interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK X: PLAY ALONG

Entry tags:

☆TRACK X: PLAY ALONG

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.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

3 has been playing cards as well, fairing about even with her luck, her wins and her loses. It's been interesting for her to learn the game. However, at the door opening, she looks up in alarm. She has her tentacles down, so her identity would be blown. 3's not sure the reality is much better.

"Agent J? What happened?! Are you hurt?" She jumps up and dashes to his side.

Normally, he'd be worried about this much attention when he's not feeling his best. Normally, he'd be trying to deflect concern with a smile and reassurances. Normally, he can think straight. Today isn't normal.

He takes a shaky breath and lets it out slowly. "I'm not hurt," he manages, dropping his hands into his lap. "Just..." How does he even explain? Lapis is the only person here with any context for why he'd be affected so badly, and even then it's a completely new development that's thrown him for a loop. What does he even say? "It's bad out there."

Whatever's wrong with J, at least Papyrus has been given a reprieve from his losing streak. It's hard to continue playing when a few of the players leave their cards behind.

He gently places his cards on the floor out of the way, stretches, and looks over at the small crowd of concerned friends. "What's bad? The weather?" If that's what's wrong, he should give Sans a call, and tell him not to walk home.

Edited (typo) 2016-05-06 00:18 (UTC)

'Not hurt' doesn't mean that nothing is wrong - there was more than enough deflection and denial going on in the Virgo tower to teach Rarity that. She puts her cards down as well and gets up, flipping Lapis' cards facedown on her way to the kitchen (not that it's likely any of them will be returning to the game, but there's something to be said for the pretense of normality).

"Bad how?" The question is light but still pointed. "What did you see?"

Nudging the chair out from the table, she perches, waiting.

But one hand finds its way over to his on his lap, the coolness of her fingers coming to rest on top of his. They'll stay if he lets them -- or they'll be a quiet reminder that she'll find him if she has to.

"This is the point of the conversation where you say something more, so we don't end up facing the wrong end of a Killer Wail or worse 'cause right now, that's what it's sounding like." 3 is part of a squad back home. Communication is keep to pull of plays and warn of danger. J just saying "It's bad out there" isn't going to cut it.

She doesn't mean to be rude and pushy, but holding the info in isn't doing J any good either. "Would writing it down be easier? I can nab some paper."

He takes hold of Lapis' hand briefly. There's not a whole lot that can make him feel better right now, but she's trying, and it helps.

Much as he hates to admit it, Agent 3 has a point - teams have to share information to stay on the same page, and everyone here is his team now. He's been acting alone for long enough - too long, probably - and he needs to open up. He needs help.

For someone who's used to doing the helping, it's a sobering realization.

"Nah, I'd be writin' forever. This...this needs a little context that most of you don't have." He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. It's not blowing his cover if they're all part of his team. Right. "I can hear Music. An' I'm not talkin' about 'on the radio' - I mean...where I'm from, every living thing has a Tune. It's...what their soul sounds like. Those tunes all come together to make the Music, an' I can hear all of that an' manipulate it - use it to help people. Pretty sure that's why Shep asked me to come here." It's not easy to talk about this, and it only gets worse from here.

"Thing is, musician tunes here are pretty bad. The brainwashing does a number on 'em. They skip, they warp - they sound like old records on a bad turntable." Sorry, Rarity, he's telling it like it is. "I've mostly been fixin' those - if I can hear what they're supposed to sound like, I can set 'em to rights. One of the people I helped was Greg Universe - ran into him a couple of weeks ago. He's about the only one who figured out somethin' was goin' on an' that it was me doin' it. Saw him today at a signing, an'..." He trails off, shaking his head. How does he even explain this? "There's nothin' left. Everything that made him him is just- gone. There's nothin' in his tune but static an' warping, an' the gaps are filled in with-" There is no easy way to say this. "With Blanche's tune. Greg sounds like a smaller, more broken Blanche, an'- I don't know what to do. I can't help him." There's something helpless about the way J admits that - namely because, for the first time in a very long time, he is. "And if Blanche can do that to people, I..." He trails off again. At this point, he has nothing. "I don't know. I just...don't know."

