Hashtag Trending [Group/PG/Closed]

Filtered through curtains thinner than paper the light gave dim detail to the messy room of an independent twenty-something man, his groans protesting the sun as sleep relinquished its hold. Reaching for his phone he lazily flipped it over to check the remaining time on his alarm. Ten minutes. Another disgusted noise escaped his throat as he dropped the device back onto the bedside table and peered through bleary eyes at his glowing monitor. A solid bright orange square on the taskbar told him he had unread messages, but he couldn't deal with the world -even the digital one- without a shower and some food.

In bare feet he padded over to the small kitchen area that took up half of his apartment, flicked the switch on the coffee pot and stared out at the smog-glazed New York air.

"wE HunGer, HarRy!"

Right on time the little voice in his head made itself known.

"Could you make it sound any more creepy?" He asked to nobody in-particular, unwittingly inviting the humor of Satan into his home.

"fEed mE, SeyMOuR!"

"You're never watching that movie again." With a sigh he pulled open his tiny refrigerator and listened to the electric hum of the light as a slick black tentacle slithered over his shoulder, the sound of its damp mass as it coiled around the milk jug reverberating in the small cold enclosure. Meanwhile Harry busied himself with pulling a box of Wheaties from the shelf while a second tentacle fished around in his cupboards for a bowl. When all three limbs had found their bounty the three ingredients were combined and Harry was soon munching down his breakfast while the coffee boiled, every gulp of milk sending waves of pleasure that weren't his own crawling along his arms.

"cOw juIcE iS gOOd For thE bOneS, HarrY." His quirk let out a cough of laughter, sensing its hosts intent and stretching a long black tendril across the apartment to click at the mouse, opening a gray messaging client on the desktop. Harry reacted a little slower, but was used to having his every move anticipated, and simply picked up his bowl and headed back towards his desk.

"Gigantor has a friend who needs a media manager, huh?" The young man observed, slapping away a tendril attempting to slither its way into his breakfast. "Somebody named ReDirect. Gee, I wonder what their quirk does." With a roll of his eyes he punched the number into his cell phone, conveniently retrieved by yet another mass of black goo, and gave the usual service pitch via text; a quick list of the heroes he worked for, a short spiel about what he can do, where he learned how to do it, blah blah blah. Then an offer to meet up and work out the details.

He barely had time to finish his breakfast and pour his coffee before his quirk wandered over to inspect what the noise from his phone was about.

"OoOooOh, aN EMoJi LovER."

"Emoji lover?" Harry repeated, dropping the last sugar into his mug and taking a peek for himself. A single text had been sent in reply consisting of only three words: "Let's do it!!" Followed by an egregious string of little faces all pulling various expressions, a few hearts, there was even a cat in there for some reason. Then a second text: "Is 1:30 good?"

"beTtER gET a MoVE on HaRry!" His quirk cooed, the tentacles wandering around his room all pulling themselves to his body and thinning out on top of his head into a red and black beanie hat. Sighing heavily the man abandoned his coffee, donned a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed out to meet his potential new client.

"THiS iS GonnA bE FUn!"

Snp!

She'd gotten it to about half the size of her head before the lurid pink bubble had popped. A few quick and dexterous motions with her tongue swiped the sticky gum off her face and back into her mouth. Air bubbles left over made a sharp, loud pop as she chewed and prepared for round number thirty-nine. She, Touko Sakaki, the gorgeous super heroine and magical girl in disguise, was on her A-Game today from body language-- one hand playing with her phone while the other twirled a pair of fluffy pigtail extensions she'd clipped into place around her bun.

Matching extensions at that. Those things had been such a pain to match to the red-to-gold-to pale yellow hair she had naturally that she could hardly believe it wasn't some super special side quest. An Ordeal the likes of which she'd never ever faced in her entire life before and didn't look forward to inevitably replacing when the worst was to come and would have to find the same quality and hope she could replicate today's current look. Expensive, but it was her aesthetic and she had to do it for her fans all over the world.

