#the-finch-address

[rebouks]

Ivan: He didn’t come home again last night. Oscar: Well.. he ain’t gonna be cheating on you, is he? Ivan: I dunno… Oscar: C’mon, he can barely strike up a conversation with a tree. Who’s he gonna be cheating on you with? Ivan: A lumberjack? Oscar: Pfha-.. right. Byrd: Daddy look! I’m a dancerina! Oscar: An amazing one at that! He wants a tutu... Ivan: Wren too? Oscar: [cackles] God, no.. she’d probably clog the shitter with it. Ivan: He can have one of Pixie’s-.. I’ll bring it next time. Oscar: Alright. Ivan: I gotta drop Jude off, anyway… Oscar: Try not to stress about it, eh? Ivan: Jude, Jessie, or Bruno? Oscar: All of it, man.. I dunno. [Ivan snorted, rolling his eyes at Oscar and ruffling Byrd’s hair as he headed outside to fetch Jude] ... [Robin idly twirled a daisy between his fingertips, his and Jude’s legs sprawled beside each other as they lay in the long grass] Robin: It might not be so bad; you’ll probably make loads of new friends n’ stuff. Jude: Maybe, but I wanted us to go to big school together. Robin: Why, so I could sit around not talking to you? [Jude scoffed a half-hearted laugh] Jude: I’d still prefer-… Ivan: Jude! Jude: Gotta go! See you next week. Robin: You’re not sticking around for the weekend? Jude: Mom n’ Gavin are having some sorta party they want me there for on Saturday. Robin: Sucks to be you. Ivan: How y’doin’, bud.. enjoyin’ the treehouse? Robin: Uh-huh. Jude: No grown-ups allowed though! Ivan: Rude. [Ivan chuckled as he threw his arms around Robin and squeezed him farewell; he gave the best bear hugs] Ivan: I’m gonna bring y’brother a tutu next time, fancy one? Robin: I’m good, thanks. Ivan: How ‘bout you? Jude: Only if it’s blue. Ivan: I’ll see what I can do. Robin: You’re both poets-… Jude: And we didn’t know it!

Previous // Next

[oh-no-another-idea]

oh wow, that’s neat! we’ve all had that story (maybe more than one in some cases) that just appears in a dream. :) thanks for sharing, pal <3

🗡 👀

Wouldn't I like to know! Unlike my other wips, which I can trace back to an exact point of inspiration, The Dog Yard came to me overnight and with no prior context.

I have distinct memory of waking up in a cold sweat in the dead of night - not from a dream, mind you, just out of a dead sleep - and immediately thinking "I need to write this down now", without knowing what exactly it is I needed to get out in the first place, and then proceeding to pour out seven characters, a base plot, and a title.

Never happened to me before, or again, since!

The Dog Yard has certainly developed substantially over the last two years, but the core elements from that night still remain. If I haven't strayed from it yet I doubt I ever will lol

@oh-no-another-idea

[parkeryangs]

mutuals !! would anyone want to be pen pals? i love writing letters to my friends & think it's a fun way to get to know folks :D

[poguehearted77]

OBX Season 5: Payback for Maybank - masterlist

Actor! Au Pairing: Actress! Reader x Drew Starkey Your Character: Piper Monroe, a jack of all trades whose hustle was making a living as an arms dealer in Morocco. Until a group of foreigners find her with an appetite for revenge, and she decides to tag along.

These can be read in any order, the season summary is just to give you some background on the character and role you played in the final season. In this mini series you'll get to see what really goes on behind the scenes.

Lmk if you want to be added to the tag list <3

Season Summary: This season, the Pogues are back, and their hunt for Chandler Groff leads them through the scorching sands of Morocco—and straight into your path, a mischievous arms dealer with secrets as deep as your scars. Due to your betrayal, the Pogues are ambushed and barely survive, saved only by your last-minute change of heart. Even after your redemption and display of loyalty, Rafe still doesn’t trust you, and in your uneasy alliance, he keeps you close, sometimes too close. Tension crackles between you, with moments where his knife is at your throat, yet something unspoken simmers beneath the surface. In the final episode, as danger closes in, confessions boil over when you and Rafe find yourselves held hostage by the leader of the mercenaries, Finch. During your time in bondage, you connect on feelings of solitude and regrets, but you see a spark in him when he mentions a girl back home, a reason to keep fighting. It's a race against time before Finch comes back to kill you. To both your frustration, critical thinking and strategic camaraderie are necessary for your escape. When you find yourselves stuck in a sticky situation amidst your escape, you make the ultimate sacrifice for Rafe, reminding him, “You have someone to live for,” before initiating a human diversion in a suicide mission, giving Rafe the chance to make it back to the Pogues, giving him a second chance.

Below the cut you’ll find my masterlist of life behind the scenes of season 5. Including premiere appearances, bloopers, red carpets, interviews and your budding romance with Drew.

Lights, Camera, Action! -> It's your first day on set and your nerves are through the roof but the cast makes you feel at home. You practice your lines, but the sparks between you and Drew are unscripted.

Between the Lines -> It's the little things that go on behind the scenes between you and Drew that makes your chemistry electric.

Co-Star Confessions-> The cast takes you along for a trip to take a lie detector test. The jokes are rolling and the tea starts to spill.

Portugal Nights-> The day was tense. Rehearsals were much more heated than the lines intended and the thin rubber band of restraint holding you both apart was bound to snap, and it finally does.

The Wrap Party-> Filming is over and that's a wrap for Outer Banks. Things get emotional but Drew knows how to cheer you up.-coming soon (January 2025!)

Limelight -> Due to your smaller role in the season compared to the main cast, you only had a few solo interviews but not without a few surprises. -coming soon

Wardrobe Malfunction-> You and Drew were scheduled to make it to the red carpet by 8 sharp, but not everything goes as planned.-coming soon

Ship Wars-> The fans are back at it again, and the shipping continues. Debating that Piper and Rafe should've had a romantic arc. You and Drew are given a special interview to address them.-coming soon

The Power Couple-> Drew finally made things official, so you began to have your fun with the fans and let them put the pieces together.-coming soon

The After Party-> The champagne is bubbly in your systems when you and Drew are stumbling into your hotel room after the party.-coming soon

I do not own or take credit for the characters or cast of outer banks. These are all pure fiction and do not accurately reflect the cast.

[arc-misadventures]

Right on Schedule

Jaune looked over a progress report as he was once again was inspecting the walls of, Mantle's newest fortifications. The time graph they had made was displaying good progress the wall. Displaying that for a week, and a half of work, they were well on schedule, even ahead of it in some areas. But, there was a very noticeable dip in the chart from two days ago. A dip that, Jaune didn't like.

Jaune: Hey, Major Skender?

Major Felix Skender, was an officer in the, Atlas Engineer Corp. Jaune had talked to, Major Skender quite often when he came to inspect the wall. He had come to like the fellow. He was a little quirky, though from, Jaune's experience that tended to me a normal habit of anyone into pyrotechnics. Least, Major Skender seemed to be the saner side of things.

At least he hoped he was.

Maj. Skender: Yes, Sir?

Jaune: It's nice to see how things are coming along. I dare say you might be ahead of schedule.

Maj. Skender: Ahh, thank you, Sir! Yes, we are being encouraged by the higher ups to get this completed as soon as we can. That way we can get back to work on the, CC...?!

Jaune's hand shot up silencing, Major Skender instantly. Jaune, gave the, Major a cautionary gaze as he lowered his hand.

Jaune: We do not address it as that. We address it as, General Ironwood's Project, Ironwood's Secret Project, or anthing along those lines. But, we do not say what it is. It is a secret project after all, Major.

Maj. Skender: Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir.

Jaune: Good, make sure that the other officers are made aware of this as well. There are many who would take great pleasure in derailing the, General's future plans.

Maj. Skender: Understood, Sir.

Jaune: Now then, about this timetable here... What was this dip here you experience two days ago? You were delayed by about half a day, but you've made up for it. Good job on that, Major.

Maj. Skendor: Oh, thank you, Sir!

Jaune: But, nonetheless; what happened here?

Maj. Skender: Two days ago...? Ahh yes, a bunch of, Happy Huntresses came by, and were disturbing the workers.

Jaune: The, Happy Huntresses? What did they do?

Maj. Skender: They were interrogating some of the workers; They were asking them about what weapons we were installing, how long we were taking. Why did it take so long for, General Ironwood to order the reconstruction, and fortification of the walls. Things such as that.

Jaune: Weren't the people of, Mantle already made aware of these things; Why were they asking what should be seen as common knowledge?

Maj. Skender: I'm sorry, Sir, but I do not know why.

Jaune: Hmmm... Very well then...

Jaune handed back the data slate before giving one last look at the construction upon the wall.

Jaune: I will be taking my leave then. Till later, Major.

Maj. Skender: Till later, Sir.

The Major offered, Jaune a salute who returned one in kind. Jaune then made his way down a flight of stairs. As he made away from the wall he pulled out his scroll, and typed out a simple message to, 'Finch.'

"We need to talk."

Jaune quickly put away his scroll as he walked down the many paths of, Mantle interacting with civilians as he went about. He kept walking until he felt a buzz from his pocket, and he checked his scroll, and read the message that he had been sent.

"Okay. Usual spot?"

"On my way."

Jaune quickly made his way towards the downtown area of, Mantle, heading into one of the many empty warehouses in the southern parts of, Mantle.

As, Jaune entered the warehouse, he was met with the familiar sight of, Robyn Hill resting against one of the many empty crates. She pushed herself off the crate as she walked towards, Jaune. An odd smile spread across her face that, Jaune could not quite place as she walked towards him.

