"o-oh waaaa!" this cry of surprise came as no surprise. aimee was easily overwhelmed by yumi's impeccable nature - showcasing the beauty of johtonian culture as if she were the region personified. there was a rich and lavish aura around her just like in her pictures and videos. it made the two-toned trainer almost salivate with how shocked she was to perceive her in real life.[break]
it did seem that social media was not enough to capture such beauty after all.[break]
"sorry! i mean i'm doing great! we'll be visiting the mask shop first, if ms. yumi would like that!" excited in a genuine manner, her smile practically glowed with electricity jumping from her very overcharged neurons. with both hands out, she motioned towards the streaming counterpart. this was all about her this day, seeing as the collab would be showcasing the two of them anyway. it wasn't a handout or anything of the sort, just amitriptyline understanding that it would make a sweeter deal for yumi to partake in if this was the way it was set up. if the collab went well, then maybe they could hang out more. a big part of the hoennian native wanted this so she would do what she could to make yumi shine.[break]
of course, she didn't need help with that - even if aimee was doing her best jazz hands as if to present the world to the johto legend herself.[break]
"i was hoping we could get some cute accessories as is tradition around here!" she pointed out, having done research before calling out the glamorous woman. "as it's ms. yumi's specialty, i ask: will you choose them for us?" as means of pointing out the raven-haired woman's specialty in fashion, aisle 39 left the choice of what they would wear as additional accessories through the festival to her. "i'll pay for your help, of course!" this wasn't meant to insinuate she figured yumi wouldn't want to or would not be able to, but it was a means of evening the field in terms of effort; yumi would choose the masks and aimee would happily pay for the trouble before going to the next stand or two. "i also heard there's a jeweler from johto who we should visit." this idea was said with a tad bit of pride, nodding and crossing her arms over her embonpoint with smoke almost leaving her nostrils in form of comical hubris. perhaps this is where the two influencers collided and bridged their worlds: aimee was painfully blunt and open about her opinions and words while yumi was also such a way, though their personalities were perhaps arguably polar opposites. [break]
opposites did attract, though, and personalities were ever-changing depending on exposure to elements, people, and circumstances so who could say the more influenced one of the two wouldn't pick up a trait or two?[break]
"if you'll allow me, ms. yumi," the pink-green girl offered, hooking out an arm as means to escort the more dapper counterpart forward.
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⚰︎ divider made by milky!"

Yumi Hasegawa

"mmm, yeah i get that a lot!" indeed, most nobody liked partnering up with 'drama' channels or promoters. usually these kind of worried notions were undone by meeting aimee herself, since she wasn't someone who lived for it all. most of the time, she only reported on positive news like blooming relationships and other things but there was the occasional psa post about a problematic person doing something that needed to be put to light. if it made her unsavory to some people, so be it. she was just thankful to yumi for giving her a chance. "i do like to just get to meet people who do the same thing, you know? not like you promote the same things i do, but i was curious about you as a person!" this came from a place of warm and uncalculated interest. "we are who we are online but i wanted to know how someone so perfect exists on a day-to-day basis." ainsley made a small window with one hand - fingers rounding into an oblong shape to look at the raven-haired woman through a lens of her digits. [break]
"pluuus, i would hope you're right! i'm not really sure if my opinion about myself matters much, really." rubbing at her chin with her one hand now, she looked away in thought - not avoidant, but just thinking. "it matters what you think, right? if it helps you make a judgement, however, i try not to focus on the negatives. making drama isn't what i wanna do, it's more like i just like reporting on fun things like when new lines of products are dropped or report on ratings of albums and merch releases." being honest, she didn't feel the need to hold back since she was asked to answer: "of course, i'm not faultless! some reports can cause drama, unintentionally. kinda the dreadful nature of the internet, i guess. like i could be praising an artist or influencer and people will come up and make fan wars. i could try to make polls to see what people like and so i know what to post about and people will try to fight me in the comments about how i'm not catering to their specific niche likes - stuff like that. people aren't easy to please, huh ms. yumi?" as a fellow influencer, she figured she would understand. while aimee had the experience needed, it helped to have another - arguably more capable - head to help form a full thought.
[break]

⚰︎ divider made by milky!"

