(Plot) The Audition

Taking the advice of Tommy she paid no mind to his rant about like-minded. Instead only really picking up the fact that Tommy and Sena knew about each other, which made sense. After all she was popular and he prpbably did a story or two on her. For a moment Cherry mused about asking Tommy if that was a case and asking for a issue of the magazine it showed up in. Little Lucas still didn't learn how to read (not that Cherry could blame him, at least he was trying to learn.) But maybe if she told him that it was about his favorite idol that would put some fire under him? It was something to think about, or rather, it would have been if Tommy didn't say something about his 'rule' for accepting gifts. "It would be a weird policy regardless." Maybe the fact that the teenager had no income made her view on money skewed, but that seemed pretty random. Why one hundred? If you HAVE to have a limit, why that small? That was only like, one or two good gifts per year! And that would already be covered by your birthday and Founding Day! Chirstmas to if somebody you know thinks it counts! It just made no sense! "How do you even keep track of that? Do you have a notepad or something? Track it down on your phone? What?" Her disbelief as went all the way around to actually being curious about this strange system.

Now, she honestly did not think that three dollars and fifty cents was all that much for the food and drink, but she didn't make a fuss about how Shouhei acted over it. For all she knew he could be poor. Or maybe prices between Districts was different? She didn't know. But she couldn't help but roll her eye at the doo's comment. "Wouldn't want that." She muttered under her breath before she smiled and accepted Sena's offer. Walking over to sit down next tothe chair next to her and would pull out a seat for Helvetica. "Come join us! Oh, and these are my friends. Sena, Tommy, and Shouhei." Pointing a finger at each of them, Cherry would cross one leg over the other as she shifted her focus back over to the screen. Her brow raised as ahe saw the leader to the Classical District.

She's a girl!?" Her eye widden for a spilt second before she followed up her statement with a simple "huh. Well, I'll be." She just always imagined some weird old man with a ugly, fluffy wig to be the leader of the District. But she seemed rather young! Hell, Cherry could not see the woman being a day over twenty. She must take care of herself. That or have amazing talent. As she listened to what the woman had to say, Cherry hummed. "I've heard alot about them. I wonder how they work? Like, do you think they go to some special school or do they just kinda, zap all the info they need to know in their heads? And do you think they need to plug in, or do they have some sort of thing in them that lets them eat food and get energy? I hope so, it would suck to not be able to eat food, like, at all." Did they sleep? Could they take baths? She was very curious about them.

When the other leader came on Cherry made no comments and simply watched, her chin in her hands. Listening closely.

"Rich? Well, no. I live a humble life and modest lifestyle." Taking out a dollar, Tommy would put it in the Waddle-Doo's tip jar. " A good portion of investments goes towards things that I consider are less trivial. It's always good to be mindful of the people from who you receive help or goodwill. " What Tommy really wanted to say was that being let into the pockets of others can be considered as a honey trap if you are never fully aware of their true intentions. Everything is geared to an ulterior motive, showbusiness itself has revealed that much, and it's still enacted the same in real life. As for the notepad Cherry asked for, Tommy would show her his phone, which had the "notes" section and a few names of people who tried to offer him stuff. Not only did it have the of the people and gifts he accepted, but it had the name of those whose gifts he didn't accept. "I can't be bought, I started the Animus for a noble cause so that people like you get the coverage they deserve. Of course, make it big enough, then all the major networks will be all over you. As an artist, don't look at the first initial contract and sign right away, invest in a lawyer. I know one that works probono and requests to only get paid if you receive a bonus signing or your first check.

Checking his watch, Tommy would suddenly stop and place the Hot dog down after staring at something in the distance for a long time. He then reached into his tablet, popped two pills in his mouth, and tried to wash it down with the coffee.

"Ack! That was a bit hot...."

Tommy then blew two more times before taking another sip as he saw the district head turn up. "And there they are, some of the most important people in this place.  the studies involving the plumes of dusk that powerful the ASSW's are second to none. The city's protection is important, but I was hoping to one day interview her in regards to their practicality of them. If they all took the form of Waddle Dee's and Waddle Doo's, I think that the fact that they are so inconspicuous would help it be more accepting of the public. But if they look like us, things might be troublesome."

Next up was the leader of the rap district, which caused Tommy to suck his teeth and shake his head after the mention of the district doing "fine".

