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maritimeericandersen · 4 years ago

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BDRP Questionnaire

Your Name: Sidney

Characters: Eric Andersen, Clara Baudry (Euterpe), Ferb Fletcher, Pedram Ratigan, Laszlo Robinson

Pick one of your characters and talk about their growth (we recommend choosing an older character, but it’s up to you!) What about their story has surprised you? What are you proud of? How have they changed from their original inception to now?

If we’re going by oldest characters, then Eric it shall be!!

As far as growth, I think the major thing that I’ve really enjoyed is getting him to be self sufficient and taking care of things he wasn’t used to before being out on his own. Eric had always been one of those kids who got to take a back seat to planning anything! Like doctors or dentists appointments. He never had to deal with the bank or paying for things like his phone or the internet. And for Eric, a simple boy, if it isn’t right in front of him he doesn’t think about it. Out of sight, out of mind, baby! So him being out here on his own has put all of those things in his direct line of sight. Getting new clothes, shoes, food, water, balancing all of this on a limited budget. You know, taking care of himself. I know the bare minimum is certainly a ridiculous thing to be proud of someone for, but here I am lmao.

Obviously a big part of him having not perished and just going back home was Mr. Moon!! Huge thank you to Lauryl and Jun for taking pity on me and Eric when we first got here lmfao. Eric getting a job, food, boarding, and pity taken on him got him started! And getting a pep talk to actually apply and go to university! Where he’s carving out a future for himself that he chose to do and that wasn’t influenced thinking about the Order or his family or anything but him!

I also really enjoy all the friendships he has made!!! Ollie! And Alice, and Ian, and HARU, and Henry, (but Henry he already sort of had but I’m super jazzed to see where those two can go,) and although I’ve never done a thread with any one on the volleyball team (besides Jake and Olaf, but not in the context of them being on a team!!) I’m sure Eric assumes they’re all the Very Best of Friends. So I really love that he has friends and a little community of people that he can show for himself!!

And Eric really hasn’t changed from my original thinking of him. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but he was always supposed to be that kid in class who showed up a little late and asked if he could borrow a pencil. I think, if anything, the things around him in his story have changed a bit in my own brain in order to fit in to the universe of BDRP now that I’ve been here a little longer (almost a year!!!) to have a better understanding of how the world works!! But yeah, all and all, he is still on the original path I had for him going into this.

Pick another character (or the same character if you only have one) and talk a little about where you WANT them to go. What are your plans for them going into the new year?

Moving on to Clara:

What I want for her, personally, is to soften up and lean into her more excitable side. The one that isn’t so concerned with money or the way she looks or what other people are perceiving her to be. I want her to open up more!! Being a Muse will be super helpful to her because I think for a character to help someone else, they’re going to need to have a bit more vulnerability to them? Like, all mentor or helper type characters have to gain some semblance of trust from the person they're helping to get them to see that they aren’t in an environment to be judged or taken advantage of. Right? Like uh, Obi Wan isn’t necessarily up front with Luke about everything but he gives him many truths, like how he and his father were very good friends, so Luke trusts him! Or when Professor Keating is vulnerable with his students, telling them about how love and poetry and those deep dark feelings inside of you are what life is all about, and they trusted him wholeheartedly!

In order to do that, she’s going to need to let go of her own fears!! And grow! I want to see her learn that part of being people’s friends, or when being someone’s guide as a Muse. I think her coming to understand that sharing her story and history will be very helpful in her journey to becoming this generation’s Euterpe. I want to see her come into her more active magic by developing emotionally! Working through her anger and letting go of that to make more room for the part of her that wants to connect and be around people.

I am also really excited to see where her connections take her in the coming future! The Groove Room as her first helping gig to Ber! Being in a band!! Working at Tiana’s place and performing original music there!!! Getting to talk more with Franny, her idol!!!, will be fantastic for her. I’m so super duper excited to see where she goes.

Pick a thread or a plot that you’re proud of and talk about why you loved it.

This is an insane question because I genuinely love them all so much you guys 😭

For Eric: Any thread he’s had with Jun since that has helped move Eric along in getting to be his Own Person and getting his act together. Again, thank you Jun! I really really enjoyed his first interaction with Lou? I thought that thread was hilarious and yet cringed the entire time writing it because Eric is such a ridiculous person. I also liked his thread with Olaf when they went on the tour of the university!! Their conversation about the gryphons was really a challenge on Eric and having to think about hunting from the perspective of the other side, which he had never really done before. Also just him having a genuine and intelligent conversation with a fairy who is now also playing a sport with him has probably been very helpful to him!!! I love his threads with Haru because getting to write his reactions to her learning about the human world always brings me such delight. All this threads with Ollie are great because I get to write that part of Eric that is just a dumb boy hanging out with his bestie!! I love that so much since he’s so much more relaxed and I find their banter to be an easy back and forth. Getting to meet Isa for the first time was a blast, I really enjoyed their interaction. Most recently I was super de duper in love with him and Henry’s re-meeting. I hadn’t had a chance for him to really face the Order without him having to go all the way back to everyone, so getting that connection with Henry was a good inbetween and getting to write him talking to someone who knows the life and his plight was so cathartic for him!

For Clara: Any thread between her and Franny is so fun!! Her first meeting with Franny was great because I got to try and capture one of those moments that’s like, you know and adore this person and they’ve done so much for you but they have noooo idea who the hell you are. So that was a lot of fun for me, not so much for Clara lmfao, but hey it was the first step in getting her to this stage in her relationship with Franny, which she never thought she would even have!!! I really liked the two threads she got to have with Callie before she departed, it was very kind of Pet to give me those moments of giving Clara the knowledge of what/who she was!! Otherwise she would be walking around, still in the dark about her magic! OH, I loved the thread with her and Mei Q. !! I think it was important for her to get the advice of being open to people from an outside, neutral source who had no stake in Clara at all other than to just tell her what was up. Even if she didn’t really trust it lmao, it planted the seeds in her brain. I also really liked her thread with Imelda where she was trying to finagle the truth about her and O’Malley out of her lmfao. It was a challenge for me to think of dialogue that wouldn’t give her away, so that was very fun!!! And thank you Imelda for not firing her! And then of course, her thread with Ber and getting him to let her help her with the Groove Room! It gave me a chance to use her magic and start to explore the beginnings of how she is going to approach being a Muse while also giving her the first taste of adventure. Getting to write a Clara whose mind isn’t wrapped up in her account balance and is instead thinking about the love of life is always a very fun time for me, so that thread has been nice to write.

For Ferb: Literally any thread with his siblings. I want to take this moment to personally thank Emma and MK for giving me the Flynn’s in the span of ?? like four months?? Which was insane to me, because when I was writing his app I was like, “I will probably never get my siblings, and I will just have to accept that.” but then bam, next thing I know, there they were. So anything with them has been like my dreams come true. I loved his thread with Mei K. asking him to prom via sign!!! Too pure. The thread with Su when she was helping him work through what being a sibling is like and then cementing their friendship was really good because it got him to open up and doing that with Ferb seemed ?? impossible to me, so getting to write that was wonderful! Also his thread with JJ! Getting to gush about sign language was so much fun for for me, so thank you so much, Bee for giving me that opportunity!!! His and Vanessa’s thread at the carnival was really fun, too, especially since I made it my personal goal in that one to cut any dialogue from him and work on how he communicates without using words in that sort of fast paced situation where he couldn’t use his phone to know what she was saying, so, I thoroughly enjoyed that one, too.

For Ratigan: I honestly find any interaction with Ratigan to be a blessing to me because I genuinely feel terrible for asking for threads with him since he is so mean. His thread with Tiana and getting her to take up his offer on a loan was awesome, especially since it was one of the first things I got to write with him!! Very much appreciate Emma for willing to put Tiana in that position! It also gave me the thread with him and Simba, which was really funny since they are such opposites and getting to write Ratigan playing nice but secretly envying everything that Simba is/has was really interesting. Both his threads with Errol of course because it just gives me the opportunity to write him being the mean spirited person that he is. I adored his thread with Franny when she told him the news that she was pregnant!!! It gave me the chance to reflect on him and his relationship with her and the fact that he actually does like her and would snipe anyone who came for her. Not that he would admit that at all. LOVE his threads with Bianca, them staring one another down like a pair of cowboys waiting to see who will draw first has been so much fun to write!! I love writing that part of him as his paranoia knows no bounds. And his thread with Zira?? Has been immaculate because writing him in a place where he doesn’t think he is the superior one in the room would never happen in any other context, so I absolutely love getting to write him getting put in his place lmao. Also, having just finished the AU thread with LP was really fun!!! I liked getting to play into the tropes and the campiness of the spy genre and getting to see what he would act like in the face of genuine emotion.

For Laszlo: Literally all this threads lol. Writing Laszlo brings me such joy, as he is such a ray of sunshine. Him and Lachlann were a hoot and a half. I looooooooooved him and Eilonwy!! Both because she is such a treat but also because getting to write about him witnessing magic being put into his art while speaking to the person behind the magic was fantastic for what he wants to do in the future! Both his threads with Simba have been great, I love their vibe so much. The three-way thread between him, Lou, and Tiana for the mural was super fun!! I got my first taste into what discussing art would be like while also getting to think about how Laszlo would approach art while getting help from two other voices, so that whole thing was just chef kisses. His thread with Cornelius right now has been really lovely, I like getting to write them having a fun time together and being bros!! His threads with Franny have been so good, I adore them so much, their relationship is so fun to write. And of course, Marlin, too!! Their first thread was really fun and gave me the opportunity to write comedy as well as trying to figure out how he would react to embarrassment and all that. His thread with his mum is still coming along but I am in loVE with it so far. Petunia is the best, so getting to write with her and trying to figure out how that relationship has developed with them both being adults now has really been such a delight for me. I’m so happy because, bruh, like Ferb, when I was applying for him I told myself I would probably never get his intimidate family and that was going to be okay. Now look at us, who would have thought-

In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 strengths and talk about why you think it’s one of your strengths.

Warning: Cop Out Ahead

Hmmm, I think the only strength I can think of would just be that I’m open to changes? I have no problems in people damaging my ego because I simply do not have one lmao. There’s really nothing I will be offended at needing to move around or change to fit. I like being able to hear what other people have to say about my writing, even if it’s to do something completely different with where I was going because I wouldn’t have ever thought to do it like that!! Which I’ve learned in rp is super great since there are so many people here with so many different ideas and perspectives and characters and it brings me such joy to hear you all talk and collab and read what you’ve written!!!!

In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 areas of improvement.

Oh gosh, where to even begin.

1. I’m terrible with metaphors and comparisons lmaooo. I will attempt to write something lyrical or flowery and then I’ll come back to it and be like:

so that I definitely need to get better at!! Stop comparing things that don’t make sense!! Also not just using them to make my point as clear as glass. I think a big portion of why I write terrible, embarrassing metaphors is because I’m scared of being misunderstood so I feel like I have to give everyone a giant neon sign saying what I mean like seven times over. When in reality, everyone here is an intelligent individual who also writes very well so they will have no problem figuring out what I mean because, in all honestly, whatever I am writing isn’t going to be that convoluted!!

2. My sentence structures are always all over the fucking place. I do run ons, fragments, repetitive, I do all the sins baby. I need to clean it up and get my act together. Which brings me to my next point,

3. Editing. I’m very terrible at editing my own work because a lot of the time I don’t want to read my own writing so it makes me reluctant to go back over and check what I did. But then when I DO go back and read it to remember what I did for a reply, I read all the easy mistakes I could have fixed which means the person I’m writing with read it, too, which makes me cringe more and makes me not want to read what I wrote all over again, and then it is just one massive positive feedback loop that ends with unedited work and a bunch of nonsense left for someone to interpret. I gotta stop it!! I either need to get some self confidence somehow or just suck it up and get to editing more so people don’t have to suffer for my mistakes.

Pick one of your plots, or even just a character, and come up with a list of 3-5 “mentor texts” where you can look for inspiration or research, then write a short (2-4 sentences) why you picked those texts. (They don’t have to be books, either!)

I feel like I’m back at school doing a Work Cited page lmao. But okay, for Ratigan:

Of course, the most obvious: The Adventure of the Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Thank god this was a short story, lmao. Honestly, reading it you could tell a bitch was just trying to put a wrap on it because Doyle doesn’t really go into detail about anything besides Holmes and Watson’s road trip. Like it never goes into detail about the big back and forth game between Holmes and Moriarty, it just tells us that they had one and this story takes place at the end of it. We only ever get Moriarty through Holme’s storytelling and from afar from Watson’s point of view. So it’s kind of funny that this guy, who appears in one short story and only mentioned in one other book, who had barely any character besides being smart, has been turned into this notorious villain name. I mean….his power….

Anyways, the reason I read it was because Ratigan is the Moriarty of Basil of Baker street, so I figured it would be useful to read the source material since my only experience with the character was Andrew Scott’s in Sherlock the show and then Jared Harris’ in Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, who I still reference since I think he was a brilliant casting choice and is closest to the guy described in the story besides the guy who played Niles in the Nanny showing up as him in that one episode of Star Trek Next Gen lmfao. It was actually very helpful when trying to think of how to adapt him into a person rather than a cartoon rat. It gave me more insight into the criminal world aspect of his plot, too, and how he ran it and everything: “ He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them.” So that made me think, well why wouldn’t he want to be involved? Why would he want to sit pretty instead of being involved with things like Ratigan? Well, if I made him do it at one point and know that he hated it, then he would do everything in his power to not have to do stuff like that ever again. Hence why he was an assassin and why he worked his way to the top. This also gave him credibility and made people fear him. I also liked how petty the character was. Like the whole part about him trying to kill Holmes and paying someone to push a brick off a roof or run him over with a carriage had me laughing. “Kill him in the dumbest way to make his obituary look ridiculous!!” But yeah, aha, this was mainly very helpful to me when trying to think of how his criminal background would work.

Die Hard (1988) because Hans Gruber baby!! He is one of my fave og villains for many reasons! He’s calculated, witty, intelligent, and dangerous. The movie does a good job of not just telling us these things, but showing us! In his scheme, in his back up plans, shooting the glass upon knowing a bitch is barefoot in there, and trying to get McClane to trust him by improvising in three seconds flat. Obviously the best part is when the police think they’ve got him on his heels by cutting the power when actually that was the plan all along to get into the vault since he knows their protocols!!! I really like that clever and planned out approach to crime and villainy for Ratigan (even if I am too dumb to know what I am doing (^: ) Like Hans, he doesn’t think that what he is doing is for the Great Good or that what he is doing is the right thing. He is fully aware that he is not a good person! He had the chance to get out, but it was of his own volition to go back to that life. I took that villain approach to Ratigan from Hans in that there is no complex reason as to why he does what he does. He’s not like the big purple grape who thinks he has to do it as a favor to the universe, he just wants money and to live comfortably, the end.

