☆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

[traumatizing]

Yeah. I guess this is the "real" me.

[Fingerquotes on 'real'. He laughs a little, awkwardly and uncomfortably. It doesn't feel like him, and it's not the version of himself he wants to be.]

Pretty, uh... Pretty boring, huh?

[notahobby]

[Maxxie lets out an involuntary sob and promptly covers his face with his hands. He's felt so lonely and isolated since Terry left and here he is, looking a bit different, but still there. Still right there and Maxxie can't even bring himself to reach out and touch him.]

I've missed you so much, Ter. I'm so fucking tired.

[traumatizing]

I'm sorry-- I'm so fucking sorry.

[He steps toward Maxxie but it's hesitant, unsure. He desperately wants to touch him, to hold him, but he just... He doesn't feel like he should. Feels half like he doesn't deserve to.]

[He swallows.] I meant it-- when I said I'd stay, I meant it. I didn't have a choice.

[notahobby]

Well I'm...

[He shrugs helplessly, shaking his head and looking away.]

Can you just come here?

[traumatizing]

[He's still hesitant, like he's expecting this to turn on him somehow, like he gonna get up close to him and Maxxie's gonna tell him he hates him he fucking hates him. Maybe he always has.]

[Fuck.]

[Terry closes the distance between them, but he doesn't say anything. Just... stares at his shoes like he's in trouble, waiting to get told off.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie studies Terry's face, trying to figure out if he's okay and if things are still the same, but after a moment he puts his hand up to run it through Terry's hair and then down his jaw. It's still the same, he's still the same, and he's definitely there to some effect and Maxxie can't stand it anymore.]

I miss you.

[traumatizing]

I miss you too.

[He leans his head into Maxxie's touch, chewing his lip to try and keep himself from crying. It's weird, not feeling his lipring between his teeth, the alienness of it is almost enough for him not to notice the way the words coming out of his mouth are choked and heavy.]

I hate it. I hate not being near you. I hate not being able to just come see you. I miss you so much and there's nothing I can do about it.

[notahobby]

I wish you could just come back.

[Maxxie rests his hands on Terry's chest, willing Terry to close the gap between him, not really brave enough to do it himself.]

[traumatizing]

[Terry swallows and steps in closer to Maxxie, lifting a hand almost cautiously to the side of his face and presses their foreheads together.]

I wish I could just come get you.

[Because as much as he misses Maxxie and everyone else, he doesn't miss Pride.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie squeezes his eyes shut and concentrates on holding back every plea he has for Terry coming back and every other little emotion that's threatening to break out right now. Instead, he lifts his chin to brush his lips against Terry's experimentally, waiting to see if Terry will respond in kind.]

[traumatizing]

[He does, and he puts his other hand on Maxxie's waist, kissing him slow and almost chaste. If whatever this is is all he's got, then Terry's determined to make that last.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie wraps his arms around Terry's shoulders to pull him in, gently pressing himself against Terry as much as he can now. He just feels so right and so there; Maxxie can't help but want to be as close as possible.]

[traumatizing]

[Terry slips his arm around Maxxie's waist to hold him close, grip tight and desperate in the back of his shirt. It's almost overwhelming, how much he feels like he needs this, how much he wants to wake up and have Maxxie next to him, and he makes a noise that's almost a sob, intermittently murmuring apologies against Maxxie's lips.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie pulls his face away just an inch, putting his hand to the side of Terry's face again as he frowns. It's awful knowing that this isn't going to stay and that he doesn't know when or if it's ever going to be real again. Sometimes all he wants is just to be with Terry and fuck the rest, but that's so hard and he's not sure he's strong enough for it.]

[He murmurs softly:]

I love you. I want to be with you again.

[traumatizing]

[Terry sucks in a shaky breath and closes his eyes. It hurts to hear, it's so fucking painful because it's his fault he's not there.]

What if... What if I could get you out?

[notahobby]

[Maxxie frowns in uncertainty, pressing his lips together as he flattens his hand over Terry's shirt.]

What's it like where you are?

[traumatizing]

Tense? We're all on a ship wishing we'd got more of us out.

[He frowns softly and looks down at Maxxie's hand on his chest.]

It's not as nice as the places Pride books us, but I have to say it's pretty great not looking over my shoulder trying to avoid being tortured again.

[notahobby]

I dunno...

[He looks down too and takes a deep breath.]

I'm scared. I want to go home but I like what I'm doing. I like performing. And...

[He pulls back far enough to look up at Terry with wide, pleading eyes.]

I don't think you and I are from the same place, Ter. What if going home means we never see each other again?

[traumatizing]

I'm not going home.

[He says it firmly, absolute. Whatever happens, he's not going back there. Terry's frown becomes something more angry and purposeful as he speaks.]

But I'm not going to let Santiago and Blanche keep playing this cosmic vampire game, kidnapping people and sucking them dry.

[notahobby]

[Terry's words seem harsh and extreme, but Maxxie knows they're true. He sighs and glances away again, wrapping his arms loosely around Terry's shoulders.]

I'll have to think about it. For now can we just... make out and not think about any of it?

[With a shrug, he leans in a little bit and lifts his chin, looking a bit pathetic but angling for a kiss.]

[traumatizing]

[He's obviously hurt by Maxxie not saying yes, but Terry tries not to say anything about it. He doesn't want to fight, not right now, and nods. Leaning in to brush his lips softly over Maxxie's with a quiet sigh.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie kisses him back, and this time it's a little bit deeper, more urgent and like it's leading somewhere. Maxxie misses him so much he almost aches, and now he just feels the need to get to all of him at once.]

[traumatizing]

[He feels that urgency and responds in kind, slipping his hands under Maxxie's shirt and dragging them up his back. The noise he makes is almost a sob, something pained by how much he's missed this-- missed him, and Terry presses himself closer. Like the most important thing in the world is being as close to Maxxie as he can get.]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie makes a sound that's almost pained as he balls his fist in the back of Terry's shirt. He feels so real that Maxxie's having an easy job of forgetting that it's not quite real, and he's remembering just how much he wants him, how much he thinks about him between every other thought.]

[traumatizing]

[Terry pulls back a little, just enough to nose lightly at Maxxie's face.]

We need to find somewhere. [He clings a little, gripping his shoulders tightly.] Where we can lie down or... Something.