Robyn: Hello, Jaune. What is it?

Jaune: Hello, Robyn. I need to ask you about something that happened a couple a days ago.

Robyn: I suppose you're asking about the incident at the wall that happened the other day?

Robyn crossed her arms, and shook her head. Jaune worried that he may have upset her, but her eyes said she was more so disappointed. Was she disappointed in him for not trusting her? No, no she wasn't disappointed in, Jaune. She was disappointed in herself. Herself, and her followers.

Jaune: What happened?

Robyn: Some of my followers... they saw how quickly the wall was repaired. So, they went to the wall, and wanted to know why, General Ironwood was taking so long to order it's reconstruction if it only took three days to do. Since the, Engineers couldn't explain it, the people got angry, and... well they got rowdy.

Jaune: And, the Engineer's had to keep them back so they didn't get too close to the construction site. Otherwise something could have happen to them. Or, worse, one of them could have gotten hurt.

Robyn: Exactlly.

Jaune: So that's why construction was delayed. Since I didn't hear anything about a mass arrest, I suppose it was dealt with peacefully?

Robyn: Yes, two of my cohorts; Fiona, and another member of the. Happy Huntresses, May Marigold came by, and dispersed them. I told them to make sure things like this didn't happen again.

Jaune: They better. The sections getting the new fortifications will have armed guards around them all the time. While I am certain of the, Atlasian Militaries trigger discipline, I wouldn't hold it past, Ironwood to get... itchy fingers.

Robyn: Do you think, General Ironwood would order his troops to open fire on civilians?!

Jaune waved his hand down, placing one on his lips as he looked at, Robyn. Her voiced echoing in the empty warehouse.

Jaune: Your voice carries, Robyn; In more ways than one.

Robyn: I'm sorry... I just... Do you seriously think, General Ironwood would do that?

Jaune looked at, Robyn before turning to look away shaking his head.

Jaune: I not saying he will, but... If he was pushed far enough...

Robyn: Oh... oh no... No wonder you want me on the council; The more I learn about, General Ironwood, the more I understand why you want someone to put a leash on him.

Jaune: Someone has to, and the only person who could is... preoccupied...

Robyn: Preoccupied with what?

Jaune: Uhhh...? A severe case of identity crisis...

Robyn: Really?

Jaune: More, or less...

Jaune didn't want to lie to, Robyn, he wanted to keep her trust in him. But, knowing about Ozpin, and Oscar was a whole bucket of worms that he didn't want to deal with. And, besides, even if she used her semblance on him, he wasn't lying. Technically.

Robyn: ...

Robyn: Very well. Is that it all you wanted to talk about, Jaune?

Jaune: That's it. Is there anything you want from me, Robyn?

Robyn: Uhh... yes there is.

Jaune: Oh, what is it?

Robyn: I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming to one of my rallies I'm having today?

Jaune: Oh, why so?

Robyn: Several reasons. You've mostly heard about my political policies, and plans from my supporters.

Jaune: I have.

Robyn: Well, I was wondering if you'd like to hear it from the horses mouth. To know what I think of, and how I plan to help the people of, Mantle, and Atlas.

Jaune: And, to have a, Specialist there to... show their... No, to show, Atlas's support for you?

Robyn stopped, and stared at, Jaune. A coy smile appeared across her lips as she pointed a finger at him.

Robyn: You can say that.

Jaune returned her coy smile with one of his own.

Jaune: If anyone asks, just say I'm there to keep the peace. We'll use the incident at the wall the other day as an example.

Robyn: Alright then. Let's do this.

~~~

Jaune had never been at a political rally before. He thought it would involve a lot of wine sipping, and snobbish wealthy people speaking down to people. If this was a political rally run by someone like, Jacques Schnee it would no doubt be like that. But, no, this was more simple, more relatable. It was nice.

Although, Jaune certainly had something to say about her posters.

; Jaune? Jaune!

Jaune: Hmm? Oh, hello, Casey, fancy seeing you here today.

Casey Roll. One of the mothers he often saw when he was leading kids to school, and often was the one who gave him rather large servings of casseroles to him. While he did miss taking those kids to school, he was tired of all the casseroles...

Casey: Hi, Jaune! I haven't seen you lately, what are you doing here?

Jaune: Oh, I'm just here to make sure things go smoothly. We don't want another incident like we had at the wall the other day.

Casey: Oh, I heard about that. People were upset that, General Ironwood didn't order the repairs of the wall sooner if it was only going to take a matter of days to rebuild it. But, luckily he listened to, Robyn Hill so he decided to rebuild the wall, and fortify it!

Jaune smiled, Casey's enthusiasm was infectious, but even more so at the news that his little rumor was spreading so well. He told, Casey's friends about his little white lie, if she was repeating it, then no doubt others were as well.

Casey: So, even though you're here just watching things, are you enjoying yourself?

Jaune: To a point. I'm just inspecting the 'art' right now.

Casey: You mean the, Robyn's political posters.?

Jaune: Yes. The political posters...

Casey: ...

Casey: You hate it don't you?

Jaune: Oh absolutely. This an absolutely the worse design you can make for a political poster. I mean, give me a marker, and five minutes, and boom! Wanted poster!

Casey: ...

Casey: Oh shit... you could do that... How much?

Jaune: Hmmm...?

Jaune: At least ten thousand lien.

Casey: That's fair.

Jaune: I mean, why doesn't she have a slogan, or anything like that? 'Robyn Hill, The Hope of Mantle.' Something simple like that. At least she could be smiling in the photo. Or, is being dead on the inside a natural expression for people from, Atlas, and Mantle?

Casey: Yes.

Jaune stopped staring at, Robyn's picture to give, Casey a concerned look. But, based upon the expression on, Casey's face that she was giving him, she was in fact: dead serious.

Jaune: ...

Casey: ...

Jaune: Noted...

Casey shrugged her shoulders before she let loose a startled gasp as she darted to the side, Jaune looked over to see, Robyn, and a few of her, Happy Huntresses behind her.

Robyn: Hello, Specialist Arc, it's nice to see, General Ironwood's underlings showing some concern with the common people of, Mantle.

Jaune: Hello, Miss Hill. The concerns of, Mantle are also the concerns of, Atlas. So of course, General Ironwood is concerned about the common people of, Atlas. but, in this case, Miss. Hill I am here to keep the peace. We do not wish for another incident from your followers, like we did at the wall the other day.

Robyn: There wouldn't have been an 'incident' if, General Ironwood had rebuilt the wall once it was broken.

Jaune: So you say.

Casey had back away as, Jaune, and Robyn had begun to verbally spare with one another. As soon as she was out of earshot the conversation changed to something that carried a more casual air to it.

Jaune: Putting up a facade for your darling fans?

Robyn: We may be... allies of sorts, Jaune. But, since you are an, Atlasian Specialist, I do have to put up an air of defiance towards you, and by extension, General Ironwood. I'm glad you caught on so quickly, Jaune.

Jaune: It was simple enough to catch on to. I've seen how you act with my fellow, Specialists. So it was easy enough to play the... polite jerk with you.

Robyn: So you did... Well if you'll excuse me, I must address the people of, Mantle.

Jaune: Best of luck then... 'Councilwoman' Hill.

Jaune's comment may have been taken as a teasing jest from, Jaune. As if saying that she will never get a seat on the council. But, Robyn knew from the small smirk that, Jaune gave her was that she had his full support, and hope for her to get that seat on the council. For the good of, Mantle, and Atlas.

~~~

Robyn: Welcome everyone!

A cheer of zeal, and joy abundance echoed through the auditorium as, Robyn stood on the stage, and walked before her supporters. Jaune spared, Robyn a look as she took the stage before his eyes rested on the crowd, and watched them carefully.

Robyn: As many you have seen, Atlas have begun the reconstruction of the walls of, Mantle!

More cheers echoed as, Robyn celebrated the walls reconstruction with her supporters.

Robyn: I know many of you are happy that the people of, Atlas are supporting the people of, Mantle. That they are not only rebuilding the breach in the wall, but also fortifying it! Adding weapons to protect the people of, Mantle from the, Grimm!

Robyn: I know some of you are angry. That this should have been done years ago, that the walls should have been fortified as they will be the day they were built. Or, the fact that when they start firing those guns, it will be rather loud...

The audience laughed at, Robyn's simple remark. But, after hearing that, Jaune made a mental note in the back of his mind that they better inform people when they started test firing the weapon emplacements. He could think of several reasons why people wouldn't like that.

Robyn: But, the people of, Mantle, and Atlas are one people. We may call ourselves, Mantlites, or Atlasians, but at the end of the day, we are one people. One people who should not be fighting each other, but a common enemy: The Grimm.

Jaune could hear murmurs of agreements as, Robyn said those words. The Grimm were the people of, Mantle, and Atlas true enemy. Not each other. Jaune could agree with that, the Gri...?!

Jaune's mind abandoned his previous train of thoughts on, Robyn's word. Something was here, someone was here. Jaune had seen something. A lanky individual, a brown cloak over their head. Jaune recognized that shape. And, if it was who he thought it was, then things were about to get messy...

Jaune drowned out the world as he slowly weaved his way through the crowd. His mind was solely focused on the individual that was moving closer to the stage. Jaune quickly made his way to cut them off, but was careful to make his sure his presence was unnoticed. But, if it was who he feared it was, he knew their attention solely focused on, Robyn.

And, it was, considering they never saw him coming until his cerulean eyes locked in on his crazed yellow eyes.

