( 003 » ENSEMBLE ) party time.

[reveriemod]

» WHO? Everyone
» WHEN? July 1 to July 8
» WHERE? Entire Station
» WHAT? 168 hours of being forced to listen to cheesy music on repeat…
» WARNINGS? the mundane and slightly ridiculous becoming terrible, cheesy pop music, forced sleep deprivation, anger, loss of control, emotions, potential for stabbing, hallucinations, mania, memory loss, confusion, seizures, depression.

0 0 1 » LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED

It starts in the mess hall and it starts slowly. At first, it can barely be heard over the conversations that are happening but as the volume increases, it becomes apparent that music is playing. Not just any music: characters from Earth will recognise these pop hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s. They’re the kind of hits one might find on a Spotify playlist titled “Top 100 Cheesy Hits” or “Songs To Sing To In The Shower”. Power ballads. Boy bands. Girl bands. Woodstock.

Soon, the music can be heard all across the station, blasting from every speaker, audible in every room. Characters who were asleep in their quarters will be woken by the music’s volume, characters under the shower might want to start singing along (but remember, the walls might just be thin enough for the neighbours to hear) and if characters clear some chairs, there’s enough space in the bar for an impromptu dance floor.

Some characters have been working on improving the replicators, too, so while the alcohol supplies at the bar are dwindling and all but gone, the replicators are now capable of making something that’s palatable, even if it’s not quite up to scratch.

What’s the harm in having some fun? It’s just a little music, right?

( ♪ )

0 0 2 » I WANT OFF THIS RIDE

It’s just a little music, right? And it is — but it just won’t seem to stop. The first few hours may have been entertaining, at least for those who did not get woken up by the sound of decades (centuries, even) in the past, but the music keeps going long past the point of entertainment.

After two hours, the songs start repeating. After six hours, they’re still playing. After twelve? Still playing. Twenty-four? Still playing.

Sleep becomes all but impossible as the music keeps playing loudly in every room and every corridor of the station. Attempts to shut it down prove unsuccessful.

Forty-eight hours later, the music is still playing.

Characters will begin to suffer the effects of sleep deprivation, in addition to the general irritation that might come from hearing the same two hours worth of cheesy pop songs on a loop: headaches, exhaustion, tremors, irritability and confusion to begin with, followed by lapses in memory, muscle aches, malaise, violent behaviour, hallucinations or mania as cognitive effects set in, possibly also seizures and depression.

And still, the music keeps playing.

( ♪ )

0 0 3 » THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER

The music and the sleep deprivation it causes are the reason for many of the symptoms people are feeling, but something is happening that goes even beyond the music, beyond the lack of sleep: something has changed about the food replicators.

The food is slowly getting better, for one, thanks to a group of individuals who’ve been working on improving them. Beyond that, however, imperceptible, the composition of the food comes with something extra -- namely heightened emotions. Whatever causes it, it’s in the water, too.

Those who are already angry feel angrier and have a harder time controlling that anger. Those who are already sad feel sadder and have a harder time not bursting into tears. Those who are already apathetic feel more apathetic and have a harder time prompting themselves to so much as move. The effect holds for all emotions, heightening them, making them harder to control or counteract. Impulses become action far more quickly than usual. Irritation at the music may become anger at the person singing along under their breath and that, in turn, may lead to someone getting stabbed with a plastic fork.

It’s nearly impossible to keep a cool head, though some people seem more affected than others.

OOC: This part of the plot is completely opt-in. Whatever characters are feeling will be heightened and strengthened and their impulse control lowered. Make sure to get ooc permission for any stabby action of comparable deeds, and keep in mind that non-con is prohibited in game.

( ♪ )

0 0 4 » AFTERMATH

After 168 hours, the music stops. Whatever was in the water and the food is gone again, meaning characters may never know it was there in the first place. After all, some of the effects of it could have been down to the sleep deprivation as well…

Still, there’s something off about the whole thing. It might seem like someone is watching them. Toying with them. But surely that’s just paranoia, right?

