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Meg Meg snatches the stage plan and examines it closely. "So that amp goes there, drum kit there, put Eliza over there," she mutters. As the frogger slows she looks up from sees campus, jerking visibly, as if smacked. "Guh," she says, her scalp busily trying to figure out how to crawl off the top of her head. "Protect me, Julesie," she says, grasping his hand. Which might be a bad idea, since he's still parking at the moment. Konnie's popping open the back of the van and Meg hops out. "Way too soon, 'Liza," she says. "spider demons from time and space are /so/ much better than yuppies. Ugh." Meg's whole body shudders. "Be like that family reunion." Ten Years Earlier "Megan! Oh aren't you the most darling little thing!" "Hi Aunt Victoria." "Oh I could just eat you up!" "Do it. End this torture." "..." Now "We'd better sell boatloads of swag. And the boat," Meg says. She saddles up to the back of the van, taking her own guitar and amp and then jumping to super-speed, using knowledge gleaned from the map to take the first look. Once she's sure things are where expected, she can come back for the next load. Groan.
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Nov 18, 2014 01:07
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Sherry "See what I can do, Kon," Sherry replies blandly, fishing around for her smartphone. She was on the verge of getting a tablet once, when she realized that the things don't react to hair the way they do fingertips. Dreams of labour saved, shattered. Playing with Eliza's was a fun distraction from miles and miles of corn, though they had to lean together to watch the screen. "Skipping any Greek houses, unless there's strenuous objection. I don't feel like getting pawed at." Not that she's ever seemed to. "If there is, I'll camp out in the van." Spiders from beyond? Sherry looks over at Eliza. "If you find another one of those funnels, find out if they've got a line to David Bowie. An unexpected duet would knock the band into orbit."
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Nov 18, 2014 03:59
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Jules Sure, it might be more difficult to park the Frogger with Meg grabbing one of his hands in her own, but when you can use your brain to set it into reverse or move the steering wheel, it's not as difficult as it might otherwise be. "Konnie," he says, "Have you tried focusing on the road while you try and figure out how to sense police officers at the same time - before you can see them? It ain't easy." Jules hops out of the van, stretches. "And I'm not really the frat sort, either. Need a hand shifting anything, babe?" Jules asks Meg.
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Nov 19, 2014 13:56
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Konnie "Don't drive." Konnie shoots back, carrying more poo poo out the back of the Frogger. "Only dorks like you and my brother drive." Then she also looks over at Sherry. "Frat is somewhere below art gallery on the list of good places to party. But so long as I don't need to hand out more power counsellor cards I'm good for whatever."
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Nov 19, 2014 17:24
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Luckily for those with aversions to packed gropey frat house parties, there was nothing in the rider that Sherry signed that required the band to do anything but play the show they were currently setting up. If they wanted to, they could blow this town right after they got paid and make a night of it in Pittsburgh, or get an early start on the drive to the next gig and have an easy day tomorrow. As it is, the stage was laid out the way way it was promised to be, and between the combined powers of Meg and Jules, and maybe a light-as-a-feather type hex from Eliza (not to mention everyone's conventional lugging ability), the band is sound-checking in no time. This show would be smaller than the previous night's, but had potential to be a packed house and a sweaty dance party. And as Meg knew, nobody parties as hard or as obnoxiously as rich kids who feel invincible, like they have nothing to lose. Whether the band would make that work in their favor (and sell out the merch) remains to be seen. everyone have a fate point except Eliza who gets two!
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Nov 20, 2014 01:37
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Sherry "Just saying, I've heard Greek houses are the best place to find booze." By volume, maybe. "I'll take them off the list entirely." In a show of solidarity, Sherry drags a crate of cables out and starts carting it off toward the hall, though she moves with a wobbly gait with half her attention on her phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Sherry Walsh, Gypsy Widow's manager. Yes, we're here! Just completing setup now, yes. Lovely campus you've got here..." --- Woo, Fate points! Go Eliza! (Noted mine on the first page.)
