#and loaded/unloaded a lot of it with OR in the back carrier

[9thbutterfly]

Reasons for happiness:

Having a car that handles like a small one, but can fit so many moving boxes.

[kotoku]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪ - ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴏɪᴄᴇ

synopsis - after making a decision, you pack up the last of the things your dear companion needs in the trunk. with your new friend secured carefully, you drive back home to organize all the new stuff you bought into your guest bedroom. hopefully they are liking their new home so far.

⋆˚🐾˖°

It had taken a bit of walking back and forth but you finally settled–

–on one of the doves! You wanted to adopt Sunday and his sister, Robin, but someone had already reserved her. ˙◠˙

With a grunt, you loaded the trunk with the cage, food, toys, and other necessities that would ensure Sunday’s comfort. He was placed in a little carrier with wide holes to breathe and see through, big enough to freely move around as you secured him in your passenger's seat. 

Throughout your drive home, you could hear him pacing around in his carrier. Your fingers tapped on the steering wheel as you would glance at him every now and then. You were starting to get worried about him, not wanting to cause a lot of stress for him on his first day in his new home. 

When you finally reached your house, you quickly unloaded your car and brought him in, careful to not tussle the box. 

Your home was pretty big but cozy. You had a guest room in case any of your friends were to come over, and two bathrooms, one being part of your room. Lucky you. You had decided on making the guest room Sunday’s new room so that he could fly around freely. 

Constructing the cage was pretty easy, it had a large space with some perches and toys for him to entertain himself with when he wasn’t flying around outside. You hoped he would like it. 

Carefully, you placed the box inside and opened it, closing the cage door so he wouldn’t fly out in a panic and hurt himself. 

“Sunday? You can come out now, I have your new home set up.” You watched as the dove slowly inched his way out, head tilting in different directions as he observed the area. You already left some food and water for him, organizing the rest into containers with a corresponding label. 

“Liking your new home?” You stared curiously as he climbed the walls of the cage, staring at you. Hesitant to move your finger towards him, you decided to show him your hands from a distance. “I’m much bigger than you but I hope you aren’t too scared of me, Sun.”

The dove had only continued to observe you before settling onto a perch, puffing his feathers out with his head tucked between his wings. Seems like he was ready to sleep.

With a chuckle, you brought out a blanket to cover his cage so he wouldn’t get frightened by any passing lights outside. With a soft ‘goodnight’, you closed the door gently and walked back towards your own room. 

—on a small, blond Norwegian Forest cat who had unique eyes. They were an extraordinary color, one you have never seen before with cats. Questioning the old lady about this, she could only give you a shrug, saying that he was rescued from an abusive home that adopted him from a breeder, so it could’ve been the breeder’s doing. 

Hearing of his past pained you, fueling your determination to give him a loving home.

Along with Aventurine, you bought him his necessities. Litter, cat food, a brush, etc… You even got him a collar, one that was quite pricey but glamorous, living up to his name. 

He was in his crate, his small body curled up as he peeked through the openings. Sometimes you’d put your finger near the holes for him to smell, his paw poking out as if reaching for you.

The lady had already filled you in on his vet details and history, providing you the necessary paperwork as you signed your consent. It was official, Aventurine was now adopted by you and placed in your care. 

“Please be gentle with him, he can be quite the troublemaker but he’s also a sweetheart. Come again soon!” With a wave goodbye, you brought his crate to the car which already had all his things in. 

The ride home was pretty quiet, it seems like Aventurine isn’t much of a talker. You smiled, finding his shyness adorable.

After you had put all of his things away into a guest bedroom, you opened his crate, watching as he slowly got out to stretch. He sniffed the area before cautiously walking towards you, smelling your out-reached hand before backing off, continuing to wander. 

You’d figured it would take some time before he got used to you. Standing up from your kneeling position, you started walking towards your room.

“I’ll leave the doors open for you to explore, Aven.” Of course, you left the bathroom doors closed, not wanting him to make a mess out of the toilet paper in there. You thought about the kitchen and living room, but there was nothing too dangerous for him to get into, so you let it slide. 

Cracking your door ajar, you crawled into bed, already changed into your pajamas. 

“Night, Aventurine.” You called out, hearing his footsteps pitter-patter against the hardwood floor. 

You hoped he would like it here.

—on a violet-blue ring-necked parakeet named Veritas Ratio. An odd name, but from what the lady had told you, it seemed pretty fitting.

“Veritas is an intelligent bird who requires much stimulation otherwise he’d get bored easily. He’s a bit standoffish, but he’ll warm up to you eventually.” 

…You were a bit nervous, but you were determined to build a bond with him. Birds have always fascinated you with their intellect and colors, their trust often being hard to obtain as they are both cautious and observant. When you were standing in front of Veritas’ enclosure, you made sure to read all the details and information about their breed so you knew what you were getting into. 

‘You’ve owned birds before, this wouldn’t be new,’ you thought to yourself, carrying Veritas to your car. The old lady was kind enough to walk you back to your car with all the necessities you needed, holding the bird food and toys while you carried the heavier things. 

After packing everything in, you secured Veritas in the passenger seat and started up your car, driving out of the parking lot and into the direction of your home. 

Every now and then, you would hear him flutter his wings, most likely stretching them as the carrier allowed him sufficient room to do so. It wouldn’t be long before you parked in your house’s garage, moving everything inside the guest room upstairs before bringing Veritas in. You could see him peeking through the holes, trying to get a glimpse of his surroundings.

“Let me set up your cage first and then you can come out, okay?” Setting him down beside you, you quickly got to work on building the cage, arranging some toys and perches for him. Once you were satisfied, you refilled his food and water bowl before picking up his carrier and opening it to let him walk inside. 

Veritas cautiously got out of the carrier, head tilting from side to side as he observed the cage. His eyes were pinning his surroundings, curiously walking around and climbing up the cage walls so he could sit on a perch. He turned his head to the right so he could get a good look at you.

“Hello.”

You slightly jumped in your spot, startled by the sudden greeting. You didn’t know he could talk, he was relatively quiet when you were in the store and during the car ride! Is he slowly warming up to you?

“Uh– hello! Welcome to your new home, do you..like it?” You felt a bit awkward talking to a bird, not really expecting any other answers from him.

“...”

Veritas didn’t say anything else, only continuing to look at you before he started grooming himself. You sighed, a bit relieved to see that he was comfortable and not stressed in his new home.

“I’m gonna head back to my room now, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Getting up from your spot on the ground, you draped a small blanket over his cage before turning off the lights. With a final goodnight, you gently closed the door with a ‘click!’, walking back to your room and flopping onto your bed with a sigh. 

–on a border collie named Boothill! He was quite energetic, sniffing all around you before sitting in front of your feet, staring up at both you and the old lady. 

“Boothill is a very protective dog, always following their owner and basically accompanying them during every task. He’s a sweet little fella, I’m sure you’ll love him.” The old lady gave Boothill a small pat on the head, offering the leash to you. 

“Here you are, young one.” 

Taking the leash from the old lady’s hands, Boothill immediately sat up and started dragging you around the store.

“B-Boothill! Where are you going??” You yelped, tripping over your feet as he sniffed around the aisles. He sat in front of a particular shelf, one full of dog treats. Ah, did he like a specific brand? 

Grabbing the one he was looking at the most, you read the label and ingredients out loud to yourself. The old lady had popped up next to you after you finished reading it, an apologetic smile on her face. 

“Sorry about that, Boothill can also be a little bit of a troublemaker.” She adjusted her glasses, looking down towards Boothill with a chuckle. “You naughty fella, don’t be too hard on your owner okay?”

Boothill barked in response, glancing up at you with his piercing red and gray eyes. He almost seemed to be making puppy eyes at you…

“I’ll get you this treat if it makes you happy, then.” You smiled, tucking the bag underneath your arm. You walked around the store with a small cart the lady had offered you, pulling different necessities off the shelves and putting them in the cart as Boothill strolled next to you. 

After paying for everything and getting all the documents you needed, you led Boothill towards your car and packed everything inside the trunk. He immediately jumped in the backseat, laying down as you buckled up and started the engine. 

“We aren’t too far from home, but be careful back there okay?” You glanced at him through your rear-view mirror, making sure he was comfortable before pulling out of the parking lot.

It took a while to move everything inside, but eventually, you had his little room all set up with his food and water. You let him roam around your backyard for a bit in case he needed to use the restroom, but he just came back to you after smelling around the fences and shrubs. Guess he was just getting used to his surroundings.

“Everything is set up in here, but I’ll leave my door open if you need anything.” You spoke, looking down at him as he sat beside your legs. You gave him a couple pets, moving to turn off the bedroom light before going to your own room. 

Unsurprisingly, he trotted after you, hopping onto your bed and kneading the comforter until he was satisfied. Chuckling, you pulled back the comforter and made yourself comfortable in your bed, feeling Boothill’s warmth near your feet. 

“Goodnight Boothill.” 

You heard a huff in response. 

⋆˚🐾˖°

taglist - @vash-yuu

[weirdstrangeandawful]

TW: floods

It's nearing flood season back home so brace yourselves for some flood whump!

Swept away in a flash flood

Slowly rising waters. Everyone just waiting for the water level to surpass the retaining wall or recede.

The manual labour of sandbagging (filling the bags, loading the bags into the bed of a pickup/carrier/cart, human chain to unload the bags and place them, depending on how serious sometimes beating the bags to pack them in)

The emotional whump of losing one's home or just waiting, not knowing whether or not you'll lose your home

Evacuation whump

A lot of people don't realise it but floodwaters near cities and other populated regions are almost always toxic. For example, they get into someone's garage where there's paint cans and maybe herbicides? That stuff's now in the water.

Electrical fires. There is a very specific pain of watching a house burn when it's quite literally surrounded by and maybe submerged in water.

[jcmarchi]

The Comprehensive Guide to Shipping Your Boat Safely with uShip - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-shipping-your-boat-safely-with-uship-technology-org/

The Comprehensive Guide to Shipping Your Boat Safely with uShip - Technology Org

Transporting boats safely is important to keep them from getting damaged and to ensure everyone’s safety. Accidents and expensive fixes can happen when things are handled wrong. uShip has put together a complete guide to help shippers, manufacturers, and boat owners figure out how to move boats safely.

With expert tips, the guide covers important topics such as choosing the right trailer, securing the vessel, following the law, and getting insurance. This very helpful resource gives clear, useful information to make sure that boats are delivered successfully. You will also get the answer to the most common question, “how much does it cost to ship”. Keep reading to know more

Small yacht. Image credit: Alina Kacharho via Unsplash, free license

Understanding Boat Transport

Boat shipping is often the best way to move your boat from one place to another, like when you buy a boat from far away or move to a new home. It is safe to move your boat from one place to another by putting it on a trailer or carrier.

There are several reasons why you might need to send a boat:

You bought a boat far away and need to get it back home.

You want to move to take your boat with you.

It would help if you took your boat to a repair shop or a boat show.

You’d rather not drive your boat to a different place to use it.

It’s possible to pull your boat behind your car, but it’s not always easy or safe, especially if your boat is big or you’re going a long way. Professional boat transporters will take care of your boat and make sure it gets to its new home without any harm.

uShip can help with this. uShip is a website that connects people who need to ship things, like boats, with companies that can do the shipping. We help you find the right company to move your boat, whether it’s a small fishing boat or a big yacht.

When you ship your boat with uShip, you can:

Please find out how much different shipping companies charge and then compare them.

Pick the type of trailer you want to use to move your boat—open or closed.

To help you choose a good shipping company, read what other boat owners have to say about them.

Get in touch with the shipping companies to make plans and ask questions.

Please keep track of where your boat is while you move it to make sure everything is okay.

uShip makes it easier to ship boats, which saves you time and effort. uShip helps you get your boat where it needs to go. It has a website that is easy to use and a lot of good shipping companies. This way you can spend more time on the water enjoying your boat.

