I’m not one to say if everyone alive has some sort of grand purpose that they’re meant for, or if we’re all just puppets on a string. How am I supposed to know anything about other people? I’m busy enough just focusing on myself, and my fans of course.

And my purpose is simple. To be the best idol I can possibly be. Anything else is just getting in the way.

Well, actually, that’s not entirely true.

Oliver isn’t getting in the way.

But, well, if it wasn’t for Oliver, I wouldn’t be me anyway. I’d be the person I was before. I’d still be someone worthless.

This isn’t about him.

It’s about me.

Well, technically speaking I guess it’s about us both. He’s always supporting me. Almost certainly out of pity. Or maybe a sense of responsibility. That’s the character he decided to play. Honestly, it’s at odds with his actual personality. And I’ve spent the last ten years taking advantage of that.

The only thing I could do now is lean into my character hard enough to gain some semblance of autonomy. To turn the joke I am into reality.

Thankfully my character is as simple as can be.

I picked it myself.

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Who doesn’t love idols?

It’s impossible to not adore them.

We exist to bring happiness after all.

Why doesn’t everyone just accept that already?

Despite my character being so well defined and easily recognizable, I’ve been having more and more people come to me with requests.

It might be an idol’s job to fulfill her fans' requests, but these people aren’t even my fans! I really need to work with a better agency.

Why am I getting work? Why did I have to join the ACT? I never cared about my augmentation. Oliver was right, I shouldn’t be practicing it. I shouldn’t ever be in a position to use it. I shouldn’t have it in the first place.

It’s all that vampire’s vault. She thinks that just because she’s a little cute, and rich, and smart, and strong, and has a lot of political clout she can boss me around.

Well, she can.

But she’s not as cute as me. My fans wouldn’t even waver between the two of us. I’ve never even heard her sing.

Anyway, for some reason, the Sanguine Princess thinks that I’d make a valuable pawn in her game, so she’s making me train to take the part.

At least in that respect she’s more capable than my foolish uncle. All he could ever do was think to use me as a hostage to keep Oliver obedient.

He could never understand the value that I bring to the table. You don’t find someone capable of playing a character as amazing as I am every day.

Because that’s all that really matters. We’re all just playing a character. Acting strong, acting smart, acting cute. It’s all just pretending to be someone else. No one is as interesting as the person they pretend to be.

If you strip away Henry’s obsession with work or Emily’s desire for heroics, what’s left? Nothing.

That’s why I should have never stopped playing this character.

Olivia Oldridge, the ultimate idol. She should have known better than to get involved with things that didn’t match her character.