4.0 Dedicated to its Members and Fans of Pokemon A Pokemon Sandbox RP
Pokémon Dubstep (ft. Lindsey Stirling)
W
elcome Adventurer to EPOCH! A Pokemon Sandbox Rp set in the original region of Nue. Everything you need to know will be in the Guidebook and PokeDex 101!
EPOCH uses the Manga and is built on the Original ideas suggested by our members.
We are more than just a Pokemon RP, we're a friendly community with a goal on being a memorable experience for those that look in.
Golden Rule: Treat others as you wish to be treated. If you find yourself content with being an asshole EPOCH and its members will not tolerate you.
RULES
Understand We're All Human. Respect the staffers as well as your fellow members and guests. We all have flaws, tempers and quirks. Be patient with one another, but if issues involving other members come up please don’t just grin and bear it. Contact a staff member, informing them of what's going on so they can address and resolve the situation. The staff won't know what's bothering you unless you tell them.
EPOCH is PG-13. Proboards’ Terms of Service:
Sex; When you get under the clothes, fade to black.
Violence; Do not go into extreme nauseating detail.
Cursing; This is so fucking allowed, but don't go overboard.
Suggestive Content; In avatars, signatures and templates can attract the wrong kind of attention. So be careful.
Welcome to the performance round of the Box of Chocolates Contest!
This performance round, coordinators will be allowed to do a duet if they wish! Their duet partner can be another coordinator, a civilian, trainer, etc. The performance should still be one post long though, so the coordinator will be making the post containing the description of the duet. Or you may make another thread on this board of posting back and forth with each other through the course of your performance. It’d be recommended to plan out the details of the performance over PM or Skype to avoid a clash of characterizations.
Coordinators are allowed to use up to six Pokemon.
Keep in mind the theme of this Contest is love, so love songs are strongly encouraged.
Children do watch Contests, too, so be careful to keep performances appropriate.
Each performance should only be featured in one post. (Unless you decide to make your duet performance in another thread, then just post in this thread with a link to the completed performance thread.)
Coordinators have until March 5th to post their performances
Post by ★Ronnie Rillito on Mar 4, 2014 12:13:00 GMT -5
Ronnie hadn't felt this twisted and sick to her stomach in nerves since the first time she went out on stage in Sevii. The contest already seemed to falter with her in the appeals round, in fact, ever since Christmas she'd been tripping over herself. She was lucky to have pulled the miracle she did out of her ass for Silver & Gold something she didn't even expect to win after her two horrible December performances. Was she losing her touch? Her bottom teeth scratched along her thumbnail mulling over the idea. It didn't help that she now had someone to call her rival who tied with her for first place. Who knew the pumpkin head had it in her? No matter, it wasn't like she appealed to the crowd at a whole more like she found her niche in the dark side. Of course she was older and probably had more experiences to pull from so that could have something to do with it too. "Miss Rillito, on in ten."
"Kay," she called back through her door at the prompt. Thankfully the appeals and performance rounds were separated by a week. The Tufa stage one of the biggest and mechanically engineered monstrosities she'd ever witnessed. Who knew that it was capable of transforming from molten fire, to ice, to an Olympic sized pool in minutes? It was a modern marvel out there in the Orre desert and the stage hands were more numerous and prepared than any other theater she'd been to. Which blew her mind a little, it was the B.o.C. event, nothing as big as Christmas or the Sevii Island Fest. It was just a simple contest to perform in, a filler. "Then WHY in the Hell am I stressing out over it for AAAAAHHH!" she vented to the mirror.
She'd started letting her hair grow out just a little since November, the milky burnt caramel coloring rich against her pale skin she picked up during the cold. Who knew she could get so white? She turned her head to the left looking at her fire cut Sunstone earrings. A gift from Sable for Christmas and probably one of the most unexpected presents she received from the Hasan house. The yellow-orange coloring sparkled with a red and white fire every time it caught the light. They were pretty, and Sable made the off-handed comment they matched her personality. Whether or not that was a pun indented about her being from Lavaridge home of the volcanoes or not she wasn't sure and didn't bother to ask. Her finger tips lightly drug down the side of her neck checking herself over as she changed her mind four times since they arrived on her final song. At first she was just going to make a big joke out of it, but wondered if her deconstruction would be a turn off to the fan-base she'd already gotten. The decision to axe it was confirmed with how the Appeals round went. If she did that, she was pretty sure she'd sound cynical and bitter over her currently non-existent love life.
The next one she chose she decided to stop half way into practice with it finding it less romantic and the lyrics causing her to come off desperate. She recalled all too well Kanoa's panic fit in the hotel room when she came back in fifteen minutes later after practice and dropping down to the bed with her phone to think from square one again. THAT argument was a lovely forty-five minutes of getting nowhere. Her next idea came when she took her Pokemon down to the salon to get polished up professionally. She never did do much for them for Christmas and the Pokeblock treat and spoiling after a performance just didn't seem like enough of a thank you to them. Carat being the big baby that he was afraid to go back with the lady to be polished causing herself to be present and within eye shot of him the entire time like a mom. She snickered at the memory of the half ton big baby but kaiboshed that idea too since it only focused on one of her team and the last thing she needed was for the rest of them to go on a jealous rage.
