Thread by @RinmeikanGranny

「鶴は千年亀は万年」
"A crane lives for a thousand years, a turtle for ten thousand."

Have you ever heard of the legend of Urashima Taro? It's not a story the Jedi would tell you.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urashima_…

Going backwards from the Renaissance, we'll be heading under the sea!🐢

The first step on our journey to 竜宮城 (Ryūgū-jō), the Dragon Palace, is at the Rinmeikan dorms, where Rui shows us a true form of Akogare for Tamao and totally-not-flaming-gay love:

https://twitter.com/RinmeikanGranny/status/1175580779931471873

Even though Yuyuko's on her case, Rui just keeps on going at full speed:
"This singing voice, I want to hear it every day...ah, what if I recorded it on my smartphone...!? No, that's bad, Rui, that's as expected..."

While deep in her throes of admiration for Tamao, Rui gets tackled by Ichie from behind. Both she and Fumi have come over to the dorms. Rui wonders if the two of them have some kind of business or whether they've just come to hang out.

However, it turns out Tamao's the reason the gang has gathered all today. The local town is putting on a Cultural Promotion event, and as part of that, there's going to be a play.

"Yes, that's the case!
Rinmeikan's OG...my Grandma contacted me."

(Hey, that sounds AWFULLY FAMILIAR 🤔🤔)

It turns out Tamao's OG Rinmeikan Grandma is friends with someone from the event's Executive Planning Committee, and they asked for the main members responsible for "Ninden • Onikurenai" to come put on a play for the town's cultural event.

Rui's like, "W-we were good!?"

(You bet you were! 😎👌)

Fumi: "For the next one to be connected like this....
We did it, Rui!"

Yuyuko asks which play they'll be doing, and Tamao tells them the committe requested something steeped in history, yet familiar, so they've been asked to put on "Urashima Taro".

There's some discussion on what the play is about. Ichie is like, "oh yeah, that one where he gets kidnapped by a turtle and turns into an old man!" 😹
Rui is a little more serious and mentions that the fisherman Urashima Taro helps a turtle being teased by some kids...

However, Yuyuko goes into full Old-Man Rakugo mode to spill the details:
"As thanks, he's taken to Ryugu Castle at the bottom of the sea and comes upon Otohime. Day after day and night after night, a din of drink and song. This world tastes of paradise."

Yuyuko: "In no time, days flow, and to Urashima, who gradually makes to return to the land above, Otohime bestows a jeweled box."

Fumi: "But, upon return to land, he's shocked. His house and his village are nowhere to be found.... He's told by an old man near the shore, 'there are no people known as Urashima who live here.'"

While Urashima spent time at Ryugu Castle under the sea, it may have felt like only a few years went by, but in truth, on land, hundreds of years actually passed. In his grief, Urashima opens the jeweled box given to him by Otohime...

And according to Ichie, a bunch of smoke comes out of the box and he has a Magical Girl transformation into an old man 😹😹👌

The gang talks about there being variations on the story, and Yuyuko mentions that she's quite familiar with the tale in general due to her Rakugo. However, this particular copy of the script is a classic Rinmeikan version, passed down through generations at the school.

Because this is a play put on by Rinmeikan in the past, likely there are sets and costumes still left over that they can reuse, but Tamao is concerned that because the play is extracurricular, planning for that plus doing all their regular schoolwork will be a challenge...

However, it's rare for them to have the opportunity to put on a play outside of school, so the whole gang is eager to put on this play. They all agree that they'd like to work together on performing Urashima Taro for this event.

Fumi gets right down to business and starts talking about divvying up responsibilities amongst the five of them, including which roles they should all play.

Rui is surprised they'll be picking roles right away, but Ichie reminds them that since the play is outside of school, it's up to them to do everything--revising the script, directing, etc.

Because there's only 5 of them, and the play was originally written with more roles, they discuss consolidating a few of the side parts. Tamao proposes that the turtle-bullying kids, seaside old man, and the progress narration all be played by one person.

