Notices by Strange Seawolf (strangeseawolf@mindly.social), page 3

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As a writer I will never:
1. ...adher to writing advice I found doesn't work for me
2. ...change the POV within a chapter
3. ...have a damsel in distress. You will find the occasional traditional hero in distress, though
4. ...have violence being the final solution to a problem.
5. ...have an ending where the bad guys win.

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Exhibit A & B:
Randall has this whole inner world of feelings for Lix, but does he get those out? Nope... 🙄

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This prompt warranted a one shot. And if only because @DoctorMonkey2 and @floofpaldi agreed.

"Strengths"
Takes us back to the days of the Spanish Civil War when experienced war reporter Lix Storm gets teamed up with Randall Brown, a young photographer.
They get trapped and Lix is highly irritated by his #neurodivergence and #OCD but there is perhaps more than meets the eye.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48775423

For @doctorwanderer @QuokkaMocha @justdan @EvelynCold

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Liz: *gulps*
"Listen, even when I am doing Randall's POV instead of mine... it... it doesn't mean that it hurts less, you know?"
*lights cigarette, pours glass*
"He asked. I said no. I just... just couldn't... I had my suspicions... sickness in the mornings... but hadn't tested..."
*empties glass*
"So, yes, Randall had to let me go. It was the only solution, obviously. I couldn't have lived with him and he not with me. We were like TNT. Can we please stop doing this?"

@DoctorMonkey2 @floofpaldi @doctorwanderer @QuokkaMocha @justdan @EvelynCold Fairness warning: they will irritate each other terribly as long as I write them younger. The wholesomeness of really "getting" each other is reserved for my stories of them after the series.
Because, think it through: if they would have truly understood each other and their personalities back then, S2 would never have happened. 😉

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Liz:
"Sports..."
*she stares pensively to nowhere in particular, as if she is seeing something you don't see*
"It is funny, because that is one thing we never talked about. Aside from the obvious one."
*snickers lewdly*
"I don't think he mentioned any. He once mentioned a boat but that sailing wasn't for him. Sometimes he disappears for a few days. Perhaps some hiking?"
*focuses again on you*
"The more I think about it, the more I realize I don't really /know/ that man."

Lix:
"The Hour. The Hour is Randall's baby. Well, it's not his brain child, of course, the BBC developed that format long before he joined. And we all worked hard to make it successful. But he... he is that wildfire burning behind that seemingly cold, analytical exterior. He adopted the Hour and he doesn't stop until it grew up to be the benchmark for investigative journalism worldwide. Yeah, he made it tick again, but it is the thing that makes him tick, just as well."

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Lix:
*takes a long drag*
"I asked you to stop those, haven't I?"
*looks at bottle that contains only about two glasses of whisky by now*
"The quest. The quest to find his daughter has ended for him. As for me. We are parents who have lost their child, now. That's our new role. Even if we have never known her, that is what has started for us, now."
*Takes glass*
"Goddamnit!"
*throws glass at the wall so it shatters into pieces*
"Get out! Get lost, you!"

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#PennedPossibilities 20
(Switching to the short story "A Birthday" here, be aware of suicidal thoughts in the story)

"He showed it to me. It is from his thirtieth birthday. Me, sitting next to a fountain... must have been somewhere near Gernika. It was so hot that day, but we had lots of fun."
*smiles*
"Times were different, then. We had to take our fun where we found it. Death was around every corner. But in some regards we knew better how to live life, back then."

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28503669?view_adult=true

Lix:
"You know, I asked him that, recently. You know what that idiot said?

'normal'

I must have stared at him as if he were an alien, because he elaborated:

'I admire that some people don't need to organize their desk just so or can pass a chair in the lobby without rectifying it. I admire people who are just...normal.'

You wonder why I call him an idiot? That's why! He doesn't see how brilliant he is because he is not normal. Normal of all possible traits. Shesh!"

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Lix:
"We are on the brink, World War 3 is a very real possibility, we might face extinction with both super powers having enough atomic potential to erase this planet from the solar system.
I can ignore the state of the world at night. Randall never could. He always had a light sleep, and if he really drifts off, he is tortured by nightmares. I don't know if it is still the same after 20 years, but I guess it is.
Me? I'm fine. I have my ways."
*grabs bottle*

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All people realize is that he fiddles with things and behaves odd, but they don't know that it is important for his well-being. He tries to suppress it, but of course, he can't.
He knows he instantly feels better if he can tap things in a pattern or stroke the cloth of some of his clothes, but he is embarrassed that he is that way. So, he often turns to alcohol, both to wash down the horrors of war, but also because it is more acceptable to drink than to stim. 2/2

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As I have changed stories, let's answer as young Randall:

"I do have opinions about 'you are what you eat', especially as it's a socioeconomic question with its own implications that inevitably points to the injustices of this world. But let's not go there, I wouldn't know where to stop."
*fiddles with his cigarette*
"I think 'You are what you do' is over-simplistic, yet, it is a statement that holds true. I take photos and write. It defines what I am and want to be."

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"Dear Walt,

just a short note because these might be the last letters we will get across the fascist lines via a trusted courier.
Forget what I wrote a few weeks ago. I'm very thankful you've sent Randall Brown. He might be a greenhorn, but he sure has his shit together. It's safe to say I wouldn't be still around without him.
Anyhow, you take care, will you? I mean, I've survived worse, but it doesn't look good and I wouldn't place a bet on our lives.

Take care,
Lix"

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Randall:
"A camera. Really, I did everything, I ran errands for people although it made me nervous I would not pick the right things and I delivered newspapers in the early mornings. It wasn't much I earned, but I saved every penny and was finally able to buy my first, used camera. A friend at the local newspaper let me develop my photos in his laboratory. I couldn't have afforded my own. He saw my photos and said I had an eye for it. The first steps to my later career."

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When Lix and Randall grew up it was the first World War. While the UK didn't have an invasion, there were still a lot of friends and relatives not coming back, or coming back broken, body and soul. These childhood experiences influenced their decision to become journalists and war reporters. Now they are in the Spanish Civil War.
No, the world isn't better. Nor is it worse. It is the place it always has been and always will be.
They can only try and make the best of it.

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Randall:
"Recent friendship... I am not sure. I mean, I am the new boy, all the others on our team are war reporters far longer than me. I think I first have to gain their respect before I can even think of them seeing me as friend. I think I need to do something really, really outstanding and brave so they can respect me. Unfortunately, that is not my strong suit... I am just a photographer, not a former soldier, like Alex. A friend would be great to have, really."

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Randall:
"What's wrong with this picture? Let's see... as raging civil war instead of peace. Former friends killing each other over politics. Families divided and fighting each other for the same reason. Men's most noble intentions used and manipulated by people in power. The rise of fascism in Europe. The young democracies in Italy and Germany erased, and now, Spain is next. There is much wrong with this picture. More than I can count."

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Lix:
"Well, that's easy. Randall, my new photographer. He drives me mad with his tics and by being like he is. Weird. But he also has a certain something about him. He is good at patterns and connections. Systematic. I like that a lot. Yeah, I consider him a good friend by now. I am sure he knows. I mean, it is nothing you tell someone, right? You just realize you are friends now, and that's that."
*shrugs*

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Randall wouldn't go on vacation right now. He negotiated quite some time until his boss agreed to send him into a war zone and he wants to make a difference.

Lix sometimes toys with the idea of joining a expedition to an exotic place, like the Amazonas or the South Polar region, and sometimes she is tired of being a war reporter, but she is an adrenaline junkie, so the mere idea of a relaxed vacation with no danger involved shocks her.

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