Chapter 77: Guerrilla Marketing
...
Von was not expecting much from the Photogram post he had just made, considering the limited number of followers he currently had.
In his mind, the hype around him from the finale was already fading away. Hence, after making the post, he concentrated on completing his daily quests and testing out Loki’s ability to "consu excess emotions."
He had originally feared that this ability was a negative one, that she would sohow take people’s genuine feelings away. However, he was reassured to find out it didn’t work that way.
By excess, the System ant the emotional runoff that had already served its purpose in the atmosphere.
Von still didn’t fully understand what any of that ant in a practical sense, but with the promise of a level-up when the Resonance bar filled, he wanted to test it.
He had walked across the street, picked up a cheap new acoustic guitar, and played so songs for Loki in the empty apartnt. He poured as much feeling as he could into the chords and his voice.
Unfortunately, none of it succeeded in getting the bar moving even a fraction of an inch.
After an hour of experinting and brushing up on his instruntal skills, Von set the guitar down and sighed. ’I guess the emotions aren’t excess enough.’
With that out of the way, he shifted his focus back to his phone. Opening his Photogram app, Von was left absolutely awestruck when he saw the numbers.
The post he had uploaded had generated 70,000 likes already, and there were over a thousand comnts underneath it. Von couldn’t contain his smile as he opened the comnt section to read through them.
[alien from mars: WTFF! Is that a studio!? Von is releasing a song!! Omg! ????]
[Need To Sleep ????????: Man just lost a final less than two weeks ago and he’s back to the grind ??????]
[DirtyBob Roundpants: But am I the only one curious? Is he making an entirely new song or finally recording Masquerade]
[Mr. Know It All ??????????: @DirtyBob Roundpants, It’s most likely the second option. Only makes sense he’ll build the on the hype and give us what we deserve]
[Only Normal One: I don’t even care what he’s making but it’s sure to be a banger if it’s coming from Von ???? Finish up already, bro]
Reading the positive ssages gave Von a massive surge of adrenaline he didn’t even know he needed. He felt genuinely happy seeing the passionate reactions from his supporters, so he decided to reply to so of the comnts.
To a fan that asked exactly which single he was releasing, he typed: I ain’t telling ??
His playful reply got a lot of attention. In just a few minutes, many others were flocking under the comnt Von had left, asking him various questions, including so prying inquiries about his personal life.
Von didn’t reply to the latter, but he continued answering the rest of the casual ssages, even exchanging so jokes and s with the fans.
By the ti he finally had to put his phone down and stop, the public had an even better impression of him, and Von felt incredibly positive himself.
’Now I can’t wait for the release myself.’
***
As promised, Von slept for a solid 12 hours that night. It would have been 13 hours if Emily’s phone calls hadn’t woken him up as early as 9:00 AM.
Hearing his ringtone blaring against the hardwood floor, Von sighed in defeat before he finally picked up.
"Are you still asleep??" Emily’s voice demanded through the speaker before he could even say hello. "I’ll be at your place in forty-five minutes, please get ready already."
Emily hung up after not even giving him a chance to counter or defend himself. Von could only sigh in defeat once again before peeling himself off the mattress to head to the bathroom.
It only took him fifteen minutes to be done with his morning prep and get fully dressed. There were about thirty minutes left before Emily would arrive, and he was standing in the living room considering what to do with that free ti when a small furry creature sneaked up on him and blocked his path.
"What? You ate last night," Von twitched his eyebrows in annoyance, looking down at the Void Lynx.
Loki looked away in defiance, lifting her chin.
Right on cue, Von’s own stomach growled slightly, as if supporting Loki’s argunt. He thought about it, realizing he had enough ingredients in the kitchen to cook up so good breakfast. He hadn’t used his cooking skills in a while, either.
Von simply sighed and walked toward the kitchen island. "Well, you’re in luck. I’m hungry too, so I’mma cook now."
