#music room young royals

[raincitygirl76]

Ah yes, the music room. Ground zero for multiple incidents of heartbreak over three seasons. In the immortal words of Ellen Ripley, here’s my proposal for what to do with the goddamn music room:

“I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”

Not again.

[loren91]

💜💜💜

[books-books-smolderinglooks]

Wilhelm & Simon 1.03 || 3.03

Bonus:

[nutmeggery]

the music room is homophobic

[raincitygirl76]

Signal boosting for more votes on the poll.

[wildcalendula]

our open secret I like you, so much

[wasteofart]

I'm sure people have said this before but that look on Simon's face when Wille yelled at his parents wasn't worry or hurt or shock. It was plain fear. He saw himself in the future being the one Wille is yelling at, he saw the anger in his eyes and he saw his dad. He saw himself in the same place his mother was in when Micke left them. Especially with what happened with Sara and his dad, he realized people don't change even if they try to. He didn't recognize Wille anymore, the caring person he fell in love with but he saw the angry alcoholic he might become.

[hehehereliesmysanity]

i am gonna headcanon that "i don't recognize you" is directed to sara and wille storms off because simon told him about the photographers or people being nasty towards him and wille leaves to END them.

you are welcome.

[aledlastbestie]

SOMEONE PLEASE PUT A ​​LOCK AND CHAIN ON THE DOOR OF THAT FUCKING MUSIC ROOM

[wilmonssun]

[enjoythesilentworld]

Wille's Month - Music (Room)

day 29 ! @youngroyals-events

Ex-Prince Wilhelm, hoping to escape the turmoil following the end of the monarchy, enrolls in university in New York City. He meets fourth-year music student Simon Eriksson in a music room on campus. AU.

read below the cut or on ao3. (T, 2k)

It’s a random Monday afternoon in September when he first meets him. Well, first sees him. 

Wille has been taking advantage of the rentable music rooms on Columbia’s campus, despite not technically being a music student. One day, enjoying the general listlessness of his new life in New York, no path, no expectations, he’s playing a tune on the piano that he still somehow remembers from his childhood. He must have gotten carried away, distracted by the music, because he jumps out of his skin when someone bursts through the thick, sound-proofed door. 

“Listen, I just made it to the practice rooms so,” a voice is saying in– Is that Swedish? Wille turns around in surprise as the intruder halts, quickly ending his phone call and dropping his hand to hang loosely by his side. He switches to halting English to say, “Oh, sorry, I thought I had—”

Ever used to it, Wille notices the exact moment the recognition flooded the other’s face. He braces himself, feeling a bit sick because he hasn’t been recognized yet in New York, which has been a welcome change of pace, and also because this man is the most beautiful person Wille has ever seen. 

This time, the stranger doesn’t bother switching to English to say, “Aren’t you—?”

He stands up abruptly, saying “I– Just, just Wilhelm,” then gives a curt nod and starts frantically collecting his things. Hesitating for a moment, he cools his expression, trying not to stare too hard at the man’s smooth skin and silky curls. “Forgive me, I must have lost track of time. I didn’t realize anyone had booked this after me. I’ll get out of your way.” 

In a matter of seconds, he’s slipping out of the room, ignoring the warmth when his arm lightly brushes the stranger’s as he passes, and fleeing down the hallway.

Feeling guilty, he thinks about it the rest of the week, hoping he’ll run into the pretty man with the brown eyes and brown curls again so he can apologize. He’s back in the music room on Wednesday at the same time and he stays a few minutes after, but no one else arrives.

On Friday, he does the same, pacing the room as the last few minutes of his reserved time tick over. Just like Monday, the same man bursts through the door, looking slightly ruffled. 

“Oh.” The man stands in the doorway again, awkwardly staring. 

Wille comes to a stop next to the piano. 

“Hej.” 

“Uh,” the stranger glances over his shoulder, like he expects to find someone else standing there.  “Hej.”

“I’m sorry, I was rude last time. I didn’t expect to—” He shakes his head and steps forward, extending a hand. “I’m Wilhelm.”

