Summer Dance Mix (open player plot)

[roundandaround]

WHO: People around Ellipsa and also Rinku
WHAT: The curse that creates a simulation game of your world is back, but it’s… significantly more harmless (except maybe for your wallet).
WHEN: July 6
WHERE: Weird mind space
WARNINGS: Some discussion of trauma/teamnesia games and what goes on in those, as well as the recent Cursed RPG, Jar of Human Poké Ball, and Lobotomy Corporation player plots.

[You were going about your day. Maybe you were hoping for something nice to happen after everything that’s been going on in town these days. It’s been a rough summer so far, after all, for some more than others.

Something grabs you, though. In the real world, you’ve fallen asleep where you stand, but from your perspective, you suddenly see a stage lit up purple and a cheering crowd.]

RAISE YOUR HANDS UP!!!
3
2
1
Let’s Go!
NEXT MEMBER IS…

[Light flashes, and you’re standing backstage. There are others standing around too, some you might recognize. On the stage, you’ll see a DJ booth with your faces on it. One of you might have an instrument, another a fancy glowstick or two, and you’ve all got microphone headsets on.

The announcer is calling you on stage.

Welcome to D4FES.]

—

[Have fun – it’s an open, lighthearted variation on the cursed-item player plot! Info is here, but basically your character is now expected to perform a DJ live, either alone or in a group (players can work that out). There are turntables on the stage that you suddenly know how to use, and characters who wish to fulfill extra roles in units while one of their threadmates DJs will also have whatever equipment they need and the knowledge to use it. Want to VJ? You’ve got a laptop ready, and mysteriously, all the art or video footage you can imagine is there to project onto the screen behind you or into your LED penlights. Want to play live music? Have an instrument!

The post will be divided into three toplevels in chronological: Free Play (where you play your first round and get used to Suddenly You’re On Stage), Gacha (backstage mingle with everyone else, where a gacha mechanic will put you in new clothes that make you feel stronger and that your threadmates can envy and/or laugh at), and Raid (go perform again with all your new skill and score high enough to break out of the simulation).

As is standard, no powers. We don’t want any accidents on stage.]

Comments

[mayoninofukucho]

[He relaxes a little bit. If Evangeline could make something as complicated as Medusa's anti-petrification glasses, chances are she can figure out a solution for this soul jar situation, too... even if it's probably a completely different family of curse (or however those are classified).]

Don't feel bad. That sort of thing is above the pay grade of regular people like us. I can imagine that having to sit and wait feels crappy, but you did what you could for your friend by putting her in capable hands.

[happydreamed]

I know. And - I have confidence that someone will find a way to fix it. But the waiting is hard.

[Killing some of the people who put her in there did feel good though. But again, not mentioning that.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Yeah, don't admit to that to the police, Kantera! He'd have to arrest you, and he'd hate that!]

Thankfully, we have sudden surprises like this here to distract us, huh? So you think the book Rinku bought pulled us into her world - or a dream of hers - just like that cursed video game did?

[That probably is the most plausible explanation. It sure never gets boring in Nightwake City!]

[happydreamed]

I think so, yes. Thankfully this doesn't seem nearly as violent as that was.

[Rinku could have been much less fortunate with her cursed objects.]

[mayoninofukucho]

That's probably mostly because it was Rinku who activated the curse.

[Had it been him, any random people pulled into his Edo might at best just have had to deal with rudeness, but at worst they could've ended up embroiled in street violence! And there definitely are people from more dangerous worlds around. He absolutely will have to sit Kantera down for an evidence gathering once they're out of here! For now, though, he tries to focus back on the task at hand.]

How'd you find the DJ-ing so far? Does any of it come easy to you?

[happydreamed]

Well... I can at least sing decently, so there's that. But I was terribly anxious, especially when people started whispering, and the audience noticed...

[At least they were supportive, but idol trauma is real.]

[mayoninofukucho]

I can imagine.

[Damn if he isn't glad to not have that particular trauma right now! Sadly his EQ isn't particularly high, so the best he can think of to help Kantera in the absence of calming substances is tackling the challenge with a methodical approach.]

Singing is more of a human skill than DJ-ing and VJ-ing, so I bet the audience liked that. They liked my guitar play, too... I think.

[Everything else aside, how cool is it that he can play the guitar now!]

[happydreamed]

Perhaps I could sing while you play, next time? That sounds easier than managing everything by myself.

[mayoninofukucho]

It'd be a huge help alright, being able to split the work. I can also handle the visuals and some extra sound effects, but I'm crap at the turntables. I have no sense for how much scratching and squeaking is too little or too much.

[happydreamed]

To be honest, neither do I... I don't listen to that sort of music particularly often.

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah, same here.

[He honestly finds the intensity almost heart-attack-inducing... but he's not going to say that out loud; he only just got out of his midlife crisis!]

If we get matched up next round, let's just flip a coin and do our best. At least each of us has one skill down to a decent degree... and the audience is open-minded enough, if nothing else.

[If they both were able to pass while fumbling their way through the entire array of skills the first time, it can only go uphill from here! Right?]