interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK IIX: BETTER TO PRETEND PT. 1

Entry tags:

☆TRACK IIX: BETTER TO PRETEND PT. 1

Who: Famous musicians, hopeful auditioners, and random onlookers.
What: Hit gameshow series “Fairy Trial” is celebrating one of its anniversaries, and it’s invited you onboard. For more deets, check out the OOC post!
When: March 11th.
Where: Sevetop Entertainment’s studio.
Warnings: Mingle log mystery bag.

“It's so much better to pretend
There's something waiting for you here.
Every letter that you wrote
Has found its way to me, my dear.”

☆BETTER TO PRETEND

For musicians in either Pride or Virgo, the job offer is delivered by their managers- a suggestion to accept an invitation from Sevetop to participate in a successful gameshow. (A message that is delivered perhaps a bit more pressingly to some, with the unsaid words of “This is a chance to make it up to us”.) For others, strangers just trying to make a living and wait for their chance to save their loved ones, the message is delivered over their communicators by Gold, with promises that infiltrating this event will aid you in liberating the captives from their label's control. Either way, all roads lead to Sevetop Entertainment.

Sevetop might not have the weight that musical giants Pride Labels and Virgo Entertainment do, but that’s because it’s not into the musical industry. Sevetop is all about television and the big screen. For these purposes, it has its own little area of the city, a bustling kind of Hollywood filled with the more office-like buildings, auditoriums for additions, and even various sets. Whether you’re driven in style via limo, or brought to a regular line of buses, this is where you end up at.

Musicians, of course, end up at the more posh meeting room. A spread of delicate little lunch sandwiches, veggie platters, cupcakes, and assorted beverages are on a table for anyone to snatch up, and regularly refilled. Every celebrity is handed a small folder with papers inside going over both the boring legal things and explaining the purpose of the show. “Royals” are the ones to be “saved”, but they don’t have to make the journey easier on their “Heroes” and are given tools at their disposal to help or hinder. Heroes have one goal to accomplish, ‘rescuing’ their Royal, but it changes depending on the challenge.

Much to your surprise, some of those aspiring Heroes might just look familiar. Don't tell!

☆THE HEROES

In another building, next door, various people picked off the street (some coincidentally, others not so much, thanks to Gold's glamour witchcraft) are being given very much the same kind of presentation… In a room much more cramped, with not nearly enough chairs, on a slideshow. The only refreshments available are small bags of chips (try not to take more than one) and coolers full of bottled water.

After the separate presentations are done with, everyone is allowed to check out the sets for past seasons, which includes what look like giant mushroom tops that are made of very bouncy rubber, climbing walls made of fake vines, pumpkin shaped carriages (horses not included), and other such things.

Of course, it’s not all play. While you’re messing about, you’ve all been given numbers. Once you’ve been called, you’re to stand in front of Fairy Trial’s hosts and commentators: siblings Bella and Maurice Hooks. Both of them are equally friendly, although her more outgoing to his easygoing, but they have plenty of questions for this little audition. Tell them about yourself: hobbies, job, your favorite fairy tale, what you think your best skill is - and then, the most important, you get to display a choice "talent" in front of the audience. It can be whatever you like, as long as it's crowd appropriate.

Be careful, though, because the rock stars you're hoping to work with are watching, too. At the very least, don't make an ass out of yourself. Gold's enchantments are good, but there are some things that even magic can't charm its way through.

After all this, you’ll get a chance to just rest and mingle while your rides come back to take you back to the mall or HQ you were picked up at. Obviously for certain famous names, they’ll probably be the first ones out, but who knows… Maybe there was a traffic delay, and now you have some time to spare waiting around here as well. Just take note that you’re not allowed to wander too far from the Fairy Trial sets. Security is keeping an eye on folks to make sure they don’t steal or wreck anything.

And don’t worry, you’ll be told about the results within a week! They promise.

“You can make believe that what you say
Is what I want to hear.
I'll keep dancing through this
Beautiful delusional career.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Castle

Oikawa is not particularly happy with this. Normally he wouldn't mind an opportunity to ham it up. But Santiago ordered him to do this, and he's still terrified of her, had not to be afraid of someone who broke your knee with her bare hand.

Also, finding a costume for him is going to be a pain. He wouldn't get the cast off until the fifteenth. Why couldn't this happen after that?

Ugh, this meant he was going to have wear the puffy asshole shorts, isn't?

Wonderland

He is. Nothing else would fit over the cast. He had tried to argue that, since he was Japanese, he should wear a traditional kimono. But that was shot down. At least it was nice turquoise color that looked good on him. And he liked the ermine cape, also turquoise with a white fake fur trim.

Still, he's sighing as he looks at himself in the mirror. He had a new cast, this one white, so they put a long white boot on him to match the cast. "This is bullshit."

He didn't mind the shirt. If only he had something that wasn't puffy asshole shorts. He didn't mind showing of his legs; they were great, but these shorts...

"UGH"

[Oikawa looks more or less like this except more royal.]

[He didn't like the spotlight, but he was cooperating with his orders. After a recent operation with Garnet, he was on edge about being found out. Despite his own discomfort and his own misgivings, he followed his orders from Page without question...but that didn't mean he wasn't going to give people a hard time.]

