#you can pick up how sometimes the author will alternate between scenes (what we typically think of when we think of fiction text)

[mego42]

Shamelessly stealing @foxmagpie​’s monthly rec thing without the ability to get my life together to do these on a monthly basis so, seasonal recs! So excited to see if I manage to do this again with anything remotely resembling consistency but i’ve been keeping the notes for approximately 43 years (or since ~september, whatever that means) so by god i’m gonna use them. 

found my thrill - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe​

Turner POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guys turner is SO OBSESSED with Beth and Rio

both canonically and in this fic

it’s gr9

also features a weirdly soothing and relatable cord untangling moment as a metaphor

truly disturbingly relatable turner pov tbh

relentless boomer disdain, always a plus

led to the creation of this monstrosity, not sure what kind of a monster would do that

War In My Mind - mintletters16

Backread!!!!

post-213, gorgeous character study 

guaranteed to make you feEl stUfF

I really love the like, cyclical, fractured pattern of Beth’s internal monologue, it gives the whole thing a really affecting at times dreamy, at times haunted vibe

the end twist is *chef’s kiss*

mourning bells - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet​

Backread!!!!

Later s2 era, Rio’s at a funeral, gets drunk and calls Beth

V short, kind of…..mmm, not sweet, but almost? Idk

It’s got a wistful sort of almost/i can be quiet with you vibe that i go extremely bonkers for

delinquents - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Lol are any of you actually not reading this yet?

g o d ch 8 where do i start

First off how ABSOLUTELY VERY DARE for the tragic angst that is delinquents!beth boland. This poor baby, this precious bean. MUST PROTEC

SHE’S TRYING HER BEST AND I LOVE HER

zero percent deserves dean’s clammy hands, no i have not forgotten, tattooed on my brain, will never forgive

I also love love love love LOVE the ruby/stan subplot happening

(and ruby’s mom!!!!!) (seriously though you write the best moms)

oh god and baby beth starting to have confusing feelings about rio?????? *chef’s kiss*

p sure i was just like, straight screaming the entire end of the chapter

the dugout is like, pure serotonin

I can’t even talk about the closet

tHe teNsiOn

thank you i will take eleventy billion

don't give it a hand, offer it a soul - medievalraven / @medievalraven

am a desperate heaux for any fic that features rio and mick friendship

you are all incredibly shocked i know

still would not be mad if this swerved into rio x mick fake dating but beth x rio is cool too i guess

Speaking of things i am a desperate heaux for: DIANE!!!!!!!!

and DATING ANNIE???????????? Blessed

honestly this fic is worth it purely for the assertion that mick watches queer eye

Why don't we go to Venus? - watermelonriddles / @bensonstablers​

another grief study! 

apparently i was working through some stuff in september, idk, that was like 4 years ago

considering it’s the premise of the fic, i don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this fic is canon divergent and working with the premise that rio killed beth in 302

he is uh, not coping well

extremely haunted you might say

lots of marcus and rhea which is a delight!

rhea is to good for him tbh

i said what i said

truly top notch dream (nightmare?) sequences

the conversation at the end is extremely uncalled for

drop the game - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet​

Backread!!!!

Am going to die mad Beth and Rio didn’t hook up in 211 but luckily this fic scratched the itch 

(temporarily, it’s a fairly permanent itch)

Bonus rec: missing scene series i wanna do bad things to you featuring 2x02 and 2x04

Viva Voce - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx​

Whoops we woke up married Vegas shenanigans!! 

So cute!!!!! So sexy!!!!! 

What more do you want?

am desperately obsessed with how beth can’t help stalking rio

feels right, feels organic

this makes me feel a lot of stuff about how they could be without their canon garbage between them

🎶 we could’ve had it aaaaaaaaaaall 🎶

you showed me colors (i can't see them with anyone else) - gild_fire / @gild-and-fire​

really into the use of color to illustrate beth’s emotional state, i feel like there’s a word for that but idk what it is

UNIMPORTANT

really nice job capturing beth’s inner vulnerability balanced by her outer stubbornness

am DESPERATELY into Mick playing matchmaker

more please???????

Both Sides of the Law - JoeyLee / @joeyjoeylee​

LAW SCHOOL AU! I suuuuuuper love Beth and Rio here (alt pov!! a gift!!!!) I love how initially prickly they are, I love how it’s evolving into a grudging respect, I love how INCREDIBLY AND HILARIOUSLY OBSESSED WITH EACH OTHER THEY ARE and neither one of them seems to see it

listen I know we’re all already foaming at the mouth over this one but as it’s gonna go down as one of my all time favorites it bears repeating/rereccing

cannot stress enough how masterful the use of POV is here, both voices feel completely true and distinct and I love how the alternating chapters revisit, reveal and emphasize pieces of each other

i can’t talk about this fic without hyperventilating

I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU GUYS

the slow burn is going to ACTUALLY KILL ME

rip, no regrats

Earned It - wakeupflawless / @wakeupflawless​

spanking

that’s it that’s the pitch

H O T

living for beth’s exit in the first chapter, rio and i are both incredibly into it

second chapter also features violently possessive Rio who cannot deal with anyone messing with his girl so if that’s your thing boy howdy get on it

shake, baby, shake - openhearts

backread!!!!!

according to my bookmarks this was a reread but ???????

must’ve read it in the fugue state that followed reading for a moment we were strangers which is gr9 and I believe I have recced it before. If not, horrible oversight, reccing it now

beth and Rio POV lead up to the bathroom break, beautifully done, low-key feel bad reccing it bc the end point of both chapters makes me want to throw things but it’s super worth it for the tEnsiOn. ENJOY

What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have - flashindie / @pynkhues​

I’m assuming all of y’all are already reading this

If not OH MY GOD FIX YOUR LIVES

P I R A T E  A U

I’m sorry maybe you didn’t hear me piRaTE aU

meticulously researched, brain-meltingly vibrant, already painfully sexy slow-burning PIRATE AU

god where to start okay so first off, the world-building here straight up breaks my brain, sophie’s put in the work and it SHOWS

second, the atmosphere. i’m generally a pretty like, vague mental picture sort of reader but the sensory detail here grabs you by the throat and like, forcibly hauls you in whether your brain’s wired that way or no

and hey speaking of throats if you, like me, go a little funny about the knees at the idea of beth holding a knife to rio’s throat (he’s fine, calm down), there’s a v excellent beth-in-a-barrel moment for you

oh christ and the sexy tension

it’s gonna be a race to see which slow burn takes me out first, this or law school

Stunner - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Another high school AU, this time with baby Rio absolutely head over heels for his older sister’s bff

stunner!Rio has an emotional earnestness about him that I feel like delinquents!Rio has already outgrown and it’s so SWEET I can’t get enough

Desperately cute!!!!!!

alL he waNts iS foR beTh tO bE hiS girL

also unreasonably angsty???????

ANN ARBOR IS NOT THAT FAR MEGAN

A Heart's A Heavy Burden - tooshyforthis / @bathroombreaks​

Howl’s Moving Castle AU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Howl’s!!!!!!!!!!!

perfect opp to roast Rio for being a Dramatique Heaux 

and it’s gonna be 9 chapters?????? H Y P E

author’s note boldly presumes I did not know I needed this AU when the reality is I did in fact know I needed this AU, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to deliver

so blessed

author also claims to not be team nose stud and yet it features prominently in all its magnificent glory

what is the truth dot gif

A Bit of a Stretch - septiembre / @septiembur​

SO????? CUTE?????????

would be on this list for Rio calling Beth E alone tbh

really really really really really love this Rio POV of being settled into a relationship with Beth

It manages to be sweetly domestic af while still holding the edge that makes brio brio which is a neat trick

@septiembur may be a witch

beth’s approach to getting rio to do yoga with her is hilarious and exactly right, canon-typical amounts of subtlety 

1000000/10

Post Break-Up Sex - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs​

stg this was called Hit Shuffle

no matter

h O T

with a side of damn i’ve made some questionable choices in my life haven’t i introspection

(no regrats tho)

(esp not with this fic)

not the point of the fic by a long shot but i’m also extremely obsessed with Weed Eddie, so real

She drains my soul... she drains it not - niham87 / @niham87​

ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS CONCEPT

am a complete sucker for paranormal world building that satirizes bureaucracy 

Is that a trope? If so that’s my favorite

I did it. I’m picking a single favorite. You know what that is growth dot gif

ANYWAY i love the concept, i love the humor, i love beth instantly clicking with annie

I love her and mick’s sort of grudging professional courtesy

Love beth as a champion of environmental responsibility and all of the underworld being like …...okay??

cannot wait to see where this goes

Nine-Tenths - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

sometimes i think about rio putting beth’s hair in a ponytail and have to go lie down

science please explain why this rUinS mE

wait hold on i skipped ahead

HEY KIDS DO YOU LIKE UNBEARABLY CUTE DOMESTIC TENDERNESS

opens with rio sleepily holding beth’s hand to his heart so that’s the kind of thing you’ll be dealing with

uGH theY’RE sO CUTe

idk why precisely but rio adding hair ties to his bracelet collection is my undoing every time

Missed Call - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Rio doesn’t come home from a job when he’s supposed to. Beth (and I!!!!!!!) slowly loses her mind

Truly a masterpiece of rising tension

Will literally never forgive her for calling this light angst

I was SO STRESSED OUT

The first person to point out there was an author’s note at the beginning I obvs didn’t read is getting blocked

crush - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie​

Listen even though this is centered around two OCs, they are OCs FROM a (n iconic) brio fic AND Beth, Ruby and Rio all make cameos (I mean, Rio’s pretty present since he lives in Mar’s mind rent free bc they are THE SWEETEST MOST ADORABLE BEST OF FRIENDS so idk if i’d call it a cameo but whatever)

and even if it didn’t feature any official GG characters I’d still rec is bc that’s mY SON AND this fic is TOO CUTE

I have so many feelings over mar and rio growing up and not knowing how to cope with girls becoming a Thing in their life and how it affects their friendship and mar feeling left behind but (SPOILERS) at the end of the story rio starts feeling that too and it’s so poignant knowing how that’s going to continue in delinquents

while mar may be my son, i also claim elena’s #1 stan status

before you’re like meg you’re only reccing it bc it’s a bday present ask yourselves do i really strike you as the kind of person that wouldn’t be equally obnoxious about this either way?

truly cannot fathom how hard i have fallen for these OCs i don’t normally do that

@foxmagpie is definitely a witch

The Ottoman - Niham87 / @niham87​

look i will be the first to admit that i don’t go near as bonkers over the ottoman line in 308 as y’all do

(don’t get me wrong, i love it!!! I love that he laughs and i love that she’s pleased it just doesn’t hit my lose my whole mind button like idk, the dubby or the 306 convo, idk why)

BUT i v v v much love the context this delightful Rio POV pwp gives it

am also absolutely feral for 209 missing scene fic

and anything that captures the complexity of Rio’s s3 feelings for Beth and how twisted they’ve become

so this scratches a bunch of itches, is what i’m trying to say

Bet On It - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

That’s what my brain does when I think about Beth and Rio meeting in ch 1

am DESPERATELY OBSESSED WITH the tension between the two of them in this fic

I love how it plays with the ways they have to rely on but don’t trust each other

plus FAKE DATING and BED SHARING (fair warning hasn’t happened yet but the set up is there)

originally supposed to be 2 chapters, already up to 4, prayer circle it goes on forever

do you like drugs (tonight) - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe​

v important focus on hydration, other fic should take note

extremely about the use of cut to and then flashback to enhance the ‘we were on drugs’ vibe

speaking of, beth and rio absolutely would take ecstasy to prove they are fun bc they are the exact kind of idiots that would peer pressure themselves

so glad beth kept her purse, got a bit stressed there for a second, clutches in that kind of circumstance are A Risk

not that i would know

FLAWLESS USE OF VOICEMAIL TBH

really love the ongoing denial that they are remotely into each other while proceeding to demonstrate how they are in fact, extremely into each other, great vibe

rio dances

I know my brain broke too

mmmm bacon

Navigate A Broken Path - flashindie / @pynkhues​

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

I have a long standing tradition of getting unreasonably obsessed with side characters so i’m not like, entirely surprised by how obsessed i am with both Mick and Mary Pat but i never in a million years considered them as a ship

AND Y E T

they fit????? so perfectly?????? It’s amazing how she developes them individually enough that i look at them together and think ah yes this makes perfect sense for both characters

and they’re such an amazing foil to Beth and Rio? 

can ships have foils? do i know what a foil is? 

unimportant

GUYS you dON’T uNDERStAN d 

hell i don’t understand

how absolutely very dare you make me care about YET ANOTHER set of gg ‘verse children

do not read this fic if you have no interest in feelings you zero percent asked for

wHA t hAPPeNED iN aLASkA?????????

A Moment’s Silence - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs​

*makes sign of the cross*

y’all are gonna make me rediscover religion

extremely appreciate the author’s note approach to backstory top notch prioritization

listen it’s basically 3k of beth deep throating rio idk what more you need me to say about it

it is…..good stuff

bless the kinkmeme or fest whatever we’re calling it

praise - civillove / @blainesebastian​

I mean you had me at “three times rio calls beth a good girl and one time he really means it”

ephemeral rio

I left that note for myself in here in the middle of the night and haven’t the foggiest what i was thinking but i stand by it none the less

okay okay i think i know what i meant, this fic (as do all of my fav civillove brio fics) has this sort of like, liminal, in the quiet moments feel to them that makes the moments and feelings somehow feel like i’m catching a glimpse of something secret and precious???

idk i just really like it okay

Heart and Soul - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo​

oh look more unbearably sweet domestic tenderness, this time to music

thank you ma’am for my life

rio remembers beth used to play piano and gets her one and revoltingly cute shenanigans result

also hilarity

and sexiness

this fic has it all, truly

shout out to mick who sees no reason to keep rio’s feelings to himself

good girls tumblr fic - prettylittlementirosa / @hypermania​​

cheating and reccing a whole series

It’s my list and i can do what i wanna

stop crying about it, it’s four fics and they’re all AMAZING absolutely impossible to pick a fav

truly flawless characterization, next level ability to capture evocative mood, cannot get enough

three’s a crowd: who knew ballroom dancing while dean watches and grinds his teeth could be so sexy 

(trick question everything about that premise sounds A++++ and boy howdy does it live up)

feel it on the way home: rio tries to break up with beth, it goes about as well as you’d expect

(thE angSty tenSioN)

i want to play the game: [from the floor] i’m still not ready to talk about it

(rio/turner, missing scene, 10000000% a taste of what went down in that hotel room)

june after dark: pitch perfect annie pov, really really love the take that Annie is the baby whisperer, can’t fully explain why but it feels incredibly right

(ANNIE X NANCY COULD WORK SO WELL YOU GUYS)

[an-avid-reader]

Legend (#1) - Marie Lu

my rating: 4/5 stars

In a world where the Patriots/Colonies and the Republic are at odds and there’s a plague in the poorer parts of the US, Day is an unstoppable street criminal with good intentions. When his family’s house gets marked by Republic soldiers, Day’s only thought is to steal a cure before his family member dies. June is a top student at Drake University—a prodigy. When her brother, Metias, gets caught in a cross-fire during a mission, June is fast-tracked to becoming a soldier. Her first mission: track down Day. As Day and June come from such opposite backgrounds, is it possible that their paths would’ve crossed otherwise? 

Link to Goodreads // Spoiler-free review below

It felt so weird to switch this book from “to-read” to “reading” and now to “read” on Goodreads—this was the first book I placed on my virtual tbr and now, 6 years later I’ve read Legend! Honestly, I didn’t know much about this story going in, besides the fact that it’s a dystopian trilogy...and that, after reading a bunch of those stories, I was skeptical going into this book however I was still really excited to pick it up and I’m glad that I did! 

Legend alternates between Day and June’s perspectives and we get to see how drastically their lives are; when their worlds collide it was super fascinating, even though they put A LOT of trust from nowhere into each other. I sort of wish we got a few chapters from other characters, such as Commander Jameson, Thomas, and Tess, but of course without ruining the story. The other reason I didn’t give a full 5/5 was because I was able to guess bits of the twist pretty early on, albeit I wasn’t sure how it was going to pan out until we came to that part of the story. (We also gotta leave some room for improvement for the subsequent books!)

So the main premise of the story is that there is a war between the Colonies/Republic and the Patriots. To be completely honest, I still can’t really explain why this war occurred, nor what either’s agenda is (except for maybe power, but in terms of politics I’m ???). One reason why I wish we got more POVs is to explore this issue a bit more, and what their motivation is—if two Patriots were in the same room, would there be a way for them to connect with each other (assuming that this is a large society), for example. There were some details that were slowly brought out, such as the coin found by Day’s father (which is incorporated into a very clever manner). To be completely honest, the one thing I took away from the political scene is how cult-like the US in this book (but also irl���I’ve never seen another country where pretty much everyone has their country’s flag on their front lawn or uhhh worship? their flag).

The other minor but also major detail is the virus (or the plague, but it has to be treated with a vaccine, therefore it’s a virus). We know that there’s a plague, and of course, the poorer parts of the rEpBuLiC, such as Day’s neighbourhood, are affected heavily, but that’s pretty much the extent that we know. I wonder if Legend was written/published today (or next year, let’s say), would the plague be different—would people be wearing masks, for instance?  What are the symptoms of the plague (I think there was some coughing and fever)—how do you know for sure it’s the plague and not a common cold or the chicken pox, for example o.O I definitely felt like I was over analyzing details at times because I was able to pick up on Lu’s foreshadowing pretty early on. 

Brief comment on Lu’s foreshadowing—she is clever in the sense that sometimes the details are right in your face, but you don’t realize it until a significant event happens. Sometimes it’s a really important part of the story, other times it’s just a subtle detail, like the coin. You can tell that Lu most likely planned Legend meticulously, and I’m sure that the next two books are crafted with this precise manner. I’m sure this is the type of book that when you reread it, you can pick out all the details that were planted along the way (or maybe I’m over analyzing again).

Something else that I appreciated in this book is that, although this is dystopian, it doesn’t feel like those typical dystopian tropes are there, if that makes sense. Yes, there’s a romance (and maybe a tad of insta love), but it’s not the driving factor of the plot. And there’s no love triangle (*throws confetti*). Besides the war and thus, the division of the population, the most obvious dystopian feature is the Trial—this is when you turn 10, you must take a test (physical, mental, and an interview). Based on your score, you either get placed into highschool, university, or you’re sent to labour camps if you fail. Honestly, as messed up as the Trial is, it’s almost like a reality today. I feel like people who are just entering middle school are already set on studying medicine or law, when at that age, you should be idk enjoying life and maybe start putting effort into what you enjoy, not choosing a career. Anyways, those are my 2 cents. 

Although Legend is written from our two main characters, I love how different their dynamic was, which made the story much more interesting. From Day’s point of view, I liked that we got to see the pain he feels for his family. I also appreciated Day’s relationship with Tess, who I feel like they’re more like brother and sister (and I’m glad there isn’t a love triangle...at this point of the trilogy anyways). While Day is a criminal, he’s such a softie when it comes to the people he cares about, whereas when he’s on a ‘mission’ he’s very sly. From June’s point of view, we are introduced to Thomas (which I thought he was like a butler but oop that’s not right), Metias (her brother), and Ollie (their doggo (yes?)). At first, it seems that June is like this kick ass girl, who is super young (ish, she’s 16) and she’s a trouble-maker, but I feel like her peers respect her. One thing I noticed is that June is such a compassionate person—I’m not sure how to explain it, but she’s more “human” than Commander Jameson, for example. Her element of humanity and being able to analyze a situation/emotions within a few minutes, it was super impressive—I feel like she makes working for the Republic very easy. We only get a few glimpses of her and Metias together, but what we see is so wholesome—you can tell that Metias is scared/deeply cares for his younger sister. And there’s Thomas...from the gecko he gave me weird vibes but man he is such an icky man. Also, seeing as June is a prodigy, it’s almost like her uh ‘bosses’ (?) treat her as a prized possession, which 100% made me feel like (more on that in the spoiler section below). For once, I didn’t really mind the insta love between June and Day, though whilst I was reading the book, I was a bit frustrated because I could see exactly where the story was going (I see you, Lu, I see you).

Finally, I appreciate that Lu’s characters are people of colour, specifically Asian/asian-mixed. I obviously can’t speak on her behalf, but I’m glad that she didn’t conform to the “norm” or “default” as she is Asian-american herself. Furthermore, I think it gives younger people the encouragement that yes, you can be an author, you don’t need to be a heterosexual, cis, white male. (I’m sorry for the crappy explanation, I guess what kinda sucks is that she had to explicitly mention it in the book). ANYWAYS moving on, I appreciated this book, though I didn’t really know what to expect from it. To be completely honest, I was also scared to read it because it had been on my TBR since 2014 (oops), but I think that in the end, it’s good thing I waited to start this trilogy; I think that otherwise, this would’ve been same-old-same-old vibes to other dystopian books/trilogies I’ve read in the past. I’m excited to see where the trilogy takes us and I’m excited to see how Lu will further develop our main characters, as well as see how her writing style changes over time!

If you’ve read this book, I’d love to know what your thoughts are, did you like this book or not? (and if you’ve read the other two books, did you find that overall, the series gets better/what book is your favourite from this series?).

Thank you for reading my review, I hope you are having a legendary day (sorry, I had to), wherever you are in the world!

~ Cassandra / an-avid-reader

-

I’ve decided to include a spoiler section of my reviews; continue reading for some spoiler-y content (you have been warned)

SPOILER SECTION BELOW

While I could see it coming that June was going to betray Day, she felt so bad when she called the cops on his family. Again, this goes back to the humanity thing. The fact that she actually listened to Day (and I guess respected him?) as opposed to merely judging him for “failing” his Trial and being poor is commendable. To be honest, I’d like to think that they had mutual respect for each other, Day has his reputation, and June unexpectedly kicked Kaede’s butt in the ring. I feel like there’s so much to uncover, there’s something so fishy with their government, and I think we’re just at the tip of the iceberg. It makes me think of what other contraband exists, besides the pendent/coin. Also, side note, isn’t one presidential term = 4 years, and the Elector has been the leader/uh President for 11 terms? I don’t remember it being mentioned, but I feel like the next Elector would be his son, sort of like a dictatorship…

Speaking of the fight scene, I’m honestly surprised that June didn’t put the pieces together. When she met Day for the first time (for the cure deal), she noted his dialect/the fact that he used the cousin. We’re not told how many other people use the same slang, nor do we encounter another character (such as the older man who helped Tess and Day early on in the story), using that slang. Thus, when Day said cousin in front of June, I’m surprised that she didn’t question whether that was Day or not. Then again, I feel like she needed more hints to corroborate her hypothesis—I’m just surprised that it didn’t even cross her mind, I guess. 

June = prized possession? Aka Thomas kissing her *vomits* I assumed that Thomas was an older guy, again, like he was her butler/guardian because her parents are dead. (LIGHTBULB MOMENT - we know that the Republic just kills people, so is it possible that Day’s father is still alive? We know for sure his mom is dead because she got shot in the head by none other than T h o m a s, but maybe there’s a chance that Day’s father was still alive). I feel like June was just even more ruplused when she found out that Thomas was actually the killer of her brother; I wonder if that’s what made him so “cold”, as June referred to later on in the story. Was he brainwashed or something? Commander Jameson gives me these weird vibes, like she has a bigger role in this story, but we don’t know yet. And then during the ceremony after June caught Day, there was Chian, Metias’ mentor (most likely also a snake) who was kinda hitting on her, and then there was the Elector’s son! I’m just speechless, can these people not force themselves onto June?? If she didn’t meet Day, would she fall for one of them, or would she just live her best life (part of me hopes for the latter, all those guys are creeps).

I also find it convenient that June knew exactly what to do with the computer/with Metias’ message? Albeit, she is clever (when her judgement isn’t clouded lmao). I knew that the letters were going to be a scramble, but I would’ve never thought it would lead to a website. Also, how was Metias sure that June would read through his stuff? If he were still alive, would he have told June about what he found (ever)? And how did he get wrapped up in all of this? So many questions!! Anyways, I guess that the two of them had a similar way of going about things/thinking similar enough so that they could find clues like that without raising too much suspicion (even though June did end up getting caught towards the end). 

One of the ways that Lu was able to sneak in some foreshadowing is when we’re in Day’s POV and we learn about his older brother, John. I remember that there was something along the lines of “oh we look so similar, it would be easy to mistake one for the other” and that sort of raised suspicion for me, which was confirmed when John sacrificed himself to let June and Day (and the others) escape. I didn’t catch that Day’s pendant was a coin, however, that was really clever. I wouldn’t say that being able to spot these things early on made me dislike the book, but it did take away the element of surprise. 

Onto book #2!

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars Canon Timeline in Chronological Order

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Need help starting your Star Wars adventure? Check out our beginner's guide to the canon timeline!

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens ushered in an entirely new generation of fans looking for more adventures in the galaxy far, far away, but with the whole issue of Legends canon vs. the new canon and a whole slate of new books, comics, and movies arriving in the next few years, it can be hard to figure out where to start. Luckily for you, it's become a bit easier to dive into the canon materials now that a clear line has been drawn between Legends (pre-Disney) and new canon (post-Disney) stories, but that new material is quickly growing, too. 

In order to help new fans get a clear look at the official Star Wars timeline, we've put together a list of the most central Star Wars books, comics, and games and detailed how they relate to the movies and TV series.

Read More: Everything We Know About Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

What won't you see on this list?

Most Star Wars Insider short stories, Star Wars Rebels Magazine comics, Forces of Destiny shorts, or Disney novelizations like The Princess, The Farmboy, and The Scoundrel. Star Wars Insider stories have been included where we felt they contributed most to the overarching timeline -- or if we felt they were particularly good.

This timeline is intended to help you find the best jumping-on point. (There's always the "pick up whatever you find first" approach, though.) Dates are sometimes approximate and are based on years before (BBY) and after (ABY) the Battle of Yavin, equivalent to before and after A New Hope, as per the official canon chronology.

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32 - 20 BBY - Age of Republic

Written by Jody Houser

Art by Cory Smith and Luke Ross

The Age of Republic comics miniseries is composed of one-shot issues that prove writer Jody Houser is a powerful new addition to Star Wars fiction. The series focuses on Prequel characters such as Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Maul, Jango Fett, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku, and General Grievous. They each get their own issues, which can be read together or separately. Age of Republic Special stars Mace Windu and brings in heroes and villains from across the Clone Wars.

32 BBY - Marvel's Darth Maul

Written by Cullen Bunn

Art by Luke Ross

Set before the events of The Phantom Menace and the villain's first demise at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, this comic book miniseries follows Darth Maul in the early days of his apprenticeship under Darth Sidious. While he's not allowed to engage the Jedi just yet, Maul still manages to come face to face with a young Jedi Padawan during one of his missions for the Dark Lord of the Sith. The events of the series show how the dark side makes Maul more powerful but also incredibly flawed.

