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 Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2005 9:41 am
  Welcome to Cheret's chronicle, where she will keep and the record events that have happened to her. (Can be from owners point of view, or Seraphii, or both.)
The only people who can post are: the owner of the Seraphii and the owner of the sentinel that belongs to Cheret.Characteristics Full name: Cheret Owner: Sinclaire Gender: Female Height: 6.2 inches Ability: Sing beautifully, teach music, and ... Guardian: ??? Personality: Mood swings, otherwise calm, and ...? Likes: ??? Dislikes: ??? Stage: Child Stats Intellect: 2 Magic ability: 4 Reflex: 1 Charisma: 2 Flight: 1 Strength: 0 Total: 10
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:54 pm
Quote: .... d` CHERET'S SONGBOOK d`....
 <--- rock <--- child (clicky)
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 4:05 pm
Quote: .... d` CHERET'S SONGBOOK d`....
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:01 pm
Quote: .... d` CHERET'S SONGBOOK d`....
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:47 pm
Quote: { BOTTLE #1: OVERTURE }
< sinclaire muses > Quote:
I sat this morning on my piano bench, quietly contemplating the little bottle of rocks before me that was soon to be... a "Seraphii." Seraphii? I wasn't too sure what it meant, even though I had nodded vigorously all throughout Lena's explanations. A Seraphii was a small, human-like creature that would soon appear out of my little colored bottle, something small and pretty, something attuned to my interests.
And how exactly was that possible...? I wanted to believe Lena and all, and was surprised that she entrusted her precious stones to me, but... it seemed highly unlikely that this bottle would be anything more than just a pretty trinket.
I leaned foward onto the piano, gazing at the little rocks as I tapped a few keys absentmindedly. The stark, hollow sound of notes filled the air and melted away into the silence. November had become monotonous and gray for me, an endless cycle of college, artwork for college, struggling with my art, the same old, same old. At times like these, I just liked to sit away from the drudgery of it all, and just rest by my piano.
It seemed like so long ago that I had been skilled at the instrument. Now, all I could do was string together a few discordant sounds. I sighed, hating my own ineptitude; my gaze fell once more upon the gift that Lena had given me.
Music... Seraphii, huh? Really. It looked no more than whimsical little candies to me... I decided to give the bottle maybe a week or so. If nothing happened... which I doubted it would... then I would see what flavor the little rocks turned out to be.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:48 pm
Quote: { BOTTLE #2: 1ST MOVEMENT }
< piano attempts > Quote:
Plunking down on the piano bench, my brow furrowed in concentration, I grabbed the nearest songbook and placed it in front of me. Today was the day... that I was gonna RE-LEARN the piano. No ifs or buts. I was getting sick of plinking out random notes from time to time, dissonant notes that sounded like screechy cats singing under moonlight.
The little glass bottle filled with rocks still sat there, on the ledge where my songbook was propped. I glanced at it out of the corner of my eye rather self-consciously, then scolded myself for being silly. It was just a little bottle... not like it was going to be listening to my pathetic attempts at playing a song!
I flipped open the songbook to a random piece, took one look at the spiraling and twisting notes upon the sheet... and turned the page. Okay, maybe a BIT too difficult for my re-learning process... I was just starting, anyhow! Glancing down at this next page, where notes crowded each other in difficult formations, my eyes began to blur. I turned the page. Maybe not THAT one, either.
After the 6th turned page, I bit my lip, beginning to feel absolutely helpless. How could these songs have ever been easy for me, in the past? Why did I have to fall so out of touch with my musical side? In frustration, I slammed the songbook back onto the piano ledge, determined to try whatever song that was there.
Turina's Sacro-Monte, Op. 55 #5? Sure, why not. I vaguely remembered the song to be forceful and almost violent, something fitting for my current mood. I squinted at the first few notes, sucked in a deep breath, placed my fingers gingerly on the keys... and pressed down.
Screeching cats, screeching cats...
Okay, horrible first attempt. I moved my fingers around a bit, feeling slightly less confident, and pressed down. Ugh, once again, an odd, inharmonious sound. I moved my fingers once more, and...