Jaune: Hello, Tyrian~!

Tyrian: Wha?!

Jaune pulled out his sword, and sent it flying towards, Tyrian's face. People screamed as they ran out of the way, and started to flee the building. Unfortunately, Tyrian was a slippery bastard as he weaved out of the way of, Crocea Mors pristine white blade.

The crowd started screaming as they ran away. Jaune tapped his hip several times before deploying his shield, and taking a defensive stance at the mad scorpion faunas.

Tyrian: Whoa-hahaha! Well, hello again!

Jaune: I would say it's nice to see you again, but that'd be a lie.

Tyrian: Hahaha! Well it's nice to see you again!

Jaune: I doubt that...

Jaune was stalling for time; Jaune's greatest concern wasn't just, Tyrian, but also the civilians here. But, as he was stalling for time, most of the civilians in the auditorium had managed to escape, the only one that remained was, Robyn. She had sent, Fiona, and May off to help evacuate the civilians. With one extra huntresses, the odds were now on his side. But, nonetheless... the odds are never good when fighting a psychopath.

Tyrian: Well, since you spoiled the fun I bes... Whaa?!

Jaune stabbed forward with his sword hoping to catch, Tyrian off guard, but he managed to dodge out of the way, but, Jaune was more focused on keeping him here, and not letting the slippery bastard from getting away.

Jaune swung his sword in an upward arc, before leveling it it to stab at, Tyrian, before pulling back his blade back, deflecting the mad scorpions bladed gauntlets.

Tyrian jumped back before charging forward, and jumping on, Jaune's shield planning to throw him off balance, and take him down. But, just like many others before him, they all underestimated, Jaune's capabilities.

Jaune felt, Tyrian push on his shield, and cackle on as he readied his stinger to stab at, Jaune only for, Jaune to push his arm forward, and send him flying back. He spun in the air before landing on his feet, he let out a maniacal laugh before it was cut short as, Jaune bashed him in the face with his shield.

Jaune thought he was going to have an easier time dealing with this pyshco since his stinger was cut shot by, Ruby. But, evidently he had gotten a prosthetic tail to replace it. That just made him all the more dangerous.

Robyn: Jaune, duck!

Jaune 's body dropped into a squat before quickly standing back up as an crossbow bolt whizzed above him. Tyrian's bladed gauntlets flew through the air as he started knocking down the various blots, Robyn sent flying at him.

Tyrian leapt over, Jaune, and charged, Robyn. Robyn's crossbow changed into a bladed shield as she started crossing blades with, Tyrian. Jaune realized as he ran up towards the pair that, Tyrian wasn't just randomly here, he was here for a reason. He was here to carry out an assassination, and Robyn was the target.

Jaune: Robyn! He's a scorpion faunas! Watch out for his stinger!

Robyn: Got it!

This was the first time, Jaune got to see, Robyn in a fight, and to put it simply; She fought just like her name sake: Like a bird. Robyn's movement were as smooth, and as majestic as a robin in flight. Her skill with her weapon was as precise as a master violinist's. And she was deadly as a hawk on the hunt. It was mesmerizing to see. Almost.

Jaune's eyes weren't looking at the beauty of, Robyn's fighting style . His eyes were only taking in her passively, his attention was solely focused on, Tyrian. And, he saw something he didn't like.

A dark violet glow enveloped, Tyrian's hand as he reached for, Robyn's side. Jaune saw what a lilac field around, Robyn's side disperse, and make a hole on her side. Jaune suddenly realized something that was very, very dangerous.

That glow around, Tyrian's hand was an active sign of him using his semblance. And, Tyrian's semblance was capable of making holes in people auras! It was the perfect semblance for a, Hunter killer.

Jaune: Robyn! Back away from him!

Robyn, jumped back before, Tyrian could land a fatal blow. Tyrian charged her, but before he could he had to dash back as, Crocea Mors came flying past him. Jaune did see this as a dangerous move; Throwing his primary weapon, and leaving him relatively defenseless. But, Robyn's death was an even worse outcome for the future of, Mantle, and Atlas.

Tyrian laughed as, Jaune's sword flew past him, and he swiftly turned on him, and jumped atop of. Jaune. This action caught, Jaune off guard; Jaune had over extended himself allowing, Tyrian to land on top of him. Luckily, Jaune still had his shield on him, but, Tyrian had him pinned to the ground.

Jaune felt his aura being pulled away by, Tyrian's semblance. Jaune quickly activated his own semblance amping up his aura, trying to cover the breach in his wall, but it was too little, too late.

Jaune: AHHH?!

Jaune felt a searing burning pain as, Tyrian's stinger dug into his shoulder, injecting him with his vile poison.

Robyn: NOOO!

Robyn yelled as she fired bolt, after bolt at, Tyrian. But, Robyn had charged in too close to, Tyrian.

Tyrian effortlessly jumped off of, Jaune's prone body, and tackled, Robyn. Pinning her to the ground as his stinger rose into the air.

Tyrian: Ah-HAHAHA! It's my lucky day! Not only do I get to kill an annoying little, Huntsman! But, also the savior of, Mantle! Ah-HAHAHAHA!!!

Robyn's eyes widened in fear as, Tyrian's stinger hanged above his head, ready to dive down, and kill her. Robyn struggled against, Tyrian, trying to free herself from his grasp, but to no avail.

Tyrian laugh maniacally assured of his victory. But, as, Jaune watched, Tyrion prepare to kill, Robyn, he remembered something, something, Pyrrha had said to him years ago, back when she was training him on the roofs of, Beacon Academy, back when things were a simpler, happier time.

Pyrrha: "Remember, Jaune, landing the final blow is when your opponent is most vulnerable."

As Tyrian Laughed in mad glee at his assured victory, his laughter was suddenly cut short as, Jaune wrapped his hands around his head, and growled into the monsters ear.

Jaune: I'm not buried yet!

"SNAP, KER-CRAK!!!"

The sound of, Tyrian's neck snapping echoed throughout the auditorium like a gun shot. It was deafening in it's brutal energy, and the sound of the dull thud as, Jaune threw, Tyrian's wretched corpse off of, Robyn.

Jaune's breath came out heavily as he stared at, Tyrian's corpse, a maniacal smile still etched across his face. Robyn looked at, Jaune with wide eyes, stunned silent as she looked about her savior.

Jaune: But, you will be, you bastard son of a bitch!

Jaune yelled this out, panting heavily as before his body gave out, and he fell down, landing on the ground with a solid thud.

Robyn: Jaune...? Jaune?!

Robyn shouted his name as she ran over to him, cupping his face in her hands as she checked him over.

Robyn: Oh no, nonononono!

The doors to the auditorium burst open as several members of the, Specialist team came rushing in.

Clover: Jaune we got your message, what hap... Jaune?!

Clover, and Harriet ran over to, Jaune while, Marrow, Vine, and Elm kept the crowd out.

Clover: What the hell happened?!

Robyn: That psycho attacked us! He stabbed, Jaune with his tail!

Harriet: What psy...?! Wait, that's, Tyrian Callows?!

Clover: He stabbed, Jaune with his tail?!

Marrow: Fuck, that means he's been poisoned!

Clover: Call for a medevac!

Vine: On it!

Clover then pushed, Robyn out of the way as he looked down at, Jaune ever growing pale face.

Clover: Jaune! Jaune answer me!

He couldn't answer him, his voice had left him.

Clover: Jaune! Look at me! Look at me!

His couldn't look at him, his vision was getting blurry.

Clover: Jaune stay with me! Stay with me, Jaune!

He couldn't stay, he was leaving them.

Winter: JAUNE?!

His world faded into the darkness.

[podcast-bookclub]

Specifically to join the conversation around audience distance, it also brings in to question the accessibility of creators and the perceived or literal "lack" of fandom-only spaces. In my experience, Tumblr in particular has historically been a bit off-color; most day-to-day people you encounter don't have a Tumblr blog (and probably have never had one), often viewing the site as something long-dead akin to MySpace despite the consistency of activity across the platform. Generally the content created and shared on here tends to stay on here, especially within fandom (possibly due to a perceived sense of privacy, though that would just be a wild guess.)

That said, Tumblr has always been a "safe" space for fandom to exist, and I believe there's potentially feelings of intrusion to have audio dramatists here right alongside everyone else. While not inherently negative, that type of coinhabitance is (as far as I'm aware) largely exclusive to fiction podcasts, thus just sort of calling for a separate set of rules and a differing approach to fandom than we've seen before. The so-called coinhabitance isn't inherently negative in any way, but by design it definitely lends to a sense of "observation" for lack of a better word.

From the perspective of a fan, knowing that everything you're saying could theoretically be seen by a creator is, in short, nerve-wracking. Particularly with smaller shows and smaller creators (as said, beyond the reaches of audio drama "titans") it's not just a possibility, it becomes just shy of a guarantee. Often posts will circulate around small fandoms; if a creator doesn't see it on the tag or from your blog, it's not unlikely to assume it will circle back across their dash at one point or another. While yes, there is a sense of responsibility as a fan interacting in a space the creator also frequents, it leaves a lot less room for people to share as freely as they might otherwise do. (As an aside, I think creators setting up a filtered/blocked tag to allow their fandom that privacy is wonderful and arguably something every creator on platforms such as this should be doing.)

