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#PennedPossibilities 1
"Randall is destined to lead a team of journalists. I know he doesn't think so, but that's what he's really good at.He's a great journalist himself, mind. But he has the nose for the audience, he sees the possibilities in topics, especially if they rub politicians the wrong way, he is brave and stubborn enough to go for it, and he has the uncanny ability to make his team mad at him, bringing them together by doing so. He balances their personalities without them noticing."

#PennedPossibilities 2
"I know he doesn't look that part, but Randall was always a risk-taker. A taker of calculated risks, but still... he was reckless to the core. So was I. And we were edging each other on. Together we were dynamite, back in Spain. But, apparently, after we split up, he was even worse. Nearly sought death at the front lines. Sure, he brought back the best stories because of this, which helped him after the war, but was it worth the effect it had on his health? I doubt it."

#PennedPossibilities 3
"Little things..." *Liz heaves a big sigh* "For me, I know there is not much, lately. I work, I get drunk, I work again. Work keeps me upright. I enjoy it. Always have. Yeah, working with the team and finding stuff out, the evil scheming behind the scenes of the big politics... that makes life worth living. But I forgot this shouldn't be about me, so... Randall..."
*takes a big swig*
1/2

#PennedPossibilities 3
"Randall... he likes a good book. And clothes. He always had a thing for a good cloth. Or expensive silk ties. I know touching it brings him joy. He once said it put order to his brain." *snorts unhappily* "As if anything about him was chaotic. Anyway, I hope it makes his life worth living. At times, I am truly worried he lost his will to live when we found Sophia has died. He wanted to find her, I didn't. I knew why. A mother always knows."
*takes another swig*
2/2

#PennedPossibilities 4
Story: Martha
https://archiveofourown.org/collections/PaintingSongsWithWords/works/38862993
POV: Martha Craig
"Gosh, I can't hear this song anymore! If you read the story, you will know why."
Narrator: it is 'Martha' by Tom Waits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9Mse62NFl4
#PennedSongs

#PennedPossibilities 4
Story: The Dancing Floor
https://archiveofourown.org/works/41000106/chapters/103169391
POV: Lix
"Cheek to cheek. I have been through a lot, war, conflict...I never needed a knight in shining armor, thank you very much. I can fend for myself. But when Randall challenged my cousin Herb after what he did to me, challenged him in this unique, quirky way only Randall can, in front of everybody...I felt like a princess. Still do when I hear this song."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOYzFKizikU
Art https://ko-fi.com/illustory/commissions
#PennedSongs

#PennedPossibilities 4
Story: Hallelujah
https://archiveofourown.org/collections/PaintingSongsWithWords/works/37847488
POV: Randall
"I didn't know this song. As I understand it, it is often misinterpreted, and that's sad, because it is powerful, deep, and full of innuendo. For me, it is connected with Lix visiting me. Finally. I am old, now. Only a few days to go, I think. My old friend death is sneaking around my bed constantly. Still, this song... It makes my final... days? Hours? Minutes? worth living."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q
#PennedSongs

#PennedPossibilities 4
Story: End of a Road Trip
https://archiveofourown.org/works/31042175/chapters/91096963
POV: Mrs. Bronte
"As if it weren't be bad enough I am cursed with a new boss who has all those quirky ideas, putting my neatly organizes office upside down. Also he WHISTLES! Can you imagine that? He is whistling away as if this is the most normal thing a Managing Director should do. He shouldn't! He should shut up and behave like a grown-up."
Narrator: it is Gypsy Rover by The Seekers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2P-p8fxzSE
#PennedSongs

#PennedPossibilities 6
*Liz giggles*
"Let me tell you a funny story: Randall really told me that when we kissed for the first time in Spain it was the first kiss he really considered a 'proper kiss'. Don't know...It was just such a Randall thing to say, you know? He doesn't let anyone close, worse than a clam, but then, suddenly, he says something like that and looks at you, with this open, honest expression and his wonderful eyes..." *exhales* "Gosh, sometimes I think I am still not over him."

#PennedPossibilities 7
"Randall had one bad habit, and that was one we all shared as journalists, especially in warzones. We all drank. He stopped. I'm too old to change.
Aside from that, I know he beats himself up for his tics and the things he has to do just so. I wish he'd accept that they are part of him, they just belong to the whole personality that actually MAKE him such a fast and brilliant thinker. He sees things differently, spots patterns. That's not a bad habit, that's awesome!"

#PennedPossibilities 8
Lix: "I miss the philosophical ramblings we had back in Spain. When it was getting late - or early. Or when we were trapped and needed to wait for dawn to get out and away. Or dusk. I recall the topic of strength came up one time...'Physical strength is meaningless if mental strength isn't there. When the character is strong, you can't break a person. Physical you can, but you will never break a strong personality.' That's what Randall said. I'm still thinking about that."

#PennedPossibilities 9
Lix: "Randall never talks about his family, so I have no idea. I think he mentioned a sister, once, but I am not sure. I know basically NOTHING about his background."

Remarks:
I wrote different versions of Randall and therefore of his family and childhood. I always trace back what could have resulted in the personality we see on screen.
The deepest I explore it in "Up North" where he goes missing and Lix goes on the quest to find him.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/26494642/chapters/64568317

#PennedPossibilities 9 contd.
Unifying is that the circumstances left him to some extend crippled and distorted but with an eagerness to do better.
The question always remains if he became a rather distant but kind personality because of what happened to him or if this is how he was born and it stands to reason how much happier he could have turned out and how much more he could have done if he had grown up in a more understanding environment.

#PennedPossibilities 10
Lix: "It is strange... but Randall knows when I need him. Not that I need anybody, I can fend for myself, thank you very much!"
*lights a cigarette, pensive stare*
"I still don't know what made him show up at my sister's after Herb's..."
*trails off, takes another drag*
"Anyway, I guess he felt needed back then. I could have sorted it myself, really. Felt kinda stupid... I don't need anyone and nobody needs me... Anyway, I guess that was the last time he felt needed."

#PennedPossibilities 11
Lix: "He sure doesn't look that part, but Randall is an absolute risk taker. I wouldn't go as far as calling him a risk seeker, he takes calculated risks, but those are often much more daring than anybody else's, not even mine. He doesn't give a damn about social conventions. If he feels a story needs to be told, he tells it. He's a taker of calculated risks, but if that risk is he might end up shot, but the story is worth it, he takes it. Reckless to the core, that man."

#PennedPossibilities 12
Lix: "Randall's home?" *snorts* "I have seen operating rooms not as tidy as this. Seriously, that man is able to get distracted from an accute nuclear threat if there is a lint on the prime minister's coat. His flat is always so clean you could eat from the floor. Of course, the same could be said about mine, but in my case because you will always find some leftover food, there. And newspapers. And other practical things. Really, we are so different!" *laughs*