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Nov 20, 2014 05:29
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Eliza As for Eliza, setup time is also costuming time; the fans would expect nothing less than for her to strut the stage in an ostentatious outfit... and that's an image she works to encourage. Fortunately, she does a lot of setup prep ahead of time. Currently, she's adding the final touches to a gothique rendition of The Queen of Hearts. Bunched up black hair, an off-kilter, exaggerated crown, puffy heart-ringed shoulders, a cleavage squeezing bodice, and a curtain hemline that leaves her stocking clad legs in full view. A couple of props, a stuffed white rabbit dressed as a butler and a violin bow tipped with a blood-red heart complete the look. When she emerges from the changing area, she's still chatting on, "Yeah, you remember that giant web of black thread consuming all the doodads and objects? The one Meg bumped into? I didn't say anything because I figured it was just going to get taken down after the fair anyway." She pauses, thoughtfully, "Actually, come to think of it, Meg might have averted a trans-dimensional incident when she bumped the lines out of phase." Really, it's hard to tell when she's being serious and when she's telling stories sometimes. ===== Eeee! I don't even know what I did to get it, but thanks! Drakli fucked around with this message at 07:18 on Nov 20, 2014 |
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Nov 20, 2014 07:14
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Konnie With other people doing the whole stage putting together, Konnie takes her time and starts some warm-ups. First, as always, was drinking a whole bottle of water. Important to a singer to keep the vocal cords lubricated, doubly so when you're actually some mythical water beast. Then she starts doing trills, going very quickly up and down the notes. Then she goes and holds a note for quite a while, tuning her bass as best she could to her own voice. Perfect pitch!!
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Nov 20, 2014 08:31
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Meg "Booze?" Meg asks, as she zips past Sherry again with her final load. "Where?" No, not here. Well then. Amp there and there, plug in there. Set up the stand over there. Meg pops back up next to Konnie, leaning in and rooting for cords in the bottom of her guitar bag. Taking a couple and looping them around her neck, she then swings her guitar on and strums a few chords, adjusting the tuning as she goes. Meg puts both feed solidly on the ground, apart and defiant and rattles off some warm up tunes.
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Nov 20, 2014 20:06
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Konnie "…they just turn their heads. Nobody helps him. Now he has his revenge…" Kon mutters, flicking at her G string trying to tune it just right. "Hey, should we just scrap the set list and do Sabbath covers for an hour? Not like these drunk fratfucks will give a poo poo."
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Nov 24, 2014 05:48
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Meg "I say we put Jules in a Freddy Mercury costume and make him lip sync," Meg suggests, blowing a kiss to her paramour. "Fickle it, let's just give 'em a set, mob Sher's merch table and get the gently caress out of here before I'm invited to the next meeting of the Ignorant Tightass Club." Meg blinks. "WE! We're invited, " she corrects herself.
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Nov 29, 2014 06:32
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Konnie The lead singer shrugs. "Sure Meg, sounds good to me." Twisting her head Eliza ways, she gives the demon a stern stare. "And no crazy keyboard solos."
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Nov 29, 2014 06:56
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Eliza Eliza ooohs and leans forward from her keyboard, grinning like the wicked queen she's dressed up to be, "Are we talking about fun new ways to humiliate Jules again? Because I've always wanted to dress him up as Criss the Catman from KISS!" She meets Konnie's mild rebuke with a stuck-out tongue, and then, plays a few bars of The Old Piano Rag on her keyboard, just out of sass for the sake of sass.
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Nov 29, 2014 07:32
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The auditorium begins to fill as the band finishes their sound check. Groups of guys in polo shirts and jeans, and girls in polo shirts and jeans and skirts. Given it's the beginning of Autumn, there are a fair share both t-shirts and cable knit sweaters as well. An energetic blonde girl in pink introduces herself as Melanie, the head of the student council events committee, and tells the band how excited the whole college is that Gypsy Widow is here. With about fifteen minutes before showtime, Melanie shows the band to their dressing room where the band waits before their stage call is more like an office with a big mirror and a bucket full of ice and cans of beer. The minutes fly away as the band goes over final changes to the set list and puts final touches on makeup, and fifteen minutes feels like five when the band hears Melanie on the microphone trying to warm up the crowd like a cheerleader at a pep rally. "Are you guys ready to rock!?!" Her voice carries back to the dressing room. So does modest (but existing, damnit) applause. Been out of the Country for a while (last post was from Iceland), then thanksgiving happened, back now. Showtime! Give me any relevant rolls you guys want to make to put on the show.
