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

[phantasmagorial]

[ this is cute as hell jsyk

But she takes that as her cue to step in closer, looking a little less like she's about to pass out but still not particularly happy about this whole turn of events. ]

[twibeast]

[ That's his cue to bend down on one knee

And pull her in for a hug, wing still wrapped around and all. ]

You need not worry: she might be planning something but this is an opportunity for us as well. It just means we will have to be quicker now with the preparations and on our guard.

Trap or not, we will be there to support and protect you all. All right?

[phantasmagorial]

[ Okay, the hug helps. A lot more than she expected, really. She pulls in and then lets out a big, shaky breath and some of her trembly anxiety goes out with it. She has to keep it together. And it's not like they're all doing this on their own. They're a team. ]

... alright. I just– I wish I knew exactly what she was planning. So she never gets the chance to surprise us again like last time.

[twibeast]

[ He moves to stand back up but doesn't take his arms off her so.... up she goes with him, I guess!! Just going to carry her perched on one arm for a while, sure.

Honestly though it's as much a thing to comfort himself as it is to comfort her. ]

Mm, yes. I do as well. But we'll get a better idea in the coming days I'm sure.

We have our own tricks too, don't forget. Us adults have been working on a few... strategies.

[phantasmagorial]

[ Good job she's so smol. She's just gonna perch, nbd. ]

Do I even want to ask what those strategies are?

[ ... then she sighs and shakes her head. ]

... no. If we're really going to do this, then I have to know what they are.

[twibeast]

[ He looks around for a moment and then starts to walk in the direction of the train station. ]

Let's discuss it more on another layer. You never know what kinds of "little birdies" could be listening.

[phantasmagorial]

[ She nods grimly. ]

Alright. We don't have any way of knowing just how easy it is for her to listen in, after all.

[twibeast]

[ A nod from him as well.

Thankfully they're not too far from the train station, so once they're on their way out of Invidia, he starts to speak. ]

I'm sure Sir Chiron and Sir Phoenix informed you as well of what they discovered at the broadcast station... yes?

[phantasmagorial]

[ She nods, her expression grim. ]

They didn't give me all the details, but... well, it was more than enough.

[twibeast]

...Good. [ well. what happened isn't good but-- ] I don't have to recount that part then.

We've been gossiping with the specters in Invidia. Trying to get them to remember Lady Kotori and get them to see that Esme may not be the perfect diva that they view her as. Shake the foundation of her hold on the masses, so to speak.

...We also went and found the other girl from the competition.

[phantasmagorial]

[ That gets her sitting up straight, startled and almost disbelieving. ]

Alice? She's still... [ ... okay, 'alive' isn't the word, so– ] She's still here? Do you think she could help?

[twibeast]

[ He smiles. ]

I think so, yes. Like us she seems aware that the current state of things is wrong, so she was forthcoming with whatever assistance she could provide.

After speaking with her I was even able to find something particularly useful that I've been meaning to discuss with you.

[phantasmagorial]

How strange... you'd think that after all the trouble she went through to get rid of Kotori, she'd do the same to Alice...

[ but then she shakes her head. that's probably not what they need to be worrying about right now. ]

What's your idea?

[twibeast]

Well, I was just thinking... how far along has your song writing come since last we spoke of it?

[phantasmagorial]

[ IMMEDIATELY averting her gaze with the tell-tale expression of someone who has absolutely not gotten any work done on the thing they're being asked about. ]

Um... I've been working on it, but... w–well, it's not like I've ever written music before, so...

[twibeast]

[ Another smile, one more gentle. ]

It is a difficult thing to do, do not worry about it. I have been trying hard to think of a way to assist you, but I'm afraid that despite being a longtime instrument player myself, it is a struggle even for me to compose something from scratch.

...But it need not necessarily be wholly from scratch. We've neither the time or skill for such a thing and most performers don't compose their own work anyway, with the opposite being just as true of composers. We just need a few bases to work with.

Unfortunately, I don't think any of the songs I know will work as well for the sort of audience you're aiming for. Orpheus was more of a ballad sort - the lyrics may still have appeal but the melodies I fear would be too slow for what "idols" usually perform.

So I thought... why not look to another idol then for some inspiration?

[phantasmagorial]

[ She furrows her brow a little bit. ]

You mean... Asking Alice to write something for us?

[ she's just not getting it, huh ]

1/2

[twibeast]

[ He shakes his head, then adjusts his hold on her so that he can comfortably keep her up with one arm as his other one goes and digs into a side bag at his hip. ]

No, no.

[ And then he pulls out some folded up pages of sheet music. Sheet music for some of Kotori's songs. ]

Our little green diva tried very hard to stamp out any trace of Lady Kotori from Invidia, but with enough persistence... I got a little bit lucky.

[twibeast]

...Not that any of it was a full song though...

[phantasmagorial]

[ Oh. Oh of course -- given her reaction to the... messy way she ended up disposing of Kotori, it's an obvious sore spot for them to needle. It has a good chance of throwing Esme off her game. But... ]

Would... it really be okay for us to use her music like that? It's something she worked so hard on, after all. It wouldn't be like us taking it away from her, would it?

[twibeast]

[ He puts the sheet music back in the bag. ]

If you see it that way then perhaps, but tell me: do you see me playing Orpheus' music as "taking it away from her"?

[ He readjusts his grip on her so he's holding her up with both arms again. ]

Orpheus... actually taught me harp in the first place because she was scared... scared of her music dying with her. Since she knew I would outlive her she wanted me to continue playing it.

So I personally think... it would more than likely make Lady Kotori very happy if she knew her music managed to carry on in some way. Especially if it would help us at all in taking down the one who tried to destroy her and her work.

[phantasmagorial]

Ah, of course not...! [ It's almost hilarious how immediate the look of guilt on her face is, but now's probably not the time for yucks. ] It's just... after she did such horrible things to Kotori, she deserves to have her songs remembered. And I wouldn't want to steal that...

[ But when he frames it like that, it makes her feel... well, like Not a thief, at least. Even if they couldn't save Kotori, at least this way they could ensure that her songs wouldn't be forgotten permanently. ]

But if we do it this way... do you think we can make sure no one will forget her?

[twibeast]

[ At that he frowns. ]

I would like to hope so but unfortunately I can’t say for sure. So much of it seems to be gone now... there were other things I found but again these are all just pieces. Whatever we do with them will still ultimately be a new song.

But it’s the most we’ve got to work with so far and we’re running out of time. I feel if there’s even the slightest chance of it jogging their memories of her more then it’s worth doing.

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei thinks on that, for a moment longer... and then she nods firmly, her lips pulled tight into a determined line. ]

I think it's worth trying, at the very least. We've all been working hard and I think this could be the thing we really need to give us an edge.

If Esme won't play fair, then neither should we.

[twibeast]

[ And now he's grinning again. ]

That's the spirit.

There'll still be some work you and the others will have to do though - lyrics were much harder to find. I can help with them, but I do feel that's something you should work on yourself.

At least once the melody is taken care of though, they should come a lot easier.