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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2012 0:26:38 GMT -5
After two solid hours of jamming, strings put down his guitar and sat on a bean bag. When Sea Swell finnished, she asked where she could stay in Cloudsdale. However, she seemed to have no money. "Don't worry about it, if you're short on money feel free to crash here for the night. I have a spare bed." He shot Sea a large smile. He wasn't going to let a friend, even one he had just met sleep on a park bench.
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Post by mafipulater on Mar 30, 2012 1:25:08 GMT -5
"Wow... really?" Sea was a bit taken aback by the offer. Sea certainly wasn't expecting this - and certainly not from someone she had only met that day. How fortunate for her to meet someone so kind, and just after getting off the airship, too!
"Thanks Strings!" she said, smiling appreciatively at her benefactor. "And uh, don't worry, I'll visit the bank in the morning and then I can get outta ya mane."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2012 18:49:16 GMT -5
"Well, I'll see you ponies later" Rebel Yell said when she left. "See ya Rebel!" Strings replied.
Strings stood up from his bean bag. "Don't be in any hurry. It's good to have other ponies around." He gave Sea Swell a quick and sincere smile and then gestured for her to follow him down the hall. He led her up the stairs to a door next to the door to his bedroom. "You can stay here, and remember you can stay as long as you like. Don't feel pressured to find somewhere else." Honestly he thought Sea Swell was actually pretty cute, plus she was musical. That made it even better. "Anyway, everything is already ready in there, so I'll leave you to your own devices. I'll still be up for a while, so if you need anything, I'll just be in my room. OK?" He smiled again as he opened the door to his room.
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Post by mafipulater on Apr 27, 2012 16:21:07 GMT -5
"Alright, peace, Rebel," Sea Swell said to Rebel as she left.
Sea Swell picked up her saddle bag and snapback and followed Strings upstairs. "Sure, dude. And, hey, thanks again," she said, giving him a final smile before entering the spare room.
...
Pulling the covers around her, Sea closed her eyes and waited for sleep to overtake her. But in the moments before waking and sleep, her mind began to wander. She let herself float in an ocean of thoughts, letting the current carry her to sleep.
'What a relief that I don't have to sleep outside tonight. It was really nice of Strings to let me stay here. It was really lucky, meeting him the same day I forgot to get money from the bank to stay at the hotel...'
Sea turned in the bed, her mind aimless.
'And it was really fun, jamming with Rebel and Strings today. He really rocked that guitar... Not to mention, he's pretty cute.'
A smile formed across her face.
'And he said he played for several bands too. A real, professional musician, performing with a real band, with real, quality instruments. Like... what I wanna be.'
Her body shifted restlessly underneath the covers.
'I've been at the game for years now, trying to make something out of myself. I wasn't any good at school, and dear-ol'-dad never showed up, so I only had my mom and my music...'
Her brow furrowed as darker thoughts began to overtake her, thoughts that she had hoped to leave behind, once in Fillydelphia, and again in Manehattan: self-loathing, jealousy, resentment.
'All those bits Mom saved up to kickstart my career, years of dedication, and what do I have to show for it? A run-down apartment, a job at a dingy art store, and a dead-end music career with not a bit to my name. If Strings made it as a musician, then why didn't I?'
Memories of teachers, school officials, police officers, and others from Fillydelphia reproaching her began to resurface. Sea pressed her ears against the sides of the pillow, hoping it would muffle or subdue the disapproving voices in her head.
'Because I'm a failure. I've never been good at the game - otherwise, I'd have found at least a little bit of success by now, right? I'm a failure, that's the only explanation...'
Sea then began to cling to the excuses she always clung to, to save some shred of her self-esteem.
'No, I haven't found success because I haven't found my sound yet. The system is set up against me. The industry doesn't want new ideas in music. I'm not a failure. I'm going to make it big. It just takes more time...'