The final song came to her after watching her horrible Appeals session on live TV. She decided to take Kanoa up on one of his earlier panicked suggestions when she was backstage about to leave him there to do the Appeals for her. She just hoped she did it right.
Her head turned to the other side to look at her shoe polish black lashes, the false wing tips and full cut making her brown-gold eyes deeper and innocently pretty, but her favorite had to be the extensions she had put in. Since she'd been letting her hair grow out since November she'd started sporting some longer layers towards the back and with this performance she decided to see what the masses would think of the feminine change. Either way she felt she looked the part at least. She pulled back from the point blank stare into the mirror and glanced down at her dress. The same one she wore to the Silver & Gold performance but the sleeves were now detached leaving her shoulders bare but clinging to her arms in sheer material with glittering translucent patterns. The rest of it lightly dyed to an off white, might as well get more than one use out of it.
Knock Knock Knock"Miss Rillito, five minutes. Please start making your way to stage 3."
"All right," she called back and stared at herself one more time in the mirror. "You can do this." she pep-talked herself before taking a deep breath letting her cheeks puff out as she exhaled. Grabbing the two pokeball chains off the vanity table she held them up looking at the Lux balls with what she thought was calm eyes. "It show time guys." she said and headed towards stage 3.
The crowd was clapping and cheering almost in chant as Jackson riled them up and Ronnie took her place on stage three before the mechanical wonder started to shift and travel up towards the crowd. The top stage above her shifting backwards like a sliding lid as she was pushed up behind the curtain. She spared one last glance over at the stage hands who were part of "her crew" specifically given to work with her on creating and running the kind of set up she needed. The fourteen thumbs up she got all in unison made her smile but sweat a little. The lights dropped off bathing the audience in darkness, and the stage as well filling the theater with pitch black when the curtain slid open. The music cued up right as Nappy let off a Light Screen from down below Ronnie's feet behind one of the stage rocks. She stood on one of the many black lava looking boulders set in a lining pile of sand. The light fading out and blending in with the dawn colored backdrop of a first light sky. The rush of water was heard as Bud, unseen behind the rocks she stood upon shot Torrent against the stone wall causing it to spray up like waves crashing against the shore. Ronnie stood there, on them with her arms crossed and turned looking out towards the light, "High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life," her back slightly to the audience as the wind blew her dress about her legs. She turned around revealing Vita, her Eevee in her arms the background sky having an image blended in over top of it of some redheaded looking sky-pirate with the Eevee on his shoulder before fading out. "Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time." Ronnie spun away from glancing over her shoulder at it as she moved across the stones. Stepping down to the sand as she dropped to sit, her face looking distraught, forlorn and uncertain of what to do with herself as her hands swept up her arms to her shoulders hugging them in comfort looking as if she was recalling a memory.
The background fading to pink with clouds as the movie image of the sky-pirate and she was back flickering in and out of focus with the sunlight fading them. They were standing together on a balcony as he was pointing out to the sky as if showing her something and then you saw him holding up a map as she nodded excitedly and he smiled down at her before folding it up oddly and sticking it into his jacket. "Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends." He turned and touched her nose with his finger before giving that smoldering wink and bailing off the edge causing her to go wide eyed and lean over looking and then grabbing a vase and throwing it down after him.
"A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again." The back-drop shifted once more behind Ronnie silently telling the back-story before fading to blank directing all the focus on her. She sat there on the stones watching Vita run around before dashing off causing Ronnie to look and stand up when Vita came running back with something in her mouth. Ronnie bending down sweeping it up and you saw her staring at it as if it was solid gold. Her finger tips trembling as she pulled the two opposite corners watching the strange map unfold. " 'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need," the paper taking on a glow casting the light up into her face as she realized what she had as the background reflected the same scene but the sky-pirate was the one holding it and showing it to her. "Chasing relentlessly," the build up as she looked it over as Vita ran around her legs excitedly. "Still fight and I don't know why..." Her head shook as you could see the excitement on her face building. With a snap she quickly grabbed it in one hand looking off into the distance to the other side of the stage before taking off, Vita in tow. "If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy? If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?"
Hey-ay, hey-ay-ay. Hey-ay, hey-ay-ay. Hey-ay, hey-ay-ay. Hey-ay, hey Harmonica having fun providing the back-up singers once again with echoed voice.
The buildup of the beat and music as the stage snapped to dark gave enough time for the next set of obstacles to fall or push up into place the screen back flawlessly lighting up to a broken Ruin of some sort, Vita jumping down from her should to walk along the dark floor as Ronnie started to cautiously move against the larger rocks as if she was sneaking around them. It was all about playing with the dark as the spotlight would flick on for a brief moment showing Ronnie and Vita frozen in horrified poses against monsters, which were her own pokemon done up into mystical pieces, or clever traps as they traversed the "dungeon" alone. The randomly dim lit torches that speckled about the dark stage coming to light only to signal where she had to go next. The rest of it bathed in black until the two encountered a floating glowing light as they poked their heads into a dark doorway.
