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@ethericvirtuoso-blog
Holy shit, Cait’s posting on this blog
...to bring you Shion Tsuzuki’s public SoD2 application, because they’re pretty proud of it and formally retiring the w1 version of Shion from DR RP after this.
Two things in advance - this is fucking long, probably the longest application I’ve written, and please mind the warnings up at the top. But there you go! Now you know everything about Meridian’s resident narcissistic musician.
a thereminist LOST HER ARM, KIMI INABA,
Okay so! Since Shion is, you know, dead, her room is free access. And luckily, I took the time to finally finish her room blog, just before she died, so... have at it. Search it to your wild little hearts’ content... and shoot me an ask if you need clarification on any details!
Song of the Fallen Kingdom
shsl-meridian:
Once again, you and your classmates find yourselves making the much-dreaded trek to the location of yet another body. Much like last week, you find yourselves descending the elevator to the first floor of Meridian, but this time, your journey carries you in a different direction, down the hiking trail and towards the deep forest. Onward the lot of you go, a sense of foreboding hanging in the night air as you gradually close the distance between yourselves and your destination.
What sort of dismal sight might be awaiting you this time around? Who is the unfortunate departed among your number this week? Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for the answer to that question to present itself.
Even in the darkness of the night, it’s difficult to miss that bit of white a few yards ahead, just by the forest’s edge. And from there, it’s only a matter of time before you and the others have caught up with the body. Some students hurry towards the scene, while others take their time in approaching. In any case, it doesn’t take long for the identity of this week’s victim to make itself known to the group.
[♪♪♪♪]
Shion Tsuzuki, Super High School-Level Thereminist lies on her back by the forest’s edge, bluish-violet eyes staring sightlessly into space and face permanently frozen in a mixture of shock and pain. It seemed that the person who had scoffed the most at this week’s motive had become its victim in the end. What a sick, sad irony that was.
As you get a better look at the state of Shion’s body, the sheer painfulness of her demise grows stomach-twistingly clear. That her body is riddled with numerous unpleasant-looking wounds, marring her once-pristine suit with the blood that seeps from them, is bad enough. But whoever ended the thereminist’s life did not see fit to stop there - half of her right arm has been cleaved right off, blood pooling at the site of the stump. That’s not the end of the blood either - there is a trail of it leading from the body and back into the forest depths.
Shion Tsuzuki had certainly cut a figure in life, that was to be certain. Between her spotlight-seeking ways, an ego that seemed capable of pulling its own orbit, and her occasionally abrasive manner, the thereminist had likely rubbed a number of your the wrong way. But now her spirit, ego, and temper alike had been snuffed out permanently in death, leaving you with one grim certainty regardless of how you might have felt about Shion - her killer walked among you, and it was up to you to flush them out.
(art by squid!)
based on recent conversations, here’s some sod2 cut ins a la zetsubou hen ep1. synthetic voice dangan ronpa
mitsu just wanted to help bring the class together
he didnt deserve this
Financial Services are One of My Thousands of Skills! | Shion | Motive Reaction
Shion was about as happy about being dragged to another motive as she usually was - not at all, especially with that sound the mayor had used to get her and the others’ attention. Gods, that sound. Was he looking for reasons to justify her destroying him down the line?
But anyway, there she was, late yet again, there to meet the mayor and his… two animal friends (? where… did they?) and trying to quell that unpleasant gnawing at the back of her mind as the motive of the week was announced. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad this time? Maybe she’d get a break? Maybe it would be… would be…
...oh my gods!
There was a very loud sound cutting through the air in the wake of the mayor’s departure - an extremely undignified giggle-snort, following by some barely muffled chuckling because oh my gods, he was serious, he was super serious about this, wasn’t, he, did he really think-
“Pssh… what an incredibly… he sounded so serious about it… pfft…. oh my gods, what an absolute…”
Shion remained like this for a few moments, nearly bent double with laughter for a few moments before she caught her breath, straightened up, and loudly cleared her throat in hopes of drawing the rest of the class’ attentions towards her, before drawing herself up to her full height of 5'6" (with shoes on…) and speaking with her best stage voice.
“Everyone! I hope you realize what an absolute farce this motive is! There’s no reason for even the most common among your number to kill for something as easily attainable as money! And it is much more easily attainable than Kumamaru might lead you to assume!”
“You don’t need to take a life for some quick cash, not when you have the first national bank of Shion!”
Did she pose after saying that? Yes, she totally did. Thanks, Shion.
“I have plenty of money! I brought plenty of money along with me, and that’s barely a drop in the bucket compared to what my family is worth! And the family Tsuzuki is worth billions of yen, thank you very much! If I run out of that, I can just write IOUs! And I will act on every single one once we’re out of here - keeping promises is one of my thousands of skills!”
When Shion spoke next, her tone was slightly more serious. Slightly.
“No harm will come to us if we don’t act on this motive, and if you want the reward so badly - again, you have the vast finances of my esteemed self to utilize at your discretion. Kumamaru’s done us all a favor, as far as I’m concerned. There’s just no point in taking a life.”
Hopefully, the others would have enough sense to see where Shion was coming from and follow through on her suggestion. Surely they were every bit as sick of this body-investigation-trial-execution garbage as she was already. Surely.
Knowledge is Power, and I Am Incredibly Powerful | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [ATTN: Michiyo]
A public library was… certainly a new place for Michiyo.
When they’d had an endless supply of books in the Kurono estate’s private library, they’d never seen a reason to visit a public one. They also felt that even if they’d asked, they wouldn’t have gotten a chance to visit one anyway; surely their parents would given them an answer like The public libraries are for people who can’t afford books. We’re above that, Michiyo Kurono.
(The thought itself made them roll their eyes. The fact of how little they ever needed to visit a library was fine, but they knew their parents would phrase it in the most annoying way possible.)
In any case, they were already having the fun new experience of murder and futility and mayhem, why not add to that with a visit to a public library?
They quietly stepped into the room, taking a moment to look around at the various shelves of books. This wasn’t that bad! It wasn’t nearly as fancy as the family library, but it had a nice collection of books, and it looked comfortable enough. They’d compromised enough this trip when it came to luxury, so this was a walk in the park.
