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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[Wait ... Wait, wait, wait ... There's. What. She seems so hurt! Or maybe she's looking into that too much but there's still that feeling, so:]

Wait, you really wanted to know?

[She'd kind of thought that Meril was just teasing her - a little meanly, but it wasn't as if Nariko didn't deserve it, but lying down and taking it was never her style. Neither was being cruel. Driving everyone insane with her complaining was one thing but hurting people's feelings was something else entirely.]

I am curious about what people believe, particularly in regards to the afterlife.

[Her voice is steady, but she doesn't look at Nariko, expecting the girl to laugh at her, or call her a goth, or offer up any sort of the mockery that she expects. There's a reason she keeps her curiosity hidden, usually; it's nothing anyone outside this bus would suspect.]

Huh. [There's no laughter or mocking, she just has to think for a second.]

Well, I can't say I'm very fond of the idea of an organized religion? But I feel like I can put most of my faith in the idea of reincarnation, and maybe karma does play a big part in that. Still, if I died for some horrible reason or whatever, or I had really strong regrets then I think it's possible to sort of linger around.

[Is that a good enough answer? It's certainly a disorganized one, which is kind of unfortunate.]

So rather than a purgatory or a heaven, you believe death is tied to this world. Remain in it in one way, or return to it in another.

[That feels wrong to her on a gut level, yet -- perhaps close? It isn't the answer she's looking for, the words she wants. It doesn't... mean enough.]

And how you come back depends on the life you lived?

How you come back probably depends on a few things, and I won't pretend to have figured them all out.

[The living probably can't ever know the complete truth about the dead, or the reincarnated.] Things like heaven and purgatory just don't make much sense. It implies we can somehow still feel and process the same way as when we're alive and that's kind of odd.

[There's a pause, here:] Granted, I just don't want to have to feel bad about anything I've done.

Then you probably should not throw yourself out the window. Just in case you are wrong.

[As nice as their conversation has been -- weirdly nice, honestly -- Meril still isn't going to let that little bit of melodramatics go easily.]

You ought to write that up in a blog. The attention you'd get might be worth the effort.

[She kind of wants to bite back at that, but:]

That's a horrible, but very good point.

[Still, writing it all down? Just the idea makes her visibly shy, one of the most uncharacteristic emotions to ever find a place in or around her.] No one would believe I thought it all up, it's not the kind of thing anyone expects from me.

They will believe what they want to believe. Even the ones who question will treat it like you said it -- just in case you did, and you are reading what they have to say in response.

[Someone has used this trick before, though Meril keeps it sparing. A question tweeted to all her followers, generic and simple? Then an occasional comment as if she'd been reading the replies, no matter what they actually said. Easy. Simple.]

[Beats posting sexy pictures for attention.]

Sticking to yourself no matter what, talk about the hardcore route.

[But, then, Meril's always seemed way stronger in the ways that count so that's hardly a surprise, right? Nariko considers the idea, toying with a loose string in her jeans, and then:] Would you read it? And not just because I'm sort of asking you to.

[Also what's wrong with sexy pictures. She just so happens to feel good in a bubble path with candles all around! It's always best to take selfies when you feel confident!]

[When it comes to 'stronger', Nariko has her beat in some ways -- such as comfort with her role as a sexual being, rather than simply accepting others will view her as one and that she could not change the fact. Meril had never really made an emotional connection to anyone, but had never made a physical connection either in all the time they'd been traveling together, and certainly not for a lack of fans who'd have been willing to try.]

I would. [Meril generally puts very little emotion in her voice, but it is rich and nuanced enough that simple inflections can speak volumes. When she says something in this particular tone, she means it.] I might even look at the comments.

[She's quiet for an extra moment but an elated, almost bashful smile finds its way onto her lips, pulls them up and up, until she feels stupid and covers her face.]

Thank you. [It's incredibly difficult to feel anything but empowered by that tone, and the implied support.] I guess I can give it a try, and you can let me know what you think later, if you want!

[And she really will get to it, there's absolutely nothing hollow about the promise. But:] What about you, though? Is there something particular you believe in?

[Hm. She is much prettier, and more approachable, when she is smiling like that. Easier to know than the usual ball of energy and complaints and assertive emotions Meril thinks of her as.]

[...She can't blame Nariko for hiding that side of her. She'd never survive the fans or the tour circuit if it was up front and common.]

[Meril looks back down, the only sign of her own embarrassment.] I am still looking for something that feels right. That is why I asked.

I see! [That's not a bad way to go about the whole thing, figuring it out by hearing other people's beliefs.] Well, I'm honored that you wanted to ask me at all.

[But she knows better than to linger on that and appear too prideful.] Do you think there's a Heaven or Hell or anything, at least?

[It's not meant to be a pressing question, people could still have opinions even if they weren't too sure of how they believed yet, right?]

[Meril rarely has trouble speaking, but in this case she is struggling to put nebulous thoughts and feelings into words. Hesitation colors everything, as she shuts her eyes entirely to focus.]

There must be something more than this life.

Hopefully. Something more is definitely better than just rotting in the ground.