Nimbus, her Drifloon using Will-o-wisp to guide her along before lighting up only small pieces of wall and a wooden lever. Ronnie looked out to the audience worriedly, the beat picking up making your teeth grit in a wince uncertain of what would happen. She reached out as she squinted pulling it down. Bam Bam Light screen hit the stage again twice in near blinding flashes with the two final beats as the background ruin snapped away crashing down with the beat showing the full stage. The black rocks once again piled around the stage, the Will-o-wisp gone leaving her lost as you realized Vita wasn't with her any longer. "If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?" She spun around grabbing at her skirt picking it up to see, the edges tattered and fraying, turning black with the dust they drug against . "If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?" She moved around searching through the stones for Vita but the more she looked the more you realized Vita wasn't coming back.
Ronnie stopped looking as her head dropped down "Walk on through a red parade and refuse to make amends," slowly her head lifted up looking at the stones piled as the stage lit up the far corner showing a much larger, nearly mountain sized rock. Her shoulders rolled back as she stepped up on the black stones and she started moving forward again, not giving up.
"It cuts deep through our ground and makes us forget all common sense." The task of her taking it on looking impossible and stupid for someone like 'her' to be doing. She made it over as you noticed Magic, peeking up over one of the back stones stalking after her. The dark Houndour wearing a headdress of bone and fire colored gemstones that turned into horns and skeletal wings. Ronnie ignoring the enemy sneaking up on her as she moved to climb over another larger stone. "Don't speak as I try to leave 'cause we both know what we'll choose." Magic having enough and sending out embers before letting out a howl and letting loose Flash fire. The heat catching the liter fluid strings, covered stand and stones sending fire racing all over the place in magic circles and rune shapes. The sudden change forcing her head to turn back over her shoulder and look. "If you pull then I'll push too deep and I'll fall right back to you." She paused for a moment looking at everything before turning around and grabbing another rock pulling herself up. " 'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need," Her arms flexed and the muscles in her shoulders and back shown under the lighting as she continued to climb the seemingly fruitless endeavor. "Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why."
She finally got to a spot on the mountain side where she was standing on her toes to keep footing and holding onto the side of it facing in. The fires still burning behind her but ebbing out slightly when the cracks across the entire mountain started to glow and flash. "If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?" You watched as her head snapped back in front of her noticing as she looked around trying to figure out where to go before moving suddenly to the right and stepping on another stone edge, hands up above her head. "If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?"
The beat dropped once and that's all that was needed for the mountain to come apart at the seams. Carat standing in the middle of it, his gems flashing as he had beaded tendrils tipped with fur hanging off of him that caught the light. He truly did look like some type of fabled war god as his Stealth rock started getting selective dropping pieces down to the stage as they slowly started to rotate.
Ronnie in all her white dress and divine glory clinging onto a larger chunk, her dress blowing in the wind as she was taken around. The more the chunks fell the more Ronnie was forced to move. The leaps she was taking from one rock to the other like watching a beginner with a platform video game. Every time she jumped you moved towards the edge of your seat thinking she'd miss the next one as she was following the rotating the stones trying to get to the top where this one small gem stone, the size of a soft ball floated in amongst the debris.
It only got worse as the beat grew faster, a cry of a Blitzle jerking you face down to the ground as Odin came jumping over the black stones in the back. The tail wrapped in a gold cuff causing it to splay up and wide like a feathered fan as its mane was pulled through several gold and turquoise blue beads showing off the electricity that ran through it from the spiked state. The gold embossed and flickering breast plate that hung around his neck showing off his status as he rose up on his haunches in a drop stomp sending a Wild charge of lighting splaying out in all directions.
More of the stones fell and Ronnie who was in the process of leaping to another one finally missed. She didn't quite make it as you watched her footing slip and she went down starting to slide off. The screen lighting up to show her face from that angle as she looked panicked and starting to glance back from over her shoulder but stopping as she tried to dig her fingers in again.
The higher the music beat the more the stones climbed, causing some of the audience to bring their hands up to their mouths as they didn't see any safety line or back up on the stage should anything go wrong. Truffle making a cameo from beside Carat as he kicked up the heat blasting up fire as if trying to get Ronnie and knock her back down to hell itself. The background voices grew as she struggled before you saw her look up at the camera and you watched her eyes go from doing everything she could to hold on to suddenly accepting fate as she let go.
She was well above the above the stage and near to the ceiling of the place as she fell back and you were forced to stand up as people squealed and rose afraid of witnessing a tragedy on stage and live television when Nappy from up in the rafters let off a flash and diving down out of nowhere into the stage light after her was the sky-pirate who swung in on a string shot catching her. "Why are you my clarity?" Her voice rang out clear and flawless as she had her arms wrapped around his neck and holding on. His one free hand wrapped around hers as their feet shared the loop at the end of the String shot. Tifa sat on his shoulder shooting another string shot back up towards Nappy to re-enforce the line as Zoya released Cotton spore sending tiny pollen pieces in the air as Glizzard worked about casting Aurora Beam to give it an ethereal dream look. "Why are you my remedy?"
