Hope flopped on her sofa the moment they walked into her apartment. "I'm pooped... so tired..."
Erie walked in after Hope and said, "How are YOU tired when we're the malnourished ones here?"
Juliet locked the door behind them and said, "Ditto. And haven't you also been getting like a full eight hours of sleep, Hope?"
Hope grabbed the blankets she used to make a fortress earlier from the ground and wrapped herself up. "That's because we did a lot of walking! And chatting! My social battery is zero..."
"Oh, huh." Erie tilted her head, watching Hope. "...Are you an introvert?"
Juliet chuckled as she headed to the kitchen to prep some meals for later. "That's funny... I would have thought you were an extravert with how bubbly you are, Hope."
Hope huffed and said, "People get it confused! You can be sociable and still get drained! Introvert and extravert means whether you get energy from or get drained from being around people!"
Erie hummed as she sat down by an outlet to charge her phone. "Huh. ...That means that extraverts don't get energy unless they're around other people, right? No wonder I felt so drained streaming at home."
Juliet pulled out some ingredients to make fresh lasagna and then said, "That's definitely true. Energy vampires, all of them."
Hope gasped. "Erie! Are you an energy vampire?!"
Erie rolled her eyes. "Obviously not. I don't go out of my way to make people feel bad like the preppy girls Julie's thinking of."
Juliet chuckled as she washed her hands and said, "Fair. Also, you guys want a veggie and cheese lasagna or a meat one?"
Hope's eyes lit up and she said, "Ooh! I want a veggie lasagna! I love them! They remind me of the old TV dinners I used to eat at the orphanage when I was small!"
Silence.
Hope blinked and then turned a bright red. "O-Oh. S-Sorry to bring the mood down."
Erie shook her head. "It's fine, Hope. Just, uh. Out of left field."
Juliet nodded. "Don't apologize for stuff like that, Hope." She smiled and said, "You're amazing for being able to talk about it."
Hope lit up again and said, "Well, that's because it was fun! There were a lot of us around and we had lots of games!" She paused and said, "...Foster care was worse."
Erie grimaced. "Yeah, I've heard horror stories about that."
Juliet started slicing some bell peppers and said, "Really? I've heard otherwise... but I guess it's just the luck of the draw, huh?"
Erie shook her head. "Gacha in real life... terrible."
Hope snuggled in her blankets to get cozier and said, "It's not that bad! I had one foster family that was Mexican! They always made tamales and other yummy stuff! It's why I like corn!"
Erie looked amused and said, "Can you even like say that...?"
"Say what?" Hope tilted her head. "It's why I made my last name Valentia! I think my real name is supposed to be Valentine, but Valentia sounds cooler!"
"Wait." Erie blinked. "So the lore behind your name is that it's Hope Valentine... but you liked being a Latina so much you changed it to Valentia?"
Hope blushed. "I don't like being a Latina! It's for respect! Respect!"
Juliet swept the sliced bell peppers into a bowl and started slicing some mushrooms next. As she did, she looked amused and said, "You do realize that Valentia is more Italian than Hispanic, right?"
Hope sighed. "...I realized that later. And I wanted to change it, but the people said it would make my documents complicated. Also that I might get stopped at passport control a lot..."
Erie nodded. "That's a good point. If you change just a single letter, the machines get mixed up. One time, the DMV misspelled my last name as 'Child' and it was SUCH a hassle fixing it..."
Juliet finished cutting the mushrooms and then started slicing zucchinis. As she did, she said, "Well, if we ever have any document problems now, I guess we can just call Johnny and have him sort it out."
Erie chuckled. "That's true... Wait." She paused and looked at Juliet. "...Aren't you technically in this country illegally?"
Hope gasped and covered her mouth. "That's true! You didn't go through passport control! Or the airports!"
"We totally did." Juliet pulled out a pan and olive oil, layering on the vegetable she sliced with spinach and some onions. "There's definitely camera evidence of us walking through Narita airport."
Erie raised an eyebrow. "...Narita airport? Not Haneda?"
Juliet whistled and continued making the lasagna.
Hope giggled. "Oh, you're definitely a villainess, Julie."
Juliet shrugged as she preheated the oven. "Sometimes, you just smile and wink at things that make life go easier. You know?"
Erie nodded. "That's true... like how Mister John somehow managed to get me the Freddy's Pizzeria chain so quickly."
Hope sat up on the sofa and huddled under her blankets. Then she said, "Did you decide what you're going to do with it yet? And where you're opening first?"
Erie hummed and grabbed her phone. "I'm thinking about it. Going with the classic first location might be fun... and I wanna see if there are actual animatronics still there. But we could also like just bulldoze them all and make things from scratch. I bet Titor and Mira-chan would love to help with that. Lore too."
Juliet washed her hands again and started making lasagna sheets from scratch. "If you do, we should invite Hana-chan and Rin-senpai. I bet they'd love to come."
Hope giggled and said, "They'd keep us safe from any haunted animatronics too!"
Erie laughed. "That's true. I think any of the animatronics who see Hana would run the other way... especially since she's technically an animatronic too, right?"
Juliet layered out the lasagna sheets and frowned. "I'm still not sure about that. Like, the handbook says we get to use IDOL bodies... which are apparently robot bodies we VR connect into? But my Oshi was definitely fleshy and warm when we met."
Erie blinked. "I... wouldn't have described it that way. But... I guess so?"
Hope hummed. "Maybe they're spare bodies! Just like the ones that witches keep in London!"
Erie's eyes lit up. "I got that reference! That's... what is it? The Holy Night's Witch, right? With Miss Blue?"
