Beauty Pageant

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WHO: Contestants: Ira Gamagori, Dark Adonis Vyers (Midboss), Zeref, Naoto Shirogane, Sun Wukong, Betelgeuse, Captain Hammer, Minako Aino, Karla, Weiss Schnee, Kano Kirishima, Shiro, Yukihime, Orihime Inoue
Judges: Renge Houshakuji, Mavis Vermilion, Suigintou, Lucifer, Gildarts, Battler Ushiromiya
Audience Participation: Yang Xiao Long, Raye Hino, OPEN!
WHAT: Beauty pageant! Winners get charms! Hooray!
WHEN: June 26, 2014 - Evening
WHERE: Genessia City Auditorium
NOTES: There will be two main threads: Men's Competition and Women's Competition. Beneath that there will be three subthreads for each event: Swimsuit Competition, Talent Show, and Evening Wear/Interview. Participants, comment under each of these events with your character's entered name. In the body of the comment, put the MC's introduction and a description of what your character does. Judges, once a character's intro to each event is posted, comment with your character's reaction and score. For the interview, each judge asks one question to which the participant replies. The score is then tallied accordingly.

Swimsuit: 10 points
Talent: 10 points
Interview: 20 points (10 for appearance, 10 for the interview)

Participants also get to cast their votes at the end for Mr. and Miss Congeniality, so there will be one extra comment for that.


Genessia City might have been small in overall area, but it was also compact. The turnout for the pageant was immense, and the auditorium was abuzz with voices as people filtered into the aisles to take their seats. Some were nicely dressed. Others came with painted faces and big signs meant to root on their favorite participants. Catchy pop music filtered through the speakers, until it was time at last for the main event. The lights dimmed, and spotlights swam up to the red velvet curtains, which parted for the Master of Ceremonies. He greeted the cheering crowds with a hearty wave, then bowed to the judges who were seated comfortably on the stage's right.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced in a clear tenor. "It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you all to Genessia City's very first beauty pageant! The winners crowned tonight will hold their title for a full year, and receive a very special, very rare charm. Please put your hands together for our entries: LADIES FIRST!"

The crowd, accordingly, went nuts.

Comments

WOMEN'S COMPETITION

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Part One - Swimsuit Event

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[soldierofloveandbeauty]

[When Minako enters the stage after her name is called, she enters with grace. Walking much like a model would. The bikini she wore was one that was very suited to who she was as an individual. She was someone who loved, love even if she were to never get it herself. When she reached the centre, she stopped, turned and turned her head back to give a little wink. She knew what she was doing and she was having fun while she did it.]

Orihime Inoue

[leekspins]

[Orihime didn't have half the confidence that Minako had. She was just thinking how strange it felt to wear a swimsuit indoors like this. It was perfectly natural at the beach or the pool, but standing in line like this...it feels almost like she's in her underwear. She waits backstage for her turn, absently thumbing the strap of her yellow beaded bikini with the green floral print. There's a swatch of blue cloth on her left wrist. A personal effect? Or just an accessory? Who can say.]

[But it's her turn now, as the emcee calls her name. She stands straighter, blinking away her surprise, and takes a breath before stepping out onto the stage. She almost flinches at the brightness of the spotlight, but smiles just the same. Somewhere out there, her friends are watching and cheering her on. Hopefully they're having fun!]

Next up is Orihime Inoue! Twenty years old, she hails from Karakura Town in Japan before spending three years in the reality-altering city of Nautilus! She enjoys baking, sewing, and spending time with her friends!

[She walks to the spot at the forefront of the stage to pause, as she was instructed, and then turn. Her long chestnut hair swishes with the movement.]

She dreams of being an astronaut, a baker, and a teacher. And if she could have any superpower, she'd choose laser beam eyes!

[Orihime can't help but laugh a little sheepishly at that, rubbing the back of her head. She's pretty sure she didn't tell them that, but it's true. She bows, then moves to walk off stage to give the next contestant a turn.]

Karla

[swordprincess]

[Karla enters the stage, wearing the bathing suit that Kodachi had picked out for her. She walks just as Kodachi had taught her, chin up, shoulders back. Karla imagines that this is just like when she strolls into an arena to face her latest opponent, which really helps her relax. As she reaches the center of the stage, she spins around once, swinging her long black hair, and spreading out her arms, smiling confidently.]

[taintedwhite]

[Shiro enters the stage with a bright smile, wearing her usual bodysuit. Well it's a suit and she can swim with it so... Close enough, right?

She blushes a bit upon realizing so many people staring at her. For a second she seems unsure what to do. And then she thinks she's finally spotted Ganta in the audience and strikes this pose.]

I am really sorry I'm so late! orz

[ifbymyhands]

*Kano walks on with a grin, wearing...

Uh.