Ronnie pulled back as they swung over to one of the floating stones with a flat surface and set her down on it. Vita suddenly popping up out of the back of his jacket and into her arms as he kissed her cheek and winked. The camera swinging in and getting all of that pretty boy smirk as he saluted her before diving back off to go battle. Ronnie rolled to her knees looking down over the edge as "her pirate" spun his hands holding a set of claws as he scratched and sliced at them. "Why are you my clarity?" she watched him battle. The fire and lightning being kicked up as the Shield dust blew around him as cover allowing him to move or avoid being hit completely. Flare Blitz shot through the dusty air along with Ember and Flash-fire, the Wild Charge of Odin snapping and crackling through the fray as it became a fight that looked as if a Volcano was about to go off. "Why are you my remedy?"
That's when you noticed Ronnie looking down at her hands before she sat back on her knees and dug through her skirts fishing out a Lux ball and tossing it up, the burst of white smoke, blue confetti and stars rained down releasing Firo her Vanillite. "If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?" He too was dolled up but only with a beaded belt wrapped around his cone that had a large reflective crystal hanging from the end, like a piece of chandelier. She stood up on her stone that had stopped rotating and simply was suspended in the air along with several others and pointed down to the mess going on. As if she commanded a tiny god to Firo flipped and swept down with a gust of Icy Wind causing the chaos to pause for a moment before Frost breath hit them. Her hero having to roll to avoid being caught in the fray as Firo's Ice started to cling over everything in creeping sharp fractals of white. Mist followed next, almost as if repeating the same moves from her Silver & Gold performance but instead of a crystal lace castle once it was finished. The snow started to come down gently and as the mist settled revealed all of the enemy pokemon to be "frozen chunks". "If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?"
The Stealth rocking having slowly dropped during the mist leaving Ronnie perched on a pedestal rubbing her hands together and then her arms as her pirate walked over to her and just as they leaned in towards one another. The soft tick of the music ended killed all the lights shutting everything into darkness.
There was a pregnant pause of several moments before the lights slowly dimmed back on and Ronnie was being carried bridal style to the middle of the stage as she started to point out all of her pokemon giving them each credit. The frozen gods stepping out from behind the icy fronts as they each let out a burst of their talent as if to say, "this was what I did!" Ronnie's hand moving over to the other side as her Sky-pirate turned to let her point out Carat the mountain god and Nappy who had descended down from upon high to perch atop of his head. Firo, Bud, Harmonica, Nimbus, Zoya, Truffle, Tifa which this contest was her first début and then she nodded to her sky-pirate as he set her down beside him. Ronnie thumbed up to him as she looked out at her audience, her face clearly stating "what a dish huh?" before she snapped her fingers and he jumped up in a flip transforming and landing in her arms revealing it to be the Zoura that Kanoa had gotten her for Christmas. Hopefully this was a better way to use him than last time.
BLAME IT ON THE GIRLS WHO KNOW WHAT TO DO BLAME IT ON THE BOYS WHO KEEP HITTING ON YOU
Everything was coming down to his, it seemed. She had no pause or refrain in her steps; she had already taken care of the necessary steps. Her Ponyta had worked on her with the Hypnosis long enough to calm her nerves. She felt the muscles around her shoulders relax as the blue flames danced in front of her for a moment, then poof, gone and so was the temporary emotional exhaustion of having to compete - she was good for the next ten minutes or so, plenty of time. This performance was far simpler than her pyrotechnic displays she used in the winter - no need to set herself on fire again. That was used up for now; it was time to rely on another strength.
Hemlock couldn't recall when she took the stage; only that she did. She wasn't even sure on when she had changed into her outfit; the red collar seemed to be almost too tight on her neck. She was wearing some odd mixture of a ballroom gown and a corset; the top was cut tight to her frame, yet instead of strings there was a design of crossing bones, her own ribcage and spine laid bare in a starker shade. There was something in her ribcage, right over where her heart would be - the design of a single blue rose, in full bloom, almost black in iridescence but the very moment you wrote it off as a dark spot on the light colors - the moment you took a better look at it - it seemed to just become blue. The sleeves cut themselves short, just at the entry to her shoulders, leaving her arms bare all the way down to her wrists - there, two red bands wrapped themselves around like cuffs, with thin red links going all the way to her neck's collar.
Dancing shoes meant to go unnoticed took a few steps, the bottom of her ankle-length dress moving ever so slightly around her legs. She moved forward to take center stage, seemingly alone as she reached her hands behind her back, giving a light bow before the music started up. The woodwind started slowly as the coordinator revealed two Luxury Balls, each adorned with seals. The crossed them in front of her, as if she was being laid down into a coffin, and popped the release on both.
