Hikaru Aosora 光青空 (Akira Tsukuda 光佃), PIX WIZ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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unfinishedlibrary2025-11-19 04:29 pm
extrasaltypotato) wrote in unfinishedlibrary2025-11-19 04:29 pm
Entry tags:
Stop Trying To Make Fetch A Thing! (Week II)
Who: Michiko Tsukuda? and mostly OTA
Where: In various Woodhurst locations.
When: 19/NOV/2019 to 27/NOV/2019
What: A strangely upbeat and very girly Michiko Tsukuda crashes straight into the life she tried to slip into like a cute new skirt.
Why: Comedy and pathos, baby.
Warning: Intense bullying and sexism, the Pod People creep factor.
1: And hide her away from the rest of the world - School, Throughout
[Michiko seems weirdly upbeat when she comes back to class, all dressed up in her uniform with the skirt, wearing a... cute new hat... and a hair bow in the back? And is that nail polish? Is she taking selfies at the lunch table and snapping pictures of sausages cut into octopus shapes in her lunch boxes? Most of the other girls look at her like she's a space alien. Too many, though not most, of the boys are still sniggering as she passes - the joke about 'tsuk-u-da' hasn't yet gotten old.
But in the middle of the week, when one of them walks up to her to hassle her about it, she winces. And when he actually calls her that, miming the obscene joke with a banana, Michiko does something unexpected.
She starts crying, and bolts for the girl's bathroom like a frightened rabbit.
Thrown off his script, the bewildered bully stammers something, and at the approach of a teacher, retreats. The tears weren't an act or tactical maneuver either; she's still distraught, quickly donning her hat if anyone else comes in as she dabs away tears. What on Earth is going on with Michiko Tsukuda?]
2: That's All They Really Want - Woodhurst, Afternoons
[She's mostly going shopping and taking pictures of her finds - at Dream Palace (A), at the Anime and Comics Merch Store (B), at Clothing Stores (C) and at an Ice Cream Shop (D), seeking things that are, above all... cute. Shoujo manga like Idol Fancy, plushies of the Zodiac Madiens and of a half-rose half-fox JRPG mascot, cute skirts and anime or video game t-shirts with female characters in gold, pink and teal, sundaes or parfaits with twice her daily allowance of sugar and Instagram appeal.
Most of this stuff didn't appeal to her until this week. And she still never takes off that hat.]
3: When The Working Day Is Done - Home, Evening
[Of course she invites her friends to another watch party! You know her, she wouldn't miss hanging out with her friends and watching anime over Chocostiks and popcorn for the world!
Though, it is a little odd that she starts with Zodiac Maidens, Nightmare Rouser Seiko, and sighs dreamily at Saburo noticing that Junko is actually pretty cute in Majong Heart Flippers, innit? Stranger still, the second season finale of Ad Terra where the OLS Endurance runs into an Earth ship - to their horror, the UES Dreadnought, with it's winged skull figurehead - seems to...
...bore her? Last week, hadn't Michiko been hyping this episode up?]
4: Oh Daddy Dearest, You're Still Number One - Home, closed to close CR
[She comes home for a second watch party, hugging her father warmly, which takes him aback. They converse, but her phone is out and her eyes flick to it - more often when the conversation turns to Japanese - and her mother scolds her for it. When her mom takes the phone, she huffs that she's going up to her room, terminating the conversation, and leaving you alone with the Tsukuda parents.
And her father, in his shirt with the tie removed, exchanges a haunted glance with her mother, in her yukata. And Ms. Tsukuda nods, and Mr. Tsukuda takes off his glasses and polishes them before pushing them back up his nose.]
You're Michiko's friends - even those who only met her last week. You know her better than us.
[That last sentence is clearly very difficult for him to admit. It takes Ms. Tsukuda putting a hand on Mr. Tsukuda's back in silent support for him to continue.]
And... that's not her, is it? That girl is not our Michiko. Am I wrong? Or am I going crazy?
Where: In various Woodhurst locations.
When: 19/NOV/2019 to 27/NOV/2019
What: A strangely upbeat and very girly Michiko Tsukuda crashes straight into the life she tried to slip into like a cute new skirt.
