☆TRACK XIII: HIT THE BOTTOM

[interdimanagers]

Who: Everyone!
What: The tour moves on to Asiana, and Gold makes a move.
When: June 21st - July 8th, 2055
Where: Any of the potential tour stops, but mostly TOKYO.
Warnings: Again, probably violence.

“What's going on? Could this be my understanding? It's not your fault, I was being too demanding. I must admit, it's my pride that made me distant, All because I hoped that you'd be someone different.” ☆HIT THE BOTTOM Blanche's attempt to weaken Pride Records had mixed results. On one hand, a large number of Pride members have escaped as a result, bringing Pride down to Virgo's level. On the other, he managed to lose almost the entirety of Defying Atmosphere, one of the major headliners of his newest wave of musical acts. While the ranks of the rescuers swell, life within the labels has hit another low. After the last mass escape, both labels have shut down most of their musicians access to the outside world, beyond the closely watched concerts and publicity events. Bands that have shrunk down to one or two members are being reformatted - are you the only one left? Congratulations, you're a solo act now. You won't have the same fame level as someone who made it there the normal way, but it's an act of necessity now. To the labels benefit, even if they've both shed a large amount of their newest acts, they still have a solid standard of veteran acts remaining. If your managers treat you with some added disdain in coming weeks, it probably shouldn't be much of a surprise. Your entire generation of musicians seems like they have been at terrible mistake. Those in the tiers above you seem remarkably complacent, at least on the outside. ☆ASIANA TOUR 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: Mumbai (June 21st - 23rd), Bangkok (June 24th - 27th), Shanghai (June 28th - 30th), Seoul (July 1st - 3rd), Tokyo (July 4th - 8th) Tokyo is the biggest event of the Asiana Tour. In a change from the Europa Tour, the rescuers will be following the labels to each city location instead of just assembling at the last one. Security has gotten so tight, they need to take every opportunity they can to try to save another life. ► WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS: It's while Shep's spaceship is camping out in Shanghai that Gold breaks in - and the effects of their visit will extend throughout the entirety of both the rescuers and the captive musicians. Back during the Vista City festival, Agent J managed to capture a large amount of ambient musical energy via a group dance routine, and handed it over to Silver who condensed it into the physical form of a glowing disk. Gold has arrived to ask for it, to use as part of their plans against Pride Records. Upon entering, Gold will use their magic to cast a sleep on all the present rescuers in order to give them some privacy with Silver. Silver, of course, is going to say no to handing over the disk, refusing to enable Gold's reckless plans. This conflict is going to result in Silver trying to hide the disk with magic, and then things are going to get a little weird. Most of you are familiar with the strange dreamscape that rescuers first met the captured musicians in... well, we're going back there, again! With everyone asleep and the ambient musical magic thick, everyone previously associated with the shared dreams is getting dragged back into that same dream realm, which happens to be the same psychic location that Silver hid the disk. Everyone interested in being the one to find the disk in the dreamscape can enter below, and a winner will be drawn via RNG (after which, they can group up with however many others they like when the actual discover happens). After that, they'll be free to do with the disk what they choose, whether that is keeping it from Gold, giving it to them, or something else entirely. Everyone else, of course, will just get to experience sharing a dreamscape one more time before endgame, including being able to meet up with the musicians still trapped within the labels. Everyone will be in what represents their "true" forms once again, and memories still locked away with feel a bit easier to access. Gold will end up fleeing, with or without the disk. Whether or not they end up with it will affect the events to come. ☆GOLD MAKES A MOVE Here's what Gold has been building up to with all of their reckless nonsense - they intend to try to take on Lesedi Santiago, one on one, and they're going to do it during one of the exec's public appearances during the Tokyo festival. Gold's intent is to take her out before she can even get to the end of this ritual - how this turns out will be entirely dependent on the players. Any rescuer or musician can be present if you wish, and they'll have full liberty to act on both Gold and Lesedi once the fight begins. Do you support Gold? Do you support Lesedi? Do you say fuck it and try to take them both out? There will be one free for all thread that will go up after the dream event winner has been sorted out. The fight will be in public, and as usual, the audience will be too brainwashed to do anything but clap and cheer. Everyone but you, of course. Please ask any questions you might have below! “I turned away, 'cause I thought you were the problem. Tried to forget until I hit the bottom. But when I faced you in my blank confusion, I realized you weren't wrong, it was a mere illusion.”