In the aftermath of sleep deprivation and poor impulse control, characters might want to get some sleep or try to mend those relationships that were damaged by careless words or people getting creative with the cutlery.

( ♪ )

Please remember to put warnings in subject lines if so required.

Comments

kovacs + ota (cw: nudity, violence, violent images)

[resleeves]

002. I Want Off This Ride

[ the music has been unrelenting.

even now, while he's in the shower, enjoying some hot water, it's still there, somehow pounding through the walls even though kovacs can't see a fucking speaker anywhere.

over the years, kovacs has gotten pretty good at tuning things out because everyone thinks they should get a chance to talk his ear off about what they want and what they need and what he should be doing for them and, since he can't just kill anyone, he shuts it out and goes on about his life.

but, there's something about this insidious music that just makes him want to scream. the sudden anger catches him off guard but it's steam rolls through him, lighting him up from the inside out and before he can stop himself, he's barreling out of the shower, throwing the door top his room open while naked and dripping water all over the floor to scream: ]

Turn off the fucking music!

[ he doesn't even bother going back inside because he thinks -- no, he know -- he hears someone laughing down the hall and when he turns, teeth bared and body tense, he sees quell.

no. he blinks and when he opens his eyes, it's rei with a burns covering the entirety of her body and blood slipping from her mouth to pool on the floor. ]

Turn it off!

[ the music keeps playing and, still naked, kovacs kicks his door hard enough to knock it off its hinges. ]

003. There's Something In the Water

[ quell is still laughing at him. it's all she's been doing since she showed up. laughing. a hollow, eerie, maniacal laughter that shouldn't be possible. she should have run out of breath and given him at least a moments quiet but considering she's fucking dead, there aren't any fucking rules.

he's just glad he hasn't seen reileen again, not since that first time.

naturally, the first place he wants to go is the bar but as soon as he steps foot inside, he remembers that the supplies are basically gone and that spikes something dark and red, has him reaching for empty bottles and chucking them at the wall near the door. he does this until there's a pile of glass at the entrance and then steps on the broken glass and walks out.

he has no destination in mind but there's a thrumming energy inside of him, something that's raging to come out and so he shoves people aside he comes into contact with in the corridors and ducks into the chapel of all places because he doubts anyone's going to be in there.

but if they are, well, he'll physically make them leave. ]

004. Aftermath

[ he wakes up in the observation deck. he's groggy, slow to move and there's a smear of blood on the window behind him. he's not sure if that's from him or someone else or if it was someone else's put there by him.

the backpack is open and in his lap but there's nothing in there but some paper. ]

Fuck.

[ he hates this station. ]

( 003 )

[possidetur]

( vanessa had thought that it would help. the chapel was starting to become a familiar place, with vanessa visiting it periodically since the first time she'd stumbled across it. she had yet to pray but sitting there made her feel a little peace. a little familiar comfort.

today was different. the feelings of guilt that vanessa usually tried to keep buried, the loneliness that had risen higher since arriving on the terminal. today she couldn't keep it down, the tears falling freely with vanessa not even trying to stop. she isn't certain that she could.

the sound of the doors opening, of someone else arriving makes her heart beat a little quicker. vanessa has never been one to show her sadness, hiding it and all of her weaknesses away. as difficult as the thought of moving is, as gripped as she is by her pain, vanessa would still rather be alone.

she stands, her head ducked a little as she begins to round the pews )

Excuse me.

Re: ( 003 )

[resleeves]

[ kovacs hadn't actually planned on running into someone he knew but as soon as he steps in and spots vanessa, his jaw tightens to the point that he thinks he's cracking teeth.

she's done nothing to him, nothing at all but there's a bubbling, boiling anger in his belly that seems to be pointing itself at her. ]

You're still coming here?

