Opening Ceremony: Gala, Day 1 [open]
The schedule of events was hand-written on pale speckled vellum in golden, ornate script. Each member of the party of Konoha was delivered one, courtesy of Ibiki, rolled and stamped with the Daimyo's seal.
Food was to be available from sunrise to midnight each day, the offerings varying in type depending on the time of day. Essentially a full-scale buffet intended for the rich and famous of half of Konoha - no small feat. The first day would begin with a blessing from the monks of the Fire Temples, at about 10 in the morning; after that, entertainment would consist of musicians, fire eaters, and fireworks after sundown. The rest of the day would pretty much involve mingling and eating, though only the blessing and dinner were mandatory events. The second day would consist of more musicians, fire eaters, puppetry, and a kabuki play during dinner (the summary of which wasn't included). More fireworks, more eating and mingling, more mandatory dinner attendance. And on the third day would be the actual medal-giving ceremony, which of course was mandatory, with other various forms of entertainment, plus fireworks.
Asuka had wanted to burn the letter as soon as she got it, claim she never received one, and sleep the whole time. Unfortunately, she was rooming with both Konohako and Ibiki, and Ibiki was the one saying such-and-such was mandatory.... so.... no such luck there.
So it was with a great deal of prodding, poking, and one subtle threat from Ibiki that the kunoichi got up early on the first day, to wash up and let the Daimyo's people do their thing and get in that abomination of a kimono and otherwise sulk for the day. It wasn't pleasant. While, on the one hand, she did appreciate the Daimyo going to this effort (it saved her from having to figure out this crap herself), she really really really really wished it wasn't all necessary. The hair, okay, she could understand; you get dolled up, you have to do something with the hair. It was like a requirement or a law or something. The kimono, too, she could understand. Obviously you can't doll up if you're not in a dress. The makeup.... the makeup was a big fat no.
At least Ibiki hadn't been around for that part. If she'd been within earshot of the profanities Asuka had ended up spitting out to keep those damn makeup kits away from her face, the mistress of T&I probably would have tied her down and made them paint her up like a geisha. (Ack.) Instead, after much arguing and threatening, she managed to get away with just a little eye and lip stuff. It was a sacrifice, she supposed. Otherwise the girls doing her up might have stabbed her themselves, considering the horror that had dawned on their faces at the idea of going out there without any makeup at all.
The hair was a lot simpler, thankfully, just a twist held up in place with chopsticks that had dangly things at the end. (It was actually pretty nice, she had to admit to herself when she'd examined herself in the mirror. Maybe someday she'd get Inosuke to teach her how to do it.) And the kimono.... well..... all she could really do was thank all the gods everyone had ever prayed to that the red one had been too small and the Daimyo had insisted on more than one kimono being made. Seriously, even she understood that something as brightly, insanely red as that thing had been was really only used for weddings. That, and to essentially paint a big fat 'Kill me please' target on someone's back.
Instead, she got to wear an almost all-black one, except for pale phoenixes, chrysanthemums, and pine trees decorating the lower half of the kimono and the long, wide sleeves. It was wonderfully soft and beautiful even by her standards.... half the reason, no doubt, why she didn't want to wear it. It didn't belong on someone like her. But she wore it, and shuffled along behind Ibiki in those stupid little sandals as they proceeded to the main hall to attend the opening blessing.
The main hall was a long, wide chamber built specifically for hosting large parties; Asuka had only seen it in use once during the time she'd served the Daimyo as one of his Twelve. In celebration of spring, the walls were decorated with soft pink and white draperies, cherry blossom sprigs placed just so along the tables, between goblets and chopsticks and napkins and appetizers. The tables were arranged along the edges of the walls, so there was plenty of room in the middle for dancing and other entertainment. Flowers were everywhere - something Inosuke would no doubt love and/or comment about their quality of arrangement - giving the room a spacious, open feeling that was really quite nice up until the point where everyone started filing in. And by everyone, Asuka meant a lot. Her heart sunk a little more with each new person the Daimyo had invited to attend her humiliation.
They seated her up front, by the Daimyo - who hadn't arrived yet - and where his wife and prominent members of the Twelve would also sit. Those from Konoha were all seated along the left-hand table immediately after, up near the front, while others of importance whom Asuka knew nothing about were seated on the front end of the right-hand table. Other people who must be important but not as important, she figured, were seated at the end.
I strongly suggest you keep your mouth shut, Ibiki had suggested earlier, after they'd arrived at the estate. Luckily for her, that's what Asuka had planned from the get-go. Keep her mouth shut, interact with a few people as possible, escape as soon as she could, and get as drunk as conceivable possible once she was back home. Because it sure didn't seem likely she would be able to get drunk here, no matter how much she might want to. (Ibiki would nip that in the bud right quick.) So, per orders and per her own wish to be as unnoticible as possible, Asuka sat where directed, folded her hands in her lap, and tried to think small thoughts until everyone had arrived and the ceremony began.
[The gala is pretty much going to be open to whatever you want. For the most part, you'll probably want to stick to threads for the sake of speed, but if you want to do something private (like at night or something), feel free to go ahead and do logs. The gala event will be going on for the next two weeks our time, and at certain points I'll be throwing up posts to indicate when the next day/event has begun. Make sure to make your threads as day 1 gala, day 2 gala, etc., so we can easily figure out which comes when. If you want interaction with an NPC, feel free to do it yourself, use the NPC account, or get in touch with me if you want someone else to play the NPC.
