#anyway hi flynn your posts make me think up my own posts

[bloodgulchblog]

"john halo wouldn't know what sex is because-"

john halo is lifetime military in the bisexual space future and marines try to flirt with him all the damn time. i think he's figured out the optimal angle for a head tilt and how many seconds of awkward silence it takes to get most of them to lose their nerve and scurry away without him having to figure out what to say about it.

[malachiwardyt]

Hello again, podcast side of Tumblr.

This time around, I did a video on Ethics Town, a relatively new cosmic horror podcast about a British valley town where nothing is quite as it seems. Right now Ethics Town is a terribly underrated series, so this video is both my analysis of it, and also my attempt at getting more people to listen to it.

Anyways, yeah, watch the video if you want, or not, it's up to you I guess. If you want to, though, I really do suggest you take the less than four hours and actually listen to the podcast, it's well worth your time.

SPOILERS FOR ETHICS TOWN SEASON ONE BEYOND THIS POINT. CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK. / / / / / / / / / /

As with the last post, I also want to share the art from the video. For the first one, I wanted to do something that captured the feel of the Ethics Town logo, which is all black and white and red, so I stuck with a pretty monochromatic colour palette here. The image depicts the Mayor of Ethics, Ian Jacobs, moving the wrapped body of Natascha Flynn to make space for a nearby factory's planned expansions. It was one of two scenes I considered, and I think this was the much better option. The skyline in the background, while not perfect, is meant to mimic the same skyline seen on the Mayor's hat in the logo. The other weird detail here is that everything was done linelessly, which was very weird for me, because I thought it created an interesting look. Oh, also, yes, I did give Ian a ponytail.

The other art piece is a sketch of Ian Jacobs and January Johnson, because I wanted to experiment with how much I could push their designs before they stopped looking like the same person. I also wanted to have their outfits at least be a little similar, so both of them have outer coverings closed around the middle of the chest around a shirt beneath, and both Ian and January have black headware. I considered giving January a white band on his headphones, but it just wound up getting lost. Another notable difference is in the hair, which I imagined here as blonde, probably in a more platinum direction, though you can't tell that very well from the greyscale. Ian's hair is pulled back in the aforementioned ponytail while it's left loose when he's acting as January. January also has a little more stubble, and his eye bags sag a little more. Finally, even though I only really had two colours to work with, I wanted to try expanding on how he acts within each role using the clothing. January's clothes are lighter, thanks in big part to the grey and white striped hoodie, which is designed to make him seem more emotionally truthful than he actually is. Underneath that light tone, though, is a plain black tee, which ties him to the darker colour scheme of Ian and also hints at the fact that, below his friendly and approachable personality hides the dark secret that he is, in fact, the Mayor who has been making such terrible decisions. Going back to the sweatshirt, the grey and white striping is also slightly reminiscent of the stripes on prison jumpsuits, which is a way of representing his feeling of being trapped into bad decisions and being ensnared by Ethics and his secret role as Mayor. Speaking of the Mayor, Ian is a lot simpler. I considered giving him a big, slightly cartoon-y MAYOR sash, but I wound up preferring how he looks without it. Generally, I tried to keep his wardrobe darker and more formal, and, of course, I had to include the fancy hat we see on the logo of Ethics Town. I also reduced the amount of vape cloud around him for two reasons. First, the in-story reason, is that Ian has accepted who he is and the role he plays in the "narrative" of Ethics, so I imagine he's a bit less stressed. It also works really well metaphorically, though, because he's not disguised anymore. When we see Ian at the end of "The Identity Issue," the mask is fully off. Artemis knows exactly who he is, which means that his identity doesn't have to be clouded by as much smoke. Oh, also, it's a cosmic horror podcast, so if I didn't put something tentacle-esque around the main antagonist, there would be problems.

And I think that about covers it. I had a lot of fun listening to the podcast and making the video, and I hope it can bring joy to y'all as well. Catch y'all next time around for The Buried Explained!

[phoenix-downer]

KH3 Retrospective

I can’t believe it’s been four years already since KH3 came out. It both feels like it came out ages ago and just last month. Above was the very first screenshot I took as I started my playthrough. I was so awed by how good the textures for the stained glass on the Station of Awakening looked. 

Something I did while I was playing KH3 was create a little Google doc of my first reactions/impressions (as well as spamming the screenshot button lol). Here was from the first page: 

New version of Dearly Beloved is gorgeous - sounds similar to DDD version a little

Sora’s opening line is so good - Kairi is his home

Opening - Kairi and Sora’s chess pieces by each other

Kairi’s piece is the paopu piece

Riku looks gorgeous

Everyone looks beautiful

The door opening to save everyone there at the end

Seven hearts to save

Sora’s holding Xehanort’s piece at the end - checkmate?

Station of Awakening is GORGEOUS - looks like actual stained glass now

Showing Sora’s memories

Wisdom, vitality, balance - which one?!

I chose balance (yay SDG!)

Guardian, Warrior, Mystic

I chose Guardian (yay Namine!)

Tidal wave, then Sora ended up in cloud world

Destati sounds awesome

Sora’s opening lines are so good

Mysterious Tower music sounds so good

Cable Town looked gorgeous - Land of Departure?

Sora’s theme sounds kickass

Ending scenes from 0.2 played again to catch you up to speed on SDG

Next year for the fifth anniversary I want to share more of the document, perhaps in a more organized fashion (I also had a reaction document for ReMind and Melody of Memory that I might share excerpts from in the future). It’s just such a neat little time capsule of my immediate first reactions to everything, and while I had to use the pause button a lot, it’s fun to look back on what I was thinking in the moment before my later thoughts/perceptions took over. Definitely worth the time it took to record everything. 

For KH4 I want to continue the trend, as it also makes for a fun way to share the first playthrough experience with my friends and it makes it easier to write analysis posts later on.

Summarizing my thoughts now on KH3: 

The good: Beautiful graphics, world environments were a huge upgrade, the music was amazing, the humor in the Disney worlds was really good, Olympus Coliseum, Kingdom of Corona (the dancing minigame!), The Caribbean, San Fransokyo, Wayfinder Trio Reunion, Xion’s return, Roxas’s return, all the heartfelt Sora and Kairi moments, Young Xehanort, the Keyblade transformations, having more than two people in your party at a time now, the Luxu reveal.

The bad: No true midpoint to the game, no FF characters, the climax was rushed, wish Naminé was more involved, the way Kairi got “killed” was super bleh, and I’m still not a fan of the original ending (the secret ending excluding Kairi also made me ehhhhhh). 

And this leads me into another part of the document. When I consume a piece of media, I like to think about what worked well and why. It’s just really fun to celebrate good writing and learn from it, you know? Hence all the translation/analysis posts I’ve done of certain scenes from KH3. I also like to figure out how I would “fix” anything that didn’t land for me because it’s also a good learning experience, and at the end of my initial thoughts document, I actually included a list of things I thought would improve the writing of KH3. Of course, this is all based on my own personal feelings/interpretations, and as it stands, ReMind fixed a number of them anyway. But I thought I’d share my initial “fixes” in bold and then my thoughts about them now. 

Writing Changes:

Have Sora think about Kairi a la KH2 - Flynn/Rapunzel, Will/Elizabeth… - this isn’t really going to be changed at this point for obvious reasons, but I missed the little moments where Sora was thinking of Kairi in KH2 (like when Will and Elizabeth hugged, when he saw Jack and Sally dancing, etc.) and thought those would have strengthened the romantic plotline of KH3.

Sora’s reunion with Riku was anticlimactic - ditto, not gonna be updated at this point, but I remember thinking oh that’s it lol when technically we hadn’t seen them onscreen together since 2012 (trailers notwithstanding). In universe it makes sense though because it hasn’t been that long since they’ve seen each other. Plus, I assume their reunion in KH4 will be good, so I’m looking forward to that. 

Sora’s reunion with Kairi was also anticlimactic - see above, not gonna get changed at this point, but I wish they’d gotten a moment together before the big group meetup or at least him reacting to seeing her again. We hadn’t seen them talk directly since Blank Points I think? (trailers notwithstanding). So yeah I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more to their reunion, and again I think a little moment or brief scene that could’ve built up to the paopu fruit more. And at this point in the game I definitely got the feeling that Nomura was rushing to finish before deadlines hit + the burnout was setting in and he couldn’t spare any time to extras like this, just the core scenes that had to be there (group meetup, Aqua and Ven convo about Terra, Riku and Repliku scene, Kairi and Sora paopu sharing scene). He might have also had to do a bunch of last minute rewrites, who knows.

Have Kairi actually send her letter to Sora - I assume this will happen at a later date, looking back now it feels like foreshadowing, so I’m not sure why I complained about this lol. I do think at some point Sora will read the letter because why go to all that trouble of showing Kairi writing it + having her read it to the audience if it won’t be significant down the line? The focus on Sora’s smile makes me think he might get the letter when he’s feeling really down and needs to be cheered up, but we’ll see.

Have Sora have some way of contacting her like he can contact Riku - Yeah idk Square acts allergic sometimes to the love interests contacting the main character (see FFXV...), and in universe she was training with Merlin and Axel in a place where time flowed differently etc. so I get why she didn’t. Again I was just thinking of ways the paopu scene could’ve been built up to more effectively within KH3 itself (obviously the paopu scene has been foreshadowed since KH1 so that wasn’t my issue, more that I wanted more buildup within KH3 that built on the buildup we saw in KH1 and KH2 and Blank Points).

Keep Kairi getting killed… but have it be because she was protecting Sora of her own free volition - Yeah I’m still not happy about how this was handled. ReMind helped make this more tolerable because she did get to fight Xehanort by Sora’s side, but I still think her “death” could’ve been handled a lot better. And that’s all I’ll say about that lol, it’s a topic that’s been discussed to death at this point.

Go into more depth about what YX said - I think this was about all of Young Xehanort’s cryptic foreshadowing to Sora, I honestly can’t remember lol. But I do think, now that I’ve replayed the game, the foreshadowing works well, so I think this was more of an initial reaction on my part. 

Show Sora going to rescue her - This was one of my biggest issues with how KH3 originally ended, and I remember feeling robbed that we didn’t get to see Sora’s rescue mission of Kairi, but little did I know what Nomura had in store lol. ReMind more than fixed this, and I will be forever grateful to it and to Nomura for knowing how important this was and making sure it was added to the story. ReMind elevated KH3 so much for me, and looking back, I really do think Nomura was making the best of a bad situation (engine switch a year into development, tight deadlines, Disney being strict, serious burnout, sky high expectations...) with vanilla KH3, and I hope he gets the development time he needs to tell the story he wants to tell with KH4. I just remember reading some of his interviews post-KH3 and you could tell how exhausted and burnt out he was, and I really hope he doesn’t go through that again. 

End things on a less gutpunch of an ending - I know some people loved KH3′s ending so this is subjective, but I did not lol. Thankfully, ReMind fixed this and made the ending more bittersweet now that we’ve seen Sora rescuing Kairi. It feels much better knowing he got those moments with her traveling the worlds before he disappeared. 

Roxas and Sora barely interacted - ReMind fixed this too (noticing a pattern here?) I was really happy with the additional screentime they got in ReMind together  because honestly, their relationship is one of my favorites in the entire series.

Sora still hasn’t thanked Namine - I assume this will happen at a later date, I just remember thinking poor Naminé hadn’t gotten thanked yet. But I do think Nomura has something specific in mind for this scene and we will see it at some future date. So less of a “this should’ve been in KH3″ thing and more “oh bummer I’ll have to wait a while yet to see this.” 

Xehanort got off easy - I think this whole plot point was a victim of the rushed pacing that impacted both the climax and ending of KH3. I remember thinking to myself that Xehanort should not have gotten to die and go to Keyblade Heaven with Eraqus in the same game where he “killed” the protagonist’s girlfriend (which resulted in the protagonist’s “death”) especially not so soon after it happened. But in a way it’s also kind of realistic? The bad guy doesn’t always get what he deserves in real life, so I can see why Nomura took this angle here (though I would argue that in stories you can show good triumphing over evil and in fact people tend to want that more than realism due to the escapist nature of fiction). Then again, I’m kind of biased because I’m not a fan in general of turning Xehanort from a main villain to a misunderstood guy with an angsty backstory who was manipulated by the True Big Bad. I get the feeling we haven’t seen the last of him given that art of his younger self with an umbrella that came out for Dark Road’s ending, so I’m bracing myself for him to show up in Quadratum and team up with Sora, and meh, I just wish the series would move past him at this point, you know?

