interstellar404 | TEST DRIVE MEME: THE SELF TITLED ALBUM

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TEST DRIVE MEME: THE SELF TITLED ALBUM

☆WELCOME TO INTERSTELLAR
And welcome to our first TDM! We've got two types of prompts to use this time around: the first takes place while your character is in the process of being captured, and the second is during their first brainwashed rockstar tour. The former is designed to be considered 100% game canon if you make it in officially, while the later is more speculative and will only work if you get lucky during label and band selection.

☆THE TALENT SEARCH
These prompts are design to be kept as game canon after acceptance, and can be used as the official story of how your character was captured. Importantly, the kidnappers entering your timeline causes massive time distortions, which means that the outcome of this scenario will stagger and replay itself multiple times before settling on an outcome. This means that after the fact, you character may remember being captured multiple ways, or going in more than one direction, before the timeline settled on a final path. Or at least, they'll remember this until their memories are wiped shortly afterwards, but that's okay! That's what memory regains are for. Read this page for more specifics on this situation. Any powers the characters have will be weakened and prone to malfunction to the point of uselessness.

►A1) THE SEARCH: It always starts out this way, doesn't it? At some point in your life, you were just doing your thing, wherever you call home. Then, all at once, it's like you've been torn from your dimension by the roots. Time and space displace, and it's like you've been shifted one layer of reality to the left - like some kind of subspace where you can see your reality through it, like a rainbow surrealist image of your home. Even if you can see this ghost image of where you were, you can't interact with it meaningfully. Any friends or family are somewhere else. As you begin to wander, without any other options, you'll find that the scenery gradually shifts to ghost images of other places, other worlds. If you wander long enough, you'll even find other people, lost just like you are. But you probably won't have much time - you've been brought here for a reason, after all.

►A2) THE HUNT: It could happen almost immediately, or it could happen hours later - but, at some point, your dimensional kidnappers start to do their sweep. Space Men in black body suits and gas masks pursue you on foot and in small spaceships, trying to sweep you and the other displaced up like fish in a net. Their guns contain a weird pink gas that will knock out most with only a single breath - and for those more enduring, they have the heavy artillery, like electrical nets and guns. The fallen will be sealed up into stasis pods for transport and loaded onto the ships, which seem like the only way to get out of this place by choice. This is where it ends, but are you going to put up a fight?

☆THE MAGIC TOUR BUS
By default, these prompt aren't considered canon, but if after you are accepted and sorted they can be tweaked into working for you, it'll be totally okay to keep them as a part of your rockstar's personal history. They take place after being kidnapped and brainwashed, on your character's first tour under their new label. As it turns out, it seems like brainwashing aliens isn't the only thing the abductees have to worry about.

►B1) PLAY IT STRAIGHT: It's just another day on the tour bus, in between long stretches of highway. How do you fill your time? Do you practice your instrument, or do you take full advantage of the open bar? Do you sulk and try go to bed early? Do you yell at your bandmates for ruining the toilet? Do you troll people on Twitter? Tours being what they are, everyone is probably at least a little bit tired or cranky. Just don't do anything that will get the Manager on your ass, because that's always more trouble than it's worth.

►B2) THAT'S NORMAL: The Managers aren't here, as far as you can tell, leaving you in a moment of relative relaxation. Something about those guys just make you uneasy, and they're always shoving you around and making you do things you don't really want to. However, these moments of peace don't last long, because it stars to become increasingly apparent that your tour bus might be...haunted? Whether its the bus turning on without a driver and without a key, wine glasses falling off tables, or guitar static sounding like frantic whispering, things are starting to get weird. Yet, at the same time, something in your subconscious is strongly suggesting that you should ignore it, and that everything is normal and fine...

►B3) THEN WHO WAS GUITAR?: These weird experiences eventually culminate in a kind of phantom music bleeding in from the air around you. The source is impossible to discern but it's somehow...familiar? Like something that played at an important moment in your life, even if the event itself just won't come to mind. What's weirder, is that everyone seems to hear something different. It gets to you in a way that your programming doesn't like - but how do you react? Reluctantly take it in, or throw a fit until it stops?

☆HELPFUL INFO
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Man, he wishes he knew. Steven pulls back just enough to look up at him, wide eyed and helpless. He doesn't want to freak his dad out - but if this is a gem thing, it's nothing he's ever heard of, and without one of the others to help him know what to do...

He tries to calm down. He's gotta give a good answer here.

"I...I dunno," he says, picking his words carefully. "I can't find any of the other Gems, and I don't see any gem monsters anywhere...!" He hesitates before confessing. "I've...I've never seen something like this before, and it's wigging me out, too."

Okay. That isn't an answer he was hoping for. Panic is starting to boil up, anxiety and uncertainty growing too big to ignore. There's something really wrong going on here, and he's useless to figure out any of it.

Still, there's only one thing Greg is good for, and that's keeping Steven happy. The rest can come later. With a deep breath, Greg squeezes Steven's shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. We'll figure this out, pal, don't worry."

