#armitage lights guy hux

[noiriarti]

The Arrangement: Armitage Hux x Reader (College AU) Ch. 4

Summary: A cuddle-buddies-to-lovers college AU.

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, [Ch. 4], Ch. 5, Ch. 6

Chapter 4: Sugar

You tried to make a habit of not dating your friends. It always made things messy. When you had first met Armitage, you were a little bit nervous around your weirdly hot stranger of a roommate, but Gwen assured you that he was good people. You'd met Gwen freshman year, in your Calc III class, and she was terrifying. She was absorbing the material at a pace even you couldn't match, but she was unfailingly helpful when you didn't understand something. She was a history major--a history major--taking the hardest freshman math course, just because she wanted to see if she could. Your study sessions turned into gossip sessions, and you found yourself becoming fast friends with her, even though she could be hard-headed and prickly sometimes. It was part of the charm.

Then, you met Kylo, her water-polo-playing roommate, who she had lunch with most days. You would have thought Kylo was hot, and, objectively, he was, but it was never really like that between the two of you. He wasn't your type, anyway, but he had a ton of good stories, and all the best party invites. There was no one you'd rather get drunk at a party with, or play Smash Bros with. He was the bench warmer for the university water polo team, but he soon became left wing. By sophomore year, he was point. Junior year, he was center, and captain of the team at an astonishingly young age. Based on how the year was going, they'd probably see their first championship victory before spring.

During freshman spring, Gwen invited you to come cheer with her at the first game that Kylo would be playing. You dragged yourself, distressingly early, to the athletic center's pool, where you found Gwen at the top of the stands, reading over her latest piece for the college newspaper. She would make editor the next semester, and both of you knew it. Sitting next to her was one of the most handsome men you had seen. His strong jaw and high cheekbones framed his features. Full, sweet lips and a strong browbone that hid two intense green eyes. You had the sudden urge to run your fingers through his light red hair. The bangs swept over his forehead were probably so soft. He was lean, but cut an imposing figure, even when sitting down. You bet if he stood up and stretched out, he'd be almost as tall as Kylo. The stranger was wearing a button-up and cardigan, a crazy choice in the muggy pool.

"This is Armitage, our third roommate," Gwen said, and Armitage looked up at you with a tiny wisp of a smile, which only made him more attractive. God, those dimples. He said it was nice to meet you with a lilting accent, and your mouth was suddenly full of cotton. Great. You had the hots for your friend's roommate. How cliche could you get?

During the game, you were supposed to be drooling over the guys in speedos by the pool, but you kept finding your eyes drifting toward Armitage. Little did you know, he was doing the same thing. He was alternating between watching the game intently and reading the next chapter of his textbook, some boring tome on chemistry, sneaking glances at you where he could. Gwen noticed, and rolled her eyes. 

Eventually, you became acquaintances. You found him to be bookish, driven, and whip-smart, though he was awkward as all get-out. He started joining you on library trips with Gwen, and became a fixture at your lunches. Over time, the fact that he was staggeringly hot started making you less and less nervous, and you two finally relaxed around one another. You found that the thing you most appreciated about him was his reliability. If you invited him somewhere, he'd be there right on time. He'd bring snacks to the games, without fail. Even late at night, he would never leave you alone in the library. You concluded that he'd make some girl very happy one day. (You did not, of course, give any mental energy to the thorny feeling that hit you at idea of him dating someone else.)

It didn't surprise you when Gwen asked if you wanted to become their roommate, and so you accepted. You'd secretly been hoping for it. It wasn't long from then that you began your arrangement with Armitage. Honestly, it started out with the simple desire for touch. Nothing more. But, over time, when you got to know him, you couldn't deny that if he asked you out, you'd say yes in a heartbeat. You trusted him with your full heart, whispering about your day and what you were nervous about. If you texted him asking for something, he'd unfailingly deliver. He was driven, but so hard on himself. You got the sense that he didn't understand how incredible he really was. Late at night, when his face relaxed and he slipped off to sleep, you felt a magnetic pull to kiss him on the cheek or forehead.

It was platonic. Really.

You were almost caught one time. Gwen was up unusually late, and saw you walking down the hall to his room, and asked what you were doing. You froze, babbled out something about leaving the Lysol in the guys' bathroom, and dashed off to find it. Reliable old Armitage, of course, had Lysol stocked in his bathroom. When you retreated to your room after pretending to clean your bathroom for 20 minutes, you texted Armitage to apologize and explain. It was too close for comfort. What would Gwen think about you spending so much time with her friend? Would she judge you? Those thoughts were promptly erased when you entered his room, and crawled into his bed as usual. 

A couple weeks later, Gwen dropped a bomb on you both.

"I know someone who has a crush on you." There was a moment of silence, and then chaos erupted. Kylo started cackling and Armitage choked on his food. You immediately began interrogating Gwen--who, what, when, where, why. The questions distracted you from the light of hope in your chest that she meant Armitage.

"I heard this guy sitting in front of me in my gened, who I sometimes get notes from, and his friend was telling him he should ask this girl out. This girl he liked. And then he said your name. But I didn't realize it was you, until you said something about your friend Dopheld, which is a weird enough name that there's probably not two of them. So, congratulations, Dopheld Mitaka has a crush on you," Gwen said smugly. It wasn't an invention, she genuinely overheard them talking about you, and was planning on telling you sometime soon. The opportunity with Armitage was too good to miss, though. Maybe it would kick him into actually *doing something* about his feelings, which were obvious to everyone but the two of you.

You were, needless to say, shocked. Dopheld was sweet, smart, and kind. Always nice in class, and not bad to look at either. Then why did you feel sad?

"Dopheld? He's nice, I guess," you conceded, a bit absent. Gwen rolled her eyes and changed the topic, certain that her meddling had achieved its goal.

Armitage, meanwhile, was having some sort of aneurysm. Of course someone liked you. You were great. And, frankly, objectively hot. The more he had gotten to know you, the more he realized how good of a girlfriend you would be. To someone else, that is. He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach, rushing all the air out of him. There wasn't any oxygen left in the room for him to breathe. The image of you holding someone's hand, or, oh God, cuddling with them the way you did with him made his throat burn. Rage gripped him. No. That was not possible. The napkin he was holding in his left hand was crushed by his fist, and he was white-knuckling the table with his right. Absolutely fucking not.

That evening, you were on his bed again, his head in your lap as he did flashcards. You had one hand buried in his hair while you watched Pride and Prejudice as code ran in the background. You weren't really paying attention to the movie, God knows you had seen it enough times before to recite it word for word. His hair turned out to be just as soft as you had imagined it would be. Millie was cuddled up by his stomach, purring contentedly. He didn't remember the last time he was this happy. It made the MCAT bearable. Your hands running through his hair sent pleasant shivers down his spine as he clicked C. Tryptophan. The last card in his pack. The analytics were about to display, and he was dreading the low score he probably got. He was averaging 92%, and was terribly upset about it. He winced to avoid his score, trying to anticipate the bitter sting of failure.

100%. His first perfect score. You both celebrated with a Lofthouse cookie in the kitchen, quietly opening the package and giggling to yourselves as you got frosting and crumbs everywhere.

Sugar-addled, in the kitchen, he finally admitted it to himself. He had feelings for you.

He found himself surprisingly okay with it.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

AN: i am considering making the final chapter a bonus nsfw chap, so lmk if you'd enjoy that, or if you'd prefer it be kept sfw! inbox open :)

[justagirlwholikesadam]

An Affair

Summary: He knew it was wrong.You knew it was wrong too.That didn't stop you guys from being with each other. He wished things were different. He wished he would have met you first and he wished you would have met him first as well.

Charlie Barber x Reader Slight Armitage Hux x Reader

Charlie stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants as he stared ahead. People sitting in the subway looked at Charlie in the corner of their eyes. Honestly they were a bit scared at the tall man standing in the subway staring into space with a pout. His eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

He felt a warm sensation fill his chest as he remembered you.

He could hear your laughter and your voice in the subway. Three days ago Charlie and you took the same train and were talking about a few shows he was thinking of directing.

He stood in front of you as you leaned against the closed doors of the subway. Both of you ignored the people around you that night. Charlie could taste the wine from your mouth as he kissed you deeply. He moaned softly when you pulled away. Your fingers ran through his dark locks as you kissed him again. He had invited you to a nice Italian restaurant uptown after work. Afterwards you walked with him to Skywalker's Bar. He stood near you and he held you tightly so you wouldn't fall over whenever the subway would hit a bump or make a stop.

The tip of his ears turned pink when he felt you lean against him. Your face pressed against his chest as you wrapped your arms around his waist. He smiled and kissed the top of your head. He was happy, you gave him physical contact. Something he was missing, something he was craving for so long.

His memory faded away as the doors opened and new passengers walked inside. Charlie heavily sighs as the train begins to move again. He stared out of the subway window. The skies were dark and the grey clouds were covering over the city matching his mood. He looked away when the subway went underground. He stared at his own reflection for a moment before staring on top of the half rip ads that were marked with graffiti.

He's so tired. So angry.

Charlie ignored the people around him as they passed by him to get off at their stop.

He came home that afternoon after working late in the theater. He was tired and just wanted to sleep on the couch. That's where he was currently sleeping. It's been months since Charlie and Nicole were having problems. Charlie slept on the couch, he wanted Nicole to be more comfortable so he gave her the bed. He made it home and was about to go to the living room when Nicole started to scream her head off at him. It's always the same thing. Apparently he never made time for her or Henry. He stared at her for a moment before screaming at her.

"You left us for two fucking months to go to LA for a show" He yelled pointing a finger at her.

"How dare you say that I don't have any time for my own son." Charlie yelled. It was true, Nicole left for a short tv show months ago. She left Henry with Charlie all by themselves.

The sudden halt of the train caused Charlie to get out of his haze and look out the window.

He was here.

He quickly made his way out of the subway to the staircase that led up to the streets of upstate New York. He walked down the streets as he stuffed his hands in his coat pocket. He sighed happily as he found his lighter. Quickly going to the corner store to buy a pack of Marlboro. He lit a cigarette up at the red light, he inhaled the nicotine deep into his lungs.

"Fuck off." Nicole yelled at him pushing him out of the apartment.

That's when he decided to go to you. He knew he should have called you first. If you were busy then he would just go to a bar and drink his sorrows away but you were the first person he thought of.

You were always the first person he thought of.

Charlie across the street and stopped when he saw you. He threw the bud of his cigarette to the ground and looked ahead at you. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of you.

He knew you had just come out of work. You wore a pair of black jeans with black chelsea boots. The green pea coat he bought you for your birthday was wrapped around you. He saw you raising your laptop bag up to your right shoulder as you opened your mailbox in front of the building complex. He softly frowned at the sight of your wedding ring.

He knew it was wrong.

You knew it was wrong too.

That didn't stop you guys from being with each other. He wished things were different. He wished he would have met you first and he wished you would have met him first as well.

He watched you go inside the building and leaned against the light post on the street corner. He took his phone out of his back pocket and rang you up.

He lit another cigarette as the phone rang.

"Hello, love." He smiled as he heard your voice.

"Hey, hun. How are you?" He said softly, taking a drag.

"I'm alright. Just came home from work. I'm a bit tired. What about you, love? Working late again?" You asked him. He couldn't help but enjoy the warmth feeling fluttering in his stomach as you asked him about his day and his well-being.

"I'm ok." Charlie answered softly. He mentally groaned at his weak response.

"You sure, love?" You asked him. Charlie bit his tongue at your question. He threw his cigarette to the ground and cleared his throat

'You sure, love?' Your question repeats in his mind.

My god, how much he loved that. He loved when you called him love, or baby. Or any nickname you gave him.

"Charlie?" You called out. Charlie shook his head at himself. He gets so into his head when thinking about you.

"Yeah. I just got into a fight with Nicole and she threw me out." He told you.

"Do you want to spend the night? Where's Henry?" You asked him.

"He's spending the weekend with his friend, sleepover." Charlie answered you.

"That's good, love. Do have a place to stay or you want to come.."

"I miss you." Charlie blurted out as he held the phone tightly over his ear. He shivered when the cold breeze ran over him.

He heard you laugh softly and replied. "I miss you too. Armitage isn't here. He left today to Ireland for work."

"That's good." Charlie said with a smile. Your husband wasn't here.

"Where are you?" You asked him. Charlie looked down at his feet at your question.

"Outside." He said shyly. He heard your door open through the phone and the call ended. He looked ahead again and saw you standing outside near the door.

"Hey." You said smiling as you pulled the sleeves of your sweater to your hands, trying your best to stay warm in the cold weather. Charlie gave you a smile and jogged up the steps. He slipped the phone in his coat pocket.

He happily welcomed your hug you gave him. He instantly wraps his arms around you.

"Let's get inside." He said trying to block you from the cold. You nodded and grabbed his hand pulling him inside to your apartment.

"Beer?" You asked him as you walked into the kitchen. You heard him shut the front door of your apartment.

"Yeah." He called out as he took his coat off and hung it next to yours on the coat rack. He looked around and saw your apartment. He didn't know how you made your apartment so homey.

Meow

Charlie looked down and saw Millicent. He smiled at the cat as he bent down. The fluffy orange cat happily purred against Charlie's hand.

"Hey, Mill." Charlie whispered while scratching behind the cat's ear.

"I swear to god, you love that cat more than me." Charlie looked up and saw you leaning against the door frame of the living room with a beer in your hand.

"Definitely not true." Charlie told you as he stood up and walked towards you. He took the beer bottle from your hands and placed it on the coffee table by the couch.

He looked down at you as he walked closer to you.

"Are you ok?" You asked him softly as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

Charlie hummed as he nodded at you. He slips his arms over your shoulders tugging you closer to him.

"Don't lie to me." You told him staring into his warm brown eyes.

You knew when he was lying to you. His eyes were bloodshot, he smelled like cigarettes. Charlie only smoked when he was horribly stressed.

"I'm just tired." He said softly as you rubbed his back. Charlie brought his left hand to your cheek.

"I'm tired. I just wish we could..." He said but stopped when he saw his wedding ring. You knew what he saw. You felt the cold metal band of his ring against your cheek. You pulled away from him and walked to the kitchen.

Charlie frowned when you walked away from him.

"Are you hungry? I'm sure you didn't eat anything today." You called out from the kitchen. You took the cold cuts from the fridge and placed them on the kitchen counter. You stopped and braced yourself over the counter. You looked down at your hands and saw your own wedding ring.

You always ignored the guilt every time you were with Charlie.

'How can something be so wrong, feel so good?!.' You thought to yourself.

Truth be told you love Armitage, you did but you didn't love him like you love with Charlie.

You were young when you married Armitage. You were in love with how much of a gentleman he was, his accent. You adored his red hair and his interests in cats but when he started working for a new company, The First Order. You started seeing less and less of him. His temper was now violent. If there was any bad news at work, a book or a cup would be thrown across the room.

He never hurt you but he yelled at you and you were never the one to stand quiet. You would never let a man speak that way to you. That's when the fights would start. Screaming matches. Objects were being thrown. Doors being slam shut. When the fights would be too much, you would leave him during his rant and go on a walk. You knew you had to do that because if you didn't you were going to jail for killing the ginger man.

You remember the night you met Charlie. It was one of the nights that the fight you had with Armitage was just nasty. Names were being called and the fight ended with you slapping him across the face. You ran to the train station with tears rolling down your face. You needed to get out.

When you got off the subway you were near where you worked. You knew Armitage would never get into the subway due to it being in his word 'unsanitary' so you were safe. You walked down the streets of New York and made your way to the nearest bar.

Skywalker's Bar was written in red font on the banner.

You enter the bar with a frown. You never see a bar so empty on a Friday night. The smell of cigarettes and stale beers filled the bar. Not really wanting to walk more, you decided to stay. You sat on the nearest bar stool.

In the corner of your eye you saw a tall man sitting four bar stool away. You looked ahead and saw your reflection in the mirror that they had hanging in front of the bar, quickly fixing yourself up. You looked away when the bartender made his way towards you.

"What can I get you, darling?" The bartender said with a flirty smile.

You ignored the flirty smile and told him. "Double whiskey. On the rocks."

You noticed the bartender froze at your request. He looked surprised at your choice of drink. You also noticed the tall man glance at you but quickly looked away when you made eye contact with him.

"Coming right up, darling." The bartender told you with a wink.

You looked away and grabbed your phone from your bag. You looked at your phone and saw Armitage had been blowing up your phone non stop.

'I'm sorry. Ok.'

'Pick up the phone. Y/n! Pick up the phone.'

'I'm sorry for what I said. Just come back home.'

You rolled your eyes at his messages. You shut your phone when the bartender brought your drink and left to attend the new people that just came in.

You took a gulp from the drink and let out a small wince as you felt the whiskey burn your throat.

"Rough night?" You heard a deep voice ask.

You looked at your right and saw the tall man looking at you. He was oddly attractive. He had dark locks that stopped at his broad shoulders. His lips were a nice color of pink and large. His nose stood out proud. He wore a dark suit with a white button down shirt. You noticed the top buttons on his white shirt were undone showing his pale skin. You noticed his eyes were a lovely shade of honey. You also noticed his eyes were bloodshot as well.

'Has he been crying too?' You thought to yourself.

"Is it that obvious?" You said as you took another gulp from your glass. The man chuckled as he bought his drink up to his mouth.

He leaned back in his seat and looked at you again.

"Charlie."

You nodded and answered "Y/n."

"Rough night too?" You asked him as you held your glass in your hands.

He took a deep breath loudly and gave you a nod.

"Yeah, you can say that." Charlie said as he looked away from you.

He didn't know what caused him to get this much confidence to talk to you. The moment he saw you entering the bar, he saw you from the mirror ahead of him. You looked beautiful. He saw how flushed your cheeks looked. He definitely noticed your eyes too. He knew you were crying. He's been crying alot too. He saw you take off your jacket and placed it in the stool. His eyes rank up and down your body and quickly looked away as he felt something stirred in his pants.

He saw the curly haired bartender flirting with you and giving you googling eyes but you completely ignored him. He wasn't going to say anything to you until he heard your drink order. Never in his life had he heard a girl order such a drink. He looked over at you and saw you were being serious. He looked away when you glanced at him.

He heard the bartender call you darling and walk away to make your drink. In the corner of his eyes he saw when you grabbed your phone from your shoulder bag. He heard you sighed as you scrolled through your phone.

He took a sip from drink and looked towards you.

'Fuck it' he thought to himself.

He wanted to make conversation with you. He honestly never made small talk with any woman since he was married. He always works at the theater and when he was at the bar, it was always with his coworkers and Nicole. This was the first time in years he was at a bar by himself.

When he asked you 'Rough Night?' He wanted to smack himself in the face for such a short sentence. He was surprised when you answered back at him.

Just like that the conversation started between you and him. Around midnight and five whisky doubles both of you sat next to each other and talked. He told you that he was a theater director and lived just a few blocks away from the bar. Both of you found it easy to talk amongst each other. When the topic came up about relationship. Both of you stood quiet because both of you saw each other's wedding ring. You saw his silver band on his left hand just as he saw yours. He couldn't stop staring at it every time you grabbed the glass cup with your left hand.

"Where's your husband?" Charlie asked you quietly after the bartender left another pair of drinks on the counter. You drowned the drink you had in your hand quickly.

"Home." You told him looking over at him as you placed the empty glass on the bar.

"Your wife?" You asked him.

"Home too." He said and took a drink.

"Kicked me out. Not the first time, she has done it." He told you as he placed the drink on the counter next to yours.

"I walked out. Not the first time as well but I slapped him for the first time ever." Charlie raised his eyebrows at you and nodded. You bit your bottom lip as you felt your cheeks blushed around. You were a bit embarrassed that you told Charlie that. You knew it was the liquor making you talk.

"Did he deserve it?" He asked you.

"Yes." You answered quickly with a sigh.

"He called me a fucking cunt." You told him as you stared down at the amber drink from the new glass you got. Charlie cleared his throat as he frowned at your words. He could see your eyes staring sadly down at your drink.

"He absolutely deserves it then." You looked over at Charlie when he spoke. You smiled at his response. He gave you a smile and you just couldn't help smile wider at the sight of his dimples.

That night was the first time you cheated on your husband as well for Charlie. He told you later that night that he almost slept with one of his coworker but he just couldn't do it. Charlie got a hotel room that night after the curly bartender yelled out last call. Both of you were extremely drunk and it happened when both of you stepped outside. You shriek as you felt the cold New York air.

"Shit!" Charlie yelled buttoning his coat as he shivered next to you. He immediately tugged you closer to him and without a thought you wrapped your arms around him. He looked down at you for a moment. His cock twitched at the sight of you licking your lips. He was staring at your lips the whole night. He was quite jealous at the whiskey that touched your lips all night. The tip of your nose was pink. Your cheeks were a bit red from the harsh cold winds. He leaned down and kissed you in front of the bar. When he pulled away, Charlie was about to apologize but you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him for another kiss. The night ended with both of you moaning and panting against each other. Charlie woke up alone the next morning, he saw a handwritten note you placed on the nightstand.

Thank you for the drinks. In the corner of the paper, he saw your number.

It was a few days later when Charlie decided to call you. The memory of you smiling and laughing filled his mind during work and on his way home. He had to admit you absolutely bewitched him. He hasn't felt this feeling in so long. You were so different, so refreshing.

He called you and asked you out for dinner. You accepted it and met him later that day. Night ended with the same hotel room.

A year has passed and honestly it's been the best. Both of you didn't say anything about feelings for a while. It was mostly both you hanging out and sleeping with each other but Charlie fell head over heels for you. Coffee dates, dinner dates, and long walks in Central park. Reading a few plays that Charlie was thinking about working with. Charlie had even gone far to introduce you to his friends at the theater but of course he told them that you were just friends. You did the same when you were invited to a dinner at work. Charlie watched you as you talked among your friends and coworkers. He watched with awed as you laughed and talked. He liked that you always got him into the conversation with your friends and coworkers. You didn't make him feel like an outcast. You never made him feel like he was doing something wrong or if he was falling short. The moment he knew that he loved you, truly loved you was when you gave him a small present. Charlie stared at the Spiderman wrapping paper in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw Henry's name on the corner of the gift.

"I remembered you told me he likes Spiderman and that his birthday is this weekend. Just a little something for him." You told him and he could see you were a bit nervous it made him smile.

Charlie told you about Henry when you first met him. He had shown you the small pictures he had in his wallet. Henry's school pictures and school trips were safely kept in his leather wallet.

"Thank you. He's gonna love it." Charlie said giving you a kiss.

One of the things Charlie didn't regret was his son. He loves his son. When he saw the gift you got for his son. His heart soared. You meet Henry later that weekend. You smiled at the boy who held his Spiderman action figure in one hand and the other he was holding a small plate of ice cream cake. Charlie told you that Henry saved you a piece and wanted to give it to you himself.

When Henry entered your apartment, he fell in love with the big, fluffy orange cat. Millicent happily rolled over on her back and let the little boy rub her belly. Charlie watched you with a smile as you kneeled down next to Henry. You looked up and saw Charlie with watery eyes.

"Have you heard anything of her?" You whispered to him when you got up.

"She called for his birthday. Two months is almost gone. She said she'll be coming back next week." Charlie said as he looked at his son then at you. You felt him grab your hand pulling you near him.

