interstellar5555 | 008 ✽ It's betta down where it's wetter

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008 ✽ It's betta down where it's wetter

Who: Flowers Over Bones and those in attendance
What: One last solo band performance before the big tour, at the world's largest aquarium. Of course, being a giant aquarium, there's plenty of other things to do too.
When: Backdated to early April
Where: The Vista City Aquarium
Warnings: None planned, but note- this is set before Flowers Over Bones (Luce, Doctor, Rei, Ivan, Pao-Lin) escape out of Virgo's grip. If you want to talk with any of them one last time, now is the chance to do so. Also doubles as a mingle log!

As befitting such an enormous and thriving city, Vista houses the largest aquarium on the entire Americana west coast. Vista City Aquarium takes up the entirety of a multi-floor building, sprawling over a sizeable bit of land in the crowded city and providing nothing but top of the line care for its many aquatic and amphibious inhabitants. Needless to say, the gift shop is an entire floor all its own.

Such a place is obviously a popular place in the city for those interested in aquatic life, but today is special. The Annual Charity Run is taking place to usher in spring, just like every other year, and, to help this goal, they've enlisted the help of Virgo's own Flowers Over Bones. On one of the only levels not for the housing of aquatic life, a stage area has been set up for the band. All proceeds to see them, of course, go straight to the Aquarium.

That isn't to say people are obligated to go to the concert. It's an optional event of the day. There's still an entire building full of water and creatures to explore, an endeavor which can take up an entire day if one is so willing. Notable attractions include:

- A glass tunnel that goes through an entire tank of Caribbean sea life
- A room filled with screens livestreaming the events of oceanic researchers watching over the dolphins and whales the aquarium doesn't house
- A shallow tank where you can pet more docile small sharks and rays
- An area where you can play chess electronically with one out of a pair of octopi, Celia or Pat. Human winners are rewarded a voucher for food down in the food court. Celia and Pat get pieces of crab. Celia and Pat also have a high win rate.
- The food court and gift shop floor, where you can buy refreshments for the day or whatever gift shop knicknacks your heart desires. Not only are there the typical things such as clothing emblazoned with the aquarium's logo, keychains, and lovely coral or shark teeth jewelry.... But there are also plushies larger than most people. There's seemingly one for just about every kind of animal. Yes, even the blobfish.

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General Aquarium, Pre-Concert

[Ever since summer of last year, Luce had made a promise to Pao-Lin to take her to a place like this. With everything that's happened and the promise of the grand tour, she thinks they could use a vacation like this. Especially since the suddenness of everything has her... concerned.]

[For now, however, she wanders contentedly throughout the aquarium, raising her face to the gentle glow of the tanks. Sometimes, she's approached by delighted fans who want autographs, but sometimes she just has to deal with casual whispering.]

[It's fine. At least she has some peace.]

Concert

[And here it is, the show of the day. Luce is glad to see a good turnout- it hasn't escaped her notice that Pride has been putting out some heavy hitters lately, and any failure is likely to be taken out on weak bands in Virgo. So, after the usual opening and laughter, Luce readies her bass and takes a breath.]

You say you're no good in heart but you're no worse
Barely cluttered out insecurity stuck to your exposed ribs
Weighed down with words too over-dramatic
Tonight it's "It can't get much worse"
Vs. "No one can ever be like..."

[There's a smile to the rest of her band, encouraging, and then she winks out into the crowd.]

Petting Tank, Post-Concert

[After the rush of being on stage, it's time to relax with something soothing. The petting tank is perfect for that, and Luce enjoys having a small plastic cup with food to feed the rays.]

[You know, up until one of them gets over eager and tries to flop over the edge, splashing all the while.]

[Luce backs off, laughing, and looks around to make sure no one has gotten wet from that.]

General: Pre/Post Concert

[ Ivan concentrates more on the fish than people. He stands there in silence as the fish in the tanks move back and forth. They look so peaceful. A few times he snaps a picture with his cell phone.

Once, he goes to the petting tanks where some rays swim around. Ivan has no idea what would happen to him if he tried shapeshifting into one in water. Could he swim like a fish, or would he drown? He's not motivated to try it. So, he just looks and doesn't touch. That is... until one ray looks so eager for treats and pets that he has to indulge it. It flops like a sea pancake. A smile creeps to his face. ]

Concert

[ Ivan could be singing any one of these songs (Save "Playing Games With My Mind" for obvious reasons.) But if he's not singing, he's more than content to let himself stay in the background. His heart isn't into playing for Virgo.

But if he sees some familiar faces, he may change his tune and play for them instead. ]

Other: Choose your own adventure

A:

Usagi was watching a turtle glide through the water as she stood within the glass tunnel, though sharks would swim past her every now and then too. She didn't have a connection to water and sea animals the way Ami and Michiru did, but she could appreciate them all the same. She looked about and saw that there was a small ledge of sorts, shaped to look like coral but rounded so people could sit on it. She did just that and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands as she watched.

Unfortunately for her, being so low to the ground meant her hair was pooled on the ground as well. If someone wasn't paying attention they could get their foot caught in it or worse, it could snag on a boot buckle and start pulling on Usagi's actual head.

B:

Usagi was not good at chess. Far from it, she actually really sucked at it.

But the idea that she could win free food was incredibly tempting.

"Ugh but I don't even know how to play..." she mumbled as she watched another person lose tot he octopi. "How are they even that smart to keep beating people?" she asked.

C:

Now well fed, she was in the gift shop and looking around when she saw a giant, and adorable bunny mermaid plush.

