitar and bass.

They're gonna clean up your looks

With all the lies in the books

To make a citizen out of you

Because they sleep with a gun

And keep an eye on you, son

So they can watch all the things you do.

As she went into the next section, Bernadette’s voice went to a more normal tone as the drummer started accompanying as well, starting with a steady beat.

Because the drugs never work

They're gonna give you a smirk

'Cause they got methods of keeping you clean

They're gonna rip up your heads

Your aspirations to shreds

Another cog in the murder machine.

As the song went into the chorus, the beat from the rest of the band picked up and Bernadette’s two duplicates began adding backup vocals.

They said, "All teenagers scare the livin' s#@t out of me"

They could care less as long a someone'll bleed

So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me

Bernadette returned to having the raspy cackle in her voice as the rest of the band when back to a slow steady accompanying beat…

The boys and girls in the clique

The awful names that they stick

You’re never gonna fit in much, kid

Her voice retuned to normal as she continued…

But if you're troubled and hurt

What you got under your shirt

Will make them pay for the things that they did.

Once again her duplicates began adding backup vocals and beat picked up pace.

They said, "All teenagers scare the livin' s#@t out of me"

They could care less as long a someone'll bleed

So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me

Ooooooooh, yeah!

Summer went into a short guitar solo with the rest of the band before Bernadette began singing again, this time only accompanied by the drummer.

They said, "All teenagers scare the livin' s#@t out of me"

They could care less as long a someone'll bleed

So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me

All together now!

The rest of the band and the disguised duplicate backup singers all joined in once more.

"Teenagers scare the livin' s#@t out of me"

They could care less as long a someone'll bleed

So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me

"Teenagers scare the livin' s#@t out of me"

They could care less as long a someone'll bleed

So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose

Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me

The song ended almost immediately as Bernadette stopped signing, with Summer getting a few last guitar cords in to finish out the song.

Poncho · March 13

"Boxing and kickboxing? I did a little bit of Boxing before but I ended up getting too busy. I've done some Muay Thai recently though, learning under this really cool teacher." he said. When Sam started slamming her feet and yelling, he flinched as well, clearly not expecting her to start yelling. But he focused on other things momentarily. When Owain sat back down, he clapped him on the shoulder supportively, never losing the winning smile he practiced in the mirror every single day

"Great job man!" he said with supreme enthusiasm. "If we end up having our little pick up game we can't go easy on them though! We play to win, alright!?" He laughed over-enthusiastically at that idea. Then when Jonah appeared he greeted him too, standing up over the seat to wave at the much taller Claremonter. "Jonah! Hi! How are you managing? You need anything?"

Then Sam hooked him by the belt and pulled him back down into his seat. "Mikey! Focus! Bernie's here!" she yelled as the place got deafening suddenly. "Wait, did they get more members?" she asked him suddenly.

"...Maybe? Maybe they're her friends." he whispered back as the song started.

When it finished, they were right back on their feet to cheer and shout, Sam once more abusing the poor table by stomping on it to make more noise for her cheering.

Dracostern · March 14

Cerebral and Cerebellum

Daniel stopped chanting as he heard the band start playing their music, and they were pretty good to him! Then Bernadette opened her mouth and sang her heart out. He could not stop his jaw from dropping at how amazing her singing voice was. This entire event in general had really hit home just how different their lives were now.

Iris’ eyes just widened. It was as if this was the first time either of them had heard a band playing, and that was largely true. They stared at Multiplicity for a moment before…

Tap tap..

Tap tap…

The twins were tapping their feet on the floor in rhythm to the song.

RocketLord · March 14

The STORMCROW

Kissing Bernie quickly, Charlie waved at her with a grin, before he turned to Vueriz. "C'mon, you'll get a better look at what's going on from the other side of the stage, V. You coming, Callie?"

While Multiplicity gets on stage and begins the songs, Charlie leads Vueriz through the crowds. He has already spotted the group of students that's there to cheer for Bernie. Honestly, it feels kind of weird seeing everyone together like that, with the year and change that he had missed, and having been a year ahead of Bernie anyway. There's a few students that he recognizes as having been at Claremont while he was there, and more that he has never met, aside from briefly at the christmas party. And then, there's Michael of course. He'll have to remember to ask how his plans have been going.

As he moves, he keeps looking back over his shoulder to make sure the Vueriz is following, alternating between looking at her and Bernie and the band on stage.

"Hey guys, I found a stray wandering around backstage," he says when the first song ends, motioning to Vueriz with his head. "Guess there's a few of you that I haven't seen before. I'm Charlie."

Tiffany Korta · March 15

Madame Raven

Having effortlessly woven through the crowd Callie popped out from behind Charlie, giving a friendly little wave.

"Hello there, I'm Callie a friend of Charlie, we're almost like family really!"

