we too are stardust ,

[rhys jones]

MEET RHYS JONES. An eighteen-year-old History and Modern Languages student who’s just started his first year at (where else?) the Académie d’Ouvrard. He originally comes from Wrexham, a fairly large but in many ways quite provincial town in North Wales, but after a period of work experience in Carcassonne in the south of France as part of his French A-Level he set his heart on studying abroad rather than at Bangor or Swansea as he’d originally planned. Add in a little push from his cousin, Adrian, who had gone to do some postgraduate work in St. Michel while he was in London, plus a scholarship and a generous grant from the county council, and here he is in Normandy.

Approachable and good-natured, Rhys would probably have a good amount of acquaintances and maybe even a couple of close friends at the Académie d’Ouvrard. He formed a rock-solid triumvirate throughout high school with his two best mates and feels a little lost without anyone to be ‘bromantic’ at, so he’s always open to making new connections. While he can be a little quiet at first he loves company and has the ability to strike up a conversation with pretty much anyone. As long as you occasionally give him some sort of indication that you like having him around and are willing to put up with his little quirks then he’s perfectly happy to call you a friend. An appreciation of his dry sense of humour and an interest in either science fiction and fantasy literature or mountain biking would greatly help cement the relationship however.

Of course there’s a good possibility that people won’t like him or that he won’t like them. He’s lazy, can become very rigid and stubborn under the right circumstances and takes any criticism very much to heart. Rhys is far too patient and easy-going to have many real enemies though. He also avoids confrontation like the plague and tends to repress any anger he feels, instead becoming withdrawn and non-committal, so it can be hard to tell if he dislikes someone. But he can’t avoid conflict forever, especially in such a close-knit place as St. Michel.

When it comes to romance Rhys is something of a late bloomer. He’s only ever had one real girlfriend before and she was definitely the driving force behind the relationship, while Rhys went along with it mainly because he liked hanging out with her well enough and it was what was expected from him. Like most teenagers he’s had his crushes and infatuations but it’s not really something he’s that pre-occupied with at the moment. He doesn’t tend to be inundated with female attention in any case. That stance could always change if the right girl came along but his inability to deal with conflict and fear of losing his sense of self in the other person might make it turn out unsuccessful anyway. He does have the capacity to bring positive things to a relationship too though.

Basically I’m up for pretty much anything so I’d love to hear any ideas you guys might have. Thanks for reading!

[clovis d'aubigne]

Hey Laura! I don't remember how much we plotted with your last character, so I decided I might as fill you in all over again. Hopefully we can work something out here.

First up is Neil Balcombe. He's nineteen and attending university at the Académie. He's a responsible, fairly single-minded fellow. While he used to be a bit of a troublemaker and daredevil, he now tends to be quite cautious. The reason for this is his thirteen-month old daughter, Peyton, who he took sole care of when her mother (after giving birth upon his insistence when she wished to have an abortion) walked out on them both. He's just a bit jaded from this, and occasionally acts more like an old man than a teenager, but he tends to be a fun-loving fellow. He loves to laugh and is generally happy, so long as Peyton is safe and also happy.

Next would be Lucas Murray. He is eighteen and in his final year of secondary. His family moved to France not long ago after he was signed as a model. With twelve children, the youngest of which is only four now, it was too difficult for his mother to travel back and forth with him, and his parents didn't want him going off alone. So, they packed up the family and moved. As it was, they were all in need of a change anyway after the death of Lucas's twin. His oldest siblings stayed in America, where he grew up, but the rest of them moved. Luc, overall, is rather broody and errs toward the side of ridiculous responsibility. In addition to being very studious and rather introverted, prone to have his nose in a book at any given moment, he takes the well-being and happiness of his family to be his responsibility. He would bend over backwards in order to make them happy once more. As it is, he is barely able to hold them together. He is not very expressive with his emotions, tending to remain withdrawn. He can be irritable at times, and will occasionally express this, but not often. He is an overall pleasant fellow, simply quiet and very reserved.

