☆TRACK VII: IN REACHING OUT PT. 1

[interdimanagers]

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.”

Comments

[nibelungvalesti]

She returned that hug instantly and firmly. Maybe too firmly, because she was a strong girl, but who was counting? Greg was... not like anyone she had ever met. He was comfortable and safe and someone she could rely on.

With him, she could be open like this.

[panspermia]

They hold the embrace longer than strictly necessary. Greg's not sure if he can put everything he means into the gesture, but he tries his hardest. Meril's the one person who's helped him not feel so trapped in the present, or chained to some mysterious past. It hasn't all been a victory, but it's been all he could ask for.

[nibelungvalesti]

"Greg..." Her voice was quiet and all the more muffled for the way she had pressed against him. "I -- owe you a lot."

[panspermia]

He huffs a breath, distantly related to a laugh, into her shoulder. "Oh, Meril, come on. You've done so much for me."

[nibelungvalesti]

Meril laughed softly in turn. "I have done so little. Merely sat there... been there. But they were... well, let us be honest, it was miserable, but you were always there for me. I have never had someone like you in my life."

[panspermia]

"You didn't need to do anything but be Meril." He closes his eyes. "I wish this wasn't the way I got to know you. All the time we've spent together... we've been so unhappy, because of everything else. So far, we survived together. I wish we were happy together, too."

[nibelungvalesti]

"You are going to get to play again," she said with unusual warmth. "When we get out there on the stage and you are in front of a crowd of fans all clamoring to hear your music, you will forget all about the unhappiness. That is something I respect about you.

"And I will be there to see it," she added, "which is no small thing."

[panspermia]

Finally, he pulls back from the hug, just enough so he can look her in the eye.

"Sure. That'll help me. Performing, and you being there... but this isn't all about me. What is it you need?"

[nibelungvalesti]

Meril met his eyes with a smile that touched hers in turn. It made her look practically like a different person. "Greg, I will be with you. That is all I need, at least for the near future. If I can see that delight you have when you play, then that will do more for me than anything."

[panspermia]

For a moment, he looks back, unable to believe he could possibly be enough for her. Then, finally, he breaks, last pretenses of resistance thrown to the wind against the swell in his chest. He kisses her.

[nibelungvalesti]

Like lightning. Meril went stiff in raw shock and surprise, her eyes flying wide as she tried to process the impossible.

For just one moment, and then her fingers tightened hard in his clothing and against his skin as she kissed him back.

[panspermia]

She presses back into him, and he could burst. With great reluctance, he pulls away, one hand cupping her cheek.

"Meril... I..." He can't find what to say, but in the place of words he finds a smile stretching across his face. A gentle laugh bubbles out of him. "If I'm what you want, you've got me."

[nibelungvalesti]

When they separated, she had no words to match his for a moment, looking at him with her eyes so very wide and clear. No barriers, now.

"...Did that just happen?"

[panspermia]

He laughs again, louder. "Unless we're both dreaming."

[nibelungvalesti]

"...The thought had crossed my mind, Greg!"

For a wonder, Meril lowered her head with honest to goodness, actual shyness.

"That was... not something I had ever expected, but I admit I had once or twice thought it might be nice..."

[panspermia]

Actually, dreaming is well within the realm of possibilities at this point.

His brows knit together, smiling twinging with a moment of uncertainty. "And... was it nice...?"

[nibelungvalesti]

"Nicer than I could have imagined." Meril smiled at him, radiant, though her cheeks slowly began to turn very red indeed as awareness of what had just happened sunk deeper into her.

[panspermia]

"I always try to defy expectations." He brushes a hair from her face. Suddenly, she looks so different. "Even for myself. I never would have guessed at this, when we first met."

[nibelungvalesti]

"Neither would I. Especially knowing that you could have anyone you wished..." And the thought that he might wish to have here still was not believable. She had... well, next to him she felt like she was so much less.

But if this was what he wanted...

[panspermia]

His brows knit even closer. "What do you mean?" It's true, maybe, but that's only ever struck him as suffocating. "I mean... you could too."

[nibelungvalesti]

"Yes, well, there is a question of ability there, Greg. I am not exactly... capable with such tricky social things." Oh boy, there was an understatement.

[panspermia]

"Isn't it a moot point? We both got who we wanted."

[nibelungvalesti]

Oh no. Meril ducked her head as a realization hit her. "...I am going to have to answer some questions that will be embarrassing to me after I spent time explaining to others that I was not pursuing you."

[panspermia]

He blinks at the admission he's been a conversation topic. This goes back a little further than he thought, huh? It gets another laugh out of him. "Well, you can blame me for it, if that helps."

[nibelungvalesti]

"I fully intend to blame you. Apparently I am just another fangirl, unable to resist the Universe charm."

She tried to look sad and severe at him, but simply could not pull it off. Maybe because faking an expression like that didn't come naturally to her, or maybe just because she was undeniably happy.