The little bottle of rocks moved.
I had seen it out of the corner of my eye... frozen in my seat, I slowly turned my head in its direction. What the heck, was I hallucinating? Maybe I was concentrating too hard on the notes...
But then, again, it moved. Vibrated, actually. I could see the tiny colored rocks jumping about within the glass, as the bottle shook slightly... blinking several times rapidly, I had to convince myself that this was definitely not a dream.
Unconsciously, my hand slipped a few keys to land on another, as I sat staring at the glass bottle. Immediately, it stopped vibrating. I looked at it very curiously, then down at my hand, then at the music.... and pressed the keys tentatively.
The sound was perfect, harmonious. My hand had found its way to the correct notes... somehow...
I slowly turned my head towards the little glass bottle again, which remained still on the piano ledge. Hmmm...
Glancing at the next notes on the music, I self-consciously placed my fingers upon the respective keys on the piano. The little glass bottle erupted in shakes and vibrations immediately, as if in a rage. Eyes wide, I immediately glanced down at the hand.... oops, I had forgotten a sharp key. Adjusting my little finger onto the black key, I glanced up again.... the little bottle had stopped moving.
It was almost surreal, but I felt a small grin tugging at the corners of my mouth.
Is this what I've been degraded to? Taking orders from, having a.... glass.... bottle of candies.... as my new piano teacher...?!
Hey, at this point, I was willing to take any help I could get... as weird, bizarre as it was. Turning back to Sacro-Monte, I arranged my fingers onto the keys once more... and watched the little bottle quiver and shake immediately. Looks like this would take a long, long while...
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 8:49 pm
Quote: { BOTTLE #3: SFORZANDO }
< surprising success > Quote:
With the concentration and reckless energy of a runaway train, I slammed my fingers down onto the chords, hearing with pleasure their forceful, vibrant tones. My fingers shimmied down the keys in a minor scale, my brows furrowed as I jumped to a series of trills and chromatics... forte! The notes rang powerfully in the air as I pressured the keys, biting my lip as I glanced rapidly back from the songbook to my hands.
This was it..... Almost jumping in my seat as I hit the chords to the fast-paced ending, I felt my heartbeat rising as I jumped from key to key, every inch of me determined to make this through correctly. It was like a race, a race between those tiny notes on the paper and my own hands, a race that kept driving faster and faster and faster... Sforzando! With a great inhalation, I lifted my hands from a trill and dropped them vehemently to the final chord, feeling the vibrations of piano strings fill the air around me with rich, resonating, wondrous sound.
The palms of my hands lifted slightly on the keyboard-- fingers still on the smooth ivory, I sat there like a runner having finished a marathon, my chest rising and falling heavily. The powerful final chords of Sacro-monte lingered in the air, slowly dissolving as I sat motionless, until I was surrounded again by a cold, still silence.
I placed my hands slowly, almost shakily, into my lap, letting the sudden quiet rush into the room and engulf me. Outside, a few birds called distantly, but the only thing I could hear was the sound of music within my head--
I had done it. Took a week, no more no less, but... I had done it. I had mastered my first real song, after such a long time... and the feeling was exhilirating. It was as if something new, something powerful had awoken within me, and was now being poured out through my fingers into the piano...
In spite of myself, I had to glance over at the little glass bottle that sat quietly next to my songbook. It was the craziest thing, but... I knew I couldn't have done it without this... bottle's guidance. I didn't know WHAT was making it vibrate, or WHY the heck it knew so much about music, but I really was in no position to question the crazy and unbelievable. It's a known, anyway, that artists are mental... what's a few moving, musically-inclined glass bottles to them?
As I rested on the piano bench, eyes trained on the colorful little rocks, I had to smile-- Well, at least I had enough sanity in me to not try the 'candies' in the end. I still wonder what flavor they are, though...
And as if on cue, the glass bottle began to glow a bright, vibrant orange; I lept backwards from my seat, tumbling over onto the ground. Eyes wide, lying in an awkward position on the carpet, I watched in horror as the little rocks inside began to bounce wildly within the glass. All the while, the bottle shook crazily, eventually levitating a couple feet into the air (Sin, you HAVE to stop drinking what tiny little bit of alcohol you do drink, I mentally scolded myself), finally erupting in a blaze of orange and violet smoke.