Destiny Trio still not a trio :( - fix that - I do hope that we get more Destiny Trio interactions in KH4, but looking back, I kinda get why there wasn’t a whole lot of them in KH3. The focus was more on Sora and Kairi’s relationship since that played such a key role in the climax and ending of the story, and there will be time in the future for the three to interact more. Nomura had that quote about how KH3 would feature relationships changing etc., and we did see that with the focus more on Sora and Kairi’s relationship (plus Melody of Memory gave us some Riku and Kairi interactions, and KH4 is probably gonna feature some good Sora and Riku interactions given how they’ll probably reunite before Sora and Kairi do. And then Kairi and Sora’s reunion will be important given how they were separated, and I imagine there will be at least one meaningful scene of the three of them together). 

Have Kairi fight back while she’s being taken - in her defense, it was very realistic for a short, petite fifteen-year old girl to have trouble fighting back against a grown ass man who 1) towers over her and most of the rest of the cast, and 2) is wrenching her arm back in a way that meant she’d likely dislocate her own arm if she tried to fight back. I just still wish this entire plot point had been handled differently, but it’s in the past now, not much more to be said about it.

Roxas and Xion were freed maybe when Sora “died”? - I think I had this on there because I thought the story would’ve benefited from the rescues being spread out more, giving time to focus on each one and allowing some longer soft/quiet moments with the character reunions. 

Anyway, thanks for reading all this. It was interesting going back and looking at my initial reactions to KH3 and how my thoughts and feelings have changed over time. I think the big factors in the shift are that ReMind really added so much to the story and fixed most of my major issues with it, and I have a better picture now of all the stressors Nomura had to deal with to get the game out the door. Honestly it’s probably a small miracle the vanilla game turned out as well as it did given all the factors he was working against, and for that I have a lot of respect for him. And it was clear he was aware of the issues, you know? Otherwise he wouldn’t have released ReMind. He wanted KH3 to be good and he wanted to make the fans happy, so he did what he could to improve on the base game. And there are some truly fantastic moments in the base game and ReMind alike that I loved analyzing every single piece of. 

How about you guys? How have your thoughts/feelings towards KH3 changed over time if at all? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[galactic-pirates]

Ok buckle up. I just realised that I never actually watched the Timeless movie. So I’m going to watch and live ramble.

I wrote a fic theorising on how they managed to time travel within their own lifetime when it wasn’t supposed to be possible. Like a post-season 2 fic.

Ok anyway starting rambles! Episode One.

Not a fan of the “work it out together” aka pushing Lucy and Wyatt together. Also the immediate dismissal of “there was no baby” but I guess it was too complicated a plot to resolve otherwise when the show got cancelled and this movie was all they had.

A little confused about switching the lifeboats. There feels like a paradox in there somehow.

The whole “not without side effects” thing seems a bit of a cop out? Like we always knew that Lucy had time travelled but Connor was so insistent it wasn’t possible which is why I had the theory that it was, but it broke the timeline so they could never go home.

Wyatt being all “no you can’t look it’s just us two” erm why? All they did was say to work together - not don’t work with other people. And naturally he sneers like “you and Flynn” and walks off. Jealous possessive arse. He can’t even tolerate their names being linked in the journal.

I do like the auto pilot on the lifeboat. I made a sad version in my fic but otherwise yes.

OMG I thought… ahhhh I’m screaming. I thought Lucy and Flynn were on a mission in the journal - not that they were together!!! But way to crush me in a single scene of “oh yeah we were together but it ended badly”. Although I do like the “saw another side of you, I already have” because yeah 😍 it’s like one shining moment and then slap in the face. Let’s push the Lucy and Wyatt again :( do not want /sigh

Flynn empathising with the Zorro bandit :( I’m just relieved at least they are giving him some screen time. I was worried. Also I love the character development of Flynn saying that revenge doesn’t help, and hinting that he has released it due to his love for Lucy.

Wyatt jumping to “to save Rufus, should kill Jessica” I’m side eyeing a bit. He has been so obsessed with her up until now. I feel like he’s only switched sides so to speak because he thinks he can have Lucy.

I am a bit worried about Flynn having gone. His “if you all die who fights Rittenhouse” and coming to the conclusion that it’s him. I’m like thanks I hate it. And then he steals the Time Machine? Did Wyatt know where he was going? Would be convenient for Wyatt if so, get Flynn out of the way.

Isn’t that an obvious answer? “Connor Mason creates the Time Machine” - just destroy them before they ever get made back in the past. Then none of the show ever happens. I hate it but it fixes the “rittenhouse has the Time Machine” problem.

OMG Flynn went back to kill Jessica! I had thought maybe it was to recruit his past self/hand over the journal. Wyatt being a jealous arse - very on brand.

Noooo Flynn. Nooooo. Don’t explode your brain. Oh yikes Jessica knows how to fight that’s not good. If Flynn’s brain explodes and he isn’t even successful… oh thank Merlin. Ok go get back to the ship.

I like how Lucy is yelling for Flynn to help and Wyatt is already being ungrateful.

Whaaaaaat it’s Rufus.

Kinda confused as to how that works with where Flynn and the lifeboat is. I mean they remember the timeline where Rufus dies as they were out of time - but so was Flynn. So ??? doesn’t make sense.

And naturally Wyatt’s first thing is passive aggressive “guess this is why you end up with Flynn”.

What expendable?? No. Love Wyatt fuck that noise. Why did Flynn jump out? There was no need to sacrifice himself like that. Oh he’s seeing his family now he knows it’s possible :( :( that’s so sad.

“All my love Flynn” crying forever.

I can’t believe this a two parter and they already wrote him out :(

The toast was nice and actually Wyatt’s words weren’t bad.

But holy paradox Batman. If Jessica was written out and they never went to China Town then how is Emma still in charge and Carol and Nicholas still dead? My head hurts.

And how can Jia still have scars from something that didn’t happen?

Make it make sense.

Oh lord they are doing the “there was only one bed” trope. I hate it. But it makes even less sense if they were together, because Jessica wasn’t there. Lucy still has cuts from the China town fight, and why would they have gone on the mission to the gold rush in this new timeline? Rufus remembers that they did but he doesn’t know China town or Jessica.

I’m with Janeway I really hate time travel.

[rockyroadkylers]

Weekend WIP game

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more).

Thank you @happiness-of-the-pursuit for tagging me! (technically you tagged my main, @mainstreamelectricalparade, but this is my RWRB blog, so I'm responding here, LOL)

1. WIP List:

(bolding stuff I'm actively working on, since now that I've finished my current project, most of these are still in the very early stages 😂)

It's Nice to Have a Friend sequel (canon-divergent childhood friends-to-lovers AU)

INTHAF tabloid/social media companion fic

Actor AU enemies-to-friends-to-lovers (child actor Alex, non-actor Henry, technically)

the Bond AU (actually also an actor AU where Henry has the opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps and be the next generation's James Bond... but so does Alex 👀)

Tangled AU (Henry is Rapunzel, Alex is Flynn, you can guess where that's going)

I technically have other WIPs, but they're from a different fandom and thinking about them doesn't really spark joy right now, so I'm not going to include them here 😅

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Um... I think the child actor Alex outline is currently longer than any of the others, and I have the opening scene written for it, so I'll say that one 😂

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Ooh... at this stage, it's so hard to tell! It could honestly be any of them, I haven't even started working on some of them properly, yet, so I have no idea if they'll be oneshots or fully-fledged longfics. Currently, my best guess would be the sequel for the childhood friends AU, but... that could change.

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I wouldn't say I have a favorite, yet... I've done the most outlining for the child actor Alex AU, just because we had a full-on conversation about it in the server, so a lot of the hard work was done for me 😂 I'm joking, obviously, I still have a lot of work to do, but the server gave me some great ideas, so I'm very excited about that fic. A close second is the childhood friends sequel, though, because that AU is my baby <3

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Hmm... A little nervous about the Tangled AU, maybe? I'm not sure why, I just find fics based on movies to be difficult, because I want to stay true to the story, but also make put my own spin on it and make it just different enough that it's not, like, an exact replica. I also have to find ways to work around the scenes with singing and dancing in them 😂 but that will be the easy part, tbh.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

Maybe the childhood friends AU tabloid/social media fic? I've never really done anything like it before. I have to come up with a whole bunch of headlines, write excerpts of news articles, make social media posts, and tie them all together neatly in a cohesive timeline that ties into the original fic. I've maybe bitten off more than I can chew, but there's no pressure to get anything posted before I'm ready! I think people are more excited for the sequel, anyway 🤭

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

Umm... I might not get a full-on beta, but the sequel for the childhood friends AU isn't just going to be about Alex and Henry's budding romantic relationship, it's also going to be continuing to deal with topics such as the aftermath of Arthur's death, Bea's experience with rehab, Henry starting therapy, and so on, so I'll probably ask some friends from the server to check some stuff over if there's anything I'm not sure about.

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

Technically, no, because I've barely gotten started on any of them 😂

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

None of my WIPs have OCs, yet (though I imagine that will change once I really get into the actual writing), but my fully-posted fic, It's Nice to Have a Friend, has two: Robert, Catherine's equerry, and Judy, the head cook at Kensington Palace. I love them both, tbh, a mother could never choose a favorite child 😊

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

lmao, I don't write sexy stuff 😂 The sexiest thing I've ever written is a brief moment in the epilogue of It's Nice to Have a Friend, where I blink-and-you-miss-it implied that Alex and Henry had sex after getting engaged 😂

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

That's probably gonna be the sequel 😅 I'm gonna make it as fluffy as I can, but it's gonna be an immediate continuation following chapter 10 of It's Nice to Have a Friend, which means long distance. Plus, like I said in question 7, Henry's still got his grief and Bea's recovery to work through, so it's not going to be the smoothest ride.

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

There's no way not to make this sound like a humble brag but I've gotten a lot of comments on It's Nice to Have a Friend that have told me my characterizations are really good, so assuming I'm consistent in the sequel, that will probably remain true there, as well. Although, the two enemies to lovers AUs I have... I don't have any interactions between the boys written down for either of those fics, yet, but that's pretty on-brand for them 😂

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Uhhh... not entirely sure what this means 😅 Like, overall universe setting, or like a specific scene? I think either way I'm gonna have to go with the childhood friends AU, because I'm just completely in love with it. I can't help it, that AU is my baby 😂 Although I am getting super into the child actor Alex AU, as well!!!

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

DEFINITELY the childhood friends AU! I spent five weeks writing the original fic, and I've been thinking about a sequel for at least two. I only started actually outlining it after I finished writing the first one, but there's no way I can say I've worked harder on anything else, even though the original fic and the sequel are technically two separate fics.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

The sequel 😂 I can't help it, It's Nice to Have a Friend is the fic that made me fall back in love with writing, and I'm positive that the sequel will continue that legacy. Although I'm feeling really good about the way the child actor Alex AU is turning out, as well!

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

Uh... maybe? Except, I couldn't really tell if it was just a vague, generic Alex and Henry dream, or if I was actually dreaming about them in the childhood friends 'verse.....

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

Well, yeah, I mean, before I started writing for RWRB, I was almost exclusively a platonic fluff writer in the Iron Dad fandom (just check my Ao3 page 😂), so almost everything more complex than a toddler with an ear infection adds a new challenge for me, but I'm loving it, so far.

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Uh... I'll get back to you on that when I actually have stuff written for any of them 😂 the Tangled AU will probably be pretty funny, though.

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

Yeah! The child actor Alex AU will actually have a lot of Arthur's POV, because in that fic he kind of takes Alex under his wing, both as an acting mentor and as a sort of father figure when Alex needs someone to turn to in the wake of his parents' divorce, so you'll get to see a lot of Arthur's thoughts and feelings as Alex and Henry get to know each other.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Um... one of the boys is gonna be a Bond Girl, and I'm not telling you which one.

A tag per WIP - I'm still relatively new to this fandom, so I don't know a ton of people's URLs yet, but I'll do my best!

@affectionatelyrs, @inexplicablymine, @read-and-write-, and um... I genuinely don't know anyone's URLs, so I'll just leave it open 😂 if you see this somehow and you're like, "hey, Ky, why didn't you tag ME?" I tagged you in my heart, I just don't know where to find you 😭

[electricbluebutterflies]

Garcy + it’s just a bad dream.

Usual post-canon-divergence, PG-ish, also on ao3.

She knows the signs.

