Week Two

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, no murder happened! Instead, a lot of students started work on Salieri's school play, which sounds pretty cool even though it's gonna be short, several people destroyed Bigfoot and got a few mysterious clues, and Orpheus started a fire in the kitchen! All in all, not a bad first week!

Though some people might have gone to talk to Hester, she hasn't made any more public announcements. There's some new papers posted up around the cafeteria, but it looks like it's just your upcoming lunch schedule. Seems like nothing's driving you towards Rule Five except, perhaps, all of the kidnapping and how criminally boring some of you are finding the school. Maybe the Balladeer is right, and you really can just wait this out? Only time will tell!]


Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( No new locations this week, since y'all haven't paid in blood! Hester's office hours are still open, as are regains! Make sure to complete your first activity check by Tuesday! ))

Comments

[mayavericks]

[Maya finishes her current sequence, a spin that looks more like a dance than actual swipe of the sword. Nevertheless, she deftly hits her target.]

We take our performances very seriously. We want everything to look as realistic as possible.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Well, when it comes to realism, nothing is better than a real, metal saber in your hand.

[Blade polished to a shine. Worn leather wrapped around the handguard, pressed into the shape of your grip. It just feels right.

She applauds Maya's efforts all the same. So graceful. Nothing like the moves Cass would have taken.]

So, by "performances" you mean you're not actually fighting anyone?

[mayavericks]

I'm inclined to agree.

[At Cassandra's question, she simply shrugs.]

I hesitate to say that. It's true that there aren't quite the stakes you would expect from true combat, but that doesn't mean that we are not leaving it all on the line, just as anyone else might. [She twists the sword in her hand.] The audience can be a critical bunch. Perhaps the weapons are not always real, but the technique is. Anything less would be a disapointment.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I hear that. Nothing's worse than a tough crowd. You have to make the audience want to root for you. [She watches that sword twist, hands resting on her hips.] You can't disappoint them... While doing... what, exactly?

[mayavericks]

Performing. [She pauses for a moment, tapping her foot as she thinks.]

You're familiar with Romeo and Juliet, right?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

The play? [She nods.] Surprisingly, yes. I am.

[It's nice to know what someone's talking about for once.]

[mayavericks]

Wonderful. [Later, she'll consider what it means that Corona -- a place she assumed was a different world -- has Romeo and Juliet. For right now, though:]

Consider the fight between Paris and Romeo. Both men are in mourning, believing Juliet to be dead. They are implied to be skilled fighters, and so both that and their desperation must show. To do anything less would fail not just the story and characters, but the audience themselves.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Basically it means that Corona is a place of the arts, no matter how little interest Cassandra holds in them. romeo and Juliet was an interesting tale though, upheld as a story of true love... when all Cassandra saw was two kids making the dumbest decisions of their lives. But hey, the fights were
cool.

And speaking of,]

So, you're saying that it's all about making the audience actually believe that Paris and Romeo are fighters mourning Juliet. And to do that, they need to be able to show the real emotion.

[mayavericks]

[Cassandra isn't wrong -- even Maya would have to agree with that.]

Exactly. It's an extremely delicate balance. You cannot overact in a way that covers up your poor swordwork, just as you cannot slash your blade enough to cover up a blundered line. The audience is intelligent -- to treat them as any less would be an insult. Thus, whether it's delivering a final line or striking a killing blow, you must do so with every fiber of your being.

It must be believed.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

It has to be totally believable, and one slip up can bring it all crashing down.

[Huh.]

You know, I think I know what that's like. I've had to basically do the same thing, once.

[mayavericks]

Really? [Maya leans forward, just a little eager.]

Would you care to tell me about it?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Well, it's not quite as similar to what you do as you might think.

[But Maya seems eager. So, even though Cassandra isn't the type to flaunt her past adventures... Maybe she can embellish. Just a little.]

So, basically I stopped a member of a separatist rebellion group from stealing my kingdom's most prized artifact, all by posing as someone who fell in love with him. And I managed to fool everyone, including my best friends, that it was true love. Let me tell you, it was a lot of work.

[mayavericks]

[Hey look, Cass, you actually managed to impress Maya.]

That's incredible. Truly. It's one thing to set the scene on stage -- another entirely to do so in a real situation, where there are so many variables.

Do you have training in acting, then?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Ahh, super. She's accomplished something. It feels almost better than the medal she received for it.]

Ehh, I'm just glad I got on my dad's good side with it - and I was doing my job, of course.

Nope. I, uh... didn't really spend a lot of time in The Arts before I met Raps.

[mayavericks]

Then you must be a natural born actress. I would love to see you perform at some point. Perhaps you can see of Salieri-sensei might give you a part?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

An actor? You think so? I mean... No... No way. [She laughs at that, like, a little too sharply. Like just the thought of it raises her anxiety level.] I-I don't think I'm cut out for that sort of thing.

[mayavericks]

But you just described skills that even professionals could not manage. You would do wonderfully.

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Well, that's just...

[Here's something you don't ordinarily see with the tall and proud Cassandra: nervous jitters.]

I don't know...