☆TRACK X: PLAY ALONG

[interdimanagers]

Who: Everyone!
What: Vista City amps up for Pride and Virgo's WORLD TOUR with HYPE WEEK.
When: May 1st - May 5th 2055
Where: Various places in Vista City
Warnings: Could be anything.

“Try to make it look like it's all somehow getting better, 'Cause I know how to play it pretty good against the measure. Everyone started out a little insane, But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game.” ☆PLAY ALONG Hype Week is less an official label event, and more something that the media has created in response to a particularly odd situation. Pride and Virgo appear to be functioning in unison - launching separate world tours on practically the same date, launching vast quantities of new material and media events, and making a point of never mentioning or acknowledging the actions of the other. Could this be some kind of collaborative event? A viral marketing campaign? No one is really sure, but the local economy is happy to capitalize on it in order to make it as big of a city-wide ordeal as possible. For musicians, this means all kinds of event that they have to attend and cooperate with - everything from photo shoots, to signing, to music video premiers. For rescuers, this means one last opportunity to track down those still trapped before they are whisked away on a world spanning journey. Events that will be happening: ► NEW SINGLES: Hot new singles are getting released by bands all over the place. While actual concerts and performances are not actually happening much during the hype period, each band is probably releasing at least one new single and hyping it all to hell with one song performances here and there on TV and the like. You can have fun defining that single for your band, or leave it ambiguous! Up to you. ► PANELS AND INTERVIEWS: Musicians will get carted all over to various talk shows and public question panel events - a lot of questions will be asked about the World Tour and its specifics, of which the musicians themselves seem to know very little. This goes for the veterans as much as it does the fledglings. ► MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERS: In which a bunch of fancy music people go to fancy theaters and watch all the new music videos for the new singles, and then write articles about this. This is also something you are welcome to create specifics for. ► SIGNINGS AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES: While many of the veterans and doing things like autobiographical books signings and what not, the newer musicians are more likely to just be signing millions of World Tour specific posters and CD releases. Its quite likely that they are going to be totally run down after all these appearances and preparations - try to stay awake at the table! ► WORLD TOUR PREMIER: This will be covered in a second log a few days from now. For now, the musicians are just being prepped for a music festival to end all music festivals, that will start May 5th and cover the entire weekend. They've been practicing rigorously all month - they'll have to hope they have the stamina to make it to the actual performance. All the while, Gold and Silver have been mysteriously absent. Silver has been here and there, handing out supplies and necessary tech, but guidance for rescuers has been minimal. Gold hasn't been seen at all. Part way into the week, at least, Shep will return with a new batch of rescuers, just in time for the premier! New musicians and band combinations will slowly be announced over this week as well, with some of them being saved for the premier festival itself. That is, any OOC changes made to bands and last minute new members are going to get announced like they are big exciting unveilings, because spin doctoring is what the labels do! ☆SINGULARITY Everyone hearing the new singles will be able to tell that they seem especially ear wormy - extra hip, extra catchy, like the best examples of each bands radio popularity. Rescuers in particular, though, will notice something sort of strange about them. It's more than just song being catchy. People who are not musicians themselves will find themselves being unnaturally charmed by them, as if each time they hear these singles they are being slowly brainwashed into becoming more and more fixated on the artists performing. Of course, this can be stopped by just not listening to them for a few days, but it's hard to avoid when pretty much every public location has been playing these singles non stop. Along with this effect, there are some particulars: ► PREDATOR DREAMS: The Pride band Predator is the same as the others, in that it has a particularly intrusive single that's just been introduced. There is one difference. It may take a while to notice, but it can be noted that one starts to feel somewhat tired and dazed after listening to it repeatedly, like they are somehow drained. The single is called The Spaces In Between and it is somewhat unusual that Cass, the member who usually primarily focuses on instrumentals and back up singing, is now performing lead. If your character hears this song several times, they may suffer some weird DREAMS - especially if they received a dose of Gold's magic powder in the Better To Pretend event. If you'd like to receive a dream, please write "DREAM PLEASE" in your subject line, along with a written section describing an instance of your character having regular dreams that I can manipulate. Anywhere else and I might miss it. ► ESCAPED MUSICIANS: Musicians that have escaped and are now in hiding will find themselves particularly mentally manipulated by the singles released by their home label. They will find their minds unusually filled with thoughts of returning to their labels, as well as increased paranoia about being caught. Any remaining programming will be particularly triggered and brought to the surface. They'll be able to push it down with self control and assistance from other characters, but the thoughts will become more invasive the more they listen to it. “'Cause everybody's so scared, We don't wanna go there. We don't wanna make a move, We got all our lives to lose. Screaming in the dark while we just play our part out. I play along, Like I don't know what's going on.”

Comments

Superbia Squalo // ota // DREAM PLEASE // ???