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Dec 4, 2014 21:17
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Konnie Melanie had to be younger than her. What the gently caress, she looked fifteen. A fifteen year old who just had her first wine cooler. And she was going to be the one deciding whether Widow made any fans or money here or left if they leave poo poo out of luck. Again. Konnie's urge to shout at Sherry again rose, bet she didn't even have the merch out yet, but such anger was always bad just before she had to go on. So Konnie cracks open one of the beers instead and chugs it. Even though it was Bud Light. Sooooo classy. This was usually the extent of her pre-show routine. Sometimes Meg or Eliza make her put on make up, but after she had done her vocals and drunk a bottle of water/weak as piss beer, she was good to go. Crushing the can and tossing it across the dressing room, Konnie claps her hands. Super loud. It was something she picked up, the best way to get attention was a big bang. Or clap. Same thing. "Let's class these dirtbags up, huh?" Konnie smiles, putting her game face on. "Eliza, put that strap on your violin." She points at the devil and her fiddle. "You're pulling double duty with strings and keys." The she turns to Jules and his sticks. "Just keep a steady rhythm, nice and in the background." Taking her bass off from around her neck, Kon nods at Meg. "Back up vocals." She tells her quite simply, propping her bass up just out on stage. "Let's hit it!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-M1AtrxztU +4 Forceful on Frontwoman for rallying the band and getting the show going!!!!
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Dec 5, 2014 01:29
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Meg Man, what a kid. Kind of reminds Meg of Meg at that age. Meg pauses her warmup long enough to ruffle Melanie's hair, getting a very put out reaction from the young woman, entirely ignored by Meg. With enough licks in, she disappears into a corner of the dressing room, behind a screen from which shakes and knocks and a few curse words come from. She finally emerges in a 'scandalous' leather dress and pink books she's been unable to lace up right. It's Jules who gets this duty. Instructions from Konnie just makes Meg roll her eyes and groan faintly. Yes, a 'don't up stage me' warning. Great. Pft. Before they go out, Meg pauses and tugs Jules to the side, running her fingers through his hair, giving him a look, then a big kiss. "HELLO PHILADELPHIA!" Meg screams when they go out on stage. Bears have to be poked. It's the law or something. +4 forceful on Power Chords! I'll be heading out in about a week, as a warning, so please feel free to sideline Meg, or NPC her as you see fit while I'm gone. With Meg, she'll likely just pass out somewhere.
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Dec 5, 2014 05:34
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Jules Jules is very careful with those laces. After all, if it's his duty, there'll only be one person to blame if Meg takes a nosedive into the stage during her energetic solo. With that done, there's a big kiss for luck before they head out on stage, and Jules settles into his position with the drum kit. Oh, and he tugs his shirt off, too. Yeah, those are some ridiculous gun tats that Konnie once told him were a great idea - but they help. He raises his hands and sticks as Meg yells out her welcome. He nods to Konnie - steady rhythm, nice and in the background. And so, that's what he sets out to do - hit it! +3 Careful on Tougher Than He Looks to get that rhythm going and not screw up!
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Dec 7, 2014 12:27
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Sherry Electrical's hooked up, tested out and gaffered down. Instruments are in tune and in place. Band isn't too drunk to perform, and the locals aren't being a pain in the rear end. Sure they cut it close, but the performance is going to be fantastic. Of course, that's only part of the equation. Sherry isn't wearing the sparkle-dress, but she still cuts a striking figure over by the merch and munch kiosks. The sweet spot for selling will be right after the performance, when everyone's pumped, a little tired, and not worrying about where they'd stash their new loot, but it can't hurt to prime them a little before the show. "Hey, everybody, welcome to history, don't forget to get your piece! We've got tees, hats, hoodies, CDs..." Sherry barks like a ringmistress, pausing to lift up a foam cylinder marked with the Gypsy Widow logo. "...Beer cozies? Who ordered beer cozies? Who uses beer cozies? I think my grandma used to knit these things!" Over her shoulder it goes, into a modest pile of the same. They tend to sell pretty well; a little irony goes a long way. --- Flashy +3 to draw attention to herself and the merch before and after the performance. This way to the great egress folks, right through the gift boutique!
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Dec 8, 2014 18:11
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After giving the band their marching orders, Konnie takes the stage and the rest of the band follows. "Let's hit it!" Her voice ricochets through the microphones and to her relief and satisfaction, the sound system sounds as good as it did during the sound check and her voice grabs the audience and pulls them in close. Once Meg starts playing behind her, she can see their looks go from disinterested to locked in, like they came for the cheap free booze, but might leave having discovered the band that's going to take over their iPods. After a couple nervy moments, Jules falls into a groove and keeps the beat moving forward, even getting daring and throwing a grace note in here and there. The band ends the first song to decent, maybe even hopeful (that the rest will be as good) applause. Now the band just has to hold that attention for the rest of the set. Sherry, meanwhile, has set right between the main doors and the booze. It's virtually impossible for these kids not to pass by the merch on the way in or out, and also when they're waiting in line for a re-fill. Sorry once again for slow posting. Slow and steady, like a glacier.
