itscurtains | Week One

[Yesterday, everyone woke up in a strange place and realized that they'd been kidnapped, and also that everyone else around them may or may not be kinnies? Wow, what a weird escalation of kin drama! Given what some people have seen of Spongebob's freaky arm thing, though, maybe it's not that at all?

Your Assistant Director, Hester, showed off her stuff and immediately had her life threatened by Lumpy Space Princess, who got her life threatened right back. Maybe you should keep that in mind if you decide to pay Hester any more visits! She won't be making another public appearance this week, but as promised, she'll be available for visits and consultation in the Principal's Office during business hours.

If you don't want to chat with Hester, there's always the school to explore! Some of you might also be receiving mysterious coins next to your bedside this week - those must be useful for something, right? There's lots to do, and you all seem like a group who can make your own fun, so enjoy your first week of school!]

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday

(( OOC: This will be the last mod post for this week! Feel free to start submitting regains for any threads that aren't with Hester. Remember, song threads mean an extra coin! This is a peace week, so get all that CR while you can! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[!!!!]

Me too! [Oh, he's excited now.] Well, it's more like, Pa said I was dancing right out of the egg.

[Like a normal human person.]

I've never met anyone else who dances before, I thought it was just, y'know, me.

[With that, his face falls a little bit.]

Do you...usually dance alone?

Out of the egg? [You know what, this is actually the least weird thing she's heard at this point. Someone threw a whole ass arm at her yesterday so. Fine. Some people come from eggs.]

You would like my school, then. We have an entire classroom of dancers. [And at that, she shakes her head.] I practice alone when I need to master something, but I usually have a partner. A costar.

What about you?

[That’s like a totally different world. Well it literally is, but - what an unfathomable concept. A costar.

He starts to feel something like he does when he sees his classmates singing together. From afar. Something like wistful jealousy.]

Oh, me, I, uh...well I have to practice alone, you see. Dancing just ain’t ‘penguin’. [In the words of his father.] It’s easier. Less distractions.

And - forget having a ‘costar.’ Penguins sing. They don’t dance.

[A sigh, he brightens up.]

Just - wow. An entire classroom. I can’t even imagine. Is it normal for alie -humans?

"Just isn't --" [Maya has to close her eyes for a moment. Right. Some people are sponges. Some are lumpy balls of gas. Others are reincarnated from myths. Why would a penguin be so surprising?]

No one should ever have to practice their abilities alone. [Even a Penguin.] Though, I am curious as to why you feel so limited. Can you not sing and dance?

[She smiles at that. There's something amusing at being considered an Alien.]

Not entirely. I attend a special school for dedicated performers. But there are many such schools across the world.

We have classes for singing, so I guess it's not all that different, but only that. There's not really much else to go to school for.

[Like math?? What is that. Fake, that's what it is. Another human invention.

In regards to her question, though, it's...ah, a touchy subject. His face falls.]

No. I can't sing a note.

[She notices his face fall and... blinks. She hadn't expected a reaction quite like that.]

That just means you have all the more energy to devote to your dancing.

[She takes a few steps back, leaning against a stretching bar.]

Would you mind showing me what you can do?

Yes! Absolutely!

[He near-literally jumps at the chance; it's the first time anyone's ever asked this question.]

It's a bit of this - [He taps a toe.] and then some of this [Click. Heel. Toe.] and -

[From a few steps he eases into a beat. It's nothing he's practiced before; this is just impulse. Like something is guiding him instead of thinking about it. The toe tapping and heel clicking (as well as other associated body wiggling) continues until he brings it to a stop with one strike of his foot against the floor.

Before he gets too carried away and launches into a whole number.]

- Kinda like that.

[Maya's expression is a bright one. Clearly, she's impressed with what she sees, especially the enthusiasm. She certainly would have never guessed that it was an unpracticed routine.

When he finishes, she offers him a soft round of applause.]

That's wonderful.

[After a moment of thought, Maya goes over to a corner of the dance studio. She pulls off her ballet flats, replacing them instead with a pair of shoes that click as she walks.

She stops in front of him, clicking her shoes against the ground much like he'd clicked his own. The movements are mostly the same, though she does improvise in places where can't remember.

And, because she can't help herself, she starts to sing --]

Been working so hard
Keep punching my card
Eight hours, for what?
Oh, tell me what I got

Edited 2021-06-02 22:57 (UTC)

You really think?

[Mumble barely gets the words out, he’s so overwhelmed by the applause. That’s not something he ever thought he’d hear in his life.

Then, Maya’s standing in front of him and he’s quick to catch on to what’s happening. A huge grin painted on his face, he joins in.

It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t remember it exact - it’s even better that she’s improvising! Before even realising it, he’s joined in dancing alongside her. Hearing her break into song only inspires him further to dance, to keep the beat going, and to hear the rest of it.]

[Under normal circumstances, Maya's dancing is done with a deep level of focus and composure. If she smiles, it's only because it's in the stage directions. Yet there's something about the sheer joy of the young man in front of her that reminds her of something. She remembers, dimly, the talk of brilliance and shine from her invitation to the Revues.

Perhaps this is what the Giraffe was talking about.

Regardless, she keeps the beat going, even after she passes Mumble's stopping point. By now she can feel the song in her chest, swelling out of her with all the passion of a true stage girl.]

I've got this feeling
That time's just holding me down
I'll hit the ceiling
Or else I'll tear up this town

[As someone who's always been cast to the sidelines, Mumble's only ever had an idea of what it must be like to perform with someone else. It was always something unattainable; not for the likes of him.

And now, though he has every reason to, he doesn't even think about that at all. All that's there, and all that exists to him in this moment, is the song. He dances along with her. He doesn't know where the song is going, and only knows what to do next when it happens.

His feet hit the floor, building up to a point - and then, he stops with one sharp tap. Not because it's over, no. But something tells him to pause there.

Mumble looks expectantly to Maya. Take it away!]

[For the most part, Maya does what she can to keep up with Mumble's movements. For once, she doesn't want to steal the show, but simply share the stage. A life without dance, after all, is simply unfathomable. She can't imagine ever having danced alone.

When he looks to her, she simply nods.]

Now I gotta cut loose
Footloose
Kick off the Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me off of my knees

[With Maya's continuation, Mumble kicks right back into it (somewhat literally), following along with her lead.

- No, that's not quite it.

Neither of them are following or leading, they're just...doing. Together, in tandem. Even if they're here by unfortunate circumstances, he's glad he's had this chance. It's not something he would've ever had at home.

And, with all the fun he's having, he can't even be sad about that.]

Week One

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