Season 1 / Tatsuko - "It's Showtime!" [The First Trial Projection]

Tatsuko Onizuka

While you’re standing around, the lights flicker and die out, and the music goes with them. The only source of light you have is through the open entryway to the outside. There’s enough light to see, but certainly not enough for a show.

Well, there goes any hope for a performance for the time being. All that's left to do is take a look around. What will you do now?

Kaoru Naito

It’s an easy choice, Kaoru hears that voice echoing down the halls and shows up like it’s his life’s calling to be here and do whatever dumb loud shit Tatsuko needs him to do—he doesn’t really trust anyone else to meet the energy levels he thinks she deserves.

(More importantly: he‘s BORED!!!)

He strolls in like he belongs, grin on his face as soon as he sees the circus and feels the atmosphere. Oh yeah, this is gonna be fire.

Looking between the two choices, he decides to follow one of the others this time. He’s with three seemingly well behaved gentlewomen he doesn’t know all that well, he can be a little chivalrous... He looks at Suzune, “Never? Heh, hope we see an elephant…” He fiddles with his sleeve buckles as he wanders with them, “… Is that shit legal anymore? Don’t remember.”

Tatsuko Onizuka

Nobuko Yoshida She nods slightly to Shiori, then starts making her way towards the seats.

Looking at the seats themselves, they seem… admittedly a little barebones. They're made out of plain wood and honestly don't look very sturdy or comfortable. They'll work fine if nothing else is there, but they're probably not the kind of place you'd want to sit for a long time.

Otherwise, the seating area is pretty unremarkable. A bit of popcorn is littered on the ground, though you don't want to guess how long that's been there. The only real noteworthy thing is that there's a small roped-off section in the front row.

Chula - Suzune

"An elephant sounds fun to see! I've only ever, like, seen them in zoos. I'm not sure if they're legal or not, though… I HAVE heard circuses aren't the kindest to them." But that's not really something she's looked into enough to say one way or another.

Ah, though, speaking of, there were actually multiple people here she hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet. It was just Shiori, wasn't it? That made Suzune a little like a fish out of water. Let's see… What did she remember of these two?

Mmm… Shiori and Yoshida has been cuffed together, and Kaoru had been the one causing a massive fuss in the opening hall. She knew that much. "Hi! I don't believe I've met any of you except Yoshida-san! It's nice to meet you, I'm Suzune Gikou! So sorry it's taken me so long to introduce myself, ahah~` Things have been pretty overwhelming, huh---?" The lights sputtered out, startling her slightly as she affixed her gaze on the string lights above.

"Oh! I'll bet the breaker switches are backstage. Be back in a moment!"

Suzune trots backstage in search of a light switch.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Chula - Suzune Suzune trots backstage in search of a light switch.

Heading through the backstage curtain, you are greeted by an area similar to the wings of a stage. The most eye-catching thing here is a white door lined with flashing bulb lights. A sign is taped to the door, reading "Staff Only - Do Not Enter."

Right next to the door is a large lever. A small sign hangs above it, reading "STAGE POWER".

Kaoru Naito

He'll leave the seats to the twins (that he doesn't know aren't twins, he's just assuming that for no reason). Suzune Gikou… sure, she seems bubbly. He feels like they're opposite polarities immediately.

"And underwhelmin', mostly just weird," he rolls his eyes, sparing the slightest glance to the lurking wardens.

He walks after her towards the back as well and comments, "Careful wanderin' off, these places ain't always safe. Could be an elephant right 'round the corner waitin' to getcha, geheheh."

Sizing up the lever, he figures that's self explanatory enough. He points at the staff door, "Think we should go in? Or's that where th' scary getter's gonna get us?" He makes a stabbing motion in the air with one arm, like he's holding a knife. With some others here, he'd just walk in. He's being so polite(?).

Shiori Yoshida

Shiori follows her sister, as expected, looking over the seats and only blinking a few times to the lights shutting off. Huh. What prompted that? She didn't see any of them turn the lights off directly. Perhaps they were meant to find the cause of the power outage and fix it. And looks like Suzune's already on it. She nods in her direction when she mentions her last name, then tilts her head.

"We, ah, are both Yoshida-san." She gestures between herself and Nobuko. "I'm Shiori Yoshida, and my sister is Nobuko Yoshida." Seeing Suzune and then also the other man she's not entirely familiar with, she waves goodbye to them as the disappear into the back. "Please call if you need assistance."

Back to checking out the seats she goes. Though they all look rather unremarkable at first, the roped-off section in the front row catches her eye. It's the sort of setup she's quite familiar with, given how rich her clients are. It's always first class, front row, exclusive seating with those kinds of folks, isn't it?

Tatsuko Onizuka

Shiori Yoshida Though they all look rather unremarkable at first, the roped-off section in the front row catches her eye.

There's nothing particularly special about the seats in the roped-off section, just that they are roped off. Though it's hard to tell exactly, given the bench-like nature of the seating, this section seems to be for six people. A small sign hangs from the rope, with "RESERVED FOR THE ONIZUKA FAMILY" printed in a fancy-looking font. Interestingly enough, the actual family name seems to have been scribbled out, and "ONIZUKA" has been scrawled above where it should be.

Nobuko Yoshida

Nobuko walks alongside her sister, looking over the roped off seating. While it was rare that she would be taken out to such places, it was a concept she was familiar with. After all, she was often the one who was expected to make the necessary reservations, a task many of her masters considered beneath them.

Regardless of her own life experiences, it seems like this particular had been reassigned, and quite hastily at that. Nobuko looks closely, trying to see if she can make out the original family's name.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Nobuko Yoshida Nobuko looks closely, trying to see if she can make out the original family’s name.