Steps to Prepare Your Boat for Shipping

If you want your boat shipping experience to go off without a hitch, you need to be well-prepared. Following a few basic rules can make shipping a boat less of a hassle, regardless of whether you’re a first-time boat owner or not. Here are the steps you need to follow:  

Clean thoroughly: The first thing you should do is clean the inside and outside of your boat thoroughly. Take everything from the boat, including any fishing gear, life jackets, or ornaments, because they could get tossed around in the shipment. Just like when you’re getting ready to move offices, you should clear up your desk.

Check fuel levels: The next step is to empty the boat’s tanks of all fluids, including water, fuel, and garbage. But remember to have a little gas in the tank for when you need to load or unload. Imagine dropping off your automobile at the mechanic’s shop and then leaving a small amount of gas in the tank.

Disconnect the battery: To keep your boat’s battery from shifting around while in transit, be sure to disconnect it and lock it in place. This is analogous to the process of unplugging and securing the cords of a desktop computer before relocating it.

Remove detachable items: Take off or fasten any removable components from your boat, including cushions, fishing gear, and antennas. It’s the same as taking off or securing your jewelry before working out.

Double-check all is fine: Please ensure that all doors, windows, and compartments are firmly closed, latched, and locked. When you go on vacation, you wouldn’t dare leave your house unlocked, would you? Even your yacht can benefit from this similar principle.

Inspect properly: Make a mental note and take pictures of any pre-existing damage to your boat before shipping. If you wanted to show the condition of your rental automobile before driving it from the lot, you could take pictures like this.

Handover the keys: The last step is to give the shipping company the keys and any other information they’ll need to transfer your boat safely. Imagine entrusting your house sitter with the care of your home while you’re away, along with a set of keys and a detailed list of instructions.

Documentation Work

What follows is a discussion of the necessary paperwork for shipping a boat.

Registration documents: You’ll have to bring along the boat’s registration paperwork or title to verify your ownership. Just like showing your driver’s license, it establishes your identification.

Insurance papers: Additional documentation of your boat’s insurance coverage for the duration of shipping will also be required. Basically, it’s the same as getting international travel insurance before you leave.

The bill of lading: An essential receipt and legal agreement between you and the shipping business, the bill of lading is a must-have document. Take your time reviewing it and signing it before the transportation starts. Like when you sign a lease for a car or an apartment, this is legally binding.

Customs paperwork: Additional customs paperwork and evidence of funds to cover import duties and taxes are required for international boat transportation. Getting a visa and paying the entrance fee to enter a foreign nation are similar processes.

Current pictures: Last but not least, document the state of your yacht with photographs before delivery. Similar to photographing your possessions before a move, this visual record can be priceless in the event that a claim for damage occurs during transportation.

Choosing the Right Boat Shipping Service 

Choosing a boat transportation provider involves several important considerations. Like finding the right babysitter, you want someone trustworthy, experienced, and reliable. A shipping business can handle your watercraft, too.

Check the company’s experience and reputation first like verifying new hire references. Read customer feedback from boat owners who used them. A reputable business will likely move your boat well.

Next, verify the shipping company’s insurance. You wouldn’t drive without insurance The. same logic applies to boat shipping. Check their insurance policy for comprehensive coverage in case of accidents.

Transport options include overland transportation, flatbed shipment, and container shipping, each has pros and cons depending on your needs and preferences. Discuss with suppliers which strategy is best for your boat.

Remember to compare prices and quotes from several companies. Like looking for the best appliance offer. Avoid too-good-to-be-true rates that compromise safety or insurance.

Finally, find a company with excellent customer service and open communication. You should be able to ask questions and get information throughout delivery. It’s like having a nice, informed tour guide in a new city.

For the easiest and most cost-effective boat transport, choose uShip. It’s like having a personal shopper locate the best shipping service.

Listed boat shipping companies on uShip allow carriers to compete for your business. Instead of babysitting your kids, they’re all striving to get you the greatest boat shipping price and service.

uShip evaluates and assesses carriers so you can choose the best. Like having a trusted buddy recommend the greatest eateries in town—you know you’re in excellent hands.

In the uncommon event of shipment complications, uShip offers customer help and dispute settlement. Like having a mediator to settle family disputes.

Ensuring Safe Boat Transport

 When transporting your boat, you want it to arrive intact. Ensure secure boat transit. It’s like buckling your kids before a family vacation.

Securing your boat for transit comes first. Like packing fragile objects carefully before a huge relocation. Make sure everything fits and won’t move during the trip.

Remove or secure unsecured fishing gear, life jackets, and coolers on your boat. It’s like zipping your suitcase before checking it at the airport. Don’t let anything fly during shipment.

Next, support your boat on the trailer or cradle, like keeping your infant safe in their car seat. Your boat should be snug, with no room for movement.

Make sure your boat straps and tie-downs are snug and in good shape, like double-checking your shoelaces before a marathon. Don’t let anything loose or break during transport.

Next, correct loading and unloading. Rubber meets the road, literally. It’s like carefully loading and unloading groceries from the car to avoid damage.

Keep your boat balanced when loading it onto the trailer. It’s like balancing a big load on both shoulders. Your boat shouldn’t tilt or slant during shipping.

Guide your boat onto the trailer with poles or spotters. It’s like a friend helping you park in a tight spot. Another set of eyes can make all the difference.

After loading your boat, check all straps and tie-downs for security. Like pulling your backpack one more time before leaving. Make sure everything fits and is ready.

Unload your boat slowly. Like taking a cake out of the oven, you don’t want to haste and spoil your hard work.

Use the same poles or spotters to get your boat off the trailer. Imagine having a friend help you carry heavy furniture down the stairs. Extra hands can streamline the procedure.

Finally, inspect your boat after unloading to ensure everything is in order. It’s like examining your automobile for scratches or dents after a lengthy drive. You want to spot difficulties quickly.

Navigating Common Challenges

A few typical problems could develop during the course of transporting a boat. You may overcome these challenges with ease if you are well-informed and have done your homework. 

Handling Weather Related Issues

First things first, let’s address matters pertaining to the weather. An analogy would be preparing for an outdoor wedding; while the weather is out of your hands, there are ways to work around it.  

It is crucial to collaborate carefully with your shipping company if you intend to transport your boat during hurricane season or via regions that are predisposed to harsh weather. If you ask them, they can advise you on the optimal time and route to take in order to avoid bad weather.  

Your delivery company should be prepared to handle unforeseen weather situations. It’s the equivalent of preparing an indoor location to hold your wedding in the event of an unexpected rainstorm. Please verify with your service provider what their plans are in the event of interruptions caused by bad weather. 

There are things you can do to get your boat ready for bad weather as well. It’s the same as picking out a bridal gown that’s water-wind-resistant. Before you hit the road, double-check that your boat is adequately protected from the elements. 

 Dealing With Delivery Delays or Disruptions

Dealing with delivery delays or disruptions is the next topic we’ll cover. It’s annoying, but there are methods to deal with it, much like when your flight is delayed or canceled. 

 Step 1: Maintain constant two-way contact with your shipping company. Having someone who can keep you informed about any changes or cancellations to your flights is like having your very own travel agent. You may expect your supplier to keep you updated on any disruptions or delays and collaborate with you to choose the optimal course of action. 

 Step 2: Keep an open mind and be patient if your boat experiences a delay in transportation. It’s the aviation equivalent of a layover: annoying as it is, it’s occasionally required to ensure a safe journey to your final destination. 

 Step 3: Make sure your shipping supplier has backup plans ready in case there are major delays or disruptions. Inquire about the provider’s policies and practices about handling interruptions or delays. 

Keep in mind that shipping delays and weather-related concerns are typical occurrences when transporting boats. It’s like flying through turbulence: unpleasant as it is, there are times when it’s inevitable. 

 You may easily overcome these typical obstacles by collaborating closely with your shipping provider, keeping yourself informed and ready, and keeping an open and patient mindset. Just like having a reliable travel buddy by your side, this will ease your mind when faced with unforeseen obstacles. 

Conclusion

To sum it up, careful preparation, meticulous planning, and attention to detail are essential for the safe and secure shipping of a boat, as we have discussed throughout this article. If you stick to the important points we’ve covered, your boat will make it to its destination unscathed. 

  It would help if you looked for someone who is well-versed in the industry and has achieved success in the past.  

 Please make sure everything is securely fastened and that there are no loose objects on your boat before you prepare it for shipping.

Make sure to follow all safety protocols and coordinate closely with your shipping company to prevent any accidents that may occur during loading and unloading. Be well-informed, ready, and adaptable in case delivery delays or weather-related issues occur. It’s like learning to sail in different winds: no matter what obstacles you face, the correct mindset and strategy will help you conquer them.  Just one last thing to remember before you set sail: choosing the correct shipping partner is crucial. 

 This is where uShip comes to the fore. You can quickly find a network of dependable boat shipping companies with uShip. You’ll have the assistance of an entire crew of seasoned sailors ready to guide your boat to its destination. 

Most Common Questions People Also Ask (PAA)

How do I ship my boat safely?

 Choose a reputable shipping provider, prepare your boat properly, and communicate clearly with your shipping partner. Consider using a ship for a secure, hassle-free experience.

What are the benefits of using uShip for boat transport?

 uShip offers access to reliable shipping providers, competitive pricing, a user-friendly platform, secure payments, and excellent customer support.

How do I prepare my boat for shipping? 

Clean your boat, remove loose items, drain fluids, secure movable parts, document any damage, and provide keys and instructions to your shipping partner.

What documents do I need for boat shipping? 

You’ll need proof of ownership, insurance information, photo ID, a signed contract or bill of lading, and any necessary permits or licenses.

Can I track my boat during transit with uShip?

 Yes, uShip provides real-time tracking updates on your shipment’s status and location.

What should I do if my boat gets damaged during transport? 

Document the damage, notify your shipping provider and uShip.com, file an insurance claim, and work with your shipping partner to resolve the issue.

Are there any hidden fees associated with boat shipping? 

uShip aims to provide transparent pricing, but communicate with your shipping provider about any additional costs and factor them into your budget.

How do I choose the right boat shipping service? 

Consider experience, insurance coverage, equipment, pricing, customer reviews, and availability when choosing a boat shipping service. uShip can help you compare options.

What sets uShip apart from other boat transport platforms? 

uShip offers a large network of vetted providers, a user-friendly platform, competitive pricing, secure payments, exceptional support, and advanced tracking tools.

Can I ship a boat internationally with uShip.com? 

Yes, uShip can facilitate international boat shipping, but it may involve additional requirements and longer transit times. Communicate your needs clearly with your shipping provider.

[zachfrailey]

Yeti Crossroads 27L Backpack Review | Maybe the Best Bag I Ever Owned

[updated May 5, 2024]

I'm a big Yeti fan. I use their drinkware daily, tote their coolers and Camino carry-all bags to the grocery store, beach and back, and even have a couple Loadout 5 gallon buckets that I use for all sorts of tasks around the house and yard. So when it came time for a new backpack for every day carry and travel, I had to throw the Crossroads into consideration. Eventually I pulled the trigger and ordered the Yeti Crossroads 27L in Camp Green.

As a longtime carrier of a super lightweight Patagonia Black Hole 25L backpack, I wanted something a little tougher and durable for my travels. Before pulling the trigger, I researched a lot of bags, and when the Yeti Crossroads became a finalist I was unable to find many good side by side comparisons of the pack next to the bags I already own. So hopefully this review from a Patagonia (and PeakDesign) carrier can help someone out who was in the same boat as I was.

Yeti Crossroads 27L vs. Patagonia Black Hole 25L

First up, we'll look at the side-by-side comparison of the Yeti Crossroads 27L and the Patagonia Black Hole 25L backpacks. It's tough to compare these two bags that are so different. The Patagonia Black Hole is designed to be as thin and light as possible- and I love it for that. However, I was finding my electronics (namely my Macbook) to be getting beat up inside the bag when traveling. Lightweight it is, built to take a beating it is not. This was my main reason for the bag change. The Yeti pack is built like a tank, but with that protection you sacrifice weight. But for me, it's a sacrifice I am willing to make.

