interstellar5555 | ☆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

Rei met Meril's eyes with a querying look in her own. This was off, somehow.

"I'm not sure. What...do you think it is?"

"Our guests."

Meril pronounced the word as a curse, glaring at the door behind them with razor-sharp ice in her eyes.

"You mean..."

Rei looked back at the party, her frown deepening.

"Pride?"

Meril nodded. Admitting it crystallized the feeling growing within her into a warm nugget of anger and pleasure. Admitting it felt good. Better than she cared to admit.

"What makes you say that?" Rei asked, a cold lump forming in the pit of her stomach. That was not at all something she cared to hear. From anyone, least of all a friend. She valued her friends in Pride, and Meril...well, she valued her too. And it didn't fit the pattern.

"We... Our band is breaking up, Rei. We have had half our number taken away." She clenched one fist tightly, pressing it against her sternum to try to subdue the feeling within her. "And if it were not for them..."

“Who else is gone? I had heard about Gaige…” Rei looked away, that lump moving into her throat. “And I don’t understand what Pride had to do with it.”

"Lora and Weasel. Both of them..." She twitched head to one side, slightly. Gone, just like that. No warning, no reason, no -- nothing. "We aren't even enough to play any more. This could very well be the end for us."

"They won't get rid of you." Rei's statement is simple, solid. "You're too valuable, and you're too talented." Not to mention lovely.

"We do not suffer from a lack of girls to draw the eye," Meril said with a small, lopsided smirk. That was her only real virtue to the label -- she'd been told that often enough. "But even if they did not, they might very well break us up."

"Even still, what's that got to do with Pride?" Rei answered, seriously considering how much she should tell Meril. About Nari, Yosuke, Molly...

"Why else would we be failing except for their competition?" That was the conclusion she had come to, one she would never have thought in her right mind.

"Personality clashes with upper management, going against the label wishes, mental health, retirement, life changing epiphanies?" All reasonable answers. .

"With them saying nothing to us? I cannot believe it." One of them, maybe, but Meril simply could not believe half their band would jump ship, for any reason, without a word if they could at all help it. "No, it is punishment for our failure, and we are failing because our fans are being stolen."

"Meril." That statement, the expression on her face, it did not sit well with Rei. "That's not right. I don't know what you think is going on, but I know it's nothing our guests have done."

She's clearly a sympathizer.

~~Just wait till the mind control hits~~

Meril scowled. "That is easy for you to say. You do not have someone stealing your image."

"Crown of Thorns?" Rei countered. She even has a direct parallel in the antisocial violinist.

"It is not quite the same, particularly since no one has adopted your fan-granted nickname as their own." Of course, Meril didn't think of Rei as antisocial -- which, compared to Meril herself, she was not...

"Are you seriously worried that a fan nickname is going to be the downfall of your career? I think you're being a touch paranoid, Meril."

"That is the basis of my popularity, Rei," Meril replied, distinctly cool. "That image. To be blunt, the fanservice. If I lose that draw, what exactly keeps me in the band?"

"Talent." Rei's voice grew distant, and suddenly she was just overcome with the urge to leave. This conversation was bordering on stressful, and wasn't the air Rei needed, distraught as she was by overstimulation. But she had to say something...

"You have that. Don't be so hard on yourself. And don't blame other people if you can't see yourself as you are. You're more than a pair of heels and breasts."

"I have no meaningful talent, Rei. I am an average keyboardist who could be replaced by any other keyboardist without harm, save for what I bring to the band otherwise."

Meril knew this, had learned that lesson a long time ago. As long as that 'otherwise' had been enough, she was fine with that fact.

"That is not true."

Rei, already a little frayed, all but snapped a reply. She's not in her right mind either, for different reasons. Someone she liked apparently would take issue with some of the people she cared about, and then act like she herself was nothing too? It stank, and it bothered her, and there were a lot of things that flitted through her head. Bad things, bad vibes.

"You are more than a pair of tits. Anyone can show off their body, not everyone can do that and play."

And turning, she slid open the balcony door and started to leave, to find somewhere else to go. Talking to the other was more stress than she could handle tonight.

"Have a good night."

She wanted to respond in anger, but the anger wasn't for Rei. It was for those who were getting in her way, who were ruining everything she had tried to achieve.

"...Thank you. For the compliment."

She wouldn't stop Rei from leaving, but at least she could express some gratitude. Meril wasn't that far gone. Not yet.

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

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