interdimanagers: (Default)
Interdimensional Managers ([personal profile] interdimanagers) wrote in [community profile] interstellar55552015-10-21 07:23 pm

☆TRACK III: THE STREETS ARE EMPTY

Who: Drafted Virgo Members
What: Juno makes everyone do a seance.
When: October 21st-22nd.
Where: The basement of the Virgo residential tower.
Warnings: Ghosts, apparently.

“You can't shake the feeling.
Be quiet not one sound.
But the wind seems to speak,
Something's here in the room with me.”

☆THE STREETS ARE EMPTY
Juno arrives without notice. In fact, you can’t even really remember seeing her approach. One moment you’re doing your business, and the next she is telling you that you have to come down to the basement with her, in order to complete a “task” you’ve been assigned. This sort of thing would seem preposterous to a normal person, but even if you don’t realize it, you aren’t one. As Mr Blanche’s personal assistant and sometimes second in command, her word seems to carry almost as much weight as his does.

You don’t really have any choice but to agree.

“Bring whatever instrument you know best,” she says. “You’ll need it.”

She snaps up every one of you that she sees in her initial sweep, and soon she has a whole pack of Virgo newbies following her down to the lowest floors of the residential tower. It feels weird, but it’s like you can’t quite articulate why. No one else seems to be able to either.

Most of the lights are turned off on those lower floors, but it’s easy to tell it’s a place you’ve never been before. It’s strangely...hospital like, down there, in both aesthetic and a sense of sterility. Maybe some kind of laboratory setting? Which seems like a super weird thing to be in the basement of an apartment building, but this is yet another thing you can’t quite bring yourself to ask about. Juno leave most of the lights off, except for a few central features. The ambience is dim and cold.



She tells you not to stray, and you don’t. The thought of going against her becomes somehow repulsive, like you don’t even want to think about it too long. You try not to think about your surrounding too hard, either.

She lines you all up, and then after some strangely intense eyeballing, she starts breaking you up into some incredibly lopsided groups that seem to have nothing to do with your actual bands. In the end, she looks disappointed with resulting teams, but carries on regardless. Each “group” is given some complexly timed sheet music and a funny looking mobile speaker.

She says that you have a half hour to compose a group piece to play alongside the sheet music , and that it needs to be good. Then, she wanders off to start pacing the basement in a strangely arcane series of movements, and leaves you all to it. Only among your peers do you start feeling like you can voice any of your previously stowed concerns, but make sure Juno doesn’t overhear you – occasionally she’ll come by to bluntly critique anyone who is performing inadequately.

You feel lucky that she doesn’t have a whip with her, because you’re almost certain that she’d use it without much remorse.

☆THE SEANCE
The performance is about as awkward as you’d expect, given the set up. The four groups are set up so that they’re facing each other, as if standing at the corner of a square. Each speaker is set up in the center of its group, and the precisely timed electronic beat that plays from them is what you’re supposed to perform along to.

Odds are that you do your level best, but, outside of your control...something goes wrong.

“Have you ever felt...
Something evil,
Lurking around?
The moon is full,
The streets are empty.
Shadows cover the town.”
faithfulflame: (Rei Skeptical)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2015-10-28 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
"Tap? Um. Okay?"

Now back to herself as well, Rei dutifully obeys her 'mother' and reaches up to a screen, tapping it with one finger.
giglio_madonna: (sassybird) (Please don't expect me to always)

[personal profile] giglio_madonna 2015-10-28 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Immediately, the screen starts to boot up. Hopefully Rei won't jerk back, because it starts to scan both her eye and her head in general. When it's all done...

Yeah.

Luce stays nearby, worrying at one of her nails and waiting to see the younger woman's reaction.
giglio_madonna: (snappleicons) (My aesthetic is)

[personal profile] giglio_madonna 2015-10-28 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yes." Luce's smile turns distinctly apologetic. It seemed like it had been something very personal, after all.

"That's how I knew it was yours... I accidentally touched it, and I just heard the voice. I'd been trying to avoid them, but..." She shakes her head.

"Anyway, well, the media says he's thirteen, right?"
panspermia: (★ How this works)

[personal profile] panspermia 2015-10-28 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
In a way, her having heard it feels more like a relief than an invasion. She'd heard it too, so he isn't just crazy, right?

