#it would STILL BE because Flynn was trying to take this responsibility fully onto himself

[goldentigerfestival]

Using this as an audio reference for the posts I'm making, but to summarize:

Yuri starts out mad.

Yuri tries to calm himself down with a deep breath to ask for details instead of going through it angry.

Flynn doesn't say "like a good knight" in the sense of putting himself down. He simply says "as a knight" (the tl here doesn't use that, but with that included it's basically along the lines of "even though I had doubts, as a knight, I was determined to follow my orders").

Once Yuri has answers he calms down significantly.

Yuri uses " 'ttaku", which is a shortened down version of "mattaku" (Yuri often shortens words and speaks very casually), which in this particular situation basically would mean "geez", or "good grief". In this manner, it's expressive of exasperation/frustration/etc.

Yuri never mentions that "Flynn told him what to do" like the dub does (because in fact Flynn did not ever tell Yuri what to do. He only gave Sodia and his other knights orders. He expressed his own desire to take responsibility, but never told Yuri and his friends what to do).

At this point you can tell the anger has gone out of him and that he's calmed down, now that Flynn is approaching this with admission and responsibility.

Sodia is asking that Flynn returns as soon as possible (I believe this was a general translation error).

Flynn's thank you to Yuri is tonally much more heartfelt.

Yuri's response and gratefulness at Flynn coming back to himself is tonally much more heartfelt, relieved and sincere.

[blush-and-books]

always you-shaped thoughts inside my head

so, we found wonderland, the amazing fanfic by @pink-flame ended this week. as a result of my deep and sorrowful mourning, i wrote a fanfic for a fucking fanfic. yes, everyone, we have reached that point. so if you’re one of the unfortunate souls who hasn’t read it then you can start here and do not read this if you don’t want spoilers babes!!!!

anyways, i don’t want to talk about how much i cried when i wrote this. moving on. title from find u again by mark ronson ft. camila cabello and once again THANK YOU @pink-flame FOR THIS WORK, I LOVED IT, I LOVE YOU, ENJOY

A/N: the first part of this is a reimagining of a scene from the story, and the second part is more of a deleted scene. grab tissues if you’re one who cries easily. also tagging @bluefirewrites because i kept texting you while writing this

Julie doesn’t know in what timeline she thought that going to the bookstore would be a good idea. 

Even with her back flat against the wall and Luke’s book clutched identically between her hands and the palms of every other eager fan in the room, she felt like she was too close. Like this was a mistake.

She was the one who insisted they don’t look for each other. 

But here they were. Him, with a poem that crossed time with the silent, lost plea for her to come back to him; her, who chose to answer the call even if she knew she shouldn’t have. Julie should have realized that she couldn’t avoid him forever. Their paths were meant to cross in every universe. 

When he takes the stage, she doesn’t shatter. Yet. 

People are swamped beside her and Flynn on all sides, and she still feels like it’s just the two of them. Once he’s in her line of sight, it’s only him in the room, only him that exists. 

In a world where she’s jumped to and from across time, Luke may be the most real thing she’s ever known. 

The words he says as he reads and answers questions hit her ears as just a series of tones and syllables that are achingly familiar. He’s laughing through one of the book’s anecdotes and suddenly she’s back in the arcade, laughing with him at the pinball machine. He’s talking about the rush of playing their first sold-out show, and she’s back in the greenroom as he heatedly kisses her up against a wall after she spent so much time fighting for him to love her again. 

He’s reading about his parents, and she’s back on that pull-out couch that was only comfy when he was in it; listening to him whisper about their fragmented relationship. 

But then a 20-year-old pokes him about the poem. And he says he loves her -- well, not explicitly, but he says it’s about love -- and the other shoe drops. 

Tears inundate her eyes. 

“I have to go,” her voice shakes as a sob threatens to rip through her words. Flynn offers to join, but Julie needs fresh air and to be alone and to just let her tears fall onto the asphalt of an alleyway without feeling the need to explain herself. She will always be alone in these emotions, in this heartbreak, and that’s okay -- she just doesn’t want anyone to act like they get it.

So she passes her book to Flynn, urges her to get it signed, and flees out the side door. 

Right before she’s out, the 20-year-old presses on about Find Me: “Well, what if they came to you now? What if they found you? Wouldn’t you be happy to see them?”

The exit slams shut behind her and she doesn’t get to hear his answer. 

--

“Well, what if they came to you now? What if they found you? Wouldn’t you be happy to see them?”

Flynn watches intently as Luke’s eyes darken. The book feels heavy in her hands, and she feels like she is suddenly intruding on an intimate moment between Luke and Julie -- even with Julie gone. 

She didn’t always understand what happened with her best friend. But this was clearly a mind, body and soul situation. 

Luke has to clear his throat and blink rapidly before answering. “God, sorry, that one caught me a little!” The audience chuckles. “No one’s asked me that so far on this tour. That’s a good question. I probably think about it more than I should, but… I mean, first of all, they wouldn’t come and find me. I know them well enough to know that Find Me just… Went out into the universe with no expectation of a response. But if they decided too, I… I’d wanna make sure they were happy. And I’d probably thank them one more time for everything they did when I was younger. I would probably be in shock, honestly. I haven’t seen them in a long time.”

Flynn is wiping her nose with a stray tissue from her purse before she can even register that she’s started crying. 

The random people in the back row with her send her strange looks, wondering why she’s getting so emotional, but hearing Luke talk about her best friend like that… 

“Do you still love them?”

God, this person won’t give him a break!

The rockstar visibly tenses up, and the easy grin plastered on his face breaks. That’s when his manager hustles onstage and announces that they are going to start the signing; and everyone needs to start lining up. 

Flynn has to fight to get farther up in line, but it’s worth it when she reaches him.

“Hi,” he smiles, “who should I make it out to?”

The word makes her tongue feel like lead. “Julie.”

His head snaps up, and he’s fully looking at her for the first time. There are a thousand Julie’s in the world, but he knows it’s his. 

“I’m her best friend,” Flynn continues, shifting her teary eyes down to her converse because fuck Julie wasn’t kidding when she said his eyes were intense sometimes. 

“Flynn.”

“Oh... She told you-”

“Where is she? Is she here?”

She’s not even looking at him, but he sounds so desperate, and the water in her eyes swells as she glances at the exit off to her side. “Not right now. But she wanted me to get this signed for her.”

Luke’s Sharpie doesn’t move across the inside cover. In fact, he’s frozen; staring off in the distance with what Flynn is sure must be a whirlwind of emotion that he didn’t ask for. Flynn isn’t sure how to handle it -- they’re in public, and she’s minorly concerned she just sent him spiraling, and they don’t even know each other -- but she feels the need to relay a message since he’ll never get to hear it from Julie himself. 

“She…” Luke looks back up at her; eyes boring into hers in a way that could tug the truth out of anybody. As she blinks, an enthusiastic tear drops onto her cheek, and she instantly lifts her index finger under her eye to catch anything else. “Fuck, my eyeliner. Sorry. Anyways-”

The words get caught in her throat again, so she has to take another deep breath. Helping star-crossed lovers communicate when they are almost thirty years apart is more emotionally taxing than she anticipated. 

“She’s really proud of you,” Flynn finally manages with a voice squeakier and higher than she ever wants to hear it again. Another tear falls from her other eye. “She loves y- your music, and hopes that you have everything you wanted and she’s so proud of you for everything you’ve built.”

At this point, the crumpled tissue in her hand has been helping her dry her eyes because standing in front of Luke Patterson and trying to tell him that the love of his life still cares -- still watches from afar, still wants the world for him -- is making her realize the emotional turmoil that Julie must have been feeling all this time. 

How did she do it?

In front of her, Luke is rubbing his hands over his face and audibly takes a deep, sniffly breath in. Turning to the same woman who got onstage to transition the event before, he informs her: “I need to get some air.”

“Luke, where are you-”

But he’s already forcefully pushing himself back in his chair, grasping the book off of the signing table, and darting out the same exit that Julie stormed through ten minutes ago. 

When the manager turns to look at Flynn -- she bolts away and towards the front entrance. If Julie and Luke are about to meet in that alleyway, she doesn’t want to intrude. Even if she already fucked up both of their plans to never see each other again. 

--

Julie is still hyperventilating and sobbing in the alleyway when the emergency exit loudly flings open against the wall of the bookstore. Her arms are wrapped tightly around herself with a childish prayer to have Teddy Luke in her arms, because at least then there would be a little piece of him to stay with her when the rest of him is gone.

She’s expecting Flynn, or an employee on their smoke break, but not-

“Luke.”

“Julie.”

A whimper leaves her lips at hearing him say her name for the first time in so long. His own eyes are glassy, and even though he’s so much older his eyes are still the same. He’s still her Luke, and that’s such a dangerous idea to touch in this timeline but she can’t let it go. 

“I’m so sorry,” she wails, trying to avoid looking at his heartbroken expression for too long. “I know, I said we can’t do this, I just-”

“Julie.”

“Did you want me to find you?”

Air puffs from his mouth in a harsh sigh as he takes a few steps closer to her; incredulously focused on the fact that she’s there, in front of him, real. “I- Of course, of course I did, Julie. I just didn’t think you’d come. But I wanted you to know I was looking.”

Her eyelids fall shut. More tears are pushed out, and she doesn’t know if she’s crying or laughing because of course Luke would look even when she told him not to. He respected her, and he respected her wishes, but he could never help himself from pushing the boundaries. 

Achingly, she’s always been so grateful for that trait in him. 

But now the two of them are awkwardly standing only a few feet away, and the urge to just feel him, assure that he’s solid in front of her is becoming all too real. 

Gravel rolls under the soles of her shoes. “I loved the book,” she confesses. “All of the stories. I mean, I’m sorry about the- About your splits-”

“I shouldn’t have even tried with them-”

“But everything else, just…”

How does she say it?

