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The Portal of Zeta: iDOLM@STER Neo Vision

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Amazing_Grace:
Kaori's story was really interesting to me. Maybe I just like journeys. Or maybe I just like you. XD

I think it just came across as very realistic. There are idols out there that are exploited for sexual reasons. And the way Kaori's mother reacted was really just perfect.

So yeah. I like Kaori.

ZetaFlare:
Hi everyone! Sorry about the late update. Most of my week was spent at Anime Expo. Anyway, on to business. With her birthday on the 1st and Independence Day, my next Story Mode run-through will be of ZetaPro's cute half-American idol Karen Hoshikawa!

Karen Hoshikawa’s Route

Kenji first meets Karen close to a nearby shopping district. She’s apparently stalking and fawning over a cute boy. Kenji feels a little uncomfortable with her slightly creepy behavior and exacts some caution when trying to get her attention. Karen gets a little pissy at Kenji for distracting her, but she immediately recognizes him as the producer from the Black Pearl Festival and says hello. When she hears the news of her debut, her mood becomes incredibly bright and she begins to blush a little.

Karen feels a little troubled before her debut audition. Kenji wonders what is bugging her, but she tells him everything is fine—she’s just a little nervous. Kenji can understand. Almost every performer hopes to make a good first impression. Going up on stage with so many people watching is almost always nerve racking for the first time. Karen takes a deep breath, but is still a little worried. “I hope they will accept me,” she whispers to herself. She dazzles the judges with her amazing performance, allowing her unit to pass the audition. Karen gets her energy back and breathes a sigh of relief. Now she can accomplish her goals.

One day after the White Lotus Festival, Kenji sees Karen at a fast food restaurant staring at a cute boy while blushing a bit. Kenji recognizes him as the same guy from the shopping district where he first met Karen. After Karen says hi, Kenji wonders why she has been stalking this boy. He might be creeped out by her advances. Karen claims she has been so stealthy when stalking him he has not really noticed her at all. This boy’s name is Seiya Oozora. He has been a classmate of Karen’s since elementary school. She had a crush on him since the very beginning, but never had the courage to even approach him outside class, let alone confess her feelings to him in person. Seiya is the biggest reason Karen decided to become an idol in the first place. Using her singing and dancing talents acquired from her mother (a former Broadway performer), she desires to sweep Seiya off his feet and then confess to him at the peak of her popularity. That’s usually how it works in the stories she has heard about. Kenji thinks it’s a pretty interesting goal and wishes her the best.

(to be continued)


--- Quote from: Amazing_Grace on July 05, 2014, 08:12:10 pm ---Kaori's story was really interesting to me. Maybe I just like journeys. Or maybe I just like you. XD

I think it just came across as very realistic. There are idols out there that are exploited for sexual reasons. And the way Kaori's mother reacted was really just perfect.

So yeah. I like Kaori.

--- End quote ---

I'm glad you like her. She was fun to play around with outside her fanservice (B98...boing boing), airheaded moments, and Konami references.
A journey to escape such a humiliating past. I bet some real-life idols have to put up with the corrupt production Kaori had to deal with.
Then there were Kaori's former partners. You can tell everyone still cared for her very much, especially Yoshiko (mainly just because she enjoys dominating and teasing her from time to time just to see Kaori's stressed reaction. Remember how I said she was a bit of a sadist?).
And let's not forget that her experiences made the polite and strict Hanabi very judgemental towards idols. That is until Kenji came along and woke her up.

ZetaFlare:
Karen Hoshikawa's Route, cont.

On the day of the Sunny Beach Festival, Karen gets a glimpse of her opponent and gets chills down her spine, but sucks it up and confidently takes the stage. Unfortunately, her unit gets singlehandedly defeated. Karen’s fears are realized when her opponent is revealed to be Himeko Saegusa of NAZO. Himeko proceeds to rub her victory in ZetaPro’s face and insult Karen, calling her a half-breed. Himeko never loses to commoners, especially “dumb skanky blonde filth” like Karen. To make matters worse, she even tells Karen she plans to steal Seiya away from her, claiming he would rather be with a gorgeous, perfect princess like her than someone of mixed blood, no matter how “sexy” they claim to be. Karen is upset by her insults and starts to cry while Himeko laughs proudly as she leaves the venue.

Back at the office, Karen reveals that she had to deal with NAZO in the past. When she was still with 961Pro, NAZO challenged and utterly destroyed them in a festival performance. Their producer proceeded to torment Kuroi, mocking his company’s so-called “legendary” reputation and even calling him a has-been. Kuroi was beyond frustrated but surprisingly, despite his policies, he didn’t wind up firing his unit, calling it sheer dumb idiot luck to lose to the new idol super-sensation. Karen knows NAZO’s power and popularity are for real, especially seeing that they are capable of making short work out of one of the biggest idol companies in the business. She is still in tears from the earlier festival. Being ridiculed for her mixed nationality is one thing, but threatening to steal the love of her biggest crush was just salt to the wound. Kenji comforts her and urges her not to take what Himeko tells her seriously. She may think she’s a princess, but she’s just a spoiled brat deep down. Karen is beautiful in her own way. Besides, it was her talennts and upbeat nature that led to her recent success and popularity. She does not need to worry about Seiya either. Kenji bets he’d be proud of her accomplishments. Karen feels a bit better now and thanks Kenji for his support with a tender hug.