Convinced that I had finally, truely, absolutely gone insane, I coughed and squinted amidst the colorful smoke, wondering what had happened to the bottle. Thinking back, it probably wasn't such a good idea to wonder much... because I was going to receive the shock of my life, right then and there.
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 8:50 pm
Quote: { BOTTLE #4: INTERLUDE }
< song child > Quote:
As the wisps of orange and violet smoke melted away, a tiny figure emerged, seated upon a silky floating cloud. She seemed to radiate a warm, peachy glow as I gaped at this-- fairy? Child? Child-like fairy? The little creature regarded me with a slight, amused smile, her face half-hidden behind locks of deep violet hair. Even more bizarre were the tiny, bobbing antennae atop her head, the pair of paper-thin, coral colored wings behind her.
AH. Lena's face swam in my distant memory, her index finger wagging at me as she explained about "Seraphii." Ah....... yes. So much for.... candies... in a bottle? Feeling like an idiot, I slowly crawled forwards to the levitating figure, rising upon my knees before it. A pair of magenta eyes turned upwards to look into mine, an almost laughing expression within them.
"Uhhh....""That was good," the Seraphii said in a tiny, melodious voice, a bright smile lighting her face. "You finally learned to play, after all this time! I like Turina songs a lot, especially when I'm really mad."
"UHHHH...." Was the only thing I could stutter, my eyes round as saucers as I regarded the smiling Seraphii. She looked as calm and tranquil as if absolutely nothing had happened, as if I hadn't been taking music lessons from a freaking bottle for an entire week, and that bottle suddenly had a bad stomachache just now and OUT SHE BURST!"You talk like you play piano," the little Seraphii mused, tilting her head as she regarded me."Kind of broken, kind of unsure. But maybe you'll talk better, like you learned to play better. Let's try another song, OK OK? What's your name anyway?"Taken aback at having something no bigger than my hand call me inarticulate, I forced myself to reply. My hands up before me in defeat, an almost silly grin upon my face, I stammered:
"Whoa, whoaaaa. I'm sorry, but maybe I should explain to you... to humans, it's kind of a surprising thing when something like you... a Seraphii... bursts out of nowhere. I know I play the piano crappily, and I owe you my thanks I guess for helping me, but.... take it a bit easier, will ya?!"
The Seraphii floated over to me, her thin legs dangling off the edge of the cloud. Her face was still cheery, as unruffled as ever, and she gave me another of those quiet smiles. "Well, why didn't you say so? I love music and I love new things. They don't surprise me. But I didn't know you scare so easily." She hid a smile as I mouthed at her wordlessly, infuriated..."But anyway... although I was hanging around in that bottle to teach ya, I thought just now was a good time to come to you. You played that song so nicely." She lifted her thin shoulders in a shrug, and I mumbled an embarrassed thanks, eyes lowered.
"Wellll..... OK. I'm Sinclaire. So I guess you're gonna be with me for awhile? As odd and crazy as you seem... I could really use some help on the piano..." It felt almost embarrassing admitting my lack of skill to a tiny creature, but she replied with a light, tinkling laugh that reminded me of bells."Yea, I'll stick around. I'll get to hear some music, instead of being stuck around a glass bottle all day. And you seem interesting. My name's Cheret; at least that's what they called me back there." Before I could inquire further about where "back there" was, Cheret fluttered over to the piano, to the spot where the glass bottle once sat. "C'mon, let's start another one... something more peaceful this time, OK? I'm not feeling like angry music right now!"She grinned brightly at me as I stared back, at a loss for words. Should I make sure, one LAST time, that I was definitely not dreaming? That a tiny Seraphii child was about to become my new permanent piano teacher? That I wasn't going mad?
............Nah. If artists were doomed to be mental.... then at the least, I could be both mental AND musically talented.
