2014-07-19 - The Tryouts of Doom
| Title: The Tryouts of Doom | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Hopeful actors and actresses have been lining up for a chance to play in the Sister Schools' musical version of Dracula. A handful have been called back for tryouts, and give it their all for their most coveted roles. Who will survive? | |
| Who: Mio Kuroki, Usagi Tsukino, Kinzo Hiroyuki, Lera Camry, Fuu Hououji, Ami Mizuno, Seijuro Ginga, Lucy Iwai, Mamoru Chiba, Kanako Watanabe | |
| Where: Juuban Public School | |
| OOC - IC Date: 14 February 2014 - 7/19/2014 | |
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
The callbacks have come, despite minor delays and confusion. Each and every one of you has come to the open try-outs (or have been falsely represented by a prankster to have done so), and now you are here for the second cut. Your performance today could land you a role that will start your career on the boards... or, at least, win you a certain degree of fame and fun in the bargain.
The stage has been cleared out for the proper delictation of things, although there are no props up save some chairs to one side, in case people have to sit down for a bit to cool off. Mio Kuroki, the emerging queen of the Sister Schools' drama clubs, sits on the front of the stage, legs dangling. She greets people as they come in, but she also is making notes on a clipboard.
Once you are all in, though, she picks herself up. She is in slacks and a striped shirt, like a Frenchwoman might be, along with comfortable shoes. Everyone's instructions told them, too, to dress comfortably.
"Good afternoon, and thank you all for coming," Mio says, taking the pen off her clipboard. With a smile that sits a bit oddly on her face - maybe it's just her pale complexion in action - she clicks the pen. It echoes. "I am Mio Kuroki; in the tenth grade, here at Juuban."
"It is quite likely that you will all be working together regularly, and so I thought that it would be proper to break the ice a bit, before we begin. I would like you to go round - left to right - and do three things for me."
"One," Mio says, "Introduce yourself..."
"Two: Tell us what brought you to performing..."
"And three," Mio says, inclining the pen towards a certain memorable eighth grader with a pair of noble buns, "When I point my pen at you, you will experience dreadful pain." She pauses briefly, for the sounds of Illustration. "Please, don't be shy about making noise - that's what the theatre is for!"
--- (OOC) WELCOME TO THE PERFORMANCE.
Your goal is to act. You will be given prompts, and shall write an exchange of poses/performance with your assigned partner or partners. These can be played for comedy, dark menace, romantic passion - any take you like! There is /no/ wrong answer... though your characters don't know that.
Please inform I, Mio, if there are any specific characters from Dracula that you do NOT wish to be cast as. (You may also register specific preferences, but these may not be possible.) Decisions will be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday, as several people who could not make it are being subjected to similar challenges through @mail. (A helpful list of characters is in board post 10/37.)
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Mio Kuroki is not the only one looking casual and stylish sitting on the edge of the stage. There is also Usagi Tsukino!
Okay Mio is the only one who looks stylish doing this. Usagi can pull off casual, though.
The blonde girl is known in a very small way for having terrible grades and frequent run-ins with teachers. More often, recognizing her comes because of association with someone with a slightly larger legend among the Sister Schools, like Ami Mizuno, the genius girl; Makoto Kino, the tough delinquent; Rei Hino, the spooky priestess; or...
Mio Kuroki, new darling of the theater.
Usagi continues kicking her feet as Mio explains things, and for a little while after she has a pen pointed at her. The inclination eventually catches her eye, though, and she turns to look at Mio with an uncomprehending expression.
"...o-oh, are you pointing at me? Gotcha!!"
She leaps up, shrugs off her pink coat, and then grasps in vain at an invisible sword that sadly skewers despite best efforts. She shrieks and falls to the ground with drama levels roughly at melo-.
After a moment, the blonde girl opens an eye. "Mio-chan," she stage-whispers, even though she's off the stage, "Mio-chan, do I answer the questions now or is this dreadful pain thing separate?!"
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki had been CALLED BACK, and is a little happy about that. He's adorned the most fanciest thing he has to wear, which happens to be a brown three piece suit he managed to put together via second hand stores, and his mother's tailoring. He reaches into his pocket to check the pocket watch there as he arrives juuust on time. He smiles, and gives everyone a wave as he he has a seat, waiting to be assigned the partner, or be given the low down on what's going to go down today, and Mio gives some prompts off. Introduction. Tell them about yourself.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Mio points the pen upwards, stage-whispering back to Usagi, "Proceed."
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Usagi dutifully pops up from her deathbed, her head (and buns) visible from behind the front row of chairs.
"I'm Usagi Tsukino, grade eight, Juuban Public School! And--" her cheeks flush slightly "--I'm here to do my best in support of Mio-chan! Dracula is also neat."
Vampires. Inexplicable, but omnipresent allure.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera Camry is here and she is ready to /act/.
She sits down nervously, looking up at Mio and considering every single word she says with great weight. She studies Mio for a moment, and then she takes a deep breath, and looks around the room. Yes! These are her acting comrades in arms. People she will entertain and delight with, but who she must necessarily beat. After all, she has successfully convinced everyone that she is American, and that means her acting is superb!
She looks at Usagi, eagerly, and nods with encouragement at her (even though she does not recognize her in the slightest). She can wait her turn, patiently.
"Hello!" she says. "I am Lera Camry of these United States, where we eat taquitos and enjoy our freedom four score and seven years ago! I am a third year middle school student at Infinity, and, ah--"
She screws her face up, and then, loudly: "GCK!"
Lera clutches at her chest, sways side to side, and groans, before pitching forward in her chair -- and then sits back up straight, before she falls over.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Fuu blinks at Mio's explanation. Excruciating pain? Really? ... That must be an acting thing or something, part of the 'audition'.
At any rate, while Fuu hardly expected to be called back for the second round of auditions, she found the first round a little too interesting to ignore or decline the callback. So when her turn comes to introduce herself, she bows deeply and politely to the others gathered here. "Good afternoon, everybody," she says with a bright, friendly smile as she straightens up from her bow. "I'm Fuu Hououji, an eighth-grader at Infinity Institute. As for what brought me to performing ..."
She trails off, then shrugs slightly. "Mostly because I enjoy RPGs, and acting is about 'role-playing,' even if it's done differently from video games."
She pauses, glancing at Mio - oh, yes, the PEN OF DOOM (tm) is pointing at her. "AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Fuu shrieks in relatively convincing agony, staggering to the side as she clasps a hand over where the imagined beam of excruciating agony is hitting her ...
<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ami may have been falsely represented by a prankster. However, it's hard for her to summon up the effort to say 'no, I didn't want to be signed up' at the moment, which means she has found herself standing at the ready to act.
She does not do a great job when it becomes her turn. "My name is Ami Mizuno, and I am an eighth grader here at Juuban," she says, standing up, before admitting, "... someone else pulled me into this."
She does not go for the melodrama that Usagi did -- she watched it with great intensity, but her performance is smaller. She doesn't feel like she can handle that level of acting, and doesn't try. Instead, her eyes widen slightly, one hand coming up just below her heart; she takes a jagged, irregular step back, then another, emitting a tiny whimper before slumping into her seat with a look that seems... betrayed, more than anything else.
Her gaze then returns to Usagi, perhaps trying to gauge her reaction -- and, for that matter, make a little more certain she didn't hurt herself being Usagi.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
By the Ami looks over to Usagi, the blonde girl is already giving her a huge grin and two enthusiastic thumbs up.
