interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK IV: COME TOO FAR

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☆TRACK IV: COME TOO FAR

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.”

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[Koumei drew in a deep breath at Jamie's words, and settled into a nearby seat to get comfortable for what was starting to seem like a heavy conversation. Having seen Yosuke himself within the last few days, he knew Jamie's words to be the truth; they were all taking this hard.]

...I heard someone once say that if we're able to question our sanity, then we haven't lost it yet, [he replied gently, patting the young man on the shoulder.] And I don't think we will either. We're too proud to do that.

Haha, yeah, 'cause Pride Records. I get it. [Jamie tries to give Koumei a conspiratorial smirk that ends up looking more like the goofy-ass, feverish grin it actually is.

[He settles back down into his blanket, becoming a little more somber.] But we were talking the other night, about... [The gears are visibly turning as he tries to determine how much he should share out in semi-public like this.] ...the way people have been acting. And we're both...concerned.

[Another attempt at a serious look. This one would probably have more weight if he looked less like a tousled baby bird poking its head out of a nest, but goshdarnit he's trying.]

[The touseled baby bird gets an affectionate headpat-- the resemblence to a fledgeling wasn't lost on Koumei, the resident Bird Nerd of Pride.]

Everyone with the mind to think is worried right now-- you two are far from alone.

[He squished himself against the pile of blankets and pillows, enjoying the comfort of it himself. Further commentary about the patterns that Koumei was seeing start to emerge weren't necessary in a space like this-- but, he wouldn't offer empty promises of comfort and relief either.]

I suppose... all we can do is just do our best regardless of our worries. It's all anyone can ask for.

Edited 2015-11-13 00:48 (UTC)

[The headpat elicits a indignant baby bird squawk. Keep digging yourself deeper, Jamie. Koumei's already retreated before he can protest further, though, and he instead gives some thought to the topic at hand.]

Yeah, but...what if that's not enough? What if there's something bigger at stake here than just us? Maybe we're just the center of some...approaching pandemic, or a shift in the cosmos. Maybe whatever's coming is just starting with us, and it will spiral further and further out, like a - a whirlpool, a vortex growing and expanding until it consumes everything in its path. First Pride and Virgo, then Vista City, then Americana, then the world, then the galaxy, and eventually THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

[By the time he's done with his tirade he's leaning forward, mere inches away from Koumei, panting slightly, his eyes glassy and fever-bright. He remains like this for a few moments, then slowly frowns, tilts his head to the side, and asks the man:]

...dude, when was the last time you combed your hair?

Probably well before the last time I had a sensible dream.

[He shrugged, seemingly nonchalant. The fact that Jamie's wild words, though clearly fueled by whatever ailment was ruining his day, also reflected a part of the emergent pattern didn't need to be known right yet.]

Just calm down and worry about your health right now-- were we in school, I'd be advocating for you to go to the nurse's office.

[Jamie considers that answer and then nods, as though it makes perfect sense. He leans back into the blanket, trying to adjust it while still holding onto the pillow. This doesn't work very well, but he keeps doggedly trying anyway.]

C'mon, I'm not sick or anything. Just kind of woozy. And cold. And I had a pretty bad nosebleed this morning. And I'm cold. Did I say that already?

Nosebleed? It might be something with the weather-- you're not the first I've heard complain of that today.

[Garnet, for one-- although her symptoms had taken a strange turn for the more bizarre. Dealing with a cold little nestling was far, far easier to manage.]

It doesn't matter how much you complain, sick is sick. If someone would let me near a kitchen, I'd make you some hot coke with ginger.

[Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like.]

You really think it's the weather? How many other people have you seen with nosebleeds? Did they have the chills and stuff too?

[Jamie finally gets the blanket situated the way he wants, but ends up dropping the pillow in the process. He frowns down at it as though unsure how to rectify this to his satisfaction, then squints at Koumei.]

...what would hot coke and ginger do?

Its a cold remedy.

[Koumei shrugged, as if there was nothing strange about his words at all.]

