• • I Can Play Along

[Alec Ryerson Kelley]

Alec actually hated working in his office. The space was big, two walls made entirely of window to watch New York when he was bored or frustrated. But it wasn’t the same as being on the ground, really surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the big city. Belfast was a big city and he loved his hometown but nothing, absolutely nothing beat the streets of New York. It was incredible and diverse. There were reasons behind what his mother called madness. He could become a book publisher in Belfast but it would be all he saw really. And Alec had always wanted to see more than just the usual haunts of his childhood whenever he went into the office. At first, he had wanted to throw a dart at a map and see where that took him but then his friend annoyed and annoyed until Alec did as he asked and the rest as they say was history.

Except the cushy corner office with its dark wood finish and chrome settings wasn’t really Alec’s cup of tea. He liked the rustic, the romantic. And the metal and leather and wood wasn’t really that. So Alec spent quite a bit of time away from the office with a collection of manuscripts, his laptop and his phone within arm’s reach should his assistant need to get in touch with him for any reason at all. Some days he would just stay in his apartment, some days he would venture to the park and make a bench his own for a few short hours. But it was too cold for that and his apartment was too quiet to do any real work. And occasionally, if it piqued his interest, he would wander around one of the many museums of the city, learning something about the past or about the latest and greatest artists; something he hadn’t known before. Despite saying these places were quiet, they were quite loud and Alec liked working in loud. The background noise kept him focused oddly enough. He could drown the world out as long as it wasn’t silent.

Today was one of those days. He gathered up what he thought he would need, despite knowing he wouldn’t get any work done that afternoon and would be up half the night to make up for it, and told his assistant that he needed to get away for a bit so to hold his calls and rearrange any appointments he might have had. It was a regular thing so she smiled and nodded and quickly set about doing what she’d been asked. And Alec left the building after the too long elevator ride to the lobby and wandered the streets of New York a little aimlessly. He knew the direction he wanted to go but once he got there, he had no idea which of the old buildings would call his attention more. As it turned out, it was the Museum of Natural History. He paid his ticket fee and continued in through the lobby, not sure where he wanted to start but knowing this was the place he wanted to be. He followed his gut like this more often than he probably should have but it almost always led to something wonderful and until that stopped happening, Alec would happily continue.

Tag || @open!
Words || 572
Clothes || Passionate Publisher!
Music || Love Me Or Leave Me --Chad Brownlee
Notes || <3!

[nora camille compton]

Nora was used to meeting people from all walks of life given that she was frequently moving about the stages of New York City, taking her act wherever would have her. Word of mouth was the best way to get people coming to her shows, supporting her dream. That, and as a waitress a smile and a friendly approach earned a girl the big tips. Those tips added up eventually and they could make a small difference between paying gigs. She was still relatively unknown, but she had a small fanbase, slow building support, and she was getting somewhere. She knew she wouldn’t make it overnight in the comedy circuit, but that hadn’t deterred Nora. In fact, she actually enjoyed having the time to practice and perfect her routine with the smaller crowds rather than falling flat on her face in front of a larger one. It took time to figure out what worked and what didn’t, and while her impressions were spot on before she would reveal them, some were more of a hit than others. It was after her set that people would approach her and the random conversations would begin. It wasn’t something that bothered Nora; she enjoyed meeting new people.

It was after one of her shows that she had met Joshua. He was a seemingly nice guy who was out with his friends on the night she had her last set at Gotham. He had come over to her at the bar afterwards and asked if he could buy her a drink and they had hit it off pretty well. Nora was set to meet up with him again, but his ‘busy job’ had seen him cancel two dates already and now this lunchtime meet up was the last chance she was willing to offer him before blowing him off completely. She wasn’t some girl who could be messed around, and she had a million better things to do than waste time sitting around waiting on some guy. Joshua was twenty minutes late meeting her and offered nothing by way of an apology when he did arrive and meet her on the steps outside the large building which was home to one of the biggest tourist attractions of the city; The Museum of Natural History.

However, the date barely got better. Nora asked Joshua about himself, but whenever she answered a question about her own life it was as though he mocked her. He was nothing like the man she thought she had met in the comedy club and within thirty minutes in his company Nora could take no more. He had just laughed in her face when she mentioned her future gigs, explaining that he thought the night they had met was a joke, a one off from a girl with a small talent. It was the last straw, and Nora raised her hand bringing it down against his cheek with enough force that her handprint burnt scarlet on his skin. “Never have I met such an ignorant, and rude son of a bitch in all of my life! I only hope that stings for the rest of the afternoon!” She snarled, losing her temper in a rather unusual fashion for the light-hearted comedienne. Storming away into the next room, Nora let out an angry exhale and ran her fingers through her dark hair, muttering cruel curses under her breath. When she heard someone close by she didn’t think for a second that it could be anyone other than Joshua coming to continue what she had started. Spinning around, Nora’s blue eyes sparked with anger. “How many ways do I – Oh, sorry, you’re not who I thought you were. Sorry.” Her anger was washed away by embarrassment and she bit back a shamed smiled. It wasn’t in her nature to snap at people, especially not men who had done nothing to wrong her in the first place. Joshua was probably out of the door by now, dragging his dignity with him, but this man just happened to be too close to a raging girl at the wrong time, but it served well to curb Nora’s anger. She was close to feeling like herself again, despite the blush she knew was creeping over her cheeks now.

