☆TRACK IIX: BETTER TO PRETEND PT. 2

[interdimanagers]

Who: Royals, Heroes, and Rebels.
What: Hit gameshow series “Fairy Trial” is celebrating one of its anniversaries, and it’s invited you onboard. Check out the OOC post for IC match ups!
When: March 21st.
Where: Sevetop Entertainment’s studio.
Warnings: Mingle log mystery bag.

“Every prince is a fantasy, The witch is inside of me. Her poison will wash away the memory.” ☆BETTER TO PRETEND The day has finally come for Fairy Trial filming to begin! No matter if they’ve arrived by limo or taken the bus, everyone involved gets star treatment as the makeup and costume departments go wild with the models they’ve been given. At least Sevetop has good accomodations. While it’s a chaotic and crowded scene, everyone still manages to fit in the two buildings Sevetop has dedicated for Fairy Trial’s purposes in this area. It’s one of the only points today that anyone will have a chance to everyone else. After all, once everyone involved in a particular challenge is done with, they’re hurried out the door and to their particular destination. Every challenge has a different area it takes place in, after all. For some pair ups, they’ll find themselves merely being escorted to another set on Sevetop’s huge property. Others will find themselves being escorted to some very classy transportation and taken outside of Vista City to special obstacle courses that simply wouldn’t fit anywhere else. On the bright side, once the actual filming is done no matter the location, the crew involved seems to relax considerably. Whether they’ve done great or not, Heroes and Royals are treated to dinner and a change out of their costumes. Good job, everyone. “We kill the lights and put on a show. It's all a lie, but you'd never know. The star will shine, And then it will fall, And you will forget it all.”

Comments

[i_am_not_cute]

Ah...

[Pao-Lin stares up at Keith on the hill, slightly open-mouthed. This is way weird, isn't it? Keith looks way more dashing than she ever could. Shouldn't he be the Hero rescuing her Royal self? Then again, Pao-Lin supposes that the novelty of FoB's famed "drummer doll" playing a typically masculine role in clothes more masculine than she usually wears would create some media buzz.

Still, while she's mostly gotten over the disappointment of being suddenly switched to being a Hero, right now Pao-Lin's main emotion is confusion. This particular mediafest, moreso than any other one so far, has gotten her mired in a bog of deja vu. The costumes, the concept of being a Hero who rescues others on camera, even those silly little mushrooms...Pao-Lin feels like she's looking at something important through steam-stained glass, silhouettes that seem to belong in the unfinished jigsaw puzzle of her mind but which she can't yet properly fit into the whole picture.

And Keith...who was a king but should be a Hero...

She shakes her head. She has to concentrate for now. Later she'll compare impressions with Ivan.]



Y-your Highness! I've come to...um...take you away to safety!

[Not that that hill looks particularly deadly.]

[agains]

[ The director barks orders at his crew and instructs Keith to find his mark. Weird, shouldn't he ought to be a woman? Women talk about cutting to commercial all the time, or keeping your good side towards Camera B--

Rolling. ]

Prince Huang. It is too late. My fate is sealed. [ He bows his head and takes off his crown. ] But you are my rightful heir. And the one to become the next King of--

[ What was the name of the fake country supposed to be? His eyes dart between crew members, hoping someone will catch onto his confusion and feed him a line. No such luck. ]

Step forward, so I may crown you the next King of--

[ A piercing noise in his skull, like a shrieking microphone only he can hear, topples him to one knee. The actor playing Death seems about ready to enter the picture if need be. A musical introduction begins softly. ]

[i_am_not_cute]

["It is your time." This announcement, resonant and bassy, precedes the entrance of Death, who is robed in layers of tattered black linen and holding an impressive bone scythe. "Fear me not, good king. In death you will have no regrets, for you will have no memories."

And he raises his scythe.]

No! You can't!

[Death pauses. His head turns slowly to see Pao-Lin at the bottom of the hill, her fists clenched at her sides. "And whyever not?"]

Because...because he's a much better king than I'll ever be!

[agains]

[ Keith doesn't have to mimic fear at being approached with the scythe; the chip is still doing its best to remind him that the label is boss and that this king schtick is just a TV show.

Then, Pao-lin's voice snaps him out of it. He'll have to sort out these memories later; for now, they're a mess of tangled feelings like trust and familial love, and the sense that if they were really playing heroes, this bold spirit would be worthy of surpassing him.

So he stands. Straightens. Holds a hand out against the oncoming reaper, as if advising him to stop. He doesn't need his new wind abilities. He has his voice.

And that stock song they gave him. ]

There is power in you that you do not realize, Prince Huang! Believe in it!

Since I was young, I believed
In the meaning of this crown.
What our beloved city needs
Is a new ruler to understand.

[ He takes the crown off, ready to give it to Pao-lin or to use it to fend off Death. It feels so natural to hold. ]

Always respecting your audience;
Recognizing the value of each life;
We must all stand together,
Honestly proving our worth--
You have always been
A candidate for king.

don't mind my minor edits rofl???

