Pitch Perfect

But nicely, you are precisely-- - my cup of tea!

[shslhighc-blog]

||Blocking 1|| Poor Unfortunate Souls

This was vile. To hear such menacing words come out in a dull, lackluster, tone. It rendered their plight of a more trivial pretense. Still, it shuddered her at the core. To think, she was being quarantined with her alleged peers-- - whom of which were complete strangers to boot. She did not know what to make of the situation. Was death so vital to the animation that they went through the hassle of cutting off all of their resources? Normally, she didn’t expect herself to be as articulate but the whole scheme was a little fishy to her.

“It.. almost seems counterproductive. If the plush really wants this.. um.. murder then, what’s the point of pushing the death penalty to everyone all at once?”

“Say.. if everyone banded together and boycotted it’s plan by refusing to partake in its scheme for bloodshed.. there’s sure to be an alternative!”

  She sounded a little too naive for her own good. In her gut, she knew the contrary. Lips pursed in tout position, she glanced down. 

“This just.. doesn’t feel right.”

[shslflowersandmotorcycles-blog]

Chapter 1|Suga|Cotton Candy Mind (Open)

[shslflowersandmotorcycles-blog]

Before Suga had the chance to really fall, his hand was caught by one much lighter and a little smaller than his. Following it back to the person it was attached to, he could only assume he’d been caught by an angel.

What else could she be? Everything about her was perfect, her hair, her eyes, her elegantly flowing outfit that looked like it may’ve come from another era…

He stared while she smiled, beautifully, of course. The world had stopped spinning a bit at least now that he had one specific thing to focus on instead of everything else about his situation.

But of course, it didn’t last long. It came back to him in bits, starting from recognizing her from the electroIDs. Her name was Minghui, she was a singer, they were both stuck here, and last but not least he looked like a mess.

He quickly pulled his hand away and turned his face a little as if there was any chance she hadn’t seen his disorientation. He didn’t care much for personal touching of this sort, even though her hand had grounded him and he immediately missed it. More importantly, in some small corner of his mind he already recognized that he couldn’t just stand around holding hands with a girl he’d only just met. It wasn’t much more than a subconscious feeling, but at least it was there at all, which spoke for the initial disorientation slowly leaving him.

“Sorry.”

He mumbled, again, even though she’d told him not to. But hadn’t that only applied to his former apology anyway?

He had to stop apologizing. He dabbed at his eyes for just a short moment before looking back at her, and immediately bowing. It made his head turn a little again.

“I’m Suga.”

He recognized a bit too late that she apparently wanted to leave the choice of where to go to him. He wasn’t equipped to make choices right now, he thought. Slowly, he looked towards the café. Then to the fountain just behind them. Without thinking much at all, he sat down on the edge of the fountain. He wasn’t sure he should be walking, and his knees were still weak, so standing hadn’t been inviting either. It wasn’t much of a conscious choice, and he hardly noticed that he hadn’t said anything in a few seconds. He needed to do better.

He tried a smile, but it didn’t turn out quite as friendly and open as it usually did.

“Uh, please, sit.”

He should have offered a seat to her first. Not that this was much to sit on. But it was at least a little comfort. There were still tears in his eyes, and he was shaking a little, he noticed. But he was doing his best.

[shslhighc-blog]

  Suga.. My.. a familiar name. She could’ve sworn she’s met him before. Ah, would it be rude to pull out her ElectroID? No, she must avoid that if anything! The most organic way of getting to know someone was through discussion, not by pseudo-knowledge of such a person.

“Mister Suga, is it? I’ll be sure to remember it.”

  Eyes lapsed in half-lidded poise, another smile blossoms on her face. She found herself matching his pace, should he require her assistance.  He still seemed a bit disconcerted, albeit.. awkward, with how their union was turning out.   But how was he to blame..? The situation was one to put anyone off their guard-- and that was something she can speak from experience.

“I apologize that we had to meet under these circumstances in particular. It isn’t something I can control, but still-- I can’t help but feel vulnerable in this position. Pray tell the others don’t feel the same.”