• • •

TAGGED! Alec Ryerson Kelley
WORDS! 715!
OUTFIT! Funny & Fashionable!
LYRICS! The Gambler - - - Fun.
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Alec Ryerson Kelley]

New York was a crazy place. It was busy, it was packed, it was incredible. Alec had never been to the city before he’d landed the job at the publishing company. He’d seen the place of course, through pictures, television shows and films at the cinema but he’d never seen the vast and cultured city with his own eyes until he’d stepped off the plane. It seemed like so long ago that he’d applied for that job and had landed it. But it also felt like it really just happened; like everything had all just sort of clicked into place within a few short months. That had hardly been the case, however. Alec had spent so much time, rising through the ranks as quickly as he could to get where he was now. He hadn’t known when it had been offered to him, if he would enjoy heading the department he did now but it turned out he quite liked it.

He got to do so much since he’d moved. He met so many people and just enjoyed everything. It was a little ridiculous to think that he was doing something he loved so much in a city that was too incredible for words. And that there were so many extra things that he hadn’t even considered when he’d decided to get into publishing. He’d known there would be book launch parties and things like that, but he hadn’t quite realised how extravagant they could get, all depending on how much the book was being publicized. He wouldn’t have gone so far as to say he was naive about it all, he had had some knowledge when he’d crossed the pond but he hadn’t quite realised just how much he hadn’t known. He’d been thankful to start somewhere lower of the ladder than where he was now simply because he would have been vastly under prepared for it all.

These days he knew exactly what he was doing, and how to make things better. His parties were some of the best thrown by the publishing house. And his position allowed him the ability to run off to museums in the middle of his day to work out ideas. If he had to work from his office constantly, he would probably go insane; there was no muse there! He might not have been the face behind the books but even he needed muse to do his job. The museum was one of his favourite places to go and check out the exhibits and get some sparks of ideas that would help for the next big event. It was also a very peaceful place, usually. Today didn’t seem that way with the woman in front of him rounding on him the way she was. He stood blinking, waiting for her to realise he wasn’t who she thought, which really wasn’t long at all, he was pleased to see. “Well with a start like that, I’d hope not, sounds like they pissed you off. Are you okay?” Alec inquired.

Tag || nora camille compton!
Words || 548
Clothes || Passionate Publisher!
Music || Love Me Or Leave Me --Chad Brownlee
Notes || <3!

[nora camille compton]

Nora had been in New York City since college and she loved the place. She might have been an English Rose, but she was a city girl at heart and New York was the kind of place that embraced a person like her. She thrived on the hustle and bustle, and many of her jokes were born from the things she experienced in the Big Apple. There was a lot of humour to be found in being another transplant, and not all of her work could be built around impersonating already famous celebrities and singers. Besides, as much as she adored Hal’s she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life wiping down tables there. Nora had dreams and she was trying to chase them with all of her heart. It just went a hell of a lot easier when she didn’t have complete jerks laughing at her when she mentioned making it as a professional comedienne. Urgh, she could actually go back and hit that Joshua again, just because it had felt good to wipe the smirk from his arrogant face!

Not that it was really the first time that had happened. Nora had bumped into people at comedy festivals who would congratulate her on raising the roof with her set and then ask her what her serious plans were for the future. So many thought it was just a hobby and then expected her to turn around and confess that she actually worked in a bank and made a pretty annual salary and lived in upper Manhattan. No, Nora struggled for her art, waited on tables in a diner, and spent a lot of her free time booking comedy gigs around the city where she mixed her jokes with her impressions. It was hardly the New York dream, but she honestly couldn’t be much happier. She adored her life and wouldn’t change it regardless of how many people pulled their face or asked if she wouldn’t prefer to have a more stable career. Nora favoured happiness over things such as wealth.

Happiness brought laughter, and Nora could find that even in embarrassing moments like this one. Pushing her hair back from her face, she let out a soft chuckle and managed to nod her head. “I’ll be fine. I’m made of strong stuff.” She assured him, her temper officially cooling now. “New York is never in short supply of arseholes though.” She stated, shaking her head and glancing back over her shoulder. Nora was fairly certain Joshua wasn’t coming back for her now, and she was going to have to keep her tongue in check before she accidently screamed in the face of some poor innocent soul again. “I am so sorry. I don’t normally walk around screaming at strange men.” She shifted her weight from one foot to another and glanced around, relieved that there were no other witnesses to what had been a very bad mistake.