Lucy knows better than to push that man to say anything about what happens in his mind sometimes, but the nightmares are obvious enough. A body that size overwhelmed by sadness and fear that can’t be expressed consciously, painful to watch from across the small room…

She knows what’s going on, in just enough detail to be helpful after, but first they have to get to the after.

Her own lucidity at this point in the night is more explainable – her body shifted in sleep, she put pressure on the wrong part, and being in her mid-thirties apparently means she’s more pain-sensitive than she used to be. The slow but fluid timeline of aging and all the stuff nobody ever warned her about are frustrations for another day, and they will be frustrations but right now she has other priorities and-

She’s powerless right now. All she can do is watch. Trying to do something more deliberate, walking over there and putting a hand on him, would probably activate some subconscious instinct and get her hurt or-

Whatever’s going on in there, she thinks, the pieces won’t be easy to pick up. They never are. She tries anyway.

She waits until everything looks calm in the dim light, until the body in the chair is no longer visibly vibrating, before she makes her approach. Even then just out of reach, even then-

“Again,” he says in that particular low quiet voice of regret. “Again I-“

“It’s just a bad dream,” she replies. “I understand. It’s okay, it’s not-“

“I woke you up, that’s not-“

“No. You didn’t. Trying to stab that mattress with my shoulder is apparently not…”

“Still.”

They are not getting in a fight over this, Lucy decides. They are very good at getting into stupid fights over their shared inability to let anyone else worry about them at all ever, but not… not at three in the morning or whatever, not-

“If you’d actually done anything to bother me, you’d know.”

It’s never actually that simple, they both know that, but-

“Understood. I still…”

“Your mind broke and you’re apologizing.” It comes out harsher than she intends, and she’s not sure if she should immediately apologize for that in turn, and-

“I am making it your problem. That’s not-“

“Stop talking and we don’t have a problem.”

Again, probably the wrong thing to say, again…

This is why this whole roommate thing is working out, Lucy wants to say, because they’re very compatible disasters, because she can occasionally be a bitch – sometimes even intentionally – and the consequences don’t last. None of this will matter in the morning, she knows. She’s not even sure how much matters now.

“Try to go back to sleep,” Flynn murmurs, focusing back on her, trying to deflect from his own issues as per usual. “You shouldn’t…”

“Of course I worry about you,” she says as she retreats back to her side of the space, completing the sentence. “Someone has to.”

[systemadministratorclu]

I posted 7,572 times in 2022

737 posts created (10%)

6,835 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@alanbradleyofficial

@evecolourshock

@computerwarrior

@occupationallyhazardous

@drchandras-sanctuary-for-ais

I tagged 1,705 of my posts in 2022

#muse: hal 9000 - 421 posts

#muse: clu - 335 posts

#muse: hal 9000 (tron-verse) - 218 posts

#muse: general tesler - 137 posts

#hal 9000 - 121 posts

#side muse: general tesler - 78 posts

#2001 a space odyssey - 74 posts

#2010: the year we make contact - 53 posts

#dave bowman - 45 posts

#ooc - 42 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#clu: oh shit how do i avoid seeing something on accident if i do he'll hate me holy shit why didn't he just wait crap my hands are shaking

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

[ JACKET ]:        sender notices the receiver beginning to shake after an immensely distressing incident, and removes their own jacket to wrap it around the receiver’s shoulders.

(From Alan to Clu, because they need more wholesome moments)

He looked up at the User and held it tighter around him.

"Th-Thank you, Alan." He said softly. He'd woken up screaming in the night and Alan, who was staying for a bit, had heard him and of course run in out of concern.

382 notes - Posted August 13, 2022

#4

⛓: Dyson has captured Clu and/or Tesler! (Your choice, I'm not picky)

@sarkasticcommentary-backup

[From the Send ⛓ to capture my muse meme]

@sarkasticcommentary-backup

All the color drained from Clu's face when he saw who his captor was. If he weren't already on his knees (where the sentries had forced him, with his hands bound behind his back), his legs would've buckled. He was forced to look up and meet Dyson when a sentry jerked his head up by a fistful of his hair. The Admin cried out in pain, but the sentry didn't release him, using the hair to keep his head up and looking at Dyson.

Tesler was brought in behind him, led by two sentries, and swore internally when he saw it was Dyson. But the sadistic program seemed to have no interest in him at the moment, as he approached poor Clu instead.

448 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

#3

“ you're stronger than you think. “ (Tron to Clu. Finally worked up the courage to send it)

"What do you mean?" The Admin program shook his head,

"I sure don't feel strong."

873 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

#2

[Send 🤒 for your muse to take care of my sick muse.]

Alan to a muse of your choice! (Wanted to use Alan some more)

There was some kind of virus going around, and of course Clu caught it, though that wasn't evident until he quite literally collapsed in front of Alan.

Kevin Flynn would've ignored his illness and made him work despite his condition.

But Flynn was no longer Clu's User.

His new User, Alan, had a very different way to handle the sick Program.

1,250 notes - Posted June 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

🔪 (for Clu - it's fake!)

"Act scared - there's an Occupation patrol less than a block away, I'm using a chromatic distorter to hide our circuits so we're less distinctive but neither of us wants them to catch on so for sparks' sake play along! What are you even doing here, anyway!" - Eve, System Resource Allocation Monitor

"What the-Who the frag even ARE you and what do you want with me!?" He didn't need to act, he actually was scared.

1,393 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[the-bear-deers-fwff]

Hello again to my thoughts on this section of the game. I am not as thoughtful of symbolism and such, but I'll try to add my thoughts.

So yeah, keep reading at your own risk.

We start Thursday with the good news that Carl is indeed alive and well. He was just in his crawlspace. Hooray. I had actually done Leo's route before Carl's first time I played, so It was a bit of a strange surprise that's where he was found.

Anyways, on a car drive, Leo and Chase chat about college. I love the insight in the Original Post about how Leo is just venting and projecting and such.

Either way, Leo talks about how he's learning his dad's trade (I can't remember exactly what it is. Welding or mechanical stuff I think), and hints to Chase that if they got together, he could support him. Which, if you think about it, is kind of insulting to Chase who is working hard in school to get a job... But his intentions are sweet.

They soon decide to do a photo shoot at the train tracks for Chase's project. There's a nice-almost poetic-few lines about how one finds comfort in leaning against things that are permanent...temporary attached to infinity. This is followed up by some spooky sounds under the train car, and then a jump scare that actually made me skip a beat. It's clear that Leo didn't make the sounds, and the mystery is left unsolved as an intimate moment falls upon the two, leaving Leo shirtless...

Which is where Kudzu finds them.

Leo is caught off-guard and is flustered. Kudzu plays it cool, smirking and continuing like nothing happens. Keeping the conversation casual, but then gets serious... I'm guessing this is the reason why Kudzu didn't just turn around after spotting the two getting...serious, giving them privacy and all that. Anyways, Kudzu warns Leo and Chase that Clint's getting more violent. That he threatened to kill Leo, among other things.

"His eyes flick to me"

Leo, who has been nonchalant about being targeted by targeted and having his life threatened by Clint, suddenly becomes more aggressive at the thought of him targeting Chase.

Kudzu advises him to be careful around him from now on, and tells Leo-

KUDZU: "Don't provoke him." LEO: "I wouldn't if he wasn't such a fucking asshat." KUDZU: "Just ignore him."

Leo gets more and more aggressive, till Chase changes the subject, inviting Kudzu to the park to play soccer. Kudzu initially declines, but in the end, doesn't take much persuading to change his mind.

In the car to Payton (Since it's the only place they can play soccer), Chase and TJ chat in the back. TJ, confesses-

"I just think it might have been best if I hadn't come... I feel bad, is all."

This statement is covered up by the next cute line-

"The way he tries not to frown, but does anyway, is both heartbreaking and adorable at the same time."

A cute, heartwarming scene/description. But is it covering up the first thing he said? Sure, he could be blaming himself for Flynn's blow up before.. But I think that maybe it's more of him saying he feels bad about that thing we learn in TJ's route. Just a small hint. Maybe a hint that TJ will be a mess when the mass hysteria hits later due to his guilt. Who knows.

The soccer scene is both cute and fun though. A bit of worldbuilding is done through here, with Chase remarking about how it's not..normal I guess..to mention a specie's aptitude. But it does make sense that some species have easier times with things.

We chat with Kudzu after the game, apologize for the whole name thing and forget to mention that Kudzu is the most perfect man in the game. Instead we start to pry into Kudzu's personal life, asking why he left Payton to move to a dying town like Echo.

KUDZU "People are the reason why I left Payton." "The more people there are the worse it is. It's the same anywhere."

They pack the game in, and on the way to the ice-cream place, TJ laments that they won't be able to do this because Chase will be busy with his project. Chase starts to protest but Leo interjects, asking what flavor they all want...Even though they aren't close to the ice cream place yet. Maybe a bit of an earlier hint at what Leo is hiding...

Back at the abandoned train tracks, Chase decides he needs a different perspective on the photos. I really liked the thoughts on the Original Post about why. That was well thought out and flew right over my head.

Anyways, that dangerous meth addict comes by-the one Kudzu said to stay away from.

At first, he seems aggressive, charging at Chase fast, with a gun in his waistband. But then just starts talking.

"Fuckin' Leo...why do you hang out with that creep?" "I mean, he's always saying shit to me, always saying shit about my dad...he had a perfect fucking life and rubs it in my face."

I'm reminded about earlier in the story where Leo mentions to Chase how he had an easy life. How his family had to move here and such. I'd have to go back and look for the exact quote/context.

Anyways, Clint learns that Chase is doing a project for school, and shares a scary story his Dad told him-even though it freaked him out and didn't want to hear it. Then he just leaves, talking about how the town just...isn't right.

This, scene has a lot more to unpack. First, it hints that Leo might be a bit more, unstable than we originally thought. Also giving Kudzu's warning of 'don't provoke Clint' a bit more insight. Kudzu had probably heard Clint's side of the story as well. It also throws some sympathy towards Clint. Not enough for me to forgive him, or anything. But enough that the trailer scene/how Kudzu knows where to find us in Brian's trailer, makes a bit more sense.

Upon returning to Leo's place, Chase...confronts a bit too strong of a word. But he does inquire about it to Leo. He brushes it off, saying Clint is on drugs along with-

"But it's not like I'm responsible for it. I just treat him like he treats everyone else."

So, treating the aggressive drug addict like you're an aggressive drug addict. There's a lot to say here about sympathy and treating people how you WANT to be treated.

Chase gets a little confrontational, and asks Leo directly if he bullied Clint when they were younger.

LEO "I mean, I wasn't nice to him, of course, but he was an asshole to everyone else. Like I said; I did to him what he did to others. maybe a little worse."

Once again, this scene is followed up by something cute and romantic to make us forget. But, it felt lighter somehow-like it didn't completely cover everything. Maybe it was the TV dinners, that stuff is gross. But regardless, Chase lets his guard down completely to Leo-even after his revelation.

Then Friday rolls around starting with the library.

Chase confirms the story that Clint told him, revealing a bit more. Like how it was claimed a monster kept the guy alive.

They decide to take a break, and Chase suggests a meetup with everyone. Leo says they are all busy. Chase admits that it's weird that Leo's blowing everyone off, which we soon find out isn't the worst of it.

One stake house dinner later, they go back to their old highschool.

Leo reminisces and admits that-if he could-he'd take highschool again. Not to fix mistakes, but because it was fun. And asking the age old question, "Did I peak in highschool?"

Chase, after an all too long pause says-

"Leo, you've got a good paying job, your own house, a pretty damn good life. You're doing better than most."

Which is true. A lot of people want that in the here and now. But Leo says he was happier back then.

CHASE "Well.. you know, if you keep looking back I don't think you'll ever be happy."

Leo, doesn't take this to heart, and tells Chase that he loves him and begs him to come back. Saying-

"Chase, please. Please just come back. I miss you so much. Everyday. I'll stop smoking. I'll stop picking on Clint. I'll get rid of the gun. Just please come back."

And...Chase says yes. Yes to trying again.

One room cut and an intimate scene later, and Leo's in the shower while Chase has to wonder if he wants to check Leo's messages-to see what he and Flynn were fighting about.

Furry Visual Novel Book Club: Echo Week 11 SPOILERS

Hi everyone, here is the SPOILER discussion post for “Echo - Leo’s Thursday and Friday”

Links: Previous - Next - Original - Spoiler Free Version

Feel free to respond in reblogs/replies/or asks :D

Keep reading

[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (17)

Y'ALL. I just realized we are nearing the end of this fic and tbh it's got me a lil bit emo after spending soooo much time fleshing this out, however I am SO excited to start posting my next series once this is done.