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin's initial instinct is to refuse the crown and make some sort of show out of how unworthy she is of such acclaim. Even if it's all just acting, she still feels like she shouldn't be in this position of being the "hero."

A tense moment passes, one that might seem calculated to the audience but which is completely involuntary on Pao-Lin's part. Because something else twines around her soul then, like a serpentine dragon from back home, and lights a little spark inside. She starts clapping her hands together and against her thighs to provide backing rhythm as the words come...]

Leave it to me --
I can be a hero!
No one in Vista will be left behind.
If we sing all these songs together,
Then I believe in the end
We'll all become legends!

Directed around the stage,
We might not always dance in harmony.
But you and I understand that
It's all to save our city!

So help me!
Teach me to be the new king!
We can change the world!
You who believe in me,
I won't let Death take you yet!

your edits are way better please excuse the most awful cheesy teal dear

[agains]

[ Death bangs its scythe on the ground swiftly, as if shattering the beat. The music screeches to a halt. It shakes its head. ] I have come for a life. I will not be cheated. You, who ruled your kingdom with an iron fist -- do you really have the right to bequeath the title to another? [ It bangs its scythe again. Oh! It was queuing up the music! There's a little trigger on the ground right there if you squint, but the camera won't catch it. Good call, set design! Good call, sound techs!

Keith rebuffs it: ]

An evil king, you say? Nonsense!
Halt! And step no further!

[ About to toss the crown to Pao-lin, he thinks better of it. He puts it back on. He hears his own voice booming with an evil laugh, like a dream long-past. Voices, some of them familiar, chide him for having his head in the clouds. Everyone there... Those are important people. ]

Until you take me, I am the King:
of Virgo, of Vista, of all I can see.
[ He turns directly into the camera, a cardinal sin but a necessary one. ]
You, who watch our earnest songs on TV,
Surely know Prince Huang's rule was meant to be.

[ Keith Goodman: television star? Announcer? Bit-part actor with a nice face? Almost there. Almost. Almost.

...Maybe he was on a show called "King of Hearts"? ]

Nobody can remain King forever, but while I still draw breath on this planet, while I still stand among the living, I will be by your side to teach you how to protect everyone!

dangerously cheesy; also King of Hearts fgalkjeea

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin points dramatically at Death and sings the end:]

You better believe
Justice won't lose!
I'm the hero who will succeed
In wiping out evil wherever I choose!

[The Live Studio Audience(tm) applauds the performance on cue as the last notes of the song fade. Pao-Lin determinedly (or at least she hopes that's the case) holds her dramatic pose, waiting for Death's verdict. She holds it a little less so when Death approaches her, scythe in hand.

"You are more than you seem, young princeling," Death admits. "Truly you mean much to the good king, and vice versa.

"Yet," he continues, "if you yourself are so fit to wear the crown already, what need have you -- or anyone -- of the good king's life?"

Uh-oh, this trial's hit overtime. Death has rejected Keith and Pao-Lin's first appeal. It's time for Pao-Lin to redeem herself with a second song completely improvised on her own, as opposed to using a backing track as a base. Fortunately, there's a xylophone set up on top of some fake bushes for just this purpose. The mallets used for the instrument swing from a harness at her waist as she walks towards it, her weapons against the impending doom of Death.]

(then it was a t&b g gundam au)

[agains]

Justice is about teamwork! [ Keith cries out, surprising himself at how earnest he sounds and how much he believes in these roles of theirs. ] A King that rules without help from his court and his companions is no more deserving of the title than he is of his life.

[ He takes it down a notch, in case Pao-lin wants to start singing over him. She's got a xylophone. Literally the best thing since the theremin. ]

If you grant me more time, I will advise and teach, and pass on more of my knowledge to support the new King. To nurture the spark of justice that resides within!

[ Death considers...

and I desperately search through music/lyrics for anything that mentions electricity or power generators ]

posts here mainly to get her tag count in this thread up to five ROFL

[i_am_not_cute]

["And," says Death, "why are you, in particular, the one essential to Prince Huang's benefit? Are there not other suitable candidates to advise her?"

And almost right on cue, Pao-Lin begins playing a sweetly gentle melody on xylophone to accompany some equally saccharine lyrics I don't think that's exactly xylophone but it's close enough for our purposes]

Hey, Mr. Death, there's a guy you really oughta know
His name is Keith and he's the star of this show
I might be a hero
But he's the total best

He's amazing when he flies high across the sky
And he's always there to lend a hand
Anytime and anywhere
Even if his wind speed is max he'll never let you fall

[Wait...Keith flying? Where did that come from? Pao-Lin shakes it off as she continues.]

It doesn't matter how far you run, if you've committed a crime
He's gonna catch you and make sure you do your time
Gonna be top of the charts
He's a superstar!

The King of Heroes is here to stay and here to save the day
So I'll never cry, I'll even die if it means you'll let him walk free
I'll sing this song for as long as it takes for you to know
That I'll always believe, believe, in the goodness of his heart
And the storms of long ago

So won't you reconsider your plans a little now, please?

[Come on, Death, she said "please." What more do you want?]