The Show Must Go On!

“But, fault of the theater or not, I’ve grown to realize that his shortcomings aren’t entirely his fault! Not all actors can be as brilliant as others! But, I digress. I’ve put our silly arguments behind me! I’ve moved on! I have plays to write, audiences to captivate! I can’t grace the theaters of Dreamside with my endless talents if I’m busy feuding with Cucumber, now, can I?”And that giant, empty cage a pair of ghosts are rolling by in the background, with a tattered Ugly Boy banner draped across the bars? That’s…A decoration.Yes. An odd, out-of-place decoration, nothing more. One not at all intended to be a future prison of any sort.

“Yes. The faults of the theater.” Oh, Cucumber has a giant cage and an ‘Ugly Boy’ banner with his name on it just for forcing Legato to repeat that. “It’s truly a riveting conversation.”

“ISN’T THAT RIGHT, CUCUMBER?”

“Because he’s an uncouth, ungrateful, horrible excuse of an actor. I gave him the opportunity to audition in my play, and he repays me by insulting me!” ...okay, so that deep breath clearly didn’t do the trick.

“AN OVERGROWN BABY. BECAUSE THAT’S PRECISELY WHAT HE IS.”

And hey, go for it! Cabbage can easily fit into a wide range of scenarios, and it would be hilarious to watch him interact with different muses!

“Who gave this six-year-old a wand?”

If all else fails, Flower Bush A can always fill in for other non-speaking roles!

“WAUGH! MAYOR LUTE, I’M BEING PICKED ON!”Oh, if Panpipe still had that contact lens, this Anon would be so sorry. With a quick snap of his fingers, he could have tossed them into a cage, or set his ghostly servants to scare them off with pillars of flame, or–Or, he could have said some really cool, intimidating one-liner which absolutely wouldn’t be a direct anime quote and scared them off that way. Pair that up with a dramatic smirk, a gust of wind rustling his coat, the whole nine yards. Yes, that’s right. That’s what he would have done.But, unfortunately, without his abilities, he can only tattle to the nearest grown-up, and wait for her to scare the Anon off, instead.

“It’s good to see that others outside of Organetto can recognize my talent and my beauty as well!”What was that? He’d suggested that ‘Magnificent, Beautiful Star’ title in the first place? Nonsense, Anon. You must be imagining things.

“–star!”Ignore the fiery ghosts hovering above Legato, shining that spotlight directly onto him. They aren’t important.

“You’re sightseeing? Out here?” Panpipe probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised, come to think of it. The news that he was behind “Count Legato’s” grand play might not have traveled very far yet, and he supposed an adventurous Dreamsider or two might want to visit Organetto to see whether or not the village was truly haunted. But, that stunt aside, he couldn’t see why else anyone would care to fly over the Intermezzo Wall to visit... especially with flashy, lively Trebleopolis right on the other side. There was a reason why visitors flocked there, instead. Dark and gloomy Organetto village wasn’t exactly much of a tourist trap. Well, unless those tourists happened to be the Legendary Hero type. But if this kid was part of some epic quest, he’d missed the others by a long shot. They had to be several kingdoms away, at this point. Speaking of which... Panpipe glanced upwards, at the stranger’s weird-looking ears. Ear shapes and patterns were always a telltale sign of which kingdom a Dreamsider hailed from, but Panpipe had a bit of trouble placing that particular style. Something about those ears just seemed a bit too... off. “Which kingdom are you from, anyway?”