Description: Held in Seijyun Theatre, the Teen Pageant begins. Sada, Alexis and Mizuki start off the Questions and Costume segment (some more successfully than others), the costume theme being 'My Childhood/Present Day Heroine (Fictional)'.
It's pretty easy to see why Seijyun Theatre would be the place to hold an event such as this one. Also as one might expect there's a rather respectable crowd of people; while formal dress isn't exactly -required-, that seems to be what the audience consists mostly of only because this event in itself is just so.. Unusual. A beauty pageant of sorts? With fighters? And fighting? It almost seems like a wild reality show or something.
The stage is set up fairly extravagently, the theme is clearly 'Spring'; the background having a fountain and some realistic looking cherry blossoms; the 'main' part of the stage designed to look like a stone path; at the very center is a microphone on a stand. Applause follows as a woman (whom is probably important to Southtown one way or another) walks to said microphone and gives the introductions.
The three contestants should be off to the side of course, they've been instructed to come to the stages center when they are introduced, complere their segment and then stand at the fountain upon completion. Quite simple!
Also to note that before the stage is the judges table; which appears to be occupied by two (possibly three judges). They're in perfect view for whomever was to take stance at the stages center.
"And with all of that said, let us bring out the first contestant, from Seijyun High School, Miss Sada Asai!" the woman says, taking a step off to the side and applause follows.
Sada might, as she steps out on the stage, be mistaken for not having worn a costume at all! This is ridiculous, of course. Her uniform, while certainly not something that would draw a head in the crowd of a Southtown shopping mall, is not the Seijyun suit at all! The skirt has a different pattern and cut, too, but there are other differences.
For one thing, there is a peculiarly armored pad over her left shoulder, and for another, she is toying with an elaborate, wide-bodied yo-yo as she walks down the stage. She seems rather skilled with it, even twirling it around to briefly go 'around the world' before letting it zip back up again as she comes to the edge.
She strikes a brief pose, hips at a slight angle and one hand coming up in a tight, sharp salute. "As some of them know me - code name Athena Saki!" Then she straightens, bowing towards the judges: "Thank you very much for your kind reception!"
Once Sada speaks, of course, is when the applause die down; but the murmurs from the audience would suggest that Sada's attire is recognized by a good number of people. That's a good sign, isn't it?
Yurika, who just happens to be one of the judges, is more of a romance reader than mystery herself though; and yet she isn't suprised in the least about the Seijyun students choice of attire.
The woman to Sada's side; not much taller than the student; in a nice light blue suit and curly, black hair looks to her card. "Quite an introduction, Miss Asai. I understand that your costume is of a character from the manga series 'Sukeban Deka'. Though the heroine of the series is a delinquent of sorts is she not? What exactly made you decide on such a controversial character?"
The Pacific Shop teacher Howard Rust is present at the judges' booth, wearing that same suit in place of his usual, somewhat dirty street clothes. It's hot and uncomfortable. He's politely clapping with the entrance 'Athena Saki,' or Sada Asai as he knows her. Well, as much as he knows her from that one meeting in his own classroom and maybe one or two times he's caught her on TV while in a half-drunken haze wondering why he couldn't have been there himself.
As it regards the present, he is completely unfamiliar with the material in question because he is from America and does not follow these cartoons and comic books and what have you but he tilts his head as though to get a better look. He knows a lot of kids here like costuming, but he hasn't ever really taken much note about how /into/ it people are.
And the yo-yo act! It reminds him of that kid from Gedo he met a while ago. He wonders how he's holding up, he hasn't heard anything about him since.
"While Saki had engaged in delinquent acts, she came to repent of them and sought to serve society by bringing other delinquents into line before they could harm themselves and others," Sada says, as she straightens. "So, while she was lower-class, and couldn't truly escape what she had done, she was inspiring for her dedication. And, of course, we must accept that sometimes, people can truly turn over a new leaf, and they should be treated with mercy and compassion."
She inclines slightly towards Howard Rust, bowing towards him and then turning her attention back to Yurika. "Also, those stories reminded us all that the world can be dangerouns, and that it takes stern effort to maintain a clean, healthy society and environment. We can't just sit and let others do the work."
