"Gli farò un'offerta che non potrà rifiutare."

[sharktrash]

Who: MANTICORE and Roy Mustang
What: the violence-worshipping band give the warm-up band's guitarist an offer he can't refuse.
When: 17ish?
Where: someplace a gig can take place. Vista City Mini Amphitheatre? idk
Warnings: language? probably?? SQUALO? idk will add as necessary

(( There are four main sections you can post your toplevels or tag in to:
- before Manticore's performance (watching Roy play, generic shenanigans, forcing him to stay onstage after his band's done),
- during (if you wanna play out making music and/or stage shenanigans!),
- after (the final verdict) and then, finally,
- dragging their catch back home and staging THE INITIATION CEREMONY. that's right MANTICORE is lowkey a frat house.
Have fun! Threadjacking encouraged and expected! Basically, go wild. ))

Comments

BEFORE

[sharktrash]

[sharktrash]

[ The warm-up group is pretty good, Squalo thinks as he watches the performance. Or rather… their lead slash guitarist, who is really a better guitarist than a singer. The plan had been that they would perform as usual, and Squalo and Genos would share Orion’s parts to fill in for him for the time being. They didn’t want to further disappoint their fans by cancelling the show. But… maybe that wouldn’t be necessary. ]

[ MANTICORE’s moving for the stage as the last chords of the other band’s song ring, and Squalo will make a point to block that particular guy’s way, moving accordingly if he tries to sidestep him. The grin on his face is almost menacing. And... is that a fucking knife glinting in his hand? ]

You’re staying right here, pal.

[snapcrackleburn]

[ One of the MANTICORE members blocking his path. That's new. Roy doesn't notice the knife- yet. It's distracting enough to have a well known celebrity get in your face. ]

Do you need something?

[ Then he sees the knife reflecting light from the stage. ]

Something cut perhaps?

[sharktrash]

Oh yeah.

[ The grin spreads, his eyes falling half-lidded. He looks very pleased with himself. Does he get off on threatening people? Anyone's guess. ]

That something's gonna be you if you don't do as I say. Now turn around and walk ri~ight back out there.

[snapcrackleburn]

Do you have to ask me with a knife in hand? It might seem like a really 'metal' thing to do but I'm thinking of calling over security instead of going back on stage. Especially if you plan is the carve me up in front of an audience.

[ Roy stays right where he is. He notes who else he can see nearby out of the corner of his eye in case this is going to escalate. ]

Said audience will no doubt contact the police by the way.

DURING

[sharktrash]

[sharktrash]

[ It’s strange, performing with a new guy. But he should know their best songs, considering he was in a warm-up band for them. And if not, well, there was always improvisation. A dude who couldn’t improvise onstage had no place with MANTICORE, and so on. ]

[ ...he’s actually doing pretty well so far. ]

[ Squalo is going to send Looks to the rest of his bandmates -- what do you think? -- and grin at Roy as he plays a particularly intense part that used to lead to Orion’s solo. Come on then. Show them what you’ve got. ]

[wounds]

[Genos plays like he always does, though this time the emotion of the song comes through far more strongly than it normally would. It easily riles up the crowd, getting them hyped on the music.

He'll study Roy as he starts in on Orion's part. But so far- he inclines his head in a tiny nod. They could work with this.]

[snapcrackleburn]

[ Roy is fully aware of how big the shoes are he's filling at the moment. Orion had been a talented artist to say the least. Roy wouldn't claim to be as great on the guitar as Orion had been but in this moment he can at least try his best to be.

They reach the guitar solo and he plays with the utmost focus. He blocks out thought of the awkward situation he's been placed in and thinks instead of the music and the audience he wants to entertain.