Still, the excuses weren't at all satisfactory. Whatever power those excuses had before, it was gone tonight. Meeting a fellow musician that day was exciting, but it also reminded herself of her failure. After all, she was about the same age as Strings, and he did something with himself, performing in actual bands, whereas Sea couldn't. She resented herself for not finding success, and then became terrified that she might have to face the shame of admitting to her mother and friends that she failed, and then finally resented herself again for feeling so pitiful.
In a torrent of confused thoughts and emotions, she rose from the bed, and left the room and knocked softly on Strings's door. Sea wasn't sure what she was expecting to happen. She didn't even know how long it had been, or if Strings was even awake anymore to answer her knocking. But she needed to stop the feeling of failure, like all of her effort had meant something, anything, like maybe her self-doubt would just go away if she got some sort of validation from a fellow musician. She needed something. But she tried to make sure, somewhat successfully, that her face was wiped clean of any emotion, because the one thing she didn't need was pity. If she was lucky, Strings wouldn't notice that something had been bugging her.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 21:08:26 GMT -5
Strings had just fallen asleep when he heard a knocking at his bedroom door. He got up, shook his mane, and walked over to the door. He opened it to see Sea Swell standing there in the hall. "Uh, hey there Sea Swell." He said sleepily. "Uh, what's up?"
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Post by mafipulater on Apr 28, 2012 21:28:30 GMT -5
"I-" Sea began, but stopped herself when she noticed Strings's sleepy tone of voice. He had clearly been sleeping, or trying to, at least. After inviting her to let her sleep under an actual roof tonight, was she really going to be interrupting his sleep now? She desperately wanted something, but, still recovering from her confusing swirl of emotions just moments before, she wasn't sure what it was. But she immediately began to regret knocking on Strings's door without figuring out what it was first.
"No-... uh, nothing," she stammered, finally, obviously distraught but deciding that she'd rather not bother Strings. He has been very hospitable, but now Sea felt like she was imposing. "I didn't mean to wake ya. Sorry. G'nite," she said as she turned back to her room. A part of her wanted Strings to stop her, but another part wanted him to just get back to sleep so she wouldn't have to seem so pitiful around a new friend.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2012 21:39:15 GMT -5
Strings watched Sea Swell with confusion when she went back to her room. "Wait Sea," He called after her. "Don't worry about it. You didn't wake me." He said with a smile, even though she did. He didn't mind though, because he didn't really want to sleep anyway. He only did because he forced himself to. "You wanted to talk about something?"He then gestured for Sea Swell to follow him. "Here, lets go down to the lounge room."
When he got down the stairs, he sat on a beanbag chair, like the one in the music room. He had quite a few of them. "What you want to talk about Sea?"
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Post by mafipulater on Apr 30, 2012 19:26:53 GMT -5
Strings was obviously lying about not being woken up, but Sea followed him downstairs anyway. She uneasily took a seat in another beanbag chair opposite of him, still unsure of what to do or say. But even though she wasn't sure how to begin, it was still comforting to know that Strings was willing to listen. Well, for now, anyway.
"Uh... well, you remember earlier today, when I told ya about how I play piano, sing, and emcee?" Sea stammered through her words, unsure of each word she spoke was the right one to use or not. But she went through it anyway. "That's not... that's not entirely true. I mean, I guess I do all of those things. But I'm not a... y'know. A professional - not really." As she spoke, it became easier for her to continue, although she still wasn't entirely sure what she even wanted from this conversation. But maybe it was enough to just talk about it, with a friend. Even if it was a friend she only made earlier that day.
"But I wanna be. A professional, I mean. Ever since I was little filly. I grew up rapping, y'know? Except, y'know, I rapped into my manebrush instead of a microphone, and my audience was actually just a bunch of dolls." Sea smiled a bit, remembering her younger days, daydreaming of becoming a star.
"Oh - but I'm gettin' off track. What I mean is, it's something I always dreamed of. To perform for an audience, an actual audience, and to make them feel the way I feel, y'know? Through my words and my music. I’ve been at it for years. But, the biggest show I ever had back in Manehattan? I think maybe only twenty-five or thirty-five people showed up," continued Sea, frustration couched in her voice. "I wrote to just about every music magazine in Equestria to try and get a feature, but none of 'em wanted me. I got whole stacks of my unsold mixtapes back in my apartment in Manehattan because nopony likes my music. And that's why I work at an art store instead of doing music all the time."