Person of Interest, for a lot of reasons actually, but mainly for the character of Elias!! And his whole organized crime operation. He is among that smart and calculated villain trope (even though he wasn’t really a villain over the course of the show lmao.) What I liked about him was that he went into the life of crime because he knew that was how things were going to get done in the world. Watching the show you see the hierarchy of the criminal underground and how he cultivated crime into an organized and sort of civil matter when given rules and regulations!! His overall poise, too, was the kind of villain I wanted for Ratigan. Also that Elias was the guy that people could go to if they needed something done that they themselves couldn’t get around or that was just too grey area for them to go through with themselves. He’ll pull the trigger, he’ll plant the bomb, he’ll ruin someone’s life. I love that concept a lot for a villain, because they already know they’re knee deep in the shit, why let someone else corrupt themselves when they can do it and do it without the whole fuss of morals.

And now, a wishlist! Jot down a few themes or stories or genres etc that you want to maybe pursue in the upcoming year! (i.e. a good ol’ fashion forbidden romance, maybe you want to dig deep into racial identity etc) This doesn’t have to necessarily be attached to any characters or stories you have now– it’s just meant to help you see for yourself what kind of stories call to your heart.

More technology vs magic things! I feel like that theme of the natural vs the made would be fun and interesting considering the juxtaposition of the town to the forest and stuff!!

Also, I mean even doing small, stupid shit with technology would make me very happy

More friendships!! (esp for Clara lol) More enemies!

I would love to do something of like building a house or renovating a place together. if any one wants to go HGTV, please come see me :^)

Scavenger hunt type deal? Like a video game! Get one thing in order to get the next thing so that you can get the next thing until they eventually find what they were looking for.

Misunderstandings! Either ones that are funny and light hearted that result in hijinks or the good old fashion devastating kind that sets trust on the edge.

And then to echo a few of yalls, and MK in the werewolf vs vampire chat, the opportunities of tension between those two parties. I think that would be SO cool??? not even for like a Big Boss Battle, but the build up to it would be really good! making alliances that wouldn’t otherwise be made, stirring the pot to make tensions worse, blackmail, threats. I barely have any stake in this, lmfao, but hey this question asked for things that didn’t have to be attached to my characters so. I would just be sitting on my computer with a bowl of popcorn for it. Big Vampire Diaries/the Originals Energy.

OPTIONAL: Why do you RP?

Since this whole experience has been brand spankin’ new with my first go around in the rp world, the answer is just very simple: it is an absolute delight.

Getting to write with people that double as this built in community/fandom that has been created is actually insane to me. It makes me so !!!!!!!!!!! because it’s so cool!! There’s really nothing out there like it! I like the collaboration aspect so much because it keeps everything exciting and fresh at all hours of the day! Not even just like within your own stories, but getting to see other people’s stories that I’m not even apart of.

Honestly, getting to read the things you guys write for free makes me feel like I’m doing highway robbery. Every day I am a humble peasant who wakes up and is getting to feast upon what you monarchs come up with.

Which just makes me want to say thank you to everyone here because I felt (and STILL DO) like such a fucking idiot coming in here not knowing what I was doing. But you all just welcomed me on in, made me feel comfortable enough to continue writing, and I sincerely believe you all kept me going on this wild and wacky year. I know I don’t talk at all in the big group chat because I am chicken shit!!!!!!!!!! but you’re all very lovely people, I feel lucky and blessed to have found you. Thank you for taking in a newbie like me into your long standing home!!

#bdrptask #not me having to use a whole painting for euterpe since she isn't even in the movie

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philip-seville-archive · 4 years ago

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BDRP 2021 Resolutions

Write your RPer Resolutions for 2018! (What are some goals for yourself as a writer? Improve descriptions? Plot with more members? Etc.)

A silly goal but I would like another female character lol

More one-shots! I always have these ideas for them but because I let them grow too large in my brain or I feel like I need to turn them into a proper ‘short story’ I intimidate myself out of doing them and then let the opportunity to slide. So this year I hope to fix that and once again be more chillax with myself. (Though here is a shoutout to me bc I published some one-shots last year I was happy about, like Nemo’s “Breath,” Berlioz’s parentage reveal, and my John Darling stuff!)

Do One Task Every Month. Another small but very doable goal

Learn how to say no: ahaha this seems a weird thing to put here but its actually about events and i feel this is a safe space to admit that i love love events but they like, truly take a toll on my arthritic hands which means i really can only do two characters probably. But i feel bad only rping with just two ppl etc esp if other people hit me up, or if there are other people i WANT to rp with, so i end up not doing it at all because i get overwhelmed and feel like no one will believe me about my shitty hands (which is of course silly but man chronic illness anxiety am i right). Sooooo i need to find a better way to enjoy events and manage my own health!

Finish some of the fairy lore stuff i got in the works lol

Write at least one resolution, or “goal,” that you have as an RPer for your character(s)

These vaguely feel like spoilers but oh well i love spoilers

Berlioz: Find His Daddy. Also groove room stuff.

Hades: Pokevolve his emotional intelligence! Also would like to do more Board things with him actually, esp bc he will have to run for office so: focus on his political aspirations

Merida: Integrate into society! She is doing it more but I really hope her friendships with the knights will let her fully embrace herself again. ALSO ALSO alpha Merida!

Charlie: Greater control over his magic and more confidence in himself. We gettin there bb

Ashleigh: Entangle her further with the knights/Henry and eventually reveal she’s a mara bc i would like that for Henry it will be horrifying for him

Nemo: embrace dance as a career option and therefore overcome the systematic factors that have convinced u that u cant! YOU CAN

Jun: Date. (Horrifying for him. Not his goal.) Also just more hijinks, I love love hijinks, would love business-related hijinks.

Olaf: Get more involved on campus!! More uni plots for him would be great esp when it comes to figuring out if he’ll stay on campus after this year (and also like how this affects his friendship with Sindri)

Atta: QUEEN STUFF. This is first on my list so we’re gonna make you happen. Blow up Atta’s life, really make her deal with that imposter syndrome. Love it.

Pip: Put the mortifying fear of being known into Pip. aka open up about his mum a bit with like, someone. Or just admit that the people he says are his enemies are actually his friends.

Write at least one resolution IN CHARACTER for your characters. What do THEY want to accomplish or change in the New Year?

Note that I love seeing which characters echo my goals and which ones don’t at all. It’s just fun and neat. Probably says something about each one’s emotional self-awareness. (Mostly pointing out how Hades is extremely self-aware i love that for him)

TW: weight

Berlioz: Literally nothing. Sorry he just thinks resolutions are stupid and life is pointless (he is in a state).

Hades: Prepare for his election next year, raise his children well, help Belle in her recovery

Merida: Assist King Arthur. Become a good alpha to Alice specifically (not u lou i mean like she is but she’s like that bitch doesnt need me)

Charlie: Reup his certs! Figure out a specialty!

Ashleigh: Revenge against Romeo, revenge against John Darling + company for destroying her tree

Nemo: Get an apprenticeship this year. Work on Hangul. Lose seven stone. Work on wing sprints. Be better son. Be more responsible and help Appa. Get job again? ...Quit dance?

Jun: something nerdy about increasing the overall revenue or something of the market i dont know im not a business person. Also something nerdy about Animal Crossing, maybe he wants to add a new room to his house. Jun’s goals have nothing to do with himself personally.

Olaf: Get involved in uni! Learn more about his talent and practice it intentionally, including how to control it better so he is not overwhelmed in situations like the nightmare fog.

Atta: Help Dot with her apprenticeship!! Learn more stuff about clumsy culture. Pass her petition about water fountains.

Pip: Grow SSIC followers by 100+; grow Spill engagement by 20%; arrange guest speakers for SSIC and maybe help SSIC write a petition together?; get a solo for the spring concert; get a lead role in the summer musical; read 50 books in a year; drink less coffee (he will fail this last one)

List one or more characters you have never interacted with that you would like to do so

Ferb. Technically I did interact with him but it was just ONE gif chat when he first got here and I would like to do more!! I think he’s great, i love all of Sid’s characters!

Bianca: HOW HAVE I NOT RPED WITH BIANCA! I don’t know but I want to. Maybe Merida and Bianca would be interesting bc of RAS things! (Also I have interacted with Kristoff but I want to do stuff with Kristoff and trolls please message me bee if u want to do troll things...i love. them.)

Rita: In a similar vein, I think Rita/Ber or Rita/Pip might be interesting. Pip totally looks up to Rita and sees her as a role model so i dunno that could be cool.

Rose: Whitman: Kit, we need to have Rose and Merida interact. Fighty ladies. I am sure with the knights this can happen!

Pacifica: Hello Lins, Pacifica and Ashleigh should be Best Friends Of Course. I could also maybe see Pacifica and Jun if Pacifica wants to do some kind of business philanthropy for her image etc. Or Olaf and Pacifica! Sounds like a wild time, that.

Tod: Olaf/Tod would probably be very fun, I love Pixie friendships! Also maybe Ber bc i think Ber knows Tod from way back when maybe?

Edward: Z PLEASE. PLEASE. Pip and Edward bc they are from the same movie and no other reason!! But I will also throw literally anyone at him.

Plotting Exercise! Pick one of the resolutions/goals in #2 and plan a rough guideline to how you could accomplish it. Here’s an example.

ATTA’S ROYAL TALENT AWAKENS

Attendy: Atta goes ice skating with Wendy and has to stop bc of a headache and faints on the ice!!!

@: Directly after attendy, Dot panics about Atta’s health and wants her to come clean. They fight!

Full Moon Event: Atta faints again in front of everyone. MARLIN helps heal her and Dot/Sled confesses to Queen Clarion what’s going on.

Clarion/Atta: Oh Honey You Got A Big Storm Coming

#bdrptask

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fflewddur-fflam-bonfamille · 4 years ago

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A Christmas King: The Royal Wedding

In which Fflewddur and Marie get married. [Dated: April 25th, 2020]

@marie-a-fflam-bonfamille @lou-bonfightme @ber-bonfamille-lyons

FFLEWDDUR:

The day had finally arrived. Fflewddur Fflam was getting married to the most beautiful woman in the world. He had woken early, energized and eager to go even though he knew that the wedding would be a long process. It would be ceremonial, it would have every elaborate thing possible. Still, he got into his dress uniform, his aid carefully helping him set it all right. Not a button could be out of place, his hair was carefully styled and groomed until it shone.

Before he knew it he was heading out of the palace entrance, his beautiful gray horse Ferdinand tacked up and ready for King Fflewddur to mount and kick off the parade to the cathedral. Fflewddur put his crown on his head and then had another aid help him up and into the saddle, settling and smiling at his servants. “Thank you everyone. I’m honored to have you all at my side on such a special day.”

Without another word, he nudged his horse forward with his thighs, the beautiful stallion trotting forward quickly, taking them out through the gate, where a marching band was already out in front playing the processional music. Just behind the marching band were two royal guards, riding black horses. As Fflewddur started down the path they had set on, three other guards came in behind him, making sure their king was properly protected as he paraded through the charming town of Vvlandersnazm.

Fflewddur had been trained for this type of fanfare all of his life. So he smiled at the cheering crowds at the side, he gathered his reins in one hand and waved. The cheers grew louder and a bigger smile spread across Fflewddur’s face. Who knew this part of it could actually be fun? He’d never really thought of it until Marie. But here he was, feeling the excited energy building and building as the procession made its way toward the cathedral.

It felt like forever and not long at all before his part of the procession came up to the front of the cathedral, a man stepping forward to gently take hold of Ferdinand’s reins. Fflewddur grinned and hopped off the horse carefully, patting the obedient stallion’s neck. “Thank you.” He was pulled aside just inside the cathedral to change into a new (non horse scented) set of trousers and stepped forward so he could prepare to head down the aisle and wait for Marie.

MARIE:

Marie had thought she would barely catch a wink of sleep, going to bed as she had with butterflies in her stomach and champagne bubbles in her chest, making her feel giddy and bright. Tomorrow she would be married, in front of a kingdom that would soon be hers. How could she sleep with such excitement?

And yet she did. Marie woke to the bright spring morning light filtering in through the curtains, warming her skin. She didn’t linger to enjoy it — there was a lot to do before she could so much as leave her bedroom. There was a quick breakfast whilst she carried out her morning skincare routine, and then there was the hair, the makeup, and the dress. There was a small army of people to help, of course — the room was a flurry of activity, the dress designer and a makeup artist flown in from Paris, her friends lounging around the room, or otherwise running around trying to find garters and perfume and hair clips. Her mother hovered, as Marie had no doubt she would, and before they left for the cathedral the Dowager Queen popped into the room with a gift: the tiara she had promised for the young bride for the day.

The flurry of activity didn’t disturb her, though. In fact, Marie didn’t move much at all; she sat in a chair at the dressing table, being supplied with whatever she needed — most of which was attention. Once she had been assured that her soon-to-be husband was clear of the building, with absolutely no chance of them crossing paths, Marie was ready to leave.

It was exactly what she had expected: sitting in the back of the carriage with her father, waving at the crowds that huddled at the roadside, waving flags and cheering the procession. The guards on their high white horses didn’t serve any distraction from her, as far as she was concerned, her chin tilted up just a little like the royalty she was soon to be.

She took a moment, as they climbed the cathedral steps, to stop and turn around. To direct one more wave and a dazzling smile at the people of her fiancé’s kingdom. Perhaps some would see it as a stunt, to win their affection, but as far as Marie could tell, she already had it — she just wanted to soak it up a little more.

But there was an order to these things; once inside the cathedral, she was ushered into a small side room, to wait her turn. The music from the band began to pick up, and her mother continued to fuss, adjusting the veil around her shoulders until Marie took her hands, and held them gently.

“Maman, why don’t you go take your seat? We’ll all be out soon enough.” She assured her, stepping forward to kiss her cheek. “Les garçons,” she began, turning now to her brothers. “Are you ready?”

TOULOUSE:

Toulouse was not ready. Nor was he happy. But, at least he was here. He supposed if he was not, he would come to regret it. Even though he was sure there would be another--and one that was actually proper. For now...this was what they were saddled with. And Lou really did try to be happy for Marie, but every time he looked at her, his brain simply fast-forwarded to six months, a year from now: with a Marie no longer smiling and sparkling with diamonds.

However, he played his part, patting his mother’s hand while she weeped and fretted, making sure Berlioz was where he was supposed to be at any given moment, he’d even been polite to the Dowager queen and the rest of Fflewddur’s family. The last thing he wanted was for his behaviour to reflect poorly on Marie or their own family. They were the Bonfamilles, after all.

If Marie wanted to play moral high ground, well, Lou was an expert at such games.

“No, I’m not,” he told her with a smile, and to anyone who did not know them, it would come off only as a tease, “but I don’t have much say in the matter so--” he shrugged his shoulders, but he did step forward and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Tu es très belle, ma petite. Je t’aime.” At least that much was true.

MARIE:

Marie hadn’t been sure about Toulouse. She had refused to lose any sleep over it, of course, but he had said he would be there, and she had trusted him with that much. If there was one thing about Lou, at least, he was a man of his word — and he could be trusted to dress the part as well.

“Thank you, mon cher,” She replied, turning from one brother to the other as they waited for their cue, her bouquet clutched in both hands. “Berlioz, are you ready? It’s the best man first, and then Toulouse, and then you.” She looked between the two of them. “Got that?”

BERLIOZ:

Oh yeah, this was going to be an absolute disaster. Eventually.

