CHAPTER FINALE ♔ darling can't you see it's now or never

[romanticidal]

♬ Astronaut (A Short History of Nearly Nothing) - Amanda Palmer ft. Zoe Keating

WHO || Rafael Giovanni, Eterna Jade, Burt Becksworth, Isabella Alessandro, Finnick Odair, Myrilandel de Tanos, Buffy Summers, Spike, Elena Gilbert, Dawn Summers, Desmond Descant, Jeanne Gar, Kat Samcelot, Mark Sandazhard, Violet Fiore, Sterling Archer
WHAT || CHAPTER ONE FINALE: Rafael Giovanni & Finnick's televised international concert debut
WHERE || A music hall in Chicago, IL
WHEN || July 3rd, 2013 [ forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam

The hour is finally upon our heroes, to learn whether their crazy plan to invest in making Finnick and Rafael international superstars under Burt Becksworth's management will pay off, and keep control of NOVA Records out of the hands of Chad Becksworth and his sinister compatriots. Now, as the Knights finish taking their seats in the balconies directly overlooking the stage, the concert goes live, broadcasting around the world, to where even other members of the Knighthood in London can gather to watch.

The camera pans across the endless sea of gathered, curious fans, who shake their arms wildly for their two seconds of fame, and then zooms in on a blonde figure on one corner of the stage, where she stands ready with a microphone: Buffy Summers.

[ the action of this post will be continually propelled by the interspersed musical numbers performed by finnick and rafael. each musical number will be up for a short amount of ooc time, in which players are free to create mini-thread responses directly to that song comment. these can be for internal reflection, to make commentary to the neighbors seated in their rows, for backstage convos for those involved in the program, or for 'host' commentary between some songs by archer and kat. threads that result from these responses should be kept short and sweet, as each song is only 3 to 5 minutes long, which doesn't leave a lot of time for in depth conversations. ideally, by the time the next 'number' is posted (as a direct response to the last musical number comment), your response threads from the previous number should be considered over and done with, and you can continue anything going on in them as a new mini-thread under the most recently posted song. in order to keep track of when things are rolling on to the next song, I highly encourage everyone to please track this entire post. ]

Comments

[65]

I have to dedicate this song to a little someone … I think you all know who.

[ ♬ i knew you were trouble - sam tsui & kurt schneider

yep he sure is singing taylor swift's own song back at her. IT'S SUPER DRAMATIC OK. hell it was probably burt's idea even … (perform 31)

once upon time
a few mistakes ago
i was in your sights
you got me alone
you found me
you found me
you found me

i guess you didn't care
and i guess i liked that
and when i fell hard
you took a step back
without me, without me, without me

and you're long gone
when you're next to me
and i realize the blame is on me

cause i knew you were trouble when you walked in
so shame on me now
flew me to places i'd never been
till you put me down oh
i knew you were trouble when you walked in
so shame on me now
flew me to places i'd never been
now i'm lying on the cold hard ground
oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

no apologies
you'll never see me cry
pretend that you don't know
that you're the reason why
i'm drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning

and i heard you moved on
from whispers on the street
a new notch in your belt
is all i'll ever be
and now i see, now i see, now i see
you were long gone
when you met me
and i realize the joke is on me

i knew you were trouble when you walked in
so shame on me now
flew me to places i'd never been
till you put me down oh
i knew you were trouble when you walked in
so shame on me now
flew me to places i'd never been
now i'm lying on the cold hard ground
oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

when your saddest fear comes creeping in
that you never loved me or him or anyone or anything
yeah

i knew you were trouble when you walked in
so shame on me now
flew me to places i'd never been
till you put me down oh
i knew you were trouble when you walked in
so shame on me now
flew me to places i'd never been
now i'm lying on the cold hard ground
oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

i knew you were trouble when you walked in
trouble, trouble, trouble
i knew you were trouble when you walked in
trouble, trouble, trouble ]

[starfucker]

[ leaning over the railing, burt cuts a shit eating grin back at everyone as a tv screen above the stage projects a close up of taylor swift in the audience - a grimace of a smile plastered on her face and rapidly melting. ] And there's the money shot. That little stunt alone'll get this show recapped on every celebrity gossip site, show, and rag in town for weeks.

I'm such a sucker for a happy fucking ending.

[slay]

Past schmast. [ buffy's dismissal comes promptly, but then she grows more sympathetic and explains why she's so cavalier about it. ] It's true, tabloids love a good story, but nobody in Italy's figured it out yet and you're plenty popular there, and not a single one of them's figured out what Finnick does on his days off.

[romanticidal]

You have a knack for making things sound so simple. This must be why I get so trapped up in my head when you are not around. [ he reaches out to give her hand a squeeze as a man with a clipboard starts waving to him frantically from the wings ] It looks like I am on deck.