Yurika is pretty sure herself that Rust is a bit lost.. But Sada actually makes it very clear what it's all about in the end, and to be honest, the musician didn't even know she had it in her. You learn something new every day, don't you? There's another short applause following the explanation, and the woman to the side seems to be impressed.. Though no one knows that isn't a difficult task, she's an easily impressed woman. "I see, I see, very profound in a way, Miss Asai. But with all of that said, does this character have anything to do with your future? Just where do you hope to see yourself in ten years?"
"I hope to be married, of course, with at least one lovely child," Sada says with a warm smile and a faint, possibly cued pinkening of her golden cheeks, "and hopefully working to improve the life and culture of my home town, Kyoto. Of course, I'll never forget what I've learned here at Seijyun, even after I've gone on to college..."
No mention of fighting, eh? Well, maybe that's not suitable for a beauty pageant after all.
Hopefully Yurika won't assume she means, you know, who she might have meant when she was going out with him earlier. That might work against her in the final scoring!!
"Traditional, very traditional," the woman replies with a bright smile of her own. And there's nothing wrong with that, right? "Well, I certainly hope that's how it will work out for you, because you'd be in a better position than I am!"
Cut mildly awkward laughing from the crowd.
"That said, thank you very much for bravely standing before all these people and perhaps providing a bit of inspiration yourself. Let's see the judges scores then, shall we?" The woman adds, sweeping her arm out to the table.
Unfortunatly Sada in no way possible can hope hard enough that there isn't some sort of misunderstanding. Looking somewhat annoyed, but obviously not -saying- so, she scribbles on a white scorecard and holds up a '7.6'. She would have made it even lower. The fact that the costume design was very amazing, and Sada made herself to look alarmingly professional for a first-timer didn't mean anything after that little statement.
The teacher here is not familiar with that story and more than appreciates the introduction to the character, brief as it may be. He applauds as is appropriate - actually, he's the one who ends up initiating the short applause that some present follow. He's not of the mind to go run out and try to pick up a volume or two of the story but based on that applause alone, he seems to like it.
The 'see yourself in ten years thing,' man, he wished to ask himself that ten years ago, but he's got a good life now, right? He thinks he does. Maybe this seems like stock pageant-goer speech for a relatively stock question, but he's actually the first one to write down his score.
He must've liked it! He nods his head with something of a smile as he holds up a score of '8.8.'
Huh? Sada thinks for a moment. Is Yurika - that score! Is Yurika...
Don't be ridiculous, Sada instructs herself. Yurika is your best friend, or at least in the top three. She would never do anything so mean spirited or spiteful as deny you points because you might marry her brother -- besides, she's thrilled about the entire idea!
No, she reasons further. This is merely an act, something meant to change the nature of the game itself. Perhaps it is neccessary, if regrettable, that she not triumph resoundingly... so that she won't draw suspicion to herself, until it's time to strike.
Sada bows deeply at the waist, then. "Thank you for your consideration," she says, before straightening and turning, walking with another brief motion of that official Athena Saki yo-yo back down towards the backstage area!
And then there's a loud clap! ...No, actually, that's Mr. Rust's shoulder as he gives it a good rotation with a little wince, argh, what a bad time for arthritis to rear its ugly head. He hastily tries to correct this by bringing his hand off the opposite shoulder for the clap as Sada walks off the stage, but in all due likelihood he'd start clapping right as the applause given in Sada's departure ends.
The host woman, whos name for now will be Wanda, can't hide the look of suprise on her face upon seeing Yurika's score. Though it would certainly wipe any doubt that there's a clear Seijyun bias within the judges wouldn't it! Perhaps that's the council presidents saving grace. In fact, the dark-eyed musician seems to be giving an apologetic smile up to Sada afterward.
"You're very welcome, we'll all be looking forward to what you have in store next event I'm sure!" Wanda notes, finally giving a small nod. "Miss Sada Asai, everyone!" And after another applause, "Moving on then, our next contestant is from -Pacific- High School. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Miss Alexis LaC.." she squints her eyes and looks to the stageside. After that she blushes a bit as she clearly struggles to pronounce the foreign name, "Um, Miss.. Alexis.. La.Coo..er."
