WEEK THREE: EXECUTION

[guestservices]

W̴͍̎E̴̝̊E̸͚͝K̸͕̿ THREE: 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 - MARIE 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

[dms]

[ this can't be happening. tybalt wrests him off, recovers his stance. never much of fighter to begin with, kazunari is slow to recover. it's hot. fire burns at his skin, more painful than he ever could have imagined. the smoke is all-consuming, getting into his lungs, making his breath raspy and weak.

but marie is still here. he can't give up while she's still in danger.

with a wheezing breath, pushes himself to his feet. after all this, the poor costumer is really going to hate him - this nice, flowing dress is torn to shreds, burnt at the edges, and still they aren't done. mercutio draws his sword and attacks tybalt with a righteous fervor, but kazu isn't watching him. he only has eyes for marie as she stumbles to the next set. she made it, so he tries to follow - stumbling with a pained cry as one of the blades finds its way to his arm. mere moments later, it find tybalt's gut instead, and another mercutio's heart. ]

...Should've left Maririn alone. [ he's allowed a little spite, at the end, isn't he? when he sees her, he rushes over. ] Maririn... Why did they... I'm so sorry.

[ this has gone too far. he won't risk her getting hurt again. kazunari knows this story, he knows what this bottle is, and that's... fine. so he reaches for it, twists out the cork and takes a deep breath. ]

We just have to act out the story, right? [ though his voice is light and he wears a smile, his words tremble. he's afraid, but still tries not to show it. ] So it'll just put me to sleep. And then we'll see each other soon. I promise.

[ he's tired, and she's hurt, so he doesn't wait for her answer before downing the whole bottle. it burns from the inside, just like the fire, but even more intense from the inside. he falls to his knees, choking, and barely hears the shattering of the glass. it's fine no more than what he expected. some kind of poison, maybe, instead of a sleeping draught. after all, romeo and juliet were never meant to have a happy ending.

still, he reaches for marie.

he doesn't want to be alone. please don't leave him alone. ]

[classmate]

How am I supposed to know? [ She asks, hand against her head as she cradles herself while in pain. Her stomach feels like it's on fire, but the remainder of her body is numb; focused, Wicked only searches for Kazunari. A bloodied hand against the floor as her vision blurs in and out, aligning when he comes to take the bottle.

Her heart races, pounding against her ribcage, and finally it's fear that begins to rush through her veins. Pushing her to move forward, onto her feet, grabbing the blade that's sheathed at her side before pulling it out. ]

Don't you -- Don't you fucking dare! You fucking moron! Kazu! You can't leave me! [ But he's already drinking. ] Not like this... I won't --

I won't let anyone... or anything... kill you. It's me. It's me.

[ She stumbles forward taking his hand in her own. Bloodied and weak, holding onto his. ]

I have to kill you... I can't... I can't stand it... watching you all... die...

[ She comes closer, as if to embrace him, and stabs him in the gut. But she doesn't stop there -- Wicked uses all her might to pushes him onto the floor, her grip on the knife like iron as she continues to stab into him. Determined to kill him before the poison settles; stabbing into his chest, blood beginning to spray on her face. It coats her hands, her clothes, her hair, and she only stops when her body feels fatigued.

How long has she been stabbing him? How many times has she stabbed him? She isn't sure herself. She doesn't even recognize that her eyes are blurred because of all the tears, looking at Kazunari's body with an almost impassive expression. Just before the reality hits --

Wicked wants to desperately whisper a promise, but all she can do is sob. Tired, hurt, in pain; like a child.

She's alone again. ]

[guestservices]

[The music swells to a crescendo, playing louder as the picture on screen begins to fade to black. Credits begin to roll for all to see.]

Acting Out
aka
Kazunari Miyoshi is Dead!

Juliet - Played by Kazunari Miyoshi
Romeo - Played by Marie Amabuki

Filmed on location at the Starlight Hotel

The cast and crew of Starlight Productions would like to remind you that murdering a fellow guest outside of filming will guarantee the safety of your hostage.

Sponsored by Starlight C*ke

[The lights raise up just slightly, barely enough to see the theater as the screen rises up. The body of Kazunari lies on the floor, broken and lifeless as Marie remains frozen in her spot next to him. As the audience watches, a wave of shadows burst from Kazunari, scattering around the room and briefly pitching everyone into that same, alarming darkness you experienced Thursday night. You soon hear the sound of footsteps, graceful and steady, but as the shadows clear from your vision you spot the corpse of Kazunari making its way across the stage.

It walks forward and gives a little bow of gratitude for watching its performance. But it doesn't stop there. As it stands upright, it turns, hands up as shadows surround it again. Before your eyes, a beautiful scenic portrait of the Starlight Hotel is created with these shadows, crafted by the corpse's hands. It finishes with a flourish, a message signed at the top.

Thank you.

It turns then, giving one more wave before beginning to walk once more. Everyone in the theater is paralyzed, and as soon as the corpse steps out the exit the house lights come on.

The shadows and the skeletons are gone. You are once again free to move, but if you attempt to chase after Kazunari’s corpse you won’t be able to find him just yet.

When you exit the theater, you will find everything is back to normal. But feel free to visit the Starlight Cemetery to see someone new.

You can check out any time you’d like, but you can never leave.]