NTR presents the WORLDVISION SONG CONTEST 80
Live from Marina Point, Nekoni
OOC Thread | Host Bid | Official Playlist
It's been a long time coming...since Nekoni's first bid at Marina Point for the 47th contest fell through, the million-strong city has been holding its breath for one chance at the spotlight, a chance to show its big brother Varea that it can hold its own on the world's stage. It's been over thirty contests since then, and so much has changed. Nekoni successfully did host their contest, but in the country's capital, and Nekoni has already claimed their first win. However, ten contests since that fateful night, that light falls back on the country's northwest. Marina Point...let's get to work.
After the opening strains of the NTR broadcaster's theme and WorldVision anthem come, the clock hits 8:00, and the cameras go live to inside the NEXPRO Arena. A full crowd of 19,000 have joined us tonight, with myriads more watching at home, and the atmosphere is as electrifying as it could possibly be. The lights go dark, as the audience cheers their first cheer of many tonight, and the show begins...
OPENING FILM: "Marina Point, 1979"
Based on Midnight Lady by Dirty Androids
The film opens on a scene of an old 1970s TV's screen. The dial is clicked off-camera, and between the fuzz, we can see and hear various clips from well known WorldVision songs from both here and around the multiverse: their first entry in 26, Praciba's winning entry at 40, Nekoni's first big placement at 46...the screen freezes on 46's winner, Normandy & Picardy's Jules Vergule, as the camera zooms out, and the song begins to properly fade in. The view is of a café-esque establishment on the beach at Marina Point, the sun shining brightly, and the café's patrons leaving. It's very obviously late 1970s, with the café having very questionable orange/brown patterned walls, the patrons wearing shirts with even more questionable patterns, sandals with socks, the works. However, the camera focuses on one girl, probably ten years old, with her parents, as they go towards their surprisingly stylish car in cherry red. The girl is wearing a red dress with black shoes and a red Alice band perched atop her brown hair. She looks at her father, and asks "Where are we going?". He says nothing, smiles, and as the beat hits, hits the accelerator.
At the exact moment the song begins, the camera cuts to a long shot across Marina Point's long beach, following the car as it goes. The styling of the area has immediately changed, with the drab greasy-spoons of the promenade replaced with bright pastel shades, pretty pink and mint green buildings and beach bars lining the coast. The fashion has changed, too, with the same pastel shirts being worn by the men with white capri pants, and the women wearing much less conservative beach wear. Welcome to the 80s, friends.
At :31 in, the sun begins to set, as the neon lighting around the roads begins to illuminate the way. Extra arrowed neon signs pop-up through CGI in the background indicating "The Future - This Way", "Arena - 2 Miles", etc, in suitable neon-esque font. The camera cuts to the girl, open-mouthed in delight as the signs reflect across the car windows and her face. As this happens, a group of roller-skaters wearing lycra sportswear with glow-in-the-dark stripes of pink and yellow down their sides begin to overtake the car along the sidewalk all in a line. She looks at the back-marker, smiling. The skater recognises that she's being watched, looks at her back, smiles and high-fives her. The camera immediately cuts to the car entering a tunnel at :46 in.
As the saxophone solo comes in, the tunnel's once drab walls illuminate with bright orange and purple, white neon lining the individual tunnel sections, as if the car's driving through a Club Tropicana-esque version of Tron. As the solo continues, the tunnel steadily fills with white, and the moment the beat hits at 1:03, the car is shown leaving the tunnel into a brand new version of the road we just drove down. This time, the scene is more of a late-90s feel. The neon lights are still there, but the storefronts have changed. Instead of pastel beach bars, there are video arcades, bowling alleys and cinemas. The townspeople are now dressed in the fashion of the time, with slightly too many people wearing camo shirts/cargo pants to appear normal, some of them wearing sun visors, bright red leather bomber jackets, etc. As the car barrels down the road, we see the sidewalk now host to a couple of skateboarders and inline bladers. They all follow the car along as before, except whenever there's a low rail, bench or box of some sort, one of them will take an opportunity to grind/jump off of it, to the astonishment of the girl in the car.
On the other side of the road, there are groups of people in the market square, and amongst the 'alternative' set of gothy-looking types performing street magic and firebreathing, there stands out a group attempting the fad of breakdancing that hit Nekoni about half a decade after everyone else. One of the group, clad in a black striped tracksuit and wine red beanie, attempts a tricky single handstand, using his freehand to support his legs. He notices the car, and the girl inside looking, and with that had, he points at her, finger-gun style with a smile. The effort to do that causes him to forget what the hand was there for, and he ends up overbalancing and ending up head-over-heels on his back. Cut to girl in car giggling. Cut back to B-boy man looking decidedly embarrassed.