“When- Back when, in the other timeline, and you guys were ghosts… Those stories were the kind of thing you had always wanted. You were so determined to get it, and-” She sniffles. “I’m so glad you got it.”

His lips turn downward. It’s a flash of the familiarly frustrated Luke who is trying to make a tough decision, but in this case, she doesn’t know what that decision is. All she sees is the wince at her saying it was what he wanted, and how happy she was that he got it, and-

A conceited part of her contemplates if he’s about to correct her, tell her that life hasn’t been great, say that he would have rather had it differently; but he doesn’t want her to think her sacrifice was for nothing. 

Oh, God, please say he’s happy. She doesn’t think she could handle anything less. 

“It’s thanks to you,” he responds instead, gulping down any more that threatens to come up. “You saved me.” Beat. “Are- Are you happy? Is everything in this timeline okay?”

Well, in her head, not exactly. Of course she still had her dad and brother and Flynn, but Sunset Curve never stayed together, she erased Carrie’s entire existence, and everything felt just a little tilted on its axis. Julie felt like a stranger in a world of her own creation. 

She yearned for the days back in Wonderland where everyone belonged. They were a little scarred and a little broken, but they were home. Her house from the original 2020 timeline was her home. Luke was her home, and he was right in front of her; the only security blanket she has right now. 

Once again, she finds herself bursting into tears and wanting so badly to reach out to him, to give him a hug and tell him she wishes that she stayed in bed in Wonderland with him forever. She wants to jump back down the black hole and go back to 1995 when things made more sense than they did now and Luke could be hers again; and not a distant love that could never materialize in the present. 

Julie, miraculously, holds herself back. But watching Luke’s hands flinch at the sight of her crying doesn’t make things easier. 

“Please don’t cry.” His voice is a whisper but the words hit with a force that almost buckles her knees. “Julie, please, take a deep breath.”

She takes in a breath that makes her lungs expand into her ribs. “I’m happy,” she lies through her teeth as she breathes out slowly. “I’m happy. We’re happy.”

“Good.” 

Tears are running down his face. She recalls a time where it was easy for her to hold his face and swipe under his eyes with her thumbs until there were no more tears for her to kiss away. 

In unison, they clear their throats and shift their eyes. The air changes; they know they’re in a public place again, and Luke is an adult musician, and he’s with a fan. He holds his hand up, the one that has the book, and shakes it a little back and forth. 

“Flynn said you wanted this signed?”

A watery smile blooms on her face in spite of the bitter moment. “Yeah,” she nods. “Thought it could be another memento.”

To put emphasis on the idea, she lifts up onto her tiptoes and tilts her voice up. Make it a more positive moment. Don’t dwell. Stop crying. 

You can’t change things now. 

Luke pops the cap off with his teeth, and toys around with it in his mouth like it’s one of his marked-up guitar picks as he holds the book open and scribbles something (probably illegible) on the inside of the front cover. 

Then, once he’s done there, he starts flipping the pages around like he knows where every detail of the story is and marks up certain pages with… Something. She doesn’t know. After he’s made his wanted notes, he writes something out on the last page before firmly shutting it and returning it to her possession. 

“Thank you,” she smiles simply as she pulls the book from his hands and carefully assures that their hands don’t overlap. If she touches him, she falls apart. 

Luke hums in response. 

Stupidly, Julie decides that moment to open up the book and see what he wrote while he’s standing right in front of her. But she isn’t thinking about him, or looking at him -- she’s looking at the inside cover. 

We were always meant to find each other. Don’t forget that - please. 

Yours,

Luke

When a tear drops on the page, she quickly turns farther into the book because she doesn’t want her feelings to ruin his beautiful, even if messy, words. These words are all she’ll have after today. 

The few pages in the book that he made notes on were just little things that she never knew she needed to hear. 

The chapter about his first sold out stadium show? Thought of you the whole time

When he heard he was nominated for a Grammy? Wanted to call you first

The night he won his first Grammy? Almost thanked you in my speech

The last page he wrote on was the Acknowledgements page. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t that long. Luke kept a core circle of people and that was that. But below that short list, in bold, black letters:

To Julie Molina, who sacrificed everything so that I could be able to tell these stories. I wish she could have been a part of them. 

Her tears slip from her face so clear and quickly that she’s surprised her tear ducts are generating such a mass amount. The words replay in her head, in Luke’s voice, over and over. The affirmation that he wanted her with him all this time. 

But she had to go again. This had to be a one-time thing. This hurt too much for her to put either of them through it again, and besides -- now she had closure in his own writing; with her tears notarizing each word. 

“It’s time, Julie,” she mutters to herself. “It’s time.”

To say goodbye. Again. 

But Luke never answers. It’s dead silent, even though cars should be racing on the road behind them. When she looks up, Luke is frozen to the spot. Everything is, except her. 

“Time is a funny thing isn’t it? Just when you think you have a handle on it, it manages to surprise you.” 

It’s Willie, but not actually Willie. The one who was giving her the clues and trying to lead her in directions all over 1995; the one who she hasn’t seen in a really, really long time. For a moment, she doesn’t believe it. 

But he tells her that fate is in her hands. This is her choice. And despite the doubt that lingers uneasily in her chest, she can’t help but be desperate for this to be real. 

“Why not you? Who better than Julie Molina? Teenage girl with a good heart and music in her soul. Braver than most. Why not you?” 

Julie jumped across time to save her boys, and now she is willing to make the trip again if it means there’s a chance of saving them all. 

But there’s one more thing she wants to do. Just before everything either is perfect again or goes to complete shit. 

Spinning away from Willie, she takes a second glance at Luke’s still frame and softens her face into a smile. He had been looking down at her while she was reading his notes with tears in his eyes and a sad grin on his face. 

No one is looking or judging anymore -- so she stands on her toes and throws her arms around his neck, squeezing him close even if he can’t hug her back. She’s been dying to do this since she saw him in the bookstore. 

And it feels like coming home. 

“I’ll find you again,” she whispers into his ear that probably isn’t listening. “I promise.”

And without any more hesitation, she turns back to Willie with her chin up and shoulders back. 

“What do I have to do?”

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

The book never finds its way back to her the way that the bear does or the way that the ring does. 

But that’s okay, because the bookstore does, and she’s with Luke when she registers that they are walking by the bookstore on their way to meet everyone at one of their favorite diners. 

By now, Luke had been told everything. She felt herself starting to fall in love with this third Luke just as she had all the others, but could never tell if he was falling back in love with her. Julie found herself -- while this timeline was infinitely better than the old one -- pining for Luke to come back to her and love her like he did in two other lifetimes. 

Their hands were brushing each other’s on the sidewalk when the bookstore sign met her eyes. 

“Jules?” 

Her feet are glued to the cement; her eyes are glued to the alleyway. Luke approaches behind her and lays a hesitant hand on her shoulder. 

“Jules, are you- Is everything okay?”

“Can we take a detour, really quick?”

And suddenly, he’s letting her lace her fingers through his and pull him through traffic -- no crosswalk in sight -- across the street to stand in front of a bookstore that has zero meaning to him whatsoever. Julie selfishly revels in his calluses rubbing her knuckles and doesn’t make a move to let go unless he will. 

He doesn’t. At least, until they hit the alleyway.

“Julie, what is this place? Why are we out here? Is this… Did I like it here, or something?”

They never spoke much about the Luke’s of other timelines. Julie quickly caught onto the fact that he got uncomfortable when she talked about guys with his name and face that he knew virtually nothing about even though he felt pressured to know everything. 

But he dealt with her when she had moments like these. She never thanked him properly for it.

“It wasn’t like that,” she shakes her head, “we were here in the other 2020. The one where you were older, and this huge Grammy-winning solo musician. The one that was a result of what I did in 1995.”

The exit door is still rusty on the hinges. The brick is the same shade of red, and-

“Okay… And? What did you guys do?”

His use of third person is a clear message. “Him and I had made this promise in ‘95 that we wouldn't find each other, right?” “Because he would be old.”

“Yeah. But he published this book and had a whole signing tour called Find Me, and Flynn told me we should go, and… Basically, I had a mental breakdown at seeing him, and then he came back here and signed the book for me, and we talked, and-”

Her voice cracks. Her eyes feel wet. 

Fuck. 

Can’t she make it one timeline without sobbing in an alleyway?

A familiar hand rubs up and down her back as she stares, firmly, at the spot where her and Luke were so vividly standing and talking and pining for the other. 

“Jules, hey, look at me.” 

Because it’s Luke -- because it’s her Luke -- she listens to him, and rotates to face him. The soft fabric of his shirt hits her cheeks as he presses his fingers into the cotton and lifts his hand to wipe the tears from her face in a gesture that tempts her to cry more. Instead, she tries to laugh it off. “God, I really need to stop having meltdowns in alleyways, huh?” He stays quiet; looking at her in a recognizable Luke way that reminds her of all of their loving times in other lives. But she can’t get her hopes up. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t like when I talk about it. Sometimes I just-”

“You need to,” he nods. “I get it.”

Her feet are planted identically where they were in alternate-2020. But Luke is in a different spot, because this is a new Luke. One that’s right in front of her, lightly holding her arms; not one that’s a few feet out of reach. 

“He told me that we would always find each other.” Her voice is watered down, and quiet, but Luke is close enough to hear it. 

“Well, he was right, wasn’t he? We did it. For like, the fourth time, according to you.”

And then, she’s hit with a Luke Patterson smile. She sees it all of the time now but it never gets old because he’s young, and he’s happy, and he’s here. 

Her lips turn up to reflect it, and in a shocking turn of events: Luke instigates the hug. 

They are nearly best friends, so they’ve hugged before. But this one is different. 

His arms fold around her shoulders and tug her close and snug into his chest so that his chin is nearly resting on her hair. This leaves her able to press him close to her with her arms wrapped tightly and lovingly around his waist -- almost, dare she say it, like he was a teddy bear. 