Buy Marvel's Darth Maul

32 BBY - The Phantom Menace 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy The Phantom Menace

29 BBY - Marvel's Obi-Wan & Anakin 

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Marco Checchetto

This comic series, written by Charles Soule and penciled by Marco Checchetto, is Disney’s first foray into deep Prequel territory, without even The Clone Wars to hang on to. Devoid of any ancillary material. Obi-Wan & Anakin paints a slightly different picture of the iconic Jedi team-up than the Legends stories did before. Anakin is a headstrong tinkerer, but there is also an edge of vengefulness or self-hatred around him in the first issue when he summons a hologram of Darth Maul that surprises and disgusts the Jedi Council.

The series expands on how Anakin’s life as a slave affects the way he views the Jedi. This isn't an easy apprenticeship for either Jedi, but we know that it’s leading up to at least some camaraderie by the time of Padme’s attempted assassination in Attack of the Clones.

Buy Marvel's Obi-Wan & Anakin

28 BBY - Queen's Shadow

Written by E.K. Johnston

This young adult novel details the lives of Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens. The loose plot follows Padmé as she transitions from queen to senator, but the episodic story is much more than that. It confronts the idea of slavery in Star Wars, the tragedy of the way Papatine manipulated Padmé’s political path, and the problems and privileges of ruling at such a young age. Padmé is presented as a formidable warrior, a teen still learning to hold her own, and a shrewd negotiator. 

22 BBY - Attack of the Clones 

Directed by George Lucas

Written by George Lucas & Jonathan Hales

Buy Attack of the Clones

22-19 BBY - The Clone Wars 

Created by George Lucas

Buy The Clone Wars

21-17 BBY - Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

Written by James Luceno

Before Jyn Erso embarked on her fateful mission to steal the plans to the Death Star from the evil Empire in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, she lived on Coruscant with her parents, Galen and Lyra. Galen is a scientist who means to use his kyber crystal research to produce renewable energy for the galaxy, but his friend Orson Krennic has very different plans. The scientist doesn't know that he's actually helping create a weapon for the Death Star!

Buy Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

19 BBY - Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir 

Written by Jeremy Barlow

Art by Juan Frigeri

Although Mother Talzin appeared to have perished in The Clone Wars, she returns in what may or may not be a spiritual form during the many battles in Son of Dathomir. This comic miniseries, like Dark Disciple, was adapted from unused scripts from The Clone Wars, and is something of a battle royale, pitting Darth Maul against a variety of foes, including Count Dooku and General Grievous.

Buy Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir

19 BBY - "Kindred Spirits" 

Written by Christe Golden for Star Wars Insider #159

Often, Star Wars Insider stories will tie directly to one of the recently released novels, exploring side characters or presenting scenes before or after the book. In the case of "Kindred Spirits," the author was also the same: Christie Golden penned this tale of Asajj Ventress finding an unlikely ally shortly before Dark Disciple. Readers interested in the bounty hunter persona Ventress adopted during The Clone Wars might especially appreciate the tone of this one, which also features another tough female character.

19 BBY - Dark Disciple 

Written by Christie Golden

While fans clamored for more of The Clone Wars after the animated series’ cancellation, stories set in this era, and overseen by many of the same writers and producers, began to emerge in different formats. Some unaired episodes of The Clone Wars were aired during conventions or released online; others were adapted into comics, as in Son of Dathomir. Dark Disciple was one of the more high-profile results of this effort, as it is a full-length novel telling the story of Asajj Ventress after her story on the television show had ended.

Ventress is reluctantly recruited by Quinlan Vos, a morally ambiguous Jedi in pursuit of Count Dooku. Dark Disciple is, in part, a love story, showing Ventress and Vos’ relationships with one another and how that affects their views of the Force. It’s also a war story, with the inventive action typical of The Clone Wars.

Buy Dark Disciple

19 BBY - Revenge of the Sith 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy Revenge of the Sith

19 BBY - Marvel's Kanan 

Written by Greg Weisman

Art by Pepe Larraz

If you watch Rebels but haven’t read Star Wars books or comics before, Kanan series is a good place to start. The stories alternate between the crew of the Ghost undertaking what at first seems to be a simple mission on Lothal, and Kanan’s memories of Order 66 and his training with his Jedi Master. This is a good way to learn about this fan-favorite character.

Buy Marvel's Kanan

19 BBY - Marvel's Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli

This series literally starts at the moment Darth Vader is born, a second after the end of Revenge of the Sith. Unlike Marvel's first Darth Vader series, this new ongoing book tackles the earliest days of Anakin's transformation into the feared Sith apprentice, more machine than man. 

Buy Marvel's Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

18 BBY - Ahsoka

Written by E.K. Johnston

What happened to former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano after leaving the Order in The Clone Wars? This is the story of what led Ahsoka down the path to becoming the Rebel agent Fulcrum. Anyone who loves the character's appearances in the animated series should read this book.

Buy Ahsoka

14 BBY - "Orientation" 

Written by John Jackson Miller for Star Wars Insider #157

Like "Kindred Spirits," John Jackson Miller’s "Orientation" has some of the same characters as the Star Wars novels that came out around the same time. It was packaged along with Lords of the Sith, but touches some other Star Wars material, too.

Darth Vader is ostensibly the main character of the story, strutting his way around an Imperial training ship. But the other star of this story is Rae Sloane, a young cadet. Remember that name.

14 BBY - Lords of the Sith

Written by Paul S. Kemp

Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine have crash-landed in the dangerous wilderness of Ryloth in this dark side road trip. Lords of the Sith also has a connection to Rebels and The Clone Wars: freedom fighter Cham Syndulla sees a potential advantage for his rebels and tries to assassinate the Sith while they’re working their way through the wilderness.

The novel explores Vader and Palpatine’s tense power struggles as well as the things that bind them together. Lords of the Sith also has the new canon’s first LGBT character, the slovenly Imperial Moff Mors, who has her own character arc as the story goes on.

Buy Lords of the Sith

14 BBY - Tarkin 

Written by James Luceno

Another tale from the dark side, Tarkin shows the history and martial rise of the man who would one day command the Death Star. James Luceno was known for writing big, encyclopedic novels in the Legends timeline—he’s particularly good at fitting different parts of the canon together and talking about the political landscape of the galaxy far, far away. The Tarkin novel brings both of those things into the new canon and tells the story of Tarkin’s attempt to retake an experimental starship from Rebel saboteurs.

Buy Tarkin

13 BBY - Lando's Luck

Written by Justina Ireland

Disney Publishing has been knocking it out of the park with the young adult Star Wars novels, and Lando’s Luck is the most entertaining of the Solo tie-ins. Funny dialogue and a fast-paced adventure make this story—in which Lando and L3-37 team up with a young princess—a good one to pick up if you liked Lando in either Solo or The Empire Strikes Back. 

13-10 BBY - Solo: A Star Wars Story

Directed by Ron Howard

Written by Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan

11-5 BBY - Lost Stars 

Written by Claudia Gray

Although Lost Stars spans throughout the Original Trilogy, it starts beforehand, with two young people joining the Imperial Academy. It’s essentially a love story, with Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree still holding their feelings for one another even after Thane joins the Rebellion. This book is also a great look at the psychology of the people inside the two armies.

The new Star Wars books have dispensed quickly with the idea that all Rebels are noble (or noble scoundrels) and that all Imperial loyalists are scheming. Lots of different things drive people to make their choices in war, and Lost Stars shows that. It also culminates in an exciting battle that ties into The Force Awakens. After reading this one, you’ll never look at Jakku quite the same way again.

Buy Lost Stars

11-2 BBY - Thrawn

Written by Timothy Zahn

When the old continuity was turned into Legends, it meant that many of the greatest characters introduced in the old EU were no longer canon. It seems like even that couldn't keep the Empire's greatest tactician down, though. The cold, Chiss admiral Thrawn returns to continuity with this new origin story from writer Timothy Zahn, the man who created the character back in the '90s. 

Buy Thrawn

11 BBY - A New Dawn 

Written by John Jackson Miller

For fans of Rebels, A New Dawn shows the origins of some fan-favorite characters and sets the tone for the new canon Imperials. It introduces the ruthlessly efficient Count Vidian, who goes up against Hera and Kanan when the fate of a planet is on the line. Joining them are the unlikely duo of conspiracy theorist Skelly and ex-Imperial surveillance officer Zaluna. Although it explains more about Kanan’s history than Hera’s (more about her can be found in the short story “Mercy Mission,” in the Rise of the Empire collection), A New Dawn is a good piece of the continuity puzzle for Rebels fans.

It was also the first book in the new canon, making its title doubly appropriate. Author John Jackson Miller was well-known for Legends material, like the novel Kenobi and the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, before he contributed the first book to the new canon.

Buy A New Dawn

6-4 BBY - Servants of the Empire 

Written by Jason Fry

This four-book young reader series follows Zare Leonis, the Imperial cadet who helped Ezra escape the stormtrooper academy in season one of Rebels. Like Rebels itself, the series can be enjoyed by people outside of its grade-school audience, too. Part of the appeal is the characters: the story switches between Zare and his conflicting ideas about the Empire to his friend, hacker Merei Spanjaf, who launches her own investigations while trying to avoid being caught by her security expert mother.

Zare is on the hunt for his sister, a promising, Force-sensitive Imperial recruit taken by the Grand Inquisitor. Like in A New Dawn, Rebels fans will be able to find plenty of connections to their favorite characters.

Buy Servants of the Empire

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6 BBY-3 ABY - Battlefront / Battlefront: Twilight Company 

Video Game Developed by DICE

Novel Written by Alexander Freed

Like John Jackson Miller, Battlefront: Twilight Company author Alexander Freed came to Star Wars novels through short stories and comics. His canon short fiction has appeared in Star Wars Insider before (“One Thousand Levels Down” and “The End of History”).

Twilight Company visits some of the same locations available to players in the 2015 Battlefront video game, but its characters are new and unique. The cynical protagonist is Namir, a soldier who fights doggedly for the Rebellion’s cause without ever really believing that the cause is as noble as others do. He finds an unlikely ally in Chalis, a former Imperial governor whose ruthless plans for the Rebel squad’s success cause some dissent in the ranks.

Buy Battlefront

Buy Battlefront: Twilight Company

5-2 BBY - Rebels 

Created by Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, & Carrie Beck

Buy Rebels

3 BBY - Leia: Princess of Alderaan

Written by Claudia Gray 

After winning fans' hearts with the political novel Bloodline, Claudia Gray returned with a young adult novel about Leia's youth on Alderaan and her first missions with the Rebel Alliance. Leia: Princess of Alderaan focuses on the princess and her parents, Breha and Bail, but also includes cameos from characters such as The Last Jedi's Amilyn Holdo, Captain Panaka, and Grand Moff Tarkin.

Buy Leia: Princess of Alderaan

2 BBY - Thrawn: Alliances

Written by Timothy Zahn

The wildly popular canon Thrawn novels continue with a story set during the Clone Wars. Alliances jumps between the Original Trilogy and the Prequel era, showing how Thrawn worked with Anakin Skywalker before and after he became Darth Vader. The book also features Padmé on her own mission during the Clone Wars. She finds herself reluctantly teaming up with the titular Chiss mastermind. 

0 BBY - Guardians of the Whills

Written by Greg Rucka 

A fun look at Jedha before the decidedly less fun events of Rogue One, Guardians of the Whills captures Baze and Chirrut's voices well and shows what Jedha City was like before its destruction. 

Buy Guardians of the Whills

0 BBY - Rogue One

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Written by John Knoll, Gary Whitta, Chris Weitz, & Tony Gilroy

Buy Rogue One

0 BBY - A New Hope 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy A New Hope

0 BBY - 5 ABY: Battlefront II/ Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

Video Game Developed by EA DICE, Motive Studios, Criterion Software

Novel Written by Christie Golden

A prequel to the video game Battlefront II, the novel Inferno Squad introduces players to Iden Versio, special forces commander and daughter of Imperial loyalist Admiral Garrick Versio. Assigned to infiltrate a group of Saw Gerrera's Partisans, she and her team grapple with the morality of both the Empire and the violent splinter group of the Rebellion. 

The video game's campaign follows Inferno Squad from shortly before the destruction of the Death Star to the Battle at Jakku, where the Empire finally fell. Fans who read the novel will have much better context for the relationships between the characters in the campaign, which also introduces playable versions of Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. 

Buy Battlefront II

Buy Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

0 BBY - Marvel's Princess Leia 

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Terry Dodson

Many of Marvel’s Star Wars comic series so far take place in the Original Trilogy time period. Before information about The Force Awakens was public, Marvel was already doing all it could with its re-acquisition of the Star Wars brand, launching three ongoing series (Star Wars, Darth Vader, and Kanan), along with a succession of miniseries. The Princess Leia story picks up immediately after the end of A New Hope, touching on Leia’s feelings—or lack thereof—about the destruction of her home planet.

Although Rebel High Command wants her to keep a low profile, Leia makes it her mission to recruit surviving Alderaanians to the Rebel cause. They are in diaspora, but not all of the people she meets want to go to war. She’s helped by Evaan, a Rebel pilot with a not-so-favorable view of the woman she calls “ice princess.”

Buy Marvel's Princess Leia

0 BBY - Heir to the Jedi 

Written by Kevin Hearne

Heir to the Jedi was published right in the middle of the transition from Legends to new canon. Originally branded as part of the Empire & Rebellion series, along with Razor’s Edge and Honor Among Thieves, it alone of the three books in that series survived the cut-off. Kevin Hearne’s story explains how Luke learned the telekinesis he used in The Empire Strikes Back.

Since Obi-Wan never taught him that, someone had to encourage Luke to use the Force—and in Heir to the Jedi, it’s Nakari Kelen, a fellow Rebel pilot with whom Luke goes on a mission to retrieve a Rebel codebreaker.

Buy Heir to the Jedi

0 BBY - Marvel's Chewbacca 

Written by Gerry Duggan

Art by Phil Noto

Some time after the events of A New Hope, Chewbacca finds himself comfortably crash-landed on the planet Andelm IV. He’s willing to have a bit of a nap before beginning a leisurely search for parts for his ship, but there are other people on the planet who aren’t so relaxed.

A girl named Zarro and her father have been conscripted into working essentially as slaves in a mine run by a man who plans to profit off of the Empire. Chewie and Zarro hatch a plan to free her father in this fun, five-issue series with beautiful art by Phil Noto.

Buy Marvel's Chewbacca

0 BBY - The Weapon of a Jedi  

Written by Jason Fry

Prolific Star Wars writer Jason Fry tells a quintessential Luke story in The Weapon of a Jedi. A young Luke travels to Devaron on a hunch sent by the Force and discovers an ancient Jedi Academy where he can hone his skills—and where he fights with a lightsaber for the first time.

Although we don’t know for sure whether the Jedi Temple on Devaron will affect the Star Wars universe going forward, it’s Luke’s best canon example of a place where Jedi can go to learn, and maybe influenced the academy he eventually built in the New Republic. The book also features flash forwards to Jessika Pava, the Resistance pilot who flew with Poe Dameron at the battle of Starkiller Base.

Buy The Weapon of a Jedi

0 BBY - Marvel's Star Wars & Darth Vader 

Star Wars: Written by Jason Aaron, Art by John Cassaday et al

Darth Vader: Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Salvador Larroca

Some of the best—and more surprising—stories in the Marvel Star Wars line come out of the ongoing series, which occur concurrently and crossed over in their first big event, “Vader Down.” The series follows both heroes and villains of the Original Trilogy, including Luke’s earnest, enthusiastic slide into learning how to use his Jedi powers; Vader’s conflicted relationship with Emperor Palpatine and the Sith legacy of betrayal and competition; and Han’s maybe-wife Sana Solo. 

The longest-running Marvel Star Wars series so far are also the ones that most clearly show how Marvel is handling the core characters going forward, so check these out if you want to see what Luke, Han, and Leia are up to after A New Hope.

Darth Vader recently wrapped and it's easily one of the best stories to come out of the new EU so far. You NEED to read this series!

Buy Marvel's Star Wars

Buy Marvel's Darth Vader

0 BBY - Marvel's Doctor Aphra

Written by Kieron Gillen & Simon Spurrier

Art by Kev Walker et. al.

After becoming a breakout hit in the comics, Doctor Aphra became the first Star Wars character who never appeared in the movies to helm her own comic book series. Her title reveals her history, including her parents and how she became a rogue archeologist. 

Buy Marvel's Doctor Aphra

0 BBY - Smuggler’s Run 

Written by Greg Rucka

Smuggler’s Run is one in a series of three young reader books put out as part of the Journey to The Force Awakens line. Along with Weapon of a Jedi and Moving Target, Smuggler’s Run follows one member of the Original Trilogy trio and is bookended by scenes set in the Sequel Trilogy era.

This one focuses on Han Solo and Chewbacca balancing living the lawless life with their work for the Rebellion. Written by Greg Rucka, Smuggler’s Run shows Han as he reluctantly takes on a mission to save a Rebel scout from the Empire.

Buy Smuggler's Run

0 BBY-3 ABY - Marvel's Lando 

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Alex Maleev

Lando, written by Charles Soule, with art from Alex Maleev, shows the suave baron-administrator before he got his title. Lando thinks he has scored big when he plans to steal a valuable starship, but it turns out that the ship once belonged to Emperor Palpatine (and Darth Maul), and there are plenty of unpleasant Sithly surprises in store.

As well as featuring Lando himself, the comic has a lot of great supporting characters, including mysterious twin aliens and Lobot himself. Watching Lobot’s stoic expressions in The Empire Strikes Back will never be the same after reading this comic.

Buy Marvel's Lando

0-3 ABY - Marvel's Han Solo

Written by Marjorie Liu

Art by Mark Brooks

Buy Marvel's Han Solo

3 ABY - The Empire Strikes Back 

Directed by Irvin Kershner 

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & Leigh Brackett

Buy The Empire Strikes Back

4 ABY - Moving Target 

Written by Cecil Castellucci & Jason Fry

Leia’s installment of the Journey to The Force Awakens series follows her on a mission to distract the Empire from the Rebellion’s growing fleet—the fleet that will attack the second Death Star at Endor. Her team travels through various adventures in their effort to do that, while Leia weighs her feelings about duty against the idea that she might be sacrificing some Rebel sympathizers in order to buy time for others.

Like the other two Original Trilogy books in the line, Moving Target is a quintessential Star Wars story with a few connections to other parts of the saga. The flash forward involves PZ-4CO, the blue droid seen in the Resistance base in The Force Awakens, interviewing Leia for her memoirs.

Buy Moving Target

4 ABY - Return of the Jedi 

Directed by Richard Marquand

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas

Buy Return of the Jedi

4 ABY - Marvel's Shattered Empire 

Written by Greg Rucka

Art by Marco Checchetto

The timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is a bit sparse right now, with the Aftermath trilogy expected to fill up the years after Return of the Jedi. Another novel, Bloodline by Claudia Gray, due out in 2016, is set about six years before Episode VII.

However, Shattered Empire wastes no time in showing where Luke, Han, and Leia were immediately after Return of the Jedi, while also introducing Poe Dameron’s parents. Pilot Shara Bey and soldier Kes Dameron join the Original Trilogy heroes in mopping up what’s left of the Empire on Endor—and find some strange, Force-sensitive trees.

Buy Marvel's Shattered Empire

4 ABY - Alphabet Squadron

Written by Alexander Freed

This military novel is primarily concerned with the titular squadron, a bickering but charming group of Rebel sole survivors and ex-Imperials tasked with hunting down an elite TIE Fighter squadron. It’s one of the heavier books in the saga, not just because of the page count but because of the thorough look into the characters’ psychologies. (Thankfully, they are provided an in-universe therapist.)

It also earns its place on the timeline because it sits between the formation of the New Republic and the establishment of a truly stable galaxy. Characters like General Hera Syndulla show the struggle of former Rebels, whose lack of a central leadership helped them survive, as they adapt to being the dominant power in the galaxy. Alphabet Squadron is the first novel in a trilogy. 

4 ABY - Aftermath 

Written by Chuck Wendig

The first novel set after Return of the Jedi brings a new cast of characters to the story, Rebels who, with varying degrees of reluctance, find themselves embroiled with a meeting of the surviving Imperial officers. Remember Rae Sloane? She’s back, as an admiral this time—and she has her own plans for how to restore the Empire to both greatness and stability.

Aftermath also stars Norra Wexley, an X-Wing pilot who fought at the Battle of Endor. She has become estranged from her son Temmin, who will one day become “Snap” Wexley of The Force Awakens’ Resistance fighters, and recruits him, plus a bounty hunter and an Imperial deserter, on a quest to find her missing husband. Aftermath is followed by two sequels, Life Debt and Empire’s End.

Buy Aftermath

5 ABY - Aftermath: Life Debt

Written by Chuck Wendig

Buy Aftermath: Life Debt

5 ABY - Aftermath: Empire's End

Written by Chuck Wendig

Buy Aftermath: Empire's End

7 ABY - Last Shot

Written by Daniel Jose Older

After years of friendship, Han and Lando reminisce about getting older while facing the same old trouble these two always seem to get into. This is a must-have tie-in novel to Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Buy Last Shot

9 ABY - The Mandalorian

Created by Jon Favreau

28 ABY - Bloodline

Written by Claudia Gray

Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray gives a clearer picture of the state of the galaxy before The Force Awakens than any other new canon entry. The New Republic has been standing strong for almost thirty years, and the events in the novel tips things toward the chaotic scenario we saw in Episode VII.

Buy Bloodline

28 ABY - Phasma

Written by Delilah S. Dawson

The history of the First Order's feared enforcer is revealed secondhand through a Resistance spy interrogated by the First Order. The Phasma novel explores the irradiated planet Parnassos and the way Phasma first met Brendol Hux, shedding some light on the premier stormtrooper without explaining everything behind the mask. 

Buy Phasma

28 ABY - "The Perfect Weapon" 

Written by Delilah S. Dawson

"The Perfect Weapon" by Delilah S. Dawson was the first short story to feature one of the new characters from The Force Awakens. Like the young reader books listed earlier, it’s part of the Journey to the Force Awakens line and was released as an ebook and excerpted in Star Wars Insider #163.

Bazine Netal, the woman who informs the First Order of the Resistance fighters’ presence at Maz Kanata’s castle, works as a bouncer and hired gun in this story. It doesn’t take place at the same time as The Force Awakens or particularly illuminates Bazine’s actions during the movie, but if you’re interested in her from the few glimpses in The Force Awakens, it might be worth checking out.

Buy "The Perfect Weapon"

28 ABY - "Bait" 

Written by Alan Dean Foster for Star Wars Insider #162

The Star Wars Insider story that ties most closely with The Force Awakens so far is also tied to "The Perfect Weapon." "Bait" follows Grummgar, the alien seen lounging with Bazine in Maz Kanata’s palace. Like "The Perfect Weapon," it takes place at an unspecified time before the movie and shows a hunting trip that doesn't quite go as expected.

28 ABY - Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens 

Written by Landry Q. Walker

Although four of the stories in this collection were released as e-books, six of them, all by Landry Q. Walker, are only available in this collection. The anthology tells selected tales from the lives of the denizens of Maz Kanata’s palace, including the Jakku lawman Constable Zuvio and the red-masked Crimson Corsair. The stories follow in the tradition of Legends' "Tales" anthologies that were set in the Original Trilogy and have some surprising connections to the Prequels.

Buy Tales from Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens

34 ABY - Marvel's Poe Dameron

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Phil Noto

Before he destroyed Starkiller Base, ace Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was already taking on missions from General Leia and fighting the good fight against the First Order. This comic book series shows what Poe was up to before he met Lor San Tekka on Jakku. 

Buy Marvel's Poe Dameron

34 ABY - Marvel's C-3PO Special

Written by James Robinson

Art by Tony Harris

Want to know what was up with Threepio's red arm in The Force Awakens? This touching one-shot tells the story of a droid adventure for the ages that is surprisingly full of emotion. Who knew droids could feel so much?

Buy Marvel's C-3PO Special

34 ABY - Before the Awakening 

Written by Greg Rucka

There’s something to be said about not having to answer every question about a large science fiction universe in a movie, but for people who have questions about The Force Awakens, this is the book that answers them.

How did Poe Dameron become part of the Resistance? What was life actually like for Finn in the First Order stormtrooper corps, and why does he make his decision on Jakku? When did Rey hone her piloting skills? Before the Awakening answers all of these questions, as well as tell three fun stories suitable for young readers.

Buy Before the Awakening

34 ABY - Resistance

Created by Dave Filoni

Overlapping with The Force Awakens, Resistance follows former New Republic pilot Kaz Xiono on a mission to discover a First Order spy on a floating platform where starship racers rule the roost. Kaz is joined by the aspiring pilot Tam and quirky Neeku in the mechanics’ shop run by deadpan ex-racer Jarek Yeager. Poe Dameron, BB-8, General Hux, and Captain Phasma make cameos in this laid-back Star Wars romp, which might be best for the younger set who aren’t ready for Rebels.

34 ABY - The Force Awakens 

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, & J.J. Abrams

Buy The Force Awakens

34 ABY - Marvel's Captain Phasma

Written by Kelly Thompson

Art by Marco Chechetto, Andres Mossa 

Set immediately after The Force Awakens, Captain Phasma follows the titular stormtrooper captain out of the trash compactor in which she was imprisoned at the end of Episode VII. She quickly finds her way to an inhospitable planet in pursuit of Sol Rivas, a First Order lieutenant and the only person who knows that Phasma lowered Starkiller Base's shield. The comic shows how Phasma escaped and some of the tough choices she had to make in the aftermath.

Buy Marvel's Captain Phasma

34 ABY - Canto Bight

Written by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, John Jackson Miller 

The Canto Bight novella collection includes four stories set in the lavish casino city from The Last Jedi. Its varied visitors include a down-on-his-luck gambler, a casino servant, and a salesman who won a trip to the city. 

Buy Canto Bight

34 ABY - The Last Jedi 

Directed by Rian Johnson

Written by Rian Johnson 

Buy The Last Jedi on Amazon

34 ABY - Resistance Reborn

Written by Rebecca Roanhorse

Leia Organa called for allies at the very end of The Last Jedi, and this novel, the first set after Episode VIII, shows who answered. Characters from across the Expanded Universe reappear for a who's who of current Star Wars. It also takes a look at the more banal side of the war, showing a middle manager in the First Order instead of a wartime villain at the helm of a starship. Resistance Reborn's heroes and villains are no less heroic or villainous for trying to survive in their day-to-day lives (and in Poe Dameron's case, trying to deal with his interpersonal complications). 

35 ABY - The Rise of Skywalker

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio

Megan Crouse writes about Star Wars and pop culture for StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider, and Den of Geek. Read more of her work here. Find her on Twitter @blogfullofwords.

