thebackstage | It's Curtains Act 3 Test Drive

1) CURTAINS UP

You’ve just woken up in some kind of dorm 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 worse still - there's other people waking up in the same room with you, in the same state.

Talk to your roommates! Go out and meet everyone from the other rooms! 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 even a band 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) I LOVE PLAY REHEARSAL

It's Club Day! What's Club Day, you ask? Come to the classroom on the poster to find out! It looks like this week's club is Bread Club. Be wary, when you enter the classroom you'll face a shower of various bread slices but be rewarded with a surprisingly fancy layout of spreads and jams to go with them. Don't mind the oddly threatening poster on the far wall. He's just here to supervise.

5) 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.

6) CUE MUSIC

Feelings in a murder-school 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 3 FAQ can also be found here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ "Just like old times." That's a hell of a thing to say, isn't it? ]

I mean... we were a little less encouraged to go a'murdering in other schools we've attended together, but. Something like that, sure. ...Less far off than a person would hope for.

At least you can rest easy knowing I have better things to do than murder you.

[Is that?? Worse?? Or better??? Hard to tell with Regina.]

That is going to be so comforting to know when we wake up in the Saw V final round torture room together!

[ she sighs. ]

Well if you don't kill me, I won't kill you.

I'm glad we could come to this agreement, Sarkisian. I may not like you, but I'd miss your... presence, if you died.

[She says it with the same dismissive but saccharine sweet tone that she says everything. Does she mean it? Is she being an asshole? Again: hard to tell with Regina.]

[ Ah, yes. Something she didn't miss. ]

And it'd be way more boring if you went and got yourself killed too.

[ both of these girls have One Setting ]

[On the one hand: horrible. She's Regina George, how dare this insignificant trash speak to her that way. On the other hand: it's familiar, at least, and that's something. That's the easiest thing about this situation they've found themselves in.]

Obviously. I'm always the most interesting thing in any room.

[ this is not good for her health and it is why she has strictly avoided Regina to this point since All Of That, but she just doesn't have it in her to fake anything right now. ]

Yup. Still a Massive Deal even when kidnapped to this... school? Murder school. Not just for weird nerds on twitter anymore.

[ JUNKO ENOSHIMA I LOVE YOUR WORK- ]

[Is that a reference to one of Janis' weird animes or something? Probably. This feels like an anime plot, at least.]

Ugh. Do you think we're being filmed? [Somewhere, in another universe, Alec Lightwood feels a chill go up his spine and doesn't know why.] This feels like some sort of awful reality TV show.

[ Okay, now there's a universal source of discomfort. ]

Ugh, God, it better not be. I'm not here to try to prop up the viewership of some fourth-rate cable channel.

Well, why else would we all be here? Kidnappings are expensive.

[Why. Why does she say that like she knows how much a kidnapping costs?]

[ Why does she say that like she knows what a kidnapping costs. ]

Well, glad to know that if we do die for real, we'll at least live on in the noble hearts and minds of true crime podcasters and their listeners. They'll eat this shit up with a spoon.

Well, that's just going to end in someone trying to investigate this and getting caught up in this underground Saw bullshit. [See? She knows pop culture too.] Pity. There'd be money in it if we made it out alive.

[She's gonna keep a diary for someone to find, obviously. Will it be truthful? No. But it'll be good and that's what matters.]

[ janis is so proud, almost ]

Well, we're not totally down the possibility this is a weird Punk'd knockoff instead of Survivor For Real. That's... about all the optimism I got, but still.

Didn't take you for a rose-colored glasses type of girl.

[Honestly, Regina would rather be on Survivor For Real than Punk'd but she's not gonna say that. She's a little bit self aware.]

I can manage the LaCroix version of the flavor when I need to. But even as I said it I wasn't feeling it.

I can tell. It's really not up to your usual standard, Sarkisian. I hope the fear here doesn't make you lose your edge.

[There's some fake concern in her voice but, like. This is very clearly fake.]

[ Janis lets out a likewise fake sigh. ]

At least I know I have you to Old Yeller me if it gets too bad.

It's Curtains Act 3 Test Drive

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cw suicide mention