Sans happens to teleport in just as J starts explaining, off to the side and out of sight. Still bracing the crack running up the bridge of his nose from the fight he just had with the man in question - the timing of it all is almost surreal. He stands there listening, still not announcing himself. All the while, a tension grows in his chest. This prognosis... It makes him angry to hear. It isn't fair.

This guys a goddamn music mage and he didn't tell anybody about it until now? Just as J finishes, Sans punctuates the explanation by stepping into the room, the crack from his nose hole leading up to his brow plainly visible.

"Did you try?" he asks, a degree of force already present in that simple question. His left pupil flickers with bluish light. He clenches his hands at his sides.

He's not hearing this.

Edited 2016-05-08 19:31 (UTC)

She'd stayed quiet through the explanation, but as he described Greg, a hundred questions rose to mind, worried, anxious, and sharp in their demand in her mind. What does he mean, "a smaller, more broken Blanche?" "Gone?" How--

All of that is cut off by the sudden appearance of Sans.

The teleportation might have been enough in itself to give Lapis a start . . . but the sound in Sans' voice, the pupil gleaming . . .

Her fingers tighten on J's, immediately offput and wary. There's something very wrong in that look, and she doesn't like it -- and even less that she can sense a flicker of apprehension in him in response.

There's no move to be made yet, as far as she can see, but there's something settling here suddenly like a storm shifting inward from the sea.

While others might have taken a more shocked reaction to J's explanation, 3 nods along and starts piecing it together with what she already knows... about Inklings. Octarians and Inklings have been controlled by music, and playing "Calamari Inkantation"gave her an amazing boost to her confidence in the hardest battle of her mission. An Inkling's soul flies from their splatted body and returns to the Spawn Point. There, they respawn. Someone's soul not being in their body doesn't sound strange at all. In a normal match, 3 is like that at least two or three times because she's a front-line short range battler.

But, the situation has gotten very tense with the sudden arrival, and it looks like it's time for the kid to act like the adult here.

"Cool your jets, everyone. It just means that his souls stuck somewhere else. Maybe it got caged somewhere. You guys don't have Spawn Points, but that doesn't mean he's dead dead gone. We just gotta find where he's being held. After all, you get affected by musical brainwashing and have music in your soul like an Inkling. So why can't they stick something else inside while this Greg guy's trapped?"

While the Inkling tries to calm people down, Papyrus rises to stand beside Sans. "Brother! I know you must be scared for your friend... but that's no reason to take it out on J!"

3's idea about what's happened to Greg is familiar... and yet, not familiar at all. Everybody knows that human souls can be taken from their bodies. For the human to still be walking around, talking and alive? That's... not how it works. But then, they're dealing with super powerful aliens who can time travel, and turn skeletons into humans, and make people into musicians. Maybe they can take somebody's soul without killing them.

The idea's a much better one than whatever miserable, hopeless things J and Sans must be thinking. The idea that Greg's further gone than Sans ever was, and that there's no him left to recover...

Yeah, there's no sense in thinking a thing like that. They need to hope for the best! And assume it'll come true, if they just work hard enough!

Rarity has gone very, very quiet. She's just been told her soul is corrupted, along with those of all of the friends she made at Virgo and Pride, and that Greg is too far gone to be fixed. She is not handling it well, but she is handling it quietly.

Until Sans shows up, angry. Oh, no. You do not take this sort of thing out on your friends. "Sans," she says, voice quiet but firm, meeting his eye. "Don't."

He'd heard Sans' tune building to something while he talked, but it's not until Sans speaks that it clicks into something J recognizes. He's heard this before: in a dream, when Sans was upset and suspicious and ready to wipe the floor with him. It's not as bad as J knows it can be, but that doesn't make it good.

He shifts when that tune ramps up - shoulders back, leaning away from Sans just a bit. It's unconscious, and a small movement, but it'll be more than enough to tip off anyone who's watching. J does not like where this conversation is going.

