2024-03-16: Sheryl Nome Song Contest - standing bird

• Log: 2024-03-16: Sheryl Nome Song Contest - standing bird
• Cast: Alouette Pommier
• Where: Orbit Base
• Date: U.C. 0098 03 16
• Summary: Alouette participates in Sheryl Nome's song-writing contest! She finds she learns a lot from the writing process. (OOC note: This cutscene should take place ICly over the course of the summer of 0098).

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The Division Train wasn't the only large-scale expedition far beyond Earth at the end of the year. Alouette knew that much, but it was still a surprise to hear the condition both Sheryl and Ranka were in after returning to the Earth Sphere. The Gallia IV expedition surely must have been a harrowing experience in its own right...

But it was just as surprising how fast Sheryl seemed to bounce back... even if there understandably weren't going to be any live tours anytime soon. The idea of a songwriting contest was pretty intriguing too... and Alouette decided it was something she absolutely wanted to take part in. After all, Sheryl was the one who taught her the power music holds in expressing feelings.

"...So, what kind of song were you thinking of writing, Alouette-chan?" Asks Hana Hatsuno, when the topic comes up in the break room.

"Hmm... I was thinking of writing a song about love. It sounds kind of cliche, and maybe it is... but love comes in so many forms, that it's something that anyone can experience, right?" Alouette answers, with a twirl of her hair. "But a song about love can sound like many different things, too..." Should it be cute? Intense? She's not quite sure, yet.

"I think you should just write about how you feel, Alouette-chan!" Hana encourages her. "Oh, I guess that's harder than it sounds, but, um, good luck! You got this, Alouette-chan."

Hana was very correct - writing a song /is/ a challenging endeavour. A hyper=analytical mind makes it easy to parse the song as a collection of rhythms that come together in harmony - and that much /can/ be mathed out. What it doesn't quite help with is writing a creative set of lyrics that resonate.

Weeks pass by, and so do drafts. Listening to Sheryl and her various inspirations for ideas comes to mind, as Alouette wants it to actually fit Sheryl if she ends up singing it. But it's only after taking that initial suggestion of adding a touch of how she feels that things come together.

In her battles over the past couple years, Alouette's been constantly been reminded of the finitety of not just life, but the universe itself. But despite the insistance of Cosmic Law of that inevitable end... they decided to fight to protect the universe all the same. 'It was because we all had things in the universe worth protecting and loving', Alouette concluded - even if such a notion would've been totally illogical to her before.

So... she decides to write about the aspects of love that 'should' be illogical.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk-uT5oDriA standing bird - May'n

I don't need any kind of strategy I know how to love

My fluttering feelings alone are The truth that will light up the way

But there are also times when I get sad There are also nights When I mustn't close myself off all alone So stay with me

I can't fly, now I am a standing bird I'll hold you, who protects so many, and grant you wings

If this is a sweet trap, then I may as well fall for it Let's rot away I'm ready for it As long as I'm with you

It's our fate to clad ourselves in fading life It's our fate to live on a fading star

If you only feel love in your spare time Then you never needed it from the start

Let's share the same umbrella Let's get soaked by the same rain

If you're going to hesitate, then kiss me I can't throw away even a single second Because we only have so much time to live

I think so, you are my only star I think of you and call your name as I drift off

Like a red moon I'll live to the fullest, exhaust my words, and face tomorrow Towards our own little world

This is the way to protect a fading love This is the way to leave behind proof we lived

If this is fate, let's accept it For I've made it all this way to you I'll live life like a raging fire Down to the embers

I can't fly, now I am a standing bird I'll hold you, who protects so many, and grant you wings

If this is a sweet trap, then I may as well fall for it Let's rot away I'm ready for it As long as I'm with you

It's our fate to clad ourselves in fading life It's our fate to live on a fading star

This is the way to protect a fading love This is the way to leave behind proof we lived

It's our fate to clad ourselves in fading life It's our fate to live on a fading star

(Lyrics translation provided by Ayu)

--

The end result, Alouette thinks, certainly leans more towards the 'intense' side of things than the 'cute' side. But sometimes, there's nothing wrong with such a passionate love song, is there? And more selfishly... this has always been the type of energy she enjoys hearing the most from Sheryl - and perhaps /that's/ the most important part of all.

Satisfied, she sends it off - whether this one's a winner or not, trying to write a song was both a fun experience and a valuable lesson! [Category:[Phase 1]]