September Q&A Part 3/?

Happy November!! Seb off-page scene POV is coming tomorrow for band tier! It was meant to come out now with this Q&A part but as usual I reread it and felt like I can write it much better.

Sorry for the delay! I'm also working on the usual CH3 povs as well for Nov and the chapter 4 extended sneak peek :)

//

@band: you have your singer, often considered one of the best in the show, seen hanging around with the likes of G Reign, and Victor, rather often these days and we aren't even that deep in the competition yet, any fears @MC maybe be pushing for a solo career behind the scenes?

Cory raises her brows, finding herself curious as well. She can't speak much on…whatever's happening with Viktor, G and MC. Unfortunately, she doesn't know everything no matter how much she likes to pretend she does. Viktor White tells her what she needs to know. She does what he asks of her. They annoy each other constantly. That is the extent of their professional partnership.

The band doesn't answer immediately but she didn't expect any different. The questions during these segments can get deep…and sometimes maybe too introspective. No band is ever actually ready for it.

Hence why it's the most popular segment on the channel.

"None of us want to go solo," Rowan says, eternally confident. "I mean…we never talked about that."

"We never talked about it because noen of us are thinking about it," Devyn finishes, nodding once. Rowan follows her lead with a nod of his own.

"Exactly," he adds. "So no. None of us are worried. We all know what we want and that's to be part of this band."

"Forever?" Cory prods, somehow unconvinced. That sounds like a nightmare.

"Yeah," he answers. "Forever."

@G: we've all heard the rumours, seen the tabloids so I'll just be the one to ask, are you in love with someone who isn't your wife?

Victoria finishes reading the question, her hands dropping limp on the table. She crumples up the sheet and tosses it aside, not looking at G. G, on the other hand, stares off into space with their lips parted, brows knitted in visible discomfort.

"Ooh," Cory teases, perking up. "Juicy." The real question should be whether G is even in love with their wife. Forget anyone else.

"Why would someone ask this?" Victoria pipes up, finally looking at her spouse. "Is there something I don't know—"

"No," G says quickly. "I don't even know where it's coming from." They give Cory a sharp look. "You're weird for slipping that in."

Cory sputters out a baffled laugh. "Me? It's a question. It's an easy yes or no."

G holds her gaze, huffing sharply through their nose. "No," they say, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm not."

@Avina if MC is interested in reconciliation with Seven, would you be supportive of it and them? The rest of SV would you as well?

Cory wants to laugh. One storyline she knows she needs to hone in on as much as possible is this mess. The people love it; the engagements online don't lie. Part of her feels bad for Avina—the kid seems lost half the time. Ah, some people like their bubble of blissful ignorance.

"Seven is my best friend," Avina answers. "And I'll support them no matter what. Even I think it may not be good for them. That's what friends do."

Pope slaps his hands on the table. "A real friend tells it like it is. Including whether it's a bad idea or not." He gives Avina a pointed look, and they shift uncomfortably in their seat.

"Are you saying I'm not a real friend?" Avina says, frowning.

Seven sighs.

"I didn't say that," Pope adds quickly. "Just—"

"That you're too nice," Kieran pipes in, saving him. Pope relaxes when Kieran throws a reassuring arm around his shoulders. "That's all."

"I don't believe that but whatever," Avina throws back, crumpling the slip. "At the end of the day, Seven is an adult. They can do what they want."

"What I want to do is not talk about this anymore," Seven says, successfully shutting down the conversation.

@Avina: How did it feel to get completely ignored in the car while MC and seven eye-fucked each other and talked about fridge magnets?" -from crabby_american

"Don't answer that," Seven says quickly, snatching the slip from Avina's hand and roughly throwing it on the ground.

What a baby, Cory thinks.

@O: So I just found out that you used to work at Carolina Records before working with TheBand. Would you be willing to tell me why you quit your job at a Big Three company and went solo to seemingly end up managing just TheBand?

O claps their hands together and leans forward. "Self care," is their answer and Cory immediately descends into laughter. O, surprisingly entertained, asks, "What?"