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Dec 16, 2014 08:07
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Konnie First song out of the way, and the audience seemed interested. Good first step. But there was more to a show than just the opening number. Hell, to the band it was more of a warm-up than anything. Now with vocals loosened, guitar strings hot, and the drummer in time with the actual beat; it was time to get into the set. To keep on with the keyboard heavy lighter rock style, they move into another of their spacey numbers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9XCpcm_7vw If her audience weren't drunk college idiots, they might just have the inkling that there was a slight theme running through these songs. Not just that they were less rock and more electro-somethingorrather. And as Konnie was the lead singer here, well, one could draw certain conclusions about her from them without much of an effort. But ever thankfully, she was playing to a crowd of drunken yahoos so that sort of thing wouldn't be a problem. And the band were always way too busy playing to pick up on little things like that. Totally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egUQju95vT8 But at some point it was time to just rock the gently caress out. Gypsy Widow has a range as much as any good band. They have originals and they can play some bitching covers. They can do your grungy pub rock and some more keyboard and violin heavy songs. But at the heart of everything, Gypsy Widow was rock. Konnie was a rocker. Meg was a rocker. Jules was… well… and Eliza kinda sorta… okay. Gypsy Widow was totally a rock band when Kon and Meg and Steph and Nat were jamming. Now the whole powers things was changing the band faster than it could really handle. But they were here and now and they had a crowd to impress and sell merch to. So it was totally time to rock the gently caress out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umeajkNL5Hw
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Dec 16, 2014 19:02
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Meg Crowd gets good and warmed up. Jules and Eliza, they're new elements, ones Meg still isn't quite sure how to deal with. Eliza's keyboards are a whole new sounds to play with. Jules...Jules has always had good rhythm with him, just not on stage. So step back, let Konnie take the lead, that seems like a good plan. Meg's workmanlike through the opening set, hitting the chords and letting keyboards and Konnie's voice carry the songs. For her it's a couple warmup laps, getting her fingers worked out for the heavier parts of the set. By the time they get to the guitar-heavier songs, Meg's twitching and itching and ready to get out there. Which she does, with gusto!
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Dec 28, 2014 05:08
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Jules Jules, for his part, plays steadily and without much fanfare. After all, it wouldn't do any good if he were to screw up and make a mistake. He keeps a bit of a drum beat going when required, throwing in one or two extra hits if it seems fitting, but, other than that, sticks to the songs as they are meant to be played. He leaves the showmanship up to Meg and Konnie. He tries to avoid relying too much on any of his powers to make his drumming work and instead relies on his sense of rhythm. It should work. And, besides, with this audience, it's not like they'd be particularly cognizant if something goes wrong. It's not like there's any big drum solos. Right?
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Jan 2, 2015 12:56
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Eliza is totally rock! She might not be grungy. She might not be heavy. But Eliza is totally Rock! She's that part of rock that bursts across metal album covers as if someone set off a secret bomb of bats, devils, dragons, and sexy sorceresses under the surface. She's that part of rock that says lace, and silk, and tiny, perky, top hats goes perfectly with dirges of gloom and doom. She's that part of rock that gave K.I.S.S. outrageous persona that straddled the way between superheroes and occult idols, that put red plastic pails on Devo's heads, and decided GWAR absolutely must have a dinosaur. She doesn't strut the stage, she glides it, the hem of her dress so long that no one can see that her toes don't touch the ground. Her "prosthetic" wings keep her adrift, as if the Red Queen of Wonderland was a vampire. She brandishes bow and violin like sacred totems as she skiffs in and out of the spotlight, and even on the keyboards, she grins like a maniac. She even gets the chance at least at one point, to cry out, "Off with their heads!" She's that part of Rock which is loving batshit crazy! And loving every crazy awesome moment of it. ==== Eliza uses [+3] flashy with Musician to rock the Casbah!
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Jan 7, 2015 09:44
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Those are energy domes, not pails, dagnabbit! Sherry "This? Thanks! Huh? Buckets of conditioner. I have a wok for hot oil treatments." Sherry talks while the others rock, eye out for officials or trouble. At least the band aren't the opening number this time. Keeping the next group from staging a battle royale of the bands had been pretty dicey. Still stationed by the merch and refreshments, she's pretty sure the co-ed admiring her hair isn't chatting her up. She's heard stories about college though.
