Will they Survive Friday?

[dame_tsuna]

Who: The members of Surviving Friday
What: A band gets two new members. Things are awkward.
When: Mid November
Where: Virgo HQ
Warnings: None




[Bands often live or die on the chemistry of their members. Switching out two established members for a couple of newbies is a radical move, and it makes sense for people on both sides of this equation to be more than a little nervous. Except the mananger. Mr. Yama Darzi doesn't seem concerned at all as he leads Tsuna and Nia into the posh suite to meet their new band. Either he's confident in their skills or just their marketability. Same difference.

Introductions are brief and amount to little more than...]


The lovely young lady is your new lead guitarist, Nia. And Tsuna is the new drummer. Everyone try to get along, I'm expecting big things out of all of you.


[By 'big things' he means money. And clearly everyone has questions for him. Possibly about why two of thier members were suddenly replaced. Or what happened to them. Or any number of other things. But tragically, Mr. Darzi is suddenly pulled away by a phone call. Sorry, guys, he just has to take this. Very important call. That's okay, right?

No? Well, too bad. He's a very busy man. The manager heads out, leaving an awkward silence in his wake. After a moment, Tsuna breaks the silence with a question about their manager.]


Is he.... always like that?

Comments

Limo ride for Nia!

[dame_tsuna]

[Tsuna had never once imagined himself riding to stardom in a fancy limo. But somehow, impossibly, that's right where he is. There's a part of him that is wondering if this is somehow all a dream. He's trying really hard not to gawk out the window at the impressive cityscape.

Eventually, he tears himself away from the view to look at the limo's other occupant. She's about his age. Cute, too. Somehow that makes him even more nervous. He casts about in his mind for a way to break the ice.]

Um, so they said we're joining the same band.

[Telling her something she already knows. Good opener, Tsuna.]

Surviving Friday, right? Did you ever listen to them before this?

Re: Limo ride for Nia!

[loveconservative]

[Nia was watching the city go by, leaning back comfortably in her seat as she waited to arrive. At least it was in style. At least she was getting away from her family. At least now she had a real chance. She's surprised when Tsuna speaks to her, blinking before she settles back a little more, trying to look ~knowledgeable~ and ~mature~. I mean. It fails. She's got a giant cloud of blonde hair and is wearing hot pink but like. She tries.]

Of course I did. Didn't you? I try to keep up on rising bands, especially ones like this. [Moneymakers. Pop groups that can sell albums just on being bouncy and inoffensive. Catchy as fuck songs that Nia will never be caught singing in the shower if she has her way.]

[dame_tsuna]

[Now he feels a little awkward. Music had been more a casual hobby for him before stardom fell into his lap.]

Er, a little. I'm not that good at keeping up with popular trends...

[Really he never cared much about trends. He always just listened to whatever music he liked. Doesn't bother much with tabloids or entertainment magazines. And he dresses for comfort rather than style. Although now he suppose that he'll have to start paying attention to at least some of these things. After all, this is the big time, not jamming with your friends in someone's garage.]

[loveconservative]

Oh! [Nia at least has a pleasant front, then. When she's doing things she likes, she can actually be pretty sweet. She digs through her bag to find her... ipod equivalent I guess and fiddles with it for a second.]

Would you like to listen? This is my favorite song of theirs.

[dame_tsuna]

Huh? Yeah, thanks.

[Ah, good. She seems really nice. Tsuna relaxes a little as he takes the offered ipod and listens for a moment. He's heard some of the band's songs on the radio and internet before, but this one isn't familiar.]

It's good. You can really tell they're putting a lot of feeling into it. The lyrics are clever too.

[The assessment is genuine, and it's finally shifting his nervousness to excitement. But, it does raise some questions. He hands the device back to her when the song ends.]

Their sound is great. I wonder why they decided to replace two people so suddenly?

[loveconservative]

[He'll learn soon enough. She crosses her legs in a way that she hopes makes her seem more mature.]

Well, it's obvious they had people leave the band. There's been some firings in major record labels, I heard.

[And then she folds her hands in her lap.] What do you play?

[dame_tsuna]

I did hear something like that. It still seems sort of sudden to me...

[But that's just show biz, right? You're on the top one day and tossed aside the next. It's good motivation to work hard. Pushing those thoughts aside, he leans back into the plush seats.]

Drums. How about you?

Friday's suite

[connivingbird]

[Ankh hasn't stopped making his pillow fort/nest in the common room since that weird week of odd memories and even odder moments of forgetting everything. Every day, the cleaning staff came in and put everything back where it belonged. Every night, after a hard day's work of recording and practice and exercise and photo-shoots and everything, Ankh dragged all the cushions and pillows and blankets to the center of the room and stayed there. It was a never ending battle and so far, no one has come out the winner. At least he had stopped building his nest on the balcony but that might be because of the it was getting too cold for that sort of thing.

So when the two newbies were dragged into the apartment, Ankh was sprawled out on his pile of stuff, chewing on the end of his fingerpicks and staring moodily at a pile of music scores. He looked up at the introductions, made a sound a lot like 'tch' a little louder then normal, and then went back to his arrangement. At Tsuna's question, Ankh looked up again.]

Yes. [He squinted at the lines he had wrote and then tossed the papers down and stood up. Without the layers of blankets, Ankh was just a skinny blond guy with a lot of tattoos, including an eye on the palm of his right hand, which he is now pointing at the two of them.] Had either of you two studied our songs? Know how to play them?

[dame_tsuna]

[Tsuna does have the grace to look a little apologetic.]

Um, this was all pretty sudden for me, so I haven't really had the chance.

[His joining Virgo was so sudden and chaotic he barely remembers most of it. But he is quick to reassure Ankh.]