“I never said I’m sorry,” he murmurs into her forehead. “Or thank you, for that matter.” “For what?” “I’m sorry you went through so much for me. For us. It still affects you a lot and I’m sorry you have to carry that alone.” His chest rises and falls under her cheek as he takes a deep breath, and she doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of feeling him breathe or hearing his heartbeat. “And thank you for loving us enough to do it. You sacrificed a lot.”

She is too choked up to verbally comment -- but she squeezes him tighter, almost tempting her arms to swish through him. 

They don’t. 

And Luke continues talking after a moment of a peaceful silence. “It’s kind of cool, though, for me to think about this person I have in the universe. You know? The whole thing with us finding each other. I always have you, no matter where I am. You’ll be out there.”

“Always,” she sighs into his chest, because she can’t help it. It took them a few tries, but here they are: In the same timeline, with full family and friends and lives, in a reciprocated hug. 

“Always.” Luke repeats the word, almost feeling it out in his mouth. “Well, thanks for doing it again. Maybe let me do the work next time. You need a break.”

God, this Luke is always so good at making her laugh. Ghost-Luke was, too, but the other Luke’s and her were always swept up in emotionally-taxing situations for her to be laughing like she could when she was with this Luke. 

It was almost as if this one had practice. Maybe those other lives were kicking in.

He was her final Luke, hopefully. 

As she props her chin up on his chest, she gives him the widest grin she’s worn all day. “I would appreciate that. Just don’t take too long.” Her forehead nuzzles itself into his neck as she settles herself back into his arms; fully content to be wrapped up in him for as long as he will let her stay. “I’ll get worried.”

A soothing hand over her hair is all the confirmation she needs. 

“Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll be there.”

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

I've been rewatching all the Loki content to get ready for the new show and I have thought of A Phineas and Ferb AU™ for your viewing pleasure (and if anyone wants to turn any part of this into an actual fanfic I would owe you my life)

this post was brought to you in partnership with @dumbausfromdanville

You know how the first Thor movie ends with Loki yeeting himself off the Bifrost and falling to earth? What if, instead of going after the Tesseract, he falls straight to the Tri-State area?

Jane, Darcy, and Selvig all seemed to be on vacation, right? So Thor presumably took place during the summer — say, perhaps, ending on June 3? So he falls right onto Phineas and Ferb's rollercoaster just before it goes down that ♫ three-mile drop straight down ♪. He has no idea wtf is happening so it's not like he gets the chance to sit down and put on a seatbelt, so he's stuck holding on for dear life for the entire rollercoaster ride which Phineas and Ferb find weird but they're not really concerned bc they're chill lil dudes and tbh this isn't too far off a normal day for them.

Phineas and Loki strike up a none-too-pleasant conversation (not that Phineas notices Loki's bad mood; he's too Him to realize not everyone is rainbows and sunshine all day, every day), and our favorite lil disoriented demigod has to figure out where the fuck he is now ("You there. What realm is this?" "Danville 🙂" "Wut da fuk?") and what the fuck he's supposed to do now that he's here.

Phineas ends up inviting him to hang out for the afternoon, and Loki is about to turn him down but then he smells the pie. He's never had doonkleberry pie before so obviously he has to try it. Then, when Loki's no longer hangry, they can hold an actual conversation. It's lowkey more Loki wallowing in his own self-pity than anything else, but Ferb recognizes Asgard when Loki mentions it so he and Phineas piece together that he's a god pretty quickly.

More importantly, though, they figure out that he's completely alone, and because Loki never mentions trying to, you know, murder his brother and lowkey overthrow the monarchy, they just kinda assume Loki's family sucks (Ferb is completely prepared to start the anti-Thor club but Phineas stops him because he doesn't want his brother to get struck by lightning) and adopt him (without his consent, but it's not like he has anywhere else to be -- and he did like that pie).

Loki has no desire to build anything with the boys He thinks the idea of a backyard beach they make the next morning is stupid — even more stupid than a regular beach, and that's saying something. But over time, he gets more involved -- not just with the boys, but with the entire family. He helps the boys build their inventions. He talks about human history with Lawrence and corrects much of his knowledge on mythology. He lets Linda teach him how to bake seriously, her pies are so good. He even suffers through Candace's mall trips as long as he gets to go to that fro-yo place on the second floor (though he draws the line at any conversation involving romance).

He's still a little skeptical of the platypus (and he feels like the platypus is a little skeptical of him, too) but Phineas insists that he's "just a platypus" and he "doesn't do much." Loki doesn't realize that Perry's keeping an eye on him for OWCA, nor does he know that Monogram has absolutely no idea what to make of the dude so he hasn't actually told any of his superiors about him. As far as the government is concerned, after the fiasco in New Mexico, Loki just disappeared.

This makes it fucking hilarious when the boys accidentally steal the superheroes' powers in Mission: Marvel and the superheroes show up at the Flynn-Fletchers' front door only to see fucking Loki. Loki just shuts the door in their faces without a word because what the fuck?, but eventually Phineas and Ferb go check the door and they agree to help the heroes (much to Loki's chagrin), which, of course, isn't complete with Candace fangirling over them (also much to Loki's chagrin; she never fangirled over him). At first the Avengers are fully convinced that Loki is responsible for stealing their powers, and Loki never actually denies it because he's a little shit but Phineas, Ferb, and their friends are very insistent that Loki didn't do anything (except a little bit of manual labor putting together the satellites because they're 10 and he's a whole-ass demigod).

At some point, Thor and Loki have a very heated discussion about the events of Thor, and it's pretty much all news to the Flynn-Fletchers and their friends. They're not really sure what to make of it so they basically glue their mouths shut and watch it all play out. I'd like to think it goes something like it does in The Avengers and that a) Thor is pissed because what the fuck have you been up to Loki you fucking dumbass, b) Thor has been in mourning since Loki yeeted himself into the abyss and he wants to make sure the guy knows it, and c) Loki does not take it seriously at all he's being antagonistic the entire time because he is so sick of Mr. High-And-Mighty's shit. In the end, Loki storms out of the SHEDquarters and Phineas doesn't even think to try to stop him until he's halfway out the door and it's too late.

He shows up again when Phineas, Ferb, and the Avengers try to fight the bad guys in the mall with the wrong powers and he basically singlehandedly saves their asses until superhero Perry shows up. As everyone's favorite shapeshifter, he has absolutely no problem figuring out that this beaver duck dude is the Flynn-Fletchers' platypus. He has no idea what to do with that information, but it sure is information that he now has apparently. (At this point, poor Loki has a very warped sense of what earth is supposed to be like lmao).

Phineas tries to get Loki to come back with them after superhero Perry grabs them and carries them home. Instead, Loki cuts himself loose and falls like 30 feet straight down (and tbh after falling from the Bifrost, that's nothing to him) and peaces the fuck out.

Loki ends up accidentally bonding with Candace and Isabella over feeling useless and unwanted (and he absolutely gets his own verse in Only Trying to Help because it's what he deserves), but unlike the two girls who are hell-bent on changing that, Loki is content wallowing in his own self-pity. He's tried this whole "being important" thing before and he ended up in self-exile for it. He's not putting himself through it again because he really doesn't expect it to end well. But then the powerless heroes decide to face the villains again, and with Candace and Isabella in space and Perry nowhere to be seen, he realizes it is once again up to him to keep the tri-state area safe (which he knows is a stupid priority but he's gotten kind of attached to these stupid little humans and he wants to keep them safe).

Then the heroes get their powers back and they join Loki (and Perry and the mysterious waffle gun in the sky) and beat the shit out of the villains. Thor and Loki work together in the heat of the battle which serves as a Great Bonding Moment™, and once the villains are gone, they have a nice lil heart-to-heart where they both apologize for their past. Thor remarks that Loki seems to have grown a lot over the last couple of months and tries to bring Loki home with him, but Loki refuses. He'll never be welcome back into Asgard, no matter what Thor may say.

But he is welcome with the Flynn-Fletchers, who are completely over the fact that he tried to ruin Thor's life and take his not-so-rightful place on the throne (except Candace who's very skeptical about having him back but it's not like Linda will believe her if she tries to tell her what Thor and Loki talked about so her opinion is unfortunately as irrelevant as it usually is on the show).

And early the next morning, before anyone else is awake, Perry gets an alert that he's needed in his headquarters (presumably to talk to or about Fury). He quietly sneaks off, only to find Loki waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him. They have a very nice "conversation" (not that Perry speaks) about the superhero Ducky Momo they saw the day before, and Loki assures him that his secret is safe, thus starting a much-needed bromance between Loki and Perry because it's what my babies, goddammit!

Anyways yeah if anyone wants to write a fanfic about Loki hanging out with Phineas and Ferb during his self-exile I would give you a socially distant high-five because I want to read it but I have too many other fanfics on my plate to start this one for at least a few months. It doesn't have to follow this prompt literally at all (I swear I wasn't trying to get this in-depth with it but this is what I do apparently) or it can follow this prompt exactly idc i just want a PnF/Loki fanfic 🥺

[riidcr-archive]

@illtakeyourthrone​ asked:  [ 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 ] My muse gently touches a bruise on your muse’s body   

            That wicked smile taunted him,    and just as if he was facing a snake each word dripped with a deadly poison.    Never in a million years did he see himself coming across that vile man again.    Working with him in the past was a   mistake   and he left that partnership as soon as he had the chance,    Eugene had many enemies and that man was on   top   of the list. 

