You Just Need to Use Your Imagination~ [Back-dated to a few days before the Ball]

[lunchleader]

Hi, everyone!

[Right's a mix of nerves and excitement, because he's finally gonna help fix things, in his mind.]

So, my name's Right. Some of you may have met me before, and I think I owe everyone an explanation. I think some of you saw me like this when we were in Sarmatia, right?

[Everyone will see a live-stream image of what appears to be a cell phone, and a photo of several young adults. The older form of Right is clearly visible in the middle, wearing a red jersey jacket. Then, the phone is lowered, and the 'feed' shifts to reveal the younger form of Right staring into a mirror.]

Well...this is the real me. And I know this is kinda confusing everyone, so I guess I should explain a few things.

[The visual feed cuts off, but he continues to talk.]

It started over a year ago, back home at Subarugahama. My hometown has a Star Festival, where everyone draws out their wishes on lanterns and line them up on the steps leading up to the local shrine. Well, me and my four best friends had a Secret Base outside of town, and we wanted to view the stars together during that night. It was a tough decision for me, since I really love looking up at the stars, but also really love the festival food as well.

Anyway. It was on that night that my town got swallowed up by Darkness. Everyone got swallowed up as well...except me and my friends. That's because we got really strong Imagination, and the Darkness that showed up is very weak to that. So we ended up escaping, and wound up on the Rainbow Line - a train company that literally runs on everyone's Imagination. The President of the Rainbow Line asked us if we could help them fight against the Darkness, which was actually caused by the Shadow Line - an evil group of monsters made up of Shadows formed from everyone's negative feelings. We said yes, and the President used his gignormous Imagination to turn us all into adults.

Only...we were so shocked from being suddenly adults that we actually forgot nearly everything except our names, and that we were childhood friends. But we still got our stuff from the President, so we still agreed to become the heroes against the Shadow Line - The Victorious Imagination, Ressha Sentai ToQger! I'm ToQ #1, by the way.

So, we just traveled on the Shadow Line, trying to regain our memories and to find our hometown again. Along the way, we befriended a Shadow Monster who turned good. We adopted him as a friend and team member, and even gave him a new name - Nijino Akira. We won a ton of battles, freed a lot of towns from the Shadow Line, and had lots of fun along the way, exploring Japan and tasting all the delicious local food... But it wasn't always fun and games. The battle started getting harder, especially when Zed started showing up.

--Oh, yeah, that's right. Zed's the leader of the Shadow Line. He's their Emperor of Darkness, and the main guy who actually had his castle setup right over our hometown. That's why we couldn't find it for the longest time - not until last Christmas, when the Imagination of the world was so strong that it drew the castle out into the real world from the Darkness. That's when we saw our Secret Base right outside it, and we knew that it was our hometown.

But Zed wouldn't give it up. He didn't want to. In fact, he wanted to swallow up all the Light and keep it for himself. Including me. He also ate me whole, and it wasn't for Gritta, another Shadow he had eaten earlier, pushing me out? I wouldn't be here. So, in order to save our hometown, we had to destroy the castle and him. Toughest fight of our lives...but we did it! We whipped his ass and freed everyone.

And because we did that, we got to go back to being kids again. At least until the Trumps dragged me into this mess with all you guys. Still can't figure out how they only let me be an adult when we were in Sarmatia, though... Buuuut that's about it.

Comments

[whydoyoushine]

I don't think everyone needed extended storytime.

[lunchleader]

Well, how else was I gonna explain why I'm an adult in that world and I'm a kid in here?

[whydoyoushine]

I don't know--without me?

Use that Imagination of yours.

[Private]

[littleladyluck]

[Genevieve can't find the words she needs for far too long, so she decides to just something out there.]

Zed? I know that people here aren't too terribly chatty about their pasts, but I think that this seems... Kind of important to tell a Bondmate, if I may be so bold.

[Private]

[whydoyoushine]

...people don't like people who try to cover the world in darkness. Even if I didn't really want to. I just...did. It's what I am.

[thornsofmalkav]

Zed. Calm your tits. It's not like some of us hadn't already figured out you were the real-life equivalent of a kid's show baddie anyway.

[whydoyoushine]

But I don't want to hear Right's side of it! And to have him broadcasting it at anyone who didn't figure it out!

...and what do you mean, kids' show?

[someonetocarry]

... so's that why you asked about me eatin' somebody? How's that... even work, exactly?

[She's not going to be judgey here. Not yet, anyway. Zed's still one of her dearest friends in this place, even if he's a little weirdo and somewhat lacking in morals. Besides, maybe she can help with the morals part.]

[whydoyoushine]

You just sort of...consume them with darkness. Swallow them up.

[It's hard to convey emotion over the network, but he sounds a little reluctant to talk.]

[darkhourdear]

[you know, it says something about Phillip's life when this is a.) not the weirdest thing he's ever heard and b.) actually is something that he has a point of comparison to. Namely:]

When you were adults, did you think like adults too? I have a friend who got turned eighteen for no reason but he still thought like he was 11.

[lunchleader]

Kind...of? I mean, even as a kid, I know how very important it is to fight evil and protect people from the monsters. That's never gonna change, even if I end up being older than my grandpa.

But while we don't do a lot of the kiddie stuff as adults, we were still ourselves.

[darkhourdear]

That's good, I guess. [not really what he meant, but.] When you're an adult, do you feel like you're one or do you still feel ten? [that's more what he meant.]

[chalicejoker]

Wait...wait....

...you're a KID?!

[Some of the things he probably said back in that last Jaunt, man...not child-safe. Excuse Hajime while he just dies now.]

[lunchleader]

--Oh, you're one of us, Joker? That's good! I got really upset that I had to leave you all so soon after the election.

[chalicejoker]

Ah...no, no. It's Hajime. My name's Hajime.

...please don't call me Joker.

[Not that he wants to go into all the reasons why out in public on the network...]

And don't worry too much about the pack. They'll worry about you a bit, but they know you're smart enough to take care of yourself.

[laceandcarnage]

...You should only age in one direction. Stop ageing in the incorrect one.

[lunchleader]

I can't exactly control that, Stasya!

[...waitasec]

--Stasya?!

[laceandcarnage]

I am not Stasya. I am Istas.

[shiroganeheir]

[It is everything that Naoto has not to just go eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee on the network for like five minutes. It takes everything she has to calm herself down.]

You have fought Shadows as well?

[lunchleader]

[It's okay; Right would understand. Being a hero is cool, after all.]

Yeah! Shadow monsters would just roll into town on their Dark Liners and make everyone feel bad emotions in order to make darkness that'll cover the town. Enough darkness gets built up, and the town gets swallowed up into the Shadow Line directly.

But, we beat monsters before and after that happens.

[shiroganeheir]

Interesting. Shadows never actually got into our town, because we were able to stop them before it happened, however there was quite a lot of supernatural fog in town.

Ours started with murder and a series of kidnappings, however.

[And a couple people drunk on power.]

[seventhbullet]

...I helped you rob a mob boss.

Brilliant.

[lunchleader]

It helped Baadur, so it all turned out okay in the end, right?

[someonetocarry]

The Trumps change us how they see fit, for us to work best in whatever world we're dropped into, pretty much. Don't expect it'll be the last time they use that age for you.

... Guess this is why you and Zed don't get along so much.

[lunchleader]

They better not make me forget things again, though. I don't like losing my memories all over again.

And of course we don't. He acts like a jerk and I don't.