interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK V: I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE PT. 1

Entry tags:

☆TRACK V: I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE PT. 1

Who: Everyone that isn't an opt out!
What: Naomi Rivers throws a terrible holiday party.
When: December 7th, 2054
Where: Naomi's ocean side mansion.
Warnings: Violence, poisoning, various murder attempts, mind control, general uncomfortable lack of consent. Also, probably drug use. Maybe sex? Who knows what you'll get up to.

“I will burn for you;
Feel pain for you.
I will twist the knife 
and bleed my aching heart,
And tear it apart.”

☆I WILL TWIST THE KNIFE

The first two hours of the solstice party are surprisingly normal. Members of both labels arrive by private sky shuttle, and are invited into the ballroom for food and drink. It’s even more surprising when both Lesedi Santiago and Edward Blanche arrive as well, and spent most of that first period speaking quietly in a nearby lounge area. Lesedi’s body guards and Juno watch the space around them, keeping anyone of lesser important from interrupting what looks to be quite the serious discussion.

After food, the ballroom stage is taken over by a number of increasingly impressive entertainment pieces. It seems to be obligatory for everyone to stay and watch (not that it’s a struggle – the talent involved is unmistakeable), but not long into it Lesedi and Edward can be seen disappearing outside together, and show no immediate signs of returning.

And that’s when Naomi Rivers takes the stage.

To the Virgo that have heard it before, the song is more viscerally familiar than anything you’ve only heard once should be, and it awakens the ideas that were implanted there the night before. You have a job to do here, tonight. One that is only fair – almost righteous. Lesedi Santiago and her ilk will suffer for her transgressions.

The performances end, and everyone is released out to the rest of the grounds, to mingle and celebrate at their leisure. While things may seem civil on the surface, beneath that something dark is brewing. You gradually begin to notice that almost none of the more veteran members of either label are present.

► BALLROOM: The central nexus of the party, the ballroom is the location of the buffet table, the stage, and the dance floor. There will be music available all night, even after the official “performances” have ended. There are tables set up around the edges of the room for eating and relaxing.

► LOUNGE: Where Lesedi and Edward were having their meeting earlier, the lounge is filled with comfortable chairs, classic art, and a large, ornate fireplace. If you figure out who to ask, there are a number of chemical vices available to all guests.

► BALCONIES: There is a generous series of balconies that line the exterior of the upper floor. The ocean can be seen from one side and the gardens can be seen from the other.

► GUEST ROOMS: Down the halls from the ballroom there are a few generous guest bedrooms that have been left open for use.

► GARDENS: Out towards the back there are a wide variety of plants, and a well kept stone path and manmade waterfall. The plant life is on the sedate side due to the winter, but it’s still green.

► OUTDOOR POOL: There’s a pool out front with a shallow and a deep end. The water is clear and artificially warmed.

☆OOC CONSIDERATIONS

Please remember that any attempted assassinations are meant to remain covert, and if your character is incapable of being stealthy then you must assume that any attempts you make are happening towards the end of the evening – let’s say around 11PM. The spell compelling people to do this does not want a riot or a bloodbath – what it wants is for people to die before the rest of the group can realize that anything is even going on. Of course, this isn’t exactly going to work out, but if you are finding yourself getting into the realm of intense physical violence you might want to stop and slow down a little.

Virgo members that didn’t hear the song the night before are free from any compulsions, and so are all members of Pride. If non-mind controlled characters start clueing in to what’s going on and start trying to evacuate in large numbers, that is where you’ll want to wrap up threads and wait for Part 2 of the log, which will contain the end results and will be triggered by any large amount of chaos.

If any characters attempt to escape earlier in the evening, they’ll find that the shuttles have all been grounded, and wandering in the woodland nearby just seems to result in them getting lost and ending up back at the mansion. It’s a real pickle.

If you’ve got any question about what’s going on please leave them on the original plot post and they’ll get answered! The opt out event will be posted ASAP.

“I will lie for you;
Beg and steal for you.
I will crawl on hands 
and knees until you see:
You're just like me.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tiger is scared, for a moment. Everything is frightening right now - even the embrace of one of the few people he actually trusts. Or wants to trust, anyway. His body tenses instinctively when Greg pulls him into that hug, reacting with fear regardless of what's going on in his head. He's still shaking, the adrenaline in him refusing to leave.

