interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

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☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

Who: Everyone! Especially Lapis and all musicians.
What: The Final Festival finally begins.
When: May 5th, 2055, at 5:55PM.
Where: Concert stages for both Pride and Virgo, as well as throughout the city.
Warnings: Lapis related violence.

“I think I'm drowning.
Asphyxiated.
I wanna break this spell
That you've created.

You're something beautiful;
A contradiction.
I wanna play the game.
I want the friction.”

☆THIS FIXATION

The start times of the festivals are very explicit. The first notes are to be played at 5:55 PM – no sooner, and no later. This has been enforced by every recital leading up to this point, and today the word is law. The audience view it as a peculiarity. How could both labels independently decide to do something so particular?

Those on the stage will feel it in their hearts. There’s more to it than just another concert. Something is happening, bigger than all of you, and something deep down tells you that you are powerless to stop it now. There’s a momentum that’s been building for centuries, and only now will the show truly begin.

the 55th minute | the 5th hour | the 5th day | the 5th month | the 2055th year
Those with magical, spiritual, or musical sense will feel it strongly. The magic of it is thick in the air, enveloping the entirely of Vista within its breadth. The music begins, and a terrible tension in the air finally breaks. In that precise moment, something has been released – and there is no going back from here.

☆THE SHORT AND DIRTY

The ritual has finally begun. So let's break this down.

► The same moment the festivals begin, and occult magical ritual has been set in motion. That special time window that the labels were waiting for? This is it. Why the number 5 is so important we may never know, but the key thing to note is that the force of musical power behind the labels are now multiplying, and will only be getting stronger the longer the ritual goes on. Those with Fame Power abilities will feel more and more potent as time goes on as well. Magical juice will come easier and they will get bigger magical effects for their effort.

► The festival will begin with the labels biggest acts, so only a few of the player characters will be on stage at that point. Veteran musicians will start things off on a high note, and the rest will be lined up and ready for a seemingly unending roll of music all through the night and into the entirety of Friday and Saturday. Friday has been deemed a city wide public holiday because that’s how seriously Vista takes its music. Fledgling bands with characters of Fame Power 4+ or Fame Fortune 4+ will have the honour of being part of the first wave of performances, all starting at 5:55PM. This is a seriously big deal. So don’t fuck up.

► Very shortly after the beginning of the festival, Lesedi Santiago is going to fuck everything up for you.

☆LESEDI FUCKS THINGS UP

And this is how Lesedi will fuck things up: she's getting Lapis Lazuli to do it for her.

Lapis was recently captured by Pride Records while trying to sneak out information to the rescuers. She has been powerfully enchanted by Lesedi to attack and kill Virgo musicians and Rescuers alike, and her water powers will be temporarily enhanced by feeding off of Lesedi's magic.

Lapis is being sent to attack Virgo musicians first - ideally disrupting as many Virgo performances as possible and FUBARing Blanche's ritual right from the get go. Juno will quickly regroup and start sending Virgo's magical adepts to try to stop her, while keeping as many of them on stage as possible. Meanwhile, this is all occurring in broad fucking daylight. So what do the civilians think?

Well, they'll be scared and try to save themselves from any attacks they get caught in the middle of, but otherwise...it's like they've been reduced to zombies. None of them seem capable of acknowledging that anything weird is happening - the only thing they can focus on is the music, and as long as it continues their minds are ensnared. Rescuers who have been heavily effected by the brainwashing of the musical singles may also feel entranced by the music at the concert as well, and may have a similar lack of survival instinct. They'll be drawn to the music regardless of all else, up to and including the risk of death.

Lapis's player has been planning out a variety of fight threads in advance, but since Lapis as the ability to create a lot of collateral damage, people can also be free to assume that they are trying to save civilians from surprise water hazards as this goes on, or simply trying to survive themselves. We will be assuming there are no deaths caused by Lapis unless it is cleared with her player first. This includes random audience members.

This will go on for a while, until eventually Lapis is chased away from the festival and goes to attack the rescuer warehouse with the chip removal equipment instead. Silver will sent out an urgent message warning the rescuers of this, urging them to get over there as quickly as possible and help to remove the equipment and take it to a safe place. Silver themselves will not arrive immediately, and Gold is still nowhere to be seen - at least, not until the very end, when they will make a surprise return appearance to help attend to the Lapis Lazuli problem.

