Stacy in Bloom | 18: Bad

[luxken27]

Title: Stacy in Bloom
Fandom: Kids Incorporated
Universe: Canon (Season 5 – 1988)
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Rating: T
Summary: With her sister and best friend halfway around the world, who else is there for Stacy to turn to…but Ryan? When the consequences of their actions become clear, the two must decide if pursuing each other is worth breaking up the band.
Mega-meta resource thread: http://luxken27.livejournal.com/137711.html

Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5873801/18/

It's time for the showdown...:D

There aren't a lot of references in this chapter, though I did throw in a bit of meta. The title track is from episode three of the fifth season, "The Kids' New Clothes" - its the fantasy sequence, and it actually ties in rather nicely with what's happening in this chapter:

Watch on YouTube

I couldn't resist going a little meta in this chapter, since it was finally time for the boys to lay their cards on the table. The idea of someone being calculating enough to play one fanbase against another tickles me, as it kinda breaks the fourth wall a little bit. Plus, it gives me the perfect excuse to weave into the storyline two of the most blatantly shippy moments of this season (one of which occurs at the beginning of the episode that spawned this entire story to begin with). So, even though I've made Brian into the enemy, I'm at least letting him be diabolical about it :P

It was actually rather hard to write this confrontation. The first draft was too mean and snippy, and it took me a good bit of time to rework it into something that sounds believable, coming from these characters' mouths. Luckily, all of this conflict is about to come to a head - Brian's motivations for this seemingly sudden change in tactic will become clearer in the next handful of chapters. The New Year's Eve party is fast approaching, and I have big plans in store for it, the seeds for which have already been planted =)