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:22 pm
Quote: { CHILD #1: CRESCENDO }
< conflict and discovery > Quote:
"No, no, no," the little Seraphii sighed exasperatedly, blowing dark wisps of hair out of her face. She floated down on her cloud to my fingers, and with her tiny hands, pulled them into the correct positions. "Like this. See how that's a double-flat there, on that note??" I sighed as well, as if in sympathy with my "piano teacher." Today was not quite the best day in music-land... the weather was hot and muggy, my fingers felt like blocks of wood, Chopin's Waltz was refusing to cooperate with me... and to top it all off... Cheret was in a bad mood.
It had took me a couple days to realize that when the little Seraphii was in a bad mood... she was in a bad mood. Cheret was tranquil and smiling most of the time, but I very quickly found out that this could turn downhill in a matter of minutes. One second, she could be fluttering about my hands, praising me for playing a chord correctly; the next, she would be pounding at my shoulders with her tiny fists, shouting that "that was A G SHARP, not a C SHARP!"
"Ahhh, Cheret... let's stop for a bit. Chopin's probably turning in his grave right now, hearing how crappily i'm stumbling through his song." I leaned backwards off the piano bench, rubbing at my eyes tiredly. The little notes on the page had begun to blur together, as they often did when I was tired. The Seraphii rolled her magenta eyes at me in response, and with a little huff, floated off on her peachy cloud.
Well, poo to you too, I thought with a frown to my irritable charge. Closing the piano top carefully, I made my way to the living room, and settled down with a sigh before my computer. It was time to relax and doodle a bit before I started my homework.
Of course, I couldn't work without music. Even if I couldn't play it very well at all, I was always in the mood to listen... Opening iTunes, my eyes scanning down the long playlist, I set the program onto shuffle and sat back contentedly as the song began to play. It was one of my favorites: Bloc Party's "Banquet."
A couple of minutes passed before I realized that I was not at the computer alone; out of the corner of my eye, I caught an orange-y glow. Stopping my sketching, I looked around to see Cheret floating by my head, her head cocked in an inquisitive manner. On her face was an expression of intense interest.
"What's up?" I inquired, noting with some satisfaction that at least she wasn't grumpy anymore.
Cheret floated a bit closer to my stereo, elbows propped up on her cloud. In an almost awed tone of voice, she asked, "What....-- Is this music too? It sounds... so weird, but cool. Really different.""Ehh?" I had forgotten that my iTunes was still playing. Listening again, I noted that it was Weezer's "Say It Ain't So." "Oh.... yea. There's a lot of different types of music than just classical, y'know. This is called rock... alternative, I guess, to be specific." "I heard that there were many many kinds, but I haven't heard anything but classical before," Cheret admitted, her eyes wide as she listened to the music. "It's all they let me listen to, back there. This is great... it's so much heavier than classical, but still sounds as good!"I couldn't help but laugh at her wonder, at something that seemed so commonplace to me. "I listen to a whole buncha crap other than rock too... you want me to go through my playlist and show you?"
With a jerk, Cheret seemed to just notice that my computer displayed an entire long list of songs. "Oh, wow... so many... sure, show me show me!! I wanna hear all the different types of music," she grinned, floating over to me once more excitedly.
"Weeeelll... don't count on ALL music," I smiled apologetically, raising and lifting a shoulder. "I don't know if you could even call stuff like... heavy goth and rap music...""Heavy.... goth? ...Rap? What are those?" Cheret tilted her head again, regarding me with wide eyes. I only grinned and shook my head to her question.
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Posted: Mon Nov 21, 2005 4:24 pm
Quote: { CHILD #2: ETUDE }
< what powers? > Quote:
It was amazing how quickly the little Seraphii learned to use my computer. And not only use it... but completely and utterly hog it.
"Cheretttttt," I whined impatiently, standing akimbo behind the swivel chair. "You've been on iTunes for what, the past 3 hours? Geroffff." Despite my insistent attempts, the music Seraphii paid me no attention from her perch on the mouse. She was an expert now at using her cloud to guide the mouse; magenta eyes bright with interest, she fluttered before my monitor, watching the playlist scroll down.
