confrontation.

[cancrymods]

It's time.

Esme has been doing her level best to make sure everyone in Invidia knows about their little competition, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see that the mall is absolutely overflowing with devoted fans today, all eager to see the outcome of this "friendly" competition between performers. Thankfully, Esme has been unusually sportsmanlike and deigned to release a schedule of the event beforehand, so you're not just going in blind. Esme and Idol-ON will perform two songs each and then hold a question and answer session with the audience, after which a vote will be held – and whoever has the most votes by the end of the show will be declared Invidia's newest top idols.

Sounds simple, right? Right.

You've all been given a private room out of the way of the crowds, with some time to spare before the event itself starts. Time for some last minute rehearsal, some last minute panicking, some last minute... sabotage? Well, Esme's probably not going to play fair, so why should you?

Comments

SHOW

[cancrymods]

PERFORMANCE

[cancrymods]

It's Idol-ON vs Esme!

If your character is a part of the performance, please tag in to indicate how they will be contributing to the show.

If your character is attempting to interfere with the show/Esme's performance, please tag in and indicate what your character will be attempting to do and how they plan on doing it!

[emberserker]

[Wolfsbane isn't interfering... not in the sense of taking the first step, anyway. But she has set up tripwires and tar backstage at suspicious doors, just in case Esme calls in backup, and is currently hiding under an all-purpose theatre box waiting for Esme to strike first.]

[cancrymods]

The tripwires cause some minor chaos backstage as does the tar from unsuspecting Specters who end up tripping all over the place and just generally getting caught up in the traps.

Esme doesn't seem to make any moves that aren't obviously to do with just... running the show, however.

[daughterofthemark]

[Idol Call, a.k.a. Royal Veil, is performing on stage! She's singing and dancing and generally being idoly. She is also sneaking in an occasional Attack Order when it suits the lyrics.

For some reason, trying to be an inspiring presence feels very natural to her.]

[cancrymods]

It works pretty well! Veil already has quite a few fans on account of just being a cute girl and all, and her Attack Order does some good in boosting the performance of her fellow performers.

[schardynfreude]

Chiron is going to futz with Esme's side of her performances. He's got recordings of the original trio of girls from back in The Day that he's going to splice in for a few brief moments of disruption during the broadcasts, heavily focused on Kotori and Alice.

He also has the potential to mess with the live votes as they come in--fiddle with the graphical display of the numbers and charts, although the moment another vote comes in, the reality of the votes reasserts itself. He's likely to make things look like they're swinging Idol-ON's way, and especially if the numbers are close, trying especially to time it just at voting close. But that'll be during and after the Q&A so shh.

He has another weapon up his sleeve for Q&A time but AGAIN THAT'S FOR LATER WHEN THAT UNLOCKS/GOES UP SO...

[cancrymods]

While the live crowd obviously can't see what Chiron's getting up to, he'll see that his efforts are definitely having an effect on the viewing audience at home. Caw is all abuzz with joking observations and hot takes about the quality of Esme's broadcast alike, which very quickly take a conspiratorial tone when people pick up on the presence of Kotori and Alice in the cut-ins.

And since he's keeping a close eye on the votes, Chiron will pretty quickly pick up on something interesting – Esme is cheating. I'll give you a moment to just, you know, reel from the shock of that. Truly incredible. Can you even believe it.

Anyway – every vote that comes in for Esme is counted twice, meaning that her actual vote count is half of what's being displayed. There doesn't seem to be any way to stop it right now, but it's interesting to note at least.

Re: PERFORMANCE

[pride_of_amarcia]

[Brainiac, under the nom de plume Idol Thought, puts her focus purely onto the dance and song. Certainly, she's doing better now than she had early in their rehearsals, favoring high-energy movements and moving as she sings which is way harder than it looks, ask the hobbyist stage actor.

She's made two particular caves to the potential for coming under attack. First, her shotstaff is not too far away from the stage, where she can quickly grab it to blast any monsters that arrive.

Second... It's been rigged with a glue trap in case someone tries to steal it. She did remember to warn the others... She thinks.]

[cancrymods]

Braniac's staff goes untouched by either her or anyone else! Since the performance goes off without a hitch, there's no need to reach for it.

[mementomoritz]

[Medic is up on stage, performing as Idol Cure. Mostly this involves being a very energetic and well-timed backup dancer while someone else is singing, because that's the nice thing about being in a group- you don't actually have to be competent at everything as long as someone else knows what they're doing.]

[And then it's time. The rap solo.]

