63 - video;

[islandshore]

[It's that time of year again, network. The time when two island doofuses set the stage for the ultimate bet of all time. A matter of life and death, of... okay, so maybe nothing that extreme. Still, here we have Riku, dressed in a black jacket and a scarf, looking slightly. So, right. He should probably get the ball rolling, but first, he turns to look at Sora and Kairi.]

You guys ready for this?

[ third year. it's officially a tradition. Sora? he's bouncy. two year victor here. he's pretty confident this streak is going to last. ]

I dunno... Are you ready to lose again, Riku?

[See that? That would be Riku slapping his face with his palm.]

Don't get ahead of yourself. A lot can change in a year.

[Not that he particularly feels invested by now, but it is tradition, and he can't ever turn down a challenge.

The camera pans down to Kairi, the lovely host for this little wager. She grips a pair of clip-on antlers in her hand, disappointed that she couldn't convince Riku to wear them. She will, however, make sure he at least ends the night with the glowing red nose.]

Hey everyone! It's time for us to see which one of these two is the bigger dork.

[Wait that's not it.]

We're looking to see who believes in Santa! If you don't know Santa, he's the big guy who flies around the world with his magic reindeer delivering presents to all the good boys and girls.

[And the fluffy red hat atop her head should make it easy to see what team she's on.]

Old Man Riku is such a stick-in-the-mud that he doesn't believe in magic presents anymore, so Sora wants to prove him wrong. Whoever loses gets to show off their "Christmas Spirit" for everyone to see, so make sure you all vote!

[Riku rolls his eyes, flicking Sora's shoulder.]

Hey, if I'm old, so's he. But anyway, consider this our Christmas tradition. So... place your bets. We'll see who ends up singing their heart out this time...

Pfft. Coming from the guy with white hair? I'm not so sure that you're not old... Foofyku.

[ Sora snickers, escaping to stand by Kairi and throws a friendly arm around her shoulders. ]

Just remember this, guys... Voting on Riku's side means you have to hear me and Kairi sing and do you really wanna have to put people through that?

[Riku smirks.]

Hey, we gotta shake it up somehow. Besides, Sora's gonna need a decent backup singer, otherwise it'd just be painful.

[The feed ends with Sora pouting and sticking out his tongue.]

Comments

[video]

[captainash]

...So, are we allowed to vote against whoever we think will offer the best performance, or do we need to be honest?

[Because that might greatly influence his answer.]

[video]

[paopuprincess]

Kinda makes you wish you could torture them both, huh?

[video]

[captainash]

Almost. Will they sing a duet if this somehow ends in a draw? Because I can help bribe voters for balanced results if you want.

[paopuprincess]

I like the way you think.

[captainash]

And you like the thought of getting to film the potential duet?

[paopuprincess]

What kind of friend would I be if I didn't record it for posterity?

[captainash]

A terrible one, and I have absolutely no doubt that's not what you want to be.

[video]

[heartdive]

Hey! No cheating!

[video]

[captainash]

That's not cheating, that's working as a team to reach the best results.

[video]

[heartdive]

What about the integrity of the tradition?

[ Sora that's a mighty big word. do you know what it means? ]

[video]

[captainash]

You're young. That's the best time to update old traditions, and create brand new ones.

[video]

[heartdive]

We've only been doing this for two years. Three now.

[video]

[captainash]

So it's still a work in progress, then. For all you know, duets will be the norm for the next ten years.

[video]

[heartdive]

I'd like to do something like that. He's the one who won't.

[video]

[captainash]

Really, now. And there's nothing that can change his mind? At all?

[video]

[islandshore]

Kinda goes against the spirit of the bet if you do that, but if you hadn't said anything, I don't think we would've suspected it.

[Still, he doesn't sound too worried. Not yet, anyway.]

[video]

[captainash]

So I've ruined my grand plan with my idle musings? That's a shame. Maybe I should have bounced the idea off my Pokémon instead.

[video]

[islandshore]

Heh, probably. But hey, it kinda depends on what you consider a better performance. Better quality? More entertaining? There's more than one way to look at it.

[video]

[captainash]

That's true. I need to carefully consider what I hoping for, ask people for their opinions on previous performances to see who can offer what I want... But a good, in-depth research would take months, and I don't have that time.

[video]

[islandshore]

You could always just flip a coin and hope for the best. Saves you time, and you still get a performance one way or the other.

[video]

[captainash]

And it spares from admitting any belief or disbelief. That's like having my cake and eating it.

[video]

[islandshore]

Ha. Trying to be an enigma, eh? Knowing Sora, he'd probably hire a detective just to find out where you stand.

[video]

[captainash]

Think he'd let me borrow that detective for a quick performance appraisal, then?

[video]

[islandshore]

Pfft. You'd have to be pretty stealthy about it. Especially when he's already onto you.

And that's assuming there even are private detectives around here. Given how almost all the law enforcement's made up of Jennies...

[Well, PI's are different, but still.]

[video]

[captainash]

...Maybe the Jennies moonlight as detectives after their shifts? Or maybe there's a secret network of Jerries, operating in the shadows of their official counterparts.

[It wouldn't even surprise him that much.]