12.17 -- So, the staff may have been a bit out of it this past week, but we were just busy celebrating the end of the semester by partying way too much. Now that that's all over, it's time to focus on Free Falling. We're gonnna introduce an event as well as a great new way to make money for your characters! It's gonna be hella exciting, stay tuned! BLU OUT ~
AKA: How Ash decided it was time to learn how to code v5 and ended up making a site. Obviously I'm no pro, so if there's something that I messed up and you can help me fix it, please do that!
- PLEASE READ ALL THE RULES BEFORE JOINING! - TRY TO REIGSTER YOUR ACCOUNT WITH YOUR CHARACTER'S POKEMON AS THEIR USERNAME DOING SO MAKES TAGGING MUCH EASIER FOR THE STAFF
Welcome to modern day Atlaea; if you're here, it means you have the powers of a pokemon inside of you. We advise that you apply to the university and start your training in one of four subjects: battling, coordinating, healing, or pokemon history and begin your journey towards becoming the very best like no one ever was!
Post by Altair Deangelo on Dec 10, 2014 6:47:00 GMT
SING WITH ME
SING FOR THE YEAR / SING FOR THE LAUGHTER AND SING FOR THE TEAR
He was practicing chords to new song. His guitar of choice was electric, with the volume on his speakers turned low, so that it wouldn't disturb anyone else in the boys' lounge. There was no one else around anyway. It was still dinnertime.
Altair had an earbud in one ear: a rare sight. He was too much of an audiophile to use earbuds normally. For now, it was more practical. He listened to a rhythm track to one of Voice of Rain's songs, and he hummed the vocals to the song while he played his the melody out on the guitar.
The song ran its course, coming to a moody end in a minor key.
Music brought him somewhere else, like being in the zone, whatever that truly meant. It took him a moment to return to reality, but when he did, he realized he wasn't alone in the lounge anymore.
Blushing, he bit his lip before finally speaking in a jumble of words. "Oh, I didn't see you! I--sorry. So sorry. Should I go somewhere else? I thought it was just me, I didn't mean to bother anybody."
OPEN FOR ANYONE!
vaporeon
MUSIC EXPRESSES THAT WHICH CANNOT BE SAID AND ON WHICH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE SILENT.
He was on his way out of the dorm room when he heard the slight thrumming of electric guitar cords. It was coming from the Boys Lounge Room. Curious Jasper decided to go and take a peek. He wasn't disappointed.
What he saw put a bright smile onto his face. It was one of his dear friends playing the guitar. And what was that he heard? Familiar lyrics? Haha, the sound was so beautiful. Not wanting to disturb Altair while he was playing Ace merely leaned against the wall by the entrance door, listening.
The cords were almost perfectly how he imagined them and beautifully put together. Leaning his head back against the wall, Jasper let out a slight sigh. Beautiful. Damn... Why was he so good at putting pieces together? And why was he always so amused by his own music. Meh. Didn't matter. It was Altair that put a smile onto Jasper's expression. He played the cords so well.
But then Tair noticed him and stopped practicing, turning his attention to Jasper in his bumbling way. Ace chuckled and moved over to sit next to his good friend. "Hey, chill out man. Its just me. Your doing pretty well with the new lyrics. What do you think?" He patted Altair on the back and then collapsed in the couch beside him.
Post by Altair Deangelo on Dec 10, 2014 8:00:50 GMT
SING WITH ME
SING FOR THE YEAR / SING FOR THE LAUGHTER AND SING FOR THE TEAR
It took him a moment to realize it was Jasper that'd been lingering against the wall, listening. He'd thought it was someone else--anyone else, really. Altair breathed a sigh of relief, his nerves dissipating into the air.
"You scared me," he said with a crooked smile. That'd been obvious, and it wasn't an accusation. He just felt like he should explain why he'd panicked.
He removed the one earbud and slung it over the guitar in his lap. He leaned back, giving the question some time. If Jasper had asked him what he thought when they first met, Altair could've said something bland and polite like sounds nice, but that was meaningless feedback for them now. They were in this together, and they weren't in this to make a song that just sounded nice.
He knew the caliber of the musicians he was lucky enough to call friends, not to mention lucky enough to work with in the same band. Nice wouldn't even begin to cover it.
"The song feels right. I couldn't tell until I put it all together, but the beat is good--solid, grounds everything even when I was afraid there was nothing to hold onto. I think we might want to look at the lyrics again? Maybe the second refrain should be different, tell more of a story or something." That was the short of it; he could come up with something more in depth later when they had everyone present.
