Punk is not dead

[variaboss]

Who: Xanxus, Sabo and YOU
What: Sabo insulted punk, so now they're haivng a little music battle
When: 3 Feb
Where: Club VorTeQ
Warnings: Xanxus warnings apply, more as added.


It's time. The infamous little punk club is filled to the brim with curious fans. Ever since that little twit-fit, the club has been really playing up the upcoming battle between Sabo and Xanxus. There are posters and special drinks, themed for each musician.

The stage is set up for the two, with everything they need. The bar is active and the club is hopping. While this isn't a legitimate contest like the Song Contest, there's something more on the line here. The pride of punk music.

[ooc: open prompts below or make up your own]

Comments

[vivelarevolution]

Thanks. But I don't drink. [at least not right now.] Juice will be fine.

[he rubs his hands through his hair and rests his forehead on the bar, smiling wryly]

I thought I was going to die up there.

[psyvampexperiment]

[He'll signal to the barkeep, ordering some grape juice for the youngster.]

I can assure you that you survived the ordeal - I'm named for the angel of moonlight and astronomy, not the angel of death - and if you ask me, you did very well up there.

[vivelarevolution]

You think so...? [he raises his head to look at the guy, obviously pleased, then looks away and threads his fingers together on the bar]

Ah, but that's not really the point though. Being good or bad isn't the issue.

[he tilts his head back a little as if to look at a point just above the mirrored bar in front of them]

Why the angel of moonlight? What name is that?

[psyvampexperiment]

That is true: spirit is more important than anything else when it comes to performing, and yours certainly was a spirited performance.

That would be Sariel: I chose the name since I've been fascinated with angels for a long time, particularly since people kept comparing me to one.

[vivelarevolution]

[that wasn't it either, but he can't really explain what it was. It wasn't about movement or passion but... explanation? Something like that.]

They did? [a faint smile here] Are you just that kind-hearted or do you live in the clouds?

[psyvampexperiment]

Mmmmm, I like to think of myself as kind-hearted, albeit in a slightly dangerous to know manner: the Watcher Angels, of which Sariel was one of the best known, got tired of the whole matter of living in the clouds, which is something I related to almost since I heard their story.

[vivelarevolution]

[A slightly dangerous manner? What did that mean? Was he really kind-hearted or did that depend on who you asked?]

So what did they do? Come to earth?

[he rests his cheek on his fist and regards the guy, interested in the story, but also interested in what the guy is going to say while telling it]

[psyvampexperiment]

As a matter of fact they did, curious about the human world and ready to share their heavenly knowledge with the emerging human race, in order to raise them from merely surviving, to living a full life. They brought to humanity the gifts of writing and art and music and magic and star-gazing. In exchange, the humans taught them... the ways of earthly love, one might call it. [A little suggestive smirk there.]

[vivelarevolution]

[Sabo laughs a little] An interesting story. Usually humans just steal what they want, don't they? Like Prometheus.

[he leans back, rolling his glass against the table.]

I think I like that kind of story better. Otherwise it seems like the Angels are just taking advantage of mankind or that their "earthly love" is the only thing of value mankind has to offer.

But really all we have to offer comes from inside us. [he puts a hand over his chest] Everything we learn and see and experiment and discover. It's not worth it to have an instant teacher but... to continually refine. To grow into being taught... To learn to pull yourself out of yourself...

[he grins a little sheepishly]

But I guess there's a reason why I'm a musician not a philosopher.

[psyvampexperiment]

[A smirk of approval at this comparison] There are a lot of similarities with the legend of Prometheus: perhaps they were the same being, or the one version inspired the other.

[He'll tilt his head, taking this in and nodding slowly, taking it in.] Mmmm, that is an interesting angle, though there again, the Watchers came from a cold and rational place, and the humans offered them warmth and color and emotion in all its shades. It was... a cultural and emotional exchange, by all accounts.

It could well be an allegory, that these entities were, in fact, merely a symbol of the wisdom that lies within us all, waiting to be tapped into, if we simply listen to it has to tell us.

For someone who claims not to be a philosopher, you have some deep notions. [Replying to that sheepish grin with a reassuring smirk of his own.]

[vivelarevolution]

[there was something there. Moving from the cold to the warmth. The cold to the heat. What was it. Something something fire. He couldn't pin it down]

Haha well I just think a lot. The wisdom that lies in us all... [he offers a smile up at the ceiling] I like that a lot. But I wonder if it's an allegory too not to get too wrapped up in knowing everything that you forget what's really important.

[psyvampexperiment]

[A appreciative and acknowledging nod and a smile to go along.] And that is a good thing... at the risk of sounding like a crochety old man, at times, there don't seem to be a lot of people who think deeply about the Big Questions, or at least, they seem to shy from talking about them. Or, I might be getting too wrapped up in my own knowledge and thoughts. [A bit of a self-deprecating shrug and tilt of his head.]

[vivelarevolution]

You're not old at all. [he laughs a little] Anyway it's better than talking about what went on up there...

[but he doesn't want to get morose so he won't. Just will drain his juice.]

But I guess it was inevitable.

[psyvampexperiment]

[A gentle, even self-deprecating laugh.] We'll just say that I'm older than I like, but no, contrary to my stage persona, I am not a being thousands of years old.

If you need to unburden after a tiring performance, I've an open ear or two to listen. [Leaning closer companionably.]

[vivelarevolution]

What's there to talk about. This whole competition... [he shakes his head] It didn't really prove anything. Everyone is too set in their ways to change and in the end we are all just puppets.

[don't mind him. It seems he is getting a little morose in his juice after all]

[psyvampexperiment]

[He looks concerned, and will lean in closer, careful not to get too close, but close enough to let the youngster know that he's listening.]

You sound a bit wrung out after the performance, if you ask me, and that's all right to feel: I've been there myself, after an especially tiring show.

[vivelarevolution]

I was wrung out before I got there. With the lights and ...whatever was going on a few days ago. [he rests his cheek on his fist and looks at the guy. He's getting...pretty close there] Maybe we should just play music and not worry so much about truth?

[psyvampexperiment]

Sometimes it does help, to lose oneself in the moment and the music and shut out everything else around you, and that's something I strive to do, but... [A pause and a breath, and he lowers his voice as if to avoid being overheard, glancing around without turning his head.] I sometimes have trouble achieving that. But not always.

[vivelarevolution]

[he nods. He knows that and has done it from time to time himself. But never when it really matters, which seems opposite to him. He blinks in surprise at the admission, and then leans in a little himself, pitching his voice low.]

Why do you have trouble? Do you know?

[psyvampexperiment]

Sometimes it's simply feeling tired from the strain of performing and recording on such a tight schedule, other times it's from a lack of inspiration. [A breath and a shrug.] Sometimes, I simply don't feel up to it. I may play an angel, but I'm still a human being after all, and the human heart can be a more mysterious creature than an angel.

[vivelarevolution]

Hmnh. That sounds poetic. [he likes that though. It gives him a thought. A germ of an idea] You could make a song out of it.

Something about juxtaposition. Expectation. [he gets an almost dreamy look as he imagines it, tapping a beat on the table with his fingers] What do you think?

[psyvampexperiment]

[He might raise an eyebrow, intrigued by the notion and reaching into a pocket of his jeans, pulls out a small leather covered notebook.] It could be the germ for a song. Thanks for pointing that out: I was probably too close to the notion to see it that way. [He'll jot in the journal, yet chats while jotting.]

Juxtaposition... indeed: we think of angels as complicated beings since they are greater and more powerful, and yet they are, in fact, less complex: their emotions work differently from ours and their thinking process is less cluttered.