She'd been away for a while so everyone was new to her, but that was okay she still enjoyed meeting new people

"Are we not dancing here? It's been a couple of years but I'm sure people should be dancing!"

Ari · March 18

Knave, Tro-Fi, Seven Sisters

The North Bay Prep trio had joined in the obnoxious hooting and hollering as first Neko and then Multiplicity answered their prayers and emerged to start the set, but rapidly fell silent as the song actually began, the teenagers watching and listening intently to Bernadette and her band. From their demeanour it was obvious that this wasn't anything they were used to, with only Merry able to split her attention between the virtuosic performance and scribbling short notes she passed to Justin in a slowly-growing pile. The longest was written just after the fourth verse. Justin, relaxed and smiling moments before, had transformed into a pillar with a pair of wide, staring eyes pointed at the band but seeing none of them, nodding fractionally along to the litany of woes the song recounted.

Adele was similarly transfixed, her slender hands twisting slowly together into a tight knot. The very stars on her dress seemed to dim, largely thanks to a subtle readjustment of the house lights to better illuminate the stage.

At the close of the song she suddenly let out a breath, coughed a little and smiled awkwardly at Iris. "Wow. It's so much more...powerful in person. Oh! So sorry, I'll give you your seat back." Seeing the other students approaching she'd got smoothly back to her feet and rejoined her schoolmates.

The fading chords seemed to startle Justin back to life, and he clapped his powerful hands together with gusto, pausing only to let out a whistle. Applauding with him and stomping one of her heeled boots on the floor for emphasis, Merry regarded the back line with a sudden interest.

Kaede Kimura · March 19

Blue Bolt

Vueriz followed (not scampered, thank you) after Charlie as he led the way to the Claremont table, glad that she'll be able to join her classmates. She doesn't sit down until the song is over, bopping along to the music, even if her Translator was struggling to keep up, it was still good.

As the song finished, she quickly made her way to Michael's side, the primary person she knew, popping up with a grin and a "Hey Michael, guess who?" She looks around at the assembled group, recognizing the twins, Jonah and Owain from Claremont, but not the others.

"Oh, who are you guys?"

Edited March 19 by Kaede Kimura

Thevshi · March 19

Mulit-Girl

Bernadette and the band waited a few moments for applause and cheers to die down from the first song before they began the next song.

It began with a steady, somewhat low key but catchy drum beat and guitar. When Bernadette began to sing, her voice had a “breathy,” melancholy tone.

Bought a bunch of makeup

Tryna cover up my faaace

I started to skip luuunch

Stopped eatin’ cake on birthdaaaayys

Bought a new prescriptionnnn

To try and stay caaaaalm

‘Cause there’s always somethin’ missinnnn’

There’s always somethin’ in the mirror

That I think looks wrong

As she began to sing the chorus, Bernadette’s voice was more even, if still a bit melancholy, as her duplicates joined in for parts.

When pretty isn’t pretty enoooough

What do you dooooo

And everybody’s keepin’ it uuuup

So you think it’s yooou

The tempo of the music and Bernadette’s singing then picked up for part of the song.

I could change up my body and

Change up my face

I could try every lipstick

In every shaa-aaade

But I’d always feel the saaaaame

‘Cause pretty isn’t pretty enough anyways

Bernadette paused for few moments as Summer and the rest of the band continued to play and then began singing once again with the “breathy,” melancholy tone.

You can win the battllle

But you’ll never win the waaarr

Fix the things you hated

And you’d still feel so insecuuuure

Her voice then returned to normal and she picked up the tempo once more.

And I try to ignore it, but it’s everything I see

It’s on the posters on the wall,

it’s in the sh*@$y magazines

It’s in my phone,

It’s in my head,

It’s in the boys

I bring to bed

It’s all around,

It’s all the time,

I don’t know why I even trrry

When pretty isn’t pretty enoooough

What do you dooooo

And everybody’s keepin’ it uuuup

So you think it’s yooou

I could change up my body and

Change up my face

I could try every lipstick

In every shaa-aaade

But I’d always feel the saaaaame

‘Cause pretty isn’t pretty enough

Both Bernadette and the rest of the band picked up the tempo once again as they immediately went into the finale of the song.

And I bought all the clothes

that they told me to buy

I chased some dumb ideal

my whole fu@$&n’ life

And none of it matters,

and none of it ends

You just feel like s@#t

over and over agaaaaa-aaaaaain

No it’ll never chaaaaange

Pretty isn’t pretty enooough

Everybody’s keepin’ it uuuup, oooh

Pretty isn’t pretty enooough

Poncho · March 19

Michael kept up the applause at the end of each sing, but politely. Bernie was playing a set, after all, which meant he wanted to wait until the end of the performance to really cheer; that's what you were supposed to do at a concert anyway, he assumed. So he had settled back into his seat until the new, tiny person appeared. He inclined his head to the side and looked down at her, frowning.

