Stacy in Bloom | 23: Love Will Save the Day

[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/5873801/23/

...and the reverberations of the Big Date BEGIN. (Mwhahahaha.)

A few notes & references this week...

[+] The title song was performed both in Season 5:

Watch on YouTube

as the fantasy sequence during episode 5x8 "The Guitarist," and as a closing number in Season 4, which is actually the version I prefer =)

[+] Obviously, the biggest and most immediate consequence of the date is the fact that Stacy's parents found out about it, and in what seems like the worst way possible. It took quite a bit of mental chess to decide just how angry/upset the Brisbanes were, and what an appropriate punishment would be. The original draft of this chapter had Stacy's mother turn into a completely shrewish harpy, but that really didn't sit well with me - though not a canon character, per se, she has raised her daughters with quite a bit of latitude, and even her character sketch in this story wouldn't bear out such an evil-stepmother-like persona. So instead, I thought she'd be far more disappointed in Stacy, not only for lying, but feeling like she had to hide her relationship at all. And her upset only makes Stacy feel worse, quite simply because her mother isn't screaming or yelling.

I really feel like Stacy's reaction to all this was authentic - the entire confrontation/conversation in the first scene is probably one of my most favorite in the entire story. I've had this chapter planned out for almost two years now, after it came to me, quite literally, in whole cloth one morning during my morning hike to work. The conversation morphed in subsequent drafts, but 85% of what's there was what I heard/saw that fateful morning, and that's a pretty awesome feeling, hehe =)

[+] This chapter was originally twice as long as it is now. The original plan for this chapter called for its resolution all at once, but as I sat down and wrote (and wrote, and wrote, and wrote) I realized it was heading into 10K+ territory again, and I think two ultra-long chapters back-to-back is a bit of an ask. So, I split it here, but decided to keep the title and interstital because I thought it fit so well. The good part of this is, the next chapter is almost finished as well, so there's a good chance this story will be updated again next week :)

[+] Renee's recollections of their parents' good deeds come straight from canon, specifically two 1985 (Season 2) episodes:

(1) their mother promises Stacy that she'll try to quit smoking near the end of "Peer Pressure"

(2) their father felt so bad about not allowing Stacy to care for her class rabbit over the weekend (due to his allergy) that he took off from work early on Friday, just to be there for when she came home from school/the P*lace, so that they could spend some extra father-daughter time together. This, plus Stacy's love of all things bunny rabbit, come from the episode "Runaway Stacy" - which is also a great example of the stubborn streak also on display in this chapter.

[+] The end of the previous chapter and the middle section of this one are analogous to the final scene of Chapter 13, when Ryan realizes his own desire for a physical relationship with her. It is not a coincidence that nearly ten chapters separate his revelation from hers.

[+] Stacy's dilemma with the words "I love you" will be something of a recurring theme in the second half of the story. She can barely even acknowledge these feelings to herself, and here she is being forced to give up the relationship before she can completely explore them. This is also what brought her up short at the end of the previous chapter - not her fear of physical intimacy, but her fear of these words and everything they mean when said in somber, serious truth. It's incredibly scary to put yourself out there on the line, even when you're fairly confident that the person you love returns those feelings. Think of all that uncertainty and confusion and multiply it times the emotional rollercoaster that comes with being a fourteen-year-old girl, and yeah. Plus there's the fact that they haven't been together all that terribly long, and while she certainly likes him a lot, she wasn't expecting to feel the close or attached to him so quickly.

[+] Contrast Stacy's passionate feelings for her boyfriend with her passionate hatred of her sister and you have her other current dilemma - trying to figure out a way to deal with Renee's apparent betrayal. I wanted to make it clear that it wasn't an intentional action on Renee's part, because she definitely isn't that much of a bitch, but also make it clear that Stacy isn't ready to just forgive and forget. These two fight like all sisters do, but this is the first time there's been a real rift between them. And considering Christmas is only a week away...?