[sharktrash]

-- p r o m p t s


► NEW SINGLES

[ The month had been pretty funny. While Squalo was pretty sure by now that he wasn't actually a musician, some part of him still insisted on creative perfectionism, not to mention that there were eyes and ears on them expecting to perform and he suspected testing the bosses' patience (again) was a bad idea right now. ]

[ So, yeah, he'll be contributing not one but a bunch of new songs to his band, some heavier than others, but he'll happily provide Superior Arrangement on anything the others might be bringing to the table. ]

[ He can't help but think how weird it is to have music come so easily to him. ]


► PANELS AND INTERVIEWS

[ Interviews are great. Appearing at panels to be worshipped is pretty great too. Being invited into several dozen talk shows as a guest is less so, especially when one of said shows turns out to be some weird mix of "An hour with celebrity" and "Dear Abby". Oh, he's still interviewed about ~*~WORLD TOUR~*~ for a good portion of the screen time, but then the show's host gleefully announces that it's time for the viewers to call in with their problems and questions and oh, maybe today's guest with an admirable career and an extensive love life will offer some excellent insights as well! ]

[ Are you a stranger in need of the worst advice ever given? A fellow musician? A troll (literally or figuratively)? Go on and pour your heart out! ]


► MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERS

[ Of course there'll be MANTICORE videos. But maybe the most surprising one? Squalo had shot a video with Xanxus and it's nearly as gay as that late night show at the "Variable". Meaning, most of it is Squalo playing, fighting (a lot of hours of choreography must've gone into that, right?), or walking ~down the road of life~ while Xanxus just occasionally shows up and chills in the background until at the end of the song, there are some lines addressed to him. Something about being captivated by his anger probably. The whole thing looks roughly similar to this. ]


► SIGNINGS AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES

[ Posters and CDs it is. And yeah, it's been a long day. So when thanks to some kind of miracle there's nobody asking Squalo to sign anything for at least thirty seconds, he just falls asleep in a blink. ]

[ Yeah, still sitting up, pen in hand, head rested on the table and his other arm, mouth gaping open and spewing a hellish, loud noise that sounds like it's been cultivated carefully through years of trial and error to be torturous. ]


-- d r e a m i n g s (pick your poison, dear NPCs)


► PAST REFLECTIONS

[ Now, various trash invading his spaces was nothing new both in life and in dreams. The vague memories and dreams suggest he'd usually cut them down and be done with it, but it's different this time. He's pretty sure the warehouse isn't his, and even though he's not exactly being stealthy while walking into it for some reason, he's not being jumped by a bunch of cretins. Yet. ]

[ They do when he reaches the middle, where a lone chair with chains is sitting. Several shadowy assailants that he easily skewers with -- a cello bow. What the fuck? ]

[ It goes through flesh easily like butter, more easily than he thinks a sword should, but he can't help but think he's seen those people somewhere before. The surroundings have shifted into a mass of colours and sounds, and he'll grab the one remaining figure to shove them into that chair. He's not sure where the bow went, but he's got a pocket knife in his hand now, and his voice sounds unfamiliar like someone else is talking for him. ]

Better start talking. Or do you want me to peel all this skin off your face?


► DEEP BLUE SEA (DREAMS ARE A FUNNY THING)

[ Water washes over him, and he feels alive. ]

[ Quickly, he pulls himself out of the warm shallow full of crabs, and rolls toward the dark water. Maybe it was a bad idea to go in for the easy dinner but hey, all's well that ends well, right? The ocean feels cool, and he happily dives in, enjoying the way the water gently tugs at his hair and brushes against his tail. ]

[ Oh yeah. He's kind of a shark from waist down. Long tail, two dicks and all. All of him silver in colour and a bit scaley. It feels surprisingly natural, though. ]

[ Sure enough, there's a bored looking shark nearby, and Squalo swims a circle around it before coming up near, wrapping one arm around it's back and grinning at it. What comes out of his mouth is some kind of bubbly, whistley incoherence, but the meaning's pretty clear. ]

Heeey, you're one hot piece of tail!

New Singles plz

[scalpedsociety]

[Aramat is now kind ofsure that Squalo isn't her student or her adoptive son. (It sort of hurts a bit.) But it doesn't stop certain things Aramat still checks up on him in the studio from time to time, goes to any small concert he ask for her to attend.

She wonders how good is whatever they did to her that make her do these things. She thinks that she honestly likes it and him. And Aramat is in the studio smiling at his work.]

Sublime. But that's to be expected.

[sharktrash]

[ Who knows. Maybe brainwashing isn't all that bad, right? It's much weirder to feel like they're close now, but it's... still pleasant. ]

[ He smirks back at her, resting his bow against his leg. ]

Naturally. I don't half-ass this shit.

[scalpedsociety]

I expect you not to.

[It's brain-washing bullshit but Squalo got her somewhat trusting men again. Even if this one is almost exactly the type she and her ladies abhor.

Having a clear mind makes her realize a lot of things.]

[sharktrash]

[ Of all men to achieve this. Smfh. ]

[ But! He's sort of eyeing her with a slight smirk, like a kid's that's about to drop the bomb about the puppy he brought home or something. ]

...actually, there's another piece you haven't heard.

[scalpedsociety]

[In all honesty, she's no better than Squalo. She's just more polite.]

Really? I want to hear it.

[sharktrash]

Early birthday gift, then.

