Noise

Noise's newest song is a smash hit, proving to herself she isn't a "one hit wonder", she has no one to thank but you for the help.

On a talk show, Volume is talking with the host about all manner of topics, from how much she makes to the popularity of "Diva", her debut single and smash hit on the music charts. The host remarks that people are eager to see and hear what Noise does next, but she plays coy about keeping it a secret.

Cut to the present, 2 days after that episode aired on TV. Noise is talking with the protagonist, having brought him some rough drafts of what she's done for her next song so far. When questioned, it turns out Noise spoke with Mustang about how the new song was stressing her out, when he brought up the protagonist as a possible source of guidance, given how the latter managed to handle working with Aria and Volume. Despite his reservations, the protagonist is convinced by Noise's earnest plea to help her out, and listens to her work.

The song is...good, but there's really nothing else the protagonist can say about it. Noise explains she mixed hip-hop with thrash metal for melody, and slipped a few references to a comedy show she watched as part of the lyrics. The protagonist points out a few things he feels are a bit weak in the song, leading Noise to get worked up before the two of them calm down. It can't be helped that the protagonist isn't really prepared to help given how spontaneous this visit is, leading Noise to relent and agree to revisit this in a week. The protagonist can only think to himself about the problem he has on his hands.

The protagonist consults with Anis on how to become a producer. He explains the situation, and after Anis briefly fangirls over Noise, she gets back on track. While Anis herself has little idea how to become a producer, she sends the protagonist some video links and advises him to watch and memorize them from start to end.

3 days later, Rapi and Neon are talking with Anis, concerned that the protagonist has been in his room for the past few days and hasn't come out. Anis explains the situation to the two, but Rapi is skeptical whether this really counts as "training to become a producer."

Another 3 days pass, and Neon is concerned the protagonist will never leave his room. Anis is confident he'll step out the next day ready to produce some talents, but Rapi is still skeptical.

1 day later, the protagonist finally leaves his room. Rapi tries to remind him of their work backlog, but all he does is talk weirdly, telling them to send "Noise-chan" to his room before going back in. Rapi asks Anis what video she gave the protagonist. Anis explains that she sent him a surprisingly true-to-life and heartwarming mockumentary of a fledgling producer and a singer. She checks the link she sent...and finds she sent him the wrong link. The links she did send were every season of The Ark's Got Talent and Ark Live. Anis tries to downplay it, saying it's still shows about producers and pop stars, so it should be fine...right?

Noise greets the protagonist, having come back for the appointment. While she's briefly taken aback by the protagonist's...change in character, she's ready to work on her song, except the protagonist decides to switch tracks to Noise's image and the way she talks. While Noise is initially insulted that by this, she does admit that she might need a slightly cheerier tone as a pop singer. She gets the idea of interspersing a special word or two in her speech, but finds the protagonist's suggestion unsuitable for her image.

The protagonist then asks what exactly is the image Noise cultivates, which she explains is that of a singer-songwriter. The comparatively milquetoast image she sees ends with her calling herself a one-hit wonder, the kind of pop star you can find anywhere that'll put out one incredible track and then just peace out forever. It's already whispered on the lips of the people, who've noticed she's put nothing out since Diva. Their minds are already made that Noise's next song will be garbage, leaving her to sink in the mire with only one good thing to her name.

Then the protagonist suggests Noise add "wonder" to every sentence she says as a way of facing up to what eats at her inside. This breaks Noise out of her funk, if only because of how flabbergasted she is at how dumb this idea sounds, given how she wants to make her mark as a singer-songwriter. She does give it a go, but it turns out trying to put "wonder" at the end of every sentence is not a good idea. She then tries to insert it midsentence, but that doesn't work either. This is starting to seem increasingly pointless to Noise, but the protagonist insists on making her "cuter" and that it will help with writing a new song. Though he does completely scrap the idea of injecting "wonder" into everything she says, and instead plans a meet-and-greet with the fans. Noise complies, but very "subtly" threatens to make things unpleasant if this is the protagonist giving her the runaround.

In some random narrow alleyway, completely devoid of even a single person, Noise and the protagonist wait to hold a meet-and-greet. Neither of them can believe that literally zero people have shown up. Despite the protagonist believing that eventually someone will show up and be the first step towards Noise's superstardom, the Nikke in question finally blows her lid, clarifying that she's a singer-songwriter, not a superstar, and that she really should've curtailed this from the start.

Cut to 3 hour ago, where Noise is asking the protagonist what exactly a meet-and-greet entails. He explains that it's a chance for her to connect with her fans and for them to get to know her better. The idea confuses Noise, given that she's never actually interacted face-to-face with her fans, and prefers to let her music do the talking as an artist.

But she's willing to give it a go if he's so insistent on it, and considers giving out autographs. She'll even bring her...autograph machine? Yes, Noise got a device from Missilis that does all the autographing for her, an idea that the protagonist passionately and immediately shoots down on grounds that a literal factory-made autograph is disrespectful to sanctity of the meet-and-greet. With slight reluctance, Noise agrees to hand-sign her autographs, then asks about the venue. Unfortunately, the protagonist doesn't really have a budget for this, but it's nothing Noise hasn't dealt with before, so she suggests Sixth Avenue for its decent foot traffic. As for where exactly they'll set up for the event, the protagonist has a plan(?), and with some faint optimism, the two set out.

Cut to now, where Noise's hope seems to have not been vindicated. She's not happy that all they have is a dingy table and zero promotional materials or signs, and the protagonist acting like some barker for a carnival isn't bolstering her confidence. Just as all hope seems lost, a citizen takes notice and asks if they're really meeting the Noise in the flesh, taking a moment to spread the word.

