It's Curtains Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stagemanagers) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
itscurtains2021-07-02 11:58 pm
stagemanagers) wrote in itscurtains2021-07-02 11:58 pm
fourth trial
[As the investigation ends, you'll hear Hester's voice inviting you to the auditorium. As this happens, the twin doors on either side of the concession stand, across from the gym, will click open. You can enter on either side; both go to the same place.
When you enter the auditorium, it's dark. There's only the small lights along the walkway behind all the seats, just enough to illuminate where you're going. There's a central path between the seats, down towards where you know the stage must be. That's where you must be going, right? As you pass each row of seats, the lights at their ends flick on, marking your procession and slowly making more and more of the room visible. Shortly, you can see your destination: a circle of podiums stationed in the orchestra pit, below the lip of the darkened, curtained stage. They're all identical, labeled with a cast member's name. Varian and Salieri, side by side, now have theirs draped in black crepe and with a framed monochrome photo of them on top.
When you reach the podiums, the lights above the stage finally come on. The Wizard is once again waiting for you. Beside it Hester is slowly lowers in on her bubble. There's no flashy costume this time, just a plain black dress belted with green satin around her waist. She sits in her seat with her head down and her hands in her lap like she's trying to make herself as small as possible. As if, if she tried hard enough, she could just disappear despite the lights on her.
The mechanical head, with glowing green eyes, is installed above the stage and the still-closed curtain. Even if you were standing on the stage, it'd be well out of reach. It peers down at all of you, its motions fluid, and speaks with a booming, artificial-sounding voice:]
Welcome to your fourth trial, everyone. It's time to determine who was responsible for the murder of Salieri. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and work together - you'll have to show teamwork if you want to leave this room alive.
When you enter the auditorium, it's dark. There's only the small lights along the walkway behind all the seats, just enough to illuminate where you're going. There's a central path between the seats, down towards where you know the stage must be. That's where you must be going, right? As you pass each row of seats, the lights at their ends flick on, marking your procession and slowly making more and more of the room visible. Shortly, you can see your destination: a circle of podiums stationed in the orchestra pit, below the lip of the darkened, curtained stage. They're all identical, labeled with a cast member's name. Varian and Salieri, side by side, now have theirs draped in black crepe and with a framed monochrome photo of them on top.
When you reach the podiums, the lights above the stage finally come on. The Wizard is once again waiting for you. Beside it Hester is slowly lowers in on her bubble. There's no flashy costume this time, just a plain black dress belted with green satin around her waist. She sits in her seat with her head down and her hands in her lap like she's trying to make herself as small as possible. As if, if she tried hard enough, she could just disappear despite the lights on her.
The mechanical head, with glowing green eyes, is installed above the stage and the still-closed curtain. Even if you were standing on the stage, it'd be well out of reach. It peers down at all of you, its motions fluid, and speaks with a booming, artificial-sounding voice:]
Welcome to your fourth trial, everyone. It's time to determine who was responsible for the murder of Salieri. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and work together - you'll have to show teamwork if you want to leave this room alive.
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Fire will burn itself out eventually. But the sea never gives up her dead.
He takes his place at his podium, covered in Antonio's blood (both from holding Farrah and from his own investigating) and places the bloody dagger onto the podium in front of him. His shirt is tucked in, but on one side a slight frayed edge of torn fabric is visible, and one hand is wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth that's probably the same shade of blue as his shirt.
His voice is commanding, cold and threatening, and boy does it carry. Especially with their number cut so low.]
The killer doesn't care how angry we are, only that it weakens us and makes us less likely to find them out. They've already taken Antonio from us, likely knowing that he was the anchor that held us together, counting on us to fall apart without him.
It's up to us to not let that happen. To write a symphony for the damned in the blood of the son of a bitch who did this.
[Slightly terrifying rousing speech done and punctuated by slamming his good hand flat on the podium for the sound, he looks around. There's no more Mr. Nice Benji here today. Plenty of times he's been empty, he's been grief-stricken. But today, he's more menacing than anyone here has seen him before.]
Antonio was stabbed with his own dagger. Once, through the heart. But it was not the first blow the murderer attempted. I found a cut across his palm, likely from where he caught the blade in his hand the first time and was able to push it away. Other than that there was no sign of a struggle, so I can only assume the second blow was swift and true.
[The fact that he would have bled out in seconds, that he would not have suffered long in pain, is of little comfort. Lines of anguished exhaustion crease Benjamin's face, as he closes his eyes to recall the state of the body.]
