interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK VII: IN REACHING OUT PT. 1

Who: Everyone in Pride and Virgo HQ.
What: Ghosts need your help.
When: The evening of January 30th, 2055
Where: Pride and Virgo HQ.
Warnings: Phantasmal violence, possibly some real violence.

“Hold your colours against the wall,
When they take everything away,
Hold your colours against the wall,
With me (soaking through)”

☆IN REACHING OUT

Starting around the 20th of January, the heavy lockdown and supervision of the musicians of both labels will begin to fade. While they still require escorts to be out and about, the guards that have been routinely stalking them around their own homes and HQs will be gradually phased out, until it is just the regular managers and security remaining. Sweet deal, right? Over a month after the hysteria of the ill-fated solstice party, things seem to be finally letting up a little. Whether because you've played nice for long enough, or whether their attentions are being directed elsewhere, it isn't clear.

Either way, this is the also the start of some increasingly familiar paranormal activity. All the way back to the first tour of this generation of musicians, members of both Pride and Virgo have found themselves haunted by strange and inexplicable happenings. Starting on the 23rd, these happenings begin to flare up again - lights switching on and off, TVs starting on their own, and even things falling off of shelves unprovoked. (These minor happenings can be made up by you and don't need to be mod designated - however, they should not be anything that would be threatening or dangerous to the characters.) For some people this will be completely new, and for others it may even be faintly nostalgic.

This will continue until the night of the 30th, when things finally seem to come into swing. The hauntings will become more pointed and explicit. The details are specific to each HQ, and there and you can make yourself open to an NPC haunting down below.

☆PRIDE RECORDS

About halfway through the evening on the 30th, Predator will begin prowling the halls of Pride HQ. At first it won't be clear for what, but after catching a few snippets of conversation (this can be handwaved) characters will have a change to realize that they are looking for the ghosts that have been causing a fuss recently. How crazy this will sound to you will probably depend on how new you are. They will actively shake down random musicians they meet for information about what they've seen the last couple days. As usual, Jenny is leading the pack, with Cass and Donny (nsfw) providing back up muscle.

Provided you lie well or tell them the truth, they will move along fairly quickly. If you start shit with them, they will probably rough you up a little. Any major confrontations with them will be handled on the companion OOC post, and a few top levels may appear over here that can be tagged into in limited amounts.

Beyond those activities, Pride members will feel various effects based on their EMOTIONAL ALIGNMENTS:

► ALL: Their connection and desire to create music will be especially heightened. They will find themselves subconsciously beginning to tap out rhythms, hum, peck at instruments, or straight up sing things even when it would otherwise be totally inappropriate. Strong emotions will cause them to want to sing and play to each other. They may also feel very strongly that they want to dance, to a particularly addictive beat that seems to emanate from the air. It may shift and change as the night goes on, but at any given moment everyone will hear the same rhythm. It sounds like particularly great percussion.

► LOVE & DUTY: They will have no extra special effects, but they will feel this urge to create music even more strongly than the rest, as it seems to be focused on them as they are not being directly targeted by any other sensations. When Hope and Passion musicians hear music made by these characters, they will feel stronger, like energy is being gifted to them.

► HOPE: Characters of this alignment will feel increasingly like they are being drawn somewhere, or like someone is calling for them, but they can't quite make out the direction it's coming from. The aspect of hope will be empowered within them, and they will find themselves unusually trusting towards the other characters, as if they only have the most optimistic outcomes in mind. Beyond this, they may feel dazed or confused by the sensations they are feeling. They may also experience strange visions, or the sensation of being another person they are not (and not just their true self this time, someone else completely).

► PASSION: Characters of passion will be targeted by the 'hauntings' much more directly than the others. More than random acts, the hauntings around them seem like someone is actively trying to communicate with them. Sometimes it will even feel like someone is trying to speak in their heads, though they won't quite be able to make it out. Passion characters who request haunting instances will get the most major effects.

☆VIRGO ENTERTAINMENT

Soon after things start to get extra weird on the 30th, Juno and a couple Virgo veterans (Anansi and a man you recognize as a popular folk artist named Brett Hogan) will start wandering the halls. They will pull individuals aside for questioning in private rooms, asking about the strange occurrences. They will not attempt to rough anyone up, but excessively resistance or attempts at violence towards them may result in characters being locked in their rooms for the rest of the night.

All three of them seem particularly hard to lie to for some reason, tonight. It's possible, but while you make the effort to do so, the words seem to be on the verge of falling out of your mouth. Juno seems to have something very particular in mind as she searches the HQ, like she can see something you can't. There will also be top levels for these guys appearing.

Beyond those activities, Pride members will feel various effects based on their EMOTIONAL ALIGNMENTS:

► ALL: Their connection and desire to create music will be especially heightened. They will find themselves subconsciously beginning to tap out rhythms, hum, peck at instruments, or straight up sing things even when it would otherwise be totally inappropriate. Strong emotions will cause them to want to sing and play to each other. They may also feel very strongly that they want to dance, to a particularly addictive tune that seems to emanate from the air. It may shift and change as the night goes on, but at any given moment everyone will hear the same song. It sounds like someone riffing expertly on a guitar.

► HOPE & PASSION: They will have no extra special effects, but they will feel this urge to create music even more strongly than the rest, as it seems to be focused on them as they are not being directly targeted by any other sensations. When Love and Duty musicians hear music made by these characters, they will feel stronger, like energy is being gifted to them.

► LOVE: Characters of this alignment will feel increasingly like they are being drawn somewhere, or like someone is calling for them, but they can't quite make out the direction it's coming from. The aspect of love will be empowered within them, and they will find themselves unusually loving, connected, and emotionally open to others, even if this would usually be out of character. (This can also mean they are more inclined to get physically intimate, if you want to.) Beyond this, they may feel dazed or confused by the sensations they are feeling. They may also experience strange visions, or the sensation of being another person they are not (and not just their true self this time, someone else completely).

