the mark of those who cannot be saved

[stagemanagers]

[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, that's no excuse for truancy! Which is to say: you are still in the school.

For those executed, you will wake up in your beds. The dormitories look exactly as they did when you first arrived, without any of the changes or personal effects you and your dormmates might have made. The only real difference is that the little cot in Ambassador isn't there.

For those who were victims, you will wake where your body was discovered. All of your injuries are gone, and you feel fine. It's almost like you're still alive - but you remember what happened to you. It couldn't have just been a dream, could it?

The school looks much as you remember it, save perhaps for a few key differences. For one, there's no groundhog murals anywhere. Where things were green on the other side, like banners or paint, you'll find that here they're blood red.

The doors, for the moment, are still locked. Looks like even death couldn't free you.]

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5

(( ooc: Welcome to deadland, everyone! It mostly resembles the school here, and new floors will be revealed after new people die. For example, the second area will unlock after the week 3 dead arrive, and so on. Also, all dead characters will wake up at their actual canonpoint, with all lost memories restored. Have fun being dead! ))

Comments

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[violentenvies]

[Salieri sucks in a breath as he's pulled into a hug--it's comforting and warm and he immediately reciprocates, pressing his face into the Balladeer's shoulder for a long moment--clutching at him a bit. His friend is solid, he's here, he's alive. No limbs bent at odd angles or blood soaked cloth. It's difficult to resist the urge to lean down a little more and press his ear to the Balladeer's chest, to perhaps hear a heartbeat that would reassure Salieri that he is, truly, here and alive.]

[violentenvies]

[after a long moment, he pulls away, slightly, shaking his head] It's alright. It was my idea.

[wanderlusttitania]

[Despite how this is wrong, he shouldn't be here, this shouldn't be happening-

She rushes forward, and makes to pull him into a hug.]

Why!?

[Because even so, even though everyone is family to her now, he's the closest thing to home, to her time, she's had here.

Even though he shouldn't be here.]

[wanderlusttitania]

[She Is Tired, for reasons, but she nods.]

Of course. What do you need me to do?

[voicerights]

Walk with me. [It's already heading for the door to the outside]

[disharmonizes]

Oh, I wasn't exactly hoping for better when I did that. Or when I stepped into that trial. Sometimes, there just aren't good choices.

Only... choices.

[Sometimes you're stuck staring at a catch-22 and realize there's no good way out of it. Certainly not without taking a ridiculous gamble. He'd considered, honestly, if the Wizard had been lying about the motive. But when what was at stake was everyone.. well. He wasn't going to play those odds.]

...You were manipulated, just as we all have been. It's going around, it seems. [There's precious little he can offer for what happened with Rina. It isn't something he can make better.] I'm sorry.

[violentenvies]

[as soon as Sissi starts rushing forward, Salieri moves to meet her halfway, sweeping her up into a reciprocal hug, holding her slight frame as tight as he dares. He doesn't want to hurt her, after all, but it's a struggle not to clutch at her, to hold her close for a long moment.

After that moment, and he's tried valiantly to compose himself--]

I missed you very much. [his voice is rough, quiet]

[wanderlusttitania]

[Ah. Simply enough.]

Of course. Where to?

[voicerights]

We have not yet determined where the road leads. It will be private enough for our conversation.

[wanderlusttitania]

As have I, maestro! As have I, but-

[She's crying a little now.]

But by God, what has happened? Who did this? What possible reason could there be for someone to kill you-!?

[alchemistake]

[Maybe Salieri doesn't deserve sympathy, but...Varian went through his trial completely accepting the idea he was an irredeemable monster. Yet...each and every person there championed for him to be saved. Several of them were willing to put him out of his misery themselves to save him the cruelty of an execution...Salieri tried to go after the Wizard.

How can he not show the same compassion when he'd been afforded it when it wasn't truly earned, much less deserved?

He's tired. He's tired of the pain, and the suffering. He's so, so tired of being miserable. He doesn't take any joy in seeing Salieri, the one person among them he thought would never break...like this.

Salieri was maybe a bit too good at keeping his issues under wraps, in the end.]

...I love you, okay? No matter what happens, even if...even if we end up stuck in this place forever. I know you were trying to do what you felt was right.

[...]

But...if any of the others find themselves here too, I won't be able to defend you.

[He doesn't have that right.]

[violentenvies]

[Salieri sucks in a breath at that, and pulls back slightly, immediately reaching into his jacket for one of his handkerchiefs... and coming up empty. He has none, here. Not yet.

