One Rocker To Another

[Dubski]

Mickie glanced back to Kat as she began speaking to her again, still frowning. She gave a slight nod to her and said, "Heard. We'll go to your place." That was her simple response. And with that, Mic was already heading outside with her head down, getting a couple glances from those inside.

When she got outside, however, the small group of people looking at her initially were already approaching her the moment she got outside. Mickie's body tensed and she took a deep breath. Her mouth knit tight for a moment before she looked up and flashed a smile at the group. They asked her for a picture, and Mic obliged. If she could just get through one group, she could just move on with her night. Being cordial, she flashed the horns, stuck out the tongue, the whole deal for a nice picture, then bid then farewell.

However, when she turned to go to the car, half a dozen people were approaching her. They were holding out photos to Mic Chick to her, with her picture on them. She narrowed her brow in confusion as they all spoke at once, trying to get her attention. It was obvious someone posted somewhere precisely where she was. Likely with a photo. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Still trying to be polite, she signed a few things, and took a couple pictures.

But then more people wanted to see Mic Chick as they approached her, and then she saw a reporter shouting out questions and that was it for her. "Sorry, I need to go. Sorry," said Mickie, holding up her hands as she went to the car, hoping that Katsumi would make it out there sooner than later. She tried her best to keep her cool in the meantime, even as the reporter was barking nonstop questions at her over the small crowd of people.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi gave Mickie a quick nod and returned to the counter. It took a bit, but the food was set out at last, in a sizable bag. In the back of her mind, Kat's terribly amused at how the new friend can put away so much food but still retain her figure; before quickly remembering that technically she could as well. You burn everything in the ring. Wrestling is an intensely physical sport.

Turning to exit, she immediately sees the gathering around Mickie and her heart sinks. Hurrying ahead, she shoulderchecks the door open to join her, brazenly interrupting, "That's right, make room, give'er space! This ain't a zoo, boys'n girls!" She beeps the door unlocked and offers Mic the bag of food so she's nice and preoccupied. Then, to the gathering, she flips a pair of birds with her tongue poked out, merrily skipping backwards around the vehicle to the driver's side. No explanation given. Punk Princes gonna punk.

She wastes no time in getting it started and rolling down a window to shout, "If you don't clear the way, you're gonna find out why God gave cars bumpers!" And then they're pulling out and speeding off down the road.

Once at a measured cruise, she reaches a hand aside to find Mickie's shoulder. "Sorry that took a while. For the rest of tonight, just chill-time. You'n me. Or if you'd prefer a quiet corner to decompress, I can put on something stupid on the t.v. and let you unwind. Whatever you need." Fortunately she doesn't live far from there, and she's made the drive enough times that it's a rather thoughtless transit.

[Dubski]

Mic was scowling at this point, body turned away to keep people from seeing it. She was very good at keeping her cool now--sort of. She had her limits though, and while she could just leave otherwise, she was currently stuck waiting for Katsumi to come back with the meal. And Mic Chick was doing well until the reporter shouted something about a controversy she was in--an unfair reporting. And she looked out to him and shouted, "That's none of your business!"

And before anyone could react, Katsumi had fortunately gotten in their way, with Mic looking relieved to see her. As soon as she unlocked the door, the singer was already going inside the car, slamming the door shut. Inside, she could hear the muffled calls from the reporter and others around asking about if that was Mic's new girlfriend and Chick simply buried her face in one of her hands, waiting for the car to go.

After they were free, Mickie Cooper looked over at Katsumi, seeming tense still. The reassuring tone in her new friend's voice was at least making her feel better, as the rocker took a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah, I'm good. We'll just hang. It's fine," said Mickie in a tense tone, forcing a smile to Katsumi before taking the bag of food.

The smile then faltered as she dug around for a burger. "It's just my fucking life, that's all." Then, Cooper took a big bite of her burger after unfurling it. She closed her eyes, head tilting back and she practically moaned out loud after swallowing the first bite. "Fuck me, that's so good," said Mickie, sounding eager to move past the shit show they had both encountered before continuing on chowing down on the burger like she was as starving as she mentioned before, barely taking the time to breathe.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi couldn't help but feel a little responsible for Mic Chick's decompression tonight. She bought the ticket - proverbially and literally - so she's on the ride. And everyone deserves a little downtime. This was meant to be Katsumi's, after all. Maybe it can be Mickie's, too. Hell, it should be Mickey's.

She hand on her shoulder gives a gentle squeeze before withdrawing to the wheel again. "You just eat. I'll get'cha there in no time."

