"Il bugiardo deve avere buona memoria."

[sharktrash]

Who: Squalo and YOU!
What: Squalo returns from surprise trip to Scary Lab Dungeon
When: evening of April 2nd (and later)
Where: Pride HQ, maybe the city later
Warnings: squalo language, drugs, craziness, will update if needed


-- A

[ Turns out trying (and (temporarily) succeeding) to trick Lesedi is a bad idea. He spends about thirty hours with the delightful brain probing team down in the labs, and then he's extensively warned and set free. Or, rather, just shoved out after making sure he got the message. ]

[ So, there he is, sort of staggering into Pride's lobby because he can still feel those unpleasant tingly things in his brain which might be aftereffects of the machine or cocaine withdrawal or an unholy mix of both. He takes a few shaky steps, rests a hand on the wall while leaning forward -- and throws up right there on the floor. ]

[ He stands there for a moment, and then starts laughing. It's loud, sharp, and frankly, somewhat unsettling. ]

[ There's probably a lot of people around and everything. The tabloids will sure love destroying his image further if anyone from the media is there to see him empty his stomach in a public area and have a manic hyena laughter fit over it. The famous alcoholic, cokehead and sex criminal of metal finally gone off his rocker etc etc. Does he care? Not right now, no. ]


-- B

[ Once he's done with that, he'll head "home". Which might be either MANTICORE's or Junkyard Carnival's suite at this rate. For what it's worth, he seems unharmed, but that weird aura of amusement and being close to a psychotic murder fit is still lingering. Did you even notice he was gone? ]

[ If you're anyone who has some reason to see him naked -- a bandmate, a bae, someone who helps him in the bathroom or just loves peeping on people in there -- you'll discover that pretty much his whole back seems to be bruised, as if he'd been thrown against something with incredible force. He doesn't seem bothered unless you ask, though. ]


-- C

[ The next day, he can be found doing the usual stuff. Recording, going outside to play with his bike, heading out into the city, most likely to drink. Possibly to meet Luce too, at some point. He might seem a little calmer than usual, though, as if the whole world around is somehow beneath him. The trademark smirk on his face almost looks knowing at times, but depending on who you are, he might just shrug if asked about it. ]


-- D

[ Wild card! Hit me up via PM or at jigglyballs and we'll make something else up! ]

Comments

C

[giglio_madonna]

[Just as promised, Luce heads to the diner for a little lunch. It's already proven to be a favorite of their band, so she has a feeling management won't see it as particularly unusual. Her hair she keeps tucked away out of sight in a small cap, and sunglasses help as well, but, for once, she keeps her signature facial marking in plain sight.]

[Hopefully it'll be enough for Squalo to recognize her without getting too many paparazzi on her tail. She's not in her usual generous mood, considering things.]

[sharktrash]

[ Meanwhile Squalo's idea of disguise is putting on sunglasses and calling it a day. ]

[ Alright, nah, he just might actually have a hoodie on this time (it is getting a bit warm to go around in leather), effectively hiding most of his hair though the white's still visible from the front. He looks vaguely irritated. ]

[ It will take him a moment to spot her -- the mark definitely helps, though he knows he's seen it on someone else -- and then he heads over and takes a seat at her table. He's got the urge to speak in Italian, though there hasn't been anything suggesting she'd understand it. ]

Hey. Thanks for meeting me.

[giglio_madonna]

[Without missing a beat, Luce switches her sweat and flops down besides him, shamelessly curling her arms around one of his and looking for all accounts like she's delighted.]

[Her voice, in contrast, is mildly sardonic.]

You look like a drug dealer, people are going to think I'm working on an addiction. We'll just have to play up the dating angle, then.

So, speak quickly now. What did you want to talk about?

[sharktrash]

[ His cheek twitches. ]

Voooi, I just got here. Don't make me hit a lady.

[ Okay no this is not what he came here for. Don't buy into her provocations. Deep breaths. Right. ]

Koumei. You knew him, right? [ The news hadn't been on the media yet. It's entirely possible she doesn't even know. Of course, she might have other contacts, but whether or not this is something they would've reported... ] He's gone.

[giglio_madonna]

Now now, temper.

[Honestly. This is like a walking-talking example of why she had such a hard time picking a husband. Luce is fairly sure about that.]

[The news... makes her go quiet, momentarily, but she's not surprised. This is just confirmation.]