He was reminded of Baktin’s Carnivalesque, not to be a complete pretentious prat-- but that’s what he thought about when they’d arrived at the castle from the storybooks, when he saw the lavish decorations and the uniforms. Here they all were, a cast of characters straight out of a play-- Fflew the Parody King, Marie the Jeweled Fool of an Off-brand Princess, Lou the Disgruntled, and Berlioz, well, Berlioz supposed he was the audience surrogate, leaning on that fourth wall or looking for a camera (because there would be so many cameras today). They’d all played this scene before. Remember, he nearly said to Lou, when they’d both been forced to act in Marie’s pretend weddings when she was a little girl? She usually married Lou (let’s not get too Freudian about it), wearing Maman’s make-up and pearls. There was no difference between those games and this one, at least to Berlioz.

But hey. He was here to have fun. He hoped he and Lou were both wrong. He hoped that Marie would be a happy queen and a happy wife. He hoped the kingdom wasn’t secretly bankrupt. He hoped that Fflew was more than his ego.

If not, then he hoped they’d all look back at this day with as little embarrassment as possible.

So here he was, in his Marie-approved outfit, texting Simba live updates. “Huh?” Ber said and then-- quickly put his phone away and smiled a typical sheepish Ber smile. His little sister was so serious. Always so serious. He hoped one more time that this was the wedding she always wanted, if she couldn’t marry Lou after all.

“Yup.” He thumbs-upped Marie. “Promise not to trip on the way down.”

He should kiss her cheek too. Say something profound. “Je suis heureux pour toi,” he said then, and smiled softly.

FFLEWDDUR:

The music started to play and Fflewddur was the first to start down the aisle, a great big smile lighting up his face as he passed by his family, the nobles of Vvlandersnazm, the various guests that Marie had invited and all. This was the kind of wedding he’d once worried over. Now he felt like the luckiest person alive to be marrying a woman as wonderful as Marie was.

He made his way over to the altar, his good friend William off to the side standing in as a proper best man. Fflewddur nodded at the bishop who took responsibility for all the major weddings in the country, turning and settling at his spot to await the moment that he would see Marie come down that aisle herself.

“You’re in it now aren’t you mate?” His friend whispered to him and Fflewddur snorted and elbowed him. “Happily so. I can’t imagine anyone as perfect as my Marie.” He knew he’d railed about the monarchy and arranged marriages and all the other customs that could come up with the system to William countless times. But he really was happy. Marie was going to make him very happy. He let his hands clasp loosely in front of him as he waited, every moment building the anticipation for his dream come true.

MARIE:

Marie, of course, was the last to leave the little vestibule they’d been tucked away in. She watched each pair go off in turn, her brothers and some ladies of the kingdom, a few lords, sons of local nobility and a few of her friends from home, from Paris, dolled up in petticoats and hairpins that would make their ancestors shiver. Marie didn’t give it a second thought, of course; had there been a mirror she might have glanced in it, but she knew how she appeared. Like a princess; like a bride. Soon to be one, and already the other.

“Ready?” Her father asked, leaning his head down close to hers, his voice a stage whisper. He was smiling, but Marie had a feeling it wasn’t entirely a joke.

“Very.” She replied with a smile of her own, turning to look front and centre before they stepped out of the room, and began their walk down the aisle.

The music filled the cathedral from floor to ceiling, but Marie strained her ear for the soft oos and ahs of the crowd, the old ladies in fancy hats and the little girls stood on tip toes watching her as she passed. Marie smiled at all of them, as many as she could; but the closer they got to the altar, the less her attention strayed, and Marie looked to Fflewddur, greeting him with a grin.

When she joined him just before the bishop, her father placed a hand on the small of her back, his gaze meeting her fiancé’s. “Look after her,” he said softly, his voice a warning as he took a step back. Marie simply smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek before she turned to Fflewddur, to take his hand.

“Hello,” She whispered, feeling giddy as she did, unable to hide her smile.

FFLEWDDUR:

The music started to fill the cathedral, and Fflewddur turned so that he could face the aisle properly, a smile lighting up his face as Marie came down the aisle toward him. She was absolutely stunning, a vision in her white dress and Fflewddur couldn’t take his eyes off her. He didn’t want to.

“I promise I will,” he replied, gently taking Marie’s hand and lifting it so he could kiss the top of it. “Hello Marie. You look so beautiful.” He was in awe of her and overwhelmed by his fortune as he turned with her to face the bishop. This was the most important moment of their lives, he was sure. It had his heart pounding like mad, but the smile on his face was genuine.

“We are gathered here today to join this man and woman in holy matrimony.” The bishop said a lot more about weddings in the eyes of God and all that but Fflewddur didn’t pay much attention to that. He smiled at Marie, mouthing ‘I love you’ at her when he caught her looking. He didn’t really focus back in until the bishop said “I ask you each to repeat the marriage vows. If you have vows of your own you may say them at this time.”

Fflewddur focused back on his beautiful bride, reminding himself of the vows he had repeated to himself over and over so he could say it freely, so he could express himself as he should. “Marie, there will be many people that think that our passion is too quick, our passion is too wild, and that we’re not thinking about the future. Those people couldn’t be more wrong. Since the moment I met you I had this feeling that you were the one for me. Never have I been as understood as I have by you, and I would never have thought about marriage at all for myself until I met you. But I did meet you and I knew that I needed you with me. I wanted to be with you for the rest of our lives. I want us to have a family and grow old together. I picture the future and all I see is spending as much time as I can with you. For the first time I want to figure out what it means to be a proper ruler, if only so that I could rule at your side. I want to meet our future hand in hand ready to see what comes next. I love you Marie. I’m so happy that you’re going to be my wife.”

MARIE:

Marie could only smile back at him, sneaking glances at Fflewddur now and then; her cheeks would be hurting by the end of the day, no doubt, and there was a thought in the back of her mind about laughter lines, but it was her wedding day. Perhaps she was allowed a day off from worrying about wrinkles (in her face, anyhow; her entire morning had been spent worrying about wrinkles in her dress).

It felt surreal. Like a dream, or like she was playing a part in a film. Fflewddur said his vows, more beautifully written than Marie could have imagined, certainly on par with the vows her imaginary husband had always come out with in her daydreams, and it felt like at any moment, someone would yell cut!, and the whole thing would be done. But there was no director, no one waiting to critique her performance — no one but herself, anyhow.

Much like a performance, however, Marie had memorised her lines well. Word for word, each inflection in the right place. She had been in the Swynlake summer performance quite a few times now; memorising lines was old hat.

“Fflewddur,” She began, her smile bright. “When we met, I did not know it would bring us here. I did not know many things, in fact,” She laughed, remembering their trip at Christmas, finding out that her boyfriend was the king of a place she had barely even heard of. “But this, certainly, was the last thing I expected. And I’m glad. I’m glad that we’re here, together. I can’t imagine anyone else I would wish to spend my life with. There is a quote that I’ve always loved: Il n’y a qu’un bonheur dans la vie, c’est d’aimer et d’être aimé. There is only one happiness in life — to love, and to be loved. I can’t imagine anything better than loving you, and being loved by you. Whatever that might entail.”

FFLEWDDUR:

Every word that came from Marie’s mouth felt like magic. Despite their brief acquaintance, despite how quick they had gone from dating to engaged, he knew this was right. Fflewddur knew it in his heart, and he couldn’t help but mouth ‘I love you’ at her after she had finished.

The bishop gestured for the rings to be brought forward, and Fflewddur carefully lifted the one made for Marie, gently reaching for her hand. The bishop guided the words, and Fflewddur carefully slid the ring on his fiancee’s finger as he echoed them: “I Fflewddur Fflam take you Marie Bonfamille to be my wife to have and to hold from this day forward. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish til death do us part.”

He made sure that the ring was just right on her finger before he drew his hand way, but not before he added a gentle squeeze of their hands, to express his love where he couldn’t quite kiss her yet. That would go against tradition. He hardly glanced at the bishop repeating these vows for Marie to say. His focus was solely on her, on his bride.

MARIE:

How often had little Marie wondered it would be like to have a ring on her finger? How many times had she almost slipped one on and then worried about the bad luck, setting the ring on her middle finger as if she had never done it in the first place. Having her engagement ring, even if she hadn’t had it for very long, felt like something magical. As if she were the only woman in the world to get to enjoy such spoils. She had moved her engagement ring to her middle finger, just for now; she didn’t want anything to get in the way of her wedding ring, and the gentle weight of it as it sat on her finger.

She looked up at Fflewddur as he squeezed her hand, and resisted the urge to squeal. It took her a moment to gain the composure to look at the bishop, pressing her lips together to hide her smile as she waited for her turn to say the traditional vows.

The bishop raised his eyebrows at her, and Marie gave a little nod; she was ready. She held Fflewddur’s ring carefully, as if it were made of glass, as she set it on his finger.

“I, Marie Antoinette Bonfamille, take you, Fflewddur Fflam, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward. For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish til death do us part.”

FFLEWDDUR:

Fflewddur smiled at Marie, nothing else mattering now that they had their rings, they had said their vows...all that was left was for the priest to say those words he’d been waiting for since he’d proposed. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

He didn’t need further encouragement, leaning in, his hands already reaching up to gently cup her face as he did it, pressing his lips against Marie’s gently, lovingly before he let that turn into something a little more passionate. He loved his wife. She was his wife now! And as Fflewddur finally pulled away, he had nothing but stars in his eyes for the woman he loved.

“I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Fflam-Bonfamille! Our monarchs! Long may they reign!”

MARIE:

It seemed to move so swiftly, the ceremony, the kiss that made her knees weak, and then it was time to move back down the aisle, showered in confetti and the praise of their families. Marie couldn’t help but laugh, her hand holding Fflewddur’s tightly, the cool feeling of his wedding band beginning to warm as it settled against her skin. The doors to the cathedral were pulled open in anticipation of them, revealing the carriage and its white horses standing ready and the crowds of assembled Vvlandersnazm residents, cheering and waving their flags.

Marie pressed herself to Fflewddur’s side, looking from him to the crowds with a bright smile on her face. She raised her hand in a wave, and was surprised to find she felt almost overwhelmed. In a good way, of course - she had always wanted this for her wedding day. To be adored, to be the centre of attention, but never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined this.

A footman gestured for them to come forward, so with her husband by her side Marie began the path down the steps, getting settled in the carriage as the horses were urged into a trot.

“This is amazing,” She beamed, turning to Fflewddur. “I love you.”

#p: a christmas king the royal wedding #r: fflewrie #this is late but life happens #lmao also this wedding is so extra #love them #and then they rode off into the sunset disney style

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ber-bonfamille-lyons · 7 years ago

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BDRP Resolutions

in which this is long

Write your RPer Resolutions for 2018!

-Plot with more members, definitely! I try to expand of course and rp threads with everyone but I think I could do better and could def do bigger plots with more people.

-Complete more tasks tbh. This one is gonna be hard for me to do but idk if I could do at least one task every other month that would be an improvement over last year haha.

-Continue to work on scenery and detail etc. My weaknesses. I hope that rping more detail-oriented characters, like Charlie or even Mowgli, or exploring the lake with Andrina or the forest with Prince/Merida will help with this. Though also just being more aware of it in the day to day

-Dream Journal for Charlie/More music stuff for radio

Write at least one resolution, or “goal,” that you have as an RPer for your character(s)

Mel: This was on last year’s so that tells u something but I think it’s gonna happen-- explore her feelings for Howl! Also would love for her to do some more seedy things and i see want an apprentice!!

Ber: Explore Berlioz’s mental health more. Whether I do this through tasks/one-shots or something, Ber is kinda in this weird place where he’s blurring the line between reality/fantasy and I think that’s interesting. A lot of it has to do with things he isn’t dealing with (trauma from Taka and going down into hell). Also very specifically I want him to rp with Marie more bc Berrie is kinda underdeveloped both on my part as an rper and his part as like a mediocre brother lmao. I also like him as a supporting role in other people’s plots and I hope I can keep pushing him in those directions. And of course I’m very interested to see him and Simba repair and grow their relationship hopefully stronger than ever. <3 OH and g row a backbone tbh stand up for himself more do it ber

Kiara: Figure out her school life!! I still want to have her shadow someone sooo I think I could see her shadowing Minnie or even Jiminy since she’s sort of into health and social work. Also explore her envy of her friends with magic bc she had powers in Star wars and lowkey she still wants powers (opportunity for Feys Gold Antics here-- also feel liek there could be something interesting in Kiara v. Jake if Jake really does start getting more elitist)

Hades: BOARD STUFF. Im really excited to play Hades as a politician and like-- authority figure in town. Though he’s gotta save his own soul first lol. Also supporting Belle in hopefully going back to school. Alsoooo there are loose threads in hell that I have and would like 2 look into…

Milo: Talk with Jane about what comes next after pride u because his grant is almost up! Plot with BIANCA/BERNARD hopefully about the rescue aid society.

Nala: ONE NIGHT STAND SERIOUSLY. Let loose. Date someone bc if she fell in love work wouldnt be her focus and she’d grow a lot. Uh repair relationship with Simba?

Kiki: bring back jiji lmfao i suck. Finish her apprenticeship and unlock the trU nature of her powers and stuff mhm. Also kiss someone lol

Anita: Bring her fam in town and explore like, this clash between her old life and the new life now that she has grown so much.

Prince: ACCEPT UR FEELINGS FOR ELLA. Embrace them! Continue to train Bambi/find the fucker who shot u/be a Dad and do Dad things like idk a parent teacher conference??? Thats hilarious. Somehow I want him to become like a guest lecturer at Pride U but I’m not sure how yet. I also feel like idk Akela could draw him into becoming slightly darker after this shooting and that might be interesting so who knows, maybe he should join Akela’s morally gray magic club,

Paul: GO TO PRIDE U PLZ. Deal with the paulina plot lol. Contend with his inferiority issues that stem from the financial inequality between him and Perdy. Just rly go into their relationship and figure it out post-break up post-make up u know

Andrina: Explore the lake. Get into seedy stuff with Ursula maybe??? Continue to sleep with people thats very fun for me. FIND OUT WHO RAVEN IS. Get a cat.

Merida: I need her to make more friends bc I want her to fuck up and then ruin all those friendships ahaha. Want to have a showdown with some powerful magicks, gimme Akela and Max, all the shapeshifters!!!

Mowgli: Meet the Bonfamilles (lmao). Uhhh would lvoe to rp more with Akela i need to brainstorm how. I’d also like him to become more extreme tbh? Maybe start having night terrors or something bc of all his suppressed guilt wow just got a good idea ahha. Alsoooo maybe get a mentoooor…

Charlie: HAVE A PROPHECY ABOUT SOMEONE PPL HIT ME UP. I wanna start him on the research train when I get that in place and also maybe abuse hospital equipment (aka scan his own brain ehhe) but also maybe save someone’s life would be cool, ok, yeah. Also hopefully grow his relationships with all hospital personnel and patients, and maybe get a mentorship with Tibbs and/or Sweet. In fact it’d be really cooool if he could eventually help Sweet with his research like as an intern or assistant or something. And also i want to get him to an event but i need him to get a friend for that so!!! A texting buddy friend, that is a specific goal.

Write at least one resolution IN CHARACTER for your characters. What do THEY want to accomplish or change in the New Year?

Mel: “Do something impossible.”