The punkette falls silent at that point, focusing on the road. And true to her word, it doesn't take long before the car pulls into an apartment complex entirely too basic and middle-income for the vehicle she's driving. It pulls into one of the spots, and she quickly ushers her guest out and onwards. The door is unlocked, opened, and Mic Chick gets her first view of Chez Oshiro.

It's about as basic as the rest of the apartment complex. It's what's inside that count.

Beyond the small entry point, the interior consists of two rooms - not counting bathroom. Up first, there's the living space predominantly clear of clutter around the main floor with only modest furnishings. A kitchenette takes up one wall, with a standing island counter separating it from the other space. She has a nice television anchored against the wall, wide and thin. A couple gaming consoles are tucked beneath it. And in the corner of the room is a veritable nest of technology; a computer with an over-expensive gaming chair, and pair of monitors. In the space behind the chair, a sleek set of synthetic drums stands, likely plugged in with the computer equipment. No actual cymbals or snares, but rather everything is a black electronic pad. Beside that rests an electronic keyboard and standing microphone. In the corner of the room, two guitar cases prop against the wall, with a shorter violin case beside them.

The bedroom door is shut, hiding what may or may not be terrible and damning secrets.

Katsumi breezes in and removes her shoes before turning to Mic. "Lock it, would'ja?," she asks.

[Dubski]

Mickie continued to disgustingly finish off her first burger, licking her finger tips as Katsumi continued to drive. "Mmmm. No, it's cool. I just needed one of them in me because your girl was staaaarviving," said the rocker, letting out a content sigh as she tested her hand on her stomach. She would then take a look at the apartment complex as they pulled it. Easy, basic. She didn't expect too much more.

She would grab hold of the take out back at least as she got out of the car. Following Katsumi, Cooper would eventually enter her new friend's apartment. She looked around it casually, closing the door and locking it behind her before setting down the bag beside her. "Cool crib," said Mic casually as she began to take off her boots, one after the other. "Got anything to drink?" she added, setting the footwear to the side.

Mickie then goes to coffee table, setting the bag down and started to saunter around, looking at everything. She eventually stops near the music set up, glancing over at the computer configurements and then inspects the keyboard closer, pursing her lips. She seemed to be interested in the instruments and the tech involved. "So you're a fucking nerd, aren't you?" said Mic Chick in a joking tone. She glanced back up to Katsumi and then said, "You record your own stuff? Or do you do that streaming deal where you make music while people watch?" She would then continue towards the guitar and violin cases, casually adding, "Or should Mickie shut her mouth and mind her business?" She proposed the alternative with a smirk, crouching down as she inspected the cases more closely.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi lets her guest roam about and inspect her home, as she might expect someone to do when in a new and very personal environment. She, meanwhile, heads to the kitchen, ensuring the food is over in that area. She's not a neat-freak, clearly, but that's where drinks and stuff live. And speaking of which, when Mickie prompts for that, she replies, "Sure. Water, juice, soda, what'cha like?"

Perhaps curiously, alcohol wasn't listed there.

Still, Katsumi heads to the fridge to pop it open. "Bottled water in here, peach soda, mango juice, orange juice," she calls. One of the bottles of water is plucked from the fridge when she's accused of being a nerd, and Katsumi flashes her a grin. "My intro music, before the whole.. makeover thing, was remixed tunes from Bare Knuckle. I still rock out to that."

Moving back to the island counter, she fishes through the bag to produce her own burger. Unwrapped, she begins munching. Turns out, she's also pretty hungry. "Mmhm! Record m'own fuff!," she replies with a mouthful. Then a swallow. "I don't stream, though. I want people's eyes on me for the ring. That's where I want my fame. Where I want my name to be the biggest."

Another chomp, and she gives a nasally giggle while chewing. "Mm-mm!," she shakes her head. "Iv' fine! 'Ur mot one of vove rockers who breakf guiparv. You won't hurt muffim." Is Mickie fluent in chipmunk-cheek speech? We shall see.

If she's bold enough to inspect the guitar cases, she'll find one black acoustic guitar of a particularly stylistic cut - a classic Breedlove. The other guitar houses a mirror-reflective, marble blue Ibanez Xiphos.

[Dubski]

Mickie eventually stands back up, glancing over at her host with a smirk. "Water is good," said the singer, before walking over to the food again, grabbing herself a burger too. She gives Kat a weird look at first when she's speaking with her mouth full, but she knows she can't judge too much given how horribly gross she was with shoving the first burger down her throat earlier. "Word," she said, acknowledging whatever Katsumi had to say before starting to eat her own burger, taking her time with this one. "I respect the ring thing. That's why I don't do karaoke. Got to get paid for the talents," explained Cooper, winking at her new friend.