[But that vague answer doesn't seem like Meril at all, so if Nariko didn't already believe that her bandmate was only looking for answers, she certainly did now.] Well, the more you learn the more likely you are to find something that fits, right? Maybe we just need to ask more people!

If you blog what you have told me, I can hope there will be some opinions worth reading, somewhere between the posts trying to impress you and the ones trying to seduce you.

[She can admit she had a selfish reason for suggesting that, though she honestly doesn't expect to get much out of it.]

Ah.

[So ... It wasn't necessarily that Meril had any investment in Nariko's personal thoughts or beliefs, it was plain curiosity. And if she used Nariko's popularity with their fans then of course she would get more answers that way. It was actually a decent plan. Too bad it felt an awful lot like being used as a means to an end. Why had she gotten so excited before? Clearly that was stupid.]

Well, yeah, I suppose that'll be the case. [It really was kind of dumb to think it could be a thing they explored together, right? This was definitely why certain parts of her nature had to be kept under wraps.]

[See, this is why Meril didn't really have much luck with interpersonal relations: she's terrible at them, always managing to give the wrong impression. The truth is that expressing herself doesn't come naturally at ALL -- either written or spoken. In trying to overcome the one, she's run face-first into the other...]

[Still, she can't at least leave it like that without another stab at an explanation.]

If I simply asked outright, I think my... style, my mannerisms and fashions, would lead people to suggest only certain ideas. Ones I have already investigated and found wanting.

[She pokes at her own jeans, hoping to find a loose thread that can be yanked at. This is a dumb thing to become upset about but it gets under her skin for reasons that are difficult to verbalize.]

You could have asked me outright.

[It would have been as simple as 'Hey, could you help me with this?' and that's all.] You didn't have to pretend to be interested in me.

Edited 2015-09-20 18:57 (UTC)

[Meril doesn't have many nervous mannerisms of her own. Stoic, cool, and rarely engaged with others, she almost never fidgets or fumbles about.]

[With one major exception. The girl, after a moment of hesitation, tugs the end of her braid into her lap and slips off the tie at the end. With practiced attention, she begins to reweave it. The gesture is proportionate to her distress, which is why it comes out so rarely -- her hair is quite literally longer than she is tall, and the braided portion represents two feet or so of work to attend to.]

It was... it was not pretense. I want to find what I can believe in, but -- what you believe in matters as well. If I asked it poorly, I apologize.

[The tone she apologizes in gives the words no credence, but... that's Meril, that's how she always talks. The body language is what truly offers a glimpse into her sincerity.]

I wish you'd let me do your hair sometime.

[It's ... Not the most logical thing to say, or doesn't seem that way? It's how she chooses to acknowledge Meril's sincerity, but the length and overall beauty of it has always impressed her. Nariko's own hair goes down to her ankles, up until Meril she'd never met another woman who could match her.

... That, and she's a touchy person, so platonic gestures are common with her.]

It's okay. I just don't really like feeling used. [But had Meril really done that, or had Nariko just imagined it up, twisted it in her own way? It was a bad habit of hers, she knew that, which is why it's better to apologize. No matter where the fault lies, if there's any at all, she doesn't enjoy perpetuating it.] I'm sorry, too.

[And that twin confluence of hair had showed up on more than one promotional picture in the past. Which thought led to another one.]

Do you not feel you are being used here?

[Meril knows perfectly well she's being used. Outfits that show off every inch of skin they can get away with, videos and gigs that work them to all hours of the night, marathon autograph sessions, talk show appearances she'd rather not do... She tolerates it all because that is the business, but she is candid about its reality.]

[As for the hair, well. That isn't a no, which is a lot closer than Meril is usually capable of coming to a 'yes'.]

Oh, that's definitely the case. [There's no use in arguing that, and Nariko might be a little ... Questionable at times but she's isn't a genuine idiot.] But I really love music, singing it, playing it, talking with fans! I don't really care about the other stuff. [Like that one time she was five minutes late because she'd wanted to buy a cake for no reason and was 'disciplined' by their Manager. Thank goodness for liquid foundation, and a steady makeup artist.] And the other thing is that we can't change this. The Managers will be themselves, the bad stuff will always be bad whether anyone tries to do anything about it or not.

[There's something a little odd about that, maybe. Why is she making excuses? ... Who knows.] But when it comes to my friends I don't want to put up with that.

[And, yes, that was the right word to use.]

[That... is kind. A kindness she does not perhaps deserve. What has she ever done to be Nariko's friend, save for play in the band, and have the occasional conversation with her?]

[Meril doesn't understand. And yet she does not doubt the sincerity of the term at all.]

I am not even sure how I could use you if I wanted to, so in that respect, you are safe with me.

[She waves one finger with a knowing grin.]

See, the world is a pretty cruel and ridiculous place but you're never anything but honest! [Ah, but she does have to consider:] I mean, hopefully you never figure anything out, that'd be for the best.

[Meril is a smart girl, and she's never seemed particularly menacing but you never know.]

TEST DRIVE MEME: THE SELF TITLED ALBUM

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