Location: NYE Party
For: Anyone | Cap of 6 (taken 1/6)
Character: Wisteria Grey
"Okay so ..." she pointed to the flyer that the event coordinators had put up around town in the days and weeks leading up to the party. "In my defense, I may have gotten confused between Halloween and New Year's because they're so close together, so I originally thought hey, new year's eve, ring in the new year and make sure last year's bad stuff doesn't follow you by wearing a costume. And then I thought, Wizard, why would you ever wear a costume to a New Year's Eve event, even if that's what it said on the flyer."
It didn't say that anywhere on the flyer. She had read party and her brain had filled in the information with details she liked and ignored what it had written. Standard Wisteria.
Wizard - the name her friends and uncle called her for her ability to get herself into a metric shit ton of trouble and get herself out normally by making things worse ... just like casting fireball in a closed room while having fire resistance. Good for her. Bad for those around her.
"So, so - so - so..." she cleared her throat and rocked back on her heels. She had a stickied name-tag to the front of her wrinkled blouse that she probably picked up off the pile of clean clothes that sat on the chair in the corner of her room (the same chair full of clothes that sometimes looked like a creepy old man when it was dark). She pointed to her name badge. Al O'Vera.
"I had to trick the old year somehow. Now all the bad things can't follow me because it doesn't know my name."
fiona looked at the other and then the flyer attempting to hold in her laughter. a few moments passed before she let out a small chuckle towards the explanation. "halloween and new year are, like, two months apart..." still, who was she to judge considering this felt like the worst year of her life. it felt like everything had crumbled, that she had failed in multiple ways, ways in which fiona carroll did not greet failure. she was always held in high regard when it came to her work but now she felt she'd stained it.
looking down at the name tag, fiona laughed again. "al o'vera. that's quite brilliant, actually." the irish woman was genuinely amused by it and it was evident as her eyes narrowed and corners of her mouth rose. "well, looks like you're fighting off all the tricks for us all at this rate so good luck to you." still, she couldn't understand how new year equated to halloween in the other's mind but who was she to judge? she was also quite new to town so hardly desired to go around upsetting people - she never wanted to upset anyone. "i should have picked a new name but looks like it's too late for me. i'm fiona - don't think we've actually properly said hello. i moved about six months ago but have most kept to myself to get settled and yet, i'm here, at a party being billy no-mates."
technically she was here as a guest, but as a owner of a business, shayla could hardly slip into the mindset of a guest. her quicksilver eyes far too busy scrutinizing and inspecting the canapés ivy provided for the new years bash. 〝 these are a mess, get a new batch. 〞 she instructed her staff member currently acting as server. when she notices a frame hovering, waiting for a piece, her gaze moved towards them. 〝 one moment, they will return with a new batch. can't rightly serve a improper one. 〞
fiona's eyes flickered up to the other. "honestly, shay-" she sighed. "- i don't think they'd noticed the difference, right now." the irish woman was indeed a business holder but it was new to her and there were things she'd have to learn, that the other paid attention to and she had never given it a second thought. still, this wasn't the place to be doubting herself fruther. "you know, you can give me anything and i'll be grand, better than at this point, let's say." walking closer, she sighed. "are you alright?"
nolan has been nursing his brightly-colored cocktail for long enough that the ice has melted, leading to tentative, warm sips. it's been a long time since he's attended the town's new year's eve party, having made a quick exit shortly after christmas in previous years. entwined with the nervous buzz is a sense of familiarity, a comfort that only faces he's grown up with and hometown traditions can bring. maybe it's this that gives him a shot of courage, turning his chin to the person stood nearby, “ have you thought of any new year's resolutions yet ? ” he asks, raising his voice louder than he's used to in an attempt to be heard over the music.
this year couldn't get any worse if it tried so fiona was glad to see the end of it. still, she wasn't to know what she was going to do going forward - having her little 'passion project' stood her in good stead but there wasn't much else going on for her and it was a rarity. "what?" her brow furrowed. "do those things still exist?" it was her way of asking for it not to get any worse without tempting fate. "maybe run a little further if we don't want to get specific." it felt like she'd already had enough to drink but fiona didn't want to go home to just herself. it was a strange feeling as she'd always loved spending time on her own but now, she felt different towards the ordeal. "and what's yours? seen as you have no trouble asking everyone else what they're planning on, which i think's quite nosy.