Why: Comedy and pathos, baby.
Warning: Intense bullying and sexism, the Pod People creep factor.
1: And hide her away from the rest of the world - School, Throughout
[Michiko seems weirdly upbeat when she comes back to class, all dressed up in her uniform with the skirt, wearing a... cute new hat... and a hair bow in the back? And is that nail polish? Is she taking selfies at the lunch table and snapping pictures of sausages cut into octopus shapes in her lunch boxes? Most of the other girls look at her like she's a space alien. Too many, though not most, of the boys are still sniggering as she passes - the joke about 'tsuk-u-da' hasn't yet gotten old.
But in the middle of the week, when one of them walks up to her to hassle her about it, she winces. And when he actually calls her that, miming the obscene joke with a banana, Michiko does something unexpected.
She starts crying, and bolts for the girl's bathroom like a frightened rabbit.
Thrown off his script, the bewildered bully stammers something, and at the approach of a teacher, retreats. The tears weren't an act or tactical maneuver either; she's still distraught, quickly donning her hat if anyone else comes in as she dabs away tears. What on Earth is going on with Michiko Tsukuda?]
2: That's All They Really Want - Woodhurst, Afternoons
[She's mostly going shopping and taking pictures of her finds - at Dream Palace (A), at the Anime and Comics Merch Store (B), at Clothing Stores (C) and at an Ice Cream Shop (D), seeking things that are, above all... cute. Shoujo manga like Idol Fancy, plushies of the Zodiac Madiens and of a half-rose half-fox JRPG mascot, cute skirts and anime or video game t-shirts with female characters in gold, pink and teal, sundaes or parfaits with twice her daily allowance of sugar and Instagram appeal.
Most of this stuff didn't appeal to her until this week. And she still never takes off that hat.]
3: When The Working Day Is Done - Home, Evening
[Of course she invites her friends to another watch party! You know her, she wouldn't miss hanging out with her friends and watching anime over Chocostiks and popcorn for the world!
Though, it is a little odd that she starts with Zodiac Maidens, Nightmare Rouser Seiko, and sighs dreamily at Saburo noticing that Junko is actually pretty cute in Majong Heart Flippers, innit? Stranger still, the second season finale of Ad Terra where the OLS Endurance runs into an Earth ship - to their horror, the UES Dreadnought, with it's winged skull figurehead - seems to...
...bore her? Last week, hadn't Michiko been hyping this episode up?]
4: Oh Daddy Dearest, You're Still Number One - Home, closed to close CR
[She comes home for a second watch party, hugging her father warmly, which takes him aback. They converse, but her phone is out and her eyes flick to it - more often when the conversation turns to Japanese - and her mother scolds her for it. When her mom takes the phone, she huffs that she's going up to her room, terminating the conversation, and leaving you alone with the Tsukuda parents.
And her father, in his shirt with the tie removed, exchanges a haunted glance with her mother, in her yukata. And Ms. Tsukuda nods, and Mr. Tsukuda takes off his glasses and polishes them before pushing them back up his nose.]
You're Michiko's friends - even those who only met her last week. You know her better than us.
[That last sentence is clearly very difficult for him to admit. It takes Ms. Tsukuda putting a hand on Mr. Tsukuda's back in silent support for him to continue.]
And... that's not her, is it? That girl is not our Michiko. Am I wrong? Or am I going crazy?
no subject
Charles isn't sure what. First Shadow started acting strangely- missing cues, little in jokes, things he should know, missing the little nonverbal ways the pair usually tended to communicate. But at least he was still... generally Shadow-ish.
This though? Michiko was acting like a whole different person. Charles couldn't help the pit of dread in his stomach at the idea of it, wondering what was happening with his friends, what was going on in Woodhurst lately. The whole thing felt too big for him to handle but surely he could help his friend? Surely he could do that much?
He accepted the invitation to come over and hang out- honestly he would have anyways, his father had been a right prat that morning, and his mood definitely wouldn't have improved by the time he got off of work. But it also meant more time around Michiko where maybe he could figure out what had her behaving so strangely. If he was a bit subdued when they came into the Tsukuda household, he was ready to beg it off as just being a little tired. But the interaction here was strange. Charles can't help but be worried all the more watching the interaction, seeing the confusion and agitation in her parents before suddenly Michiko is all but flouncing from the room, leaving him alone with them.
