"Ohoohooo, what do we have here?"
Stellaris peeked behind an alley with a mischevious smile as she looked upon Agama's ports with curiosity. There was a bunch of hubbub here all of a sudden without a Kobber in sight, and clearly that meant some sort of celebrity was here? If she could get on their good side, it'd give her a clear advantage to advertise over Esme's business! She could taste success right then and there, creeping up and blending in with the crowds.
She had to admit: the ship that everyone was gawking at was rather impressive. Massive, even. Maybe it was big enough to hold two of everything in there, least in Stellaris's mind. Elegant, yet dangerous with the several cannons she could see on the side. The men coming down from it were hardly anything to talk about. Sure, they looked nice, but she could smell some sort of stink on them. Now, the man in purple, with an outfit fitting for a captain and a pencil-thin, pointy stashe? He was fame material!
The fortune teller shoved her way through the crowd towards the very front, taking in everything on that man. The many badges, the golden trim around his sleeves, the way he walked with such confidence!
"Step aside, step aside!" called out one crew member. "Make way for the one and only Captain of the Seven Skies, the wonderous, illustrious, fantabulous Lord Valor!" The crowds parted like the red sea to let Lord Valor through, the man clearly soaking in all the attention.
Pulling out her phone to look him up, Stellaris found almost nothing about him. A little footnote here and there, but nothing stood out to her that screamed 'Oh, HIM!' Stellaris glared at him now, miffed that he wasn't the superstar she thought he was, before the crowds cheers intensified suddenly. So suddenly, in fact, she had to cover her ears to protect her precious eardrums!
"What on EARTH are you people cheering for? A nobody?!" Stellaris tried to shout, her voice drowned out by the crowd. She fumed for a bit until she saw someone else disembarking the boat, a fishy tail waggling behind her, her hair flowing in the wind.
"YUI!!!!" shouted the crowd, throwing flowers and glitter as the idol trailed behind Lord Valor with a derpy smile. "YUI! YUI! YUI!"
It all clicked... maybe. Stellaris had to make sure by looking her up. Instantly, she was bombarded with site after site after site devoted to this famous fishlady. All of them seemed to have been made within the last couple of months, but that didn't particularly catch her eye. No, it was the Youtube videos of her doing silly, childish things, the photoshoots, the huge amount of effort that went into her Wiki page that wasn't simply a list of traits she has (or had).
For a moment, the fortune teller frowned as Yui went on her way, skipping as cheerfully as a child. To be that free to do silly things... No. Someone would think she was immature rather than cutesy eventually, right? She's too carefree, with hardly a worry! She hadn't had to work for anything, not even earning the approval of those who tutored her! Here Yui was, prancing about like some sudden superstar while she, the great Stellaris, had to toil for her fame and status for years before she got even close to being a mainstay?!
Such furious thoughts consumed her entirely, to the point where the crowd was gone by the time she snapped out of it. She huffed and crossed her arms. She didn't need this Yui girl to get back into the Astrology game! No, tutoring Hakra would bring even better results! To teach one who mingles upon the Kobbers meant that her name would spread through their circle, and the Kobbers would come pouring into her shop in no time!
Yes, yes, that was the way, she thought as she marched on home. Who needed that weirdo, anyway?
------------------
Yui honestly didn't know much about what was going on. The crowds were nice and pleasant, and she met people she was certain might be important. Like the red bunny girl who asked about the permits. Or the big bird welcoming the Lord to Agama. And the blue dinosaur thing.
What warranted such attention? All she knew was that the pirates asked her to pose and be cute, so she did so. They gave her food afterwards, which was nice. Then they asked her to act natural and be silly, and she had no idea what that meant, but being clumsy with dishes and singing seemed to make them happy! Five days a week, they did this, and every time she was somewhere new with weird things, like zebras and giraffes in a zoo, or fellow fish trapped within the confines of a cage that kinda looked happier here than in the sea, and some sort of two wheeled thing they called a bike. Each and every one was a learning experience for her, and she figured maybe they wanted to capture the moment.
Then she had all these letters she couldn't read ("Who wrote this in CURSIVE?!?" grumbled a pirate) and pictures of people who somehow looked like her pinned in her room. She liked the drawings they sent the most, because she could understand those the best. They liked her, right? She didn't know who they were, but they liked her!
A fan approached her with a flower in hand, looking at her with bright eyes. "Yui, I'm so glad to meet you! I, uh, brought a gift! Do you like flowers?"
Yui opened her mouth to respond when a pirate interjected with a laugh, stepping inbetween them as he said, "Sorry, kid, she strained her voice singing the other day! Maybe you and her can talk... later, maybe?"
Before she knew it, Yui was pushed ahead, far, far ahead of the crowd. She frowned. That flower looked pretty, and she wanted to practice her Thank Yous. But maybe they wanted to wait until she was fluent in the human tongue? They never did ask her to talk or anything. Even her singing was really just humming! It was so strange, but maybe that was how it was in the human world?
A long, long day waited ahead of her, though. One Lord Valor was more than happy to announce.
"Part 1 of Mascot Mania is complete! They absolutely love her, thanks to my clever and witty ways with the internet! Now, it's time to begin Part 2: win the entire city's trust and love, and milk as much money out of these poor peasants as possible! Then, if Xiulan is still alive, she will come and confront me, but be unable to hurt me while we take her head! And if she ISN'T alive..." Lord Valor stroked his moustashe and chuckled. "Then we'll have enough money to spend fuel to find her miserable, rotting body on the seas! Nyeheheheh!"
"Nyehehehehe!" Yui repeated, not sure what was so funny about the situation but trying to fit in anyway with the pirates that chuckled along.
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