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.

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Megan Crouse John Saavedra

Dec 17, 2019

Star Wars

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[lopithecusfanfiction]

Then There Were Three: Chapter One

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden  Rating: Mature Word Count: 4169 Alternate: AO3 Summary: “He pulls out the birth control pills. “These are birth control pills. I haven’t taken one yet so you need to make sure I do. I’ll need to take one every day I’m in heat. I’ll be too out of it to remember myself. This is very important, Aaron.” Aaron nods and reaches for them, taking the packet from Robert’s hands and inspecting it.”

One fateful heat at the lodge changes everything for Robert and everyone around him. Warnings: 

Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics

Mpreg

Canon-Typical Violence

Slow-ish burn (only because it follows canon quite closely)

Canon compliant (just with a baby added to the mix)

Somewhat canon divergent (yes I know that contradicts the previous tag)

Alpha Aaron

Omega Robert

Not exactly your traditional omegaverse (I make up my own rules because I'm picky with these things)

with that being said

there aren't enough of these in this fandom

The abuse era will make an appearance later on

But first we have to get through all the previous shit that happened prior

Other Additional Tags to Be Added (probably)

Author's Note: Don’t tell my other wip fics about this one. I just… couldn’t get it out of my head. It’s been a long time since I’ve written smut so, please be gentle with me. Also, I obviously had to change how the lodge scene went for this work. ;) At the beginning of this, Aaron has yet to be told by Paddy what Robert tried to do to him. This is going to follow pretty closely to canon but obviously some things have to change as well. Please heed the tags. I hope you all enjoy!

“It’s only for a few days,” Robert tells Chrissie as he packs up a duffle bag full of clothes. He had made arrangements earlier with Aaron to meet up at the cabin in the disguise of Robert going to a machinery convention. It was going to be a special opportunity for the two of them, Robert having asked Aaron if he would like to spend Robert’s heat together. That’s what Chrissie is mostly worried about now.

“What about your heat?” she asks him as she follows him around. “You’re supposed to start soon.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already taken a suppressant,” he lies.

Chrissie pulls him into her embrace, holding him there, and asserting herself as the alpha who is in charge. “I could always go with you, make sure you’re okay. Suppressants fail sometimes, Robert.” Robert knows she’s trying to come off as seductive but it fails completely. He’s too excited about seeing Aaron.

He wriggles out of her grasp. He’s never actually liked how traditional Chrissie can get with the alpha and omega roles. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever get comfortable with it. “It’s unlikely.” Robert resists the urge to sigh himself when he hears Chrissie do one. “Look, when I get back, we can book a weekend retreat. Make it up for missing my heat.”

“Hmm,” she pulls him in again. “It won’t be as fun as sharing a heat with you but Paris or Barcelona sounds fun.”

Robert plasters on his best, charming smile and kisses her. “If that’s what you want.” He kisses her one last time and that seems to satisfy her. Chrissie leaves him alone after that, allowing him to pack in peace. He smiles when he receives a text from Aaron a few minutes later, stating that he’ll see him there. Double checking that he has the birth control pills snugly in his pocket, Robert drives off, feeling almost giddy about meeting the other alpha.

When he gets to the lodge, Aaron is waiting for him outside, drinking a beer. They banter a little about Robert being late but soon enter the building, Robert looking around. It’s small and not something he would normally choose to spend a heat in but it’s cozy and will have to do. “You know what? I like it,” he comments, heading straight to the bedroom. He presses down on the mattress, already feeling the instinctual need to nest. “Not bad, this.”

Aaron shrugs, beer still in hand. “Yeah, it’ll do,” he says, as if reading Robert’s mind. When Robert looks at him, the alpha squirms, switching his weight from one foot to the other.

Robert chuckles, watching Aaron. “Have you ever shared a heat before?” Aaron purses his lips, pretends to think, and then shakes his head. Robert furrows his brows in confusion. “Never? Not with… Jackson or, what was his name, Ed?”

Aaron shrugs again. “Jackson was an alpha and Ed was a beta.”

Robert nods. “I’ve never been with another omega before,” he says, trying a round-a-bout way of commenting on the fact that Aaron was with someone of the same caste without insulting the alpha. It’s a rarity, for caste members to hook up with each other.

“Wasn’t bad,” Aaron goes on to say. “Besides, after the accident…” he trails off and Robert doesn’t push.

With a deep breath, Robert moves on, facing Aaron and stepping up to him. He pulls out the birth control pills. “These are birth control pills. I haven’t taken one yet so you need to make sure I do. I’ll need to take one every day I’m in heat. I’ll be too out of it to remember myself. This is very important, Aaron.” Aaron nods and reaches for them, taking the packet from Robert’s hands and inspecting it. “Since you’re new to this, I’m going to explain a little bit of what’s going to happen. When omegas are about to go into heat, they start nesting.”

“Nesting?”

Robert nods and walks away, looking the room over. He doesn’t have much time before he starts his heat, so he’s going to have to multitask. “Nesting is when an omega gathers things around them that make them feel safe. Usually it involves things that have their alpha’s scent but if you don’t have an alpha, then it can be anything really.”

“Did you bring something of Chrissie’s then?” Aaron asks, taking a step closer.

Robert tsks, straightening from where he was bent over and smoothing out the duvet. “No.” Robert stares at him, waiting for things to click but when they don’t, he smirks in amusement. “You are completely clueless when it comes to these things.” He laughs and ignores Aaron’s annoyed face. “Since I’m sharing my heat with you, it would be dangerous to bring something with Chrissie’s scent. It could go one of two ways: you destroy whatever it was or you hunt her down and kill her.” He sees Aaron gulp. “Omegas aren’t the only ones who get a little out of it when it comes to a heat.”

Aaron squirms again. He’s clutching onto the little packet of birth control pills as if his life depends on it. “Is that why you don’t smell like her right now?”

He nods. “I made sure to spray myself with a scent dampener. I don’t need you to go off all crazy.” He picks up a lamp off the nightstand. “Now I won’t be able to properly nest but I’ll make do. This is the ugliest lamp I have ever seen. Here,” he holds it out to Aaron. “Get rid of it, would you?”

Aaron takes the lamp and leaves the room. He doesn’t return for a while and Robert starts to wonder what is taking so long. Maybe Aaron is having a little mini freak out. Robert decides to leave him to it. He’s got more important things to worry about. After he digs through the closet and takes out every single sheet and pillow that is there, dumping the contents onto the bed, he looks around the room. Something seems missing. “Aaron!” he calls. It doesn’t take Aaron long to reenter the room. “Where’s that lamp?”

Aaron gestures with his head. “It’s in the other room.”

“What’s it doing out there?” Robert asks, incredulous. He can already feel his body heat rising and slick is starting to form between his legs. “Bring it back.”

“But you-”

“Just bring it back,” Robert snaps and Aaron does as he’s told. When he returns, Robert grabs the lamp and sets it down on the bureau. He studies it for a while before deciding it’s fine there and moves on. He finds some more pillows in the bottom drawer of the bureau. He wonders if the people who rent this lodge out prepare the room for secret rendezvous heats. When he’s done throwing those onto the bed — he’s got quite the pile — he looks around the room one last time. Eyes landing on the lamp, he grimaces and picks it up. “God, get this ugly thing out of here.” He holds it out to Aaron who looks at him in bewilderment.

“Is this how all omegas act during heat?” Aaron asks, voice laced with amusement as he grabs the lamp and leaves the room once more.

Robert smiles after him before looking around the room one last time. He can feel himself being pulled into the haze of heat, his underwear being completely soaked through now. The nest will have to do with how he’s got it. Robert doesn’t have any more time to tweak it. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Robert waits until Aaron comes back, rocking his hips back and forth to try and relieve some of the pressure.

It doesn’t take Aaron long to return and Robert watches as the alpha stops to sniff the air. Robert reaches out for Aaron, not being able to hold back any longer. “God, Robert, you smell good,” Aaron says as he approaches.

Robert grabs a hold of Aaron’s waist and buries his nose in Aaron’s stomach. He groans, taking a deep breath in, enjoying the smell of Aaron. He can tell the alpha is already hard, a reaction to Robert’s own arousal. “Need you,” he mumbles against Aaron’s belly, eyes closed and breathing deeply.

Aaron runs a hand through Robert’s hair and down to his chin, pushing him away slightly. Robert whines with the loss. “Okay, hang on,” Aaron says gently, fishing something out of his jean’s pocket. It’s the little packet of birth control. Robert watches as Aaron pops one out and then reaches for a mug of water that he must have placed there sometime earlier. “Take this.”

Robert does as he’s told, swallowing the little pill down with ease. “Now?” he asks, looking up at Aaron through his eyelashes. Aaron’s hand is still on his face, thumb stroking his cheek. With a quick, curt nod from Aaron, Robert quickly unzips Aaron’s trousers and pulls out his cock from his boxers. He wraps his mouth around the head, sucking as he swallows him down.

Aaron groans in pleasure and twists his fingers in Robert’s hair, holding him there as he rocks his hips back and forth. Robert lets Aaron use his mouth as he reaches behind himself, shoving his hands down the back of his own trousers in order to try and get a couple fingers in him, not being able to take the pressure anymore. Aaron notices and pulls out of Robert’s mouth, batting Robert’s hand away from its destination. “Stop,” Aaron mumbles, leaning down. “Let me…” He unbuttons the first few buttons of Robert’s shirt before giving up and just pulling the whole thing off over his head. He then moves onto Robert’s trousers.

“I’ve heard omegas can easily overheat during their heat if they’re not careful,” Aaron casually mentions as he unbuttons and unzips Robert’s jeans. “Is that true?” Robert hears the question, almost even wants to answer him, but all he can think about is getting Aaron’s cock in him. So, when Aaron stops for a second to ask, “Robert?” Robert pushes forward and kisses him on the lips with all he’s got. Aaron gently pushes him back and away, continuing his mission of removing all of Robert’s clothes. When he gets to Robert’s boxers, he moans. “Jesus, Robert, you’re soaking wet already.”

Robert buries his face in Aaron’s neck. “Need you so bad.” He whines, licking a stripe up to his ear. “Please, Aaron.”

“I know. Just give me a sec.” Aaron throws the boxers off to the side and slides out of his own clothes. Robert watches in awe. Aaron really is beautiful. Robert doesn’t know how Aaron isn’t tied down yet with another omega.

Robert whines again, the ache of not being filled starting to act up. He always hated this part of a heat; the cramping that would coincide it if you didn’t have a cock or a dildo to shove up yourself. It makes omegas too dependent on others and as someone who hates to conform to the norm of the castes — yes, Robert does realize the irony in that, considering how many times he’s claimed to be straight and hides the fact that he’s into men as well — he dislikes that his heats make him act like a needy omega who needs a nice strong alpha’s cock up his arse.

He even hated it with Chrissie even though Chrissie likes being a traditional alpha in the relationship. But with Aaron, Robert doesn’t seem to mind it as much. He doesn’t mind giving up a bit of control and just wanting Aaron with all his being. Because with Aaron, it makes Robert want to be free, to be himself.

Robert buries his nose in the hair found on Aaron’s stomach, breathing him in once more. “Hurts.”

Aaron runs a hand through Robert’s hair once again. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He pushes Roebert back and encourages Robert to slide back on the bed. “Get on your hands and knees.” Robert does, presenting his arse to Aaron who joins behind him. Two of Aaron’s fingers enter him with ease and Robert can’t hold back the moan. Aaron doesn’t take much time in preparing him. Robert doesn’t need it. Instead, Aaron gathers some of the slick that has run down Robert’s thighs and coats his cock in it before finally pushing inside Robert slowly.

Robert keens, he can’t help it. It feels so good, amazing, and he wants, needs , more. Aaron wastes no time at all before he’s pulling back out and sliding back in, the lude wet sound at the movement only turning Robert on even more. He’s not going to last long, never does during the first round when he’s in heat. There’s just too much pent up arousal to make it last.

Aaron, as if thinking the same, quickens his pace, the slick that Robert’s body naturally produces making each thrust easier and easier. They are both panting loudly, Robert’s arms shaking, and Aaron’s grip on his hips bruising. Robert hopes he won’t have visible marks there but at the moment he really can’t bring himself to care. The haze of heat is too much to think clearly. All he wants is more, more, more.

“Robert,” Aaron gasps. They both are sweating profusely, the exertion of the act taking its toll. “Robert, should I-” Aaron swallows, loud and quick. “Should I knot you?”

“God, yes,” Robert groans because that’s all he wants right now. “Please, Aaron.”

Aaron does, his knot slipping in easily, tying them together. Robert comes then, Aaron’s knot pressing down on his prostate hard. Slick gushes out of him, cock spurting cum onto the mattress. He moans loudly, body shaking with pleasure. He doesn’t even notice when Aaron reaches his own climax, cumming inside Robert. What Robert doesn’t miss is how Aaron’s forehead presses painfully into the back of his neck, most likely to stop himself from biting Robert, marking him as his.

They collapse onto the mattress and Aaron rearranges them so they both are on their side instead of Aaron suffocating Robert. They’ll have to stay like this for a while, at least until Aaron is done and his knot goes down. Robert doesn’t mind much, the haze starting to fade but exhaustion taking over. He succumbs to it, allowing himself to fall asleep in Aaron’s arms.

*~~~*

They fall into a pattern for the next two days. Aaron will fuck him, knot him, then they’ll sleep for about an hour before Aaron gets up and grabs them something to eat. In between the haze, Robert had to make sure to tell Aaron that it was the alpha’s job to make sure the omega was staying hydrated and fed. Aaron seemed to be a little put out by this but once Robert explained that the reasoning is that omegas won’t think about it most times themselves, Aaron seemed fine with it.

It’s the beginning of the fourth day and Robert had woken Aaron up with a blow job that quickly escalated to Aaron knotting Robert nicely. At the moment, Robert has his face buried in Aaron’s neck, scenting him. Aaron nips at his ear. “This wasn’t the greatest position to get tied together in.”

Robert hums in agreement but he doesn’t mind it too much. They are facing each other which means Aaron has no choice but to hold him close, Robert’s legs wrapped snugly around Aaron’s waist. They both are sticky with sweat and cum, neither of them having taken a shower yet. They probably should but Robert has a hard enough time letting Aaron go to get food, let alone to go take a shower. Maybe he should suggest taking a shower together but it wouldn’t be a good idea to fuck in there and get tied together. Aaron might be strong but he’s not strong enough to carry Robert back to the bed.

There’s a knock on the door, something neither of them are expecting, so it makes the two jump. “Who could that be?” Aaron asks, trying to sit up. His knot is already going down, lasting a shorter amount of time the longer they get into Robert’s heat.

Robert pulls him back down, sucks a spot on his neck. It’s okay if Robert marks him. “Leave it.”

The knock comes again, this time with a familiar voice following it. “Aaron?”

“Paddy?” Aaron shrugs Robert’s hold off and pulls out of him. Robert falls back onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

“What is he doing here?” he asks, throwing an arm behind his head. He’s suddenly feeling very territorial.

“I don’t know. I didn’t even tell him where I was going.” Aaron gets up off the bed, pulling a pair of joggers on. “I’ll get rid of him.”

Robert pulls Aaron down and kisses him messily, tongue shoving into Aaron’s mouth. “Make it quick.”

Aaron smirks at him as he pulls on a jumper and then leaves the room. Robert lies there and listens, the two out in the living room talking with hushed voices. Curious, Robert gets up off the bed and approaches the door that Aaron left a jar, eavesdropping.

“Aaron you have to listen to me,” Paddy pleads. “You have no idea how hard it was to figure out where you were.”

“I don’t even know why you felt the need to find me in the first place, Paddy.” Aaron sounds agitated. Paddy is a beta so it wouldn’t be the fact that another alpha was threatening his time with his omega. No, it would have be purley emotion based, Aaron not wanting to be interrupted with his time with Robert. Somehow, this makes Robert’s pride increase.

“That’s just it, Aaron. I have something important to tell you, about Robert.”

It’s not until Robert hears the end of footsteps that he realizes Aaron was pacing. “What about Robert?”

“Is he here?”

A pause, almost like a hesitation. “Yeah. He’s in the bedroom. In heat.”

“Heat?” Paddy sounds incredulous. “Please tell me you aren’t spending his heat with him.”

“So what if I am?”

“Aaron!” Paddy remarks. “I can’t believe this.”

“What did you need to tell me?” Robert can hear Aaron’s eye roll in his voice.

Paddy’s voice drops into a whisper. “He’s dangerous, Aaron.”

“What do you mean?” Aaron still sounds irritated, as if he has zero patience for any of this right now. Robert doesn’t blame him. Both their bodies are pumped full of hormones at the moment. It’s all Robert can do to not go out there, growl at Paddy to go away, and drag Aaron back to bed.

“He tried to kill me.” Robert’s hackles immediately rise. “If Robert had his way, I would have suffocated in that grain pit. It happened after I tried to warn Chrissie about Robert cheating.” Robert swallows, feeling his heart rate speed up in his chest. “Aaron, he admitted to it and then threatened Leo and Rhona if I didn’t back off.”

“You’re lying. He wouldn’t do that.”

“He wouldn’t do it?” Paddy practically yells but quickly recovers, going back into a whisper. “Aaron, of course, he’d do it. He’s a psychopath.” Robert bites his bottom lip to stop himself from growling out loud. “What kind of person threatens a kid?”

He can hear Aaron walking again. “He’s been lying to me this whole time.” It sounds like Aaron is crying and Robert has heard enough.

He barges through the door, not caring that he has no clothes on. “No, that is not true!”

“Isn’t it?” Aaron asks, spinning to face him. There are definite tears in his eyes and Robert has to resist the urge to go up to him and wipe them away. “How could you?” He pushes past Robert, bumping into his shoulder on his way, and goes back into the bedroom.

Robert follows him, feeling the panic start to settle in his chest. “What are you doing?” he asks as he watches Aaron packing his clothes into the duffle bag he brought.

“There is no way I am going to spend the rest of your heat with you,” Aaron says, venom lacing his words. “Not after what you did to Paddy!”

“No.”

“And threatening Rhona? Leo?” Aaron growls as he finishes packing, eyes narrowed in deadly anger. “What? Katie wasn’t enough for you?”

“Don’t you dare bring that up,” Robert warns. He can already feel the next wave of heat coming to the surface. He internally begs for it to wait, to hold off just a little longer.

“Did you purposely kill her too?”

“Don’t.”

“Did you smash her brains in and then made it look like an accident?” Aaron gets right in his face. “What did you do, Robert?”

“I only pushed her!” Aaron takes a step back, rubbing a hand down his face. “It was still an accident, Aaron.”

“No,” Aaron looks at him, eyes full of tears and regret and hatred. “No, that’s murder.”

Robert shakes his head. “D-don’t call it that.”

“It’s what it is and you let me live with that guilt.” He pokes a finger into Robert’s chest. “It nearly destroyed me and all along it was your fault?” Aaron grimaces and shakes his head, a look of pain crossing his face. “You can’t take being gay, so you kill people.”

“No, Aaron, no.”

Aaron shoves past him again and Robert follows. Paddy is still standing there, waiting and watching. “Get away from me, Robert.”

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you.”

“No, Aaron, you can’t.” Robert begs, the panic and fear constricting his chest.

“Watch me.” Robert jogs past Aaron and blocks his way out. “Move.”

Robert shakes his head. “Don’t you get it? I’m in heat, Aaron.”

“And I’m supposed to still care?” Aaron tsks and tries to get past Robert but Robert stands strong.

“Without you here, I could wander off,” Robert explains desperately. “If I pass any alphas that are out there… they won’t be able to stop themselves, Aaron.”

Something in Aaron’s eyes spark and Robert watches as the alpha bites his bottom lip before shoving his duffle bag towards Paddy. He then walks out of the room and returns with something bunched up in his hand. “Come with me.”

Robert, confused, follows him. They stop in front of a radiator and Aaron grabs one of his wrists. “What are you doing?” Aaron ties a piece of fabric around his wrist and then loops it around the radiator, tying the other end around his other wrist. “You’re tying me up?” Aaron says nothing and walks away, leaving Robert to pull at them. “You can’t leave me like this, Aaron!” Aaron doesn’t return. “Aaron, please!” He flinches when he hears the front door slam shut.

“Aaron!” Robert’s breathing is coming in ragged gulps. Aaron doesn’t understand the impact, the panic, that an alpha leaving an omega in heat can cause. “Aaron!” He pulls at his bindings again. He frantically pulls and pulls and pulls until he knows there is going to be bruising. “Aaron!” Robert notes how scared his own voice sounds, how shaky it is, but ignores the fact for the sake of trying to escape. He doesn’t know how, but eventually the knot on one of his wrists loosens and with one last tug, he breaks free from the binding, falling onto his arse.

By now, he’s already in the haze of a panicked heat, not being able to see straight at all. He groans in pain as a particularly painful cramp squeezes at his insides and he struggles to stand. Stumbling, he makes his way to the front door and leaves the lodge, futilely looking for Aaron. He’s panting and sweating heavily, slick running down the inside of his thighs mixed with Aaron’s cum. He needs someone, anyone, to help him and when he trips, falling to the ground, he rolls over onto his side and groans, clutching onto his painful stomach.

The haze overtakes him, blurring whatever comes next, and when it dissipates, he’s lying on the ground still, sweaty and cold. Robert sits up, glad to see he didn’t wander too far from the lodge and he can only smell Aaron on himself, which means he didn’t encounter any other alphas. He carefully gets up off the ground, brushing off the dead leaves from his body and makes his way back to the lodge.

It’s not until he’s back in the building that the panic settles in his gut again. Knowing he has to get home as soon as possible to try and make everything right, Robert quickly takes a shower and then starts packing everything up. Once everything is away in his duffel, he grabs the little packet of birth control off the nightstand where Aaron left it and shoves it into his jean’s pocket, not paying attention to the fact that only one of the pills is missing.

———————————————————————————————————–

A/N: Thanks for reading!

[dramaqueeenamby]

How I Plot MY Stories

DISCLAIMER: This method works for me. It’s subjective. It may work for you and it may not. Regardless, I’d like to think that there are some objective points in this thing. 

1) Inspiration 

This is one of those objective things, but I personally find my story inspo from a myriad of ways. Environments, personal experience, conversations, etc. However, my most common (and favorite) method would definitely have to be music. Music always tells a story. You just have to know how to listen to it.

Take for instance Si Una Vez by Selena. In English, it translates to If I Once. Now, if you don’t speak Spanish (I’m real rusty, but I can generally translate pretty well), that’s okay. 

Despacito and Gasolina, anyone? 

2) Brainstorming

Anyway, this particular song talks about a woman who regrets a relationship that she was in and no longer has plans to return to said person. Now, the first thought that comes to my mind is “what happened that made this relationship so terrible?” Did he cheat? Did she cheat? Did they grow apart? Was there possibly some type of domestic violence-related issues? These questions all serve to help you brainstorm, play around with different broad ideas. If we go with the cheating storyline, who stepped out on who? And who was it with? His friend? Her friend? This also helps you figure out your cast, OC’s, and main conflict, the heart, if you will, of your story. 

3) Conflict 

Now, here’s where my personal touch comes into play. Okay, let’s say that he cheated. Why? What caused him to step out on their marriage? The first thought that comes to mind is some type of trauma. To him. To her. I did a story years ago about a couple whose marriage was in shambles because of his cheating ways and only revealed near the middle of the story what caused him to walk away. 

They’d lost their baby. She’d suffered a miscarriage. 

So while the main conflict was his cheating, the reason behind his unfaithful ways was another secret. 

Now, this is a little tricky to do because you have to slowly build up to the ‘big reveal,’ dropping clues and such along the way. The easiest way is flashbacks. I recommend alternating so if chapter one is a flashback then chapter two is the current time. The flashbacks should start with how the couple met and build up from there that way readers see the development of their relationship and start to wonder what went wrong. 

The other method that is sometimes harder to do is clues. If she lost her child, then have a scene where she is out and sees someone with their children and she becomes uncomfortable. Mention her avoiding certain people, not returning phone calls, etc. However, do not drop too many or make them too specific or else your readers might figure it out. 

Instead, have your current chapter focus on his cheating, maybe her trying to track down who he cheated with. In the present timeframe, have a plot twist.

4) Plot Twits

These are a favorite of mine and they’re always pretty damn convoluted. That’s just the way my brain works. You don’t have to have one in your story. Not at all. I just prefer them in mine because I like stories with a bit of suspense. Now, using the Black Panther as an example is good because there are two sides: comics and MCU. I’m a fan of both and implement ideologies from both sectors into my works.

Let’s take someone like Shuri in Space Between and this notion that she’s the informant. I’ve already said that she isn’t so this shouldn’t be a “spoiler.” Someone said that she’d have the least amount of motive, but wouldn’t that make her an even better subject for a twist?

And I tend to disagree that she wouldn’t have a motive. If something were to happen to T’Challa, she would become the ruler of Wakanda and (possibly) the next Black Panther. If T’Challa marries Nala, then Bunme becomes his heir and Shuri is bumped down the line. We know that Shuri is absolutely brilliant and capable of so much. What if she wanted to be queen? She wouldn’t be too happy about some kid who, while she loves, knows nothing about Wakanda taking her “place.”

Like that part at the waterfalls? I could have written a part where Shuri is suddenly quiet when the people started calling Nala their queen because she knows what would happen if her brother were to marry the woman. 

Or going back to the cheating scenario, make the therapist that’s treating the couple the one who is cheating with the husband. Make it the doctor. Hint that the husband has a history with the cheater by writing that he seemed uncomfortable in the sessions or appointments. Readers will think it because the couple already has a lot of tension between them instead of this notion that she’s the one he’s sleeping with. 

Play around with your characters, search for the point of intersectionality, and draw on it. 

5) The Outline

For me, I do this in a number of ways. The first thing I do, however, is write everything that I have (so far) down. I write out my cast (I’m going to use my outline from stories on Wattpad, again, to avoid spoilers) and their brief background after spending a week or such on research to ensure that the veracity of the characters is on point. 

Then, after figuring out what needs to happen (I do this by freewriting and brainstorming various ideas that I know could help me build up to the big reveal of one or more of my conflicts. I have a notebook that I write in for that part. ), I do a rough outline of each chapter to figure out how long the book will be. I either use bullets: 

Or I use sentences:

Whatever works for you. 

Oh, the apps I use are: Google Docs, Evernote, Notes, and iBooks Author.

Now, keep in mind, that these are just rough guides. Your story might end up being longer, shorter, or not include something that was in the initial draft.

All of this happens to me with each fic that I formulate. 

It’s okay though because you have something to fall back on and help remember your original plans. 

I also create playists of songs that contribute to each chapter or the story as a whole. And, typically, my titles are lines from the main song that sparked the fic or I just name it after the song itself. 