Scanning the spines of the books, they wondered if there were any books they could find on the topic of gem symbolism, or perhaps even one in flower and plant symbolism? If they could look through the forest and get a few flowers, they could use those in some manner. Then again, maybe using plants from this place would be a bad idea, considering its mere association in negativity… so maybe focusing on gems and the ones they had would be–
”Kurono-san!”
(Oh my god.)
They inhaled sharply, then let out their breath at a considerably slower pace. Chill out, Michiyo. Hadn’t you already told yourself she’s not actually that bad? With that thought in mind, they turned to their side and gave her a small, if slightly forced, smile.
“Ah… hey, Tsuzu, you’re also here?”
Though, the smile dropped when she began speaking–and Lord, she certainly enjoyed speaking–and then returned a bit more naturally. She knew about gemstones too? Was she also interested in them? They hesitated to mention their own interest, wondering if hers was an aesthetic interest or perhaps a more scientific interest, but then she mentioned magic and the magical properties of them and without skipping a beat,
“You also practice it?!”
It’d come out without hesitation, and before they could help it their eyes had lit up, the words flowing out like a flood of rambling enthusiasm.
“I actually… I mean, I also kinda do crystal healing? Or, I mean, I still have a bit to learn, but I have a bunch of ‘em in my room! I got a bunch more at home, but I figured bringin’ like a hundred rocks would’ve been hell to drag around, y’know?”
As they spoke. Their hand begun digging into the pocket of their dress, seeming to hold something but apparently not pulling it out just yet. The other rubbed the back of their neck and they continued speaking faster than they usually did.
“I’m not like, uh, I don’t do magic too often though, but I do know a lot about it! Well, I guess using gemstones for their properties is a kind of magic? I use incense and candles pretty often too, but I haven’t done a lot of… spells, I guess? And I’ve mostly only done simple ones…”
(Geez, and you’re gonna shame her for speaking when you become a chatterbox on any topic you’re super invested in?)
“I was, um… I was gonna see if there were some books on that here? I already got some on it in my room, but sometimes dif books have new info! Right?”
There was nothing so satisfying as talking to someone who was not only interested in but genuinely enthusiastic about what she was talking about. Shion knew these well from experience. If people just talking to her and paying attention to what she was saying was validation on its own, this sort of time was validation squared. Essentially, she’d hit paydirt here. And it was marvelous.
“Ah, you too, Kurono-san? <Wonderful!> What a fortunate turn of events this is, yes indeed!”
Shion had somehow managed to double in enthusiasm in the past few minutes, because she wasn’t already intense enough. Such was the power of this sort of validation for Shion Tsuzuki.
“Alas, I have not been as diligent about learning the art of crystal healing as one such as myself ought to have been - the life of a musician like myself is a terrible drain on one’s free time, but! I am learning, slowly but surely. And I did pack as much gemstone jewelry as I could justify bringing along to myself, so gods know, I’m not lacking in materials on that front. And I would be happy to share what I’ve brought along, if you so wish! Those things are but a drop in the bucket for my esteemed self, after all.”
Someday, Shion would manage to go five minutes without reminding everyone around her about how obscenely wealthy she was. Today was not one of those days, unfortunately.
“I can’t say I’ve performed all that many spells myself, quite honestly... ‘tis yet another thing I need an opportunity to practice. But then, I’m still young... gods know, I have plenty of time. I do tell fortunes, though, as I mentioned a moment ago - if you ever wish to get a glimpse into the future, I perform skillful - and accurate - tea leaf readings one hundred percent free of charge! And I have... well, I’ve attempted to contact the dead a few times, but they’ve yet to answer me. Then, it is my grandfather I’ve been primarily trying to get a hold of... he’s probably afraid of me, the coward.”
Shion nodded in agreement with her own words, looking a bit more proud about repeatedly failing to contact (and subsequently fight, because that was the end goal, she needed to fight the bastard, since he’d died before she’d gotten the chance in life) a dead man than she should have been. How was that even something to be proud of anyway? One would never know with her.
“And exactly, Kurono-san! Great minds think alike! <Simply marvelous>!”
She followed this (very loud, oh my god, Shion, this is a library) statement up with an enthusiastic fist-pump before clapping her hands together and adding
“Hopefully we can find something of worth here on that front, because if any place needs the liberal application of magic, it’s this one. This building will have lost all right to call itself a library, if this isn’t the case.”
It was also going to be a while before Shion went five minutes without being melodramatic, it seemed.
Welcome to the Impromptu Rich People Olympics | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [ATTN: Rover]
You could say, that when Rover looked at a person—any person, that is—he was regarding them like they held all the secrets and answers to the world, and perhaps if he stared long enough, close enough, then he could find all those answers with his gaze alone. He looked to Shion the same as he would anyone else, with wonder and if she was the other end of a magnet he was being drawn to. He listened to her pour on about fencing, and in that instant he seemed completely captivated by each word that rolled off her lips.
(She had so much potential, potential he didn’t—)
“But you can compete, can’t you? You still can. I mean, I don’t get why you’d—y’don’t gotta retire, y’know? You can still do it, like, maybe not now, but maybe one day, yeah? An’ that’s somethin’, like, I couldn—”
(Rover could not. Maybe in some ways, but not the ways he wanted. She could, though, she could, so why—)
Instead of continuing that thought, he cut himself with a weak grin and stretched his arms above his head, lowered them, and stopped when his hand got to the back of his head. Moving on.
“And, uh, yeah! Sometimes I need better ways to burn off steam or energy or whatever than runnin’, so practicin’ things over an’ over gives me somethin’ t’do. If I ever get too pissed off at one, then I can just do another thing, so I know loads of tricks like that, kehe.”
And, also, knowing fancy tricks made his chest swell. Hearing Shion’s praise, albeit softer than the usual hoots and hollers he’d get from his parents and friends, still lit his heart up like fireworks.
