interstellar5555 | 002 ┼ THEY LEFT US ALONE / KIDS IN THE DARK / TO BURN OUT FOREVER / OR LIGHT UP A SPARK

Who: Cosmic Indulgence, Flashstep, Junkyard Carnival, & System Shock + Any Virgo Onlookers
What: The Revenge EP is debuting in a flashmob-style performance. Four bands, four never before heard songs, one massive social media frenzy.
When: November 7th
Where: Sinammon
Warnings: ......sigh. Carnies.

The second the lockdown is lifted, Luci springs into action. She's mass texting everyone involved:

It's time. Tomorrow night, we ride at 7PM for an 8PM start. Get your best shit dry cleaned.

There's already an exodus happening out of Pride HQ given they weren't the only ones on lockdown either, so slipping out is easy enough. They converge on the location, Luci makes good on her suggestion and hands the techbooth a wad of money to stop playing recorded dance mixes and let them take over the stage. She can already see one guy frantically texting into his lap as she explains what's about to happen. Perfect.

"You should tell your manager to call in more bouncers and remove some of the tables, this place is about to be packed."

((OOC: Welcome to the culmination of the EP plot! Not much else to say but here's a description of the stage setup courtesy of Garnet for anyone curious, and LET'S ROCK!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The whole performance went great, so Trucy is still riding that wave of excitement when she joins to crowd afterwards. The plan is to spend a few hours just having fun at the club before calling it an evening. She'd been juuuust about to hit the dance floor when she notices Ivan out of the corner of her eye.

Did... did he come to see them perform? Did he like it? Her inner fangirl is so excited right now.

That said, she attempts to approach casually.]

Hi! Long time, no see. Did you like the show?

[ When Ivan sees Trucy notice him, he gives a smile and a slight nod of his head in recognition. He waits until she comes closer and speaks to him. (Just to make sure that she really saw him and intended to talk to him.) ]

It was a good show.

[ And he does mean that for more reasons than being impressed with Pride pulling this idea off so nicely and coming up with it. And he expects no less from System Crash, his rival band by his standards. It's a good thing, really. ]

Did the band veto your disappearing act idea?

[ He remembers their conversation at the Gala. Maybe it's being saved for a System Crash only gig. ]

[Of course she's coming to talk to him. In fact, she positively lights up at the complement.]

Thanks! We really gave it our all out there.

[EEEEE! He liked the show. She bounces a little on the balls of her feet. She can't help it, bouncing is just a thing Trucy does when she's excited.]

We're still talking about the disappearing act. But this whole thing tonight was supposed to look all spontaneous, so there was no way to set up any good tricks ahead of time. I'll make up for it at our next show.

That makes sense. It did look spontaneous.

[ Even if somehow members of his band heard about this and dragged him along. Now that he better understands the feel that Pride was going for, he really has to give them credit. The crowd here before the flashmob started must have been taken completely by surprise. They'll be talking about it for a while and be the envy of their friends. ]

I'll have to catch your next performance.

[The next one too? She can feel the heat rising in her cheeks.]

In that case, I'll make sure we do something special.

[She's not really sure why, but she wants to impress him. If she can't convince the band to go along with the disappearing act, she'll think of something else.]

[ For a moment, Ivan doesn't know if he should awkwardly suggest that he's not worthy of such attention and to not trouble herself or be honored that she wants to make the performance extra special because he'll be watching. It's a strange conflict that he doesn't know how to solve or handle. Why is he worried about how he's viewed all of the sudden? He has never been too concerned before. ]

I'm sure you and your band will do great.

Thanks!

[With that vote of confidence, she's determined to make the next show the best yet.]

And I'll come see your next show too!

[Which she was gonna do anyway, but whatever.]

You guys are always great though.

[ There's a faint blush of pink on his cheeks, but it could also be explained by the lights of Sinnamon. More telling is how Ivan's head moves at a downward tilt to almost hide behind his bangs. ]

I'll pass along the compliments to the rest of the band. They're the real reason the band does so well, not me.

[ He's not usually one to put himself down, but he hasn't been feeling very confident lately. ]

What? That's not true at all!

[Oh, wait. Like many of Trucy's determined declarations, that should probably be clarified.]

I mean, not the part about them being good. That's true. But you're always really amazing on stage! It's tough to sell an exotic instrument to an audience without it seeming like a gimmick, and you do that like a pro!!

[Trucy he is a pro. She's... not good at complements. She is trying though.]

I... thank you...

[ He finds himself tongue tied over the honesty of her compliment. She gets it. Ivan's not trying to sell his shamisen playing, not in the way of "Hey, like this instrument because I tell you to." Ivan wants to expand people's horizons and love the shamisen because of its sound. Not everyone may like traditional Japanese music, but the shamisen can be so much more than that.

Ivan Karelin of Flowers Over Bones doesn't play his shamisen because people will see him as a "special snowflake" and listen for that reason. He fell in love with the instrument. That's why he picked it. That's why he stands in the face of the mainstream music with his shamisen pointed their way. If someone can't understand that, then he doesn't want to waste his time with them. ]

[She smiles brightly, and bounces again.]

Don't worry about it! I think everyone needs to be reminded how awesome they are sometimes.

"Awesome" ... I'm not sure I'd use that word, but I think I understand what you mean.

[ He smiles back at her. Despite recent events, Ivan shouldn't overlook what he has accomplished already. ]

Do you have to socialize with the rest of the crowd? I don't want your hard work to go to waste.

[She nods reluctantly.]

Yeah, I guess I should try to work the crowd a little. We're trying hard to make this whole thing a big deal.

[Actually, in a few minutes she'll be scrambling to rescue her band mate from being smeared by Xanxus, but Trucy doesn't know that yet.]

I am really glad you enjoyed the show though!

[ He can see that she doesn't want to go just yet, but he worries. It's her night, after all. ]

I'll see you around, okay? Have fun the rest of the night!

[ Go save that bandmate. ]

002 ┼ THEY LEFT US ALONE / KIDS IN THE DARK / TO BURN OUT FOREVER / OR LIGHT UP A SPARK

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Trucy, why are you so cute?

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