InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Get up and go walk your dog."

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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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-12 04:30 pm UTC (link)

“Oh definitely something stronger,” Raven chuckled. “I like to think of myself as a confident girl but getting up in front of these people to sing would require a bit of a boost.” She eyed him slyly, her smirk becoming more and more amused, “And maybe some company.”

Raven feigned a dramatic sigh as she dabbed at non-existent tears under her eyes. “I know. It’s not going to happen.” Chloe and Amber had clearly missed a golden opportunity to fill the little makeshift theatre with the classics like Mean Girls and Clueless. She would have dragged Dove right along with her for all of that; unless, of course, Dove was otherwise occupied with a fellow illusion-caster.

Her brown eyes widened. “Back then? Harsh words for the 70s Bat out of Hell fans!” She sipped at her soda – vanilla! A sweet call from the new boy. “Overrated, maybe. I think I just admire anything with that sort of grandiose ambition. I just do not want to hear most of the people in this place attempting it.”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-12 08:40 pm UTC (link)

Gabe lifted a hand. "You really don't want me as a karaoke partner," he told her. Though he could carry a tune, he was pretty sure his embarrassment and nerves ruined any chance he had of impressively crooning on a make-shift stage in front of people he had to live with. "Buuuut I will make pom-poms out of the streamers in the other room and stand at the front like your biggest fan... if that'd help?"

His shoulder raised; fetch definitely wasn't going to be a thing and with the dramatic sigh Gabe honestly felt like he'd passed something. His inner nerd threw a small party. His outer nerd, however, just mimicked the dramatic sigh and drank some more of his soda.

"Harsh words," he said, "but true. I mean, if we're talking 70s bands that deserve their hype, I'd have to throw my hat in the towel for Queen. Or maybe Fleetwood Mac." So, his dad liked British music. He kept his parents' love (and his, by Stockholm syndrome he would swear on his grave) of Chris De Burgh (the man is so much more than stupid Lady in Red, any true fan would know that's his worst song) quite close to his chest though, and not even the threat of torture would make that change.

Gabe chuckled into his soda, eyeing the ever decreasing level. A part of him wanted to will more into his cup. He could do that, but the bracelet around his wrist stopped him. He should never have turned himself in. Or maybe he should have turned himself in sooner? Honestly, he wasn't really sure.

"It's the air guitar that I can't get behind when you're meant to be doing karaoke. Or the whole... using the mic stand as a prop. But I'm not really a karaoke connoisseur so I can't really talk."

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-13 09:22 pm UTC (link)

“I will accept a personal cheerleader,” she agreed. “Though you should know, my best friend was a cheerleader, so you have a lot to live up to.”

She lit up at the mention of Queen. “So dramatic. Good choice. Love their stuff. My brother—,” she winced, but covered it quickly and continued, “He always listened to them. And David Bowie. He definitely has the best music taste in the family, I think.”

Raven laughed at the notion. “A karaoke connoisseur? My God, I hope there isn’t such a thing.” As if to emphasize her point, she gently touched the cross hanging around her neck.

Noticing the lowering level of his cup, Raven gestured to it. “Would you like a refill? I think this should be my go. I don’t mind.”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-14 01:17 pm UTC (link)

"You've clearly never seen my cheerleading prowess," Gabe said with a cheeky grin. "You'd be doing everything possible to stop me from trying. I'm not flexible enough buuut I have lots of pep?"

He didn't notice the wince, but he did pick up on the brief pause but said nothing; it wasn't his business and maybe her brother was here too or maybe her brother was one of the ones who had recently been killed - eesh, wouldn't that be harsh - or maybe her brother wasn't even here. Gabe was glad his sister wasn't here, even if she and his moms would be going spare right now. If he ever got out of here, they'd flat out murder him for disappearing, for handing himself over. He just felt like it was the right thing to do in the situation. "Sounds like it. For sure. British pop music. Mine's biological, I think. My bio dad loves British music. My moms... not so much." Chris De Burgh was their fault. Idly, the start of Spanish Train rolled through his head.

Damn, now he wanted to listen to that album.

