#even if they just hadnt fuckin mentioned it and ended the show quietly ... it would have been more acceptable

[inkskinned]

Can we talk yet about how endings are actually extremely important. About how sometimes "giving the fans what they want" is actually "resolving the story in a logical and plot relevant way". That "subverting expectations" doesn't always mean you did a good thing - sometimes it means you fucked it up, royally.

There are plenty of extremely good stories that don't end happily, and yet remain retold and loved and cherished. There are plenty that have ambiguous endings or sudden turns - but manage to stick the landing through careful setup.

There is an odd tension between writers and fans that has become popular - that the writers somehow know something deeper or have a better sense of plot or are somehow more cunning. That fans are stupid and foolish and don't matter. This dichotomy would be buckwild in any other field. There's this sort of weird feeling that... The writing staff is allowed to hate and mock and deride people who have the nerve to... Like the product? Can you imagine any other brand that would survive off of "gotcha" marketing? Sure, it's funny for them... And kinda only for them. I know all the ironic assholes in the world love this shit - "haha! You liked something honestly! I know better because I'm smart so I never like things!" - but the world is really fucking boring & annoying & unfun when it is run by people who think like that.

But even taking fans OUT of the equation, as a writer, it's frustrating for me to watch other writers not value their OWN MATERIAL. Like, they don't rely on the narrative as interesting enough, as challenging enough - they think they need to end it in a "surprising" or "sudden" way in order for it to be groundbreaking. They think they need to "push boundaries" without recognizing that they are fundamentally altering and destroying the map that they have spent all this time painting.

I'm not saying I have to LIKE how something ends, or that all of my favorite characters have to live or whatever. But I AM saying that an ending is drawing a thesis line through your entire work. And recently the thesis for many, many shows/movies/etc has been - "you were a fool for caring about these characters".

Anyway art survives its creators when it tells a story that feels honest and human in the audience it is talking to - not when it is only a monument to the artist's ego. And the ending tells us - how heavy is the story we are carrying? And how much was this story a farce? And where will we let go?

[brelione]

Daddy Issues (Rafe Cameron X OC)

Chapter One:What Happens At Night?

Meet Billie Maybank

Warnings:Stalking, blood, robbing, mentions of abuse.I had to rewrite this because the ogr one got deleted somehow.

Billie Maybank was a mess of a person.She was a bit of a mystery, held a kind of power over people that not even they could understand.A lot of people only knew her as a pretty face or a thief, only one person knowing what she was actually like.

That one person was her ‘baby’ brother JJ Maybank.She had enemies on both sides but it was mainly the kooks that wronged her, well, not her directly.It was usually the ones that wronged JJ that she considered her enemies.

Billie yawned, surprising herself when she sat up on her mattress that was pushed up against the wall of her small bedroom.She didnt sleep often because of all the yelling and glass constantly being smashed against the floor and walls of the living room and kitchen.She rubbed her eyes, scratching at her chin.

The sky was dark and sprinkled with stars, making her a bit angry.She wished she could go back to sleep and stay in her own little dream world until three in the afternoon, looking at the watch that she had stolen, groaning when she realized it was only three in the morning.

She knew that she had to get up and prepare herself for what was left of the night, switching on her battery powered lantern.Every night had been the same since she decided to drop out.

She had stopped going to school half way through junior year.

It was bullshit and took up way too much time that she could be using to do something that benefitted her.She had started her full time robbing and stalking six months ago, mid January when she found the source of her life problems.

Barry.He was the one who supplied Luke with coke which meant more beatings for her and more stress for JJ.He was the reason that she had to carry a lighter on her at all times, just in case her father decided to pull something.

It all began with Barry.She stood up,stretching her limbs quietly,grabbing a pair of shorts that she shared with JJ from off her floor and pulling a dirty shoe lace through the belt loops,tying it tight around her waist to keep the shorts from slipping down her legs.

Her and JJ shared all their clothes, they didnt want to but it was just something that they had to adapt to.She didnt want to waste any of the money that you did have on something that she didnt absolutely need.Any money that she did make went into an empty pickle jar under her bed.

It was for when she turned 18 so she could buy her own house for her and JJ.It was something they had been planning for years, when she turned 18 she’d get legal custody of him and they’d move somewhere safe and away from Luke.

Ideally they’d get Luke thrown in prison but seeing that it would require going to court it was completely unrealistic.The siblings had even discussed trying to find their mother again and possibly live with her but there was really no way of doing that without a name or a phone number or even a photograph.

