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Category: Diary

March 9, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 7 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

First of all, I forgot to tell you what the producer emailed me about!!! He wanted me to record a small greeting and send it to him.  Just something like “Hi! I’m Lily, the train big sister!  Nice to meet you all!  Don’t embarrass your big sisters!!!” in Japanese.  So I did that.

Apparently during the premiere he played it on the big screen.  The REALLY BIG SCREEN.  And apparently twenty thousand people waved their glow-sticks and roared, and started to chant “onee-chan! onee-chan!”.  They promised to put it on YouTube…

Can my life get weirder?

Okay, well… I’m sure you want to know how the SAT went.  Well, I took it.  It was a test – I went to the local high school and they shepherded us into a room and we all took the test.  So, shouganai, nothing to be done now.  So I’ll wait two weeks or so for the results.  I don’t think I scored like the highest ever, but I think I scored highly enough that I should be able to do what I want.  I wish and hope.  But again, it’s all over now, so I just wait for the results.

I watched the Blu-Ray they sent me.  It was…  fun, but kind of embarrassing.  The single was on there, and…  it’s amazing that they took that filming session and turned it into that!!!  You could tell they dubbed it in, but it was still really well done.  And I did a pretty good job sitting there and looking annoyed.  Yuki did a pretty good job screwing up her face and telling everyone to shut up, too!  It’s pretty catchy.  I guess they’ll sell a few albums.

Remember how I said I’d get a very small cut?  Well, it is very small.  If they sell a hundred thousand albums, I’ll be lucky to get a few dollars.  But I’m not worried.  They paid me for going there, I got to meet Miki and friends, and it all worked out.  And if I get more than I thought, well, I’ll treat my little sisters again.

Beth kinda-sorta figured out their surprise, btw.  I told her to keep quiet about it, it’s a surprise for a reason.  But she’s a little excited… and a little nervous too.  Hah!!!  There’s a hint.  She didn’t get all the details right but enough to ruin it if she spills.  She’d better not.

Anyway.  Everyone’s over tonight and we’re playing games and eating junk.  Sabby told us we can stay up late tonight as a reward for doing the SATs.  Daylight savings starts tonight too… so there might be a bit of sleeping in tomorrow.  But not a lot… I have “duties” at church.  Aww.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Diary

March 8, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 6 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I’m nervous!!! SAT tests tomorrow!! Aww!!!

Anyway, the girls are over tonight but we’re going to go to bed early.  I’m not the only one who has to take SAT tests.  Liz does too, and Beth wants to take a practice test, so…  we’re all going to be busy tomorrow.  Aww.

You know, I realized something today.  You know K-on?  That anime where all the girls start a band?  It’s all girls.  I mean it’s all girls.  I don’t think there’s one male in there except for maybe the guitar shop owner and the school president, maybe more but those are the two that I think have speaking roles.  And I hear love live is even worse – I haven’t watched it yet but I hear there’s exactly two males in the entire thing.

And…  you know?  My life isn’t that different.

There are a few more males, yes, but I don’t talk about them much.  There’s Dave and David of course, there’s Joe, there’s the owner, the conductor, Jack, Liz’s boyfriend (did I ever actually tell you his name?  I forget), the pastor, and… a couple of other guys that have randomly attacked us.  But the cast of girls is huge and keeps growing.

Have I somehow created a Cute Girls doing Cute Things diary???

Hmm.  I might have.

I’m not really sure how I feel about that.  I don’t hate guys.  Other than the ones who attacked us, I like them fine.  But they’re not like sisters.  They’re guys.  I…  guess they’re just guys.  What am I supposed to say?

It’s not cute guys doing cute things…  Well, except for maybe Jack, I guess… haha

Well, I guess this diary is going to be what it is, right?  Just me and a bunch of sisters and a few guys when it’s convenient…

I guess.

Why do I feel a little unsettled about that?

Oh well.  We need to get some sleep.

Love you all!!! ❤️

From the creator:

It’s true that Lily and I are different and what’s on her mind is usually not really what’s on mine, though the themes might sometimes be similar.  But in this case, she does kind of mirror me.  I created a Cute Girls doing Cute Things serial fiction, and it does kind of unsettle me.  It has since the beginning, if we’re being honest.

Oh well.