Well, it isn't the worst she's had. She waves at everyone, trying to keep from laughing.*

[whiteas]

[ Weiss went for a one piece. It wasn't as though she didn't want to wear a bikini, but somehow it felt like modesty might be the way to go with this one. Plus, she was pretty aware that she looked cute in it. Especially since it drew focus away from the fact that her chest wasn't quite as.. abundant as some of the other competitors.

The way she walks in it though, she's got confidence as she comes down, grace, and she keeps her face almost perfectly still like a model until she gets to the end of the walk. At the end of the walk, closest to the judges, she offers a curtsey and a smile. Just because she doesn't smile frequently doesn't mean she doesn't know how to when she's being judged. She's aiming for perfection, after all. ]

Yukihime

[melonsaregreat]

[Yukihime might have joined this contest on an errant whim but the audience would be hard-pressed to guess that by watching her first appearance. Her black swimsuit isn't anything unusual but the sleek design flatters her striking figure well, and while her stride lacks the exaggeration one might expect of a runway model it still has a steady measure that exudes grace and confidence, and increases the effect of her height.

Of course that appearance of professional polish cuts both ways in her case as she doesn't seem to be the least bit interested in appealing to the audience with anything but her physique. If she smiles it's out of nothing more than faint amusement that she's managed to wind up doing something like this, and the audience she looks on with an interest so light it's almost worse than none at all, like a person thinking that the ants they're stepping over look particularly industrious.]

Part Two - Talent Show

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[soldierofloveandbeauty]

[She was called to the stage to perform her talent. She took a deep breath, her hands gripping the microphone. She knew she could do this, and with that in mind she made her way to centre stage. The spotlight was soon placed upon her as she smiled.]

Hey everyone~ This song is about never losing faith in love no matter what happens. If you believe enough, it will come to all of you eventually and I, Minako Aino, the Goddess of love will remind you all of that tonight, so enjoy~

[She closed her eyes as soon the music started to play, she took a deep breath and started to sing, putting in all her emotion into the words. She hoped her singing and the words could reach the audience and judges and get them to feel something, after all that is what a idol would do. Once the song had finished, she felt happy with it and gave a small smile and a giant wave.]

Thank you for listening, you are all such a great audience~!

Orihime Inoue

[leekspins]

[As the stage is cleared, a couple of stagehands work quickly to set up for the next act. There's a spiral staircase wheeled in, a long rope hanging in front of an open window that isn't fixed in any walls, and...a chandelier lowered from the rafters? What could this be?]

[Then there's a rousing symphony of high adventure, flutes piping and violins stirring wildly. Orihime, wearing a black suit and matching cape, swings on a rope to leap through the window. She tucks and rolls as she comes up, drawing a plastic-tipped rapier.]

Ah HA!

[This is something she picked up from none other than V himself, having begged him to teach her the essentials of swashbuckling. He'd been only too happy to teach her. A plumed hat sits on her head, but it flies off pretty quickly from the sheer vigor and energy of her display. Her face is flushed as she gleefully fences invisible opponents, backing up the spiral staircase. When she gets to the top, she puts the rapier in her teeth and makes a wild leap to swing on the chandelier.]

[It's probably the most fun she's had in a while, let's be real. She thought about singing, but while she can carry a tune, her voice isn't exactly beautiful. She can't sew or bake onstage, nor can she play any instruments. So swashbuckling it is!]

[After she leaps over crates, swings on ropes, and duels the invisible into submission, she sweeps a courtly bow, and dashes gallantly off the stage with her cloak billowing behind her.]

Karla

[swordprincess]

[For the talent show, Karla wears something of a modernized version of her normal attire. Karla is rather thankful for this, because there's really only one talent she could showcase.]

[When she steps to the center of the stage, she draws her Wo Dao and begins to swing it quickly and gracefully, the blade becoming almost invisible with each stroke. She adds in some dodging motions, making it into a seamless dance. The dance would look something like this. When she's done, Karla straightens herself, putting the sword back in its sheath.]

[taintedwhite]

[Shiro blinks as she's handed the microphone.]

Shiro does not... Does Shiro have to use this? Shiro can sing loud enough for people to hear...

[But Toto had said this was a game. And Shiro knows all game have rules. So eventually she just takes the microphone, closes her eyes and starts singing a piece some people might recognize as the woodpecker lullaby. When she's sung all the lyrics she knows, she keeps humming for a bit before giving the audience a sheepish smile.]

Shiro doesn't know the end of the song.

[A little bow and she leaves the stage.]

[ifbymyhands]

*Kano waves as she comes on with hula hoops and a tin of treats. ...And about five dogs.*

My talent will command your attention! Or at least it'll command these guys' attention. Watch!

*She starts directing the dogs to sit, walk around the stage, jump through hoops, make silly faces, etc. Lazy? Maybe, for her. But hey.*

[whiteas]

[ After seeing a couple of people sing, Weiss was glad that she had come up with a plan in case there was more than one person with a vocal talent-- her glyphs. If there was more than one singer, she would need something to stand out above the crowd and that was where her talents were going to come in.