He glances around the bizarre, technicolor landscape, chewing his cheek. He still doesn't like the idea of going wandering around. Besides, if Steven was able to find him, maybe the rest will, too. "All we gotta do is stick together. It'll work out!" It always works out. So this will, too.

Steven takes a glance out at the landscape the same moment that Greg does, and it isn't exactly encouraging. But, still...it's hard keep being anxious when his dad is being visibly calm about something.

He looks up and smiles a little, nodding firmly with that small boost of confidence. His hand lingers on Greg's, though, as he pulls away for a moment to check out the ghostly Mr Universe van next to them.

He tries to press his hand against it, and after a few moments of resistance, his fingers go right through. He pulls his hand back.

"The only time I ever saw something sort of like this was when I went into mom's special room and accidentally asked it to create the whole town...it kind of freaked out and overloaded, haha." His laugh is nervous. That was terrifying. "But..."

If that's the case, what if Greg isn't real? More than that, Steven doesn't even remember having gone into that room recently. It doesn't really make sense.

"You didn't happen to bring any donuts along, did you?" he asks with a little sigh, and zero context.

Edited 2015-09-14 01:20 (UTC)

"Your mother's room..." Oh jeez, when had Steven gone in there? Why is Greg the last person to know these things? He knows the answer to that question already but that doesn't mean he likes it. He covered up his concern with an anxious laugh of his own. "Well, I'm guessing you didn't wish up all this, anyway."

Considering snacks were generally Greg's default solution to any given problem, the question didn't strike him as terribly strange. "Sorry, bud, fresh out. All the snacks're in the van..." And that meant his default solution was nixed He'd tried a few times to pry the doors open, but got nothing but handfuls of neon air for his efforts.

He paces around, scratching at his hair. "You know what? If we're out here, I bet we can find someone else around." Unless this is a mysterious familial affect of some sort but seriously when does his side of the family relation come into play. "We'll take a walk down the boardwalk, see if we can find someone. Or at least something to eat."

The fact that Greg has given him a coherent reply more than once in a row is starting to dispel Steven's fear of his unrealness, at least. So, while he's not actually really hungry, he's happy to leave that train of thought behind and take finding food as a Macguffin for them to focus on while they try not to freak out. Steven had gotten these coping mechanisms from someone, after all, and it certainly hadn't been Pearl.

"Right...the mysterious ghost van," Steven muses, swatting his hand at it one more time. Oh well. "Well, no use for ghost donuts anyway! Boardwalk it is!"

He smiles at Greg again, but this time more genuinely. An adventure with his dad! How often does this happen? Maybe if something happens he'll be able to really impress him, even...

Or, they could both get hurt. But he's trying to look on the bright side.

"When I went into the temple, the TV was all static like out of a scary movie," he says, conversationally. "Way too spooky."

Steven's starting to look a little more pulled together, which is as much as Greg needs to feel a little better himself. It doesn't fix the overall feeling of dread, or stop him from casting nervous looks around every few seconds, but it's something.

"Dang. There goes my next idea for passing the time. We'll have to... uh..."

Greg's pace slowed, then stopped. He twisted around, trying to get a bearing on their surroundings. He knew absolutely where they were supposed to be, and he was sure they'd made all the right turns to get there, and yet.

"Um. Steven, does any of this look... familiar to you?"

Steven has stopped as well, gradually noticing the same thing. It's still...sort of a city? But it's definitely not the beach, or Beach City all together. Among the things he was coming to anticipate, this was not one of them. Being in a ghosty version of Beach City was one thing, but being in another place all together-

He looks behind them. He can't see the car wash at all anymore. They're lost.

"...Dad..." he starts uncertainly, anxiety rising up in him. Oh no, he has to fix this. It's his job to fix this, but he doesn't know what to do. Magic stuff is his responsibility in this family. "I think we're lost..."

He hadn't wanted to say it. He's been hoping maybe he was mistaken, against all odds. He's lived here for decades, he knows what Beach City looks like, and it doesn't look like this. But maybe they're just... confused.

Greg is the adult here, he's gotta keep calm, but he's got absolutely nothing to back it up at this point. Finding Steven's hand, he holds it tight. He's not about to lose anything else, in this crazy place.

"I-it's okay, bud. We'll uh, we'll just retrace our footsteps! It'll be--"

He catches sight of something, in the distance. It's far enough off, he might not have caught it, if they weren't the only things around that weren't rainbow warped.

"...Are those... ships?"

In the past, Steven might have had some crazy ideas about the ships possibly being helpful. Not right now. Now, all he can think about is a gem invasion, and how it very well could be homeworld trying to take him away again - only this time the Crystal Gems aren’t together. The fear surges straight to his heart, tears beading in his eyes.

Is this some kind of crazy space magic attack? What does he do? Lapis had said the homeworld was more advanced than anything she’d ever seen, right- ?

