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floralcyanide · 2 years

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The Extra || Austin Butler x OC

Chapter Four

Pairing: Austin Butler x OC

Warnings: language, mention and description of alcohol, description of drinking, being drunk, passing out, austin being an asshole, hinting at innuendo

Word Count: 3011

>> yay for chapter four! we're about to hit a major plot point so buckle up buttercups. I know aus is being an absolute ass in the beginning of this, but we love to see character development, right? anyway, please enjoy this chapter! <3

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I've decided to start writing again for the first time in a year. After what happened yesterday between Austin and me, I needed to get out some pent-up emotion about the entire situation. From before the breakup to during and after the breakup until today, there have been many different feelings towards Austin and our relationship. I don't hate him- I never did. But there's still anger and resentment towards him, and even hostility because I feel he's solely responsible for our seperation. However, there's also a deep sadness for what could've been and how easily things just ended. Our relationship went out like a quiet flame. There's a touch of relief, though, because I can be who I want and not worry about someone breathing down my neck and shoving possible roles in my face at any given time. But Austin did apologize, and deep down, I think he didn't truly mean his words. He was just upset and emotional, which sometimes makes us do and say stupid things. For example, me acting like I had no idea who Austin was upon seeing him for the first time in a year. I regret it now, just as Austin regrets what he said, but it has provided an opportunity for us to at least be friends again. And what's a better way to start over than not knowing who someone is?

I'm deep in thought with my fingers flying across the keyboard. I almost miss the buzzing of my phone next to me.

Get together at my place at 6. You in?

It's a text from Austin. I find it odd that he thought to invite me to a gathering, but he agreed to try to be friends again. As much as I want to not go, I find myself getting a little giddy to see my new friends again, and maybe Austin as well.

Sure. Do I need to bring anything?

Nope. Everything is covered. Here's the address.

I lean back in my desk chair, letting out a deep breath. I guess I'll finish up what I'm writing and get ready. I have about two hours to do so. I planned on staying holed up in my apartment writing until I physically couldn't anymore. It's rare to get a craving to write like this, but it's also rare for everyone in the cast I'm friends with to hang out all at once. Everyone has been so busy lately. I reluctantly close my laptop and push myself up from the chair, trudging over to the closet. I decide it's best to wear something casual and comfortable, but nice too. It's pretty warm here in Australia, so I choose a cute sundress I have tucked away. It comes to my mid-thigh, so it shows enough but not too much. I'm not trying to impress anyone, but maybe make someone realize what they've been missing. I grab some simple sandals to go with the dress. I set my clothes aside and quickly shower, braiding my hair down my shoulder when I get out. I apply a little makeup and then get dressed. When I finish getting ready, I realize it's about time to leave. Grabbing my phone and a small bag, I head out the door and walk to Austin's condo, which is just a few blocks away by the beach.

When I arrive, Olivia and Luke are seated at the kitchen island while Dacre is fumbling with the record player in the corner of the living room. Tom has yet to arrive, but no one expects him to since he's so busy.

"Roman!" Olivia smiles and gets up from her seat to greet me when she notices my appearance, "I'm glad you made it!"

She envelops me into a hug which I accept, hugging her back. Luke nods at me from his seat, his hand encircling a glass of what I suspect is whiskey. No doubt it came from a bottle of Austin's. He is currently making a glass of something at the counter, which I'm curious about. I let go of Olivia, and she makes her way back to her seat as I walk over to where Austin is standing in the kitchen.

"What are you concocting over here?" I ask, eyeballing the numerous bottles on the counter.

"Take a wild guess," Austin glances at me over his shoulder, mixing the liquor together.

He hands the glass to me, and I take a whiff of it. To my surprise, it's my drink of choice; a Long Island Iced Tea. When I'm not drinking vodka, that's my go-to.

"You remembered," I raise my eyebrows, taking a sip. Austin had a talent for mixing everything perfectly every time.

"Of course I did," he whispers, winking at me before turning around to help Dacre find a vinyl to play.

"How many of these do you own?" Dacre asks exasperatedly from the living room.

I lean against the island, tasting my drink as Austin and Dacre banter back and forth.

"I thought you were more of a vodka girl," Luke jokes, motioning to my drink. He must've recalled me drinking vodka at the bar the first time we met.

"Depends on how I'm feeling. But I prefer a little bit of everything," I say.

Luke hums in acknowledgment, "I like the dark stuff. Austin has good taste," he says, inspecting the glass in his hand.

"I have to agree," Dacre says as he approaches the three of us, his eyes meeting mine.

The two men must've decided on an Elvis vinyl because I can hear him softly singing in the living room.

"Did he make you a drink too?" I ask with a chuckle.

"No, not yet. I meant Austin had great taste in everything, really. Including music and women," Dacre says casually.

I looked at him, puzzled, before collecting myself before someone saw my face.

"He was telling me about someone he dated previously," Dacre leans on the opposite side of the counter, mirroring my position.

"Ooh, who was the lucky lady, Austin?" Olivia wiggles her eyebrows.

"Ah, no one," Austin shrugs, "It's been over for a while. But I'd agree with Dacre and say my taste is pretty good, though," he smirks, glancing over at me briefly.

I down the rest of my drink in one go, much to everyone's surprise.

"That was a really good drink, Austin. Make me another one please?" I say, my eyes boring into his.

"Sure thing, sweetheart," Austin says, taking the glass from my hand and walking to the counter.

Dacre holds in a laugh while Luke silently takes a sip of his drink, almost as if he picked up on something he probably shouldn't mention. Meanwhile, Olivia looks at me like I killed a man.

"Are you okay, Roman?" she chuckles, "That was quite a bit to drink."

"Yep," I say, popping the 'p,' "Just wanting to feel good is all."

I turn around and take a few steps toward where Austin is at the counter, mixing my drink.

"Does Dacre know?" I ask quietly, looking around to ensure no one is watching our conversation. Luckily, no one is paying attention except Dacre, who is looking directly at me.

"Yes," Austin says, "But only because you told him," he purses his lips.

"I only told him because he somehow knew already," I eye him suspiciously.

Austin only makes eye contact with me for a moment before sighing, "Okay, fine, I've told him about you. He must've put the pieces together. I wasn't expecting him to make a comment."

I rub my temple, "Dammit. Thankfully Dacre isn't the type to run his mouth like that, or at least I hope so," I look over to see him chatting with Luke about something, "I feel like he would've told someone by now if he were."

Austin doesn't say anything and hands me my drink, looking me directly in the eye.

"What?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

"I just wish you had told the truth," he says.

I sigh, taking my drink and walking back to the island where the others are. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Austin strides over to the door and reveals Tom with a nice bottle of bourbon in his hands.

"Hey," Austin says, and the two of them embrace momentarily, "We thought you weren't gonna make it!"

"I got done with filming just in time today. Had a moment to stop by somewhere and pick this up," Tom smiles, holding up the bottle for everyone to see.

A string of hellos comes from the group as Tom approaches the kitchen. He sits between Luke and me on the stool as Austin grabs six glasses from the cabinet.

"Would you like to do the honors, Tom?" he asks, motioning to the bottle.

"Don't mind if I do," Tom chuckles, breaking the seal.

Everyone cheers as Austin sits the glasses down, allowing Tom to pour some bourbon into them. Luke and I are still nursing our drinks, but we still take a sip of the dark liquid. I knew immediately that I'd probably be getting drunk just off the little bit of bourbon and the rest of my current drink. I begin taking large gulps of the Long Island when no one is looking. Tonight was already starting to get weird.

"Let's head to the living room and get comfortable there," Austin suggests. Everyone nods in agreement, walking over to the living room.

I sit on one of the couches, Dacre sitting on one side of me with Olivia on the other. Austin and Luke take the other couch while Tom takes one of the accent chairs. Dacre stretches and puts an arm behind me, and Austin all but glares at him. Olivia is too busy scrolling through her phone to notice Austin's eyes burning holes into Dacre's arm behind my head. Seeing Austin jealous makes me almost want to laugh. Maybe there's something still there, especially with the earlier comment about having great taste in women. I almost wish for Austin to be jealous, as bad as that sounds. Does that mean I still have feelings towards him? I'm not sure how to answer that. Tom notices I've zoned out a little. I haven't touched my bourbon, and my eyes are fixated on Austin's shoes.

"So, Roman," Tom says, and I snap my head in his direction, "When are you gonna be back on set to film?"

"Hopefully, in the next few days," I smile, finally taking another sip of the bourbon.

"I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that we've missed seeing you outside of Luke's trailer," Tom says with a chuckle.

A blush rises to my cheeks, "I'll be back soon, guys. I'm not needed outside of his trailer for now."

Austin raises an eyebrow at me, probably wondering what I'm doing in Luke's trailer. He didn't really hang out with Olivia, Luke, Dacre, and me because he had the most scenes to film out of everyone here. I never mentioned to him that we all hung out, so I can only imagine what he's thinking. But I'll let him think. Hard.

Luke must've caught a glance at Austin's face because he starts giggling from next to him, "Roman, that sounds really weird out of context."

I lift my glass up while laughing, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Lucas. You know I'm always with three other people when I hang with you."

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that," Luke nudges Austin's shoulder with his, nearly doubled over in laughter at this point.

"No more bourbon for you, Luke," I snort as I watch Austin relax, "And you, Austin, don't look so sad. We'd invite you too, but you're busy."

"Oh, I know," Austin looks down, clenching his jaw slightly, "I just didn't think you would be fucking with one of my co-stars, let alone two."

The sip of bourbon I just took almost shoots from my nose, and Olivia audibly gasps from next to me. Tom raises his eyebrows in shock while Dacre retracts his arm from behind me. Luke has a look of complete distaste on his face as he turns to Austin.

"What the hell, mate?" Luke asks, appalled that Austin would say such a thing out of nowhere.

I wasn't expecting it to come out of his mouth either. Maybe I let him think too hard. I down the rest of the bourbon without a word. The room falls silent.

"That was a dick move, man," Dacre mumbles.

I quietly get up and go to the kitchen to pour another glass of bourbon, this time all the way to the top of the glass. Just when I thought Austin had already said the rudest thing to me, he comes back with a trick up his sleeve. To assume I would sleep with even one of his coworkers was a low blow, but two? What the hell is wrong with him to think that? Also, his comment opened the door to our past that I didn't want to be opened. Now everyone is going to know we have history. I take a shaky gulp of the bourbon, not daring to turn around and acknowledge everyone in the room behind me. Suddenly, I feel a gentle hand on my upper arm. I slowly turn around, fully expecting Austin to come to say something else rude to me. But instead, it's Tom.

"Would you like to step outside with me for a moment?" he motions to the door.

"Sure," I say, not looking him in the eyes as I walk towards the entrance.

The two of us exit the condo and stand on the balcony that overlooks the ocean. Nothing is said for a few minutes as I continue to take large sips of the dark alcohol. With every gulp, my head gets fuzzier. We are leaning against the balcony edge, staring at the waves as they crash onto the shore.

"Are you okay, Roman? I know what Austin said had to have struck a nerve," Tom asks finally.

"Yeah," I breathe out, "I wasn't expecting it," I say, inspecting the now half-empty glass in my hand.

"Did something happen between you two?" Tom is now facing me as his forearms rest against the railing.

I nod wordlessly.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"If I tell you," I say quietly, "You have to promise to not say anything to anyone else. Dacre already knows, but no one else does on set."

"Your secret is safe with me," Tom pats his chest.

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly before answering, "Austin and I dated for five years until a year ago when I broke up with him. I've been lying about not knowing who he is. But we both agreed we'd continue to act like we didn't know each other so we could get to know each other all over again, but I guess that didn't work out."

Tom only hums in response before speaking, "I could tell there was something between you two when you looked at each other."

I finally look at Tom with complete attention, and he doesn't really have an expression on his face. Almost like he already knew. Maybe at this point, everyone does for all I know.

"How do you mean?" I asked, swirling the bourbon around in the glass a little.

"You can always tell when two people love each other by how they look at one another," Tom says, standing up straight.

"I can't say I still love him, or at least not like I used to. The reason why we broke up is that he didn't support my career. I constantly heard that my job choice wasn't good enough and that I deserved a better one because I could do it."

"Well, are you capable of it?" Tom asks.

"I don't know. But I'd rather stay out of the limelight. Besides, I'm just an extra, anyway," I say, downing the rest of the bourbon.

"Says who?" Tom furrows his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Says Austin," I say, beginning to walk back to the door.

"Prove him wrong, then," Tom says, opening the door for me, "Because you, young lady, are more than that."

I look up at Tom and nod, "Thank you."

He just smiles and closes the door behind us. The condo is silent except for the vinyl still playing. Tom and I walk into the living room to see everyone awkwardly on their phones, except Austin, who is sitting in a chair with his arms crossed. He notices I've walked in and stands up immediately.

"Roman, can I talk to you?" he grabs my elbow softly, and I yank it away.

"I'll give you five minutes," I say, trying not to slur. The alcohol began to hit me full force.

The two of us enter the kitchen, where we're out of earshot. I turn and face Austin, who looks really guilty.

"I'm sorry for saying that. I shouldn't have assumed anything or even said it out loud-"

"Sorry for saying what, Austin? I want you to repeat it back to me. And don't apologize just because you likely got scolded by everyone here," I spit, my blood running hot with drunken anger.

"I'm apologizing because I mean it. I'm sorry for saying you were fucking around with my co-stars. I'm sorry for not thinking before I speak," Austin grabs my elbow again, to which I pull it from his grasp again.

"Sorry, but I can't forgive you right now," I chuckle, everything becoming a little blurry, "For someone who is an actor, you really don't know when to not pretend, do you?"

Austin is now holding both of my arms to steady me, "Roman, what are you talking about? Here, let me take you to the guest room."

"I'm talking about you really sucking at pretending you don't still love me," I manage to get out before everything around me fades to black.

taglist: @cozacorner @onxlymnsn @anangelwhodidntfall @butlersluvbot @jolovesfandoms @austinbutler17 @slutforblueeyes @misspygmypie @mamaspresley @mirandastuckinthe80s @bobbykennedyfan @sodonebruh @lizzymizzy-blogg @defnotreadingfanfics12 @izzvoid @homebodybirkin2003 @kaycinema @thatonemoviefan @kittenlittle24 @tubble-wubble @kaycinema @annemarie168 @adoreyouusugar @csmt-m @apparently-sunshine

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to-a-merrier-world · 2 years

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Happy Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day~!

As per this post, today is a day for fanfic writer appreciation! So, I wanted to share some of my current fave fics🥰 (Since I’ve been on a Star Wars kick for a while, these will all be Star Wars.) As always, follow the rules: mind the tags and don’t like, don’t read <3 And if you read any of these, leave the authors a kudos & comment!

(If you are on this list and do not want to be, please let me know!)

Without further ado, here’s some fic recs in no particular order:

1) look at me (with your eyes closed) by @maderilien Boba Fett/Din Djarin, Rated T, 120k+ words.

Aaaaah, this fic was delicious. A canon-divergence fic after season 2 episode 1, it follows Boba and Din as Boba goes in search of his ship (which was sold off rather than conveniently still in Jabba's Palace). It's got it all--Allies to Friends to Mutual Pining to Enemies to Lovers, adorable scenes with Grogu, action, angst, a happy ending! I loved the world-building in this, and the alternate story for Boba--especially in his personal journey. I highly recommend this one (and its prequel)!

2) Broken Threads by @sadiebwrites Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Rated T, 78k+ words.

Brooooo, this fic!!! Set in the immediate aftermath of RotJ, Luke is dealing with unforseen consequences from his torture aboard the 2nd Death Star, and Din is, as always, a bounty hunter whose conscience hits just in the nick of time. This is a fantastic read for OG trilogy fans (especially lovers of Luke & Leia), Fallen Order fans, and prequel-era Jedia fans (3 cheers for T'ra Saa everyone). A wonderful adventure and slow burn romance, I really recommend this one! I definitely cried, like, twice lol. (No worries, though, it's a happy ending.)

3) Hot for Teacher by @astrangebird Din Djarn/Cobb Vanth, Rated E, 40k+ words.

I started reading this because I love trans!Din and I also love Cobb Vanth, but then this fic just hit me with ROMANCE and FEELINGS and ugh, I adored it. Set in what I can only describe as a "sorta-modern, but definitely still Star Wars" AU, Din is a Tusken sign language professor and Cobb is the retired sheriff taking a class to fill his sudden free time after an injury. It's a wonderful story with a somewhat messy romance and happy ending, I highly recommend!

4) hunting toward heartstill by @blackkatmagic Mace Windu/Cody (Main), Rated M, 207k+ words.

Okay, this one is basically a fandom must-read at this point, right? Mace/Cody may be a rarepair, but it's No.1 in my heart thanks to this fic. Not only does it have the ultimate "Fake Relationship/Married" trope (with possibly THE most romantic marriage vows ever), it has some real edge-of-your-seat action and turn-you-to-goo romance. Multiple plot lines are masterfully woven together into a very satisfying end (of the story, and the Clone War). Cannot rec this one enough!

5) Now Comes The Tide by @purplesauris Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Rated E, 9k+ words.