"Right, sure. So he can't be my kid, I'm--" His brow creased, for just a second. "I'd have to be his age whenever it happened." Math cancels out the possibility, and not the fact that surely he'd remember being a dad. Now that Luce has pointed out the similarity in the voices, though, he can't stop playing them over in his head.

"I thought... it was some sort of premonition, or whatever. Some future kid... th-that sounds pretty stupid, I know, but... after tonight..."
faithfulflame: (Rei Something isn't right)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2015-10-28 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
Rei doesn't jerk back, she just stands there confused, blinking at the machine.

"What is this? When...was this taken?"
sponsorigami: manga icon of Ivan dressed like Kotetsu (and maybe Sanji) (漫画 Of imitation and flattery)

[personal profile] sponsorigami 2015-10-28 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Perhaps he could be more creative in a different setting. Ivan feels like this gloomy room is sucking the life out of him. He may have a ninja like image, but this dimly lit place doesn't inspire that kind feeling in him. (He better work on that before they actually have to start composing the piece Juno wants them to do.)

Ivan finds himself nodding his head to the beat, but he doesn't come up with any lyrics.
sponsorigami: manga icon of Ivan dressed like Kotetsu (and maybe Sanji) (漫画 Of imitation and flattery)

[personal profile] sponsorigami 2015-10-28 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
"Are you asking me?" Ivan walks over despite not knowing if Meril is talking to him. "Even if I answer you, you're just going to be disappointed anyways."

He thinks that she's asking why Ivan did what he did earlier. She looks distraught, and he should do something to help. However, he thinks he'll ultimately be unable to do anything to improve her mood.
nibelungvalesti: (grr)

[personal profile] nibelungvalesti 2015-10-28 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Suppression is merely one tool of power. Shaping is another. I can speak to this."

She glanced down at her own outfit -- shorts that weren't really appropriate for the weather, and a shirt that didn't quite make it to the waistband thereof. She had no more modest casual clothing, because she had given up on trying to keep it when things of this nature were constantly pressed on her. That was power, and its use.
sponsorigami: Enpitsu's Rising Ivan (踊る Senbonzakura yoru ni magire)

[personal profile] sponsorigami 2015-10-28 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
"I guess so." He then gently lifts up the shamisen. "However, my music career is on hold now."

Ivan... doesn't sound that upset. He's resigned to his fate, unwilling to fight to change it and going through the motions. "I'll have to help the band some other way, but it won't be as good."
nibelungvalesti: (what?!)

[personal profile] nibelungvalesti 2015-10-28 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
Meril tended to express herself through her blinks. This one was longer, slower, and somehow duller than most.

"That would not surprise me," she said, her normally-rich voice as flat and dull as cardboard.
nibelungvalesti: (what?!)

[personal profile] nibelungvalesti 2015-10-28 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
Heedless of Rei's call, she lifted a hand as if she could touch the memory she saw, though the pale fingers simply swept through the darkness like limp moonbeams, meeting nothing.

"Rei," she said, and nothing more -- all of her confusion and duty just a notch to the left of where it ought to be woven through that name. Meril turned to look at the girl, a bit of a feverish flush in her cheeks and burning bright in her eyes.
i_am_not_cute: ((dragon kid) silly me)

[personal profile] i_am_not_cute 2015-10-28 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Mm...a little, yeah. What do you think about this for measures 30-35?" Pao-Lin plays a short melody on her glock. "Too complicated, or...?"
nibelungvalesti: (sadness)

[personal profile] nibelungvalesti 2015-10-28 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
She hunched over the wisp as she brought it up to her chest, as if to protect it, but in truth Ivan's approach had nothing to do with it. She barely knew he was there, and her words came out for anyone to hear. "Why would anyone mean so much to another person...?"
faithfulflame: (Rei Noticing)

[personal profile] faithfulflame 2015-10-28 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
"Meril?" Rei stared back in complete confusion. What on earth was going on? She was simply baffled, confused. "What happened?

Stepping forward, she reached a hand out, letting it rest on Meril's shoulder and squeezing.

"Hey, what's up? Seriously?"
i_am_not_cute: ((manga) linefaced lolita)

[personal profile] i_am_not_cute 2015-10-28 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Fortunately for Ankh, Pao-Lin pauses her playing to speak to him.

