☆TRACK XII: LOVE AND TRUST

[interdimanagers]

Who: Everyone!
What: The tour hits Europa, and Edward Blanche plans a trap.
When: May 25th - June 17th, 2055
Where: Any of the potential tour stops, but mostly MOSCOW.
Warnings: Probably violence.

“Oh, will you break my fall When I climb too high? I always lose my nerve, It happens every time.” ☆LOVE AND TRUST After the disaster that was the beginning of the World Tour, things from there have proceeded innocently enough in comparison. Virgo ended up being able to pull its act into some semblance of order before the festival finished, and so the magic on their side was not entirely lost. Things are tense, however, for anybody who has an idea of the stuff going on upstairs. Whatever is going on, Pride is in the lead by a landslide, and the desperation is present in the managers and the execs alike. Lesedi, however, couldn’t be happier. In fact, she is getting cockier by the day. Her plans with Lapis went wonderfully, and wherever the gem is now is irrelevant. Barring any major disasters, she is increasingly certain of her defeat of Virgo, and is encouraging her elite members of take potshots at them any chance they get. (This includes her beginner music mages.) The beginning of the month is spent with both labels visiting a lot of very familiar locations across Americana - most of which are places they will have visited in the past. The routes are very similar to the ones the first bands took during their opening tours last summer. As for the rescuers, now is the time to regroup. It’s not practical to follow the musicians to ever stop they make, but Shep has apparently enabled his spaceship with a cloaking device, and will be taking all the rescuers and free musicians to the major tour centers of each continental tour - the headline festivals, each lasting for days, and each carrying an important role in the ongoing ritual. That’s what Silver thinks, at least. As some of the rescuers may now know, Gold has apparently gone solo. ☆EUROPA TOUR As the Americana portion of the tour comes to a close around the 25th of May, both labels will be finishing up in Britain and heading on into the conglomerate of Europa. All of these cities are basically what they are like IRL except about 50 years more future-like, and you have full creative liberty to make up some developments to the local culture and worldbuild because this is the last time these places will ever be mentioned meaningfully! THE OFFICIAL STOPS: Paris (May 30th - 31st), Berlin (June 1st - 2nd), Madrid (June 3rd - 6th), Istanbul (June 7th - 8th), Rome (June 9th - 10th), Vienna (June 11th - 12th) THE HEADLINER: Moscow (June 12th - 17th) The festival in Moscow is much like the festival in Vista City - a musical blowout to end all blow outs. The two labels festival grounds are practically blending together at this point, almost as if fighting for physical territory along with fighting for the attention of the crowds. The thick energy of magic follows the tour like a comet’s tail. ► RESCUER PROMPT: Instead of cutting through all of the earlier stops, Shep loads all the rescuers up into the now-cloaked spaceship and will bring them to Moscow, the last step in the Europa tour path and the place they’ll be stopping the longest. Silver has been saying that the lot of them should start working on freeing captives at all costs, especially now that the labels are on the road and increasingly disorganized. Shep has gotten together a bunch of new material for disguises as well as more holo projectors - a lot of them have been spotted at this point, but if they can get close to the musicians and catch the labels off guard it could be their best hope of bunging up the rituals for both of them. Meanwhile, Gold is obviously absent from the team, and some may have seen their former leader essentially announce their intent to leave during their fight with Lapis. Silver and Shep seem to have been avoiding talking about it, but occasionally it will be referenced in public places and the conversation will turn rapidly tense. ► MUSICIAN PROMPT: Everything is more or less business as normal, except for the pressure of the tour seems to be causing all the authority figures to lose their minds, especially in Virgo. Beyond that, though, it’s all deceptively the same. Both labels stop in the various cities and put on their best show, only stopping briefly to enjoy the local culture. Everyone is under very careful watch, however, no matter where they are. No one leaves the performance areas without an escort - it’s clear that both labels are desperate to hang on to musicians at this point. The gravity of the situation is increasingly obvious. Both labels have been booked into the same hotel this time, which is essentially a castle in Moscow. It’s every bit as lavish as you would expect, and it’s easy to get distracted from the stress with the luxuries that are offered at every turn. The consistent sense of desperation that Virgo has running through it at the moment is totally absent in Pride - Lesedi seems like she’s in an absolutely fantastic mood. ► FESTIVAL PROMPT: The festivals crowds are bigger than anything you’ve ever seen. Rescuers will easily be lost in a crowd, and musicians will be followed by a detour of body guards that honestly feel needed for reasons besides imprisonment. The stages are colourful and elaborate in set up. The musical event goes on for three full days, and most of everyone’s time will be spent backstage or in their hotels. Rescuers will have to do their best to keep up. ☆BLANCHE MAKES A MOVE In the wake of Virgo falling behind, Edward Blanche has come up with a magical scheme of his own. Using the soul crystal of pure love from Greg Universe and pure duty from Meril, he has been devising a ritual - and with any luck, it take out two birds with one stone. Greg and Meril, having mostly lost their real personalities after having parts of their souls torn out and crystalized, will be set up in a central location in the hotel, after the performances on the last night in Moscow. They’ll be set up to play music, and while that music is playing it will be reaching out to all of the rescuers, whether they can hear it or not. This music is going to trigger the love and duty within their own souls, and direct it to a particular cause - a sudden and desperate need to save their friends, family, or other sympathetic souls from the labels. And the need to do it tonight. This will hit them particularly hard if they are naturally of a love or duty alignment, but it will have an effect regardless. How much it gets them exactly is up to you. Virgo’s musicians will be protected very heavily during the ritual, as Blanche is expecting the attack. His hope is to lure rescuers in and kill or capture them, having the advantage of foresight. He’s also hoping that the rescuers will go after the less protected musicians of Pride and steal them away from Lesedi, who isn’t aware that this is happening. If things go well for Blanche, both the rescuers and Pride will take a major hit, all in one go. Why not let your enemies destroy each other? Player participation in this can go two ways: one is that your character can simply go after any of the musicians you choose, and you can work out between the players and the mod how well it goes. Alternatively, you can have your character go to the heart of the matter and try to take on Greg and Meril. The tricky part? Blanche is going to be overseeing the ritual as well. However, without the focuses of Greg and Meril’s soul crystals, the ritual will fail. Also, there will absolutely be a few opportunistic ghosts looking for the opportunity to give everyone a hand. Communication with the mod is key for this event! Please run by plans to have any musicians successfully escape by me before going through with it, and also do let me know if you’d like the ghosts to help out! This can absolutely be combined with other player plots, such as the Pride break out initiative that’s been floating around. The night of the ritual is June 17th, so take some time to plan things out, and then get threading. Let me know if you need help setting any scenes! “Oh will you bring me home When I'm barely alive? It's the state of love and trust, And this is for you, And this is for us.”

