Another day, another x-factor contestant in a boyband has come forward to talk about an image he was forced into because of his contract on the show.
"People always questioned my image, which was because what was being put out there wasn't who I was. There was none of my personality."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/x-factor-star-claims-wasnt-36563458
It sounds shitty, but also kind of standard stuff about not being able to be himself because he had a manufactured image. I wonder if he’s keeping quiet about other things, or of that was the worse of it.
The part I found really sad was this bit at the end because we know for a fact nothing has changed.
I’m V. Arrow (she/her), and I’ve been writing fanfiction my whole life, really, but I’ve been posting it online since 1998 (and it was the main thing that got me grounded between the ages of 12 and 18).
Thanks to fandom, I have also published The Panem Companion, a guidebook to The Hunger Games; an essay in Fic! Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World about RPF, looking mainly at One Direction; and an essay with infographics in Divergent Thinking, an anthology about the Divergent series. I’ve also gotten to speak at San Diego Comic-Con on a panel about fanfiction!
I like woman-focused narratives and analytical lenses, weird and thoughtful linguistic choices, rich worldbuilding, when the good guys (and especially gals) win, women written as full people with dignity and respect, men who adore the women in their lives, and healthy relationships after sad characters get the therapy they need.
I love fics that take a tiny corner of a huge canon universe and dive deep to flesh out a place or a character that canon doesn't give its due.
Some people think I’m angry all the time, but I’m actually a very bubblegum happy girl -- I’m just a Jewish feminist who loves yelling and sees spirited debate as a bonding activity (and I have high standards and no energy for excusing bad behavior just because a character's hot).
In the time that Maggie and I have known each other, I have written fanfic for the following pairings:
Rob Pattinson/Kristen Stewart (Twilight RPF)
Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark, Cinna/Finnick Odair, Finnick Odair/Annie Cresta, various other pairings (The Hunger Games)
Anna Oliphant/Étienne St. Clair, Lola Nolan/Cricket Bell (Anna and the French Kiss series)
Percy Jackson/Nico DiAngelo, Percy Jackson/Nico DiAngelo/Rachel Elizabeth Dare/Annabeth Chase, various other pairings (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)
Mia Thermopolis/Michael Moscovitz (The Princess Diaries book series)
Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson/Nick Grimshaw (One Direction)
Harry Styles/George Shelley, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson/George Shelley, George Shelley/Ella Henderson (Union J + One Direction)
Nicky/Joe [Nicolò di Genova/Yusuf al-Kaysani], Andy/Quýnh [Andromache the Scythian/Quýnh] (The Old Guard)
And LOTS of drabbles for various YA and MG book pairings and other pairings of UK X-Factor contestants. And maybe some GBBO contestant drabbles? I honestly can’t remember!
Pairings I love desperately but have not written include:
Jack Dawson/Rose DeWitt Bukater (Titanic)
Emily Fitch/Naomi Campbell (Skins)
Everyone in Ocean’s Eight/Everyone Else in Ocean’s Eight
Eleanor Shellstrop/Chidi Anagonye, Jason Mendoza/Janet (The Good Place)
Steve/Bucky (Captain America)
Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau (Captain Marvel)
Cassel Sharpe/Lila Zacharov (The Curse Workers)
My Top Ten Albums of All Time
1989, Taylor Swift
Heroes & Thieves, Vanessa Carlton
Hotel Paper, Michelle Branch
Salute, Little Mix
Up All Night, One Direction
Replay, Play
A Little Bit Longer, The Jonas Brothers
Folie a Deux, Fall Out Boy
Chapter One, Ella Henderson
That Day, Greg Raposo (and more than that, all of his unreleased/limited release tracks)
Right Where You Want Me, Jesse McCartney
I’m currently @aimmyarrowshigh on Tumblr and AO3, @aimmyarrowshigh_ on Instagram where I mostly post my mediocre crafts, and @aimmyarr0wshigh on Pinterest where I save up images to eventually make aesthetic graphics or moodboards.
Prompt - I have a project for you! Can you please write a long story with all of the bands/ YouTubers you write about? You can make about whatever you want. Have fun. Your deadline is December 31, 2019, at 11:59pm. 🎊 Good luck.
Prompt - Hi. Could you possibly do a very long one shot? Can you do it with 1D, R5, 5sos, Union J, Hey Violet, The Wanted, Stereo kicks, and The Vamps? They all live together. Something bad happens to someone and they all help him/her. Thanks!
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It was supposed to be one of the biggest news of the century. It’s not every day that you kidnap a bunch of celebrities. By a bunch of celebrities, I mean, a whole group of them. There was the One Direction boys, The Wanted boys, Emblem3, 5sos, Union J, R5, The Vamps, Magcon boys, Janoskians, JacksGap boys, The Stereo Kicks boys and a couple of YouTubers. The kidnappers thought that they had hit a major jackpot except that they made huge blunders. And they were blunders that created a whole lot of mess.
