week 5

[stagemanagers]

[That was...an absolute shitshow. More beloved friends are dead in a mess of a trial that's left Angus half the man he was, Riley in a free fall and the Phantom...somehow still standing despite taking two stabs to the torso.

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 door blocking the stairwell on the second floor has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the third floor! You have so much space now, it's just a shame it's all come at the cost of eight lives.

But despite the tragedy you have made progress! The trip into the Phantom's lair yielded some hints to the past of the Opera House, your house manager's apparently grim hobby and the possibility of an ally outside the Opera House. Who knows what this week will bring?]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday


(( Welcome to Week 5! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

Comments

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine has been listening patiently to everything Steven has had to say so far, because it only seems fair, to try listening for once, to let the spotlight be on him. When he notices the button to play a recording and hits it, Christine's eyes go wide.

It's a nice voice. And... familiar? Is she right that it sounds familiar? She doesn't know who the woman is, but... what she says cuts particularly deep today.

Still. Christine takes a slow breath to steady herself, and nods. She definitely heard that. She walks over to where Steven is, and tries to press the same button he did. Maybe she can play another recording?]

[stagemanagers]

[It may be a bit familiar to you, Christine!

There are two more files! When Christine pushes the button, the machine moves on to the second. It's the woman's voice front and center, this time.]

Right...so I just sing into this thing?

[She takes a breath, and then begins.]

I will be the answer at the end of the line
I will be there for you while you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance if you can't look down

If it takes my whole life I won't break I won't bend
It'll all be worth it worth it in the end
'Cause I can only tell you what I know
That I need you in my life
When the stars have all gone out
You'll still be burning so bright

[The response sounds distant and a bit muffled, but it's still identifiable as the man from before.]

Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind
Take me to a
A place so holy
That I can wash this from my mind
The memory of choosing not to fight

If it takes my whole life
I won't break, I won't bend
It'll all be worth it
Worth it in the end
'Cause I can only tell you what I know
That I needed you in my life
When the stars have all burned out
You'd still be burning so bright

Cast me gently
Into the morning
For the night has been unkind

[The woman finishes, and there's a bit of a pause before she asks:]

Uhm...do you want me to keep going? I don't really know what else to sing.

[End of Recording 2]

[holyspit]

[Aaaaaaaah??]

YOU ARE THE BEST DETECTIVE.

[As far as he is concerned this is exactly where the credit belongs.]

Do you think this was- those stars you found, Raoul and Mag? Hang on-

[PUSHA DA BUTTON]

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Okay, she's been trying not to interrupt, but Steven, come on-]

I'm just doing what you did! And, and I don't know? Maybe? The man sounds familiar, but I don't know from where...

[holyspit]

Okay, yeah, maybe, but who trained me to be a detective?

[Steven.]

[stagemanagers]

[The last recording is a bit of a long one, but here we go! Everyone involved seems to have pretty much gotten the hang of the recording equipment now; they both sound loud and clear, and they launch right in without any fuss:]

All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
Just how blind I've been
Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here suddenly I see
Standing here it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be

And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see him

All those days, crushing other's daydreams
All those years, living in a blur
All that time, never truly seeing
Things the way they were

He'd been here, shining in the spotlight
He'd been here, suddenly I knew
With him here, it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go

And at last, I've seen the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I've seen the light
And it's like the walls were new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted

All at once, everything is different
Now that I've seen him...

[Any fuss until now, at least. By the end of his part, the man is audibly struggling to hold back tears. For a minute or two, there's just silence.]

So you know how we have ghosts, right? [The woman ventures.] And how they can hear everything we do?

[A reply doesn't seem forthcoming, so she doesn't wait for one.]

How does he know you love him
How does he know he's yours?

How does he know that you love him
How do you show him you love him

How does he know that you really, really, truly love him
How does he know that you love him
How do you show him you love him
How does he know that you really, really, truly love him

It's not enough to take the one you love for granted
You must remind him, or he'll be inclined to say
How do I know he loves me
How do I know he's mine

Well do you leave a little note at the booth
To tell him that he's on your mind
Set down red roses at the door every day, hey
You'll find a new way to show him, a little bit everyday
That's how he'll know, that's how he'll know
He's your love

You've got to show him you miss him
Don't treat him like a mind reader
Each day do something to need him
To believe you miss him

Everybody wants to live happily ever after
Everybody wants to know their true love is true
How does he know you love him
How does he know he's yours

Well would you take him out dancin'
Just so you could hold him close
Dedicate a song with words in
Just for him, oh

You'll find your own way to tell him
With the little things you'll do
That's how he'll know
That's how he'll know

You're his love
You're his love

What do you think? Too cheesy?

Definitely. [What's that? Is that the sound of this guy crying into the mic? Yep.] Too cheesy.

[End of the final recording. Seems like you're not the only people with losses to have visited this studio.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

We... we have ghosts...

[Christine listens, and she's pretty sure the guy isn't the only one trying to choke back tears. These people suffered losses, just as they had. They were singing about it, trying to keep their spirits up. And maybe, maybe part of the reason for that was because they knew the people who they had lost were watching over them.

She looks at Steven, eyes wide.] Do you think the Phantom banned seances so we wouldn't find out?

[holyspit]

[Ooh boy yeah does that hit close to home. Steven has joined the Crying Music Friends club.]

He would, if he knew!

[Oh. Oh no.]

...After. After the trial, on Friday. I tried getting him to- give back Spinel's shards.

[As you do.]

He said something about helping her get better, like- he was gonna bring her back somehow. I was so mad I just kept yelling at him, but what if he's telling the truth? What if he's- doing something with all the ghosts of everyone that's died, or something?

[madgiganticfeelings]

Then if that's the case, then trying to summon them would interfere with his plans.

[Christine is pacing around the room now, maybe looking for any buttons that maybe could give her more clues, or some hidden tapes. She's back in detective mode, at least for now.]

But can we trust that what he's doing is helping? We discussed the possibility of this being some sort of ritual, didn't we? Where he's sacrificing souls?

[She doesn't want to believe that, but...]

[holyspit]

I don't trust him with anything.

[Just. Flatly.]

He keeps saying this is about fixing something, but if that includes bringing back everyone that's dead why would anyone have to die in the first place?

[madgiganticfeelings]

I-I don't know. I wish he'd open up enough to tell us what's going on. Maybe then there'd be a way to fix this, without anyone dying.

[Christine looks uncomfortable then. She doesn't want to admit that she's still holding out hope for the Phantom. She definitely doesn't want to mention it's because of Spinel that she believes that.

...She shouldn't be talking like this. She lowers her head and falls silent, going back to looking around at the recording equipment.]

[holyspit]

If he was doing something good he'd want help, right?

[Can you imagine someone just shouldering all that on their own and ignoring any possible support network, ridiculous.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

He might think he has to deal with it alone. Maybe he thinks it'd hurt us. Or... hurt more than us killing each other.

[holyspit]

That'd be a lot of hurt.

You think he was involved in-

[Steven gestures at the recording equipment.]

These guys?

[madgiganticfeelings]

It's hard to say... They don't mention him, and he did say he didn't originate this "play" or whatever he calls it. I wonder if he knows these are here...