The man stares down at his hand for a moment, looking shocked, before slowly extending his hand.

“Simon,” he says, brown eyes boring into Wille’s. Wille tries not to think about how well Simon’s hand fits in his. Thankfully, he’s distracted by the other man saying, “You were kind of a dick.”

“Simon,” Wilhelm repeats, feeling both a slight grimace and an embarrassed flush rise on his face. “I am really sorry.”

Simon shrugs and his perfect mouth curls into a smirk. Wille’s shoulders sag a bit at the realization that Simon might be fucking with him just a little bit. That, he can deal with. 

“I was hoping to run into you again,” he says earnestly, hoping to make up for his lack of manners earlier that week. “It’s nice to meet you. You… You speak Swedish?”

“I am Swedish,” Simon deadpans. Wilhelm’s cheeks blush pink again. “Half, at least. I was born there. We moved away when I was, like, 13.”

Wilhelm nods understandingly. At that moment, they both seem to realize that they’re still shaking hands. They drop each other's hands quickly, chuckling awkwardly. Wille feels the blush on his cheeks darken further, but he sees a slight pinkness appear on Simon’s cheeks, too, and feels a bit better. 

“I have to admit, you caught me off guard.” Wille folds his hands behind his back and rocks a bit on his feet. “Most people here either don’t know who I am or don’t care.” 

“Oh, I don’t care,” Simon says nonchalantly. Wille lets out a surprised laugh. “I just mean— I never really cared about the monarchy, you know. I thought it was a stupid waste of taxpayers’ money and upheld harmful traditions of the elitist class. I mean, I lived in a small town with a fancy rich-kid school. They all assumed the absolute worst of me and just solidified my theory that the upper class sees those below them as ‘less than’. The monarchy really only encouraged that mindset, I think. Rich people helping other rich people get more rich, perpetuating the gap. I wasn’t living in Sweden when the vote happened, but I would’ve voted for the end of it. Thankfully they didn’t need my vote, anyway, but—” 

Trying to school his expression into something that hopefully doesn’t say I want to kiss you so badly right now – one, because that’s inappropriate and two, because they’ve quite literally just met – Wille pulls his bottom lip into his mouth and bites on it, hard. 

The other man looks sheepish by the time he cuts off his own rant, then blushes and looks down at his feet. “Sorry, I just…” He trails off and Wille grins. 

“It’s okay. You’re right. It was a harmful system. The vote passed for a reason.” 

Simon tilts his head to the side, considering Wilhelm, which, is fair. Most don’t expect him to be staunchly against the institution that he was a part of for most of his life. 

“What are you doing here?” Simon asks. 

“Uh,” Wille glances behind him at the piano. “Practicing?”

The pretty man waves his hands, “No, here, in New York. But, yes, I suppose also why are you in the Columbia practice rooms?” 

“Oh. I’m a student here. I wanted to escape Sweden for a bit after… everything. My, um,” Wille pauses, twisting his fingers together, “My brother and I always talked about taking a trip here when I turned 18, too. So… Here I am.” 

A silence fills the room and Wille is grateful when Simon diverts the topic. 

“Are you focusing on music then? What are you working on?” Simon rounds the room to look at the papers propped up on the piano. Wille feels suddenly embarrassed by the music sheets that are just messy scratches of black ink. 

“It’s not really—“ Wilhelm rushes forward, collecting the sheets and shuffling them together. “I’m registered for sociology, but I haven’t really decided on a focus yet. This – the piano – is more of a… hobby. It was a hobby. I’m not really sure how I feel about it.” There’s another long pause and Wille blushes more, holding the papers to his chest. He looks down at his feet. “I wasn’t really allowed a lot of hobbies growing up, but music classes were required so I figured…” 

“Right, that makes sense,” Simon says gently. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“No!” Wille bursts out, nearly dropping the sheets in the process, eager to reassure the other. “No, no. It’s okay. I’m just not very good so I…” He releases the music from his tight grip and shuffles them in front of himself, frowning slightly at the scribbles. 

