[D7 MA Theatricals] The Stage (participants only)

[Daidoji Ryu]

Once more, Ryu took the stage, this time in the role of a young hero instead of a stern lord.

With a change in makeup and clothing, Ryu looked quite different. Instead of his frowning coming off as stern and strict, it made him look handsomely stoic. It seemed as though he could play both roles with at least fair competence.

And so, stoically, he met the noblewoman, and saw her dance. He stoically listened to the mountain spirit, and accepted the holy sword. And then (stoically!) he faced the demon.

This was where his skills were put to the test! Ryu managed to put an extra flourish on his bladework, giving the sword a dramatic twirl before swinging it at the demon, his strikes fluid and precise. When the demon was finally defeated, he took his bow with a real smile.


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Sword maneuvers in the play! 1 Raise for fanciness | 6k3 ⇒ 31 (TN: 20)

[Asahina Minase]

Now this was more like the acting she'd done at the Academy. Small parts for the small girl . . . . . . . . starting first as one of the retainers dressed in fine and sparkling courtly dress and then a rapid costume change into the demented garb of the 'smollest demon'. She pulled off both parts with much grace (first one) and enthusiasm (second one).

Bit parts yes, but the honour of the Academy was upheld on her part.

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D7 MA Theatricals: Second Play Acting/Awareness Voice, Void for +1k1, 1 Called Raise (can't outshine Shin-kun) | 9k6 ⇒ 49 (TN: 20)

[Asahina Hoshiko]

Hoshiko wore armor, stage armor at least, for the first time, marching in with the hero's attendants to celebrate, get drunk, and sleep it off while the hero performs his heroics! Despite no real training, Hoshiko does an excellent job with the minor role, taking her initial cues from Ryu...someone with actual experience with armor, probably?.. then adding some wobble as both sets of attendants mingled for the celebration.

Her time 'sleeping' on stage as the mountain spirit instructed the hero offered time for reflection. Like wondering if Ryu had actually worn armor. Surely everyone trained to use a katana did, right? Also? Laying down in armor, even stage armor, was pretty uncomfortable.

Then it was time to scamper off with the maiden attendants and help them make their very quick transformation into demons and watch the final battle from the wings!

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D7 MA play: Attendant! Acting/Awareness, Benten's touch for +1k1 +4 untrained. | 4k4+4 ⇒ 37 (TN: 15)

[Shiba Ryusei]

Now this, this was far more elaborate.

And it was fortunate that they'd had some time, because Ryusei's crew barely managed their respective tasks of assisting with costume changes and set swaps, but manage they did.

[Shiba Ryushi]

Even if he is not an actor, Ryushi continued tho show talent for the trade. "...are you sure?" A very emotional line spoken by the waki tsure that has accompanied the waki all the trip.



// D7 MA Play part deux acting awa now with voice! Benten Touched untrained 0VP 0CR | 5k5 ⇒ 35 (TN: 10)I keep forgetting then+4

[Kuni Shiori]

Kuni Shiori would take to the stage once more this afternoon but this time with a performing role! She was pretty apprehensive about this but she wasn't here to stay completely in her comfort zone and was aiming to kick this kemari ball out of the court (seeing as that wasn't the goal of the game, the analogy might have been apt)!

She had hoped to use the Noh medium to her advantage here to mask her lack of footwork. The mountain kami was likely a slow creature that was a stoic apparition, she would make her appearance with slow steps forward in a fanciful robe that had parts grey, blue, and white to capture all parts of the mountain. It wasn't her focus here when it came to her skills but she tried to emulate something of a floating spiriting gliding toward the sleeping hero, allowing the music to make the background feel eerie and ghastly. The Noh mask she wore would help further add to the ghostly aesthetics.

When she finally made her way to the sleeping hero, she would turn her body ever so to a degree that she was addressing both the hero and the audience watching the scene unfold.

Doing her best to adopt a shaky haunting voice, she spoke out her message, "Ooooo-Koremochi! You might think that you're so blessed with the fine company of this noblewoman but I am the mountain kami summoned by Hachiman-no-kami! I bring you a warning that you should heed, these words that will shake you to your core with dread! She's not just a woman but a demon in disguise! She plagues this mountain, constantly roaming my domain in search of her next feast, be that of an idealistic maiden or handsome man. If you remain hapless, you will be her next meal..."

...Uhm, line? There was a sudden pause as the mountain kami looked at Koremochi, the audience and then off to the side. This broke the image that the kami was a haunting stoic presence but perhaps someone lost and looking for direction.

"...But fear not! I have come to recognize that handsome samurai are not much without a sword and I just happen to have a sword to give you. Right...here, yes. This sword is blessed with my powers of mountainess? mountainism? mountains! Which will lay waste to the demon with the crushing force of plus 100 earth damage...I mean, with the force of a mountain crushing down on the demon. Remember my words and slay her, great handsome samurai with a sword. And with my message fulfilled, I must take my leave, yes...you may end the scene." She said before making a sudden quick and very uncharacteristic sudden scurry to the end of the stage so that she didn't have to take up any more of the scene.

