[ fizzarolli is becoming a household name, and it's all thanks to vox. well, maybe not all—fizz had put in a ton of work himself, obviously, that's how vox had found him in the first place—but the end result is, to be quite frank, fucking spectacular.
or at least, that's how fizz feels about it. two game shows, a ton of commercials with another in the works already, his face on cereal boxes, a toy line, and his own floor in the tower he can do whatever he wants with. he has guards when he meets with fans, and it's like not a single person has even tried to be weird at him, which is one of the things he appreciates the most. people can get real weird about clowns in hell.
he's even employee of the month every month, how does that even work?
in any case, he's happy with the arrangement.
it's come time for new merch, and vox had set up a contest to pick the best design. he'd told fizz he wanted to sweep over them first to take out anything they'd never use, and the imp had accepted it for what it is, an easy cleanup so fizz doesn't have to pore over tons of designs that just aren't feasible to make.
he's in the middle of practicing a new routine when vox pops up on his personal intercom, asking him to come see him. he readily agrees, hopping off the stack of boxes he'd spring-launched himself up onto, and touches up his makeup before heading out. he doesn't have to wear it all the time, of course, and he doesn't when he sleeps, but he just doesn't feel put together without it, so on it goes.
he heads to the conference room that vox asked him to join him in, leaning into it through the doorway and grinning. ]
Hey! You wanted to see me? Is this about those merch contest entries?
[ he's even bouncing on his feet slightly as he steps inside; that's how fucking excited he is to see what the kids he performs for want to see in his image. or, well, he really hopes that's what this is about: he's had a really good run, but he still always worries that he's done something wrong.
and that is what it's about! what a relief. he settles in the seat he's gestured too and picks up his glass, then sets it back down so he can use both hands to cover his mouth. ]
It's so cute...
[ he may or may not be like this for every design, but it is what it is. ]
I mean, it seems pretty clever, in context of my arms. They'd make good hooks to hang on each other, so...
[he even shows up promptly when he's asked to show up somewhere...! really, every employee could learn from fizz. vox sits back and folds his arms, watching fizz bounce over and go through a little emotional journey about this kid's drawing. that's the enthusiasm this toy contest needs, he thinks, that little gesture of genuine delight. maybe they can make a fresh commercial about the toy contest...
either way, fizz continues to demonstrate that he's the employee of the month. vox nods at the chain toy design.]
What would you rate it out of ten? And be honest—
[he gestures for a (lesser) employee to bring over the rest, which are quite literally stacked high on a cart that's supposed to be for snacks. look at these, fizz. this is the surprise: there are at least a few hundred. people really fucking love clowns in hell!]
Because we've got more. Your schedule's cleared for the rest of the day already.
[oh, that's-- c...ute? vox expects more enthusiasm, frankly he expects fizz to literally spring out of his seat and bounce around the room some more, so this much more subdued, near-tears kind of happy response takes him a bit by surprise.
huh!
well, they've got a lot of toys to look at, so let him get the first stack of many.]
All of these. You want the one with the arms, put it in a "yes" pile. R&D can make you one even if it doesn't hit stores.
[anything for his favorite employee, mhm. now here's the next stack, before vox sits back down with his drink. this is fizz's foray into picking the final design, so he's here for, like, actual marketability input. just in case.]
[ it's fine! he's fine! he turns toward the stack again, carefully putting the barrel of fizzarollis page in a space of honor. aka the 'yes' pile.
he does get more animated again as he continues to leaf through them all: he ends up with three stacks: 'no' (things that he's pretty sure aren't as feasible to make even if he loves them) 'maybe' (things he loves but needs to reconsider once he's seen more) and, of course, the 'yes' pile.
he's bouncing slightly in his seat by the time he hits minute ten, sipping from his drink as he does. there's a moment in his search where he holds up a paper in vox's direction, arm extending to get it closer to him: the whole design is a doll, but the accessories for it are kind of strange, though not in a harmful way. anyway there's a huge spoon where the handle is just. shaped like fizz. thankfully not the spoon part. do not put him in your mouth. ]
A few different colors of the spoons would be a good prize for the cereal boxes.
