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

Kuzuryuu

[impheired]

[Okay, so...surprisingly, Kuzuryuu wakes up in his seat silently. Yelling and swearing is probably what most people expected, or maybe just that he'd have that weird sort of calm smile that he had after they found him out and after Nanami agreed to retire. But it's neither of those things. After jumping initially, inhaling sharply, he just sort of...sits there, seeming almost broken.]

[He did just kill his little sister, after all. At least as far as he's aware. Please stand by while your friendly neighborhood yakuza reboots. Assuming he reboots from this at all because holy fucking shit he was not prepared. He thought he was prepared, but ultimately he underestimated just how pissed off the producers were with him.]

[perfectstrike]

[Well. Kuzuryuu's arrival is much quieter than Peko had thought it would be. She's emerging from the back of the theater, in time to see that the hostages had escaped. But from here, she can't even tell whether he's awake or not. But if anyone thinks they're going to intercept her or stop her from going to him, they've got another thing coming.

She doesn't run this time, but she walks briskly with single-minded purpose. Though the set of her face is determined, it's wavering, like the slightest thing could make the facade crack completely. There're no tears on her face, no streaks to suggest she's been recently crying.

She moves slowly around the end of the aisle, clutching a certain gift bag at her side. Is he awake...?

As much as she's trying to be confident (she's his tool, she owes him nothing less), her voice is quietly hesitant.]

Young master...?

[Peko he might not even be able to hear you god damn, speak up.]

[impheired]

[Nope, sorry Peko. You're definitely going to have to speak louder because Kuzuryuu doesn't seem to be aware of the fact that anybody is talking to him. Or where he is at all, really. Hopefully he's not a shell like Eridan and Aoi!!]

[No, he's not. He's alive, he's like two steps away from heading over the despair horizon at this point. And CAN ANYBODY BLAME HIM??]

[perfectstrike]

[If Kuzuryuu were a shell so help her she would slap him back to consciousness.

But she really can't tell from here. Her expression grows more pinched as the hand holding the bag starts to shake. She could just leave it here. Someone else could explain to him what happened, reassure him that none of it was real. All of them would be better at comforting him than she would.

But he's her young master. She owes him the nothing less but to try. A deep breath, then she ventures into the aisle itself, approaching slowly.

Then she tries to slide into the seat next to him, fumbling a bit with it since she doesn't want to take her eyes off him. Honestly, she'd be more comfortable standing, but she shouldn't be at a higher level than him, especially not when addressing him.]

Young master...? [she repeats, a bit of a catch to her voice, but louder. If he doesn't respond to that, she'll lift her free hand to try touching his shoulder.]

[tyrian]

[Once Kuzuryuu and Peko are done having their Very Scary Yakuza Crying Session, Feferi approaches. She smiles at him, but because of how up and down and sideways that trial got, not to mention having to watch Kuzuryuu get executed, she's more subdued than her usual up to eleven enthusiasm.]

Hey!

[impheired]

[Absolutely terrifying. What fearsome criminals they are. You should all be fearing for your lives now that they're both here in the same place. No, okay, that's bullshit. Feferi should know that much by now.]

Hey. [He'll kind of raise a hand in greeting.] Nanami says hello too, by the way. And that she misses you.

[...]

...I'm sorry. [Okay we needed to get that out of the way too. Because he still feels bad about killing both of you. Like...really bad.]

[tyrian]

[Feferi is going to hug him.] Don't beat yourself up about it, we already got a few good digs in! [Digs, trident wounds, whatever.] You did it. She retired.

[derepressed]

Kuzuryuu-san...

[Chizuru moves to approach him after he's opened his gift bag; she's trying to smile, but she looks a little harried and worn-down. Still, she's happy.]

You did it. Nanami-san is safe, you did it.

[impheired]

[He shakes his head.]

We did it. [THERE IS NO I IN TEAM, CHIZURU.] I couldn'tve pulled this off if it wasn't for the two of you. [Literally...] I'm sorry it...had to play out like this though.

