001 ┼ THE SUN MACHINE IS COMING DOWN

[stylistic_disloyalty]

WHO: Luci, a bunch of rule-breaking and raucous young people, and you!
WHERE: Church of the Morningstar, Miami
WHEN: Early morning of September 10th
WHAT: Don't call it a comeback.
WARNINGS: Mild violence, probably drug use, maybe sexual content, idek it's one of these crazy god-concerts that happen, who knows.

[It could just be vandals, but the noise seems excessive for your run-of-the-mill teenagers with spraypaint. There are some massive explosions coming from the Church of the Morningstar at around four in the morning, but who's really around to hear them? Who's running around a church at four A.M. when there could be much better things to engage in, more lively places to be?]

[The neighbors are around, of course, when all the fire trucks roll up to deal with the damage. And when they get there, it looks like the place has been totally gutted by... something. The next day, the place is covered in posters that read “CONDEMNED”. Sounds like the good ol' Morningstar has seen her last service.]

[Word goes around that there's going to be a final vigil at the church before the building is inevitably torn down. Two in the morning, just so nobody important would come to bust up what would be a very important and very solemn occasion. Sure enough, there's a pretty fair crowd that gathers even that early in the morning, holding candles and gathering in small groups to talk about the things that they'd seen and done in this building, speculate about what happened to the inside-- which is still trashed as all get out, but most of the debris seems to have been pushed away to the walls. Fortunate, because it made enough room for everyone to gather in the main church-- standing room only.]

[At exactly three AM, the doors to the church burst open, and there's a commotion as some people dart away and look for a place to scatter to. But it's just one firefighter-- in full regalia, and it barely casts a look around at the crowd before walking straight down the center of the crowd. It parts as they pass through, some people looking unsure of whether or not they should run, others rooted to the spot and watching.]

Stunning. There's nothing inside this place, and here you are trying to make it mean something. [Is that voice coming from the firefighter? Because the helmet would muffle some of that, and it comes through everywhere almost. From the walls.] Didn't you see the signs on the door?

How long are you going to cling to those last threads of what's safe, what's comfortable-- good ol' memories that keep us afloat and get us through one day at a time. Some would call that strong, some call it 'waiting for better days'. You know what I think?

[The firefighter extends their arms up and out, and the suit starts melting off of them. Out of the shell of acrid, burning plastic and kevlar, white-suited and pristine Lucifer stands at the front of the church, illuminated in a column of light from a rig that seems to have appeared while the crowd was focused on the burning firefighter. The crowd is suddenly whipped into a frenzy as the object of their worship, gone for months, has suddenly appeared back in her house. Lucifer soaks it up and mounts the split alter and extends a hand over her mass.]

I think that makes you all condemned! [The crowd loves this-- and for those who did their homework, the lack of record about the church actually being condemned finally makes sense. Meanwhile, the music starts and the crowd is pressing forward in one of Lucifer's characteristic frenzied, wild audiences.]

What matters most is how well you walk through fire! Blow those fucking candles out, time to march forward!!

[THE CONCERT]

[Luci's performance is wicked, loud, and powerful. Arms are thrown in the air, people are screaming at the top of their lungs, climbing onto each other's shoulders, getting into fistfights, and all manner of rebellious youth activities. The whole crowd seems really into it, and Luci even moreso. She sings like she wants her voice to give out, like she's desperate to convey her own sense of frustration and the rebellion that's born from that. She has more to sing about than before-- because suddenly she's found herself brought back to life in a place she's never been in with people who seem to think they know how she's supposed to behave.]

[She's going to blow them away.]

((OOC: Check this out for info on Luci's singing/performances and how your character might or might not be affected!))



[THE AFTERMATH]

[The whole performance lasts about an hour, but it sounds like Luci's voice can go even further. Plenty of people have just passed out, or are laying in some kind of disturbingly blissed-out state against walls, against other people-- it's like they ran forty miles and then just fell over. Others are actively pumped, milling around, sharing all kinds of energies, drug-related paraphernalia, and fluids. It seems that Luci has disappeared for the moment, but sometimes there's a glimpse of a white suit from a balcony or a side hall. The god is definitely around, and watching.]

