----
The house has been quiet since the kids moved out. Without a need to check on them and take care of them, I found myself with a lot of free time.
I was checking my transdimentional Tumblr blog. Still amazed I got that to work. It was weird. I couldn't access most of it. Just follow a few people and see their blog posts. Getting connected with a few other Bill Ciphers from other dimensions was a plus. How cool was that?
I've been able to speak with BlueBill about all sorts of fun stuff. And not fun stuff. Still, I check my Mindscape everyday to make sure nothing bad was happening, double check my security and I think I might actually be ready to attempt another trip into the Void of Doors at some point. I was curious how Seb was doing and whether or not his brothers have made it back. Well, a trip for another time I suppose.
I scrolled through my messages. Things were pretty quiet. I checked for asks and read through a few posts before switching off to check the news. I don't normally bother with the news but Hectorgon has been trying to talk me into doing that as part of my internet dailies. I suppose I might as well. Federation raid of a temple worshiping me, treaties between Acjts and Grrukd, a new king was crowned on Ployu, scandal in Dimension M...
I froze at the next article. It wasn't a major headline, just a small blurb. I nearly scrolled past it.
It finally happened.
After all these years.
Anime Conventions are a thing in the multiverse.
Keyhole jumped when I suddenly went flying all around the house, screaming in joy. He smiled awkwardly when I flew back to him and picked him up to swing around at high speeds. "Bill?!" He yelped.
"We're gonna go to an anime con!" I squealed progressively louder. "Yes! Yes! YES!"
I dropped Keyhole onto the couch and laughed hysterically as I tumbled through the air. He wobbled and collapsed, groaning. "That's...great Bill…"
I went back on my laptop and immediately signed us up for it. I wanted to invite the kids too but Pyrone was still on his honeymoon. Pynelope was busy with her internship on Jainlew with the Nebulic Times. I'm surprised newspapers are even still a thing. Ammy floated into the room. "What is mother so excited about?" he asked Keyhole.
"Bill wants to go to an anime convention."
"That sounds cool. I wasn't aware anime was well known enough for people to host conventions on the subject matter." Ammy helped Keyhole steady himself when he nearly toppled over again.
"I need to get our cosplays together! Oh! And check what panels they have-!" My Com-device rang. Specifically, Miz's Com. I groaned and checked to see if Google was here. Nope, she went out to buy groceries. Shouldn't be back for another few hours. Hm...maybe I SHOULD just put her under a Deal of secrecy?
I dropped back onto the couch as Miz with my Com to my ear. "Wassup?"
I frowned. "Oh? Really? But why wasn't I told of this before? You...ok...no I understand. Yes I can make it. I just wish you guys gave me more than just a 1 month notice...well yes I DO know the info for the Convention only just came out...no it's fine really. Yes. I'm gonna be there. Ok. Thank you."
I hung up my Com and sighed. Ammy flopped onto the couch beside me. "What is it mother?"
"It's nothing. I was invited as a special guest to the Convention. They want me to talk about my books and upcoming anime adaptation." I slumped over. I'm starting to wonder if this was all worth it? Making multiple identities with their own duties and jobs? It was fun back when I had nothing to occupy my time but I've got my children now.
And I was getting close to fully securing my Mindscape despite all the problems that have cropped up along the way. The new ward I've drawn up using Spud's symbol helped more than I thought it would. Apparently whatever thing was trying to get in didn't enjoy being pelted by potatoes.
Ax won't help me with this because he doesn't want me going through my Exit. He hasn't tried to stop me, just told me that I was on my own if I really wanted to put myself at risk like this. I think he was trying to guilt me into behaving.
Speaking of, I asked him again if he had a prophecy for me yet. He told me that when I turned one trillion he would tell me.
-When you reach your trillionth year, I will tell you...everything-
That sounded pretty ominous...but I'm sure he was just being dramatic. Wow, my own fate altering prophecy. What sort of birthday present was that? I'm rather upset that I don't know when my birthday is. I suppose Ax is counting my period of existence from the day he first found me. Don't know what he was using to measure the years.
