Percy

> *"If I'm lucky I'll sweep you off your feet."*
>
>
>
>
>
>

## Storyline

Percy is rehearsing his lines when the Listener stumbles across him in a fit of frustration. After some brief flirtation, he asks if they can help him practice his lines since this is his first lead role and his costar has made themselves unavailable.

The Listener plays the part of Mercutio's romantic interest and gets a little flustered at their first attempt. After getting closer to each other (it's in the script) they keep trying with brief, dramatic outbursts from Percy when he gets certain things wrong. Percy manages to get through the romantic scene and they stop before the scripted kiss before going their separate ways.

The Listener meets Percy again as the replacement tech helping him with his costume fitting to his delight. They start taking his measurements and small talk ensues about each other and the challenges of the production. After more teasing he invites the Listener to the rehearsal later that night as a backup for his still-missing costar. They appear to agree and he goes back to rehearsal.

Percy is found crying by the Listener on Opening Night. He shares the news that the director is cancelling the show because his costar has gotten cold feet and "left out the window," perhaps literally. Since the director didn't bother auditioning for an understudy the actor laments that the show is ending despite everyone's hard work.

Percy is especially despondent as he is losing the first lead role of his career but recovers enough to ask if the Listener will be okay and even tease them a little. They seem to react with surprise or indignation since he apologizes, saying that flirting is how he copes. He reins it back and sincerely thanks the Listener for working so hard for the play and taking care of him especially. He starts to ask them out but the Listener interrupts by offering to take his costar's role. They've memorized the lines since they've been rehearsing with him. Percy perks up immediately and plans to kick out the director before he calls the theater backers, implying that he'll take over as director.

They need to work fast to gather the cast, crew, and techs to ensure the play goes on. Percy throws professionalism out the window and steals a kiss "for luck" before they get to work.

## Personality

As an actor Percy has a flair for the dramatic in everything he does, from practicing to small talk to being nervous. He is passionate about the success of the play and theater in general. As an actor he finds great meaning in the power of the theatre to transport the audience to a different place away from the expectations of the real world. He's deeply grateful for the support he gets from the crew and techs. The final episode implies that he knows enough of how the backstage works that he can direct the play himself.

The Listener catches his eye as a newcomer to the play. He's shamelessly attracted to them from the beginning, preferring them over his original costar at least in looks. He flirts and teases them as easy as breathing but will back off when he's called out. He also admires them for their hard work ethic and going above and beyond to help the troubled production as best they can.

## Trivia

### Percy

* Plays the lead in a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet as Mercutio. The plot of the play continues from Mercutio's perspective if he had survived.
* Is the second character to kiss the Listener "on screen" after Shiro.

### The Listener

* Is not part of the cast, instead they do a variety of tasks to support the actors behind the scenes.
* Is very concerned about the safety of everyone in the theatre and not afraid to scold even the director if they put an actor in danger. Percy calls them his "guardian angel" for catching someone about to use a real glass bottle instead of a prop sugar bottle.
* Can memorize lines and act well enough that Percy prefers them over a his "professional" of a costar.
* Prone to blushing around Percy and cares enough about him to approach the actor while he's crying.

### Others

* Percy's costar is a diva who has locked themselves in the dressing room for two days. They may have literally climbed out the window to "escape" the play since they got an offer in a soap.
* The director plays flippy games on his phone: a flippy knife game and jumpy fish game. He's also bald and not a good director in the slightest.

## Audio References

See the **Flirty Actor** playlist here.

1. ↑ Rehearsal With a Flirty Actor
2. ↑ Costume Fitting With a Flirty Actor
3. ↑ Flirty Actor: The Show Must Go On!