But then it was her turn, and Rover didn’t even get time to prepare himself for, actually, being really impressed. For a moment he merely stared at her, her running, leaping, landing neatly, then doing more—it seemed to completely register sometime when she was doing push-ups, and the amount of excitement that pulsed through him was akin to a lightning shock. A few laughs spilled out, and he called out a “Tzusuki-san! Dude!” and then laughed a few more times, mostly out of sheer.. surprise? Maybe it was one thing to hear her say all that stuff, but another thing entire to see her show it off. She certainly didn’t… look like the type to actually follow through with all the athleticism claims.
When she toppled over Rover didn’t even bat an eye, he was still grinning, moving over to offer to help her up before—er, wait, she was just.. back on her feet.
So Rover watched her, how quickly she stood back up and dusted herself off, coughed to clear the silence and spoke with the slightest of shakes in her voice. And he still watched her, for a couple beats after that, blinking, and then said:
“Kehehe, don’t sweat it, dude. If yer gonna fall, then y’gotta really fall, s’the only way to do it.” Rover bent his legs suddenly, swiped his hand through the air as he was chopping something in half. His eyes narrowed. “Break the ground! Break yer leg! Break the whole damn Earth! Fall so hard y’make a crack to the centre of the world!”
His voice rose with his sudden passion, and Rover ended with a rather loud “YEAAH!!”, straightening his legs and fist pumping towards the ceiling. He turned so their eyes locked, his gleaming.
“Biggest falls make the best stories, yeah?”
Anyway.
“But, dude, that took me waaay off guard. Are ya, like, super ripped under all that fancy stuff? I’ve never tried doin’ push-ups upside down like that, I should—looked fun. One day, maybe, when yer super good at it, y’can do that… y’know like, jumpin’, and clappin’, but still in a handstand, yeah? That’d be sick!”
Shion had been expecting Rover to react as negatively towards her falling as she herself felt about the fact. She was holding out for derision, for disappointment, for shock at how horrendously inadequate someone who was supposed to be as perfect as Shion Tsuzuki really was, all sentiments that were swirling in her head even now.
What she hadn’t expected was... well, that. People wanted to see her fail, they were going to seize on any bit of weakness she showed as a means to hate her, that was what Shion knew for a fact, but he... was praising her? Even after she’d failed like that? Gods, beat still her heart, this was too much. Did it erase the wound to her dignity? No. But it helped a bit.
And truth be told, Shion hadn’t expected her own reaction either - to break out laughing, pressing a hand to her mouth to muffle the sound slightly.
“Gods bless, Rover-san... gods bless.”
There she remained for a moment or two before lowering her hand, now beaming visibly as she spoke.
“And well, falling is one of my thousands of skills, you know! You saw that performance of mine in the last trial, didn’t you? I severely doubt anyone less gifted than my esteemed self could have pulled that off!”
Shion was growing fired up herself, and it showed in how she grew more lively in tone of voice and animated in gestures by the moment. There really was nothing like being validated, even for a mishap. Nothing at all.
“And making a crack to the center of the world? Pssh... I could split the Earth in two if I so willed it. Such is the power of Shion Tsuzuki.”
She nodded self-assuredly, as if she’d said something really badass and not slightly corny, before Rover’s question drew her attention towards another one of Shion’s favorite subjects - that of her body.
“Of course I’m super-ripped! Did you not see me at the last... ah, just look!”
With that said, Shion proceeded to quickly roll the sleeves of her dress shirt up as far as they could go, exposing the arms she’d showed off during Itona’s trial, arms that were both covered with freckles and noticeably well-muscled. (It would have been easier to just take her shirt off - she was wearing an undershirt underneath it, but propriety.) And with that done, she proceeded to casually flex. Again. Welcome to the gun show, Rover.
“There’s a lot more where that came from of course, naturally. I do exercise regularly - those push-ups are just a part of it. Mind you, I mainly focus on my upper body - the stronger your arms, the more endurance they have, and the longer you can hold them in one place when you’re standing on a stage playing the theremin in front of thousands of people - but I do try to keep in tip-top shape in general.”
Shion took a moment to preen before adding
“Musicians are athletes, you know. We might not have coaches, but our ability to do our jobs is highly contingent on the state of our body, ergo, it’s imperative that it’s well taken care of, lest it break down under the strain otherwise. And it will be a long time indeed before my body does that.”
She wasn’t like her mother, after all. She wasn’t going to end up like that, a sad, hollow shell of a musician, uselessly pining away after a musical career that had been cut short due to that game-breaking injury of hers. No, Shion Tsuzuki, who chased after physical perfection with as much fervor as she did musical perfection, was far above such things.
(It... hadn’t been in her mother’s control, that hadn’t, but she didn’t like focusing on that. If there was anything Shion despised, it was anything being beyond her control.)
“See, Rover-san, I might have had to quit the fencing team, and it might be a long time indeed before the Olympics are in my sights - I might have to figure out how to be in two places in once first - but here’s the thing. I don’t need them. I have tens of thousands of fans around the globe, I’ve thrown concerts overseas, I have people lining up to collaborate with me, I have had young people who were inspired by my esteemed self to pick up the theremin... when I look at it that way, I’ve hardly given anything up. I’m merely drawing fame my way with a different breed of athleticism.”
Quite honestly, bragging like this left a bit of a sour taste in Shion’s mouth, although she tried not to let that on. Sure, she had all that, but it was outside, and it was sometimes downright arduous, forcing herself to subsist completely cut off from it. It wasn’t that she’d never get it back, mind you, she would, because she was Shion Tsuzuki, and the heavens - errors aside - were always looking out for her, but... but...
...she still missed it. Talking about it still made her feel terribly lonely, and perhaps it showed in how Shion paused for a moment or two before speaking again, her tone betraying no shred negativity whatsoever.
“And gods, that is a fantastic idea, Rover-san! And definitely within my abilities, believe you me! I swear, by the time we get out of this place, I’ll be able to do all of that and more! It isn’t as if it’s unreasonable for me! Gods... the heavens will weep indeed to see how far I will have come.”