Comments

☆QUESTIONS

[interdimanagers]

The usual.

[iitrebel]

Just to be clear- can only Rescuers find the disc, or can really confused Musicians find it as well?

[i_am_not_cute]

After that, they'll be free to do with the disk what they choose, whether that is keeping it from Gold, giving it to them, or something else entirely.

What does the "something else entirely" entail? No, Pao-Lin, you're not allowed to eat it. Would the person finding the disk be able to access the energy in it for themselves?

[undergardens]

Persephone can share memories via her song power in the comics, if she used this ability on Luci in dreamland would the effects last beyond waking? Or would she lose them again?

☆I WANT TO FIND THE DISK

[interdimanagers]

Enter your character to this top level if you want them to have a chance to find the magic disk and decide its fate. They can bring as many friends along as they want if they win.

[lightthedarkness]

I would like to enter Usagi for possibly finding the disc.

[twoscompany]

May as well add Garnet to the list of finding the disc!

[traumatizing]

slam dunks an angry young adult in the running

[magic_to_do]

Entering Trucy into this dubious little drawing.

Re: ☆I WANT TO FIND THE DISK

[mildwildchild]

Throwing Jamie into this too.

[missknight]

Connie is going to be doing her best to find the disc!

STEVEN UNIVERSE | DREAM LAND | OPEN

[tigermillionaire]

It’s like this all the time, now.

Back in the start, even if things were really scary sometimes, at least he hadn’t been so alone. Him and his band had been together, and Garnet had been there to help him, and so had the others. Now, in between performances... it’s just all silence and loneliness. When he has to pretend to be someone else on stage it’s almost a relief, even if it’s only a matter of time before he just gets shut away again.

The stress of it has been leaking into his sleep. It’s stuff that’s almost like what he’s living when he’s awake, but weirder and more exaggerated. His room is smaller and darker and plainer than the luxury suites he’s really staying in. He spends entire dreams just wanting to escape, but simple tasks feel impossible.

The only way out seems to be an open window in the greyed out hotel room, but whenever he looks out of it, it seems impossible high up. Whenever he tries to dial someone on his phone he’s so afraid of being overheard that it’s like he can’t speak at all.

Sometimes he tries to wake up, and sometimes he does – but then it turns out he’s still dreaming. He curls up on his bed, closing his eyes while simultaneously trying to open them. He doesn’t know what parts of this are real – and from the way he looks, it’s like he’s a miniature version of Tiger Universe.

The aesthetics are the same, but he seems far too young to have ever been here on his own.

[twoscompany]

"...Steven?"

Then, a giant. A large shadow, bigger than any human, comes into the door frame of his bedroom. Ah, its so constrictive. Was Steven's room ever this small? Or was Garnet ever this tall? Was this a dream? Was it real?

She didn't know. But she saw Steven on the bed, and she needed to...she didn't know. What comfort could she give when she herself was beyond any hope? All of them had been practically locked away. How was she free, now?

"Steven? Its me." The giant had Garnet's voice and shape, but it was much bigger than the Garnet Steven had known in the waking life. "I'm here. Can I come in?"

Luce / ota

[giglio_madonna]

General (Pre-Dreamland)

[Were you just doing nothing, moping around, or tearing your hair out over how to rescue the remaining musicians? Now you're not- Luce is walking in like she owns the place and clapping her hands together.]

Alright! I need your help with something, so come on.

Bangkok

[Even with the disaster of what happened with Virgo, Luce is feeling... cheery, perhaps. There's a venomous sort of satisfaction to look at Virgo and see how much it's floundering. The things they did to her, Cloud, Tsuna, everyone.... Well. This is payback.]

[It feels good.]

[But Virgo isn't the sole opponent in this battle, and that's why Luce is glancing at the entrance for tonight's shows, peering over the rim of her glasses.]

