interstellar5555 | Can you feel it calling in the air tonight [Closed]

It was good to get out and not be anything more than some dude hanging out. Ankh got his promised free day and he spent it being just normal. So there was a little shopping trip at a couple local places for new scruffy clothing and makeup and other odds and ends (the shops promising to deliver the goods to his penthouse after he waved his card at them). There was the fast food stop for something greasy and not really good for him (his diet can go to hell as far as he was concerned). And then a stop at an ice cream place.

With ice cream in hand, Ankh wandered around a little before taking to his head that he needed to sit in a tree. So about ten minutes later, there was a brightly dressed young man with a crest of blond hair hanging out in the crock of a tree, a tub of ice cream on his lap and his tablet open on his knee as he watched one of his dramas. For the most part he ignored people, but every once and a while, he looked up as if he heard something before giving himself a shake. He also seem to have a little problem with his one arm, almost like it had a mind of its own.

Edited (just removing the saff for easier sneaking) 2016-04-03 22:07 (UTC)

J really can't help himself. It's one of the more unique tunes he's heard in a while, and he follows it to a tree. Evidently someone likes a view with their soap operas.

Okay, that's new.

He shrugs and leans against the tree trunk, listening hard and trying to unpack the (ancient, inhuman, damaged) tune. Of course, he can't just stand here like a creeper, so he tilts his head up. "Watchin' anything fun?"

Desires were a little like sitting in a room while a number of different people played different instruments at the same level. Some grew loud, overpowering the rest in the room, while others limped a little (though none were as shattered and yet whole like that one guy a few days ago). Ankh was able to tune out the most mundane of the desires, only once and a while getting a spike of desire that quickly faded. It wasn't like he could do anything about it, but it was nice to feel all the same.

The more he was getting use to it, the more he wondered how he was able to navigate his life without it.

Finishing up his ice cream, he perched the empty container on a handy knot in the tree branch and settled to watch his drama properly. He chuckled a little at the antics of the main characters when he realized someone had just said something to him. Ankh blinked and then paused his drama to look down.

"I wouldn't be watching it if it wasn't fun," he replied cautiously. At least this person felt like a normal mind; the emptiness of the managers or the bodyguards was one of the few ways he could use to pick them out of a crowd. "Is it too loud?"

That little bit of laughter - of happiness - brings enough unbroken tune forward for J to grab on to, and he goes to work, tapping his fingers against his leg in time with Ankh's tune. He doesn't quite approach the static and the warped notes yet; it's an old tune, and not human, and he wants to make sure he's got what he has down pat before he starts trying to fix it.

"Nah, you're good." He shrugs. "Just never seen anyone use a chair as their livin' room before. Mind if I ask why?"

"Why?"

Ankh frowned, looking around at the park, the trees and the people and the sky over head. He could smell all the chemicals from the city but also was the smell of growing things and of the fainter wisps of cleaner air from the steady breeze. Then he looked up at the sky. It wasn't as close looking at it was from the suite's balcony, but it didn't need to be. Ankh just felt calm looking at it, though not as calm as he would if he was up high.

"Sometimes I just like being reminded of a world outside of the studio."

The answer's in the tune, before Ankh even opens his mouth, and J reaches for it, for those intact parts that love the sky, and mimics the beat, using it to smooth out the static encroaching at the edges of Ankh's tune.

"Makes sense. They keep you pretty busy in there?"

"What can I say? Tweens love us and they rule their moms' pocketbooks."

He doesn't sound too excited about it though. He liked the music fine enough, but he wasn't as in love with it as he should be. It was hard to feel the same way that he did when he first came to the label; a lot has happened and he felt like something different. As it was, he faked it around the manager and the rest of the band, but he couldn't outside like here.

Ankh wiggled a little to get even more comfortable with the tree, uncaring that the bark might be getting all over his clothing. It didn't matter as much as how comfortable he felt here.

"Good point." He's still working at it, overriding the static with the smooth, whole parts of the tune that are supposed to be there. There's something not quite right, something he can't quite put his finger on yet - like something extra has been added to the tune, though that doesn't make any sense. He might have a better idea once it's fixed - that shouldn't take too much longer.

"If you don't mind my askin', what's it like? Bein' up in front of a crowd that's there to see you?"