The dark-haired child must have seriously played every single song on my playlist 4 times over, within the course of an hour. Studying in the next room, it was very distracting to hear the loud blasts of rock, then the mellow melodies of bossanova, coupled with some bleeps and beats of trip-hop. It seemed that Cheret had found her new favorite hobby, right here in front of the screen...
"HEY! iTunes music store?? Whose money do you think you're spending?!" I yelped and lept forward, wrestling the little Seraphii off the mouse. "But I was only gonna buy a couple!" Cheret protested, her cheeks growing red with frustration. "I want to hear more of this... bossanova music, you don't have enough!!"
Eeeesh. Mad Cheret = ultimate fail. "Alright, alright," I waved my hands helplessly before the sulking Seraphii, watching her violet head turn away from me with a huff. "I'll show you a radio station that plays bossanova all day long, OK? It's on a website, and it's free too."
Her face snapped back to mine, all traces of anger gone-- now, she was purely interested. "Really? Website? What is that, I've only looked at your iTunes thing--"
"I'll show you later," I interrupted, and before she could open her pink mouth to argue, I continued: "Hey, Cheret... I always wanted to ask you, but you were so busy playing with my songs. You know you said... you came from 'back there' somewhere? Like, where all the Seraphii come from or something?"
She tilted her head at me in quiet acknowledgement. "What about it?"
"Well... I dunno, Len-- someone I know told me that Seraphiis are supposed to have... powers? Like, I know you're a music one, so can you do music-related magic-y stuff? Dunno," I shrugged, feeling like an idiot stumbling over her words.
Cheret only stared at me attentively for a number of seconds, a small, bemused smile upon her lips. "Powers...? Maybe... I think the older Seraphii know how to do cool stuff. I'm just a kid, so... maybe right now my only power is teaching crappy piano players how to play songs?"
Ouch. That's what I got for asking. "Fine, fine," I replied with a grunt, before her bright, papery wings caught my eye. "Those fairy wings. Can you fly?"
"Emmmm..." She twisted around to look at the appendages, giving them a few experimental flaps. "I don't know! Never tried. Back there, people always told me my music-magic was stronger than a lot of other kids... and that I was a smart Seraphii... but I never really tried flying-- AHH?"
She broke off with a small yelp; I had gently plucked her off her orange cloud, holding her in my palm. "Wha-- why'm I so high up here?" Her rosy cheeks blanched, as she peered off the edge of my palm. "... Sinclaire?!"
"GO CHERET!!" I roared, holding her above my cushy sofa. "Stop looking at my iTunes so much and learn to be a real Seraphii!!!! FLY!!!"
With that great burst of gusto, I let her go. There was a burst of bright orange light, a frantic fluttering of coral wings, a slight rush of wind, and.........
"AHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
...... A small, violent POOMPH down into the cushions of my sofa, followed by wisps of orange smoke.
Hocrap... what the heck?!? This Seraphii had no strength whatsoever!! "CHERET?! Cheret!!!" I called, fighting the urge to laugh as I darted over to the sofa, beginning to dig frantically through the cushions.
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2005 1:41 pm
Quote: { CHILD #3: ACAPELLA }
< cheret on her own > Quote:
After that incident, she wouldn't speak to me for a week.
At first, it seemed like a welcome change... I had the computer to myself now, for she only used it when I was out of the house or sleeping. I didn't have to put up with her random furious outbursts at my crappy piano playing. So... all was well. Was it...?
After a couple days, things just didn't seem to... feel the same. Whenever I passed the little Seraphii, she only turned her dark head, floating away on her wispy cloud. The house was silent of music, for she refused to touch my iTunes when I was around... and of course, my piano playing suffered a horrible decline without Cheret's help. I was back to the screechy-cat stage, music-wise.
What had I done? Besides the fact that I had dropped her 5 feet into the sofa (it was a soft landing, at least...!), it began to dawn on me that I may have wounded the small Seraphii's pride. I vaguely remembered her telling me that "where she came from," her magic skills and intellect were praised... but definitely not her physical prowess (or lack thereof.) I had witnessed that firsthand... Cheret barely had enough strength to keep herself aloft while flying! She was petite and delicate, and I had probably hurt her feelings by demonstrating her lack of strength.
