#sntv au*

[gregorygerwitz]

The Gerwitz Siblings + Never Grow Up (part 1 of the Speak Now series)

(warnings: brief mention of drug use, implied unhappy household including infidelity)

and no one's ever burned you nothing's ever left you scarred and even though you want to just try to never grow up

It was a fascinating combination, the naivety and innocence of youth with the ease and ignorance of wealth. Gregory knew he was lucky, that he was one of the few that had outgrown one and could see the other, but the thing about that was that reality and the truth hurt so much more.

He was old enough that he could see what was really going on around him. He could see each of his mother's judgements for what they were - insults, not attempts to actually help someone improve, just digs to make him and everyone else feel bad. He could see how much easier their lives were, with all of their money and things, than most others. He could see that the private school education he and his sister received wasn't about teaching them or giving them opportunities, just flaunting wealth and money and other shiny things that equaled power. And the idea that his name and money would continue to earn him things didn't sit as well as they used to.

Reality was harsh, and it came with truths that hurt so much he wished he didn't know them. There was the truth that his father cared more about the business than anyone in the family. There was the truth that his mother's love would completely disappear if she knew the whole truth about him. There was the truth that he would be forced into a loveless marriage and have a whole clan of children just for the sake of the family reputation and public image. The truths were the worst part, and he wished he could go back to the lies.

His father was happy to come home to a lively house after a long day at the office. His mother cared about the children under her care, even the one that wasn't hers. He was happy to do what was expected of him by the world he was raised in.

Gregory was just too smart to truly believe any of that anymore.

His sister on the other hand...

Kimberly was still young and had the foolishness that came with the age. She was more focused on school friends and listening to the right music and seeing the right movies. She was focused on exactly what she should have been focused on, the things that all teenagers should be worrying about. The state of the world and their places in society weren't her business yet.

She was supposed to be worried about grades and fitting in above all else. It was like baby steps, an introduction to what would be expected in her future. One day, fitting in with private school cliques would turn into hosting book clubs and murmuring gossip around fundraisers and events. Getting good grades would turn into doing all the right things to keep a house in order, or help children with homework, or organize a gala. Listening to the right music now would make her easy to talk to later, and having enough of the right friends was what a women's reputation was built on, in their corner of society.

But the way she experienced it was all too similar to how he'd experienced nearly the same things. She didn't know all the other things about the role she would be expected to fill one day - she didn't know about the probable loveless marriage, or the affairs that might happen behind her back, or the whispers that would happen when she wasn't near enough to hear her friends at some event or missed a book club meeting. The darker side of all of it had been hidden from her, kept secret, and that was how it was supposed to be.

None of them would grow up at all if they knew all the horrible little details, let alone wish for it to happen even faster.

They would try to cling to the little things from childhood, instead, especially the things they used to hate about it. They would cling to giggles during a boring piano lesson. They would hold on tighter to the ropes of the swing. They would stay out later with friends, skip school to go to the mall more often, linger around quiet fundraisers just to make the years last longer.

Children always saw growing up as some exciting new adventure. Gregory had always seen it that way, and he saw that same gleam in his sister's eyes even when he was packing up to move halfway across the country for school. Adulthood, especially for them, meant money and power and making their own rules. It meant getting to do whatever they wanted to do, and the adults of the world let them believe that. They were allowed to believe all the happy little lies that kept the world spinning.

Parents loved their children. The world was a happy place. Nothing could ever hurt them. Lies. Lies. Lies.

He'd started to understand it, soon enough. It was far easier to promise his sister adventure beyond Chicago than to crush her dreams into dust. Kimberly wanted to believe that the world was vast and hers to explore, and who was he to knock all of that down so she could taste reality before it was her time? Lying was easier, kinder, safer for everyone involved. The last thing he wanted to do was open a child's eyes to the harshness of the world around them, to the harshness of their own home. She could live in naïve ignorance for a little longer, for as long as she possibly could, and he would make sure of it.

He would lie, and tell her his mother's moods had nothing to do with them or the pills she slipped after a drink too many at a charity gala. He'd tell her their father came home late most nights because running a business demanded long hours in the office. He'd tell her that love was real, and it existed right there within their home, even when it was hard to see.

At least that last one wasn't a lie, for a while.

It was when he left for Boston, accepting an improperly long hug at the airport security gate, that it lost its truth. Without him there, checking in nightly and taking some of his mother's attention away, almost all of the love was gone. Kimberly would still hold on, of course, she always did, with a heart bigger than he could ever hope to have, but that was because she was luckier than he was. She spent the first few years of her life outside of it all, didn't become a Gerwitz until she was almost six. Love was something she'd known, truly known, at one point in her life, not just a label given to the actions performed for the cameras.