But don't worry, I pick up songs really fast. I won't have any problems keeping up.

[He says that with absolute confidence. Tsuna is naturally a pessimist with extremely low self esteem, so a lot of his brainwashing was intended to make him more confident. It... sort of worked. He's very confident in his ability to play. And... really nothing else. Close enough.]

[connivingbird]

[What did they expect really? Ankh was not happy that the structured order had been rearranged. He wasn't happy that he had to sing. He wasn't happy that he was giving up his guitar.

But this is what the label wanted, so this was what they were getting.]

What do you play?

[dame_tsuna]

Drums...

[Tsuna reminds himself to try to be as easygoing about this as he can. This transition has to be tough on Ankh and the others.]

Um, do you know when our next show is?

[He wants to be sure he's ready. For himself and Nia, that show will be big factor in making a good impression on the rest of the band.]

[connivingbird]

[Does he know when the next show is? No, he doesn't keep a lot of attention on the gigs and the dates and the times. That's why they have a staff. They're the ones that show up to hustle them off to the next big thing. Ankh just shrugged and points - a dramatic twist of his tattooed hand as he does so - at the whiteboard set up on the back of the suite's door. It had been turned into a calendar and in fine writing there were lists of times and places that they needed to go.]

You'll have one in your rooms just to make sure we're all on the right day. They'll send reminders on our phones and the staff will show up about two hours to harass us into presentable clothing and whatever else we need.

[dame_tsuna]

[Tsuna glances in the direction Ankh indicates, then nods.]

I see... I'll check there.

[It's also pretty clear that Ankh doesn't really want to talk to them yet. Well... Tsuna couldn't really blame him for seeing them as outsiders.]

So, um, which room is mine?

[connivingbird]

[Half of Ankh's attention was on the songs he had to re-arrange, the other half on the nagging, happy, insistent voice that had lodged into his brain and telling him to be nice to all the humans. It didn't make things easier for him to deal with new distractions on top of it.]

It's whichever one that your stuff was dragged to. I don't keep track of your equipment when I'm working.

Re: Friday's suite

[loveconservative]

[She's not enjoying the way she feels like he's looking at her. There's a moment where Nia scowls and tosses her hair over her shoulder. Then she tries to give a polite smile? TRIES?]

I've been listening since your first album. I only know how to play a couple, but I can learn.

[connivingbird]

Is that right?

[At least she wasn't too clueless about them, though Ankh expected maybe a little more age on these two new people. He felt like he was ready for the old folks home standing around these kids; even Kise is younger then him, sheesh.

But he was trying to be nice. And when we say trying, that means he wasn't throwing things and yelling.]

What do you play?

[loveconservative]

Guitar, mostly. That's what they said I'd be playing for you. [She's. Trying very hard to seem upbeat. This welcome isn't a great one.]

[connivingbird]

[He's a bit overly protective of his spot in the band and with him getting moved over to vocals? Well, he can do it, he's got a good voice, but the guitar has been his for years. He doesn't like being replaced even if he was getting a better chance to get to the front. It felt wrong being replaced.

You're me. You need to return to me.

Ankh shook his head at the stupid new voice. Some kid and what did it know?]

Do you pick or slap?

[loveconservative]

[Oh no. A choice. This means she's about to be judged, doesn't it? Her voice sounds a little defensive.]

Pick. Why?

Friday's Suite~

[yellowcopycat]

[Ryouta was camped out at the dining room table. He had his computer open and was writing when Yama brought the newbies in. Now he was openly studying them. To be honest, he hadn't been extremely happy when Ankh had been made lead over him, and he really missed Aoba and Kaworu. Aoba's dismissal had been especially confusing because he couldn't think of a reason for his dismissal. Kaworu he could rationalize at least, and that was some comfort.

However, he wasn't quite comfortable with either of them being replaced. Still it was the business they were in, and he had to suck it up. No reason to hold it against them.]

Hi.

[Not the friendliest of greetings, but he's trying]

Re: Friday's Suite~

[dame_tsuna]

[He expected a somewhat uncomfortable introduction, so Tsuna manages not to squirm too much under the scrutiny. He won't just be working with these guys, he'll be living with them too. It's important to at least try to get along.]

Um, hi.

[Good conversation starter. A+ Tsuna. No, let's try that again. Less awkward this time.]

I'm Tsuna. It's... nice to meet you.

[nailed it.]

[yellowcopycat]

So. Drums?

[He feels bad, obviously he's making them uncomfortable. He stands and walks over. He kinda towers over them, which makes him feel awkward.]

I'm Ryouta, nice to meet you too.

[dame_tsuna]

Yeah. I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to play with you guys.

[Ryouta seems nice, so Tsuna relaxes a little. And Tsuna is such a shorty that pretty much everyone towers over him. He gestures vaguely at the rest of the room.]

And I knew Virgo was the top of the business, but I never expected things to be so... fancy. Do all the bands have rooms this nice?

[yellowcopycat]

[Kise nods, already warming to the kid]

Yeah, every suite's this nice. It's pretty great.

[His eyes go wide and he takes Tsuna by the arm and guides him to the balcony]

Dude, you haven't even seen the best part. The view is great! And we get a pool!

[dame_tsuna]

A pool? Seriously?

[Tsuna allows himself to be led to the balcony and his jaw drops at the sight.]

Whoa.... we're so high up!

[This is really the lap of luxury. Far more luxury than Tsuna ever imagined himself in. The label is spending a lot of money on it's talent. Tsuna.... isn't completely sure he's worth it. But while it increases the weight of responsibility, at the same time there's a temptation to just indulge in it.

But first he should probably stop gaping in amazement like some country bumpkin.

He will. In a minute.]