Comments

Connie - Ship / Moscow

[missknight]

Ship

[There's not a lot of room on Shep's ship, at least not with it packed as it is, and a girl plus a giant pink lion only have so much space. At least Lion, for the most part, seems content to stay in one place although there's an aggravation to the whip of his tail and in his narrowed eyes.]

[Connie wants to pace. It takes a lot of effort not to, and she spends a lot of time staring thoughtfully out one of the windows.]

Do you think that Juno woman will be there too...?

[It's hard to tell if she's talking to Lion or whoever is nearby.]

Moscow (open)

[Once the ship has touched down in Moscow, you might find yourself being approached by a small girl with her hair tucked into a baseball cap and a large "dog". Totally a dog, and not a lion being disguised by highly advanced technology.]

Um, would you mind walking around with me through the city? I'm a little worried about getting caught by Virgo security....

Moscow (closed to Steven Universe)

[This is it. She's not going to wait anymore. Connie's had enough of it. Things are coming to a head, and leaving Mr. Universe behind still leaves a guilt churning in her stomach. She wanted to help him, she wanted to help Lapis, but she couldn't do either.]

[But she's determined to help Steven somehow.]

[It takes a lot of research and luck to find the hotel that Pride as booked, and ingenuity plus more luck to find out where Steven is staying. Eavesdropping, as it turns out, is a good solution to things like that.]

[So. Here she is. Besides her, Lion is staring at narrowed eyes at the hotel. The pair of them are on the rooftop of an apartment building of some sort- secluded and perfectly within view of where they want to go. You can never be too careful when you're ripping holes through space. Taking a breath, she crouches down besides Lion and points.]

His room should be right there, okay? [With Rose's sword on her back, Connie swing herself up onto Lion's.] On the count of three. One... Two... Three!

[Lion's roar, tearing open pink holes in the air before them, rattles something in her bones, but Connie merely digs her hands further into his pink mane. The space is dizzying, wild, colorful, but she focuses straight ahead as a hole tears through a hotel room. As Lion lands heavily onto the floor, she looks around wildly.]

[She really hopes she got the right hotel room.]

Ship

[rainandswallows]

Who's Juno?

[Yamamoto walks over and looks curiously at Lion, obviously not bothered by the fact it's pink]

This your friend?