An absolute banger, I love this fic. It's mostly porn, with a sprinkling of romance and Force sensitive!Din, and also features trans!Din (a personal fave), armor sex, and inappropriate use of the Force (a classic). I loved Luke and Din's chemistry in this fic, and the sex scenes are wonderfully steamy~ I highly recommend this one!

6) The Abyssal Plain by @lyresnake Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul, Rated E, 25k+ words.

Obi/Maul is a messy fave of mine, they're just so much fun and this fic really demonstrates that. Maul is in his trash planet years when Obi-Wan crash lands and ends up in a very uncivilized situation lol. I loved how this fic portrayed Maul and his entire mess, but also the mess that is Obi-Wan Kenobi. It built a fascinating romance between the two, striking a balance between them that I found really interesting and engaging. Definitely my fave Obi/Maul fic <3

7) A Slow Fall Towards Grace by @glimmerglanger Obi-Wan Kenobi/Cody, Rated E, 116k+ words.

If you're like me, then you really enjoy seeing Obi-Wan suffer lmao, and this is definitely the fic for you (don't worry, it's got a happy ending, too!). In what I can only describe as Obi-Wan's disastrous journey to love, this fic follows Obi-Wan throughout his life to the end of the Clone War in an A/B/O AU. This fic features some heavy stuff, but it has a satisfying ending and possibly one of my favorite scenes ever in a fic (idk what it was about that birth scene in chapter 5, but the Drama really grabbed me by the throat lol). Really recommend this fic for angst and A/B/O lovers, this one's def for you!

8) Beekeeping and Husbandry by @meggory84 Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Rated M, 135k+ words.

Y'aaaaall this fic. Is. So. Good. I loved the disability rep in this fic, and the whole portrayal of Qui-Gon is probably my favorite of any fics I've read. Heavy on the deep dive on Qui-Gon's character, this fic follows an alternate ending AU of TPM where Obi-Wan "heals" Qui-Gon and Mace gets a terrible vision of the future (aka, he sees everything leading up to his death). Usually with time travel / full-vision of the future AUs, we see things from the POV of the character with all the information trying to save the day--but not in this AU! And I loved that, it made things so interesting. Cannot recommend this one enough!

9) A Safe Haven by @hixystix Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Rated E, 146k+ words.

Listen, if you're even a little bit of a KalluZeb shipper, or even just a Kallus fan, I cannot recommend this fic enough. Following Kallus's rescue above Atollon, this fic follows Zeb and Kallus through the rebellion and after as they find themselves and each other. I loved Kallus's character development in this, and the world building of life in the rebellion, especially for an ex-Imperial like Kallus. This fic really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, but the ending is very worth it (and the sex scenes... those are also worth it. Woof.).

10) How the Other Half Lives (series) by @reedroad Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa (Main), Rated G to T, 660+k words (on-going).

Do I even have the words to describe this series? I'm literally in love. An AU in which Leia goes to the Lars' on Tatooine and Luke to the Organa's on Alderaan, this fic follows the two from childhood through AU-versions of the OG trilogy, and heavily features Ahsoka Tano and Ezra Bridger. What the author does with their world-building and characterizations is just *chef's kiss* perfection. My absolute favorite iteration of Prince Luke Organa and Leia Skywalker with a killer depiction of Darth Vader and Han Solo, this fic has everything you could possibly want in a role-swap AU.

11) Reconstruction Corps AU (series) by @cacodaemonia Waxer/Boil (Main), Rated G to E, 518k+ words (on-going).

Once again, I'm in love. Not only is cacodaemonia an incredible artist with much of their art featuring in this series, their writing honestly takes my breath away. The sheer depth of emotion in this series!!! If you're a clone fan, I literally cannot rec this series enough. I've laughed, I've cried (a lot), I've rolled around in bed like a happy rolypoly, it truly evokes the full range of emotions lol. Mostly following Waxer and Boil throughout the War and after, this series is just such a heartfelt love letter to the clones and the Star Wars universe itself.

12) a simple thing by @ryehouses Boba Fett/Din Djarin, Rated E, 700k+ words (on-going)

Originally, I put off reading this fic cause it was just so damn long. And then I started reading it... and didn't stop for, like, a week. This is just one of those fics that you cannot put down. An incredible deep dive on Din Djarin's character, this fic features fantastic world-building (especially for Tatooine), a very well-written BDSM relationship, an exploration of "religious"/cultural trauma and recovery, and a nuanced look at Mandalorian culture and politics. This fic has one of my fave portrayals of both Din and Boba, and I just cannot recommend it enough.

13) Why Not's and How To's by @trixree Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Clone Troopers, Rated E, 54k+ words (on-going).

Honestly, all I needed to know about this fic was that it’s a “Legally Blonde AU” and I was SOLD. While not following the plot of Legally Blonde, Obi-Wan definitely carries the energy of Elle Woods in this fic. In an AU where Obi-Wan left the Jedi on Melidaan and eventually becomes a lawyer and Darth Maul is never cut down on Naboo (and picks up Anakin along the way), this fic follows both the build-up of Maul and Obi-Wan’s relationship and also Obi-Wan’s attempt to help the clones gain their rights in the Republic. This fic is very fun, and takes an interesting approach to the whole “fixing the Star Wars” fic plot.

14) efface the footprints in the sands by @blackkatmagic Rex/Agen Kolar/Kix, Rated M, 78k+ words (on-going).

🥺🥺Efface the footprints, my love… Not even finished, and already a comfort fic for me, this fic follows Agen Kolar as he takes over Anakin’s battalion when Anakin faces charges for his slaughter of the Tuskens. He must not only deal with a distraught Captain and Padawan, but a mysterious and dangerous creature lurking in the deep. I love the hurt/comfort in this fic, and the whole atmosphere of the planet and characters really lends itself to the drama of it all. Cannot rec this one enough!!

#fanfic writer appreciation day #fic recs #star wars fic recs #long post

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weerd1 · 1 year

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HOW TO STAR WARS

With three convenient options!

(Please note, I wrote this last year just as Andor S1 ended and Bad Batch S2 started for a friend at work. If someone finds it useful, huzzah. May the Force Be With You.)

OK, I have obviously put WAY too much thought into this, but it’s what I do. Before you dive into 1800 words on Star Wars I whipped up while drinking coffee on a Saturday morning, let me tell you my recommendation is Option 2. But, if you’re ready for a deep dive into other ideas…proceed!

There are two things you have to ALWAYS remember about Star Wars: it has never been chronological, and it has never been complete. Even if you were there in 1977 (and I was) and we got Episode 4 (not chronological) which ended with the Rebels on the run from a still standing Empire (not complete) you don’t have a moment where anything is revealed in order, and the broader story can always be expanded. The result of this is that if you don’t like a particular show or movie or plot point, something is probably going to come along and fix it. There are, believe it or not, movies and shows in The Canon that I don’t think are that great, but like ones I wasn’t super fond of previously, I would expect something is going to come along and expound on those things I didn’t like and make them more palatable.

Option 1

That said, if you want to keep it simple, I would say go ahead and watch everything in release order. The benefit of that is you getting the story the way the world did. We came out of the Original Trilogy in 1983 knowing Vader was really Anakin Skywalker, and his son and daughter were Luke and Leia. We didn’t find out HOW until the Prequel Trilogy (PT) started up in 1999. Some of the way various plot points in later films play out, they hit harder emotionally when you realize what they mean for things you’ve already seen. The weird lady named Mon Mothma who leads the Rebels for 5 minutes in “Return of the Jedi” is now a major character on “Andor” and suddenly this throwaway scene from 1983 grabs your guts because you begin to understand what she went through to get there. If that sounds appealing, here’s that order:

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated Movie, 2008)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)

Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The Mandalorian (2019-present)

The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Andor (2022-present)

Ahsoka (upcoming, 2023)

Skeleton Crew (upcoming, 2023

The downside to this is NOTHING happens in order, and you should consult a good reference to get an idea WHEN a particular story takes place in relation to the rest of it all. This one is pretty good, but also includes video games which have great stories, but may or may not be your thing:

(This is from Reddit; you can Google others that fit more what you’re looking for.)

Option 2

Now, based on the graphic above, there’s another way you could watch it all. I would call it “Saga Based.” When George Lucas made the OT it was often referred to as “The Adventures of Luke Skywalker.” Once he made the PT, he started saying the entire saga was about the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. When Disney took over and made the Sequel Trilogy (ST), they began to refer to it as “The Skywalker Saga.” This means the “Episode” movies, or the left side of the chart above, Episodes I-IX. And it is very easy to consider that the foundation of all other Star Wars. Even if those characters don’t appear directly, in some way the supporting characters are all caught up in Skywalker family drama (and I love that; NO literary character in history is as big a drama queen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader).

Once you have those nine films as a foundation, hit the right side of the chart and work your way through those shows and “Story films.” Again, up to you if you really care about playing video games; they have great stories but nothing that I think you will miss if you just stick to shows and movies.

The advantage to this option is how well-framed the rest of the stories are then, though you have to make sure you’re putting them in chronological context as you watch.

Now, before I go on with a third possible way to watch these, I want to talk about cartoons. Some of the very best Star Wars is animated Star Wars. That being said, they are often produced with children in mind (though the episode of “Star Wars: Rebels” where the Imperial Inquisitor uses a double bladed lightsaber to decapitate the “thin guy/fat guy” comic relief duo is just one example of how the shows push the boundaries; it’s not gory, and the violence is implied, but it’s dark!). The animated shows are not an insignificant time investment. There are seven seasons of “The Clone Wars,” four seasons of “Rebels,” currently we just started the second season of “The Bad Batch,” and “Resistance” has two seasons. I will include at the end some ways to abbreviate “The Clone Wars” if you want. Also, missing from many of these discussions is “Star Wars: Visions,” which are actually alternate interpretations of the Star Wars universe in anime style by Japanese directors. They’re pretty good, but not the Star Wars you know.

Option 3

Now, you want to go hardcore? Then watch full chronological order. You get the story as it happened. I used to be very much against that, but then in my last job I worked with a couple of guys who didn’t grow up in the US, and things that I had taken for granted when I watched the PT were honest surprises to them. (“ANAKIN is Darth Vader????”) The problem with this approach is there are still new things coming out at various points of the timeline, so in your viewing, you may be in the shows like “The Mandalorian” taking place five or six years AFTER the OT, and then another season of “Andor” drops and it’s five years BEFORE the OT, and you have to backtrack.

If you are going for this, here’s the order:

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated Movie, 2008)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020)

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021-present)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Star Wars Rebels (2014-2018)

Andor (2022-present)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

The Mandalorian (2019-present)

The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)

Star Wars: Resistance (2018-2020)

Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The other issue with trying them this way is some overlap. The last two episodes of “The Clone Wars” happen DURING “Revenge of the Sith.” The events of “Andor” episode 6 has direct impact on “Rebels” episode one, and those stories intertwine a bit. “Book of Boba Fett” takes place between seasons 2 and 3 of “The Mandalorian.” That problem will continue to compound as new shows come out. We’re actually expecting a show in the next year called “The Acolyte” that takes place a hundred years BEFORE “The Phantom Menace”!

Another positive to this option is it allows you to break the various shows and movies up into “eras.” This image, also stolen from Reddit is one way to do that:

The era I find the most interesting (unlike most SW fans) isn’t really about the Jedi but what Obi-Wan called in the original movie “The Dark Times.” In this graphic they would include the “Reign of the Empire” and first half of the “Age of Rebellion” stuff. So many of those stories deal not with Good Space Wizards fighting EVIL Space Wizards, but normal people trying to survive oppression and realizing there is no safety in tyranny. Now, that’s just me. It’s not that I don’t love Obi-Wan and Anakin coming undone and desperately fighting one another in a lava flow, but common people deciding to stand up with no mystical “Force” to protect them? Well that rings my bells.

Star Wars is a huge, still evolving mythology, as complex as any classic we have from Sophocles or Shakespeare or Tolkien. As spiritual as any holy book. At times as deep as any tragedy, and as uplifting as any faith. Sometimes it’s just silly, and sometimes it’s heartrending.

Yes, it is just some solid popcorn-pew-pew-entertainment as well, but thematically there is SO much going on, and it compels me like few other things do.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s an old write up I did about how to take on “The Clone Wars” cartoon. You COULD just watch these episodes:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Clone Cadets" (S 3 Ep 1)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Rookies" (S 1 Ep 5)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "ARC Troopers" (S 3 Ep 2)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Citadel" (S 3 Ep 18)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Counterattack" (S 3 Ep 19)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Citadel Rescue" (S 3 Ep 20)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Darkness on Umbara" (S 4 Ep 7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The General" (S 4 Ep 8)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Plan of Dissent" (S 4 Ep 9)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Carnage of Krell" (S 4 Ep 10)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Unknown" (S 6 Ep 1)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Conspiracy" (S6 Ep 2)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Fugitive" (S 6 Ep 3)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Orders" (S 6 Ep 4)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Bad Batch" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "A Distant Echo"(S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "On the Wings of Keeradaks" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Unfinished Business" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Old Friends Not Forgotten" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Phantom Apprentice" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Shattered" (S7)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Victory and Death" (S7)

These 22 episodes follow the character of Fives, one of the Clones, throughout the war between the movies “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith.” The Season 7 episodes do not feature Fives, but the consequences of his previous actions.

Either way, start with S3 Ep 1. Not sure why the earliest one is in the third season, but it is worth it. (Indeed, here is the CHRONOLOGICAL order of episodes, still not sure why outside of “never been chronological or complete” https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-the-clone-wars-chronological-episodeorder.)

If you want to strike a middle ground here, watch the Fives storyline, and add these three important Ahsoka storylines, that is also possible! Just interspace them with the above list:

Season 2, 5-8: Second Battle of Geonosis.

Season 3, 15-17: The Mortis Gods

Season 3, 21-22: Padawan Lost

Season 5, 17-20: The Wrong Jedi.

OR after S4 Ep10, just continue to watch season 4 through 7. There’s almost no dud in there.

The last four episodes of season 7 take place in and around “Revenge of the Sith,” and may themselves be one of the three or four best Star Wars movies.

#Star Wars #meta #long post #what's your preferred method?

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cas-rivaille · 3 years

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Hi! Can I request a obey me hc where the MC is a leader of a very big mafia gang in the human world?

YES !??!?

(ahaha this def isn't the plot of one of my scripts where i run a mafia gang because i thought it would be cool and it's amazing you requested this)

tags: mentions of weapons, mild swearing, protective brothers and datables (i didn't include luke because it's a mafia gang thing and he's precious child and i want abt to put him in harms way)

a/n: i also didn't write the thoughts for dia, barb, simeon, or solomon because i honestly couldn't think of anything i'm sorry

MC as a Mafia leader in the human world

When you came to the Devildom, you were in another world, rendering everything in the human world useless. You spent so much time trying to adjust, that your life in the human world was almost forgotten.

Almost.

It wasn't long before Lord Diavolo announced you would be going on a trip to the human world. Suddenly you remembered everything you would go back to. If only you were aware of the chaos that would unfold. When you got to the human world, in your town you previously lived in, there was maybe a minute of peace before chaos erupted.

Once you stepped out of the alleyway that Diavolo teleported the group of you into, nearly half the people on the street turned and looked at you. Some of them ran, others pulled out their phones and made calls, and about four or five came rushing towards you asking where you'd been.

You recognized the men that had the gall to come up to you, they were some of the more high ranking commanders. However, your second in command was not among them. The brothers protectively stepped around you, not knowing who these people were. Clearly that was the wrong move.

In an instant the street was clear of citizens and there were members of your gang with their weapons drawn or their hands near their weapon. Diavolo stood behind you, glaring at the men in front. Simeon and Solomon were on edge. The atmosphere was tense. Barbatos was the first to speak.

"I'd advise you stand down," He spoke with a hum in his voice to the men in your gang.

"I could say the same to you," Said a voice emerging from the other side of the street. Slowly the person walked forward. It was your second in command.

"Who are you to be acting like this around our commander ? They disappeared four months ago and show up again like nothing ? Forgive us if we're a little curious," Your second spoke in a teasing manor, eyeing everyone carefully.

Lucifer -

- commander ?

- who ? mc a commander ? of what ?

- who are these people and where did they come from ?

- *protection mode activated*

- the only reason he's not in demon form and ready to attack is bc diavolo is here

- looks at all his brothers and makes sure they understand exactly what he means with one look

- this man is next to dia full on ready to fight

"Who are you calling com-"

You interrupt Lucifer.

"Everyone stand down, this is all just a bit misunderstanding," You say as quickly as possible to stop any conflict. Everyone directs their attention towards you.

"Commander who are these people ?" Your second asks.

"They're my friends, there's no need to be hostile. Everyone stand down," You say, looking around at all the people. They immediately lower their weapons, some of them even holster them. Your second on the other hand, known for standing up to you, doesn't lower their weapon.

"All due respect commander, but I won't stand down until I know they aren't a threat," You second looks you dead in the eye. You sigh. You then direct your attention to the boys surrounding you.

"Guys, back off a bit please. I'm fine. They aren't a threat," You say, tired.