"The rap district is in the state of duress. You consider most of the damage that was done to poorer sections of the district. A rapper by the name of DJ Quicksand, or David Quinones, tragically lost his life during one of those unfortunate events. There were rumors that he wanted out of his record label deal and that's why it happened, but I don't like conspiracy theories. I wish that district was doing better, too many talented individuals giving up on their dreams in exchange for serf-style jobs. "

“... Those Dees are smart to fear me,” with a lower and calmed voice, Shouhei winked at the cashier with a fanged grin, slapping its palm with a more than generous payment.  “Keep the change frien’.”

Grabbing the beverages for himself and Sena, he quietly nodded to Helvetica and avoided direct eye contact, his cheeks turning rosy.  Not sitting at the table, he simply stood beside it as he laid Sena’s drink before her.

“Cherry sweetie, your curiosity’s a good thing, but there’s a time and place for those kinds of questions, you know~?” Sena warmly said to the inquisitive girl.  Besides, after Tommy’s sobering words about the Rap District and the loss of a performer, the tone between them became a bit more severe.  Taking a slow and deliberate sip from her beverage, Sena turned her gaze to Tommy, an unfaltering look in her azure eyes.

“You’re looking for answers, aren’t you, Tommy.”

The Waddle-doo looked at the tips and smiled "Thank you sirs, and you shouldn't have the waddle-dee's fear you sir, I mean it won't stop them from helping you if you need it but why would you want them to fear you? it asked confused as the Waddle-dee's handed Helvetica her food. then they all started to clean the cart and get everything ready for any more customers that showed up, since the group was still using one of their fold out tables and a few of their chairs, though they didn't hurry them to finish, that would be bad business and they had more to use if more customers showed up.

~~~~

the Announcer on stage continued as she introduced the next District head "and now the Current head of the Emo district and his second in command, Wyatte Sharp and his Brother Dobell!!" the people cheered as a man walked out on stage with a younger one right next to him


"Hey there everyone, Now I know I know, y'all don't understand the change happening to the Country district.. or Rather what is now the Emo district, but trust me there is a reason for it, and to all your Country lovers don't worry you are still welcomed in the district no need to move out or anything their won't be a new district for us to move to though as Country will be sub-categorized under Emo from here on out. Now before you go losing your heads about the hows and whys I can explain, Truth is after that incident in the Emo district a few years ago we lost a good number of Country Mugicians, and we haven't gotten the numbers back up, but more'n more people from our district have awoken to the new Emo Mugic, and the Pacekeepers of out District are now more full'a them then Country Mugicians.. most Country Mugicians are also being sent to Central for a time to help with a few things, there." the man said with a calm smile.

"Now that that news is outta the way, to something a bit more happy eh? this is my Brother, he was vice leader even before today but it wasn't official.. now today he will be going through the audition process to awaken, then it will be made Fully official one he awakes"

"If I awaken" the kid Dobell said next to his brother.

"ay don't say that you'll be fine, come on everyone round of applause for him and i hope your rooting for him on his turn today" he said as they both stepped back.

~~~

The announcer stepped forward again "Thank you Sharpe Brothers! up next is the Pop Districts leaders, Emely Trill  and Alanna Crescendo!" she clapped as the two girls walked out on stage.


one girl looked rather energetic the other looked like she just wanted to get back to sleep, she even had a body pillow with her that she had dragged onto the stage and once she was standing she started to hug it letting out a little yawn that ended up in a rather odd sound that everyone could hear since she was wearing a head set mic

"Baaah~~~"

the other girl giggled a bit and started to speak

"What Alanna I think was saying was hello everyone, I'm Emely and this is Alanna. Anyway the District is doing Incredibly well, last year we got a record number of Pacekeepers joining our district, and we have been Crisis free for all of last year! There We also have a new Waddle-deepot opening up in the District so those of you that love to see our cute little Spirit friends will be seeing more of them all over the district now! as for this Audition we hope to get even more Pacekeepers to keep our district one of the Safest Districts in the City!"

then the girl who was seemingly sleeping standing up seemed to wake up on hearing the word Waddle-dee "Huh? is there a Waddle-dee here? Where... I wanna hug it.." she said in a sleepy tone as she looked around but then seemed to fall right back to sleep on stage while still standing up.

"Awww... isn't she adorable?" Emely giggled "Anyway that's it from us have a wonderful Day!" she called out before gently tugging on Alanna's hand which made the girl wake up enough to walk to the back of the stage with the other District leaders. so that the next one called could come up.