She took a moment to mock dramatically dab at her eyes with one silk-gloved hand before moving to roll her sleeves back down, because it was high time she put her suit jacket and waistcoat back on, pausing to ask
“But anyway, do you enjoy museums, Rover-san? Gods know, I do, and I’ve had the fortune of touring some fantastic ones myself. I don’t expect this one to measure up to say, the Louvre or the Hermitage Museum, mind, but there ought to be something worth seeing here as well.”
Welcome to the Impromptu Rich People Olympics | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [ATTN: Rover]
If Rover thought she was bluffing behind all her assurances, he didn’t show it. He didn’t seem impressed, either, but at the very least he did listen along. Fencing sounded really awesome, and mind-blowing athleticism could be just about anything, right? Wonder what she meant in particular. Or did she just mean.. everything? Rover hummed as he watched her boast, and when she finished, grinned.
“Oooh, y’got the skills to own up to those words, then?”
He seemed genuinely curious, and backed up for her to show off her sick talent, before the invitation for him to do so instead was brought forward.
…Of course he wasn’t going to miss the chance.
“Well, I gotta now, don’t I?”
He didn’t seem all too reluctant by that proposal—Rover was keen and quick to sliding off his backpack and taking off his headphones, then setting them off to the side against one of the displays. He moved back around the metal detector to the front door of the museum, and then took a few steps back.
Drumroll…! Dun dun dun bum bum bum brtatatatat!
Rover ran forward! At about two steps he ducked himself down as if he were about to do a cartwheel, but just… didn’t put his hand down. The aerial was quick, and one second he was jumping and moving upside down, and the next the alarm was blaring like some sort of makeshift applause. He was back on his feet shortly, bringing his hand down for a peace sign by the side of his face.
He flashed Shion a grin, a beam, a kinda look that said: “See, what I tell ya? 20/10.”
But the cartwheel seemed to have.. changed Rover’s general mood—for the first time in quite sometime there was this blitz of enjoyment coursing through him—energy and excitement—and he was all wide smiles and bright eyes. Rover hummed, rolling up on the balls of his feet and hopping from side to side.
“Wait, wait, I can also—”
And… and without waiting for a reply, he bent over as if he were about to touch his toes. Instead, he placed his palm on the cool surface of the floor, and with a soft “hup!”, pushed both his feet off the ground and raised them up. A handstand! He didn’t have amazing form or anything, but at the very least you had to give him credit for doing it so effortlessly—he tipped his head a bit, looking up at her in his upside-down stance.
“And—”
Rover pushed his palm up, raising himself so he was balancing on his fingers instead. With another small jump, he lifted away his pinky, ring finger, and thumb, so he was only on two fingers. Though his grin had been replaced with a more.. concentrated expression, he still looked like he was having a ball. He held that for maybe, like, five seconds, and then dropped to his palm, and lowered his legs. When he’d straightened himself back up, his face was flushed red. He swayed slightly.
“Eh, eh? Impressive, right? I’ve been tryna work to only one finger, but I still can’t hold myself up with two fingers for too long, so I gotta work on that first. If I had a trampoline I could show ya cooler tricks, or monkey bars an’ stuff.”
The builder’s gaze grew a little distant, pausing if only for a couple heartbeats before continuing.
“I think if things had been a lil different, then doing gymnastic stuff coulda been loads of fun, y’know? Maybe I coulda gone to the Olympics.”
In some alternate universe, maybe. But more likely just in your dreams.
“Anyway, show me whatcha got!” An air-punch for emphasis. “I’m way pumped now.”
Shion watched with - considerably restrained, mind you - awe as Rover did his thing. And then another thing. And then another thing after that. This was... here the thereminist had been, expecting the boy before her to simply be talking a good game, and then he did all that. Gods, this was...
...just a bit intimidating, if Shion had to be honest with herself. No, more than slightly intimidating. For a moment, she had comforted herself with the fact that she had the option of performing a handstand - her arm strength was excellent, and she could hold out for a while, she’d taught herself to in order to train her upper body’s endurance, surely that was enough in itself, but then he had to do one too... on two fingers. If Shion tried that she’d-
-but she couldn’t let that on. Someone like herself didn’t have the option. Shion Tsuzuki was above everyone here, after all. Even if they could pull more acrobatic tricks than she’d have any hope of doing any time soon.
“Ah... I suppose that was a rather impressive display, Rover-san. I can’t say I was expecting... any of that, to be quite honest. Do you practice this sort of thing regularly?”
There was nothing backhanded in the thereminist’s tone - she sounded genuinely nice there, if on the subdued side. But she wasn’t going to give that 20/10. On that she would not yield. Were this Kotone (if Kotone ever took in interest in this business...), it would be a different story, but Rover was like the others, and Shion did not give her admiration freely to most people.
But you know, that didn’t mean she had to be a jerk about it. Reputation was everything for Shion Tsuzuki, and if that meant forcing herself to sound nice and appreciative when she felt put on the spot and nervous, so be it. Only a wasteful fool would drive away sources of attention for no reason.
“And you as well, hm? That’s how I am, quite honestly. About fencing, I mean. I did compete regionally, you know, back in junior high. I carried that school’s fencing team to victory on my shoulders, really - my skills were - and are that superb! But... it is difficult, balancing the life of a professional musician and a competitive athlete, and thus... I was forced to retire. I still do spar regularly, of course, but I too, have had to set all Olympic aspirations aside.”
Shion took a moment to stare dramatically off into the distance, heaving a heavy sight in order to intensify the effect before she realized that she had been called upon to show her stuff. Which meant she had to show Rover something. Something that he hadn’t already done. Something that she would not screw up, making herself look like a failure in the process.
But what could she do?
The temptation to just go ‘No, I don’t feel like this, let’s just peruse these exhibits instead’ was strong, and were Shion anyone else, she would have acted on it. But Shion was the second most important person on Earth, which meant that she was not allowed to back down, not from this.
Ah, wait! She could... but she’d only tried once or twice...
