#yes Reggie learns to bake cookies just so he can always make her star cookies

[innytoes]

Happy birthday @invisibleraven

The problem with soulmate dreams was that they could be so damn vague. Reggie dreamed of stars. Stars, and sparkles, supernovas he could get lost in, warm sparkling glitter he could trail his fingers through, that tinkled like piano notes when he touched them. He always woke up feeling warm, and happy, and loved.

Well, at least it was better than Alex, who dreamed of crashes. No wonder the poor guy had anxiety.

Sometimes, Reggie wondered if his true love was an astronaut. But then, what astronaut would want a schmuck like him, walking dogs while trying to get their band off the ground. For a short while, he thought for sure the handsome baker at the coffee shop was his true love, his soulmate. Why else would he always put little star sprinkles on his donuts? Until he introduced Reggie to his wife, Estrella.

Reggie kind of gave up after that. He didn’t want to mess up again and lose something more important than a great coffee shop because he was too embarrassed to go back. What if his next not-soulmate worked at the music store and he got it in his head they were the one because they got a tattoo with a star, or something?

It was going to happen when it was going to happen, he thought. That’s how soulmates worked. No point worrying about it.

So he wasn’t looking anymore, that New Year’s Eve. They’d booked a killer gig in the Trevor Wilson’s mansion. Sadly, as Reggie discovered on Instagram, Trevor Wilson himself wasn’t going to be there, off at some Hollywood party, but his daughter’s band was doing a thing too and Alex loved them from the second Reggie showed him the videos.

So they played their gig, and Alex danced along to Dirty Candi, and apparently he was so enthusiastic they were invited to stay instead of having to scram before midnight. Hey, who were they to turn that down? So Alex got to dance and Luke got to gape at all the pretty guitars hung on the wall and Reggie got to... well, he wasn’t sure yet. He avoided the drinks stations with actual real life mixologists, though he did score some wicked awesome snacks. There didn’t seem to be a dog or a cat he could befriend (his go-to at parties), so he made his way outside. He bet the view of the fireworks would be killer out here. Rich people probably had all kinds of illegal stuff, and you could see pretty far along the coast from here.

Two girls were messing around with sparklers outside, trying to make a heart with them while the other took their picture. Then they swapped. Reggie tried not to be a creep, but he did crane his neck just a little to see how it had turned out on the girl with the braids’ phone.

Except she caught him, and pointed at him. He was about to stammer an apology, when she said: “Hey, pretty boy, can you take our picture?”

“Oh, uh, sure!” he said, fumbling as she shoved the phone at him. He waited until they both lit their sparklers again, and grinned when they each made half a heart. “That was awesome!” he called, showing them the picture. “You nailed it on the first try.”

The girls high-fived. The one with the curly hair bit her lip, smiling. “In that case, we have some sparklers left over. You want one?”

Alex would kill him for playing with fireworks. He wanted to say he was banned after The Firecracker Incident when they were fourteen, but it was just a sparkler, right? Besides, he wanted to look cool in front of these cute girls. “Sure!”

He took a sparkler, beaming when the girl lighted her own first, holding it out for Reggie to light his.

When their sparklers touched, Reggie... well, later he would say that he saw stars. All of a sudden he felt warm, and happy, and loved. All of a sudden, he understood all his soulmate dreams. All of a sudden, he didn’t just see stars, he felt them, inside of him, sparkling and shining and burning bright like a supernova. 

He looked up at the girl in front of him, so beautiful in the fading glow of their sparklers. “It’s you,” he breathed.

“You’re... you’re my soulmate,” she whispered, before flinging herself at him, catching him in a hug. He hugged her back, laughing, spinning her around, feeling the stars bubbling up inside him, dancing around them, her giggle tinkling like piano notes.

Now that he understood his soulmate dreams, he wouldn’t have them any other way. Julie was his star, burning bright, guiding him home, making him feel warm, and happy, and loved. She was his soulmate.

[nicknellie]

For sure, as I (believe) mentioned before music is Luke’s way of showing that he cares (Julie with bright ect) so it would make the most sense for him to be the only one who sings it to Alex.

Oh no, I was thinking that however I’m just now picturing it in my head like the last verse is just Luke because the other boys are crying so hard and Luke is as well but he needs to finish the song because Alex has to know.

