interstellar5555 | ☆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

[It's been a crazy few days since Tiger arrived back at Pride, and that means he hasn't really had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people - especially when he knows for a fact that at least one of his relationships is already in ruins, for reasons that are probably his fault. He's nervous they'll all be angry that he left, even though it was never really his choice.

Which means the first time he is seeing Garnet again after being healed is here, at this stupid meeting, for this stupid event. If this had been a couple of months ago he wouldn't even have dared approach. Right now, though...he knows he has to.]

Garnet...

[And that's all he can get out. His eyes are bright and clear once again, his body showing no signs of the strange dysfunctions that had been plaguing him for over a month. And he's clearly back in Pride.]

[She'd been stoic. She'd been strong. She'd done what needed to be done. She's a star. ~~She's alone.~~ She'd been doing all right. She'd been fine, really.

And then she heard that voice say her name. It had to be a dream. She must be losing her mind. Still, she turns around. And the person who's behind her--

Her resolve, whatever it was. Her stoic anger. It falls apart at the sigh of him, speaking her name. Alive. Healed. This isn't real, is it? A whole month, not even knowing...]

Steven.

[She drops to her knees, before she even realizes she's collapsed. Her hands shakily go to grab him, because he's alive. He's alive.

He's...alive.]

Edited 2016-03-17 13:54 (UTC)

[And at last, he doesn't resist it. When Garnet reaches for him, he reaches right back, and wraps her in a hug - there's still so much he doesn't understand between them, but she looks like she needs it. That's something he's more acutely aware of than ever before.]

It's okay. I'm okay now.

[Shaking. Even under the tightness of her hug, Steven can tell. She's trembling violently, to the point where her hand is rubbing his back.

And her head. Her head just buries itself into his choulder - and just starts crying. She doesn't care, at this moment, who's watching, who's saying anything, or what happens to her for this. What matters is that Steven is ok. Steven will keep being ok. She'll make sure of it. She has to.]

Edited 2016-03-17 14:21 (UTC)

M-My dad...

[He starts and then stops himself, glancing to see if any of the Pride security are watching them too closely.]

Greg healed my gem. He didn't think he could, but then it worked, and...and Virgo didn't like that.

[That does get her to look up, a surprised look shining through her sunglasses and her tears.[

He...you were at Virgo?

[...Well, she did say she hoped Greg would find a way to help Steven get away from Pride, not to mention the work on the album. She can't be too mad at Greg for not telling her. She'll still be surprised, though.]

Yeah...

[He swallows. He'd been half delirious the whole time it had been happening, and looking back on it is strange.]

They...they came and grabbed me from one of our performances. I think...because of my dad? I was supposed to stay there, but then...I had to run away.

...Its ok. Its ok, you're ok.

[She goes to cup his cheek.]

As long as you're ok, that's what matters.

[His eyes tear up, too. He'd been trying not to, but it's too hard.]

I...I remembered a little? About the stuff you said.

[Its ok, Steven, let it out. Garnet's not holding back.]

What did you remember?

[He hesitates a little before answering.]

Just a little...about you. And about some of the others. I remember you coming to get me from...somewhere bad, I guess.

[It had felt like he'd been dying.]

[She's quiet, before she nods.]

At least you're starting to remember some more. One day I'm sure you'll remember everything...

[As opposed to 'we'. She...she didn't know, if she could remember everything. But she doesn't want to admit that.]

I guess...

[He doesn't look sure, but he looks more willing to try hoping than he ever had been before.]

If we...can ever...

[He stops talking and glances around again, uncertainly. He can't even risk talking about escaping right now.]

Its all right. We'll talk about...getting you a cat later. Maybe even a lion, like Art.

[She gives him a smile that doesn't fully reach her eyes.]

I'm just happy you're doing all right. That you're feeling and doing much better.

[He smiles sadly, tearing up a bit more.]

Kind of...dad was really...

He's really upset, and I think there's something wrong with him.

...We can talk about that after we get out of here, ok? Maybe at Brad's Dinner, if you're up for a milkshake.

[Their milkshakes make most things better, after all.]

[He can definitely agree with that much. He smiles.]

Okay. That sounds way better, anyway.

Awesome.

...

[Slowly, she goes to hug him again.]

I missed you.

[He is quick to reciprocate the gesture, smiling despite the couple stray tears that has broken over his cheeks.]

I missed you, too. I think I've...I've been missing a lot of stuff.

[She nods.]

I know the feeling. I know. I'm...still not remembering Greg.

[He pauses and then frowns a little, but no, that's okay.]

It's alright. You'll remember eventually. I think he's a good one.

He better be a good one.

[Didn't Steven say something about...well.]

I'd be very disappointed if he isn't.

☆TRACK IIX: BETTER TO PRETEND PT. 1

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