week 1

[stagemanagers]

[Well, all escape attempts have failed thus far. None of you have seen the Phantom since his brief appearance on Sunday, or heard from him at all. It looks like, for the time being, you’re all going to be stuck here.

You're free to continue exploring your surroundings to your hearts' content. The only real restriction on your movements is that the kitchen is closed between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am. Better make sure to grab any midnight snacks you may want ahead of time. Also, remember to label any investigation toplevels!

The Merchandise Booth is now open for business as well! The Phantom hasn't deigned to explain how it works, but...well, some of you will start to find mysterious coins in your rooms, and the Booth's got a place to put coins. You'll figure it out.

Should you wish to engage more with your host, you're welcome to drop letters in the box office slot. There's no set way to converse verbally with him, and he's certainly not guaranteed to respond if you just yell at the walls - but that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't listening. Just something to keep in mind.

Enjoy your first week, everyone.]

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday

(( OOC: This will be the last mod post for this week! Feel free to start submitting regains for any threads that aren't with the Phantom. Remember, song threads mean an extra coin! This is a peace week, so get all that CR while you can! ))

Comments

interrogation

[herwiggles]

[Just a Gem minding her own business? Whatever has she done to deserve this?]

Oooh, what's this? Huh? Huh? A new game? Can I be part of it?

[A laugh! And a pause.]

Also, what's a 'casting call'?

[revelfree]

[Ariel nods his permission, still mentally clinging to whatever bits of the song remained inside his mind. It was for the best that he didn't drink the whole thing himself.

Probably.]

What do you suppose it means, for one to know our very dreams?

[revelfree]

[The reference is clearly lost on Ariel. He is the embodiment of the '???' bird]

Suppose I find him back there and he strikes me down. I would hate for you to find my body strewn about somewhere.

[revelfree]

Nothing of substance yet. [Mr. Scholar here is very much disappointed by this fact.]

Of course, I have been rather disoriented by these surroundings. Lights without fire and machines that shoot water on food. I don't know what to make of it all.

[37773972]

Ariel knew how to make it. I just helped. [beat] It was my idea, though. I just thought if we couldn't break our way through the front doors, maybe we could try to, you know. Melt the hinges.

[37773972]

[HOOOOOBOY. For that? For that, Stephen will absolutely take taste of the wine, then another longer drink before answering. He makes a bit of a face as it goes down, but at least it's not bad?]

...I don't like the idea of someone messing around in my head.

[37773972]

[Allergies? Whelp.]

Tea? [beat] Decaf tea.

[revelfree]

Nor do I, my friend.

[It's bad enough to have recurring dreams of angels and demons. For someone to know of those dreams is an unnerving prospect in its own right]

We can protect ourselves from attacks on the body, but on the mind? I am not sure what we might do

[37773972]

[He's silent for a bit, nursing the bottle in silence. It's not an awkward silence, but he still feels the need to sing say something. But the first thing that comes to mind?]

I'm missing six weeks. [He hesitates, then continues, a little more slowly.] I woke up the other day and- it was like I'd slept through them. Except I know that I didn't, because...

[He traces the side of his head, where the numbers in blue ink are barely covered by slight hair growth]

...because someone gave me a note that told me to shave my head. It was in my own handwriting, and I don't remember writing it. Ever since then, I've felt like Alice going down the rabbit hole.

I keep wondering if it's somehow connected to this. But this is a new flavor of weird. [Speaking of flavor, he'll just. Take another bit of wine. He's nowhere near drunk - not even tipsy - but it felt right to...share that. With the person he's decided to trust.]

[revelfree]

Six weeks.

[It's quite the amount to lose. Even when Ariel was at his worst, his most inebriated, he hadn't lost weeks at a time.

Unfocused as Ariel is, he struggles to watch Stephen's hands, and can't even begin to make out the numbers on the side of his head. He trusts that they're there, trusts that this is indeed an odd flavor of weird.]

Has anyone else mentioned losing their memories in such a way? [A hum, drowned out by another swig from the bottle.] Perhaps we should shave my head, and see if I, too, have numbers beneath my hair.