Precisely, although the band wouldn’t be the same without one of them (they literally changed band names when they added Julie) it’s hard for any of them to think that they matter as much as they do.

Yes, I think that as well although Luke never intends for it to happen he is usually either the reason why fight starts are involved in them. Mostly due to the fact that as you said he is headstrong, and while I do think that he open minded sometimes with his opinions it takes longer for him to consider the other side (Him telling Julie that she needs to get back into the music program ect).

Although with Willie for Alex we see him sometimes being able to stand up for himself I feel like when it comes to his bandmates he sometimes may not have that back bone mostly because in the back of his head he’s afraid that they will kick him out. (Not that they really did anything that Alex needs to call them out for however just in general)

Depending on which fic you’re talking about I might have read it as well, but I’ve seen theories/stories about that as well.

Honestly I keep thinking that the boys met each other rather young however I completely agree, for a few years Bobby just didn’t have a lot of friends

Sadness, I’ve also saw a comment somewhere in which someone mentioned that for the boys stuff to be in the garage it was Bobby who probably put it there and that’s upsetting. (Poor Bobby)

Just randomly he sees one of Alex’s jigsaws and their random hobbies and he burst into more tears (could possibly be were he thinks that using the songs would be a good thing)

I can just see Reggie trying to lure Alex into a wild goose case just because he’s trying to get him confused (Alex is more so concerned but just moves on) Yes, that exactly how Bobby and Luke react. Also they can’t really lie to Alex so they won’t make eye contact with him, which is how Alex is able to tell that Bobby isn’t truthful.

Exactly, that’s what I was thinking as well! Bobby looks calm however he’s able to deck someone if needed, honestly after a while people just know not to mess with him however Luke still comes as a surprise because he acts like a puppy.

Wait yes!! Reggie learned art from his grandad (also partly where his love of country music comes from but none of the boys know why he started writing country music) (Luke always tries to get him to stop writing them however whenever Reggie is feeling sad they tend to play his grandads favorite country song which is the only one that Luke will accept)

Wait yes!! I was thinking the exact same thing, I could just see him taking a picture and then painting it. Reggie just makes paintings of all of them but as Luke is the most photogenic a majority of them is of him.

Yes, comfort music and poetry (also comfort baking especially for Reggie because Alex can’t say no to Reggie even though he once requested a Han Solo cake)

Precisely! For a bit of time the boys would be concerned just because they associated Alex baking with him being stressed (even if Alex says it’s nothing if they wake up and the garage smells like someone has been baking they know). I actually remember reading this fic that basically had Alex make cookies and then give them to a random stranger (Willie) and your idea kind of reminded me of that. But yes, and Alex is such a god baker that although the boys need him to go to sleep immediately they don’t protest to the immense amount of baked goods.

Completely, Reggie doesn’t seem tired however he is so active that the boys just know. (Possibly could’ve been when he thought that fixing his amp in the rain was a good idea).

Oh wait yes, and there’s no in between either just those two and Alex is always prepared.

If Trevor and Mitch were close then it definitely would’ve been easier for Trevor to help him make the charity. (It took Emily and Mitch a bit of time to recognize where they knew Trevor from because unlike the boys they weren’t able to pinpoint him immediately)

They definitely saw the boys as their sons, (depending on the time line) when Alex ran away he went to them first and Emily was one of the first adults (soon after Bobby) who Alex came out to.

Honestly I was thinking that for a bit of time Trevor wouldn’t announce who he was however I think your theory makes a lot more sense and I prefer it. Also I do feel like they could’ve been neglectful but Sunset Curve found a family within each other so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been that they didn’t have the best parents.

It’s the only logical explanation that she’s Julie’s mom and if she isn’t then there has to be a reason for her character outside of a worker you know. (I’ve seen some theories where they say that Caleb is behind their murder so if that’s the direction that they take and if she’s supposed to be like a spy for his club I will rage)

Yes, basically everyone thanks Rose because she is amazing.

Honestly I have quite a bit that I expect from season two but I just really hope that they touch upon those story lines also developed and spend more time on their characters (Flynn and Willie deserved better). I’d love flashbacks like that as well, and going along with your theory kind of like in unsaid Emily as the song is continuing and all the sudden we get like a flashback scene (how they did it) that’s what they should do, if the boys sit down and tell Julie about their past.