He doesn't miss that glance shared between them, fingers worrying at the strap of the backpack over his shoulder, a common enough gesture when he's uneasy or stressed by something. He wasn't sure what he was expecting here, but Mr. Tsukuda's small, uncertain query? Wasn't it. Charles' eyes widened a bit as his gaze fixed more directly on the pair, darting uneasily from them to the hallway that their supposed daughter had gone down, as if to make sure she wasn't lingering before turning his attention to them, desperate for some sort of backup in figuring out what was happening.]
I don't... I don't know, Mr. Tsukuda, [He wished he could say one way or another but he didn't have any concrete proof.] Not for sure, at least but... I've known Michiko a long time, yeah? Since we were little and all, and... right now she seems like a total stranger.
no subject
“I thought I wanted this,” she said. “For her to… to act like a girl. But not like this.”
She looks at the confiscated smartphone, the locked smartphone, trying to maintain composure.
“Charles, do you know much about the Japanese language? Did she ever teach you?”
no subject
"You wanted that yeah," He'd heard their arguments over the years, and sort of got it. While he was a fierce defender of his friend and her right to be however she pleased, he also understood her parent's worries at least in the abstract. "But you still wanted it to be her."
And whatever was going on, that wasn't Michiko.
"She taught me a bit here and there yeah. Not fluent by a long shot, but I'm alright in a conversation if it's not too fast or complicated."
no subject
He slides over a piece of art on the fridge, a drawing of a girl from a fantasy anime looking up from under her chin, signed neatly with the characters 佃光子.
“This is from two weeks ago,” he says.
no subject
"Think I saw her workin' on that one, actually." He confirmed, looking from the art to the Tsukada parents, knowing there was surely something to this line of thought.
no subject
The picture he slides over is…
For one thing, a more technically impressive work with a similar pose, the shading with watercolor markers more nuanced and precise.
But more importantly, it’s signed ‘みつこ つくだ’ instead.
“Do I need to tell you what’s wrong with this?” he asks.
no subject
"That... that's not how she signs things," Charles replied softly, brows furrowed as his gaze traced over the symbols. "It's not kanji and... it's written backwards, innit? Like... whoever was writin' it was more familiar with English or sommat like it."
Charles knew that well enough from his own impromptu lessons, and it just made him all the more nervous.
no subject
“Michiko hasn’t signed in hirigana since she was nine,” she says. “And you’re absolutely right - even then it was our name first, her name second. Tsukuda Michiko, not -”
She glances at the confiscated smart phone, hand hovering over her mouth.
no subject
It had been strange, and out of character for some, but not quite to this level.
"Shadow's been actin' funny too. Not as odd as Michiko, but... somethin' weird's goin' on here." Was it... imposters? If so why? And if so... were Shadow and Michiko safe?
no subject
At Charles news, though, mother and father exchange glances, carefully controlled, but with horror lurking behind them.
“Should… should we call the police?” she asks, knowing they won’t take it seriously - assuming they aren’t compromised themselves. “What… how can we get our baby, your friend, back?”
no subject
No.
Michiko had watched out for, protected him. Now he would do the same for her. Somehow.
"I don't know... if we tell the wrong person, then things might get worse," Wasn't that how it always went in these sorts of stories? The wrong person overheard, or found out, and plans got accelerated? "If... if we don't let on that we know, maybe she'll slip up and we'll learn somethin' or even be able to follow her to... I dunno to wherever Michiko actually is?"
no subject
Mister Tsukuda shakes his head.
“How do you put it? Stiff upper lip? We’ll have to humor our… the cuckoo,” he says, softly. “Bear it, put things together.”
“If you can find out the pin number to this,” Missus Tsukuda adds, “I will bet actual money it has a translator app on it.”
She puts her hand over her eyes and takes a single gasping shallow breath.
no subject
"That's the way, Mr. Tsukada," Charles offered a faint, reassuring sort of smile, especially at how upset Michiko's mother looked over the situation. "And yeah. I'll bring it up- I think I can get her to unlock it for me and have a little snoop."