The brothers ease up a bit, but you can still see the tension in their muscles. Diavolo, Barbatos, Simeon, and Solomon stood behind you protectively still, but also stepped back.

Lucifer steps forward and makes eye contact with you.

"What's going on MC ?" Lucifer asks.

"Okay so, gang this is Lucifer, Mammon, Levi, Satan, Beel, Asmo, Barbatos, Belphie, Solomon, Simeon, Barbatos, and Diavolo. Boys, this is my gang," You say while pointing to everyone and talking as fast as possible.

Mammon -

- he eased up on his defensive stance, but he never let your hand go

- as to be expected because you're HIS human

- anyways

- gang ??

- what do you mean gang ??

- like a club or should he be running

- very confused boi but just wants to protect you no matter what

Mammon squeezes your hand lightly. You look at him.

"What do you mean gang ?" He asks.

"I- uh.. well you see, it's exactly how it sounds," You respond.

The confusion on Mammon's face only grows.

"I am the leader of a gang. Here in the human world?" You say while shrugging your shoulders.

The boys all look at you like you've grown a second head.

"You run a gang ?" Mammon says after a moment of silence between all of them.

"Is that so surprising ?" Your second asks.

Leviathan -

- surprising ??

- surprising ??????

- the same mc that would stay up until two am playing animal crossing with him ?

- the same mc that bought him plushies of his favorite characters ?

- mc who would cosplay with him

- how could someone who makes sure he takes care of himself and basically babies him but on a friend level, be the commander of a gang ?

- lowkey thinks it's badass because he is the grand admiral of his own army

- gets distracted and starts fangirling over you

"How long have you been the commander of a gang?" Levi excitedly asks.

"Two years, before I went to the devildom that is," You respond, slightly bouncing off Levi's excitement.

"The what?" Your second asks, interrupting.

"The- oh. Wait a minute," You say and turn to Diavolo.

"Am I allowed to tell them ?" You half whisper to Dia.

"If you see fit. This situation is entirely new to me," Dia half whispers back. Barbatos leans in and joins the conversation.

"I sense utter loyalty to you, MC, if you trust them then I advise we should too," Barbatos speaks quietly.

You turn back to your gang.

"Okay so the reason I vanished for four months is because I went to 'hell' as an exchange student. Now I realize that may sound crazy, but these guys are all demons," You say while roughly gesturing to the brothers, Dia, and Barbatos, "He's an angel," You say and point to Simeon, "And he's a human, but immortal, I think. I don't really know Solomon is the textbook definition of an enigma," You say while waving at Solomon in gesture.

Your gang stares at you, bewildered. The person next to your second starts laughing hysterically. Your second glares at him but the laughter doesn't stop.

Levi, knowing exactly how it feels to be laughed at and not believed, starts talking.

"Need proof ?" He asks. In the blink of an eye he's in his demon form.

Your gang steps back, eyes wide, their hands near their weapons.

Satan -

- there's no way satan isn't dragging you back to his room after this to talk about your gang

- thinks it's attractive as hell, MC in a position of power ? that's the stuff

- takes a moment to register why levi is in his demon form, but feels his wrath and changes too

- steps closer to you

- he's still mad you never told him, but he won't take it out on you

- honestly just wants to know the truth

After Satan changes too, the rest of the brothers join in

Except Lucifer, who looks very displeased. Diavolo laughs at Lucifer's discontentment. Satan smirks as well, knowing he made Lucifer angry.

Your second is the first to speak.

"Okay what the fuck," Is the only thing said.

"MC did explain that we're demons, were you listening ?" Satan asks coyly.

"Right then. So it's actually true ?" Your second asks, looking at you.

"Yes, why would I lie ?" You say back.

There is a moment of silence. No one moves or says anything.

"So I take it this means we can't tell anyone ?" Your second asks.

"No, you cant. But I know you're all more than capable of keeping secrets," You laugh a little. The atmosphere lightens up. Your second laughs with you.

Asmo -

- your laugh is so adorable to him

- not the time thoughts

- he also thinks it's attractive you run a gang

- admires how you were able to change the atmosphere and how these people listen to you

- will totally tease you and call you commander

- joins in on lightening the mood

"Right then, how about we all go get a drink and discuss the events of the last four months over dinner ?" Asmo says.

"Is there even a restaurant big enough to hold all of us ?" Satan asks.

"Yeah, we can use the base," You say.

"Of course, it's still the same as you left it commander," Your second joins in.

"Then it's settled, let's go !" Asmo smiles.

Beel -

- definitely not opposed to having food

- is a little hurt you didn't tell him, but ultimately understands

- he wants to hear about your adventures

- wonders if he can spend more time with you to hear about said adventures

- does this mean you can fight ?

- if so can you train with him ?

"Does this mean we get human world food ?" Beel asks, looking at you.

"Yep !!" You respond.

Beel changes out of his demon form with a smile on his face.

"I'll also show you guys our base of operations and give you a tour. I can also show you where I used to live too !!" You say excitedly.

The other brothers change out of their demon forms.

Your second starts to walk and lead the way to the base. Everyone follows.

Belphie -

- to be honest he doesn't care you're a gang leader

- he just wants to sleep and spend time with you

- if those two things coincide then good for him

- he does think it's cool tho

"So, you're gonna tell us everything right ?" Belphie asks.

"Yes. I'll tell you guys about my life here and then I'll tell my gang about my life with you all," You say.

"Good, as long as things get cleared up," Belphie says and yawns.

----

SORRY IT GOT REALLY SHORT AT THE END IM REALLY TIRED BUT THANK YOU FOR THE REQUEST I HOPE YOU LIKE IT !!

- cas :)

#mars on earth #obey me #obey me shall we date #mammon headcanons #obey me headcanons #leviathan headcanons #lucifer headcanons #asmo headcanons #beel headcanons #belphie headcanons #satan headcanons #omswd #obey me levi #obey me asmo #obey me satan #obey me beel #obey me belphie #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon

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young-dumb-and-vaccinated · 3 years

Text

A Deafened Bard (Stephen Strange x Female!Reader) pt. 4

Empowered by wine and having faced her past, [F/N] ties up her final loose end and confesses her feelings for her Master.

Trigger warnings: alcohol, confronting abuser, abusive older sibling, implied parental abuse, implied emotional incest, blood, slight violence

With the warm feeling of mutual respect and understanding, you'd practically reached nirvana. But, as was a constant in your life, your happiness was just a momentary commercial-like blip. The wine was your hourglass.

Of course, the force equal and opposite to your hope for the future was your loose ends from the past. You could have honestly spent the rest of the evening mutually tipsy and laughing at each others' stupid jokes. But the universe had other plans for you.

"I know you implied that you weren't going to be around much anymore," you said, the alcohol bringing your disappointment to center stage. "But when the Borderlands movie comes out, will you go see it with me?"

Master Strange chuckled. "What's it about?"

"Like…" you searched around for any words. "Yeehaw, but in space."

"Like Star Wars?" He raised his eyebrows.

"No, no." You shook your head. "Think like Texas, but in outer space."

He paused. "Yeah, I'm gonna need you to explain that better when we sober up because all I'm picturing is Leia kissing Luke in Empire."

You snorted. "I said Texas, not Alabama."

"Okay, but what's the plot? Who are the characters?" He pressed. "Details, [F/N]."

"Are you Miss [F/N] [L/N]?" The waiter asked, tapping you gently on the shoulder.

You narrowed your eyes at him, mostly just to keep your vision straight. "That depends. Who's asking?"

The waiter opened his mouth but your drunken word association decided to speak first.

"Oh, sure sir!" You rambled. "I'm Alexander Hamilton, I'm at your service sir. I have been looking for you-"

"I'm getting nervous." Master Strange mumbled from across the table.

"He didn't give me a name, Miss." The exhausted waiter said before you could complete the entire musical as a one-woman show. "He just wants to meet you at the bar."

"But we're still waiting on our bread pudding." You said. "And I really don't trust him not to eat it all if it comes and I'm not there."

"Ouch." Master Strange laughed.

"Please, the man at the bar insisted he talk to you." The waiter said, hurriedly. "He seems like he's on a ledge."

"Wait." You put your hand up. "Is this guy, like, five eleven? Slightly wavy hair? Scar on his right cheek?"

"That would be the man, yes." He nodded timidly.

You slid your chair back and abruptly stood up. Smiling cordially at your master, you excused yourself.

"Excuse me, Stephen." You said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Emboldened by the alcohol, you stood up straight. "I have a loose end that I need to push off a ledge."

Sure as fuck and shit, sitting at the bar was Jason. Hardly five foot eleven, greasy haired, pedo-stached Private Jason [L/N].

"[F/N]." He tried to disarm you with a smile. "You look well."

You placed all your weight on one leg and folded your arms. You let the silence speak for you as you glared daggers through his soul.

He cleared his throat. "Coach Malcolm told me you were in town."

"Right." You said through gritted teeth. "Because New Orleans is such a small, unpopulated nowhere-town that some washed-up high school football coach can find anyone without trying.”

Jason sighed. "He was worried about you."

"Just because he slept with mom doesn't make him dad." You rolled your eyes.

"He was right." He eyed you up and down. "You really do look like her."

You wretched. “I’m choosing to ignore the implications of that.”

“Why are you here?” He asked, as if he had any right whatsoever to do so when he was the one intruding on your dinner.

"I wanted brisket. Now why did you pull me away from dinner with my ma-" you cut yourself off before reaching the end of the syllable. You could write it off as drunken forgetfulness. "Dinner with my boss?"

"You need to come home." He said, plainly.

"Well, well, well." You snorted, leaning against the bar for balance. "How the turntables."

Jason frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nevermind." You folded your arms. "The irony would be wasted on you."

"[F/N]." His voice hardened. "When you said we'd never see you again, mom didn't actually think-"

"That after letting you ruin my life, I'd want to stay as far away from you as possible?" You finished, anger calibrating your drunken mind.

Jason growled like the petulant crybaby he was. "Do you want me to apologize? Admit that I was wrong?”

"Too little, too late." You spat, getting up from the bar stool.

He grabbed your wrist before you could leave for the dining room, sending you into immediate panic mode.

“[F/N].” He nearly shouted. “Please. For mom.”

You snatched your wrist from his grip, your face contorting into a scowl. “I have no mom. And I have no brother.”

Your well-earned statement of independence triggered Jason’s spoiled only-son instincts. In the absence of drywall to punch, he slammed his fist against the bar. “God fucking damnit, [F/N]!”

He picked up a rocks glass, white-knuckle gripping it and chucking it in your direction. You braced yourself for impact. When the impact didn’t happen, you opened your eyes and saw the glass suspended in the air just a few inches from your face. As quickly as it stopped, it fell straight down and hit the tiles with a resounding smash.

“What the fuck-?” Jason said, meeting eyes with the other diners to confirm that it did just happen. Nobody seemed to notice the metaphysical anomaly, however, and just went back to eating their dinner.

“[F/N], there you are!”

A hand found your shoulder and pulled you in close. You breathed in the familiar scent of your master, thanking the powers that be that he decided to intervene before Jason could reach peak temper tantrum.

“Stephen!” You took his hand and squeezed it tightly. He took you protectively under his arm.

“Come on, buttercup.” His thumb drew comforting lines across your shoulder as he spoke. You appreciated the slightly-more-romantic take on your usual nickname. “Your bread pudding is getting cold.”

“Hey, man,” Jason objected. “I don’t want any trouble--”

“Trouble?” Master Strange raised his eyebrows, a threatening edge to his voice. His eyes fell to the ground and he nudged a shard of glass under the bar.

Jason took a step back, then yelped in pain. He quickly removed his shoe, only to find that beneath his blood-soaked sock, a piece of broken rocks glass was embedded in his foot.

"How'd that get in there?" You whispered, giving his hand a squeeze.

"How did you-?" Jason stammered, switching his gaze from the gash to your master. "You-"

"Eeugh, that looks painful." He said through a cringe.

You held back a sadistic laugh at your bleeding brother's expense. "You said the bread pudding was here?"

He held out his arm for you. "I'll lead the way, my dearest."

Two orders of bread pudding and a few glasses of dessert wine later, you were still laughing.

"That fucking troglodyte just ran out crying." You said between ugly laughs. "He probably wanted his mommy to kiss his booboo."

"I don't usually like getting involved in other people's personal shit," he began. "But that was fun."

"Thank you for having my back out there." You said, sincerely. "You didn't have to pretend to be my boyfriend."

"Oh, come on." He chuckled. "That's the fun part. If you can't make it fun, it's just petty revenge."

"Revenge is fun." You admitted, through a poorly-timed yawn. "Even if it's just petty."

He smiled warmly at you. He leaned over the table and brushed a stray blade of hair from your face. "Sleepy?"

You begrudgingly nodded your head. "The wine isn't helping."

"I don't think the cast of Hamilton would appreciate a wine-drunk [F/N] upstaging them from the audience." He suggested. "What if we just went home?"

You nodded. There was nowhere else you'd rather be as long as he was by your side.

You noticed as you wandered aimlessly back into the New York sanctum that you were once again compelled to the piano. Perhaps you were emboldened by the alcohol; finally ready to perform with your inhibitions dulled.

"God damn it." You cursed, sitting down on the piano bench. "We were right next to the Southern Candymakers and I didn't pick up any cherry licorice ropes."

"That can be rectified." Master Strange said, hands shakily reaching to open the eye.

"No, stop." You laughed, grabbing the eye. "Put the time stone down."

"I don't suppose you have the energy for a song?" He asked, taking a seat next to you.

You held up one finger and smiled evilly. "Pick one."

He cringed. "I don't think I can."

"Come on." You swiveled around and your fingers hovered over the keys. "What do you want to hear?"

"Dealer's choice." He smiled, kindly. "Whatever is on your mind."

"That is a door that once opened, cannot be closed." You said, only half-jokingly. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." He nodded. "Show me what's going on in that head of yours."

He asked for it. He really did ask for it. You had no choice but to provide.

Your fingers slowly danced across the keys. You resisted the temptation to embellish-- there would be time for that later.

"I used to hear a simple song,

That was until you came along--

Now in its place is something new

I hear it when I look at you."

Were you really doing this? Confessing your feelings for your master through a gratuitous piano song? You felt the tightness in your stomach loosen with every note that passed; it was honest. It was real.

"With simple songs I wanted more

Perfection is so quick to bore.

You are more beautiful by far--

Our flaws are who we truly are."

You almost tripped over the last few words and overcompensated with little runs and grace notes to give the simple melody a little flourish. You began to crescendo, mentally preparing yourself for the outpouring of emotions that the next verse would be. You wanted to conjure an entire orchestra. Then you could show him the extent of your feelings. But you were just one out-of-practice pianist with two hands.

You gave it all you had to give.

"I used to hear a simple song-"

You projected as much as you could without shouting. One hand kept steady on the low tones while the other flew between keys, pounding out a series of short but rounded triplets.

"That was until you came along,"

You weren't quite sure of what your fingers were doing anymore. You were either operating on autopilot or you'd lost control of your body entirely. But it was beautiful.

"You took my broken melody-"

The world caved in around you, but you would go down like the band on the titanic. If this was your last song ever, you were determined to make it a performance worthy of the name.

"And now I hear a symphony-!"

You just couldn't help yourself. You unleashed the depths of your vocal range and projected up to the high heavens while you still had the good sense to forget you were confined to four walls.

"And now, I hear…" the words tumbled from your mouth as the last bits of air trickled from your lungs. "A symphony."

You stopped to catch your breath. Insecurity and fear returned alongside oxygen.

Why the hell did you do that?! Your conscience shouted. Now that he knows you have feelings for him, he's going to throw you out.

You turned around, and with some reluctance, asked. "What did you think?"

Whatever far-off world you inhabited while singing, he must have visited while listening to you sing. His eyes were fixed on the palm of his hand--

--where the goddamn watch was resting.

"Sorry," He lifted his head, revealing a face full of pain. "It was beautiful. You're incredible."

His words rang hollow. You weren't on his mind at all. You just scored his flashback. A horrible reality finally began to settle. It would never be you. It was and always would be Christine.

The mirror dimension was like a pane of two-way glass; you could see what was happening in the real world, but nobody in the real world could see you. All you wanted to do was quietly slip into the mirror dimension for a little cathartic late-night piano playing without waking anyone up. You hadn't even gotten to the bridge of On My Own when Master Strange suddenly appeared.

Your face drained of all color and you slammed the piano shut. You stumbled to apologize for waking him up. Then you made up some bullshit story about why you were working through the "forever alone" playlist you made in 9th grade. But he didn’t see you. A thin dimensional veil separated you.

You didn't mean to eavesdrop. You really didn't. But he looked so irreparably miserable. He sat in his chair, the Eye of Agamotto in one hand and the watch in the other. A glass of whiskey sat coaster-less on the table beside him.

"Why did you put a piano in the library?" Said Wong, effectively ripping Master Strange from his state of meditative misery.

Master Strange was affronted by his crass boldness, but not surprised. "Entirely to piss you off. You're welcome."

Wong approached the chair and looked over his shoulder. "You know, Sorcerers Supreme of the past have given up their earthly possessions. To represent their severance from the material and devotion to the spiritual."

