2022-09-09: Making a Magical Girl

• Log: 2022-09-09: Making a Magical Girl
• Cast: Yuta Hibiki, Sayla Mass, Leina Ashta
• Where: Villa Mass, AEU Spain
• OOC - IC Date: 9 September, 0096
• Summary: Yuta prepares for the GUTS Crossdressing and Cosplay pageant with Leina's help. Sayla observes from the sidelines.

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<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta had been a little shocked when he arrived at Mass Villa. He knew Sayla had means, sure, but this is the biggest house he's ever seen! He runs a hand down his clothing, trying to make himself just a bit more presentable.

Thankfully, Leina isn't the sort to worry about appearances. For once, Yuta's wearing something other than his school uniform -- basketball shorts and a tank top of some kind. He'd found it in the back of his closet, and it was certainly better than getting sweaty in his uniform.

Blue eyes are locked on the TV, absorbing every movement from the cute girl on the screen. He mimics Leina fairly well! It seems Yuta's a natural when it comes to physical awareness. Left eye wink, right leg up, pivet, almost pirouette... Yuta stumbles a bit coming out of the spin. "Ah -- let me try that again." Left eye wink, right leg up, pivet, almost pirouette -- this time, he nails it! In his excitement at getting the move down, he misses the rest of the routine.

"Sorry, could you do the last half one more time?" He asks, a little embarrassed. "I never knew magical girls had it so rough. This is hard work!"

Assuming Leina is kind enough to repeat her actions, Yuta pays close attention. Right leg stays up, bent slightly forward at the waist... Face forward, right hand pointer and pinky out by the face. And the other hand... palm down, fingers tucked in by right thigh. He slows down, making sure he has the finger placement right.

Yuta can't help but clap when Leina performs perfectly with Natural Lychee. "You're amazing, Leina! Maybe you should be the one entering this pageant!"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        Sayla has been doing the unthinkable. Resting. It was the least she could do after insisting on a surprise visit to Tsutsujidai immediately out of hospital. She was even... napping!

        That was then, now Sayla- wearing a light, loose fitting dress- is getting a coffee from the kitchen. That's when she hears the music and talking from the Living Room. Sayla takes her time to wander over the living room, knocking on the wall next to the entrance before sticking her head through the door. She was expecting maybe one of Leina's friends from school, but not-

        "Good afternoon, Yuta. Apologies, I didn't realize we had a guest." Sayla is remarkably... relaxed at the moment. Maybe because she's at home, maybe because she's letting herself recover, maybe because the house is a little fuller.

        Sayla takes a sip of her coffee. "So... What's this about a pageant?" Sayla has a sly look on her face as she takes another sip.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina takes her time going through it. At points, she raises a hand to correct part of Yuta's posture, and pose. Then demonstrates it herself. She even tries to do it a bit slower. "They do have it rough, but not from posing."

She gesticulates with a finger as she goes into teaching mode, "In genre, the posing is part of the magic - most of the time. The aesthetics of a Magical Girl show are important."

She raises one finger up with each thing she adds, "Transformation artifacts, henshin sequences, posing, outfits that you should think of as more like 'armor' than else, magic and weapons that can harm - but often are just as focused on healing, purification, redemption..."

Leina drops her hand, "With Tokusatsu, you can see a lot of the same things though. So what's the difference?" She doesn't force Yuta to answer that, "The difference is Weaponized Femininity. Where the trappings of girlhood are a source of empowerment to the characters. It's important to respect that."

Before... she gives a small laugh, and a subdued smile Yuta's way. There are things she could dress up as at the Pageant easily in each event, but a Magical Girl? Is sadly not one of them. "I would, but I'm focused on some upcoming auditions for my drama club. I can't really justify the resources at the moment."

Sayla probably heard a lot of that, even before she knocked, "Hey Sayla, how was your nap?" Leina is pleased enough by Sayla taking it easy for a while after that trip to Tsutsujidai, she isn't actually giving her grief for not resting longer. "I'm helping him with the GUTS Pageant. He's going to be going as Magical Princess Natural Lychee for one of the events."

Sayla's sly look, Leina smiles right back, deciding not to give her away - waiting to see if she'll do it herself. "Right now is posing practice, though I still need to help him with his costume after this."