Contains Additional Notes, Diary

March 7, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 5 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Yuki and I went to see the board of directors today.  As we expected, they weren’t exactly, well, receptive.  But they were fair.

The conductor introduced me as their upcoming soloist, and I introduced Yuki as a former Japanese performer who was very famous in Japan.

The conductor said he’d heard I was pretty famous too, while smirking.

I blushed.

Anyway, I explained my idea for introducing a couple of idol songs with real idols dancing, and played a YouTube of one of Yuki’s performances.

They watched politely, and then asked why I thought they, a classical music organization, would ask them to make time for something that was so, well, not classical music?

I told them that Yuki was really famous in Japan, I was a little famous, that when we put on a performance in our little live house that we had a full house made of mostly of people who flew from Japan just to see her, and that it was a pretty good bet that if they did something like that, that they’d have, if not a full house, than a pretty full house.  And also a very engaged and passionate audience, who would sit politely through the classical parts of the program and probably even enjoy them.

And that it would do a lot for international recognition of their organization.

They weren’t exactly persuaded, but they seemed more persuaded than when we started, so I guess that’s a good thing.  They said that idol performances seem to have a few dancers and singers, and that Yuki was only one – where was she going to get other dancers if they decided to do that?

She said she had that under control.  And winked at me.  She said she had to ask a few people for some favors, but that she’d have a lineup worthy of Tokyo Dome.

I hope she’s not thinking what I think she’s thinking.

I really hope she’s not thinking what I think she’s thinking.

They thanked us for our time, and said they’d tell us their decision shortly.

I guess that’s all we can expect.

Yuki’s not telling me what she’s planning.  I really, really, really hope she’s not thinking what I think she’s thinking.

Lots of stuff happening this weekend.  The new single, “densha ni oneechan wo komarasanaide” (don’t embarrass your older sister on the train) is out tomorrow.  I guess otaku are already lining up to buy a blu-ray.  Yuki and I both had one show up unexpectedly at our door via FedEx this morning.  I haven’t got a chance to watch it yet, maybe I’ll watch it after the SATs on Saturday.  Yuki did watch it, and said it’s remarkably well made, if a little cheesy.  Which is about par for idol stuff, so no biggie.

Miki and group have a handshake event tomorrow with all the otaku who buy a copy, so…  hope they have fun.  And don’t catch anything…

Alright.  Gotta go.  I’m practiced out and studied out and tired.

Oh, hmm.  An email from the producer.  Wonder what that’s about…

Love you all!!! ❤️

From the creator:

So, it turns out, I pretty much made a “cute girls doing cute things” serial fiction before I even know that was a thing.   I guess liking cute girls doing cute things is universal, eh.

Lily is currently thinking about that and will say something about it soon.  She watched k-on and is starting to put the pieces together.

Diary

March 5, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 4 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I’ve been so boring lately!! Awww!!! I mean, you come here for your dose of cute lily, but also to know what I’ve been up to, and all my sisters and family and stuff, and all I’ve been doing is practicing!!!  I just talk about practicing and Japan and a couple of other things!

But… I guess if you’re going to be with me on the really good things, like when I go to Japan or when I do concerts or when I eat chocolate… I guess you’re going to be with me on the boring things as well.  I mean, if we were real friends, it’d be the same way, right?  I’d be sitting on the bed with a book and you’d be flopped over on the floor with a music player and maybe we wouldn’t even say anything!  Then we’d get chocolate and go back to doing whatever we were doing!!!

So I guess it’s okay.  But it’s not, too!  You’re a guest on my diary!  I have to keep you entertained!!!

Well, I guess I can try.

I hope I do well on the SATs this weekend.  I took a practice test and I did alright, but I’m a little worried.  And there’s no Japanese on SATs!!!  Aww!!!  And no music!!!  Just Math and English…  But I’m sure it’ll be alright.

After the SATs I’m going to send in my application to Meiji and then maybe take a break.  Not from practicing!  But from the other stuff.  It’s been exhausting.

Speaking of exhausting… I guess bed isn’t a horrible idea.  Goodnight!!!

Don’t hog the blankets!!!

Love you all!!! ❤️

From the creator

Lily kind of mirrors my feelings right now.  I feel like the story’s been boring.  Oh well.  Shouganai.

