If Music Be the Food of Love…
Ghost in the Mirror Challenge Fic. Cloud and Aeris are in rival bands, but find themselves torn between blooming feelings for each other, and loyalty to their bands.
Who's Who:
Aeris - Lead singer of The Last Cetra, an underground rock group. She also plays guitar, piano, and violin. Her singing voice is Pat Benetar + Imogen Heap + Tori Amos. She is quiet and sweet, but also relentlessly stubborn. She is being mismanaged, but she doesn't have the confidence to demand what she deserves. She has a slight obsession with candy, hats, and being barefoot. She loves flowers.
Cloud -Lead singer of Strife 7, an alternative rock band. He also plays lead guitar. His singing voice is like Johnny Rzeznik of The GooGoo dolls with the vocal stylings of Steven Tyler (Aerosmith, as if I needed to say it). He's been topping the charts for awhile, and his manger is really pushing him in the 'bad boy' direction.
The Last Cetra - Aeris's Band. Has been gaining popularity for two years over the internet but only signed a record deal a year ago. They perform folk rock, covers of classic rock, and sometimes borderline goth rock.
Members of The Last Cetra:
Zack Page - Lead Guitar for most songs (otherwise it's Aeris). He and Aeris dated briefly but broke up. Like No Doubt the band stayed together, and actually improved after the breakup. He's the quintessential ladies man, and dreams of being a rock star more than the others.
Nanaki FireWolf - (picture him as Gaia's version of a Native American). Nanaki plays ethnic drums, flutes, and anything else the band might need. He also does vocals as a tenor. He is quiet and shy, and is extremely passionate about his music.
Tseng Richards - Bassist and occasional vocals as a baritone. Tseng went to law school and is the oldest band member. He is also a practicing attorney, and does pro bono cases. He is stern but knows how to have a good time. He is very concerned with keeping the band together, since they are his adopted family.
Jessie Collins - Drums and alto vocals. Jessie is a free natured, happy kind of girl. She is very expressive of herself. She is politically liberal and very active. She is the most rebellious of the band members, but still keeps herself in check when she needs to.
Yuffie Kisargi - Keyboards. Yuffie has been a piano prodigy since childhood but now plays keyboards in the band to defy her overbearing father. She is very active and jumpy, and can barely hold still when performing. She loves doing keyboard/piano duets with Aeris, who is her role model.
Strife 7 - Cloud's Band. Has been topping the charts for 3 years now, and while Cloud felt in control at the beginning of his career, he now feels he's being pushed in a direction that is not of his choosing by his new manager.
Other Band Members:
Tifa Lockheart - Bassist and female vocals. Tifa is Cloud's lifelong friend and occasional fckfriend. While she harbors romantic feelings for him she won't act upon them for fear of hurting the band. If she leaves the band she wants to be an actress.
Barret Wallace - Drums. Despite losing one of his arms the fire that killed his wife, child, and best friend, he's still one of the top drummers in the world. His live performances are amazing to watch. He puts all his pain from his loss into the drums. He's raising his best friend's daughter, Marlene, as a single father. He also occasionally does rap with his mini posse, AVALANCHE (along with Biggs and Wedge).
Biggs Jagger - Backup guitar and anything else they need him to do. He's very versatile, and dabbles in many styles, including rap. He's also the band slut and he's proud of that fact. Despite his man-whoring he is a dedicated musician and he's equally dedicated to the band.
Wedge Tyler - Keyboards and backup vocals. Wedge is the comic relief among the band members. His sense of humor takes the edge off of any stressful situation. He's also the sweetest band member and donates a hefty portion of his salary to charities. He's not so interested in being a star, but in being a musician.
Elena (Flemings) Sluitskya - The reigning Queen of Pop. (insert whichever pop star you hate most here). She has very little musical ability but has a hot body and a face to put on posters and album covers. She is the big money maker for her record label, Shinra Records. However, she's been slipping in popularity recently, and that is NOT acceptable.
Reno Van Morison - Aeris and Elena's manager. His is mismanaging Aeris, forcing her and the band to work on Elena's next album to improve Elena's declining record sales. He is the typical sleazy manager, who insists on using phrases like "Kid, I'll make you a star" and "Let's do lunch."
Rufus Shinra - President of Shinra Records.
Vincent Valentine - Once the lead singer of the hottest rock band of all time, he now owns and runs Valentine Records after his vocal chords were damaged by cancer. He is still passionate about music, writing songs for his favorite bands. He is also a shrewd business man.
Sephiroth Valentine - Vincent's son and manager for Strife 7. When Sephiroth was injured in the military he was honorably discharged and began working with his father. He was given the wildly popular Strife 7 as his first job because his father felt he would be hard pressed to screw up.
Lucrecia Valentine - Vincent's loving wife and number one client. She was a big star two decades past and still performs occasionally (subtract the slutiness from Madonna and add that to Pat Benetar, with a little bit of Cindy Lauper). She scouts for new talent often.
Scarlet Westmore - the pop queen from the previous generation who doesn't know when to quit. She still has a loyal fan base but most people think she's way past her prime. She's mentoring Elena, which might be Elena's biggest problem. She's rumored to have drug problems.
Cid Highwind - "The Space Cowboy". World famous astronaut, the first man in space, and blooming country star. Works under Valentine records and hangs out often with members of Strife 7. Despite his vulgarity he is a Teflon celebrity, nothing bad sticks to him.