Yumi Hasegawa

boy oh boy was aimee one of said fools, eagerly enjoying social media. perhaps that was the reason she got into it in the first place - aside from her deep idolization of certain bigshots in society, anyway.[break]
"woah!" yumi hasegawa was so cool. in contrast, ainsley was piping hot with excitement and the need to know more. "you seem to be very popular - not that i'm surprised." maybe to yumi's distaste, aimee couldn't stop talking as she skipped up to her side to look at the various masks as well. her eyes looked up and down the various lines of them and the different pokemon they resembled. with the eagerness and excitement of a ten year old, she couldn't choose just one. the choices were purely yumi's and hers alone, as the two-toned girl had said. "but you seem a little ... sad?" tapping at her bottom chin, aisle 39 formed a frown to accentuate her point. "kind of like you speak from somewhere deeper." a pause followed, the gears turning in her head and dusting off cobwebs from disuse. "of course, i'm probably totally wrong!" ah, and that's where the cogs came to an abrupt halt. "i hope it's nothing deeper, though. you seem like a good person, miss yumi." they had just met, but aimee could make assumptions easily and deem people what she wanted to within moments of interaction. yumi had done her the honor of meeting her out at the festival and drag her around without giving her much flack for what she posted. that alone was really nice of her. weathering the storm of conversation with her just made her seem more saint-like by the moment.[break]
"do you think you belong to your fans? i guess not, from what you said, but do you relate to the idea of selling the real you to the public in the sense that your fans have a right to judge you or feel like they are part of your life since you do share your real self with them?" popping off a mask into her hands, she held the dark gray and purple tones between her pushed out fingers - smiling at the still life gengar that smiled back. "i don't think anyone has any right to give input to anyone else's life unless they're a huge part of it. some content creators, i think, do think their fans are like family or a group of close friends so i'm wondering how you feel. do you have many friends ms. yumi? you must, so i dunno how you'd feel about that."


[break]

⚰︎ divider made by milky!"

Yumi Hasegawa

"as you should, queen!" and here came the social media lingo, aimee holding a fist in the air to cheer yumi on. the more composed woman didn't need it, but it never hurt to show appreciation towards someone sharing their struggle so openly. was it a struggle, though? yumi seemed to be doing very well for herself and for that, aisle 39 was admiring her closely - almost like a newborn fan of hers as she looked upon her closely, hands now curled under her own chin like an excited child.[break]
"mm, really?" at this, ainsley was a bit shocked. she assumed much, but it was almost always in positive ways. when she was proved wrong, her whirring mind came to a total halt - her eyes blank as if momentarily shut down. "ooooh, that makes a lot more sense!" this exclamation came shortly after, reigniting her into life. it really was important to make good friends, instead of many. yumi knew this, though many people did not. she seemed to know a lot of things - painful things, amazing things. aimee found herself absorbing the effects of such things by proxy, simply being in the brunette's space making her humbled and never-endingly curious. it was like the abyss was looking back at her, but the end was in sight and shimmered like diamonds.[break]
"me?" the tables being turned on this question, alibaba thought momentarily and surprisingly quickly. well ... it wasn't too surprising, given her only real 'friend' was @fritz, although she could sometimes argue that he more tolerated her than anything else. the two of them were in mutual 'tolerance of each other', so she wondered about this for a moment then focused down on the mask in her hands. a happiny looked back up at her, its oval stone in its pouch barely showing from the bottom of the mask. this would do, she imagined, as she also imagined her social life 'would do' for her purposes. "i have like one friend! as you said, quality over quantity! -- er ... though i think it's kind of hard to make friends, really. i feel bad assuming i'm friends with people until they tell me." a pause and an excited gasp as she infringed on yumi's space, eyes wide with expectation. [break]
"can we be friends, miss yumi?!"
[break]

⚰︎ divider made by milky!"

Yumi Hasegawa