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

[romanticidal]

[ a more wistful melody begins, and Rafael starts into a remorseful tune, slowly crossing the stage. ]

higher window - Rafael Giovanni

For all the times I tried for this
And every chance at you I missed
I've been known to go my way but I confess
It made me miss you more

I drew my line across the sand
And set my flag in no mans land
But here I am the one man band
With a song that's meant for two

[ he reaches the foot of the grand staircase and takes a single step up, looking up to the top as he sings the lovely chorus (perform 39) up toward the moon. ]

And there is a light
From a higher window
Shining down on you tonight
And the music floats on the breeze
Bringing an easier time.
And all of our cards are on the table
Tell me what you want to do
Just don't tell that it's too late
For me to love you.

[ he begins a slow and purposeful climb with the second verse ]

How perfect we were meant to be
Our warm and silent symmetry
It's times like these when all
All we need is to be reminded

[ the last phrase of which is accompanied by another determined, pained look up toward the balcony ]

And I have flown a thousand miles
To empty rooms and crowded aisles
And we went from cathedral bells
To show and tell and wish you wells

And I still look at you
And I am blinded.
I am blinded

[ his climb has brought him to a height with her balcony, and though he's on the furthest side of the stage from her, it's clear to those in the know who he's looking at... and then he continues climbing, all eyes on the moon above. ]

Because there is a light from a higher window
Shining down on us tonight
And the music floats on the breeze
From an easier time

And all of our cards are on the table
Tell me what you want to do

[ as he ascends, so does moon, until it disappears into the ceiling, leaving him adrift among starlight, singing sorrowful and shaking his head, eyes closed. ]

Just don't tell me that it's too late
Don't tell me that it's too late now

Just don't tell me that it's too late
For me to love you

[witchwoman]

[Myri shakes her head, not in disagreement, but in the lack of knowing.]

I'm not certain. She's been talking to Des for most of the evening. Maybe he's been distracting her from it.

[shootfirst]

Well, either way it'll be all over soon. There's only a few numbers left.

[witchwoman]

[Being away from the balcony and out of sight with Rafael is helping the feeling of heartache fade from her, which allows her to think a bit clearer.]

Thank the Stargods... It's certainly been an eventful night.

Has anyone told you about Burt? [oh apparently now is the time for gossip. Or rather that Myri counts Kat as one of her best friends and sharing is caring okay.]

[bigbad]

I understand it, but... [He turns to watch Rafael as he starts his last song... another ballad dedicated to the great Eterna Jade.] Seems a bit of a lost cause.

[savemyself]

He will be happy one day. Things were...improving, before your friends came into our lives.

[slay]

[ buffy's been listening. between isabella and spike's conversation and the fact that she's stuck sitting here while rafael declares his love for jade a million times over, it's too much. she forces herself to her feet suddenly.

she opens her mouth to say something, excuse herself, but there's really nothing to be said. so instead she just turns and leaves the balcony to take a breather.

it's suffocating, being in there. hearing spike and isabella talk, knowing what she knows. hearing isabella blame rafael's pain on them coming into his life. hearing exactly how never-gonna-happen this infatuation of hers is. she needs to get away from it before it overwhelms her. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Every note of the piano is damning Rafael in Des's eyes. He actually supported him. He told him he could get her back. Months of evading and ignoring for his own sake and now he's sitting here, after hearing everything from her perspective, and wondering how on earth he really thinks he deserves her- this desperate man clinging to an illusion.

She doesn't need to remember. He doesn't know what she needs, but he's doing a hell of a lot better at figuring it out than a guy onstage singing meaningless words right at her.

He's not heartless. When he makes his move, it's after Rafael has diverted his attention from the balcony and that's when he releases her hand and pulls her into a kiss.

It's not as chaste and awkward as the first one was.]

[borrowedheaven]

[ and jade melts readily into the kiss, oblivious, while it lasts, to the strains of heartache still filling the air. there's an eagerness born of her months of patience with him on the subject that drives her to such an enthusiastic response, her hand sliding up his arm to grip him tightly, gently signalling that she wants this stolen moment to linger more than it probably should, given the circumstances. the momentum of her kiss, however, is a far less subtle plea for the same, since she... sure crit failed her will save to reign things in. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des doesn't yank away from the fury of the moment, but once it occurs to him that this is neither the time nor the place for this, he pulls away gently, hands clasped around her head and remaining that way.]

I guess I do still have some tricks in me. [He's a bit breathless. Give him a tic.]

[isisagent]

[Archer comes around, tucking a flask into his suit jacket, and sporting a revitalized martini glass]

Yeah Kat... er... [He realizes his lovely co-host has a slightly different hair color... and is slightly less troll-ish] Oh. Violet. I uh, don't know if he could pull off The Supremes... He doesn't really have that strong... urban woman vibe.

I would however, give my left testicle to hear him sing "What's New Pussycat."
[Archer states that last bit so matter-of-factly it's more than a little unnerving.]

[graveflowers]

[What, sorry, she is staring at the makeout balcony...] Yeah, I think I'd offer that up to. On you behalf of course. Maybe he'll sing it for you, but I don't think it matches his theme.

Maybe "Why Do Fools Fall In Love". Can I have some of that drink?

[isisagent]

...Or maybe "It's not Unusual"?

[He passes Vi the flask]

Drink up. We're gonna need it if he keeps singing these sappy songs, God...

[Archer takes a big gulp from his Martini]

At least blondie's music was kind of catchy.

