udonoodles

OBLIVION

i've been a little ill, but i should be alright to get a post out soon.

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any word from the remaining two characters? if not, i'll probably get another post for marco out tomorrow.

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@Salsa Verde
for marco, i wanna say the sheet music for abba's "the winner takes it all", which would have been his signature closing song at any talent shows or concerts.

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i'll wait until meir goes next before i post for marco again. we're just waiting on jack and sara to arrive before we move ahead, right?

OBLIVION

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MARCO VALENSI █ act one: way down we go; marco - "storm warning" ♫ valensi household ▸ ritman high [football field] Interacting with @Prisk,@Gisk, the gang ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

With a hearty sigh, Marco looped his leg around the stool and pulled it beneath him. MS tended to wake him earlier than planned, and this morning was no exception. The last dregs of twilight before dawn slithered through the gap in his thin blue curtains, shining down on his bed behind him. No sense in trying to go back to bed—not like he'd get much sleep, anyways. He just had to find something else to occupy his time. Marco reached for his keyboard's music stand, taking the headphones dangling from its corner and pulling them over his head. He went next for the volume knob, praying he didn't erupt into tremors as he deftly adjusted it back and forth. He locked his fingers together and bent them back, stretching his palms outward. He felt the burning in his finger muscles as he worked them, pulling them back as far as they'd go without any further pain. He slipped his hands apart and let them fall to the ivories, fingers parting to spread out from middle C. His eyes drifted up from his hands and towards the sheet music laid out in front of him. At least one song a day. That's what he'd sworn when the tremors started—he couldn't let his coordination atrophy any further. He had to beat it back. He sighed again, a deep inhale, and an exhale, and his fingers set to work. His left hand kept time with a steady bass track, while his right danced up and down the scale. That scale was one originally meant for cello, but with a deft enough hand, a pianist could manage by themselves just fine. Marco's hands moved neatly, skillfully, as his eyes scanned along the sheet music he had set out. He stared straight ahead at the notes, eyes following in time with his movements so that each beat was perfectly on time. The metronome ticked away in his head, his focus on that imaginary rhythm and the movement of the notes on the page drowning out the thoughts burrowing into his subconscious. The back of his mind was a war ground of emotion and rumination: His thoughts could go nowhere else but to the meeting today. The reunion, as he returned from New Orleans to the home of the worst years of his life. To his grandparents, who'd taken him in without knowing the burden his undiscovered condition would soon bring. The peers, whom he'd shut out so callously, and who'd most certainly forgotten the name Marco Valensi. And the school, the terrible catch-22; should he attend, and suffer through his lessons, or stay at home and stew in the misery of incapability? His thoughts whirred louder than a jet engine in his ears, but Marco didn't flinch. His fingers danced along the ivory keys without missing one single note, hitting each mark with unrelenting precision. As the music slowed and picked up again, he effortlessly followed its pace. His mind screamed out to him, demanding his attention, and he indeed noticed it. But he paid it no heed, staring straight on ahead, stony faced, eyes wide and focused on their task. His hands never faltered, never hesitated, never tired. They brought themselves down onto the last keys with the same righteous passion that he'd kicked off the song with. Not once did his playing sound heartless, or lacking in joy and feeling. Every single note he played was given the same attention as the rest. Even as his thoughts spiraled into darkness, Marco saw ahead of him the black and white keys, and played on. Those last few notes rang out in his ears, and he leaned back, finally quietened. His stomach rumbled. His grandparents would be up soon. He wanted coffee. He got up, taking of his headphones and standing up from his stool. He pushed it under the piano, turned, left the room, and his phone buzzed. ✱ ✱ ✱ ✱ ✱ Marco had missed the opening party. Of course he had; why wouldn’t he? He’d come to lay his past to rest, not stew in the misery of it. Conversations there would inevitably lead to that—the others testing the waters for what they can discuss of Ritman before someone gets wistful, or morose, or god forbid, nostalgic. The topics of discussion hopefully, by now, will have matured beyond that, his peers becoming acutely aware that dwelling on the past would only make them feel shit. Or shittier. He wasn’t a psychic. For all he knew they felt the exact same he did. Which was shit. At least, it wasn’t physically shit: He could walk today, which was a marked improvement from a week ago. Still, his stride towards the old field was supported by a cane—more so out of pragmatism than necessity. He didn’t want to have to lean on someone in case his legs tired too quickly. For that same reason, he’d taken a taxi: Driving was risky, and he avoided it whenever possible. On the journey over, he’d avoided looking out the window, and even now he stared straight ahead at the school. He didn’t want to reminisce on the town. He didn’t particularly want to reminisce on his past in general. He’d come here to lay it to rest, put it down. He’d attend school for the last time, when he couldn’t before, and see it off. And then he could finally move on, and forget what had happened to him here. Marco’s eyes narrowed as he spotted the figures gathering. His stomach turned and he grimaced, anxiety rumbling through him. It didn’t stop him from walking on—so long as his legs still worked, he’d still moved. But good lord, if he wasn’t dreading this. It would be fine once he got it over with, but re-introductions were always…what had he said earlier? Right. Shit. Marco stepped up towards the group, leaning on his cane. His mouth opened, and hung there for a while, silent. In those few instants, his eyes darted between each member. Most he could remember, but good grief, a lot could change in seven years, couldn’t it? Still, he could recognise two. “A—Uh, Nat,” he nodded. She still followed him on Instagram—one of few he’d still maintained some level of contact with. “Billy,” he turned his head, his stiff smile warming. He couldn’t forget Billy, right? “Everyone,” he nodded to the group as a whole. Then, he stopped, paused, as if waiting for something to fall out of the sky so they could talk about that instead. But it didn’t come, and he was forced to make do. “It’s, uh, Valensi, by the way. Is this everyone? I’m freezing my balls off here.” Rather unwisely, he’d decided to attend in a tank shirt and jeans. His glance wandered across the field and towards the mascot, staring up at him with those baleful eyes. He grimaced. “Jesus, that’s still there?” ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