[ the words are cutting, sharp edged and full of malice. ]

I thought you didn't believe in this shit anymore. Or were you just trying to divert attention away from what a freak you are?

[ that whole lucifer thing, that was just weird, vanessa. you had to know that. you had to see that. ]

[possidetur]

( his sharpness startles her. although vanessa knew that he could be... difficult it had never been directed at her. not so strongly, anyway.

it takes her a few seconds before she answers and when her words come they're quiet, not hesitant just-- sad )

I don't know what I believe.

( but she'd been raised in the faith. it was hard to shake that part of her even not knowing what she thought.

her eyes fall closed, trying not to visibly recoil at his words. the anger, the cruelty. vanessa knew what her life was. she knew how mad it was. how undesirable )

I didn't ask you to be a part of it.

( the edge to her voice doesn't really land with the mix of her emotions, but it's true. she'd tried to divert the topic but he'd asked her more questions. he didn't have to know )

[pampa]

Miller is going around just as half-cocked, though thankfully, his clothes are still on. He'd forgotten his hat in his room though, so his silhouette might not be immediately recognizable as he stalks down the hall with his Rhino out and pressed to his thigh like he's some sort of fucking secret agent as he shifts down the corridor, eyes bugged wide. His finger's on the trigger as he raises it towards the 'bogey' aka naked Kovacs.

"Jesus Christ, you piece of shit. What are you doing." He should probably put the gun down, but he... doesn't :')

[resleeves]

"Trying to get some fucking peace and quiet but apparently, that's impossible," Kovacs snaps, glaring at Miller, then the gun and then back at Miller. He rolls his eyes and puts his hands on his hips, uncaring of his nakedness.

"You planning on shooting me, you shit?" Kovacs asks, tilting his head to one side and sizing the other man up. He was nothing but bird bones and booze. It would be so easy to step out of his room and break his spine in half, leave him in a heap of tears on the floor but that wouldn't turn the music off.

"Or are you just going to keep looking until your pants start protesting?" he retorts heatedly. That would have been a great line to tease him with but there's nothing about his tone that says he's teasing.

[pampa]

He points to the speaker behind Kovacs' head, which apparently is enough of a warning before he fires off a round into the ceiling. Despite the crazy eyes, he's still a damn good shot so Kovacs was (mostly) safe. That is until it ricochets off the metal grating and heads straight back for him. Normally, Miller would have accounted for that, but going on three days with no sleep and godawful Earther music blaring through all corners of the station is another story entirely. Thankfully, he did realize his mistake the second it discharged and he dives forward into the other man, also uncaring of his nakedness as Miller's brittle chest collides with what may as well be a solid wall. Still dripping from the shower, the momentum must be enough to slip Kovacs off his balance because they both go down hard, narrowly evading the bullet as it lodges itself in the floor.

"I don't think my pants are the problem here." AKA Put some fucking clothes on! Miller has to take a second to catch his breath, between the fall knocking the wind out of him (and probably recracking all his ribs) and yelling at Kovacs it takes a full beat before he's scrambling away from the wet, naked guy he just tackled. "God, I fucking hate space."

004.

[aequoreal]

( kaldur is tired.

no, that does not begin to capture it. kaldur is exhausted, even after having crashed the moment the music grew quiet enough to do it. now, he feels as though the silence is ringing in his ear and one of the tunes is still caught on a loop inside his mind. he'd like to sleep more.

instead, he's making a round. patrolling the ship, if you will. searching for those who may need help after everything that has happened over the last seven days. someone lying near a smear of blood qualifies at least for a question: )

Do you need help?

Re: 004.

[resleeves]

Can you get me off this fucking station?

[ his isn't a face that kovacs has seen before. probably means he hadn't run into him while he'd been out of his fucking head and the blood wasn't his. ]

Have any alcohol?

[ if he can't leave, he wants to drink. actually, he wants to fucking smoke but he'd probably get his head cut off if he tried. ]

[aequoreal]

No.

