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

[tellthestory]

[Everything went black during the fall.

But down there amid the rubble, the Balladeer briefly swims back into consciousness. The back of his head's wet. There's wood sticking through his clothes, and through...oh. Oh.

For a moment he almost expects the curtains to swish shut around him, or for rough hands to drag him offstage. There's the red-and-white, the lights, he's been here before. But - no. The only thing there is Janis, in a glittering halo above him. The Balladeer tries to push himself up on an elbow, slips, and falls back again. He tries to speak, but his words come out slurred and too-quiet. He takes a breath and tries again.]

- limited.
And just look at you.
You can do all I - I couldn't -

[But the curtain's falling, and he can't finish his verse.

The Balladeer is dead.]

[fourbutts]

[ Janis knows, somehow, when it hits. When he dies. Maybe she can feel it, maybe it's a narrator thing, she doesn't know.

She looks at the Wizard's head. ]

It's fine for you
Control you exert
It's fine
When someone gets hurt
Now you're gonna hurt

[ Her voice breaks into a sob. ]

Someone! Anyone! Help, it's... we're in the theater!

[mayavericks]

[Maya's girlfriend senses are tingling. And weaponless though she is, she comes running anyway.]

Janis? Janis?!

[fourbutts]

[ And from your maybe-third-gf's sky bubble, Maya: ]

It's- the Balladeer, he- we were...

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus comes running when he hears the great crashing sound from the auditorium, arriving a little after Maya and Cassandra. The surprise at the theater being open barely registers. ]

Janis!! What happened, are you - What's wrong?

[fourbutts]

It's... I'm fine! I don't know how I'm gonna- that's not important! The Balladeer fell.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[WAS THIS... ALWAYS HERE?]

Janis? What do you mean he-- Oh.

[The rubble.]

Oh.

[fourbutts]

I don't... I don't think he...

[ But she knows, doesn't she? She can tell. Even from up here. ]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Something in Janis' tone confirms it, in a way that not even the piles of rubble can. He's gone, all because of some massive accident.

One thing at a time. Cassandra swallows and turns to the nearest person.]

We have to get her down from there. Who knows if it's safe.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ The rubble. Orpheus's eyes go wide, and he rushes over to see if there's anything he can do -

But it quickly becomes apparent that there's not, from the way the splintered remains of the booth jut out around him, slick and red and sickening. Orpheus drops to his knees, reaching out to him anyway, trying to feel at his neck for a pulse, to no avail. ]

He's - no. He's not-

[ He's gone. ]

[barberic]

[If there's one thing that can still bring Benjamin running, it's a scream for help.

He runs into the theater and skids to a stop, when he sees the broken pile of wood and plastic, slicked with red, too bright, too shiny, too wet-

He gasps, ragged and soft, his hands shaking, something inside him fraying with a near tangible snap.]

I'll remember it forever...

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice crouches behind him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. It’s difficult to look at, but she doesn’t want to run away. ]

He is.

[employeeoftheyear]

[Spongebob hears the commotion and immediately runs in. He knew he didn't want to see this, he knew something bad must have happened, but he didn't want to ignore it. His friends were hurting, and even if he could to nothing about it, he didn't want to turn a blind eye to it.

When he sees the madness, the rubble, The Balladeer's body, he doesn't scream or start sobbing, he just... stares. He desperately wants to cry but they don't come, like he wasted all his tears earlier. Like he completely wasted all his energy.

That... was his buddy. He failed him. They were supposed to make sure the other one was safe, and he failed.

Spongebob stands back from the crowd, hugging his sides.]

No control...

[mayavericks]

[Maya looks up and... really, she should expect Hester, but -- No, it's Janis. There she is.]


What --

[She looks to the pile of carnage.]

Oh no.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine isn't far behind. Backstage they go. Investigate, Janis told them she was going to investigate with the Balladeer, that she'd be back. ]

Where are we...? [ For a brief moment, all the various things scattered about demand Peregrine's attention—but that moment is, indeed, brief, because—

Well. ]

Shit. Shit, Bal—

[ She runs over to the carnage, because of course she does. ]

[fourbutts]

It- he...

[ She sniffles. ]

He saved me.

[mayavericks]

Peregrine, help me.

[She's sprinting toward the bubble. Can they form a girlfriend tower???]

[stagemanagers]

[Not necessary! As Maya and Peregrine go to try and figure out how to get Janis down, the bubble begins to slowly lower down towards the ground on its own.

Well. Maybe not entirely on its own. The Wizard's eyes are glowing, and his head is angled as far inwards towards you as it can go.]

[comeandfindme]

He... He's—

[ Peregrine looks over. Because, the Balladeer's here, broken on the ground, and well, she found him, but—

But he's not getting up.

Her gaze goes from Maya, up to Janis, who is still there, still alive, still in need of help. She squeezes her eyes shut to stop the tears and then joins Maya. Sorry, Bal. ]

We can't reach her like this. It— we need to move it, we need to get it down, like- like the Wizard did that first trial.

[alchemistake]

[Once again, a crowd has formed.

Varian for once isn’t far. Not so far that he can’t hear people starting to shout. The telltale building thrum of anguish that signals that something terrible has happened. It’s so early, so early-

He staggers into view some distance behind everyone else, not quite close enough to be in the action, but close enough that he can see the wreckage. He can see B’s body, this time. The splintered wood. The blood that almost seems like it could be fake in its sickly brightness. And he can hear the booming voice of the Wizard when he says there will be no trial.

Only people have trials.

Varian turns and runs out, as fast and as hard as his legs can carry him.]

[samefacesyndrome]

[ Rina was also not too far away and she's here... but thankfully no one has to shield her this time either.

Because the instant Varian runs she's after him. Wanting to be there for him and comfort him (and to an extent, herself). ]

Varian-kun...!

[alchemistake]

[Fortunately for Rina, Varian doesn't make it that far. He got stopped in one of the hallways leading back to the dorms, because he realized he would probably start running into people if he went that way, so the best thing for him to do had been just...

Pace in a tight circle, gripping his head- almost pulling at his hair- before turning and slamming both fists against the wall, hard. It's a brief outburst that doesn't last more than a second before the wind leaves Varian's sails, his expression screwing up as he lifts both hands to cover his face, turning around with his back to the wall.

From there, he slides down until he's in a hard sit on the hallway floor, moving to bury his face into his knees.]

[samefacesyndrome]

[ Rina follows him but stops when she sees him pacing and slamming his fists.

She doesn't really know what to do... even once he's on the ground. ]

[brokeforgood]

[Once Farrah leaves Salieri behind, her cool exterior slowly slips away. It starts with her walk, which speeds up—- almost into a run, which turns out to be pretty fucking useless, given that Varian and Rina didn’t get that far.

She actually runs past them at first, and has to do a big stupid running loop to end up back with them.

Varian may have thought the violence was over when he stopped slamming his fists into the wall, but Farrah dives onto her knees and her embrace is half-hug half-slam into Varian. Farrah bomb.

Meanwhile, she’s got one arm extended to Rina, making a kind of grabby motion. Get down here on the floor with them, girl.]

[samefacesyndrome]

[ Rina actually jumps a little as Farrah runs past and then dives into an embrace.

But as soon as the arm is extended to her she remembers how to move, how to actually comfort someone and she's there. She's diving into that hug too. ]