Blogger Blitz, Semi-Final 2: Childcare Chore!

Hello readers and welcome to my semi-final entry for Blogger Blitz – aka the best blogging competition on the internet! I scraped through round one with my darling Itsuki saving weddings left, right and centre and here we are back to do battle again!So! What is this Blogger Blitz thing all about? Well in case you’ve not been paying attention or are new to these parts, I can tell you that Blogger Blitz is a wonderful competition organized by the fantastic Adventure Rules, in which bloggers from around the world choose video game characters to face off against each other in exciting events. This years competition, entitled Blogger Blitz: Shipping Wars, had competitors choose not just one character to write about, but also their ‘ship’, or person with whom they have a particularly strong relationship.

If you didn’t guess from the introduction, my chosen character is (the-much-more-relevant-than-he-was-last-week) Itsuki Aoi from Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE and I chose to ship him with the idol-tastic Yashiro Tsurugi. Itsuki just about got through the first round, but this time he will be facing off against the talented writer and cosplayer KT Martin from Wintendo64 – so make sure you click through to check out how KT’s chosen character, Geralt from The Witcher, gets on in today’s event.

But what is that event I hear you cry? Well the prompt for this semi-final match goes like this:

“Hey there, long time no see! What have you been up to lately? …Blogger Blitz? No, never heard of it. Anyway, the reason I was calling is because I need a serious favor. I’ve got a huge event coming up for work that’s out of town. Once in a lifetime opportunity, you know how it is. The problem is – you can see where I’m going with this, right? …yeah, I just need someone to watch him for like, one weekend. It shouldn’t be too bad. It’s been awhile since that time we found him in the woods, and he only threw six tantrums yesterday. Seriously, you’re a lifesaver, buddy! I’ll drop him off on my way to the airport in the morning. I want you to keep me posted on how he’s doing, okay? I won’t really have signal where I’m at, though. So maybe just write me a post on your blog or something to let me know that you’re all alive. That sound good?”

But how will Itsuki and Yashiro deal with this gruelling task…

Fortuna All-Stars Podcast [Transcript//06/09/2019]

Maiko: Helloooooo listeners and thanks for joining me, Maiko Shimazaki, for a special edition of the Fortuna All-Stars Podcast! For the next few nights we are going to be bringing you live updates from the newest challenge being undertaken by two of our most gorgeous idols – Itsuki Aoi and Yashiro Tsurugi! But what have these two been up to? Let’s go across to find out!
Maiko: Hi boys! Can you hear me?
Itsuki: Hi Maiko-san! Hi listeners!
Yashiro: Hello.
Maiko: So what is it that you boys are up to this weekend?
Itsuki: Well Maiko-san, I’ve been asked by my friend Jack to babysit his 3 year old son, Atlus!
Maiko: *gasps* That’s amazing Itsuki! How is it going so far?
Itsuki: It’s going well! Before we start…Jack, if you’ve managed to tune in, everything is A-ok! Just in case your WiFi isn’t so hot we’ll be posting a transcript of this on the website after the show.
Maiko: *claps* So tell us about your day Itsuki-kun.
Itsuki: We’ve spent a lot of time getting to know each other! He had A LOT of questions for us, although his favourite question was ‘why does Yashiro have weird eyes?’.
Maiko: *chortles* Children are so harsh! What did you make of that Yashiro?
Yashiro: …
Maiko: Oh come on!
Itsuki: It’s OK Maiko-san, I explained to Atlus that we are all unique and that Yashiro’s eyes are a part of what makes him special.
Maiko: That’s lovely! What happened next?
Itsuki: Atlus was actually pretty tired. When I suggested he go to bed though he just started screaming.
Maiko: Oh? Did you manage to calm him down?
Itsuki: We tried a lot of things but he was just in a bad mood – shouting and throwing things. We’d more or less run out of ideas when we thought maybe watching TV might settle him. It was time for Masquerador Ouga, and all kids love shows about heroes right? I put on the TV and he was transfixed!
Maiko: Did he go to sleep after that?
Itsuki: We had to re-enact the episode several times first but eventually he went to bed.
Maiko: Amazing Itsuki! Are you boys going to bed now too?
Itsuki: As soon as we’re off-air Maiko-san!
Maiko: In that case I’ll let you go. Sweet dreams boys, I look forward to hearing all about your exploits tomorrow!
Itsuki: Goodnight Maiko-san, Goodnight Listeners!

Fortuna All-Stars Podcast [Transcript//07/09/2019]
Maiko: Helloooo again listeners! Are you excited to find out how Itsuki & Yashiro got on with their first full day of babysitting? Why don’t we go straight over to find out…Hello boys!
Itsuki: *whispers* Hello Maiko-san, hello listeners.
Maiko: *whispers* Why are we whispering Itsuki-kun?
Itsuki: Because Atlus just fell asleep and there is no way I’m waking him up again!
Maiko: Tiring day?
Itsuki: You could say that.
Maiko: Don’t keep the listeners waiting! What have you been up to?
Itsuki: Well, the day started at 04:30… Jack had told me that Atlus doesn’t normally wake until 05:30 so I wasn’t really prepared.
Maiko: What did you do?
Itsuki: I made breakfast! I thought Atlus might enjoy getting involved, so I decided pancakes would be a fun thing to make.
Maiko: And?
Itsuki: It went well at first. He seemed to really enjoy whisking the eggs… but after 5 minutes or so he started hitting me with a spatula.
Maiko: *shrieks* How did you stop him?
Itsuki: That was all down to Yashiro! We knew we needed a distraction so he grabbed his chefs outfit. You know, the one from when he appeared on ‘Microwavin’ with Mamorin’?
Maiko: He was to die for on that show!
Itsuki: I know! Well he donned it again this morning and Atlus thought it was so funny that he left me alone to finish cooking!

