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

[ourtomorrow]

[ Esme is still out there and they definitely haven't seen the last of her. The Executors as a group can breathe more easily knowing that this is one floor of Purgatory well on its way to being...restored? Reclaimed....not contributing to the problem.

Monarch remains shaken, though, and in an attempt to feel more prepared for the group's eventual descent, he's switched over to his Executor form to see what it is and what he can do. He's baffled by how much it changes his appearance, though, and while there's a part of him that feels right with a whip in his hand, another part revolts, and it's just...it's a lot. He feels both powerful and absurd.

Darnit. He'd had everything about their current mission explained to them! He knew what Esme had done! Why had seeing her try to cover for it - seen what she was willing to do, and play off, in the name of being the best - upset him so much?

There is a small boy with even stupider hair than normal sitting behind The House Formerly Known As Esme's, wrapped in his cape and glad for his mask. He can make any kind of face he wants while he sits and broods. ]

[emberserker]

That's your Executor uniform? I wouldn't have been able to tell it was you if we didn't have one child.

[Wolfsbane is standing there, arms folded, but at least just her regular amount of judgy.]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch lifts his head, his mask catching the light. ]

Wolfsbane-san.

[ Yep, definitely the Token Child. Soft and slightly confused despite the makeover. ]

[emberserker]

[She nods, but seems to think better of saying anything abrasive this time, simply looking around the grounds.]

What are you upset about? We won. Of course, we've got more to go, but at least Esme's out of the way for now.

[ourtomorrow]

I'm not upset....

[ iiiiiiis a lie and he knows it, but he also doesn't know what to do about it. ]

....exactly.

[emberserker]

What do you mean, exactly? What went on out there while I was running interference? I heard the question and answer, but really, you didn't say anything we weren't all thinking.

[ourtomorrow]

I don't know.

[ Monarch stands. Being in this form without any reason to be feels odd, so he dismisses his Executor uniform.

When his hair is done deflating: ] You heard it?

[emberserker]

I was just backstage watching for anything that might go wrong. And I'm sure the entire crowd heard it, too.

[ourtomorrow]

Then, when Esme gave her answer....

[ The crowd doesn't matter to Monarch. Just this. ]

What did you think?

[emberserker]

What I think is I hope she broke every bone in her body falling into that earthquake chasm, after what she did to us.

[ourtomorrow]

--Right.

[ Monarch can't deny that. Is he a vengeful person? He can't say.

Either way, it doesn't sound like she had the same specific reaction he did. So it really is individual....That's good to have confirmed. ]

[emberserker]

Of course, knowing our luck, she really might have gone and turned into a Revenant down there. But I'm sure we'll deal with that handily.

[ourtomorrow]

[ ...That's true. Both parts of it. Monarch's expression comes back to earth (or Purgatory, as the case may be). ]

We can't let her hurt anyone else.

[phantasmagorial]

[ With the... everything that's been going on, Rei hasn't really had a chance to talk much with anyone outside of the Idol-ON scheme, let alone their newest Executor. She can't even imagine how overwhelming all this chaos has been and it makes her feel sort of twisty and bad on the inside that she hasn't been able to do much to help him settle in. So once the gang have descended on Esme's house, Rei breaks away from the explorations to go look for him.

Even once she finds him, it takes a second for her to actually realizing that she is, in fact, looking at Monarch – his Executor form is so uncharacteristic of what she'd seen of him that she almost can't place him and it's only the colour of his hair that gives it away. Rei hangs back for a moment and then instead of approaching, she calls out to him. ]

Monarch...? Um– is everything okay?

for SOME reason there is no self-effacing reassuring smile kaiser icon!!

[ourtomorrow]

[ When he hears his name, Monarch lifts his head. He looks over and - it's Rei-san. ]

Ah....

[ He's...been better, he thinks. He shifts in his cape, trying to sit up straighter now that he's not by himself. ]

It's just - been busy. Please don't worry.

[ Not when she was one of the people who had been more in danger, up there challenging Esme directly. ]

we have ICON NEEDS adventure 02!!!

[phantasmagorial]

Sorry, but I'm supposed to be the leader here. Worrying about everybody is my job.

[ That's surprisingly firm, coming from Rei of all people. You're not getting off that easy, Monarch.

Rei strides over and without missing a beat, settles down alongside him. ]

Things have probably been... a little overwhelming. Right?

[ourtomorrow]

[ Drat, it didn't work. And she's insistent about it, too. Why....? Because she's the leader, like she says? But he's the one responsible for his own condition. He's the one who's let himself down.

Monarch screws up his face beneath the mask. He doesn't want to cause problems for her....Or maybe that's a front. Maybe all that's going on is that he doesn't want to admit how unsettled he is, because that involves admitting how lost he feels.

But there's no way out when cornered like this, is there. ]

Mm.

[phantasmagorial]

Right.

[ She lets the two of them sit in silence for a moment – if Monarch isn't happy for her to be here, she assumes he'll let her know somehow. When he makes no move to leave, she continues. ]

It was for me, when everyone started waking up. I'd been so sure that I'd be alone while I was here and then all of a sudden, there were so many people I didn't know and so many new things to worry about... I really didn't know what to do.

[ourtomorrow]

You didn't know we'd start to awaken?

[ This surprises Monarch enough that he is now more interested in hearing about Rei's situation than wallowing in his own. She has the ability to make Executors, so he figured she understood the most of everyone....

But maybe understanding the most doesn't mean understanding everything. ]

[phantasmagorial]

Not until they all turned up when I was in the middle of fighting a Revenant. I don't think I've ever been that scared before.

[ Executors have been giving her heart palpitations since hour zero, huh. ]

But... I'm still glad they showed up.

[ourtomorrow]

So that's what happened.

[ And it also implies lots of people awoke, or found each other, at the same time. This is intriguing but not something he really feels at the luxury to consider, currently. ]

I'm self-centered. [ This is a conclusion he has just reached about himself. ] You've all been doing this longer than me, and are facing the same struggles.....I keep losing sight of that.

[ Maybe that means he can ask Rei the big question on his mind, too. ]

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei's brow creases and her expression becomes what's unmistakably a frown. ]

... Is that really what you think? That... having those worries makes you self-centered?

[ That's... really concerning!!! ]

[ourtomorrow]

Doesn't it?

[ He seems confused. ]

I'm only considering myself, as if I'm the only exceptional one....

[phantasmagorial]

Of course it doesn't. If you don't consider yourself first, then who will?

[ A pause, as she rewinds that in her head and realizes how callous it sounds then she stumbles to correct her words. ]

Ah, no– w–what I mean is... Monarch, we'll always be here to help you. That's what it means to be an Executor with us. But... only you know what sort of things are going on in your head and your heart.

[ourtomorrow]

"What sort of things...."

[ Huh. He...thinks he follows. He's got to consider himself, because...he's in the....best position to do so? ]

I see. Even though I know next to nothing about myself, I still know how I feel. It might be similar to others' - but it's mine.