[She steps up, accepts the mic, and strikes a pose.]

"Let's take this place from green to gold, 'cause this scene is getting old- every story you've been told, does it all add up? Raise a glass, raise a cup, keep turning that volume up- even when we drop the bass, we're still rising higher! This place is a cold case- every screen has one face- we're here to light the fire!

We're your idols online, wired and inspired- here to sing so fine 'cause I know you're getting tired- of the same three songs all day long from one pretty little liar!

From the rave to the grave I'm your ghost-story girl, here to show Invidia a brand new world- hand over the past, we'll give the future a whirl-

'Cause if you wanna play live you gotta live for the moment- it's your time now, don't you think it's time to own it? Make the seconds last, feel them flow, ride this wave like you stole it-

'Cause the clock's ticking down to midnight, and you know it."

[High energy, big smiles, and just this side of unsettling. Live it up in the land of the dead, Invidia- one way or another, things are changing soon.]

[cancrymods]

They absolutely love it! The uh, intended subtext seems to go over the heads of anyone who isn't an Executor or Esme herself (who is politely glaring daggers at the group from offstage) but the intended vibe gets the crowd going. Who doesn't love a rap solo?

Q&A

[cancrymods]

Once the two performances have wrapped up, both sides get a couple of minutes to recuperate before heading back out there – this time, sharing the stage. Esme's all smiles of course, putting on a perfectly nice performance...

At least until Alice steps on stage. She barely spares Esme a glance as she starts her MCing duties like a pro, but it's impossible to miss the look of cold, dead shock and anger that briefly takes over Esme's face. Even when she manages to put her Performance Face back on, she's clearly unsettled.

"... and while we're waiting for the final votes to come in, it's time to get to know our performers!" Alice is saying, studiously ignoring Esme, with a big smile. "So if you have anything you'd like to know, you can approach the stage and ask!

For the Executors in the audience, here's your chance to sow a little discord! Again, if your character will be attempting to interfere with the show in any way, even if it's just to ask a question at the Q&A, be sure to tag in!

[discutio]

[After spreading rumors of foul play to the fanclub, Phoenix—all smiles and convincingly feigned concern—sneaks into the audience long enough to pose a question to Esme:]

It must be so wonderfully exciting for you to have competition again. Especially after that horrible tragedy last time; I have to wonder, what do you say to the rumors that Kotori’s sudden illness was more than it seemed on the surface?

[If a concerned look could say ‘and that’s for telling me to write something down’...]

[cancrymods]

[ You can just feel the waves of I'm Gonna Fucking Double-Kill You radiating off her, even from the stage. ]

I guess I'd say people are a little too imaginative for their own good! And it's a little weird that people are so hung up on spinning it into something it's not. If you guys really loved Kotori, you wouldn't come up with rumors like that that take away from who she was, right?

[crypddyd]

[Lion has snuck back into the crowd, and while he knows asking questions is just asking for Esme and the guards to see him he's pretty sure the guard likely forgot what he looks like the moment he was out of sight and Esme can't really do anything without interrupting the show.

He has no questions for Esme though, and turns to Idol-on instead. What kind of things did people used to ask Dorothea all the time? Oh, right-]

Ah... hello. May I ask... what kind of person do you like, erm.... romantically?

[LION NO]

[phantasmagorial]

[ REI DROPS HER MICROPHONE ]

[mementomoritz]

[Cheerfully, and with no shame whatsoever:]

Girls!

[emberserker]

[While everyone's busy with the Q&A, Wolfsbane is sneaking around backstage, trying to see any signs of either anyone helping Esme cheat or anything lying in wait to try to kill them. Yes, she's still under the box.]

[schardynfreude]

Oh ho ho! Well then! Fucking around with the vote numbers isn't really going to help much at the moment given Esme's ridiculous inflation tactic, and given he can't seem to do much of anything about it otherwise, he's just going to have to bomb this shit good.

So. Surely people want to ask Esme some things, even if it's just someone fawning over her. Chiron hems and haws just a bit, mostly for drama, entirely for himself, and shoots a quick note to the chat - not that the idol girls are going to be checking their phones, that'd be super rude, but, y'know. Heads up to other people. Technically.

The following program is rated R for Revolting, Retch-inducing, Repugnant, Rude, and Reprehensible.

(He's having fun. It's possible he'll feel bad about it later, but hey, nobody's here to point it out to him.)

If it's the last thing he does (and maybe it is!), he will force the entirety of this recording (emetophobia, body horror, eye trauma in the link) to go through.