           The hate was mutual between the two and in their anger it became unclear who attacked the other first,    oddly enough it wasn’t Eugene that started the fight,    given his short temper at times—    he only came in to check in when he was told they had caught a dangerous criminal,    who despite being   chained   was able to squirm out of the guards' hold in order to throw a punch at the captain.    Eugene staggered backwards as he evaded the first blow and before he could regain his balance he was pulled by the collar and shoved to the wall,    a yelp escaped him as his back hits the brick with great force.    The chain that was used to bind the hands that gripped his collar were now around his neck,    the man could kill him in any moment but something held him back    ❝ So you're on their side now,    eh Captain  ? ❞    the man scoffed with his   venomous   tone    ❝ Tell me what did you do ?    are they that stupid to believe you or do you really think you can be good,    start fresh.    I thought you were smarter than that,    people like us don't get to have second chances,    not after everything we've done.    You can pretend all you like but i know you...     Flynn Rider,    you're not a rightouse man,    you're just lucky.    In truth,    you're just as terrible as I am. ❞    he snickered and Eugene felt as if he was   boiling   at those words.

         ❝ I’m not like you. ❞    Eugene retorted with a growl and kneed him in the stomach,    quick enough to move and not allowing the man to fall back as he pulled him back on his feet in order to not miss his face as he he punched him with all his might,    at that he lets him fall,    thinking it would be enough to   shut him up   but there was that taunting smile again,    getting on his nerves    ❝ Son of a— ❞    he almost snapped as he found himself itching to punch that twisted smile off his face,    but before he could do anything more guards came and held him back from doing anything,    fully aware of what the other was trying to do    ❝ Forget it,    Captain.    He's not worth it. ❞    they said,    urging him to leave the issue to them and call it a day.   

            He wasn’t exactly calm when they let him go but he agreed,    finding himself unable to stay here a minute longer.    He can’t recall how he made it back to the palace,    he was too   furious   and lost within his own thoughts that forget to pay attention to his surroundings,    when he got there he headed straight to his room,    slamming the door behind as he entered.    He only bothered to take his uniform's jacket off then spent the rest of the time pacing about in the room.   Soon his anger fades into a certain kind of   melancholy   as he settled down on the edge of his bed,    sitting there for almost an hour just thinking.   

            A knock on the door is heard and he chooses to ignore it...    even if he knew who was on the other side.    He couldn't face her right now,    not like this.    But he was a fool to think his poor attempt would hold her back.    The door clicked after the second knock and there she was walking in without a premission,    she must have heard of what happened judging by the worried look she gave him,    she didn’t ask him to explain himself but instead asked if he is   hurt    ❝ I’m fine,    Rapunzel.    Really. ❞    he answered quitely,    barely putting much effort into the   lie    ❝ Let me see. ❞    the princess spoke again and he felt a pit in his stomach when he realised what she was aiming at,    she didn’t look at the bruises on his knuckles...    he knew what she wanted to see,    which meant she was there when it had happened and that made him feel awful.   

            He hesitated for a good few minutes then reached to unbottoun his shirt just enough for her to see the beginning of a big bruise on his side,    he took quite the hit and it was a   miracle   he didn’t end up with a broken rib.    Unlike what Rapunzel thought he didn’t wince or flinch away from her touch,    she tried her best to be careful as she made sure he was as fine as he claimed to be,    the only thing that   stung   was the sympathy in her tone that Eugene felt that he didn’t deserve.    It brought back the man's words that dwelled in his mind for the last couple of hours,    he was right and Eugene only snapped because   he knew   he was right,    he didn’t deserve this life or the woman that gave it all to him,    the only fate he was worthy of was the execution he was promised with numerous times.    ' You're just as terrible as I am '    his heart felt heavy as the words haunted him again. 

            It was not a kind of physical pain that made him so unresponsive,    Rapunzel seemed to understand that with how   distant   he seemed,    she may have said something and he couldn't quite hear her at first,    not until she cupped his cheeks with her hands and made him look at her,    his brown hues tore themselves away from emraled greens,    too   ashamed   with himself to look back,    still silent despite her attempts of getting him to speak,     he only did when the   guilt   in him was too much to bare.     

         ❝ Maybe he's right...   Maybe i can’t change.    I know i can’t put the past behind and pretend like it didn’t happen,    there's nothing i can do that will erase all the bad things i’ve done. ❞    he finally spoke,    his voice shaking slightly with the emotions he tried so hard to bury    ❝ You keep telling me to be proud of myself but there's nothing to be proud of,    im not a good person,    not with everything i’ve done. ❞    those were thoughts he didn’t share fully with her,    mostly because he didn’t wish to   burden   her with them,    what occurred today had clearly hit a nerve and he was unable to keep everything for himself this time.    ❝ what if he's right... ❞    he wondered again with helplessnes evident in his tone.      ❝ Then I'd still love you. ❞    he heard her say    ❝ Thief or Captain i love you the way you are Eugene Fitzherbert. ❞  

            Although the words were meant to comfort him he only felt   worse,    because when he finally looked back at her he saw the sincerity in her eyes,    she meant every word and that weighed heavily on his heart,    perhaps because he didn’t think so highly of himself...    She deserved better,    but she loved and chose him no matter what,    which made it difficult at times because he knew that the more she loved him the more he   feared   of   losing   her love.    He loved her   with all his heart,    and while he felt   blessed   to have her in his life and to know that she loved him back he didn’t quite understand   why   she did,    how could she love someone so   broken ?

            No reply is given in response to her reassurance and instead of saying anything he merely frowns and drags a bruised hand to wipe away a stray tear the rolled down his cheek,    he kept his hand over his eyes as more tears kept coming.    It seemed like a struggle to keep his composer but he only broke down completely when Rapunzel pulled him close into an embrace,    too weak to hold himself back as he sobbed quitely onto her hold.

[rufousnmacska]

Secrets and Confessions Part 4

A Crescent City Ruhn-Hypaxia fic

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

*****

Part 4

*****

“What the Hel, Danaan?”

Flynn turned the empty bottle of scotch upside down, letting what little remained trickle out. He caught himself before calling Ruhn a drunk. “I thought you’d at least wait for us.”

Ruhn ignored him and started up the stairs. He heard Dec come through the door and then the two males were whispering. He knew it was about him. But he didn’t listen. Didn’t care.

He’d quickly fallen back into old habits in the last week. Drinking, smoking, going to clubs or staying in for the parties his friends held here. He never did more than sit there, alone and drowning in scotch and self pity. Bryce’s growing concern hadn’t even been enough to snap him out of this.

Stumbling into his room, he fell onto the bed, fully clothed and soaring from whatever he’d just smoked. He’d almost forgotten how much he had always relied on this. But now, he actually kind of hated the oblivion. Sure, it helped him relax, helped him sleep.

But then, so had she.

And there’d been no nasty hangover from her. Just heartache.

Shit, he was pathetic. It was no wonder it hadn’t worked.

He looked around the room, his eyes losing and regaining focus on a chaos of clothes and weapons and equipment and junk. He’d once tried to imagine her here, in this bed with him. A laugh escaped his lips and he jumped, surprised by the sound.

The buzz of his phone made him flinch again. Wishing he could bash the fucking thing against a wall, he pulled a pillow up over his head instead. If he didn’t need it for Aux duties, he would destroy it. His only other responsibility was a joke. The Chosen One, Starborn Prince, Heir of the Valbaran Fae ... meaningless titles for a worthless little prince who was nothing more than his father’s lapdog.

He laughed again, thinking, at the very least, he was damn good at pouting.

Another buzz came, muffled by the pillow but still audible. Against his better judgment, Ruhn reached over to the bedside table, knocking empty glasses over in a blind search for the phone. When he got a hold of it, he took a breath before cracking open an eye to see who’d texted.

He was expecting Hypaxia. Not hoping. Expecting.

She’d messaged him almost every day with what he assumed were apologies. He never opened them, never replied. Never scrolled through the photos he’d taken with her. Didn’t care that it had been two days since her last text. He definitely was not hoping to see her name pop up.

But it wasn’t her. It was Bryce with the second of her twice-a-day check-ins to see if he was still breathing. Those were here exact words. Every time.

Hey!

Are you still breathing?

No, he wanted to reply. How can I with my chest caved in?

Instead, he wrote back

Yes. Contemplating a career change. Writing for Fangs and Bangs. Seems I have a talent for melodrama. Good stuff.

He imagined Pax laughing at that as Bryce replied

You??? Never. I’ve never once thought of you as a drama queen. Never. Never ever.

Seeing the word queen made Hypaxia’s presence in his thoughts pound like a drum. Or maybe that was just his fucking head.

Nice. So you inherited all of the dq genes from dad then?

She sent him a middle finger followed by a heart.

Hypaxia had never sent those kinds of things until he’d shown her how, telling her the double meanings behind some of the more innocent looking symbols. After a day or two of nothing but faces and animals and magical signs, he’d teased her, telling her he’d created a monster. Immediately, she’d sent a string of little beasts and devils. Trailed by a heart. The memory filled him with heat, and in a far off way, like he was watching himself from outside his body, he realized he was smiling.

As if summoned by his thoughts of her, his phone buzzed in his hand and notification of a new message popped up. Before he could stop himself, his finger hit the name Pax, and it opened.

I miss you.

That’s all it said.

Ruhn squeezed his eyes shut. And he saw her sitting in the sunny courtyard at her clinic, drinking tea and laughing. He saw her watching him from across a crowded room, her dark eyes like magnets pulling him towards her. He saw her writhing atop him, the curls of her hair wrapped around his fingers, her mouth open in pleasure. He heard her voice, the chords and notes so lovely and silky to his fae ears that her singing left him weak in the knees.

He saw her whispering with Ketos, heard them discussing his suitability for their fucking rebellion. Saw her flinch way from him in fear.

He stared at his phone, long enough for the words to stop making sense. And long enough again for their meaning to come back around. Something about the quiet simplicity of those three words moved him to type.

I miss you too.

Or maybe it was something about the high he had going on. Fuck him. Without hitting send, he shut the thing off and tossed it on the floor.

After another draw on his cigarette, Ruhn welcomed the oblivion, and finally fell asleep.

*****

The message was read. Unlike all the others, he’d actually looked at this one. Hypaxia watched and waited as the cursor flashed in a steady rhythm. He was replying.