There was a sudden puff of black smoke covering her, fading away to reveal a shower of purple petals falling. Hemlock herself had bowed down into a ballerina's finishing pose, knee bent, hands out as if to welcome her two guests. On the left of the stage was a floating orb of smiles and gas; the right held a liquid shadow melting into the shape of a puppet. The Gastly and Banette floated for a moment before the music continued on, and they seemed to pull at the threads connecting her wrists to her neck, lifting her arms as she pushed up with her legs, raising her.
"What does that wispy little brat have that you don't have double?"
Hemlock flicked her head over to the left, the stitch-lines painted on her face from ear to ear in some macabre smile now visible to the audience, even if her own lips were drawn taut in concentration; the moment the other recorded voice pipped in, she rolled her head over like a limp doll to look from Gastly to Banette.
"She can't hold a candle to the beauty of your smile!"
They swapped sides, both ghosts moving about behind her, letting go of her restraints long enough to allow for her to stumble one step back before catching her as she slumped, looking down.
"How about a pulse?" "Overated by a mile."
Charon and Strings tugged up at her arms, pulled them above her head so that one hand could reach over and touch her wrist - checking the nothingness for a pulse before giving slack for her arms to fall as the banter went on towards the crowd, with Hemlock tilting her head ever to slightly in lifelessness.
"Overbearing!" "Overblown!"
She was once more tugged at, although once backwards - this time, with a touch of resistance and a sigh, leg almost rejecting the movement before she fell back into line with her two puppeteers, with their respective voices speaking simultaneously.
"If he only knew the you that we know~"
More slack, followed by Hemlock dropping ever so slightly in a light crumple, knees bent but not all the way fallen as the ghosts kept her upright, like a prisoner against a wall, waiting for torture - yet the painted on smile still showing, as if it was made from makeup designed to suck up attention and keep everyone's eyes on her, even with the voices continuing on.
"And that silly little creature isn't wearing his ring,"
Left hand raised by the wonderful Strings, giving a friendly [but sinister to all but Hemlock's eyes] smile as her pulled the wrist to turn her hand, showing the brightly-painted stitching on her ring finger - like something got painfully removed from that location, then the finger was sewn back on, before Hemlock was thrown into a myriad of movements as her and her two escorts moved about the stage like two clumsy hands manipulating a toy - a hard feat to pull off while still keeping it a coordinated dance effort.
"And she doesn't play piano!" "Or dance-" "-or sing!" "No, she doesn't compare!"
From moving Hemlock about to manipulate her upper body while her dancer's legs kept in motion, she was meant to perform a single pirroette - robotic in nature and guiding, with a touch of flourish at the finish before tugged at again, this time in opposite directions, her hands on her chest, tugging at what was missing inside - lungs and a heart.
"But she still breathes air." "Who cares?" "Unimportant!" "Overated!" "Overblown!"
She was forced again into a stilted walk forward, towards the center of the stage, having now performed a round trip 'round the performance area like a stringed plaything, going wherever her two ghoulish companions had to take her before tugging on her as she lurched forward, as if a purposeful mistep - catching her, arms spread eagle, as she leaned out over the stage before pulling back; a careful eye could have noted her on her foot's tip during that manuever.
"If only he could see how special you could be! If only he knew the you that we know."
At this, Hemlock's role seemed to become more active as both of her arms snagged forward, nabbing them away from her specters. The two Ghost-types faded away as Hemlock fell first to her knees, palms on the stage, before she picked herself up, standing and performing a graceful spin, now free of restrictions. A single Will-O-Wisp spawned to her side and she stopped, reaching a single finger out towards it as a somber voice struck out, quieting both the whimsical notes and the other voices.
"If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain..." She grabbed at the flame as it faded away before her grasp was complete, her other hand reached into her spinal corset and plucking out a pencil thin knife - fake, of course. Maybe.
"If you cut me with a knife, its still the same." Schlick. The ran the blade over her sternum, cutting some of the lacing away around the blue flower - which, upon contact with the blade, began to drip thin lines of dark blue down the ribcage of the outfit.
"And I know her heart is beating, and I know that I am dead." Movement, movement abound. Hemlock had tucked the knife back away into its hiding spot as she did another spin, moving about with grand, fluid motions, stark in comparison to the stiffness of being a puppet. She stopped, hands covering the bleeding rose for a moment before pulling her hands away ever so slightly, drawing all attention to the movement there.
"Yet the pain here that I feel, try and tell me its not real... and it seems I still have a tear to shed."
She seemed ready to fall to her knees in defeat before -snag! Caught on her makeshift chains by her two companions once more as they kicked in with what they had to say, tugging her into a standing stance.
"The sole redeeming feature, from that little creature, is that she's alive." "Overrated." "Overblown!"
Before the next lines hit, she was pulled back from behind and up, bringing up her hands to her own throat at the rose continued to bleed out, staining all of the white a stark, dark blue.