Additionally, I believe the general (correct) attitude around audio dramas is that the "indie" aspects of the space, as spoken about many times over, allow for the prevalence of representation for often underrepresented identities in audio fiction. Both as creators and fans, such podcasts are a place to feel at home, and here on Tumblr it's further a place to find others you can relate to also within that representation. While there is a certain degree of satisfaction within what the source material's "canon" provides, it may lead to any further hesitance about exploration in fanwork; with the creators, in essence, looking over your shoulder, what if you do something "wrong"?

As an example, take the colloquial habit of rewriting storylines or show endings within more "mainstream" media. A fan feels something was handled poorly, and are well within their right to explore those thoughts and ideas on the betterment of a situation in fanwork. However, I think there's potential with the presence of creators to once again damage that freedom through no fault of their own; a fan may be unhappy with something in the show, but equally as much they're aware a given creator will come across their fanwork depicting however they chose to repair it. While that isn't inherently negative, there may be fear just in the idea of causing an audio dramatist to feel like they made a mistake/should've done things differently/etc. In my experience nothing is ever intended to be an "attack" on a creator's choices, but I do think it could be a very easy conclusion particularly for a creator who is maybe inexperienced in fandom spaces.

All this said, ultimately most things on this topic are, for the moment, speculation, though I'm incredibly curious about the theoretics of any particular solutions to the overall lack of committed fandoms in the space (and, otherwise, observations concerning creators sharing said space.) I think it's easy for a lot of the discussion to become cyclical because everyone seems aware of the issues yet unsure of the best way to handle them, or if they should really be "fixed" at all. Fandom in indie podcasting is, for the most part, an entirely new ballgame, but trial-and-error will only get you so far if there isn't steps taken to at the very least evaluate and potentially adjust the way situations are approached by both fans and creators.

Where are all the Audio Fiction Fandoms?

To be clear, this isn't me complaining, and I know, there are plenty of fandoms for audio fiction podcasts and the like.

But I have always found it weird how few shows get the big, self-sustaining kinds of fandoms, the ones where there's always at least a little trickle of fanfic and fanart. So weird, in fact, that I've been thinking about it on and off for the last 5-6 years, and I have a few theories I'd like to share with y'all as to why, and to see if I can't get some feedback from the audio fiction fans on Tumblr.

Theory 1: Audience Size

The first theory is mostly about demographics - fundamentally, a fandom has to be large enough to sustain itself, and only a certain number of audience members are going to become the kind of fans who make fan works, so ultimately, an audio fiction show needs to get popular enough before fan works start appearing.

There's plenty of support for this theory, of course - Welcome to Night Vale, Wolf 359, The Adventure Zone and The Magnus Archives are titans in the fiction podcast space, and indeed they have big fandoms. But, with that said, there's plenty of other podcasts that are just as big that don't have fandoms, so this can't explain it all.

Theory 2: Audience Distance

This one is similar to the first, but subtly different. A few creators in the space I've talked to have noted that they'd never make fan works of their friend's shows - that feels weird, like deliberately treading on their friend's work. They don't have this feeling when playing in big fandoms, or fandoms where they don't know the creator. This implies to me that fans need a certain level of distance from creators in order to feel comfortable playing with that fictional space. While this is less the case now with the fall of Twitter, a lot of shows, for better or worse, used social media as the primary pillar of their marketing, as well as using Patreons with special access as part of their monetization strategies.

In short, it's never been easier to get close to the creators of your favourite shows, and for smaller shows, the most exuberant fans - the kinds who might make fan works - are also the kinds of fans who will take those opportunities to get closer to the creators. In short, there just might not enough social distance for fans to be comfortable creating works, not at least until the audience grows sufficiently that a creator simply cannot be that close with their entire audience.

This theory I'm not so sure about these days - this one is probably a lot more dependent on the generation of fandom you belong to. Older generations of fandom are more likely to have this queasiness around creator closeness, because they were creating in a time where fandom was a shadow realm, desperately hidden from The Powers That Be, and "No Copyright Infringement Intended" was carved into fan works as an eldritch attempt at legal protection.

Theory 3: Audience Age

To be clear - there are fans of all ages out there. But it is clear to me that fandom trends young, and part of that is just the time needed to participate in fan culture - creating and consuming takes a lot of time, time that tends gets scarcer and scarcer as you get older (there are obvious exceptions of course - stay-at-home mothers have consistently been a major force in fandoms!). It's possible that audio fiction fans just tend to trend older, and thus don't have the time available to create and consume fan works.

Honestly, I'm not sure how relevant this one is - Audio fiction is becoming more popular with younger audiences and slowly shedding the "old fuddy-duddyness" that surrounded it when I was first getting into the space. And, ya know, there are audio fiction fandoms out there, so obviously either the youth aspect of fandom isn't a thing, or it is, but audio fiction audiences are still trending young anyway.

Theory 4: We're getting what we need!

A lot of academic discourse often focuses on the idea that fandoms create for a reason - and that reason is often to focus on parts of a fiction that the original text, for whatever reason, doesn't. The most obvious form of this is the many, many, many examples of ships and erotic fanfiction. You, as a fan, watch a show, see something between two characters, and get frustrated that the show isn't giving you more of that, won't make what is clearly obvious to you, explicit. So, you consume and/or create fan works that help relieve that tension instead.

Or, in shows where the focus is primarily on plot advancement or action, you feel a desire to get to know the characters better - you see the stirrings of these characters, you want to know them better, but the show just isn't the type of show to give you that slow, character-heavy scene/episode that you know would give you exactly what you need, so, again, you go consume and/or create fan works to fix that.

It's very possible that a lot of audio fiction is already built to give these sorts of fan audiences what they want. There's already romantic relationships, characters are openly queer, the nature of the audio medium means that character-heavy scenes are something that the medium directs creators towards, so there's already a lot of character engagement. So, for many fandoms, there just isn't much need to create fan works - there's no tension between what the show is and what it could be.

Theory 5: We can make our own at home!

One interesting theory is that one reason that people make fandom is because, fundamentally, the creators understand that they're not going to be making a film, or a TV show, or a book. They have creative urges, and they're not in a situation in life where they're likely to overcome the enormous barriers to entry in mainstream media, so, in combination with the stuff in theory 4, they play in other people's worlds instead. They know that there's already an audience who will consume their work (they're part of that fan community, after all!), so they can get that validation of creation without needing to create their own TV show or film or book, etc.

Podcasts, however, are different. Now, it's not true to say that podcasts have low barriers to entry - to create a podcast, there's a lot of skills you either need to learn yourself, or find collaborators with those skills. But, those barriers to entry are much lower than visual media. At the very least, audio production is significantly cheaper and less complicated for an equivalent runtime.

Better, podcasts have absurdly low barriers to publication - There are no gatekeepers to satisfy, no distributors you have to convince. Once your thing is made, pretty much no one can stop you from distributing that work. You don't even really need to pay for a podcast host - there's a few free podcast hosts now. So, once you've done the work, pretty much nothing stops you from publishing said work.

So... If you're a creative fan, who loved a show but thinks you can do better? Well, you can! You don't need to play in other people's spaces, you can be inspired by the podcasts you listen to to create your own original work, in the same medium and genre.

What do y'all think? Which of these feel right, which of these feel obviously wrong? Are you part of a audio fiction fandom? What does your fandom feel like to you on the inside? As a audio fiction creator, it's kinda hard for me to get into the inside of fandom culture, so insider perspectives would be super neat for me, so please reblog this to anyone you feel might have an interesting perspective on the whole thing!

[lovelypastelsweets]

♡Onychinus' Kitten♡[Part #2:]

Sylus Qin X female!Cat-Hybrid!Reader

{Notes:}

This is my first fan-fiction, if you have any tip/suggestions please let me know!In this story, the 'reader' is NOT the MC, and is female(I don't have an issue with males reading, but I don't know anything about guys, and I want to be authentic. If you'd like a male-reader fan-fic please collaborate with me to deepen my understanding of the male-mind)

{Trigger-warnings:}

This story will contain minor death(of random side characters), mention human-trafficking(not in-detail), the experimentation of humans-subjects, and it may a mention past-trauma that includes sexual-abuse, I haven't decided. But I have PTSD related to sexual-abuse, and I don't want to trigger myself, so if I do include that detail, it will be non-descriptive.

[One month ago;]

Sylus had done business with a man who worked in the black-market. The man bought a verity of protocore-infused weapons, as well as EVOL-canceling restraints and gear.

After two weeks, Sylus came to collect his profit, however the man, Mr.Kurosan, only had half of what was due. And Sylus simply couldn't just let that slide.

Inside a old, dark building; A small room with crumbling and cracked dull-grey walls and a wooden floor, there sits a small table with two chairs on each side- The same room the deal was made in- Sylus stands tall, with an sense of authority and malice, yet looking bored. His appearance was similar to that of a person with an infestation looking at a single mouse caught in a trap.

Sylus: "One such as yourself ought to know what happens when fools bite off more than they can chew. And you, Mr.Kurosan, are not better than a tiny finch picking a fight with a crow."

Sylus' voice lacked hesitation and was terrifyingly calm for someone who was about to take a life.Red and black mist circle the trembling man, lifting him into the air.

Mr.Kurosan: "M-Mr.Sylus-! Please, I-I'll get you the mo-ney! I just need more time!"

The mist continued it's deadly coil.

Mr.Kurosan: "No-no! Wait! I'm not the only party involved here, you see! There's- I-I- I was partnering with a group! A organization! We-we split your shipment! And-and they didn't pay their due! T-they-they didn't-!"

Mr.Kurosan yelled frantically, nearing incoherentnce- a pitiful attempt to be speared.

Sylus: "Oh? Do tell me more."