For now, he grinned with enough cheek for dimples. "But that's not important. The important thing is that I want a guitar solo."
"Pft, Course I scared you silly. That tends to be a thing when your thinking about music huh? Zach totally killed me with his awkward jump attack in the main hang out room. Still have a bruise on my chest to prove it." He made a disgusted expression and rubbed his lower chest area just to make his point. But then Altair began to speak again after his short pause.
He remembered how shy Altair used to be around him. It was a little interesting to watch as he began to grow little by little out of his corner. In fact, you could go as far to say that Jasper was quite proud of his old time friend.
When he began to speak about the lyrics, Ace began to nod expectantly. Altair had been speaking out his own hesitations with the song, which was part of the reason why he had given it over to Tair in the first place. He was his go to guy. "Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Just been so stuck on lyrics lately. Been too busy with that one piece thats taking up all my muse. Listen, if you have any ideas let me know about them."
Then the request came and Jasper couldn't help but stare off into space after hearing it. Had he heard right? Then a giant grin slipped onto his expression as everything he had heard fell into place. He looked over at his dear friend with a smile. "You sure? I'm totally up for it. Glad you asked even, but I just want to make complete sure you are ohkay with that."
Despite how low Tair had the speakers, in a place where one would not expect someone to hear, the music still reached a particular pair of ears. Having been laying on his bed, not only did the sound of music being played catch his attention, it was what was being played. Slowly sitting up, the teenage boy swung his legs over the side of his bed and felt for his flip flops. With his mouth open ever so slightly, he began a very quiet clicking of his tongue, slowly gazing around the room, to get a bearing on his surroundings. He'd been spacing off and hadn't really paid attention to whether or not anyone had entered his room. Not that he was expecting anyone, but there were those who tried to sneak up on him. Needless to say, it had been at least eight years since he was last startled by someone who snuck up on him.
To be honest, it was quiet in the boys wing, even for Cas. Yawning and stretching, he made his way down the hall and toward where the music had come from. Even after it stopped, he knew all too well where it had come from. He'd spent almost an entire week just wandering around the different buildings of campus the previous year to memorize their layouts. His memory wasn't good with just music; it was good for memorizing everything. Something that certainly came in handy for someone who couldn't see.
By the time Cas made it the boys' lounge, he could hear two voices. A smile flickered across his face as he recognized both of them; both were what he considered friends, and both were in a band that he was a part of. Cas honestly was still surprised that Jasper allowed him to one, be in the band, and two, stay in it. He didn't think he was that great compared to the others, but he wasn't complaining. It was a nice opportunity to just hang out with a few guys that shared his same interests.
"What's this, Tair asking for a solo?" Cas asked as he entered the room, leaning against a wall. "I think that'd be sick. Oh, sorry. Hope I didn't interrupt. I just hear Tair practicing, and then heard your voice, Jass, so I figured I see what you two were up to," Cas said, a little nervously toward the end, genuinely hoping he hadn't ruined the moment, or interrupted anything too important. He made it a habit not to eavesdrop on people he knew, if he recognized their voices.
Post by Altair Deangelo on Dec 11, 2014 3:33:00 GMT
SING WITH ME
SING FOR THE YEAR / SING FOR THE LAUGHTER AND SING FOR THE TEAR
He nodded. "I'll think about it tonight, maybe read some poetry--see if inspiration strikes." Altair had homework, but he disregarded that. It wouldn't take long to finish, not as long as he wasn't worried about getting every answer right.
A gentle smile stretched across his face at the sight of Cas, though he knew he couldn't see it. "You're always welcome to interrupt, Cas. Especially if you also think I should have a solo." His usual nervousness wasn't present, but all the same, it was a comfort to hear that the other two were in favor of a solo interlude.
"Don't worry, Ace. I'm sure," he said. "If you guys can trust me, I think I can handle whatever you throw at me."
He figured he should catch Cas up to speed. "I was just playing though--" Altair, checked the sheet music for the song title, and he found an unhelpful blank space, "um, Untitled. I think that's Untitled VI. If it sounds good to you, we should keep it and give it a name."
The voice that came from behind the two boys caused Jass to smile even wider. Aw man, no one knew how happy it made this boy to be around his greatest buds. On one hand music was his life. He lived for it. But there was nothing, not even a great old composition piece from a hundred years ago could be better then the great time he had with his team.