Julianna Sellenger... oh dear... where to even begin...
She is the most broken of my characters, without doubt. I hesitate to plot her with anyone because of how broken and difficult she is. She was born and raised in France. Her mother died during childbirth, leaving her with a guilt she bore even as a child. She felt somehow responsible for her father's moments of sadness, though he was a generally happy, fun-loving man. She learned early on to do what she could to please him (and others), finding that this pleased her as well as them. She was also very invested in art from the moment she was old enough to hold onto a crayon or any other tool. After her father died when she was ten, she and her older brother, Jared, moved to Paris to live with their aunt and uncle. Julianna became even more reserved and helpful, also throwing herself into her art with renewed fervour. Her cousin sexually abused her for a few years rather regularly, until Jared was shipped off to the academy and she insisted on going with him. At this point, Raymond only bothered her on trips home, which she made sure were infrequent. When she was fifteen (yes, it does go on... because I am an awful person) her brother died in the Paris earthquake. After this, she gave up her art and completely withdrew herself from everyone around her. She even determined that she was simply not worth anyone's time and fell into a pattern of pushing her closest friends away. Only recently, she has begun opening up a bit, but it is a slow and tentative process. So... Juli is just slightly unplottable because she is so withdrawn, but there is no end to the reach of imagination, so if you have any ideas, just let me know.

Alexia Kingston is twenty-one and attending university. She was very responsible as a child, having been forced to take care of her mother during this time. Her father was never very present in her life, but disappeared altogether when she was five. Her mother was incredibly irresponsible, preferring to follow her whims rather than take care of her daughter or hold a steady job. Alexia, in some ways, became the adult figure at an early age. After meeting her best friend when she was thirteen, she began to open up more, learn to have fun and such. When she was sixteen, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She spent the next two years in and out of hospitals, convinced that she was going to die. Of course, she didn't, and ended up deciding that life was too short to waste it away being cautious. She came up with a "bucket list", and makes a point of taking one item off the list every day. (She adds items as well.) She moved from England to France for uni after a trip there with her best friend. Now, she remains quite adventurous and spontaneous. She loves to have fun and smile. However, she tries to keep herself distant from others, at least emotionally, in case she should come out of remission. Her greatest fear is leaving someone she loves in pain.

There is also Ewan. He is twenty-five and works as a butcher in St. Michel. He moved there recently after falling in love with the town on a business trip for his father. His wife died in an accident only about a year ago, leaving him a very young widow. He has always been a quiet, inquisitive fellow, but can be very fun at times as well. Alternately, he is also a bit cynical and jaded, depending on his mood. He became extremely reserved after Camilla's death, as he spent the second half of his life (with his father, after moving from his mother's house in a nearby town on his own choice and their approval) in a rather small town. He couldn't stand the pressure of everyone watching him and pitying him. Now, however, he is coming more out of his shell once more, being that inquisitive, kind-hearted fellow he always has been.

Next is Eva... dear, sweet, silly Eva.She is just sixteen years old and a very playful, fun-loving young lady. She enjoys getting into all sorts of mischief and asks too many questions, so as to learn as much as she possibly can. She has a love for music and greatly enjoys sharing her talent with others. She's a little bit sensitive, as young girls sometimes can be, but she bounces back quickly and has yet to have a broken heart, a fact for which she counts herself quite lucky. Though she did break her arm once... Anyhow, she has yet to meet a stranger and greatly loves her friends.


Finally, I have Clovis D'Aubigne, an outgoing and optimistic twenty-two year old and son of a (formerly) famous concert pianist. His father died when he was a boy, leaving Clo essentially as the head of his family, as his eldest brother left home when Clovis was only six. Though responsible in his own way, Clovis prefers to go with the flow. Among his favourite activities is rapping on street corners for money. However, it's not the money that means so much to him, but the act of rapping itself. He has always loved music, particularly singing, but branched out in his preteens toward rapping and has loved it ever since. Not long after he acquired this skill, he found himself on the wrong side of a group of angry boys, who left him badly beaten. He suffered a severe spine injury that left him paralysed from the waist down. Though it was difficult for him initially, it's not really even strange for him anymore. He lives his life, and he loves his life. That's really all there is to it.

So there you have it! I can see him and Clo really hitting it off if they happened to meet, but I could also see Alexia and/or Eva as possibilities for friendship. Thoughts? Ideas? Let me know.

