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 Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:05 am
So the stadiums were well on their way to being ready, he'd done the banners, he'd set up the basics (although, honestly, he KNEW each band should have a bass, but four vs four was a bit chaotic and they could, technically, get by without a bass for something like this, right?) But now he was moving to the second half of his plan.
Now the punk knew how to throw a party. No one denied that--except perhaps people that hadn't been to his parties, etc. But what he was looking for was more along the lines of what Amrita did. Plus, he needed to check on Amrita. He'd been so focused on Amphi--
He was a bad, bad friend, he thought, cursing himself. Lack of sleep tended to skew his values, he guessed. Either way he stopped in front of the vetala's door, knocking three times before testing the knob to see if it was locked.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:50 am
Amrita had entered that don't leave your room phase of her paranoia. Sure her friends tried to help, but so far every attempt was in vain; she still felt that parasite latching onto her, both everywhere and nowhere. You couldn't just get over something being inserted into your very core, after all.
Instead of being a model student in her self-imposed lockdown, the Vetala was curled up on her side on her bed - yes, her bed, which was a big deal for anyone who knew her well enough to know her sleeping habits - and refused to move. Not even DC curling up against her could startle her off of her post. He was warm, yes, but she had worse things to think about than catching flame into dissipation.
When someone knocked on her door and tried the knob, her heart practically leapt into her throat.
"Wh-Who's there?!" She commanded loudly, scrambling up on the bed to fit herself into the corner, just in case the door came busting down.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:54 am
"It's me, Roch," Roch said loudly. "Amrita, I know--can I come in? I need your help with somethin' really big--or at least it's big to me," he said. Yeah, he knew all about what had happened. Dammit, he should have been here sooner, he thought. But he'd figured someone would help pull her out of this--she had a ton of friends.
"If y'don't trust my voice, y'want me to play something and prove it?" he offered, holding out his hand and summoning his guitar. Paranoia was an ugly thing--but was it really paranoia when they were out to get you?
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:17 am
Amrita pressed her lips together. As far as she knew they couldn't mimic voices, and this was about the right time after a huge disaster for Roch to seek her out. Then the question became less how to defend and more should she let him in. She really wanted to be by herself for ever now, but...someone needed her help. Nngh. Silence lingered for a few moments on her end before she made up her mind and slowly creeped off the bed, DC hot on her heels.
"No, it's...it's okay, just, um..." There were some heavy sounds on her side of the door, something akin to a desk being pushed aside (yes, she had been that paranoid) followed shortly by the sound of the lock sliding free. When she opened the door she did so only wide enough to peek through just in case, and then opened it wider for him. Amrita was a mess of course; she looked more like a zombie now than she had in a rotting child's body. She did stay in the door though, leaning her cheek against the somewhat singed wood.
"Hi, Roch." She started, avoiding eye contact. "What's up?" He said he needed her help, after all.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:23 am
He frowned at the sight of her. She looked like crap, he thought, inwardly sighing. "I need your help--y'know, with booths and stuff. Nox said my first job as a mentor-ee... whatever, is to set up the battle of the bands. So I've been doin' all the grunt work--gettin' the stage and the stadiums all cleaned up for it, but now I'm at the part where y'gotta THINK. And we both know that ain't my greatest skill."
He also wanted to get her out of this room, he thought silently. "You know those booths you run? I want some of those--but a little different. I want games and food and merchandise and lots and lots of glow stick stuff. It'll be like a festival outside the stadiums, so people goin' to watch the battles have somethin' else to do on top of them. Basically... I wanna toss a major party."
And he gave her his best attempt at puppy dog eyes. "But you're the one that knows how to do booths."
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:48 am
Suddenly, Amrita was herself again. He said the right words - Battle of the Bands - and he had her complete attention. She had been part of the first Battle of the Bands and enjoyed every moment of it - even Remi's literal last second win, that b*****d - and knew how to start and where to go from there. What he was asking wasn't too difficult; she understood what he wanted. The booths she ran? She had only done it a handful of times in her life, but she did enjoy it; as well the prospect of doing something productive was nice. Something for her to work at, get involved with, forget her problems...
Ah, but her problems weren't so easily forgotten.
Just like that she faded, curling into herself and turning back into that Zombie again. "I don't know, Roch..."
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:54 am
"If it's about the tracker thing--" he said. "My ghoulfriend's got one, too. What are the hunters going to benefit from finding out about a battle of the bands?" he asked her. "And we jacked their place up pretty bad, on top of it. They're too busy rebuilding right now to even care about some kid game," he said.