NAILED IT, MIZUNO
<Pose Tracker> Seijuro Ginga [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Seijuro Ginga is here. He looks out of place, not nearly as excited about it as Mio or Usagi. He's also (as ever) dressed in his Juuban school uniform. He's decided that since he's here though, he might as well give it his all. These humans don't even know he's NOT HUMAN! So he MUST be a good actor.
"Seijuro Ginga, Grade 8." he says, his voice having the distinctive accent of someone with a solid grasp on the language but lacking any sort of regional dialect; clearly a foreigner. "I am here because..." he looks up at the celing for a moment before smiling - Seijuro /never/ goes wrong smiling at ladies! - and continuing. "Well, because I was called back. So I want to do my best and help you make the play a success!"
Did that sound convincing enough, he wonders. Then, he remembers the part about the the pain. So he reaches to one of his best memories of pain; when he's out of energy. "Gah!" he says, eyes bulging, hand over his heart, crumpling down to one knee and then toppling over, twitching a bit. Then, suddenly, he's back up, composed and controlled as ever. He nods a bit and then simply returns to his place. It was either good enough for the humans or it wasn't, right? He really hopes it was, though. He doesn't like not being great at things.
<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Finally, it's here, the much-anticipated day! One of them at least, somewhere between the initial tryouts and everything else involved in the play's actual production. It's still a very important day, and despite the fact that there's no real audience, so to speak, Lucy has been experiencing some stage fright! Like most people here, she dressed casual, in a simple light pink sweater and a pair of jeans.
That's why she's sitting close to her friends amidst the group of relative strangers, and most importantly brought her tiny tyrannosaur pal Didi with her! She's holding him like a stuffed doll, which he has a lot of experience pretending to be.
Usagi is pointed to first, and demonstrates her theatricality (which seems to come naturally! It's like she's always like that!) Lucy is quite impressed at the performance, though given recent events, it stirs some unpleasant memories she quickly pushes back, in favor of the much more fun here and now.
It's her turn to speak! "Ah! H-Hi!" She gets up, "I am Lucy Iwai, an 8th year foreign exchange transfer student at Infinity Institute. And this is my friend Didi!" She smiles to everyone, and takes Didi's tiny hand to make it look like he's waving. It's not made clear whether he's also here because he wants a role.
(He totally does.)
"Usagi-chan told me you were putting a play together, and I figured acting in it would be a lot of fun! I've never been in a play before, and I really wanted to know what it would be like. I want to experience /everything/ the Earth has to offer!" she finishes, perhaps a bit overdramatically.
The pen is pointed at her, and suddenly, she lets out a scream as an invisible projectile knocks her back, flipping her chair over in the process! She sprawls out on the floor several feet back, before twitching and picking herself up, gritting her teeth as she, with visible effort, props herself back on her feet using the overturned chair.
Then, she puts it back where it was a second ago, and sits back on it, beaming. Was that all right?
She does not see a single thing wrong with Lera's introduction.
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki had been CALLED BACK, and is a little happy about that. He's adorned the most fanciest thing he has to wear, which happens to be a brown three piece suit he managed to put together via second hand stores, and his mother's tailoring. He reaches into his pocket to check the pocket watch there as he arrives juuust on time. He smiles, and gives everyone a wave as he he has a seat, waiting to be assigned the partner, or be given the low down on what's going to go down today, and Mio gives some prompts off. Introduction. Tell them about yourself, via Pen Point when it becomes his turn.
"My name is Kinzo Hiroyuki. I'm in the Infinity Institute, 11th Grade. From the Drama Club." he says.
"I suppose..." he says. "It's funner to be someone other than myself for a bit." he says with a wry smile. "Even if it's on and off for a few hours in a play." he insists. "I'm also an actor in the Drama Club, but we have not done much." he asides. "So I've not been on a big stage yet, just practices in normal club activities. Perhaps we'll find out how I fare tonight." he says as she leans back a bit.
As that's done, he knows the pen is pointing at him. Act with dreadful pain. That's easy for him. He remembers a ot of pain. He decided on a particular memory on when Dark Amber got stabbed by a demonic claw in the chest.
His eyes go wide. He seems to grasp at something that isn't there. He shoves himself back then falls down onto his ass, complete with heavy breathing. He cluchtes his chest and just 'nrrrrgggs' for a bit looking at something that isn't there with wide eyes, before he needs to shake his head and get out of it. The heavy brething subsides. He gets up and smiles a bit as he rests back up against the stage. He wonders what else will be done tonight, now.
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
In the middle of Lucy's explosion backwards, someone else comes in-- someone else as offensively tall as Seijuro but with a little more of an excuse than an eighth grader-- and leans against the back row of chairs, watching and insouciantly drinking a slushie.
That guy. Mamoru Chiba.
That damn guy's got a clipboard and a bluetooth headset. Also, glasses. Also also, he's dressed like a hipster, with a denim jacket over a dress shirt and tie and skinny jeans and unnecessarily expensive shoes. By his expression, he's also either taking this completely seriously or is really good at pretending to.
He's probably silently judging everyone here.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera looks over her fellow actors and actresses. She knows a few of them, and she finally settles on Usagi and Ami first. She claps her hands -- quietly because applause would be distracting -- and she nods cheerfully at the two of them. "That was very good!" she says. "Yours was very convincing, Mizuno-san!"
Mamoru is glanced at, briefly, too. His shoes draw the most attention; for a moment, she wonders if he is a basketball player. Her research on Earth suggested they always wear expensive shoes. However, Lucy is the one that really gets her attention. She wheels her head to her, suddenly. Did--did she say Earth, like Lera does? Like a stranger to it?
Her eyes light up.
She fistpumps for no apparent reason. YES! Saying she is from Earth repetitively is /exactly/ like a native of Earth, like Lucy Iwai! She nailed it!
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako Watanabe is basically the last person in the entire universe anyone expected to try out for a part in the play, largely because her only major contribution to the /Ohtori/ Drama Club is to sit near their male leads in class and say profoundly alarming things to them.
Kanako's idea of 'comfort' appears to involve a frankly irresponsibly low neckline on a button-up vest (beneath the vest: terrifyingly uncertain), and a pencil skirt engaged in an extremely long-distance relationship with her knees. And extreme top of the line Nike sneakers. She is flanked permanently, in the seat she has claimed, by two people who never, themselves, sit; a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, much more slender girl with short-cut hair, and a young man who looks more traditionally Japanese, with the muscle of a kendo practitioner of some skill. Kanako has already stressed several times that 'nobody needs to worry about them,' whatever that means.
They are very well trained. You almost wouldn't notice the blonde silently attempting to kill Kanako with her mind every time the woman opens her mouth.
She listens dutifully to the icebreakers of others, before finally - pointedly crossing her legs, explaining, "I am Kanako Watanabe, 16 years old. I am a first year at Ohtori Academy." She smiles, all immaculate teeth. "To be honest, my own school's drama club recently received some interesting new members, and I thought it might be fun to try something like it. And my husband assured me this would be a fabulous chance to stretch my own talents~"
She opens her mouth as if to continue her possibly morally upsetting story when she observes the doom beam with the keen eye of the truly, bewilderingly idle rich, and cannot suppress a high giggle before gamely attempting to convert it to an equally possibly morally upsetting "Oh!!" and flops backward, chest athrust and limbs askew. Signs she is a better actress than she lets on: The 'askew' is the very specifically glamorous kind of messiness of a person used to putting herself on display.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Mio seems to glow faintly, in a purely metaphorical way, at the adoration of her junior.