Plus, I’m a visual person so I create covers/aesthetics/visuals for my fics. They help remind me of the story and the characters background. Here are some of the visuals that I’ve done for various fics (published and sitll in the making):

Take the Chadwick one. It’s got Siyanda and Simone. One on each side and a split road in the middle as well as a bed. It indicates that he can only go one way aka pick one woman. 

That might be spoiler-ish.

6) Final Thoughts

Again, someone requested that I give a snippet as to how I plan my stories, but I figured that I’d just make a post because a lot of you seem enthralled by my hot mess ass, messy ass, works. Lol. But, I needed to get into the writing mood and this helped so I guess it’s a double win? No? Okay.

~Amby

[todaydreambelieversfic]

Author Spotlight: ItsNotEasyBeingQueen Day 1

And we’re baaaack for at least this week! 

This author isn’t on tumblr - you can find her works on fanfiction.net or archiveofourown. Look out for recs tomorrow and Thursday and discover some new writing. 

Day 1: Meet the author

1.  Why Klaine? 

Ah, why Klaine, indeed?  I think it started for me with Kurt.  I remember watching Glee during its original run (yes, I’m an original Gleek) and identifying with Kurt’s character – not because he was gay, but because he was an outsider who, despite the fact that it made him wildly unpopular, stayed true to himself.  He could not bear to be anything other than himself.  I understood that.  Week after week, I watched him struggle through high school, similar to the way I struggled through school, and seriously, my heart just broke every time that kid cried.  

Then when Blaine came along, Kurt finally had someone to love him for who he was and, ultimately, who he grew up to be. Kurt and Blaine had to work for their relationship.  From day one, it didn’t come easily.  They were in a less than accepting society, there was some fumbling at first as Blaine took a little longer to figure things out, they were separated when Kurt left Dalton…and when Kurt left Ohio…and when the writers decided to stick it to all of us by breaking them up (twice) in the most horrible ways…but still, in the end, they were meant to be together.  Their love was messy, and frustrating, and charming, and hopeful. What’s not engaging about that?  

I didn’t really find fanfiction until near the end of Season 6.  I immediately found myself drawn to Klaine stories, and pretty quickly decided that I wasn’t interested in much else.  I’ll entertain a good Kurtbastian or Seblaine fic, so long as the author doesn’t bash Kurt or Blaine in the process, but other than that, I don’t delve into other relationship pairings.  After reading for several months, I started to think, “Hey, I could do that!”  With great trepidation, I posted my first story just over two years ago.  The rest, as they say, is history.

2.  What’s in a typical ItsNotEasyBeingQueen story?  

The adjectives I most often get in comments are “cute” and “sweet” – even when I’m trying to write something touching and emotional!  I guess my love for happy Klaine comes through when I write.  I have a quirky sense of humor, and I often dial into that when writing the characters’ thought processes, especially Kurt.  He really had a dry wit that I appreciated.  I think my stories are an easy read, but I’m a writer at heart, and I have certain standards.  There are some writers who are quite eloquent and poetic – I am more conversational, as if I were sitting in a room with you telling you a story.  I’m also a stickler for spelling, punctuation and grammar, so if you see any errors, I’m terribly sorry!  I’ve written some AU pieces, but I really do enjoy writing canon companion stories and future fics that pick up some time after the series ended.  After all, we all fell in love with canon Klaine, and who doesn’t want more of that?

3.  What kind of stories do you write?  

I’m about as fluffy as they get. I often feel like I’m a “lesser” writer because I don’t do heavy angst or drama – those great fics that people just delve into and rave about.  I love reading those stories, too, but when I write, that just isn’t what comes out of me. I serve up much lighter fare.  I write mostly one-shots, so any little troubles they may come across are sorted out in a couple thousand words.  Even in the few multi-chapter stories I’ve written, I didn’t drag out any issues or keep them apart too long.  Perhaps I lack patience, but when I’m in charge of the storyline, I like a little instant gratification and getting to the good part. Real life is, often enough, difficult and scary and depressing.  If reading a happy short story in about 10 minutes can lift someone’s mood for a little while (including mine), that can’t be a bad thing, right?

Do you write sex? 

I have yet to write proper smut, but I’m getting closer.  If you would have told me a couple of years ago that I would have read as many Klaine sex scenes as I have, I would have said you were crazy. I’m not sure I’ll ever write really kinky or explicit scenes, and I’ll most likely never write PWP, but I’m beginning to understand the storytelling value of sex in a story.  The closest I’ve come was in “I Drove All Night,” and after writing that, I could definitely see going a little farther in the future, especially if I do another multi-chapter fic.  I find that as a reader, I appreciate the smut more when there are feelings behind it – some sort of emotional connection between the characters.  If I delve into those waters one day, I’ll need it to mean something to the story and to the characters.  

Have you ever written anything way outside your usual wheelhouse?

Not yet. I’m pretty consistent.

Do you write AUs or fic that’s consistent with canon?

I have written both AUs and canon fics.  I have set a lot of my stories within the canon world, either as filler pieces or as slightly alternative versions of canon events (such as stories in which Kurt stayed at Dalton longer, for example).  I like to expand on the characters as they were created, working them into additional scenes that could have been part of the show.  

I’ve also created AUs with different first meetings, different career paths, etc. My longest fic had Kurt as a Vogue writer and Blaine as a hotel owner.  Even in AU fics, however, I try to retain the core characterizations of Kurt and Blaine.  I feel that if you go too far away from their canon personalities, then you aren’t really writing Klaine anymore – you’re writing original characters who happen to have Kurt and Blaine’s names.  That’s fine if that is what you want to do, of course – it’s the author’s prerogative to write whatever he or she feels is right.  For me, however, if I’m writing an AU fic, the boys should at least be recognizable as Kurt and Blaine.  

4.  What do you like about your writing?  

Okay. I’m going to start with the disclaimer that I feel really odd talking about what I like about my own work.  I’m not one to say, “Hey, read this thing I wrote. It’s fantastic!”  So, I’ll just tell you what I try to do and what I hope comes across in my stories.

When I write, I tend to picture the action in my head as though I am watching it on the show.  In a way, each of my stories is like a mini script.  I do my best to describe what I see and hear so that you can picture it along with me.  I also try to convey the inner thoughts of the characters (sometimes I write from one character’s POV, and sometimes I do the whole omniscient narrator thing).  My goal is to present the story in such a way that you can experience it as if it were being performed in front of you.  I do often rely on the assumption that anyone reading Klaine fanfiction has seen Glee, so I make allusions to canon without rehashing all of the details, but other than that, I try to ensure that I’m explaining the story in a way that it flows easily.  There is nothing worse than a lack of continuity in a story.  The last thing I want a reader to have to do is stop reading and go back or ask, “Wait, what?  How did we get here?”  

As I’ve said above, I write mostly lighthearted stories, so I inject a lot of humor and heart into my storytelling.  Glee was a dramedy, and though it could be very serious, it could also be very funny and silly, and included lots of warm fuzzy moments.  I enjoy writing the funny, sarcastic, and heartwarming sides of Klaine, and I hope that others find the same joy in reading my stories as I find in writing them.  

[asfeedin]

Interview with Jude Austin, Author of Homecoming

What can you tell us about your new release, Homecoming?

It picks up where my debut novel, Project Tau, leaves off. While Project Tau focused purely on human rights and the ethics of cloning, Homecoming tackles these issues while also bringing others – mental illness, emotional abuse and eating disorders – into play. Like all my work, it’s also not typical sci-fi; I don’t use AI or robots (explained in-universe) and there are no epic space battles or alien diplomacy/wars. It’s about normal people trying to live normal lives. In the book universe, people are just beginning to create clones (called Projects) who are legally viewed as livestock and usually treated accordingly. Homecoming follows former college freshman Kalin Taylor/Kata who – in the previous book – was illegally imprisoned and gaslighted into believing himself to be a Project and his friend Project Tau after they escape from the scientists’ brutal treatment at GenTech. As Project Tau deals with Kalin’s desperate attempts to win back his freedom, Homecoming deals with his struggles to keep it and to deal with the trauma of everything he was subjected to in the lab, along with Tau’s experiencing the outside world for the first time.

That said, there’s enough background information in Homecoming for it to be read as a standalone novel.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Honestly? Nothing and no one. I’ve been writing since I was old enough to hold a pen. When I was a kid, you could get these huge blocks of post-it notes with a hole in one corner to put a pen in; I used to grab a chunk and use them to write my own “books” as a young child. I sold my first story to a magazine when I was twelve (kind of; they were running a contest to write the next episode of a serial, and I won) and completed the first novel of a sci-fi trilogy when I was 17-18. That one’s still sitting on my PC, along with the other two books. I might dust them off one day, but they need a lot of work doing to them.

Anyway, the simple answer is that I’ve always been writing, and I always am

Little scenes, alternate scenes between characters, AU versions of my own stuff, fanfic, articles – I work as a proofreader and writer for a bilingual travel magazine in Tokyo – and, of course, novels.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

Ooh, that’s hard. Let’s see… 1. The Apple and Percival books by Anthony Armstrong. 2. Bosom Friends by Angela Brazil. 3. Christine by Stephen King. 4. The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. Actually, anything he writes about the Greek gods and demigods is great. 5. The Dorothy Dainty series by Amy Brooks. I know they’re for kids, but they’re a decent length and there’s something so sweet and innocent about them. It’s like detox for my brain.

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

If I can pick anyone, it would be Sir Pterry Pratchett. I’ve always loved his work, particularly Discworld, and I would love to know what other books he’d had planned before he passed away.

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Everything! I love seeing my characters change and evolve (often in surprising ways) and I love being surprised by where the story goes. I don’t plot out my books – I have a vague idea of how they’re going to end, but this can change several times during the process – and developing worlds. I have files of maps and local flora and fauna of every planet in my books. Sometimes I spend more time world-building than I do actually writing.

What is a typical day like for you?

I’m a night owl, so I tend to get up quite late by other people’s standards (9:30-ish). I spend about 30 minutes on my phone, checking emails and gaming, then head downstairs. I have one of those reclining couches, which is wonderful as it lets me sit and write on my laptop for hours without putting any strain on my legs and back. So I stretch out in front of my smart TV, load up a series of something on Hulu or Netfllix or Youtube, and write all day!

What scene in Homecoming was your favorite to write?

Most of them. I had a lot of fun working on this book. If I had to pick just one, it would be any of the scenes between Kata and Alan. It’s the first time in the series where we really start to see the kind of kid Kata used to be before he was kidnapped and dehumanized. His own father isn’t exactly the best parent, he’s always had a difficult relationship with his parents, and so once Alan manages to get past Kata’s barriers, he’s basically the father figure that Kata’s always wanted and becomes the first – and so far only – adult that Kata learns to trust. Pretty good going for a character who wasn’t even slated to appear in the first place!

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

There’s one I learned from my old physics teacher: “You don’t need to know the answer. You just need to be able to think about it.” I didn’t learn a great deal from that school for various reasons, but that lesson has stuck with me all my life.

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Tags: Austin, Author, Homecoming, Interview, Jude

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[seenashwrite]

The Nail: June 2017

The Nail isn't about perfection. It isn't about award-level contenders. It's about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen. 

The Nail's purpose isn't to highlight genres of fics or specific ships written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content. 

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and learn how to get your recommendations in HERE.

Now - on to the stories!

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL" UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

Stand-a-lone stories with moderate-to-heavy sexual content will have 😳 beside them; series with such must have this either clearly noted in the overall info and/or clearly note it in the chapters/parts which contain such, so you'll need to check those on your own.

SPEED READS [from scene do-overs to gif-inspired one-shots to dripping drabbles, all less than 500 words]  

These won't be reviewed separately in Nash's usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to their length, excepting those cases where the author pulled off a fleshed-out plot/character or had a unique take that was well-covered in the short amount of space. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

A HORRIFYING CONCEPT  - @ozonecologne

A visitor to the bunker offers Dean a chance for closure that empty bottles can't provide.

.

MAKING IT WEIRD - @helvonasche

This is the tale of that time Cas discovered porn, and with your help, he’s actually going to get some answers this time around.

.

12x21: A SCENE RE-WRITE - @prettymessedupsituation​

In script format, a better way of handling an incident that hit a sour note in the fandom is proposed that is logical, loving, and legitimately canon-worthy.

.

HOW THAT 'DUE DATE' TALK SHOULD'VE GONE - @tippitv

Dean and Sam discuss what just might be panning out to be more pattern than coincidence... after twelve years.

.

CLEAN-UP CREW - @senselesssamii

We all need help cleaning sometimes, that’s the simple truth. And some of us will need, shall we say, more specialized cleaners than others - get ready to giggle through the gross.

POEMS & POETICAL PROSE [mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure/length, as well as short prose that sings like a songbird]

These also won't be reviewed separately in Nash's usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to the typically short lengths & structure. An excerpted line is used in lieu of summary. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

WHAT IF - @saminzat

"Because once you’ve crossed the event horizon there is no going back."

.

MAMA TRIED -  @ariannnawinchester

“Dean is the boy your Mama warns you about.”

.

AN ANGEL'S PROMISE - @webcricket

"I promised you forever, and forever doesn’t end."

.

THE VALIANT - @littlegreenplasticsoldier 

"A valiant brother took the weight, the fall; The valiant’s brother took a throne, and guilt.”

* Nominated by @butiaintgonnaloveem, who said: “A poem from Dean's point of view that made my heart ache for him, from the way the guilt settles deep within him and how he contemplates his situation."

.

CASTIEL'S FALL - @vintagesam

"I fell at 60 miles per hour, on a back road in the middle of nowhere."

ON THE SHORT SIDE [500-ish to 1.5K]

STRATEGIC MOTHERING - @butiaintgonnaloveem    

A look at how Mary Winchester, in the words of the author, "deal[s] with trying to control her hunter’s instincts while living the civilian life", and the pros-and-cons that come along with them.

.

BREATH(E) - @withthedemonblood    

A well-written, thoughtfully played-out vignette on brotherly bonds that captures both sides of a stressful situation.

.

SO WHAT - YOU LIKE HIM BETTER, OR SOMETHING? - @atwistoffate

It's a simple question, and it should be a simple answer, but when dealing with the Winchesters - can it ever be?

.

FOR CAS - @jhoomwrites / @casbakespie 

A stunning coda to the season twelve finale, looking into a focused, driven, yet serene Dean’s response after he rose from his knees.

.

THE LITTLE THINGS - @melissaj616

A nice little piece showcasing Dean's observations of a hunter colleague who could be more, but there's no rush on either of their parts.

.

GOOD BOYS - @defilerwyrm

A poignant look into an alternative history wherein John Winchester chooses to allow Dean and Sam to be adopted into a nurturing home, far from the supernatural - to say more would spoil, though rest assured: the ending will take your breath away.

MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD [around 1.5K - 2K]

SPRING BREAK - @winchester-family-business

Fun, witty, easy read of a story about that time the Winchesters showed up on the author's doorstep... and proceeded to drag her along for a helluva ride.

.

SHOCK HORROR - @lipstickandwhiskey

After Dean is dealt a blow by a witch on a case, his closest friend offers support and stays by his side, carefully navigating over, around, and through the initial stages of shock.

.

HALLOWEEN HIJINKS -  @roxy-davenport

This is a tale of what it's like for Crowley to date a younger [and in a centuries-year-old demon's case - *much* younger] woman, one who still gets excited for the supernatural crowd's least favorite holiday: Halloween.  

LONGER [2K to  3K-ish]

IMPERFECT - @zepppie

Lives weave together, then pull apart, happens every day - this is the story of a hunter looking back on the portion of her life spent with Dean, told with such fluidity your heart will be ached and be soothed, all at the same time.

DEEP DIVES [3K and beyond, including completed multi-parters with lengthy chapters]

😳  NOT EMPTY NOW - @sp-oops 

This is a heart-grabber, one that will make you think and laugh and sigh, the story of the evolving dynamic between a hunter and an archangel, featuring a pristinely characterized Gabriel from beginning to end - and it's a damn fine ending.  

.

😳  5, 6, GRAB YOUR CRUCIFIX - @butiaintgonnaloveem

A story rife with sexual tension built around a bartender's most recent entanglement with Dean - now with his inner demon in full effect -  written with a slow build that doesn’t limit its evocative nature to just the bedroom.

.

A HAUNTED LIFE  -  @idontneedasymbol

Deferring to the author's on-point, pitch-perfect summation: "Some hauntings require salt and fire. Others aren't that easy. Dean runs into someone he knows, and Sam tries to make things right."  What I call in my own works a "Behind-the-scenes canon compliant", this is a piece that fits that bill, as it rings absolutely true/plausible, and all characterizations feel real/accurate. 

.

A LESSON IN INTERNATIONAL ETIQUETTE [Part Two] - @imagines-oneshots-blog

A certain Mr. Ketch may very well have met his match in an experienced, no-nonsense hunter who can go toe-to-toe with him, be it in attitude, in wit - or in killing.

SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS [works that are ongoing series with at least 3 parts already published / completed series]

Due to time constraints, series are not read in full. They are given a cursory once-over for the quality basics, most importantly that the author has put maximum effort into world-building. 

The first chapter / first handful of chapters / first third of the first chapter - depending on length - are read to ensure there are no gross grammar / spelling errors, as well as ensuring the story's premise is made clear.

Thorough summations of the overall series, brief summaries of each individual chapter, and master indexes are highly preferred. Descriptors below are taken directly from the author/the story, edited only for length/clarity if needed. Same applies to series from other fandoms featured on the list.

THE PERFECT CRIME  - @mysaintsasinner

"Another storm is on the horizon, a war unlike any New York has seen before, and [Detective Sam Winchester] is about to find himself smack bang in the middle of it. Secrets will be revealed, bonds will be tested, and the perfect image Sam held of his parents will be distorted forever."

.

HUNTERS ON THE HELLMOUTH - @whatdoyouthinkmyjobis

[Supernatural + Buffy the Vampire Slayer]

"After a last-minute rescue from the clutches of Lucifer lands them in Sunnydale, California, the Winchesters run into an unusual hunter."

* Nominated for inclusion by @impandagrl , who said: "This exceptionally-written crossover series manages to believably blend the worlds of two of my favorite series while somehow nailing each of the many characters and treating them with equal care. It always leaves me anxiously awaiting the next chapter and is packed with all the action, humor, snark, drama - and occasional smut - that fans of either series should expect." 

.

CELEBRATE ME HOME - @callmesweetheartifyoumeanit       

"If you took a moment to ask her how long she’s been driving, she’d tell you she doesn’t know. Not because she doesn’t remember or because she doesn’t know where she started, but because after a while, all the roads just sort of blend together..."

.

SONS OF LAWRENCE  -  @mrs-squirrel-chester

[Supernatural + Sons of Anarchy]

"The Winchesters run the most notorious biker gang in Lawrence. They traffic illegal drugs, weapons, and anything else that makes them money and keeps them on top."

RANDOM FANDOMS  [all types, all lengths, all the things that aren't SPN but are still pretty dang super]

5/4/17, 18:00  -  @buckykingofmemes [Mod: @hellenhighwater ]

[FANDOM: Marvel - Avengers]

In which Friday kindly provides the transcript of a conversation between Bucky and Steve, so that a question may be answered with accuracy.

.

WHO'S STEVE? - @bjorkshirepudding

[FANDOM: Marvel - Thor I & II / Avengers + HIMYM]

Have you heard the one about Steve Rogers walking into MacLaren’s Pub and running into Jane Foster’s research assistant Darcy Lewis, who’s sitting in a booth with Barney Stinson and the rest of the “How I Met Your Mother” gang… including that gal who bears a striking resemblance to Maria Hill?

* Unfortunately, this author has left Tumblr as of June 16th & the links have been removed so as not to cause confusion, however you can still find their [extensive!] body of work HERE at AO3, should you desire. - Nash *

.

BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH - @withstarryeyes

[FANDOM: Marvel - Avengers]

A short vignette taking a look at a moment in Bucky Barnes' life, how it feels for him to just be, to simply stand amongst the living.  

.

THE PART THAT COUNTS  (in-progress series, parts 1 -5 reviewed as of this writing) - @youre-on-a-starship

[FANDOM: Star Trek (current cinematic)]

"Two weeks after waking up with no recollection of the people and ship around you, you take your future in your hands and try to piece together your past and the events that lead up to you losing your memory of the last five years."

ORIGINAL WORK [anything from haiku to novella]

HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE MONSTERS - @rainygalaxynerd

A short pop of a gut punch to the senses, wherein the author drops you into the middle of a conversation - a situation - with no real bearings of which way is up, no way of knowing whose side we should be on, and then starts dropping revelations as fast as you can pick them up. It is bare, it is dark, it is gritty, it is unapologetic, it is chilling, and it reads like a scene straight out of a Scorsese flick.  

Happy reading & see you in July!

* ~ * Shameless Self-Promotion * ~ * 

[proxylynn]

Dreemurr Academy #4 (UnderFell Papyrus)

Dreemurr Academy, a prestigious closed-off college for monsters and humans alike of all ages and worlds.

This includes myself, though I'm sort of a in-between.

I'm Lynsie, the human anomaly. I'm a human, but I can do magic like monsters. I'm an oddball.

That's the thing about making a school that is open to multiple alternate dimensions. Weird things are bound to show up. Even a bunch of the same person. From what I saw on orientation day, the same faces are scattered around all around.

To fix these type of issues, everyone that has a multiple or doppelganger is given a school name so there's no confusion.

Other than that, it's fairly normal. The hierarchy is the simple.

The Deans are made up of the same people, skeleton monsters that go by the name of Gaster. One is a teacher of the Sciences, goes by Wingding. He's a kind and understanding man, but is known to pull a prank or two. They all speak in a typeface sign language but use telepathy magic so others understand. It's been said no one has ever heard their real voices and those that have are no longer at the academy.

Another Gaster dean teaches Home Economics, he goes by Wingy. He's a bubbly sweet guy that loves his work. Nothing makes him smile more than seeing the joy on a student's face when they take pride in being able to do something they first thought they couldn't.

Another Gaster dean teaches the studies of Magic, he is called Fall. At times, he can be cynical, malicious, and sarcastic. He has a commanding presence that exuded gravitas, authority and control, able to keep a class quiet without effort. Yet there is a kindness to him, it's rarely seen, but not unheard of.

Another Gaster dean teaches History, his nickname is Dings. A cold, bitter, and sometimes childish man. He tends to hold grudges against troublesome students and is extremely spiteful toward those whom he dislikes. Yet those that can take his punishments are rewarded with his respect. He is a teacher that commands respect and who's grades are earned with doom hanging over your head.

The Professors are also skeleton monsters, but not all are the same person. The Psychology professor is a guy named Papyrus but goes by Stretch. He's the favorite among students because he's so laid back. He chews a tooth pick in class to suppress his urge to smoke, but we all know he does so when on break. He's really good at reading students and helps out when able. All in all, he's the cool teacher.

The Literature professor is a Papyrus that is called Fell. He is the one teacher everyone dreads. Very strict and old fashioned. He does not tolerate interruptions and will humiliate those he feel need to be taken down a notch. Such things take there toll on him and often squeezes a stress ball that he keeps in his desk. But he is a very passionate man when it comes to his work and takes his subject seriously, even though this makes him into a bit of a grammar nazi which is why many students get low grades.

The Biology professor is a skeleton called Sans that sometimes goes by Classic, whatever that means. He is very cheesy and comes off as lazy, making puns that have people cringe yet secretly love them. He is very protective of his students and will go out of his way to help them. He does not tolerate bulling of any kind and can be quite scary. He's the second favorite among the students.

The Physical Education professor is also a Sans that goes by Pain. He is also a stern and old school type of teacher, only he tends to be more cruel in humiliation of students that are unprepared. While his scope is all around, he prefers the darker side of the study. Using borderline violence to weed out the weak that think taking his class is a easy A. There is mercy in his dojo, but it must be earned with blood, sweat, and tears.

The Students are broken into four groups based on which part of the four years they are currently in. The first years are called freshmen. Second years are sophomores. Third years are juniors. And fourth years are seniors. There are some variations on this topic, but this hierarchy of college students is still readily recognizable by everyone.

Me? This isn't my first rodeo but not my last. I'm a sophomore and have gotten the gist of who's who and what's what. I get along with students and teachers. I've always been a middle ground type of girl.

I didn't come looking for friends, but they just seemed to find me. Funny enough, my buddies are the brothers of the professors. Stretch's brother is a freshman, his name is Sans but goes by Rascal. Fell's brother, also a Sans, is a sophomore like me and goes by Edgy. Classic's brother is a Papyrus, a freshman that goes by Papy. And Pain's brother is a sophomore Papyrus by the name of Slim.

I've always been a tomboy. I prefer the guys company. They're different and fun, even if they can be a bit odd sometimes.

Rascal, as the nickname implies, is the school clown/prankster. He likes to test his limits and challenge authority, even dishevels his uniform to assert his individuality. He comes off as a slacker, but secretly very deep, clever, and loyal to a fault. He likes taking his brother's class so he can improve his skills with messing with people, mostly his brother as he disrupts his teachings when he sees a chance.

Edgy is shy around new people and slow to open up, enjoying a laugh with friends when able. Though he appears weak or even nerdy because of his glasses, he is far more tougher than he leads on. He doesn't take crap from anyone. When alone, he's angsty and borders on straight up angry. Getting a pissy attitude when annoyed. Like his brother, he is very passionate about literature and does his best to impress his brother, going so far as to become the teacher's pet.

Papy is easily the most loveable guy in the whole school. Very cheerful and optimistic, he tries his best no matter what. He doesn't like conflict and tries to keep his brother out of trouble when the teacher pulls a prank. I find it sweet of him to take his brother's class even though he doesn't particularly enjoy it, just so he can stay close to him. Like I said, this guy is a loveable soul.

Slim is easy going. He doesn't take things too seriously and never breaks a sweat over hard exams. The only thing that breaks his cool is his smoking, he really gets tense if he goes too long without his fix. He's incredibly smart and instinctual, good traits to have when dealing with his brother. While he does attend his brother's class, he merely does so as a request of his brother who likes to make sure he doesn't slack off due to not being challenged enough.

All of them are oddly related to each other in some form. Gaster's, Papyrus's, and Sans's are brothers. Yet I see them all as different people. I value them. They're helping me even if they don't know it. I am not so confident in myself. I tend to isolate myself, go at things lone wolf style. It's how I've always been. Then I met them and slowly my world began to expand bit by bit. I'm still not comfortable with others. But with them, I can step out from behind my mask for a bit, and really be myself around them.

Today is a typical day. Professor Fell has been lecturing us on the true meaning of the works of William Shakespeare for the last hour or so. Honestly I find his take on things to be very insightful, sometimes. Other times it seems he lets his own views on the matter bleed into his teachings, which is quite compromising.