For starters, Weiss approached the stage in a much different way than she had during the swimsuit competition. She had decided to come from above, using an Air Step glyph to allow herself to safely come down from the top of the stage as gracefully as she could manage. She wasn't exactly used to using her glyphs in this manner, but she had enough of a grasp on them to pull it off. Once on the stage, Weiss took a deep breath and stared out at the audience. She didn't smile this time, glancing subtly to make sure the flower petals were in place on stage where she wanted them, flat enough to not be visible at the audience's eyeline. Satisfied with their positions, Weiss began to sing a song she knew by heart and had sung before so that she could concentrate on the more complex part of her talent.

However, instead of as in the video, when the song intensifies she continues singing and begins to activate some of her glyphs to launch the flower petals into the air in a rhythmic pattern that follows the song. Because she isn't running around while she does this, she's able to keep her breath steady while she sings and avoid missing notes while making a rather fun and elegant display of the moving petals. Toward the end of the performance, at the last "I'm the loneliest of all" she actually takes her sword and releases some of the dust to freeze all of the petals on the ground before she uses her glyphs again on either side of her. The ice along the petals shatters as they're launched up into the air again, this time taking on much whiter tint and looking like snow falling down upon the stage.

It might have been showy, and she might actually be pretty exhausted by the end of it, but she did spend since the beauty pageant was announced practicing that little routine. Weiss takes a deep breath before curtseying and bowing her head to the judges. ]

Thank you.

Yukihime

[melonsaregreat]

[Yukihime was a little too used to the life of a fugitive to use something as distinctive as her magic for a talent show, and most of her hobbies would have taken a little too long to demonstrate, so for this she'd settled on showing off her oldest skill, her mundane puppetry.]

This is something you could call the essence behind every story and every life - the world in miniature.

[And so it is. Her marionettes dance with surprising fluidity, making intricate motions and even interacting with each other, dancing or fighting, in ways that seem sure to tangle their strings but never do. Showing off her dexterity and technical talent. But she's also demonstrating the other side of the craft, the ability to convey emotion with only the movements of a stiff, voiceless puppet. Motion and posture exaggerated just enough to be recognizable in a mere puppet but not so much that the exaggeration appears foolish or calls attention to itself. And there's a bit of a message in her play, too; virtues and vices, emotions that run deep from the start and those that develop out of pettiness or whimsy, are all rendered in equal care and are impressed upon the audience in the same way.

Skillful, but it's all a bit dark and on the long side for a talent show.]

Part Three - Interview

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[soldierofloveandbeauty]

[Minako had never been that god with answering questions, but these ones couldn't be anything like those you get at school, right? That would just be extremely silly. So walking on in her beautiful yellow gown that reminds her of what she might have worn when they lived on the Moon Kingdom. Her hair was somewhat styled for once and it really made her feel like a princess. Once she reached the end, she gave a twirl, to show of the dress at al angles before she looked at the judges.

She was ready for their questions, that she knew. She was most curious about a certain judges question in particular though.]

FINALE - Winners and Miss Congeniality Announced

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At long last, the scores were tallied, and the contestants lined up to shine like bright stars in their evening gowns. The host returned, wearing a big smile as he gave his microphone a toss and strode gallantly onto the stage.

"Wasn't that a great show, ladies and gentlemen? I think it's time for the big finale! Are you rrrrrrrready!"

"Yaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy!" shouted the enthusiastic crowd.

That's what he thought. Drawing out an envelope, he unsealed the flap and drew out a card.

"The second runner-up, receiving a $500 gift certificate for a shopping spree at Hamete Strip Mall iiiiiis... Miss Weiss Schnee!"

Several attendess bounced in their seats, some holding up signs bearing the snowflake insignia to mark her as their favorite. A handsome man in a tuxedo stepped forward to deliver a bouquet of white roses into her arms along with her prize.

"And our first runner-up, receiving the gift certificate and 1000 red bills... Miss Orihime Inoue!"

The girl blinked, stunned as the spotlight swam onto her face, then blushed and grinned before bowing deeply to the audience. She too received a bouquet of roses, pink and yellow, along with her prize.

"And now...to announce to you your new Miss Genessia...the winner of the gift certificate, the cash, and a very rare charm of Fayren..." A drumroll thundered as the crowd held their breaths collectively.

"MISS! MINAKO AINOOOOOOO!"

Fireworks burst overhead as the crowd went wild, waving signs and banners as Minako was escorted to the center of the stage. An elegant crown of silver and amethysts was placed on her brow along with a large bouquet of plump red roses. Congratulations, Minako!

MEN'S COMPETITION

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Part One - Swimsuit Event

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Part Two - Talent Show

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Part Three - Interview

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FINALE - Winners and Mister Congeniality Announced

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[OOC: Don't comment to this thread yet.]