#he got a six season show let us have gwen for (hopefully) a few seasons of sandman

[elskamo]

Aleduncan Week, Day 2

How on earth did I write over 1300 words for this!? It’s Day 2 of Aleduncan Week so I’ve combined the prompts for Coming Out, Confessions, and Pride. This one hints at some darker stuff in places but is otherwise pretty positive towards the end. I’ve also referenced a few popular ships and headcanons throughout too. I really hope you guys enjoy this one, it took me so long to finish:

To say Total Drama hadn’t aged well was an understatement. As the show’s ten year anniversary was coming up and Chris went into overdrive trying to create a big enough buzz to warrant another season much of the contestants past behaviour was dredged up again. Homophobic remarks, transphobic jokes, there was even a passionate argument from one news outlet around deliberately queerbaiting audiences and refusing to acknowledge contestant’s LGBT+ identities on the show. The backlash became so great there was only one thing to do…

Duncan kept his hoodie up over his head as he stomped over to the float. He couldn’t believe Chris was making them do this. He could have made a half-assed apology on social media or talked to a journalist about how ‘it was a different time back then’. But no, he had to make a huge show of sponsoring one of the biggest Pride events in the country and buying a whole damn float for the old castmates to ride during the parade. So maybe Duncan had contributed to some of the controversies on the show… okay, he’d been responsible for a lot of them, but did he really have to take part in some glorified publicity stunt to make up for it? It was ten years ago!

As the young man weaved his way through the swarm of people he finally reached his old teammates getting ready. He immediately noticed Geoff and Bridgette together stringing some lights up on the side of the vehicle but who was that other guy with them and why was he holding Geoff’s free hand? DJ wandered over to help the group, but his look was a lot gloomier than Duncan remembered; his entire outfit was coloured black, white, grey, and purple. Had he gone goth or something? Glancing around he recognised Owen and Noah talking to some guy in a leotard and another dork with glasses, neither of which Duncan could place. Owen was doing his usual touchy feely crap, but Noah was being surprisingly cool about it, he was even smiling! 

Walking away from what was possibly the creepiest thing he had ever witnessed in his adult life Duncan doubled back, hopefully he could just hide out in the public bathroom and no one would notice he hadn’t shown up. Even with all the noise around him he could still hear giggling coming from the women’s room. Rolling his eyes the former convict made a beeline for the men’s room until another round of giggles made him stop in his tracks. He knew that laugh… Staring down the door he gently pushed it open, his eyes widening in shock as he witnessed Courtney and Heather making out against the countertop.

The door slammed as Duncan let go, bolting as far away from the scene as possible, pushing and shoving anyone that got in his way. Why did he bother coming? He shouldn’t be here, he couldn’t handle this! The whole world felt blurred as he ran, it was only when he slammed into something hard that his vision began to clear. Blinking away the tears he hadn’t realised were falling he found himself face to face with one of the last people he wanted to see.

To his credit, Alejandro hadn’t made a big deal about the situation and for that Duncan was grateful. The two were sat in one of the big chain coffee shops nearby, Alejandro insisting that the two of them had time to spare and of course he didn’t mind paying for drinks. He was sat opposite him now in the booth, calmly sipping his tea in silence while Duncan huddled up even more in his hoodie, as if the dark garment would hide him somehow. After ten minutes without any talking he finally spoke up, “You know our ex-girlfriends are sucking face right now don’t you?”

Alejandro raised his eyebrow, “Well they have been dating for almost six years.” Noting the look of shock on Duncan’s face he continued, “They ended up rooming together at college, they made amends with each other, and when Heather came out we broke up and she asked out Courtney. They make a pretty cute couple.” Duncan frowned in confusion, “So they’re both... lesbians?” “Heather’s a lesbian, as far as I know Courtney identifies as bisexual.”

Duncan leaned back, seemingly trying to process that information, “But everyone else is still straight, right?” Alejandro held back a laugh, “Some people still identify as straight. Some have come to terms with their identity or are still exploring it. A few of us were already out during the show but are more open about it now.” He gestured towards his tank top which Duncan finally took notice of, it looked like a pink, yellow, and blue flag though Duncan had no idea what the colours meant. “The show wasn’t really the most… accepting place to talk about this kind of thing. One or two of us might bring it up our dating lives or lack thereof off camera otherwise we just didn’t mention it. The producers pretty much axed all the footage they deemed ‘unsuitable’ anyway.”

There was a clear edge to Alejandro’s voice that caught Duncan off guard. The other man took a large gulp from his drink while the delinquent stared down into his still full mug. Duncan fiddled with his jacket zipper for a couple of minutes while the silence set in once again. His brow furrowed as he seemingly came to a decision, his eyes stayed focused on his drink as he spoke, “Sorry I don’t really get this kinda stuff, it’s never really come up before.” “Never?” “My family don’t talk about it. I mean, a few of them were discussing the whole gay marriage thing in America a couple years ago but…”

As Duncan trailed off Alejandro sat up in his seat, his companion still examining his untouched coffee. Choosing his words carefully he asked, “So do you still see your family often? Or have you moved in with a partner or…?” Duncan chuckled but he sounded far from amused, “No I’m still at home, went straight back to my childhood digs once my sentence was over. I haven’t really seen anyone since I got out, never got round to it I guess.” “Not still hung up on Courtney then?” “Oh god no!” 

The two of them laughed humourlessly when Duncan finally looked Alejandro in the eye, “Honestly I wasn’t really all that sad when we broke up for good. I mean, yeah I missed having her around, but I wasn’t upset that the relationship was over. I don’t think I ever got upset during any of our splits. I didn’t really care when Gwen dumped me either…” A flash of understanding passed between them and Alejandro reached under the table to squeeze Duncan’s hand, “You know, it’d be good for you to join us today. Get some fresh air, see your old friends, get some closure. You might even have fun.”