"What's wrong?" she asks. Not out of concern, of course. She's just wondering what's got this guy's attention.
i_am_not_cute: ((manga) i'm not for you)

[personal profile] i_am_not_cute 2015-10-28 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Gaige's joke gets a small laugh out of Pao-Lin.]

What is this even for?

[All Juno said was that it needed to be "good," which was exactly zero help.]
i_am_not_cute: (let me be your augustine)

[personal profile] i_am_not_cute 2015-10-28 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, Luce!" Pao-Lin smiles brightly at her. "I'm fine. Why?"
sponsorigami: Edward and Ivan talking (砂 And then she said "Call me maybe")

[personal profile] sponsorigami 2015-10-28 05:11 am (UTC)(link)
Yep. Any answer Ivan can think of to that question will only lead to disappointment. Why are some people mean? It's a question that many have tried to answer, and there's no easy answer for it if there is one at all.

"I'm not going to take that if that's what you're worried about." He had been fascinated with the blue lights but not enough to take one from someone else or to hold it when another wants it. Seeing her clutch it makes him stop walking toward her. No threat here.
goateeocracy: (actual eyebrow motion)

[personal profile] goateeocracy 2015-10-28 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
Why?

[He doesn't look all that enthused about being interrupted. After the initial irritation passes, however, it occurs to him that maybe, just maybe she's actually found something worthwhile. He doesn't have a whole lot of faith in most of these losers, but Luce seems like the type that might have actually applied herself and gotten something done in the time they've been locked in this goddamn basement.]
goateeocracy: (grr)

[personal profile] goateeocracy 2015-10-28 06:11 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, what if I wanna make it my problem? Why are you throwing your guitar around and acting like a moron, huh? I asked you, so answer."

Why is he owed an answer? Because he wants one. He can't see any reason why he should be refused anything he wants and if someone's going to keep him from getting it, then that someone is getting their ass kicked. That's just how the world works, as far as he's concerned.
goateeocracy: (grr)

[personal profile] goateeocracy 2015-10-28 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
"I didn't fail! I played my part just like it was written! It's the rest of you who couldn't pick up the slack and ended up fucking it all up, so don't give me that crap."

He knows it couldn't have been his fault, but that's not stopping him from continuing his practice. Yeah, he did what he was supposed to do, but he could still do it better, so that's what he's working towards now. Unlike everyone else in the goddamn room.
goateeocracy: (grr)

[personal profile] goateeocracy 2015-10-28 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
"I didn't say 'act like a moron!'" And yet the invitation was taken, apparently. "What are you, ten?"

What's worse is that no cameras seem to be immediately visible. There's no change in lighting, no little red lights flashing on. There may have been a sound of something moving or focusing, but how was he supposed to hear it with Doctor carrying on like that? Why does he have to be surrounded by idiots?
giglio_madonna: (sassybird) (Please don't expect me to always)

[personal profile] giglio_madonna 2015-10-28 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
Well, she can't argue with cold hard math. That's, what, half Greg's age? Still, Luce doesn't seem so sure as her mouth screws up into a frown. Her skill as a musician is something she prides herself on and thus she's proud of her ears, too. She's sure that had been Tiger Universe...

With the weirdness of tonight, she can only shake her head at his idea of how stupid the idea sounds. "No, I don't think we can discount that at all. A premonition..." She thinks of the image of all those people she had gotten, something new with the song that had been returned to her. There had been that feeling of knowing and not knowing them all... That would make sense if it were a premonition, wouldn't it?

"Maybe you adopt Tiger in the future?"
giglio_madonna: (sassybird) (Please don't expect me to always)

[personal profile] giglio_madonna 2015-10-28 06:36 am (UTC)(link)
It's hard to tell if Rei's confusion is reassuring or dreadful. Luce just reaches up to do the same thing to another screen. There's her, looking just as dazed and lost.

"I have no idea, but it's the same thing for me. I can't remember this picture at all."
trustme: The Doctor smiling (smiling gladly)

[personal profile] trustme 2015-10-28 06:38 am (UTC)(link)
Doctor's playing abruptly halts with a loud gasp from him. "Ooh! Ivan! If we can write a hit rap song that includes instruments like your shamisen then they're bound to become more popular! Imagine all the fans lining up to take lessons and dive into the essence of music-playing! I like it!"

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