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

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☆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.”

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[Just because he rather be perched right next to the ice cream stand and hiss at anyone that comes close doesn't mean that Ankh was going to do that. He needed other food, even if the idea of other food made him wrinkle his nose. Someone in his mind, telling him how safe he was now and how he can be free of his past trauma...

So there he was, taking a few of the lesser offensive sandwich types and some of that lettucy stuff and whatever weird thing that meat was suppose to be and looking all put out about it. But then he spotted Luci and the dish was set down for the more urgent need to bounce up to her and hug.

The stage hands were certainly going to fall into stunned silence at this development. Ankh didn't do hugs in public.]

[Luci sees Ankh coming out of the corner of her eye as he comes at her, so she can swivel in time to scoop him up into the hug, one hand around his back and the other against the back of his head.]

Hello gorgeous one, it's been too long.

[Since before she started this crazy fucked up thing with Lesedi. It's good to see him again, his hissy, sometimes-irate, curious self. It reminds her of the time they spent in the hotel, just calm and cuddling. More relaxing times.]

You get roped into this thing too, I'm taking it?

Yeah, but you know the companies, gotta keep us labor monkeys working.

[He was trying to make light of the whole thing, of the past few weeks of the two companies being paranoid little idiots in keeping their artists under control. There was going to be a tiny little cheek peck from him because of too many eyes watching before he pulls away enough to look at her fully.]

It was this or spend another twenty hours posing with stuffed animals. I'm just going to pretend I'm an evil overlord in the getup they've been showing me since 'prince' sounds so not me.

Ooh, that's a good way to think of it... [Luci says, swaying Ankh back and forth in her arms a little, playfully. She'd missed him, tentative little kisses and bratty attitude and screwing with security. It's been a long haul since that first time with Lesedi.]

Well do you think I look like a princess? [She gives him a long-suffering grimace.] Queen Bitch maybe...

Why stick with just Queen? You can rule more then just a country, hell, rule a world and bring fire and brimstone to this place.

[He couldn't get a good enough read on those around them otherwise he would say more, speak more. About how he really just wanted to drag her off to a place with ice cream and pillows and screw the top dogs, but he knew that they couldn't Nia and Tsuna's appearance coupled with how Luci had sounded (and looked in that one tabloid) told him enough to be careful.

Don't get caught. Even if he didn't know for what.]

Be the evil overlord from across the seas that's my ally. You can have tea from the skulls of your enemies with the Duchess of Bones.

Aww, I'd be your evil overload ally any day, darling. [She laughs, utterly charmed by Ankh yet again. The guy has a talent for delighting her, and she can already feel her mood improving just from joking around with Ankh.] We'll have tea I heat with hellfire from the skulls of both our enemies, and we'll chat about the latest in world-conquering and evil misdeeds.

We will have the biggest tea party ever, with chairs made out of unworthy people and cups from the skulls of those that pissed us off. You, me, Luce and my dear little fluffy ball of evilness Nia.

[Because he promised her that he will be there for her and when promises were strange to him, he was not about to break them. Not to her.]

She's the secret weapon. We look like we can crush skulls, but she is such a bundle of candy and fluff no one can resist her until it's too late.

...hm. [She's not big on Nia, really. Sure, Virgo hadn't really wanted to actively hunt down Pride musicians, but she put Xanxus in a freezer and then Luci had to bargain for his life. Fair? Not really, but she has a lot of complicated feelings about this set up with Santiago.]

[But that's not a reason to get dramatic with Ankh.]

So, evil overlord, you hoping for someone drop dead gorgeous to come rescue you, or just somebody competent?

[He forgot that detail in his plans for taking over the world. He realized that after her non-comment but didn't come out to say sorry, just only leaned in for a very quick headbutt, sort of like a cat trying to apologize for doing something they weren't sure was wrong. Nia was his bandmate and as much as he would grouse and complain, he was still protective of those people. He couldn't help that insistent 'my humans' streak, even if he wasn't sure where it was coming from.]

At this point, I am hoping for someone that can actually do more then monologue about being a hero. Some of the people they got look like they can't even get out of a wet paper bag, let alone fight off the actors that'll be our 'captors'.

[Aw, no Ankh, no apologies. It's got nothing to do with him, after all, and everything to do with Santiago-- which is someone she definitely doesn't want to think about today, not when she's seeing so many of her Virgo friends.]

I guess in some circumstances, they're hoping for some comedy at the expense of these poor suckers. Watch, I'm going to get some inept teeny-bopper, and I won't have any fun at all aside from rolling my eyes while they can't do a thing right.

[He knows but still, Nia had to be the hands that Santiago had used that time. It was rotten of them to do that and if he - well, he couldn't think but there was a part that wanted to set the execs on fire for touching what was his.]

Maybe they'll be okay if we get involved and set things right. They can't expect us to just sit there and try to be nice and wait. That's just unreal.

Oh no, I mean, I expect that we're expected to attempt to help... but I don't know what my level of patience will be once I've been shoved into whatever evil outfit these television stylists think is fitting. [She snorts.] I'm just a ray of sunshine today, apparently. Expecting the worst partner, expecting the worst costume, I could actually have a good time if I wasn't so bent out of shape about being told I'm going to be on television.

This whole thing is ruffling a lot of feathers. You should have heard some of the stuff from the other side of the room.

[He tugged on his hair extensions and snorts.] I'd rather wear that ice prince costume instead of this stupid thing. At least it looked like royalty instead of 'Conqueror of Everything'.

Why can't you? I mean, who's going to tell your sweet face no, hm? [She grins teasingly and squishes his face a little between her hands.] And if your sweet face fails, you can always just be your 'bratty self', right?

[He snorts at the whole 'cute face' but doesn't deny it. Logically, he does look very cute and very innocent when he tried but he usually doesn't want to try that much. Bad enough the curl to his hair takes a bit of time to do.]

I think I will. They might whine about originality but I can't be rescued if I look like I should be the one fighting.

See? Creative input, that's what they call it. Creative input. [She insists, putting a kiss on one of his squished cheeks.] We're the talent here, we can throw our weight around can't we?

I like throwing my weight around. I just keep on getting scolded that a frontman for a tween band should be cheerful.

[Not that he buys that kind of reasoning. He was a brat and always will be a brat, though he unbends for people he likes. Well. Mostly.]

Managers suck that way though.

Does your manager have to know when you're throwing your weight around on a television set? [Yes, that is a subtle suggestion of rebellion.] I'm only saying-- phrased the right way, anything sounds like it comes from on-high when the recipient isn't well-informed.

My manager was muttering about needing to get more wax for his facial growth. I don't think he would notice a slight change to the designs.

[He just chuckles and leans in to kiss that grin of rebellion right now.] You're such a temptress, my dear Luci.

Wax for his facial growth... [Luci shudders at the thoughts that run through her head regarding what wax could do for a facial growth. Her imagination is far too vivid.]

[She catches on quick to what Ankh is gunning for and meets his little peck with one of her own.] I can only be what I am, dear Ankh~ And I can only want what I want-- which is you happy in your costume.

[He would join her in that shuddering. Like he understood such things as needing hair care products to maintain a style, but there was just something wrong with their manager (it was a hollowness, it was the only way he could explain it like nothing was there looking out).]

Then I shall make a few changes to my costume. After all, all this pomp is way too old school.

See? You just have to say that and bam-- you're golden. [Luci grins and uses a finger to fix his bangs a little.]

We're being dragged into this thing, might as well look as cool as we want. Me, I'm just hoping for a jacket of some kind. And no black or red.

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☆TRACK IIX: BETTER TO PRETEND PT. 1

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