As others speak she seems to nod. She makes small marks on her clipboard between takes, so to speak, even as she receives most realistic screams of pain and anguish. She chuckles at Lera, raises an approving eyebrow at Ami...
"We meet again," she says to Didi, with undue dramatic emphasis.
"Now, for our first test, we shall be pairing off. I will give you your partner, one moment..."
Mio flips through her clipboard for a moment.
"Watanabe and Tsukino. Mizuno and Iwai." Mio gestures with her pen, hopefully not still emitting rays. "Your prompt is as follows... The first of you is Lucy Westenra, speaking to her dearest friend regarding the outpouring of passion you've felt, having received THREE marriage proposals in one day. And the second of you is Mina Harker, who is terribly patient, if weary... and who must remind Lucy that she is failing to mention which one she's /accepted/."
"Hiroyuki and Camry. Hououji and Ginga." More gestures. "Your prompt is as follows. The first of you will portray Renfield, a madman under the spell of the Count, seeking to persuade your doctor to release you, so that you can serve your master. But! You are /afraid/ of that master, too... and for the second, you will portray Jack Seward. You are dreadfully depressed by your recent failures in love, and do not intend to let Renfield loose, so that you may study him and make your name in the journals."
"While you prepare -" She snaps her fingers once, though not quite /at/ Mamoru, and gestures him over. When he has come nearer, she leans in to give him a soft statement: 'Get me something with a bit of sugar in it. I am about to pass out.'
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"Lucy-chan, yesss--" Usagi cheers, that is, until it's someone else's turn. Then, she clamps her hands over her mouth, looks briefly mortified, and finishes out with a tiny under-the-breath scream of "--esssssss."
She watches the rest of the introductions with pleasant attention, taking advantage of a brief pause to hustle over to Ami. She sits next to the other girl, clutching at her arm after waving for Lucy to come over.
But then, the next person up is this boy--and Usagi falls silent as she stares at--
~~'~~,~~;@
Seijuro Ginga
@;~~,~~'~~
"Ami-chan," she whispers, for real this time, or at least as real as she can manage, "do you know that boy? Doesn't he go to our school?"
Oh wait, it's time to perform. Usagi squeezes Ami's hand and then rises to meet her fate. Mysterious boys will have to wait.
"Kanako-san, I didn't know you were interested in theater too!" says Usagi as she trots over. "You're really talented!"
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Ah, right! Hiroyuki-san," Lera says, standing up and looking at Kinzo. She smiles at him; she remembers him from the times they talked, of course, and she nods once to be encouraging. "You go first!"
<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Asking Ami Mizuno, in her current state, to broadcast passion... Mio may either not have the best sense, or may have /fantastic/ sense. Her eyes widen a little bit as she processes the situation's gravity. She's read the text, certainly -- independently of this, even. But portraying Lucy? Her?
She takes a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself -- and then her attention is drawn more directly to Seijuro. "I... I don't," she admits, quietly. "He's remarkable, though..."
She then focuses her attention back on getting ready to be Lucy, across from... Lucy. Oh, Ami realizes, when she thinks about that for a moment. It's a joke about Lucy's name, in which she is an accessory.
"Oh, Mina-chan," Ami says, once she summons up the courage. "It seems... dreadfully unfair... Should a woman not be able to marry three men, or as many as she likes, and save all this trouble?" She knows the words almost perfectly, but her initial line, at least, has no real passion or energy. A bloodless Lucy Westenra isn't much of a Lucy Westenra at all, is she?
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Rather stiff competition, it seems, Fuu thinks as she considers how the others react to 'being in sudden, dreadful pain'. Not that she minds if she's passed over in favor of somebody who cares more about acting - she has plenty to do as it is, she can afford to be in the audience for Dracula instead of on-stage helping bring the play to life.
... and she's supposed to be Renfield for the first 'sample' scene?
The sometimes-archer grimaces slightly; Renfield is not one of the characters she liked very much when she read that novel for the first time. 'Creepy' is something of an understatement, really. But she nods to Mio and looks to Seijuro-san, bowing slightly before drawing herself upright, removing and folding her glasses, and tucking them into a pocket of her sweater ... and if Seijuro watches Fuu's face, she seems to be trying to get out of her usual personality and 'into character' as her assigned role. The internal conflict that Mio-san cited is easy enough to get a lock onto in her mind ...
"I really am fine now, Doctor," she says to Seijuro with a slightly tremulous smile. "There's no need for you to keep me locked up in here any more ... you've done a lot to help me, and I'm grateful for that, now more than ever ... but you don't need to keep worrying about me. Not any more - I'll be fine out there."
... yeah, Fuu isn't really a natural actress. but she *does* know some things about the kind of role-playing that isn't dependent on a computer or a video game console. Or maybe it's just because she's familiar with projecting herself into the characters in the video games she plays?
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Wandering over to Mio when he's snapped in the general direction of and gestured at, Mamoru puts his clipboard down on the chair next to her and leans in to listen, then gives her an incredibly wryly self-amused smile and a quick nod. Straightening up, he takes out his phone and looks horribly official, then heads back past the gathered thespians.
He does glance over his shoulder at Usagi as he goes, but only when he's pretty sure she's not looking at him-- and then the boy's out the door, presumably headed for Pinkberry or something similar.
<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Lucy listens to the rest of the introductions with interest, now somewhat less nervous than before. The ice breaker has had its intended effect! She beams at Usagi's cheering her on, and notices out the corner of her eye Lera's otherwise inexplicable fistpump, which she also takes as a sign of encouragement. Mamoru's arrival also has her curious, but she has to return her attention to Mio before she can wonder much about him.
She nods at the instructions. To tell the truth, at first she thought she was trying out for Lucy, since they share the same name and all, but there might have been a mix-up somewhere. Then again, from what Fuu told her (Lucy hasn't read the novel), maybe Mina's role fits her personality more anyway.
She smiles to Ami as Usagi brings them together. They've met a handful of times before, but never for terribly long, as every time seems to have been interrupted by a youma attack, and the two of them running off in opposite directions. The strangest thing, really. "Hello, Mizuno-san!"
The time comes soon, however, to put herself in character as best as she can. She tries to picture Ami as a dear friend who can nonetheless sometimes be a bit of a handful. This visualization exercise takes the form of an imaginary pair of odangos.
Contrary to Ami, she doesn't know the lines at all, and simply ad-libs them. She starts with a theatrical sigh. "Ah... Lucy-chan... I'm happy for you, but you're forgetting to tell me one thing." She wags one finger, and leans forward closer to Ami. "Which proposal did you /accept/?" Her reading is heartfelt, though certainly not subtle.
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki walks on over to Lera and smiles, giving a short bow. "Hello again, Lera." he says with a coy smile. "Do you have a preference over which character you'll be for this little demonstration?" he asks. "I feel as if Renfield is good for me. But...I can do either." He says. He clears his throat. "Right...!" he says as he discards his sports jacket, putting it to the side on a seat, being now in only undershirt with the brown vest underneath. He unbuttons a few buttons and unshelves his hair. Just a bit. It helps him to look the part.
A Calling to something that you're also scared of.... this kind of hits home there with him on a few levels. Which is why he feels he can do Renfield. He closes his eyes and reopens them as he begins.