[ so that goes in a fourth 'rad cereal prize' pile. ]
[god, look at him go. vox watches these piles form and almost feels bad that that "yes" pile is going to have to get smaller and smaller until there's a winner. or first through third place, inevitably, because there are just so many submissions.
that said--]
You want to be a spoon.
[kid... vox holds his hands up.]
I'm not saying no. [a beat.] If we don't paint them, we can make the plastic change colors.
I'm not saying being a spoon is my goal in life, Vox. I think it's charming and it would boost cereal sales because kids love prizes in their food. Picking a couple things for the boxes lets more kids be excited their ideas got chosen without the expenditure of making a toy line that's too big!
[this is joking. he's joking. he's almost simulating being a normal person, congratulations.
but he reaches over to pick up the spoon one and look at it more closely, anyway.]
We'll make a bunch of different colors, for collector's value. Maybe throw in some stickers— do you want to be stickers? We can throw in some glow-in-the-dark or whatever the fuck kids are into.
[ he's about to do a sort of normal clown guy answer, really, promise, but then vox makes the mistake of asking him if he wants to be stickers and fizz (metaphorically) explodes in excitement, slapping both hands down on the table with a comical slinky-like movement to his arms because of it. ]
[bring that energy (minus the swearing!) to the commercials, fizz. vox snorts, then swaps the spoon art page for one of the discarded manila envelopes he had an intern stuff all these submissions in, and takes a pen out of his jacket pocket.
hold on a second. he's. doing art. no, he's doing a sticker concept, but his art skills still leave a lot to be desired. the concept is clear enough, once he passes it to fizz: a perfectly normal little fizz sticker doing a funny clown pose (vox's rough understanding of a funny clown pose), but also! a bunch of stretchy-limb varieties, for the full slinky experience.
and stickers that will cover an entire page on their own, but they can workshop that. maybe mock up some sticker books.]
[ he does bring that energy (minus the swearing!) to the commercials, vox!
more importantly, vox is drawing something. for fizz to see. he practically vibrates in his seat for the duration, kind of like an anxious queieve but excited instead.
he likes the funny clown pose, he likes all the stretchy limb varieties, and he nods, of course. ]
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, do you know those puffy stickers? Can some of them be that? So my hat can be puffy.
[ he carefully jots some notes down, with probably too many details, but hey, he's enthusiastic.
with that settled, he starts to go through designs again until he gets to one doll in particular, which he hands vox directly as the 'mega yes' pile. ]
I want this one. Look at the interchangeable arms! Think of the accessories. Endless arm types... [ he is imagining them. spongebob 'imaaaaagination' dot gif. ]
[no such thing as too many details, it's much easier to remove something than add it in the middle of production! fizz the perfect employee, as always...
vox takes the mega yes page, considering it. very... wiggly, these arms. he hums.]
Could do extra arm bonus packs. Slap "mix-n-match" on the packaging and they'll fly off shelves. You're going to be every little imp kid's favorite action figure by mid-year!
[what is this emotion he's feeling... jk it's pride, and he's an Okay Boss, so as he stands yet again to grab more submissions off the pile and keep this rolling, he claps a hand on fizz's shoulder.]
You're really moving up, kid. That's why you're the star.
Okay, feel free to tell me no, but I saw these things recently, where you make a certain number of different things, the ones I saw were little figures. But they all come in sealed, solid-colored bags so you can't see what's inside when you get them, and it's like a cool mystery! And sure you might get doubles, but you can trade with your friends or get more bags to open to get more surprises. Huh, wait, that sounds like gambling for kids...
[ but then he gets clapped on the shoulder and outright praised and he flushes grey, eyes widening a little as he looks up at vox from his seat.
I wouldn't call that gambling for kids. Parents, on the other hand...
[but still, never mind that! he likes the idea, and he gives fizz an extra pat on the shoulder before he takes his seat again. fizz really is the voxtek star, and vox really is genuinely pleased with him. it's all coming up fizzarolli, who is now also a gacha game.]
Well, you've earned it. That's why you're the only one in here helping to pick your next line of toys.
[the privilege... waow....] And then there's the fan mail.
[ he has some more commentary, but frankly he is immediately distracted by getting another pat. his tail flicks back and forth a few times, pleased as punch, and he tips his head aside a little to grin right at vox. any happier and he'd be physically vibrating in his seat. ]
It... I'm really happy to get to help pick these. Having a choice in what happens.