Diary, Contains Additional Notes

March 4, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 3 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

It’s already warm outside!!!  This summer might be bad again!  Awww!!!

So today was like usual – practice, practice, practice.  Aww.  And Beth wanted to practice her song too.  And…  I have to study for SATs too.  They’re this Saturday!!! So much to do…  I took one of those practice tests online though and did pretty well, so it should be alright.

Not a whole lot going on right now.  The conductor wants me to do have a meeting with the board of directors to pitch my idea, and he wants me to bring Yuki along too.  I guess we’ll do that this week.  I asked Yuki and she said it’s fine.  She’ll take any chance she can get to, well, shine as she puts it.  And the audiences here are much less… obsessive.

So, I guess we’ll see how that turns out.

I wish there were famous Japanese composers, I could learn a Japanese piano concerto and we could have a Japanese night, but I don’t think that will work out.  Honestly, I think the board will be a very tough sell.  And I don’t really blame them.  I’m suggesting something that’s a little, ummm… unusual.

But unusual isn’t always bad.  I think, anyway.  Boards of directors for symphony orchestras might think differently.

So, other news…  not much other news.  Everything’s just…  everything.  Jack’s doing alright, he’s still working pretty hard, and he’s kind of dedicated himself to his studies.  I’ve never seen him quite that dedicated, but it’s a good thing.  I’ll apply to Meiji when I get the SAT scores (assuming they’re good enough, I hope they are).  Anathema is settling into her new apartment, and Joe is treating her pretty well – in spite of her best efforts, if we’re being honest.  She kinda just wants him to jump her, and he’s absolutely and categorically refusing.

Good for him, really.  I can’t say I’d feel much different in his shoes.  Anathema is cool, but…  needs to learn some self control.

The shop is still doing pretty well, we’re having concerts pretty frequently… but I’m so busy I’m letting everyone else handle it.  Don’t tell Diana but I think we’ll have a job for her soon, if she wants it.  Not every band did well – a couple really tanked hard, but a couple are standouts and we’re inviting them back for as many gigs as they want.  We’ve even got an open mic the nights we don’t have anyone booked and that’s actually kinda popular now.  Yuki hasn’t been taking much advantage of that, but we’re scheduling another concert for her soon.

I just don’t talk about it much because there’s so much going on and I just don’t have time.

Awww.

We actually had a girl group that dressed up like the “Bocchi the Rock” characters… and were actually pretty good.  The “Bocchi” character actually hid under a ripe mango box for the first set, which was actually pretty funny.

But they’re not doing that too often.  I guess cosplaying gets hot.  And not in the sexy way.

I haven’t been down to Houston to see Emiko in a while.  Really should fix that.  Maybe after the SATs.

Ummm…  what else.  Not a whole lot.  Marie’s having a blast because people throw the ball for her…  Cat doesn’t really care about anything but she and Marie get along pretty well now, and… well..   I guess that’s all for now.

Love you all!!!  ❤️

From the creator:

I do have some fun stuff planned, honest.  Right now we’re in kind of a lull.  Lily has a lot of fun stuff planned, but right now all she can really do is prepare and practice, and that takes a lot of time and energy.  Plus, she’s kind of learning some stuff about herself and some things in her environment.

I do not think she is going back to Japan before September, but…  I’m also not sure about that, so we’ll see how that turns out.

I wish I could shake the feeling that the story right now is failing, but…  in for a penny, in for a pound.

Lily is kind of suffering from the same thing many stories do – I have to take some certain liberties in order to move the story forward.  Crystal probably shouldn’t be advancing quite as fast as she is, for example, though I’m trying to keep it on the side of believability, even if just barely.  But it is what it is, and it has to be what it has to be.  Shikataganai.

August is, if things pan out like I think they will, going to be the best month of this story ever – just before it ends.

Diary

March 3, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 2 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

I went out with Jack last night and, umm… stayed out a bit late.  So I didn’t post much.  It’s alright, yesterday was kinda boring anyway.  I made up my mind not to do anything particularly productive, and the girls seemed to be very much on board with that idea.  So we went to the park and chased each other and the dog around, and then went to the convenience store and got slushies… you know…  all the stuff that we all keep forgetting to do because we’re so busy.

I… miss being younger sometimes.