He'd taken some of the love with him to school, held it deep in his chest for weekend phone calls and those rare private conversations they got to have. Over a thousand miles away, there was a little sister he loved more than he could love himself, a soul he'd tried so hard to protect from the moment he realized the truth about the world and their little corner of it. He was too far away to do anything if she needed him, too far for an emergency or a reluctant hug or late night whispers and ice cream in a dim kitchen so they wouldn't be caught.

Where he was, he was experiencing the opposite of what she was feeling. She was still young and hopeful, dreaming of growing up and having the world at her fingertips. But he was in the next stage, living alone in a dorm room meant for two, squeezing his eyes shut and pretending he could hear some familiar guitar riff from a stereo down the hall, wishing the same thing that every adult did, even if everyone would say he was still too young to label himself as one.

He wished he'd never grown up at all.

[bybyefromurgirlodam]

fic writers have you considered a timeless AU for your chosen ship? that song is like 3 whole AUs in one which equals 3 chapters. same characters, same story.

[firewoodfigs]

like??? HELLO??? cannot believe this was in the vault

[emilylawsons]

alright what's "chapter 1" i gotta know i'm NOSY

Oh Liz this one is right up your alley! Though it needs a lot of work. But it’s the beginnings of my Polivia Enchanted AU that I got in my head when SNTV came out over the summer.

A lil snippet under the cut…

-x-x-x-

The fact this party had been designated as a masquerade is her one consolation. It’s much easier to fly under the radar when no one can memorize you or pick you out of a crowd. The white, glitter encrusted plastic across her eyes and nose is her security blanket tonight. That and the profuse amount of vodka she intends to consume.

Olivia, Astrid, and Rachel show their invitations and ascend the stairs onto the deck of the boat.

Drinks are already flowing, and people are greeting one another with half-hugs and air kisses. Olivia is so vastly out of her element, but as soon as Nick steps outside to greet arrivals, she’s at least somewhat at ease. He has a way of commanding a room, bringing a certain light and ease that breaks the ice faster than most. He recognizes two of the three women instantly.

“Olive! Rachel!” he greets, offering them both warm hugs. “I’m so glad you guys made it. Who’s this?”

“Astrid, this is Nick,” Olivia introduces her friend. “Nick, Astrid.”

“We work at the Bureau together,” Astrid explains.

Nick nods and reaches for her hand, giving it a firm shake. “Very nice to meet you.”

The man pauses, surveying the three women. His brow furrows, as though he’s confused, before he asks Olivia, “Where’s John tonight?”

She stares blankly at him, suddenly frozen on the spot. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Rachel shaking her head and sliding her hand across her throat as if to say shut up. She whips her head to glare at her sister because she can speak for her damn self, but she’s also thankful that it’s enough for Nick to not ask questions.

[gregorygerwitz]

The Gerwitz Siblings + Superman (part 2 of the Speak Now series)

I watch superman fly away come back, I'll be with you someday I'll be right here on the ground when you come back down

It was kind of lucky, having the small age difference between herself and her brother, or at least Kim thought so. It meant she could keep him around for longer, appreciate having a best friend living under the same roof for more of her childhood, cling to the connection even into high school. While most of her other friends were watching older siblings leave for college as young as fourth or fifth grade, she got to sit at the end of the big bed in Greg's room every weekend and ask for advice - about boys, and their parents, and the homework she could barely understand.

It was perfect.

But she still had to say goodbye, eventually. That goodbye was just delayed until she was sixteen and could actually understand the weight of what the trip to the airport meant. It meant that she wouldn't see her brother for months at a time, and the he would only be home during the breaks between semesters. Two weeks around Christmas, two weeks in the spring, and the summer months. The rest of the time, he would be in Boston, studying and making new friends, learning everything he needed to learn so he could keep the family company running one day.

It was less time than they were used to spending together, that was for sure. And, while he was off halfway across the country to attend his dream school, living a life separate from their father and the expectations that were placed on their shoulders, however temporary it might be, she was... still in Chicago.

With all of the pressure and attention that had been split between the two of them for so long.

Without Greg there to take at least some of his mother's fussing on himself, she was stuck with all of it. Kim was stuck, doing the morning walk down the stairs and into the sitting room to have her appearance picked at until she was presentable to Thelma's standards. She was stuck putting on a smile every time she left the house. She was stuck being the only young face of the Gerwitz family for every camera she passed, for every event she had to go along to, for every public appearance...

She was stuck in Chicago, alone, and it was miserable.