[ and then vox says fan mail and that's it, that's what does it: vibrating right where he sits, grin almost splitting his face in two. ]
[learned: he can pat fizz on the head and keep him happy as anything. it's not like it's facetious, either, vox is just as pleased that fizz is enthusiastic about participating. he can't handle divas on the payroll -- val is bad enough.
anyway, fan mail. he's got stacks. also carefully curated to get rid of the creep shit. he holds his hands up in a rough approximation of the height of this elusive fan mail stack, which is like... a foot and a half, at least. lotta mail.]
Enough for its own cart. Some of it's a little old, but I figured I'd wait until after the finale for the rush to come in before handing it over.
[you know, because he assumed fizz would pull in the big numbers (of mail), and he sure did.]
[ it really is good that fizz isn't a diva. even imagining it is exhausting. no, it's great that he's just happy to be here. taken care of, repaired whenever he has an issue, given creative freedom, paid for his work, protected from anything that might hurt him... it's a great deal, honestly.
imagine if someone else had made a contract with him!
there's a moment where fizz is definitely too excited to focus though, physically wriggling in his seat over even the thought of having a stack of fan mail that high. like, it's not even in front of him, vox is just making a vague gesture. ]
No shit? Yeah, that makes sense.
[ he's got FAN MAIL. look at him go! ]
Okay, yeah, let's do this.
[ he starts moving through the submissions faster: he's still paying close attention, looking over everything, but he's not lingering over every single detail lovingly like he was originally. the stacks get sorted and he goes back to the 'yes' pile, sorting through it with a more discerning eye. ]
Had you seen anything that interested you? I trust your opinion.
[fan mail, the perfect motivator. vox even goes through to weed out the creeps himself, because satan knows some of his other employees have a biased definition of what constitutes "a creep," ahem. and fizz is his favorite, so naturally, he's putting in the extra effort.
truly, this little imp is the son he never had... or technically, wanted... but he's come around to business-y fatherhood, more or less.]
Oh, do you? You're a junior CEO in the making. Here...
[he sifts through the remaining submissions, looking for one in particular before he offers it to fizz; it is... what appears to be a kiddie version of the voxtek smart watches, and much more simplistic. mostly it's colorful and has a little fizzy cartoon on it, with some arrows and misspelled kid handwriting indicating that it should say fizz brand catchphrases. it's a burger king rugrats watch, more or less.
naturally, vox likes merch for kids that will inspire them to one day buy smart watches. the long term branding of it... 100/10.]
This one. What do you think? Could make a few types and put these in boxes that don't show which one it is, too.
[ which is true enough. and fuck, wow, a junior ceo. a job he would never in a million years want, but it'd sound cool.
he plucks the paper from vox's hand when he offers it though, taking in the look of it before a smile breaks out on his face and he nods. ]
Yeah, this looks great! I don't know how many people need more than one watch, though... Maybe different faceplates as accessories? People love customizable mix-and-match shit. If you think it's better as whole watches though, that's cool too.
[ he's excited about the prospect either way. vox is being really good to him with this. imagine if he were in a situation where he wasn't able to make his own decisions on anything! he'd be fucking miserable. ]
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no subject
or at least, that's how fizz feels about it. two game shows, a ton of commercials with another in the works already, his face on cereal boxes, a toy line, and his own floor in the tower he can do whatever he wants with. he has guards when he meets with fans, and it's like not a single person has even tried to be weird at him, which is one of the things he appreciates the most. people can get real weird about clowns in hell.
he's even employee of the month every month, how does that even work?
in any case, he's happy with the arrangement.
it's come time for new merch, and vox had set up a contest to pick the best design. he'd told fizz he wanted to sweep over them first to take out anything they'd never use, and the imp had accepted it for what it is, an easy cleanup so fizz doesn't have to pore over tons of designs that just aren't feasible to make.
he's in the middle of practicing a new routine when vox pops up on his personal intercom, asking him to come see him. he readily agrees, hopping off the stack of boxes he'd spring-launched himself up onto, and touches up his makeup before heading out. he doesn't have to wear it all the time, of course, and he doesn't when he sleeps, but he just doesn't feel put together without it, so on it goes.
he heads to the conference room that vox asked him to join him in, leaning into it through the doorway and grinning. ]
Hey! You wanted to see me? Is this about those merch contest entries?