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The main blunder they did was a mix-up. A huge mix-up! The One Direction boys were missing two of their bandmates when they woke up in a poorly illuminated room. They were missing Harry and Niall who had apparently been replaced by Connor of The Vamps.
They questioned their kidnappers as soon as their door was opened.
“Where’s Niall and Harry?” Louis asked.
“Where are my boys?” Connor asked in turn.
“Did we mix them up too?” One of the kidnappers asked the other.
“They all look similar. How would I know?” the other kidnapper shrugged as they locked the boys inside before leaving, ignoring Louis and Zayn pounding at the door.
“I want my boys” Connor nearly sobbed.
“Same kiddo. Same” Liam sighed, pulling Connor in a hug.
Zayn and Louis shared a look with each other, in pure worry.
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Indeed, there had been a big mix up. Just like Connor had been locked with Liam, Zayn, and Louis; Niall and Harry had been with James, Brad and Tristan. And they weren’t the only ones that had been in this mix-up.
The Wanted boys were missing Nathan who was with Drew and Wes while Keaton was with Tom, Max, Siva, and Jay.
The Janoskians were missing Jai who had been replaced by Jack of the JacksGap while Finn was with Jai.
Ross was missing from the R5 gang and had been replaced by Charlie and Reece while Ross was with the Stereo Kicks boys.
And Alfie and Zoe were separated from Joe who was with Kevin and Joe Jonas while Nick was with Alfie and Zoe.
Similarly, Union J’s George was with Michael, Ashton and Calum while JJ, Josh, and Jaymi had Luke.
Away from their own people, they all found comfort in each other.
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Luckily, all the blunders that the kidnappers had made piled upon themselves and it didn’t take long for the cops to track them down.
Joe Sugg was currently sitting with Joe and Kevin Jonas when he overheard Joe saying that he was worried about his little brother.
“If he is with Zoe, she’ll watch over him. She’s an awesome big sister” Joe let it slip out of his mouth.
Kevin cracked a smile at the youngest Sugg, ruffling his hair as he whispered, “Hey, don’t worry! You’ll soon see your sister.”
“Just like we’ll see Nick” Joe Jonas added.
The youngest Sugg nodded, a little smile creeping on his face.
Meanwhile, Nick was in a similar situation.
“Come on, Kev, Joe, find a way. Just get to me” Nick whispered to himself.
“I’m sure they’ll find you” Zoe smiled at him, reach over to squeeze the boy’s shoulder.
Nick looked up at Zoe, nodding, “I’m sure you’ll find your brother too.”
Alfie looked up at the two, smiling.
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Ross was the first to hear the cops’ car siren and for one who was keeping to himself, he couldn’t help but smile at the boys of the Stereo Kicks band.
“Thank God, we’ll finally be able to find Reece and Charlie now” Jake sighed.
“And I’ll find my siblings” Ross mumbled.
“I’m sure of that,” Tom said, clapping Ross’s shoulder.
Reece and Charlie had been in a similar situation as Ross and had clung to each other until Riker crawled to them, trying to reassure the two frightened boys that help must be on its way.
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As soon as the cops got to The Wanted boys, the boys had run to go find Nathan and they couldn’t help but smile fondly at their boy who was hiding under Wes’s arm in fear of the kidnapper returns.
“Wes” Keaton gasped, running from Tom’s arms to jump right into Wes’s arms.
“Come here kiddo” Siva whispered as Nathan clung to him.
Meanwhile, Finn had found his twin while Luke waited until Jai gets to him.
“Well, what’s better than twins reuniting with each other” Beau laughed, pulling his siblings in a hug.
The Union J boys were in a similar situation, happy to find George back again while they let Luke meet his bandmates again.
“Did they hurt you?” JJ asked George, noticing the tears on the boy’s face.
“Nope, he was just a bit frightened” Ashton answered for him, clapping George’s back.
“So was I” Luke pouted, earning a chuckle from Ashton and JJ as they watched the boy hug Calum and Michael.
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With the help of the cops, they all managed to meet up with their own group again. Despite how shaken they were due to this incident, they did manage to gather again for a couple of drinks or maybe just to see each other smiling again. After all, it was not always that you get kidnaped, involved in a mix-up and rescued all within 24hours.
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A/N
Not too sure about this so I didn’t involve more bands that I wrote for but still, hope you all like it.
