open RP: music is infectious. No, really.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

Having been unknowingly infected with a self-replicating spell by the mischievous Simkin, Camilla went about her day quite as she always would. Since she'd heard inexplicable music in Simkin's presence it didn't seem to her strange that she should continue to hear it now. And because she happened to be in a fairly pleasant mood at the moment, the music she heard was not disconcerting. At the moment it was some nondescript and upbeat jazz, actually.

Being a fairly sociable person, she'd say hello to people she ran across in the halls. She had no way of knowing that her presence would also transmit the spell to them -- that was the self-replicating bit -- and that their own personal soundtrack would consequently follow them, mirroring their moods as hers was doing for her.

(( OOC: This one is Simkin-mun's idea! He says it's "a self-replicating meme, that attaches to people as they interact with one another, and plays music depending on their mood. ... if they've got a song stuck in their head, it'll play that. But if they're feeling predatory, it might play the Jaws theme, for instance."

If you feel like uploading songs, that's cool, but you don't have to. You can just describe them, as I've done, being lazy as I am.

Once a person is infected, they can then infect other characters. Eventually the spell will fade away and so will its effects. Have fun! ))

Comments

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"... No," Camilla admitted.

What if he had written all the postcards ahead of time, and put them in an envelope and sent them to Hershey for someone there to mail out at set intervals? It was the kind of thing Henry would do.

"Do you think I should worry?"

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

"Nah," Ryder said, quite honestly, and for reasons Camilla could not begin to guess. "He'll be fine. I just hope he won't bring home damn tacky thing from the gift shop." He could no more see Henry doing that than shaving his own eyebrows off, and his tone quite clearly implied it.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"If there really is a gift shop." Camilla now sounded quite uncertain.

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

Ryder tilted his head. "Hey," he said. "Don't worry about it. I guarantee you he'll let you know when he's coming home soon." If Camilla hadn't actually said no--and Ryder had a feeling she hadn't--then Henry wouldn't stay away forever. "One question--did you guys talk about anything before he left?"

He had to ask. He just had to, dammit.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"Yes, about organ trafficking," Camilla said, straight-faced. The music behind her shot up in a guilty blare of trumpets.

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

Ryder's eyebrows went up. "Uh-huh," he said, unconvinced. "Did you talk about anything else?"

The sad thing was, this was Ryder's attempt at being tactful.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"... Don't tell me he told you," said Camilla, trumpets subsiding.

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

"No," he said, again quite honestly. "He didn't. Let's just say he didn't have to."

Ryder crushed his cigarette out on the heel of his boot. "So what did you say? You didn't say yes, or he'd be here, but you didn't say no, or you'd be...cranky, or something. Not like this."

No way was he going to admit Susan told him. No, he was playing the demon angle up for all it was worth, here.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"I said I would think about it." A cello sawed out some affirmative notes, underscoring the veracity of what she said.

"I'm still thinking." The cello didn't seem to like that as much.

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

"You said you'd think about it?" he repeated. "What the hell does that mean? Maybe I just don't understand humans, but you want to marry him, don't you?"

If his private soap opera fell apart because the cast members couldn't keep track of their parts, he was going to be pissed.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"I don't want to marry anyone else, certainly," Camilla hedged. The cello, silent, seemed to accept this, but a viola wagged a warning.

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

"So why not say yes?" Ryder Did Not Get It. At all.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

Camilla's brows drew together fractionally, in that way that looked half like she was concentrating hard on something, half like she was just frustrated. It was a very Charles expression, if you knew Charles, which Ryder didn't. Then again, on Charles it was a very Camilla expression.

"Because. It's complicated. Because Henry taught me I can't always do what I want. Even though I used to think I could."

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

Okay, that he really didn't understand. "Well, yeah, nobody gets to do everything they want," he said--hell, even he had rules he had to follow. "Why should that keep you from getting married, though?"

If some of Camilla's expressions were reminiscent of Charles, then this particular question was reminiscent of Susan. "Is it a human thing?"

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

It did indeed remind Camilla of Susan. She wondered if she ought to tell the house elves to stock up on soup and tea. Or just to warn Ryder not to sleep with Stephen. No, they weren't one another's type.

"Is what a human thing? Not being able to do what you want?"

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

He snorted again. "No, trust me, that's not just limited to humans. I mean, is there some human reason you can't get married if you want to?" This wasn't the Middle Ages, after all. Unless she was cursed?

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"Not a general human reason, no. Not in modern Western culture. I just ..." She hesitated. The music hesitated too. "...don't want to hurt anyone," she finished, and the music plucked out a staccato flurry, death by a million pinpricks.

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

Ryder threw up his hands. "I guess I just don't get it," he said. "Let me ask you a question, though--which way do you think you're gonna decide in the end?" His faded eyes tried to search hers. "You already know, don't you? It's just a matter of time."

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

Camilla nodded, solemn as the grave, gray eyes wide in her pale face.

"I already know. Just not how."

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

He didn't get it. "You don't know how you know?" he asked. "Either way, don't drag it out too long. It's better, with most things, to move quick and not draw out the misery. Unless you're prepared to make a mess."

And no, Ryder wasn't just talking about sticky emotional issues.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I know how I know," Camilla corrected him. "I just don't know how to manage the thing. The saying it. Because really, it's not as though I haven't done unforgiveable things before, but this will really be the worst."

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

...

Okay, he wasn't even going to try to tackle that one. "Well, figure out how to say yes, okay?" he said, exasperated. "That's really what matters, isn't it?" It was to him, anyway--he wanted to see what would happen.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

Also exasperated, though not with Ryder, Camilla ran a hand back through her hair. "I don't know how."

[johnryder.livejournal.com]

"You don't know how to say 'yes'?" He eyed her askance. "It's easy. Seriously. You just...say yes. The word. Yes." Why the hell did so many people have to go and complicate things? Yes. It was an easy word to say. Only one syllable, even.

[c-macaulay.livejournal.com]

"It isn't that easy," Camilla insisted. "I have to tell my family first." By which she meant her brother. "And then what? Seriously, you think I should just walk up to Henry and say 'Yes'? Just that? It's too important to just say that!"