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

[revelfree]

[Ariel lifts his head, blinking heavily as he tries to process why Stephen is simply knocking as opposed to just coming right in.]

By all means, come right in! [He's... a little loud, honestly. Sorry Stephen.]

[37773972]

[whelp.

just gonna kind of...walk on in, half-close the door behind them, and ]

How much have you had to drink?

[revelfree]

[He holds up a bottle of white wine. There's been a sizeable amount consumed from it. Thankfully, the other bottle is unopened.]

This game has taken an interesting turn, my friend.

[37773972]

[Oh dear. That's. Oh boy. Congrats, Ariel, you now have a guy With Experience In Getting Blackout Drunk hanging with you for the rest of the night.]

You wanna talk about it, or is this one of those turns where I should tell you about the weird coins I found earlier?

[aka 'avoiding the subject']

[revelfree]

[Ariel laughs, which really is nothing more than a scoff.]

Stephen, my friend, I fear these subjects are one in the same. [A shrug.] What did you discover, then?

[37773972]

[Blink. So that means Ariel found them too. Stephen's a smart man; he can connect the dots. He looks from the wine to Ariel to around the rest of the room, briefly pressing his lips together before continuing;]

Couple odd things. More duct tape, some tiny binoculars- not sure what to do with the mask or jacket, though. Might give the teddy bear to one of the kids, after I throw it in the washer.

[teens don't mind stuffed animals right]

[revelfree]

[Ariel blinks right back, almost in slow motion. He's trying to process the list, which is all the more harder when he isn't entirely sure what a good portion of what the objects are, or at least what they could be used for.]

I found a feather. [He blurts it out, blinks one more time when he realizes that he'd actually spoken, and then shrugs.] Damnable thing.

[37773972]

[He's more or less just trying to see if he'll be talking or listening tonight. Or both? If one is needed more than the other- and there Ariel goes, prompted to talk. He nods slightly, gently pressing for more.]

What kind of feather?

[revelfree]

[They are men of science. There is no way to convey what he thinks this is, not without discrediting his entire image. There's no way to not sound paranoid, especially not when these dreams have plagued him at his most inebriated.

Which... really wouldn't go over well now, all things considered.

But where words fail him... song does not. And so, the warbling lyrics begin to fill the air.]

Moonlight, in visions...heaven sent
I see demon eyes and wings unfurled

[37773972]

[It speaks to the strangeness of the situation that Stephen doesn't find the sudden signing strange. It's almost like Ariel is...releasing something. Needed?

Unlike before, though, he doesn't join in the song. His fingers tap unconsciously, but- after a moment, all he does is reach for the bottle with a brief questioning glance back at Ariel.

May I?]

[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?

[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.

[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.]

[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.

[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.]

[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.]

[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.

[revelfree]

[The warmth blossoms as Stephen leans closer. Ariel attributes it to the drink. And unlike his companion, he doesn't even attempt to not break the song. He chuckles, warm and giddy.]

What a mystifying place, this opera house.

[37773972]

Never considered myself much of a singer, that's for sure. [He shakes his head, eyes closed for a moment.] Maybe our heads have been messed with.

[revelfree]

You may be right about that. [Ariel laughs anew.] That, or the wine is truly starting to work.

[Never mind the other time they sang together.]

[37773972]

[just gonna glance at the bottle- then fuck it, take another drink as he straightens up]

We should probably eat something, unless we want hangovers tomorrow.

[revelfree]

[Ariel makes a face] [

The kitchen may still be a mess after what I did with it.