There's "sudden illness" and there's "what the absolute fuckshit could possible cause something like that".

And then he's just going to watch the vote numbers! If they start swinging Idol-ON's way, well, who's going to notice if he visually helps that along, hm? If nothing else, the last hail mary is to try and time the vote closing and his number fudging as close as possible to make the girls look like winners.

Two can cheat at this game.

[ourtomorrow]

A chance to ask questions. Monarch pushes his way forward in the crowd, hoping to catch Alice's attention.

"I have one for Esme!" he calls. "Why are you doing this? What's your ultimate goal for being the top idol?"

Perhaps it's naive to assume she's going to answer. But it's what he's wanted to know, with increasing urgency, the entire time he's watched this. Ruling over a section of Purgatory....being all right with the way things are....Doing those horrible things to her rivals...

There has to be a reason. And he doesn't understand.

[twibeast]

[ OKAY WELL.... AFTER LION’S SHIT he’s going to ask his own question the intent of giving the girls a chance to endear themselves more to the audience. ]

Ah, yes— what would each of you say is your best quality?

AND THE RESULTS ARE...

[cancrymods]

So the show has been, uh... interesting! Between Chiron very very definitely not cheating on the girls' behalf and dropping some psychological warfare, Monarch's outburst and Medic's lit rap solo, combined with Alice's presence, the gang have done a number on Esme's composure. With her perfect idol facade shattered, it's made for prime conspiracy fodder on Caw, as well as a few memes already because the internet will always be the internet, even in Purgatory.

But finally, the votes close. There's a few awkward minutes on stage while the votes are being counted and then Alice, with a beaming smile on her face steps up to announce the winners.

"And the new top idols of Invidia are... our newcomers, Idol-ON! Please give them a big round of applause to welcome them in!"

Thanks for the vote manipulation, Chiron!

The crowd erupts into cheering, but more prominent than the noise – for the Executors, at least – is a sudden feeling of the world shifting and tilting under them. It's not quite a physical sensation but it's harsh enough to make you dizzy for just a second. When the sensation eases, things don't look any different... except for the members of Idol-ON, who will find the world suddenly looks... sharper and clearer almost, though the difference is impossible to put into words. The change seems to have been felt by Esme as well, who has gone deathly white. Her teeth are gritted so hard it looks like they might crack and... Alice just beams at her.

"So then, Esme, do you have anything to say to these newcomers, as the former top idol yourself?" Esme takes a few steps back, and Alice closes in on her, still smiling that horrible smile the whole way. "No words for your successors? Nothing for your loyal fans? Not even a goodbye? Don't you have anything to say, former top idol?"

What follows happens so fast, you could blink and miss it.

Esme lunges for Alice, her expression twisted a dark and ugly rage, but even as her hands reach for Alice's throat, there's a deep resonant rumble from deep in the stage. Everything starts to shake like the very foundations of Invidia itself are quaking and then with a huge snap, a massive fissure rips itself open in the very center of the stage. Quite understandably, this causes a panic in the crowd who take this as their cue to get the hell out of dodge, making for the exit in a sort of restrained stampede.

When the chaos dies down, all that's left is the Executors, a very shaken Alice and the massive fissure in the middle of the stage that's begun to leak a sickly looking green light.

Esme is nowhere to be seen. Unlike her prior vanishing acts though, the girls of Idol-ON will find they have a new and very pointed sense that Esme is no longer in Invidia. Somehow, the sense is that she's further down somewhere and... well, there's only one way down that you can see right now, isn't there?

If you dare to peek into the fissure, you'll see a very familiar set of stairs leading down into the light and you realize... oh. It's not a sheer drop at all. It's an entrance.

AUTHORITY RECLAIMED

INVIDIA UNDERSIDE UNLOCKED.

[twibeast]

[ Beast is on his feet and rushing to the stage with harp materialized even as he saw Esme going for Alice’s throat, his wings even spreading out to knock away anyone that might get in his way (sorry specters and maybe even Dimitri). The rumble and stampede hinders him for a moment, but when the chaos has died down he has finally made it to the stage.

He wants to go to Rei out of protective instinct, but Alice was the one Esme went for, so the logical part of his brain makes him put aside his emotional part and go to her side first. ]

Is everyone all right?!

Re: AND THE RESULTS ARE...

[pride_of_amarcia]

...

[It takes Brainiac a good minute after everything to regain her composure, having promptly dove under a table when the shaking started.]

Uh. That's. A lot that just happened? I'm going to need a bit to process everything.

Anyone else feel like the entire area's... Different, somehow?