On the screen, you see the movie for the first time. You kinda recognize the lead actor. You think it's the guy who built the theater, supposedly your great great grandfather on your dad's side, B. Lamont Beaumont. You were pretty sure that guy was just a producer though.

In the movie, he's standing over a woman who appears to be dead, on the stage of a theater that.... oh.

This theater.

A dialoue card appears, "Sorry, starlight, that's show business."

Emily, you look up and see Levi near the equipment. You make eye contact and both give the slightest nod.

You think you can work together, even if you can't hear each other.

Okay, okay... What should I try to fuck up first, the projector or spotlight...? Levi looks over to the woman who seems to be too preoccupied to make such a decision.

Read a bad situation: Roll +Sharp

@itsbrianyay rolled 10. (4 + 6 = 10)


edited to correct my stat****

What’s the best way to protect the victims?

pretty please.

By victims, I assume you mean you and Wonder Woman! That's fair.

From what you've seen of the... ghost, it seems like it uses the spotlight as it's focus for its powers. Since there's only one spotlight, it seems like it can't deal with both you and Diana over there at the same time, as long as you're in two different places. Maybe you shouldn't assume the spotlight is the only thing the ghost can control, but anywhere the beam can't hit is probably way safer than anything in range of the spotlight, since it seems like its physical form can only manifest inside of it.

Whatever is going on, though, it seems to have a stronger preference for attacking you, and it seems stronger against you. So, maybe the best way to protect the victims is to keep it away from you, specifically.

What’s most vulnerable to me?

The ghost has it out for you.

You might not know why, but the way it's dealing with your rescuer vs the way it's dealing with you... you can tell that it really doesn't like you. Maybe its racist. On the other hand, you remember that old story about your great great grandfather on your dad's side having owned this place. Maybe it thinks you're him. Or a substitute for him. You don't even look like the guy, though, so if you're being targeted for that familial connection, that means it knows who you are implicitly. So, disguises won't work; it has some other way of sensing you.

Either way, you know you aren't safe here, and you probably aren't safe anywhere near this theater until the ghost is gone, weakened, or placated.

As long as it can detect you, you are vulnerable.

After all, you got nabbed and dragged in when you were outside at the front of the building, and the spotlight definitely couldn't reach you there. It's strongest in the spotlight, but it must not be bound to it.

Are there any dangers we haven’t noticed?

A few facts:

This building is old.

That's pretty obvious, right? But it's worth repeating. There's damage nearly everywhere, except for the area of the stage, some of the seats in front of it, and the little area where you are, with the spotlight and projector. It's almost like the ghost has been protecting it from decay.

But everything else has rotted around that core of the building. The balcony is unstable. There's a smell of mold. The place is condemned, and you aren't sure how much of it can even be spared.

To put it mildly: this place is a huge fire hazard.


Another fact, this one being one you only know because of your experience in getting high and looking up articles on wikipedia: Old silver nitrate film, like the kind in the canisters surrounding the projector and spotlight burn good.

There was at least one famous fire where a bunch of silent films went up in smoke and a few people with them. That's one reason why so many films from that era are lost.

[...]

As if to hammer that point in, the movie on the screen shows the guy who may have been your ancestor throwing film canisters into a hole in the ground that looks like an open grave. Then he strikes a match.

There's a shot of a film canister, "directed by Gwendoline Hartford-Beaumont" on the lid, the title obscured. Then it starts to burn.

[...]

The fire danger feels like the most obvious one. Aside from that, you can tell from where you're at that the emergency exit you tried to run for earlier is blocked off entirely with debris, and it looks deliberate.

Otherwise, you think you have a good idea of what dangers are present here.

Not trying to start any fires just yet, Levi decides to leave the projector and all the flammable shit alone. Instead he sets his eyes on the spotlight. He unzips his hoodie, pulls it off, and covers the spotlight like a birdcage.

Can't fuck with us if you can't see us! ...I hope...

Emily looks at the movie playing on the screen and looks at the ghost. The name Gwendoline flashes on the screen. She looks familiar. She looks up and sees the kid throwing his hoodie over the spotlight. Hopefully this will work.

Emily braces for a battle.