He is such a family man, honestly if anything I just don’t really feel like they developed Trevor enough to tell what he is like as a parent however I just don’t see him as someone who doesn’t care because he had quite a few examples of not so great parents growing up, (not being supportive, neglectful, not accepting their kid and fighting in front of them jus to name a few) that he never wanted to be like them.

So I’ve been thinking about this for a bit so I’ll bring it out now, in stand tall when Carrie makes a comment before the show we see his face kind of scrunch up and I feel like season two could have a scene where he talks to her about her behavior and could possibly be how they do her redemption arc (?). Because he loves her so much, and although he may not be the best at showing it (now that he lost the boys it’s been hard for him to get close to people even his own daughter due to the fact that he’s afraid of losing them)

Exactly, it feels like they don’t care about the fact that they died. For some people it does take longer to react to things end it could just be that they’re still processing it however we get no insight to the fact that they’re even mildly thinking about it. I do think part of it is that although even has changed they still have each other and therefore they can try to get through everything that they possibly could.

Alex is such a sweetheart, and that’s exactly what he would do because he genuinely enjoyed helping people also the fact that Bobby means so much to him just made him feel like he was on cloud nine.

That’s exactly the song, The boys are so concerned and Alex and Luke at one point turns to Julie and is like that’s why I didn’t want him to know about Jar-Jar, I can’t believe he’s done this again (occasionally Reggie brings out heavy metal and no one knows why)

(So I’ve never seen Star Wars either, honestly I just said that character because he is adorable)

Julie is just concerned about them in general however during this moment she’s just so confused (I feel like Carlos is a huge Star Wars fan, part of why Reggie likes him so much so due to that fact she’s also a fan) however they spend the next 20 ish minutes talking about how much the franchise has changed ect.

It would totally be their thing, and although Alex isn’t into photography as much as Reggie is, they both just love the experience and spending time together. Also they loved having Luke and Bobby there as well, surprisingly Bobby knows a lot about photography as well or at least the developing stages so if the boys are there then Reggie and Bobby usually take over doing the developing and Luke and Alex just watch.

Yes, this is how Reggie gets into lots of scrapbooking conversations (also randomly gets stickers from people) for the fact that he’s so well known for how much he loves scrapbooking.

That’s exactly how the shoot for the deme photo went. One of the photos has Reggie out of place and the boys in movement and since Reggie thought it was the last one he almost burst out into tears (they quickly discovered that there was another picture which became the cover).

Yes, Reggie just keeps giving Julie scrapbooks of Luke. (Reggie is the embarrassing mom friend that would pull out baby pictures just to spite someone)

Instagram account- yes, and his followers are sometimes confused as to how he could possibly get those pictures without being seen but they just accept it as Reggie being Reggie. For sure, Flynn and Reggie would be the best friendship duo and the photos are insane. (Luke is photogenic but Flynn is a whole level because she will gladly do a 2 hour photo shoot)

Luke would definitely let Reggie have the wrappers, and that’s precisely what Alex‘s reaction would be.

That’s what I was thinking as well, he’s just so shaky and the writing is so blurry to him because he has so many tears in his eyes and eventually he just can’t look at it anymore (that’s why the photos are not in the scrapbook but just placed inside because although he knew how much it would mean to Reggie, Bobby didn’t have the strength to make a new page)

Yes Luke would definitely wrap the gifts in tinfoil (‘I have more class than that Luke’ ‘Reggie, you wrap your gifts with newspaper’)

Everyone just takes Alex’s hoodies, even Julie.

You described that beautifully that is exactly what their relationship is.

The hoodies are essential during movie nights because Luke and Reggie have enough room to pull the hoodies over their face so they don’t have to see what’s on screen. Over time Alex isn’t scared by them however (despite seeing the film like four times) Luke let out a gigantic scream once at a film and it terrified Alex. Ah I love that you included Willie (who is the king of stealing hoodies much to Alex’s sadness) and that is exactly what would happen.

Yes, and Alex takes his job as a choreographer very seriously (honestly it’s just for entertainment because Alex is very amused) The picture that Owen posted somewhere buried in the scrapbooks there is a similar one of sunset curve in similar costumes that Luke has tried to get Reggie to burn. Also although Luke is not interested he is the best dancer and it’s very normal thing to walk into the garage and see them waltzing with each other.