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Jan 8, 2015 02:05
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Konnie The last song was always tricky. Do you keep people pumped and wanting more? Or do you bring it down a little and leave people feeling like tonight was exactly enough? Another factor was the crowd. This one, full of drunken college jerks, probably didn't deserve Widow's best set. Not even a little. So with something a little more down tempo, a little bit of a warm down, Gypsy Widow finished their set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwAd_ag9Q0E "Woooooo! Gypsy Widow!" Konnie hollers, taking her hands high above her head and clapping like mad. "You've been great, Pittsburg! Thank you and good night!"
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Jan 25, 2015 19:06
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Meg Meg swings her guitar around around and holds it up by the neck over her head. She pumps it in the air over and over again. In her mind they're chanting her name. Not so much in reality. That's okay, she still feels great!
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Jan 27, 2015 03:36
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The thought that Konnie put into the set paid off. The two more danceable, electronically influenced songs got the the crowd swaying with the music. After a long dramatic bridge courtesy of Eliza, one that conjured motown and brimstone simultaneously, the band gets back to their roots. Gypsy Widow is a rock band, and when they turned on the distortion, something changed. Konnie belted out the lyrics with more gusto, Meg's fingers approached supersonic speed, and the momentum they'd built up with more danceable stuff bloomed out from the stage and enveloped the whole crowd. They weren't moshing but they weren't far off, cheering as Eliza flew across the stage, Meg's fingers flew across her fretboards, and Konnie showed them rock wasn't dead. The guy chatting Sherry up has long since ditched his sweater, and his Polo shirt has sweated through to a smiley face. Splotches near each armpit and a semicircular line curving upward just under his ribs. Not a great look. She doesn't have to blow him off though, because the fact that Gyspy Widow's merch is going like it's on fire is doing that for her. It's a good problem to have, but it's hectic, and it's all she can do to keep up. The crowd cheers as Meg flourishes her guitar like a jRPG character that's just won a battle, Eliza does a similar twirl with her violin. But Konnie and Jules are both off stage before the last notes are done reverberating. They make their way to Sherry at the Merch hub. Off the stage, nobody pays them too much initial attention, not recognizing them without the spotlight. Melanie materializes next to them just before Meg and Eliza. "You guys were amazing! So rockin! I'm sooo glad we booked you. We're having an afterparty at the Gamma Psi house. People are going to start heading over there soon. You should toootallly come."
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Jan 27, 2015 20:45
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Konnie Basking in the crazy crowd cheers after the show was always something Konnie left up to Meg. She was just born to soak in all that post show crap. And apparently now Eliza, that spotlight stealing succubus slut. Konnie was more in the mind of 'let her singing do the talking'. She didn't need a bunch of drunk college idiots to know if she was good or not. Especially not from this school, these assholes probably didn't even know what good music sounded like until Widow blew their minds with the power of rock. And that wasn't even their best, most rockingest set! Dumping her bass and grabbing a bottle of water on her way off stage, Konnie has emptied the bottle by the time she and Jules got over to Sherry. All that singing and bouncing around on stage was thirsty work for a mythical water spirit! "You need to work on keeping the drat tempo." Konnie turns to Jules, popping the cap back on the bottle of water and chucking it in the direction of a garbage can. "You fell behind a couple times, I can't keep covering for you. I'm having enough trouble with that loving bass as it is." But she can't admonish Jules too much, because the nearly empty Sherry Sells Stuff Stall grabbed her attention. "Holy poo poo, what happened to the merch!?" She looks over to Sherry. "Were you giving away nickle bags or something?" But of course she wasn't because that kid who organised it came back out of nowhere!! "A house party?" She looks over to the rest of the band. "I don't know, don't think it's really our scene…" She begins, but after a few moments comes back. "…you guys doing a keg stand?"
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Jan 28, 2015 03:56
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Sherry Sherry needs assistants. Filthy ones, preferably. She's taking bills and making change fast enough that she's beginning to think she's the Rain Man, and there's an itchy urge to put her hair to good use. That's one of the things she misses about being back in New York: the life she's leading right now is just so public; there have been few moments where she's been able to make meaningful use of her strange talent, or not keep herself from doing so by accident. On the other hand, the band is busy and out of trouble. And drat, but the merch is moving! At this rate, she'll have to start pointing people toward the website and hope the buying impulse lingers. "Location!" Sherry grins at Konnie, hooking a thumb at the nearby refreshments kiosk. "And word of mic." That's with a tilt of her head toward the stage. Taking stock of the... stock, she leans up against a shelf and reaches over into a crate. "We even moved a bunch of those beer cozies. Huh!"