[romanticidal]

[ in place of the moon, a piano that seems to be floating materializes on an invisible platform hanging out in the air there, because burt pulls no punches. and rafael makes his way to it, completely oblivious to what's happening on the balcony over there...

instead of feeling like a song intended only for jade's ears, there's almost a shift towards something much more internalized as he begins to sing, a level of private reflection with a particularly dark vibe to it overshadowing the number. there's a clear sense of guilt weighing down upon him, communicated easily through the heavy strokes of the piano keys and the desperate resignation of the lyrics. (piano 37, sing 41)]

♬ you're the only place - rafael giovanni

Seems like our love is on a road to nowhere fast
All my life I've thought a love like this would last
But every road can hide a corner we can't see
I had a vision that I woke up by your side
I felt you breathing and our souls were intertwined
But who controls love's destiny? Not me.

We had it all right in our hands,
We had the space to fly and still a place to land

[ there's a shift in his tone, a kind of reverent quality that seems more in line with a prayer than anything else, his words directed up towards where the moon vanished. ]

So I'm calling out, I'm calling out to the only one
Who can save us from what we've done
Don't leave me hanging on
I'm reaching out and praying you'll come back again
It's just darkness I'm living in
And you're the only place my heart has ever been.

Maybe I'm young and in the ways of love naive
Maybe I'm desperate for a reason to believe
There wasn't any way I thought that we would fall.
I've seen perfection in a rainbow in the sky
I've seen a child make the coldest grown man cry
But loving you I thought was greater than them all.

We had it all, just you and me
Now there's a doorway to my heart without a key

So I'm calling out, I'm calling out to the only one
Who can save us from what we've done
Don't leave me hanging on
I'm reaching out and praying you'll come back again
It's just darkness I'm living in
And you're the only place my heart has ever been.

Wherever you are right now
Come back and show me how you feel
Because I'm lost without you here

[ with a dramatic flash of spotlights converging, the floating platform spirals down towards the stage as the moon reappears above slowly ]

Calling out, I'm calling out to the only one
Who can save us from what we've done
Don't leave me hanging on
And I'm reaching out and praying you'll come back again
It's just darkness I'm living in
Cause you're the only place my heart has ever been.

[slay]

[ so much for quiet time alone.

buffy startles at the sound of kat's shout, and her eyes go wide as she stumbles upon her with myri. buffy looks between them uncertainly, and then slowly finds her voice. ]

Am I ... interrupting something?

[witchwoman]

I was telling her about Burt's news. [Buffy was there for part of it, but Myri's not sure how much everyone heard with all the commotion and the concert and all.]

[savemyself]

[ isabella doesn't answer spike at first, as she's listening oh so closely to every word of rafael's next song, looking increasingly like she sucked on a lemon ]

You did not think he truly believed he could win over the girl sitting below us with these songs of his, did you?

[bigbad]

Bugger if I know. He is a bit of a moron. [He glances over at her, frowning.] What's else could he be doing?

[notaroundme]

[Well, this is getting awkward fast. Between Rafael's heartfelt music and Jade ignoring him in favor of making out with someone else, and a few of the other people up and leaving, Elena's sinking back into her seat. She manages to clap and smile at the right moments, but oh god this is seriously devolving, or at least it feels that way.]

[rationalizes]

[ gar, however, seems to be distracting herself by paying attention to something else entirely... ] That moon... do you see that blue arc at the top of it? [ she presses her fingers against her lips ] That's not a moon, it's the symbol of... [ she lowers her voice, cutting a look over at jade and des, and seeming to realize they're distracted, but whispering just in case ] Jade's mother, Sehanine.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des doesn't look to the stage to see if Rafael's watching or singing at Jade or whatever. His eyes are all on her.]

Ask me that when I'm sure this isn't gonna go pearshaped on us, okay?

[borrowedheaven]

Oh, I'll ask alright. [ apparently, though, she's willing to humor his paranoia, and just reaches down to pick up his hand again, leaning back in her seat with a wink and a large smile. ] You try to relax.

[romanticidal]

[ as the piano sinks to the ground and the audience applauds thunderously, rafael takes the mic from its stand and rises to address the audience, his expression clouded: ]

This song I wrote long ago, when last everything seemed on the edge of despair.

It is the song of an evening I will not soon forget.

[ he bows his head as the music comes up, and then looks up, singing straight up at the ceiling over the audience, the heaviness upon his heart entirely exposed now as he opens up whatever wounds he has left, delivering the most powerhouse performance of the night thus far (nat 20 perform = 52...)

♬ now or never - rafael giovanni

I watch the morning dawn upon your skin
A splinter in the light
It caught and frayed the very heart of us
It's been hiding there inside for all this time
How a sure thing winds up just like this
Clockwork silence only knows

And it's no one's fault
There's no black and white
Only you and me
On this endless night
And as the hours run away
With another life
Oh, darling can't you see
It's now or never
It's now or never

Sweeping eggshells still at 3 A.M.
We're trying far too hard
The tattered thought balloons above our heads
Sinking in the weight of all we need to say
Why's and what if's have since long played out
Left us short on happy endings

And it's no one's fault
There's no black and white
Only you and me
On this endless night
And as the hours run away
With another life
Oh, darling can't you see
It's now or never
It's now or never

You know that there's so much more

And it's no one's fault
There's no black and white
Only you and me
On our final night
And as the hours run away
With another life
Oh, darling can't you see
It's now or never
It's now or never

[rationalizes]

I... I suppose it depends on what you believe. But clerics of this world pray to the gods for their assistance and their magic... and some claim to even speak to their gods.

[witchwoman]

It will change his life, no matter how much he chooses to be involved.

[Myri frowns because sometimes it's hard being the only one to have a big bleeding heart for everyone. The crowd inside is FUCKING LOSING IT, and she turns her head towards the sound.]

It seems that Rafael is doing quite well tonight.