cancry | Avaritia Arrival Log

[ Great minds and stuff. Monarch starts, but then his expression sets. ]

There should be a ladder. Where was it on the idol stage?

[ Everyone here has no memory. They have to make the most of the experiences they've shared! ]

There was a ladder, but it was a portable one, so I'm not sure where it'd be the most likely to be here...

[ She goes quiet for a moment as she thinks it over. ]

But they'd want to make sure it was something you wouldn't be able to see from the seats if you were watching the show, right? So I think it'd be in the wings rather than directly backstage.

Let's go.

[ The child moves fast when he wants to! Wings, wings, wings - ]

NYOOM. Team Eighteenth Century Youths are a speedy pair and they manage to scoot into the stage without getting caught. There's enough seats and blind spots amount the audience that even with the occasional cast member flitting about, it's not too hard to make it up to the stage itself and head into the wings.

And... they're in luck! It's not a ladder, but there's a spiral staircase built into the stage that leads up into the catwalks above.

[ Monarch looks back to Rei and nods. You game? He's game.

He will even take point up the staircase, ready to be the first to handle whatever's waiting up here. ]

[ Rei gives him a firm nod in return. She looks nervous, but resolute.

Up the stairs you go, Monarch! ]

[ Up he goes indeed, on high alert for anything that seems out of place. For anything moving, especially.

He'll make room for Rei to climb out behind him before inching forward. Anything up here...?

(Fortunately, he's not afraid of heights.) ]

With Rei joining him, Team Eighteenth Century Youths find their way up the stairs mostly unimpeded by anything more than the stairs themselves and very quickly find their way up onto the walkways above the stage. The perspective up here feels a little funny, if only because the walkways give a perfect view of the entire hall despite not really being in the right position for it but... it's Purgatory, so try not to think about it too hard.

It doesn't look like there's anyone up here for the moment, but you could certainly explore some more and see where these walkways lead...

[ More perspective weirdness....But this is good. From up here, that means if anything is happening, they'll be able to see the entire theater. That might make it more appealing for their quarry, as well.

Monarch hunches down, as if that will make him harder to spot. To Rei: ] Stay close.

[ Walkway exploration it is, though as long as there's no movement up here, Monarch wants to check out in the hall, too. They can't assume what their target is or isn't capable of. They could be anywhere! ]

So, there's something veeeeeeery interesting about how the walkways function. While they spread out across the stage as is probably expected, the duo's poking around will eventually reveal what appears to be a hidden door set into the wall. It's easy to miss unless you're a sneaky snooper going out of your way to look for secrets and going by the orientation of the door, it appears to lead back out into the entrance.

Open it?

[ Heck yes he's opening it. Monarch even does so with an inexplicable gravitas, as if he can sense the bold type.

He will make room so he and Rei can peek through together..... ]

At the exact moment Ken and Rei crack the door open and peek inside, the Phantom of the Opera appears on the other side of the door.

I don't think it's presumptuous to assume that everybody probably screams.

Uwah--!!

[ Monarch is more "startled" than "scared", but there is indeed an involuntary exclamation and a stepping back of a pace. Then, trying to rally: ]

You....!!

Rei glues herself to Monarch's side, trembling like a startled bunny and looking ready to grab his arm and bolt the second things look like they might be going wrong.

Miss Phantom, however, is... clutching her chest with one hand and leaning on the door with the other, which is a startlingly normal reaction from the person dressed up like an insane basement ghost.

"What– why are you...?!" She pauses and takes a second to catch her breath. "Just how in the hell did you kids get up here by yourselves? It's not safe!"

[ This is odd. Did they startle her enough that she broke character...? But that means there's a character to break. So she'd been acting?

(Yes, Monarch. The person in a swishy cape had potentially been acting. We can dissect why that doesn't immediately occur to you...later.)

In any case, he has to make the most of this opportunity! If her guard is down, they can get answers! ]

We came looking for you. [ No acknowledgement of the fact that they're kids. Rei-san is counting on him! He has to succeed! ] Who were you threatening? What "debt" do they owe?!

Miss Phantom stares at Monarch and Rei for a long moment before covering her face with her hands and drawing in a long, long, long breath. She holds it for a few seconds and then lets it out in the most beleaguered sigh ever sighed in the history of Avaritia – or possibly all of Purgatory.

When she finally drags her hands down her face, she looks so, so tired.

"Nobody is being threatened." she says. "It's..."

She scrubs her hair back from her face with a look that implies she very much does not want to give this answer, but feels like she doesn't have a choice.

"It's part of the show."

Part of the....show....?

[ Monarch glances back at Rei, then at the Phantom (?) again. He doesn't understand. Why does she look so weary? And resistant? What explanation makes this make sense....

Oh. ]

You're an actor?

"I mean– I'm not... not an actor?" She rubs the back of her neck, looking uncomfortable. "It's kind of a new gig. I..."

She eyes Team 18th Century Youths with a weary gaze and then sighs again.

"Look, I can't really afford to have anybody seeing you kids up here. I'm not getting fired before I even work a day on the job."

This is the first time this was scheduled to happen?

[ To show his good faith, however, Monarch will take a step back towards the door. He is...starting to see her predicament...but also wants to fulfill his objective.

He is faintly aware that something in his pocket has vibrated. Has he been sent a message? He can't afford to check it. ]

"Yeah. It's supposed to just get people riled up, you know? Give the theater a little more draw, get some new blood. And it's not like I didn't need the work..."

She huffs a little, looking displeased, and then folds her arms across her chest.

"Why are you asking so many questions, anyway? You do know both you kids are trespassing right now?"

[ Oh. That they are. ]

Um.....

[ Quick glance at Rei. DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OR SHOULD HE RISE (?) TO THE OCCASION. ]

Rei shoots a panicked look between Monarch and Miss Phantom, looking like she might just be about to have a heart attack. Very reasonable, all things considered. But then she takes a deep breath and steps forward as well.

"W–well... why are you working here to begin with? Why did you need the work? If you answer that, we'll go."

Miss Phantom considers that for a long, long moment. Then she gives a bitter laugh and shakes her head.

"The hell does it matter... but if it'll get you to go, fine. I used to be a high roller at the casino but... well, let's say I got ousted by a little upstart and my luck dried up."

Dried up...?

[ Wait, doesn't that make this woman --

And from what she was describing -- ]

...It was you. You're Miss -

[ Monarch's gonna finish that sentence if not stopped, and let the chips fall where they may. ]

Thankfully, Rei's there to seize his arm and give it an urgent tug before he can give the game away any more than they already have. Miss Phantom – or rather, Lady Luck – furrows her brow at the two of them in confusion before her expression turns suspicious and irritated.

"... Well, whatever." she says after a moment, deciding that whatever's going on is too much trouble to be getting into right now. "I'm heading back in to finish getting ready. If you two are still out here when I come out, I'm getting the management."

....Right.

[ Thanks, Rei. That was almost bad. Monarch hurries out as indicated, intent on letting the adults know what they discovered. Her luck ran out...? That's an intriguing way of putting it....

Oh, they'd sent a text, hadn't they? What could it be-- ]

Avaritia Arrival Log

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i didn't get a notif for this, christ

np np

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i'm getting so much use out of this stupid cartoon stalker icon

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