InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "hey hey hey"

ᴀᴍʙᴇʀ ᴍᴄᴄᴀʟʟ (caalypso) wrote in commandhq,
@ 2018-06-08 16:47:00

Entry tags:

aaron sandoval, alika dixon, amber mccall, carly cassidy, chloe deacon, gabe eldridge, goldie keen, grey street, henry hughes, jade hensley, jamie rowan, jason winter, jonathan ryland, jp allen, kathryn dalley, kelly deacon, kyra lawson, marigold martin, noah anderson, p: lindsey, p: mena, p: mj, p: roxi, raven pereira, simon fitch, stephanie mendoza, summer fitch, susan wright, warren lewis, waverley rowan, will mccall, ~alex montega, ~francis taylor, ~josiah taylor, ~lovelie davis, ~valentine johnson, ~xavier chambers

WHO Everyone
WHAT Post-death, post-trauma, post-excitement party to blow off some steam for everyone on the base
WHEN Forward-dated to Saturday June 16th (night)
WHERE Leisure rooms, etc (if people wander off).
RATING Please mark your threads if they start to veer into mature territory

In the wake of the tragedies at Limbo, the party had seemed extremely trivial – maybe even a little inappropriate. But since everything had already been ordered, and people seemed to need something to cheer them up now more than ever, Amber and Chloe had forged ahead, and spent the entire Saturday decorating, preparing, baking, and arranging. By the time they were done with the leisure rooms, they were decked out with multi-coloured lights and cheeky neon signage, tables overflowing with snacks, baked goods, soda and water bottles, tubs full of ice that were brimming with all kinds of liquor, and speakers blasting decidedly very upbeat music meant to inspire fellow residents to shake off their troubles (if possible) and dance.

C1 (the entertainment room) skewed blue and purple. The gaming consoles were left hooked up, in case anyone wanted to get into some drunk Mario Kart battles in-between all the massive amounts of tasty snacks set up around the room. C2 (the movie theatre) had films set up for the entire night and a table full of beer and coolers prepared inside -- people would be able to happily enjoy Animal House, The Hangover, 21 Jump Street, Wedding Crashers, Oldschool and Superbad into the wee hours of the morning. C3 (the old fashioned game room) leaned towards a red motif -- all kinds of low lighting and much gentler music to allow people to talk and enjoy mellower company. And, of course, there remained plenty of floor space in case anyone decided to break out Twister. C4 (activity suite) was transformed into the closest thing to a club they could manage within their means and had the most impressive speaker system, leaving plenty of room for people to dance. C5 (the laser tag room) was decked out for karaoke -- assuring that anyone who wanted to embarrass themselves in public absolutely could, all with the benefit of some beautiful, bright yellow spotlights.

[OOC: this is posted ahead to give you more time to play the event out before it passes in real time. Everyone who lives, works, etc. at the facility would be able to stop into this thing at any point. Have fun!]

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

sevenless
2018-06-10 07:01 pm UTC (link)

Marigold glanced up from the pages when the course of her newfound company didn't swerve off in search of supplementary snacks. One of the corners of her mouth went up before she could stop it. She didn't always know a McCall when she saw one, but she could smell their particular brand of trouble from a mile away. Alright, that was giving herself credit where credit wasn't earned-- Cricket had shown her the odd family photo over the years. What she actually smelled was the blunt. The resinous odor mingled with the cooking smells lingering on Marigolds clothes and gave the place a homey scent. It should have surprised her to see it, but it was more legal than they were, so why shouldn't they parade it around with all the irony owed it?

Marigold wondered vaguely what Lucas's drug policy was. Did any of the Handlers give a shit? If there was special dispensation to get thoroughly wrecked every time there was a significant stressor or a tragedy, it didn't seem likely anyone in Limbo would be passing the government sobriety snuff anytime soon. Right now whomever was responsible for drafting this week's reports was the only person on the base with a less enviable job than the agents. She drank with a little more feeling, waiting for the body to settle next to her.

"It's called screaming into the void for a reason." She replied and held her beer over to clink glasses in greeting. He looked well on his way to being gone.

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

aftershock
2018-06-20 03:46 pm UTC (link)

He would figure that Cricket would've warned people about him. Mostly of the female persuasion. Regardless of what he tried to tell himself, he wasn't as smooth as he wanted to be when he was high or drunk. Or any other time. The years hadn't been as kind to him as he wanted them to be. And he had a collection of children and angry women at his coattails trying to get him to own up for what he had done when he was younger and stupid. Or when he was a worse person than he was right now. He had no thought about walking around with a blunt in this place. Prior to so many people getting transferred in, this place used to be much more like a commune for drunks and potheads.

