#i joked once that between these two and wally n barnaby that like

[theneighborhoodwatch]

cobbling together old discord rambles about julie and frank to make sense in a single text post because i feel like hurting someone today:

something i rotate a lot is the Dramatic Irony of a friendship deteriorating as a result of external forces trying to push them together when they were ALREADY close but not in the way that those forces intended - trying to make every interaction between them something that it isn't. i've made jokes along the lines of “genderfucking my ocs by telling them they have to be cishet” before but like. genuinely i do think there’s potential for there to be an element of one or both finally being pushed by this predicament to Deliberately seek out things they are not “supposed” to have, whether that be new relationships or new forms of self expression or just things we have no way of predicting yet.

and the real tragedy there is that if any of the characters involved had it their way, then it's likely that these things wouldn’t be coming into conflict with each other at all, bc yes they are different things, but they are all equally genuine. i know some people have talked about the idea julie turning against frank bc she does actually have feelings for him, but my own personal disinterest in this interpretation aside, i think there’s a lot more Dramatic Mileage to be found in “this person is my best friend so i only want good things for them -> free will and love are generally good things -> i find out i exist to limit their free will and/or ability to find love with other people -> Oh god. there's no way i can be included among 'good things' then. oh god. oh god." or "this person is my best friend so i only want good things for them -> free will and love are generally good things -> i find out they exist to limit my free will and/or ability to find love with other people -> Hey Dude? What The Fuck. I Have Only Ever Wanted Good Things For You.” or even both of those at the same time.

i wonder, which would feel worse: telling someone in a fit of anger against the circumstances that led you two here (circumstances are harder to hurt than people) that they ruined your life just by existing, and then having them try to turn that back on you? or having them agree with you? to find yourself burdened with the task of trying to cut them loose from you and risking your own safety in the process, or to find that they've taken matters into their own hands before you could make that decision?

[amybizarre]

Original (Can't Help Myself)

You were hosting a sleepover for the neighborhood at your place! Everyone was there and having a jolly old time in your living room.

You enjoyed the time spent with everyone a lot, but secretly you were just waiting for a chance to be alone with Wally. You've been crushing on him for a while now. And today was the day you let him know, you had decided.

But, he never quite seemed to be alone. Either Barnaby was chatting with him, telling terrible jokes (Okay, some of them were good), or Julie would challenge him to a game or Frank would show him his latest sketches of pretty butterflies he saw. With this keeping up, the night went by.

It got later and later.

You were patient, however. Very patient. You knew very well that eventually the other neighbors would get tired and slowly but surely would start retreating to their designated guest rooms in your house.

And they did. It was around midnight by now. Wally had resumed a comfortable position, sitting on the floor and leaning against your bean bag, just idly watching the room. So did you from your spot on the couch. Up until now you had played cards with Howdy. For some reason he had kept winning, even though you were really good at that game… Anyway, you patiently sorted your playing cards as you watched everybody leave.

Once you and Wally were finally alone you glanced over at him. He was looking back at you. Still sitting idly against your bean bag, legs crossed and hands folded neatly in his lap. He was full on facing you, wearing that usual smile of his. As if he knew you were up to something. As if he was expecting you to make a move.

Not willing to let that deter you, you smile back at him and put your stack of cards down with a 'tack!'

"You know, Wally…" You muse as you got up and slowly walked over to him. "You're reaaally tempting me, sitting there like this"

He followed your movements with his eyes. "Tempting you, neighbor?"

You nodded slowly, eventually crouching down in front of him. You took in the sight of him. Gosh, he was so cute- It made your heart flutter.

"Tempting you with what?" Wally asked again.

But you didn't answer, already too absorbed in your own thoughts. Your knees met the ground. Next, your hands on either side of his waist as you leaned over him. Wally looked up at you, confused about what you were doing. You locked eyes with him, your face an unreadable mask while his displayed confusion mixed with curiosity.

You leaned closer. You could smell him now. Wally smelled like a mix of paint and that sweet cologne he liked to use. It made you bite your lip and you found yourself staring at his. He noticed where your eyes went. A small blush crept its way onto his face.

"N-Neighbor?" He whispered.

You shook your head. You really wanted to.

"I'm sorry. I just can't help myself…" With that being said you closed the gap between you two and captured his mouth in a soft kiss.

Immediately, Wally's eyes widened and he tensed up. You almost feared you’ve gone too far, that you ruined everything.

You were about to pull away. That's when you felt Wally kiss back just as softly. His hands found their way onto your shoulders, slightly pulling you closer.

Relief washed over you and you finally closed your eyes, melting slightly into the kiss. Wally’s hands wandered from your shoulders to the back of your head as you felt him grow more confident.

You broke away slowly, only to take a breath and meet his lips again. He hummed in satisfaction. Apparently you weren’t the only one with a crush.

After a short moment Wally pulled away. You let him. Your cheeks suddenly felt uncomfortably hot and you were sure your face was redder than an apple. But Wally’s cheeks were also dusted with a blush, so you didn’t mind your own.

For a while you only stared into each other's eyes. You wanted to say something, but he placed a gentle finger over your mouth.

“Shhh…” Wally said. “Don’t say anything.”

With that he pulled you closer once more to kiss you softly once again. You didn’t mind and sighed happily into the kiss.

Shifting your weight onto your right side, you lifted your left hand and cupped his cheek. He tasted so sweet. It was addictive.

You found yourself unable to pull away. Then again, he wasn’t faring much different.

Seems like the both of you couldn’t help yourselves.