#Jedi Fest

[astheforcewillsit]

trying to write a post-war codywan fic where Cody gets to find himself and be debrainwashed while coming to terms with the role Obi-Wan/Jedi-Order played in the enslavement of his brothers, AND making him and Obi-Wan have a happy ending at the end is difficulty lol, but we're getting there.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Third Quarter Check-In (with @jakeh2987)

Depending on where you’re at in the world, especially the United States, it’s finally fall. I live in the southern half of the country, and while it’s relatively chilly today as I write this, the temperature is supposed to go back up to the mid-70s, so it won’t necessarily feel like fall for awhile. I don’t terribly mind it, however, because I’m not too fond of the cold anymore, despite living it in for the first 26 years of my life. Nonetheless, there is something about the leaves changing color, a slight breeze in the air, all the while wearing a hoodie in the morning and a t-shirt during the afternoon. I do quite enjoy the fall, because it’s not too hot and not too cold at the same time, and I love spooky season, but I’ll be doing something separate for that, so keep a lookout for that piece in the near future. It’s gonna be a spooky old time, I promise.

In the meantime, however, it’s time to fanboy about random stuff again! Every few months, my buddy Jake and I have been getting together and talking about what we’ve been into for the last couple months, whether it comes to new releases of all kinds of media, or releases new to us, because you don’t always need to sink your teeth into new material. A lot of music fans, music YouTubers, and publications seem to place a lot of emphasis on listening to new stuff, but there’s no pressure. As much as I love new music, movies, and games, I also enjoy diving into stuff from yesteryear. So Jake, now that the summer has come to a close, and we’re moving into fall, let me start off this piece by simply asking you, how have been the last few months?

Honestly, the end of summer going into the fall season has been a bit of a whirlwind for me, especially mentally. I'm not quite sure if it's general burnout, or just one of those times where you're feeling a little down and out, but I feel like I haven't quite been able to take everything in and enjoy the summer as much as I would have liked to. That being said, the start of fall has been off to a better start for the most part and has been a nice reset of sorts, so I'm hoping I can carry that as we get further into the rest of the season and the year as a whole.

Now, as always, one thing that's comforted me through this rough patch has been the various forms of media that we love, whether it be music, movies, TV, games, and so on. I always love doing these things with you because it's a great opportunity to reflect on what particularly grabbed us and has been helping us through something or has been that really exciting thing we can't get enough of. I think to start off, I'll turn it back over to you, what have you been watching/playing/reading lately?

I’m sorry to hear that, man, but seasonal depression seems to be hitting people hard right now, so I can understand that. We’ve all had periods like that, where we just feel burned out in general. I’m glad to hear that the fall is doing you some good, though, and I’m happy that the weather is getting a bit chillier and mellower, versus being 90 degrees. Media, regardless of the type, has always comforted me, too, especially when we get together and do something like this. We can talk about what we’ve been into for the last few months, regardless of what it is, and what medium it’s on.

I’ve been into a lot of stuff, surprisingly, and I’m really excited this time around, because I got some stuff to talk about other than music, mainly some TV shows, movies, and video games. I still got some music to talk about, but only a few new releases, instead it’s a handful of stuff that’s either been new to me or that I’ve been revisiting. I think I’ll start with the new releases, because I only have a few of those, and I really wanted to highlight other stuff this time around. Not too much has come out the last couple of months that I’ve been extremely head over heels for, but the new Fame On Fire, Rain City Drive, The Black Dahlia Murder, and the debut album from a retro-leaning rock band called Brigitte Calls Me Baby have all been new albums that I’ve loved since our last check-in piece. What about you? What kinds of new stuff have you been into?

That new Rain City Drive album is really damn good, huh? That's one I've also been really into; it's one of those albums that kinda sneaks up on you for how good it is and how often you'll be revisiting it. But besides that, I wanna give a shout to the new Trash Boat album, Heaven Can Wait. Trash Boat is a band I've always liked and thought they were solid enough, but this album is the one that really won me over. They went for a grungy meets Deftones sound on this one, and I think it's really cool. Fever 333's new album, Darker White, is another super fun one, while also being very in your face and blunt about what it's trying to say, but in a very good way. And Void of Vision's new one, which you actually recommended to me, has been one I came back to quite a bit. Just really solid metalcore/Octanecore all around.

Oh, yeah, Things Are Different Now is a great album, despite its title being a misnomer, because it’s nothing different at all, ironically enough. It’s still a really solid album, easily the best thing they’ve done, because they honed their sound to be as refined as it can get. I’ve heard of Trash Boat, though, but that may persuade me to check it out! That sounds real interesting, honestly. The new Fever 333 album is really good, too; I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite albums of the year, but it’s a huge step up from their last album, although that was five years ago (not counting their last EP from 2022). Void Of Vision’s latest is great, too, and that’s also a big step from their last couple of albums, so I’m happy to recommend you that one! A lot of really good Octanecore has come out, huh? Still on the subject of music, though, what are some older bands / albums you’ve been into lately, or stuff that’s just new to you?

So, there have been two big deep dives I've been undertaking over the last couple months, so I wanted to mainly highlight those! First, Linkin Park really needs no introduction at this point, but after vocalist Chester Bennington tragically passed away in 2017, nobody was quite sure what the future held for the band. Fast-forward to last month, and we finally got that answer in the form of a new vocalist, a massive new tour, and a new album, From Zero, coming out in November. I've been enjoying the two new songs they've put out so far with new vocalist Emily Armstrong (who's from a band called Dead Sara, a pretty solid band, from the bits I've checked out), and I've been having so much fun watching all the footage from the live shows, hearing all these old songs again after a long while. Anyway, this prompted me to revisit Linkin Park's discograhy, more specifically their 2010s work, from A Thousand Suns to their final album with Bennington, One More Light, to see if I would feel differently about any of it now, years removed from their releases and Chester's passing. I have a more in-depth piece on this in the works that I hope to have out by the time From Zero comes out, but for now, I'll just say that it's been a really fascinating journey through these later albums. I'm not a fan of all of it, and in fact I'm still pretty bummed that One More Light was the last thing Chester did with them because I wish I liked it way more than I do, but I reaally do admire them for not ridiing on the cotails of their early 2000s sound and never really making the same album twice. I'm ultimately just happy to have them back, and I can't wait to see how this new era shakes out.

The other main thing I've been getting really into started from randomly scrolling on TikTok, as one does. I came across this account called Emo Social Club that's a podcast about, you guessed it, emo music and the whole subculture/community that surrounds it. The videos I kept getting recommended were the hosts reviewing albums that were going to be played in full at this year's When We Were Young festival (which I believe is happening this weekend as of writing this). I noticed a lot of the albums they were talking about were ones I hadn't heard yet, so I thought it would be fun to check out all of the ones that are new to me! I've gone through quite a few of them so far, and I found some really great albums I'm kinda kicking myself for not listening to sooner. A couple of highlights are Tonight Alive's The Other Side from 2013, which was a really cool pop-punk/pop-rock album that had moments where they kinda do the "heavy pop" thing before it was really a thing thanks to bands like Issues and The Home Team. I also really ended up enjoying The Used's In Love and Death; that album is pure 2000s post-hardcore/emo nostalgia, yet it doesn't feel all that dated or cringy like some of that stuff can feel by today's standards. One of the <most interesting albums of the bunch so far was The Forecast's In The Shadow of Two Gunmen. Think midwest emo with a sprinkle of southern rock and dual vocalists, and you have that album. I dug the hell out of this, and I had literally never heard of this band before. Emery's debut album, The Weak's End, might be my favorite of what I've checked out so far, though. It's the mix of that classic post-hardcore sound with a realy soulful clean vcoalist that hits me, and I'm excited to dive into their other albums at some point.

Turning it back to you, what are some things that you've been getting into that aren't necessarily new releases, but might be new to you?

You know, it’s cool to see Linkin Park after all these years, because they’ve just needed the right vocalist to keep them going, as well as come back at the right time. I’m curious for their new album, but all eyes (and ears) are sure to be on them when it does come out. As for When We Were Young, that’s a really cool rabbit hole to go down, because there are tons of albums in that vein, some of those I’ve never heard. I’ve had a few deep dives within the last couple months, and I’ve written some in-depth pieces on a few of these, but when we did our piece on Yellowcard’s Southern Air, I got into a bunch of 2010s pop-punk albums, including stuff from All Time Low, Broadside, and a bunch more stuff, so that was a fun journey revisiting a lot of that stuff and seeing if it holds up all these years later.

Shortly after that, I got into Green Day a bit for some reason; I listened to Dookie and American Idiot, just to see how I feel about those albums all these years later, but I also got into some of Billie Joe Armstrong’s side projects and I realized that I really like him as an artist, just not necessarily with Green Day, which is weird to say, but I really enjoyed his side projects. This wasn’t much of a deep dive, but I spent a few weeks also listening to the Hamilton soundtrack a lot, and I forgot how much I really enjoyed that soundtrack a lot. I read a bit of the Alexander Hamilton biography that inspired it, too, and it was really fascinating stuff. I never ended up writing about the soundtrack, but that’s something I’d like to do in the near future.

The final deep dive I’ve been taking is the one I’m currently in, where I’ve become enamored with jazz and traditional pop music from the 1940s and 1950s. I’ve also been listening to a few Halloween albums from the 1960s, and that inspired me to get into some artists and albums from around the same time again. I’ve been getting into jazz for the past few years, as well as music that you’d hear in the Fallout games, and despite being 70 years old and over, a lot of this music is very timeless. I’m specifically getting into a bunch of Frank Sinatra, whom I’ve always been a huge fan of, but really have been taking the plunge into his body of work the last few years. I just really love that 1940s and 1950s crooner sound that him and Dean Martin pioneered back in those days.

Enough about that, though, because let’s talk about some other media that we’ve been into, like TV shows and movies, for instance. What kinds of stuff have you been watching lately?

Because I've been having a bit of a down time the last couple months, I've been in the mood for a lot more lighter stuff for the most part. I've been slowly making my way through a rewatch of Community, a show I believe you introduced me to way back when we first met, and I forgot how great even that first season is basically right out the gate. It's been years since I've watched it all the way through, but with the buzz of the long-awaited movie finally gaining traction, it felt like a good time to revisit this. I also made it to the final season of Gotham that I've been watching with a couple friends of mine for over a year now, and that show continues to be a fun ride.It's got this nice blend of being a cop drama but also knowing when to lean into the campy nonsense that comes with some of Batman's villains, so it hits just what I'm looking for, a little more dramatic than a straight comedy, but not too heavy. That being said, I haven't been watching a ton of new stuff, either stuff that's just been released or new to me, and it's been nice to kind of hang back and revisit some old favorites or continue a show I've beeen enjoying a lot, in the case of Gotham. With Halloween season in full swing, though, I do plan on checking out some horror movies and possibly checking out some horror-adjacent shows, like maybe revisiting some particularly creepy episodes of Criminal Minds or starting a show like Fringe or The X-Files. Netflix also just added the 2018 Halloween, so that's one on my list for sure.

But what about you? Anything in particular that you've been watching that's really got its hooks in you?

Community is such a great show! I don’t think I told you, but I rewatched it a couple of years ago myself, and I also finished the rest that I never saw, especially that sixth season on Yahoo. While it wasn’t great, it wasn’t half bad, actually, so I’m excited for a movie. Speaking of Batman, I did watch the new Batman animated show on Prime Video when that dropped in August, and that was a real fun ride, especially if you love the 90s animated series. I haven’t watched a lot, either, but I’ve mainly been into two shows — That 90s Show, which unfortunately got canceled a couple of weeks ago, and Agatha All Along.