► DUTY: Characters of duty will be targeted by the 'hauntings' much more directly than the others. More than random acts, the hauntings around them seem like someone is actively trying to communicate with them. Sometimes it will even feel like someone is trying to speak in their heads, though they won't quite be able to make it out. Duty characters who request haunting instances will get the most major effects.

☆PLOT NOTE

This will be a two part event, and the second part will be posted in a few days and will only include those that choose to help the spirits. This can be discussed OOC. Any alignment can assist, though the Passions from Pride and the Duties from Virgo will be the most directly pursued because they will be the easiest for the spirits to communicate with. Realize that participating is serious business, though: there are good odds the characters will be caught eventually, and there will be consequences. Do not volunteer your characters for this plot if you don't want them to suffer potential physical or mental trauma.

“Fading gently, soaking through,
And starting not to show at all.
In reaching out and into you, 
nothing else could touch me.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sora isn't the only one wandering the HQ. The feeling in the CoT penthouse has the hairs on the back of his neck on end. For some reason, it feels familiar in the worst way. Like waking up from a nightmare and being glad you have shitty dream memory.]

[When he sees the other guy, Artolo waves up his hand and tries to look like he's not manically tapping his feet. There's a beat, he knows there is, it reaches into the part of him that's percussion.]

Hey. Want to throw shit out a window?

[That's sure a random proposition.]

[Blame it on just plain old lack of being observant or the fact that he's kind of distracted, but Sora doesn't even notice the manic tapping at first. He's actually considering the question. And he answers in the affirmative, because absolutely nothing could go wrong with a plan like that, right?]

Sure. Like what? Water balloons?

[Just the first idea that popped into his head. And now he notices the tapping.]

...You okay?

No, but let's ignore my lifetime of mistakes and shit luck in favor of water balloons.

[He was going to suggest more suggestive things, but at this point he'll take whatever. Jerking his head to encourage Sora after, he takes off to see where the nearest place is to buy balloons.]

The penthouse is insufferable right now, I swear to god.

Sure. [This boy's gonna tag along willingly, following after Artolo and not pressing him further about his current state, though he appears amused by his response anyway. Sora walks with his hands in his pockets, his head bobbing slightly as if he's listening to some unheard music.]

Yeah? Like 'cause of your band or because of that harpy manager you got? [So much sympathy about being stuck with her, Artolo, so much sympathy.]

For once, it's actually not An. Shocker, right?

[Artolo snorts, hopping into the first available elevator.]

But the whole penthouse just feels suffocating. Everyone is suddenly weird, I don't get it at all.

[Sora hurries in after.]

Suddenly? Things are kinda weird all the time now... [Though...] Come to think of it, I guess I've felt kinda weird today too, though.

I haven't. [Besides being inspired, but that's normal, right?] It's like I'm in the eye of the weirdo storm watching shit get flipped.

[Leaving Pride HQ, he makes a face.]

If anything, the rest of the band is taking it worse than me.

[That's certainly a way to describe it, and causes a small snort of laughter from Sora, though honestly he's still concerned for both Artolo and his band.]

Really? How are they acting weird?

Just... You know. I guess the power is acting weird, or there's tech problems. I'd look into it more, but... Y'know. Not my area of expertise. S'just stressing everyone out.

But anyway, balloons and shit. Got a preference?

Oh, yeah. I've noticed that too. Even my phone was flipping out earlier.

[He blinks.] A balloon preference? Uh, not really. Just regular ones, I guess?

I meant, like, color, you nerd.

[A snigger.]

Or else I'll just get, like... primary colors. And black.

Oh. I like all those colors. Though I've never seen black balloons before.

Whaaaat? Seriously, they're all over the place, like, at Halloween, or goth parties. And trust me, I know way too much about goth parties at this point.

[Thinking about it... Halloween definitely made sense. Like, orange and black ones together probably.

He laughs when Artolo starts up about goth parties.]

I'd think 'cause they make you wear it all the time, you'd be tired of black gloomy stuff by now and want more color.

Weirdly enough, not really... Like, if there's any color that needs to be added, I'd feel like it should be... yellow, or something.

But that's bee bullshit, right? Black and yellow.

Maybe, but maybe they're just your favorite colors? Like, my band mate, B, wears those colors a lot. He likes 'em too. And not just because of the bee thing... At least, I don't think.

[...He's never actually asked. But he seemed to like those colors even in private, away from the public eye, so he's pretty sure it's not just like public image or anything.]

Oh yeah? No wonder I like the guy so much.

[And store reached. Artolo starts passing by the aisles, reading the signs as he passes to find the right one.]

Anything else you wanna get while we're here?

[Yeah he didn't hear that question. Once in the store, Sora's off like a flash to go look at things. He's leaving the balloons to Artolo in favor of grabbing dumb little party favors: kazoos, whistles, blowouts, bubbles, dumb little temporary tattoos of random stuff.

Once he's got everything he wants, he'll find Artolo again with his new treasure trove of assorted ridiculous things. Including little plastic animal figurine toys.] I'm ready! [He's wearing a party hat.]

Edited 2016-02-29 05:04 (UTC)

[Holy shit, now he almost feels inadequate with just his worryingly large supply of balloons.]

Are you sure, man? Want to buy out the whole store next?

[This question makes him look at his gathered assortment a bit guiltily. He'd kind of gone on a spree there, but maybe it was too much.]

...Think I should put some stuff back?

Can you afford all of that?

☆TRACK VII: IN REACHING OUT PT. 1

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