At the heart of the world...
[I take a sip from my Pina Colada (thankfully not tasting a hint of alcohol) and smile when it looks like the two have figured out a song. Here comes Lilly to the rescue...I don't know why I thought that, I'm just somewhat relieved that they have a song.] "Well, that's good! Can't wait to see you two—"
[Whoa, she's eating that quick. I'd tell her to slow down, but I think we're on a bit of a time crunch as is, if what Lucy got from Belle was correct. I match her ferocity as I start stuffing fries into my mouth, intermittently sipping on my drink to moisten up the food and getting some very good use out of my...well, can I still call them canines at this point?]
"Okay! I'll see ya soon!" Just as before with Ferra, Merna gives Raumati a salute, then rushes off towards the plaza. From what she remembers, she won't have too much time to prepare, but just as long as she's got a song and a guitar, it's gonna be okay!
Purrloin Jani by shrubBird
*Lilly, too, inhales her food, drink, etc.* Guess I'm not settin' the best example either... *she flags the waitress, then tells the two* I can cover us all — no sweat! *she says with a smile, then turns to Lucy* This is gonna be so much fun! I haven't ever done one of these either — but I'm-a just have fun and enjoy myself.
Current WHABP alts: Jani (Sarah) the Purrloin, Hudson the Togetic. Tilly/Lilly (Digletts) are being Put on a Bus.
From thief to hero
Yeah! (Lucy says, finishing her own food. She looks expectantly at Lilly and Eliot.) Are you both done? C'mon, let's get going!
Yeah! Let's go, Marly! (Marsha says.) Ya see them, bro?
(Benji scans the crowd and eventually spots Phyllis and Angelo taking some seats not far from them.) There they are!
(Phyllis waves to Marlon, Marsha, and Benji from where she and Angelo are sitting.)
Well? Let's get over there, Marly! (Marsha says, starting to walk in Phyllis and Angelo's direction.)
(A good distance away, out of sight from everyone else, a Garchomp in a wheelchair-like apparatus wheels herself to the end of one of the rows of chairs.) It's a lovely day for the music festival today...I only wish my Delilah could be here...
(Delilah and I reach backstage and take two seats. I look over to her.) Are you nervous, Del?
A little bit, yes... (Delilah says.) Are you?
More than you can imagine... (I chuckle. But I actually am very nervous about either I or Delilah embarrassing ourselves on stage in some way shape or form.)
"Don't worry, Lucian, we'll make it through this."
We dare you to say his name
Oh? Well, that's very good to hear! But slow down a bit, the festival isn't gonna run away from you! Heh.
(The waiter tells the group in the restaurant.)
(I follow Marsha to where Phyllis and Angelo are. Upon sitting down I say:)
Man, this is gonna be pretty exciting!
edited 1st Nov '17 6:10:52 PM by Team42Larson
Tell....everyone....
At the heart of the world...
"MM TRNN TA EEH, WMMN!" [Curse my slow fine-motor skills! Stuffing the last of the fries into my mouth, swishing it with another swig of pina colada, and swallowing this monstrosity of a bite, I push the now fry-less basket away from me and lean back in my seat, chugging down the rest of my—ahh, brain freeze!]
From thief to hero
You're tellin' me! (Phyllis says.)
Where are Goobert and your other friends, honey? (Angelo asks.)
They're in da contest, Dad! (Marsha says.)
Oh, how exciting...! (Angelo says.)
You okay, Eliot? (Lucy asks upon seeing Eliot in pain from his brainfreeze.)
edited 1st Nov '17 7:01:25 PM by kablammin45
"Don't worry, Lucian, we'll make it through this."
We dare you to say his name
30 minutes later...
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WELCOME TO THE SEVENTH GLEAMSCAPE MUSIC FESTIVAL. OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS WE WILL SEE WHICH OF THE 10 REGISTERED COMPETITORS WILL WALK AWAY WITH THE PRIZE OF 30000 POKÉ!
(The town crier decides here to not use such a booming voice.)
Our opening act is an Alolan Marowak named Raumati. This mysterious fellow can channel the power of spirits through his bone in order to conduct his tribal compositions. Give it up for Raumati!
Huh. I feel like we've met him before...
(I point out.)
(Richard prepares to observe from the judge's table.)
edited 1st Nov '17 7:46:43 PM by Team42Larson
Tell....everyone....
Well, sounds like this'll be interesting.
Dieter claps their paws together for the Marowak.
A Sunflora has joined the judges table.
edited 1st Nov '17 7:26:28 PM by CorvusAtrox
"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every
From thief to hero
(Belle is also now at the judge's tables.)