Now I wonder how we can get a free way inside...

[She doubts they'll be able to rescue anyone while a show is going on... But with the security she's seen on the hotels, this is probably the safer shot.]

Dreamland

[This isn't Shanghai.]

[It's not even Vista City.]

[The land is a lovey mansion in the Italian countryside, sun shining sweetly and a breeze sighing through open windows. Luce is dressed in a white dress with flowing orange scarf hanging loosely from her shoulders. She's walking serenely through a hall with large painted portraits hang. All of them share a similarity- women with dark straight hair and a certain orange mark beneath one eye. All different in their own ways, but all obviously related.]

[This is nice. It feels like going back to her roots.]

general

[sponsorigami]

[ Whether planned or not, Luce has run into Ivan. Possibly literally, give how he is. ]

What is it?

Artolo Apemis / ota

[iitrebel]

General (Pride only)

[Generally speaking, Artolo seems to act like he always has. During the day, he does his best to work past any disdain of other veterans- something that seems moderately successful considering both his station and jester attitude. He keeps his social media accounts busy, because it's one of his more well known things...]

[And then in the small bits of time inbetween, whenever one of the other Pride musicians finds themselves away from paparazzi or fans or too much security, Artolo is there and looking somber. The glasses he's been wearing since Spring are still firmly in place.]

Hey. Doin' alright?

Dreamland

[It's funny how when he's dreaming is when things seem more real.]

[The sky is right- an expanse of night where a pair of pink-and-green moons hang in the sky. His body is right, kind of. Half right. He's weaker, skin and bones like he hasn't been fed in centuries (he hasn't), and there are scars along his face where the psionic-leeching goggles were...]

[But his skin is gray, and a pair of cumbersome fangs curl over his lip. Out of his messy black hair are two different sets of horns. He blinks, opaque glowing eyes on perfect display, and gives a weary grin.]

[To hell with it.]

[Anyone wandering into this particular dreamscape will find a brilliant trail of light in the sky, flickering rapidly between brilliant blue and seering red. At the head of it is someone who, if you squinted, could look a little like the human known as Artolo Apemis.]

[But right now he's living up to an old name he'd forgotten for a while.]

general

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie doesn't so much look at Artolo as look in his general direction, downcast eyes never quite meeting his. It's not out of any sort of dislike, he's just. Feeling really shitty.]

Sure, fine. Why wouldn't I be?

[...not that he's going to let on to Artolo or anybody else. He tries to force some sass into his tone, but it's smothered by utter hopelessness.]

Mammon / Dreamland / ota

[avidita]

[Were you enjoying yourself, wandering around in yours or other people's memories? Were you really confused, or scared?]

HEY!

[Well too goddamn bad, Mammon doesn't have time for any of that nonsense.]

[With a frog on their head giving annoyed croaks, Mammon storms up to whoever is sharing this particular batch of dream with them wherever that might be. They know there were no more plans to get anymore rescuers, not with the time limit they were on. So they only have one question.]

Do you have any idea what's going on!?

[candothismuch]

[And that is a question Eiji does not have an answer for. He's just as lost as you, Mammon.]

I'm sorry, I don't know.

Terry || OTA

[traumatizing]

ON THE SHIP || PRE-DREAMS

[He feels like he's losing his damn mind. He wasn't planning on being here just yet and he keeps getting those dumb, reckless ideas he knows would get him killed. Or, well. Almost certainly worse.]

[But it's hard to ignore how bad he wants to. How easy he thinks it'd be to slip out and sidle up to Garnet at a signing, or slip into a booth at a bar next to Yuffie. As if somehow security wouldn't notice and drag him back to Lesedi for life as a human battery.]

[Terry occupies himself by practising his magic, trying to do something at least a little productive. He's wedged himself in little spaces around the ship, the same way he used to hide from his manager, humming and trying to maintain his control of the lighting around him. So if you're nearby, it might suddenly go pitch black or the lights might suddenly change colours or whatever. Who knows?]

