INTERVIEW WITH BELLE
How did you come to live at the opera house?
When my parents were gone, I was left to find a place to live. I didn't have any living relatives to go to, so I was going to go live at an orphanage. But then I remembered something my dad told me when I was really young. He said, "Whenever you feel lost, and you have no where to go, look for the music". I thought about it and then a thought occurred to me. What if I lived at a boarding school? Then I could learn but still have a place to live. When I looked through boarding schools, I noticed one for singers, dancers, and actors. I signed up right away.
Did your dad ever have a connection to music?
He was a singer. He wasn't that well known, but he used to do concerts and events. Even though I liked when he performed, my favorite thing was when he would sing me to sleep every night.
Why did your dad leave and how did you feel?
This isn't very easy to talk about but one day, it was late at night. Him and mom had a big fight. He walked out and as I laid in bed I waited for him to come sing me to sleep. He never came. When I woke up in the morning, he wasn't there. Mom said it was for the best, but I don't think so. I think he was a coward for running away. I felt unloved. I felt abandoned. I didn't sleep very well. I could see the pain in my mom's eyes. He broke my heart.
So, what happened with your mom?
It was a stormy night. The power had gone out and we where sitting in the living room, by the fire place. She was sitting in her rocking chair and I was sitting on the floor. No one was speaking. Suddenly, she grabbed the picture frame of dad and clutched it to her chest. In a shaky voice she said, "Belle, go get me some hot chocolate." I ran to the kitchen, and when I came back, she was dead. I don't think she wanted me to see her die. The doctors said it was a heart attack. I say it was heart break.
I understand this is difficult for you. How did your life change after living at the opera house?
I was happier. I made some friends. I learned to dance, to act, to sing. It feels weird, singing. Like I'm following my dad or something. Everyone is nice, well, mostly. *laugh* People say I'm a great singer, guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I don't think about them much. I get so caught up in everything, I only think about them when I take walks. It's almost like, that part of my life is over. I need to let go and take hold of my new one.
What are your plans for the future?
I'm not really sure. Life can change at any given moment, I know that from past experience. I like to think that I will pursue the arts, but who knows? I guess I'll just go where life leads me! And right now, it's taking me to dance rehearsal! Bye!
ROLEPLAY SAMPLE
Here is a roleplay with one of my pets, Ariacalyx and Eisha_iii's pet, Ikiere.
This is Eisha
This is me
Tinkle tinkle.
Ikiere glanced upwards as she opened the big glass door, smiling as the bell greeted her. The Kougra had never been in this part of town before, so she and a friend had made plans to meet up and explore. The only trouble was, her friend had never shown up. Patiently, Ikiere had waited for nearly an hour past their meeting time, to no avail.
But that isn't going to stop me, she told herself in slight frustration. I'll just have fun on my own. It was at this point that she'd spotted the hair salon from across the street and happily made her way over to it. Feeling the wave of cool air hit her as she pushed the door completely open, she called out. "Hello~
Ariacalyx glanced up from his magazine. He was sitting cross legged at the front desk. Finally! A customer! he thought, I haven't got very much business today. Ari set down the fashion magazine and stood up. "Welcome to Ari's Salon, what can I help you with?" He said in the tone he always saved for first customers.
Ikiere's face lit up as Ari spoke to her. "Hi," she greeted, taking a look around the shop. It was fancier than the salons around where she lived. This was a higher end of town, after all. Since she'd entered on a whim without planning on it, she hadn't really had anything in mind. Well, I might as well get something done, she figured, wanting to make her visit worth while. "Um, do you have any specials going on?" she questioned, silently hoping this fancy place wouldn't put a huge dent in her wallet.
Ari smirked, Specials? he thought, What does this Kougra think this is? A fast food place? He examined the Kougra, taking in skin tone, eye color, lip color, everything that goes into making your hair style look good. "Well, what's your budget?~
Figures, she sighed inwardly, hearing him question about her money. She did have a decent amount, as she was planning to spend a full day shopping with her friend... but she knew this game! They always tried to get all the money you had on you. So she'd just have to have 'less'. "Well," Ikiere began, fishing her wallet out of her purse and pretending to count to bills. "Not much." She looked back to Ari and put on a charming pout. "But couldn't you offer me a discount, just this once~?