My human birthday was in October but Galactic Standard time did not gave months like that. We were currently (depending on which dimension we were in) on the 25th day of Krmpvb Glv in the year 2348258317. Didn't exactly roll off the tongue. I wondered if I should simply ask Ax what my ''birth' day is.
I realized how far my thought process had slipped and shook my head. Right. Anime Con. I'm a speaker. A guest who was invited because enough people were fans of my comic to warrant it. I frowned. I haven't really considered that. I knew there were people who liked my work. Jessie even allowed my stuff to be in the library at the temple.
Jan had fans. Xin had worshipers. Heck, Bill had worshipers. I pretty much ignored Miz's affairs for the most part. I used her form for fun. For my creative pursuits when I had free time from my other duties (and for bother Jessie). I hadn't really thought about her fans. I appreciated them but I never thought they would like me enough that they wanted to invite me as a guest speaker. It was a little scary.
Despite what most people thought, I was not a good public speaker.
I could...fake it well enough. I HAD to after all. But talking to clients or putting on a show was very different from sitting in front of an audience where everyone was watching me, expecting things from me. Ugh...
Well, no helping it. I was invited and I had a job to do. Which means I will have to split off a MizMe to sit at the panel while the BillMe got to play at the convention. I could do this. I even had the perfect cosplay in mind…
---
"Bill...do we really need to be here?" Hectorgon sighed. "And...do you have to dress like that?"
"I don't see what's wrong with my cosplay. It's not any weirder than my dresses." I shrugged. I even got stopped by a few fellow nerds for a photo. Hectorgon, dressed as my Trainer, groaned. "It's just...your eye is so dilated…"
"Because I'm so excited!" I squealed. Sparkles appeared around me and I hear more cameras going off. Remember that thing where people don't recognize me without my top hat and bow tie? Yeah, that's what's happening right now. I couldn't help but wave my hands and start playing a song, a huge screen appearing midair in the middle of the central hub of the building and displaying the music video. It was appropriate ok?!
Kryptos was hiding his face and trying very hard to pretend he didn't know me. PaciFire was gasping at the very familiar looking pink pony. "Is THAT what you turned me into?!" I was too busy laughing and flying off to explore the panels to listen though.
Several rooms away, I sat in front of a mic and tried hard not to faint from nerves. I wasn't the only guest speaker, thank Ax, so the pressure on me wasn't as bad as it could have been. I checked my cosplay to make sure I looked ok.
I checked out the other guests. There was a cat-like creature with tendrils in place of whiskers who was flipping through a page of notes. He was Felik Simmons, a director who made anime like Rain Machine Hunters (an epic adventure story with sand pirates!) and Mewa-Haw-Mewmew (an artistic piece of surrealist absurdism that reminded me a LOT of an anime film called Cat Soup from my first life). I'm actually a fan of Rain Machine Hunters so I kinda wanted to talk to him but he was so stern and dignified I was afraid to fangirl all over him. I looked to my other side and saw a Protractor shaped Polytool. That was Osmic, director of Don't Bang your Sister (a romantic comedy involving a boy who finds out he's actually an Incubus)...it was an ok series. Not really to my taste but 8-Ball loved it.
When I introduced Anime into the multiverse, I only introduced Anime itself. Not Manga, not Light Novels. So almost all Anime produced and distributed through the multiverse were TV original stories. I was the only person here who WASN'T an animation director. I'm a comic book artist whose work was going to be made into an anime. I already had the contract signed and the production company was still in the middle of story boarding. This was a project that would take years to finish. Expensive too, but I had some...financial support from anonymous fans (funds from Bill's account) to help keep this passion project going.
I am not a director. Nor is my comic a finished story. Every volume can technically be counted as 'the end' until my next book comes out so the anime for my comic was only going to adapt the first three books as a Season One sort of thing. The director I was working with was a Mitoian herm named Krisris. Cool gal, very blunt. She was all about cool action shots and interesting framing so I think my comedy slice of life comic is going to become an overly dramatic one. Which is fine, I just hoped people liked the anime. Krisris's other directing experience was with the Jujaga series. Which was pretty much an alien version of Gundam.
In fact, Krisris was here too. I waved at her and she convulsed her large vertical mouth parts at me. I took a deep breath. Ok. I can do this.