By then, Sea had figured out that she really wanted a sense that someone appreciates her music. A kind of validation. She's gotten compliments on her piano playing - and in fact she was quite the proficient piano player. But her heart was really in the microphone, not the piano, and it was obvious from the way she talked about it. But of course, Strings had never heard her rap or sing.
”Ugh, sorry,” she said, shaking her head. ”I don’t know why I’m tellin’ ya all of this. You never even seen me do none of that stuff.” Sea looked into Strings’s eyes, hoping to find some kind of comfort. “Maybe I just needed to, like, vent and… talk with someone like me. A musician, I mean.”
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2012 1:52:42 GMT -5
Strings sat and listened intently to Sea Swell's story. About not being a professional musician, but always wanting to be. He then thought of something. He has gone professional, so maybe he could help her out. Let her join with him, kick start her career as a musician. Yes, it was perfect he thought. But, how? They played different styles of music, but maybe they could merge them, or teach each other.
When Sea finished her story, she apologized. "Don't be sorry Sea. There's nothing to be sorry about." Strings replied. "You know what, I might have an idea. How would you like to teach me the basic techniques of Jazz? We could start a Jazz duo or something. I know some ponies who can get us gigs." But then he remembered something she said. Sea has always preferred to rap. He rubbed his chin with his hoof and an idea dawned on him. A perfect idea! "Actually, I have a better idea! I play Rock right? And you love to Emcee and rap? We mix the two!" It was great! Sea's rapping and whatnot with Strings' music. He was sure this would work. Of course, Sea would be the main focus, and if things go well, she'll be huge. Strings just hoped that Sea Swell loved the idea as much as he did.
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Post by mafipulater on May 3, 2012 22:34:21 GMT -5
Sea giggled at the idea. "What, you and me do a thing together? Mixin' hip hop and rock? Like, Rage Against the Marechine?" She was flattered at Strings's offer, but it seemed so sudden - almost like a joke, so she brushed it off.
But then she began thinking about taking the offer seriously. Why not at least try? After all, Sea hadn't found any success on her own. Maybe working with Strings is exactly what she needs - not to mention, jamming with him had been really fun. And besides, it was a good excuse to hang out with Strings some more. There were worse ways to spend her time, she figured, than rocking out with a cute stallion.
"You know what? I like it. I'm down for tryin', I mean, if you are," said Sea, finally feeling a bit better. After all, Strings had just offered her something she'd been lacking the last few months: hope. Of course there would logistical problems. Sea was up in Cloudsdale only for vacation, after all. But maybe they could figure how to make it work.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2012 1:35:26 GMT -5
Strings was glad that Sea Swell liked the idea as much as he did. He was already planning it out in his head. He could get two of his friends from Ponyville to play other instruments if needed, He would play Guitar, and Sea would be the rapper and work with the techno effects and stuff like that. Honestly he hadn't listened to much rap at all, but hopefully that wouldn't hinder the band. "Great! This is gonna be really good."
If Strings said that he were just doing this to launch Sea's musical career, he'd be lying. Of course that is the main point, but after that night, he wanted to spend some more time with the cute brown mare.
Strings looked out the window and saw that it was still dark out. "Hmm, do you want to go back to bed and talk about things in the morning, or just talk now? I'm good with either." He really was, a part of him just wanted to go to sleep, but he also had so many things running through his head. He just left the decision up to Sea Swell.
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Post by mafipulater on May 5, 2012 23:03:52 GMT -5
Sea was suddenly reminded that she woke Strings up, and began to feel guilty. Deciding that it would probably be best if she let him get back to sleep, she said, "Yeah, we should probably work it all out in the morning." She had a lot of things to think about as well.
