Week Three

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, some shit went down! Salieri's scene went off without a hitch, but the good mood didn't last. The first motive was a bit of a doozy, and yet it didn't even have anything to do with the eventual accidental death of Mumble Happyfeet! At least Sissi was already pretty much dating Death anyway, right? She's probably fine, wherever she is.

This week, new menus have been posted in the cafeteria. But, more importantly, it seems that other new information has emerged. Everyone wakes on Sunday with some new memories - or are they old ones? - floating around in their heads. Maybe there was something to your discussions of time travel after all. Maybe there was someting to the Wizard's knowledge of the future.

Regardless, you're still stuck in here. At least there's some new places to explore this week. Maybe you'll find something helpful.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Comments

TUESDAY

[stagemanagers]

MOTIVE: You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til it's Gone

[tailor_made]

[Tuesday has come around again and, in a repeat performance, right around 11:30 am the doors to the cafeteria softly click shut and lock. 30 minutes later, right at noon, Hester’s voices comes over the PA:]

Good afternoon, everyone. Please come to the cafeteria for a special announcement. 

[When everyone has gathered together in the cafeteria, Hester is waiting for them on the high-rise “stage”. Today’s motive outfit could almost be called “thematically appropriate” if you squint: a light blue summer dress covered in tiny white squares and a pair of those ruby slippers some of you have gotten from the vending machine. She looks down on everyone over the silver railing, her jaw set with a determination that doesn’t quite reach her eyes until she starts to sing.]

They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot

The Wizard has decided your next motive. [Scattered around the base floor of the room, it’s hard to miss the mannequins with envelopes wedged into their plastic hands. They’re all just like the others placed in classrooms and such, dressed in t-shirts and jeans and the occasional dress or skirt and the envelopes they’re holding all have the students’ names on them, just like last time.]

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum

[Her gaze glances over Connor for that particular line.]

Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em

Inside the envelopes are places you love. Homes, secret hideaways, jobs. If rule five isn’t acted upon by this Friday, these places will vanish forever and never be seen again. 

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot

[Hester watches while they collect their envelopes but once again doesn’t stick around for the aftermath. She turns on sparkly heel and slips away just the same as she did last week.]

[sugarlumps]

[After last week, the smart thing to do might be to just not open the envelope in question, destroy it as soon as possible. So of course LSP opens hers immediately.]

[She studies it for a moment-]

Yeah, you can't just make a place vanish or whatever. It's, like, a public service and junk. Rude.

Hey Mods

[mayavericks]

[Maya is far too busy watching Hester to find her envelope at first. There's a part of her that itches to chase after her, even as a much larger part scolds herself for it. It's only because she wants to ask why, wants to hope against her better judgment.

But she knows why, even if she doesn't understand it.

Still, since we're here -- How were Hester's movements today? Similar to the afterparty, or more steady?

-- In any case, though, she decides to approach her envelope instead. She already knows what it is, even before she carefully opens it. She doesn't bother removing the photo, only glances at the top of the building she knows it to be.]

A weak effort, Wizard.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus watches Miss Hester's performance closely, concern creeping across his features as he tries to figure out how much of this she's doing of her own accord, and how much the Wizard is pressuring her into. She seemed so upset, about Mumble and Elisabeth, and it looks like her resolve is being tested a bit here, but she still does it. Maybe the Wizard has some leverage over her?

Like he does over them, apparently. Orpheus takes his envelope and stuffs it into his pocket. He has his suspicions about what they'd try to take from him already, and he'll confirm them later. ]

It's not worth it. No place is worth killing all these people.

[mcfife]

[Angus doesn't want to open his. There's too many places he doesn't want to disappear, and after last week, he tires of the potential of losing everything.]

How many times will you threaten us, Wizard?

[comeandfindme]

[ Instantly upon seeing the picture, Peregrine shouts: ]

Screw you! That’s— He lives there, you can’t— [ A chill runs down her spine, and she murmurs to herself. ] If…someone’s there, would they also…?

[ That’s an unsettling thought. She doesn’t like it. Won’t think about it. ]

[whatyouwant]

[Elle sets Bruiser down so as to open the envelope easier, just to confirm what she already knows.

Delta Nu]

Does he honestly think any of us care more about places than people?

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah glances at the others after Hester exits-- Hesitant. Then-- in her own version of bravery--]

Can't get any worse than last week, right? [She strides forward, passing mannequins until she finds her envelope. Places she loves? Please, there's not anywhere she loves.

She rips open the envelope.]

... Oh.

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it---
It's not mine to give it all away

[violentenvies]

[Salieri, like Maya and Orpheus, is paying very close attention to Hester today, hardly giving the envelops even a glance. After what Connor told him about brainwashing combined with how she acted the other day...well. He's really rather concerned.]

[employeeoftheyear]

[He looks at his picture.

And blinks.]

... Does the Wizard think I’m gonna snap and kill someone if he keeps telling me Bikini Bottom is getting destroyed?

[He seems less horrified and more deeply confused.]

[disharmonizes]

[Discord rolls his eyes at the whole thing, almost casually pulling out what's in the envelope. Casually throwing the envelope itself over his shoulder.

