☆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

[mildwildchild]

Fine, maybe they all just got fired like Demyx did. Same difference, we're never seeing 'em again. You got any proof that your bandmates and everyone else who fucked off made it to wherever the hell they were trying to get to?

[Really, utter apathy is the only thing keeping him from sounding upset or skeptical or anything else.]

[iitrebel]

[On one hand, he really wants to say ‘yes’. On the other hand, his only true interactions with Jamie have been convincing a high teenager he should buy a hairless cat.]

Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

[mildwildchild]

Nobody had a plan and they all ran off in a mass clusterfuck. What the hell am I supposed to think, that it went off without a hitch and everyone's chilling out somewhere, saying "Ha-ha, fuck you guys for not following us as we plunged off a cliff"? Are we anywhere close to getting wasted yet? Because I came with you to get wasted, not talk about this shit.

[He's. He's not really dealing with this very well.]

[iitrebel]

Dude, with all your bitching, maybe if there was a plan, no one told you- you ever break down a door before?

[How's that for a non sequitur]

[mildwildchild]

[A+ good sir. Unfortunately Jamie is too dead inside to be confounded.]

Hey, you brought it up. What's that gotta do with anything?

[iitrebel]

I know what I did, buddy. And it's gotta do with how we get into my room. Because we both know we're not staying here for, like, more than two nights, so might as well cause some property damage.

And honestly, it'll be more satisfying than watching you be a walking example of why Tooru wanted to kick you in the dick.

[mildwildchild]

[Even this only gets a dispirited snort.]

Wow, douchebag didn't like somebody. What a shocker. And why would I wanna wreck a bunch of shit that somebody else is gonna have to clean up?

[iitrebel]

Because we’re rich and can pay for it and you’re angsting.

Actually, wait, not angsting.

Wangsting.

Kick a fucking door down, Jamie.

[mildwildchild]

Yeah, we're rich because some assholes kidnapped us and turned us into performing animals for some world-domination plan or something, they keep hauling off our bandmates for their soul-conversion bullshit, and the rest of the world just laps it up because they have no fucking idea that we're all being held here against our will and terrified that we're going to die or something if we step out of line, and that Santiago wants to murder them all and eat their souls for the rest of eternity.

And you want me to make things worse for these poor fuckers by making a big, stupid fucking mess for them to clean up. Just because we can.

[This apparently has been building up for a while.]

And I'm not wangsting, shut up.

[iitrebel]

Yes. Now kick the goddamn door.

[There’s a lot to that rant he could respond to, but, no. Fuck that door.]
[...No one said he was good at this.]

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie gives him the flattest look in the history of ever and then, without breaking eye contact, raises one leg to give the door a kick. It's a pretty half-assed kick. He's not even really trying.]

Wheeeeeeee.

[iitrebel]

...You know, it’s really hard to help you deal with your clear anger management issues when you’re not working with me here, but whatever. Move out of the way.

[mildwildchild]

Did I look angry to you? What are you, my shrink or something now? I came with you to get high, not to - y'know what, fuck it.

[He hauls back and kicks the door again, this time with some music magic behind it. This doesn't so much open the door as obliterate it, jagged hunks exploding to scatter across the floor of Artolo's room, a few fragments dangling from the ruined hinges.]

[Jamie turns to Art with a hands-spread shrugging gesture and a look that clearly says Now will you get off my dick about this shit? while the dust settles.]

[iitrebel]

[For a second, Artolo only stares because holy shit.]

[...And then, bubbling out of him, comes a laugh belonging more to a hyena than a person.]

Not angry my ass!

[Not even remotely scared of the display of power that’s just been shown to him, Artolo goes over to sling his arm around Jamie’s shoulders and drags him inside.]

But that’s alright, we can get shitfaced and that’ll solve things. Temporarily and shit, but, you know. Better than nothing.

[What do you mean this is how addictions start?]

[mildwildchild]

[In contrast, Jamie looks a little startled at Artolo's nigh-inhuman cackling, and then sort of chagrined, and then just a touch annoyed at the manhandling. He mumbles an excuse as he's escorted into the hotel room.]