"Who's that?" Henry said, pointing at a picture hanging from the wall above the couch. Charlie looked at the picture and frowned.

You pulled away from Charlie and followed Henry who walked towards it and looked at it with wide eyes.

"That's my husband, Armitage. The picture was taken the day of our wedding." You told Henry.

Charlie listened as Henry asked you more about your husband. He was a bit jealous as he saw the pictures that Henry pointed out in the apartment. His brown eyes stared at the pictures of you with Armitage. Some were of him hugging you, others were you at a dinner with Armitage. He looked at your wedding picture and just for a second he imagined himself in Armitage place.

The day that you told Charlie that Armitage was a bit violent. He wanted to kill him and he was so upset about how so nonchalant you said. You told him while Charlie was cuddling with you, naked bodies against each other. Charlie stopped kissing your shoulder when he heard you and sat up to look at you.

You never seen Charlie so serious before. He came closer to you and asked you if Armitage had ever hit you. You shook your head and Charlie stood silent. Charlie told you that night about his parents and how his childhood was filled with the abuse of alcohol and screaming. You could imagine young Charlie Barber under his bedsheet at night covering his ears as his parents yelled in the other room. Both of you held each other close that night.

Charlie followed you to the kitchen and saw you leaning over the counter. He walked behind you and hugged you close to his chest. You instantly held his arms that rested in front of you.

"I've been thinking a lot." He told you.

"That's never a good thing." You joked trying to ease your anxiety that was caused by his words. You dreaded what was going to happen next. The first thing that popped in your head was that he wanted to end things. Maybe he got tired of you.

Charlie laughs as he tugs you closer to his chest.

"I'm thinking about divorcing Nicole."

You froze at his words. When Charlie didn't get a response from you. He turned you around to face him. He looks down at you with a worried face.

"I don't love her anymore. I haven't loved her for a year. I'm not happy with her. I'm not happy." He said softly.

You placed your hands on his chest.

"Please say something." Charlie begged.

"You should do whatever makes you happy." You tell him as he tugs on the belt hoops of your jeans. He nods and tells you.

"I want to be with you. You make me happy." You smile at him.

"I want to be with you too." You tell him truthfully.

"Divorce Armitage, Y/n. I know you don't love him. Be with me. Tell me you don't love him." Charlie tells you. You were thinking about it for months, divorcing Armitage. Charlie telling you this was the push you needed to make it happen.

"I don't love him." You said.

You nod at him. "Ok. I'll do it. We can be together."

Charlie smiles widely. "Together. I want to show you off. Bring you everywhere."

"Is that so?" You ask with a smirk.

"Yes, kitten." Charlie whispered as he leaned down to kiss you.

You grin against his lips wrapping your arms around his neck pulling him to you.

Kissing Charlie was something you never experienced. He gave so much. He kissed you like it would be his last kiss.

You giggled when Charlie picks you and places you on the kitchen counter. He pulls away from you and parts your legs so he gets in between.

"Say it." He whispers to you leaning his forehead against yours. You push his hair from his face as he holds you.

"I'm yours. All yours." His eyes lit up at your words.

Your hands find their way to his shirt. Unbutton them, wanting to feel him. He bits his bottom lip as he feels your nails run up and down his bare chest leaving light red marks. He kisses your neck as you unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants.

"Mine." You whispered as you held his hard thick cock in your hands. He groans as you jerk him off gently.

"Yours, Kitten." He said out of breath as you jerked him off. His cock was hot, you rub your thumb over the head of his cock with his precum.

"I want to do something." He tells you, making you look up at him.

He stood up straight and took a deep breath. He looks down at his hands and takes his wedding ring off. He places it on the counter next to you. You watch the look of relief wash over him.

He was free. Not physically yet, or on paper but he is emotionally and mentally free now. He was free from the guilt and drama because he was going to be with you now.

You take your hand away from him and do the same. Charlie lets out a wide smile when you drop your rings next to his. You both share a look and let out a laugh.

Both of you are free now.

He leans down to kiss you again. Both of you mumbled the future together as you continued to jerk him off. You told him how you were going to leave your husband. He told you how he would do the same with Nicole. He promised you a new life. A happy life. He carries you to the kitchen table. Quickly removing your sweater, you leaned down backwards pushing the place mat off the table. You feel Charlie's hand taking your jeans off frantically. He throws them over his shoulders and pulls you closer to him. He pushes his pants down to his ankles not even bothering to take it off.

His eyes stare at your breasts, the lacy bra holding your breasts up together. He couldn't help out but lean down to pop one of them out. He latches on to your breasts. He groans against your chest, he pulls your breasts out of the bra. He moans against your hardened nipples when he pushes your panties to the side and feels your wet cunt.

"So wet, kitten." He mumbles against your nipples then kisses your cheeks to your neck. You moan as he bites your neck softly as he thrust two fingers into you.

"Kitten, I need you now. Please. Please." He whines as he fucks you with his fingers.

You lean backward and spread your legs to him. His thumb circling your throbbing clit as he looked up and down at you.

"Give it to me." You tell him.

Before he can say anything you pull him down for another kiss. He grabs your thighs to pull you closer to the edge of the table. You let out a moan as you feel the head of his cock part your wet lips.

He throws his head back as he splits you in half.

"Always so fucking tight." He groans as he thrusts hard, burying himself fully inside of you.

"Always tight for me, kitten."

"Yes." You moaned at him looking up at him.

Charlie's gives you a few lazy thrust into you. He couldn't help but stare down as he watched his cock thrust into your cunt. You were so wet. You clit stood out as he fucked you. He loves how you pussy held on him as he fucks you. He loves how you were always wet for him.

"Faster baby." He hears you cry out.

Charlie doesn't give you any warning. He just started to pound into you relentlessly. He pulled you closer to him making you moan loudly. The wooden kitchen table screeched and wobbled by Charlie's hard thrusts.

"Fuck kitten!" He yells as he rams into you. You cry out as you feel his nails cutting into your hips as he holds you into place. His tights hitting the back of your legs. You gripped with one hand on the side of the table trying to hold on.

Charlie grunts as one of his hands lets go of your hip. You immediately feel his large fingers rubbing your clit as he pounded into you. You are so close to cumming, moaning as your pussy tightens around his thick cock. You look up to see Charlie looking down at you with his lips parted slightly. He's breathing heavily, his eyes were dark.

Your legs were practically shaking as he continued to pound into you. You wonder how the hell the table hasn't broken yet.

The sound of your sopping pussy and skin slapping against each other echoed throughout the kitchen. Charlie growls with a hard thrust. You can feel his balls hitting against your ass as he fucks you.

You were about to come. The feeling of his fat cock deep inside of you and his thick fingers rubbing your clit was too much, too good. Charlie moans at you loudly as he feels your pussy clenched down on his cock. Both of you didn't hear the front door open. You didn't hear the sound of Millicent's collar bell jiggling as she ran to the front door. You certainly didn't hear the footsteps coming to the kitchen.

"Y/n!"

You were looking up at Charlie and frowned when you heard a familiar scottish accent. You let out a gasp when you looked over and saw Armitage on the doorway of the kitchen. You let out a soft moan still looking at Armitage. You felt Charlie's dick ram deep inside of you. Your legs shook as you were being filled by his cum.

Charlie grunted loudly as he slammed his hand down to the table. Charlie throws his head back and pulls you closer to him by your hips.

"Kitten." He groans as he fills you up and looks down at you. His sweaty brows knitted together when he saw you were looking to the right side of the kitchen. You looked scared. He followed your graze and saw your husband.

Armitage saw the tall man between your legs then looked at you. He saw how red your cheeks were. You were almost completely naked on the table with your legs wrapped around him. Your breasts were over your bra, Armitage can see the hickeys starting to form on your breasts and neck. Armitage looked back at the man who was between your legs gripping your hips and the table. His shirt was open, pants down to his ankles.

You didn't know what to do. All you can feel and think at the moment was Charlie's hot thick cum dripping out of you when he pulled out. Charlie stood up straight and pulled you to his chest wrapping an arm around you to cover you. You can feel his chest tense up while he was catching his breath. Charlie stared hard at Armitage as he held you.

[ao3feed--reylo]

A Lightyear in your shoes

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/VxdGoqn

by Spiegatrix

A tall figure stops at the wrecked doorway of what’s left of the Tico living pod. For a moment Rose struggles to see. The air is thick with fog, smoke, and just their breaths. She squints as the stranger takes a few steps toward them, and when a tick, wooly great coat is draped around her and her sister’s little bodies, she can only grasp at it eagerly even though she can barely feel her hands anymore.

The face staring at her and Paige belongs to a man in an Imperial uniform. His features are not monstrous like Rose had imagined from the tales of the villagers. He’s a man, a common man with green eyes and a fiery red beard. She had never seen someone like him, and she just stares at him in awe and fear. There’s not an ounce of kindness in his eyes as he lifts Rose in his arms, still wrapped in his coat, and holds her firmly against his hip before offering his free, gloved hand for Paige to grab.

Words: 3586, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of The Citadel Cronicles

Fandoms: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Rose Tico, Armitage Hux, Paige Tico, Brendol Hux, Rey (Star Wars), Ben Solo, Phasma (Star Wars), Finn (Star Wars)

Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, minor Rey/Rose - Relationship, Background Reylo - Relationship

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Canonverse but all good guys are bad guys and (almost) all bad guys are good guys, First Order Rose Tico, First Order Paige Tico, Resistance Hux, Resistance Phasma, Dark!Rey, jedi!ben solo, Mention of Arranged Marriage, mention of breeding, mention of voluntary sterilization, things are pretty dark, Bisexual Rose Tico, Rose Tico Has Issues, Armitage Hux is actually kinda nice, Rough Upbringing, Daddy Issues, Smut, Heavy Angst, Hate Sex, well at least one-sided hate sex, Light Dom/sub, Soft Dom Man/Bratty Sub Woman, Praise Kink, Messy, Rose Tico needs a hug but she'll kill you if you try, GingerroseHub's Gingerrose Week 2023, no beta we die like Brendol, Minor Injuries, Blood

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/VxdGoqn

[xbittersweet-nostalgiax]

[List 5 comfort characters and tag 5 ppl]

I was tagged by @madmaryholiday

Listing five comfort characters is the easy part, but I honestly don't know enough people on here to tag...but I suppose I'll tag who I can lol

My comfort characters are:

● Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls; He's simultaneously a terrible yet tragic person, especially with the axolotl's poem about him being a liar who misses his home (also I only like triangle Bill, none of that human form or object head stuff...just love/fuck the triangle, you cowards)

● Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood; A homunculus that is somehow more human than a lot of the human characters. Aaand ngl I read a lot of fix-it fics to cope with his death...

● Armitage Hux from Star Wars; idk I'm a basic bitch...I just hate how the movies handled him. Especially his death, which is so ambiguous bc it's not even really confirmed I think? Though, it does allow some wiggle room in regards to writing fics where he survives and goes into hiding.

● Rufus Shinra from Final Fantasy VII; His part of the ff7 novels really shed some light on his personality and the character growth he underwent between Diamond Weapon attacking Shinra HQ and when we see him alive in Advent Children. Seriously, he was really put through the ringer behind the scenes and it gives context to his seemingly sudden heel-face turn in AC. (Also damn what a visual glow-up in the remake~)

● Ienzo/Zexion & Demyx from Kingdom Hearts; These two are kind of a package deal for me, especially after reading a certain fic series that may have definitely inspired the very self-indulgent CanonXOCXCanon fic I'm currently writing (admittedly tho, Demyx being a comfort character goes all the way back to when I was like 15)

I find it interesting that all my comfort characters are guys...ngl tho, I do tend to lean more towards women/feminine-presenting people in real life and men/masculine-presenting characters in fiction, and I'm sure that says something about me lol

I'll tag @ruztyryan and @heartlessfujoshi

[chromisomi]

lifebuoy, a reylo fic | ch 2 posted!

Benjamin Solo.

The cursor blinks back at Rey as she stares at the search bar. She remembers the signage just outside of Professor Hux’s office, reading Armitage Hux, Ph.D., and just below it: Benjamin Solo, Ph.D. “Here goes nothing,” she mumbles before searching his name on Google. The search comes back random, with multiple images of older men posing for headshots or Facebook profiles of younger men looking nothing like the americano enthusiast.

“Try Ben,” Finn whispers next to her, eyeing the screen intently.

They’re sitting on the living room couch, the first day of the semester done and over with. It’s evening now, with the sun setting outside the window overlooking other student apartments.

She does as he says, typing out Ben Solo and pressing enter.

“Yes!” Finn cheers.

His headshot comes to view first, lined up with photos of other men. Further down are links to profiles, but only one belongs to him – a LinkedIn page. Rey pounces on it, making sure her browser’s still in incognito mode. The same headshot from the first page comes to view, along with his name and occupation.

Ben Solo, Ph.D.

Lecturer at Coruscant University

Postdoctoral Fellow with CU Department of Communications

“So, you’re telling me,” Finn turns to her, eyes wide and lips barely suppressing a grin, “you’ve been shitting on a professor this whole time?”

“Lecturer,” Rey corrects him.

“Not just a professor,” he continues, sitting up to face her fully, “but the one rooming with yours, who no doubt is hitting on you by the way.”

“Once again, just a lecturer.”

“Not to mention that he’s also working in the communications department,” Finn’s grin grows into a shit-eating one as he shakes with contained laughter, “and you’ll no doubt have him later in your program.”

“You’re not making this any better.”

He explodes, laughing against his knees to the point of tears. “Rey…” he struggles to get a breath in, “it’s only the first day of class, how is your semester this fucked already?”

“I think you’re being a little dramatic.” She crosses her arms, “It’s not like I threw a drink at him or anything. Just laughed at the name.”

“And treated him horribly.”

“He was mean!”

Poe walks in from the kitchen with a plate of leftover pizza, “She’s right, peanut. It’s not that bad.”

“Thank you, Poe.” Rey sighs.

“I mean about the Solo guy,” he adds. “You’re pretty much doomed with Intro to Public Relations. Is this Hugs guy hot at least? Think you can… you know, for a good grade?”

“Poe.”

Finn points a finger at Rey, “If anything else happens, you better tell me first.”

Rey stands from the couch and grabs her laptop, “I will not tell you anything, because nothing will happen, got it?”

The two lovebirds smirk at each other.

She groans before stomping off to her room and shutting the door. Plugging in her earphones and blasting music, she gets ready for her evening of study. She pulls out her planner and exits out of the browsers still up on her laptop before opening her course page.

Off to the side, her phone lights up from a notification. With a quick glance, she sees it’s from Instagram.

I’ll check it later, she tells herself. Her mornings are taken up by work and her afternoons are taken up by classes. She’ll be damned if her evenings are taken up by distractions.

Rey reaches for her phone anyways.

She gained a new follower on her photography page.

User1826740.

“Okay,” Rey mutters, tossing the phone on her bed, not thinking anything of it.

Read the rest of the chapter on ao3!

[misscoppelia]

Read Chapters 1-27 on Ao3

Chapter 28: Come On-a My House

Ben hadn't slept.

Thank god Poe was driving the three of them up to Ventura because Friday stretched on into eternity and 5:00 pm came as a complete surprise. He dozed off the second they hit the freeway.

At some point he woke up to Poe and Finn's quiet chatter and a field of oranges, only to fall right back asleep with the songs on the radio wafting through his dreams. He didn’t know how long it had been when Finn began to shake his knee, but the sun was nearly set, painting the sky a million different beautiful colors.

“Almost here, bud. Might want to rub the sleep from your eyes,” Finn said with a smile.

Ben groaned, immediately stretching out his stiff limbs with a few satisfying pops. When he was alert enough to look around, he realized they were climbing up a hill that overlooked the beach. All along the side of the road were trees, almost blocking the view of the mountains and the roads behind them. Ahead was a foreboding gate of black wrought iron with a tight row of sharp-looking spikes at the top.

Ben gulped. Poe merely rolled down the window and pressed the intercom’s button.

“Who’s there,” a crackly voice answered a few moments later.

“Uh hey, it’s Ben, and Poe, and Finn.”

“Ah, come on in.”

The gate clicked and began to pull itself open.

Finn whistled. “Fancy.”

“That’s Hollywood for you,” Poe chuckled.

Ben didn’t say anything.

The sleepless night he’d just endured hadn’t been caused by indigestion or noisy neighbors, but unrelenting doubts about Rey. He hadn’t wanted a single one of them, but they came anyway, making him toss and turn until he just turned on a light to try and read instead. When finally he’d thought he was tired enough for sleep again, his mind would not stop looping back to her, back to Hux’s words, back to Snoke. There was no solution for him except walking away from it all, if only he wouldn’t leave his heart behind too.

Ben saw the house appear on the horizon like a rising sun, all red tiles and white stucco and bright purple bougainvilleas that covered the surrounding slopes. It seemed like the perfect kind of place to spend a summery weekend, if only his heart didn’t feel so clouded.

Hux and Rose appeared at the front door just as Poe pulled the car up.

“Welcome boys!” Rose grinned as they stepped out of the car.

Ben gave her a shy smile and wave. “These are my friends Finn and Poe. They’re the ones who helped me when those guys were bothering Rey on the beach. Poe, Finn, this is Rose Tico and Armitage Hux.”

“Ms. Tico, it is a real honor to meet you,” Finn said, rushing forward to take her hand. Poe sauntered over with more finesse and kissed her hand, and Ben nearly laughed at the small frown that passed over Hux’s face.

“We’ve long been big fans of yours, Ms.Tico. Since Red Peonies,” Poe told her.

Rose laughed. “That was my first movie!”

“We saw it on our first date,” Finn grinned.

The three of them shared smiles before Hux coughed. “I’m going inside. Don’t want the roast to burn. Nice to meet you.”

Rose tsked as he left. “Don’t mind Armie, he’s not the social type. Let me show you to your rooms so you can freshen up before dinner.”

Poe and Finn nodded, and soon all of them were following Rose as she led them quickly around the downstairs.

“Where’s Rey?” Ben asked once he’d seen that she wasn’t by the pool or in the living room or the kitchen.

“She’s sleeping,” Rose sighed. “Poor thing has been so busy, and after everything that happened yesterday she was too tired to even sleep.”

Ben quietly nodded in understanding. There was no doubt in his mind that Snoke’s comments had left a wound on her. The problem was that he still missed her.

The rest of the house blurred together for him, but soon they were picking up their bags and heading up the grand staircase to the bedrooms. A bed sounded inviting. Maybe he’d go to sleep early too.

“Poe, Finn, I’ve put you two in the east wing, so why don’t we go there first,” Rose said, pointing to her right.

“Ben?”

When he looked up, Rey was standing on the west wing landing in a silk robe, her hair mussed and the beginnings of a yawn spreading over her face.

“Oh, you’re up!” Rose said as Rey covered her mouth to hide the yawn. “Did we wake you?”

“It’s okay, I wanted to be up when everyone got here.”

When they reached the top of the staircase, Rey wrapped her arms around Ben immediately and hugged him tighter than she ever had before.

“Something wrong?” Ben murmured, stifling the urge to kiss the top of her head. They were among friends. They didn’t have to pretend here.

“No,” Rey sighed from inside his shirt as he gently squeezed her back. “Everything’s fine now.”

He didn’t have time to think about what she said. Just as soon as she’d come to him, she’d released him and was greeting Finn and Poe with kisses on their cheeks. Ben couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy that sprung up, even knowing those kisses meant nothing but a greeting to all of them, but as he looked away he caught Rose smiling oddly at him.

“Rey, why don’t you show Ben to his room and I’ll help Finn and Poe get settled,” she said a moment later, still staring at Ben with that smile.

“Oh, of course,” Rey chirped. “What room was it?”

“The one next to yours,” Rose called out over her shoulder, already sauntering down the east wing.

He couldn’t see Rey’s face, but she seemed frozen for a long moment until she turned on her heel and smiled up at him. “You’re going to have a great view of the ocean.”

“That’s great.”

Rey shrugged as she stepped past him and over to the west wing. “All the bedrooms do, really, but I think the west wing has the better ones.”

They walked down the hallway to the very end, passing several other bedrooms that seemed perfectly suitable for him, save for a lack of bedsheets, until Rey gestured at the second to last one. “This is you. I’m on the end here.”

Ben smiled shyly. “Guess I should make sure not to snore.”

Rey covered her mouth with her hand, but she couldn’t hide the laugh that slipped out of her, sparkling and sweet. “Good thing I can sleep through just about anything.”

Something inside his chest felt lighter with the sound of her laughter, and as they parted ways to freshen up for dinner, Ben hoped it was a sign. He didn’t dare get his hopes up, but maybe, just maybe, they really were friends.

A few minutes later he was downstairs, surrounded by laughter and conversation, and eating a dinner of surprisingly good ribeye roast, but once his belly was full his eyes grew heavy.

“I think I’m going to turn in,” he said to Rey as the rest of their friends chattered on. “Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “I didn’t realize.”

Ben gave her a half smile. “I got a nap in on the drive up here, so I wasn’t totally exhausted when we got here.”

“Maybe I’ll turn in too.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to. You’ve been having a good time.”

Rey just smiled. “I’m tired too, you know.”

“Right…”

“Hey, guys,” Rey said as she turned to the group and started getting up. “Ben and I are exhausted, so we’re going to head to bed.”

Everyone’s faces lit up, strangely excited for the two of them to head upstairs.

“Of course, sleep well,” Rose said, that same strange smile curling her lips.

“Get some rest!” Poe said. “Don’t want you to spend the whole weekend sleeping.”

Finn elbowed him, and Poe muttered something under his breath, but never broke eye contact with Ben or let his smile falter.

“Good night…” Ben said, aware that there was something he wasn’t picking up on, but completely unaware of what it could possibly be.

He didn’t have the energy to let it bother him. Just getting up the stairs felt like too much work, let alone brushing his teeth, but he lumbered behind Rey, following her up the stairs in case he got lost.

“Sorry I kept you out so late last night,” she said once he joined her at the top.

“Don’t be,” he mumbled. “It was nice getting to spend your birthday together.”

She blushed and kept her head down as they walked down the long hallway in silence.

“This is me then,” he said as they got to the last two rooms.

“Yeah,” she said. “Um… Ben…”

When he looked up at her again, she was totally flushed. “What is it?”

“A-are you-” she stammered. “I mean -uh- do you…”

Something seized on her, forcing her gaze downward and she turned even redder.

“No. Sorry. It’s nothing, really.”

Ben opened his mouth, but he was really too tired to formulate a coherent response. “Okay.”

“Good night,” she mumbled before dashing into her room.

“Night…”

I love you much too much

Chapter 1: Mr. Sandman

AUGUST 7TH, 1954 The cool water of the Pacific Ocean lapped at Ben's feet as he headed back to the beach house to restock their refreshments. On the horizon the sun was just beginning its final descent, casting the long swathes of sand in a gorgeous golden orange hue.

He didn't really mind that Poe and Finn only had eyes for each other. They'd also been cooped up the past two years, working hard on the same equations and designs as he had. He was just grateful that they'd brought him along because he'd still be back at the lab if they hadn't, and it was beginning to get to him.

