week 4

[stagemanagers]

[Another week, and two more dead. King Richard and Red are both gone, and once again, it was through nothing more than an accident in the heat of the moment. Maybe if you all stay calm and collected, nothing bad will happen again?

Well, maybe not.

When you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've recovered another one of those memories - or had another dream, if you still wanna be in denial about it. The grounds remain as they are, but this time, the door blocking the stairwell has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the second floor! This is the second time that's happened; it's almost as if you get more space every time someone dies. Or maybe the whole place just seems quieter.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( Welcome to Week 4! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

Comments

[justmeheere]

[Jeremy kind of leans forward and mumbles, low enough that hopefully nobody else in the room will be able to understand:]

I need. I need - get me drunk and then hand me the bottle. That's. That's the only way to fix this.

[This would be why he said "no questions" again. Just let him do it, dad!!!]

[37773972]

[Stephen...was afraid of this. He stares at Jeremy for a long moment, thinking- not just of Jeremy, not just of the Phantom. But of the computer that has, arguably, only been attempting to fulfill its programming.

He also thinks on how things that are just doing what they were born to do can still be trouble. Kudzu overgrows. Influenza can kill. And the SQUIP...

Stephen leans in as well, speaking quietly]

The Phantom said this counts as a suicide. It's not going to trigger a trial. [He thinks? If he understood correctly? Nonetheless, he's pulling out the sprite bottle he's - with only one or two exceptions - kept at his side since getting it from Anne, after first speaking with Jeremy and his SQUIP]

SQUIP. We'll take care of him.

[...for what comfort that can be to a computer.]

cw: suicide talk

[justmeheere]

It won't. It - that's the loophole. If I kill it myself, I'm just. It's me, right? So. So it's fine. Everything is fine. Everything -

[He takes a shaky breath, hiccuping slightly.]

- everything gets fixed.

[37773972]

[He's unscrewing the bottlecap, the scent of alcohol strong. One-handed, too, because the other hand - arm - is still around Jeremy's shoulders, and now this is a hug. For manyfold reason.]

Not everything, Jeremy. But you're going to fix the rest - and we'll help.

[With that, he shoves the bottle in Jeremy's mouth, holding him in place strongly enough to (hopefully) override resistance as he forces his head back.

Drink or drown.]

[justmeheere]

[It's almost familiar. People keep forcing him to drink things for whatever reason and there's always a moment where he sputters before he remembers how to swallow. He doesn't fight it as much as he has, in other instances, but his fingers still twist in Stephen's shirt. It's to ground himself, maybe.

He drinks.]

[37773972]

[As soon as Jeremy swallows, Stephen's pulling back the bottle. He knows from experience by now, how much it takes to deactivate the SQUIP, more or less, and it's not much; he sets the alcohol down to the side, taking Jeremy's other shoulder to help him steady after the forcefeeding.]

Hey. You still with me, Jeremy? This is your last chance to back out, you need to know that. Just tell me when you've made the choice.

[He doesn't want Jeremy to back out, honestly. He wants this to go as quickly as possible, as painless as possible after what already happened, and for the best case-]

Mephisto! We need the Dew.

[His voice is sure, unwavering; apparently, he's pretty confident that this is, if nothing else, not a Bad Idea.]

[justmeheere]

[Jeremy swallows several times before shaking his head.]

I'm good. [It's quiet, but raw.] Let me. Let me fix this.

[heathencall]

[It takes some juggling, to free the bottle form Christine's hands and move close enough to hold it out to the others. He tilts his head away from the quiet conversation he's been having with Christine for the second time, this time to look between the two men.]

I hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to see her hurt anymore than she already is.

[He hesitates for just a moment, then passes the bottle off.]

[37773972]

Unless the Phantom's going to flat out lie to us, we do. [Reassurance, not indignation. He absolutely understands where Mephisto's coming from, and god, if he's wrong...

He passes the bottle to Jeremy in turn, resettling so he's sitting next to him. Still hug-holding, supporting, but Jeremy isn't restrained in any way, shape, or form.

This is his decision. His choice. His action.]

1/2 (cw: seizures)

[justmeheere]

[Jeremy's fingers curl around the bottle, trying to keep his hand steady. He's not quite sucessful as he pulls away from Stephen. He's made up his mind, but a lot's happened in the past few minutes and he's just. There's a lot of emotions right now and he can't stop the way his hands shake as he moves away from Stephen. He doesn't bother standing. That seems like an unnecessary step when he could just bring the bottle up to his mouth and tip his head back, chugging the entire thing.

Nothing happens for a moment, besides the huge gasping breaths Jeremy takes.

He lets his hand drop, the bottle clattering to the floor. For a moment it looks like Jeremy might say something, but then his body starts to violently convulse. It looks like a seizure, effectively, and he tips over until he's on the floor, shaking and twitching. Eventually, he stills.]

2/2 cw: suicide talk

[inside_yourmind]

[There may be no other outward sign of what's happened from Jeremy, but the Phantom's voice booms out from somewhere - it's actually pretty loud, like maybe he's close by.]

