Lady Adagio & Her Dazzling Divas
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, it wasn't too hot or cold. A perfect day, even. At least, until the sky cracked open, sending three shapes plummeting to the grass with a loud thump. "Uuuuuuuugh...I think I broke something..." a blue-haired girl groaned, face down in the dirt.
"Damn, princess...you could have at least given us a soft landing." The orange-haired girl, named Adagio Dazzle, grumbled. She sighed as she got up, then checked out her surroundings. Adagio, along with the two girls recovering from the fall, are sirens, being able to control people with her singing alone. The red pendant they wore was the key to this, and Adagio noticed the glow from it. This place, as vintage as it seemed, with its diners, drive-in theaters, and poodle skirts, had magic, and that was all the trio needed to thrive and spread disharmony.
"Where are we?" Her second-in-charge, a purple haired girl named Aria Blaze, asked, glancing around at the idyllic scenery. "There's a sign over there...Stepford? Where is that? I've never heard of it before."
“That doesn’t matter,” Adagio cooed. “Somehow, there’s magic here. And that’s all that matters. Our voices will carry us to the top of the social food chain~” She then saw a young man in a suit, heading toward a tall building. Maybe she could lure in her first victim…
With her typical confidence, she strutted up to the young man, slipping a bit of her magic into her voice. "Hello there, handsome. How are you doing today?"
”I’m feeling quite swell, today, Miss,” he smiled.
"My friends and I just arrived here, and we're a little short on funds. You wouldn't know anywhere a few tired girls could get some rest and a bite to eat, would you?"
“There’s a motel a few blocks from here if you would like me to show you where it is.” He responded, then quickly noticed Aria and the blue girl, Sonata Dusk, vocalizing in harmony, attempting to mentally subdue him. “My, don’t you two have the voices of angels~“ he cooed, completely ignoring Adagio now. “I actually work at a record label company and I can easily get you gals a deal of a lifetime! Chances are, you might be able to get on the Fred Sanderson Show a couple weeks from now~”
Adagio's smile almost dropped off her face, though she recovered quickly. A way to use their music to make money and enthrall more people? It sounded perfect. "We'd love for you to give us a chance~" she hummed, adding her voice to the other two's harmony.
“Ah, even better! If you ladies follow me, I’ll lead you three there.” He then began to guide the girls to the building, the office of Sunshine Records, before pausing at the door. “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Matt Grayson. It’s a pleasure to meet you gals~” he smiled, putting out his hand.
"Adagio Dazzle, charmed~" she placed her hand in his, smiling coquettishly. This was even easier than she expected. "And these are my friends, Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze."
“Ah, foreigners. Stepford loves ‘em.” he smiled as he then opened the door for them. ”Come on in~” Adagio hid a smirk as she followed after him, glancing around at the spacious entrance, painted in muted, calm colors, a single woman with a smile sitting behind a desk. Soon she'd have this sucker wrapped around her finger!
"Follow me," he smiled as he led the trio to an office, where a man a bit older than Matt was sitting.
"Ah, good to see you, Matthew," the man smirked. "With that smile on your face, I can assume you brought in quite an aspiring artist."
"Not one, Mr. Maxwell, but three!" Matt smiled gleefully as he stepped to the side, showing off the dazzling trio. "Meet Adagio Dazzle and what I can assume to be a couple of friends of hers. They might look a bit sultry, but their voices, they're like mythological sirens!"
"Big talk," Mr. Maxwell scoffed. "I'll believe it when I hear it."
Adagio hid a scowl. Who did this old man think he was?! She was better than anyone he would ever meet! She took a deep breath, calming down. "I think you'll be surprised," she said, pushing her magic a bit. "We're worth 10 other singers each~"
“And the only way to prove it is to sing for me, doll~” he cooed, laying his hand on her jaw.
Adagio felt a surge of fury rising. How dare this lowly- She blinked. There's no reason to get upset at him. That's just how things are around here, she thought. "Well then, we should be getting to the recording booth as soon as possible, right?" she found a smile slipping onto her face.
“Of course~” he smiled back, leading the trio to an empty booth. Adagio and the other two Sirens followed along, sharing a private smirk. Once they had a chance to sing for real, they'd have this whole building - this whole town wrapped around their little fingers.