His breath cuts short, and he grabs onto Greg’s hand more tightly. His lifts up and arm and summons his shield - though, to his dismay he finds that it takes more effort than usual, and the result is more of a flickering spectre of the real thing than a proper shield. He looks at in acute dismay before, hardening his expression with contrary determination, and starting to pull Greg into the shelter of the foreign city they’ve wandered into.

“It’s...it’s okay,” he says. “I’m going to protect you, dad! No matter what.”

Greg's thinking isn't too far off, either. The only thing that comes out of space ships is, by his experience, bad news. More than ever, he wishes the van wasn't ghost smoke right now.

Steven yanks him along, and Greg's sure not about to resist. Everything's getting worse and worse at an alarming rate. Steven's magic isn't working right (that happens all the time though, maybe not so much recently but it'll be FINE this is OKAY), those ships are getting closer way faster than the two of them can run, but so long as they can hide somewhere, it'll be okay. It'll be fine.

Unfortunately, the city itself still keeps warping and shifting around them, making cover difficult to find. It's feeling less and less like they actually are anywhere at all.

This isn’t working and Steven knows it. He’s becoming increasingly certain he’s going to have to fight, and less and less certain that he can win. It’s proving a struggle to even keep his shield formed at this rate, and if he actually has to use it against an attack.

People in black armor start dropping out of the ships with the haste of an ambush, and in an irrational moment, Steven’s only idea is an attempt at making peace.

“It’s okay!” he shouts t them, raising his shield. “We’re not here to figh- whoa!”

A gas bomb comes soaring at them without a moment of hesitation, and bounces off of Steven’s shield with significant force. Unfortunately, it also causes the shield to break and disappear into a shower of sparkles. Steven yelps and all but throws himself against Greg’s body.

“We gotta - go - !” he shouts, forming a bubble around them which immediately causes them to roll. The bubble lasts at least long enough for them to start cascading down a hill.

Who are these guys?! What could they possibly want from the two of them? Logically, that didn't matter so much as the fact that they were being attacked, but Greg wished, just the once, he could know what was going on, and what he could do about it.

All he can do, however, is grab on tight to Steven, protecting him with his larger body as the tumble head over heels down the slope. That, however, only lasts a scant few seconds, before the bounce to a rough stop.

Still hugging onto Steven, Greg lifts his head to try and regain his bearings--slightly futile, in this place. They've lost sight of the guys in suits for the moment, just based on speed, but that won't last long. He feels sick, and it's not from the spinning. Steven's bubble won't hold. He has to do something.

"Steven. L-listen." His heart is beating in his throat. "You have to drop the bubble, and run. I... I have a plan, okay?"

Steven very obviously doesn't like that idea. Not that running itself is a bad plan - he's all about running when you can pull it off - but he doesn't like the implication that his dad is going to stay behind or do something dangerous without him.

He wants to trust him, he wants to let him do whatever plan he's got with the hope that it will succeed, but he doesn't dare let Greg throw himself under the bus like he know he's capable of doing.

Steven refuses to let go of him, still clinging like when they were rolling. It doesn't completely feel like they've stopped. He struggles to keep the bubble together.

"What are you going to do?" he pleads. "We have to stay together!"

Edited 2015-09-15 18:46 (UTC)

"We can't lose them if we're together." Steven is smaller, faster. He'll be able to find somewhere to hide more easily without dragging his big, creaky old man around behind him.

His hands are shaking, but his grip on Steven holds firm. "There's no time to explain." They're coming, and if they see the direction Steven runs, it'll be hopeless.

"Don't worry, bud. I know... if anything happens, I know my guy'll take care of me." They'll find a way to get back together. He can be certain of that fact.

"Dad, no," Steven begs, and it's in that same moment that the bubble pops, as if mirroring the loss of Steven's control over the situation. Steven's eyes go wide in horror, and he immediately starts trying to bring it up again. He can't make it go more than half way.

"No, dad, I can fix it," he insists - he can keep protecting both of them, he has to - despite the it becoming more and more obvious that that isn't true. "Please, I can do it..."

He doesn't have much left in him.

There's the sound of footsteps, heavy and fast. They're out of time. "Steven... I'm sorry." He squeezes his son, one last hug, before standing up. Steven's going to hate him for this, probably beat himself up over it, but Greg can take that over losing him.

He steps over the incomplete bubble. Masked figures are appearing over the hill, and there's a faint clatter as some sort of canister lands nearby, spewing pink smoke. "Go!"

With a shove, Greg sends the bubble sliding away, before the gas can spill over Steven's barrier.

How much that catches him off guard is enough to trigger Steven's instincts enough that, for a moment, a shattered portion of the top of the bubble forms - just enough that the shoved bubble can fall and bounce backwards and away from the wall of gas. He can't control it when his mind is caught up in the fear of the moment, and the environment is already shifting and changing as he moves.

It suddenly seems like it's falling. It bounces once, twice, and then shatters. By the time he collects himself, he can't even see the scene he just fled from anymore.

"DAD!"

And that's the end of it. For the moment, he's escaped, but Greg is gone.

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TEST DRIVE MEME: THE SELF TITLED ALBUM

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