“Ah, there is one more person that should be considered part of our campaign team,” Phon revised. “And that would be our uncle, Harth Boldur. You can consider him a consultant rather than an active participant. It’s not widely known, but he does have a good deal of experience in this field.”
“While discussing our plans with him, he revealed a bit of history that even we didn’t know about, that neither he nor our mother ever shared before or recorded. We knew that he went to college for political science, but we didn’t know that he apparently never graduated.”
“During his last year, our mother, when she was still Eleen Boldur, suddenly went missing. And given our uncle’s kindhearted nature, he dropped everything to search for her. It took him months. Everyone else had already given up, and he ended up having to quit school. But he found her, halfway across the continent.”
“Apparently, she never fully revealed to him where she’d been or what she’d been doing, and she hasn’t exactly complied with our inquiries either, though we have our suspicions. However, she also wasn’t alone. Our eventual-father was with her, but apparently they didn’t really get along back then, so it was a surprise to our uncle when they became a couple.”
“But it wasn’t just the two of them, our mother had also gained the allegiance of several military groups, as well as a rebel army that planned to overthrow their government, and she had a dream of saving the world by uniting it through conquest. Now this came as a shock to him. Because of her premature cognition condition—which she passed to us by the way, thank you mother—she’d always been extremely nihilistic with no real plans or dreams for the future.”
“So when he saw her with so much passion and ambition, he felt compelled as her loving older brother to assist her in any way he could, using his knowledge to help her get their campaign off the ground. So it was actually the three of them in the beginning, our father, mother, and uncle, and without him, there’s a good chance The Drazah Empire may have never existed.”
“Of course, this was all until our parents started resorting to more extreme tactics. This led to disputes and infighting, with our uncle eventually being ostracized. He was allowed to come visit as our uncle and nothing more when we were born. That’s why he feels so guilty about everything, and why he works so hard to rebuild what was destroyed.”
“The point of all this is to say that Callum and Victori, should you ever need help, whether you just want to make sure things are on track, need something to be spot-checked or would like the opinion of someone with experience, our uncle has agreed to assist whenever he can. We’ll give you his contact information, so feel free to reach out to him any time. I believe he will serve as a valuable mentor for the both of you.”
“Now then, let’s really get started. Chorus, we’ll start with you since I know you’re anxious to get back to work. What are your plans?”
The producer jumped right in. “Well over the past few days we’ve been focusing on exposing Humanity’s horrors and the negligence across the various governments who elected to ignore them. But that narrative is growing stale. We’ve already convinced who we’re going to convince, and have seen a massive public movement decrying their group and blasting their leaders who have done nothing. Things are starting to move behind the scenes, now that their hands are forced, so it’s time to move on.”
“With our group's relaunch, we’ll be focusing on showcasing the good we’ve been doing with our missions, the people we’re helping, while also reminding everyone what they’ve been missing out on in our absence. To that end, we’ll also have an exposé on your time in prison, showing the world the torment that the Central Peace forced you to endure.”
“I do believe the best route, though, will be to reinforce everything we’ve done, are currently doing, and could do in the future. As such, we’ll be focusing less on our narrative pieces and more on the hard-hitting truth. However, I believe our focus should be more on the positive side of things than the negative. Make everyone think of what a better future the world could have with us, rather than present the dismay they could have we disappear—they’ve already had a taste of that.”
“To that end, we will also be running a few political advertisements, very much to my dismay. Have you seen the ones that are coming out already for the other candidates? Disgusting, depraved, and worst of all, boring as all zjik to watch. If it were up to me, we’d forgo the act entirely. However, some of our more conspirative-addled, and let’s be frank, unintelligent audience will pounce on the idea that Drim’s candidacy is a farce if we don’t put out anything at all.”
“But I will not stoop to the level of these uninspired ilk, and will not drag us down into their muck. Let them sling their zjik, but we will not participate. None of our ads will target the other candidates and their shortcomings or past misdeeds. Instead, we’ll highlight what we have to offer, what our stances our, paint a picture of the future.”
“I certainly agree that it’s the smartest option,” Callum jumped in and corroborated. “If Drim is portrayed as just another politician, mimicking what they all do, it will only hurt our side. We need to present him as the alternative option, the better option—show that we won’t stoop to their petty games and tactics.”
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“The focus needs to be on the good he’s doing, that he’s actually working to make the world better, not that the others are worse than him. I am also of the firm opinion that his screen time should be limited. We want the world to think that he simply doesn’t have time for all this campaigning nonsense because he’s too busy working hard. But you’re right, he can’t be out of the public eye entirely. They’ll still need reminders that this is serious.”