Duncan hesitated and pulled back, leaving Alejandro’s hand hanging, “I don’t know, it’s kinda overwhelming out there, I should probably-” “One hour!” Both men jumped a little at Alejandro’s outburst, it seemed he’d even surprised himself. Clearing his throat Alejandro lowered his voice, “The parade is only an hour long, you could always stay with me while we’re out there and if you still wanna go… we can chill at my place for a bit?”

Alejandro silently cursed himself until Duncan gently tugged the zipper down on his hoodie, revealing his blank T-shirt, save for the little rainbow flag in the centre. “Let’s… get this over with I guess.” Duncan laughed awkwardly as the pair got up to leave. Taking a deep breath at the door the two men smiled at each other as Alejandro led Duncan back to the float. This time when he took his hand Duncan didn’t let go.

#total drama #total drama aleduncan #aleduncan #aleduncan week

[calliecat93]

Red vs Blue Season 17 Review, Part One

On March 9th, 2019, Red vs Blue: Singularity premiered at last. After the monster cliffhanger of S16, to say that many of us had been anxious would be an understatement. Well, it’s several months later and the season has concluded it’s 12 episode run. So, was it good? Was it bad? Well… that’s a hard question to answer. But however we feel, we’re going to be going over it today in my Season 17 Review~!

This baby got a Hell of a lot longer than intended, so hopefully, it’s coherent. I tried to be firm, but honest. No matter what I think though, there is no arguing that these people put in a lot of work to make this season a reality. I never want that fact to be ignored. So thank you Jason, Miles, Josh, Austin, Greg, Joe, RT Animation, and everyone else for all the hard work. Couldn’t have been easy, but we appreciate it all the same~!

So with that said, for the final time, let us talk about Red vs Blue Season 17.

Visuals/Machinima

This season was unique in that not only was Halo 5 still being us, but they had to go back and use all the past renditions as well. It looked like they were going to use Halo 2 Anniversary for the paradox stuff, a familiar yet different design, but I guess someone decided it was better to just reuse the older games. Which I think was probably the right choice. Halo 2 Anniversary I think would have helped add this feeling of everything being off, but at the same time seeing the previous versions helps connect to the moments more. It adds more emotional investment since we’re seeing something that we recognize being fucked with. It meant more work for the Machinima team, and I hope that they’re all still alive and had a nice vacation after it was all over cause yikes. Their efforts are greatly appreciated~

The machinima was overall very good. Josh Ornelas has been with the show for six years as a machinimator and directed at least a few episodes of S14. So he was more than fit to be a co-director for this season. Austin Clark is newer and IDK when he started (my guess is around 14 or 15), but I think he’s shown that he’s perfectly capable both as a machinimator and as a director. I never noticed any issues with the machinima that threw me off… but as usual, it’s hard to critique what are essentially video game movements/defaults. Very least whenever the characters were emotional or something, I got the feeling from how the scene was framed. Even though you can’t see the faces, the machinimators know how to frame it to make you feel the intended emotion. Episode 9 with Carolina and Wash’s talk I think demonstrated that. Yeah, the VA-ing helped, but you can see the emotion, even though there’s no emotion to display. And while Austin handled the even-numbered episodes and Josh the odd ones, everything felt like they were on the same page, which is essential when co-directing. They both did an excellent job directing.

Animation was sadly sparse compared to the last season. Wasn’t bad though. There were some good bits, like the opening credits and Wash directing his gun at Genkins in Episode 3. Oh. and Genkins getting stabbed with his own golf club was pretty gruesome, especially with his writhing around, but seeing the original Halo animated was nice. We only got one fight scene, but it was Carolina vs Carolina and it was badass. Not as creative as the Donut vs O’Malley fight, but still really good and impactful. Loved it!. The sets and effects were all very good. Just look at the opening. The effects used for The Everwhen looked really cool and other-worldly. The Labyrinth looked pretty creepy, as it should be considering its true nature. And of course, all the previous Halo’s still looked good… maybe a little dated with Halo: CE but still as good as it did in the remaster.

Overall, visually speaking, the season was really good. The machinima looked great and was directed competently. I felt engaged, and that’s what’s important. Definitely one of the season high points.

Voice Acting/Music

We’re mainly going to be discussing Dan Godwin, Shannon McCormick, Jen Brown, Ricco Fajardo, and Lee Eddy. Everyone else in the main cast was pretty much at the expected level of quality. There’s sadly not much to talk about specifically, which we’ll go more into during the character section. But Joel, Matt, Gus, Geoff, Becca, and Jason Saldana all did well and gave the quality that I expect from them, just nothing that stands out really. I’ll say this, Geoff and Becca’s performance in the finale was very strong and emotional and I loved it. Matt he both got to do Wyoming again and had to do Doc and O’Malley at the same time, which he nailed perfectly. And hearing Burnie as Church again was really nice… but never let him do English Lopez again. Ever.

