[open/mingle] in which cats reign

[espansivo]

WHO: pretty much anyone, leo, and like twelve cats
WHERE: park
WHEN: 20th-22nd
WHAT: a three day cat concert..! it's just a log about cats (for cats by cats)
WARNINGS: n/a

i.
[the cats are always out and about to greet people before it's time to begin, cute colorful ribbons tied around their neck or tail (depending on which was easiest, frankly), and they... are not actually shy of human contact despite being strays one might's seen around the city.

they will beg for food though. give them food. they will literally mob people if they see them with food, meowing and pleading and getting underfoot. stealing things from picnics and the like as well.]

ii.
[the actual concert performances are conducted by leo and

honestly they sounds like a bunch of cats singing sound.

there is a certain cadence to it that's actually songlike, the cats are actually singing to what leo is playing on his keyboard and they're sitting very nicely on the steps he's got for them too, but their attention spans aren't good enough for performances and, without fail, at some point of time they start to just... wander off... sitting in people's laps or rolling on the ground without a care.

the conductor doesn't seem to mind and just gestures for people to take their places, which can be your character or some npc, and yes he will bean cat treats at whoever is singing as "rewards". complain if you want or try and catch them, laugh at your friends or encourage them to go up and try!!]

iii.
[otherwise, there's apparently plenty to do..! leo has makeshift profiles of all the cats next to their resting spots (the big sign drawing anyone to it says star hall despite there not being a hall in the middle of the park and they're apparently all up for adoption... with papers to show their vaccinations and the like.

there's toys! there's treats! there's a space dubbed the "sleeping corner" where you can curl up with the cats and doze in the afternoon sun! it's a paradise!

play with the cats and enjoy the company of them, they're all named after different flowers and are all kinds of colors and personalities! it's really just a log about cats in the end.]

Comments

[stressweets]

[ he's the worst........


wait— ]

I have to be able to sing way sooner than that though—! [ mrrrg ] Let's practice more. Right now. That's okay, right?

[espansivo]

[pfft--]

Yeah, yeah~. Don't worry, Tsuka, we can practice whenever you'd like. ♪ Un, deux, trois..~

[and he'll start on the scales for proper warm up, then move into his actual voice training, which is mostly just getting tsukasa to hold notes and repeat.]

[stressweets]

[ it's fairly boring training, but tsukasa's attentive... he wants to get better! a lot better!! he has to!!!



but he's singing fairly softly, because he still doesn't want anyone to hear...~ ]

♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪

[espansivo]

[he'll let it slide for a little bit, but he'll nudge tsukasa with his elbow.]

Louder, Tsuka. We have to work on volume versus pitch; throw your voice out, but try not to go higher. It's tough.

[even skilled singers have trouble with it at times, because the body has a natural inclination to go higher when the volume needs to be raised too. tsukasa sounds fine like this... but it's most likely definitely his problem.]

[stressweets]

[ ah... ahaha......... ]

Do I have to...? [ he's going to sound terrible? he knows it? ] I guess your cats'll sound much better by comparison though, huh.

[espansivo]

Do you wanna get better or not? You have to push yourself in order to do that, especially in music. Forget the cats and think of the person you're singing for. How happy he'll be to hear you sing next year, the kind of face he'll make.

[that sort of bullshit, that... leo actually sounds very serious about yes.]

And then sing. Music's about fun, you know? It's about connecting to someone.

[stressweets]

[ ah, he's getting scolded—rightfully so, and he shrinks a bit from it. that person's always happy to hear him sing no matter what, so it's a little difficult, but then again... he said he wasn't singing until he was better, so after a whole year of not hearing him...

ahaha. that's a cute expression, a cute thought. tsukasa's face is a little warm, and he's trying to bite back a smile because he's supposed to be anxious and worried, but he really can't stay like that for long when that guy's involved. ]

...Sorry for the disrespect. Louder but not higher, right...? That's so hard. [ but he'll try. inhale, exhale. just like leo's tried instructing him before.

it. he isn't gonna get it, and his voice cracks a bit in his attempt here, but he keeps trying anyway dammit. ] ♪ ~ ♪

[espansivo]

[oh... how cute. leo thinks of teasing him again and decides not to, playing softly.]

It's one of the hardest things to keep in mind. If you can master it, you'll have trouble with nothing else.

[... good boy. as long as he's trying, leo's got no problems with it, adding his voice to tsukasa's own to help him harmonize a bit and find an example of how to do what'd been instructed. a foot hold.]

♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♫

[stressweets]

[ he's always been better with singing with people—because of leo—and he catches onto the harmonizing quickly... even if catching onto what they're practicing is still hard, even with the foothold. ]

♪ ~ ♫ ~ ♪

[espansivo]

[tsukasa's probably the reason why leo can get other people to sing with him as easily as he manages, honestly. he knows how to pull them into fun and make them feel more comfortable. he's looking forward to singing with sena after finals too, nerves tingling at the thought, and leans against tsukasa, letting the harmonizing go a bit more before quieting to silence, allowing tsukasa to take wing with the practice himself.

it's not bad. it's shaky, but with a proper key, a foothold, it's a good start. maybe before the next birthday for that guy comes...]