Hey, yeah. I see him around Silversand sometimes! (Marsha says to Marlon.) Fancy seein' him here.
Indeed! It's Hotoke's husband. (Angelo says.) What a pleasant surprise!
(I also find Raumati vaguely familiar, but say nothing. It's cool to see an Alolan Marowak in real life though.)
edited 1st Nov '17 7:29:59 PM by kablammin45
"Don't worry, Lucian, we'll make it through this."
Purrloin Jani by shrubBird
*by now, Cart!Jani and Tilly are situated near each other in the seating area. They're also near the other spectating humanmons* Huh, didn't that scam artist from Silversand know him? *then notices what Marsha said* Hotoke, huh? Why so friendly...she tried to sell us ice...from some orifice from who knows where...
*Tilly, however, is simply reading a different book, waiting for the event to start*
Hotel Bar, Past
Guess I really did set a bad example... *Lilly looks to Eliot who's struggling after wolfing down food* ...are ya alright there?
edited 1st Nov '17 7:29:22 PM by sarysa
Current WHABP alts: Jani (Sarah) the Purrloin, Hudson the Togetic. Tilly/Lilly (Digletts) are being Put on a Bus.
At the heart of the world...
[I groan from my brain freeze, taking in a deep breath as I hold my head.] "I'm fine. Just brain freeze..." [And just like that, it's gone. I go back to sipping on my pina, this time a little more cautiously, then once that's done, I slide the glass away from me and start wiping the crumbs off my shawl.]
"Welp, a'guess we're golden. Let's go getcha guys some flowers 'n whatnot."
The Best Worst Psychonaut
*Sometime after the meeting, backstage...*
Raumati sat in a darkened corner of the backstage area, having put out any of the lights so he could focus better on the ghostly flame he'd conjured up at that point in time. Having lulled himself into something of a stupor, practically half-asleep, he'd sat down, hands to his sides and eyes closed. "Remember, you guys, hmmnneh..." he murmured, "Epic... epic is the key, mmmnehyanno, yehyanno... yeh, literally, the epic key, hehehe... mon, I... I love you all, yeh... mnnot like that, though, donn'teheven start, mmnehehe..."
*Meanwhile, in the crowds...*
Towards the very back of the crowds, Hotoke had seen fit to bring along her Chiller-on-wheels to the festival - and why wouldn't she? Lots of business to be done in such a warm, packed locale, likely with lots of sweat-inducing headbanging and possibly drugs that'd need to be washed down - and she had just the thing for that.
As she was busy preparing ice-cold slushies for a line of spectators, she ear-slash-arm raised up as she clipped the judge's announcement of the opening act. "Heyyyy, it's Rau! IT'S RAU! HE'S MY HUBBY, DON'TCHA KNOW?!" she excitedly yelled out to anyone who'd listen. She leaned out the front of the cart and tried to wave to him, despite the extreme distance separating them. "HEYYY, RAU!! IT'S ME!! DON'T FORGET TO SAY THE THING WE TALKED ABOUT, KAY, THANKS! I LOVE YOU!!"
As he walked onto the darkened stage, as per his request, Raumati couldn't help but sense his wife reminding him of that thing they talked about. Typical stuff - normally he'd have tuned that out, but having put himself in that 'special stupor', it seemed he was getting very hyper-aware of ghostly communiques sent his way, to the point that the crowd gathered in front of him barely registered to him. Not that it mattered - he knew that it was always a safe assumption to assume everyone was watching when performing. Jumping in at the deep end, it was.
He sat down at the centre of a number of musical instruments arranged around him, such as wood chimes, numerous flutes, shakers, a lute and a didgeridoo, with his prized drums right in front of him.
His eyes still half-lidded from his stupor, he struck his bone against the floor on both ends in sequence, setting them alight with his trademark ghostly flames, and in turn, illuminating his place on the stage slightly. But that wasn't all - he proceeded to 'break' his bone into two pieces connected by a bit of string, holding them wide like they were a pair of nunchucks. Shifting his gaze to the shakers, he struck the ground next to them, and suddenly a smaller flame shot out of the end of the bone, floating into place beside the instrument - and around it formed the flickering, ethereal shape of another Marowak, a copy of himself manifesting via spiritual energies he'd tamed - or rather, asked very very nicely.