But there was only so much canoodling he could sit through before even Ben got the hint that they needed alone time, so off he went with a promise to come back with more beer and chips from the pantry. Thankfully they'd found a very secluded spot far from the main beach where the two of them could indulge in whatever they wanted. That's why Ben was surprised to see a lone woman in a olive green bikini sunning herself not too far from Finn and Poe. Even with just a glance, Ben thought she was quite pretty, even with the dark sunglasses hiding most of her face as she spread tanning lotion over her skin. Read more on Ao3 AN: I've been writing this fic on twitter and posting it onto Ao3, but with twitter dying, the plan is to start writing it so I don't suddenly lose any of it thanks to the muskrat's stupidity. More updates soon!

[kylo-wrecked]

@reyjustrey //:  🌚  a response to a thing 

And when I awoke I was alone This bird had flown

{ 13:00, Ben's flat, East Yavin City }

Nobody had gone in or out of flat 1502 for over a week, but there was hallway traffic aplenty. Folks in scarves, hoods, and sunglasses loitered in the long, gray corridors for hours grasping at a chance to break in or catch a glimpse of the man who might walk out. They came and went at all times of the day, knocking hands and mouths against the door, crying, playing music, leaving stuffed bears and other dollar store knick-knacks willy-nilly in the halls until a next-door neighbor alerted security. 

In the days following the Stone expose, every magazine from PAPER to People pushed one 'shocking!' anecdote after another. 'Unmasked' might well have been 'Kylo Ren's' surname. But it was The Daily Jabba, the trashy, flashy international tabloid that had published Ben's home address. 

When fans could no longer infiltrate the luxury complex with their bodies, they sent fan mail. Fat manila envelopes littered Ben's doormat. Chic, laser-cut calling cards--there were piles. Bras and briefs, and a cock-shaped baguette. Splashes of cheap bouquets. And as the days passed, a small Jenga tower of unopened packages began to form around the front door. 

Yet nobody had gone in or out of flat 1502 until the beginning of July, when a red-headed man carrying a brown paper bag ambled down the hall, toppled the boxes with a pointed shoe, and let himself in. The foyer was dark and stagnant. Not an altogether pleasant place to be, but the man who entered did not appear altogether pleasant either. His clothes were impeccable, dark in that pretentious, self-prepossessing fashion. The neck, the face untouched by sun, cornered, and rather haughty. The red-headed man studied the hall with sluicy blue eyes, then strode through the bedroom door. 

He recoiled as though he'd been struck, dropped the brown bag onto a chaotic drafting board, loosing crumpled papers and sending brittle brush markers flying everywhere. Then the red-headed man had a bit of a fight with the window. Only when he'd forced it open did he approach the lump in the bed. The red-headed man did not look pleased. His keen blue eyes dulled, mouth puckered in disdain. 

"It reeks in here," the man said. "Mosh pits smell better."

He tossed the keys onto the lump, which groaned. 

"Armie? That you? Kind of you to join us." 

The lump sounded rather drunk. Armie--Armitage Hux, it was an old family name, really--contemplated the daylight streaming through the blinds, then the bed.

"You're a mess," he said. "Get up."

"Hand over the grub first," the lump protested.

"Under no circumstances are you eating tacos in Egyptian linen." Armitage sneered. "I'll leave them out," he sighed and turned to leave the room. 

Ben emerged from his cocoon of blankets and pillows a second later, red-eyed and rumpled in a stained gray crew neck and a pair of black designer sweats. He had a five-day beard and a gaunt look about him. Sort of swayed when he got to his feet. 

"Beautiful butterfly, you," Artimage deadpanned. 

- ☾ -

The ruins of a Tex-Mex lunch languished on the coffee table in the living room. Some posh acrylic slab Ben's interior designer insisted he ‘must have’ smack in the center of it. This, on the basis that it would organically draw the eye to the panoramic of Yavin Central Park. The famous view had lopped an additional five-figures onto the mortgage. Now it was obscured by heavy gray voile. The curtains were clammed shut, and the remote laid in taco-shell shards on the floor. 

Ben was a splitting seam. He told Armitage everything, every excruciating granule of detail; from the first time he broke an electric string, to the moment Ben knew he would never attend the Cairn Conservatory of Music. And how he fell into Snoke’s illicit side-hustle--the terrible thing he’d done. The sheet music burning a hole in his underwear drawer. 

Ben told this to Armitage Hux, the lights guy, the last person in the world Ben expected to tell. Perhaps it was easier to tell someone with whom he had only a working relationship. There was a balance of freedom and intimacy to confiding in a person from the outer rim of his personal life. Armitage even listened, to Ben’s every tangent, to every hitch in his voice, each minute cycle of fragility. When he was done, Armitage leaned back in his seat. 

"Have you always been this way?" His lips perked at the corners. A smile. Ben found it hard to believe, even if the proof was there. 

"I don't know," Ben groaned, raking a hand through his hair, then over his face. "Probably." He sheepishly brushed the crumbs off his end of the sofa sectional. Kylo Ren's black symmetrical sectional. The one his ex picked out. It didn't feel like his. Never had. The Knights, the name 'Kylo Ren,' was all a fucking gambit, Snoke's pet conceit right from the start. Nothing had ever belonged to Ben, and he had never belonged to anyone. And all he had wanted-- 

Ben's chest constricted. He stifled a sob. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. Once he 'd swallowed it, everything in his body seemed to calcify. His posture and face hardened, and he sat motionlessly, adjacent to Armitage, as though he weren't in the room. 

Armitage's eyes followed Ben's dead-eyed glare to where a spume of bottle-green glass and a purple, brownish muck glistened under the track lights. He then stared reproachfully at the island counter. An uncapped bottle of the same make sat half-drunk. But when Armitage made mention--

"What the fuck about it, Hux? Huh?" Ben snapped. His eyes were alive again, and vividly angry. 

Armitage raised his eyebrows and quickly steered the subject toward the new developments at F.O. Records. The Knights' publicity agent, Gwen, had handled the press as best she could, putting a stopper on the flood of tabloid media, pulling down images and articles and addresses across the net. She was known as Phasma in the industry for her ability to make things disappear. Now, Hux said, only the grainy photo from the Rolling Stone article remained. 

"You're like Bigfoot," Armitage told him, very reassuringly. 

Ben sunk further into the sofa. 

"She's never going to talk to me again," he muttered. The thought hit Ben like a fist to his gut. 

"She--the Johnson girl?" Armitage seemed genuinely surprised (and, Ben thought, a little disheartened. He didn't have the wherewithal to address it just then and opted to leave it alone.) "So that was real, then?"

Ben choked.

"Oh, honestly," Armitage scoffed, dismayed. "Come off it. No one's died and you're rich as the Devil. Just ring her." 

"Make her understand," he went on. "You're scum, and you've always been scum. If she truly likes you, she may forgive you for it." 

Ben hadn't the energy to explain that he'd tried, maybe sixty times. That she'd never picked up. Not once. He sighed miserably and gestured to the shattered black mirror that was once his phone. Armitage hardly bothered to glance, then there--just there--was the same slightly crestfallen expression from earlier. As though he himself were nursing something broken. Ben looked away. 

A few moments of awkward silence passed between them, stretching into several minutes, then several more. Artimage tapped out frantic emails on his tablet, and Ben slumped cross-legged in the corner of the sofa, clutching a cushion against his chest. Wondering whether or not to get up and retrieve that wine--was it wine? He had no idea, actually. It had probably gone sour. Someone had given it to him at a premiere some time ago, and he'd only just opened it yesterday. Or maybe that was Wednesday...

After a beat, Armitage looked up. "Are you trying to get yourself sacked?" 

This riled Ben from his somber reverie. 

"What?" he croaked. Wasn’t he finished? Dead in the water? The band still wanted him? Snoke still wanted him? 

"You haven't gone to rehearsal. I'm talking to Devon* now; he says your custom is collecting dust. Mister DeGraw, Pryde. Hello. Do you want to be fired?" Armitage waved the tablet in front of Ben's face. Ben batted it away.

"Let'em," he growled. "I'd like to see what they come up with without me." 

"You have to play, Solo," Armitage said, resolutely. "Even if you break your contract, you must keep up with it. It's the only thing you have a special talent for, don't fritter it away. You give in to your emotions too easily. It's what got you into this balls-up in the first place."

It was Ben's turn to look surprised. 

"Why, Armie. I didn't know you felt that way. Since when the kriff do you care?" 

Armitage lilted. "If anything happened to you, I'd be out of a job. I won’t work with just anyone, you know."

Ben sniffled, then laughed. Kriff, it felt so good to tell someone about what a complete ogre he was, just to talk to a person! And with the awkward moment well behind them, Armitage bounded up from the couch with a cunning smirk, his face pinked by the revelation of some newfound strategy.  

"You're going to play something for me, Ben," he declared. "We'll see if you're up to code." 

"No" Ben rasped, pressing himself further into the sofa corner (if that were possible.) "God, no. I can't." 

Armitage ignored this and strode off determinedly to find the music room. 

"And," he called back, "if you've still got it, we'll hop in Dolores* and set off to find your Johnson -, not that one, bucket-brain. The lovely girl with the overwrought piano songs. 'She.'"

In the dusty closet grey closet one might call a home studio, Armitage discovered an old Road Runner guitar stand under a sheet. Then he carefully selected a vintage Martin dreadnought and brought it back with him to the living room. The instrument was a 12-string with Brazilian-rosewood back and sides, ivory-bound body and neck, and beautiful fretboard inlays. When Ben saw it, he groaned.

"No. No, and no." He said.

Armitage thrust the instrument at him. 

"Yes! Wait until she sees you. Look at your hair. That mustache. You're utterly pathetic."

Ben grazed his thumb across his chin.  "Should I--Shouldn't I clean up?"

"Why? So she thinks you're getting along jolly well without her? Haven't you lied enough? Show her the mess that you are!" Artimage cried in a mocking, breathy voice. He shoved the Martin at Ben. "Right, well. I've got a request. Please and thanks."

"Norwegian Wood," he demanded, returning to his perch on the sectional. "Now go." 

Ben grumbled at the unwanted guitar Artimage had so graciously shoved into his lap, but he couldn't resist running his fingers along the strings. Eventually, they took up an easy strum, a half-hearted but steady cadence. And, gradually, picked up the tempo, his large, calloused hands moving across the ivory neck. He handled it gently, like a soft, fleshy thing, something he could hold, and hurt. With no options other than to die or sing, Ben chose to sing. 

At first, Armitage kept rhythm with his heel, and Ben leaned into it as he bashed out the chords, his (somewhat leaner) frame hunched over the guitar. He hummed Harrison's famous sitar melody acapella, and on the bridge, in uncommon choice, sung only the harmony. His voice was weighty, and the dreadnought was a little off tune, as he hardly played acoustic these days, and couldn't be bothered with a tuner, and it gave the song a mournful, hazy tenor. 

When Ben finished, the room was quiet with his music, and Artimage Hux's eyes were glittering. 

- ☾ -

It began raining on their way to West Yavin. Armitage plowed Dolores through flash-floods, her shiny red body drove through those oh-so-familiar sheets of rain as the wet-season revealed itself once more, like a young woman peeling off her slip. 

"These people." Artimage huffed, swerving down a hairpin turn. "Learn how to bloody drive!" he yelled at no one in particular. 

"Oh, come on," he moaned when the street light turned yellow. 

Ben was riding shotgun, zipped knee to head in a matte black slicker. Ben turned in towards the window. He could just make out that cafe. What was it? The Wetyin Forester. They were getting closer.

Ben gazed through the windshield wipers forlornly. 

"Armitage," he said quietly. "I don’t want to do this." 

Armitage Hux would hear none of it. Problems of this sort needed to be faced head-on, with precision and promptness, God-willing. They arrived shortly. Artimage sniffed at the pre-war building.

"Can't exactly say I'm gobsmacked," he drawled. "Let me guess; she's the flat with the little white planters?" 

Ben elbowed him, and they went up. The climb to Rey’s apartment was agonizing, every step, every moment, Ben wanted to turn down, go home, or, hopefully, slip and hit his head on the stairs. After a couple of minor detours, they made it to the correct floor and hall; Armitage, scowling, sour-faced, holding his umbrella away from his slacks; Ben, dripping, his fist poised over Rey’s front door for another few horrible moments, until finally, he knocked. 

_____

Devon*: Ben’s bandmate, the drummer. Loosely based on my OC, Draede Ren.

Dolores*: Hux’s Hummer :^) 

edited

[redrascal1]

Okay...I’d like to talk about Armitage Hux.

We are understandably furious at how Adam and Loan were treated in TROS...but let us also spare a thought for Domhnall Gleeson, who was also shat on, putting it bluntly.

Let’s take a look back at the OT. In ANH, Vader was actually a supporting villain - the ‘big bad’ was Tarkin. And who can forget the late Peter Cushing’s legendary performance as ‘the guy who held Vader’s leash.’ Cushing proved that you don’t need the Force to be a genuinely menacing bad guy.

Now... a lot of people have argued that Rian Johnson was too ‘jokey’ in how he directed Hux. But, apart from when Kylo used the Force when he threw him across the ATAT cockpit (or whatever you call it), Hux was only an object of ridicule at the very beginning.

Throughout most of TLJ, he was dead serious. 

Hux could have made an amazing big bad in TROS. All the ingredients were there. He despised Kylo. He was highly ambitious, and craved the role of Lord Marshal. Most of all..he was intelligent.

Remember, Starkiller was Hux’s creation. He thought up, in all likelihood designed, the device that tracked the Raddus through Hyperspace. He accused Kylo of ‘daring to command his armies’...which showed the power he had within the First Order.

He was, in fact, far better suited to the job of leader than the volatile, unstable Kylo.

Which is why his fate in TROS was not only ridiculous...it was an insult to both Domhnall and his character.

Hux would never have struck a deal with the Resistance in order to bring Kylo Ren down. He loathed them. He had plenty of other methods to get rid of his enemy.

Hux, as I’ve said, was anything but stupid. An idiot could see Kylo was lying when he told him Rey was responsible for Snoke’s death. No way could a girl who was untrained, and inexperienced, not only kill a powerful Darksider like Snoke but also ALL of his guards alone. Kylo had to use the Force to subdue Hux into accepting him as leader. But, ironically as Leia Organa said to Tarkin:

‘Force never does work in the long time.’

From a perfectly logical point of view...despite his gifts with the Force, Kylo was one man. He didn’t command the respect, or loyalty, Hux had from his fellow officers. And...he wasn’t as terrifying as Snoke. Everyone, from Mitaka to those two humble stormtroopers...knew Kylo Ren had...issues.

And there was plenty of ammunition for Hux to use in a coup to get rid of Kylo. His fascination with Rey. The fact that there were cameras in the elevator that led to the throne room - and in the throne room itself. The fact that Kylo was lying through his teeth regarding Snoke’s fate. Powerful or not, Kylo was one man, and if Hux was able to find evidence that he had murdered Snoke, not Rey... his days as Supreme Leader would have been over.

And then of course, there were the odd experiments Snoke had been carrying out in the Unknown Regions. Hux could have had access to God knows what in WMD to consolidate his role as Lord Marshal and defeat, or at least oust, Kylo.

I am absolutely sure that RJ set up an entirely new possibility for the SWU....instead of a black/white, pure good versus pure evil....we instead could have had a Resistance led by Poe, a far more volatile, violent leader than Leia..’We will burn the FO to the ground’...and a First Order led not by a man with magical powers, but a ruthless military genius whose army was composed of brainwashed innocents. And in the middle we could have had Rey, torn between her loyalty to a Resistance she barely knew and whose methods were starting to disturb her, Finn, who wanted to liberate his former soldiers, not destroy them, and Kylo....ousted by the FO, his only hope would be Rey.

The enemy would have been war itself. The heroes and villains...shades of grey, human even in their inhumanity. And the only way to put an end to the endless conflict would have been the Resolving of Grey...Rey and Kylo finding the balance between them, bringing the eternal conflict between Dark side and Light finally to a satisfying end.

And Hux would be the true villain, and Domhnall  would have pulled it off to perfection. Just look at his face at the end of TLJ as he watched Kylo kneel in the abandoned base...a predator smelling blood. The usurper waiting in the wings, until the right time to strike.

We not only lost the chance to see a heroic Ben Solo ....but a glorious villain in Armitage Hux.

What a waste. Sorry Domhnall. Like Loan and Adam, you were robbed.

[starlightsearches]

First, I wanted to say that you’re an amazing writer and I aspire to write like you! I loved the one with Hux, Ren, and Phasma being friends but what if, it was the reader and Ren being best friends and Hux and Phasma being best friends. Reader and Hux have like, crushes on each other or something and Ren and Phasma and everyone else thinks it’s so obvious that the two like each other so they make a plan that would eventually end up with them confessing?? I just really like that trope when the two other best friends are just sick of the protagonists not acting on their feelings. Lol.

First of all, you’re way too nice to me 😂 Thank you very much! Second, this concept has NOT left my mind since I received this ask, so thank you for that. Last, we’re still existing in the college AU because I guess I live there now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You find that you’re not surprised when Ren hangs up the phone, leaving you with the dial tone ringing in your ears and your palms sweating. You really should have guessed much earlier: when Phasma first decided that you’d need to take separate cars even though there was more than enough room in yours, or when Ren passed you the keys to his parents’ cabin “just in case you arrived first.”

You let out a huff, resting your elbows on the porch rail and shrugging your flannel higher on your shoulders to stave off the cold. It’s a beautiful view of the valley, the sky fading from a burning orange-red to a dull violet. The faint beginnings of a starry night wink just out of view and your heartbeat thumps more urgently in your chest.

Despite your nerves, you step back inside. Your eyes find Hux immediately, standing by the fireplace. There’s a blaze going now, lighting up the space and he stands back from the orange glow, observing the clumsily stacked logs with a little frown.

“Bad news,” you say, matching his expression, “Ren and Phasma got . . . held up. They won’t be here until tomorrow morning.” A familiar look of confusion crosses his face, like he’s puzzling his way through an assignment in the library.

“I thought they said they’d be right behind us,” he says, his brow still furrowed, and you pull your lip between your teeth before letting it fall back into place.

“That’s what they said, but I guess they stopped for food, and then Ren said something about car trouble . . .” you let a slow breath out of your nose, looking anywhere but at him, “we can go back if it’s too-”

“No!” You’re startled by his interruption, and he seems to be, too. Hux clears his throat, before speaking again, “I mean, we should stay. We’re already here.”

You have to look down, your cheeks growing warm with excitement that you try to hide as you move closer, settling down on the stuffy couch in front of the fire. Hux sits beside you, the cushions dipping lower in response to his presence, pulling you towards him and your shoulder brushes his.

You pull away quickly, maybe too quickly, hoping the gentle squeak of the springs might cover up the shuddering sound of your lungs in response to his touch.

The crackling of the fire grows louder, trying to compensate for the silence between the two of you. It’s not like you couldn’t talk to Hux . . . as long as there were other people around. It was easy to be normal when Phasma was there with her loud laughter and easy-going smiles, and being around Ren was second nature, given how long you’ve known him. But without their distractions, you’re left unanchored, and your thoughts keep drifting back to the way the firelight glints off Hux’s hair, or the way his brow furrows whenever he’s lost in thought.

Being around him makes you stupid, and you can’t afford to be stupid right now.

You dig your fingernails deeper into your palms, letting the sting take away these and any other thoughts. It’s frustrating, the effect he has on you. And even more frustrating that he doesn’t seem affected by you at all.

But it’s always good to check. You glance at him quickly out of the corner of your eye. He seems like he always does, stern, focused, lost in thought. There might be the slightest dusting of pink on his cheeks, some residual blush from earlier, but you brush that thought aside. It’s probably just the lighting.

Your phone buzzes in your hand, pulling your attention away from him. The screen lights up—it’s a message from Ren.

Remember what I told you. Enough is enough.

You lock the screen as soon as you’ve read it, throwing your phone back in your lap and crossing your arms over your chest with a huff. You hadn’t forgotten his threats from the phone call, although you wish you could.

It’s not that you thought they were lying, Ren and Phasma. You were sure that they really did believe that Hux liked you as more than a friend. You just couldn’t see it yourself.

There’s no use putting it off any longer; you might as well find out now.

“Hey Armitage,” you say, and he turns to look at you, although you kind of wish he wouldn’t. “Could I ask you something?”

He nods, and your heartbeat thuds more loudly in your ears.

“It’s kind of a personal question,” maybe you shouldn’t, but you want to give him an out. Could Ren blame you if Hux didn’t want to listen?

He nods again—too bad for you—and you release your lip from between your teeth.

“I was just wondering, uh, why you don’t really . . . date?”

He blinks a few times, brow furrowing, and you resist the urge to close your eyes.

“What?” It’s fair that he’s confused, you kind of sprung the question on him, but now you’re shaking as you speak, trying to get all the words out.

“It’s just that, I don’t know, what about your friend from your calculus class? Didn’t they invite you to that party a few weeks ago?”

He’s staring at you like you’re a puzzle, a problem he has to solve. His brow stays furrowed.

“We just study together, I wouldn’t say we’re friends.”

“Yeah, but, I don’t know,” you swear you might break skin, you’re biting on your lip so hard, “isn’t there anyone else you might be . . . interested in?”

He’s blushing again, and there’s no mistaking it for firelight this time—the faint freckles on his cheeks disappearing under the flush of blood that floods his face.

“What about you?” he says, and his tone is accusatory, “Ren told me about the guy you met in the dining hall. What happened with that?”

“That is totally different! He was an asshole,” you bite back, defensive, and then, more quietly, “and you didn’t answer my question.”

Hux won’t even look at you, making concentrated eye contact with the wall, and you’re breathing hard, heart threatening to burst from the pain of waiting.

“Armitage,” you say his name like an apology, scooting closer towards him, feeling brave, “I only want to know because I-“

“You don’t have to say it,” he interrupts you, green eyes trained on the fire, “and it’s fine—you don’t feel the same as I do. I’ll manage.”

You stop cold. His words hit you like a freighter, and you’re gasping, your mind both completely blank and racing at the speed of light. And then it clicks.

You bridge the gap, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. His skin is warm, and soft, softer than you had imagined it would be, and you can’t help but smile against him.

“You didn’t let me finish,” you whisper, and he turns to look at you, so close you can see the flecks of blue in his eyes, “I was going to say that I only wanted to know because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, if there was someone else.”

“Oh,” he’s flushed again, and you laugh, burying your face in the soft material of his sweater.

“‘Oh?’ Is that all you have to say?” and you’re trying to sound angry but you’re laughing, and so is he, the vibration echoing through his chest and you rest your head against it, listening to his heart. His arms find their way around your waist, tentatively at first, but solid and warm. And you stay that way for the rest of the night.

Here is the last of my Cozy Time posts! Thanks to everybody who sent something in!

[cooltrainererika]

A Star Wars Noob’s ideas for fixing the Disney sequels

Okay so just to get this out there, because it won’t leave my mind.

So I’ve been binging on SW lately and the sequels only annoy me more and more by the day. So just wanted to throw my character ideas out into the world. Focusing on characters because I like writing characters way more than plot. Hopefully if I ever actually write this thing, or even somehow pitch it to someone with the right connections to animate it with the actors as voice actors, this wouldn’t have gone viral. But since no one looks at my blog it probably won’t lol. Hopefully.

But just in case, I’ll say that this will probably contain spoilers for a story which may or may not exist by the time you read this.