"AND AS YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE, WHILE ENTERTAINING, SHAKESPEARE LACKED REALISTIC VIEWS. FOR EXAMPLE...ROMEO & JULIET. TWO YOUNG STAR-CROSSED LOVERS WHOSE DEATHS ULTIMATELY RECONCILE THEIR FEUDING FAMILIES. IT WAS AMONG SHAKESPEARE'S MOST POPULAR PLAYS DURING HIS LIFETIME AND ALONG WITH HAMLET, IS ONE OF HIS MOST FREQUENTLY PERFORMED PLAYS. TODAY, THE TITLE CHARACTERS ARE REGARDED AS ARCHETYPAL YOUNG LOVERS. BUT IS THAT REALLY THE CASE? THE TWO MEET AND HE FALLS HEAD OVER HEELS FOR HER. HE PROCEEDS TO ATTEMPT WOOING HER AND SOMEHOW SUCCEEDS. THEY REQUEST MARRIAGE AND ARE DENIED. SO WHAT DO THEY DO? THEY DISOBEY. AND WHAT DOES THAT GET THEM? LOVE? A HAPPY ENDING? NO! THEY DIE. NOT ONLY IS IT BEYOND FOOLISH, BUT IT IS UTTERLY POINTLESS."

"but that isn't the point."

All eyes go to Edgy.

"OH? DO ENLIGHTEN US."

"while romeo and juliet is sometimes considered to have no unifying theme, save that of young love. romeo and juliet have become emblematic of young lovers and doomed love. since it is such an obvious subject of the play, several scholars have explored the language and historical context behind the romance of the play. on their first meeting, romeo and juliet use a form of communication recommended by many etiquette authors in shakespeare's day: metaphor. by using metaphors of saints and sins, romeo was able to test juliet's feelings for him in a non-threatening way. this method was recommended by baldassare castiglione, whose works had been translated into english by this time. he pointed out that if a man used a metaphor as an invitation, the woman could pretend she did not understand him, and he could retreat without losing honor."

Time to throw my metaphorical hat into this ring.

"Not to mention Juliet, however, participates in the metaphor and expands on it. The religious metaphors of 'shrine', 'pilgrim', and 'saint' were fashionable in the poetry of the time and more likely to be understood as romantic rather than blasphemous, as the concept of sainthood was associated with the Catholicism of an earlier age. Later in the play, Shakespeare removes the more daring allusions to Christ's resurrection in the tomb he found in his source work: Brooke's Romeus and Juliet."

"GO ON."

"In the later balcony scene, Shakespeare has Romeo overhear Juliet's soliloquy, but in Brooke's version of the story, her declaration is done alone. By bringing Romeo into the scene to eavesdrop, Shakespeare breaks from the normal sequence of courtship. Usually, a woman was required to be modest and shy to make sure that her suitor was sincere, but breaking this rule serves to speed along the plot. The lovers are able to skip courting and move on to plain talk about their relationship...agreeing to be married after knowing each other for only one night. In the final suicide scene, there is a contradiction in the message...in the Catholic religion, suicides were often thought to be condemned to hell, whereas people who die to be with their loves under the 'Religion of Love' are joined with their loves in paradise. Romeo and Juliet's love seems to be expressing the 'Religion of Love' view rather than the Catholic view. Another point is that although their love is passionate, it is only consummated in marriage, which keeps them from losing the audience's sympathy."

"true. the play arguably equates love and sex with death. throughout the story, both romeo and juliet, along with the other characters, fantasizes about it as a dark being, often equating it with a lover. capulet, for example, when he first discovers juliet's faked death, describes it as having deflowered his daughter. juliet later erotically compares romeo and death. right before her suicide, she grabs romeo's dagger, saying “o happy dagger! this is thy sheath. there rust, and let me die.”."

"WHERE ARE YOU TWO GOING WITH THIS?"

"To be blunt sir...It’s not the story of a young couple rebelling against their parents. It’s the story of Juliet falling victim to Romeo. It’s a tragedy because of what happens to Juliet, not because their relationship doesn’t work out. We’re supposed to hate Romeo. This idea was proposed by comedian Jay Black, a former English teacher who was explaining his theory to a student at Edinboro University after a show."

"romeo & juliet was written around 1595 though there’s some debate and first performed soon after. i mention the date here because it’s important to why we're supposed to hate romeo. there was rampant famine in england in the 1590s among the poor. most of the audience showing up to a performance of romeo & juliet was probably hungry. they pay what little money they have to see a play to forget their misery for a few hours. then out saunters romeo, a little rich boy, whining about love. besides love, what’s one of the first lines out of his mouth? he asks benvolio: “where shall we dine?” imagine a theater full of starving people hearing that delivered by some beautiful rich kid. he has so many options for where he’s going to get his next meal that he can’t even decide. they’d have thrown tomatoes if they weren’t so hungry."

"It’s semiotics. The same way a filmmaker now might show a villain being mean to an animal to signal to the audience that this is the bad guy, Shakespeare included this line to incite the feeling in the audience that they should hate this guy. Besides talking about food when we first meet him, Romeo is whining about love, but really he’s just mad that Rosaline won’t sleep with him. When he meets Juliet, he doesn’t fall instantly in love, he sees someone he thinks he can have sex with. He uses the fact that Juliet has fallen for him to manipulate her. Romeo is a dick."

"black tells this theory as one he came to on his own in studying the play, but admits it’s probably not a particularly unique take on the idea. in researching this, one can find no shortage of theories and alternate interpretations of the text. beyond black’s thoughts on romeo, one can develop some of their own about paris to further support the idea that romeo is a villain."

"Paris tends to be seen as the guy that Juliet is having forced upon her by her parents, but his conversation with Lord Capulet makes it clear that Capulet doesn’t want them to be married for at least two years, and that although he likes Paris, the young man still needs to win Juliet over. Capulet tells Paris in Act I Scene II: “But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, My will to her consent is but a part; An she agree, within her scope of choice Lies my consent and fair according voice.”. Paris isn’t being forced on anybody. He loves Juliet. She is Paris’ dying thought at the end of the play after Romeo kills him: “O, I am slain! If thou be merciful, Open the tomb, lay me with Juliet.”."

"another theory on the subject is about juliet’s virginity. it proposes that juliet’s reluctance to marry paris isn’t because she’s so in love with romeo, it’s that she can’t marry him because he’ll know she’s no longer a virgin. there isn’t much in the text to support this directly, but most of juliet’s reluctance is about the idea of marriage, and not about paris specifically. whether juliet realizes the consequence of letting romeo up on that balcony or not, it’s still true."

"So Romeo, in an attempt to get laid, ruins Juliet’s prospects of marrying Paris, kills her cousin, gets banished, and drives a 13-year-old girl to suicide. Romeo’s the asshole here. Juliet kills herself because her love, Romeo, who's been manipulating her this whole time, is dead. Romeo offs himself because he’s screwed and got no other choice that he wants to take. He’s already been banished, killed Tybalt, and now Paris. What do you think happens next if he walks out of that tomb? The dude is royally fucked. When he finds Juliet “dead”, that’s the last straw. His whole world’s been thrown into upheaval over this girl, and now she’s dead. Romeo, already a desperate man in a desperate situation, doesn’t see any other option than death. Such a bitch move."

"exactly! so why then, do we see it as story about two crazy kids in love? probably because that’s what people want to see. we’d rather see two kids kill themselves because they’re so in love and the world just doesn’t understand than watch a play where a sex-crazed maniac drives a 13-year-old girl to kill herself."

Fell is shocked but impressed.

"VERY GOOD. YOU TWO ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS RATHER THAN FOLLOW THE SOURCE MATERIAL BLINDLY OR GO WITH THE VEIW OF THE MASSES. THAT WILL MAKE THIS NEXT PART ALL THE MORE INTERESTING."

We are confused.

"I WANT THE TWO OF YOU TO COME DOWN HERE AND DO A LITTLE ROLE-PLAY."

"what?"

"SANS, YOU'LL BE ROMEO. AND LYNSIE, YOU'RE JULIET."

This has me nervous.

"Um...With all due respect sir...I don't feel that to be necessary."

He and the rest of the class are taken back by this. Normally I follow a teacher's instructions without question. So me trying to get out of obeying is like a lightning strike on a cloudless day, very odd.

"VERY CUTE, YOU THINK I'M GIVING YOU A CHOICE. *chuckles* GET DOWN HERE."

"B-but sir..."

"NOW!"

Fuck, shit, damn it, crap! I have performance anxiety. I turn into to a mess when in front of others. But damn it all to hell, Fell's not giving me a choice. Well...I could run away, but that'll only mess my grades up. So I reluctantly follow Edgy down to stand with Fell and already I can feel the butterflies in my gut going crazy.

"NOW THEN. THE TWO OF YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY OUT A SCENE FROM THE PLAY. SCENE II, CAPULET'S ORCHARD. THE VERY WELL KNOWN BALCONY SCENE. I'M SURE YOU BOTH KNOW THE LINES."

"yes professor."

"Yes sir."

I feel ill. I can't get my eyes off the floor and I'm fiddling with my hands nervously. A stark contrast to my normal demeanor. And it is very noticeable.

"ALRIGHT. ENTER ROMEO. HE JESTS AT SCARS THAT NEVER FELT A WOUND. JULIET APPEARS ABOVE AT A WINDOW. AND...BEGIN."

He claps his hands and a chill shoots up my spine as Edgy clears his throat.

"*ahem* but, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? it is the east, and juliet is the sun. arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou her maid art far more fair than she: be not her maid, since she is envious; her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it; cast it off. it is my lady, o, it is my love! o, that she knew she were! she speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? her eye discourses; i will answer it. i am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return. what if her eyes were there, they in her head? the brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night. see, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! o, that i were a glove upon that hand, that i might touch that cheek!"

Shit! My turn.

"Ay me!"

That came out a bit louder than I wanted and people are noticing.

"she speaks: o, speak again, bright angel! for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air."

"O Romeo, Romeo! W-wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy f-father and refuse thy name; O-or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn m-my love, And I'll no longer be a C-capulet."

Oh dear god, no, a stutter?! The looks I'm getting. I want to go curl into a corner and die.

"uh...shall i hear more, or shall i speak at this?"

That is both a line and a real question, but Fell lets it continue.

"'T-tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art t-thyself, though not a Montague. What's M-montague? I-it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other p-part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? T-that which we call a rose By any other name w-would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, R-retain that dear perfection which he owes W-without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for t-that name which is no part of t-thee Take all myself."

"i take thee at thy word: call me but love, and i'll be new baptized; henceforth i never will be romeo."

"W-what man art thou that thus b-bescreen'd in night So s-stumblest on my counsel?"

"That's not the only thing stumbling!"

Laughter waves through the rows of students and I can feel the tears threaten to pour.

"SILENCE!"

Fell's booming voice is like thunder.

"CLASS IS DISMISSED."

No one seems to mind this.

"I WANT A FIVE PAGED REPORT ON ROMEO & JULIET BY MONDAY, OR YOU CAN KISS YOUR GRADE POINT AVERAGE THIS SEMESTER GOODBYE."

To that the people groan.

"LYNSIE."

Well I'm dead now.

"Yes sir?"

"STAY. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU."

I reluctantly remain behind, only Edgy giving me any show of support by mouthing the words 'good luck and be safe' as everyone leaves the room and Fell shuts the door, locking it too.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I WANTED YOU TO STAY?"

I hang my head low.

"Because I disgraced the work of Shakespeare with such a shitty reciting."

"NOT QUITE..."

He approaches me, his demeanor never faltering.

"YOU'VE BEEN TAKING MY CLASS FOR TWO YEARS NOW. AND NOT ONCE HAVE I EVER SEEN YOU FALTER. WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS...WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU AND WHY?"

I rub my arm sheepishly.

"I...I can't function in front of multiple people."

He cocks his head in puzzlement.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? YOU'VE NEVER HAD A ISSUE BEFORE."

"That's because I'm not in a spotlight like that was. If I know others are watching me, expecting of me...I get so messed up."

"BUT YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM DOING SO WITH SANS. HELL, IT'S KIND OF, DARE I SAY...CUTE...WHEN YOU TWO GO OVER STORIES TOGETHER. IF ANYTHING WOULDN'T HIM BEING HERE HELP YOU?"

"*sigh* Honestly, him there was the only reason I was able to speak or recall my lines. Otherwise I would've ran out of the room. But still...It took ages to become comfortable to do that with Edgy. Don't get me wrong, he was sweet in helping me through my shyness. But he is only one person, and this was a whole classroom. I can't deal with so many at once, I just can't."

"HMMM...SO THAT'S THE PROBLEM."

He looks off in thought for a moment before grabbing my chin so that I'm looking at him and not the floor.

"LISTEN WELL...I'M GOING TO HELP YOU. BUT YOU NEED TO OBEY EVERY SINGLE WORD I TELL YOU. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

I gulp a nervous lump in my throat and nod.

"SPEAK CONFIRMATION. I WANT TO HEAR YOU CONSENT."

That has me look at him funny. I know sometimes Fell can word things in a awkward form, but that made me feel all types of weird.

"O-okay."

"GOOD. OH! AND THIS NEVER LEAVES THIS ROOM OR YOU'RE SUSPENDED FROM CLASS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR."

Holy shit, this must be serious.

"Yes sir. These lips are sealed. *zips mouth*"

"HEH...FUNNY. NOW...I WANT YOU TO GO TO WHERE YOU WERE STANDING WITH SANS EARLIER."

"Alright."

I do as told.

"NOW FACE THE ROWS AND IMAGIN EVERYONE HAS RETURNED AS YOU'RE ABOUT TO READ YOUR REPORT."

I don't have to try all that much, my imagination works wonders, and even though I know it's all in my head, the signs of a panic attack start kicking in. A sense of terror chills me. My heart begins racing. A numbness in the hands and fingers. My chest pains as breathing becomes difficult. My body feels weak and my head spins. Feeling a loss of control over myself and I sway ready to topple over. Luckily Fell gets to me before I can fall and holds me to his chest.

"EASY NOW...IT'S OKAY. IT'S JUST US HERE. SLOW YOUR BREATHING AND RELAX."

To further help sooth me, he rubs my back and rests his head on my own, which in my current state has me being lulled into his care.

"THERE...FEELING ANY BETTER?"

I nod and give him a hug in thanks, which messes with him and he shoves me away. Both of us blushing.

"S-sorry."

"IT'S FINE."

He straightens himself up.

"NOW, TRY DOING THIS AGAIN. BUT THIS TIME, I WANT YOU TO FACE MY DESK."

"But sir..."

"IT'S FINE. I BELIEVE IN YOU."

"Okay..."

I shiver and face his desk. I can still feel eyes on me even though I know it's just us. I open my mouth to speak, but I can't make any words come out. Fell notices and rolls his eyes. This was more of a challenge than he first thought.

"*sigh* BY A NAME I KNOW NOT HOW TO TELL THEE WHO I AM: MY NAME, DEAR SAINT, IS HATEFUL TO MYSELF, BECAUSE IT IS AN ENEMY TO THEE; HAD I IT WRITTEN, I WOULD TEAR THE WORD."

He's...He's leading me into my next line?

"M-my ears have not yet drunk a hundred words O-of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound: Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?"

He slams his hand on the desk and makes me jump.

"NEITHER, FAIR SAINT, IF EITHER THEE DISLIKE."

"H-how camest thou..."

He slams his hand again and I claw the desk to keep from panicking.

"How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here."

My heart is pounding, my nerves on alert, and yet he smirks. He found a way to keep me focused on my performance, by distracting me.

"WITH LOVE'S LIGHT WINGS DID I O'ER-PERCH THESE WALLS; FOR STONY LIMITS CANNOT HOLD LOVE OUT, AND WHAT LOVE CAN DO THAT DARES LOVE ATTEMPT; THEREFORE THY KINSMEN ARE NO LET TO ME."

"If they d-do..."

I flinch when I feel his hand on my back.

"If they do see thee, they will murder thee."

Fell nudges me to move and gets me behind his desk. There he stands behind me and holds my chin up so that I look straight at the empty seats.

"ALACK, THERE LIES MORE PERIL IN THINE EYE THAN TWENTY OF THEIR SWORDS: LOOK THOU BUT SWEET, AND I AM PROOF AGAINST THEIR ENMITY."

"Sir, this doesn't feel right anymore."

"DON'T BREAK CHARACTER, JULIET. YOU'RE DOING SO WELL."

"Okay...*sigh* I would not for the world they saw thee here."

"GOOD GIRL...I HAVE NIGHT'S CLOAK TO HIDE ME FROM THEIR SIGHT; AND BUT THOU LOVE ME, LET THEM FIND ME HERE: MY LIFE WERE BETTER ENDED BY THEIR HATE, THAN DEATH PROROGUED, WANTING OF THY LOVE."

Okay Lynsie, you can do this. Just focus and recite the lines. Then he'll stop and you can go to your place to take a nice long rest.

"By whose direction found'st thou out this place?"

He smiles darkly and removes his hands. I feel relief until his hands find themselves on my sides.

"Uh...Sir...?"

"BY LOVE, WHO FIRST DID PROMPT ME TO INQUIRE; HE LENT ME COUNSEL AND I LENT HIM EYES. I AM NO PILOT; YET, WERT THOU AS FAR AS THAT VAST SHORE WASH'D WITH THE FARTHEST SEA, I WOULD ADVENTURE FOR SUCH MERCHANDISE."

His hands slowly rub small circles into me and I squirm.

"What are you doing?"

"IT'S WORKING, YES? YOUR ANXIETY ISN'T STOPPING YOU. NOW KEEP GOING."

"Sir...Are you enjoying this?"

"WILL YOU KEEP GOING IF I ANSWER?"

"I guess."

"YES. I AM. NOW KEEP GOING."

That makes me blush more as I clear my throat.

"Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek For that which thou hast heard me speak to-night Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny What I have spoke: but farewell compliment! Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say 'Ay,' And I will take thy word: yet if thou swear'st, Thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries Then say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully: Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay, So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, And therefore thou mayst think my 'havior light: But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true Than those that have more cunning to be strange. I should have been more strange, I must confess, But that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware, My true love's passion: therefore pardon me, And not impute this yielding to light love, Which the dark night hath so discovered."

"LADY, BY YONDER BLESSED MOON I SWEAR THAT TIPS WITH SILVER ALL THESE FRUIT-TREE TOPS..."

"O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."

"WHAT SHALL I SWEAR BY?"

His hands start to roam my body. Exploring my curves up to my chest before cupping my breasts and eliciting a sharp gasp from me.

"Sir, this doesn't seem appropriate anymore."

"LYNSIE...WHAT DID I SAY WHEN THIS ALL STARTED?"

"This doesn't leave the room?"

"YES. BUT I MEANT THE THING I SAID BEFORE THAT."

"Um..."

"I SAID...*leans into my ear* YOU NEED TO OBEY EVERY SINGLE WORD I TELL YOU. AND YOU SAID...?"

"O-okay. But sir..."

"NO BUTS. NOW BE A GOOD GIRL AND KEEP UTTERING THOSE PERFECT LINES FROM YOUR LIPS."

"May I ask one question?"

"IF YOU MUST."

"...Are you getting turned on by all this?"

"IF YOU HAVE TO ASK, THEN YOU'RE MORE NAÏVE THAN I THOUGHT."

"I'm not naïve."

"OH REALLY? THEN BY THAT LOGIC YOU NOT ONLY KNOW I'M ENJOYING THIS, BUT SO ARE YOU FOR YOU'RE LETTING ME CONTINUE. DO YOU DENY THIS CLAIM, LYNSIE?"

"I...uh...I plead the fifth on the grounds I don't wish to to give self-incriminating information."

"*chuckles* YEAH...THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT. BUT FEAR NOT, MY LITTLE SINNER. AS WE AGREED UPON EARLIER, THIS DOESN'T LEAVE THIS ROOM."

He presses his body against me, a large bulge resting on my ass and his hands softly grope my breasts.

"NOW...CONTINE TO SPEAK, JULIET."

A small shudder leaves me.

"Y-yes...Romeo."

He smiles and presses harder to me as to make my head spin while I continue.

"Do not swear at all; Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry, And I'll believe thee."

"IF MY HEART'S DEAR LOVE..."

"Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night: It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest Come to thy heart as that within my breast!"

I yelp at the end as he gives me a squeeze, earning me a devilish snicker and yet another squeeze.

"O, WILT THOU LEAVE ME SO UNSATISFIED?"

He begins to rock against me, rubbing that bulge harder and harder to me. I'm slowly losing it and I lean my head back onto his shoulder.

"What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?"

He gives my neck some light nips and I swoon, purring into his neck.

"THE EXCHANGE OF THY LOVE'S FAITHFUL VOW FOR MINE."

At this point love means lust and we both are feeling it. As much as I was fighting it at the start, now I'm enjoying his advances, even to the point that I'm grinding back into his hypnotically moving hips much to his ego's delight.

"I gave thee mine before thou didst request it: And yet I would it were to give again."

His hands wander back down, feeling my thighs and daring to go under my skirt. I don't really care for the uniforms. Girls have to wear skirts, I hate it because of perverts taking up-skirt pics. But in this case the damn thing makes it easier for this kind of fun.

"WOULDST THOU WITHDRAW IT? FOR WHAT PURPOSE, LOVE?"

I reach down to hold his hands, guiding them under my skirt and letting his bony digits feel along my flesh, making him shudder through his teeth.

"But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have: My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite."

"*groans* YOU'RE SUCH A TEASE."

"And you're a kinky pervy teacher. What's you're point?"

"MY POINT?"

He humps me harshly.

"MY POINT IS GOING TO BE WRECKING YOU AS SOON AS YOU DROP THOSE PANTIES."

"Me drop them? That doesn't sound like something a tease would do. If anything, a tease would do this..."

I lean on him more, pressing my ass to his hard as hell bulge and slowly rubbing on it teasingly. This has him swoon, moaning in growing need before becoming aggressive and bends me over his desk.

"WHAT A BAD GIRL YOU ARE. TEASING ME LIKE THAT. SUCH ACTIONS COME WITH RATHER HARSH CONSEQUENCES. DOESN'T THAT FRIGHTEN YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST?"

"Honestly sir...You are one of the scariest teachers here. When you have a bad day, even Edgy and I tremble."

"THEN WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN BE SO BOLD WITH ME?"

"Heh...Maybe you're not the only one that's enjoying this. Maybe the danger excites me."

"OH IS THAT SO? HEH HEH...WELL THEN...I SHALL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU."

I flinch feeling his hand on my ass, kneading it tenderly before suddenly yanking my panties and ripping them right off me with a surprised yelp.

"H-hey!"

"YOU DON'T NEED THEM."

He lifts me up more, making sure I'm set properly across his desk and I hear him undo his pants, letting his long blood red erection free.

"MMMMMM...LOOK AT YOU. SO HELPLESS. JUST A RIPE LITTLE FLOWER READY FOR THE PLUCKING. JUST LIKE JULIET."

"Do you aim to deflower me, Romeo?"

"THAT, AND SO MUCH MORE."

He lifts my skirt up then slides his member between my legs to my folds and glides it slowly on my sex. Starting a test rhythm and building up heat for us both, a hot need for more.

"Mmmm...A bit ironic in a cute way, don't you think?"

"HUH? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

"You're the 'little' brother of three, and yet you are anything but."

"HEH...FLATTERY WILL GET YOU NOWHERE."

"Then why are you smiling?"

"IT'S A PITY SMILE."

"If you say so sir. But denial doesn't suit you."

"YOU CHEEKY LITTLE SHIT..."

He smacks my ass and I yelp a moan much to his interest.

"OH? WELL WHO'S THE KINKY ONE NOW?"

"Still you sir."

He smacks me again and again I moan. He does this as his hips pick up speed. Excitement getting to him and pleasure building. Soon enough he groans and bucks particularly hard, shoving himself hilt deep inside me, making me scream in pain.

"OOOOOH...FFFUCK YOU'RE TIGHT. AND SO LUSHISHLY WARM AND WET~."

"Fuck you!"

He eyes me funny as I claw at his desk harshly.

"THE HELL...? WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?"

"I wasn't joking with that deflowering line. *wincing* That fucking hurts!"

If skeletons could pale, he'd be doing it. He looks down at the point where we connect and pulls back slightly. I whimper as I bite my lip and feel him touch around my sex's entrance. He frowns when he looks at his red stained fingers and regret comes to his mind.

"I...I'M SORRY."

I look up at him in shock. I have never heard him apologize or speak in such a somber tone.

"S-sir...?"

He attempts to slowly pull out and I grab his arm.

"Don't move."

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Don't you dare move. Do not flee from that which you have started. For to do so now would be a coward's act. And last I checked, you are no coward. Or am I mistaken sir Fell?"

He flinches. I dare his resolve with eyes set in a glare and swelling with tears.

"LYNSIE..."

"The damage has been done. There is no going back. So do not quake like some pitiful schmuck and see this through."

"BUT...YOU'RE BLEEDING..."

"Do not run away Papyrus!"

His name...Hearing his name used in such a way snaps him out of his daze and reverts his mind into a baser understanding.

"AGAIN."

"Huh?"

"SAY MY NAME AGAIN."

"Uh...Papyrus?"

"*shudders* OKAY...NO MORE MESSING AROUND. I'M GOING TO MOVE NOW. ARE YOU READY?"

"I think so. Just...Take it slow, okay?"

"I MAKE NO PROMISES. BUT...I WILL TRY."

I merely nod, letting his arm go and he waits a moment before his hips start moving, though he pauses when I gasp sharply.

"SHH...SH-SHHH IT'S OKAY...E-EASSYY SHHHH...EAASSYY LYNSIE...UUNHN...AH...OOOH ARE YOU OKAY?"

"*bites lip* Why are you so big?"

His ego soars.

"HEHEH...ALL THE BETTER TO PLEASE YOU WITH, MY DEAR. HHHN...GEEZ...UHN YOU FELT TIGHT BEFORE BUT N-NOW...UHHN...JUST...TRY TO RELAX...RELAX FOR ME."

"I'm...I'm trying..."

Moving slow to start, the pain in my body eventually fades off into the swell of pleasant feelings.

"Mmmmm...Ooooh Papyrus..."

"MHN...O-OH...A-AH...HHNNNMM...U-UHN...OHH...OH SHIT...OH SHIT..."

He buries his face against the base of my neck, catching my shoulder with his teeth as he groans and slowly grinds within me. It's like a slow-paced pendulum. Neither of us find it necessary to rush. Every small thrust, every tiny jab he makes within me is met with a powerful response deep in my abdomen. Every inch of my skin feels as if it's lit up like fireworks, the blood running through my veins sizzle across my bones in an intense explosion, flaring within me like a blazing inferno. His hands grab a tight hold of my thighs, and I stifle the urge to scream as the head of his erection suddenly hits a bundle of nerves deep within me.

