Cosplay: Akatsuki no Matsuri 2

Me: I've got a mixed bag of things today.

Ash: OK, so what's the deal?

Me: First, you'll recognize this event that I'm sending you to as the same event from last year. The difference is that it's not a two-day thing anymore - it's all today. But it's really no different from last year since the things that mattered then were only on one day.

Ash: Hey yeah!

Pikachu: Pika pika! [affirmative]

Me: Second - and this is kind of both good and bad - is that this event is pretty much a make-up event. You might remember in July that I was going to send you to something so you could also sing, right? On that day, there was supposed to be a theme event, and a revival at that, but sadly it was canceled a mere two days before, leaving you and I and many others in disappointment. Today, the organizers held this to make up for that.

Ash: Oh, so I get to sing today!

Me: Indeed you do. I've signed you up for three competitions today: singing, character parade, and character performance.

Ash: Wait, that's a lot! I'm OK with that, but will you be fine?

Me: Sure. What matters is that we can do our best. So this time, it's back to that special outfit for you. Incidentally, I would have sent you to that canceled event with the exact same outfit with the same exact agenda. For the singing competition, I'm having you repeat the one from a few weeks ago. The character parade is obvious. The performance... that's where things get interesting. I'm sure you recall a certain vision you had when you acted up.

Ash: Yeah, I remember. That one really put me on edge.

Me: That's the one you'll be performing. I've edited it so that it would be more or less 3 minutes, which should be plenty for the action.

Pikachu: Pika pika! [delighted]

Ash: We'll give it our best! By the way, this year it looks different - last year it was in a mall, but this year it's in a building.

Me: You know, I think the atonement quality is still evident. They may have wanted something that looks like a school, since that's where the one that didn't happen was to happen.

Ash: What I was told is that a group of students made this happen. You think they might feel concerned too?

Me: Maybe so. There's been a lot of hearsay about this school event and that not happening because of their problems, problems with the school, and so on.

Ash: That might be it. I saw stands when I went in, and they were just OK. Lots of food stands, but not a lot of hobby stands. It was crowded too.

Me: That's always a problem with a small space.

Ash: Yeah, it was kind of small. But the stage was big and there were lots of chairs! It's like a theater.

Me: Well, from what I hear, the building is indeed one, for music and other things. That should be a good thing for performances, so let's discuss them now.

Ash: The singing competition was badly organized! Some of the music for the ones who were in it got lost, and even for my song, it took them time to find it. And there was even a really odd character singing... or rapping? Huh.

Me: When you put it that way, it really is unusual. And I just don't know what to say. What about the character competitions?

Ash: The character parade was great! There were about 20 on stage, and I think we all did great. The character performance was another thing. I'm sorry, Pikachu - I made you fall over.

Pikachu: Pika pi, pika pika... ["Ash, why..."]

Ash: Really sorry about that. But I think we did OK.

Me: Yeah, I'm sure this can be refined for another time. So that wraps up all the competitions - how about... the results?

Ash: I got nothing for the singing and character parade. But you'll love this for the character performance: SECOND PLACE!!

Pikachu: PIKA PIKA!! ["NICE WORK!!"]

Me: AWESOME! So great!! But we still need to work on this performance so that we can show it elsewhere. Don't you think?

Ash: Yeah! Also, you know what? We sort of got this one by how things went. There were only three characters in the performance competition, but one dropped out, so I and the other one would definitely get one of the two prizes.

Me: Oh, a technicality then. No matter, a win is a win. And what do you think of this as a whole?

Ash: It wasn't too bad, even if the stands are the usual and the place is different. The entertainment is fine too - even up until the end! Haha. I think they made up for that one chance I didn't get to go to, and kept a good thing going from last year.

Me: I have to agree. We all still have a lot to improve.

Pikachu: Pikachu pika! ["Like me!"]

Me: Right, there is that. The next time around, we ought to have bigger successes.

One year ago: Santorini and Sootopolis City
Two years ago: To Genwunners: Get with the Program!