[mingle, backdated to Wednesday] What always ends in bloodshed begins as just a game

[madgiganticfeelings]

[So that certainly was a little afternoon adventure, wasn't it? Those hanging around the ballroom might have noticed two absolutely drenched teen girls just... appear out of the floor, shivering and shell shocked. Christine, once they get on solid ground, pretty much falls to her knees to just... stare into space for a minute.

What is this week, honestly?

But as crazy as this all is, Christine knows they have to talk about this with everyone, as soon as possible. So once she helps Nana find some dry clothes and has a little destressing session with The Dads (TM), she's pinning up a note in the hallway.]

Time for another meeting! Nana and I will meet you all in the ballroom around 7. A lot happened these last few days that we need to discuss. Refreshments will be provided, but bring something if you like!

[Christine will be in the ballroom in her Juliet dress (sadly, her cloak is still in the dryer), holding her binder and a weird old flip phone. Hopefully, this goes at least a little more smoothly than past gatherings!]

((Feel free to make prompts before or during the meeting, depending on if you're unlucky enough to see the gals ascending from the trapdoor. I'll be making a few comments myself to cover all the conversation topics. Have fun!))

Comments

[mcfife]

[Angus was just spending some nice time alone when he hears something move behind him. He turns around quick, lifting his hands up to his face, ready for battle-]

Christine?

[And then another person.]

Nana? What happened to you?!

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine has to gawk at Angus for a few moments before seeming to realize she's been spoken to.]

Oh... um. We found another passageway?

[mcfife]

Hoots! Did you find an underground river?!

[And they look cold! He slides off his Coat of Many Colors and wraps it around the two.]

DeSQUIPpening

[madgiganticfeelings]

Okay. For those of you who didn't know.

[Christine looks a little exhausted to have to start on this subject, but best to get it all out in the open:]

Yes, I tried to turn off the SQUIP. Yes, I knew that counted as a murder when I tried doing it.

[You can all scold her now.]

The important thing is Jeremy is okay now. If he deactivates it himself, he doesn't get punished. And the proper way to turn it off was Mountain Dew Red, which I only got out of the merch booth. The Phantom said it wasn't meant to appear in there, but...

[She's not sure if she believes it, considering the SQUIP was a mole.]

Also, please be careful if you find anything that looks like Mountain Dew. [While holding up a beaker of green liquid with little grey pills in the bottom:] Riley got this out of the booth, and I think it has SQUIPS in it. It would be dangerous if anyone took one.

[justmeheere]

[Hi, I've shown up for my weekly "derail a meeting because BMC is a wild canon and Jeremy cannot handle emotions even remotely normally."]

What the fuck is that doing here?! [He points at the beaker and spends a couple seconds looking wildly around the room before remembering uh. SQUIP's not here.] Dump that. Dump that immediately.

[isawallflower]

That’s what was in that? ...That’s— this is all...?

[ Riley, pale, is realizing just how close she came to being SQUIPed. ]

[herwiggles]

[Raises hand.]

Soooo the SQUIP isn't.... y'know.... It's not dead-dead, is he? And you're not in trouble?

Phantom Hideout!

[madgiganticfeelings]

So, uh, this afternoon, Nana and I ended up in the Phantom's hide out. Not sure how, but something took control of her legs and took her to Room 5.

The passage behind the mirror was a full stairwell then, but I'm not sure if it's been covered up again. There were a couple things there on his desk, I uh, I think song lyrics for a motive? A bunch of words were crossed out and redone, though. And... there was a model. Of the "punishment" he made Red go through.

[Her hands curl into fists at the memory.]

He found us eventually, and he wasn't wearing his mask, but we didn't get a good look before he threw us out and we crawled back up into the ballroom.

[Secret passages, man.]

I'm starting to believe this isn't the real Phantom though... if he was all scarred up, he wouldn't have gone anywhere without his mask.

[37773972]

...figures he'd plan everything ahead of time.

[What. He's not sour or anything. Honest.]

[musacal]

[ Nana’s in an adorable frog onesie now, and she kinda.... sinks a little as Christine describes what happened to them. ]

I don’t know about that... it looks like he was sleeping, so maybe it’s not too comfortable to wear the mask in bed...

[ She looks down. ]

I feel a little bad about seeing him like that...

[heathencall]

You two went into his hideout. Alone.

[Christine you are going to make him go gray. He's supposed to be immortal and beautiful and you do this to him!]

[holyspit]

Okay. Two things. First, you're both okay, right? Two, maybe we could try going back, as a larger group? ...Wi-i-i-th adult supervision?

[Cause this sounds really dangerous but also the best lead towards anything they've had so far?]

[...also there is a large pink lion loafing next to Steven like a housecat, that's probably fine.]

[etincelledefierte]

What were you thinking, not getting someone else - your voices both carry enough that someone would have heard you, why didn't -

[Claudine's voice cracks, despite her efforts to keep it even, and she just stops and shakes her head. Yelling isn't going to solve anything.]

I'm sorry. I just - you both could have died down there. That's all.

[herwiggles]

Wait, so there's other phantoms?

[Spinel is also here!]

Kinda weird that he put together that punishment, right? Do you think he must've... put it together after that trial?

Phone Investigation!

[madgiganticfeelings]

There was one more thing we found too...

[And here, Christine offers the Nokia phone!]

It went with us in the water when we fell, but I think it still turns on? I'm just, uh, not entirely sure how to use it.

Phone Investigation!

[stagemanagers]

[Well, it still turns on! Looks like it even has bars.

What do you want to do?]

Star Names

[musacal]

Also I um... I have a suspicion that we aren’t the first group of people to go through something like this.

[ She pulls out the two gold stars from her pocket and holds them up. ]

I found these in the Phantom’s desk. As you can see these are... a lot like the same ones on our doors. One says Raoul de Chagny, the Charming Rival, who was the Phantom’s rival for Christine’s love in the original Phantom of the Opera story, and the other says Magdalene Defoe, the Diva, who Christine identified as someone from Shilo’s world? The whole... title format is really similar to the ones we have too.

The Phantom mentioned during our first trial that he did not invent this format. This is why I think there were other “murder games” before ours, with these people.

[37773972]

[oh lord]

God, how many people have gone through this?

[mcfife]

So he is following in someone else's footsteps...

[The wizard behind all of the impossible things happening could be anywhere.]

Do you think he started this with the people of his universe?

[etincelledefierte]

[Claudine's quiet, for a long moment.]

...I think you're right, as much as I hate to think we aren't the only ones who have been through this. Was there anything in there about the date of that other "murder game"? Just so we have something of a timeline...

[isawallflower]

There definitely were others.

[ Riley's more or less much more quiet than she usually is at meetings. Maybe this is because all the others she's run herself. ]

He told me there are rules you have to follow, involved with...these shows.

[recessives]

[ Okay, never minding how Christine knew- ]

Mag- like Blind Mag? But... she's definitely around in my world.

[heathencall]

[Mephisto has... been warily watching the group for awhile. Not just the group, but everything else in the area. He wouldn't put it past... anyone they've met outside of their group to show up and disrupt their findings.

But he doesn't have a question, after awhile.]

Has the Phantom ever signed any of the letters we've received?

[isawallflower]

He...wrote OG on one of mine.

[musacal]

He’s signed mine with “OG”, pretty much always.

...Oh, except... come to think of it, he didn’t sign the last one.