003 ✽ I'll be with you again

[giglio_madonna]

Who: Various Virgos and Priders
What: What's that? Mall trip? MALL TRIP. A mingle log for party clothes and holiday gifts of all sorts.
When: Before the inter-label party
Where: The Wave Boulevard Mega Mall
Warnings:

Luce hits her fellow Virgo musicians like a hurricane. A loving, maternal hurricane.

For the lucky ones whose numbers she has, it's simply a ring up that morning inquiring if they'd like to go to the WBMM that day for some holiday shopping, or to pick out any clothes for the inter-label party if nothing in their closet is satisfying them. "Or if you just want some fresh air while we still have it," she jokes, even if the more empathetic can taste a hint of sharpness in that line. My, whatever could she be referring to?

For the unlucky ones... She makes a personal visit, practically sweeping some people off their feet. It's a rush of friendly chatter that's almost overwhelming, and some people might find themselves agreeing without realizing what they've done until Luce simply beams as she says she'll pick them up in an hour. "Oh, and you might want to wear a hoodie or something like that. Don't want the paparazzi bothering you too much!"

Congratulations, all of you: You've just agreed to the great mall trip whether you meant to or not.

The Wave Boulevard Mega Mall, or the Double M as it's known to locals, is the largest mall both in Vista City and this side of Americana. Considering things, that's an impressive feat. It's an enormous multi-level building filled to the brim with practically anything your little capitalist heart could desire. Various department stores, a movie theater dominating an entire two floors, an arcade somewhere, proper restaurants and food courts both.... It's called a "mega mall" for a damn good reason.

Once everyone gets there, they're let loose to their own devices.

As for Pride Records? Well. Maybe some of you are just at the mall for your own reasons. Maybe you got a call from Luce or another Virgo friend talking about the place. You don't need much of a reason to be there. Double M is that kind of place.

Comments

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan feels like he's slow to make friends mostly because he's not used to making them. It's confusing, hard, and he doesn't know when someone actually "becomes" a friend. He's learning, however, as he interacts with more people beyond his band with people like Trucy and Sora. The attempt to make friends beyond the band is very alien to Ivan. He doesn't remember a time when he had a lot of friends or making them. And... there's not much he could possibly remember either.

The song then starts to increase in tempo. Steps are coming closer together, and some come paired with two at once or needing to hold down a step. It's not too bad if anyone has played the game for any length of time, but the game forebodes at difficult times ahead. ]

[consocius]

[When it comes to Sora and friendship though, there's nothing slow about it. He was already considering Ivan a friend after their first meeting. Whether or not that feeling is mutual is, of course, always another story. But he can tell Ivan's a good person. He was kind and offered help, and he's interesting and fun. Definitely good friend material, in Sora's eyes.

Difficult? Or challenging? In other words, the additional difficulty means Sora's just having more fun, getting into it. The beat picks up, and he moves right along with it. It's still simple enough that he can keep an eye on how Ivan's doing too, though once it picks up more he'll need to adjust focus.]

[sponsorigami]

[ And pick up the song does. As if the song is giving a war cry, the instruments blare, and the background animation changes. It's much faster now, and Ivan's starting to pant from the pace. A few times, his steps aren't on time. He hasn't missed any steps yet (there's still a full combo going), but they aren't solely "Perfect" or "Very Good" anymore.

He wants to check on Sora's current combo, but his attempt has some "Good" and "Okay" steps appearing. Gritting his teeth, he gives the step patterns his full attention. What's the rhythm? What can he use to predict and sync with a beat?

How much longer does this medley go on? ]

[consocius]

[The blaring of instruments and sudden background change is a good hint, and Sora does adjust his focus. The movement's a lot faster, and he's glad he did a bit of warm-up beforehand with the stretching. The easier steps definitely helped with that too, though they also do have a tendency to lure one into a false sense of security. One that is quickly broken when the step patterns turn into this.

"This" being a lot faster than the majority of Flashstep's routines, yet he still has experience with it. In most of their dance routines the speed alters depending on part of the song, whereas this is mostly continuous movement with fewer breaks or altering speed. Point is, he's still hitting the steps with good timing but it's definitely taking a lot more effort to keep that combo up.]

[sponsorigami]

[ Finally, the song ends. Ivan lost count of how many different songs were smashed together. He leans back on the railing connected to the dance pad and tries to catch his breath. That was some medley, and while Ivan didn't completely miss any steps. But he didn't get all perfect timing.

The scores are tallied with all the fanfare, and Ivan will be lower than Sora's score unless something throws Sora off his game and ruins his score. It's hard to beat an actual dancer, after all. ]