[But there's plenty of other people still milling around, waiting for dawn to come. When they'll... go home, probably...? At five in the morning? Good luck figuring that out.]



((Open mingle log! Luci will pop in and out, she does love herself a good crowdsurf.))

Comments

The Devil Herself

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[The Aftermath]

[A]

[After the concert, Luci is riding a serious high and doesn't want it to stop. This is the most alive she's felt since (ha) being dead, and she intends to party until the sun comes up--and goes back down again. Where does she have to be? Nowhere else.]

[Occasionally she'll mill around the crowd, singing little snatches of the ambient music meant to keep the party going into the ears of the unsuspecting, or the ones she's interested in. It's always a thrill to make someone's knees buckle.]

[B]

[And of course there's a VIP section, it wouldn't be a concert without some kind of VIP section. It's a bunch of couches all shoved together with a couple bouncers separating Luci from her fans. But she's never been one to stick with her security, and anyone who looks interesting may be invited into what is (admittedly) a pretty shitty looking inner sanctum as far as these things go. But the remodel is clearly in progress, so sue her.]

[C]

[Or just, you know, choose your own adventure. She's up for it, always is.]

[pummelgranite]

[ It's the very instant that Luci's done singing and left the stage that there's some kind of Commotion with security. Surely nothing that can't wait until she's caught her breath for at least a moment...

Well, no such luck. Whatever it is has barreled right through security and is grabbing her by her nice, white, slightly sweat-soaked lapels to shove up against the nearest fucking wall.

It's Persephone. Hi, Persephone. ]

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Admittedly, Luci just poured a lot of herself out onto that stage and into that crowd. The Commotion seems pretty par for the course, but Luci's never been jumped by a god after one of her gigs. It's pretty fun, actually. Persephone barrels right into Luci and she goes up against the wall like Luci's a nail into drywall. It's disorienting for a second, but nobody misses that shock of teal hair for long-- and Luci grins. Persephone could snap her like a twig right now, and it's so hot.]

Remember Brixton? [Luci knows what Persephone wants-- she wants another hit, right? And Luci's singing right into her face now.] Terrible time, boring time, I could still walk to the car.

[pummelgranite]

[ It's a specific sensation, isn't it? Knowing that one has weathered something that would leave any mortal a mess of internal bleeding and agony but now it's just so much foreplay. She pulls in a deep, sharp inhale. Wonders if she can get a nicotine buzz off of brimstone. ]

That's what you get for playing with the mortals.

[ And then, unfortunately, it's time for Lucifer to shut the fuck up because Persephone needs to kiss her immediately with no time to waste. Also she needs to grip Lucifer's chin tight enough to bruise. ]

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[She's so bad at shutting the fuck up, but being kissed like she's being smothered is pretty effective. Luci isn't gentle at all, despite being weakened from the performance, and introduces her teeth into the mix without much preamble at all. They're both riding a high, it's just one of them happens to be a little more depleted than the other.]

[Eventually Luci does need to breathe, and she curls her fingers into Persephone's hair and tugs, trying to direct the other to her ear, neck, jaw, somewhere so she can breathe. And talk-- just a little.]

You were one of those mortals. [She grins.] So maybe you have a point.

OTA

[pummelgranite]

Concert

Persephone's almost a different person while Luci sings. certainly, she's a different person from Laura. She doesn't scream with the crowds anymore. She doesn't throw her arms in the air or grab at Luci or throw the horns. But make no mistake: she's no less moved than the first time she heard it. It burns away the fog of her grief. It's like a line of coke. It's like the best head she's ever gotten. It's both. It's better. She's better because she's listening to it.