"Interesting." He said, drawing out the vowel sounds to convey his frustration. He took a long swig of whiskey. For what felt like five solid minutes, he stared at the watch and said nothing.

"How long has it been?" Wong lowered his head in respect.

"Exactly two years today." He said, as if he'd been waiting for someone to ask all day.

"And how much have you had?" Wong asked, eyeing the half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey.

"Enough enough to make a really bad idea seem palatable." He admitted, taking another swig of whiskey.

The side of Wong's mouth turned up into a smirk. "Famous last words."

Master Strange swirled the whiskey and watched it circle the glass. "Could you oversee [F/N]'s training if I decide to pursue said bad idea?"

"I don't want to encourage any impulsive decisions that may be in the very near future, but," Wong sighed. "If it comes to it, sure."

"She's the only thing keeping me here, y'know." Master Strange admitted, drunken candor in full swing. "[F/N]."

"If the responsibility of taking on an apprentice is the only thing standing between you and descending into murderous madness," Wong raised his eyebrows. "Might I suggest taking on a few more?"

"It's not that." Master Strange shook his head. "It's… her. She makes me happy. Like, the kind of happiness I felt when I was with Christine."

Your heart straight-up stopped beating and plopped out of your chest. You shut the lid over the keys and slid to the edge of the bench.

"And that's why I have to leave."

The emotional whiplash that came with these two connected clauses was dizzying. From the look on Wong's face, you could tell he was just as confused.

"I, too, like to run away from things that make me happy." The sarcasm in his voice was thick as molasses and cut like a knife. "Because that is a perfectly reasonable and not-at-all insane thing to do."

"Shut up." Master Strange waved his hand dismissively in Wong's direction. "You know what I mean."

"I don't, actually." He shook his head. "But who am I to question the will of the Sorcerer Supreme?"

"The Sorcerer Supreme's best friend, maybe?" Master Strange shrugged. "And, like, 90% of the Sorcerer Supreme's impulse control?"

"Well, I'm going to start the kettle." Wong said with a quiet impatience. "I suggest you come along before you do something... reckless."

He peered at the time stone and tightened his grip on the watch. He had a decision to make.

#doctor strange #doctor strange x you #doctor strange x reader #stephen strange #stephen strange x you #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x apprentice #apprentice yn #reader insert #marvel reader insert #marvel what if #what if marvel

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percabethfeelsfandom · 3 years

Text

How I’d rate the Gods/Goddesses(riordanverse)

This is my rating based off the way Rick Riordan portrayed them in the Riordanverse. The traditional myths have been taken into account but do not make up my entire opinion.

Hestia:

10/10 would give my life for this goddess. In all aspects of the word, this goddess is a goddess. I want a novella of her watching over the hearth and watching out for her family and the heroes. I imagine her being a very comforting presence and warm like a hug, and maybe this is me projecting my mummy issues but I just want her to hug me.

Dionysus:

A solid 7.35/10 for Mr D. Naturally he was a bit annoying, but we were never under the pretence that he he was meant to be anything more than what he provided and I respect that. Him caring about his kids at camp, and staying relatively loyal to his wife is always a plus. And I like his relatively humble beginnings being a hero and becoming a god and then not causing that much trouble in the series. Unlike some other pieces of shit.

Hermes:

4/10. Mans had no right blaming Luke’s thirst for mass genocide on 16 year old Annabeth. Not cool man. Not cool. He gets the points he got because he did genuinely care about Maia, and Luke, but he lost the rest of them by having a blatant favourite (who literally caused so much destruction). However I do still like his line about family in sea of monsters and never giving up on them. Nice meaning. But he was still a shitty father and only intervened out of self interest most of the time.

Aphrodite:

2/10. I hate how low I have to rank her. But my god did Rick do her dirty in his depiction. Just the misogyny, the lack of depth, and the untouched potential she has as a character, as a goddess, THE OLDEST GOD/GODDESS and Rick really made her throw rose petals around the battle fields on one of (what was meant to be) the biggest fights of the riordanverse. Absolute robbery. If I’m not mistaken as well, she was a huge contributor to the issues and obstacles percabeth went through and we do not Stan. HOWEVER, I love her as a goddess normally, and what she could represent if she’s written properly.

Hephaestus:

8/10. I have no qualms with this man. I too prefer the company of inanimate objects to people and get stressed about social interaction. And I too have mummy issues. So me and Hephaestus are on the same page. Let this man tinker away in his little bunker. He never went out of his way to make things harder for demigods, and was helpful when they came to him for help which I can also respect. (Point deduction because it was on his land that Bianca died…if I’m not mistaken).

Ares:

-12/10. This man was introduced as a bully, and gives off the vibes of every phobic, known to humanity. I do not vibe. I do not agree. I do not stan. ALSO his motorbike seat is apparently made from "Caucasian human skin”!!!!!!???? We as children never questioned this? We just went sure aight move on?! Please this man has the biggest small dick energy if I ever saw it and I despite him so much. Mans was also never helpful. Ever. I don’t think. I think Mars was better than him though so I’ll give him that.

Artemis:

9.99/10 all hail queen of the lesbians. Mad respect to this woman. In what she stands for, who she protects and in her actions. She’s what I embody when I stand up for myself in fights and when I speak to have my voice heard. I like Rick’s depiction of her and I love seeing her and her hunters pop up in his books. Would love a couple books on the hunters and their adventures. Also I love archery. And I’m biased to the moon because I love the night so she gets extra points for all of that too.

Apollo:

Prior to Trials of Apollo 7/10, after TOA 9.90/10. Yes it’s a big jump but my god did Lester grow on me. Prior to TOA he was pretty average. He was funny, always provided a good laugh to the plot and was always helping the demigods which I loved. But I know he’s an asshole full of himself so I can’t give him any higher than that until he had some character development, which we got in TOA (specifically after Burning Maze). And I really like who he is now and the type of character Rick shaped him out to be. In the myths he’s a big creep, and I still stand by that idea, hence why he doesn’t get a full 10.

Athena:

3.5/10…ughhh I hate to say this. But part of it is the same reasoning I gave about Aphrodite. I just have so many issues with the way she’s portrayed and it’s not accurate to what I believe in my heart she should represent. And as a child of Athena, I feel like Rick then did her entire legacy dirty. She has her moments, but since I can’t even fully recall one right now, it just proves my point. As a goddess as a whole though, what she represents is everything I aspire to be in life. She’s my entire aesthetic of hard work, creativity, and strength and grit, without taking away of being a powerful female. Zeus’ lead strategist like shit, Rick could have done so much. But he did not. And I am thus sad about it.

Demeter:

6/10. I have no issues with Demeter. Kinda boring. I think that’s what most of the fandom thinks as well. She just didn’t get enough screen time or development. I have no attachment to her. I think the powers that she has, and has passed on to her kids is cool though so there’s that. But in the series as well she doesn’t do much. She also (initially) doesn’t fight in the battle of Manhattan so maybe I’m slightly bitter there. But yeah, i’m indifferent.

Hades:

8.99/10 Okay so hear me out I know this man gets so much bad rep in the myths and that’s part of why he doesn’t get a full 9. But I really really love the way he’s depicted in the riordanverse, especially with his entire arc with his kids/specially with Nico. Like literally one of my favourite quotes In the entire series is “my children are so rarely happy, I would like to see you be the exception.” Out of the gods listed here (and excluding Dionysus), he acts like a genuine parent to his kids and tries. And like there’s issues, sure, but he works on them. And since so much of the first series is about how the gods are neglectful, seeing him change and seeing him fight for Nico is my everything.

Poseidon:

7.1/10. Honestly this feels too high considering mans was nearly If not just as bad as Zeus in keeping it in his dam pants. His points come from treating Sally like the queen she is, and trying with Percy (albeit too little too late but I can see the minimal effort). That being said, he’s really shitty in the myths so I can’t really give him anything higher than this. He’s barely a dad, and sees Percy more as an ally than an actual son or human being that needs attention. I like him more in Fanon and the way that I write him lmao because I humanise him. But I won’t lie he’s dilf material, and I still like rick’s depiction of him.

Hera:

3/10 I’m surprising myself with this rating because tbh I might even push her to 4.5 just because she’s so consistent in her own goals and agenda, and that perseverance is very admirable even if it was at the cost of some of my favourite characters. She was very much two faced though and fucked around stuff that she should have stayed out of. Her hatred for literal children though is a bit problematic. I have no attachment to her but I admire how much she just wants a family. However she just really needs to assess how she approaches that since it’s a bit messed up.

Zeus:

-5/10 I really don’t Zeus, his character, him in the myths, everything about him. He gives off the vibes of a man who abuses the power that he was given. And I don’t like that. It makes me uncomfortable and I don’t like him at all. His treatment of his children, of the demigods, and the way he governs Olympus. Not a fan. I could rule Olympus better and I’m a mentally unstable, serotonin deficient 20 year old with a hyper fixation on greek mythology and Minecraft. However despite not liking his character, I think Rick does a great job at depicting him accurately to how he was in the myths.

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arcadejohn127-9 · 3 years

Note

may i request a fluffy hc? this is a platonic relationships with the brothers during mc's wedding and then the brother's realize then they've known mc for such a long time and that theyre growing up as a human and like may be a small addition of angst. Maybe even some interactions with mc's spouse and the bros?

This, this right here - oh yeah

This just brings me back because one of my plot devices for a fanfic I wrote years ago was the MC leaving their husband at the alter because they couldn't say "I do" and ran off to catch up with the Demon they wanted to be with

Of course I keep all my things as gender neutral as I can but you will be in the 'bride' position but considering that this spouse is also gender ambiguous - the title doesn't really mean much. Also personally I wouldn't care if I walked the aisle or it was future partner. As long as someone does it then there's no issue.

Additional: I'm just a pasty white man whose only been to one wedding; my parents - so my only experience is a Christian/Catholic white people wedding - I just wanted to add this as I'm aware in other cultures and countries weddings are very different.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was your wedding day. A day you've been planning for years now with your spouse. They made you the happiest person in the world and you couldn't of asked for a better person to live your years with. Of course, You had to invite the most influencal people in your life to be your best man- well men.

That's right, standing by a priest was 7 of the most powerful demons in the Devildom. All watching you make your way towards your spouse. You were grinning, tears in your eyes. It was safe to say your spouse wasn't any better, jogging on the spot to finally seeing you. They couldn't believe how stunning you looked, mouth covered by their hand as they sobbed.

Mammon was bawling his eyes out by the time you took your spouse hand. He tuned out the priest as he clung to his older brother. Lucifer just stood there stiff, lips twitching as he looked to the side, hiding his forming tears. Levithan smacked mammon for being embarassing but he wasn't any better; you were getting married!!!

Satan was death glaring your spouse; hoping it'll sent a mental image that he will come for them if they hurt you even once. Asmodeus was holding Satan's hand, wiping his eyes before the tears could come. Not wanting to ruin his makeup before the pictures were taken.

The twins stood with their brothers, watching you speak your love and devotion to your spouse. Belphegor sniffed, leaning against his brother. Beelzebub patted his little brothers head, face cold as massive tears ran down his face.

They've watched you grow to become the person you are today through the exchange program and now you were being whisked away. Planning to stay in the human realm with your partner and live a happy married life. The brothers and Everyone else was absolutely shattered by this.

Diavolo, Barbatos Simeon, Luke and Solomon were all sitting on your side. Luke was much like mammon; bawling his eyes out hugging Simeon. Simeon was soothing the young one. Barbatos was holding his young masters hand, giving it reasurring pat's as he silently soothed the large demon. Diavolo sniffling and grinning as he watched you. Solomon was the calmest one out of Everyone but that didn't mean he wasn't going to miss you. No, he'll your adventures together and sad you're giving up being his apprentice for a normal life.

"it's okay to cry Lucifer." Mammon murmured, seeing his brother struggle.

But Lucifer refused. He refused to cry especially Infront of you. But what he didn't realize was the single tear of sadness and joy falling down his face.

They were all sad to no longer have you so prominent in their life but beyond joyed you've come so far. You found someone you love and they love you back. Your time at the academy has ended and your trips to the devildom will be limited. The brothers just have to rely on phone calls and being summoned to see you.

They grieved whilst they celebrated such a wonderful day.

Lucifer:

Stares down your spouse whenever he can

Big brother mode ™

Low-key maybe even high-key dad energy from Lucifer

He was in charge of making sure everything went well and was on time

Only accepting the best for his young human and willing to pay for the entire wedding

Even Diavolo agreed to pay for everything

He thinks your spouse is a wonderful partner but will forever be bitter how they stole you from them

"Lucifer, it's been a honour to know you and I want to thank you for coming to the wedding."

"yes, don't disappoint them or I will crawl out of hell just to rip your wind pipe - your atonement for breathing and speaking in their air."

"y-yes sir! I promise I will make (Y/N) the happiest person in the world until we both die!"

"or you mysteriously drop."

Mammon:

Has threatened the spouse because he knows your worth

Bummed out all of them got to be best man

He's your number one! Your first! Why are the others your best man??!?

he and asmo were in charge of the bachelor party for both of you and your spouse

Safe to say he got WASTED

"Oi human, I'm watching ya - one sad tear from them and you'll see how demonic I can be."

"i understand, I promise that'll never happen."

"Knew you'd be a good match! Now if anyone says something is missing, ignore that - do your partner's best man a favour."

Levithan:

Didn't want to go - he embarassed himself at the bachelor party

But didn't want to miss his best friend's wedding

He didn't want to ruin your big day because he knew he'd get jealous but to not see you or be there for you is just cruel

Also got wasted and cried to you about how evil your spouse is for taking you away from him

Almost fought your spouse when drunk with Mammon tag teaming with him

"I hope you're forgiven me now, I promise to give you summon whenever they miss you."

"or you could just let me keep my best friend.....make them happy please..."

"i will, I'd rather drop than ever hurt them."

Satan:

he was STRESSED

He was doing management with Lucifer and almost wrecked the place due to his brothers attitude

All he could do was read as many books as he could of marriage and just hope it worked

But he felt reassured knowing who you were marrying, it was their time to shine as a perfect partner and they did just that

Satan was one to stop his older brothers from destroying your spouse

"Hello, you did well with your vowels."

"oh thank you, Satan - heh never going to get use to that."

"Let's hope you never have to say my name whilst begging for mercy, I'll be keeping tabs."

Asmodeus:

He was the one who helped you pick out all the outfits and the dress code for your guests

Was very proud that his party was such a hit for everyone

Has flirted with your spouse and gets happy whenever they don't get swayed by his charms

Ready for all the marriage gossip!

Has teased about you two starting a family

"asmodeus, it's a shame to say I'm now married, your charm has failed."

"You are but one loss in my amazing track record, let's hope you keep up this energy or else~"

"I'm extremely happy with (Y/N), there's no need."

Beezlebub:

Him and the second cake hit it off IMMEDIATELY

he was all over it and it was a sight to behold

But before the wedding he was spending time with your spouse

He was making sure that they were the perfect fit, he trusted your judgment but he was determined to protect you

Happy to see how kind and honest your spouse was

"I have to ask, can you eat ANYTHING? I've heard so much from (Y/N)-"

"I can eat humans."

"I see....noted."

Belphegor:

Refused to sleep until the wedding was over

This man isn't effected by coffee but he STILL chugged it down in hopes he could make it through the whole thing

Did end up falling asleep due to the priest took too long talking

Lukcily beel got him to wake up when you were sharing vowes

Has told your spouse that he once considered genocide of humans

It was an interesting experience

"I'll kill you if you hurt them, you know I will - give them what they're worth and i don't care if that's the entire world - give them the damn world."

"I'll give them the world and the entire galaxy."

"good, I won't let you trample on them and give them less than that."

#obey me #obey me shall we date #gamingclubpresident #aracadejohn217 9 #obey me shitpost #obey me mammon #obey me mc #obey me asmodeus #obey me satan #obey me beezlebub #obey me belphegor #obey me luficer #obey me levithan #obey me imagine #obey me headcanon #obey me wedding #wedding #fluff #slight angst

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dream-a-little-bigger-x · 3 years

Text

Hero | Luke Patterson

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

Song Fic February Week 4: Musicals

Inspiration: StarStruck (DCOM)

Requested: Yes/No

A/N: Anon suggested doing something with the Starstruck soundtrack, so I’m writing a whole-ass series. This is based off the plot of Starstruck but the reader was a fan of JATP until she met Luke... Basically crush to enemies to lovers! Also a modern!au.

The third installment of the StarStruck series!

StarStruck

Something About The Sunshine

Hero

What You Mean To Me

Pairing: Luke x Fem!reader

Song(s) used: Hero - Christopher Wilde (StarStruck ST)

Warnings: few swear words, mention of car accidents, mention of child abuse, mention of postnatal depression, tiny bit of angst

Words: 8.6K

I’m almost nervous to see him again. There’s a nervous flutter erupting from the pit of my stomach and I feel hot and sweaty when it’s not even that warm out. The boy didn’t have that effect on me just a day ago and now he suddenly does? I hate this.

“Morning,” I greet when I find Luke standing outside the coffee shop with his hood pulled far over his head and sunglasses covering his beautiful eyes. He shoots me a smile, but I don’t think he actually looks at me. Right, the whole “I can’t be seen with you”-thing.