OBLIVION

here's marco's relationships—feel free to hit me up if you want to develop or change any of them! some are definitely more in-depth than others, so any input anyone may have would be welcome. in the meantime, i'll work on getting him into the ic.

relationships

MARCO VALENSI

"I get to decide how my life goes. Not anyone or anything else."

_{♫ playlist ♫}

M A R C O . V A L E N S I
"The Sylph"
Marco is a fighter. Faced with repeated adversity in his life, he refuses to bend the knee to misfortune or setbacks. He may seem outwardly cynical, his humour often critical of himself or the world around him. When he suffers, he allows himself to feel it, rather than trying to suppress or hide it. He guards himself from others, hesitant to get too close, which can far too often lead to him squandering potential relationships. Despite this, he does not take life lying down: He accepts his situation, but is resolved to improve it. He is relentless in his pursuit of his dreams, refusing to compromise or reorient onto the pragmatic or easy path. As a result, he tends to forget he's living in a world with other people in it—he isn't selfish, per se, simply "looking out for number one". Once he forges a connection, however, he'll hold onto it for dear life—he doesn't accept loss gladly.

⚜ Acquaintances || ☯ Neutral || ☮ Friends || ♫ Best Friends || ♥ Crush || ⚤ Boyfriend/Girlfriend || ☠ Disliked

☯ M E I R . A M O S . M A G G I D ☯ @Salsa Verde
Meir and Marco didn't often cross paths: In a way, they were opposites, one with a passion for academics, and the other for the arts. Both introverted and with separate interests, they seldom had much contact. Marco's focus on his artistic pursuits tunnel visioned him quite significantly, and Natalie's intervention meant he rarely saw much of the "mean" crowd—thus, he wasn't acutely aware of any frequent bullying targets, Meir included.

♫ ♥ W I L L I A M . B I S H O P ♥ ♫ @Gisk
If there was anyone Marco was going to crush on, the other musical prodigy of Ritman was the obvious choice. Once they connected over their shared interests, Marco quickly became infatuated—here was someone finally on the same wavelength as him, someone who'd understand him and share in his dreams. Still, by the time Marco was able to truly grapple his feelings, it was too late—his condition had begun to worsen, and he quickly withdrew from any and all social interaction. Combined with Billy's own failure to keep up with him, their friendship, and anything more it could have been, quickly fell asunder. It remains to be seen if a connection could still be formed, with how much Marco has changed over the years.

☯ S A R A . Z H O U ☯ @banjoanjo
Sara and Marco's relationship was similar to Meir and Marco's: They never really crossed paths, much. Marco's interests were narrow, as opposed to Sara's indulgence in just about every extra-curricular there was—save for any interest in music, there wasn't much common ground for them to forge a connection on.

⚜ ☯ J A C K . D A N I E L . W I L K E R S O N ☯ ⚜ @nodogs
Marco and Jack, somewhat surprisingly, had quite a similar philosophy when it came to social situations. Though on Marco's end, it wasn't as conscious, neither of them really belonged to any one group: Marco was devoted first and foremost to his music, and Jack drifted from friends to friends. He didn't know her reasoning for it, but Marco held a silent respect for her over this—if either of them had went out of their way, perhaps their similar social attitudes would have afforded a genuine connection. Marco could never be sure, though, and kept his distance.