He was carrying a corkscrew in his pocket. He also had a stain of wine on his right trouser leg and shoe. Did he tell anyone who he might have been planning on having drinks with last night?
[He asks, looking especially pointedly to his right at Discord.]
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Hey Mods
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...Please... if this was an accident please whoever did it speak up now. I promise I won’t be mad
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[LSP does indeed have an armful of slightly random items from the nurse's office. But no painkillers, THANKS CULPRIT-SAN.]
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There was— in the library. A broken bottle of wine, looked like it was dropped, and...awhile ago too. The wine soaked all the way into the carpet. It was near the entrance...and near some drops of blood. There wasn't a trail or anything, which was...kind of weird? But there was something else, on one of the study tables. Candles, ones that were mostly burned down into just wax. And...a bunch of pages from books that had cut out sections. It looked like all of 'em were from books on Mozart. From the glue next to it... I think someone made some freaky note from 'em? Like the kind you'd see from a kidnapper sending a ransom note of something.
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mods
Re: mods
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There was... Antonio's work was still in the band room. He must have been in there late, composing.
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Her family is staring at her, through pictures. The only way she can see them now.
She doesn’t know how she ends up between Benji and Discord, if someone’s gently ushered her there, or if she’s moved there on her own, her body desperately seeking the comfort she had cling to the last three times she was here. It’s hopeless. It’s gone. But at least she isn’t alone.
She’s tried to clean herself up in the little bit of time they had. Her hands are clean, at least, and she uses them to gently place the music sheets with the sticky note on Discord’s podium. She’s back in the Balladeer’s jacket, which serves to cover up at least most of the blood on her torso—- and something silver glints just inside it.
Every now and then she’ll glance up at Hester. She looks fucking miserable.
Good. ]
He was writing this. Symphony of Hope.
One of you asked him to meet you in the library this morning. And because he’s—- was——
I’m going to fucking rip you apart.
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She casts one glance at Varian's portrait. Then to Elsa.]
I, uh... Found some things in the cafeteria.
[Draped over her arm appears to be... some clothing?]
This is Salieri's jacket and waistcoat. The were stacked on top of each other on the floor. I checked the pockets but everything is still in there. [She sets them across her podium.] There was also a burnt-out candle on a nearby table, and a number of medicine bottles, most of them were painkillers. But it didn't actually look like any of them were missing too many pills. Some of them weren't even open.
cw: suicide discussion
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catherd
Now, if we're all done yelling at each other, can we please finally get some work done?
Salieri was found on the stage in the cafeteria. He had a cut on his hand and...his own dagger in his chest. He was on some kind of...cloth, laid out. Besides his hand...there weren't any signs of a struggle or anything. He had a corkscrew in his pocket, and a wine stain on his leg. His jacket and waistcoat were stacked on each other a ways away. He had...some things in his pockets— Cass, was there anything like, important in there?
[ She asks but she's gonna keep going— ]
On a table nearby, there was a burnt-out candle and a bunch of medicine bottles. Most were painkillers, but some were unopened. Probably, someone went through the nurse's office in a panic, since it was a real mess, and grabbed a bunch of things all at once.
In the kitchen, there was a corkscrew missing, which...was probably the one in Salieri's pocket, and four others out on the counter, sealed and unused. Maya, was there anything else missing in the kitchen, or was that it?
[ And still, she continues— ]
In the library, Janis and I found a broken bottle of wine, one of the floral scent ones that Orpheus and Eurydice recognize. This is a different kind of wine from the stuff that was in the kitchen, and on Salieri. Someone dropped the bottle near the entrance. Nearby, there were drops of blood. Real small, no trail. There was...also a spill of candle wax near the door, and a bloodstained handkerchief. On a table, there were ripped out book pages with a bunch of words cut out, along with glue and completely burned down candles.
What all those were used for...was in the band room. There was a post-it with a message on it: "Meet me in library 3 am." It was on a music stand with...with Salieri's latest in-progress composition. [ At that, she pauses. She swallows down a lump in her throat. ] It's...safe to say, he was in there late, working on it.
[ A slow breath. ]
We've got the handkerchief, the wine, the note, just— we've got a lot of things here to look over and compare. Maybe we can try and put together some kind of timeline. Or, maybe we can check each other over for more injuries.
But we have to start cooperating, or else we're all dead. Alright?
