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Special Shot |  |
Tae
Hm... I'll draw this part like this... And for the color... I guess it should be blue...
Tae
... I wonder when Kasumi and the others are coming.
Rimi
Kasumi-chan's remedial lesson seems like it will go a bit longer... And Arisa-chan has student council, so I think Saaya-chan will come next.
Tae
Saaya, huh? Okay, this part will be yellow...
Rimi
O-Tae-chan, what are you drawing? You look so invested in it.
Tae
This is a guitar mascot character.
Rimi
Huh? A guitar mascot...?
Tae
Yup. Recently there was a Shopper Appreciation Day event in the downtown area.
Rimi
Ah, I might've heard about that event from Misaki-chan...
Tae
I met Michelle and Hi-Marie when I was there.
Rimi
Wow, Misaki-chan and Hi-Ma... Ummm... Wh-who is that?
Tae
It's a combination of Himari and Marie, so Hi-Marie. Apparently Hagumi had plans that day and couldn't be Marie.
Tae
So Himari became Marie instead... Ah, keep this a secret from everyone else, okay?
Rimi
I-I see... Anyway, Himari-chan was the one inside Marie that day, right?
Tae
Yup. So I was watching Michelle and Hi-Marie... and the two of them looked like they were having so much fun.
Tae
So I wanted to try being a mascot character too.
Rimi
I see. So that made you want to make one that's a guitar.
Tae
But guitar fluffy mascots must be rare. I searched on my smartphone and couldn't really find any...
Rimi
Yeah, I don't think I've seen one before... There might be mascots that have guitars, but I guess mascots that are guitars themselves are rare...
Tae
Then will you help me make the world's first guitar mascot character?
Rimi
M-me?! I don't know if I'll be much help, but... I'll try my best. What should I do?
Tae
First, I want you to take a look at my best work. What do you think of this page?
Rimi
Th-this long, wriggly part... Is that... the neck?
Tae
I knew you would get it. The guitar neck serves as the character's neck. And the headstock is its head.
Tae
What do you think? Is it cute?
Rimi
U-ummm... I don't know about cute... But I doubt you'd ever forget this character once you saw it...
Rimi
The arms and legs extend out long and thin from the body, and it seems kind of like a tsukumogami...
Tae
What's that...?
Rimi
It's said that items used for a long time house spirits. Those items are called tsukumogami.
Tae
Huh, I see. But this isn't a spirit, it's a fluffy mascot.
Rimi
It's not very fluffy though... Also, if you're going to be inside it, don't you think the neck is a little too long?
Tae
Were you worried about that too?
Rimi
Yeah... I feel like... the length of the neck is a pretty fatal flaw.
Tae
Okay... what about this page?
Rimi
I-is this... a bug?
Tae
This is also a guitar fluffy mascot.
Rimi
R-right, I'm sorry... This part on top of the head looked like the horn on a rhinoceros beetle...
Tae
That's not a horn. It's the guitar neck.
Rimi
Yeah... Now that I'm really looking at it, I think I can gradually see it that way...
Tae
For this costume, my entire body would fit in the body portion of the guitar, so the neck would be fine, right?
Rimi
R-right... But adding in the neck portion, it seems like the costume might be about two meters tall...
Rimi
That's... really big...
Tae
Do you think I wouldn't be able to reach the pegs?
Rimi
I feel like that might not be the problem... The head seems like it would wobble, so it might make things a little hard...
Tae
I see... In that case I'll have to think of another one.
Rimi
Why don't we try asking someone knowledgeable about costume characters? Like Misaki-chan.
Tae
But Misaki wears them, she doesn't make them.
Rimi
That's true... I wonder what we should do then...
Tae
I'd like to hear more of your opinion, Rimi. Someone that doesn't have experience might come up with a unique idea.
Rimi
Y-you want to hear mine...?! Would I... be of help?
Tae
I know you would. Let's work together to complete a cute fluffy mascot! Then, let's unveil it at one of our concerts!
Rimi
Huh? I don't remember hearing that part...
Transcript
Tae
Huh? Hello, BanG Dreamer-san. Are you on a shopping run today?
Tae
I'm waiting to meet up with Himari and Hagumi.
Tae
They said they want to play with my rabbits. They've done that before, but today they said they also want to observe them.
Tae
Apparently they want to study rabbits' movements.
Tae
I think... the reason is probably because of Marie.
Tae
You see, Himari played Marie recently. Right, her name then was "Hi-Marie."
Tae
When I first saw Marie on Shopper Appreciation Day, I didn't know that it was Himari inside.
Tae
Yep, that's right. I assumed that Hagumi was inside like she always is.
Tae
Later, when I went to go hang out with her during her break in the office, I was told that it was really Himari.
Tae
After being told that, I did realize some things were kind of off. If it had been the usual Marie, she'd have been able to do backflips and dash around at super speed.
Tae
But that doesn't mean I was disappointed by Hi-Marie. Her gestures were really cute.
Tae
All of the children were smiling too.
Tae
There were a lot of shoppers that came to see Marie, but I don't think anyone realized she was different from normal. I wouldn't have realized either if I hadn't been told.
Tae
... Ah, but it's a secret that Himari was the one inside Marie, okay?
Tae
Anyway, her work for the day ended without any problems, but... it looks like Himari came up with various ideas to better become Marie.
Tae
She was really pumped up, saying that she had to be prepared so she could become Marie at any time...
Tae
So the next time Hi-Marie makes an appearance, I'm sure she'll be more powered-up. She might even juggle on a unicycle like Michelle.
Tae
Fufu, with different Maries around, there will be more to enjoy whenever I see her. I can try to guess what kind of Marie she'll be that day.
Tae
I've got an idea. BanG Dreamer-san, why don't you try being Marie next time? I'd like to see that.
Tae
I'd also like to see Marina-san's Marie too! I wonder if she'd play guitar or something.
Tae
If Marina-san became Marie... I guess she'd be "Marie-na?" ... Yeah, that might be pretty cool.
Tae
... Ah. It's almost time, so I need to get going!
Tae
... Please make sure to tell Marina-san about "Marie-na," okay? Well, see you later.