That doesn't mean he gets an easy way out of it. "No. There was no point. I can't fix something that ain't there." It's the truth; it's also probably something Sans will not want to hear.

There's something to be said for Agent 3's theory, especially given the soul crystals they've stashed in a closet in the apartment; he'll address it when he's certain Sans isn't going to try to kill him. Priorities.

Edited 2016-05-09 16:58 (UTC)

So much preemptive scolding might have been enough to make Sans step down - if it hadn't been for what is undeniably a clash of opinions. When it comes to a monster's physical makeup, removing the soul is impossible, because soul and body are one in the same. It's certainly possible to steal one - it even happened to Sans once, he thinks - but that was more being enveloped by another, bigger monster, and then being released later. You can do these things are survive it when your body and soul are one in the same.

Even with humans, his only experience with them has been when they are physically dead and their soul has been captured and prevented from disappearing. J's simplistic understanding of what's happened is grating - as is the fact that he hasn't even done anything, and already everyone is breathing down his neck.

"Bullshit," Sans says, stepping forward and jutting out a finger in accusation. "Greg's a mage now, and since I just got finished gettin' slapped around by his spells-" He jerks his thumb towards his broken nose, "-I think I got the authority to know that the magic is still happening and that you don't do magic without a soul. If all Blanche needed to do to create an army for himself was plant his soul into other people's bodies he'd have been doing it from the start."

"What I don't get," he goes on, ignoring anyone who tries to interrupt him, "is why we're only hearing about this now? You've had some kind of soul affecting magic this whole time and just didn't bother to tell anyone - how many times you been poking around inside of me without saying a damn thing?"

Great. Great. Perfect. Sans is only getting more upset as the conversation goes on; what's worse is, J's following along that same path, and he knows it, and he's having a hell of a time stopping himself. "It works that way wherever you're from - how d'you know it works the same way here?" If the Music itself worked differently, there was no guarantee that anything from any other dimension stayed consistent.

"Because I'm a secret agent and I don't like talkin' about my life." The words are out before he can stop himself. "It's kind of a hard habit to break." He straightens up and stops for a moment as Sans throws that last question at him. Consent has always been a touchy issue at the Agency, with some very ironclad rules: you don't meddle without consent. It's why missions are always preceded by a cry for help; it's to keep anyone from walking off the slippery slope that comes with the ability to manipulate someone's soul. But here...he's been skirting the line and he knows it. Whether or not brainwashed people can give consent is an ugly question he's been mostly avoiding. No wonder life is weighing heavy on him here.

"All I've been doin' is fixin' the damage the labels have caused," he finally says, and it's the truth, "gettin' people back to whatever counts as normal for 'em. For you...three times. The first two were in those weird wakin' dreams that I don't think any of the musicians remembered - I'm guessin' what happened there doesn't matter, 'cause neither of 'em took. The third was a few days back, with the crystal."

Because it's just not enough that J is responding to Sans's accusation of dimensional bias by mimicking the same thing back at him - no, this goes deeper than that. The words that immediately come to mind upon hearing that part never get the chance to go to his mouth based on what comes next. Hoo boy.

Deja vu of deja vu. Half remembering things from what feels like another time. So many things have been done to him and he's never been able to stop any of them.

"I thought I remembered you," he says, and though the some of the volume and anger has left his voice, there is something darker and sharper rising from beneath the surface. All the light has left his eyes, besides the burning light of magical energy in his left socket.

He steps forward, and though his mind is elsewhere, the magic contained within his small body is starting to leak out into the environment. Something is broken, there, and Sans doesn't know how to fix it - and it's probably a safe guess that despite declaring himself the authority on the matter, J doesn't know either.

"So, touchin' a guys soul is no big deal if he doesn't remember it, right? And hell, why bother asking for permission when he's physically present, either? Pretty sure that guy's head isn't all together, anyway! The fuck do I know about my own soul?"