“See, this kid gets it,” Chorus offered a bit of praise. “I agree that too much of a spotlight on Drim would be a detriment. A lot of his intrigue comes from the mystery. Which means we need to refocus. And since, you, Callum have been showing such star potential yourself, congratulations, you’ve just moved up to main billing!”
“Eh, me?” the boy was shocked. “That’s… I don’t mind if it’s what we need, but I doubt many would take an interest in me. I’ve always been seen as the safe and boring option, which was leaned heavily into when I was made Vice-Rep after the previous scandal.”
“Quite the contrary, Callum,” Chorus smiled at the young politician, causing him to shiver. “You’ll be one of the most interesting parts of our campaign. It has nothing to do with you personally. You nailed it there. Boring, plain, safe… human. But that’s what we need, your human-side.”
“If another Fiend were to run alongside Drim, our competition would just spin the tale that the Fiends are trying to take over the world. But if Drim is side-by-side with a human, one who shares the same ideals and stands behind his convictions, then that’s far more compelling. Having a human fight for equal rights of both races will cease bigotry claims out the gate and give the doubters something to discuss.”
“So Callum, very soon I would like to hold an interview with you. Essentially it will be repeating what you’ve already said, but in a more official capacity. As soon as your schedule allows. I’d like to get it out there as soon as possible.”
“Sure, alright, we could maybe do it later today or tomorrow,” Callum pulled out his phone to check his schedule. “I was actually going to suggest that I be the proxy for Drim at most events and speaking engagements anyways, since his public appearances should be limited as well, unless you want to go to them,” he turned his attention to Drim who vehemently shook his head.
“Well now that it’s settled,” Chorus’ eyes wandered. “Let’s discuss our next big star: Jaid!”
“Err, what?” The knight had been hanging on every word, but hadn’t expected her name to suddenly come up at all.
“Yes, absolutely,” Chorus stared at her like they’d just discovered a rich vein of silver ore. “Everyone is clamoring for more Jaid. Ever since New Years with the announcement of your ascension, you’ve been the most trending person in the world; at the top of every search engine, the main topic on every forum.”
“They want to know what you did and why you did it. Everyone’s all but assumed that you were the one to set our dear Greaters free, but they want it confirmed with all the details. And then the rumors that you’ve rejoined, no one’s quite sure, but they’re dying to know.”
“Of course then there was Guzrinn. Your former king found slayed with your new crime card on his lap. Apparently, the card was stolen from police evidence and is now being auctioned online, not for a cheap chunk of change either. But just as many that are embracing the implications, others are calling it a fraud, acting as if we or someone else have set you up to take the fall. Obviously, we need to put an end to those rumors.”
“And on top of all that, you’re just damned interesting! The person who put our heroes in prison, locked them up for life, is the one breaking them out?! Now that’s compelling media. And then to see you standing alongside them, fighting for their cause, everyone will be on the edge of their seats.”
“Plus, with Drim, there’s the whole will they, won’t they… be allies,” Chorus corrected when they saw glares. “Yes, of course that’s what I meant. Regardless, it’s a dynamic that will just fuel the flames, so we need to capitalize immensely. So Jaid, there will be an interview with you too, of course, and we’re going to schedule a whole slate of content focused around you. Expect a camera to be following you wherever you go.”
“But all that said,” the producer's eyes narrowed towards their final prey. “Drim, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get off free and clear. While you won’t be the focus, we’re still going to drip-feed them content. A few valiant missions, monster slayings, photo ops, everything to make you look like the savior of tomorrow.”
“But the key piece, once your whole… situation… is resolved, I would like you to do an exclusive interview with Gedring. And that will be it, the only interview you’ll have to do for this campaign. In fact, you’re forbidden from doing any others. We may do a followup Q&A if there are more important questions, but when it’s straight from your mouth to their ears, we want them scouring every inch for it.”
“And that about wraps up the general plan for now. Obviously, I will be refining the content schedule as needed and will keep you all informed. Now then, I shall return to my editing bay. The new releases start tonight, and we can’t keep the world waiting. If anyone is up for interviews today, however, I will drop everything. Just let me know.”
Chorus zoomed out of the room, ready to unleash their horrific yet highly refined content upon the world.
“I should mention one addendum to something Chorus said,” Phon mentioned after The Quickchanger had made their exit. “While we won’t be publicly lambasting any of the other politicians for their misdeeds, we’re still going to use them to our advantage. We certainly won’t let them get away with their crimes and deceive voters, so we’ll just have to resort to something a bit more underhanded.”