WEEK 0 - EXECUTION

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W̴͍̎E̴̝̊E̸͚͝K̸͕̿ ZERO: EXECUTION

By now, you've all got to be expecting it. Time marches on, and as Sunday morning arrives, you'll find yourself rising from your bed around 9. It starts off as a gentle suggestion, a feeling that you're going to be late for something. Aren't you going to be late for something?

Whether you answer that call or not, eventually, you'll find yourself walking directly down to the lobby, to a room that has so far been locked. All of you stand in front of a pair of golden doors, blocked off by a red velvet rope.

There's a moment of silence, and then a strange clattering noise. The doors fly open, and you'll find that you're standing in a darkened room where rows and rows of blue velvet seats lead up to a stage. The stage in front of you is covered with a pair of matching, rich blue velvet curtains, emblazoned with the logo of the Starlight Hotel.

Welcome, everyone, to the Starlight Theater.

You'll find yourself feeling like you must sit. You can choose your seat, but every seat in the house in the Starlight Theater guarantees a perfect view of the stage - there's no hiding. Should you try to merely stand, you'll find a pair of hands on your shoulders, and your body will move along without your permission into a seat. For those of you looking at your less cooperative friend, you might see the figure walking them to their seat is skeletal in nature, almost dancing behind them as they're ushered into their seat.

In fact... The empty seats in the theater are already filled. Skeletons sit in each empty seat, but make no mistake, audience: they clatter and move around, excited. Some of them are holding popcorn. Some of them look at you, then at the screen, eager. Others raise their arms to flag something, or someone - shadowy ushers burst from the floor and provide refreshments - and skeletons pour drinks down their nonexistent throats and stomachs, slurping at straws in a way that should be impossible.

Eventually, the bone clattering stops, and a hush falls over the crowd. Looking around, you might have noticed that one of your own didn't make it to the theater - Sheila Hammond is not among you.

Perhaps she's backstage?

You don't get much time to think about it, though. The lights dim, and a pair of spotlights spin arches across the curtains, as somewhere, a drumroll plays.

Lights, camera, action!

N̸A̵V̴I̶G̶A̶T̴I̴O̸N̷.̷

█ LOCATIONS █ STATUSES █ PROFILES █ AUDIENCES
█ REPORTING █ PRIVATE CONVOS █ MURDER

Comments

EXECUTION

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[ as the curtains pull back, you're presented not with a live play, but with a screen. there's a soft click, a scratch noise, and then a whirring, as a light comes on and projects something.



the drumroll stops, and instead, a tune begins to play, crystal clear over the speakers. the title screen fades, and the only thing you can hear is music, as your silent film begins... ]

[ercnerd]

On a dark and stormy night, the intrepid baguette detective visits the divorce lawyer's office . . .

[The scene begins with an opening narration, followed by the first so-called actor.]

Huh?

[The exclamation is silent to the audience, appearing instead as a subtitle on the screen while Sieghart (sans coat) squints at a placard that states DIVORCE LAWYER inside a building, visibly baffled.]

Lucretia and I aren't married, though . . . ? . . . Oh!

[The bag of baguettes in his grasp drops onto the floor like a sack of bricks. Small wonder: the dried blood running down his right wrist and hand suggest that he's slashed the former overnight, leaving the latter dead.]

PEANUT GALLERY

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[Your reactions go here. You are confined to your seats, but you did get to choose them, so hold hands or what have you. You hear the music from the film, but the dialogue from the two on screen will only be displayed as subtitles. You can't hear their voices for the duration of the film.]

A THING

[guestservices]

[As you watch this movie play out before you, you will find that the skeletons around you chatter eagerly, enthralled by the action. The next time you blink, the skeleton closest to you suddenly appears to you as someone you've loved, or perhaps someone you've wronged. You're plagued with thoughts of how you've hurt them, past betrayals against this person...and even if you never have? You can't quite shake off the feeling that you have wronged them somehow even if you can't remember what you've done.]