fingers distract themselves with the one year chip hidden deep within his pocket, thaddeus' chest constricting from the world of indulgences that are celebrated around him. he doesn't carry a drink. doesn't partake in the festivities before the clock announces the new year. instead, thaddeus observes his surroundings & judges a party which he knows he would have thrown better, the house of yes sitting vacant this new years eve as everyone & their mother have gathered here. it leaves him bitter & restless, like a man who serves to work & doesn't know what to do with his hands when he has the night off. and so without another option, he decides to move, tearing his gaze away from a decoration hanging precariously on the ceiling, not apologizing when his shoulder bumps into another — the collision causing his one year chip to fall from his pocket & onto the floor without him realizing.
this was all still pretty new - it wasn't what it used to be for her but that was a good thing. still, fiona would drink and it was quite obvious to anyone that came across her that it would be the case. she'd had an awful year so at least doing it with people around was better than within closed doors. if someone had told her that the year would have ended up this year for her, she would have laughed but it acted as a pivotal year... so it did considering that everything had gone wrong and she'd moved into the middle of nowhere again. seeing something scatter onto the floor and herself catching the motion, fiona honestly felt proud of it. "you dropped-" she shouted but realising it was far too loud, she put it down a couple notches. "you've dropped a guitar pick or something."
𐔌 . ⋮ ( cis woman, she/her ) is that FIONA CARROLL ? you know, the FORTY ONE year old OWNER OF MINOR KEY/COMPOSER ? they’ve been in town for SIX MONTHS, and is often found at MINOR KEY ? they’re known for being COMPASSIONATE and INSIGHTFUL, though sometimes they can be a little DEFENSIVE and AVOIDANT. regardless, finchwood wouldn’t be the same without them and their DIM LIGHTS STILL ON AT 5AM, LIPSTICK SMEARS ON A WINE GLASS, A COLLECTION OF ASSORTED TEA BAGS, HEADPHONES WHEREVER SHE GOES, A FRIDGE COVERED IN POST IT NOTES, IMPROMPTU RUNS, INK STAINS AT THE BOTTOM OF ALL HER BAGS.
tw: infidelity, mental breakdown
THE BACKSTORY
fiona was born in tipperary, ireland. she’s the eldest of four siblings but the middle child always stepped up and outperformed her in every single way. her mother was a music teacher and her father a chemist. although she was inspired by music, she never decided to take up a music hobby like her siblings and was part of a swimming club instead. perhaps it was her version of defiance but it would turn out to be a futile effort considering where she'd end up!
fiona had always been conscientious. a student, she’d get easily upset if she did anything wrong and would want to avoid any repercussion from it, even if it was as simple as a note being jotted down to say she’d forgotten one of her workbooks, she’d cry about it.
at school, she was the person who would sing in front of her peers in assembly and be bullied by people because of it. she had always been in a choir and had a good voice but children were cruel and that knocked her confidence massively.
she was around 10 when she decided she wanted to take up some music classes, however, the only one available was in choral conducting. she went from being in the choir to conducting it and she preferred her back to the audience.
THE WIKI:
she has a very impressive resume as she studied in zurich before taking conductor positions for ballet companies across the globe.
she conducted her first choir at the age of 12.
she has the ability to not only learn a piece in record time but understand it. fi is an obsessive person and does let it consume her from time to time. it does worry her parents but she’s on a lot of money and she now pays for her parents’ retirement and holiday home so everything must be going great, right?
it was her 'messing around’ in a band that would lead her become a world-renowned composer, with a few oscars and grammys below her belt. it was the perfect amount of being seen but not swarmed as if she were famous and she had got lucky on that front. a very private person, there was only so many red carpet walks she would do.
when it came to her profession, fi is an obsessive person and does let it consume her from time to time. it does worry her parents but she’s on a lot of money ( ~ £2m per score and she now pays for her parents’ retirement and holiday home so everything must be going great, right?
think of her discography as that of someone like hans zimmer, it’s that style and she can be both impactful and experimental, electronic along with traditional orchestra.
earns a couple million upfront for her scores and then any royalties on top of that.