[rhys jones]

Hi Katja! I honestly can’t remember either so it’s probably good we’re starting from scratch, haha. Anyway, I think you’re right in saying that there might be potential for friendships with Clovis, Alexia and possibly Eva. Let’s see.

RHYS & CLOVIS

I’m not exactly sure how these two would meet but I think that they’d definitely get along. They actually seem quite similar in some ways, since they’re both optimistic and sociable with quite a mellow outlook on life, so Rhys would probably feel like Clovis understands him more than most people. There’d probably be a bit of admiration, tinged with envy, there too. Rhys is kind of aimless when it comes to his future plans and often gets the sense that life is passing him by, like he’s living in a permanent dream, whereas Clovis, from his point of view at least, would seem to have everything figured out. He’s doing what he loves to do and knows exactly who he is and where he’s going. But apart from the occasional fit of existential angst I think they could have a blast together! Maybe they might know each other through his sister Simone since they’re both students at the Académie and are around the same age?

RHYS & EVA

Eva seems like a really sweet girl and I can see Rhys perhaps taking a bit of a shine to her. Left to himself he tends to be rather a languid sort but he’d enjoy getting swept along by her energy as, although he’s generally quite calm and thoughtful, he’s a real kid at heart. At the very least I can see them laughing a lot when they get together. I think, given time, he might come to see her as sort of a little sister even. Maybe try to keep her out of too much mischief and such.

RHYS & ALEXIA

Rhys would probably like Alexia a lot but I think he might be slightly intimidated by her at the same time. Not in a bad way though, I just imagine he’d be a little thunderstruck by how resilient and adventurous she is. He’s a bit more of the cautious, sturdy type so I think if they were to become friends he’d most likely worry about her quite a bit. I’m not really sure how close they’d be though, since they can both be rather emotionally distant. Their (almost) shared homeland might be kind of a bonding point though.

What do you think? Don’t hesitate to tell me if I’ve got completely the wrong end of the stick!

[adèle bouchard]

Welcome back, Laura. As promised I am here to plot with my army of characters or point you toward them because there are a lot and I don't want to scare you off. I figure if I show you pretty pictures of them you might be inclined to stay. BRIEF character overview

[clovis d'aubigne]

Clovis & Rhys
I can certainly see these two being friends. I have the feeling that Clo would bust a gut laughing if he knew that Rhys thought he had it all together. He's sort of spontaneous and laid back (though his ex-best friend/love of his life who kinda broke his heart is back and turning his world just a bit upside-down at this point). He doesn't tend to think of himself as better than anyone or worry that they're better than him, so he'd probably encourage Rhys to embrace who he is and leave it about at that. He doesn't attend the Académie so a chance run-in seems most likely.

Eva & Rhys
Eva would love having another brother figure in her life. She'd leave out her bits of mischief if she thought he'd try to stop her, but I can also see loads of laughter and fun stuff, like lazing about together and just chatting. She'd like that, I think.

Alexia & Rhys
Lexi isn't a crazy sky-diving (though she thinks it sounds fun) person. Well, not all the time, anyway. She likes trying new things and thinks life is too short to worry, but I don't think she'd be swimming with sharks or jumping off of high things very often... just occasionally. She'd find it endearing if he worried about her and assure him she'd be all right, then encourage him to come along. As far as friendship, it would take a bit for them to get past a surface level, I think, as that's how they both are, but she'd care about him in her own way. They could definitely bond over some reminiscing about their homeland or something.

[rhys jones]

Thanks Melinda. Haha, pretty pictures are definitely an incentive - no disappearing here! From reading through the descriptions you have there Noah and Ethan jump out at me the most so I'll give you my thoughts on them first.

RHYS & NOAH

I think they'd probably be pretty friendly since they both seem to be quite sociable and easy-going, and are only a year apart in age. I can actually see Rhys trying to be a bit of a calming influence on him or something of that nature if Noah would put up with that at all and not just dismiss him as a wet blanket, haha. I'm thinking kind of a Benvolio and Mercutio type deal if you get what I mean.