"If there isn't, it should be a thing. Just someone who's really good at karaoke but not quite good enough to make it as a singer. And their day job is... like an account or a bank clerk or something."

Gabe looked into his cup again and frowned at it. "You sure? I feel like it should be me going and getting us a refill. I mean, if it weren't for this I could just make it refill itself but, y'know," he lifted his hand, jiggled his wrist a little. "No infinite soda for us."

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-16 12:33 pm UTC (link)

“Cheerleading prowess?” She echoed. Raven pressed her chin into the palms of her hands, looking at him with teasingly rapt, amazed attention. “Gabe, do go on – I’d love a demonstration of all this pep I’m hearing about.”

Mine’s biological, I think. My bio dad loves British music. My moms… not so much.

She grinned. She was learning lots about Gabe in short succession; mainly, that he spoke kindly about his family. If it was as she suspected, he must have sorely missed them. Not for the first time she found herself wondering how someone found themselves within the walls of the Regiment – whether it had been willing or violent. Though, given Gabe’s demeanour, she couldn’t imagine the latter.

“Oh, sweetheart. I think we’ve already seen that. It was called American Idol. Basically an over-glorified karaoke contest.”

One brow quirked as she regarded him curiously, attempting to discern if he was joking or not. She glanced down at his lackluster fashion accessory provided oh-so-kindly by the Regiment. “Espero -- what is it that you can do, exactly?”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-16 07:07 pm UTC (link)

"I'd need at least four more beers before I'm ready to make a fool of myself in front of a beautiful lady with my over-enthusiastic, uncoordinated pep," Gabe offered with a wink.

The thought of his parents was a bit of a bummer. His moms were probably worried. Man, he'd made a dick move by handing himself over without even calling them first. He kinda hoped that the government had at least given some kind of realistic story that wouldn't send his sister off on some kind of revenge binge looking for him.

It was called American Idol. Basically an over-glorified karaoke contest.

He winced a little. "Good point," he mumbled, knocking back what was left of his drink and then wrinkling his nose. "Always hated that show, though. Felt kinda exploitative of people who really needed psychiatric care and shouldn't have been encouraged by their families."

He wasn't joking, "Um, I can do stuff that-" well, he wasn't supposed to crow about it but like, one or two people wouldn't hurt, right? "I've got a box at home of pizza that just refills itself whenever it's empty with fresh pizza that stays fresh. I'm a wi-" Well, maybe telling the gorgeous raven-haired young woman that he was a wizard wasn't the smoothest thing he could do, so he settled on, "And infinite soda. They classified it as reality warping? But I dunno, I've only ever done a few big things that would class as that. And it looks more like magic anyway, which is what I'd prefer it to be."

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-18 02:18 am UTC (link)

Raven didn’t miss the compliment, and as if on cue, gently batted her eyelashes as she placed her chin on her knuckles. “Even if I promised not to judge too harshly? That seems precisely like the type of thing missing from this party.”

He had a point, of course; but that seemed to encompass reality shows as a whole. Exploitation. “The first few episodes of their seasons – so uncomfortable to watch, right?”

She listened quietly, patiently, her gaze very level and expression inscrutable as he described what he was capable of – why they’d decided it was so necessary to arm him with a power nullifier twenty-four-seven. Her eyes were starting to get a bit bigger as he went on, and Raven found it rather difficult to figure out why they were bothering to make food here at all when they had some cute new recruit who could just whip it up out of thin air.

Reality warping. Go figure. It was like her own power, just… real.

“So… they gave you the lame bracelet as your accessory rather than a wand?” She asked, with a slight bit of humour behind her words. “Seems like a lost opportunity, really.” Though, if he was capable of what he was saying (and she didn’t have any real reason to doubt him), it was no wonder they were keeping his powers on lockdown.

He could have had everyone out of here in minutes.