...that didn’t matter, Shion promptly decided. She had to. She had no choice now. Besides, she was herself - if she wished to blow Rover away with sheer skill, she would. So rather than backing down right there, she instead responded with a chipper
“<Of course, Rover-san! Watch and be amazed!>”
before removing her suit jacket and waistcoat, setting those by the same display, and running back through the metal detector herself. From there, she did a few running steps forward, before leaning forward and kicking up and lunging forward into a handstand, following that up with a few upside down push-ups, an exercise the thereminist had carried out more than a few times in the past, all in the name of ensuring her arms would be in tip-top shape.
But that, that was not going to be enough in the slightest, gods no. Instead, after shooting Rover a ‘pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say?’ expression, her face now slightly flushed, Shion proceeded to walk forward on her hands. This, this was impressive, wasn’t it? It had to be! It took strength, it took endurance, it took balance, it...
...was something that Shion did not have much experience doing. Had she not been desperate to impress Rover, she wouldn’t have even considered it. As it was, the thereminist went forward one pace, two paces, three, four... and as she moved to go forward a fifth pace, her brain registered that something was wrong, either in the positioning of her arms or the alignment of her body, and she-
-fell. It wasn’t even an elegant fall, oh no. Shion landed sprawled in a heap on the ground with a heavy thud, leaving her staring up at the ceiling.
It didn’t hurt that much, granted, it really didn’t. The thereminist only spent a moment or so on the floor before hauling herself to her feet and brushing herself off. But her dignity was another story. Truth be told, fleeing the museum in shame was looking like a really tempting option at the moment, because this was unacceptable, coming from someone like her, she was supposed to be perfect, she was supposed to be everyone’s ideal, and she had to fuck up, like some poor man’s excuse for a-
-no. She was not going to dwell on that, not now. Shion would let those steadily-building feelings of shame and humiliation and rage at herself out later, when she was alone. As usual. No one here needed to see that. Instead, she simply coughed and let out a slightly shaky but otherwise neutral-sounding
“Well, that was unfortunate.”
She was going to be vigorously practicing walking on her hands tonight, suffice it to say.
Knowledge is Power, and I Am Incredibly Powerful | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [ATTN: Michiyo]
Libraries weren’t somewhere Shion willingly patronized very much under normal circumstances. Having a place to borrow books seemed pointless when you were financially loaded like her and capable of just buying whatever you needed, after all. Back in the outside world, she’d only used them for school assignments and the occasional study group, when said study group wasn’t just held at her house, which was the preferable option anyway, because ‘please don’t speak so loudly, this is a library’ wasn’t something anyone would tell Shion in the comfort of her own home.
But then, this wasn’t the outside world. This was the wonderful closed circle of fucking Meridian, where Shion was completely cut off from any new books or new anything else that didn’t come out of a capsule machine. And since Shion was bored out of her damned skull half the time, it stood to reason that she make use of the place. Besides, maybe she’d find something to expand her already vast knowledge bases with here. Or clues to her situation, that too. A library would be an excellent place for clues to hang out, no? That was how it worked in books, anyway.
So there Shion was today, carefully browsing the shelves in search of a book on gem symbolism, or perhaps, even better, one on crystal healing, because she really needed to polish her knowledge in that field nowadays, what with how things were going.
This careful browsing lasted up until Shion keyed onto the presence of another person beside her, and if there was anything Shion Tsuzuki was not good at, it was refraining from asserting her presence in the general direction of anyone nearby. So assert her presence she did, sidling up to the other party with a hearty
“Kurono-san! Fancy seeing you here!”
Shion was, unfortunately, no better at remembering to lower her voice in a library than she had been before getting stuck here. No, she continued to speak at her normal (above-average) volume as she carried on, wildly gesticulating as she spoke, because she couldn’t not talk with her hands when she was this fired up.
“Sooo, what might bring you to this library today? As for my esteemed self, I was just looking to see if they might have books on gemstones! Not that I’m lacking in knowledge, mind you, gods no, possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of gemstones is one of my thousands of skills, but it’s never a good time not to expand that knowledge base! After all, knowledge is power, and I… am <very powerful>, yes.”
On 'very powerful’ Shion took a moment to pose dramatically, complete with her voice momentarily going from overly enthusiastic to gravely serious. Thank you, Shion.
“And speaking of expanding my knowledge base, do you know that I practice magic? Well, truth be told, I’m simply starting on that, lack of time, you know, my schedule simply doesn’t allow for - anyway, I’ll have you know that my knowledge of tasseography is second to none, and I collect gemstones exclusively for their magical properties, but! I am working to apply that knowledge in new and exciting ways! Have you heard of crystal healing, Kurono-san? Because I am fast on my way to making that into one of my thousands of skills! In fact, I’m already halfway there and then some! <Incredible, no?>”
Shion, who had been steadily running out of breath as she ran her mouth non-stop, paused, took a moment to inhale, and then added
“But anyway, what does bring you here, Kurono-san? Knowing minds wish to inquire!”
Judging by her tone of voice there, Shion felt herself to have said something incredibly clever and not, you know, incredibly cheesy. Again, thank you, Shion.
Welcome to the Impromptu Rich People Olympics | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [ATTN: Rover]
Earlier, before a certain thereminist arrived, Rover hadn’t even noticed the metal detector until after he set it off. As per usual of the builder’s lack of flight response, he didn’t even flinch at the sudden sirens blaring. Actually, after the initial pause, tipping his head back to look up at the structure he’d walked through, he cracked a grin and snickered a few times.
Hahaha, metal detectors were hilarious. Setting them off was hilarious. He spent a good ten minutes or so hopping through it, setting off the alarm over and over and over again until he felt a ringing in his ears, and moved on to the actual.. purpose of the building.
Long, long ago, Rover decided museums were both the coolest and lamest tourist attraction created—he liked seeing dinosaurs and walking through rooms with cobblestone floors and walls decorated to look like old store fronts, areas where you could shift through dirt and water to find ‘gold’, but he didn’t like reading about old pots and the history of how they discovered how to tell the weather. He liked seeing weapons bigger than himself but could pass on listening to audio explanations on how they were made. Rover liked learning! Just the cool things.