YAY

Masterlist

Word Count: 3392

Warnings: high schoolers bein high schoolers

% approximately the 3rd week of November %

Walking into school Monday, the normal congratulations people would be giving the football team for winning their first round of finals was overshadowed by yours and Tom’s situation. People watched you walk down the hall and you could hear some of them faintly talking about you. 

Tom was clearly annoyed when he met you at your locker after his morning workout, so he decided to put on a show.

You had shut your locker when you heard him say “good morning princess” in a breathy tone. Before you could say anything, he tossed a hand behind your back and pulled you into a deep kiss that ended in you staring at him wide eyed as everyone around watched closely.

“What was that?” you whispered, aware of the other students once again mumbling to each other.

“Just wanted to make our relationship clear to everyone since they all wanna talk so much,” he replied, speaking louder than normal with a mischievous glint in his eyes. You rolled your own and from the corners of your eyes could see students shifting awkwardly and turning away.

“Yeah well if anyone didn’t know by now, they must’ve been living under a rock. Now come on, let’s just get to class.” 

In home ec, Grace sat on the opposite side of the room as you and your other friends, shooting glares often to which you just rolled your eyes and tried to ignore. What did she know about anything, anyways? 

Caroline and another friend had been filled in about her texts and were frustrated at her behavior as well.

You didn’t want to be mad at her forever or for her other friends to just drop her, but you were comforted by the thought that the others actually cared and would defend you. 

You also hoped the week would turn out uneventful since Thanksgiving break would be the next week and you’d get to spend 9 whole days at home not thinking about school. 

Thankfully, it did.

Despite the anger with Grace and the whole school turning your relationship into their own personal reality show, not much actually happened. Most people were too busy with all of the tests and quizzes being given out before break to stir up drama.

You also luckily did not have to work on the project. Mrs. Flynn was aware of the academic load everyone had along with another football game that weekend which would determine whether the team would get to go to the state final. 

Friday night, everyone packed the bleachers in anticipation for the game, happy that because of their record, the game had been on their home turf.

It went well and Tom played fantastically. The game ended with only a touchdown lead but regardless, they won. They were only one step away from being state champions. In your excitement, you’d hopped over a wall and ran to Tom, hugging and kissing him in front of everyone.

After whistles and whoops rang out, you looked around sheepishly. You had just shown PDA in front of not only your fellow students, but teachers, parents, and siblings from both schools. 

It was a little awkward at the very least.

The moment was over as quickly as it happened, though, and not long after, families were making their way home for the night, ready to start their Thanksgiving breaks and get out of the nipping winds.

Tom, sweaty despite the chill, now had you cornered over your car like you were in a typical football movie. Helmet hanging down his side as his other arm pinned you to the door. 

“I still cannot believe I ran up and kissed you like that. That’s so embarrassing!” you exclaimed, ignoring the fact that you were still very much in public.

“Is this your way of saying you’re embarrassed to be with me?” Tom prompted, to which you playfully shoved his chest.

“Way to fly right over the point, genius. Of course I’m not embarrassed by you. I’m just not the PDA type, you know? Feels wrong.”

 Tom laughed and glanced around.

“Well… we’re kind of private right here just in case you want to prove you aren’t embarrassed of me.”

You raised a brow as you looked just past him. Though the two of you were somewhat wedged between your car and the one next to it, you could clearly see more people leaving the football field.

“This really is not that private but… I guess I’ll let you get away with it this time,” you teased, not pulling back when he leaned in for another sweet kiss.

You stayed there for a few minutes, hopeful that the moment wouldn’t be ruined. 

But of course it was.

The car beside yours alarmed and you and Tom pulled apart with a jump, heart racing from the surprise. Tom whipped around and you shifted to the side to see what was going on. At the driver’s door was Chris laughing.

“Dude, what the hell!” Tom exclaimed as you breathed out your own chuckle.

“Sorry, dudes, I was trying to get you out of the way so I don’t run you over when I pull out. Figured it was better to do that than say your names. It was at least funnier,” Chris shrugged.

“Are you really that bad of a driver that you think you’d hit me while leaving this parking lot?” Tom rebutted. Chris looked like he was weighing his response.

“I mean… maybe.” 

“Fair enough,” you laughed, standing from your leaned position on the car door. “We should probably head out anyways. Got that NHS thing in the morning.”

Tom groaned, tossing his head back and loosening his knees.

“I forgot about that. I’m gonna have to wake up at like 10. That’s sooooo earlyyyyy,” he complained. 

“Oh I’m sure you’ll end up okay,” you amusedly reassured, patting him on the chest. “Now go rest up and I’ll see you in the morning, alright?”

∆

Tom was late.

To be fair, you were early, it was to be expected, and it wasn’t by much. But still.

While of course you knew people in the National Honors Society (it’s not like it was that big), you weren’t friends with many of them, and the ones that you did know couldn’t make it due to family obligations. Back in sophomore year, you had wanted Alexis to be in NHS but she refused, and despite not wanting to join, your parents had made you. 

It’s not like membership was that taxing. A monthly lunch meeting where food was provided plus service hours each semester wasn’t asking a lot of you, but now you had hoped that Tom would be there on time to give you someone to talk to.

In the past, that someone had been Grace. Now, the two of you only shared awkward looks from opposite sides of the large group.

Since it was fall, the group’s task was to rake up and bag leaves from people’s yards so that they could be composted. The spring task was always using that compost to make gardens around the community look pretty and stay healthy.

As you were standing around a neighborhood park getting grouping assignments, you heard a car door shut, then fast paced crunching through the leaves. 

You didn’t even have to turn around to know that it was Tom. This was further confirmed when a shoulder came and brushed up against you and the panting of your stressed boyfriend was clearly audible. 

“Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t find my coat,” he whispered and you just smirked, shaking your head. 

Despite the awkwardness before, Tom’s lateness somehow ended up in your favor as he was put in a group with you and two others. They were both younger than you, the teachers wanting older and younger students to work together and get to know each other.

That sentiment went down the drain though, as the junior and sophomore who trailed behind you and Tom to your assigned lawn seemed too scared to talk to either of you. They had only introduced themselves (despite you knowing who they were since the NHS was so small) and told you to lead the way. 

As you were leaving, a teacher called out from the meeting spot.

“By the way! There will be a competition to see who can rake the fastest and neatest! Pace means nothing if it looks bad!”

You and Tom looked at each other with wide eyes and opened mouths. Neither of you could resist a competition, and while in the past you were always happy to try and beat Tom, working together with him was just as appealing. 

As your group picked up the pace, you saw Grace’s group across the street, starting on their lawn, and she sent you a look, one that said “I’m going to win.” 

She’d see about that.

You took charge once you reached the house you’d been told to go to. The subdivision you were working in housed mostly elderly people who lived on only a few variations of the same plot. In general, the playing field was meant to be even.

Each group only had two rakes, so you and Tom began gathering leaves furiously in a large pile in the front, allowing the younger students to bag them together. As the number of leaves on the ground dwindled, it became harder to gather them as smaller debris just passed through the rake tines. 

Next, you moved to the backyard, which only housed a small shed and paved deck. You used the same method as before, piling together the leaves until no small ones could be gripped by the rake. 

Now, you were looking for a solution for the smaller leaves and twigs that didn’t take up much time.

Soon enough, all four of you were on hands and knees, laughing as you got to the ground to push leaves with your hands towards the center of the backyard. It didn’t take long for the majority of remaining debris to be bagged and you were again back in the front lawn doing the same thing.

While you hadn’t talked much while raking due to the physicality of it, doing such ridiculous movements together had finally broken the ice, the entire group now conversing like good friends. 

After a final scan of the front and back yards, you were satisfied with the work and now needed to bring the bags of leaves back to the meeting spot, the last step in determining who would finish first. It was probably unfair to the people in houses furthest away, but it didn’t matter now as you ran.

Thankfully, your younger group members had been smart enough to compact the leaves in the bags, allowing you to stuff only 4 of them full. They were heavier than they would’ve been otherwise, but this meant that you only needed to take one trip back.

You all lumbered towards the meeting spot, bags thumping against your backs, when you saw Grace’s group with 3 full bags do the same. Their front yard looked great, so you nervously picked up the pace and called on your group members to do the same.

After a few more moments, you realized it would be futile despite your efforts. They were traveling at a faster pace, one that your group couldn’t match, but you encouraged everyone on anyways, hoping that there might be perks for second place, too.

As soon as Grace’s group dropped the bags, she turned to you, who was panting as you tossed your own bag down a few feet away.

“HA! Suck on that! We won and you lost!” Grace yelled.

Instead of acting disappointed or offended, your first reaction was to snort in amusement. You could feel Tom looking at you in confusion.

“Wow. Very graceful of you,” you deadpanned, shooting up a brow and then chuckling after. 

The rest of your group snickered as well, giving you low fives in appreciation of your comment. Grace only fumed more as she stomped off. 

It didn’t take much longer for the rest of the groups to finish up, those who were waiting sitting at picnic tables or messing around on the playground. The teachers had wanted everyone to finish before they judged the yards. 

After everyone was back in the meeting place, the entire cohort walked back down the road towards the house Grace worked on. 

“Wow, this yard looks great. Looks like you all are the winners after all,” one teacher started, but you quickly raised your hand slightly to interject.

“Are we not also being judged on the backyards?” you feigned innocence, but with the way the corners of your mouth turned up, you couldn’t hide your agenda from the other students. You could see Grace pale from your peripheral.

“Oh right! Of course, I almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me, y/n,” she responded as the other two teachers nodded to you as well.

Everyone was then led to the back gate, where the other side told a very different story than the front.

The backyard hardly looked like it had been touched. There was a pile of leaves left in the corner and still some spread around the lawn.   

“Oh, wow. Everyone, this is what we meant by saying that finishing first doesn’t mean you will win! Let’s head over to the second place finishers and see if theirs is any better,” another teacher said.

Your group members looked at each other in satisfaction as you headed towards your group’s house, the front yard also looking spotless. All of the teachers were nodding their heads in approval before turning towards the back yard.

“Look at this! It’s perfect! You all did an amazing job here and are the clear winners!” One teacher said.

“How did you finish this so fast?” another asked.

You tossed one arm around Tom while high fiving your other group members. 

“I guess teamwork makes the dreamwork,” you laughed. 

“But seriously, we dug around on our hands and knees to fill the bags,” Tom explained. 

“Well, it paid off. You four are the lucky recipients of free meal vouchers for the diner. Spend them wisely!”

You all “yessed” and fist pumped as you were handed the coupons and started to disperse. As everyone walked back to their cars, they grumbled that there hadn’t even been a point in trying against you and Tom.

Back in the parking lot, you were saying bye to the younger two of your group when a voice called from behind you.

“Hey, y/n. I hope you’re happy,” Grace spat, clearly trying to rile you up. Again, instead of giving her the reaction she wanted, you snorted and held up your meal voucher.

“Oh believe me, I am. Lookin’ forward to a free date with this guy,” you responded, jutting a thumb towards Tom and winking. 

Again angered, she only stomped and turned around, leaving you happy to not have to deal with her for the next week. 

“Soooo… about that free date,” Tom started once she had slammed herself into her car. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

%

You and Tom sat in the diner conversing over your order of cheese fries, the only thing you’d be paying for since they didn’t come with a meal.

“So you’re gonna be at the G-parent’s all week?” you asked.

“Well, Monday through Friday, but yeah. My mom likes to go early to help prep food, and my cousins always come up on Wednesday. We all have a giant sleepover in the living room. No one actually sleeps since the floor isn’t all that comfortable, but it’s always the best part of Thanksgiving. Usually one of my aunts comes and yells at us from a bedroom for laughing too loud.”

You chuckled at the image of Tom and his family getting told off for disturbing the peace before replying.

“I can’t imagine. I’ll be out of state through Friday at my own grandparents’. I’m super excited for Black Friday this year because these rhinestone boots I want are going to be on sale. They’ll be perfect for the color’s day dance in January and maybe even graduation. I have a feeling my mom is gonna try to pass them off as a Christmas present, but I plan on spending my own money on them. Probably still gonna wrap them, though.”

“So we’re both going to be back after Friday? We should meet up then. Two weeks out and I’m already pretty nervous about the state final buuuuut,” he reached forward to grab your hand, “hanging out with my pretty girlfriend will hopefully make me feel a little better.”