"T...that damn Dutch Doctor, he doesn't understand. B..but you, Dr. Seward. You can understand." he says. "You know I need to be released for EVERYONE'S Safety." he says, trying to make a grab for Seward's neck line, but obviously stopped by chains that aren't there. "You MUST be convinced! How can you be Convinced!" he says desperatly. "I can tell you things. BUT..I must.." He's improv-ing for now..
He waits for Lera now to respond keeping his grasping stance. Yeah, he's into this as much as he's going to be.
OOC: Player forgets most of the actual Dracula story, and is going by online references. But I'm sure some of you are doing the same. X3
<Pose Tracker> Seijuro Ginga [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Seijuro stands opposite Fuu, at his full height. He looks down at her, and goes about getting into character himself. It's an odd thing, getting into character while you're already in character.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Renfield..." he begins, seeming uneasy about the Mr. part, but acting! "...but I am afraid you're simply in no condition to be let out." Seiuro says, quite convincingly. "I simply must insist that you remain here... and since I have the keys I think you'll find my insistence quite convincing. Really, it's for your own go..."
And that's when, for the first time out of the corner of his eye, he sees a vision of beauty unlike any he's seen in all the galaxies. "For your own..." he's not looking at Fuu anymore. It takes him a moment before he can tear his eyes away from the stunning beauty that is Usagi Tsukino, and back to his audition. "For your own good, you will be staying here." His delivery of that last line is flatter than a soda that's been left out on the counter for a week. His concentration is painfully elsewhere.
He catches that fact too late, and suddenly looks somewhat disheartened. He was doing so WELL too, he thought.
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Lera takes a couple of cautious steps backward when Kinzo steps backward, reaching his hand for her neck. She shakes her head quickly, carefully; then she raises a hand, and she tries to look calming. Acting like Seward is hard -- it isn't quite what she pictured -- but she can manage, she decides. She flashes a quick smile his way, then she nods her head at him.
"Ah, no, Mister Renfield!" she says. "I am sorry, but..." Melodramatically, she flips her head to one side, hair shooting out with a flick that is entirely overdone. "...I cannot. You aren't well, Mister Renfield. I know you cannot see that, but..."
She looks at him, and her eyes gleam; her expression turns suspicious. "...it is for your own good."
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako straightens up immediately when the Death Spell ends because she is an elite and she is under obligation to die with dignity.
Or ideally just never die, but, baby steps. World first, nature of material reality second.
"Oh, I don't know if I'd say I'm interested..." Kanako muses, crossing her legs at the thigh, chin cupped with thought. "But I am quite interested in the drama /club/...so perhaps they're the same thing?" A smile, twinkling teeth and tight eyes. "And I am told I can be rather dramatic. It is good to see you again, too, Tsukino-san. But perhaps it's best we get in character, hm?"
A pause, and then she realizes, oh, right, it's totally her go at this in the first place. She places a hand against her chest, ahem-heming briefly, and then...more or less doesn't change her tone at all. Then again she already sounds like an airhead socialite, so...perfect...casting?
Unfortunately 'knowing her lines ahead of time' appears to be an innovation nobody told Kanako about. "Ahhh," she laments, heaving an airy sigh and finally standing. "How dreadfully cruel it is, Mina...that a woman should should have to contend with such fervor, within and without! Wouldn't it be simpler if I could just take the three, and have my way with it?"
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Not interested in--but--interested in--?!
This is some high level specification that people who own boats are capable of. Usagi nods like she knows what Kanako means, but can't otherwise hide her confusion.
"Right, character, okay--"
This is what she's been waiting for. Finally, a chance to show Mio that she's fully capable of playing Mina!
Usagi opens her mouth and pauses. She forgot to read her part. She was supposed to read her part, right?! She goes over the list in her head.
1. Send letters to everyone she knows to get them involved in the play. 2. Create costume sketches for all of the characters. 3. Do Mio's dark bidding. 4. Pet Luna. 5. Sleep.
She forgot she forgot she forgooottttttt. Usagi reflexively reaches for her phone, but it's in her bag somewhere backstage! Is this what it feels like to be menaced by the undead? Probably not, but thinking things like that is the only way to get into character that she can come up with.
But, wait--Kanako is basically just Kanako. Maybe she can just be Usagi.
Usagi wearing a pretty dress and also being a princess (Mina is the princess of this story, she decided).
"It is cruel, Lucy-chan!" Usagi agrees, because Usagi is fairly pro-polyamory. She heaves a complimentary sigh and stares off into the unfair distance. She decides then that Mina needs to be a realist because otherwise this scene is going to end in a triple wedding which, while great, isn't exactly Dracula-oriented.
The blonde girl clutches Kanako's forearms, holding her gaze. This takes some neck craning upward. "But even if they're all really cute, they might not be into it, and then they'll get offended and you won't get to marry any of them! Since we're both stylish noble ladies, you already know this, so I'm sure you've already picked the best choice."
She leans forward, putting some drama into her voice, because this is a dramatic play. "Also do you have pictures?"
<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Wincing slightly at the question and the wagging finger to an extent that might almost seem entirely too real, Ami answers, "I have chosen Arthur... I love him dearly, Mina-chan, though it pains me to have to turn down the others." Now that she's being ad-libbed at, she's ad-libbing in turn -- though, again, her portrayal is still pretty flat. She can't even really make herself feed on Lucy's energy; she's just sort of muddling through.
After opening her mouth as if to speak again, she turns her gaze to one side, and goes silent. Trying to play Lucy leaves her feeling impossibly small -- like a girl dressed up in her big sister's clothes, maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Mio observes thoughtfully as Usagi addresses herself towards - Ami first? And at Seijuro. She makes a note.
Ami is the first to get on task. Mio nods slightly at the effort at the words - effort, after all, counts for a great deal. Fuu's efforts are marked down as well (and she also watches Mamoru's departure) before Lucy slips into the mixture.
Lera's words echo Seijuro's; all of them, Mio thinks to herself, are doing...
But that's as far as she gets. Usagi interrupts her train of thought, after all.
She considers the list, and issues new assignments. "For our second round..."
"Houoji and Mizuno. Camry and Tsukino. Your prompt is as follows... The first of you will portray Dr. Van Helsing, legendary professor and vampire hunter. Your goal is to bring Mina, who has been assailed by Dracula, into a hypnotic reverie, so that she may give you clues to the whereabaouts of the Count! For the second, you must fall into that trance, and render a cryptic pronouncement on the matter."
Rustle rustle. "Watanabe and Ginga. Iwai and Hiroyuki... For your term, the first of you shall be Count Dracula, seeking to suggest the dark nature of your home and its wonders, and terrors, to Jonathan Harker. And the second of you shall Mr. Harker himself, an innocent solicitor who seeks only to fulfill his employers' charge, and help the Count in his immigration to England."
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki smiles and walks towards Lucy and bows his head. "Please, go first." he asides as he puts his coat back on, and rebuttons his shirt up and also, begins to comb his hair with a comb produces from the pocket of said coat. He nods when he's put back together for the next scene--that may or may not have him messing up his clothes again anyways.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Usagi lets go of Kanako's arms and is momentarily abashed. "Haha, um, good luck, Kanako-san!"
She darts off the find Lera Camry, whom she knows is not just Lera Camry.
AND NOT FROM EARTH
She doesn't say this, because it would be rude, and because her own identity remains a secret. The blonde girl glances over the Lucy, feeling severely hypocritical. But, with the princess here now, and what she said--
"Hello!" says Usagi, her smile a touch fragile. "I guess you go first? I don't know how hypnotic trances work."