Yeti Crossroads 27L vs. PeakDesign 30L

Next, we'll look at the side-by-side of the Yeti Crossroads 27L and the PeakDesign 30L backpack. The PeakDesign has a very specific use for me, and that is to haul around my photography gear. I don't load it out every day with my photo kit, and on those days I am just carry my Macbook, hard drives and work supplies around, it's just overkill. Even loaded for an everyday carry, the shape of the bag kills my shoulders. One of the big negatives of the Yeti pack I was seeing in reviews was the strap design, but I have had not near the shoulder fatigue as I have carrying the PeakDesign pack. Don't get me wrong, the PeakDesign bag is phenomenal for what it is built for- photography- and I will continue to use it as such. But it will no longer double as an everyday carry.

Everyday Carry

I have a fairly minimal every day carry, and like to keep it all contained to cubes. This all fits beautifully into my Yeti pack, with room to spare. In the main compartment of the bag, my Fuji X100V packs into the Patagonia cube with some batteries, a PeakDesign Tech Pouch holds cords, my mouse and other random computer accessories and a hard case carries my external hard drive. The bag's front pocket carries my Thule pouch (with meds, pens and Field Notes book, and the top zipper contains my Beats Studio Pro headphones in case. A well-padded and suspended laptop zipper area fits my Macbook Pro 16" with ease.

Interior

An almost clamshell opening makes loading and unloading the pack a breeze. And a quick access space in the top of the bag for air travel is something I can't live without. This Yeti 27L pack has some great volume up there, along with a tethered strap for keys.

Interior Bottle Pocket

With its own zipper opening in the side of the bag, there is an internal water bottle pouch. I was very skeptical of this at first, but after a couple days of carry I now love it. No more does my bottle get stuck on things of fall out of my bag if it tips over. This is a 16 oz Yeti bottle, which fits great when the bag is loaded up with my other gear.

Back Padding and Straps

The only big negative I saw again and again in reviews was the strap padding of this pack. After wearing this for a few weeks I can say it is a non issue for me. The straps are light and thin and do not cause any fatigue to my shoulders. I could see it maybe being an issue with the larger pack fully loaded out, but to me these are perfect. The back of the bag is comfortable as well, with the same lightweight padding as the straps. My favorite feature of the back is the luggage passthrough and I can't wait to put it to use on my next air travel.

As you can tell, I am a big fan of this bag after just a few weeks of EDC. At first I had a little sticker shock at the $230 price tag, but after viewing a lot of other bags with similar features, this bag is priced in line with the class.

I plan to continue to use my Patagonia Black Hole bag for things like hiking, biking and strenuous activity and the PeakDesign for photography assignments, but I have found my new Every Day Carry.

With the toughness of the material this bag is built with, I no longer worry about the security of my laptop and electronic inside. Built like a tank with a good looking profile, I can see the Yeti Crossroads 27L lasting a lifetime.

[5/4/2024 UPDATE]

I recently returned from an international trip and carried this bag on as a personal item and thought the experience of flight, foreign travel and customs deserved it's own little blurb in this review. Considering one of the main original reasons I purchased this bag was for travel, I am pleased to say it was an absolute breeze to tote through airports, shuttles and flights.

The 27L Crossroads bag provided plenty of space for all of my essentials that I didn't want to leave my side during the trip- medicine bag, sunglasses, Beats Studio Pro headphones, passports, water bottle, camera, chargers/batteries/etc. I actually found the internal water bottle pockets extremely user friendly on the plane and in TSA. Normall, I have a bottle bouncing around, getting caught on the seat or tray. Storing the bottle inside give this bag a sleek and comfortable profile that travels smoothly. The luggage passthrough on the back of the bag was tremendous. I loved throwing the bag over my luggage to roll through the airport (that may be normal for some readers, but I have never had a backpack with this feature before and it was a main selling point for me). A common concern about the Crossroads backpacks is the light padding on the straps, but I had zero issue with comfort when this bag was loaded down for the return trip. To help compress the load, I used the compression straps for this trip. For my every day carry, I remove them for ease of access on the sides. I used this backpack for everything while on the trip- it went to the pool, beach and excursions in the Mexican countryside, performing each task admirably and with room to spare. At the start of one day I even had a compliment on it in the elevator. I feel confident now saying that this is the best backpack I have ever owned.

Review stats:

Looks- 9.5/10

Toughness- 9.75/10

Price point- 7/10

Interior layout- 9/10

Laptop sleeve- 10/10

Everyday carriable- 9.25/10

[New update] Airline score- 9.5/10

Overall- 9.25/10

[eldmandate9]

FMCSA Personal Conveyance & Yard Moves A Full Explanation

The Hours of Service rules published in 2015 by the FMCSA introduced new provisions for two Special Driving Categories, namely, Personal conveyance and Yard moves. 

What is Personal Conveyance?

As the name suggests, personal conveyance (PC) refers to the movement of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) for personal use. It's important to know that any movement of the CMV made for personal conveyance should not be for commercial profit to the motor carrier. 

The vehicle can be used for personal conveyance even if it is loaded, as long as it is not used for the commercial benefit of the carrier fleet. Personal conveyance counts towards the required off-duty period. Hence, it does not affect the 14-hour driving window or the 11-hour driving limit. Certain ELDs can allow fleet managers to disable this provision for drivers. 

Below are some examples of valid and invalid use of the personal conveyance movements laid down by the FMCSA.

When can you use Personal Conveyance?

Time spent travelling from drivers residence to the reporting location. 

Time spent travelling to find the a closeby safe location to obtain the required rest for a driver. The time driving under personal conveyance should allow the driver adequate time to obtain the required rest in accordance with the rules for Hours of Service.

Time spent travelling between trailer-drop lots and driver’s residence. 

Time spent moving the vehicle on instruction of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time. 

Time spent transporting personal property during off-duty.

Time spent travelling to a restaurant or entertainment facilities and back to lodging. Note: Other drivers on their off-duty period may be onboard the vehicle. These drivers are not considered passengers.

Time spent travelling to driver’s residence after working at an off-site location.

Examples of invalid use of PC:

Time spent in moving a commercial motor vehicle to enhance the operational readiness of the motor carrier. 

Time spent to continue a trip in interstate commerce to fulfil a business purpose. This includes repositioning the vehicle on the instructions of the carrier, retrieving an additional load, bobtailing, etc. 

Time spent driving a vehicle to a facility to have vehicle maintenance performed.

Time spent while commuting to the terminal after loading or unloading from a shipper or a receiver. 

Questions

Can I use Personal Conveyance to Drive Home?

Yes, this is a valid use of PC – as long as the driver is relived from work and all responsibility of work. 

If I use PC will I have to report back to the same location?

According to the guidelines published by the FMCSA, drivers are not required to report to the last on-duty location after a personal conveyance movement. A driver can begin the on-duty period after completing the required off-duty period – regardless the location of the CMV. 

How Much Personal Conveyance can I Use?

There is no limit set, but keep in mind that a DOT officer may scrutinise a drivers PC usage, and if found to be not valid a violation may be given. 

Does Personal Conveyance Count against Hours of Service?

PC is counted as Off-Duty in Hours of Service, and thus has no impact on driver’s available hours of service. It is important to make sure that the driver selects Personal Conveyance in advance of moving the truck to ensure that the correct status is selected before driving. Training on this is important to ensure edits and annotations are not required on logs. Call us if training is needed for any driver. Learn more about us by clicking here. 

What is a Yard Move?

Yard Move is a special driving category for when a driver makes vehicle movements or adjustments in a yard. The term ‘yard’ does not have a formal definition laid down by the FMSCA. However, there are certain rules:

There must be a sign or a gate that restricts the public from entering the yard

The entirety of the move must be within the same yard itself. Driving from one yard to another is considered a Driving event and not a Yard Move

A yard can be a carrier’s terminal, customer’s facility, or a maintenance facility as long as there are signs or gates restricting the public from entering the premise. Moving the CMV or bobtailing at a parking lot open to the public is not considered a yard move. Note, most truck stops are not considered as "yard" as they are open to the public. Also, any sort of vehicle driving that occurs on a public roads is not considered a yard move. 

The time captured by the ELD during the yard move counts towards the driver’s on-duty time. So, yard moves are considered on-duty but not driving. For instance, if a driver starts the day by performing yard moves, then the driver has started the 14-hour driving window. However, the driver still has up to 11 hours of driving time allowed. Similar to Personal Conveyance, carriers can turn off the Yard Move option for certain or all drivers. 

The time spent in yard move needs to be logged with a lot of scrutiny. In case a driver fails to change the status after leaving the yard, a false entry is logged. A driver should immediately include a remark in the logs explaining the false log. An intended falsification of the logs may lead to violations. Also it is important to have the driver select Yard Move on the app before driving the car, so that a driving event isn't logged. 

That is a full explanation of both Personal Conveyance and Yard Moves that can be selected with us in the best ELD Device. For more information on Hours of Service click this article.

[eldamandate07]

Exploring FMCSA's Personal Conveyance and Yard Moves Regulations

In 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented pivotal changes to their Hours of Service (HOS) rules, ushering in two distinctive driving categories: Personal Conveyance and Yard Moves.

Personal Conveyance: What Is It? Personal Conveyance (PC) signifies the use of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) for personal purposes, emphasizing that such use should not yield commercial profit for the carrier. Crucially, a CMV can be employed for personal conveyance even when loaded, provided it doesn't serve the commercial interests of the carrier fleet. PC contributes to the mandatory off-duty period and does not affect the 14-hour driving window or the 11-hour driving limit. Some Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) can permit fleet managers to disable this option for drivers.

Let's dive into scenarios illustrating valid and invalid PC usage per FMCSA guidelines:

Valid Uses of Personal Conveyance:

Traveling from the driver's residence to the reporting location. Searching for a nearby safe rest location. Moving between trailer-drop lots and the driver's residence. Following safety official instructions during off-duty time. Transporting personal property during off-duty hours. Traveling to restaurants or entertainment facilities and returning to lodging, with off-duty drivers onboard. Invalid Uses of Personal Conveyance:

Moving a CMV to enhance carrier operational readiness. Continuing a trip in interstate commerce for business purposes, such as repositioning the vehicle on carrier instructions. Driving to a facility for vehicle maintenance. Commuting to the terminal after loading or unloading. Common Questions:

Can a PC Be Used for Driving Home? Yes, a PC can be used for driving home, provided the driver is relieved of all work responsibilities.

Do I Need to Report Back to the Same Location After Using a PC? FMCSA guidelines state that drivers are not obligated to return to the last on-duty location after a personal conveyance movement. Drivers can begin their on-duty period after completing the required off-duty time, regardless of the CMV's location.

Is There a Limit on Personal Conveyance Usage? While there is no specified limit, DOT officers may scrutinize PC usage, potentially leading to violations if found invalid.

Does Personal Conveyance Count Against Hours of Service? PC is categorized as Off-Duty in the HOS rules, having no impact on a driver's available hours of service. Ensuring the driver selects Personal Conveyance before moving the truck is vital to avoid the need for log edits or annotations.

Yard Moves: A Special Category Yard Move is a unique driving category employed when a driver makes vehicle movements or adjustments within a yard. While FMCSA doesn't offer a formal yard definition, specific criteria apply:

The yard must have a sign or gate restricting public access. All movements must occur within the same yard; moving between yards constitutes a driving event, not a Yard Move. A yard can be a carrier's terminal, customer facility, or maintenance site, provided it has proper signage or gates to limit public entry. CMV movements or bobtailing in public parking lots do not qualify as yard moves, and public road driving is not considered a yard move either. Yard moves are deemed on-duty but not driving, meaning they count toward the driver's 14-hour window but not the 11-hour driving limit. Similar to Personal Conveyance, carriers can disable the Yard Move option for specific or all drivers.

Logging yard move time requires precision. Failure to change the status after leaving the yard can result in false entries. Drivers should promptly annotate any inaccuracies, as intentional falsifications can lead to violations. It's essential for drivers to select Yard Move on the app before driving to prevent accidental driving event logs.

In conclusion, Personal Conveyance and Yard Moves offer drivers flexibility within FMCSA regulations. For more information on Hours of Service, explore our dedicated article. Below is a summary chart illustrating the distinctions between these categories:

[Insert Chart Here]

For the best Electronic Logging Device solutions, choose us.

