BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY ➸ plot shop

oxv. joe mazzello

( title ) sugar, butter, flour
( love interest ) joe mazzello
( status ) taken by the author ( evanshansen )

( oc name ) maggie gilbert*
( faceclaim ) elizabeth lail*

( plot summary )

"sugar, butter, flour, don't let me down!" these were the words maggie would tell herself every morning whenever she opened her bakery. for her, baking was her art. no matter what kind of day she was having, she could always put her energy into one of her sweet treats to make it better. with her and her staff of quirky personalities, they were paving their way to become one of the fastest growing bakeries in london. but whenever she's tasked with baking a cake for the wrap party of an upcoming music biopic,  she would encounter a man who would steal a slice of her heart.

( additional information )
— the title of this fic comes from the line, "sugar, butter, flour, don't let me down!" from the song what baking can do from the musical waitress.
          — maggie was originally from georgia, but moved to london when she was 18 for college. since she is from the south, she does have a southern accent that her coworkers and the cast love to tease her for.
         — she grew up in a small town in georgia with her parents, and her little sister rory*. all of her dad's family lives in georgia, while her mom's family lives in louisiana right outside of new orleans. she learned how to bake from her mom and it became her favorite activity as an adult. her family life was pretty normal up until she was twelve whenever her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. unfortunately, the cancer was too far along and she ends up passing away whenever she's thirteen, and rory is ten.
       — after her mother's death, her family unit slowly begins to deteriorate as her father turns to alcohol to cope with her death, and it turns him into an alcoholic. maggie and rory are forced to spend most of their teenage years caring for their father's drunkenness, and make sure he stays stable enough to provide for them. this only prolongs the grieving process for maggie, and the situation gets to much for her that she works hard in school and applies for dozens of scholarships so she can leave home. she is able to receive a scholarship for a university in london, and she moves there shortly after her high school graduation.
        — maggie's decision to move to england for school puts a dent in her relationship with rory. it hurts her that she left her alone to care for their dad while she's away at school, and it ruins the close sisterly bond they have growing up. unlike maggie, rory attends a local community college and stays close to home to keep their dad in line. she does try to work to mend their broken relationship throughout the story.
      — maggie's bakery specializes in traditional american and southern desserts, specialty cakes, and your traditional classic bake treats. her specialties are her apple pies, peach cobblers, and beignets.
     — prior to meeting the cast, she knows ben for he always comes in and picks up some donuts for his fellow cast mates since the bakery is a few blocks down from his apartment. the two always get along whenever he comes in, and he's the one who helps get her the job to bake the cake for the wrap party after filming borhap. one of the girl's who works in her bakery will have a massive obvious crush on ben that's so bad, she can hardly form words whenever she's interacting with him in the bakery. maggie always has to swoop in and save her from her embarrassing slip ups around him, although he finds the girl's little crush on him rather cute and endearing. she sets the two up later in the story.
      — one thing her and joe bond over is their love for star wars. her dad owned the original trilogy on dvd and she would watch it all the time growing up and they're some of her all time favorite movies.
     — for the most part, their relationship is mature and easy. there will be plenty of fluff between these two, and most of the drama that will come their way as a couple comes from maggie's deep rooted family issues. joe always encourages her to try to make amends with her sister. joe's dad is also struggling with his brain cancer throughout this time, and they're able to bond over the shared pain of watching a loved one go through terminal illness.
     — these two will definitely end up together. they give me no reason to think otherwise.
     — despite the family drama going on, i imagine this fic to be very fluffy and lighthearted.