“Want to go grab some coffee before we go?” I ask instead, pointing at the shop.

Luke nods his head and follows me inside where we wait in line together. The silence that hangs over us is uncomfortable for the first time. I don’t know why but his mysterious, secretive antics are making me nervous.

“Next!” the barista calls and the two of us step forward. The twenty-something woman shoots the both of us a polite smile, not even acknowledging that Luke’s keeping his head low. This is L.A., she’s probably used to it by now. “What can I get for ya?”

“An iced vanilla latte for me, please,” I say and then glance down at Luke.

He coughs. “Iced caramel macchiato.” His voice is low, just above a whisper, as though he’s telling the barista and me a secret. I’m glad we’re going to be out of the city soon, so Luke can go back to his regular self. Or to the singing-on-top-of-a-car-in-the-middle-of-nowhere self.

“What’s your name, please?”

“Y/N…” My eyes land on Luke for a split second, and I’m pretty sure he’s not even going to answer. Luke’s a pretty generic name, I’m sure people won’t even bother to look up. “Put my name on both, please.”

The barista smiles and then dashes off after I paid to start making our coffees while we shuffle towards the end of the counter, ready to take our drinks when they’re ready. Luke keeps his head down. He doesn’t even look up at me and the awkward silence doesn’t eb away.

“You’re not gonna talk to me yet, are you?” I ask him as I hand him one of the two straws I picked up. He shakes his head. I try my hardest not to groan and instead, hand him the keys to my car. “Here, get yourself settled in my car, I’ll handle this.”

His eyes peer over the rim of his sunglasses, flickering with uncertainty and gratefulness at the same time. I shoot him a smile, urging him to get out of here, which he does with a quick flash of his teeth.

The awkwardness quickly washes off me when he’s left the coffee shop and I’m all alone, hoping everything would change once we’re all alone, away from the prying eyes of Los Angeles’ residents.

“Iced vanilla latte and iced caramel macchiato for y/n,” the barista calls and places the cups on the counter in front of me.

I smile at her, say, “Thank you! Bye!” and then dart out of the coffee shop as fast as I could. I weave my way through hasty people and slacking tourists towards my Toyota Yaris where a hooded boy sits in my passenger seat. He still has his hood pulled up and his sunglasses balancing on the bridge of his nose. He almost looks sad, which makes me a little sad too. I wish I could do more than let him wait in my car.

“Here you go,” I say and hand him his coffee when I’ve settled into my seat.

“Thank you,” he mutters, and I’m pretty sure it’s not just for the beverage.

A smile etches its way to my cheeks as I regard him. “You’re welcome,” I say and then start the engine. As I pull out of the parking lot, Luke finally sparks up a conversation. I’m almost relieved to hear his voice again for more than two words.

“Where’re we going?” he asks.

I debate telling him but then decide I’d do it anyway. I’ve been researching a lot last night and have found the greatest secluded spots and the time slots when they’re mostly deserted or have the least visitors. The one I wanted to take him to today was a lot closer than the other ones, so I figured we could start with that.

“The Old L.A. Zoo. It’s less crowded before 9am, so I figured we could go explore it a bit until too many people arrive?” The statement comes out of my mouth as a question since I’m unsure whether or not he’d like that.

“Cool,” he replies, and he sounds honest, too. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”

It surprises me a little, but I go with it anyway. “Really? I’ve been there plenty of times! It’s really cool! Kinda spooky.” Luke lets out an airy laugh at that and it makes my heart flutter a little.

Within ten minutes, we arrive at the old zoo. Ten minutes had gone by and yet it felt like a split second. The conversation ran fluently on our way there and Luke told me things about the band and his childhood that not even the biggest fangirl on earth could possibly know. I love talking to Luke about those seemingly uninteresting, small things.

The rest of the morning, too, goes by as if there’s no concept of time whatsoever. The two of us walk through the old, abandoned zoo and explore every single old habitat. I even find a website that tells us the entire history of each section of the zoo and as I read it, Luke listens and adds in his own commentary. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much in just a few hours. This guy is genuinely funny and I just adore talking to him. Our conversations go from the ridiculous to the serious, and every subject in between.

It’s just the perfect day that I wish would never end, but inevitably, Luke has his own responsibilities and has to go by lunch time.

“Hey, why don’t you come with me to the studio?” he asks with a smile as we’re making our way back to the car. “I’m in there all by myself, aside from our producer, and I’m recording a few songs.”

I open and close my mouth a few times, letting incomprehensible sounds roll out. It makes me look like a dumbfounded fish, I’m sure, but I don’t care. My brain is dysfunctioning for a moment. Luke Patterson is asking me to come to the studio with him. To watch him record some songs. Songs that are going to be on the album.

Luke’s laugh makes the gears in my brain fall back into place. “Is that a yes?” he asks.

A heat rises up to my cheeks. “Yeah,” I finally manage.

“Cool,” he says and then gets into the car.

The ride to the studio is filled with smooth conversation. We never miss a beat, there’s never an awkward silence between the two of us. Only when we arrive at the recording studio and we’re met with a huddle of paparazzi outside the door.

“Fuck,” he mutters and ducks down. I do the same, knowing he doesn’t want me to be seen with him either. “Drive around back,” he orders before fumbling into the glove compartment of my car. He retrieves a pair of sunglasses I kept there, along with a shawl of my mother’s that I didn’t know was still in there. “Put this on.”

“No,” I reply sternly, pushing his hand with the shawl away. I do take the sunglasses from his hand though, and push them onto my nose. “Put that shawl away,” I bark. The boy obeys and stuffs the piece of cursed fabric back where it came from.

Mental note: throw that out.

When we finally do get into the recording studio, as soon as I’m on Luke’s side, he grabs my hand and drags me into the building before anyone could ever spot us. I nearly stumble on my own feet, but quickly pick myself back up before I faceplant the floor.

Luke huffs. “Phew, that was close.”

He looks at me, and for a second, I think he might bring up the shawl again, but he doesn’t and instead turns to his producer, who had gotten up from his swivel chair the second we burst in.

“Connor!” Luke greets excitedly and shakes the man’s hand.

He looks near his thirties, strong built with flawless dark skin and a full head of afro hair. Combined with his extremely savvy outfit, I find him really cool-looking. He’s the kind of guy that would get all the girls in high school while still being a sweetheart.

“You brought some new flesh, I see,” Connor says to me and outstretches his hand for me to shake. I do so with a wide smile on my face while pretending not to be completely nervous about being in a recording studio for the first time.

“Y/N,” I introduce myself.

“Welcome to our little slice of heaven on earth, y/n.” My eyes flick to Luke, who’s giving me that look again, so I quickly turn back to Connor. “Any knowledge of recording studios, y/n?” he asks.

“Never been in one, but my friend is a producer and he did teach me some things.”

I hear Luke huff beside me. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, there’s a lot you don’t know.” I shoot him a wink as Connor beckons me towards his deck. For a while, Connor guides me through his paces while Luke gives the best of himself on this song.

After a few takes, Luke comes out of the booth and joins me and Connor to listen to what we’d recorded thus far. “What if –” I pause, debating my thoughts. “What if we go in with some soft backing vocals on here?” I click the part of the chorus we’d recorded and sing along with recorded Luke.

“'Cause I I can be everything you need If you're the one for me Like gravity I'll be unstoppable I, yeah, I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy With heart and soul But if your the one for me Then I'll be your hero”

“I think if you put Julie on those backings, it could give that duet-vibe you guys are so good at.” I notice Connor and Luke glance at each other, soft smiles playing on both their lips.

“Why don’t you show us?” Connor asks as Luke already grabs my hand.

“What?! Me? No! Julie.”

Luke chuckles and drags me into the booth with him. “Yeah, but we’re gonna need a demo, don’t we?” He delicately places a set of headphones on my head before placing one on his own. He signals to Connor and no later than 2 seconds, the instrumental version of the song blasts through the headphones.

Gazing at me, Luke starts singing the first verse of the song, and I let him. It almost feels like he’s serenading me. Almost. All that’s missing is a guitar or a boombox over his head.

“I'm no superman I can't take your hand And fly you anywhere you want to go Yeah I can't read your mind Like a billboard sign And tell you everything you want to hear But I'll be your hero”

From the chorus onwards, I jump in with backing vocals wherever I feel like it’s acceptable without taking my eyes off of Luke.

“I I can be everything you need If you're the one for me Like gravity I'll be unstoppable I, yeah, I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy With heart and soul But if you're the one for me Then I'll be your hero”

“Could you be the one Could you be the one for me” “Oh I'll be your hero” “Could you be the one Could you be the one for me” “Yeah I'll be your hero”

“So incredible Some kind of miracle That's what it's meant to be I'll become a hero So I wait, wait, wait, wait for you”

We keep our eyes locked at the high note too, smiles plastered on our faces from ear to ear. Singing with Luke gives me some kinda rush. A feeling I can’t quite describe but it’s a feeling I want to feel more often.

“Yeah, I'll be your hero Yeah”

“Cause I I can be everything you need If you're the one for me Like gravity I'll be unstoppable I, Yeah, I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy with and soul But if you're the one for me I'll be your hero”

“Yeah, I'll be your hero”

“Could you be the one Could you be the one for me”

“Yeah I'll be your hero”

The music fades out in our headphones, and soon, Connor’s applause sounds through it instead. I’m snapped back into reality, away from cloud 9, away from the pure bliss that’s singing with Luke and gazing into his eyes.

“That was amazing! Good job, guys!” Connor says, beaming.

Luke and I remove our headphones and he grabs my hand to lead me back to the decks where Connor welcomes us with open arms and a wide smile.

“I thought you and Julie were the most watchable duetters, but I’ve been proven wrong.”

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks before Luke snaps me out of it again.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Con. Can you send the finished product to the band and our manager? I’m sure they’d like to hear this. Don’t tell them who’s on backing vocals, though. They don’t need to know that.”

I swallow a lump in my throat and try to convince myself it’s probably not that deep. Luke doesn’t want to be seen with me. Not even by his band mates. It’s fine. It’s totally fine.

We wrap up the recording session and I drive Luke back to the coffee shop where he looks behind him and out of every single one of the windows, just to be sure the coast is clear of paparazzi.

“Thanks for the day, y/n. I really enjoyed spending time with you again.”

I force a smile. Ever since his statement to Connor about not wanting the band to know about me, I’ve been going over everything in my mind and it has caused me to fold in on myself.

“Yeah, it was fun.”

He gazes at me for a moment, inspecting every inch of my face as if detecting the lie from my eyes. When I think he’s just going to bid his goodbyes and get out, he doesn’t. Instead, he turns his body to me and reaches for his phone. I watch as he unlocks it and taps away on it before turning the device towards me. There’s a new contact form open on his screen.

“Gimme your number. I’d love to do this again some day.”

I furrow my brow while taking the phone in my hands. “Do you even have time to spend days with a nobody like me?” I don’t dare look at him and keep my eyes on the screen as I type my name and number.

He doesn’t say anything either until I finally cave and look up when giving his phone back. There’s a crease in his forehead as his eyebrows are knitted together in confusion.

“You’re not a nobody, y/n. I’d gladly make time for you. I told you, I loved spending days away from reality. Especially with you.” Fangirl Me is jumping out of my skin while Present Me tries to keep her cool and ignore all of the butterflies that erupt in her stomach.

“Cool,” Present Me says out loud while Fangirl Me is scolding her so hard.

Cool? Cool?! Seriously? Dude.

“I’ll text you, yeah?”

I nod my head in response and watch as he gets out of my car. Before I can even place my foot on the gas or shift out of park, my phone beeps in the pocket of my sweater. For the first time in forever, I smile when seeing an unknown number on my screen.

As I look out of my window, I find Luke looking at me with his hood pulled over his head again. He shoots me a quick smile and a wave before I turn to my phone again and type a reply.

I whip my head up to see his reaction. His jaw drops before his face turns into a scowl as he glares at me. Giggling and satisfied with the reaction, I place my phone on the passenger’s seat where Luke was sitting before and then pull out of the parking spot.

That night, I save Luke’s number to my phone. I go between “Luke P.”, “Patterson” and “Luke ❤️” but eventually decide on the funnier option and save him as “Poo Musician 💩”.

I stand in line at the coffee shop before 8:30 that morning and I’m a little nervous. Last night when I returned from my day with Luke, the two of us had been texting back and forth. I felt like a sixteen year old again. One of those giggly teenagers that’s texting their crush. Which is what I was, but it’s been a while since I felt like it.

Once I have an iced vanilla latte and an iced caramel macchiato, I head outside where I find a boy waiting by my car. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt paired with a bright blue sleeveless sweater, his hood pulled far over his head so his face is hidden from prying eyes.

I don’t need to see his face to know it’s Luke. I’d recognize those muscles from a mile away. The way he’s leaning against the hood of my car and the way he’s holding his phone is a dead giveaway too.

“Your coffee, sir,” I say in a serious, deep voice.

Luke’s head snaps up, eyes wide. He looks like a deer caught in headlights until he notices it’s just me and relaxes. A smile etches onto his face as he tucks his phone into the pocket of his jeans whilst taking the coffee I ordered for him with his other hand.

He takes a cautious sip from the beverage. “Hm, Caramel Macchiato, someone’s been stalking me.” I know he’s just teasing, I can tell by the way one corner of his mouth curls up and his eyes have that childlike glint in them.

Making my way to the driver’s side of my car, I smile and say, “Contrary to popular belief, Patterson, I’m not a stalker. I just remembered your order from yesterday.”

Luke’s smile tells me something I’d rather not think about. It’s like he’s saying “You remembered my order” in that flirty way only he knows how to. I simply shrug before opening my door and getting in with Luke following my example. Without missing a beat, he fishes my phone from between my fingers and grabs my free hand to use my thumb to unlock my phone. This time, I don’t object and let him. I know that it’s just to get to my music app anyway.

While Journey’s Anyway You Want It plays through the car’s speakers, I pull out of the parking spot in front of the coffee shop and start driving to the next location I’d found during my research the other night.

“Where’re we going?” he asks, and I flashback to yesterday when he asked me the exact same question in that exact same way.

I smile as I place my cup in the cupholder between the two of us. “You’ll see.” I glance over, finding him tilting his head slightly and giving me that ‘Really?’ look. “I promise it’s very secluded and not a lot of people will be there.”

“Cool,” he says and sips. “Is this where you’re going to kidnap me and hold me for ransom? I bet you could get a lot of money for a Julie and The Phantoms band member.”

I snort at his remark. “How much do you think I could get for you?”

He scrunches up his nose in thought, which I catch as I take a quick glance at him again. As I face the road again, I reach for my coffee and take a quick sip, awaiting Luke’s response to my question.

“Like 10k?”

I nearly spit out my coffee. “10k?!” I screech, and his laugh thunders through my car. “Careful or I’ll actually kidnap you and hold you for ransom if I’m gonna earn that much.”

The laughter dies down and after a few moments of silence lingering in the air, Luke says, “How much do you think I’m worth?”

Without missing a beat, I respond to his question, dead serious. “Not even a dollar.”

Luke gasps, his mouth dropping in absolute disbelief while I can’t help but cackle loudly. Judging from this conversation alone, I’m positive today will be a good day. A good, fun day.

“I’m worth more than a dollar, right?”

“No, you’re right, I’d probably ask like a million and then no one will pay the ransom and you’ll have to stay with me for the rest of your life.”

I let out my best maniacal laughter as I feel him watch me. I know the exact look he’s giving me. The look. The one with the glistening eyes and the slightly turned up lips. The one all girls and gays swoon for. The one I would swoon for if I’d turn my head right now. But I don’t. For once in my life, I’m smart and keep my eyes on the road.

“You like me,” he states proudly.

“Slightly less strong dislike.” I’m lying through my teeth, but I’m hoping Luke won’t notice. Or at least not acknowledge it because I can already feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

“I’ll take it.”

He reaches forward and turns the volume up as Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” floats through the speakers. Very loudly, and very obnoxiously, the boy begins to sing along. If it wasn’t for the velvet smooth voice, I would’ve scolded at him to keep it down. But the sound actually makes my toes curl and my stomach flutter. For a verse, I let him sing by himself while I enjoy his performance but by the chorus, I can’t withhold myself and sing along with him.

The rest of the ride is filled with belting of the road trip tunes, laced with patches of small talk. It’s the perfect car ride, and before we know it, we’ve arrived at our destination. Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. The parking lot is practically empty, aside from two cars, which I’m assuming are the staff’s. It’s the perfect indication that I picked the right spot to go to, and I can tell Luke knows it too.

He’s bouncing in his seat, either from excitement or the amount of sugar that was in his iced coffee, and when I turn off the ignition and turn to him, he looks at me with the widest smile plastered on his face. He almost looks like an excited toddler on Christmas morning, ready to open his presents.

“I came here once with my parents when I was younger,” he tells me, “I love this place.”

His confession makes me smile. “Good because I’ve been scouring the internet for the perfect place.” He shoots me the look again. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re going to kiss me.”

He shrugs, “Maybe I want to.”

“So you want me to slap you?”

