itscurtains | Entries tagged with act 2

[It's been a long night.

A night that’s lasted 7 long weeks but this is the end.

When all is said and done for the players, the two SQUIPs in their new bodies and the two out of place Narrators, it’s time to finally leave. Once everyone has gathered what they want from their rooms, the other floors or even the merch booth that Michael broke into, the Leading Player leads them out the doors. Something important to note is how much lighter it is outside than it has ever been before. On the horizon the sky has cracks of oranges and yellows and purples of a sunrise. She leads the group through the previously night-shrouded gardens and cemetery then finally through the gates to…]

[As promised, it’s the Return of the Liminal Denny’s! They might even find some familiar but confused faces waiting for them there along with some strangers.

The Leading Player herself doesn’t stick around long and opts not to come inside, but she’ll remain in the parking lot for a little while before taking her leave. Don’t worry about getting home- she has you covered.

After their grand slams have been slammed and goodbyes have been said everyone will be free to leave the liminal space that is this strange inter-dimensional Denny's and find themselves exactly where they want to be.

But right now as they stand in the parking lot, taking in this new location with your found family tropes, you watch the morning glow of the sun as it rises over the Denny’s sign.]

[ooc: Welcome to the cast party and actual final log of It's Curtains act 2! We hope you've all had as wonderful a time playing this game as we did running it and we hope to see you for round 3 when it comes around!

Since this is the final log, we have a special clause for it: every R2 player character (and Evan, because fuck it) is allowed to have one castmate for this log and round 1 characters are welcome! As a reminder for R1s who might not be aware, it has been 4 years since the end of their round! Have fun with that, everyone! ♥]

stagemanagers

[Well, you’ve all found a lot of things - some weirder than others - and you’re just about ready to reunite with the rest of your group. After all, nothing you’ve found has indicated any way to go home, and you still don’t know where exactly your friends ended up.

There’s no trial area or podium circle set up outside; when you emerge from your respective investigation areas, you’ll find the outer area of the lair exactly where you left it (along with, presumably, the horf). There's various places you could sit, though, which is lucky for you! You may be here for a little while!

Because the grates around this area of the underground lake have closed. Standing on a boat, near the grates but very much in here with you, is the Phantom.]

I see you have been exploring. [He doesn’t sound entirely thrilled, but inclines his head nonetheless.] Very well. Please, discuss amongst yourselves.

[Strangely, you all have the intense sensation that you're being watched. But you can see the Phantom looking at you. He's right there. That can't just be because of him, can it...?]

stagemanagers

[It’s Thursday, and so you might very well expect nothing to happen today. Sure, there was no motive handed down on Tuesday, and the Phantom claims that his patron has chosen to end this show early. But he said by the end of the week; you’ve got a few more days yet before that.

So it may come as something of a surprise when all of the mirrors in all of the dressing rooms swing open simultaneously.

Nobody is there, and there is no announcement. But the intention seems clear. Gather your group, and bring anything you don’t want to leave behind. This means your important items and also your pets! Except for the horse...it seems he isn’t in his stall today.]

(( Welcome to the final investigation! You may all proceed together for right now - we’ll toss up toplevels for the separate groups when you reach your investigation areas! ))

heathencall

[Final week, time for some drama.

Mephisto calls a meeting on Sunday in a rush. He'll keep calling meetings every night he needs to. Better make sure the women's room is nice and comfy.]

stagemanagers

[Seven weeks. Twelve deaths. Five survivors.

When you wake up at the start of the new week nothing in the opera house seems all that different. The Box Office door is still locked tight as it ever was but the box you've been submitting letters to for the past several weeks still appears to be open. The Phantom is still accepting correspondence apparently.

But something within you is different. You remember everything. All the gaps, the missing pieces, entire chunks of time from back home- they're back and neatly fitted where they should be in your heads.

Just like the previous week, there's a distinct lack of contact from the dead after all of their activity before. No moving Tom Jones cutouts, no recording studio mishaps, no mysterious deliveries for Tad Cooper or automatic writing sessions. It's probably fine though.

As the days trickle by you get the looming the end is near.]