You remember when I first started this diary?  One of the first things Liz and I did was go to a museum.  We haven’t gone somewhere like that in a long time.  Now she’s busy with lessons and prep tests and trying to get into her preferred college, and I’m kinda busy with the same, but tack on to that practicing and other stuff.  I kinda miss those days.  I didn’t have to worry about anything, it was just me and my friends, and now…  now there’s more friends and more sisters but more to do, too…  I miss those days.

And I’m only eighteen.  How will I feel when I’m fifty?  Will I look back on these days and think about how great they are?  Maybe I will.  Sometimes I catch Sabby looking wistful when she looks at us.

Maybe we should take her on a girls’ day our before we all go our separate ways.  Make her feel young again…

Today Crystal showed us some more of what she’s doing… and… wow.  She’s starting to figure out how to use some of that sequencer software…   I’m still the better musician and probably will be for a long time, but she… she can run rings around me when composing.  She whipped up a backing track for one of the songs she wrote, and it’s really, really good.  I mean, I could easily see Miki’s group singing to it.  In fact,  I called Yuki over and had her listen too.  Yuki…  well, she wants to perform it.  Not sure exactly where or how, but it’s that good.

Composing and performing are two entirely different things, y’know?

And she just started too…

Oh…  I went to church today, and did my thing up at the pulpit, and this time I had a message.  I can’t remember everything I said, but it was something about forgiveness being about understanding that you can’t change the past.  That guy’s (soon to be ex) wife was there… and she was sniffling through it.  I guess someone needed to hear it.

And then I told a bad joke to lighten the mood.

Yuki is starting to talk about going back to Japan for the summer.  I think she’s starting to come to terms with her time as an idol, and I think she misses home.  I guess I understand that.  I’ll miss her, but I’m sure we’ll meet again.  I mean, I’m going to Japan, too.  Hopefully.  Minami is staying with her parents right now, so maybe they’ll spend a little time bonding.

They’re starting to hype up Miki’s group’s new single now.  They’re performing it on morning programs (with someone else standing in for my role, aww) and it’s going over really well.  I caught a couple of the interviews, and they asked who I was.  They said I’m a friend of the group who came to Japan to help them film a video because it was based off my experiences, and now I’m everyone’s big (or little) sister too.

Awww.  I just seem to collect sisters.

Anyway…  another week and more practicing.  I hope I hear from the conductor so Yuki has some direction.

From the creator

I seem to have created a story where I can inject the occasional philosophical or theological observation in the literal voice of God.  That was not deliberate.  But it’s interesting.

Diary

March 1, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 1 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 33 - March 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

It’s March!!! Time for the big boomies to start!!! And Beth’s birthday is this month!!! She’ll be seventeen!!! She’s getting so old!!!

Just like me…

Anyway, i asked the conductor today about what I talked about last night…  and he was… not very receptive.  I think it’s pretty clear she will not be dancing along with the concerto.  I didn’t really expect any less.

But he was curious as to why I’d ask.  So I told him all about Yuki and how she showed me that adding dance to things can make them a lot better, and about how many Japanese fans Yuki has, and, well, that I had too, and that I thought if we added some Japanese music to the roster we’d get a lot of people travelling in, and it would probably be a full house.

He said there were a couple of gaps in the program they still hadn’t figured out how to fill, so he’d like to hear a little more about it.  He doesn’t really get it so I don’t hold out high hopes, but maybe Yuki can do a little mini-concert anyway.  I bet there’d still be people that come from Japan to see her – they did for her concert at the shop.

We need to set up another one, by the way.  She seems to love doing that.

Anyway… seems like that’s all I’ve been talking about lately.  But it’s been on my mind.  Partly because of getting to know Miki, partly because of Crystal getting more into musical stuff (and finding out she’s pretty darn good at it), partly because of Yuki, and partly because I’ve been practicing so hard I’m starting to practice in my sleep. Aww.

Sabby made me promise not to practice this weekend.  She says forty hours or so of practicing is enough.  She’s probably right.  But I still feel like I have a lot to catch up on.  I at least got her to let me do an hour on my scales and exercises so I don’t lose my edge.

