curtainsdown | the mark of those who cannot be saved

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act 3

the mark of those who cannot be saved

[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! ))

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Awww come on…

[ but then she pauses. ]

Wait, other side?

[ And then she actually… counts how many people are here. Her survivor group was small so she didn’t think much of it but with LP’s earlier comment about being temporally displaced and that she’s being asked to help… she’s able to put it together. ]

Are you… are you all “dead”?

[Piggybacking off what he said in the other thread, Varian nods solemnly.]

Yeah, we...none of us are alive. We all woke up here, after...

[You Know]

Mmhm. Except me, I'll never die.

[ Gives a look that says in bracket text "yes, yes, I know, I know, you're eternal blah blah blah"

Look at her, picking up some narrator tricks. ]

[Oh is that what it feels like when someone joins the group chat?]

[if Janis dies we'll really have a party]

[That's her girl.]

I see... I didn't die during my time in one of theses but I heard from the others that it was just like the opera house on the other side as well..

[ ... ]

...I'm sorry. Maybe if I had been able to come sooner, I could have...

[ stopped this ]

No...it isn't your fault. It's the Wizard's. Who...or whatever they are.

[Varian's expression tightens.]

But if there's anything you can do now...we really need all the help we can get. We haven't been able to do anything, and I don't want to see anything happen to the others. They...

They're our family.

[ Family.

She's quiet for a moment at that, looking down (and finally no longer rattling that DAMN SWORD LIKE MUSASHI TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT). ]

...I understand. Believe me, I understand.

[ She thinks for a moment, shifting her weight as she debates how much to say before finally deciding to just be honest. These are people that have gone through the same hell she did, so she can... open up a little. ]

I didn't... have a family at all. Back home. Well, my friends - the other girls at Seisho like Maya-chan are my family but...

[ What she's getting at is parents. The real reason she never went home during summer break at Seisho... there was no home to go back to. ]

But when I went through all of this last year... I had one. I finally had the family I wanted along with the friends I always held so dear. It... gave me salvation. And the Wizard too even, he... I tried to reach out to him back then, and I was told that he actually cared for me. But it was probably just always manipulation...

[ She thinks about it too much some days, even though she tries not to. That last conversation in text messages, how it seemed like the Wizard truly cared about the SQUIP but then so easily abandoned it. How the SQUIP told her that even though it felt the Wizard cared for her like she was caring for him despite everything, he would still let her die. It kept her up at night, made her feel foolish and yet she still chased that closure.

She thinks about how her 18th birthday is coming up. She thinks about that cupcake with the little frog on it. The first birthday note she could remember receiving in what amounted to more than 60 years of endless cycles. ]

He is a "sentimental man",
And I had always wanted to be... a daughter
So because of who I am
I couldn't help projecting onto him... a father

[ She takes a deep breath and looks back up into Varian's eyes. ]

Still I'd like to help raise you back up high
Because I think nobody here deserves to die

...You said before that I'd been missing? Since the end of the last game? That's because I left with the Leading Player here.

I left so I could stop him for good. I'm going to help you. No matter what. This is the last time he's going to do this.

For I am a sentimental woman.

No one deserves to disappear
To disappear
Disappear

[Unfortunately, the leitmotif.]

[...the rattling of the sword stops, and Varian listens to the tale of a girl who has been through far more than he could possibly imagine. Not only has she been through the same game, but...she's been willing to lay her own happiness and safety on the line so that she could ensure this never happened again.

He can't imagine being that selfless. Everything he'd done leading up to the day of his execution...it was selfish. He'd only thought about his own goals, trying to save his dad but at the cost of everything...

Varian will close that gap between him and Nana after a moment, once she's looking at him directly again. He doesn't know Nana personally, but...he feels like he's known her much longer, simply by virtue of shared experiences. They're all seeking escape from this hell, and the only way they're going to break the cycle is by working together.

He knows he can't reach out to her right now, at least not physically...but he hopes that the message gets across regardless.]

Edited 2021-06-30 19:43 (UTC)

Don't you worry, whatever it might take, I'm finding a way
And I swear right now, that no matter what comes of me...

Anybody who stands or has stood in my path
They're going to pay

[His gaze narrows, still holding Nana's eyes with his own.]

Whatever you need us to do...I'm not going to rest until I see this through to the end. Even if it means spending an eternity in this afterlife.

I lived my entire life with regrets. I refuse to let the afterlife be the same.

Edited 2021-06-30 19:43 (UTC)

[ She's a little surprised at first by his declaration but soon enough she smiles gently. ]

Hopefully an eternity won't be necessary.

What's your names by the way? [ Because of course Rina is also close behind him and nodding in agreement BUT THE WALL OF PLAYERCEST IS IN MY WAY ] I don't think I caught them yet.

O-oh, uh...

[Varian will step back, finally, reaching to take Rina's hand again in his own.]

My name is Varian. This is Tennoji Rina.

[He got the order right are u proud of him]

[ SHE'S VERY PROUD Rina even gives his hand a squeeze. ]

Varian-kun. Rina-chan. Got it.

This is a sad song
This is a sad tale
This is a tragedy.
It's a sad song...
But we sing it anyway.

'Cause here’s the thing
To know how it ends
And still begin to sing it again
As if it might turn out this time
I learned that from a friend of mine...

[ She sees Karen triumphing in the face of what she herself could not overcome on her own, her soft pirouettes and delicate singing voice with Hikari and their intimate hand hold, changing the ending of the story she repeated so many times. And then she sees Mephisto making promises to her, and then Anne, Christine, Santana... she sees them all. ]

...It's going to turn out this time. I'll help get them out and then we'll help get you all out. Just like with my group. And then you can all try a batch of my famous banana muffins afterwards to celebrate joining the family.

I promise.

[Varian's expression softens, at that. The idea that they could save the others, but also this group here who didn't survive...it's almost too good for Varian to believe. When you're dead...that's it. You're gone. But he knows now- knowing people like Farrah- that for the Wizard, that sort of thing didn't much matter. A power existed that could save them...it's just a matter of them reaching it.]

...Thank you, Nana. I'm going to look forward to that.

I think all of us would agree.

[ She's still smiling and strongly resisting the urge to give headpats and hugs... when she realizes something. ]

Oh, I have an idea!

[ She turns away a little bit just so uh. She's not accidentally flashing her bra at any kids as she sticks her hand into the v-neck of her shirt, trying to get at her side. Eventually she finds and pulls out a yellow and brown cellphone.

Listen sticking your smartphone in the side of your bra when your hot Meg Giry pants don't have pockets is the most lesbiancore thing to do.

She holds it up. ]

If it's okay, would you guys like to record messages for everyone alive before I go?

[Varian's eyes widen, remembering Farrah's smartphone...and the idea of being able to send a message- a real message, with his voice- makes his chest tighten.

Now that really feels too good to be true.]

You...can really do that for us?

Of course! Hearing from the dead gave us a lot of hope last time!

It can’t be too long because of limited memory [ she takes. A loooooot of pictures ] but I can still do some kind of nice video!

A...video? You mean like...

[...]

They can see us...

[He says that under his breath, reverent almost. Not being able to see them has been killing him, but...]

Maybe... [He looks at Rina's hand still in his own.] ...maybe we can all stand together. And...each of us can take a turn to say something.

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