( the answer is a quiet statement of fact. unassuming. tired, admittedly, but then aren't they all? kaldur cannot do either of those things: get kovacs off the station or give him a drink. )

Are you hurt or is the blood someone else's?

2

[personify]

[Raven's only just gotten done dealing with her own hallucinatory demons and is attempting to make her way back to her room only to find she's not even on the right floor and the door she's trying to get into isn't hers. Dammit.

From behind her, she hears the man shouting but can't quite focus on him. Not until he kicks his door and she stumbles back to turn at look at him. Usually it's her who's walking around naked. So this is an interesting change of pace. Her with a jumpsuit and this man without anything covering him at all. Aside from what still remains of his door.]

Shouting and beating up the ship? There's something I haven't tried yet. I was hoping it might work. [She can still manage the dry sarcasm despite how exhausted she is.]

Re: 2

[resleeves]

[ oh, the last thing he wants to deal with right now is someone giving him lip. the broken parts of his door are scattered at his feet and he kicks them aside, uncaring of the splinters that he's probably going to end up with.

just one more thing to be pissed off about. ]

If you have any better ideas, please feel free to enlighten me.

[ didn't look like it to him, not when she was just walking around like there wasn't a goddamn thing wrong in the world. ]

I pride myself on being creative and efficient. Thanks for noticing.

[personify]

Oh, yes. It was very efficient. [Raven's not shying away from him. He might be naked, but she certainly doesn't care. Nor is she particularly afraid of him despite the show of strength. She's more than a little loopy due to the lack of sleep so any wariness she might have isn't showing it's face.] Just ineffective.

I don't have any other ideas, but destroying the ship isn't where I'd start. [Raven moves away from the door, that isn't hers to move in his direction, leaning heavily on a cane. She hates how weak it makes her feel, but after days of walking on her injured calf she'd had to admit defeat.]

002

[solarcharged]

[ For all his strength and power, Apollo is just as susceptible to mindtricks as anyone else. Magic, sound, telepathy - these are things that no amount of solar energy can shield him from. And so when the music comes (and doesn't go away) there's nothing to punch, no-one to throw against the wall. Not that are guilty, anyway.

He walks the decks because he has to; he has to move, to roam, to pace their grimy confines because there isn't much else to do. Apollo hates it, this useless restless energy that has no outlet other than mindless movement. They - the collective 'they' of the entire station - shouldn't just be sitting around. Drinking. Playing games. Making stupid network posts. They should be doing something. Doing something to get themselves all of this station once and for all. And maybe if this fucking music would just stop then they might be able to actually think--

The door - Kovacs's door - spins off it's hinges and rebounds roughly off Apollo's shoulder, cutting him off mid-thought. It takes more than a door to knock Apollo off course but he still staggers a little, more surprised than hurt. ]

What the hell, Kovacs? [ Apollo stares at the door, then at Kovacs. Naked Kovacs. He makes a profound effort to keep his eyes up. ]

What's wrong with you?

Re: 002

[resleeves]

Oh, I don't know, what the fuck do you think's wrong with me?

( did no one else hear this music? did no one else want it to stop? or was everyone here just so fucked up that they thought this was enjoyable? kovacs was about five minutes away from sitting outside in a spacesuit until this shit ended. he'd hit his breaking point and then some. )

I've been in VR torture sessions worse than this!

( that might have been an exaggeration but seriously this was the fucking worst. )

002

[marineris]

At least the screaming is a change of pace. Bobbie lets out a long-suffering sigh, wondering if a skull splitting headache can get bad enough to make her pass out. If it can, Kovacs is certainly helping her on her way to unconsciousness.

Plus, he's naked. Alright.

"What the hell are you doing? Trying to tear the station apart?"

Re: 002

[resleeves]

"I thought about it," Kovacs snaps. Seriously, he's been snapping at everything but he thinks it's pretty fucking warranted. This music has burrowed its way into his head so deep that he would let someone take a hammer to his stack and rip the shit out if it meant he could be unaware for this shit.