His smile fades away immediately. “Let’s go,” he grumbles and quickly gets out.

I heave in a deep breath, recollecting myself before getting out too and retrieving the backpack I brought, filled with stuff for today. Including my itinerary – or just a notebook filled with some ideas I had.

“How about we start with a bike ride across the park?” I suggest, pointing at the bike rental shop I found on Google the other night.

We walk into the rental place, expecting there to be bikes upon bikes but instead, we’re met with kayaks, pedal boats and go-karts. My eyebrows furrow, creasing my forehead as I look around the space. Why’s this called a bike rental when there are technically no bikes to rent? No actual bikes.

“I thought we were going for a bike ride?” Luke says, teasingly. I look up at him, and I think my face tells him enough about my knowledge about this place. My research clearly wasn’t sufficient.

Deciding to just roll with the circumstances, I roll my shoulders back and put a smile on my face. “Yeah, we’re going on a bike ride with one of these!” I say and point to the large, green go-kart. One of those that look like an old-school car at the front and have children’s seats in front of the terribly cushioned seats for adults. The ones with the small plastic wheel and bike pedals for two adults. I remember going on one of those big ones for six people with my family.

“You’re serious?” Luke asks, his eyes wide.

Instead of answering, I shoot him a smile before stepping forwards towards the staff member at the counter. The woman behind the counter looks no older than 45 and has long, billowing blonde locks that cascade down her shoulders. Her bright blue piercing eyes glisten as they land on the two of us, clearly glad she sees some customers so early in the day.

“Good morning,” she greets with a smile, “We open in half an hour.”

“Oh…” My research has been poor.

Before I can possibly think of an answer, Luke steps forward and flashes the woman a smile. I’m not sure if he’s going to use his manly charms or if he’s going to pull the “Don’t you know who I am?” card.

“Can’t you… make an exception for us?” he asks, leaning his elbow on the counter as he looks at the woman through his lashes. The woman looks up at Luke, her face like stone. She doesn’t recognize him and doesn’t fall for his charms either.

Shaking my head, I spring into action. I quickly change the ring on my index finger to my ring finger and wrap my arm around Luke’s bicep while the other rests on his chest, making sure the ring is as visible as can be. As I flutter my eyelashes at the woman, I let the words tumble out of my mouth.

“Please, ma’am? It’s our one year engagement anniversary and he was going to take me on this romantic bike ride….” I then lean forward over the counter. “He’s not very good at researching our dates, but he tries.”

The woman’s eyebrows knit together as her eyes dart from me to Luke and back.

“Aren’t you guys a little young to be engaged?”

Luke jumps into the improvisation spot. “We’ve been told that a lot but we’ve been best friends for years and there’s no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.” He looks down at me and when I glance up, too, he kisses the tip of my nose, which I then scrunch.

I ignore the flutters in my stomach and face the woman again. She seems to have softened, her eyes less icy than it was before. Then, she turns to her computer and clicks through a few browsers before facing us again.

“What do you guys want? The Surrey?” She points to the green bike-thing at the front of the shop. I nod my head in response. “Okay. You’ve got it for two hours for the price of one hour.”

A smile etches its way to my face. “That’s perfect, thank you.”

Luke pays the woman the rental fee and then she helps us get Surrey out of the garage. After bidding our goodbyes, Luke and I pedal off on the bike.

“One year engagement, really?” Luke asks me when we’re far enough from the rental and I switch my rings back around.

“Well, whatever you were doing didn’t work.”

He scoffs. “It was working.”

We pedal down the winding road with the wind blowing through our hair. I love how warm the breeze is and how the birds are chirping in the trees around us. This is the perfect day to go out and do this.

“What exactly were you planning to do?” I ask him, glancing up at him. He’s focusing on the road ahead of us, a comfortable smile resting on his lips while his eyes flick from one side to another, taking everything in.

He glances down at me, the smile turning into a smirk. “I was going to charm her with my manly wiles.”

“And how was that working for ya?”

For a second, we lock eyes. Luke has an annoyed look on his face while I can’t help but have my lips curl up on one side into a smirk. When he whips his head forward again, I notice the slight tint of pink covering his cheeks.

Did I just make Luke Patterson blush?

“So,” he coughs. “Whatcha wanna do?”

I shrug. “We could play twenty questions? Get to know each other better.”

He nods his head in response. “You wanna start?”

“That’s your first question?”

“That’s yours?”

I press my lips together, shutting myself up for just a moment before recomposing myself. I’m not going to lie, I totally Googled some questions to ask in a game of 20 questions. So, I’m prepared.

“If you had to be trapped on a deserted island with one of your friends, who would you pick and why?” Luke’s eyes widen at the question a little.

“Woah, straight in! I thought you were gonna start with ‘favorite color’ or something.” He chuckles lightly, and so do I. “Uhm… Not Alex, he’d probably be super anxious and pace all the way across the island and make me nervous. Not Reggie either, he’d be singing country songs the entire time, though he is a great cuddler. Maybe Julie? Though she’s gonna be miserable without Flynn….”

With every thought he says out loud, my smile grows bigger and bigger.

“You?” My heart leaps in my chest at his answer. “Yeah, I like spending time with you and what better place to get away from real life than a deserted island, right?”

Without missing a beat, the next words pour out of my mouth. “It’s cute how you think we’re friends now.” I surprise myself with the words I speak. We are friends, but I like winding him up into thinking we’re not.

“Friends who wanna kiss each other.”

Ignoring the heat rising to my cheeks, I reply, “You mean kill?”

Luke shakes his head, an amused smile on his face. “When are you going to admit that you like me?”

“Never – Next question.”

“Uhm… What was the last thing you stole or shoplifted?” he asks and I’m glad he doesn’t push any further on the fact I basically admitted that I like him.

“Oh! A magnet in a tourist shop in Lanzarote,” I reply, giggling a little at the memory. “I was there with a couple of friends during Spring Break and those magnets cost way too much for what they are and there was like a rack outside the shop. So, I shoplifted an overpriced Lanzarote magnet.”

Luke throws his head back as he laughs, nearly steering us into the bushes. “That’s amazing,” he cackles.

We cruise through the entire park for two entire hours, asking each other questions, and after returning the Surrey, we walk towards the lake where we settle down onto the blanket I brought for some food. I’d prepared an entire picnic basket for us to enjoy during our lunch.

“I find it very cute that you made an entire picnic basket for our first date.”

I smile. “I find it very cute that you think this is a date.”

He gives me the look again, but I ignore it and get every piece of food out of my backpack, sprawling it out around us. Sandwiches, chopped up vegetables and fruits, muffins,... All the delicious foods you’d find in a picnic.

“Tell me more about your childhood,” Luke then says as he takes a chicken sandwich and takes a bite. “You don’t talk about it much.”

My heart drops into my stomach. I wish he wouldn’t ask about that. Talking about my childhood means talking about my mother and I’ve been trying to avoid that for the past years. Not that many of my friends even know about that.

“I told you plenty.”

“You talked about your teenage years, but never about your childhood.”

I take a deep breath. He’s not going to shut up about this until I tell him. It’s not that I don’t trust him, it’s just that I don’t love talking about what happened with my mother. It’s something I’d much rather forget.

“There’s a reason for that,” I reply pointedly and then shut myself up by taking a sip from the box of orange juice. I’d packed one for the both of us, but I’m the only one who’s opened it already as Luke had gone straight in with the sandwiches.

Luke stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. His eyes pierce through my soul and give me a sense of comfort. They lift a weight of my shoulders and chest that I hadn’t even noticed were there. His eyes feel like coming home. Comfortable. A place to relax. A place to be me, be myself.

I heave in a deep breath and place my juice box on my nervously bouncing knee, holding it with my hand. It doesn’t stop the bouncing, so now my whole body is practically shaking along with the movement.

“I–” I stop myself, reconsidering my words. “My childhood wasn’t the sunshine and roses it’s supposed to be.” I chuckle nervously and when I meet Luke’s eyes again, they’re looking at me with such intent that I almost launch forward and kiss him. But I don’t.

“Mom was… difficult to live with…” I start cautiously, not even daring to look at Luke as I speak and keep my eyes on the still lake in front of us. “She uhm… After I was born, she kinda went into postnatal depression. She didn’t take care of me, she barely even looked at me… At one point, it went so far that she got into an accident, on purpose, with me in the back. She did it a few times, even, to the point where dad just had to report it. She was admitted to the psych ward and that was that... I was ten at the time.” I swallow to hold back the tears that are pricking behind my eyes.

Feeling a soft brush of the hand on my knee, I glance up, meeting Luke’s eyes. They give me that sense of comfort again, that sense of home, the reassurance that I’m okay.

“We haven’t really seen her since. She’s out of our lives…” I sniffle and place my hand over Luke’s, giving it a thankful squeeze. “I don’t like talking about it.”

Luke carefully laces his fingers through mine, his cold rings cooling my warm hand. “I’m sorry I brought it up.” I shrug dismissively. “But thank you for telling me.”

“So, tell me,” I lift our entwined hands for a second as though pulling us back into reality. “How did Sunset Curve-slash-Julie and The Phantoms came to be?”

Luke chuckles before engulfing our locked hands with his other and tumbling into the origin story of the bands he was in. He talks about meeting Reggie and Alex in primary school, and then meeting Bobby in middle school. He explains how they started the band in music class and then continued playing together until Bobby moved away from Los Angeles. The story then lapses into giggles and chuckles about all the things they tried to keep Sunset Curve alive, but terribly failed.

“But then we met Julie in high school and – the rest is history.”

We’re clearing up our mess before making our way back towards the car. I love hearing Luke talk, especially about the band. It makes his eyes light up and he gets all bouncy and enthusiastic. It’s the cutest side of Luke I ever did see in the past few days of hanging out with him.

I take one last look at the lake where tiny dots of humans are floating along on the lake in their tiny boats. There are just a few, so nothing to worry about, but it does make me want to go kayaking too. Mostly because I don’t want the day to end.

“Wanna go kayaking?” I ask Luke, pulling him to a halt by tugging at our still intertwined hands. His eyes dart from mine to the lake and back. I can tell he’s debating it, but then he nods and a smile appears on his face.

With our hands intertwined, we go back to the rental place and ask the woman for a double kayak. We pay, put on the safety vests she’s given us and then proceed onto the water. As we pedal along, Luke tells me about all the adventures he’s been on with his friends and how he used to do this all the time before his schedule got so crazy.

Every now and again, he stops and pretends to tip the kayak, making me squeal each and every time whilst he laughs his most maniacal laugh.

The wall I’d built around my heart was slowly crumbling. Every laugh, every touch, every glance took away a small part of the brick wall. I’m falling in love with the boy I’d had a crush on and then strongly disliked for a good five-ish days.

Getting distracted was not a good idea as I’m not prepared for what follows next. Luke pretends to tip it over again, but this time, he wobbles too hard and actually makes the boat topple overhead. I squeal, but quickly shut my mouth as I tumble into the water, making sure not too much of the lake’s contents gets into my body.

“Patterson!” I scowl as I crash the surface again and find Luke laughing a few feet away. His brown, shaggy hair sticks to his head, dripping small drops of water onto his face. If I wasn’t so angry at him, I would definitely kiss him right here, right now.

“I hate you!” I splash some water at him as the words roll off my lips. Luke’s laughter abruptly stops and he stares at me. His once glistening eyes dull down while his mouth falters into a frown.

“You do?”

My face softens as I watch him. He looks so beautiful with his hair all dishevelled and the reflection of the sun on the water mirroring onto his face. I want to kiss him. I want to kiss him so bad.

I swim closer towards him and stroke his wet hair out of his face. My breath hitches in my throat at how close we are but I try to play it off by keeping my hands on his face and my eyes locked with his. I notice his eyes flicking down to my lips a few times, telling me he wants to kiss me as much as I want to kiss him.

Should I? Full throttle? Or step on the brakes?

I don’t even get the time to think about it as Luke presses his lips to mine. Now I don’t hesitate a single moment and immediately kiss him back. Sliding my hands into his wet locks and pressing my body as close as I can, I melt entirely into him. The same sense of bliss I have when singing with Luke washes over me and I find myself on cloud 9 again.

We pull back after a moment to catch our breath. The glint in his eyes is back and his mouth, though a little swollen and red, curls up into a smile. He presses one more kiss to my nose before helping me towards the shore. We climb out of the water and bring the boat back to the rental place, along with our safety vests.

Grabbing my backpack I had left with the woman for safekeeping, Luke and I bid our goodbyes and leave the rental, intertwining our hands again. The feeling his hand in mine gives me will never get old.

As we get to the car again, I yawn, feeling a sense of exhaustion wash over me. Luke smiles upon noticing this and takes the keys from my hand. Wordlessly, he presses a kiss to my forehead and then leads me to the passenger side. He opens the door and lets me get in before shutting the door and jogging to the other side.

The car is filled with a comfortable silence, just the crackling of a song playing on the radio filling out the quietness. I rest my head against the headrest and glance at Luke every now and again as he drives Sabrina. He has that one-hand feel on the steering wheel and the other rest comfortably in mine on the gearshift.

“I had a lot of fun today,” I mumble, unable to speak any louder.

A smile etches its way to Luke’s face. “Me too.” He takes a quick glance at me and then lifts our hands to plant a kiss on my knuckles. “Our band’s house is closer, you want to stop there and get us dry before you go home?”

I hum softly, letting my eyes fall shut for a moment. Luke’s thumb grazing the back of my hand almost lulls me to sleep until he curses before the car comes to a halt. He pulls his hand away from mine and when I look up, the driveway and street in front of the enormous white-brick house is filled with dozens of cars.

“Fuck, I forgot about the album wrap party,” he grumbles and then looks over at me. I’m shivering from the cold and exhaustion. “I can’t let you drive home like that.”

I’m unsure if he’s talking to me or pondering out loud, but I shake my head instead. “It’s fine,” I say. “My house isn’t that far away… I think…”

“No, y/n. I’m not letting you drive home exhausted and cold.” His voice is stern, yet laced with a bit of worry. “You’re gonna come in and I’m– I’m gonna bring you up to my room. You can dry off there and maybe take a nap or something. Yeah! Yeah, that’s it!” He sounds way too excited about something so banal.

He hops out of the car and quickly jogs over to my side whilst I’m already opening the door. Before I could react, he tugs me towards the house. I can barely get my bearings or take the time to look where I’m going before I’m pulled into a room.

“There are shirts and joggers in the dresser over there, pick out whichever you like and then take a nap or something. I’ll be back before you know it.” He kisses my cheek and then dashes towards the door.

“You’re just gonna leave me here?”

He lets go of the door handle and slowly turns towards me. His eyes are laced with regret as he takes in the sight in front of him. I must look ridiculous with my hair and clothes wet and bags under my eyes.

“Please, y/n? I can’t have people know about us, okay? I just – can’t…”

Turning on his heel, he opens the door and leaves me in his bedroom all alone. I take a minute to let the information process in my brain before turning around and taking in the room I’m in.

The walls are painted white, except for the one wall behind his bed that’s a muted dark blue. His bed is king size and on either side is a nightstand. I inch closer to the one that’s actually filled with stuff, which I’m assuming is the one he uses most. Nightstand contents often tell a lot about a person. His contains the band’s autobiography, “Bruce Springsteen: All The Songs” and “Beach Read” by Emily Henry, the book I started the other week and shared on Instagram Stories.

Would he have seen that and decided to read it too?

Shaking the ridiculous thought out of my head, I move over to his dresser and take out a pair of joggers and his Rush muscle tank I’ve seen him in many a time during gigs. I peel my drenched clothes off my body and get into Luke’s freshly washed ones. They smell of his laundry products. It’s a fresh and calming scent.

For a while, I look around his room. The books on the shelves and the pictures on the walls, most of which of the band and some of him and Carrie Wilson. There had been a rumor about him dating the Instagram Influencer, but I’d never believed it until I saw her face pop up in some of the framed photos in his room.

I decide to go and venture about the house since all the commotion seems to be outside in the garden. I weave through hallway upon hallway, finding more photos and more things that belong to the band. The living room walls are adorned with platinum records and other awards they’d won over the two years they’d been active in the music industry. I can’t help but feel a sense of pride rush over me. That’s my favorite band right there. That’s the boy I’ve fallen in love with.

“Excuse me – Who are you?”

The voice makes me jump out of my skin. I thought everyone was outside. When I look up, I find the perfectly flawless face of Carrie Wilson. Her long, blonde hair cascades into curls down her shoulders and back while her round, brown eyes stare at me with intent and curiosity.

“Oh, sorry. I’m y/n. I–” I stop myself, remembering Luke didn’t want anyone to know about us. That includes his girlfriend – or ex-girlfriend.

Carrie’s mouth curls up into an amused, curious smile, catching onto what’s happening. “You’re Luke’s new adventure, aren’t you?” I huff out the breath I was holding. It’s a telling huff, I’m sure. “You are…” She trails off and inspects me for a second before continuing. “Just so you know, it’s not going to work. Luke’s too infatuated with this lifestyle of his. He loves his job, he loves his stardom. He loves it too much to ever focus on a partner. Believe me, we tried.”