Ber: “Be a better brother and friend and boyfriend… be less crazy lol ahah”

Kiara: “figure out my LIFE lmao”

Hades: “Make real change in Swynlake.”

Milo: “Apply for a grant to study Atlantis...again.”

Nala: “Be my oWN love of my life. I’m a single independent woman and that’s amazing, I’m AMAZING.”

Kiki: “Restore Jiji D:”

Anita: “Direct a play again! That would be very fun. Oh, and paint more, I really do need to paint.”

Prince: “Be a good father to Bambi… make the forest a safe place again.”

Paul: “Be a good father, a good partner-- find better ways to support my kids.”

Andrina: “lol i dont DO goals bye.”

Merida: “Shoot Mor’du. Become a Prince.”

Mowgli: “... don’t make any trouble.”

Charlie: Bitch has a list.

Get phlebotomist license!!

Renew certs: CPR/AED/First Aid/Wilderness First Aid/BLS

Give up gluten! Again!

Exercise.

Go to a Swynlake Event! It will be fine no one will die!!! (!!!)

Plotting Exercise! Pick one of the resolutions/goals in #2 and plan a rough guideline to how you could accomplish it.

Mowgli explores his powers/grief

PARA 1: Has a nightmare and accidentally sets something on fire (Akela)

PARA 2: Frightened, Mowgli confides in someone about his powers (Peach/Will)

PARA 3: Seeks help from either Howl or Ursula--depending on which one, it could litERally change the direction of the entire plot.

List of Characters I want to RP with:

I went through character by character but I would love to do more than this I am sure ahah.

Mel: Mateo, Ursula, Sophie (bc duh Howl), Akela

Ber: Irma, Sophie because they should be better friends, more Peg, JENNy bc they play piano ok!!, ANNETTE bc they totally know each other!!, tbh daisy and ber could do something with anxiety, Rita for sure, more Simon somehow i swear it

Hades: Sally, more stuff with Miguel, Jack, Shock/Samara, Al, Cruella, Simba, Oogie, maybe Dipper

Kiara: more stuff with Jake, Jiminy, Minnie/Rama maybe, Isa, Wilbur, Penny, Ollie, Jenny. Also lowkey Ursula.

Milo: more stuff with Kida, Bianca, Elena, also Goliath and Thomas (teachers!!)

Nala: MAUI. sorry look i just want maui its been a year. Also maybe some board members and stuff since she’ll be politically active? So Al, Cruella, Soleil for that (and Simba, but I rp with simba allll the time). Also Arthur, Adam.

Kiki: Mateo as well!! More young-ish people: Dipper, Maui (she’s a #bigfan), Callie.

Anita: more stuff with Perdita. Also other artists: Pascal, Jane, Namine, Violet, maybe Art if he does art??, Peach, Peri, Duchess etc!! Hit me up please.

Prince: all the forest politics okay: Alasdair, Akela, Goliath, Shere, why are these men. Also just big Magicks in general: Ursula, Namine maybe. More fairies so Peri and Terence. Also very specifically: Theo and Thomas O’Malley. Maybe Jake tbh if he starts like patrolling the forest?

Paul: Goliath bc he’s a lit professor! Thomas bc they are bros now!!!! Maybe some other mersisters-- Aqua, Alana, Arista. Peach bc writing? Lmao. Also some lowkey shady people like Roscoe or Lock would be really great. Possibly Oogie bc he owns a casino and gambling~

Andrina: URSULA ok sorry i just want the sea witch. TBH Hiro or Tombo could be cool bc she’s into STEM stuff. Ken because I want to rp with Ken and I don’t think anyone else would get along? Ahah. Arista, Aqua and Alana. Herculessss.

Merida: Bambi bc scottish and also lowkey was involved in mother’s death!!! Maximus bc she should shoot him!! More Shere! Follow-up with Goliath tbh in class lmao would be funny. CORNY bc thye r destined to be friends. Callie!!! Oo, also more Eric.

Mowgli: Howl, Ursula, Mateo, more Peach, Jenny, Wilbur, Theo, Bambi Penny (yay orphans). Maybe a professor: Thomas, Goliath, Shere?

Charlie: so many ok. Ellie, Sweet, Shock, Jack, SALLY thats in caps bc I need it, Dipper, Boo, tbh could do some drug stuff with Roscoe, Lock and Theo. Rita bc she can be his mom, Oogie, anyone with trauma who wants charlie to relive it with them: eric, thomas, shere, lou the list can go on-- annnnd belle and callie also

#bdrptask #wooooo

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tink-bell · 7 years ago

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Write a crack!ship au for one of your characters. Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe

let me just say this disturbs me on SO MANY LEVELS i feel dirty and this isn’t even that dirty of a thing !!

AKA

Four times Tinker most definitely did not hook up and one time that they did.

The party was loud and there was so many sweaty bodies. Tink was in the midst of them, loud bass thrumming through her body and only enhancing the high she currently felt. Nights like these were her favorite. Everything blurred together blending into one colorful evening accentuated with loud music and the feel of skin pressed together.

How many people had she enticed? How many had enticed her? There was no real way to tell. All she knew was that at some point a sensory overload had occurred and she had to get away. The newly dyed green haired pixie knew that if she didn’t she’d end up near fucking someone on what they called the dance floor. Really it was nothing more than a large living room with all the furniture pushed out of the way to create ample space for everyone to congregate and gyrate.

It was on this short breather that Tink first caught sight of the tall gangly boy. He was surrounded by a group of four, maybe five; the way Tink’s vision kept swimming certainly wasn’t helping her keep count but that didn’t matter. They were faces that she recognized from Pixie’s and from her classes at Uni. One boy she’d hooked up with multiple times, a girl she’d seen giving furtive glances. But it wasn’t any of those that mattered. It was the tall one, a barely there smirk on his lips as he smoked, that had drawn her attention. She moved quickly, with purpose, to stand in front of him. “Mind if I bum one?” She motioned to the cigarette that dangled between his lips with a raised eyebrow before grinning as he offered her one.

She lit it easily with the offered lighter and then moved to lean against the low wall they were perched near. Discreetly she eyed him, taking him in further now that she was closer and he wasn’t wishy washy the way he had been. Spotting his shirt, she smirked fuller, even going so far as to huff a laugh. At the raised eyebrow she shook her head before speaking. “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” she said simply, nodding to the boy and his shirt.

II.

The second time they meet they’re both scavenging the racks of Scat Cat’s music shoppe. It was Tink’s day off from Pixie and she’d decided that it was high time to update her music collection. Not that it wasn’t banging anyways. Her taste in music was magnificent, even if she did say so herself. If it was recorded during the seventies or eighties, Tink had it. That was her niche.

There had been a rumor that Scat Cat had gotten something in that was precious and something she’d been looking for. It was the ‘67 London LP of Their Satanic Majesties Request and God was it beautiful. It would round out her collection and she was certainly ready to dish out the money for it. Even if it meant being a mite late on her rent that month. It’d be alright because the sweet, sweet voice of Mick Jagger could lull her into a false sense of security any day.

Course fate or whatever other bullshit you believed in would have it’s say as she neared the designated section for such a beauty. Lo’ and behold tall and gangly from a few weeks before was there, long spindly fingers traipsing over covers like they were piano keys. Tink immediately wondered what else those fingers were good at before inwardly chiding herself. Wouldn’t do to get all worked up inside of a record store with no one to help take care of her sudden need. There wasn’t even a dingy bathroom to retreat to with a stranger for a quickie.

Never the one to shy away from a cute boy or girl, Tink soldiered on. She wanted the vinyl, after all. And if she came away with a phone number there was nothing wrong with that.

“I’ll have to fight you if you take the Stones album. I’ve been waiting for Scat to get that in for ages,” she whispered, leaning close to him before taking a quick step back. Her face was alight with mirth and she waited for him to respond, grinning when he muttered about music elitists and hipsters, to which Tink took mock offense. “I may be a music elitist but I am no hipster, I assure you... I never did catch you’r name, you know.” She moved to stand next to him, her own fingers moving through the vinyls until she found what she was looking. For a moment she lingered, thinking he wasn’t going to answer her, before turning to head towards the register. “Berlioz. It’s, uh, it’s Berlioz.” He finally gave away, causing Tink to flash him a wide grin over her shoulder. “Tink. Catch you around, Berlioz.”

III.

It’s some months before Tink and Berlioz cross paths again. So much so that Tink begins to think he was just an illusion. A beautiful illusion that her mind made up to combat the fact she’s felt rather lonely the past couple of months. Not that there hadn’t been many that had graced her bed but other than that she felt she was missing something. A something she didn’t like to ever really examine because she was determined to be the free spirit she’d always been. There was no time for any sort of commitment. The biggest commitment in her life was Pixie’s and she had intended for it to stay that way.

Now when things became too much, when Tink felt that her thoughts would swallow her whole, she repeated the same pattern. Wallow for a bit the get high then grab a bottle of her favorite tequila then make her way to the park. Nothing stopped her in her quest. Not rain or snow or really windy days. The day it all eclipsed inside of her it was a wonderfully sunny day, odd for fall but Tink would take it, with billowy clouds that took shape. Blissed out of her mind, Tink had decided it’d be the perfect day to lay outside on the grass, head propped up by her tattered jean jacket.

Unlike the other times their paths had crossed, Berlioz approached Tink. There was no mistaking the bright hair of the faerie nor the absolutely tattered clothes she wore. The small faerie was so out of her mind that didn’t even really notice another had joined her until that deep voice broke through the haze of her thoughts. “Finding any cool shapes?” He’d asked. At the question Tink had laughed, instinctively curling towards the presence. “Found a crab with a top hat earlier. He looked right posh,” she hummed, resting her head against his shoulder as he laid out beside her.

They laid like that for what felt like only minutes, each one pointing out ridiculous cloud shapes and giggling, before the sun began to set. It made Tink sigh out softly as she stirred, blinking heavy eyes in the process. Really, she had felt comfortable with Berlioz, content to just lay there as her high worked it’s way through her. As it faded, though, she felt a sense of dread at having to walk away from this rather nice afternoon with him. “Feel like comin’ back to mine? Got some MJ and really good music. Unless you’re too cool to hang out with a music elitist,” she smirked. That smirk turned to a grin as Berlioz stood and nodded, motioning for her to lead the way.

IV.

Tink and Ber were nearly inseparable. Where one went the other could soon be found. Their now mutual friends called them disgusting, swore that sooner or later they’d get together. What they didn’t know though. Spoilers, darlings. Regardless, the pair spent more time together than they did apart. Tink wouldn’t have had it any other way. That place inside of her that had felt empty for so long, no longer felt that way. Slowly it had been filling, making instead a home for a certain tall and gangly boy.

It didn’t matter that there was an almost considerable age difference. Tink being twenty-four and Berlioz being just barely eighteen. What mattered was that they were comfortable around each other. Didn’t feel the need to pretend. They spent hours curled together, high as fuck, listening to music; new and old. It was all pretty G rated but TInk didn’t mind. This one relationship was fine without sex. It didn’t need to be defined by that because it just felt-- right.

But around the fifth month of their ‘hanging’ out dating Tink got her first inkling that things might actually progress to that level.

They’d gone to the Next Town Over for a proper night out. One that they didn’t have to be interrupted by any of their friends. God knew they’d crashed many a date in the past and really, Tink just wanted Berlioz to herself; just as much as Berlioz wanted Tink to himself. There wasn’t much of the movie that they could remember, most of it had been spent with eyes closed and lips pressed together, but from what they had seen it looked pretty boring. Something they could report to their friends when they eventually made their way back to Swynlake.

Phones shut off and retired to Tink’s flat for the evening, everything was going rather well. Tink had turned on the heater because it was cold as hell but they had still forgone most of their clothes as they laid buried under a fort of covers on her bed. Again, eyes had been closed and lips pressed together as hands roamed and explored, each set mapping out their partner with immense concentration.

Course that was when their friends most definitely used the key under the mat and came barging in, interrupting said explorations with very little dignity. Pouting while trying to cover her more exposed bits, she looked towards Berlioz with exasperation on her features as the gang all crowded around. “We need new friends.”

While Tink had proven that most things come about from spontaneity, sometimes she liked to plan things. Those things included birthday celebrations, graduation celebrations, and other such things. Her favorite, of course, being birthdays. Luck had it that hers and Berlioz’s were mere days apart. Which meant that there were three days in which they could celebrate. An entire glorious weekend to be spent celebrating between their friends, themselves, and their family.

Two of those groups were quite tiring. So tiring. Especially family. Berlioz’s family definitely didn’t like her and Tink’s family was very partial to him. Best to say they’d be avoiding familial engagements altogether.

It was their friends that proved to be the most tiring. The gang had all come together for a massive night out. There was booze, there was drugs, there were so many body pressed together until they all became one. It was an epic celebration. Something fit for the two of them. Only they would have preferred to be have celebrated by themselves. Something small rather than large and raucous. It was nice, though, and they thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with friends and each other; the two of them pressed tight together in an attempt to shut out the world.

The last of the celebrations were their favorite. It was just them, hidden from the world in Berlioz’s studio. He’d wanted to show Tink something and she readily agreed. In her opinion Berlioz would be the next Bowie or Prince. He had an ear she wished she’d had. An ear and an ability to put different components together into something... incredible. Plus she loved being able to say that she was dating a musician. Something only made better by the way Ber looked whenever he had an instrument in hand. Just pure bliss, nirvana right there in front of her.

But just as she could get side tracked in his music, she could also get side tracked in him. In the way his lips felt against hers or the steady and sure way his hands moved along her body. Tink was not a firm believer in delayed gratification, she preferred her gratification instant thank you very much, but this... Putting this off with Berlioz, all those interruptions and delays, it had been worth it. Every single nerve ending was on fire, bringing her nothing but complete pleasure as they went along slowly.

Clothes were discarded slowly, not carefully, thrown over chairs and equipment. There was laughter and teasing quips as they both chased something that was always just out of their reach. It was built up passion, desire, want. Everything Tink had been chasing all those months ago built into this one boy who had somehow made a place for himself inside of her, moving constantly within her. It was a push and pull, give and take, both reaching and reaching for release. And when it finally came they collapsed into a heap together, curling around one another until they couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended.

#bdrpwrimo #i had to be so vague about all of this #tink rioted the entire time #idk how i feel about this yet

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2700fstreet · 8 years ago

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BALLET / 2017-2018

WHIPPED CREAM

American Ballet Theatre

Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky Set and Costume Design by Mark Ryden Music by Richard Strauss with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Daniil Simkin and Alexei Agoudine in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

So, What’s Going On?

Let’s time travel back to Vienna, Austria. It’s 1924 and the German composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949) has created the music and the libretto, or storyline, for a ballet set to premiere at the Vienna State Opera. Sadly for Maestro Strauss, the performance is not well-received. Truthfully…it is an utter failure. And so, his score is rarely heard again, and the ballet named Schlagobers (pronounced SHLAG-oh-bers) is forgotten.

Fast forward more than a century as choreographer Alexei Ratmansky comes across Strauss’s score and decides to create his version of the ballet with the same name. And that’s where the mystery about this ballet’s title is solved. “Schlagobors” is the Viennese word for whipped cream!