At any rate, Rover held the museum with a lot of expectation, and was ready to turn on his heels and leave if the place quickly proved to be anything less than a snore-fest, before he caught sight of movement behind him. He turned his head to catch Shion fly in, give herself some commentary, then turn to address him.
And.. and apparently he didn’t harbor any grudges from the trial—simply the mere fact she was talking to him normally was more than enough to pretend nothing had happened in the past, right? Right, hahaha!
At her question, Rover shifted his feet so he was facing her completely, then swayed side to side in thought—’hmm’ing and rubbing his chin.
“Mmm, 7/10, at best, y’need work a bit on yer landin’, an’ add a little <pizzazz>, y’feel? Anyone can jump, but if y’did a flip, or cartwheel, or summersault—”
That’d be way cooler!
“Also,” he added, after pausing a beat to smirk, “if yer implying a performance like that was a 10/10, then by those standards I could easily get a 20/10.”
Oho, quite the bark, kiddo.
A careful observer would have noticed Shion freeze up slightly at that ‘7/10′. Part of the thereminist knew objectively that this kid had to be joking, but there was the other part that wanted to take any and all criticism deadly seriously, because if other people weren’t worshiping her, then she had fucked up irrevocably and would have to redouble her efforts.
This time, however, the more rational part of Shion won out by a hair (a rare occasion indeed, really), and rather than getting upset, the thereminist fired back with a thoroughly smug sounding
“Pssh... I’ll have you know that I was barely even trying there. Now, if I felt like actually putting forth an effort, I could do something <wonderfully impressive>, believe you me. I am no lazy layabout, after all. No, I, Shion Tsuzuki, am a fencer of immense repute, a star in every sport I try my hand at, and the stand-out member of every gym class I have taken! Pulling off feats of mind-blowing athleticism is one of my thousands of skills!”
This was... not entirely true, not really. Shion might have been good at gym class, she might have been a skilled fencer on top of that, and she might have done quite well at multiple sports, but she had no idea how to pull off the sort of acrobatics Rover was talking about here. She knew how to do handstands and how to balance on one leg for a time, and she was certainly flexible, that she knew for sure, but cartwheels and the like? She’d never tried them, and she didn’t want to try them, not when the possibility of failure was so great.
Not that she’d admit that, mind you. No, that would just be unbecoming of someone as perfect as herself, admitting she couldn’t do anything. Anything worth doing, like pulling off cartwheels in a museum, anyway.
“But mmm, I’d love to see you do better, Rover-san. If you’re up to it at the moment, that is. I respect if you aren’t, I really do.”
Shion, there’s no need to encourage this, this is a museum, not a gymnasium. Please quit while you’re ahead before something gets broken.
Welcome to the Impromptu Rich People Olympics | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [ATTN: Rover]
Was Shion still salty over her… less than ideal gains from the capsule machine? Yes, yes she was. Was she going to let that keep her down for long? Of course not! Sure, she might have still wanted revenge on the heavens for their crimes against her, but time spent sulking was time that could have been spent impressing others with her brilliance.
And besides! There were new areas for her to explore. More specifically, the knowledge district had opened up to Shion, and if there was anything Shion Tsuzuki needed it was… well, attention first and foremost, but knowledge was fairly high up there. The more you know, the more impressive you are, after all. Everyone knew that.
So off our intrepid thereminist went, practically sk… no, literally, she was literally skipping in the direction of the knowledge district, then climbing the latter as quickly as an overdressed enby in platform shoes possibly could, then strutting through the doors of the museum, and then… did she just just do a running leap through the metal detector.
Yes. Yes, she did. Shion Tsuzuki did her best running leap through the metal detector and into the museum, landing on her feet (with only a slight loss of balance!) a few feet away from it with a solid thump after the fact. And then posing for a time after she stuck the landing, because of course she did. And she didn’t even set it off. Amazing.
“Just look at that landing! This is truly impressive work from Tsuzuki-san, if I do say so myself. She might primarily act as a musician, but she is a truly impressive athletic presence as well - I’ve never seen someone so light on her feet.”
Was she seriously doing her own color commentary? Yes, yes she was, because this is who Shion Tsuzuki chose to be.
And wonder upon wonders, Shion discovered moments later, she had an audience! Marvelous! Perfect! Perhaps the heavens were making up for their error, and… sure, she had told this kid… Rover off, but that was in the past! Byegones were byegones, she felt as much, and surely, he’d agree if there was any common sense in that head of his. So instead, Shion greeted him with a chipper
“That really is a 10/10 entrance, wouldn’t you say, Rover-san?”
Grandmother Said This - Justice Is Myself | Shion | (Ab)Normal Days [Execution + Item Reaction]
Shion had not been ready for that execution at all. Not in the slightest. Oh, sure, there had been nothing… that graphic, but just the implication was… gods, it was gross. Sick. Repulsive business. Enough that she would probably be horrified on Itona’s behalf if she cared one whit about him.
As it was, Shion just stared at the ensuing proceedings with a mixture of mute disgust and horror until the execution had passed, because even if she didn’t care about the victim, her personal sensibilities were still wounded considerably. Nasty things, sharks. Nothing she could ever dislike as much as she did bugs or horses, but gods…
But finally, finally yet another execution passed, and Shion-
“…"
-said absolutely nothing this time, partially because she was at a loss for words and partially because even if she hadn’t been, she really did not feel like being subjected to any more lectures, especially on the heels of all that moralizing that had gone on beforehand. It wasn’t like she would hurt too much for missing out on another… exchange with a roommate anyway, with how high she was still riding on that validation anyway.
And thus, the thereminist instead headed off to the dorms, head held high and body… trembling only slightly, in hopes of getting some much needed rest.
—
Some time later, Shion could be found making a leisurely stroll towards the the post office, because thank the heavens, she had mail (a letter from a fan, mayhaps? or a gift? or… okay, it could be yet another note from that thief, but she’d get there when she got there), and of course, she would be foolish indeed to neglect seeing what it might be.