“Hmmm. While that alone would be great, this pretty girlfriend has a better idea. What about a spa day?” you offered with brows raised. 

“Spa day? Like nail polish and makeup and stuff?” Tom asked, confused. You chuckled and shook your head. 

“First off, no, I mean like facemasks and massages. And second, don’t knock nail polish till you try it. I personally think it looks hot when a guy wears nail polish. Shows he’s secure in his masculinity,” you winked. Tom’s brows raised in newfound interest.

“Oh yeah? I’m open to trying new things,” he started, making you grin. “Seriously, though, that sounds amazing. We should definitely do that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

You ate your fries in silence for a bit before Tom cleared his throat. 

“Um, actually, there was something I’ve been wanting to tell you,” he said with eyes down. Your stomach dropped and heart picked up pace. Now what was going on?

“Oh? What is it?”

“Well… I met with Mrs. Johnson again Friday and…”

“Friday? When? We were together pretty much all day,” you interrupted. Tom stretched out his fingers, gesturing for you to pause. 

“Before the game, before warm ups. She pulled me aside and well… I’m back in the running.”

You perked up. Was he saying what you thought he was saying?

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold on, what? Like… the academic running or..?”

Tom rolled his eyes with a smile.

“Yes, princess. The academic one. You’ve got competition for valedictorian again, so you’d better start stepping it up.”

“Ohhhhh nice try, pal. We both know you can’t beat me,” you teased. 

“I guess we’ll just have to see,” he shrugged, earning the toss of a fry right at his face. “But seriously, she said she won’t hold any of what happened against me after all’s said and done. I’m no longer on probation either. Your amazing boy is off the hook.”

“Well my amazing boy had better try staying on the hook because doing this without a semblance of competition was starting to eat away at me.”

“Don’t think that just because we’re dating now I’ll take it easy on you.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way, babe.”

%

A/N: like I said before, it's hard to believe I'm finally getting close to the end. It's like a light at the end of the tunnel. There are definitely still a few more chapters left and the epilogue but it's close!!

Thank's for sticking around!

Send a message or ask if you’d like to be added to my permanent or series taglists so I can verify you’ve been added! Strikethrough indicates inability to tag.

Story tag list: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson, @spider-babe, @stxfxniexreads, @justafangirlduh, @supraveng, @legolastheleafyelf, @crvshnburnn, @furiousbanditnickelnight, @mayal0pez

[green-socks]

What More Could I Ever Need chapter 4

Pairing: Benny Miller x F!reader (Tangled AU)

Summary: Tangled AU where Benny is in the role of Rapunzel (without the hair thing) and reader is basically a female Flynn Rider. This chapter focuses on our two main heroes. More trouble follows, and then they're kinda in their feels about everything.

Words: 1.9k

Warnings: none really.

Notes: Today is the one year anniversary of when I posted the first part of this fic! Sorry for not updating in *mumbles* months, but I wanna say a thank you to the people who recently read this old story and told me how much they were enjoying it, which reminded me that I, too, enjoy it a lot actually, and that it was worth getting back to asap! Which I did, and just in time for this anniversary, so yay!! Seriously, people who read and comment (esp. on older fics) are magic. I have felt it. It is magical. Thank you.

SERIES MASTERLIST | MASTERLIST

”Thanks for speaking up for me back there. What you said was really nice,” Benny said after they had trudged on in silence for a long while.

“Oh, that was nothing! And really, you’re the one who stopped them from hauling me out of there, so I should be thanking you for what you did for me.”

The boy’s earnestness seemed to be rubbing off on you. It was honestly a little flustering.

 “So.. thanks,” you half-smiled at him awkwardly.

“Don’t mention it. But why was your face on that poster anyway? What did you steal?”

“Sorry, Goldilocks, we're not gonna go there right now. If you want me to take you to the lantern festival, it’s better if you know as little about me as possible, for your own good.”

Benny looked at you for a couple of beats too long, before murmuring, “I’m not sure that’s true.”

Your mouth opened in a soft O, but you had no response to that.

Instead, you pushed to move the conversation away from yourself. “Tell me more about this weird thing you have about the lanterns. Why do you want to see them so bad? And how come you’ve never gone before?

“Uh.. Well.. Um,” Benny stuttered. “There’s this thing… Well, the world is a very dangerous place for me, and my mother has had to keep me safe.”

“Safe from what? Why are you in danger?”

And why did you feel the need to protect him?

Suddenly that was the least of your concerns however, when you heard noises coming from behind you. You had no idea how far they were, since everything was echo-y in the cave, but it quickly became apparent that your chasers had found the trapdoor and were after you.

“Shit! Run, Benny, we gotta go now!”

Not needing to be told twice, he took off at a run, his long legs carrying him even faster than you were able to go.

“There’s light ahead! Do you know where this tunnel lets out?” he yelled, panicked.

“No! Keep running!”

You burst out of the tunnel into glaring afternoon sunlight, blinding you after the near total darkness of the tunnel. It was made worse by the glimmering water of the small waterfall below you.

Well, the next move was pretty clear to you. You’d have to jump, and hopefully you wouldn’t die.

Great.

“Benny, we have to jump. Ready?”

“What?! No!?”

“If you want to make it to the lanterns alive, I’d take your chances with the drop rather than the soldiers on our tail!” you shouted, feeling a little hysterical.

You jumped, not even turning to see if Benny followed you or not.

--------

“Ronia, no!”

But you were already hurtling toward the surface of the river, and there was nothing Benny could do.

He was still trying to find the courage to jump, knowing there was no other way down but not liking the idea one bit (he didn’t even know how to swim!), but again, suddenly his problems multiplied when the first soldier chasing them burst onto the small cliff.

While the soldier tried to adjust to the sudden change in lighting, Benny didn’t stop to think. And it’s a good thing he didn’t, because he never would have done any of the following things otherwise.

He punched the soldier. Right in the face.

And then he, too, jumped.

-

It turned out he needn’t have worried about not knowing how to swim, because the current was so strong, there was no way do anything but just drift wherever it took you. Fortunately for him, there had been some logs at the bottom of the waterfall, which he had latched on to.

Mouse was panicked out of her little mind and crawled on top of his head to stay out of the water, her sharp nails digging into his skin.

He couldn’t tell how long it had been, but eventually the current slowed down and the water became shallow enough that he could wade his way onto the riverbank.

But you were nowhere in sight.

“Ronia? Where are you?” he yelled. “Ronia!”

Benny begged you were okay. It would be all his fault if something had happened to you. Terror was building in his chest again. How could he ever even find you? He had no idea where he was, or how to find you. But he would find you. He couldn’t bear to think you hadn’t made it to the shore. You had to be here somewhere. Had to.

Where should he even start to look? He felt tears of frustration and desperation leaking from his eyes, and he knew his mother would have told him he was being too sensitive and that crying never helped anything. Trying to collect himself, he looked to Mouse.

Who also wasn’t there.

Before he could completely break down, the raccoon let out a lout screechy noise, and Benny noticed her running off a little ways back upstream, through some bushes.

“Mouse! Where’re you going! Come back!”

He took off at a run and quickly gained on the little creature, but it also soon became apparent where she was headed.

Under a secluded tree, hidden in the shade, was you. Mouse had smelled you, probably, he didn’t know, but he picked his little friend up and gave her a big kiss. “Good job, Mouse!”

“Ronia! It’s me, it’s us!”

You turned to look at them, but your whole demeanor was weary, and you looked like you’d been crying too.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Benny immediately felt the relief from seeing you flood right back out.

“My stupid ankle, I sprained my stupid ankle,” you sniffed. “You have to leave me here; I’ll never make it to the town and to the festival in time like this. I can’t even stand.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, it must hurt terribly. But it’s okay, I’m not going to leave you here,” Benny reassured you. This was easily mendable, even. This was the one thing he could do.

“Don’t be stupid, you have to. I know you’re strong but you’re not strong enough that you could carry me all the way to town before tomorrow evening. I’ll be fine.”

“Now who’s being stupid? You obviously won’t be fine like that alone in the forest. Will you just let me help?”

Mouse already knew what was coming, because she had settled onto the ground and rubbed her paws together in anticipation. She always was his biggest fan.

“Settle down, silly girl,” he said to Mouse, before crouching down next to you. “I’ll need to put my hand on your ankle. Can I do that?” he asked you calmly.

You seemed confused and a little irritated. “W– Yeah, okay, whatever.”

“Now, please don’t be alarmed. I will sing, and you will feel better, you’ll see.”

You looked like you wanted to argue, but he needed silence so he could concentrate. “Shhh, it’s okay. I got you.”

He laid his hand on your swollen ankle as carefully as he could and started to sing. He could feel the powerful rush inside him, which told him it was working. It felt the same as sunlight on your skin on a warm day, but just inside him, as if under his skin.

--------

What. The. Fuck.

 This– This golden-haired angel was singing to you, or your leg, whatever, and the swelling started going down almost immediately. The pain subsided.

Seriously, what was happening.

Actually, your whole body felt better than it had in ages. No aching muscles. No blisters on your toes. Even that annoying mosquito bite didn’t itch anymore.

And the boy in front of you sang beautifully. His low voice felt like the most soothing bath, or what you imagined a soothing bath would feel like, had you ever been granted such a luxury. His golden hair seemed even more golden than usual. And his warm, large hands were cradling your ankle – ankle – more delicately than you think anyone had ever touched in your life.

You realized you were blinking away tears when he stopped, and gently twisted your ankle this way and that, testing its movement.

“How does it feel now?” he asked softly.

“G-good. It feels good. Thank you,” you croaked.

“You’re welcome.”

You tried to not let your disappointment show on your face when he let go of your leg and his touch left your skin.

“Wha– What was that?” you whispered.

“It’s.. what I do,” Benny shrugged. “I don’t know why, or how exactly, but I know when I sing, I can heal people. And animals. Make them feel better. I’ve been doing it since I was a baby, my mother tells me. I don’t know very many songs, but I’ve been making up my own too. I like to sing, not just when I use it to heal.”

He said all this very shyly, very quietly.

“Is this why you never left that tower?”

“Yes. My mother said people tried to hurt me when I was a baby, because they were jealous of my gift, so she took me to safety, where no one could find me and take advantage of me.”

“Oh,” you breathed, “I’m sorry, Benny. That must have been difficult.”

 “It’s alright, Ronia,” he smiled.

You grimaced.

“That’s.. not my real name,” you confessed.

“It’s not? What is you real name then?”

Benny didn’t seem angry, he just seemed curious. Ready to listen. So, you spilled you guts to him, all about your real name, about how you grew up in the orphanage and read stories to the younger kids every night. How your favorite book had been Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, and how the heroine in that had seemed so much braver than you ever felt, so you had adopted the name when you left the orphanage, changed scenery completely, and never looked back. The thieving was just to stay alive at first, but since you were already a Robber’s Daughter… It seemed like you had nothing to lose.

You finish your sad little story to find Benny looking at you with understanding eyes.

“That must have been very lonely,” he said quietly. "But for whatever it's worth, I like your real name a lot too."

You only nodded. You were done with speaking for the night, but Benny seemed to understand. He settled down next to you in the grass, and let you lean your head against his shoulder. You fell asleep like that.

--------

outside the tavern, a couple of hours earlier

Two parties, both very interested in finding the two rogues on the run, met outside the tavern where it all had gone down. Both parties realized they had arrived too late, and that the thief and the boy were already far away.

But Dagmar wasn’t too concerned about that. She knew where the boy was headed, and that information proved useful to the two burly guys, hell-bent on getting revenge “on that little bitch Ronia for stealing that crown from us”. Dagmar wasn’t even interested in the crown in the slightest, which delighted the twins tremendously. But she did promise them that in exchange for their help in doing the dirty work, she could offer them something worth more than they could ever imagine. The boy.

The twins were stupid, but evil enough to agree. A bargain was struck, and Dagmar felt better than she had all day. She had a plan now.

---------------------------------------------

tagsies: @writeforfandoms @starlightmornings @fangirl-316 @a-reader-and-a-writer @idreamofboobear @miraclesabound @thetypewriterimproviser @sgnjimmy @jediknight122 @lorosette @igotmajordaddyissues @marvelousmermaid @lorecraft @hopeamarsu @mermaidxatxheart

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

To Raise Children: Chapter 3

Chris Evans X Daughter!Reader, Grandpa!Chris Evans X Flynn and Felix Evans (OCs) Tom Holland X Single-Mom!Reader (Slow Burn)

Series Masterlist

Series Summary: It's been 4 years, your sons are starting kindergarten, you're starting junior year of college, a lot has changed.