Nervously waiting off to the side, Alexis has taken the one thing she knows about pageants to heart -- ignore the other contestants, because if you pay attention to what they're saying and the score they receive, it's usually a good way to psyche yourself up, and you'll falter. Come to think of it, it's pretty much the same thing with gymnastics competitions, so she easily tunes out what has been going on out there.
Yet, the very second she hears her name, she comes out of the whole zoning out thing, and literally plasters her usually perky and cheerful smile upon her face. That's another rule of pageants if she's not mistaken -- smile at all times.
So, it's with a smile that the girl from Pacific High moves into place. Still hidden within the shadows of the wings, she quietly pads across to a specific point on the stage. Crouching low, she settles one hand to the stage and pushes herself up into a high leap. Thus it is that she reaches the center of the stage from 'above', red cape billowing about behind her as she lands gracefully upon her right foot. Right hand is balled into a small fist by her hip, while her left hand is held up above her head at a slight angle.
From her blue and red costume it should be quite apparent who she's chosen as her 'hero', even without the predominant Supergirl insignia upon her chest. "Some may know me as Kara Zor-El. Others might know me as Linda Danvers. But at the very heart of my being, I come to you today as SUPERGIRL!"
There's absolutely no denying her enthusiasm, that's for sure.
Fun fact, the shop teacher forgets Alexis' name fairly often. This is largely because she's not in his class. What makes the fact fun is that it's always the given name he forgets instead of the surname. Nonetheless, the typical applause isn't any more special or noteworthy despite knowing she goes to the same school he teaches at, but he does sit up a little.
Why? Unlike the previous entrant, he recognizes this one absolutely immediately! What sort of American doesn't know about the name Superman and his numerous spinoff characters and incarnations? She sure seems pretty confident and comfortable in costume.
It's a very abrupt change, and yet the atmosphere is definatly increasing in positivity. From Sada's subtle cool to athletic energy of the gymnast isn't doesnt' seem to be unwelcome at all by the audience. Wanda, however, reflexivly leans back as if the two were going to collide or something, but of course she doesn't! She also whispers an apology to the student for the little flub-up, and then speaks more clearly, giving a little applause of her own. "Indeed, one might say you're a woman that doesn't really need an introduction, wouldn't they?" she says with a light laugh. "You probably already know what the first question is, but as per regulation I have to ask again,"
Awkward laughing.
"What made you decide on the blonde haired, blue eyed Supergirl as your heroine of choice? What does she, or did she mean to you?"
As for Yurika, she just seems amused, if anything else. She, of course, hadn't really heard of Alexis.. But she has been making an effort to change her lack of familiarity with other-school students.
The very first thing Alexis does is turn to smile at Wanda. Why? Because she's attempting to alleviate the poor woman's embarrassment. "Oh, please don't worry about the name," she whispers as quietly as she can in return. "I took no offence." Which is the truth. French names do tend to be difficult for others to pronounce at times.
When the question comes, she turns to the audience, the smile ever-present upon her lips. "You mean beside the obvious reason of having blonde hair myself?" Giving a wink to crowd, she turns then to make eye-contact with the judges for a moment before allowing her attention to fall back upon the woman.
"Because like any young woman, Supergirl is just trying to make sense of a world that sometimes seems foreign to her." Another charming smile. "Despite the fact that she begins her role in the comics being bidden to hide her powers, and feeling the need to hide her true identity from the world, she eventually reveals her existence in order to help those in need, just like her older cousin. She doesn't hold to notions of being able to save the world on her own, but with the help of those around her knows she can make a difference."
She gives a thoughtful pause there, folding her hands together in front of her and taking a moment to ensure that her posture is perfectly straight. After this, she continues, "In both her personae, she does her utmost to be sweet and charming to those around her. She believes in justice, and doing what is right in any given situation, which I too strive to do." She waits a beat. "But I do believe the character herself put it best. 'We don't do it for the glory. We don't do it for the recognition... We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don't, no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we ever existed.'"
"In essence, I chose her because she has many characteristics that I can see in myself, and several that I would like to improve upon as well."
The teacher gives a friendly little wave at the eye contact and starts to lean forward in his seat. Maybe he should've checked the air conditioning while he was helping with some other preparation for the pageant, wiping some sweat off his brow that is desperately trying to escape the strands of hair on his scalp that is attempting to fool the populace - rather poorly - that he's not going bald. He's sure not fooling the lights that it's anything less than a terrible combover.