☮ O L E A N D E R . O K O N E D O ☮@Aeolian
Oleander and Marco ordinarily probably wouldn't have crossed paths. They became mutual friends through Billy, though, which meant they naturally hung around quite a bit. Marco appreciated Oleander's relaxed and amicable presence, although his invested interest in music meant Ollie could sometimes be the third wheel to Billy and Marco's shared artistic pursuits and friendly rivalry. Still, they were friends, up until Marco's MS began to worsen. In such a negative headspace and such a gloomy situation, Ollie's cheery disposition was like nails on a chalkboard, and their friendship was one of the first Marco withdrew from.

☯ M E L A N I E . C A V I L L ☯ @Benzaiten
Melanie and Marco shared in their tendency towards solitude—a common trait that meant they rarely interacted, especially considering their wildly different interests.

☯ D A N T E . I B A R R A ☯ @Laertes
Though they seldom had much contact, Marco could certainly appreciate Dante's mindset of a dreamer: It's a philosophy that Marco shares and admires, similarly unwilling to compromise on far-flung wishes for the future. Had his musical endeavours continued long enough, Marco may had even had an in to forge an actual bond. Still, any potential quickly evaporated as Marco's condition progressed, and his almost total lack of attendance put an end to any potential friendships.

☮N A T A L I E . M I L L E R ☮ @Prisk
Curiously, one of the few people Marco was close to was the untouchable queen of plastic. He had steered of her at the start, cautious of tangling himself in any dramatics. He surprised to find her approaching him—and further surprised when she praised his artistic expression, offering to keep him clear of any shit the other plastics might have thrown his way. Marco certainly wasn't going to turn her down—though some might have refused out of principle, Marco was more utilitarian than that, and Natalie seemed to be showing a side not often seen to him. Perhaps she wasn't as plastic as he'd been lead to believe. They were distant friends from then on: They'd have the occasional chat, but Marco was careful not to make it public, lest he draw the ire of Natalie's friends down on her or himself.

They lost contact soon after Marco's condition began to worsen, but he still remembered her—her protection from any cruelty was tantamount to his efforts to attend even just a day a week, encouraged knowing his fragile confidence would be spared.

☯ S A M U E L . S A B I S T O N ☯ @Rockette
Though they were never too familiar with each other, Marco was one of Samuel's few fans when it came to the art room. Though the teachers might not have appreciated it, Marco saw value in all art, and thus silently admired Samuel's endeavours from a distance. He isn't sure why he never took the extra step to befriend him—perhaps cowardice born of his pragmatic attitude, not wanting to draw attention. It became one of his many regrets as his school attendance began to dip—he had never made the effort to reach out or connect, losing contact before he had gained it.

☯ T R Y S T A N . K I E L . Z A R A G O Z A . S A L A Z A R ☯ @The Man Emperor
Marco was never overly familiar with Trystan, and never got the chance to become as such. Their wildly different interests and social standings, combined with attracting the ire of Marco's friends, mean there would have seldom been an opening for the two to become acquainted. Marco kept his distance, again, if only out of pragmatism.

OBLIVION

@Prisk
im down for that dynamic for marco and natalie. he'd definitely benefit a lot from her protection—especially post-diagnosis, when his confidence would have been a lot more fragile. marco would have been pretty intimidated by her at first, then surprised when she expressed genuine interest in his art. After the initial shock, though, he'd respect her—though he'd keep her distance for both their sakes: marco not wanting to draw any attention on himself from natalie's fellow mean girls, and not wanting to jeopardise natalie's reputation in case she was seen being too friendly with someone outside the popular circle.

he'd have an instagram she could follow: scrolling through his posts would be like a timeline of his condition's progression, beginning with early selfies and portraits of his beaming, younger self, before gradually transitioning to simplistic videos of his piano playing, first showing nothing but his hands and then obscuring both them and his face. it'd still be up in the present day, though his posting's probably slowed down significantly.

