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]

[ 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.]

[shootfirst]

Burt's unleashing some kind of Satanspawn unto the world.

[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?

[savemyself]

Trying to move mountains, the way only Rafael Giovanni truly believes he can.

That girl is not Eterna Jade, even if she looks and sounds like her. It isn't her he loves.

[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.

[notaroundme]

[Oh thank god, please give her something to pay attention to. Gar you are a lifesaver, Elena loves you.

She tilts her body towards the woman so she can hear her better, looking for what she's talking about. She nods, though her gaze turns towards Gar at her words. Her words come out as whispers too.]

Her mother has her own...symbol? [She winces.] As if he wasn't being obvious enough already.

[She assumes it's so that Jade will make the connection between the songs and herself, but really? Who wouldn't notice?]

[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.

[notaroundme]

A lot of things that I thought weren't possible have turned out to be true since I came here.

[She's musing aloud, her eyes drawn back toward Rafael as his performance is enough to stir literally anyone into listening.]

[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.

[shootfirst]

That's news of the good variety, huh? Means we probably won't have to keep haunting the halls of record companies forever.

[savemyself]

[ the lyrics of this song seem to affect isabella rather deeply, as if it's all from a time she remembers all too well, also ]

He is trying to reach her. And I have no doubt that he thinks it is.

[borrowedheaven]

[ it's a nat 20 performance. there's no way she can't be drawn into listening, even with her hand locked firmly in des'. her other hand squeezes around the pendant that she's still holding onto tightly, and her smile disappears as she's drawn into rafael's tale of a painful, inevitable parting. she can't look away again, mesmerized into the sense of desperate melancholy his words create, and she doesn't say anything, although she squeezes des' hand near the end. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des gives Rafael a dark look. He has a bad feeling about this, okay.

Only when Jade squeezes his hand does he look at her.] He's got one left. Any chance it'll be a Tom Jones medley?

[romanticidal]

[ it takes a long time for people to stop hooting and hollering in reaction to that song, and rafael stands there stoically waiting for them to finish before he speaks again. ]

I have one final song before I am joined on stage tonight. It is a very special song for me... as the words were written by the person who means the most in this world to my eyes. She could not be here to hear me sing them, but I only hope that wherever she is, she understands that I know I was a fool to never grasp their importance until after I had lost her. It was then that I swore to keep them as a promise in my heart, to live by them.

Forever.

I can only hope that somehow... somewhere, she hears.

[ with that, he steps back and a particularly haunting score begins, and he fills the hall with the mournful echoes of the opening strains. (perform 51 .__. ) as he sings, he walks the length of the stage, and as he sings the chorus, he even smiles slightly to himself, as if just the reminder of these words gives him endless amounts of hope.

it doesn't take a genius to realize from his speech and the lyrics that this is the rationale he's held in his heart for going so far, holding onto this so hard.

her last words to him, and the last promise he made to her: to never, ever, let it go.

♬ never let go - rafael giovanni

I can't understand it.
The search for an answer is met with a darker day.
And we've been handed these moments forever.
But I'm reassured there's another way.
You don't have to close your eyes.
There is room for love again.
Ease the pain to realize
All that love can be.
Forced apart by time and sand.
Take a step and take my hand.
And don't let it go.
Never let go.

Broken, once connected,
We were so strong and so blessed in a simple way.
So don't let me go it alone.
Turn your head up to the sky.
Nothing down below but me.
Face the truth to realize
All that we could be.
Torn apart by rage and fear.
Hold onto what brought you here.
Don't let it go.
Never let go.

[ and he turns up to face jade's balcony once last time, pouring all of that conviction into his words, in one last heartbreaking line. ]

Turn your head up to the sky.
Nothing down below.
Don't let go.

[borrowedheaven]

[ ♬ the harold song - ke$ha

again, jade's eyes don't break the stage as he performs, but there's something different about the way she doesn't seem to move a single muscle as the words sink in. and as the song nears an end, the expression on her face alters slightly, and her brow crinkles slightly... and those who are close can make a spot check (14+) to see something very strange: her eyes flash suddenly with a shimmering light, for only the space of a moment, and then the pendant slides from her loosened grip and falls to the floor, shattering.

she shakes her head very slowly, her other hand slipping out of des' as she seems to almost be seeing what's around her for the very first time. her breath catches as she stares down at the stage. the whole world seems to turn for her on the multitude of sudden emotions packed in one whispered word: ]

... Rafael?

[bigbad]

[MEANWHILE ON THE OBLIVIOUS BALCONY, Spike scoffs.]

No, really, mate, let go.

[But he's surreptitiously wiping his eyes. Shut up he's really good.]

[isisagent]

[Archer sighs as the Italian Stallion belts out another sad tune]

Well Violet, his seat at all future Archer House events just opened up, if you're interested.

[borrowedheaven]

[ despite the fact that she told him to lead the way, jade ends up yanking his hand along down the steps, although she clearly has no idea where she's going. it's easy to tell how anxious she is to reach her destination, but she does spare a look back over her shoulder at him as she points in the direction she thinks leads to the stage and waits for his confirmation. ] Desmond, right? [ she looks almost proud to remember that much, although it sounds all wrong, considering she hasn't called him Desmond since he corrected her the first time they met at nightscape. ]