Tearing the entire station apart is probably too much for one person so going at his door was the next best thing.

He stands there, hands on his hips, glaring in her direction because she's there. "What are you doing? Having a nice walk?"

2.

[thingpuncher]

[Midnghter is not having a great time, but, you know. At least someone's having a worse one. A guy starts screaming, and Midnighter's first response is to jump to the call and help him, and as he's turning to do so, bloody-knuckled and breathing hot, the screamer busts out first.]

[He busts out, wet and naked and still screaming. Okay. Okay. Midnighter's been there, though he's sure as fuck not admitting it. The screamer's got his attention, that's for sure. He gives him space, puts his hands up, but he's not a soothing person by nature. Midnighter's job is damage, not damage control.]

I know you probably bring out this kinda welcome wagon for all the newbies, but there're civilians on this thing. You need something to hit? Hit me.

Re: 2.

[resleeves]

( kovacs isn't expecting someone to be right outside his fucking door when he kicks it open so the sight of someone there, big and tall with his hands up, makes him pause. he doesn't even remember the whole naked thing, so comfortable in his own nudity that if others aren't, fuck them. )

You'd rather I hit you instead of an inanimate object like a door?

( that didn't make sense to him. did that make sense to you? )

You one of those fucks that gets off on being hit?

( ...welcome to the station! )

004

[subplot]

[Karen's completely on edge after everything that's happened recently. Paranoid doesn't even begin to describe how she feels, and seeing him sprawled out in the observation deck as she creeps by doesn't exactly help matters. The backpack is recognized before him at first, but once she puts the item to the owner she's able to manage a cautious and curious glance in his direction. Maybe she should nudge him with the toe of her boot or something, but keeping her distance is probably safer right now.]

Fuck doesn't even begin to cover it.

[She's not very fond of this place either.]

But it's a good place to start.

[She's rail thin and looks like she might blow over if someone looks at her the wrong way, but she's going to offer him a hand in getting up anyway. He looks like he needs it.]

Should I ask who you pissed off?

Re: 004

[resleeves]

( the answer to your question, karen, would be everyone. everyone on this fucking station except maybe miller.

with a groan, kovacs accepts the hand and pushes himself up, groaning at the throbbing in his head. )

I didn't do anything.

( a total and complete lie. )

What are you doing creeping by? Walk of shame?

001

[holyhalone]

[Aymeric had not asked for this. He had not asked for this music that had been thus far contained to the mess hall to startle him so suddenly as it began blaring in the corridors, making him jump and clutch at his chest. And he had not asked for what happened not a moment later - Kovacs screaming to 'turn it off' and then that terrible kick that knocked the entire door off of its hinges.

It damn near gave him a heart attack.]

What in Seven Hells do you think--?!

[And Kovacs was wet and stark naked. Of course he was. Aymeric felt himself go red and his chest grow tight because it was him and he was naked and kicking and screaming. Ugh.]

By the Fury, stop your bloody screaming and put some clothing on!

Re: 001

[resleeves]

( that was not turning the music off. that was adding to the noise with someone trying to order him the fuck around. kovacs makes no move to put anything on. )

What, never seen a dick before?

( that's hello if you squint really hard. )

I'm fine how I am. Order me to do something again and see what happens.

002 | shows up 15 min late with starbucks

[hardedged]

[ she's tired — exhausted, truly, and all jessica craves beyond booze is a bit of peace and quiet. the music is fucking annoying, but the naked shithead yelling about it sure doesn't help. her eyes widen at the abrupt display, while her brow furrows. ]

Hey, asshole! I'm already deaf from this shit. You trying to make me blind too?

Re: 002 | shows up 15 min late with starbucks

[resleeves]

Don't pretend you don't fucking like it.

( which means he makes no move to cover up or go anywhere. he's naked, there's his dick, and that's what's happening right now. )

Go somewhere else if you're so fucking offended.