“Now that you know I'm trapped-
Sense of elation.
You'd never dream of
Breaking this fixation.

You will squeeze the life out of me.”

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

For the mod, or for Lapis's player!

So I have this idiot with the ability to manipulate Music. To that end, I have a three-part question:

1) Would he even be able to draw music/musical energy away from the festival?

2) If so, to what degree would he be successful?

3) How long will it take for one of the labels to show up and destroy him for it? (Or would that be how his ill-fated fight with Lapis starts?)

1) Yes - but where is he putting it?

2) Depends how many people he can get to dance with him.

3) Lesedi and Blanche are not actually present for this, and most of the label people are really distracted with the ritual, so at works he will have to content with squads of robots. They will definitely know it's him doing it after this, though.

1) Well, it's proud EBA tradition to fire it into the sky in the form of a laser ~~to repel an alien invasion~~, so he'd essentially be burning it off.

2) Is NPC use fair game, then? (Like, people on the street NPCs.)

3) Well. This'll be interesting.

What's security going to be like to get backstage/near stage/whatever else is there? Is this a chance to yank out musicians in the chaos? It'll be hard alone with the brainwashing being boosted with the music, but are they so heavily protected that it'd just be suicide to try?

They can try but it will be hard, especially since musicians are such a valuable resource at this event. Specific plans would have to be subject to individual approval. It would logically be easier to steal from Virgo during the chaos, but Virgo has already lost a lot of people so on an OOC level I don't want to lose too many more.

Got it. There were no plans in mind. Just trying to figure out some IC motivations for being at the festival.

Yeah, it would certainly be worth a shot, at the very least.

For bands playing for Pride/Pride areas, would they be able to see what the heck is going on with Virgo's people? Or would word just kind of leak in and they would otherwise have no idea?

They could potentially see it, yes. The festivals are relatively close together.

This is a good plan! Minako or Doc would be willing to help if you wanted to plot something.

A: We are lead by the light of the moon

She wasted no time in turning into Sailor Moon. She had had less of the music course through her, so her ability to snap out of it occurred when there was all the screaming and yelling around her.

She knew she was going to upset Haruka and Michiru for this, but they couldn't expect her to be anything but herself. She'd never allow innocent people to be injured in the face of those who would do harm. She found a place to transform and then rose high into the air. With the panic below and the music playing, no one even noticed her.

Sailor Moon looked through the screaming crowds, trying to figure out where best to start. Only to see someone go for the musicians nearest the stage, she dove down from the air, calling upon her Tiare and a massive barrier of light appeared around the musicians and the people.

"GO! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" she ordered, not allowing them to argue under the circumstance.

B: We meet by chance again and again

Sailor Moon was standing on stage, Tiare at the ready when she heard sounds behind her, spinning around and ready to attack. Only to pause her hand at the sight of the injured.

She ran over to them instead.

"Are you alright?" Without hesitation she put a hand on their elbow, they looked ready to fall over any minute. "What happened?"

C: The countless shining stars above us foretell love’s whereabouts

She didn't want to leave the festival when there were so many injured. But even now, she wasn't powerful enough to heal the earth. She wished she could, but Silver had said that Lapis was attacking the place where they removed the chips and she was flying as fast as she could to try an stop her, to protect the location, and to help where she could. She saw others running in the same direction and moved lower to the ground, flying beside them.

"Are you alright?" she asked, feeling like she's asked that question a thousand times today.

D: Born on the same Earth

She was exhausted. She was wobbling, trying to get home, hands on the wall to keep her upright.

"You can do it," she whispered, eyes focused on her feet and getting one foot in front of the other.

She had healed and strained herself. She was no longer as Sailor Moon, far away from the concert and the equipment and everything else seemed like a distant memory now. Her legs were shaking and she collapsed on the ground, back up against the wall.

"This is fine," she panted. "Just a small rest and then... then I'll head back," she didn't even know where she was anymore.

Her eyes were fighting to stay open, though she looked up when a pair of feet were suddenly in front of her.