"Everyone know's thats a temporary state that is cured very quickly when we meet our fate!" "Who cares? "Unimportant!" "Overrated!" "Overblown!"
Tugged about in another string of events, it seems. The Gastly and Banette took turns at pulling this way and that way, moving her about in solid steps and faltering steps, tick tocking like clockwork; step, step, step, step...
"If only he could see how special you could be! If he only knew the you that we know..."
As the line faded, so did they, releasing her once more - this time, to the back right of the stage, leaving her to stumble onto both of her knees before picking herself up, her left hand reaching up to touch the rose - now almost drained of blue - clutching at it in a crooked claw.
"If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain..." She stepped, slowly but then adding a spin to it, towards center stage, pulling her hand away to look at it - coated in blue, flecks of the false blood dripping down her wrist. Her eyes tracked the drop to her wrist strap, reaching over with her hand and ripping it off, then doing the same for the other - with no rage as one would expect from removing the bondage, but with a sad truth to the fact that she was no longer tied down. Tied to what?
"In the ice or the sun, its all the same... yet I feel my heart is aching - though it doesn't beat, its breaking." She once more reached over to her rose, both hands this time, covering it in a futile act before she bent inwards, leaning over. "And the pain here that I feel... try and tell me its not real."
From the audience, it might look like she was now choking back a real sob from crying as she moved forward, hands still over her chest, one long step - almost like a ballerina's leap. "I know that I am dead, yet it seems that I still have some tears to shed." As she finished her movement, she landed in a small split - on her forward knee, blue-bloodied hands out and her false smile leaning up for all to see as the music cut off all at once.
Silence, and then screaming, like forgiveness. No, it was forgiving, but it wasn't screaming - it was applause, applause that may have spawned a few real tears in Hemlock's eyes as she took to her feet and bowed once, her two ghouls appearing at her sides and bowing as well. All in all, she felt as though she had done her part. ---
[attr="id","lacey"]The hall was pitch black when the first beats of a new song started to reverberate against its walls. A sprinkle of pink, glittering sparks appeared in the middle of the stage, showing a Ralts sprayed on the floor, before disappearing again into the darkness. "I got a new disease in me. I got a friend that's losing sleep," sang a female contralto from what sounded like everywhere, yet nowhere. The Ralts used Lucky Chant once more, this time where a drowsy Elgyem was levitating, and teleported away immediately after, making it seem like pixie dust come out of thin air.
"I take it hard, it's hard to take. I'm wide awake, I'm wide awake." As the voice elevated to a prolonged falsetto, the interiors of Tufa Opera House, previously shrouded in darkness, lightened to a nebulous midnight blue. Two projectors, carefully positioned on each side of the stage, cast light on the lavender-haired woman singing on a small staircase platform. Her face was tilted to a side; her sight fixed on an unidentifiable spot on the floor. The illusion of a grimace was hinted at by the anguish concealed in her voice.
In one quick, abrupt movement, Evangeline's face turned to the front, finally facing her audience. Her irises, of the same light violet as her hair, stared intensely at each and every face in the crowd.
She lifted the microphone back to her lips, removing it from its iron base. After secretive, almost playful, looks shared with each of her Pokémon, she stomped forward. The studs clipped to her high-heeled shoes shined when reflecting the beams of light cast on her. One last stream of pink sparkled was chanted, just in time to showcase an Espurr winking charmingly at her public. As before, the sparkles looked like they had come and gone out of nowhere. "One more confession: discretion's not what I need to sell."
The strobe lights followed Evangeline's powerful steps in a half moon, while her Pokémon moved in the opposite direction, protected by the secrecy of the shadows. Her lavender mane danced to the sound of a bass playing somewhere in the darkness behind. "I never needed a reason for keeping secrets from myself, and now that's just how I tell I'm wide awake." She shook her head, raised one arm to tangle with her hair. This was one of the trickiest parts: she had to lure the attention of the audience all to herself, while also transmitting a sense of derangement, of helplessness, relying on her body language alone.
She stopped. "I'll wreck this if I have to; tell me what good would that do?" Stared, grimacing, at the sea of curious faces that was staring back at her. "I'll wreck this if I have to."
Shadows enveloped her body; restrained her arms, her waist, her legs. She struggled, at first, but at last let the shadows envelop her. When the lights switched to focus on the Ralts and Elgyem opposite her, they revealed the same fate to have befallen on their minute bodies. With her one free limb holding tightly onto the microphone, Evangeline continued to sing. "You get separated. Somebody's gone and I don't know how. This is wrong, and I'm so frustrated," she rasped out, pain now more than evident in her voice, as a barely noticeable chorus of "I'd be so good to you, I'd be so good to you" accompanied her in the background.
Then the black shadows disappeared, and they all fell with a soft thud, one after the other. "Falling behind," came out from her chapped lips, a soft whisper in the face of despair.
"You were a friend of mine."
