Mischievous Function

Off-Centered

"—That you agreed to join forces with the absolute worst girls to hold a performance with," Dot finished.

Mic nodded. "Yup. And..." She let out a loud, self-deprecating sigh as she grabbed her coffee and took a swig before setting it down on the table. "...now I'm paying the price. For a stupid decision that I made. Again."

Dot watched her tilt her head back and stare up at the ceiling before calmly pointing out, "You keep mentioning these stupid decisions of yours. Why do you think you keep making them? Or why do you think they're stupid?"

"Like I said, because I'm desperate," Mic sighed. "Desperate for attention, desperate for fame, desperate for love...you name the abstract concept, I've been deprived so badly of it that I'm willing to do anything to get it."

They both stayed silent for a while, trying to organize their thoughts. After a few seconds, Dot finally looked up at her and smiled. "I think I know what your problem is, Mic," she said. "And it's actually not that you're desperate."

Mic raised a skeptical eyebrow and scoffed. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," she replied. "Everyone gets desperate for something from time to time. It's just a part of life. But you know what, Mic? What I think that your problem is...is that you always try to solve it yourself."

When Mic only tilted her head in confusion, she continued, "From what I'm picking up, you always try to do something about a problem that you're desperate about. And—and that's definitely admirable, don't get me wrong. But you can't do everything yourself, Mic. There's only so much you can do. I know you like to fly high and soar, but if you don't let yourself come down to others on the ground so you can refuel, you're eventually going to crash and burn."

Dot snapped her fingers as her eyes lit up with an idea. "You like Halolive Yoylish, right?"

"Yeah, I...I guess," Mic shrugged. "I mean, I've watched them a few times."

"Can you name all five members of Legend?"

"Uh, yeah. Squid Book, Trident, Scythe, Chicken Bucket, and Magnifying Glass."

"Okay, who's the leader?"

"Well, duh, it's...uh..."

Mic frowned in thought for a few seconds as she looked up at the ceiling for a bit. "...Well, how do you mean?" she asked.

Dot grinned and made a wide gesture with her hand. "Just in general. Who's the leader?"

"Well...I mean, lore-wise, Magnifying Glass is kinda the centerpiece, and she's also the tech head. But Scythe often takes initiative and holds events within Legend—like, she was the GM for that one TTRPG they did. But then Chicken Bucket's the one who leads collabs with other branches, and she's also the most experienced idol of the group. Oh, but Trident's—"

"Okay, okay, so you can't decide," Dot seemed to concede. "What about Senate?"

"Easy. Space Bread, Golden Apple, Chronograph, Owl Feather, and Rat Trap. And I guess Orchid gets grouped with them a lot, too."

"And the leader?"

"...Well, Rat Trap is the leader lore-wise, but Space Bread's also a bit of an...anchor, I guess you could say. But then Golden Apple's, like, the leader in their gaming collabs since she's best at it. And Chronie...well, I think she's, like, the self-deprecating comedy queen, so—"

"Hey!" Dot cut in with a huff as she leaned forward slightly. "For the record, there's a lot more to Chronie than a lot of people think, okay? She's more than just some pretty voice who pretends to be a narcissist for bits."

"Oh—wow, okay." Mic made a sort of surrendering gesture with her hands and grinned. "What, you president of her fan club or something?"

"Ehh...you could say that."

Mic smirked and replied, "Well, now I know you don't watch her because if you did, you'd know that the biggest fan of Chronograph is Chronie herself. Checkmate."

Dot simply smiled slyly in response. Before Microphone could continue, she said, "Do you see my point yet, Mic?"

"Your...point? What point?"

"There are millions of people out there who love Legend and Senate-chid, even without a clear-cut 'leader'. Each one of the members in the group is special in their own way: they've built their own identity, and each one is a leader in their own way, too. But they all contribute something to the group, and none of them are pushed to the forefront—or the background. Yes, some organization is required for larger events, but ultimately, every member gets their chance to shine. I mean, look at the song we were gonna do! You can't really tell who the centerpiece is, can you?"

"Uh...no."

"Exactly! And there were 11 of us, too. Eleven is a prime number, meaning we can't split into any number of even groups and still have a centerpiece. The only way we would have a center is if we all got in one single line, but as you know—"

"—We can't do that because nobody would see the people at the edges," Mic finished, her eyes widening in understanding.

Dot reached across the table and held Mic's hand with a soft smile. "We want to help you, Mic," she said. "We want to make this just as good for you as it'll be for us. But we are more than just stepping stones on your way to your destination. We're living, breathing people. We have lives, experiences, and perspectives of our own. Things that'll contribute to our success—your success—not stand in the way of it. So let us help you. Please. You don't have to try to fix this all by yourself."

Mic stared at their hands for a few seconds while Dot smiled and waited patiently for her response. Just as Mic opened her mouth to respond, however, they both heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. They both looked to their side before looking up and finding Fanny standing next to the table with a dull expression and a large cardboard box.

"Microphone. I believe these are yours."