JJ had gotten out of school last week, immediately going to John.B’s.He had stopped by the house first, walking slowly and quietly through the house and into her tiny room,asking her if she wanted to go with him.

She Said no, knowing that she would ruin his fun with his friends, having her own plans anyways.He had hugged her tight, telling her to stay safe before he left.She Waited two days to leave the house, not planning on coming back for two weeks.She just had to make sure that he wouldnt come back to grab something before she left.

Tonight was the two day mark.Putting a notebook,dollar store pens,a couple of oversized shirts,a small towel,matches and a tin full of blunts in her shiity old backpack she prepared herself for a long two weeks.

Her oily,salt smelling blonde hair was in a messy and knotted pathetic excuse for a bun that was already falling apart.She lifted her mattress up,grabbing the black pocket knife that she kept hidden under there,clipping it onto the pocket of her jeans that were starting to slip from the additional weight.

She slipped out her window and onto the lawn with a sigh, looking over to the deck to see her father passed out on the wood.She considered going over to spit on him, deciding it would waste her time.The air was warm and humid but it wasnt nearly as hot as inside of her bedroom which she was grateful for, slipping into the woods.

The path was clear from her constant stopping, now able to walk the route in pitch black darkness,coming out behind Barry’s trailer.The fire that had been lit hours ago had calmed after he left it unattended, going to sleep without a care in the world.

She opened the back door, slipping inside quietly.She had changed the locks ages ago without him knowing,tip toeing through the shitty living room and into his even shittier room, seeing his sleeping form on top of a mountain of blankets.

She let out a small breath, pulling the pocket knife from her pants,flicking it open as she approached the mattress.The sharp blade touched against his skin,her hand moving slowly and leaving a small scratch over part of his throat.She watched as his eyes flicked under his eyelids, a small smirk on her face.

He was too high and too tired to wake up, probably still feeling the cool blade in his sleep.She knew she’d never actually kill him but leaving the small cuts relieved some of the anger that had built up inside of her over the years.She giggled, using the very tip of the knife to scratch a “B” along his collarbone, little bits of blood seeping from the tiny cuts.

She stood for a while, watching him sleep.He’d move a bit every once in a while, sending little waves of adrenaline through her body.She went over to his closet, taking forty dollars from the wallet in his pants before moving to the bins of drugs.

She found little sacks of weed, deciding to take some for herself and stuff it deep in her bag, a smile on her face the whole time.She made her way to his tiny kitchen, looking through his fridge, a frown on her face when all she saw was beer and sticks of butter.

 “Fuckin’ trash, the mans got thousands of dollars and he cant buy good shit.”She huffed, shutting the fridge and moving onto the cabinets, settling on a bag of m and m’s and deciding to take it.She sat on his table, thinking about which beach she wanted to go to, grinning when an idea came to mind.

She cut open a beer can with her knife,rolling it down the hall and letting the alcoholic drink coat the wood before leaving out the front door with a sigh.Making her way onto the road she thought about JJ, trying to imagine what he was doing right now.

She hoped he was asleep if he wasnt drinking and if he was drinking that one of his friends had decided to babysit him.She kept walking until she was on Figure 8,walking right across the golf course, pulling her shirt over her nose and chin,tucking the fabric over her ears to keep it there.

It only took her a few tries to get the code for the lock right, the metal door giving up as she slid it open, sliding across the counter.As much as she despised kooks even she could admit they had pretty great snacks, taking off her bag and unzipping it.

She loaded her bag full of candy bars and snack sized chip bags, her eyes eventually falling on a snack sized bag of popcorn with chocolate drizzle.She zipped her bag back up, forcing the ends together so she could shut it before moving onto the large refrigerators.

There were dozens of pre made sandwiches, luckily all of them had labels so she knew what she was getting.It took a while of looking before she eventually settled on ham and cheese with lettuce, red onion and honey mustard.Her watch told her that it was nearly 5:30, groaning as she walked across the shop to pull the door shut again, sneaking out the back.

She unwrapped the sandwich and ate as she walked, the soles of her shoes eventually hit the soft sand of the beach, a smile growing on her face as she made her way across the land.

Some of the more hard core surfers began to show up in hopes of catching the early morning waves.They were choppy and short lived so she could never understand why they wouldnt just wait until afternoon for the larger, smoother ones.

