Work Text:
Erasable Ink by Xavier (feat. Ivan Bruel)
(Intro)
(REFRAIN)
Can't wash away the ink that stains. The pages torn form paper chains
Bury me with my mistake. Burn away this pain and ache
If only life let you rethink; a story in erasable ink
A mistake I made, shame untellable
Till now, I thought that crime indelible
Can't take it back, the marks always remain
I have no second chance to try again
I have nothing to draw on to reverse my fortune
(REFRAIN)
Can't wash away the ink that stains. The pages torn form paper chains
Bury me with my mistake. Burn away this pain and ache
If only life let you rethink; a story in erasable ink
I'm the one fault for your evil turn,
Falling from the sky, the stars crash and burn
A lucky charm and an unlucky scratch
My sins and punishments in a deathmatch
I have nothing to draw on to reverse my fortune
(Keytar and drum solos)
(REFRAIN)
Can't wash away the ink that stains. The pages torn form paper chains
Bury me with my mistake. Burn away this pain and ache
If only life let you rethink; a story in erasable ink
(CLOSING REFRAIN)
Can never hide the ink that fades. Accept the mark; its tints and shades
Have to learn from my mistake. I'm at the wheel and I'm awake
Pull myself back from the brink; my story in erasable ink
(Outro)
"How about that? That was XY- uh, I mean, Xavier's new single, Erasable Ink!" Alec walked into the camera shot with a microphone after the live studio performance had finished.
Xavier wasn't paying attention the cameras at first, instead walking back to the drums to pat Ivan's shoulder after the performance. Ivan responded by ruffling the top of Xavier's head, with the singer giving a hearty laugh. After tying his hair back with his bandanna for a while, he had decided to stick with it and have most of the length chopped off, now sporting a side-swept style. He had also discarded his signature chain and swapped out his usual jacket for a blazer, hoping to reflect his more mature take on music production these days.
He did lose some fans from this transition, but he earned them back with many more now that he was putting effort into his songs and reaching out to other talented people for collaborations. And this new song was earning accolades everywhere. Jagged Stone called it 'the most rock and roll thing he's ever made'. Which was probably the nicest thing he'd ever heard from him.
Xavier regained focus when Alec approached, and he saw the crew lowering a boom microphone near him. Time for the interview.
"Xavier, your new style has been making waves in Paris! Check out all your fans!" Alec held up a tablet, playing a live feed from outside the studio. A large crowd of people were jumping and screaming in delight. The sudden sound assault had stunned him for a second, but he remembered he had to respond. And not the way he did before.
"Haha, yeah. I have to appreciate them for sticking around. Or turning up, both are good."
"Huh, this is quite the change in you, Xavier," Alec spoke with a tilt in one of his eyebrows. It was unbelieving, but in a good way.
"Well, we all have to grow up some time. I'm still going for number one, though. Clara, Jagged, Kitty Section," Xavier paused, turning to shoot a grin at Ivan.
"You'd better watch out. I'm on my way up."
Ivan folded his arms with a short chuckle, as if to say 'challenge accepted'.
"Now, I'm hesitant to ask this, but how did you come up with this... original song?"
Xavier covered his face with his palm, letting out an exaggerated groan. He'd never live that down; the whole 'Fluffy Blue Bunnies' and 'Talentless Son' debacle. Still, his new song was meant to be a lesson in moving on, so that's what he tried to do.
"You might be surprised to learn there was some inspiration involved," Xavier teased back, before turning his keytar around to show a little illustrated picture taped on the back.
"I wrote the song after reading the Ladybug comics. The whole journey of admitting to your mistakes and doing the right thing felt a bit familiar."
He shook his head at the laughs of some of the crew. Yeah, there was still a lot of egg on his face. So he decided to pre-empt the question he knew was coming.
"Yes, I did ask the creators for permission. They're friends of yours, right Ivan?"
Ivan nodded in the background. While he was invited here to perform with Xavier, he felt a bit shy about speaking, just in case his voice ended up peaking any of the microphones.
"I even got them to sign a copy of their comic for me. I couldn't get it the first time because of... issues. But things are better now."
Xavier remembered watching what happened at the convention. He wasn't there when it occurred because he was meant to arrive fashionably late by an hour or so, and ended up still arriving an hour late because of the akuma attack his father caused.
Getting to meet Nathaniel and Marc, even after all the bad blood, was nothing short of a miracle. Really, he had Ivan to thank for the quick meeting.
"So, this song was inspired by, and dedicated to, Mightillustrator and Reverser. And you might be seeing them soon. I have a music video in production... starring a couple of mystery guests. Gee, I wonder who those could be."
His dry delivery caused more laughs in the studio as he hinted at the very obvious cameos.
"There you have it. Xavier and Ivan Bruel everyone!"
As the studio performance ended and they crossed back to a Kidz+ segment, Xavier took out a photo from his jacket pocket. It was awkwardly framed and shot, and you could see the nervous discomfort in his face as the two comic book authors were smiling and holding up his signed comic. But despite the blur on his face, the image made him happy. It captured his meeting with people he admired, and the brief moment they thought about him.
And there were plenty of chances to take a better photo when they were shooting the music video together.