The mist stopped, causing the Mr.Kurosan to hit the floor with a "[Thud!]".Mr.Kurosan begin to hurriedly speak while scrabbling to his knees. He knew not to test Sylus's patience.

Mr.Kurosan: "There is a an organization of scientists that produce and sell hybrids! They wanted the restraints, and-and some weaponry. So.. I split the shipment, and they were expected to pay for the supplies and my work! They didn't pay the amount owed. That's.. That's why I don't have the money! And! The hybrids they create are really powerful! Some have very strong EVOLS. Su-surely that's something you'd be interested in?...Ah.. So.. See? Mr.Sylus? I-I didn't- I was loyal to you!"

Mr.Kurosan begin to wear a delirious-looking, yet worried smile as he began to see a chance to be speared.

Sylus: "I see. Well then, tell me the name and address of the 'organization'.. In fact, here, write it down. I'll give this organization a visit myself, after all it's 'me' who they owe money to. There's no need for a middle-man."

Mist appeared before Mr.Kurosan with a tablet and a stylist.Mr.Kurosan begin to frantically scribble on the screen. Then, he held it outwards towards Sylus.

Mr.Kurosan: "He-here, Mr.Sylus. This is all the information I have. Ah, so our partnership.. I-I haven't gone against you-I haven't gone against our partnership! So-"

As Mr.Kurosan speaks, the mist collects the tablet, bringing it to Sylus, to which he takes it into hand as he begins to chuckle darkly.

Sylus: " "Partnership"? Do you really think you possess the power to be called my partner? You're more of a fool than I thought.".

Mr.Kurosan's eyes widened in horror and realization, his heartbeat became even more erratic, even painful.The red and black mist returned instantly.

Mr.Kurosan: "N-n-no! Please!- Mr.S-!"

Mr.Kurosan's words cut off into a blood-curdling scream of agony, as Sylus' hand clinched, and his body dissipated into pieces even smaller than the cells that made him.

Sylus looked at the tablet that read; "[HYBE-CO. 444, Shinde-Lane, N109-ZONE.]".

[Two weeks later; Present day:]

Inside a laboratory that disguised itself within an abandoned hotel. The air was filled with screams, slanderish-yelling, pleads for mercy, curses, and the sound of rushed foot-steps of the scientists who made them- Scientists who did want to befall the same fate as their co-workers; Lying bloodied on the floor or disintegrated into ash-.

As Sylus, Luke and Kiren made their way through the laboratory, Sylus noticed a man and a woman conversing in the back of the room. The woman held a gun, checking to see if it was loaded. After nodded to each other the woman began to rush forward- not towards Sylus, but down a hallway and deeper into the laboratory.

Sylus: "You two finish up here. I'll be back"

Sylus said to the twins. He vanished in telaportation before they could respond.

Gun in hand, running fast, the woman moved steadily with intent- knowing that there was only one way to keep their "Products" out of the hands of the Onychinus.

At last she reached her destination; The shared-bedchamber of the hybrids.

♡[To Be Continued]♡

[jasminejava]

November 16 ~ 4:30 - 10:30 PM

I don’t usually remember to make a post to end the day, even when I’m productive. I also don’t tend to write my evening pages, but I’ve begun today because I have an incentive to: I downloaded the Finch app and you can hatch a micropet if you can complete one task for 7 days. The task I set as my hardest was writing the evening pages. Writing a reflection of what I’ve done is very difficult because I tend to be self critical and worried that my day was not “good. But it’s only through them that I can properly understand where I go wrong and grow. If I don’t admit to my mistakes, I’ll keep making them. So I will try my best to address the parts of myself that are uncomfortable.

Wash Hair 🚿

Chem Block: Homework 🧪

Eng Block: Write outline of answers to questions 1 and 2 📝 (done before)

Av Func Block: Unit 7.4 📏

Evening Pages 🌕

Queue up tomorrow’s todos 🍓

Queue Poetry 📑

[return-to-ravenbrooks]

Return to Ravenbrooks:

Biography

Entry 2

Name: Delroy [REDACTED]

Date of Birth: 1996

Gender: M

Current Address: 910 Friendly Court

Height: 5'7

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Dark brown

Key features: Wick Pompador, shaved eyebrow

Role: Bagger

Abilities: strength, endurance, charisma

Occupation: Stock boy

Status: Fair

Biography:

I wasn't close with Aaron.

It wasn't like I hated him or anything- at least, not unlike the way everyone seemed to after the accident. We just weren't the kind of people who jived well. He was quiet to himself and his goals, and I was to mine.

And like most of the town, I didn't care too much when he disappeared. We were all fed the same lie through town gossip. Aaron and his sister Mya were shipped upwards in the country. Minnesota I think. But I remember one thing, one person who made it loudly known that he didn't believe it.

"I- you guys don't understand! He left me a note and- there was blood on it! Mr. Peterson he-" his eyes were red, like he'd been crying recently, but his voice was livid. Scared, but livid.

I'd winced at his yelling. It was kind of a shame, really. Even for a new kid, he wasn't the largest social outcast I'd seen in town. And supposedly he could even snap back a decent insult occasionally. But with this- outburst. Standing on the outdoor picnic tables, yelling like a lunatic? All that was washed down the storm drains, just like everything else that got stranded in the streets of Ravenbrooks.

And now here I was, sitting in a cheap folding lawn chair in the middle of Trinity's dining room. It wasn't ideal, sure. But I didn't mind. We alternated which of us sat in it with every meeting.

Did it even matter that her dining room only had six chairs though, if she couldn't even manage to sit down? Her pacing was vigorous and thoughtful.

"...So?" I leaned back in the lawn chair, listening as it creaked softly. "People move in and out of town all the time, who cares?"

Almost immediately I could feel glares on me. Most obviously from Trinity, slightly from Enzo and Mari, and while his was the least obvious, I felt the most silent hatred for my question from Nick. No, not the question, the implication.

Trinity paused her steps finally and sighed "I dunno I just... I thought- I mean after they checked the basement and- I thought-"

"He was...gone gone." Enzo finished for her. Finishing sentences had become commonplace since the Inventor's Club became the Ravenbrooks Investigation Club. The things we'd seen together, heard. You understood what someone else wanted to say, but were too stunned or maybe even polite to let the words out.

"Well, not to burst your collective bubbles, but he's here." Finch yawned. I don't blame her, it was too early for this meeting. Too early to be looking at the photos Trinity took at most half an hour earlier. But an emergency meet-up was an emergency for a reason.

She set her hand on the table, not a slam or anything, more-so shifting her weight. "What should we do?"

"What do you mean? I mean... He's just building a house, right?" Ivan asked quietly.

"Over Peterson's house!" Nicky, resting both his arms on the table, straight, to balance his weight as the chair he sat in scooted back across the dining room floor, all in a voice too loud for this time of day. Finch leaned away slightly and he sank back into his chair sheepishly.

"Probably cheaper land-" Ivan excused. "Or- I dunno, maybe he's sentimental of the land. Either way, it's not like we can do anything, really." I nodded, leaning forward again to rest my elbows on the table.

"Yeah, what, we gonna sneak around his half-built house for 'clues'?" I laughed.

[alfpage85]

Your The Sugar In My Cookie: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By Roy Page

"An Acorn"

Ivan leaned casually against the wall, his arms crossed in a casual but confident stance, a sly grin spreading across his face. He looked over at Delroy, who was standing nearby, carrying a small stack of papers along with a few snacks he had probably grabbed from the cafeteria. Ivan could barely contain his amusement as he watched Delroy’s expression—smug, relaxed, and completely oblivious to what he had set in motion.

“So, it was you who put the picture up, huh?” Ivan said, raising one eyebrow, making it clear he already knew the answer.

Delroy just gave a careless shrug, not even pretending to feel the least bit guilty or concerned about what he’d done. “Yeah, it was me,” he replied, his tone completely nonchalant.

Ivan sighs "Finch is gonna kill you for that.”

But Delroy just chuckled, rolling his eyes as if the whole thing was no big deal at all. “Oh, really? I don't think Finch has it in her,” he said dismissively, as though the very thought was laughable.

Just as he finished speaking, the classroom door flew open with a force that made Ivan flinch, and there, standing in the doorway, was Finch. Her face was flushed an intense shade of red, her eyes blazing with anger as she focused on Delroy with a look that could cut through steel. Ivan took a step back as Finch stormed forward, looking like she was ready to tackle Delroy right there.

“You are so dead, Delroy,” Finch seethed, her voice low but laced with an unmistakable fury.

Delroy’s grin faltered, but he quickly tried to regain his usual bravado. “What, are you gonna fight me or something?” he asked, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Come on, Finch, you don’t want to do this.”

But Finch had already made up her mind. Without hesitating, she lunged forward, pushing him back with all the strength she could muster. Delroy stumbled, barely managing to stay on his feet, his hands going up in a poor attempt to defend himself. “Hey, hey, relax! It was just a joke!” he said, but Finch’s glare only grew more intense.

Before Finch could go any further, the classroom door swung open once again, and in walked Mr. Murtaugh, with his usual carefree expression and casual grin. He didn’t seem the least bit phased by the commotion, even as he looked around the room at the small crowd that had started to gather.

“huh... Has anyone seen Abena—hmm… never mind,” he said, trailing off as a random bag flew across the room, missing him by mere inches. Mr. Murtaugh ducked just in time, a bewildered but amused grin smile on his face.

“Whoa, that’s a first,” he muttered to himself before glancing around at the students who were all frozen in place, caught somewhere between shock and amusement.