[ He gets up to rest the cello in its case and picks up an acoustic guitar instead. The chords are pretty simple, but the song's much gentler than... anything she's ever heard him play, probably. ]

[scalpedsociety]

[Nearly every song Squalo has ever written has been dark and heavy, even when it isn't dark and heavy it's almost always been in Squalo's trademark 'all the fuck in' style. Even when he's mellow he's intense. It's never been gentle like this.]

It's beautiful... what do you call it?

[sharktrash]

[ Isn't that weird. He probably wanted to try something new. ]

Dunno. Thinking about "Mother". Simple. To the point.

[scalpedsociety]

Any lyrics for it right now?

[Such a gentle song for her, she does wonder what the lyrics are.]

[sharktrash]

[ WELL HE JUST SANG THEM. The player is just too lazy to rewrite them right now while believing they're "a little different from the original". Let's say it was like one verse or something. ]

There's gonna be more, but it's a work in progress.

[scalpedsociety]

[The lyrics are a bit strange yes, but she doesn't question Squalo's genius. (She thinks they are sweet for an asshole rockstar shark.)

That poor woman.]

Let me know if you need help with it.

[sharktrash]

Well. [ He pauses, as if not sure if it's fine to say this, but then throws the caution in the wind. ] I think it'd sound best as a duet, actually.

Signing

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Oh that sounds like her shark, singing the song of his people. Luci follows the ungodly screech, smirking faintly at the faces various patrons of the record store are making, while pulling a slightly squashed eclair out of her bag.]

[Which she carefully tucks into the space making that racket.]

Have some sugar.

[sharktrash]

[ *Snoring. It's totally snoring, and it's hideous. And not at all surprising she would recognize it, because who else could be making that kind of noise? ]

[ Which, yeah, totally falters when something gets in the way and blocks his air. Not quite enough to choke or anything, but it's still uncomfortable and he jolts awake, blinking blearily and looking utterly and completely confused about having something in his mouth. ]

[ Then he bites down on it and scowls. ]

Thfe hell?

[ It's muffled by the eclair. ]

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Shrieking, snoring, is there really a difference?]

Sugar. Su-gar. Eat it, perk up. Or eat it and food coma, I really don't care, I just couldn't waste a great eclair. [She grins and sits down on his table, legs dangling fully off the edge.] How much longer do you have? I want to get out of here.

[sharktrash]

[ Pitch, mostly. ]

Seriously? [ GURL he's long past the place where sugar could help him stay awake. His eyes do hopefully wander toward the food stands, though. ] Fuck, I need an espresso. [ He chews on the eclair, seemingly at least a little more alive. ] Me too. You're a life-saver. [ Glancing at his watch, he groans. ] Another forty minutes. I'm gonna fucking die here.

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Shhhh, every noise Squalo makes, pitch aside, is grating to most.]

I just gave you free pastry. 'I need coffee with this' is something you say to your assistant, not your bed-buddy.

[Forty minutes? Ugh. Luci sighs heavily and swings her legs a little from her perch.] ...well, you're here for the fans at least. They get more out of this than our managers do, that's what gets me through these things.

[sharktrash]

[ That is, unfortunately, true. ]

Fine, fine. How can I ever repay this divine favor?

[ It's probably a bit muffled, since of course he's talking with his mouth full. ]

Yeah, you're right. [ And he's already signing more CDs because of course that group of youngsters noticed he was awake again. He gives them his trademark grin, the tiredness behind it almost unnoticeable. ] I do enjoy being worshipped.

[stylistic_disloyalty]

Oh don't you worry your beautiful, silver head. I'm already making a list. [She grins, trying to look devious but she's just glad he's eating.]

It's good, right? [It's a great reason to stay, right...?]

[sharktrash]

Can't I just sign off my soul and be done with it?

[ After taking some selfies, the fans walk off, and he shoves the remaining eclair into his mouth. ]

...yeah. It's good.

[ He thinks it's better than what's waiting for him at home, but he's a little allergic to being anyone's fucking slave. ]

[stylistic_disloyalty]

Ooh, I do love collecting those~ [She grins and drums her fingers together evilly before letting the latest group of fans selfie with him, offering complimentary winks as they finish up and nervously stammer that they don't have any Carnie stuff on them for her to sign.]

...you don't sound convinced. And I don't blame you. [She says this, never breaking her pleasant demeanor, as the fans retreat-- probably because she feels like everybody's watching them. The musicians.]

This shit is going to go pear-shaped any day now, feels like.

[sharktrash]

Great. Wouldn't want it in any other collection.

[ Another few teenagers with CDs, and there's momentary peace again. He frowns, and the look he gives her is strangely somber. ]

No kidding. Might as well put it like this, [ he does his best to yell less than usual, ] love the job, hate the management.

[stylistic_disloyalty]

You thinking about getting out?

[She asks this point-blank, tone still reminiscent of a pleasant conversation. But from where she sits, Squalo has as much of a reason to get out as anybody. Lesedi threw him across her office, probably a couple of times. It would only escalate from there.]

[sharktrash]

Of course I'm thinking about it.

[ Just as pointedly. It's not hard to figure out what's keeping him put, what with his almost daily visits to the Carnival suite. ]