The anticipation made her suck in and hold her breath. With each flash indicating Ruhn was typing, she imagined what he might say.

Fuck you was highly likely. Or some other curse. That wouldn’t bother her. She’d rather get an angry reply than nothing. Anger would eventually fade. Nothing meant he was done.

When her chest started to burn from the lack of air, she inhaled shakily, realizing her phone must be toying with her. A few moments later, the cursor disappeared and the only thing left was a read at 10:33 notice.

It was nothing, then.

Hypaxia looked around her empty apartment. The tiny place had never felt so claustrophobic before. Even when Ruhn had stayed over, taking up more than his fair share of space with his booming laughter and tall, muscular frame. Somehow, without him here, it felt smaller.

She was not one to mope. Even during those first few weeks grieving the loss of her mother, she’d stayed busy and focused. That loss, while devastating, had been the result of a prolonged illness. There had been time to prepare. Closure.

The loss of Ruhn had been like a blunt force trauma. It hit her out of the blue and left her with no means of recovery.

The severity of it, the fact she was even comparing it to her mother’s death ... That was one more weight added to her collection, dragging her ever downward. She had not realized how entrenched he’d become in her life.

The ring of her phone made her jump and she scrambled to answer. But it wasn’t him. And thank the damn gods it wasn’t Tharion. The mer meant well, checking in on her between calls about the rebellion. But she wasn’t in the mood for a pep talk, or to discuss strategy about the upcoming meeting with Jesiba.

“Hello, Bryce,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment that it wasn’t the female’s brother instead. “What can I help you with?” Hypaxia expected some medical question, perhaps a request for an appointment.

But instead, Bryce asked, “So what’s happening with my brother? He’s barely functioning and I was only just now told” - there was a muffled sound like someone being punched, then a gruff Hey! - “you might know why.”

“What do you mean barely functioning?” There was no hiding her emotions this time. “Is he okay?”

“He’s just wallowing,” she said, trying to sound dismissive. But she wouldn’t have called if she wasn’t worried. “I’d assumed it was from my father being a dick. But that’s an all the time kind of thing. And Ruhn is used to it.”

Hypaxia didn’t bother saying that no one would get used to the awful treatment doled out by the Autumn King. That was something the half-fae knew as well as her brother.

“I didn’t know you were seeing each other,” Bryce added.

Impossibly, her heart sank further. Their relationship hadn’t been front page news. But she’d thought his sister had known.

“Hello? Are you there Hypaxia?”

“Yes, yes I’m here. Sorry, I was ...” But she trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Bryce must have known what she was thinking because she said, “Don’t read into that. After you two first met, I could tell that he liked you. And while he’s annoying and feels entitled to know the details of my life, he hardly ever reciprocates. But, he’s been different these past few months. Happier and calm. I suspected there was someone new in his life. I just didn’t know who.”

Hypaxia was silent, recalling when they’d first met. Not officially, not with names. Or, at least assumed names. She hadn’t been in the city long, working at the clinic and responding to some of the more unusual calls for a medwitch at crime scenes, hoping to get more information about what was happening and whether it was a danger to her witches. She’d seen him in the news, had even seen him from afar on a couple of occasions.

But it was at the murder of the temple guard in Asphodel Meadows that they’d first spoken. Hypaxia remembered how intense Ruhn was, not just about gathering the details of the scene, but about his sister. Long before he knew of her true abilities, he’d been a protective, loving brother.

He’d enchanted her that night, despite the grisly surroundings. Apparently, she’d done the same to him.

Cthona, that felt like ages ago.

“Are you still there?” Bryce’s voice was quiet and gentle.

“Yes,” she replied. “Sorry my mind wandered a bit there. Uh, yes, we’ve been together. Until recently.” An overwhelming urge to spill everything to Bryce came over her. The rebels were off limits of course. But the thought of having a friend to talk to, a friend who might offer advice or just listen, someone who didn’t only see her as a queen … The cold emptiness she felt wasn’t just from the vacant apartment. Or Ruhn’s notable absence.

With a quick shot of courage, she said, “I can’t really go into details about the how and the why, but I messed up. And I’ve been trying to contact him to apologize but he’s not answering. Can you give me his address?” She faltered, and said, “It must sound ridiculous that I don’t know where he lives. It’s just that we always stayed at my place.”

Bryce snorted a laugh. “That’s not ridiculous. His place is a sty. Literally. Flynn once had a pig as a pet. And I felt bad for it having to live there.”

Hypaxia heard Hunt laughing in the background and she joined in. “That’s okay. I’m not concerned about the state of his house.”

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Bryce gave her the address for a townhouse near the Old Square then paused before adding, “I’d give it some time though. He’s pretty sensitive. No matter how hard he tries to hide it, he wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s one reason our father looks down on him. There’s no room for emotion in that asshole’s world. Whatever happened between you … maybe wait a couple of days.”

“Yes, I know,” she said, thinking of all those conversations, in writing and in person, where Ruhn surprised her with his sweet nature. No, not surprised. She’d sensed it early on. But his tenderness always seemed so disparate from his cultivated appearance. Which, of course, was the point. And, according to Bryce, not as successful as he thought it was. “Thank you. I’m leaving tomorrow to attend to some things at home for a few days. I’ll wait until I get back.”

“Okay. Good luck! Not that you’ll need it. He’s crazy about you. Once he quits sulking he’ll realize that. I only mean good luck about surviving his shitty house. Call me if you need help finding your way out of the mess.”

For a second, she wasn’t sure if Bryce was talking about Ruhn’s place or her life. But there was a smile in Bryce’s voice. And a warmth that spoke of genuine affection. As if they were already friends.

Laughing and thanking her again, Hypaxia said goodnight. Thinking of Bryce as a friend, as someone who liked her, apart from Ruhn, made some of the chill dissipate.

But only some.

Later, as she lay in bed, Hypaxia thought about the blinking cursor. It wasn’t just nothing. He’d looked at the message and wanted to reply. That gave her hope.

To be continued...

*****

Thanks for reading!

My fanfic master list on tumblr and my writing on AO3 (mostly manorian with a little nessian)

Tagging @itach-i @queen-of-glass

[melindacoulson4]

The weight of it all

Promo kiss + heartbreak.    Wyatt/Lucy   season 2

It’s me, here to bring the angst. Brace yourself.

“Lucy…..stop it.”

Wyatt grabs a hold of her left forearm just as she reaches the door knob with her right hand, intending to flee the hotel room.

She thought it was the right time. He’d just gone into the bathroom, so she’d gathered her things and made a break for the door. But, before she could even get a proper grip on the glass knob he was there to stop her. Of course he was. “Wyatt,” she warns while turning around and wrenching her arm out of his firm grip.

They’d already discussed this. Her mind was made up, but he didn’t agree. They’d been fighting about it for the better part of an hour. But, there was no reasoning with him. He couldn’t accept that she needed to do this alone. He insisted on going with her, but that’s the last thing she wants. To drag someone else into this mess, especially someone who has as short of a fuse as he does. “Will you just stop? Just take a second to think about what you’re doing,” he says sternly.

She knows what he’s trying to do, delay her for long enough that the window for action would close. Well, it wasn’t going to work. “I have thought about it. We’re wasting time,” she protests, voice shaking with each word, betraying her well-hidden feelings. Her patience had run out. All of the stress and guilt had already begun bubbling to the surface, making her feel hysterical. When she thought about what she’d done to him just a short time ago, how he would react later, it tore her up inside.

She can barely look him in the eye as she waits for the inevitable to happen.

The tears come without warning. Her gaze slips past him, landing on anything but him: the lacy material of the curtains draped over the window, the cherry oak bedside table, the god awful painting perched above the bed. As she tries her hardest to breathe deeply, to keep herself calm for just a little bit longer.

Her control slips the moment he takes a step toward her.

All he has to do is say one word and she’s drawn back to him.

“Lucy,” he whispers softly.

Her name falls from his lips and she has no choice but to look at him. It’s something magnetic between them that defies explanation.

Damn him.

It’s too much. The floodgates open and tears threaten to fall from her eyes as she meets his.

His fuming demeanor softens in that moment.

She hates it, hates the weakness that he somehow always seems to pull out of her. She can’t help being overwhelmed by everything. All of the events culminating: the past that they were in- that they’d entered from the lifeboat a few hours ago, this present moment, and the future that she knows will be tainted because of this night. Because of the events she’d already set in motion. The trust that they’d developed since the Hindenburg would shatter in a matter of minutes. She could sense it and it was taking a toll on her.

“Hey,” he calls out gently, placing a calming hand on her bicep. She deflates slightly in response to his touch. “It’s all I can think about….okay? This is my fault. They got Flynn because of me. I need to do this,” she tries explaining to him. “You don’t need to do it alone.”  “That’s the thing….I do.” She won’t get him involved. The risk is too high. If he helped her go after another key Rittenhouse member he’d surely wind up hurt somehow. “I can help…you know I can,” he tells her, gaze unwavering. She slightly shakes her head. He’d only succeed in getting himself killed. She wouldn’t let it happen. “I don’t need you to protect me.” 

He takes another step closer to her. “Maybe not, but I want to. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” 

Her eyes squeeze shut, his selfless devotion threatening to break her resolve. Don’t listen to him, she reminds herself. No matter how much she wants to believe him, to stop fighting him at every step, she can’t. It would be so easy to agree and let him in, but it wouldn’t work.

That’s just it though, nothing was ever easy anymore.

She knows what must be done and hates herself for it. Everything will change. He’ll hate her, but she’s willing to accept it. As long as this keeps him safe, she’ll manage.