"Well.............." Damn he really did have a full list. Even if she could not really read what it was all about. She still did not really fully grasp the need for this, but she could not help but respect just how much effort must go into making and keeping this so tidy. "Yeah, I've heard about that. One of the ladies warned me that some people would try to take advantage of a young star-to be like me." Cherry did add the 'star-to be' part herself, but she has heard horror stories about how some people got trapped in hellish contracts with not a single way out. She was sure that would not happen to her, but it was still something to look out for. Nodding her head she backed away from the phone and smiled at the man. She always heard that lawyers were all wicked, cold hearted snakes, but surely they all could not be that bad. "Thanks for the tip, I'll keep that in mind." She would probably have to find a agent and stuff once she awakened anyways, no reason she shouldn't hire more people when the time came.

Her shoulders fell a little as Sena, allbeit gently, shot down her questions. "S-sorry." She meekly said, before she started to listen to Tommy's and Sena birefly talking about what happened at the Rap District. Which she had no clue about, she never did care for the news. "What happened?" Worry crept across her voice as she leaned foward. She assumed it had to do with demons, but the way these two were speaking of the event made her curious. She was so curious she paid little mind to the cowboy talking on the screen or his brother, but the name of her District's leaders made her turn around to look at the screen again.

"A dee-pot?" Why in the world would anybody want to soend more time with those things? They were already everywere. Such a waste of time.

It seemed that Lance’s decision to hoof it double time seemed to work out well for him, as he managed to make it to the Auditions before they’d really gotten started. And surprisingly, it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to maneuver his way through the crowd and find his way inside the Founder’s Hall proper thanks to the lines and walkways the Peacekeepers had developed. And even if Lance wasn’t their biggest fan, he could respect the amount of work they would’ve had to put in to make everything here work as well as it was at the moment.

Once Lance had made his way inside, he’d quickly learned that not only was he here before the Auditions had started, but he had also made it just in time to hear the news of his own district straight from the mouth of its leader Wyatte Sharp. His face would unconsciously twist into a bit of a distasteful grimace at the appearance of the younger Sharp brother on the stage, and it unfortunately wouldn’t change as the elder brother made his speech. Talking about how they needed to trust in the change, and how Country would become a sub-category of Emo music, which was already upsetting enough for Lance to hear. ”Reduced to a subcategory, huh? Was that yer brother’s idea Wyatte? Or’d you come up with that one?” Lance would mumble under his breath as he continued through the crowd, still listening as Wyatte continued by mentioning the ‘incident’ and how they hadn’t been able to build up the numbers of Country Mugicians since then. ”Just you wait, once I hit that stage, yer all gonna need to hold onto yer hats.” He’d continue to mumble until he made it to a rather diverse crowd of people gathered at a Waddle-deepot, which quickly reminded him of that old timer’s recommendation to find some other district members to talk to.

”Well, I suppose Johnny can handle things for a few more minutes. Unless he’s already burned the stand down…” He’d whisper the thought before looking in the Ranch’s barbeque stand’s direction, and with no sign of smoke, he’d approach the group with a large smile on his face. ”Howdy!” He’d call out, tipping his hat in greeting as he eyed the group. ”Name’s Lance! Mind if I join y’all for a chat until the Auditions start?” He’d ask the group, extending his hand towards the dapperly dressed masked fellow amongst them, immediately assuming him to be their leader of conversation. Like, if you’re gonna dress like that, you’ve gotta be the center of attention, right?

"There is so much that's going on that it's hard for me to keep up at times. Nevertheless, I believe that-"

Before Enigma could even finish his train of thought, another newcomer would approach, taking most of his attention for the moment.

"Sure, I don't know about the others but I don't mind. You have a bit of a drawl to your accent. This is me assuming, but do you specialize in country music? That was a bit of an off-the-cuff question, some people would try to look the part as much as possible. Take the pop district leaders for example. I'm sure her merch sells just saw a raise with that sheep impersonation just now with all the STANS."

Sipping his coffee, Enigma would continue to observe.

"I'm not too critical about that, it's a hit or miss for me. "

“No need to apologize Cherry, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Sena said softly as an aside to Cherry.

Both Shouhei and Sena exchanged glances at one another after hearing one of the leaders of their District state that they had been ‘incident free’ for a year straight.  While that was wonderful news to hear for sure, the two of them knew that one could happen again.  For that same reason they were auditioning, they wanted to keep it that way.

Sena and Tommy’s discussion was cut off by a stranger with a notable country accent.  She warmly smiled, waved a hand to the newcomer.