She goes pale(r). "But Mina does, I mean."
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"Right! Yes!" Lera says to Usagi. She smiles at her. "Okay!" she says, to the girl she has certainly never met before, who she did not give cookies to in her dorm room while discussing an important plan. "Okay. We can do this. Now, um, Van Helsing. Um..."
Who... who was Dr. Van Helsing, again?
She decides it was probably like the other thing she saw, which had vampires, when she researched Earth before coming here. And thus:
"Like, oh my /Gawd/, Mina!" she says, before wagging a finger at her. "Just listen to me, okay? If we don't get this right, Giles is going to flip his lid and Spike is going to be so sexy like--" She breaks character. "Seriously, it's not fair, those shoulders, those eyes, like, um, wow, really, just--right, acting--"
She sighs. "So just think of something pop culture-y or something, before the Hellmouth -- why's it called that -- eats us? That's Van Helsing, right?"
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
It's that full round of stage-tests before Hipster Theatre PA Mamoru comes back with, not Pinkberry, but Starbucks. He wends his way back through the seating toward Mio's spot, wiggling the fingers gripping one of two cups in greeting at the people he knows, this time. As Mio reads off the parts people will be portraying this round, he has to actively stifle a hoot of laughter.
He hands Mio a criminally caramelly thing first, then moves his clipboard off the chair next to her and sits down all long-leggedy like a stylish grasshopper, adjusting his glasses. He's assigned himself the task of taking epic promo pictures, and-- well, as he takes out his phone and switches it cheerily over to its camera function, he leans a little closer to Mio and whispers something that undoubtedly looks judgemental, but is actually just, "There was a line, sorry. And I think you should keep any and all Buffy references people ad-lib."
He flashes Lera a really huge thumbs-up, then takes her picture.
<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Lucy offers Ami a small, almost apologetic smile. She seems uncomfortable, but as far as Lucy's concerned, she did well!
Their turn done, she watches Usagi's take on the same role with interest. Oooh. ...To tell the truth, she has absolutely no idea if that was a better Mina or not, but she certainly put a lot of feeling into it.
And now she's matched with Kinzo, who she honestly thinks might do a better Dracula than she would, but that won't stop her from giving it her best! She lets him comb his hair before she tries to put herself in a Draculaic mood. She may not have read the book, but she HAS done her research, and playing Dracula might be the best way to show it off! Ad-libbed, of course.
"Blah, Mistah Harker!" She's not using a honorific this time, 'Mistah' is what foreigners call each other.
"I hope vou'll enjoy vour stay at my castle, for it has so many awesome vet slightly ominous things! Ve have ze spiral vaterslide tover!" She wishes she had a cape. She mimes it.
"Ve have ze garden with the giant plants that eat ze bandits vho try to steal my outrageous fortune!" She flaps her arms, like a bat.
"Ve have ze tremendous, awe-inspiring, ze guardian dinosaur!" She grabs Didi and throws him at Kinzo, and holds her hands up as claws.
"UREEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
She's confident she's nailed it.
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Fuu puts her glasses back on while Mio is going over the assignments, then looks at the blue-haired Juuban girl, bowing slightly to Ami. "I guess this is a scene that you and I would be seated for ... ?"
She goes over to the chairs that are set up on the stage, pulling two of them away from the others and turning those two to face each other; she sits down in one, nodding for Ami to sit in the other.
<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Rather than immediately pair up with Hououji, Ami turns her attention to Lera and her... we'll say boisterous performance.
She carefully purses her lips for just a moment, going almost perfectly still; perhaps she's jumping the gun on 'trance.'
Then she starts laughing like she's lost her mind, attempting to sit herself down in one of the chairs Fuu is in the process of getting only to fall directly out of it. For the most part, her current lack of energy has kept her from acting out -- but more importantly /here/, it's making it impossible to spend the willpower to avoid corpsing.
"i need a second" she breathes up toward Fuu, slain by Lera's acting. She'll make it up to the chair. Eventually.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Usagi leans backward as Lera gets close with the finger waggling and the American accent (just American, nothing more specific). She was not expecting this.
However, she doesn't know it's not right.
The blonde girl stares in silence for a moment after Lera's part. It takes awhile to process. She catches up to the important part.
"Did you, um, have more to say about the, um, shoulders? Because--"
Usagi has a sixth sense for camera phones. She turns to glare at Mamoru the moment he's about to take a picture, so that it comes out with her in a mostly-completed turn with a face like: >:o
Keep it together, Tsukino!
"Oh no, I feel..." Usagi puts a hand to her forehead. "A TRANCE!"
She faints over into a chair, really getting into it, like, full-on flop. She does not look glamorously arranged.
"I... I can see where he is! He's in a castle! Oh, it's terrible! There's a clock tower, and a dungeon, and watery labyrinth! He's in his throne room at the very top!"
Usagi weakly leans up, reaching out to Lera. "I've marked the location on your minimap."
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki gapes. W..what? Lots of people seem to be having really ad-libbed versions of the characters. Including Lucy. He hrmmmmmms, and merely fixes his collar. He'll play it straight, as he grabs his collar.
He attempts to look amazed.
"Waterslides!? Man Eating Plants!? What Madness is this, Count!" he says, throughly upset. "You shalln't bring your waterslides to England! It is forebidden! Unlawful! You shall leave them here if you wish to purchase this land---" he insists. And then Didi is thrown at him. "My god! Call back your hellish beast, Count!" he says as he falls to the floor, being attacked by plush dinosuar. He does a really good job of making this look real, making Didi 'Chomp' at his shoulder.
Didi's probably enjoying this somehow he bets. That's okay!
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Oh, dear *heavens*, thinks Fuu as she turns in her just-co-opted chair to watch Lucy's performance ... and *she's* giggling despite herself by the time it's finished, although she does her best to stifle it rather than laugh out loud. "It's perfectly all right," she answers Ami, trying to control her giggling. "Take your time ..."
Particularly since Fuu needs to go first for this 'scene,' *and* she has to get her own fit of the giggles under control.
Assuming it stayed a 'fit of the giggles,' anyway - because Usagi's 'minimap' line prompts *Fuu* to double over in laughter, struggle as she may to contain it. This may take a while.
After several moments, Fuu sits up straight again, lifting her glasses and dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief before re-pocketing the folded square of cloth and straightening her glasses again. "Now, Mrs. Harker, I need you to relax and focus on my voice ... relax ..." Her voice drops towards a whisper. "Let yourself drift ... find yourself on the threshold of sleep, with my voice as your guidepost ..."
Hypnosis is probably supposed to take longer than this, but that would make for a boring scene.
"The one who assaulted you in your chambers," Fuu murmurs (yet enunciates and projects clearly enough to be heard by the others on-stage, and maybe in the audience), "the Count ... he's left a connection, an unholy bond between himself and you ... you will feel it tugging at you, compelling you to follow him ... where is it leading you, Mina Harker? From whence does the Count call out to you ... ?"
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"I can show you later, they're really grea--right, acting!" Lera quips, just before she catches Mamoru's phone out of the corner of her eye. She turns her head -- and she gawks at him, with a very stupid look on her face -- when the picture snaps. Was this not right? Maybe she mixed things up. But then...
Usagi rides to the rescue! She squeaks and turns her head, quickly, covering her hand with her mouth when Usagi flops onto a chair. She listens to her talk, and her eyes widen.