"You don't seem like the type to prioritize self-care," she comments, gazing at their face. "I'm surprised you know what that is."

"Neither do you," they say and lean back. "I simply needed a change. I was getting bored and I stopped enjoying the work. So I left. I'm not the kind of person to hang around in places where they're no longer useful. I did us all a favor."

"Hm," Cory says. "Admirable." She doesn't think she could ever leave. Where would she go? BotB is all she knows. It's all she's good at.

@G @MisfitAlley: Honestly I was super excited when you guys were announced as part of this season's BotB... so I can't help but feel disappointed that it doesn't really feel like there's a lot of omph from you guys in the show, you know what I mean? Something like clips of you guys showing the contestants new tricks or skills, practicing with them, singing, things like that, you know? Do you think we'll get to see any of that in the future of the show?

G looks more and more exhausted as Dionne reads the question. Cory knows that the oomph people look for is lost by design. G doesn't want to be on the show. They don't want to participate. They never wanted to. As for the rest of the band…they tend to follow their lead singer. It's how it's always been. It's fucking annoying.

Dionne drops the slip and smiles. "Take that up with our bosses. We just follow their lead."

"I would like more screentime," Q admits. "I feel like we've been underutilized." He wrinkles his nose at the word, glancing at G. G, as usual, ignores the look and continues staring ahead.

Cory lifts her brows. "I'll be sure to relay that message," she replies.

"As long as I get paid." Mateo shrugs. "i don't really care."

To @TheBand and Jazzy: with all the cheating allegations, Seven drama and now this pic with Vic drama I hope yall are taking care of MC! Baby needs to be protected from this world! They just wanna sing! Also, why have you guys never been comfortable properly discussing the whole thing about Seven with MC? Like, yall keep walking on eggshells, hiding pictures. Its time to have a proper talk, guys.

"We always take care of each other," Iris says, curt.

There's a long stretch of silence.

Devyn looks around the band, slight panic painting their features. Then they say, "The Seven thing is in the past. There's no use dwelling on it."

"It'll only ruin the vibe, you know?" Rowan says with a strangled laugh. "We have to be clearheaded on this tour. Right, Auggy?"

"Yes," August says automatically, half their attention elsewhere.

To @Maya: you became a fan of the band when 7 was still with them. Is there a reason you prefer MC over Seven? Do you just like their voice better? Would you have left the fandom if MC had been the one to leave?

"I always liked MC more than Seven," Maya explains. "I think MC speaks to me, you know? They've always been my favorite. Seven's voice isn't as good. And they're not as cool." Maya shrugs. "And yeah. I support MC first! Everything else is second."

"Do you have any other hobbies?" Cory asks flatly.

"Yeah." Maya frowns. "I run a fansite and a chart account for the band." She appears smug. "It's a lot of work updating their achievements and streams, especially with this show. I should be getting paid."

Cory snorts. "I'm sure."

@Dakota @SV @Theband @MC Idk but you two [Mc and Dakota] seems to be a little too close, have you meet before? is there something going on? SV and the band, have you noticed something? since you share a bus and all (for amy: this is assuming Mc and Dakota hooked up)

"Who?" Rowan blurts. "I don't know who that is." Meanwhile, Iris and Devyn share matching amused looks.

On the other hand, Dakota insists nothing is going on. "I don't even remember where I was last night," they say blandly. "You expect me to remember every single time I've crossed paths with someone?" Cory wasn't born yesterday. She can read a lie on Dakota's face like the back of her hand. That's what happens when you spend a significant time around a person. You know them even when you don't want to.

Dakota is one person you don't want to know. And Cory wishes she didn't. If insufferable were a person....

"Don't fuck anything up," Cory scolds. "This is my job we're talking about."

"Of course not," Dakota says flatly before their face lifts into a falsely sweet smile.

As for Soft Violence, no one knows what the question is talking about aside from Seven. "A number," Seven says. "On MC's arm. You should look into that if you're so curious." Avina gives Seven a curious look but they refuse to meet Avina's eyes.

