|| Get to know TERPSICHORE âTERIâ MUSE whoâs TWENTY-THREE years old and a SENIOR in college studying DANCE. She is from CORONA and is often times mistaken for NORMANI while others say she reminds them of TERPSICHORE THE MUSE from HERCULES. ||
history & headcanons
her father started giving teri vocal lessons by the time she was four years old. she was too young, most would say, still figuring out how to form coherent sentences. but he insisted on starting her out young, creating his own little shining star. he taught her how to carry a broken melody, to smile so big that her cheeks hurt. itâs how she found herself in the living room in front of all her fatherâs friends, performing twinkle twinkle little star for the guests of his new yearâs eve party. she cried before he pushed her in front of them, terrified to be in front of even a small crowd, hating all those eys on her. but as soon as she finished singing, it was the applause of the crowd, loud and encouraging, that told her she was good. itâs a sound teri hasnât forgotten nearly twenty years later, forever her favourite melody.
it was in her first ballet class that teri fell in love with dance. while the moves she learned were simple at first â she was only a child, after all â the young girl knew she was good. or at the very least, both her father and her dance instructor told her she was good, and who was she to disagree? she begged her father for the best ballet shoes money could buy, refused to take off her tutu even when she went to bed, and walked around the house doing pliĂ©s even though no one was watching.
as she got older, teri found herself wanting to broaden her horizons past the ballet, jazz, and tap classes her father enrolled her in. she loved them all, but found herself more interested in the dancing she saw on tv, obsessed with learning the choreography to every beyoncĂ© and janet jackson music video she saw. whenever she had down time, thatâs where her father would find her, imitating the moves she saw on mtv. they were the perfect performers, and she wanted to be just like them.
being the baby of the family, teri got used to getting everything she wanted with a pout of her lips or the bat of her eyelashes. it was no question that she had her father wrapped tightly around her finger, and her older sisters always seemed to have a soft spot for her as well. so used to hearing the word âyesâ as a child, she refused to hear the word ânoâ. the first time her father told her no, a four year old teri found her eyes welling with tears, her lower lip quivering in sadness, unable to wrap her head around the rejection. it was something so simple, being told she couldnât add candy to the cart when they were at the grocery store because they had plenty at home, but she couldnât quite wrap her head around it. noticing the way her father moved quickly to get her the candy she wanted, she quickly realized that tears were the way to get what she wanted.
over the years teri has taught herself to cry on cue, turning on the waterworks to get exactly what she wanted. while there are a few people that see right through the crocodile tears, it always worked on her father, and thatâs what mattered the most. whenever he said no, teri would let her head fall back and start wailing, the waterworks flowing until he finally gave in. now that sheâs growing up, sheâs starting to realize itâs a tactic that few are falling for, especially with her father gone. sheâs trying to grow, to be better at hearing the word no, but she still canât keep her bottom lip from quivering when sheâs faced with losing out on something she really wants.
when her father came up with the idea to form the muses, teri said yes with little to no hesitation. she loves her sisters and loves getting to spend as much time as possible. and of course she loves the spotlight. choreography has always been her strong suit, making sure they have the best moves when theyâre on stage. she can be something of a nightmare sometimes, refusing to wrap rehearsals until they have their moves just right, all four of them perfectly in sync. sheâs sure her sisters resent her for it sometimes, but sheâs knows itâs worth it when the reviews of their shows come rolling in, all of them praising their choreography.
teri keeps a notebook thatâs filled with every piece of criticism sheâs every received. whenever she gets a note, whenever someone tells her sheâs not good enough, she writes their words down carefully in the book so she never forgets them. sheâll sit in bed and read the notes late at night, beating herself up for all the ways she could be better. refusing to become complacent or lazy in her talent, itâs how she pushes herself to be better, motivated by all the times she was less than perfect and demanding more of herself.
her time at corona college has been filled with ups and downs; while she loves being surrounded by people that are nearly as passionate about dance as she is, teri never quite found a place she belonged in her program. she came to her first day fresh faced and excited, eager to expand her horizons and come back to the muses with countless new moves to take their choreography to the next level. instead she found herself in classes where she was met with mixed reactions. some students recognized her right off the bat, and teri found herself feeling awkward as she tried to make friends with girls that already had a clear idea of her in their minds. others felt she had an unfair advantage and were rooting to see her fail. while sheâs moved through her time at school with as much poise and grace as she possibly could, sometimes she wonders if it would have been easier to simply put all her time and energy into the band. maybe she doesnât need a backup plan.
there are few things teri loves more than her fans. while she doesnât consider herself to be the fan favourite â Â she happily lets clio claim that title â sheâs filled with a rush of joy whenever someone recognizes her on the street. it doesnât matter what sheâs doing, teri is always thrilled to stop, say hi, and snap a quick picture.
from a young age, teri was taught discipline and itâs all sheâs ever really known. in order to be at the top of her game, she eats healthy and works out religiously. she doesnât smoke and rarely drinks. she abides by a curfew and rarely allows herself to let loose or party. she doesnât leave much time for dating because she canât be distracted from her dream. she rehearses every single day and consistently pushes herself to be better. her father always told her to keep her eye on the prize, and he set out a long list of rules for her to follow to ensure she was always the best. even after heâs gone she finds herself sticking to them, both because sheâs determined to make him proud and because she doesnât know anything else.
thereâs a small part of her that wonders what it would be like to let loose and have fun for once. to let her hair down and actually act her age. sheâs nearing the end of her senior year in college and sheâs yet to go through her rebellious phase, hasnât even made any big mistakes or done something she woke up regretting the next morning. as much as she loves her life, teri canât help but wonder if sheâs missing out.
sheâs absolutely terrified that her sisters will want to break up the band. her mother leaving when she was a child left a residual fear of abandonment that she refuses to address, but constantly whispers in her ear reminding her that she might not be good enough, might not be enough to make people stay. after her fatherâs death, teri found herself clinging to her sisters more than ever, needing regular validation and reminders of their love. she might have a backup plan, but that doesnât mean teri wants to use it.
absolutely obsessed with instagram, teri canât go a single day without posting on her story at the very least. whether itâs showing her followers her outfit of the day, giving fans a sneak peak of rehearsal footage, or just sharing a selfie with a cute filter, she likes to put her life online. Â sheâs craved validation ever since she was a little girl, and this is her favourite way to get it.
sheâs more intelligent than most people give her credit for. sheâs particularly good at math, not that she thinks itâs a skill sheâll ever really need to use in her line of work. but she does know how to do her own taxes.
teri takes zodiac signs very seriously. she checks her horoscope every morning and always likes to find out someoneâs zodiac sign when she gets to know them so sheâll know whether or not theyâll vibe.
sheâs extremely non-confrontational and is afraid to get into arguments. the only people she can truly put her foot down around are her sisters because theyâre the people sheâs the most comfortable with in the world. if she has to confront anyone else, sheâll practice her argument ahead of time. in front of the mirror, in the shower, teri carefully chooses each word and gets extremely upset in the moment when the argument doesnât go exactly the way she planned. it ends up derailing everything she practiced and she finds herself getting easily flustered.
wanted connections
friends, flings, exes, fans, anything and everything please!