"Hey Bro! Come have a seat! You should know by now that you are always welcome to interrupt idle chats!" He said as he placed his hand on the cushioned seat beside himself and drifted his hand across the fabric to create sound. Having been good friends with Cass had forced himself to adopt new techniques of interacting. While with Tair he was more likely to pat him on the back or give him a good shove to show his "affection" toward his friend. With Cass he had to find a more back door approach. He would use his words and other understandable gestures to express his loyalty to the blind man. Though he had to admit that it did take awhile to get used to.
And then Altair began to speak again about the solo he had requested. Jasper lifted his right hand in front of his mouth to hide the very badly concealed laughter that was beginning to push itself from inside his throat. Oh man... if only he knew. Actually, Jasper was glad that Altair had asked him before he brought the next song out to him. He had been hesitating about it for awhile now, wondering how the band would react to it. Especially Tair. But now that he had asked...What a ridiculous coincidence.
Of course he was paying so much to his last thought that he didn't realize Altair had spoken again. "...Give it a name."
Shit... He hadn't heard the rest of the sentence. But it didn't matter, because He could tell that Altair was gazing down at the piece he had asked him to look at. "Oh pft. I give all my pieces names... Just most of them aren't aaahh.... concert appropriate? I don't like them. Thats why I always ask you guys."
Hearing Tair mention he would read some poetry made Cas for a split second long he could see to read. Hearing it was one thing, but it was difficult for him, because he'd have to ask if there was an audio disc to accompany a book or something, and there usually wasn't, so he'd missed out on a number of things due to that, too embarrassed to ask someone to read something for him that wasn't in braille.
The reassurance from Tair made Cas a little more comfortable. He was always worried he was being bothersome or getting in the way; it's just how he saw himself most of the time. "I've no doubt you can handle anything," Cas responded with a nod in Tair's direction. "But, I'm not the one who writes the music, so that's up to Jas," Cas said, accepting Jasper's invitation to have him come sit down. Cas was glad Jasper had been willing to, and remembered to, accommodate for his own disability. After he heard the pat, he waited to hear the rubbing, paying close attention, to use what others had described as echolocation to see where, exactly, the seat was, and what was around it so he wouldn't do a face-plant. Cas made his way to the seat, maneuvering around the other seats and small table as though it were no problem at all, and took a seat next to Jasper.
Cas had a hunch as to which track Tair had been playing along to, but he wasn't sure, and he wasn't about to speak up with which one he thought it was. At the mention of Jas always asking 'you guys' for names, Cas shrugged. He'd never really valued his own opinion when it came to song names. Tair seemed to have a knack for them. Cas rarely put his opinion for a full song name out there, but if he found it to be too ridiculous, he'd question it, but otherwise, he was fine with whatever the other band members came up with. "I've never been great with coming up with names," Cas said.
Post by Altair Deangelo on Dec 12, 2014 2:28:10 GMT
SING WITH ME
SING FOR THE YEAR / SING FOR THE LAUGHTER AND SING FOR THE TEAR
Right. Altair sighed. Of course they weren't concert appropriate. It must be pretty extreme if it wasn't even kosher enough for the indie scene.
"I guess we're not done with the lyrics yet anyway, so there's no rush. Maybe a little rush, I'm going to get confused if we have to refer to our songs by number."
He shot Ace a concerned look when he laughed--not concerned about Ace, but concerned about himself. What did the man have planned? "That... sounds like you have an evil plan. You know how I feel about evil plans."
He realized that he didn't know if Cas had any talent as a song-writer. Altair himself could adjust notes and measures, jam a decent harmony, write lyrics to a melody, but he'd never been able to write an entire song. "You could give it a shot. I can sit by you, write down the notes as you play. It'd be fun, and if you don't come up with anything good, we'll never tell anyone about it. We can even try again another time. It might just take time. Sadly, we can't all be natural-born geniuses like Jasper here."
Of course his devout friend had to make that sighing noise he did whenever he thought something was inappropriate for the conversation and Jasper snorted. He shook his head and turned back to Altair. "No no. Not like that...... well ohkay some of them are really bad. But most of my song ideas are really... jumbled and don't make much sense. Its not like thats my way of relieving stress. Oh wait... Why does this seem to be coming out all wrong. Man... Forget everything that just happened right there." He laughed a slightly nervous laugh.
