[OPEN] - the girl at the rock show

[pummelgranite]

WHO: probably around a couple hundred people, maybe you?
WHERE: Maurtia Falls, a little venue that is more underground literally, than underground in the normal sense of a music venue
WHEN: Sunday, September 18th Doors at 7, show at 7:30
WHAT: A rock show? A Bacchanalia? A Holy mass? Persephone's first "real" concert
WARNINGS: underaged drinking, possibility of violence, mentions of trauma/ptsd/depression likely, inappropriate/insufferably pretentious use of religious iconography, spooky scary skeletons


((OOC: Top levels going up shortly but feel free to have your own as well. Also feel free to action tag instead of prose, starters are just that way for convenience.))

Comments

[ Preshow - Open ]

[pummelgranite]

[ The crowd outside seems maybe a touch too wholesome and nerdy for the normal Maurtia scene, as imPort fandom tended to be. But there’s also plenty of local music fans, willing to give up a little cash and a Sunday night to see what all the hubbub is about.

General admission is all ages, but the “balcony” (which is only a bit below street level) has a number of well-stocked bars attended by various good natured faces full of metal. The music over the speakers is an eclectic mix of local industrial, hip-hop, and prog metal. It’s loud, but not so much that conversation isn’t possible. ]

Open

[heckblazer]

[ When it comes to the music biz, Constantine is rusty. Quite rusty. But his enthusiasm actually kind of makes up for it. He might not be as well-connected as some of Peresphone's other pals, but he's taking his job seriously all the same, and almost seems... happy? If you look at him closely, a man like him being happy is a frightening thing. But nobody is there to look at him, not really.

He busies himself around various venue operations to make sure things are going right. Badgering the front door people about tickets. Making sure the bars are well-stocked. Chatting up the tech guys to check the sound and lighting cues. Is this all unnaturally, freakishly adult-like of him? Perhaps, but he'd sock you for calling him on it. He might even admit to himself - later, after many drinks - that he's trying to make sure this girl doesn't make the arse of herself that he did, back in the days when he had his own rock star delusions. ]

HI :T

[redhott]

[ Kyle's been looking around too like a busy body, checking the bars to see what's there. ]

Please tell me she stocked something non-alcoholic.

[ And did she get enough water for everyone? ]

[beneathbluerafters]

[ Ok, so on one hand, Klarion's never been to a concert before, let alone a heavy duty rock show. On the other hand, the crowd outside the concert venue is spilling out onto the sidewalk, and that's enough to make him curious about what's going on inside.

He isn't going to let a big lineup stop him from satisfying his curiousity either, so guess who's just bypassing security by teleporting inside with his cat and having a look around? This guyyyyy.]

[ Green Room - Open to Persephone's CR ]

[pummelgranite]

[ She’s not nervous, but she is agitated. She’s been pacing like a caged tiger all day- popping in and out of the green room for prolonged chain smoking sessions, and coming back smelling faintly of sulfur instead of tobacco. A few drinks and she’s calmed down a bit, but still drumming her nails and changing her outfit over and over and over (a magical act which leaves the floor more and more littered with dead rose petals every time). ]


What time is it?

[abandon_hope]

[ Nico meanwhile has been putting the finishing touches on his skeletons. They all have jaunty bow ties this time around, and he's gathered up some of the petals for decoration too. ]

About seven. I think I hear people out there.

[pummelgranite]

They don't mind getting decorated? Maybe we should get 'em more shit next time. Chains or more flower or whatever.

[brushoff]

[ During one of those chain smoking sessions, surprise, it's Dorian who's also here early to make sure everything goes right and do fun little club promoter stuff because spoiler alert, this is the first gig that he's booked that wasn't his own so let's make sure everything goes right.

Not that he expects things to go wrong, of course. But Dorian likes seeming more capable and put-together than he actually is.

Seeming capable doesn't stop smoke breaks, though. He's rummaging through his suitjacket pocket when he spots Persephone, giving her a small little smile in the process. ]

Got a light?

[pummelgranite]

Uh huh.


[ Snaps! Cigarette lit! Hopefully he got it out of his pocket before this, but possibly not. ]

[ The Show Itself - Open. Yes. ]

[pummelgranite]

[ She comes out surprisingly promptly. The Look she settled on was a tight crimson body suit, covered in a chainmale gown. Rose buds and flakes of gold and small animal bones have been woven into her hair. She’s followed by three male and three female human skeletons. ]


Hey Maurtia Falls. Welcome to Hell.


