if I had anywhere near as much to say about my idol OCs as I do about my Free! OCs I'd be here all day. but conveniently, I have an idol AU for those OCs. so I figured I could put them into SOUNDSCAPE-verse as an older, established pro idol group (or not ... it's complicated) ... I'm gonna talk about them for now cause I love them. also all I have rn is a sketch I did while on vacation,, forgive

our three main characters are Kikasawa Hibiki (middle), Saikawa Tomoe (bottom), and Yoroizuka Umi (top). don't let the girly names fool you, they're all guys aNYWAY I'm gonna try and be concise with this so you can actually follow their obnoxiously complicated backstories (I've had them for a while coughs). also Hibiki is taller than Umi, they're just on a staircase

Hibiki is friendly and outgoing and really just wants to have fun in life and for everyone to get along. Tomoe doesn't do well with people, he's a kind person at heart but has a hard time connecting with others and usually hides behind at least some kind of mask, be it apathy or a smile. Umi is pretty serious, but a good leader, although he tends to judge people too quickly. all three of them form the idol unit bluebird in high school, which is well-known for its music and aesthetic (think fine from EnStars perhaps).

Hibiki and Tomoe are best friends & roommates; Tomoe is in love with Hibiki and very attached to him. he's well aware that he's kind of hiding behind him and pretty damn co-dependent, but he has nobody else (he's even estranged from his own mother, who raised him on her own before dumping him at a boarding school), so the name of the game here is "abandonment issues". Hibiki genuinely loves Tomoe (not like that. maybe.) and thinks of him as a wonderful person once he lets his guard down, but sometimes considers him too meddlesome and wants him to find his own path. Hibiki is also good friends with Umi, who leads the unit.

but. well. Tomoe and Umi don't get along. at all. they play a decent act onstage, but normally? Umi thinks Tomoe hangs off Hibiki too much, but never made half an effort to try and befriend him or understand why. at first he thought there were ulterior motives, by now he knows there's not, but he still very much disapproves of how Tomoe treats Hibiki. Tomoe, on the other hand, is always kinda pissed at Umi for working them so hard and seemingly disregarding their feelings when outside factors (such as Hibiki's sister, whom he admires, quitting idol work) mess with them. Hibiki tries to mediate, but it's not working well, since he hates conflict and has a hard time speaking up if it means potentially hurting others. he's also maybe a bit too aware that he's the cause of the rift between them, blaming himself.

and eventually, that leaks out into their onstage interactions and fans start to realise that their clean, friendly image is only that - an image. Hibiki is the only one who really loves being an idol and making people happy. Tomoe just goes along with whatever Hibiki is doing, but is afraid of getting too attached to being on stage. Umi is all business. in the end, the unit splits up in their third year with only a shadow of their past popularity, which is followed shortly by a fight between Hibiki and Tomoe. end high school, they all go to different universities.

and now ... Tomoe is a solo idol, desperately trying to find something to cling to as he's lost the one person who's meant something to him. he has lots of fans due to his high skill and the "dark & mysterious but still cute" vibe he gives off, but his heart isn't really in it. Hibiki and Umi are both in new units that they enjoy and love, but while Hibiki's unit, a lot genkier than bluebird ever was, only loses in popularity to Tomoe, Umi's is struggling to even find venues and is always close to being ditched by his agency.

now how does this tie into SOUNDSCAPE-verse? they're pro idols now, but that has nothing to do with school idols, right ... but what idol agency sponsors both Tomoe as well as Umi's group? yup, you guessed it - the one behind Houkago Clover. their paths are gonna cross. somehow. I mean, I don't have the details yet. but they're gONNA

anyway thank you for surviving / scrolling by this WOT I just wanted to talk about my children goodbye,,