cancry | [Open] Dr. Medic's Sleepaway Funtimes Camp

[Open] Dr. Medic's Sleepaway Funtimes Camp

I. So girl keep telling me [network post]

[About three hours after the whole post-Esmeeting kerfuffle, every phone included in the Executor group chat suddenly blares loudly with an incoming post that appears to have every possible alert and priority notice the person writing it could find attached to it.]

ANYONE WHO ATE ANYTHING AT ESME'S HOUSE REPORT TO MEDIC IMMEDIATELY YOU ARE POISONED

[Well, you can't accuse her of burying the lede.]

i'm in my lab in invidia [The exact address and coordinates of the lab are attached along with the message, including a helpful photo of a scribbled map just in case anyone is really bad with directions.] if you ate ANY of the food esme served or if you're feeling sick, come here so i can treat you
if you find someone unconscious or unable to move on their own, BRING THEM HERE
if you don't have anyone around and think you need help getting here, reply to this message immediately

i threw up, so i tested some of the leftovers i took home
and that food is very, very poisoned
(also, if you brought leftovers home, don't eat them)

II. pick me up whenever i'm feeling down [in-person log]

[True to her word, Medic is ready and waiting in her lab the second anyone arrives.]

[The living room of the apartment she commandeered has been turned into a makeshift hospital. She's dragged cushions and mattresses in, laying them out on the floor and covering them with clean sheets and blankets to make sickbeds. Next to every bed is a glass of water and a bowl for, uh. Any stomach issues you might have to deal with.]

[Anyone healthy who walks in the door will be cheerfully pressganged into nursing duty.]

[The beds are set up facing the living room's lone TV, but well... this is Invidia. Guess who's probably on every channel.]

[You might have better luck with putting on a movie, but no one actually saw this coming, which means your available selection consists exclusively of stuff Medic brought with her from the Limbo library when she came down to Invidia. By which we mean exactly one film.]

[Whether having to see Esme's face is better or worse than watching Brutal Instinct again is a choice you're going to have to make amongst yourselves.]

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Quite pretty, yes. Quiet, though, I think? Not as outgoing as Kotori was, certainly. Something with an A...Abby? No, that's not right. [Maybe if he gives them a little prompting, they'll remember clearer, but they do at least remember that much.]

Gosh, [hurts just typing him saying that] I do wonder whatever happened to them. They have to still be around the city somewhere, right?

"Abigail?" one of them suggests, but they don't sound all that sure about it.

"Allison?" the second says. It's not right on the money, but it's close enough. "I guess they must be. They haven't really done anything since the show, which is why I forgot all–"

"Alice!" the first Specter suddenly bursts out, cutting across their companion now. "I remember now! Her name was Alice! Wow, whatever happened to her?"

But they were both so talented! That's how they were even up against Esme in the first place. Why just stop while at the peak of popularity even without winning?

[He rubs his chin, hemming and hawing a bit.] Well...Alice, anyway. I heard a rumor that Kotori suffered quite a terrible fate...but I've never heard the same for Alice. Like she simply vanished.

The first Specter smiles to themself a little mischievously.

"Well... if we're talking rumors, then I know a little something too. Why don't you tell us whatever it is that you know and I'll let you know if it's something new?"

[The twinkle in his eye is entirely genuine. Let it be known that Your Majesty Chiron Viatorem Helldad Millionnames is still a tea sipping and spilling bitch at heart.]

I do love a good rumor. All right, you didn't hear this from me, but I heard that Kotori rather suddenly and rather violently died--right in the studio while they were recording! [It sounds just enough like an urban legend and just enough like something juicy to entertain either way. Planting the seed is the most important part.] I've even heard tale that it was Esme herself who did it in a fit of jealousy, but... [A little flick of his hand and a sly look away.] It's merely a rumor a little birdy told me.

[To borrow something of a phrase.]

There's a look of scandalized glee on the faces of both Specters – apparently their drilled-in love for Esme isn't quite strong enough to overpower the incredible human hunger for gossip.

"That can't be true." says the first Specter in a delighted stage whisper, hands pressed to their face. "People would totally be talking about it!"

"Not if Esme didn't want them to!" says the second Specter, earning a wail of mingled horror and glee from their companion.

They chatter at each other excitedly for a moment before rounding on Chiron with bright, interested eyes.

"What else do you know?!"