[His hand goes to his necklace, where Jirou and Koujirou are. He can summon Koujirou, but still can't get Jirou out yet. He misses playing with him]

[missknight]

Oh-!

[Connie starts a little, turning on her heel to face Yamamoto. Lion just yawns, and doesn't seem to react much besides that.]

Kind of! He's Steven's pet lion- he got kidnapped so we both came to rescue him. [A pause.] He's kind of magic.

And Juno.... she's Edward Blanche's assistant. She's really scary.

[In that cold unfeeling kind of way.]

[rainandswallows]

I have a magic friend too. Two actually, but I can only get one of them to come out at the moment. I'm not sure why.

[He fingers his Necklace of the Rain. He misses Jirou. He wishes he was here so they could play ball and cuddle before kicking butt]

Is she? Well, I've gone up against plenty of scary people. I'm sure we can defeat her fine.

[missknight]

Whoa, really? [She guesses she shouldn’t be surprised. This rescue group is probably the most unbelievably amazingly varied she’s ever seen, including all the things she’s read about in books.] Could I meet the one you can bring out, then?

And yeah… I think if we had more people who are good at fighting, she could be taken down. When I met her, it was just a few of us, and we were rescuing someone.

[rainandswallows]

[With a smile Yamamoto summoned his rain flames, causing the Necklace of Flame to ignite. Then Koujirou shot out and flew around before landing on Yamamoto's head]

This is Koujirou. My other friend is a dog named Jirou.

[missknight]

[Her eyes widen at the little swallow, and she steps away from the window.]

Oh, wow, he looks amazing! I’ve never seen a bird quite like that before. I mean, with all the flames- Lion, no!

[The Lion in question had started to rise up, one paw curled up curiously and his eyes narrowed at the bird. There’s a chuff at the order. But, bird?]

[rainandswallows]

He's a Vongola box weapon, he used to live in a box, but now he lives in my necklace.

[Yamamoto kneels down to let Lion take a better look. Koujirou ruffles his feathers and trills at Lion in warning]

My friend Tsuna has a lion named Natsu. He's orange.

[missknight]

[Connie, just for safe measures, has her hands on the back of Lion’s furry mane. It probably won’t mean much, considering Lion is a giant lion and she is a tiny twelve year old girl, but still. It’s the thought that counts.]

[At least Lion doesn’t seem like he’s going to pounce. There’s just one paw lifted up, claws sheathed, and it seems more an act of curiosity than anything. What are you, tiny blue bird…]

That’s really impressive… Lion can’t do that. He can make portals from one place to another, but that’s different….

So what does it mean that he's a Vongola Box Weapon?

[rainandswallows]

He's a weapon made by the Vogola Famiglia, my Famiglia. Or Family in English.

[Koujirou lifts off from Yamamoto's head and circles around them, leaving a trail of blue fire.]

He's a support weapon mostly, spreading Rain Flames over the enemy to slow them down.

[tigermillionaire]

[He's in the middle of picking out his clothes, and her arrival totally startles him. He turns to stare as the lion arrives with large, uncomprehending eyes - he has a variety of accessories laid out in front of him like he's planning his day for tomorrow.

He wasn't expecting to hit up any of the parties going on downstairs. He felt too out of place there, and too scared of messing up. But that didn't mean he couldn't look nice for himself and have some fun in the hotel room anyway.

But it seems like all of that is going to need a rain check. He takes a step back, like he's afraid that the lion will attack him.]

Oh, uh... hiiii there...

[The words barely come out in a frightened whisper.]

[missknight]

[They actually got into the right room, holy crud.]

[Connie doesn't let herself take in the relief for too long. As Lion perks up at seeing Steven, she leaps off of him.]

Steven! I know this is really sudden and really scary, but- do you trust me?

[tigermillionaire]

[Steven almost doesn't react, at first, because he's too busy staring at Lion - especially when he perks up at the mere sight of him. He thinks that he remembers this somehow, and there is a bubble of fondness rising from deep in his chest.

He reaches a hand out to the beast and then pulls it back shyly, and looks over at Connie more uncertainly.]

I... o-oh no.

[He flinches and looks towards the other side of the room, like he's expecting someone to show up at any moment. He's scared.]

[missknight]

Steven...

[But she knew this might happen after last time. It was always a possibility. She steps closer, curling one hand against her chest.]

I promise... Whatever happens, I can protect you. Lion and I both can, and we will! We know exactly how to get you out of here, and how to make sure Pride can never hurt you again.

So please... Just trust me.