The only saving grace was the weekly phone calls and the even more frequent emails. It wasn't quite the same as sitting on her brother's bed and asking questions, and they definitely couldn't talk about boys in case someone picked up another phone and listened in on their conversation, but it was better than nothing. She could still hear his voice, and hear about the classes he was taking, and if she closed her eyes, it was almost the same.

The emails were a bit safer, even if they still had to be careful about the topics of conversation. And it gave her something to look forward to before she went to bed, something to read to remind herself that the distance between them wouldn't be forever. They were still family, just with a thousand miles to cross for any kind of time together, and the convenience of technology to make it possible more than just three times a year.

It was something on the other side of every dig at her appearance and her grades, something that felt right after every little thing she did wrong. Even if she was alone in that big house, it wouldn't be forever. She just had to hold out for each break between semesters, and through each missed birthday, until she could sit on the end of the bed again and spill her heart out to one of the only people who cared about its contents.

And, really, it was just for four years while he got his degree. How bad could it be?

[gregorygerwitz]

Burzek + Mine (part 3 of the Speak Now series)

do you remember all the city lights on the water? you saw me start to believe for the first time you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter you are the best thing that's ever been mine

Exactly a week after she'd helped drop her brother off at the airport, Kimberly was starting to feel the loneliness. Without her best friend by her side, she had to do things alone - everyone knew the truth about her birth, and how it came about, and no one really wanted to associate with the girl who was barely a Gerwitz if they didn't have to. Those kinds of things made people whisper, and Thelma hated when people whispered.

So she went to the mall alone, and the library alone, and the café alone... it wasn't so bad.

She ordered her mocha and sat off in the corner of the dimly lit room, reading from the book she'd picked up only a few hours before. It was public, and she was sure a few pictures would be snapped before she left again, but it was better than being at home. At home, she would be locked up in her room, doing the same thing she was doing just then but with headphones in her ears instead of a stereo system in the ceiling. She might as well get some sun and a drink out of it.

On that day in particular, she even got to make some conversation when she was between chapters. It was with probably the only person in Chicago who didn't know who she was from just a glance at her face, a busser clearing the next table over with a little nametag that said ADAM in a stylized font. It was almost identical to the font on the chalkboard menu, the one that listed the flavors they had to choose from for each of their drinks, and it was cute, sticking to a theme that most people would think was a little over the top...

Adam offered her a few extra napkins the first time he passed by her table, and then collected her empty cup when she was done with it, and then she was still sat at the table with her book for another hour. He offered smiles and friendly questions and another drink if she wanted it. He even brought it out to her table so she didn't have to return to the counter and interrupt her train of thought. He was sweet, and let her talk about the characters in the novel in her hands, and made jokes that made her laugh for the first time since the drive to the airport a week before.

When he asked if she wanted another drink, this one when he was off the clock and didn't have to find time between tasks, she accepted without a second thought. It meant she didn't have to sit in the dim corner alone the next time she went in for a drink and some time away from the house. They could even walk down the street together and do more than just drink coffee and talk.

It didn't even occur to her until he offered to give her a ride home that it was a date, and certainly not one she could share with the family she had to return to. She couldn't exactly show up at the house in a beat up Jeep driven by a bus boy at a coffee shop that her stepmother would never even set foot in. That would only cause whispers, and no one wanted that.

Instead, she made plans to meet up with him again, and again, and again...

She had to keep the relationship a secret, but that didn't mean they had to keep secrets from each other. By their fourth date, a lunch at a little deli by the lake, Kim didn't bother trying to hold anything back. She talked about her mother, the woman she missed every single day, and the father she lived with, and the brother she didn't, and everything else that bothered her.

In return, he talked about his own father, and the worry he couldn't share with anyone else when it came to the job he did. He talked about the schools he couldn't get into and the ones he couldn't afford. He talked about his job at the coffee shop, and how it paid enough to keep food on the table when his father was working a case and he had to fend for himself.

It was the only relationship she'd ever been in, and she knew she was lucky that it was with someone who listened to her the way that Greg always had. It was nice, having a sounding board again, someone to hide with when things at the house got to be too much, even if she just sat in the corner with a coffee until he was done with his shift.

And, when a night out to dinner continued with a walk along the lake, and then ended with a soft kiss in softer light reflecting off the water, it was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

[gregorygerwitz]

Burzek + Sparks Fly (part 4 of the Speak Now series)

you touch me once and it's really something you find I'm even better than you imagined I would be I'm on my guard for the rest of the world but with you, I know it's no good

From the time she left the doors of the expensive private school until she walked through the front door of the big house she called home, Kim was free. It didn't matter how long it took, as long as she was home by curfew, and it wasn't like her father or step-mother really cared about what she did. As long as she didn't end up in the paper, jail, or dead, the time was hers to do whatever she pleased with it, and she had a few preferred ways of spending that time.