Back with the other me, I was signing us all up for the Karaoke contest. Keyhole told me he was too afraid to go up on stage and that he couldn't sing, to which I stared him in the eye and told him he was beautiful, his voice was beautiful, and nuts to anyone who thought otherwise. A random guy walking past laughed and said "He sounds like the air escaping a ruptured squiggly splooch!"
"NUTS TO YOU!"
"Bill…why is it raining scrotums?!" Pyronica shrieked. I huffed. "Not just ANY scrotums! They're HIS!" Shit, this guy was a regenerator. He was screaming in pain as my Curse tore off his balls and every time they grew back (which took like, two seconds) my Curse would reactivate and tear them off again. Hence the rain of nut sacks. It…was actually pretty gross.
"Yeesh! I only meant to castrate the guy…" I muttered as I formed a shield to block the rather disgusting rain of body parts. Keyhole sighed. "Bill, it's fine. He's just a jerk. I'm sure he's learned his lesson."
I pouted but cancelled my Curse when Keyhole gave me a pleading look. The unfortunate man sobbed as he lay on the ground, surrounded by a multitude of scrotums. Pyronica picked me up and raced away. "I can't believe I'm saying this but, let's go do some nerd stuff instead!" She muttered.
So, we got out of there before security arrived and spent some time in the Artist's room squeeing over the merchandise. Pyronica tried to shoplift from every booth but I dragged her back and made her return them or pay for them. She was very annoyed but I told her, in no uncertain terms, that we do not steal from artists who worked hard to make their crafts. I wondered if I should have a booth here for next year's Convention.
Even as I tried to barter down the price for a cute hat at one of the booths, the other me was trying to answer questions about how long it would take for my anime to come out. It was a little difficult to keep both conversations going all at once. I hoped I didn't screw this up.
---
Good news. The panel went great.
Bad news. The convention was on fire.
It wasn't even our fault this time.
Pyronica groaned. "I swear, I really didn't do it." I patted her back. "I know. You're actually, really innocent this time." I scowled. Seriously? Of all the dumb things to happen…
So a bunch of Jan-Jan fans had gathered and tried to play his songs on a Wub-Cart as some kind of unsanctioned concert. The people running the convention didn't have the money to actually hire Jan-Jan (Ivanlock had raised my prices again, well, inflation was a thing so I can't really blame him?) and it was all in good fun until someone tried to throw fire around to truly simulate a Jan-Jan concert. As you can guess, things didn't end well.
"I barely managed to get all my shopping done!" I wailed. The Artist Alley and the Dealer's Hall didn't burn down, but the smoke forced everyone to evacuate. I clutched my bags of impulse purchases.
Did I find it super weird there are body pillows with drawings of a half naked Jan-Jan? Yes. Did I buy one anyway? Yes.
I also got a body pillow of Gazette, another popular idol. I actually met her once. To put it in simple terms, she was a space mermaid. Gills, blue skin, large black eyes and a mouth filled with needle-like teeth. Our managers got a duet show planned out together and I do admit I had fun. Seriously though, she's really cool. The body pillow I bought of her was actually quite tasteful.
Then there were the figurines of the cast of Rain Machine Hunter, Those Little Ponies, Seeker X Seeker and a bunch of other anime and cartoons I liked. I spent way too many Credits here. Ammy told me I was too eager for this. Of course I am! I've been waiting years for anime to be a thing that conventions could happen around. I sighed. Well. At least the day went well up until the fire.
----
I stared incredulously at the TV. On it was the news about the fire and the question of "Are Space Idol Jan-Jan's shows a terrible influence on the younger generation?"
"That's bullshit! Pyrotechnics during a show are a STYLISTIC choice! Only idiots would actually go around setting fires with no safety precautions! They can't blame m-Jan for that!" I raged at the TV as we all sat around eating our meal. Keyhole patted my back. "Don't worry Bill. They can't persecute Jan-Jan without facing a huge fan backlash."
My Com went off. Jan's Com. I was expecting it. "S'cuse me…" I Blinked away to my penthouse room, all my stuff stashed here. I shifted into Jan's form even as I lounged on my bed, cuddling the pillow of myself. "Yes Ivan, I saw the news."