Maiko: What about the rest of the day?
Itsuki: We watched some more TV and played with some toys. Atlus then spent about 3 hours running around the house shouting because I wouldn’t let him play with my phone.
Maiko: Eek! What did you do?
Itsuki: To compete with his shouting we decided to start singing and thankfully he soon joined in! Smile Smile was a big hit – we must’ve sang it about 20 times!
Maiko: Wow! Well it is a very catchy song!
Itsuki: He was smiling again after that and was just about agreeable to go to bed… as long as Yashiro read him a bedtime story!
Maiko: Hmm?
Itsuki: Yashiro ended up telling this wild story about colourful mirages and stuff. I don’t know if it was Yashiro’s dulcet tones but Atlus was asleep before the end.
Maiko: Impressive! I must say Yashiro, you seem quite adept at coming up with ways to entertain him.
Yashiro: This is pointless.
Maiko: Don’t be such a spoil sport! Come on, tell your fans how you do it!
Yashiro: I always strive to be the best that I can be. As a performer, part of this is knowing how best to entertain your audience.
Maiko: Did you feel a sense of achievement –  this morning for example –  when you got him to stop hitting Itsuki?
Yashiro: As I said, I performed my role to the best of my abilities. I am glad however to have saved Aoi from harm.
Maiko:  Well you must be tired…can I just get you to say goodnight to the listeners?
Itsuki: Night Maiko-san! Goodnight listeners!
Yashiro: Goodnight.

Fortuna All-Stars Podcast [Transcript//08/09/2019]

Maiko: Hello lovely listeners! Tonight we are very lucky to have the new stars of the Tokyo babysitting scene back in the Fortuna office. Welcome back boys!
Itsuki: Thanks Maiko-san!
Maiko: Atlus is safely back with his dad now, but what did you get up to on your final day together?
Itsuki: Actually Maiko-san he was pretty quiet first thing. I think he was missing his dad.
Maiko: Poor thing! So what did you do?
Itsuki: Well we had to cheer him up before he started screaming the house down! We thought hanging out with some other kids might help so we took him to the Bloom Palace to hang out with Tiki and Mamori.

Maiko: You know Mamori is 11? And Tiki, despite appearing to be 5 is actually a divine dragon?
Itsuki: I know but they are fun!
Maiko: So what did you get up to with those sweeties?
Itsuki: We seemed to spend most of the time playing with hair adornments – you know ribbons and clips and stuff.
Maiko: Did Atlus enjoy that?
Itsuki: Certainly more than I did. He seemed to love dressing up!
Maiko: Not a fan yourself?
Itsuki: Let’s just say that Yashiro and I are glad no one took photos.
Maiko: Darn it!
Itsuki: After that it was nearly time to meet Jack, so we grabbed a couple of donuts from the Hee-Ho Mart and dropped him off.
Maiko: Wonderful Itsuki-kun! Before we wind this up, I want to get your thoughts on the weekend. Itsuki, you first.
Itsuki: It was a great weekend! I’m exhausted and a bit bruised and my head hurts, but this was a great experience!
Maiko: What will be your take-away memory?
Itsuki: Not one thing in-particular, more that I was proud of how well Yashiro adapted to the situation. He wasn’t keen at first but we made a great team!
Maiko: THAT’S SO CUTE ITSUKI-KUN!! Now Yashiro! We haven’t heard much from you, but what will be your take-away memory?
Yashiro: That this has been an unusual experience. The child appears to have enjoyed many of the activities we put on despite his frequent outbursts.
Maiko: How is that unusual though? It’s adorable how well you coped!
Yashiro: Because the activities themselves were surely a waste of his time. I cannot see how they help him fulfill the role laid out for him.
Maiko: Erm, Yashiro? I’m not sure that most people have roles laid out for them at that age…
Yashiro: I was not allowed to partake in extra-curricular activities as a child. Father said they would distract me from my goal.
Maiko: Your goal?
Yashiro: To become the greatest idol and achieve perfection in my performances.
Maiko: So you mean to say that your father didn’t encourage you to have fun?
Yashiro: No. He viewed it as pointless.
Maiko: …and what do you think?
Yashiro: I believe that he may have been mistaken…having ‘fun’, as you put it, may improve other aspects of your life.
Maiko: *squeeeeeeeal* So to be a better performer you might embrace your inner child?
Yashiro: …
Maiko: Yashiro?
Yashiro: Perhaps. Either way, I would like to thank Aoi for presenting me with this opportunity to better myself…I hope to be able to spend more weekends like this in his company.
Maiko: Let’s hope so… and on that note it is time to sign off. Join us next time when we’ll be back with more idol-tastic adventures! Bye Bye!