Roll
Day 7 - Mid Afternoon, Perform: Oratory/Awareness at TN15: With Voice and Void for +1k1 (should be the last void allocated of the day 3/3), Two Raises called! | 6k5 ⇒ 23 (TN: 25)

[Daidoji Ryu]

Ryu stared after the departing "mountain spirit" as she scurried off stage, blinking slowly. Those... were not the words he remembered rehearsing.

And yet... there was a strange sort of wisdom to them, wasn't there? A handsome man by himself was like an empty vessel, pretty without purpose. And of course a sword with no wielder was similarly no tool, but an art piece at best.

It was only when brought together that each could fulfill their destiny. Separate, they were nothing, together they were more than the sum of their parts. Handsome man and sword became... a handsome man with a sword! Ryu frowned. Okay, that was exactly the sum of its parts. Still, from there the possibilities grew.

...

Of course, as a stoic hero type not especially given to theatrical improvisation, this all demonstrated by Ryu staring after her for a few seconds, frowning, blinking, and shaking his head. But then, gripping his sword with (handsome) renewed purpose! After all, he had a demon to slay, and plus 100 earth damage to aid him!

[Yasuki Masaki]

Some time after Taro left the stage, Masaki disappeared backstage; a quick pause later, a noble woman steps in again as part of the Noble Woman's retinue, sparkling robes fluttering about. Her movements and expressions cue on the Lady herself, of course, but somehow it seems like this retainer refers a lot to another one in the Lady's retinue - a rather small one, in fact. That seems to work well enough, as both retainer's actions and gestures coordinate well.

The same sort of coordination transfers to the second part of the act as well - the rapid costume change to the demon masks and mane-like wig is done fast and 'mostly' flowingly - not quite as apt as the 'smolest demon', but well enough to keep up. The second part is done with great enthusiasm - not *quite* as much as the drunken parts of the kyogen play, but enough to contribute to the atmosphere.

Not quite the work of a Kakita Artisan, of course. But the performance held its weight!

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D7 MA - Theatre Act 2; Ladies/Demons. Blessing still active for +4. Base TN 15. 1 Raise, trying to keep up with Minase! | 5k4+4 ⇒ 25 (TN: 20)

[Doji Shinnosuke]

While the stage fills with gorgeous court ladies, dashing hunters, and fierce demons, Doji Shinnosuke... disappears.



To a serious practitioner, putting on a Noh mask is near kin to spirit summoning, and Shinnosuke is serious about this in a way he is serious about few other things. In the Noblewoman's costume, with his white hair hidden under a black wig and the enigmatic mask settled over his face, his own ebullient personality and body language submerge entirely beneath the character's melancholy grace. She coaxes Koremochi and the other hunters to "stop for a moment," hinting vaguely about the sadness of her life and chanting and singing that their chance meeting in this wild place must be predestined. As the ladies share their sake cups with the samurai, the Noblewoman dances with her fan beneath the autumn leaves. At first the dance is sad and stately, but as the hunters fall asleep, the tempo picks up and the Noblewoman's movements, while still lovely, become somehow fierce and menacing.

And then it's time for the Mountain God interlude, which Shin only vaguely hears because he has to make the very quick costume and character change from noble lady to wild demon. It sounds a little different than the rehearsal, but it's probably fine! Definitely!

When the brocade fabric of the 'mountain' parts and the demon bursts forth, the handsome Crane actor has once again completely vanished, this time transformed into a snarling, larger-than-life being. The gold leaf on the eyes and fangs of the mask gleams eerily in the cloudy daylight, making it clear this is an otherworldly presence, and combined with the dense pattern of gold threads in the demon robes, the bushy wig, and the wild, aggressive body language, the audience might really believe in the lightning and thunder which the chanted lyrics say the demon has at its command.

And yet in the fierce demon, too, there's something almost... sad. Why does it wish harm to these humans? Why can't it live at peace in the beautiful mountain? What karma compels it to these dreadful acts? As its wicked war hammer is beaten aside by the handsome man's magic sword and the demon falls under Koremochi's final strike, defeat seems to deliver it into a new kind of peace.

Shin expertly manipulates the angle of the Noh masks to make the still, wooden faces convey a surprising range of moods and emotions. The same mask can appear fierce at one tilt, composed at another, mournful and pathetic at a third angle, and so on.

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D7 ME Theatricals--Momijigari, playing the Lady/Demon. Perform:Dance/Agility. VP. Call it TN 20? | 6k4 ⇒ 29 (TN: 20)

D7 ME Theatricals--Momijigari, playing the Lady/Demon. Acting (Noh)/Awareness. KA2 (which is Contested, so I think one doesn't call raises?). KA1, Prodigy, Voice, VP. | 10k7 ⇒ 56

Kakita Artisan Rank 2 technique creates an 'emotional shift' in characters witnessing the Artisan's work. The emotion Shinnosuke is evoking here is something like "Life is short, we should be good to each other." It's not thought control, so how each person is affected by that mood and what it actually looks like on them could be quite individual. It is resisted by a contested Etiquette (Courtesy)/Willpower roll against Shin's roll of 56 and the effect lasts roughly two hours.