Photoshoots for Sorcerers ★ Job/Solo

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The words stopped the twins in their tracks and sent their thoughts whirling together in a frantic rush of confusion and, believe it or not, something akin to fear. It sent chills up their spines and ice into their hearts and souls, overloading the red threads that so fragilely tied them together with an overflowing amount of superficial emotion – Akano was extremely irritated by this, and expressed it in a sharp but controlled jab at both their minds, causing them to grow rational once more, turning to look at their manager.

“You guys don’t look pleased for some reason, huh?” The poor man frowned in confusion – few people could read the idols as well as their two managers could, and it was rather inconvenient during times like these. “I thought you’d be thrilled. Aoba, weren’t you interested in studying mages? This could be your chance!” He frowned in something akin to disappointment at them, but swept past in a slightly disgruntled manner. “Yeah, so just…meet up in the conference room within five minutes, yeah? And maybe try to be more enthusiastic? I mean, I know you guys always go through all of this all the time, but I thought you’d actually be…I don’t know, excited.”

Their manager was uncharacteristically sensitive for someone in the career, easily disappointed or saddened by casual comments or events that couldn’t come to be. While your typical entertainment industry worker was tough-headed and difficult to offend, he was the biggest exception the siblings had encountered. Still, I know that you all are likely wondering…whatever did this man say to make our protagonists react in such a violent and unexpected manner? Let’s take a brief flashback to a couple of minutes ago… (Yes I am breaking the fourth wall. Yes I am doing it really badly. No I don’t care. You’re welcome.)

“Aoi, Aoba! Sorry, I just got an updated schedule by the big boss. You’ve got an exclusive modelling job! Seriously though, this opportunity is ridiculously rare, even for people as famous as you two.” The man rummaged around in his pocket, running his fingers through his greasy hair for a moment before unfolding it. “I still can’t quite believe it, you guys are going to be absolutely thrilled. We submitted an application, you know, and only five of the applicants are chosen for this particular shoot. It’s the…” The man proudly flourished the sheet at the confused but slightly excited teenagers, brandishing it as if it were the one and only beacon of hope. “Sorceror’s Magazine! You guys are going to do a photoshoot for probably the most popular magazine in all Fiore, can you believe it? We might meet some real, powerful mages as well!” Poor man. He thought his young charges would be positively thrilled at such an opportunity, one so rare and difficult to get. Instead, he was hit with the unfortunate cold side of their personalities, cruelly rejected by their dark blue eyes and mouths downturned upon the hearing of his words. For the twins were mages – sorcerers, if you will. But none of the world was supposed to know.

But here they were now, crammed inside the old, worn van, bouncing along the roads to Talonia. “We’re allowed to come up with our own concepts, so we decided to focus on a darker theme than usual. As this is a special magazine, we’re doing our absolute best to make the shoot perfect. They do have photographers, but they’re surprisingly typical for those who work at such a prestigious press. I think we’ll be able to do it just a bit better, since we’ve got tons of experience working with you two.” The manager flashed them a thumbs up, before leaning over to the photographer to discuss the details. Sorceror’s Magazine, huh? The press had been somewhat inactive for a while – due to the finicky nature of professional mages, they would be released according to what was happening recently. This would be a good opportunity to gain fans in the mage-admiring crowd or mages themselves, right? Although Azure was not a mage group (on the outside, at least), they knew how to work a crowd and attract new fans. This would make for an excellent chance to increase their target audience.

Slowly, the van screeched to a start outside of a foreboding alleyway, the door being pulled open by the other manager. “You guys ready for this? I know you didn’t seem too excited about it, but I’m sure you understand how beneficial this could be for your careers. You’re smart kids, after all.” Aoi nodded cheerfully.

“Yeah, sorry, we had been discussing something less than happy earlier when you guys told us, so sorry if we looked disappointed. Honestly, I’m positively thrilled! It feels strangely exciting to be doing a photoshoot for once, you know?” Aoba nodded along with his sister’s words, putting a sincere expression on his face. In reality, the two were quite honored. It was a difficult magazine to get into – what would you expect? They’d have to be literally emotionless to not be thrilled, and while that wasn’t too far off from reality, the aliens did possess emotions.

Getting out, they’d be hustled into a nearby building, face masks keeping their identity secret from all besides the few fansites that were already hovering around, giant cameras snapping shots from every possible angle. It was an unfortunate side effect of fame and popularity, but the twins had gotten used to it already. They spared a few quick waves, before entering the temporary stylist center. Tugged and pulled into different outfits in shades of blue, dark makeup was applied to create a more dramatic effect. Aoba’s concept was more of a troublemaker’s – paint-splattered school uniform in a broken-down bus, while Aoi’s shoot would be in the alleyway they had seen before, wearing a rather revealing blue sweater while seated against the wall. It was a bit less creative than her brother’s, though she had no complaints. The editors would make it look better, after all. They always did, and had done so for the four years they had been active.

Piling back into the van, they would be driven back to the company, off to spend more hours laboring away in the practice room.

1047/1000

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