Sunny

Eli Hong - Liberty Trainee - For rivalz rp

[rveunyeol]

rvxharin​:

“damn, one good survival show, and you’re ready to leave all of us behind. what ever happened to you becoming the secret new members of diadem, huh?” harin teased.

"Oh, you already miss me! I'm touched," Eli teased back. "Listen, i don’t win a lot of things, so I had to chase that feeling for a bit, you know? I wanted to be the secret new member, but I’m not even sure where I’d fit in at this point."

[rveunyeol]

rvcasey​:

“what would you be besides an idol?” casey asked, bemused look on his face– one that quickly flashed to apologetic. “maybe that’s a stupid question. i don’t really know a ton about all this.”

“A trainee? I’d be back to just training again,” Eli responded. "Just like... a lot less dance practice and more instruments again. And probably even more vocal lessons."

[rveunyeol]

rvmirae​:

mirae scanned their face, putting a hand on their shoulder before everyone went back to their positions. “do you want to run it through, just you and me, slowly for a few times? would that help?” she asked genuinely. “i know it takes a little longer for you to pick up choreo than it takes me– i might be able to help you with any parts that feel strange…”

They didn’t want to get mad at Mirae because it was their own fault for messing up, but admittedly they felt a little bit embarrassed with Mirae’s gesture. They’re sure that she meant well by it, but it wasn’t the greatest feeling. “Just one more time. I don’t want to take away too much time.”

[rvmirae]

“okay, so listen… i think we need to run the choreography a couple more times,” mirae said, trying her best to be firm but kind at the same time (a lot of times, she just came across as rude - she was working on that). “hyunjoo looks too strong. eli and sangah are dragging behind. if we all can’t match the high energy, then we need to work to meet somewhere in the middle, or we’re going to look gross and sloppy onstage.” @rveunyeol​ @rvsangah​ @hyunjoorv​

[rveunyeol]

Eli was getting used to the repetition of dance practices at this point, but attempting to keep up with the others was still a chore. They recognized they were behind this time too which made it all the more frustrating when Mirae pointed it out. “Okay, we’ll go again, then,” Eli responded evenly, rolling their shoulders.

[rveunyeol]

"For real, though... in the grand scheme of things I know we pretty much just started, but I think I'm going to miss the whole idol thing when it slows down," Eli stated. “I almost want to be a full-time idol! Almost.”

[rveunyeol]

rvscarlet​:

she smiled. “thanks. for real, this time,” she answered them. “i have to keep reminding myself that. that even though it’s not necessarily the music i’d personally listen too, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. and that it all still has it’s place.”

“I think that’s what really matters - if it speaks to someone at least, that’s makes it all worth it in the end,” Eli said.

[rvxdokyoung]

“welcome to the unofficial k-works family, i guess,” dokyoung said with a little smile. unity, creed and syndicate were doing a group live as the idol project alum, and it was her first time meeting everyone except hyunjoo. “how’s it been since your official debut? busy, i bet, hmm?” @rvmirae​ @rvsangah​ @hyunjoorv​ @rveunyeol​

[rveunyeol]

"Thanks!" Eli said with a grin. "It's been amazing, honestly -- still feels totally surreal that I even debuted, but it's been so cool. I think this is probably the busiest I've ever been since like... high school, though." They laughed.

[rveunyeol]

Weekly Confessional - Week Seven

Eli was feeling a little antsy about their confessional while the staff fussed with their hair … It felt a little silly, honestly, because it wasn’t like they were overly nervous in the past about confessionals. They guessed it must’ve been because it was the last one.

How did it feel for you coming onto Idol Project as a band trainee?

“The show was a bit overwhelming at times, but I don't regret doing it at all -- it was a lot of fun! I never really thought that I could be an idol when I was growing up so… it was nice getting to try it,” Eli said with a nod. “I’m still not sure I’m the best but I appreciate the support people gave me through the show, and the patience the other trainees and mentors had when working with me.”

Have you felt any pressure being in the top four?

"Yes and no -- Yes because I never expected I'd get there, and I wanted to stay there more than I thought I might, but… I think it'd probably be more pressuring if I was number one? Third is okay with me, though," Eli said with a laugh.

What was the hardest moment of the show for you?