Getting halfway through the first burger, she waves a hand, swallowing first before speaking. "Also, you got any real drinks? Like alcoholic?" asked Mickie, continuing to work on her burger. She then took some time to pluck a handful of fries and started to scarf them down too. "Mmm. And why did you do a whole makeover anyway? Were you extremely tragic before and now you're a total babe?" asked Mickie, finishing off that second burger, looking very content to do so.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi bobs her index finger towards Mic in acknowledgment, and turns to the fridge. Promptly, another waterbottle is produced, plopped right onto the counter. And then, she's back to the burger. Halfway through it when she's asked about the alcohol, Katsumi actually takes time to swallow before responding with a quick, self-conscious shake of her head. "I don't drink," she admits. "I.. say'n do enough stupid shit on my own to risk getting drunk and being worse." Her gaze drifts to the burger, quietly concluding, "My career's too important."

It's a rare bit of self-awareness from the Punk Princess, but has less to do with her career and more to do with an understanding of her personal and abundant flaws. She doesn't need them magnified.

But the mention of the makeover gets the girl a bit self-conscious for other reasons; more girlish reasons. "Aheh... okay, so.. I wrestled for three years before coming to LAW. And it worked alright, but I never got my chance. Never got a fair shake. They didn't like my attitude, the way I did things. So even though I totally deserved title shots? Never got'em. Then, I came to LAW. And it seemed kinda like it was... much the same? So I decided I needed to change things. Not be a different version of me, but just - better. Stronger. Faster. Get a sharper edge. I was already badass, but I wanted to be badass because I'm a force of nature with legit skill. A sexy razorblade. And the person who was overseeing it maybe convinced me an update to my look might go over well."

She plucks her phone from her pocket and thumbs over it a moment before offering it to her. Upon it is a displayed image of her old self. "That's me, during one of my entrances. My old look."

The Old Katsumi

"Wardrobe update, new wrestling gear. Let my hair grow out, did some eyeshadow..."

[Dubski]

Upon hearing there wouldn't be drinks, Mickie Cooper bit her lip, trying to stifle a proclamation of disappointment. She understood Katsumi's rationale quite a bit. Mic Chick was often in the rags, many times while intoxicated for a myriad of different things. It was obnoxious to Mickie, but she ultimately cared more about having a good time than staying out of the limelight. It was when Katsumi mentioned her career that she understood a little bit better. They were both at different stages of their career, and Mickie considered herself pretty bulletproof now in terms of losing it all over being drunk and doing something stupid. She understood her friend being careful. And even though Katsumi was in the safety of her own home, and that she figured that was the safest place to drink, Mickie took a deep breath and gave a single nod. "Heard," she said in acknowledgement before starting on her last burger.

She would pay more attention, eating her burger as Katsumi explained her glow up. Nodding along as she ate, she mulled it around in her head. It made sense to Mickie--she made herself more marketable when it came to hitting it big as a singer. She was able to just translate that to wrestling easily. She peered over at that phone, looking at the picture with an amused smirk. "Aw, hell, you were cute as hell then too," said Cooper, finishing off her burger and swallowing it before continuing.

"But like, I get it. You look more mature now--like in a good way. Amped up that sex appeal. Got some more muscle on you," said Mickie, listing it all off. "And you might have gotten a boob job too," she said, half-joking with a grin. "But I get it. We all hit that wall and need to do the glow up to get further. I'm sure it's working out better for you too. At least your hot ass better be, because I don't know what else you'd have to change because you look like you got everything you need right now." She offered an encouraging smile, taking a fry and plucking it into her own mouth, letting her words settle.

[CyanDimitrik]

Katsumi had figured her lack of booze wouldn't go over well. After all, that's a rocker stereotype. Even a wrestler stereotype! But there are multiple reasons to avoid it; career being just one of them. However, Mic giving her that grace earns a small, sweet smile from the devilish diva.

Then suddenly, "Hey, I'm cute as Hell now, too! Same face!" She points at her pixie features with a grin, then fishes in the food bag before producing her onion rings. "Hmh. They described it as me looking more like a superstar, less like someone who just wandered in." She pops one into her mouth, only to sputter. "I did not have a boob job! If I did, they'd be way bigger! See?" She arches her back, pushing her modest bust forward against her crop top. Katsumi isn't winning any wet t-shirt contests, most likely. She's just a modest C. When she relaxes again, it's with a playful grin. "Guess so. But you totally think I'm hot. M'keepin' that. No take-backs."