I thought so. He wasn't answering his phone.

Apparently, in the game they're playing, he wasn't useful.

[sharktrash]

[ Y...eah, mafiosi are hardly a husband-material crowd. ]

Game? [ That's... one way to put it. But it makes him think that maybe she knows more than he does. Either way -- ] Here's the thing, I think she has him. Them. Alive or dead, I can't say, but it's pretty fucking obvious at this rate that none of them were just "fired".

[giglio_madonna]

Have you ever tried to contact anyone after they've been fired?

[With how many people she knows, trust Luce when she says she has.]

If you try to talk to the managers, too, they just tell you what you want to hear, if they tell you anything at all.

[sharktrash]

Yeah. It's like they never existed.

[ Great. Maybe something good will come out of this. ]

Oh, do they? [ A short, sharp, almost bark-like laugh. ] Mine just decked me in the face. Cosmetic differences, I guess.

[giglio_madonna]

I can't imagine why they'd do that, Signore Screamsalot.

[One day, she'll care about highly dangerous assassins and their ability to kill her. Today is not that day.]

It has something to do with music. Have you noticed that?

[sharktrash]

Voooooi, you're pissing me off.

[ He doesn't act on it, though. Good job. ]

[ And will she really? ]

[ He shrugs. ]

I'm not really a musician, am I? But they had to have a reason to make me one.

[giglio_madonna]

Because music is magic.

[A pause.]

I don't mean metaphorically. I mean literally.

[So enjoy that Squalo, she'll let it sink in]

[sharktrash]

[ just stares at her as if she's suddenly turned green or something. ]

Pretty damn sure I'm not a magician, either.

[giglio_madonna]

Maybe. But you can't deny that there's something going on with music.

Think back to that Solstice party- after which point did things start getting violent?

[sharktrash]

...when that woman was performing, right?

[ That's someone else being a music wizard and not him. But he supposes it does support the music is magic point pretty well. ]

[ Wait. ]

Are you saying that at some point, she might've been like us?

[giglio_madonna]

It would make sense, wouldn't it? Take a look at how smoothly we've all shuffled in- that's not something that goes so well unless you have a lot of practice.

[Backstory, the change of memories, making them think nothing was wrong until the Solstice party...]

...And new musicians are still being brought in, although not as many as when I first got into the business.

[sharktrash]

Well, we're not inciting mass murders with our songs. [ He scowls. ] Not 'cause of lack of trying.

[ HIS MUSIC IS SPECIAL. But more importantly; ]

"Brought" in? [ That's a funny way to put it. Also true, but he possibly doesn't know that yet at this point in time. ]

[giglio_madonna]

That's right.

[Well, there's no time like the present to ignore supposed label rivalries...]

Do you think we're really supposed to be here...? In Vista City?

[sharktrash]

...yeah? Why wouldn't we?

[ He remembers how he got here, among other things. Someone had really gone to town with his brainwashing, probably realizing he wouldn't believe anything less. ]

[giglio_madonna]

Let me ask you this- do you remember having parents? A family? Friends from before you joined the music industry?

[She's going somewhere with this.]

[sharktrash]

[ He cants his head to the side, watching her suspiciously. ]

Yes. I could tell you their names and jobs too, but I'm not gonna. [ The last bit does give him a bit of a pause, though. The notion of "childhood friends" somehow sends his thoughts right to the walking misfortune also known as Dino, but the few things he does seem to recall have nothing to do with music or Terra. ] ...I didn't have time for friends. [ It's not exactly a lie. ]

[giglio_madonna]

Of course you didn't, dear, and that's why you made that very suspicious pause.

[Shaking her head in what seems like amusement, Luce carries on.]

Last year, I would have told you a very different story about what my mother is like compared to what I know about her from the visions I've been having. If what you remembered of one person suddenly changed, what would you think?

[sharktrash]

[ He gives her the finger. ]

At this point? I'd believe the new information. [ And he's frowning. ] And if what you remembered of one person was confirmed?

[ they did a smart maneuver about his ho mum tbh ]

[giglio_madonna]

[The finger gets swatted at. Respect your elders, Squalo.]

I'd interrogate them to see if things really added up.

[sharktrash]

[ if he respected his elders he probably wouldn't have assisted his bae in patricide. ]

And if they're dead?

[giglio_madonna]

[Oh, you kids and your familial murdering]

That does make things a little more difficult. How was it confirmed for you?