Hear Alexei Ratmansky discuss Whipped Cream and watch dancers perform segments of the ballet at:

youtube

A Sweet Storyline

Act I

The ballet begins in Vienna where “The Boy” and his friends have just received their first communion. To celebrate, they go to a confectioner’s shop full of delicious sweets. The Boy, who really LOVES whipped cream, eats so much that he becomes ill and has to be taken away.

After the children leave, the magical sweet shop comes alive. Suddenly, Marzipan archers, spear-wielding Sugarplums, and swashbuckling Gingerbread Men engage in military exercises. Meanwhile, Princess Tea Flower appears and is wooed by Prince Coffee, Prince Cocoa, and Don Zucchero, who all try to win her favor. Ultimately, the Princess chooses Prince Coffee for her partner.

As the Chef appears, mixing whipped cream in a bowl, the shop fades away to The Boy’s dream world where, not surprisingly, EVERYTHING is made of whipped cream.

Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schlavone.

Act II

Still recovering from too much whipped cream, The Boy wakes up to find himself in a dark and mysterious hospital room attended by a doctor and an army of nurses. The nurses give him medicine and then depart. In their absence, Princess Praline appears to help The Boy escape.

Alexei Agoudine in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

The Doctor has a headache and tries to relieve it with liquor, just as the bottles come to life. The nurses return only to realize that The Boy is gone. They find him and lead him back to bed. But then, the liquor bottles intervene and intoxicate the doctor and nurses. Fortunately, Princess Praline is able to free The Boy and take him back to her kingdom.

When they arrive there, creatures of all kinds are celebrating and The Boy is welcomed by Nicolo, the Master of Ceremonies. At last, the fantasy world that The Boy dreamed about has become his reality.

Who’s Who

The Boy, a young child fond of whipped cream Princess Tea Flower, a Princess in the confectioner’s shop Prince Cocoa, partner to Princess Tea Flower The Nurses who take care of Boy The Doctor in charge of Boy’s care Princess Praline, ruler of her fantastical kingdom Nicolo, Master of Ceremonies in the kingdom of Princess Praline

Sweet and Sinister

All paintings by Mark Ryden.

Contemporary artist Mark Ryden is highly recognized for his paintings which are a mixture of both sweet and sinister elements. His artwork, painted with incredible detail, frequently portrays innocent-looking children with larger-than life eyes. Although the children are often shown together with toys or cute animals, Ryden adds disturbing or surprising elements to his pictures that catch the viewer off guard, replacing innocence with an unsettling impression.

With that in mind, Ratmansky felt that Ryden would be the perfect collaborator for his ballet. Because the storyline of the ballet is very basic without many plot twists or turns, Ratmansky knew the set and costuming needed to be visually strong. And when he saw Ryden’s work, he felt there were similarities between their artistic approaches.

More so, both artists are interested in using their mastery of traditional methods to say something new and unusual.

The ballet Whipped Cream, like Ryden’s paintings, seems sweet and light on the surface, but also explores a boy’s nightmare, where things feel unsafe and adults can seem unfriendly or even scary.

Watch for…

the way adults in the ballet are portrayed with giant heads, differentiating them from the children.

the sinister, larger-than-life needles used by the Nurses when treating Boy.

the set backdrop in Act II when Boy is feverish. The backdrop is covered with an array of eyeballs, flowers, sea-creatures and single-celled organisms. When explaining this backdrop, Ryden stated, “I was trying to depict what might be lurking in his deep subconscious, what was swirling around.”

Go behind the curtain in this interview with Mark Ryden about Whipped Cream:

youtube

And check out the dancers and their dessert-filled costumes at:

youtube

Whipping Up a Production

Putting together a brand new production requires that many parts come together to make a whole theatrical experience. When American Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie, heard about Ratmansky’s idea for Whipped Cream, he agreed to the production, knowing how much work would need to be done. Not only would there be original choreography, but new sets, scenery and costumes, too. Many people worked tirelessly for months to present the spectacle you see on stage. Read on to learn more about this impressive production:

Choreography

Alexei Ratmansky by Fabrizio Ferri

Alexei Ratmansky is currently ABT’s Artist-in-Residence. He hails from Moscow, Russia, where he trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. He has performed with the Ukrainian National Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Perhaps one of his biggest successes was his appointment as Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet in January 2004 after restaging The Bright Stream. Under Ratmansky's direction, the Bolshoi Ballet was named as one of the best foreign ballet companies in 2005 and 2007 by The Critics' Circle. Mr. Ratmansky's success continued to grow when he won the Theatre Union of Russia's Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer for his production of Jeu de Cartes for the Bolshoi Ballet in 2007. In January 2009, Mr. Ratmansky joined American Ballet Theatre as Artist-in-Residence and has since choreographed The Nutcracker, Firebird, Shostakovich Trilogy, The Tempest, The Sleeping Beauty, and Songs of Bukovina specifically for American Ballet Theatre.

Ratmansky’s choreography challenges dancers because it is very quick and detailed. He puts unexpected movements together, which ask the dancers to utilize their bodies in new ways. Ratmansky’s choreography is often inspired by and responsive to the music.

In Act I, Princess Tea Flower performs a solo. Watch for moments you don’t usually see in classical ballet, including:

when the ballerina drops her arms, letting them go limp.

the parts of Princess Tea Flower’s solo that take place on the floor. In ballet, dancers don’t traditionally sit or roll on the floor. In fact, many of their movements are done on their toes with a lift through the torso and arms, giving an impression of lightness.

Costumes and Scenery

Being inexperienced when it came to costume design, Ryden was unsure how his paper sketches would translate into garments—especially ones that would allow a dancer to move freely. In addition, he had never painted on such a large scale, a proportion obviously needed for scenic backdrops. But no worries; help was on the way.

Costume designer Holly Hynes was hired to assist with translating Ryden’s designs into costumes, and stage designer Camellia Koo helped with the scenery. This was no small task since there are 150 costumes in Whipped Cream. In fact, 11 different costume shops were needed to create all of the costumes. Additionally, two different scenic houses translated Ryden’s designs into large painted backdrops.

See below and compare Mark Ryden’s painting of Princess Tea Flower and the actual costume the dancer wears in the ballet created for the dancer.

Stella Abrera as Princess Tea Flower. Photo: Doug Gifford

Also, watch for…

the three liquors who distract the doctor, allowing Boy to escape. Notice how their costumes make them look like bottles, but still allow the dancers to bend, jump, and turn.

the way the four adult characters carry the big puppet heads on their shoulders. Each of these gigantic heads was made in a costume shop in Portland, Oregon. They are only around 10 pounds each because they are made from carbon fiber. If the heads were too heavy, it would be hard for the dancers to move. Each one was personally painted by Mark Ryden.

The ballet includes 20 different wigs, three beards and mustaches, and one prosthetic nose. They were made by ABT’s hair and makeup departments.

There are 78,000 Swarovski crystals adorning the scenery and costumes. Of these, 64,000 were applied to the costumes, and 16,000 to the scenery. Plus, don’t miss the three chandeliers decorated with crystals.

Nicolo’s wig with its two-foot long, hand-dyed braid.

When the costumes and set pieces are finished, the design team checks to see what they look like on stage to make sure the colors and details are visible to the audience from many rows back in the performance hall. Adjustments to costumes are often made right up to performance time, even during the ballet, if fixes need to be made.

Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

Take Action: That’s Surreal!

Mark Ryden’s artwork has often been called surrealist. Surrealism is an artistic movement of the 20th century that sought to express what might be happening in the subconscious mind.

When The Boy is feverish, we have a glimpse into his subconscious as portrayed by a mixture of images on the scenic backdrop, including eyeballs, flowers, and sea creatures. How they connect and why they are there is a mystery. Surrealist artists like to connect images that aren’t normally seen together to make us look at them in a new way.

Daniil Simkin and Richel Ruiz in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

If you were a surrealist artist, what items or ideas would you put together? Try cutting out images from a magazine, and then combine or overlap them in an interesting collage. Don’t worry if your collage makes sense or if the images connect logically to one another.

Take a picture and post it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, or any other platform. Then, tag five friends and ask them to share their collages. Use #surrealKC as your hashtag.

To read more about Surrealism, go to: http://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/what-is/surrealism.

Explore More

Go even deeper with the Whipped Cream Extras.

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Photo (TOP): Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

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American Ballet Theatre's engagement is made possible through generous endowment support of The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund.

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

#ballet #whippedcreamat2700F #abtat2700F

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floofsta-x · 8 years ago

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Monsta X, 아름다워 BEAUTIFUL musical analysis

Writers 별들의 전쟁, 주헌 (Jooheon), 아이엠 (I.M)

Composer 별들의 전쟁

Arrangers 별들의 전쟁, 아테나

Time Signature 4/4 (common time)

Tempo ~150bpm

Key concert D minor

Hey guys! Sorry this took me so long, school as always has been eating me absolutely alive. Even now as I’m writing this I’m supposed to be catching up on assignments but I have absolutely no motivation at all to do so. Also hey, doing random but important musical analyses is relevant to my music degree....right?

When I first heard Beautiful, in watching the music video seven seconds after it was posted to Starship’s YouTube channel, I was completely and totally blown away. Heck, I think all of us were! I’ve seen several posts pertaining to how expectations for this comeback were extremely high, but the new album and title track blew them out of the water. The music video, too, showcases the best of the boys’ talents and charms! I have to admit that each of the boys turns my head at least once in it, and ruins me in some cases too. Kings only here. :))

Now I’m starting to analyze the music itself, and as I get farther and farther into it, I’m starting to see (or rather hear) exactly why this song is already making waves. Some of the things that I’m running into are both confounding me and making me grin in awe and pure joy. In short, this is something that might not be a big challenge to a music theorist but will definitely make them go ‘wow, yeah, this is cool’.

I’ve looked at a bunch of K-pop songs over the last couple months, and time and again Monsta X stands out in my head as being the group to listen to, period. All of their songs are very well done.

But anyway! I’m just laying down facts you already know huh? Let’s see if I can’t blow your mind a little like this has been blowing mine~

As with every song I analyze, I first transcribe the melody only, writing it down on staff paper. I use bar lines as phrase separations and not necessarily to write out rhythm; also all notes are represented by a quarter note with a slanted (or not so slanted, this is all handwritten lol) stem. Main backgrounds are notated and labelled; embellishing harmonies and higher vocal lines are written out above the staff. This is a technique that I originally developed when I was planning to start a series on here called kpop theory, all the way back when i joined the fandom four months ago xD.

Okay! now to breaking down this huge hunk of music! I’ll split this into parts so it’s hopefully a little easier to read. Also I’ll put all pitches in concert key; I’m having to transpose from clarinet (in B♭) so if there’s something off, please forgive me.

Sidenote: the reason that I need to do this is because not all musical instruments sound the same. If one plays a written middle ‘C’ on the clarinet, it is not the same thing as a written middle ‘C’ on a piano; actually, It would sound the same as the ‘B♭’ right underneath that. So, basing everything around this pitch, we say that clarinet is in B♭.

Opening / Verse 1? >>> Jooheon and I.M’s Raps

I haven’t fully analyzed every little background line, but I can say that for the most part, everything is centered in d minor. Actually the first pitch we hear is a d; it’s hidden in the electronic sounds but there nonetheless. (That’s also why it’s the first note written on my sheet lol.)

The moment before Jooheon breaks in, the backgrounds hit a low ‘A’ and ascend by half steps--semitones--to d, there is distortion of course but the trained ear can pick out the chromaticism pretty easily. From here the synth riff in the background keeps tension incredibly high while Jooheon and Changkyun are rapping. (I love how they’re getting more comfortable with coordinating their raps! My little heart is weak for our rapper line ❤︎) I haven’t figured it out note for note yet (THERE’S AN INSTRUMENTAL SECTION IN THE MAKING FILM BLESS), but I know that through this section the main notes are f, e, d, a--the fifth scale degree of D minor and a note that is common in all kinds of music-- a♭, a strange little addition that probably has something to do with the last and lowest note, the next f down.

Jooheon and Changkyun are so great at fast rapping wow. They both break into sixteenth notes (perhaps even faster) during this first section, very quick for the tempo of right around 150 bpm. Try Google searching a metronome, and setting it right around there, then saying “one-ee-and-uh” for every beat. Difficult huh?

Last but not least, if you’re wondering why I’ve labelled this with a ‘Verse 1?’, that’s simply because I believe it to be the first verse, but I’m not quite used to calling rap, verses as in verses of a song and not just verses on their own.

Pre-Chorus >>> Shownu, Wonho

The last note of the synth riff, the ‘A’, leads right into Shownu’s line, “niga nal, manjmyeon...”. Whoever wrote the melody is an absolute genius, it’s very flowing, lyrical, and beautiful ;). Compared to Jooheon and Changkyun’s fierceness right before, it really took me aback.

Solfege for this section: ↓ Sol Te Do / Me Re Te / ↓ Sol Sol Le / Me Re Do Te / ↓ Sol Sol Te Do Do ↑ Sol Me Me Fa / Me Re Do [EVERY DAY] / Me Re Do [EVERY NIGHT] / Do Re Me Fa [I CAN FEEL YOU] / ↑ Sol [OH]

This sequence is very diatonic (moving by steps on the minor scale) so therefore easy to sing, something I am extremely pleased with. I was admittedly was worried, going into this comeback, that in an effort to make their songs more impactful they’d complicate the melodies and make them harder to follow. But they didn’t! Personally, though, Wonho’s ‘oh’ is right around the break between my chest and head voices, so I either have to switch or force my chest voice a little (I go sharp sometimes when I do the latter but I can usually hit it accurately).

So I’ll take this opportunity to talk about the key a little more. We’re in concert D Minor (with a key signature of one flat, one sharp for B♭ instruments) and I’m finding that most of the other songs on the album are in a similar key. I’ve mentioned before that I believe that key can affect the listener’s opinion of the song, right? Compared to The Clan part 2, on which close to all the songs were in keys with multiple flats and sharps, this is better. I believe that it’s part of the reason why not as many people like Fighter, the different style contributing as well, of course.

Chorus >>> Kihyun, Minhyuk, Hyungwon

Solfege: Do Do Do Do ↑ Sol Me Fa / Fa Fa Me Re Do (Do Re Me Fa) / Do Do Do Do Sol Me Fa / Me Me Me ↑ Te Do Sol / ↑ Do Te Sol Fa Sol / ↑ Do Te Sol Fa [SO BEAUTIFUL] / ↑ Do Te Sol Fa Sol [SO BEAUTIFUL] / Me Me Do Me Me / Me Me Me Do Me / Do Me Fa Re / ↓ Te Te Te Te Te Re Do

Again, most of the chorus is either diatonic or only skipping by thirds in each line. The only exceptions are the Do to Sol (D to A) in the first and third lines, and Me to Te, in Kihyun’s “geot gatado”. HIs falsetto here is quite clear and clean, and I’m in love with it? The note that he hits, that high E, is seen quite frequently in choir soprano lines. I have to use my own head voice to reach it! When Minhyuk sings it in the next phrase, it is a little grainier but not much. The “so beautiful’ theme is just amazing, I love it. Again, master melody writer!

