#i'm currently very invested in the wonderland au

[definetelynotavampire]

if i could write i'd be OVER for y'all

[matchaflavored]

Release the essays about the kpop au

And release I shall... under a cut, because I am shy!

Disclaimer: I'm largely a fan of SM Entertainment groups so most of my interpretation of the setting will be based on how they model their units, the culture within that company, as well as the activities of their talent. To make things simpler, I will not be using real life locations and will continue to use Twisted Wonderland’s own geography. Unless I decide otherwise. We will see.

The Setting

So this is a magic-less au where the cast (although I haven't thought hard about what the other characters do...) works under Night Raven Entertainment, a well established entertainment agency and a leading company within the music industry, producing multiple successful groups. The Heartslabyul boys are formed into a boy group with two sub-units: one with Cater, Trey, and Riddle called Hearts-RTC, and Ace and Deuce's being a portmanteau of their names, Adeuce. They're an experimental pop group, and have music releases that range from hip-hop to R&B to ballads and whatever other music style they decide to pursue at the moment. They didn't have to compete in any talent competitions like Produce 101 or anything, and were handpicked amongst the trainees by the CEO (aka Crowley) based on what he felt was balanced in a five member group. Riddle, Trey, and Cater are more experienced entertainers, having either prior experience in the industry or are longtime trainees, and create a strong vocal line. Ace and Deuce are more of the inexperienced side, the company deciding to street recruit them after deciding they had the potential to develop more flexibly than their seniors.

Riddle

Riddle comes from a well established line of entertainers, so it was expected that he would follow suit and his upbringing reflects this. His mother is a retired solo vocalist and her husband was her producer, and they currently work as idol trainers and as Riddle's managers. His mother wanted him to stand out as an entertainer so she forced him to pursue multiple performance art-forms when he was younger, such as acting, modeling, and piano. This required a strict discipline, and his schedule as you expect was micromanaged to the second. He was home-schooled because of this, and was largely isolated from his age group. There was a brief time where he spent his free-time away from schedules and training to play with Trey and Che'nya, both of whom he attracted to his home after they heard his singing. They were estranged from Riddle the same way they were in canon. Social isolation and his rapid growth in talent made him develop a very strong feeling of arrogance, and both he and his mother opposed him joining a boy group after he signed with NRE. However, Crowley argued that Riddle would be able to shine as an individual more if he's juxtaposed against other members in a boy group, and that solo debuts aren't as good for building reputation in today's popular culture. Riddle's mother agreed under the pretense that Riddle must be the leader regardless of age or seniority as a trainee. The time between his training within the company and his debut was about two months.

Trey

Trey didn't really think he would go far in his music hobby. Career. Whichever. He's not ignorant of his talent, but insists he's not that good. He, Che'nya, and Riddle would sing together in their brief moments of play and Trey found a unique love of music through their time together. Subconsciously (or was it...) he invested a good amount of time into music, and would sing the national anthem when his teacher asked him to or play the guitar for his friends at a birthday party. Eventually, he found himself competing in local youth competitions impulsively, and after impressing a scouter who happened to attend one of these competitions, he was pursued through his social media. His family was of course super supportive even if he himself was very hesitant about it, mainly because of the amount of personal sacrifice that came with becoming an idol. But after realizing he could probably meet Riddle again if he elevated his status a bit, he agreed. I’d say he was about 15-16 when he was scouted. He didn't have many expectations about meeting Riddle actually happening, but he worked pretty hard nonetheless since that's what Riddle would expect and want from him. He was one of the later debutantes because he didn't really fixate on attaining his debut compared to other trainees. When he was put into a group with Riddle, whom he didn't even know was in the same company at the time... he was pretty shocked, to say the least.

Cater

Cater knew he was pretty talented ever since he was young, and his one-track-mind made him relentless in pursuing a musical career no matter what. School wasn't really his priority at all, and he spent most of his time writing music, learning dance, and refining his vocals. He wanted to have an early start and get ahead of competing trainees, so he joined NRE by auditioning in the company's annual casting call when he was around 12-14 years old. This of course, came with the issues that all idols face when they start training young. You can say he became a little depressed. Nevertheless, he focused on trying to debut but had two instances where his planned debuts did not go through. The first time, the group he was going to debut in was scrapped, the second time, he was not able to win in a survival show he was competing in due to his notable lack of sincerity. Although very demoralized by this, he continued to work until he managed to secure a role as the lead vocalist for Heartslabyul. He’s able to use the seniority he has as a longtime trainee to help lead the others, but feels inferiority towards his other group mates who trained for a shorter time period than him.

Deuce

Deuce was previously an idol trainee in a different company, however, he was under poorer management. Although boasting exemplary dance and rap skills, he wasn’t able to utilize them as the group he was performing with did not have the concept that matched with his skillset. Nevertheless, he worked with them for a few years and continued in stagnancy until he decided to spontaneously quit and figure himself out. He and his mom weren’t in a bad situation, but the income he got from his previous agency fell flat and he wanted to be able to support her better. He decided to start busking to build up his confidence again and as a way to vent, and was eventually spotted by a scouter who invited him to audition to NRE as a trainee. He was in the same group as Ace, and trained for around a year when he was 15 before debuting.

Ace

Ace’s journey into idoldom was pretty spontaneous, a very “well I’ll try and if I make it then I make it, if I don’t, then whatever” sort of thing. He didn’t have any big ambitions when it came to entertainment, but he was very adaptable and fit so he decided to let the company do what they wished with his image and his training. Like Deuce, he was also busking, but surprisingly enough he didn’t catch the scouters eye because he was performing musically. Ace was doing a magic show, and impressed the recruiters with his charismatic personality and quick thinking. He was invited to audition, which he did actually put in the work towards, and was accepted as a trainee. He’s pretty laid back, and responds well to the pressure that his company puts him through. This resilience is the reason why Crowley let him debut quickly, since Ace showed signs of consistently developing without succumbing to stress.