☆TRACK IV: COME TOO FAR

[interdimanagers]

Who: Everyone!
What: Something explodes in the distance. In a figurative sense.
When: November 6th.
Where: Anywhere you are.
Warnings: ???

“Like the legend of the Phoenix, All ends with beginnings, What keeps the planets spinning, The force from the beginning.” ☆COME TOO FAR On November 6th, the sudden lockdown of Pride Records and Virgo Entertainment finally ends. But not before some unseen actions have their consequences. Due to the nature of the conflict, none of you can be there to see it, but that doesn't mean it can't be felt. In the morning of the 6th, something cries out to you spiritually - like the voice of a guardian angel, or a haunting ghost. Something, somewhere, is calling on you for aid. Pleading for you to lend it your power. Whether or not you consciously agree, you'll feel a connection stronger than anything you've felt up till this point, like whatever this creature is is somehow in the room with you, or maybe like you're with it. What happens next depends on your alignment. ► LOVE & HOPE: All at once, characters with these alignments will feel as if they have taken a deep, spiritual blow - much like having someone clasp their hand around your "soul" and attempt to snuff it out. The attack itself will be brutal but brief. It's the after effects that linger, which may be any of the following: 1) Lingering spiritual pain that triggers symptoms akin to a fever in the body. It may also trigger effects such as nosebleeds and other signs of intense stress. 2) Forgetting everything except the memories you've regained. 3) A feeling of being desperately alone. How your character reacts to this feeling can vary, but the most common response will be seeking comfort from anyone nearby, even if you are not usually the sort of person to do that. These effects will last from anywhere as short at 15 minutes to as long as 5 hours. You can pick more than one of these effects for a character, but try to balance the potency of each if you take more than one, so you aren't completely kicking the shit out of them. Vestiges of these effects can linger throughout the rest of the day, but in a significantly reduced capacity. ► DUTY & PASSION: All at once, characters with these alignments will feel an intense sense of fear and grief, as if they have lost something extremely precious to them. Generally speaking, this will manifest as a sort of panic or desperation to save whatever that thing is - but not being entirely clear on where they have to go or what they have to do to accomplish it. This can very well trigger some brash and irrational actions as they sort out this abrupt feeling of urgency. 1) Soon after the feeling begins, affected characters will feel empathically drawn to the characters suffering from the effects listed for Hope & Love, even if they are not normally the sort to be so concerned for others. This can go as far as having them be aggressively protective to the point that they will conflict with each other over it. 2) Along with that feeling of being drawn to protect them, all characters will feel an intensified kinship with all the other player characters - from both labels. This feeling of kinship won't cause them to know anything more about each other than they did before, but it will cause them to feel like much closer friends than they actually are. These effects will last from anywhere as short at 15 minutes to as long as 5 hours. After that period has ended, all these empathetic effects will fade off on their own. Any network posts made in the chaos will be deleted by the execs after the 5 hours period has closed, if not sooner. By the end of the day, Lesedi Santiago and Edward Blanche will announce their return, and bans from leaving HQ will be lifted. They will not acknowledge the events of the morning unless someone goes to ask them about it. “We've come too far to give up who we are. So, let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars.”

Comments

Maxxie | Love | Pride

[notahobby]

one

[The fever comes first. It lasts almost an hour, and it comes with the loneliness. He shivers and sweats and it's worse than any hangover he's ever had, so naturally he seeks out his bandmates for comfort. He just wants to be held for a while.]

two

[The symptoms wear away after a couple hours and he wanders out of the penthouse for a change of scenery. He wanders through the halls, finds himself in a cafe for a little while, trying to just forget about it. Occasionally it comes back and he has to sit down for a while - you may find him sitting down in a hallway concentrating on just not crying or nursing a bleeding nose.]

phone

[He'll be carrying it around all day.]

one

[mildwildchild]

You look like shit, man.

[Jamie is as tactful as ever, but there's a hushed, strained quality to the words that's very...un-Jamie-like. He hovers for a moment at the opposite end of the couch Maxxie's occupying and then sort of slithers over the arm and onto the seat, like he's desperate for some kind of contact but unsure if his presence is welcome.]

[notahobby]

Feel like it too.

[Maxxie's laying down, curled up a bit, and he lifts his head to look at Jamie. He just wants some comfort, but it's not enough to outweigh his pride just yet, so he doesn't invite Jamie to lie with him or make any movement toward him at all.]

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie huddles up at his end of the couch, arms wrapped around his knees, watching Maxxie with poorly-concealed anxiety. A part of him really, really craves physical contact, but just sitting nearby and talking is enough to take the edge off his pangs of loneliness for right now.]

Do you, um - do you wanna talk about it?

[notahobby]

[Maxxie's silent for a moment, but he wants to talk. He needs to talk. Even if it's with Jamie, who he still doesn't really trust to be able to handle this stuff well.]

I just feel like things are fucked up. I keep thinking about shit and I can't remember if it actually happened and now I feel like shit and I don't know why. Am I going fucking crazy?