All at once, the gravity in the room slowly starts to shift. Object start to become light, enough that they can float. Small items will begin to head towards the ceiling while wrapped in a bluish glow.

Whether or not Sans notices is unclear, but the derisive laugh he lets out indicates that he probably doesn't care right now.

"Did'ja ever stop to think that maybe some things are better left forgotten?"

That's far enough for Lapis -- verging right up against too far. It's a threat -- a warning -- and she doesn't think.

Water gushes from the sink, the bathtub, the toilet, and she's on her feet in the middle of it, eyes narrowed. Silvery strands of water race through the air in the space between J, Sans, and herself -- returned threat that if he moves, so does she.

Apparently partially recovered memories aren't enough for Sans to be back to his normal, non-combative self. Which leaves him in this strange limbo between the fake Sans and the real one, where he remembers things and acts like himself... some of the time. Only some of the time. Falling back apart at the worst times.

It's enough to make a skeleton really, very concerned for his brother. How much of this anger was from the fake stuff? How much was Sans himself? Maybe there was something to Rarity's doubts. Maybe getting better would take them all a lot longer than they hoped.

Papyrus shakes his head, dismissing the worries. Either way! The important thing right now is making sure nobody gets needlessly hurt. And this erratic display of power Sans is tossing around, moving things around them without even meaning to...

Well, that kind of display has nothing on Papyrus' precise control. His natural stamina, his careful control honed by training with the captain of the Royal Guard herself...! Surely, temper or no temper, Sans won't accidentally hurt any of their friends in the apartment.

And it's up to Sans' brother to look out for him and make sure of it. The blue glow around all the items intensifies as Papyrus puts his own pressure on them, redirecting all the floating objects back down.

Edited 2016-05-09 22:29 (UTC)

3 rolls her eyes at J's "I'm a secret agent." So is she, but she didn't hide what she can do because working as a team doesn't work like that. She'll have to talk some sense into him later. Hiding his personal life is one thing, but they could have worked together whenever he did his thing. In fact, there are a number of people in the rescuers who are acting like straight up noobs with how they're handling things.

And then things are flying in the air, and water is rushing in. 3 jumps further away and put a hand on her new shield Bubbler device, ready to activate it at a moment's notice. The items being pushed back down don't do anything to ease her worry. Those can't really hurt her if she squids.

"Stop!" She says maybe a little too loud. She then quiets to prevent the neighbors from barging in, thinking there's a fight going on. Which there could be, but she hopes she can talk some sense into these people.

"This squad's gonna cave in on itself because of drama if we don't stop being salty and sit down talk about what to do now instead of pointing tentacles at each other. We can't change what happened. We can get better to continue the fight. That flower music boy on the network had the right idea. Let's say what we can do and figure out how to use it to save people. Fighting each other's not gonna help. People are just gonna end up dead."

Mainly her if Lapis starts whipping around the water. No. No, she can't let the water shut her down like it did in the trial. She has to rise up.

"So, everyone sit down, quit being salted squids, and talk. We're all worried about Greg, so let's figure out how to actually save him and everyone else. No one's a lost cause. I didn't leave home to give up on the people I'm supposed to help."

With that, she gives her best glare at everyone like she expects everyone to sit down now. Coming from a squidkid, it might not have the intended results. She's too small and cute to look intimidating.

She's never seen Sans like this before. She's seen him upset, and nearly at to the end of his rope, but this a hair's breadth away from violence, and-

And something had to tear that gash in the warehouse wall a few weeks ago, Rarity remembers with a stab of dread. She's betting it wasn't Papyrus, and Sans had been exhausted...

"Sans, that's enough!" She's trying for firm; she lands on fear. It's not good, but it's not enough to stop her either. She grabs Sans' shoulder and holds tight. The last thing they need is for this Mexican standoff to explode into all-out war, and Sans is just unsteady enough to be the one to pull the trigger.

This right here is why J doesn't tell anyone anything. Trying to explain his Music Sense has gone well exactly once in his life, and at this point he's pretty sure that was the exception that proved the rule. The situation right now isn't so much a return to form as it is taking form and making it a hell of a lot worse.

