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

And what happens if you do that?

[he's tempted to talk about it anyway, always his first instinct if someone tells him not to do something. But if this is a problem, he doesn't want to get her in trouble with him]

You ever wonder about who you replaced?

[That's... that's not exactly the answer but she's not about to volunteer "oh just some weird kind of torture stuff that I have been through."]

Hmm. [he sets the chair upright and sits on it backwards, resting his chin on folded arms to peer at her] Sometimes I suppose. But I don't want to open old wounds.

You'll wish you were them. [She doesn't think she ever met the old player...]

[did that mean he died? Sabo had just thought it was a bad parting. All this because of just speaking of strange things-- or so she says. He's not ever one to take anything at face value-- at least not from a singular source that he doesn't know very well. It's not that he thinks she's lying but people have all sorts of different perceptions and misunderstandings]

That bad, huh? But why? It doesn't make much sense, does it?

[Well she's not saying that. But she is saying that you'd wish you weren't here. And to be honest... she's a little worried that yeah you might get killed after getting fired because she hasn't heard a word from the bandmate she lost early on, despite so many texts.]

Hell if I know and I'm not about to get myself in more trouble finding out.

[does that mean she's gotten herself into trouble before? And what kind of trouble? How deep does this go? And how dangerous? But, he reminds himself, he could be making a mountain out of a molehill. He doesn't know what she defines as trouble. Or she could be jerking his chain.]

Yeah, it's probably better to stay out of trouble. After all what's a few chairs falling over and lights flickering? I"m sure it's nothing at all.

[he kind of hopes it is. But even if it was something... supernatural... why would the higher ups care about it? That was the million dollar question]

I'd get used to it. They come around sometimes.

[fucking ghosts and their HAUNTING BULLSHIT FREAKING HER OUT they're jerks.]

They...? [blinks] You mean... this kind of thing is a reoccurence? [waves vaguely toward the lights which hae started to blink a bit]

They've been around since the tour bus. [She shrugs???]

[he shakes his head. He's not sure when that was. But it doesn't matter] Maybe they just want to come out to play once in a while. In some cultures they believe the veil between the living and the.... the not so much grows thin once in a while.

They can play further away from me, then.

[Her eyes flash red for just a second. She hates ghosts and that's endlessly ironic.]

[now that's interesting. Why did her eyes flash like that? She is more than she seems and he's curious as to what that is. But it's rude to point that kind of thing out and, really, he doesn't need to know]

Well forget them for now. Do you want to play something better and see if we can take our minds off them?

[and then he realizes how that might sound... either patronizing or...something wildly different and laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head]

Do you want to jam, I mean.

Depends. Which band are you in?

Cosmic Indulgence. [he tilts his head to the side a little] Does it matter?

I make it a point to not jam with Carnies I don't know.

[he smiles a little] Worried? Or just that exclusive?

At least one member of Junkyard Carnival wants me dead. I hit him with a bass one time. It's a long story.

That's taking things too far. [the death threat, he means, not the bass hitting. He rests his cheek on his fist] They sound like a loser. But surely the managers aren't going to let them follow through?

[after all, as musicians they are an expensive commodity]

Can't always be sure of that. So I don't play with Carnies unless I know them. [Which means Yuffie. Sometimes she talks to Yuffie.]

[he's not sure if this suspicion is justified or not. Nevertheless, he's going to keep an eye on things just in case the situation really is so lax around here]

That makes sense. I'm not a Carnie, though. [a shrug. But he won't press a jam session if she's not into it]

Just have to make sure with new people. [She shrugs. She looks around--she knows she put her bass around here somewhere...] What do you play?

That's reasonable. [he straightens] I'm mostly percussion so, drums and etcetera. [he makes a gesture] But I can also play the piano reasonably well.

Piano, huh? I tried learning that a while back. I was awful at it.

I've... known it for a while. [he remembers practicing hours and hours and hours, all to fill an ambition that wasn't even his] Weird that you come to like something you're supposed to hate...

☆TRACK VII: IN REACHING OUT PT. 1

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