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-18 01:07 pm UTC (link)

“Even if you promised not to judge too harshly,” Gabe told her with a warm, broad grin. “I mean, it might not be much but I at least gotta pretend to have some game now that I can’t just magic stuff outta thin air to impress beautiful women.” Not that he’d ever done that in the first instance; his powers needed more words than a simple ‘abracadabra’ and saying ‘bouquetofflowers’ ten times to get a beautiful bunched bouquet (heh, mind alliteration, hilarious) was less impressive than just producing it from a shirt sleeve with a flourish.

When he talked about his powers and felt Raven’s eyes on him, and how they seemed to just get bigger, he sort of trailed off and shifted a little, unable to tell if she believed him and was humouring him with the magic wand comment or if she was completely not believing him. He supposed, either way was a possibility. He hadn’t ever talked about his powers much so he didn’t really know how to describe them. He thought he’d done okay to Rachel, but maybe not and she had a file (a file of lies) to refer to.

“Yeah,” he settled on saying with a sigh. “And calling myself ‘Wiccan’ was determined as a no-no for my code name, which was just stupid. Don’t give me the option to pick my own nickname if you’re gonna shut me down.” He rubbed at the bracelet. “This projects like a field around me, too. I don’t know if that’ll affect anyone else, but there you have it. So if you’re super attached to your powers… stay at least six inches away. Though, if you’re not, you don’t have to. That’d be a shame.”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-19 02:45 am UTC (link)

“I’m going to be so tragically disappointed if I don’t get to see these pep skills one day, Gabe. And I do also really hope I get to be around when they let you have your powers off long enough for infinite-pizza-and-sodas.” She glanced towards her nearly empty drink and tilted her head. “But you noticed my emptying glass and brought me a refill unasked. I think you’re already demonstrating plenty of game.”

She furrowed her brow when he mentioned how they’d shut down his chosen codename. Honestly, she was mostly surprised they let people pick those. Raven certainly hadn’t picked her own.

“You think they were just trying to prod you into picking one closer to something they’d already picked out for you? Hmm. Seems like something that would happen. Rude. But if that’s what you’d prefer; I’ll call you Wiccan.”

Her Cheshire-grin spread further when he claimed it’d be a shame if she had to stay away. “I actually requested to have mine off for the night,” she responded, sitting up a little taller, a little prouder. “So, if your mandated accessory does affect mine, that might just be extra incentive to sit a little closer.”

It still seemed so bizarre to her. Why did it have to be so difficult the rest of the time? Since she’d been granted these little reprieves, she’d had no accidents. No body swaps. No causing her friends’ brains to nearly bleed. But she was also hungry for more of it, now; more freedom, more opportunities to do as she pleased without fear of causing anyone pain, or of not being able to hug certain friends or make out with other ones.

“You see,” Raven continued reaching over to place her hand over top of Gabe's, “I wouldn't be able to do that if my powers were still on.”

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Re: C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-19 01:48 pm UTC (link)

“You want a refill?” Gabe asked, knowing that Raven had already offered but he was the gentleman in this equation. When there was a break in the conversation - which was, by all accounts, far too fascinating and enjoyable to be even remotely fair - he could nip away and grab a drink. It wasn’t like there were waiters here that he could just palm the empty cups off onto. That was something that was lacking. “I know you offered, but you look real comfy and I’d hate for you to have to move when it’s not strictly necessary.”

He wet his lower lip, nodding when she promised she’d call him Wiccan. Maybe if he told people that was his code name instead of Seraph it’d just stick with the upper management too. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure he’d be able to convince Rachel, though. She was sharp as a tack, he thought. Terrifyingly beautiful, too, but in that sort of she could throat stomp you and you’d say thank you. Straight out of a comic book, that lady. Whereas Raven was right out of a magazine, beautiful and probably pretty deadly if you crossed her. She had that air about her. It was endlessly intriguing and she seemed perfectly happy to be continuing a conversation with him.

So he wasn’t about to complain.

As her hand dropped to cover his, his eyes fell to where she was touching him, then he looked up again ignoring the slight dryness to his mouth as he swallowed what was left of the drink in his cup. He very carefully didn’t move his hand.