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

"Good afternoon!" Yuta greets Sayla, smiling. "I'm glad to see you up and about. And thank you for your hospitality. Leina was kind enough to invite me over to help me with my pageant entries."

He blushes a little when Sayla asks. "Well -- we were supposed to do a crossdressing event at my school, but I wasn't able to do much with it. The girls who suggested the idea were killed by a kaiju." Yuta rubs at his wristband. "They were really excited about it. So I wanted to participate in some way so their idea wouldn't be forgotten, I guess."

Brightening a little, Yuta gives a confident smile, recreating Natural Lychee's pose. "And if I'm going to do something, I want to do it all the way! So I came to the expert."

"I've never watched a magical girl show, I've just seen clips here and there." Yuta holds still as Leina adjusts him, then goes through the movements again. Left eye wink... "I always thought Gridman was kinda similar to a magical girl transformation, once I saw them. But weaponized feminity? I'm sure I don't know anything about that. Or masculinity, really, weaponized or not." He shrugs a bit, midway through the routine.

Yuta nods when Leina explains why she isn't entering. "I'll do my best in your honor too, Leina! Your teachings won't be wasted." Glancing back to Sayla, Yuta says, "Natural Lychee has red hair like I do, so I thought she'd be a good fit!"

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        She overheard much of Leina's explanations. She's had some of this relayed to her before, when Leina started getting into the narrative side of Drama. Sayla starts to walk into the room though, given they don't seem to object. "Nice enough. I just thought I'd stretch my legs a bit." She takes a seat on the couch and sips her coffee again. Yuta's reasons, though. "...I see." She pauses briefly... Hadn't Ramo gotten nearly everyone else? "...That's a strong reason, Yuta.

        Sayla pauses briefly. "...I suppose that makes some sense. Your amnesia means you lack a lot of formative experience there. On the upside, it means you can form your own opinion."

        Sayla pauses again. Lychee would work, and the hair matches it. "Leina, have you shown Yuta any more than the choreography yet? I'm sure you're a time limit but... what was it you were saying about being able to inhabit the character?" Sayla decides to take Yuta's lead instead of dwelling. Sayla looks to Leina, a slight gleam in her eye. Wonderful Persimmon might be their secret, but she can help provide... Guidance.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina listens to Yuta's reason, and something saddens in her eyes briefly, as she thinks of how Akane is responsible for that. While she knows she's being manipulated and cornered - some part of her is a bit angry too. However, she just nods quietly, "I think that's a really good way to remember them, by keeping this alive."

Before she nods approvingly at his pose. "I wouldn't know if they're comparable. I've only seen Gridman once, and he just you know, appeared." She does wonder when he says he doesn't know much of anything about femininity, or masculinity, and she gives him a curious look, before she realizes, 'Oh right, amnesia.' She doesn't say that aloud though as Sayla is already speaking on it.

"It's similar enough that I think we could work with an extension rather than a full on wig. It'll help make things seem even more natural."

Then Sayla asks about whether she's taught him any more than just the choreography. She's about to answer, when she talks about inhabiting the character.

And Leina just looks at Sayla Mass, as her expression breaks into a slow grin. "Going all in on 'The Method'? It hadn't crossed my mind for a pageant event, but it might be just what he needs to convince the judges. It's not just about your costume after all, it's about presentation."

Leina crosses her arms, looking him up and down, "We don't have much time, no. However, if we watched a few episodes of the show, and had him get in character. Scene by scene. Had him act it out, fully get into what it's like to be a Magical Girl..." She nods, then nods again, "... it could work."

Thoughtful pause.

"You know thinking about it, my old school uniform is just about his size..."

That is, until she started not wearing the girl's uniform anymore at all.

"If we're going to do this, we should do it properly. Get him into the mindset of being a girl who is a magical girl. Fully immerse him in it in what time we have."

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta stops practicing for a moment, stretching his arms over his head. "Yeah. I didn't know the girls who wanted to do this, but.. That doesn't matter, right? They were still my classmates. They still mattered."