“I could,” Simon begins slowly, “take a look, if you want? This is kind of my whole degree. No pressure.”

Wille looks between the black ink and Simon’s face, chewing on his bottom lip again. Reluctantly, he slowly returns the paper to the music shelf. “I mean, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to steal your reserved time.” 

Waving him off again, Simon slides onto the bench and begins to sort through the notes. “It’s fine. No one has this room booked after me so I can stay later. Like I said, it’s literally why I’m here.” 

Simon looks up at Wille hovering over him and Wille looks down, thinking, oh fuck this is going to be a big problem isn’t it? 

Before he can doubt himself any further, Simon says, “Show me how it goes so far?”

That entire weekend, this time not out of guilt but out of fascination, he thinks about Simon. He can’t help it. The beautiful man with his beautiful laugh, his snarky remarks and complete disregard for Wille’s past is the perfect storm for Wille immediately falling head over heels.

On Monday, he lingers awkwardly in the music room, praying Simon will show up. He does, much to Wille’s delight, and brushes past any lingering unease, offering to show Wille the production program he’s been learning about in class. Simon is very smart and a very good teacher, easily moving through the parts of the program and kindly explaining them to Wille without complication.

Apparently the program is rather large, because after only about ten minutes, Simon’s laptop slips into buffering mode. He frustratedly smacks the side.

“God, this dumb laptop,” Simon groans, tossing his head back. Wille does not look at the long, lean line of his neck.

Wille smiles at the dramatics, and says, politely, “I don't think hitting it will encourage it to work, Simon.”

Simon groans again and sends a scowl at him. “You don’t know what my computer likes.”

“I can’t imagine it likes being jostled around like that.”

Simon rolls his eyes and Wille laughs.

“Why don’t you leave it alone for a bit and let it work itself out?” he suggests, wanting to reach out to comfortingly pat Simon’s shoulder but not knowing if they’re to that point, yet. “We can do something else?”

Shrugging, Simon puts the laptop down on the piano and folds his arms, glaring at it like he’s willing it to work.

Motivated by the rapport they’ve established, and itching to learn more about Simon, Wille asks, “Do you like it here?” He’s embarrased by how shy and timid his own voice sounds.

Simon turns to him and studies his face.

“Do you like it here?”

Wille holds eye contact for as long as he can, before looking away to stare at his shoes. There’s something about Simon’s stare that pierces his soul and completely disarms him.  

“Yeah.” It sounds a bit like a question, which it kind of is, because he’s unsure if he’s telling the truth but also doesn’t know if he’s lying. He steels himself enough to look back up to meet Simon’s eyes.

New York has been fine, a nice change of pace at the very least, but he’s still lonely. A different type of lonely, but no matter how far he flees, his brother is still dead and the monarchy is still gone and he still has no idea what his future was going to look like. (Now, though, for the first time in a long time, thanks to brown eyes and a blinding smile, he has some idea of what he might want it to look like.)

“What did you want to be?” Simon blurts, startling Wille out of his musings. “Before this. When you were a kid. Before you were… a prince. Before you weren’t anymore.”

Wille smiles slightly. “An astronaut.”

“Really?” Simon sounds surprised.

“Yes,” Wille frowns. “What’s wrong with astronaut?”

Simon shrugs. “Cliche.”

“Oh, alright,” Wilhelm quips sassily, and enjoys the amused look that arrives on Simon’s face. “What did you want to be, then, if my answer is no good?”

“A fish.”

Wille’s mouth drops open. He closes it, then opens it again but can’t seem to make any sound come out.

“Yes, exactly like that!” Simon grins widely, pointing at Wille. This makes Wille splutter, which makes Simon burst into laughter.

“That’s not– You can’t be a fish, Simon,” he gasps incredulously.

Simon continues to giggle. “Why not?”

“It’s not possible!”

“Oh and you becoming an astronaut is possible?”

“Hey, if I wanted to I could. You are a human person. You cannot be a fish.”