I groaned as Ivanlock ranted. "Yes, I know! Well I can't very well stop my-ok. Fine. Yes. I will go to the interview. Oh please~a scandal? How long have we known each other? Ok. I get it! Uugh…"
I hung up and rubbed my eyelids. Really? I'M the bad influence? The Cr@wling Chaos eat like...20 audience members EVERY show. And no one gave a fuck about THEM because they're an edgy corruption band so they're EXPECTED to do that. I scowled into my pillow. And now I had to go to an interview and try to defend myself.
My sternum buzzed. A summoning? From Time Baby??
I shifted back into Bill and Blinked away to the Time Room (fuck it! Why did he have to name everything with the word TIME in it?!) to see what he wanted. Ugh. If I didn't have a mental planner that marked down what events/plans I had to do in my schedule (organized by which Me it applied to) I wouldn't be able to keep track of them all.
Speaking of which, I had a meeting with Krisris tomorrow to discuss the hiring of voice actors for our show.
I showed up in front of Time Baby with a sigh. "What's up?"
"I NEED YOU TO GET RID OF SPACE IDOL JAN-JAN."
I blinked. Rubbed my eye and asked "Excuse me?"
"I HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING FOR YEARS AND I STILL CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT HE IS OR WHERE HE CAME FROM! BUT HE'S BEEN CAUSING DISRUPTIONS IN THE TIME STREAM DESPITE SOMEHOW NOT TRIGGERING ANY TIME DILATIONS AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
I stared at him incredulously. "In...what way has he messed with time?" I wasn't aware of anything like that. Time Baby scowled. "MUSIC LIKE THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE INVENTED FOR ANOTHER FEW MILLION YEARS! MORE THAN THAT, THE PEOPLE WHO ATTEND HIS SHOWS GET SO HORNY THERE'S A GODDAMN BABY BOOM AFTER EACH OF HIS SHOWS!"
I choked. "ExCUSE me?!?"
I only had a concert every couple of years, less now than back when I first started. Perhaps once every 10-15 years though that's not set it stone. The concerts happened whenever I felt like it. And, yes, I had noticed a high level of Lust in the air during my concerts but I hadn't thought about the implications of couples coming to my shows together, getting aroused by my performance and…having some after show fun…
I whimpered as I flushed heavily. This was so embarrassing to think about. But at the same time I kinda wanted to watch them do it. Damn I'm messed up.
Wait.
I turned to Time Baby. "You want me...to kill Jan-Jan?" I wasn't sure if I should laugh or not. Time Baby scowled. "I HAVE FOUND SOME OF MY EMPLOYEES HUMMING HIS SONGS. IT'S VERY DISTRACTING."
"...."
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could simply refuse but…I had to point this out.
"You knowing killing him would just make him more popular? That's sort of how it works. Once he's dead his manager would be able to market his songs even more without his consent and plaster Jan's image and songs onto everything until he's even bigger and more distracting?" I had been limiting Ivanlock and refusing most promotions because I didn't want to get any bigger. It was fun to have worshipers/fans but it was intimidating as fuck and getting out of control.
Time Baby scrunched up his face. I rolled my eye and explained. "If I kill Jan-Jan, the backlash of his sudden, tragic death would make people go 'Oh no! We lost him too soon! He was a true artist!' and they would memorialize him and celebrate him and play his songs everywhere while your officers would mourn and sing his songs…"
"OK! FINE! I GET IT!"
"...not to mention the uprising when people find out YOU ordered the hit on him because I'm not gonna keep quiet about THIS one..." because no one would believe Bill Cipher would willingly kill Jan-Jan. My love for music was well known and people have seen me singing Jan's songs while I'm out and about. Killing Jan would be the last thing Bill Cipher would do, heck, I actually had Ivan and some other people warning me (as Jan) that Bill Cipher might try to kidnap me to keep as his personal bird in a cage.
"I GET IT. YOU CAN SHUT UP NOW." Time Baby grumbled. Feeling a little bad I asked "I can try to make Jan be less disruptive? If you can tell me what the heck he's doing wrong?"