He thinks he knows what's in there and he's ready to just brush the whole thing off.

Turns out it's something else entirely. And as he looks at this, Discord's eyes narrow and he looks absolutely seething.]

Oh, so that's the game now, is it?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

["Inside the envelopes are places you love. Homes, secret hideaways, jobs. If rule five isn’t acted upon by this Friday, these places will vanish forever and never be seen again."

A place she loves, a job, secret hideaways. Well, what else would it be?]

You can't seriously think that's going to actually happen!

[voicerights]

[The SQUIP regards Hester without reaction. Then it looks around at those gathered, one by one.

Then it simply turns back towards the Ambassador Dormitory, and walks away.]

[defyingfrigidity]

[Elsa doesn't even need to open her envelope. She knows what's going to be in there, if she does; Arendelle. The only home she's ever known. The place where her most fondest memories reside.

Everyone I've ever loved is here within these walls....

She has a duty to her family. To her people. She has to protect them. But...]

No. I refuse to believe this. All of this is just a trick.

[fourbutts]

[ Janis looks at her motive. Blinks. ]

Oh, no, my part-time job at the Bath and Body Works that I've already been super fired from since you kidnapped me.

[ That's just a picture of a mall. ]

[samefacesyndrome]

[ After last week, Rina's not sure what to expect. Another thing that doesn't really mean anything to her?

But no, this time it's the opposite.

She had her newly construction Rina-chan Paper Board in her other hand as she looked in the envelope, ready to use it to replace her expression. But what she sees makes her drop it to the floor with a flutter of sheets. ]

E...Eh...?

[tellthestory]

[The Balladeer goes pale just seeing these envelopes again, but...what place has he ever been that he loved? After an askance glance at the mannequin, he opens his envelope.]

.......isn't Denny's some kind of pancake restaurant?

[alchemistake]

[Of course it would be this. What other place could it feasibly better, for Varian?

He looks at his photo but he doesn’t have the same sort of emotional response he did to last week’s much more personal one. This is...personal, yes, very personal, but.

He almost expected this.]

You want us to sacrifice the few for the greater good of many, huh...

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice takes the envelope, fairly confident she knows what she's going to see. This time, she opens it with everyone else, standing there in the crowd.

It's not what she expected. It's not even close. It's -- ]

You can't! That's against your own rules!

[ This outburst is very, very unlike her, and it's only after the fact that she realizes she's just compromised herself. So she stuffs the picture into her pocket and walks out of the room as quickly as she can, not turning back to see anyone's reaction. ]

[yourattention]

Oh, I'm sure this will definitely scare me.

[He's flippant about it, opening the envelope carelessly. When he actually sees what it is, he freezes. The photo flutters to the floor and, uh. It's just a photo of the interior of a Mexican bakery? Okay, Connor.]

The loop of the
The loop of the
The loop of the—

INVESTIGATION

[voicerights]

[There is a brief period after the motive is given that the SQUIP can only be found in the Ambassador Dorm, laying on its bed with its hands folded across its chest. Its eyes are closed, breathing even- it may very well be sleeping, despite being fully dressed. But after that...

After that, it goes to the Concession Stand. It examines the items blank-faced, briefly running a hand over the headset before - as though on a whim - placing it on.

The pixel face briefly flickers to (◕w◕✿) before becoming ┐( ˘_˘ )┌

Later, it will be found in the Computer Lab, seeing what it can access there. It goes without saying that a computer-turned-human is still a computer, and hacking, well...that's just second nature.

Let's sync up, shall we?]

Ambassador Dorm

[mcfife]

[It has a human body, so it has to rest. Is that how it works? Angus wanders over and grabs the edge of a blanket to pull it over him. That's how sleep works, robot.]

Concession

[alchemistake]

[Varian had just been passing by, really. There's a lot on his mind today with the newest motive and all, yet another photo with another upsetting ultimatum, this one upsetting in a completely different way. But would it be enough to spurne someone to kill? Maybe if those living in those areas were to die too, but...

...

His thoughts are immediately derailed when he stops just in time to see the SQUIP put that headset on, the faces that come up flashing with different expressions.]

Uhhh...

[He blinks a time or two before approaching.]

What is that?

[disharmonizes]

[So after the motive announcement, Discord leaves in a bit of a huff and a hurry. He just sort of walks aimlessly, at first, before realizing he should probably be doing something with his time. And, well, if nothing else he has these coins. As much as he doesn't want to roll the possible-deer-skin roulette right now, it's a distraction. So to the vending machine he goes.

It's nothing too exciting, at first. He'll keep the white wine, the pom-poms might be fun for later, the dry ice will definitely see a use, and... Then there's the pink hair pin. Which isn't even on theme, except it's still reminding him of that motive again anyway.

He's looking not pleased about it.

So then he leaves there in a huff as well, and spends a lot of the day in the library, sort of... in a corner. Usually he's more a middle of the spotlight kind of guy, but he's just sitting there, with his lizard. Mostly paying attention to the lizard. This is a lizard corner now.

...at some point he builds a little castle out of books. She is lizard royalty, after all.]