“Tommy says it’s ‘off the cuff,’ but you can't be certain.  He does run a magazine, you know~?” A faint giggle and a wink to Tommy meant she was joking, of course. “Sena Hoshiko, nice to meet~”

“...Yo.  Name’s Shouhei, Shouhei Kagawa,” Shouhei tilted his head at Lance.  That was probably going to be the extent of his participation in this conversation, as he slowly sipped his drink.

Helvetica arched an eyebrow once, her shift in posture indicative of an inarticulate susurrus of interest once the headwoman of the Classical district's announcements turned towards something that concerned her. Armaments were never much of a concern, not in the line of work she had chosen to pursue - fire axes and riot batons weren't uncommon (the one that hung from her lower hip was a testament to that) but the former was utilized for raw utility alone and the latter almost entirely unneeded. She flicked her hand to the side with a prosaic, blunt lack of flourish, fingers scissoring wide before slipping closed again, pondering the matter. Munitions other than ones intended to suppress potential riots without inflicting lasting harm (which she'd always dreaded having to possibly use at some point) were not allocated to rescue androids for obvious reasons. Perhaps she could inquire with some of her peacekeeping brethren as to their duties, her location considered.

"Oh, right!" Helvetica turned to face Cherry, belatedly realizing she'd never made her mechanical nature explicit to the aspirant Mugician. "Well, I suppose we can download all the data we want, but we've still gotta learn how to apply it," The android mused, finger to her chin; having to explain how such a process worked wasn't exactly novel, but still rather difficult all the same. "Kind of like how you can own a tool or piece of clothing but still have to break it in to be comfortable with it, I reckon."

Already it seemed a rather colorful assortment of personalities had gathered in their general vicinity, and with them different opinions that evoked an occasional irate swell of indignance as Tommy voiced his doubt of her kind. But this was not the EDM district, where ASSWs were common, where they were served well and oftentimes well respected. Not human, certainly, but also no threat and occasionally something more, people to be respected all the same. The EDM district's denizens were practical. A population needed labor in all it's varieties, and if they were sprung from mechanical devices then this was no sin. But she knew others would never see her that way; they only noticed her broken unnatural steps, not quite human, only see her stylized and deliberate movements intended to emphasize her comfort in her difference as the stutter-stop mechanisms of a windup machine.

She spared a small wave at the new arrivals, inclining her head curiously - but when she spoke again, her voice was edged with a restraned fierceness directed at the masked figure that sipped his drink idly.

"I actually prefer to be thought of as a person," She muttered coldly, drumming her fingers against her forearms. "And I'm sure the others think the same."

The announcer stepped back out "Thank you, thank you for those announcements! Now then we have the larger groups coming onto the stage, please everyone say hello to The District leaders of the Rock District! the band Alla Breve!!!"

The spot light widened as three people came up onto the stage, all of them giving a wave, though they were different in their eagerness as they waved. one was a young man with dyed white hair and a very disinterested look on his face and as he was seen the announcer called out their name "Albert Swiff"


The other was a girl wearing a very open top, but it seemed to also be a uniform of some kind and she had short blond hair she seemed a bit more interested but only a bit more thne the younger boy "Lina Garrot"


The last one was a older male and he had a large smile on his face waving at everyone with far more energy then the other two "James Dewitt"


James raised the Mic and smirked to everyone "Hey there everyone!! The Rock district had been doing well, Me and the band have been doing quite well.. don't mind these two sour faces, they just had to wake up earlier then they are used to is all" he said with a chuckle as the girl gently poked the younger boy in the ribs and the two smiled.

"Yeah sorry about the lack of energy, we were working late on a new song and unlike the Bundle of energy here we don't think downing like five pots of coffee is a good Idea" the girl said with a smirk over at the taller male.

"I think it was more like seven..." the boy said with a tired smirk "But yeah sorry for the lack of energy, we are doing well though, and the District is doing well too, we are actually planning to move the barrier and claim more of the ruins so that the growing population in our district can spread out a bit more once repairs and renovation of any new places are done.."

The girl Lina spoke up then "Well of course first we would need to secure the place even before that, and for that we will need more people, so lets hope for a good showing of Rock Mugicians" she said with a smile.