Hope gasped. "Oh my gosh! Yes!"
Juliet looked amused and said, "I thought you were a normie, Hope? How do you know a niche thing like that?"
Hope giggled and said, "At my high school, we had a shared drive. One day, someone uploaded a lot of visual novels into it! Like... some 18+ visual novels too. They got suspended... but a few teachers got in trouble for it too."
"Wow." Erie laughed. "Your lore is pretty crazy, Hope... No. I guess midwest lore is crazy? Are they THAT bored over there?"
Hope shrugged. "We had cornfield mazes and stuff?"
Juliet started slicing mozzarella to layer onto the lasagna and said, "I don't think that answers Erie's question, Hope..."
Erie smiled and then started scrolling through her phone.
For a bit, the three girls just sat in a comfortable silence, Hope snuggled up and cozy, Erie scrolling through social media, and Juliet cooking.
But then Erie chuckled and said, "They're still going crazy about our reveal."
The timer on the oven echoed, indicating it was preheated.
Juliet assembled the vegetables to roast them, and then said, "I bet they are. It's been a while since there's been a new generation, right?"
Hope pulled out her phone too, scrolling on social media. "The hashtag for Project MirAIs has a lot of comments! ...Oh! Rhea-senpai... Well, I guess Chihiro-senpai really. She texted me and asked if we had any ideas about our character designs!"
Erie nodded. "Blood-red hair. Eerie yellow eyes. Beating heart visible beneath a clear compartment. Spooky vibes. Red-string of fate connected to Meryl Kodomo's body. And maybe a few of my limbs swapped with Meryl's."
Juliet put the vegetable in the oven and gave Erie a blank look. "...You're really doubling down on the bit, huh?"
"Of course." Erie chuckled. "If THEY got to treat me like a floor mat and toss me out to die, I get to do what I want with Meryl. Also." She giggled. "Imagine the outrage. People thinking that Project MirAIs is being disrespectful to my legacy... and then I show up and do Meryl's voice. The tears, the screams, the heartbreak and love at the same time... It'll be legendary."
Hope typed Erie's response. And then she giggled. "Chihiro-senpai says she loves it and loves your vibes. She'll start with yours first since she's feeling motivated."
"Purrrfect." Erie grinned.
Hope looked over at Juliet. "What about you, Julie?"
Juliet hummed. "...Well, I've gotta go with silver hair for the tragic heroine look. Violet eyes too? That fits, right? We can do the full waist-length curly hair too and a ball gown with bloodstains all over it."
Erie tilted her head and said, "I thought your lore was being poisoned to death?"
Juliet smiled. "It is. The blood is from the afterparty. Also, I want a tommy gun."
Erie snapped her fingers and pointed at Juliet. "You're toootally going to do a Valentine's Day Massacre on that Romeo and the guests, aren't you?"
Juliet giggled and said, "Well. If you have a typewriter, you should write an epic with it."
Hope blinked. "A typewriter? ...OH! A tommy gun is also called a typewriter, so... I get it!" She paused. "...But doesn't that mean you murdered a lot of innocent people?"
Juliet snorted. "Trust me, Hope. In that sort of setting, no one is innocent. Speaking from experience."
Erie nodded. "Yeah. We're talking to the gal who actually defenestrated someone, remember, Hope?"
"True..."
After a bit of more banter, the vegetables finished roasting.
Juliet started assembling the veggie lasagna properly and put the whole thing back to finish baking. Then she looked at Hope and said, "What about you, Hope? You decided how 'Arenbi' is going to look yet?"
"Mmhm! It's just going to be me!"
Juliet blinked. "What?"
Erie's eyes lit up. "OH MY GOD YOU MENACE." She pointed at Hope and said, "You're going to pretend to cosplay her every time we go out, aren't you?"
Hope giggled. "Nooo~ I'm totally not planning to gaslight everyone~"
Juliet paused. Then she gave Hope a blank stare and said, "You're going to pretend to be your biggest fan, aren't you?"
"I *am* my biggest fan, Julie!" Hope gave two thumbs up. "That's the joke!"
Erie shook her head. "I thought Rin gaslighting everyone into thinking she wasn't Hana was peak, but now we're going to have a girl who's going to gaslight everyone into thinking she's just cosplaying her oshi..."
Hope jumped out of her blankets and onto the floor, striking a pose. "That's because it's in the name of love! And it's my life! It's now or never!"
Juliet groaned. "Hope, please. No..."
Erie's eyes lit up. "I AIN'T GONNA LIVE FOREVEEEEER~"
Juliet sighed. "...This is going to be a daily thing, isn't it?"
Hope giggled and said, "Oh, come on, Julie! Live a little!"
Erie nodded. "Yeah! Otherwise you'll end up in a ditch! Or crashing into a tree like I did!"
Juliet looked amused and said, "Don't make me get out my guitar. I WILL Wonderwall you."
Hope giggled and said, "Jokes on you! I like Wonderwall!"
Erie hummed. "Maybe I should pick up an instrument too..."
Hope clapped her hands and said, "Ooh! We could be a band! Like, a real one!"
Juliet tilted her head, thinking. "...That's a good point. We could be both, couldn't we? An idol group and a band?"
Erie raised an eyebrow and said, "...Doesn't that mean I have to be the drummer?"
Hope nodded. "Yep! But that means you get to hit things hard! It's therapy!"
Erie paused. Then she pointed at Hope and said, "I'm in."
"Yay!"
Juliet chuckled. "...John is never going to have a proper idol group, is he?"
"Nope!" Hope giggled.
"Never~" Erie laughed.
Juliet shook her head. "Well... RIP John's dream..."