"Uh..." he scratched his cheek. "I'm sorry...I usually don't forget a face, but I can't put yours to a name right now. Can you give me a hint, maybe?" he asked softly, looking a bit embarassed. His eyes glanced around the table like he was looking for some sort of piece of information that would help him know who this was.

Dracostern · March 19

Cerebral and Cerebellum

Iris blinked then turned towards Adele and blinked for a moment. "Oh umm...it's fine! I hope we can speak again sometime." The female twin gave a very small smile, mostly because she was not used to this kind of interaction....though it was not unwelcome. She would have spoke a bit more but then the second song started up and that caused the young woman to turn towards the stage once more for a moment as she listened to it. Once again her and her brother began to tap their feet to the rhythm of the song. They were impressed!

Daniel, while tapping, noticed a new face appear at their table. A short girl he had never seen before, at least he thought he never saw before. "Hello there Ms." He smiled politely at Vueriz, maybe had he been focusing more he might have seen through the illusion but the music was distracting him somewhat. "What brings you here?"

Kaede Kimura · March 22

Blue Bolt

Vueriz had to admit, she had underestimated how good Neko's illusion was that none of her classmates could tell who she was at all. She grinned mischievously at all the things she could get up to, but decided not to mess with them, since tonight was about Bernadette.

Besides, she could still have a little fun. She had figured out a fun loophole in Neko's illusions after all, when the other girl had used her illusions to talk.

So, while Multiplicity were absolutely slaying their way through the next song, she held up her phone with the reverse camera on into Michael and the Twins' sight line, revealing the small aquamarine alien in their midst, her illusory self bearing an impish grin that her breathing mask normally prevented from showing.

"Ringing any bells?"

Poncho · March 22

"Woah!" Michael said suddenly in surprise when he saw his friend through the camera. "How are you doing that?" he was about to say something else but then he looked at the other kids that were sitting next to them and whispered instead "Are you gassing this whole place in hallucinogen? Or is this some kind of invention you put together?" he looked back at the stage and hrmed a bit. "Oh..or is this Neko?" he whispered quietly.

As Michael was talking to Vueriz, Sam peered over his shoulder to look into the camera.

"Woah. That's sick." She said approvingly. "And excellent outfit choices." she grinned. "I can't believe you know this square." she said, poking Michael in the shoulder. "Come sit down! Before the next song starts."

Thunder King · March 25

As soon as the music started, Ryan tuned everything else out. He was sitting there vibing with the music, tuning the conversation out and enjoying the performance. Ryan, as a musician himself, just listened to each instrument and how well they played together. Bernadette was not only very pretty, but also extremely talented.

He didn't really care too much who the strangers were, he didn't pay much attention to the people around him. He just enjoyed the music. There was something special about live music that made it more enjoyable than any streaming service or radio broadcast. Something much more tangible, more real.

Thevshi · March 25

Multi-Girl

As the band finished the second song, the lights on the stage dimmed until there was only a faint light over the piano and a spotlight that followed Bernadette as she moved over near the piano, the microphone in her hand as she sat the stand down at the end of the piano before she hopped up to sit on the piano. The redhead crossed her legs as she looked out at the shadowy shapes of the crowd in the darkness and Summer sat down at the piano and began playing several slow, soft notes.

After a few moments, Bernadette began to sing in a soft, sorrowful tone as Summer continued to accompany her on the piano.

When am I gonna stop

being wise beyond my years

An' start just being wise?

When am I gonna stop

being a pretty

young thing

ta guys?

When am I gonna stop

being great for my age

An' just start

bein' good?

When will it stop

bein' cool

Ta be quietly misunderstood?

Summer's playing picked up in tempo slightly as Bernadette raised the volume of her voice while keeping a sorrowful tone.

I'll blow out the candles

Happy birthday ta me

Got your whole life ahead o' you,

You're only 19

Bernadette softened her lyrics once again as Summer did the same with the piano notes.

But I fear they already got all the best parts o' meeee

An' I'm sorry that I couldn't always be yer

Teenage d-r-e-a-m

An' when does wide-eyed affection

an' all good intentions

start ta not be enough?

When will everyone have every reason

ta call all my bluffs?

An' when are all my excuses o' learning my lessons

gonna start ta feel sad?

Will I spend all the rest o' my years

wishin' I could go back?

I'll blow out the candles

Happy birthday ta me

Got your whole life ahead o' you,

You're only 19

But I fear they already got all the best parts o' meeee

An' I'm sorry that I couldn't always be your

Teenage d-r-e-a-m

Bernadette hopped off the piano and started slowly walking toward the center of the stage once more as her duplicate backup singers began to sing still just accompanied by Summer’s soft piano notes.