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MTB...?
But, of course it didn't work out the way I planned it.
[He relaxes, almost shrugging casually while he lets that origami butterfly float into the air, into little circles.]
When the light is running low
And the shadows start to grow
And the places that you know
Cut away the afterglow
There's a light inside your soul
Slowly shrinking in the cold
From the truth deep down you know
And yet darker we will go
[And that butterfly suddenly burns, ashes floating down to the floor.]
How convincing that man could be. But more the fool I, for listening to him.
...My own fault, really. All of it... I never should have showed him that photo at all.
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VOTING
[Oh, that's...that's it? Okay.]
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EXECUTION: You Give Love a Bad Name
She sits in her bubble, eyes squeezed shut and back straight like she's trying and failing to get up the nerve to start. The music stops and the Wizard head turns to look down at her. It’s hard to tell from a distance but it looks like it’s eyebrows furrow in concern. There’s quiet for a moment and Hester lilts her head to the side slightly, like she’s leaning into an invisible hand touching her head.
She takes a breath, opens her eyes and the music starts over:]
A demon's smile is what you sell
You promised him heaven, then put them through hell
Chains of love have a hold on you
When passion's a prison, you can't break free
[The green curtains open and there’s Discord, bound by his wrists and ankles with thick white rope that hangs from the ceiling. Behind him is a painted backdrop, a cozy-looking little town with a large tree in the middle with a big red door. He looks both surprised and annoyed and experimentally tugs at his bonds. He has some range of motion but the ropes quickly go taught and nearly gets pulled off his feet.]
Whoa, oh, oh
You're a loaded gun
Whoa, oh, oh
You've nowhere to run
No one can save you, the-
[Hester's voice wavers while Discord continues to pull against his ropes. Her eyes stray from the stage to the orchestra pit, down to the survivors. She tries to start up again, her conviction fading more and more.]
No one can save you, the damage is-
Done!
[The Wizard's voice booms through the auditorium. Both Hester and Discord jerk their heads up to look to the massive head. It seems you all have a new performer for this execution.]
Shot through the heart and you're to blame
You give love a bad name
[While the Wizard's voice projects through the room, a catwalk starts to lower. On it stands what is clearly a mannequin dressed in greens and pinks stands holding the ends of the ropes binding Discord. She pulls at the ropes, making him jerk aggressively as a new spotlight brightens up a spot on the stage: a gallows with a single noose hanging down. The mannequin tilts it's head left and right, like its silent vocal chords are trying to hum a little tune as it begins to walk Discord toward the gallows.]
You play your part and we play this game
You give love a bad name
Hey, you give love
A bad name
[Until now Discord has been making a token effort against his restraints. But when the gallows light up a sharpness suddenly appears in his eyes and he grins. His head jerks up to look at the Wizard, speaking out for the first time since he was swept to the stage with all the sharpness and taunting befitting a Lord of Chaos.]
The final act is sure to be a theatrical
Plot twist worthy of a prize
[He gives one more experimental tug of the ropes before surging forward, dragging the pink-haired mannequin down from the catwalk to smash against the stage. Plastic limbs go flying in several directions and he crouches to pick up an arm, making it wave up at the Wizard head.]
Want a shot? You better be more tactical
Messin' with disharmony is never wise~!
I've had enough of you!
[Discord points up at the Wizard with the severed arm (which extends an accusing finger).]
So, I won't you be your puppet
On a string!
I've had enough of you!
[He snaps his fingers and, from their safely hidden places outside the trial room, six glass jars appear at his feet and in his hands. They're all filled with some type of dark liquid and, judging by the situation, probably very dangerous.
He raises two of the jars above his head, not breaking eye contact with the glowing green eyes. How unfortunate that the other missing things from the nurse's office had been overlooked this morning without the inventory list: potassium permanganate and sulfuric acid. Separate? Mostly harmless and medically useful! Mixed together? Well...]
Look at you, stuck like glue, bid this murdergame adieu!
'Cause I've had enough of you~!
[He drops the two jars. The moment they hit the floor the explosions are an instantaneous chain reaction. The Wizard lets out a shout of surprise, the green eyes flashing between green and white then back to green. Hester, although seemingly safe in her bubble, screams. It immediately ascends but not before she grabs her leg in apparent pain.
The fire from the explosions doesn't seem to be spreading from the main stage but it's probably a good idea to get out as fast as you can.]
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