I’ve deliberately been trying to avoid as much emotional spoilers and normal spoilers as I can before the sequels despite the temptation, so sorry if some stuff is a bit off. Augh I hope I can get the time to watch the full OT and PT soon. I was too tired from hiking when I watched SW4 and I now really wish my dad didn’t show me when I was half-asleep.

Rey: Rainbow of possibilities; Cynical Scavenger, Adventure-seeking Audience Surtogate Geek, or Lawful Good to the core Paladin Padawan with a personal grudge, and may be descended from a family line, maybe not, but currently most likely a Skywalker by blood. Story and other character arcs change dramatically depending on which route chosen.

Finn: Stoic soldier man learns power of friendship, finds meaning of life, causes Stormtrooper mutiny, probably becomes a Jedi and second main character and hooks up with Rey. “What‘s a joke?”. Awkward dork and stunted socially but doing his best. May instinctively find it hard to disobey orders. He may be the one wanting to find his family; but that’s dropped soon enough to focus on what’s ahead. 

(Alternatively: Proud warrior guy who acts like a stereotypical North Korean soldier who finds himself outside the First Order, learns power of friendship etc. The rest is the same)

Poe Dameron: What we Japanese people call The Aniki. The funny charismatic ace pilot who keeps everyone sane, overall bro. Wholesome but a bit rough, that guy you would want to share a beer with. But within that easygoing nature burns a hotblooded, determined, dutiful streak, and an even stronger snarky streak. The one with the social skills. Loves his droid like his son though Cynical!Rey and Finn find that initially kind of stupid/strange. 

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: Appears to be yet another quietly imposing Star Wars villain with added edgelord factor, but actually a mentally unstable, borderline yandere berserker of a man crushed under the weight of a legacy, with a horrifying inferiority complex, identity issues, and an unhealthy obsession with familial honor, constantly stuck between Dark and Light. Despite his high rank, basically the First Order’s attack dog. Usually has the emotional maturity of a 16-year-old, if not younger. If anyone is, he’s the damsel in distress of this story.

Luke Skywalker: Cuddly sunshine headmaster sage doing his best, has been on many adventures before that are hidden ads to future Lucasfilm projects. May have gone to search for answers as to what is causing recent events, or is still present at the beginning. May survive at the end. He could be anywhere from kind of jaded but at his core still that sweet optimist, to Basically Uncle Iroh, to can-literally-summon-Porgs-by-whistling/Space Sage Mr. Rogers.

Han Solo: General of the Republic Armed Forces or courier who decided military life just wasn’t for him and now delivers important messages through still unstable areas of the New Republic, a war hero, and a dad doing his best. Wants to hold hope but may have at least outwardly given up on Ben, with Poe filling in the void. Has gone clean from his life of crime and still married 30+ years strong with Leia. He would be the one who is the closest to Poe if he’s still in the military and Leia is a Jedi, with Poe being seen as his likely successor. He might die at the end of 8? Maybe Hamill and Carrie would somehow talk him into sticking around past 7? He might still die in 7?

(Side note: I wish we could have seen Old Harrison Ford in a military casual coat-cape. He would have looked awesome in it. I mean no one would really complain that he plays fast and loose with the dress code if there even is one, he’s Han freakin’ Solo and he gives no f*cks.)

Leia Organa-Solo: Preferably a Jedi Knight, leader while he’s away if he’s away as well as their tactician, or senator considering her personality; maybe have basically what Colin Trevorrow planned for her (I mean… why not just use CGI at this point? They’ve done it before. I’m sure Carrie wouldn’t have wanted her swan song to be such a passive role either), with her bond with Luke being a major factor and us actually being able to see it in practice. May have outwardly given up on her son as well, but still is at the end of the day a mom doing her best. Basically a strong, smart lady like how she’s always been.

Chewbacca: How he always is, but he plays more of a role than basically the guy bussing the cast around, an active combat role definitely. Han’s second in command and maybe fellow dad. Possibly the part-time chaperone of the mess that is the new main duo. Also was Ben’s first friend, and you bet there will be drama here.

Lando Calrissian: Business mogul who probably helps the heroes out, maybe by selling them stuff and using his many connections to get information. And/or he’s basically an economic diplomat for the Republic. Has known Ben since he was a child and may have snuck him on too many joyrides without telling Leia, to her chagrin and Han’s amusement. 

Grand Admiral Armitage Hux: Basically how he was in SW7. Calculating, manipulative, coldhearted, intelligent, and ruthless, the brains to Kylo’s brawn. Son of former Imperial officers, killed his own father to get where he is. Gives no f*cks, except when he goes full ham. Maybe even he goes cold and pale if Kylo starts getting angry, just to show how terrifying he can be, but I also like the idea of him being one of two people who can manipulate Kylo out of a tantrum and not end up a pile of flesh or choked to death. 

Captain Phasma: How she is in supplemental material probably. A walking chrome machine of merciless death. Probably not very talkative, and probably does not take defectors lightly. She may defect at the end or not depending on how truly evil she’s portrayed to be, but I’m thinking she’s likely this cruel disciplinarian who expects complete and utter, machine-like obedience to the end, and Finn flinches at the mere mention of her, though she herself is equally as extremely loyal to the cause.

Snoke: A mysterious being, the likes of which are not of this galaxy. Probably some kind of ancient eldritch abomination who can torment vulnerable minds with an untraceable curse. Not your average Sith, and despite how it may seem it may not be connected to them at all… Or perhaps it is. Or perhaps it itself serves a larger master. It wants to use Kylo Ren for… something. Just what it is is what Luke has been trying to find out for years.

Knights of Ren: Idea borrowed from Thor Skywalker (check him out on YouTube!); possibly a military cult of Sith/Vader worshippers who see Ben as the second coming of Vader, and have aligned themselves with Snoke. Probably basically Kylo’s personal guard and troops. Or possibly directly liked to whatever otherworldly entit(ies?) Snoke is, not being of this galaxy themselves.

Anakin Skywalker: Determined grandpa doing his best for his kids, grandkid(s), and the galaxy. Doesn’t appear often, but plays a major role in the story; maybe he’s the one who led Rey to his lightsaber, and maybe he advises Luke while training Rey, or secretly follows Kylo, trying to speak to him but unable to be seen or heard by him. He’d be the one who ultimately convinces Ben to return to the light, and to, in an echo of the words Ben heard when he was being impersonated, “finish what I started”.

Rose Tico: A probably relatively new, wide-eyed young recruit in the Republic Military, and maybe seeks revenge on First Order for killing or kidnapping her sister. Not sure if she will be needed, but if there’s room for her she might be interesting. Maybe she’s one of Poe’s friends or part of his squad. She could also be the resident girly girl because there aren’t many of those here. 

Vice-Admiral Amberlyn Holdo: She’s in the Aftermath books, and those seem pretty good, so she’s probably how she is there. A quirky mostly background character that is probably at most there for Han and/or Leia and Ackbar to give commands to and salute back, but most importantly she actually does her job properly, even if she’s still a bit of an odd person. Also Poe knows her and they have a way more amicable work relationship. Also give her something which actually looks like something military personnel would wear. She could even be a legitimately good tactician who comes up with off-the-wall tactics.

(Side note: I heard that she basically has the Star Wars version of Autism, and while I’d appreciate that as an Aspie myself, I’ll also have to say that Autistic people would probably be terrible military leaders due to us not being able to adjust to sudden changes well and our bad communication skills. So yeah, sorry, unless she’s recast to something like, say, a mechanic or logistics or medic or any other more Autistic-friendly job, that’s going to have to go)

Maz Kanada: …Admittedly not sure what to do with her. But she’s more likely to be an acquaintance of Lando before Han, if she doesn’t know both. In fact, Lando may be introduced early alongside her. But she would still have the important role of keeping Anakin’s saber; how she has it, either Lando found it, or basically what was cut from TFA showing that she’s indeed pretty awesome. 

BB-8: BB-8 doesn’t have to change. He’s perfect as he is. Maybe what he can do should be more consistent though. Poe and him are basically Ash and Pikachu, they stick together whenever possible. If Rey or Finn need a droid to tag along and Poe isn’t in the party at the moment, R2 is right there. I once read a fanfic in which BB-8 was actually a droid Luke made for Ben and I liked the idea… though it probably would be a bit of an unnecessary detail in practice.

R2-D2 and C3P0: They’re basically business as usual. They would still have that boke-tsukkomi dynamic they had going on, sometimes with the added childlike cuteness of BB-8 in the mix. If there’s any extra time left for comic relief scenes, or if they’re sent on some kind of mission together, I can see these three messing around doing their thing (or rather, BB being childlike, cute and curious, Threepio being overly nervous, and Artoo being too old for this sh*t and/or BB’s cool uncle/older brother) being both cute and hilarious.

Also Worldbuilding stuff will be featured at the bottom

Elaboration on the “big four” of the sequel cast:

Rey: Aged 19, speaks with Daisy Ridley’s normal accent, not RP (I mean really, her accent isn’t that hard to understand). A whole rainbow of possibilities with this lady, though many don’t realize it. I might be leaning towards her being Luke’s daughter, though her being Just Rey may also be interesting, and her still being a descendant of Palpatine or the main villain could also have potential, though if Finn is a Jedi I don’t think there’s any need for her parents to be nobody. But the three main routes I can think of for her are these three: Cynical!Rey, a Rey with a backstory identical to the canon Rey from her abandonment onwards, Fangirl!Rey, a sort of estimation of a dorky female Star Wars nerd in-universe and the most lighthearted start out of the three, and Padawan!Rey, a Rey who is already Luke’s Padawan at his academy. Maybe making her starting point less crushingly bleak and Fangirl!Rey could work, but it might dilute both ideas, and that characterization might be a bit too similar to ANH Luke. 

As is apparent, Cynical!Rey, is, well, cynical. She’s strong and independent, but extremely distrusting, on-edge, and not used to friendly interaction. Think Female SW4 Han Solo but even more antisocial and probably not even bothering with the bravado, and basically with Anakin’s upbringing except she doesn’t even have a loving mother like Anakin did. Fangirl!Rey was my initial idea but I’m starting to become less partial to it because of the aforementioned similarity to ANH Luke, but my idea was she’s basically Harry Potter, living with stepparents who hate her, or she’s still used as basically child labor but her conditions are nowhere near as bad as Cynical Rey’s, and she would have grown up on stories about the Rebels and the Jedi and everything else in the past movies, collecting every single bit of memorabilia she can get her hands on. If one wants to go for very lighthearted and slightly meta for SW7 this is the route. Padawan!Rey could go anywhere, but I’m thinking she would basically be our D&D Paladin; ever since Ben Solo went berserk and ran off to join the First Order, she’s become very protective of her fellow students and has a really understandable personal grudge against him. She might be the strongest pupil left after the Second Jedi Massacre, and by the end maybe she becomes the successor to headmaster of the academy. It is possible that she was found abandoned on Jakku or Luke’s doorstep, however, so the theme of growing up lonely is there, and because being a Jedi is what has given her meaning in life it means a lot to her. But while I don’t want her parentage to be revealed early if it is Luke, it does raise the massive plot hole of why this was never disclosed to her or to Ben. 

And yes, I did say fellow students and academy. Wiping the new Jedi Order feels really cheap and it makes the whole hopeful Jedi Starting Anew implication that I’m 90% sure the OT ended on feel very pointless. I’d prefer them still being there, though their inclusion would be obviously way more natural in the Padawan Route. This also has tons of marketing potential for Disney, because I wanted to take IRL realism into account; what’s in it for Disney? Maybe potential to expand on other students and Luke’s academy? It could be like a smaller Jedi Hogwarts/Xavier Institute basically. Though the survivors wouldn’t be too numerous; just, like, four at most. Maybe there would be elements of an Avengers/Infinity War/Endgame-esque team movie, even if the rest are a bit out of focus.

I did think maybe the heroes would still go to Ahch-To after SW7 where Luke would have been hiding with his students researching the new threat, but maybe I could have him stay and sort of take a few cues from Harry Potter by introducing the heroes to the world of the Jedi early and giving them a break in the action as they settle in their new homes, so there’s more time to develop the padawan side characters, what the academy is like, and Luke gets to appear in SW7 as well so there can be a OT trio “reunion” (not a reunion in-universe). Though that kind of messes with other parts I want to include like Rey and Finn having to take on Kylo and getting completely whipped because he’s a rampaging madman before having to be saved by Luke. Also Rey getting kidnapped has potential for developing her trust in others, and her and Finn getting a breather moment at the Republic after the heroes and Han regroup would kind of remove a point where that could be easily slotted in the story. It would also require everything before this to be crammed in the first act. 

(Newer edit 5/27/21)  I also like her getting a golden double-bladed saber like many fans depict her. It’s not only awesome looking (because she only gets her own saber at the end of TROS… Why?), but it’s more toys for the moichendise! It fits her starting with a staff, it has more reach, and it would fit Cynical Rey especially for her to have a style centered around keeping as much of herself defended as possible. Watching Battlefront 2 footage has made me think about fighting styles a bit, and if she and Finn are a duo how their styles of combat might compliment each other, especially as their relationship develops (coincidentally she and Finn apparently are a very good combination in BF2). A Cynical Rey would probably contrast the most, with a fighting style based on keeping enemies away, trickery, and defense (a good choice for a blade made of light), maybe a bit wild at first but initially her goal in fighting would be to hold out until there is an opening to get the hell out, only staying to fight if she has no other option. Fangirl Rey wouldn’t really have a fighting style initially, and it’s gonna be very dependent on where her arc goes. Padawan Rey would have the most Prequel Jedi-esque, choreographed style, showing a lot of skill though not quite mastering it and with tons of openings at first. A Cynical Rey may have an uncanny skill to detect suspicious people, which would make her trusting the heroes easier, and though this ability isn’t super strong and is more “a slight gut feeling but it could be nothing” than “human lie detector” it could maybe be honed more. And while not quite wall vision like in BF2 (because wat? Where do they come up with this stuff?), maybe she’s good at detecting people’s presences too. These are very apt ambient skills for someone in her position. Meanwhile, Fangirl!Rey would have probably suspected she had the Force already, and her ambient abilities could be whatever, just rather passive abilities unless trained. 

If she is Luke’s daughter though, that would open up the can of worms of who her mother is. Just making it so that she died before the events of SW7 might seem a bit… unfortunate? I kind of want Luke to have found love sometime (and seriously with how much of a bombshell young Luke was, in addition to him being such a hero, I’m shocked that he never got one. I can see why Mara Jade wanted a piece of that. *wolf whistle*), but then I’d have to figure out how to incorporate her in this already character-dense story without her having cheaply died offscreen. I might be able to think of something? I could always go digging in the dusty pile of old fan theories, I might find something good. Thor Skywalker did hint at her but his story stopped at the end of where SW8 would have. If I do name her Mara there’s probably going to be extra pressure to do something with her. …But I can’t be the only one who thinks that Daisy Ridley kind of looks like Natalie Portman. Then again I’m pretty face-blind. I guess blond hair and blue eye color genes are also recessive traits for Star Wars humans. Though it seems the height genes skipped a generation because she’s actually pretty tall for a woman at 170 cm - I’m sorry what. That’s as tall as the average Japanese man! Holy sh*t Daisy! She only looks a bit small because she’s often depicted with Kylo and Kylo makes everyone not Phasma look diminutive. I guess Ben would get it from Anakin and Han (though he’s still taller than both of them…), so maybe a taller actress would be cast as Mara (?). And despite Rey’s malnourishment in the Cynical route, this actually isn’t that implausible, because stunted growth apparently only happens if children are deprived from gestation to about 2 years of age. 

And again, why wouldn’t Ben know about this? But if this isn’t the Padawan!Rey route (the hardest to incorporate Rey The Actual Skywalker into), maybe Ben took Rey’s assumed death as even more of a reason to burden himself with the entire Skywalker legacy? This would give him a reason to already care about her.

Further edits: According to the Aftermath books, Jakku was a “Lightside Nexus” planet. Maybe this has to do with her powers? (Perhaps she was kept sane by the Force speaking to her on occasion, in dreams or as she lies staring at the ceiling after a long day, showing her the loving life she used to live and unknown to her she will return to someday). Or why she was dropped there? Maybe she was supposed to be living with Lor San Tekka (the old guy Kylo kills at the beginning of TFA), but got lost one day or was kidnapped by bandits to be a scavenger because her small size would have been perfect for getting loot from small spaces? Why not take her back then? This probably is one of the biggest plot knots in the Cynical Rey Skywalker route, alongside who her mother is.  

Small detail lightning round before moving on: I once read a Japanese fic, and in it she mentioned she hates alcohol because she saw how it turned people into monsters. I actually kind of liked this headcanon, and maybe a bit unexpected. Though there’s also the route of her just being too used to it, setting her apart from previous more wholesome protagonists even more.  Also Daisy would have to start hitting the gym and protein shakes because I think her character design evolving from her thin build to a very athletic, Wonder Woman-esque body type would be pretty good in representing her growth as a character, and combined with her height she would be so very badass looking. 

Finn: Probably around 23? Infamous for lost potential, so his backstory is the same. However, I’m thinking that due to his dehumanizing upbringing, he’s a bit robotic and pretty stoic initially, a total opposite to Poe. He doesn’t understand jokes or sarcasm, and now that he’s completely left the life he’s always known, he feels pretty lost. He would basically act like a male Rei Ayanami, though I was going more for Drax at first. Alternatively, he’s a proud warrior type, imagine a stereotypical North Korean/Prussian soldier. He’d be a bit more emotional and probably less cartoonish here (I mean I have compared Star Wars to anime but full-on anime tropes in live action probably looks super corny), and he’s a massive hardass who also doesn’t get sarcasm or jokes and fanatical and would have thought of his fellow soldiers as a collective as his band of brothers and comrades, collectively serving the FO like a smoothly running machine. My initial thought was that after a life of war crimes and the influence a certain pilot whose cell he was guarding who gave him his name, and maybe witnessing the death of a comrade, he had defected from the FO, but I started thinking it would be plausible if he defected from the FO probably by accident. Highly likely to be the second protagonist, if not POV character, and if so I think it’s logical that it’s Finnrey that becomes the canon ship here. In the Padawan!Rey route, he’s the newcomer protagonist, not Rey. If they’re shipped, or even as friends, they may bond over their dehumanizing, harsh backgrounds and the feeling of being lost in the world. Also he likely starts a mutiny. Like it was such an obvious plot point but they never use it for some bizarre reason. It’s like the DM didn’t read his character sheet at all. Actually one didn’t and the other kept forgetting it in the third campaign.

There’s two ways I think his arc could go; first would be a focus mainly on his search for identity and becoming his own person. Second, his guilt about having done the First Order’s bidding for so long. Probably a combination of the two, though I’m not sure how to address them both. He also wants to see his colleagues free from slavery. But I am sure about I’d that he’d have to overcome his conditioning, learning to regain his humanity.

Especially if Rey is a Skywalker and he becomes a Jedi, he’d be the one who the movie makes a point about being from nowhere. He has no idea who his parents are, but it would not even matter in the end, it’s what he makes of his life from here on out. And if he and Rey end up together, which is extremely likely in this scenario, he not only finds his family in the figurative sense with the other Jedi and his new friends plus girlfriend, but in the literal sense as well, going from nameless Stormtrooper FN-2187, to just Finn the ex-Stormtrooper, to Finn the Padawan and then Jedi Knight, to finally, Finn Skywalker, Jedi Knight; maybe the last movie ends with one of them proposing to the other, with SW8 having previously ended with the climactic big damn kiss that cemented that they are a thing now. (Cue Luke jokingly asking when he’s getting grandchildren and How It Should Have Ended!Anakin squeeing over him getting great-grandchildren lol) His name would have this real symbolic value to it with how it changes as he goes from nobody to somebody. Not to mention “Finn Skywalker” is just a freakin’ awesome name. If they make up the leading duo, he and Rey may have some kind of inherent connection, or they progress into two parts of the same whole, even attaining something like a Dyad.

I thought an interesting thing to do if Rey is a Skywalker, and this is Cynical Rey, is a twist on the expected pattern by making him the one who sees the good in Kylo, not Rey. Because while Rey might be his cousin, she’s also a very distrustful person who couldn’t afford to think deeply about people act the way they do when she was growing up and fighting to survive. Meanwhile, Finn knows Kylo, and he also knows what it’s like to be determined to be a killing machine from a very young age, and if he has to forgive himself, or if he’s able to see the light, that Kylo deserves a chance as well. It would be the ultimate show of kindness from him, to show him forgiving the man who works so loyally under the same organization that enslaved him. I can also see Kylo being angry at himself for being unable to sense the Force-Sensitive in their midst. 

Maybe he was born on a “Lightside nexus” planet too so that it makes sense that he can keep up with other characters? Presuming he’s in his early 20s, I don’t think him being raised by the Order since he was a baby is that plausible, so maybe he was already an orphan? I can see the First Order spinning their Stormtrooper program kidnapping street orphans as “rehabilitating” them, which combined with good old Victorian style citizen apathy to street children allows them to get away with it. But if he was, say, around 6 years old when he was taken away, it would make sense why he was able to break out of his programming. Perhaps Poe showing him friendship awoke the humanity long dormant in him. But on the other hand, the younger, adolescent soldiers may be beyond saving, and I can see that being absolutely heartbreaking. 

I can see his fighting style with a saber being direct, forceful, and pragmatic, but unlike Rey the emphasis would be on engaging and keeping up the fight, and be very disciplined, calculated, and controlled in contrast to Cynical Rey. At least he’d attempt it while he gets used to the properties of a lightsaber, before there would probably be a lot of awkwardness as John is directed to swing this weightless prop blade with a weighted hilt like he would a club or sword. If he isn’t a Force Sensitive, he’s a good sniper just like in BF2, in fact this would be his primary combat ability, though still able to hold his own in melee combat. Though even as a Jedi he’d probably still use a gun as a sidearm, and his good aim would also translate to him being very good at spotting openings and spotting danger from a distance, as well as enhanced ability to dodge. 

Poe Dameron: Age 29 (?). A total bro. I’ve kind of come to think of him as this embodiment of the good, wholesome side of traditional masculinity. I can best describe him as the guy you expect to think of when you think of the guy who takes the boys to the bar for beers on the house and hosts Super Bowl night (for the Americans out there). Basically just that big bro/cool uncle everyone likes. I think he’s the least changed from how he is in SW7; he’s a laid-back pilot with no special powers, and while he’s probably the most static and admittedly flat character (and unfortunately more minor than the other two) he has tons of charisma and optimism to compensate, though being the one who keeps everyone sane definitely helps. Not to mention his piloting skills; which, note, are never eclipsed by Rey, because that’s dumb. His skills are a bit more downplayed here, but he’s still extremely good, especially for his age. Despite being the pilot he’s the most down-to-earth, and may be the only one of the big four with any social skills, even if he’s a bit dorky, especially regarding BB-8. 

