Straight Outta Andromeda (Hikari)

[R0SWELL | Rayen Tsukino]

The club was not one of any particular importance.  It was a small venue and rarely had any live performance, residing in what was once a dance studio.  The mirror on the wall still remained.  It was cracked, but the owner liked the asthetic.  But, recently it had booked an act.  A strange act.  And very recently.  True to the performer's reputation, the booking was last minute.  Exchanged over a few quick emails, they were the newest place to feature the online musician known only as Roswell.

A line had begun to form outside the club, while the quiet performer set up the stage.  From here on in, Roswell would work in silence.  Not speaking until all of the computers were hooked up and the turntables had begun to spin.  Only a few remarks would be made to the crowd and then it would be a quick exit out the door, after everything was taken care of.  Mostly, the only important item was the laptop and the turntables.  Cables were easy to come by.  And tonight, they were provided by the club, anyways.

---

Unlike the first time, Rayen wasn't all that nervous.  She had started to get the hang of booking these kinds of gigs and figuring out a good way to move her equipment around.  She would find a good place to hide it, that was nearby and would make that her drop point.  Her costumes were always simple.  A jumpsuit and a mask.  Something she could easily slip into and out of.  The baggy garment fit over street clothes easy enough.

Tonight's mask was similar to one of her older ones.  A ski mask with an alien motif stitched into the front.  With a hood pulled up, she could keep her eyes obscured by the dark.  The other good thing about these get ups, were that club owners knew right away who she was.  Some were a bit put off by her eccentric behavior.  But, most were used to dealing with artists who had a whole list of other quirks.  Which made things all the easier.

---

Hooked up and ready to go, Roswell tested the equipment.  A few loops played, first from the turntable and then from the computer.  Everything was ready to go.  After a quick thumbs up was given, one of the employees went off to complete whatever else had to be done in order for the club to start letting in customers.  Tonight was going to be good for business.

Roswell had been hitting all of the social media sites, hard.  The goal was to make sure everyone knew where to go to see what this strange person was going to be up to.  The set started off with a piece from Afternoon Delight.  It was always good to start things off with something familiar.  Then, Roswell liked to start building on that and let people join in on the strange journey that would travel through the catalog that would be provided for tonight's entertainment.

People started to filter into the club and began ordering their drinks.  Some were eager to get to the dance floor and others were just interested in getting themselves settled.  After all, the night was still young and there would be plenty of excitement.  Most hadn't even noticed the club's featured act was even there.  At least not yet.  In the darkly lit room, Roswell just hovered of the computer and waited for the right opportunity.

[Hikari Oka]

Hikari really wasn't a clubbing type person but a friend had just come across one she swore upon her life was good and out of the way enough that it was unlikely someone like Hikari would attract too much attention there. In the past couple of weeks her relative indifference to being single had been challenged by the news that said friend was now engaged. Good for her, she'd only been dating the same guy for 4 years and it was about time they finally made that commitment to each other. It did however remind her that the last time she'd had so much as a date had been even before those two had begun dating, which really dated her (and unintentionally created a pun). Not averse to sitting at home and watching TV or something she decided maybe this club was worth going to check out since it got such high praise from her friend. Heck the woman even said she'd be happy to meet Hikari there and introduce her to some people. Even though the brunette just knew deep down that she was being set up on a blind date she figured it couldn't hurt to at least give this a try. Worst that could happen was her getting a couple of drinks and ending up back home for some likely much needed rest.

So she'd gotten to the club or bar or whatever the former dance studio claimed to be now, dressed up a little more than normal in a red sleeveless dress and matching heels. Somehow she'd convinced herself to do her hair up in a bit more elaborate of a bun than normal.  Honestly she was overdressed for this place from what she could tell by the audience that'd gathered for some kind of weird DJ in a hoodie whom Hikari had barely noticed upon arrival. However the song playing when she took her seat near the bar was one of hers, 'Tokimeki Panic!', which was an odd choice but a nice nod. Hikari couldn't be sure if the DJ had picked it because of her presence, but she raised her glass and nodded in appreciation anyway. Migh as well salute the gesture, intended or not. The night was young and there were plenty of people to chat up in the hopes of getting something going. Hikari felt lucky.

----

And as it turned out that feeling of luck had been horribly misplaced. No one here was all that interesting as far as she could tell, nor were they interested in talking to her. That might've had something to do with the fact that she was pretty buzzed by the time that she began mingling.  Her tact was slipping as she consumed more beer after getting turned down a couple of times, which in turn just made her honestly drunk. Yeah, not a great way to start an evening or spend it. On the other hand she was actually really enjoying the music the DJ had been choosing. Not really the sort of stuff that Hikari would normally have listened to but as with her tact, her inhibitions were falling away in the face of beer. Pretty much every song saw her either attempting to dance to it or sipping another glass of some drink. Weirdly she only noticed that the DJ was an alien about an hour in.

