OVERTURE

[stagemanagers]

You wake up, and realize you don’t remember how you got here.

This bed is soft and warm, but it’s certainly not yours. And the room is unfamiliar - unless perhaps you’re an actor, seeing as it looks almost exactly like every dressing room in the world. It's not quite large enough to fit the bed and trunk comfortably alongside the vanity, but it what it lacks in open space, it makes up for in coziness. This could be something you’ve seen in a movie, or dreamed about experiencing one day. But whatever the case, you aren’t supposed to be here.

There’s a silver key resting on your vanity, along with a thin program booklet. The cover - where the name of the show would usually be - is blank, but if you flip through it, you’ll find some startlingly familiar information. Maybe a few familiar faces as well…

The hallway outside is narrow and poorly-lit, lined with star-studded doors. But if you make your way past them and out into the lobby, you’ll find something entirely different: an elegant, refined opera house. Crystal chandeliers glitter overhead, and the red carpet is perfect for putting on a show. A large clock on the northern wall marks the time, though with the windows shuttered and locked it's difficult to tell whether it's morning or night. There’s also some framed information pinned up that you might find helpful. If you explore further into the adjoining wings, in fact, you'll see there's an identical copy in every room.

There’s also two sets of double-doors in the lobby: one leading back the way you came, deeper into the Opera House, and one leading out. For the moment, neither of them will open.

It looks like you’re stuck. But hey - at least you aren’t alone.

Comments

[bestof]

[The first thing that strikes Eliza when she wakes is that she's alone. She rolls over, expecting to find her new husband or at least some lingering warmth if he'd awakened before her. Instead there's just empty, cold space.]

Alexander...?

[Even at a sleepy glance she can tell this surely isn't the Pastures and she's alone in a strange room when she's supposed to be on her honeymoon. She climbs out of the strange bed and looks quickly around the room before spotting the program and flipping it open to read.]

Actress, what-? [This has to be a mistake. A mistake or some kind of cruel joke. Eliza hurries out of her room with the program in her hand, stopping only briefly to pick up the key on the vanity. Her first stop is the lobby, where she can be found reading over the list of rules and wringing her hands with worry.]

Whoever did this, they can't really expect us to...to do that, can they?

[A bit later, after calming down a bit, she can be found in the costume room looking for a new dress because she may be trapped with strangers in an opera house doesn't mean she has to spend all day in her nightgown.]

costume room;

[irreprochable]

[Javert is continuing his search of the area, having made it out of the storage closet, a few new items tucked in his pockets and in a handy dandy over the shoulder bag he found with them. aren't storage closets neat!

anyway, he wasn't expecting to find a woman in here and almost, but not quite gasps, averting his eyes and slowly backing out of the room. she could be naked!! he's not going to take any chances.]

Pardon me, Madame, I did not think anyone would be in here.

[bestof]

Oh-! [Eliza is thankfully clothed at the moment, still in her nightgown while she rummages through the racks for something in her size and modest enough to suit her needs. She still holds the green gown she's found up to her chest.] No, I apologize, sir. I should have put up some sort of notice on the door.

[irreprochable]

[look being in your nightgown barely counts as clothing in this day and age!!]

There is no need to apologize. I will stand watch outside the door while you change.

costume room

[rockthistown]

[Still shaken up, Hime wanders into the costume room and you can just see the instant flower border around her. (Possibly literally. Who knows what the budget for this production is.]

Wow! Look at all these! They've got clothes for everything!

[bestof]

[...this child has blue hair and is surrounded by a flower border. What has Eliza's life become?]

I must say there is a wide array. [She picks up a furry-trimmed white jacket and holds it against herself to see how it would fit.]

[rockthistown]

That's perfect! [She claps, the power of fashion drawing her into the room.] The shape really fits you and white looks great at this time of year! I think everyone can follow fashion if they're determined enough. It's one of my favourite things!

Costume room

[dontfeedplants]

[Seymour was just checking out the outfits in the costume room when he sees Eliza.]

Can... can we just use these outfits?

[Seymour had not seen any of the actual staff members, and his knowledge of the theater life is minimal at best, but it feels a little unsure if it was okay to just use these random outfits.]

[bestof]

Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission. [Picks through racks and oh god, what is this even?] Whoever trapped us here did so without a change of clothes so it's their own fault if we aren't supposed to use them.

[dontfeedplants]

... I hadn't thought about that yet.

[He looks sheepish.]

You think there's anything good in here?

lobby

[robitussin]

Just saying, I would be pretty cool with staying here a while if all of us could avoid the whole murder thing? And hopefully I'm way in the majority there, because... Yikes.

[Though it's hard to convince herself it won't come to that - they had accounted for it in the rules they wrote up, so they must be planning on it occurring.]

[bestof]

There must be a way out of here that isn't that. There has to be.

[She's 100% ready to get out of here back to her husband and sisters but she is not down for murder.]

[robitussin]

We could always try to break down one of the doors? I mean, there's like... At least fifteen of us here, if not more.

costumes room

[onthebusagain]

[A room full of clothes? It's practically screaming Heather's name. She stands in the doorway and peers in, smiling ear to ear. ]

Wow! Look at all the choices! Anything good?

[bestof]

A few.

[She pulls out another costume dress.

...Eliza's definition of "good" might differ dramatically from Heather's.]

[onthebusagain]

[Yeah, no.]

If I'm going trick or treating, maybe.

lobby

[lifegoalsorwifegoals]

[...Is she asking her, or is this rhetorical. D-ne, nearby, idly wonders why if it's better or worse that there are so many adults here.]

A- ah... If they're posted in so many places, it's probable they aren't a joke.

[bestof]

I just can't make sense of it. Who could ever want this?

[littlegirl_littlecurl]

[She wasnt planning on doing much other than poking her head in, but seeing as its obvious that this lady is looking to change our of her pajammas, Darla tosses out some advice.]

You should wear pink.

Lobby

[dechagny]

[These rules are becoming an increasingly interesting thing for Raoul, who's been reading them a couple of times over now, shaking his head. When the lady nearby asks her question, he's quick to respond.]

They cannot - it is preposterous and cruel, as is this entire...[he gestures around them] all of this.

[He's getting to the point where he is so fucking done.]

[bestof]

[She's right there with you, Raoul.]

It doesn't make sense, any of it. I don't understand. [There's an edge in her voice, almost a crack. Crying sounds like an excellent response to all this but she knows it wouldn't do any good.]

costume room

[solomonjihad]

[Eliza isn't the only one looking for new clothing. Astarte feels odd in her own dress, for reasons she can't explain. She needs something a little less...whatever this dress is.

She spots Eliza as she goes through the next rack.]

Oh, I.

Excuse me.

[bestof]

Oh, hello. [Eliza gives her a small smile, that shifts into a slightly confused one when her eyes fall on Astarte's wardrobe.] It seems we're having the same wardrobe problems.

lobby!

[sunshineprincess]

[Anna, too, had been bothered by the rules. So when she sees Eliza standing there in even more of a tizzy than herself, she decides to join the other.]

It's horrible, isn't it. Why would they want us to kill each other just to leave?

[bestof]

It's terrible. The way they wrote this, it's almost like it's some sort of game to them.

[Who would ever want to run a murder game?]