party post } let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find (forward dated to 1/28))

[krmvgivv]

Who: The WIRTHDAY BOY, Dipper, Mabel, anyone friends with Wirt/anyone who happens to show up.
Where: fourth floor tea room
When: forward dated to 1/28
Rating: unlikely to get higher than PG-13
Summary: It's Wirt's 17th birthday! Dipper and Mabel are in charge of planning, and Wirt doesn't want anything too big or crazy. So you know. Time for an open mic party.
The Story:

Invitations spread quietly by word of mouth. "Surprise Party. Come to the fourth floor tea room. Bring something to perform. Don't tell Wirt!" Dipper and Mabel make sure to tell the people they know are Wirt's friends, but they also expect word to get around. Others can hear about it or just come in. Wirt doesn't want a big party, but they're guessing the particulars of this party will keep it small.

By the time people start to arrive, the tea room's been transformed. It looks like the most cliche hipster cafe you can imagine, like a preteen girl's imagination made flesh. There are mismatched chairs and low windows and exposed brick, and a stage that looks more like a wooden platform than anything else. There's a coffee bar with tea and hot chocolate and lots of cookies and snacks piled high, plus a cake. There aren't any baristas here. Just a sign that reads Cafe Music and Wirts.

Price of admission is agreeing to perform something, though the birthday boy is excused from this unless he wants to go. It's supposed to be fun for him, after all.

Comments

[singloversing]

[Wirt looks absolutely shocked for a second, and then hops right on that train as though he's been waiting for it to pull into the station his entire life.]

Oh my God, I know, right? Like, so many songs are just Canon in D! And even when they aren't Canon in D they're still based on classical pieces half the time! Like how "Because" is based on Moonlight Sonata, or that Eric Carmen song "All by Myself" that totally borrows from Rachmaninoff. Plus we wouldn't even have modern pop songs without Schubert's influence! Whenever I point that out at home, people are like "Sheesh, you don't have to be such a music snob, Wirt! The Village People are fun and Pachelbel is boring!"

[Because absolutely no one at home cares that Go West is really obviously Canon in D. Not a single person. He's given up trying to talk music theory with people, honestly.]

[teamfun]

[Louis grins, happy to see Wirt so enthusiastic about something. Though those music choice are pretty interesting. Like good lord, Wirt, The Village People?. And what about Celine??]

Haven't you heard the Pet Shop Boys covering Go West? I mean, they up the Pachelbel to like...eleven. They even start it all orchestral and whatever then surprise!! it's a vapid pop song! And don't even get me started on "The Black Parade" I mean, good on MCR for making a half-decent rock song out of it, but it doesn't change the fact its Canon in D.

[Because obviously, Wirt will know who MCR are, obviously. ]

But I get it, man. It's like they don't wanna know where the musical roots are buried. Maybe it's easier for them to enjoy music if they don't think they're getting tricked into listening to classical because obviously, that's the worst thing that could ever happen to them. I don't get why it loses all it's cool points just 'cause it doesn't have words or a dumbass sytho beat to it. It's tragic, that they're denying themselves it, truly tragic.

[singloversing]

Ew, seriously? The Pet Shop Boys covered it? [He makes such a face.] Ugh, I can only imagine. Who let them keep putting out covers after they totally mangled Always on My Mind? I'm pretty sure their version of that song counts as a crime against music.

[That song did not deserve the treatment it got at all. Mention of MCR doesn't spark any recognition at all in Wirt though - he just looks a little puzzled.]

I...don't think I've heard that one? The Black Parade? [He thinks some more, but he's drawing a blank so he moves on.] You're probably right though. People don't want to hear that their favorite music isn't as original as they think it is, because then they might actually start to think about their music and realize that Duran Duran is incredibly overrated.

[teamfun]

They sure did and it's exactly as awful as the face your pulling suggests. The music video has the same sort of graphics you'd get from an old Window's screensaver with the bouncing ball? It's god-awful. And yeah, they sure seemed to make a career out of destroying songs that already existed with their weird echo-mic bullshit.