[slay]

[ she squeezes his hand back, and her stomach flutters as it slips out of hers. her gaze lingers on him and she offers a tiny smile. ]

I'll be watching.

[ she lets the man with the clipboard take over, and slips away from backstage to go rejoin the others. ]

[romanticidal]

[ he smiles back slightly and then heads off to get in place for when finnick finishes his last number. as buffy heads towards the stairs that lead up to her balcony, a black-clad stage hand nearly rams into her, walking at full speed hustling around back there. he doesn't offer so much as a word of apology as he disappears out of sight around the corner.

people are so nice here. ]

[65]

Okay, okay, you guys have been great. I hate to go, but you know how it is — all good things must come to an end. This last one is for one of my new best friends, Violet. [he gives a little wave to her, eyeballing where she might be before singing ]

[ ♬ sure fire winners - adam lambert


aw yeah wrappin' finnick's concert up. everybody party like it's 3012 tonight sorry wrong song reference. (perform 31)

we're coming up like killing machines
our big guns gonna shatter your scene
it's pandemonium on the floor
'cause everybody wants a little more
they wanna ride on the rocket ship
ride around the moon for a velvet kiss
'cause all the girls and the boys wanna know
how far this bad wild child's gonna go

we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
bringing the heat and the word is out
giving you something to shout about
we are, yeah, we are, we are the sure fire winners
sure fire winners, sure fire winners, sure fire winners

flick the switch and the missile will fire
i'm a heat seeker when i'm full of desire
we're all drawn to the heat of the flame
'cause you wanna be a star in the hall of fame
i was born with glitter on my face
my baby clothes made of leather and lace
and all the girls in the club wanna know
where did all their pretty boys go?

we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
bringing the heat and the word is out
giving you something to shout about
we are, yeah, we are, we are the sure fire winners
winners winners

ooh yeah, take a walk on the wild with me
gonna take you to the top to the brink of what you believe
never gonna stop 'til we reach the top
never gonna stop 'til we reach the top
you'd better get out of the game it's never gonna be the same
move over 'cause a new boy's calling it time

we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
bringing the heat and the word is out
giving you something to shout about
we are, yeah, we are, we are the sure fire winners

ooh yeah yeah-oh yeah yeah yeah

we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
we are the sure fire winners
uh-oh yeah big time hitters
bringing the heat and the word is out
giving you something to shout about
yeah we are, yeah, we are, we are the sure fire winners

gonna take you to the top to the brink of what you believe
gonna take you to the top to the brink of what you believe
gonna take you to the top to the brink of what you believe ]

[starfucker]

[ that finnick is sooo hot right now.

But really, the crowd explodes into outrageous chaos of cheers and screams and declarations of love, even as the stage explodes in a burst of glitter that rains from the ceiling even down into the audience.

The sound doesn't die down, and Burt surveys the landscape of mindless enthusiasm with a look of utter satisfaction, offering up a few intense slow claps of his own. It takes him a moment to even register his vibrating phone and he digs it out and raises it to one ear, plugging the other. ]

Not a great time! [ he strains to hear the response, ducking his head away from the swelling noise. Repeating himself, he checks the caller id with a frustrated expression... and the name he sees there doesn't seem to improve matters. ]

Look, I can't hear a goddamn word you're saying! [ he makes a futile gesture at his ear that certainly can't be seen by the person on the other end of the line. ] What?

[graveflowers]

[Aw yeah Vi has the best best friend. Suck it T.Swift. Someone is a happy little clam.]

[shootfirst]

[ OH RIGHT, hosting this crazy sideshow. kat's not... good at remembering to keep her stage presence on. ] ... You know, for a second there, really expecting the stage on set on fire.

Kind of let down, really.

[starfucker]

[ he's still going over there, as he pushes behind des and jade to crowd up against the balcony wall in hopes of getting some kind of applause-proof bubble. does not work. ] What part of I can't fucking hear you don't you understand?!

... Did you just say 'Cock-butt'?

[nothingsodivine]

Oh, let's be honest, Burt. That's probably not the most offensive thing you've ever heard.

[starfucker]

[ well. no. no, it's really not. ]

Ok, I can make out some of what you're-- No, say it again. Yes. Don't you fucking-- [ there's a beat, as all the color drains from his face as he finally gets what they're trying to tell him. ]

Waitafucking....

KNOCKED UP?

[ ok, that might be the most offensive thing he's ever heard, judging by his horrified expression as he stares off into space and lets that register, while sexy alien girls re-emerge to dance around finnick as he's lowered into the stage.

8) ]

[romanticidal]

[ it's at that time that the lights dramatically dim and an insistent driving piano introduction spools up, gather insistence as the lights bank across the stage and finally settle on a silhouetted figure who stands dramatically on the edge of a skyscraper roof that looks out over the set of a ruined urban sprawl. the music works itself up to a point and then draws back, and rafael raises his mic, his first notes incredibly haunting (sing 43):

♬ my december - rafael giovanni ]

This is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear...

