i'm wishing he was you instead (lucy)

[Deleted]

November 23rd

River was trying not to act as nervous as he was as he entered the Hogs Head on this snow covered Hogsmeade afternoon. He had written something, something that could maybe fit into a bigger project.. but he wanted to see if it read well first. So he asked the only actor he knew to meet him at the Hogs Head today. 

Lucy Weasley.

He didn't know her very well, but she was a Purifer too and he knew she was an actress, so that was a good enough connection, right? He was partly surprised that she agreed to meet with him, but he was thrilled that she did.

He took a seat in the corner, all bundled up and hands slightly shaking as he took his gloves off, reaching up to unwrap his scarf next.

@lucyweasley

[Deleted]

Lucy had to admit, she was very thrown off when she received the owl from the slightly younger boy. She knew the kid, sure, he was only a year below her in school and they were both involved in the same organization with the same sorts of goals, but they hadn’t ever been friends. He sent her an owl asking her to meet him at the Hogs Head during their next Hogsmeade weekend, he didn’t explain why, but she also knew better than to ask. She didn’t know the nature of this meeting and if it was something that had to do with the purifiers, she definitely didn’t want anyone to intercept the messages. A part of her wondered though, if he wanted to meet in public rather than just the purifiers base, maybe it had nothing to do with any of that.

So she agreed to meet him and she walked into the Hogs Head that afternoon after he had. She stepped inside and scanned the pub, looking for the familiar face. She saw him in the corner, he looked rather small and slightly out of place here. The barkeep nodded to her as she walked in, Lucy nodded back, this was a familiar haunt for the Weasley girl. She walked over to the young man who had called upon her. “River, right?” she asked, politely. Usually, she would address him by his last name, but these seemed like a more casual conversation.

@river

[Deleted]

November 23rd

River was surprised that he had the confidence to even speak to this girl, let alone let her read his work. It was incredibly nerve wracking to let anyone see what he wrote, especially if they were a professional. Maybe she hadn't gotten a lot of jobs, maybe she had, but either way if she considered herself an actress than he considered one too and that meant he would trust her opinion... even if it was scary to show her.

River was looking down at the envelope in his hands when she walked in, so he jumped a little when she spoke to him. He quickly stood, "Lucy, hi. Thanks for coming," he said, too quickly. He cleared his throat and gestured to the seat across his, "did you want to order something? It's on me," he offered, still not sitting down yet.

@lucyweasley

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Lucy raised her eyebrow at the man when he jumped up upon finally seeing her. She knew that he was from a proper pureblood family and it was probably some chivalrous gesture that he was taught to stand for women or something, but it wasn’t something she was used to, at least, not something she was used to off the clock. People always tried to impress her on their ‘dates’. In this scenario, it just made her skeptical. She sat down when he thanked her for coming and gestured for her to sit across from him. A part of her wished she hadn’t come, but then again, she was curious as to why he asked her to come. “No I think I’m just fine for now…” he nodded slowly when he asked if she wanted to order something. She wanted to keep her wits about her, just in case this was some sort of purifiers meeting or something where she would need to be on her toes. If it turned out that this was just a friendly chat, maybe she’d order a drink. “Did you want to talk to me about something?” she asked, glancing at the envelop.

@river

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River felt like his hands were starting to shake, so he put them in his pockets just in case it was visible. He had trained to be brave and stand up for himself, but this was a totally different type of bravery. Talking to a girl, that is. Talking to a pretty girl too. Talking to anyone, really. But she was nice enough, right? So far. She didn't stare daggers at him like Vi did. At the thought of his new wife, Rivers thumb ran over the ring on his finger, hand still in his pocket.

He waited until she sat to sit down, and she said she was fine on the order front. He nodded, accepting her refusal. She asked if he wanted to talk to her about something, her eyes falling to the envelope on the table. "Y-Yes," River started, sitting up a little straighter in order to find more confidence... somewhere in there. "I wrote something. It's a rough draft but...I think it could be the start of a play. But I wanted... to see if you could review it first. Maybe try acting it out," he said all of this so quickly he wasn't sure if she'd understand him.