The former is a 90s-set sequel of That 70s Show, which is my favorite sitcom of all time, so I’ve been looking forward to it, and it’s a ton of fun. It’s very lighthearted, but it’s also got some bigger themes every now and again, at least without being heavy handed or preachy. The latter, however, is the newest MCU show that picks up where WandaVision left off a few years ago. As of writing this, there are two episodes left, but it’s been a fun and spooky ride. It’s more or less on the campier side of Halloween, which I really like, but it’s an interesting show about the more supernatural side of the MCU, right up there with Doctor Strange and stuff like that.

I haven’t watched a lot of movies lately, though, except for one — Terrifier 3. My wife and I just saw it this past weekend, and this movie has been the talk of the town for the past week, whether it’s for its gruesome and gratuitous violence, or for how well it’s doing as an independent horror movie. I’ve seen the other two as well, and I’m pretty mixed on them, although I’ve also come to look at those movies for what they are — purposely low budget and heavily reliant on practical effects that look like they’re straight out of the 1980s with a fun and terrifying (pun intended) killer that’s become a new horror icon over the last couple of years. They’re not for everyone, especially not for the faint of heart, but they’re impressive, at least. I’m more so mixed on the story, the characters, and its lore, but again, I can look at the movies for what they are, so those things are all secondary to what people really want to see. This new one takes place during Christmastime, and it doesn’t have a lot to do with Christmas, but it’s still a lot of fun (despite some of it does go a little too far with the level of violence it depicts).

I've been hearing a lot about Terrifier recently with the new movie coming out, and I'd like to at least check out the first one for myself ot finally see what the hype is all about, so maybe that's another one to add to the list!

I think the biggest thing for me over the last couple months has been games, though. For starters, after 197 hours, I finally finished Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and that was a really emotional and wild journey with a mindfuck of an ending. The wait for the third and final part of this remake trilogy is gonna be excruciating, but I'm feeling confident that they'll stick the landing. After that, though, I wanna give a particular shoutout to The Plucky Squire, the debut game from a team headed up by former designers on the Pokemon series. It's got this really cool storybook aesthetic and is very inspired by classic 2D adventure games like Zelda, but the neat twist is that you get, well, plucked out of the storybook and into the 3D world, and it's revealed that you're characters in a storybook, in a very meta way. It's one of my favorite games this year easily, and I'm not even finished with it yet. I did also finish The Evil Within 2 just a few days ago, and that was a wild survival horror experience perfect for this time of year. And currently, I'm bouncing between a couple things, mainly my first playthrough of Mass Effect 2 (which I'm enjoying a lot so far) and my replay of Alan Wake 2, my favorite game of last year, to get ready for the DLC that's dropping next week. So all in all, I've been having a great time with games recently, but how about you?

The new Terrifier movie has been the talk of the movie world right now, especially considering the other clown movie that came out didn’t do too hot. I was gonna see that, but after hearing the negative backlash it got, I’m gonna wait until it hits Max to give it a watch. I’d check out the first two Terrifier movies, though, but the second one is where the story really starts (although the first one still is kind of important, for reasons I won’t spoil). I also forgot to mention one other thing I’ve been watching, and that’s the drag competition show Dragula. I’ve loved that show for years now, especially because it’s a spookier alternative to something like Drag Race, but it’s also horror-themed, so it usually comes out around this time each year.

As for video games, it hasn’t been the thing I’ve been most sinking my teeth into the last few months, but I’ve played a couple of games for the last couple months, nonetheless, and I wanted to talk about them, because I really took my time with them and spent a lot of time with them. Those two games are Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Jedi Survivor. The former has just been on my radar for the longest time after playing the first one in the rebooted franchise, and that was a fun time, especially being able to unleash hell on a bunch of Nazis. The story was fun, and poignant, but nothing beats plowing through Nazis like they’re mince meat.

Jedi Survivor, though, is what I was real excited about, especially after seeing that it was coming to the PlayStation 4, as it’s been a PS5 exclusive for the past year. I love the first one, even if the combat was a bit lacking in spots, and the game didn’t always tell you where to go, so a lot of its puzzles were really confusing. I felt the same way here, but the story is absolutely wonderful, heart wrenching, and genuinely surprising, but the combat is better and more varied this time, as well as being able to customize Cal Kestis is really cool. The game does feel slightly bloated, because after one of the main villain was defeated, I was wondering where we went next, but they cleverly had another villain that didn’t need to really be a villain, but I guess it sort of sets up the next game. Even then, I like that we only explore a few planets, versus quite a lot in the first game, so you get to spend more time in these few places and familiarize yourself there, versus having to adapt to a new place every little while. The game also looks utterly gorgeous throughout; the levels and worlds are massive, and everything just feels so huge and larger than life.

Oh man, I loved both of those games! I haven't played all of The New Colossus, but you nailed it, the feeling of running into a room and just wrecking an entire horde of Nazis is so satisfying, especially when you really get a groove for the flow of combat and unlock some of the stronger weapons and abilitites. And Jedi: Survivor was one of my other favorite games of last year; Cameron Monoghan is really great as Cal Kestis, and with the devs recently announcing that there's gonna be one final game in this series, I'm so excited to see where Cal's journey goes, because this one has some interesting setups for where it could potentially end up.

There is another game I forgot to mention earlier, but I wanted to give it a quick shoutout at least, and that's Resident Evil 6. I've been playing the co-op Resident Evil games with a friend of mine for the last few months, and it's been a great time. RE6 is far from my favorite game in the series, but this is the one where they kinda just saiid "fuck it" and went full-on silly action movie, and it's so ridiculous that you can't help but have a good laugh at it, and it's infinitely more enjoyable with a friend. Having Leon Kennedy do backflips and roundhouse kicking zombies while dual-wielding pistols just never gets old.

The ending of The New Colossus is so satisfying, although I will say that the next game in the series, Youngblood, is kind of a disappointment, despite having some cool ideas. I’ve played some of it, and I kind of like what they’re going for, but at the same time, it just doesn’t hit the same. I’m really excited for the final game in Cal’s journey, especially with how Survivor ended, there’s a lot they can explore. You know, I’ve only played part or Resident Evil 7, where it goes back to its survival horror roots, and I’ve always wanted to dive into those games, but I’ve never been good at survival horror games, although what I played was really cool.

Before we close out this piece, I had an idea to add one final “section,” so to speak, and I wanted to highlight some wild card pieces of media. Are there any podcasts, YouTubers, streamers, or anything like that you’ve been enjoying. Not even just recently, but throughout this whole year. I usually listen to a lot of podcasts and watch a handful of creators, so I was wondering who some of yours have been this year.

Ooh, this is a fun new addition, and I can absolutely highlight a few! First, YouTube channel Internet Today has been in heavy rotation leading up to the election and the surrounding shitshow. I've followed Ricky and Elliot for years across their various shows and channels, and while I haven't watched quite as regularly the last couple years, I came back around pretty hard this year. If you're looking for a news show on YouTube that isn't full of the same tired, corporate nonsense, Internet Today is always funny, always very blunt in calling out bullshit, and always just super entertaining (their Weekly Weird News show is a particular highlight for me). Next, I wanna highlight my favorite gaming podcast/YouTube channel, MinnMax. MinnMax was started by former Game Informer members (RIP GI, they were sadly completely shut down earlier this year by GameStop) after a round of layoffs, and I've been a big fan since. Their flagship show is the weekly podcast, where they cover what's happening in the industry, review games, your farily typical thing for a games podcast. But, they have two other big things that I think really sets them apart for me. The first is a show called New Show Plus, which is where random ideas for new shows are thrown out and voted on by Patreon supporters every week. These shows can range from simple multiplayer sessions with the hosts or veer into the most absurd thing that has very little to do with games at all. A one-off idea also has a shot to become an ongoing series if the community keeps voting for it. One fun series this year that ended up lasting a few weeks was two of the hosts going to a local bar and playing oversized versions of games like chess, Jenga, and scrabble. It's a super fun concept, and you never really know what you're gonna get every week. The other big one is called The Deepest Dive, which MinnMax founder Ben Hanson always introduces as "the best, most thorough discussions about games on the internet." Honestly, I'm hard-pressed to disagree! Think of it like a book club, but for games, where a panel of hosts and the community will play a game in chunks, and then there will be multiple deep dive videos covering those chunks where the community also asks questions and talks about their favorite moments. They did a Deepest Dive on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth this year that ended up totaling a little over 18 hours across five videos. You have an infinite number of spoiler podcasts or deep dive lore videos all over the internet, but I don't think anyone else is having this level of discussion about games quite like this, and the community involvement makes it even better. Finally, I'm a part of so many wonderful communities on Twitch, and have been since 2020 at the height of the pandemic. It's kind of hard to highlight one or even a small handful, so I'm gonna drop some links for a bunch of creators I'm friends with and creators I greatly admire, and you won't be steered wrong by hopping into any of these streams. A recurring theme you'll find in all these places is being fiercly anti-gatekeeping and being loud and passionable about what you love, while also weeding out anyone who tries to disrupt that.

twitch.tv/sagemalloww

twitch.tv/ashiirosee

twitch.tv/lifewithkendal

twitch.tv/kaiielle

twitch.tv/jesscapricorn

twitch.tv/ohlindsey

twitch.tv/clairecurrently

twitch.tv/littleoneyouare

twitch.tv/smoisnow

twitch.tv/alaselizabeth

twitch.tv/marshmllodragon

twitch.tv/quantumbat

twitch.tv/amarisskye

twitch.tv/elliejoypanic

I'm so curious to hear about what creators or podcasts you've been into throughout the year, so fire away!

Oh man, Internet Today is a name I haven’t heard in years, but I used to watch them back about a decade ago! I used to watch them a lot, especially the Weekly Weird News episodes, but I stopped keeping up with after awhile. I think it was because of something I still regularly struggle with — there’s just too much to keep up with, whether it’s music, movies, TV, podcasts, or YouTubers. It’s just way too much, kinda because we have access to everything at our fingertips these days. I do have fond memories of watching them, though, but it’s cool to hear they’re still going! That other podcast / video network sounds really cool, though, especially when creators can offer something new. It’s so easy to make podcasts, stream, or make YouTube videos, because the bar to accessibility is so low, anyone can do it. That doesn’t mean just anyone should, though, so it’s cool to hear there’s something unique out there.

As for myself, I’ve been into a fair bit of both podcasts and YouTubers / video creators, but I’ll highlight a few here, first with some podcasts then some video creators. There are two podcasts I found within the last year that I’ve been a huge fan of: Too Much Information and Kermitment, both of which are pretty niche but a whole lot of fun. The former is basically a trivia podcast, where both hosts will dive into a certain piece of media and talk about every little tidbit of it. The hosts are both really entertaining, as well as both knowledgeable with a lot of pop culture, both having written for People Magazine, and various other music and media publications. They also talk a lot of different stuff, including different kinds of movies, TV shows, and music, versus one or two styles of each. The latter, however, is very niche and specific. Kermitment is a Muppets podcast where each episode is dedicated to a certain Muppets or Muppets-adjacent project, and it’s all in order. The podcast started a few years ago, but in the last few years, they’ve covered about 30 years worth of stuff, so they’re in the late 80s right now, right around at the dark times for the Muppets before Jim Henson passed. Funny thing is, too, this podcast was started by one of the hosts of Sci-Show Tangents (another podcast I like with Hank Green), and another employee of that company, who works on the YouTube channel. The hosts of Dragula, a show I talked about earlier, also have a podcast that they mainly utilize on the off season (but they use the podcast during each season to be a BTS look inside each episode), where they talk about horror of all kinds.

