graveyard

[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 castle, 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.

Past the hall is another door, this one wooden and seemingly decayed. If you go inside, you'll find a fairly simple, wooden room, that is empty except for a very large machine. It is difficult to tell what the machine is for; it has a touch screen that appears to be a control panel, as well as a large open space that seems to be part of the machine, but the machine is dead and won't turn on no matter what you do.

Still, at least you aren't alone here. You have your fellow players, as well as a few guests to keep you company.

Oh, and one more thing. At midnight following each execution, once all those who've died that week have woken up, a video will begin to play on screen.

Comments

[perfectstrike]

[She'd given her shinai and its case to Apollo, who'd then passed them on to Kuzuryuu. The most exciting thing in her regain bag was an antique doll. For once, the SHSL Swordsman is completely weaponless.]

What additional incentive? What more could they offer him? His younger sister is dead. Murdered years ago. Unless they are saying they will bring her back...

Does he believe it? What are they making your group do?

[She feels like she already knows the answer to that, but she wants to hear it. Wants to be sure.]

[mightiswright]

[ That part he didn't know. ]

We all believed it. [ How could they not? ] 'To change what is fated to occur', she said. Maybe she meant they would stop his sister from ever having being killed.

[ As for her last question... ] Some of you wondered, didn't you? How the producers could be so sure that people would play along each week. That's what we were there for. If none of the 'regular' players stepped up to get their incentive, then one of us... would have to.

[perfectstrike]

[She's just shaking her head. This is probably the most emotion Phoenix -- or anyone, for that matter -- has seen on her face since her actual execution. She looks horrified and frustrated, as if she might cry but can't actually find the tears to do so.]

So you are to kill someone in the case someone like myself is not tempted by the incentive, [she clarifies finally after several deep breaths, once she trusts her voice. It's a little ragged, but she can handle this. She's fine.]

Who is 'she'?

[mightiswright]

[ He nods in the affirmative to the first, but then noticeably hesitates with responding to her question. It's one thing to tell Peko about her young master, because she deserved to know. Her, on the other hand...

But then, he'd be a hypocrite if he urged Rapture to spill, but withheld details himself. (Besides, she wouldn't be in danger, right?) ]

... Nanami. It was Nanami.

[perfectstrike]

Wha...?

[And this time, she's completely speechless. Her classmate? The Super High School Level Gamer? The one forcing them all to do this?]

No. You're mistaken. She would never...

[Except... it would explain the weirdness to Nanami and Kuzuryuu's relationship Peko had been picking up on. Things she'd first trying to ascribe to them both being SHSLs, then chalk it up to just her own jealousy. But Kuzuryuu following Nanami's orders without protest is just so strange, enough that she wouldn't have believed it if she didn't see it on screen herself.]

Why?

[mightiswright]

... I'm not sure.

[ He's only like 90% sure about what she even is, but there's no way of confirming it now. ] We talked briefly before I took my turn. She mentioned... that she was an NPC. And that she was designed by her 'father'.

[perfectstrike]

That doesn't make sense.

[At least Peko's firm on that as she shakes her head. Whatmakesyouhaha.avi]

Nanami is my classmate. Not an NPC of any kind.

[mightiswright]

[ So she knew Nanami from before, huh? ]

Then she might not be the Nanami you know. The way she talked about herself made it sound like she might not even be human... Maybe she was created for the purpose of this game.

[perfectstrike]

Absurd. Why would they choose a random classmate of the young master's for this purpose?

[Even Peko isn't Kuzuryuu-centered enough to think that he's the protag here and the whole castle was just a set-up for him. If it were Hinata instead of Nanami, then the protag game would be stronger, but...]

It makes no sense to have a copy of the Super High School Level Gamer in such a position. Even less so than for the actual girl herself to be there saying such things. I would expect the Super High School Level Princess or the Super High School Level Team Manager before Nanami. Or the Super High School Level Heir, if he hadn't already been killed.

[Peko are you really just rattling off these weird titles as if it's completely normal. 0k.]