He feels different, physically, in dozens of subtle ways. A bit shorter, a bit more slight, a bit more soft - like the last year has suddenly been undone along with its transitional changes. His manager hasn't noticed, but Tiger has been keeping to himself, and him and Jin have never done something as intimate as hug.

This has gotten weird, he thinks. There's no reason that Greg should care about him this much. They've only earnestly interacted a handful of times, but yet, Greg is talking like he was the first and primary object of his concern tonight, and...the rest of the time too.

Tiger isn't a nice person. There's no way he could have earned this level of affection so quickly. But yet, if what he feels in his gut is right, if they really are...if what he remembers is real...

He buries his face in Greg's shirt and cries softly, wishing that these feelings could stop.]

[ Greg holds him tight, tight as he can without hurting him, as if he hugs hard enough he can squeeze out all the pain and sadness, as if he can become a shield if he wraps around him well enough.

He'll always, always refute the idea that Tiger's a bad person, and it's only natural for him to care; Tiger's loneliness and fear has been obvious since the day they met. Yet, he can't deny that his protectiveness goes beyond what makes sense fully. Tiger's not the only child hurting here, but he's all Greg can think about. It's natural, isn't it? Wanting to protect this small, shaking person in his arms?

...Very small. Greg hadn't realized how physically affectionate they'd gotten, but it was plenty enough for him to feel how much smaller Tiger had suddenly become. ]

Tiger... you've changed. [ Physically, and more. ]

[Tiger tenses again, immediately on guard again despite his otherwise trusting actions. It's silly to be afraid to be honest about this, after what he and Greg did together. Maybe it's just that he doesn't want to admit that it's obvious enough to notice.]

What do you mean?

[His voice is soft and fearful. He's being obtuse, and it's pretty obviously the case, with all the things that have been happening recently.]

[ The feigned ignorance is apparent. Greg doesn't pull away, just keeps holding Tiger close. ]

You can trust me, Tiger. It's okay.

[He's quiet for another few moments. Greg didn't seem like he knew about the masked person. Should he tell him?]

I...I dunno. A lot of stuff happened. There's this person...and I think I got smaller...right?

Yeah, a little.

[It distantly occurs to Greg that this hug has gone on a really long time. He's still reluctant to loosen his hold, to look at Tiger more closely. It's subtle, but he can see it. Smaller, rounder.]

You mentioned guys in masks...?

[ Too late to dodge that one. ]

Yeah. They...they said they could bring back stuff we lost, and...that's how we...um.

[God, he's all over the place here. His face flushes with embarrassment, he's so dumb. He's a coward.]

I went to them again and this happened...and something else, too.

[ Stuff they'd lost...? That brings up a lot of questions, but Tiger's not going to have the answers. He just nods, encouraging him on. ]

What is it, T?

Um.

[Tiger pulls away a little. He's obviously more than a little scared to do this - he seems uncomfortable, like whatever he does next could result in him getting hurt.

But then, very slowly, he lifts the long bottom of his shirt-dress and shows Greg the pink gemstone lodged into his abdomen.

It sort of speaks for itself.]

[ For a long moment, Greg stays silent, staring at the gem.

That... it's the same one as that woman had. The one in his vision, the one who he... There's no mistaking it. But what does it mean? ]

Do you... know what that is?

[ He sure would like to. ]

No...

[His voice is soft, but still somehow tormented. There are so many confusing hints and clues that he can't put together at all - all that seem to tease that he used to have something else. Something beyond this place.

But he doesn't understand at all. He rubs his thumb over the gem's surface idly - it doesn't come out. He'd already tried.]

[ He's not even sure what he's feeling, looking at the gem. It's complicated, whatever it is; foreign, yet also familiar. Greg reaches out to touch it, before pulling his hand back. ]

I've... seen this before.

[He looks up suddenly, obviously shocked. That sort of thing shouldn't really be surprising by this point, but it still is.]

What? ...Where?

In a... a memory.

[ He's avoided using that word before, preferring visions or daydreams, but... ]

There was a woman with me. A great, big, beautiful woman, and she... she had this, too, on her stomach.

[ He hesitates. He never told anyone about that memory, and now... when he speaks again, his voice is tight, and small. ]

She was pregnant. I... I got her pregnant.