So instead, he pulls her back into his arms, so she can cry on his shoulder]

Madame, please, save your tears, I--[he swallows]--it was my choice.

[disharmonizes]

The one and only Lord of Chaos, yes. [Wow, look at him, actually going to shake someone's hand like he's polite or something. Gotta give people the wrong impression sometimes.] The composer will be around... somewhere.

[Should step one have been finding him? Yes. Is he going to? Ehhhh...]

...Now, why does that name sound familiar? [Oh, wait. No, he's starting to remember.] Ah. You're the one the Balladeer mentioned.

[alchemistake]

[Sometimes, there just aren't good choices.

Only choices.

Discord's apology sits heavy on Varian's shoulders. If anyone deserves to be apologized to, it's Discord, not him.]

I'm sorry too.

[For him, for everyone, for everything...But all of the apologies in the world aren't going to bring the dead back to life, nor are they going to right the wrongs that have been done.

They just have to keep moving forward regardless.]

I hope...things weren't too bad for you, up there.

[wanderlusttitania]

[She quietly nods, and proceeds to walk, side by side, with SQUIP.]

Well-a walk will certainly do us both good, at least. And to see where the road leads...

[She trails off for a moment, thinking. Looking down.]

...if it leads anywhere, of course.

cw: reference to suicide

[wanderlusttitania]

[Her breath hitches at this.

My choice.

Her head pops up at this, eyes wide, and a gleam of fear creeping into her eyes.]

Maestro-what do you mean-

[He didn't. He...he wouldn't have. Couldn't have. Because even if they somehow escaped the Wizard, if what he was implying was-

Rudolf, where are you-

was true, then-

She shakes her head, eyes widening even more.]

You didn't...did you...

[violentenvies]

[at that last bit, Salieri lets out a small huff]

Please don't. [his voice is rough, strained, but he's at least managing a hint of that dry tone of his] They have more than earned the right to their grievances.

[he's quiet, for a moment. Then--]

I love you, too.

[voicerights]

Probability suggests not.

[And with that, it's silent for a period of time until the school starts to grow distant. Finally;]

Why did you show compassion to me, when I first arrived? You knew I had murdered.

[disharmonizes]

[...Okay, he really wants to bitch more at the SQUIP because it was making him feel almost better there for a bit, but also he does kind of

want to know what this is about.]

...I'm not making any promises, but fine, I'll bite.

What sort of theory?

[disharmonizes]

Oh, people got very upset with me. Not that I blame them, of course. I did kill someone.

[Who cares about the context, the reasoning? He still pushed the knife in, at the end there. That's the part that matters.]

And I really can't complain about my exit.

cw: reference to assisted suicide

[violentenvies]

[Salieri sucks in a breath as she pulls back]

...the Wizard threatened to kill them all. So I...[he pauses a moment, steeling himself]...I made a decision. A plan; asked for assistance. I...don't know whether it worked or not.

[alchemistake]

[Okay, good. They might never be able to air them, of course, but...it's a start.

There's not much Varian can do for Salieri right now, he knows. Offer him his sympathy, tell him how stupid he was, all of that is well and good...but it still leaves this awful, gnawing emptiness Varian isn't quite sure how to fill.

In the end, he shifts back and forth between what and what not to do for a bit until he moves to lay a kiss against the poor man's temple before drawing away from him just enough to start to stand, taking Salieri's hand because he doesn't trust him to actually reach for it or like...do anything without his assistance.]

This place is just like the school, so...we don't have to stay here.

[The dorms are...well. Back to the way they were, at least...he just doesn't want Salieri to stay where he was, you know.

Murdered.]

[wanderlusttitania]

[At this, she smiles, quietly. A little bit of sadness, as well.]

And done it willingly, I know.

...

There is a passage in the Bible...between Johns 7 and 8. Would you perhaps be aware of that? Where the Pharisees bring over the woman adulteress to Jesus, in order to test him.

[violentenvies]

[Salieri breathes out as Varian presses a kiss to his temple, looking up as Varian then takes his hand and pushes to his feet. Considering Salieri's make up is something he usually puts on when he wakes up, he's not wearing any at the moment...and therefore the dark circles under his eyes and the obvious signs of exhaustion that he's been hiding in large part with makeup are now pretty obvious.

But he does nod, moving to push to his feet]

I see. How convenient, to not have to sleep on the cafeteria floor. [he's trying to affect some of his old humor; slot that back into place]

fuck it

[voicerights]

[If the SQUIP is pleased with this small progress, it doesn't show it. Instead-]

Augmented Story Structure, to use the Balladeer and the Leading Player's terminology.