Cory smiles. "Hm." She knew that dirty jerk was lying.

@Soft Violence: Rumor has it there's a secret fan of [MCs_BAND] among you. Who do you think it is?

"All of them if they're smart and have good taste," Pope jokes, nudging Kieran.  

"I'm not going to make any assumptions," Avina answers, a kind smile on their face. "I don't expect any of the other bands to listen to us."

"Don't be so humble," Kieran says with a dismissive hand.

"Who is it?" Seven asks Cory, leaning forward.

Cory shrugs. "I don't know. I wasn't aware of this rumor."

Seven's brows furrow. "You sure?"

She huffs, exasperated. "If I knew, I'd say it. I'm not good at keeping secrets," she teases. Seven's frown deepens and they lean back, thoughtful.

@Victoria: It seems like there's trouble in paradise. What's your favorite way to bring the romance back? Being serenaded? A massage? A candlelit dinner? All of the above?

"There's no trouble in paradise," Victoria shuts down. "And I don't like how you pick all of these…negative questions."

Cory raises her palms in mock surrender. "I don't. These are what's submitted. You can say they're the…thoughts of the people. What the world wants to know." Cory can't hide the amusement in her voice as she says this, which only makes Victoria's frown turn into a glare. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm just doing my job."

"I like long talks," Victoria answers anyway after a beat of silence. "Maybe go away somewhere to be alone for a while. And just enjoy each other's company." She shrugs. "That's it."

 @E: What were your favorite pictures taken during the show, and why?

"It's only been a week," E says, looking around. "Should I even be on here? I'm part of staff—"

"Answer the question," Cory breaks in.

E startles and nods. "Okay," they say quickly. "Pictures of MC on stage always come out really good. They're just…" They think about it. "They photograph well."

@G You were warming up to sing a new song prior to the interview being cancelled. Is it one you wrote? What or who is the inspiration behind it?

"I wrote it, yeah," G answers, their eyes looking everywhere but the camera. "The inspiration…" They straighten, running a hand through their hair. "I don't know. I guess my inspiration is coming from this tour. There's just a lot to sing about my life right now." Their smile is surprisingly sincere without a trace of humor.

That's new, Cory thinks.

The smile doesn't last though. It doesn't take long to fall off G's face, replaced by a thoughtful frown.

@Dakota Is the married person you slept with someone famous or anyone we know? ;)

Dakota leans back and smiles. "Wouldn't everyone like to know," they tease and Cory rolls her eyes. "It's someone famous. That's all I'll say."

"I can hear the millions of articles being written as we speak," she jokes and Dakota's grin widens.

"Don't worry," they respond. "I have the power to take it down."

"It's not you that has the power," Cory mumbles, shaking her head.

@devyn how do you feel in how MC has managed... all the drama of Blake, Seven and G Reign? You always seem so calm and maybe have a better perspective

Devyn nods. "I feel like part of the blame is on the show." They look at Cory with a grimace, as if already questioning themself. Cory stares at her blankly. Frankly, she doesn't care right now. "It's obvious they're pushing it to be bigger than it is."

"Untrue," Cory says though she knows that's a lie. Still. They can't admit that aloud. And not on camera.

"I'm just saying," Devyn responds, voice lowering. "I think MC is doing well given the circumstances. You can't prepare yourself for something like this. "

@G Reign besides MC, which singer do you think it's the most interesting of this season?

G thinks about it, a small smile rising on their face. "I liked Young and Reckless' lead singer." Their smile falls. "Sucks that they left."

Cory inhales sharply. "That's just how the show works."

"Maybe," G says slowly. "Unfortunately. They were so young."

"Which means we did them the favor," Cory replies. "This show isn't made for the young."

G definitely doesn't like that because their fists clench and they hide it by dropping their hands to their sides.

@Olliepoo why are you such an asshole? Blake does it better tbh

"Fuck Blake," Oliver says.

@everyone (or just Soft Violence) What’re your thoughts on Band Name winning the first week?