[ Is all she says before she starts singing. And she’ll keep singing for three solid hours, not stopping to speak, or drink, or even catch her breath- barely even pausing between songs. Whatever happens in her audience won’t stop her, or perhaps it doesn’t even register.

Behind her, the skeletons keep inhumanly insync- all their movements perfectly orchestrated. The choreography? Well, that’s a little uninspired, but damn are they working it.

At one point, Persephone reaches into a basked on the stage and produces a huge, ripe pomegranate. She holds it above her like communion bread and breaks it open, the red juice running down her arms and staining her suit darker. This song’s verses are rapped- so as she spits fire in gibberish tongues, she’s also throwing fistfulls of seeds out to the audience, and up into the drinking crowd above. ]

BOYSCOUT FREAK OUT (cw: sexual abuse)!!

[redhott]

[ At first the music is just simply loud, like, really loud. It hurts his ears, and he starts looking around at the setup to see if anyone's going to fix the speakers or something. No one seems to be rushing, and it doesn't seem to be affecting everyone. Many are already in the swing of the music, rushing toward the stage with their own cheers. But nothing they collectively say can drown out Persephone.

For metal(?), it's captivating in a weird way. It's almost something to dislike in how guttural and raw her lyrics are, but he doesn't want to leave. Her message is everything he wants to hear, even though it hurts. Even though at times he has to put his head down and close his eyes. It doesn't stop anything—Frankly, it makes him tear up harder—but it's all too powerful to stand up to directly.

He feels naked, like her words are stripping him down and keeping him tethered in place. It reminds him of how he felt on his eighteenth birthday, at night, when someone he thought loved him betrayed his trust and violated his naivete. He can see his demon father clearly in his mind's eye touching him. That kind of creature is inside of him, he can tell, turning Kyle into itself. Maybe he can only imagine it mentally, but to everyone around him it is happening physically, too.

His eyes are flaming bright white from the Hellfire inside him. Kyle's fair skin is turning hard and red, thick black bone growing through it to form horns. Then, in a final dramatic flair to match Persephone's vocals, his shirt is ripped by a pair of leathery black wings that push the crowd around him to the fringes. ]

Re: BOYSCOUT FREAK OUT (cw: sexual abuse)!!

[pummelgranite]

[ It feels like she's looking right at him, singing right for him.


Sympathy, with his betrayal. Courage for his fear and loneliness. Yes, this is hell. Yes, it is unbearable. But he will survive it. He is stronger than Hell. More powerful. More alive. Madder, hotter. And, if he's so inclined, he can be much, much more dangerous. ]

[heckblazer]

[ Shit.

From the balcony John watches, screaming internally, and probably externally as well - he can't hear himself or feel most of his functions. He had to stay back from the stage in order to actually do this job during the show, considering the effect the girl's music still had on him. It still leaves him numb, and takes most of his mental energy to not let flashbacks and euphoria suck him into their maelstrom.

He's just about the worst person to run a risk analysis, but damn it, he tries. Is anyone or anything on fire that shouldn't be? Does he need to attempt an exorcism? Should he just get over himself and let it happen?

Still, it is kind of bragging rights that the first concert he has any part in in decades and a bonafide demon shows up. ]

[ Post Show pt A]

[pummelgranite]

[ When she’s finally, finally through her last song she just takes one deep breath in the silence. Then, before anyone has time to get their wits together enough to start cheering, she stalks off the stage followed by her backup, and not even hysteric howls for an encore will get her back out.


She doesn't even make it back to the green room before she leans heavily against a wall, covering her face with one hand. ]

[heckblazer]

[ He approaches slowly - knowing better than to make sudden movements around an agitated being of otherworldly origin. His tongue pokes around his teeth, trying to push out the stuck bits of pomegranate seed he's been snacking on. His hands are occupied in a slow clap, his feet shuffling through swathes of dead flower petals on the floor. ]

That wasn't bad, lamb.

[pummelgranite]

[ She turns slow as well, rolling her head bit by bit to look over to him. But she looks calm- well, much calmer than she was before the show. A little less moments-away-from snapping than her normal day-to-day look. ]


Uh huh. No shit.

