interstellar5555 | ☆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

"Pretty sure they didn't get to you via sleep," he comments lightly, partially because he's pretty sure he's right and partially because that concept is utterly terrifying and he doesn't exactly want to think about it. "Anything else new?"

Papyrus taps the communicator fastened to the side of his skull. "I've been on the internet! Reading our communications... Following the latest music label releases, in search of clues."

The latest releases, huh. Music has power, they know the CEOs are mages when it comes to music, and J's been feeling like hell after work, where the only change is that the new singles play nonstop. Could that be...?

"You might wanna stop listening to stuff bein' produced by evil overlords," he ventures. "If you need music, I got some I brought from home that's pretty good. Also, d'you want me to work my magic or not?" He drums his hands on the back of the couch, trying to keep the conversation light. He still needs an out-and-out yes before he can get started.

He freezes, jaw dropping open for a few seconds. "...That makes an uncommon, and unfortunate, amount of sense! Evil music labels... make evil music."

He... has been asleep all those times he napped, right? No sleepwalking to do their mind-controlled bidding or anything? What a frightening thought. Papyrus shivers and nods at J. "Yes please! Anything you can do about it."

"It's just a theory. I wouldn't freak out about it too much yet." It's the best he can do now that he's gotten Papyrus worried. "This is more of an 'ounce of prevention' thing."

He taps his fingers against his leg, easily swinging into Papyrus' tune. It's a different problem than most musician tunes have, so it requires a different approach. He spends a bit of time just feeling it out, trying to figure out what's causing the drag and how deeply it's embedded itself into the tune. "Just outta curiosity - did you find any clues or anything in those songs?"

"Like eating your vegetables..." There's no flashy lights or anything, indicating that J is doing something... but then, there weren't any swirling around the magicians' heads, and they certainly had something done to them. Maybe it's hard and slow to do, and that's why J took so long to tell them about it. A far cry from Papyrus' own prowess! Such a shame.

"It's hard to say! I'm not sure which details are important, and which are just... details!" It's not like a puzzle in the newspaper, where everything's there by design. Life is full of things irrelevant to the puzzle at hand. "Both labels are doing big tours soon! Almost at the same time. But neither of them mention each other in their press releases. Even the musicians don't talk about the other labels, much. And a lot of the bands members' changed around... some of them because we rescued people! Other ones, I don't know why," he shrugs.

Or maybe it's just subtle right now. There's a reason J was able to keep his Music Sense a secret for so long.

The best he can figure is that the drag something like an octopus, latched onto the tune and wrapped around it, but not embedded. He can work with that. After a moment's consideration, he brings Papyrus' tune into a slow crescendo and hears part of the drag detach in response. Okay, sounds like that's the solution.

"Is there anything in the songs that relates to any of that, d'you think?" Because they sound like your usual Top 40 hits to J, but he's also been avoiding them as best he can.

'Subtle' is hardly a word to Papyrus. Not unless some kind of negating qualifier is involved. Magic back home involves flashy lights, impermanent created matter...

So Papyrus perks up as the adjustments to his tune start to take effect, but it wouldn't occur to him to credit J's powers with the change. Not when it's so easy to think it's because J seems genuinely interested in hearing his perspective.

"Like meaningful lyrics? Not that I've found." He sighs, disgusted, and adds, "trust me, I looked."

The change in Papyrus' tune is quick and easy to hear, and after everything that's been happening lately, it's a relief. Finally, something is going completely, unambiguously right. It's been a while since J has felt good about his work; he needs this more than he knew. Still, he's not done yet, and he keeps working at Papyrus' tune, methodically dislodging the toxic drag octopus until it's gone and Papyrus is up to speed again. It's a small victory, but he'll take it.

"Are the lyrics that bad? I've been tryin' not to listen." And after a moment, "Also, you should be good to go. Feel any better?"

"Some of them!" Papyrus confirms. "And some of them are just... strange. But they're nothing to do with feeling tired!" The mentions of 'blood on the floor' don't give Papyrus the strong, visceral reaction they might for a guy who actually has blood. Some things just don't translate well.

He considers, stretching and moving around a little, and lights up. "Wow! I can feel the difference! It's like a blue effect slowly settled on me... and suddenly got dispersed! I feel so light, and awake."

☆TRACK X: PLAY ALONG

The unstoppable forces team up

squidkidetermination

Longest ship name ever

squidetermination isn't much shorter :(

determinknation

that works. still long, but puns make everything better.

And that is why I make them

:')

8D

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