I mean… I’m part Japanese.  I am.  It’s literally in my blood.  I know I’m not a Japanese citizen and my adopted parents are as American as apple pie and dirty elections, but I am part Japanese.  I’m learning the language, I’m learning about the culture, I have some Japanese friends and family… it’s really not surprising that it would be a part of my life, right?  And it turns out that I… somehow…  have managed to get to know some idols.  Who knows how, it just seems like the luck of the draw.  I mean, really.  My little sisters play a prank on me and that somehow turns into making a music video on a Japanese train.  I just happen to go to school with a disillusioned idol.  It’s…  I dunno.  Life is weird somehow, isn’t it?

Oh!  That single is getting released soon.  Miki has promised to send me a blu-ray when it’s out.  I guess they turned the behind-the-scenes stuff we did into a whole documentary-like thing.  She hasn’t really seen it yet, but she knows we had a good time that day, so it’ll turn out fine.

This weekend a couple of other idols in Miki’s group want to get on a video chat with me, Miki, and Yuki.  I wonder what they want to talk about.

Anyway.

Otherwise… Crystal is still cranking out lyrics, and she’s getting better at it, too.  It’s like whatever’s on her mind she turns into a song, but she’s starting to be mindful of form and all that.  Girl needs to take some music classes.  She even wants to start studying Japanese so she can understand some of the idol music.

Well, more power to her, I suppose.

Japanese is not easy.  I told her that.  But, it seems, that girl does not shy away from a challenge if it’s something she wants to do.  Beth’s been studying diction and has picked up a bit, too, so maybe they’ll study together.

Anyway, the girls are over tonight (as usual for a Friday night).  Anathema is working, but Yuki is here.  Sometimes it’s really fun and noisy, but tonight, it’s kinda chill.  Everyone’s just doing their own thing.  Crystal’s on the floor with her legs against the wall reading a book (how??).  Beth’s sprawled over on the bed and Marie’s plopped on her chest, and she’s listening to music.  Liz and Yuki are chatting quietly about something.  Diana’s watching a telenovela on her phone.  And me, well, I’m typing.  Maybe I should go join the chill.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Diary

February 29, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 25 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 32 - February 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Happy Leap Year!!!

Ummm… what’s leap year?  The last one was…. before the “accident”.  So I don’t remember.

Oh well.

So Yuki came over tonight and I asked her about my question.  You know, the one I had last night.

She took a while to think about her answer.

“No idol ever becomes an idol because they want to be part of the idol industry”, she said.  “Or very, very few do.  Most idols become idols because they like singing and dancing and being famous for singing and dancing, and… if you’re an idol, you get to do all those things.”  She looked a little wistful.  “You get to shine,” she said softly.  “Thousands of people you are shining for.  You’re in the business of making people happy.”  Then her face turned darker.  “Then producers get their hands into it, and you, and…” She sighed.  “That wasn’t your question.”

“And you?”

“Some producers aren’t nice people,” she said.  “My parents taught me martial arts.  They only tried it once.”

She was quiet for a bit.  “You get to shine,” she finally said.  “I miss shining.  A lot, sometimes.”

We just sat there for a little while.  She said, finally, “I watched you play, last week.  You play very well.  You play better than any idol I’ve ever met.  But… you don’t dance.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t dance,” she said.  “We dance to express things through our bodies, to say things that we can’t say with words.  You do that with music.  But you don’t dance.  Your fingers don’t dance, your body doesn’t dance, your piano doesn’t dance.  Here, let’s go play something.”  So I went downstairs with her, and she told me to play something.  It didn’t matter what, just something.  So I played the opening chords of the concerto I’m practicing.  And she started dancing.

I don’t think she was doing anything really special.  Just an idol dance where she waved her arms around and pranced a bit.  And…  it made the music better.  It was like she was taking everything the music was saying and turning it into motion, and it was so fluid.  I just stopped playing and looked at my fingers and the piano.  She was right.  It was dull.  The music was dull.  I wasn’t dancing.

“Dance,” she said, softly.

“I don’t know how.”

“No,” she said.  “Sit there, play, and dance“.

And… it was like the music exploded.

Things came out of it I’d never heard before.  Textures, colors…  it was beautiful.  And it was coming from my fingers.

She just looked smug.  “That  is why I became an idol,” she said.  “Maybe… maybe there were better ways.  But…  that’s why.  That’s why we become idols, that’s why we sing and dance for producers who don’t care about anything but money and just use us until we can’t be used anymore and toss us away with a big, fake tearful graduation concert.  That’s why we do it.  We get to sing and dance, and we get to make people happy with our smiles.  Do you understand now?

