Rising Stars! Rise to the Top!

[Zilla]

(Okay, I was traveling all of Wednesday, had a flight on Thursday, got home and basically collapsed into bed with Stray, and then had SakuraCon for most of today. Hence my lack of posting... I'll try addressing all the posts directed at me here.)

Umm... *Jasmine slowly walks up to the pink-haired girl, hoping the cat parts are just a costume.* Are you... with the band?

Joanna snorts, rather cutely, at the question. "Well, I'm standing here with a guitar dressed in a ridiculous outfit, so, could I really possibly be with the band?" she retorts. "Looks like your bust got upped too," she says, pointing a paw at Jasmine's barely-contained mounds.

Cherry spotted Joanna in her school uniform themed outfit, and ran across the room, throwing her arms around the girl as she clattered into her from the front, "Ohmygod, that's so suits you!", she squealed, squeezing her before stepping back to admire, her hands tugging the girl's skirt a little, before she heard another voice, and turned. Her eyes widened as she saw Jasmine in the ridiculously tight catsuit, and her cheeks went bright red, "J-Jasmine... did they get you the wrong size outfit?", she asked, staring at the girl's cleavage with a stunned expression.

Joanna barely had time to twist her guitar out of the way of the oncoming hyper ballerina girl that dashed up to hug her. "Woah!!! This is a VERY nice and important guitar!" she said, struggling against her squeezes. "I don't see how it suits me in the LEAST, you goofball," she says, a little sourly. She was just a young kid though... but Joanna just hated little kids.

"Laaaaaaaaadddiiiieeeessss, your musical director has arrived!" The crazy foo' shouted, throwing his hands out into the air with awesome vigor. "Fix your eyes on the famous Handsome Bill, the greatest lyrical weaver the world has ever seen since the 1960's! Ah-Ha-HA!"

Joanna rolls her eyes at that. "The Sixties? Seriously... I guess The Beatles trumps The Shins?" At the same time, she can't take her eyes off of the ridiculousness of the guy's outfit. What kind of competition was this supposed to be, anyway? It looked more like some kind of circus than any band she had ever played with before.

Makino and Chiaki arrived just in time to see Handsome Bill literally glide down his raised platform with all the grace of a beautiful blue feathered swan... Well, a middle-aged, somewhat wrinkly, little flabby swan, but nonetheless a swan! His graying black hair, which was fashioned to look like a very poofy mullet, bounced about with much vigor as he landed on his platform-shoed feet.

"Ah, yes! Welcome, girls! Handsome Bill is so happy to see you all, his newest protegees!" The bright orange man extended his arms outward, as if he wanted to embrace them all in one big group hug. "Please, come to Handsome Bill and tell him your names! He wants to know what to call the greatest pop stars of tomorrow!"

"I'm Joanna," she said flatly and curtly. "And you're ridiculous."

[Hira Kanaki]

"Uh...I'm Chiaki." Chiaki said still unsure of Bill's actions.

[Harri-chan]

Cherry shook her head as she tried helping Jasmine with the zipper, and only after a few boob-jiggling attempts did she realise it wasn't going to happen. "That's like... the total opposite of my outfit. They've dressed me like a little girl", she blushed, "but I think Taylor is gonna come around to see things our way soon", she added with smile, before hearing Joanna calling her a goofball. "It DOES suit you, because IT'S very cute, and YOU'RE very cute", she said, setting her hands on her hips and poked her tongue out at the older girl.

And then handsome Bill arrived. It was hard to tell wether Cherry looked more shocked or more offended as she stood there, staring at the man's grand entrance. Much like the other girls, she ignored the offered hug. "I'm Cherry, Cherry Blossom", she said in a hesitant tone, backing up slightly to stand just behind Joanna, pressed against her slightly.

"No offense, Mister, but what do you know about girl bands?".

[Ookalf]

Joanna snorts, rather cutely, at the question. "Well, I'm standing here with a guitar dressed in a ridiculous outfit, so, could I really possibly be with the band?" she retorts. "Looks like your bust got upped too," she says, pointing a paw at Jasmine's barely-contained mounds.

Y-you could say that...