She gasps and nods. "Yes! I understand!" she says, with wide eyes, and she clinches her fist. She pumps it once. "Fear not, fair Mina! We will defeat him and you'll be saved, and um--it's all good!"
She shoves her fist into the air, triumphantly.
"Come, winged boy and short smoking robot!" she calls out, turning dramatically and stomping off towards the exit. Did she remember this right? Judging by Ami's reaction -- maybe the play is a comedy -- they must have nailed it. "We have a boss monster to slay!"
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"What a Real American Hero," Usagi murmurs, before slumping into trancesleep.
(not for real)
(she got Helsing and Quincey Morris mixed up)
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
'Ginga' being spoken in Kanako's presence makes the girl twitch, briefly, but only for a moment. Scene is called before she can properly formulate a response other than a properly high-class titter in response to Usagi requesting pictures. She pats Usagi's hand, apparently unconcerned by the familiarity. "Good luck, Tsukino-san," she chimes, pleasantly.
Her eyes are arrested next by..well, by literally everyone giving the most ludicrous performance possible. Ami exploding that way forces Kanako to hide her own chuckles behind her hand, snickering indelicately. She wanders in Seijuro's direction, smiling coyly through her pillowy lips, trying not to laugh too hard. Well, she's pretty sure none of these are terribly accurate - though Lucy's vampiric ureee was surely as true to the myth as anything she's heard.
Kanako has been requested to play The Count, though, and she has certain preconceptions about how to invite a man into her home. With vampire powers.
And that's why Seijuro's only warning that the scene has started is when she wraps her arms around his waist from behind, none-too-subtly pressing the weight of her chest against his back as she invites herself into his space. "Mister Harker," she says - purrs, really. It's dropped a few tones, from her high socialite to a husky murmur, just a whisper away from a call to the bedroom. Like Lucy, she sticks to 'Mister', because...well, she knows that word, mostly. "I do hope you'll choose to stay with us for a very long time. My home, you see, is so terribly spacious. It would take far more than an evening to show you the gardens, the zoo...the libraries alone would take a man like you many weeks to master."
She pulls herself in closer, murmuring, "Though I'm of a mind that you spend a very /long/ time in the bedchambers..."
Kanako thinks she's being clever, because of course that is where vampires kill people. It might lose some of the nuance without having fangs in her mouth to mime biting with.
<Pose Tracker> Seijuro Ginga [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Seijuro is laughing a little bit too. Not nearly as hard as some of the girls. He doesn't get a lot of the reason why so much of this is funny - but laughter is infectious and it would be wierd if he didn't laugh, because then people might think he's some sort of space alien or someth...
And there's a voice in his ear. And someone who doesn't understand the meaning of personal space. Somewhere, in his space alien brain, his first initial reaction is that /she's trying to drain his energy/. Because that's the only reason someone would get up in his personal space like that without an invitation. Humans don't do that.
All that time spent surviving, and doing fight-or-flight reactions on hostile alien worlds has not prepared him for Kanako. Or for any unexpected arm-wrapping touching - so especially Kanako.
He does NOT want to be here. He loses it. "No!" is the only line he gets out as he attempts to get away from this thing wrapped around him. It's a loud No, and Seijuro is more than willing to drag Kanako over the edge of the stage as he tries to get free, using more than a human amount of strength to do so. But 'off the stage and onto the floor' is still much more away than he is currently.
Somehwere in the midst of going over the edge, with or without Kanako, he remembers the circumstances. Right. Acting. He's some sort of solicitor. This allows him to get in one last actual line, as he topples over the side. "I am only here to help..." THUD "you immigrate."
<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Ami collects herself before too long passes, settling into her seat and letting her eyes unfocus. She can't even really fake sleepiness convincingly right now, but at least she tries.
When it comes time to be dire, though, she owns it. "I hear... the sound of waves." Her unfocused look far trumps sleepy. . "Oars. The sound... men, many. Shouting. A lid closes... and... silence. " She shudders, briefly... and then the take ends, and she sits neatly, silent.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako blinks in surprise. She is rather more worldly than she lets on, sometimes, and that /very real/ fear response gets her to open her eyes in surprise; but Seijuro is reacting sooner than she can let go, and so he tears himself out of her arms, hurling himself off the stage while Kanako stumbles forward, waggles her arms somewhat ungainly, and--
Tips backward on her heels just a bit, recovering her balance enough to not fall on his face.
Instead, when Seijuro looks up, Kanako has sat down on the edge - legs crossed high, up at the thigh, and her arms crossed beneath her chest, accenting her already prodigious assets. She peers down at him with a coy smile over that mountainous horizon. "Ah, very true~" she chimes. "But I must insist that any man who would help me with so important a task..."
She pushes off the edge of the stage, taking the long fall with grace. She doesn't uncross her arms as she walks, eyebrow cocked delightedly. She finally towers over him, somehow finding the light above so that all he can see, staring up, is her statuesque curves in silhouette. She breathes, husky, "...be fully engrossed in all of my affairs."
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Lera is the first to go. Usagi can see Mio frowning, though her position means Lera can't. Not quite.
She is distracted from further denouncements, by the return of Mamoru. She accepts her coffee and takes a sip of the doubtless dark concoction, murmuring to him, "'Buffy'? I'm not familiar. Perhaps you should show me, later..."
She looks back in time to see Didi fly at Kinzo. She lets out a small, wistful sigh.
Kanako vamps it up. "Now now," she calls, "don't reach too quickly for physical contact..."
"I think we will now move into our more complex scenarios to conclude our afternoon," Mio says, shuffling her cards. "Let me see... Yes. I believe that I have it."
"Tsukino, Hououji, and Ginga. You will portray Lucy, Quincy Morris, and van Helsing. Van Helsing is explaining the necessity of a blood transfusion to save Lucy's life." Mio's eyebrows raise. "Lucy is all for it. Quincy is... embarrased."
"Camry. Mizuno. Iwai. You will be portraying Quincy Morris, the Texan, Jack Seward, the doctor, and Godalming, the English lord. You are drinking together. Godalming is pleased for he has won the heart of Lucy; Morris is weepy over the matter, while - Seward is quite depressed... they are drinking, and quite generously toasting the health of Godalming."
Mio pauses then. She glances towards Mamoru. "Do you mind if I...?" She proceeds nonetheless. "Watanabe and Hiroyuki, you will work with Chiba as we are sadly only eight, not nine. Chiba, your role is Jonathan Harker, frothing mad over what Dracula has done to your wife. Watanabe, you are Van Helsing, seeking to banish Dracula with a religious icon and the force of your faith. Hiroyuki, it works, but gradually; defy him and curse his name as you are forced to flee!"
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
"A Texan!" Lera declares, excitedly. She /knew/ this -- like really knew it! -- when she did her research. She claps her hands, excitedly, while she listens to the scenario. Then she looks at Ami, then at Lucy, and considers for a moment, before she taps a finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Iwai-san, do you mind starting us off?"
<Pose Tracker> Seijuro Ginga [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Seijuro, somewhat sheepishly, sorts himself out. Standing up, dusting himself off, and nodding. Then he realises who 'Tuskino' is and nods a lot more vigorously. He spends -way too long- looking at her face. He's a little bit smitten. Today has been a... very odd day for him. Then he runs his hand through his hair, looking to Usagi and Fuu. "Should I start, then?"