"I'M JUST ANGRY AT MY STAFF FOR SNEAKING AWAY FROM THEIR JOBS TO SECRETLY LISTEN TO MUSIC. AND THE POPULATION PROBLEM."
"Ok, that first part is all on you. Maybe if you allowed them to listen to music while on the job? No offense but half of their job is just to stand around and look intimidating. Must get quiet and boring. Like, allow them to play music quietly on their S-pods with one earbud?"
"I WILL TAKE YOUR SUGGESTION INTO CONSIDERATION."
"And I can see about devouring all the Lust that gets generated at his concerts so the people attending will no long be quite so...addled." Ugh. Which means I'm going to be horny as fuck after a concert now. At least I can store the emotions I suck up to either experience later (in the privacy of my changing room) or expel it out as a Nightmare…
...Probably shouldn't go with that 2nd option. I might create more Succubi or Incubi into the world and that would be problematic...ugh. I was having enough trouble with the Penis Planet. Thank Ax the few Incubus I created there for my experiments seem to be taking safety precautions and were more or less uninterested in using their powers for evil. I resigned myself to the 1st option and blushed. It was going to be...eh…
Well, I haven't really jerked off in a while. It shouldn't be too bad…
I groaned. The things I did to keep an amicable relationship with my douche bag brother.
"So, now that that's settled. Does this still count as a Deal?" I asked. It was only fair to ask, I always did. Time Baby hummed. "I SUPPOSE I OWE YOU THAT MUCH. BUT NOT FOR THIS, THERE WAS ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT I HAD FOR YOU."
"Oh goodie." I said sarcastically.
Ignoring, or not noticing my tone, Time Baby's symbol glowed and an image appeared in the air between us, much like my projections. "THERE HAS BEEN A TEAR IN REALITY. IT HASN'T GROWN TOO LARGE BUT IT IS DANGEROUS." He looked at me seriously. "I WOULDN'T ASK THIS OF YOU GENERALLY BECAUSE YOUR DESTRUCTIVE NATURE JUST MAKES THINGS WORSE FOR DELICATE SITUATIONS BUT IN THIS CASE, I FIND MYSELF IN NEED OF YOUR UNIQUE SKILLS."
"What is it?" I stared at the image. Wait. I recognized it. "Isn't that...Gravity Falls?"
"IT IS THE AREA THAT WILL SOMEDAY BECOME GRAVITY FALLS." Time Baby confirmed. "IT HAS BEEN DRAWING IN THE ENERGIES FROM EVERY DIMENSION THAT DAMN SHIP PUNCHED THROUGH. I HAVE REPAIRED AS MANY HOLES AS I CAN BUT THERE'S A LEAK FROM SOMEWHERE I CANNOT REACH."
I knew exactly what he was talking about.
The Nightmare Realm.
"So you need me to close the opening?" I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Without Weirdness energy leaking into the valley...would Gravity Falls even come to exist? I couldn't, wouldn't do something that might sabotage the creation of my own Gravity Falls. A GF without weirdness…
"I NEED YOU TO STABILIZE THE HOLE."
My eye shot up to his. "What?"
He frowned. "NORMALLY, I WOULD CLOSE AND PLUG EVERY HOLE IN REALITY BUT THIS…" he sighed. "THIS AREA IS...ODD. THE MAGNETISM IN THE AREA WOULD ACTUALLY TEAR THE LAND APART IF IT DIDN'T HAVE ALL THAT ENERGY LEAKAGE. THE LIFE IN THAT VALLEY NEEDS WEIRDNESS TO LIVE."
He seemed quite upset about that. "DON'T MAKE THE HOLE ANY BIGGER. JUST...STABILIZE IT. AND MAKE SURE YOUR MONSTROSITIES DON'T GET INSIDE."
I considered it. Yeah. I can do that. I reached out my hand and we shook on the Deal. What a strange request. All the same...I couldn't help an odd feeling. Time Baby was...trusting me to do this. Trusting me not to tear the hole wider and flood the Earth with my chaos. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.
