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Stacy in Bloom | 22: Heaven is a Place on Earth
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/5873801/22/
The Big Date has finally arrived, and boy ~ is it a doozy! Weighing in at an incredible 14,575 words, it is by far the longest chapter I've ever written for a fic - but every single detail was vital, not only in exploring this much anticipated event in the main characters' relationship, but because it also launches all of the second-half storylines - as well as laying the foundation for the sequel.
There are a ton of notes that accompany this chapter, so let's begin, shall we?
[+] The title song is, of course, the beautiful "Heaven is a Place on Earth," which was covered by Stacy in the final episode of the season -
with the interstitial lyrics coming from the end of the first verse :) For as long as I've known there would be a "date" chapter, I've known I was going to name it after this song - it's just too beautiful and perfect and appropriate for this pairing, LOL.
[+] I've been planning this chapter for nearly a year and a half - it was May 2010 when I decided to query my f-list and
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little_details for potential date activities that would work on a teenager's budget during the Christmas season in Manhattan. The little_details members had lots of great ideas, and it was so hard for me to choose one, so I decided to pick (almost) all of them, and really make a full day out of this :) The important thing was that they were together, not necessarily what they were doing together :D[+] One relatively last-minute addition to this chapter was the second-to-last scene, with the purchase of the "Julliard suit." This arose from two different places - first of all, the original plan was for this to be a dual themed "Christmas" date, when these two would exchange Christmas presents (hence Ryan's gift of the necklace, which had been hinted at even all the way back in Chapter 15 with all the magical-ring business :P). It was easy to figure out Ryan's gift, but much harder to figure out Stacy's. Guys are so hard to shop for, and goodness knows it's been a long time since *I* was a teenager with a boyfriend, so I was at a loss.
Enter the blossoming ideas for the sequel, which neatly solved my problem. If I'm going to write a sequel, I need to start laying the groundwork for it in this story, preferably before it reaches its climax. Stacy's chosen profession in said sequel (which is set 10 years after the events in SiB) is very closely tied to the gift she bestows upon Ryan in this chapter. This fashionista thread is one that will also resurface in the second half of the story, so what better place to introduce it than here, at such an important juncture in the fic?
Then, of course, came the mental gymnastics to figure out how a teenage girl could realistically afford to buy such an expensive gift. I struggled with this for a couple of months, waffling back and forth, trying to decide how I could write it and not have people laugh in my face. Only when the idea of Stacy having a "cover story" that she tells her family in order to go on this date hit me did I find the solution to that dilemma, so yay :) Hopefully this big, expensive, surprise purchase didn't feel like it came *completely* out of the blue :P
[+] Speaking of said "Julliard suit," the inspiration for it was the suit Ryan wore during episode 5x5, "You Don't Say":
[+] For a chapter this long, you know the musical inspirations were numerous. I was alternately spinning the original "Heaven is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle, Stacy's cover of Taylor Dayne's "Tell It to My Heart," the Yeah Yeah Yeah's hauntingly beautiful "Maps," and "Magic Carpet Ride" & "Born to be Wild," both by Steppenwolf. This somewhat eclectic playlist came from (1) working on the OTP manifesto, (2) listening pretty much non-stop to the local classic rock radio station, and (3) planning the setlist for the NYE concert. One of the things I love about working on this story is all the different ways I can incorporate music into it, and so many decades of it - all of which had their own style. All of the bands mentioned offhand during the skating scene will have song selections featured in upcoming chapters.
[+] The skating scene was probably the toughest to write, and thus, required the most diligent research. Some of this was fun - like renting The Cutting Edge, or exploring the gorgeous Rink at Rockefeller Center website. Some of it was a little tedious (but educational) - for instance, I'm now the proud owner of this book, which contributed a great deal to Stacy's technique in teaching Ryan the proper way to skate. It's a little outdated by today's standards, but considering it was published in 1989? It served its purpose well, hehe =)
I did take some liberties with the ice skating schedule here - as I only had the last couple of years' worth of schedules, I used that as a guide. Skating is divided into "sessions," each of which last an hour and a half, and which begin at 8:30 in the morning. Of course, traditional Christmas music is played for people to skate to (of course!), so Ryan's friend the rogue DJ was a completely fictitious element (but one I thought would add a little humor/levity to the situation). Said friend's songlist included "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" by the Doors, "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf, and unnamed classics from Niel Diamond and Queen - all shamelessly inserted because I love these songs and these bands, LOL. These are songs the Kids would never cover on stage, but they still fit into the feel of the story and the characters, I think, hence their presence here.