Let's talk about villains first. Ricco Fajardo as Genkins is freakin’ fantastic. While we got glimpses of it last season, Genkins fun but truly shitty self is on full display this season. And Ricco is clearly having the time of his life recording it. He’s just always so cheerful and having fun, but it feels so messed up and sadistic due to the circumstances. But he owns it. Sometimes having a villain who is just shitty can be fun, especially if you have a competent actor doing it. And Ricco absolutely nailed it. We also have Lee Eddy, who voiced 479er, make her return to RvB as Chrovos. She too is clearly having a fun time. She goes full-on Large Ham with Chrovos’ theatrics and basting but also portrays her getting fed up very well. It’s the Gwen in her showing, haha. But yeah, these are two fun villain characters, and the performances very much reflected that. Loved it~

Next, we have our Freelancers, Shannon and Jen. They both got the emotions hard this season. Which considering how their plot ended last season, is no surprise. It’s no shock that these two did very well, but… man… Jen had to express a lot of guilt, but also a lot of tears and pain. Which she did very well. Carolina feels terrible and has to accept that her efforts were in vain, and Jen conveyed that very well. The second that Carolina breaks down in Episode 9… God, I just wanted to hug her. Then there’s Episode 11 where Carolina is confronting her past self, and it truly does feel like two different characters, even though it’s the same actress. It was a very strong performance this season, arguably her best one yet.

Then we have Shannon. Oh golly, Shannon. How long has he been doing Wash now? Over a decade, right? He knows this character in and out… and he perfectly shows that this season. Wash has a lot to get through this season. His anger at Carolina, him having to accept what happened, accept what has to happen, it’s a lot. Shannon nails it. From going back and forth between normal and crazy in Episode 3 to any time his anger at Carolina showed, to his talk with Carolina in Episode 5, his acceptance of his fate and prepping for it in Episode 9, and his horror to seeing everyone die in 11. And he still got lighter moments, like his interactions with Donut, which were super enjoyable. Shannon just knocked it out of the park this season, and I loved it.

But of course, the one I have to give the biggest kudos to is Dan Godwin. While he has performed Donut since the very beginning… well, he only got to do so much since Donut only got to do so much. He never did a bad job, or he was on par with everyone else, but he simply wasn’t really allowed to go beyond ‘optimistic, innuendo-spouting moron’. That is, until now. Dan got to do so much this season. He got a full range to do with Donut that he really never got, or only got so briefly. He got to be emotional, he got to be angry, he got to be frustrated, he got to be utterly done with absolutely everything. And he conveyed all of that very well. Heck, I think the pitch even lowered a little bit compared to before, or it felt less squeaky as the season went on. It feels more like an in-between of Blood Gulch Donut and pre-Paradox Donut, which I think works. Overall, Dan got to show how much experience with the character he really has after so many years of not getting to, and he was by far the best performer due to it.

Everyone in the cast did great. Even for brief returns like Miles and Gray with the Mercs, Arryn Zech with Dr. Grey, and the Freelancers all did a great job. Jason Weight as Grif’s coach was also simultaneously hilarious and scary. He clearly put his all into it, anyways. As for the music… what? Ae we surprised that it was good? David Levy and Trocadero again delivered a solid soundtrack. The fact that we have to wait for both this soundtrack and still for the S16 soundtrack continues to upset me. But at least it means a lot of quality tracks whenever they do come out. Solid job overall from the music team.

Characters

So one of the problems with these reviews is I have to remember to look at things two ways: as a fan and as a critic. We had a lot of really good character stuff with some characters… and not so much with others. And looking at it as a fan and then as a critic causes two widely different perspectives regarding this section. Normally I’d rather get the negative out of the way, but to explain the negative I have to talk about the positives first. Hopefully, I don’t come off as too harsh, but I want to be honest in this review as well. So.. here we go.

Okay, happy first. The two main focuses of this season are Donut and Wash. Let's do Wash, and in turn Carolina, first. Wash… well, got put to the side last season for the most part. His plot was mainly focused on his brain damage that he didn’t know about and ended with his blow up at Carolina. Which we all know what that leads to. Here, Wash has to deal with the fallout of it. He gets to stabilize and be back to pre-brain damage and is determined to save the others… but his anger at Carolina is lingering. His arc this season is about him forgiving Carolina, helping Donut, and accepting his own fate. I think, overall, Wash had a very good arc. And this is coming from someone who is not that big of a Wash fan.

Wash’s anger at Carolina is understandable, but he realizes that she did it out of concern for him and never meant to hurt him, and especially after talking to her in Episode 5 and how even when paradox’d she still trusts him, he forgives her. Carolina, in turn, has to deal with the immense guilt of her actions… again. Yeah, the fact that we got another ‘Carolina is guilty’ story after Freelancer, S13, and S15, it’s feeling a little repetitive. But her emotions regarding it were very well written. You do really feel the remorse and understand why she did what she did. It makes it even worse when in Episode 9, Wash accepts what has to happen and Carolina has to accept it. It was one of the toughest scenes in the season but was such a beautiful, poignant moment for both. They still have problems, like Wash fears of losing everyone and Carolina has past issues lingering still over Freelancer and her family. But it’s safe to say that they’ve both become closer and stronger.

The biggest character of this season is, of course, Donut. This was a long time coming. Up until the end of the last season, Donut was probably the most underutilized character in the show aside from maybe Lopez and Doc. He went from a dumb but semi-competent rookie to a flamboyant, one-note joke character. Like after Blood Gulch I can't think of anything significant that he contributed. Recollection more or less wrote him out/killed him off, Chorus did nothing with him, and S15 also did nothing with him and even forgot him in certain scenes. S16 began to fix that, having Donut get annoyed at being ignored, nearly betray everyone, and then get into one of the shows best fight scenes by far. So we were building up for something for this season, and sure enough, it came and it came hard… was that at innuendo? Dang it Donut, you’ve influenced me too much!

This was developed for Donut that was loooong overdue. He further got frustrated with being ignored and belittled by everyone around him. He recognized his innuendo problem and tried to actively improve it. He showed some of that competence he had in Blood Gulch, piecing things together and actively taking charge since he understood things the most. When he told everyone off in Episode 7, it felt so satisfying because of how long he’s been treated like a nuisance when he was at worst a little annoying and TMI. He was willing, tried his best, and it really felt like he was finally allowed to be more than just a joke. It really made me like and appreciate Donut a LOT more than I did before. Like he used to not just be my least favorite Red, but my least favorite of the BGC. Now? He’s right below Grif and Simmons on the Overall Favorites List. Yeah, that’s a LOT of places.