And certainly not if only stray birdies have ever heard tell of such a thing.

[He waggles a finger at the first Specter.] Now now, fair trade, you tell me what you know~

Both of them huff in comically perfect unison before the first Specter folds their arms across their chest and concedes.

"Well... You know how Alice was always talking about cooking?" This is not actually a thing that ever came up in the footage Chiron saw because she didn't get a word in edgeways, but oh well. "She kept saying that if she ever stopped being an idol, she'd want to like, retire and go back to the place she used to work."

Significant pause for emphasis. Go on, Chiron. Ask where that is. You know you want to.

[He lays a hand on his chest! He's very interested!

Actually he is, like, please, tell him, holy shit.]

You mean to say, she may have been working here this whole time with no one noticing? Goodness, where did she used to work?

"You really don't remember? Makes me wonder if you can even call yourself a real fan." The Spectre waggles their eyebrows at him, but it's a good-natured sort of teasing, at least. And they're obviously going to give him the information he wants, if their companion's tittering is any indication. "It's that BBQ place that got popular again lately. You remember? They did an interview with that one sunglasses guy and it was suddenly all over TV."

[Ah. He hates this.]

I must have forgotten entirely, that small detail. Really? My, that place must be terribly busy now after such a...resounding endorsement. Hm, I wonder...

"It's always heaving now. Then again, if she was there, you'd think someone would recognize her..."

The second Spectre whips out her phone and starts tapping away at top speed. "I'm gonna ask if there's anyone close by who can snap a photo! Then we'll know for sure!"

I might have to casually drop by the place myself. What a fascinating discovery that would be--I suppose with her numbers lagging so far behind, Esme wouldn't have any reason to take her out, if that is what happened.

"It's weird, you know?" the first Spectre says thoughtfully. "It's not like people hated her – honestly, I always figured she had the prettiest face, so she'd win. And her music was pretty good. But when you stack her up next to Kotori and Esme... man, she's just a little forgettable, huh? Maybe that's what she was counting on."

Before either of them can comment on this bit of insight, the second Spectre gives a squeal of delight and sort of... shoves their phone right into Chiron's face. Rude!

"Look, look! Someone was just eating there and they snapped a pic! It's gotta be her!"

It's a blurry photo of a smiling waitress, with her impossibly long red hair tied back in a whip-tight ponytail. She certainly looks a bit different at work than she does on TV, but there's no mistaking her – that's Alice.

Oh ho! So it seems! [This is actually exciting, but he doesn't necessarily want to whip them into a frenzy. He studies the blurry photo a bit and nods.]

Right, so here's what you need to do--don't blow this up. Don't make a huge fuss about it. You know how we were talking rumors? Keep it rumors. Spread rumors. Whisper what you know into interested ears. Why, you two know some of the juiciest gossip in town! But if you make a big production of it, then Esme will know that you know. At best, you'll sound jealous and crazy, and at worst, you could put yourselves and Alice in jeopardy.

"Now you're just being dramatic." says the first Spectre, with a little grin on her face. "Rumors are just rumors, right? We won't get in any trouble for gossipping a little."

"No, but we might get blocked by Esme on Caw..." says her companion.

The Spectre's face falls. "Oh. Yeah, damn..."

Both of them squint at their phones, with obvious concern. Isn't it nice to know they've got their priorities straight? But apparently gathering herself in the face of the terrible thread of getting blocked and reported online, the second Spectre speaks up again.

"Do you think Alice is gonna come back if enough people find out about this Esme stuff?"

[You know what, that's fair. Being celebriblocked on purgatwitter is a fate worse than-] I honestly couldn't say. If she's happier with a life of anonymity... But, perhaps, if people start to change their mind about Esme, well, there's no telling what might happen.

"Ooh, mysterious." says the first Spectre and there's some excited tittering from both of them again. "Make sure you post it all over Caw if you get a chance to talk to her, right?"

They need the tea, Chiron. Don't deny them that.

[He winks. Because he's charming like that.] I'll spill as much as seems safe to do so. It'll be scorching hot either way. Thank you, my dears, for brightening my day.

"No problem! You told us some cool stuff too, so we're even."

They both bid him a cheery farewell before going back to hurriedly chattering and giggling with each other just as they were before. Again... priorities.

What now, Helldad? Want to explore more or go track down Alice?

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[Open] Dr. Medic's Sleepaway Funtimes Camp

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