For the first few songs she breathless, almost collapsing if not for Inanna holding her up. But then she catches Luci's eyes, and it's not just the fog that's burned away. It's every weight. She's still dust and ash, but billowed into the sky by the heat of the devil's song. She pushes into the crowd, slamming and dancing with all of them. Here she slides up beside a whisp of a girl (pig tails, Inanna's star on her eye. does her mother know where she is?) The girl shakes like a leaf only briefly before fainting and is passed unceremoniously to a security guard, while Persephone dances off to find a linebacker to grab by the dick. He also faints.

She's having a Good Time.

Aftermath

Obviously her ass is in the VIP lounge. By now she is sloppy drunk, sprawled out on a couch, and only willing to be out of physical contact with Lucifer if a suitably attractive replacement is presented to her.

"Nuh uh. No. Not- not with that haircut-" she shoos someone off and tightens her grip around the devil's waist.

Yuri | OTA

[beautiful_monster]

THE CONCERT

[Yuri's heard of these strange singing gods before. Viktor and Yuuri have both been close to a few of them during their time here, and Yuri had been friends with Persephone's stepson at one point. It left him aware enough to know something of the effect their song could have on people, but there's a stark difference between knowing the facts of something and truly experiencing it.

Lucifer's voice crashes into him like an icy wave. It leaves him gasping in the first moments, eyes wide and breath catching in his throat. It's strange. He's always struggled towards expressing himself; always determined to set his own boundaries and carve out his own path in spite of what he might be told. It'd just never felt so right. The next few moments leave him laughing helplessly, the sound strangely manic. He's suddenly filled with energy and a need to—to do something. To race off after Adachi and land a punch in his face, to shout at the first cop he can find, to get into a fight with the first person that crosses his path—

Well, if he can't get any of those things there's always a mosh pit. It's probably best to hope not to get in his way someone knows him especially well unless, of course, someone actually wants a fight.]


AFTERMATH

[Yuri looks positively thrilled now that the overwhelming rush of Luci's divinity is fading away. He's sporting a cut lip and a healthy scattering of bruises after his time in the mosh pit, and he wears them like badges of honor. The drugs and liquor making their way around the after party don't hold his interest at all, but he can be spotted at small clusters here and there bragging about a scrape or comparing bruises to see who earned the bigger mark from the show.

And, as he steps away from those clusters and catches sight of other imPorts in his periphery he reaches out with an almost trembling hand. It's hard to tell if it's exhaustion creeping in or that lingering near frantic energy surfacing again.]

Hey! Fucking amazing show, right?

Aftermath

[stylistic_disloyalty]

Hey thanks.

[Luci comes up from behind him, out of his blind spot. Apparently she's decided to walk the floor for a bit, but in her white suit she's not terribly incognito. Several people have noticed and are pointing and debating if they should approach, but Luci's eyes are on the kid who's bleeding at the mouth.]

You had fun. [She wholeheartedly approves.]

Re: Aftermath

[beautiful_monster]

[There goes his breath catching in his throat again, a ridiculous and clearly off-guard grin plastered on his face. It's so infrequent that he gets to meet someone who leaves him feeling so star struck, but how can he not after a performance like that? This girl had all but called the morning star itself down to sing rebellion and freedom into him. Starstruck was all he could be.

Even so, he manages to stammer out a dazed response after just a half-beat too long of a pause.]

Ah—yeah. Yeah, it was awesome. Who the hell wouldn't have fun?

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Hey, she's used to it. She'd be offended if he didn't look a little shocked that she's standing less than ten feet away from him. During the beat, her grin widens, like she's enjoying his floundering. And make no mistake-- she is.]

I could name a few, but let's not speak ill of the dead-from-the-waist-down. [She jerks her head, indicating he should follow her.] Come on. Before somebody wants me to sign something.

[beautiful_monster]

[Yuri gapes like a helpless idiot for a beat, not quite able to believe she's asking him to follow her. Maybe it shouldn't be such a shock, but he's still so wound up from the energy of the performance that it feels his wildest dreams coming true all at once.