"OOHH THERE...THERE WE ARE...HHNMM FEELING BETTER?"

"So good...You feel so good..."

He chuckles wickedly.

"HEH HEH, VERY GOOD...I...I HOPE YOU'RE READY LYNSIE...THIS MIGHT...FEEL PRETTY INTENSE. HHMN...I'M GOING TO ADD FORCE."

"Please do."

He wasn't joking either. As intense as this was already, he pushes into me faster and harder. His thrusts gradually speeding up faster and faster, going deeper inside me to hit places I had no clue even existed. With each plunge he takes, the more unraveled I get, my face twisting in mind altering euphoria and he can't get enough of it.

"A-AAHHNN...OOOH FUCK YES...YES...OHNN...MMMMM...AHHHN...OOOH H-HELL...AHHHN SOO...HHAHH O-OOH....HHNAHNN...SO AMAZING...I-INSIDE...HHHHAAHHNN...AHHH MNNFF...FUCK...IT'S SO GOOD..."

"Ooh yes...yes...Ohnn...Papyrus...mnhnn...Aaaahn...don't stop...Don't stop Papyrus..."

Releasing my hips from his grasp, he loops his right arm around my waist while his left hand finds my own and laces his bony phalanges in my fingers in a gentle grip. The rhythmic thrusting of his hips, driving that hardened magic made member of his to my depths, eliciting his name to ring out of me over and over in the most heated of ways.

"THAT'S IT MY JULIET...MY SWEET LITTLE FLOWER...*he bites at my neck* HHNMM I WANT YOU TO CUM FOR ME...OOOOOOH...I WANT TO HEAR YOU SCREAM...CALL MY NAME OUT AS YOU LET GO OF EVERYTHING...MMMMMM...I WANT TO BE ALL YOU THINK ABOUT."

"Oohh...o-oh ahh...Papyrus...Hahnnhhnann...Oooooh...yeahhh...Papyrus..."

"YEAH...JUST LIKE THAT...K-KEEP GOING..."

"O-oh P-pa...hnnm...Paaahpyrus...I-I'm...Hhahh...oohnn...I think I-I'm getting c-cl...oh I'm...hghnnn I'm c-cloosee...u-uahhn...hnnmm..."

"R-REALLY? U-UUNHN...HNMM...OH-AH-HGHN...HUK...AUH...I'M...GETTING THAT SAME FEELING...HOO WHERE...WHERE I'M...A BIT...DON'T KNOW HOW...H-HOW LONG I-I'LL LAST...HNMM HHHNN..."

"*shrieks* There! Ah! Papyrus! Please! There! There! Again! There Please!"

"*chuckles* O-OH? WAS THAT THE SPOT? YEAH? YOU WANT M-ME TO SLAM INTO YOU RIGHT THERE? HMMM? MAYBE...AH-HAHHN...MAYBE IF I HIT THAT SPOT JUST RIGHT..."

He centers his movements to hit into it, the hand around my waist dips down to rub his fingers against my clit, that pressure in my abdomen increases fiercely. The series of moans and cries coming from me, they're ushering him over his own edge.

"HNMM...LYNSIE...OHHN...UHGN...GHHN...O-OOHH GONNA...UNHN...LYNSIE! HHNNM OH I'M GONNA...M-MAKE YOU MINE...!"

He claims my lips in a heatedly deep kiss as he pounds as hard as he can into me and I feel everything getting so tight it's painful. Yet after so much building pressure I let out a high scream as my vision goes blank and I peak in orgasm of sweet release. Faintly he feels a warm gush from me coating his length, setting off the sparks inside him and letting him lose himself completely.

"A-AH...ALMOST...A-ALMOST THERE...THHEEREE...HHNNGN...A-AUH AH LYNSIE...T-THERE...THERE IT IS! A-AHHN C-CUUMMING...CUMMMINNGG! HHNNN...UAHHH...AHHH....OOOOOH...HNMMM...MMMMMM..."

He groans out as he follows after me, spilling his essence well into my core in deliciously hot spurts and giving me this wonderful full feeling. Our left hands still laced together and tightening till it almost feels like we'll almost break the others hand. I'm shaking underneath him as he pants hard in my ear, lightly nuzzling into my hair as his hips slowly settle themselves down till they've stopped and he keeps our connection while holding me close.

"*purrs* THANK YOU."

"For what sir?"

"FOR ALLOWING THIS TO HAVE HAPPENED. IT WASN'T MY INTENTION IN THE BEGINNING...BUT I'LL ADMIT...I WOULDN'T CHANGE THIS OUTCOME."

"*snickers* Yeah. Why change a moment where you got laid?"

"OKAY LITTLE MISS SMART ASS. KEEP THIS SHIT UP AND I WON'T BE SO NICE TO YOU."

"Oh?"

"DO YOU RECALL THAT ASSIGNMENT I ISSUED BEFORE ALL THIS?"

"Yeah."

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT."

I'm stunned.

"For real? No joke?"

"I BELIEVE YOU DEMONSTRATED A FINE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLAY. EVEN GOING SO FAR AS TO RECITE WHILE I WAS...DISTRACTING YOU."

"Is that what we're calling foreplay now?"

"VERY FUNNY. BY THE WAY, HOW IS YOUR ANXIETY?"

I blink in realization.

"It...I honestly forgot all about it.

"YOU'RE WLECOMED."

"Thanks sir. *pause* I wonder how much time has passed."

"PROBABLY ENOUGH TO MAKE US BOTH LOOK SUSPICIOUS. DO YOU NEED HELP GETTING HOME?"

"That depends...Are your brothers joining us?"

"NOT LIKELY. GASTER WOULD HAVE ALREADY TAKEN SANS HOME BY NOW."

"Good. Not sure I could handle a drive with Edgy or Fall after this."

"AGREED."

"So...Wanna stay like this for while? I mean, I really can't feel my legs right now, so walking would suck."

"THAT'S FINE. I'M RATHER COMFORTABLE LIKE THIS. *nuzzles* YOU MAKE A GREAT BODY PILLOW."

I smile then bring our joined hands over to my lips and kiss his hand.

"Happy to be of service sir."

We continue to stay there for some time. Eventually, we leave the privacy of his classroom and go home, returning to our normal lives. We never speak of that day again, but the effects stay with us, and at random when the mood is right, we share passions once more upon his very sturdy desk. Whether we have feelings for one another is still uncertain. But that's fine with us for now. For never was a story tied in such a goofy bow...Than this of me, Juliet, and my skeletal Romeo.

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Whisper Network, Bradbury, James Bond, Isle of Dread

H. P. Lovecraft (DMR Books): The first thing to keep in mind is that this cache represents one of the great epistolary friendships in the history of letters. The two never met in person, but the Mutual Admiration Society CAS and HPL formed between them was forged of eldritch steel. Both considered the other the Greatest Living Weird Fiction Author. It is obvious in every letter they wrote and confirmed by comments they sent to other correspondents.

  Comic Books (Bleeding Fool): Two weeks ago, we published the second part in our ongoing series of articles investigating the secret “Whisper Network” – a secret group of (mostly) women that’s been allegedly colluding to torment comic book pros and publicly harass creators they disagree with. Within that exposé, a major story was uncovered that should have rocked the comic book industry when it first happened, but was buried or “memory holed” by comic industry press at the time, with sites like Bleeding Fool erasing it after publishing it and Comics Beat, IGN, Newsarama and all others ignoring it entirely.

Cinema (Bounding Into Comics): In a new video interview J.J. Abrams declared that his film production company Bad Robot will make hiring based on looks a top priority. Speaking with Time Magazine about the film industry Abrams discussed what he wants the industry to look like in the future. He then made it clear that Bad Robot will be focused on people’s outward appearance when it comes to hiring.

Robert E. Howard (John C. Wright): As previously announced, Jeffro Johnson, author of Appendix N, Zaklog the Great, Nate the Greater, and your truly gather electronically to talk about Robert E. Howard’s verse….

Ray Bradbury (Pulpfest): Ray Douglas Bradbury was born on August 22, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois. From an early age, he was a voracious reader and consumer of popular culture — movies, pulp magazines, radio programming, newspaper comic strips, circuses, magic, and more. He was enamored with the Buck Rogers newspaper strip, the stories of L. Frank Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more. By age twelve, he wanted to write.

James Bond (25 Years Later): Raise your martini glasses! We are only a few months away from (hopefully) another fantastic James Bond adventure (er, at least, we think so. It’s already been delayed once by a global pandemic that is starting to feel like something a diabolical Bond villain would think up). No Time To Die, the 25th official James Bond release, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), stars Daniel Craig for the fifth, and likely final, time as superspy James Bond ending what has been a sterling era for the rugged 52-year-old.

Fiction (Benespen): This is another expedition into the past of popular literature. Abraham Merritt, whose byline is nearly always A. Merritt, was a popular author who wasn’t even best known in his own time for his fiction. Rather, he was a celebrity journalist, making enough money to travel widely and pursue arcane hobbies.  The Moon Pool [Amazon link] is the work I usually see cited as typical of Merritt’s work, and it is listed in Gary Gygax’s “Appendix N” as an influence on Dungeons and Dragons. Let’s dive into the Moon Pool and see what happens!

Science Fiction (Starship Cat): This novel is pretty much a direct follow-in to Citadel, and continues to be mostly Dana’s story, with occasional appearances by Butch and some cameos by Vernon Tyler. Dana’s story is pretty much an enactment of the proverbial Chinese curse “May you come to the attention of those in high places.” Her heroism at the end of the last book has made the Powers That Be decide that she’s leadership material — and send her to the new station, to command a squadron from the various Latin American countries.

H. P. Lovecraft (Tentaculii): I’ve encountered an interesting item which perhaps throws a small sidelight on the use of the telephone in Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter” (1919). You’ll recall that a telephone is taken on the descent… The telephone might sound like an unlikely thing to take down below. But wired long-distance field telephones were a known ‘thing’ at that time, not least because of their use in the war.

Conventions (Dragoncon): Part two of our three-part interview series where past Dragon Award recipients talk about their award-winning novels and their Dragon Awards experience. In part one of our three-part Dragon Awards interview series, our award-winning authors talked about their background, what motivates them to write, and about their novels that captured Dragon Awards audiences everywhere.

Cinema (0themastercylinder): William Smith. He was born in 1933 in rural Columbia, Missouri on a cattle ranch. That background served him very well during the many Westerns he was to appear in later. The first big surprise I got in examining his background was how early his film career started. He appeared as a child actor in 1942’s “The Ghost of Frankenstein” as the boy who befriends the Monster portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr.

D&D (Paint Monk): wo years ago, I picked up Goodman Games’ Original Adventures Reincarnated #1, where I re-lived the fun of TSR’s original D&D modules “In Search of the Unknown” and “The Keep on the Borderlands”. This month, I finally picked up OAR #2 – The Isle of Dread, and I’d like to share just how much I enjoyed this book and the work the fine folks over at Goodman put into making it a success.

Fiction (Dark Herald): Been a while since we’ve seen a new Dresden Files book and we will be getting two this year. So at least 2020 isn’t a total write off. Butcher’s last addition to this series was in 2014. He had been rather productive up until this time. Usually producing one or two books a year. I’m not sure why there was a prolonged interrupt, possibly it was his divorce.

Beer (Trinkelbonker): Got these as a delayed birthday gift the other day, six cans of Ace Of Aces American Lager with a rather nice (and collectable, if you ask me) motif. The aircraft you see is an American Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the pilot that flew it was Richard Ira Bong, the first child of nine of Carl Bång, an immigrant from Sweden and Dora Bryce, who was an American by Scots-English descent. Richard, nicknamed Dick by his friends, shot down over 40 Japanese aircraft in the Pacific Theater during WWII and became one of the most decorated pilots of the war.

Game Review (Black Gate): This is the second article in my “explanation” of Conan 2d20. Last time I focused on 2d20’s core mechanic and on this game’s design philosophy insofar as it is an emulation of the “physics” and flavor of Robert E. Howard’s Conan fiction. This one will detail more aspects of gameplay, particularly player character components and action scenes. Last article, I maintained that Conan 2d20 characters begin as powerful in mechanical ability (unless the alternative Shadows of the Past character generation is used).

Cinema (Irish Times): because these things only happen in the greatest superhero movie ever made: Flash Gordon. The 1980 camp classic, which has been restored in 4K to mark its 40th anniversary, has a history of happy accidents following its hero’s first appearance in a comic strip in 1934. Buck Rogers, another intergalactic hero, had already spawned novelisations and toys when King Features Syndicate – a subsidiary of the Hearst newspaper empire – approached Edgar Rice Burroughs with a plan to adapt John Carter into a comic strip.

Small Press (Tentaculii): New on Archive.org…Howard Collector #5, Summer 1964.  Howard Collector #6, Spring 1965. With the poem “Who is Grandpa Theobold?”, from a letter. This would count as another early use of ‘Lovecraft as character’, albeit not in fiction. I wonder what the likely year on this poem is?

Cinema & T.V. (Dark Worlds Quarterly): Heroic fantasy films and television changed after 1982. The release of Dino DeLaurentis’ Conan the Barbarian sent Fantasy films in a new direction. Movies had to have a mix of violence, sex and flash that previous movies seemed to lack. Whether you like or hate these films is a matter of opinion. There were bright spots of Fantasy filmmaking among the direct-to-video duds like the Brian Froud-Jim Henson films, Legend by Ridley Scott, and Ron Howard’s The Lord of the Rings known as Willow.

Book Review (Benespen): War Demons [Silver Empire affiliate link] is the veteran’s take on supernatural horror. Sometimes we casually refer to the men who come back from war suffering from PTSD and survivor’s guilt as demon-haunted; but for Michael Alexander it is anything but a metaphor. We now come to the third book covering similar territory I have read recently. I don’t often end up reading lots of similar books together in succession, so I can compare and contrast these.

Science Fiction (Future War Stories): Packed in seemingly every military science fiction work are futuristic firearms and some, like the Colonial Marines M41A1 Pulse Rifle has become an icon of sci-fi weaponry…then there are others that never get their day in the limelight. One of those military sci-fi weapons is the United States standard issue endo/exo assault rifle of the 2060’s: the M590. Featured in the legendary 1990’s FOX one-season TV show Space: Above and Beyond.

Science Fiction (Rough Edges): Robert E. Vardeman has been writing top-notch science fiction for about forty years now, and that’s almost how long I’ve known him. His latest novel, THE DUST OF STARS, is the first book in a new series called ENGINEERING INFINITY, and it’s everything I love about science fiction. First, it has big ideas. And I mean E.E. “Doc” Smith big: An ancient, long-disappeared alien race scattered planet-sized machines throughout the galaxy.

Pulp Fiction (DMR Books): Merritt outlived the CAS-HPL correspondence of 1922-1937, though not by much. In the CAS-HPL letters, one sees Klarkash-Ton belatedly discovering Merritt–and HPL belatedly discovering The Metal Monster. Throughout the course of the correspondence, Merritt was the most successful exemplar of the weird fiction that CAS and HPL were themselves creating. While they did not always agree with the directions he took in his fiction, there was no denying that Merritt dominated the market for pulp fantasy.

Tolkien (Sacnoth’s Scriptorium): So, for years I’ve been convinced that the old story about the Tolkien Estate having gone after TSR for their use of hobbits, ents, balrogs et al in early printings of D&D was wrong and that it was actually Saul Zaentz’s group, Tolkien Enterprises (the movie merchandising people) who’d issued that cease-and-desist back in 1976. But while I’ve able to build up a probable case I’ve been lacking direct proof. Now Gygax has provided it.

Sensor Sweep: Whisper Network, Bradbury, James Bond, Isle of Dread published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[diaryofablandman]

D.C. Hardcore - An Ethnographic Study

When hardcore reared its ugly head in the early 1980s, it was a unique beast.Though the music bore similarities to its punk ancestors, this new sound was particularly vicious, potent, and wholly unmarketable to a commercial audience. Forced to live outside of the mainstream, the hardcore punks had to turn inward to define their sense of accomplishments and success. Authenticity was defined not by number of records sold or in dollars made, but rather by instilling an insular sense of community amongst the scene and its inhabitants. As a concept frequently chased by musical subcultures looking for an alternative to mainstream industry practices, the idea of democracy became an essential facet of the hardcore culture. David Hesmondhalgh highlights in his article ‘Post-punk’s attempt to democratize the music industry’ that the fundamental elements of a functional democratic system are ‘participation’ and ‘access’ for constituents of all levels. Whereas mainstream media seeks to create and promote a product that is shiny, neat, and expertly crafted, neglecting the contributions of anyone outside the pre-determined elite, hardcore was set up to be fully inclusionary (Hesmondhalgh, 256).

Fittingly, this concept of democracy was most fully realized in the nation’s capital of Washington D.C. Not in the government of course, but rather, in a community of young hardcore punks eager to claim a culture as their own. Dawson Barrett claims, in his article ‘DIY Democracy: The Direct Action Politics of U.S. Punk Collectives,’ that at its core, punk is a form of “direct action.” He argues that in a DIY (or Do It Yourself) culture, punks are able to solidify their own “elaborate network of counter-institutions, including music venues, media, record labels, and distributors” that specifically caters to their own needs. In D.C., this way of thinking was brought to life. Spearheaded by de facto leader Ian MacKaye, vocalist of Minor Threat, and bolstered by his record label, Dischord Records, D.C. became the face of democracy for America’s hardcore culture.

The seeds for hardcore’s democracy were sown just as the genre was in gestation. Regarded by many as the country’s first hardcore band, Los Angeles, California’s Middle Class were barely musicians themselves. “The original punk bands, most of these people were musicians and were into glitter and glam, stuff like that. They already knew how to play and adopted punk rock as a style,” explains the band’s bassist, Mike Patton. He elaborates, “We listened to the first punk rock records and we learned to play. And we were doing it really primitively because we didn’t really know, so we just put it all into energy (American Hardcore).” The music posed a radical shift from typical songwriting conventions such as melody and structure, focusing more on speed and aggression. Chris Foley of Boston’s SS Decontrol emphasizes that “the whole thing with hardcore was that it was people just picking up a guitar, learning three chords, and playing as fast as they could (American Hardcore).” Though they were often shouted at a tone and speed that rendered them incomprehensible, typical lyrical content consisted mostly of issues with politics and social injustices. According to Chris Doherty of Boston band Gang Green, “We were just screaming against authority and our parents and about everything that was pissing us off in our life (American Hardcore).”This sort of ‘anybody can do it’ approach allowed both participation and access for wayward youth all across the country. Hardcore scenes eventually popped up on both coasts, most significantly in L.A., Boston, Minneapolis, New York, and of course, Washington D.C.

           Data collected from the 1980 census shows that, at the time, the neighborhood of Washington D.C. consisted of nearly twice as many African-Americans as whites (U.S Census Bureau, 1980).  “In my junior high school, I was one of 10% white kids,” said Ian MacKaye, leader of Minor Threat, Fugazi, and the eventual face of D.C. hardcore, “And in senior high school, I was one of 20% white kids (American Hardcore).”. In search of an identity separate from their black peers, these white, middle-class kids of D.C. discovered and embraced punk rock, which bore no elements of the funk and soul music popular with the other local youth. “If you grew up white in this city and you’re not part of the political establishment or you’re not part of true culture, which is a black culture, then you have no culture,” elaborated MacKaye, “There’s nothing here (Azerrad, 121).”That is, until, ironically enough, a group of young African-American Rastafarians known as the Bad Brains brought hardcore into town. The punk-on-speed aesthetic that characterized the music left a huge impression on the D.C. youth (Blush & Petros, 117). Bands such as The Teen Idles, S.O.A., Government Issue, and Scream formed in the Bad Brains’ wake, each putting their own spin this frenetic brand of punk rock. Hardcore subsequently became a culture for these kids in the early 1980s that didn’t fit in with the local majority. Footage of live shows during hardcore’s peak years gives a good sense of the scene’s demographic. Most bands and fans alike ranged from teens to young adults, anywhere from around 15 to 25, the vast majority of which being white males (Minor Threat - Live at Washington D.C., 1983).

These live shows consisted of a chaotic environment where a slam-dancing was a common occurrence. This was an intense, violent form of physical expression where fans would, as the name implies, slam into each other at full force during the band’s songs. They used this dancing as almost a ritual to unify the scene, especially at events that were outside of their home turf. For instance, while attending a Black Flag show in New York, the D.C. punks allegedly “knocked into anyone with long hair (“hippies”) or those who weren’t slamming with them.” Instigating violence in such a manner led to a full out brawl between the D.C. and N.Y. punks, which they used as a means of proving themselves (Azerrad 131).

As less outwardly violent rituals, stagediving and crowd-surfing eventually became fixtures of live shows as well. During a band’s performance, a fan, or sometimes even several at once, will climb up onstage, often run across with their hands in the air, scream along with a few lyrics, and proceed to dive back into the crowd. Footage from a 1983 Minor Threat concert at D.C.’s ‘9:30 Club’ features the band welcoming the fans access to the stage; they play along with unflinching persistence despite the added presence, and sometimes vocalist Ian MacKaye will even throw an arm around the stage-diver so they can share a few lyrics into the mic before he returns to the sea of bodies from whence he came (“Minor Threat - Live at Washington DCs 930 Club…”). Even when the fans are not on the same literal stage, they are invited to participate in singing when the vocalist would putthe microphone into the crowd. At this same Minor Threat show, MacKaye holds the microphone into the crowd below him during several songs in the bands set. One instance features a call and response between Ian and the crowd, another features Ian letting the crowd sing an entire verse of their song “Out of Step” while he coaches them along. At another videotaped Minor Threat show in Baltimore in 1982, the venue’s P.A. was shut off and yet the band still played on. MacKaye acted as a manic preacher, conducting the crowd to sing along to every last lyric (“Minor Threat live in Baltimore…”). The fans’ access to the stage and opportunity to participate in the live show is a big part of what makes the D.C. hardcore scene so unique. The connection to the music on the behalf of fans and bands alike is nearly unprecedented.  

This connection was established early on as the genre’s namesake term was created. “We called ourselves ‘hardcore’ to distinguish between us and the Sid Vicious kind,” says MacKaye, intent on establishing he and his contemporaries’ music-centered approach, “We weren’t into the fashion as much as we were into the approach and intensity and urgency (Blush & Petros, 134).” As Jason Middleton points out in his essay ‘D.C. Punk and the Production of Authenticity,’ this distinction is a necessary one, as English punk style in the 1970s was commodified and turned into runway fashion almost as quickly as it began. Even the Sex Pistols, England’s most notorious punk export, were born as a sort of business venture from Malcolm McLaren, the owner of a U.K. clothing shop, ‘Sex’ (Middleton, 336). To avoid this potential pitfall, bands were often discouraged from selling any sort of promotional merchandise at local shows.

Middleton posits that this practice played into one of the major elements of authenticity production for the D.C. punks. In order to keep things within the scene, the investment of profits back into community projects instead of lining any one person’s pockets was essential. The flagship indie label for D.C., Dischord Records, was formedby Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson (both of Minor Threat) in 1981 with a strict set of ideals meant to further enhance the community. Bands had complete creative control over their projects, profits were split 50/50, albums were sold for sub-standard prices, and there was little involvement in promotional or merchandising practices. Minor Threat, and later MacKaye’s Fugazi, disassociated themselves from selling band t-shirts, stickers, posters and other sorts of consumer products to distract from the music (Middleton, 345). ‘Folding parties’ were held at Dischord’s headquarters, where the bands and their friends would spend entire nights at a time gluing and folding record sleeves together instead of hiring out to an outside company to manufacture them (Azerrad, 143). Along with Middleton’s scene investment concept, here we also find yet another example of Hesmondhalgh’s idea of democratic participation and access.

Compounding the idea of music as the exclusive product was the fact that a lot of members of the D.C. scene were underage kids. In order to ensure participation and access to live shows for fans of all ages, the D.C punks were forced to bypass mainstream venues and take advantage of alternative spaces to put on shows.They would use backyards, abandoned stores, basements, and pretty much any other empty space they could find to create a makeshift venue. H.R. of Bad Brains recalled, “When we found out that somebody had a shopping center, or somebody’s apartment complex, or somebody’s mom and dad was moving, we would then rush to that place and say ‘Hey! There’s a show going on tonight and everybody’s invited’ (American Hardcore).” These alternative venues, removed from the bar scene, took the consumer commodity of alcohol out of the live show, leaving music at the forefront of the experience. Alcohol’s absence from these live events became a convenient intersection with the burgeoning 'straight edge' movement in the D.C. underground. Coined after a Minor Threat song of the same name, ‘straight edge,’ often stylized as ‘sXe,’ denotes a lifestyle where one voluntarily abstains from doing drugs, drinking alcohol and engaging in promiscuous sex (“An Interview with Ian MacKaye”). Despite being originally intended by MacKaye as a declaration of his own ideals, the lyrical content of “Straight Edge” hit home with a large group of hardcore kids not only in D.C., but across the country. In his book “Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change,” Ross Haenfler suggests that this movement gained traction among the hardcore youth because the nihilistic, “no future” attitude of the early punks was lost on this new generation. Haenfler posits that “being clean and sober was the ultimate expression of the punk ethos,” the epitome of punk’s ‘question everything’ ideology. He went on to refer to it as “an act of resistance that defied both mainstream adult and youth cultures (Haenfler, 100).” What is more punk than being forward thinking, but presenting yourself in a professional manner? Jason Middleton points out though, that the straight-edge movement, despite its unification of those who shared a certain mindset, created a separatist attitude amongst its followers. This caused a schism within the otherwise tight-knit community (Middleton, 342). What began as something meant to allow participation and access to the outsiders of typical punk culture started to alienate those who opposed their radical new views.

The vibrancy of the D.C. hardcore scene would eventually start to fizzle out come the mid-1980s as most of the bands started to splinter and fall apart, but hope was not completely lost. After Minor Threat’s breakup, Ian MacKaye’s new project, Fugazi, maintained the ideals of his old band with an even more militant attitude. For instance, the band flat out refused to play in venues that operated as bars so every show could be all-ages, and they wouldn’t charge any more than $5 a head for attendees. This was to ensure that fans of all ages and budgets to have access to their shows, and if these requirements were not met, they would simply pack up their equipment and leave the gig (“An Interview with Ian MacKaye”). They kept this practice up until entering an indefinite hiatus in 2002, making them the last of the original D.C. punk bands to wave their democratic flag. 

Despite the core of the scene’s dissolution, the music and its legacy still lives on. Dischord Records is still running strong to this day, continuing to release D.C.’s finest underground indie and punk rock albums, and many of the scene’s original members have gone on to find success with other bands (“Dischord History”). Minor Threat’s Brian Baker is currently in Bad Religion, and Scream’s drummer Dave Grohl went on to join Nirvana and found the Foo Fighters.  And none of this would have happened if these people hadn’t had access to music at a young age. The D.C. hardcore scene’s unflinching commitment to ensuring people of all ages, shapes, and sizes the ability to participate in and access musiccreated a tremendously influential environment in the history of music and in the lives of its inhabitants. 

