thebackstage | It's Curtains Act 2 Test Drive

1) CURTAINS UP

You’ve just woken up in a small dressing room, which is certainly not where you went to bed last night. Actually, do you even remember going to sleep…? Regardless, this isn't where you last were, and if you leave your room you’re going to find a lot of other people in the same state.

Go out and socialize! Most of these people may be strangers, but you’re gonna all have to get used to one another. And who knows? There may actually be a familiar face in the crowd.

2) THIS PETTY PACE

By now, you're acquainted with everybody here and you're slowly growing bored. Bored enough to kill? Hopefully not. You'd better try to find something else to do. You can always go hang out with your castmates, or maybe try and whip something up in the kitchen! There’s also a music room to keep you busy! I sure hope you like music.

3) BREAK A LEG

Comedies are fun and all, but that’s not quite what we’re about here. You’ve all just been handed this week’s motive. What do you make of it? Is it one that might actually tempt you to kill, or did you get off lightly this time? Either way, maybe you’d better look around the room and see who else is having a rough time.

4) CURTAIN

It was bound to happen eventually. Someone is dead, and now it's time to go off and investigate. Were they close to you? Are you, perhaps, feeling guilty? Either way, it's probably best not to leave anyone alone right now.

5) CUE MUSIC

Feelings in a murder-opera can get pretty gosh darn intense. Sometimes you’ve just got to let it out. And hey, if you sing a song about whatever’s going on in your head, maybe someone will hear and come help you? Either way, this is a musical – there’s not really any reason not to sing.

[Mod Note: The song mechanic is meant to be fluid and simple. You do not have to produce your own song lyrics, nor are you required to use show tunes (although we do encourage it!). If you want to rewrite existing lyrics to fit the situation, go for it! Anything goes - if Mumford and Sons expresses your character’s current emotions, then break out the banjos. We want to keep the musical mechanic as fun and simple as we can to encourage our players to use it as much as they like.]

6) WILDCARD

Make up your own prompt!

--

Questions, comments, concerned? Reach the mods on plurk at

slothbless (Lynny) and

lluosogrwydd (Lu) and at our public mod plurk

stagemanagers. Our official Act 2 FAQ can also be found here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Curtains Up
[So, you've woken up in a strange place with no memory of how you've gotten here. It happens, probably.]

[But look, your kidnappers haven't cut you off completely from the outside world. As you're wandering the halls of the theater, you might run across a radio which is either incredibly archaic or fantastically advanced, depending on where and when you specifically call home.]

[Either way, it's sitting there, crackling out what sounds like a news broadcast.]

Tragedy struck in rural Oklahoma today in what officials are calling a case of Otter Chaos. A careless accident at the local zoo and aquarium set loose an invasive population of giant river otters that rampaged through the local poultry farms in a swath of destruction that left coops plucked empty-

[This is probably normal.]

Break a Leg
[Well, that's a heck of an incentive. Kill someone or watch your loved ones lose all memory of your existence, like you never existed.]

Oh come on pal, let's negotiate, no need for this to come to violence! You want a death in exchange for calling this malarkey off, that means you've got a price, the rest is just haggling, right? Right? I can get you anything you want, how about a lifetime supply of fresh lemons straight from the lemon groves of scenic West Virginia, these were the very same lemon trees that flavored William Taft's morning tea. Fresh tart citrus, as much as you want, I know a guy!

[Maybe the rest of you are handling things a little better.]

Curtain - Cue Music
[Ah, well. That sure is a lot of blood. The Radio sags a little bit as he surveys the scene. As his speakers click on, the voice crackling out is notably more subdued than usual.]

Sad news today folks, one of the best and brightest minds of our time has been taken from us, cruelly cut down in the height of his prime. A braver, more heroic soul I've never known, and this loss will be felt deeply by everyone here, I'm sure. More news as events develop.

[Aquaman, The (Truly) Outrageous is dead. The Radio's speakers go to wavering static for a moment as his dial slowly adjusts itself, seeking something in the airwaves before settling into something with a click.]

We'll meet again.
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day!
Keep smiling through,
Just like you always do,
'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away-!

Wildcard
[Choose your own adventure.]

[While inspecting this strange prison, our hero Angus Fife XIII findsthe first hint as to where he is. A voice from an old radio - or was it a normal one, only with poor reception? - gives him enough hints. He thinks little of the oddity of the subject: perhaps feral otters did exist in this part of the world, and his heart cries for the poor farmers who suffered in the bloodthirsty rampage across the land of-]

Oklahoma? Is that not a region of America? [But how could this be? Did the portal transport him to an alternate Eart? That could explain the odd people who had never heard of Fife.] Hoots! That means that the Kingdom of California must be nearby! If only there was a way to send a distress signal...

[While Angus had never been trained in the art of technical wizardry, he had watched such experts fiddle with dials and buttons to their command. He slowly turns the knob in hopes of finding a station with more information.]

[Wow, touchy guy for someone you just met. Rude.]

[The broadcast spilling from Radio's grill slowly shifts around between static and various bits of music and further news.]

-a real case of "man bites do-" [kkkkssssh] -looking cloudy with patches of sunshine- [phweeeee] -Eutilizando el software de traducción incorrectamente, consulte- [DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO] -has only been a test, if this were a real emergency-

[Alas, this is just news, weather reports, and...a language he did not study in his youth. He stops after going through some other stations, disappointed at only finding some rather pleasant music.]

Perhaps I have to find better reception. [Seeing that there was no owner of this radio (and if they were their kidnapper, they deserved losing their radio temporarily), Angus unplugs it from the wall and tucks it under his arm.]

[Well, we've got a little of both going on here. This thing's ancient and terrible by any Gem standards, but it's also way more advanced than anything she remembers humans having.]

Now, where on earth did you come from?

[She'll kneel down to grab it in one big hand, turning it over. Tech's not exactly her wheelhouse, but it's so primitive. She'll just have a look-see.]

[Well, that's. A colorful human, probably? Must be a city thing.]

-"feathers everywhere," reports distraught farmer Gustav McDougal. "We haven't suffered a loss this bad since the great rabbit outbreak of 1938, we lost a lot of good carrots that day."

The wave of water-mammal continued unchecked across the state until it reached the Oklahoma River, the hungry mustelids diving in after the yearly anchovy migration. Scientists believe the pack will flow with the water out to sea, but advise remaining cautious-

[She lends half an ear to the broadcast as she inspects the little device, but these are human place-names and dates. Don't mean much to her, especially not after so much time.]

Huh.

[Just some kind of little transmitter. Pretty sure she can't do anything much with it - but she'll try to shut it off, just to save the batteries. Those might be handy later.]

[Ariel listens for moment. She speaks so softly that she can hardly be heard over the music.]

Yes, he was brave and heroic. He will be missed.

[Trying not to cry, she sings along as the refrain plays again.]

We'll meet again.
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day!
Keep smiling through,
Just like you always do,
'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away!

It's Curtains Act 2 Test Drive

The Radio | Brave Little Toaster

Curtains up

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curtains up

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Cue Music