Donut was great and I wouldn't change him getting him this development… but this development did come at a cost. That being development for everyone else. The other Reds and the Blues were shafted and shafted pretty badly. The first half of the season, they are trapped with no memory and go about how they would in that time period. Which okay, it’s necessary for the plot so we can overlook that one. They get restored in Episode 6… and they are STILL badly shafted. They are all joke characters, which does NOT work when we’re this deep in the plot. I mean we get some moments, like Tucker reliving his failure on Crash Site  Bravo and recognizing his fault over the past few seasons, Sarge has his scenario in Episode 11 that I thought was very insightful, but those are small moments. Sadly, Donut got too much attention. Even with Wash, him realizing how he was the Donut of Freelancer was more or less contributing to making Donut look good, as did Tucker’s moment. I like those scenes and I love Donut… but not everything had to be about him. He’s the main character, not the only one.

Let's do the Blues first. As I said, there were more or less just there and had no real major character development or effect on the plot. But that being said, they were given some legit good stuff. Tucker got it the best as he re-lived Crash Site Bravo and finally realized true leadership was. It was about stepping up when no one else would and when things were at their bleakest, not being the cool, macho guy like he kept acting like it was. Which after these past two seasons, was nice to see. I was one of the people who were perfectly fine with how Tucker was written the past two seasons because I could see why he had regressed. But I do know that a lot of people didn’t like it, and this feels like a good way to bring it all around. Have Tucker relive his worst moment, this time having to let it go through, and therefore truly remember what caused him to step up on Chorus: because he had to. It’s short, but it does its job and this along with his Labyrinth vision I think has really helped Tucker’s character immensely.

Caboose is overall pretty minor but had some good scenes like beating the shit out of Genkins in Episode 6 and figuring out how time travel worked before the others. It helps show that he’s an idiot, but he’s a smart idiot (if that makes any sense) and was a step up from his limited screentime last season. He also had my favorite line in the entire season (“These graphics look horrible!”). Sister was overall minor, but I’ll go into her later. You’ll see why when I get there. Doc was overall also minor and how the Hell he was in the Everwhen I’ll never know, but I do like him in the finale and finally getting a grip on O’Malley. He more or less is a combo of the two now and seems much more capable due to it, so that’s good. So yeah, while it may not have been a lot, the Blues and Doc were at least given something, which is better than nothing at all.

The Reds though… so you know how these past two seasons started giving them more development? You would think that since Donut is the main character, that would continue, right? Haha… nope! They went right back to ‘the comedy relief team who do absolutely nothing!’! Which after the past two seasons started to do more with them… yeah, this felt like a slap in the face. Sarge annoyed me this season. Mainly in Episode 7 where he was a hypocritical asshole about Donut’s betrayal, ignoring how he not that long ago betrayed everyone and was still feeling guilty about it. He was also the one primarily being a jerk to Donut, which did not do him any favors. I know it’s Sarge and he’s an asshole, so it’s not 100% unexpected… but I felt like it was pushed too much just to contribute to the ‘Donut is so unappreciated!’ arc. His speech in Episode 6 was hilarious though and I did like his Labyrinth vision showing that he can't handle both civilian or army life. It was surprisingly insightful in a way that I’m not used to with Sarge. So yeah, I feel his screentime was on par with Sister and Caboose at least.

Simmons… got nothing. Absolutely nothing. I mean the running gag where he kept seeing Donut shot was really funny, and it also meant he wasn't an asshole like Sarge. Heck, he seemed to be the only one willing to hear Donut out about saving them in Episode 7. And he did more or less point out how they could launch the gold club through the portal to stop Genkind from reigniting the paradox, which was minor but nice to see for him. Him not being a kissass anymore is also sticking, which seeing him back when he was pettier in Episode 2 did make me appreciate where he is now. The way that he was legit concerned for Donut during the ‘Wash shoots Donut’ gag also helps make it look like he at least cared about him in contrast to Sarge’s jackassery. But he was otherwise just there. Very least, it also means he was the only Red that I didn’t get frustrated about since his character remained consistent… until the finale with the utter bullshit that was his nightmare. Seriously guys, what the fuck?!

But at least with Sarge and Simmons, they weren’t exactly in the spotlight last season, so I don’t feel like I got cheated with them. I cannot say the same about Grif, however. Which we will cover that, as well as the Story section, in Part Two.

(Part Two)

#rvb #rvb17 #rvb spoilers #rvb reviews #callie reviews

[roselukes]

2800 Miles - Chapter 1 - l.h.

Summary: Luke knows what he wants, but he also knows he can’t have it

Tag List: @sassy-asht0n @happycrimiscalum @rosesarered516 @hoe4hemmo

@heartbreakashton94 @climatehood @calumspeachy @dukehoods @holidayhood @wrappedaroundcal @mistletoemichael @plainwhiteluke @irwinkitten @irrevocablylukes @astroashtonio @catchinqcalum @irwinvalentines @hollyjollyhood @biggestslutforcalum @calumhampton @angelmikeyy @hotmessmichael @curlyhairedpopstars @meloncal @lukeschestnuts @thecashtonexpress @calsjackets

Words: a whopping 3K lmao

It was nearing 8:30pm and Gwen couldn’t wait to get out of work. Her shift would end at midnight, but she probably wouldn’t get out until 12:30, since she’d have to make sure everything was cleaned and put away. The bar hadn’t been very busy that day, but those who came in were enough to make Gwen more than ready to cozy up in bed. “Gwen, I need you to go around and collect trashes. Daniel, can you gather the trashes from the kitchen?”