“Really?” He asked, “That sucks for you.” And he meant it; physical contact was important, it was grounding. It was special. And if Raven didn’t get that then maybe having her powers off was a good thing. “You can come sit next to me whenever you want. Can… I mean, do you mind if I ask what happens normally?”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-20 01:27 am UTC (link)

“Aren’t you sweet,” Raven snickered. “Although you’re robbing me of my attempt to be the gentleman, here. Though I suppose I shouldn’t knock chivalry when it presents itself so wonderfully.” It was rather rare, after all. “I would love a rum and coke. But no rush.”

If he preferred to be Wiccan, that’s what she’d call him. Granted, that might get confusing if they were ever in the field together, but given Gabe’s mandatory accessories and Raven’s general uselessness in any type of field-scenario, that wasn’t likely to happen any time soon. The day they had a practical use for her abilities would be the day she died of shock.

His hand was so very, very still under her own. Raven held his gaze, her own a little intense by design, and only the corners of her mouth upturned.

Having a perma-invitation to sit with the man with a no-power-zone constantly around him earned a much more genuine, girlish grin. “Sweet again. Boy, did I luck out with my company tonight.”

When the conversation inevitably turned to what she was capable of, Raven bit the inside of her cheek. “Well,” she began, lifting his hand and pressing it between both of hers. “If I did this without the nullifier, then it is highly probable that you would swap into my body, and I would swap into yours.” She gently touched the bracelet around his wrist, glancing at it with intense interest. “It doesn’t happen every time I touch someone, but… pretty much. Insta Freaky Friday.”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-20 12:34 pm UTC (link)

“Well, next suitable break in the conversation, I’ll be sure to nip and get you a rum and coke. Shame there’s no wait service here, that’d be awesome, right?” He chuckled a little and then pushed his free hand through his hair. He didn’t really want to move the one that Raven was touching, though he did shift it a fraction to briefly catch her fingertips with his thumb, squeezing gently.

Whether it was in solidarity or not he wasn’t entirely sure, but since she didn’t get too much physical contact he went out on a limb and assumed that she wouldn’t mind all that much if someone was to sort of hold her hand. She did touch him, after all. And then she touched his bracelet, his hand having been sandwiched between both of hers and his fingers twitched a little, the bizarre urge to lace his fingers through hers warring for attention.

“We can test it, if you’d like,” he offered bravely, that girlish grin having made his own lips turn upwards into an echo of it; a sort of bright, boyish smile that was equal parts bashful as it was genuinely pleased to have made her smile. “Pretty sure long as you’re in my space your powers’ll be negated.”

When she mentioned what she could do, he frowned a little. “That has to suck for you,” he offered. “For sure, you ever need a hug or anything, you can always come see me. Y’know, negation field boy and all that.” He screwed up his nose. “That’s the worst nickname ever, Raven, please never let that stuck.” He chuckled. “I am immune to some psychic powers,” he added a moment later, almost hesitantly. “We’re not quite sure right now how many, like, not telepaths or anything, but if I don’t wanna be mind controlled it doesn’t happen. I mean, that’s what happened the day before I got caught and they bought someone in to test it at the other facility and I didn’t do what they wanted. So it’s possible? I don’t even know.” He shrugged again, that urge to lace his fingers through hers rising briefly before he stamped down on it, his fingers just twitching slightly where they were still pressed against hers. “Do you get all their memories and stuff, too?”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-20 04:52 pm UTC (link)

“I think that would have been ideal,” Raven agreed. “Maybe the handlers should have volunteered? It’d be a nice role reversal, really. Although it’s possible their schedules are already a little too packed.”

On stage, the new karaoke contender was a younger guy beating the Uptown Funk horse right to death. It was a shame, really; he didn’t have a terrible voice, but he was not pulling off the charisma and mojo necessary to make the song work.

He had a nice smile, this Gabe. And he seemed very kind, too; always a bonus. His willingness to let her into his personal space just so she could have a break from her powers when the higher ups weren’t willing to turn them off (she wasn’t sure how Holly would feel about all that) was unbelievably generous. “You and I will have to test that out.”

It was still so, so strange to her. His bracelet was an impressive feat of technology – probably the last thing that any Super wanted to be shackled with. It was cold to the touch. And yet, she was almost envious.