But this was the first time Will himself had ever been high in a very long time. He steered away from it because it was so easy for him, in his mind, to double it up with something equally as dangerous. He shouldn't have been drinking right now anyway. Shouldn't be smoking. Definitely shouldn't be here. His mind was swimming a little with the haze of it all but he welcomed it. He was sure if Mike or Hazel found out that he would have a lot of explaining to do that he really didn't want to get involved in anymore than he already was.

"I don't think it's actually screaming at this point. More like my voice is kind of raw from doing that for the last couple of months." He tapped his drink against hers before downing the rest of his drink. "I'm sure I'm going to be feeling this for the next couple of days. I hate being old."

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

sevenless
2018-06-21 03:48 am UTC (link)

"Only the last couple of months?" She sipped as he swallowed, knowing that once her beer was empty she'd have to venture back into the fray for another. She wasn't sure she had it in her at the moment, not when the temptation to double back to the doorsteps at which she'd laid her stress-cooking tribute to see if anyone needed seconds. The ghostly itch of a tremor ran through her palms, but she knew if she looked down her hands would be steady. "Your throat gives up easy. Better put some training hours into that."

Sstretched a finger between the pages of her book and let the covers collapse together around it. She looked at him with an expression of extreme skepticism. "Oh, come on. How old can you be under all that?" She gestured at his scruffy jaw. "I bet if you shaved you'd look about fifteen." Sure, the Regiment could age a person in fairly short order, but between the joint and the big baby blues, it was hard to nail down his exact age. Or which McCall sibling he was. How many McCall males had Cricket listed over the years? She would have felt more of a bad friend for not remembering had there not been so many of them. "Load up on water and anti-inflammatories before bed, you'll be fine."

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

aftershock
2018-06-24 03:46 pm UTC (link)

"I like to say I regressed all other memories prior to the most recent events. When the other shoe inevitably drops I will forget about this shit." He took another drag, shutting his eyes for a moment. It was...relaxing. That and the muffled beat of the music and the energy of the people in the air. He was almost transported back to when he was a teenager and moments like this was the norm. For once, he wasn't outwardly seeking out anyone. He didn't feel the need to.

Self-destruction had many different faces after all. "Eh. I'd rather just chill than scream into the void anymore. Let someone else do it for a change. I'm sure there's plenty of people out there hyped up for the opportunity." He leaned back against the table, propping himself up by his elbows.

"Thirty-four. I don't think I'd look fifteen. Maybe a solid...twenty-eight. Kids kind of make you age faster." Cinnamon and Bambi sure as shit made him age faster. Especially when Cinnamon started showing off her impression of 'Firestarter'. Will finished the rest of his drink before just setting to the side. "I know the deal. Not the first time I go to sleep kinda fucked up." Will rolled his head to the side as he looked at her. "Are you enjoying the party?"

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

sevenless
2018-06-24 04:41 pm UTC (link)

"You picked a bad time to stop repressing, all things considered." She observed, putting aside her beer to pluck the joint from his fingers. She set it between her lips and breathed in, allowing herself to be impressed she still remembered how to do so without coughing. How long had it been? College? Definitely before Pace's first round of background checks. It didn't matter. It was well-timed today. She glanced at him on the exhale, admiring his closed eyes and optimism. "So I probably shouldn't call to ask how you managed it, seeing as the self-imposed amnesia will have kicked in?" She watched the smoke curling up from her fingers. "Assuming you can remember me tomorrow, let alone when shoes get involved."

He wasn't wrong about that. There was an undercurrent of manic panic to the evening. People seemed to think they could dance it away, if they committed to the spirit of the thing completely enough. At any other base they'd all be in the gym doubling down on training, with limiters, scrutiny, analysis pressing the boot on their necks that much harder-- not collectively compromising their self-control. "You may be on to something there." She set the joint back between his lips, ever the helpful smoking companion.

She'd gone back to her beer, chasing the smokey taste in her mouth and patiently waiting for the hit to go to her head. Thirty-four? She put an eyebrow up at him. Kids? The other one joined it briefly. Cricket's words flashed before her eyes.

MARIGOLD, DO NOT TOUCH BILLY RAY MCCALL. YOU WILL GET PREGNANT. AND YOU WILL DIE..