And since the play isn't being put on by the school, they can all settle on their roles together. Tamao proposes they consider their strengths and areas of focus and do self recommendations, as well as suggest roles.

Ichie immediately leaps at the chance to be one of the Ryugu Castle dancers because she's eager to dance around.

Fumi has zero objections to this. She cheerfully admits that Ichie can probably manage the complicated dancing without any problems.

Ichie naturally blooms with joy at this compliment 😹👌

With that settled, Tamao asks if Rui and Yuyuko have any opinions on roles, or if there are any that they'd like to play.

Like a bullet, Rui immediately recommends Tamao for the role of Otohime, the underwater princess of Ryugu Castle. 😹👌

Tamao is shocked, but Yuyuko agrees with Rui. She says that Tamao has a particular singing ability that will perfectly embody Otohime's elegance.

Fumi, being the whip-sharp girl that she is, shows some concern for this. She asks whether Tamao is ok with this role, since the large amount of speaking parts make it a difficult one to play.

Purest senpai Tamao is ok with it, though. She promises to do her utmost best.

That leaves the remaining 3 roles: Urashima Taro, the Ryugu Attendant, and the Narration...

Yuyuko takes the role of the Narration, but also as the editor for the script. Tamao is surprised at this, but Yuyuko assures her it's a natural fit, since she can make sure her narration goes smoothly. Plus, it'll be an interesting challenge to rewrite the play for fewer roles.

Fumi takes the role of Ryugu Attendant, which has a lot of dancing parts along with Ichie's Ryugu Dancer role. She proposes they all spend some time considering production and choreography.

Ichie is thrilled at this opportunity: 😹👌

"Fufu, do you want me to show you? The one we prepared during White Day, my and Fumi's Golden Pair Dance!"

That leaves one last role and one last person, which makes Rui go Uh-oh: 😹👌

"Ah, um, if that's become the case, am I going to be Urashima Taro...!?"

Fumi: "Why are you in a panic? That role is made exactly for you. At the very least, I was planning to recommend you for it, you know?"

Fumi: "Rui, because you're strong at a low voice, you'd be great at singing Urashima Taro's parts, and when I think about the height balance with Otohime, you'd fit perfectly."

(Nice wingmanning job, Fumi 😹👌)

Rui just about faints 😹🙏
"I, I, I fit perfectly with Tamao-senpai....!"

Tamao just takes it all in stride:
"Best regards, Rui-chan."

Disaster lesbian Rui becomes a real mess: 😹🙏
"Y-yes!! Although I'm an incompetent person, I humbly offer my best regards!!"

Yuyuko goes into old-man rakugo mode and starts quoting extremely appropriate lines from the play (she does this a LOT in this event 😹👌):
"'Absolutely, I will remain married for life and show you....
Deep within Urashima's chest, strong feelings crested like a tall wave.'"

With everyone's roles set, Tamao decides to take on the role of coordinator and front-person for the project.

However, Fumi is again concerned with Tamao taking on both the role of the co-lead Otohime and the play coordinator.

"Tamao, you're planning to take on all of that? Otohime is a difficult role, it'd be best to share a little more of--"

Tamao: "It's okay, I want to do it."

Fumi still isn't quite convinced.

"....Rinmeikan--no, it's probably because we were nominated. What happened, for her to be so overeager?"

Ichie has full faith in Tamao, however.

"Because it's Tamao, I think it'll be fine, but if anything comes up, tell us right away, okay?"

With all that said and done, the gang jumps into action to start putting together the play.

Tamao has a few personal thoughts of joy as they all start moving:

"I'm glad...! Putting together a play with everyone that a lot of people can see...I have to try my best!"

And that's Chapter 1 of 「愛しき竜宮城の日々」, The Beloved Days of Ryugu Castle! More coming soon! 🐉