I built a barrier around the hole to keep Nightmares away and tried my best to brace it. How does one stabilize a hole in reality? With Cosmic Duct Tape of course! Cosmic Duct Tape! For all your adhesive needs! Short of actually stitching the hole closed, this was the best solution. I've plugged up other holes in the Nightmare Realm with this shit. There were multiple tiny holes that open and close periodically but this damn thing had a 5 meter radius. Way too big. I actually stitched some of the edges to shrink the hole into a more manageable size. Much nicer.
I say hole but this wasn't anything physical. It allowed for Weirdness energy to leak into GF slowly and steadily, the size simply made it so the barrier between the two dimensions wouldn't actually collapse into each other. If I ever had a transdimentional portal built...it would open here, the weakest area between our layers of reality...welp. That's probably not gonna happen, I don't think?
My job done, it was time to deal with my other job. And my other, other job. Why do I do this to myself?
---
I fussed with my shirt, a modest tunic as opposed to my usual sheer, sparkly fabrics. Ivanlock had considered a full suit and tie but felt that would ruin my image as a free-spirit (funny how he promotes me as such while also wanting to control my every aspect) and I agreed simply because I didn't care either way.
Hm. Jan in a fancy suit...I might try that out in front of a mirror after this.
I greeted the people politely as Ivan and I walked in. Am I nervous? A little bit. I was going to be on the universal news. I'm fine with performing on camera, but speaking and defending myself? I wasn't sitting down for a quiet interview that would be written down, this was a live broadcast. What if I mess up? What if I say something wrong and ruin Jan-Jan's reputation?
It would be sad to lose my fans. I liked feeling their regard. Ivanlock told me to stay quiet and let him talk. Normally I would protest but I wasn't sure what to do so I shrugged and told him I would be quiet unless I got directly asked something. We sat down and the lady hosting this show, a Dun-Mich with unusually large pectoral fins, raised her third arm and cracked her wrist, which was how her species smiled since they didn't have mouths. Instead, they vocalized through an air tube that grew out of their spines.
"Hello Jan-Jan. It's an honor to have you on my show." She greeted me. "My name is Shwuip." I smiled back by raising a hand and flicking my own wrist in greeting. Ivanlock seemed surprised I knew how to greet a Dun-Mich properly. She chatted with me about mundane topics, just to fill time while we waited to go live. Ivanlock was staring at me worriedly the whole time but I didn't say anything problematic. Still, he motioned for me to be quiet as the show started.
"Hello audience. It's Shwuip with the Star to Star evening show. Joining me tonight, a very special guest, Space Idol Jan-Jan himself!"
I waved cheerfully. "Hello." Ivanlock held up a tentacle and waved for me to quiet down. I pouted but did so. Right, I was supposed to let him do damage control. "So we're here to discuss the issue of your fanbase and their…habits of mimicking your performances and causing destruction."
I opened my mouth to launch a rebuttal but Ivan slaps one of his many arms against it and smiled charmingly at our hostess. "Well, Jan has never asked for his fans to emulate him and thus we cannot be blamed for their actions."
"Mmph? Mmph!"
"Ah…well, there are some who say that as the most popular entertainer currently in the public eye, Jan has a responsibility to be a good role model." Shwuip gave Ivanlock a weird look at how he was obviously preventing me from speaking. I crossed my arms and grumbled against the squishy appendage. Dammit, now I'm hungry and had to stop myself from taking a bite out of Ivan's arm.
Shit, I should make Takoyaki on my next cooking show.
Sufficiently distracted, Ivan was able to answer a couple more questions our hostess sent my way without me protesting. Shwuip was outright frowning now. Her displeasure made clear from the way her tendrils were twisting. "Many of us have wondered why Jan has such long pauses between his concerts?"
"Well Jan actually has quite a delicate constitution. He is generally too worn out from his performance, since he puts his all into every show, and has to rest and recover for quite a while." Ivan bullshittted. Well…to be fair, if I was a normal fire elemental, throwing around as much power as I did during just one of my performances WOULD probably knock me into a coma for at least a few months after a show. It was also a much better answer than 'Jan vanishes for years at a time and I have no idea where he disappears to.'
So…I let it slide. It was a decent excuse anyway.