  Upon her fickle attempt of cracking a joke she complied to his demands, situating herself on the fountain’s ledge. It would seem her goal right now was stripping away the urgency of their ordeal in comfort of the other. ..If that cannot be done then hiding it would be the next best alternative.

“But, besides that! I’m much more interested in what you to get here. I could’ve sworn I have heard of your name before, prior to this meeting.. ah.. alas, nothing is jogging my memory.”

[shslflowersandmotorcycles-blog]

And here’s part 8/16. I think. @shslballet , I did my best but from now on I’ll just draw him in casual clothes goddamn.

[shslhighc-blog]

||Act 1|| Goodbye Lil Dream

[shsl-r0gue]

Haru had been uncharacteristically silent during the plush dog’s strange speech. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have anything to say. No, he just straight up didn’t understand the words coming from the fuzzy pup’s fluff-filled mouth. Killing, murder, death, all of those words had never been anything that Haru could remotely relate to himself. Sure, one person he knew, loved, missed, had disappeared, but he knew she probably wasn’t dead. Probably. But Haru never considered he’d be nearing the end of his life in his mid-teens.

That just wasn’t fair. 

A small voice to Haru’s right side got his attention. It was the first voice he’d heard after the dog stopped talking. It was Minghui, the girl who had only recently ran herself into the wall after he’d just said hi. 

She looked close to falling once more, this time he was sure she’d probably be out cold. He realized, in a bit of a rush, that he didn’t want to let anyone get hurt. 

Readying himself to catch her in case she did indeed fall, he tried talk her back into the land of the living.

“Hey! You alright??” His voice sounded just as scared, surprised, bewildered as he felt.

[shslhighc-blog]

  Prying herself from the unreality of the situation, she grounded herself immediately once Haru was within range.

“H- - Haru !”

   Steering herself forward, she faced him, almost as if she were to apologize.

“I’m certainly imprinting the brand of a klutz onto myself, aren’t I.. ?”

  In pathetic stride, her hand brushes the remainder of her bangs behind her ear, gauging out a chuckle in vain. She felt.. .. helpless under the weight of his gaze. A tad bit self-conscious, even. But.. wouldn’t you be too, had you not fallen 1 ½ times in front of the same person?

“I-I’m.. I’m just confused, really. Surprised... . ? Scared, ah, actually, nevermind! None of those answers are reliable to my state of mind, but I’ll manage, I promise.. !”

[shslhighc-blog]

||Act 1|| Goodbye Lil Dream

[shslnaotobe-blog]

“Surreal,” Nao repeated thoughtfully.

A lot of her life was mildly surreal–she was rich, she interacted with incredibly famous people on the regular, she was responsible for so much information at any given time, she spent more of her time in poorly surveiled parking lots than she did at school…and yet, being trapped in a mutual killing game seemed perfectly real. She could feel her feet firmly grounded on the cool tile of the floor, she had a perfect cognizance of what was going on. Surreal wasn’t the word she would use.

She frowned slightly. That kind of reaction would do her no good at all, and likely make her look shadier than she already was. So at Minghui’s thoughtlessly parsed out question, she shrugged. It would have to do. Better to be vague than a liar.

“I’d say it’s nice to meet you but current circumstances make it, you know, a little less nice,” Nao said, her frown dissipating. “But, yeah, I’m Nao Tobe. You’re the…Soprano, right? Is that more of an opera thing or do you do regular musicals too?”

[shslhighc-blog]

“Nao Tobe.. ah, the artist, is that right? It’s quite nice to meet you.”

   She dips her head, arcing her body into a semi-curtsy. In all honesty, she did not feel on par with the rest of them. Yes.. the title added some legitimacy to her achievements, but.. . It felt almost off to be in a room with those who’ve certainly exerted much of their efforts to get where they are today. 

“Oh-- well.. it’s an amalgam of both, really! But I’ve a tendency towards opera, frankly, given it showcases my range much more. Rather.. that is what my manager tells me.”

The corners of her lips perk up momentarily. 

“But my experience on stage is similar to those who’ve performed before, so I’ve no use in reciting such overplayed traditions. Though that doesn’t mean I’ve no stories to tell-- at last, I.. think I’ll save them for when it’s appropriate! What of you? An artist’s experience must differ from performers. It’s a given!”