I love the way that you said this and I completely agree, it’s one way that Alex and Julie bond (also she finds that picture of Luke and Alex waltzing and she forces him to teach her how to waltz)

Honestly at one point I was going to say I love how all of this started because of a jigsaw.

I’m sorry this took me so long to get to but as I predicted I’ve been writing my response for a whole hour and I’m hoping it’s worth it 😂 oh god I loved literally all of this, more under keep reading :)))

Ok so originally I started bullet pointing everything and I planned to put it all into a big thing like I did before, then I accidentally started putting more detail into the bullet points and just stuck with it 😂 the first few aren’t as detailed but it gets better the longer it goes on. That’s also why they’re all numbered lmao

1. Luke’s voice breaking as he holds the last note at the end of the song and him desperately trying to make it all the way without crying so Alex can see how much he cares

2. All of them knowing they’re like family but also constantly feeling like they’re stepping on eggshells because they’re so used to making mistakes within their own homes that they think it’ll be just as easy with all their friends

3. Interesting that you mentioned the music program - implies he always thinks that his ideas aren’t necessarily the best but they’re for the best and he struggled to change his mind to see other sides of the argument which is where the fighting started

4. Alex was usually the mediator because whenever there was a problem he would lay the facts out in his mind and sort through all outcomes to the best possible solution that would hopefully please everyone - generally everyone agreed after Alex intervened and it was rare he was involved in arguments himself

5. Totally right about Alex not standing up for himself (see “And you can’t make us either! ...Sir” to Caleb) and that’s why he was hardly ever involved; when he did argue he could actually get kind of nasty which made him feel awful

6. Yeah same I think he just seemed like a bit of a loner and let’s be real kind of intimidating despite his chill personality and the guys were the first to break down his walls

7. I’ve seen stuff like that - like it was probably him who had to identify the bodies and take their stuff back and that’s a horrible weight for a 17-y-o to bare and it makes me wonder how people can dislike Bobby based on actions and choices he made when he was grieving for his family

8. Omg he goes through each of their bags after he’s taken them back to the studio that night (not Luke’s bc Mitch and Emily have it) and he finds the tiny easy jigsaw Alex uses before shows and a half completed crossword book in Reggie’s stuff

9. Also!! Reggie does sudokus too! I kept forgetting what they were called and wanting to add them in, but sudokus!! He loves them

10. Yes lmao Reggie starts off with a really confusing lie that makes Alex asks more questions - it once ended up with the completely false story that Reggie was planning to climb Mount Everest and they weren’t telling Alex because he was afraid of heights

11. I love thinking that the boys just can’t lie to each other because we see in the show they can’t lie (high-pitched ummmm and “we were looking for the kitchen...?”) so tiny things like that are perfect I’m so in agreement

12. Exactly yes!!!! Luke is friends with everyone he speaks to until they say something that rubs him the wrong way and he just kind of explodes (unless it’s someone he’s close to)

13. YES OMG I didn’t even think of that being where Reggie’s love of country music came from but YES omg totally

14. Because I love Johnny Cash I’m claiming Reggie’s favourite country song as Ring of Fire because it’s quite upbeat and I can see him and his grandad jamming out to it in the old days - other favourites were I Walk The Line and A Boy Named Sue

15. I feel like Reggie’s art style would swing between very realistic like when he paints the boys and also kind of similar to Booboo Stewart’s art

16. Alex tried his hardest to deliver with the Han Solo cake and it definitely could have turned out worse! Reggie helped decorate because he couldn’t wait until it was finished to see the result

17. Yes omg like the boys trying to say like “you good buddy?” through huge mouthfuls of cake and the whole effect of concern being lost - Alex eventually starts baking even when he’s fine so it’s harder to tell when he’s stressed, but baking always cheers him up so they don’t mind

18. That fic sounds really sweet omg 🥺

19. Absolutely omg! It’s like the middle of the night, full-on storm outside, and Reggie just thinks “oh yeah I gotta fix my amp, no time like the present” and it didn’t go well obviously

20. Yes and now you’ve said that I kinda feel like Emily was the second person he told who took it well? Like Bobby was first, then his parents reacted badly, and then he went to Luke’s house - Emily asked if he wanted to see Luke but he kind of broke down and asked if he could talk to her instead