Towards the end of the lengthy explanation of why she has chosen her preferred hero - he's nodding his head a few times throughout - if he liked Sada's choice once explained, he seems to be liking this a lot from the get go - and claps at the end. Well, to be specific, there's a false start after 'no one remembers we ever existed,' which he catches about four solid claps in, clearing his throat a bit nervously before proceeding with the clapping at the actual end.
Wanda does appear to be at ease following Alexis' forgiveness, and of course seems impressed with the students response. Now she's clearly not the most rabid of Supergirl fandom, but she most certainly didn't expect that kind of analysis from such a character. Maybe she's a Marvel fan. With the occassional nod during the presentation, and she speaks up after the polite applause following. "That is true, it is all too true, it is. Quite obvious why she'd be such an admirable character." as if she had known all of that all along. She's not a very good faker though. "Of course I have one more question for you, since we're on the subject. And that is," Wanda glances at her card. "If you could have any kind of super power.. What would it be, and how would you use it?"
Yurika is just as attentive, though she has to admit Rust sitting at her side is a bit distracting. How can someone so quiet be so.. Noisy? Though she does find it rather amusing. The poor fellow.
What an appropriate question for Alexis! Especially considering how impassioned her last response was. And the question? It just causes her eyes to twinkle and her smile to broaden a little.
Still, it is a difficult question. There are a lot of powers that one could choose! Simple things like, Super Strength, Durability, Agility. Powers to zap things, powers to shapeshift, powers to heal people. But she only gets to choose one.
In a case like this though, there are no right or wrong answers so far as she's concerned. Any super power could work!
She winds up choosing one that most wouldn't consider a really 'super' super power.
"Precognition," she answers after giving it a small amount of thought. "For the simple fact that it would provide information about future events." Unfolding her hands, she lifts right hand up, extending her pointer finger a little in a 'one second' movement. "But I wouldn't use it like many would, to perceive information to better themselves. I would use it to sense and gain knowledge of future incidents that may be harmful to those around me, or the world at large, and do my best to do what I can to prevent horrific or dangerous events from happening."
Pause.
"In a nutshell, to help save people and promote world peace."
Accompanying the answer is another eye-contacting glance toward the judges before she turns to the audience with a cheerful smile that allows her dimples to show.
Hey, at least /one/ person here had to give a typical pageant response to something! And Alexis? Well she did it because they /totally/ repeated it a gazillion times in Miss Congeniality.
It is a pretty 'typical' pageant response, Yurika would agree one hundred percent, and she just can't help but raise her gloved hand to her lips to fight back a smile. It was a good 'strategy', in her opinion.
Wanda, however, just seems utterly impressed. "Wow, really?" she replies, "That's incredible, I'd have something a lot simpler, like the power to find my car keys because I always seem to lose them. But I guess that's why I'm not in the pageant!"
Awkward laughter.
"But seriously, that's wonderful, I think we can all agree with that, thank you very much. Let's take a moment to see what the judges have to say about this clearly thoughtful presentation." She gestures to the judges once again..
Of course Yurika needs a moment longer to consider this time around. If she didn't know any better, she'd almost suspect that Alexis' wasn't a rookie to this kind of thing. And of course there was nothing she could find objectionable about the costume; in choice or its apperance. So she raises a card with a score of '9.0'.
The shop teacher's noises of joints popping and nervous coughing? Those are war medals. War medals of a man who worked himself to the bone instead of stopping sensibly for his wages, and his body's pretty much paid the price for a lot of it.
Being from Pacific, the same school as... Amy? Dammit, man, they just said her name not that long ago, were you paying attention to that?! Moving on, being from the same school, some may worry about bias. This is why Mr. Rust seems to be carefully considering his score. He sure takes his time coming up with a final one, shaking out his right hand with a little crack in his wrist before writing up the final score on his end. The familiarity of the costume choice, the eloquence in her decisions... ah, hm, but is it truly sincere? Maybe there's something she said that kind of got him. That'd also explain the delay.
In the end, he raises up a '9.3' score for all to see.
