On the Long Route is the first of three Arthur fanfics by Squaresville. The series consists of On the Long Route
, Lies and the Lying Parents Who Tell Them, and The Secret Keeper.
On the Long Route begins with a 14-year old Buster questioning his mother on why she divorced his dad ten years ago. Lies and the Lying Parents Who Tell Them is about Buster not feeling like his mother is telling him the whole truth. He gets Fern to help try and uncover the "real reason" his parents divorced.
These fanfics provide examples of:
- Continuation: The trilogy begins years after the series. Arthur and his friends are now teenagers in middle school.
- Curse Cut Short: Francine does a lot of mid-word swaps to avoid cursing.
- Dark Fic: The trilogy isn't anything too dark but it covers more mature themes than canon, such as going into depth on the divorce of Buster's parents, drug abuse, and miscarriages/stillbirths. It reads like a teenage-aimed version of Arthur.
- Full-Name Ultimatum:
- Fern's mother calls her "Fern Victoria Walters" when she catches her having broken into an up-for-sale house.
- Muffy's father calls her by her actual name (sans surname), Mary Alice, when he's called into school because she used her cellphone in class.
- Insistent Terminology: Chip is a mixologist, not a bartender.
- She's Not My Girlfriend: Arthur and Francine both get mistaken for a couple frequently. They always make sure to clarify that they're not dating.
- Shout-Out: Bo calls the hermit Lee Harper "High-Tech Boo Radley", which is a To Kill a Mockingbird reference. Lee Harper's name is a reference to the book's writer, Harper Lee.
- Sir Swears Alot: Francine mentions that she curses a lot lately. She tries not to, but it just comes out.