“You got it, Tony.” Gwen sighed and walked around the bar, grabbing the full trash bags. She walked through the back to the loading dock. She threw the bags into the dumpster and leaned against the wall of the building. “I can’t stand this. I’ve been here since, like, 8 this morning.”

“Get over it, Tony won’t let you leave until close anyways.” Daniel rolled his eyes and threw his bags in the trash.

“Maybe I’ll fake another family emergency.” Gwen laughed and walked back inside.

“One of you needs to take that table. We’ve got a bachelor party.” Tony said as he washed out a glass.

“I’m off the clock, sir. Gwen’s gonna have to take it.” Daniel said, walking to the back.

“That is so unfair. I’ve been here for more than 12 hours. This is probably illegal.” Gwen groaned and leaned against the bar.

“Quit complaining, Gwen. You’re on your own from now on. I’ve got dinner with my missus.” Tony grinned and walked to the back.

“I’m gonna kill myself.” Gwen whined and walked over to the table of boys. “Hello, I’m Gwen. I’ll be taking care of you this evening.” She set down a few sets of silverware. “Can I start you off with some drinks?”

“We need, like, 6 bottles of whiskey.” The man with curly, dirty blond locks grinned at her.

“Sounds like a party.” Gwen giggled softly.

“A bachelor party, to be exact.” He winked.

“Do you boys know what you’d like to order?” She smiled and placed her hand on her hip.

“We’d like your finest filet mignon, or the closest thing you have.” The darker skinned boy smiled.

“Closest thing we have to filet mignon is our deluxe burger.” Gwen laughed.

“Great, we’ll take 4 deluxe burgers and 6 bottles of whiskey.” The curly haired boy handed Gwen the menus.

“Four?” She questioned, noticing only three boys at the table. The curly haired boy nodded behind her and she spun around to see the most handsome man she’d ever seen at the bar.

“Sorry, I’m late. I had some trouble finding the place.” He smiled and sat down at the table. “What did we order?”

“Four deluxe burgers and six bottles of whiskey.” Curly chuckled.

“Are you actually serious about the whiskey?” Gwen asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“No, we’re not serious. Ashton’s just an aspiring alcoholic.” The new member smiled.

“Wow, me too. Isn’t just wonderful?” Gwen joked. Ashton laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s fantastic. We’ll just take four beers with those burgers.” Ashton chuckled.

“Alright, I’ll need to see all of your ID’s, please.” Gwen smiled.

“Don’t we look old enough to drink?” The dark skinned boy pouted.

“You look 12, Calum.” Ashton laughed and pulled out his ID. The other three pulled theirs out as well and Gwen took a look.

“Wow, Australia. I’ve always dreamt of going there.” Gwen commented as she checked their birthdays. She snuck a peek at their names and heights too. She handed back their ID’s, frowning a little as she noticed Michael staring at her with a look in his eyes she didn’t recognize.

“It’s really beautiful there. You should definitely make the trip out there sometime.” Ashton smiled. “Can we also get some waters with the beers?”

“Absolutely, I’ll get those right out to you.” She smiled and walked back to the kitchen. She was happy the boys had ordered the one thing on the menu she actually knew how to make. At this time of night, the bar usually didn’t serve any food, so Gwen never had to learn how to cook. Plus, she usually wasn’t all alone. She brought the beers and waters out while the burgers cooked and watched the boys talk and drink as she stood behind the grill. She brought the burgers out and set them down in front of each boy. “Is there anything else I can do for you boys?”

“No, I think we’re good for now. Thank you, Gwen.” Luke smiled at her. She blushed softly and nodded, walking back to the bar. She started working on her cleaning to try and get out faster, but she didn’t get much done. As the boys drank more, they got louder and more bold with their requests. She walked over to their table as they had quieted down.

“How is everything here?” She asked, looking at the boys.

“Everything’s great. I think we’ll take the bill now.” Luke chuckled and pulled out his wallet. Gwen nodded and set the bill down on the table.

“Woah, how much shit did we order?” Calum widened his eyes as he read the receipt.

“Too much.” Luke laughed and handed Gwen his credit card. She took it over to the counter and processed it before coming back.

“Thank you so much for coming in tonight.” Gwen smiled at them.

“Hey, what time do you get off?” Luke asked as he signed the receipt.

“Well, we technically closed an hour ago.” Gwen said, a slight blush covering her cheeks. Normally, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell people to leave, but she didn’t mind having the boys there.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. We should’ve left, I had no idea.” Luke blubbered on.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” Gwen giggled. “If all of my customers were like you guys, I’d be open 24 hours.”

“Thank you, you’ve been amazing.” Luke smiled and followed the boys out. Gwen started walking back to the counter when the door opened again. “Hey, Gwen, I was wondering.. We’re not from around here, so we really don’t know where to go. It would be nice to have a tour guide.” He bit his lip and looked at her hopefully.

“Let me change.” Gwen giggled and walked to the back. She came out after a bit in her shorts and band tee. She followed Luke out to the boys after locking up.

“The waitress is coming with us?” Ashton asked.

“Actually, we’re going with her. She’s our tour guide.” Luke grinned. “So, where to first?”

“I know just the place.” Gwen smiled and started walking down the street. Luke sped up so he was next to her again.

“So, have you lived here long?” He asked.

“Yeah, I was born in Manhattan but I moved to Brooklyn when my parents..” She trailed off, not knowing how to explain the death of her parents.

“When your parents..?” Luke looked down at her, searching for an explanation.

“My parents died when I was only a few months old. I moved to Brooklyn to live in the orphanage.” Gwen looked down as she walked.