As for YouTubers, I wanted to highlight a few of those as well! Firstly, I wanted to highlight a channel that is pretty well known, but has had a “renaissance” in the last few years, if you will — Smosh. Known for sketch comedy in the early 00s, they’ve had a few eras over the years, and for the last handful of years, they’ve been in a weird spot, especially with new cast members and without founding member Anthony Padilla. Anthony ended up returning a little over a year ago, and even before then, they were riding high with a new found passion and creativity that I’ve been really loving. They got some new cast members, too, and they’re essentially a YouTube SNL now, only they don’t a lot of skits, but they all interact and have a lot of funny moments together. They’re just a fun lighthearted channel that’s gotten me through the last few years. A few other YouTubers I’ve been into for awhile now have been FunkyFrogbait, who are one of the new “commentary YouTubers” that aren’t a straight white guy, and Kaz Rowe, who talks about weird, niche, scandalous things throughout history. There are a handful more, too, but I wanted to specifically highlight a couple of my favorites that I’ve found recently. Same with podcasts, too, because there are a lot, but I wanted to talk about a specific few of them.

Oh man, it's so cool to hear that Smosh is still around and putting out quality stuff! I do remember hearing about Anthony coming back after some time away, but I haven't really kept up with them since, so maybe I should change that! That Muppets podcast also sounds super cool, especially going through the entire history, even stuff more casual fans like myself might not know about. Making a note to check that out as well.

Before we close this out, is there anything in particular you're looking forward to for the rest of this year? For me, it's gonna be the new State Champs album. They're one of my favorite bands in general and in pop-punk, and while they might have a generally consistent sound, they do it so well that you don't mind. I'm also really excited about the new Life Is Strange game, Double Exposure. The main protagonist from the original game, Max Caulfield, is back for this game, and I'm interested in seeing how her story evolves from that original game and how they weave in your choices from that.

Smosh is actually really good now, and they’re at their creative peak, especially having a large cast with a lot more personalities and diverse ideas and backgrounds, but they’re clearly having a lot of fun these days. Kermitment is seriously one of my favorite podcasts lately, because of how deep they go into the Muppets history. They talked a lot about obscure stuff from before The Muppet Show, including a lot of stuff I’ve never heard of, so it’s a really cool history lesson into Jim Henson and all of his work.

Anyhow, I can’t say I’m really looking forward to anything in particular, but I know there are things coming out that I’m excited about, for sure. I wish I had a PS5, because I’d love to play the new Life Is Strange. I’ve played a few others, and they’re a ton of fun, but I hate that a lot of new games are PS5 exclusive. I’m sure that the next couple weeks will have a lot, but it’ll be nice when things slow down, so we can enjoy a lot of what we loved this year, or catch up on stuff we missed. I also can’t wait to listen to some Christmas music, too. As I write this, Dan + Shay just dropped a new Christmas album, and it’s actually pretty good.

That is one good thing about this time of year, for sure, being able to take a step back and kinda chill out and catch up on stuff we may have missed, especially as year-end list season comes around. Which, you bet I'm down to get back together for the big year-end piece again! Last year was a blast, and I can't wait to do it again.

Ooh, we get to do this in another couple months, and I’m looking forward to it, because we can reflect on the whole year, and it’s gonna be a blast. Thanks again for jumping aboard to do this with me, Jake, you know I always appreciate it!

Thanks for having me on board again! These are always so fun to do, and I can't wait to see what the last bit of the year has in store.

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 80's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 marathon...Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #Movie #movies #actionadventure #scifi #starwars #returnofthejedi #StarWarsEpisodeVIReturnOfTheJedi #georgelucas #lukeskywalker #princessleia #hansolo #chewbacca #darthvader #r2d2 #c3po #yoda #jabbathehutt #landocalrissian #darthsidious #TheEmporer #bobbafett #millenniumfalcon #xwingfighter #tiefighter #stardestroyer #deathstar #markhamill #carriefisher #RIPCarrieFisher #HarrisonFord #jamesearljones #BillyDeeWilliams #AnthonyDaniels #petermayhew #RIPPeterMayhew #ianmcdiarmid #AlecGuinness #obiwan #oniwankenobi #kennybaker #RIPKennyBaker #frankoz #warwickdavis #DebbieLeeCarrington #ripdebbieleecarrington #philfondacaro #vintage #VHS #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas6thannual80sfest

[beck-hartman]

WHO: Beck & @shoshanna-hart WHERE: Creek Fest, Wild at Hart Booth WHEN: Wednesday, September 20th

Not like he hadn't spent most of Creek Fest with her (and the hours in between), but he hadn't bothered her at her booth yet today. He liked to watch her work, even if it was a small reminder of how much time had passed. They were a couple of kids back then, both wondering what they were going to do with the rest of their lives, and it felt like he blinked and she had this business. She made it look effortless, and he wasn't always sure what he could possibly offer someone like her, the Wendy to his Peter Pan. In a lot of ways, he was still that kid wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his life, and she was a professional. She grew up without him.

But one thing was constant: he was unbelievably proud of her.

"Excuse me, miss," he said as he approached an open spot at her booth. "Hope you didn't get too wet in all the rain we've been having this week." Always unable to resist a double entendre, he gave her a little wink before getting to his point for coming over here. "So I heard you were teaching bouquet-making," from her, but that was neither here nor there, "I've got some experience with bouquets myself, but I've never made one. Wanna teach me?"

[texasthrillbilly]

Squad

[askshivanulegacy]

It was SUCH a good scene. Though, contrary to the first post, it was INCREDIBLY justified, and that's part of what was so good about it.

Osha took all that hurt and betrayal, and it didn't matter that Sol was unarmed and not fighting back. The only thing that mattered was his terrible lie to make a child trust and believe in him just so he could have his Padawan, and the unprovoked murder he committed so he could have that Padawan.

He forgave her because he knew that he deserved what she gave him. He forgave her because maybe he finally understood the great evil he'd been committing for years.

Osha's actions were human. Her feelings were dark. Faced with the shock of this horrifically, terrible betrayal, you can debate whether they were evil. They were not unjustified, that's for sure. Sol got exactly what was coming to him, and that the show allowed Osha to unapologetically deliver that justice was wonderful.

One thing I did appreciate is that The Acolyte did not hold back on that Osha went full dark side, that Sol's kyber crystal was crushed by her anger and hate to the point that it bled into a red saber. She straight up murdered someone who was not fighting back. She killed him because she was hurt and angry, not because he was a threat. Osha's feelings of betrayal and rage were valid, her actions were not. She murdered an unarmed man who was not fighting back, who had no intention of fighting back, who literally forgave her as she choked the life out of him, and nothing of her actions were justified. She wasn't even regretful about it. The dark side can be humanized to a degree, it always has been in Star Wars, that's nothing new. Anakin's everything ever, Maul's pain and desperation for a connection through an apprentice, Dooku's clinging to his care for people like Yaddle or Asajj, the dark side has never been about detached or unsympathetic anger. It's always come from a very human place, that's why the Jedi constantly caution that no one is beyond it. But Osha embraced it here, she stepped over the line and murdered a defenseless man because of her rage, not because it was in any way justified as a killing, and the kyber crystal screamed and bled because of it. You don't get a red saber by being justified, you get it by crossing the line into an act of evil. And props to The Acolyte for not shying away from that, as human as Osha is and will continue to be, her actions were over the line of evil.

[telltaletypist]

i have a theory that any franchise that lasts long enough eventually becomes incestuous and ends up eating its own tail, thematically. stories in these franchises can only ever comment on themselves

i think a lot about what alan moore said about his work on the killing joke, about how hollow it is in hindsight since the theme really just boils down to "batman and the joker are kinda similar when you think about it", which i suppose is a pretty novel observation, certainly changes the way i read batman comics, but what is there in that insight for me as a human being living in the real world that i can apply to my actual life? not a whole lot. all it can do is reward emotional investment in the brand of batman. if you don't really give a shit about batman there's nothing there for you.

the disney era of star wars is especially bad about this. by and large they're really just about our relationship to star wars. even the last jedi, which tries to be a little more critical about it, still can't break out of the thematic black hole the franchise has become. andor is possibly the only exception to this, and i steadfastly believe that was a total fluke. don't get it twisted, andor is good despite its connection to star wars, not because of it, and if it were just an original tv show about resisting space fascism, it would probably be better for it (if less popular). we're all lowkey dreading the second season bc we know that no star wars property can resist devolving into a nostalgia wank fest forever

there's nothing inherently wrong with hollow entertainment, but i do think there's something grotesque about pumping the gdp of a small nation into an entertainment product that doesn't aspire to be anything more than an advertisement for itself

[vonlipvig]

finally a release date for this one aaaa

[short-wooloo]

"Claims to control the uncontrollable"

This line, is so, fucking, stupid

First off: Emotions can be controlled, people in real life do it all the time, it's not that fucking hard, in fact it's essential to being an emotionally healthy human being

This show tries so fucking hard to be anti Jedi but it just ends up being a complete idiot fest

Moreover, the Jedi are Great at controlling their emotions! They're Really Good at it! I'd list examples, but it's 99% of all Jedi

And you can't waive it away like "oh he's a jerk, you're not meant to take what he says seriously" because these words are very much in line with leslye headland's own, he's an author's mouthpiece, the intent here is obviously not "ignore this jerk he doesn't know what he's talking about" it's "this guy's a jerk but he's got a point", even if said "point" is really dumb and nonsensical in context

[magicandmundane]

Thinking about Hunter and Crosshair resorting to throwing hands and Tech and Wrecker bickering has me cooking up some headcanons about their methods of… ✨conflict resolution✨

Tech and Crosshair have a sass off/roast fest (Hunter has to intervene like 90% of the time, Wrecker pulls out the popcorn)

Hunter and Wrecker have staring contests to rival that of Jedi padawans trying to mind trick each other

Wrecker and Crosshair throw things at each other while having a shouting match

Hunter and Tech actually have logical arguments like sane human beings, but with a whole lot of gnashing of teeth because most of the time they both have really good points and they’re stubborn af (strategist vs genius, you know?) (every once in a great while Hunter gets frustrated enough to pull rank lol)

If three of them have issues, no. 4 tells them to either stop being morons or take it to the training room

If all four of them have a problem, well… that’s what the aforementioned training room is for lol

[aniharas]

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯

pairing: anakin skywalker x jedi!fem!reader

summary: in the soul-shattering aftermath of geonosis, anakin finds solace in forbidden affection, risking everything for a stolen moment under the moonlight.

warnings: angst, ptsd, trauma, phantom pains. anakin just needs a hug.

wc: 4k+ oneshot

a/n: this is mainly written from anakin's pov and detailing his thoughts. i was just craving an angst fest don't mind me. likes and reblogs deeply appreciated :) inbox is open! enjoy &lt;3

The light-polluted nights of Coruscant were not very kind to the Chosen One.