Evangeline's voice faded away to the amplifying sound of drums. The lights went off for a second, and when they were back a succession of glass vases shaped in the form of hearts elevated in the air, surrounding her dark-clothed figure. Junko, safely wrapped in her trainer's arms, started to sing. Disarming Voice. Evangeline counted one, two—The glass shattered into smithereens that went flying all around. Some in her direction, some in the direction of her spectators. A few gasps of surprise were heard, a few of horror. Evangeline could only smile.
Of course she could, she would; she knew better than anybody else in the room. She had planned this, after all. Unlike what had happened with her unfortunate presentation two days prior, she had prepared for this. Granted, having only two days to plot and practice a full choreography didn't give her much time to aim for perfection, but they, her beloved Pokémon and her, had done a marvellous job so far, and it filled her with pride. All the work they had all put into this performance made it worthwhile, regardless of any prizes that may or may not be waiting at the end of the lane.
The shattered fragments of glass stopped mid-air, thanks to the joint efforts of Evangeline's team of Psychic-types, before vanishing into the ground. "So good to you, 'cause they don't know you like I do." With each consecutive reciting of this verse, her words became softer, sweeter, higher. Evangeline defied the limits of her vocal range, willing to leave everything on that stage. For her Pokémon, and for herself. She raised a second gloved hand to the microphone, positioning it on top of the other. She squeezed them nervously, before repeating it one last time. "They don't know you like I do."
The music slowed down to what appeared to be the end of the presentation. Except it wasn't. Oh, it wasn't. The distinctive sound of percussion mallets being thrusted against drums returned, this time louder and more powerful. Some may have found themselves dumbfounded by the sudden nature of this comeback, but Evangeline only banged her head once, before bringing her microphone closer. The melody she had been singing transitioned to a new one, a punk version of a song she knew many of her spectators would know.
"Just close your eyes."
As in cue, her eyelashes lowered until they were completely shut. Echo, Paris and Junko, who had, by then, formed a neat line next to their trainer, mirrored her actions. The small chorus of angels in the midst of an apocalypse of strings and drums looked so serene, so peaceful. It was such a paradoxical combination, yet it was strangely, unexpectedly, fitting. Evangeline hoped the parallel to her starting lines would be noticed.
"The sun is going down. You'll be all right; no one can hurt you now." With each verse she finished, one of the Pokémon crouched down, like little suns going to sleep at the end of an exhausting day, and her torso doubled over with them. First only slightly, and then more and more until she looked no more than a ball of purple and black and her bangs covered her face entirely. "Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and..."
Evangeline stood up. Her whole body was upright, ready to let out one last soothing note, "Sound."
Post by Jason Royde on Mar 4, 2014 21:58:10 GMT -5
T
he mirror showed something similar to the same thing as always; an extremely handsome young man with a face that had the girls, and guys, swooning. But there was something different about the usually flawless face. There were bags under his eyes, a slight golden stubble growing along his jaw, and his bright blue eyes were a dull, pale, steel blue. His eyes were dead, reflecting the current state of his soul. Jason could not stand staring at his face anymore, disgusted by what he saw. How had he gotten like this?! Just last week he was the ideal example of what every female longed for. He could have sold posters of himself for a pretty penny, yet the very next week, he looked like the before part of an ad.
The reason, he thought to himself as he styled his hair as best he could, was because of the damned Golden Knight. His, Golden Knight. Or was his. "Fuck." He muttered as he combed through a knot in his hair. It had been a week or two before the appeals round since Jason had seen Will. Then, it wasn't a huge deal. Then, he had left voicemails informing him of his attempt at coordinating. Then, he was hopeful. Now? Now he was being realistic. His hopeful dreams of having a.. Boyfriend were crushed. The fantasies of cuddling up against that chiseled chest on a cold March night, warming his face with his hands running through Jason's hair, whispering kind things into his ear, were long gone. Now reality was beating him up and showing him what's what, and it showed.
Arceus knows how it would show on stage. Jason had prepared a routine before the sudden wave of depression, so his pokemon were ready; however, he soon created a new routine to reflect his current feelings on love. Alto had taken to it well, enjoying Jason's singing as always, but Elsa had been more than a little worried. The routine involved dangers to Jason's life and other features which had Elsa doubtful of the entire performance. She did as she was told, though, not wanting to upset Jason any more.
The minutes passed, turning into hours, until Jason received a soft knock on his door. "Get ready, you're on in five." A masculine voice called to him through his dressing room door. With a sigh, Jason hit his head on his mirror and grabbed the two Luxury Balls on the dresser and headed out the door.