Edited 2016-04-15 20:51 (UTC)

"Hm?"

He wasn't exactly paying attention to whatever J was asking. Instead he pulled his right arm in - it almost looked like it was fighting him before giving in but that's ridiculous, people's arms don't do that - and ran his fingers over the really gaudy red and chunky bracelets he was wearing. The two Cores were humming and he could feel a rush of warmth from them, even more so as he pressed his fingers lightly against them. They weren't giving him answers though he knew - in the broken dreams it always was brought up - a piece was still missing. He still needed at least one more Core.

Never can be whole, he broke it, but you can borrow time, just a little more.

Ankh's hand twitched and he sighed, shrugging slightly. "A little scary, a little empowering. If you can't control that many people, and they aren't happy, they'll turn, but at the same time you've got them in your hands and giving them what they want and all they can do is come back for more."

Why does it sound so false though? It should be the most powerful thing in the world to think of, but he really didn't care.

Ankh is distracted, yeah, but that just leaves J more time and leeway to work with his tune. The static gives way easily in the face of the rhythm and melody that should actually be there; while he can't get rid of the unnatural thrumming bass that is Blanche's hold on his musicians, he can do his best to work around it and fix what he can, so long as he doesn't run into any other obstructions-

He stops short as that new quality that he couldn't quite figure out makes itself known - a quiet backbeat that has worked itself into the tune the same way Blanche's bass did. There's something else connected - but how-

He nearly misses the answer and scrambles for a moment to balance coming up with a reply and keeping up his repair work. "Control, huh? Haven't heard it put that way before."

"Why not? It is part of the whole thing."

Maybe he sounded jaded, maybe he was jaded, but the whole thing was a fine balance of giving the audience what they want and accepting their dues. Sure people were in the game for the fans - and as much as he bitched about it, Ankh did enjoy some of the fans - but a lot more were in it for the fame and the money. They just never thought that it also meant that they would work a lot of long grueling hours with no rest in sight.

Ankh shifted in his seat, leaning a little to give J a look. There was a slightly off tilt to his head, as if he had one too many joints in his neck. "You're really curious."

J shrugs. "Guess most people don't look at it like that, or if they do, they don't come out an' say it." It's not the best answer, but he's too preoccupied investigating that backbeat that's latched itself onto Ankh's tune to come up with a better one. It belongs to someone, but he can't quite tell who.

Of course, the last thing he needs is for Ankh to get suspicious. "Just wanted an insider's opinion. I didn't figure tabloids an' press releases would give me the whole story on what bein' on the inside is like, so I thought I'd ask."

"Most people -" there's a curl to his upper lip, a very visible regal lift to his head at the words "- put on airs of being humble for the public."

Ankh didn't care what the public thought about him, especially these days. He played the music and he attempted to smile for the photographs and he tried to at least be civil for the fans at the fan meets, but he never let on that he was anything then what he was - some punk that had some talent and landed a gig through sheer luck. It wasn't going to magically make him a nicer person, even though his edges could be smoothed by the presence of his bandmates who managed to at least keep him line. Without them around, Ankh just acted like his normal self.

The world was filled with humans and he never really cared for most of them. He had a few that were HIS but the rest, no he didn't care for them.

Shaking his head at that last thought, he pressed the Cores against his skin harder, feeling the burn settle deeper into his bones. He really needed to get that last Core, get rid of the half-baked notions running around in his head.

"All the press is trying to do is make a buck. They aren't willing to get sued by the labels with spewing the real secrets."

Ivan is dressed to be as unassuming as possible, and yet he has his shamisen packed up in his case. There's no bodyguard in sight because Ivan used his shapeshifting to sneak out of Virgo HQ. But... he also has no real goal for being outside. (If anyone asks, Ivan is out and about for his missing manager's sake as she is "part" of the family... even though she's not in reality.) It's mostly to think and search for answers. What can he do? Continuing on as a musician with his crafted life isn't something he wants to do, but he knows that Virgo is too strong and powerful to fight as well. Acting rashly will bring punishment and possibly harm his family and friends.

He takes a seat on cement retaining wall in the park and starts playing. Despite the reality of his kidnapping and brainwashing, he feels the itch for music still. Ivan may even break out singing.

