week 2

[stagemanagers]

WEEK 2
[It's been...

One week since you woke up here
Met your house manager and said "We’re angry"
Five days since he laughed at you saying
"Write me some letters and you’ll never see me"
Three days since the mirror room
You realized there’s more the Opera House wouldn't tell you
Yesterday you'd bonded more
But it'll still be two days till you get your motive


Welcome to week 2, performers.]

[Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday]


[ooc: happy week 2, everyone! Don't forget to submit your AC and your regains! Regain rolls are done Sunday and Tuesday nights.]

Comments

[madgiganticfeelings]

I-It won't be for nothing. It's going to be okay. Please, Angus, don't beat yourself up.

[Her hands are quivering as much as her voice when she keeps spilling out what feel like useless platitudes. She should have known better. She can't help in this situation, she's not even an adult yet!

She can feel tears welling up, and then she scolds herself for being so over-emotional, when it's clear Angus is suffering more than her.]

Just... tell me what I can do to make things better. I'll do it.

[mcfife]

[He is silent. The door won't open with the sheer force of his anger, not even when he weakly pounds his fist, begging for someone on the other side to open it.]

The Phantom can't do this. He manipulate us into killing each other. [He says somewhat to himself.] I can't just...

[He sinks to his knees.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

If he can't, then he won't! I'm not going to let him get the best of me, okay? So a-at least you don't have to worry about me...

[She's about to try to find something else to say, when Angus collapses and she immediately gasps, rushing over to his side.]

Angus!

[mcfife]

[Where does he go from here? How is he even supposed to fight Zargothrax with a de-powered weapon? How is he to escape? How is he to learn where they are in the universe?

He lets Christine stand near him. The door has received all of the righteous anger he could muster and left him exhausted.]

I...

[There is nothing to do but to retreat.]

No, I don't have any more ideas.

[madgiganticfeelings]

It's okay. You don't... always have to have ideas. Just take a break for now, okay? I think my idea is for you to sit down for a little bit, and I'll make us something to eat.

[Please, let her do what she can. She can cook and sit with Angus, let her at least do that.]

[mcfife]

[...

What is he doing?

What kind of prince breaks down in front of the everyday people and abandons his duty? Here he is, accomplishing nothing by breaking down the door and continuing to do so.

He brushes the top of his head and sits up again.]

That sounds nice. I can barely cook. [He finally looks at Christine, eyes shows just the hint of tears but with a smile worn for her.] We all think better on full stomachs.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Yeah. Exactly. See? I can, um, probably make some sort of pasta, or something. Or is there something from home you ate a lot? Maybe it's something I know how to make.

[She smiles back softly and offers him her hand. They'll all do better if they work together. She'll cook, and he'll provide a plan.]

[mcfife]

[He grips hers, using Christine as leverage to pick himself up. The hammer is heavy in his other hand.]

I can’t say no to a simple bowl of neeps and tatties when I’m tired. [Did you forget he’s Scottish.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

R-Right, of course! Quick... uh, quick question, what's a neep? Or a tattie?

[She will definitely make them as soon as she knows what they are!]

[mcfife]

[What's-

Right. It may be a regional term.]

They're those vegetables. Potatoes and turnips? [He mimes holding a potato in one hand and a rather large turnip in the other.] You mash them up and add some spices and herbs. [...] Usually we just add what my retainers have found in the woods.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Oh. Oh! I see, it must be a Scottish thing! I can definitely try that, though.

[Must just be like mashed potatoes, which is a comfort food if Christine's ever heard of it. She leads the rest of the way to the kitchen, digging around in the pantry to locate those vegetables.]

[mcfife]

[Angus can help. He rests his hammer against the wall, taking a second to eye it before turning away to the herb stash. At least he can't go wrong with what he picks from there.]

...I apologize for my behavior. That was unbecoming of me.

[madgiganticfeelings]

You certainly don't need to apologize. It's a stressful situation for all of us. And I know you're working even harder, trying to protect us...

[She looks thoughtful as she peels the skin off of one of the potatoes.]

[mcfife]

[He tried.

And look at what happened the last time he was in charge.

But she needs to hold onto something. He's a prince. He must be the symbol of hope.]

Even so, a prince shouldn't scare the people that he vows to defend. [This is parsley. He knows what parsley is. Time to grab a bunch.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

I wasn't... that scared. I was more worried about you than anything else.

[What she finds herself most scared of is seeing the people around her falling apart, with her being so powerless to help. It's a feeling she's had to get used to a lot over the last few days.

But she's not powerless, right? Making food is helping.]

[mcfife]

[A sigh.]

You are too kind, Christine. People like you don't deserve to suffer under cruel rules.

[He doesn't know what other help she needs, so he stands by her, watching her work with the vegetables.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

I don't think anyone here deserves to suffer. Good or not. Because I think in the end, if we say some people deserve to suffer, we're not any better than them, are we?

[It's... perhaps a little bit of a reductive way to think about it, an idealistic way, but here she is.]

We have to think of a way for all of us to get out. Even the big jerks.

[She just smiles up at him.]

I'm almost done with these. Do you want to get a pot of water ready to boil?

[mcfife]

No, of course.

To enjoy someone's suffering...that is the definition of evil.

[He shudders at the thought of ever becoming The Phantom.]

Yes, that I can do. [It's simple. He prepared the pot and the faucet.] I have to ask Sigyn how to prepare all of this the next time we cook.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Well, the good news is that none of us are doing that.

[Even now, she doesn't know for sure that the Phantom is enjoying this... so she stays quiet about him.]

Sigyn knows how to cook? I should ask her for some pointers.

[mcfife]

She's made breakfast a few times and I helped.

[He's so proud of himself!]

I could barely use a stove until I was a teenager. It's not something we royals are taught at a young age.

[madgiganticfeelings]

Oh! That's a shame. When I was little, my nai nai taught me some of her favourite recipes, and after that, I was pretty much begging my dad to help me with learning how to cook.

If you ever want some extra pointers, I can help!

[mcfife]

I shall.

[And he rests his fist over his heart.]

So how long does one cook turnips?

[madgiganticfeelings]

I think they're pretty similar to potatoes, so if we cut them into chunks, they shouldn't take more than 15 minutes!

[mcfife]

[And Angus learns a new cooking skill.]

I can cut them. [He immediately takes a turnip, washes it, and...just puts it on the counter.] Okay, so. I think you don't have to peel this.

[He is trying, though. With some work, he manages to chop off the top and cut it in quarters. Then it's just chopping it into very uneven pieces. It's obvious he's never had to do this before.]

[madgiganticfeelings]

[Christine is cutting the potatoes, but she still glances over to see what Angus is doing, and tries to be encouraging.]

Yes! That's working! Be careful, don't cut yourself.