[You probably already know this but he really did not want to kill either you. IF THERE HAD BEEN A WAY TO DO SO WITHOUT KILLING YOU AND FEFERI...he totally would have done it. But alas.]

[derepressed]

I wasn't really expecting it to be like that. [THOUGH SHE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT SOONER.] But, I'm glad... I didn't want anyone else to have to die.

[Or... whatever it is that lands them in this place.]

And we're one step closer to saving everyone, now. You figured out something we could do that would really get to them... [And she bows to him.] I'm truly grateful, Kuzuryuu-san. We all are.

oh my god dw u can't just cut me off mid-edit

[bloomnobly]

[ also post-Crying Yakuza Children, Yuyuko will float up. Although because this is Yuyuko, she does it in such a way that makes it seem as if she's appeared out of nowhere, suddenly two feet away from him. Welcoming newly dead people with jump scares, yes this is a flawless method.

She's not entirely sure if he remembers things from the cat's domain, though...Austria sure didn't. If not, there's...no real reason in bringing it up. The poor kid went catatonic in their own graveyard and ended up there in the first place thanks to the whole 'I let Peko die' thing. So, yanno, not really a mood booster, even if he's "fine" now and Peko is here with them. The principle of the matter, really. Maybe she'll just drop a few hints, and if she doesn't pick up on them, no harm no foul. Mr. Big Sword And Even Bigger Blabbermouth didn't even seem to remember him, so that's a plus. ]

Greetings, Kuzuryuu-san. Have you gotten the rundown on this place, or shall I resume my job as the resident psychopomp?

rude, dw

[impheired]

[Unfortunately, this is not the Kuzuryuu you're looking for, move along. That or maybe those memories have just been wiped for good or...something. Because he sure doesn't remember the cat's domain. He does jump ever so slightly in his chair when Yuyuko pops up. After everything that's gone down over the past few days, especially in the last few hours, he's kind of let his guard down.]

[...we're just going to assume that Peko didn't really get the chance to explain this place in the midst of Yakuza Tearflood 2k14. It's probably a safe assumption to make, lbr.]

Go for it, Saigyouji.

[Holy hell was there a chill pill in his bag or something? No. No there was just More Character Development. Incredible.]

[ladyofthehouse]

[Oooh, Kuzuryuu! You weren't supposed to end up here! None of you were!

Austria's not even sure what to say now!]

[impheired]

[SORRY, AUSTRIA. HE WAS JUST DOING WHAT YOU TOLD HIM TO. ARE YOU PROUD OF HIM?]

[#FOR THE EMPIRE #FUCK THE PRODUCERS #YOLO #WRECK EVERYTHING 2k14]

...thank you. I never got the chance to say that last week. You were right though, I'm still not exactly...crazy about the fact that you killed yourself for my sake. But...I get why you did it.

[ladyofthehouse]

Herr Kuzuryuu.

[YES BUT.

....YES.]

Well, it's not as if I was being useful in any other respects.

[hacklimate]

[ After Kuzuryuu and Peko have their... Moment, or whatever you'd call yakuza kids crying all over each other and it's a more appropriate time to approach, Chihiro will do that. Cautiously and quietly. So as not to startle him. As one would approach a baby fawn, or something. ]

Hello, Kuzuryuu-kun. How are you feeling?

[impheired]

[...dear lord this is slightly awkward, UM...]

[Hi, Chihiro. He remembers you now. Or rather, he remembers reading about how you were murdered. In the school life of mutual killing that he MAY HAVE HELPED SET UP. He's may have just realized that you're Nanami's papa. He saw Alter Ego, after all. And he knows the SHSL Programmer had something to do with the New World Program...it's not exactly hard to string together now that he has his memories back.]

...been better, to tell the truth, Fujisaki. Been a lot worse though too, so...

[He's going through a lot of things right now. He has a lot of feelings about a lot of different things.]