While her previous competitor bowed at the waist, Alexis deems to drop herself into a perfectly acceptable and graceful curtsey -- it just looks better with the skirt, in her opinion. As she comes up out of it, she does remember to bow her head in a small nod.
She's very pleased with herself, to be sure, but the smile doesn't brighten any further than it has been throughout, and she doesn't hop up and down in a joyful manner. After all, this is just the first event of the pageant, it's not the overall deciding factor.
Like Sada before her, she offers her thanks. "Thank you all for your generous consideration."
In true gymnast fashion, she sends out a near tooth-pinging smile to the judges, Wanda and the audience before turning to carry herself with poise and grace toward the fountain. Upon reaching it, she offers a friendly smile to Sada, then folds her hands in front of her.
"No no, thank -you-." Wanda replies to Alexis. For what exactly, she doesn't make clear. It just seemed to be the right thing to say at the time. "We'll all be looking forward to have in store for us next event, I'm sure! Miss Alexis LaCoor, everyone!" Deja vu?
There's another applause, of course, following the Pacific Students curtsey and 'exit', and Wanda of course looks to her card again. "Next up is a student from Justice High School." Thankfully, no boo's from overambitious Seijyun students follow. "Please give a warm welcome to our third contestant, Miss Mizuki Kamigawa!"
Oh boy. How the hell did she get herself into this? Mizuki is... well. She is... she is not ready for this in the -least-. But... well, she'll have to _talk_ to Chie... who signed her up knowing that Mizuki would be 'perfect' for this. Nnnh. 9.9 Mizuki waits in the wings, her costume... well, uh... it's... it's a pretty traditional, all considered. In fact, for those who really know her, it's basically a super-gussied-up version of what she might normally wear. Then again...
Perhaps it's different enough anyways. There are many things that differentiate her outfit, though it is built on a typical hakama-and-gi top combination. For one thing, instead of white gi and red hakama, the gi top is a gloriously printed, golden silk, with black outlines to suggest the rising sun... a motif that is continued up through a haloing backpiece that rises above and behind her, fading from golden to orange.
The hakama pants are a dark black, fading upwards to brown, with embroidery to suggest hills and nature... and Mizuki's face is painted white, like a traditional geisha, with accompanying makeup, her red hair done up in a traditional bun-like hairstyle.
Her feet are shod in white toed socks, tabi, and traditional oak geta. "Ah... I come to you today dressed in traditional grab, representing my heroine, a heroine from Japanese myth... Amaterasu no Kami, the Goddess of the Sun." Her walk on is very measured, as stately as she can be.
A very different kind of ensamble indeed, when Mizuki steps to the stages center there are, again, murmurs of recognition from the audience. Those familiar with japanese myth, of course.
Wanda, who may or may not be familiar with such, appears to be impressed regardless. "So I see!" she exclaims, nodding her head quickly. "Some of us, perhaps, are not very familiar with the tale behind the Sun goddess. From what I understand.." Or what she doesn't understand and has to look to her card for reference, "The goddess was angered by her brothers actions and sealed herself away, leaving the world without sunlight.. And, um, was drawn back out by her own reflection.."
Wanda is silent for a moment, clearly confused by this interpretation, and looks to Mizuki for help. And then following. "It's a bit difficult to see how this would seem very heroic."
There's polite clapping with Alexis' leave from stage from Mr. Rust, and just as much to go around as Mizuki comes on stage. It's not forced politeness, although he seems pretty confused as to what she might be dressed up as. This may to be expected due to the cultural differences.
Ah, mythology. Draws a total blank on his end. His brow raises up a bit when Wanda explains a bit about the idea... oh, hey, sounds like their mythological pantheon might be as big of a bunch of assholes as some of the Greek ones were, imagine that.
Don't be flustered. Don't be flustered! Mizuki smiles a little. "I agree she is not what some would consider a traditional hero... but she provides the light and warmth of the Sun to the world, and the royalty of Japan, our most revered personages, are said to be directly descended from her." There's a short pause, then Mizuki continues, turning to face the judges.
"She is renowned for her warmth and compassion, and those are two traits that I consider necessary for a hero... A hero, to my mind, is imbued with compassion for those they protect and the warmth of caring, to forever keep in their heart the reason that they -are- a hero."
