☆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

[traumatizing]

Terry smiles a little fondly as he watches Jamie excitedly try to explain himself, and he nods in understanding.

"You're not the only one," he says softly, glancing around to see if there's anyone in the room, "I can do all this shit, but I can feel it in other people now too. It's... Weird."

[mildwildchild]

"I thought you probably could," Jamie says in a hushed tone, scooting forward in his seat a little. "'Cause I could feel it. It's, like - wafting off you." Like weird magic cologne.

He pauses, too, to make sure nobody's around to overhear. "There's a couple other people around HQ that have it, but - I think you're the strongest one I've felt so far. The only one I've felt that's stronger was this - this guy in Virgo." He falters a little, thinking of that encounter with Greg, but then he plows right on.

"How long have you been able to do stuff?"

[traumatizing]

"In general, or...?" Terry frowns, thinking about that, trying to put it all to a timeline. "I only started noticing other people about a month ago but... I guess I started feeling this weird shit back in... November?"

Not long after his birthday, now he thinks about it. Funny how things happen.

[mildwildchild]

Jamie nods, looking thoughtful. "That's a long time," he muses. "What kinda weird shit, though? Like - " He suddenly looks vaguely guilty.

"Have you ever, I dunno...used it to mess with someone's head? 'Cause I did. Once. Only I swear I didn't actually mean to." It comes out in a sort of desperate rush, because even if that guy was a douchebag Jamie's still sort of mortified that it happened.

[traumatizing]

"Not on purpose, no." Terry shakes his head, but it's been known to happen. Accidentally making people cry at open mics, making assholes fuck off during sets you know. The usual. "Had a solo set that kind of turned into a nightmare a little while ago..."

He scratches his head and laughs a little awkwardly at that last one. No big deal.

[mildwildchild]

"Yeah?" Jamie peers at him curiously. "What happened? I mean - if you don't mind talking about it. If you don't wanna, I get it."

[traumatizing]

"It's... Kinda hard to explain. But I don't mean it was bad, I mean it literally looked like a nightmare."

He pulls a bit of a face, trying to think how to describe it, but either he's too tired or just doesn't want to, and he sighs. "Yuffie caught a video, if you really wanna see it."

[mildwildchild]

"Oh - yeah. Maybe I'll do that."

Jamie goes quiet for a minute or so, clasping his hands between his knees, before he ventures, "What do you think it means, that we can do this kinda stuff? I mean...we've got power that a lot of other people don't. We can change things, make a difference." He looks down, a little hesitant, and then back up at Terry. "Maybe...maybe even help people."

[traumatizing]

That feels so familiar, being told he can use his powers to help people. Terry pauses for a moment, trying to remember who it is that said that — someone similar, he thinks? Someone whose powers weren't great either, similar to his maybe?

That doesn't matter right now, and Terry nods. "Maybe," he says softly, looking down at his hands, "I hope so."

[mildwildchild]

Jamie chews his lip and bobs his head kind of aimlessly, scanning the hallway and testing the area for any more flickers of power; there aren't any other than Terry's, thrumming strong and steady around and through them.

"It's - maybe this sounds, I dunno, weird or pretentious or, y'know - up my own ass or whatever, but - I almost feel like it's - it's something I should do. Use this, I mean. Kind of like it's a, a gift or something."

He makes some more little frustrated gestures with his hands and double-checks the hall again. "I'm just - I'm not sure how. I know there's something useful I can do with it, but I can't figure out, y'know, specifics."

[traumatizing]

There's something about Jamie calling it a gift that gets Terry's hackles up. Something about being told his powers are a gift-- powers he never wanted or asked for. That make him a danger to everyone around him.

But this isn't those powers, and Terry balls a hand into a fist to calm himself down. He nods a little along with Jamie instead, forcing himself to focus on what's actually being said to him instead of some vague memory that pisses him off.

"We'll figure it out," he says softly, "just... practice, I guess."

[mildwildchild]

Jamie misses the fist-clenching as he's scanning the hallway, but he picks up on Terry's less than enthusiastic demeanor. Not that Terry is a ball of effervescence normally, and the past month has taken a lot out of all of them, but he seems a little more subdued than usual. Jamie tips his head to the side in concern.

"Are you, um. I mean, everything okay? You're not having any...problems because of this stuff, are you?"

[traumatizing]

"No-- No." Terry shakes his head, he feels like he's getting to grips with it quite fast actually. It's just figuring out what it is and where it's from-- why him and so few others? Is it gonna change him?

A lot of worries and questions he's not about to tell Jamie about, and Terry offers up a tired smile instead, "I'm just feeling kinda run down, you know?"

[mildwildchild]

"Oh - yeah." Jamie bobs his head a little, chewing his lip. Maybe he's just worrying over nothing, but, well - they need to worry about each other in this business.

"Still. If you ever wanna, y'know. Talk about it or anything, I mean..." He lifts one shoulder in a shrug and attempts a grin. "We're going through the same thing, so we can try and figure it out together. If you want."