He comes to life all at once and hurries to follow her, breaking out in another of those bright grins.]

Yeah—sure! Where are we going?

concert;

[lempereur]

[ It's like summoning his Persona for the first time. It's all righteous fury and and debilitating pain and the incredible high of adrenaline from that initial rip of the mask, bloody fingers meeting snow white ceramic and ripping the skin from his flesh. It feels good.

Good like his blood running cold as ice, like crawling to the end of a palace by the skin of his teeth, good like the screams of demons and the tears of abusive adults who were only sorry because he made them sorry. The music makes Yusuke feel uplifted, powerful, overwhelmed with the urge to do everything at once, throw it all at the wall and see what breaks. It's like fighting god all over again, the supposedly all-powerful monument to vanity, whose fatal mistake was thinking he could be controlled.

That feeling of hightened determination, of channeled, divine rage and endless energy with which to carry it out, does not exist in this world. At least, that's what Yusuke thought, until Yuri brought him here to let the music strike his soul, critical hit. He doesn't mind getting jostled around and pushed through the crowd of screaming people, all in their own world of fiery rebellion just like he is. He doesn't even mind catching a few sharp elbows and balled fists, his brow, his nose, his ribs - all any of them want is just to be heard. He screams into Yuri's ear, the only way he could possible hear Yusuke in the crowd. ]

Let's do something stupid!

[beautiful_monster]

[Yuri looks up at him with that too-delighted grin, blood trickling from the split in his lip and down his chin. Recognition filters its way through the adrenaline rush of a song, and something in his expressions softens—just barely.

He reaches out on impulse to grab for Yusuke, pulling him closer and hooking an arm around his waist. There really had been too much space between them, but this felt better. More right. And wasn't doing what felt best the entire point of tonight? Okay, well, maybe it hadn't started that way, but it sure felt like the point now, and that was all that mattered.]

How stupid do you want to go?

[lempereur]

[ It does feel right. He can't ever deny Yuri's impulses, he's got too much fire in him for Yusuke to do anything but endure that hot, melting sensation every time. That energy is what draws him in, and they're both filled with so much of it they could burst, and it makes Yuri look more beautiful than the thief has ever seen him, even with the blood trickling down his chin. Especially? Maybe it's that, or the way the other boy looks at him, or maybe it's just divine inspiration, but he is hot as hell to him right now.

Yusuke wipes his thumb over the blood on chin, and it's about to go a lot further before they're shoved by someone in the crowd, distracting him just enough to answer with words. ]

As stupid as you can handle. I want to touch you, I want to break something, I want to make people furious.

[beautiful_monster]

[There's a moment where it feels like time has stopped, like Yusuke's the only thing in the world that matters. At least, he is until the other concert-goer jostles them and the heated gaze and moment are shattered. Yuri turns on the perpetrator with a snarl, but they're already too far away for him to do anything by the time he picks them out of the crowd. Not worth his time.

He turns back to Yusuke in time to catch his words, cheeks immediately flushing brightly.]

Fuck, I'd love all of that. I want you— [He cuts himself off (or maybe that was a complete thought?) and licks his lips.] We can break something. Someone's windows. What's left of this church. Whatever you want.

magnus chase ✺ OTA

[fehus]

[ POST-CONCERT ]

[did you party a little too hard? probably, because Luci's concerts are nuts. if you're in the recovery tent, whether you're taking up bedpsace, getting your busted nose looked at, or just coming to grab some water and hydrate, you might then come up against Magnus. he's... looking a little out of place, amongst all these HXC looking teens. he's a fairly calm looking blond guy in a black hoodie and green flannel, wearing a comically shitty piece of paper taped around his arm, with a sharpie red cross scribbled on it. he's the volunteer nurse, apparently, for anybody who might need a little extra help recovering. he moves through the room of depleted and busted teens with grins on their faces, hands glowing as he heals, restores energy, or merely gives a high-five. it was an insanely fun (liberating, freeing, incredible, uplifting, hope-giving, fuck-Ragnaroking) concert, and he got pretty intense in it, too -- not that you'd know it, looking at him. he looks like he just woke up fresh out of bed. but you might have seen him earlier, looking like a real metal-head with his long hair whipping, thrilled, dancing, laughing in the crowd]

[if you get near him now, he'll finish up what he's doing and turn a distracted, crooked kind of smile, asking]

Hey, do you need help?