[His voice almost breaks and he has to hold back tears. His skin is so hot and he shivers and this is awful. Why won't someone just hold him for a minute?]

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie listens to all this quietly, intently; then he debates with himself a moment and shifts just a little closer, reaching out one tentative hand to pat whatever part of Maxxie is closest, which might be his hip or leg or, well, his butt. Jamie doesn't really care.]

Maybe, but - if you are, I think the rest of us are too. Or - [He hesitates again and continues in a near whisper.] ...at least I think I am.

[consocius]

[Sora wanders in at this point, carrying some odd star-shape made of paper and looking confused. He puts it in his pocket as he sees his two band mates, then sort of shuffles over to them. Sits on the floor by the couch, lays his head on the nearest available human arm, clings to it.]

...the light has all gone out. [Nothing but darkness, and usually he felt equipped to handle that. Not now. And there are tears here, though the crying isn't audible. Just wetness on lashes, on cheeks.] It's just... gone.

[notahobby]

[It's Maxxie's arm, and he tries to wrap it around Sora as best he can. It's an awkward angle, and he really just wants someone to lie with him, not adjacent to him.]

Come up here with us.

[His tone is gentle.]

[consocius]

[That's all that needs to be said for Sora to climb up and over Maxxie, finding a spot to curl up behind him on the couch, and ending up with his head resting against Maxxie's back. Then he reaches a hand out to grab Jamie's, to hold it but also to pull him a little closer so he's not so far away.]

You get over here, too. [...it would possibly sound like a demand, if there wasn't such sadness and almost desperation in it.]

[mildwildchild]

[Jamie hesitates, just a little, partly out of habit but also because he's not sure Maxxie wants him any closer when things are still so strained between them. He can't resist Sora's beseeching tone, though, and slinks up nearer to them on the couch, positioning himself so that he's sort of lying half on Sora's legs and half on Maxxie's.]

...is this okay?

[notahobby]

It's fine.

[Maxxie's voice sounds melancholy, but he thinks he'll only feels worse if he goes on and on about how awful he feels, so he remains silent. With a sigh, he closes his eyes and curls up a little tighter, clinging to the couch. This is better, having his bandmates here with him.]

[killerbeep]

[B has spent most of the day... well, pacing, mostly. He's not sure what else to do. Something is wrong, he's got to fix it, but he doesn't know what it is, let alone what to do about it.

His wandering finally takes him to the room where his bandmates are lying on the couch, and he doesn't waste any time in heading over, leaning toward them worriedly.]

Hey. You guys alright?

now in the right place

[punchesyu]

[It's now that Yosuke walks into the room. He looks shaken, more so than he's ever been in his whole life. He doesn't know what's wrong, it almost feels as if he'd lost something. Like the girl in his visions, the one that he can't figure out who she was or why she was so important. He stops in the doorway, casting a glance over the three boys on the couch.

He has mixed feelings. They all looked horrible, every single one of them, but at the same time...

It's getting a little gay in here.

His words catch in his throat, as it's obvious that he wants to do something to help them, or keep them from being harmed...but...at the same time...]

Yeah...I was wondering the same thing. Because this is seriously awkward...

Phone.

[yellowcopycat]

[Ringing]

[notahobby]

[Maxxie picks up after a couple rings, and when he does he sounds worn out.]

Hey.

[yellowcopycat]

Hey...

I know this sounds weird but I just got the urge to call you. Like... I needed to make sure you were okay...

[notahobby]

It's alright.

[There's a sigh and some shuffling as he sits down.]

I'm glad you called, actually. I've been feeling pretty shitty. Everyone here's acting weird.

[yellowcopycat]

Same over here. It's creepy. And I just... I don't know. Everything's off. And I'm just scared and I don't know why. I mean Aoba and Kaworu just got fired, so maybe that's it... But it feels more than that.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

[notahobby]

No, it's nice. It's a distraction, if nothing else.

[A beat.]

How come they got fired?

[yellowcopycat]

I don't know. I think maybe they thought Kaworu wasn't adjusting well? He was so young, fourteen, and tiny.

[A small chuckle] I was exactly a foot taller than him. Can you believe that?

Aoba...I don't know. [He sighs]

So, what's going on at Pride?

[notahobby]

[He sighs.] Everyone's all fucked up. We've been locked up for nearly a week and it's like everyone finally broke at once. I just feel awful for no reason and everybody else seems like they're the same.

[yellowcopycat]

Like I said, Virgo's all messed up too. Maybe it's that seasonal depression thing? Or something. I have no clue.

[He wants to talk about the strange thing that happened in the basement of Virgo, but decides against it. No one who wasn't there would believe it and he doesn't want Maxxie thinking he's a nut]

I'm just... feeling lost.

[notahobby]

Seems like more than seasonal depression if you ask me.

[He sighs, and there's a pause.]

It's like they're playin' games with us.

[yellowcopycat]

[Ryouta's quiet for a moment. He's trying to think]

Yeah. I think they are.

Can I tell you something? And try not to think I'm crazy?

[notahobby]

[Maxxie makes an amused, sympathetic sound through his nose.]

Of course I won't.