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Jan 30, 2015 02:28
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Jules Jules takes a moment to brush some of the sweat from his forehead, electing that discretion is the better part of valor. There only person who might get away with picking a fight with Konnie about the performance of the band is Meg. It's her area. Jules just gives her a nod, albeit a sincere one. He'll work on it. For now, though, he props himself up against a wall, scooping up a bottle of water, and basks in the mental noise of the crowd. He cracks open one eye at the mention of a house party. "If Konnie's going to do a keg stand," he says, "I think that's something I have to see." Glancing at Sherry, Jules says: "Man, we nailed that whole selling merch thing, hey? Nice work. It's looking like a decent gig so far."
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Feb 3, 2015 13:21
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Eliza Eliza, with that odd way she has of stretching into someone's frame of reference like a tv character leaning into frame, leans over towards Jules and says, "If Konnie does a keg stand, ain't nobody going to be standing afterwards." Then, with an audible swoosh, she zips out of Jules's frame and back to Meg and Melanie. She grins, looking at Meg and Mel and Konnie with bright eyes, "We're in, right? We in?"
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Feb 4, 2015 12:03
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Meg Meg does a couple steps and a turn, catching Melanie in a high-five. "Woo Mel!" she declares. "Kickin'! After party. Gamma Psi, do or die!" Because, after all, that rhymes. Something tickles the back of Meg's mind about it, a mind too amped up on adrenaline at the moment to place it. Whatever, she'll figure it out later. Meg snags a water bottle and starts chugging as she bounces through the backstage area. "Shut it, Kon, Jules did good work!" Which gets a butt-pat for the girl band's boy drummer. Meg disappears for a minute, distracted by something. "Better be a quarter at least!" Meg declares to Sherry. Good news, she's got two hands stuffed with beers, the necks stuck between her fingers and which she hands out slowly. "So in," Meg confirms to Eliza with a big grin.
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Feb 5, 2015 04:29
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Sherry The band's manager-slash-barker beams at Jules. "Even more public facing than I'm used to, but I'm happy! If we keep this up-- if you keep this up, that is. I'm not the one working my butt off on stage." Melanie appears. She and Sherry have e-mailed more than spoken, but she seems like a nice person. Bubbly. Infectiously so. Sherry smiles to her briefly, then turns to help a customer while the others 'deliberate' on attending the frat party. She... eh... if worse comes to worst, Sherry can beg off to do inventory. "I'm game, if the offer includes crew."
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Feb 13, 2015 02:09
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The band, having come to a consensus, accepts Melanie's invitation to the party. She tells them it's a short drive, and that they should follow her. She gestures at a red Porsche Cayenne. A few miles down a main road, turn down one darker residential street, then another, then another, before a final turn leads them onto a cul-de-sacced block. There are Mercedes, Range Rovers, Beamers, and some even nicer than that parked on the Curbs. The party is spilling out from it's epicenter, a multilevel wood-shingle house at the beginning of the cul-de-sac's curve. It looks like other houses are also hosting smaller satellite parties, but without knowing any of the frats, it's impossible to know which ones are. "You said you wanted to do a kegstand, right?" Melanie asks, appearing next to Konnie from nowhere. "Come on." A trio of intoxicated guys rushes past the group, who overhear a bit of their conversation: -that band was pretty cool. -yeah. -how much schneef do we have left? -not much. couple lines. -poo poo. -it's ok, JD's got molly. -oh, ok. had me worried for a second. Melanie leads the band into the house. She'd described the party as an afterparty, which wasn't accurate, because the place had the debauched, sticky-floored, litter strewn and empty bottled look of a party that's been going on for hours. Melanie weaves through the party with skill, a push here, a nudge there, or a 'hi, how are you?' without waiting for an answer. There are three kegs in the back yard. Two look to be for red cups and public consumption. A couple people are milling around those waiting for a chance to refill. The third keg has a crowd around it, and you can see sneakers poking up into the air from someone doing a kegstand. Melanie slides through the crowd and returns to Konnie a minute later. "You're up whenever you want. I'm going to go say Hi to some people, find me if you need anything!" Every once in a while, you feel the tell-tale pull of an unfamilar power, but it's like it was looking out over the crowd in Philadelphia. It's too hard to discern where exactly they are coming from in this crush of inebriation. Yet that doesn't necessarily stop you from looking, albeit unsuccessfully. ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ Some Time Later ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ The party's not over, but it's getting to that tired point of the night that outsiders are more noticeable than when the party is going full force. The next day is a designated travel day, with a show in Baltimore the following. It made more sense to go to Columbus or Cleveland, but when Sherry was planning the tour, Konnie made it clear she would not set foot in Ohio. The band's options from here were finding a nearby motel, calling it, and setting out tomorrow, or driving the hour and change back to Pittsburgh and looking for a nicer hotel in the city. Or just continuing their night in the Steel City. The Frogger, thankfully, is where the band left it. Jules pulls the frogger out of the cul-de-sac and takes the turn first turn to get back onto the main road. He's takes the second turn and immediately there's a Frogger-shaking impact against the front bumper of the car. The kind of heavy kind of thud that implies something bigger than a dog or a mailbox. From inside the car, you can't see what you hit. Jules can't get much of a read on it, either. Jules gets a Fate Point because man did he flub that roll.