Maybe it's because of how heavily the original name is scribbled out, maybe it's because the projection is intentionally obscuring it, but no matter how hard you look, you can't seem to make it out.

Chula - Suzune

Suzune giggled. Underwhelming. "I can't really argue with that, huh? Lots of empty time, too. I've taken up doing some chores around the prison to fill the time. I just… wish we had some sports stuff, I guess. I'd eat a whole bus to sit around a TV and watch a good soccer game right now, hehe. What's your name, good sir?" She asked idly, following his gaze to the employee only door. Well. She knew how to turn the lights back on, but she had to admit, it wouldn't be irresponsible to wait a few moments. After all, they still had plenty of vision.

"OH! Should I use first names, then? If that's not overstepping, that might be easier when we're all together!" It must be really nice to have a sibling present to act as emotional support. She peered out from behind the curtains to flash them a smile. "I'll let you know if I need anything, then!" Shiori seemed so polite and well-put-together, actually. Pleasant company.

But of course… back to the task at hand.

"Thanks for accompanying me, by the way! If the scary getter's there I bet we could take 'em." She flexed, somewhat toned actually even if it would be inaccurate to call her 'buff'. Suzune examines the 'Staff Only' sign! Sticking by Kaoru, if she can. They could try to open it next.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Chula - Suzune Suzune examines the ‘Staff Only’ sign!

It sure says Staff Only! Of course, there doesn't seem to be any actual staff around, so there's no one who could actually stop you if you wanted to go in.

Kaoru Naito

"Soccerrr, ugh, I'd kill someone fer somethin' t' kick around! … heh, y'know. Or eat a bus or whatever."

Some idioms become more loaded in a room full of murderers, which just makes them even funnier to say, to him.

"Y'know, I used ta pick up jobs at carnivals 'n piers all th' time, I'm basically a certified carny. Be ready with them fists, I'll run behind ya if somethin' tries t' grab me."

He says as he pushes the staff door open, not really all that worried.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Kaoru Naito He says as he pushes the staff door open, not really all that worried.

Trying to open the door, you find that it is unlocked, and you are free to enter and exit as you wish. Entering the door seems to lead you to the backstage area.

Entering this area, it seems much less flashy than the main stage, set up more like a large warehouse. A bunch of old circus equipment is strewn about the place -- rusted cages, broken unicycles, some warped hoops, a few frayed tightropes hanging overhead. Above you are signs pointing to where different types of equipment are, though they don't seem to be in meaningful order. To your left, you see a closed side door, presumably leading outside.

A note is taped to the front of one of the cages.

Shiori Yoshida

Shiori squints at the sign barring off the front row seats, the original name being crossed off making her thoughts race. Assuming that the currently legible name is Tatsuko's last name, was she perhaps part of the original family once but was then taken away? Did the entire family change last names, or perhaps it was just her?

She supposes she won't get a definitive explanation to this mystery just yet. Projections always seemed to be steeped in metaphor and allusion, and besides, what was the point in overanalyzing them? She wasn't the one deciding Tatsuko or anyone else's verdict, after all.

With Kaoru and Suzune already handling stuff backstage, her the chauffeur's gaze drifts to the large entryway leading outside the tent. Is there anything of note outside?

Tatsuko Onizuka

Shiori Yoshida With Kaoru and Suzune already handling stuff backstage, her the chauffeur’s gaze drifts to the large entryway leading outside the tent. Is there anything of note outside?

The door outside seems to lead to an endless expanse of greenery. It's impossible to tell where it ends as it disappears beyond the horizon.

You do notice that it is currently night. The inside of the tent is being illuminated by an extraordinarily bright moon and stars.

Nobuko Yoshida

Well. The outside world didn't seem particularly appealing. If there was anything left of interest to be found, it was likely to be within this tent.

Nobuko tilts her head to her sister, and indicates to the way backstage. "Come, Shiori. Let's reconvene with the others."

As she walks over in the direction she saw Kaoru and Suzune, she takes a moment to examine the curtain that covers the way forward.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Nobuko Yoshida As she walks over in the direction she saw Kaoru and Suzune, she takes a moment to examine the curtain that covers the way forward.

It's a mostly unremarkable curtain aside from its bright red color. Its main purpose seems to be to hide the backstage wings and door from the audience.

Chula - Suzune

"Weellllllll~" She'd been avoiding using the terminology of 'I'd kill,' hence the bus, but Kaoru went out and said it anyway. She made a mental note that she wouldn't need to be too careful around him. She did notice his avoidance of name sharing, but maybe it wasn't all that necessary at the exact moment anyway. She could 'hey you' the guy if she needed to, and then ask again at a later time. "But yeah, honestly, a soccer ball sounds GREAT right about now. If we get a hold of one, I'll keep you in mind, hehe."

Suzune brushed off her hands as she peered inside the room. "Looks like we're clear! No scary getter in here. But yeah, you can hide behind me if you want to!" The imagery of giant Kaoru hiding behind tiny Suzune is pretty hilarious to me, Chula.

"If you don't mind, though… I'm going to, like, step on in!!" She skipped inside, eyes tracing the room. The cage caught her attention the most, snagging the note to give it a read! She reads it out loud for the others to hear, too, given the Yoshida siblings were in another area.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Chula - Suzune The cage caught her attention the most, snagging the note to give it a read! She reads it out loud for the others to hear, too, given the Yoshida siblings were in another area.

The note appears to be a list typed in a font that seems to prioritize its quirky look over readability. The note itself is on a piece of paper with a circus-esque border surrounding it.

SHOW SET-UP

Paint marks -- Paint delivered outside

Move props to stage -- Today's stars: Juggling clowns

Turn on stage lights

Enjoy the show!