I would like to do something more concrete even if we can't actually rescue anyone. I've been feeling very lost in the game, so maybe this can help.

Minutes go by after 5:55, and all seems well -- the bands electrifying the air with sound, the crowd's energy a frenzy.

The music is so loud, so all-consuming, that it may be easy to miss it: The grumble of the earth under your feet -- the dull roar that announces an earthquake.

And then suddenly the ground awakens like a stretching beast.

It shrugs, arches, ripples like a heaving ocean . . . and then throughout the Virgo section, explodes. The pipes underneath the earth -- the pipes for water supply, for sewer -- have torn through the ground in response to an unseen call, ripping through metal and earth and erupting in great gushes of water and sewage throughout the Virgo section. Water and sewage rains down. All around the area, common citizens will shriek, fall into holes. Some will be injured, thrown by the explosions. Some will just stand there in the wet, vulnerable and unseeing, waiting for the bands to continue playing.

And then from the rain, from the puddles . . . figures emerge.

There are about twenty of them, and at first they're indistinct, featureless. But as they come, they begin to take shape. They take the forms of people in the crowd, of musicians. And they attack.

Pride musicians will remain untouched and will actually actively be avoided if they try to get involved. But these clones seem to know exactly who the Virgo musicians and the rescuers are . . . and don't seem to care what common citizens may be in their way.

((ooc: Anyone facing down Lapis' water clones should watch the video of them in action. Feel free to NPC them; I won't be able to do it. They'll be strong and fight quite well, but will be vulnerable to direct blasts of sound or electricity and will not be able to replicate powers. If you have questions, please feel free to PM or Plurk me!))

Edited 2016-05-07 02:20 (UTC)

Water and sewage rains down in small torrents, and aside from the natural possibility of an earthquake, the source remains unknown.

--Until, that is, the water clones emerge from the torrent and begin weaving into the crowd. Shrieks punctuate the music even as the Virgo veterans are rallied to carry on, the music wizards clustering as many as they can gather onto the stage.

Taking this tactic may save the music, but they have potentially gathered themselves into a single target. Shooting from the gushing pipes in all directions, watery hands and chains wrap around the thick, metal framework of the stage's overhead lighting construct . . . and pull. Unless the music wizards or someone else manage to find a solution, the structure will twist and give away, releasing hundreds of pounds of light and rigging onto the musicians below.

((ooc: Please feel free to use this prompt and the one above as starting points or reference for threads!))

((ooc: This subthread is only for Oscar and Marty.))

Edited 2016-05-08 00:22 (UTC)

Everything that was happening felt surreal. There were water pipes exploding, little blue clones turning into things and going after people. There were also hands reaching up to tug at the metal structure above the stage, pulling down hard enough that the webbing above screamed. With his hands pressed tight over his ears, Marty looks up just in time to see shards of metal and bits of lighting equipment raining down right above him.

He can't do anything but stare; his eyes are wide, his jaw is slack. A grip of terror grabs his guts and refuses to let go, but he can't move. It isn't until someone from backstage pulls him aside that he finally moves, right as a giant light structure smashes the boards where he once stood. Splinters go flying, metal lands everywhere. He can feel something fly past his cheek, hard enough to the point where he can feel it split skin. Even after he's standing, Marty doesn't register that he's bleeding.

When he's back on his feet, he shakily makes his way across what was once the stage, eyes wide with shock. It isn't until he sees another one of those hands that he realizes...he's seen this kind of stuff before. Marty's brought back to the beach after his wrist was busted, and the flowing tendrils of water that had approached him. There was only one person who could manipulate water like that.

But there was no way. She wouldn't. She was way too kind for that.

For a while Marty just walks back and forth, guitar still strapped across his shoulders (although it's way beyond fixing at this point), unsure of what to do. "Does, does anybody need help...?"

Okay, so...Minako could network with a few other rescuers and they make an attempt?

I can only offer Agent 3 to help. Ivan's stuck in the last event, and I feel like I can't plan for anything with him until I know what the Predator dream is supposed to be/do/whatever

Edit: Actually, I can now plan things with Ivan after getting more info, so I'd rather have him in the plans for this since 3 is doing something else with Lapis.