[speakveryclearly]

[Some time passes while affiliates of various killer cliques in which Kuzuryuu has been involved affirm that they still exist, still love him, and are safe for the time being, just like the hostages. Apparently the consensus has been to shock him in several separate slightly gentler jolts. Kanaya is ready to provide the first sighting of an outright stranger, with a special ingredient to make the swallow a little sweeter: Sour patch kids.]

Hey, I'm Kanaya Maryam, that friend of Feferi's. [Designated killers tell each other everything this season, she's sure her reputation at least patially precedes her]

[impheired]

[...gold star for trying, Kanaya, but Kuzuryuu can't handle sour things for vague, unexplained canonical reasons. He will at least be polite and take them without comment though.]

You don't say? Shit, I never would've guessed it was you. [He's clearly trying to be jokingly sarcastic here. Don't hold it against him too much, he's just messing with you, Kanaya.] So tell me then, Maryam, how long have we got till "the time is right?"

[roadroller]

[WAY after he's recovered.... Rin happens to cross paths with him. She's never sure what to say to people after they die so she doesn't usually. But here they are. She stares a moment before greeting him.]

Hey, you... I mean, Fuyuhiko-kun.

[She's still unsure. But he looks relatively okay now anyway. So after a brief moment, she crosses her arms and ... just says the first thing that comes to mind.]

- You completely ripped me off! What's up with that?

[basilisk wing poker. mystery grenade. you even joined the dead sibling kids club. taking it all in mind, she's pouting almost childishly.]

You copied me way too much... ♪

[impheired]

[Funny story time...Kuzuryuu's murder was submitted a few days after Phoenix's execution in a slightly rougher form. It only involved one victim, (though Kuzuryuu wanted to die in the blast and become the second), there was no mystery box, and Maribelle was his intended accidental accomplice. WE REALLY ALL DID GET TOO EXPLOSION HAPPY THAT WEEK, DIDN'T WE...]

Tch, please. I'd already begun planning this after I found that passageway with the map from trivia. It wasn't the same at all! [So...Rin was right that he lied, but wrong about what he asked for. If that part wasn't obvious already.] I'll give credit where credit is due though: I did have to borrow your mystery box trick. It was much less risky than what I'd initially planned.

[He was...going to tie a string around the grenade and use the victim's own dead weight against them to keep it from going off until the door was opened. It was...yeah, it wasn't the best plan. At all. SO MUCH COULD HAVE GONE WRONG but it was all he could think of until the secret of the mystery box was revealed. As for the basilisk poker...that was one part homage to Austria, and one part him not wanting to accidentally frame anybody. Everybody in that wing is here, after all.]

[He inclines his head to Rin a little.]

So thank you for that. Couldn't have pulled this off without your help. [His deadweight-string-grenade thing wouldn't have really worked with two victims like...at all. Unless he'd killed one of them beforehand or something.]

Re: Kuzuryuu

[mightiswright]

[ Phoenix will come by after he and Peko have finished talking because he feels really bad for her. She tried so hard to protect him and get him out of the game alive but it turns out he was not an exception to the DK death wish...

Also assuming he's less broken after finding out the hostages are safe, he'll give him a pat on the back as he sits down. He knows your feel Kazoo. ]

You had us all worried there for a second.

[impheired]

Now was that because you thought I didn't have a plan or because you thought it backfired on me?

[...ngl, he about had a heart attack when Nanami said she couldn't retire. Not even going to lie there, that was some terrifying shit.]

[onethirdthesoul]

[Long after Kuzuryuu's spoken to everyone else, Ryou approaches.]

Hi, Kuzuryuu-kun... [When he'd though the killer had went for four people, he'd been mad, but seeing Kuzuryuu's logic behind what he'd done... He can understand it, really.

Feferi and Chizuru didn't seem upset, and Nanami was safe because of him. The hostages would have been too.]

[impheired]

[He is still so buttmad about the hostage thing and he always will be. Fuck you, producers. He followed your fucking rules. At least he's no longer buttmad about Bakura's murder though!]

Long time, no see.