Without another thought she closes the distance between them, throws her arms around his neck, and kisses him. Her arms hold him tightly, keeping him in place as her lips press into his. She feels him pause in shock and confusion probably, and then he responds. He tilts his head to the side getting a better angle to deepen their lock on one another. It’s nothing like their first kiss, the one they shared for the benefit of Bonnie and Clyde. That was gentle and oh so slow. This is rough and full of emotion, passionate. She presses her mouth against him forcefully and he sucks her bottom lip between his.

She could get lost in him, in the feeling of them.

For a moment she lets it wash over her, clearing her mind. She even pathetically pretends that this is real. She wishes that it was. If only things could be uncomplicated like this. If they could just be together, forget the rest and dive into it. She’d surely drown in him.

But, she can’t afford it. The nagging in the back of her mind reminds her of the responsibility she has. It’s something she can’t throw away, no matter how much she wants to.

The world was depending on them, on her to do her job- her duty.

She knows this can’t really happen.

A few more seconds of this, then she’ll break it off.

He steps even closer to her and grasps her hips between his warm palms. At first, he’s steady. Seconds later, she feels his strength begin to fade.

That’s what it’s all been about. This kiss was a distraction as she waited for the compound to kick in. She’d drugged his drink.

After fleeing from their latest enemy, they had come back here to wait for Rufus. This room was the designated meeting spot. Little did Rufus or Wyatt know, she never intended on waiting for Rufus to show up. She’d be gone before he got here. That’s why she’d offered to pour Wyatt a drink using the excuse that they needed to decompress. As she poured the bottle of scotch into two glass tumblers, she’d added a powder into his, gave it a swirl, and handed it to him. Intending to stay to make sure he drank it all, which resulted in a heated argument between them as they exchanged words about Flynn. That had been over thirty minutes ago. It all worked out though. After he’d said everything he needed to, she’d watched him knock back the remaining liquid in his glass before walking into the bathroom. That’s when she chose to flee, but he’d somehow noticed and grabbed her, which had resulted in all of this.

With them wrapped up in each other.  

His lips grow sloppier against hers causing him to pull away shortly after. The hands at her hips fall from her body as he stumbles backwards, suddenly losing his balance. Her hands grasp his button down shirt tightly as she steers him in the direction of the bed, hoping to ease him onto the mattress. “L-Lucy…what’d y-do?” He questions, words slurring together as his arms swing wildly behind him.

There’s nothing she can say. Even if she tried, the lump in her throat wouldn’t allow her to speak.

She lowers him onto the edge of the mattress, straining to hold his weight.

He slumps down, body now fully collapsed on the bed.“Wh-at,” he asks still confused by these turn of events.

Without breaking contact with his shoulders, her palms begin straightening out his shirt in a last ditch effort at affection. For some reason, it mattered a great deal to her that he didn’t wake up with wrinkles on his shirt. Maybe she was just desperate for an excuse to touch him for a little bit longer. Deep down she knows it’s true. That’s when she makes herself let go. She reaches lower on his body for the metal object secured at his hip. He stares at her eyes wide, desperately fighting against the effects of the drug, yet powerless to do anything. “St-op…sss-ss,” he insists, grasping for some type of control over the situation, but his mouth won’t quite cooperate with him anymore.

“I’m sorry,” she trembles while blinking back rapidly forming tears. She’s so sorry that she dragged him into this and wants to tell him so, but knows it won’t do him any good. Instead, she tucks his gun into the thigh holster she’d strapped to her leg before they’d even entered the lifeboat to get here.

“Don’t try to follow me,” she orders him, despite the fact that she knows he’ll do it anyway once the drug wears off. She intended on making herself sound strong and steady, but the words come out shakily.

That’s what happens after you hurt the person you care most about.

Darkness clouds over his features. Betrayal flashes in his eyes as they flutter closed against his will.

That’s the last thing she sees before rushing to exit the hotel room door. If she stops to think for even a moment she’d falter. Once in the hallway, she pulls the door shut behind her and feels the all-consuming, crushing weight of the guilt rain down on her body. She’d just lost one of the last people she had left in this world. She walks away with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Nothing will ever be the same.

//end//

[tylerhoechlin]

Back from the brink, Dylan O'Brien is ready to prove he's an action hero

or the past year, Dylan O’Brien has been in hiding. He spent most of his time inside his home in Sherman Oaks, wondering if he’d ever be the same person he was before the accident. Not just emotionally, but physically too: After major reconstructive surgery that left him with four metal plates holding one side of his face together, he feared he’d never look the same again.

“It’s a miracle, what they’ve done,” O’Brien says, placing his hand on his cheek. Indeed, the actor’s team of doctors must have done some incredible work, given the fact that he looks almost exactly as he always has — the boyish teen heartthrob who has amassed an army of young female fans since he began working on MTV’s “Teen Wolf” at age 18.

Of course, he’s 26 now, so he’s filled out a bit, and there’s also a hint of patchy scruff on his face. He had enough gravitas to him that the producers of “American Assassin,” which opens nationwide Friday, felt confident casting him as the grizzled action-hero Mitch Rapp — even though the character in Vince Flynn’s bestselling books was widely believed by readers to be in his 40s.

“American Assassin” is the reason O’Brien emerged from his self-imposed exile. He’d signed onto the film just a few weeks before he began work on “Maze Runner: The Death Cure,” the third and final installment in 20th Century Fox’s post-apocalyptic young-adult franchise. He was hoping “Assassin” would mark the beginning of a new period in his career. In 2017, after six seasons, “Teen Wolf” would come to an end, as would the “Maze Runner” series.

“I’ve never looked at myself as this pop candy type,” O’Brien says, peppering his speech with more colorful language. “I felt like I was more real than that, so I would get mad when someone would say [I was a teen heartthrob]. I’d be like, ‘I’m 19! I’m a stoner!’ I really resented that.”

He was so excited to begin work on “Assassin” that he fielded calls from director Michael Cuesta just as production began in Vancouver, Canada, on the final “Maze Runner” film. Together, they discussed how O’Brien would approach the character, a 23-year-old who is recruited by the CIA to hunt down terrorists after he witnesses his girlfriend’s murder at the hands of Muslim radicals.

“I spoke with him on a Saturday when he had just started ‘Maze Runner,’ addressing his notes and concerns about the character,” Cuesta recalls. “He was really excited and seemed like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to do this.’ I was like, ‘Pace yourself, dude. Take it slow. We’ll talk when you’re off this project.’ That was Saturday, and on Wednesday, I got a text from my agent telling me that this awful thing had happened to him.”

On the third day of production in Canada, O’Brien was performing a stunt that required him to be harnessed to the top of a moving vehicle; reports claim he was accidentally pulled off that vehicle midstunt and hit by another vehicle. As a result, he suffered “a concussion, facial fracture and lacerations,” according to a report from WorkSafeBC.

Fox put production on hold in March 2016, and O'Brien ultimately returned to set a year later — after he'd shot "Assassin." “Death Cure,” which was originally scheduled to open in February of this year, is now set for release Jan. 26, 2018.

“I didn’t really wake up or become cognizant, in a way, for a good six-to-eight weeks after it happened,” O’Brien explains. “And then I entered a really difficult phase. I just wasn’t the same person. Things happen to you after something like that that you just don’t have any control of. Your body is designed to react in a way to protect itself if you have a severe trauma to your brain.”

The actor is sitting at a hotel bar in late August, publicly discussing his accident for the first time. He’s been anticipating this day for months. He knew how it would go, meeting reporters at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, where he’s done press a handful of times before. Even though he was supposed to be talking about “American Assassin,” he’d also have to talk about what had happened to him.

“I hid for a long time, obviously. I was going through a lot and didn’t want anybody to see me going through that, I guess,” he explains. “But I’ve gotten to an OK place of talking about it all. I’ve had to come to terms with people asking me about what happened.”

In a way, he admits, he regrets being so private about what happened to him, given the rash of recent on-set stunt-related injuries and deaths. Last month, stuntwoman Joi Harris was killed while riding a motorcycle on the set of “Deadpool 2.” In July, a stuntman on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” died after falling and suffering massive head injuries. And actors have been harmed too: Tom Cruise broke his ankle while attempting a jump from one building to another on the set of “Mission: Impossible 6,” and filming had to be halted in August. And on the sets of two different comedies this summer, Rebel Wilson suffered a concussion and Ike Barinholtz fell from a high platform, fracturing two cervical vertebrae in his neck.

“It’s really disappointing, and I think things like that should really wake the industry up,” says O’Brien. “It’s really easy, sometimes, to get comfortable on a set and get into the groove and think it’s all make-believe so nothing bad can happen. As an actor, you blindly put your trust in experts — and if they tell you something’s safe, you don’t fully vet it yourself. If you’re young and inexperienced, that’s just what you’re taught to do.”

While he never felt like a “gun was to [his] head,” O’Brien admits he always felt responsible for performing his own stunts. He’d get upset any time he had to be replaced by a stuntman. When he’d watch one of the first two “Maze Runner” films and catch a shot of his double, he was irritated.

“It bugs you,” he explains. “You see it and you’re like, ‘Ugh, what the [heck]? How do people not notice that’s not me?’”

But if he knew if he was going to move forward with “American Assassin,” he’d have to approach his action sequences with far more caution than he ever had before. Once he decided to stay with the project — and CBS Films, the production company behind the movie, agreed to wait for him to fully recover — he began working extensively with action coordinator Roger Yuan to ready himself for the movie’s hand-to-hand combat scenes.

Not surprisingly, O’Brien says, there were strict parameters set in place by the film’s insurance company that dictated just how much he could do himself in the wake of his accident. But he was still eager to do the fight scenes himself, so he rehearsed them extensively — to the point, he says, where he literally could do the choreography blindfolded.