It was becoming a ritual: stirring at the latest hour in a sweat in the night. Almost an hourly occurrence. Poor Anakin would cry out, reaching for the ghost of an arm that was no longer there. The memories of the dreadful incident came around often like an old acquaintance, one who didn't quite get the hint that their presence was not wanted.

The terrors were definitely unwanted. Each nightmare that plagued his mind, almost every waking moment, every phantom pain was a painstaking reminder of his own incompetence. He was too weak, too blind to stop what happened. The flash of the red saber. The brief, agonizing, piercing hot sensation in his right arm followed by a sharp breeze. The unmistakable smell of his own charred flesh. The events of Geonosis were far too grisly to forget. The monstrous nature of his failure grasped and invaded his mind with its tendrils, ensuring nothing but pain as it threatened to pull him down under. 

What made matters worse was the useless words of the Jedi Council when he sought their advice. Anakin nearly trudged out of the Council Room in laughter. Did they know how ridiculous they sounded? Firstly, he couldn't confide in anyone or simply desire their comfort. Secondly, his own limbs were considered part of things that he couldn't stay attached to, and the young Jedi found that piece of grim advice hilarious. He wondered if their powers with the Force and their lightsabers were the only reason that they were respected.

The cybernetic arm that he was given only did so much. It functioned like a normal arm and hand; it simulated the sense of touch. It was a piece of technology revered by many and saved those who used it. Whenever he retired to his quarters, he would simply stare at it, desperately hoping that it would complete him, hoping that the many credits invested into his new limb would save his soul from the relentless torment that lurked whenever the sun when down.

It was never the same. How could it ever be the same? Despite the fact that Dooku had severed his right arm, Anakin felt like he had broken his whole body and spirit. One would describe his state as one of constant grieving, for his arm, for himself. He dreaded training, missions, meditating. Eating seemed to be a monumental chore for the boy who was destined to save the galaxy.

His body was at a disconnect with his own mind, and no amount of tinkering or relentless practice with the replacement would help.  It was like everyone else was above ground, moving at a normal pace, and he was stuck at the bottom of the ocean, unable to control the chaos of the water around him.

He had hoped that the nightly perils would cease in their frequency with time. As the years passed, his hope diminished, at the very least wishing that he could get used to the feeling. 

On another lonely, sleepless night, Anakin had woken from phantom pain. Defeated, he slid himself off the edge of his bed, letting his body slump to the floor. He was the phrase 'human wreck' incarnate, his now grown-out hair askew; sweat and tears mingling as they slid down his face and neck; the pale, vein-ridden skin of his half-bare body being proof of his negligence towards himself. It was only on occasion that he could sleep alongside the moon, with no troubling thoughts to bother him. The rest of those nights were akin to psychological torture.

"Maybe it was karma for all the times I used the Force to extract a confession from somebody. Is that what that felt like?" he said to himself.

At times, he liked to pause as if there was someone there who would respond.

He wanted a response, longed for someone to just be there. Someone could sit across from him and say that his pain was superficial, that he was being overdramatic, and Anakin would still be grateful for the words. Intimate touch was constantly on his mind; not the kind of touch that led to something amorous, but the kind that could leave his battle-torn skin covered in goosebumps, the kind that would make him hyper-aware of every inch of his body.

He brushed his human fingers over the forearm of his replacement, wanting to know if there was some way he could make himself feel that intimacy. His desperation to simply feel was slowly driving him mad, and he once again let himself lose to his rage. A tear seemed to poetically slip down Anakin's cheek as his sweat-ridden fingers fumbled around with the latches, dislodging his mechno-arm and flinging it towards his wall with enough strength he could muster. A pained grunt escaped his lips.

As it slammed against the wall, it made a loud, yet unsatisfying 'thud'. Some of the casing popped off, the wires and inner mechanisms becoming exposed as it fell unceremoniously to the floor. The emotional toll and the sudden action it wrought had left Anakin out of breath. His glossy eyes trailed from the wreckage down to the emptiness where it should have been, and at that moment, he felt truly pathetic. He desperately wanted to blame anything else, but it seemed that with every obstacle, he only had himself to blame. Did he truly deserve this? He started to believe so.

It was then that his ears picked up a soft knock at his door. Anakin had shot up from his seat on the floor, hurrying over to retrieve his arm and fix it back into place. Disoriented from the absence of sleep, he managed to trudge his way to his door, carefully watching his own feet so he wouldn't stumble. Almost like a child.

When he opened the door, the last thing he expected was to see her. Why was she even here this late at night? She didn't even live in this part of the Knights' Billet. Had one of the masters sent her? Her expression and her body language were timid, seemingly afraid to cross the line; but her ever-so-captivating eyes shone with curiosity. Anakin caught those eyes trying to sneak a glance behind him, tilting his head as he made himself comfortable leaning against his doorway.

"Did someone send you? Tell them I'm not in the mood," he said rather curtly without another glance, taking a step back as he moved to close the door. He was growing exhausted with how the Jedi expected so much of him but didn't even respect him.

Her hand seemed to spring out to hold the door open in retaliation. He was growing tired of the antics, ready to glare her down with daggers, until he saw something different in the girl. Her stance was firm as she held open the door. He saw that her eyes held a brewing mix of resolve and desperation as if silently pleading for him to hear her out.

"I was walking by, and I heard a noise. Are you okay?"

Time seemed to stop as she voiced her concern, leaving Anakin breathless once again. There was an undeniable pang in his heart, threatening to set loose what had been building up inside of him. Any other day, he would've brushed her off and forced the door shut without a care in the world. She was jeopardizing her place in the Jedi Order, and his as well. How could she afford to be so careless?

So careless about her duties…but she cared about him.

Struggling to voice his answer, he found himself nearly paralyzed with uncertainty, not knowing how to proceed. The mere act of them meeting this late at night had already broken so many rules...but was he willing to sacrifice some rules to save his own sanity? He saw a look of pity flash over her eyes, and he stayed frozen as she quietly shuffled in, closing the door behind her in a similar matter.

Anakin was sure about the fact that he needed someone to confide in, to share his agony, to comfort his long-tortured soul. It was only until she had uttered her first words to him that night that it dawned on him: she would see him as weak, and not the Chosen One. The dichotomy of his needs and fears clashed about in his brain. He needed a companion, but he was afraid of losing her approval, anyone's approval. Everyone's approval.

"What's wrong, Anakin?"

Her voice had cut through the growing torment of his thoughts, leaving it silent, those three words alone threatening to unravel him. He avoided the piercing gaze that was threatening to see right through him.

"Just insomnia," he muttered.

When his eyes returned to her, he immediately knew that his answer wasn't good enough. Who was he kidding? He realized that he hadn't even bothered to look presentable, hair messy and skin glistening with sweat. As if to mock his own thoughts, a gust of air blew in from his conditioning unit, making the tear streaks down his face feel like they were freezing. He watched her carefully as her eyes examined these very things, a flush gracing her cheeks as she briefly glanced at his bare chest. The faint glow of the stars pouring in from the window only seemed to accentuate it, illuminating her skin. She was pretty.

The very thought angered him. Why did beauty distract him so in such a vulnerable moment of his life? It was a weakness he was not proud of, not only because it represented what he could not have, but what he struggled to be himself. Every rule in his life seemed like it was set in place to keep him from having beauty, being beautiful. He couldn't help but break those rules as his eyes raked over her figure. He saw how her hair cascaded down to delicately frame her face, skin that was once covered modestly by Jedi robes, eyes that seemed to tantalize him even if her intentions meant otherwise.

Would it be so terrible if he indulged in these desires in his moment of need?

Anakin shook his head to his own thoughts, causing her to tilt hers in confusion. Of course, it would be terrible, but why was it terrible in the first place? He was suffering, feeling pathetic with his appearance and in his mind. It was not terrible to need someone, but why was guilt beginning to consume these selfish desires? Maybe it was terrible to need her. He barely knew her, and she took the same vows as he did.

"I understand," she whispered, seeming rather awkward and sheepish compared to before. She avoided his gaze as she turned her back on him. As she began to reach for the doorknob, Anakin was surprised to see that she hesitated. Was it too hopeful to think that she felt the same? He called out for her, more despairingly than he intended to.

"Wait, I..." He hesitated, not sure if he wanted to take the plunge. It would be the start of a slippery slope he couldn't hope to dig her or himself out of. He knew that if he tried, it would be futile, so that must've been why he had the nagging feeling that he didn't even want out.

"I need you here."

He watched closely as her brows furrowed and her grip on the doorknob tensed, immediately realizing that his request might have been too bold, to say the least. His gaze fell to the floor as a wave of humiliation washed over him. If she had run off at that moment, he would've understood. However, as he gathered the courage to look up once more, he saw that she had stood still, eyes continuing to prod him for a better explanation. Swallowing the ever-growing lump in his throat, he leaned against the wall of his dormitory as he tried to find the words that would lead him down the slope. If it meant that he could find peace for one night, one hour, or even one minute, so be it.

"I need you here because…I am cursed. I'm cursed with an affliction I can't ever hope to cure. I feel like I'm at war with myself, and it haunts me to my soul."

Anakin paused, subconsciously holding his breath, unsure if he wanted to continue. All of this was most likely too heavy to hear, especially since she barely knew him. Did she care?

At that moment, as if to answer his silent query, she stepped forward and placed herself in front of him, standing so close he felt the warmth of her body. The scent of her freshly-washed hair polluted his senses, leaving him feeling melancholy. He watched in a trance as her brows furrowed in worry, tentatively lifting up her hand. Her fingers gently prodded at his cybernetic, outlining the broken casing. Once her curious eyes rose back up to meet his, there was a silent acknowledgment. Understanding. It gave him the push to keep going, to muster the strength to hold open the floodgates of his heart. He stopped holding his breath, his sorrowful gaze falling to the floor.

“I'm...completely lost. I've strayed so far from the path of the Jedi that I can no longer see it…and I am afraid I don't even want it. I'm constantly told that I shouldn't feel this way...that hurting is selfish, and that I should focus on the needs of others before my own, to live up to my prophecy," Anakin muttered, his tone turning bitter and his brows furrowing in anger at the last word.

"But how can I do that when I am disconnected from myself? When I don’t feel like the Chosen One? I don’t feel like anyone is choosing me.”

Anakin’s eyes traveled up her figure once more, her minuscule and simple movements making them glaze over with desperation. He found the way her shoulders gradually moved up and down with each breath captivating, the flutter of her lashes with each blink. He took her by the hand that was calmly tracing his forearm, enveloping it firmly in his. She watched him as her breath halted in suspense, her fingers seeming hesitant to move.

“I need you here, not because I expect you to fix me, but because I just need someone. Anyone. I need you to choose me, to touch me,” he whispered, his voice shaking as he watched her lace her fingers with his own. “Please, I need this...bittersweet taste of relief. I can't bear this alone anymore.”

After what seemed like an eternity of silence with their hands in each other’s, she let go, much to Anakin’s chagrin. However, she lifted her hand once again, gradually bringing her hand to his chest, laying it flat above his heart. The sensation sent waves of warmth across the bare skin of his chest, the rippling feeling leaving goosebumps in its wake. He was certain that she could feel the deafening pounding of his heart. A faint gasp left his lips as she began to slide her hand down to his abdomen, his muscles in that area tensing. He didn’t expect to feel this hyper-sensitive to someone’s touch.

She flinched a little at his reaction, causing her to stop her motions. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looked up at him timidly.

“Is that okay?” she asked, her voice unsure, as if she was testing the waters.