[ Sunday Monday Tuesday ]

[ooc: don't forget to submit your final memories, toss in your regain coins and check in for endgame! Reminder, since this is the last week all characters should be at their true canon point memory-wise!]

madgiganticfeelings

[So that... certainly happened. Christine ran along with everyone else to escape the suffocating smoke, slamming the doors behind them in the hope it would slow the flames down. She tries not to see sticky beer-stained carpet as she runs, tries to hear the voices of her newfound friends, rather than the screams of teenagers, but it's certainly difficult.

She only stops to hastily throw open the door to Steven's room and let out Lion with them, but otherwise retreats into the gardens before... letting herself watch the opera house in silence.

Thankfully, it doesn't end with as much damage as the last fire Christine experienced. In time, she can stop shaking and unfold the note still clenched in her hand. And then she looks back at the opera house with... a different kind of fear on her face.

A fear so deep that when Mephisto and Anne finally start suggesting the possibility of returning inside, she's up on her feet in an instant.]

Meeting in the woman's first floor washroom. Give me ten minutes and I'll be there.

[Before anyone can argue with her, she runs off, hoping she sounded firm enough for them to follow her request.

She and Lion move to Stephen's room first to acquire whatever notes might still be there, but she's returns to the bathroom soon enough, all the papers now collected in her binder.]

Okay. We're probably freaked out. God knows I still am. And I want to encourage you to leave when you need to, take a break if this all gets to be too much. But I think... I think I speak for everyone- [Finally, finally she can speak for everyone. Her voice is strong enough now.] - when I say this.

[Her knuckles go white around her binder and her eyes spark back to life.]

We are not letting that fucking Wizard win anymore. So let's talk time loops.

stagemanagers

[When the investigation finishes, the lights begin to flicker on and off as that low, gentle rumble echoes through the opera house.

Your intermission is ending. Please return to your trial room.

The court room looks just as it always has for you: the grand chandelier glittering above your heads, the dusty red velvet seats. In the orchestra pit your circle of wooden podiums are waiting. Jeremy and Steven's podiums are draped in black crepe with their grey scale funerary portraits, just like your friends before them. The ghost light glows softly behind the podiums.

The curtain is closed, waiting to open when a decision has been reached and the execution can commence.

When everyone is in their places, the Phantom's voice echoes loud and clear through the theatre from his place in box 5. His tone is even, with none of the distraction or terse notes in the weeks before. He almost sounds curious for how this all will play out.]

You must now determine who was responsible for the death of Steven Universe. Submit your vote on the podiums when you are certain of your choice.

[Gather your evidence and let's begin.]

stagemanagers

[Friday dawns, seemingly normal despite all of your recent discoveries. There is no blood in the hall. There are no bodies immediately visible when you first exit your rooms.

But when you think about going to get some breakfast...you get a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach.]

madgiganticfeelings

[So those who pass by the first floor bathrooms at any point during the day might be privvy to a strange sight: usually a hand sticking just out of the entrance, maybe waving a piece of paper around. Or if someone gets too close, that hand might grab them and pull them inside, only for them to be faced with Christine, who smirks, puts a finger to her lips, and holds out another scrap of paper. No matter how you get it, the words on these papers are the same:]

Bathrooms are the only place the Phantom can't see us, so we're meeting up in here from now on.
Come after 7. Girls bathroom, since there's more of us (sorry boys!) Try not to make it obvious, and stagger your entrances.
We can get out of here if we work together. I believe in us.

-Christine Canigula ღ ღ

[And sure enough, that evening, after a lot of sneaking around, Christine has set up a makeshift meeting space in the washroom, chairs and a little table set up. She also brought more of her Thai tea crinkles... if no one objects to snacking in the bathroom.

She also has a small cup of some sort of red liquid. It's been poured carefully into a water bottle so she can keep the cap on, but even having the bottle nearby seems to put her in a better mood.]

Good evening everyone! Let's get down to business and make some plans!

stagemanagers

[Well, that was...a lot. You only lost two more friends this week, but due to nothing more than an accident, Jeremy and Shilo are both gone. And the SQUIP, of course, but that one doesn't seem to concern you much, does it?

