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

[giglio_madonna]

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.

Comments

Ivan Karelin

[sponsorigami]

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

Post-Concert

[lightthedarkness]

It likes you.

[She smiled as she watched the ray try and get the treats from Ivan. She knew who he was, not only from her research into Rei's band but because this had been a boy who had been in her first dream of this place, of the cauldron. She knew he wouldn't know her, but he had been a smaller part of the reason for her being here.]

I act like that too when someone has food I want. [She laughed.]

[sponsorigami]

D-Does it?

[ Though, it's pretty hard to deny how friendly the ray is. Ivan shoves his sleeve up higher with one hand as the ray seems very determined to climb up to flop right on his forearm. ]

Do you sit on people and wait for food too?

[ Because he's pretty sure that's exactly what the ray is trying to do. ]

[lightthedarkness]

[She laughed.]

Ah well- actually! [She laughed a bit more.] Depends on what food you have. [And if your name was Mamoru or Makoto.]

[sponsorigami]

I have this, but I don't know if you'd like them.

[ He holds up a small plastic cup with the ray's treats inside. He sets it back down on the edge of the tank. Ivan gives a piece to the ray, and it nibbles it happily while still resting on him.

Maybe it realizes that Ivan often fetches and gives food to other people and easy to get more food from. ]

[lightthedarkness]

No no, I'm fine, really. [She laughed as she waved a hand in front of her, not the sort to eat that stuff, even if she had an iron stomach.]

Besides, the rays deserve it, it'd be mean to take from them.

[sponsorigami]

[ If this ray could talk, no doubt it would be thanking her for more food. It does enjoy the attention and food its getting. Ivan uses his fingers to gently stroke the ray's belly. It's so soft and not slimy at all. ]

Are rays supposed to be so friendly?

Post Concert

[magic_to_do]

Aww~! It's cute!

[Trucy leans over to pet the ray herself. So friendly!]

That was a great concert. And I love the choice of venue.

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan's playing had lacked heart until he spotted Trucy in the crowd, so she might have had someone looking her way as he played. And he makes some room, so Trucy could give the ray plenty of pets. ]

Thanks. The venue is a different one, but it seems to have worked out.

[magic_to_do]

Of course! It adds a really neat ambiance to the show.

[She gives the ray a few more gentle pets.]

Plus, I bet the fish haven't heard music this good in a while.

[That's because they're fish, Trucy....]

[sponsorigami]

They probably don't get to hear a lot of music beyond the ambient stuff.

[ He has no idea how well the music made it through glass and water, but maybe the ones with an open top got to hear more. ]

Um... uh... This place has a really neat cafe where you can watch tropical fish or the sea otters play, if you... um...

[ Smooth, Ivan. ]

[magic_to_do]

I'd love to!

[Whoops. Thaaat sounded way too eager. She chuckles awkwardly and tries to ignore the red creeping through her cheeks.]

Um, I mean, that sounds great. Otters are good. I love otters.

[What is she even talking about?]

Let's go!

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan gives the ray the rest of the treats he has and a few more pets before taking his hand out of the water and going to the wash station. ]

A-All right. Let's go before anyone realizes I'm not here anymore.

[ Which could be a while, honestly. It's a wonder that no one has written something about the two of them yet. Like "Magician Hypnotizes Ninja" or "Has Trucy Pulled a Sakura Flower Out of Her Hat?" Maybe it's Ivan's overlookable nature that saves them from this fate. ]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei's having similar problems with the petting portion of the exhibits, an octopus in particular. One of those small things, in an tank that was labeled "Archimedes", had been open for pats and like a fool she'd given it a try.

Only now? The creature had seemed to take a liking to her, climbing out of the tank to follow her...]

Ivan, do you know anything about how to get rid of an octopus?

[sponsorigami]

What...?

[ He looks over to where Rei is and sees the octopus crawling up the side of the tank. And he thought the ray was strange for being so friendly. Is there something in the water? ]

Um... throw food the other way?