I exhale at the use of her past tense, but then all the other information downs on me. Luke’s life is so much different from mine. While I work several jobs to pay for college and still live with my dad, he lives by himself and tours the world. He’s too busy to start anything serious with me. Whatever happened in the last few days was just temporary.

“You seem sweet, y/n, so I’m going to be frank. Get out before it’s too late. You’re only gonna get hurt if you’re gonna stay.” As she passes me, she places a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

If my brain wasn’t going a mile a second about everything she’s telling me, I would be caught off guard by how sweet Carrie Wilson is. She’s always portrayed as this complete ego-centric bitch who used people to her advantage.

The exhaustion taking over, I shuffle back upstairs and sit down on Luke’s bed but when I hear the commotion outside die down and guitar strums float through the air into the house, I grow curious. I get up from the bed and make a beeline towards the ceiling-to-floor glass doors that give out onto a balcony. I carefully open the door and step out, the summer breeze tickling my skin while Luke’s voice reaches my ears.

The balcony looks out onto the garden, it’s just out of sight from where everyone’s huddled up around the band. I lean my elbows on the bannister and watch on as Luke’s voice floated through the air.

“I'm no superman I can take your hand And fly you anywhere you wanna go, yeah I can read your mind Like a billboard sign And tell you everything you wanna hear, but I'll be your hero”

I smile at the memory of us in the studio yesterday. The last few days have been perfect. Just… Perfect. And now this girl has to come and ruin it by pulling me back into reality.

“Cause I, I can be everything you need If you're the one for me, like gravity, I'll be unstoppable I, yeah I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy without his soul But if you're the one for me Then I'll be a hero Oh, I'll be a hero, yeah I'll be a hero”

It’s not that Carrie isn’t right. She is. Luke is way too busy with the band and his fame and everything around it. He doesn’t have time or room between those things for me. Not for an ordinary girl. Not for anyone.

“So incredible Some kinda miracle That when it's meant to be, I'll become a hero, oh So I'll wait, wait, wait, wait for you”

Luke’s eyes meet mine as he hits that high note and his mouth curls up into that beautiful smile I’ve come to love. Once again, I’ve fallen in love with someone who would never reciprocate those feelings. If I don’t get out now, I’m going to get hurt.

“Yeah I'll be a hero Cause I, I can be everything you need If you're the one for me, like gravity, I'll be unstoppable I, yeah I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy without his soul But if you're the one for me I'll be a hero Yeah, yeah I'll be a hero, yeah I'll be a hero Hero”

As the last notes of his song ring out into the night, I grab my still wet clothes and my keys Luke left on the dresser, and then leave the house. My heart breaks with every step I take, but I know it’s what’s best for me. It’s what’s best for both of us. There’s no room for me in his life. Like he said, he’s no superman, he can’t handle this many things at once. Not even a hero would be able to.

Everything taglist:

@wanniiieeee @phantompogues

JATP taglist:

@hannahhistorian92 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequirkybookaholic @bookdealer5 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @hemmingsness @iainttakingshitfromnobody @ifilwtmfc @angryknightstatesmantrash @kiss-themoongoodbye @charliesmountains @thedarkqueenofavalon @calamitykaty @caitsymichelle13 @wiselight @kcd15 @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @stars-soph @kinda-really-lost @notasofti @stellasmusa @n0wornever @kaitieskidmore1 @tefilovesreading @pxperphxntom @crybabyddl @crybabyddl @headheartbellarke @authentic-gillespie @happinessinthedarkesttimes @bright-molina @rangerelik @cordeliascrown @willex-owns-my-heart @fangirlangioma @frickin-bats @flower-name @jaskiers-sweetkiss @jandthephantoms @kelpwithawhy @the-hufflepuff-hunter @lookingthroughmirrors @buckybarnesishot310 @echocharm17618 @littlemissaddict @mystic-writings @joynerxmercer @brooke0297 @magicalxdaydream @musicianspiritsblog @bexxy @ruvaitkevicius @whitetigerlover17 @stressyanddepressysimp @talk-on-the-street @theolivekiddo @sunsetcurvej @teti-menchon0604 @candycornmgg @gray_jato

Charlie/Luke taglist:

@lukeys-giggle @gingerxarmy @lovesanimals @lolychu @perfectlywrongformend3s @luckylouiebug @camiladelrio98 @myfriendscallmebeans @rachmmb @whitemanshoe19 @killerqueenfan

TAGLIST | MASTERLIST

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatpsongficfeb #luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson fic #luke jatp #luke patterson x fem!reader #modern!au #StarStruck

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morganas-pendragons · 4 years

Text

It’s A Long Way Down | D.D.

gif by @bestintheparsec

I was never planning on posting something on Tumblr during No Content November, but this idea has been stuck in my head since I saw Mando 2x03 and on top of that, people kept tweeting ideas on Twitter and now this thing is born... be gentle. I’ve been hesitant to write for him since I started the show last year. I played a little bit with what we know of Din’s past for the sake of this plot.

Without further ado, hurt/comfort galore! 2x03 spoilers!

Please let me know what you think!

tag: @earthtokace / @dindjarindiaries / @kyber-queen

***

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Drowning.” He replies, soft and quiet as he processes the last three days in the midst of the silence. “Almost drowning.. and thinking about how you’d cope when I was gone.”

If I was gone.

Maybe the world would be better off. That’s what Din thinks. That thought lingers for a split second in his mind until he sees the desperation in your aspect and how you need him to understand that this world is a better place with him in it.

The Watch didn’t allow him attachments. They didn’t allow him to feel. He was a warrior.

He was a warrior, and the entrance of you and The Child made his hardened heart soft.

Din has never liked the water.

When he’d been taken in by the Mandalorians and had sworn his Creed, the one thing they had drilled into his mind for his entire childhood was that he was a warrior. Warriors knew how to fight, how to survive, how to endure.

A Warrior who did not dare show his face. This was The Way, and the way kept him safe.

The one thing he could never quite master as a Foundling was enduring the water. To stop the way his lungs seized, how panic overtook him, how he just stopped.

Din didn’t like the water, and Din had never really learned how to breathe.

Then he’d met you. You - the one person he could admit to loving, to admiring from a distance because he has his Creed and you have some kind of Code you live by - and your devotion to both him and The Child has slowly eased the ache in his chest, cracked open his ribs, and taught him a different way of breathing.

Slow, steady, easy. He’s never known life to be that way.

***

There is no Light without the Dark.

Through passion, I gain focus.

You had run across Mando just after the end of the Empire. You’d seen that Death Star explode with your very own eyes and had declared that your final mission with The Rebellion, in which you bid a tearful farewell to Luke and Leia and made your way into the galaxy.

A vast galaxy.. alone.

You and Luke had very differing views on the Jedi Order as a whole and in that difference, you’d taken two different paths. You had followed the Code of the Grey Jedi, and Luke had taken to the Jedi Code.

That Code had carried you through alot of darkness.

Through knowledge, I gain power

Through serenity, I gain strength

The Clone War had introduced you to the concept of Mandalorians. You’d never really had the pleasure to meet one as you’d always been on different fronts a distance from the Dream Team, but you knew of them. You knew they carried a Creed the same way you did.

What you didn’t expect was the extent in which The Mandalorian did. The two of you had met in a cantina only days after he’d taken on The Child, and his claim for knowing where to find you on Sorgan was whispers of a rogue Jedi who’d left the Rebellion to seek peace.

Peace was what you found, contrary to popular belief. Compared to being a part of the Jedi Order, being with The Mandalorian was the most peaceful thing you’d done in over a decade.

Through victory, I gain harmony

You’d been raised around Yoda, so you were familiar with the species, but past that.. You were as clueless as Din was.

You stowed your lightsabers away and that part of your life with it. You left behind the title of Jedi and put all of your efforts into taking care of The Child. Into taking care of Din.

That was easier said then done.

There is only The Force.

***

I wasn’t supposed to fall in love.

That’s all he is thinking as he stands examining the vast waters of the ocean the two of you sail on with the Quarren crew. Your fingers are curled in the direction of The Child’s pram, and he’s giggling as he tries to maintain control of his body while you spin him.

It’s the first time he’s seen you smile in weeks. It’s always small ones too. He looks forward to the first time he’s granted the opportunity to see a real smile.

It had taken you a while to open up to him about your time with the Jedi. You’d barely been a padawan when The Order’s genocide had been in effect, and the greater majority of your life had been lived in fear. Your Code and your Lightsaber were your only guide until Leia had found you and recruited you into The Rebellion.

All your life you’d been looking for a purpose, and she’d given you one.

Being here with The Child - caring for him, teaching him, had given you a new purpose - and being with The Mandalorian had taught you a newfound sense of compassion for people raised as he had been.

Your compassion and heart had won him out in the end. He’d admitted to being in love with you months ago, but he had yet to vocalize it. He would. He will.

It happens so fast. One minute the two of you are smiling - even though you cannot see his own - about The Child’s reaction to the Mamacore, and the next minute you’re roaring with rage as his pram is shoved into the center of the cage and he’s forced to retreat inside for fear of being killed.

He’s a child. A child who’s been too involved in death, in seeing death, in flirting with death.. and Din has had enough of it.

Din Djarin doesn’t like the water. He doesn’t like how it weighs him down, how it threatens to suffocate him, to fill his lungs with something cruel and cold that replaces the warm fire that floods his veins that has been placed there by you.

“You’re-You’re a Jedi?”

“Push him down! Harder!”

His world is illuminated in a flurry of blue light as the Quarren’s keep pushing him down under, down down down and his first thought is ner jeti.. i’m sorry. He’s sorry that he’s again put you in this position where you’ve had to reveal yourself, reveal who you are, and all to protect him and The Child.

Failure.

He’s a failure.

Between you and the trio of Mandalorians that arrive shortly after, the Quarren’s are dealt with in a matter of moments and then he’s being lifted - his lungs are reactivating, are expanding and contracting to remind him that he is alive - and he collapses in the midst of wheezing his concern for the child.

“The Child! Help-Help The Child!”

The Mandalorian on the left dives into the water to rescue The Child from the creature. You turn your attention away from the bodies and sheath your sabers before kneeling in front of Din to assess him.

“The Child-” He rasps, because his thoughts are never on himself, only you and The Child. His life doesn’t matter if it means the two of you are safe. “Jeti, ner ad-”

Jedi, my son.

Your gentle hand on his knee is enough to capture his thoughts. Your way of evaluating Din’s state has never been through the physical sense, but the mental. He doesn’t know how to shield because The Jedi was a foreign concept to him until he met you, and he’s always been receptive to your gentle nature. You don’t need to talk. You never have.

You look.

His mind is a flurry of panic and fear as you gently soothe it into a peace that makes his whole body go lax as Koska breaks the pram shell in half and gently scoops out the baby. “Here you go, Brother.” Koska murmurs, watching from beneath her helmet as you stand to your feet and allow Din to reunite with The Child he claims not to have an attachment to.

Yeah... okay.

Din and Bo-Katan converse - in which he is given an inexplicable truth about himself that he's not quite sure how to process - and he shuts down the idea of them even being real Mandalorians because their way is not his way. It’s a whole new reality he’s never had to face before.

“You are a Child of The Watch.”

And as you stand there, you take in the distress in which the man you love - and have yet to tell - is trying so desperately to hide.

***

His panic bursts through the surface when you unsheathe your sabers in the hall that connects and run right into the line of fire, deflecting blaster bolts left and right so Din can run right past you and blow the door to the bridge right open.

The fight about it comes later, long after the two of you have returned to The Crest for the coordinates to Coravus where Ahsoka Tano is supposedly located. She is a Jedi - or was, once - and might be the only connection you have left to the person you used to be despite how young you had been at the time.

Your first clue to his apparent agitation is the way he hasn’t unclenched his fists and has yet to look at you from where he sits in the cockpit. Your anger is growing steadily at his silence, which has never happened before.. not until you put your life into the line of fire.

“Say it.” Your voice echoes from behind the captain’s seat as you cross your arms over your chest. “Mando-please, stop giving me the kriffing silent treatment and just let me have it.”

“Ner jeti...” He stops short and stands to his feet, practically towering over you in a way that would intimidate most people. He has never once made you feel afraid... but he constantly makes you ache. With want, with pain, with desire. He makes you feel things you haven’t felt since before Order 66. “You cannot do that.”

“Do what?? Save your life? Mando, I’m-”

“Din.” Your rant is cut off halfway as he exhales lowly, a rumble through the modulator, and lifts a helmeted head to meet your gaze. “My name is Din Djarin. I thought it was time you know that.”

Your entire body freezes. You have been a partner, an ally, since the day he’d found you on recruited you to help return The Child to his kind. You have been careful in ensuring that it’s strictly a professional relationship, you never had anticipated this- The intimacy that comes with divulging such a secret as his real name.

“Din?” You rasp, eyes glassy with tears as the air is knocked from your lungs. It rolls off your tongue easily. The sound of his name, his real name, is beautiful. “Wow. It’s... beautiful.”

His response to your affirmation is like watching a galaxy of stars be born in front of your very eyes. He’s so receptive to it.. starved of it.

“I used to forget everything.” Din says. “The people who trained me.. they wanted me to be the best of our clan. There was so much we had to learn. Gun training, hand to hand, the significance of beskar and how important our Beskar’gam was to our safety. I was so good at it. I excelled.. but the one thing I could not shake? The water.

They trained me in the water, jeti. They trained me in the water, to become part of the water... all I could think about was how much it suffocated me. I’m af-” He stops himself short because admitting to a fear is not something he was taught to do, it was bottle it up and compartmentalize in order to get the mission finished. “Afraid of the water because I can’t fight it like I do with a bounty. I can just..”

“Succumb. Sink. Let go.” You murmur. “And that’s not something you know how to do.”

“Yeah.”

You’re oddly intrigued by the fact that this utterly fearless person, this man, was afraid. He’d always struck you as the opposite.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” You ask.

“Nearly drowning.” He replies. “And wondering how you and the ad would cope when I was gone. That’s why I need to tell you.” Din takes another step to close the gap that stands between you both. You’re practically trembling with anticipation. “Thinking about how...”

Din stops. You rest a hand against the exposed skin of his neck and tilt your head as his mind thrums - resonates with the truth of his affection for you - and your lips part in wonder as you realize what he’s trying to tell you.

“Me too.” You whisper. “For a while.. probably since the start. Din, you are a good man. You’ve always been a good man, and I think it’s time that someone puts your needs before themselves instead of the other way around. Please.” Din is slightly taken aback at the pleading tone of your voice as you meet his gaze. “Please let someone take care of you.”

That’s all you can muster before he’s collapsing at your feet.

‘’Take it off.” He begs.

“No, no- Your Creed-”

“Sarad, I want to learn how to breathe again.” He interjects. “This is how I do that. It’s just a faster way of being able to be married to you for the rest of my life.” The man you love is kneeling at your feet and totally willing to abandon part of his livelihood because of you. “There’s nothing I’d want more. Go ahead. Take it off. Please.”

Part of you had always been okay with the anonymity, but as this choice lays just within your fingertips, you find yourself desperate to look upon the face of the man who’d destroy entire galaxies for you and his son.

The Beskar’gam hisses as you remove his helmet and find yourself staring into vulnerable onyx eyes that are wide enough to envelop whole star systems in their splendor.

“Din Djarin.” You whisper, smiling tearfully as trembling hands lift to cup a stubbled jaw. “What a beautiful face to put with an equally beautiful name.”

He exhales his breath on a shuddered sigh and leans into your touch as you begin mapping his face with your fingertips. Din doesn’t dare move, too drunk on the feeling of touch ghosting across his skin in a intimate way that he’s not experienced since his parents left him in that cellar. His face grows warm at how needy he must seem, but you don’t seem bothered by it.

In fact, the way his skin blooms red under your kiss makes your heart swell and your smile widen at the reaction it elicits.

“You know Din, if you wanted me to kiss you.. all you had to do was ask.” You muse. You can read his mind and his body in the same way you read the feel of your lightsaber and the air of a room of hostiles. “Now I don’t know about you, but The Child is asleep and I find myself tired after having to deal with Bo-Katan all day.. can we go to bed?”

“Yes.” He nods once, then twice, allowing you to take his gloves off and lead him in the direction of the tiny cot that somehow manages to house you both. The Beskar’gam comes off one piece at a time until Din is now standing in his usual underclothes which you have not been able to grace yourself with the image of until now as he lays each piece on the floor.

You’re laying flat on your back when he’s finished, arms extended towards the ceiling as you beckon him forward. Din realizes that as he stares at your willingness to be there for him in his most vulnerable moment that he may sleep tonight with no night terrors.

No thoughts of drowning.

“Din Djarin, cyare..” You coo, beaming as he crawls into the bed and allows himself to curl into your body and rest his head on your chest. “I think you should hear it now.” Gentle fingers card through dark curls as he focuses on his breathing - in and out in and out - and listens to the sound of your voice to lull himself to sleep. “I love you.”

He hums thoughtfully and burrows himself deeper into your neck, smiling against the curve of your neck as you lightly graze his temple with your lips. Before Din can properly fall asleep, he rolls himself on top of you and settles himself comfortably against your body. It’s not too heavy, just enough to envelop you in the warmth he radiates.