[eldmandate1]

FMCSA Personal Conveyance & Yard Moves A Full Explanation - ELD Mandate

The Hours of Service rules published in 2015 by the FMCSA introduced new provisions for two Special Driving Categories, namely, Personal conveyance and Yard moves. 

What is Personal Conveyance?

As the name suggests, personal conveyance (PC) refers to the movement of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) for personal use. It's important to know that any movement of the CMV made for personal conveyance should not be for commercial profit to the motor carrier. 

The vehicle can be used for personal conveyance even if it is loaded, as long as it is not used for the commercial benefit of the carrier fleet. Personal conveyance counts towards the required off-duty period. Hence, it does not affect the 14-hour driving window or the 11-hour driving limit. Certain ELDs can allow fleet managers to disable this provision for drivers. 

Below are some examples of valid and invalid use of the personal conveyance movements laid down by the FMCSA.

When can you use Personal Conveyance?

Time spent traveling from drivers residence to the reporting location. 

Time spent traveling to find the a closeby safe location to obtain the required rest for a driver. The time driving under personal conveyance should allow the driver adequate time to obtain the required rest in accordance with the rules for Hours of Service.

Time spent traveling between trailer-drop lots and driver’s residence. 

Time spent moving the vehicle on instruction of a safety official during the driver’s off-duty time. 

Time spent transporting personal property during off-duty.

Time spent traveling to a restaurant or entertainment facilities and back to lodging. Note: Other drivers on their off-duty period may be onboard the vehicle. These drivers are not considered passengers.

Time spent traveling to driver’s residence after working at an off-site location.

Examples of invalid use of PC:

Time spent in moving a commercial motor vehicle to enhance the operational readiness of the motor carrier. 

Time spent to continue a trip in interstate commerce to fulfil a business purpose. This includes repositioning the vehicle on the instructions of the carrier, retrieving an additional load, bobtailing, etc. 

Time spent driving a vehicle to a facility to have vehicle maintenance performed.

Time spent while commuting to the terminal after loading or unloading from a shipper or a receiver. 

Questions

Can I use Personal Conveyance to Drive Home?

Yes, this is a valid use of PC – as long as the driver is relived from work and all responsibility of work. 

If I use PC will I have to report back to the same location?

According to the guidelines published by the FMSCA, drivers are not required to report to the last on-duty location after a personal conveyance movement. A driver can begin the on-duty period after completing the required off-duty period – regardless the location of the CMV. 

How Much Personal Conveyance can I Use?

There is no limit set, but keep in mind that a DOT officer may scrutinize a drivers PC usage, and if found to be not valid a violation may be given. 

Does Personal Conveyance Count against Hours of Service?

PC is counted as Off-Duty in Hours of Service, and thus has no impact on driver’s available hours of service. It is important to make sure that the driver selects Personal Conveyance in advance of moving the truck to ensure that the correct status is selected before driving. Training on this is important to ensure edits and annotations are not required on logs. Call us if training is needed for any driver. Learn more about us by clicking here. 

What is a Yard Move?

Yard Move is a special driving category for when a driver makes vehicle movements or adjustments in a yard. The term ‘yard’ does not have a formal definition laid down by the FMSCA. However, there are certain rules:

There must be a sign or a gate that restricts the public from entering the yard

The entirety of the move must be within the same yard itself. Driving from one yard to another is considered a Driving event and not a Yard Move

A yard can be a carrier’s terminal, customer’s facility, or a maintenance facility as long as there are signs or gates restricting the public from entering the premise. Moving the CMV or bobtailing at a parking lot open to the public is not considered a yard move. Note, most truck stops are not considered as "yard" as they are open to the public. Also, any sort of vehicle driving that occurs on a public roads is not considered a yard move. 

The time captured by the ELD during the yard move counts towards the driver’s on-duty time. So, yard moves are considered on-duty but not driving. For instance, if a driver starts the day by performing yard moves, then the driver has started the 14-hour driving window. However, the driver still has up to 11 hours of driving time allowed. Similar to Personal Conveyance, carriers can turn off the Yard Move option for certain or all drivers. 

The time spent in yard move needs to be logged with a lot of scrutiny. In case a driver fails to change the status after leaving the yard, a false entry is logged. A driver should immediately include a remark in the logs explaining the false log. An intended falsification of the logs may lead to violations. Also it is important to have the driver select Yard Move on the app before driving the car, so that a driving event isn't logged. 

That is a full explanation of both Personal Conveyance and Yard Moves that can be selected with us in the best ELD Device. For more information on Hours of Service click this article. As a quick summary image of what both of these count as, please see this chart below:

[movertoronto]

Tips to Save Time and Money by Hiring a Skilled Moving Company in Toronto

Whether you’re moving within your city or across the country, moving can be a stressful and expensive process. And while hiring a moving company might be tempting to save time and energy, you might feel intimidated by how expensive the process seems! In reality, however, using professional moving services can help you save money.

Regardless of whether you move or work with Toronto movers, there are costs associated with both options. It’s important to try to take expected and unexpected costs into account as you decide how to move. And when you factor in the time, money, and energy that DIY moving costs, it turns out to be quite expensive.

Why Should I Move with Rent-a-Son’s Movers?

If you’re looking for a hassle-free and simple moving process, you can trust Rent-a-Son’s movers to make it as easy as can be. We have years of experience as the premier same-day movers in Toronto and understand that your time and possessions are important to you. Because of our extensive experience with packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, and the move itself, we’re able to ensure that your belongings are protected throughout the entire process.

While DIY moving might be tempting, it can be an incredibly expensive process. When you make a DIY move, you can expect to spend a lot of time, money, and energy on the process. Time is money, and packing, loading, driving, unloading, and unpacking takes an extremely long time — making the process a huge opportunity cost. And when you’re so heavily involved in the process, you run the risk of injury due to mistakes like using improper lifting techniques.

Also, there are significant expenses associated with DIY moving. You can expect to pay for your moving truck, as well as insurance, fuel, and any extra moving supplies you may need! When you work with an established moving company, you can be sure your expenses go to the right place.

As some of the best Toronto movers around, we’re committed to giving back to our community in the greater Toronto area by providing outstanding service that you can rely on. When you make your move with Rent-a-Son’s movers, you’ll join our thousands of satisfied customers in knowing that our way is the best way.

Is Hiring Toronto Moving Services Worth It?

While the cost of hiring movers might seem intimidating, it pays off in a variety of ways. Whether you’re intending to invest in your physical well-being or a stress-free weekend, there are lots of reasons to enjoy hiring a professional moving service for your next move.

Firstly, when you hire professional movers, you often enjoy carrier liability for your prized possessions. This is incredibly helpful if something is broken during your move, and it’s a perk that you couldn’t enjoy with a DIY move. If you have precious, fragile objects you’re taking along on your next move, this may be the best way to protect them.

Your well-being is also much safer when you hire professional moving services. If you try to lift heavy or unwieldy objects yourself, you may strain or even seriously injure yourself! Movers are extensively trained and experienced in safe lifting and carrying techniques and can keep themselves and their possessions safe through the entire process.

Best of all, when you hire professional movers, you can relax knowing that your possessions are in safe hands. Here at Rent-a-Son moving services, we pride ourselves on our reputation as a reliable and trustworthy moving company. We’re committed to upholding our high standards for quality and customer satisfaction and want to make your next move the best it can be by providing our signature services.

Make Your Next Move Easy with Rent-a-Son’s Moving Services

If you’re ready to sit back and relax during a stress-free moving process, we’re ready to help. From start to finish, you can expect to enjoy all of the care and attention to detail that we pride ourselves in. Call to request an estimate today, and one of our professional moving coordinators will help you examine your needs and develop a suitable estimate for your move.

Source:https://rentason.ca/tips-to-save-time-and-money-by-hiring-a-skilled-moving-company-in-toronto/

[poke-historian]

AGH so I finally got around to this...

Part 3

Lairon and Aggron were undoubtedly a big presence on the medieval battlefield, but they were used extensively too outside of battle.

Lairon were not only stalwart defenders in a combat situation but also a dependable beast of burden. They were very commonly used to pull carts of supplies for the army they served in and were able to carry several men-at-arms at once on their backs if they were getting too tired to march in armour.

Aggron similarly were valuable assets in lifting and carrying heavy loads- they were helpful in loading and unloading carts, or simply helping hitch or unhitch them from their carriers be that a Lairon, Rapidash, Mudsdale or otherwise. Indeed, Aggron often proved to indispensable when setting up a camp- they were excellent at pitching tents if ordered well enough and could easily cut down trees either to make a palisade for the more long-term camps or to chop them up for firewood -both of which they proved useful for too.

Aron, on the other hand, were considered too small for any useful task, but they still provided some utility to an army in another way...

Much like Shelmet, Aron, Lairon and Aggron were also exploited for the metal they naturally grew. Aron were also farmed lots in medieval Galar and Kalos though not quite to the same extent as Shelmet and Karrablast, mostly due to them being more expensive to care for. The standards for a fighting Lairon or Aggron were very high, and unfortunately many Aron did not make the cut for being considered not strong enough to be worth evolving into Lairon. Those that were too weak in the eyes of their farmers were unfortunately slaughtered, and their metal used in the creation of armour. Their back plates were often used as pauldrons and their head plates normally melted down to be reforged, though we have some limited evidence of them being used as simple poleyns (knee protectors) or a couple being strapped together over an arming doublet to provide a little extra chest protection. These were uncommon use cases though, and their shape didn't make them ideal for these purposes though -they were more an improvised solution.

The ruthless standards of necessary strength in Lairon and Aggron breeding did not stop at Aron though... While due to selective breeding most Lairon met the requirements to be used in battle some did not; be they too weak or too easily startled by the loud noises of combat. They too were killed and used for their armour, with the back plates of Lairon often being used to create fairly economical breastplates -The large protrusion was cut off with metalworking shears and hammered flat over the gap the remaining plate made. Extra metal was used to make tassets or faulds and the breastplate may have been joined with a second, smaller Lairon back-plate to provide back protection and form a full 'Lairon-plate cuirass'. These tended to be fairly cheap due to the prolific nature of Lairon, and were often worn by men-at-arms as a slightly more thrust-resistant alternative to brigandine or as a cheaper alternative to fully human-forged plate. The head plate of a Lairon was considered too odd a shape to really be useful as any part of armour, and was generally melted down -however, many helmets were made which imitated the style of a Lairon's head plate -There's some wonderful examples of bascinets, armets and even some later sallets with Lairon-style visors that look very nice indeed.

Even Aggron's armour was occasionally used by humans -Aggron were far too valuable to simply be killed for metal, but if an Aggron (or battle-capable Lairon) sustained a major injury that prevented it from fighting any longer, or simply became too old to fight effectively, then it may have been slaughtered to use the metal. However, often their trainers would refuse such an action, having developed a strong bond with the pokémon and not wished their comrade in arms to come to harm -and understandably so! However many of the more cold and pragmatic fighters may not have had qualms with such a thing, and as a result we have records of various helms made from the head and neck plates of Aggron -The front horn was either hammered down to form a strong nasal bar, hammered back on itself to make a sword-deflecting ridge along the top of the helmet, or, in the 15th century onwards especially, cut off entirely to allow the fitting of a hand-forged visor. The secondary plates on the back of the Aggron's neck would be used to make a clauncher-tail to protect the back of the wearer's head -in fact we believe Aggron may be the origin of the clauncher-tail in helmet design, despite its name referencing the similarly segmented tail of a Clauncher. An Aggron-sallet was a fairly popular helm among the nobility, as it displayed the wealth required to raise an Aggron for its whole life, and as a result we have a few highly ornate ones in museums today -some were not originally from an Aggron as the style proved popular enough that smiths often attempted to emulate them using their own tools and steel.