“Not exactly,” I said, softly.  “But I think so.”

Now I had to completely start over with my piece.  Thankfully I don’t have to relearn any of the notes.

Sigh.

I called my piano teacher and asked her about it, and she just sighed.  “Sometimes…  there are things we can’t really teach.  We try, but sometimes…  we have to wait for a time when you’re able to listen to what we have to say.  You weren’t there yet.  But I’m glad Yuki was able to explain it to you.  Now I’m really looking forward to your concert.”

“Yuki…  do you want to dance again?”  I asked her, later.

She looked wistful.  “Maybe someday.”

“I’ll talk to the conductor.”

“That’s…  ”  she ran up and glomped me.

“He’ll probably say no,” I said, while being glomped.  “That’s not really typical for a classical concert.  It’s… unheard of if it’s not ballet.”

“But I love you for trying”, she said, softly.

Putting idol style dancing in a classical concert.  That might be a hard sell.  But I’m going to try anyway.  Not just for Yuki.  Not just for anyone who might be dancing with Yuki.  But because, maybe, sometimes…  you do something that’s never been done before.  Maybe it’ll work.  Maybe it won’t.  But at least it’s never been done before.

As far as I know, anyway.

Love you all!!! ❤️

From the creator:

This could be an absolutely terrible idea.  But… this is who Lily is.  Supporting her friends to the end, and not afraid to push the envelope.  And who knows?  It might work out better than she ever thought.

One downside is, it’ll take attention from her.  But… maybe she doesn’t really see that as a downside.  I mean, whether or not pretty girls in cute costumes are prancing around, being a piano soloist requires exactly as much skill.

Plus…  once word spreads, Japanese fans of Yuki might come to see it, and “train onee-chan” to boot.  It’ll almost certainly be a full house, and the conductor will love that.  Even if she’s just dancing and not singing.  Though maybe the conductor can be convinced to do an orchestral rendition of one of her idol songs…  Sigh.  I actually have no idea whatsoever how this will turn out.

Diary

February 28, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 24 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 32 - February 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

More practice today!!! I think it’s bugging the heck out of everyone, but there’s not a whole lot I can do about that, I guess.  It needs to be done.  Maybe I can see if there’s a piano or practice room at the college I can use… but I doubt it.  I don’t think they have a music program.

Aww.

They posted a video of one of Miki’s concerts on YouTube.  I’ve been watching it.  I also wathed some of Yuki’s concerts… and I’m a little conflicted.  I really am.  The thing is, I know these girls.  I know Miki, I know Yuki, I know Minami, and I know… a little, anyway… of the other girls in after-school friends idol light music club.  They’re such beautiful, sensitive souls who are so hurt, sometimes, by their life as an idol.

But…  their videos.  They’re amazing.  So much happiness, cheerfulness… they’re dressed in bright costumes, smiling, singing, dancing… and their audience loves them.  Waving their glow-sticks around, chanting, even doing wotagei in the audience.  I mean, I get it…  it’s kind of a cut-throat industry.  But I also get why they’re so popular.  Who doesn’t want that kind of happiness in their lives… and its their job to provide it?  Maybe I need to ask Yuki about it.  I can’t be the only one who wonders about this.  It’s such a… conundrum, I suppose.  Like two opposite things are true all at once.

So, in other news.  The police staked out Anathema’s old apartment… and they caught the guy who was trying to find her.  So that’s good.  I have a feeling – and Joe agrees – that it’s not like there’s this huge cabal of unbalanced men.  Just a couple who are causing all the trouble.  And, well, two are off the street now.  One was… well…  he had a personal reason, I guess.  Oh, btw… he hasn’t been released.  The judge set bail very, very high.

Well…  I’m not sure what else to talk about right now.  There hasn’t been a lot going on.  Just practice, practice, and more practice.  I can’t wait to actual play it!  You know how Miki said that there’s nothing like being on a stage in front of twenty thousand people?  Well, I wouldn’t know.  But… I kinda do.  I’ve been in front of a couple of thousand people, when I played that Schumann concerto last year.  And she’s right.  There.’s… nothing at all like it.  All those people cheering for me.  Well, and the orchestra, but me.  There’s no feeling like it in the world.  Not even when I’m with Jack.  No feeling at all like it.  I guess I understand why they stick with it even though it’s a hard and sometimes lonely job.