With a slight shrug, he addressed the class with a grin smile. “You know what? Carry on, kids. Just… no major damage, alright?”

And with that, he strolled out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him as if nothing had happened.

The second Mr. Murtaugh left, Finch and Delroy resumed their scuffle in the middle of the classroom, while Ivan, watching from the sidelines, just nervously and stepped back, not wanting to get caught in the middle. "Only in Ravens Brooks" he said.

Later that afternoon, Finch found herself sitting in the school clinic, perched on the edge of one of the examination tables, looking down at the tiny scratch on her arm that had been the only real consequence of her fight with Delroy. A small bandage covered the scratch, but otherwise, she had come out of it mostly unscathed. Delroy, on the other hand, hadn’t been as lucky—he’d already been sent to the clinic earlier, sporting what looked like the beginning of a black eye and a swollen lip.

The door to the clinic creaked open, and Finch looked up to see Nicky strolling in, his usual relaxed smile on his face as he looked around and then spotted her. He walked over and sat down next to her, his presence instantly putting her at ease.

“You okay? I didn’t know you had it in you,” he said, giving her a gentle nudge as he leaned back against the wall.

Finch looked up at him, her cheeks still slightly flushed from her anger, but his calm expression softened her mood a little. “I can’t believe Delroy did that. He cant just show that picture,” she said, frustration still evident in her voice.

Nicky just chuckled, leaning forward as he spoke. “Yeah, but you’ve got to admit, it was pretty funny. Though, I get it… he went too far,” he replied, his voice soft and reassuring.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Finch groaned, letting out a long sigh as she ran a hand through her hair in exasperation. “I just hate how everyone’s making such a big deal out of it. It’s like I’m being put on display.”

Nicky gently nudged her again, his hand brushing hers in a comforting gesture. “Hey, don’t worry about it. People will forget eventually. It’s just one picture, right?” he said, his voice calm and steady, as if he truly believed everything would blow over.

Finch managed a faint smile. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she replied, her tone a bit lighter now.

“And besides,” Nicky added with a playful smile, “it’s kind of cool. You’ve got the whole school talking about you now.”

Finch raised an eyebrow, trying to hold back a laugh as she looked at him with mock annoyance. “Oh, yeah? You think that’s cool?” she teased, a hint of a smile on her lips.

Nicky shrugged, the playful glint in his eyes making her heart race. “I mean, it’s better than being invisible, right?” he replied, his tone lighthearted.

Finch laughed, feeling a warmth spread through her. Being around Nicky made everything seem a little easier, a little more bearable.

Later that day, Finch was back at her usual spot in the cafeteria, sitting by her cookie stand and trying her best to focus on preparing the cookies for the day. But her thoughts kept drifting back to everything that had happened—the fight, the picture, that had taken over her morning or whatever. She glanced up, spotting Nicky as he walked past, and waved him over.

“Hey, Nicky! Over here!” she called, gesturing for him to join her.

Nicky smiled as he walked over, looking around curiously. Finch glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then motioned for him to duck down behind the cookie stand with her. With a grin, she pulled him under the stand, laughing at the surprised look on his face.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” he asked, looking around the cramped space beneath the cookie stand with an amused expression.

Finch grinned, leaning back against the stand. “I just wanted a little peace and quiet,” she explained, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “And besides, no one’s going to come looking for us back here.”

Nicky laughed softly, leaning back against the wall inside the hidden space beneath the stand. “You know, this is probably the weirdest spot I’ve ever been in,” he said, giving her a playful smirk. “But it’s kind of fun.”

“Yeah, I thought you might like it,” Finch said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small Ziploc bag. She held it up for Nicky to see. Inside was a single cookie, carefully wrapped just for him. She handed it to him, a little shy but smiling. “Here, try this. I made it for you.”

Nicky took the bag, surprised and touched. As Finch watched, he unzipped it and unwrapped the cookie. He took a bite, his expression thoughtful at first. Then, to her relief, his face lit up in a grin.

“Wow, Finch, this is amazing!” he said, sounding genuinely impressed. “What’s in it? There’s something really good in there…”

Finch laughed as she watched him enjoying it. “Hazelnuts,” she said proudly. “I thought you’d like something different.”

“Well, I love it,” Nicky replied, looking at her warmly as he finished the last bite of the cookie.

They sat there under the cookie stand for a while, just enjoying each other’s company, until the school day started winding down. As students began trickling out of the cafeteria, Nicky spotted Finch’s camera next to her bag and, grinning, picked it up.

“Smile,” he said, aiming the camera at her.

Before Finch could say anything, he took the picture, catching them both grinning as they sat together under the stand. She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help laughing.

Nicky raised an eyebrow, his gaze softening as he looked at her. “I think I might like you too, Finch.”

Finch’s heart skipped a beat, her cheeks warming as she felt the weight of his words sink in. She managed a shy smile, feeling a bit breathless. “You know, I like you too, Nicky."

Later that night, Finch was lying in bed in her pajamas, her hair loose as she stared up at the ceiling, replaying the day in her mind. She sighed, smiling to herself at the memories.

Turning over, she felt something lumpy under her pillow. She sat up, lifted the pillow, and gasped as acorns spilled onto her bed. She giggled, realizing who must have “gifted” them.

“It must have been that squirrel again,” she whispered, laughing as she gathered the acorns up.

Settling back under her blankets, Finch reached over to her nightstand and picked up the picture Nicky had taken—the two of them under the cookie stand. She traced the edges of the photo with her fingers, holding it close to her chest as she lay back, feeling a soft happiness as she drifted to sleep, hugging the picture.

[brian-in-finance]

Photo: Oliver Holms / EE BAFTA Film Awards • Charles Finch & Chanel Pre-BAFTA Party • 17 February 2024 / Found on Twitter

Video 📹 from Instagram

Harper’s Bazaar UK • May 2024

FLASH! We join Lon­don’s glit­terati at Chanel and Charles Finch’s an­nual star-stud­ded pre-Baf­tas bash

Dramatic skies poured outside on the eve of the Baftas, but the intimate corners and warming fireplaces of 5 Hertford Street drew in Britain’s best-loved talents and Hollywood stars for the annual Charles Finch and Chanel party. Emily Blunt and Tom Ford kissed hello, before collecting glasses of champagne and going over to greet Gwendoline Christie and Giles Deacon. As the mariachi band played a lively set, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, George MacKay and Minnie Driver chatted together, while Bel Powley and Douglas Booth unwound after a busy day, having first attended a birthday lunch for Powley’s mother, before the Simone Rocha A/W 24 fashion show, declaring with intent: ‘Now we can relax!’

Bob Geldof and Mariella Frostrup linked arms to lead the charge down to dinner, followed by Isla Fisher, who was admiring the interiors. Once everyone was seated, Charles Finch addressed the room: ‘It has been an incredible year for cinema,’ he said, also paying homage to his co-host Chanel and its historic affinity with film – creating haute-couture outfits for productions such as the New Wave Last Year at Marienbad, and countless memorable red-carpet looks. Over lobster salad and poussin, conversation and wine flowed: the nominees Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were deep in conversation, and Richard E Grant caught up with his Saltburn director Emerald Fennell. Last year’s winner Emma Mackey was all smiles in anticipation of presenting the Rising Star Award, saying, ‘It’s quite mad, I’ve no idea who will get it, so I hope I don’t mess it up.’ It was almost midnight when guests began to descend on the dancefloor, where the party was only just beginning.

Page 170

60 SECONDS WITH…

CAITRÍONA BALFE

Who would play you in a film of your life?

‘Saoirse Ronan – she would make me very fabulous.’

Your all-time favourite soundtrack

‘Le Mépris. It’s so evocative and takes you somewhere incredible.’

The movie that changed your life

‘Dead Poets Society. It showed me the power of storytelling and solidified the fact that I wanted to be an actor.’

A silver-screen icon you’d like to meet

‘Gena Rowlands is my absolute idol – I’m holding out hope.’

Page 174

Remember… the people I find beautiful are the people who inspire me. I love unusual beauty like Peggy Guggenheim, who had incredible style and taste. Gina Rowlands is also someone I think of as beautiful. I like women like that. I like men like that. It's not all necessarily about the Best Body or the Best Hair. I think it's much more important to do incredible things with your life. — Caitríona Balfe, Cara (magazine), August 2016

[thesorcerersapprentice]

This questionnaire is lifted from the popular book ‘Save the Cat! Writes a Novel’ by Jessica Brody. It’s designed to help flesh out your main character's personality, motivations, and backstory. I filled it out for Altaluna, the protagonist of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

TAG LIST: (ask to be + or - ) @the-finch-address @achilleanmafia @fearofahumanplanet @winterninja-fr  @avrablake @outpost51 @d3mon-ology @hippiewrites @threeking @lexiklecksi @ashirisu @thelaughingstag

[supersoftly]

Sorry for sounding manic about the crime rising everywhere, but I seriously feel like you anon(s) are trying to gaslight me when I've been living in the GTA/around it all my life, even lived by the infamous Jane/Finch intersection and I have friends from all walks of life who shot the shit with us earnestly, so unless you're a shut-in with no human interaction, you can tell shit has changed from before and it's much worse. The signposting I vaguely talk about online is just a single drop in the proverbial bucket of examples, I choose to be vague because you don't need to know my exact location, but I want people to understand the gist of what's going on here when everywhere around me will barely address it in an official capacity, academically or through state sanctioned journalism. I lived a very carefree life up until around 2015 when crime started to get worse (don't look who's been in office since then, the answer will not surprise you). Since then I've been sexually harassed, stalked by homeless men, had my car broken into twice, had someone vandalize my car, took a stroll into a crimescene by accident because a shootout happened the morning of, friends have been attacked by drug addicts, someone has taken a gun to my pregnant friend's house under the delusion there was a drug den there and all this never happened before, much less most of this happened during or post COVID.