[mightiswright]

[ About 90% of that just flew right over his head, including all of the 'Super High School Level' titles.

So

He just gives her a blank look in the hopes that maybe she'll continue in plain language or explain... ]

...

[perfectstrike]

[Phoenix... did Kuzuryuu and/or Nanami really not explain. That's rude and inconsiderate of them. She exhales through her nose and glances toward the screen for a moment before returning her attention to him.]

The high school we attended, Hope's Peak. It's known throughout Japan as the most elite in the nation. One is invited to be a student there by matching two criteria: one, one must be a high school student. Two, he or she must be the top in their given field. After acceptance, they are known as Super High School Level. [It's supposed to sound ostentatious and weird, don't worry, but Peko seems to be taking it extremely seriously.] I am the Super High School Level Swordswoman. The young master is the Super High School Level Yakuza. Nanami is the Super High School Level Gamer.

I was with my classmates before arriving here, and I can say with certainty that there are several others more suited to this kind of position than Nanami is.

[mightiswright]

[ Ain't nobody got time to explain SHSL when they're busy plotting murders! ]

She mentioned that at the beginning... being the Super High School Level Gamer. I don't know about that. If all of this is considered a game, then she seems pretty suitable as a representative.

[perfectstrike]

That's...

[That's not what she'd meant, but it makes sense, when he puts it that way. She just slowly shakes her head as she slowly lowers one hand from where it had come up as if to defend herself against a physical point.]

There must be someone above her. The producers, whoever is running this. There must be some way they are threatening her.

[mightiswright]

[ He shakes his head. ]

Like I said... I don't think she's really the Nanami you know. They might have just modeled her after your friend specifically for this show... she might be like Rin. [ It's the only explanation he can come up with for her 'being created' and not knowing what would happen to her after this all ends. ]

[perfectstrike]

We are not friends.

[Said immediately. Don't misunderstand. But Peko just frowns and shakes her head.]

I don't think that's likely, but I just cannot see it. Nanami...

[Classmate, what have you done...]

It will bear further watching.

[mightiswright]

Luckily for us, we've got all the time in the world to do that here.

[ To watch everyone on those giant screens... Although it's too bad they can't watch in on the group meetings. Which they obviously can't if Peko didn't even know about their existence until he brought it up. ]

[perfectstrike]

Mm.

Though there are things we are not privy to. The murders themselves. What goes on in restricted areas.

[pointed glance at the blown-open Smoking Room]

But... it is something.

[mightiswright]

[ Follows that pointed glance... (He didn't like that room for many reasons, but where are they going to meet now?) ]

This must be what it's like to watch the show as a viewer. I wonder if they can see what we can't.

[perfectstrike]

I don't know.

But I have a feeling that we, at least, are not visible to them any longer.

[Small comforts...]

[mightiswright]

It comes with being dead, I'd say. [ BLUNTLY... ]

Not much entertainment value in watching us sit around watching them.

[perfectstrike]

If that's truly what we are.

[She hisses through her teeth, but nods. There's really... nothing interesting about what they're doing. At all.]

Perhaps if they gave us something more to do than provide the mysterious, useless sponsorships.

[mightiswright]

In a way, this is still our punishment. We "failed", after all. [ Failed to get away with a murder, and failed to not get killed (?) ]

[perfectstrike]

[That actually gets something that could almost be mistaken for a laugh from her, a quick, sharp exhalation more reminiscent of one of Kuzuryuu's bitter 'heh's than anything else.]

I had thought nothing could be worse than execution, but sitting here, watching them struggle... it certainly does seem an apt punishment.

[mightiswright]

[ Watching them mourn... He hasn't missed all that time Maya's been spending at his grave. ]

Like you said... it's still something.

[perfectstrike]

[To Peko, on the other hand, seeing people mourn isn't something she'd ever expected, so it's... nice, for her.]

Mm.

[She's just going to fall silent at that and return her attention to the screen for now. She has a lot to think about.]