Stereo Kicks, the English-Irish 11 piece boy band who Simon Cowell forcibly formed on X Factor 2014 (UK), are the closest thing the western world has gotten to a kpop band and in this essay i will
Things had been really good for the band for the first few months they had been put together as a band. They all became best friends. Reece know had six amazing big brothers and one little brother. Soon things started to pick up in the rehearsals, interviews, and concerts. Soon everyone became really stressed out and started to become really mean especially to Reece. They started to exclude him from activities and would even ignore him at times. Soon Reece got tired of them being rude and ignoring. He left in the middle of the night and decided to leave the band. The next morning the boys noticed and went after him. The band soon was back together and they promised Reece to not do what they did ever again.
“Hey get down here everyone we have an interview this morning!” yells Tom. They all tromp down the stairs and get into two different cars. This interview is the most important one they have had in a few days. Reece was very nervous about this interview and Charlie noticed. “Hey Reece it’s going to be fine. This interview will go great.. Oh look we are here.” exclaims Charlie. They all sat on multiple chairs and a couch when they arrived. “Hello everyone. We are lucky to have Stereo Kicks with us tonight. How are you all doing boys?’ the interviewer asked. “We are doing great. Tons of rehearsals and concerts going on. We even have an album we are working on.” says Barclay. “Oh wow that is amazing news.. Now I have a question just for Reece here. So Reece we have heard rumors you are dating a certain mystery lady.. Anything you can us about this lady?” the interviewer asks. Reece doesn't hear her say his name and continues twiddling his thumbs nervously. Jake digs his elbow into Reece’s side. “OW what was that for?’ exclaims Reece. “Um sorry am I bothering you?” asks the interviewer. “Um no sorry just didn't hear sorry. "mumbles Reece. The rest of the interview went really well. Everyone ignored Reece including the interviewer. The car ride home was silent and Reece feared the worst. They all headed inside and Reece curled up on the couch afraid. “So way to screw up the interview. You know it was very important for our album reveal.” yells James. “I'm so sorry guys. I was so nervous. I didn't mean to screw it up.” cries Reece. “Well you did good job. I wouldn't go on twitter they are probably saying that you screwed up. Which is what you did.” exclaims Chris. Reece runs out the room and throws himself onto his bed crying. He soon cries himself to sleep.
Meanwhile in the other room the other boys are discussing room. “So I am thinking that Reece doesn't care about being in the band anymore. I think we need to figure out if he is going to stay in the band.” says Casey. “Yeah he knew that interview was important to us. He knew and just ignored the interviewer. I think though we need to talk to him first before we decide anything. See what is up with him.” says Jake. They decide to wait until the next night to say anything to Reece once they see he is sleeping. No one notices that Reece cried himself to sleep. The next day none of them talk to Reece except for during necessary times during rehearsals. They get home late that night and decide to talk to Reece than. “Hey Reece we really need to talk to you.” says Tom. “Um ok yeah.” mumbles Reece. He sits down curled up into a chair. “So we talked last night and think you don't want to be in the band in the more.” says James. “What of course I want to be in the band!” exclaims Reece. “Well you sure didn't act like it in the interview” says Charlie. “You knew I was nervous before the interview Charlie” says Reece. “That is no excuse for destroying such an important interview.” yells Chris into Reece’s face. Reece flinches back from Chris and curls up even more. “Yeah so you need to think if you want to be in this band. Right now we don't believe you do and feel like you need to not come to rehearsals and everything.” says Barclay. Reece nods his head and goes to his room. He locks the door behind and throws himself onto his bed crying. He cries for a few hours until the other boys are asleep. Reece starts packing his bag and decides to leave the band. He figured the boys didn't want him anymore. He packed a few shirts and a pair of jeans. He left out his window without grabbing his jacket. He knew the boys wouldn't care if he was gone.
The next morning many hours after Reece left the boys woke up. Tom made breakfast for everyone. “So I am guessing today is going to be a good day. I got a call that we have the day. What we should we do?” asks Tom. “Well shouldn't we all be here. Has anyone seen Reece?’ asks Barclay. “Nope his door is locked. He is probably still sleeping.” says Tom. “I think we all should check on him.” says Barclay. They all get up and Barclay knocks on Reece’s door. After no answer Chris got the extra key and unlocked the door. The door swings up and they don't see Reece anywhere. “Oh my gosh do you think he ran away?’ asks Charlie. “We should go out and look for him. His phone is still here but his drawers are empty.’ exclaims Jake. They climb into the cars and head out looking for Reece. They search for many hours until it is dark and snowing out. They search the last park in town and soon see a small bundle curled up on a bench freezing. “Please be you Reece please be you.” cries James. They reach the bundle and see that it is Reece. They notice he isn't wearing a coat or warm clothes. They bundle a sleeping Reece into a car. Twenty minutes later they get Reece home. They dress him and warm clothes and wait for him to wake up. Many hours later Reece starts to stir. “Hey guys he’s waking up.” exclaims Chris. The boys gather round and wait to Reece notices them. Reece sees them and flinches. He curls up into a ball and refuses to look at them. “Oh Reece we are so sorry. Please forgive us little brother.” begs Barclay. Reece looks up at Barclay and throws himself into his arms crying. It takes a long time for Reece to start crying. Soon over the next two days Reece starts warming back up to all the boys. Tom was the last one Reece cried into his arms. The other boys promised Reece that they never say those things to Reece ever again and made sure if they got to stressed to take a break. They promised to be brothers forever.