The SQUIP is dead. Given how many of you were involved in its murder, no investigation is necessary - we are all fully aware of what has occurred. As I have stated before, this will officially be ruled a suicide.

Please feel free
To go about your business
You must be pleased
To get away with all this

Now you all have seen
How the world has always been
How a "monster's" life means nothing in the end...

[........that seems to be all he has to say. Maybe witnessing a mob descending on someone like that triggered a few things? Regardless, the man is true to his word; the trial doors remain shut, and no punishments will occur.]

[37773972]

[It's been a long time since he took the training, but- first aid. Cushion the head- he clings to the instructions like a lifeline, trying not to let his panic show as he pulls off his shirt. He's still got an undershirt on so it's not like he's bare, but it allows for a makeshift pillow under Jeremy's head as he follows the next step- roll the victim on to their side.

From here, he...doesn't remember. He looks up at Mephisto, some of that panic slipping through before he recovers himself to look down at Jeremy, is he supposed to hold him down? That doesn't seem right, it's not-

-and then it's over. He's breathing heavily as if he was the one who's gone through some trauma. Which he has, here, albeit in a different way. And then the Phantom's voice speaks and he startles, looking around, tense until the verdict is given...

...where he sort of sags in exhaustion, slumping by Jeremy in a sprawl.]

Thank God.

[Sorry, Meph, habit.]

[isawallflower]

[ Riley freezes (because of course she does) when Jeremy falls. It's only once the Phantom starts speaking that she rushes forward. With a belated screech she storms over and


gasps in relief. ] Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. [ It's in a thankful way? Because sometimes you break a little and just start saying the first thing that comes to mind when you mean i'm so fucking glad none of you are dying. ]

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Mephisto keeps his grip firmly on Christine, so she doesn't look, she can't look anywhere but at his face until the Phantom's announcement plays. For a brief moment, when she hears the verdict, she slumps, letting out a shaky, frantic laugh, but she can't stay like that for long.

She slowly turns when Mephisto permits her to, and the sight of Jeremy unconscious on the floor makes her gasp. She slides over to him, worriedly grabbing at his hands, checking for a pulse even though she's pretty sure she has no idea how to do that.]

Jeremy? Jeremy! Oh no, Jeremy, I'm so sorry...

[justmeheere]

[It takes several seconds after the Phantom's finished speaking for Jeremy to groan and try to sit up. Key word: try. He needs a sec here, to figure out how limbs work and how you function in a body that belongs to you and only you.]

Are. There are a lot of you.

[His vision is swimming, a little. It'll probably fix itself shortly.]

[37773972]

Easy, Jeremy. Lean on me. [Stephen's moving close again to help support him, and maybe because he wants to reassure himself that the teen's all right. So far, so good.] Do you know where you are?

[justmeheere]

[He blinks a couple of times before his eyes really focus. Well, that's one thing.]

The opera house? [He is noooooot 100% on what happened in the last minute or so.] Probably?

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine has been watching this time, hands pretty much pressed to her mouth so she didn't interrupt too soon, but she can't sit by idly for very long. As Jeremy starts to speak, her eyes are welling up with tears, and she's pretty much trembling as she's trying to physically restrain herself, but eventually she blurts out:]

And the SQUIP? Is it gone?

[justmeheere]

It's. It's deactivated. [Weird phrasing, but ok!] Are. Are you okay?

[That's for Christine, mostly, but Riley too. And Stephen.]

[37773972]

We're fine. We're just worried about you.

[beat]

The loophole worked. We're done with it.

[AND NOW MAYBE YOU FUCKING KIDS CAN TALK ABOUT YOUR FUCKING FEELINGS]

[isawallflower]

[ Riley feels like she's gonna burst into tears from relief. ]

We're fine. We're good. Everything's fine.

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Hey, speaking of talking about feelings, almost at the same time Riley says they're fine, Christine blurts out:]

What do you think, Jeremy?!

[Because she's not! She's very clearly not okay because she did genuinely try to do something that would have counted as a murder, and it's starting to catch up to her now how close they were to one of them getting punished.]

[justmeheere]

Ok. I. I deserve that. But, like. Can. Can we table yelling at me for. I dunno. I need. I need a nap?

[Ironic, considering he just pounded like. Way, way, way too much caffeine? But also it's been a stressful half hour and his limbs are still kinda fucked up.]

[37773972]

Christine?

[He's not- scolding. He's just trying to- yeah, that. Jeremy needs a break. They all need a break. After a moment of thought, too, he makes a decision- and abruptly gets to his feet, picking up Jeremy as he does.]

He's right. We'll all talk about this later, but right now, all of us need to rest.

[Hey, where'd Mephisto go]

[heathencall]

[Mephisto lets his shoulders slump, loosening his grip on Christine as he does. It had worked. They'd saved Christine, and possibly even Jeremy too.

He waits until his charge has wriggled out of his lap and then... quickly excuses himself. There's been... a lot of feeling happening on his part today. He needs a damn break.

Jeremy is safe. The others will take care of themselves.]