And a few others have been experiencing similar symptoms. Maybe there's an epidemic outside and management is trying to protect us?

I appreciate the thought, but it sounds kinda gross. No offense.

[He gives up on the pillow for now, leaning back against the chair he's in and shifting to get a little more comfortable.]

D'you really think that's why they're keeping us locked up? Protection from something outside? [He squints.] Wouldn't we have heard something about it on the news if that was going on, though?

[A shrug. Koumei might make some for himself later-- he was rather fond of the drink, and he wanted to be careful in such close quarters.]

Who knows? Showbiz is strange, as they say. It's hard to understand what management is thinking, sometimes.

[Jamie lets himself slide sideways a little, leaning against the wing-y bit of the chair he's in.] Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot. Everyone else I've talked to about this is just, like...going nuts. Them or their bandmates. I think somebody's gonna set something on fire before too much longer. That's the kinda thing that happens when people start getting crazy, right?

[He looks suddenly concerned, his eyes unfocusing a little.] What if that was management's goal all along? They want to see us go nuts and destroy ourselves? Like some kind of really fucked-up performance piece. Or sacrifices to the god of chaos. [Where is he even getting some of these ideas.]

....If you honestly suspect these things, Jamie, then you need to calm down and think.

[Koumeii glanced at the young man, not even questioning or doubting the manic bent of his rambling. His gaze didn't waver-- he was completely serious.]

And, if you do honestly suspect these things, then acting the way you are will only give whomever is watching more reason to be suspicious. You don't want to be removed from HQ like Terry was, do you?

[Jamie looks both chastened and alarmed by this, shooting nervous glances around the room.] ...no. Of course I don't.

[Then that seems to really sink in, and he looks just...horrified, honestly.] Wait. They came and got Terry? What happened to him? Is he okay?

He seems to be fine, but he's not really talking about it.

[A shrug.]

It's best to be careful, if you're feeling paranoid. I'm concerned about what's going on too, but acting childish and drawing attention to yourself won't change anything about it.

[He is so indignant. So, so indignant.] I'm not acting childish. This is weird and I'm trying to figure out why they're doing it.

And - they took Sora and he was gone for...for days. He just came back today and he can't even remember what happened to him or where he was. Did that happen to Terry, too? [He looks as worried now as he did ruffled just a moment ago.]

As I already said; Terry's not talking about it.

[But he had already heard about Sora through Yosuke-- that was hardly news at this point. In fact, he half expected each of them to lose someone at this rate.]

There's nothing wrong with trying to figure out what's going on, but you can't just go openly asking if people are going to be sacrificed to a chaos god. You need to calm down a little bit, all right?

[This visibly frustrates Jamie, but he also looks too tired to fight it at this point. He slumps down, looking defeated.]

Yeah...yeah, I guess. [He sighs and leans against the chair again.] Everything's just so weird. And - I dunno. It's hard to think. Yosk and I were talking about this the other night and it seemed a lot easier then.

...Yosuke and I have been talking, too.

[Koumei leaned back as well, thinking over his conversation with the young man.]

He's also worried about what's going on, but it seems like he understands how important all of this, too. If you stay with him, you should be okay.

Just try to rest, for now. The worrying will only make it harder for you.

[Jamie still looks dissatisfied, but kind of dazedly so, like he's not completely sure what was bothering him to begin with. Focusing is hard.]

Sleeping does sound pretty good right now, I guess. I should probably get back up to the penthouse.

[He makes no effort to move, however. Just give him an hour or two to muster his energy.]

[....He really was as fragile and weak as a baby bird. Koumei chuckled.]

We'll get you back there whenever you're ready. Don't worry; I'll be here for a while.

Okay. I'll be ready in a second. Hang on.

[...aannnd he's out like a light.]

[Not unexpected.

Koumei pulled out his phone and headphones and settled deeper into the cushions of his seat, proping his lanky legs up over the arm of the chair so he could maximize his relaxation.

True to his word, he would stay with Jamie while the young man slept. Uneasy as he was, it wasn't fair to leave him alone.]

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☆TRACK IV: COME TOO FAR

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