DREAMLAND

[No piercings, no tattoos and his eyebrows fully grown in-- it's weird how this doesn't actually feel like him even though it is. Terry looks down at himself and sees his Initiative training gear; the boots, the camo pants. The T-shirt.]

[He sighs.]

[But there's someone else nearby. A faint whisper on the air of somebody's fears, and he walks in that direction to try and find them.]

Hey-- Hello? [please don't be from the label] Do you know where we are?

Dreamland

[twoscompany]

[Indeed. A very, very tall figure is walking towards Terry, shadow looming over him, even from a distance. Yet, at the same time, the figure looks...familiar.

Garnet-like, even. And the voice? Also quite Garnet-like.]

Terry?

[She's pretty sure she's dreaming, to be honest. Terry's dead, after all.]

Jamie - OTA

[mildwildchild]

general
Traveling, performing, rehearsing, being paraded around like a sideshow exhibit, all while hopelessness and self-loathing gnaw away at him and the arcane energies surrounding the musicians leave him constantly on edge...lately Jamie is looking almost as bad as he feels, and he feels pretty shit.

He spends the majority of his limited free time in the bar of whatever hotel Pride is staying at, downing drinks at an alarming pace and looking perpetually melancholy. He glances over at whoever happens to be next to him, his expression apathetic. "What're you having?"

He might be offering to buy you a drink, or he might be trying to figure out new ways of getting completely shitfaced. It's hard to tell.

dreamscape
When he's sleeping, things are much different.

There's a sense of intrinsic rightness about his dreams that's at sharp odds with his waking life, a simplicity and clarity that he hasn't felt in what feels like forever. The desert is quiet beneath a strangely olive-green night sky in which two moons, pale blue and red, hang suspended. Without the light pollution of any nearby cities, countless stars are visible overhead, arranged in decidedly un-Terran constellations.

It's peaceful and pretty, in its own way. Mostly, though, everything is huge and wide and empty. Intimidatingly so.

"Hello?" Jamie calls, tentatively at first, and then he bellows, voice reverberating off of distant rock formations: "HELLO?!"

[traumatizing]

He's never seen a desert before, not in person, so it's kind of fascinating. Terry kicks up sand and looks up at the sky, at the unfamiliar moons and the strange sky. He doesn't know where this is, but he thinks he likes it.

And then he hears someone shouting in the distance-- he's heard Jamie yell enough times to recognise that voice, and immediately turns to run toward where he thinks it's coming from.

"Jamie?" He calls. God this place is huge, he's changed his mind on liking it. "Jamie where are you?"

squalo // ota

[sharktrash]

-- on the ship

[ Squalo has actually been... less noisy than usual since getting on the ship. And less often found in Xanxus' company, though by now he's stopped angrily avoidining him. Actually, he can be found with his head in his hands quite often. ]

[ Since getting the tracking chip removed, he's been remembering more, more easily, and apparently that meant feeling something akin to actual shame over his whole hoeing around back in Pride gig. Well, one instance in particular, not long ago at all, and he couldn't decide whether he wanted to come clear or take it to his grave. What the fuck had he been thinking? ]

[ He's scowling out the window now after another fit of facepalming at himself, absently fingering the back of his head. They had to shave a bit of hair above his neck off to get the operation done; it's not visible with his hair down but it's clearly annoying him all the same. ]


-- dreamscape

[ Well, this is new. He hasn't actually experienced this before, but then, with all the weird shit that's been going on, it'd be pretty easy to miss something like this. ]

[ To his own surprise, he finds himself looking about the same as he's accepted as "usual" - with one addition: something's weighing even more heavily than usual on his left arm, and when he looks down, he finds a fucking sword attached. When he tries touching it, though, his fingers go right through. So much for that. ]

[ Wait, was that --? ]

Ship

[rainandswallows]

"You okay?"

This is so much not like the Squalo he knows. Where are the "Vois"? The screaming? The following Xanxus around.

"How much do you remember now?"