Himeko sends the news of her recent victory to Yamato. Considering her opponent was a half-breed, Yamato figures it’s only a matter of time before her brainless fans see her true colors. Once that happens, it’s all downhill from there…

(to be continued)

liza94:
I enjoy your stories and look forward for them! Keep them up! It feels like a real game!

ZetaFlare:
Karen Hoshikawa's Route, cont.

Yamato’s prediction proves incorrect. Karen gets her groove back after a few successful outings and continues to grow more and more popular. After her unit reaches Rank C and defeats Ryuuguu Komachi in the Fujisan Rock Festival, she can pretty much tell she has acquired national renown. Figuring she may have caught Seiya’s attention by this time, she decides to see what he’s been up to. One day later, Karen browses through the mall. She finds Seiya again, but as she tracks him to his next destination, she makes a startling discovery. Another girl has been accompanying him! After a little idle chit-chat from the couple, it turns out Seiya has been dating this girl for almost two years. They have been searching for something to commemorate their anniversary, which is apparently coming up very soon. Karen is dumbfounded. All this time she has been so focused on her dreams that she has been oblivious to reality. Unable to handle the truth, Karen runs out of the mall bawling her eyes out. She can hardly believe it. Was all her hard work for nothing? Was trying to get Seiya all a waste of time? She then wonders. If she cannot accomplish her goals (the main reason she became an idol in the first place), why continue working for them?

On the following weekend, Karen tells ZetaPro the news and announces she will resign as an idol today. Everyone is shocked in disbelief, especially Kenji. Some of the idols even say she’s a horrible person just because of her selfish excuse. Kenji decides to take it upon himself to bring her back. He knows this will be a difficult task with her ultimate dream crushed and everything, but he has to do this for the sake of her fans, her friends, and especially herself.

Kenji follows Karen to a nearby ice creamery and takes a seat next to her. Karen does not understand why Kenji would keep getting on her case about this matter…she made her decision and she stands by it. What Kenji doesn’t understand is why she would give up everything just because her little fairy tale went in another direction. Seiya probably wasn’t the one for her anyway. Kenji knows quite a few of these romance stories anyway—the first guy is almost never the right guy. Besides, look how many other young men she has captivated with her talents. Idols should be able to enjoy themselves as much as their fans enjoy them. Didn’t she enjoy learning her mother’s tricks of the trade? Singing, dancing, performances, promotions…aren’t they all fun for her? Hitting a snag like that should not stop Karen from moving forward. She does not realize just how important she is to ZetaPro, her partners, and her doting fans. Everyone, especially Kenji, needs her back! Karen cries a little. She can’t believe how oblivious and selfish she has been acting. It’s like she hasn’t been caring about anybody but herself and her dreams ever since she debuted as an idol under 961Pro. Sometimes she will even write her name in a more traditional style Karen apologizes profusely, but Kenji can still feel as though something else has been troubling her. Karen probably knows why as it might have been a big reason why Seiya was probably never attracted to her in the first place. It turns out Karen has been very concerned about being half-Caucasian. Because of her blonde hair and baby blue eyes, she feels too different from other Japanese people and will never be able to blend in. She will not even wear traditional clothing like a yukata or kimono, thinking it will look bad on her. In the past, while her beauty and wardrobe have garnered modest popularity, there have been quite a few closed-minded youths who ridiculed her for her foreign blood. Some say she’s high on hamburgers. Some say she’s incredibly vain and thinks she’s prettier than all the Japanese girls. Others label her the stereotypical “dumb blonde,” even though her grades in school are above average. When she became an idol, she was concerned her differences could lead to an unsuccessful career and public humiliation. Kenji tells Karen her worries have been for nothing. Just look how popular she has become. People love watching her on stage. Sure there are still anti-foreigner bigots out there, but times have changed. Kenji pinky-swears and promises Karen he will make her into a truly special idol and teach everyone that appearances do not define who she truly is. All she has to do is just see things through to the end. Karen thanks him for the support and promises to hold up her end of the bargain by returning to her idol duties. Kenji decides to treat her to ice cream before heading back to the office to begin work that day (you only have two schedule slots this week because of this chat).


--- Quote from: liza94 on July 10, 2014, 05:24:34 pm ---I enjoy your stories and look forward for them! Keep them up! It feels like a real game!

--- End quote ---

Thanks! Now if only I could actually turn this into a real game. Hey, a guy can dream. :P Then again, I could use PowerPoint to map out some stories in the style of visual novels.

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