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
Fuu winces slightly as she hears that she's to be playing a Texan for this snippet. "I believe so, Ginga-san," she nods to Seijuro as he asks if he should go first, and grabs a third chair. Just in case Seijuro and Usagi both want to sit for their parts in this - Lucy *should* be sitting, if she's weakened by blood loss or something, right?
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
"Good luck, Lera-chan!" chirps Usagi, springing up from her chair. Lera-chan is a little familiar for someone who has met Lera like twice, but Usagi is Usagi and has also actually met Lera like seven times if you count Sailor Moon!
She moves to get into the new groups. Along the way, she makes a point to pass Ami and offer the other girl a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. She knows how Ami has been recently. It's tough, but they're working through it. Right?
The blonde girl joins Fuu and Seijuro, smiling brightly.
"Hi!" She glances between the two, a faint flush coming to her cheeks. "I'm, um, ready."
Usagi does not have Fuu's presence of mind and remains standing.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Aww, he shook it off. Kanako pouts a little, then turns toward the indicated pair, Mamoru and Hiroyuki. Well, first she actually has to get back on the stage, remembering about halfway up the stairs to uncross her arms because she's not seducing anyone right now. She moves over to her next vict------partners, smiling pleasantly enough. "Well, that was entertaining," she says, brightly. "From the prompt - Chiba-san, would you like to start?"
Kanako frankly doesn't know the story well enough to be confused. Something, something, knights of Mary Stewart?
<Pose Tracker> Lucy Iwai [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
People are laughing, Lucy notices. Are they laughing at her, or at the others? After her over the top performance and Kinzo's reaction to it, she shrinks back considerably, her smile nervous once more.
Meanwhile, Didi is having a blast being called a hellish beast! He likes Kinzo's style. He also waits for Lucy to pick him up off the floor, which she eventually does.
Then comes the next phase. She groups back up with Ami and Lera, the latter of whom she nods to. "Right! Let's see, let's see..." British lord is not something she has much of a frame of reference for, so she takes a moment to put herself in the right mindset...
"My friends," she says, miming holding up a cup of tea to her lips, having innocently misinterpreted the 'drinking' part, "I have won the heart of Lucy Iw-- Westenra! I knew from the start that once she saw me wrestling that tiger, she would happily accept my marriage proposal."
"Pip pip, a toast, I say!" She raises her imaginary cup. "To our happy marriage, and to Lucy, who is great! In fact, I think we should talk about ways in which Lucy is great."
<Pose Tracker> Seijuro Ginga [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Seijuro normally has pretty good control over his hastily-learned Japanese. And his demeanor.
Normally, Seijuro does not have a sultry, yet married woman wrapping herself like an anaconda (in his mind) around him, nor does he meet anyone quite like Usagi. This has left his cage pretty thoroughly rattled, and as he tries to find the right words, he does not entirely suceed. It's close, right?
"You need... to have your blood swapped... Miss Lucy... or else..." he looks into her eyes, and there's a very good acting job emotionally there if not in the words. "The death might get you." he says. He takes her hand in his - as much an excuse to do that as to play to the scene. "We're running low on clock."
<Pose Tracker> Lera Camry [Infinity Institute (9)] has posed.
Did Lera just get a -chan from a girl she met twice?
She actually preens in Usagi's direction for a moment -- until she realizes that Lucy is acting at her. She shakes her head, as if to banish the cobwebs, and then she turns and looks at Lucy. She glances briefly at Ami, and then a moment passes before she gets her game face on. She is supposed to be weepy, but she is supposed to be from Texas. People from Texas are not, from what she has seen, too weepy.
But she can do this. She can /act/. And she can be surprised by the revelation of this lord winning her love's heart!
She bows her head, sadly, and then pulls her imaginary cowboy hat down over her head. She digs deep into her heart and finds her inner Texan. "Well, slather my bacon in barbecue sauce and bark me up cow patty!" she says. "Shucky darn, little lady I mean lord! You and Lucy Westenra are tyin' the ol' knot on them thar range-a-roo, huh? I reckon..."
She looks down. "I reckon I'll never win her heart, bein' just a low down buckaroo from the deserts of Houston, but a cowboy's gotta find his own Filgaia, y'know?"
She looks up, and then she wipes a faked tear from her eye.
"One day I'll get to where the buffalo of the heart roam and do me up a nice big cook-out of the soul, and then..." Texan, what is Texan, how does she wrap this up--oh, right. "...I'll fly my plane on that big ol' aircraft carrier and say, 'Mission Accomplished!' Read my lips!"
<Pose Tracker> Fuu Hououji [Infinity Institute (8)] has posed.
It's hard to accurately portray an embarassed Texan (which Fuu has to assume would be about the same as an embarassed anywhere-ian) with Lera's over-the-top portrayal ... and Seijuro's performance doesn't much help, either. But Fuu musters her control and her focus, looking from Seijuro to Usagi, then looking away from both of them. "Are you sure there isn't another way, Doctor? I mean, if it's to save her life ... I guess I can do it, but ..."
She 'sneaks' a glance at Usagi, looking flustered (and hopefully, looking embarassed) before looking away again - almost meeting Dr. Seijuro van Helsing's eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
'Maybe you can show me later'. Uncomfortably shifting in his seat and laughing a little distantly, Mamoru drinks his bitter, bitter, black burnt Starbucks coffee. He almost spittakes several times, and manages to distract himself further from his discomfort by taking even more cameraphone pictures. Lots of them. Enough to make a cast album for the participants afterwards!
Then things are moving along, and the black-haired boy leans down to put his coffee aside and pick up the clipboard again, checking a couple of things off a list--
--and his first doom of the day befalls him. First Mamoru looks taken aback, and he's starting to hold up his hands in protest or denial when Mio just ... decides for him. "Sure," he says with a sigh, then hauls himself up to his feet and adjusts his glasses again as he heads for the stage.
Then he realizes he's playing against Kanako, and he reddens, and also against Kinzo, who-- but no, they agreed silently NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN.
The Ohtori upperclassman clears his throat and shifts his weight, forcing himself to find some kind of zen. "Sure," he says again, reaching up to run a hand through his hair, looking away from them. Yes. Call up the reserves of theatricality upon which he relies so heavily sometimes-- yes, a foul monster has done unspeakable things to the woman he loves-- INJUSTICE ABOUNDS.
Abruptly, Chiba swings to face Kinzo, handsome face twisted in bespectacled fury, one hand in a fist and the other holding some invisible prop like a weapon, or maybe a Zippo. "A young girl's heart is the home of dreams and wishes too pure and good for you to understand, but your wickedness is not excused by your ignorance! Hell-spawned creature of darkness, who have seduced and brainwashed innocent maidens and taken that precious innocence from them, I won't forgive you! For what you have done to my WIFE, there can be no punishment great enough to be sure justice is done-- death is too good for you! But your death shall serve to protect the future from your curse, from your predation, your depravity--!! YOU ARE UNFORGIVABLE!!"
<Pose Tracker> Ami Mizuno [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
As they settle in for the much more complex scenario, Ami manages a pretty impressive facsimile of depression. Once again, even the energy of her peers can't quite make her manage something more intense -- though, then again, in this context that might be a boon rather than a problem.
"Congratulations, Lord," she says, her tone a little flat. "I hope she finds her happiness." Seward, despite his profession, is not a character Ami has a whole lot of enthusiasm for; as a result, her performance likewise suffers.