Son of Rebel pilots, graduated top of his class in the Republic Flight Academy, and his background is squeaky clean, no drug trading involved, though he spent a lot of his adolescence and his adulthood in the Academy or in the military, just like in pre-TROS supplementary material. He’s the main source of jokes and wisecracks out of the trio in all but the most dorky of Fangirl!Rey routes probably, teaching Cynical!Rey and Finn what it’s like to smile and laugh. He still has a close relationship with Leia and Han; possibly closer to the latter due to the latter being a pilot and likely still a General. Not sure about him keeping his rank because him starting and staying at the top might mesh awkwardly with the rest of the trio, but maybe he’s still a Commander; whichever makes his inclusion in the main cast most plausible. Due to an adorable Pixiv comic I found he may have been inspired to become a pilot by Luke or Han. I’d like to think that he breaks the hotshot pilot cliché a bit by not being too overly arrogant, immediately setting himself apart from Han by being a wholesome guy there for his buddies from the start, even if he is fond of wisecracking and snarkiness (probably from hanging around Han and Leia), and inside that laid-back personality lies a hotblooded, passionate, unwavering core. Like, he’s not exactly hotheaded like a Latin stereotype (*ahem*), but he’s got this more subtle, but still apparent, underlying fiery hotbloodedness to him, something that especially makes itself apparent in high-stress situations and when it comes to his loved ones. He’d also be Rey and Finn’s mentor of sorts in stuff that doesn’t involve the Force, being their role model for what a functional member of society is. He may make some self-depreciating jokes about being “normal”, but I think mostly he’ll take it in stride. Though I can see him and Han having a chat about this in a more quiet scene. 

Ironically, out of the trio he could maybe be said to be the most suited to be a Jedi personality-wise, despite the fact that he has no Force Sensitivity whatsoever; he goes with the flow, he isn’t troubled, he’s happy with the simple pleasures in life, he’s just a good, genuine guy who does good things, passionate but not obsessive, and he’s forgiving, willing to give even an enemy soldier a chance, appealing to the humanity in him. The last one is particularly Luke-like, don’t you think? Oh, to elaborate on the escape; I still like the idea of him giving Finn his name (though another idea I love is a fallen friend giving Finn his name, that would change stuff around a lot from what I am thinking at this moment). I also think that perhaps supplemental material or some flashbacks, or even an animated short could be made showing just how Poe broke Finn’s programming; by showing him genuine kindness, because somehow, despite his lack of Force Sensitivity, he saw that FN-2187 could be talked out of his programming if he was constantly nice to him, befriending him, starting up casual chatter with him, and after a while the trooper starts opening up to this pilot. …Yeah, Luke-like indeed. Though since there is the plot hole of why Finn could be convinced in mere days and why he’s the only one guarding such a high-profile prisoner, a more realistic idea may be that they talk to each other this way a few times, then Poe escapes and Finn goes after him before they both crash on Jakku and have to work together, with Poe immediately being friendly with Finn and later Rey, to his (and her) confusion. (I can just imagine Poe being all chipper and trying to engage Finn in conversation, or telling him “Good job, sport!” after they fight off bandits or something, and Finn just is all deadpan and “We are enemies, we have no reason to fraternize” and I find that kind of cute).

He may ultimately be the most static of the main cast, but I can see him having a huge impact in more subtle ways; like maybe Rey and Finn think of what Poe might do in a given situation in their training, and he could be the catalyst behind why Finn thinks that Kylo can be redeemed, just like how Poe was able to light another way when it felt like there was only one path for him. He also definitely wouldn’t be the type to be so reckless with his men like he was in TLJ, if he’s still a Commander; he cares about his men a lot, and in fact they may be the reason why he tends to act like an older brother. I can imagine a pretty poignant scene with Finn where Finn sees Poe by himself and BB-8 paying respects to his fallen comrades by this handmade cenotaph, as he sets some flowers down and pours a drink to them, and Finn once again is able to see how different the culture outside the First Order is, as he would have never been mourned like that if he died on the battlefield, nor can he imagine he ever would have done so himself. Or maybe Rey is there too, because if this is Cynical Rey she’s only known a life where people exploited each other. Maybe other characters like Jessika (who he’s already close to I think? Did she show up in the movies though?) or Rose would have the opportunity to be more than background characters by being part of his crew, and we’d get some charming scenes about the bond he has with his squadron.

Again, admittedly he’d be the least deep character out of the big four, with his feelings not being explored nearly as much. But he probably doesn’t really hide his feelings much anyway. For any supplementary shorts involving him, they would be mainly lighter stories about his relationship with the OT cast and their families and his friendship with BB-8 and his crew, or action-y ones about missions he’s gone on; as opposed to, say, Finn, which would show his life as an expendable trooper who knew nothing but war, Cynical!Rey and her crushing loneliness and growing disillusionment to the world as she struggles to survive, or Padawan!Rey and her anguish and grappling with the Dark Side in the aftermath of the Jedi Massacre. 

I can also imagine him being this adorable Shipper On Deck for Finnrey lol. Just looking at his two friends, all proud, maybe even tearing up like “*sniff* I’m not crying Buddy, you’re crying!” when the inevitable big kiss scene happens. I can also imagine him being the one to tell Finn that “Hey Finn, what you’re feeling is love!”…And then he has to spend hours trying to explain what love even is to him lol. He always has his friends’ back after all. Again, he’s most likely the one guy who isn’t completely socially inept among these dorks. I’ve also had the potential idea that he could maybe be a good cook, and he’d be the one who introduces Rey and Finn to actually good food. Some fics I’ve noticed tend to show him cooking stuff probably for that reason. It’s just kind of cute, and it sets a good example if despite his traditionally masculine, salt-of-the-earth character, he likes some less “manly” stuff like such and sees no shame in it.

He may sacrifice himself in a blaze of glory towards the end, especially because quite frankly he may lose his plot relevance as the story goes on, though it would definitely be way more respectful than a lot of deaths were treated in the sequels. But I also want him to stick around because I want to imagine him being all proud of Rey and Finn after they propose to each other and giddily planning their wedding, and I feel he could have some very good interactions with Ben to build on for any spinoffs taking place after the trilogy. Speaking of…

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: AKA Yet Another Ball Of Lost Potential: Anti-Villain Addition. This is gonna be a doozy, so strap in. He was probably the most developed character here but that just makes his lost potential stick out even more, so I have so much to say about him.

About 27 probably. While people complain about it, I actually like him being a manchild. It makes him a bit unique in this series. It’s kind of like Vader if he didn’t get stuck in that suit and kept acting like Anakin. In fact, that could make him even more terrifying if that feeds into how destructive he can be; at first he seems like your typical intimidating SW villain, not even that bad a leader with a seemingly calm if tense, imposing air, but it eventually becomes clear he’s this terrifying, volatile berserker who can throw some of the most destructive tantrums ever, and is ultimately a pathetic, broken, pitiful shell of a man. …He just happens to be a very powerful shell of a man. Maybe if he becomes emotional or angry enough, he can unleash powerful shockwaves that basically blow up everything around him, or cause mini Force Storms, or cause any number of unpredictable effects. Though he’s not quite constantly raging either; these berserk states are indeed triggered by anger, but I’m thinking that they are also basically weaponized panic attacks, there’s a sense that it’s also a self-defense mechanism that he lapses into when emotions overwhelm him or when he otherwise feels threatened (though whether it’s necessarily involuntary all the time I’m not so sure; but while he’d definitely want to be able to trigger them voluntarily, there will always be some sense that he doesn’t have full control over it). Also a lot of his rage is directed inwards as well, much like with his grandfather. I thought that maybe his unpredictability in these rages would be the key to his destructiveness, though I can see how someone who is out of control would also pose a problem, no matter how powerful; so maybe this is when he becomes the most focused, becoming locked onto the elimination of the perceived threat at all costs, and/or he can be controlled by his Master more directly like some kind of attack animal. 

Luke’s first padawan, or at least after Leia or Grogu (I might make him show up as Luke’s first knighted pupil and allude to this, providing more exposition on Kylo, and being one of the Jedi who help fight in the final battle as the Skywalkers go on to take on the final boss (and Grogu’s name being revealed would be a massive hype moment in The Mandalorian)). Due to his storied family, plus the name of his uncle and grandfather’s own master, he had heavy expectations on his (at the time) small shoulders from an early age. However, he had long been tormented by the Dark Side due to an untraceable curse placed upon him by Snoke, and probably a pre-existing anxious personality. The expectations placed on him, or maybe perhaps just self-imposed expectations, only worsened his turmoil, resulting in a festering mess of self-hatred, extreme perfectionism, and an obsession with familial honor and obsessive attachment to his family, especially Luke, that is a nasty combination of hero-worship and the abovementioned complexes and may border on almost incestuous.

There’s three ways for his backstory to go; “Underachiever Ben”, where Ben is either mediocre as a Jedi or still good but outperformed by others, or “Elsa Ben”, where he’s basically like Elsa from Frozen, possessing an extreme amount of power but barely able to control it, possibly due to Snoke’s curse, and a sort of middle ground, where Ben was super strong and a quick learner, but the dark side in him made Luke feel mixed about Ben’s increasing power, which Ben sensed. If the former, Ben becomes increasingly frustrated at himself for being such a “failure”. If “Elsa Ben”, there’s that, and also the added pain of him growing up terrified of himself and able to sense the terror he causes to those around him, so he was taken in by Luke so hopefully Luke could figure something out; he could have been destructive from the start, or maybe he started to become increasingly destructive despite his training. If the middle ground route, he takes Luke’s mixed emotions to mean that he doesn’t think he’s good enough. How severe Snoke’s curse would have been I’m not fully sure on; he could have voices in his head and nightmares keeping him up for days, chipping away at his sanity, tempting him to accept the darkness, or it may have just been an amplifying of his already unstable emotions. They could have even started as the latter and escalated to the former. But I’m thinking that to best explain his behavior I’m leaning towards the Elsa route. Eventually, his nightmares morphed into repeated visits by Darth Vader, his grandfather, who told him about the truth of his lineage and how he became Vader, slandering everything and everyone he ever admired or loved, telling him of his “true” destiny, and how he should give up and embrace it; unable to hear the real Anakin’s ghost screaming at him to not repeat his mistake. This extended campaign of mental torment stunted his emotional growth in many aspects, and at times he may seem to regress even more. Maybe other padawans were afraid of him because of this dark side presence, avoiding him, and/or were jealous of him because of his lineage and relation to Luke. He often felt entitled to be Luke’s right hand, getting jealous at other students and taking any reprimanding, no matter how gentle, extremely personally. Luke would have needed to struggle between not seeming to be biased towards his nephew and giving him the attention he needed, especially because Ben would feel like Han and Leia abandoned him because they weren’t able to help him, but considering how attached he is to Luke this would hurt him. So when Luke went to speak to him one night, or rushed in sensing an overwhelming dark side presence in his room, and was suddenly attacked by Snoke with a vision of what his nephew would become and making him go into fighting mode for a split second, drawing his weapon to protect Ben, and/or earlier admitted in anguish that he had no idea what was tormenting him despite his efforts, the straw broke the pedestal and he resigned himself to his “destiny”. Ironically he’s just exchanging one sky-high ideal for another, but he’s too emotionally immature to realize this, nor does he fully realize the fact that Snoke merely sees him as a malleable, gullible means to an end. Yet he still feels that pesky pull to the light, and he becomes increasingly frustrated with himself that even as a Dark side user, he still can’t be “perfect” or “worth” anything, not even able to sink himself into the darkness and finally rid himself of his pain. For all the privilege and power he has, or because of it, he always feels worthless. 

Basically I want to break him down and make his pitifulness obvious, but that’s what makes him sympathetic. He’s nowhere as far gone as Vader, even if he wants to be, kind of like a reverse Jekyll and Hyde situation where the Hyde is dominant but Jekyll hangs on, so to speak? Maybe? Is that the right analogy? Or I guess it is kind of like Anakin but sort of not, but he’s rapidly going down the same route of hurting his family like his grandfather. 

From researching a bit, his proposed behavior seems pretty close to the symptoms of BPD, which is actually pretty fitting because I was thinking Luke’s philosophy on the Force would be influenced by a more modern understanding of psychology, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy actually seems pretty in tune with what I understand to be how the Light Side of the Force works (I mean it even has basis in religious meditation…). Perhaps a mystical version of DBT was one of the things Luke was studying in exile. Though obviously it isn’t exactly BPD; portraying an actual, named mental illness not only has way too much baggage behind it, but it breaks immersion. And with him a lot of it will be the influence of the curse, though I think I would rather him have a personality that made him vulnerable to it from the start, so the curse had something to latch onto. 

Going with the “Elsa Ben” scenario, his “real” personality is anxious and even a bit shy. While I like the idea of him being cheerful when he was very little, the shyness always being there is also a characterization I like. Combined with his lumbering physique from his teenage years onwards, this made him a kid who gave off an impression of being extremely dorky (an act that would probably be very natural for Adam Driver to pull off lol) and/or withdrawn and aloof, the latter of which may have made some other padawans think he thought highly of himself and start to resent him. Unlike Anakin he’d be probably a dutiful student, almost creepily obedient, probably actively distancing himself from rebellious behavior, though his way of speaking isn’t exactly super formal either because of the influence of the adults around him. In his obsessions lies a genuine love, even if twisted, of his “favorite person” so to speak. He was also a genuinely sweet kid who wanted to please these special people in his life. He could be said to be actually really selfless in a weird way, because ultimately he values familial honor and being “good enough” for whatever higher purpose more than he values himself. TROS implied some sassiness with that Han-like shrug, and while I can maybe see some of Han rubbing off on him like that, that might be something that started from him trying to copy his parents’ air of confidence, and another coping mechanism. He might, like Vader, have a 501st legion 2.0 which Phasma is in charge of and Finn is part of, and show a more nicer side to them. Perhaps he opened up one or two times to Finn specifically; I can see this image of him venting to him while Finn stands still like how someone might vent to their dog, not really expecting Finn to be listening (also sarcasm might help Kylo obscure his true anguish from Finn, because FO troopers don’t understand sarcasm probably).  

He will be redeemed at the end… and live. Even if not necessarily paired with Rey. I’m neutral on Reylo (though admittedly I have a weak spot for pairs involving a strong woman and a troubled guy, so it’s kind of growing on me), but I really think this ship, or even centering the story strongly around a platonic relationship between these two, could have worked if it was built up strongly (Though if I were to go this route Finn would have to be established as a secondary character from the start, with Rey as the definitive main character, to focus on this). But either way, he’s definitely going to have to face the consequences of what he’s done, make up for his atrocities at least somewhat, and think about what he truly wants to do from now on. I can imagine him quietly reading stories to younglings as Rey, Finn, and Luke train some other pupils outside, or thanklessly working behind the scenes in other ways. For his haters out there, I could make the pill easier to swallow not just by making the reasons for his fall and how he was slowly and meticulously gaslit more clear, but also making him not as awful. Yes, he’s extremely destructive, but he could show more reluctance, or pause after his berserker rages, staring at the destruction he’s caused as the weight of what he’s done sinks in. He’d of course resent that he still has mercy left in him though. I don’t think that there will be a Starkiller Base, but even if there was he might argue with Hux a bit over whether it’s really necessary, until Hux sneers at him for having mercy, saying that Vader never hesitated when blowing up Alderaan, and Kylo reluctantly backs off.

…Actually, what about making him and Rey cousins? On one hand, if Rey is a Skywalker by blood, a direct daughter of the Master himself no less, Ben is now suddenly freed from carrying the weight of the family legacy on his own. On the other hand… He basically loses the thing he has spent his entire life building his identity around; since his fall would have partially been because of his obsession with Luke, he may become jealous and extremely resentful of her, and/or take this as even more reason for Luke to not “need” him anymore. Or perhaps, he pulls a reverse of “I sense the conflict in you” with her, wanting to “save” her from embracing the Light and wanting her to embrace the “true” Skywalker destiny with him. He could even be overjoyed that he could have someone else alongside him to carry on the legacy with; in this scenario he could have an unhealthy obsession with her that might also start crossing into “are you sure this isn’t incest?” territory. Yeah it’s a “join me and we can rule together” scenario again, but it would be done differently. Or perhaps it’s a mix of some of those. Exploring that and how he chooses to take it could be extremely interesting. Maybe it’s resolved when Anakin tells him to “finish what he started”… not just by saving the galaxy, but by also living the rest of his life loving his family not as an ideal, but as family, like Anakin wasn’t allowed to. And platonic Reylo sounds nice too. Though that’s going to make all that shipping fanart so awkward lol. Well it’s not as if Star Wars shippers haven’t been cockblocked by incest before (though his obsession with family and extremely questionable mental state would probably make such shippers go nuts anyway…). 

And going off of Poe being close to his parents, while the main interactions with Kylo from the heroes would be Rey, Finn if he’s the second protagonist, Luke, and his parents, I can see potential for an interesting dynamic and some interesting conversations between them too. Much like how he might react to Rey being Luke’s daughter, I can see him being jealous of Poe and resenting him for being his “replacement”, but after his redemption I can see potential for seeing the start of a friendship between them in epilogue comics, novels, or a mini-series. It would be pretty in-character for my version of Poe to want to help rehabilitate his sort-of stepbrother. Also I now have the adorable mental image of Ben quietly helping Poe (and maybe the rest of his squad) decorate and arrange Rey and Finn’s wedding, or the two surprising Finn with a very elaborate bachelor party, though I’m not sure if those exist in this universe. And because of a certain Inside Llewyn Davis scene I’m also imagining Poe getting Ben to sing with him and BB-8. It’s adorable. 

Also if both Rey and Finn are the main heroes, he might have some kind of link with both of them, and the main duo would both contrast him in their own way (lonely scavenger who no one expected anything of and nameless trooper who defected from the First Order vs. someone who grew up in greatness but seemingly threw it away and chose to be in the First Order; and much like Kylo Finn in particular has been manipulated from childhood to do heinous things, so he may sympathize with his situation). Maybe he’s the missing piece needed for both him and the leading duo to reach their full potential, or the main duo are the last piece needed to finally break Snoke’s curse on him, or something. Or it could simply just be Finn showing his growth and strength of character by understanding and forgiving Kylo, despite him now understanding just how badly the First Order treated him, which makes Rey (who, again, might start as this super cynical scavenger or may have seen Kylo go berserk and massacre her friends and betray her Master) come around to the idea. In this scenario it may actually be even more important to emphasize that Rey and Finn are two making up a whole, so as not to bog stuff down. It’s possible to ship Finnrey and want Kylo to have a better ending, what a shock! 

Maybe Rey and Kylo could switch places, and he comes back to the light in SW8, which is an idea I’ve seen floated and is something that would make the story truly unique. He would seem like basically a less stable Vader 2.0 at the start, but over SW8 he could be seen breaking more and more out of his own terrible mindset, coming to a head in a cathartic realization that bring him back into the arms of his beloved family. It would also add an interesting dynamic that he and Finn have to be equals now. But that may mean that Rey would have to be killed off and I’m not so sure about that. 

Though speaking of her, since in all these scenarios a common thread is that she understandably doesn’t like him, it would be a bit of a twist if Finn sees the good in him but Rey, if she’s a Skywalker, his cousin, doesn’t. 

And to bring up Poe again, I also really like the idea of them having been childhood friends and thus knowing each other before the events of SW7; after all, they’re around similar age, it isn’t that far-fetched to think that former Rebel families would be still pretty close to each other, and I’ve seen some adorable fanfics with the concept. It also adds connection between them and adds even more tragedy, even if this relationship may have to be elaborated more in supplementary material due to time. I can definitely Poe speaking like an old friend to Kylo and constantly calling him “Ben”, to his irritation. The abovementioned feeling of being replaced could be what caused Ben to suddenly break off the friendship. And making the main cast kind of tight-knit like this might also help make the cast easier to manage. 

Granted, there is the possibility of killing him off, though. I heard that one of the initial ideas for TFA was apparently that Kylo would be a reverse Vader, falling deeper and deeper into the Dark Side as the trilogy goes on. In fact, this may have been where Kylo killing Han may have been leading to. This actually sounded like a super cool idea, but considering the backstory I laid out I thought it would be way too bittersweet for the concluding movie of the saga, and if one were to say Kylo basically has BPD… That might lead to some unfortunate implications. I mean nothing is stopping me from not using the Elsa backstory, and if I didn’t use it maybe this route would be pretty viable, but I’m kind of starting to get attached to it. 

—

Other characters:

Hux: I’ve never really been a villain person. I mean I liked sympathetic villains, yeah (but even then I preferred anti-heroes for a while; I’m talking like nothing beyond N from Pokémon levels of “evil”), but straight-up villains I just have merely seen as obstacles. Like back in my Smash fic days I was often like “Eh… They’re there… Because they want to take over the world I guess?”. It’s why I’m having trouble with Snoke probably lol. But for some reason Hux interests me. If I take a guess it’s probably because of the potential he had as an actual foil to Kylo in his own faction. He had so much potential as a villain, and in having this tense dynamic play out. In fact he does seem to have been set up that way in SW7. But yeah, I imagine him as one coldhearted bastard. His backstory, though not elaborated on in the movies, would be much like TFA supplementary material set him up; he’d still have killed his father, but while yes, Brendol was abusive and strict, Armitage didn’t kill him completely because he was a young man who wanted to break free from his strict father, but also genuinely because he knew doing so would be good for his standing. Unlike Kylo when he (most likely) kills Han, he doesn’t regret killing Brendol at all. While he might have a tragic backstory kind of explaining his behavior, it doesn’t bother him at all, while Kylo, who considering what happened to him and how he’s literally under a curse you’d think would have a much steeper fall into unabashed evil, is constantly conflicted. It’s a very Sith Lord-like backstory funnily enough… In fact I’m pretty sure that Palpatine had a backstory very similar to this with his parents.  

He’s a very logical, analytical, brutally pragmatic person, and he looks upon Kylo’s emotional state with condescension. I’m increasingly starting to like the idea that he’s somehow able to talk Kylo down, while still being hardly nice. Perhaps he preys upon Kylo’s constant need for approval from others, even if he doesn’t like the person in question (this may also be why Kylo reacts so strongly to Finn escaping as well, in fact. He genuinely cares about people’s loyalty, even from literal no-name soldiers). Though I can’t decide whether he’s this deceptively charming snake or basically an evil Spock. I also can’t decide between him being in this constant state of “Why do I have to babysit this manchild” or giving absolutely no visible f*cks around Kylo no matter what happens, or even straight-up trolling him often, toying with his emotions because it amuses him; preferably two or a bit of all somehow? I can see him using having met Vader as a child to mock Kylo for how much of a pale, childish imitation he is, or reminding Kylo of how much better he is as a leader objectively; perhaps that’s what he holds over Kylo’s head. Or him explaining to Kylo how he was raised by less than stellar parenting and tried so hard to live up to his strict father too… So he brutally murdered Brendol in cold blood (possibly with Phasma’s help), became a better admiral than he ever was, and got over it “Like an adult. Unlike you.”. They’d be in this constant state of delicate, tense equality; Kylo can easily overpower Hux if he pisses him off a bit too much, but Hux is able to walk that fine edge seemingly without much effort. 

But when he realizes whatever grand cosmic plot he and the entire First Order has been participating in this whole time is when, ironically, there would probably be a really dramatic villainous breakdown from him. It’s kind of a Zuko and Azula situation with Kylo and Hux perhaps? Or is this Hux more a mix of Azula and Zhao’s roles rather?

——

Worldbuilding stuff: Since I’m more a character person, there isn’t much here, but because the worldbuilding was another issue in the movies I’ll also be adding these.