And then Hyungwon finishes it off with his amazing baritone! This part isn’t as low as some of his other things have been (Interstellar and Hero come particularly to mind) but he handles it beautifully. Like both songs, his lines are kind of a mood shift. Prior to now, we haven’t seen the ‘E’ (Re) in the melody (Wonho sings it in only passing during his “I can feel you”) and it gives more of a major feel to the end of the line, also perhaps to help us into the dance section.

Dance Break 1 / Rap 2 / Verse 2 Pt 1? >>> Jooheon / IM

Sometimes I wish that I was a talented dancer; doesn’t the boys’ dance look so cool?? They’re really in sync, I’m sure that they spent countless hours in the practice room rehearsing. My goal in life is to be so passionate about something that I can do that, push myself to the limit for it.

Anyways back to the music. Now we see that the backgrounds get changed up, emphasizing the electronic beat. They’re really effective, though simple: I didn’t notate it in my transcription, but it’s mostly chromatic half steps around D with a quarter note triplet rhythm. Here’s a quick mockup I made in MuseScore:

The lower notes are the true ones, but I put them an octave higher too for anyone who can read music but isn’t necessarily good with lots of ledger lines.

After eight bars of dance, next comes another rap section. Changkyun still sticks closely to sixteenth note patterns, while Jooheon breaks out into triplets, something that he’s done in other songs of theirs (Stuck comes particularly to mind). To feel this for yourself, say the word ‘blue-ber-ry’ to a beat.

This section ends with Jooheon’s ‘You’re so Awesome’.

EXTENSION / Verse 2 Pt 2? >>> Hyungwon, Minhyuk, Jooheon

Solfege: te te ↑ do / te te te te te ↑ re ↓ te ↑ do / te te ↑ do / te te te te ↑ do re ↓ do te / do ↑ me me ↓ do do ↑ re re ↓ do do ↑ me me ↓ do do ↑ me / [JOOHEON RAP, I DON’T KNOW, 싹 다 ALL IN]

Jooheon’s little melody there right before his rap is kind of atonal so I’m not sure of the pitches or solfege for sure, but I think what I have written above is correct (and what’s on the transposition sheet is incorrect). Me to Do is a minor third, and this is a very common interval; it’s used a lot in children’s songs and is often one of the first intervals they sing. Over the summer, I babysat two kids, a six year old girl and her four year old brother, and we were outside playing one day and the boy saw a bug on the ground. “roly-poly, roly-poly”, he sang, and bent down to pick it up. Take a wild guess what interval he used. Yep, the minor third.

I believe this little part to be a melody extension, as it doesn’t seem to link back to either the bridge (forthcoming), the verses, the pre-chorus, or the chorus; it might even be separate all on its own. It shares the darker sound and leads right into the next pre-chorus like the verses, and it’s the same lineup as the chorus (plus Jooheon of course).

I think that I’ve been getting more comfortable with telling people in my music department about my love for k-pop, so it shouldn’t be too weird to go to a theory professor and ask about this structure, right? I’m thinking that I’m going to pick our accompanist’s brain about it.

Pre-Chorus 2 >>> Shownu, Wonho

This is the exact same as it was before, and still just as beautiful. My only regret is that Wonho’s ‘oh’ isn’t accompanied by a full, clear view of that smoky look again (he hasn’t been doing it in performance, either, I’ve noticed--Does Wonho know that he’s missing a chance to maim and kill Monbebe? I’m always watching Monsta X mvs and shouting at the screen “YES Wonho WE KNOW you’re cute and sexy, can you STOP ALREADY” but....I want more of that smoky look....)

Chorus 2 >>> Kihyun, Minhyuk, Hyungwon

Again, this is the same as the last time, with a few more background vocals added to ramp up the tension. I think Jooheon has some rapped ‘yeah’s and there might be some harmony parts too.

Which brings me to another reason why I really love this new album. It seems to me that there’s more of that harmony on Beautiful than on their previous releases, more consistently. I mean I know it’s been there before, I mean come on, 하얀소녀, and also Kihyun’s ever-present last-chorus elaborations???? but now I’m like really starting to hear and enjoy it when these boys back each other up.

Ps. If you ever want an experience? Find some instrumental tracks. They’re released with albums sometimes; I’ve found that they’re pretty easily accessible on Spotify. Take a moment to listen to what’s going on without any background vocals. It’s weird sometimes! My personal favorite example is Boys Republic’s Get Down.

Breakdown / Bridge >>> Kihyun, Wonho, Shownu

Slow it down, we gotta slow it, slow it down~

Solfege: (K) Me Me Do Me Me Fa / Me Re Me Re Me Re Do / (W) Me Me Do Me Do Me Fa / Me Re Me Re Sol / (S) Me Me Do Me Re Do / Me Re Me Re Me Re Do / (K) Me Me Do Me Me Do Me Fa Fa / Sol Fa / Te Te Te / Te Re Do

Breakdowns are often my favorite part of tracks, simply because they give the boys a moment to shine without anything overly complicated or attention-catching in the background. Beautiful is no exception, mainly because the harmonies are really brought out here, especially in the breaks between phrases in the main melody. I’m not quite versed enough to pick out what all the individual vocal lines are, but I’ve written what I heard right off on my transcription :) I’ll do a supplement once I know everything for sure.

This time there’s no pre-chorus, the Bridge takes its place, so finally we go straight into:

Chorus 3 / Final Chorus >>> Kihyun, Minhyuk, Hyungwon

And now Kihyun’s high notes are featured behind the band, and boy they are glorious. They don’t go any higher than anything he sings in the chorus, but they might seem so because of how they are presented and their placement in the song. Also, the vocal quality with which he sings them. I’ve noticed that Kihyun tends to stay light on his top notes, and in performances keeps his throat relaxed and his eyebrows up while he sings them. That’s a pretty certain sign that he’s been trained well by a vocal coach or multiple vocal coaches; also a testament to his natural talent and gift.

These backgrounds are the final level of tension to an already exciting and amazing song. Our boys are talented, that’s for sure! And I’m very glad that Starship is willing to bring in the best to work and collaborate with them.

And I believe that’s about all I have! Monsta X is just getting better and better, aging like a to-be-fine wine. I really hope that they can get their first win with this album, they really deserve it! I can’t stop listening to any of their music, and that is a good part of the reason why they’re my ultimate bias group. I’m working as hard as I have time to to make sure that their win happens. Monbebe! Fighting!

Please anticipate my analysis of the rest of the album, too, at some point in the near future. I just need the time, but what is that ;-; Also I’ve been wanting to do a series like this (as I mentioned before) for various other songs (I even have an entire playlist on Youtube devoted to it) but nothing ever came out of it, other than a collection of personal transcriptions that I annoy my friends with by playing all the time. ahha.

I mean if you liked it give me a nudge? I loved doing this, and I haven’t seen anything like it here on tumblr. Also if you need explanations on things, my ask box is always open!!

#Monsta X #stanmonstax #아름다워 Beautiful #musical analysis #mine #writing #kpop♪theory #I feel like such a nerd posting this #but this is a huge part of my love for the boys!#their music is so flipping fun to learn.....#I have a lot more of their songs under my fingers than any other group ahhaa

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jutsgforit · 7 years ago

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The Not So Absolute Types of Gay Guy in Ibu Kota

Pernah suatu ketika ketemu dengan orang yang terlalu nyentrik. And I was like, “Can I go home now? I do need to feed my pet.” Pernah suatu hari kenalan sama orang yang ganteng banget that you can’t find a dark spot on their face, it’s just flawless. Tapi, ketika dia ngomong, you start to freaked out - because you know why. Dan pernah akhirnya ketemu dengan orang yang cakep luar dalam, lahir dan batin that you feel soo intimidated. But, it was a good day and everything went exactly your way. You guys had 3 rounds straight. Trus lo baper dan dia enggak. And then you keep meeting some more new faces. Ada beberapa yang jadi temen, ada yang cuma singgah aja, until you meet the right one.

Kemudian tanpa lo sadari, you have met countless gay guys in Ibu Kota already. Beberapa punya persamaan dan lo mulai mengelompokkan mereka, just for fun. That’s exactly what I’m doing here, sesuai judul tulisan. Tidak bermaksud mengeneralisasi atau mendiskreditkan sekelompok orang tertentu. Beberapa orang mungkin bisa mengidentifikasi dirinya masuk ke beberapa kelompok dan beberapa yang lain tidak bisa sama sekali. Atau mungkin ini jadinya kayak tahapan gitu, there is no way you can categorize gay people into several groups as we are all unique.

Atau... karena kita semuanya sama. We are just the kids that could never fit in during schools and sought refuge in the music department, or in campus organization, or in debate club. And now, here we are, in the busiest and most populous city in the entire country, looking for self-worth and validation from our surroundings. Tentunya dengan caranya masing-masing. Apa dan bagaimana itu, no hard feelings. :p

P.S: Pengelempokkan dilakukan berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi penulis and of course, there is no science on it. Again, just for fun!

1. The Social Media Darlings

They live the pleasant life, moving around from one interesting, Instagrammable place to another. Hanging out with friends, from one group to another. Kalau mereka mau kenal seseorang, harus ngecek Instagram-nya dulu. Do they take good pictures? How many followers do they have? They believe it will tell them a lot. They make a good amount of money, tapi semuanya masih terasa pas-pasan. Hidup itu bekerja di Senin-Jumat dan hunting foto-foto bagus di Sabtu-Minggu. You will find them at a newly-open cute coffee shop, making a pose dengan segala perlengkapannya; the outfit, the camera, some accessoris here and there, semuanya untuk menghasilkan foto-foto berestetika dengan tone warna sempurna worth thousand likes di media sosial. Tapi, mereka.. with all the beautiful images and the updates, and the stories we see from their social media, apakah seindah di kehidupan aslinya?

Personality traits: Photogenic, detail-oriented, soo digitalized

Typical appearance: Stylish, somewhat they look classy and minimalist, have a bleached teeth

Profession: Mostly they’re photographer, social media manager, online marketing professional, graphic designer, buzzer, blogger

Preoccupations: Fashion, traveling, music, movies

Open or discreet: Openly discreet

Jakarta hang out: All the cute cafes all over Jakarta, every Instgrammable spot in the city that you can barely imagine

Relatable quote: Your are your image building

Followers on Instagram: 28.4K

2. The Alpha Gay Male a.k.a The Gaylisters

Tipe gay yang paling eksklusif di antara komunitas gay. They live the good life every gay guy in Jakarta could ask for, and they’re usually too good for you. They’re somehow really proud and snarky that they only like to talk to each other. Most of them are handsome and very dandy looking. Mereka memiliki pandangan tertentu akan hidup. They know exactly their shit and are very ambitious. Sangat stylish dalam berpakaian but they don’t do it to impress, they do it for themselves. They somehow enjoy being a spotilight and they like to think that the world revolves around them. Mapan, they have decent job. Sering bolak-balik liburan, and they don’t hang out at cheap coffee shop or common eatery at the malls. They like to do a restaurant hopping at the most expensive hotels. Berusaha banget untuk hidup sehat, and yes, their body toned by a personal trainer at the premium gym in town. Ketika berada di kerumunan mereka terlihat standout dan dominan, and I hate to admit that they’re effortlessly charming.

Personality traits: Ambitious, liberal, selfish, individualist, classy, snobby, smart, witty, sometimes sarcastic

Typical appearance: Toned or muscular, rapi dan bersih, sometimes with facial hair, rambut klimis ber-pomade

Profession: PR, marketing, news anchor, doctor, entrepreneur, manager or director in any kind of working field

Preoccuptions: Politics, house music, fashion, traveling, branded stuff

Open or discreet: Discreetly open

Jakarta hang out: Satoo - Shangri-La, Table8 - Hotel Mulia, Seasonal Tastes – The Westin Jakarta, Cinnamon – Mandarin Oriental, L’Avenue - The Hermitage.

Relatable quote: Cogito ergo sum

Followers on Instagram: 8.632

3. The Gym Bunnies a.k.a The Butter Face

They spend entirely too much time at the gym. Generally they don’t have pretty face so that’s why mereka sangat terobsesi dengan tubuh berotot and they do whatever it takes to have one. They consume all the fitness supplements from whey protein, creatine, amino acids, etc, you name it. Beberapa di antara mereka melakukan perawatan wajah yang cukup intensif. Punya membership gym di mana-mana, or they stick to one after rooting around. Sangat knowledgeable untuk urusan fitness, nutrisi makanan dan body building. And because they’re gay, they’re fond of mix and match the gym outfit. Kalau baju gym-nya lagi item, semuanya item juga; sepatu, short, tempat minum, tas gym, gloves. And because they’re gay too, they befriend with mirrors in every corner of the city. They like to flex a bit and check on their muscles. But, one thing, they still don’t really like to check on the upper side.

Personality traits: Sporty, friendly, easy going

Typical appearance: Muscular atau sangat muscular tipikal binaragawan, maskulin, rambut cepak atau botak

Profession: Personal trainer, PNS, karyawan BUMN, bankir

Preoccupations: Pecs, fitness, health, sports

Open or discreet: Discreet

Jakarta hang out: Gym, gym, gym, and gym

Relatable quote: No pain, no gain. Shut up the fuck up and train!

Follower on Instagram: 1.012

4. The Loud and Proud Social Workers

Tipe yang paling inklusif. They don’t take things for granted. They believe they were born for a mission. They’re very open and bold. They’re somehow the protectors of our community. Sangat kritis sampai ada beberapa di antara mereka yang memilih untuk menjadi ateis atau agnostik. One of them once told me, the sok discreet me; kalau orang-orang kayak lo yang straight-acting dan well-educated se-discreet ini, you don’t make our community’s fight to fit in the society any easier. Persepsi orang tentang gay will always be rooting around, sorry; ngondek, kemayu, ganggu, etc, etc. Because people don’t see you as gay, you’re guys being invinsible. And, well, it hit me. Hard, I must say. Tipe yang ini can be very dramatic sometimes, but, hell, they’re really smart.

Personality traits: Liberal, open-minded, collectivist, vokal, intelligent, humorous

Typical appearance: They come in all shapes and sizes, beberapa sangat kemayu but they’re really proud

Profession: Pekerja sosial di INGO/NGO atau any kind of organisasi sosial

Preoccupations: Social issues, gender equality, human rights, children, politics

Open or discreet: Proudly open

Jakarta hang out: Every good coffee shop in town

Relatable quote: You don’t need to be gay to be a supporter. You just need to be human.

Follower on Instagram: 432

5. The Social Climbers a.k.a The Brainless Beauty

They can’t stand being missed out of things that are happening. They sound so pretentious sometimes. Nothing special actually, everything is so physical. Sorry to say, but their only talent is taking a lot of selfies. They put details when it comes to how to dress as they don’t do it for themselves, but they do it to impress. Mereka menggunakan media sosial untuk membuktikan eksistensi and most importantly to become popular. But, I can tell, isinya full-face selfie dan OOTD semua. They usually work in agency or entertainment industry and make enough cash to have a nice apartment in Gading or Kalibata area, fantastic wardrobes, beauty treatments, iPhone 7+ and to afford a quarterly leisure in Bali or Bangkok. They were born really pretty, but unfortunately it didn’t come a long with an intelligent brain (Tuhan Maha Adil!). They’re not qualified enough to have a powerful and eye-opening before-sleep conversation with (if that’s what you’re looking for). Beberapa di antara mereka orang daerah yang menemukan kebebasan baru di Jakarta. It’s Ibu Kota, bitches! Time to shine!