As he rambled – he was quite a rambler, and lucky for him, she was quite a listener – Raven entwined their fingers and rested their hands back against the table. The little buzz in her system was probably what allowed her to be so bold with a new friend; besides, physical contact was so infrequent to her, it was good to get it where she could. And he sure didn’t seem to mind.

“I won’t let it stick,” she promised, smirking. After a beat, she crinkled her nose and cocked her head to the side. “Psychic immunity? I have something like that, too. A Shield, they call it? They’ve said that I can’t body swap with someone who has that, but fortunately enough, haven’t had to give that one a try yet.”

She nodded and sighed. “Yeah. I get access to everything. They don’t get the same from me. It’s… intense. I’m sure in some cases it could be incredibly useful, but so far it’s just been a whole bunch of way personal insight that I did not want to know. And I’m always a little different after, you know? Maybe not dramatically, but if it happened too many times, I don’t know who I’d end up as.”

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

lvlup
2018-06-20 07:05 pm UTC (link)

"I'd need to have this off, though," Gabe pointed out as her eyes dropped to his bracelet again, "Otherwise it's not really an experiment and more of just... a hand holding exercise since you'd be nullified and stuff. But if I'm ever without bracelet, you can still come invade my personal space."

He squeezed her fingers as she laced them together and lowered their now-joined hands to the table, glancing at them once before he returned his attention to her rather lovely face.

As she cocked her head to the side, he did too, though while hers made her seem curious or thoughtful, Gabe's cocking of his head was a little more akin to a puppy that was a little confused, trying to understand what their human was talking about.

"No, I think it's just a quirk with my powerset. Guess on some level my body knows that maybe not everyone can be trusted with my powers?" He grimaced. "Man, that sounded big headed. But I guess there are people out there who would use what I can do for something more than just... saving lives of people tumbling through the air and infinite cups of always fizzy soda." He wet his lower lip, drawing it between his teeth for a moment before he continued. "The day before I got arrested my friend had dragged me to a protest or something. There was a flashmob that broke out, literally everyone dancing this perfectly choreographed dance. Except me. Turns out it was this super called Goldie? She's famous. And also here. Anyway. I didn't. Which kinda sucked, because I've got pep but y'know, I'm not the best dancer."

When Raven talked about what she could do, he frowned again, squeezing her fingers once more, thumb gently brushing along the side of her hand almost idly. "Yeah, I think I understand." Like Rogue, maybe. "It sucks."

He glanced up at the karaoke platform and set his jaw before he just looked her in the eye, his expression soft and sort of hopeful, lips quirked up in that boyish smile again. "If I promise you a refill on the way, d'you think you'd like to come dance with me? I promise I won't step on your toes. Or let anyone knock into you."

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C5 | Raven + Gabe

ilusao
2018-06-22 01:58 am UTC (link)

She bowed her head, grinning, but lifted it when he reminded her she’d have to wait to see whenever he had his bracelet off. “Right, of course,” Raven replied. “I guess we have a plan for whenever they clue into taking this junk off of you.”

Listening to him, she couldn’t help but wonder what some of the people already in Limbo would do with a power such as his. Maybe it sounded big-headed to him, but Raven just thought of how much this place – and all others like it – had lucked out. If Gabe had been more malicious, or had planned it out before getting cuffed, he could have, potentially, blinked these places out of existence.

There were more than a few people around here who would have gladly gone ahead with that without a second thought.

“Wait,” she interrupted, suddenly perking up. “We have someone famous around here? How did I miss that?” Goldie. She’d have to remember to track her down.

He squeezed her hand in solidarity and it was a comfort. She offered him a small, gentle smile. “So it does.”

The offer to get out and dance was an amusing one. Raven didn’t lack much confidence, but she didn’t tend to dance too much – not even back at her high school dances, which she always attended with Dove and some poor boys who couldn’t hope to keep up with them.

But oh – why not? “Sure,” she nodded, sitting up a little straighter. “As long as there’s a rum and coke on the way, I don’t see why I can’t subject you to me stepping on your toes.”

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