“You just want to know it to that extent so that everybody knows what they’re doing on that day,” he says. “And then when you get to that day and somebody says, ‘Wait, can we just change this?’ You say ‘No.’ Things like that, you’ve gotta stand up for. I’ve understood more of where my voice can exist. When I was younger, I used to just want to please everybody and not want to be an issue or not be considered a diva. I’ve just grown up and realized you have to look out for yourself and stick up for yourself and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Other protections were built into the production to make O’Brien feel more at ease too: His father, a veteran below-the-line staffer, was hired as a camera operator so he could be there if needed for his son. And “on the days we were putting Dylan in a situation that might make him uncomfortable, we took longer than we might normally take because we didn’t want to rush it,” says producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. “We were acutely conscious of not putting him in a situation where he could have an adverse reaction — a stunt that might rekindle something.”

O’Brien had also spent time readying himself mentally for the return to set even before production began, visiting with a therapist two times a week. It was there that he realized the similarities he now shared with Mitch Rapp, a character struggling to contain his anger in the wake of a serious trauma.

“It felt like this version of me at the time, always trying to hide from people,” he says. “I was in a really dark place. Obviously, I didn’t experience what he goes through, but that summer when I was in recovery, I was going through a lot. Funny enough, I felt so deeply connected to the dude, and I don’t think I would have known how to play him if this hadn’t happened.”

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether “American Assassin” will be the role to catapult O’Brien into adult leading-man territory. His young female fans are still ravenous, anyway: On set in Rome, they once became so intense that the actor was forced to move to a different hotel.

“I saw some fans outside afterward, and three of their moms gave me the finger,” says Cuesta with a laugh. “They hated me because I was keeping Dylan from them.”

The producers of “Assassin” are hoping the film does well enough at the box office this weekend to launch a new action franchise. O’Brien knew that was a possibility, and says he’d be happy to play Mitch Rapp again. But he’s also looking forward to doing something smaller — “finding the new generation of filmmakers and taking risks on guys who don’t have a 25-year résumé.” The idea of acting in a Marvel superhero film, he says, makes him shudder.

“It just seems like too much,” he says. “I don’t think I’m a person who could handle being that face, that star who has to be on every talk show every year. It gives you a lot of flexibility and freedom in things that you do want to do, but it also takes a lot of your time away. And just artistically, it must be hard to keep suiting up and be the same character again over and over all year long in a bunch of different movies. I would like to have a lower profile and career, in a way, but still do things that mean something to me.”

He’s proud of his work in “Assassin,” he says, but he almost doesn’t look at it as a movie.

“It was everything but, in a way,” he acknowledges. “Look, I was angry for a long time. But at this point, that’s not going to do anything. I have to process what happened and move beyond it, and I have. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but it’s provided me with a lot of growth and insight that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

[source: LA Times]

[anorptron]

The Down Fall of Good Men

Beck felt Tron's hand land on his chest, stopping him from falling on his face. Users. He did not want to be here again, especially not with Tron here.

Tron's low growl cut off his thoughts. “Touch him again and I'll derez you all.”

He heard the guard snort. Idiot, he thought. Only fools ignore a threat from Tron of all programs. But then again they didn't know that it was Tron's, if they did they'd be in a very different situation.

“Good luck with that, program.”

He felt Tron take a step forward, but the door rezzed before he could do anything. His mentor's sharp gaze immediately snapped to him. “You okay?”

“I'm fine,” He shrugged off Tron's concern, “They only shoved me.”

Tron gave a sharp nod of acknowledgment and began to search the small room they were in.

Beck sighed and sat down on the floor, leaving the bench for Tron. “There's no way out.” Users, he hated this place. The mechanic thought closing his eyes. He remembered Cutler sitting beside him, telling him the hope that he brought to him and others. Rilo in the cell next to theirs with programs he had never gotten the chance to know. They had still been in the beta stages of life. Derezzed for sport. His stomach clenched at the thought, it made him nauseous to think they had never gotten the chance to enjoy life. Because of him and his bold ideas of freedom.

“Stop, Beck.” He heard Tron say beside him. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Beck raised his head to raise a questioning brow in his direction.

Tron shrugged, “You told me once that this is when you comfort a friend.”

He let his head fall back onto the floor. He hadn't thought Tron had actually listened to him. “Do you mean it?” He asked after a beat of silence.

“Yes.”

The tension in his shoulders lessened. He didn't know why, but Tron telling him everything was going to be okay, made him feel better. If Tron thought it was going to be okay, then it had to be.

He heard Tron sigh, “Get off the floor Beck.”

Beck didn't look at Tron, “It's fine, Tron. You need it more than me.”

“Ow!” Beck exclaimed, his head shooting forward when something hit his head. “That hurt!”

“Then stop suggesting that I'm old!”

Beck grinned, “I'm not suggesting it.” He laughed, “You're old!”

Tron inwardly smiled, he successfully got Beck to stop brooding. “Keep it up and you'll be too scared to sleep.”

The mechanic rolled his eyes and let his head fall back while Tron sat on the bench behind him.

“Go to sleep, Beck.” Tron said quietly, “I'll wake you if anything happens.”

Beck appeared to do as Tron said, his body was lax as his head laid beside Tron, but his eyes popped open and his body tensed as he looked at the timer outside of their cell.

Tron rose to his feet. “What?” Body tense as he looked around for the threat.

Beck forced himself to relax. If Tron knew what happened, he'd go berserk and damn them all. “Nothing.” He lied, a reassuring smile on his face, “I just remembered that Mara’s going to be pissed at me.”

Tron's eyes narrowed, “Do not lie to me, Beck.”

Users, he felt as sick as a virus at having to lie to Tron. “Trust me.”

He watched Tron stiffen in the corner of his eye. It was his turn to reassure Tron, “You're going to get out of here, Tron.”

He didn't know why Tron stiffened more, he meant what he said. He was going to get Tron out.

Beck stood as the clock struck the new micro. Tesler would be here in mere nanos, prepared to take away the unlucky program deeper into the ship. To have unknown things done to them. Most didn't survive the first round.

Tron winced as the grid screamed to him, Run! Protect the young one! Monster!

Tesler.

Tron yanked Beck behind him. He was not going to let them touch Beck.

“Stop.” Beck’s breath was warm on his ear, “It's okay, Tron.”

Liar!

Suddenly the walls in front of them disappeared, but no program moved to step out. In fact, they seemed terrified to move.

“Programs!” A voice that was the unmistakable voice of Pavel rang throughout the speakers, “Who would like to volunteer today?”

Tron tensed and his fingers itched to draw his disc, as he watched programs back away from the door.

Behind you!

Tron began to turn but was pushed further into the cell. He was confused until he saw the cell door rezz shut. And Beck was on the other side.

“I volunteer!” Beck's voice rang throughout the cells, no one ever volunteered. They all knew it was a one-way trip.

No.

Tron's shaking fist slammed on the light wall. “Stop!” His voice had begun strong as if he was giving a command, but by the end, it had turned into a shameless plea as he begged like his life was ending. “Stop! Stop. Please, Beck, stop.” Tron gasped for air, not caring that his voice was cracking or that he was crying. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that Beck was sacrificing himself and there was nothing that he could do.

Beck struggled to breathe as Tron begged for him to stop. Every word was like a punch to the gut. Tron wasn’t ever supposed to sound so scared. Tron wasn’t ever supposed to beg. He didn’t even beg when he was being tortured. But he was begging now. Like he was in the worst pain he could ever experience. Like his world had come crashing down and he couldn’t do anything to fix it.

With clenched eyes and sweaty hands, he forced himself to not look back. It was too risky, he might lose his nerve and try to stay. And that would put Tron at risk. He couldn’t lose his resolve. It would cost Tron his life, and that was not an option.

“I’m sorry.” With a heavy core that rivaled his mounting fear, he stood tall and allowed the guards to cuff him and force him to his knees. He could hear Tron’s roar of rage as the guards dragged him out of the cell room. Finally, once he was almost at the door did he look back, his gaze latched onto the last time he’d see his mentor.

Tron collapsed to his knees the moment the doors slid shut behind Beck. Why would he do this?

Tron turned as a voice spoke to him. “I'm sorry for your loss.”

Users please no.

The old program dropped onto the bench. It was too much. The grid screaming at him, Beck sacrificing himself, his grief was too much.

Tron sat there as if he was frozen, his eyes never straying from a spot on the floor.

Trust me.

You're going to get out of here, Tron.

Tron.

“Tron.” He blinked as a hand shook him.

Beck.

He pulled the younger program into a tight embrace, this idiot boy. The embrace didn't last long as Beck hissed in pain and wiggled out of the hold.

“What did they do to you?” Tron's voice was dangerously low, like thunder after lightning struck.

Beck ran his hand through his hair and tilted his head and allowed Tron to fully see his body.

His face was almost completely purple. His right wrist was bent at an unnatural angle and he kept the other arm wrapped around his stomach. He had open wounds on his knuckles, chest, and legs.

“They beat you.” He stated numbly, beginning to pace. “They beat you.”

Beck grimaced and shook his head. “They ‘tested’ on me.”

Tron froze. “...They did what..to you?”

Beck winced at the pure astoundment and unaltered rage in Tron's tone. “They wanted to see how long a healthy program could last against outside pressures. This time it was other programs. Next time-”

“There will be no next time!” Tron snapped. “They aren’t ever going to touch you again!”

Beck winced as he shrugged, “So long as I go, they don’t send you to the games, and you aren’t tested on. So, yeah, I’ll go next time. And maybe you can get out when they open the cells.”

“And leave you?”

The younger program looked away and that’s answer enough.

Tron reached out, careful to avoid Beck’s injuries, and placed a hand on Beck’s arm. “I’m not going to leave you here. Do you understand? Either we get out together, or we don’t get out at all.”

Beck peered up at him, “When did you get all sentimental?”

“Sometime after I met you,” Tron replied, guiding Beck to the bench. “You’ve got that effect on programs.”

He snorted in response before he groaned.

Tron instantly, gently helped him lay back onto the bench. “Why in Flynn’s name did you do this?”

Another groan escaped Beck, “I already told you. To protect you.”