His physical self started out with a short rhythm on the drums
, which probably looked very simple, but in his mind, he was concentrating on this and the shakers at the same time, starting off slow. It wasn't long before he struck the ground again, forming more flame-cored copies of himself to take command of the flutes and the wood chimes, his music building up to a certain foreboding quality. Soon, the didgeridoo and the tamborines acquired their own copies with which to cut in during a lull in the fluting. Gave the foreboding-ness a very chilled-out backing, as though to lull the listener into a false sense of security, he figured.
Of course, this all changed once he conjured some more copies to assume control of the strings and the horns, turning that sense of security on its head and dialing the foreboding-ness up even further, as though the monster had just arrived, whatever that monster was. Could be whatever they wanted it to be, he figured. Could be him, even. Imagine that, he had thought during rehearsals.
The chillness resumed, however, once the lute came into play. This was his personal favourite part, as it lended a certain friendliness to the piece, a certain reassurance. And though there would be some pretty erratic fluting to remind the listener that they were dealing with a monster, the lute would keep their spirits up, encouraging them to open up to them, to treat them as one of their own. It was like having a tea party with a monster. Or a soda party. With a ghost. A Froslass, even. Music and its love stories, eh?
Of course, he could sense that piece was nearing its conclusion, and he had barely gotten started. Oh well. Just the opener, anyway. Maybe the ultimate in luring them into a false sense of security, if the contestants had something darker in store. As it reached its end, he slowly let go of his copies, enabling them to fade away into nothingness as the music they were played faded out with them, until he was alone on the stage once more.
Re-connecting his bone, he finally released himself from his spiritual stupor and stood up, getting an unimpeded glimpse of the crowd for the first time. ...Shit, that was a big crowd. He found himself hesitating now, of all times.
"Eh, uh... thanks for listenin', you dudes and... she-dudes. ...That was called... 'Tea Party of the Dead'. I dedicate it to all the monsters, the outcasts out there who just wanna talk, wanna socialise. Give 'em some room, eh? Oh, and uh... don't forget to check out Hotoke's Chiller-On-Wheels at the back. She's got Iccccccccce!" he said, pointing to the crowd as he began to walk backwards again, ready for his exit. He'd done his part. Now Hotoke just needed to sell more drinks.
"If you think like a child, you will do a child's work."
We dare you to say his name
Well, well, well...that was certainly interesting. Give it up again for Raumati!
(Some in the audience begin clapping. I give my opinion as I slowly am clapping myself:)
That was sure something, I'll say.
Well, if that was an opening act, can't wait to see what the actual contestants have, eh?
(Richard asks Belle and the Sunflora.)
Now for our professional act! This four-man band specializes in what can only be called Toxic Rock or Punk Rock. PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR CARBON FOOTPRINT!
Huh...the Sableye's band.
(I point out.)
edited 1st Nov '17 8:18:00 PM by Team42Larson
Tell....everyone....
From thief to hero
Dang...that was something else... (I remark from backstage.) It's going to be hard to top something like that.
I'll say... (Delilah agrees.)
(In the audience, Marsha claps.) Wow! I had no idea he could do that... (Marsha comments.) We should talk to him sometime.
Yes, that was most impressive...! (Belle says, clapping her flippers.) And we've only just begun.
The fellas we tried ta talk to earlier? (Marsha says to Marlon as Carbon Footprint is announced.) Dis should be interestin'...
Ok! (Lucy says, springing from her seat.) Let's go, guys!
(Lucy begins walking towards the way out of the hotel.)
"Don't worry, Lucian, we'll make it through this."
The Sunflora replies in reaction to the performance. My, what a remarkable beginning.
Dieter claps at the conclusion of the performance.
That was super cool.
They then get ready to watch Carbon Footprint's performance.
"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every
Purrloin Jani by shrubBird
Pretty haunting right there...no pun intended... *Jani forces herself to say, then adds to the others' speculation about Carbon Footprint* ...you know, I wonder if we're going to recognize their setlist? With thousands of hits to choose from, would explain how they got popular so fast...
Rainbow Road, Past
*it doesn't take Lucy, Eliot, and Lucy long to reach the main shopping center of the town. Visible from where they are is a street flower vendor, but not far from there is an accessory store that includes pre-made items crafted from flowers. Lilly thinks on it for a moment before asking Lucy* I think we're makin' good time — do ya wanna craft some costumes together or should we get the pre-made ones?
Current WHABP alts: Jani (Sarah) the Purrloin, Hudson the Togetic. Tilly/Lilly (Digletts) are being Put on a Bus.
From thief to hero
We can make them? All right! Let's make our costumes! (Lucy says giddily. She begins running up to the flower stand.)
"Don't worry, Lucian, we'll make it through this."