By the end of the week, and with still no Cheret-communication, I was beginning to feel thoroughly miserable and contrite. She was just a child, after all... perhaps I had treated her too seriously, as an adult. But I just wasn't good at dealing with kids! It was awkward, but I resolved to find the Seraphii and apologize to her... and to deal with her more gently from now on.
I crept up to my spare bedroom, opening the door a crack... as expected, there sat Cheret, her back to me. She was lying listlessly on her orange cloud, atop the bed... and she was singing to herself. I had never heard the music Seraphii sing before, but... the only thing that came to my mind was... wow.
Her talking voice was normally melodic, faint like the tinkling of bells, but her singing was just... something else. The sound reminded me of light rain on a summer day, a golden harp stroked gently, the call of nightingales on a cold evening... it wiped all worries and tension from my mind, filling it with a quiet sort of bliss that I had never felt before.
Was this one of Cheret's powers? The sheer beauty of her song alone surpassed all weaknesses she might have! Entranced, I stepped forwards softly to the bed, noticing amusedly at the last moment that she was singing "The Mixed Tape." Not wanting to interrupt the wondrous sound, I settled myself as gently as I could upon the bed... but that was enough. The song broke; startled, the little Seraphii whipped about, her magenta eyes wide.
For a long moment, the child and I only stared at each other, Cheret beginning to look more and more embarrassed. It was I who finally broke the silence, albeit very awkwardly.
"...That was... really great. Magical power of yours?"
Her vivid eyes lowered, thin shoulders rising in a shrug.
I glanced at her, then tentatively stretched one finger fowards, gently patting her on the head with it. "I see why they praised your magic so much, back then. You're a great teacher, and a beautiful vocalist... I'm sure you broke many hearts back there, huh?"
Cheret raised her face to me as I stroked her dark hair, her eyes wide; spots of color had appeared back on her cheeks, as well as a tiny smile. I smiled brightly in return at her, and in that moment... everything was alright.
With that, she floated on her cloud up to me, and almost shyly asked: "D-... do you want to try another piano song now, Sin?"I grinned at her, tilting my head in response. "How about we play a new song, after you help me with a little chore? I've been asked to help decorate the Seraphii Headquarters... you've never been there before, I don't think. You can come along and help me choose paintings to put up on the wall!"
The Seraphii immediately perked up, clapping her hands with a tinkling laugh. "I wanna see, I wanna see! Are you painting the pictures too? Are you as bad at drawing as you are piano-playing?"
....... Maybe I would have to re-look my "gentle treatment" plan after all.
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:38 pm
` PANIC! AT THE ARCADE
CHILD #4 || Cheret's playlist: COFFEE SHOP PHILOSOPHY - OOO
HEY chronicles, it's been quite some while! Almost half a year as a matter of fact, and dang, how things have changed. For one, I've finally come face-to-face with that nasty, lore-drenched monster of college called "the crappy semester," and despite being fried and scorched full blast, I've managed to hang on by a thread! One week til my White Knight comes to rescue me, that shining, gallant knight named Spring Break...
But this chronicle isn't about ME and my unimportant trials and tribulations! Ah, Cheret... what would I have done all these horrible weeks without the little Seraphii as my trusty steed, yanking furtively at my elbow as I fell asleep in class, screeching with the voice of a harpy as I fell asleep over books, serenading with the tones of a dove as I fell asleep in bed? What would I have done without those afternoons of relaxing piano sessions, facing the little child's wrath whenever my tired, essay-writing fingers stumbled down an octave (or I stumbled out of the bench, Cheret thwapping me angrily with her little wings)? Where would I be without her music and song, as I slaved away at hacking the dragonsemester down?
I'd be at the arcade, that's what!
Well, that's only half true. Because Cheret discovered the lively, noise-filled, geek-crowded place when I did, and we enjoyed it together during the last few weeks of college hell. Never had I thought paying quarter after quarter to get my butt beaten down by videogame veterans could be so fun! And yet, a hidden Cheret watched in amazement from my pocket, as I lost heroically and tragically at every Capcom vs. SNK match. And when all my change pockets were empty sans the Seraphii, we both decided that maybe I was better off being a spectator...