"Uh… can I have more than one? There was a lot," Eli asked with a laugh, then scratching their head as they thought about it. "I think… when there was that month-long break where we weren't sure that the show was going to be back on. They gave us the nine songs to practice before we got dismissed and I kind of put off learning most of them until we were told to come back… I was so sure after we got back that I was going to be going right back home, but I was lucky that two of the songs I practiced a lot got picked for us."

What about one of your best moments?

They tapped their lip as they thought over their answer. "The concert last week might have been my best moment? There were a lot of good moments there...  But One Day More was a good moment too. Both Sangah and Hwa are really great vocalists and it felt like a big moment getting to sing with both of them. Even if I don't get into the group in the end, I'd really like to work with either of them again if I can."

How was it writing your own solo song last week?

"It was hard! Like… really hard. And I was stuck in my head so it made it a lot harder, too… it was like a feedback loop of not being able to write because I felt bad, then feeling bad because I couldn't write…" Eli said. "But I guess you write what you know, and I knew I was sad and missed my friends, so… yeah. I’d like to try writing more songs eventually! Hopefully ones that aren’t so sad, you know?"

What are your hopes for the finale and afterwards?

"If I get into the group I'll be happy, but if I don't then like… I understand? I put in my best effort but everyone is super talented and knows way, way more than I do. But at the very least, now everyone has seen what I can really do and hopefully I get the chance to show it again."

Any last words? 

“Whatever happens, I’m thankful for the whole experience! Everybody, hwaiting!”

[rveunyeol]

rvhope​:

“i think that’s why i’m most grateful for this opportunity,” hoa said earnestly. “i don’t think i’m going to win or anything– the language barrier being the biggest reason….. but the stage experience, with the cameras and everything…it’s crucial.”

“It’d probably be better if Liberty found, like... a better fitting show for us trainees to go on? But I think they wanted us to go on for the experience with cameras before we did anything else, so I definitely get that,” Eli said.

[rveunyeol]

rvroxie​:

“true– think of all you’re going to learn!” ripley replied excitedly. “and how much of a powerhouse you’re going to be when it’s done! liberty isn’t going to know what to do with you.”

"Imagine a band geek like me as an all-rounder idol! Wild,” Eli said with a laugh. “Oh god, I hope not! I might have to leave if they can’t - I don’t know where else I’d go, then.”

[rveunyeol]

rvinho​:

“not you,” inho snorted. “but like…..if someone big at liberty did it…. burnout is really popular. i bet people would want to see mnet build another burnout.” he paused. “yeah, i guess. well…. good luck, then?”

“Ouch, that hurts,” Eli said with a mock-wince. “But yeah, good luck! Maybe mnet’ll get ideas if one of us does well, who knows.”

[rveunyeol]

kiyoungrv​:

“you’re right– no one got disqualified last season. we need a medical emergency instead,” he laughed

"As long as it isn't me -- like, I think me falling and twisting an ankle would be way too obvious," Eli said. "It's got to be a real shocker."

[rveunyeol]

Weekly Challenge (Week Six)

Eli had the wind knocked right out of their sails going into this week. They tried their best to shake it off, but… after the previous episode's eliminations where almost all of their friends were cut (there was lots of crying on their part, especially just after the last episode wrapped up shooting for the eliminations), they were not in the best headspace. They remembered the solo songs being a challenge when they watched last season, and it did excite them initially since they wrote a little bit for practice, but any previous excitement was immediately dragged down by their mood. They would’ve wanted to do something similar to last week but with their own spin on it, but they couldn’t get into the mindset of writing something fun or quirky. They’d been staring at a blank page for the better part of an hour and were admittedly kicking themself with how stuck they felt. Like… they really got this far into the show with the help of others and now that they were on their own they were  floundering. And floundering hard. Regret wasn’t really a word that was usually in Eli’s vocabulary but they were kind of feeling it -- would they really have gotten this far if they didn’t have all the help they did? Their brain was stuck on that feeling long enough that they decided to lean into it, and just started writing. It was painful to dig into at the moment, but cathartic in the end. They were a little picky with the producer on how they wanted it to sound once they finally finished writing and handed their song over for reviewing and touching up, but they really wanted to make it count.

Eli felt a little let-down by the group song, really… They kept telling themself to be grateful to even be there, but it was so hard when they got two lines and then basically disappeared into the background. When they were recording it really only took a couple takes and they were out the door. They weren’t crazy about how the choreography was, either. They still didn’t know shit about dance, but it felt so unnecessarily rigid? But like… it wasn’t like they had a lot of lines to practice, so they just practiced the choreo as much as they could. 