@lucyweasley

[Deleted]

He finally sat down and it helped put Lucy at ease a bit. She wasn’t someone who got nervous easily, but, she was someone who was always incredibly skeptical of people, especially people that she didn’t know well, but even still with people she did know. Her sister had been married for a while now and Lucy still found herself skeptical of her new brother in law. Oscar was nice, and he was friendly, and he was good to Anna, but people weren’t all good. She always kept that thought at the front of her mind. “You wrote something?” Lucy repeated, raising her eyebrows again at him. He asked if she would be willing to read it, or act it out? She kept her eyebrows raised, this seemed a little too… convenient? Maybe he simply knew she was an actress and he wanted her opinion. He had a wife he could ask, didn’t he? Though, knowing his wife, Lucy couldn’t imagine she would be supportive of this hobby. “Um, yeah okay, sure. Let me see it.” she agreed, reaching out for the envelope.

@river

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She seemed skeptical about everything he was saying, and he could understand that. Being a part of the purifiers meant that you understood that people couldn't be trusted. He hoped that she could respect that he was being genuine in this... But that was up to her to decide how she felt about it.

She took the envelope, saying that she would take a look at it. "I heard you were an actress and I just thought that maybe you could help out," he suggested. "I don't know that many actresses. Actually I don't think I know any," he added.

Has she looked over the monologue he was silent. It was about three pages long, and the character was a girl who lost a dear friend, and was dealing with the pain of it all while facing the reality that she couldn't stand by and watch people be hurt anymore, but she was afraid. Basically she was based off of River when his best friend Andrew was killed.

@lucyweasley

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As she took the envelope and pulled the pages out, he explained that she was likely the only actress that he knew and she nodded, not looking at him, but rather looking over the piece. He clarified that it was a draft earlier, but she didn’t mind. She liked new work, she had never been involved in the creation of new work before, well, except for everything that she said to any family member ever. But her assumed personality and person around her family wasn’t something she’d ever make into anything, it was just a necessary performance to keep herself safe and with the upper hand. Some of her cousins were borderline the same way.

Lucy glanced through the pages, mouthing a few words to herself as they stuck out to her. It was interesting to say the least. It wasn’t the worst thing that she had ever read, but she hadn’t read anything unpublished, for the most part. It definitely needed work, but she supposed that was the point of this whole thing. “Okay, so would you like me to read it out loud, then? So that you can hear it?” she clarified, not really caring that they were in a pub, she had acted in stranger places. Memorizing lines while walking the streets of London was a regular activity of hers.

@river

[Deleted]

As she read it his hands were still clenched in his pockets. He had shown his work to Liv before, of course, his best friend - and Andrew. But no one other than the two of them had seen anything he had done before. It was scary watching someone read it who had actual experience with this sort of thing. She asked if he would like her to read it out loud so he could hear it, and he nodded. "I think that would be good! Then we can see what sounds weird," he agreed. He was getting a little less nervous now, since she was willing to participate and all.

He leaned forward, finally releasing his hands from his pockets and placing them on the table. His drink had gone cold, but he hadn't thought about it anymore. He was too distracted and focused on what they were doing here. At least the bartender knew him well enough that he let him come in even though he was a student and all. But, the Hogs Head had been a Purifier place forever.

@lucyweasley
(you can just say 'and she read it' or make somethign up LOL)

[Deleted]

Lucy read the monologue out loud. She read mostly smoothly, however, she paused and stumbled in a couple of rather clunky places. That was to be expected if he had never had his work read out loud though. It was easy to imagine the way that people would talk, but it was hard, in reality, she thought, to actually capture a good rhythm of speaking without hearing it spoken aloud. Once she finished, she set the pages down and looked up at him. She wasn’t sure what he could be thinking. “So what did you think?” Lucy asked him, actually interested to hear his thoughts. Lucy took direction well and was rarely offended by any type of criticism, so she was curious to hear that he thought while listening to her speak his words. She could imagine it was quite the intimate process. “Is there anything you want me to try differently?” perhaps she hadn’t read it in the way that he was imagining it. Her skepticism of him was wearing off the longer they sat there, and she was getting a little more into the idea of helping him with his play.