Canada has gotten worse, so please don't tell me that "stats show you should be happier" rhetoric. I really am not in the mood when you either have your head in the sand or don't live where I live so you don't know what you're talking about.

[bloody-bee-tea]

June of (minimal) Doom 2024 Day 17 - You don't want to do that

If you haven't checked the tags then take this as your content warning for referenced/implied rape/non-con and forced prostitution.

When Satoru freezes at his side, despite the punishing beat that’s still going strong, Suguru realises that they shouldn’t have come to this frat party in the first place. When Satoru had asked him—almost begged him to come—he should have put his foot down and told him no, instead of giving in to his every whim like Suguru is prone to do.

They could have had a relaxing evening in their bed, instead of coming to this godforsaken party where the sight of someone is leaving Satoru frozen in fright but hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say.

They’ll just have to deal with this, whatever it is, and then Suguru can drag Satoru home, away from whoever is putting that horrible look on his face and cuddle him until he’s all better.

“Satoru,” Suguru says, his voice full of concern because he’s not sure Satoru has even taken a breath in the last minute and he is proven right when Satoru sucks in a shuddering breath.

“Suguru, I’m so sorry,” he gets out, his voice shaky and now that doesn’t make any sense of all.

Clearly it’s Satoru who is frightened; why the hell would he apologise to Suguru?

“If it isn’t Satoru-chan,” a reedy voice says and Suguru decides he doesn’t like the guy before he even lays eyes on him.

Seeing him doesn’t make it any better because the guy is leering at Satoru in a way that makes Suguru’s stomach churn.

“Mahito,” Satoru whispers out, one hand sneaking out to tightly grip Suguru’s sleeve as if he needs something to hold on to and Suguru shifts on instinct, puts himself slightly in front of Satoru as if he could shield him from this Mahito that way.

“You look absolutely stunning,” Mahito says, leaning around Suguru to better be able to look at Satoru and the way he doesn’t even spare Suguru a glance rankles in a way he’s not used to. “A true sight for sore eyes.”

“Wish I could say the same,” Satoru weakly says and then he addresses Suguru without ever taking his eyes off Mahito. “We wanted to leave, remember? Let’s go now, it’s getting way too crowded here anyway.”

“Aw, you don’t even want to catch up with your old friend?” Mahito asks before Suguru can react to Satoru’s words and Satoru finches as if he’s been hit. “I didn’t know you were in town or else I would have hit you up earlier.”

Suguru still has no clue what’s going on but even over the loud music he can hear the threat in those words. He has no idea who this guy is or what his history with Satoru is but Suguru knows that it can’t be anything good.

“Yeah, you’re right, let’s leave now,” Suguru says, reacting to what Satoru said instead of giving Mahito more time to speak but before he can even turn around to Satoru, Mahito’s hand shoots past him, snatching Satoru’s wrist in a way that must be painful going by the hiss he lets out.

“Mahito,” Satoru says warily, though he doesn’t try to remove his hand from his arm and Suguru can see the fear in his eyes.

“Get your hands off him,” Suguru says, reaching for Mahito’s wrist in turn and squeezing until he lets go of Satoru.

“You have quite the ape on your side it seems,” Mahito drawls out, roaming his eyes up and down Suguru’s frame and he feels dirty for it. “Why don’t you stay with me for a while, Satoru, I am much better company, as I am sure you remember.”

“No,” Satoru get out, and even though it’s quiet his voice is steady.

Suguru still has no real clue who this guy is or what’s going on but it’s clear that they have history and going by the surprise in Mahito’s eyes, he’s not quite used to Satoru telling him no. Suguru is immensely proud of him for that.

“Satoru,” Mahito warningly says and Satoru flinches back at that once more. “Come with me.”

His voice demands to be obeyed and there’s a split second where it seems Satoru moves without his conscious thought but then he steps closer to Suguru, hides behind his back and he says it again.

“No.”

Mahito’s eyes narrow in a way that makes Suguru shift his weight subtly in case the guy darts forward to attack and the motion must have been enough to bring his attention back to Suguru because his mismatched eyes fall on Suguru once more.

His gaze speaks of danger and it’s enough make a shudder run down Suguru’s back but it’s certainly not enough to make him cower in front of this guy.

Not when Satoru is this scared already.

“Ah, is this your latest boy-toy?” Mahito drawls out, addressing Satoru again. “He looks so boring.”

“Let’s go home,” Satoru repeats again and something cruel passes over Mahito’s face as he hears it.

“You don’t want to do that, Satoru. Walk away from me now and who can tell what will happen. Word of what you did back in the day might even reach your boy-toy and then what will he think of you? What will you do if he leaves you all alone after learning what you’ve done.”

Mahito’s voice makes Suguru sick to his stomach and it seems Satoru is not fairing much better because he’s pale and shaking and Mahito’s words are clearly getting under his skin.

“Shut up!” Satoru yells out, clearly scared out of his mind but it only makes Mahito laugh.

“You just need to come with me,” Mahito tells him again. “We had such a good time together, don’t you remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Satoru spits out and Suguru needs to get them out of Mahito’s presence right this moment because Satoru looks as if he’s about to throw up.

“Wonderful,” Mahito claps his hands together as if those are the greatest news he ever received. “Then let’s go back together. I’m sure there are so many people who’d love to see you again!”

Suguru doesn’t think. He feels Satoru flinch again and it’s as if his body is moving on it’s one. He practically watches how his arm flies out, hand curled into a fist and in the next moment it connects with Mahito’s face.

Mahito crumbles like a puppet with its strings cut and some people around them stumble back when they realise what just happened.

“Suguru,” Satoru yells out and pulls him back. “We need to leave, come on, we have to go!”

He’s yanking on Suguru’s arm and even though Suguru would love to do nothing more than to wait for Mahito to pick himself up again so he can beat him down again, he reluctantly follows Satoru as he drags him out of the house.

“You think someone saw?” Satoru mutters once they are outside and Suguru huffs out a laugh.

“A lot of people saw. Question is if any of them care.”

“Right, right,” Satoru gives back and then falls silent.

He stays that way all the way back to their apartment and Suguru decides against pressing for now. It’s clear that meeting Mahito was not a good thing and Satoru seems more than rattled right now. Suguru doesn’t want to make matters worse by asking questions out in public, so he’ll wait until they are in the privacy of their own home.

“Come to the bathroom, we have to treat your hand,” is the first thing Satoru says after the door is closed behind them and Suguru looks down at his hand.

He didn’t even realise he split the skin open with his punch but he dutifully follows Satoru.

“Satoru, are you okay?” he asks him once he’s seated on the toilet, Satoru kneeling in front of him and he immediately bites his tongue when Satoru flinches.

“I should be asking you that, you’re the one who’s bleeding,” he still gives back and even smiles at Suguru but Suguru knows him well enough to see the strain behind it.

“Satoru,” Suguru mutters and reaches out with his uninjured hand to cup Satoru’s cheek in it. “Are you alright?”

There’s a beat of silence before Satoru chokes out a “No���.

It’s not a surprise, not with how shaken up he still seems and so Suguru simply nods.

“Are you—not going to ask?” Satoru haltingly asks once he deems Suguru’s hand treated enough for now and Suguru hums in thought.

“It came as a surprise to you to see him,” he states and even though it’s not a question, Satoru still nods. “And you don’t want to see him again.”

“Never,” Satoru spits out and even though there’s anger blazing in his eyes now, his hands are still shaking with fear.

“Okay,” Suguru simply says and Satoru stares at him as if he grew a second head.

“Yeah, right,” he then says, disbelief colouring his voice and Suguru sighs.

“Satoru, you could have murdered someone and I wouldn’t care. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Satoru laughs hysterically and it sets Suguru on edge. He wishes he could ease whatever it is right now that’s plaguing Satoru but he doesn’t know how to.

“It’s so much more degrading than that,” Satoru whispers and there’s a crazy look in his eyes. “And if I tell you then you’ll ask for the why and when I tell you about that—you won’t get it, you’ll think I’m such a spoiled, stupid brat who doesn’t even appreciate what he has and then there’ll be that and the disgust of what I have done, what was done to me and then you’ll leave me!”

Satoru’s voice cracks over the last words and Suguru’s heart splits clean in two when tears fall down Satoru’s cheeks.

It seems he has already decided on what will happen in their future, but Suguru is not going to accept that vision, because there is no way in any universe where he’s going to leave Satoru.

“Satoru,” he says, his voice strong and steady and Satoru’s eyes immediately snap to his as if he doesn’t have another choice.

Suguru doesn’t know what happened to Satoru—though with what he just said there’s a sickening suspicion forming in his mind and even though Suguru would love to reject that completely it would explain why Satoru sometimes gets so peculiar about anything physical between them—and in all honesty he knows so little about his past that it should probably bother him, but Satoru never talked about it and even when Suguru pressed he skirted around the questions with meaningless non-answers and eventually Suguru got the hint. He stopped asking and Satoru started relaxing.

And no matter what it is that Satoru did, that was done to him, Suguru doesn’t care.

“Whatever you did, whatever you had to do, it all led you to me, so I don’t care. If it means you found your way to me then I don’t care. You’re here, now, and that’s all that matters to me.”

Satoru blinks at him, clearly taken aback by what Suguru just said and Suguru thinks he might have fucked up when Satoru’s tears flow even more freely.