• • •

TAGGED! Alec Ryerson Kelley
WORDS! 497!
OUTFIT! Funny & Fashionable!
LYRICS! The Gambler - - - Fun.
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Alec Ryerson Kelley]

For Alec, New York had been one of the many possible places he could go when he finished school, opting to stick around the UK to attend university instead of going abroad somewhere, only to realise he hated it but was too stubborn to relocate. At least where he’d gone, he’d been able to visit home quite often when he’d needed a break from the high school dramas that apparently followed some people wherever they went. He’d stuck it out as much as he could in the dorms, mostly by not being around the most obvious places drama was found. That wasn’t to say he was a hermit or anything, he spent quite a bit of time out partying and drinking, it was a wonder he and any of his friends managed those four year because they were a mess.

But Alec also figured it was much the same for everyone who ever attended a school with friends, or like Alec, easily made them. It was quite the interesting scene in university, Alec could admit to it. He’d partied pretty hard but he also worked his arse off to get the grades he got, too often not even sleeping two, three, four days in a row. School was not easy for anyone at all but Alec had forged ahead, refusing to fall behind or let himself slip. His parents had been proud of him for making it all work with what he had and not calling home to ask if he could give it all up. He wanted it and so he’d chased after it with everything he had. New York was a far cry from Belfast an entirely different country, a different world but Alec was still that same man that he’d been back then, pushing himself to be better than he already was.

Of course, it didn’t matter what city he was in, it was still strange to be yelled at by a complete stranger. Even if said stranger thought he was someone who by the sounds of it definitely deserved every lashing he received. “Good, I’m glad.” He said, smiling softly. He couldn’t say being yelled at by a woman was something new; he’d been a bit of a lad back in his university days but he’d matured since then. At least enough to know where to draw the line and when to cross it. “Name a city that is.” He challenged with a chuckle. He could be one of those assholes and he knew it. He tried not to be but sometimes, it really couldn’t be helped and others he didn’t realise it until it was too late to do much more than apologise for his previous actions. “Don’t worry about it, Love. It’s happened once or twice before and it won’t be the last. I can be a bit.... Roguish. Or so I’ve been told.” Alec admitted freely. He could be mischievous and playful and a little free with the love for the ladies. “I’m definitely a step up from the last guy though so how ‘bout a coffee or tea, or something?” He asked, holding his arm out like a gentleman.

Tag || nora camille compton!
Words || 576
Clothes || Passionate Publisher!
Music || Love Me Or Leave Me --Chad Brownlee
Notes || <3!

[nora camille compton]

Nora wasn’t the type of girl to give up on her dreams just because of a few idiots she bumped into along the path. She was made of tougher stuff than that, but it still made her blood boil when people mocked her. Not just her, but others, too. What right did they have to laugh at people’s ambitions? Did they have the perfect life with all the answers? She didn’t think so. Nora worked hard at Hals, and even harder on the stage to make a name for herself. Slowly it was starting to become a bit of a thing. She had a few places who were interested in maybe booking her more often for events, and she was planning on spending the following year doing some of the comedy tours. She had enough saved up to cover everything in New York, her boss had cleared it if she managed to impress enough to earn herself a slot, and Nora felt confident that her act was polished enough to make it happen now. She was always finding new material, perfecting the impressions that weren’t quite there yet, and she wasn’t going to slow down because someone thought she couldn’t make it. If anything it only encouraged her more.

She was the stubborn type, and she could be in her late sixties and still trying to pull this off. That’s how much she believed in her dream. She knew she had talent, and she had a degree from a Performing Arts college that had pushed her to the point of exhaustion several times before graduating. However, she was proud enough to hang it in her living room and smile at it after a successful act. If a night went bad she usually swore at it, or sighed and asked it to not be such a waste on her pretty wallpaper. It was a silly ritual of hers, but she liked it. Plus, she had slaved away for four years, crying at deadlines and with stress more times than she would care to count. It had to be more than a bit of paper in her life after all of that.

Smiling, Nora tilted her head to the side and thought for a second. “Maybe not a city, maybe a small town.” She decided, her smile turning into a goofy grin. She could handle the city well enough, even with the assholes who walked around it each day, but sometimes she did have to wonder why they were so rude. She might have just yelled at a total stranger, but she had immediately apologised for it and explained her mistake. It wasn’t in her nature to be horrible for no reason. Laughing warmly, Nora clapped her hands and turned to the man. “Roguish? Do people still say that? I thought the last person to use that was Robin Hood.” She teased lightly, though it was nice to be laughing after the ten minutes she had managed of that terrible date. She pretended to contemplate his offer for a moment, biting her lip coyly. “I do love a caramel latte.” She admitted, sliding her arm through his and smiling. “I’m Nora, by the way.”

• • •

TAGGED! Alec Ryerson Kelley
WORDS! 540!
OUTFIT! Funny & Fashionable!
LYRICS! The Gambler - - - Fun.
NOTES! <3 <3 <3