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Feb 13, 2015 22:00
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God drat it, Jules.
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Feb 13, 2015 23:28
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Konnie These cars are probably worth more than the Kulik family house. By a few million dollars. Even if she wanted to try and hide it, the look of distain on Kon's face was loud and clear. Rich fuckers, all of them. Cruising their way through life. Never had to struggle, or eat leftover cabbage for days on end, or share your clothes with you older brother and younger sisters. And here was was, dancing on stage for their enjoyment. loving rich kids. But at least she was getting free beer out of it. That almost made up for all that. So focused on that keg, Konnie follows close behind Melanie. And in turn makes sure Meg is close behind her. She needed someone to hold her legs, and nothing bet the Meg and Kon team. They had plenty of practise at bigger parties than this. When they finally get to the backyard, Kon nods to acknowledge Melanie and waits patciently as the dweeb on the keg struggles to last even 30 seconds. It's not long before he coughs and splutters and has to be hauled off the thing. "Nice try, kid." Kon pats Mr. $200 pair of sneakers on the back as he sucks in heavy breaths, trying to recover from his (pitiful) keg stand attempt. With Meg at her side, Konnie swaggers up to the keg. She does a slow spin, looking at the crowd all around her. "Alright you trust fund babies. We are Gypsy Widow!" She shouts, immediatly putting herself on the bad side of the crowd. But she didn't care. She was here to prove a point. A point that she and Meg rocked. "And this is how a fuckin' profession does a keg stand!" Clever : Signature Power Sublimation Robodog: Robodog: !r 4df+3 [6:45pm] Robodog: [6:45pm] Krysmbot: Robodog, +/--+3 = 2 [6:48pm] xxiiaann: you succeed! Meg grabs Konnie's ankles and lifts her up, and Konnie lines her mouth up with the keg tap. To the untrained and likely drunk eyes on the growing crowd, it just looks like a run of the mill kegstand from some skinny chick. But to those with FrogEyes, it's something far more sneaky. See, Konnie was made of water. It was sort of a fact about being a Rusalka. This being the case, and the beer being pretty weak to start with, meant that Kon was able to just keep on drinking. To her, it was like breathing. And you can't breathe in too much air, can you? No. You can't. So Konnie stays on the keg for a minute. Then two. Then four. Longer than it seems humanly possible, and Konnie is still tapping the loving keg. Until it runs out, and Kon gives the 'let me down now Meg' signal. It was a long established signal, since one of Meg's earliest stage show ideas left Konnie stuck up in the rafters after a 'malfunction'. When Meg drops her legs back to the ground, the first thing Konnie does is burp. Then kick over the keg, the hollow clanking showing the thing was totally tapped. "Boys and girls, that's how you loving do it!" ~*After the party*~ So it turns out a keg is 15 gallons, and even after some other lightweights have had a go at it Konnie was left with more than 10 gallons to deal with. And even for Konnie, and even for it being lovely beer that was more water than alcohol, much of what went on after the keg was a blur. But now she was laying down in the back of the Frogger lolling her head from side to side. Until they run over a cow or something. "WHAT THE gently caress, JULES!!" Konnie shouts from the back
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Feb 14, 2015 11:51
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Sherry At the party, Sherry slots neatly into the role of That Girl. She's the one who's drifted away from or been ditched by her friends, and while eye-catchingly pretty seems to hover a fraction of an inch away from everything, buffered by uncertainty and unfamiliarity. That isn't to say she has been, but when you're on the sidelines and trying to find a spot in the metaphoric space of a party filled with strangers, that's been going on for a while, edges get clipped off fitting square pegs into oblong holes. It's also the kind of role that puts half the guys at arm's length, makes hair care the focus of conversations again and again, and has the other half of Team Dudebro offering to refresh her drink every time she takes a sip. She sips sparingly; the beer might be recycled piss, but they mix the harder stuff strong enough to give a horse pause. If she lets her hair down too far, it might get her into mischief she wouldn't care to explain. Later, in the back of the van, Sherry's trying to clear her head and transcribe her chicken-scratch shorthand into a more permanent record. There's the night's income, which she counts twice thanks to a couple of bills being stuck together, and the numbers on merchandise sold, which eventually correlate with the former once she's chewed through stacks of addition, and then there's the opened boxes of merchandise to inventory. In a perfect world that would add up too, forming a neat mathematical jigsaw puzzle, but 'shrink' happens. A loud, intermittently dark space filled with a churn of people and band memorabilia make that kind of thing that much easier. Of course, Sherry's mentally counting through a box of those stupid beer cozies when all Hell breaks loose. Foam rubber tubes go flying like the contents of a novelty tin of peanut brittle. "What the? Oh god. Tell me that wasn't a cyclist!" Or a car. Paying off the damages on one of the vehicles they've recently driven past would put the band in hock until it was time for a reunion tour.