Chapter Summary: The boys' first day of school!

Series Warnings: Age gap (Reader is 20, Tom is 29), absent father, mentions teen pregnancy, mentions abortion, if you see anymore please let me know politely.

Chapter Warnings: None a little emotional.

Sequel to "It Takes A village"

"Mommy!" Felix exclaimed running down the stars, Flynn following close behind him. They both looked annoyed.

"That's my name." You smiled at them.

"He won't share the good lego bricks!" Felix said pointing at his brother.

"I need them to build my statue!" Flynn argued.

"Why don't you two build something together?"

"We're having a contest to see who's a better builder, Poppy is the judge!" Felix explained.

"Okay how bout I go up there and split the pieces fairly for the two of you and you can only use what's in your pile?" You suggest. They look at each other before agreeing.

———

"Who's ready for their first day of school?" You asked the two kids. Dressed and ready for their first day of school. They were wearing a matching light green button up with jean shorts. Since they loved matching the had necklaces with their names so the teachers could tell who was who. You were able to tell them apart without the necklaces, and so could your family, for the most part at least.

"We are!" Flynn said happily.

"Okay lets get a photo stand next to each other." You smiled. The boys stood in front of the front door smiling. You snapped the photo before the ran over to see it.

"Is Poppy coming with us?" Felix asked.

"Obviously I'm not gonna miss my boy's first day of school," Chris said walking out the front door

"Yay!" Felix smiled.

"But I'm taking my car since your mama has her first day of school today as well." Chris smiled at you. "Which remind me I need to get your photo!"

You chuckle nodding going to where your kids were just standing. Chris took the photo before urging the twins to stand with you. You smiled kneeling down so they can stand with you.

"And perfect!" Chris said happily. The twin hurried to look at the photo. "Hey bubba you mind if I post this? I'll make sure to cover their faces."

"Yeah dad it's fine."

"Well we can't have you three being late can we let's go."

———

Later that day Chris did post the photo, captioned:

Can't believe my grandsons are already in kindergarten! And my baby girl is already a junior in college.

You liked the photo before walking into your class. This is your third year of Cosmetology school. You wanted to give your sons the best life, and working at Walmart wasn't going to do that. You hope opening a salon will help you do that. You also didn't want to live with your dad forever but houses are really expensive and you'd have to get another job to pay for rent. Your dad though he just let you live with him for free. As long as you did chores, took care of dodger, and let him take the boys to as many Patriots games as he wants. The last one was a joke of course. For the most part.

You didn't date, dating put your heart as well as your sons' hearts at risk. You aren't doing that to them. Or yourself. You were doing just fine on your own. Though you were scared for the questions about their dad now that they are in school.

Their birth certificates didn't even have Jake's name on it, they have your last name. You didn't want Jake in their lives. Not because your a petty baby mama you just don't trust him. You don't think he should be in their lives until they can choose if he is or not. You cut off all contact with him anyway so you doubt he'll reach out anyway.

——

The school day was over, you went and picked Flynn and Felix up, before dropping them off at your house with Chris.

"How was your day?" Chris asked them as he began making them a snack.

"It was great!" Flynn said. "We share a table with this girl, Mia! She's really nice there's also a boy name Tommy who sits with us!"

"Mrs. V is super nice!" Felix told him happily. "And we get recess now! And we get to play on the playground!"

"Sounds like so much fun! Okay, so your mommy didn't tell me what to make you as a snack so your getting Chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, and milk. Don't tell her. She said to make you two something healthy." Chris put down a plate of cookies before grabbing three glasses of milk. He knows you meant fruit, or veggies and dip but he's grandpa he's supposed to spoil these boys.

"Yes! Thank you grandpa!" Felix said happily.

"Thank you!" Flynn repeated. Chris smiled reaching for a cookie of his own.

Chris and the boys talked while eating their snack. You weren't done with work until late. You wouldn't make it home for the twins bedtime. You hated that but you didn't have a choice. When the twins were done with their snack Chris took them on a walk to the playground with Dodger.

Taglist: @fic-for-readers @denisemarieangelina @thevelvetseries @kaitieskidmore1 @ellerosie2332 @runawayolives @marajillana @buckybarnez @coldmuffinpartycloud @beautifulrose0809 @positivelyholland @tahniemarie @Olivia197810 @laura-naruto-fan1998 @shadow-dixon

[emmathompsonsmartini]

From what I can tell, I haven’t posted this yet. I wrote it in March of 2018. Which is just, crazy to me. Me vs trying to get back to this level of writing lmao. Anyways.

Her hands must've felt every inch of the walls and yet she didn’t find what she was looking for. She looked at the ceiling willing it to open up, or something. Anything. No such luck.

She placed her hands over her erratic heart and closed her eyes tightly. She tried focusing on lowering her heart rate, breathing. Everytime she thought she was close to calming herself down, she'd start up again.

Her breath bounced off the walls and blew back in her face, laughing and mocking her. She whimpered. She'd throw her hands in the air but there was no room. No room, no room, no...

Lucy briefly wondered how Flynn was handling this. So calm, unmoving. He was a freaking giant! Was his head touching the ceiling? It had to be. Of course, he wasn't the one with claustrophobia. His calm mocked her, too. Reminding her she couldn't calm down.

"Yes, you can," He finally said, as if reading her thoughts. His voice was even calm. No trace of panic. No trace of fear that the walls would crush his lungs. 

"What?" She choked. She scratched at her throat. It was hot and itchy.

"You can calm down," He explained. She shook her head quickly. "Yes—Lucy."

Her hands flew to the wall again pushing against them, harder this time. More effort. There wasn't enough effort last time. She knew Flynn menat well but it wasn't working. This isn't the short ride in the trunk with Wyatt. She knew she wasn't going to be there very long. She didn’t know how long she was going to be here before they came back for her.

With a cry, she slid to the floor. She pulled her knees flush against her chest and cried. She was almost disappointed; her tears were hot and didn’t cool her down. "Why?" She muttered heartlessly.

"Lucy." His foreign voice was soft. Comforting, a tone she'd never heard from him before. She shouldn't be surprised. He did have a wife and daughter.

For a second, she thought he would sink to the floor with her, but there probably wasn't enough room. And he seemed to realize that. Instead, his large hands enveloped her own and tugged. She looked up at him wishing she could see his face. Did his expression mirror his tone? Were his eyebrows creased in concern? His lips fallen in a frown? She could only make out his silhouette.

He grabbed her other hand and tugged again. Truth be told, he coud totally pick her up. He had the strength.

(Not that that much strength was needed to lift her lithe body.)

With Flynn, gently tugging at her wrists, she pushed herself up off the ground.  She took a deep breath as he dusted off her shoulders and held her hands again.

"The walls aren't really closing in on you," He said. "You've taught yourself to think that way."

Lucy was defiant, disagreeable. What would he know? "Uh—“

"Have you been claustrophic your whole life?" She could picture him arching a brow, with a look of, 'You know I'm right.' Does he know about the accident?

"No," She admitted, quietly.

Noticing her breaths were still quick and irregular he placed one of her hands over his heart and her other hand over hers. "Match mine, Lucy."

She nodded and closed her eyes, trying to do as he said. "When did it start?"

"Hmm?" She opened on eye as if she could see what he meant.

"The claustrophobia. When did it start?"

"Oh, uh," Should she tell him? Could she tell him? She told Wyatt. And what's the worst that could happen? He'd laugh in her face? She groaned internally.

He thought she decided it wasn't worth telling and he respected that, didn't push her to tell her anything she didn't feel comfortable with. "It's okay—”

"College."

He nodded, tuned in to what she was going to tell him.

"I was on my way home. I was young and dumb...thought I wanted to join a band. Drop out of school."

Lucy chuckled and Flynn smiled. Her breathing began to normalize. It was working.

"Was going to tell my mom. I was...practicing a speech in my head. I was distracted." She took a deep breath. He found himself holding her hand again. Neither minded, both enjoyed it. "I-I didn't notice the oil slick in the road. Slipped and ran right into the lake.

The car started filling up...so fast. I- couldn't get the seatbelt undone." Lucy shook her head and shrugged. "Someone happened by. Pulled me out. ‘Suppose that's when it started."

Flynn wasn't sure what to say. What would comfort her. "Did you join the band?"

Lucy laughed. "Yeah, no. I didn't. Went back to school. Became a teacher."

"Are you glad you did?"

"Essentially, yes." Lucy blushed as she realized her hand still rested on his chest. She dropped it to her side. "Thank you."

"For what?" He inquired.

"Talking me off the ledge."

"Not really anywhere to jump, is there?"

She punched his arm but laughed. She contemplated hugging him. God the thought was still wierd. But the thought was comforting.

And oddly enough, he beat her to it. Lucy smiled as her ear pressed against his heart. The rythmn soothing, almost reminding her of a lullaby. She embraced him back.

"Thank you."

"What did i do this time?"

They didn't let go of each other. Not yet. They both needed this.

"For trusting me. Believing me."

Lucy smiled and nodded. No words need to be exchanged.

[stockholmdolly]

Thank you for loving ME II

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x reader (Modern Au)

Warnings: blood, violence? 

Word count: 1,215

Summary: Two people with nothing in common, one is a socially awkward Y/AGE years old who lives a content life, no friends and definitely no complications; the other one is a man running from his past, avoiding friendships and relationships for fear to being hurt again. They’ve been living next door to each other for 6 months and know nothing about the other, well, except her, who knows all about his sexcapades. But life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. Who would've thought, it figures.

Author’s note: Hello fanfiction world, it is me! Stockholm Dolly. Did I start a new series without finishing the previous one? Hell yeah, but I almost finished with the other one and I posted ahead of scheduled, so I’m on time. Happy reading solecitos. English is my 4th language and all mistakes are my own confused mind hahaha

II. A drunken mistake

I was playing video games and eating a lot of snacks at my…dad’s house? Why am I here? Anyway, I love this Super Mario World game. I'm team Luigi by the way, yes! I’m in the last world, ready to kill browser and suddenly there’s knock on my door, which is weird, dad never lets me close the door…"come in”, and no one comes in, and they knock again, louder this time and a voice startles me, “fucking door, it won't open, dammit”, that's definitely not my dad.

I open my eyes and hear that same noise outside my apartment door. Someone is trying to break into my apartment, fuck, where is my taser and pepper spray my dad gave me when I moved in? Ooh! My bag.

I walked to the living room and I heard the same noises that I thought were my dream. Is it a guy's voice? 

"Fuck, I can't fucking catch a break, I just need to clean my face and sleep" he says and kicks my door.

I found my pepper spray, yes!! I go to the kitchen and grab the first thing I see, a frying pan, well I guess I'm going to go full Rapunzel on this motherfucker, I tiptoe to the door and prepare to attack, open the door and spray the hell out of the thief and hit him with the frying pan. He fell to the ground and when I looked down…. Oh, my fucking God, it's 6B, I hit 6B, omg, what do I do? He's going to kill me. Well, judging from the amount of alcohol he drinks and the awful smell, I don't think he remembers this, but what should I do? I can't take him to his apartment, he's built like a thousand bricks. Ugh, sleepover it is.

I pull him towards the living room, trying to put him on the sofa is useless. I can't, but I make him comfortable enough, a pillow under his head, a blanket and a water bottle with pain pills. I go to the bathroom to get my first aid kit. I need to fix him up a bit.

His face looks like he fought the Undertaker in the elimination chamber and lost miserably, he starts to whimper but shows no signs of waking up, I guess Flynn Rider was right, the frying pan is an excellent weapon. I clean him up the best I can, that should be enough, I'm not a doctor, I was trying to be one but, well, life isn't always what we want, come on Y/N it’s not time to go down memory lane.

Now, what should I do, go to sleep and check on him every hour or… I was still debating on what to do when I heard him groan, "ugh, what happened, I feel like a truck hit me, my eyes are burning, hell, where am I?", he said. 

"Umm, hey 6B" I said really low, ugh I hate socializing, why me? I should have let him suffer, that way I didn't spray him or hit him in the face lol I start laughing and he's just blinks 

"What are you laughing at… 6A? And what the hell are you doing in my house?" He was so confused and I couldn't help it. I was cackling. I blame it on the lack of sleep. 