[Tiger is silent. He doesn't really know what to say to that. It's one of those things you don't really talk about, at least in his experience. Either it doesn't involve him and it's none of his business, or it's something impossible to come to terms with.

He speaks dully.]

Oh.

[ Greg doesn't know what to say to it, either. It's why he hasn't brought it up to anyone, before. The idea of being a dad terrified him for reasons he'd never been able to place, just a certainty he'd be awful at it.

Tiger didn't seem to catch his meaning, and Greg doesn't know if he should push it. There's a chance it's not... it could be coincidence... he looks at the gem again, and he knows it's not. It couldn't be. ]

I can't remember who she was, or her name, just this massive woman with pink hair, and... and she was magic. I saw her do that... that thing we did, too, with another person.

[Tiger starts to look self conscious, and lowers his shirt. Is the gem related to the...the thing he did? And was that really all him?

Though slowly, it starts to dawn on him. A giant woman with pink hair? His memories of his mom are so faint, and seem like they must be second hand...but yet, that fits.]

Is...Is she my...

[He trails off, and looks up at Greg with wide, vulnerable eyes.]

[ Greg stares at Tiger a moment. This can't be right. It doesn't make any sense. They've missed something, or they made an assumption somewhere--it just doesn't add up.

Yet, too many things are fitting into place. Everything seems pointing in this direction, no matter how bizarre and ridiculous it seems.

Tiger's looking at him, waiting for an answer that Greg just doesn't have. He realizes he's shaking. He's wrong, he has to be, this isn't real. ]

I--I mean, I... I don't know...

[Greg's lack of meaningful response allows Tiger's mental state to go on cascading forward without him. His mom is kind of a sensitive subject. His mom is the root of a lot of his problems.]

My mom died when I was born.

[He can't say the words without tears beginning to pour again, taking a step back in emotional pain.]

It...It was because of me. My dad hated me for it! He's hated me my whole life!

[The idea that any other reality could be true is simultaneously staggering and heart breaking. So much of who he is and how he got here has been based about that resentment, that shame...and everything that happened because of it.]

[ They talked about this, once before. It's something that eats away at Tiger, he knows, something that's shaped this angry and frightened kid into who he is. This is the root of it.

Your dad doesn't know what he's missing.

Who is he? Who's this guy that Tiger thinks hates him? Well--Greg knows, the man's famous but--he's...? ]

Tiger... [ His voice is small--gentle, but almost afraid. He doesn't want to hurt Tiger with the question, but more than that, he's afraid of the answer. ] ...what... what can you tell me about your dad?

[The question takes him back a little bit. Part of him, born out of the deep knot of anger and frustration in his chest, wants to demand why Greg thinks that's a good thing to be asking him right now. Why he thinks it's his right to ask. But there is a stronger bridge of trust in Greg that he's managed to build over that void, and he's trying to keep it from crumbling. After a flash of anger, he settles, and tries to respond to him earnestly. Even if it hurts.]

He...he's a musician. He did...a lot of rock stuff. I think...he had a band but...but his solo act is, um...Johnny Diamond. That was his stage name. I think...I think he's retired now.

[He thinks? Shouldn't he know? Part of him tries to argue that he doesn't care about anything his dad does, but is it really that easy...?]

[ He thinks. He doesn't know. There can be reasons for that, sure. They're estranged. Tiger doesn't like him, he doesn't like Tiger. It could make sense.

Yeah, right.

One hand massages at his scalp under his hair, trying very hard to keep it together. ]

When was the last time you saw him?

[Tiger freezes. He's trying to come up with an answer but nothing comes to mind. It's not exactly like they had any regular holiday meetings or anything. But even before that, he doesn't even have a guess.]

I...I dunno. Years ago. He's just...drunk all the time. He left as soon as...as soon as he could. He doesn't care...

[ All of it makes sense, on paper, sure. You hear about stories like this all the time. He shouldn't be making assumptions, it's all so vague because it's hard on Tiger to remember. ]

You really don't... have any other memories of him?

No...I don't know...

[He hiccups a sob, the tears rolling again. It's like he's been chased into a corner, and doesn't know how to deal with it. If it hadn't already happened so literally, it'd seem like he was shrinking with the pain of it all.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject