#the day he died caleb lost a part of his heart too

[sepublic]

            I’ve already brought up how the loss of glyphs is deeply tragic for Luz on an interpersonal level, given her relationship with the Titan as being kinda found family in a spiritual successor to Manny sorta way…

            But on a larger, cultural level? It’s straight-up genocide. Because glyphs were an ancient practice; They were a tradition at one point, as Eda explains. The earliest witches used to learn glyphs from the Titan on her knee, and eventually stopped when that became redundant with the more convenient source of their bile sacs.

            But it was still an important part of their history; It was how witches and demons first communicated and interacted with the land and nature, and their ‘god’ in a mutualistic way. It was how they respected their world.

            So even if glyphs were evidently forgotten by the Deadwardian Era, they were still available for those who needed them… And in comes fucking Philip, the racist colonizer, and because of his possession of the Titan’s heart, she finally dies and glyphs can no longer work. They’re obsolete now.

            They still happened, but now that part of magic, of history and this world, is gone forever. It’s cultural erasure, it’s what Luz alludes to when she mentions how scars from Belos’ reign still remain, like the left arm being permanently shifted upwards; Who knows how many were displaced, how much the local flora and fauna and ecosystems were devastated, with the desert of Palm Stings now colder than even the knee itself?!?

            It’s just so deeply painful because Luz really helped to bring back an ancient, lost tradition and unlike Philip, breathed new life into it; Glyphs could be used to help people without bile sacs, who didn’t utilize spell circles as well. We actually saw Luz experiment with using individual glyphs, and figure out the combos; Things she did on her own. She shared knowledge of glyphs with her loved ones, like Eda, King, Lilith, Gus, Amity, etc.

            There really was going to be a return of something lost, but now it’s gone forever because of a bigoted old white man who was too bitter about things that are different and needed to feel big and important by standing on the shoulders of others. It’s cultural genocide. That memory where Belos' destructive lies about wild magic drive witches away from the knee that they still had the potential to learn from, leaving behind only ruins in the present-day? With some murdered via the coven sigils that cut them even further off from their own magic they forgot glyphs for? It's truly symbolic of the final nails in the coffin.

            And it’s also desecration of the dead, too; Caleb is not the only one to have had his corpse bastardized by Belos, misused against everything he stood for. Belos also misused that corpse, first by stealing the Titan’s name, then misusing her magic, her resources such as Palistrom wood… And finally possessing that body literally, which is what murders the Titan. It’s like colonizers bastardizing and salting the land that locals carefully maintained a proper relationship with, and keep in mind this fucker is a literal Puritan colonist. There’s no respect, not for the dead and/or past. Compare that to Luz, who lives on in Manny’s memory and makes him proud.

            I’m just imagining Caleb and the Titan watching, in agony, as their bodies are used to create a vicious mockery towards their actual kin, who remain totally unaware, and in the case of the Grimwalkers, it’s another lineage that is also abused. Meanwhile the Clawthornes remain unknowing of their past because colonialism erases history, hence Belos hiring Flora, and hell even getting Lilith to participate in her own historical erasure, as both Clawthorne and witch!

            Meanwhile, King remains oblivious and unconnected to his own heritage. And most of that can also be attributed to the Titan Trappers and Archivists, themselves perpretrators of genocide. So King and Eda go without knowing their heritage for so long, in Eda’s case she may never find out entirely, because it’s part of the many voices who are lost and silenced due to genocide, buried in the past to be forgotten.

            And you know one thing more that fucks me up? It’s that I genuinely suspect that Philip initially had it easier with glyphs than Luz, and that he made them more difficult for her. Because based on his dialogue by finding the Ice glyph in a snowflake, and his diary and memory portraits showing him arriving in the isles via Eclipse Lake, at the Knee…

            Philip was probably shown his first spell on his first day in the Demon Realm. And it makes sense; The first human, the precedent that the Titan would’ve known by this point, was Caleb; Himself Philip’s brother, who was also raised to be a witch hunter, yet learned better. We know people can view both worlds from that in-between realm, but the Titan still isn’t omnipotent and can only watch through a limited number of cubes at a time, while having to know what and who to look for.

            But even so; With Caleb’s precedent, there could’ve been hope that Philip would follow in his footsteps, that he would learn and be more, and actually choose to be better instead of defaulting to Puritan predestination and the like as an excuse to stay the same and absolve him of responsiability. But we know what happened; Philip started off easy, but then made things difficult by rejecting the Titan’s compassion, by misusing her magic for evil and murder and genocide. The Titan showed Philip compassion first and this was how he responded.

            I really feel as if there’s an implicit reluctance with how Luz is taught glyphs, one at a time, in separate scenarios, usually as a result of character development and/or engaging with the world around her, which are things the Titan would really need to see to start trusting another human again (and if he knew Luz gave Philip the last glyph, that would also add to the wariness that Belos caused by manipulating her). Luz didn’t learn her first spell until a few days into her journey, and Luz had already had a few perilous encounters by that point! But she continued to brave her way through everything, continued to accept the isles and its messier side.

            And so the Titan showed Luz her first spell, and only that, in response to Luz needing it, wanting to learn magic, and most of all humbling herself to be kind to the Titan’s own son, and listen to him; Because neglecting King was what low-key led to Eda’s transformation placing everyone in danger, since he only told Luz about the elixir and agreed to steal it for the sake of getting her attention.

            So that makes Luz listening to the Titan for the first time, intentionally, with her second spell –Ice, Philip’s first- so much more hard-hitting. The way she wanted to live out her dream so she went for the wand behind people’s backs, but then recognized and owned up to her mistakes. And she really was just a lonely kid in need of guidance, and not a stubborn adult committed to his cruelty; Luz always had an open mind! She always wanted to learn!

            And she got to! She learned each glyph at a time… And that’s all the Titan could do for her, something the Titan had already done for so many others, long ago, before they realized they had bile sacs and didn’t need to rely on the land around them as much. Luz still experimented even when she just had one glyph; She understood how intent mattered. She and Lilith built off of each other’s knowledge to collaborate and create combos. Meanwhile Belos, he agonized because he made things pointlessly difficult by refusing to adapt to the ways of another land, and only got his first and last glyphs by taking the compassion of someone who knew them and betraying it.

            Plus there’s what I said about Lilith, her whole thing as Caleb’s descendant, directly abused by Belos and belittled by him, made to participate in her own erasure loss of past, separated from that… Really, one could argue the Clawthornes are like the Boiling Isles equivalent to the Irish; Yeah they're white but that doesn't mean they aren't victims of British colonialism that sought to 'conquer the land' and all that.

The Clawthornes are generally known for big orange hair, with Lilith's curly hair being straightened and dyed dark-blue in an attempt to assimilate within the Emperor's Coven's (AKA Philip's) standards of conformity. They worked with the land via the Palistrom carving and began to lose that because of the trees being endangered by Belos' gluttony, as well as the curse disabling Dell; The very curse created by the Archivists, who also invaded this world, the very curse cast by Lilith because the coven system influenced her to feel shame over wild magic and embrace hierarchy instead.

The curse leads to Eda's loss of bile magic, something very important to her and witches in general, and Lilith loses her own trying to mitigate her own mistakes. So not just glyphs are taken from witches, but even their own bile magic they initially replaced them with, and the other resources of the land. And Lilith is cut off from her family, her real family, as she's taken in by an ancestor who has deliberately distanced himself and loathes her on multiple levels as something to be 'fixed'.

But Lilith gets her hair back and re-embraces it, she gets her family back. She still manages to somewhat retain her past; After all, Lilith gets to go to the Deadwardian Era herself! And she meets, as much as it loathes anyone to acknowledge it, an ancestor, and influences history in a subtle yet personally meaningful way. And Lilith helps re-establish contact with the lost practice of glyphs by figuring out how to combine them, which goes hand in hand with her passion of being a historian, and her additional function as both parallel and especially foil to Philip.

             Just… Luz and the Titan. And Caleb. And Lilith. There’s dead people and there’s history and there’s land, there’s bodies and respect. There’s compassion and actually working with people and finding no shame in that, instead of stealing and taking credit. And in the end, even though they manage to regain some things, a lot was still inevitably lost to genocide, and possibly gone forever.

            But the effects and legacy still linger, Luz still remembers and holds dear what the glyphs did; And she honors not just Manny’s legacy, but Caleb’s, by bridging the gap between humanity and witches, and showing both can co-exist in harmony. She helped his descendants, and even the last Grimwalker, find happiness and reconnect with their heritage, even if they don’t know just how close it is to them in particular. Luz honored the Titan by clearing his name, finding his son, and ensuring the last of the Titans is no longer alone and in understanding of his heritage. Luz even made amends with the Titan’s other greatest regret, harming the Collector, by making peace; And she proved glyphs were still useful, they were still kind, and that compassion wasn’t wasted.

            So even if the Titan’s glyphs are gone now, Luz still honored their memory by sharing them freely and helping, teaching, cultivating. The Clawthornes are rebuilding the Palistrom forests, among them is Hunter who as a Grimwalker was one of the purposes for which Belos devastated those natural resources for. And King… King is beginning to develop his own glyphs! And Luz is learning her first one, Light, from a Titan all over again, because she showed King kindness.

            That honors the Titan’s memory by keeping it alive through her son; Who keeps the memory of glyphs alive through the ones he’ll sustain and share with everyone else, and those glyphs will spread to those without and even with bile sacs. And a lost art is brought back, irreversibly different but still intact in the important ways. People are relearning old practices to apply to a new world, because the past is gone but it still lingers and is simply… reborn. Despite the scars and changes it survives and is still itself.

            And with how all of this loops back to Luz’s relationship with her father Manny, who passed away, and how all that was based on Dana’s own relationship with her deceased father, who left her a final gift in Pokemon Red that she chose to cherish to this day, and embrace her own creativity and keep it alive. It’s a story about things dying but still managing to live anyway.

[demigoddessqueens]

Sorry but got another one 😂😂😂 it is kinda angst and dont know if it possible but what would the might nien reaction be if they accidentally kill their love?? Like either they are under a spell or you are??? I am just very curious and I know that you will write it perfectly 🤟🤟🤟🙌 hopefully I will be reading something sad or happy if they somehow save them soon ❤❤

Love your writing as usual and keep it up 🥳🥳💝💝

Oh The Mighty Nein!!! Don’t break their hearts ♥️ 💔 (but thank you for this ask). There is a slight change I’ll make: not so much death, but a close call that could’ve been fatal in the heat of fighting someone or something else off

Caleb always seems to be in control of his fire. Yet, the one time he slightly loses control trying to help you in a fight, it haunts him. He could have hurt you, if not worse. He almost lost you…., and for a good while he keeps his distance. It takes you and Nott to try and coax him out.

Yasha does not show her fear but the day you almost get caught into the crossfire is one of the few times she shows it. She’s already lost one loved one from before. She won’t take that risk with you.

Beau is caught up in the heat of the fight and she knows from before that they can be lethal. A current enemy or some thug from her past tries to hurt you or even lays a hand on you, it’s game over for them. That being said, if you’re caught in the midst and almost hurt (if worse) she’s so regretful and constantly checks to see how you’re doing.

Fjord loses a bit of himself while fighting, and if this warlock ever accidentally caught you in the crossfire he’s a fumbling/stumbling mess. The warlock orc checks up on you in a heartbeat with a flood of “are you alright? Are you hurt?”. Once the battle dies down, he keeps his distance with a somber “I could’ve almost kil—“. You hold him close before the dark thoughts creep even further.

Jester almost has a bit of fun when she’s fighting, so sure of her skills. That being said, the day she doubts her skills is when her aim almost hits too close to home (you) and your wide-eyes stare still haunts her. You try to calm your anxious tiefling, knowing it wasn’t intentional, but she has yet to stop shaking.

Nott/Veth knows she wouldn’t willingly hurt you and if there’s ever a time where that’s occurred, be sure to comfort this sweet goblin. She’s been ostracized before and couldn’t bear the thought of her own loved one being away from her for a misunderstanding.

Essek tries to protect you and Caleb both from an intruder. In the heat of the moment, he almost hits you and his moments with you flash before his eyes. In the wake of the arcane outburst, he sees the intruder down and Caleb wrapped around you protectively. The Druid stands frozen in place with his hands shaking until he feels you wrap your arms around him. “It’s ok, I know you were just protecting us.”

Cadeuces knows he’s skilled but even the most skilled can have flaws. The one time you almost got caught in his fatal spells, you see that confident mask slip. The mage constantly checks in on your welfare and holds you close with a quiet barrage of “I’m so sorry”.

Mollymauk has lived before and fighting is always a part of that. He’s carefree in his fights but it changes during one certain fight. He’s sure he’s facing certain death with Lazlo’s blade pointing at him until he hears your war cry. In a flash, Lazlo is taken down and you stumble triumphantly to your tiefling. You’ve never seen him this serious before and you get a scolding from him, but you also hear that faint protective desperation in his voice.

[vegalocity]

Princess Phoebe AU (Updated)

Her name is Phoebe.

She woke up the first time she could remember with her father hovering over her, worry and fear on every part of his face. And Phoebe hadn't known where she was or whom was looking over her. Father had called forth her cousin and he'd lifted her up, carried her to a room they told her was hers, then Father had told her Cousin to leave them alone so they could speak in private.

Father explained everything.

Her name is Phoebe Wittebane

He was her father, Phillip.

They were them two the only humans in a world of monsters. Thorugh many trials and tribulations, many sacrifices just for Father to stay alive, he was working on a way to get them back to where they belonged.

He told Phoebe that she was the daughter of his heart, but not of his blood. She had been found in a special place at the head of the titan. He'd been looking for a being called the Collector that he was working with to bring them home, and as he'd come he'd seen terrible demons trying to devour this precious infant. One he hadn't even realized was one of his own until after he'd saved her. So of course he'd taken her under his care.

He'd named her Phoebe as she shined like the sun, and he wanted all to know her light.

He informed her that her Cousin was the son of his brother Caleb. She'd never met him, Caleb died before he found her, betrayed by the mother of his own son, And Father told her that all Witches were like that. Horrible deceitful betrayers. He worried over Hunter, Caleb's son and her Cousin, that his half-witch status might make him something different. So he'd made him The Golden Guard of their little swatch of the world.

He had come into power in their temporary home by sheer accident, that the world had become convinced that he could speak to the bones of their dead god the Titan. And he'd found himself unable to do anything but agree. He'd been named Emperor Belos long ago.

So she could only call him 'Phillip' in private. Only when it was the two of them. But any time she could call him father. In fact he encouraged her to call him father all the time!

Princess Phoebe of the Boiling Isles now, in a few months, Phoebe Wittebane, daughter of Witch Hunter General Phillip.

Phoebe checked herself in the mirror. The gauntlets that hid the painful scars the witches that had taken her memories from her had given her were nice and in place. As was the gorget around her collar hiding similar burns.

Her long chestnut brown hair was pulled back into a series of complicated braids to look princess-like, gold and red jewels standing out against the dark, one of which being the illusion charm Adrian made her that made her ears look pointed.

And of course, the most important part of her wardrobe, the golden circlet around her forehead. The ruby red gem right in the center of her forehead. Marking her as a princess.

Sometimes it almost felt like the circlet was magic too, at least, it felt almost like it was jolting her when Hunter would look at her like he was holding back a mountain of apologies. Or that time Steve had brought in a wanted poster for the Owl Lady and it felt like her entire brain got full of static... Father told her the Owl Lady and her friends were the reason why she'd lost her memory, and that was probably a trauma response so she dismissed that.

Sometimes her name didn't sound like her name.

Sometimes she'd be lost in writing her stories about the Good Witch Luzura and her lover the Good Witch Mittenia that people would call out 'Phoebe' multiple times before she'd realize someone was talking.

Once she'd gotten so into Luzura's head that someone called her 'Luz' and it got her attention immediately.

But it was okay. It was all okay. This year was the year. The Eclipse was soon. The Day of Unity would come, and she and Father and Hunter would all go home. A home Phoebe didn't remember of course. But that was fine.

Father remembered enough for the both of them. Remembered enough about Phoebe, about magic, about everything.

Phoebe trusted her Father, of course she did.

Why wouldn't she?

Her name is Phoebe.

[saphirered]

We've all seen fics where Caleb's SO dies and gets resurrected, and we seen Caleb accidentally hurting his SO, but what about Caleb accidentially killing his SO? Maybe Reader got burned by one of his fire attacks? The revival's successful, but damn, the angst.

Angst was requested and angst you shall receive. I hope this is to your liking. 😘

Trigger warning for death and grief themes.

Caleb sits on his knees, head bowed, whispering pleas in Zemnian to the gods, the world, to you, your cold hand encased between his own, occasionally pressing a kiss to it in the hopes you’d just wake up. But you’re not going to wake up. Not in the way you would in the morning when you’ve had a particularly late night and Caleb has to drag you out of bed, you being stubborn or pretending to still be asleep so you maybe could convince him to join you for a little more. Not in the way after you got knocked out in a fight, when you sit up and rub your eyes with a grunt like usual. Nothing within his capabilities will wake you up.

So here Caleb sits, begging for it to be a nightmare, some sick and twisted tricks played on his mind but there’s no denying this is real and this is the truth. You’re dead. You’re dead and it’s his fault. You ended up as collateral damage in his reckless attempt to kill the creature. You got stuck in the crossfire of that. He hadn’t realised you were doing so bad already, you even sent him a wink right before when he asked if you were okay. Why did you? Why didn’t you just tell him you weren’t? Why did you lie? Not lie, omitted the truth.

He knew exactly why you did it but that doesn’t make it any easier. You’d known the other’s weren’t doing great and barely holding on already. You were severely outmatched and couldn’t get away from the creature. Not without it chasing after you and running you in an even more perilous situation. Anything Caleb could do would affect anyone close to the creature. With Yasha having dragged Beau out of the fray you were the only one left to hold it at bay while the clerics worked on patching them up, Fjord and Veth offering them cover. You were the final line of defence. At the end of the day you had to keep the clerics alive.

Caleb took a calculated risk. A fireball to send the creature dropping into the ruined depths of Aeor. He had tried to keep you out of the range but wouldn’t have been able to strike the creature without putting you at risk. The spell worked and the creature got hit with full force. It was your attack right before the fireball struck that had send it stumbling, then with the blast, it lost its footing and stumbled off the edge.

But you too, dropped. and when you did, the creature’s tail lashed out, grabbing onto your body, dragging you with it. The creature had hit the platform below in its fall and the impact had made it release you, saving you from the full drop. Caleb had rushed to the edge, fear, pain, anger and guilt riddling his mind thinking he had truly lost you but there you were, bloodied, bruised, broken and burned. Because of him. All because of him. How could he have been so stupid and reckless. When he brought your body back to the others, he wasn’t quick enough. You’d already faded into the cold embrace of the Raven Queen and the clerics had expended their last resources.

So that leaves Caleb here, sitting at your side a day after you died, body preserved by the graces of Caduceus and the Wildmother. The clerics set up their ritual, working around him and you as the others help where they can. Beau and Veth had tried to console him, tell him it wasn’t his fault and if he hadn’t they might all have been dead right now. He appreciates his friends trying but it’s of no use. He already made up his mind and it’s not going to change anything. You died because of him. He murdered you and how is that any different than his actions in the past? How does that make him any different than the lives he’s taken in the clutches of his former mentor? Is there truly no redemption for him? You’d slap him for even thinking that way.

“Mr. Caleb? Why don’t you try talking to them? Persuasion has worked in the past to coax someone back.” Caduceus places a hand on the wizard’s shoulder but it barely registers. Yet the firbolg knows they did not fall upon deaf ears when the whispers stop for just a moment.

“I-. I do not think they’d want to hear from their murderer.” Speaking the words make them so much more painful. By the looks of it, Beau is ready to unleash in a degrading rant about how wrong Caleb is, breaking him apart only build him back up but she’s held at bay by Yasha. This is not the time and place. Caduceus doesn’t claim to know what Caleb’s going through, nor may he be the brightest mind here but he understands and can empathise.

“I know no matter what I say it won’t change your feelings so instead I will offer you this. You owe it to them to try. Not for what happened here but for the countless times they’ve been there for you, have had your back, and for the unconditional love they’ve given you. You owe them to try.” The wizard looks up over his shoulder to the firbolg, pain in his eyes, and the trails of silent tears that have long since run out. Caduceus is right. He owes it to you to save you and right now it is within his power to try. If he doesn’t, if he fails he’ll have condemned you to this fate. If he succeeds with this part, he’ll be able to look into your eyes again. You may never forgive him but he hopes to see you smile, hear your voice even if just once more.

Caleb nods looking back at you, bringing your limp fingers up to his lips and pressing them against your knuckles. He takes in a deep breath and tries to find the right words as Caduceus steps back. What are the right words? He cannot afford to fuck this up. He cannot afford to fail. He must succeed. He must.

“I know I might be the last person you want to hear right now. I want you to know I’m sorry-“ Caleb’s voice cracks as he feels the eyes of the others on him. He brushes some of your hair away from your forehead, running his thumb across your cheek.

“I don’t-uh. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know if I can do this. You’re always here for me during difficult times. You’d put your hand on my cheek and tell me ‘If anyone can do it it’s you, Caleb Widogast. You could move mountains if you set your will to it. Now stop being stubborn before I slap some sense in you.’ but now you’re not here to tell me that. You’ve shown me there’s a world beyond the walls I put up, that there is a light at the end of that tunnel, but now I cannot help but feel the world has grown dull, the walls are caving in, and that light is fading.”

“I have no right, no right to ask you this, but I need you to save my world one more time. So please, I beg of you. Do not leave me to brave this world without you.” The weight of his heart heavy on his conscious. Caleb feels a pressure causing a ringing in his ears. He’s so focussed on you, he cannot take his eyes off you. Not even when the others do their part in the ritual. He realises this pressure is coming from the effects of the spell to bring you back. He holds his breath, not daring to take in oxygen if only to savour the moment, hoping it will not pass, that for just a little longer he can hold on to the hope you’re coming back instead of having that hope crushed by a potential failure.

The pressure fades but nothing happens. Nothing changes. It’s silent as everyone waits for something, anything to happen. That moment alone feels like an eternity of suspense. Caleb finds himself whispering prayers and pleas in Zemnian again, your hand clasped between his own as he squeezes his eyes shut tightly to live through the memories of you, preserve them for the rest of his life just in case because he refuses to forget even a single one of them. He’s so consumed in his own mind he doesn’t notice warmth returning to your fingers. He doesn’t notice your chest beginning to rise and fall. Caleb’s pleas continue.

“Would you mind translating that? I think my brain got a bit scrambled.” Caleb freezes and his eyes open. Your eyes are closed but your brow is furrowed. Furrowed in discomfort. Not sleeping and not void of your usual expressions. Colour has returned to your limbs and face and no longer dulled. Caleb falls silent in disbelief, frozen in place and mind blank.

“Caleb?” You speak his name, peaking through one eye to see the wizard in his disheveled state. You sit up, grunting in pain. Apparently being brought back from the dead isn’t kind on your physical form, not even mentioning the exhaustion weighing on your mind. You could sleep for a couple of hours… or days… or weeks… You could do with a break really. All of you could. You nudge Caleb’s head up by his chin allowing your fingers to slide onto his cheek.

“Blink twice if you need me to get Beauregard to slap you back into reality.” You muster a smile as you brush your thumb over his cheekbone. Caleb doesn’t understand how you’re not recoiling in disgust or lashing back in anger. He doesn’t understand how you can look at him with love and kindness.

“I’m so sorry. Please-“ Caleb goes off in a spur of apologies, begging for your forgiveness.

“Caleb, I love you but you really need to stop. This is a problem for another day.”

“You died. I killed you. How can you even look at me like you do?”

“So what? I died. I’m here now. I got better. Now preferably I’d like to not die again, some things are beyond our control. And if you need some kind of reassurance; Veth killed Cad that one time and he doesn’t hate her.” Veth yells a ‘hey’ in defence while you earn a chuckle from the firbolg. You know Caleb isn’t just going to take your word for it and you’re also not going to make anyone buy you’re totally okay with just dying and being brought back to life because you’re not but you also know that you can’t blame Caleb for being a factor in what happened when you yourself were aware of the risks of the situation you were in. You made your own bet and it didn’t pay off but all your friends are still alive and well, Caleb’s still alive and well and that alone makes it worth the risk you took.

“You have no idea how much I love you.” Caleb breathes as he pulls you into his arms with a gentleness as if you’re made of porcelain, or will fade out of existence if he holds on too tightly.

“I think I have a pretty good estimate but we can compare notes later if you’d prefer.” You pull back enough to look at Caleb’s face, brush aside some of the red strands and softly place your lips on his. It’s not a heated kiss but one filled with emotion and a desperation no less. Neither of you thought you’d get to be in each other’s arms again but here you are despite everything. Maybe your work here isn’t done yet. You still got some asses to kick.

[khadij-al-kubra]

Storytelling, Fate & Happy Endings

I’m still processing last nights episode (CR C2 Ep140), and much like every critter I’m SUPER emotional about it. But something about last night’s events and how they played out really got to me, not just as a fan but also as a storyteller. And even the day after, i was actually crying (still am crying in fact) more than i did last night watching it happen. At first i thought it was because i’m a fairly new critter and this is my first time watching a campaign come to an end. But the more i think about it and process, the more i realize that’s not just it. This effected me as someone who deeply believes in the power of storytelling and how it can not only effect but reflect the world around us. And because I have to get them out of my head, here are my thoughts on why last nights episode was so important, not just for CR fans but also as a an important narrative for right now.

...Yeah that’s a bit vague, isn’t it? Okay, let me explain. If you’re willing to take the time to read fellow Critters, I greatly appreciate it in advance. ^__^

WARNING: Major spoilers for CR Campaign 2 Episode 140 ahead. Also it’s gonna get kind of meta. And long. Because i have a lot of thoughts & feels.

So I think it’s fair to say that, as much as we would’ve been devastated by any of the M9 perma-dying in the last battle, part of us wasn’t expecting them all to make it out of there alive. Not even the players, I think, despite how much they likely didn’t want that to happen. Just look at the half-resigned way Liam talks about Caleb in the last few Talks Machina episodes. Or how, in game, Jester was fully prepare to die trying to stop the city from coming back. And for a while there, it seemed like some of them might not survive.

But then they did. Despite so many crappy rolls throughout the night they stopped Lucien, set free all the souls trapped in Aeor, saved Exandria, and brought each other back from the dead. Not only that, but they also did the impossible: They saved Mollymauk. Their lost friend who had such a deep impact on all of them even after his death. The delightfully charming asshole who was so full of joy and life and who, despite how the world treated him, was happily determined to leave every place better than he found it. Moreover, they almost didn’t succeed! But then they did, all because of teamwork, love and one last minute ditch effort ‘what-the-hell-have-i-got-to-lose’ dice role that none of them saw coming. And now they get to go home together, truly as The Mighty NINE.

Just this once, everybody lived! We got a happy ending!

And that’s HUGE in game...but also think for a second how that reflects outside of game too. Do you realize what a story like that means to people, especially given the year from Hell we’ve all had?

Think about it. This past year the world has suffered. We’ve all been impacted by the pandemic in some way shape or form, either on small levels or large. Our world has been at war with a virus that effected everyone and everything: Our sense of safety. Our health. Our economy. Our families & friends. Our freedom. (in the sense of our ability to travel & just be in close proximity to people without fear, but i digress) Deeply imbedded social and systematic diseases have been brought further to light in the past year and a half largely because of this virus. Some of us have lost people we love. Hell, the pandemic even effected the way that the latter half of Campaign 2 played out because of social distancing protocols. If you further compare this to Campaign 2, the world of Exandria was caught in the middle of a war that started because of social & systematic corruptions that had been rooted in two opposing kingdoms for years. And so many suffered and died because of it.

Then the Mighty Nein comes in. This ragtag group of delightful assholes with nothing to lose; these flawed but inherently good at heart and deeply human adventurers, broken and lost in their own ways, trying to make a home and family for themselves in a world that took advantage of them or left them alone or said they weren’t good enough...and they changed things. 

They grew. They fought back. They found moments of silliness and peace and joy and fun amidst all the strife and sometimes grief. Most of all, they tried. Sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of spite, sometimes even out of compassion, but mostly just out of love. And in the end, not only did they help people and stop a war for the sake of their loved ones, but they also saved their world from being destroyed by a rotted perversion of life from the past that threatened to consume everything they cared about. AND they STILL managed to bring everyone in their found family back to life. Does it erase the bad and sad things that happened to them? Hell no! But those things don’t negate the fact that in that moment, they made it out okay. That this was a victory and they won!

Think of what a story like that means to people right now.

I’m personally a pretty spiritual person, and much like our favorite clerics, I also believe in a higher power. But whether or not you also believe in a Divine being, the Universe or whatever, every D&D player believes in one thing: Fate. Luck. Call it what you will. But it was fate that made those dice rolls that saved everyone happen. It was fate that not only stopped Cognoza from returning, but also brought Jester and Caleb and Molly back to life, even when it seemed like it wouldn’t work. (and holy shit that gave me emotional whiplash!) 

After everything they went through, both individually and together, the Mighty Nein defied the odd and demanded that Fate let them save their loved ones. They demanded that the world give them back their friend; That they deserved to have their happy ending & get to go home alive together. Just. This. Once.

As a writer, I know firsthand that there are some stories we find and create ourselves, but then there are stories that have a way of finding us. Sometimes a story or world or character from somewhere in the Aether will pop into our minds one day and say, ‘I need your voice to tell my story.’ Maybe this is just me getting carried away with the meta brain again. And like i said, i’m a spiritually inclined person, so I believe in things like Fate and a Divine Higher power writing out the stories of the Multiverse. If you’re reading this (and thank you for taking the time to do so) maybe you do too. Or maybe you don’t. Either way, if you’re a fellow critter, then you’re clearly a fan of good stories and/or playing Dungeons & Dragons. So you know how fate/dice roles have a big impact on the outcome of a story, regardless of how tightly written a setup the dungeon master makes. Given all that and how organically stories tend to play out in D&D, I genuinely believe that Matt Mercer and the whole CR Team were meant to be conduits for a story where the flawed heroes save the world AND all make it home alive.

And I think Fate knew that we needed last nights battle to end like this. After all the crap we’ve been through this past year, we needed this happy ending, deserved it even! Not just us critters, the CR team too. As much as we all like to joke that Campaign 2 was secretly scripted, we all know that’s not true. Yes, the setup storyline and world were brilliantly crafted by Matt, and the character roleplaying is beautifully acted out by the team. But the twists and turns, the direction it goes, and how the game plays out is all up to fated dice rolls just like any other game. And something, some kind of force of luck, some force of fate, some Universal Divine DM out there made the roles happen the way they did last night.

It gave us a happy ending.

I believe that this was meant to happen; now of all times with everything else going on in the world. Amidst all this darkness and rot, both in game and in the real world, in the end of it all there was light and life. A reminder that sometimes people do live. They do get second chances. They do find a new family or reunite with old ones. That sometimes the world can be saved for a time, and happy ending do still exist. Even if it’s not broadcasted on the daily news amidst tragedy reports, or even tragedies that don’t get reported (which sadly are a lot, but again i digress).

Because the thing is, like Beau said, no one else will probably know they were heroes. No one will know what the Mighty Nein sacrificed to save all of Exandria. But they don’t need to know that for it to still be true, for life to happen again, and for a found family of nine broken people who love each other to go home together safe. It doesn’t invalidate that the good things happened. That at least for today everyone was saved. That flawed people were still able to do good because they tried. That they left the world better than they found it and got their own small but satisfying happy ending. Even if only for now, because we don’t know what’s gonna happen next Thursday. We don’t know what the future will hold for the Nein or Exandria when the Campaign ends or even when (hopefully) some loose ends will be tied up in later oneshots. But neither that nor the bad and sad stuff that happened beforehand in the game and in the character’s lives invalidates the fact that tonight they won. They lived.

So why can’t that be true for us in the real world?

I said earlier that, as a writer, I believe in the power stories have to not only reflect but also shape our world. This story is an example of why, but especially this episode, and that’s why i was so euphoric about the outcome. It wasn’t just a game for me, and i’m sure for others too. It was a much needed reminder that happy endings can still happen in real life, just as much as they can in stories. Even when everything seems dark and corrupt and rotten and hopeless, we can still keep fighting. We can keep trying. We can make new families and start over and be heroes in our on little lives in small ways. 

We can leave the world better than we found it. 

And maybe, with hard work, imagination, luck and a little Divine intervention...we can also get the happy endings we deserve.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Drive By ~ part 3

A/n: HELLO I FINALLY DID IT!! This part was hard until I finally rediscovered a few songs that FUELED this part (namely “Falling” by Harry Styles and “Far Away” by Nickelback) and then I managed to finish it! Hope you guys liked it :)

Warnings: Some depressive tendencies (distancing, slight disassociation, etc.). Internalized homophobia. Demonizing of soulmates. Bigoted opinions (Luke and Reggie make fun of them)

Word Count: 5800+

MASTERLIST

Luke and Reggie hadn't been the same since seeing Y/n again, but in very different ways.

Whatever Luke was on, it could only be described as overcompensating. His energy was higher than ever, and he could never quite sit still. His voice was louder, and he talked more. He never stopped talking. It stopped making sense after a while, but Julie and Alex were too worried to stop him. When they tried, his face went blank and his shoulders seemed to slouch and he stopped dead. It was like he'd been slapped... There was a sort of distance in the way he looked at everyone, and talked, and even engaged. He didn't even really process the whole shebang with Caleb, he just stuck very close to Reggie.

And then there was Reggie. He was already kind of off to begin with. He was smart, but he tended to zone out sometimes, and when he tuned back in he'd missed something important and was super lost as to what was happening. Or, someone would say something and he would get the wrong meaning, like the context of the situation had gone just over his head. It was adorable above anything else, and the boys loved to gently tease him about it... but now it wasn't something light hearted and funny. He did a lot of sitting and staring off into space and being silent, and it was very much not like him at all. Usually when he got upset all one had to do was talk to him about one of the things he really loved, but even that was a dead end conversation these days.

Julie, Flynn, and even Alex were all completely lost on what to do with either boy. They still responded when spoken to, and if they had to pitch in they did. Luke still wrote songs and Reggie still hung out with Ray and had Carlos' back and Luke still visited his parents and they both still performed. Luke still seemed to be there when Julie gave "Unsaid Emily" to Luke's parents. They were both still THERE when they were needed, it was just in the little hours. In the small moments, they were... far away. They looked through people and seemed to drift far too much. They were spiraling in a very hidden sort of way and no one knew how to even begin to help.

It was a relief at the end of the day that they could take comfort in each other. Neither had to talk about it, so still no one knew that Y/n and Reggie - and also maybe Luke and Reggie as well - were soulmates. It was written off as Reggie and Y/n being best friends. The two had always understood each other better than the others did. They had soft conversations and secret jokes that lead to exchanged looks no one could quite catch up on. Losing Y/n had been as much a weight on Reggie as it had on Luke. It had been the most clear in those last days. Luke could see the unsettled, unfinished business resting in Reggie's eyes. It had been the same look Luke had seen in his own eyes after the argument with his parents. Every day he hadn't gone back, and when Julie had called him from the dead and he'd gone home and felt it in his very bones. He saw that look, that feeling, in Reggie clearly. Which made sense, considering that Reggie and Y/n had ended in an argument the same way Luke and Y/n had. The pair had never really recovered after that last argument. Reggie had been the one to encourage Luke to let it go when Luke's tattoo had gone grey... and now it was all a mess.

Reggie understood the mix of joy and pain that Luke felt when he'd seen Y/n. Had realized that Y/n had died around when they did. That he was still their age, a ghost just like them, and within reach... theoretically. That's where the bitter came in.

It was nighttime that was the biggest relief.

Luke and Reggie spent most of it cuddling, clinging to each other like they did when they were kids. That night, both of them were having a hard time sleeping as was usual of recent. Ghosts didn't really have to sleep, but they did get physically exhausted every once in a while. Usually a good sit down with a side of relaxation would be enough, but sleeping lessened the overwhelming amount of down time the boys found themselves in, with no one else to talk to but Julie and nothing else to do but sit around and write music, and nothing else to think about than all the mistakes they'd made and the people they'd lost and the things they'd left behind. When one's mind ran that quickly, sleep would have been a relief. Except that a racing mind rarely if ever allowed one to rest, especially if it wasn't required.

So they stayed awake and they talked and they let the time pass as quickly as possible.

"Do you really think you could still fit in the kid swings?" Luke giggled, nose scrunched in that adorable way that always made Reggie's heart race.

"Oh absolutely," Reggie responded with a warm smile of his own. His insides always warmed in these moments, despite how cold he'd felt since seeing Y/n again. Luke seemed to make that connection Reggie lost feel... whole again. Like the thing that had broken in him since losing Y/n was just about fixed. Y/n really had meant a lot to Reggie, and as amazing as Alex and Flynn and Julie were and how important they all were to him, Luke was just different.

A soft breath escaped between Luke's lips then, and his large, green, sparkly eyes found Reggie's. "Thank you Reggie. I don't think I've really laughed since-" His smile faltered. "In a while." His forehead pressed to Reggie's shoulder. "You're my best friend, Reg. I hope you know."

Reggie hummed. "Yeah sure." He noticed the way Luke's eyes zoned out again, getting duller as they zoomed in on the freckles across Reggie's neck and arms. "You okay, Lu?"

For the first time since being asked that question multiple times every day by all of his other friends, Luke was honest. "No." His voice was suddenly very broken.

There was a mixed feeling about this whole thing. Reggie understood Luke perfectly, and how sideways this whole situation was. He knew nothing could make it better, or ease the pain. Nothing but time, if even that. This didn't stop Reggie from WANTING to help though. To ease that pain, and lessen it. To make Luke feel better. All he could do was offer himself, knowing how much it just wouldn't be enough.

"Come here." Reggie opened his arms and Luke rolled onto his side so their bodies were pressed together. Luke's shoulder nestled under one of Reggie's collar bones; Luke's head pressed into Reggie's neck. He didn't mean to, but Luke was warm and he wanted so desperately to say something that when his mouth opened... "I'm sorry I'm not him."

Luke's head moved back, his shoulder pressing more into Reggie's chest as their eyes locked. "What does that mean?" Luke's head tilted, eyebrows dipping in silent accusation. No, not accusation. Worry.

Reggie's eyes jerked to the side. "I just... I wish I could give you some closure. Or just talk to him. Or just have him back. I wish I could actually help, instead of just laying here every night and settling with just distracting you." He shrugged.

One of Luke's hand rose to hold the side of Reggie's face, maneuvering it so they were forced to look at each other again. "Reggie, you're enough. Just you. You've always been enough, you have to know that." His eyes were so sincere... They were so bright and honest and earnest.

What else was Reggie to do but believe him?

Suddenly there was a warmth where Luke's shoulder touched Reggie's chest. It was that moment both boys realized two things. First, it was the same shoulder that Y/n had touched the night the two boys had met. Second, Reggie's collar had fallen down, pushed aside in all the squirming around so the same spot Y/n had touched the night they'd had that special heart to heart was exposed, pressed to Luke's shoulders. What followed next was a completely new realization. Their soulmate marks were touching, skin to skin, and there was a distinct, familiar feeling because of it. A tingling. The same tingling both boys had felt anytime Y/n had touched their soulmate mark. The same feeling they'd gotten the night they'd received those special marks. The two nights that had become two of three nights that had changed everything. Just as it was all about to change again.

Reggie jerked away very suddenly. He scrambled to his feet and then suddenly disappeared. Luke was a second slower, just behind him. Too late to stop him. He scrambled after Reggie though, appearing on the floor rather than in the loft where they'd been before. Just in time to see Reggie tripping over himself to get to the mirror in the bathroom. Luke followed, just in time to see Reggie yank down his shirt to reveal-

Two roses, stems crossed over the other like an 'x'. Just black ink outline, like a coloring page before it's been colored in. The same exact rose that had been on Luke's shoulder and Reggie's neck, but two this time. The same roses that had been on Y/n's palm the night he'd given Reggie a soul mark as he had given Luke one.

Luke turned his body, showing his shoulder in the mirror as well.

The same two roses in the same exact fashion showed on his shoulder.

Reaching out, Luke pulled Reggie's shoulder so they were facing each other. "Reggie... what the hell?" He was even more nervous when Reggie looked back with eyes that had answers. Answers Luke was worried he might very much not want to know.

-

"What are you doing?"

The small boy looked up to see another small boy. Both of them had green eyes and brown hair - that was the first notice. "I'm playing guitar," the second small boy answered the first.

"No you're not," the first argued. "That's not a guitar. It's a- a- well, its a stick with string tied to it is what it is. And it has too many strings at that!"

The second boy hid the stick behind his back, his chubby face screwing up in anger. It was like a pouting puppy, and the first small boy had to admit it was... kind of adorable. "It IS a guitar," the adorable boy huffed. "What do you know about guitars anyway."

A smile adorned the face of the first boy. "My mom has one. She said I could have it one day."

The adorable boy tilted his head. "Well I guess you're lucky then."

The first boy laughed. "Would you like to play it some day?" The adorable looked shocked, and the first boy smiled even wider. "Thought so. What's your name?"

"Luke," the adorable boy answered. "Yours?"

"Reginald. I... don't like it though." Reginald scrunched his nose, shaking his head.

Luke nodded. "What about a sort of nickname then? Something you like more." Reginald sat next to Luke, and the not-guitar-actually-a-stick was abandoned in favor of the conversation. "There's all sort of odd, funny ones. Like um, Gin."

"That's even worse," Reginald complained.

Luke giggled. "Uh, how about Ginny?" Reginald only had to glare for Luke to rush out, "Okay okay okay, HUGE no on that then. I suppose... well you could be totally boring and go with Reggie."

"What's wrong about boring?" Reginald asked immediately. "You need a little bit of it to make everything else interesting." As Luke went to respond, Reginald continued, "Plus, look who's talking! Luke is the most normal name I've ever heard."

"It's short for Lukas," Luke defended.

"Even worse!" Reginald declared. "Why go with Luke? That's the most obvious nickname for Lucas!"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, but my name is spelled Lukas with a K. So it's cool."

After a second, Reginald nodded. "You can call me Ginny if I can call you Kas."

That made Luke bust up laughing. "You can call me Kas all you want. It's a fun nickname I think."

"I think I'll stick to Reggie though," Reggie decided.

Another nod from Luke. "That's fair." He hesitated a moment. "Wanna be friends?"

A grin like no other took Reggie's face, and Luke found his insides warm up and soften. "Absolutely."

-

Luke's mind was reeling.

Reggie was worrying. Exceedingly.

"Are you mad at me?" Reggie had never been known for holding his emotions in, and really neither had Luke.

Which is why it was no surprise when the guitarist suddenly looked up, eyes wide with surprise and expression open and honest. "Why would I be mad at you?"

For second, Reggie didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to explain the emotions in his chest that hurt so much. But then he looked into Luke's eyes, and the words came on their own. "I know things haven't been easy for you when it comes to mixing band members and romance. Or when it comes to soulmates." He shrugged. "It doesn't help that - I mean, we've changed a lot, and being with Julie has taught us so much. We've learned to accept a lot about ourselves, and we're lucky for that. But we were still born and raised in the 90's. And back then, soulmates were... bad."

Immediately, Luke sighed. Reggie realized it was in relief. "I feel like I'm behind. Like I didn't leave those fears behind when he got brought back. I still feel like... sometimes I still feel like loving Y/n is wrong. Like I need to keep it a secret and hide it away and push it down. I got so scared when Julie found about my soulmate mark - and then was so surprised when she was so casual about it. I still expect her to snap at me, or be secretly bitter that I'm asexual, or attracted to men. I don't know." he shook his head, sighing again. His shoulders sagged, and Reggie realized that he must feel so relieved to have lost whatever huge amount of stress he was carrying this entire time keeping that inside. "Does it make me a bad person? To flinch away from things like that? It's not that I hate it, I just-" He was obviously struggling.

Sitting down next to Luke, Reggie placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Luke you were conditioned from a kid to hate the things about yourself that are most important to you. Things that are ingrained in your coding." He chuckled, and Luke smiled. "Hell, I think even people who were born nowaday still struggle with it sometimes. It's programming. Subconscious. Your emotions don't make you - the way you react to them do."

At that, Luke finally completely relaxed, resting his head on Reggie's shoulder. "Do you ever realize that the only reason people back then demonized soulmates so much is just because it was one less thing they could control? Like, people back then really cared about power so much. Power over people specifically. Like I remember that week that our school did a campaign for fighting against soulmates-"

Reggie gasped. "Oh my god I remember that! They said it was brainwashing. Wasn't it like... like I remember it was so cool for a while, but then people of the same gender started to become soulmates and everyone lost their minds."

"Men and women balance each other out; same sex attraction is an easy way out and ultimately cheats people who deserve better," Luke mocked, his voice snapping and bitter. "This just proves that soulmates are of the devil!"

Reggie busted up laughing. "Don't remind me of Mrs. Kyde-" He snorted, leaning into Luke more, his face light up with a smile.

Luke shook his head. "People are so weird. Literally what does who anyone loves or marries or whatever have anything to do with anyone not involved in that relationship? You don't like the fact that I'm into men? Fine! Go be straight somewhere else." He rolled his eyes. "I hate thinking about how afraid I used to be. Of people finding out about Y/n and me. GOD we were so happy. And the way people treated him..." Suddenly the mood dropped, and Luke raised his hand to wipe away a tear. He scoffed softly. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry for feeling things, Luke," Reggie reassured, raising his arm to wrap around Luke's shoulders and pull both of their bodies closer together.

Turning his head to thank Reggie, Luke stopped short when he then realized how close they were. "You know," he said softly. "It's so weird to realize you're my soulmate too." He smiled though, so Reggie didn't panic as much as he would have normally. "I mean, you were really right there from the beginning. We met in middle school. I was like. Tiny." Reggie giggled and both of them were suddenly smiling again. "You were there for all my worst phases."

Reggie groaned. "God you were my sexual awakening."

"I wasn't," Luke gasped, eyes wide.

"You were." Reggie laughed again, shaking his head. "I was CRUSHED when you started dating Alex. And then you two were so happy, and I saw how hard it was. Saw you guys figure that out, and then kind of devolve into just being friends. And then we started the band, and I realized it was just so much easier to stay friends with you."

"We took ages to figure that out," Luke recalled. "I don't think we ever really figure out personal space again."

Reggie nodded. "And then Y/n came along and I figured I could just jam with being friends. I was so used to it at that point, and there were so many things to be distracted by. Our band was gaining traction and people were talking to us. To me. You two were so happy, and it was a little dangerous and fun and I was so relieved that I hadn't done anything, because I was watching soulmates interact properly and it was everything I ever wanted. I was glad I hadn't gotten between that." His smile faded. "And then..."

"And then you and Y/n," Luke offered. Reggie nodded. After a few seconds of silence, Luke asked, "So what do we do now?"

Shrugging, Reggie looked back at Luke. "What do you want to do?"

Luke thought about that for a second. "Well I know how happy I was with Y/n, and now the stupid things I was worried about before just won't be a problem. No one can see us unless we perform, and the person who can always sees us doesn't care. We don't have to worry like Y/n and I did. And maybe we'll see Y/n again. But we might not, and even if we do it won't mean things are going to go back to what they were. Do you... like him?" Reggie hesitated, then nodded. "Do you like me?" With less hesitation came another nod. "Can I... try something?" Yet another nod, this time with no hesitation.

His heart racing, Luke took a leap of faith. He knew himself at this point. Knew that there was only really one way to figure out his emotions. If he tried to figure it out via analysis, he'd eventually over think it until nothing made sense and he was just more confused. So he did something he knew would work. He softly grabbed Reggie's face and pulled his best friend to him until they were kissing.

When their lips touched, something seemed to unlock in Reggie. He shuddered and Luke leaned back immediately, eyes wide with nervousness. But then he saw the way that Reggie leaned in after him and he felt his heart swell and his insides warm. Reggie looked at him, unsure, but then seemingly at the same time they both grabbed each other, meeting for a passionate kiss that set them both on fire.

All either of them could think for a while was... Finally.

-

Luke was so happy to see Y/n getting along so well with his friends. They had met only an hour ago and Alex and Y/n had already bonded over being attracted to men. Bobby was standing back a bit, unsure how to approach Y/n and the situation implied between this new boy and Luke. Bobby didn't mind it, he knew about Alex after all. It had just surprised him because he didn't know about Luke. On top of that, he DID very much know about Y/n and his reputation, so he didn't know what to do with this person that seemed so different than the one Bobby had heard about, being seemingly romantically involved with a dude who Bobby had been sure was straight until today. Reggie and Y/n had distracted from Bobby's awkwardness by hitting it off right out of the gate with how comfortable they were with physical affection, as well as the fact that Y/n just seemed to be so quickly aware of and good with Reggie's little odd ways of doing things that were always so different than how most other people did them. Y/n was extremely insightful, and a fast learner and those two skills came in handy now.

In fact, Y/n and Reggie were getting along so well that Alex and Bobby had settled by Luke. A calm, warm air had settled in the room just like it always did when they were all together. The studio attached to Bobby's house had become like a second home for the three boys. Luke hoped that would carry to Y/n to.

After introductions, Y/n stayed for a little band practice, grinning from ear to ear as he clapped between songs. It seemed to fuel Luke, which only fueled the others. Luke's energy had always been contagious to his best friends, and now was no different. It only took one song for Bobby to warm up to the surprises he'd had tonight and this stranger he wasn't sure what exactly to do with. By the end of it, Y/n was shouting so loud Luke had to come over and gently remind him it was getting late and people might handle a band playing, but they definitely would refuse to tolerate straight up screaming. When the sun began to set, they all headed out to sit on Bobby's roof and watch the sun set as they talked about that day's practice just like they always did. Except, instead of the usual criticism and praises and general discussion, they turned to Y/n to get an third person opinion. Their mistake too, because Y/n grabbed the opportunity immediately to drown them all in praise, sparing no second or word to tell them how amazing they were and how much he loved their music.

"You play at all?" Bobby asked as Y/n began to calm down, blushing as he got self conscious at how long he'd been talking.

Thankful for Bobby sensing his rising awkwardness and distracting him from it, Y/n shot the rhythm guitarist a warm smile. "My older sister did." His smile faltered and the other boys exchanged looks before Reggie - who knew enough about siblings to recognize when someone mentioned something about them they didn't want pressed - shook his head in a firm no.

Luke took that to heart - he always trusted Reggie's instincts - and let it go. "So you've been around music a lot then. Anything you've especially taken to? Favorite band?"

Y/n smirked, but none of them were fast enough to stop him from saying, "You guys of course." The others groaned, but Luke's eyes only widened and he blushed. Y/n winked.

Eventually everyone had to go to bed. Alex, Luke, and Reggie had stayed here hundreds of times easy, but Y/n was hesitant to join them tonight. When Bobby encouraged it, finally he gave in and curled up with Luke on the couch. The first to fall asleep - to everyone's surprise - was Y/n. Bobby, who always slept in the studio when the boys stayed over, smiled at Luke. "So you found your soulmate."

That of course made Luke just beam with joy. "Yeah." Y/n had fallen asleep on Luke's chest and it was the most comfortable Luke had ever been in his light. He loved the weight of Y/n on him, reminding him every single second that this was real. "It's everything I thought it was going to be," he mused dreamily. "He just fits, like a puzzle piece. I totally thought I had everything figured out and then this person drops into the middle of my life and suddenly there's a whole other half of this picture I was sure I'd finished a long time ago..." He shook his head. "It's great."

Reggie chuckled. "So great you took, what, a month and a half to tell us about him?"

Luckily Y/n was a heavy sleeper, because if he hadn't been Luke would have woken him up with how hard he flinched. "I just didn't know how you guys would have reacted. Y/n kind of has a reputation, and I don't care obviously, but he's been through a lot of shit with people who do care and if you guys hadn't all gotten along it would have been the worst." Alex went to say something and Luke rushed to add, "And it's not that I thought you guys were dicks or anything. I just had this... fear, anyway. I mean, I've been standing by the fact that I don't really like anyone for a while and that's why most things like this haven't worked out, and it's still weird and complicated but Y/n is helping me a LOT to figure out that some attractions are different than others and..." He sighed, eyes purposefully looking away from Alex.

Sensing the core of Luke's worry, Alex reached over and touched Luke's shoulder, a genuine smile on his face. "Luke, I'm happy for you. I'm glad you figured out all the stuff you were struggling so much with back then and that you can be happy now." There was an unspoken, 'even if it's not with me' that he didn't have to say.

After that, the conversation died pretty quickly, and Bobby and Alex went to sleep too.

"Do you still think we'll be able to cuddle and stuff?" Reggie asked softly, looking up from where he lay.

Rolling his eyes, Luke answered, "Of course Reggie. The only thing that's going to change is that I might be a little less needy. I'll always be your Kas."

That made Reggie settle more, smiling to himself. There was something about thinking of Luke as HIS that made butterflies flutter in his stomach. "Good because I might've had to fight your boyfriend if that wasn't the case."

Luke chuckled. "Go to bed, Gee." After all those years, Luke had finally come up with his own, original nickname for Reggie that didn't sound stupid, and they both loved it.

Getting more comfortable, Reggie decided to do just that, right after one final, "Goodnight, Kas."

A sleepy, "Goodnight, Gee," came from Luke as they both finally drifted into sleep along with the others.

-

Things had been complicated, but that had been the case for far too long now, and Reggie and Luke had done everything in their power to make it as simple as possible. With the threat of being erased from existence completely looming over their heads, and no way to mend things between them and Y/n, now was as good a time as ever to let go of the past and hold on to the little time they had now. And they made it work. Despite the fear. Despite the pain. Despite once again losing all of the things that could have been and that they so wanted to be, what they did have was their soulmate mark, and that MEANT something. For now, they'd be fine with that.

Tonight was supposed to be it. They'd said their goodbyes and lined up the performance up so the boys could pass on. But they weren't showing up, and Julie Molina knew her boys well. Too well to think they'd left her again, so that meant two things. They were doubled over in pain somewhere, too incapacitated to play. Or... they were already gone. It had been too late and they'd been destroyed Julie had to do this performance completely by herself. Performing after Panic at the Disco, in one of the most sought after local gigs. In a packed auditorium.

In that moment, Julie did the only thing she knew how to. She went to her mom for help.

Rose Molina didn't show up, but someone did. A boy, maybe one or two years older than him. He was completely decked in white. Just jeans a t-shirt and everyday shoes, except he didn't have even a speck of dust or shirt on him. He was so clean that under the moonlight in the dark, dim alleyway, the boy seemed to glow. He smiled to her and extended his arm, and in his hand was a single flower.

A Dahlia.

She took it, her eyes welling with tears. She'd asked for a sign, and a boy as close to angelic as one could get without causing a scene had shown up to give her the flower that had always been her mother's favorite. He turned around and began to walk away but she rushed after him, reaching to catch his arm. She gasped when her hand went right through him. He turned as if he felt it, that soft, warm smile still on his face.

"Who are you?" She asked with a voice filled with awe.

He seemed to get sheepish. "I'm not an angel, if that's that you're thinking."

"Then what are you?" Julie asked, stepping closer.

For a second, he just thought. "A friend," is what he gave her. "When you need me most, I'll be there. I can promise that." And then he rose a single hand and waved at her before disappearing in a fashion that she had seen more than plenty of times with the boys.

After, when she tried to recall anything special about the boy other than his pristine, perfectly clean white clothes, she remembered few things. She'd been too caught up in the moment that was already packed with stress and heavy emotion and shock to think about anything else. It wasn't until after, when the boys were better and Luke had grabbed Reggie's face and kissed him in pure relief that she thought about the boy again. It wasn't much longer later - just later that night - but that had brought him into her mind was a surprise. For the first time in a long time, Julie was seeing Luke without sleeves, and as he turned to grasp his boyfriend in the heat of the moment, Julie saw his soulmate mark. Except now, it was a little different. It had two roses instead of one.

It was the exact sane mark that had been on the boy in the white clothes' hand as he waved goodbye to her.

She rushed to him touching his shoulder with wide eyes. "Luke, your soulmate mark..."

Reggie got excited, unbuttoning his shirt a little to show the matching one he had on his upper chest. "We're soulmates, Julie. Didn't we tell you that?"

"Well yeah," Julie dismissed, looking between the to marks that not only matched each others' but also the one from earlier that had been on the mystery boy's hand. "But... it changed."

Luke and Reggie looked at each other and decided silently in that moment that they couldn't handle it. Not right now. Not on top of everything else. They couldn't talk about Y/n. So Luke told a half truth. "It changed."

Immediately Julie glared at Luke. "This didn't change Luke, it doubled. Soulmate marks don't do that. They fade at best. There's been three cases total in all of the history of visible soulmate marks that completely disappeared - it's extremely rare for them to even make room for new marks, let alone create a whole new one that looks that similar to the last one you had there." Her face relaxed. "You guys are both soulmates with Y/n."

Reggie sighed, his happiness and relief melting for despair. "Yeah." He shook his head. "But can we please not talk about that? We just barely didn't completely die, and-"

"But I know where to find him," Julie rushed urgently. The two boys froze.

"What?" Luke choked out.

Julie took off, out of the room and returning back again with the Dahlia she'd received from who she now knew to be Y/n. She knew that the boys had seen him when they'd been at Bobby's house, but at the time she hadn't known who to look for and had missed him. She had gotten a description of him though here and there a few times, and from what she knew, this had to be him. If anything, the mark was enough. She didn't know why it hadn't hit her the second she'd seen the two roses, so very similar to Luke's one she'd seen before, right in the place that she knew Y/n's mark to be. Pushing that out of her mind now, she held up the flower to the boys. "When I thought you guys were gone, I went into the alley and I asked my mom to-" her voice got suddenly think with emotion and she cleared her throat, shaking her head. "I asked for a sign. Anything to let me know she was still here and watching me. That she was like you guys, or maybe somewhere else. Helping. And then Y/n showed up with THIS and told me he was a friend and that I could call on him anytime I needed him. That he would be there for me."

Luke ran a hand through his hair. "How did you know it was him?" His voice was strained, but the message still came across.

"He waved at me before he disappeared. He had the same roses on his palm, that you two do. We can find him! We can finally fix what happened all those years ago!" She grinned, her smile making the room brighter. "You guys can FINALLY go and get your man!"

Reggie and Luke looked at each other again, but this time their expressions were unreadable. When they turned back to look at Julie, she thought they were about to have a whole new purpose. Something GOOD that actually meant something. Not struggling for success, or running from life threatening danger, but something purely good that would finally help two of her four closest friends find peace with the one thing they regretted most about their lives before. Then Reggie spoke, only one word. One word that made less sense than anything Julie had heard in her entire life.

Reginald Peters opened his mouth and with complete conviction told her, "No."

[sunset-curve-fantom]

Hollywood Ghost Club- Ghost!Luke and Ghost!Reader

A/N: I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT.

WARNING: SMUT, 18+ MATERIAL

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

You and Luke were one of the greatest love stories, you were his muse in everything he did. In life and in death, you were the focus of his love. He died in the most comical way, from a tainted hot dog, while you died in a car wreck the same night. You were so distraught that you ran off the road, dying on impact.

But Luke never knew you faced the same fate he had- death.

For 25 years, you had wandered looking for Luke. Only to conclude that he had already crossed over and was enjoying a ton of pizza and his music. But you were wrong- he had been trapped in a different dimension almost until Julie released them by playing their demo.

When Willie told you about this ghost band he found- you didn’t think much of it. People die every day so of course new ghosts appear. That was until he mentioned the cute guy- Alex… and you knew exactly what band he had run into.

Sunset Curve had finally made it to the ghost scene, or more so to the Hollywood Ghost Club.

“Willie do not tell me you invited them here- you know what Caleb is going to do” You stressed, anger beginning to drip on your words.

“I-I-I-I I didn’t know what to do… Caleb owns my soul, he would destroy me if I didn’t do as he said” Willie said, afraid of your anger. He knew you loved Luke more than anything and now- Luke could be in danger.

“Okay- I need you to find Alex and tell him to act like they don’t know me. I cannot… I will not let them get hurt because I am here. Go Now” You said, fear in your voice. You knew what Caleb would do to them if they acted like they knew you or even came close to you.

You were his main attraction, and he wasn’t going to let anyone get near you- especially if they convinced you to leave the club.

You began pacing back and forth before you were set to go on- you almost became nauseous at the thought of seeing Luke again. He was your great love story, and death came too soon for the both of you.

Caleb appeared down the dark hallway as you paced, “Nervous?” He said, the creepy tone griping his words.

You could barely catch his gaze- you knew he would be able to read you like a book, just like he had been able to for 25 years. He knew every little thing about everyone, and that is how he was able to control everyone in the long run.

“Always… I have a need to be perfect” You said, sarcasm dripping your voice. You wanted him to just drop it and go do his opening act. It was the same every night, he opened, and you closed. Same music, same routines.

He sent you his signature glare- before stepping onto the stage. “Hello, Hollywood Ghost Club! I hope you are having a wonderful evening- well a wonderful afterlife!”

As the curtains opened and closed behind him- You could spot Alex in the audience, meaning that Reggie and Luke were out there too. Running your hand through your hair, you cursed under your breath. They shouldn’t be here- a horrible feeling running down your spine.

You gripped your mic a little tighter as Caleb’s music was coming to an end. You knew you had to go out there and smash this performance- Luke hadn’t seen you in 25 years.

The beginning music to your song started- after Luke and you met the same fate, the music was flowing out of you. You thought he had moved on into the light and left you here alone but truly he never left you. But the aloneness made lyrics and melodies fall out of you, and that is how Caleb found you. You were the missing piece in his ghost club, and he knew he needed you.

So here you were- trapped in a world that made you miserable. A world without Luke, and without the life you both deserved.

As you were zoned out, the beginning notes on the piano began to dwell and the beat began to rise-

Don’t blink

No, I don’t want to miss it

One thing

And it’s back to the beginning

Cause everything is rushing in fast

Keep going on, never look back

As the words came out of your mouth- you couldn’t help but make eye contact with Luke. He looked startled to see you- he had no idea that you had died too. He thought you had lived on, started a family and a career, but no- you died the same night as him.

As the song ended, a smile creeped onto your face. For the first night in a long time, you felt proud of yourself- for your music, for your performance, for everything. You had Luke to thank for the extra bout of confidence. He gave you wings when you felt like you were going to fall, in life and in death he gave you the world.

The final bow was something so magical, watching the boys and Willie cheer for you in the audience. Watching Caleb’s creepy ass smile as he watched your every move. It was a night full of happiness, yet the fear of something happening to Luke because of Caleb.

You smiled, walking off stage. You made your way to your dressing room to take off this ostentatious outfit that Caleb had picked. You wanted nothing more to be in your comfy clothes, and just enjoy your evening. But the outfit you chose was something symbolic- it was Luke’s Sunset Curve t-shirt, it had rips and holes, but you couldn’t part with it.

A sharp knock at the door pulled you from your thoughts- God you prayed it wasn’t Caleb.

As you swung the door open- you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. It was Willie, who happened to be eyeing your outfit with a smirk on his face.

“Hey Y/N. You good?” Willie said, trying to refrain from smirking even more.

“Yeah I’m good. If you are gonna make fun of my outfit- leave me alone William” You said crossing your arms over your chest. Clearly irritated with him just showing up at the door.

“I-I-I um… Luke is waiting for you in the alley, he wanted me to tell you. I think it’s kind of important” He said, trying to avoid my eyesight. You couldn’t even find the words before he spoke again, “And don’t worry- I’m going to keep Caleb busy”

You laughed as he winked at you before heading off down the hallway. You could feel the smile growing on your face as you slipped on your slippers, heading to the alley door. For being dead- the air was sure cold in LA right now. It was incredible you could still feel things like this.

Your hair whipped in the wind, as you turned to look down the dark alley. You could see a shadow walking towards you, and you knew by the walk it was Luke. A smile erupted on your face as you ran towards him, you could hear his chuckle as your got closer to him. You jumped into his outstretched arms, wrapping your legs around his waist. Silent tears ran down your face as he gripped you tightly, he couldn’t let you go, and you didn’t want him too.

“Baby… oh my god” He said, running his hand through your hair as he held you up. You gripped onto him for dear life, and you couldn’t bare being in this world without him any longer.

You could barely squeak out a “Hi” as sobs racked your chest. Your feet quickly hit the pavement as you looked into his eyes. His beautiful eyes, that always seemed to change colors. He was trying to take your appearance in- like it was the last time he was going to see you.

“What-what- what happened to you? How are you here?” He said, cupping your face with his large hands, pressing feverous kisses all over your face.

“I died when-” He cut you off, “I know you died stupid- but how did you die? Clearly I was the idiot who ate a bad street hotdog”

“Oh, shut up- I died that night too. I heard what had happened, that you… you all died, and I was driving to the hospital to try and make some sense of it. But I was so upset and distraught that I got in a crash and died on impact. I thought you guys had crossed over because I never saw you… I thought you had left me” You said, silent tears still pouring down your cheeks, as you caught his eyes a small smile formed on your cheeks.

“I could never ever leave you- not intentionally. I love you more than music can express. You are the one my heart loves” He said, tears forming in his eyes. You slid your hands into his as you leaned in.

Your lips touched and it was like fireworks coursing through you, he untangled your hands and gripped your waist tightly. He pulled you flush against him as he deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping past your lips. A silent moan escaped your mouth as you felt the first amount of pleasure in a long 25 years.

You pulled away from him, searching his face for the love you so deeply missed. You winked before poofing the both of you out of the dark alley. You took him to the one place you deeply loved before your untimely demise. It was the treehouse Luke had built you in the Patterson’s backyard.

You spent many of nights here alone, praying for a sign from Luke. The fairy lights always stayed on; I think it gave his parents comfort in his absence- well in both of your absences. They didn’t just lose a son; They also lost a daughter that night. His parents always knew that you and Luke were endgame, the full life of marriage and kids, growing old.

But that night- everything changed. The future they envisioned for the both of you had disappeared by a series of unfortunate events. This was the one place that Luke and you could have some time to yourself, away from the guys, your parents, and the world.

Luke was in awe at the place as he looked around. It was like he had forgotten how beautiful and full of memories this place was filled with. Your first kiss, your first date, your first sexual encounter, your first promise. Every bit of firsts had happened in this place, and now a new memory was going to be made. A restart to your relationship- 25 years down the line.

You couldn’t help but look at Luke in awe, he was the most handsome man. Even after all this time, it was like nothing had changed between you.

You walked over to him, running a hand down his chest. Catching his lips in yours, taking him by surprise. He was so in awe of you, and the relationship he cherished. You smiled as he gripped your hips, pulling you towards him. It was like you were falling into your old ways again, full of lust and pleasure.

 ~IF YOU ARE YOUNG, IT IS TIME TO BOUNCE 18+ MATERIAL~

 You reached up, gripping his longer hair in your fingers and pulling gently, earning a moan from his lips. His grip on your hips tighten, knowing good and well he would leave bruises, you know if ghosts could bruise.

He chuckled as he moved a hand to your cheek, gently rubbing your cheek causing a blush to erupt on your cheeks. The kiss was soft yet animalistic, as you pushed him back onto the bed.

Discarding your shirt, well Luke’s shirt you hijacked as well as your bra as you caught Luke’s lips back in yours. As you straddled his lap, he was gripping your thighs tightly, slowly the kisses began to travel down your neck and to your breasts. Taking your hard nipple in his mouth, causing a slur of moans erupt from you.

You began shifted your hips, rubbing slowly against his sensitive crotch- making his hips buck from under you. He wasn’t going to be able to last much longer if you continued that motion, so he quickly flipped you over, so he was hovering. He quickly stripped out of his shirt, before moving to your pants. Your leggings quickly flew off your legs, and he took no time diving between your thighs.

You could feel his hot breath on your sensitive heat, as he licked up your slit before hitting your bundle of nerves. It sent a jolt through your body as he continued to explore your heat. Your hands flew down to his hair, pulling tightly as your orgasm began quickly approaching.

“Uh-Uh- Luke… I-uh- I’m cloooseee” You moaned as you pulled his hair even tighter, he continued to lick at your heat as your orgasm graced his tongue for the first time in 25 years. You could barely catch a breath as you caught Luke’s gaze from between your thighs. You took in his appearance, his face glazed with your orgasm as a smile graced his face.

“So, mind telling me why you are still half dressed?” You said, eyeing his jeans that were constricting his crotch. The smirk he gave you as he unbuttoned his jeans was something you so deeply missed. As his jeans slid down his legs, his cock sprung free.

He laughed as the look on your face, you were practically drooling at the moment you were about to have. An encounter of the century.

Luke began hovering over you before pressing his cock past your slit. He was watching your face as your eyes rolled back into your head. The pleasure was overwhelming as you adjusted to his size.

You met his slow thrusts with your hips, moving against him. His brows began to furrow as you continued the motion. He growled under his breath, “Stop that- I am not going to last”

You couldn’t help but smirk up at him, catching his lips in yours once again as your hands roamed his body and tugged on his hair.

Your orgasm began to overtake your senses, as Luke’s thrusts began to fall out of rhythm. His grip began to tighten on your hips as your orgasm washed over you. Your walls spasmed around his cock as he began to unload inside of you, filling you up.

“Holy god” Luke said as he collapsed on top of you, it was like you both forgot how much you enjoyed this time together.

“That’s all I get? It has been some time, I am sure I can do it all again” You said, flipping the both of you, so you were on top of him. You just giggled at Luke’s expression as he brushed your hair out of his face.

“Oh, I am always been down for a round two” He said winking as he began nibbling at your sensitive spot, causing a moan to erupt from you.

For the first time in 25 years- you felt more complete than ever before. Luke was back into your world full of life, and love. The Hollywood Ghost Club was the last thing in your mind as you spent every last moment with the man of your dreams.

 TAGLIST:

@notasofti​ @julies-molina​ @parkeret​ @calamitykaty​ @kcd15​ @crybabyddl​ @all-in-fangirl​ @gia-kerks​ @morganayennefertyrell​

[bluefirewrites]

Honestly... Willie and Alex need a child.

Well they maybe don’t need a child. At least not at the present moment, and if its within the canon of them being ghosts. It would be cool if they’re older and in an AU that they adopt a child. 

But if we’re going by them as ghosts, I could definitely seem them taking in a ghost kid later on. 

Imagine how traumatic it would be for this kid to have died so young and can’t go back to their family. 

Willie would stumble on the kid walking around the streets, looking so lost and upset. When they locked eyes on Willie as he drew near, his stomach dropped. If they could see him then... 

“Hey kid,” He hopped off his board and kneeled in front of them, “What’s up?” 

And then the kid would be shy at first. Their parents did tell them not to talk to strangers. But their parents were nowhere to be found... they couldn’t even seem them when they tried going home. Why couldn’t they see them...?

Willie could sense the kid’s panic and tried to put them at ease. He took them to various spots around town to hopefully keep their mind of what was troubling them. 

Not a total fix, but Willie died young. He got it. But he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be this kid’s age and being on their own. 

He was going to do his best to entertain the kid until he figured out a way to give them a home. 

He took them to the playground, pushed them on the swings and helped them out on the monkey bars. 

He took them to the movies. (It broke his heart to not get them any popcorn or candy. The kid was having a hard time grasping that they couldn’t eat anything anymore). 

By the time the movie ended, Willie knew he had to get the kid off the streets and somewhere more suitable. And even though Caleb was gone and the HGC was under new management, a club was no place for a kid...

So that was how he ended up at Julie’s (the first time the kid poofed -“Can we do that again?!”)

By then the kid was comfortable with Willie and he was able to scoop them up into his arms as he knocked on the door. 

Reggie opened the door and greeted them, “Hey dude,” then he noticed the child in Willie’s arms, “And little dude.” 

Then his eyes widened, and his gaze bounced between the two of them, “Oh,” he uttered, once he realized. 

His smile dimmed slightly before he quickly ushered them inside. 

Alex was the only other person in the studio. Luke must have been in the house with Julie. The drummer was on the couch when they walked in. 

“Hey Willie,” Alex quickly rose to his feet once he noted the kid, “Hey, uh, who’s this?”

“A new friend,” Willie set the child down, “This is Alex. And the guy at door is Reggie. They’re my friends. They’re nice.” 

The kid nodded and waved shyly at the other ghosts. 

“Hey, Hot Dog. Can we talk?” 

“Sure,” 

Then Willie left the kid in Reggie’s care and the bassist proceeded to draw pictures with them, “I’ll be right back.” 

Willie and Alex poofed up to the loft so Willie could still keep an eye on the kid. 

“Are they-?” 

“A ghost. Yes,” 

“Damn,” Alex glanced over, “How old-?” 

“Doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” But the truth was Willie didn’t ask. He didn’t want to know. 

“So what are we going to do?” 

Willie fumbled with the zipper of his windbreaker, “We?” 

“Yeah, we. Or were you gonna hand them off to someone else?” 

He shook his head, “No. I don’t think I could trust anybody else with them at the moment.” 

“Ok,” Alex could hear Reggie and the kid giggling about the pictures they were making and he smiled, “You know I’m going to have to ask Julie. But I’m sure she would say yes,” 

“If it gets too much for you, for them to be here. I’ll find somewhere else. This could be a temporary solution, until we figure something out,” 

“You like them, don’t you?”

“They’re growing on me...” 

Alex places his hands on Willie’s shoulders, “Then they’re staying here. Me and the guys, we know better than to turn someone away in need of a home.” 

“Thank you, Alex,” Willie smiled, “I’ll always be around to help. Just because it’s your place doesn’t mean-” 

“Why can’t it be yours too?” Alex blurted out. 

Willie stopped, “You... want me to move in? With you?” 

“Y-Yeah. I mean, me and the guys. And Julie. But... yeah,” The blonde stammered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “I mean, so you can take care of the kid too,” 

“That’s 5 ghosts in a garage. Are you sure Julie’s going to be cool with it?” 

“Please. The second she takes one look at the kid, she wouldn’t say no. And besides, she likes you too. She says you don’t cause trouble,” 

“Did she forget about the whole ‘getting-you-stamped’ fiasco?”

“You landed us a gig at the Orpheum... she knows you’ll do everything you can to fix it,” 

“Thanks...” Willie blew out a sigh, “And... yeah. If you want me to-” 

“Yeah, for the kid-” 

“-right. For the kid. I’ll move in,” 

Alex beamed, “Wow. Great. So, uh, welcome to the garage then,” 

Willie returned the sunny expression, “Now let’s go tell the kid the good news,” 

They poofed back downstairs to Reggie and the kid struggling to hold in their laughs, their pictures hidden behind their backs. 

“What’s going on?” 

The kid whipped out their drawing, “Look, I drew you and Hot Dog Man!” 

And fair enough, there was a crayon drawing of Willie on his skateboard and Alex with his fanny pack. Willie could see that there was a hot dog peeking out of the fanny pack as well. 

Willie looked at Alex, raising an eyebrow, and the blonde was trying so hard not to groan at another person adopting his embarrassing nickname. But he smiled and knelt down in front of the kid, inspecting the drawing. 

“This is amazing. A masterpiece. Don’t you think so too, Willie?” 

“I agree. This artwork should be displayed,” 

And true to Alex’s word, Julie met the kid the following morning and loved them instantly. Luke too. Already itching to play with the kid and teach them music.  They all were. 

The kid not only got Willie looking out for them, but everyone. 

But the kid was closest with Willie and Alex, because they spent the most time with them. 

When Willie was busy helping new management run the club, Alex was the one taking care of the kid. 

Alex, already the mom friend of the group, was the one to set up rules and gave the kid some structure in their life. 

He would scold Luke for jamming past 9pm because that would be the kid’s bedtime (”Ghosts don’t sleep, Alex” “They need to rest! Let them have some sense of normal, guys”). 

And he was adamant in continuing the kid’s studies and got everyone involved. 

Reggie would be in charge of teaching them some math. Julie would go over some science books she had from elementary school. And Luke would teach writing and reading. 

Alex held the fort down at home, but Willie was the one to take the kid out around town a lot, exploring all parts of LA. 

The kid loved art, so Willie was stoked to bring them to the museum that he took Alex to. 

(And they screamed there too, but the kid was now under the impression that it was acceptable to scream everywhere. And Alex was cross with Willie for a while after that...)

Willie even taught them how to skate, but was super protective and made sure he got them proper gear and a brand new helmet (”Willie, they’re already a ghost. They don’t need-” “It’s part of the learning experience...”). 

But how proud Willie was the day the kid was able to balance on the board on their own. 

And sometimes, Willie and Alex were able to take the kid out for the day together. And they would usually go to the beach. 

Once, the kid ran ahead and started kicking the waves that crept up the shore and Willie chased them. The skater picked them and spun them around, and Alex remembered his heart swelling at the sight of the two of them together. 

“Hot Dog Man! Help me!” The kid giggled as Willie playfully captured them and tickled them. 

Alex ran up and grabbed the kid from Willie’s hold, “I’ve come to rescue you!” He set them down before telling them to climb on his back, “I’m now your noble steed. Let’s go!” 

Willie smiled fondly seeing Alex giving the kid a piggyback ride and ran along with them, howling as the cold waters reached up and drenched their feet. 

It wasn’t easy, practically raising a kid. There were definitely difficult moments. 

But with Alex at Willie’s side, and Willie at Alex’s- it made it all worth it. 

[hey-there-juliet]

Willex - Love and Monsters AU [moodboard]

[contain major spoilers for the movie below the cut]

Alex and Willie had been friends for a while but were just starting to get their shit together - relationship wise - when the world fell apart.

Nick was the kid eaten by his goldfish (sorry, Nick :/)

After Alex parents died, some people grabbed him and took him with them away from the monsters.

Luke and Reggie ended up in the same colony as Alex.

Cut to seven years later

Alex, Reggie and Luke became best friends.

Out of the three of them, Luke is the only one allowed to go on supply runs (and only after being reminded a thousand times that he can't just start singing whenever he feels like it once they're on the surface). Reggie doesn't have the heart to kill the monsters, he says they're all misunderstood. Alex either panics or freezes, there's no in between.

It took a while, but Alex found Willie's colony on the radio and they've kept in touch ever since.

Reggie likes to draw the monsters and writes down every little detail the search parties are willing to tell him about them.

Emily and Mitch Patterson are also in the colony, as well as Ray.

Ray got separated from the rest of his family and believes them to be dead.

He kind of, unofficially, adopts Reggie and Alex.

Carrie and Flynn are at the colony too. Carrie and Flynn make a badass team at killing monsters.

After the breach in the colony and a cut off radio call with Willie, Alex decides that he can't just sit around anymore, always worrying about Willie and letting his anxiety get the best of him. He decides to ignore his complete panic at even the thought of going outside and go find him.

Luke and Reggie immediately volunteer to go with him.

Luke's parents don't want him to go, they fight. Luke goes anyway.

They find Bobby on their first day out, and he saves them from a giant frog.

Bobby is touch and company starved, having spent the most part of seven years on his own.

On their second day, Alex and Luke fall down a monster hole. While Bobby and Reggie try to figure out a way to get them out, they're saved by a girl and her little brother: Julie and Carlos.

The guys don't make the connection between this 'Julie and Carlos' to Ray's 'Julie and Carlos' because they're oblivious.

The Molina siblings agree to let them tag along, since they're not heading north yet. They teach them how to survive outside, how to kill monsters, how to hide, how to fight, how to avoid them; they tell them about their strengths and weaknesses, etc.

Julie and Carlos lost their mom when the monsters breached their colony at a subway station. They've been on their own since then, and are making their way to the mountains because the high ground and the cold helps keep the monsters away.

Juke fluff because I said so 💜

Reggie and Carlos get close too.

Eventually, they have to part ways. Julie and Carlos try to convince the guys to go with them to the mountains, but Alex won't leave Willie, and Reggie and Luke won't leave Alex.

Luke tells Julie he'll come find her sometime. She says it's a date and kisses him (because hey, they could all be dead tomorrow).

Julie gives Alex a grenade for an emergency.

They go their separate ways. Luke pouts :(

After fighting 'the Queen,' and blowing her up, Alex, Luke and Reggie are poisoned.

They fight and yell at Bobby, and Bobby goes off on his own :(

Willie finds them and nurses them back to health.

Willex kiss 💛

Willie's colony is going to the sea with a yacht Captain, Caleb, and his friends - Dante & Diego.

They're the bad guys, but shhhhh.

While they're celebrating after organizing their stuff to take to the yacht, Luke uses the radio to talk to his parents, but the call is cut off when another monster breaches their colony. He thinks his family might be dead/dying and decides to go back.

Then he notices the berries that Bobby told them not to eat. He tries to warn the others, but it's too late. They're all knocked out.

In the morning, Caleb reveals his evil plans and unleashes the mutated crab on them.

Willie and Alex go to stop Caleb and his crew.

Bobby comes back to help by freeing the rest of the colony (which are mostly older people).

Luke and Reggie fight the crab monster that Caleb had been shocking into submission, until Reggie tells him to stop because the monster looks so sad, (he remembers what Carlos told him: not all monsters are bad, "It's all in the eyes.").

He frees the monster from Caleb's jolts, and the crab eats Caleb and his crew.

Alex decides to stay with Willie to help him fix up the colony.

Luke, Bobby and Reggie go back to their old colony, and find their family still - mostly - alive.

Reggie uses the radio to send out the call about the monsters' weaknesses and strengths and how to fight them. Luke tells the people that it's time to take back their home and stop living in fear.

Epilogue

Luke reunites with Julie and, to everyone's surprise, reunites her and Carlos with their dad.

Julie, Flynn and Carrie immediately bond over their weapons and all around badassery.

Up at the mountains, in a safe place that becomes a meet up point to anyone who's still alive, Luke and Reggie reunite with Alex and Willie.

All is well... for the moment.

The end :)

Monsters: 0

Love: ��❤❤

[strugglingatart]

I am nosy can I please hear about the Alex/Willie/Bobby au with ghost Bobby? ✨

ok, ok ok!!!

Background: Sunset Curve have all been friends for years now, Bobby gets a crush on Alex(or maybe he always had it but knows it's allowed now he's not sure tbh) and freaks out bc that will ruin everything so he kinda pulls away and then the Orpheum happens and he's all alone

So Bobby dies not long after the boys like a year or so... he didn't wanna live ok he lost the family he had and his love for music all in one fowl swoop bc there's just no way he can play anymore. So he's a ghost now and he tries to find his boys but can't

He finds the HGC but is like nope, no, too much music I cannot (he doesn't seem to be special so Caleb let's him go but he then is like huh we don't like him) but Willie notices Bobby and immediately likes his vibe and wants to be friends and doesn't have a crush straight away what? no

Anyways Bobby and Willie become close so fast and neither talks much about their lives, they just focus on building what they have here now. The only reason they aren't dating by their second week is bc Bobby's still hung up on Alex but eventually they communicate and figure shit out and become boyfriends ✨

Then one day Willie's skating and they pancake a beautiful blonde and have a moment™ with him but when they walk away it's immediately: oh shit this feels exactly like it did when they met Bobby, that's not good right??? They're happy with the relationship they love Bobby this cannot be happening. So Willie has a mini crisis and decides to not tell Bobby anything until they're sure they understand their exact feelings so that they can articulate and express them properly

So Willie is slowly figuring out that he is very much 😍😍😍 for both boys equally and is building up the courage to tell Bobby about the whole situation and introduce him to Alex (not knowing they know each other) but then the whole stamp mess happens and Caleb doesn't even know about Bobby and has been extra vigilant and an asshole towards him he can barely leave the club and he's being followed and he just wants to make things right.

Meanwhile Bobby has just been living his afterlife but is also worried about his boyfriend and wants to help but he thinks it's just a Caleb thing and Caleb is terrifying he can't do anything... and then one night he's on this spot on the beach he went to a lot while alive and rarely when dead bc memories and he's like asking the universe what to do and a crying Willie shows up (this is right post orpheum willex hug) and Bobby just holds them for a bit and suddenly everything is pouring out of Willie, the whole story

Bobby wants to be comforting and there for his boyfriend so he doesn't let go but he does kinda freeze because he joins the dots that it's his Alex Willie's talking about and it's just so much to take in

Willie senses this and it's like I'm so sorry and blames theirself and is like "I was horrible and just so dumb and he doesn't even know you exist and I was flirting oh my gods we had so many moments and just... I ruined everything...and you must hate me now" and it's this spiral that snaps Bobby out of it (and this is very important and clear in my mind) Bobby slowly grabs Willie's hands, puts them over his heart and touches their cheek and goes "I love you ok, so much, you could never ruin anything Wills"

They have a huge emotional talk after than, filled with love declarations and kisses, they finally talk about all things they avoided like their alive lives and come out a stronger couple.Willie apologizes bc Bobby lost the chance to see his boys again and Bobby says it's ok, you couldn't have known, and the Willie goes I cannot believe I met your old band and fell for one of them, to which Bobby answers Eh I don't blame you on the Alex part I was in love with him too, might still be and Willie is just shock, he's looking at his boyfriend with his mouth wide open... and then they both just burst out laughing

Anyways after that they start trying to figure out how to free Willie of Caleb with Bobby's ghost commune he found and has been a part of(that already knew Willie obvi). Meanwhile Alex is ok and trying to find Willie but not see Caleb and one day he manages to do so and just goes for it and kisses Willie and Bobby is there (alex hadn't initially noticed tho) and just whistles and goes "that's a lot harder than it has any right to be" and then it's just Alex.exe has crashed and then Willie is sheepishly scratching his neck and Bobby is just arching his eyebrow.... they eventually manage to get to talking and there a "what do you mean you had a crush on me you were my literal gay awakening Robin what the fuck" and some tears and lots of kisses and it's the most time Alex has ever spent away from the studio since being a ghost but he comes back w/ their long lost bandmate and two boyfriends so he's not complaining

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

This was much bigger than I thought it was gonna be lmao

I have so many thoughts about this feel free to talk to me about it

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

That’s Christmas To Me| Julie and The Phantoms Cast

Dream-a-little-bigger-x’s Countdown to Christmas 

Day 4 

A/N: I got so excited when I saw this one was the next one I had to write! I hope you enjoy! I also wanna thank @calamitykaty​, @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​, @vrthngiwnt​ and @bright-molina​ for letting me pick your brains and bounce some ideas off of you. I love you loads! 

Pairing: Platonic! JATP Cast x fem!reader

Summary: 2022, season 2 was about to be released on Netflix and the cast was invited to promote the show on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. A dream come true. When the host asks them for their favorite holiday memory together, the cast immediately flashes back to that time at the Christmas Markets. 

Song(s) used: That’s Christmas To Me - Pentatonix | Happy Xmas (War is Over) - Echosmith ft. Hunter Hayes

Warnings: Spiked hot chocolates, but no one gets drunk and no one drinking is underage. 

Words:  3,970

Checking her outfit in the full-length mirror once again, y/n sighed nervously. All dressed out to the max for her very first talk show. Her styling team had outdone themselves once again. The gold flared pants, the white satin button down shirt and the white heels just made her feel so fabulous. 

Though she couldn’t deny the fact that she was nervous. She was going on a live show, not any live show, but the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, nonetheless. Her family watched that show religiously every single night. That thought did not calm her down either. 

A soft knock made her snap out of her thoughts and turn around to find Madison in the doorway with an excited smile on her face. “You look gorgeous!” she exclaimed excitedly and ran up to her newest best friend, engulfing her into a tight hug. 

She was sporting a gray glittery jumpsuit with black pumps strapped on her feet, her makeup done beautifully and her natural curls flowing over her shoulders with bejeweled clips pulling it out of her face. 

“So do you!” y/n retorted with the brightest smile she could muster, though Madison could see right through her and squeezed her hands reassuringly. “My heart is thumping.” The words came out in a whisper as though she was telling a secret. 

“So is mine, but we can do this. We got each other, okay?” 

Y/N and Madison had gotten along straight away the first day y/n came to set. It was nerve-wracking to weasel yourself into a tight group of cast members who’ve already spent two years working together, but they made it so agreeable. The first day, Madison and Owen came up to her and started bombarding her with so many questions about herself and her character. All she knew about the latter was that she’d be Reggie’s love interest and the villain’s niece who worked for him to try and get Reggie, Luke and Alex into his club. Which of course, would not work out as y/n’s character would fall for the bassist too. 

The entire cast welcomed her into their group straight away and the whole process became so enjoyable to the point where it just didn’t feel like work anymore. It just felt like spending time with friends and trying to memorize words and songs at the same time. It was weird. But so much fun. And now, they were able to finally promote said season. 

“Madison, y/n, time to go,” one of the show runners said to them when he passed y/n’s dressing room. The two girls nodded and after a simultaneous deep inhale and exhale of stress, they made their way to the hallway where the boys were waiting. 

Charlie and Jeremy offered y/n a wide smile to ease her nerves a little before Charlie held out his hand in front of him. “We got this. Legends on three?” The others nodded and, with a content smile on her face, y/n placed her hand on top of Charlie’s. 

“One,” said Charlie. 

“Two,” Jeremy and Madison added in unison. 

“Three!” Owen and y/n finished and all five their hands went up in the air as they yelled out “Legends!” Though it was scary, y/n knew she had four amazing people that would guide her through it. 

“Please, welcome the cast of Julie and The Phantoms!” Jimmy introduced them and, while the Roots played the infamous intro song, the cast walked through the red curtain. Madison and y/n ahead, holding one another’s hands as to not fall in their heels, then followed Charlie, Jeremy and Owen. 

The audience cheered and applauded until they sat down and the music faded away. “Welcome, welcome!” Jimmy said excitedly. “Thank you for being here!” The cast beamed at the host, unable to contain their excitement nor nerves. 

“Thanks for having us,” said Charlie, the polite Canadian. 

“So, exciting news, season two of your show Julie and The Phantoms premieres on Netflix tonight, is that correct?” 

“Yes!” all five said, though not quite in unison, and the crowd roared again. Y/N couldn’t hide the smile on her red painted lips as she looked out into the sea of people. 

Jimmy turned to the crowd, “If the people at home have never heard of your show, how would you explain it?” His eyes fell on the girl closest to his desk, which was Madison, allowing her to answer the question. 

“Uhm… Julie and The Phantoms is about this girl, Julie, who tragically lost her mom and, with it, her love for music. That is until one day, she plays this old CD she finds and out pop these three lovable, dorky ghosts who used to be in a band in the 90’s, called Sunset Curve. They died when they ate bad hot dogs--” the crowd let out a laugh, and it made Madison chuckle too. “Yeah! -- Anyway, and so these boys kind of help her find her love for music again and they form a band, called Julie and The Phantoms as the audience can see the ghosts when they play with Julie. And a lot of things happen and it’s funny and light and cute!” 

Jimmy let out a chuckle too, “And now there’s a season 2!” Another cheer erupted from the crowd. “What can you tell us about season 2, Charlie?” he directed the question to the boy next to the newbee. 

“A lot happens! We see what happens with Nick and Caleb, and we meet Philippa, Pips, Covington who will stir up some crazy stuff in the boys’ lives, especially Reggie’s,” he explained with a grin. He stirred in his seat a little before placing his arm on the back of the couch, behind y/n’s head. The girl tried not to react to the overwhelmingly amazing scent of sandalwood that emanated from this movement. 

Jimmy’s eyes landed on y/n and she was certain that for a moment, he knew what she was thinking, but then he asked her a question instead. “How was it for you, y/n, as the newcomer to the cast? Did they immediately embrace you or did  you have trouble being accepted?” 

“I hated it--” she replied seriously,  but then giggled, “No, I loved it! They were so kind and so welcoming, I immediately felt like I was part of their tight group. It did feel strange at first, I’m not gonna lie. But after a while, coming to work didn’t really feel like working anymore.” 

“And your character, Phillipa, was she accepted by the other characters?” 

She cleared her throat of any nerves before answering. “Pippa was… well-- she was working for her dead great-uncle, so she had to make sure she was accepted and weasled herself into the friend group pretty quickly. She knew how to get to Reggie especially and thanks to him, got into their friend group.”

“That’s amazing. I’m so excited to watch! My daughters are eight and nine, and they loved season 1 of Julie and The Phantoms. They’re thrilled to see the new season!” 

A chorus of “aw”s were shared within the cast as well as throughout the audience. 

“Yeah, they’re pretty cute.” He picked up his cue cards to remind himself of the next bullet point he needed to talk about. “Oh! Since it’s almost Christmas, I like to ask my guests to tell us a fun holiday themed story before I send them off, do you guys have a fun holiday themed story for us?” 

The cast exchange glances until Owen asked, “Should we talk about the Christmas market we did last year after filming?” The rest of the cast made sounds of agreement with a few giggles mixed in between. 

“Tell us about the Christmas Market!” Jimmy shouted excitedly, almost resembling a five-year-old getting their Christmas presents early. 

Owen took the lead on this one. “So, we were all in Vancouver, we had wrapped season 2 and we would soon be going home, but we decided to spend one last night together at a Christmas market in Vancouver city…”    

Bundled up in layers of sweaters and a thick coat, y/n trekked through the layer of snow that blanketed to grounds of Vancouver City. She was trying her hardest not to focus on the blistering cold that nipped at her nose but rather on the story Charlie was telling the others in front of her. His voice boomed into the busy streets, along with the others’ laughter. 

She always loved the way Charlie told his stories about every wild adventure he’d ever been on and the way Owen quipped back with the wittiest of comebacks. Or how Madison would chime in with her typical Gen Z humor none of the boys understood. Y/N was sure going to miss the entire dynamic of the group when they were back home. 

Thousands of lights flickered above y/n’s head as they strolled through the entrance of the infamous Vancouver Christmas Market. She let her eyes take in the beauty whilst her stomach fluttered from excitement. Her love for Christmas Markets had never faltered over the years. It still excited her in the same way it did when she was just a child. 

“Can we get a hot chocolate first? I’m freezing!” Savannah suggested, her teeth chattering as she snuggled into her thick scarf. Smiling, y/n hooked her arm around hers and pulled her closer in hopes the warmth of all her layers would help the blonde girl a little. 

“I heard they have a unique recipe that only the Christmas Market here ever uses!” Charlie added with a wide grin before leading the gang towards the warm beverage kiosk. It resembled a cabin from a ski resort, decked out all the way with Christmas lights and foliage. 

The group stood in front of the kiosk and read the menu to figure out whatever they’d want to drink. “Ooh, that Peppermint Hot Chocolate sounds delish,” Owen said, and when y/n’s eyes landed on the words, her mouth curled up into a smirk. 

“We’re going that route tonight, hm?” 

The hot chocolate he was talking about was spiked with peppermint schnapps and chocolate liqueur. This sounded right up y/n’s street, and she knew it would warm Savannah up from the inside. 

“Follow me or don’t follow me, that’s up to you, but I am taking that route tonight.” Owen rubbed his gloved hands together until the lady inside the kiosk looked up at him, signalling that it was his turn to order. “A peppermint hot chocolate, please.” He sounded way too confident for someone who had just turned 21 that year. 

The woman peered over her half-moon glasses, letting her eyes glide from his eyes to his toes before sneering, “ID, please.” Owen’s mouth dropped open and with a lot of cursing underneath his breath, he reached for his wallet. 

“Ha! Owen’s getting ID’d!” Charlie cackled, shaking his head. The woman’s eyes darted over to the second boy, giving him the same one-up before raising her eyebrows as if saying “I’m gonna get you too, little boy”. 

And she did. She ID’d Charlie too. No one else but Charlie and Owen, which everyone had a good laugh at as they were sipping their hot chocolates, which for three out of ten isn’t spiked. 

While Jeremy and Booboo were still teasing the two boys, y/n turned around and let her eyes scan the entire view in front of her. All the pretty lights and the snow whirling to the ground so gracefully and the music floating through the air made the cold more bearable. 

A gasp eliciting from Jadah’s tiny body made y/n snap out of her thoughts and turn to the younger cast member. Her eyes were wide and shimmering, looking up at the tall Christmas tree that was towering above their heads with tens of thousands of lights blinking back at them. 

“Isn’t that the walk-through Christmas tree?!” she asked, excitedly. 

Madison took her hand and, giggling, they weaved through the sea of people towards the one-of-a-kind festive fairyland. Y/N exchanged glances with the rest before they, too, made a beeline towards the tree, dodging people left and right. 

“Hey, Owen, are you sure you’re gonna be able to fit?” y/n asked the tall Oklahoman teasingly. The boy’s mouth dropped open, and before she could properly register it, he started chasing her. She ran past Madison and Jadah, and tried to duck behind any other visitor until he eventually picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. The girl shrieked, prior to a giggle.  

Jimmy’s voice echoed over y/n’s flashback to the most festive night of that year. “You guys really sound like a close group of friends.” 

“Yeah! We are! We’re like a little family!” Charlie replied, dropping the arm that was on the back of the sofa around the girl’s shoulder. 

“What happened next?” Jimmy then questioned, curiously. The whole scene almost resembled a toddler listening to his bedtime story. 

Jeremy cleared his throat with a chuckle. “Well, if this night were a movie, you’d now have a cute montage of us going through that magical tree and on the carousel like little children.” 

“Yeah, you’d see us stuff our faces with churros and pretzels,” y/n added, making Jimmy and the crowd laugh. 

“And we got a lot of Christmas shopping done too!” Madison chimed in with a smile. “I actually got everyone’s present when they were right there with me. None of them noticed.” 

“Oh, no, I noticed,” y/n replied with a smirk, to which Madison reacted with widened eyes. 

“What’s next?!” Jimmy queried. His eyes were glistening as he listened to the cast talk. He just loved their dynamic and how well they got along with one another. 

Y/N continued the story as her mind tumbled back into her daydream. 

The music had stopped just a few minutes ago, but only now y/n’s ears picked up on the sudden absence. Knitting her eyebrows together, she lifted her eyes to the stage in the corner of the market where singers were carolling minutes ago, and was now completely empty. As the small amount of alcohol made her brain a little woozy, her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip in thought. 

“Guys… Should we--Should we go sing a song?” she suggested, causing all of them to look up in surprise. “There’s no one on the stage… Should we?” she pointed at the podium to emphasize what she meant. 

As smiles appeared on each of their faces, the group walked up to the stage and grabbed a microphone each. Charlie reached for the acoustic guitar on the stand, but y/n stopped him. 

“Let’s do a capella for once?” she told him tenderly. 

When his eyes met hers, she felt her lungs expand with the gasp that left her body. How gorgeous could one’s eyes be. But with that one look, the boy also knew what song she wanted to sing. The one song that had been stuck in her head for the past month during filming. And the rest of the crew knew too because when y/n counted them in softly, they all started to sing along. Their voices mingling perfectly and floating throughout the night sky. 

“The fireplace is burning bright, shining all on me I see the presents underneath the good old Christmas tree And I wait all night 'til Santa comes to wake me from my dreams Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me”

Savannah locked eyes with y/n and a smile fell to their lips before they looked out to the audience they had assembled with their harmonies reaching across the entire Christmas Market. 

“I see the children play outside, like angels in the snow While mom and daddy share a kiss under the mistletoe And we'll cherish all these simple things wherever we may be Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me”

Owen came to stand next to y/n and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they all sang the chorus together, the tall blondie on lead vocals and the others harmonizing in the background. 

“I've got this Christmas song in my heart”

“Song in my heart”

“I've got the candles glowing in the dark I'm hanging all the stockings by the Christmas tree Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me”

As though they had prepared the entire performance, Booboo led them into the next verse while the others acted as backing vocals for him. His warm, deep voice sent chills down everyone’s spines, especially of the people in the crowd. 

“I listen for the thud of reindeer walking on the roof As I fall asleep to lullabies, the morning's coming soon”

His cast mates then joined in again and together, they sang the chorus once again with Jeremy taking lead this time. While they did, y/n took a hold of Savannah’s gloved hand, squeezing it as they looked at each other with intent in their eyes. Like they meant what they were singing to one another. 

“The only gift I'll ever need is the joy of family Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me I've got this Christmas song in my heart”

“Song in my heart”

“I've got the candles glowing in the dark I'm hanging all the stockings by the Christmas tree Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me”

Y/N turned her head to the other side now, locking eyes with Tori and Sacha, and shooting them a wink before they lapsed into the chorus one last time. It felt good to sing with everyone for once. During filming, it was always just a select group of people that got to sing together. 

“Oh, the joy that fills our hearts and makes us see Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me I've got this Christmas song in my heart I've got the candles glowing in the dark And then for years to come we'll always know one thing That's the love that Christmas can bring Oh, why? 'Cause that's Christmas to me”

As the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, the group shared an intense look, one that said they were always going to be friends. No matter how far away they’ll be from tomorrow on. Even if they don’t get picked up for a third season, they’re always going to be there for each other and be the best of friends forever. The only gift they’ll ever need is the joy of family. And they were family. 

“That was so beautiful!” Jimmy exclaimed after they’d told him about everything that had happened that night in a short synopsis. “Now, I believe you’re gonna sing for us now?” 

The cast nodded in unison. “Okay, what are you bringing us tonight? The song you sang at the Christmas market?” 

Madison giggled, “No, though we love that song, there’s one we collectively think is one of the greatest Christmas songs ever. It’s the ultimate classic Happy Xmas, War is Over by John Lennon.” 

“Amazing! You can go get ready!” he gestures to the tiled floor in front of the red curtain where the crew had set up their instruments and five microphones for them. “Catch Julie and The Phantoms season 2 on Netflix from tonight! They’re singing for us now. Madison, y/n, Charlie, Jeremy and Owen, take it away!” 

Owen counted them in by slamming his sticks together and then began playing the rhythm of the song. Y/N then chimed in with the jingling of the tambourine before the other boys and Madison joined with their respective instruments. Soon after, Madison’s voice floated through the talk show’s studio. 

“So this is Christmas And what have you done Another year over A new one just begun”

When the girls lock eyes, they shoot one another a wink before y/n takes over the next part of the verse. 

“And so this is Christmas I hope you have fun The near and the dear ones The old and the young”

Then the boys chime in, their voices mingling as they linger in the air for everyone to hear and enjoy. Y/N lets her eyes dart over to Charlie, who’s already looking at her with a smile on his face. 

“A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fears”

The others shut up, giving Charlie the floor now. He really was born to be a rockstar. The way he just owned the stage and looked like an absolute legend, singing his heart out and playing his guitar like a pro. And he’d only started learning when he was on season 1 of Julie and The Phantoms. 

“And so this is Christmas For weak and for strong The rich and the poor ones The world is so wrong”

For a split second, he locked eyes with y/n again as she took over and faced the audience with a smile, still working her little tambourine for the extra jingles. Somehow, this just felt like one of their jam sessions during rehearsals and not at all like it was a live broadcast on national television. 

“And so happy Christmas For black and for white Ooh, for everyone Let's stop all the fights”

Their voices mingled together again, and, in a boost of confidence, y/n grabbed the mic from its stand and walked over to Jeremy, rocking out with him as he shredded on the bass. 

“A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fears”

The music slowed down, and while Madi, Owen and Jeremy took care of the soft backing vocals, y/n walked over to Charlie and sang the lines to one another, never breaking eye contact. 

“And so this is Christmas And what have we done Another year over A new one just begun”

The music picked back up. Madison took over this time, and while y/n worked her tambourine, she danced her way towards the Latina girl with a smile plastered on her face. 

“And so happy Christmas We hope you have fun The near and the dear ones The old and the young”

She then turned to Owen as he took over on the next part. He shot her a quick wink whilst his mouth curled up on one side. “A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fear”

Each taking their turn, starting with Owen, they all sang a part of the backing vocals while the boys and Madison played the instrumental intermezzo. “Merry Christmas” 

“So this is Christmas”

“War is over now” 

Returning back to her spot, y/n placed her mic on the stand again, and along with the others, sang the very last lines of the song. 

“War is over If you want it It’s over now”

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause while the band assembled in the middle of the stage. Charlie grabbed y/n’s hand and gave it a small, reassuring squeeze. All five of them together took a bow before exchanging knowing glances. 

This time around, they knew they were going to see each other tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that as they were doing all the promo they could. It felt a lot more reassuring than it did that day at the Christmas Market when they had no clue when they’d see each other again. Though all of them knew that this was still the only gift they’ll ever need. Their little found family.  

JATP taglist: @hannahhistorian92​ @marinettepotterandplagg​@thequirkybookaholic​ @bookdealer5​ @tenaciousperfectionunknown​ @hemmingsness​ @iainttakingshitfromnobody​ @ifilwtmfc​ @angryknightstatesmantrash​ @kiss-themoongoodbye​ @rudysbay @thedarkqueenofavalon​​ @caitsymichelle13​​ @calamitykaty​ @wiselight​ @kcd15​​ @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic​ @stars-soph​ @kinda-really-lost​ @notasofti​ @alexpjoyner​ @n0wornever​ @kaitieskidmore1​ @tefilovesreading​ @pxperphxntom​ @crybabyddl​ @parkeret​ @headheartbellarke​ 

Names crossed out are the ones I couldn’t tag. 

Lemme know if you wanna be on my taglist! 

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 16 - Be Careful

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, can they bear the news?, 2.2k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: cancer mention

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15

Julie sat beside Luke at the small table they had set up beside Rose’s bed. A stack of photos, glue sticks, stickers, scissors, and tons of colored paper covered the table, as well as another stack of photos sitting within Rose’s reach.

“Oh, look at this picture of Carlos,” Rose said in her raspy voice. She lifted one of him as a chubby two year old wearing a baseball cap that was too big, clapping his hands together.

“Aww,” Julie looked affectionately at the photo, tilting her head.

“He’s a cute kid, Mrs. Molina,” Luke said. He continued cutting music notes out of a sheet of purple paper.

“Thanks for visiting me today,” Rose said. “I heard you and the boys have been busy in the studio?”

Grinning like the goof he was, Luke nodded. Julie couldn’t help suppressing a giggle. Even though she knew he was tired from long hours and he only had a little time to get away, he’d still been all about coming with her to visit her mom this morning. She wasn’t sure he was that interested in scrapbooking, but it was sweet of him to come along.

“Yeah, it’s been so fun,” he was saying. “I don’t know how the guys in production make us sound so good. I mean, we already sound awesome, but they make it just perfect. I feel like I would go out and buy ten copies of the album when it gets out.”

Rose chuckled. “Really? That’s great to hear. I remember with the Petal Pushers, I could’ve spent hours in production, tweaking everything until it was just right. That’s why it almost took us two years to release our debut.”

“Two years?” Luke sat back, letting it sink in.

“I was a bit of a perfectionist; the rest of my band wasn’t so patient. I don’t mind though, I had other things to put my time into.” She gazed fondly at Julie, who looked back with a similar fondness, if not slightly clouded.

She wasn’t responding to treatment anymore. It had just become official last week and Julie wasn’t ready to break the news to Luke or anyone else. There wasn’t anything she could think of that would make it easier, no matter how much she knew she needed to let them know. It just seemed like everyone else was doing so well: the guys were finally moving on up, Flynn was coming out with her own music, and even she had barely finished a successful tour. But this was more than just a wrench in the gears.

In the middle of cutting out a heart, she was too lost in thought and snipped on the end of her thumb.

“Ow!” she cried, immediately sucking on it. “Do we have band aids in here?”

“Oh, sweetie,” her mom said fretfully. “I can’t remember where they are, but let me call the nurse.” She pressed a button on the remote beside her bed. Luke tried to get a look at the cut, but Julie insisted on sucking on it.

Moments later, the same woman Julie had seen before entered the room. Her hair was in a braid today, and Julie tried to smile at the sight while her thumb remained in her mouth.

“Hey, Rose, what’s up?” she asked, appearing surprised to have gotten a call.

“Sorry this isn’t a big emergency,” Rose apologized. “My daughter just cut her thumb and I can’t remember where you put the bandages.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got you,” the nurse said, going to a cabinet and pulling out supplies to bandage Julie’s thumb. “Here, let me see it.”

Finally releasing it, Julie held her hand out and let the nurse sit down and get to work cleaning and wrapping it.

“What are we working on here?” the nurse wondered aloud, looking at the table of craft supplies.

“We’re putting together a scrapbook,” Julie told her, knowing she was using the conversation to distract her from the pain. “You know, so we don’t forget the good things.” She got a knowing look from the nurse. Her eyes were soft and full of understanding, and Julie offered her a little smile. “I know I’ve seen you before, but what was your name?”

“It’s Renee,” the nurse said. “I was just realizing that I never properly introduced myself, either.” Closing the band aid around Julie’s finger, she patted her hand and stood up.

“Well, it’s good to see you again. This is Luke, by the way.” Julie pointed toward where he was simply watching them, slightly spaced out. He blinked for a minute before smiling at Renee and nodding.

“Nice to meet you,” he said. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Renee smiled demurely. “Oh, well, I certainly aim for that at the end of the day.”

Luke could only respond with his dorky grin.

“Luke, here, is a musician like Julie,” Rose piped in.

“Is that right?” Renee replied, raising her eyebrows in interest. “Your family seems to attract the most talented company.”

“Oh, well, I’m definitely talented,” Luke said. “But Julie’s the real wrecking ball. It doesn’t surprise me she got to touring before me and my band.”

She rolled her eyes, but Julie enjoyed the compliment. That was pretty modest for him when it came to music.

“Yes, I remember mentioning my niece is a big fan. I have to refrain from telling her you’re related to Rose, otherwise she would ask for a lot of favors.”

“Oh, how old is your niece?” Julie asked.

“She’s thirteen,” Renee said, leaning on her hand. “Just started middle school.”

“Oh, middle school is rough,” Luke murmured.

“She’s definitely having a rough time,” Renee said to all three of them. “But I think your music has made a difference. Her mom might buy her keyboard for Christmas.”

Julie looked back at Luke, who was already beaming at her, and knew what he would say. He didn’t have to, but she could hear his mantra about the importance of music echo in her brain: it’s about connecting with people, making a difference in their day. She turned back to Renee, whose pager was beeping and made her turn to leave.

“Thanks for the bandage, and of course being there for us,” she said.

“You’re welcome. Glad I could see you, too, Julie.”

“I’ll see you later, Renee,” Rose rasped as she disappeared.

“She seems pretty cool,” Luke said, picking up the music note he was still trying to cut out.

“Yeah, I like her,” Julie told him. “She gave me some good advice.”

“I know she kept talking about her niece, but I think you have another big fan,” Rose said.

“Maybe,” Julie shrugged, trying to focus again on the scrapbook.

As she and Luke left the hospital, Julie had to steal a long glance at her mom, now fast asleep. She had to remember the good things, but there were so many questions she felt like she had to answer. Now that she was off tour and back in school, it was only a matter of time before she had to return to the studio. Once that happened, visits like this would be nearly impossible. She felt a hand slip into hers and fingers interlocking, and she looked up at Luke gently nodding at her to move onward. His puppy-like eyes gave her enough courage to go.

“So how long do you have to be in the studio today?” she asked him, forcing her mind to switch gears.

“Uh...till about seven,” Luke said. “We’re mostly working on Lakeside Reflection today.”

“Aww, I love that one,” she melted into his side as they stepped into the elevator.

“I know you do,” he chuckled softly. She continued leaning on him, feeling his thumb rub over the top of her hand like a lullaby. They remained silent the rest of the way down, just enjoying each other’s company. Julie loved Luke’s calm, quiet moments where he didn’t need to use words. Like the way he used music to speak his mind, he could also communicate with the way he held her. He offered the best comfort. Stepping out of the elevator and to the front of the hospital, Julie saw Bobby’s van already waiting.

“Do you need a ride?” Luke asked.

She shook her head. “No, my tía is taking me and Carlos to see a movie. She’ll be here any minute.”

Forever a pleading look in his eyes when they said goodbye, she shook her head and rolled her eyes at him before he could suggest she change her plans. It happened so often now that she’d had to learn how to say no, no matter how hard it was sometimes.

“Okay, fine,” Luke said, the silent argument over. One hand grabbed onto her head as he planted a kiss on her forehead, letting the other slowly slip out of her fingers as he went to climb into the van. Julie waved at all the guys inside as Bobby took off before looking back down at her bandaged thumb. She still couldn’t tell them about her mom.

Tapping his fingers on the seat, Alex nervously fought to decide if he could break the news to Luke and Bobby. Reggie peeked back, giving him an uncertain glance. They hadn’t exactly discussed it or practiced what they’d say to them, but the clock was ticking. Luke and Bobby needed to know what Caleb was really like now. For some odd reason, Alex’s tongue remained on lock for the whole ride, and it seemed to plague Reggie, too. He felt his muscles twitch as they pulled into the parking lot at the studio. Listening to the squeak of Bobby’s brakes, inertia let them all lightly lurch forward before coming to a full stop.

“Guess who me and Reggie ran into last night?” Alex cried out, almost reflexively. All the guys turned back at him.

“Who?” Bobby prompted.

“Willie.”

The two of them stared at him, stunned, as Reggie took in a deep breath. It was hard to tell whether it was relief or something else.

“Reggie, is he okay?” Bobby asked him.

“Actually, yes he is,” Reggie stated solemnly. “I saw Willie too. He’s here in LA.”

Bobby looked at Luke.

“Caleb said he died. There’s no way he could be here.”

“Well, he is,” Alex said firmly. “Flynn can prove it too, we ran into her as well.”

“Alright, that’s good news, but why are you guys telling us now?” Luke queried.

“Because he knows things about Caleb,” Alex said. “Really bad things.”

Luke and Bobby both blinked and then looked at each other. Alex shot a glance over at the door to the studio. He was already afraid to enter. Caleb wasn’t always there, but he always arrived unpredictably.

“Like what things?” Luke asked.

Later that evening, all the guys sat in the garage where they usually practiced. Luke was lying on the couch, despondent as he gazed at the ceiling. Bobby was sprawled on the floor while Reggie had lain sideways across the armchair. Alex paced, occasionally running his hand through his hair.

“Anyone else never want to set foot inside that studio again?” Reggie offered cheerlessly.

“We can’t just quit making a record,” Luke contested.

“Maybe we wouldn’t feel like we want to if we hadn’t jumped the gun and just signed onto the first place that wanted us,” Bobby said. Luke sat up, clearly bothered by those words.

“Dude, what are you saying?”

“Caleb’s a creep,” Reggie supplied. “I don’t know what his game is, but if what Willie says is true, then working with him is a major no go.”

“If?” Alex retorted, stopping to target Reggie. “If we’re gonna trust anyone between the two of them, I would trust Willie. He’s not the one killing people for convenience.”

“Hey,” Bobby interrupted. “You can defend him all you want. We’re not saying we don’t trust him.”

Alex took back to pacing again. Sighing heavily, Luke sat upright on the couch.

“So what, do we just give up?” he demanded. “We didn’t work so hard to get this far just to drop our dream over one shady guy. I mean, what else could he possibly want with us?”

“Look, I don’t know,” Alex said. “But what if it’s not just about us. I mean, thanks to Caleb, Willie can barely remember who he is.” The guys fell silent and serious as that reality sank in. “I mean, he’s not the only one that Caleb has messed with for years, manipulating them into working under him and giving up almost all of their control. Maybe he doesn’t need to get foster kids for it anymore. What if we’re next?”

“So what should we do?” Bobby wondered. “Break the contract and risk losing the rights to all the work we’ve been doing?”

He had a point. Joining Luke on the couch, Alex rested his face in his hands, feeling the frustration seethe out of him.

“No, guys, we need to think about this,” Luke began saying. “I know this is messed up, but I also know that backing out isn’t the right answer. And I know I’m usually not the one to say this stuff but...we need to be careful.”

[justkimberley]

If You Scream in a Museum and Nobody Can Hear You, Do You Make a Sound?

Word Count: 3408

Summary:  Willie is trying to deal with everything that has happened, the best way he knows how. By screaming in a museum about all that he's lost. Alex is poofing all over LA to try and find Willie so that he can know that Alex is okay. Will they find each other? If they do, what will happen next?

AO3 Link

       Willie was glad that Alex crossed over. Really, he was. He would much rather that Alex be in whatever happens in the great beyond than for him to have flickered out of existence. But… Willie was also devastated.

      Willie had forgotten what it felt like to care about someone so much that it hurt. To care about someone and feel it in his chest, to think about someone all the time, to want for them to be happy, because if they’re happy, you’re happy. Willie had been a ghost for longer than he’d been alive, and Alex was the first ghost he had made an actual connection with. Sure, Willie worked for Caleb, and, at the start, he had a sort of father-son caring relationship with Caleb, but that hadn’t lasted long. As soon as Caleb had Willie’s soul, that relationship became toxic. Caleb leaching off of Willie, and Willie having nowhere else to go and no say in the matter if he wanted to be safe. Caleb had what he needed, and Willie had the protection of Caleb. It was fine. Willie had been happy enough skating through Hollywood during the day, and performing with Caleb at night. But, after he ran into Alex (literally), his afterlife had just gotten so much better.

      Alex, with his pink hoodie and his constant tapping. His wide smile, and his nervous pacing, and his absolute confusion about the modern world after being in a dark room for 25 years. Thinking about Alex used to just make Willie smile. Ever since the Orpheum, that smile was bittersweet. Actually, ever since Caleb gave the boys stamps, that smile had been bittersweet. Alex himself made Willie smile, but everything that had happened to Alex because of Willie… well that was the bitter part, along with the fact that Alex had crossed over. But, he was happy for Alex, he really was. He was just… sad. And mad. And frustrated, and annoyed, and confused, and heartbroken, and just so, so, angry with Caleb.

      How could Caleb take advantage of lost souls like this? Willie was just a kid when he died. Willie’s still just a kid. He’s a seventeen year old kid who just wants to skate for the rest of his death, why did Caleb have to take that away from him? Alex and his band were just a group of seventeen year olds who wanted to make music and share it with the world! Why did Caleb have to take that away from them? Why did Caleb have to take more people away from Julie. Julie, the lifer Willie had never met but had still grown rather fond of, just from hearing how much she meant to Alex. It felt like Julie was practically Willie’s little sister too.

      And so, Willie was here at the museum, because he needed to scream, and he needed to break the rules, and he sort of felt like torturing himself by doing it somewhere that reminded him of Alex. After all, Alex was the main reason that Willie had woken up to what his death could be. And Alex was the main reason why Willie felt so torn up inside. And Alex was the only person, living or dead, that Willie wanted to see right now. And Alex was the one person Willie cared about that he knew he would never see again.

      And, with that final thought, Willie threw his head back and screamed. Willie screamed for Alex, for the experiences that he would never get to have with Alex and for the things he would never get to do with Alex again. He screamed for his own death, and how unfair it was that he had been taken so young. For the fact that he watched his family grieve his death. For the fact that he couldn’t bear to visit his actual little sister anymore, because she was so much older than he would ever be, her kids were so much older than he’d ever be. And that it hurt too much to see them, knowing that they had no idea he was still watching over them, protecting them. He screamed about Caleb, for all of the anguish that Caleb had caused him by taking away everything he had ever cared about. For all of the souls that Caleb had stolen, and manipulated, and cheated. Willie yelled for his family, for the loss that they felt because of his own recklessness and the inattentive driver. Willie cried out for the inattentive driver, who Willie had watched slowly descend into grief over having killed a young boy. Who Willie had tried to help, tried to show that he was forgiven, but the man had died of overdose trying to cope with the guilt anyway. Willie screamed for Julie, for the fact that she had to lose four people so important to her within such a short time at such a young age.

      And then Willie screamed for himself again, for the heartbreak he could feel so painfully in his chest even though he didn’t have an actual heart anymore. Willie screamed, and yelled, and fell to the floor, his voice breaking into sobs, pounding his hand against the floor, just to feel something other than the soreness in his vocal cords and the pain in his chest at all that he had lost. And, when Willie’s screaming quieted down, he heard footsteps quickly approaching him from the staircase. Willie kept sobbing while he numbly thought to himself that the guard must be finally making his rounds upstairs. For the first time today, Willie was glad to be dead, the guard wouldn’t see him, so Willie would be left alone in his misery, just the way he wanted to be.

_____________________

       Alex had been looking for Willie for two days. After nearly flickering out of existence and Julie’s magical hug of freedom, Carlos had walked into the studio and they found out that he could see them. That turned an already long night into an even longer night of explaining everything to Ray and Carlos, and trying to figure out how far the whole being visible thing extended. Only Julie could actually touch them though, that much they knew. They eventually reached the conclusion that anyone Julie loves could see them, and no one else could unless of course they were playing music. But, after that exhausting night was over, the boys slept like the dead (thanks for that Reggie). When Alex finally woke up he realized that he needed to find Willie because as far as Willie knew, Alex was gone, and Alex needed to fix that as soon as he could.

      On the first day, Alex poofed to every skatepark in LA twice, just in case Willie had gone to one after Alex had left it. On the second day, Alex checked all the places Willie had talked about, including Justin Bieber’s pool, and every place that Willie had ever taken him. The art museum, the bench where they had first talked, Hollywood Boulevard, anywhere that he could think of, but he came up empty handed. Alex took a seat on the bench in the nearly empty mall he was searching and tried to come up with somewhere else that Willie might be. He was starting to feel tired and defeated. He figured that Willie would have to lay low and hide from Caleb, considering that he had helped them get their performance at the Orpheum. Not to mention that the chances of them both being at the same place at the same time was incredibly low when there was no predetermined meeting time. LA is a big city, how would Alex ever find Willie? Alex quickly scanned the few faces left at the shopping mall one last time and then decided to go check the art museum again before he turned in for the night. He was so tired. It seemed that they needed to sleep more now that Julie could touch them. Or maybe Alex just needed to sleep more because he had spent his last two days poofing around the city and being incredibly anxious.

      The museum was dark when Alex got there. When he looked through the glass door, he could see the night guard’s flashlight moving through the construction equipment on the other side of the museum, so Alex took a deep breath, prayed to whatever was out there that he would find Willie here, and walked through the door.

      As soon as Alex crossed the threshold he could hear the screaming. And the security guard wasn’t reacting to it, so Alex knew that it must be Willie. Alex felt his nonexistent heartbeat speed up and a smile grew on his face as he started searching around the museum for Willie. The thing about the museum was, because of the odd architecture, it was very hard to pinpoint where the screaming was coming from, so Alex took off at a jog, listening for the screaming as he moved to see if he was getting closer.

      The more Alex heard of the screaming, the faster he moved. This wasn’t the light-hearted yelling that Alex had heard when Willie brought him here. This was guttural, heart-wrenching, screaming. It was full of anguish, and pain, and anger, and Alex didn’t even feel it as he picked up the pace trying to cover more ground quicker. When Alex finally realized that the screaming was coming from an upper floor, he ran up the stairs two at a time, needing to get to Willie as fast as possible. As soon as he cleared the top step and could see past the barrier he saw Willie standing across the room, screaming at the roof with tears streaming down his face. As Alex took his first step towards Willie, Willie’s voice broke. Alex watched in horror as Willie fell to the ground, striking it with his hand over, and over, and over again, as heartbreaking sobs wrenched through his body. Alex was sprinting across the floor now, unable to say anything. His throat was choked up with emotion at seeing Willie like this, knowing that he had caused Willie this pain.

      When Alex finally reached Willie, he dropped to the floor immediately and grabbed Willie’s hand to stop him from hitting the ground, causing Willie to look up in alarm, freezing as soon as he saw Alex. Alex ran his thumb over the back of Willie’s hand as he watched Willie process what was happening. Willie opened his mouth, trying to ask something, but no sound would come out, so Alex did the only thing he could think of. He pulled Willie into a hug, and ran his fingers through Willie’s hair, muttering soft reassurances as he held Willie as tight as he could without hurting him.

      “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to find you. We’re okay, we’re all okay, Julie saved us somehow. And we’re going to figure out how to save you too. You’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be safe, I’m gonna protect you,” Alex murmured into Willie’s hair, sighing in relief as Willie’s arms finally wrapped themselves around Alex’s body, holding Alex just as tightly as Alex was holding him.

      “How are you even here? Are you real? Am I dreaming?” Willie’s voice cracked as he finally spoke, “I’ve dreamt of finding you before, but this is so real. How can my brain be this cruel. When I wake up, the feeling of you in my arms will fade and it’ll be so much worse than before,”

      Alex pulled Willie closer at those words, and felt Willie’s tears on his shoulder, suddenly becoming aware of his own tears running down his face. “It’s not a dream Willie, I promise. I’m really here. We’re really okay. Julie got Caleb’s stamps off of us and we didn’t cross over, and we’re here. I won’t leave you again, I promise. I’m here, I’m here,” Alex pulled away from the hug to look Willie in the eyes, trying to prove that he wasn’t lying, only to see that Willie’s eyes were squeezed shut. “Willie, please, open your eyes, you’re not dreaming,” Alex begged, brushing his thumbs under Willie’s eyes to wipe away the tears.

      “But what if I am?” Willie asked in a broken whisper, breaking Alex’s heart again.

      “You’re not, I promise,” Alex replied, his throat tight, “Please?”

      Alex watched as Willie slowly opened his eyes, like he was afraid that Alex would disappear, and to be fair, that’s probably exactly what he was afraid of.

      “You’re really here?” Willie asked, his big brown eyes looking at Alex in shock. Alex nodded. “Oh my god, you’re here! You’re actually here!” Willie shouted, his voice breaking due to the strain of yelling earlier. He stood up abruptly, pulling Alex with him and then walked a circle around Alex, as if to make sure that Alex was totally, fully really here. “How are you here?” Willie finally asked, reaching out to touch Alex again, like he was still afraid that Alex would disappear any moment.

      Alex pulled Willie to the nearest bench and they sat down together. Willie listened intently as Alex recounted the whole story of the night of their performance at the Orpheum holding Willie’s hand the whole time. How Caleb had gotten them, how Julie had called them back, how they had almost flickered completely out, and how Julie had saved them, all because Reggie had autopilot manners. And, when he reached the end of that story, he recounted how he had spent the last two days searching for Willie to try to tell him that he was okay and still here as a ghost. At the end of Alex recounting his search, Alex saw that Willie had a smile on his face. The first genuine, fully happy, content smile that Alex had seen since he had found Willie.

      “There’s that smile, I missed that smile,” Alex said, mostly to himself, reaching out to brush a loose strand of hair out of Willie’s face, blushing when he realized what he had just done and that Willie definitely would have heard him.

      “Aww, Hotdog, you’re going soft on me,” Willie smiled teasingly at Alex and squeezed his hand.

      Alex could still see the dried tear tracks on Willie’s face, and he felt his heart clench, “Yeah, I am,” he smiled before pulling Willie into another hug, “And I am so glad that I’m here for you to see it.” Alex revelled in the feeling of holding Willie in his arms, happy to finally be there with him after two days of non-stop stress.

      Willie suddenly pulled back from the hug and looked at Alex intently, grabbing Alex’s hands, “Will you be my boyfriend, Hotdog?” Willie asked confidently.

      Alex blushed, and then smiled down at their hands before looking back at Willie’s eyes, “Yeah, I’d like that,” Alex watched as the biggest smile he’d ever seen filled Willie’s face, “Hey, I think that Julie and the guys were gonna have a movie night tonight, you want to join them?” Alex asked hopefully.

      “Sounds like a plan, Hotdog,” Willie said before standing up and pulling Alex with him, holding hands as they poofed to the studio together.

__________________

      The first thing Willie heard when they materialized in the studio was the tell-tale sound of the Universal Studios logo from a Pitch Perfect movie. The second thing he heard was five voices yelling the name of his boyfriend, followed closely by the sound of three pairs of footsteps running towards them. Willie caught up with what was happening about one second before Alex got plowed over by his bandmates, letting go of Alex’s hand as it happened so that he didn’t get taken down with them.

      “We missed you buddy!” Luke said, sitting up and then giving Alex’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before pulling him to sit up.

      “Yeah man, we haven’t seen you since yesterday morning,” Reggie added, patting Alex a couple times on the back.

      “Alex, we’re watching Pitch Perfect, if you’re feeling up to it, I know you’ll love it. But if you have to leave early tomorrow morning to search again, we can move somewhere else,” Julie said, looking at Alex hopefully. Willie looked at her in confusion before he realized that Julie must not be able see him like she could see the boys.

      Willie watched as Alex, Luke, and Reggie all looked at Julie in confusion. It seems that they also didn’t know she couldn’t see him.

      “Julie, what are you talking about Willie’s right - ohhh,” Reggie said, gesturing towards Willie before he cut himself off. The other boys also realized what was happening, and then looked sheepish. Julie looked at all of them, waiting for them to fill her in, and Willie started laughing at the situation.

      “Julie, I found Willie, he’s actually right there, watching us and laughing at our stupidity,” Alex said gesturing at Willie. Willie stood up taller and stopped laughing, forgetting that Julie couldn’t see him for a brief moment.

      “Julie, I think it’s important for you to know that Willie just tried to make himself look more respectable to make a better impression even though he knows you can’t see him,” Reggie said, smirking at Willie, “I see what you’re doing, trying to impress the family,”

      Willie felt a blush rise up on his face and looked down at his shoes.

      “Well, Willie is my boyfriend now, so I guess it makes sense for him to want you guys to like him,” Alex said blushing.

      “Alex!” Luke yelled, shaking Alex’s shoulder, “Why didn’t you tell us! I’m so happy for you dude!”

      “Well it’s not like you really gave me a chance to,”

      “Welcome to the family!” Reggie said, standing up and surprising Willie by pulling him into a hug. Willie hugged him back and looked at Alex over Reggie’s shoulder in confusion. Alex just gave him a shrug and took in the praise from Julie about ‘getting his mans’. Willie loved watching how confused Alex got when Julie used modern slang.

      “So, are we gonna watch the movie, or do we have to wait until tomorrow because you guys are being all mushy? I have a bedtime, you know!” Willie heard from behind him. The voice made Reggie let go of Willie, so Willie turned to see Reggie saunter toward a young boy who must be Julie’s brother, Carlos, if Willie remembered correctly.

      “You got it little man,” Reggie said, reaching out to ruffle Carlos’ hair, but really just waving his hand through Carlos’ head a couple times.

      “Woah, brain freeze,”

      “Sorry dude, I forgot,”

      “All good! This is still so cool!” Carlos’ shouted before running back to the couch to sit by the final person, who must be Julie’s dad.

      “Okay niños, let’s all sit down and watch the movie,” Julie’s dad said, waving them to the couch and chairs. There seemed to be more chairs than the last time Willie was here, “And Willie, welcome to our house. I may not be able to see or hear you, but anyone who is special to my family is welcome here, you can call me Ray,”

      Willie smiled at Ray and thanked him, even though Ray couldn’t hear him, and Alex translated.

      When everyone was back in the vicinity of the TV, Carlos started the movie again and they all settled in. Alex pulled Willie over to a large armchair that was just wide enough for the two of them, as long as they cuddled. Julie, Luke, and Reggie all piled onto the end of the couch closest to the armchair, Reggie and Luke on either side of Julie, both holding her close. Carlos was on the other side of the couch to avoid another brain freeze, watching the movie with rapt attention, and Ray was on another arm chair, all to himself, watching over them all with a look of contentment on his face. He really must be the coolest dad ever to be okay with all of this.

      Willie snuggled closer into Alex’s chest and smiled when Alex wrapped his arms a little tighter around Willie’s body, “I’m glad that I ran into you Hotdog,” Willie murmured into Alex’s chest.

      “Me too,” Alex whispered, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Willie’s head before turning his attention to the movie.

Note:

Please reblog if you enjoyed it! I’ve had this idea in my head for weeks. Also I hope you enjoyed the title because there are so many layers to that baby that we can unpack.

[between-two-fandoms]

Thunder In His Mind

Another Franken Fic for your reading pleasure, brought to you by @thesevenumbrellas and @random-nerd-3, sponsored by the JatP 18 + Discord.

Ao3 link here

cw: past-gaslighting, trauma, ptsd

Summary:

There's more to Willie than what meets the eye and Alex has to find out in one of the worst ways possible. It's all Willie can do to not fall apart in his arms during a thunderstorm.

The worst part about being a ghost Willie thinks, is - that he knows - is that you can’t really check the weather. There are plus sides to it sure, skateboarding wherever he wants - but not whenever because that’s something Caleb controls - an extremely cute Hot Dog ghost boyfriend? Also a plus to being undead. The weather is an issue though, it had been for years. Ever since the day he died in that car accident. Being dead meant you can’t feel anything physically; you can’t feel the heat of the sun against your skin or the wetness of the rain when it fell from the sky.

The issue at hand is the thunder.

It’s the thunder because the loud echoing booming claps of the storm reminds him of the ear shattering crack that cut through the air when he died. When he skated into the road to save the life of a little girl who forgot to look both ways. “My name is Rose,” she whispered, tightly squeezing Willie’s hand between her tiny fingers. He can remember struggling to breathe - he found out later in the medical report that his ribs were shattered. Another boom of thunder sounded over head and Willie couldn’t help but wince slightly at the sound of it.

“Roses are strong flowers,” Willie managed to say between his hyperventilation. “You need to be strong,” he can remember saying. The shadow touch of the blood caked to the side of his head made him reach up to place his hand against it as he began to scratch at the side of his head.

“Willie?” Alex asked the question as he gently pulled Willie’s hand away from his face. Willie wasn’t dying all over again. He was here in the present with Alex, his amazingly awesome boyfriend who made him question whatever cosmic being ran the universe because in no possible world did he deserve someone as amazing as the drummer. “You okay?” Alex asked again, snuggling closer into him, wrapping his arms around Willie like he was a koala. They’re curled up in the dark corners of a Pride art exhibition together, broke in after it closed early because of the storm. The walls are painted with rainbows, filled with bright colors and Willie could feel hope sneaking through the pain he locked away long ago when he first signed onto the club. It was after hours so they spent time walking through the exhibits acting as each other’s tour guides only to end up snuggling together on the floor once the storm started to get more serious.

He wants to say no I’m not. He wants to say help me Alex, please. He doesn’t though because like Caleb always says, outside of skating he’s a coward through and through. Willie exhales slowly and when he spoke he tried to make it sound like he wasn’t lying to the only person who loved him back. “I’m fine,” Willie says, his voice dry and cracking and he knows Alex won’t believe him in a thousand years. Another clash of thunder sounds overhead and Willie couldn’t help but flinch again, he pointedly avoided looking Alex in the eyes.

“Yeah, I know,” Alex says softly. They were lying so close to each other that Willie could feel the vibrations in Alex’s chest when he spoke. The low timbre of the beat of his heart reminding Willie that he was safe . Reminding Willie that he was loved outside of whatever relationship he had with Caleb. Then Alex presses a soft kiss to the top of his head and whispers, “it’s okay not to be though. You know that right?”

Willie wants to be okay, he wants to keep pretending. That he hasn’t been . He's been dead the longest between the two of them after all, Alex needed him to be his grounding force and he couldn't be that for him if he was weak. But Willie was tired, he was so tired of being a ghost. He was tired because Caleb had been breathing down his neck recently, working everyone in the club to the bone after Alex and his friends escaped. Not that Willie blamed Alex because Alex was kind and Alex was good and he didn't deserve him . But apparently Alex had other plans in mind because suddenly Alex wrapped his arm around Willie and held him close, like he was something cherished, like he was precious . It wasn’t at all like Caleb’s cold shoulder pats after a long night of entertaining the guests or Caleb’s short worded compliments. Alex was warm.

“I’m sorry,” Willie whispers, turning to bury his face into Alex’s sweatshirt like they were a secret meant only for Alex to hear. He lets himself curl into his boyfriend, legs tucked in as close as possible, fingers clinging to the warm familiarity of the pink sweatshirt. He can hear Alex’s heart beating a gentle rhythm over the thunder. Just rest for a moment, Willie thinks to himself, still keeping up his guard. Caleb is going to want him back to the club after the storm ends. He doesn’t want to show up with bloodshot eyes and a tear streaked face - it would be hard for the makeup girls to get him ready for tonight’s performance. Willie waits, his shoulders tense in anticipation but Alex doesn’t speak. Instead he presses his lips firmly to the top of his head, reminding him that he wasn’t alone. For the next few minutes they stay like that, curled into each other with Alex wrapped around him protecting him from the harm of the outside world.

Then lightning flashes and Willie braces himself for the clap of angry clouds over their heads but it doesn't come. Which didn't make any sense because thunder always comes after lightening. Willie’s conditioned to it, anxiety building up in his chest as he waits for the tell tale sound of a car cracking his helmet in two. Willie fools himself, letting Alex's low hum wash over the eerie silence of the museum and then - and then... right when Willie let himself relax completely the loudest fucking thunderclap in the whole world cracks over head and Willie jumps, poofing out of Alex's arms and somehow manages to solidify across the exhibit, knees pulled into himself tightly, his fingernails digging into his skin; a welcome pain to distract him from the onslaught of memories and pressing his hands against his ears in a weak attempt to block out the memories flashing through his eyelids.

In times like these, times where he’s stuck and he’s trapped and he can’t find a way out are the worst. He has to remember though, to remind himself that he isn’t alone anymore and that even though he felt like his world was crumbling around him that it actually wasn’t. That Alex was there and Alex was solid and Alex was - well, he wasn’t alive but he was warm. “Shh, I’m here,” Alex murmured, his voice a blessing in the chaos of Willie’s mind.

“I’m sorry,” Willie whispers again, this time voicing his apology louder. He lets Alex hold him, wrapping his arms around him like he’s a child being comforted. “It’s so stupid I -” Willie starts before Alex cuts him off with a light tsk.

“It’s not.”

“It is ,” Willie insists, unsure of how Alex couldn’t see how foolish it was that he, a grown ass man, was afraid of a little storm. Alex wraps his arms around Willie, rocking him gently to the rhythm of the rain hitting the roof above them.

“You help me when I freak out,” Alex points out and well… yeah he does but that’s different. It’s different because he’s Willie and Alex is Alex. Alex, who never deserved to die just as his dream had become tangible. Alex, who Willie had betrayed and hurt. Alex who he almost lost because like Caleb says… Willie’s selfish and stupid and desperate for anything remotely beautiful in his life. Alex is so beautiful. He knows that to be true even now, as the thunder rolls overhead and the lighting falls around them. He’s so beautiful it hurts to look at him sometimes. His smile is so earnest, his concern so genuine. He holds Willie like he’s worth protecting, like he’s the only thing that matters in the world. Like… like he’s something precious meant to be treasured and protected and kept safe.

Willie’s not anything Alex thinks he is. He knows how much pain the world can give, how much more pain he’ll have to live through. As terrifying as knowing the pain is, it's even more terrifying because he knows the second he leaves here - the second he leaves the warmth and the safety of Alex and goes back to Caleb - the second he goes back home he'll lose this. He'll lose the safety net he built for himself because Alex doesn't like Caleb for some reason well no. Not for no reason. Alex has a very perfectly logical reason to hate the man who Willie saw as his surrogate father - even if their relationship seems a little too one sided at times- and he can't fathom a reason why Alex didn't hate him too because he had played a huge fucking role in getting the boys to the club and convincing them to sign their fucking souls over for the soul purpose of his selfishness. For thinking Alex would run the first chance he gets the second he realizes just how messed up he really is.

“You’re thinking too hard,” Alex says, finally breaking the silence between them. The sentence is said so matter of factly, Willie almost laughs. Almost being the key word in that sentence. Despite feeling like the world is crashing around him Willie lets a smirk cross his face as his eyes sparkle mysteriously.

“You can read my mind?” Willie asks, wincing at how intense it sounded, no sense of playfulness in the words at all. Alex doesn’t seem to mind the cutthroat question. He just hummed thoughtfully as he considered.

“It’s part of my ghost powers,” Alex answered back, Willie felt his smile against his shoulder.

The answer makes Willie snort which in turn makes Alex laugh and maybe Willie can finally let him have something nice and keep it . Alex’s giggles echo throughout the exhibit and Willie let the sound wrap around him, a blanket of warmth surrounding him in his cold.

“Oh yeah?” Willie manages to ask, the words sticky and dry. He swallowed thickly to hide the surge of panic in his throat. “What am I thinking of?” He asked, letting Alex press a kiss against the back of his head, his fingers starting to comb through his hair . Alex’s whispered suggestively into his ear, his throat ghosting against his neck when he placed a kiss against the exposed skin. Willie couldn’t help but let out a laugh, his heart beating a little faster. He didn’t deserve any of this, to be comforted during a storm when hiding in his HGC bedroom had worked just fine in the past. “That new trick you still haven’t shown me? The picture you laughed at because it looked like an upside down dog head?” Alex asked. The compulsion to look up overpowers his fear of the dark and when he finally does shift his head. Alex is almost shining in the light of the storm, his smile stretching across his face. In the midst of the storm he’s still shining brighter than Willie could ever shine himself. Alex smiles at him, his eyes twinkling in the reflection of a flash of lightning. “I’m thinking about how beautiful you are,” and there’s another clap of thunder but it isn’t as bad this time. Here, snuggled on the floor of a museum tucked between Alex’s strong arms was starting to help him relax more, keep his focus off the storm.

Suddenly, the shadows disappear and Willie's mind is cleared more than it's ever been before. There aren’t any expectations for Willie here. Alex isn’t Caleb. He doesn’t order Willie around or tell him to shush because he sounds like a whiny little boy when he complains about complicated choreography that was hard to nail down and the exhaustive rehearsal schedule that sometimes ended in Willie passing out in his room for over twelve hours straight before poofing into the middle of rehearsal to watch Alex kill it on his drums.

His world is once again centered on his gravity, his world, his boy in a pink sweatshirt.

Willie turned around, sitting so he was criss crossed on the floor and his fingers were intertwined with. Their noses brush together. He can feel the tickle of blond hair against his forehead where it’s escaped from the cap. “You good?” Alex asks, leaning forward slightly so their foreheads touch. Willie knows what he means the second he asks it. Sometimes it’s hard to forget that not everyone is like Caleb. That not everyone hides their intentions behind carefully crafted spiderwebs of lies. So at the next thunder crash Willie nods in response, his stomach still twisted in his gut but he was able to ignore it this time; ignore the pain he felt in his mind in exchange for Alex’s presence.

“Yeah, I’m good...” Willie says, nodding his head. They were close enough for their noses to brush against themselves. He’s surprised to discover how much he believed it even though he thought it was a lie. He’s good here with Alex. He’s good with a body protecting him from the thunder outside. He’s good to curl up here and dot kisses down his boyfriend’s jaw until he’s a blushing mess.

Because this is what home is, this is what he remembers his home being. He remembers the warmth and the kind eyes and the strong hugs and the pitter patter rabbit-like beat of his heart. Alex pulls him close again, Alex will always pull him close. And he's breathing. He's breathing. And Willie turns to smile into the nape of Alex's neck, letting the drummer tie off the braid with a spare hair tie and the drumming of his heart overpowering the sound of the clapping thunder echoing overhead. "Her name was Rose," Willie said suddenly, intertwining their fingers together, placing them over his heart.

"Rose?" Alex asks, his confusion masked by a hint of recognition in his voice. Willie nods as he plays with Alex's fingers, distracting himself from the distancing storm around them. She was so young , Willie could remember the flash of her smile, brighter than the sun had ever been. Ten years old was too young.

"The girl I saved when I died, when I raced into traffic? She was just standing there in the middle of the road alone and I - holy shit, Alex I died, " he said, the realization actually settling into his chest and he suddenly felt the weight of the car crush into his chest again.

Alex looks at him and for a split second, Willie can’t read his expression. “C’mere baby,” Alex whispers, pulling him in again. Willie collapsed into his chest, wrapping his arms around Alex’s back to twist his sweatshirt into his fists. For half a second the brief fear of pulling away flashes in his mind and Alex tightens his grip. Willie would never think about trying to pull away. “Willie you’re so brave, you know that? You’re so amazing. I mean me? I died eating a hot dog. You died saving someone, Willie. You’re incredible ,” Alex whispers and Willie can’t help but tense because baby.

Willie can't help the shudder that runs through his body hearing the pet name escape through Alex's lips. "Don’t - Don’t call me that," Willie said, starting to feel like he’s losing control again. He flickered and fell through Alex’s body landing on the floor in a heap. Caleb's warped whispers snaked into his ears, wrapping around his mind like a vice. William baby don’t you want to make me proud tonight? Caleb asks as he straightens Willie’s suit for him. Baby those steps were a little behind tonight. You need to pick up more rehearsal hours baby. I don’t need my best performer slacking off. What would my clients think? Caleb asked, his voice coiling around Willie’s thoughts and snaking through the cracks his fears left behind.