[ he's even bouncing on his feet slightly as he steps inside; that's how fucking excited he is to see what the kids he performs for want to see in his image. or, well, he really hopes that's what this is about: he's had a really good run, but he still always worries that he's done something wrong.
and that is what it's about! what a relief. he settles in the seat he's gestured too and picks up his glass, then sets it back down so he can use both hands to cover his mouth. ]
It's so cute...
[ he may or may not be like this for every design, but it is what it is. ]
I mean, it seems pretty clever, in context of my arms. They'd make good hooks to hang on each other, so...
no subject
either way, fizz continues to demonstrate that he's the employee of the month. vox nods at the chain toy design.]
What would you rate it out of ten? And be honest—
[he gestures for a (lesser) employee to bring over the rest, which are quite literally stacked high on a cart that's supposed to be for snacks. look at these, fizz. this is the surprise: there are at least a few hundred. people really fucking love clowns in hell!]
Because we've got more. Your schedule's cleared for the rest of the day already.
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[ yeah, he sure does see that huge stack of papers. he flushes a little in pleasure over it, twisting in his seat to look at vox. ]
Really? All these? [ that many people really like him enough to design toys...? hang on, hang on, he's not gonna be a crybaby about this. he's FINE.
case in point: ]
I am more than ready to spend the entire day looking at these. Shit, I was born ready to gaze at some toys.
no subject
huh!
well, they've got a lot of toys to look at, so let him get the first stack of many.]
All of these. You want the one with the arms, put it in a "yes" pile. R&D can make you one even if it doesn't hit stores.
[anything for his favorite employee, mhm. now here's the next stack, before vox sits back down with his drink. this is fizz's foray into picking the final design, so he's here for, like, actual marketability input. just in case.]
no subject
he does get more animated again as he continues to leaf through them all: he ends up with three stacks: 'no' (things that he's pretty sure aren't as feasible to make even if he loves them) 'maybe' (things he loves but needs to reconsider once he's seen more) and, of course, the 'yes' pile.
he's bouncing slightly in his seat by the time he hits minute ten, sipping from his drink as he does. there's a moment in his search where he holds up a paper in vox's direction, arm extending to get it closer to him: the whole design is a doll, but the accessories for it are kind of strange, though not in a harmful way. anyway there's a huge spoon where the handle is just. shaped like fizz. thankfully not the spoon part. do not put him in your mouth. ]
A few different colors of the spoons would be a good prize for the cereal boxes.
[ so that goes in a fourth 'rad cereal prize' pile. ]
no subject
that said--]
You want to be a spoon.
[kid... vox holds his hands up.]
I'm not saying no. [a beat.] If we don't paint them, we can make the plastic change colors.
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[ a beat and he grins real wide. ]
Yeah, I like the color-changing idea.
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[this is joking. he's joking. he's almost simulating being a normal person, congratulations.
but he reaches over to pick up the spoon one and look at it more closely, anyway.]
We'll make a bunch of different colors, for collector's value. Maybe throw in some stickers— do you want to be stickers? We can throw in some glow-in-the-dark or whatever the fuck kids are into.
no subject
Fuck yes, I want to be stickers.
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hold on a second. he's. doing art. no, he's doing a sticker concept, but his art skills still leave a lot to be desired. the concept is clear enough, once he passes it to fizz: a perfectly normal little fizz sticker doing a funny clown pose (vox's rough understanding of a funny clown pose), but also! a bunch of stretchy-limb varieties, for the full slinky experience.
and stickers that will cover an entire page on their own, but they can workshop that. maybe mock up some sticker books.]
How's that?
no subject
more importantly, vox is drawing something. for fizz to see. he practically vibrates in his seat for the duration, kind of like an anxious queieve but excited instead.
he likes the funny clown pose, he likes all the stretchy limb varieties, and he nods, of course. ]
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, do you know those puffy stickers? Can some of them be that? So my hat can be puffy.
no subject
vox tosses him the pen.]
Write it down. We'll do a couple for a focus group.
[like, for all these things, not just puffy stickers. ahem.]