Now most people would have been weirded out by an alien playing music for a club event, or at least moderately surpirsed. Hikari, in her drunken state, knew better than that: aliens had been influencing earth for a long time before clubs even existed. That's what this one show she'd seen on an American TV network had claimed, and the guys on the show seemed pretty certain about what they were claiming. Granted she'd been drunk then too. That seemed to be happening more often lately. Regardless she saw nothing wrong with their alien DJ and grinned the few times she thought she'd caught the DJ's eye. Yeah, maybe that part wasn't so bad.

[R0SWELL | Rayen Tsukino]

The reactions tended to range from surprise to curiosity.  Mostly, though, people were occupied with other pursuits.  Roswell, it would seem, still had a long way to go before earning some actual recognition.  But, all that would have to wait.  In the meantime, patience would have to persist.  Patience and lots of music.

So far, the DJ was playing fairly standard club music.  People were dancing and enjoying themselves.  Perhaps one or two might be having less enjoyable evenings than others, but by and large she had figured out how to get a crowd to do what she wanted.  Which brought about the time of the set where things would start to get weird.

It was during her second Afternoon Delight song, that Roswell began mixing in some different cuts.  Some more vocals from the singer, Hikari Oka, found some different accompaniment in the form of a sample a song that had been used in many other songs, before.  Once that break had been added into the mix, the next step was to add a little more complication.  The next selection of music was a good deal more generous in it's sampling.  The vocals were also a nice contrast to Hikari's.  A deeper tone, with a strange accent, coupled with fast guitar.  Things were getting pretty hectic.  Which was just the way Roswell preferred it.

---

Behind the alien facade, Rayen was pleased with the turnout.  Things were looking pretty good from the DJ booth.  More people were getting on to the dance floor.  A few had scratched their heads as she transitioned from Hikari, to Dr. John and back.  It certainly added a good amount of time to the song and stretched it out a bit further than either of the two tracks had originally played.  But, that was all fine by her.  Part of the fun was seeing in just what she could place together.  In the meantime, she remained a shadowy figure behind all of her equipment, computer screens and everything else that comprised of her little area.

[Hikari Oka]

The people at the club were probably the most boring part of the club experience so far from Hikari's point of view.  By this point a vast majority of them seemed to have formed little cliques and enclaves where an outsider like Hikari wasn't welcome to tread.  Granted she was also flirting with almost anyone she found attractive regardless of gender.  That didn't endear her to many people when the flirting ended up being half just the brunette complaining about things that'd happened in the idol business.  People just didn't want to hear your interpretation of why Afternoon delight wasn't the top group anymore when they were at a club to have fun.  So the actress just found a corner where she could listen to the music and watch the DJ for any signs of some kind of secret alien technology.  That TV show had been going on and on about the super secret awesome alien technology which had created mysterious ancient relics, so why wouldn't some of the same tech show up here? 

There wasn't anything unearthly about the mixing of music the DJ offered, but Hikari's attention was caught all the same.  Mainly because another one of her songs was being used for a mix which was kind of weird but oddly powerful.  Did this alien DJ know that she was watching them?  Probably.  Aliens seemed to know what you were doing even before you did it so figuring out that someone was watching you would be a piece of cake.  Might as well show her appreciation to the being that had travelled from afar (or so she assumed) by clapping when she heard her voice singing the first time.  Maybe she would've danced too but her head was swimming a bit by that point and balance might not have been her best area given the condition.  Though she did start talking to herself since there was nobody willing to engage her in conversation.

"Listen to that mix of different music styles.. it's unique, you'd never hear it anywhere else than with this DJ.  The balance is immaculate... now I'm not saying it's aliens..." she professed to no one in particular, holding her hands up for emphasis, "But it's aliens."

[R0SWELL | Rayen Tsukino]

Clubs always possessed an interesting dynamic.  Rayen could assume that it was similar to high school.  Only with more drinking involved.  People banded together in little groups and some people were, unfortunately, left out.  From her vantage point, she could observe all of these odd little quirks.  Almost as if she was a researcher, hiding in among the population.  Perhaps, the alien theme to her whole persona was more appropriate than she first thought.

---

There was little time to spend dwelling on these topics.  A job still had to be done, after all.  Roswell was transitioning into the next piece, but kept a few lingering notes, looping as an address was made to the crowd.  "Welcome." the voice that spoke to the crowd was under heavy layers of filters.  One could barely identify it as being human, in origin, let alone determine what gender it's owner possessed.  "Your patronage is appreciated.  If you enjoy what you hear, you can find me online.  On the internet...I am everywhere."

* * *

As time pressed on, Roswell address the crowd, with brief plugs to her various outlets.  On a rare occasion someone make a request.  If it was possible, the requested would be fulfilled and a nod would be given.  Speaking with the audience would have to be kept to a minimum.  Only through the filters and nothing more.  Roswell's identity could not be revealed.  At least not yet.  It was still far too early to even entertain that idea.  The set was almost at it's end.  There was a quick announcement to make any last requests for the evening.  Both for drinks and for music. 

(OOC: Sorry this was a rather short one.  I'm pushing things to the end of the show so we can finally get these two to meet up and the real fun can begin!)