“I’m so sorry.” Luke sighed. If he had known, he wouldn’t have pressured it so much. “I know what it’s like. My mother died when I was young.”

“It’s a tough life for a child to grow up without parents.” Gwen sighed. “It took me a long time to forgive myself for never getting adopted.”

“If I had been an adult when you were put in there, I would’ve adopted you.” Luke laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood.

“Thanks, Luke.” Gwen laughed.

“So, where are we headed?” Luke asked.

“Here.” Gwen smiled as she stopped in front of a small area of beach. “There’s a little cove on the side of the hill over there, and I used to hang out here when I didn’t want to be at the orphanage.”

“It’s beautiful here.” Luke smiled and walked onto the sand. The boys ran past them and into the water.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” Gwen smiled and grabbed Luke’s hand, pulling him with her to the side of the cove. “I hope you’re up for some climbing.” She giggled and started climbing up the side. Luke chuckled and followed after her. She grabbed his hand and helped him up to the top.

“Wow..” Luke looked out at the view. “This is amazing.”

“You can see everything from here.” Gwen smiled and looked out at the city lights. She shivered slightly and rubbed her arms.

“Are you cold?” Luke asked, looking down at her.

“A bit.” She shrugged and crossed her arms.

“Looks like the boys are making a fire. Let’s go get you warm.” Luke smiled and climbed down the cove, helping Gwen down. The two of them made their way over to the boys and sat on the logs placed around the firepit.

“Well, I think this has been a successful bachelor party.” Calum smiled.

“Yeah, which one of you is engaged?” Gwen smiled, looking at them.

“That’d be me.” Luke forced a smile.

“You’re awfully flirty for a guy who’s getting married.” Gwen looked up at him. The boys took this as an opportunity to get back in the water.

“Well, technically, I’m not engaged yet. Er, I am engaged, I just don’t know to whom.” Gwen looked at him a little confused, hoping he’d clarify. “She hasn’t been picked out yet.”

“This is a bit confusing. So, you’re engaged but you don’t know who she is?”

“Well, you see, I’m not just some regular Australian. I’m the Prince of Sydney.” Luke looked down, not wanting to see her reaction.

“Nah, you’re just Luke.” Gwen giggled softly. “So, when do you get to meet her?” She asked, looking up at him. She was a bit disappointed that she didn’t have a chance anymore, but she did get to meet a prince.

“My parents have suitors lined up for the social season. They have to go through a few months of different events so we can monitor how well they’d be as queens.” Luke sighed. “It’s basically like The Bachelor, except the bachelor is a prince.” Gwen giggled softly.

“It kind of sounds like a fun time. I always wanted to go on The Bachelor for the free food.” Gwen laughed and dug her toes into the sand.

“The social season in Sydney is much more intense than anything on The Bachelor. The winner gets to run a kingdom.” Luke shook his head.

“Do you ever wish you could choose her yourself? Like, without having to go through all the events?”

“Of course. I’ve always dreamt of marrying for love rather than strategy, but that’s just not the way things work there.” Luke sighed and rested his chin in his hands.

“So, this trip is probably your last glance at freedom then, eh?” Gwen looked at him.

“Yeah, I suppose it is. Even though we didn’t go to the one thing I wanted to see.”

“And, what’s that?” Gwen asked, moving closer to him.

“I really wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, but we stayed too late at the bar, so I can’t now.” Luke sighed, sitting up.

“You wanted to see the Statue of Liberty?” Luke nodded and looked at her. “Well, I just might be able to get you there.”

“But they’re closed, and we leave in the morning.” Luke furrowed his eyebrows.

“Come with me.” Gwen stood up and grabbed her shoes. Luke stood up.

“Where are we going?” Luke asked, following her out to the sidewalk.

“Just trust me.” Gwen giggled and hailed a cab, getting in. She gave the driver an address and the cab sped off. Luke looked out the window at the city lights passing by. “Here we are.” Gwen smiled and walked out onto a wooden dock.

“What are we doing here?” Luke asked, looking down at her.

“This is where we’ll catch our ride.”

“Ride where?”

“To the statue, of course.” Gwen giggled and leaned against the railing.

“Gwen, how did you find us a ride?” Luke asked, trying not to get too excited. He had always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. Ever since he was a little boy.

“I have my ways. Now, tell me, why do you want to see the Statue of Liberty so badly?” She asked, looking up at him.

“Take a guess.” Luke chuckled and leaned against the railing next to her.

“Because, she symbolizes freedom?” Gwen looked into his eyes.

“Bingo.” Luke whispered, his eyes locked on hers. He began leaning in slowly before he heard the foghorn of the ferry.

“Our ride is here.” Gwen grinned and opened the gate of the dock and hopped onto the ferry. Luke cautiously climbed aboard and looked down at the water.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Luke grinned and turned to her.

“I can’t either. I’ve never had a reason to cash in this favor.” Gwen giggled and walked up to the stern of the boat.

“How long does it take to get there?” Luke asked, sitting next to her at a small table.

“About 20 minutes.” Gwen smiled, looking out at the water. “Usually there’s not fog blocking it so you can actually see it, but it’s too foggy tonight.”

“It’ll still be beautiful.” Luke grinned and looked at the water. 20 minutes later, the ferry pulled up in front of the statue. “I was right, it’s beautiful.” Luke looked up at the large statue.

“Well, come on, let’s go inside.” Gwen smiled and got off the boat.

“We can go in it?” Luke looked at her with wide eyes.

“It’s no fun to just look.” Gwen laughed and held Luke’s hand, helping him off the boat.

“Then let’s go!” Luke grinned like a small child. Gwen laughed and led him up to the stairs.

“Ready, your highness?” She smiled and stood on the first step.

“Absolutely.” Luke grinned and held her hand as they started walking up the stairs. “How many stairs are there?”

“There are 354 steps to get to the top.” Gwen laughed softly. “It’s 20 stories high.”

“Well, this is my exercise for the next 6 months.” Luke laughed and continued walking. It took them a while, but they made it to the top of the statue.

“Well, what do think?” Gwen asked, breathing heavily.

“The view is fantastic.” Luke breathed, looking out the window. “Gwen, this is absolutely amazing. I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Gwen smiled, looking up at him. He took a step closer to her and began to lean in slowly. Gwen shook her head and took a step back. “We shouldn’t..”

“You’re right..” Luke sighed and looked out at the water again. Gwen sighed quietly and began making her way down the stairs. Luke followed a few steps behind, wanting to maintain a decent distance between them. The two of them got back on the boat and Gwen told the driver to take them back. She sat down on one of the couches and sighed. Luke sat next to her and carefully held her hand in his. “Thank you for doing this for me. No one has ever done something like this for me.”

“I had a really great time with you.” Gwen smiled softly, looking up at him. Luke slowly leaned in once more, but this time, Gwen gave in. She pressed her lips to his and cupped his cheeks, pulling his face closer. Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his. “Luke..” Gwen mumbled against his lips. “We shouldn’t.”

“I know, I just can’t stop.” Luke whispered, pressing his lips to hers again. The boat arrived back at the dock. “I wish I could see you again.”

“Maybe someday you will.” Gwen forced a smile and got off the boat. Luke followed after her and walked back to the beach with her. “Have a safe trip home, guys.” Gwen smiled at all of them. “I had a great time with all of you.”

“It was great meeting you, Gwen.” Michael grinned. Gwen smiled softly before making her way back to her apartment.

That next morning, Gwen woke up early to get ready for work. She walked to work, like she did every other morning, but something about this one felt different. She walked up to the bar and unlocked the door. “Gwen! I’m so glad I caught you.” Michael breathed heavily.

“What are you doing here?” Gwen asked, turning to look at him.

“You’re coming to Sydney with me. We don’t have much time, I need you to go pack a bag.”

“What? Michael, I can’t go to Sydney. I have a job here.”

“Gwen, go pack a bag. I’ll explain everything on the way there.” Michael grabbed her hand, pulling her with him. Gwen squealed and followed him back to her apartment. She went in and packed a bag as quickly as she could. “Alright, let’s go. The jet is waiting.”

“We’re going on a jet?” Gwen asked, following Michael down to the towncar waiting.

“How else do think nobility travels?” Michael chuckled and got into the car with her. They drove out to the landing strip and boarded the jet.

“Wow, you actually convinced her to come with us.” Calum laughed as Gwen sat down.

“You’re all here?” She buckled her seatbelt and looked at the other boys.

“Yeah, we stayed an extra night but Luke left shortly after you did last night.” Ashton smiled. “Did Michael tell you why you’re coming yet?”

“No, he just made me rush to pack a bag.” Gwen glared at Michael playfully.

“Well, Gwen, you’ll be entered in the social season of Sydney in the race to win the Prince’s heart.” Michael grinned.

“I can’t. I’m not a princess.” Gwen widened her eyes.

“You don’t have to be. My family will be sponsoring you in order for you to be entered. Look, Luke wouldn’t shut up about you last night. He was so happy to have met you, and we can’t let you two be apart forever like this.”

“I can’t do this. I am the complete opposite of everything Luke needs.”

“No, you’re exactly what Luke needs. You just need a little bit of training.” Calum added.

“And, that’s what we’re here for.” Ashton smiled. “We’ve got a 14 hour flight, which means we have lots of time to get you prepared.”

“But, why me?” Gwen asked, looking at them

“Well, my family doesn’t have any daughters to marry off. They only have me. So, we sponsor a girl that we think can win, so we can continue our family line.” Michael explained. “Luke likes you enough that he might actually choose you.”

“But, you have to be careful. Even if Luke wants to choose you, he will choose someone else if he thinks she’ll be a better queen for his kingdom.” Ashton said, making eye contact with Gwen.

#5sos #5 seconds of summer #luke hemmings #5sos smut #5sos writing #5sos fanfic #5sos imagine #imagines #imagine #fanic #smut #calum hood #michael clifford #ashton irwin #thecashtonsquad

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Welcome to Behind The Magic, Zack. We really loved your app for Monroe Ellis with the FC of Tyler Posey and we can’t wait to see what you do with him! Please look at our checklist and send in your account within 24 hours. We’re excited to see more of you here at Behind The Magic!

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Monroe Ellis

Faceclaim: Tyler Posey

Age: 24

Birthday: October 11, 1994

Species: Warlock

TV Show & Occupation: Actor - “Young Blood” Max Caldwell

BIOGRAPHY:

Holden and Antonia Ellis always wanted children. That’s why they bought a house with three bedrooms, in the hope that they would one day fill those rooms with two bundles of joy. What they weren’t expecting, however, was to get those two bundles of joy at once. The couple had only been moved in for a month when Antonia discovered she was pregnant and a doctors appointment a few months later confirmed her suspicions that she was eating for three. Normally, this would’ve been a surprise - a miracle, even - to some mortal couples but, the thing about Holden and Antonia was that they were witches and this ‘miracle pregnancy’ was actually the result of a fertility potion the two had brewed on a particularly full moon one January night. You see, they had been trying to get pregnant for the 7 years they had been married, but could not conceive naturally and having exhausted all mortal options, turned to their final option: witchcraft. Although they were not practicing witches, they were still born with the abilities and used them only when no mortal solution worked.  

Holden Ellis was a descendant of Gwen Ellis, the first recorded woman to be hanged for witchcraft. Though not much is known about her third husband, John Morrice, the two were able to have a child, Nathaniel, who Gwen hid from the public once the accusations of her being a witch started spreading. After her execution, her husband and child led a quiet life in a small village nearby before fleeing to America in 1607. A child born of a witch and a mortal, John was not surprised to discover his son displaying the early signs of witchcraft. The two eventually found themselves settling into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in present-day Salem. As he grew older and became acquainted with other teenagers that shared his gift, Nathaniel formed one of Salem’s earliest covens as a place where he and other witches and warlocks could gather to practice witchcraft. The coven became well-known among the magical community across the East coast as a safe place to practice magic in a time of hysteria with the Salem Witch Trials starting. Eventually, the coven established itself as the Nathaniel J. Ellis Institute of Magic; the premiere school for magic in the New England region. Generations of Ellis witches and wizards served as headmistresses and headmasters of the Ellis Institute as it came to be known to magic folk the world over. However, a teenaged Holden Ellis did not want the responsibility of running a magic school and the pressure that came with it and instead chose to open a quaint little bookstore in his hometown of Salem, MA. Words were exchanged between he and his parents which led to Holden swearing off of magic entirely, afraid of what might happen if he ever let the magic take control.

On the 11th day of October in 1994, Antonia Ellis gave birth to fraternal twins. Blessed with both a boy and a girl, the young couple returned home with the promise to shield their children from the truth of their magical abilities. Monroe - the oldest twin by 4 minutes - loved spending time in his family’s bookstore. He learned to read at the young age of 3 and would spend hours every day camped out in the aisles reading any book he could get his hands on and spent much of his childhood acting out the stories he read with his twin sister. By the time he was 10, he had already read through every book in the store about 5 times and was slowly working his way through the ones in the public library. His favorite book was a tan, leather-bound book about the Salem Witch Trials his parents kept in the store. He wasn’t sure why it was his favorite, but something about it called out to him and he soon dug deeper into this interest, learning everything he could about witches and wizards, much to his parents’ consternation. They realized they couldn’t keep this secret from their son for much longer and agreed that they would sit the twins down and tell them everything about their heritage on their 13th birthday.

Monroe was a quiet albeit good student in school. He could almost always be found with his nose in a book or searching the topics he was reading about on the internet. He had a few close friends, but mostly kept to himself and his studies until he entered junior high. Monroe began branching out in his interests trying anything from sports to Boy Scouts to drama club which became his new favorite activity. With all of these new activities, Monroe started learning new things about himself: he really loved being on stage, had a hidden talent for tying knots and starting campfires, and, most surprising of all, he seemed to be able to move things with his mind. What he thought was a trick of the eye turned out to be true. He was in class when he dropped his pencil and reached his hand out to try and get it, even though it was a good six inches away from the tips of his fingers, the more he concentrated on wanting to get it back, it seemed to roll across the floor and into the palm of his hand.

It was all he could talk about with his sister when they got home and, to his surprise, she had experienced something similar; something she couldn’t explain. Monroe immediately turned to his books to find the answer and kept coming back to witchcraft. He brushed it off as impossible and went to bed. That night, he had a dream full of strange symbols and shapes he couldn’t make out. He saw the book from his family’s shop open to a certain page, the incident with the pencil, and an image of a stage light falling onto one of his cast members. He awoke with a start, drenched in sweat. Still shaken from his nightmare, Monroe went throughout his day as usual, replaying the image of the falling stage light over and over again until he got to rehearsal after school. He was on high alert and suspicious that something bad was going to happen as they set up to run through the show. As one of his cast members stood center stage, Monroe’s gaze shifted up to the catwalk where the lights hung and saw one of the lights start to come loose right above her head, though he was able to run across the stage and push her out of the way before the light hit her, pushing the light away with his palm as they slide across the stage. Hailed a hero, Monroe spent the walk home running over what had happened over in his head. How did he know that light was going to fall? How was he able to push it without touching it? Could he really have magical powers?

When he took these questions to his parents, they realized that they couldn’t wait until the twins turned 13 to tell them the truth. They told them everything: about their ancestors, the school that bared their name, and that they were both witches. Suddenly everything made sense and Monroe couldn’t believe he was an actual witch - er, warlock, rather. As the years went on, the twins learned how to properly use their abilities and the responsibility that came with having powers. A new world of knowledge was opened for Monroe to discover and he couldn’t wait to read all the spellbooks he could find. The Ellis’s made the decision to enroll their children in the Ellis Institute in what would have been their high school years where the twins learned everything they could about becoming responsible witches and warlocks. Four years of spellcasting, potion making, and other magical studies passed and soon it was time for Monroe and his sister to decide on what to do next. While his mortal friends were all applying to universities to study business and economics and the like, Monroe opted to further study magic and moved out to Vancouver where a group of his friends from the Ellis Institute were enrolling in a university that specializes in teaching witches and warlocks who wished to further their education.

After learning all he could at university, he decided to extend his stay in Vancouver when he saw a casting notice for the new season of shows being filmed at Behind the Magic Studios. He always loved acting and saw this as an opportunity to build a platform where he could advocate for supernatural species. He was definitely homesick; he’d never been this far away from his parents before and he was eager to see them again. But, he was equally as eager to make a career doing something he loved and, hopefully, helping to make the world a more accepting place for supernaturals.

ANYTHING ELSE:

Monroe’s 3 Inherent Abilities are: Clairvoyance, Mind Control, & Telekinesis

If possible, I’d love for Monroe to take the open High Priest slot for a new Coven that practices light magic.

I left Monroe’s twin sister pretty open for interpretation, with the only stipulations that she’s his twin & a witch.

#acceptedbtm