@river

[Deleted]

As she read through River leaned forward even more, his backside almost lifting off the seat as he rested his entire wait on his arms, which were resting on the table. She asked what he thought when she finished, and it took him a second to answer - he was too awe struck. "I... it's clear where it needs work," he concluded with a nod, "just because things sound different out loud than how they're written, of course..." he paused, and she spoke again asked what he wanted her to try different. "I think... well, there are some lines I need to change - definitely... maybe you could help me with that by... I dunno, riffing off it? Unless improvisation isn't your thing, then by all means," he paused again.

"Maybe try playing it a little younger," he suggested, pursing his lips to one side. He thought of Liv, who had also been Andrews best friend. She was bubbly, sweet and talked softly. Different than Anna. A healthy mix between the two might read better.

@lucyweasley

[Deleted]

River agreed with her thoughts and then gave his own. When she asked if he wanted her to read it again, while trying anything new, he asked if she could play it younger. Asking her to improv a bit where the writing didn’t flow was a fine direction, but younger was a bit of a vague one. “Do you mean younger as in innocent?” she asked, “or just with a higher vocal tone?” if Lucy were being asked to play herself younger, it wouldn’t be much different than she was now, she had always been a hard person, she had always had a demanding voice and didn’t often waver from what she wanted. However, she suspected that he wanted more of a change.

@river
(sorry, everyone's getting short and to the point Ali replies tonight)

[Deleted]

She asked what he meant by that and he tried to figure it out in his mind for a moment, tilting his head from side to side. "I think more innocent and... less wise? Like you don't understand," he suggested nervously. Then he laughed a little, "I'm no director," he stated. He looked at her, his brows furrowing just a little as he thought more about the monologue she had just read through. "I mean, I honestly think I know what needs to be changed line wise... maybe one more time and then I'll leave you alone," he suggested. He was sure that Lucy Weasley had much better things to do.

@river

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River explained what he wanted and Lusie nodded, she understood and was fairly sure she could get herself to that place. It wasn’t too demanding of a task and there was only minor emotional distress to it. “Sure, I can do that.” she told him. When he said that he was no director, she shrugged, “neither are half of the people I work with.” she said, a bit teasing, but not exactly at his expense. She could tell that he was still a little on edge and she wanted to make him a little more comfortable with being here, she was used to being vulnerable in this way, it was still new to him. Once she realized this was really all he wanted of her, she felt comfortable right away, it was just work.

She nodded, took a second, and then read through the piece again, trying to keep the character that he wanted her to portray at the front of her mind. Once she finished, she looked at him again, setting the papers back down on the table entirely and sliding them over to him. “Well, hopefully that was helpful. But just so you know, you didn’t bother me, I’m happy to help.” she smiled to him, genuinely. A real Lucy smile was rare but not unseen.

@river

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She agreed to try it the way he suggested, and she agreed - but added that half the people she worked with weren't directors too. He smiled at that, nodding. She was charming, kind of similar to the way Vi was charming... but more actual charm in there. He liked Vi, most of the time, but she definitely wasn't someone that he saw himself with romantically. Not that he was saying Lucy was but she was charming. Aaaaand he needed to move on from that thought train. Weird.

She read through it again and his eyes widened a little in surprise that she was nailing what he meant. He nodded slowly through the whole thing, taking it all in. When she finished and slid the papers back to him, he took them and replaced them in the envelope. She said she hoped she was helpful and said sh wasn't bothered, happy to help, and smiled. He smiled back, "you really are a great actress. Did you always want to be one?"

@lucyweasley