“I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around,” Tron told him, hands carefully inspecting the bent wrist.

The mechanic whimpered when Tron touched his stomach, “I'm not sorry.” He said softly, weakly batting Tron's hands away.

“Stop.” The monitor responded concern flickered in his eyes. “I need to see how badly you're hurt.” Beck grimaced but stopped fighting Tron.

To say Beck was in bad shape was like saying Clu likes perfection.

Tron had nothing to use to bandage his cuts or slow the bleeding he didn't have anything to check Beck for internal bleeding or a concussion. No ice pack to soothe Beck’s bruises. No chamber to heal his wrist.

He had nothing.

Tron looked up from his prodding when Beck took a chest rattling breath. He needed a healing chamber.

Beck’s eyes bleary looked up to him, “It hurts.”

“I know, I know.” Tron soothed, thumb rubbing the back of Beck’s neck. “Go to sleep. I’ll get us out of here.” He paused, “I promise.”

Beck nodded, and his hand loosely latched onto Tron’s wrist. “Wake me for the next round.”

Over my dead cubes. “Sleep, Beck.”

-

Tron looked up from where Beck was asleep in his lap to the countdown. It was almost time. And if Beck thought he was actually going to let him go in there again, he had another thing coming.

Carefully, he slipped out from underneath Beck and knelt down beside him. “I’ll come back. I promise.” He whispered, voice soft and warm. “Just stay alive. Please.”

Tron let his head rest against Beck's forehead. Frown deepening as he feels the heat radiating from it. “If you die-” Tron closed his eyes and took a breath, “-wait for me.”

Behind him, he hears the cell doors power off. It was time. “See you soon.” The monitor stood and walked out of the cell. Only once he was in the room where they beat Beck, did he allow his rage to consume him.

Beck blearily peered towards the door where his mentor was covered in red and orange cubes.

“They're dead.”

The younger program closed his eyes and nodded. “Can we go home now?”

Tron nodded back, as he bent down to pick Beck up. “Yeah, Beck, we can go home.”

Beck ducked his head underneath Tron's as his mentor picked him up.  “...you  lied to me.”

“Oh?”

“You were supposed to wake me for the next round.”

Tron readjusted his hold on Beck as the younger program curled up closer to his chest when the cold air hit them. “I never agreed to that. In fact, I recall telling you that they'd never touch you again.”

Beck shivered, eyes drooping, “I'm sorry.”

“For what?”

“Lying to you. I knew you wouldn't have let me go if you had known. I'm sorry.”

“Just-” Tron sighed, “It was a noble thing to do, it's something I would have done. Just, please, don't do it again. I thought you were dead, Beck.”

Beck doesn't respond, there's not much he can say to that.

Tron awkwardly rezzed a jet before easing Beck into a seat and buckling him up. Right after, Tron sat down and begun the flight towards the hideout.

“Are they going to come for me?”

“No.” Tron told him, “I handled it.”

Beck doesn't question it. Instead, he relaxes as best he can without upsetting his wounds. A hiss escaped his lips when he moved the wrong way.

Tron glanced to him, “Lay on your back,” He instructed, “It'll take the pressure of most of your wounds.”

It was silent after Beck readjusted himself, save for his labored breaths. Until Tron spoke again. “Thank you, I didn't say it earlier, and I should have.”

“W’lcome,” Beck mumbles as he drifts into sleep mode.

Tron shook his head fondly, noble idiot. Before focusing on the clear sky around them.

[inkwellco]

FOCUS ON... JOHN HARLAN KIM

Our latest 'FOCUS ON' feature interview is with  Australian actor John Harlan Kim. Kim has journeyed from the familiar sights of Ramsay Street on Neighbours, to become a valued Librarian on the hit TNT show, The Librarians.

Hi John, how’s your visit home been? Unreal! Always good to get home for the Summer and see all my mates and the family. Mom was stoked to have me back but now I'm pretty sure she's getting over it and probably ready for me to head back to the States!

We’ve just seen the season 3 finale of The Librarians. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster. Your character Ezekiel has grown over the years, matured, what’s the journey been like over that time? It's weird. Here's a character I never thought would grow. It was apparent that he suffered from some type of Peter Pan syndrome. But over the seasons we've seen more and more that it's just a guard he has set up and I think people can relate to Ezekiel in that way, that having walls up is a normal human thing to do. He has the most to prove yet he acts like he doesn't care but we're seeing more and more that he truly does care, especially about his new family.

Can you relate to Ezekiel in any way? I've grown up with the show myself so that's probably one of the coolest parts, to not only see Ezekiel grow up and mature with each script but also needing to have to do that myself albeit on a less grander scale because obviously I'm not fighting dragons and minotaurs in my personal life. My problems are a little more realistic like trying to score a date or not over-cooking my eggs.

Has there been an episode that stood out as a favourite? Point of Salvation. Hands down. The cast were so supportive that ep as was Jonathan Frakes and Jeremy Bernstein. They put me in an environment where I felt confident enough to make choices and take creative risks. I think it all came together really well in the end and I couldn’t be prouder.

Tell us about your relationship with the other Librarians. Lindy [Booth] and Christian [Kane] set great examples for me, they’re always there for me (Lindy & Rebecca have even housed me at one stage) and they’re just good people to be around. And with Noah [Wyle], I couldn’t be more amped to work with. He’s phenomenal at what he does and I have a lot of respect for the way he handles the pressure whether as an actor, producer, director or writer. He’s awesome. I really couldn’t be in a better position with the cast I have.

And the dynamic between the Librarians and their Guardian, as well as Jenkins? It’s a great technique, incorporating different roles to cover a variety of plot lines. Rebecca Romijn and John Larroquette make it way too easy to play! They’ve both had long and successful careers in the industry and it was easy to see why from the moment I got to Portland. I love working with them. It’s fun because you’re right, when we have such a wide variety of plot lines to cover splitting up the team becomes necessary to keep on top of it all. Every script I get, it’s exciting! One day I’ll be sitting on a magic council with Larroquette, the next I’ll be beating up zombies along with Romijn!

The episodes are always so unique and interesting, when you first read each script how do you feel? I’d imagine much like the audience, fascinated, but excited as your character experiences it. One of my favorite parts about the whole thing is getting the next episode’s script. The writers on our show are top flight and they do a spectacular job in conveying their vision onto paper and keeping things fresh and interesting! Like I mentioned, you don’t know what you’ll be doing or where your character will get to travel to, all you know for sure is it won’t be boring!

There are some harder themes, for example in season 3 the team deals with the resolution of Cassandra’s tumour. In contrast, what was it like filming those scenes? As a viewer it was tense! To an extent, it definitely felt like a shock to the system! Showing up that day was such a different type of shooting day for us. I wasn’t used to coming in and filming something so somber but being the incredible talent she is, Lindy absolutely killed it!

Were there any other scenes that presented a challenge in terms of emotional response? Like the finale? Yeah I mean Flynn’s ultimate sacrifice was rough. And I had already read what was going to happen and I still got anxious watching it! That and Charlene’s goodbye. Jane Curtin’s a star, I loved having her around.

And what about training for the more physical combat roles, what was that like? Did you enjoy it? Definitely. I got to live out a bit of a youth dream with that vampire ep. And to do it alongside Christian Kane who is well-versed in vampire combat himself. I mean, come on! How lucky am I!? Our stunt guys Tim Eulich and Buster Reeves were a dream to work with and they’re absolute legends as well.

Over the seasons, what’s one of your favourite moments working on the ‘The Librarians’ set? My first day. Noah Wyle and the jewel theft scene. It still feels like a dream, such a surreal moment. I haven’t lost that feeling yet and I hope I never do. I never want to be jaded.

Do you have an idea as to what The Librarians will go through in the upcoming series? What would you like to see happen next, for all the librarians and specifically Ezekiel? Zero idea. They’re good at keeping pretty secretive about all of that stuff. I’d love to see Ezekiel continue to evolve into the Librarian he’s going to be someday. He’s far from being fully-realized and has the most growing up to do so to see him take that next step would be awesome.

The Librarians has been renewed for a fourth season, what do you think makes the series so successful? Our showrunners. John Rogers and now Dean Devlin. They’re the pulse of the show. I don’t really need to say anymore, they’re extraordinary at what they do and they’re two of the best men I’ll ever come across, by every measurement of the word.

Is there any other role you’d like to take on from a book or comic? Or another series you’d also like to be a part of? Amadeus Cho. I’ve always wanted to be a humungous, green giant.

Did you always want to be an actor? I decided at 15 I wanted to be an actor so I took a class, auditioned for my first gig and booked it. I then took that pay check from my first acting gig, coupled that with money saved from working at a charcoal chicken store and flew to New York in my school holidays. I knocked on the door to a film school building in Manhattan and told the concierge I wanted to be an actor and he told me to go find my parents. I think he thought I was lost.

On your down time what other things do you enjoy doing? I love shooting hoops, hitting the water and playing video games. I picked up boxing a few months ago too but my heads so big, it makes it ridiculously hard to dodge punches.

How does working overseas compare to working here at home in Australia? The biggest difference I’ve found is the pacing. I can’t speak for either industry as a whole but my experience on Neighbours was a much more fast-paced environment than something like The Librarians. It was actually a fantastic way to learn to nail your first few takes and within that, I found preparation was key so I make sure to show up to any set now with my lines absolutely ingrained into my brain so that the real fun can begin once you start shooting.

What advice do you have for actors, especially Australians wanting to make it in the industry and overseas? Trust your choices. It’s so easy to second guess if you’re on the right path or not but just back yourself and everything else will fall into place.

And finally, what can we expect from you next? I’m actually in the middle of editing my first project right now so I’m hoping to complete that before we start work on Season 4! Way too excited to see that finished and then to get to go back to work with Dean & the gang is going to be an absolute blast as always!

Thank you so much for your time John. We can’t wait to see you on screen in 2017!