To everyone's surprise, Seven answers first. Cory's gotten used to their silence so she didn't expect them to answer at all, especially not when the band is involved. "I think they won fair and square," Seven declares. "We didn't. I'm not going to sit here and cry about it."

"I think they won fairly," Avina replies.

"But?" Cory prods, biting back her smile. "I hear a but."

Avina blinks, toying with their fingers. "But we can't say for sure if there's no truth in the allegations…"

Seven frowns. "I feel like I know—"

"You don't know," Avina cuts in. "That's the problem. None of us do." Seven gives Avina a surprised look. One that they quickly smother by turning the other way.

"Uh." Pope rubs his neck. "The truth will come out eventually?" He shrugs. "At least we're not at the bottom of the ranking. Now that would fucking suck."

"We're too good to be at the bottom," Kieran snorts. "And just because the band won this week doesn't mean we'll let that happen again. We're snatching the crown next week. Right, guys?"

"Yep." Avina beams. "Soft Violence is going to win. Easily."

"Easily," Seven echoes through a bitter snort. Avina's smile slips just an inch but they don't comment on it.

@ Band Name If you guys all had to swap positions/instruments, which would you want to be/play?

Rowna snorts. Definitely not the piano—"

"Fuck you," Iris cuts in.

"I'll say drums." He looks at August. "I think it'll win me points with the ladies and gents, no? Everyone loves the drummer."

"I can't tell you," August deadpans. "I don't really notice."

"Oh, please." Iris rolls her eyes. "Your whole shtick is exactly what people like and you know it."

August shrugs but there's a slight twinkle in their eyes. "If you say so. I'll play the guitar."

"I'd play the piano," Devyn suggests, smiling at Iris. "Or dabble in MC's harmonica and juggling skills."

"Such niche talents," Rowan says, laughing. "Who the fuck plays a harmonica?"

"I think it's a great instrument!" Devyn throws back.

"No one wants to be a lead singer?" Cory gapes, putting a hand on her hip in growing interest.

"And have all the pressure on you?" Iris laughs dryly. "Yeah. No, thanks. I'll stick to being relatively forgotten near the back."

"Same," Devyn says. "It takes a special kind of bravery to do that."

@griffin what’s your favorite tattoo?

Without saying a word, G lifts their arm and points to a spot near the crook of their elbow. Cory can hardly tell what they're pointing at amongst the endless tattoos that make up their sleeve. "It's tiny," G explains, using their other hand to tuck their hair behind their ear, "but it's a tattoo of a poppy flower. I saw a bunch the day I signed my contract when I ran away like a baby. I remember just thinking how pretty it was. And it reminded me that I've never been in California before that. Let alone a plane. My life was already changing and I didn't even sign the contract yet." G shrugs, dropping their arm. "Felt like it was the world's way of telling me something."

"Telling you what?" Cory asks.

"I don't know." G smiles. "I'll let you know once I figure it out."

@Amy Do you ever feel overwhelmed with how big Infamous is? You’re a phenomenal writer and are great at putting out consistent content, but even at your pace it’ll most likely be years before the story is finished. I feel like anyone would experience burn out writing the same thing for that long.

What a scary thought… please don't jinx it! /j and thank you! Yeah I do sometimes. I think it's less about the workload though and more the expectations. I think writing what people believe is consistently "good" stuff means that I'm bound to disappoint eventually so I'm always waiting for the shoe to drop. Of course that's just a symptom of the good ol' imposter syndrome. But the workload doesn't overwhelm me much. It does only when I'm exhausted or kind of over writing that particular week (I suffer from chronic pain so when I'm tired, I'm TIRED lolol) but the feeling doesn't last. Once I stop writing Infamous or take a break I itch to go back.

It helps that while Infamous is the only thing I'm currently publishing, it's not the only thing I'm //writing//. I'm able to have a palette cleanser and play in another sandbox between Infamous writing. It keeps the story fresh for me. The other things I'm working on are so wildly different in such different genres that I'm never bored thankfully !