productions | the theatre

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graveyard

the theatre

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?

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.

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If anything I'm celebrating late! I should have been home yesterday so I could spend today with everyone...

...Do you want any ice-cream?

Ah, I thought you might have been celebrating the fast-approaching end to this game. [what with the incentives this week and all... BUT HEY more food sure, why not. it's not like they have anything better to do here than eat.]

I would not mind trying some. What are you celebrating, then?

Today is my independence day, when I was first officially recognised as Latvia. So in a way it's also my birthday, even though I was around before then.

Do you want balsam on that or not? It goes surprisingly well.

You and Sonia both, hm? We have been here a while... [like two months GOD IT FEELS LIKE FOREVER. his expression sours briefly, but then he's distracted by the bottle of balsam.]

...If you suggest it, all right.

[He pours a little into the cup and hands it over. Like the name suggests the liquid is completely black, a little bitter but not unpleasant]

Miss Nevermind as well? Do you mean her birthday or the independence day for her country?

[he looks at it suspiciously... but he will definitely try a bite, and winds up pleasantly surprised with the contrast.]

It is not a bad flavor... [and then:] Ah, her birthday, I believe. She said something about the calendars being wrong here but celebrated it anyway.

Really? The calendars seemed fine to me.

[Maybe the months were different in her world? That was the only conclusion he could come to. The nation of Novoselic did not exist where he came from and if she truly was a princess and not just pretending it was the only conclusion he could come to]

Seems like a number of people have had their birthdays here. It's kind of a difficult environment to celebrate in though.

They were unfamiliar to me as well, but... [1860s in japan!!]

Still, the celebrations haven't stopped even with things as they are. It is almost commendable in a way. A little pointless, but commendable.

I suppose people cling onto whatever bit of happiness they can find.

[It's kind of depressing but Latvia knows first hand how difficult it is to deal in a seemingly hopeless situation. It really is essential]

Well, it's not like anyone was pregnant so they have to have some kind of death birth juxtaposition. It's such a common theme after all...

[a soft, somewhat amused laugh follows.]

True enough. The audience surely enjoyed watching people frantically celebrate their birthdays in between murders and being ill.

It's something different from the norm at least. If the show gets too predictable and formulaic then no one will want to watch it. It needs that human element.

[that actually gets him to stop for a second, spoon just kind of hanging halfway between the cup and his mouth.]

...You know, the odd part about that is most of the people in this game do not even fall under that category.

I don't think you necessarily have to be human to have a human quality.

Well... Maybe I shouldn't say human. Normally I just made the split between humans and animals but it turns out there are a lot more species like that than I thought.

Even the divide between humans and nations... We were created by humans so I suppose it's only natural that we end up resembling them.

[as someone who pretty much hated humans from the start, this kind of thinking is a little difficult for him to get behind.]

Perhaps it's less about a "human" quality and more about a shared quality... Something that most if not all of us possess.

That's probably a better way of phrasing it, but something like that.

Those kinds of emotional connections, you know? They could show a murder mystery with a different group of people each week but it wouldn't be the same... One of the big things that keeps people watching is probably making sure that their favourite players don't die.

How irritating, being reduced to a rank on an inane show. [and, not realizing that Touko had pretty much expressed the exact same sentiment weeks ago:]

Whatever their reason for running this show, that person had better be prepared to forfeit their life for the hassle.

[Latvia gave a fretful look to Kaoru and then cast his gaze to the side. He'd heard them talking, about who was most likely the mastermind and while he didn't, couldn't believe it himself he couldn't shake the anxiety that there's a minuscule chance they might be right]

...Do you think that's worth it though? Will that really make up for everything that's happened?

[his answer comes without hesitation.]

Certainly not. A life so cheap is not worth what we have been put through, but it is a step in a more satisfying direction.

...So after the thrill of revenge then what will you do?

Return home, I should hope. [except whoops minor flaw there.] Mm... Though I suppose the producer cannot do that for us if he is dead. We will just have to do what we can within the non-lethal parameters, then.

So you believe that the producer and the mastermind are one and the same? That there's no chance they're in just as difficult a position as you?

In our position? That person? I'll be sick again, hearing comparisons like that. [he leans back in his seat, holding one hand up.]

I may not recall the identity of the producer- [though he certainly feels he knows who it is now] -but I recall every conversation that we have had. From his own mouth, when I asked if he set the rules or only follows them, he said that the manor and game are both his.

Hmm...

[Latvia has kind of given up making eye-contact at this point. No matter who the mastermind ends up being he can't help but get a bad feeling about it. If there was a third option to never get involved with this he'd take it in a heartbeat]

So it really is their fault then.

Did... Did you ever consider, maybe... I don't know, that maybe after being forced to kill or be killed in a bizarre circle of revenge that violence maybe isn't the answer?

[that gets a pretty unpleasant-sounding laugh from him. even if Latvia isn't making eye contact, he can likely feel that Kaoru hasn't broken it on his end yet.]

What are we do to, then? Pat him on the back, say "what a good game you have, I have certainly learned my lesson!" and return to our own worlds without fuss? Being satisfied with something like that... I do not think it's possible for me.

[He just tenses and looks further away]

N-No, I mean... What if there was an opportunity for redemption? I-I know that there's probably nothing that could make up for what they've put us all through, but killing them isn't going to give back what was taken from you...

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souredsweet - 2013-11-21 19:58 (UTC) - Expand

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