He pulled out the groceries he had picked up the night before. With his skill passively guiding him, his hands moved with swift, practiced motions. He started with Loki’s demand, searing a fresh cut of salmon in a hot pan until the skin was perfectly crisp but the center remained a tender, flaky pink.
For himself, and out of courtesy for his dear manager he cracked several eggs into a bowl, whisking them vigorously. He poured the mixture into a buttered skillet, folding it into rich, fluffy olets loaded with lting cheese and fresh chives, before sliding them between perfectly toasted, buttered bagels.
The rich, savory aroma of toasted bread and sizzling butter quickly filled the usually empty-slling apartnt.
Just as he finished wrapping Emily’s portion in foil to keep it warm, a sharp knock echoed through the room.
Emily let herself in, imdiately freezing in the doorway as the sll hit her. "What is that sll?!??
"I cooked," Von said casually, tossing her the warm, foil-wrapped sandwich.
Emily caught it, looking at it with a mix of suspicion and intrigue. She peeled back the foil and took a tentative bite.
She wasn’t expecting much, but her eyes widened instantly, a look of absolute amazent breaking through her usually stoic, professional deanor. She chewed, swallowed, and stared at Von.
"Von... this is incredible~" she purred, taking a much larger second bite. "I thought you only knew how to sing. This is better than the deli down my street."
"I have hidden depths," Von smirked, leaning against the counter.
"If this is how you cook, I’ll be coming over to this apartnt a lot more often," Emily said, genuinely impressed as she continued to devoured the rest of the sandwich.
As soon as she walked further inside, Loki imdiately trotted over. The Void Lynx eyed the last piece of the wrapped food in Emily’s hands, letting out a demanding ow and standing on her hind legs to try and eat her portion.
"Oh no you don’t," Emily said, lifting the sandwich out of reach. She wasn’t moved by the cat’s cuteness any bit this ti.
After Emily finished her breakfast and wiped her hands, she looked at Von and laid out their agenda for the day.
***
"Guerrilla marketing," Emily had called it that morning. It sounded edgy and exciting in the warmth of the apartnt.
In practice, it was just cold, exhausting, humiliatingly grounded.
There was no movie-magic mont where the entire city of New York stopped what they were doing to gather around him in awe. It was a Tuesday in late autumn, and New Yorkers had places to be.
They started at noon in Washington Square Park. Emily had hauled a heavy, battery-powered Roland street amplifier out of the trunk of the van, and Von had carried the mic stand. He stood by the fountain and had to perform Masquerade in the cold.
A few people recognized him and so simply admired his songs. They clapped, cheered, and took selfies with him when he finished the set. But after twenty minutes, a park ranger strolled over and threatened Emily with a citation for using unpermitted amplification.
They had to pack up and run.
From there, it was a grueling montage of the city’s underbelly. They dragged the heavy gear down the steps of the Union Square subway station.
Von sang over the screeching tal of the N train pulling into the station. He poured his soul into Masquerade for everyone to listen.
Commuters threw quarters and crumpled dollar bills into the open guitar case Emily had placed on the ground. It was just an ironic prop, considering he was singing to a backing demo track Patch had bounced to Emily’s phone.
On, the bright side Loki’s resonance bar managed to surge all the way to 5% after the day sessions.
By 4:00 PM, after a short break, they moved to a street corner in Brooklyn. By 6:00 PM, they were outside a busy shopping center in SoHo.
Emily, for her part, didn’t complain at all. While Von sang, she handed out small business cards she had printed that morning. They simply had a QR code on them that linked to a Pre-Save page for the single.
By 8:30 PM, the temperature had dropped severely, and the crowds had thinned out entirely.
"Alright," Emily finally said. Her bob was slightly windblown. "We’re done for the day."
Von didn’t need to be told twice. He killed the power on the Amp and helped her pack the heavy equipnt into the Pelican case, his fingers still stiff and numb from the cold.
On entering the van, Von lted into the seat and Loki coiled into his arms right away.
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