making memories // p

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    [fancypost=width:600px][align=justify][color=white][size=8]It was a cool, damp autumn day when the old Ford Galaxie pulled into the gravel parking lot of Sundown Records, a place neither it nor its driver had seen in several years. The building hadn't changed much; still just a nondescript aluminum-sided box on a downtown street a few lanes west of the main thoroughfare. Besides the faded, sixties-themed "SUNDOWN" sign, there was nothing to indicate that this was the home of the label behind some of the most successful folk and country acts of the past forty years.


    One of those acts was Todd Mackenzie, the man in the Galaxie. He was on the folk side, but it had been a while since he'd thought of himself as a folk musician. Five years, to be exact; five years since he'd finished his last tour and, disillusioned with road life and the waning popularity of his genre, had declared himself retired at the age of thirty-six. Life had been nice, if a bit dull, since then; a lot of wine drinking and bird-watching and driving around in the country. He'd taken a shot at writing and been dissatisfied with the results; he'd bought a lot of other old cars and restored them; he'd done a little bit of a lot of things, but it had been a long time since he'd written a song.


    Three days ago, his one-time manager who still worked at Sundown, Don Mitchell, had given him a call. "Hey, I know you're retired, but I'm calling in a favour you owe me."


    "I don't remember owing you a favour," Todd had said.


    But he'd listened with interest as Don laid out the situation. He'd made a discovery- an especially big deal because it was a folk discovery, and the folk side of Sundown's lineup had been dwindling even before Todd had hung up his guitar. He'd found this woman singing Gordon Lightfoot songs in a bar in the middle of nowhere. "The voice of an angel," he said with great enthusiasm. "You've got to hear it to believe it. Fantastic."


    "So how do I figure into this?"


    It was simple, as it turned out. She could sing, but she was still something of a diamond in the rough- untrained and untested. Todd was a veteran. He knew the business, knew the art. "You can teach her the ins and outs- turn her from a bar singer into a bonafide folk artist. Think of the opportunity!"


    "Don't you have anyone on the books who could do this? Are you sure this isn't just a scheme to get your most profitable artist back in the studio again?"


    "Don't pull that card on me, Todd. This is a no-strings-attached deal. I'll even pay you for your time. You know times have been dry lately; I wouldn't call you if there was someone else."


    There had been a bit more back-and-forth along those lines, but in the end Todd had agreed. How bad could it be, he figured. He didn't have to let on to anyone that his well of inspiration had run completely dry, and he wasn't sure if he could come out of retirement even if they wanted him to; this was just a job, completely separate from all that. It might even be a nice change from the predictability of his usual life.


    He popped the Galaxie's trunk and stepped out of the front seat, straightening up to his full height of 6'2". He made an impressive figure, long and lean, with a gaunt rugged face and an aquiline nose. His eyes offset the harshness of his features- soft, dark brown and downturned. His wavy dark hair was speckled with streaks of silver; in his performing days he'd kept it shoulder-length, often purposefully wild, but now it was short and neatly groomed. His clothing also showed little sign of his previous life, just a pair of grey cargo pants and a blue t-shirt that read "KAWARTHA HIGHLANDS PROVINCIAL PARK", complete with a picture of a loon. His only concession to the folk musician image was the pendant around his neck- a small, carved bone turtle.


    He paused momentarily to walk over to the back of the car and remove his guitar, in its case, from the trunk- still an old friend, although he had sorely neglected it these past few years.


    He walked up to the front door, shoes crunching on the gravel, and opened it with the sound of a small jingling bell. The lobby hadn't changed at all, besides perhaps a few new additions to the display of gold and platinum albums along the wall to his left. He saw his own albums there and tried not to look at them. Don emerged from a door, a whirlwind of shaggy gray hair and the colourful Hawaiian patterns that were still his trademark. "Oh good, you're here! Come on, she's waiting for you in the studio," he said quickly, and Todd followed him down the hall and into the familiar shag-carpeted room.


    And there she was, sitting on a stool.


    All of a sudden he didn't know what to say. He blinked as the door shut behind him and they were alone in the room.


    [center]----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Hey, thanks for reading this far! If you haven't already figured it out, let me give you the rundown. This is a May-December romance; that is, a romance with a significant age gap between two people. My character, Todd, is 41. Yours should be between 24 and 27. If you're not comfortable with that, now's your chance to get out of here and pretend you never saw this thread! But if you're still interested, here's the plot.


    My character, Todd, was a very well-known folk musician through the late 80s to the early 2000s. But he lost his joy, so to speak, and decided to retire rather than continue with something that didn't make him happy anymore. Now he's been called back into the studio to mentor your character, a talented singer who wants nothing more than to be a famous folk artist like him. He'll teach her to play the guitar and how to be a professional musician- she'll help him to find joy in music again and get his mojo back. They'll definitely start falling for each other along the way. They'll almost certainly record music together. They might even tour together!


    This'll be a pretty cute and fluffy roleplay. My posts probably won't all be as long as this one- I always go overboard on first posts- but I am an advanced roleplayer and I'm looking for an advanced partner as well! You can make your first post a sort of introductory thing, outlining how she was "discovered" and ending with her introducing herself to Todd (or go in a totally different direction- I'm cool with that!). The only real guideline I have for your character is please do not make her a shy, insecure type. It won't work well with the scenario- and that's not Todd's type ;)


    Please don't track if you're not going to reply!

    [center][fancypost=border-width:0; width: 380px; text-align: justify; line-height: 1.5; font-family: arial; font-size: 7pt;]/track! i'll have my response out in a few hours c:

    Sounds good! I forgot to mention in the first post that our characters are Canadian- the studio is in Ottawa and most of the roleplay will be taking place in Eastern Ontario and also all over Canada.