#rtb au: otome fans

[norbezjones]

AU-gust in September #16: Hobby Drama (Romance The Backrooms)

(Didn’t get to post this yesterday, whoops!)

So, here’s the deal.  I couldn’t participate in my beloved AU-gust event last month, because I was busy.  So I thought, fuck it, I’ll just participate this month instead, because we as humans can do whatever we want, and screw the rules lmao!  And that’s what I’m doing.

The event is “supposed” to be for fanfiction, but I want to write AUs for my game Romance The Backrooms, a liminal space otome with 5 main love interests, so I’m gonna do that instead.  Like I said, screw the rules! X)

Since September has only 30 days, I’ll treat Day 31’s prompt as a Joker (aka a prompt I can switch out if I don’t like the day’s chosen prompt).

I also couldn’t resist using the @tropetember prompt! C: Here’s the tropetember prompts, if you want to take part in that event as well!

Today’s Prompts: Hobby Drama, Reunion

Characters: Uri, Kalcal, Zenobos

Other Info: the idea behind this is that it’s an in-person meetup for the otome game Café Enchante.

Also, THIS PROMPT WAS THE WHOLE REASON I WANTED TO DO AU-GUST IN SEPTEMBER LOL!  I’VE BEEN HOLDING ONTO THIS IDEA SINCE I SAW IT! :3c

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Café Enchante merch was a rare gem, especially in the United States.  So the members of the unofficial Café Enchante Discord had organized a meetup at OtomeCon.  Fans could see each other face-to-face, and (equally as important) show off and/or swap their merch items.

Currently, Uri was nervously heading toward said meetup.  He was sporting an cat-shaped itabag full of pins of his favorite Café Enchante love interest, Il Fado de Rie, the angel.  He had acquired quite a few extra pins & acrylic stands of Il that he hoped to pass on to another fan. . . Just thinking about that made him smile, because it would be nice to meet people who loved Il as much as he did.

He went into a side hall, away from the main floor of the convention, following the signs to Meetup Room 1F.  As he turned the corner, he saw two people in front of him.

“I’m hoping to get more pins of Ignis—what about you, Zenobos?” a tall, excited figure asked. 

“W-Well, my favorite love interests are Canus and Rindo, so I’m hoping to get some more stuff of them,” Kalcal’s friend, a short guy with hair that was surprisingly grey for his age, replied.  “I’m glad the two of us could meet up again for this convention—it feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Uri gathered his courage and cleared his throat, walking up to the two.  “Are you two headed to the Café Enchante meetup?” he asked shyly.

The tall guy turned around, looking thrilled.  “Ooo, another fan!” he exclaimed.  Before Uri could react, the tall guy had ran up to him and was shaking his hand vigorously.  “I’m Kalcal!  Ooo, you have an itabag!  Is that Il in there, too?  That’s so awesome!”

Uri chuckled as the guy let go of his hand, feeling awkward.  “Yeah. . . That’s Il in there, alright.”

“Wow, you’ve filled the bag completely with pins of him!” the short guy exclaimed.  “How long did it take for you to do that?”

“Well, I’ve been gathering Il merch for almost a year on and off—it certainly wasn’t easy,” Uri replied, laughing.  “I have a few extras now, too, so I’m hoping to trade them for other stuff at the meetup.”

“Awesome!” Kalcal exclaimed.

“The meetup might be a little awkward now, though, though,” the short guy told them both.  “Some stuff went down in the Discord. . . Apparently froggergirl promised dbat324 that she’d bring some rare stuff, but now she’s backing out, and dbat is pissed.”

“Ooof, drama,” Uri said, cringing.

“Drama is right!” Kalcal exclaimed.

There was a pause.  Then the short guy said, “Um, I’m Zenobos, by the way.  What’s your name?”

“I’m Uri,” Uri replied.

Zenobos gave him a smile.  “I-It’s nice to meet you, Uri!  Want to walk to the meetup together?”

Uri smiled back.  “I’d like that.”

And so, the three of them went on their way.