Personality traits: Hedonist, superficial, drama queen

Typical appearance: Trendy, they don’t mind to wear something very noticeable for the sake of fashion, some of them have flawless face

Profession: Model, aktor FTV, bintang iklan, singer, freelancer

Preoccupations: fashion, modeling, entertainment, cheesy lines

Open or discreet: Open

Jakarta hang out: Skye, Cloud Lounge, Social House, Basque de Tapaz, Dragonfly, and all the other bars and clubs at SCBD

Relatable quote: Work less, party harder!

Follower on Instagram: 86.4K

6. The Artsy-Fartsy Fags

Seni buat orang-orang seperti kita pada umumnya menjadi sebuah cara untuk menikmati hidup, bahkan passion. It’s somehow the only thing that we know we’re good at. Tipe ini, they put art before other things in their lives beyond belief. What they do? They join a choir in their campus, they sing at a wedding, they do gallery hopping twice a month, they join a dance club, they give review to every good book they read, and every good movie they watch. You're more likely to find them at a gallery opening atau pemutaran film festival oleh berbagai Institut Budaya Kedutaan Asing di Jakarta, atau di acara semacam Jakarta Fashion Week atau Nylon Face Off. Tidak jarang, banyak dari mereka punya pengetahuan yang luas, tidak hanya soal dunia seni dan hiburan, tapi juga sejarah, budaya, bahkan politik. Some of them do those stuff for a living. Some of them do it to find a self-worth. Some are just cooler than you. Some also might be cooler than all your friends, and they’re not afraid to show it. Tipe ini, indeed, will make you feel intimidated with their tastes and everything they know. Akan ada banyak bahasan dan cerita soal hal-hal yang tidak pernah lo dengar sebelumnya. It will leave you speechless and there is nothing you can do but nodding your head. And then it hits you that no one will ever know if this type of gay guy is being honest with themselves or just being artsy-fartsy.

Personality traits: Hipster, artsy, some of them are geeky, bookworm

Typical appearance: Twinks, some of them are tattooed, usually with slightly long hair or bangs

Profession: Musician, writer, illustrator, event organizer, freelancer

Preoccupations: Art, cultures, history, something like 9gag, any kind of festival

Open or discreet: Open

Jakarta hang out: Dialogue Kemang, Galeri Indonesia Kaya – Grand Indonesia, @America - Pacific Place, Goethe-Institut, Reading Room, Galeri Nasional, museums and other art gallery all over Jakarta

Relatable quote: There is art in Jak(art)a and every p(art) of our body.

Follower on Instagram: 2.345

7. The Nobodies

They are just some gay guys in town. You happen to meet them at the malls, on the street, on public transportation. They’re everywhere. They’re very noticeable, either with their skinny tops or they way they make a group in public, chattering and talking to each other about what happened in the past few days, or simply the way they look at you. Dan mereka kayak punya dunianya sendiri. Honestly, I don’t know where they come from. I guess, no body knows. No body wants to know.

Personalilty traits: Mediocre, usually unmanly, annoying (yet, most of them don’t know it)

Typical appearance: They come in all shapes and sizes; ada yang sangat skinny, sampai yang sangat buff.

Profession: Officer at some store/supermarket, customer service

Preoccupations: Men and hot gossips

Open or discreet: Open

Jakarta hang out: Every boring place in Jakarta

Relatable quote: I might be no body, but hell yeah, I’m everything to someone.

Follower on Instagram: 143

8. Our Dear Slutty Friend

We always have that one friend yang tiba-tiba ngilang, taunya lagi ketemuan sama orang dari dating app. Iya kan? LOL. Punya kehidupannya sendiri. Somehow mereka emang tidak bersahabat dengan namanya komitmen. Most of the time juga mereka kurang reliable. But this kind of person, I can tell, akan selalu jadi orang yang kita cari ketika kita butuh informasi soal siapa pun yang baru kita gebet. Saking seringnya mereka meet up sama orang baru. Most of them emang good looking sih, and very confident, funny and charming. Most of them juga sangat knowledgeable di bidang tertentu. Taste mereka juga cukup versatile. Pokoknya overall sangat appealing. And they seemingly have the natural instinct to catch a prey. Bahkan ada yang menipu dengan terlihat begitu harmless.

Kalo lagi ngumpul, banyak banget bahan cerita, especially about men and their touch and go life. Setiap pertemuan, cowok yang dibahas selalu berbeda-beda sesuai dengan urutan tanggal ketemunya. Kalau ada kesempatan, satu-satu bakal dikenalin. Yeah, they’re such a slut. Tapi, banyak di antara mereka yang menyangkal. The justification is they do it while they’re single, and once they’re commited to someone, they will of course leave that kind of life. But, dear, our slutty friend, it’s now 2017... when will you be committed to one?

Personality traits: Bitchy, slutty, funny, confident, cerdas, fleksibel

Typical appearance: They just look good

Profession: Psikolog, HR staff, marketing, salesman, those who work for creative industry

Preoccupations: Filosofi, psikologi, politik, sejarah

Open or discreet: Open

Jakarta hang out: All the happening places all over Jakarta, bars, cafes, and clubs in Sudirman-Kuningan area

Relatable quote: How can you be so smart and hot looking at the same time?

Follower on Instagram: 976 (and keep raising)

9. Mr. Denial

Mereka yang for all you care, adalah straight, tiba-tiba ketahuan main Grindr, Tinder atau aplikasi sejenis. Atau mereka yang somehow bisa lo sense “punya bakat” menjadi seorang gay, dan suatu saat kebukti, entah karena dia ternyata pernah ketemuan sama temen gay lo, atau dia mantannya temen baru lo or else. Track record mereka emang selalu pacarannya sama cewek. Bahkan beberapa punya pacar cewek but do the game behind them. Atau bahkan beberapa di antara mereka udah nikah dan punya anak. Kalau diajak ketemu sama orang, maunya di tempat yang sesepi itu atau maunya langsung ketemu di kosan/rumah/kontrakan aja. They want everything to be straightforward, fast, no drama. This type, mereka punya pull factors tersendiri. Bikin penasaran gimana gitu. I guess, nothing beats the excitement when Mr. Denial get caught? Or we both envy and pity them for being denial for the rest of their lives?

Personality traits: Straightforward, misterius (ini sih karena kitanya aja yang ngerasa, mereka sebenarnya just an ordinary guy who happens to be in our circle)

Typical appearance: Average looking, some with a very cute smile

Profession: Karyawan BUMN, those who work for big company, entrepreneur

Preoccupations: Current issues, things that are very practical and technical

Open or discreet: Super discreet

Jakarta hang out: Beer Garden, Melly’s, Camden, Murphy’s, LeÓn, and other decent places in Senopati or Dharmawangsa area

Relatable quote: Surprise, surprise!

Follower on Instagram: 351

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00001100x-blog · 8 years ago

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52815 // 10:00 AM

Ew. I can’t believe I wrote these—Things. I tried my best to sound as cheesy and as gross as I can be. If you’re wondering why I even made this, it’s because I feel really bad that I wasn’t able to give you at least two finished letters. Maybe it’s to make up for it? 555

I don’t know what to write anymore so… yeah. Read it and tell me how cringe- worthy and cheesy it is. I haven’t written in months so yes, whatever I write will most definitely suck.

Warning: Contains really weird AU drabbles so forgive me.

Contains eight drabbles. Started on May 26, 2015 (‏‎9:41PM) and ended on May 28, 2015(10:53 AM)

Sadist. 143

“Amber, please. I’m sorry.” Amber just glanced at him for a while and continued talking with Luna who can’t do anything but give him pitiful looks everytime she looks towards his direction— Downstairs.

He knew he was in the wrong. It was his fault for making her feel like this. What kind of boyfriend in the right mind would talk about his ex and how beautiful she’s become after a few years? That was really dumb and insensitive of him.

“Ber. Just forgive the poor guy! He’s been standing there for almost an hour!” Luna tried persuading Amber but the older just chuckled. “Let him be. Let him learn this lesson. I’m not mad at him, you know. Besides. He looks so cute like that. Like a poor, lost puppy.”

Luna could only shake her head from what the older said. “You sadist.”

–

Troublemaker. 335

Amber has never gone to detention in her entire life. It was until she was caught forging a teacher’s signature for Stupid Chorong.

Great. She thought. Chorong will surely get it when I see her tomorrow.

She didn’t forget to recite a silent prayer before she opened the door as she heard horrible rumours about detention especially about the regulars.

A tall, tanned guy came towards her. “Ohhh! Look who we’ve got here! A new face! What’s your name um…” He eyes her from head to toe. “Are you a girl or a guy?”

She felt a little embarrassed as hearing his question. “Erm… It’s Amber. Amber Josephine.” A faint color of pink crept up her cheeks. The guy didn’t seem to notice, though. “I’m Jongin.” The tanned guy led her in the room. “Welcome to detention, Amber.”

There are two more guys in the room. A girly looking guy and one with round glasses like harry potter. Both were sitting on the third row. One near the widow, the other on the third seat on the left side.

“Oh by the way. That guy,” Jongin points at the girly guy. “His name is Ren.”

The girly guy waved at her and gave her a smile.

“Don’t go near him if you don’t want to get kissed.” Jongin warned, earning a loud ‘Hey’ from Ren. “The other one’s Eric. He doesn’t talk much. Feel free to choose your seat, kid.” He went and sat on his seat which is in front of Ren’s.

It took Amber a while to decide on where to sit and decided that she should sit beside Eric since he looked the most normal one out of the three.

… Or at least that was what she thought.

She peeked on what this Eric guy has been doing and she was very surprised with what she saw him watching on his phone.

“Oh! Senpai! There! Hnng—Ungg~”

“Do you want to watch with me?” He asked, giving her a creepy smile.

–

Kiss. 246

(This is originally written in the male’s point of view. I just thought it looks better on the female’s POV)

I was talking with somebody when he arrived. He was obviously a lot taller than me and probably even younger. He came towards me and greeted me. He said a few more other things to me but I don’t remember what they were anymore. After a while, I was hugging him and trying to give him kisses on the cheek. The next thing I knew was that we were already kissing as if there was no one around us. Since he was a bit taller than me, I stepped up this center table that was only a few inches tall since I was a lot shorter than him, still kissing him. Of course, I just had to kiss back whenever he kisses me.

He sat down the sofa behind him, pulling me along with him. I was on top of him. The kiss was broken and I stared at him for a while, cupping his cheeks and smiling at him. He said a few more other things before we kissed again. Probably even french-kissed that time. I didn’t really care whether that person I was talking with earlier watches us or takes a video or whatever. I just kiss him back whenever he kisses me.

His kisses were going south. To my jaw, to my neck then near my chest. I didn’t know what he was planning to do. His hands roamed around my body. My back, my stomach, my legs—everywhere. Is he? Will he?

–

Eric Oppa. 254

(Based on a prompt given to me by a friend. Never had time to wrote it but I suddenly just remembered about it.)

I’m just a normal guy. A guy who has average looks, average academic capability, average everything. There’s nothing special about me.

There’s something that has been bothering me, though. There’s this girl that has been following my every single step and listening to my every single word.

“Eric oppa! Good morning!” I facepalmed the moment I saw her. My friends, Kevin and James just exchanged glances and laughed. These two are gonna get it later on.

“O-Oh. Amber…” I glared at my friends and signaled them to help me but neither did. The two just watched like how they usually do.

“Oppa.” She started seriously. I turned to her, thinking that maybe, this time she’s thinking of stopping for once. “I was just wondering… When are you going to be my boyfriend?” Kevin and James laughed even harder, making the situation harder for me.

“Probably when the pigs fly, Amber.” I answered.

“When the pigs fly? Hmmmmm… Is that even possible? How do pigs grow wings? Wait- Do they levitate?” She frowned. Of course it isn’t possible for pigs to grow wings and fly nor have levitation powers.

“How about when you marry me?” She asked again, totally forgetting about the pigs in an instant.

“When you’re not Amber anymore.” I replied; she frowned again.

“B-but how do I do that?” I just ignored her question and walked away. “Oppa, how do I do that?” I facepalmed once again. Doesn’t she understand? I obviously—Ugh. It’ll be a long way till Amber realizes that.

–

Crush. 432

(Based on an old draft I had. Sulli’s POV)

“Eric Nam!” Amber turned around as if she was the one being called by the certain person. I laughed hard, ocassionally clapping my hands and hitting the table as seeing her priceless reaction as the name was being called. It was honestly stupid, I could say. I mean- It’s not even her name and she turned around. It was adorable, though.

“Stop laughing, Sulli.” She told me, pokerface yet the pinkish red color creeping up her cheeks is very obvious. I can’t determine whether it’s because she’s embarrassed of what she did or because she heard Eric’s name but I’m very much sure that either one of those, it still will come back to Eric in the end.

In case no one of you knows, Eric Nam is one of the worst guys here in school. He barely passed the subjects and is very lazy. We would often catch him outside carrying buckets of water as punishment for not doing assignments and stuff. I think he even barely goes to school! Honestly, I don’t even know what’s gotten into Amber’s mind. How come did she like him? Maybe it’s true. Opposites do attract.

Amber is one of the nicest, neatest girls I’ve ever known. Of course, my expectations on her interest was quite high- Maybe Minseok from the soccer team or Henry, the music genius would have been her type but I never expected that she would actually like someone like Eric.

It has been a few months already since she liked him and honestly, it isn’t cool to have Amber like somebody. She undergoes a really big change phase.

“You like Eric, Do you?” Victoria once asked, earning a loud ‘No’ and a playful but hard smack from Amber. Laughing, I watched the two fool around, hitting each other playfully and squealing.

“Watch out!” I heard someone yell. Everyone stopped on their tracks. It’s Eric riding a skateboard. The next thing I knew was that Eric bumped into Amber and fell. It took them a few seconds to realize that they’re in a really awkward position. Eric’s face turned red and so did Amber’s. The two of them pushed each other away and walked off to different directions. Cute.

“Fate’s a really good trickster, isn’t it?” Victoria said loud enough for Amber to hear.

“Yeah. It made me fall down with that idiot on top of me.”

“But admit it, Amber. Eric looked cute riding that skateboard.” I teased, earning a playful smack from her.

“He does.” Amber said as softly as she could and dashed off to the next class.

–

Under the Rain. 173

“I wanna know why girls like these under the rain kisses. Why do they?” Amber gave Eric that same look whenever he asks her random, weird questions. Eric has a habit of asking people random questions at a really unreasonable time. Amber found it annoying at first but eventually got used to it and thought that even if he asks weird questions, he’s a really interesting guy. Maybe even more than interesting.

Amber took a bite on her ham sandwich and spoke with her mouth full- “Why did you suddenly thought about that? It’s very hot right now and isn’t even raining a bit. ” Eric just shrugged at her question.

“Just. I remember Sulli and Krystal talk about it before. They say it’s romantic.” Hearing Sulli and Krystal’s name made Amber choke a little on her sandwich. So even Eric likes the school belles.

“Oh.”Amber nodded. “But I don’t know. It sounds interesting though.”

“Actually, it was said in the news that it might rain tonight. Wanna try and find out why?”