So, even outside of battle, and even after death Aron, Lairon and Aggron were a vital part of almost any aspect of medieval warfare, and for that they are remembered and respected among us medieval historians. Perhaps some day I could raise an Aron, train them in traditional martial arts and bring them with me to the battlefield... But that is something for the future. Myla is enough for me as it stands! But still, I think it's important to recognise the dedication and loyalty all these pokémon showed even when they were subjected to nothing but a tough life in harsh conditions. I hope you found this interesting!

The Aron-Lairon-Aggron evolutionary line had a long and extensive history on the battlefield long before and after the middle ages, being naturally very strong and tough fighters, while being fiercely loyal to their trainers. Lairon were by far the most common on the battlefield; many medieval trainers were not able to fully evolve their Lairon into Aggron for a multitude of reasons; they may not have had the resources to properly care for an Aggron, may not have skilled enough or their Lairon may not have survived in battle long enough to build the necessary experience. Nevertheless, Lairon were dependable heavy troops, proving to be excellent in defending valuable positions or holding key parts of a battle line. We also have a lot of evidence from the old Galarian Chronicle as well as a Kalosian tapestry that the old Housecarls of southern Galar made extensive use of Lairon; they would be used to charge weaker parts of an enemy shield wall using their weight and armour to essentially become a walking battering ram. Once the enemy formation was broken up, their trainers would be able to cut down the enemy with their large axes.

Aggron, though rarer as previously mentioned still definitely made a big impression on the battlefield. Essentially being just as well armoured as Lairon as well as being taller and most importantly more capable of dealing out attacks, Aggron were highly desired by lords and other noblemen as a strong part of any bodyguard; as well as being a status symbol thanks to the difficulty of raising one. Several martial arts manuscripts of the time detail ways to avoid Aggron attacks and if unable to fight them with one's own pokémon to attempt to neutralise them by jamming a spearhead or sword blade in its shoulder joints to lock them up and attempt to pierce the head armour with an anti armour dagger -we don't know how effective these techniques were but they would have been difficult to pull off. Some sources even make reference to Aggron being armed with human-made weapons, mainly polearms though we cannot be sure if this was something that was actually done.

So, Lairon and Aggron were both formidable foes on the battlefield, but they were also semi prevalent outside of battle... I'll make a follow up to this post tomorrow!

[elifalvey]

location — aslihan’s home.

status — for aslihan ( @draslihanxfahri-bailey​ ).

Somehow, Elijah severely underestimated the willpower that it would take in order to pack up three cats into their carriers — all by himself — and drive them over to Aslihan’s house, from his apartment. And funnily enough, he managed to convince himself along the way that the hard part was over as soon as he pulled into her driveway. He was sure he looked crazy, if any neighbors could see him. Determined to make as little trips as possible, he loaded up his arms with the bags he acquired from the quick stop at the grocery store and grabbed two of the carriers, practically stumbling to the front porch and setting everything down before running back to pick up the third. Once everything was at his feet, he searched for a moment to find the spare key and let himself in. 

The first thing he did was let the cats loose; Kemet, clearly, was right at home, meanwhile the other two gradually warmed up to the space and slowly started to explore. The second thing on his mind was unloading all of the groceries, so he took the bags into the kitchen and set them onto the countertop. He wanted to do something nice for Aslihan, aside from just taking care of her cat while she was busy preparing things at the museum. He thought that cooking her dinner for when she came home — whenever that would be, he wasn’t entirely sure — was a good place to start, among other surprises. And how difficult could potstickers really be to make? A hell of a lot more difficult than he anticipated when he had a very minimal idea of what he was doing, he figured out. Though he tried his best to make it work, and was quite proud of himself once that was done and set aside.

He was about to venture into unknown territory — otherwise known as trying to decide whether the unfathomable amount of plants that she had in possibly every corner of the house needed water — when he heard the latch of the front door. Scooping up Eve who had made an obstacle of his feet, he made his way back to the foyer and smiled happily as he saw that Kemet had already beat him to saying hello. Oliver was perched on the stairs, practically frozen still until he realized that it was Aslihan who came inside. “Hi there, my busy bee,” he said, walking up to his girlfriend and pressing a kiss to her lips. With his free hand, he started taking off her jacket and hung it up on one of the free hooks. “How was your day? Are you hungry? Y’know, I was dangerously close to an accidental mass-plant extinction. If you’d have been gone one more minute, they definitely would've paid the price.”

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Real Life Tasks With Ransom Drysdale

An Advent Calendar of 24 Normal Human Tasks As Performed By A Huge Man Baby.

Day 10: Shop Till You Drop

Warnings: Bad Language words

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N:  Instalment 10 of mine, @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ and @jennmurawski13​ ‘s telling of Ransom’s quest to become a normal human being. This time Ransom takes on a Supermarket…

Series Masterlist. 

“Will you stop!” You sighed, exasperatedly.

“Stop what?” Ransom frowned, tossing another box of Pop Tarts into the trolley he was pushing round the Supermarket

“Loading the trolley full of crap!”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t need it.”

“So?” he shrugged “I want it.”

You let out another groan “That’s all it ever boils down to with you isn’t it?”

“What the fuck is eating you today?” he snarked back, folding his arms across his chest. “Or is it more a case of nothing has eaten you, if you get my drift?”

“God you’re a fucking…” you growled and shook your head, “frankly the thought of you going near me at the moment makes me wanna puke. I’m tired. I have back ache and my legs are sore. We came in with a list and it should have taken us twenty minutes tops but oh no, you just keep stopping for a load of shit we don’t need and it's taking us twice as long and I just want to go home!”

The last word broke as you began to sob, the damned hormones flooding your system and Ransom’s eyes flew open in panic. He was used to your little outbursts thanks to his spawn growing inside of you, but this was the first time you’d had one in public.

“Y/N, stop.” He urged you, moving round the trolley towards you. He hesitated, before he opened his arms, clearly not sure if you were going to slap him or not but you didn’t have the energy. Instead you let him pull you to him, pressing your face into his sweater, breathing in his heady scent. His hands gently ran up your back as you fought for control, eventually pulling away as you looked up at him. His large hands cupped your face gently and he pressed his lips to yours, smirking a little “And you say I’m a brat?”

“Fuck off, Ransom.” You pulled away.

“Okay, okay!” he chuckled. “Look, why don’t you-“ he fished into his jeans pocket and handed you the keys to the Merc “-go wait in the car? I’ll finish up.”

“You’re going to finish getting the groceries?”

“Yeah.”

You blinked, before you shrugged “Fine, but don’t forget anything on that list or I swear to God you’ll be couched for a week.”

“Jesus, Y/N.” He plucked the list out of your hand, rolling his eyes “Just go for fucks sake.”

You glared at him once more before you turned on your heel and left him in the middle of the aisle, without so much as a look back. As you left through the exit, you took a deep breath, instantly feeling calmer and you felt a little guilty at your outburst as he hadn’t actually been doing much wrong. He had always been a pain in the ass when it came to shopping and you’d tried so hard to get him to stay at home, but he was insistent that he came to help. You should be grateful really, you knew that, he was only trying to ensure you didn’t do too much but all it resulted in was him getting on your last nerve and an emotional outburst like the one you’d just had.

True to form he’d been a complete fucking tool from the moment you set foot in the shop. Completely ignoring you and piling anything and everything he liked the look of into the trolley, even if you knew half of it would go to waste. But that was him and his damned family all over. More money than fucking sense.

Fuck it, he could deal with it. You were going to take a nap in the comfy passenger seat whilst he finished. And woe betide him try anything when you got home later on that evening, if he so much as made a single amorous advance towards you that night you’d rip his cock off.

****

Ransom watched Y/N stalk off away from him an exhaled, loudly, whilst also giving himself a mental pat on the back for being smart enough to tell her to go and wait in the car. Allowing her to rest whilst he complete the shopping was most certainly going to put him in her good books. And, if he played his cards right and even unloaded the groceries at the other end, he’d most certainly get a bit of bedroom fun later on.

Yup, Ransom Drysdale was a clever bastard.

That said, he did feel a tad guilty. He knew she’d been struggling the last few days with her back and seeing her burst into tears in the middle of Whole Foods had made him realise just how much energy she was using growing their baby. Maybe he had been a bit of a pain in the ass, but he hadn’t meant to be. He just liked what he liked and seeing as money wasn’t an issue why shouldn’t he get it?

He glanced down at the list, there wasn’t that much left on it. So he hastily made his way around the store allowing himself only one little detour for an unlisted item- some Lavender and Camomile bath salts for Y/N which he intended to use later when he drew her a bath to help her relax- and then made his way to the check outs.

This was the bit he hated, with a passion. Unloading and then waging a war with the damned items at the other end whilst he tried to bag them as quickly as the checkout ninja scanned them and slid them down to him. However, as luck would have it, today’s ‘ninja’ was more of a ‘nan-ja’, and to his relief the coffin-dodger took her time, having to bend so close to the screen to see the items her nose might as well have been touching it. This allowed him enough time to bag everything as Y/N did- raw meats separate, then chilled, frozen, fresh and tinned. He paused, as the final bag containing the 3 bottles of his preferred wine and a 4 pack of beer felt a little strained and he pondered double bagging. But decided against it. It was only going in the back of the car from the trolley, he’d just make sure to support it underneath.

Eventually the woman, who now he studied her must have been the same age as his fucking Great-Nana Wanetta, scanned the last item which was a bar of Y/N’s favourite chocolate he’d picked up from the stand at the end of the checkout, and turned to him smiling. She read out the total and he passed his card over, looking around as she scanned it and pressed a few buttons. Finally, the ordeal was over and he took his card and receipt before making his way back outside.

Job well done, even if he did say so himself.

He pushed the trolley over the car park, stopping only to hurl abuse at some absolute moron in a Toyota who nearly took him out when he skidded round the corner, and opened the trunk to the car. He loaded the bags, took the trolley back (well, he pushed it to the spare space besides the car because fuck walking over to the Trolley Park, that’s what they paid the simpleton in the hat and hi-viz to do) and made his way to the driver’s door. He dropped in besides his girl and she turned to face him, a smile spreading across her face as he handed her the Hershey’s.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m sorry.”

“Its ok baby.” He smiled at her as she leaned over to give him a soft kiss “Cooking my boy is zapping it outta you huh?”

“Just a tad.” She shrugged “But I shouldn’t have snapped. Thank you for finishing up.”

Ransom shrugged “No big deal.” he gave her another quick kiss before he put the car in reverse and drove towards the parking lot exit, a soft smirk playing on his handsome face

Yup, he was off Santa’s Naughty List for sure.

*****

“Go and put your feet up, I got this.” Ransom assured you as you made your way to the trunk to help unload the shopping.

"You sure?"

“Positive.” He nodded, his arms wrapping around you from behind, large hands sweeping over the front of your jacket, softly caressing your bump. “It won’t take me long to unload and put it all away. Then we can curl up and I’ll order us that pizza you’ve been talking about all day.”

“Extra olives?”

“Whatever you want.” He pressed a kiss to your neck and you bit your lip. You had to admit, that did sound like a damned fine idea. And, to be honest, he was pretty good at unpacking groceries, that was one area he was actually trained in after years of you whipping him into shape.

“Okay.” You tilted your head round to look at him, giving him a quick kiss “Can you keep the mincemeat out for tomorrow’s dinner and the rest of the meat-“

“Can go in the freezer, yeah, I know.” He stepped back, reaching for a bag “I’m not a complete moron.”

“Debatable.” You muttered, ignoring the eye-roll that came your way as you stepped away from him. You headed to the front door, your pace slow as your baby was doing what felt like the tango in your belly. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently, especially when Ransom had touched your bump and spoken to you, almost like he was reacting directly to his Daddy. When you’d told Ransom so the previous night, he’d positively beamed at you with pure unadulterated love on his features, something which you were sure no one but you ever saw. You rubbed your belly, a soft smile on your face, telling your unborn son to quieten down a little, and you’d just unlocked the door when you heard a loud yell, followed by the smashing of glass and a string of expletives from your husband.

“Mother fucking, asshole, bastard crap bag!”

You spun round to see Ransom stood with a carrier bag in his hand, the bottom flapping as it had completely given way. Green and brown glass littered your drive way as a pool of red-wine and beer swam around his expensive chukkas. He screwed the bag up, tossing it into the trunk as he ran a hand through his hair, growling in annoyance.