The New Republic isn’t nuked in the first movie. In fact it stays there for the duration of the trilogy and the hero faction is now its armed forces, not The Resistance (Also that name makes no sense. Seriously. At least name them The Peacekeeper Corps or Vigilantes or something, or since they’re basically Leia’s personal military maybe the Organa Free Army or Organa Corps or something of that sort. No wonder people mistakenly call them The Rebels sometimes. It’s a similar setup to Chrom’s Shepherds in Fire Emblem Awakening, albeit with a better relationship with the kingdom; it would be downright strange if the Shepherds called themselves The Resistance despite literally existing with the queen’s permission, and it still is here. Hell, Leia’s Shepherds is a better name). There would be elaboration on the political stuff going on behind the scenes, and if Leia isn’t a Jedi that’s her plotline probably, though a big part of me wants her to be part of the action instead of being stuck on the homeworld. 

Meanwhile, The First Order is made up of Imperial Remnants and people and planets who were unsatisfied with the democratic but still new and fragile New Republic. Basically think White Russians if the Soviets weren’t also awful. It happens a lot in history. While it may have some mining planets in its orbit (not literally, you know what I mean) so it can plausibly refurbish anything Kylo wrecks with his tantrums, Starkiller Base is probably a bit much, and a lot of their equipment might be old Imperial or Rebel stuff, or stolen from the New Republic, with new stuff being produced but not in overly high quantity. Some of the equipment deemed less important might even be kind of crappy due to how old they are. They’d probably be at most an equally powerful faction to the Republic, if not smaller than them, seeming more like a terrorist cell. I don’t have much of an idea why Snoke would want to be involved in it yet though. 

But while the First Order might be smaller, the New Republic is hindered by it just now finally gaining its footing, and the military previously only having been used for peacekeeping and sniping stray Imperial remnants. Because it’s peacetime, it might have been kept pretty small, and also the military academies are literally not even 30 years old at this point, so new that it’s possible Poe, despite his youth, was one of the earliest graduates; one of the military’s most high-ranking officers is literally a scoundrel with no formal training - even if he is good at his job - it isn’t exactly a well-oiled machine, though its less rigid, casual structure also does benefit it in some aspects. Also the FO can easily use Kylo as intimidation, and its upper staff is nothing if not driven and motivated as well as ruthless. They may engage in more underhanded actions like sabotage and suicide bombers, or rely on small elite units like the Knights of Ren or small companies of troopers, to poke holes in the enemy just as much as open combat. And maybe if all else fails Snoke causes something really bad to happen seemingly out of nowhere. 

While I do think that making the baddies an Empire 2.0 is an… uncreative decision, I want to keep Finn’s backstory, plus it fits Kylo’s story too so blah, I kind of have to keep it. Plus I want to do Phasma and Hux justice. Maybe Snoke or whatever it serves turns into a giant Eldritch abomination and have no use for the FO anymore. And again, reactionary forces are a thing that have existed throughout early modern history. But as already mentioned, due to the nature of the First Order’s existence, maybe the Stormtroopers aren’t kidnapped, but they were orphans picked off the streets, and/or some more dedicated Imperial parents gave them their children? I had the idea that Troopers like Finn are “Junior Troopers”, the child slave type, while older members, “Senior Troopers”, would be legit Imperial revanchists and former troopers. Maybe there’s a separate company of Juniors who think they’re cool by fighting for the First Order, but generally Juniors would be the lowest on the social rung, though some might make it into higher positions, and don’t know any other life than what they have now. Though I also like the idea that Finn was part of an elite unit directly connected to Kylo Ren like the 501st, so he has a reason to be particularly hurt by his betrayal (but that could throw a wrench in the whole Finn was a faceless cog in the machine thing). They’re pretty Prussian in command structure; officers work under mission-tactics, but the rank-and-file are machine-like in their discipline, more than even some actual droids. The Republic’s forces also probably engage in mission-tactics a lot, except how far it is acceptable goes way further down the chain of command, so stuff like the Holdo situation doesn’t happen. If that situation were to happen when mission-tactics were to be expected Poe’s independent action would be seen as reasonable. This would have potential for very interesting battles and tactics, though I’d need a lot of help with those because I’m the furthest thing from a tactician you can find (but even I can tell the bomber scene from TLJ was dumb, which should say something).

I kind of realized that it’s possible that the four OT legacy characters may end up basically representing four major aspects of the New Republic; the Jedi (Luke), law and justice (Leia, if she’s a senator), the military (Han, if he’s a general), and economics (Lando). I think some worldbuilding into how the republic functions should be explored through these characters as they move the story forward, except for the Jedi since they’re obviously a central focus, and Luke might very well be introduced after them, and the military will also get focus for obvious reasons, and Poe exists. The information definitely needs to be conveyed as efficiently and organically as possible through the story, because there’s two, likely three, equally important main characters and an unholy amount of secondary characters who aren’t exactly minor. 

May write more later idk. I need to be doing other stuff…

[a-dorin]

will you be my valentine? | star wars x reader

little blurbs on how the lovely men of star wars ask you to be their valentine! 

poe dameron 

unfortunately, poe could not spend the holiday with you due to a mission. once he came back, he found you immediately, scooping you into his arms, holding you tightly into his chest. of course he felt horrible that the two of you had to celebrate a day late, but he still wanted to spend time with you. that night, the two of you had a picnic, and laid out on a blanket, stargazing for hours. poe faced you so that your eyes met, his brown eyes twinkling in the dark. 

after a while, the two of you began to talk, holding conversations about everything. the topics ranged from the stars, to the resistance progress, to the kinds of food you guys liked. you loved when poe opened up to you, as the trauma of the war often left him silent. however, tonight was special, a memory you’d hold in your heart for a lifetime. 

“will you be my valentine?” a goofy grin was plastered on his face. 

“of course,” you giggled, pressing your lips to his for a tender kiss. 

kylo ren

the commander of the first order was never one for celebrating holidays, or even acknowledging them. however, since a certain engineer had caught his attention, he was sure to celebrate valentine’s day this year. sure, he thought everything was cliche and sickening, but he had a soft spot for you. kylo ren thought you were beautiful, alluring him at every encounter. that morning, on your daily route, you noticed a tall shadow standing in a corridor, glowing underneath the lights. you arched a brow, confusion and excitement swirling in the pit of your stomach. 

 kylo ren, the man everyone feared on the ship, was standing before you, a small bouquet of flowers held in his leather gloves. you felt a small smile form, as you realized his mask was off, his features prominent. he outstretched his arm, you taking them in your fingertips. momentarily, your hands touched, a blush spreading into your cheeks. 

“i have a request,” kylo stated, his voice low, “will you be my valentine?”

you nodded, “yes. of course.”

a sheepish grin spread across the commander’s face, his heart swelling. he escorted you to your duties, elbow linked with yours, the two of you content. 

general hux

general armitage hux was hopelessly in love with you. the only catch: the two of you worked together as officers, so your relationship was strictly professional. however, kylo ren was off on an independent mission, so it allowed the first order employees to celebrate valentine’s day. that night, at a banquet, hux eyed you from across the room as you giggled with your coworkers, a drink in your hand.

 he approached you confidently, “ms. (l/n), can i have this dance?”

“of course,” you nodded, your voice warm. 

hux whisked you to the dance floor, his technique flawless as one hand rested on your waist, the other on your shoulder, “i have to say, you’re the most gorgeous woman i have ever met.”

a blush spread through your cheeks, “you are quite handsome yourself, general.” 

“would you do me the pleasure of being my valentine?” his question surged with eagerness. 

“of course,” you placed a soft kiss on his cheek, “i have been waiting for you to ask me that all day.”

for the first time in months, you witnessed a grand smile stretch across hux’s face, “well, we were both preoccupied with our duties?”

you bit your lip, eyeing the ginger up and down, “are you going to be preoccupied with duties later tonight?”

the general’s face turned a shade as red as his hair. 

luke skywalker

with the weight of his ancestry and jedi training bearing down on him, luke had been beyond stressed lately. as one of his closest friends, it pained you seeing him exhausted. it was evening when you approached his quarters, the sun well set beyond the horizon. you knocked softly on the door, a tray of luke’s favorite delicacies in your hands. 

“come in,” his voice rose from behind the door. 

you opened it, walking into the room. the glow of a lantern cast a warm light over the room, luke’s skin glowing golden as he studied ancient texts, flipping through the pages of a book. 

his eyes glanced up from the book when he noticed the tray beside him, “is this for me?”

“yes,” a giggle escaped your lips. 

“thank you,” the blonde’s eyes softened, “it really means a lot.”

“well,” you shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, “you mean a lot to me, luke.”

he rose from his chair, wrapping his arms around you, “i have a question for you, (y/n).” 

“and that is?” your lips were dangerously close to his neck. 

“will you be my valentine?” he titled your chin up, his blue eyes locking with yours. 

“of course,” you murmured. 

luke leaned in, the space between you closing as his lips collided with yours. 

han solo

a sigh escaped your lips as you sat in a chair in the control room, han desperately attempting to carry out the mission, chewie keeping guard at the door. things were not going according to plan, per usual with han solo, but he was reassuring the resistance that everything was under control. of course, the man wouldn’t do any damage to his ego, swallowing his pride for once.

“listen,” han cleared his throat catching your attention, “if we don’t make it through this mission, i have something i wanted to ask you.”

you pursed your lips together, unsure of what was going through the pilot’s mind. of course, the mission had to take place on valentine’s day, a holiday that was not traditionally celebrated, but it was fun nonetheless. 

“what do you want to ask me?” your tone was cross. of course you were upset with han. most of the time the mistakes were his fault anyways. 

“will you be my valentine?” a smug grin replaced the look of concern. 

“han, we’ve been together for a couple years,” you deadpanned, “is that really what you want me to remember before we die?”

“oh come on sweetheart,” han groaned, “i love you, (//n) (y/l/n).”

your annoyance with the pilot dissolved, your heart skipping a beat, “i love you too, han solo.” 

darth maul

patiently, you awaited the arrival of your lover, the zabrak of darthomir. he was on a mission, with the intent of finding his sworn enemy, obi-wan. worry was the main emotion overwhelming you, as maul promised he would return within a few days. it had been a week, and you were terrified that he was gone, forever. 

of course, it didn’t help any that it was a day of love. valentine’s day was wrapping up, your sadness rising as you realized you didn’t get to spend it with your love. 

the creaking of a door caught your attention, causing you to sit up in the bed. the moon glowed, light filtering in through the curtains. maul entered the room, a shadow in the darkness. you swallowed, sensing his aura of despair and disappointment. the mission was not a success. 

the zabrak slipped into bed, his black and red back facing you. gently, you began to run your fingertips along his spine, tracing his tattoos. he let out a sigh, “i missed you, my love.”

you pressed a gentle kiss on his shoulder, “i have been waiting for days for your return.”

he rolled over, his amber eyes gleaming in the night, “i know, angel. i am aware that day was a holiday as well. i feel insufficient that i could not spend the day with you.”

shaking your head, any resentment for maul disintegrated, “don’t apologize. i understand.”

“i love you, my valentine,” maul murmured, placing his hands on your cheeks, pulling you in for a sweet and gentle kiss. 

finn

since finn is very shy when it comes to romantic gestures, he knew he should ask someone who was more experienced for guidance. of course, the first person he went for advice was the ladies man himself, poe dameron. the two of you had been best friends for a long time, but finn was ready to confess his feelings for you, since the day was so special regardless. on valentine’s day, you sat at your desk in the infirmary, noticing a brightly colored box. you opened it, your heart softening when you grasped the necklace in your fingertips. finn poked his head in, smiling when he noticed you opened his gift.

“did you like your gift?” he inquired, eager for your response.

“i love it,” you gushed, rising up from your seat. 

“will you be my valentine?” finn beamed. 

“yes,” you nodded, “i would love to.” 

the two of you embraced, happiness filling you to the brim. 

[twomoonstwosuns]

friends.

back to you [series masterlist]

previous part · next part

pairing: professor!poe dameron x reader

warnings: mentions of alcohol, swearing, sweet fluff for the entire thing, age gap (reader over 18)

word count: 4.0k

a/n: feeling kinda meh about this chapter, i apologize if it’s not my best. enjoy the fluff, because we’re about to dive into some drama.

*updated masterlist with info about the number of remaining chapters! (but give me like 10 minutes so I can find the post and link things)

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“Is the Wi-Fi working for you?”

Poe looked up from his computer when you didn’t answer. Your head was propped up against your hand as you stared at the screen. “Y/N?”

You hummed, tearing your eyes away from the screen. “Sorry, what?”

He gave you a humorous smile. “Are you connected to the Wi-Fi?”

You glanced down at the bars at the top of your screen. “Um…oh, I guess not.”

Poe got up from the table to reset the router. You leaned back in your chair, head hanging over the back so your hair cascaded down the back of it, and groaned quietly. It was a late Sunday afternoon and you were sitting at Poe’s kitchen table doing homework. He had his computer open too, though you weren’t entirely sure what he was doing. A comfortable silence accompanied by soft music fell over you, interrupted only by the clacking of the keyboard. Beebs was off being Beebs. He had been bouncing between you and Poe, demanding attention until you finally caved. After a game of fetch with the purple dragon you bought for him that allowed you to procrastinate for all of two minutes, Beebs trotted off towards Poe’s bedroom to chew on his new favorite toy. Then you were stuck working again. You were quickly losing the will to concentrate, your head throbbing with exhaustion.

“What’s eatin’ you?” You lifted your head to see Poe back in his spot, arms crossed over his chest and an observant look on his face.

“This business marketing paper. The boring part of marketing,” you said, shutting your computer and pushing it away from you. “I need a break. What’re you working on?”

Poe just sighed heavily. You walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and peering at his laptop. There were multiple documents and webpages up.

“What’s eating you?”

Poe looked stressed. He grabbed your hand, bringing you around to perch on his lap. Your arm rested around his neck as his went around your waist to secure you in place.

“I’m…looking at Snoke’s dissertations, his research, the department head job…anything to give me an advantage.”

“Any word on when the interview is?”

“Not yet, but I got the names of some of the people interviewing for the position.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Armitage Hux?”

You narrowed your eyes as you thought. The name sounded familiar so you figured he was someone who taught at the university, but you didn’t know him personally. “I think I’ve heard the name before. If he’s a professor here, I haven’t had him.”

“Consider yourself lucky. He’s a pretentious jackass who thinks he’s above everyone else. Takes after Snoke.”

“Tell me how you really feel about him,” Poe snickered and gave your waist a squeeze. “Well, you’re the complete opposite of him, so I’d say that’s an advantage already. If there’s anything I can do to help you, let me know.”

Poe rubbed his eyes with his free hand. Resting your head against his, you ran your hand through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to make me fall asleep,” he said, leaning into your touch. You smiled at the pet name, a warm feeling settling in your chest.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No.”

Poe rested his head on your shoulder, his nose nuzzling your collarbone. You continued running your fingers through his hair, a content groan coming from him as he completely relaxed. Moments like these were few and far between and greatly cherished, when you could just relax in each other’s embrace. There was no sneaking around, no pretending like you weren’t a couple in a room full of people. You could just be together.

Beebs suddenly barked loudly from Poe’s bedroom, startling the both of you out of your peaceful state. You looked towards the noise. “What’s gotten into him?”

Poe reluctantly unwound his arms from your waist, looking towards the room as Beebs’ barks turned to huffs.

“Maybe he found a mouse,” Poe said, smirking when you glared at him.

“That’s not funny!” You yelled after him.

A loud knock on the door startled you again. You could hear Poe talking to Beebs, which meant he hadn’t heard the door. You tiptoed over to the door to peak through the peephole when you heard a loud, booming voice.

“Poe Dameron, I know you’re alive in there!”

Yanking the door open, you immediately recognized the man and woman on the other side, but their faces showed confusion as they looked at you.

“You are not Poe,” the man said with a joking tone to his voice. You laughed.

“No, but I know you,” you pointed between the two visitors. “You’re Finn, and you’re Rey.” You recognized them from the pictures Poe had around his apartment and on his office desk.

“Is Poe here?” Rey asked kindly, and you snapped out of your thoughts.

“Oh my god, yeah, I’m sorry.” You stood aside, letting them in. “Poe!”

Poe came out of his room with Beebs hot on his heels and you saw his face light up when he saw Finn.

“Buddy!” He engulfed Finn in a giant hug, patting him on the back. It had been far too long since they’d seen each other, and the reunion of two best friends made you smile. “What’re you doing here?!”

“I’m on leave for two weeks, had to come say hi. And I managed to steal Peanut from Florida for a few days.”

Poe found Rey from over Finn’s shoulder and grabbed her in a bear hug, lifting her from the ground. They both leaned down to say hi to Beebs, the happy dog hungry for their affection, as he laid on the ground with his belly open for scratches.

“Guys,” Poe beckoned you over to him. “This is Y/N. Y/N, this is—“

“Finn and Rey, I know,” you smiled, shaking both of his friends’ hands. “It’s so great to meet you, I’ve heard so many good things about the both of you.”

“Oh god, now I have to know what he said.” Finn joked. “Are you sticking around a bit longer?”

You grabbed the phone out of your pocket and grimaced at the time. “Another time, I actually have to head out.”

Beebs grabbed Finn and Rey’s attention once again, showing off a toy in hopes they’d play with him.

“You know you can stay, right?” Poe questioned quietly as you packed up your belongings.

“I know, but Karé’s expecting me home to help her study and if I’m not there soon, she will kill me,” you explained, really wishing you hadn’t made the promise to your friend so you could stay. “Besides, it’s not everyday you get a surprise visit from your best friends. You haven’t seen them in months; you need to catch up with them. I’ll see you later.”

Poe smiled appreciatively and pressed a lingering kiss to your lips. You whispered a goodbye to him before politely waving to Finn and Rey.

“So that’s your girl, huh?” Rey asked as the front door clicked shut, elbowing Poe in the ribs and wiggling her eyebrows. Poe looked from the door to his friends and back, a small smile on his face.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

》 》 》

The nerves were back in your belly.

Finn and Rey still wanted to get to know you, so they suggested drinks. This felt as big as meeting the parents. Finn and Rey were important and if they didn’t like you…you didn’t want to think about it.

You drove over to Poe’s apartment and he intercepted you before you could head inside, instead getting into his waiting car. Your phone rang and you pressed a finger to your lips as Poe opened his mouth to say hi.

“Hi, mom.”

“You will never guess who’s back in town.”

“I know Ben is, but who else?”

“Ben told you, good! Well his father’s back, too. They want to know if we want to have dinner with them and his mother, and they want you and Tallie to come too. Are you available Wednesday night?”

“You’re going to make me drive an hour home just for that?”

“Please, honey? They really want to see you. If it’ll get you here, I’ll pay for your gas.”

You threw your head back against the seat of the car, groaning inaudibly in discontent.

“If it’ll make you happy, fine. But you’re paying me back for gas.”

“Thank you, honey. I’ll let them know and I’ll text you when we settle on a time and place.”

“Sounds good, unfortunately I gotta go, I’m actually a little busy right now.”

Bidding your mother goodbye, you hung up and tossed your phone into your bag. Poe raised his eyebrows. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, apparently I get to drive all the way home to go out to dinner with some family friends who just got back to town,” you said, still confused as to why it was so imperative that you attend. “So…we’re not going inside?”

“Finn found a place an hour away. He figured we might like that since we’re always at my apartment.”

“Wow,” you said softly, awed at the sweetness of the gesture of someone who was still practically a stranger. “That’s so nice of him.”

“He likes you.”

“He doesn’t know me.”

“I’ve told him enough.”

“Oh yeah? What have you told him about me?”

“All the good stuff. Like how you snore.”

“I do not!” You swatted his arm. Poe grabbed your hand, intertwining your fingers with his and kissing your knuckles. He didn’t let go for the entire hour-long drive.

When you got to the bar, Poe grabbed your hand outside of the car and kissed you in the parking lot. Because there was no one around who could tell on you.  

Finn and Rey had already arrived, commandeering a booth in the corner that wasn’t hiding from the action in the bar but a little out of the way to ensure some privacy. You sat down nervously as Finn joined Poe at the bar to get drinks.

“Can I just clarify something before Poe comes back?” You blurted as soon as Rey opened her mouth to speak. She nodded. “I’m not using Poe to get a good grade or whatever.”

“Relax,” Rey laughed. You blushed, muttering an apology and wondering where Poe was with drinks. “We never thought you were. Poe’s told us enough where we never even considered it.”

You felt your shoulders relax. “Ok, now I have to know what he said.”

Rey eyed the guys coming back to the table and gave you a look that said you’d talk about it later. You took a long swig of your beer, bursting into giggles with Rey at the reason why. Poe shook his head.

“Do I want to know?” He asked as he put his arm around the back of the booth and you shook your head as you patted his knee.

“Nope. Our secret.” You clinked your bottle against Rey’s and Poe felt excitement in his veins that you and Rey were already getting along.

“All right Y/N, there’s a few things Poe didn’t tell us about you,” Finn said. “What’s your major?”

“Marketing, which will let me do pretty much anything.”

“Do you know what you’re doing after school?”

“Not even in the slightest. I probably should start setting up job interviews though.”

“Family?”

“Mom, older sister, brother-in-law.”

“Is this twenty questions? Because if it is, it’s totally one-sided.” Poe interrupted.

“We’re doing a crash course on Y/N. Pun intended.” Finn said, making Poe roll his eyes.

“Ok fine, but let me sneak in a question or two.” You said. “Family?”

Poe’s eyes flickered between his two friends as he tensed beside you. You froze, realizing you might’ve struck a nerve but not knowing how. Your nerves were back in full force, a warm uncomfortable feeling settling in your chest.

“We were foster kids,” Finn said. “I never knew my birth parents.”

“And my parents died when I was five.” Rey added. They sounded so nonchalant about it, like they’ve said it a million times. A sorrowful look crossed your face.

“Don’t be sorry.” Rey shook her head, placing her hand on yours. “We got lucky with loving families and it made us who we are.”

“And we’re awesome, so…”

You admired their perspective. You weren’t very familiar with the foster system, knowing only what you know through word-of-mouth and poor TV portrayal, but you knew enough to know that kids sometimes ended up in bad situations when they all deserved good situations. And you were grateful that Finn and Rey ended up with good families.

“My dad walked out on my family six months ago to be with his mistress and we didn’t hear from him for two weeks,” you admitted, breaking the tense silence. Poe squeezed your hand. “Since we’re swapping family stories.”

Finn and Rey were silent before bursting out laughing, which caused you to laugh, and then Poe laughed. Uncomfortable family situations you had no control over whatsoever wouldn’t ruin a good time.

You learned that Rey was incredibly gifted and the youngest engineer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, working between engine maintenance on planes and shuttles to computer data processing. She had two rescue cats named Ochi and Deo and hated the humidity of Florida but loved the ocean and the lush green of the Everglades.

Finn was a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force based in California, quickly rising through the ranks with his skill and natural leadership abilities. He had just been assigned to the base in California and he was still getting used to all the sun. He and Poe met in high school first and made a plan to join the Air Force together until Poe’s father got sick. The band had been Finn’s idea, having spent three weeks holding auditions until he found his bandmates.

“Your friends are cooler than mine,” you said quietly to Poe before turning back to Finn and Rey. “So NASA engineer and Air Force pilot/sergeant. Definitely cooler than a famous musician.”