She looks composed, calm, but inside she's fair quaking; it's only drawing on the thought of Alma, and his eternal poise, that she is able to maintain her composure, though the corners of her eyes tighten ever so slightly, signs of the mental strain she is under.
"I do not think of her as a hero in the same way that one might take, say, a modern hero from manga, anime, or the movies... but I consider her a heroic figure to the Japanese people... and I am content with that."
Wanda simply stares at Mizuki. Not because of anything bad, mind, but simply because the explanation is both simple and yet profound. She actually seems to be at a loss for words for a moment; and apparently ignorant of any nervousness the miko may be trying to hide. Eventually, however, she pulls herself back togeather. "Who can disagree with that kind of logic? It seems to me, that you have a high appreciation of nature.. And yet you're here in Southtown. Do you mind telling us which you enjoy more, the country or the big city?"
Howard Rust could probably get behind that, interpretation of old folklore. He nods his head a little through the explanation. It slows a bit as Mizuki makes eye contact - he doesn't want to come off as trying to get her to rush through it, he's legitimately curious! It's even a little educational.
Though, nothing will replace the time he learned from some angry local contractors he's done a few things with as to why he should not take and eat the rice cakes the more superstitious among them leave out that they themselves say beforehand that they won't be eating. That was simultaneously educating, humbling, and kind of humorous in retrospect.
"I... don't like one or the other more. They're both... the have their highlights. The country is more peaceful... more in tune with nature. When I'm home, I feel as if my family and I are perhaps the only people in the world, completely at peace with nature and in harmony with the earth."
She turns, slightly, and smiles. "But, living in the city... it's exciting. Vibrant. In the city I feel more in tune with humanity itself... at least, modern, urban humanity. It's... a rush. There are times and places for both the country and the city. I cannot favor one over the other." A somewhat simple answer, but true, and Mizuki bows her head slightly as she delivers it.
"It may sound... trite, or cheesy, but I believe that they are both part of a whole. There are things possible in both that are not possible in the other..."
Again, it appears that it wasn't an answer Wanda was expecting.. Though perhaps at the same time something that was expected? Wanda looks like a city woman herself, and clearly can't seem to relate with the 'country' bit at all. Regardless though, she's all smiles. "That certainly makes sense, though if you were to ask me, the mosquitos ruin it for me when it comes to the 'great outdoors'." her hands raise in a double-quote motion.
This time around even the audience can't bring themselves to laugh.
"Ahem. But other than that, a very fair and thoughtful judgement. Well then, lets have the judges do their thing, shall we?"
And what does Yurika think? Again she needs a moment or two to put everything togeather; no ones costume to this point has really been 'off' in any way, and of course she was somewhat familiar with its lore. There wasn't really any fault she could find in the overall presentation save for something obvious to herself. And so with a quick scribble she presents Mizuki with a score of '8.7'.
The costume is for something that probably does not have a very set appearane, and it's a character the teacher isn't familiar with - it's an unconventional approach, but on well thought out. What really gets him thinking, though, is the feeling about 'big city' versus 'country.' Back when he was younger... well, he didn't live in Southtown! A rather small, underdeveloped part of the state he was born in, growing up and watching it develop around him... heck, he contributed quite a bit to it once he was in the labor force. It's nostalgic. Touching, maybe.
Like last time, he's a bit slower to decide on a fair score. In fact, he has to snap back to attention and hastily grab the pen he put down to write down his score. The first digit is decided pretty easily. If Mizuki is paying attention, there's a circle on the top of it, meaning one of two things. He taps his chin for the second. One quick stroke that would do any calligrapher proud if the number 'one' were actually something to /call/ calligraphy, the teacher holds up a score of '9.1.'
Mizuki notes the scores from the judges, but doesn't let herself react; really she has no idea what metric they -use- (other than the obvious 'perfect ten'...) ... so she has no basis to know how well she did. After receiving her scores, she smiles, and bows deeply to the judges, then the audience; she turns, and walks off-stage, making sure to make it a stately and regal as possible.
Of course, once off-stage, she shivers, and her walk loosens up, the girl wobbling with unreleased tension. "Never doing this again... I'm going to get revenge on you, Chie-chan..."
Log created on 19:42:56 06/22/2008 by Yurika, and last modified on 16:08:02 07/28/2008.