Act 1, Scene 1: Pleasant Boy

[opening_act]

[ A notification on your phone goes off, letting you know the purchase of your meeting with Exael has gone through.

There is an attachment. Where are you, when you open it? ]

Comments

[opening_act]

Well, now that you've told me you'd record. . . But really, it depends.

I want to know what you want, off the record.

[afailedmurder]

I don't have anything else on me to take notes. But I'm not recording now, and I won't if you would prefer I not. You can check my phone or hold onto it if you like.

[holds it out to her]

There are many things I want to know. The two options you mentioned before and many questions that begin with "why" and "how." But I assume the others will be grilling you on such topics, and I assume there are approved answers that the "execs" have approved of, or will at least tolerate you giving us. There's no reason for anything like that to be off the record.

I'd really like to hear what you want. Are you sure you don't have any interest in talking about yourself?

[opening_act]

[ hmm she's going to take his phone and check what powers he's bought instead of checking if he's recording ]

It sounds like you want something to hold over me!

[afailedmurder]

[Immediately got foresight, after a bit potions, and very recently shrinky/growy.]

How could I hold it over you if I don't have any evidence of it? Besides, I am acutely aware of the power imbalance here. I would prefer to stay on your good side.

[opening_act]

I thought you might be an enterprising boy, not just a pleasant one! I have faith in you.

[ Hmm. Holds out the phone to hand it back ]

[afailedmurder]

[takes it and slips it into his cloak]

Thank you. I'll do my best to live up to your expectations.

Well, for now I would like to hear the alternate to graduation. You've piqued my interest.

[opening_act]

You've misunderstood. [ said as if she speaks in a remotely clear manner ] They're both graduation, you know? But what happens after is really different.

Do you want to go home?

[afailedmurder]

I should think so. As far as I know, I was doing quite well for myself.

[opening_act]

Then you can still aim for graduation! That's a valid graduation gift.

[afailedmurder]

What are the graduation requirements?

[opening_act]

That the production staff thinks you're ready to. There's no one hard and fast thing.

[afailedmurder]

I see.

[considers for a moment]

You mentioned before that you weren't interested in talking about yourself because you already knew all about yourself. Was there something you were hoping to learn from talking to an idol?

[opening_act]

That's a good question! [ she grins and for a second it looks like she's not going to answer that either ]

I wanted to see how far along you are, and which way you're likely to go. That and it's easier to plan if I know more about what I'm working with, of course.

What did you think about the House of Mirth, and what was found there?

[afailedmurder]

I think there were some interesting bits in there amidst the B-movie horror. The statuary, for example, and the painting that C took. I'm sure others have noticed similar things.

[opening_act]

Ehhh, boring. . . Azzy's painting isn't a real mystery, not when he walked right out there to grab me. So none of you have even figured out his name.

[afailedmurder]

[well, based on OBVIOUS ANGEL THEME...]

Azzy... Azrael?

[opening_act]

Bzzt! A good guess, but there was a hint in the house! If you didn't find it, you might want to consult with an Angel closer to home!

[afailedmurder]

I'll be sure to ask her, thank you.

But I apologize for boring you. Would you prefer I examine the ghosts that possessed some of us? Personally, that was the mystery that I found the least interesting.

[opening_act]

You could, but you don't need to.

[afailedmurder]

Perhaps they were fabricated and perhaps they were real. There's certainly a narrative there, but I'm not sure it benefits myself or the other idols to dig into it. So I'll pass on that one.

What else interests you?

[opening_act]

Why did you buy the meeting?

[afailedmurder]

We idols know essentially nothing about our situation. We wanted to take steps to rectify that.

[opening_act]

Nothing you've asked has really been aimed towards that, though? You sound more interested in what you can do to get ahead. How to graduate, if my apartment is bugged, what do I want . . .

[afailedmurder]

Well, I am working under the assumption that B will be asking all of the boilerplate questions, and I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive...

But what if I were interested in that?

[opening_act]

We could try it out a bit, but I'd need to know what you'd want to be rewarded with first. Nothing in life is free, right?