Until we chanced upon the Beatmania machine, that is.
There it was, sitting half-concealed in a corner, pumping out its songs and demonstrations of which key goes where... the little Seraphii and I exchanged one glance, and the rest they say is HISTORY.
That is, if "history" includes me clumsily trying to shield the buttons from curious eyes as Cheret hopped across them gleefully, frantically attempting to shush her as she raged at not being able to reach the turntable, and most of all... yes... once again, getting my butt royally wiped once she figured out how to press all the keys AND the turntable. TOTALLY unfair, she had MUSIC MAGIC! It must have looked pretty stupid to onlookers, the way I was screaming in frustration... as if I was losing to myself.
And so, onward I plunge, into the last few days of battle! Then, it's time to tackle that next tricky issue... the one of sucking at videogames so badly, even to small fairy-like children with annoyingly good hand-eye coordination.
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Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:32 pm
` PARANOIA MAX
CHILD #5 || Cheret's playlist: SAY IT AIN'T SO - WEEZER
"Think I can do it, Sin?! Paranoia MAX... EXPERT mode, Hi-Speed 2!"
The Seraphii bobbed her dark head towards me, grin wide and eager as she perched upon the rectangular Beatmania keys. I tore my eyes away from a couple of arcade-goers who were looking at me strangely, ("talking to myself" by the machine apparently,) to grin back at Cheret.
"The helllll.... seems like just YESTERDAY you were struggling to reach the turntable. Your magic's just really something else-- well, not just your magic, your coordination and speed and all," I added quickly, seeing her face threatening to adopt a truly menacing scowl. "Go for it! If you fail, just think of how badly I'D look if I even TRIED this."
As the Seraphii offered another of her warm smiles to me, hopping from one tiny foot to the other in anticipation as the screen loaded, I moved fowards self-consciously. It was hard enough walking around school with a curious, glowing little child hanging out of my pocket. But at the arcade, when Cheret INSISTED on playing her favorite game every time we stopped by (as I sadly watched my quarter collection shrink), it was near impossible to keep her unseen.
So... all I could do was stand attentively at the machine as she played, blocking her from view and pretending that I was the one nailing all the difficult keys and getting PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT! ....When in reality I had as much as hand-eye-coordination as a walrus playing table tennis.
I watched the bright, colorful lights reflected on Cheret's smooth face, saw her look of intense concentration, the way she bit her lip as she lept from key to key. The notes were rushing by so quickly on screen that my eyes were beginning to blur, and yet, the Seraphii kept perfectly on beat, dark tresses bouncing upon her shoulders as she nodded in time.
It wasn't that I was AFRAID to show Cheret to others-- I realized, just watching her, that in fact I was tremendously proud to be her caretaker. Even though she was only a child, she was such a bright, vibrant being, always filled with life and song... even through her bad days, and her temper. I was a human, ten times bigger than she and much older, and yet... I could envy her for her talents that she arrived mysteriously with, her magic, the way she was so much better at things like music than I was.
There was nothing to be ashamed of.... only pride. And yet, why was I hiding her from the world so?
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, mouth set in a tense line, that I barely saw her hop down hard on the last note of the song. The machine let loose a final explosion of sound; her tiny chest heaved as she whipped about to face me, coral wings fluttering in excitement. "Did you SEE that, Sin?!! I... DID it!! After so many days of failing... guhhh, Sin, I finally passed!!"
The reckless, fast-paced beats of Paranoia faded away as I gazed back at the Seraphii. Behind her small figure, the screen flashed her grade: an A.
I saw her face flushed in happiness and breathlessness, her bright eyes trained on mine, as if eagerly awaiting something...
Praise? Approval?
And I realized with a jolt, that the little Seraphii whom I admired so much, needed me... as much as I needed her. She was mine alone, as I was her sole caretaker... and that was why... noone else needed to see her. For now, at least. We lived in a small world created by ourselves, one that had transcended reality when she came plummeting into my life... one that noone else could possibly understand. And it was something that only we would continue to share.