If she didn't put the effort in, how would they know to follow her example and do the same?

Oversized headphones in black and neon rainbow, and decorated entirely with sparkly rainbow rhinestones all along the headset-- a winking smiley face on one side, a pair of heart eyes on the other-- sat atop her head as she bobbed her head in time with the music blasting in her ears. She smiled as she checked the short confirmation for her appointment. Teeth pearly white, straight, and even against healthy pink gums and rainbow lips. The latter most of those had taken her a good thirty minutes to do perfectly and she blessed every major makeup counter and their expensive but awesome product for having just exactly what she'd needed for today's look.

Today was all about the colors of the rainbow. Seven colors of the rainbow meant seven shades of luck! Not like one of those silly pride flags incarnated into a person, though that was certainly a look she'd have to design for the appropriate occasion. A simple black base; a short black sleeveless tunic over black jean shorts with sequins in turquoise, lime green, and hot pink along the back pockets, cuffs, and a literal rainbow of stars across the entirety of the top covered her torso and rear. A lot plainer than she liked; but she hadn't managed to find the exact shades she needed in the fabric stores around these parts. What was wrong with people and their total hate of neon and rainbow colors in tulle?

Not that it totally mattered; she had plenty of inspiration and creativity to spare. The devil, as they said, came in the myriad array of accessories she'd managed to pick out for today's appointment.

Twin wrist bands, both a vibrant shade of rainbow more at home on a candy package than on a human being adorned her wrists and were nearly buried beneath what had to be five pounds of cheap, sparkly bangle bracelets in every color one could possibly think of. Baggy leg warmers clung to her legs and slumped their defeat against her ankles, nearly spilling over the mismatched tennis shoes in highlighter orange and sky blue with opposing colored laces.

A cute and popular pink and white kitty bandaid was meticulously placed across the bridge of her nose, a triad of shooting star jewel stickers straight out of a child's sticker pack drew attention to her cat-green eyes and the lime green, pink, and orange eye shadow framed by long sky blue lashes. Three bows jutted forth around in stiff, sparkly rainbow spikes around each pigtail while hair clips of every color and shape that could have ever been called 'cute' by a little girl stuck themselves in chaotic frenzy around the front of her skull.

She was, in a word, perfection incarnate at that very moment. She stretched, heard the musical chime of cheap metal clink together, and sighed happily. Her nails? On point; they too were sparkly and alternated between pastel pink and pale blue with tiny decorative sequin jewels on each finger. Make up? Totes fleek-- she'd even manage to nail that perfect shade of purple for her eyeliner! There was no one more ready than she for this interview meeting thing with the person who was gonna help launch her social media account to the literal stars above.

She just... had to find him first. Hopefully. He was supposed to be pretty reclusive, so her contact had pulled some strings. He gave great results and might be thankful enough for the money that she could totally reward him with a little extra-- maybe a sweet shopping trip and lunch stop to help him feel better about himself.

People only shut themselves away when they were sad, after all, and it was her duty to help fix such things! People in the near vicinity gave her an incredibly wide berth. The bright colors, after all, were often nature's warning sign that something was incredibly dangerous, poisonous even should they so much as even try to take a bite.

R u close? ＼(≧▽≦)／ i cant wait 2 meet u!!!! (((o(*°▽°*)o)))

She peered over the rim of the too sweet coffee she'd bought from the popular mermaid mascot coffee shop and felt her eyes light up as someone looked down at their phone mere seconds after she'd sent her text-- probably literally, she never had gotten the hang of that little burst of energy use-- and paused mid-sip. Set her drink down, and bounced up and down with a frantic wave of both hands to someone headed right her way.

Not to let her unsuspecting pr- friend- get away, Touko skipped happily over and grabbed his hand to shake it excitedly.

"Hello~♪! You must, like, be my new bestest best bff ever. Giggy-baby sent you to me like an actual social media angel straight from the, like, digital heavens yeah?"