When the guerilla concert comes around, they figure they’re as ready as they could possibly be… once the music was put together for their solo they spent some time rehearsing that on their own, and they revisited the choreo for Missin’ You and Born To Be Wild and practiced those even more along with the group performance, just so the choreos were as good as Eli could get them during the show. Thankfully, the two songs went off without much of a hitch, which they were thankful for. 

Regret was a much simpler stage than the rest of the performances that Eli was a part of by comparsion, but they were still fucking proud of it. Maybe it wasn’t the catchiest or anything… but it was still theirs, and uniquely theirs. At the very least, it showed everyone the kind of artist that Eli felt they could be in the future.

After those performances, Eli wasn’t even as annoyed as they initially were with the group song. They put out the best performance that they could with what they had. They aren’t sure they care if they lost their spot anymore, although it’d be cool if they went all the way.

[rveunyeol]

Self-Para - No Quitting (Week Six)

For better or worse, Eli Hong was not a quitter. Mostly because their mother wouldn't let them while growing up, but still. They didn’t back out of things, even if it didn’t turn out great for them.

Soccer was miserable and they hated it, but they stuck with it for the year that they were playing on a team with their brother. They weren't any good at it, and they were mostly on the bench while their brother was out on the field making big plays and scoring goals, but they still never quit. It would be a waste.

Baseball was somehow worse - they got to play more but got stuck in right field where nothing happened at all, and were really only there because their brother wouldn't play without them also being there. If they quit, the team would be down two players rather than one.

When the Hong twins went out for a school play and Eli’s brother was cast for the lead, they didn't quit even though they were annoyed at getting cast as his understudy.  Their brother still worked hard, so they ought to have been supportive.

After many other times of dealing with this, the moment that brought everything to a head was when their mother signed Eli and their brother up for piano lessons (despite not actually having a piano in their home). Eli took to the lessons immediately and honestly, they could see themself sticking with it… but their brother wasn’t interested in it anymore, so the both of them had to stop. It was just too expensive to keep lessons up, their mom said.

That didn’t seem fair - not just  because it was one of the few times they shined, but because they told their mom that they wanted to continue with it. It felt like she didn’t want them to continue just because their brother didn’t want to do it, but they didn’t want to quit music. 

So they worked around it on their own, in different ways. They went out for school band by themself. Then they eventually saved up for a keytar by themself. Then they got into another band, again, by themself. And when that band was quitting on the cusp of getting something bigger, Eli didn’t quit with them. They rest of the band had a different path they wanted, so Eli walked away.

[rveunyeol]

Drabble 02 - Biggest Motivator

Eli had a few motivators, but one of the biggest ones had to be their desire for attention. It wasn't something they'd ever openly admit to as someone who tries to say they don't care what anyone thinks of them, but it really was what drove them the most. That was basically the whole reason they decided to take on percussion instruments when they were in the school orchestra for a couple years - loudness tends to command attention. 

The other motivator was a sense of obligation to their company - the way they saw it, Liberty basically saved them from being dropped on their ass when they had no prospects after the band they were once in had all moved on to better, non-musical things. Maybe it wasn’t that serious and Eli was making it a bigger deal than it actually was, but getting scouted by a big rock company like Liberty made them feel like they were actually important for the first time in their life. And they didn’t want to feel like they were wasting everyone’s time by being a goof-off.

On a more specific note to the show, they were motivated by knowing that if they won, they would be Liberty’s first finalist. Aside from being born first, they had never been first in anything. It would be nice, for a change.

[rveunyeol]

daewonrv​:

“you’ll get more of a feel for it eventually,” daewon assured him. “it’s just gonna take time.”

“I’m sure it will, but it seems worth it to put in the effort,” Eli said.

[rveunyeol]

jinheerv​:

“that’s it exactly,” jinhee said  with a nod. “where you are in the formation. there are some parts of the dance where you’re going to be in the background and someone else is going to take focus, and messing up there is way less crucial than when you’re center. and also, if you know  your positioning, you won’t run into anyone which is…….probably the worst blunder, because you mess yourself up, but you mess them up too.”

“That makes sense, I guess you’re not going to be the focus all the time even if your the center. Because the dance still has to like... move,” Eli said. “I definitely don’t want to run into anyone else, so I’ll keep that in mind. To like, keep some space.”