The sound that came out of her wasn't really human as she hugged onto it tightly.

"LOOKIT HOW CUTE THIS IS!" she exclaimed to the person nearby, not even noticing that they were holding their ears.

-- A

[ So he's definitely there for the sea creatures, not the concert. Although he might sort of wander by at some point; he rather genuinely likes Rei and is somewhat curious about how she sounds live since he's shown her his own classical performances. Oh yeah, and he's sort of had a massive conspiracy theory meeting with Luce a few days ago, not that he's going to pursue it further at the moment. He's just gonna chill behind the crowd and listen for a bit until he gets bored, then walk off. ]

-- B

[ EXCUSE HIM WHILE HE'S JUST STANDING THERE WITH HIS HANDS AND FACE PRESSED TO THE GLASS. It's one of the biggest aquariums in the complex, and it holds a great white shark. ]

[ Squalo seems utterly entranced in admiration. ]

-- C

[ At some point, you'll probably find him at the petting tank. Is that the famous heavy metal Bad Guy, cooing at and babytalking tiny sharks and rays? You'd bet it is. He's completely oblivious to anyone who might be giving him weird looks ~~or filming everything~~, too. HE IS NOT ASHAMED OF HIS FEELINGS. ]

[ He's giving an angelshark a bellyrub right now, an almost serene smile on his face. ]

Edited (i can html) 2016-04-16 12:04 (UTC)

A. Five Finger Discount
He caught Squalo red handed with the sharks earlier and now he's in the shop. He's not really been thinking of buying anything for anyone. But here he is, looking through stuff. Mostly in the jewelry section. He's sure the people he's sleeping with might like something ~~cause bitches like jewelry~~. He's found some little golden dolphin earrings that he thinks might look good on Ryouta. There are some coral bangles for Aramat and he's fingering the sharp point of a shark tooth hanging from a necklace.

It's not expensive and yet Xanxus has been needing to feel a rush of adrenaline. It feels like music isn't enough to get that rush any more. That's why he quietly slides the jewelry into a pocket. Now all he has to do is walk out without getting caught.

B. Family Matters - to the Carnies and Mammon and a shark
Xanxus is pacing again. He had arranged this but he's still very nervous about this. He knows that this could be dangerous. Dangerous for them and for her. But he can't help it. He wants for his band to meet her. He wants the Carnies to meet his daughter. He wants them to see the reason why he's trying so hard to keep clean and why he's been reading all sorts of parenting manuals and a bunch of other things that no one might expect of Pride's Bad Boy.

He stops and looks around for a moment before starting again. He's going to wear a hole in the floor if he's not careful. He looks towards those with him and insures them. "She should be here any moment." But it's pretty much more insuring himself that she'll be here.

01: And everyone here been a ghost since day one

If asked by any of the rescuers, he's here to check up on Luce and her band. (Besides, he's here for some performances.) But during that, he's low-key hypnotized walking in the tunnel full of fish. The blue tinge of the water going around his pale skin.

Maybe it's best to stay here.

02: Things are getting weirder at the speed of light

The gift shop isn't so bad. A bit pricey, but he's been saving up. They're a simple shell necklace for Lapis so far and he's looking at seahorse hair clip that looks like a shield for Connie. What to get for Miss Robin though.

[She's here to support her fellow Virgo band, yes, but that won't stop her from exploring and looking at the various sea creatures. She spends a good amount of time in the tunnel, simply basking in the blaze of colors swimming around her.]

[There's a bit of time spent near the petting tank as well. On the one hand, it does look like fun; on the other hand, she does not want to get her outfit wet.]

[And, of course, there is the obligatory trip to the gift shop, though she despairs of finding anything possessing the slightest bit of taste.]

[If anything this place was amazing to Reimu and getting her to pay attention to much of anything else except the glass tunnel was going to be slightly a challenge. It was almost as if she'd never seen a aquarium before..or was just really interesting to her.

She could also be found by the shallow tank, debating on if she wanted to pet the creatures within. It takes a bit but after a while she's sitting there, letting her fingers lightly stroke the rays and sharks that decided to come near her. Other then that, she's content to watch everyone else do so.

But the final place you could fins her was at the gift shop, sipping at a drink and shopping a little bit. There are a few things that catch her attention..including a best friend's necklace. Why? She couldn't tell you to be honest...}

Concert now with magical fish!

[ An aquarium and a lights show at the FoB concert? The audience cheers so loudly the music can hardly be heard for a moment as a spark of gold glows near Doctor's head then circles around it. The crowd hushes again to really listen and they watch, jaws falling open, as the small light grows fins and forms a fish. It 'swims' through the air above the stage and splits into several more fish, making an entire school of them drifting in the air to the sound of Doctor's cello and the rest of the band. ]

Octopus Chess

[ Celia and Pat might be chess champions with a great win-rate but they're up against a particularly intelligent opponent this time. Doctor has already beaten Pat. Now he's in a round with the other octopus, Celia, and she's giving him a harder time. The board has been cleared of most pieces, with both players down to the wire. Who will win? Human(?) or Cephalopod? ]

Gift Shop

[ He looks like he's deep in thought from behind but if you were to walk up to him now you'd quickly realize that he has locked eyes the the giant plushie blob fish. The store clerks seem amused and apparently he's been staring hard at the recreation of the strange creature for about ten minutes now. ]

Threaded | Flat

Luce - ota

Ivan Karelin

Usagi Tsukino || OTA