When in doubt, follow the music. J hears the shamisen mingle with a now familiar and much improved tune and heads towards it, finding Ivan sitting on a low wall. He takes a seat a few yards down from Ivan and sits, listening. There's something different in Ivan's tune, but he can't quite put his finger on it yet.

He continues playing, not worrying about if anyone hears him for the moment. The strings are plucked to a traditional Japanese song at first, but then Ivan stops like something has come to mind. The tune becomes more modern but still keeps a mellower rhythm. Ivan wants to fight the new song forming in his head because it feels like it's playing into Virgo's hands. But he knows he can't forever. It'll only be delayed until he can't fight it any longer.

Ivan sighs a little. Maybe he should just get the urge out of the way and hope Virgo doesn't find out and turn it into a whole production.

Ivan is wavering on something, and J leaves that bit alone for now - he'll come to that decision on his own. For now, J reaches for the parts of Ivan's tune that are undamaged - and there are more of them now, which is great - and silently mimics them, drumming his fingers against his leg in time and using them to smooth over the static. Who knows - maybe a little clarity will help Ivan make his decision.

Ivan gives up to the feeling, wishing that he could enjoy music for pure enjoyment than worrying and fearing that every instance is all part of his brainwashing. He's frustrated and hopes that after this, he can focus on something else. And he figures out a way to keep this song from being used by Virgo. That'll suffice.

He picks the strings of his shamisen and begins to sing.

Here in this city that is ruled by two titans, a song of discord is running through my bones
And I find the flower of who I was is wilting, petals blown away, thoughts left all alone

Yet I do not know myself or my dreams or truth anymore more, more...

Lost in this world, and torn away from my own, I look for that something that I can do
Because every memory I that see in my dreams, feels more real and coming true
But I'm locked behind bars, Orion, take me away and give me another view

In my dreams, I see the blurred shapes of family, drifting away to the distance
I chase them down with shinobi speed, but I'm left behind
The metronome ticks away but no longer can I claim ignorance
And the horrors of the reality (It's a lie)
Because I know they are playing games with my mind

[[ OOC: Mind Game ]]

Well. That's pretty dang on the nose, isn't it. J stays quiet and listens, to both the tune on Ivan's lips and the one in his soul, and continues working on the latter. There's something off about it - like something's been added when nobody was listening - but that doesn't seem right, somehow. He works around it for now, but he can't avoid it forever.

When the song finishes, he gives Ivan a few moments to settle before speaking up. "For what it's worth, it's gonna get better." He's skirting a line, talking like that, but after that song it's pretty unlikely that Ivan doesn't know what's been done to him.

And what if that line that J's skirting has already been crossed in various, more direct ways?

Ivan stops playing and looks at his audience. Then, it clicks, and his eyes open a little wider. Why else he would keep meeting a complete stranger over and over in such a big city? Ivan's still worried that Virgo might have more on him than a tracker, but he has to ask. "... Y-You're one of them, aren't you? Not one of the Space Ladies, but still..." One of the people here to save them. To get them back home.

Otherwise, Ivan might wonder if he's got a stalker.

This is the second time in less than a week that someone's figured out who J is. On one hand, the musicians are really on their game; on the other hand, evidently J is really off his, and that is not a good thing. He looks down at himself, then back to Ivan, offering him half a grin. "Do I look like a Space Lady?" Playing it off is his first instinct, and it's a hard one to break.

And the fact that the other rescuers haven't been so secretive doesn't make J's job obviously any easier. Ivan knows that people from Rei's world have come to save her. He knows of Gold and Silver and the four alien ghosts. It's not too hard to guess there's more. Ivan's head hurts and starts to repeat how he's wrong whenever he starts making connections, and his tune fumbles a bit.

That only makes Ivan feel like he's onto something, something his has to fight and push though to say.

"So maybe not from her world, but... from another?"

Ivan is struggling, and J has to make a decision: keep his identity a secret (a lost cause at this point) or help Ivan (what he's here to do in the first place).

It's kind of a no-brainer at this point.

He grabs hold of Ivan's tune and soothes it, smoothing over static with full, real music. It won't take him long to fix it completely; still, he can't leave the conversation hanging either. "Yeah," he admits with that same half-smile, "something like that. I'm here to help."