[Fuck YOU, Pet Shop Boys. ]

How the heck did you miss that? It was everywhere. [Because it's beyond his time, Louis, that's why. ] Ugh, I get it. They like to be cool and original and kinda miss out the fact the original music isn't...what they're listening to.

[singloversing]

Ugh, why do people have no taste? Like, whether or not someone likes classical music, which they definitely should, there's no reason someone should ever willingly listen to the Pet Shop Boys. For like, any reason.

[But, wait. What is Louis talking about? A Windows screensaver? The wheels start to turn and then suddenly it dawns on Wirt why things aren't lining up right.]

I, uh. It might not have been...made yet? I-I kind of run into this a lot but, I think we're not from the same point in time. In my world it's 1989, if that helps.

[teamfun]

They definately should. They'd have a much better musical experience all round. But no, I'm with you. Listening to the Pet Shop Boys is like... self-torture or something.

[Oh. OH. Suddenly, all those old music references make WAY more sense. He cants his head, eyes widening.]

Holy shit, you're from like the past. [Literally the 80s, Louis, not that long ago.] Shit. I wasn't even born then. No wonder you've never heard of MCR, wow.

[singloversing]

[He can't help making a little bit of a face, because he's very aware that he's not only from the past relative to most people in Wonderland, but also that he doesn't have a ton of company from his point in time.]

I-I'm not that far in the past! Or at least I hope not? I mean, ideally really far in the future would mean everyone on the planet has forgotten about the Pet Shop Boys, and that hasn't happened yet.

[He's joking, at least a little bit.]

But uh, yeah. I have no idea who MCR...are. [He puts an awkward pause in there so it doesn't sound like he's saying MCRR by mistake.] And apparently if we go strictly by dates I'm supposed to be old enough to be Dipper and Mabel's parents? I-I try not to think about it too much though because that's like, super weird.

[teamfun]

I don't think it's actually possible for the planet to forget about the Pet Shop Boys. I mean, the world has literally ended for eight years for me and people still remember the Pet Shop Boys. Maybe one day, everyone who remembered them will die and the evil will finally be defeated. But probably not.

[They can but hope, right? Right.]

My Chemical Romance. MCR for short. They're kinda...pop-rock, I guess? [He considers this fact, nodding solidly.] Yup. That's some super weird shit right there.

[singloversing]

Oh my gosh. That might be the worst thing I've ever heard, and I already had someone tell me that Duran Duran are technically still together.

[He had his heart snapped in half that day. Why do bad bands get to stay together forever when good brands have to break up?]

Oh, huh. They sound like they would be a full-on rock band, with a name like that. You know, "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" and all that jazz.

[It's literally all of that rolled up into a different, better-sounding phrase.]

[teamfun]

They sure were before the world ended. But if it makes you feel better, they've probably been eaten by walkers by now so their evil is finally over.

[HE HOPES. He laughs, because wow, that's such an 80's thing to say, it's almost endearing.]

You got it, exactly like that. It was super goth, too. Did they have goths in the eighties?

[singloversing]

[Wirt laughs a little - it sneaks right out of him.]

There have been goths since like, the eighteen eighties. And even before then, really? Though I guess that depends if you count literature as part of the movement.

[He absolutely does, but that rambling might be a topic for another day. Literature always, always counts.]

It's definitely a thing. A lot of the music came out of punk evolving? The stuff with direct ties to that is super good - like the Cure? The Cure are awesome. Even then though, a lot of goth people like them but they're definitely more post-punk I think. A lot of goth bands tread that line like they're not sure what genre they want to be in? I guess there's The Birthday Party too and...eh. Maybe it's just that goth isn't really my scene, but I like Nick Cave better when he's playing with The Bad Seeds.

[Goth is certainly not Wirt's scene - and considering he looks like he dresses like someone's grandfather it's almost silly for him to actually say so.]

[teamfun]

[He laughs in turn.]

Okay, fair point. But yeah, like The Cure. That kinda vibe. They get kinda...goth-ier? Especially in the late nineties. They wear all black all the time and dark makeup and like... metals studs. Metal studs for days. That's the kind of vibe you're looking at with MCR.

[He smiles.]

Never my kind of thing. I always just wanted to hide away with my classical music and avoid most of the [finger quotes] 'cool' music.