Cherry shook her head as she tried helping Jasmine with the zipper, and only after a few boob-jiggling attempts did she realise it wasn't going to happen. "That's like... the total opposite of my outfit. They've dressed me like a little girl", she blushed, "but I think Taylor is gonna come around to see things our way soon", she added with smile, before hearing Joanna calling her a goofball. "It DOES suit you, because IT'S very cute, and YOU'RE very cute", she said, setting her hands on her hips and poked her tongue out at the older girl.

*Jasmine folds her arms over her chest, trying to stop the jiggling.* Where is Taylor, anyway...?

[Maiden Miki]

"Makino," said Makino as she decides to stand in place and not go for the hug. "Drummer."

[Mystic Mina]

((Ah, sorry about that Zilla... But try to message me next time you have a long trip so that I know whether to slow things down or not. >_>))

"... Handsome Bill is saddened by the insults and the lack of hugs, but he is strong enough to forgive you and move on, for he was once the greatest musician of the 60s and 70s!" Handsome Bill spun in place and struck one of his signature Handsome poses, which would have left audiences of the past stricken with awe... But now, it just made him look silly. "But then disaster struck Handsome Bill! Suddenly, his fans started calling him... LAME! BORING! OUTDATED! Handsome Bill could not take it! He abandoned the public scene! But he continued to train pop stars in the shadows, knowing one day he would return and show the WORLD his magnificence once again! HANDSOME BILL WILL HAVE HIS COMEBACK TOUR!... And you all are his first step!"

---

"Yes, yes, yes, I will... Ugh, do I really have to wear these things? It looks like I can barely fit in them!"

Taylor held up the dress and stockings Esper gave her so that she could take a closer look at them. They looked so tight, but she didn't have much of a choice. It wasn't like she could just walk out of here and meet up with the girls in just lingerie, could she?

First came the stockings. Taylor was able to slide her legs into them easily enough, though she was embarrassed by how they showed off her long, hairless legs. Then came the dress... Taylor didn't see any buttons or zippers she could use, so she slid it over her head like an incredibly tight shirt. She had some trouble getting her large chest through the narrow black part of the dress, but a little squirming and jumping around like an idiot fixed that.

[Ookalf]

"... Handsome Bill is saddened by the insults and the lack of hugs, but he is strong enough to forgive you and move on, for he was once the greatest musician of the 60s and 70s!" Handsome Bill spun in place and struck one of his signature Handsome poses, which would have left audiences of the past stricken with awe... But now, it just made him look silly. "But then disaster struck Handsome Bill! Suddenly, his fans started calling him... LAME! BORING! OUTDATED! Handsome Bill could not take it! He abandoned the public scene! But he continued to train pop stars in the shadows, knowing one day he would return and show the WORLD his magnificence once again! HANDSOME BILL WILL HAVE HIS COMEBACK TOUR!... And you all are his first step!"

Um, okay... So, where do we come in...?

[Zilla]

"Good for you, old-timer," Joanna sarcastically sneered. "Live out your lost dreams through your little starlets, like some sad, washed up has-been with a midlife crisis."

Joanna stuck a paw on her hip and cocked her head. "So, space cowboy, what are you here for? You do keep us from looking dorky and lame, by comparison, but I don't think we'll stand a chance winning over any audience with these tacky, mismatched uniforms."

Joanna spun and indicated the hodgepodge of outfits around her with an outstretched paw, her other paw planted on her hip. "There's no THEME here, this is all just random mish-mash. No band chemistry, no unifying drive... This isn't a band, it's a five-ring circus! And you're definitely fit to be our ringleader..."

[Maiden Miki]

((Ah, sorry about that Zilla... But try to message me next time you have a long trip so that I know whether to slow things down or not. >_>))

"... Handsome Bill is saddened by the insults and the lack of hugs, but he is strong enough to forgive you and move on, for he was once the greatest musician of the 60s and 70s!" Handsome Bill spun in place and struck one of his signature Handsome poses, which would have left audiences of the past stricken with awe... But now, it just made him look silly. "But then disaster struck Handsome Bill! Suddenly, his fans started calling him... LAME! BORING! OUTDATED! Handsome Bill could not take it! He abandoned the public scene! But he continued to train pop stars in the shadows, knowing one day he would return and show the WORLD his magnificence once again! HANDSOME BILL WILL HAVE HIS COMEBACK TOUR!... And you all are his first step!"