[shslflowersandmotorcycles-blog]

Chapter 1|Suga|Cotton Candy Mind (Open)

Without paying attention to who it was (what did it matter after all, random selevtion seemed to be much of what his life would depend on from now on), he approached the next best person and tapped their shoulder lightly. Or at least, that had been the plan. It might have worked out, but his legs… he didn’t know why…. his legs didn’t work. It was like they’d been replaced by springs, replaced by jelly, replaced by…. something that wasn’t flesh and bone and muscle and that he had limited control over. He took a step, but stumbled forward, and the hand he’d raised to tap their shoulder lightly was instead used to cling onto them for balance. He didn’t really fall so much as stumble against them, and what came out of his mouth wasn’t so much a greeting as a

“Oh, oh, sorry, I’m… sorry, hi.”

Mumbled quickly, under his breath. It was as if he was still half asleep. But he had to wake up. At least check who he’d stumbled into (the second time today, he noted, that he’d begun a conversation by physically walking into a classmate. He would make it a point to stop, but he knew that if he could, he wouldn’t have started doing it in the first place). So he raised his head a little to look at their face. His vision was still blurry. His eyes were burning and he couldn’t see so well. He still didn’t know why.

[shslhighc-blog]

  For one, it seemed it a mutual dismay that seemed to pander the two together. Just moments earlier, she’d been fixed to the same circumstance, with palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy. What happened next came on reflex-- Upon slight contact, she turned around and caught his hand with hers in the effort to offer him some kind of crutch. 

“Please. No need to apologize.”

 A smile flowered on her face, delicate with a fragile warmth. Like the sun, she hoped to radiate this comfort unto the student and unto those around her, even amidst these trying times. 

“I just hope you’re alright-- ! A lot of people seem to be falling these days-- ah.. h-hour? I.. suppose.”

 She made an attempt to laugh, coming out more inaudible than ever. It seems there remained a few nerves stuck in her throat. Perhaps.. serving the pillar of solace for others was a lot more difficult than first thought. However, she’ll manage! Strength and fear travel similarly in the fashions that infections do. There may be great strength in numbers, but for one to cower means all to cower in the fallout. It was decided she’ll do her best to stay determined and assist others during these hurdles. Even if she was just one, she would make it count.

“Would you like to sit down, maybe..? There’s a little cafe just east of the fountain-- And I must admit.. the way the water cascades down the surface is truly marvel.. wherever you choose to linger, I hope I can assist!”

[lavellanpls]

[shslhighc-blog]

||Act 1|| Goodbye Lil Dream

[shslnaotobe-blog]

Nao’s eyes widened as she saw the girl in front of her began to topple. Maybe her knees had gotten locked? It happened sometimes when someone stood up for too long–they fainted for almost no reason at all. She moved to the side of the girl, so that if she fell, she’d fall onto Nao rather onto the cold hard ground.

Normally, Nao wasn’t quite so charitable, or willing to get in someone’s space. Live-or-die situations like the present did not seem likely to bring out the best in her, either, given her firm belief that it’s a dog eat dog style world in general. But given that small acts of kindness can have big rewards if played properly, and the fact that she had absolutely no other cards to play–well, it wasn’t like it was a huge effort, anyway.

“What is it you don’t believe in?” she asked, betting that talking would keep the girl from passing out entirely. “Talking dogs aren’t generally real if that’s what’s got you doubting. It’s a robot.”

The explanation was unneeded because, well, there was no way that Makeinu looked anything like the generally accepted quadrupedal variety of mutt. But hey, who was Nao to judge if the delicate singer had never seen a dog before? Rich people were like that sometimes, and this girl looked very rich.

[shslhighc-blog]

  Skimming the other girl by a mere inch, the singer caught herself in her daze. Interaction happened to be her only outlet when it came down to trimming the frayed ties of her thoughts-- or so it seemed. Steering herself to face the student, her eyes had cast themselves to the ground on whim.

“Oh, well.. that I knew.. ! It’s more so.. I mean, that the whole situation seems.. a-ah..  what’s the word.. ?”