"I'd like to learn more about what it means to be a person." Yuta says, a little more quietly. "I talked to Dr. Bidan, like you recommended, Leina. He said it's really important to do things I enjoy, and take breaks from defending Tsutsujidai. So this is all doctor's orders, really." He laughs. "I'd like to learn all I can!"

Glancing between Leina and Sayla as they speak, Yuta tilts his head a little. Extensions or a wig? Yuta thinks about Rikka's hair, how long and pretty it is. "Yeah, I'd like to try long hair. But what's 'The Method'?" He listens a while longer, then nods. A performance was about more than looking good, of course. Focusing on presentation made sense. "I'm game to watch some episodes! I'm not sure how good an actor I'll be, but, um --" Yuta winks and holds his hands in Natural Lychee's pose again. "Magical girls always save the day! ...or something, right?"

An old school uniform?! Yuta blinks, glancing between Leina and Sayla again. "I wouldn't want to impose." He mumbles, halfheartedly. If he's going to crossdress for the pageant, maybe getting used to it early would be the best plan? "I'm ready. Please teach me!" Yuta leans forward, bowing politely.

<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.

        "It really has a different feel." Sayla says, of Gridman's transformation. It's up to Yuta to interpret what that means. "Gender is a complicated thing to work out in one's lifetime, let alone in eight months of memories. We're a little better in giving people the means to work it out now, but in many ways even now we're in the dark ages."

        Sayla gives an approving nod. "Sounds like the way to go, then."

        Sayla seems to look thoughtful. Yuta really is that sort of person, hm? "...Dr Bidan would know. Believe me. I think seeking out new experiences like this is a good approach to." She still wishes the old guard were still here... Or even if she could find Mr Sho. He would be better suited than anyone to give some guidance.

        "...I fear I might have thrown you in the deep end Yuta," She says looking at Leina's enthusiasm. But Yuta too looks enthusiastic. "But it sounds like the plan. Tell me what episodes you want, Leina, and I'll queue it up while you're getting things."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

"Yeah. They did." Pause, as she amends. "They do."

As Yuta invokes Dr. Bidan, Leina gives Sayla a look, and a small shrug as if to pin herself as the culprit, 'Guilty.' "If that's so, and it's Doctor's orders, then there's no helping it." She manages a small smile, "Take it easy and learn how to live. Sounds like a good prescription for a better life."

Leina grins though as he says he's not certain how good an actor he'll be. "Everyone says that until they try it. And it's because they imagine acting as a lot of reading, and memorization. It's daunting to think about remembering all those lines?"

Leina winks at him, "That's not it though. It's truly understanding the character, becoming them for a while. This is a Pageant though, not a three act play with a lot of lines, just a short segment where you're just convincing the judges you are Magical Princess Natural Lychee."

The deep end indeed.

Sayla asks for a list, Leina rattles off the episodes as if she has them all memorized...

-=-=-

"So what do we know so far? You're a bit irresponsible, you have a big appetite, you're running late to class. Your homework probably isn't done. You didn't have time to eat a proper meal your mother cooked for you. ... Keep ahold of that piece of toast, you don't want that to fall while you're running."

-=-=-

"There you were, looking forward to the school talent show - when Rambutan just appeared and the screaming started! All that precious time, all that precious work of you and your classmates! In her eyes, it's all meaningless. How does that make you feel, as you transform and confront her? What do you say to her?"

-=-=-

"Now after watching that do you understand why makeup feels so empowering to many girls, women out there? ... You have to get the foundation just right. Here let me show you. Though you won't truly understand the amount of effort that goes into this until you do it yourself enough times..."

-=-=-

"You're getting better at this. At first you thought this was all a disruption to your normal life - your normal happiness. You weren't a fighter, a warrior. You were just a student! The idea of fighting was terrifying. Now you have confidence in your abilities, now you know the importance of what you do, and why you do it - thanks to your friends. As you face the Youma - say what you always do, with all of your newfound conviction!"

-=-=-

"How does it feel to find out you have another mother from a past life still watching over you? How does it make you feel to know that you're reincarnated, bound by a past life, a past destiny, a past tragedy? How do those feelings flow forth triumphantly into your new rod? Your new attack, your new spell?"

Yeah she really got into it. The deep end indeed.