“Poe told you about that?” Finn asked. “Did he tell you about Skywalker Records?”

“Only that they were interested in you.”

“Well, we actually sat down with the founder Luke and Poe was so nervous that he tripped over his own feet and broke one of his Grammy’s.”

You wanted to feel bad for your boyfriend, but instead you busted out laughing. Poe groaned in embarrassment and you leaned into him, patting his stomach. You and Poe were probably a little touchy feely given that you with his friends, but if they had a problem with it they didn’t seem to care. You never got to act like a couple in public and you were taking full advantage of it.

“So, are you excited to graduate?” Rey asked. You nodded, but deep in the back of your mind you didn’t want to think about graduating, entering the real world and leaving the comfort of a daily school routine. And, ultimately, the possibility of leaving Poe.

“It’s been a long ride and sometimes I think I’ll forget everything I learned,” you vented. “And sometimes I feel like all college has done for me is teach me how to function on very little sleep and how to get really good at Mario Kart, like those skills are going to take me far.”

“Depending on what you end up doing, working on no sleep can help you.” Rey answered. Poe shot her a look.

“Don’t encourage it, it’s not healthy.”

“But it’s true.”

“You any good?” Finn interrupted, looking directly at you.

“At not sleeping? Very.”

“No, at Mario Kart.”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Finn huffed and you furrowed your brow. “Why?”

“Nothing,” Finn said, giving you a challenging look. “I just so happen to be the King of Mario Kart.”

You arched your eyebrow. Poe and Rey were looking at the both of you humorously.

“How good?”

And that’s how you found yourself back in Poe’s apartment, moving the coffee table out of the way while Poe hooked up the gaming system.

“How do you want to do this? No matter how good you think you are, your thumb is going to cramp after a couple of races. We’re going to need a break.”

“You don’t think you’re playing alone, do you?” Poe asked, looking between you and Finn. “You’re my girlfriend and all, Y/N, but I’m going to kick your ass.”

A smirk grew on your face. “Is that a challenge?”

“If you want it to be.” Poe stalked towards you, leaning down to your ear. “Just remember that I always win.”

Undoubtedly a little turned on, you had never been more determined to beat someone for. And Poe knew it.

“Fine. Finn and Poe against me and Y/N,” Rey said. “I hope you’re both prepared to get your ass kicked by a couple of girls.”

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Finn said, handing over a controller. Poe came back into the living room with a piece of paper and a pen.

“We’ll keep track of the points from each set of races. Whoever tallies the most at the end wins.”

As you picked your characters, Mario and Luigi respectively, Rey pulled you aside. “I think they’re strategizing,” she whispered, looking at Finn and Poe, who were huddled up together. Beebs just lay in the middle of the floor with his tail wagging, just wanting to be included.

“What is there to strategize on? You just race,” you said.

“I have an idea. Go for the speeder.” Rey said. “Finn will most likely go with something flashy that has better acceleration but the speeder is easier to control, which will give you the advantage when you get to the harder courses.”

You pointed at her with a smirk. “Good thinking.”

It was back and forth, round after round. You’d win a couple. Finn would win a couple. Then Rey, then Poe. Both teams took to over-the-top celebrations. The guys danced, you and Rey chest bumped. Celebratory shots after each round made their way into the game.

You were having the time of your life.

Entering the final race, the score was incredibly close, the guys leading you by six points. You needed to finish at least fifth in order to beat them. It was you and Finn, battling it out over who’d be crowned the best at Mario Kart. You had just gained the lead when you felt Poe’s hands on your hips. You tried to shake them off, but he wouldn’t budge. You ignored him, but he suddenly wrapped one arm around your waist and started pulling backwards away from the TV.

“Oh hell no! Poe!” you laughed, fighting against the pull, but it was useless. “Rey!”

You grabbed your partner’s attention and tossed her the remote as Poe pulled you back by the couch. You cheered victoriously when Rey got back on course and managed to pull back just behind Finn. You stopped fighting against Poe and rested your arms on top of his, hip-checking him as he buried his face in your neck and wrapped his other arm around you.

“You are such a cheater!” You were giggling uncontrollably as Poe placed kisses wherever he could. He kissed up your neck to your cheek.

“I’m sorry you didn’t think of it,” Poe said against your cheek, with humor in his voice. His lips moved all over your cheek. You turned your face and caught his lips, which he kissed multiple times as you laughed. The joyful crinkles by your eyes matched his.

Finn and Rey glanced at each other with knowing smirks. Their best friend was completely smitten.

Poe rested his chin on your shoulder as you both watched your partners finish the race. He subconsciously tightened his grip around you as Finn and Rey became neck and neck, you cheering as Rey crossed the finish line. She didn’t finish first, but she did beat Finn. Poe released you as you went to high-five Rey, picking up the pad of paper and writing down the scores. You waited anxiously as they tallied up the results.

“We win!”

You and Rey protested, grabbing the paper to double check the math. They had indeed won, and you knew Poe wasn’t going to let you live it down.

“A worthy competitor,” you stuck your hand out to Finn, who shook it. Poe stuck out his hand and you shook your head. “Not happening.”

He gently grabbed your wrist and pulled you into him. “That’s not very friendly.”

“You and me: rematch.”

“It’s a date.”

He pecked your lips and grabbed the bottles of alcohol to put away. “It’s late, do you guys just want to crash here? I’ve got the guest room and the couch.”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” Rey said, looking at Finn who nodded. “Go take Beebs out, we know where your extra blankets and pillows are.”

While Poe took Beebs out, you helped Finn and Rey get the couch set up, turned off lights, and shut things down for the night. You met them in the middle of the living room, not quite ready to say good night.

“You know, I really admire how strong you’ve kept your friendship after all these years while being thousands of miles apart,” you commented. “I’m terrified of what’s going to happen with my friends here and my friends from high school.”

“Sometimes you just find people in your life who are worth the effort. Rey and Poe are that for me. And you seem to be that way for Poe.”

“So, does that mean I’ve got your approval?”

Finn and Rey glanced at each other before looking back at you. You gave them a knowing look in return.

“Damn, she’s observant,” Finn whispered loudly.

“Not that we should have any say over who Poe chooses to date,” Rey stated. “But yes.”

You gave them a small smile, whispering your thanks that was interrupted with a loud yawn from Finn.

“Sorry, it’s exhausting kicking ass,” Finn said. Both you and Rey rolled your eyes.

“I’ll get better by beating Poe and the next time you come up, we’ll play.”

“Deal.”

It was your turn to yawn, the sleepy ambiance of the apartment practically pushing you towards bed.

“Go to bed, we’ll talk in the morning.” Rey said, hugging you. You were surprised by the action, but hugged her back nonetheless. Finn tapped you on the shoulder as you pulled away from Rey.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do with friends in the next room over.” Finn warned, pulling you into a hug. You chuckled.

“Poe’s gonna gloat all night, so don’t worry. It’s not happening.”

You caught Poe’s eye as he came in the door and seeing you hugging his friend. You expected him to give you a look for talking about him while he was gone, but instead you saw him carefully watching you with a smile on his face as he took off his coat. After just a couple of hours, you were getting along with two of the most important people in his life.

He couldn’t help but be happy.

tag list [open] - @ah-callie @darksideofclarke @gloomygoregirl @leilei-draws @imaginecrushes @i-ievu @brianamaree @yeeintensifies @spider-starry @krazykatkay456 @fanfiction-trashpile @afootnoteinyourhappiness @easterncryptid @my-child-gaara @myrandom-fandomlife @onebatch--twobatch @the-cry-of-youth @p3nny4urth0ught5 @porgiez @umchrisevans @galaxy-of-stories @seeking-a-great--perhaps 

[a-flickering-soul]

do kylux for the ask meme 😳 you + me = mental illness

i love you so much for sending this in this truly is the mortifying ordeal of being known

putting this under a readmore because it is LITCHERALLY 1.2k words because i am literally clawing at the walls of my enclosure about these two

ANYWAYS go ahead and send me a character and i’ll give you some headcanons bc im having fun doing these!!!

Kylo Ren

Sexuality Headcanon: ambiguously queer. Don’t make me think about him having sex he makes me so angry

Gender Headcanon: he Must be a cis man. He has so much mommy issues. He is such an incel. He is so full of toxic masculinity. He must be a cis man.

A ship I have with said character: Kylux. Every single angle you take this ship from it’s funny and good. Canon—they hate each other and want each other dead. AU—they still hate each other but they’re (probably) less fascist and genocidal. It’s just so funny. They are so obsessed with each other. They gaslight each other into love confessions. It’s unreal. I’ve been thinking about Kylux for the past month and I feel like an entire geological age has passed. You can tell I’m a Kylux shipper and a R*ylo anti because I almost exclusively refer to him as Ren instead of Kylo. The gay angel went to superhell for Kylux to go canon in Lego Star Wars (twice) and a kids’ comic book. God mocks me to my face.

A BROTP I have with said character: This got literally shot to shit but post-TFA when a bunch of people headcanoned Rey as Luke’s kid and she and Ren were cousins and he reluctantly babysat her because he was literally ten years older than her (hhhhh.) and they had this weird mildly-contentious relationship as adults where they grudgingly acknowledge they are both the most powerful Force users in the galaxy and are the only ones who mutually understand the legacy they bear and care about each other but also cannot be in the same room together and hold a civil conversation for more than five minutes before resorting to uncomfortable silence. Like when you’re at a family reunion and you’re automatically shunted with the only other kid around your age so you have to make conversation but you are just so fundamentally different there’s nothing to talk about. Unreal.

A NOTP I have with said character: Hhh. R*ylo. I’m one of those evil lesbians who hate that ship viciously and one of my dreams is to be one of the mean antis that that bully a shipper in a story that’s clearly exaggerated or made up and then get cancelled for having good taste.

A random headcanon:  I think he and Phasma used to spar a lot. I keep thinking about the five years he spent on the Finalizer pre-canon and I can’t reasonably justify the Knights of Ren hanging out with him for the entire time on a literal military ship and I like the idea of them being the only people that are reasonably on par physically (I also like how Phasma is an inch taller than him because....whew).

General Opinion over said character: God. He drives me wild. I have a lot of thoughts about him and how good he was in TFA and the pre-canon comics/novels as a really fucking good example of a morally-conflicted villain (especially the comics where it made it really clear that he was very much manipulated and gaslit since like…ten years old). Like! The way he could flip at will from drawing strength from both the light AND dark side of the Force is just!! So cool! The way his strength literally derives from moral conflict is just really interesting to me but….idk the way post-TFA he was thrown into a redemption (Rendemption) arc that hinged on Rey being a literal genuine fascist sympathizer made me just really disappointed. He had a lot of amazing potential to be either a really interesting semi-redeemed Byronic antihero OR a full on unhinged animalistic power-mad villain that Rey has to mercy-kill like a rabid dog. And then. Well. Yeah. I like him a lot in very specific contexts and flat out hate him in most others.

 Armitage Hux

Sexuality Headcanon: gay! He is gay! I have an entire list of reasons why he’s gay and it grows daily! Without a doubt a homosexual! Gay and repressed!

Gender Headcanon: Also a cis guy even though I still do have a lot of half-formed thoughts about gender in the First Order/post-collapse of the Empire society.

A ship I have with said character: Kylux! Again! I’m obsessed with how obsessed Hux is with Ren. He hates him so much it’s unreal. I keep reading the novelizations and thinking so fucking hard about how consumed Hux is with hatred for this one man. He’s so repressed. He’s so damaged. It’s unreal. The brainworms in my head have metamorphosed into moths and they’re flapping their wings so hard they’re disintegrating my grey matter. I think near-daily about how he personally went down to retrieve Ren from the collapse of Starkiller Base and yet would not touch him to drag him to shelter in the Hux graphic novel. Would you take off your glove to check his pulse or would you attempt to feel it through the leather and touch something’s dead skin rather than his living warmth. I’m so deeply unwell.

A BROTP I have with said character: Him and Phasma!!! The way they are on first-name terms with each other….the way one of the few times in the graphic novels you see him smile is when Phasma comes back onto the base…..the way they plotted to kill Brendol together….truly evil mlm/wlw solidarity you simply love to see it

A NOTP I have with said character: Oof I see a lil bit of shipping him with Resistance members (I think I’ve seen him with Rose and also Poe??) and I know TROS made the decision to have him defect from the First Order (out of. again. his obsessive hatred with another man. writing choices.) but it makes me INSANELY uncomfortable seeing people of color being shipped with a literal fascist parody of British colonialism and imperialism lmao like….just ship Kylux bro they’re mutually bad people AND a power couple

A random headcanon: Frankly at this point I joke so much about how much like a sick Victorian orphan he looks like that I could write an entire fake medical file for him but I’ll spare you all and simply say that I am incredibly partial to the headcanon that Hux is a freak that bites string cheese instead of peeling it like a normal person. Also…the implications that he Personally placed the tracker in Ren’s belt rather than someone else, so that he alone could keep tabs on him…..I’m unwell. Enough.

General Opinion over said character: If Ren is a character I love to hate, Hux is a character I hate that I love. I just. I can’t stop thinking about this gay little war criminal. It truly, genuinely baffles the mind how much information there is about him. It triggers that same little part of my brain that goes wild over like. ARGs and stuff. There’s just so much lore. With every new piece of canon or semi-canon information I learn about him I can feel my grip on sanity slipping. He owns a black robe. He has a personal hitman in the First Order ranks to poison people he doesn’t like. He drinks tea. He’s a bastard son. He’s great with kids. He was in charge of a squad of feral orphan child soldiers at five years old. I just. I just don’t get it. I’m enamored with him. His compulsive attention to grooming. His hubris. His ambition. How literally unhinged he is (the “rabid cur” line genuinely lives in my head rent free). The way he systemically killed every single person who saw him weak and abused as a child. There’s just so much to talk about with him. He’s so evil. He’s so fucked up. I love him so deeply. He is such a horrible person and he is so fun to make fun of and he is so fun to think about. God wants there to be a bullet in my head so badly.

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Thank U, Next | Poe Dameron x Reader (1/2)

Prompt: High School AU

Fandom: Star Wars (Sequel Trilogy)

Words: 2791

Warning: Mentions past Armitage Hux x Reader, Ben Solo x Reader, Finn x Reader, and current background Finn x Rey.

A/N: I’m super late with the last three Writer’s Month prompts, but I ended up making this one longer than intended, like many of my fics, lol. Inspiration from the song Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande.

-

How long has it been since you’ve moved away from your hometown? Too long, apparently. There were some stores that closed down with new ones taking their place, buildings renovated and even a new road was added to cut travel time. Everything felt familiar to you, but also distant. You were born and raised here, but this was no longer your home.

When that invite for your high school reunion arrived at your apartment in the city, you debated whether you should go back. You had a lot of bittersweet memories there, but you were curious of what happened to your classmates. You’ve changed a lot since you graduated from high school and you hoped that certain people had changed for the better as well.

You went a week before the reunion, staying in a spare room of your mother’s new house. It was spacious and homely, filled with everything that your mother had always wanted, including a garden and a greenhouse in the backyard. Your parents had divorced a year after you graduated, something that had been a long time coming and they still remain friends. You could sense a heavyweight leaving your mother’s shoulders when the paperwork went through and you had helped her move out.

Throughout the week, you got situated in the spare room, making it your own for the times that you plan on visiting, as well as helping out with the garden. You always wanted one growing up, but your father was against the idea, claiming that it was too much maintenance that he didn’t want to do. It was peaceful in the backyard with fairy lights hanging around the patio. Oftentimes, you and your mother would drink a warm beverage and talk on the patio, catching up with each other and reminiscing. She had heard that some of your classmates stayed, some went to the military, and some even she hadn’t heard about in a while.

-

You were lounging in the backyard, reading an old book that you had in high school when an orange tabby hopped the fence and meowed. You bookmarked your page and sat up, seeing the orange tabby sit a few feet ahead of you, licking their paw.

“Hey, there, little one,” you said, reaching a hand out.

The tabby paused their cleaning, tentatively leaning forward to sniff your hand. When they realized you were good people, they rubbed against your palm and stepped towards you. Once they got closer, you realized the cat was female, her name tag reading Millicent Hux. Huh, you knew a Hux in high school. You had a crush on him for a year, and you remembered the whole school found out and he never spoke to you again because of all the teasing.

“Excuse me!” someone called out.

You turned away from Millicent and saw a tall and pale ginger man waving from the other side of the fence. He paused his waving when it registered just who he was waving to. You stood up with Millicent in your arms and made your way towards the fence.

“Armitage?” you asked in disbelief.

He smiled. “Yeah, that’s me. Lanky Armi,” he said with a shrug, “I didn’t know you were in town. Here for the reunion?”

“Yeah. I assume this is your cat,” you said, raising Millicent up.

“Yeah, I was about to take her out to the vet when she ran out of her carrier. Thank god she ended up here instead of hanging out by the road.” He grabbed Millicent from you, carrying her like a baby. “You look good.”

“You, too.”

He scoffed, shrugging off the compliment. “Still lanky and pale.”

“Are you going, too?”

He nodded. “I’ve seen a few of our classmates that had arrived earlier this week,” he said, hesitating to continue, “I, uh, saw Ben, too.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised.

From the way that Armitage said that, it meant that he knew or at least had an idea of what happened between you and Ben. They were close friends, after all. You never painted Ben as someone that cared for such gatherings. Sentimentality wasn’t his best trait. You weren’t sure how to feel about his presence in town.

Armitage cleared his throat, regretting about saying anything. “Well, I’ll see you around, then. Would love to stay and catch up, but this one needs her shots.”

“Alright, it was nice seeing you again, Armi,” you said, smiling, “And nice to meet you, too, Millicent.”

You walked back to your reading spot and sighed. Given the size of this town, you were surprised you hadn’t ran into anyone from school before now, and it was a pleasant surprise. Armitage was always tall and lanky, but he looked more mature and had a more lean build. He had always been a good kid, he was just easily influenced by others around him and you were disappointed that he had succumbed to it. He seemed to have gotten over that and you were glad that you could talk like friends, possibly making up for lost time. There was a classmate or two that you had ran into as adults that still maintained their immature personalities from school. You wondered how everyone else turned out.

-

Your mother had gone on a cooking spree on the first two days you were there and needed to restock the fridge. You volunteered to go grocery shopping but had to use google maps to find the address that the store had relocated to. Once there, the layout was relatively the same, just in a slightly bigger space.

While looking for a specific cereal brand that your mother insisted on eating, you heard someone clear his throat nearby. You wordless moved to the side, thinking you were in the way of something. You heard a soft chuckle before he spoke.

“(Y/n),” he said.

Your head shot up and you were met with a grinning Finn. “Oh, my god! Hi, how are you?” you asked excitedly.

“I’m good. Real good,” he said, pulling you into a hug. It was then you noticed a young woman around your age standing next to him with a sweet smile that showed off her dimples. “Rey, this is my old friend (Y/n). (Y/n), this is my fiancee, Rey.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said, turning to Rey.

She pulled you into another hug. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Finn told me a lot about his time at high school. He only has good things to say about you.”

“Well, that’s nice of him,” you said, raising an eyebrow at Finn.

He shrugged, wrapping an arm around Rey. “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.”

“I expect to hear all the embarrassing stories of him,” Rey whispered to you.

You smiled and said, “Oh, I have an arsonal full of those. Maybe we can meet up later. I’ve gotta get these groceries back to my mom first.”

Finn looks down at your cart, seeing beef, tomato sauce, vegetables, and other miscellaneous items. His eyes widened in excitement. “Is your mom making her famous beef stew?”

“Hell yeah!”

He groaned, thinking back to those times he used to come over your house for dinner and that first time he tried your mother’s beef stew. Ever since then, he always requested that she make it, or at least pack a container that he could take home and share with his family who loved it as well. His father would joke that two of you should get married once you two graduate, but marriage had never been a priority for you, and Finn knew that. You had different ideas of the future and respected the other’s decision for it, which was why your breakup was amicable and the two of you remained friendly and supportive of each other. 

“I’ll see if my mom can pack some for you and Rey,” you said as you walked towards your cart.

Finn grinned, patting you on the shoulder. “I knew I could count on you. Rey, you gotta try it! It’s so good.”

“Alright, I look forward to it,” Rey said, “It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too,” you said, then asked Finn, “Are you staying over at your parent’s house?”

“Yeah, same house, too. I’ll be showing Rey around for the rest of the week, but you can stop by anytime to see my folks. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you,” Finn said.

“Alright. I’ll see you when I see you, then,” you said before walking away.

You smiled to yourself as you left, having seen the way that they spoke and looked at each other. Their happiness was infectious and you couldn’t help but be happy for them. Your worries that you had before coming back slowly seeped away after pleasantly running into Armitage and Finn. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. You’re all adults now, surely it won’t be like that Romi and Michelle movie, though flying away in a helicopter looked pretty cool.

-

The park that you used to frequent seemed to have an upgrade with an added baseball field, more restroom facilities, an area with exercise equipment, and even a water fountain near the clearing away from the fields. You sat near the water fountain where there were painted picnic tables shaded by trees, a new journal and fountain pen sat in front of you as you brushed off the leaves from the table.

With your headphones on, you tried to get back into the writing zone that you’ve been hoping that your trip back to your hometown would help you with. When you left town, you went off to pursue your writing career, entering writing contests and having short stories published. Your new goal was to finish a novel. You would always start a story, but always got stuck on something and never finished it. Writing contests and published short stories could only get you so far and unless you wanted to keep churning out new short stories at a time, hoping that they’ll get through and be published, just to pay your bills, you needed to finish that novel.

You started small, writing down ideas, hoping that visually having them on the page instead of floating in your mind would help. Then, you took some of those ideas and jotted down plot points that the story could have. You continued this until you got into the flow of writing a rough draft for one of them.

Your timer went off, reminding you to head back home before it got dark. You finished your last thought before capping your pen and packing your things away. The sun hung low in the sky, a cool breeze rustling the trees, making you wish you brought a light jacket.

You got to your old car, you tried to open the backseat door that wouldn’t budge. It had always caused you problems like this, but you kept it because it at least got you where you needed to go. You sighed, yanking the door handle again before giving up. After years of forcing that door open, the handle looked like it was going to fall off.

“Still haven’t fixed that door, I see,” a voice said with amusement.

You turned to face the source of the voice and froze. Poe freaking Dameron stood in front of you, dressed in gray sweats with his military camp printed on the front and the side, dark spots stained near his armpits and his neck from sweat. He became impossibly more handsome since the last time you’ve seen him. He gave you a wide smile, one that made many of your fellow classmates swoon in infatuation at him and glare in envy at you, showing you the Poe you knew from school.

He briefly turned to open the backseat of his truck, taking out a hand towel to wipe himself down. “Back in town for the reunion?” he asked.

“Yeah. You, too?”

He nodded. “Everyone’s happy that I’m finally taking time off that’s more than two to three days. Apparently I’m a workaholic? Don’t know why,” he said with a shrug.

You raised an eyebrow. He definitely knew why. For as long as you’ve known him, once he got into something, he put his all into it. Joining a sports team? He’d practice during any free time that he had and become an mvp or team captain. Getting into music? He’d started a band that played during homecoming week and at school events. He even composed and wrote his own songs. It was his strongest and weakest trait. You loved his passion, but that passion would sometimes make him forget everything else.