Edited 2016-05-09 02:20 (UTC)

Rei wasn't sure what had happened. Not even a little bit. She'd heard someone was coming, and she'd done her part, yes. Hauling equipment, moving people, and generally preparing for and getting people clear of the place. She was sore, but weirdly the use of her flames didn't seem to slow her down as much as it would have before. Whatever Silver and Gold had done most recently worked wonders for her, and she could feel the magic more keenly...

But then, not everyone was so lucky, were they? Rei knelt by Usagi, offering a firm and steady arm as she stooped

"It's not fine. You're not going to pass out in the street."

Okay! So they're gonna try to cook something up---I'm free to plot things tomorrow!

I should be able to plot after work. Even if they can't OOCly nab anyone, that doesn't mean they should't try ICly.

[Garnet is front and center at the festival. She knows the drill. At 5:55pm, and no later, her set starts, designed to make a mark on the whole concert. She's supposed to do a long keytar solo, with backup from the band. Its meant to be recorded for a new live album. The name of it is 'Out in Space'.

She was expecting sounds from the other side, in Virgo. Probably trying to out concert Pride by turning up the volume in the woofers. The woofers could shake the ground like no one's business. That she knew.

She isn't expecting a giant water spout to explode out of Virgo's concert area just as she starts to sing. Her first sung words pretty much say it all.]

Out into space,
the human race
is what wh-OH MY GOD!?

[Parts of the crowd starts turning to see what's happening. Oh, nice effect! Its so big its causing an effect through the entire are, showering people in Pride's venue.]

Keep going! Garnet, damnit, start singing again, we'll edit it in post!

[Garnet looks over at her agent like he's mad. What the heck? Did he really just say that? Then again, people were looking ready to panic. And if they panic, especially with water starting to come into their area and turning the ground into mud.

Garnet thinks.]

...Out in space
the human race
is hidden in the rushes...

[She looks over at Terry, and Sabo. They need to figure out how to get people away from...whatever's happening...while making it look like its all part of the concert. Panic will do nothing. Judging by her expression, she'll take all the help she can get to salvage this mess.

Its got to be Lesedi. Who else could make water do that?

...

~~Wait a minute...~~

In the fracas, too, it's all too easy to jump up on the stage to get involved in the performance if you're not a physician. The ~~robots~~ agents and guards, this time, will allow it. Anything to give the show being put on power. They can handle this and any potential problems. Virgo can handle theirs.]

Edited 2016-05-09 05:50 (UTC)

Shin is raring to go. He's completely hyped for this. He's been eager to get on stage since the festival was announced, and it seems like nothing is going to bring down his high on this. It's quite likely that excitement isn't the only high he's riding either.

He can be found wandering around backstage and in the rooms for some last-minute practice and warm-ups, with his nose to the grindstone more than ever. For once Stella seems to be pleased with him. Far more often she's shouting at him for sneaking off or shirking things, or sleeping in to 11. She had him on lockdown for a while week after he smashed all of the instruments during a practice session, but that hadn't completely stopped him from his recklessness.

But he's alive and here, and hasn't caused any major issues so far besides a lot of headaches for the people that are supposed to be guarding him and the band manager.

Sometimes he does head out to the VIP areas of the audience to check out the other people playing as well, though he'll have his hair unspiked under a hat, and be hiding behind a drink and sunglasses.

For his Pride relations, if they can't get into the Virgo side of things, he'll also be taking some time off for smoking on a pretty regular basis.

[Ah-- oh shit. Terry gives Garnet a bit of a panicked look and glances over at Sabo, wondering what to do.]

[Okay. Fuck. Time to make this a duet. Terry grabs the mic in front of him and starts singing with Garnet, trying to quell the panic in the crowd a little. It's surprisingly easy really, getting the crowd to move to safety, but he still frowns. It's probably not enough.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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☆TRACK XI: THIS FIXATION

☆QUESTIONS

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Usagi Tsukino || Rescuer || OTA

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BEGINNING of Lapis' attack: Please read OOC note!

BEGINNING - Virgo musicians and anyone near the stage

CLOSED - Marty and Oscar

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Garnet/Cosmic Indulgence, Pride Stage Area: OPEN

Virgo Backstage & Audience OTA all weekend

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