curtainsdown | now let's skip the tears and start on the whole-

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act 2

now let's skip the tears and start on the whole-

[You remember dying. Maybe the memory is clear and bright and your body still aches from the cause. Maybe it was fast enough that you didn't feel it and don't remember what you went through. But no matter how you went out you're still trapped here.

When you open your eyes it might take you a minute to recognize your surroundings. For the executed, it's your dressing room. For the victims, you startle awake in the place your body was discovered. But no matter where you are nothing is where you remember it. It's like everything has been picked up and moved to the other side of the room. The entire room has been perfectly mirrored from what it used to be and, upon leaving, it seems the rest of the opera house is just the same. If you remember one room being in the east wing, it's now in the west. If it was in the west, it's now in the east.

Welcome back to the Opera House, friends. Even in death you're still in the woods.]

WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5

[ooc: Welcome to deadland, darlings! It's a perfectly mirrored version of the Opera House and each week, as new people die after new floors have been revealed, the stairwell doors will unlock and allow you to reach them. For example, week 3 victims will unlock floor 2 and so on and so forth. Also, all dead characters will wake up at their actual canon point.

Have fun because we have some fun things planned for you.]

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Yes, i-it was my fault for-- [ Riley tries to protest, but he's being so nice to her... Why is everyone being so nice to her?

More than anything she looks confused and then frowns. ] Of course I was right to stab him. I don't feel bad about any of that, just...that I couldn't stop him.

[ She crosses her arms over her chest, self-conscious. She starts to wander away from the wall, rubbing at her eyes with one hand. ]

You don't have to try and make me feel better, okay? I'm... I have to take responsibility. [ Like Cairo and the others. ]

[Well, he can't speak for anyone else, but he's being so nice to her because the 13th century has a very skewed sense of right and wrong, and a couple of murders hasn't gotten in his way before.

He follows, but reads her body language enough that he doesn't offer more physical contact, just keeps step with her.]

So I should keep the royal pardon in my pocket for later, then?

[It's a joke, mostly, to try and lighten her mood.]

I'm pretty new at this 'taking responsibility' thing - I mean, you would not believe how much stuff a king can get away with - but I think you already did, didn't you? You took responsibility rather than let everyone else die.

[ That's true. She paid a price, didn't she? After a moment, Riley shakes her head. ]

Not enough. It can't be enough.

[ She wants to go back into the Opera House and scream into a pillow, but-- the closer they get, the more she starts to...hear something. Coming from the cemetery. ]

Is... Is that...?

[[x] Doubt.

He opens his mouth to reply, but he hears something that sounds like voices in the cemetery, as well.]

Ooh! Oh, let me show you something. Come with me!

[He takes her hand and pulls her toward the cemetery. The voices give him something concrete to anchor onto, to focus on, and the world around them takes on a ghostly pallor, a sweet voice singing and the greyed-out glow of lit candles.

It's Christine.]

[ Before Riley can protest, she's being dragged along. But, the voice, or...voices, that's- she'll let herself be dragged, because she hadn't expected to ever hear those voices again. Christine's talking. And- and Mephisto's approaching her. The world looks strange and warped. ]

What... What is this? Is it- is that- we can see them?

[Richard looks at her to confirm she can see them, and then looks back at Christine, his expression softening.]

B-man taught us how to do it. If you focus on any spot, you can see through, and even reach out and interact with them.

But the longer you do it, the more tiring it is - and it is hard to do during a trial.

He did? All we have to do is...

[ She wanders around the cemetery, trying to see what she can see, or touch. Does...she have a grave here now? Is her body here? The two talk and Riley strains to hear, even as examines the graves. ]

Are these- did someone leave letters on the--

[ But. Her voice dies as she finds it, her own. There's a teddy bear, two feathers flanking it. She slowly sinks to her knees, reaching out to touch it but stopping short. Anything she tries to stay gets stuck in her throat. Give her...a little, she'll be fine, just. Not right now. ]

[Richard likes Riley. He cares about her, wishes she wasn't here, she hadn't had to die.

But while he watches her, he doesn't follow. He gives her space, wanders between the graves on his own. Finds his own, next to Jonny's. There's flowers planted around it, that he takes a knee and touches, watching a ghostly outline of the petals cling to his fingertips as they brush across.

And then he sees the letter, which he doesn't hesitate before picking up and reading, barely noticing that while he clearly picks up a page, the page itself is untouched.]

...Oh.

[He turns to look at Christine, where she's talking to ~~Ariel~~ Mephisto, and goes back over to her, standing over them with the letter pressed close to his chest with both hands.

Then, calling to Riley:]

You should try reaching out to them. I think they could use a distraction from boy trouble.

[ Riley remembers the story she gave at Mephisto's dinner party. A silly little thing that she held so dear to her heart, even years and years later. She took to hoarding stuffed animals, after a spring-cleaning session where Cairo found the old thing and laughed, wondering, You still have this? and Riley quickly dissuaded her from putting it in the give-away pile.

Because...she just didn't want to let it go. Because the idea of giving away anything treasured like that, it was paralyzing. Because...she hadn't received a present like that before, that actually felt like it meant something.

Because of love.

This is...a different kind of love. But it's still something treasured. Something beautiful. To see something like this on her grave? It's almost overwhelming. ]

What? [ Her voice hitches, and she knows she can't keep staring at the bear. Her gaze settles on the letter, which she takes in a trembling hand.