“Huh, what’s your new obsession now?” you asked, leaning against your car.

Poe mirrored you with his truck as he wiped excess sweat from his hair. “Flying… it’s something that I picked up when I was in the military,” he said.

“Oh,” you said, looking down before clearing your throat to try and appear unphased, “What kind of flying?”

“After I left the military, I missed flying and travelling, so I got into doing helicopter tours in a few countries. Just a couple of years ago, I started to fly commercial airplanes. There’s a whole process with that one, but it was worth it.”

“That sounds cool. I know you’ve always wanted to fly those airplanes,” you said.

He nodded. “Yeah, funny how life works, right? You plan something, you end up doing something else, but if it was meant to be, you somehow end up where you had always wanted to go.”

“Yeah, I’m still waiting for that to happen to me,” you muttered.

“You got published, though,” he pointed out, “They’re short stories, but it’s a start. Your writing is amazing, (Y/n). I know you’ll get there.”

The corner of your lips turned up. There goes his award winning pep talks again. You didn’t know that he was even aware of the work that you’ve done. It didn’t do much for you personally, but you were glad that he hadn’t changed too much,

“Thanks, Poe,” you said, opening your driver’s seat door.

“Hey, can I say something before you go?” he asked before you could climb into your car. You paused, turning to face him. “Look, I know I should have told you that I enlisted, but I don’t regret going. I only wished that we had the chance to work it out, maybe take you with me if I could, if you wanted to. Or at the very least, parted on better terms.”

You avoided his eyes as you tried to find the right words to say. There were so many things you wished you had said on the day he told you about his enlistment. It was all too late to bring them up now. It wasn’t going to change the fact that you two broke up over it. You should at least clear the air, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings, though, but you were stubborn. You never wanted to admit it, but while your break up with Finn had been easy and painless, breaking up with Poe was one of the hardest things you had to go through.

“I… I understood why you did it,” you said, “And I should have stopped to think about your perspective instead of getting angry and I’m sorry. It’s my fault that we ended things like that.”

Poe sighed, knowing that there was more that you wanted to say. Another thing that you loved and hated about him was his ability to read you. When there was no reply from him, you climbed in your car, shutting the door harder than you intended. While you were turning the engine on and fiddling with the radio, Poe stepped closer, leaning a hand on the roof of your car.

“Could we meet somewhere?” he asked softly, “You know, just to catch up?”

You leaned back in your seat, drumming your fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m running some errands tomorrow. Does lunch at the usual diner work for you?”

Poe smiled. “Sure, yeah. I’ll meet you there tomorrow, then.”

That night, you sat on your bed, wondering why your heart was racing while thinking about tomorrow. It had been so long since you and Poe sat down and talked. Meeting him tomorrow meant that you would have to eventually address all the things that were left unsaid, all the questions that were left unanswered, and all the things that had happened after going your separate ways. You doubt that the two of you could start over, given your different career paths, but maybe you could at least be on speaking terms.

[starlightsearches]

Indecent Arrangements - Ch. 1

Masterlist

Armitage Hux x F! Reader Regency AU

It’s finally here, after all that time I’ve spent talking about it 😅 Also, thank you all for 400 followers! I’m so glad that you’re here 🥰

Series warnings: minor language, violence, plotting, historical inaccuracies, major-character death.

AN: Hey guys, I’ve put this in the warnings, but I wanted to take a second to elaborate: most of my knowledge of the Regency era comes from the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, and while I’ve done some research beyond that, there will probably be a few historical inaccuracies over the course of this story—some on purpose, and some not. Keep that in mind as you read 😬

Let me know what you think! Feedback is always appreciated!

The soldier watches with beady eyes as Lieutenant Armitage Hux removes his weapons: first his sword, then his rifle. The man takes them both for inspection, his gaze occasionally flickering back to Hux before dropping them again as he meticulously searches the gleaming blade.

Hux resists the urge to roll his eyes. It seems his father had reached a new level of paranoia—as if Armitage would kill him in his own office, with something as easily identifiable as one of his own weapons while a guard stands watch outside. Ridiculous. The man goes in on the rifle next, examining the weapon so closely that Hux can see him go cross-eyed.

He can't imagine why his father would request such an in-depth search, unless the purpose was to annoy his visitors before they even stepped foot into his office. Not entirely impossible; or maybe the young soldier was always this overzealous.

Whatever the motivation, he completes his frivolous task before setting both weapons aside, gesturing for Hux to enter with a nod of his head. With a soft sigh of frustration, Hux steels himself before pushing open the heavy oak door.

"There you are, boy." He hears his father's complaint before he even has a chance to make it through the threshold—unlike his pointless doorman, General Brendol Hux wastes no time, his mouth already turned down at the corners in a characteristic frown. "Get in here; you're late."

It's an elegant space—this office, and the rest of the house his father had commandeered for their stay in Illum. Grey, green light spills in from the window on the far wall, overlooking the manicured grounds and the lake in the distance, covered in fog after the recent rain. He was beginning to understand why his father never stepped foot into the camps, cold and dreary as they were—if he had the opportunity to live in a place like this, he certainly wouldn't leave.

"Only because of the new . . . security measures." Hux knows better than to talk back to his father, but he's distracted—Brendol already has another guest, and Armitage’s mouth pulls into a deep frown as soon as he sets his eyes on Major Kylo Ren.

The man leans over Brendol's desk without losing any of his imposing height, towering over Brendol where he sits, strands of his loose black hair falling into his face. Ren’s dark eyes move to examine Hux and he offers a faint smirk, the tip of his tongue resting in the corner of his mouth. His shoulders jump with the slightest hint of a laugh; seeing Armitage reprimanded is one of the few things that never fails to bring the major joy. It's odd that he's here already—Hux has never known Ren to be on time for anything, which means they must have been meeting before this, and his father asked the major to stay. A faint prickle of foreboding travels up his spine as he realizes that, whatever it is his father wants with him, Ren will be involved as well. 

It’s only a moment before Armitage manages to smooth his expression despite the quavering in the pit of his stomach. Nothing good could come of this.

"Stop making excuses and sit down," Brendol either doesn't notice the growing tension between his son and Ren or he chooses to ignore it, gesturing for Ren to take a seat on the other side of the handsome mahogany desk, as well. Armitage sits reluctantly, back stiff and straight in the over-plush chair,  wishing he had been able to keep his weapons at his side. 

"There's an important matter I'd like to discuss-" the general clears his throat, his eyes flickering in Armitage's direction, "-with both of you. An assignment," and against his better judgement, Hux can feel his dread ebb slightly.

"The Resistance? Has there been a resurgence?" God, it had been so long since he'd seen any kind of action. He misses it immediately. It's an ache that starts in his hands, yearning for his rifle, but soon it moves to his heart, which pounds with some force now, adrenaline already coursing through his veins, bringing the room into finite detail. He can finally see a life beyond endless nightmare—no more banal parties and awkward afternoons passed in stifling, silent sitting rooms. He’d be back where he belonged. 

"Don't be daft," Brendol sneers, shattering Armitage's elation with those three quick words. "The Resistance is in shambles—His Majesty hardly considers them a threat. Without their precious Skywalker, they'll be snuffed out by the end of the year."

Hux sees Ren stiffen out of the corner of his eye, only a slight amount, but he still takes notice. Had Ren heard, as Hux had, of the growing number of reports—wild stories about Resistance brigands ransacking coaches and terrifying travelers? Or was there something else that had brought on his reaction?

"Then what is it?" Ren's tone is harsher than the situation warrants, but Brendol seems to pay it no mind. Hux knows better; he can see the way Brendol's jaw ticks, the slight purse of his lips before he forces himself to relax. Scolding Ren would do him no good—he wouldn't dare reprimand the king's protege.

"I've been in contact with an acquaintance—a nobleman named Arroy Tidaft, currently residing in the king's court in Coruscant. His niece, a young lady who has fallen under his ward, has been residing here over the winter visiting family, and is set to return back to court for the summer. Lord Tidaft has requested a militia escort to protect the girl and her traveling companions from . . . highwaymen."

There's silence, and Ren and Hux glance at each other out of the corner of their eyes, trying to gauge the other's reaction. There’s little that the two men have in common, but Hux can clearly see that Ren's aversion mirrors his own.

"I'm sure I have men who would be more than capable of escorting the girl-" Ren begins cautiously, but Brendol interrupts, holding up his hand to silence him.

"There's more, "he says, a hard crease developing between his eyebrows as he continues, "Tidaft has no heirs, after the unfortunate death of his only son. As it stands, his niece will inherit all he possesses—or her husband will once she is married. Which means that Tidaft's land, and his title are, as of yet, unclaimed."

Armitage stares straight through his father; he had heard enough to guess at Brendol's plan. His father continues anyway, confirming Armitage's suspicions. "You'll need to marry her."

He curses softly under his breath, unable to completely filter out his thoughts.

There was no time in Armitage’s recent memory when his father had not vied for increased proximity to the crown. Occasionally he might become side-tracked, or temporarily slowed, but this was his true course—and nothing would permanently get in his way. This, however, would be the first time that Armitage would play an integral part. He must have exhausted any other options. 

Ren purses his lips, showing more displeasure than Hux allows himself to exhibit. "Then why am I here?" So blunt. Living in the king's court must have taught Ren many things, but basic manners was not one of them. His stomach rolls again as he thinks of the weeks of travel awaiting him, hours and hours spent in the same carriage as a man with about as much tact as cannon-fire. 

"The man has requested two guards," Brendol says with unconvincing passivity, before the silence spurs him on and he directs his attention to Armitage, "and someone will need to make sure that you do as you're told."

There's a fierce anger in Ren's eyes when Hux turns to look at him—like somehow this is all his fault.

There’s no way for Hux to communicate his total lack of culpability and his annoyance at the misplaced blame with a simple facial expression, so he doesn’t bother, turning back to face his father again. Maybe there was still a chance he could get out of this.

“If what you say is true, then it’s more than likely that the girl already has multiple suitors, if not proposals. Why would her uncle allow her to marry a complete stranger?”

“From what I’ve heard, she has had other offers for her hand, but she refused them,” Brendol scowls, seemingly deep in thought for a moment before he recovers himself, “I’ve been told she’s a rather, ah, headstrong young woman. Tidaft has grown soft in his old age—bends to her will. It’s rather tragic.” 

Armitage doesn’t miss the total lack of sympathy in his father’s voice, the final piece to this nightmarish puzzle, and he’s struck with a sudden clarity. There was nothing Brendol Hux hated more than a headstrong woman—except for his own son. A weight sinks in Armitage’s stomach as he ponders this new thought in his mind, as he comes to accept that this was not just meant to be a blind grab for power, but a punishment as well.

An ache blooms inside of him, resting just behind Hux’s heart in his chest, and it swells—a desire for something that hits him so violently he thinks it might rip him apart from the inside if he doesn’t get it now. It’s followed by the coarsest kind of anger, knowing that he’ll never get the chance to reach for it, whatever it is. He’ll go the rest of his life without even knowing what it is he wants most—swallowed up in the crippling numbness that comes with always doing as you're told.

Silence follows, and it’s clear that there’s no fight left in Armitage, no way for him to break free of these constraints that Brendol has placed on him. He’ll do as his father asks, or at least try, but he’d make no promise to work at it. If the girl would not have him, then what objection could his father make?

Rain begins to strike against the windows and the office fills with the sound of it. The walk back to the camp will be a miserable one.

“You’ll leave before the end of the week. Send word as soon as she’s accepted your proposal.” Brendol looks back to the papers covering his desk, dismissing both of them with a fly-swatting motion. Armitage doesn’t linger, half-way to the door before Brendol speaks again, “the girl is staying a little ways from here with another relation—an aunt or cousin or whomever. They’d like to meet you both, before you depart. Make an attempt at a good impression.”

Hux hears but doesn’t bother to stop, after all, he’s not the one his father should be worried about making a good impression. As a manifestation of Armitage’s thoughts, Ren scowls at him again, shoving past Hux through the doorway without another word. 

“One more thing, boy,” Armitage stops, turning away from his escape to hear his father’s last words for him before he leaves.

“Do try to look presentable,” Brendol frowns, but Armitage doesn’t see it, and he lets the door slam on his way out.

You gnaw on your bottom lip, pulling it back and forth over your front teeth with your eyes on the table in front of you. The finger sandwiches, stacked in a delicate little tower, rest there, looking wholly delectable, and your mouth waters.

You had hardly picked at your lunch at all—stomach restless with some vague kind of nervousness, but you’re ravenous now. Your fingers curl into fists, the fabric of your dress rustling only slightly from the movement, but your aunt still manages to hear, looking down her nose at you despite the fact, when seated, you’re about a head taller than her.

“It’s rude to begin eating before your guests have even arrived,” she hisses with a tone more appropriate for shaming an animal than her niece.

How would they even know? You shoot a glare to the floor but keep your thoughts to yourself, straightening your posture before she has a chance to remind you.

When your uncle told you about his plans to send you away for the winter, you had tried to believe it would be an adventure—a chance to learn about the world outside of court and its limitations, an adventure full of opportunity and promise. But looking back on your time here, you’re not sure if you learned anything at all. Besides, of course, the many words one could use to describe indecent behavior. Your aunt had quite the vocabulary in that regard.

You sigh, low and through your nose so as to not draw her attention, a slight shiver traveling up your spine. It’s always cold in Illum—the kind of cold you can’t warm up from. It seeps in through the cracks in the windows, from underneath doors, and leaves you feeling chilled to your bones, like the damp weather was coming from inside your chest instead of without.

The only place you had managed to find any warmth was the bedroom you’d been given for the duration of your stay, and sometimes the library if there was a fire going in the hearth; if only you could curl up on the soft rug by the fireplace and wait out this terrible storm and the rest of your miserable time here. Maybe you could finish another one of the books you had set aside before you had to leave them behind.

A sudden fainting spell might get you out of this meeting, and the rest of your obligations for the day, if you could manage to convince your aunt. Best to wait until you had other witnesses; she’d have a harder time ignoring your condition if there were others around to show concern.

A low rumbling sound, like thunder, rattles in the windows in the sitting room and you turn to look, just barely able to make out the dark smudge of a carriage through the rain-stained glass. You strain, leaning as far over as you can, hoping that you might catch a glimpse of its two passengers, but the rain mars their image and all you manage to see before you’re scolded once again is a bright streak of red against the swirling grey sky.

The door opens, and you hear the sounds of your guests as they move into the entryway, the rush of footsteps as they’re led into the sitting room.

“My lady,” the butler enters first, addressing your aunt before introducing your guests, “Major Kylo Ren and Lieutenant Armitage Hux here to see you.” 

You can feel your eyes grow wider as the two men enter, but you mask your shock, standing and dipping into a curtsy. You had never seen soldiers like these before. 

“A pleasure,” your aunt takes both of the men by the hand, and it’s clear that she feels this visit is anything but. You can’t exactly blame her, although you wish she would be less rude about it. 

You had met plenty of militiamen—at parties, and dinners—and, on the whole, found them almost painfully uninteresting. Like sheets of blank parchment, all made to fit into a neat stack, waiting for orders. So obedient. So boring. 

The two men in front of you are nothing like the others that you’ve met. The first one takes your hand, the major, and you marvel at the way it’s so easily swallowed by his leather-clad fingers. He’s almost impossibly large, broad shouldered and powerfully built, the muscles of his arms straining against the fabric of his uniform. His hair is long and dark but left loose, pooling around his shoulders in damp clumps from the rain, and his face is a study in rough-hewn features, all fighting for attention, a harsh kind of handsome that frightens as much as it intrigues. 

You meet his eyes with a tentative smile but the frown doesn’t budge on his face, and his eyes flash with something like hatred before you look away again, your heart beating more rapidly in your chest. 

“A pleasure,” you mumble in his direction, and he turns to sit down, looking no less large or intimidating as he lounges in his seat. A faint prickle crawls over the back of your neck, a moment of premonition, a sudden clarity. You don’t think you’ll get along well with Major Kylo Ren.

The other man steps forward, and you’re once again taken off-guard.

They’re polar opposites—light and dark. Where Ren is large and domineering, the lieutenant is slight, but well-built, his features soft and refined in comparison to Ren’s coarse ones. A smattering of freckles covers his nose and dot his hairline, the shock of bright red hair neat and slicked back, away from his face. It’s a handsome face, made for portraits and statues. A face you’d like to examine, given the chance. 

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he says, his voice low and soft, like the crackling of a fire, and you nod absentmindedly, feeling warmer already. You’re weak at the knees, it seems, and for a moment you wonder how much effort you’ll truly need to put into that fainting spell you had planned. 

“Please, have a seat,” your aunt ushers the man away from you, and you stumble back towards the other couch, your eyes never leaving him. 

“Thank you, for meeting with us today,” your aunt begins with a slight cough, “to discuss my niece’s travel plans as she returns to court.” She rests a hand on your knee when she mentions you, but her fingers grip you with deceptive strength, the message clear. Get a hold of yourself. So she’s noticed your surprise, and you’re sure that the men have too. They must find you terribly rude.

“Yes, thank you,” you follow her lead, but your voice is a little too high, strained and tense. You clear your throat quietly, trying to ease the tightness that’s got a hold on your throat with little success. Her fingers press harder into your leg.

“Please, eat,” she gestures towards the spread on the low table, and your eyes turn back to the sandwiches, your stomach growling quietly. You may have been distracted momentarily, but your hunger is more single-minded than you’ll ever manage to be. Still, you wait for one of them to reach for anything. Guests must eat first.

The major waves his hand as a refusal of the food, and you want to cry out. There’s too much that’s been prepared, especially considering that your aunt won’t eat any of it. She’ll probably have it thrown away after this is all over, just to flaunt that she can, and the thought makes you want to cry. Your eyes fall to the other man. He’s your only hope.

His gaze meets yours over the plate of sandwiches, and he reaches out with one hesitant hand, plucking one off the top of the little stack. You practically lunge for the plate once he’s made contact, grabbing for the food before he has a chance to lean back. 

He looks at you, a little sheepish, like he’s the one that’s behaving badly, and you offer him a guilty smile of your own to let him know that’s not the case. His eyes are green. Your aunt clears her throat again.

“Tea will be ready in a moment,” she says it like an admonition, and you sit back, thoroughly chastised, but the lieutenant pops the little sandwich between his pink lips, and you have to hold back your smile.

You nibble at your own little snack, in an attempt to be dainty, but it’s difficult to restrain yourself. The bread is soft and pillowy, the soft cheese cool and salty against your tongue. Your stomach rejoices. Finally.

“The general has been in contact with your brother, I believe,” Major Ren says, leaning forward with his forearms resting on his knees, his full attention on your aunt. He wants this meeting over with as soon as possible. You can appreciate him in that regard.

“Yes, Lord Tidaft was pleased to hear that General Hux had received his message,” she turns back to the Lieutenant, “you’re his son, I presume?”

Lieutenant Hux nods, and she sniffs—something about that has upset her. You study him again, the faintest pink of a blush blossoming against the pale skin of his cheeks. Interesting.

“We were told that you’d like to speak about travel arrangements,” Ren pulls your aunt’s attention again, and she tries to wither him with a glare. He’s unwilling to be sidetracked by her attempts at socializing, and once again you’re grateful. Maybe you had misjudged him in the beginning.

“Yes, of course,” she says, finally giving in, and you take advantage of the fact that her anger is currently directed at someone else, grabbing another sandwich before she can stop you. “Lord Tidaft’s carriage will arrive in about three days, we’ll send word as soon as it's here. You’ll leave the day after. The journey should take a little over a week-”

“It’s only four days to court, with a fast enough carriage.” Ren’s interruption throws your aunt—for a moment she’s rendered speechless, a small miracle. 

She collects herself with a little shake, her features hardening with determination. It’s clear that now she, too, wishes this meeting to be over as quickly as possible, thank god. “There will be stops along the way—a few acquaintances of ours have agreed to give you room and board as you make your way to court, for sake of comfort.”

“How very thoughtful.” It’s the lieutenant who speaks this time, and while you don’t think he means it as a joke, you find yourself stifling a laugh anyway, masking the sound with a slight cough. Your aunt glares at him. 

“One of our maids, Tabitia, will travel with you, for propriety’s sake.” And just like that, the laughter is gone, a scowl taking over your face. There is no love between you and Tabitia. 

“If that’s all then,” Major Ren prepares to stand, but your aunt raises a hand to stop him. 

“Be a dear and go check on the tea, please,” she’s talking to you directly now, her voice deceptively casual but you notice the tightness in her expression. There’s something to say that she doesn’t want you to hear.

You stand, offering a small curtsy to the two men before you depart, closing the doors to the sitting room behind you. Your heart beats louder, and for a moment you’re worried that they somehow might be able hear it as you crouch low to the ground, pressing your ear to the gap in the doors. It’s not like your aunt to keep secrets.

“There’s something else I’d like to mention, something rather unsavory that we’d prefer to keep from my niece at all costs,” your aunt’s voice is still clear, although she does speak a bit lower, and you cover your mouth and nose with your hand, hoping to silence the sound of your own breathing. A soft rustling makes its way to your ears, the sound of parchment changing hands and you wait, listening intently. 

“You’ve received more like this?” It’s the major talking, and he sounds almost disturbed. You can’t help but be frightened. What could possibly unsettle a man like him?

“Yes, they’ve been rather . . . persistent. Her uncle is concerned, as I am, that the Resistance might act on these threats if at any time she’s left unguarded.”

The Resistance. You lose your balance, swaying precariously in your crouched stance and you lean more heavily against the door in an attempt to catch yourself, cursing the way it creaks. You still every muscle, praying that none of them will be prompted to check on the source of the noise. It’s only after a few breathless moments that you allow yourself to relax and ponder the information you had just learned. The Resistance had made threats of some kind against you—but what had they been sending? And how had you not known? 

What could they possibly want with you?

“We’ll watch closely for any sign of an attack,” the lieutenant’s voice breaks through the walls of your panic, and you focus in on the conversation again, letting the firm timbre of his voice wash away some of your panic, “we’ll keep her safe.” He sounds confident in his abilities. Maybe you won’t have to worry.

The room falls silent, and you take that as your cue, standing to your full height taking a few steps in place to alert them of your presence before opening the door.

“The tea will be ready in a moment.” Three sets of eyes examine you, and you mask your latent fears, hiding everything you had just learned deep in your chest. A peculiar wave of calm floods over you for a moment, bolstering your lie.

“No need now, dear, the two gentlemen were just leaving,” your aunt doesn’t bother to pretend that she hadn’t sent you on a frivolous errand, and the men stand to leave.

“Wait,” you’ve said something before you can stop yourself, and all eyes are on you again, and it makes you feel small. Your gaze flits to the lieutenant, finding his green eyes settled on you. “There will be a ball here tonight, in my honor,” you keep your eyes on him while you speak, occasionally finding the others, ignoring the way your aunt glares. “It’s sort of a going away party. We would be delighted if you would attend,” you leave off there, letting the silence fill in the words that you can’t say. You recognize his kindness. You’d like to see him again. 

“I’m sure that they have plenty of-” 

“We’d be honored,” the lieutenant interrupts your aunt’s protestations, much to her chagrin, but you smile watching him as he goes. You can’t help but wonder if there’s still time for adventure before your journey ends.

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