"Twenty-five at best. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you, when this is all over." Which was like to be never, in Marigold's opinion, but it was a pretty thought. Why tarnish it with reality, when reality felt so detached at the moment? The lip of the bottle hovered just below her smile. Her expression said she was sure that he knew what he was doing. The pad of her index finger, freed from her book, met his forehead at the end of it's roll. She didn't feel the impregnation take. Shows what Cricket knew. "No, Billy Ray, I am not. But don't take that as commentary on sister's party planning" She took her hand away from his forehead to support the bottom of her beer. She leaned his way slightly, conspiratorially "I'm practicing in case I decide to go back to being the Regiment malcontent."

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

aftershock
2018-06-24 05:35 pm UTC (link)

"I'll repress it later. It's not good to not process anything." He wasn't processing his son's death. He was letting that chip away at his mind. Every moment of his day. How he wasn't a good enough father, how the kid called him an asshole. How there was so much he could've done in his son's life and he failed to do it. He failed to protect him when he'd offered his loyalty to The Regiment with the hope that his family would be safe from harm.

It wasn't a lie when he said he wasn't repressing it. It was a lie when he said that he was dealing with it. As certain as he was that he could reach out to his sister for help, he didn't want to burden her. As much as he wanted to go to Hazel and Mike, they had bigger things on their plate then him. But the skype visits he was allowed to get with Cinnamon and Bambi were starting to become telling. Cinnamon had concern etched across her face every time her dad would flicker across the screen looking as tired as he was. He pursed his lips together as he shrugged a little. "You might get lucky. I might remember. It's not exactly Memento. And it'd be really fucking weird if I tattoo'd your name on my body after just meeting."

He was about to answer something back before she placed the joint back between his lips and he took another drag from it, drawing it out before pushing the smoke slowly out between his lips. "People want to forget tragedy. They don't want to be buried in it." He understood it. But it didn't mean it was saving him. It might be too little, too late for that.

"If this is ever all over." He wasn't sure how they would become accustomed to normal society after this. How they could look at themselves in the mirror after this without feeling like they were victims of something that was bigger than them. He shut his eyes as the weed and alcohol settled in him, making his body feel heavy as she touched his forehead before he cringed a little. "Will is just fine. Billy Ray can go...take it's rattling groan back into the hole from that which was born." He smiled a little, a slight slyness to it. "I won't tell. Secret's safe with me."

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Outside Leisure Rooms | Marigold + Will

sevenless
2018-06-24 06:23 pm UTC (link)

"Is that why the psych team here is so," She looked to the ceiling for the word, as if it'd be waiting there hanging, spider-like,by a gossamer thread for her to be annoyed at for holding itself over her head. And for the word gossamer. "Extensive?" Her chin came back down as she felt the mood shift slightly. There was that undercurrent. Marigold wondered what he had lost-- who he had lost. Everyone lost things when they were taken. A lot of things. An endless list of things they all added to each day as they discovered something else, big or small, that had been removed from their lives. It was what the Regiment did. It chipped, or tore, or ripped, or slowly buffed away at you; in any way it could. But losing someone was different. That did something else to you in places like these. She didn't ask. She looked at her hands again. Steady.

She remembered a time when they could still shake.

"That would be weird." Marigold agreed, "I don't usually go for the tattoo until the third run-in. Then it's buzz," She mimicked holding a tattoo machine and swished it through the air, "Right on the ass, with a flower or an anchor to keep it traditional. Classy." She informed him primly, circling her beer back around for a long drink. Her brain was beginning to produce more pleasant sensations than it had been generating in the moments before. His mention of grief didn't take the edge off, though she recognized that it should have. She shrugged. "It'd be the only thing they'd get to have a proper burial for." She noted, not entirely kindly, but breathed deeply so she had the air to expel the bitterness lingering in the back of her throat, waiting for comments like that to ride out on.

Marigold made a neutral, thoughtful noise in response, not wanting to pile the pessimism on him when he was riding what looked to have been, before her interference, a pleasant high. She laughed as he rubbed his forehead, but made a conscious effort to reel it in when he showed it to be a sore spot. "I like Will better anyway." Her serious expression was cracking again, before she could stop it. "Jesus. Cricket never had a lot of positive things to say about your mother either, but she never actively disparaged her vagina." Marigold pressed a hand over her lips to keep in a laugh. It was not as effective as she'd hoped. "Thank you, Will. Seems like I'm not off to a great start, anyway."

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