Hearing her words, Anakin’s vision was obscured by his own tears…tears of relief. He savored the straining feeling in his chest and throat as he fought to hold back his sobs, thankful he was even feeling anything like that at all. A slow blink of his eyes betrayed him as a brief stream of hot tears slid down his cheeks, which she quickly wiped away with her free hand. She seemed rather flustered when that very action caused more tears to fall in succession, awkwardly wiping more tears as quickly as she should.

The act made Anakin chuckle briefly, nearly surprising himself with the sound. It seemed to surprise her too, in turn making her laugh along with him. Realizing that this warming feeling was contagious, they both began to erupt into giggling fits, ending with a hush from her, muttering something about “quiet hours”. Though it had seemed silly, Anakin had wished they never stopped.

Again, damn the Jedi with all their rules.

During her stay, they sat together at the foot of his bed as Anakin slowly began to unravel the darkness that had been plaguing him since Geonosis. They spoke in hushed murmurs, afraid that someone might find them together. Their conversation would cease at the mere sound of a distant footstep, the creak of the conditioning vent, and muffled voices from the other side of his dorm wall. 

However, Anakin thought all the sneaking around to be worth it. Her presence and her conversation proved to help more than he could have hoped for. Soon enough, he was pleading for her to come back the next night. A shy expression overtook her features. Something around the lines of “You like me that much?” was uttered, and those very words ignited the beginning of an insatiable fire within him. Her wide, curious, and sparkling eyes continued to feed that very fire.

Anakin wasn’t too sure when he started to kiss her.

He wasn’t even aware of when they had closed so much distance between each other. However, her receptiveness pushed those questions far away, his thoughts taking form in the shape of her. A rush of emotions flooded through him, momentarily drowning out the misery that consumed his existence. In that singular, stolen moment, he felt a profound peace, something that he thought he might never experience again.

Every touch, every gentle brush against him sent electric currents coursing through his body. His senses were enveloped by her, reveling in the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the warmth of her breath mingling with his. Her hands began to clutch onto his frame desperately, her nails digging in and leaving red trails in their wake. The world around him slowly began to fade into insignificance, his focus narrowing to the raw sensation of being alive, of feeling something so intensely beautiful. For that fleeting moment, Anakin allowed himself to be consumed by this sinful, blissful indulgence of the present. It was a sanctuary from his own mind. After a lifetime of monochrome, he was overjoyed to feel anything at all. It was a bittersweet joy, knowing that this kiss was fleeting, and that it came at a heavy cost. As their lips reluctantly parted, Anakin’s mind was only filled with anticipation for the next. He watched her, his eyes filled with a mixture of reluctance and longing, as she began to pull away, her breath slightly ragged. A part of him wants to hold onto her desperately, to stop the inevitable departure. “Wait,” he called out, his voice feeble and vulnerable as he cautiously took her hand in his. “I-i…don’t want you to go. This is…it's everything to me.”

Anakin hated how desperate he sounded in his pleas, embarrassed at the state Geonosis had reduced him to. He almost despised the fact that he needed this…that the Chosen One needed someone else to feel so alive. But the way she flooded his mind was such a high for him, and he never wanted to come down.

“Please,” he begged, his voice nearly giving out as his eyes began to glisten. “I know the risk you’d be taking, but…one more night, please. The same time, tomorrow night. We can figure out what to do then.” He watched as her resolve wavered, noting the longing in her eyes. Anakin knew she felt a pull to him as well, it’s what caused her to come and investigate him in the first place. As she took a deep breath, his thoughts came to a halt, ensuring utter silence to hear what she had to say. “Okay, Skywalker. One more night. But…if we get caught, it’s on you,” she scolded, her arms crossing.

Anakin found her attitude endearing, answering her with a simple nod. Despite her playful nature, he understood the weight of her words. He leaned in, allowing his forehead to rest against hers, enjoying the subtle heat that radiated from her, a stark contrast to the cold room they were in. Pulling away with a lingering touch and a final gaze, they parted ways. As the door closed behind her, a profound sense of emptiness washed over Anakin. Her absence only made him feel the weight of his desperation. The taste of her still lingered on his lips, and it nearly made him want to throw the door open and chase after her. However, as much as he desired that, he couldn’t bring himself to.

As he returned to his empty bed, he decided he would just have to wait until she would return, his newly found moonlight, who had illuminated his dark and harrowing night, who had caused the waves in his heart to surge and swell.

He found comfort in the fact that the moon would always return to the sky.

-

As each night passed, their next clandestine meeting was what occupied Anakin’s thoughts. Every single moment until then felt like an eternity, nearly stretching his patience to the limit. His thoughts were never without her.

It was especially bad whenever he would sit in the Temple’s garden and meditate with Obi-Wan. 

The afternoon after that encounter with her, Anakin and Obi-Wan sat cross-legged across from each other, eyes closed as they sought inner peace with the Force.

Anakin struggled to quiet his mind, to let go of the constant longing that plagued him. He tried focusing on his breathing, to sink into stillness, but the image of her under the moon invaded his every thought. Her face, her touch, her taste, her warmth–it consumed his mind like a raging wildfire.

As Obi-Wan searched through his own mind, he couldn’t help but sense a disturbance. A subtle ripple, a flicker of distraction that emanated from his young apprentice. His brows furrowed slightly as he tried to search for what was troubling Anakin.

After a while, Obi-Wan slowly opened his eyes, gaze fixed on his padawan as his gentle voice broke the silence. “Anakin, I sense something is weighing on your mind. Is everything alright?”

Anakin’s eyes remained closed, feeling sweat break out on the nape of his neck as he fought to maintain his composure. Why did Obi-Wan even bother asking? He was never going to tell his master, and he knew that. That didn’t prevent the feeling of guilt that started to accompany the flurry of his emotions. “I’m sorry, Master,” Anakin responded after a beat of silence. “I’m just…worried about my knighthood. That is all.”

Obi-Wan’s expression softened, his eyes taking on a knowing, yet understanding look. Of course, he knew his apprentice hiding something. He would consider himself a bad master otherwise. He could feel the turmoil radiating from Anakin, yet his desire to remain elusive. He wanted to respect his privacy, but his duty as a mentor compelled him to push further.

“Anakin, you know it is one of my many responsibilities to guide and support you, but I cannot do that if you hide things from me,” Obi-Wan said. “Whatever it is, just remember you don’t have to face it alone.”

With that, Anakin’s eyes fluttered open before meeting his master’s, a mixture of guilt and longing to open up to him. He hated that he was in an order where judgment and the potential consequences of desire prevented him from confiding in his mentor, his best friend, his brother.

“Believe me, master, I am more than thankful for your concern. But this…this is something I have to figure out on my own,” Anakin replied, his voice displaying a hint of vulnerability. “I will be fine.”

Obi-Wan sighed inwardly. He knew that part of becoming a Jedi involved navigating your own path, but he couldn’t help but feel like there were deeper issues at play. However, he was willing to let it go for the sake of supporting his apprentice.

“Very well, young Skywalker,” he conceded, a touch of sadness in his voice. He reached over to give a reaffirming pat to Anakin’s shoulder. “I trust that you find your way, as you always do. Don’t forget that I am here, whenever you need me.”

Anakin nodded, letting his eyes fall shut once more as he continued to “meditate”.

Still, his moonlight danced through his mind, and he could only think about how long it would be until he could see her shine again.

a/n: ao3 saw it first! inbox is open!!

[lcdrarry]

LCDrarry 2024 Master List Part 2: More Fic

Dear lovely Participants, Creators, Alpha and Beta Readers, Cheerleaders, Readers and Fans of this fest,

The 6th installment of LCDrarry has come to an end, and we'd like to thank you all for taking part in this fest, for creating so many amazing new Drarry works for us all to enjoy, for commenting on your favourite creations, for sharing and recommending the LCDrarry gems with and to your friends and blog followers, and for making this fest another amazing experience for everybody!

Fests would not exist without their participants or readers! You're all amazing! And we're so happy that you chose this fest in the vast and wonderful offerings of HP and Drarry events.

You can find out under the cut who created what ;D

~Your LCDrarry Mods Tami (@celilasart) and Suzi (@erin-riwen)

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information and more detailed warnings. Thank you! PPS: You can find a link to Part 1 of this Master List under the cut. Enjoy!

Part 1 of this Master List with all the lovely podfics, art and more fics can be found here.

***

More Fic

***

If The Boxers Fit (A Cinderella Story)

Prompt: "100 Girls", 2000 Author: lettersbyelise Word Count: 8,360 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Summary: When Draco ends up shagging a hot, mysterious stranger in a broken Ministry lift and is left with nothing but a sexy pair of red boxers to remember them by, Draco’s friends go sleuthing.

***

surviving the mist

Prompt: "The Mist", 2017, TV Show Author: gnarf Word Count: 7,153 words Rating: Mature Warnings: one homophobic slur, Uncanny Valley, Blood, Trauma Bonding, mentions of past starvation, hinted at child abuse, Torture (off screen), Post-War, Minor pining, Clueless Harry Potter, Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, involuntary housemates, Inspired by The Mist - Stephen King, LCDrarry 2024

Summary: Everything was perfect for Harry, until Draco moved into the cottage next door. He thought that Draco Malfoy being his neighbour was the worst that could happen to him. Until the outside world got turned into a death zone. Trapped by a mysterious fog, Harry and Draco have to try and get along while surviving the nightmares hiding outside, waiting, luring...

***

Listening to the Manor

Prompt: "Spirited Away", 2001, Hayao Miyazaki Author: meandminniemcg Word Count: 11,183 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: No archive warnings apply

Summary: When Dudley gets turned into a bird on a roadtrip, Harry has to save his cousin. He meets a mysterious blond man and a sentient manor house that needs his help. But first he has to do his new job at the Magical Creature spa, the only reason he can stay...

***

Twin Blades

Prompt: “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith”, 2005, George Lucas Author: lucio Word Count: 3,525 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: lightsaber combat, nightmares

Summary: Harry advances a few steps toward Draco, who doesn’t move, only watches him approach with narrowed eyes. “If you’re so sure the Jedi have no power, duel me. If you win, your master will be proud of you.” Draco’s eyes glitter. “And if you win?” “We’ll find out, won’t we?” Harry raises his lightsaber, readies himself. “Come on.” Without another word, Draco lunges at him.

Or, a Drarry-flavored reskin of the battle on Mustafar.

***

Hope Is A Thing With Feathers

Prompt: "Thelma and Louise", 1991, Ridley Scott Author: Stillwriting Word Count: 33,335 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator chose not to use Archive Warnings

Summary: Harry is disillusioned with the Aurors, his relationship with Ginny, and is tired of all the hero worship but feels trapped. Draco, still hated by the Wizarding world, decides to get away and shares his plan with Harry, his only friend. Harry jumps at the chance to go with him.

They share in the freedom of their adventure, but things don’t go according to plan. Amidst their misfortunes, they discover new talents, courage in the face of tragedy, and above all, love.

***

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Prompt: "Mamma Mia", 2008, Phyllida Lloyd Author: TheGoblinMatriarch Word Count: 11,378 words Rating: Teen and Up Warnings: sex while on drugs, drinking

Summary: Recently-divorced Harry returns to Serenity Commune, site of his wildest youthful romps and the beginning of his recovery from trauma, to get out of a rut (and because Hermione made him). Unfortunately, sex, drugs, and dancing aren't all that await - he'll have to confront his past and what life might have been.