[ AFTER PARTY open if you believe in urself ]

[pummelgranite]

[ Well, it's not like one of Baal's decadent balls, or Lucifer's coke-fueled orgies, or even Inanna's orgy-fueled orgies. In fact it's not an orgy at all.


But it is getting shitfaced in the wood!


Persephone had transported her entourage via her vines- they had emerged into the pitch black of her underworld-in-progress. As they'd finally stumbled up by the light of their cell phones surprise surprise a fan or two had managed to track the place down and were already drinking and playing their music loudly. So, fuck it! Party time! ]

Re: [ AFTER PARTY open if you believe in urself ]

[pummelgranite]

[ PERSEPHONE HERSELF, after commandeering some poor bastard's phone and seeing to the playlist personally, has committed herself to consuming as many Mark's Hard Lemon Beverages as possible.


That, and some mother fucking dancing. She looks uncharacteristically happy, grinding up on every girl, boy, or otherwise in turn. ]

[neverdied]

[Jack is definitely not dancing. He's just kind of... there, as is so often the case with him.

He doesn't get too involved, doesn't really look to be enjoying himself or hating it, just remains an anchor of impassiveness throughout the entire show and now the after party.

No drinking, no smoking, no drugs, no dancing, no smiling. This guy sure is a party animal, lingering off to the side and staring at people, especially Persephone and her grinding. Kids these days. :|]

Dance with the Devil | OTA

[redhott]

[ Kyle has never done illegal drugs. He's a good citizen and an outstanding hero. So it's all guess work at this point, but he's pretty sure this must be what being high feels like, and why users keep running back to it.

If he has to call it something, he'd say cathartic; that's how it seems. All his pain still feels fresh, but washed away some, like he's cried it out and all that's left is a tired husk. A tired husk still ready to rock, though! Even if a stiff wind could topple him over. It's an odd juxtaposition to be sure. Sober Kyle is not much of a club rat, or a dancer, but the way he's feeling now he has the confidence to do just that. Hope you don't mind red skin and horns, though. ]

Re: Dance with the Devil | OTA

[pummelgranite]

[ SHE ABSOLUTELY DOESN'T MIND THAT. In fact has only been the more endeared. She'll leave some room for Jesus between them, but she's definitely not going to leave him to dance alone. ]


I can't believe you were holding out on me!

[abandon_hope]

[ The red skin and horns are different. But a lot more makes sense in light of that. And - most importantly, Nico is not really digging this whole party thing, especially not the dancing and the drugs. So he drifts closer to Kyle out of sheer survival instincts. (It's a weird thing when the demon is one of the more familiar things in the room.) ]

Kyle? Is that you?

Dancing is better while high? | ota

[helladoomed]

[The concert had been exactly what Chloe had been itching for lately. Loud, awesome rock music, dancing, throwing herself around, just...moving again. Something she hadn't really done since before she'd been brought ported in. Since before she'd reunited with Max, honestly.]

[She hadn't had quite the same experience as some of the other people there, judging from the way they'd lost themselves, but she'd had a blast. So when she'd gotten the text from Persephone about the after party (huh...) she'd immediately wanted to go. She was pretty sure she shouldn't, if she were being honest with herself. But...hell. Screw it. What's the worst that could happen?]

[She wasn't expecting quite this dark a place when she showed up, though, but the phones were helping to...enhance the mood, somehow? It had seriously been forever since she'd been to something like this.]

[She pulled a joint out of nothingness and lit it, popping it between her lips and taking a puff as she headed into the crowd, grinning to herself. Okay...dancing first. And second. Maybe third too...]

Re: Dancing is better while high? | ota

[pummelgranite]

[ She'd been looking out for her- the girl had caught her attention for sure sure first time they spoke. When she's sure she sees her for sure, she dances over. ]


Hey~ you made it.

best babysitter ever / ota

[heckblazer]

[ John had no doubt about it now. This was a new circle of hell made especially just for him. The government porting him here was a bloody ruse and he was stuck chaperoning a gaggle of bloody superpowered teenagers indefinitely as punishment for his countless sins.

He probably should be keeping a closer eye on the 18-odd-year-olds with booze and party drugs. Probably. But, they were mostly meta-humans, which usually meant superior constitution. So the odds of any lasting damage were lower. Last thing these punks needed was some old fart breathing down their necks. Which is why Constantine is content to lean against a far wall, beer in hand. ]