“How much did you just drop all over the drive way?” you asked and he peeked up at you and grimaced.

“Eighty bucks worth. That was some quality merlot.”

“Well, maybe next time you’ll remember to double bag.” You shook your head, before you nodded to it “Make sure you clean that up. I’d hate to reverse over it and get another flat. Woe betide we have a performance like last time.”

“Oh, I dunno.” He quipped, a smirk spreading across his face “I happen to think the performance last time was pretty good. You certainly didn’t have any complaints once I got you back inside and sat on my face.”

You blinked, before you scoffed and shook your head “Do you know where the brush and dustpan is or should I draw you a map?”

“Fuck you.” He shot back, his eyes narrowed in a glare and you grinned, shrugging.

“Maybe later.” and with that you headed inside leaving him to grieve for his precious alcohol, which had been taken from him far too soon…

[wiypt-writes]

Real Life Tasks With Ransom Drysdale

An Advent Calendar of 24 Normal Human Tasks As Performed By A Huge Man Baby.

Day 10: Shop Till You Drop

Warnings: Bad Language words

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N:  Instalment 10 of mine, @sweater-daddiesdumbdork​ and @ohthankevans13​ telling of Ransom’s quest to become a normal human being. This time Ransom takes on a Super Market…

Series Masterlist

“Will you stop!” You sighed, exasperatedly.

“Stop what?” Ransom frowned, tossing another box of Pop Tarts into the trolley he was pushing round the Supermarket

“Loading the trolley full of crap!”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t need it.”

“So?” he shrugged “I want it.”

You let out another groan “That’s all it ever boils down to with you isn’t it?”

“What the fuck is eating you today?” he snarked back, folding his arms across his chest. “Or is more a case of nothing has eaten you, if you get my drift?”

“God you’re a fucking…” you growled and shook your head, “frankly the thought of you going near me at the moment makes me wanna puke. I’m tired. I have back ache and my legs are sore. We came in with a list and it should have taken us twenty minutes tops but oh no, you just keep stopping for a load of shit we don’t need and its taking us twice as long and I just want to go home!”

The last word broke as you began to sob, the damned hormones flooding your system and Ransom’s eyes flew open in panic. He was used to your little outbursts thanks to his spawn growing inside of you, but this was the first time you’d had one in public.

“Y/N, stop.” He urged you, moving round the trolley towards you. He hesitated, before he opened his arms, clearly not sure if you were going to slap him or not but you didn’t have the energy. Instead you let him pull you to him, pressing your face into his sweater, breathing in his heady scent. His hands gently ran up your back as you fought for control, eventually pulling away as you looked up at him. His large hands cupped your face gently and he pressed his lips to yours, smirking a little “And you say I’m a brat?”

“Fuck off, Ransom.” You pulled away.

“Okay, okay!” he chuckled. “Look, why don’t you-“ he fished into his jeans pocket and handed you the keys to the Merc “-go wait in the car? I’ll finish up.”

“You’re going to finish getting the groceries?”

“Yeah.”

You blinked, before you shrugged “Fine, but don’t forget anything on that list or I swear to God you’ll be couched for a week.”

“Jesus, Y/N.” He plucked the list out of your hand, rolling his eyes “Just go for fucks sake.”

You glared at him once more before you turned on your heel and left him in the middle of the aisle, without so much as a look back. As you left through the exit, you took a deep breath, instantly feeling calmer and you felt a little guilty at your outburst as he hadn’t actually been doing much wrong. He had always been a pain in the ass when it came to shopping and you’d tried so hard to get him to stay at home, but he was insistent that he came to help. You should be grateful really, you knew that, he was only trying to ensure you didn’t do too much but all it resulted in was him getting on your last nerve and an emotional outburst like the one you’d just had.

True to form he’d been a complete fucking tool from the moment you set foot in the shop. Completely ignoring you and piling anything and everything he liked the look of into the trolley, even if you knew half of it would go to waste. But that was him and his damned family all over. More money than fucking sense.

Fuck it, he could deal with it. You were going to take a nap in the comfy passenger seat whilst he finished. And woe betide him try anything when you got home later on that evening, if he so much as made a single amorous advance towards you that night you’d rip his cock off.

**** Ransom watched Y/N stalk off away from him an exhaled, loudly, whilst also giving himself a mental pat on the back for being smart enough to tell her to go and wait in the car. Allowing her to rest whilst he complete the shopping was most certainly going to put him in her good books. And, if he played his cards right and even unloaded the groceries at the other end, he’d most certainly get a bit of bedroom fun later on.

Yup, Ransom Drysdale was a clever bastard.

That said, he did feel a tad guilty. He knew she’d been struggling the last few days with her back and seeing her burst into tears in the middle of Whole Foods had made him realise just how much energy she was using growing their baby. Maybe he had been a bit of a pain in the ass, but he hadn’t meant to be. He just liked what he liked and seeing as money wasn’t an issue why shouldn’t he get it?

He glanced down at the list, there wasn’t that much left on it. So, he hastily made his way around the store allowing himself only one little detour for an unlisted item- some Lavender and Camomile bath salts for Y/N which he intended to use later when he drew her a bath to help her relax- and then made his way to the check outs.

This was the bit he hated, with a passion. Unloading and then waging a war with the damned items at the other end whilst he tried to bag them as quickly as the checkout ninja scanned them and slid them down to him. However, as luck would have it, today’s ‘ninja’ was more of a ‘nan-ja’, and to his relief the coffin-dodger took her time, having to bend so close to the screen to see the items her nose might as well have been touching it. This allowed him enough time to bag everything as Y/N did- raw meats separate, then chilled, frozen, fresh and tinned. He paused, as the final bag containing the 3 bottles of his preferred wine and a 4 pack of beer felt a little strained and he pondered double bagging. But decided against it. It was only going in the back of the car from the trolley, he’d just make sure to support it underneath.

Eventually the woman, who now he studied her must have been the same age as his fucking Great-Nana Wanetta, scanned the last item which was a bar of Y/N’s favourite chocolate he’d picked up from the stand at the end of the checkout, and turned to him smiling. She read out the total and he passed his card over, looking around as she scanned it and pressed a few buttons. Finally, the ordeal was over and he took his card and receipt before making his way back outside.

Job well done, even if he did say so himself.

He pushed the trolley over the car park, stopping only to hurl abuse at some absolute moron in a Toyota who nearly took him out when he skidded round the corner, and opened the trunk to the car. He loaded the bags, took the trolley back (well, he pushed it to the spare space besides he car because fuck walking over to the Trolley Park, that’s what they paid the simpleton in the hat and hi-viz to do) and made his way to the driver’s door. He dropped in besides his girl and she turned to face him, a smile spreading across her face as he handed her the Hershey’s.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“Its ok baby.” He smiled at her as she leaned over to give him a soft kiss “Cooking my boy is zapping it outta you huh?”

“Just a tad.” She shrugged “But I shouldn’t have snapped. Thank you for finishing up.”

Ransom shrugged “No big deal.” he gave he another quick kiss before he put the car in reverse and drove towards the parking lot exit, a soft smirk playing on his handsome face

Yup, he was off Santa’s Naughty List for sure.

***** “Go and put your feet up, I got this.” Ransom assured you as you made your way to the trunk to help unload the shopping.

“Sure?”

“Positive.” He nodded, his arms wrapping around you from behind, large hands sweeping over the front of your jacket, softly caressing your bump. “It won’t take me long to unload and put it all away. Then we can curl up and I’ll order us that pizza you’ve been talking about all day.”

He pressed a kiss to your neck and you bit your lip. You had to admit, that did sound like a damned fine idea. And, to be honest, he was pretty good at unpacking groceries, that was one area he was actually trained in after years of you whipping him into shape.

“Okay.” You tilted your head round to look at him, giving him a quick kiss “Can you keep the mincemeat out for tomorrow’s dinner and the rest of the meat-“

“Can go in the freezer, yeah, I know.” He stepped back, reaching for a bag “I’m not a complete moron.”

“Debatable.” You muttered, ignoring the eye-roll that came your way as you turned around. You headed to the front door, your pace slow as your baby was doing what felt like the tango in your belly. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently, and you were convinced he was reacting to Ransom’s voice, something which you’d told him the previous night making him positively beam at you with pure unadulterated love on his features, something which you were sure no one but you saw. You rubbed your belly, a soft smile on your face, telling your unborn son to quieten down a little, and you’d just unlocked the door when you heard a loud yell, followed by the smashing of glass and a string of expletives from your husband.

“Mother fucking, asshole, bastard crap bag!”

You spun round to see Ransom stood with a carrier bag in his hand, the bottom flapping as it had completely given way. Green and brown glass littered your drive way as a pool of red-wine and beer swam around his expensive chukkas. He screwed the bag up, tossing it into the trunk as he ran a hand through his hair, growling in annoyance.

“How much did you just drop all over the drive way?” you asked and he peeked up at you and grimaced.

“Eighty bucks worth. That was some quality merlot.”

“Well, maybe next time you’ll remember to double bag.” You shook your head, before you nodded to it “Make sure you clean that up. I’d hate to reverse over it and get another flat. Woe betide we have a performance like last time.”

“Oh, I dunno.” He quipped, a smirk spreading across his face “I happen to think the performance last time was pretty good. You certainly didn’t have any complaints once I got you back inside and sat on my face.”

You blinked, before you scoffed and shook your head “Do you know where the brush and dustpan is or should I draw you a map?”

“Fuck you.” He shot back, his eyes narrowed in a glare and you grinned, shrugging.

“Maybe later.” and with that you headed inside leaving him to grieve for his precious alcohol, which had been taken from him far too soon…

[solivar]

The Left Hand Path: Three Years Ago

aka the One In Which Genji and Zenyatta meet.

The Standing Stones of Santa Ana Pueblo

Location: Just above the Red Line off I-25 N/Old New Mexico Route 68 N, Sandoval County north of the Albuquerque Military Exclusion Area.

Before the Crisis, Santa Ana Pueblo was a thriving Tamayame reservation, part of the Greater Albuquerque Metropolitan area, and a major tourist draw in the region owing to its world-class golf courses and club, a well-regarded spa resort, a casino and Michelin-starred restaurant, and a multitude of easily accessible cultural sites and events spread throughout the year. All of that changed on the afternoon of August 13, 2046 when Omnic forces advancing on Albuquerque breached the containment cordon along Route 40 and the US military, massed there to stop them, unleashed experimental high energy weaponry designed for that task.

Once the dust settled, the city of Albuquerque and much of the surrounding area, including the Sandia and Santa Ana Pueblos, was almost completely leveled. In the aftermath, the military cordoned off the ruins of the city inside the Albuquerque Military Exclusion Area, which remains under heavily patrolled Federal military control to this day. Evacuees from the surrounding area were strongly encouraged not to return, with offers to purchase their land at pre-Crisis market value to sweeten the deal. Many accepted, a handful did not, and those that chose to do so returned to a pueblo whose buildings were reduced to rubble and scattered with wreckage -- and something weird that was neither.

The Standing Stones of Santa Ana Pueblo occupy a relatively compact chunk of land on the grounds of what was once Santa Ana Golf Club, shielded from casual view by a stand of cottonwood trees that somehow survived the explosions that leveled the clubhouse and most of the other course structures and did significant damage to the surrounding area. There are nine of them, standing in a geometrically perfect circle, varying in size from from well over six feet to a little over five, perfectly hexagonal in shape, crafted of a dark stone that at least superficially resembles basalt. The inner surface of each stone is densely carved with petroglyphs incised deeply into the rock. The outer surface of each stone is carved with one petroglyph unique to that stone and which cannot be found on any of the others, inside or out. Local experts on Native American petroglyphs continue to research this topic but, as of this writing, none of the petroglyphs that appear on the Standing Stones resemble any glyphs that appear on historical sites in the region.