"Geez no pressure eh Lina?" the tall man said and then dodged a tired jab to his arm "Okay okay I'm, sorry" she chuckled before continuing "Other then that we are gonna have a new powerplant up and running soon, so the current people of the District can expect more in the way of power cell availability and less issues with the power grid, and the new area we are planning on securing has two fairly intact powerplants in it so if things go well we can expect even more later once it's all secured and repaired of course, so till then hold on to your hats, and don't worry, the EDM district still has our back as far as fuel cells are concerned" he smirked and they all waved to the crowd before stepping out of the light.

~~~

the announcer smiled and the spot light was changed to her again "Thank you Alla Breve, Wow that all sounds like GREAT news!" she smiled a massive grin and giggled a bit before continuing "and next up is the  Metal District leaders, Heavy Marcato!!" she called out

The lights changed again to an even larger spot light as the group stepped out into it waving and smirking "Please welcome......" the announcer called out.







Harold smirked and stepped forward, "Hey there all, We are gonna keep it short, we know there are other announcements to be made, and so me and the band talked about it... and three for only having me talk and two for someone else to do it, so seems I am the one doing the talking for the group. Anyway Metal District is doing well, the foundries are running and supplying for the other Districts as expected, so Props to you guys working those important jobs, just like Rock we are in the planning stages of some expansion, nothing as far planned as them mind you, but it's in the works, the mountain nearby seems a good bet for some mining ops, but we are gonna send a team out to survey it with some Pacekeepers to see if it's worth it or not, so yeah an Expeditionary team will be sent out since it's not already connected to the city as of yet, so it would be brand new ground and we would have to set up Mugic barriers and the like to make it safe before we could even build.. but hey new ground is new ground ain't it?" he chuckled and looked back to the group most smiling with him as he gave them a thumbs up.

"Anyway Other then that incidents are down which is always good to hear, means people are getting along and we all know the demons hate that, so keep on keeping on eh?" she said with a nod and a thumbs up to the crowd as the group stepped out of the spot light.

Wha- Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold the phone." Shaking her hands in the air like she was trying to get a train to stop before it ran over a box of newborn kittens. Helvetica in one simple answer had captured her full and total interest for the moment. After barely stopping her jaw from dropping to the floor, she looked at the woman with a brand new feeling of wonder. Like a child watching the flickering of a flame for the first time, Cherry was totally enthralled now that the truth came out. "You're a ASSW? That is AWESOME! I always thought you guys were soooooo cool!" The teen declared before chuckling to herself. "That's probably what you meant when you sair you were born in a factory right?" Geez, how on this floating blue ball of a planet she called home did she miss that? She felt a little stupid for not picking up on it before. Lucky for her things got awkward and her mind was taken off how Helvetica's joke went right over her head. "Umm....... I am sure he didn't mean it in that way...." She mumbled. She never was really good with this stuff. She wasn't sure what to say.

Berore things grew to weird, her good eye went wide as she spotted yet ANOTHER person she had met walk right on up and push their way into the discussion. Hopefully he would be the last person she met today coming here......... Well, okay she wouldn't be all that mad if she found Rex here. That would actually be a rather nice treat, but that was neither here nor there. With a slightly playful pout the girl looked over to Lance. "So, your just gonna waltz on over here and not greet me?" The french girl asked before grinning softly, hoping that she caught his eye and that he would relief the tension. Of course her focus soon shifted to the others. "I do not see how those two can just walk put in public half naked like that. I mean, it isn't like they shouldn't be allowed to, more power to them and all that. But I don't think I could handle that. Hopefully they cover themselves up in colder weather." Cherry sighed, her hand twitching a little. Before she shook her head. "Speaking of outfits though. Do you have any advice on the matter?" She asked, her eye darting over to Tommy before she went back to the blue haired idol. "And you too? Any advice on like, what to wear? I kinda like what I am wearing now but I feel like I should dress formal or like fancy when I become a pacekeeper........ Then again I guess our leader aren't all that formal either soooooooooo....." She trailed off. Her eyes once again moving to the TV set.

Once more one message seemed to go right into one ear and out the other with her, while the other made her giddy as a school girl. Clapping her hands together she cheered. "Yes! Finally!" Even if they weren't going to be looking for survivors, it is possible they may find some, and that was enough for her. More then enough actually.

"The swift family. Ah, the basis of a lot of rumors. Rumor has it that they started a band together before they went into their separate genres. However, due to some musical differences between both of their types of songs, they decided that it was best to split up. There is another rumor that they could be working on a secret album together, but that's a little more baseless than the first. "

