002 ✽ Come back! Even as a shadow, even as a dream

[giglio_madonna]

Who: Everyone stuck in Virgo HQ
What: This happened, and now we're all stuck here.
When: Nov. 1 - 5
Where: Virgo HQ
Warnings: Honor system, I'm trusting everyone to put warning in the subject lines if it comes up in their threads!

So.

Press events? Not happening. Concerts? Cancelled. Going out at all? N o p e.

Everyone- well every newbie- is ball and chained to Virgo Entertainment's headquarters for the time being. What's the emergency? No one knows, but you're all stuck here regardless.

> What will you do?

Comments

[goateeocracy]

So focus on hitting it big instead of turning your apartment into a goddamn nursery.

[This guy is truly beyond his understanding. They should be able to have intelligent conversations, but it didn't take long to come to the conclusion that Doctor is one of those "born with genius and thus not inclined to act like he's actually intelligent" types, while Yan is the sort who's smart enough, but who's had to work his ass off to get where he is today.]

Did you not get to have a childhood or something?

[trustme]

[Doctor raises a brow. Yan wasn't exactly a cuddly personality but he didn't have to be rude.]

People do tend to treat you differently when you have one of the highest recorded IQs in modern history.

Intelligence doesn't always have to be accompanied by a serious atmosphere or lookout. Enthusiasm and curiosity are key to making advancements and actually using the gift of your mind.

[goateeocracy]

Enthusiasm and curiosity, yeah, but not the whole arrested development thing. IQ doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot if you're not using it for much.

[As much as he hates to admit it, this conversation is giving him that strange sense of deja vu that's been creeping in more and more often now. It's like he can just barely see a face on the edges of his memory. Not one of the ones he's seen so far, so maybe that's why it isn't as clear as it could be.]

I put off law school for this shit, you know, but I can get what I want this way, too. What are you even getting out of this aside from pocket money to buy candy with?

[trustme]

[From rude to insults now. Doctor sighed. He hadn't gone through years of being bullied as the weird instruments kid to be accused of not taking his craft seriously.]

You're assuming an awful lot there Yan. Do you always judge people based on the decor or entertainment they enjoy? Before you accuse me of not being a true musician or someone who wants to make a difference in this world, have you actually listened to my work? Or perhaps looked into my involvement in youth art programs and anti-drug abuse campaigns?

[He chuckles dryly in his throat.] We're only acquaintances and you're going to assume the worst? Call me an idiot?

[goateeocracy]

If I knew about that shit, would I have asked?

[He doesn't even seem fazed by the answer, nor does he seem hugely impressed by it. He's never really been able to get into the humanitarian stuff much. If you want to change the world, rule the world.

Actually, he's not sure he's thought of it that way before now, but it sounds right. Feels right, too.]

Now I'm almost sorry I did. One of the smartest people in the world and this is all you're doing? The same crap any artist who wants to make a splash in the headlines does? Maybe your heart's in it, but it's something anyone with some cash and a big enough name can do.

[trustme]

[Doctor stone faces right back at him.]

Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not going to sit here and list out my resume and things I've done for the music industry and the world. I'll leave it to you to look into if you're really that concerned with what I'm doing with my life and intelligence.

If you don't see the power and value in music and how it can indeed change people's lives then you are the one who doesn't belong in this business.

[With a crack from the papers in his hand he shakes them again and turns back to his reading material.]

[goateeocracy]

You honestly believe that, don't you? That it's music that changes anything and not marketing and money?

[Yan leans back in his seat and stretches a little, like he's just settling in for this. He should probably stop taking it as a personal insult when people around him are being stupid, but leaving well enough alone would mean giving up and he's exceptionally stubborn when he wants to be.]

Blanche is all about the quality of the product, yeah, and it's not like I don't care about the integrity of my own work, but it's still product in the end.

[trustme]

[ Doctor pulls out his phone and begins typing on it. ]

Why don't your band mates about that? Or other Virgo employees? I imagine you'll get some interesting answers. Better yet, since you're so confident in your opinion, why not tweet it out to your fans and see what they think of your musical philosophy?

[ He stops typing and tucks his phone back in his pocket. ]

I all ready know from experience, from the words of fans, students, and other musicians, that music changes lives.

[goateeocracy]

I don't tweet.

[He says it like it's a dirty word. To him it probably is.]

I don't buy into my own bullshit, either.

[It keeps him grounded and he likes it that way. As soon as you start believing your own hype, believing you're someone who can save the world, you're setting yourself up for a fall. Better to be realistic about what sort of place the world really is and what your place in it is. Lofty ideals are a real high when you think you're succeeding at them, but reality is going to bite you in the ass eventually and either you're going to be stuck deluding yourself or selling out to maintain the appearance of being the person you thought you were.]

[trustme]

Well you don't have to worry about it any way. I just tweeted about the subject now. Personally I look forward to the replies from our fellow musicians.

You really should talk to your band or your manager about it though. At the least you might learn a thing or two about each other.

[ It was becoming increasingly tempting to get up and leave the grump to himself. Doctor had realized Yan was too stubborn to listen to anyone else's opinions. What was he doing sitting at the table with someone who outright insulted him any way? ]

[goateeocracy]

You think they're gonna sit me down and have an intervention? I play guitar, bass, fiddle, and I can sing and write lyrics. I clean up nice and I look good without a shirt. That's what kind of commodity I am. As long as I go along with what the higher-ups tell me to do and don't get into any trouble they don't tell me to get into, no one gives a fuck what I do.

[When Yan's settled in for a fight, there's no moving him. He doesn't even particularly like getting into arguments, but he also can't put up with idealists with their heads in the clouds who won't accept the way the real world works.]

All you're gonna get is a bunch of "if it weren't for music, I wouldn't be a rich musician" from our co-workers, a bunch of fans fawning all over you because they want you to pay attention to them, and probably some assholes posting pictures of their dicks. It's the internet.

I'm so sorry! I must have accidentally marked this as read in my inbox. ><

[trustme]

[ Doctor looks through the quickly growing mass of replies to his tweet. ]

Au contraire! I have all ready received multiple replies talking about music therapy and love songs that connect couples when they're away from each other. Our fellow professionals are saying the life has given them family and new homes. So you see that's the first thing that comes to their minds- not gold plated toilet seats.

You should slow down before you say anything more. You've all ready contradicted yourself, Yan.

First you accuse me of being in music for nothing more than the paycheck- that I'm in it for the wrong reasons and I should have a higher aspiration. Then the moment I start to talk about higher aspirations and asking you about yours, you say it's all about the money! The very thing you scoffed at a moment before.

I'm starting to think you just want to look down on me regardless of what I say. So much so that you'll change your opinion right on the spot.