[37773972]

Unless there's a safety deposit box nearby...[He makes an humorless chuckle.] I know what the numbers mean - now, at least. They took me to a letter, which took me to a telescope, and...

[...and he found a message. And only just decoded it. And then...another drink.]

...and I don't know if anyone else is missing time, but I'll ask. Nobody remembers how we got here, for one. So that's...recent memory. [And if all of them are missing other patches?...

He closes his eyes.]

I don't know, Ariel. Add the casual mention of us killing one another to get out, and it's...pretty screwed up.

[Terrifying, really.]

[musacal]

Something like that.

[ She moves and reaches for her other foot. ]

I go to a school that specializes in music theatre. In the acting division we tend to have dance classes every day, so mornings usually start with all of Class A practicing together.

[revelfree]

[Ariel doesn't quite understand what Stephen is going on about, but that's become a familiar feeling. He does, however, understand the wriggling sensation of fear, the taste of it in the air.]

You've heard the phrase "If you lead a horse to water," yes? We need only do our best to ensure that we do not drink. [He grins, as if this is the best metaphor he's ever made.]

We've already made great progress in uncovering the mysteries here. Christine discovered passageways behind some mirrors. Where there's one, there are many. And there one is sure to lead the way out of here

[He leans in close, clapping Stephen on the shoulder.]

Fear not, my friend. As long as we are working together, we are guaranteed to break everyone free.

[mcfife]

I can't say I have trained other warriors, but I can relay the basics of combat. [This duty usually was performed by the Knights, not royalty. At the very least, Angus knows how one should and shouldn't fight.] The dancing room should be a large enough area to practice

[37773972]

[There's always a way out. Isn't there?

He meets Ariel's gaze, then looks down at his hand on his shoulder and...smiles. A soft, small one, but a smile nonetheless, and he reaches up with his own free hand to return the gesture and squeeze Ariel's shoulder]

If you lead, I will follow [a thousand miles away, he adds in his mind]
I will be your Apollo.

[It feels like he's making a promise.]

[musacal]

Oh- we have something in common then!

[ Fellow baking theatre kids! ]

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me "your muffins helped get me through that late night rehearsal, Banana-chan!" I'd probably be rich by now.

[ Or at least have $60. ]

[musacal]

[ Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Nana listens to him and then smiles. ]

Would you like me to show you how to use some of them? I was just about to start another batch of muffins once these were done anyway.

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Disappointed!

Is it still the same colour of bricks? Or was this one sealed up sooner?]

[revelfree]

[There's a pleasant feeling flickering within Ariel's chest. He hasn't felt it in ages, not since he had enjoyed the summer stars with another. It had been a lonely few years, and it's good to have a friend again.]

I will be your gravity
I will stay and never leave

[For him, there is no doubt that this is a promise. Not just to Stephen, but for everyone trapped here. He'll keep searching for answers, and report whatever he finds.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

I don't know... I thought sending letters was going to be impersonal! I thought if I just had a chance to talk to him in person, he'd understand! But he doesn't! And I couldn't help anybody!

[Her excited rambling isn't nearly as cute when she's rambling with distress. She continues on like that for a minute, but even she gets exhausted, slumping across the table with her arms folded.]

[musacal]

Um, well...

[ She looks over both shoulders for a moment, before leaving the sandwich work alone and heading over to the table as well so she can lower her voice. ]

Do they... happen to have a story about a "Phantom of the Opera" in your dimension?

[37773972]

[The music again, if only in his mind. The sheer rightness of this soft singing, despite how - not wrong, but different? crazy? - it is. Stephen could laugh, and he sort of does, but he doesn't break the song- instead he just leans his head forwards, still smiling despite himself]

Shine on me.

[mcfife]

[It's a fantasy version of Earth, so...]

We have plenty of ghost stories, not all of them fiction. I don't think we have one called that.

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine narrows her eyebrows. She is. Not. Going to break character.]

We're all part of this casting call, babe. 'Cept nobody was holdin' auditions, see? So we're lookin' for who's behind this theatrical kidnappin'.

[Good job, Christine, you explained nothing! Maybe Steven can help.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

Well, that's why we should check together! I'll open it, and you watch my back to make sure I don't get stabbed!

[Christine, why do you like the Phantom?]