At 1:33 where we get the guitar solo, the scene changes. We're getting closer to the arena, and the road is now in the city itself, and it's the standard view that one would expect in a bustling city on a Saturday night However, the sky is lit up like a beacon with tons of fireworks. Judging by this and the nightclubs packed with party hat-wearing revellers, it's New Year's Day 2000. The fireworks eventually begin to form the paint splashes that formed the logo of the attempted WV47 bid, as a nice Easter egg. The girl is in the back, admiring the fireworks, whilst drinking what appears to clearly be orange juice from a champagne flute. She also has a party hat on. How did she get either of these? Editing.
The final section at 1:49 immediately sets the present day, as the car arrives and parks in front of the NEXPRO arena. The scene cuts to the indoor concourse of the arena, as the family's tickets are checked by two familiar faces dressed as the ticket staff...the hosts of the show, Alice Florien & Miki Lazaretti. They both reach out their gloved hands and point to the entrance to the main arena. As the family enter, the girl looks back, and smiles at the hosts, and they smile back. As they enter the opening, the crowd noise begins to build, and the screen fades white as the song ends...
As the song ends, the crowd gets wilder and wilder, as hosts take to the stage, shouting the immortal words: "WELCOME TO WORLDVISION!!" They both enter to the last stanza of the opening video theme music, making their way to the front podium of the stage, waving as they do so. Both girls are dressed in tastefully minimalist cocktail dresses: Alice's in black, Miki's in red.
Alice (left in picture): "World, good evening! Bonsoir, mes amis, and welcome once again to Nekoni!"
Miki (right in picture): "It's been a long time coming, but the contest is finally in the cosmopolital cultural capital of the Canera coast, Marina Point!"
Alice: "Truly it has been, my dear, and the nations of the world once again converge in on our little country, all united with one goal: to have the best damn party the world has ever seen! However, there's a competition in here as always, and one country's latent is going to become immortalised as the winner! We experienced it ten contests ago, and rest assured, there's no feeling like it! Can we do it again?"
The Nekoni-strong crowd naturally cheers loudly for this blatant display of homefire-stoking.
Miki: "Of course, it's you at home that will decide the fate of all our performers tonight."
Alice: "Of course by fate we mean who's gonna win, not a life or death type situation. This isn't some kind of televised Aztec ballgame-slash- murder ritual...""
Alice tails off a bit when she realises that she probably would have done better not trying to improv comedy. Miki silently stares at her faux-mockingly, and the audience laughs when she sarcastically pats Alice on the head.
Miki: "Now, it's all well and good talking about the music, but it's not as good as actually doing it, is it!? So..." She turns to Alice, who now has a clipboard of the program structure in her hand. "Who have we got doing for our little introduction? Someone famous to really bring the party out of the gates at full-speed?"
Alice (sheepishly): "Erm...it says here that it's us."
Miki, in shock, yells "WHAT!?" at her, grabs the clipboard, and leafs through it.
Miki: "Oh God, you're right. Listen, Allie...you got any ideas?"
Alice gives her a thumbs up, and rushes over to the orchestra pit, much to the confusion of Miki. She gestures at one of the musicians in the pit to help her out, and he does, handing her a tambourine. She rushes back to Miki.
Alice: "There, I fixed everything!"
Miki stares at her oddly.
Miki: "Hun, I don't think you trying to busk with a tambourine is going to be suitable to open up a global music show!"
Alice (laughing): "Of course not, love...but this might!"
OPENING SONG: "In Nekoni" by Alice Florien & Miki Lazaretti
Based on Ai (Chouseishin) from Excel Saga
The song begins with the weirdly angry synth stabs, as Miki watches in confusion at Alice doing what can only be described as angry dancing. Armed with a tambourine. Alice notices her taking a step back almost out of fear of being whacked, and remembers that Alice has to grab the mic. She looks at Alice and nods her head at her, gesturing her to take the microphone. Miki gently tiptoes in, and gradually forces the tambourine out of Alice's hands, and places it on the floor, mouthing "this is for your own good". She is, naturally, annoyed.
Nontheless, Miki has restorted order to the madness, and takes to the microphone.
This is our night, tonight
We're making stars tonight
WorldVision's come home now
It's time to break out
Show yourself, the time is here
Just as she finishes, Alice straight-up barges into the scene and grabs the mic directly from the stand. She is noticeably more erratic, louder and vibrant to the point of being out-of-tune when singing than Miki's honest attempt at being modest. She responds by exaggeratedly pinching her forehead to stop the headaches coming through.
