Where The Music Is Loud pv nico Venezuela

Interacting with: @Eden Lorenz-Alves Date: July 23rd, 2025

spoken thoughts

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Music had always been a part of Nico's life, more than his magic and more than anything else. He loved being magical, but for him, music was magic itself. He spent most of his free time with music, but he didn't want to let his studies suffer so much. He also did broom racing, but he wasn't able to do that during summer breaks. But music? Music he could do anywhere. He could find it in anything. Because Nico was always at the music shop in Anaco, the owner had pretty much granted him full access to the guitars and other instruments there, as long as he played nicely and attracted customers into the store. Nico would get tips sometimes too, but that wasn't why he did it. He did plan to save up for more instruments of his own, but right now, he was just playing for the fun of it. He loved sharing music with the world. Right now, Nico was strumming a guitar, playing a cheerful melody with a smile on his face. He hummed under his breath, composing a melody to go with the music he was playing. He would pause every once in a while to write something down on the paper he had next to him, but he mostly focused on what he was playing. Nico paused in his music, looking around the shop to see who had come in, and if anyone wanted his attention or had a song they wanted him to play. He looked up with interest when he saw a girl who appeared to be close to his age, browsing the store. "Hey!" he called, never one to be shy or anxious. "It's not very often that I see someone close to my age around here," he said, smiling widely. He hoped that she spoke English, but if she didn't, he'd switch to Spanish. He had been working on getting even better with his English now.

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banner by charlotte winfield

date- July 23rd, 2025 wc- 246 “Portuguese.”

interacting/mentioning- @Nico Figueroa ooc notes- “Spanish.”

The gentle sounds of guitar chords strummed somewhere in the background as Eden continued her adventure through the music shop. It was beautiful. She figured one of her uncles would maybe have a stray guitar sitting around somewhere, but she wouldn’t know where to begin learning to play it.

Sheet music felt like a foreign language when she glanced over at it. The symbols left her absolutely clueless. Why were there hashtags scattered about?! The guitar music was even harder to understand. Eden applauded anyone able to make sense of the nonsense.

A voice brought her out of her musical focus. She turned, her ears trying and failing to dissect the English syllables. He seemed friendly, around her age, maybe a year or so older, with dark curls. But she had no idea what he was saying.

Eden loved English music, don’t get her wrong. Bowie was a personal favorite. But she rarely knew what they were saying. Since they were in Venezuela, she attempted Spanish to communicate with him.

“Ehm, lo siento, ¡no hablo inglés!”¹ she told him, smiling bittersweet. “¿Hablas español?”²

She laughed awkwardly. She hated being in situations when she didn’t understand what someone was saying. Brazilian Portuguese was her biggest enemy, the dialect always tripped her when she was running. Sometimes, back home, the occasional English-speaking tourist stopped by, leaving her confused. How did they talk so fast?

“Was that you playing the guitar?” she continued in Spanish. “It was very beautiful!”

¹= Um, I’m sorry, I don’t speak English!
²= Do you speak Spanish?

Interacting with: @Eden Lorenz-Alves Date: July 23rd, 2025

spoken thoughts

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Nico closed his eyes as he strummed the guitar, relaxing and just letting himself feel the music. He was happy to have this time to play music. He had his own guitar, but it was a bit beaten up. He could have repaired it using magic while at school or something, but the nostalgia of how the guitar looked and played now was too great. He couldn't get himself to change anything about his beloved instrument. He'd replace the strings here and there as needed, but the scratches and scars on the surface of the guitar were memories. When he opened his eyes and saw the girl near his age in the store, he got too excited and immediately launched into English, despite being in a Spanish speaking country. He just always looked for opportunities to practice. He frowned a little but adjusted to speaking Spanish instead. "I'm sorry!" he said in Spanish, laughing a little at himself. "I do speak Spanish," he continued. "I just like to practice English sometimes," he added, also in Spanish. Nico smiled proudly as she asked him if he was the one playing the guitar. "Yes, that was me," he said, holding the guitar in his arms. "I love music," he added. He continued to speak in Spanish throughout their conversation. He strummed a quiet tune gently as he spoke to her. "Are you from around here?" he asked. "I haven't seen you before." He wished he could ask her about magic and if she attended school with him, but if she wasn't magical, he would be breaking the secrecy rules.

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banner by charlotte winfield

date- July 23rd, 2025 wc- 319 “Portuguese.”

interacting/mentioning- @Nico Figueroa ooc notes- “Spanish.”

The stranger began to speak in Spanish.

Thank God, thought Eden, it would be terribly awkward if we couldn’t understand one another!

She smiled warmly, listening to the way his accent fit over the Spanish words. Eden always admired the way other people spoke. Something about the way no two voices sounded the same awed her, like a vocal fingerprint. And Spanish, such a musical language, felt like a whole chorus singing before her.

“Ay, there’s no need to apologize!” she laughed. “I’m sure your English is very good, I find it too difficult to learn! English music is good though!”

Eden smiled as she spoke, excited to meet someone new who happened to be close to her in age. She hadn’t met many kids her age there, and her friend group ran small. Even if it was likely she’d never see him again, Eden was thrilled to at least find a potential friend in a stranger.

“Me too! I don’t play any instruments though, I can sing, but I’ve never been able to figure out how to play a single successful note on any instrument. What sort of songs do you play?”

The difference between acoustic and electric guitars was unknown to Eden. To her, they had a similar enough name and sound, so therefore they had to be the same. Though, to be fair, Eden probably couldn’t be trusted on anything instrument-related. Once upon a time, she would have thought a flute and drum set were similar enough.

“I’m from Ecuador! Ayangue, specifically, so near the coast, but I was originally born in Portugal! I assume this is your hometown? You seem familiar with this place,” Eden answered in Spanish, before quickly realizing that in her excitement to meet someone new, she’d forgotten to introduce herself.

“Como poderia esquecer?”¹ she muttered to herself. “I’m terribly sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Eden! What’s yours?”

¹= How could I forget?