@Gisk marco definitely would have taken a shine to billy—he'd be instantly infatuated with anyone that took music as seriously as him. they'd have naturally crossed paths with their involvement in the school shows, and it wouldnt have taken long for marco to get attached (possibly beyond platonically? though marco would have kept that to himself) to billy from there.
their friendship would have ended pretty quickly after marco's condition started to worsen, though: billy not keeping up with him would combine with marco intentionally shutting out a lot of people he knew before his diagnosis as his personality and outlook on things began to shift, so they'd likely have lost contact before graduation.

present day, marco would probably be a little embarrassed meeting billy again, given how quickly he withdrew from their friendship. if he finally opened up, though, he would definitely go way too hard on the musical analysis of his band's discography.

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as for the rest of marco's relations, today's been pretty busy and it's pretty late by my timezone. i'll try brainstorm some ideas for tomorrow, but in the meantime, anyone can feel free to hit me up if they've got something in mind for how their character felt about/interacted with him.
(i may also borrow @Aeolian's amazing relationship sheet to kick things off, if they don't mind? lol)

OBLIVION

Marco Valensi

█ Marco Valensi

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▼ PERSONAL DETAILS ► Age - Twenty five ► Gender - Cisgender male ► Sexuality - Gay ► Nickname - N/A ► Occupation - Not employed full time: Subsists on orchestra work, freelance composing and freelance music teaching ► Qualifications - BA (Hons) in music ► Residence - New Orleans, Louisiana ▼ PHYSICALITY ► Scars - N/A ► Tattoos - "Muss es sein?" on the right arm, underneath the crook of the elbow. "Es muss sein." on the left, in the same position. Both are written in small black text in the "Bravura" font. ► Piercings - Industrial, orbital and lobe on the right ear. Marco wears simple black steel jewelry in them. ► Style - Marco does not make much of an effort with fashion. His clothing is simple, often monochrome in shade. He prefers black jeans, sometimes ripped, always skinny, and a white or black t-shirt or tank. He often keeps a yellow raincoat tied around his waist for emergencies, and a matching yellow and black backpack for carrying his things. His hair receives a similar dearth of effort: Marco simply opts to let his messy mop do its own thing. He also carries a plain, silver cane, which he frequently uses to walk. Underneath, he has a decently athletic build, though signs of atrophy are present: His muscles have begun to fade, and he's undoubtedly gotten thinner since his time at Ritman. Eye bags are a frequent sight, and his posture suggests a few too many hours sat at the piano. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

LIFE AT RITMAN If you asked someone at Ritman to tell you about Marco Valensi, they'd probably find a way to fit some variation on "musical prodigy" into their description. He was decently sociable, and academically, he did fine, but his passion was always in the arts. His art teacher was always happy to pin his pieces on the wall, alongside the other exemplary artists. If Marco's hand went up to answer a question about a poem or piece of literature, his answer would be more thoughtful and detailed than most of his peers' essays. Most awestruck was his music teacher, who adored his skills in both practical and theoretical applications of the subject—especially when it came to his piano playing. He didn't have many close friends—not because he was a social outcast or disliked, but simply because he preferred to focus on his artistic pursuits. Most of his free time at school would be spent in the music or art room, honing his craft. His name and face became known to the wider school body through talent shows and concerts, which he would frequently headline. Then, towards the summer of his penultimate year, Marco's attendance began to waver. First it began with him leaving early. Rather than driving himself, he was instead dropped off by his grandparents. Then it escalated to day-long absences—by the final week of school, he was only attending half of his classes. When school came back in September, he was absent on the first day, and the next. It wasn't until the Tuesday of the week after that he was back, and from then on, his attendance was increasingly erratic. He stopped taking part in much of his extra-curriculars, missing that year's talent show. Some days he would attend in a wheelchair—others, with crutches or a cane. By the end of the school year, Marco was mostly forgotten by those he did not share classes with. He graduated quietly, and was seldom seen around town after that. PSYCHE At the age of seventeen, Marco was diagnosed with Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A chronic illness which causes intermittent problems with one's nervous system. It can affect vision, motor function, and cause pain, dizziness, and fatigue, among other symptoms. This has effected Marco's personality considerably since his time at Ritman, granting him a wholly different perspective from which to view the world. On a surface level, Marco may seem somewhat abrasive: He's blunt, with a dry wit and little time to suffer fools gladly. He has little patience for the shenanigans of others, and though he rarely flies off the handle or becomes excessively aggravated, he will certainly make his displeasure known. He is quick to poke holes or find flaws and fallacies in ideas, plans, or arguments—including his own—which, combined with his stubbornness, can make him a domineering force in a team or group. Thanks to his MS, he is also prone to slumps of fatigue, in which he will usually withdraw from social interaction entirely and become increasingly irritable. Underneath this veneer, however, Marco is actually brimming with an artist's empathy. He challenges others not to put them down, but to help them succeed. He tries his best to understand the feelings and perspective of others, and finds inspiration from them for his art. His keen artist's eye allows him to pick out details or pick up on certain cues that would normally go unnoticed. Far from being a cynic, Marco is in fact quite optimistic: He believes in the improbable and far-flung dreams of himself and others, and refuses to back down or admit defeat in the most dire of circumstances. This can be to his detriment, as he is often reduced to brute forcing an incorrect method rather than stepping back to reframe things from a new angle. Nonetheless, the struggles faced throughout life and on a day-to-day basis have made Marco a veritable stoic: He can face difficulty and weather it, remaining stalwart where most would despair. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