[faithfulflame]

I tried that.

[A tentacle reaches around her wrist, and the cephalopod hauls itself out of the water, staring up at her.]

I...don't think I can take you home, Archimedes...?

[sponsorigami]

I don't think its handlers would like that. Maybe one of the employees...

[ He looks for the nearest one, hoping he'd be able to flag one down and that they'd notice him to begin with. ]

[faithfulflame]

[They all seem a little preoccupied though. and it's Ivan, so...]

Can they...even breathe air?

[Because it's crawling up her arm now.]

[sponsorigami]

Maybe they can survive for a little bit...

[ Ivan can't help but look helplessly at the octopus. If he has pull it off her, he's going to have an octopus form copied. He doesn't really want to, but he will if he must. ]

If you stay out here, octopus, you'll... you'll become takoyaki.

Concert

[trustme]

[ Doctor couldn't help noticing Ivan's seemingly blue behavior. He can understand why he's not feeling so excited to play but Doctor sees no reason to avoid giving a performance worthy of a standing ovation. So between songs he makes a little announcement. ]

Thank you everyone for coming out to see us today. It's you, the people who listen to our music that we work so hard for. By industry standards we're not exactly a normal band and it was your support and your cheers that helped us convince our management to let us express ourselves and be different. I assure you all that I will keep to that attitude whatever the future holds- I write music and we perform it as a family together for you, not for money or the fame, it's for you.

[ He points a finger around the crowd and there are screams and cheers. Do remember this part of our art. He reminds him. Then Doctor leans into the microphone again and starts singing a song Ivan knows well, hoping to encourage him further. ]

Vista City is a crazy town
And Vista City never sleeps at night

[sponsorigami]

[ Ivan tries not to flinch when he hears Doctor's chastising voice in his head. He feels like... well like a son being chastised by his dad. He responds with, I'm sorry. I'll do better. He makes more of an effort with his playing and singing, forcing himself to perform more convincingly. (That feeling itself is familiar to him, like he's done this before.) He has to stay under Virgo's radar and do what they want for now. For now. And to his surprise, he doesn't hear something in his head insistently arguing something else. ]

Vista City is a crazy town
And Vista City never sleeps at night

[ Ivan repeats before he goes into the next part. ]

In this layered city underneath the stars
The masses all sleep and dream of going far

[trustme]

[ That's more like it! Doctor gives him an approving nod and smiles as he sings along. ]

The suits hold their talks and deals in the bars
They pick and they choose
Who will win, who will lose

[ Some fans are screeching. They're actually performing this song? It's one of the rarer tracks- something of an Easter egg (which is so much like Ivan) that fans have been dying to hear more of. ]

[sponsorigami]

Step to the stage and worries abandon
Sing with your heart, don't even slow down
Sneak to the rooftops and to the other side
If you get caught, there's nowhere to hide

[ Ivan forces himself to do the job. He closes his eyes and tries to imagine that he's just practicing with the band in the penthouse. It's easier, more personal than serving the people who kidnapped and brainwashed him and many others. ]

[trustme]

Don't go yet, we're going all night
Grab your sticks and bow and all right
Got my bachi right here and ready to write
Get in my way and there'll be a band fight

[ Ivan's playing and expression improved but Doctor gets the sense that the poor lad is still in a rut. He had hoped the aquarium atmosphere would do more to help but maybe it needed a little help.

What's your favorite thing about the ocean? He sends Ivan the question. Hopefully he can handle multitasking the song and the answer. (Doctor thinks of this one second too late.) ]

[sponsorigami]

Climbing the rungs of the ladder, hope and despair
Grasping on so tightly, with fists up to the air
Some rise, some fall and with blessings kami bestow
Bring on the fight, Here we go!

[ But then Ivan's shamisen playing fumbles slightly as Doctor's question enters his mind. The audience probably doesn't notice the mistake with all their cheering for the "Easter Egg" song, but Doctor can probably tell. ]