Ari shuffled through some more of the magazines. "I suppose I do have some quick fun looks for a decent price..." he hands her a few magazines. "Look through those and tell me what you like, and then we will talk." Ari walked back to the front desk and sat back down.
She grinned, glad she'd be able to save at least a little money. "Thanks, Ari," she said, glancing at his name tag before taking the magazines from him. After flipping through the pages, a frown crossed her face. She never really could tell what looked good on her, and always did her own hair styling (if that wasn't evident from the sloppily dyed blonde tips). Walking up to the counter, she had an idea. "What if I gave you full creative liberties?" she proposed. "Do whatever you want, whatever you think would look good?
Ari smiled. What an interesting proposal... he thought. "Sure. We can do that. Come over to this chair." He walked the Kougra over to a salon station with a mirror and packed with tools. He pulled an apron over her and tied it around her neck.
He examined her hair, picking up a strand and snickered, "Where did you get this done?~
Not knowing whether to feel offended or not, she decided on the latter and smiled slightly as she removed her headband. "Oh, a little local place called Ikiere's." Quickly undoing her characteristic braid, she continued. "They do cheap work, and their main stylist is totally cute. Heard of them?" She couldn't help but giggle a bit as she imagined herself actually owning a salon. What a disaster that would be.
~Hmm...no. I've never heard of them..." Ari pursed his lips and pulled out a brush. "Tell me if this hurts." He started brushing through her hair. Already, Ari was thinking up what he was going to do...dye it? Cut it? This should be fun.
Ikiere began to relax as he brushed her hair. Truth be told, she was often a bit of a tomboy, so it felt nice to get taken care of once in a while. "So, this is a pretty nice place," she commented casually, looking around without moving her head too much. "Are you the only employee here?
Ari sniffed, "You're not from around here, are you?" he set down the brush and motioned Ikiere to follow him over to the sink. "I own this place," sweeping his arm across the room, "I have some people that help me when the days are really busy, but I like to run the place by myself.
Following him across the room, Ikiere reclined her neck and let the water wash over her hair. "Is that right?" she asked, impressed that someone so young could be that successful. "But yeah, I'm not from around here," she confirmed, suddenly looking indignant. "I took two subways to get here, and she doesn't even bother showing up," she muttered, the last bit to herself. "But it'll be her loss once I have fabulous hair, right?
Ari laughed, "More than fabulous, my darling!" He squeezed some shampoo onto his hands and started gently massaging her hair. "Now, what should we do to make you have the most fabulous hair in whatever town your from? I need a little hint as to what you want... at least tell me if your going for a bright look-at-me style or a soft I-have-great-hair-if-you-really-look style?" Ari said, raising one eyebrow.
Ikiere stayed silent for a moment, considering. "Well, to be honest," she began, voice a bit meeker than before, "I sort of want to be a model. But right now, I don't feel very model-esque." That was part of the reason she entered the salon in the first place - to change her look and boost her confidence a bit. "I'd like something that would be appropriate for a model," she decided, leaving the final decision in Ari's seemingly capable hands.
Ari nodded, "I see..." He led her back to the mirror and combed through her wet hair. "This is the last your going to see of your hair now!" And he spun her around so she couldn't see what he was doing. "It will be a surprise! How about that?" Ari laughed.
Ikiere's eyes lit up with excitement as she spun around, taking a last look at her wet hair before the mirror left her sight. "A surprise?" she echoed, already back to her usually high spirits. "Oh man. Couldn't you give me a little hint to what you're planning?" she prompted with a grin.
Ari walked behind her and started looking through drawers of supplies. "Well, let's just say, I'm going to change the color and use these!" Ari found what he was looking for a held it up for Ikiere to see. There in his hand gleamed a pair of shiny silver scissors.
Anticipation coursed through Ikiere at his words. She was always up for a dramatic change, and one that was out of her control somehow made it all the more exciting. "Color and cut, eh? I guess I'm getting the works," she grinned. "So how long you been in the business?" she asked.
~"I started working at a hair salon when I was 16, but I only cleaned. But I learned a lot and practiced styles no one had ever seen before on my own hair. Everyone said they liked them and wanted one of their own, but no one could make them like I did, so at 18, the manager hired me as a stylist. I didn't own my own salon until I was 20 though." Ari said, measuring out lengths of hair and trimming them off. "Girl, you have tons of split ends! But what about you? What do you do?"~
Owned his own business at 20?! Ikiere couldn't believe it. She herself was 24, and the only job she'd ever had was as a waitress... in her brother's bakery. It didn't help that they never got any business, either. "Right now, I don't do much," she admitted, frowning slightly. "I'm sort of a freelance photographer, but I don't get a lot of opportunities. And I want pictures taken of me, not the other way around.