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POWER Marco has the ability of atmospheric manipulation: that is, he can alter the properties of the atmosphere in a small radius around him. The mechanism through which Marco can manipulate the atmosphere is his body. Inside of him are special pockets in which air is stored, after being taken in through any possible opening. These pockets are effectively new organs, and can be consciously controlled by Marco to influence their properties. Once the air has been altered, Marco can then expel it to generate a variety of effects on the surrounding atmosphere. The air is expelled from his "pockets" from any possible opening, such as the eyes, mouth, nose, or even laceration wounds if they've been cut deep enough to bleed. With his air, Marco can alter the pressure, temperature, humidity, density, and volume of gasses like water vapour and oxygen. The effect extends to a maximum radius of fifty square metres, however it is not equal all across this area: The effect is greatly weakened at the maximum distance, gradually becoming stronger as one approaches Marco before reaching its apex at about two metres from him. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

- ▼ STRENGTHS ► Marco’s ability is incredibly robust, granting access to a variety of effects. The most instantly dangerous effect is to manipulate the oxygen content of the air: At 100% oxygen levels, the alveoli in the lungs will begin to collapse, causing chest pain, blurring vision, difficulty breathing, bleeding, disorientation, and eventually death by pulmonary edema. The air will also ignite far easier, greatly boosting the potency of explosions and other combustion reactions. High or low atmospheric pressure can also be incredibly deadly if the effect is great enough, causing injury and potential death by air embolisms or boiling blood respectively. He can also alter the temperature and the humidity of his surroundings, causing high winds and stormy conditions even indoors. In optimum stormy conditions, the air will become charged with high amounts of static electricity: This will cause painful shocks to anyone who comes in contact with metal objects, making guns useless. He can also generate small, densely packed clouds which have this same static energy inside of them, making them dangerous to touch. Altering the humidity can also have a damaging effect on electronics, causing corrosion and malfunctions. Effectively, Marco can generate any terrestrial meteorological or atmospheric phenomena on a much smaller scale: Miniature tornadoes, localised winds, ground level clouds, thick fog, and high static environments, among others. ► Marco’s ability is incredibly potent in enclosed spaces, preferably smaller than his maximum area of effect. Opponents unable to create distance between themselves and Marco will be forced to face the full strength of his atmospheric manipulation, which can quickly earn Marco a decisive victory. ► Though the extremes of his power are listed above, Marco can use his ability in much stealthier, subtle ways. For example, increasing the ambient temperature and humidity to make others uncomfortable and leave a room. Static electricity built up on an object will deter others from touching it. Pockets of fog can obscure sightlines and cameras. As his power involves the expulsion of air, and air is ostensibly invisible, it would be difficult for others to notice something strange was happening. ► As Marco’s power allows him to regulate the atmospheric conditions inside of his body, he is effectively immune to his own power. He can freely regulate the air he intakes to spare himself of the negative side effects. ▼ WEAKNESSES ► Marco's power is incredibly imprecise: Though he can control the size of the area of affect (to a maximum of fifty square metres), he cannot control exact positions. The epicentre will always be Marco himself, and he cannot reliably cordon off safe zones within the radius. As a result, his power is functionally unable to differentiate friend from foe: He must make a concentrated, active effort to use his powers in a way that will not harm his allies. ► Though the effect of Marco's power becomes more potent as he is able to expel more air, it also becomes more dangerous and difficult to control. Marco must be careful not to overload himself and stretch his powers beyond safe limits. ► If Marco is incapacitated or unable to expel his air, the effects of his power will quickly fade as the atmosphere re-stabilises. Extended use of the ability also burns a lot of energy, and can tire Marco out quickly if he does not manage himself. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

OBLIVION

Any word or critique on my CS? I haven't heard anything about its status >.>

@Whoami

i think i remember salsa verde saying they were going to wait until the end of the week to review, which is tomorrow.

OBLIVION

@nodogs