She diverts the topic slightly, trying not to corpse at the America. Fortunately, having already done it once, she has a pretty tight rein on it this time. "To your health, old friend," she says, with a small, neatly-forced smile, raising an invisible glass.
<Pose Tracker> Usagi Tsukino [Juuban Public School (8)] has posed.
Usagi puts a hand on her cheek.
"Oh! I'm supposed to be dying."
She falls into a nearby chair, stricken by a curse most foul. Her hair falls artfully around her, catching the stage lights and shining just so. This is another day where she has forgotten her makeup, and drama lighting is unforgiving besides, so her pale skin is yet paler. She really is one step removed from the grave. No, not quite--the pink of her lips, the blush on her cheeks. If she is nearly a corpse, she is at least a beautiful one.
Usagi's eyes flutter open, but the effort seems too much. They remain half-lidded, her long lashes a coy mask.
"Quincey-san," she murmurs, reaching a slender hand to Fuu. "You're so brave."
The blonde girl turns her head, lifting her eyes to find Seijuro's gaze with her own. The effort costs her, and the hand she reached to Fuu collapses back to her side unless the brave Texan has taken it in his own. Her hair sweeps aside, falling down her shoulder and exposing the white daintiness of her neck.
"Helsing-san." Usagi's eyes are a blue like the sky on days when the moon is visible. For a girl whose attention seems forever stolen by something new, her eyes in this moment are only for him. "This is the way it has to be, isn't it? I trust you."
She looks like she means it.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Given her antics over the last few minutes, expecting Kanako to play the version of Van Helsing from the low-budget XXX edition of Dracula is probably a safe bet, particularly as she takes a second to fluff out her long hair, the wild, untamed lime green (??) waterfall tumbling down her back with a sheer sparkle. She takes a steep, deep breath, and reaches into Victoria's secret compartment as Mamoru rails against Kinzo. If anyone has the guts to watch the process, she eventually produces a small crucifix, of the sort worn exclusively by people who don't particularly care about Christianity but do have to care about the opinions of people who do.
Mamoru screams his final defiance, and Kanako breathes, "Well spoken, Mister Harker."
The tone is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from before; from husky bedroom whispers to bold, projected contralto. Before, her whole demeanor was designed to appeal to the libidinous animal brain. Now, suddenly, it's an entirely different animal in her sights: The prey instinct, the part of the human soul that hears a lioness coming and knows that it must either /hide/ or /submit/.
"Unforgivable beast," she says, and turns. Her hair whips behind her, glamorous as ever, but her whole posture has changed. She stands upright, her shoulders and feet squared neatly, her eyes burning with a hunter's intensity and her jaw set like solid stone. "You think yourself a king, but there is but one King to the world of Man!" Each step echoes like thunder as she pushes toward Kinzo, helpfully thrusting that cruciform necklace toward him, bejeweled emblem glimmering in the lights. "Squirm, creature! Squirm and flee like the wretch you are! Bow to the sign of your master, wither before His Holy Cross! Your crimes are too manifold to count, but I am full ready to do the accounting! Return to the Hell you crawled from..." She stops, short, chain dangling inches from Kinzo's face, her eyes focused like lasers, and she snaps, "Or stay here, and we shall see how good my imitation is!"
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki smiles and bows to Mamoru. "Hello, Mamoru." he says. Indeed, NEVER EVER SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN... even if things aren't going so great in that specific unspoken department. He does however look at Kanako. Who is dazzingly beautfiul. He remembers her from a cruise ship party, but that was from a distance. This makes himp ause. Blush. Kanako's probably seen this specific look a hundren thousand times from unsuspecting boys she's had to act casually with. He clears his throat. "Hello, aswell." he manages to say, as loosens his collar. Just a bit. As the two get ready.
He brushes off his right side, as he flourishes his suit's jacket up a bit to act like a shield--as if it was a cape, as he acts like he's being attacked by some UNSEEEN , HOLY force. It could be the Justice Speech doing it. being pushed back as he horribly animal screeches as best as he can over the 'cape' as he speaks. "Her heart belongs to mmmeeeeeee now, it will forever be mine now! Now until ETERNITY!" he says as he backs up even more, antcipating Kanako's moves and Mamoru's push towards him. He wonders where Mamoru pulled that one from.
Kanako goes overboard, which catches him a little off guard. He acts like he's fighting it, best he can to no avail, acting like he's pushing as hard as he can, being worked backwards he fishes for words now, he's throwing off. This causes him to pause for a few seconds before he begins speaking. "Well..um... er--- Well, you can't possibly hope to understand my determination, wretches!... You may have, won today-- but I shall return when you least Expect it." he hisses as he floruishes his shirt back to normal then turns to run right, and away annnnnnnnnnnnnnd. Of the stage.
"Oh n------", There's a loud thunk. "I think I'm okay." says a pained Kinzo.
<Pose Tracker> Mio Kuroki [Juuban Public School (10)] has posed.
Seijuro's remarks make Mio's eyebrows raise as she drinks her coffee. It's black and ruined and bitter, but somehow she's OK with that. 'Running low on clock,' she thinks, with a wry smile.
Lera's heartfelt presentation, full of the essence of a normal Earth girl from Texas or at least the United States, is enough to make Mio jot down a note.
She looks back up - and both Usagi and Kanako burst into flames, one sweet and warming, the other threatening and burning. Mio smiles.
Mio steps forwards towards where Kinzo has fallen, looking down at him, the light shining through her hair as she does. She simply watches for several seconds, before offering him a hand - not bending over, but it beats nothing. "Your head is alright...?" she murmurs.
But aloud, she says, "This was splendid, all of you. My sincerest congratulations to you all. We will take some time and consider matters, and inform you of our decisions -- but I hope you will all take pride in the performances you have rendered today."
Whether or not Kinzo got up with her aid, she pushes herself up onto the stage, stepping forwards. "You are all free to depart; if any of you need help or have questions, please do not hesitate."
Mio brushes against Mamoru's side lightly as she steps.
Later, he will find a small disk of dark chocolate wrapped in a strip of red silk in his pocket, but that's life for you. Hopefully, he will not launder the trousers before then.
<Pose Tracker> Kinzo Hiroyuki [Infinity Institute (11)] has posed.
Kinzo Hiroyuki gets up with Mio's help. "Thanks." he says as he gets up. He sighs and nods. "I'll be alright, all that's hurt is my pride." he says looking back toward's Kanako a moment. Though he re-affixes his suit and checks for damage. Luckily, it isn't! He has himself a seat in the theater seats and opens his smartphone a moment and just stares at the screen. He gives a frown as he rubs a hand through his face a moment.
He seems to be mostly content to just sit and muse a moment as he looks around for a moment. What he's waiting for is anyone's guess.
<Pose Tracker> Kanako Watanabe [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Kanako watches Kinzo fly off the edge, and muses, her voice moving smoothly back to her normal titter, "I seem to be having that effect on people today," as she refastens her necklace, carefully, behind her hair.
The commanding presence is gone, and she in fact strides delicately back toward where she sat originally, while the male of her two servants (remember them? Yeah they've been watching from the sides the whole time) drapes her with a cool towel. The blonde girl provides a bottled water. "It seemed like you got into it, Madame," she says, coolly.
For the record, the Japanese word thus employed is 'okusama', which is reserved exclusively for wife of the house.
"Do you think?" Kanako wonders, casually. She drinks deeply. Naturally, the cap was already removed. "I did feel it a bit, at the end there."