It wouldn't be the first time he'd borrowed Michiko's phone to text his own mother when he'd once again forgotten to charge his own. Or his father had broken his phone.
no subject
In a voice much louder than the stage whispering everyone had slipped into without realizing, Michiko says, "It is always such a delight to see you - and I think she may need this back."
She hands Charles the cell phone with a broad smile that nonetheless doesn't push up the corners of her eyes.
"Take this up too," she adds, giving him a bowl of mixed rice crackers. "You're all still growing, after all."
no subject
"I'll bring it up to her," The bowl was taken too, his own smile strained, worried, but at least a little genuine in the idea that he didn't have to try and solve this all on his own. "Thanks Missus Tsukuda, you're the best."
Only once he was sure he could keep himself in that cheery sort of mood would he head back, intent on making sure that nothing seemed off to... whoever it was posing as Michiko.
2(B)
Laina's probably on entirely the wrong theories as to what could be going on, even though she's spoken to a few people. The solution, obviously, is to go say hi.
Look, Michiko's not emotionless, it's not that movie.]
Hey, Mitch. You wanna go skateboards?
[That way of saying it was, of course, a meme that Laina had used with Michiko previously. A test of memory, helpful for determining if this was the actual Michiko or not.]
Re: 2(B)
Oh! Hello, Laina!
[Did 'Mitch' consult her phone as often as she was doing now?]
I'd love to after I'm done here. Found some kneepads that might suit you.
[This is the meme. This is her head. This is the meme going over her head.
...that wouldn't be inherently suspicious; if not for her heritage the real Michiko would be a weeb, rather than that internet poisoned. But Laina showed her that clip. She laughed at it.
It may be time to have a cow about it.]
Re: 2(B)
Oh? Do tell.
[Oh. Oh, it's the flowerfoxes. God those things always tried to nom crops. She's not sure she's glad to be reminded of them, but says nothing there, they're a coincidence right?
Okay, next step, try to go with her. It's unlikely suddenly girly Michiko can, like, overpower Laina if she tries to knock her out or something, and most other ways this could go bad aren't a thing!
The possibility Possibly Fake Michiko just won't do anything like that has not occurred to Laina yet.]
Re: 2(B)
[Indeed, she produces lightweight plastic greaves in a pretty shade of Gnomon’s purple, with some blue flower designs.
The sort of thing Mitch wouldn’t be caught dead buying or making.
(Hers would have had some kind of fannish flourish.)]
I’m almost done here, would love to see your progress.
Re: 2(B)
[Okay, yeah, definite concerns. Try to get her to reveal something. Alarm bells going, but not snowing on her face.]
no subject
Something is very, very wrong. And luckily, Siobhan knows exactly what is going wrong. (And she is very, very glad that she insisted to Hikaru that they still watch the movie together, even though he was right that she'd be bothered by it.)
"You are not going mad," Siobhan says very, very sincerely, taking Mr. Tsukuda's hand and pressing it between her own. "I have seen an informative film about something like this. Michiko has been bodysnatched. It is up us, her friends, to either rescue her or failing that avenge her."
no subject
But they recover quickly. “Charles was thinking along those lines. And then we stopped hearing from him. Please be careful,” missus Tsukuda says.
Mister Tsukuda, on the other hand, looks like he wants to ask something, but has thought better of it.
no subject
no subject
“…how did you end up meeting my girl, miss - uh -”
“Shaavhan,” the Missus supplies.
“Yes. Siobhan,” the Mr. concludes.
“Like the man from that one cartoon I watched with our girl, the general -”
“Kaede-chan, itoshī hito, mō tetsudau no wa yamete kudasai.”
no subject
no subject
Reassured that at the very least, Sio means to help, and is just like that.
Kaede Tsukuda shakes her head. “It’s not like it’s hard to pronounce. What you see is what you get.”
no subject
(She had done a little research on the Earthly equivalent of the Green Wood she'd named herself for with Thorne's help and it turned out that here it was a Black Forest and also deutschmarks were a kind of money there. Siobhan was very proud of adapting the meme she'd learned to a new currency.)