Aramat Drawdes | Alabaster

[scalpedsociety]

SHANGHAI

After her 'little stunt' in Moscow, Aramat was punished like she thought she would be. Instead of torture, she instead had what little amount of freedom she had in Pride taken away from her. Guards follow her everywhere she goes with the exception of the bathroom or a restroom. (And even then, they stand outside the door and will go inside if she spends a long time in there.) Her phone is taken away, and she feels even more in a cage. Sure there's Jecht, but more and more she feels cornered and paranoid. Pride is the enemy, so are the rescuers if they try and take her.

During an encore she makes her feelings known with a intense song.

Darkness
Imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Her voice is a howl made of menace, made of pure anger and bloodlust. She imagines Lesedi's head bursting apart.

DREAMLAND

It was like last time, in a empty room filled with taxidermy and fine floors made of marble and velvet curtains and rugs.

"No..."

She doesn't want to be reminded of this, no.

Shanghai

[iitrebel]

Well, that's some worrying shit.

Artolo keeps his head down, however, and just focuses on his drumming. He'd already performed his solo piece earlier. Now there's just the vibration of the drum to the stick to his hand, the twitch of his feet. It's all he can do while he's on stage, after all. Not exactly the time for a heart to heart.

That comes after, once their set is done and they're being hustled away from the stage and back to the hotel with security everywhere. He keeps close to her and ducks his head as he speaks lowly. "Hey, you wanna talk?"

Persephone | The Wicked + The Divine

[undergardens]

General

[ The fact that she hadn't been able to do anything to get close to Luci and get her out is getting to Persephone. It's so easy to feel like the weeks after she was awakened, to lie down and feel the depression filling her lungs like dirt and ashes. If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't have anyone she trusted to drag her out of it like Baphomet did she might have succumbed to it. Instead she stays standing and tries to figure out when she can find an opening to get to Luci.

She makes trips out for cigarettes and sometimes offers to grab something for others who can't or won't go out where they might be recognized. It gets her out of the ship and lets her breath.

But sometimes she just sits against a wall and looks at her phone, the screen partly covered with spiderweb cracks. Mostly it's old texts and sometimes photos. Usually there's a Beatles tune playing quietly from the speakers. ]


Dreamland

[ The dream that forms around her is an empty club. The one she scouted for her performance to draw Ananke and the pantheon away from Valhalla. Except it's empty of anyone, even the sound crew. The walls have graffiti on them that varies from the mundane to the more divine in theme. And standing on the stage with the lights shining down on her is Persephone.

It feels wrong. She needs the people there to see her. What's the point of being a god if you're not going to be seen. But when she hears someone else in the area she loses her pensive air and sharpens to attention. ]

Who's there?

[ Her eyes have shifted from clear green to black with skulls and her hand is held out, fingers in position to snap like it's a threat. ]

Dreamland

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[It's Luci. Even in the darkness, her white suit is probably unmistakable and vibrant as she walks towards the stage.]

[She looks hollow, unsure of where she is but unable to care, and like she's seen the wrong side of Sekhmat again. The only color on her face is a black eye and a bloody nose that's constantly streaming, but she can't lift a hand to wipe it.]

I'd hoped I'd look a bit cooler when I saw you again. [Her voice is raw, like she's been singing nonstop. Or screaming. Maybe both.] I'm embarrassed.

[For so many reasons she can't immediately pinpoint, but mostly for looking like a mess in front of Persephone. Even if it's a dream, Luci has her pride.]

I've cocked everything up.

Roy Mustang | OTA

[snapcrackleburn]

Public Event

At last Roy finds himself getting shoved into a seat at a table to sign more autographs take photos with fans, and help sell merchandise. MANTICORE is basically over so some people are scrambling to get the last of the merchandise and get it signed, most likely to resell online. Other fans have moved on and opt for Roy's solo album which is now getting a lot more promotion than it previously had. An experimentation to see how well he sells as a solo act.

Roy has been waiting for a chance to make contact with the public, hoping beyond measure that one of the rescuers or recently escaped musicians will reach out to him in some shape or form. He needs to know what became of the breakout plan. Santiago hadn't said a word about anyone successfully getting out. They were gone in the public's eye and possible for real.