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[ he carefully jots some notes down, with probably too many details, but hey, he's enthusiastic.
with that settled, he starts to go through designs again until he gets to one doll in particular, which he hands vox directly as the 'mega yes' pile. ]
I want this one. Look at the interchangeable arms! Think of the accessories. Endless arm types... [ he is imagining them. spongebob 'imaaaaagination' dot gif. ]
no subject
vox takes the mega yes page, considering it. very... wiggly, these arms. he hums.]
Could do extra arm bonus packs. Slap "mix-n-match" on the packaging and they'll fly off shelves. You're going to be every little imp kid's favorite action figure by mid-year!
[what is this emotion he's feeling... jk it's pride, and he's an Okay Boss, so as he stands yet again to grab more submissions off the pile and keep this rolling, he claps a hand on fizz's shoulder.]
You're really moving up, kid. That's why you're the star.
[earnest praise.....]
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[ but then he gets clapped on the shoulder and outright praised and he flushes grey, eyes widening a little as he looks up at vox from his seat.
wow... he's the star... ]
I'm really happy about that.
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[but still, never mind that! he likes the idea, and he gives fizz an extra pat on the shoulder before he takes his seat again. fizz really is the voxtek star, and vox really is genuinely pleased with him. it's all coming up fizzarolli, who is now also a gacha game.]
Well, you've earned it. That's why you're the only one in here helping to pick your next line of toys.
[the privilege... waow....] And then there's the fan mail.
no subject
[ he has some more commentary, but frankly he is immediately distracted by getting another pat. his tail flicks back and forth a few times, pleased as punch, and he tips his head aside a little to grin right at vox. any happier and he'd be physically vibrating in his seat. ]
It... I'm really happy to get to help pick these. Having a choice in what happens.
[ and then vox says fan mail and that's it, that's what does it: vibrating right where he sits, grin almost splitting his face in two. ]
Yeah? How much is there?
no subject
anyway, fan mail. he's got stacks. also carefully curated to get rid of the creep shit. he holds his hands up in a rough approximation of the height of this elusive fan mail stack, which is like... a foot and a half, at least. lotta mail.]
Enough for its own cart. Some of it's a little old, but I figured I'd wait until after the finale for the rush to come in before handing it over.
[you know, because he assumed fizz would pull in the big numbers (of mail), and he sure did.]
So. Let's get this new merch picked.
no subject
imagine if someone else had made a contract with him!
there's a moment where fizz is definitely too excited to focus though, physically wriggling in his seat over even the thought of having a stack of fan mail that high. like, it's not even in front of him, vox is just making a vague gesture. ]
No shit? Yeah, that makes sense.
[ he's got FAN MAIL. look at him go! ]
Okay, yeah, let's do this.
[ he starts moving through the submissions faster: he's still paying close attention, looking over everything, but he's not lingering over every single detail lovingly like he was originally. the stacks get sorted and he goes back to the 'yes' pile, sorting through it with a more discerning eye. ]
Had you seen anything that interested you? I trust your opinion.
no subject
truly, this little imp is the son he never had... or technically, wanted... but he's come around to business-y fatherhood, more or less.]
Oh, do you? You're a junior CEO in the making. Here...
[he sifts through the remaining submissions, looking for one in particular before he offers it to fizz; it is... what appears to be a kiddie version of the voxtek smart watches, and much more simplistic. mostly it's colorful and has a little fizzy cartoon on it, with some arrows and misspelled kid handwriting indicating that it should say fizz brand catchphrases. it's a burger king rugrats watch, more or less.
naturally, vox likes merch for kids that will inspire them to one day buy smart watches. the long term branding of it... 100/10.]
This one. What do you think? Could make a few types and put these in boxes that don't show which one it is, too.
no subject
[ which is true enough. and fuck, wow, a junior ceo. a job he would never in a million years want, but it'd sound cool.
he plucks the paper from vox's hand when he offers it though, taking in the look of it before a smile breaks out on his face and he nods. ]
Yeah, this looks great! I don't know how many people need more than one watch, though... Maybe different faceplates as accessories? People love customizable mix-and-match shit. If you think it's better as whole watches though, that's cool too.
[ he's excited about the prospect either way. vox is being really good to him with this. imagine if he were in a situation where he wasn't able to make his own decisions on anything! he'd be fucking miserable. ]