Most of all, remember: Have fun! :3]
Food was to be available from sunrise to midnight each day, the offerings varying in type depending on the time of day. Essentially a full-scale buffet intended for the rich and famous of half of Konoha - no small feat. The first day would begin with a blessing from the monks of the Fire Temples, at about 10 in the morning; after that, entertainment would consist of musicians, fire eaters, and fireworks after sundown. The rest of the day would pretty much involve mingling and eating, though only the blessing and dinner were mandatory events. The second day would consist of more musicians, fire eaters, puppetry, and a kabuki play during dinner (the summary of which wasn't included). More fireworks, more eating and mingling, more mandatory dinner attendance. And on the third day would be the actual medal-giving ceremony, which of course was mandatory, with other various forms of entertainment, plus fireworks.
Asuka had wanted to burn the letter as soon as she got it, claim she never received one, and sleep the whole time. Unfortunately, she was rooming with both Konohako and Ibiki, and Ibiki was the one saying such-and-such was mandatory.... so.... no such luck there.
So it was with a great deal of prodding, poking, and one subtle threat from Ibiki that the kunoichi got up early on the first day, to wash up and let the Daimyo's people do their thing and get in that abomination of a kimono and otherwise sulk for the day. It wasn't pleasant. While, on the one hand, she did appreciate the Daimyo going to this effort (it saved her from having to figure out this crap herself), she really really really really wished it wasn't all necessary. The hair, okay, she could understand; you get dolled up, you have to do something with the hair. It was like a requirement or a law or something. The kimono, too, she could understand. Obviously you can't doll up if you're not in a dress. The makeup.... the makeup was a big fat no.
At least Ibiki hadn't been around for that part. If she'd been within earshot of the profanities Asuka had ended up spitting out to keep those damn makeup kits away from her face, the mistress of T&I probably would have tied her down and made them paint her up like a geisha. (Ack.) Instead, after much arguing and threatening, she managed to get away with just a little eye and lip stuff. It was a sacrifice, she supposed. Otherwise the girls doing her up might have stabbed her themselves, considering the horror that had dawned on their faces at the idea of going out there without any makeup at all.
The hair was a lot simpler, thankfully, just a twist held up in place with chopsticks that had dangly things at the end. (It was actually pretty nice, she had to admit to herself when she'd examined herself in the mirror. Maybe someday she'd get Inosuke to teach her how to do it.) And the kimono.... well..... all she could really do was thank all the gods everyone had ever prayed to that the red one had been too small and the Daimyo had insisted on more than one kimono being made. Seriously, even she understood that something as brightly, insanely red as that thing had been was really only used for weddings. That, and to essentially paint a big fat 'Kill me please' target on someone's back.
Instead, she got to wear an almost all-black one, except for pale phoenixes, chrysanthemums, and pine trees decorating the lower half of the kimono and the long, wide sleeves. It was wonderfully soft and beautiful even by her standards.... half the reason, no doubt, why she didn't want to wear it. It didn't belong on someone like her. But she wore it, and shuffled along behind Ibiki in those stupid little sandals as they proceeded to the main hall to attend the opening blessing.
The main hall was a long, wide chamber built specifically for hosting large parties; Asuka had only seen it in use once during the time she'd served the Daimyo as one of his Twelve. In celebration of spring, the walls were decorated with soft pink and white draperies, cherry blossom sprigs placed just so along the tables, between goblets and chopsticks and napkins and appetizers. The tables were arranged along the edges of the walls, so there was plenty of room in the middle for dancing and other entertainment. Flowers were everywhere - something Inosuke would no doubt love and/or comment about their quality of arrangement - giving the room a spacious, open feeling that was really quite nice up until the point where everyone started filing in. And by everyone, Asuka meant a lot. Her heart sunk a little more with each new person the Daimyo had invited to attend her humiliation.
They seated her up front, by the Daimyo - who hadn't arrived yet - and where his wife and prominent members of the Twelve would also sit. Those from Konoha were all seated along the left-hand table immediately after, up near the front, while others of importance whom Asuka knew nothing about were seated on the front end of the right-hand table. Other people who must be important but not as important, she figured, were seated at the end.
I strongly suggest you keep your mouth shut, Ibiki had suggested earlier, after they'd arrived at the estate. Luckily for her, that's what Asuka had planned from the get-go. Keep her mouth shut, interact with a few people as possible, escape as soon as she could, and get as drunk as conceivable possible once she was back home. Because it sure didn't seem likely she would be able to get drunk here, no matter how much she might want to. (Ibiki would nip that in the bud right quick.) So, per orders and per her own wish to be as unnoticible as possible, Asuka sat where directed, folded her hands in her lap, and tried to think small thoughts until everyone had arrived and the ceremony began.
[The gala is pretty much going to be open to whatever you want. For the most part, you'll probably want to stick to threads for the sake of speed, but if you want to do something private (like at night or something), feel free to go ahead and do logs. The gala event will be going on for the next two weeks our time, and at certain points I'll be throwing up posts to indicate when the next day/event has begun. Make sure to make your threads as day 1 gala, day 2 gala, etc., so we can easily figure out which comes when. If you want interaction with an NPC, feel free to do it yourself, use the NPC account, or get in touch with me if you want someone else to play the NPC.
Most of all, remember: Have fun! :3]