Nor were the Standing Stones a feature of the area before the Omnic Crisis, as confirmed by surviving photos and video of the course and local residents of the area, including the former owners of the golf club. At some point after the evacuation of Santa Ana Pueblo, the Standing Stones appeared in their current location, unnoticed by anyone despite the heavy military presence and regular patrols of the area, and despite the amount of effort such a project would entail. The stones, though tall and relatively slender, are still estimated to weigh several hundred pounds each -- not something that could be loaded, unloaded, and placed by a single person working by hand alone.

The hundred or so families who make Santa Ana Pueblo their home give the Standing Stones a wide berth, citing weirdly colored lights that appear close to the ground around them and occasionally in the sky above, strange disembodied sounds, and a deep thrumming hum that periodically rises from the area. These phenomena have appeared on official reports from area law enforcement and also on official notices issued from the Albuquerque Exclusion Area’s patrol base. Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, most of these phenomena have been observed around the anniversary of the Battle of Albuquerque on August 13th.

If you want to try to catch the weirdness in action, make certain you’re prepared to handle high desert summer weather and get your permissions in order accordingly. The former grounds of Santa Ana Golf Course are private property posted against trespass and the area is periodically patrolled by both the US military and tribal coalition police.

“Tonight’s the night, everybody. August the thirteenth. The anniversary of the Battle of Albuquerque. It’s taken months to get my uncle to trust me enough to go out on perimeter patrol but this is our pay off.” Cody Peshlakai lowered his voice, dramatically, because there was no real danger of being heard, to hype up the audience watching his live HollaGram stream. “Tonight I will investigate the Standing Stones and tonight you will be with me.”

He flashed a grin and a V-for-victory sign into his camera then clipped it to the stabilizer harness strapped around his shoulders and across his chest, one more piece of survival equipment among the molle pouches carrying the rest of his gear, no different from anyone else’s. It sat there, neatly hidden next to his cellphone and the primitive walkie talkie his uncle insisted the security crews carry, through the team muster and meeting at the pueblo ranger station, broadcasting all the while. Nobody objected when he called dibs on one of the spiffy little hybrid hover/wheels ATVs, a good chunk of the all-volunteer patrol crew being old enough to value the superior shock absorption of the service’s Jeeps and trucks. The ATV yielded a much better POV for the viewers as he jetted out across the scrubby desert hardpack on the eastern bank of the Rio Grande toward his goal: the grounds of the former Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Club.

Which was, unfortunately, on the western side of the Rio Grande.

On the way, he passed clusters of habitation: the small, self-contained farmsteads of single families, an artist’s commune, the little solar farm that served the area and its caretaker’s hacienda. He paused at each and exchanged a few words with the residents, radioed a handful of coyote sightings back to base, and continued on, the excitement churning higher and higher in his gut the closer he came to his goal, as his numbers climbed on his viewership monitor.

“So, yeah, that’s my job, stream -- I help keep my community, my friends and neighbors, safe. Sometimes that’s chasing off coyotes that are getting a little too comfortable raiding the compost bins but sometimes...sometimes it’s a lot weirder.” The remains of the old Highway 550 bridge loomed out of the twilight, crumbling concrete pilings jutting out of the shallowest, siltiest part of the river and he pulled to a halt, executing a slow pan to give the stream the best view possible. “On the other side of the river and a few miles west is what’s left of the Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Club. It used to be a world-class course, fancy-ass hotel and casino inclusive, made a lot of jobs and money for the community. All that, of course, came to an end during the Omnic Crisis.”

He revved the motivator, fired up the hoverpods to their highest yield, and skimmed across the surface of the river and up the opposite bank. A vista of devastation, stained in shades of sunset and shadow, spread out before them and the stream chat went absolutely wild. The residential neighborhoods south of 550 had been utterly flattened during the Battle of Albuquerque, hardly a brick left stacked or a wall left standing, blown all-but-flat by some incomprehensibly massive force. That, combined with the occasional blast crater and random scattering of unexploded ordnance, had discouraged resettlement so thoroughly nobody even wanted to risk putting up a solar farm. Wreckage still lay scattered as far as the eye could see and the eye could see quite a distance, even with twenty-plus years of desert scrub overgrowth blurring the harshest edges.

“Nobody really knows what happened here that day -- August thirteenth, the Battle of Albuquerque,” Cody narrated as he kicked the ATV back into motion, navigating carefully down the cracked and pitted remnants of 550 toward his goal. “Just about everybody was evacuated and the ones that stayed behind...well. Let’s just say that, when all was said and done, there wasn’t anyone left to tell the tale.”

The bombed-out, burned-out remnants of the old hotel-casino came into view, its parking lot still filled with the rusting hulks of abandoned vehicles. “The casino and golf course were used as a rallying and evacuation point for the nearby communities on the west bank of the Rio Grande in the days leading up to the battle. The US Army and local militia forces were massing along I-40 -- the Red Line -- and the Air Force and Air National Guard were flying refugees out by helo, the National Guard had commandeered every bus, van, and free personnel carrier they could get their hands on to get people out of harm’s way. This entire area was an absolute hive of activity, you can find video of it all over the internet.”

He paused long enough to link some of his favorites in the chat as he turned off the main road, easing the ATV along something that was once a paved maintenance access point, running roughly parallel with the river. He hit the first scraggly bits of “green,” grass genetically engineered to survive the heat and dry of a high desert summer, a few minutes later and he pulled up onto the flat, opened up his holomap, and pinged his location for the audience. “I’m here -- just south of the lower water trap which is, at this point, completely dry. Our objective is...here.” He touched the copse of cottonwood trees a mile and a half to the north. “The Standing Stones. No one knows how they got here -- they weren’t here before the battle and they weren’t here during the evacuation. But when the recovery teams swept through to see what, if anything, had survived...there they were.”

He gunned the motivator, turned the headlights up to maximum, and muted the call trying to come in from his uncle, likely demanding where the Hell he was. Oh, he was getting fired for this. So very, very fired. But very soon that wouldn’t matter, because after tonight his career was going elsewhere.

The stream picked up every jounce and bounce as he skimmed over ruts and bits of wreckage flung miles from their origins, swerved around scrub becoming less and less scrubby as he went and the wild descendants of decorative plants that had somehow survived despite it all. The cottonwood stand was still the tallest thing around and he slowed as it came into view. “My plan is to set up motion-activated cameras in a perimeter around the Standing Stones and several inside the circle of the Stones, as well, along with a super-sensitive microphone pickup and electromagnetic monitoring equipment. If something happens tonight, we’ll see and hear it.”

He stopped as the ATV’s headlights washed over the trees and struck glints from the Standing Stones themselves, dark stone reflecting darkly -- and more. Cody froze, still straddling his seat. “Oh, fuck -- there’s someone else in there --”

Cody killed the headlights and the motivator and rolled off the ATV into the relative cover of the underbrush in one smoothish and only mildly panicked motion. He even managed to avoid squeaking too much as he whispered, “Chat, did you see that? Did anyone else see that?!”

Yes!

Me, too!

I saw it -- it was TALL

Dozens of messages bubbled up in the chat as his audience scrolled back and scrutinized every frame for him. For his part, he dug his brand new Panopticon binoculars out of gear bag, clipped them into place on his tactical visor, and tried to get a better look of his own, zooming in on the Standing Stones so closely he could clearly see the petroglyphs incised into their surfaces, even with the last of the light bleeding out of the sky behind them. None of the grainy-green of old school low light optics with these babies, and he scanned the area and slow and careful, looking for some hint of what he saw, something, anything --

A flicker of motion caught his eye, something moving among the Stones, mostly obscured by their mass.

“Fuck.” This...was not a complication he had considered, much less prepared for. This whole area in general and the Standing Stones very much in specific were so far out of bounds that he never imagined encountering another person out here at all much less…

On the night of the anniversary of the battle of Albuquerque.

He had to physically resist the urge to facepalm. “Chat, I...think I know what this is.” He crawled back out of the brush and hunkered down next to the ATV, tried to get a better angle on the inside of the circle. “You know how every year there’s a remembrance ceremony at the big Crisis Memorial up in Santa Fe? Well...what if I told you that some people come down to the pueblo for their own private remembrances, too? It’s the anniversary, after all. Let me see if --”

A shriek of audio distortion drilled his ear with the enthusiasm of an icepick straight to the brain and it was all he could do not to howl as he clawed his audio pickup out. “Holy fuck, what was that?”

The chat, in the corner of the heads-up display on his visor, was losing its entire fucking mind -- whatever it was, they had heard it, too, and --

A second pulse of sound, deep and resonant, punched him in the chest hard enough to make both his heart and breathing stutter, and the chat went absolutely apeshit again as it fed through to them, as well.

“You know what, Chat,” Cody said, as soon as he got enough breath back to speak, “I think I’m going to take your advice and get the Hell --”

Golden light blossomed inside the circle of the Standing Stones -- for an instant, to his eyes, it looked as though the petroglyphs themselves were lighting up, searing their patterns into his retinas with a single unwary glance. He reeled back and looked away as he clawed both the tac visor and the binoculars off his face, blinking afterimages out of his vision, the light washing out of the stone circle, over him, over everything, and --

Calm flowed over him, over him and through him, a wave of perfect serenity that stole away all his fear between one breath and the next, left him wobbling on legs made of rubber, legs that folded up underneath him and left him sprawled on his back, eyes and camera both pointed at the swiftly darkening sky, hazed in golden light. He could hear the pinging of his stream’s chat freaking out a few physical inches and a couple thousand conceptual realities away, but couldn’t bring himself to care. That sweet golden light was all he knew and that majestic bone-deep music, and he allowed himself to drift away on it, blinking away like a pinched-out candle between one breath and the next.

It was some time later that the rescue team found him, sprawled out next to the ATV, boneless, blissed out and drooling. But not, as they feared, dead.

“I told you this little moron was up to something,” Julia Tso nudged him in the ribs with the tip of one hiking boot. “He’s been streaming crap on HollaGram for months, Joseph.”

“Yeah, I know.” Joseph Peshlakai sighed and signaled the medical evac team to come in from the road. “Keep an eye on him until they get here, yeah?”

Julia rolled her eyes but nodded and Joseph crossed the remaining distance to the Standing Stones, where a golden light still pulsed among them, within them, the petroglyphs alight. He stopped outside, cleared his throat, and said, “Thank you for not killing him, Wanderer. He’s an idiot but he’s my kid brother’s favorite child.”

Youth and folly are not offenses punishable by death, my old friend. The voice echoed in his mind, warm and amused, but not less awesome because of it. Thank you, as always, for watching over them in my absence.

“My honor, Wanderer. I’m honestly a little surprised to see you this soon. It’s only been, what, five years?” Five years to the day, Joseph thought but did not say.

Yes. I...think I will be staying for a time. Not here. But close. I feel...A frisson of unease passed between them, mind to mind, a chill crawling down his spine. I feel that I will be needed, sooner rather than later.

Joseph took a deep, steadying breath and nodded. “Things have been...a little stranger than usual, I will admit. It will be good to have you back, even if only for a time.”

It will be good to be home. Farewell for now, old friend.

The golden light blinked out, and Joseph knew he was alone. The Stones faded more slowly at his back, as he walked back down the shallow rise to his lieutenant and his idiot nephew and the knowledge growing in his mind that things were going to get worse before they got better.

[elylandon]

Part 1 - Chapter 16.1: Camping and Scars

Summary: You’re running for your life when you cross paths with an ex-bounty hunter and his small, green companion. You never thought you’d find someone throughout the whole galaxy who was as lost as you.

Pairing: The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 6,085

Rating/Warnings: M for mature content. Swearing, smut, unbelievable softness.

Chapter 16 | Chapter 16.2

Note: (Slight AU) And we’re back!! I hope you all enjoyed the start of the new season! I can’t wait to start Part 2 of this story, but I figured while I wait a few weeks to outline my plans with the events of season 2, I’ll drop a couple epilogue chapters to get us caught up with what Din and Reader have been up to! I really hope you guys enjoy this addition, and thanks for still supporting this story! 💜🤍

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Three months. It had been a little over three months since Nevarro. And in that time, Din quickly realized that he had no idea how to take a proper vacation. When he’d suggested taking a break, you said that you would follow him. But in the end, he wound up following you.