Bibliography

American hardcore. Dir. Paul Rachman. Perf. Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, Paul Hudson. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2007. DVD.

"An Interview with Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat/Dischord Records." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Dec. 2011. Web. 12 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS-jq1MzUzo>.

Azerrad, Michael. Our band could be your life: scenes from the American rock underground 1981-1991. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.

Barrett, Dawson. "DIY Democracy: The Direct Action Politics of U.S. Punk Collectives." American Studies 52.2 (2013): 23-42. Print.

Blush, Steven, and Petros, George. .American hardcore: a tribal history. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House :, 2001. Print.

"Dischord History." Dischord History. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2014. <http://www.dischord.com/history/>.

"District of Columbia - Race and Hispanic Origin: 1800 to 1990." U.S. Census Bureau. Web. 13 May 2014. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/tab23.pdf>.

Haenfler, Ross. Straight edge clean-living youth, hardcore punk, and social change. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2006. Print.

Hesmondhalgh, David. "Post-Punk's attempt to democratise the music industry: the success and failure of Rough Trade." Popular Music 16.03 (1997): 255. Print.

Middleton, Jason. "D.C. Punk and the Production of Authenticity." Rock over the edge: transformations in popular music culture. Beebe, Roger, Denise Fulbrook, and Ben Saunders (Ed.) Durham: Duke University Press, 2002. 335-356. Print.

"Minor Threat - Live at Washington DCs 930 Club in June of 1983 (Part 2)."YouTube. YouTube, 4 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgVmAkdi22A>.

"Minor Threat live in Baltimore 9/18/1982." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2013. Web. 14 May 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-jJwK2mKvs>.

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Star Wars Timeline Explained

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Need help starting your Star Wars adventure? Check out our beginner's guide to the canon timeline!

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens ushered in an entirely new generation of fans looking for more adventures in the galaxy far, far away, but with the whole issue of Legends canon vs. the new canon and a whole slate of new books, comics, and movies arriving in the next few years, it can be hard to figure out where to start. Luckily for you, it's become a bit easier to dive into the canon materials now that a clear line has been drawn between Legends (pre-Disney) and new canon (post-Disney) stories, but that new material is quickly growing, too. 

In order to help new fans get a clear look at the official Star Wars timeline, we've put together a list of the most central Star Wars books, comics, and games and detailed how they relate to the movies and TV series.

Read More: Everything We Know About Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

What won't you see on this list?

Most Star Wars Insider short stories, Star Wars Rebels Magazine comics, Forces of Destiny shorts, or Disney novelizations like The Princess, The Farmboy, and The Scoundrel. Star Wars Insider stories have been included where we felt they contributed most to the overarching timeline -- or if we felt they were particularly good.

This timeline is intended to help you find the best jumping-on point. (There's always the "pick up whatever you find first" approach, though.) Dates are sometimes approximate and are based on years before (BBY) and after (ABY) the Battle of Yavin, equivalent to before and after A New Hope, as per the official canon chronology.

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32 - 20 BBY - Age of Republic

Written by Jody Houser

Art by Cory Smith and Luke Ross

The Age of Republic comics miniseries is composed of one-shot issues that prove writer Jody Houser is a powerful new addition to Star Wars fiction. The series focuses on Prequel characters such as Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Maul, Jango Fett, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku, and General Grievous. They each get their own issues, which can be read together or separately. Age of Republic Special stars Mace Windu and brings in heroes and villains from across the Clone Wars.

32 BBY - Marvel's Darth Maul

Written by Cullen Bunn

Art by Luke Ross

Set before the events of The Phantom Menace and the villain's first demise at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, this comic book miniseries follows Darth Maul in the early days of his apprenticeship under Darth Sidious. While he's not allowed to engage the Jedi just yet, Maul still manages to come face to face with a young Jedi Padawan during one of his missions for the Dark Lord of the Sith. The events of the series show how the dark side makes Maul more powerful but also incredibly flawed.

Buy Marvel's Darth Maul

32 BBY - The Phantom Menace 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy The Phantom Menace

29 BBY - Marvel's Obi-Wan & Anakin 

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Marco Checchetto

This comic series, written by Charles Soule and penciled by Marco Checchetto, is Disney’s first foray into deep Prequel territory, without even The Clone Wars to hang on to. Devoid of any ancillary material. Obi-Wan & Anakin paints a slightly different picture of the iconic Jedi team-up than the Legends stories did before. Anakin is a headstrong tinkerer, but there is also an edge of vengefulness or self-hatred around him in the first issue when he summons a hologram of Darth Maul that surprises and disgusts the Jedi Council.

The series expands on how Anakin’s life as a slave affects the way he views the Jedi. This isn't an easy apprenticeship for either Jedi, but we know that it’s leading up to at least some camaraderie by the time of Padme’s attempted assassination in Attack of the Clones.

Buy Marvel's Obi-Wan & Anakin

28 BBY - Queen's Shadow

Written by E.K. Johnston

This young adult novel details the lives of Padmé Amidala and her handmaidens. The loose plot follows Padmé as she transitions from queen to senator, but the episodic story is much more than that. It confronts the idea of slavery in Star Wars, the tragedy of the way Papatine manipulated Padmé’s political path, and the problems and privileges of ruling at such a young age. Padmé is presented as a formidable warrior, a teen still learning to hold her own, and a shrewd negotiator. 

22 BBY - Attack of the Clones 

Directed by George Lucas

Written by George Lucas & Jonathan Hales

Buy Attack of the Clones

22-19 BBY - The Clone Wars 

Created by George Lucas

Buy The Clone Wars

21-17 BBY - Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

Written by James Luceno

Before Jyn Erso embarked on her fateful mission to steal the plans to the Death Star from the evil Empire in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, she lived on Coruscant with her parents, Galen and Lyra. Galen is a scientist who means to use his kyber crystal research to produce renewable energy for the galaxy, but his friend Orson Krennic has very different plans. The scientist doesn't know that he's actually helping create a weapon for the Death Star!

Buy Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

19 BBY - Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir 

Written by Jeremy Barlow

Art by Juan Frigeri

Although Mother Talzin appeared to have perished in The Clone Wars, she returns in what may or may not be a spiritual form during the many battles in Son of Dathomir. This comic miniseries, like Dark Disciple, was adapted from unused scripts from The Clone Wars, and is something of a battle royale, pitting Darth Maul against a variety of foes, including Count Dooku and General Grievous.

Buy Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir

19 BBY - "Kindred Spirits" 

Written by Christe Golden for Star Wars Insider #159

Often, Star Wars Insider stories will tie directly to one of the recently released novels, exploring side characters or presenting scenes before or after the book. In the case of "Kindred Spirits," the author was also the same: Christie Golden penned this tale of Asajj Ventress finding an unlikely ally shortly before Dark Disciple. Readers interested in the bounty hunter persona Ventress adopted during The Clone Wars might especially appreciate the tone of this one, which also features another tough female character.

19 BBY - Dark Disciple 

Written by Christie Golden

While fans clamored for more of The Clone Wars after the animated series’ cancellation, stories set in this era, and overseen by many of the same writers and producers, began to emerge in different formats. Some unaired episodes of The Clone Wars were aired during conventions or released online; others were adapted into comics, as in Son of Dathomir. Dark Disciple was one of the more high-profile results of this effort, as it is a full-length novel telling the story of Asajj Ventress after her story on the television show had ended.

Ventress is reluctantly recruited by Quinlan Vos, a morally ambiguous Jedi in pursuit of Count Dooku. Dark Disciple is, in part, a love story, showing Ventress and Vos’ relationships with one another and how that affects their views of the Force. It’s also a war story, with the inventive action typical of The Clone Wars.

Buy Dark Disciple

19 BBY - Revenge of the Sith 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy Revenge of the Sith

19 BBY - Marvel's Kanan 

Written by Greg Weisman

Art by Pepe Larraz

If you watch Rebels but haven’t read Star Wars books or comics before, Kanan series is a good place to start. The stories alternate between the crew of the Ghost undertaking what at first seems to be a simple mission on Lothal, and Kanan’s memories of Order 66 and his training with his Jedi Master. This is a good way to learn about this fan-favorite character.

Buy Marvel's Kanan

19 BBY - Marvel's Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli

This series literally starts at the moment Darth Vader is born, a second after the end of Revenge of the Sith. Unlike Marvel's first Darth Vader series, this new ongoing book tackles the earliest days of Anakin's transformation into the feared Sith apprentice, more machine than man. 

Buy Marvel's Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

18 BBY - Ahsoka

Written by E.K. Johnston

What happened to former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano after leaving the Order in The Clone Wars? This is the story of what led Ahsoka down the path to becoming the Rebel agent Fulcrum. Anyone who loves the character's appearances in the animated series should read this book.

Buy Ahsoka

14 BBY - "Orientation" 

Written by John Jackson Miller for Star Wars Insider #157

Like "Kindred Spirits," John Jackson Miller’s "Orientation" has some of the same characters as the Star Wars novels that came out around the same time. It was packaged along with Lords of the Sith, but touches some other Star Wars material, too.

Darth Vader is ostensibly the main character of the story, strutting his way around an Imperial training ship. But the other star of this story is Rae Sloane, a young cadet. Remember that name.

14 BBY - Lords of the Sith

Written by Paul S. Kemp

Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine have crash-landed in the dangerous wilderness of Ryloth in this dark side road trip. Lords of the Sith also has a connection to Rebels and The Clone Wars: freedom fighter Cham Syndulla sees a potential advantage for his rebels and tries to assassinate the Sith while they’re working their way through the wilderness.

The novel explores Vader and Palpatine’s tense power struggles as well as the things that bind them together. Lords of the Sith also has the new canon’s first LGBT character, the slovenly Imperial Moff Mors, who has her own character arc as the story goes on.

Buy Lords of the Sith

14 BBY - Tarkin 

Written by James Luceno

Another tale from the dark side, Tarkin shows the history and martial rise of the man who would one day command the Death Star. James Luceno was known for writing big, encyclopedic novels in the Legends timeline—he’s particularly good at fitting different parts of the canon together and talking about the political landscape of the galaxy far, far away. The Tarkin novel brings both of those things into the new canon and tells the story of Tarkin’s attempt to retake an experimental starship from Rebel saboteurs.

Buy Tarkin

13 BBY - Lando's Luck

Written by Justina Ireland

Disney Publishing has been knocking it out of the park with the young adult Star Wars novels, and Lando’s Luck is the most entertaining of the Solo tie-ins. Funny dialogue and a fast-paced adventure make this story—in which Lando and L3-37 team up with a young princess—a good one to pick up if you liked Lando in either Solo or The Empire Strikes Back. 

13-10 BBY - Solo: A Star Wars Story

Directed by Ron Howard

Written by Lawrence Kasdan and Jon Kasdan

11-5 BBY - Lost Stars 

Written by Claudia Gray

Although Lost Stars spans throughout the Original Trilogy, it starts beforehand, with two young people joining the Imperial Academy. It’s essentially a love story, with Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree still holding their feelings for one another even after Thane joins the Rebellion. This book is also a great look at the psychology of the people inside the two armies.

The new Star Wars books have dispensed quickly with the idea that all Rebels are noble (or noble scoundrels) and that all Imperial loyalists are scheming. Lots of different things drive people to make their choices in war, and Lost Stars shows that. It also culminates in an exciting battle that ties into The Force Awakens. After reading this one, you’ll never look at Jakku quite the same way again.

Buy Lost Stars

11-2 BBY - Thrawn

Written by Timothy Zahn

When the old continuity was turned into Legends, it meant that many of the greatest characters introduced in the old EU were no longer canon. It seems like even that couldn't keep the Empire's greatest tactician down, though. The cold, Chiss admiral Thrawn returns to continuity with this new origin story from writer Timothy Zahn, the man who created the character back in the '90s. 

Buy Thrawn

11 BBY - A New Dawn 

Written by John Jackson Miller

For fans of Rebels, A New Dawn shows the origins of some fan-favorite characters and sets the tone for the new canon Imperials. It introduces the ruthlessly efficient Count Vidian, who goes up against Hera and Kanan when the fate of a planet is on the line. Joining them are the unlikely duo of conspiracy theorist Skelly and ex-Imperial surveillance officer Zaluna. Although it explains more about Kanan’s history than Hera’s (more about her can be found in the short story “Mercy Mission,” in the Rise of the Empire collection), A New Dawn is a good piece of the continuity puzzle for Rebels fans.

It was also the first book in the new canon, making its title doubly appropriate. Author John Jackson Miller was well-known for Legends material, like the novel Kenobi and the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, before he contributed the first book to the new canon.

Buy A New Dawn

6-4 BBY - Servants of the Empire 

Written by Jason Fry

This four-book young reader series follows Zare Leonis, the Imperial cadet who helped Ezra escape the stormtrooper academy in season one of Rebels. Like Rebels itself, the series can be enjoyed by people outside of its grade-school audience, too. Part of the appeal is the characters: the story switches between Zare and his conflicting ideas about the Empire to his friend, hacker Merei Spanjaf, who launches her own investigations while trying to avoid being caught by her security expert mother.

Zare is on the hunt for his sister, a promising, Force-sensitive Imperial recruit taken by the Grand Inquisitor. Like in A New Dawn, Rebels fans will be able to find plenty of connections to their favorite characters.

Buy Servants of the Empire

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6 BBY-3 ABY - Battlefront / Battlefront: Twilight Company 

Video Game Developed by DICE

Novel Written by Alexander Freed

Like John Jackson Miller, Battlefront: Twilight Company author Alexander Freed came to Star Wars novels through short stories and comics. His canon short fiction has appeared in Star Wars Insider before (“One Thousand Levels Down” and “The End of History”).

Twilight Company visits some of the same locations available to players in the 2015 Battlefront video game, but its characters are new and unique. The cynical protagonist is Namir, a soldier who fights doggedly for the Rebellion’s cause without ever really believing that the cause is as noble as others do. He finds an unlikely ally in Chalis, a former Imperial governor whose ruthless plans for the Rebel squad’s success cause some dissent in the ranks.

Buy Battlefront

Buy Battlefront: Twilight Company

5-2 BBY - Rebels 

Created by Dave Filoni, Simon Kinberg, & Carrie Beck

Buy Rebels

3 BBY - Leia: Princess of Alderaan

Written by Claudia Gray 

After winning fans' hearts with the political novel Bloodline, Claudia Gray returned with a young adult novel about Leia's youth on Alderaan and her first missions with the Rebel Alliance. Leia: Princess of Alderaan focuses on the princess and her parents, Breha and Bail, but also includes cameos from characters such as The Last Jedi's Amilyn Holdo, Captain Panaka, and Grand Moff Tarkin.

Buy Leia: Princess of Alderaan

2 BBY - Thrawn: Alliances

Written by Timothy Zahn

The wildly popular canon Thrawn novels continue with a story set during the Clone Wars. Alliances jumps between the Original Trilogy and the Prequel era, showing how Thrawn worked with Anakin Skywalker before and after he became Darth Vader. The book also features Padmé on her own mission during the Clone Wars. She finds herself reluctantly teaming up with the titular Chiss mastermind. 

0 BBY - Guardians of the Whills

Written by Greg Rucka 

A fun look at Jedha before the decidedly less fun events of Rogue One, Guardians of the Whills captures Baze and Chirrut's voices well and shows what Jedha City was like before its destruction. 

Buy Guardians of the Whills

0 BBY - Rogue One

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Written by John Knoll, Gary Whitta, Chris Weitz, & Tony Gilroy

Buy Rogue One

0 BBY - A New Hope 

Directed & Written by George Lucas

Buy A New Hope

0 BBY - 5 ABY: Battlefront II/ Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

Video Game Developed by EA DICE, Motive Studios, Criterion Software

Novel Written by Christie Golden

A prequel to the video game Battlefront II, the novel Inferno Squad introduces players to Iden Versio, special forces commander and daughter of Imperial loyalist Admiral Garrick Versio. Assigned to infiltrate a group of Saw Gerrera's Partisans, she and her team grapple with the morality of both the Empire and the violent splinter group of the Rebellion. 

The video game's campaign follows Inferno Squad from shortly before the destruction of the Death Star to the Battle at Jakku, where the Empire finally fell. Fans who read the novel will have much better context for the relationships between the characters in the campaign, which also introduces playable versions of Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. 

Buy Battlefront II

Buy Battlefront II: Inferno Squad

0 BBY - Marvel's Princess Leia 

Written by Mark Waid

Art by Terry Dodson

Many of Marvel’s Star Wars comic series so far take place in the Original Trilogy time period. Before information about The Force Awakens was public, Marvel was already doing all it could with its re-acquisition of the Star Wars brand, launching three ongoing series (Star Wars, Darth Vader, and Kanan), along with a succession of miniseries. The Princess Leia story picks up immediately after the end of A New Hope, touching on Leia’s feelings—or lack thereof—about the destruction of her home planet.

Although Rebel High Command wants her to keep a low profile, Leia makes it her mission to recruit surviving Alderaanians to the Rebel cause. They are in diaspora, but not all of the people she meets want to go to war. She’s helped by Evaan, a Rebel pilot with a not-so-favorable view of the woman she calls “ice princess.”

Buy Marvel's Princess Leia

0 BBY - Heir to the Jedi 

Written by Kevin Hearne

Heir to the Jedi was published right in the middle of the transition from Legends to new canon. Originally branded as part of the Empire & Rebellion series, along with Razor’s Edge and Honor Among Thieves, it alone of the three books in that series survived the cut-off. Kevin Hearne’s story explains how Luke learned the telekinesis he used in The Empire Strikes Back.

Since Obi-Wan never taught him that, someone had to encourage Luke to use the Force—and in Heir to the Jedi, it’s Nakari Kelen, a fellow Rebel pilot with whom Luke goes on a mission to retrieve a Rebel codebreaker.

Buy Heir to the Jedi

0 BBY - Marvel's Chewbacca 

Written by Gerry Duggan

Art by Phil Noto

Some time after the events of A New Hope, Chewbacca finds himself comfortably crash-landed on the planet Andelm IV. He’s willing to have a bit of a nap before beginning a leisurely search for parts for his ship, but there are other people on the planet who aren’t so relaxed.

A girl named Zarro and her father have been conscripted into working essentially as slaves in a mine run by a man who plans to profit off of the Empire. Chewie and Zarro hatch a plan to free her father in this fun, five-issue series with beautiful art by Phil Noto.

Buy Marvel's Chewbacca

0 BBY - The Weapon of a Jedi  

Written by Jason Fry

Prolific Star Wars writer Jason Fry tells a quintessential Luke story in The Weapon of a Jedi. A young Luke travels to Devaron on a hunch sent by the Force and discovers an ancient Jedi Academy where he can hone his skills—and where he fights with a lightsaber for the first time.

Although we don’t know for sure whether the Jedi Temple on Devaron will affect the Star Wars universe going forward, it’s Luke’s best canon example of a place where Jedi can go to learn, and maybe influenced the academy he eventually built in the New Republic. The book also features flash forwards to Jessika Pava, the Resistance pilot who flew with Poe Dameron at the battle of Starkiller Base.

Buy The Weapon of a Jedi

0 BBY - Marvel's Star Wars & Darth Vader 

Star Wars: Written by Jason Aaron, Art by John Cassaday et al

Darth Vader: Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Salvador Larroca

Some of the best—and more surprising—stories in the Marvel Star Wars line come out of the ongoing series, which occur concurrently and crossed over in their first big event, “Vader Down.” The series follows both heroes and villains of the Original Trilogy, including Luke’s earnest, enthusiastic slide into learning how to use his Jedi powers; Vader’s conflicted relationship with Emperor Palpatine and the Sith legacy of betrayal and competition; and Han’s maybe-wife Sana Solo. 

The longest-running Marvel Star Wars series so far are also the ones that most clearly show how Marvel is handling the core characters going forward, so check these out if you want to see what Luke, Han, and Leia are up to after A New Hope.

Darth Vader recently wrapped and it's easily one of the best stories to come out of the new EU so far. You NEED to read this series!

Buy Marvel's Star Wars

Buy Marvel's Darth Vader

0 BBY - Marvel's Doctor Aphra

Written by Kieron Gillen & Simon Spurrier

Art by Kev Walker et. al.

After becoming a breakout hit in the comics, Doctor Aphra became the first Star Wars character who never appeared in the movies to helm her own comic book series. Her title reveals her history, including her parents and how she became a rogue archeologist. 

Buy Marvel's Doctor Aphra

0 BBY - Smuggler’s Run 

Written by Greg Rucka

Smuggler’s Run is one in a series of three young reader books put out as part of the Journey to The Force Awakens line. Along with Weapon of a Jedi and Moving Target, Smuggler’s Run follows one member of the Original Trilogy trio and is bookended by scenes set in the Sequel Trilogy era.

This one focuses on Han Solo and Chewbacca balancing living the lawless life with their work for the Rebellion. Written by Greg Rucka, Smuggler’s Run shows Han as he reluctantly takes on a mission to save a Rebel scout from the Empire.

Buy Smuggler's Run

0 BBY-3 ABY - Marvel's Lando 

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Alex Maleev

Lando, written by Charles Soule, with art from Alex Maleev, shows the suave baron-administrator before he got his title. Lando thinks he has scored big when he plans to steal a valuable starship, but it turns out that the ship once belonged to Emperor Palpatine (and Darth Maul), and there are plenty of unpleasant Sithly surprises in store.

As well as featuring Lando himself, the comic has a lot of great supporting characters, including mysterious twin aliens and Lobot himself. Watching Lobot’s stoic expressions in The Empire Strikes Back will never be the same after reading this comic.

Buy Marvel's Lando

0-3 ABY - Marvel's Han Solo

Written by Marjorie Liu

Art by Mark Brooks

Buy Marvel's Han Solo

3 ABY - The Empire Strikes Back 

Directed by Irvin Kershner 

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & Leigh Brackett

Buy The Empire Strikes Back

4 ABY - Moving Target 

Written by Cecil Castellucci & Jason Fry

Leia’s installment of the Journey to The Force Awakens series follows her on a mission to distract the Empire from the Rebellion’s growing fleet—the fleet that will attack the second Death Star at Endor. Her team travels through various adventures in their effort to do that, while Leia weighs her feelings about duty against the idea that she might be sacrificing some Rebel sympathizers in order to buy time for others.

Like the other two Original Trilogy books in the line, Moving Target is a quintessential Star Wars story with a few connections to other parts of the saga. The flash forward involves PZ-4CO, the blue droid seen in the Resistance base in The Force Awakens, interviewing Leia for her memoirs.

Buy Moving Target

4 ABY - Return of the Jedi 

Directed by Richard Marquand

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & George Lucas

Buy Return of the Jedi

4 ABY - Marvel's Shattered Empire 

Written by Greg Rucka

Art by Marco Checchetto

The timeline between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is a bit sparse right now, with the Aftermath trilogy expected to fill up the years after Return of the Jedi. Another novel, Bloodline by Claudia Gray, due out in 2016, is set about six years before Episode VII.

However, Shattered Empire wastes no time in showing where Luke, Han, and Leia were immediately after Return of the Jedi, while also introducing Poe Dameron’s parents. Pilot Shara Bey and soldier Kes Dameron join the Original Trilogy heroes in mopping up what’s left of the Empire on Endor—and find some strange, Force-sensitive trees.

Buy Marvel's Shattered Empire

4 ABY - Alphabet Squadron

Written by Alexander Freed

This military novel is primarily concerned with the titular squadron, a bickering but charming group of Rebel sole survivors and ex-Imperials tasked with hunting down an elite TIE Fighter squadron. It’s one of the heavier books in the saga, not just because of the page count but because of the thorough look into the characters’ psychologies. (Thankfully, they are provided an in-universe therapist.)

It also earns its place on the timeline because it sits between the formation of the New Republic and the establishment of a truly stable galaxy. Characters like General Hera Syndulla show the struggle of former Rebels, whose lack of a central leadership helped them survive, as they adapt to being the dominant power in the galaxy. Alphabet Squadron is the first novel in a trilogy. 

4 ABY - Aftermath 

Written by Chuck Wendig

The first novel set after Return of the Jedi brings a new cast of characters to the story, Rebels who, with varying degrees of reluctance, find themselves embroiled with a meeting of the surviving Imperial officers. Remember Rae Sloane? She’s back, as an admiral this time—and she has her own plans for how to restore the Empire to both greatness and stability.

Aftermath also stars Norra Wexley, an X-Wing pilot who fought at the Battle of Endor. She has become estranged from her son Temmin, who will one day become “Snap” Wexley of The Force Awakens’ Resistance fighters, and recruits him, plus a bounty hunter and an Imperial deserter, on a quest to find her missing husband. Aftermath is followed by two sequels, Life Debt and Empire’s End.

Buy Aftermath

5 ABY - Aftermath: Life Debt

Written by Chuck Wendig

Buy Aftermath: Life Debt

5 ABY - Aftermath: Empire's End

Written by Chuck Wendig

Buy Aftermath: Empire's End

7 ABY - Last Shot

Written by Daniel Jose Older

After years of friendship, Han and Lando reminisce about getting older while facing the same old trouble these two always seem to get into. This is a must-have tie-in novel to Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Buy Last Shot

28 ABY - Bloodline

Written by Claudia Gray

Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray gives a clearer picture of the state of the galaxy before The Force Awakens than any other new canon entry. The New Republic has been standing strong for almost thirty years, and the events in the novel tips things toward the chaotic scenario we saw in Episode VII.

Buy Bloodline

28 ABY - Phasma

Written by Delilah S. Dawson

The history of the First Order's feared enforcer is revealed secondhand through a Resistance spy interrogated by the First Order. The Phasma novel explores the irradiated planet Parnassos and the way Phasma first met Brendol Hux, shedding some light on the premier stormtrooper without explaining everything behind the mask. 

Buy Phasma

28 ABY - "The Perfect Weapon" 

Written by Delilah S. Dawson

"The Perfect Weapon" by Delilah S. Dawson was the first short story to feature one of the new characters from The Force Awakens. Like the young reader books listed earlier, it’s part of the Journey to the Force Awakens line and was released as an ebook and excerpted in Star Wars Insider #163.

Bazine Netal, the woman who informs the First Order of the Resistance fighters’ presence at Maz Kanata’s castle, works as a bouncer and hired gun in this story. It doesn’t take place at the same time as The Force Awakens or particularly illuminates Bazine’s actions during the movie, but if you’re interested in her from the few glimpses in The Force Awakens, it might be worth checking out.

Buy "The Perfect Weapon"

28 ABY - "Bait" 

Written by Alan Dean Foster for Star Wars Insider #162

The Star Wars Insider story that ties most closely with The Force Awakens so far is also tied to "The Perfect Weapon." "Bait" follows Grummgar, the alien seen lounging with Bazine in Maz Kanata’s palace. Like "The Perfect Weapon," it takes place at an unspecified time before the movie and shows a hunting trip that doesn't quite go as expected.