***

Romancing the Dragon

Prompt: "Romancing the Stone", 1984, Robert Zemeckis Author: jtimu Word Count: 34,382 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Action movie typical violence

Summary: Harry Potter writes romance novels from the comfort of his London townhouse, with the assistance of his beloved cat, Juliet. He does not engage in rescue missions, talk to dragons, or develop feelings for Draco Malfoy. That would be absurd.

***

first, she fell

Prompt: "Anatomy of a Fall", 2023, Justine Triet Author: luminae Word Count: 1,648 words Rating: Mature Warnings: angst, referenced character death, open ending, referenced adultery, speculated murder

Summary: Harry's wife is dead. No one knows quite what that means.

***

Caribou Garden

Prompt: Nature Documentaries (genre, any year) Author: CreepingMyrtle Word Count: 2,641 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: None

Summary: Alone with his swotty, posh, nemesis-turned-colleague on an uninhabited island in the far north, cinematographer Harry Potter grapples with his inconvenient crush. A nature documentary-inspired fic with magical caribou migrations, dramatic landscapes, and only one tent.

***

Leap Year

Prompt: "Leap Year", 2010, Anand Tucker Author: youhavemyswordandmybow Word Count: 29,064 words Rating: Mature Warnings: None apply.

Summary: Draco Malfoy has come a long way. He has a successful business and a muggle-born high-flyer boyfriend.

One tiny thing - it's been four years and he has no ring. No matter, he'll take things into his own hands. Feb 29th is an Irish muggle tradition that he'll happily jump on. Archie (boyfriend) is in Ireland - he'll simply portkey over and pop the question.

One (LARGE) problem. The portkey office messed up and he's landed outside Harry Potter's pub.

The same Harry Potter that hasn't been seen for ten years.

*Big sigh.*

***

Runaway Groom

Prompt: "Runaway Bride," 1999, Garry Marshall Author: skotini Word Count: 30,044 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: Arranged marriage (not between Harry and Draco), Infidelity if you squint (not between Harry and Draco)

Summary: OK, so Draco's feeling so nervous about his upcoming wedding to his fiancée Astoria Greengrass that he could faint. That's one of the pitfalls of an arranged marriage, right? Just because he's run out of his past three weddings, doesn't mean this one won't go ahead. He just has to keep his eyes on the finishing line, and ignore the sudden reappearance of Harry Potter, who seems to be determined to turn his world upside down. Again.

***

we were born to be national treasures

Prompt: "Legally Blonde", 2001, Robert Luketic Author: calledityellow Word Count: 4,979 words Rating: General Audiences Warnings: There is nothing triggering in the work, although it does heavily rely on the subject of needing academic validation as a woman in a patriarchal society.

Summary: Danica Malfoy is determined to study law and move forward in life. But is anything really ever that simple?

***

The Potters: Possessed Case

Prompt: "The Conjuring", 2013, James Wan Author: Nelween Word Count: 12,039 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Horror, blood, vomiting, mention of suicide, possession, exorcism

Summary: After a lecture, Harry and Draco meet a frightened woman, telling them that her entire family is scared to death of their new house.

But Harry and Draco wanted to take a break after a traumatising case. Maybe it's just natural causes and the house isn't haunted, right?

***

By the Book

Prompt: "The Proposal", 2009, Anne Fletcher Author: Olena Word Count: 14,586 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: None

Summary: It’s hard being Draco Malfoy: workaholic publishing professional extraordinaire. Between revolutionizing the Wizarding World and fighting with Harry Potter, his chief of staff, it makes sense Draco forgot to check his mother filed some paperwork. Oops. Easy enough to avoid deportation by saying he’s engaged to said manager.

Too bad that plan involves visiting Ottery St Catchpole, a gaggle of redheads, and defrauding the government.

***

this strange effect

Prompt: "Killing Eve" (2018 - 2022) Author: harDeehar Word Count: 30,670 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Violence, Blood and Injury, Assassinations, Killing Eve AU, Murder, Light Poisoning, Obsessive Behavior, Reference to past addiction issues, Presents

Summary: Harry hated his job, his cousin, and his inability to figure out how to fit into the boring, depressing world around him. He kept his peace until Draco Malfoy turned out to not be dead like Harry thought he was. Deadly, though? Harry was going to figure that out.

***

The Heart of the Heart

Prompt: "Howl's Moving Castle", 2004, Hayao Miyazaki Author: Poljupci Word Count: 52,775 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: None

Summary: Harry Potter’s boring routine comes crumbling down when he takes the wrong shortcut at the wrong time; he almost ends up in a brawl, gets rescued by a handsome stranger, successfully escapes sentient tar, learns to walk on air and then becomes victim to a spiteful, petty and undeserved ageing curse - and all that within a single afternoon! Now transformed into an old man, Harry decides to run away in search of a way to reverse the spell, but the path is precarious and the journey long. As he's trying to make his way through magic and treachery, danger and deceit, it's becoming abundantly clear that something more is hidden behind petty magic - something deeper and more valuable and connected all too thoroughly to what may only be classified as love.

***

End of Beginnings

Prompt: "All of Us Strangers", 2023, Andrew Haigh Author: LouisIsSoGolden Word Count: 5,324 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Canonical Character Death

Summary: As Harry and Draco start developing a relationship, Harry finds himself drawn back to the Potter house in Godric's Hollow, where his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died.

Based on the movie All of Us Strangers (2023) though you don't have to have seen it to understand the fic.

***

Love Will Abide

Prompt: "The Last of Us", Episode 3: "Long, Long Time", 2023 Author: dodgerkedavra Word Count: 39,547 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death, Suicide

Summary: Harry and Draco survive the apocalypse. This is what happens after.

***

Theme and Variations

Prompt: "Rush", 2013, Ron Howard Author: lucifergraced Word Count: 24,890 words Rating: Mature Warnings: brief mentions of (canonical) child abuse

Summary: Draco had fucked him over, yet again. Harry was sick of it.

With music swelling from the orchestra below, lights beating down on him hard enough to break a sweat before the first variation, the audience rapt with attention, this should have been the greatest moment of Harry’s life. But it wasn’t. Of course Draco fucking Malfoy had to ruin this for him too.

Harry took a shaking breath and began to dance.

***

Happiness Seems to be Loneliness

Prompt: "Saltburn", 2023, Emerald Fennell Author: newskyillusion Word Count: 29,811 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Unhinged Harry Potter, Dark Harry Potter, Obsessive Harry Potter, Character Death, Animal Death, Fat Shaming, Minor Character Death, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Inspired by Saltburn (2023), References to Frankenstein, Necrophilia, Off-scene suicide (mentioned)

Summary: Fucking Pansy was like fucking a fish. or Drarry meets Saltburn

***

Count On Me

Prompt: "Put Your Head On My Shoulder", 2019, Netflix Author: Shewhxmustnxtbenamed Word Count: 23,044 words Rating: General Audiences Warnings: fake dating, forced cohabitation

Summary: University students Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy run into each other one day. Literally. On bikes. After that, they can't get away from each other, no matter how hard they try. And then, it seems, they might not want to. Based heavily on the C-Drama "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" on Netflix.

***

Part 1 of this Master List with all the lovely podfics, art and more fics can be found here.

As always, reblogs here on tumblr are very much appreciated to promote all the wonderful works of LCDrarry. But of course, please also shower our creators with comments and kudos on AO3 ;D Thank you! Read you next year ;)

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2024.05.06

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. "Dark-Haired Body Builder F---s Blond Twink" by @sleepstxtic [E, 1k]

►Harry and Draco shoot a porno in Vegas.

---

Fest/Exchange

1. In Blood and Bloom by Team Purple Puffapods [T, 5k]

►For his eleventh birthday, Harry receives his first birthday cake, friendship with Hagrid, and a soulplant. It won't bloom until he touches his soulmate. ★ Voiceteam 2024

2. Hope Is A Thing With Feathers by Anonymous [E, 33k]

►Harry is disillusioned with the Aurors, his relationship with Ginny, and is tired of all the hero worship but feels trapped. Draco, still hated by the Wizarding world, decides to get away and shares his plan with Harry, his only friend. Harry jumps at the chance to go with him. They share in the freedom of their adventure, but things don’t go according to plan. Amidst their misfortunes, they discover new talents, courage in the face of tragedy, and above all, love. ★ Lights Camera Drarry 2024 | @lcdrarry

3. Twin Blades by Anonymous [T, 3k]

►Harry advances a few steps toward Draco, who doesn’t move, only watches him approach with narrowed eyes. “If you’re so sure the Jedi have no power, duel me. If you win, your master will be proud of you.” [...] ★ Lights Camera Drarry 2024 | @lcdrarry

[jarenka]

So I'm done!

About a week ago I was scrolling through @topwan-obikin fest prompts to see if there is something I am interested in.

AND OH BOY I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN ONE PROMPT.

Here it is:

Dimension fuckery happens and Ben ends up discovering a young Anakin on Tatooine... but his eyes are gold OR Ben discovers an equally old and jaded Anakin on Tatooine who was never discovered by the Jedi (old as in Ben and Anakin are the same age!!!)

DW: sexual tension, alternate universe/dimension travel, touch-starved DNW: unhappy/ambiguous ending, dead dove do not eat, porn without plot, established relationship, dubious consent

It's not hard to understand from my blog that old men obikin is my catnip. I finished this fic in a week, I was writing after 12 hours shifts, I was really obsessed with it.

And now it's finished and on ao3. I decided not to participate in a fest because I don't write in English, and I don't think it's a good idea to post something in foreign language there or something translated with Google Translate.

So, here it is. I even managed to make them fuck.

[soldieronbarnes]

ALRIGHT FOLKS, as I'm getting started on my Obikin BB fic, here's a snippet of another fic I considered for the fest but decided it would be too long; it's a WIP you've seen me mention before and that I hope to actually write and complete one day (the one where Nabooian culture has the fucked up tradition of lending one's spouse to esteemed guests --- Anakin is the spouse, Obi-Wan the guest)

“You think you’re doing me a kindness? That, by refusing to touch me, you’re saving me?” 

Obi-Wan blinks, taken aback. Before, Anakin had seemed — fearful and shy, perhaps. Now, the Force brims with bitterness and anger around him. 

“I’m not sure I would call it a kindness,” Obi-Wan hazards cautiously, despite his confusion. He’d expected the Force to bloom with sweet, if anxious, relief. Surely it is — basic decency. Surely this boy must have known guests who refused the offer, who were equally appalled by these archaic practices, and less beholden to appealing to his husband’s sense of pride, to stroking Palpatine’s ego, to flattering him until he let himself be moved whichever which way than Obi-Wan is.

“It isn’t.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t understand.

“I don’t understand,” he admits. “I don’t believe you want me to touch you.”

“It doesn’t matter!” The boy explodes. “It never matters! He’ll know, you see, he always does, and this is — this is a punishment.” He buries his face in his hand, and he might be crying and —

Obi-Wan is so in over his head. 

“I was led to believe that in Nabooian culture — in its very traditional, almost antiquated culture, that is –  that it is seen as a great privilege to, ah —” he stumbles. “Well.  That the husband sees it as something to take pride in, a generosity upon his guest, not — not —”

“It is,” Anakin sniffs. “It’s a mark of hospitality, and plenty of people here still follow this tradition; Hells, plenty of wives enjoy and support it, Nabooians aren’t exactly monogamous, but — but I’m —” 

Anakin swallows heavily, squares his shoulders, and when he lifts his head, his expression is resigned. Only a slight redness around his eyes betrays his feelings; when he continues, it’s very matter of fact. 