At the heart of the world...
"Wait, can you?" [I mean, maybe one of them has some kind of move for it, but otherwise, it'd just be sticking flowers into some kind of lattice or crown and that would take forever. At least I get the feeling this won't be as expensive.]
"Now don't take too long! You two're still gonna need t'rehearse when we get there!"
Well, it’s a badger, that’s for sure
Andy, joining in on the Carbon Footprint discussion, adds That is how Jillian got popular.
Huzzah
it gal
Aspen rushes past Sushi, carrying a violin in her arms and cursing under her breath. She notices Sushi and stops on a dime, whirling around. "Hey, what're you doing? There's a front seat with your name on it! I got it for—" She cuts off as the band's name is announced. "—aw, fuck. Asshole pretty boys, all of them."
She takes off at a breakneck blitz, glaring at the crowd with a gaze that could make Arceus himself back off whimpering, and calls over her shoulder, "I'll find you after the show, cutie!"
Colton turns away from the stage tech he was talking to as Aspen arrives. "Hey, L. I tried to stall for you, but—"
"Thank you! Kinda irrelevant now! Go, go!" Aspen thrusts the instrument into their Alolan Muk accompaniment's hands, snatches up her guitar, puts on her headset, and dives from her run into a crouch out onstage, giving the crowd her best slasher smile as she plays a heavy metal riff.
The band members wave to the cheering crowd as the announcer says, "Your minds have been poisoned by the establishment, but Aspen, Topher, Wentworth, and Colton have the antidote. Here they are: Carbon Footprint!"
Aspen rises to her feet. "Hope you're ready for us, Gleamscape! This one goes out to a certain pink Torracat—you know who you are! It's Takes Me Over!"
Her bandmates give a start, their eyes wide as they scramble to retune their instruments. Only those in the front row could possibly notice unless they had eagle eyes, but clearly, this was not in the setlist.
We dare you to say his name
(I don't hear what Andy's got to say, but when the band comes on I can't help but point this much out to Marsha:)
There's the Sableye from earlier...let's see what he does.
(Richard looks on, attentively. This was the same group he ran into earlier, and now he gets to hear what they're about.)
Tell....everyone....
From thief to hero
Dis should be interestin'... (Marsha remarks.)
(Benji begins cycling through the forms of each of the four band members. Marsha elbows him.) Bro, quit doin' that before they see yas!
Heh, sorry, sis. (Benji says, having been stopped while taking on Aspen's appearance. He quickly shifts back into his default Swampert form.)
Well, there's that Sableye and his band. (I say.) It'll be interesting to hear what they're like.
You're telling me, Goobert... (Delilah says.)
(Belle seems intrigued. She's never seen a band quite like this before. She leans forward at the judge's table in anticipation.)
Right! (Lucy says to Eliot. She begins looking through the flowers at the stand and turns to Lilly.) What kind of flowers should we use? I kind of like these purple ones!
edited 2nd Nov '17 8:19:54 AM by kablammin45
"Don't worry, Lucian, we'll make it through this."
Music Contest, Crowd
Dieter gets ready to listen, though admittedly hasn't heard much Toxic Rock before.
"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every
Purrloin Jani by shrubBird
...Jillian's popular? *Jani asks Andy, but then is distracted by the start of Carbon Footprint's song*
*Jani's eyes widen briefly as the metal riff plays. She didn't even realize such a sound could exist in this world...electric types, she wonders? But moreover, as the "fusion" begins, she has to resist further impulses to headbang (which is about all a Diglett can do) or otherwise act like the brainwashed fangirl she perceives Sushi as. She realizes, especially from her experience with Bella and PJ, the best lies have a kernel of truth...and attaching "metalhead" exclusively to her new persona will make it take a lot easier*
*needing to break away from it convincingly, Jani turns to others and comments* Oh wow...they actually...have electric guitars here. *her next words are somewhat betrayed by her repeated looks back at the band* Not my favorite sound...though...
Flower Stand, Past
We totally have time for this...she said 30 to an hour, right? All we need are flowers — I left some craftin' supplies at Lucille and Ricardo's house! *Lilly exclaims, then adds quietly* ...and if they're not home, well, that's not much of a problem for me... *she grins*
Current WHABP alts: Jani (Sarah) the Purrloin, Hudson the Togetic. Tilly/Lilly (Digletts) are being Put on a Bus.
"But...."
"I was told they'd be playing here...."
Sushi wanders around backstage more, searching for the Carbon Footprint.
she magnificent my bastard till i complete on her monster