Week Five

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, you had your very first minor body pileup! Granted, the Balladeer's death was entirely unrelated to anything, but at least he died as he lived - getting completely fucked up in some kind of carnival-themed hellscape. Only two days later, another terrible accident took Rina and Varian both from you. It's just been one of those weeks, huh? At least you got to add both of their corpses to your weird growing collection!

Again, you'll wake up this morning with another new snippet of memory. You'll also find that the stairs in the lobby are no longer blocked. You can only access one part of the second floor, but it seems like there's some neat stuff up there!

Outside, a few things seem to have changed. For one, the weather has turned - it'll be overcast this week, with periodic rain and even scattered thunderstorms. For another, the bushes around that rock out by the football field have bloomed. That's nice.

Get to it, friends! I'm sure everything will be fine this week!]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regain and your AC for this week! As always, Hester's office hours and the merch booth remain available. ))

Comments

[mayavericks]

[She closes her eyes, trying to block the yellow out. It's easier when she can curl against Janis.]

I lost count. The same thing continued to happen, again and again.

[fourbutts]

[ Janis wraps her arms around Maya, easing into her turn on "take care of girl" duty. ]

Like... [ She frowns. ] Like Groundhog Day? Or... the two things I know that do that are Groundhog Day and Madoka, I'm so sorry.

[mayavericks]

I don't -- know.

[She shakes her head. Even as she tries to jog her memory, she fails.]

It was Claudine and I at first. We had made it to the final Revue, and I had selected her as my partner. We were supposed to face Aijo-san and Kagura-san, but then --

[How could she forget, now, after seeing it so many times.]

Everything was different. And instead of our joint duel, it was Nana and I. And she -- won. Again and again, Nana won.

[fourbutts]

But... why? And how?

[ she is a narrator, but she is also a slice of life character- wait. ]

Is she a narrator, too?

[mayavericks]

I --

[Maya freezes.]

How would I know? If she was, I mean?

[fourbutts]

I mean... I barely know that I'm one. But... it seems like knowing things you're not supposed to is part of it. And... controlling stuff.

[ She breathes. ]

And... telling the same story. Over and over again.

[ It's an old song
And we're gonna sing it again ]

[mayavericks]

I don't know. It... felt different. Not like the same story being told, but the same thing happening over and over again. Like a --

[She shakes her head.]

Like a scratch on a CD.

[fourbutts]

[ Like a...

Living in the state of dreaming, of dreaming-

Janis swallows hard. ]

Like a loop.

[mayavericks]

[Ah.]

Like a loop. Exactly like that.

Every time, she talked about how dazzling it all was.

[fourbutts]

[ Janis ponders that for a moment. ]

Can you think why she would do that? If it's even on purpose.

1/2

[mayavericks]

I don't --

2/2

[mayavericks]

[But it hits her.

If you’re not making a serious effort because you wish to remain “everyone’s banana” I…. I will not forgive you, Nana Daiba.

This is how far you would go?]

I... Think I understand.

[fourbutts]

Yeah?

[ She pulls back to look properly at Maya. ]

What's up?

[mayavericks]

She was in love with the stage, with the performance we put on as first years. She could speak of nothing of how she could not wait to repeat the performance for our second and third year.

No changes. No improvements. The same show, again and again.

[And again, and again, and again.

It's still dazzling.]

I told her I would never forgive her if she did not devote herself to improving. If she stayed stuck in the past, afraid to hurt others with her talents.

[fourbutts]

[ She takes a breath. ]

Well, that's... yeah, that sounds like a recipe for time loops.

[mayavericks]

[Maya is quiet for the time being. She'd lost count in the mid-teens, and that was only reliving the same handful of minutes. If Nana had wanted to go back to that performance, though --

A loop. An endless loop.

She glances up, eyes tracing around the room. She searches for anywhere the cameras might be hidden, and dimly hopes that the sound of lapping water and running machinery had been enough to muffle their conversation for the time being.

Now, though, she slips an arm around Janis's waist. She coaxes her toward the locker room, and waits for the door to shut before she speaks again.]

It sounds familiar, don't you think? Wanting to turn back time?

[fourbutts]

[ Her voice catches, and she nods. ]

That's... exactly what I was thinking. The stage was... like that. There was even a literal record skipping, almost.

[mayavericks]

I was told that the Wizard did not know where Nana had gone. But what if that is not the case. What if it is more smoke and mirrors on his part? Hester herself said that she thought my wish could bring Nana back. If the Wizard could do that all along, then why would he not know where she is?

[fourbutts]

Then... all we know is what he tells Hester. That's why she's the one who talks to us, because she doesn't know he's full of shit.

[ love u hes ]

[mayavericks]

Yet. But I... suspect that can change. She may prove to be an ally to us, if we can prove that her faith in him is misguided.

[She clenches her fingers into fists, and then releases the grip just as quickly.

In any case, I plan to speak with her next. Or at least... find out what she knows about Nana.

[fourbutts]

Yeah, that's a good idea. See if he's mentioned her or whatever.

[ A frown. ]

I'm going to see if I can't get her to tell me if there are any other narrators here I should know about.

[mayavericks]

Having more people like you may help.

[She pauses.]

Well. No one could ever be quite like you, of course.

[fourbutts]

[ She sort of. Bumps her side against Maya lightly. ]

Sure, but knowing who's a narrator and who isn't would still be useful. Especially if the Wizard is one.

[mayavericks]

Your abilities as a narrator are suppressed here though, right? Would any of you be able to do much?

[fourbutts]

True, but... if that's just him being a stronger narrator, maybe I can train or something.