“I displeased him, earlier. Knowingly. I shouldn’t have, I should’ve known better, but I — I didn’t think. I relied too much on him liking you, liking the Jedi, thinking that you were important, so that he would not want to offend you. I didn’t think he’d — but it’s perfect, you see. I get my punishment, and you get taken down a peg. And by tomorrow, you’ll feel so guilty about breaking your vows that you’ll grant him more in the negotiations than you planned to, and he’ll have won, again.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t even know where to begin: The allusion to frequent spousal abuse? The delicate nature of negotiations? The accusation that he would be swayed by bribes offered, especially ones as crude as this one? Correcting the boy on the notion that Jedi take vows of celibacy? 

“I beg your pardon,” he says. Better to focus on the most pressing issue. The others are probably best shoved aside until he has time and peace of mind for a solid, lengthy meditation session. “But I don’t think I understand why you dismiss my solution so easily. You’re welcome to spend the night, of course, even though I won’t touch you, and that should be enough to do away with any suspicions your husband might have.”

Anakin only glares at him. “I told you,” he spits, “I told you, he’ll know. He always does. Your squeamishness won’t be an excuse — it’s not about what you do, it’s about me. I didn’t do as he told me to, and he sent me to be fucked by you, knowing how much I hate it every time he makes me do it.” He turns, then, looking Obi-Wan straight in the eyes, his blue eyes burning like kyber on Ilum — except there’s none of the peace, none of the anticipation. Only hurt. “What do you think he’ll do to me, if I go back to him without doing as I was told, when he’s already angry with me?”

Obi-Wan opens his mouth, and then closes it with an audible click.

“I promise you, it’ll be much worse than this,” Anakin continues. “You’re not ugly, and I don’t think you want to hurt me. That’s leagues better than I usually get. So if you want to save me,” he says, every word dripping with derision, ”you need to get over your religious guilt.”

[cha-melodius]

Hi friend! Congrats again on 100 works! Thank you for offering to write more for us! ❤️I'd like to request 1. firstprince and 2. Kensington as an AU, but only because you dared us to! Alternatively, if someone already requested that and you don't want to duplicate, I'd be interested in a hockey AU set inside the rink! Thank you again, I am so excited to see what you come up with and to read more of your words!

(Thank you so much for taking my bait lol, I've wanted to write this canon-divergence AU where they hook up in Kensington during the damage control trip for a while now. I hope you enjoy!)

Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile

(firstprince, 4.1k, M; read it below or on AO3) read all the fandom fest fics

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. They were supposed to finish up at the hospital, and then Henry would go back to whatever the fuck he does while Alex went to the airstrip. He’d fly back to DC, so that maybe he’d be able to get some schoolwork done before Monday, and try to forget that this ridiculous weekend ever happened—barring the fact that he and Henry were still obligated to keep up the fake friendship for a few more months, that is.

Instead, Cash comes up to him as they stand outside of Kensington with a slightly grim look on his face and says, “Change of plans.”

“Huh?”

“They discovered an issue with the plane during the flight prep. It needs some part that they’re not going to be able to get until tomorrow morning. We’ll leave then.”

“What do you mean, they can’t get it? Why not?” Alex demands. Surely in a country with fucking royalty, nothing is out of grasp for said royals and their guests.

Cash shrugs. “Didn’t ask. The palace confirmed you can stay another night.”

Alex groans probably a little too dramatically. “What about my classes?”

“I am, in fact, very aware of your class schedule,” Cash says dryly. “You’ll be back in time.”

“I don’t have another change of clothes.”

“Pretty sure Kensington has laundry.”

“I’m really not getting out of this, am I?”

“Nope.”

Alex sighs and looks over to where Henry is standing with Shaan by the front gates. There’s a look of trepidation on his face, no doubt because he’s just been told that he’ll have to deal with Alex for another night. Of course, that’s not a given. Henry will probably disappear into his apartments and ignore him, which suits Alex fine. They may have reached a kind of détente today, but they’re not friends.

“Sorry to hear about your plane,” Henry says as they get back into the car that will drive them further into the palace.

Alex shrugs. “It’s fine. I guess I’ll have to survive the hardship of ten thousand thread count sheets another night.”

Henry huffs a little laugh and grins. It’s kind of amazing how different he looks when he smiles for real. “I know you’ve probably had your fill of me today, so feel free to say no, but…” He hesitates a moment, as if waiting for Alex to shut him down before he even makes his proposal. “I was thinking of ordering in curry for dinner tonight. There’s a place not far away that’s quite good. Maybe watch a film?”

It’s pretty much the last thing Alex expected him to say. He wonders if this is another olive branch, an acknowledgement that it’ll be easier to pretend they’re friends if they’re actually… kinda friends. Surprisingly, Alex doesn’t hate the idea.

“What movie?” he counters.

“Well, I would suggest one of the Star Wars films, but I’m not sure we could agree on one.”

“If we’re not going to watch the best one, aka Empire—”

“You mean Return of the Jedi,” Henry interjects.

“—I guess that leaves the next best.”

“So, Rogue One?”

Alex grins. “Ok, maybe we can be friends, after all.”

He’s absolutely not letting himself think about the warmth that grows in his chest when Henry laughs.

~~~~~

Alex discovers that there’s a room in Kensington that’s pretty much as tricked out as you can get without being in a movie theater—“There’s an actual theater in Buckingham,” Henry tells him, “but Dad had this put in for family film nights”—with a massive screen and a killer sound system. They eat their curry out of take-out containers on a surprisingly comfortable, normal couch as the movie plays, keeping up a running commentary between them that ranges from Star Wars lore to the cast (“Come on, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t follow Diego Luna anywhere. Look at him!” Alex insists, which garners him a strange look from Henry) to random things entirely unconnected to the movie.

Turns out Henry is actually really funny, which is a fucking shock and kind of annoying except for how he leaves Alex in stitches several times. It’s absurdly easy between them in a way that it shouldn’t be, and Alex can’t remember the last time he had this much fun just hanging out with someone. And it’s Henry. What is his life, even.

“I can’t believe you like this one,” Alex says as they watch Jyn and Cassian embrace desperately on the beach. “It’s pretty much the opposite of a happy ending. For the main characters, at least.”

Henry hums, tipping his head slightly. “They give up everything in the service of a cause bigger than themselves, and they succeed. There’s something beautiful about that.”

“God, you are a sap,” Alex teases, bumping his shoulder up against Henry’s. Somehow they’ve managed to migrate closer on the couch over the course of the movie, until they’re practically touching.

“And why do you like it, then?” Henry counters. “The action and spies and intrigue?”

“Not only that,” Alex says. “But there’s a reason I’m a big Bond fan.”

A smile flickers across Henry’s face that’s a little melancholy but mostly contented. “I suppose that makes sense given what I know of your movie tastes now.”

“Also, your dad was a total babe.”

Henry’s eyes go wide as he chokes on a laugh. “I beg you to not.”

They lapse into silence as the final scenes as the credits start to roll. The movie is over and it’s getting late, but all Alex can think of is that he really doesn’t want the night to end yet. Which is crazy. Twenty-four hours ago Alex was actively cursing this man’s name, and now he seemingly can’t get enough of spending time with him. It doesn’t make any sense, but somehow it does; it’s the same feeling that he was chasing all those years ago in Rio, the one that pushed him to go up an introduce himself at exactly the wrong time, the one that made the hurt of that encounter linger for so long in his psyche.

“Hey, uh,” he says eventually, turning slightly to look at Henry, “thanks for suggesting this. It was fun.”

“I hope it made up for being stuck in London longer than you wanted,” Henry replies, his voice low and soft.

“Definitely.”

Henry smiles, a warm and pleased one that stretches his lips and crinkles the corners of his eyes, and Alex feels like he’s being pulled in by the magnetism of it. He wants to get closer, despite how close they’re already sitting. His fingers twitch with the urge to touch—the soft blond hair falling over Henry’s forehead, the sharp cut of his cheekbones, the fullness of his lips. He’s always known Henry was objectively good-looking, but Jesus, where does he get off being so pretty? It’s annoying, really.

Alex isn’t trying to make things weird, but he also can’t quite help the way his eyes are drawn inexorably down to those plush lips, still curved in a gentle smile. Who even has lips like that, does he get fillers or something, because they can’t be real, except they look very, very real, Alex hasn’t even ever kissed any girls with lips that nice, that look that soft—

Something short circuits in Alex’s brain and he just— has to know. How soft they really are. Before he even knows what he’s doing, he’s leaning in and pressing his lips to Henry’s, which are, as it turns out, extremely soft. It only lasts for a second before his brain comes back online and he realizes Henry’s frozen stiff, which is fair, because Alex has no fucking clue what he’s doing. He hasn’t kissed a boy since Liam and this was not the fucking boy to just kiss out of nowhere. He’s gonna get, like, locked in the Tower of London or something.

He wrenches away as quickly as he leaned in, meeting Henry’s wide, stunned eyes (—still so so blue, how can they be that blue—), his lips slightly parted and just a little damp from Alex’s.

“Shit,” Alex breathes in a rush. “Fucking shit— I don’t know why I did that, I’m so sorry, Henry, I didn’t mean anything by it—”

“Alex,” Henry murmurs, but Alex is too far gone in his spiral at this point.

“—I promise, it was just— I mean, I’m not even—”

“Alex.”

Alex stops in the middle of a word, his mouth hanging open. Henry’s got some kind of strange look on his face that he can’t parse at all.

“Did it really not mean anything?” he asks slowly.

The thing is, Alex has no idea what it means. Absolutely none. Something inside him—something he doesn’t really understand—wanted to do it, but like, just as an objective experiment. Except that part of him wants to do it again, even though he already got his answer. Really wants Henry to kiss him back. Which is making him feel a little insane.

Alex closes his mouth, licks his lips, and swallows hard.

“That depends,” he says cautiously, “on what you want it to mean.”

For some reason, that makes Henry growl in frustration and cast his eyes to the ceiling. Then he groans, “Christ, Alex, you’re so—”, grabs Alex’s face between both hands, and kisses him soundly.

Alex’s insides go positively molten. Henry’s hands are gripping his jaw, and in his hair, and Alex can’t help but press closer. His own hands find Henry’s narrow waist, reveling in the dip of it, the heat of his body scorching through the thin fabric of his shirt, and the only thing currently occupying Alex’s mind is a desperate urge to feel bare skin under his palms. That is, until Henry slides his tongue along Alex’s lower lip, sucks it into his mouth and tugs on it with his teeth, and Alex stops thinking altogether.

Their positions are a little awkward, twisted toward each other on the couch as they are, and Alex isn’t sure if he pulls or Henry pushes—or maybe both—but a moment later Henry is unfolding his long legs and shifting to straddle Alex’s lap, which is both incredible and incredibly overwhelming. Especially when Henry’s hips rock forward and Alex can feel his growing arousal pressing into the rapidly tightening region of Alex’s pants.

Jesus, this is— it’s— it’s a lot, but the very last thing Alex wants to happen is for it to stop.

He absolutely does not whimper when Henry pulls back, sending Alex unconsciously chasing after his lips. Fortunately, Henry doesn’t go far. He presses their foreheads together, breathing raggedly into the space between them as his thumb swipes across Alex’s cheek.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Henry breathes, and yeah, Alex had no fucking clue.

His mind is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and he has no idea what to say to that besides: “Fuck.”

Henry chuckles softly, nudging their noses together. “Indeed.” He presses a soft kiss to Alex’s lips, then another to the corner of his mouth and one to the edge of his jaw. “Do you want to… go somewhere we won’t be interrupted?” he murmurs into Alex’s ear, and his warm breath combined with the words makes Alex tremble under him.

Alex swallows hard as his hands tighten on Henry’s hips, but he hesitates a moment too long because then Henry is actually pulling back, a concerned expression creasing his brow.

“Which is not to say— we don’t have to do anything more if you don’t want— I just thought—”

“I want to,” Alex blurts, surprising even himself. He’s not entirely sure what more means to Henry, but he knows he wants it. Jesus, does he want. “Yes. Fuck. Let’s do that.”

Henry grins, wide and nearly blinding in its brilliance, and Alex thinks he would do just about anything to see that smile on his face always.

They clamber off the couch, adjusting themselves with shared, knowing giggles, then Henry grabs his hand and tugs Alex through formal, stuffy corridors lined with portraits and antiques, which just adds a certain something to the absurdity of the whole situation. Somehow it’s not a surprise that Henry’s apartments are just as impersonal and opulent as the rest of the palace, full of hideous floral wallpaper and baroque furniture. Before, he’d have put that on Henry himself, but now it feels wrong despite the fact that Alex still barely knows him. It feels like he knows enough. Henry eats curry on the couch and cracks crude jokes and sniffles at the tragic endings of Star Wars movies (yes, Alex noticed). Henry is warm and soft and feels like he belongs in cozy, simple rooms full of old books and tea and cardigans.

Alex’s musings are cut off when Henry pulls him close again at the foot of the hideous gilt monstrosity that is his bed, wrapping his arms around Alex’s waist and tugging him into a lingering kiss. It’s softer than before, delicate and sweet, exactly like Alex would imagine Prince Charming would kiss. From this angle Alex has to tip his head up to kiss him, which is definitely not something he ever thought would do it for him, and yet. Henry’s evening stubble scratches against his chin, and broad hands grip onto his hips and pull him against the hard, flat planes of Henry’s chest, all of it constantly reminding him of the unmistakable masculinity of the person he’s currently making out with.

Alex thinks, distantly, that he should probably be freaking out about this a bit more, but it’s too easy to give himself over it in the moment. He can freak out about what whatever the fuck it means later.

Henry’s hands move to the front of Alex’s shirt, and his nimble fingers make short work of the buttons before pushing it backwards off Alex’s shoulders. His fingers leave trails of fire where they linger against Alex’s bare skin, and even just this has Alex moaning into the kiss, desperate for more. He tugs at Henry’s shirt, yanking the tails out of his pants and nearly tearing the buttons open in his haste, which makes Henry laugh at him, the bastard.

“Eager, are we?” Henry teases, and Alex bites the grin right off his face.

“Shut all the way up,” he huffs before sinking his teeth into the absolutely irresistible collarbone he’s just uncovered.

Henry sucks in a gratifying breath at that, his hands tightening on Alex’s waist, and then he’s manhandling Alex back onto the mattress, which has no business being as hot as it is. Alex kicks off his shoes before scrabbling backwards so that he’s lying against the pillows, his heart racing as Henry crawls up over him with a nearly predatory grin on his face. The way his body fully blankets Alex’s is overwhelming in the best way, making every part of Alex ache with the need to somehow be closer, even as Henry presses the their bodies together from knee to chest and captures Alex’s lips in another deep, probing kiss.

They kiss and kiss until Alex’s lips are almost numb from it, their hands roving over heated skin and through thoroughly mussed hair. Henry’s hips roll slowly against him, almost a question, and Alex groans when he feels the hardness of Henry’s cock pushing against his hip. His own is straining against the front of his trousers, and his breath shudders in his chest when he imagines what it would feel like to have Henry’s hands wrapped around him.

But—

“Hey, uh,” he breathes as Henry’s mouth moves to his neck, and he’s nearly driven to distraction by the feeling of Henry’s teeth scraping lightly over his pulse point, but he wants to get this out, “I’ve never actually—” His voice fails, and Henry pulls back just enough to look him in the eye. Alex swallows. “Done this. With a guy. I mean, kinda, but not really—” He lets out a frustrated huff. “It’s a long story.”

Henry stares at him so intensely and earnestly that Alex feels flayed open by it, like Henry can see all the parts of him that Alex himself didn’t know were there. “We can just do this,” he says as he pushes a curl back from Alex’s forehead. “The last thing I want is to push you into something you’re not comfortable with.”

It’s completely reasonable not to rush things, but Alex thinks if he leaves London without seeing Henry naked he might fucking expire.

“Did I not already fucking say I wanted it?” he retorts, a little testily. Better that than admitting how desperate he really is.

“Well, to be fair, we didn’t exactly specify—”

“I want you naked,” Alex breathes in a rush. “I want your hands on me. Your mouth, if— if that’s something you want.”

Henry’s gaze goes dark and hot, and he actually licks his lips. Alex’s dick twitches in his pants. Jesus Christ.

Henry dips back down to kiss his neck, but a moment later he answers. “That,” he says, pressing it into Alex’s skin as he kisses a path down his chest, “is something I very much want.”

Then Henry’s hands are at his waistband, making short work of his belt and peeling off his underwear and pants in one go, and everything goes very, very hazy after that in the absolute best possible way.