As the solo reaches its climax, Roy bumps the switch built into the guitar neck and the familiar quick sound of gas and a click reach his ears. A half second later the guitar spouts flames out its neck with a whoosh over all their heads. The audience cheers louder. Roy smiles to himself. ]

[sharktrash]

[ The secret when filling in for talented people is not to try to match them or copy them. The only way to truly fill those shoes is to be yourself, with your own strengths. ]

[ So cudos to him, he seems to be getting that. Squalo's actually going to whistle at the show of pyrotechnics, though the sound is lost in the roaring volume of instruments and amplifiers. It's a surprise they haven't gone deaf yet, to be honest. Maybe they perform with ear plugs, who knows. ]

[ The audience seems to like him, too. The cheers and applause are reasonably loud, and Squalo continues smirking like a shark lurking in shallow waters. This is good. Their band just might be saved. ]

AFTER

[sharktrash]

[sharktrash]

[ And as soon as the gig’s done, he’ll be marching right toward the others. (Possibly motioning for Jecht or someone else to grab the new guy by the back of his shirt if he tries to slip away.) ]

What do you think? We gonna keep him?

[ ...because you don’t get a say in it, Roy. ]

[wounds]

We're keeping him. We need a lead guitar.

[He did well on stage, even if he did get stolen away from his original band.]

[sharktrash]

Lots of fish in the sea. But yeah, I think he's got it.

[ If he can work with them on this kind of short notice, imagine how well he'll perform once he's actually had time to rehearse, right? ]

[wounds]

He's good even on short notice. I can work with that.

He'll sound much better after real rehearsals.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Jecht is a pretty simple guy. He flashes a thumbs-up in the gang's direction, then reaches out to grab Roy with a grin.]

You can't leave yet. Party's just getting started.

[snapcrackleburn]

[ What felt like a death threat followed by a sudden performance with a hit band and now this? Roy was hoping to escape and down a bottle of water and probably a few shots with his band as soon as possible. He gives Jecht a forced crooked smile. ]

Are you inviting me to your after party?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

You could say that. Maybe more than one. The guys were pretty impressed by your performance.

[snapcrackleburn]

Thank you. That's very nice to hear from one of Pride's rising stars. I'm not at Orion's level yet but I intend to get there.

[ In different circumstances he would be grinning ear to ear but after his rough introduction to the band with Squalo's knife involved, he's being conservative for the moment. ]

MOVING IN

[sharktrash]

[sharktrash]

[ Well, there’s obviously going to be a small welcoming party in the penthouse. You know what else, though? A fucking initiation ceremony. Squalo had hoped to make an obstacle course with real fire, unfortunately, Kid shut it down pretty fast. So instead there was going to be a series of small, humiliating tasks. ]

[ He may or may not be dressed in a Gandalf-like robe and pointy hat for this. Fucking nerd. ]

[snapcrackleburn]

[ Roy pauses in front of the penthouse door to gather himself. It's a good opportunity for my career. He says to himself again. He has an deep sense of foreboding though, like there's some sort of evil presence behind that door. Well it wasn't like Lesedi would let him back out now. How had he ended up signing that contract without a moment of hesitation when the Pride staff tossed it at him?

He has just a few belongings with him. A small suitcase, a guitar case on his back, a bouquet of white lilacs surrounding a branch of peach blossoms, and a bottle of vodka in hand. Best get this over with. He knocks on the door. ]

[wounds]

[Luckily for him, Genos is the one who actually opens up the door. He takes a look at the bouquet and gives Roy a strange look. They're a metal band not a girlfriend he needs to woo. Besides, they decided on him already, no need for even nicer impressions.]

You know you're not dating us, right?[Still, he seems amused.]

[snapcrackleburn]

[ A friendlier face- Roy smiles and gives Genos a nod as he shuffles in through the door. ]

Unwrap the vase. You might like them more when you see it. These are lilacs by the way. White lilacs represent majesty or an innocent soul. Peach blossoms mean "I am your captive" in the nicest way they can.

[ He may be brand new but there's no way Roy is going to let these people escape his flowery-sass. The vase is a shiny black metal and shaped like some sort of animal skull. ]

not here

[sharktrash]

[ who are you calling an evil presence ]