   Rather.. there were just too many words to describe the circumstance at hand! Or better, the lack thereof. To portray the cesspool of her muddled sentiment through movements was one thing-- but to rehearse such a thing through verbal expression was something entirely different. Everything had a nuance to it. An essence.  Like a color-- if two people were to describe what the hue blue meant to them, it’d generate many different answers. Some commonplace, some unusual. It is something personal to them.

That’s how Minghui felt with words. Words may have a standard definition, clean-cut from the dictionary, but its connotation is never the same between two people. For now.. it’d be best to use a term, an emotion, that could be shared with everyone.

“Surreal.”

“Don’t you think.. ..?”

A pause.

“A.. anyways, I don’t think we’ve formally met, have we? My name is Minghui! And you must be.. T.. Tobe-san..?”

[shsl--speaker-blog]

drew kanon during class!! ❤️ i love her design so much… wa lolita AND twin drills

[shslhighc-blog]

||Act 1|| Goodbye Lil Dream

  She was on the brink of tears at this point. A luster of porcelain rimmed the bottom of her lids, a hand clutching her wrist tightly as though to ground her. It wasn’t in response to the whole quarantine situation, no-- and it wasn’t over the fact the rest of her existence would quite possible be scraped away in this sad, limited vicinity. No.. in fact, the object of terror was taken over by the strange dog-like animatronic in its stead. That, indeed, was what she was crying at. Was it in spite of disbelief? Potentially. In resonance with the plush’s emotions? Quite possible. A hidden distaste for dogs? Honestly... ..

“.. ..I don’t believe it.”

  Well, there was no use in crying over spilled milk anyways. If that were the appropriate motto to say in this case. She wasn’t very good at analogies. Perhaps it would benefit her to turn this distressed fit into one of curiosity. Granted she would-- - had she not been paralyzed to the ground, teetering precariously to the side as though she were to faint. 

This was one hell of a grande opening for the First Act.

[shslxvirtuoso-blog]

{da capo} || prologue || open

“……What a pain.”

His voice, though muffled and strained from him pinching the bridge of his nose, was barely audible among the dull roar of the chatter surrounding him. Not that he was aiming to be noticed, anyway. He quietly began to scale up the wall and gingerly support himself so he could get on his feet. Within a mere few minutes of aimless walking, he managed completely lose track of where he was going.

He froze following a couple of cautious steps, tilting his head sideways as the realization of having a rough plan being a necessity slowly dawned on him. He spun around with about as much grace as a toddler just beginning to learn how to walk, his body taking on a whole new meaning to involuntary movements. Teetering and wobbling, Wataru accomplished retaining his balance and approached the first person he could find, tapping them on the shoulder without any shred of delicate tact. 

“Hey… I’m going to walk with you… to wherever you’re going.”

[shslhighc-blog]

Among the rabble a few noises tinkled from the crowd that were as distinct as it was dissonant against the chatter that rattled them all. Immediately the word “quarantine” drilled into her head-- and the morbidly lackluster setting they found themselves in didn’t help the matter. Then again.. her mind was simply wired to take many precautions regardless of the endeavor. But alas, Minghui had always been a curious little thing, and it was often that her inquisition led her astray. Such as now. 

She coiled her way from the crowd to sneak a glimpse at her peer.... ... ..and found herself a bit displeased with mask over their mouth. Then again, what was she to do? It’d be insensitive to avoid him just because his getup... and his coughing fits... and his.. ah, well-- it seems her little list is now useless given his approach to her. At the very least it stopped her from thinking those mean thoughts.

“Aah? Oh-- ! I.. I was just looking for my luggage is all. Everyone seemed to have retrieved theirs and I’d hate to misplace mine. That.. and to be frank-- while I don’t mean to peg anyone as a thief post-haste, I-I can’t exactly leave my things unattended for. ”

A tender smile crosses her lips, a peach tint just visible on her cheeks. 

“I trust that you’ll also be finding your stuff too? Lest you have them now.”

“Ah.. wait a second.”

No Way!

“E-eh?! O, wǒ de tiān na-- - How could I have been so ignorant? You’re..” To think.. she’d previously criticized.. “Wataru Noto!”