28 ABY - Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens 

Written by Landry Q. Walker

Although four of the stories in this collection were released as e-books, six of them, all by Landry Q. Walker, are only available in this collection. The anthology tells selected tales from the lives of the denizens of Maz Kanata’s palace, including the Jakku lawman Constable Zuvio and the red-masked Crimson Corsair. The stories follow in the tradition of Legends' "Tales" anthologies that were set in the Original Trilogy and have some surprising connections to the Prequels.

Buy Tales from Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens

34 ABY - Marvel's Poe Dameron

Written by Charles Soule

Art by Phil Noto

Before he destroyed Starkiller Base, ace Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was already taking on missions from General Leia and fighting the good fight against the First Order. This comic book series shows what Poe was up to before he met Lor San Tekka on Jakku. 

Buy Marvel's Poe Dameron

34 ABY - Marvel's C-3PO Special

Written by James Robinson

Art by Tony Harris

Want to know what was up with Threepio's red arm in The Force Awakens? This touching one-shot tells the story of a droid adventure for the ages that is surprisingly full of emotion. Who knew droids could feel so much?

Buy Marvel's C-3PO Special

34 ABY - Before the Awakening 

Written by Greg Rucka

There’s something to be said about not having to answer every question about a large science fiction universe in a movie, but for people who have questions about The Force Awakens, this is the book that answers them.

How did Poe Dameron become part of the Resistance? What was life actually like for Finn in the First Order stormtrooper corps, and why does he make his decision on Jakku? When did Rey hone her piloting skills? Before the Awakening answers all of these questions, as well as tell three fun stories suitable for young readers.

Buy Before the Awakening

34 ABY - Resistance

Created by Dave Filoni

Overlapping with The Force Awakens, Resistance follows former New Republic pilot Kaz Xiono on a mission to discover a First Order spy on a floating platform where starship racers rule the roost. Kaz is joined by the aspiring pilot Tam and quirky Neeku in the mechanics’ shop run by deadpan ex-racer Jarek Yeager. Poe Dameron, BB-8, General Hux, and Captain Phasma make cameos in this laid-back Star Wars romp, which might be best for the younger set who aren’t ready for Rebels.

34 ABY - The Force Awakens 

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, & J.J. Abrams

Buy The Force Awakens

34 ABY - Marvel's Captain Phasma

Written by Kelly Thompson

Art by Marco Chechetto, Andres Mossa 

Set immediately after The Force Awakens, Captain Phasma follows the titular stormtrooper captain out of the trash compactor in which she was imprisoned at the end of Episode VII. She quickly finds her way to an inhospitable planet in pursuit of Sol Rivas, a First Order lieutenant and the only person who knows that Phasma lowered Starkiller Base's shield. The comic shows how Phasma escaped and some of the tough choices she had to make in the aftermath.

Buy Marvel's Captain Phasma

34 ABY - Canto Bight

Written by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, John Jackson Miller 

The Canto Bight novella collection includes four stories set in the lavish casino city from The Last Jedi. Its varied visitors include a down-on-his-luck gambler, a casino servant, and a salesman who won a trip to the city. 

Buy Canto Bight

34 ABY - The Last Jedi 

Directed by Rian Johnson

Written by Rian Johnson 

Buy The Last Jedi on Amazon

34 ABY - Resistance Reborn

Written by Rebecca Roanhorse

Leia Organa called for allies at the very end of The Last Jedi, and this novel, the first set after Episode VIII, shows who answered. Characters from across the Expanded Universe reappear for a who's who of current Star Wars. It also takes a look at the more banal side of the war, showing a middle manager in the First Order instead of a wartime villain at the helm of a starship. Resistance Reborn's heroes and villains are no less heroic or villainous for trying to survive in their day-to-day lives (and in Poe Dameron's case, trying to deal with his interpersonal complications). 

35 ABY - The Rise of Skywalker

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio

Megan Crouse writes about Star Wars and pop culture for StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider, and Den of Geek. Read more of her work here. Find her on Twitter @blogfullofwords.

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.

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Megan Crouse John Saavedra

Nov 13, 2019

Star Wars

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[writingmaniacnerdart]

Resurrected Repartee: A Hallowed Shapes AU Chapter 7 - Mind and Body

These are alternative scenes and/or snippets of a developing relationship between my OC and Loki from my original fiction, Hallowed Shapes, for any shippers out there.

Basic Concept: Terra Barloc is a member of Damage Control, an organization that cleans up super messes, and frankly, all of them are kind of tired of cliches and super bulls***t. She has abilities to see “life energy” as she calls it, in the forms of symbols, and through lies and facades. That means shape-shifting and tricking her can be well, tricky. Plus, she’s addicted to caffeine, painkillers don’t have much of an affect on her, and she can’t get drunk.

What happens the first time when she meets Loki, Prince of Asgard? Well, he was invading Earth and…She tackled him, insulted him, and uh, it’s best just to read. Let’s just say these two have issues, massive issues.

So getting them into a romance, is going to be a bit of an adventure.

Terra knew her head was nodding off at some point, but had forgotten when until her head hit the desk and she sat up, shouting, whilst falling out of her chair, “En garde vegemite!”

Finding herself on the floor face first, she groaned, “Ow.”

Yep, it really had been a typical week at Damage Control.

“Terra? Why are you still here?”

Oh great, it was Loki. Wait, why was Loki here? “Could ask...Same, you.”

There was a pause. “...Terra, when was the last time you slept?”

Er, “Sleep, for weak?”

“I can’t tell if you’re trying to say if ‘sleep is for the weak’, or if you haven’t slept for a week.”

She hesitated. “Both? I think?” Moaning she slapped her face and dumped some more ice-cold water on her head, yelping and ignoring Loki’s frantic cry. Shivering and blowing a raspberry, she checked her watch, her vision was still slightly blurry. “Huh, make that eight days. Got paperwork to do.”

Terr got up then, wobbling as her knee hit the desk with a heavy, loud, thud.

“Ow.”

With that, she took another swig of her overly caffeinated Death Wish coffee and feeling more awake, began working again. To her surprise, she found Loki promptly taking away her pen, setting it on the desk, then picking her up, and carrying her away. Before she could utter a word, her took her phone from her pocket, and was talking to her boss.

“Ms. Chapel, are you aware that Ms. Barloc is still at work?”

“WHAT?!” Oh crap. “SHE’S STILL SUPPOSED TO BE ON SICK LEAVE!”

Huh, she was? “Whoops?”

“Mr. Friggason, you have my express permission, and on behalf of Lenny Ballinger, also known as her father, to get her home, and send her to bed! Please keep in mind what will happen if you push any boundaries though.”

“Yes, I understand completely and-” he paused. “Did you just call me Friggason?”

A new voice came on the line. “We understand that you dislike both of your...Supposed fathers’ names, but that you at least respect and care for your adoptive mother. Should we choose something else?”

The prince shook his head although only Terra could see him, “No, Friggason is, acceptable.”

“Treat her well. And Terr Bear, get rest.”

“Yeah Lenny,” she yawned, leaning her head against Loki’s shoulder, her vision too blurry to see his expression. “See you in the morning.”

“Try afternoon, it’s already morning.”

Her brain was too foggy to think. Or speak. Or…

When she woke again, they were outside her apartment, and Loki was talking to someone. It was Raoul. They sounded, concerned? She was too tired to open her eyes though, and she couldn’t move even if she tried. Utterly paralyzed, she tried not to listen, but she ended up hearing anyways.

“...She saved my life you know. There was a vampire hunter after me. She was scared, terrified. A strange man in her newly bought apartment and all, and with her past? But, she still confronted me, tried to give me the benefit of the doubt and, she was kind even when afraid. She was a kid then, this scrawny thing. She didn’t ask for anything, she didn’t want anything from me, so the most I can do is guard her home,” Raoul said.

Terra felt a hair pushed back.

“But even nowadays she doesn’t sleep, nor does she...I’m worried that someday, she’s going to break, and in more ways than we’ll ever understand, that she won’t come back from,” Raoul admitted. “I know she’s mortal, that they all fall, but...There are some you can’t help but want to keep safe.”

Loki was quiet, “What was she like as a child?”

There was a chuckle, “This kid was one hell of a trickster. She pranked everyone. She was rebellious, and merciless. She cursed a lot too, unless Lenny was around. Even then she found ways to curse in other languages. She was clever, but severely anti-social. Not to mention a bit of a daredevil...Sometimes we wondered if she was suicidal honestly. But, she was also really caring. Do you know what tsundere is? She was one of those. She acted tough, but had a soft heart.”

His tone turned remorseful, “But, there were also moments that she seemed, far older than she should have been. I don’t mean her eyes, you know how they glow and have that ancient feel to them? I mean, like she has experiences that made her older than she should be. She was only a teen but, she felt so much older, even to a vampire like me, and I’m centuries old. I can’t recall how many times she’s given me advice.”

“So, she has always been brazen?”

“Oh, she’s fairly humble...Yet I think she’s outward and speaks when she knows there’s something that needs to be said,” Raoul stated. “She’s not afraid to speak her mind because, she does her best to be honest, even when she’s afraid.” He suddenly burst in silent, hiccuping laughter. “You should’ve seen it, the short girl bossing around three giant men wielding weapons covered in blood and leather...Somehow she was still frightening enough that we listened though and lowered our weapons, and she didn’t have to use her powers. I swear, nobody, and I mean nobody, was going to question that little girl’s authority in that moment, even when she was wearing frilly pink pajamas.”

There was a sigh, “Anyways, you should get her to bed. I’m just surprised she’s slept for this long. Normally she’s up and screaming by now.”

“...Up and screaming?”

Terra didn’t have to see to know her friend was frowning, “She has nightmares. Her past haunts her, and the ones who hurt her...I don’t know how much has been divulged to you and it’s not my place even if she doesn’t keep it a secret, but Terra’s powers? She’s a mutate, and those abilities were forced onto her without her consent when she was a child through unnatural means. The trauma from it follows her, as do the death and scars from it. Ask if you want, but keep in mind what such questions may do.”

Wait, were they all hiding her past from other people. No wonder everyone was so bloody confused! But, it wasn’t as if she could just tell everyone. Just imagining telling everyone she knew made her stomach growl, making her feel ill. The men became quiet then, both groaning.

“When was the last time she ate?” Oh right, she was also hungry. And for some reason, her consciousness was separate from her body as the latter began acting on its own. She instinctively began mumbling while nibbling Loki’s ear and part of his neck. Raoul began laughing, clapping his hands. “And I thought I was supposed to be the vampire!”

“Help me,” Loki grumbled, yelping a little as Terra bit him, leaving more than a hickey mark. Inside, her mind was screaming in mortification. Gently prying her off, there was a movement and Raoul let out a cry of pain. Terra guessed that the prince stomped on Raoul’s foot. “You, make food. And I’ll, put her in bed.”

“I’m a vampire, you think I remember how to make mortal food?”

“I’m a god and royalty, do you think I know how to make food?”

At a standstill, Raoul sighed, “Okay, she has several cookbooks in there. Some are way too advanced for either one of us, but if needed, she has a laptop in there. I have a password to one of the spare accounts. I can find the recipe to something simple...Like broth or soup. I think she’s mentioned that’s good for people with weakened immune systems or stuff like that.”

“Fine, just don’t poison her.” Terra was screwed. So very screwed. She could sense the prince looking at her apartment as they entered with Raoul’s spare key. “It’s...Very spacious in here.”

“Yep, she spends most of her time at the office and isn’t much of someone to keep personal stuff. Well, besides movies or reading maybe. I’ve been in her room a couple of times. The first time was when she caught the flu. Ballinger, her dad, had to be called in for an emergency shift and asked me to watch her. The second time she had been stabbed in the eyes at the Xavier Institute and needed to recover. She learned how to live being blind for a few good months, but it wasn’t easy at first.”

Terry found herself feeling the atmosphere of her room, and heard Loki inhale. “She’s...Got glow-in-the-dark stars in here?”

“...She hates the dark. She’s, claustrophobic and-”

“Haphephobic,” Loki finished, as though recalling a memory, his grip loosening on her sightly as he laid her onto the bed. “Everything about her home is, spacious.”

She heard his footsteps as he glanced around, fingering her books carefully. Raoul spoke then, “She wouldn’t mind if you borrowed them you know. She lets kids, and me, read them. Heck, some een stole them. She was disappointed, but...I think she’s happier when someone reads them.”

“There’s no dust,” Loki commented. “She takes good care of them.”

Raoul was probably shrugging even as she heard clattering from the kitchen, though he struggled to muffle it. “I think, she finds sanctuary in them. They’re a safe place. So if others find safe places in them, even if it hurts her, she doesn’t want anyone else to feel as she once had.”

The prince stopped moving. “...What happened to her?”

Terr could hear Raoul swallow. “That’s not my story to tell. But, I’ll just say for now that some bad people got to her, and people like her when she was younger.”

She fought her body to wake up, but her stomach only growled louder. There were sudden clattering noises in the kitchen and she heard the clicking noises of her oven combined with water from the sink being turned on. Something akin to vegetables to being cooked.

“How is this mortal even alive?” Loki grumbled.

“To quote a famous sorceress, ‘Sheer dumb luck’,” Raoul remarked.

Terry finally found strength in her body to move. Well, kind of. “Why does my head hurt?”

“You nearly impaled upon your work desk,” Loki explained.

Her body reacted before her mind did, leaping into the air. What the hell was wrong with her?! Loki caught her then, and her body tensed, she screeched, kicking him and punching him in the nose as her vision came back. He groaned in pain as Raoul laughed, getting an ice pack from the freezer and handing it to the prince.

Terra moved quickly to aid him, quickly stuttering out apologies as her senses tried to put everything together, but then her limbs and abdomen her, causing her to pull into a fetal position on the ground as her eyes flickered, burning green flames as she cried out in pain. Suddenly, both men reached for her, Raoul touching her forehead.

“Shit Terra, you have a fever. Prince Loki, can you grab some more ice packs from the freezer? We need to cool her body down,” the vampire exclaimed. The prince moved without hesitating and Raoul picked her up, placing her on the bed once more, “Child, why do you do this?”

As she fell back into slumber, memories of the past plagued her and Terr couldn’t help but think of how much she truly hated her mind and body.

This is NOT a canon scene from my fanfiction, but if it was, it would likely take place in Hallowed Shapes: Wednesday, between Chapter 21:Piece of Mind and Chapter 22: Moon Child.

Terra Barloc + sleep deprivation = bad.

The Beta Reader asked for something kinky...Lo and behold, Loki, vampires, and nom noms. Happy?

PS  One of my Beta Readers really liked the idea of shipping Loki with my OC even though they’re not canon in my fanfiction, Hallowed Shapes.We’re friends and while I didn’t get it at first, I’m not against anyone shipping said character with other fictional characters as long as everything’s consensual and/or healthy relationship-wise. Heck, I’m a little supportive because Loki’s literally gender-fluid and both characters are LGBT (neither are straight) even if I don’t directly ship them.So, that being said, I originally wrote these alternative scenes of my story for their birthday.

[claeriekavanaugh]

Intro: What is your name, what do you write, and where can readers find you on social media? And just for fun, if you could be any mythical being or creature, who or what would you be?

Hello, I’m M. K. Wiseman and I’ve found my groove penning YA historical fantasy (a short hop over from my steampunk entry into the publishing world.) Social-wise, I positively live over on Twitter but also have more recently discovered the fun that is Instagram and Pinterest. My handle on all three is @FaublesFables – come say “hi!”

As for a mythical being or creature: dragon all the way! (Closer to the Japanese concept of the beast, however, than the European idea.)

In the past, you’ve written steampunk and your most recent release is a Christian fantasy. Which do you like more and what drew you to each genre?

The kind of historical fantasy I write and steampunk are, for me, sort of one and the same…? (Is that a cheat answer?) Clearing that up a bit: for my fantasies, I simply adore writing from the corner where the premise is that maybe maybe history, as written, has simply erased the magical side of the story. That’s a pretty ‘steampunk’ way to see things, I think. Overall, what I write is largely similar in flavor due to it coming from ‘reader me’ + my particular world view. I like to read “clean” fiction—a.k.a. anything 9-year-old me would have read without blushing. And a part of me has always burned with the desire to use my writing to do “good” in the world.

More pointedly to your question, the Christian fantasy genre is an interesting demographic of stories. It’s a very wide, if sometimes very specific, genre. For example, in “Bookminder” there is no Christ allegory (a la C. S. Lewis’s Narnia books.) But I have made a concentrated effort to put a Catholic priest as a character in books 1 and 2 of the trilogy, simply because that is a part of my life and I want it “in” my world building—specifically as the story occurs in a real time and place where religion would have impacted the lives of wizards such as Nagarath and Liara.

YA is such a wide-open category. What type of YA do you enjoy the most and why?

I love good, clean, (old fashioned?) YA fantasy. Give me a story between 80-120K words where I can escape from Here and Now but still get a relevant message to take “home” with me when I close the cover and I am so there. I prefer an omni narrator. (Yep, this reader is out of fashion and I don’t care!) I like puzzles, riddles, and songs so long as they aren’t ‘check the box’ included into the story. Also, I want a magic system that checks out. (Tolkien, you get a ‘Pass’ on this last, because you are a class unto yourself).

Le Guin’s Earthsea books, L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time, any of Brian Jacques’ Redwall stories—all are swoon-worthy reads over and over for me.

Do you find there are central themes or elements that are unique to your books? (For example, are you drawn to anti-heroes, antagonists, certain settings etc.) Why do those things stand out to you?

Character-wise, I absolutely adore a broken hero. I still wish Hamlet had found a happy end, you know? (Watch this space, wink wink.)

But, per my love of alternate history or, more specifically, ‘hidden histories,’ I really like to write about places you can actually go visit. Which makes research a beast, more often than not. The moon phases in The Bookminder? They’re accurate as I can make them. My Google search history is the typical author landmine of discovery to the unwary.

What inspired your book?

In 2004 I just so happened to have a very vivid splash of a dream. Just one scene. Short, but poignant and mysterious. I was recovering from a major surgery at that time, so I had a lot of down time to ponder a.) who the girl was in my dream, b.) what she was doing . . . Something clicked in my head as “this is important” and that’s essentially where I began writing The Bookminder from. Just one little scene; one odd thought. The “books/library” through line actually comes from my job in collection preservation at the time. The real history and places all crept in later.

What is the book about?

Ah, The Question; every author’s nightmare. (Does it show that I am currently working on cover copy for the blurb of Book 2?) Totally kidding, here goes:

The Bookminder is, at its heart, the story of Liara of Dvigrad (town in 17th century Istria) who was conceived via magick when the town is attacked, casualty of a larger conflict. Nearly 17 years later, she’s kicked out of the village (ostensibly for thieving but actually due to her magickal tendencies) and immediately takes up with the local wizard, Nagarath. He, of course, has publicly promised not to apprentice her—having reasons of his own for such an edict. Needless to say, this does not sit well with Liara and, well, the rest you just have to read for yourself, yes?

What are the characters like?

I’ve had folks say Liara acts every inch a petulant teenager. To which I say “thank you!” Because she absolutely is. And she believes herself entitled to all the grand plans she’s formed in her head.

In contrast, we have Nagarath. Self-hermited away to the quiet Limska Draga valley, he just wants to retire (at the grand old age of 28) in peace and work whatever magicks he feels like doing at whatever pace he wants. He is, in effect, hiding from the world that Liara wants to conquer. And he’s a huge bookworm. And a bit absentminded.

These two . . . I’m still not sure if I intended for them to drive each other bonkers but I have grand fun orchestrating their interactions. In the end, each is quite good for the other, though.

What is/are one or two pieces of advice that you learned from publishing your earlier books that you wish you had known before you started?

Editing is hard. Don’t fall in love with your words, a specific turn of phrase here and there. But absolutely fight for what you know deep down you must keep. The give and take line? Where that lies is a bit tougher to explain. It’s an instinct you develop, especially if you’re lucky enough to work with the same team each time around.

Publishing is a long game. Years. Thousands upon thousands of words—many of which get tossed in the putting-to-print of the “good stuff” (see editing comment above). You hear it over and over, come in prepared for the long haul and yet it still comes as a surprise how long things can take.

Traditional or self-publishing? Why?

For me, traditional. I’ve landed with an exceptional publisher who has great instinct and wonderful folks. They get me out of my head when I’m too close to a project, something I’d have a hard time doing on my own. And, on my gosh, considering how much non-writing takes up my time already, I’d not want to have more on my plate. But I know both are great options for authors. The benefits and drawbacks of each are really dependent on one’s work style/process.

What do you think authors can do to help make editors and publishers interested in their manuscripts?

Keep writing. Don’t rush it. Be patient with your story. Your characters are people, treat them as such. (Okay, that is quite possibly the oddest thing I have said with regards writing. You’re welcome?) Be authentic. Be available. Be open to critique but also have that backbone when your instinct kicks in. Gosh this is getting advice-y, isn’t it? But I cannot leave off without adding: Read. Read widely.

This is random but fun one, if you could pick any time period to live in, when would you live and why?

This is actually a tough question because I tend to be hyper practical when it comes to such things. (And am a Whovian who has dreamed widely on this very topic.) While living further back in time would be interesting, I don’t know how I’d do without indoor plumbing at the least. I’ve said recently that far far distant future might be interesting. Kinda goes with my tendency to read ahead.

What is one book you think every YA writer should read at least once?

I’d say Katherine Paterson’s “Bridge to Terabithia” is a must.

If you can read it young, let it sit for years and then go back to it, even better!

Thanks for the great interview M.K! Check out her books and don’t forget to say hi on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest @FaublesFables!

If you liked this post, please scroll to the top of the page and type in your email to follow my blog and get an update every time I post new content. I have authors of all genres coming on my blog to interview in the coming weeks! Don’t miss it!

As always, keep making magic, word weavers!

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4 Tips for Changing Genres Within Young Adult

When I first started writing—really writing—I was in eighth grade. I wrote longhand, in cursive, on notebook paper. My first “novel” was about a boy with wings who crashed in the woods, and he was captured and imprisoned at a nearby research laboratory. (Because they always have those in the middle of the woods.) This story was brilliantly titled “Flyboy,” after the main character. Flyboy.

I can’t believe I’m admitting that in public.

This guest post is by BRIGID KEMMERER. Kemmerer is the author of LETTERS TO THE LOST (Bloomsbury; April 4, 2017), a dark, contemporary Young Adult romance; THICKER THAN WATER (Kensington, December 29, 2015), a New Adult paranormal mystery with elements of romance; and the YALSA-nominated Elemental series of five Young Adult novels and three e-novellas which Kirkus Reviews calls “refreshingly human paranormal romance” and School Library Journal describes as “a new take on the supernatural genre.” She lives in the Baltimore area with her husband and four sons. You can visit her at www.brigidkemmerer.com.

But I digress. Bottom line: From the moment I first put pen to paper, I’ve always loved writing about the fantastic. My first novel (well, my first published novel, Flyboy aside) was Storm, which came out in 2012. The ensuing series of books follows a family of four orphaned brothers who control the elements of earth, air, fire, and water, all while dealing with the normal trials and tribulations of high school. Fantasy, paranormal, magic, you name it: I love it.

That said, the more I wrote, the more I realized that I really loved writing about people most of all. In the Elemental series, the Merrick brothers can control the elements, and I have some awesome scenes with fire and earthquakes, but my favorite parts of the books are when the brothers are truly being teen boys, and learning to deal with themselves, each other, and the outside world. I love writing (and thinking) about how human beings interact, and how the challenge of growing up can eclipse everything else, even paranormal abilities. So when it was time to put together a new proposal for my agent, I tossed around some ideas and started writing Letters to the Lost, my first contemporary YA.

Making the shift from paranormal to contemporary seemed challenging at first, but when I really broke it down to look at what would need to change in my own writing, it wasn’t as big of a jump as I anticipated. Here are four things I needed to consider:

POINT OF VIEW

My paranormal YA novels are all written in close third-person past tense, while my contemporary YA novels are written in first-person present tense. Both alternate POV between a boy and a girl, but the voices feel vastly different. If you’re looking to make a change and write something new, changing your POV can be a way to help your brain work in an entirely new headspace.

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CONFLICT

When writing paranormal or fantasy, you can have a lot of external conflict that’s not rooted in reality. It’s another layer of world-building to keep track of, which can be more complicated, but it’s also easy to throw in an explosion or a paranormal event if you need to break up the monotony of everyday life. In contemporary YA, everything is grounded and real. Conflict must be organic and natural for each character. When you look at the primary points of conflict in your everyday life, consider what sparks disagreements. I always visually consider my characters as moving toward goals that never precisely align. In Letters to the Lost, Declan feels like a reject who’s judged for one huge mistake he made, while Juliet feels like she can’t get her life back together because she’s still dealing with the trauma of her mother’s death. They’re both working to find themselves, but in vastly different ways, and sometimes their methods of healing and growth collide. While I’m generally a “pantser,” meaning I don’t work with a detailed plot outline before writing, I find a rough outline to be much more helpful when I’m writing contemporary. There’s just no option to throw in a firefight if your plot gets stuck.

WORLD-BUILDING

When writing paranormal or fantasy, you’ve got an entire world in your head, and you need to keep track of rules for magic, special powers, prophecies, or whatever system you’ve put in place. What’s great is that if something stops working, you can change it, because you’re in control of that system. In contemporary, you need to work within the confines of our society. Our rules are (generally) pretty established. In Letters to the Lost, Declan is a 17-year-old boy who’s serving community service after getting drunk and crashing his car. In the book, I have him driving all over the place, and it didn’t occur to me until after the book was written that most states will revoke a minor’s driver’s license if they’re convicted of a DUI. I have to work within our rules and laws, and sometimes that can make things more complicated. (Considering in a paranormal novel I probably could have had him glamour a judge or even escape conviction altogether.)

NARRATIVE ARC

Generally, when I write YA of any flavor, I want my protagonists to start the story looking at the world through the eyes of a child (i.e., “All the adults/events in my life are having an impact on me, and I have little agency to control them”), but should have a journey through the story to where they end the book viewing the world through the eyes of an adult (i.e., “I do have an effect on everything around me, and we are all interconnected parts of one larger community”). When writing paranormal/fantasy, this arc will be woven through (around?) fantastic elements, too. Sometimes the paranormal elements will be the basis of this arc (a teen learning to control their powers, a teen figuring out their role in a family of magicians, a teen witch discovering whether they will be good or bad, etc.). In a contemporary story, this arc must again be organic and grounded in reality.

Those are my top four considerations. Have you jumped between genres? What else do you typically consider? Which genres do you find easier to write?

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from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/4-tips-changing-genres-within-young-adult