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

[discutio]

[Completely and utterly, judging by the scars half-covered by black sunglasses.]

...Is there something wrong with it?

[ourtomorrow]

No!

[ That's quick, and reassuring, and seems sincere. ]

It's warm. [ Beyond just physically. What is this sensation, exactly? ] Comforting. You really care.

[ It's entirely possible he's extrapolating too much. But if this is the recipe Phoenix made after an ordeal like that.....Then this is what Monarch's taking from it. ]

[discutio]

Well, I'm certainly very glad to hear you like it so much.

[ourtomorrow]

Everyone's sure to enjoy it.

[ He has a few more spoonfuls, surprising himself. He'd had a sandwich before, and everything, but all these people are giving him food because they're worried about him....

Congratulations, dads. The boy is consuming a few foods. ]

[discutio]

I'm distinctly flattered, I do hope you're right.

[ourtomorrow]

Mm.

[ Earnest soup consumption.

Something interesting occurs to him, and he permits himself a near-silent chuckle. ]

[discutio]

...What is it?

[he can hear everything, monarch]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Ah - oh - Right. Monarch stirs his soup. ]

We're dead. We don't need to stay alive any more, but we still eat. We still share meals.

[ Just like when he was alive......

It's his only memory. Eating dinner at a table with people who he wanted to see happy. Who wanted to see him grow up strong.

He can't grow physically, anymore. But..? ]

There's so much we can do.

[discutio]

It isn't all that terrible, really. I can't say I feel particularly dead in any expected or unusual sense myself. Despite the occasional circumstance, everything feels rather normal.

[ourtomorrow]

What else do you do besides cook?

[ And Executor business? Maybe that's why Monarch is so at a loss, lately. He doesn't know what he can do because he doesn't know what's out there to do.

Once they know this layer is safe from Esme, he'll have to look into that... ]

[discutio]

Oh, not particularly much as of late--the tactics for this particular operation were just a little beyond me. I'm more skilled with fighting and combat strategy.

[ourtomorrow]

Different people are suited for different missions.

[ What mission will he be -

Ugh, this man was nice enough to feed him soup and Monarch's making everything about himself. Was Monarch this selfish in life? How can he turn this around?

He eats some more soup to clear his head. ]

[discutio]

Certainly. Even so, it is sometimes difficult to stand aside for the situations one is less suited to.

[ourtomorrow]

How do you know when there's one that fits you?

[ ....When they know so little about themselves? ]

[discutio]

Well...intuition, mostly. I'd not have expected I had much skill in combat, all things considered- [A small but pointed adjusting of his sunglasses.] -but it simply felt like what I was most able to do.

[ourtomorrow]

Intuition...

[ So he'll feel like that at some point? At the very least, he needs to keep checking up on how he feels. Perhaps trust that even the inexplicable feelings come from somewhere. ]

I...might have something like that, too.

[discutio]

Well, what is it you have in mind?

[ourtomorrow]

It happened during the concert.

[ Now that he's reporting it, and has a possible reason for it, thinking back to this incident is much less distressing. ]

Esme upset me more than expected. But if you're right that we can sense things about ourselves even without our memories, perhaps something happened to me that would justify my reaction....

[ But what that something could be, he has no idea. His only memory seems to fit what he considers a perfectly "normal" life. Why would someone like Esme...? ]

[discutio]

She is a particularly upsetting person. [He made that remark lightly, with a small shrug of his shoulders.] But that does sound like something to keep in mind. You may stumble upon memories of more substance before long.

[ourtomorrow]

Mm. [ He's almost done his soup. How did that happen? He's gotten full before finishing most of the other food he's eaten in Purgatory... ]

And I'll make the most of the meantime.

[ He is getting the message, from how others who have been through this longer than he has, that he is perhaps in too much of a hurry. Purgatory isn't going anywhere. He can take his time. He's here now.

He's here now. And even in Purgatory, in a kitchen where things one had best not contemplate have likely been prepared, soup can taste good. ]