[Nurse Chase is here]

[pummelgranite]

[ She carried a girl in, but then the girl woke up and is just crying too hard to let go of her arm. ]

Uh huh.

[fehus]

Wh -- whoah.

[Magnus tries to get a look at her, but she's burying her face in Persephone's stronk bicep. he frowns, looking her over for an injury first before charging up his healy sunshine powers]

Do you know if she's hurt, or just upset?

[it matters. it's two different treatment plans]

[pummelgranite]

[ Through her sobs and sniffles and hysterics, the girl manages to bleat out "I'm not hurt, I'm in love."

Persephone gestures awkwardly. ]

[fehus]

Oh. Um.

[Magnus directs his next question to the weepy bundle of hair. he makes a silent motion at Persephone, where he points at his eyes, and then points at the girl. he needs to see her eyes]

With, Persephone...?

I WANT MORE GOD DAMN LUCI THREADS

[pummelgranite]

[ Stupid asshole Batman. Stupid genuinely compassionate Magnus. Not-stupid-but-very-emotionally-draining weeping fangirl. She semi-storms out of the healing tent, with the stupid sunshine boy's completely awful feelings of peace and gentle glow of true wellness still clinging to her. Somehow she manages to find a grimy corner by some dumpsters, and puts nicotine and alcohol into her body with all due haste.

Persephone came to this concert to have a good time and she is feeling so much genuine emotion right now. ]

FIST POUNDING ALWAYS WORKS

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Luci sleeps with a lot of people and forgets their name the next day, and she likes it that way-- sometimes. Persephone... well. Mind-blowing sex aside, Luci would be remiss to forget the way Laura had just refused to let Luci's pushing work. Annoying at first, but... at the end? It was all she'd had.]

[She's still basking in the afterglow, and anybody who tries to get close to her gets a face full of song and passes out. Everybody gets what they want that way: the fan gets some ecstasy and Luci gets to feel attached for once.]

[Her eyes go straight to Persephone making a beeline away and out, and Luci frowns. The party was far from over, and surely she wasn't leaving Luci's debut so early... Luci really can't stand for that. She goes around the back and spots the other god crouched behind a dumpster, and Luci just watches from the fire escape for a while, finally sitting down and letting her legs dangle through the bars.]

I appreciate you not filling up the place with sulk, but dumpsters? Really?

[pummelgranite]

Luci-!?

[She startles and hurridly stubs the cigarette out as if it was her mum whod snuck up on her and not Actually Satan. Smooth. ]

Shouldn't you be- uhm, be with your fans?

[stylistic_disloyalty]

[Luci gives her a look, appraising and long, thinking about something or maybe trying to read Persephone's mind. She loses patience trying to do that, so she just does what she does best and cuts to the chase.]

Yes, that's why I'm here. [She puts her hands on the bars and rests her head between them.] I don't hang around where I'm not needed. [No doubt Luci's fans wanted her there, and she could have all of them on their knees begging her to bless them with a word, but that was temporary. This... fuck. Could this be more lasting?]

[pummelgranite]

[ Her heart hammers under Luci's scrutiny. Over the weeks and months, and even years now since that day, she's been learning to live without Lucifer. She gets better at it all the time. But still, there's no comparing to how alive she feels when the Devil Herself is looking at her.

Still, she could really do to reclaim some facsimile of cool here. So she pulls out another cigarette, tilts her head back to look up, and then tosses the pack. ]

They'd probably argue with you about need.