The stage had been prepared according to his instructions; A large silver full moon had been constructed and hung from the ceiling, a spotlight shining on it. A soft film of fog rolled along the stage, a single mannequin standing tall in the eerie, yet romantic scene. Opposite where the moon was hanging, Jason entered the stage, his light gold tie and vest contrasting the silver hue of the fog that surrounded him. "Once, I was hopeful," he sang as he walked across the stage, nearing the center. His tenor voice rang out across the house, filling everyone's ears. From his pocket, he produced what looked like one luxury ball, and sang, "Thought we were one." Tapping the release button on both of the Luxury Balls, Alto and Elsa appeared in two blinding flashes of light, while at the same time all the lights were cut off save for the moon spotlight. Still dark, Jason's voice was heard, "Life, less than perfect, finally begun." Another spotlight went off on the mannequin, washing it with a golden light. Jason having walked towards the moon, was now standing directly beneath it, and sang, "But, now I wonder, are we undone?" At that moment, a sprout of flames enveloped the now golden mannequin, affecting what seemed to be only the eyes, making them glow a hot white. Elsa had made her way across the stage, next to Jason, and gulped before she did her move in the complicated routine. Releasing air compacted bubbles from her beak, Jason began to sing as he used the bubbles as a staircase, "I wanna treasure you in death as well as lifeeee~~!"
Once he reached the moon, he stood on the platform that was built behind it, and leaned over the front, resting his head on his hands. "But," he began, the tempo slowing down, and the flames of Alto being replaced by a slight drizzle by Elsa, causing the fog to grow as well. "I'm crazier than you and nothing up until now has proved me wrong.." Jason sang somberly. A single tear fell from his right eye, getting caught in the stubble of his face as he continued, "I'm crazier than you, and that's just the overview." The tear fell from his face, and is it descended onto the ground, slowly, it grew as Elsa blew bubbles into it, until it finally looked like a silver tear from the reflected light of the moon. Alto began to dance underneath it, in a lonely waltz of his own, the small flames on his back nearly gone. One of the flames on his back, however, grew and popped the small moon, and Jason sang with a new found source of energy, "So get on board or simply move along!" Alto knew his cue, and knew it well, for he began spinning in a wheel of fire long before Jason finished singing. By the time he was done, the fog had mixed well into Alto's fiery wheel, creating a golden trail wherever he went. Alto then quickly made circles around the mannequin, which floated up into the air, creating a golden ribbon of flaming fog around the pristine mannequin with glowing eyes. Glaring at the mannequin gilded by golden light, Jason continued, "You're not impulsive, yet.. I truly love you. I'm not deranged, but in this moment? I feel I've changed."
He stood up straight, his full six feet making him seem incredibly tall from on top of the moon, the spotlight shining bright, showing his scruffy face and dead eyes. "Can you believe it when you hear me shriek, I'm crazier than you!" he sang, his falsetto making the notes higher than what seemed possible. Then, in an effort to wow the crowd, he belted, "I'm crazier than yooooouuuu!" The audience roared, giving Jason the much needed confidence to continue, "And now, I'll prove to you exactly ho-o-o-o-o-ow!" And he jumped off of the moon that was suspended twelve feet into the air. Alto, still creating ribbons of golden fog around the mannequin, let forth a flurry of star shaped bolts of energy, which softened Jason's fall. Elsa, however, created ribbons of water that spiraled around Jason as he fell. The crowd gasped, terrified and unknowing as to what happened to the young performer. All they had seen were stars and ribbons of water, then a soft thud was heard. The stage appeared to be nothing but the ribbon surrounded mannequin and the moon, the fog covering anything on the floor. A couple minutes of nothing but the sounds of the fire passed, when suddenly, Jason emerged from the ground in an explosion of bubbles, courtesy of Elsa. "I wanna demonstrate that fear is my ideal, because in the moment that you're frightened my life is real!" Jason sang, looking straight at the audience. The attention of all was Jason's and he walked across the crowd, taking every moment, until he was mere inches from the gold flaming ribbons that surrounded the mannequin. "In a flash, I release and seal the deal!" Jason belted before he jumped into the flames. Alto had been ready for this, and as Jason had sang deal, he infused a Flamethrower with Swift, creating flaming stars which collided with Elsa's bubbles and the already present fog, making an explosion of stars.
Once the smoke cleared, Jason was hugging the mannequin, the golden light shining on them, and he sang softly, "I'm crazier than you, and nothing hurts me when I hear you say.." From behind the mannequin and Jason, Alto blasted the two with fire, burning Jason's clothes and causing parts of it char. "I'm crazier than you, and that is all I need to face the day.." Jason sang once more, softer but still audible in the back of the auditorium, this time followed by a blast of water from Elsa, blasting bits of his suite off, revealing Jason's muscular arms. Jason clung to the mannequin, imagining the true thing, and sang to his fantasy and the crowd, "Live or die I'll let you have control, so say you love me too." Elsa and Alto both caused streams of water and fire to hit the two of them, silhouetting Jason and the mannequin, giving the appearance Jason was embracing a person. With tears streaming down his face, from the pain of the flames or otherwise, Jason stepped a few feet in front of the mannequin and belted beautifully, "From here on in I'm singing from my soul, my sooooooooooooouuuuuuuul!" The silver light of the moon was reflected in such a way to compliment the golden light that had shone on the mannequin, as if the sun and moon argued over Jason. He then looked to the ground, waited for Elsa and Alto to waddle up to where he was, and gave the audience a bow and a sad variation of his signature smile before he departed from the stage.
