etrayalogs | OPEN MINGLE: High School Musical

WHO: Students, teachers, and spectators! (ie: anyone and everyone)
WHEN: Moorecroft after the change to autumn
WHERE: Maplewood High School
WHAT: Preparing and performing one of the highlights of high school: the musical play
NOTES\WARNINGS: N/A

[What better way to help the large crop of young newcomers feel a sense of belonging and community as they settle into their new reality...than with that most memorable of school events: the musical. Mission: Moorecroft is a Maplewood High original, created a few years past by students tasked with writing the scripts. Some might say the result is a little scattered. Meandering. Bloated. Nonsense, even. But that's just the opinions of naysayers! Mission: Moorecroft's heartwarming tale of new residents learning to find solace in the town's rules, structure, and familes while completing their missions will surely resonate with all who take part!

...Probably.

For the students, there's numerous preparations to be made: learning lines, casual rehearsals, costume and stage building. There's music rehearsals for the band, too. Hopefully you've had practice with that instrument! And hopefully those chosen to act in the play can pick up the singing and dancing by showtime--have fun learning such songs as "Please Save My Universe!", "It's Almost Curfew Time", "Housespouse Hoedown", and more! Many, many more. But everyone will totally stay on script, right?

And for everyone, there eventually comes the show and afterparty: cheer (or cringe) through the performance from the auditorium seats, then join the students in the gymnasium for light refreshments and photos.]

(OOC: Open mingle for all! Feel free to come up with parts, scenes, and songs as you see fit. Have fun!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Taking part in the school musical is one of the missions she's been given. It's not a dumb fake family thing, so fine, she'll take it...except she doesn't know ahead of time what participating actually entails, and somehow ends up with a singing part. It's way more mortifying than doing karaoke with a friend in an empty room--but she's a genius. If she decides to do something, she can pull it off flawlessly!

...Don't mind as her voice awkwardly wavers off-key while she attempts to croon out one of her lines during rehearsal.

Ultimately, though, memorizing her lines was no trouble. Stage fright isn't an issue (even if a certain amount of embarrassment is inevitable). No, Rita's biggest risk is her propensity to act in the moment. In other words: she tends to go off-script whenever she feels like it. Will you try to get the scene back on track?]

[Natsuno begs to differ - this is way worse that a dumb fake family thing. At least when he was tasked to bond with his "parents," they didn't have to do it so publicly. Not to mention Mizu ended up showing him some swordsmanship basics, and Natsuno always appreciates a chance to improve his stabbing skills.

Back home, Natsuno always avoided those activities like the plague. A school play is bad enough, but a musical? This is humiliating, and the only thing that makes him show up for rehearsal is the grim certainty that refusal to play along will end with an even worse task.

But just because he showed up, doesn't mean he'll put in effort. He approaches the singing Rita, holding his own terrible script (it’s getting dark, you know? /
and there’s this creepy vibe / like something bad's about to show / so make sure to stay inside!).]

Are you seriously going to play along?

[She pulls a face, red flushing her cheeks. The more she reads of the script, the less she wants to--seriously, why didn't they just put her in charge of special effects if she really needed to participate? At least she'd make it look flashy!]

I'm not exactly excited about it, but-

[She thinks back to the other missions on the kitchen board, that included things like piggy-back rides and goodnight kisses and other less gross but no more desireable things, because overall, the fake family setup just rubs her the wrong way. At least that Otto guy's letting her be. And if it just meant she didn't get points or whatever, then fine. The problem is-]

Apparently, it's not just me that gets punished if I don't do at least some missions. They make the fake parents take "responsibility".

[As if she anyone but herself should be responsible for her actions. It makes her want to gag.]

...yeah, that's a good point.

[After the school called his "parents" to let them know about him getting a detention, Natsuno decided to keep his head lower. He's not worried about failing the mission - it's expected of teens to break rules and resist authority - but Vanessa and Mizu already hate the situation. He doesn't want to make it harder for them, just like he wouldn't want them minding his business.]

But I still don't get why you'd put in the effort. I'm just gonna say I have stage fright until they give me something else to do, like hanging set pieces.

[She figured Natsuno would understand. None of them are exactly excited about the house setups, but it's only going to be worse if they're all making extra trouble for each other.]

Stage fright...? I mean...you have a great poker face, but...you think they'll buy that?

[She loves him and his calm demeanour, but she's not sure she can imagine him faking fright.]

Anyway, it said I had to "perform", so... I'll take it over stuff like getting tucked into bed. I mean, that's just- [She makes a face.] There's no way. Even if my life depended on it! Or even if Jade-

[...She stops short, face going a little red. Why is she even thinking about Jade at a time like this?!]

...you sure you wanna sing?

[ She's... not trying to be mean.

Mostly.

But she has ears and she can hear, so... ]

[Rita lowers the script (the terrible, terrible script) and eyes Asuka.]

There's plenty of things I'd rather be doing.

[She's trying to reel in the arguments a bit. But habits are hard to break.]

Or is there something else you're trying to say...?

Nothing else to say about it. Just kind of amazed they want you to. If you don't wanna do it, why bother?

[ She certainly isn't putting any effort in. ]

[Amazed they want her to... Rita's brows furrow, because that sure still sounds like there's something else Asuka isn't saying...but fine, she'll bite. She plants a hand on her hip with a scowl as she answers.]

Because apparently whatever adults get assigned to your fake family are held "responsible" if you don't play some of their stupid games.

[As much as she despises the fake family units, somebody else taking the fall for whatever she herself is doing--that's something she's not about to abide.]

So what? What do you care about them? Or playing by their stupid rules?

[ She folds her arms. ]

You didn't seem like the kind of girl to care about that.

And just what do I seem like, huh?

[She starts to get testy again, clicks her tongue, and huffs. Trying again...]

I don't care about the stupid rules, but I'll have you know that I'm not into letting someone else take the fall for whatever I do. I'm responsible for me; not anybody else.

Someone who does what she wants.

[ Which can be... good and bad. ]

I guess. That's still playing by the rules and letting someone else control you, isn't it?

Hmm...

[...Well, she can't argue with that assessment, even with her contrary nature. She does do what she wants.]

They're not controlling anything. I'm still choosing what I do, aren't I? Besides, you've been coming to school, too, so it's not like you're one to talk.

Well - it's not like I have anything else to do.

[ Huff. ]

OPEN MINGLE: High School Musical

Rita Mordio | OTA

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