Ari, focused on what he was doing, said, "Well, my father always told me that I had to work hard if I wanted to achieve something... but maybe with this new haircut, you'll be one step closer"~
Ikiere smiled, encouraged. "Yeah, hopefully," she agreed, more eager than ever to see the finished result. "And if I don't get any jobs, I'm gonna go ahead and say it's your fault," she added, smile widening into a grin.
Ari smiled, "Well, now I don't know about that, you're the one paying me!" His faced turned serious, "But, you better be nice to me, I've got connections in the modeling business... I want to start my own fashion line."~
Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Ikiere managed to keep herself from turning around to look at him. "You have connections?" she asked with excitement. "Ooh, do you think you could get my face out there? I'd try to make it worth your while somehow," she added. Of course, she didn't know what she could do for Ari... but she could worry about that when the time came.
What does this Kougra have to offer me? Ari chuckled inside. "Well, usually I'm against... helping people. But maybe we could make a compromise... I give you an amazing hair style, talk about you with my connections and in return, if you become this...model that you want to be... you promote my fashion line. How about it?"~
It took everything she had to refrain from squeeling and jumping up to hug him. "Yes, that sounds perfect!" she replied with glee, suddenly feeling so much closer to her dream than before. "So hurry up with my beautifying so we can get this show on the road!" she half-teased. She was excited to see her new look, after all.
~Ok, well your hair is pretty short already...so..." Ari snipped off another lock of hair. "There! That should do it." He set the scissors down and took some tin foil, a brush, and dye. He put some hair in the foil and applied the dye. "Time for dying!" After he finished with the tin foil he led Ikiere over to the blow dryers. "Ok, just sit under these for 10 minutes and then we can take it out, here are some magazines to pass the time." Ari walked away into another, smaller room.
This roleplay is still going on!
WHAT'S ON BELLE'S IPOD
These are songs that Belle would listen too, and I also think they describe her and her life.
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again-Andrew Lloyd Weber
I think these lyrics really display what Belle feels about her father and mother.
You were once my one companion
You were all that mattered
You were once a friend and father
Then my world was shattered
Wishing you were somehow here again
Wishing you were somehow near
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed
Somehow you would be here
Wishing I could here your voice again
Knowing that I never would
Dreaming of you helped me to do
All that you dreamed I could
Passing bells and sculpted angels, cold and monumental
Seem for you the wrong companion, you were warm and gentle
Too many years
Fighting back tears
Why can't the curse just die!
Wishing you were here again
Knowing we must say goodbye
Try to forgive
Teach me to live
Give me the strength to try!
No more memories
No more silent tears
No more gazing across the wasted years
Help me say goodbye
Help me say goodbye!
When I Look At You-Miley Cyrus
Please excuse my use of Miley, but I love this song and I think Belle would too.
Everybody needs inspiration,
Everbody needs a song.
A beautiful melody,
When the night's so long.
Cause there is no guarantee,
That this life is easy.
Yeah when my world is falling apart.
When there's no light to break up the dark,
That's when I, I, I look at you.
When the waves are flooding the shore,
and I can't find my way home anymore.
That's when I, I, I look at you.
When I look at you,
I see forgiveness,
I see the truth.
You love me for who I am,
Like the stars hold the moon,
Right there where they belong.
and I know im not alone.
Yeah when my world is falling apart,
When there's no light to break up the dark,
That's when I, I, I look at you.
When the waves are flooding the shore,
and I can't find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I, I look at you.
You, appear just like a dream to me.
Just like kaleidoscope colors,
That cover me,
All I need,
Every breath that I breathe,
Don't you know you're beautiful!
Yeah
When the waves are flooding the shore,
and I can't find my way home anymore,
That's when I, I, I look at you.
I look at you, Yeah, Woah.
You, appear just like a dream to me.
ART
I know you have IE and can't view these in the address bar, so I made another link you can go to, to see all this art. Please click here.
Art by me
Art by others
Hover for artist