She bowed graciously as if to compensate her misgivings against such a well-endowed individual. She found the heat making its way to her face.

“I-I’m so sorry.”

[shslhighc-blog]

Minghui Zhao aes

[shslpan-blog]

nyah feat. taka

[incisivetermagant-blog]

i swear ill do productive thigns,

[shslhighc-blog]

some promotional pinup of minghui and lmfao she still wasn’t ready for the picture

[shslballet-blog1]

Nascence | Prologue

[shslballet-blog1]

“It is a pleasure, Miss Zhao,” Mao replied graciously. It was starting to seem like her demeanour matched her attire: classy, cultured, and polite. He supposed he could deal with the likes of her. He had expected a school full of, well, coarse teenagers. It was refreshing to learn otherwise.

“The Imperial Sapporo Ballet Company,” he nodded, and a small smile crept onto his face, although his voice remained quiet and guarded. It was always nice to be recognised, even from a distance. “That’s right, I have danced with them for some two years now.” He laughed gently. “I do not begrudge you for missing it, don’t worry. Perhaps, once we are free of this nonsense, and of course interest still holds you, you might come see a show.”

There was always time to sneak in a little bit of self promotion. Ballet was not exactly rock and roll, and didn’t have the following that other popular arts enjoyed. Every positive experience counted.

“I have been terribly rude,” Mao said, turning the conversation back to Minghui, “I spent all this time talking about myself. What, may I ask, is your talent?”

[shslhighc-blog]

“Ah, yes-- ! Thank you, that was indeed the name of the ballet corps. But I can only imagine how much precision, skill, and effort to be inducted by such a prestigious company.” 

 “And better yet.. to be one of thousands of ballet dancers to have been chosen to attend Hope’s Peak!  If..  if this truly is our whereabouts, that is. N-nevertheless, your feat is nothing laugh at.. a most honorable achievement!”

She’d heeded him as though he were a celebrity-- which.. he were, and rather everyone else, given they possessed this merit of widespread recognition to some extent. However, the singer also forgot that she was recruited to this school as well. For her to not even acknowledge that they equally stood on the platform for being admitted here was something that she’d have to work on. But the degree of effort, number hardships, and physical bouts they’d hurdled just to come here varied constantly amongst one another.

“Me? Oh, i-it’s nothing too fancy. My talent is simply.. SHSL Soprano, rather! I just sing; I don’t perform anything too rigorous --or physically straining for the matter-- like ballet dancing, o-or juggling, but it’s a talent! I.. guess. I’m only another performer.”

The discussion had worked her up but it held a genuine tone to it. She felt a little shy for saying her title, seeing that others had really worked their butts off to attain their status. She only.. breathed and sang. Not the most awful thing in the world but...

“Oh, that’d be delightful! And I don’t mind, really! I love hearing others talk of their professions. It’s much more intriguing that way. I-if you don’t mind me prying, but.. I’d love to hear stories of your work sometime.”

[tamikoyorurei-blog]

Prologue: Peachy Keen | Open

[tamikoyorurei-blog]

Oh great, it was one of those rules people. Tamiko scowled at the very implication that there was a limitation being placed on her actions, and indignantly made sure to zoom in her phone’s camera even more.

“Excusez-moi-” she replied haughtily. “But I don’t see a ‘no vlogging’ sign anywhere! Like, you just have to ask, no need to make up rules! Now say please. Say pretty please!”

She wasn’t even going to dignify the topic of her talent yet, so insulted was she by the other girl’s actions. Although she did take note that this girl matched the soprano on the student IDs, she didn’t mention it, instead preferring to deal with the matter immediately at hand.

[shslhighc-blog]

“W-what ? N.. no, I didn’t say you couldn’t, I-I’m just saying you might.. you might be inconveniencing people is all.”

She didn’t like getting into arguments-- in fact, she was terrible at them. Certainly, it didn’t help that it were the first time meeting this person. Then again..

“A... actually, that wasn’t at all I was saying-- -! I simply asserted the rhetoric.. and whether the action you were committing is something allowed on these premises. I was.. I was just asking a question.”

Minghui, you’d know better than to fan the flames you’ve just kindled.