It would be great if Tommy could confirm those rumors, even better if he could get a snippet sample of their new song together if it was even true. However, his train of thought was misplaced as soon as the revealing of Autumn's current condition as an ASSW. Weren't they still working on that? For how long? Is it more along the line of the don't ask, don't tell?

"I would have never known if you never said anything, but now that you did, I see that you can blend in quite nicely without any of us noticing. I would say that I'm fascinated, but my opinion still stands. Your ability to replicate talent and pick up skills is a program, it diminishes the hard work of artists, and currently, ASSWs have no way of proving otherwise of the concept of hard work. Now it's those that are born with it, and now manufactured with it. But if you feel as if you deserve to share the stage with people who worked hard their entire lives, by all means. All I've said to you just now is one of many opinions people would have towards ASSWS, their effect in the music industry... and other artists feeling cheated. If you are willing to move forward, be prepared for the backlash and possible bad publicity."

Tommy kept a straight face, he tried to keep his opinion as light-handed as possible. However, he really did want them to know that not everything will move as smoothly as others would expect.

"Tips on costume design or gimmicks? Take something unique to you that serves as a symbol of your craft, that's as much as I could give, the best advice even. If it's something that's yours, you'll feel comfortable."

“Sure Tommy, but all the ASSW- and this one in particular- need to do is prove their worth and make people understand.  They’re modeled with human personalities and traits.  That’s enough for me.” Sena nodded assuredly to Helvetica in a show of confidence.  As for Cherry’s question, she agreed with what Tommy suggested.  “As long as it’s as comfortable as a second skin and you adore it, I think that’s what matters most, Cherry~”

Helvetica mentioning their ASSW background had an adverse effect on Shouhei.  No longer was he embarrassed about their prior encounter, he was urged to speak to them, as he sidled up by the android.  “...Please tell me ya got a rocket punch, or finger guns, or a micro-missile barrage.”

It seemed a struggle for Helvetica to force her invective riposte beyond the bitter welter of misery that seemed to stifle her every syllable. "I work in rescue; I'm not even here for the audition. Just because every other android wants to go into that field that doesn't mean some of us don't perform other services for people like you."

Helvetica turned that last word around in her mouth before spitting it out, her voice soft yet trembling ever so slightly. She brightened, however, at Shouhei and Cherry's positive, if overbearing, reactions upon discovering her nature; the android flicked of her index finger, now pointed at the man in a mock finger-gun gesture as she dry fired it with a slight click.

"Bang," Helvetica giggled, a coy smile on her lips.

Lance would offer the group a warm smile in their quick acceptance of him into their fold, and would begin to mouth their names as they introduced themselves. ”Tommy, Sena, and Shouhei. I’ll try my best to commit those to memory. Nice to meet y’all.” Of course, the likeliness of him actually remembering their name was a mixed bag, since he was a pretty forgetful person with names. ”And, uh, on the cuff or not, I do specialize in country music. Nothing professional or anythin’, but I do play as a sort of relaxation thing, ya know?” He’d say in earnest, removing his hat and turning it idly in his hands. ”And as for what I’m wearin’, it’s more about comfort than anythin’ else. I’m a ranch-hand back in my own district, workin’ on the family ranch. And I’ve pretty much grown up wearin’ this stuff, so it’s second nature by now.” He’d remark as he replaced the hat atop his head again.

And just to further prove how bad Lance’s memory could be at times, the youngest/shortest member of the group would call him out on how he hadn’t even greeted her. So the southerner would give her a once over before his brain finally pieced it all together, and he let out a hearty laugh. ”Sorry bout that, Mademoiselle. I should’ve known you’d be here for the Auditions. You sounded awfully excited bout it back in the park.”

And hopefully with all of that out of the way, the topic would quickly shift off of Lance, and towards the mint-haired girl amongst them. Lance wasn’t sure what all the hubbub was about exactly, but they’re seemed to be mixed opinions about the girl’s status as an ASSW. As far as Lance could remember, they were some kind of mechanized unit that was supposed to help take out Shadows, and help the districts with other issues such as public service. It all sounded great to have a workforce alongside the human population that could do the more dangerous jobs around without the loss of actual human lives, so Lance was on board, though silently as the others chose their sides.

He would instead watch as his own district leader, and the Pop district’s leaders, left the stage for the next set to arrive. And Lance would roll his eyes as the next set would prove to be the far louder bunch of leaderships, those of the Rock and Metal Districts. Now, Lance wasn’t really against them or their styles, but their music tended to hurt his ears when he listened to it for too long, which to him was the exact opposite to what music was supposed to do for him. Which was possibly why he didn’t like the change in his own district, but that didn’t matter right now. Because the final announcement from the Metal group did manage to draw his proper attention, as they mentioned expanding the borders out into the mountains nearby. ”Well, that’s an interestin’ idea. Maybe someone should bring that up in my district. Could always use more land for fielding.”