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Feb 18, 2015 16:48
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Meg "Travel day, travel day," Meg sings idly to herself, guitar on her lap getting the incredibly lazy strumming treatment. "Why do I have a hangover day?" she adds, and then makes a face. "What rhymes with hangover?" she asks to the group. And what did she get up to last night? Keg? Keg. Eggs? Oh. Konnie. Keg stand. Yeah, keg stand! Meg grins as she thinks of it, of Konnie frog-powering the whole thing to suck down the whole freaking keg. She did actually drain it, right? Meg had gotten into some of her own antics, with beer in her belly and speed in her legs, it seemed Meg was everywhere in the party, over there on the dance floor, over there making fun of somebody, over there making out with....was that Jules? Meg doesn't seem to recall. Her eyes get rubbed as she ponders both that and her rhyming problem. Maybe she should take her mind off it. "Hey Sher?" she asks. "How'd we do last niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeee!" Meg gets jerked hard by the sudden stop, slamming against the seat belt, then bouncing back into her seat. The guitar's slammed forward and seems to have been dented by the dash. "Shut up, Konnie!" Meg shouts, and then, "WHAT THE gently caress, JULES!?"
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Feb 18, 2015 23:06
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Jules The party's not so bad, really. Jules even starts to like it once he gets a beer or two into him. Initially, people don't even recognise him as the drummer - Konnie, Meg, Eliza and Sherry kind of make more of an impact at a party like that. Shirt off, ridiculous gun tattoos on display, Jules get suckered into a keg stand which probably comes close to killing him, really, and Konnie completely wipes the floor with him... before or after, he's not sure which. Still, between the beer and the telepathic buzz of all the party goers, it's pretty easy for Jules to fall into an easy partying rhythm. Then there's the dance floor, and some drunken telekinetics pulls off some pretty impressive leans and slides. And then he's suckered into a corner with Meg - has to be, going by the hair - and, from there, the rest of the night is something of a blur. But it's a good blur. Wake up, yawn, prod Meg to get up. Shuffle his way through breakfast, wake up properly by opening his mind to the local area for a moment. It hits him like a truck and fires enough awareness into him to shake off the last traces of sleep. His head's a bit sore but he's not in any danger of being sick. Luck, alcohol tolerance, or he vomited it all up into someone's rose bushes on the way home. He's not sure what rhymes with hangover. Can opener? No, that sucks. That's why he doesn't write lyrics. Still, Jules isn't the sort of take his eyes off the road. As he takes the turn, however, the van goes thump and Jules is hit by that sudden chill of realising that something has gone horribly wrong, and it could all be his fault. But how? "poo poo," Jules murmurs, after he's managed to pull the van off to the side and park it. "poo poo." He rubs his fingers into this scalp and brow, thinking. Everyone's shouting which, all in all, is pretty reasonable. "Is everyone okay? We hit something," Jules remarks, calling back. "I don't think it was a cyclist or anything - I'm not feeling anything like that." What'd he hit? It surely can't be a person - he'd be able to tell! It could be an animal, but even then he should be getting something more than nothing from it. And an animal to make a sound like that? It'd have to be a pretty big animals! He would have seen it. Surely he would have seen it. "Let me check," Jules says, and he hops out of the driver's seat to go see what he hit. Don't let it be a person, don't let it be someone's pet, don't let it be anything...
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Feb 19, 2015 14:11
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Konnie "If you get us arrested I'm not hanging around!!" Konnie wails from the back. "Float my rear end out of here and hang out in cloud city. MEG!" She shouts. "You gotta run away too Jules is a jailbird now!"
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Feb 24, 2015 01:11
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