"What the hell 6A, how do you get into my house, what happened, fuck, why are my eyes burning so much?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but you look so confused, it's really funny, I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you that YOU ARE in my house not the other way around" 

"I'm not at your house" he looked around and opened and closed his mouth 

"You're in my house, I was sleeping when I heard a noise, I thought it was a thief, so I pepper sprayed you and hit you in the head with a frying pan, in my defense I was scared and my dad gave me that for emergencies" 

"Oh my god, did you hit me with a frying pan? we aren't in tangled 6A, what the fuck, I could have died" 

"You're so dramatic, you weren't going to die, maybe you will die from alcohol poisoning, I'm sorry, I really am, but I cleaned you up, you were bloody, what happened?" 

"I… I think I had a fight in a bar" he sighs

"Oh, are you good now, do you want to stay here? I think that's for the best, I was going to check on you every hour, in case you had a concussion" 

"No, I'm fine, I'm going to go" he points to the door and tries to stand up but he can't and falls on the couch. 

"For me, please, I won't be able to sleep if you go to your apartment" I wasn't very happy about this, letting someone I only knew through moans, grunting and the occasional who's your daddy, but I couldn't help it, damn conscience, my dad calls me mother Theresa because I always try to help everyone. 

He seems to think something and then nods. 

"Great, excellent, umm, do you want to take the couch or do you want to have my bed?" 

"Are you trying to get into my pants 6A? I'm flattered but you hit me with a frying pan. I doubt the winter soldier wants to go out and play now" he says smirking 

"The winter…oh my goodness, no, I've never, I'm, no, no" I cover my eyes in embarrassment, this bastard loves to make fun of me.

"You're so sweet and cute 6A, I was joking, not with the name or the playing thing tho, my head hurts really bad" 

"Oh, here" I grab the pills and water from the coffee table and hand them to him. "it's ibuprofen, I hope you aren't allergic" 

"Are you a doc, 6A?" he quirks a brow 

"No, no, I was about to, but I couldn't go to med school, I have all the first-year books so I read them in my free time" I didn't want to go there on the first serious conversation with him, so I started to look everywhere except at him, he felt it and didn't ask further. 

"Well, I will take the couch don't worry about it, goodnight 6A"

"Y/N, goodnight 6B" I smiled and started to walk towards the hall

"James" he smiled and made himself comfortable on the couch. 

I walk into my room and get on my bed, staring at the ceiling, 3.30am, damn, I don’t know if stay awake or sleep for an hour, whatever I chose is going to be bad for me later, but maybe I can call dad later and tell him I can’t go to work today because I wake up with a bad migraine, do I really want to lie to my dad? Maybe not, but if I tell him that I helped 6B, James, I’ll get a lecture about how people like him just want to get in my pants or how people don’t change. I don’t want to hear those things right now, and with those thoughts on her mind, Y/N starting dozing off.

Taglist: @vicmc624

[erazonpo3]

Lost Legends

Okay so I read Lost Legends: The Rise of Flynn Rider and general thoughts? It was cute and fun, and I have gripes here and there but I can still recommend it. I don't want to compare it to WOWM because it's like apples and oranges but Lost Legends wins points for me by actually acknowledging the TTS storyline and characters, even though it's kinda brief and not quite as... entertaining.

And before I go into the in-depth spoiler review I'll jot down a few thoughts here: there's a lot to be said about tie-in media and 'canon', but where I think it becomes contentious is where two pieces contradict each other, and whether those contradictions necessitate a canonical hierarchy or cancel something out completely. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because while LL borrows TTS lore it also contradicts it? which is. ironic.

but i'll get into that. Spoilers ahead

Basic Summary of The Plot

Our story starts at the Dark Kingdom, with a short prologue. It's all stuff we already know from the series: King Edmund tries to grab the moonstone, his wife dies, Eugene gets sent away for his own safety. What's funny is that Ms Queen still doesn't get a name, but her Lady in Waiting/Handmaiden gets a name (Maeve), and it's Maeve who really drops the ball on dropping Eugene off at an orphanage instead of raising him as Prince Horace. Go girl give us nothing

And from here the LL timeline begins, as Eugene and Arnie are now twelve year olds (I think?) in an orphanage in Corona. Which is the first contradiction to 'canon' but shelve that thought for now. Eugene and Arnie are good little boys but they're getting too old to keep hanging around and the orphanage needs money for the evil Tax Man, so they decide they'll go off into the world and send some money back when they're rich off their famous adventuring. What happens instead is that The Baron's circus rolls into town (yes that Baron) and Eugene and Arnie decide to try their luck signing up for that gig.

To prove themselves to the Baron, Flynn and Lance have to perform a hazing ritual a heist. The heist is literally just to buy a key from the Weasel but it plays out as this huge dramatic thing with a guard chase which is eternally funny to me because two kids walk into a bar, buy a key and then leave, and it's treated like fucking ocean's eleven. The Stabbingtons try to betray them (those guys are here too) but Flynn and Lance outsmart them, beginning a rivalry for the ages. Also, the pub thugs are all part of the Baron's circus crew. Don't think about it too much.

Anyway, as this has all been going down, Eugene is really interested in getting to talk to this guy with a tattoo of (what we as the audience know is) the brotherhood symbol, which Eugene recognises from the note left with him as a baby. He wants to talk to this dude in the hopes he'll get a clue about who his parents are, but this dude keeps eluding him. He also hasn't had a chance to tell Lance about this yet, so when Lance finds out about it he assumes Eugene only tried to rope him into the circus so he could find his parents and ditch him. Cue an ongoing silent treatment.

Eugene eventually does talk to this guy and he learns that the Brotherhood symbol is from the Dark Kingdom but the Dark Kingdom is gone so he shouldn't bother looking for it. Bummer. And now the Baron is planning a huge heist of the reward money for the Lost Princess' return, and Eugene is getting cold feet. He's been okay with a little bit of thievery so far but this feels like too much for him, and he's not okay with pulling it off but Lance still won't talk to him.

As the plan unfolds, Lance and Eugene reconcile and then they work together to betray the Baron and return the stolen treasure that they stole back to the King and Queen. They get caught by the Baron, escape, then get caught by the guards, but it's okay because they're presented to the King and Queen and when Eugene explains that they felt really sorry about it and promise not to do it again they're let go. And so the story ends on a high note.

My Thots™

Okay so here are the thoughts

Canon Compliance?

The obvious takeaway here is that this story offers you a beautiful pie in the form of the characters you know and love and the established lore, then shoves the pie in your face with things like "Eugene already knows the Dark Kingdom and the Moonstone exist but he never brings this up" and "Eugene betrays the Baron in a very significant way but somehow they'll make up and he and Stalyan will get engaged". Which means that if the integrity of the series is important to you, you'll probably just mentally cross out Eugene knowing about the Brohood/DK/Moonstone.

And imo that's fine! My own approach to this story is a kind of general 'if it works it works, if it doesn't I'll leave it' thing to work my own headcanons around. Because there's a lot of fun things to pluck from, like a new ex-Brotherhood member and other characters that could pop up from Eugene's past and other worldbuilding details.

The Story

The story was pretty short and obviously very tailored towards a younger audience, but it still felt kind of... slow? Mostly because nothing particularly exciting is happening until the big heist and even that feels pretty underwhelming. And of course I don't expect a story like this to be particularly complex and can appreciate its simplicity, but I felt like if it had been longer there could have been more twists to keep things interesting.

For example, the Baron is set up as a character not unlike Gothel, who lavishes praise upon the boys and goes on about how they're 'family' but is obviously just manipulating them and would throw them to the wolves in a heartbeat. Eugene underestimates just how criminal the Baron is, but at no point in the story does the doubt we have in the Baron's sincerity ever amount to anything- Eugene only turns against him because he has a morality crisis, which I'll get to in a minute.

Misc. Thoughts

Okay so one thing I thought was really cute was that each chapter has a little 'quote' from a Flynnigan Rider book, and I wrote them all down so if you've read this far and want me to post those separately lemme know. Anyway I just thought it was a very cute touch.

An honourable mention goes to every time Stalyan shows up, she doesn't really do anything in the story yet still is somehow the only character holding the brain cell. Rapunzel gets an indirect cameo by Lance and Eugene stumbling upon her tower and going "Whoa that's Crazy. Anyway. " which is amazing, and Cassandra even gets a little mention by the Captain! And to answer the question nobody asked, there's a chameleon running around Corona because she's an escapee from the circus, and Pascal's mom's name is Amélie!

Characters - okay really just Eugene

Eugene/Flynn is the title character of the book and we get the story exclusively from his POV, so there isn't a lot to say about Lance. On the one hand while I can acknowledge that this is a story about Flynn, not Lance, there's a few choices that feel like a missed opportunity at best given that this book really was an opportunity to explore Lance's character in a way the series never really does.

And it feels extra egregious when the plot demands conflict between Eugene and Lance, because while the emotion between them is engaging when it's happening, at other times it just feels like a convenient way to shove Lance offscreen again. (As a side note, as contrived as the conflict is these are also two twelve year old boys so. Can't blame em too much).

Also, Eugene coming up with the name "Lance Strongbow" on Lance's behalf while he's unconscious is one of those backstory things I'm not going to be acknowledging, thank you.

The Robin Hood Dilemma

Something I touched on after reading What Once Was Mine is that Eugene's characterisation prior to the movie isn't something writers seem to really like... dealing with. And it kind of makes sense that the author received a lot of characterisation notes from Chris Sonnenburg, because little Flynn does feel very similar to the Eugene we know; only the Eugene we know is an adult man who has since grown out of his Flynn Rider persona. But the Flynn Rider persona he needed to grow out of isn't something that ought to be cast aside entirely!! Stop being cowards!!

Taking a step back, the whole premise of the book is kind of a paradox- because Eugene needs to become Flynn Rider before he can learn to embrace his authentic self, but Flynn Rider isn't hero material, he isn't a good guy, he's not the right protagonist for a story for kids. So what we get isn't Flynn Rider, it's really just Eugene trying on a new name. That works for the beginning of the story, because he is just Eugene trying on a new name, but he doesn't grow into it.

At the beginning of the story, Eugene is an orphan in a poor but still functional orphanage run by a kind old lady, and he is surrounded by nice little boys. Eugene is motivated to leave and get a job by a desire to send funds back to the orphanage, and when he joins the Baron's circus he's taken aback to learn he's among thieves. Here's where I thought: okay, this might get interesting. We might be getting a G-rated 'angel falls from heaven' story about Eugene being morally corrupted by the Baron, of learning that the world outside is tough and he needs to look out for himself first and foremost-

but no. The Baron shares his plan to steal the reward money for the Lost Princess, because all the people he's surrounded himself with are already criminals who don't give a shit, but Eugene thinks that this is going too far! What about that poor lost princess who people need an incentive to search for? (he's like, projecting about his own parent issues which is fair, but still). And so the story ends with Eugene turning on the Baron to return the money to the "right" people (aka the king and queen of a kingdom?? okay) but he takes a single golden egg for himself so he can send it to the orphanage.

Which is all sweet and nice but. He still has to become Flynn Rider, asshole extraordinaire. He still has to lose his morals to the point where he'd take an inexperienced young woman to a pub that he, in this book, recognises is a dangerous place in the hopes that he can ditch her. He still has to go and become a wanted thief and rejoin the Baron and then ditch Stalyan on their wedding night.

The reason I'm going on about this so much is that the appeal of Eugene to me is that he is this good guy who wants to be a better person for the people he loves, but that means recognising that he has behaviour he needs to change, and his development is meaningful for that. Watering him down to a righteous Robin Hood hero does him a disservice.

The Real Villain Was Capitalism All Along

I will not elaborate nor should I

[dukeofonions]

Sensing a pattern thanks to the critical fans' asks... I'm a professional producer who's attempted on numerous occasions (unsuccessfully) to secure Thomas for a part in a Broadway-bound musical. TL;DR: How he and his team -- not just friends, but "pros" -- "run their railroad" confuses the hell out of us, and is probably the biggest obstacle to his getting anywhere besides YouTube. Frankly, we now wonder if this is by design and not just typical lack of experience winning the race, as it were...

(Sorry it took so long to respond work has been killing me the past few days.)

Longer Version (1/?): We've been working on this musical for just over a decade, and after we discovered Thomas's long-form content and the singles he's released, we thought he was a good fit for it. Without going into detail, the show's always been kind of a long shot, for many reasons, but we (still) think it'd be a great showcase for his brand of talent. So we decided to approach him and to gauge his interest, since he'd discussed Broadway dreams before. And there, our troubles began...