Edited 2016-04-16 17:19 (UTC)

"I-I won't compromise you. I won't ask for details or anything that could be taken from me." Ivan straightens up a little and searches his pockets for some paper and a pen. "Although, if I leave something here, maybe you could take care of it for me?"

Ivan plans on writing down quick notes about what Flowers Over Bones have put together, about saving Stella from her containment in the Virgo Basement with Arpegius' help, about the holiday party, about the blue alien ghosts helping them remember and how they were murdered by the labels, and every strange thing he could think of since the music Gala. Ivan doesn't know what information that the rescuers have or is Alex (Haruka) passed along the info he left her, but he writes it all down.

J appreciates the consideration, but it doesn't really work that way. "You know my name, an' my face, an' where I work. For someone like Blanche, that'll be enough." He shrugs. Ivan knows his alias, at least, but that's still something to go on. "Just don't get caught."

He's not used to musicians asking him favors, though - that's interesting. "Sure." He waits while Ivan writes, silently working with Ivan's tune, smoothing out static and warping until it's intact again. He can't touch Blanche's deep bass woven through it, but that doesn't stop him from feeling around it, seeing if there's some way to loosen the connection-

Or finding something else - some foreign backbeat - running along the same lines of that bass, connected to Ivan's tune in the same way. He stiffens in surprise - what the hell is that?

"I... have my own tricks to avoid that, but..." The label is so strong. Ivan wants to do something, but how can he do anything more but sneak out and leave pieces of paper to the rescuers he happens to meet? How can he do something that actually amounts to something?

Ivan crumples up the piece of paper and lets it fall to the ground. "The... um.. lyrics didn't turn out... Please don't sell that on an auction site."

He is such a bad actor when he's not depending on his brainwashing, but he at least attempts to be secretive.

It takes J a few seconds to ground himself back in reality. He continues to look into Ivan's tune, trying to figure out where that backbeat is coming from - or, more importantly, who it belongs to.

Right. There's still a conversation. "Hey, if it works, it works." He watches the paper fall to the ground and flashes Ivan a grin. "I'll treasure it forever."

When Ivan realizes that J's zoned out, he shifts uncomfortably. He's seen other musicians get lost in thought. That usually meant they were reliving a memory or something similar. But why's this guy... (Jeremy?) doing that? Ivan worries his lip. The thought that the people trying to save them might have lost something too hadn't occurred to him.

He doesn't like that idea. Something inside of him, though weaker now, reminds him how futile it is to go against Virgo, against Blanche. Remember what they did to Luce. To those that were caught. They've done things to him as well, and he should remember. The rescuers are weak and frail because of them, and they'll accomplish nothing.

Ivan shakes his head. Think. Think. Don't let go of that previous thought and give in. Ask. "... H-Has the label taken something from you too?"

Nothing - nothing yet, at least - and now he's got Ivan worried. Not as planned.

"They took our friends an' families," he says. "People we care about." But that's not really what Ivan's asking, is it? "They haven't gotten to us the same way they did you, though. If they ever do, they're either gonna put us onstage with you guys, or...six feet under." That's not really an easy idea to live with, but at least it's still living.

"So... they don't have a general way removing people's powers or memories in the city. It's more specific... maybe done when they brainwash us." Blame the fact that everyone in his band has regained a power that he thinks it's more common than the reality. Everyone in the band except Pao-Lin, but they suspect she may have something because she's from Ivan's world. They remember some of the same things.

He looks at his hands holding the shamisen and bachi. A memory steals his attention. He's a child. Other kids his age are taunting him, calling him a monster, a freak. Their parents demand the school give them list of all NEXTs and their powers enrolled, so they can remove their children from classes shared with those dangers. If only the registration bill could get passed. Couldn't they just use the technology in Abbas Prison everywhere? It'd be so much safer to control those powers.

The memory doesn't feel blurred or fuzzy in the same way like his memories in the past have been. Any fuzziness is from the age of the memory. Odd, but Ivan isn't going to focus on that change too much. He's more shocked at how easy the memory came so easily and triggered by something so tangential. Is this related to how he discovered he could fight with katana days earlier?

Can you feel it calling in the air tonight [Closed]

Ankh in a tree

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