Just got sick of you obsessing over the door, 's all. What kinda stuff you got in here?

[Cut the crap and hand over the mind-altering substances, Artolo. They're probably not going to live long enough to get properly addicted to anything anyway.]

[iitrebel]

Have you ever even had booze before? I don’t know if you’d even be able to tell the difference between them.

[He gives him a friendly shove over to the chairs, however, and starts digging through the liquor cabinets. He’s so glad this place is one of those hotels that has shit like this.]

Like, there’s sake, this one Indian stuff… Want to just try shots of everything?

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie perches kind of stiffly on the edge of a chair, nudging at a chunk of splintered wood with the toe of his shoe.]

'Course I've had booze before, I'm not a child.

[He chews his lip a little while Artolo takes stock, sighs and slumps back into the chair. It's a ridiculously comfortable chair, at least.]

I don't really care as long as I end up passing out. Let's just do shots of everything, I guess.

[iitrebel]

Excellent. Hey, catch.

[Seriously, he’s throwing a bottle of sake your way already, Jamie. Hey, it’s the quickest way to transport booze.]

[mildwildchild]

Jesus - !

[One arm snaps up reflexively to shield his head, but with a little magical interference the bottle halts mid-air. Lowering his arm, Jamie rolls his eyes.]

You're lucky I caught that before it hit me, otherwise I'd...I dunno, something.

[The half-hearted threat peters out as Jamie looks around for some glasses, floating a couple over to hang suspended in front of him. Tongue tip poking out in concentration, he undoes the stopper on the bottle and coaxes some of the liquid into each glass. Then he takes one in his hand, leaving the other drifting for Artolo to help himself to.]

Cheers, I guess. [Jamie raises his glass briefly and then tosses it back.]

[iitrebel]

Buddy, you just exploded a door, I wasn’t worried for shit honestly.

[With a small bar’s worth of other bottles gathered up in his arms, he somehow manages to accept the shot glass too.]

Cheers to crippling depression, heh.

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie offers an unenthusiastic grunt in response and magic-grabs the rest of the booze, floating the bottles out in an array in front of him.]

Whaddya want next? How about, um...this one. [He singles out a bottle of Amrut whisky, cracks it open and plops a shot into each of their glasses.]

I'm gettin' good at this shit. Bottoms up. [And down the hatch it goes.]

[iitrebel]

You’re the booze master, it’s you. Cheers to your new title.

[Is he going to make up a new bullshit cheer for each shot? You bet he is as he throws his head back and downs his.]

...I know I’m an unreliable fuckstick, but if you ever wanna talk, man, I’m around.

[mildwildchild]

[There's a moment or two in which Jamie looks genuinely puzzled by this comment, but then he kind of frowns and focuses his attention on the array of liquor bottles, fixing them each a shot of Vietnamese rượu.]

Talk about what? Hey, is there any of that booze that has like an actual snake stuck in the bottle? Who the fuck came up with that idea, seriously. [Swig.]

[iitrebel]

Just, like… Whatever. Worries or shit. Groupie problems. You know.

[From out of his pocket, he starts flicking through the internet.]

Give me like a second. And, anyway, it’s booze- you know someone got fucking plastered and was like “no this is fine, it’ll be a great idea” and then had to live with their shitty life choices in the morning.

[mildwildchild]

Shitty life choices, hahahaha. They don't know shit about shitty life choices. Drink your damn shot so I can pour you another.

[This time it's a bottle of good old-fashioned imported rum. Jamie downs one shot, pours himself another and idly twirls the bottle around in midair while he waits for Artolo.] What makes you think I have any worries? Look at us, we're drinking expensive alcohol in one of the swankiest hotels in Asiana while millions of fans are losing their minds waiting for us to perform. I mean clearly we are doing okay for ourselves, here.

[There goes the second shot. He rather aggressively readies another, sloshing some over the rim of the glass this time.] You gonna make me drink this bottle by myself or what?