“Well, that’s what I wanted to be. You asked.”

Thirty minutes later, their booked time in the music room is up and Wille realizes Simon’s laptop has stopped buffering. He’s not sure how long it’s been done, he’d been too busy laughing and joking with Simon. He’s also not sure how long it’s been since he laughed like this. It feels really, really nice. Comfortable. He books the same time slot for Wednesday as they bid their goodbyes.

[ireneaesthetic]

Pointing out little moments and details of scenes that need to be remembered.

music room scene • episode 5

i'll never shut up about edvin and omar's acting and this scene is one of the best ones hands down. insanely proud of them.

quick reminder: it's not me taking any side, but an analysis as objective as possible of little moments i like to dive more into.

wilhelm's astonishment when he finds out simon’s song is about him. he was so caught up in his own thoughts and internal conflicts that he didn’t realize it, not even when he heard it standing right there and simon kept looking at him until his cheeks were blushing, pouring his heart in every word he wrote and was singing for wille to listen.

side happy note: this means the adoration on wilhelm's face, hearing simon sing at the ball, was out of pure love and pride towards him.

they are frozen in place, wille's eyes staring but simon's are kind of lost, like he's dissociating for a moment - he zones out.

the camera work in this scene is *chef's kiss*: the way it approaches simon closely and then moves from one to the other, focusing last on him. it captures his emotional state and makes it relevant for what comes next. perfectly done.

he has to put himself together and look away before the "yesterday was a mistake". he gets what it feels like: he's been through this before in the first place - "we should maybe forget about it" - and he wasn't ready either to have his hope and heart shattered by hearing the last thing he wanted to.

simon knows his words will hurt wille just like wille's hurt him back then. they're heartbreaking to hear as much as to let out.

he barely looks at wilhelm before turning around and heading to the door, not even waiting for a proper reaction from him.

it reminds me of the time simon saw wille shed a tear in front of him and walked away as soon as he stopped talking, cos to stay would've only hurt more - this is exactly it.

the camera that gradually zoomes in and the shot getting so close we can easily read wilhelm's every. single. thoughts spinning in his mind.

simon's step back, a physical response that we’ve seen before in relation to wille's behavior - during their first fight in the music room - and it basically comes from his tendency to distance himself when a negative sensation or situation arises.

it's like a defense mechanism.

the impact simon's sarcastic smile has on me istg.

it's more than anger, disappointment, sadness - he is so done. in his pov all he knows is wille kept something crucial a secret from him and there's no valid reason to justify it. he lets him speak, he listens, but can't take it.

wilhelm's silence to simon's words is just as powerful: he didn't know what he chose to do to protect him would turn into the mistake hurting him the most. it caught him off guard, in a 'this is all my fault' type of way: it's fair for simon to be mad, he's completely entitled to feel this way about him, so wille doesn't fight back.

their teary eyes make it x100 sadder.

it's like a vicious circle: wilhelm acts according to what seems best for him in order to fix things but, whenever he tries, he can't make it right. he just wants simon back into his life, but ends up watching him leave eventually - again.

he entered the room to check on simon and clear things up, not expecting to find himself alone with growing anxiety and all he cares about (re)falling apart instead.

[young-royals-confessions]

How far do we think wilmon would’ve gone if they weren’t interrupted in the music room?

[greenparkin]

I was thinking of enlarging the center photo, but there seem to be other symbols that make sense.

[wildcalendula]

I chance a glimpse of you. As you find a delight, In the humour, And I sing along with you. Champaben Mistry

[hehehereliesmysanity]

we have been screaming about the homophobic music room because they always fight there and i really want them to have a good moment and just make out there but i never thought the possibility of library being an option for that.

think about it. music room is a rather closed space compared to the library and them being a couple and making out in a very open and public space means much more. on the other hand, when you have problems, you try to work it out in a safe place but you wouldn't choose to broadcast it to strangers. so you would rather be alone.

they don't have to be confined to a room with closed doors anymore. they can be out in the open just like that.