Let go and bounce-twirled around, struck a pose with one hand on her hip and one hand pointing off to one side. "Ta-daa!♪ I'm your client! Touko, at your service; it's totally amazing to meet you!"

It was a wonder she didn't have literal stars in her eyes.

(Contacts were, alas, outside of her scope of talent; the damn things always hurt her eyes no matter how many drops or good quality brands she bought.)

People unnerved Harry. Even the ones he had no contact with; the passersby, there was just something irksome about their existence. Everybody was inconsiderate in one way or another, from the asshole in the Starbucks line that talked too loudly about "the finances of the next quarter" being "dismal" and needing to "shape up to please the investors" to the gaggle of gossiping teens who took up most of the sidewalk and walked slower than glaciers. Was it abnormal of him to walk swiftly and have his credit card in-hand and ready to avoid getting in the way? Was it really so wrong of him to prefer staying at home to avoid these kinds of things?

Pushing through the throngs of bodies and questioning his existence began to fuel his anxiety, he could feel the itch of his scalp and the warmth of his skin. Eyes darting from face to face, the eyes that stared back obscuring his vision as if he were looking through the wrong end of a telescope. Bile churned in his stomach.

"cALm HarRy, wE ArE hERe. CaaaaAaaAaaaaAlM." The voice rumbled softly in his ear, grounding him just enough for him to take back control and regulate his breathing. He walked, head down, the sea of faceless nameless people washing over him as the itch subsided, the hot flush to his face died down.

Eventually he reached a clearing, another starbucks--this time with an outdoor patio, tables and chairs hiding from the sun under dark green shades. This was the place his client had suggested that they meet and it was fancier than he was used to. His local coffee shop was a broom cupboard compared to this one.

Then his phone buzzed.

He glanced down at it and barely had time to decipher the poor grammar before his attention was manhandled by a walking rainbow jumping up and down from behind one of the tables. Was that her? He hesitantly swiveled his head to check if there were anyone behind him better suited for her acknowledgement, when he turned back she was in his face and grasping at his fingers with long witch-like nails, their cheap plastic gems glinting in the sun light.

She opened her mouth and Harry's quirk summed up his thoughts perfectly.

oH nO.

The twirling and the posing was ridiculous, dumbstruck by such an open display of juvenile thought; she looked like she thought she was something from an anime. In reality she looked completely insane.

I hate her.
wE lOvE hER!

"Yeah, okay. Uh, let's sit down." He stammered, stiffly walking around her grand introduction and seating himself at the table she'd come from. It took a moment for him to gather his thoughts after what he'd just witnessed, but it wasn't long before he was in work-mode.

"So, it's nice to meet you Touko, I'm Harry. You, uh, already know the basics of what I do, but there are several packages you can choose from; all with their various costs and requirements." He watched her carefully as he spoke, his inability to read her a red flag for his fight or flight response. Realistically she wouldn't hurt him, but her spontaneous behavior had him on edge.

"Y-You can, um. You can opt to control the social media account, or accounts, yourself and I can advise you on a weekly or monthly basis--that's the cheaper option. You can authorize me to control the accounts for you and use me as a sort of filter: you tell me what you want put out there and I'll either reject or alter it depending on what I think better suits your image."

sHe'S kInDA CutE.

"The- uh. Well, let's see." He paused for a moment to scratch his head, digging his nails deep into the fabric. His quirk wouldn't be harmed by it, of course, but it was the sentiment that mattered. "The last option is a mixture of the two. You have full control of your accounts, a-and you give me access so that I can post in your stead when you're not able to or if you just want to use the account for both personal and business purposes. Essentially, you handle the personal, I handle the business."

"You don't need to decide which package is right for you on the spot, there are other things I'd like to talk about first, but keep them in mind while we're here. Do, uh, do you have any questions before I go on?" He did his best to give her a salesmans smile, but the white knuckled grip around the circumference of his coffee cup ruined the effect.