Regardless, when you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've regained another memory, right on schedule. Another floor has also opened up, the apparent product of a successful trial.

But you have still made gains in other ways! Your efforts have produced successful contact with the afterlife; now you know that all your dead friends are still around somewhere. You've also managed to befriend Chewie, the person on the other side of the Phantom's mysterious harassing texts. They all want you to keep going - so you'd better find a way to do that, hadn't you?]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Welcome to Week 5! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

likemypicture

[Tradition is Tradition.

Anne figures it's best to keep everyone busy in the aftermath of the trial, so she wrangles together a team of Mephisto, Santana, and Stephen to help her set up. Mephisto writes the notes and slides them under the door for Nana, Steven, and Christine, letting them know there's food and people in the dining room. The handwriting's not too great. Christine's note contains a 'P.S. If you don't feel up to it, I'll bring some food by later.' from Anne and a little doodle of Tad Cooper.

Thankfully, Anne has help setting up, so the weirdest of her food experiments don't make their way out of the kitchen. However, her platter of sandwiches does contain some interesting surprises--- you may find cheese and jelly, or peanut butter and chicken. There are normal things there too, though! And Biscuits, courtesy of Mephisto.

Their resident therapy dragon is on duty, too. Anne's made him a tiny crown for the event, and a regal little cape. He sits on a pillow in the middle of the dining room table, reigning proudly. ]

stagemanagers

[When the investigation finishes, the lights begin to flicker on and off as that low, gentle rumble echoes through the opera house. Again for those investigating the grounds the outdoor lights illuminating the still night flicker to get their attention.

Your intermission is ending. Please return to your trial room.

The court room looks just as it did before: the grand chandelier glittering above your heads, the dusty red velvet seats. In the orchestra pit your circle of wooden podiums are waiting. Angus, Riley and Shilo's podiums are draped in black crepe with their greyscale funerary portraits, just like your friends before them. The ghost light glows softly behind the podiums.

The curtain is closed, waiting to open when a decision has been reached and the execution can commence.

When everyone is in their places, the Phantom's voice echoes loud and clear through the theatre from his place in box 5. He still sounds distracted, just as he was for his other public appearance this week, like there are other things weighing on his mind.]

You must now determine who was responsible for the death of Shilo Wallace. Submit your vote on the podiums when you are certain of your choice.

[Gather your evidence and let's begin.]

stagemanagers

[Friday morning dawns, and everything seems peaceful. There's no blood waiting outside your dressing rooms, for once, and things seem quiet. But you already know that something's happened. After all, all of your symptoms have abruptly vanished. You're all as healthy and hearty as ever!

...well. Most of you.]

heathencall

[After a night fun in the Graveyard dies down and gives way to a new day, Mephisto gets to work compiling what they've put together over the past few days. He'll be scratching down notes between accepting cat names and all that, so it's about early evening by the time he's got things together and decides to present it to the class.

And by that, we mean thundering up and down the opera house halls demanding everyone's presence in the dining hall in the next 30 minutes.

That means you too, Jeremy.

Given the hasty nature of the meeting, there isn't the usual array of snacks set out. Mephisto does at least put out his more recent haul of pies at least? Anyone else who wanted to use that 30 minutes more productively than yelling at people is welcome to bring something though.

He's starting to understand why Riley was so stressed out about these things. But someone has to carry her torch. Someone has to be the heart and the flame.]

stagemanagers

[That was...an absolute shitshow. More beloved friends are dead in a mess of a trial that's left Angus half the man he was, Riley in a free fall and the Phantom...somehow still standing despite taking two stabs to the torso.

When you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've recovered another one of those memories - or had another dream, if you still wanna be in denial about it. The door blocking the stairwell on the second floor has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the third floor! You have so much space now, it's just a shame it's all come at the cost of eight lives.