"That... sounds like you have an evil plan. You know how I feel about evil plans."
Jasper laughed a full hearted laugh this time. It wasn't loud or accusing, Jass was merely amused with the situation at hand. "Nah nah bro. I'm not scheming. I wouldn't do that to you. Its just.... I've had this composition written down for a couple days now and I was going to ask you guys about it at the next band meeting, but I've been hesitating about it. Mainly because its a little bit different from our usual and it stars the guitarist. Though... Playing an acoustic guitar. I was debating on giving it to you guys or having myself play the main part. But since you asked for a solo, which I wanted to give it to you in the first place. If you're willing to look at it, perhaps you can take it on as your solo."
As Tair spoke about teaching Cassy some song writing techniques Jasper listened. That is, of course, until Tair mentioned his name. "Pft. I wouldn't call myself a genius... wait..." He paused for a moment, seeming to appear in deep thought. Then, "Actually yeah I would. I'm a music genius. But hey, Its not a big deal anyway, You have other talents that I am very crappy at. When it comes to finding things Cassy, even with your lack of eyesight, you are abso-freaken-lutely brilliant at it. I'm terrible at finding even my own cellphone in the morning, Tair always has to call it."
Tair had a good point. If they were talking about altering lyrics for the song, that could contribute to the actual name of the song. He didn't fancy himself a singer; not that he was awful, but he was not nearly as good as the other members. The only thing he felt confident playing was the keyboard.
"Well, if you forget which song is which and have to refer to them by number, you could always ask me," Cas offered with a shrug. He knew the songs by heart, and could name each of them, numbered or actually titled. But, it would be beneficial to actually get names for some of them. There were over half a dozen unnamed songs, and Jasper kept pumping them out like they were going out of style. Kudos to him, but some organization was needed; another thing that Cas wasn't exactly good with.
Cas smiled to himself as Jasper tried to convince them that his song names really weren't 'that bad' and continued to ramble for a few seconds. He found it amusing when he did this, borderline funny. Not in a bad kind of way, but... in a way, it was cute. It was very Jasper-y.
Tair's offer surprised Cas. He honestly hadn't really tried to write a song. He'd mess around on the keyboard and play a few tings he'd made up, but as for writing an entire song? It made him super nervous. "I-I don't know, Tair..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. The thought was nice, but even among friends he felt nervous doing new things. He was content to sit back and be the almost-nobody, the person in the background that people would always point and ask 'Who is he?' with confused looks on their faces.
Ah, good. Not only had Jasper wanted to give a solo to Tair but it was already written! Good for Tair, Cas thought. Cas agreed with the musical genius; he'd been complimented on the music he'd done, but never as much as Jasper or Altair, which was fine by him. He hated being in the spotlight, so to speak. Cas felt his face get hot, realizing he was blushing at Jasper's comment on how he was able to find things. "W-well... I wouldn't exactly call it a talent. Just because I can find things when no one else can, can hear a person coming a couple hundred meters away, and can tell the gender of someone by their footsteps... it's more of just adapting. I mean, if I weren't blind, I'd be the least noticeable person around probably," he said.
Post by Altair Deangelo on Dec 17, 2014 6:44:33 GMT
SING WITH ME
SING FOR THE YEAR / SING FOR THE LAUGHTER AND SING FOR THE TEAR
Altair believed that Ace didn't think he was scheming. He didn't doubt his friend, he just doubted the details. He wasn't so sure that what Ace counted as scheming was exactly in line with what Altair thought was scheming.
He stopped, breath catching in an airy inhale as he considered the thought. Solos was usually done on electric guitar, for a variety of reasons. He could handle himself fine on acoustic, but could he handle himself with enough panache to deserve a solo? "I'm happy to try. If you have the music already, I can try to sort it out before our next session," he said, not making promises just yet.
Altair nodded out of habit--he knew the person he nodded to wouldn't be able to see it--and spoke at the same time, "If you ever feel up to it, Cas, you know where to find me. Whenever you think it might be fun. If you think it's silly, it can be never too."
He worried about Cas sometimes, although he knew his concerns were pot meet kettle. Altair was about equally shy and retiring, but he figured the difference was that he could see the faces of people touched by his music. He wished Cas could too. "I'd call it a talent," Altair said. He laughed, and it was a soft, gentle sound. "It's something I can't do, and people tell me I have a good ear. You must have a miracle ear, if mine's good."