[ he breaks away from the edge of the roof to turn and face the audience and let them get the full effect of his sexy italian features oo ahh ]

This is my December
This is my snow covered home
This is my December
This is me alone

[ across the shattered cityscape, giant flakes start to fall, as he transitions into the bridge, his voice a strong, pure note sweeping across the audience and holding them enraptured in a very different way than finnick's high energy performance not long before. ]

And I just wish that I didn't feel
Like there was something I missed
And I take back all the things I said
To make you feel like that
And I just wish that I didn't feel
Like there was something I missed
And I take back all the things I said to you ...

[ with a dramatic kick into the chorus, searchlights go sweeping across the stage, and it slowly becomes clear that the flakes falling aren't snow at all - they're ash. and the set represents one lone man stranded in the wake of a nuclear winter.

oh burt. ]

And I give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go to
Give it all away to have someone
To come home to

[ rafael walks the length of the rooftop, coming to a stop in the center as debris and ash fly up around him as if helicopters were flying overhead ]

This is my December
These are my snow covered dreams
This is me pretending
This is all I need
And I just wish that I didn't feel
Like there was something I missed
And I take back all the things I said
To make you feel like that
And I just wish that I didn't feel
Like there was something I missed
And I take back all the things I said to you

[ as he sings, several projected images of rafael appear, distorted, in the broken windows of the protruding top half of the fake building he stands on, echoing his words back to him, for a very eerie effect ]

And I give it all away
Just to have
Somewhere to go to
Give it all away
To have someone
To come home to

This is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear

And I give it all away
Just to have somewhere
To go to
Give it all away
To have someone
To come home to

[ the song ends with some dramatic strings as rafael perches on the building's edge... and after a brief space of suspenseful silence when it's over, the crowd erupts into a deafening roar of approval. ]

[starfucker]

[ burt watches the performance unfold a bit before he answers myri, breathing a sigh of relief as rafael kicks its ass ] ... Air. Yeah. Maybe a good idea.

[witchwoman]

Come on. [Because if you didn't know she was going with you, she's certainly making it clear now. She glances back to the others, not feeling like shouting where she's going or why. She just feels like Burt needs her more than they do right now, and she's always followed her heart in times like these. Her hand moves from his shoulder to the crook of his elbow, tugging lightly to guide him out.]

[isisagent]

So uh... Katie, check this out - Here comes the Italian Stallion.

Look at that crowd! Holy shit! Ladies and Gentlemen, we're now under a flood advisory! hah hah hah

[shootfirst]

You are a disgusting, disgusting man. [ it's less accusatory and more just... statement of fact. ]

[borrowedheaven]

[ meanwhile, jade ignores the baby daddy drama going on, and squeezes the necklace in her hand as she watches rafael's performance with marked interest. she doesn't say anything, but she doesn't look away, either. ]

[nothingsodivine]

Even Burt freakin' Becksworth has someone. Who knew? [He turns to look at Jade and then looks at Rafael and then back to her... and then back to Rafael.] He ain't half bad.

[bigbad]

[Spike's putting away his phone and just glowering at the stage because goddammit he's sure he could be this sexy and talented if he really tried. British accents are as hot as Italian ones, right?

Yeah, he's screwed.]

[savemyself]

[ yeah isabella catches all those negative vibes, and frowns over at spike ] What is wrong?

[graveflowers]

Underdog penguin, my ass.

[Shit though, that is fine, suddenly attracted to Italia over there. Whoda thunk.]

[watcherjunior]

Whatsit now?

[ Dawn's been quiet most of the concert, even ignoring some of the chatter around her. Oops. ]

[romanticidal]

[ accompanying the applause, a piano rises out of the rooftop, black and gleaming. rafael makes his way to the bench, and hushes the crowd by beginning to play, a simple but steady melody (piano 29) and then he launches into a sorrowful song that seems to carry an intensely raw personal edge that only adds to the mesmerizing quality of his voice (sing 50).

♬ remember when it rained - rafael giovanni ]

Wash away the thoughts inside
That keep my mind away from you
No more love and no more pride
And thoughts are all I have to do

Remember when it rained
I felt the ground and look up high
And called your name
Remember when it rained
In the darkness I remain

Tears of hope run down my skin
Tears for you that will not dry
They magnify the one within
And let the outside slowly die

Remember when it rained
I felt the ground and looked up high
And called your name
Remember when it rained...

In the water I remain
Running down
Running down

[ the lyrics break for an impressive little piano interlude, where the audience hangs on every stroke of the keys... and then rafael's powerful voice goes rocketing through the concert hall, sending chills across a multitude of spines with his mournful notes. ]