–

Wet Slippers. 116

I was in a bathroom that time; there was this pair of green slippers inside the bathroom. It was a little dark in there and the only light was the one coming from outside. There is this big hole on top of the door.

Henry called me, saying “Amber is searching for you. She just left a while ago.” I immediately jolted up and ran out, taking the wet slippers with me but when I went out, she was about to leave, hopping up on the cargo truck that I assume was the one she rode on going here.

I handed her the pair of slippers, giving her a smile. “I’m sorry I got it wet.”

–

Reply. 282

Eric kept on typing to remove his attention from his phone because the more he looks at it, the more paranoid he gets and the more paranoid he gets, more bad ideas comes to him.

“Amber took a bite on her… Ham sandwich….” He spoke as he typed and suddenly paused, eyes starting to wander around and eventually stares at his phone again and with a pout this time. God. What happened to her? Why won’t she reply?

Eric went back to typing again after two minutes of pouting and waiting. Probably she won’t reply. Maybe she’s busy? Yes, Eric. Maybe she’s just busy. Let’s… Not think about it. Inhale, Exhale.

He’s already reached his next one and has typed halfway but still, no replies were received. He’s starting to get even more worried but he tries is best to shake the thought off and continue writing.

“… Only light… cooooming… from outs—Yes!” He stopped typing and grabbed his phone as soon as it beeped.

“One text message from A…ilee.”

His smile faded as soon as he saw who the sender was. Not her. Goddammit. When will she reply?

Another thirty minutes has passed and he’s already on his last one. Still, no replies from her.

“… His phone again… wiiiiiiith a… Pout!… Thiiiiiiis… Ti—me.” His phone beeped again but this time, he ignored it. It must be someone else. She’d definitely not reply.

Beep.

The beeping just won’t stop so Eric picked his phone up. As seeing the sender, a really big smile crept up his face. It was as if he won a big contest or something.

“Thirty-six text messages from Amber.”

#15 #eric #this is the time we started sending each other one shots I REMEMBER

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ber-bonfamille-lyons · 8 years ago

Text

Countdown || One-shot

Summary: Berlioz goes to a concert in Bristol and tensions in his little group of mates is high.

TW for drug use, anxiety

10.

There are ten types of vices Cliff shows to Ber and his mates, the lot of them stashed on the train. Bristol is coming into focus, something like ten minutes out. Cliff’s got Fey’s and Molly and Mary Jane and all the other girls too. The pills could be candy. The pills could be jewels. They shine in the iris of each of Ber’s mates as they lean over to pluck a lucky one from the pile.

Ber gets hungry looking at them. But he’s thinkin’ about-- Tink, actually, Tink locked away in a place she hates over flirting with too many of these bite-sized dollops of heaven. Tink, and how alone she is. Tink, and the blues of her lips after a slip of Fey’s, a kiss she couldn’t take back.

And the next thought is of Simba.

Baggie gets passed around, hand to hand. When it arrives in Ber’s hand, he shifts in his seat, rolling the plastic in his fingers, considering it-- and then he hands it back to Cliff.

“Saint Berlioz,” says Spence from cross the seat. Their eyes meet. Someone snickers.

Ber can feel a low tremor in his chest, but he just shoves his hands in his pockets. He’s fine. The music will drown it out, soon enough.

Thurl keys a can of beer, and a fountain erupts. The cement splatters with that pale ale outside the club before Thurl ducks his head and brings the beer in. He slurps noisily, throwing back his head as he gulps, his adam’s apple bobbing.

Sun’s going down. Door’s open at 9.

Thurl lets out a refreshing “Ahhh” as he finishes the beer, then crushes it in his hand. He bends down, the plastic bag crinkling as he produces another can. Around them, bodies shuffle from foot to foot. It’s cold. Cold for Ber at least. He puffs air on his hands to warm up his frigid fingertips. Soon it’ll be warm though, real warm. He’s got just his leather jacket over a t-shirt, knowing that he’ll need to shed a layer once he’s just another body among hundreds of bodies-- or, the way Ber likes to think of it, a single cell in one giant body. When the club swallows him, that’s when he transforms.

He’s got his phone in one of his pocket, earbud in one ear. Stromae is playing. He likes to warm up for concerts with music from that concert. Everybody always thinks this is kind of nuts, cept Pep, who has the other earbud.

“Think he’ll do any from Alors on danse?” comments Pep.

Ber shakes his head. “Not if he’s previewin’ stuff.”

“Think he’s previewing stuff?”

“Cliff says so.”

“Yeah, what do you think?”

Ber licks at his lips, then blows into his hands again. “Town like Bristol,” he says, “sure. Less likely to leak.”

“Spence will leak it though,” Pep says with a laugh. “Won’t you Spence?”

Spence is two people behind Berlioz-- June and Sarah between.

“My sacred duty,” comments Spence. Ber doesn’t turn around, so when he speaks, Spence’s voice echoes over Berlioz. Ber thinks of the teachers coming in on the overhead, barking orders.

Pep laughs again. “Hey Ber,” Spence speaks directly to him. “You can publish any footage I sneak on your blog first.”

It doesn’t sound friendly. Ber doesn’t know if that’s because it’s not-- it’s just Spence, mocking him-- or if Ber’s made it up in his head, thinking he deserves to be mocked. He chews a little on the inside of his cheek and ducks his head. His throat clears. “Cliff’ll want it for the radio blog,” he says, not looking.

“Cliff’s a dick,” calls Spence all cheerful. Cliff’s voice raises into a whiny protest: “HEY, you pisser, watch it.”

Ber turns his head half-way, catching Spence’s eye, because Spence is looking directly at him.

Then there’s more crinkling of plastic, Thurl getting out a third beer. Cliff, lips pink and wet from the second, hoots. “Who’s gonna shotgun next?”

“Berlioz!” shouts Sarah and pushes at his back. His earbud slips out when he takes one step forward. He can hear Spence snort, then mumble something to June.

Cliff pushes the can into his palm. Its metal skin is cold, even colder than his fingertips. Those fingertips wrap around it as he thinks to himself, Simba said you could drink.

He needs to. His brain is itchy, he needs it quiet.

He sticks the key in and twists it. The beer shoots out fast, spraying his neck till he gets his lips round it and then he takes all of its nectar, down, down, till it’s all churning in his stomach. A stream of beer dribbles from the corner of his lip, golden under the streetlight.

“Got anymore?” Ber says when he’s finished.

“There he is!” Cliff exclaims, claps him on the shoulder. “I was worried for a moment there that our lil Berlioz wouldn’t be joining us this evening,” he chuckles.

The next beer goes down just as easy. And the one after that.

The eight of ‘em shuffle in line, tickets out, their cans trashed behind them on the ground and their eyes wild. Ber feels as light as a paper plane. His eyes rest on the door. The cement is already shaking from the music they got pounding out of the speakers just over that threshold.

They weren’t always eight, you know. Their line-up has always been in flux, this group existing far back before Berlioz, mates drifting in and drifting out. The only thing that bonds it, that keeps it a group, is this scene ahead of them-- all that music, coaxing people like Ber forward. Coaxing people like Ber-- and like Zib and Cliff and Thurl and Pep and Spence and June and Sarah-- together.

Ber thinks about how easy it was, becoming friends with these people. All he had to do was know a code word-- the name of an album or song or artist. A codeword, which unlocked a language he has spoken fluently now for six years of his life. The friendships came with it. And you know, he could say that code word to anyone in this club and find another mate. Someone to drink with. Someone to smoke with. Someone to dance next to.

It’s so easy, becoming friends with these people, so easy that you can replace them just as fast, like switching out records or changing a song on the radio. It’s like-- Ber used to have a favourite song by Stromae, till he came out with a new album, and he found a new one. Cliff used to have other friends who dicked off to uni and now he’s replaced them with this lot.

These two scenarios are exactly the same thing, Ber thinks. It’s so easy to replace, and to be replaced.

They enter the club together. Immediately, they begin to link arms to form a wall, to push themselves to the front. Today, they are eight.

Tomorrow though?

Ber’s body jostles, tugged by Thurl ahead of him, pushed by June behind him. “You texted Simba you arrived safely yet?” she hisses at him.

It’s so easy, becoming friends with these people. And it’s so easy to lose them.

7. The opening act is shit and everyone’s bored. Toward the end, Ber excuses himself for the loo, since he’ll not want to miss a moment of Stromae. He’s not drunk enough either. Everything feels compressed, not in the way he likes. He needs a drink.

There’s a queue which he scowls at, but takes his place in it, the seventh person before the door. He leans up against the wall.

“Stole my idea, I see.”

It’s Spence.

Ber opens his eyes. He didn’t know he closed them. Spence sidles up, leans his shoulder against that same wall and studies Berlioz. Ber wants to jump out of his skin.

“Habit,” Ber says.

“Yeah, I know. Gonna get drinks after this?”

“Mm.”

“I’ll join you.”

“Sure.”

Spence inches closer and Ber pushes up from the wall like it’s on fire.

Spence scoffs. “I fucking knew it.”

“Knew what?” Ber says, his voice a low whisper as his heart kicks up speed.

Spence scoffs again.

Six years ago, he and Spence had hooked up for the first time.

Only then, it had just been a kiss. They’d been smoking weed in the garden shed of Spence’s house, playing Bloc Party on Ber’s phone, when Spence had leaned over and kissed Berlioz. It lasted one second.

“We should do that again,” Berlioz had said, and then he hit replay on his phone.

5. Spence scoffs, “Knew you were avoiding me. What’s it been now? Five months?”

“Since what?” Ber plays dumb.

“Come off it.”

Ber looks away.

“Berlioz,” says Spence. “Berlioz. Stop it. You’re being a prick.”

Thing is, Ber wants to stop it. But he’s shoved himself into the back of his own brain, and now he’s practicing folding himself up into the littlest units so he can become invisible. He can’t climb out now, he never could. Spence should know that, Spence, who’d watched Ber fold before. Spence should know him-- all these people should know him.

“You just gonna keep ignoring me?” pushes Spence.

He’s not, he swears. He’s trapped. He’s staring at the crud on the club floor as shoes drift into his line of vision and then drift out.

I don’t mean it, I’m sorry, I don’t know. These words float through his brain and he can’t grasp onto any.

Then Spence shoves him.

Ber stumbles into the person in front of him and that person dominoes into the one after that. The other bloke whips on him fast. “What the fuck is your problem?” the stranger snarls, grabbing at his arm. He’s got pupil-eyes, black-hole eyes, Ber calls them. Ber stares stricken into those tunnels.

“I--” Ber utters.

The stranger lets go of his arm. “Chill out!’

And Spence actually laughs behind him.. Ber turns-- “What the fuck did you do that for--” he hisses.

“Why the fuck do you think?”

4. There are four more people in line but Ber can’t do this.

He escapes, ejecting himself from the line as fast as he can. He shoves back into the crowd where the air is thickest with the smells of sweat, booze, breath and smoke. He wades through it like fog, as the lights of the club spire above him in blades of neon green and pink. There’s a rumble through the crowd as the front stage lights flash a blinding white and the house music comes to an abrupt stop.

French crackles in the air-- Are you ready?

Everyone shouts their temporary god’s name: Stromae! Stromae! Stromae! Stromae!

Behind him, Spence calls his name instead: “Berlioz! Fuck you. You’re gonna listen to me.”

He’s being hunted.

“You’re a tool, you know,” Spence spits from behind. “The way you are with him. You’ve been ignoring us for months.”

The crowd pushes him back and forth Ber keeps his balance if only because he’s done this too many times, and his body knows how to ride the waves. He weaves toward the back of the crowd, eyes on that door, even when his vision checkerboards with the strobe lights.

The door blinks in and out and in and out and in and out, like a camera snapping at rapid shutter speed.

“BERLIOZ.”

Stromae’s voice booms once again through the speakers and over Spence: “TROIS… DEUX… UN”

The crowd gets more violent and the music starts up again. Ber should be up at the front. He should be jumping up and down, one cell in one body, not shoving people into each other.

He is the discordant note. He is the one, wrong thing, in a hive mind of perfect harmony.

“You’re his little bitch,” shouts Spence from behind.

He breaks through the crowd and walks the straight line to the door. As he crosses the threshold back into the Bristol air, he can breathe.

“Berlioz.”

And then it’s the two of them.

Ber closes his eyes at the sound of Spence’s voice, as though he is collecting strength. This lasts a second, then he whirls back around. “Leave me alone,” he bites out-- in French. He rubs at his eyes, feeling tears gathering there.

“I’m not letting you get away with this anymore,” hisses Spence. “You wanna leave, fine. But know that you’re being a shitty friend, like you’ve been all year. He’s changed you. You let that happen.”

“What the fuck is your problem, just because I’m happy--” Ber starts, stops, brain resetting mid-sentence. “Just because I--I don’t want to get blasted every weekend o-or--”

“You can be happy and not a total tool, you delusional prick,” snarls Spence. “He says jump, you say how high. He’s the reason you won’t talk to me. You look at me like I’m diseased.”

“That’s not his fault,” says Ber, hoarsely.

“Oh yeah it is. You don’t do anything without his approval or opinion.”

“That’s not true,” he says more desperately.

“Yeah it is.”

“You don’t know us--”

“Exactly, because you’re so far up his arse and you won’t talk to any of us anymore!” snaps Spence.

He thinks all this is dangerous, Ber wants to say. And maybe it is. Ber would have to admit that if he says what he thinks. Maybe he doesn’t want to do it anymore, not the way he has in the past.

But his brain is a roar of white noise, all his words lost underneath it. Not a single one of them would help him anyway. If he could, he’d drown himself in the music, but the club has teeth and it’s not safe, not with Spence standing in guard of it, not with his friends in there, his friends who aren’t his friends anymore.

And that’s all his fault. Spence is right. It’s all his fault. No one will notice that he’s gone. No one will be surprised.

“...I’m sorry,” he tries, pathetically. Spence stares at him just as hard as he has been.

“Sorry about what?” says Spence. “Which part?”

“I...I…”

Spence’s nose scrunches like he’s smelled something horrible. “Nevermind, Ber. You don’t get it.”

“I’m sorry I--I’m-- different, I-- I’m sorry I-- don’t wanna hook up with you anymore--”

Spence scoffs again. “It’s not about that. I don’t care about that. ”

“Then...I…”

“Whatever. I’m not missin’ Stromae over you.”

Then Spence turns and ducks back into the club, engulfed in the neon lights and all that heavy, hard-hitting sound. Ber feels frozen to the ground. The Bristol air claws cold at his skin. His breath comes in short pants, visible in the air. And then he’s crouching on the cement, gripping at his own knees and each breath slices through him like a knife.

Ber is alone.

He takes a cab back to the train station. He sits on the platform, the next train not for one more hour, and it’s not even going the right way. He has a missed text from Simba, telling Ber that he loves him. Ber could call and he could cry, but that would feel like a betrayal-- to Spence, to himself, to the music he loves and has left behind.

So instead, he fishes his hand into his pocket, pulling a little pill from Cliff’s baggy after all. It’s his only friend now. Ber rolls the little thing between this thumb and his index. He promised Simba.

Simba doesn’t have to know.

Ber slips the pill into his mouth, and that warm, clean high keeps him company till the train comes.

#story

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