Looking down at her petite form, silohuetted by the bright lights of the machine, I offered her the truest smile I was capable of.
"I'm... so proud of you, Cheret. I really, really am."
And as she flushed abashedly, leaping foward to burrow into my hands, I could hear the arcade-goers behind me:
"Danng.... since when did that weird guy over there get so good at Beatmania...?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:59 am
` CONFESSIONAL
CHILD #6 || Cheret's playlist: UNSPOKEN - FOUR TET
It wasn't unusual that Cheret, one rainy day, was going through my music collection on the computer once again-- although I downloaded music regularly, she liked listening to her old favorites over and over again... and never seemed to get sick of them.
But what did catch me by surprise was when the little Seraphii suddenly asked:
"Hey Sin, what's emo music?"
I turned around slowly from my work, eyebrows raised. "Umm.... something you certainly shouldn't have found in my playlist?"
"Naw," she replied bashfully, dangling one leg off of her peachy cloud. "I heard people talking about it the other day, when we were out at the park. Seems like a lot of people like it, so I was wondering... you know me. I wanna know about all types of music!"
I leaned way back in the swivel chair, rubbing at my eyes. I had practically grown up with emo music and emo "culture", and yet, had absolutely not a clue how to explain it to a tiny floating child-like being. It was something I'd rather not talk about, anyhow.
"Wellllll... emo--" I began, feeling quite stupid indeed, "--is short for emotional... so, emotional music.... does that give you any ideas?"
Maybe it was a biiiit too hopeful of me to think that that explanation would've actually worked. Cheret cocked her dark head, lips pursed thoughtfully.
"Emotional? You mean, music for people who get like super angry, then super hyper, then super hungry all in two seconds??"
Bipolar music? I thought amusedly. "Not really. Well, minus the hyper and hungry. Usually, emo music's associated with depressed people. Like, really sad people. In both ways," I added under my breath.
Cheret flopped onto her belly on her cloud, floating around lazily. She propped her chin up on her hands, still looking bemused. "So they listen to emo music because they feel sad? But you can listen to all sorts of music when you're happy, or angry, and that music's not called emo.. why just if you're sad?"
She really was a sharp little thing. I had no clue how to answer.
(continued in next post)
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Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:04 am
(confessional continued)
"I........... don't know, actually. Maybe it's just cause lots of people in the world are sad?! Or maybe because sad music's been so popularized, since it's usually so lovey and heartbreaky and... stuff," I trailed off weakly, scratching my head. Talking to a child was always an interesting and headachy experience.
Cheret sat up very abruptly, fixing a serious magenta gaze upon me. I started in surprise-- had I said something wrong?
"Lovey? Heartbreaky? That makes a little more sense why it's called emo. Because I've never heard those words before. Is it a human thing?"
There was a brief pause. I lowered my hand slowly from my forehead, regarding the child with interest. This was something I hadn't considered before... was it possible that Cheret had no idea what "love"-- in the relationship sense, "love" with all its baggage and complications and betrayal-- meant? How frustrating and universal "love" could be, to spur a whole movement of sappy whiny bleeding-heart music?
Was this a Seraphii thing? Was it just Cheret? Perhaps she was just inexperienced?
There must have been a very odd look on my face. For when my eyes came back into focus, and I opened my mouth to respond, Cheret laughed liltingly and turned back to my playlist.
"It's OK Sin!! I was just wondering, anyway. Well now I know that it's something weird and human-y. Doesn't sound like something I'd like, but I'll try it if it ever comes up!"
I watched her small fingers tap the keyboard buttons, heard her humming peacefully to herself, and felt utterly lost. Perhaps I was the inexperienced one here-- was this how parents felt, with the whole birds-and-the-bees thing that had to come up sometime or another?
Were Seraphiies capable of feeling strongly towards another, so strongly that it could breed sadness, like humans? Or was it really what Cheret had suggested... just a human thing?
I turned back to my work, as another song began to play behind me. Cheret was just a child, anyhow... I had to remind myself that. Maybe things would change... as she became older?
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