It’s sort of an A/B/O episode! Maggie gets down and dirty with Teen Wolf, Sterek, emotional growth for action heroes, and the whole age difference of it all. V gives us a run-down of dreamboat-who-needs-a-dom George Shelley and his boy band Union J, as well as an attempt to make the kpop model happen in the UK: Stereo Kicks. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.)
This Episode Covers…
tiktok • the baby-sitters’ club • claudia kishi • teen wolf • sterek • stiles stilinski • derek hale • tyler hoechlin • a/b/o • knotting • slash • the asshole and the relatable one • tortured hot guys • one direction • union j • george shelley • the x factor (uk) • harry styles • louis tomlinson • d/s • stereo kicks • tom mann • barclay beales • boy bands • kaysanova • joe/nicky • found family fics • good luck charms
LISTEN ON… Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, LibSyn, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favorite RSS podcatcher! Search “I Met You On LJ”!
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Show Notes & Resources behind the cut.
George Shelley’s miraculous UK X-Factor audition.
Union J’s best music video, according to V.
Stereo Kicks’ best performance on X-Factor, according to V.
Tom Mann & Barclay Beales’ romantic duet music video, CrossTalk.
TikTok compilation of boyfriends reading dirty texts in front of other people.
Prompt - Hi it’s my B’day on June 15 and I love your one shots. Could u please do a stereo kicks one shot after they split when Reece goes to new hope club and Charlie goes to over Atlantic and Reece is having a hard time coping after he left and the boys decide to surprise him at a show when they’re opening for the vamps and they come backstage and instead of seeing him all happy they catch him crying and he explains how tough it was moving on and how he misses them?
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After the Stereo Kicks band split up, Reece had long pondered over how to pursue his passion. Music is his passion and there was no way in which he could find another career instead of music. The option to join another band was very clear but Reece found himself guilt-ridden about his decision. A new club without your ex-bandmates was already hard on him, then he had to see his best friend Charlie going to Over Atlantic band. New Hope Club wasn’t bad at all but Reece had a serious time coping with all that was going his life at that time.
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Blake and George had tried their best to make Reece feel at home and honestly speaking, Reece liked the boys. It was just that he really missed his bandmates; his brothers. And it didn’t take long for Blake and George to realize it. They tried to cheer Reece up but they just couldn’t make up for that empty feeling in Reece’s life.
And that’s when they came up with a plan to hopefully bring a smile to the younger one’s face. It was supposed to be a happy surprise for the lad. Happy it was, but it was also full of tears.
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New Hope Club was supposed to be opening for The Vamps and after quite some time, Reece found a little smile when he met with the boys.
“That’s the surprise?” Reece asked them.
He knew that the boys were planning something but he was unaware of what it could be.
“That’s part of it but there’s an even bigger one” Blake told Reece.
“What?” Reece questioned.
“You’ll know it soon,” George said, ruffling the boy’s hair.
Reece shrugged, letting out a huff of impatience.
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Reece had been on stage singing when he first noticed his ex-bandmates. He, who had always believed in professionalism no matter what the circumstance is, found himself unable to even utter a word as he looked straight ahead, totally frozen.
Blake and George shot him worried looks as they covered for the boy.
Reece, meanwhile, had to run backstage, completely overwhelmed.
Luckily, his ex-bandmates were right behind him.
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“And we thought he’ll be happy to see us” James chuckled.
“Instead, he runs away” Chris tutted.
“Didn’t like us being here or what, Reecey?” Casey teased.
“Reece? Are you crying?” Barclay noticed.
“Hey, buddy, what’s wrong?” Jake asked.
“I… I…” Reece trailed off, unable to speak between his sobs.
“Reecey?” Charlie asked, crouching down in front of his best friend.
“Breath in, bud,” Tom said, patting the boy’s back.
“I missed you all” Reece managed to say.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he was engulfed in a tight hug.
Clearly, they had missed him too.
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Though overwhelmed, Reece had appreciated the surprise. He spent the night bonding with his previous band. The New Hope Club boys gave them some privacy despite Reece and the boys insisting that they joined in because at that time what mattered was that Reece had finally found his smile, though overwhelmed but happy.