Omigod the shy ones were, like, her total favorites bar none.

Their stiff deer-in-headlights mannerisms, their stammering that was absolutely adorable, and the cute little way they shuffled their feet and looked so desperately to disappear it was like the most neon of signs screaming, 'Please Befriend This Poor Soul And Introduce Them To The Best Life Has To Offer!'. And, as a magical girl, her absolute duty was to not only introduce that special life energy to the poor sad souls so desperately needing human contact, but to ensure they smiled so genuinely it'd be the most heartwarmingly beautiful thing in all of existence!

Every magical girl needed her introverted counterparts, after all. She didn't know there would be guy versions, those were usually reserved for... other roles, but hey, this was an excellent start to her grand story and she wouldn't knock the opportunities unfolding before her eyes.

She couldn't, in short, not interfere with his yearning for a blissfully quiet and unobtrusive life.

While taking in critical data about his person-- was he being bullied? Was that why he was avoiding eye contact and looking nervously around? Was he in an abusive situation? Oh that would totally NOT stand as long as she was around and she'd get him the heck out quicker than a blink if that was the case. His clothes were kind of in need of some cheering up, the dark somber colors projecting a morosely mature air that screamed 'please give me a thing to smile about' and needed a dire catch of color or accessory or something to add a little identity to him.-- she almost found her brain tripping over the name.

Heh-ri? Who named their child Helic- oohhh, right. American names. Sure, her mom's side of the family had names that didn't roll off the tongue as fluidly or melodically or elegantly as they did her father's side of things, but Harry? Not... yeah. That was a thing she had an issue with.

She squinted. He didn't look hairy either but who was she to judge? I'll just have to think of a fab nickname for him; he's gotta have one that's cool as the image and front he's putting up but also reflective of his super sweet and soft side I totes know is there.

The temptation to control the social media accounts was so real she could barely take it; especially after that fiasco with her wardrobe coordinator aka that boorish fool lacking in any sort of taste. Honestly. Men sometimes and their lack of forethought and creativity. Didn't they ever stop thinking of bashing skulls in and machismo long enough to appreciate the design and delicate details that a magical girl's outfit could offer the world instead of body hugging spandex rip offs? Like, hello? It was A Thing! One's outfit did not have to look like a silly fantasy out of a bad Sports Illustrated meets Victoria's Secret magazine for a heroine!

But, she redirected-- tee hee!-- her thoughts back to where they needed to be; consideration and business. There would be time for lamentation and carefully structured angst and mopery later. Having him control it would take a lot of excess work and leave her with more time to set up material for him to use. But also meant a disconnect from the legions of fans she just knew were awaiting her arrival in the USA's dreadfully angst ridden and dark and broody motif for heroes.

Having him handle the business portion and having her be there for the fans to connect to was tempting as well, and what she leaned towards at the moment. This was a lot different than things in Japan already and it was super maximum levels of exciting! She beamed at the poor uncomfortable lad, chin propped up between her palms as her sparkly nails tapped against her cheeks in anticipation. Gotta figure out a super awesome name for him. He's totes gonna be taken under my wing. She filed a mental note to force her designer to incorporate wings into a future costume. Had to be no less than three revised costumes to show her growth and success, after all!

"Totes understand and got questions!" She chirped happily. "We gotta be friends in order for this to be, like, the ultimate success after all! What's your favorite color? Do you have a favorite band? What about designer label? OH! Favorite snack in the whole world? What about a favorite animal?"

Long too light blue lashes fluttered, light from the coffee shop lights caught off... were those the world's most tiny rhinestones at the ends and cast little sparkles dancing across her face. "What', like, on your mind first? We can get to the good stuff later; I am so down and here for you first and foremost though!"

In between the time he'd taken to explain his proposals and her response, the too colorful confectionery disaster she'd been drinking had vanished. Entirely. Just sadly artificial coloring and foam left tie-dyed against the recyclable container in front of her.