... ] Ch- Christine. [ (The stupid, stupid wall echoes--) Riley's really done a number on her, hasn't she? ] I j- just have to...focus on her? What... What do I even do?

Well, let's see... I believe the way he showed us was a little like...

[He walks behind Christine and then just to the side, leaving room for Riley to join him.]

You can touch things around them, or you can touch...them. And make them move how you want. Just focus on how you'd like them to move.

A little morbid, maybe, if you ask me, but it doesn't hurt them at all.

[ She rises, following Richard's lead. The things around them? Riley's eyes are again drawn to the bear. She thinks if she even touches that she'll burst into tears and not be able to do a single thing. So, instead... ]

Okay. Okay, I just... [ Really, all she wants is...for Christine to feel some kind of comfort. Something, something good. Riley reaches her arms around her, to hold her from behind...and she takes Christine's hands in her own, drawing them up around her.

It's a hug. Just a soft, gentle hug. ]

[Richard watches, as Christine gasps, and speaks. A soft smile comes to his face.]

Oh, my dear girl...

Riley, Riley tell her it's you.

[ This is...more tiring than she realized? And she's only just moving Christine's arms. She can hear them talking, from far away, and Mephisto says her name. ]

What? Oh...! Oh, okay... [ Riley releases Christine from the hug and moves to trace her initials on her other hand. She's already starting to...to think of other things to do. Maybe she can find a way to write a letter? Maybe she can trace something in the grass. Mephisto's coming over to hug Christine, and Riley wonders if she'll be able to feel it--

Aaaand then she blacks out for a good few seconds, stumbling backwards. ]

Oh. Ohhhh, okay. Oka....aaay. Whoa.

[ YEAH... SHE'S DONE...... ]

Whoa there!

[Richard, by virtue of being right there, deftly blocks her from falling, catching her against him.]

Easy does it, there we go. [He checks her face.] No blood? That's good. You did good.

[ That, she appreciates. Her mind flickers for a moment, and she's back in her basement. Her head's pounding, and someone's tying her up with a jump rope, and Cairo... Cairo's right there. Looking more destroyed than she's ever seen her. ]

Cairo? What's going on...? [ She mumbles before she can stop herself. It's just an echo, and as she puts a hand to her head, steadying herself against...Richard, that's who she's here with, in the cemetery, in the Opera House, not her basement, she quickly amends- ] I-I'm okay. I'm okay, just...need to. Sit down.

[His brow furrows in concern. If they weren't both dead he would worry she was falling ill. But she seems to steady as she leans against him, so he puts an arm around her shoulders to help her over to sit on one of the sarcophagi.]

Here, just sit here a moment, catch your breath.

[He glances back over to Christine and Mephisto, his heart breaking at the sight of the young girl crumpling. She was so strong and confident when they first met, seeing her broken like this almost undoes him.

But even if the thought of possessing a teenage girl didn't creep him out just a little, he doesn't want to exhaust himself when he's not sure if Riley will need his help getting back inside.]

Wait here, [he says to Riley, and then stands and goes back over to Christine, looking down at his feet and around for an idea of what to do.]

Aha!

[He stamps at the ground, one foot and then the other, to make a heart shape where they can see it.]

[ She doesn't protest as she sinks to the crypt, letting out a slow sigh. There's...certainly something wrong with Riley. But, she's very keenly aware of that, by now. Riley's sick. But, there's not much they can do here, so she's just going to be a crazy, fucked up ghost, and that's that.

Maybe if she can haunt them nicely, it'll make up for...something.

Right now, she just watches Richard go. Moving Christine's body was...probably her first mistake. She doesn't know what she's doing. Their voices are more distant for her, right now...but she can still hear what they're saying, even when she doesn't focus on it. Maybe it's something to do with this place being a literal graveyard.

The heart on the ground, it makes her smile. ]

You... I think she'll like that.

[The grass is short and well-tended around the graves, and he has to kind of grind his feet a little to leave an impression - frankly it would have been moderately tiring even if he were alive. But he stops to catch his breath, and waits for her to notice.

He grins, invigorated, when she guesses that it's him.]

Oh, good! She remembers me!

[He reaches out with intent, and ruffles her hair.]

[ She smallest of laughs, half-scornful but- half-amused. ]

Of course she remembers you. We didn't...just forget, after all.

[Richard turns to look back at Riley.]

Well, it's just-

[...He's used to people being glad to be rid of him.

But before he can articulate that, Mephisto swipes his hand through Richard's ankle, and Richard lifts his foot.]

-Hey!

[ Now Riley just laughs lightly, a smile slipping onto her face. ]

You felt that?

He went through me!

[Rude.

RUDE! He jumps back out of the heart a split second after Mephisto jumps into his body.]

[ WHOA why....does Riley find that equal parts creepy and cool. ]

What'd it feel like?

[Richard is distracted from scowling at Mephisto by Riley's question. He furrows his brow, thinking about how to describe it.]

It felt like... You know- Eeeuugh! [At the sound effect, he demonstrates a full-body shudder.]

[ She gives the two of them - Mephisto, and Christine - a wistful look as her awareness of the physical world fades. ]

I wanna try it again. As soon as I can.

now let's skip the tears and start on the whole-

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cw: ableist language

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