"Oh....I think I heard of you before," said Makino as he yawns a bit and sighs. "In some sort of old magazine or something."

"I guess you aren't so lame if you been training pop stars in the shadows. You must know something," added Makino as she looked around on the stage.

[Mystic Mina]

"Ah-Ha-HA! Handsome Bill completely agrees with Joanne! Not on the midlife crisis part, but the costumes! You all are so mixed up, you're hideous!... But Handsome Bill did NOT choose those outfits for you!" The wannabe disco king waved his pointer finger back and forth energetically, causing his feathers to shake as well. "The Rising Stars manager, Eric Taylor, did! Handsome Bill tried his best to object, of course, but your manager said something about 'wanting to test the girls' limits.' He also told Handsome Bill to blame his board of directors if you asked, but Handsome Bill never lies!"

Sweeping her eyes around the stage, Makino saw a silver and red drum set that, for some reason, had an absurd amount of cymbals attached to it. A pair of classic wooden drum sticks lied on top of one of the drums, just waiting for their true owner to pick them up...

[Maiden Miki]

"Ah-Ha-HA! Handsome Bill completely agrees with Joanne! Not on the midlife crisis part, but the costumes! You all are so mixed up, you're hideous!... But Handsome Bill did NOT choose those outfits for you!" The wannabe disco king waved his pointer finger back and forth energetically, causing his feathers to shake as well. "The Rising Stars manager, Eric Taylor, did! Handsome Bill tried his best to object, of course, but your manager said something about 'wanting to test the girls' limits.' He also told Handsome Bill to blame his board of directors if you asked, but Handsome Bill never lies!"

Sweeping her eyes around the stage, Makino saw a silver and red drum set that, for some reason, had an absurd amount of cymbals attached to it. A pair of classic wooden drum sticks lied on top of one of the drums, just waiting for their true owner to pick them up...

Makino let the old man go on and on about the clothes. Her eyes were locked on the drum set. She knew that she was the drummer for the bad but her experience with them wasn't vast. SHe slowly makes her way to the drums with her fingers wanting to feel the sticks. She reaches out for them wondering how they would sound. It was as if she was being pulled towards them.

[Ookalf]

"Ah-Ha-HA! Handsome Bill completely agrees with Joanne! Not on the midlife crisis part, but the costumes! You all are so mixed up, you're hideous!... But Handsome Bill did NOT choose those outfits for you!" The wannabe disco king waved his pointer finger back and forth energetically, causing his feathers to shake as well. "The Rising Stars manager, Eric Taylor, did! Handsome Bill tried his best to object, of course, but your manager said something about 'wanting to test the girls' limits.' He also told Handsome Bill to blame his board of directors if you asked, but Handsome Bill never lies!"

Huh? That's not what Taylor told me...

[Zilla]

"Where is this stage manager, Eric Taylor?" Joanna glares at Handsome Bill. "Testing our limits.... I'm at my limit here, with this... stupid catgirl outfit." Joanna tugs on her cat ears. "And I suppose he's responsible for our bodies too, huh?" she fumes.

[Hira Kanaki]

"Limits huh, well, I guess I'll wait and see what type it is." Chiaki said.

[Harri-chan]

Esper watched Taylor slipping into the snug dress with a smile, and then stepped up behind her to adjust it here and there. "That's the first time I've EVER heard you complaining about women's clothing being too tight around here", she laughed. There was a slight tickle around her throat, as Esper slipped a delicate silver necklace around it, with a small heart-shaped pendant hanging right above her breasts, practically drawing attention to them. "I thought this would look cute".

Cherry stayed right where she was behind Joanna, and even slipped her arms around the older girl's waist as she eyed Handsome Bill nervously. She already knew from seeing Ms Gomez making out with a handsome thirty-something guy that men she used to find attractive no longer caused the same effect, but... she was pretty sure she'd NEVER have been attracted to this guy. She looked up in suprise as Joanna showed the same drive to make the band succeed that she'd felt herself, to put aside the embarrassment of how she looked, for the good of the band! A smile spread across her face, and she squeezed the girl from behind.

"Taylor should be along soon... ", she smiled sweetly, peeking around Joanna without letting go. "Like I said, I have a feeling he's going to be more sympathetic towards us now... ".