"Willie I'm sorry I -" Alex started, only for Willie to cut him off with a shake of his head. His hair fell in front of his face so Alex used his hand to hesitantly tuck it behind his ear.

"It’s fine. Pet names I mean just…” He trails off, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in his own skin. Thunder crashes again and Willie jumps before finishing his thought. “Just not that one okay?” Willie asks, hoping Alex wouldn’t pry. Hoping Alex would never have to see how horribly rotten he really is from the inside out. Alex’s forehead wrinkles in confusion but like Willie hoped he didn’t pry, but he knew the conversation was just getting tabled for a later date. “You got it,” Alex promised, leaning forward to seal it with a kiss to Willie’s forehead. Willie feels himself flicker and his hand passes through Alex’s. Thunder claps at the same time Willie flinches and he has to hope Alex thought he flinched because of the storm and not his touch. It wasn’t fair how deep Caleb has his claws into Willie, using him to hurt the people he loves.

Willie hates how hard he has to fight the tremble in his limbs as he clings to Alex like a lifeline. He inhales deeply, breathing in the perfume Alex somehow managed to get his hands on. Alex smelled like peaches and summertime and everything Willie used to love when he was alive. The smell helped ground his mind, keep him in the present instead of spiraling into worst case scenarios. Think, Willie thought to himself, one again breathing in the smell of peaches off the nape of Alex’s neck. His eyes are diamonds, his skin feels like silk, his heart beats to it’s own rhythm and you’re the one who gets to hear it. Willie thinks, trying to calm the twisting panic and rise of bile stuck in his throat. “I’m sorry,” Alex says, the words whispered quietly between thunder cracks. When he peels his eyes from the ground and finally looks his boyfriend in the eyes again he’s met with hard pressed diamonds reflecting in concern.

“Don’t be,” Willie says back and Alex’s concern warps into something akin to festering anger.

“I am . I -”

“ - I know.”

“ I’m sorry ,” Alex says again, like if he heard it enough he’d actually end up believing it. Willie just shook his head - another clap of thunder sounded so loudly it shook the walls of the museum. Willie tensed, his shoulders tightening despite knowing that he was safe here.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Willie points out. If anything he should be apologizing to Alex. He should be groveling at Alex’s feet begging for forgiveness because he was selfish and almost had him sell his soul over to Caleb.

Something reflects in Alex's eyes that Willie can’t quite place. It isn’t just confusion or concern or anger. It looks like Alex is feeling a mix of all three, with a twist of cold understanding layered on top of it. "You know you can trust me right? This relationship works both ways," Alex says softly, his voice starting to tremble. Willie didn’t understand why he was acting so... so sad. Willie let them fall into a comfortable sort of silence, tense but easy at the same time. The sound of the thunderstorm filling the museum in their quiet.

"I should... I should get going. Caleb lets me out during storms cause he knows about uh... but he'll be wanting me back." Willie says, pulling himself out of Alex's soft sweatshirt covered arms and away from the beating of his heart. Alex's eyes furrowed in confusion. He always did look cute when he was confused, like a puppy dog. The storm’s far enough away that the soft dribble of light rain is the only thing left behind in it’s wake, which means Caleb would send someone after him if he doesn’t show up in a few minutes.

"What do you mean? Willie, if I said something wrong I -'' Alex stammered out before Willie leans forward to press a chaste kiss against his lips, lingering for a few minutes when he finally pulls away. Alex knew about the car crash now, the real reason he was really dead. He knew he was afraid of storms - William not even children are afraid of storms. It's about time you grow up - Caleb's voice whispers in the back of his mind, cutting into his spiraling thoughts.

Willie stumbles to his feet. He’s still shaky, but he can walk. He doesn’t want to risk angering Caleb more than he has to. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he says. The words feel flat even to him. Alex knows it all now - well not all of it, but enough - and that knowledge is almost too much to take. His boyfriend stares at him, big green eyes confused and sincere... and so unlike anything Willie has seen in a long, long time.

“I can help,” Alex insists, refusing to let go of Willie’s hand. It pains him, but he has to leave. Caleb might be evil, he might be the cause of all of their problems… but after everything the ghost club was still the only thing Willie had left to call his home.

“Sometimes there’s nothing you can do Alex,” Willie whispers, gently placing his hand against Alex’s neck. Alex leans into his touch as he wraps his own hand around his.

“Willie-“ Alex starts again but before he hears Alex ask him to stay again because he knows he would. He’d do anything Alex asked him too if it made him happy but he owes Caleb his life and that’s not a debt he forgets easily. But Willie resorts back to his instincts because well, they haven’t led him astray yet and he keeps Alex at arms length when the familiar tug in his gut pulled him back to the Hollywood Ghost Club in time to get ready for Caleb’s opening act.

[funsizearsonist]

Headcanon 1/?

hey!! I know it’s a lil late in the day for this (as in: it’s past 12 so this was supposed to be up yesterday) but here you guys go! I figured I’d kick off this whole headcanon shabang with some good old-fashioned willie angst!

TW for talk of losing a soul? 

What if losing your soul hurts more than the jolts?

I mean it makes sense right? With jolts it was just Caleb getting their souls, not destroying them

So it probably takes time for him to destroy a soul, because he's powerful but only so much

And completely destroying a soul has gotta take a lot of power, more than stealing one, so it would take more time

so what if the s2 deal is:

Caleb realizes what happened. He's lost Willie, because Willie has found someone else and become disillusioned with the hgc and everything he does. So it's time for Willie to Go

He tries not to tip willie off because he doesn’t want them to realize what's happening any sooner than he has to, because no one should be able to counteract him but they weren’t supposed to be able to get rid of the stamp either

But willie knows that something’s up because Caleb has to know. He has to know that he helped them cross over, has to know him being gone that day had something to do with the big show at the Orpheum. He should be mad? But he hasn’t even said a word, and willie is on their toes

Then he overhears Caleb discussing with his right hand man. Filling a position, a traitor, must be disposed of, something along those lines. And there’s really no question what that’s about.

So maybe he's panicking. So what? What could they be expected to do? He just sort of runs, then skates, away. There's nothing left for him at the club, they cant stay when Caleb is there and Caleb is killing them, in a way

So he hops on his skateboard and goes as fast as they can and when the streets get too busy and they’re not in the mood to pass through anything he picks up his skateboard and runs and when he's fully out of breath even though he's a ghost and all the fight drains out of him

He sort of just drops down to the ground, maybe on the beach

And figures if they’re gonna spend their last days anywhere, it might as well be here 

And he knows he has a good few painful last days ahead of him because destroying a soul isn’t easy work 

So he holds his skateboard and watches the sunset and cries 

Because of the band that's gone now because of them 

Because of Alex, who was so amazing and is now so painfully not there 

And he lays down and gets hit by a jolt? of sorts? that feels like getting kicked in the chest and landing on your back at the same time 

And it knocks all the air out of him, so he just stays there, staring at the sky. It’s not like they had anywhere to go anyway

And they just stay there, on their back, running his hand over one of his skateboard wheels, as the sky gets darker and darker and fills with stars, and then lighter again 

Maybe humming Finally Free or something quietly to themself 

Then the next morning, the boys take a walk on the beach 

Or maybe just Alex 

And they find willie there, crying 

When he gets hit with another jolt thing that leaves him gasping for breath, doubled over in pain

So reunion!! The boys didn’t have to cross over and leave julie behind after all! They get to see Alex's face again, and they’re really happy for the boys, being free

But it's almost worse because now they’re leaving Alex again 

And then he'll be just completely Gone and there's no coming back from that

So he tries to push Alex away, after all they only brought trouble and he doesn't want Alex getting too attached before he's gone 

But Alex isn’t having it so he takes willie back to the Molinas’

And just showers them in love 

And they don’t go on dates, really, but they decide to do a lot of the things they never got to do together 

Most things they do as a family (willie, alex, reggie, luke, and probably also julie+co sometimes) The only true family willie's ever had 

So willie's having a great time, when he's not being knocked on his ass by jolts

Willie decides to go on a date of sorts with Alex, close ish to his end 

Because as the jolts get worse he doesn’t want that to be all they're thinking about 

And he doesn’t want it to be Alex who's there/the only one there when they finally disappear

So the date is adorable and bittersweet 

Maybe they go skateboarding, and they try to teach Alex a few things 

And then Alex tries to teach him a few things on drums, because they both want to learn about the thing the other loves 

But for the main part of the date 

They just wander 

Hold hands in public, which Alex isn’t quite used to but he loves 

And just go where their hearts take them, with no concerns about time or caleb or anything, which willie certainly isn’t used to but its great 

They end up at a park, and there's some music playing, and they dance, which they both love 

The first song is fast and fun and just the way they're both used to dancing already 

But the next one is slow and sweet and they just hold each other tightly and one or both of them ends up crying softly (i want it to be alex) 

And willie feels a little bit lighter, but he brushes it off as the time spent with Alex, as getting things in order, feeling better about not missing all his chances to just be softly in love

They go home together, still holding hands 

Because willie has a home now 

He spends time with his family, and he has a moment like that with each of them (julie, luke, reggie) 

Their moments probably come before his date with Alex bc Alex is most important but whatever 

With reggie he gets to be himself and he doesn’t have to pretend to be happy all the time. (even though he could be himself with any of them it just feels right with reggie because reggie knows too) They talk about things that happened to them, reggie about his parents and willie about his foster home and caleb. And neither of them feels the need to joke, to paste on a smile, to cover it up. But it isn’t sad, it’s cathartic, they bond and connect. And their moment is when reggie gives them his leather jacket 

With Luke, he gets to be reckless 

They "break in" to places, play pranks (adhd impulsive boys anyone) 

And their moment is when they're out somewhere and catch sight of something and all they need is a shared glance to run over and cause Ghost Antics, just like brothers 

With Julie, they get to be goofy 

They make jokes, use gen z humor, she brings in flynn and they do a fashion show sorta thing, and they end up baking cookies together with a movie in the background 

Neither of them really know how to make cookies, and they turn out terrible, but in the process of making them they get into a food fight (although it doesn’t do much to willie) and julie accidentally spills that she used to bake with her mother but no one would do it with her ever since Rose died, but now that she has willie in her family too she has someone to bake with again

And each of these moments lifts some weight off of his shoulders, but he doesn’t quite realize it 

Then he has his date with Alex 

And the next day, as the jolts get worse, they spend the whole day as a family 

Including Ray and Carlos who have been informed of the ghost situation

They watch movies, build a blanket fort, test his Ghost Powers for Carlos, eat dinner together 

All the while, the jolts get less and less 

Without realizing it, because willie is too caught up having fun with everyone 

After dinner, they bring everyone out to the garage, and perform a song they wrote for willie 

As a goodbye and a thank you and everything else they thought they'd never get time to say 

Everyone gets an individual verse that they wrote themselves to say something to willie, including Ray and Carlos 

Then they all sing the last verse together, and they’re free 

He found a family despite Caleb's best efforts 

They broke free from the brainwashing and misery and false front he had to put up at the hgc 

He loved and was loved, unconditionally 

And (not to get sappy) but that's what breaks through everything 

Not just Caleb's efforts to destroy their soul, but caleb's ownership on it too 

Especially when they've got julie molina on their side

(just to clarify, in this idea the assumption is that Julie can see willie but no other lifers can, either because She Can Just Do That or because of some bs that ill make up later)

[rainbowcaleb]

impossible magic

fictober prompts: 4 "incantations" mixed with 5 "you are here"

CW: blood, implied torture, imprisonment, chains, disassociation, hurt with a dash of comfort at the end, also mutual pining~

((also available on ao3 if you’d rather read there))

--------

 If he died, there would be no coming back.

 It was a secret Essek kept carefully hidden away. It was the reason behind the argument that pushed his father away to a place he didn’t return. His mother must know. There was nothing that escaped her notice and his father had no love enough for his son to keep his secret. But Essek knew his mother was like himself in one important way; she was a master at compartmentalizing information if it could be used.

Right now Essek didn’t really care about whatever political machinations he had inherited. The tiniest whisper of regret was trickling across his consciousness much like the drops of blood that had finally slowed their flow down his forehead.

He had woken from unconsciousness held strictly in place by manacles and chains. His arms were pulled taut behind him, mere inches of chain holding his wrists down to the shackles on his ankles. Every link, every piece, every ounce of the metal was heavily enchanted to block any magical escape. Even if Essek had any feeling left in his fingers, he wouldn’t be able to cast.

 Sparing no expense, his captors had his neck collared with a thick heavy ring, just tight enough to drag painfully when he tried to swallow. Another enchantment laced through it and he knew if he tried to speak magic it would shock him with lightning. He knew because he had already attempted one desperate incantation. The collar was attached by a short length of chain to the wall behind him, so he wasn’t even able to find relief by lying on the ground without choking himself. He was forced to stay upright, his voice the only boon still left to him, but all his decades of magic rendered useless.

 Essek had long stopped feeling the pain of his legs against the uneven stone floor and he had long lost track of the time. It was more than a week. He had scraped bloody lines on the floor with his knee to keep the time, but after the days kept going and going, he had lost the motivation to bother. No water came. No sustenance. No visitors. But they didn’t want him dead, otherwise he would be already.

 This was calculated torture. They were waiting for him to break. Since his captors had taken the risk of leaving his voice in place, clearly they were hoping for him to give information. Otherwise, why not just slash his throat and be done with him? Perhaps they knew, impossibly somehow they knew Essek only had this current life and to kill him would end the trail of any of his secrets. He could be locked away by an enemy that intimately knew him. And now they were simply waiting. Essek wanted to heroically believe he could last until a rescue came, or perhaps he could overpower his captor, but he knew he was too weak. They had already won when they captured him.

 It was some amorphous time between one week and two when the first visitor came. A bucket of ice cold water was dumped on his head, waking him from a feverish daydream, and he opened his mouth trying to catch whatever drops he still could.

 There was a laugh from some distance a few feet away, male or female he couldn’t tell, and then footsteps receding before the slam of a door.

 It would be another week before another bucket of water. They were doing the bare minimum to keep him alive. They were waiting. They were patient.

 All Essek could do was try and keep his mind. He had lost motivation and strength long ago. If it wasn’t for the collar and chain holding him upright, he would have collapsed many days ago. Essek had to hold grasp onto his mind, the most important part of him, his most powerful part. He could not lose this too. He repeated lines of incantations, imagining their sigils and components in his mind's eye, but being careful not to move his mouth. He did not know if anyone was watching or what they were watching for. He started with the first spell he ever learned, testing his memory too, and then worked through each spell variation until he advanced to its final form. And then he would pick the next simple spell, working through each one like a library in his head, keeping his mind occupied. His whole body had surpassed from pain into nothingness. Essek felt completely detached from anything material around him. All he had was the repetitions of incantations, the words a rhythm in his head that kept his heart beating.

 Another ice cold drench of water. It woke him from a fitful sleep, having dozed off somewhere between reciting dunamantic spells. His body protested, the tension against his shackles friction again as the water trickled down. It was a terrible reminder of where he was.

 He coughed out his first word spoken since he was brought here. “W-who?” Essek didn’t need to know why.

 The voice just laughed again, mirthlessly. He heard the door shut again.

 Even though time had completely slipped from him, Essek had come to expect the water that came in a regular pattern.

 It did not come that week.

 There was something warm and glowing near his legs. His first thought was that perhaps his mental incantations had impossibly broken through the spells on his manacles and a drift globe had materialized. Something small and soft patted his knee. He smelled sulfur. Then there was an earthshaking explosion and the door he assumed was somewhere in this room was knocked down onto the ground. Essek’s eyes were still closed, he barely opened them anymore, but he could still see shocking orange light through his eyelids. Then it dimmed.

 He heard scuffling, metal being dragged, multiple footsteps. Something grazed his face, but it was so light it felt like he imagined it. Essek felt the tension of the chains snap and he toppled sideways, suddenly loose from his bonds. Softness caught him instead of the hard stone floor. The last string of fight that had been forcing him to stay awake snapped.

     Essek woke lying down. It felt like the first time in a decade that his body wasn’t twisted into a terrible position. He opened his eyes. It took more strength than he expected to force his eyelids open. He didn’t bother trying to move his limbs. The pain was greatly dulled, but the exhaustion was filling his bones with lead.

 He didn’t recognize where he was. The whole room emanated a soft amber glow, the walls a plain ocher paint, the floor a polished wood. Essek tilted his gaze as far as he could and he saw a small nightstand beside him, a pitcher of clear water next to a glass, and several emptied potion bottles beside it. He was in a bed. Someone had found him and cured him and tucked him into bed. Essek knew who. As his senses woke up from however long he’s been asleep, he knew. The magic he felt flowing through this entire room told him with certainty. Caleb.

 There was a click and a door opened. Essek didn’t turn his head to look, but several footsteps entered. He saw the familiar blue of Jester lean over him.

 “Oh my gosh we were getting so worried, it's been days, we didn’t know when you would wake up and it’s been kinda crazy having to haul you out and have Caleb recast the Tower and stick you back in and-”

 “J-jester.” Essek’s voice felt tight with under-use.

 “Yes, that’s me!” She gave him a blinding smile. “You remember! You were kinda delirious when we found you, like you didn’t recognize us and were mumbling spells under your breath. You didn’t cast anything though, I don’t think you had anything left in you.”

 Caleb was over her shoulder, looking at Essek with a guarded expression.

 “H-how, there?” Essek asked.

 Caleb finished his thought. “We heard you.”

 He had so many more questions, but his voice wasn’t cooperating. Jester picked up on this.

 “It’s a long story, but I was trying to send you a message about Vess, ‘cause we were gonna do this thing for her but there were some crazy red flags and we thought you might’ve heard something, any anyways your reply was super weird. It was like you were whispering on the other side of a door and it was hard to hear you and it didn't even make any sense. Just a couple words in between some long pauses.”

 “It was a spell. When Jester repeated the words to us, I recognized it as your Echo spell.”

 Essek had no memory of a Message, or doing any magic. The only thing he could imagine was that somehow his repeated incantations had briefly broken through the shackles.

 “Well, whatever it was totally made me worry! It was so random and weird for you to respond like that. And then when I scryed it was like a big blank space and then I got booted out from the vision with a painful shove! It was scary enough that I Messaged our housekeeper, gosh I had almost forgotten we had gotten one but thank goodness we did, and had her go look at your house and there were some weirdo guards posted outside who said you were not to be disturbed. But they were totally unconvincing and weird.”

 He was barely following the story. The drag of sleep was threatening him again, and nothing felt better than the soft bed he was resting in at the moment. Essek tilted his head to look properly up at Caleb. There were bags under his eyes, nothing new, although they looked darker than he last remembered. There was a mostly healed cut across his cheek and the cuffs of his coat looked dusty black with ash.

 “Jester, can you find Caduceus? I think this calls for some tea.”

 “Can’t you get one of the cats to-”

 “Jester.”

 “Okay, fine, fine. I can take a hint.” She winked at Caleb and stepped out the room, closing the door behind her.

 Essek kept his eyes open, trying to take in Caleb’s face as the guarded expression was faltering under the weight of something happening in his thoughts. Caleb’s arm jerked forward, then paused, but he completed his movement to gently brush a lock of hair from Essek’s forehead.

 “I will not ask, because I know the answer will be ‘no I am not okay’.” Caleb gave him a wry smile but then it faded again “We were...We investigated and what we found, or didn’t find that is, was disturbing. So many lies so easily spread, and you-” The hand returned to Essek’s face, the lightest sweep of Caleb’s thumb across his cheek. “We were worried.”

 Maybe he still had a tinge of delirium, but Essek had to ask. “And you?”

 There was the briefest shock in Caleb’s eyes, like he hadn’t expected the question. But Essek had to know. In between the flow of magic words that kept his mind occupied, the daydream (painful, beautiful, impossible) that came to him was the memory of teaching spells to Caleb. Of wanting to teach him more. Of wishing to spend more time with him. Of pursuing that thread of something that seemed to keep pulling them back to each other. He had to know.

 Caleb leaned over and pressed his lips to Essek’s forehead, familiar yet unfamiliar, the touch feeling much more intimate in this position while alone in the room.

 “I was worried.” Caleb’s words were a puff of hot breath across his forehead. Then he straightened back up and pulled his hand away.

 “Caleb-”

 “Do not make me say more.” There was a small smile on his lips, but Caleb’s eyes looked sad.

 “Not now...We-,” Essek was really wishing his throat felt less like glass. “Can we talk later?”

 There was a noise at the door as the handle turned. Caleb didn’t turn to see who it was and instead kept his gaze on Essek.

 “Yes.” He stepped back as Caduceus and Jester walked into the room. “Yes, later.”

 Essek was given another cold potion and warm hands of healing, and then he drifted off into unbothered sleep. Whatever they had given him was preventing any restlessness or dreams. However, Essek still found himself chanting a spell to himself as he sank into sleep; it was the first spell he had taught Caleb, its words as familiar and soothing as that memory itself.