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

[likemypicture]

[She tries not to. She needs to be quiet, so she's not found, but the second he puts his hands on her shoulders she breaks, sobbing.]

N-no-- You don't understand, my life, my lands, my status, my fortune, it was only-- [She can't look at him. Not when she's like this.] What good is an alliance with an empire that doesn't even exist? [She sets poor Tad Cooper down beside her, and tries to close in on herself further. She tries to breathe, while she still can-- but that thought in itself distresses her even more.]

I'm finally going to lose it.

[37773972]

[fuck this. fuck this place, fuck the Phantom, fuck all of this shit-

he reaches to pull her forwards against him, tucked against his chest.]

Breathe, Anne. Breathe- breathe in the air.

[he can't even be mad at himself for singing]

[likemypicture]

[She gives in, uselessly weeping, forgetting any attempts she may have still had with staying dignified. Breathe? How can she breathe right now, knowing that---]

My head! [She breathes then, but only because she needs to take in air to cry more.]

I don't want to lose it!

[37773972]

[The fuck does he do with this? Anne's panic feels like it's spreading, an anxiety that has him growing uneasier by the moment. He struggles to keep control of himself, because Anne- Anne needs him strong right now, she needs someone who can help her.

How does he help her?]

You won't. You won't, I promise.

[How can he promise that? How can he promise anything? All he is-

-it's not good enough.]

[likemypicture]

[He can't. Henry is a king. Who has ever stopped Henry from doing anything he pleased? No one. Not even God himself could stop Henry.

But still-- his promise draws her to reality, even as it pushes her further into despair. Her duty. Her honor. How long can she keep it before she panics and loses it all again? Still, she straightens her shoulders a little, trying to collect herself. She sucks in a breath of air. But still, she stays crumpled, as if him shielding her from the door can protect her forever.

It can't. She speaks quickly- frenzied.]

If they find me here. You have to tell them-- I threatened you. I bribed you. Something-- use religion, but not Catholicism--

cw; hallucination

[37773972]

[A hand moves to her back, rubbing small circles on it to try and reassure her. He remembers- he remembers how he's held another like this before, ages, ago, and for a moment it's not Anne- the visage shifts back when he blinks, but maybe she hears his sharp suck of breath before he uses her words to pull himself back to reality]

I'm Jewish. Will that work?

[likemypicture]

[She hears the way he breathes, and resolves herself to protect him, the same way he's trying to protect her. She needs to go soon, needs to keep moving, keep hiding-- but his suggestion distracts her.]

No! [That most certainly will not work! She begins to sit up more dramatically, but then slouches back down just so, so she doesn't have to see the door again.] Protestant. Be... Protestant, if they ask. And--- [She freezes. She can hear them, in the hall. Boots on the floor.]

[37773972]

[...]

Okay. Protestant. And then what?

[likemypicture]

[don't mind her, she's just going to. move suddenly and push her hand over his mouth, as she is the most quiet and still she's been in the entire time she's been in the opera house]

[37773972]

[hgbhghwmhp

okay just gonna stare at her, then glance towards the door, then back at her- this is Fine?]

[likemypicture]

[She's frozen for what feels like hours but is actually just a few minutes, but is also probably still a really long time to have someone hold their hand against your mouth. But finally, she sighs with relief, and moves to start fussing about her hair, unraveling the careful weaving of braids that keep the spikes that parody a crown atop her head.]

And how much you love England, and the King, or something like that.

[37773972]

[Well then, this is. Awkward. But Stephen doesn't try to move her hand, nor speak once she does; instead, he just offers an awkward thumbs-up of acknowledgement?]

[likemypicture]

[Oh, Stephen. Anne is still herself, underneath all of the fear and panic, and at the thumbs up, she can't help but find a bit of a laugh, wiping the tears away-- and then surprising even herself, she throws her arms around him.]

You are the strangest [a k a: most normal] man. You must remember to take care of yourself, the way you care for others, ja?

[37773972]

[oh, okay. now he's being hugged? but he hugs back, adjusting his grip upon her so it's a loose embrace]

...I'll try. It's hard.

[likemypicture]

I know. [She releases him, and finishes wrestling the spikes from her hair.]

Let loose and dance once and a while, too. [She presses one of the crown-spikes into his hand, and sweeps Tad up into his lil basket-home.] I can't stay in one place too long. It's too dangerous. Make sure the coast is clear for me?

[37773972]

[Dancing. Yeah, he doesn't feel like dancing, no sir, no dancing today- but. He nods, getting to his feet and unlocking the door. A glance out and-]

Nobody here. You're clear. Anne-

[He glances back at her]

You can come back if you need to, OK?