Week Four

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

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

[fourbutts]

Yeah, that's the weird part. My other memories were like... of the events. Not the show.

[tellthestory]

Your world isn't not real just because you can see out of it every now and then. You're probably...better off thinking of it that way. I think I lose track of that, sometimes...

[His show hadn't been so grounded in reality. His character is basically a fourth-wall breaking tool anyway. He wonders if that made him unkind sometimes, back in the other show? Oblivious to the point of unkindness, at least.]

[fourbutts]

Right... right. But wait, if my world is like that... where are we now? Where's the audience?

[tellthestory]

Honestly? No clue. I know there is one - the Player would talk about them. But I feel like I lost that trick of seeing them, when I left my show.

[He actually takes a sip of his tea, finally.]

Maybe it's...different. Not a stage show or something. I mean, apparently Spongebob's from a cartoon.

[fourbutts]

I guess so. Like how my show was a movie like fifteen year ago?

[tellthestory]

Was it? Oh, that's interesting - do you remember the movie?

[fourbutts]

Not really, I just... sort of know it was. Ever heard of Mean Girls?

[tellthestory]

[He smiles.]

No, but my show debuted in 1991. You seem pretty after my time. Must've been big, though, to get a musical?

[fourbutts]

Probably? I don't remember the whole show yet, just Act One. I might know more later on.

[tellthestory]

...oh.

[The Balladeer's stomach immediately drops.

But...no. No! Janis isn't like him. She's not just a storytelling device, she's a character. An actual person! Just a kid, telling a story with her friend about something that happened at their school. She can't just go missing, or die. She's gonna be fine! She'll be fine.

Impulsively, he leans forward to put his hand on her shoulder. Something fearful still lurks in the back of his gaze, but he's mostly just so earnest.]

Well - listen. You're gonna do great at this, okay? You've got your buddy with you, and your show sounds like a good one! You won't end up like me, I promise. In fact - [He leans back, some of that intensity dissipating.] - want me to teach you a few tricks? I can't do much here, but I've got some stuff.

[fourbutts]

I-

[ What does that mean? End up like him? Is there some kind of Narrator Curse?? But it's nice to have someone who gets this, whatever it is. ]

Uh... sure, yeah. I didn't even think there would be tricks, this is better than I was hoping for already.

[tellthestory]

Oh, sure! More in your own show, but you can make this one bend a little. It's about...gosh, I've never had to explain this before.

[He chuckles, seeming suddenly a lot lighter. All of a sudden, it feels like he's got a direction, something that maybe he won't fail at: he's going to help Janis.]

It's about confidence, in part. Here, most of the story is happening to us; we can't take control. But things that aren't so important, or might fit in here anyway - those are free game. So, maybe I didn't start this scene with breakfast, but I could've.

[He starts to cut his pancakes.]

Kinda helps not to draw too much attention to it.

[fourbutts]

[ Narrator training narrator training-

Holy shit that's neat. ]

Oh, so like... when Damian pulls out that picture of George Michael, and then it's gone. We can just do that?

[tellthestory]

Yeah! Usually you'd use it for a gag or something like that, but...well, I guess I haven't worried about the show so much, here.

[It's not his show, and they were all sort of kidnapped for it, right?]

[fourbutts]

So like... if I reached into my pocket, since I haven't really thought about what's in it yet, and...

[ She pulls out a pen. ]

Handy. I'm guessing it probably wouldn't work if I wanted to pull out, like, a live mouse or something.

[tellthestory]

Oh, good job, you got it! [He grins!] Doubt it, though. Unless you carry live mice in your pockets a lot.

[He's honestly never thought about it. Honestly the concept of creating life is a little wild.]

There's also just a lot of...knowing things. I don't know how to explain that, exactly. You can't really make it happen, and it hasn't happened to me here since the first day. If it were your show, it'd probably be just...knowing what happened in scenes you weren't there for, stuff like that. But I guess we aren't supposed to know what's going on here.

[It would sort of ruin the story. Even if the Balladeer's decided to quit caring about that here, that doesn't mean he'll just be allowed.]

[fourbutts]

Just... knowing things? [ Janis frowns. ] What does it feel like? So I know what to... feel for, I guess, unless there's some kind of way it looks?

[tellthestory]

No, it just sort of...comes to you, I guess. It's hard to explain.

[fourbutts]

Huh. So like how I know what's going on when Cady and the Plastics are onstage, that... works other places sometimes?

[tellthestory]

Yeah! Yeah, pretty much. That was...

[He goes quiet, thinking about it for a second.]

When that thing happened with Hester, it felt almost like I knew a line of script, for a second. I've wondered since, if...the Wizard meant me to. He wasn't there to say anything, but I was.

[fourbutts]

[ Oh right, that thing. ]

Then... do you think he's like. Stopping us, somehow?

[tellthestory]

Oh, probably. We'd ruin it, otherwise.

[fourbutts]

I guess so. Probably hard to keep mysteries from like... kinda sorta psychics.

[tellthestory]

Oh, absolutely. It was a weird choice for us to be here, I think.