~~~~~

The room is quiet after they subside, after every ounce of pleasure has been wrung from their bodies, after shouted names ease into murmured endearments.

“I should go,” Alex eventually whispers into the stillness, because he should. It would be better if he spent the night in his own rooms. Safer.

He doesn’t want to, though. He doesn’t want to be alone with his thoughts right now, doesn’t want to give his brain the space to run wild with this. That’s what will happen if he goes. He’ll fall into a research spiral on google, and text Nora even though it’s too late, and quietly freak out about everything that’s happened tonight. Here, though, Henry’s got an arm thrown over his waist, and it’s not much, but the weight of it soothes something within him. Keeps him grounded.

Maybe it’s just Henry that settles him. He doesn’t want to think too hard about that.

“You could stay,” Henry murmurs back. He leans in, presses a kiss to the outside of Alex’s shoulder. “No one will notice. Tomorrow’s Sunday. The staff come in late.”

This is a terrible idea. This can’t be… anything, really, given who they are. Alex doesn’t even know what he wants it to be, but he knows that.

“You sure?” Alex asks anyway.

“Stay,” Henry repeats.

So Alex stays.

~~~~~

The bed Alex wakes up in is unfamiliar, which is hardly surprising given his travel schedule lately. What is unexpected is that he’s naked, and there’s a warm, naked body pressed against his back, and abruptly all of what he got up to the previous night comes slamming back into vivid clarity.

He slept with the fucking prince. Henry. His nemesis, except not actually, apparently, and oh yes, definitely also a dude. Alex sucked his dick and most definitely enjoyed the experience, so that’s a whole new thing. The freakout about his sexuality that he shoved to the back of his mind last night rockets to the forefront now, and he can feel his breath stutter in his chest.

Except then Henry’s arm tightens around him and he presses a sleepy kiss to the back of Alex’s shoulder, and the tightness in his chest unclenches somewhat. Not all the way, but enough.

He fumbles for his watch, then jolts up to sitting with a new fear once he sees the time. Jesus Christ, Cash or Amy is going to show up at his bedroom any minute now to pick him up so they can leave, and Alex isn’t fucking there. This is a disaster.

Henry grumbles at being disrupted, sleepily rubbing at his eyes in a way that’s definitely not adorable at all. “Time is it?” he mumbles through a yawn.

“Late,” Alex huffs, briefly getting tangled in the sheets and nearly falling out of the bed in his haste to find his clothing.

He’s halfway into his pants when there’s a knock at Henry’s bedroom door, and he almost falls on his face again. That seems to wake Henry up a bit more, and he finally sits up, his hair standing up in all directions and his eyes gone wide.

“Yes?” Henry calls out.

“The Secret Service seem to have misplaced their charge,” comes Shaan’s voice through the door, and Alex would very much like to die right now. Henry stumbles out of bed, throwing on a robe, then opens the door just enough so that Alex isn’t visible. “I told them I would inquire with you to see if you had any idea of Mr. Claremont-Diaz’s whereabouts.”

There’s something very knowing in Shaan’s tone, like he’s perfectly aware of where Alex spent the night and furthermore none of this is exactly a surprise to him, and Alex only barely manages to hold back the extensive collection of curses crowding at the tip of his tongue. What the actual fuck.

“Ah,” Henry says. His cheeks are bright pink. “Just a moment, I’m sure I can help you locate him.”

“I’m not sure I’ve properly conveyed how agitated they are, sir.”

“Tell them I’m ok,” Alex sighs begrudgingly, stepping into view now that his shirt and pants are on. It’s not like he’s kidding anyone; he’s still barefoot in Henry’s bedroom and the bed that two people clearly slept in is fully visible from where Shaan is standing. “I just—”

Shaan holds up a hand. “Believe me when I say that you do not need to finish that sentence. I will deliver the message, but”—he pauses, glancing between them—“you probably shouldn’t linger.”

He pulls the door closed behind him as he goes and, despite the warning, Alex stands there for a minute, rooted in place and staring at the floor. Maybe Shaan doesn’t want an explanation, but the Secret Service certainly will. Fuck.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Henry says quietly, suddenly close beside him. Alex hadn’t heard him approach. He still looks so soft and sleep-rumpled, and something tugs at Alex’s chest that absolutely should not be tugging. “I shouldn’t have talked you into staying here.”

Alex huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “I didn’t take much convincing,” he says. “I shoulda just set a fucking alarm.”

“Probably,” Henry agrees, his lips tipping into a wry smile that fades into a look of concern. “Are you… ok?”

“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” he answers, probably a little too quickly. Henry just stares at him in that way that makes Alex feel entirely too seen. “Probably gonna get chewed out for disappearing, but it wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That’s not exactly what I was talking about.”

Alex swallows. “I’m fine.” He offers Henry a little smile. “This was fun.”

“It certainly was,” Henry agrees carefully.

“Where’s your phone? I’ll give you my number, it’ll be easier to plan joint appearances or whatever,” Alex says in a blatant attempt to divert from a discussion about what happened or what this makes them. He’s got to figure his own shit out first. He doesn’t need Henry to know that he’s already wondering when he can arrange his schedule to see him again.

Henry gives him a look, but he fetches his phone and hands it over to Alex with a blank contact page open. Alex types in his number and hands it back.

“I’ll be disappointed if you only use that for booty calls,” he jokes.

Henry sputters out a laugh. “Noted.”

He’s endearingly pink-cheeked and smiling, and Alex doesn’t think before he takes the last step that puts him in Henry’s personal space, grabs the fronts of Henry’s robe, and pulls him into a kiss.

If he’d had any lingering doubts about the previous night, about whether what he’d felt was real or not, this thoroughly dispels them. The press of Henry’s lips to his, the way their mouths slot together as easily as if they’ve been doing this for years, the zip of electricity that fizzles under his skin and spreads out to tingle in the tips of his fingers and toes… Alex has never been kissed like this, has never felt like this being kissed, and it’s exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Like he’s falling.

Oh. Fuck.