This is our night, tonight
Bankrupt our station tonight
NTR's chairman had to sell his house for
You to set your rhythm free
This continues, with Miki attempting desperately to keep this song grounded, and Alice doing her level best to ruin her day. When she mentions the whiskey sours, Alice leans on Miki as if she's drunk, to which Miki rather strongly shoves her off. During the rebound from the shove, someone off camera throws her a flag pole with a Talvezout flag on it.
Red carpet's out just for you, you're the height of celebrity
And I've just had four whiskey sours, and I don't care if I bleed!
It's the greatest party, here in Nekoni
Until the next one comes by and it's in Talvezout again!
She emphatically waves it whilst yelling into the microphone.
In Talvezout again!
In Talvezout again!!
In Talvezout again!!!
In Talvezout again!!!!
Both of them are singing into their handheld microphones after mercifully Alice gives the flag back. At this point giving her a long pointed object could be a mistake. Upon the namedrop in the chorus, both of them kiss their fingers, and outstretch their arms, effectively blowing a kiss to the entire stadium.
We don't care if the whole damn arena burns down
We wanna show you how this country goes to town
And we all know that you're gonna have a ball
We know that you'll see it all, in Nekoni!
The little instrumental break has Alice still pretty much dancing like nobody is watching, using a mic stand as an air guitar. Thankfully she puts it down before the vocals come in.
And when the voting comes in
Everyone hopes that they'll win
And so do we, until we know that we'll come fourteenth again!!
The juxtaposition of calm Miki and unhinged Alice continues again. Miki noticeably turns red at Alice's first bit.
It's your one time, make it count, show us what you got
Please don't be offended, boys, if Miki calls you 'hot'!
Take a deep breath, get out there, go take your best shot
Then complain on the internet when Izmedu probably wins
Miki and Alice unzip their cocktail dresses to reveal white T-shirts and black pleated skirts underneath. The T-Shirts have "IZMEDU WON ANOTHER SONG CONTEST AND ALL I WON WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT" on it. At this point Miki has given up on trying to restrain Alice so is embracing it too.
When Izmedu probably wins!
When Izmedu probably wins!!
When Izmedu probably wins!!!
When Izmedu probably wins!!!!
For some reason they decide to keep the shirts on as they sing the second chorus.
We don't care if the whole damn arena burns down
We wanna show you how this country goes to town
And we all know that you're gonna have a ball
We know that you'll see it all, in Nekoni!
The image on screen during the breakdown is Alice, on the left, almost like a bad 80s airline safety film, gesturing wildly whilst she speaks into a megaphone as text on the right of the screen scrolls up. To complete the effect she has somehow found an adorably small air hostess hat. The text is the following instructions in a grainy, VHS-quality overlay:
"- Have fun
- Don't break our laws, please
- Enjoy the music
- Keep your hands inside the carriage at all times
- Please vote for Nekoni
- Don't eat our wildlife, we need those for things
- Also please vote for Nekoni
- Be excellent to each other always
- Seriously, though, vote for Nekoni
- Donate to the poor. After tonight, NTR is also poor. Hint, hint"
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Nekoni
Please keep your tray-tables in an upright position
Exits are located here, there, and here
And please don't vote for yourselves
Everybody's welcome here
Unless you give votes to yourselves
Sit back and let's get on with the show
No, seriously, don't vote for yourselves, CAN'T YOU READ THE RULES!?
She puts the megaphone down, and yeets the hat into the audience for the final chorus. She joins Miki, and they do the chorus whilst holding each other's hand.
We don't care if the whole damn arena burns down
We wanna show you how this country goes to town
Let's have fun this one 'cause we ain't coming back again
We know that you'll see it all, in Nekoni!
During the final instrumental bit, the stage gets swarmed by people waving giant flags (presumably the one for Talvezout got hers back), each one wearing clothing largely similar to the colours of the flag they're waving. Of course, at the front, Nekoni get two. As the two presenters run back to the main stage, one on each catwalk, they meet in the middle at the front just in time for that weird ending drum fill, throwing out their arms on the final note to a lovely round-stage blast of gold pyro.
The audience cheers the performance, and the two look visibly exhausted, one obviously more so than the other. The take a couple seconds to catch their breath.
Alice: "So...yeah! Welcome to Nekoni! I'm sure that was a suitable way to open the show, wasn't it?"
Miki: "I wouldn't give up your day job, Alice. Shall we leave it to the professionals?"
Alice: "I thought you'd never ask! Let's start the show, whilst we change into something a lot less treacherous, and get all these people off stage and into catering!"
Miki: "Sounds like a plan! Nekoni, are you ready!?" The audience responds with a loud cheer.
Alice: "World, are you ready!?" The audience, again, cheers, louder this time.
Both: "LET THE WORLDVISION SONG CONTEST BEGIN!!"
- Eleanor
- Barry