I was quickly growing bored and starting to nod off. They were talking about boring things by this point. What was Jan's feelings about his popularity? ("He is very grateful to his fans for their support.") What did Jan do in his spare time while recovering between concerts? (He works on the line up for which songs to perform at his next show.") Should Jan stop the fire shows for the sake of his health? ("As long as he gets proper rest and care, it shouldn't be a problem.") Where did Jan go whenever he was recovering? ("He stays home to rest.") How was Jan still as young now as he was years ago? ("He is an immortal.") Did that mean Jan was actually a god? ("Jan is a demi-god. The support and love of his fans sustain him.") How does Jan get all the special effects to work? ("The fire and music are part of his natural abilities as a fire-based musical deity.") I was amazed by his bullshitting skills…but otherwise, boring~
I only realized I fell asleep when I fell off my chair. I blinked, dazed, up at the panicking crew of the news show, who were convinced I was still recovering from my last concert and was dying. It would have been hilarious if I weren't surrounded by frantically screaming people. Actually, scratch that, it was FUCKING HILARIOUS. Ivanlock picked me up and actually looked so scared I had to hold back a snort.
"Jan?! Are you alright?" He asked. I blinked at him slowly, shaking off my drowsiness. "I'm fine." I assured him but everyone still seemed quite worried. They carried me back onto the couch and I heard someone calling for medical assistance while someone else called for them to cut the camera feed. Ivanlock was holding one of my hands worriedly. I couldn't help but catch his emotional state 'Fear' 'Worry' and a thought of 'Don't die before I can get a proper recording of all your songs to sell for a profit!'
Typical Ivan.
"I'm fine! Really!" I protested as the Healer came in to check me over. They checked my pulse, temperature, heartbeat and etc. Of course, since no one knew what my species was, they had no idea what was baseline 'healthy' for me. Still, they scolded Ivanlock for dragging me to this interview and told me to get home and get some rest. Shwuip was very apologetic for making me come at the cost of my health. Despite all my protests to the contrary "I'm FINE!" they simply refused to hear my excuses "I just nodded off! It happens!"
This last excuse cause them all to worry more. "You fall unconscious randomly? Often?!"
And considering that with a Dreamscape installed, I really DID just drop unconscious randomly when I got tired without realizing it…erm…yeah, I couldn't even lie my way out of that.
I have been awake for far too long. Having a Dreamscape installed meant I could actually fall asleep when my body remained awake for a certain amount of time and frankly, I tend to lose track of it, which resulted in me just…up and nodding off because I forgot that I actually hadn't slept in a few days.
Look, I've been busy! I'm a busy guy with lots of stuff to do! Xin's farm planets were in the process of cultivating a new type of fruit that was like an apple but they changed flavors as you chewed on them, Miz still had to work out some of the script and writing for her upcoming anime and I needed to meet with a small, newly formed band named Crescendolls about having them open for my next show. I've seen a few of their performances in small bars and clubs that Pyronica took me to and I thought getting the exposure at one of my concerts would be a great way to promote them.
Maybe I should ditch the false Dreamscape for a while.
Ivanlock now seemed convinced his bullshit excuse for my absence between concerts was actually true. He asked me what the heck I did between concerts and refused to let me leave until I answered. I admitted to feeling a little bad for worrying him so I honestly told him I spent most of my time at home, living with my adoptive family and planning my next show. He seemed surprised that I actually bothered to plan my performances.
…I know I play the part of the spoiled Diva a lot but I DO take my performances seriously!
Of course, Ivanlock used my collapse during the interview to stir up sympathy for me and raise Jan-Jan's reputation even more. Now I found forum posts and rumors going wild about how I was apparently suffering from poor health and was risking my life for each concert. So…ah…
Teeth laughed at me hysterically for falling asleep during an interview. Keyhole told me to sleep more often and take better care of myself. Kryptos checked me over in a frenzy before pushing me onto Xanthar and demanded for me to sleep. When I whined about how there was still some work I had to do, he, Hectorgon and Pyronica shoved plushies onto me to essentially bury me in Xanthar's arms until I finally gave in and went to sleep. Perhaps BlueBill was right about sleep being too much trouble.
I slept for a few days before I managed to sneak off and visit Earth. It's been a while since I've checked on them after all.
—