--You're certain I can't wear this? [Koumei asked of the staff, clearly displeased as he held up a chinese-styled dress] It looks like something Lady Otohime would wear...

You look like you're having as much as me.

Oikawa looks at the dress in question]

Who's Otohime?

--She's a sea-faring princess, and the legendary ancestor of Japan's first emperor. [Koumei tilted his head curiously. Clearly, someone had been doing their homework.] Oikawa, wasn't it? I'm surprised you don't know that-- you have a Japanese name.

[The name is... vaguely familiar.]

Doesn't mean I'm up on mythology. I'm more of a science fiction kinda guy.

But yes, I'm Tooru Oikawa. You're Koumei Ren from Cosmic Indulgence, no?

That's right-- and I've been fascinated by Eastern history and myth lately. My apologies for making assumptions.

[He bobbed his head courteously.]

It's good meeting you personally. I rather like listening to your band when I'm not practicing for our new album.

No worries, it's fine.

[Though he wondered why the other man would think someone like him would now that. He was... no, he wasn't born in Americana, he knows that he wasn't. Still, he doesn't think he was the type to pay attention to myths.]

Aw, that's sweet of you to say. I haven't had much of chance to check out your stuff, but I've liked what I've listened to.

[He studies the man. Tooru can tell he's smart, probably smarter than Tooru is. He promised Artolo he wouldn't tell anyone else but...]

So, other than mythology what else holds your interest? I've been wanting to check out dream interpenetration. Lately. Been having weird dreams lately.

[Oh, ho. This was an interesting turn for the conversation. Lowering the dress and waving the assistant off to go help someone else, Koumei decided to find a place to get himself comfortable for a bit.]

You too? I thought it was just the late nights and insomnia. I never was into Jidaigeki dramas before I started having funny dreams. Checking out the genre was only natural after that.

[So it's not just him and Mai. He smiles]

Jidaigeki huh? I've been pretty into sports lately. Volleyball in particular.

[Unconsciously he rubs at his cast, thinking. Okay, so this guy is dreaming of the past? well, Tooru's past. He never really asked Mai what period her dreams took place.]

Dreams are so weird. I think I know what it means, but I need a second opinion.

[The dreams he was having had a more Chinese than Japanese bent to them, but it was far easier finding Japanese dramas than Chinese dramas via online streaming. Besides, he had wanted a wider base to make his judgements on...

Not that he was going to assume anything.]

I've an ear to offer. What are you thinking?

[Tooru had promised Artolo that he wouldn't say anything... but it sounds like Mei is in the same position.

He looks around]

Do you ever get the feeling that some things don't make sense but the dreams make more sense? It explains a few things.

[Unconsciously he strokes his cast over his knee]

[--How curious. Koumei made a soft, humming sound of consideration as he regarded Oikawa, watching his face and body language.]

To be frank, for a while I thought I was hallucinating because of lack of sleep, but now I'm not so sure.

...Is it really 'going crazy' if you can see it on your own?

I thought the same thing. But after... after the ghosts, I started thinking otherwise. And...

[He pauses, dare he? In for a penny, in for the pound]

I've met someone from my dreams.

[He tilts his head in interest in that.]

So have I-- but I didn't realize it until too late, long after he had been relieved of his post.

[Oikawa gives Mei a questioning look] Was he in a band too?

[He casts a look around, lowers his voice] The guy I know, Refreshing-kun, I mean, Sugawara, he's here and he's not with either label. He told me he couldn't say why.

How curious...

[He would need to keep his eyes open for this Refreshing-kun-- no, Sugawara-- in the future.]

Yes, he was in a band. Virgo's side. He made a lot of noise, so I suspect that's a big factor for why he was booted.

Do you know what happened to him after he was fired?

None-- I heard about it from a third party, so that's all the information I have.

[Tooru tentatively gives Mei a pat on the shoulder]

I'm sorry.

Was he important to you?

[Tooru's instincts tell him so]

Edited 2016-03-20 20:55 (UTC)

[Tooru's instincts, indeed, are correct.]

That's a good question, [he comments, glancing at the young man curiosly.] Is your 'Refreshing-kun' important to you?

I... not really.

[He sighs] I was so pissed when I saw him. He's from... an opposing team. One we're not friendly with.

[There's a difference between friendly rivals and not, Seijou and Karasuno are the former, too many bad feelings between some of their members. He and Tobio-chan did not get along, mostly from his part, as he was always afraid of being replaced by him during middle school, and then his two kouhai did not have good experiences with Tobio as he grew into a tyrant. He saw, the memory flitting to the surface how much it hurt them, particularly Kindaichi, how well Tobio got along with the new team he had known for less then a year.]

I only know his name because I researched his team before our last match.

Team?

[Headtilt. Koumei scratched his head, mulling over that choice of words and noting Oikawa's current injured state. This didn't bode well for the young man...]

So you're an athlete?

Was. I was an athlete.

[Really no need to say more on that, is there?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

☆TRACK IIX: BETTER TO PRETEND PT. 1

no subject

Castle

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject