☆TRACK III: THE STREETS ARE EMPTY

[interdimanagers]

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.”

Comments

B

[goateeocracy]

Yan takes the paper and reads it over, brow furrowed (Or maybe brow not furrowed. He kind of always looks like that.) He fancies himself more of a lyricist than a composer, but he's well aware that he isn't going to be allowed to take on either job in this particular situation. It's rare enough that they indulge him and let him write for his own band. As far as compositions go, he has to admit that this one is actually a lot better than he was expecting.

"I can play it. It's actually not bad."

[trustme]

"Good good!" Doctor grins. It was always nice to see a positive reaction to an early draft. "If they're prepping us for some sort of Virgo collaboration project, I think we'll do better than okay." He nods towards Yan's guitar. "Care to have a go at it then?"

[goateeocracy]

Yan looks over his part again and begins slowly and deliberately working his way through it, not moving on to a new measure until he's sure he's got the previous ones down. Most people would probably try a quick run-through to get a feel for it, but he seems to be intent on learning the whole piece first.

"Getting everyone to play this together without screwing up is going to take a miracle. If they wanted a collaboration, why didn't they pick something simpler?" That's been bothering him since this whole thing started. Usually collaborations like this were fluff that didn't take a whole lot of work, right? That seems like a smarter way to do it to him, at least.

[trustme]

"I would say the point of this meeting is to brainstorm. This is an odd location for a brainstorming session though. We should have some proper desks or tables to write on and more comfortable chairs. I don't see why they didn't put each group into their own room as well."

It was getting increasingly more difficult to stay optimistic about their situation.

"Juno could have given a better explanation!"

[goateeocracy]

"I'm expecting some sort of hidden camera bullshit any second."

It's really the simplest explanation for what's going on, except he feels like he's been trying to use it to explain too much lately and whatever stunt it's supposed to be for never seems to materialize. Unless it's something that's taking a long time to put together, in which case it's really shitty of them to take advantage of the way their contracts are written and not tell them anything about it until after it's over.

[trustme]

"Is this one of those pranks meant to scare people? It's really not funny so I don't think it would be a funny hidden camera show. Perhaps we should all look frightened and scream a few times. That would bring the people behind the cameras out."

Doctor takes that explanation and runs with it. It was a lot less unsettling than other very strange possibilities.

[goateeocracy]

"You'd be surprised what they can get people to watch. 'A bunch of celebrities doing something' is usually enough, especially if they can manufacture some sort of drama." Yan leans back and looks over the room to try to get a read on what the other groups are doing. More or less the same thing they are, it looks like. Montage material, basically, unless something interesting happens.

"I bet if one of us started talking shit about the other groups, you might see the cameras, but we're all too used to playing nice." He shrugs and resumes working his way through the piece. "Juno will stir things up, probably."

[trustme]

"Well in that case let's cut to the chase and find out the answer, why don't we," Doctor whispers. He half covers his mouth and glances around the room for signs of cameras. Perhaps the air ducts. "You might want to cover your ears for this part."

Without a single hint of hesitation, Doctor stands up, steps on top of his chair and yells at the closest air duct over their heads. "I can't take it anymore! This scary basement is creeping me out! Get me out of heeeeeereeeeee!" For dramatic effect grabs at his face with both hands. The result is something like the cover of a Home Alone video.

[goateeocracy]

"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?

[trustme]

Doctor hops off the seat laughing, "Yes that's perfect! Yell at me and try to be insulting! Just the drama that hidden cameras are after. If they're really up there then we just hit the jackpot- oh although I'm personally not interested in actually becoming your rival in the eyes of the public. Got better things to do; I'd imagine you do too. Oh I wonder what Juno will have in store for us when she returns!"

He doesn't wait for a reaction, instead he spins in a near complete circle and directs his gaze towards the others in the group to see if they have any comments on the song they were going to play.

[goateeocracy]

"Why don't you just do your job instead of acting like a goddamn cartoon character?" Patience and a sense of humor weren't things anyone thought to include whenever it was that Yan was created. It's probably why he has those big angry lines in his forehead and he can't smile without it looking like he's planning someone's imminent demise.

[trustme]

Doctor turns back over his shoulder to look at Yan with a smile. "Everyone who knows me knows that I can do my job and act like a cartoon character at the same time."

[goateeocracy]

Yan rolls his eyes and makes a few notes of his own on the paper. It's the music industry, so he shouldn't be surprised that it's full of weirdos, but for some reason he always is.

"I'm getting too old for this shit." He's not even 30 yet. It's not supposed to work this way.

[trustme]

After another moment of pointing at papers and nodding his head at Kise and Greg Andrew returns his attention to Yan.

"Come on Yan, there's no use for the long face. This is a chance to impress Juno- try to look happy, at least for the performance."

[goateeocracy]

"This is all my face does." He doesn't even miss a beat. It's such a familiar answer at this point. Even if he did smile, it's unlikely anyone would notice. No matter what his lips do, his forehead will always negate it. "Juno should know that by now."