Oh, btw.  Speaking of Miki.  It seems their group had a team meeting… without the producer.  They were talking about their future… what they want out of it.  They decided they were going to try to be more unified in the future… to enjoy themselves as a group… as friends.  I don’t know how that will turn out, but I have a feeling it will be…  a very different group if they can pull that off.  A much better one, too.  You can have a group full of rivals singing and dancing and they can be cute and fun… but a group of friends looking out for each other?

I think the audience will be able to tell.

And I wonder if Nakamoto-san will know what hit him, haha!!!!

Anyway

Love you all!!! ❤️

From the creator:

There is a reason that Lily and friends have had an idol group, and a former idol, as a side story.  It’s because of the song “Idol” from Yoasobi.  There’s something about that song that really struck me, and I kind of wanted to explore that world a little.

But then, I’ve been watching “Love Live”, and it kind of struck me in the opposite way.  “Idol” is about the underbelly of the idol industry, the lies, the loneliness, the parasocial relationships and the complete lack of genuineness – to the point where Ai doesn’t even know what it means to love someone.  “Love Live” is about the fun aspect of being idols, where nine girls get to know each other and learn to sing and dance and claw their way to the top, but have all sorts of fun doing it.  There’s none of the underbelly of the idol industry, or, well, very little of it.  They’re school idols, all about having fun and, well, being schoolgirls and idols.  It’s a bright and shiny world without the darkness, and that has its own appeal.

I don’t really plan this story.  Sometimes the storylines track what’s on my mind (general themes, anyway) pretty closely (though very much filtered to come from the mind of an eighteen year old girl rather than a nearly fifty year old guy).  It’s both one of the strengths and one of the major weaknesses of what I’ve created here.  So what happens to the after-school friends idol light music club over the next few months might be really interesting.

Or, not.

By the way, “after-school friends idol light music club” is intended to be a pastiche, a parody of sorts.  It’s kind of what I would expect an idol group to be named if it’s kind of tracking K-on and Sakura Gakuin, et al., and has absolutely no sense of shame or moderation.  But then, what idol group really does have a sense of shame or moderation?  I mean, have you seen those costumes?  My eyes!!! My eyes!!!!

By the way.  At least until Lily gets to Japan for school, her involvement in the world of idols will only ever be ancilliary.  At least at the present time, she has no interest in being an idol, and very little interest in being in a band.  She just wants to support her friends.  That’s Lily, and that’s why we love her.  But, as we saw when she went to Japan to film that video, she’s not opposed to dipping a toe in the world and “riding the wave” of her small and very fleeting popularity.  She’s pretty smart.  She’ll keep her head on straight.

But it’s fun!!! And Lily’s always been all about the fun.  That’s just how she is.  I wrote her like that on purpose, because she’s…  not like me.  And that’s what makes her fun to write.

Diary

February 27, 2024

Posted 1 year ago by Lily
This diary entry is part 23 of 25 in Lily's diary dated 32 - February 2024

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

OMG I’ve been so BUSY!!!!

Practice practice practice practice practice practice eat sleep practice practice practice… and if I’m lucky, I get time to write a post.  Aww.

So… ummm…  what’s been going on.  Well, it turns out Anathema was right to move.  Someone broke into her old apartment.  It was empty.

But the security system at her new apartment is good.  They’ll detect someone trying to get in long before they succeed.  Joe installed one of those door stops too that prevent the door from opening at all if it’s locked from the inside.  So she’s feeling okay.  But I wish people would just give up.

The cops hanging around the shop seem to have deterred people there, anyway.  A couple of cops have taken to watching the bands perform, too.  It’s like free security… sort of.  We’re considering hiring an actual guard… but haven’t decided yet.

I’m going to play for the conductor again next week.  I think I’ll have it ready be then to work with the orchestra, but he wants to work with me a little first.  He and I both know why I was chosen, and it’s not because I’m the world’s best pianist.  But I’m good enough, I think.  He says he has faith in me.  I hope it’s not misplaced.

Yuki and Liz are over tonight.  They’re getting along pretty well… thankfully.

Well…  I guess time for bed soon.

Love you all!!! ❤️

Diary
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