The trio stepped into the booth while Matt handled the controls and Mr. Maxwell observed them intently. “Start whenever you’re ready,” Matt smiled.
Matt pressed a couple of switches, and a smooth, jazzy tune began to play, a good background track for vocals. Adagio smirked, let her magic fill her voice, and started to sing.
Mr. Maxwell simply nodded as Matt was completely enamored by the Dazzling’s singing. The other two Dazzlings joined in, harmonizing with Adagio and adding their own bit of magic to the melody. Matt was lovestruck by the sultry voices of the trio, while Mr. Maxwell was slowly starting to give in to them.
”This sounds like angels printing millions of dollars…~” he muttered. His mind made up, Mr. Maxwell flipped a switch, stopping the music. "Ladies, you're hired."
The girls cheered as Matt smiled at Adagio. “You did amazing, Dagi~” he blushed.
Adagio smiled, pleased by the praise and by their success. She ran a hand through her hair. "Of course it was amazing. I was singing it, after all~"
"That wasn't singing, that was an entire symphony!" Mr. Maxwell smirked, opening the recording booth door and shaking the girls' hands. "The name's Alexander Maxwell, and I'll be you songbirds' manager." He then turned to Matt. "Matthew, you found gold! Consider yourself promoted and the girls' assistant manager."
Matt smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Maxwell. You won't regret it."
Adagio accepted the handshake, her confidence burgeoning. "It'll be a pleasure having you help us sing~" she said. "But we haven't discussed the terms of the deal, no?"
"I'll get the contract written soon. Until then, how's an exclusive contract with free food and housing sound? Though the catch is, all songs have to be approved by us. We got a talented crew if you ever need assistance with writing anything."
Adagio hid a frown. Not being able to pick songs meant it'd be harder to take control as easily as she was used to. But on the other hand, free food and housing and some security was a good place to start. She smiled again. "It sounds perfect, Mr. Maxwell! You've got yourself a deal~"
"Matthew, you heard the lass! Get to it!"
"On it, sir!" Matt grinned as he went to write up a contract with everything Mr. Maxwell described. And just like that, Lady Adagio and the Dazzling Divas were born. It started pretty simple with generic love songs, but the gals soon came to a stopping point with the new tunes given: songs about the joys of being a housewife and how that's the only place for women? It made them groan in frustration.
But the housing was exquisite, and the meals prepared for them were fantastic, so none of them complained aside from when they were in private. Even that couldn't last though. The newest song was the worst yet, being sung by a girl who was happily talking about how thinking and jobs were for boys. Adagio was all for being lazy, but she'd make her own decisions, thank you!
They soon approached Matt about the dilemma. "Oh, hey girls. Why the long faces?"
Adagio scowled. "Matt, these songs...why are they so...so...insipid? We've spent the last three weeks doo-wopping into a microphone about never leaving home or looking good for a husband. Us women have power, too, you know?"
He stared at them for a few seconds before laughing. "Goodness, that was a good joke, Adagio!" he laughed before staring at them again. "....you weren't joking, weren’t you?"
Adagio met his stare. "...what kind of girl do you think I am!? That we are?! No, I wasn't joking, and now that you seem to agree with it I'm a little pissed off!" Adagio's sharp tongue, usually held back lately, came out in full force.
"Hey, it's not polite for a lady to use profanity." He brought up his hands in defense. "Maybe it'll grow on you. How about a session in the booth? That might cheer you up.”
She scowled at him. But she held her tongue. They definitely didn't have enough saved up to set out on their own again, so she'd have to be polite. "...fine. Maybe you'll understand what a girl like me’s worth faster that way."
"Perhaps." The quartet went to the recording booth with Matt setting everything up. "Alright, you girls ready?" Matt asked from a microphone.
Adagio sighed, putting on the earphones, Sonata and Aria following suit. "Yeah, ready." She replied, trying to put her mood aside for the session. Singing angry was never something she enjoyed.
Matthew nodded as he pressed play on the new track the trio abhorred, "Leave It to the Boys". The sultry, yet upbeat tune played as the girls began to sing.