Dreamscape

He finds himself in an empty street lined with old brick buildings that leads out into an open hazy field. The world doesn't look quite right. He doesn't know how he got here. He must be dreaming and yet the dreamscape feels familiar.

Taking another look at the buildings around him it occurs to him that they're from his memory. "Not the real thing. No people. But it's like home," he murmurs to himself.

Tsuna | OTA

[dame_tsuna]

Public Event-

[Surviving Friday was 'lucky' according to the managers and executives. A lot of bands have lost all their members, but they still have enough left to perform. Barely.

Tsuna doesn't feel 'lucky.' The pressure is overwhelming and being paraded from one event to the next was exhausting. It's almost as if they're keeping them busy to prevent anyone from getting any clever ideas. Not to mention they're being watched like hawks by security. Add to that the strange dreams and flashes of memory that keep coming to him and he feels like he's slowly going insane. He's so sick of this.

It's the end of another event in another city. The show has been played, autographs signed, and now everything was being packed up for the next show. He shouldn't, but Tsuna is taking this brief opportunity to rest for a moment. He's leaning up against one of the trailers while the roadies load everything up.

He's managed to lose the guards for just a moment, but they'll find him soon. They always do.]

[rainandswallows]

[And guess who shows up? This loyal 'fan']

Tsuna!

Trucy- on the ship

[magic_to_do]

[Since being rescued, Trucy has been feeling a bit superfluous. She can't fight, and doesn't have a lot of skills useful to a rescue operation. And she might be the only one her who misses performing. Which she feels pretty bad about, all things considered.

But there is a way she can solve two of those problems. By keeping morale up. So she's going around the ship, looking for people who seem down or upset and offering them a bright smile.]

Hey there! Wanna see a magic trick?

Connie - Dreamland - Music Disc Discovery! ota

[missknight]

[What Connie wants to do: discover what's going on in this strange dream world and find Steven again.]

[Unfortunately, she's not sure if she's gotten close to either goal. At some point, she's lost Steven's... dream? And now she's here: on a familiar beach, beneath a familiar multi-armed statue. Frankly, she'd try to investigate just in case anyway...]

[...But, tilting her head back and squinting, she thinks she sees something up on one of the hands.]

What is that?

Re: Connie - Dreamland - Music Disc Discovery! ota

[panspermia]

[Greg wouldn't exactly be able to say when he got here, but it's not as though it's the first time he's dreamed of this place. At least this time it's more reassuring in its familiarity than disconcerting.

He stands beside Connie--apparently she's here too--and follows her gaze up.]

Uhh. Not a washing machine. Looks like...

[He's not sure, actually, what it looks like. The longer he looks, however, the more it feels like something.]

Oogh. That's potent. Sets my stomach off.

☆SILVER IN THE AFTERMATH

[interstellarebels]

[Silver woke up to Shep shaking them, and Gold nowhere to be seen. Typical.

It’s not long before they’ve finished explaining the basics of what happened to their remaining teammate, and the two of them go to check on the rest of the crew. Unsurprisingly, some of the others are probably awake before they were. Silver has the impression that Gold knocked everyone out on the way in, but Gold’s attack on Silver had been a bit more personal, suffice to say.

They still have a headache, and their muscles hurt. They sigh into their helmet, trudging down the ship’s hallway in no particular rush. They need to gather information while they still can, but they’re pretty sure the disk must be gone anymore. They sure can’t summon it themselves anymore, so the only idea that makes sense is that Gold made off with it while they were out.

They know what Gold is going to do now. If they have that disk... there’s no way they can stop them.]

[missknight]

Silver!

[And there, hauling herself down the halls of the ship, is Connie- wild haired and barefoot with her arms wrapped tightly around something she presses her against her chest. Even this way, however, it's possible that Silver can feel the power nearly glowing in her grasp.]

[Even when she nearly trips over her the pants of her pajama bottoms, Connie doesn't let go of the disc. If anything, she squeezes her arms tighter around it until she's stumbling to a stop in front of Silver panting.]

Is everything really real this time!? Because- I woke up with this, but, I thought it was just in my dream!