Most days, she would sit at a table in her new usual café until Adam was done with his shift, and then they would walk as far as they could until the sun started to go down. Sometimes, they ended up at the bookstore, browsing the shelves and reading the summaries on the back without actually buying anything. Other days, they went to the lake, and walked along the water until they reached the spot where they shared their first kiss.

When he wasn't working, they met up to spend hours walking and getting dinner, or lunch on the weekends, and sharing stories about their lives. There was even one weekend where they got the entire day to themselves without any parents calling or demanding to know where they were, without school to prioritize or homework to work on, without anything to focus on but each other. It was perfect, and Adam made sure to take every Saturday off that he could so they had the time to use.

The first time they went to his house was the first time Kim stayed out past curfew.

His father was out working for the night, some vague explanation about an extra patrol shift given in a text. They ordered a pizza and sat on the couch to watch a movie, close to each other under the blanket spread over their laps. If anyone had seen her in that part of town, she would probably get a lecture from Thelma about the family's image, but she couldn't even bring herself to care about the potential consequences. She was having fun in a way that had seemed impossible when her brother left, and she was happy just to enjoy what freedom she had while she still had it.

They both knew the inevitable was going to come, some day. Kim would graduate high school in a year, and follow in her brother's footsteps by going to college as far away from Chicago as possible. She wanted to be where no one knew her name, where she could do anything she wanted to do without worrying about the family image and looking over her shoulder for cameras.

Sitting there, all but cuddled up to her boyfriend on the couch in the quiet living room of his home, she was getting a taste of that kind of freedom. There were no cameras following her around in Canaryville, if only because no one thought to look for her there. She could watch movies and make out with her boyfriend until after curfew, and not leave for home until after midnight. It would definitely make her life at home harder for a week or so, but it was worth it.

Because there was something about moving from the couch to a bed that made her feel giddy. And something about the way Adam held her made her feel warm. And she would withstand a thousand lectures about staying out late if it meant she got to do it all again.

[gregorygerwitz]

I have the next three moodboards made, and they’re sitting in my drafts waiting for blurbs so they can be posted, I just want a more organized way of going about things!

*if Sunday/Monday wins, the next post will be next week, August 6/7!

[gregorygerwitz]

a series of moodboards depicting the lives of the Gerwitz siblings and their loved ones, inspired by the re-recorded album by Taylor Swift

Never Grow Up

Superman

Mine

Sparks Fly

I Can See You

Last Kiss

Enchanted

Haunted

Speak Now

Innocent

Electric Touch

Back To December

The Story Of Us

Better Than Revenge

Foolish One

When Emma Falls In Love

Mean

Castles Crumbling

Ours

Dear John

Long Live

Timeless

[ tag ]

[gregorygerwitz]

over the next few days/weeks (we'll see how long this motivation lasts), I'm going to be posting moodboards (with very long blurbs) to a new Actual Siblings AU inspired by Speak Now (Taylor's Version)!

there will be a moodboard per song, with the exception of Timeless which will have 2 and will be separate from the AU itself (I will explain when the time comes), following a single universe's storyline of Burzek and Moustead (and The Gerwitz Siblings apart from their boyfriends) falling apart and back together again, and surviving whatever fresh hell high society in Chicago has for them.

of course, you should absolutely feel free to ask questions about this AU, as it's still in the development stages and I have a lot of thoughts that I need to jot down somewhere that won't fit in the spreadsheet in a reasonable spot.

the posting order of the songs is under the cut:

Never Grow Up

Superman

Mine

Sparks Fly

I Can See You

Last Kiss

Enchanted

Haunted

Speak Now

Innocent

Electric Touch

Back To December

The Story Of Us

Better Than Revenge

Foolish One

When Emma Falls In Love

Mean

Castles Crumbling

Ours

Dear John

Long Live

Timeless

[gregorygerwitz]

I feel like I have to emphasize that this new AU I've developed is NOT going to get written but like...... guys I'm so smart

[gregorygerwitz]

I should post the Mine moodboard for the Speak Now series today since I used Princess Diaries era Paddy and it's Princess Diaries Day

but alas, that would be out of order, and it's not a Sunday

[gregorygerwitz]

I’ve made 9 of the Speak Now series moodboards (there’s gonna be ~23, maybe 24, we’ll see what happens with Timeless) and I just wanna yell about the plot I love this little universe so much