Adagio lowered her voice to the alto croon the music called for, cooing into the microphone, lacing in just that extra bit of magic that made their songs so powerful.
It was clear to Matt that their intent was to subdue him and make him understand their plight, but he simply counted by pushing one of the control tables, making their tone sound more lovey-dovey and upbeat. In fact, the new tone was slowly getting to the girls' minds as well, slowly erasing their desire for discourse and despair and replacing it with a love for singing and obtaining the Mr. Right in their lives.
Adagio almost stuttered as their own voices filtered back to them through the headset. She didn't sound that happy singing about this, did she? But as she kept singing and her own voice echoed into her ears, her mind felt hazy. Her eyelids drooped a bit, and she started to pout a bit as she sang. What was wrong with letting someone else make choices for her? She hadn't made a lot of good ones... She felt a smile across her lips at the thought. Yeah, a handsome, strong man to take care of her. Being a pretty songbird for him would be nice, wouldn't it...?
As Adagio continued to sing, albeit a bit more perky, her hair came out of its ponytail, letting her natural curls flow down her back. Her clothes were also changing into a purple dress with a Peter Pan collar, white opera gloves and black high heels. The necklace that housed their Siren power fit perfectly between the collar as it glowed, spreading the Stepford desires to her fellow sirens, who were experiencing the same changes as her.
Sonata was never the brightest of the three of them, and it just made it easier for their own words to sink in. What few independent thoughts she did have vanished like fog in the sun, and an airy smile slipped onto her face. A big, handsome man would be just the thing for her! She could sing and cook and clean, and never have to think about anything hard again~! She barely held back a giggle as her magic harmonized with 'Dagi's, the gem glowing at her neck in response.
Her ponytail loosened as well before her long locks receded into her scalp, shortening into a flipped-ends bob cut with bangs. She now wore her own pink dress, a bit more form-fitting than Adagio's. With it were a striped pink vest with a bow right above the gem in her own necklace and white heels.
Aria wasn't far behind either. Her sharp attitude made her more prickly than the other two, but even that didn't help her resist. What good was it to be sharp-tongued? Men didn't like that! Why not just smile and be sweet? It would be so much easier for her. A cute pout and a sweet voice would get her all the love she needed from her man, and the thought swept over her like a wave.
Her twintails loosened as her hair was now long and straight, with face-framing bangs. She now looked the most formal of the trio with a lavender cuffed-sleeve dress with a Peter Pan collar like Adagio's. All three of their necklaces glowed in tandem, reverberating Stepford's values from siren to siren. This was who they were and wanted to be. All they needed was a handsome man to take care of everything for them~
Adagio leaned in for the final notes, newly-thick eyelashes fluttering as deep red lips cooed the final words, ending with a long, sultry note as the last of her willpower vanished into the air.
She smiled at Matt with a flirty gleam in her eyes. "How was that, handsome~?" She purred.
"Outstanding, doll~" He smirked. "Sounds like Stepford really got to you~"
She smiled at him, eyelids heavy with makeup over eyes that looked a little bit glazed. "Of course, Mr. Grayson. A girl like me belongs in Stepford, and nowhere else~"
"Please darling, call me Matt~" he cooed, as he opened the booth door and kissed the Dazzling Diva.
Adagio's eyes fluttered closed as she returned the kiss, lifting a foot up behind her as every dim spark in her hazy mind told her this is what she loved most in the world. "Whatever you want, Matt darling~"
Aria and Sonata giggled as they watched, a little bit jealous that 'Dagi had such a handsome man already. But good Stepford girls always loved to see such romantic couples!
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"You're rolling Mr. Sanderson!" The cameraman yelled as the studio audience cheered as a man simply smiled in front of a curtain whole holding a microphone.
"Well, I told you first thing today that we're going to debut a new group of lovely ladies in Stepford's sensational music industry, and I wouldn't end the show with broken promises." he chuckled.
"So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, three of the swellest sirens this side of Stepford, Lady Adagio and her Dazzling Divas!" The curtains opened as the trio simply smiled with a mix of bubbly ditziness and sultry love. The backing band behind them began to play “Leave It to the Boys” as the crowd roared with applause. The girls looked at each other and nodded as Adagio grabbed the microphone, brought it near her, and sang.