He’s safe.

You wrap your arms and legs around his form and nuzzle his temple.

Darkness falls upon both of you as Din whispers, “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum.” before promptly falling asleep in your capable hands. He’s safe.

Tonight.. he’s not drowning.

Tonight, he breathes.

#Din Djarin #The Mandalorian #Din Djarin x Reader #The Mandalorian x Reader #mandalorian fanfic #mandalorian fanfiction #star wars imagines #star wars oneshots

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brynwrites · 4 years

Text

Plot progression: points, twists, and hinges.

(And why hinges rock.)

Please excuse me while I assign already well-loved terms new meanings for my own benefit. (This is to say, writing terminology means something slightly different or goes by slightly different terms depending on who you ask. Two of the definitions I use here are based ones that stuck with me, while the third is something I pulled right out of my backside because it didn’t quite fit with my acquired definitions of the other two. Other terms and definitions are equally valid; I’m just using these ones until I figure out how to telepathically funnel wordless concepts.)

First let’s get basic: What’s a plot anyway? Tis a bunch of things that happen to move your character toward something. Usually this something is a goal. Win the war. Find the killer. Survive the winter. Get through the wedding. Kill the dragon.

Plots (should) have important scenes within them which propel them along. A full book that’s just a knight walking on a path for twenty-five chapters thinking about killing a dragon and then finally reaching the dragon to do so it boring. A book about a knight facing random trials that have nothing to do with the dragon she’s set out to kill is more interesting then walking. But the most engaging version of this plot would be if each trial she faced was connected to the dragon killing in some way.

We could, if we wanted to, label each of these trials with terms like plot point, a plot twist, or a plot hinge, depending on how they interact with the story as a whole. (Now I have to define what each of these terms mean to me. I set myself up here, didn’t I?)

We probably all know what a plot twist is. A big reveal. A shocking conclusion. A revelation that puts the whole story into a new light. (Luke, I am your father!)

Most writers will describe a plot point as some version of ‘an event which progresses the plot.’ This is all fine and dandy until you have to decide what counts as progress and how much of it you need for something to genuinely be a plot point. For the sake of this article, I’m going to call it anything that has a noticeable effect on either the ultimate or immediate goal of the story.

A plot hinge is a type of plot point. It can also include a plot twist. But not all plot twists or plot points are plot hinges, because a hinge actively swings the plot in a new direction. It takes the goal the story is set upon, and it rattles that mother-fork until its eyes pop out.

Let’s have some examples, shall we?

A knight is crossing a mountain on her way to slay a dragon.

While at the mountain, she fights a random dwarf. It’s a nice action bit where she’s in peril a few times and at the end, she kills the dwarf and continues down the other side of the mountain. A real page turner. (Spoilers: it’s probably, actually, not.) It’s also not a plot point (or, a plot anything), because the entire segment could have been cut without anything else changing. This whole scenario has no effect on what the plot’s current goal is, how it’s being accomplished, or how we perceive it.

If instead, while at the mountain, our valiant knight fights a dwarf with ancient knowledge on forging dragon-killing weaponry and convinces him to forge her a dragon-killing sword that ends up being the only reason she can kill the dragon at all, then you have what’s purely a plot point. The goal of the plot hasn’t been altered, nor our perception of it, but we’ve taken an irremovable step towards accomplishing it.

If instead, while at the mountain, our valiant knight uncovers ancient knowledge that reveals the villainous dragon is actually part of a much larger system of dragons with magical human form, and her own mother was secretly a dragon, giving her dragon blood of her own, this is purely a plot twist. The goal of the plot hasn’t changed, and we’re not closer to having killed the dragon, but our perception of the plot, how our main character fits within it, and what it should mean to us as readers, has been altered.

Pretty basic, yes?

Now imagine that those two things both happen while our knight is at the mountain, but as she’s leaving, the dragon she’s been riding out to face finds her. They battle. Barely prepared, our knight is losing terribly. She tries to flee, making it to the nearest town before the dragon finds her. In order to lay him low, his must use both her dwarfish weapon and her secret dragon powers. The town sees this, and decides she, too, is the enemy. A town guard steals her dragon-killing sword and tries to slay her with it. In a moment of compassion, the dragon she nearly killed helps her escape the town, but every knight our valiant half-dragon once fought alongside now sees her as a monster. And they’re coming for her.

This is a plot hinge. We just flipped out perception of the plot, tackled and crashed right through our main goal, and opened the doors for a new goal that’s still adjacent to our original one (and might still lead back to it by the end of the book—who knows, the villainous dragon might still need to be killed after all).

The trick with plot hinges, is the throw the reader for just enough of a loop to make the story fresh and interesting, without letting them question why the story before and after the plot hinge aren’t separate books. For a plot hinge to work, the plot must be pushed without being torn off the hinges. The old goal can’t be left dangling, limp with unfulfilled promise, and the new goal must build off everything the book has already established.

When done well, though, a plot hinge can turn a “this is enjoyable!” story into one that makes readers go “oh god, please read this, I NEED someone to scream at, I’m literally dying.”

I’m not going to tell you how many of these you should have in any given story. I’m not even going to tell you that you need to have any of them. (That would be hypocritical, as not all of my own stories do. Some are pulled along by simply plot points and twists, and they’re still perfectly enjoyable, if I do say so myself.)

You can also slip plot hinges into side plots, and make cases for what constitutes a hinge in character development. And at the end of the day, there’s a hundred different ways to build tension into a story and engage the reader. This is just the one I’m having fun identifying and analyzing at the moment.

And I hope you can set out and have fun with it to.

(Also, call it by my personal terminology. Pretend I, and I alone, invented a brand-new kind of plot point. Buy my book. Ascend me to godhood. Rebel and kill god-me to take back the world for humanity. Something like that.)

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #authors on tumblr #writing help #writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writers on writing #amwriting #creative writing #plot points #writing tag: plots #plot tag: plot points #plot tag: plot twists #scheduled post #Just something I was thinking about this week

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crossbackpoke-check · 2 years

Note

WHAT IS THE BRADEN HOLTBY STEP IT UP UNIVERSE PLEASE

ok i would like to preface this by saying i am so sorry if i have ever led anyone to believe that my vague aus exist outside a google doc and a thread compilation on my fic twitter to sort my own brain out

HOWEVER

the braden holtby step it up universe is a set of brainworms i had based on this post originally and also, because i’ve never been chill, ever, the sequel. (coincidentally, which i did not know when i had two entirely separate rants about this a month apart, both of those gif sets are from the exact same day. the more you know.)

so braden holtby is the principal dancer at an elite school for the creative arts, a lá nora from step up. head of the competitive dance team; assistant choreographer for the shows; holtbeast does it ALL because he is an overachiever and also because he really needs to look impressive in order to have a future in the ultra competitive world of ballet. somewhere in the central conflict, scouts from the american ballet theatre are coming to see holtby perform (the wbt and houston are also options for that 👀) and holtby needs to show everyone that he does deserve to be cast in the principal role/solo showcase spotlight after years of working for it.

[is this a high school au? is this a college au? am i potentially going to make holtby a part-time instructor for little kids to support and pay off the costs of living & dancing for some big company where he also finally, finally lands a role as principal dancer? keine Ahnung—]

the only problem with his life is that holts isn’t so sure he wants that anymore. dancing by day, harboring a secret dream of writing music by night, all while everything at the studio ramps up—they’ve got a national competition on the horizon, etc etc, standard semi-serious plot stakes, AND holtby has a as-of-yet tbd vague love interest who is interfering with all his plans by telling him he’s worth more than what he can achieve, that it doesn’t have to be effortless, and the ballerina balancing act of exquisitely painful exhausting grace is bullshit. somewhere the line ‘you make it look so easy but it’s not’ while said love interest has holtby’s head in their lap is judiciously applied.

the side characters are really just out here vibin’ out because at one point i had said it would center around the dallas four goalies (bish, holts, dobby & baby otter) which might still happen if only for the self-service of writing dobby in a velour fuzzy tracksuit, uggs, and leg warmers. y’know, like a ballerina.

jake is the new kid who braden takes under his wing and sees himself mirrored in—the foil for his love of ballet. jake is the kindness braden can allow his past self, but also a way of forgiving his present to let go, something something the passing of the torch handing off the baton etc etc. irl canon this would likely be carter hart but i’m on the fence because i want a cohesive narrative that doesn’t involve me making up interactions.

dobby (lovingly) is comedic relief and writing him would also would allow me to get somewhat technical (differences between russian/french, the mindset of ballet character study, etc) because he played in russia and he’s the perfect character to ride in on a scooter, drop the life-changing advice that drives the climax of the story, and scooter out with his slurpee.

apparently because my brain said so, i have now just decided ben bishop may be the backstage crew manager love interest for absolutely no reason. this is fine, because the first one is about the plot and we are allowed to only have vague undercurrents of Romancé blossoming (the love story is for the sequel) (the sequel may need its own post because that was a lie that one actually has more of a plot. why do i do this to myself me @ me you can’t write the sequel if the original story doesn’t exist)

optionally: somewhere i wrote down a thing about luke glendening and holts? tyler seguin may exist in this? i miss holtby on the caps?

miro, because i love him and it fits better, is in the sequel. re: the sequel post tags, miro is one of the spectacular new kids when braden comes home.

the simplest way i can explain this is that braden holtby gives me the intense vibes of a ballerina… but also the vibes of a mid-2000s shell-necklace-wearing quirky best friend/manic pixie dream girl*. the end result is that the step it up universe is every mid-2000s dance-battle-love-story-trope-y movie into one. it’s got a soundtrack that is a banger for no reason! gay undertones because i’m gay and it’s gay! tense dance battle scenes! no coherent plot but it sure does have a lot of glitter! acoustic guitar and questionable fashion choices (lovingly detailed dance costumes with feathers and sparkles here i come)! thank you for your time!

*somewhere there is a You Can’t Do That episode where this is explicitly discussed and it is absolutely correct

#sorry this took a bit! had to compile the thoughts to be coherent and also exams :’)#the title of this ‘verse is step it up! because a) i misremembered step up b) i couldn’t come up with a funny fic tweet caption besides that #and c) this is me combining all the things i remember about every dance movies i’ve ever seen because i was obsessed with them #i also know that i keep saying braden would do ballet and while i want the vibes of that… he does contemporary dance #dobby can be the actual ballerina :) it’s fine tbh bc people always compete in more than one style #it’s just that if holts wants to be a professional he’d have to choose and ballet’s his best bet #liv in the replies

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collecting-stories · 4 years

Text

Rain - JJ Maybank

Request: hello💛may i request jj x reader, they are bestfriend’s and lately jj has been seeing reader in a completely different way and he doesn’t know why? like he‘d get mad at the boys interested in her and whenever rafe or topper tries to hit on reader it always ends in a fight? maybe he abruptly kisses her one day and then does he realise he’s inlove with her? FLUFF & A JEALOUS JJ PLS😭❤️

Request: could you do a jj fic with a rain kiss? i don’t really have a plot in mind but maybe one where they’re arguing in the rain or something💖

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

JJ sat on his board, ignoring the growing waves and Pope telling him to hurry up and paddle the rest of the way out to surf. He was too far away to hear anything you were saying but he was close enough to see you, standing there with your board, talking to Topper at the edge of the water. He squinted against the sun, trying to get a better look at your face as stood there. Were you smiling or was he imagining that? Did you like Topper? You had never mentioned anything about the kook to any of them, unless you just hadn’t mentioned it to him.

Pope called JJ’s name again and he waved his other friend off, still trying to decipher what was going on with you and Topper on the beach. He would never admit it out loud but lately JJ had been feeling different about you. It wasn’t just some lust fueled, empty flirting. It was more than that. He couldn’t explain it and he’d definitely never felt like it before but he couldn’t sit there and watch you flirt with Topper. He paddled back toward the shoreline, getting off his board when he was close enough and walking to where you and Topper were talking.

“Hey.”

You looked surprised to see him when your eyes met his but you recovered pretty quickly, “hey, what’s up?” You asked.

“Thought you were coming out...it’s gonna storm soon.” JJ pointed out. You and Pope had been talking about going out to catch waves all week and there was finally a break in what felt like seven days straight of rain.

“Yeah, I will, I’m just...” you looked back at Topper, still standing there. He raised his eyebrows in question, “I’ll be right there I’m talking to Topper.”

“Yeah...about what?”

“What?” You asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“How about, none of your business?” Topper commented, glaring at him.

“How about you get the fuck off our side of the beach.” JJ said, stepping forward. You were quick to get between them, holding a hand out to JJ to stop him from coming any closer. Everything had been fine two minutes ago before he decided to come back to shore.

“I’ll be right out J,” you said, “just go.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Please.”

“She told you to leave.” Topper cut in.

“Seriously,” you rolled your eyes, “I got it.”

“I can’t believe you’re seriously choosing him over me.” JJ said.

You clenched your fists, trying not to lose your cool right here on the beach in front of Topper. This was the same bullshit that JJ had been pulling for weeks now. Interrupting any conversation that you tried to have with anyone that wasn’t him. He’d been antsy and unusually clingy just the other day when you were hanging outside the Chateau with John B. Now he was embarrassing you in front of Topper.

“Can you not do this right now?” You practically begged before turning back to Topper, “I’ll talk to you later?”

“Text me.” He replied, nodding. He glared at JJ one last time before heading off down the beach, away from both of you. If only you could have gone with him.

“What the hell is your problem JJ?” You laid your board down and started to gather the rest of your stuff. Shorts, sandals, shirt, all went in your bag.

“My problem? You’ve been bitching all week about going out to surf and we finally get a few good hours and you waste them standing around on the shore twirling your hair and flirting with Topper.”

“Fuck you! I’m allowed to talk, and yes flirt, with whoever the hell I want to.” You snapped.

“Topper though? Get some fucking standards.” He replied, dropping his board down beside yours and grabbing your bag before you could finish packing it.

“Give me that back!”

“No!” He held it away from you when you tried to reach for it, “I’m trying to talk to you and you’re standing here packing up so you can run away.”

“Run away? You’re so fucking dramatic JJ! I’m leaving because you’re being a dick and you ruined my entire afternoon.”

“Oh sorry you didn’t get to suck his-”

You slapped JJ, hands immediately covering your mouth, eyes wide as you stared at him. You knew about Luke and you’d always been carefully of the way you acted around JJ. You’d never so much as jokingly nudged him.

“Oh my god...J-”

JJ shook his head, holding his hand up. “I was out of line.” He replied. The moment he heard the words coming out of his mouth he knew he had taken his anger too far. He wasn’t surprised you’d slapped him, he wanted to hit himself too. He was being stupid and he knew but he didn’t know how to fix it.

“I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s okay.” He insisted.

“I wasn’t flirting with Topper.” You clarified, “I didn’t deserve the accusation but I wasn’t flirting.”

“You were just out here talking to him and I saw you and-”

“I can’t just not talk to people because you don’t want me to...I get the whole kook pogue thing but I’m allowed to talk to whoever I want, without some six degrees from you.” You replied. You hadn’t meant to slap him but you weren’t going to let him get away with his behavior because of that.

“It’s not a kook pogue thing.” He looked away for a moment as a drop of rain hit his cheek. You looked up as it started to rain again, the umpteenth time this week. As you turned your attention back to JJ you saw Pope coming in out of the corner of your eye. At least someone got to enjoy a few waves.

“Then what is it, because I’m so sick of this shit with you JJ. It’s every party, every beach trip.” You said. “I can’t talk to anyone without you right there. I don’t get it.”

“I just-” JJ let out a breath, frustrated with himself mostly. He was terrible with words as it was but he felt like he was incapable of just explaining to you what was the matter. Why couldn’t he just tell you that he liked you?

“What?” You asked, “you just what?”

“I just-” He tried again, the rain overhead getting worse as he pushed wet hair out of his eyes. Without warning he leaned forward, knowing he’d either be slapped again or you would reciprocate. He kissed you, hand laying at the back of your head but trying not to seem like he was holding you there.

Your eyes went wide and then quickly closed against the rain. JJ was kissing you, mouth on yours as if it was the most obvious reason of all and somehow you had never even considered that the reason he was so pissed was because he was jealous. You kissed back, grabbing at his waist to pull him closer, hands slippery on wet skin. He was jealous of Topper or John B or any nameless touron at a party and you couldn’t even fathom that because it was completely unbelievable. What did he even have to be jealous of?

“Guys!” Pope called, coming up the beach to where the two of you were standing. JJ pulled way, turning to look at his best friend.

“What?”

“I’m real happy for you but can we get going? Now isn’t the time!” He insisted, looking back to the darkening sky over the water.

“Sorry, sorry,” you apologized, grabbing your bag from where JJ had dropped it on the sand and sliding it over your shoulders, “JJ was yelling at me over Topper.”

“I wasn’t yelling at you!”

“No, totally, of course. You were so calm and collected.”

“I would’ve been if you hadn’t been talking to Topper when we were supposed to be hanging out!” JJ replied, that slight crack in his voice back as he followed you and Pope up to the car.

“I’m joking J, god I kissed you didn’t I?”

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