21. He told her everything and she was incredibly supportive - because for a while Alex wanted to keep things on the down-low Luke didn’t even know he stayed at his house that night

22. Yeah I just need more found-family 90s Sunset Curve moments along with the found-family present day Julie and the Phantoms moments 🥺

23. idk if you saw but the book confirmed that Rose is her mother!!!! It’s officially canon!!! So no worries about her being a spy for Caleb, I think Rose is way too nice for that (oops sorry if you’re avoiding book spoilers 😬)

24. Omg louder for the people in the back Flynn and Willie deserved better!!! They deserved so much more screen time, Flynn deserves her own storyline (personally I’m rooting for her to be the first to reconnect with Carrie and I’m a hardcore Flarrie shipper so that would be cool, but I’d settle for them just being friends again) and I’d love to see Willie dealing with the emotional baggage and realisations that come after Caleb’s stamp gets lifted

25. Exactly!! This!! He loves his family so much, probably blames himself a little for the boys’ death (for not going with them, even though there was nothing he could have done, or for encouraging them to go) and he doesn’t want to lose his family!

26. Omg I’ve never considered that but I love it! I want more Trevor and Carrie moments in general and him showing some good parenting by helping her be better would be totally perfect yesssss

27. Yeah I get that, like the main thing is that they have each other and as long as they have that they’ll be fine - although like you said because it takes some people longer to process it I’d love to see either Luke or Reggie start thinking about it when they realise that Julie and the others are growing up but they’ll be 17 forever

28. Ajakkffjsl YES Reggie just randomly writing heavy metal songs, either about something he hates or just. Totally for no reason other than he likes the freedom of screaming (but he doesn’t like listening to it as he doesn’t like shouting)

29. That’s Gizmo??? Omg yes oh my Lord idk what that thing is but I would die for it and so would Reggie

30. Carlos and Reggie having lightsaber fights. That’s it. All Carlos can see is a floating lightsaber but they both have the time of their lives/afterlives

31. Omg what if Bobby learnt about the developing thing bc as we’ve established Reggie is not that careful but Bobby is very gentle and it’s something you need to be gentle for so he learns it just to help Reggie

32. For most famous bands or whatever they get asked for autographs or whatever but not Reggie - he gets given stickers and people ask to take photos, then make him keep the photos and ask them to put them in his scrapbook; even though Sunset Curve were still relatively small he had a whole album dedicated to photos with fans

33. Lmao yeah they just couldn’t time it right and thankfully got the photo on the very last try - Reggie literally cried with happiness

34. Yes!! This!! Oh my god!! Whenever Luke is being particularly annoying Reggie just calls Julie over and sits her down with a photo album - the best ones are the photos of Luke stuck in weird places (idk I feel like he’d do stupid things and get stuck a lot. He once got his head stuck in a train door and instead of helping the boys just laughed at him. That happened to me one time which is why I thought of it)

35. Hell yeah Reggie’s photography account blows up, especially when Flynn starts managing it. And those two hour shoots are almost always her idea - she’ll just show up at the studio with a bunch of outfits and shout to the air “Reggie get your camera ready!”

36. Omg don’t do that to meeeee 😭 he couldn’t make himself flip through the pages and stick the photos in because he didn’t want to relive all the memories that had suddenly turned painful 😭 so he just carefully slips the photos inside and never looks at them again

37. Julie in Alex’s hoodie is possibly the greatest mental image I’ve ever had - he can’t find it, and usually it’s Luke or Reggie, and nowadays Willie tends to take it too, so Alex marches into the studio and asks which one of them has it, at which point he sees Julie huddled up in it for warmth and he just melts because she’s freaking adorable and he can’t believe how lucky he is to have her as a best friend

38. Lmaooo Reggie and Luke hiding under the hoodies is PERFECT and yes Luke is such a scaredy-cat no matter how tough he tries to act

39. Alex looks forwards to their dance sessions every time lmao and YES he got them all matching costumes and Luke despises the photos

40. Sunset Curve (and later Julie and the Phantoms) dancing with each other was not something I knew I needed in my life but I’m so glad you said it because YES

41. Kinda considering buying a custom JatP jigsaw from somewhere because now I feel like I deserve one