Coming soon to Invidia TV...

[cancrymods]

Thanks to the Idol-ON girls doing their darnedest to overtake Esme in popularity and the Dad Squad doing their best to just flat out cancel her, things have been going well for the Executors. There's been no overnight explosion of popularity but thanks to Autumn and Clocks' guidance on this whole celebrity social media thing, things are ticking along quite nicely.

Which is why it's so out of the blue when, one day, the Idol-ON Caw just kind of... explodes. Notifications pour in from people saying they "heard the news" and they're so excited and they can't wait to see how it all goes and blah blah blah. Which is a little confusing because none of you have announced anything. But there's some talk of a announcement on TV... so what could it be?

Things unfortunately become clear once you tune into any of the screens in Invidia. Sure enough, it's not long before a flashy advertisement pops up declaring the start of a little show called Invidia Idol-Off! which will be a light hearted competition between everyone's beloved Esme (introduced with a string of lovingly filmed shots of Esme basically just sitting around and looking pretty) and the cute newcomers Idol-ON (who are introduced with a few supercut shots from a few of their videos, introducing each off the girls in turn). The winner will get to take her place at the top of Invidia and the losers... Well, they'll get to stay on the bottom. That's how a competition works after all.

The advertisement continues hyping this up for a bit before ending on a decisive "More information coming soon!" and the usual stream of Esme content continuing like normal.

This is all well and good but... well, I don't need to tell you that no one signed up to or agreed to this. So just what could be going on?

Comments

[twibeast]

[ Beast has no idea about the caw notifs, but he sees the announcement on the screen and watches intently, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed.

When it's over he cocks his head to the side, letting out a breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding. ]

It would appear our efforts haven't been for naught at least...

[emberserker]

Yes, but now she's set an obvious trap. She knows we can't very well not send the girls in, but also that we know how risky it is. What's she got planned?

[twibeast]

[ Oh hi Wolfsbane ]

Straight to the point as usual, I see.

[ He shrugs his shoulders a little bit, just to loosen them. He's been pretty tense since the announcement started. ]

Regardless of what she has planned, this could also be our chance to deal a great blow to her. We'll just have to be prepared.

[phantasmagorial]

I'm not sure how I feel about all this. It really feels like we set ourselves up for a trap.

[ it's probably not Esme's first rodeo when it comes to stamping out young hopefuls, huh. ]

But... If the poisoning didn't work then she has to get rid of us somehow, doesn't she? But... just what does she get out of this, even if she wins? It's not like we'll be going anywhere if we lose.

[twibeast]

[ He turns his head and eyes Rei for a moment, not yet speaking...

Then Rei will feel a tap on the shoulder furthest from Beast, courtesy of one of his wings outstretched behind her. ]

[daughterofthemark]

We must have truly made an impact!

[:D]

[twibeast]

[ He looks over and with a smile reaches out and... pats Veil's head! ]

You most certainly have -- good job!

[seasharp]

Should we be thanking the power of friendship or something...?

executor chat

[crypddyd]

I missed the plan to do a direct contest...

[ And once it's explained that no Lion, this was not planned ]

We must assume this is a trap- but there are a few of us who were not there during the poisoning- including some that were not even Executors at the time. People she would not notice are missing. I suggest we plan a counter-ambush.

@beast

[twibeast]

[ ... ]

You were training people before, correct?

[crypddyd]

I was holding training sessions, yes. Though it was less as a teacher and more as an organizer.

[ he DID give some polearm tips here and there tho ]

@Phoenix

[discutio]

So long as she has sway over Invidia's populace, we surely can not beat her in an outright contest.

She clearly prefers underhanded methods, so I say we meet her on her own field and sabotage this competition in our favor however possible.

@outclassy

[heir_to_ruin]

Where the hell would we even do something like that. It's not like we can just go wherever we want.

[Lion this is his chance to Be Seen with that bitch so he can talk shit about her being a horrible lay. Don't take this from him, bro.]

@kingslayer

[pioailurophobia]

...

I'm not exactly the best at espionage or whatever, but I'm pretty sure Esme doesn't know about me.

If I can find a way to mingle with the crowd, I might be able to stop any sabotage (or assassination) attempts.

Not a lot else I can do.

[phantasmagorial]

[ ... Okay that definitely wasn't part of the plan. They've just barely started getting their feet in the door and now they've been forcibly volunteered for something like this? ]

Wh--what does this even mean, "more information later"? What are we even supposed to do about this?!

[ is she about to pass out right in front of the TV??? She's fine, don't worry about it. ]

[crypddyd]

[Lion was asking similar questions on Caw before seeing her]

I have to assume she is doing it like this on purpose- taking away our time to prepare.

[crosscutting]

Well, she wants us to panic, so that's exactly what we can't do right now.

[Much as she says that, though--yeah, Autumn is a bit nervous about this.]

We need to improvise...something. Or at least figure out what she's planning with this.

[daughterofthemark]

It likely means there are more details yet to be settled which will be announced once they've been determined.

[Valuable information!]

Executor Chat (@kingslayer)

[pioailurophobia]

[Oh, look, Kingslayer's finally learned how to use the chat! Good for them!]

So we're all in agreement that Esme is absolutely going to try and murder the idols once you're on stage, right?

[emberserker]

Yes, but we also can't not take the bait. What we need is a plan. Like was mentioned, she only knows most of us, not all. So those who weren't at her estate should be able to sneak backstage or into the crowd and sabotage her, while the rest of us deal with her and her underlings.

[phantasmagorial]

Not unless she thinks she can get away with it. It'd be a big risk to take on a stage in front of who knows however many people.

@materia_medica

[mementomoritz]

don't worry, i'll be right there to heal any life-threatening injuries :)

@beast

[twibeast]

Too forward for her tastes, for whatever little relief that is. But she's definitely up to something, that I can agree on.

Network Post

[pride_of_amarcia]

I've been thinking about Esme's new ads a bit

She's clearly got something up her sleeve, the big thing I notice is she seems to be focusing on individual members

Makes me think her goal's to split us apart somehow, some kinda divide and conquer thing

But what I don't get is how she expects to make that happen

[phantasmagorial]

It could be that she thinks the idea of winning itself is enough motivation. That's the kind of person she is, after all.