[stressweets]

[ by then, before then, sometime. maybe. well, with leo helping him, certainly... if anything like what happened in december when he was practicing with anya, absolutely... he was an idol, after all. somehow, he was. ah, that's so embarrassing, really—

he trails off when he realizes leo's not singing with him anymore and he's being loud (and a little high), face turning redder as he avoids some curious cat stares.

ahanyan. ]

...Did I do any better...

[espansivo]

Mmhmm! A little high, but that's fine, that's fine, you're pretty on the mark when you've got a key to follow... and you don't sound bad when you're singing softly either. It's just when you're trying to level your volume out, which is normal.

[all praises, reassurances, and even the minor criticism is like he used to give when he tutored him in their parents' subjects: fair and encouraging.]

I think you've trimmed your sentence down qu~ite a bit, Tsuka~! I'm not telling you by how much though~.

[stressweets]

[ just like before... but "you don't sound bad" doesn't mean he sounds good. ]

I'm going to say... Mmm, at least three years.

[espansivo]

Close enough, I guess~. Now we're resting though, because it's not good to work your voice so much. Let's lay with the kitties.

[come on come on..♪]

[stressweets]

[ close enough... four years? ]

Sure. I'd never turn down a chance to nap with a bunch of cute cats... ♪

[espansivo]

[bring the kitty you've got with you, tsukasa, leo is making a few noises to coax some other strays to their little space before falling backwards into the grass.]

Nap time, kitties..♪ Treat my little brother kindly, okay? He loves you so much~.

[stressweets]

[ of course!! this one his favorite's, the one gets to to lay on his chest when he gradually settles down beside leo, arms behind his head ]

...Is it really okay to sleep? Shouldn't you make sure no one steals a cat or something? Or your keyboard?

[espansivo]

I'd like to see someone try and take my keyboard without a single person noticing, knowing that I've been playing it all day and I wrote my name on the bottom. The cats can take care of themselves.

[so no, he's not worried, he's stretching with the cats and curling up.]

You can just relax if you want though. S'fine, I just can't help but sleep when I'm out in nice weather.

[stressweets]

[ bbbbbbbbut but but but— ]

...You're just like a cat, Leonii. Free-spirited, sleepy when it's warm, relaxed no matter what, confident... [ ...how enviable. tsukasa turns his face away, watching the rest of the cats. ] If I adopted one, I'd name it after you.

[espansivo]

Oh~? Then you'll be happy to know, Tsuka, that I actually nicknamed one after you. ♪

[let's see, where is he. leo sits up a bit scanning the cats, before scooping up a smaller dark one that yawns.]

This one's Tsuka-tan. He's shy, but his meow's pretty big..♪ I think he'll grow up to be a well-behaved kitty cat.

[stressweets]

[ oh, how cute...! ]

A big meow, huh... Just what are you saying about me? [ really... ] I don't think I'm like a cat at all though—you couldn't have named a dog after me or something instead?

[espansivo]

He's still a kitten, so he's sort of demanding, but it reminds me of when you were younger... Always tugging at me for attention, asking me to teach you and sing for you, to look at your work. That's why he's named after you, a dog would be too complacent with the attention it gets.

[they're kind creatures like that. cats are needy. independent, but needy.]

[stressweets]

[ ...!!! ]

I was never like that as a kid...! [ yes he was. ] I— I was very, mm, poised... and polite... I didn't do childish things like that...

[ ...he still does. still feels like he's eight years old, holding onto leo's shirt, begging for one more song, one more look his way, one more bit of praise even after he's been drenched in it. really, really, what was leo talking about, this tsuka that's grown up...? he hasn't, he hasn't at all. ]

[espansivo]

Who'd call you any of those things, Tsuka~? [he's teasing.] Polite, sure, and you could act poised, but my fondest memories are with you sulking when I was too busy to entertain you..♪

[he'd been so cute, then. leo's smile softens and he reaches over to pet tsukasa's head.]

You're not so childish anymore though, mm~? You don't sulk when you don't get your way, right~? Ah, my sweet baby brother really did grow up..♪

[stressweets]

[ privately, he thinks his sulking has taken on a different form entirely, but he won't correct leo—he just sighs and closes his eyes.

and when he does, he remembers playing with cats—naming them, insulting leo in english for not remembering knights has five members now, not four, an obedient leo-san kitten—and feels tears of frustration prick at the edge of his eyes from it. memories are so— vivid, so irritatingly palpable. ]

...I guess, [ he replies, a little distant, but he hopes leo assumes it's because he's getting tired and not because of anything else. ] Leonii, do all of these cats really have names? ...Is the one named after me up for adoption too...? That's a little weird.