She wouldve asked them if she had the energy, continuing to walk until she found the perfect place to people watch from for the day.The far side of the beach had all the large rocks that people never occupied, too stressed about climbing up the boulders to ever get up there in the first place.

By the time she had gotten herself settled on the hot rock more people were beginning to pile in, a small smirk on her face as her stormy blue eyes dragged themselves over the crowds in search for her next victim.

She pulled out her altoids tin full of blunt, placing one between her teeth, eyes squinting when she saw a familiar group.Sarah Cameron, her boyfriend and her brother.

Billie chuckled, white smoke escaping her lips, placing the blunt back into its tin and hiding her bag between the cracks of the boulders, hopping down from her throne and sending a slight pain up her leg.

She had gotten into a fight with her father a couple of days back.She had misplaced something, earning her a strike to the rib cage.Luckily that hit was on the weak side unlike the hard punch to her thigh, a yellow and black bruise blooming across the tanned skin.

She had gotten Luke to the ground, her shoe pressed against his throat, grabbing the can of compressed air off the counter along with her lighter, threatening to ‘pull a hockstetter’.It was nothing she hadnt experienced before, continuing her walk along the sand, deciding to circle around so she could find both large and little things that could fit in her pockets, not wanting to raise any suspicion among the kooks.

Rafe watched the blonde move across the sand, his eyes wide.He tried to figure out why he had never seen her before.She was obviously a pogue, it was clear from the crappy clothing that she was wearing.

He had seen the exact same outfit on someone else before, unable to remember who it had been.Something about the way she carried herself gained his full attention.It was like she knew that she was better than everyone else, superior to them.It got him wondering if thats what he looked like.

Topper nudged his arm, trying to get his attention again. “What?”Topper asked, not understanding what he was staring at.He followed Rafe’s gaze, unable to see because of the sunlight in his eyes.

Sarah could see through her sun glasses, laughing. “Not you staring at Billie Maybank!Oh my god, you have a thing for her!”She exclaimed.Rafe’s eyes widened, turning to look at his younger sister.

 “Shut up.”He growled, looking back over to Billie.Maybank, he thought.He didnt know that JJ had a sister. “Its okay to admit you have a crush, Rafe.”She insisted.Rafe shook his head. “She’s a pogue, Sarah.That’s fucking disgusting.”He replied, storming off to the snack stand. 

“We need better security!Somone broke in again!”One of the workers shouted, noticing the lack of chips.Again. “Well we aint getting better security any time soon,Jane.”Another worker replied with a dramatic sigh.

 “Suck my dick, Alice!”Jane shouted back, turning to see Rafe. “Oh,im sorry!What can I do for you?”She asked.Rafe shrugged, not originally planning on getting anything.He just wanted to get away from Sarah. “Sandwich.”He replied, squinting as he hunted the crowds for Billie. “What kind of sandwich?”The worker asked, only earning a shrug from Rafe. “Suprise me.”He replied.

Billie turned around, walking behind the small groups now.Sarah and her boyfriend Topper THornton had gone down into the water, laughing as they splashed eachother but it was a little too loud to be genuine.

She opened their cooler quickly, grabbing the first thing she saw before continuing her walk, only noticing what it was when she was coming across another abandoned bag.Strawberry Fanta. “Not bad, Cameron.”She muttered under her breath, seeing a magazing sticking half way out of a bag.It was too tempting for her to pass,swiping it from the bag and tucking it under her arm.

Rafe was given a ham and cheese with lettuce, red onion and honey mustard.He knew he probably wouldnt eat it but didnt care,walking down the hill back onto the sand, rolling his eyes at Topper and Sarah’s squealing as he dunked her into the cool waves.

He would be lying if he said he didnt want a relationship, knowing that it didnt really matter what kind.He just seeked love and validation, biting the inside of his cheek.He wasnt paying attention to where he was going, his elbow colliding with someones shoulder.

He looked down, heart dropping when he realized it had been the same girl he had been staring at since he had got here.Billie Maybank. “Watch-uhhh....watch where you’re going, pogue.”He refrained himself from using her actual name, not wanting to let her know that he knew her name, figuring he would sound like a stalker.Billie simply smiled, walking past him. 

“Shit.”He whispered, realizing that his voice had cracked, his neck, face and ears becoming red as the embarrassing moment played over and over again in his mind.

Billie had hated Rafe Cameron for years but him being an asshole to her directly was her breaking point, biting her lip when she realized she’d have some new plans tonight.Rafe Cameron would be in for a surprise later.

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