RHYS & ETHAN

Rhys is very much an eternal optimist so I imagine there might be a bit of tension between him and Ethan based on their very different ways of seeing the world. Probably not any outright confrontation, given his massive dislike of conflict, but maybe a bit of distrust and wariness on both their parts?

I'm not really sure how Rhys would react to most of the others just yet but if you have any ideas or just want to throw any of them together and see what happens then feel free to give me a bell.

[adèle bouchard]

Ethan doesn't play well with others. That would involve interacting with them, and given that Rhys is decidedly male that seems counter-productive. If Ethan is going to waste time interacting with someone there should at least be the promise of sex involved. As for tension between them - that would also involve Ethan acknowleding Ryhs' existence and caring that he existed. In Ethan's world this is a waste of time because we're all going to die anyway. However he would like to point out that Rhys is welcome to distrust him all he wants, but he has a cigarette that requires smoking...

Noah, on the other hand, adores friends. Friends are great. More means more greatness so they are always welcome. That being said, Noah doesn't think he needs a calming influence, unless of course he's just eaten a few Pixie sticks but he swears that he's kicking that habit. Though a voice of reason is always welcome - someone who can point out that while he could fill the swimming pool with jell-o it might not taste as good as expected because of the chlorine.

[rhys jones]

CLOVIS & RHYS

That sounds great! Rhys has a little bit of an inferiority complex so any kind of encouragement would probably be good for him, haha. In return he'd be happy to lend an ear if Clovis ever wanted someone to rant/talk to about the ex-best friend situation. He's a good listener at least, although I'm not sure what practical help he'd have to offer. A chance run-in sounds the most likely, yes. Maybe they could have struck up a conversation while Clovis was out rapping?

EVA & RHYS

Just chilling out together and talking about life, the universe and everything sounds excellent. Rhys has a bit of a philosophical bent when you get to know him so I can imagine him suddenly posing some really random question, like do you think scallops have emotions?, and having an absolute blast with the ensuing conversation. He wouldn't necessarily try to stop her mischief either, it's just that he can be a little too sensible at times and prefers a quiet life.

ALEXIA & RHYS

Rhys would be absolutely terrified at the mere mention of sky-diving! Heights are not exactly his strong point. But although he'd probably be a bit stubborn about it at first I think he'd eventually try and make an effort to try new things alongside her, albeit more because he wouldn't want to let her down than out of actual enthusiasm. Playing on the shared homeland thing I'm thinking that they might have a bit of friendly rivalry going on as well. I have this image of him calling her bach [little (one)] all the time for some reason. :D

Would you like to thread any of them at some point? I think all three of them have the potential to be quite fun. No worries if you're busy or just not feeling it though.

[clovis d'aubigne]

I'm up for any of them, so if you have a preference, let's go with that! If not... I think that he and Clo would be a lot of fun to play out. As I said, though, any sound good.

[rhys jones]

Rhys and Clo are more than fine by me Katja! Is it okay if I make a thread for them?

Also, sorry for taking so long to get back to you Melinda. Here goes:

RHYS & ETHAN

Fair enough! The fact that Ethan would most likely pay him no attention whatsoever would probably make him even more disgruntled. Mostly because he's actually getting angry or as close as he ever gets and that should get some kind of reaction, damnit! So, a kind of one-sided dislike/annoyance? I can see that being quite humorous.

RHYS & NOAH

Oh, don't worry, Rhys likes to think of himself as the only sane man but he's too much of a people pleaser to be a true stick-in-the-mud (although he'd be happy to provide the voice of reason when required). Plus I think he'd probably give up pretty quickly on trying to calm Noah down! After all, he can't compete with Pixy Stix. He'd definitely make it his mission not to let him find out about sherbet Flying Saucers however. I also had the brief thought that maybe Rhys could help him smooth things over when/if one of his pranks goes wrong, since he's definitely a natural peacemaker.

[noah davis]

No worries. So seeing as how Ethan is an ass maybe a thread with Rhys and Noah would be best? My brain isn't working at the moment, but if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. The other two who might be fun would be Rhys and Adele, mainly because she is a nut and up for anything. I can see her just randomly approaching him at a coffee shop and asking him what brand of hair dye he uses because it really is a fantastic shade of ginger.