Sans' tune sounds like murder again, for a start. He'd be looking for an exit if there weren't half a dozen people - one of them Sans - between him and the door. There's panic in the Music, and fury, and a sharp undertone of fear - partly from Rarity, but mostly from Agent 3, because there's water everywhere-

This has gotten out of hand way too quickly. Someone has to rein it in, and that someone shouldn't have to be the kid surrounded by something that could mean her death.

J puts his hands on the table and, despite every instinct telling him to keep his eyes on the guy who wants to kill him, levels a steady gaze at Lapis. "Lapis. Put it away." His tone is oddly calm amidst the barely controlled violence in the kitchen. It has to be. He has to do this. He can freak out later.

That imparted, and trusting Lapis to do what he says, he looks back at Sans. "3's right. You wanna talk about this, we'll talk, but fightin' each other ain't gonna help anybody, an' I think you know that."

The squid kid's got the right idea, and Sans can respect that, and right now some part of him does. Unfortunately, right now Sans feels like he's barely there. Everything around him feels like nothing but threatening - even Papyrus's gentle use of magic to counter his - and he can't slow himself down. It's so easy to die, when you're him. Agent 3 isn't the only one filled with that anxiety right now.

His whole body tenses under Rarity's hand when she grabs him, like the touch is something unfamiliar and unwelcome as opposed to the restraining hand of a friend. He abruptly teleports away from her towards the backside of the room, moving on the defensive, and coming back with one of his blasters at his side and pointed at Lapis.

"Stay out," he demands, looking back at J, and clutching the sides of his skull as if making a stressful physical effort to try to block any attempts. His magical energy surges again, pointedly fighting back against Papyrus's for control of the gravity of the room. He doesn't even know why he's doing it, now - just that he can feel that he's being contained and viscerally disliking it.

Well. Rarity is fairly certain that answers her questions about what made the gash in the wall. Of course, now that she's looking at a rather large magically powered dog skull that Sans evidently pulled from thin air, she's not certain she wanted that answer.

Her horn glows blue and she presses the blaster firmly to the floor using her magic. If she keeps it where it is, mouth closed, it can't hurt anyone, right?

"Sans, you need to stop! Nopony here is going to hurt you!" She's trying to stay calm, but it just isn't working.

She is not putting it away. She's not fooled by the anxiety going suddenly to calm, and with a blaster pointed at her . . . no. She's not listening, and she's not going to obey an order from someone who has no right or proper mind to command. There's insanity going on in this room, and there's threat, and she's not going to ignore either. She twists to follow Sans' moment, yanking away from the table.

"3, get out."

The water strands plunge towards Sans, braiding to chains as they go, aiming to snap the skeleton by throat and by wrists to the wall.

Historically speaking, Sans's primarily skill in combat has been that he is extremely difficult to catch. One hit is more than capable of putting him down - the main challenge is ever getting it in. But that's when he's thinking, when he's physically and mentally at the ready. Right now, Sans is neither of these things. He's just reacting, out of anger and out of fear.

So, while he's busy reacting to Rarity crying out to him in fearful tones, Lapis's attack effortlessly lands. He goes from being distressed that his blaster is being nullified to realizing that he's already completely lost. He's sure of it, the moment the water chains lock him down.

He snaps back into the wall, pinned by his arms and his neck. The blaster at his side struggles against Rarity's telekinetic smothering, but can't get the mobility it needs to fire back, despite the cyan glow spilling between its teeth and locked jaw. Sans's reaction to being bound is utterly without pride. He squirms against Lapis's hold for only a few moments before his sockets go wide and filled with dread - his terror is wild and unthinking. Context means nothing to the situation, all he can think about is how he's trapped again, how he messed up again, and how he's going to be hurt.

He yells aimlessly, the sound pilled with pain, and another blaster gets summoned through a mixture of will and instinct. It immediately lines up a shot on Lapis.

☆TRACK X: PLAY ALONG

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