The mare got up from her seat and began making her way out of the room, but paused as curiosity got the better of her. Strings had been awfully generous to her today. Maybe he treated everyone like this - but then again, maybe not. What harm was there in asking? "Hey, Strings... you make a habit out of being so friendly to every mare you meet?" she asked slyly. Depending on his answer, this new band of his could potentially be a lot more interesting. And even if he gave a disappointing answer, well, whatever - she didn't mind if they just kept things simple. Just being a part of the project would be fun enough on its own.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2012 4:04:35 GMT -5
Strings got up from his bean bag, and started walking to his room when Sea's question put a smile on his face. Sure, he is a generally kind pony, but , he was being extra kind because he had a little crush on her. He knew that he had just met this mare the previous day, but she was a musician. A good musician. And, she was cute too.
Strings walked up the stairs, and as he opened his door, he shot a sly smile to Sea Swell. "Well, I'm nice, but usually not this nice. It may be due to the fact that you are an attractive musician. He then walked into his room and shut the door. Strings sat on his bed, still with a large smile on his face. But that smile slowly disappeared when he thought about the repercussions of those last words. Was that a good idea? He wondered of what effects that could have on the project that hey just proposed. Did he just ruin it? For all he knows, Sea Swell could be scrambling out of the door right now. But, if she thought the same about him, the band could become a lot more interesting.
Again, Strings did not feel like sleeping, his mind was abuzz with thoughts of the band and Sea Swell. But he knew that dawn would probably be in a couple of hours, and he needs to get some sleep. So he forced all other thoughts out of his head and willed himself into sleep.
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Post by mafipulater on May 8, 2012 2:22:10 GMT -5
Sea couldn't help but laugh at Strings's answer as she went back into the spare room. He was certainly a lot more forward about it than she anticipated. Apparently he wasn't interested in playing coy. Either way though, she had his answer, and even though it was unexpected, it certainly wasn't disappointing.
As she lay her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, she began to wonder about the prospects of this new band. Were they going to make it big? Was this the first step toward making herself something real? The fame, the fans, the fun - it was all she wanted since she was just a foal. Of course, the music itself was important to her too, and she always tried to come up with her own unique sound instead of just biting someone else's style or selling out. Making music that meant something on a personal level to her, and making a real, meaningful connection with her listeners - and becoming famous and having a lot of fun in the process. Everything was so perfect in her dreams.
'Maybe I've been trying too hard...' The mare's thoughts then turned to how much fun it was just jamming with Strings and Rebel. There was no bigger goal behind it all. It was just fun for fun's sake. Would her dreams get in the way of it all? What if her personal ambitions ruined this new project? Would she really take advantage of Strings's kindness just to try to advance her career?
No, she decided. There was no way she would be able to do something like that. After all, Strings trusted her enough to try this out. The least she could do in return is not let her ambitions get in the way of, well, having a good time with a friend. Maybe that would be enough - just having a good time with a friend. Sea wasn't sure if that would ultimately satisfy her, but it was something she had to try, for herself and for Strings.
For the first time in a long time, her sleep wasn't interrupted by any dark thoughts or emotions. No insecurities, no fear, no jealousy, no self-loathing - just sleep.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2012 5:39:48 GMT -5
Strings woke up at around 10 in the morning. A normal wake up time for him. He got out of bed, and yawned loudly. But he quickly quietened, just in case Sea Swell was still sleeping. He left the room and walked down the room to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of juice and sat on a stool. For a while he just sat their drinking until he woke up fully.
Once his brain started functioning again, Strings started thinking about the band. Particularly about what their "sound" would be. And, what he would do about writing the music? He knew next to nothing about rap and hip-hop music. Because of that, he decided it would be best to let Sea Swell have control of that. And, since his goal of this was to launch Sea's career, he thought that she should write the lyrics as well if she wanted.
Again, Strings thoughts strayed to his final words to Sea Swell last night. Did he scare her away? Or was she simply still sleeping? What did she think? Did she share his feelings? Was he to forward? Strings was questioning everything. Well, he was just going to have to wait and see.
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