"C'mon, Amrita, you're the one I KNOW can do this up right. I need you," he said. "And you need to get out of this room," he added bluntly.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:10 am
Oh, so he knew? Wait---
"Ghoulfriend?" The patchwork blinked at him, her eyes still unfocused and foggy. Ghoulfriend. There were three boils and three ghouls in the room, and Mei was dating Bul, so--- "You're dating Amphi?" She was surprised, the foggy stare sharpening a little bit. Roch? Actually dating someone? Blasphemy!
At his urging though, she looked at the ground. He was right, she did see the mess the Hunter base was left in, but she still couldn't shake that feeling of dread. Not knowing when whatever was inside of her would be activated, and who would be around her when it happened...it was maddening. That still didn't change the fact that he was right and besides...he said he needed her. It tugged on the part of her that worked too hard to avoid letting someone down, especially a friend. She mulled over it, going quiet as she weighed the pros and cons and him-hawed with her paranoid self.
"...I...I guess." She started, momentarily deflating into something miserable. "But...just in case, if something happens..." Her arms came up, hugging tightly across her stomach. "You have to take me down. Don't hesitate, just...bring me down." It was the only way she'd feel comfortable working, knowing that if something were to go wrong someone would end her without hesitating.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:21 am
"Amrita, you know me," Roch said, nudging her chin with a finger so she was forced to look him in the eye. "I'm a cold blooded b*****d under all of this. You know I'll do it," he promised. "Even if people start screamin' at me for it." It almost sounded like a romantic promise--but it was almost the complete opposite. "But I figure we'd be fine just knockin' you out or something," he said.
He'd actually thought this one through. "But I'm thinkin' it won't happen. And what, no comment on me havin' a ghoulfriend?" he teased. "I'm hurt."
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:39 am
She looked, but only because she had to. His honesty was reassuring and she did know that he'd have no problem taking her out, but it was something she just needed to hear. When he said what she wanted to hear from him she smiled a little, lifting her chin away from his fingers to once more lean her head on the door.
"I'm in shock, Roch. How did you manage that one?" She offered, trying to bring up the energy to tease him but simply falling short.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:50 am
"She stalked me till I caught her," he said shamelessly, grinning slightly. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to catch a mermaid when you're a musician, I was." He shrugged, looking sheepish.
"I'm thinking the best way to do the booths is to bring in clubs," he went on, changing the subject. "You got the Newspaper club, I got FMC, I can ask around for more. I'd like to get a food booth--so the baking club would be cool. But I'd like to tie it into the band thing--do you know where we can get cheap T-shirts made up with logos for the bands?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:14 am
"I run Yearbook, Roch." Amrita corrected softly, mildly amused. He was there, how could he forget? Silly Reaper boil. "Pepin runs the Newspaper, I think." Or she did, last she heard; she never met Pepin face-to-face, but word of the glitch ghost did travel. She listened to his plans, looking at the floor and trying to remember what the set up was last time.
"What stadiums did you get?" Did he get all of them from last time? If so that would change how many clubs they needed to hunt down. As for the t-shirts, she made a thoughtful hum. "No, but...I can find something for you." She had connections, up to and including a lot of seamstresses who would have better connections than hers.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 11:21 am
"I got everything they had last battle, plus an army of gnomes," he told her. "If we get more clubs than stadiums, I don't figure it'll be a problem, and if we get fewer bands than stadiums... well, we'll kidnap Johnny Danger or someone and make them put on a show, hell if I know," he said with a shrug.
"And I've met Pepin... I might be able to track her down," he said with a shrug. "I need to talk to Xiu, huh? Baking club booth should be worth trying to get..."
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 7:51 pm
The same thing as last time...Perfect! She knew the set up of the stadiums from experience, and what he was asking seemed more than doable.
"I'm sure you'll get enough...I guess you want one club per stadium sort of set up?" She slipped away from the door, backing into her room; she left it open though as a promise to return. There was some ruffling and some squeaking, but eventually she returned, holding a notebook and a docile pensnake.
"You can count Yearbook in - err, I mean, if they still accept me as the Club Leader." That was another thing she still had to do; talk to them, tell them the truth, and see if they would still let her lead. She could understand if they didn't, she wasn't exactly a safe bet anymore...
"Did you wanna walk and talk?" Yes, to get out of her room.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 8:01 pm
"Actually," he said. "I want to take you to the old crypt, if you're up for the walk," he told her. "I started by cleaning that up, then moved on to the stadiums. I was thinkin," he started out, heading for the door and out into the hall, "that we'll have tryouts, then pair the bands off into the stadiums. While we're doin' that we'll set a booth up outside each stadium, which is ran by clubs 'sponsoring' the stadium behind them. Which is where the merchandise comes in--it also sets up recruiting, y'know?"
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