1x1 Pokemon: Rainbow Superstars (WavePearlxSugar)

@Sugar

(Move on to the next day?)

 

@Sugar

After an enlightening visit with Misty, Alyssa returned to her Closet tired but happy.

 

@Sugar

The next day dawned cool and rainy--luckily, Alyssa didn't have any plans to go outside.

In the Performance classroom, the Vulpixes watched Alyssa as she found her seat--today's topic was more on what to expect on a variety show, and scenarios to watch out for and try to avoid. For many of the students, this would be the first time they heard the tale of how Brock's Rule came to be.

 

@Sugar

Hinata, the normal Vulpix, nuzzled Alyssa. Pet me, please... she seemed to say as Brock arrived in the room and started preparations for the day's class.

 

@Sugar

The bell rang, quieting the chatter. "Okay..." Brock began as he started a roll sheet down the first row. "Today we're gonna talk more on what to expect on your appearance on 'Kiramekirari' and touch a little bit on ethics in idol activities. If we really wanted to go in depth about ethics, we do offer several courses on the topic, but it is important enough that every class you take will touch on it to a degree. For our purposes, we'll go over the "knowingly harm" rule--and why they named it after me."

 

@Sugar

(I'm mainly just going to copy over the story from earlier, but first, some context.)

"In a perfect world, shows and idols would strive to become better at entertaining and informing the world." Brock began "Unfortunately, there are some shows that thrive on pushing the envelope to see how far they can go before the Broadcasting Commission steps in."

Nervous giggles went up at this. "After I was nearly cooked in 'Lucky Lucky Mystery''s infamous heat chamber--more on that momentarily--the Commission created what is known as the 'knowingly harm' rule, which is popularly known as 'Brock's Rule' after my harrowing encounter." Brock went on. "If you end up taking an ethics class, you'll go in depth as to how the rule opened the entertainment industry's eyes to the fact that bullying was not just a lady's problem--bullying could and did happen to male idols too."

He went on "The rule basically states that shows, managers, and promoters can't knowingly endanger, humiliate, embarrass, or otherwise harm a performer, or force a performer to be endangered, embarrassed, humiliated, or knowingly harmed in the name of entertainment. While that sounds pretty simple, there's actually quite a few contexts that would be classified as 'knowingly harm'."

 

@Sugar

"Before we define what 'knowingly harm' means, let's first define what it doesn't mean." Brock cautioned."'Knowingly harm' does not mean equipment malfunctions of other things that happen beyond the show's control. Nor does it mean that a comedian can't do a 'stupid character doing stupid things' act--in that case, audiences know that the routine is being done to make people laugh, and nothing more. It also does not mean that a performer can't attempt something they don't normally do if they agree to try and want to try. When a performer is forced to do something when the staff know full well they can't do it, then it crosses into knowingly harming them, as they are expecting the idol to be humiliated in the name of entertainment.

 

@Sugar

Brock got up to retrieve his guitar, then returned to his chair at the head of the class. After checking his tuning, he spoke again. "Most of the time, the variety shows you will get to go on are fun and enjoyable experiences--'Kiramekirari' being the most well known example for our idols. But there are a few shows that you want to stay FAR away from, if you can...and the most infamous example is 'Lucky Lucky Mystery."

He continued, playing an intricate melody filled with trills, hammer-ons, and pull-offs as he spoke. 'You probably know about 'Lucky Lucky Mystery' via their infamous Penalty Stunts--often gross, but usually risking an idols' safety or sanity. It's a miracle no one's been killed yet."

 

@Sugar

"It starts out innocently enough--colorful sets, nice crew, and Keita Aoyama is a reasonably nice person." Brock went on as he played. "But fail one of the minigames, and you must face the Penalty Stunt." He played a gliss down one string for effect, to some giggles.

"Sometimes it's just something like getting hit with a pie and that's it." he continued. "But usually it is consume something disgusting or test your endurance or sanity. Refuse to do the initial Penalty Stunt, and you're told to do something even worse than what you were initially asked to do--I don't know what happens if you refuse two Penalty Stunts in a row, and I would prefer not to find out."

 

@Sugar

Brock was only getting warmed up. "They have gotten in trouble for some of these through the years, such as forcing someone to be walked like a Growlithe, being hit in sensitive areas, being forced to walk up all 150 floors of Silph Tower, bobbing for Leppa Berries out of a toilet bowl, eating one's barf, sticking one's hand in a public bathroom toilet and unplugging it, and that's only the tamer ones I can mention in a school setting."

He stopped his song for a moment to wait for the shocked chatter and "ew"s to quiet. "But in my experience, I was almost cooked."