Fifth Floor Common Room, Tuesday Evening

[wasthecuteone]

Petra had come to the common room to watch TV while she did her nails, but she hadn't gotten quite as far as the 'doing her nails' part yet. This was because, while channel surfing for something to watch while doing her nails, she'd encountered a flashback. At first she just sort of stared at the TV screen, stunned to realize they still had boy bands in this dimension--she'd kind of thought they'd worn out their welcome years ago, and had frankly found that a relief--and momentarily insulted that the song implied that the only reason someone would wear makeup was "to cover up." Hello, maybe the fictional girl in the song just liked makeup. But then one of these babyfaced teenagers with hair that looked like a bunch of seagulls had attacked it earnestly sang that to prove he was right, he put it in a song, and the idea that being in a song made something right struck her as so funny the whole thing hit her at once, and she wound up laughing so hard tears ran down her face and she fell off the couch.

Okay. This wasn't exactly a flashback, although the terribleness of that hair was pretty familiar. There was the fact that, "You don't even dance!" as Petra hauled herself up via the coffee table to shout at the screen before collapsing with the giggles once again.

So, yes. Anyone entering the fifth floor common room, or simply passing by, would find a British boy band singing on the TV and Petra West laughing herself sick. Business as usual?

((I had to. Open common room is open. Come mock One Direction with Petra! Or defend them. Whatever floats your character's boat.))

Comments

[ultron_junior]

And Victor thought he was done listening to boy bands when he stopped living with Molly.

Apparently not.

"Hey," he said, glancing at Petra with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Do you know where they keep sandwich stuff up there? Fourth floor's pretty bare."

[wasthecuteone]

Petra hauled herself up again, wiping at her eyes--oh, God, her eyeliner was probably a disaster. "Check the fridge?" she suggested. Another burst of giggles escaped, but she got it under control. "I think I saw some--hee--some turkey in there earlier."

[ultron_junior]

"Thanks," Victor said, loping over to poke around. Turkey was fine.

As he did: "You're laughing at the music, right?" he asked. "I was wondering about you a little when I heard it from the hall." And then he realized that sounded slightly jerky and added "... not in a bad way."

[wasthecuteone]

"I'm laughing at the everything," Petra corrected. "Hahahaha oh God they're color-coordinated."

[ultron_junior]

"I thought all those bands were," Victor said. "Matching clothes, just a little different to show how they're all unique individuals."

He was ... just a touch sarcastic.

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

Kenzi wandered in, licking what had been an obscene chocolate lollipop, and was now just a vaguely disturbing shape, and stopped, looking askance. And askew. And aslant. "...the hell is this?"

[wasthecuteone]

"Usually, sure," Petra said, sobering up a little by now. "That's why it's funny. See how one has suspenders and only one gets to wear sneakers? But sometimes, like, my band all wore the same thing, with the bandanna and the same haircut, which looked absolutely magical with my natural curls, let me tell you." A beat. "Oh, yeah, I was in a boy band when I was twelve, hi, I'm Petra."

[wasthecuteone]

"Kenzi!" Petra said, flailing one hand around in what might have been a greeting. "I think they've sung the chorus like a dozen times already!"

[ultron_junior]

"Hi, I'm Victor," and he was also glad he had that to say and didn't drop the turkey or anything. He was used to Xavin switching back and forth, sure, but Xavin was a Skrull. Not the same thing.

"And I was never in a boy band. You, uh ... are not exactly what I think of when I think of that, have to say."

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

"Is it 'na na na nah' or 'la la laaaa'?" Kenzi asked, wandering over and staring. "Oh my gawd. They are so... trendy."

[wasthecuteone]

"Well," Petra said, "I looked a lot different when I was twelve."

[wasthecuteone]

"There was a na na na part! It was like thirty seconds. Of a song that can't be three whole minutes long. There's no there there," Petra said, sounding disappointed by their shallowness. "Don't you just love their hair? It looks like it was styled by an angry cat."

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

"Suspenders! And what is up with those pants?" Kenzi marveled, staring at them. "The hair says 'I am dangerous.' To grade-schoolers."

[ultron_junior]

"Yeah, I hear that's pretty normal," Victor said. "What was the band? Anything I would have heard of?"

[nomelancholy.livejournal.com]

"Is this," Ulrik said slowly, side-eyeing the television so much "seriously what passes for music in your century?"

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

"This is what passes *un-seriously* as a blitz of marketing genius. The music is kind of a side-angle," Kenzi told him, smirking at the TV.

[wasthecuteone]

Wow, Petra thought the randoms from her time would have started exporting this crap first thing. "If you're a twelve-year-old girl? Yes."

[wasthecuteone]

"Yeah, you're right," Petra agreed after a moment. "It says 'I don't have to brush my hair, and that makes me rebellious." The last word was said in a sort of sarcastic sing-song. "I don't know what to tell you about the pants, though. Maybe that's why they don't dance. Their pants are too tight."

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

Kenzi nearly fell against the couch, giggling. "Is that how they're reaching those notes? Who the hell thought this was a good-- Wait. Did he just say she's beautiful because she doesn't know she's beautiful?"

[wasthecuteone]

"Maybe?" Petra said. "Boyz Will B Boyz? We were pretty huge until The Corporation replaced us with Hot Vampire Boyz, but if you don't have The Corporation where you're from you probably never had those bands, either."

[wasthecuteone]

"She's beautiful because she doesn't know she's beautiful and that's what makes her beautiful," Petra corrected. "God, Kenzi, keep up with the tortured and insulting song logic."

[randomspanish.livejournal.com]

"Ooooh, I thought I heard One Direction!" Freddie said, all excited as he came in to sit down and watch.

Yes, Freddie loved One Direction. It was canon.

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

"Aahahahahahhah..." Okay, Kenzi needed to breathe now. Give her a couple bars. "Oh come on. Oh-oh-oh! ... Maybe she's shy because she doesn't want to deal with you, stalker!" she told the TV.

[nomelancholy.livejournal.com]

Portable music players were still a rarity, since they required batteries that were also rare. They were the sort of thing that fetched a prince's ransom on the market these days.

Or a princess's. Ulrik's nose wrinkled up in an expression of distaste as he remembered Kristina did, in fact, possess one. Though he had no idea what kind of musical recordings she had to go along with it. "It's just the same few chords over and over," he observed.

[wasthecuteone]

"Is that what they're called?" Petra asked, sounding disapproving. "It doesn't even have 'boyz' in it. How is that a legitimate boy band name? Is it all spelled correctly? Wait, please tell me the 'One' is just the number 1. Or that there's a k in 'Direction' at least."