[+] Another idea from
little_details was a meal at the Russian Tea Room, which enchanted me :) Brunch is by far the cheapest meal you can buy there, at least these days - and in its heyday, the RTR was *the* place to see and be seen in the theater/musical/acting/etc circles. Celebrity sightings were the norm :) Of course, the problem was trying to figure out what the RTR looked like in the late 80s, as it has been closed, renovated, and reopened several times since then. I basically started with the Wikipedia article and worked my way out, eventually finding a way to dig into the New York Times archives for late 80s restaurant reviews and gossip reports.The little bit of discussion about the property being sold at the beginning of this scene is true - I gather it was a rather infamous row between the developer of the Metropolitan Tower and the independent owner of the famous Tea House, especially considering all the pressure the Carnegies were applying from the other side. Eventually, the RTR won its independence, and currently sits in the shadow of two gigantic skyscrapers.
So that bit was historic - but the menu/brunch selection was all modern. I didn't realize the menu changed seasonally, and thus had prepared this chapter with last year's incarnation - only to discover this year's version of the menu was quite different. And, of course, these days the RTR serves a lot of French food instead of Russian cuisine, so I picked the authentic where I could. Also authentic was the description of the decor, which was finally restored to its original grandeur with the latest round of renovations at the restaurant. The place is famous for its hunter-green walls and crimson-colored banquettes, so of course they had to be present here :)
[+] The afternoon shopping expedition is also equal parts authentic and fictitious. Fifth Avenue is, of course, the shopping capital of New York, but the landscape of stores has changed a bunch since the late 80s. It's nearly impossible to find a map of the stores from a specific period, so with much thought and consideration, I just decided to handwave it - the shopping scene is so crucial that it was worth it, IMO. I learned quite a few interesting things, in fact, when searching for haute couture designs - like the fact that PRADA didn't launch its menswear line until 1991 :P
The whole sales staff stuff is made up out of whole cloth; I couldn't resist a comically stereotypical "Italian salesman", whose sole purpose, again, was to add levity to the situation. I apologize to anybody out there who's worked in the NYC Prada boutique for the mortal offense, but yeah. Having never really stepped inside a chic-chic boutique like that, I had to imagine what I thought the service would be like - hence. The closest I've gotten, personally, was gazing in the windows of Louis Vuitton in Paris :)
[+] The scene at the Tiffany's display is a small allusion to a standalone oneshot, A Birthday Surprise. I'm not saying these two stories take place in the same universe, but one of the things I wanted to do for Stacy in that oneshot was give her a reason for being so attached to Tiffany's - a reason I feel rings true to her characterization, period, so I included it here. (Plus, of course, stopping at the jewelry display was another heavy hint regarding Ryan's surprise gift for the final scene.)
[+] Taking in a performance of the "Nutcracker Suite" seems to be an NYC/Christmas tradition, and since it is such a popular show, it was the final destination for our happy couple - the original plan was to send them to a Broadway show, but the logistics of that were too hard to work out. I wanted to keep them confined to a relatively small portion of Manhattan, specifically so they *could* do so many different things over the course of a day. Performed by the NYC Ballet, I can just imagine how enchanting and magical it would be - simply listening to the suite takes me there =) Here, again, is another small mention of Katrina the Russian-ballerina-ex, who will be popping up in the second half of the story.
[+] The reader shoutouts continue =) I think I've incorporated some oblique reference to everyone I know who is reading the story, mostly in the form of hometowns or states or the like. If you "found yourself," congratulations! You're awesome, and you deserve to be mentioned in an awesome story, LOL.
[+] And, finally...may I squee? Because OMFG:
This is my first story to break 100,000 words at FF.net! :D Talk about a huge psychological barrier falling - wow! It's a milestone I never thought I'd accomplish, so it really feels amazing to see that :) Especially after all the struggles I've had this summer - putting out this chapter has been a huge, huge deal for me, in more ways than one ♥
(Of course, FF.net inflates word counts a little bit, but still - the actual story itself is just north of 98K, so one more chapter and I'll *truly* have broken the long-ass-story barrier :P)
[+] Just in case anyone's interested in the two things I mentioned in my author's note on the story, here are some quick links:
kidsincdaily is nearing its three month mark =) [and today's selection was specially chosen to commemorate the occasion]and Enduring: An OTP Manifesto only managed to get just a little out of hand :P
Thank you, so much, to everyone who's stuck by me with this fic. I apologize profusely for the length of time its taken me to publish this, but I really wanted to take my time and get it right. The consequences of the actions that occur in this chapter will reverberate through the rest of the story, including some very immediate ones coming up in the next chapter!
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Anyways, loved this chapter. The big date was certainly no disappointment! (:
Yay! I was hoping that I hadn't lost you by the end ;)
The next couple of chapters are already outlined, so hopefully they will be out soon!