And what it was, Shion learned after retrieving her package, was something fantastic. Bless Butterscotch. Bless this lizard fellow with the sugary name. He would be paid back handsomely, of course, because reimbursing people for their kindness ten times over was one of her thousands of skills. And this was a kind gesture indeed - the documentary that had set the course of her life was back in her possession again, and her mood was soaring, and gods bless.
With that business taken care of, Shion headed off to the capsule machine, now sporting considerably more spring in her step and humming under her breath (it was one of her own compositions, of course) as she went. She had three coins burning a hole in her pocket, coins that she had to tangle with gods knew how many vermin to get, and as repulsive as that was… well, everything was coming up roses for her lately, so clearly, the capsule machine was going to give her a good payout, if not the best possible payout.
(By ‘best possible payout’ Shion meant ‘give me a sword, damn it’ in all honesty. Not that she’d say that publicly, mind, but…)
In any case, in went three coins, out came three capsules, and out of those capsules came…
Big Egg
It’s a big egg. It’s much larger than a normal egg. The big egg is a lot bigger. If you crack the big egg… it has another egg in it! Weird. This second egg does not have another egg inside of it, though. This was the end of the nesting doll of eggs. A two-for-one big egg.
If anyone in the immediate vicinity wanted to see a rich agender person contemplating a big egg, followed by the egg that came out of the other egg as if either egg had the possibility of containing, say, the mysteries of the universe, they would be in luck, because this was exactly what proceeded to happen for the next five minutes or so.
Unfortunately, this egg did not appear to contain anything, except another egg, and if Shion couldn’t hatch this into her very own loyal bird companion, let alone get something out of it, what was the point. Bad egg. Useless egg. Maybe she’d pawn it off on one of her roommates.
Capsule, number two, meanwhile, contained…
Fishing Net
It’s a big fishing net, with little hooks at the ends! Well, okay.
Also, useless, And stupid. Reminded her of Itona too. She hated it. Next!
Kabuto Beetle Kigu
A comfy-looking set of hooded pajamas, complete with a soft, almost shiny surface and a single long, protruding horn with a notched tip! Looking at this, you can’t help but be reminded of someone you know….
”…no.“
Gods no. A million times no. An infinite number of 'no’, Shion promptly decided, roughly tossing the offending kigu away from her and onto the floor, where it feel in an undignified heap, as if it was going to burn her hands terribly if she touched it any longer. Awful item. Cursed item, most likely. The heavens were supposed to favor her, and yet they decided that she, who despised all vermin and was going to defeat the sun one of these days would get use out of this? Really?
One day, one day when her time was finally up, Shion Tsuzuki was going to fight all the gods. At once. With her hand taped behind her. With a wooden sword. And replace at least one of them herself after this round of successful swordplay. Because this was not going to stand - even if Shion was a mortal, she was the second most important mortal, just a bit left to the center of the world herself, and…
…she was a generous mortal as well, the most generous mortal, with generosity being yet another one of her thousands of skills, so rather than just leaving the kabuto kigu on the floor, she instead draped it over the capsule machine before reaching into the inside of her suit jacket, pulling out her notepad, and writing in her usual overly-fancy scrawl
Free to a good home. First come, first served. Have a nice day.
- Shion Tsuzuki.
And with that note written, ripped off the notepad, and dropped unceremoniously on top of the kigu, Shion stalked off, still mumbling darkly under her breath about how steamed she was at the heavens, and how they would be hearing from her too, give or take eighty years, and the next time she found some coins, they’d best reimburse her, because the wrath of the second most important human on Earth could be a terrible thing, you know. Even if you were a god.
Chapter 3 Thread Tracker
Rover
Michiyo
Open!
I think I can take one more person, so hit me up if you want a Shion. Also, if you want to just plot daily interactions and such with me, feel free to hit me up for that as well!
The Sound of Two Eyes Rolling | Shion | Monobear Theatre
Shion didn’t say anything else during the trial, not when so much of it consisted of an absolute bullshit debate she had no interest partaking in. She did make her thoughts on that quite well-known of course, letting out an audibly derisive snort and punctuating it with a roll of her eyes once Haruka opened her mouth and throwing in some additional, less pronounced eye rolls for a few more of her classmates because oh my gods-
Who cared that other people might have killed over this motive had Itona not done so first? Not Shion, that was for sure. Because sure, they were right, she had tossed around the idea of killing for the motive around in her head, but ultimately, she hadn’t. Itona, however, had, clearing the motive in the process, which meant they could move on now… was it that hard?
And sure, sure voting people to their death wasn’t moral, but Shion really wasn’t someone who thought about morality all that much. Shion’s primary concern was how to benefit Shion, and you know what benefited Shion? This motive being taken care of, and the person responsible dying before they could potentially screw her over, that was what benefited Shion. That it wasn’t moral meant nothing to her, nor did the fact that she didn’t find it all that pleasurable. It held the greatest benefit. That was that.
Anyway, in went the votes, and oh, look at that, turns out they were right, what a surprise. And then the man of the hour, Itona Takenaka himself finally opened his mouth and-
-you know what? Were Shion in a different frame of mind, his claims that only Chiyo and Naoya deserved credit for pinning him as the culprit would have genuinely gotten to her. As it was, the thereminist was riding high on validation, and thus, she was able to ensure Itona’s words meant nothing more to her than the buzzing of a mosquito in her ears.
He was jealous, she told herself, he was utterly consumed with envy over her… everything, he was faced with her utter brilliance, and it made him realize how utterly pathetic he was, and thus, he was pulling the same routine that so many other irrelevants in her life had pulled - trying to minimize the accomplishments of that awful narcissist in a desperate bid to add a bit of meaning to their lives.
Shame that awful narcissist could recognize the bleating of the irrelevant for what it was at times like this, wasn’t it? And she took a moment to prove that, answering Itona’s words with a sharp laugh before momentarily turning her attentions towards him and delivering a curt
“Oh no, I understand. If I was in your position, I suppose I’d be making sad attempts to tear me down too.”