[Lion doesn't seem to be as patient, judging by the flicking of his tail, but he's not moving yet.]

[tigermillionaire]

[But he can't.

He takes another step back and almost trips on a hair dyer he left on the floor. He yelps softly and backs into the bed, gripping the edge to keep from stumbling. That's when his manager very suddenly appears.

Jin, as even, seems completely out of patience with things getting in her way. She moves for Steven without a second glance at Connie - she knows well enough what this is. More of that rebel scum, and the important thing is to keep her ward away from them.

She grabs him by the arm.]

Stay away from them, Tiger. Don't you even think about it.

[missknight]

[Before she can approach, explain, convince, suddenly…. She knows that face. She knows it from aggressive research on the internet in a world enamored with every single little detail of the life of a musician. Jin…. a manager.]

[And Connie remembers exactly what they’ve been told about managers.]

[She feels the blood rush to her face, heat up her hands, and it takes a little effort to not just leap forward right then and there. Instead, she starts to push a growling Lion to the wall and in the direction of the door. Once her hands leave rosy fur, she reaches back for a familiar sheathe to adjust.]

I’m not going to let you tell him what to do! I know everything, you dictating, heartless farce of sentient thought! I know what you really are, and I’m not afraid of you! If you don’t let go of Steven, I’ll…

[Rose’s sword fairly sings as the metal slides against its sheathe.]

I’ll put you back in the cheap bargain scrap heap you were repurposed from!

Moscow

[spaghettimonster]

[Papyrus is also disguised, more along the lines of Lion's than Connie's. It takes long, floofy hair to cover his lack of ears, after all. But the look is bound to be familiar to her, with his comings and goings from the apartment all being similarly dressed up.]

Oh-ho? Do you expect they'll recognize you, and pursue you through the city...?

[She's come to the right skeleton.]

Well! Never fear! With Papyrus protecting you, security won't lay a finger on you!

[missknight]

[Papyru’s energy is more than enough to relax Connie’s posture until she’s grinning up at him.]

Thanks, Papyrus! I feel safer already.

[As she disembarks from the ship, she glances back to him.]

Is there anything you want to find too while we’re doing reconnaissance?

[That makes this seem totally legit and not at all like they’re wandering around, right?]

[spaghettimonster]

Hmmm. You know, there is! I need to find a hoodie to buy for Sans.

[Papyrus, too, is aware of how important and serious this stop is. So he hastens to defend himself.]

That might sound like a silly, superfluous shopping trip! But it's not!!! You see, Sans has this blue hoodie. Or, he had it, before they kidnapped him.

[He scowls, and never before has he so strongly resembled Skeletor.]

And he wore it all the time! Really, he could stand to wash it a little more, too. But! I was thinking!! If he could dress more like "himself" again, maybe he would feel a little more like himself too?

[He attempts to pat Lion's head, curious what it feels like from the outside. If he reaches for the "dog" hologram, and feels Lion's mane instead...?]

[missknight]

[Indeed, there is the soft expanse of Lion’s mane beneath the illusion instead of rough dog fur. A small snuff from him is all that’s made, but he seems to be fine with Papyrus being a little handsy. In the meantime, Connie nods empathetically.]

No, no, I understand. That’s not superfluous at all! It’s really important to make sure that everyone who we rescue starts feeling better and like themselves again…

So it has to be a blue hoodie?

[spaghettimonster]

[He gives Lion a few more polite pats. Just to keep up the disguise, of course; everybody knows that all dogs love to be pet. It's certainly not because it feels like home!]

That would be best! He might be willing to wear other colors... but I don't want to risk diminishing its effectiveness!

Blue is kind of a thing for us.

[missknight]

[She was willing to believe it was just because it was a favorite color, but that’s interesting. As Lion lumbers alongside them, she makes a noise of interest.]

Really, for both of you? Is it okay if I ask why?

[spaghettimonster]

Is it okay? Of course it's okay! I love talking about myself!!

[Papyrus coughs, raises a hand to his face, and feigns clearing his throat.]

Hmmm, so, I'm sure this is a terrible memory for you... BUt! You remember when we rescued Sans?

[missknight]

[The shameless admission of talking about himself makes Connie giggle, a sound that soon fades when he mentions the lab.]

Yeah… I remember.

[spaghettimonster]

[It's not a good memory for anybody. Not for Sans, not for his rescuer friends, and not for the music label scientist jerks who were experimenting on him. Even the relief of that day has been overwhelmed by the horror of it, since... well, they've had so many better memories since!]

Right! So you must remember the magic I used freeing him.