PERSONAL LIFE:
fiona met her now ex-husband when she first moved to new york city and assumed her music director role four years ago. she was renting out a small apartment in brooklyn, one that she could easily afford but some of the larger apartments didn’t give her such flexibility when it came to short-term rent. a successful investor, one that she had met closing night of the ballet, was incredibly charming. they had a lot to talk about and seemed to appreciate each other’s pace. they were married within the year.
while he seemed to be smitten by her, his parents and friends seemed to be a little harder. she wasn’t from upper-class society and although she could hold her own, she was different. she was polite as she had run with these types of crowds, for years, in her line of work but it was never something she was truly happy with.
problems started to arise when he wanted children. fiona wasn’t opposed to it and they did try but there were issues, more so on her side. she knew that he definitely felt pressure from his family to carry on the legacy and that pressure was also taken on by fi. it seemed a done deal as he left her within a year but only after him cheating came out - she would rather he'd told her how it is instead of saying it didn't matter.
THE AFTERMATH:
she had moved out of the penthouse (rightfully so as it was his fault) but fiona's name wasn’t on it. everything felt like it was going to be taken away from her. he had moved in with this new woman, who was slightly younger than her and from an upper east side affluent family.
it wasn’t her finest moment when she tried to beg him to come back and after being met with hostility when he used to be the one to comfort her, she stopped trying. she keeps on doing this but is dishonest about it when it comes to friends asking her about it - she's embarrassed.
anxiousness seemed to follow her wherever she went. she kept the divorce a secret from everyone, scared of being one of those statistics and not wanting to be the brunt of gossip. she hadn’t even told her parents and that caused issues when he took it upon himself to ring them and when they were talking like they were still together, he broke the news. this has caused a lot of contention with her folks back in ireland.
it was the first time in her life that her personal life had seeped into her performance. what little motivation she had left wasn't going to complete this film score - the first half was strong but the second seemed juvenile with little passion. it was odd considering she was known for composing tear-jerker scores. the very well renowned director had his team softly delivering the blow that they were cutting ties as they couldn't afford to push back the release because they wanted the feature to qualify for award season - any later and it wouldn't. they were 'kind' enough to pay her for the first half (seemed a fair deal at the time but when the second half was more or less her entire score regurgitated with little new elements, it severely disappointed her. still, she got to credit but felt a failure - the director wouldn't want to take her again and the self-doubt crept in. she'd failed to deliver on a massive scale...
the woman seemed to completely disappear from society as she isolated herself. the divorce was done, she had been given the penthouse, a decision she didn’t quite know the meaning of, and then she was preoccupied with selling it. she’s not managed to find a buyer. then she'd ended up in the emergency room as a kind stranger had taken her there as she seemed very distressed and disoriented coming out of the subway.
FINCHWOOD CALLS...
fiona knew she had to get out and a friend in finchwood had pitched the town to her - she was sold. getting a place quickly, the woman moved but still kept a hold of the penthouse - she could rent it out in the meantime, income and no pressure. some could see it as a clear mental breakdown as it was clear she was suffering and wanting a new start but did running away from her problems ever work? she never did it so this is a first.
reckless is as reckless does - not only had she moved to a town she'd never been to since purchasing a property but she also bought out minor key and this would be her passion project. she'd never run a venue before, the stress was enough to keep her on edge but not earth shattering (for now) and she could house some brilliant performers. learning about venue management is enough to keep her preoccupied from her issues but for how long? she will get that itch to score again but she's worried that word has got around about her not finishing a project up to par with the director and the industry talks...
TID BITS:
has become a runner, was never a runner but she's trying and being outside is definitely helping her process emotions.
is attracted to people - does not care about gender.