In the blink of an eye, the alleyway is filled with people, throngs lining up to shake Noise's hand and get her autograph. Noise herself is surprised at how quickly a crowd gathered, a feat the protagonist attributes to the fans coming to their rescue. As another fan comes up to greet Noise, she asks the protagonist if they're still doing the thing where she interjects "wonder" into her sentences, but stops after weirding out herself and the fan. The fan goes on about how Noise seems so much more approachable, having originally come off as an aloof, untouchable, "I am better than everyone else" kind of person, and hopes she'll do more meet-and-greets.

The fans share even more stories, from a woman who's daughter woke from a coma after hearing Noise's song to a senior who was inspired to write her own music after hearing Noise's.

Cut to 4 hours later after the event has finally wound down. Noise's hands and throat are killing her after so much talking and autographing, it's really hammered it home how hard a meet-and-greet can be to her. But despite that, she can't deny that she enjoyed this, finding a new way to interact with her fans beyond just singing on TV. The protagonist is looking over the next thing on the list, with Noise being a lot more willing to listen this time. The next vital step to superstardom (despite Noise insisting to the contrary). Hosting a pop-up concert.

Noise agrees to the idea of doing a surprise concert, then asks the protagonist for the game plan, like a time and place. The protagonist tells her there is no plan, leading Noise to go on about how they'll need a place that's easy for her fans to reach to actually attend her concert, but also can't be too popular or trafficked or they might have problems. The two settle on Royal Road Square, a quiet place that, despite the name and being located in the wealthy part of town, is somewhere any citizen of the Ark is free to come and go.

The next step is promoting the event so people actually know it's happening. The protagonist decides on making and distributing pamphlets to the populace, a task he'll take on himself since Noise has no experience with making them. As Noise ponders over the time they should perform the concert, the protagonist tells her he'll also handle the distribution and says she should focus on preparing for the concert. The two agree to hold the concert in 3 hours, and while Noise is unsure how any of this will help her make a new song, she has a strange sense she can rely on the protagonist despite how short their time together has been.

1 hour later, Noise marvels over how the protagonist managed to make and spread 2,000 pamphlets in the same timeframe. Before leaving to prepare, she asks if he saved any pamphlets so she can keep on as a souvenir. He just so happens to have one, and as she reads it and talks about the concert's setlist, she notices a little something in the corner...

Turns out the protagonist advertised that Noise would be giving a preview of her new song at the concert, without asking or telling her even. Needless to say, Noise is not happy with the idea of needing to cobble together a new song, even just the equivalent of a soundbite, in just two hours. After a moment's pause, Noise completely loses it, telling him normal people can't make an entirely new song in just two hours before a performance. The protagonist has his utmost faith, telling her to think back on what they've done so far, but she can't really piece anything together. After a brief moment where Noises contemplates the pros and cons of slapping the protagonist, she figuratively rolls up her sleeves and declares her intent to write a new song.

The time is 1800 hours, and Royal Road is packed with people who got the pamphlets and spread the word, that Noise was holding a surprise concert where she would give a preview of her next song. Everyone, even the protagonist, awaits Noise taking the stage with bated breath.

Her arrival is met with glorious cheer, and after she greets her adoring fans, Noise kicks off the concert with "Diva". Having done this song practically hundreds of times before, everything is spot-on, from the choreography to the pitch of her voice. The 5 minutes fly by, and Noise gets ready to preview the new song, which she has yet to figure out a name for.

An unfamiliar beat echoes in the square, the fans become silent, unsure of how to react. The atmosphere takes a turn for the awkward, and even Noise herself is fazed by it. How could anyone, even a talented songwriter like her, make a song in just two hours, let alone anything decent? As Noise continues to clam up on stage, the protagonist belts out a loud cheer, hoping to break her out of her funk.

It works like a charm. The adulation that follows jolts Noise back to reality. She puts the mic to her mouth, and on that day, she crushed every word from the naysayers claiming she'd just be a one-hit wonder.

On a talk show, the host notes how this new song shows a different side to Noise and her music, wondering if her creative process changed during the composition process. The pop star of Prima Donna affirms this, and her remarks on how the pressure was mounting, coupled with her changes in interacting with the fans, have revealed a new Noise that the fans can't get enough of.

Noise calls out to the protagonist, who's been watching TV this whole time. She shows him the sales chart for the album with her new song, and it's selling like hotcakes. Top of the charts for a week straight, even eclipsing "Diva" in hype. She considers it pretty good for a song she thought up in the last 2 hours before a concert, though she was also pushed into a corner with the stunt the protagonist pulled there, something he apologizes for.

While she's willing to let it be, he admits he went a little too deep into the producer role, having broken out of his persona sometime after the pop-up concert. Noise is all too happy to not go through that again, though she admits that this change in how she interacted with the fans was something sorely needed for her to grow as a singer. She's even got a solo concert lined up next month, her creative juices flowing enough for her to write enough songs to do so. It's her first solo concert ever, given how beforehand her tracklist wasn't nearly enough for such an endeavor. She was so fixated on this idea, that after "Diva", literally everything that she would make had to be perfect, but now she just lets things flow instead of sitting around thinking of the "what-ifs", and the ideas just come to her. She thanks the protagonist for giving her the push needed to grow like this...even if his producer skills are still questionable.

She hands him a VVIP ticket for her concert, and after noticing something on TV that makes her blush, steps out of the room. The TV is still on the talk show, but now the host is talking about the feeling of Noise's new song, "My Wonder". The delicate balance of emotions, affection, and disdain when entrusting your all to someone. It's something that, according to the host, can't be expressed unless the composer has firsthand experience, Noise's evasive response leading them to ask the question; Is "My Wonder" a love song?

With a slightly red face, and to the protagonist's shock, Noise admits that yes, "My Wonder" a love song. One from the heart.