“How can you even say that?” Satoru sobs out eventually and Suguru pulls him into a hug.

“Because I love you.”

And really, it’s as easy as that for him. He loves Satoru and whatever it is that happened in his past and with Mahito, it’s clearly upsetting to Satoru, so Suguru is not going to judge him for any of it should Satoru ever want to tell him.

“Do you want us to move?” Suguru asks once Satoru’s sobs have died down a little bit and he curses himself when that sets Satoru off once more.

“You would just do that?” he cries out and Suguru shrugs.

“Satoru, you’re my everything. If you think you’re not safe here anymore, if you’re going to be afraid after meeting Mahito in this city, then we’ll move, no questions asked.”

“How can you still be like this when I’m keeping so much from you?” Satoru wants to know and he sounds exhausted down to the bone, so Suguru makes the executive decision to move them to the bed.

Satoru is still in his arms, awkwardly perched on his lap, but that makes it easy to simply tighten his arms around him and standing up, much to Satoru’s surprise it seems because his squeak nearly makes Suguru go deaf.

“What are you doing?”

“Going to bed,” Suguru tells him. “I’m exhausted and you’re no better.”

Satoru doesn’t argue with him which lets Suguru know just how tired Satoru really is and in a matter of minutes they are safely cocooned in their blanket.

“It doesn’t matter to me how much you keep from me,” Suguru says, once Satoru is curled into his arms. “I just know that today was upsetting to you and I’m trying to figure out how to make it better.”

“I don’t deserve you,” Satoru whispers and Suguru growls at that.

“You deserve everything,” he fiercely says and is not surprised when he feels new tears soak his shirt.

“That’s not true,” Satoru mutters, “you’ll see. I’m going to—I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Suguru thinks that he should probably agree enthusiastically to that but seeing Satoru this distressed today really puts a damper on things.

“Only if you want to,” he mutters and kisses the top of Satoru’s head. “Only if you feel ready.”

“I’ll never feel ready,” Satoru admits and leans back to properly look at Suguru. “But you said it wouldn’t matter to you, no matter what, and I—I trust you more than I am afraid,” he goes on and Suguru loves him so much it feels as if he’s drowning in it.

“I love you,” he breathes out and when Satoru leans in for a kiss he doesn’t even mind that it tastes salty.

“I love you,” Satoru replies when they part and there’s a new resolve in his eyes.

Suguru will not let whatever it is that Satoru will tell him tomorrow change anything but he definitely knows one thing: he’ll be immensely proud of Satoru for facing whatever it is that haunts him.

And once everything is said and done, Suguru will make sure to remind Satoru that he still loves him—always will—and then they’ll figure out their future.

But they’ll do that together, too.

[spacefinch]

Finch Rambles: Star Wars Rebels edition

One of my headcanons (barely supported by on-screen canon, but hear me out) is that Hera, Captain Rex, and Commander Sato see each other as not just friends, but siblings in a way.

We know from the episode "Iron Squadron" that Jun Sato had a brother. And we know from the entirety of the Clone Wars that Rex had a whole army of brothers.

Most of the time, the three of them (especially Sato) address each other by their formal titles. Occasionally, they call each other the words for "sibling" in their native languages.

Rex is the first one to do so. Sato reminds him so much of his old brothers that he accidentally calls him "vod" (Mando'a for "brother" or "sister" as Sabine later explains to the commander).

Later, during off-duty time, Hera calls Sato the Twi'leki word for "brother": nerra. This is again followed by an explanation from Sabine, who also mentions that Hera's called Zeb "nerra" as well. Sato is a bit surprised, but also happy. He hasn't really had any siblings, not since he lost contact with his own brother.

They all have a mutual respect for one another, in more ways than one: as the leaders of Phoenix Squadron, as friends, and as family.

[uncleasad]

So @unsiredtribrid had this great post last night that started with Josie x Finch but went much deeper to the real point, and I had a few thoughts.

There are so many great threads there I want to tease apart a little and expand upon.

I

First, the show’s handling of Josie’s love interests or possible love interests; the show had a terrible track record of taking Josie’s love interests and casting them aside.

In S1, her ex was Penelope, we didn’t learn much of anything about when they were together, and she left before the end of the season. Josie was crushing on Raf but Lizzie got to him first and “ruined” him for both of them, and even he ends up leaving at the start of S3 (the end of S2 as it was conceived). And of course the crush on Hope that we learned about and kind of simmered right up to the end, when Josie physically felt Hope being erased from her life.

In S2, Josie started the season with Landon, and he dropped her like a hot potato as soon as he remembered Hope (and then ran off on both of them, because Landon the Leaver™). There was the brief thing with Jade post-prison world/Dark Josie, and then Jade, too, left at the start of S3 (the end of S2 as it was conceived). And the crush on Hope (the Pig telling Red Riding Hope to kiss sleeping Princess Josie). Noticing a pattern?

Then in S3 we got Finch, who was extremely jealous and possessive and didn’t want Josie to help her friend [Hope] who had saved Josie (and her family and friends) over and over in the course of the past two years…and they fought over that often. Then, in a twist, Josie left her to go help Hope.

So the show had a bad habit of bringing in a random character (almost always recurring) that we never learned much about and then casting them off. Contrast that to Lizzie’s ultimate endgame, MG, who was a regular who lasted the entire series, and, at least for the first parts of the series, we saw some manner of development and character growth for both of them in conjunction with that potential relationship (MG liked Lizzie in S1, Lizzie didn’t reciprocate until S2 when he was with Alyssa…); it wasn’t super, but it was something.

II

So in the context of the first two seasons, fans were rightly upset about the unfair handling of Josie’s love interests? What was it about her that always made people want to leave? 😢

And, also in the context of the first two seasons, the writers had set up this long arc pulling Josie and Hope together. The mutual attractions, the close and intimate moments, the saving, Hope always choosing Josie/the twins over Landon, Pig!Josie asking Hope to kiss her (sleeping Princess Josie), and so forth. When S2 had its truncated ending with Josie’s fairytaleland mindscape…if you couldn’t see the Hosie of it all, well…what the hell are you doing reading this post anyway? 😂

And then, inexplicably, after setting up two main characters of Hope and Josie to have a romance, the writers decided to address their flawed handling of Josie’s past love interests by…bringing in yet another side character that we never learned much about (and checked that “person of color” brownie-points box while they were at it) and almost immediately putting them together. And the showrunners were somehow shocked by fans’ dislike of the resulting pairing.

You’re cooking a filet mignon for two seasons, and instead of giving us that prime, tasty, meal, you cut off the fat and toss it at us and want us to be happy about it? Are you fucking kidding me?!

It’s cool for Hope to have a long-running romance with another main character…if it’s a man. It’s cool for Lizzie to have romances with 3 main characters [Raf, Ethan, MG] as long as they’re men (only Sebastian was here and gone). But heaven forbid Josie get another main character for a fully-developed romance! Or Hope and Josie to get the romance the writers set up and teased across two seasons! This is where people rightly get upset about queerbait and scraps and just checking boxes…

I always go back to Buffy when I’m thinking about things, and (it’s been a while) there was a build-up with Tara. We learned about her. She supported Willow. She helped her grow. (Once again, they had the “luxury” of 22-episode seasons to develop things…) And even Tara’s death, as horrific as it was, kicked off an important arc for Willow and resonated long after. Finch was nothing like that for Josie. If anything, Hope was the Tara-esque person to Josie’s Willow.

So there��s that.

III

On the other side of things, as soon as Finch showed up on screen, I immediately said this is exactly the kind of person Josie would date in this situation (given the bizarre situation we had been forced into, with Josie and Hope going from almost kissing to not interacting for half a season). Because Josie Saltzman Has. A. Type.

An outsider, brooding, somewhat-dangerous, loner?

Hope Marshall, anyone? Our archetype.

Penelope’s a bit of a tougher fit, because we know so little about her, but she’s got the dangerous part, and she’s (when we meet her) on the outside of Josie’s social circle, at least.

Raf checks pretty much all of those boxes at the moment Josie meets him, especially as he’s separated from Landon at that point.

Landon’s another weird fit, but he’s been mostly an outsider, and the two are both “alone” when they get together. And maybe killing yourself repeatedly for glimpses of someone ticks brooding and somewhat-dangerous?

Hope Mikaelson…I mean…!

Jade’s a bad girl (maybe with a good heart) and an outsider at the point they get together…and she has clear echoes of someone else.

And then Finch, check, check, check, check. Josie’s type.

As much as I disliked Finch’s jealousy and controlling nature, her badmouthing Hope (whom she didn’t know, nor did she know Josie’s history with her), her unwillingness to fight for Josie, and the ultimate lack of chemistry when they were together, and in general her arrival/presence in the series as part of this bizarre hard-right turn in Josie’s behavior…

As much as I disliked all of that, I could have lived with the run of Josie x Finch that we endured if Legacies had gone on for another season—or Kaylee hadn’t felt the need to protect herself and leave—and we had seen Josie find her way back to Hope. People have bad, inexplicable romantic partners in the real world. Hope had a couple. Lizzie (Sebastian) and MG (Alyssa) had one. But you move on.

And when the writers have set up this epic love, one where they each go to the ends of the earth to support and save each other…and instead we’re left with a box-check-only relationship that feels like it has no chemistry…no, I won’t let people keep trying to gaslight me into believing table-scraps of fat are a five-star dinner when the writers repeatedly not only put filet mignon on the menu but also brought out samples and encouraged me to order it.