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

[graveflowers]

Why not?

[nosdacariad]

Well, because, I mean, I'm supposed to be, you know... guarding the door and... all vigilant and it's a little hard to do that when I'm also talking to my very good friend Violet. [ he offers her a weak smile ]

[graveflowers]

Vi. [The correction comes with a raised eyebrow, well both, she ain't the Rock.] Yeah I am pretty sure it has never been said that one guard is better than two. Like, ever.

[nosdacariad]

Maybe somewhere with... budget problems... said it.

[graveflowers]

[Her hands go to her hips. Sir, no.]

Mark. Why do you want your very dear friend to leave? Honest answer, because you know that oath to not lie? I am pretty sure it applies to right now.

[nosdacariad]

[ he stares at her for a long moment, before his eyes slip off to bore a hole in the ground. he speaks in strange starts and stops. ] There's -- it's... I've-- had some ... family ... related ... drama today. It's nothing I can talk about or want to talk about, but it's [ he stops short and takes in a deep, ragged breath ] really, really hard to know what I'm supposed to do.

I'm just trying to clear my head but everything-- [ he shakes his head back and forth ] Everything seems harder, these days. [ his brow furrows deeply, and for a moment he looks intensely serious, more serious than she's seen him when he's goofing around the hotel, ever. ] So... [ in a half-broken whisper: ] please.

[graveflowers]

[Mark. That is surprisingly hard to listen to and Vi's expression falls from annoyed rejection and utter worry. Mark shouldn't be allowed to feel bad things, he is too sweet, too much of a goober to have such a heavy heart.]

Okay, I'll go. If you are absolutely positive you don't want company, even if it's silent. But Mark. [She moves forward to put a gentle hand on his arm.] You can tell someone, you don't have to figure this out on your own. I get not wanting to say anything because its your family, but that's sort of the point of having friends. To share the burden. And I know so many of the people we're with consider you their family.

[nosdacariad]

[ nos da cariad - david gray

he looks to her hand, still looking frustrated, but also a little relieved. ] That... means a lot. Thank you, Vi. I won't forget it.

Really.

[ he inhales sharply ] I uh, just think everyone here's got enough on their plate to deal with, and more than that...

Some burdens are made to be borne by just one guy. Or gal. Equal opportunity... bearing... [ awkward, ok. ] Either way, I'll... see you after the show. Ok?

[graveflowers]

[She nods and withdraws her hand, turning to the door. She stops though, with her hand on the handle, and looks back.] Wait. Do you know the story of Atlas? He was Titan -- they were the gods that came before the gods where I came from. Anyway there was the big battle and the Titans were destroyed or imprisoned and Atlas was left holding the sky. Literally, holding the sky so it doesn't crush him and the rest of humanity. Except the gods wrote in an escape clause: if someone offered to take his burden, he would be free.

[She stops the story there, ignoring the messy familial relations and leaving it there. It's an offer, she is offering to take the sky from Mark.]

At least for a moment. Because no one can hold on to a burden that big by themselves. Not forever.

[nosdacariad]

[ he turns his face away but a good spot check can see that there are tears forming in his eyes before he does. he nods several times. ] Not forever. [ it sounds like a vow, a promise, firm but still sad. ]

[graveflowers]

[Noo the only thing that should be allowed to make Mark cry is the Lion King. (spot 17) Vi really doesn't want to leave but he asked her to. So with a lingering, worried glance, she opens the door. If she spends the rest of the night right inside of it -- well, she can do what she wants.]