(2/?) So, five years ago, we approached Thomas through his then-management, Reboot the People, a company that managed a *lot* of content creators back then. (Their remains still exist on Twitter @RTPfamily.) They may have been a little out of their depth when they heard our pitch, and wisely looped in his agent at the time, Ty Flynn at UTA, from whom we heard... nothing. Okay, maybe it wasn't his thing; we had other projects to pursue and we moved on but... we still kept an eye on his content.

(4/?) When we returned to the project a couple years later, Thomas was still a favorite for the part for which we had him in mind, and building a much bigger audience than before, so we decided to reach out again. The business fawsterdog email address, as I'm sure fans have discovered by now, is useless. No one there ever got back to us. More than that, when we tried to learn who was managing him now (at times pleading on Twitter and during streams for info), we kept hitting dead ends.

(5/?) We finally managed to obtain a lead when we watched the "NO ADDED SUGAR for a MONTH!" video, and someone described as Thomas's manager actually appeared on camera, Matt Hogen, the president of Direct Artist Management. Further Googling revealed Matt had apparently been his manager as far back as 2013, way earlier than we'd been directed to Reboot The People for business inquiries. To say this runaround was confusing as hell, *even for show business*, is the understatement to end them all!!!

(6/6) At that point, after all that confusion, we just gave up!! If we have to chase someone's representation to the ends of the earth, only to find out there was one person we should have been talking to the whole time, it's probably more convoluted behind the scenes, and we don't need that extra stress in our lives. Watching the recent storms unfold, and wondering how true to life the "Putting Others First" video is, we can only assume he likes the *idea* of career more than really having one...

(I lied, 7/7) Bottom line: he presents a picture of unreliability and a lack of professionalism both to his fans and to industry people, and -- assuming there's *any* autobiographical truth to Sanders Sides content -- it may be because he's deliberately not taking this seriously. If losing out on big opportunities is the price he pays for keeping his mental health and well being in check, that's fine. But it's not how you succeed in this business... in any business, really. I wish him the best...

Wow, that is a lot.

Well for starters (and I hope you don't take this the wrong way) I am the tiniest bit skeptical about this story being true. I mean I can definitely see it happening giving Thomas and the team's track record, but there are just a few things that make me hesitate.

For one thing I'm surprised that a professional producer found their way onto my blog (which I try to keep out of the open) and took the time to read through some asks then send an ask of their own. Not that it's impossible of course, because here you are. But you know anyone can claim to be anyone so I hope you don't mind my skepticism here.

And admittedly I'm not entirely sure how the producing world works along with agents, especially when it comes to getting someone cast for your show. I can't see Thomas turning an opportunity down like that unless he just wasn't interested or never knew about it.

Which, honestly, if you did try getting into contact with his agent and he was told about it and wasn't interested then ya know, the least they could do was tell you so you could start looking for someone else.

I did also find the Twitter account for Reboot The People and yeah, it's long since abandoned and I'm wondering how you even got directed there in the first place when he had a manager already (if I'm understanding the time line right)

I do kinda question the whole asking for answers in streams bit (since Thomas rarely if ever does public live streams and I don't think he did much back then the only streams he does consistently now are for patreons) and he never leaves them up anyway so it's not like I could go back and look through the chats (not that I would because I ain't got time for that) but again, it's not impossible for that to have happened. Just a tiny detail my brain got hooked on.

Even if I'm still somewhat doubtful about your story (again please don't take it the wrong way I just like to be sure before I 100% believe something) I do agree about Thomas and the team's lack of professionalism, just look at the Story Time Madlibs situation, and they continue to make decisions (especially within the patreon) that just continue to baffle me.

I mean at the end of the day no one knows what's going on behind the scenes. And as it stands Thomas has found enough success with YouTube where he's stable enough to make it his full time job and can go months or even a year without posting a video.

But he even brings this point up in one of his Sanders Sides videos that YouTube isn't a stable job, and you never know when everything can suddenly flip and before ya know it the job ain't as stable anymore, and at that point you've gotta have some kinda back up plan for if things go south.

Because eventually (and I've already seen it happening) people will just get bored without new content or just grow out of it and they'll move on. Even if they've got nothing against the creator, that's just what happens. Some will stick around but even then no one's bound to last forever. Especially when there's always new stuff to be found.

But hey, he's good where he's at for now so I guess one might as well enjoy it while they can. I would like to see him succeed in actually securing a bigger role (whether in a film, Broadway, or even a TV show) because I think he'd do really well and he has been contacted by Disney before to be in one of their shows so who knows?

[hey-there-juliet]

Random Drabble Day (2/23)

Summary: First off, let me just say that this is more like a one-shot than a drabble because I'm a wordy bitch and I cannot control myself 😅

That said, I always had a hard time imagining Julie writing some of the Perfect Harmony's lyrics about herself, so I thought why not make this just another song that Luke and Julie wrote together? This is set somewhere between Finally Free and Edge of Great, in that week when Ray was stress-eating. This is supposed to fit back into the show at the end, so it might seem like a cliffhanger, but it's not.

Quick shout out to @jamestkirkish for betaing this for me! I love you and you are amazing! Any remaining mistakes are my own. And to the fabulous Sloan, for helping me out with Luke's handwriting! Enjoy 🧡

Fandom: Julie and the Phantoms

Relationship: Juke 💜

in the great scheme of life and ghosts

No matter how many times Luke insisted that she had been snooping through his things, Julie knew for a fact that she had done no such thing. In reality, she had simply been cleaning the studio when she came across it.

For three ghosts who didn't eat and could barely even touch anything most of the time, the boys sure knew how to make a mess. Every morning Julie would walk into the studio to find the chairs or coffee table rearranged, at least one of the rugs was always askew, and the clothes... the clothes were everywhere, and the worst part was: they reeked. 

And so every morning before leaving for school Julie would shoot them a stern look and tell them to pick up after themselves. Which they did - when she got back home, things were mostly in their rightful place. Still, every weekend Julie would make sure to take a moment away from homework and rehearsal to tidy the place up to perfection, just like her mom liked it. She'd dust off the furniture, water the plants, sweep the floor, and even vacuum the whole place. One Saturday when she was home alone (her dad photographing a wedding, and Carlos at a friend's house), she even went through the trouble of washing all of the guys' old clothes. 

Somehow, and she didn't even want to think about how that worked, the clothes didn't stink when they were actually wearing them, but at any other moment when they made no contact with their skin? Yeah... not good. So she washed them all (three times, using every trick and product she had). She washed them a fourth time for good measure and, by the time she was finished, any traces of twenty-five year old mold was gone, and so was the smell.

So no, she was not snooping - no matter what Luke said - when she came across the crumpled paper ball between the couch and the low cabinet, just behind a big vase her mom had gotten from tía Victoria.

Julie sighed, making a mental note to tell Luke to put his discarded ideas in the bin (again) if he didn't want them anymore, when one scribbled and wrinkled word caught her attention: Perfect Ha-

She bit her lip, staring down at the teasing word. Perfect what? Was it lyrics? Maybe half formed ideas? Doodles? Julie knew Luke liked to doodle in the margins of his notebook whenever he got stuck trying to come up with the next best piece of lyric or melody. She also knew she should probably just leave it alone, put it with his stuff to ask him later if he wanted to keep it, or put it in the garbage. Except the more she glanced down at that damn word, the stronger she felt it pull her towards uncovering whatever else the crumpled paper ball was hiding. 

In the end, the pull was too strong. She'd just take a quick look, make sure it wasn't anything important before she threw it away. And, she reasoned with herself, trying to squish the guilt that was making itself known in the pit of her stomach: Luke had gotten rid of it, so he clearly didn't care much for whatever was in there. 

Not able to resist any longer, Julie carefully unfolded the paper, slowly making her way towards the piano and using its surface as a table to help smooth the page over.

Luke's (horrendous) handwriting covered it with the bare bones of a song, random lines were scribbled in the margins with a couple of doodles for company, and even a little note from their bassist - ‘Reggie was here ;)’.

It took her a minute before the chicken scratches became words, and then Julie's breath left her in a rush, as the guilty feeling in her stomach turned into butterflies and flew away with her imagination. 

It was a song, parts of one, anyway, and - more importantly - it was a love song.

Unprompted, her own words came back to her, "Wow, Luke! I didn't know you were such a romantic." Quickly followed by Alex's short reply, "He's not."

She knew now who Unsaid Emily was really about, but these new words were clearly about a different kind of love. The romantic kind, and Julie couldn't help letting herself believe - just for a moment - that the song might be about her.

Before she could let herself be carried away in a daydream, there was a - now familiar - shift in the air, a sound almost like static, the only thing letting her know of a ghost's appearance. Without a thought, she crumpled the page again and shoved the paper ball in her pocket for later inspection. 

"Hey, Julie!" Reggie's cheerful greeting sounded across the studio from where he had poofed in, and soon - with his "help," bless him - Julie was finished with her weekend clean up. 

As if summoned by the end of her chores, Luke poofed in, ready to rehearse. Alex soon followed; and by the time Julie retired for the night, the song had been almost forgotten where it hid inside her pocket. 

Almost.

***

After getting ready for the night, Julie settled on her bed with the wrinkled page and her dreambox. She read over the words again and again, imagining they were about her.

Step into my world, 

Bittersweet love story about a girl 

Shook me to the core 

Voice like an angel, 

I've never heard before, 

- 

You and me together, it's more than chemistry 

- 

Love me as I am 

I hold your music 

Here inside my hands 

- 

You are my brightest burning star 

- 

We create Perfect Harmony.

And unless Luke had been singing with another girl, there didn't seem to be many options on who it could be about, right?

From the beginning, Julie had felt something connecting her to him; to all of them, in different ways. But Luke had been the one to give her a little piece of his soul right after meeting her when he let her use Bright to earn back her spot in the music program. Seeing his passion reflecting back on her, the way he treated music like she used to, made her miss it more than anything for the first time in almost a year. It made her miss the way it felt to use music to connect with her mom.

After they spent a whole weekend finishing each other's songs and working on new ones, getting to know each other's inner workings - the part of them that bled out feelings into paper to create beautiful melodies, Julie knew she was a goner. Finding out he'd been the one to write the words that shaped her taste in rock certainly didn't help. Like he'd been helping her find her way to music long before they even met.

Her crush on him had been inevitable from the start, and while falling for him was probably one of the worst things she could’ve done, it was too late to stop it. She'd been free falling for a while, and hopefully she'd land in his arms soon enough. Reading over his words again gave Julie a warm fluttering in her stomach that made her think he was more than ready to catch her once she reached the ground. 

Carefully folding the piece of paper, she put it inside her dreambox, then placed the box back on the shelf.

***

The following week went by without any hiccups. Every once in a while, Julie would remember Luke's song and a familiar warmth would fill her up, leaving a soft smile on her lips and glazed eyes staring off at nothing. Just as often, Flynn would have to shake her out of her daydreams.

She didn't think much would come of it until her dad decided to throw the band a party so he could film them and post their video on YouTube. Which was fine. Amazing, even. It was most certainly great! Until Luke came to the school, staring at her with his stupid, beautiful, awed eyes, and with his soft, perfect smile, saying things that made her combust and melt, all at the same time.

"I think you make me a better writer." 

    "I think we make each other better."

Calling Nick 'Luke' was bad enough, but slipping into a complete musical sequence as she danced with him? "Goner" didn't even begin to describe her. 

Like the other times they'd written together, the lyrics flowed through her, finishing the song he'd started with the same ease as one would take a breath.

Julie knew that whatever was going on between her and Luke couldn't happen or, if it did, it couldn't last. In fact, in the great scheme of life and ghosts, she didn't know much, but what she did know was that - be it in life or in death - love was constant. 

He didn't need to have a heartbeat or to be able to touch her for her to love him. He was just as real to her as the next person, and whether it would hurt in the long run or not, it didn't matter. 

She knew Flynn was only looking out for her, but that ship had sailed, and Julie was already so lost in his ocean eyes that avoiding eye contact wasn't going to bring it back. She would entertain her though, even knowing it wouldn't work. Just like the tide, eventually he'd pull her right back in.

She could love him just as he was, for however long they had together, and especially after that.

-

End notes: I hope you guys enjoyed it! And, if you'll notice, at the beginning it kind of gives off the impression that Luke eventually finds out about the song and Julie tells him how she found it. Which may or may not lead you to believe that they're in a relationship. I guess it all depends on interpretation though ;)

Oh, also! Shout out to the chaos squad folks that guessed right! You guys are no fun :( /j lmao