But despite the tragedy you have made progress! The trip into the Phantom's lair yielded some hints to the past of the Opera House, your house manager's apparently grim hobby and the possibility of an ally outside the Opera House. Who knows what this week will bring?]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Welcome to Week 5! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

stagemanagers

[Third time's the charm. When the investigation finishes, the lights begin to flicker on and off as that low, gentle rumble echoes through the opera house. Again for those investigating the grounds the outdoor lights illuminating the still night flicker to get their attention.

Your intermission is ending. Please return to your trial room.

The court room looks just as it did before: the grand chandelier glittering above your heads, the dusty red velvet seats. In the orchestra pit your circle of wooden podiums are waiting. Red, Claudine and Spinel's podiums are draped in black crepe with their greyscale funerary portraits, just like your friends before them. The ghost light glows softly behind the podiums.

The curtain is closed, waiting to open when a decision has been reached and the execution can commence.

When everyone is in their places, the Phantom's voice echoes loud and clear through the theatre from his place in box 5. His tone is terse.]

You must now determine who was responsible for the deaths of Claudine Saijo and Spinel. Submit your vote on the podiums when you are certain of your choice.

[Gather your evidence and let's begin.]

stagemanagers

[At the start of Friday, things are surprisingly calm. There’s no blood on the hall carpet, presumably no bodies ready to fall out of a broom closet, nothing especially incriminating when the cast wakes up and emerges from their rooms. It’s possible this time, even with the palpable temptation of the Phantom’s motive, that no one has taken him up on his offer to kill. Maybe later today you won't have to march yourselves into the trial room to decipher clues and watch more of you die.

But the day is young.]

madgiganticfeelings

[So that certainly was a little afternoon adventure, wasn't it? Those hanging around the ballroom might have noticed two absolutely drenched teen girls just... appear out of the floor, shivering and shell shocked. Christine, once they get on solid ground, pretty much falls to her knees to just... stare into space for a minute.

What is this week, honestly?

But as crazy as this all is, Christine knows they have to talk about this with everyone, as soon as possible. So once she helps Nana find some dry clothes and has a little destressing session with The Dads (TM), she's pinning up a note in the hallway.]

Time for another meeting! Nana and I will meet you all in the ballroom around 7. A lot happened these last few days that we need to discuss. Refreshments will be provided, but bring something if you like!

[Christine will be in the ballroom in her Juliet dress (sadly, her cloak is still in the dryer), holding her binder and a weird old flip phone. Hopefully, this goes at least a little more smoothly than past gatherings!]

((Feel free to make prompts before or during the meeting, depending on if you're unlucky enough to see the gals ascending from the trapdoor. I'll be making a few comments myself to cover all the conversation topics. Have fun!))

stagemanagers

[Another week, and two more dead. King Richard and Red are both gone, and once again, it was through nothing more than an accident in the heat of the moment. Maybe if you all stay calm and collected, nothing bad will happen again?

Well, maybe not.

When you wake on Sunday, you'll find that you've recovered another one of those memories - or had another dream, if you still wanna be in denial about it. The grounds remain as they are, but this time, the door blocking the stairwell has been unsealed. You can now venture up to the second floor! This is the second time that's happened; it's almost as if you get more space every time someone dies. Or maybe the whole place just seems quieter.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Welcome to Week 4! Please remember to submit your AC and your memory regains, as well as your coins! You can also still contact the Phantom. ))

isawallflower

[ Another horrible week. Watching a little kid cut down by someone kind, someone who wouldn't have done that to begin with, it's...pretty horrible. More than a little horrible. Very horrible.

So. You know what time it is? Aggressively coping with organizing! Everyone will receive a handwritten note, either in person or under their door. They are delivered by Spinel. ]

[ Along the way, she runs into some help, so. Prepare for a regular smorgasbord, everyone. There's muffins and sandwiches (Nana), biscuits (Mephisto), dumplings and other Chinese cuisine, and cookies (Christine), and salads and heaps and heaps of pasta (Riley). The dining hall itself is...actually decorated? Like, there's plates and silverware set up and napkins folded into animals. Things a child would like. Someone (Anne) made this a proper gathering.

A little later on, there's another item on the menu. Pancakes! Thanks, Steven. That's...not emotionally destructive or anything. ]