the theater - part ii

[productions]

the theatre



You awaken in a darkened theatre.

In front of you is an enormous cinema screen. On it plays everything that's currently happening in the mansion, accompanied by appropriate sound effects and background instrumentals when fitting. The seat you're sitting on is large and plush, and while there's many of them, there's enough room in the theatre for you to fully recline the seat into a comfortable bed if you wish. Under each seat is a sleeping mask and noise-cancelling headphones, in case you'd like to take a break from watching the show.

Follow the stairs up and you'll reach what should be the projection room. There are no projectors in here, however; it is simply a large and well-lit room above the main seating area, and a good place to hang out with your fellow eliminated contestants if shouting at each other across the aisles proves too much to handle.

If you leave the theatre through the door in the back, you'll find yourself in a hall. On one end is a concession stand. It's stocked with standard movie snacks - popcorn, candy and the like - but if you're feeling the urge for something else, you'll be able to find it stocked somewhere in the back. On the other end is a table with thirty wrapped bags and a placard reading 'A star for our stars! Please accept these lovely giftbags as a token of appreciation for your hard work, sponsored by [illegible smudge]'. Each bag has a tag bearing the name of someone in the mansion; you will only be able to open the bag with your name on it. As soon as you open it, any memories that have been taken from you, including those of the other people in the mansion that you may have forgotten, will be returned in their entirety. Within the bag are also objects from your home that you may want for your stay here, though you will find no weapons.

There are no other doors in the hall save for the one leading back into the theatre room. There are also no windows; it is impossible to tell where you are and what is going on in the outside world. Any attempts to break out will fail. So in the meantime, why not sit back and enjoy the show?

Comments

[souredsweet]

[he almost seems a little angered by this, because Sonia - and now those who voted to save him - are challenging a very set view.]

Why did you trust in me? After everything... What reason did you ever have to do that?

[teenspirit]

[ She picks her words carefully. ]

Because I... I saw someone in you... who had been hurt. But not so much... that any potential to lessen that had been stamped out...

And because... even if you say it meant nothing to you... Your friendship meant everything to me.

[souredsweet]

[again, he's struck into silence, because this means a lot to him but he can't exactly comprehend that. at the emotional level he's currently at, he just registers it as a new kind of hurt.

eventually:] Life hasn't afforded me things like this... Humans are wretched, selfish and terrible, but... [where does this leave him, then? the look he gives Sonia is lost, but searching.]

[teenspirit]

[ She reaches out to grasp his hands gently with a smile. ]

If life hasn't afforded you much before... Why not start a new life? We are about to get ours back. Now would be the perfect time to begin anew... don't you think?

[souredsweet]

[the idea of starting new is something he hadn't ever considered before, since it seemed like such an impossibility. as he looks down at his hands and Sonia's, though, it doesn't seem quite so farfetched.

it will require a lot more thinking on his part, but his expression eases from its blankness into a soft considering.] ...The most that I could expect from this life is misery. I thought... that the least I could do is bring others to this horrible place, too, since climbing up to reach them is impossible for someone like me. But... [there sure are a lot of "buts" happening in this conversation.] ...When you talk like that, you make it sound like it might not be so.

[teenspirit]

'Someone like me'... How would you define yourself, Kaoru? Aren't you the person that told me that the past, present, and future bear no meaning on someone who has been presented with even a glimmer of hope?

[ She swings their connected hands together, idly. ]

The beautiful girl I met with long hair and a soft-spoken manner was a kind person... But I never want to meet her again after knowing the real you. You can be done with living her life. You need only to choose it.

[souredsweet]

[he watches their hands with the same idleness despite the heaviness of the current topic. ...it's true though, isn't it? maybe he had no hope before arriving here, but he has been gifted with it now. a new chance at life, being able to reunite with Chizuru, throwing away that old identity and never looking back...

Kaoru doesn't cry anymore, but there's something almost strained in his expression for a second.]

...Then I will choose to be done with it. Here and now, I will part ways with that - that dead-end of a life. If there are humans like Sonia Nevermind who can accomplish great things, then surely... surely something like this is possible for me.

[teenspirit]

Oh... Oh! Aha... ahaha~! Of course you will... There is no room for doubt. None at all!

[ She is so happy for him that she gives a high peal of laughter, swinging their hands up and giving his a squeeze.

There is still uncertainty, even danger, lurking in the future... But, oh, how sweet it is, how very, very sweet it is, to finally feel free. ]

[souredsweet]

[even now he doesn't feel entirely at ease, battling with so many new and conflicting emotions that he can't even begin to understand. still, the corners of his mouth twitch upwards fleetingly. it's a strange one in comparison to his falsely sweet smiles or callous grins, but it still seems to fit.]

Then how can I doubt it at all, when you say it like that? [this is probably where a more socially apt person would thank her, but that and a return squeeze of her hands is about as close to a thanks and gratitude as Kaoru can manage.]