[outsidebones]

[oh, she's absolutely delighted by the skeletons, watching them dance and clap with some interest, hand on her chin. otherwise, she goes to her seat quite calmly.]

Oh, are these going to be mandatory?

[she says this in a bored tone of voice...that is, until the film starts to play.]

Sheila?

[skyagain]

[ quietly, to himself ]

What the hell is a "MILF"?

[dms]

[ just immediately blurts out ]

Why does it have to be on a stage?!

[evocationary]

[idk where she's sitting. somewhere where she can hold like 50 hands, thanks. anyway:]

Sheila! [bad, actually!]

[headmt]

Sheila ... ?

[ Bad! ]

[callalilies]

[ softly from his seat— ]

... What's a MILF...

I suppose they indeed intend to make an even bigger spectacle of this than it usually is.

[ seating doesn't matter. hi. ]

[ashenvaliant]

[ so no only is he awake on a sunday and having to attend one of these, but then sheila is apparently involved in this and everything goes from bad to terrible. ]

Sheila.

[battling]

[There's the distinct vibe of annoyance as he gets forced here.

The skeletons get a brief glance, but he's not feeling any particular way about them.]

[agleam]

[he's trying to stay as far away as possible from all of these skeletons thanks

but he's also squinting up at the screen with a frown once he sits somewhere, silent for now.]

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle looks more composed than yesterday, though she's visibly perplexed at... all of this. She sits down quietly, looking ahead with resignation. Over her lap, one hand gently holds a rolled-up piece of paper.

There's some apprehension in her expression when Sheila is announced.]

Wh... what? Are they going to fight? But...

[preowned]

[ he immediately attempts to stand and is pushed back down so that's how this day is going. ]

Well. Great.

[unrecked]

Already prefer the dinner table stabbing to whatever this is.

[supremity]

[ hua cheng, at least, seems fairly used to being in this position, considering he watched every execution even when not attending. he also doesn't really bat his eye at the skeletons - that's normal where he's from? y'all don't have that?

but he sits back in his seat and crosses an ankle over the opposite knee, propping his chin on his fist to watch. his daemon is not present, this time. ]

[unbested]

[ the title card comes up and once again he's just quietly like OH NO DID I MAKE THIS HAPPEN??? ]

[technocool]

[ this is a lot yall. she's not awake enough for this. ]

"Grandpappy??" That sure is a term.

[wisterin]

[ shinobu is here, sitting prim and proper with a smile on her face after getting pushed back down.

she's furious. ]

This does not need to be in this format.

[aono]

["the dialogue will be displayed as subtitles" can't wait for Rin to read something wrong.

But he's here! And he doesn't like it one bit! Especially not with all the skeletons around them. He's sinking into his seat a bit to avoid both skeletons and the inevitable fight that's about to happen.]

[cuedoves]

Quit it!

[ that's at the skeletons. this whole thing is pretty horrifying, even for someone who did forced executions, and it's adding insult to injury that these things seem to be enjoying the show. ]

[ so anyway, zuko starts yelling at them, they shove him, he shoves back, and after a minute or so of this he just freezes. ]

What?!

[frostythehitman]

[ Bucky settles into his seat and sits there woodenly with his arms tense and crossed. He stares straight ahead with his jaw clenched, prepared for whatever this is going to be.

And then the title card appears, and he drags a hand down his face in annoyance. ]

This is not the kind of nostalgic movie I want to see.

[shinetrue]

[ after getting seated, he's just leaning back to observe everything, i guess. not much else to do. ]

This is a new approach.

[ there is a cat curled up at his feet, do mind your steppy. ]

[classmate]

[ Well she’s here! Looking miserable surrounded by skeletons and just clutching onto the armrests of her chair like her life depended on it.

Guess if it’s Marie or Wicked watching and you get a prize. ]