(And of course she didn’t know Camille, of course she didn’t care, what was it to her, what difference did it make that both murderer and victim were irrelevant in her eyes, why was she expected to spend so much energy trying to identify with and care about people, why were people always going on and on and on about this utter shit, what was the point-
Thank the gods Shion was Shion and not one of them, living so concerned with this garbage instead of concentrating on the bottom line - she was safe, her sister would be there for her, the people here that she had any measure of regard for were still here - would never cease to sound like such a ridiculously exhausting way of living.)
My Job Here Is Done | Shion | School Trial 02 [Re: Rover]
Itona Takenaka, it seemed, was the guilty party after all. And Shion didn’t care that it was the guy who sniffed everyone (but did he appreciate her cologne, that was the true question)… Naoya, that it was Naoya calling him out. It was her tracing that had indicated Itona’s guilt first, it was her clever idea (sure, Kimi had it as well, but she’d done it better) that had helped turned suspicions in Itona’s direction, ergo, she was responsible for ferreting Itona out in the end.
Her job here was done. Never mind that she’d barely done anything. Shion didn’t care about that detail. It was done.
“Ah, how about that? The shoe did fit after all~ You’d best thank the gods you all had me around.”
Shion felt so validated now, and nothing, least of all the fact that she hadn’t even been the one to compare Itona’s shoe to the tracing she’d took, was going to stop her from feeling this way.
So of course, from there, it was only a matter of slamming a vote in for Itona, and… oh gods, enough! Was Monobear doing this to spite her? Gods, he probably was, Shion mused bitterly, eyebrow twitching irritably in the wake of the loud ‘yee-haw’ her vote had set off. Just more grounds for her to take great pleasure in destroying him, once that day came.
(Because it would. It had to. Shion always, always came out on top, because she was supposed to. Anything else was unacceptable.)
And perhaps Shion would have spent the rest of the trial silently gloating (she didn’t owe Itona any words, he was irrelevant to her, a part of the scenery, as much of a background character as Camille could be, why should she care) were it not for Rover’s words there. The whole 'oh no, what if he didn’t do it’ business she could let slide, she supposed, but that… was this kid seriously telling the class not to vote for him? Please. Please. That was enough to draw Shion’s attention his way.
“What, so he can go out, kill someone else, and then get the rest of us killed after the fact? So that someone else who didn’t do it can die in his place now? I don’t enjoy this, gods no, I don’t want people to die, I’m not some savage, but the fact of the matter is, it’s either him or someone without blood on their hands. Takenaka-san made his own bed, and now he has to lay in it.”
Shion followed up her words with a shrug. She didn’t like saying this and was fairly aware of how it must have made her come off (even with her carefully choosing her words, markedly leaving out how little she cared about the feelings of someone who barely registered on her radar, because for someone like her, someone who required the love and approval of others, reputation was everything), but it needed saying. And if anyone was the person to say anything, it was Shion Tsuzuki.
After a moment’s silence, Shion added, this time in English
“< If you can think of some way to… get around this without innocent people dying, be my guest. But otherwise, this is how it has to be.>”
(Subvert, that was the word she had been looking for, but whatever the English equivalent was eluded her, so this would have to do.)
And with her piece said, Shion turned her attentions back to more silent gloating until the bell finally tolled for Itona Takenaka, a victory that she had helped made possible.
(Were it her friend there, things would have been different. Shion knew that. But she wasn’t in the mood to muster up empathy she usually couldn’t manage. This was how that had to be as well.)
Show Off the Goods | Shion | School Trial 02 [Re: Body Checks, Motive Sharing]
Toshio’s applause did not go unnoticed by Shion, who, after hauling herself back up onto her feet, answered it with an elaborate bow, still visibly beaming as she straightened up.
“<Thank you, thank you>, Todoroki-san! It certainly is one of my thousands, yes! Bless you for noticing!”
And then Shion just took some time to gloat as those around her agreed with her statements, because of course they would. She was always right, after all. Even if she wasn’t entirely accurate about chloroform, it seemed. But oh well, who cares about details? People agreed with her proposal (and thus fed her ego), and that was what mattered.
In other news… it seemed that the guy with the beads… Itona or what have you had feet that matched those prints. (Sure, Chiyo might have measured them, but Shion traced the prints she was using now, ergo, the credit was hers by proxy, and she would happily point this out if needed.) And that was… well, Shion wasn’t about to judge now (haha, just kidding, she totally was, she just didn’t like being wrong), but if evidence started mounting against Itona, well… that would be a victory she could claim securely.Gods, her ego would be so well-nourished…
And on the trial went, with talk of checks, and those potentially being more useful for ferreting out the culprit than shoe sizes (please), and… sharing the nature of the motives? The very idea irritated Shion visibly - one might have noticed the thereminist’s face flush slightly as she opened her mouth, ready to lash out in response to that suggestion. And she would have, had Jinzae not said everything she wanted to say on that front.
But Shion spoke about this anyway, because of course she did.
“Whatever might have been on my video was my business and mine alone, thank you very much, and I’m sure everyone else feels the same way. Anyway, it wouldn’t be necessary for me to share anyway, seeing as I am completely blameless in Licht-san’s death. I don’t mind proving this too! Shoe size aside, I am completely clean. Completely. <Observe!>.”
With that said, Shion proceeded to take off and set aside her suit jacket, leaving her dress shirt and waistcoat. From there, she removed and set aside her white silk gloves as well, taking a moment to show the class her hands, which were completely clean of any marks. And then she rolled up the sleeves of her dress shirt, exposing arms that were quite well-toned, covered in freckles and most certainly not marked up, and did she just flex a little…
…was she just using this as an excuse to show off again? Yes, yes she was. And she really wasn’t making any attempt at hiding the fact.
“I can go farther, if you’d like. I have nothing to hide, believe you me. Nothing!”
Unless an absolutely fantastic body counted, Shion mused, because gods knew, her body was incredibly fantastic.
(The reminder that two of her classmates were absent without any real reason made Shion’s stomach twist a little, if only from sheer unease at the uncertainty of it all but she tried not to falter visibly on that front. It didn’t affect her anyway, no reason to worry about it… no reason at all…)