Every place the three of you visited in that time had been a suggestion on your part. Suggestions of things you’d wanted to do on Earth growing up, while Din interpreted those things and found what he knew to be similar. Grand waterfalls, deep canyons, towering cities, sporting events, pod races, museums, libraries, menageries- the works. It was as if you saw the many wonders of the galaxy on a platter and you wanted to sample all of them.

But as the two of you agreed, this break would have to come to an end soon. Your birthday happened to be two weeks away, so you had a couple more ideas as a sort of celebration before getting back to reality, and finally setting out on Din’s quest with the child, and your quest to find Zekir.

Your first idea was recreational camping.

“Camping for… fun?” Din had asked, bemused. The way he was raised with the Mandalorians, camping was for survival, and nothing more. He tried to imagine the drills he’d been put through to survive several days on his own, only using the resources around him, as fun.

“Yes! It was something my parents liked to do every summer. We’d go to the same campsite every time, a forest on a mountain, and set up our camp next to a river. My dad would fish while my mom and I would hunt for crawdads and trap chipmunks. We’d cook our meals over a campfire and find constellations at night. It was probably one of my favorite things we did as a family.”

Din didn’t think he could say no to you after hearing that, even if he wanted to. There was a light in your eyes as you told him about it. Excitement, and longing for something you’d cherished in your past. He could understand that, the desire to relive something from a time when you were so happy, so carefree about the dangers of the galaxy. 

So he agreed, and the two of you made plans. First, preparation.

Din escorted you to his usual trading spot and set you loose. It was like that first time the two of you had been there, all those months ago, where you followed him to each stall as he knew exactly where to go and who to talk to in order to pawn off all the things you’d looted from Thasar’s ships. This time, though, it was him following after you, watching you haggle for things he’d never seen a necessity for, but were apparently crucial to recreational camping.

You were a fast learner. He’d been teaching you other popular languages spoken throughout the galaxy, and you were using a lot of those new skills now, speaking as if you had been fluent in these languages your whole life. With each passing day, it made more and more sense how you’d learned so quickly under Zekir’s teachings and Thasar’s tutors. Despite that, though, it also became painfully apparent the absolute waste of your potential over the last decade while you were isolated to Thasar’s whims. Din could tell you regretted that lost time, that lost education. But you didn’t waste it now.

You were almost as much of an expert on the Razor Crest as he was. You were well versed in his armor too, in case you ever found yourself in a situation where he was incapacitated and you could benefit from having access to something like the Whistling Birds. You’d improved on your marksmanship and your close combat fighting, with and without weaponry. You’d also become partial to using an ornate dagger you’d spotted on your travels, sheathing in your boot, just in case you lost the use of your blaster holstered against your thigh.

All of this was to say that, taking a break for Din meant helping you grow, watching you take advantage of your freedom, and enjoying your whims, because he didn’t really have any. Of course, you also encouraged him to enjoy things that he might have missed out on at certain points in his life, just as you were doing. However, he wasn’t really sure what he’d missed, until he was doing it with you.

Once you were done shopping, you finished prepping by packing the newly acquired camping equipment into bins down in the hull. While you did that, Din took on the task of finding a place to camp. He remembered how you had explained your camping trips from your childhood. A river in a forest on a mountain. A place that made you think of home, of Earth.

He knew the perfect place.

Before long, Din was dropping into the atmosphere of a lush, green planet. Feeling the descent, you came up to join him in the cockpit and looked around, eyes glowing, mesmerized.

“It looks… just like I remember it. I mean, I know it’s not Earth, but it looks the same.”

“I had a job here once. This planet has a large caving system. I had to walk in circles down there for three days before I finally found the guy. Once I got topside again, I thought I wouldn’t mind coming back to a place like this. If I had to walk away from the Creed, or got too old and slow for the job, this was the kind of place I’d want to retire to.”

“You’re a cabin in the woods kind of guy, huh?” you teased. He only shrugged.

Din quickly found a small clearing to land in, and you eagerly waited at the back ramp as it slowly lowered. As soon as it touched the ground, you took off into the trees, the child happily bouncing against your hip in his satchel. You followed the sound of streaming water. After a hundred or so yards, you came up to a slow moving river. Just before the bank was a small circle of clear forest floor, big enough for both a campfire and a tent. And off to the right of that was a large outcropping of rock, forming a short cliff and overhang, below it a small pool branching off of the river.

You turned as Din came up behind you, having found your trail and followed you through the trees. You beamed up at him.

“This is the perfect spot.”

You proceed to set up camp. Din moved the camping bins from the Crest to the campsite while you and the child started pitching the tent. Once that was done, you went around gathering rocks, creating a circle away from the tent to form a firepit. Then you collected firewood. Din eventually joined you, unwittingly volunteering to be the firewood carrier as you and the child slowly added to the load in his arms.

You let the child play in the empty tent while you unloaded the equipment from the bins. One was stuffed with blankets and pillows, and you used them to create a huge nest in the tent. You followed that by tossing your pack to one side and Din’s to the other, then tucked a lantern into one of the corners closer to the opening, and finished prepping the tent for basic hibernation.

Once the camp was put together, the three of you spent the rest of the day doing the activities you remembered doing with your parents. Din fished, but with a handmade spear instead of a fishing pole like you remembered your dad using. He stationed himself in the river, only out far enough for the water to run around his calves. He’d rolled his pants up, and stashed his armor away in the tent. The only thing remaining of the “Mandalorian” was his helmet. But even while he was now more flesh than beskar, he still had a way of keeping himself absolutely still as he waited for his quarry to be daring enough to swim within his reach. 

As he did that, you and the child played in the pool. Or rather, you collected some more rocks and formed a small circle in the most shallow part of the pool, just a few feet off the bank, and he splashed around in that while you swam. At one point, he’d used his powers to push the water, splashing at you. You gasped in mock betrayal and swore vengeance. Several minutes later, Din came over, a basket of fish in hand, only to find you two soaking wet and a mess of giggles. 

As it started to cool down in the late afternoon, you and child migrated away from the river and into the trees. You set up small traps for rodents on the forest floor, laying out a few tiny boxes, and propping one of their sides up with sticks. You both hunkered down behind some brush and waited, watching for little critters to come and snatch the bait you’d left under each box. After cleaning the fish for dinner, Din joined you, shaking his head as you and the child took turns using your power to knock out the sticks from under the boxes, so that they would fall over your unsuspecting prey. Of course, you’d let them go as soon as you caught them, and the poor rodents would dash away as soon as they were free. But they kept returning, as if the circumstances of their potential capture had changed. Needless to say, it created a couple hours of harmless entertainment.

As night fell, the three of you roasted Din’s catch over a roaring fire and feasted. Afterwards, bellies full, you all laid out beside the fire, relaxed and content after the busy day. Din pointed out several constellations as the stars started popping up in the night sky, remembering what you had told him about your parents doing the same. And it wasn’t long after that the child fell asleep against your chest to the sound of Din’s low, modulated voice. 

As much as you loved this kid, there were times when you were eager for him to fall asleep, and hopefully a deep sleep at that. Between the child, the armor, and the exact parameters required for such an occasion, intimate moments with Din were hard to come by. You loved spending time where the three of you were together, but you also relished the moments you could spend alone with Din. 

Said man went to grab some more firewood while you made your way up the short hill to the Razor Crest. Over the last few months, you’d managed to jury-rig a connection between the Crest’s intercom system and a long range coms device. Voila! Instant baby monitor. You snatched it up from it’s charging port on the supply shelf and tucked the child in on Din’s cot. He’d be a lot warmer on the ship, and if he woke in the night, you’d hear him. 

When you made it back to the fire you found Din kneeling in front of it, stoking the wood to keep it burning. You dropped down beside him, savoring the toasty warmth of the flames with a sigh. You criss-crossed your legs, your knee brushing against Din’s calf, and glanced around the camp. 

At first, your eyes went to the tent, and you contemplated how many more seconds you would last before you started dragging Din into it behind you. A wry smile played at your lips, but then your brain threw up another idea. 

Slowly, your gaze swung towards the pool you and the child were playing in earlier that day. 

“Now what are you scheming,” Din asked, noticing the look on your face. 

You tossed him a mischievous smile.

“I think I want to go skinny-dipping.”

Din was still and silent for a full thirty seconds as he assessed you. Then he shifted in an almost resigned fashion. 

“What is that?” he asked, tone suggesting that he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. 

Your grin became devilish and you stood. As you turned away from him, you tugged the hem of your shirt-- his shirt, the one he had given you the first day you’d met him-- out of your trousers, then over your head. You were already a few steps away, tossing your shirt aside when Din processed your actions enough to jump up and follow after you.

“Y/N,” he called, a question in his voice, confused. You bit the inside of your cheek to keep from giggling, then shed the band covering your chest. 

The closer you got to the pool, the more clothing you lost, leaving a trail for Din to follow. He was still puzzled by your actions, the sound of your name becoming more and more clipped as that legendary patience of his frayed. You glanced back at him once, and saw that he was picking up after you, your clothes and boots a bundle in his arms. Grinning so much that your cheeks hurt, you finally reached the bank of the river and the edge of the rocky cliff face that formed an overlook above the pool. 

While you were swimming with the child earlier, you’d checked the depth of the water, wondering if it would be safe for cliff jumping. The cliff itself wasn’t too high. In fact, you could compare it to jumping off the high dive at a public pool back home. And the pool was deep. Not deep enough for diving, but jumping in would be fine. 

You started to climb, and that sharpened Din’s tone. 

“Y/N, what the hell are you-”

You ignored him, scrambling up to the top of the cliff rather quickly. Yes, it was exactly like the high dive. Looking up at it from down below, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. But being up there, knowing what you were about to do…

Don’t think, just do it. 

You stripped off the last piece of your clothing, tossing your panties down for Din to add to the pile of your clothing. You knew his gaze was incredulous and reproachful as you met it, but you winked at him anyway, then shot forward, and jumped. 

As much as this reckless decision was to mess with Din-- give him a little strip tease and then a heart attack as you jumped off a cliff-- it was about you too. Earlier that day, you’d looked at the rocks and thought that it would be crazy, and adventurous, and fun to jump from them, naked, into a wild pool at night. You wanted to do it. You could do it. 

So you did. 

That quick fall, the feeling of your heart dropping into your stomach, a gleeful shout bubbling up from your throat- this was freedom. No shitty foster family. No Thasar. No Zekir. Just you, and the freedom to do whatever the hell you wanted, even something as crazy as this. 

You hit the water, and that feeling propelled you forward, swimming out a few more feet just to feel nothing but calm, silent water around you. No pressure. No anxiety. Just serenity, and lightheartedness. 

When you broke the surface, you were laughing. Laughing so hard, so unreserved that you almost took in a mouthful of water. Through your peels of laughter you shouted, “Fuck! It’s freezing!” as the cold finally started to penetrate your bliss. 

You pushed your hair from your face, treading the water, and turned back to the shore. Din was standing there, arms full of your clothes, body language suggesting he was so done with your antics. Not in a serious way, but in a I-can’t-believe-you-just-did-that-and-yet-I’m-not-even-surprised kind of way. 

“You’re a madwoman,” he muttered, then louder he said, “Get out of there before you freeze to death.”

“No way,” you called over, shaking your head. “Now it’s your turn.”

Again, Din was comically still for half a minute.

“No.” 

You snorted a laugh at his very Din-like answer. So deadpan. So serious. 

“Well then I’m just gonna hang out here.”

“Y/N.”

“I’m not leaving until you join me.”

“You’re going to freeze.”

“I guess you’ll just have to live with the consequences of your actions.”

“My actions-” Din cut himself off, realizing that you were poking at him and he was biting. He turned away, like he was going to start walking back to camp. 

“I’m s-starting to turn as b-blue as a Mythrol out here,” you stammered as your teeth started chattering. He just shook his head, so you sighed and tried a more serious tone.  

“Din, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. But trust me, all you have to do is let go. Let it all go and just… be free. Just for this moment.”

Another pause, and then Din sighed. Not his heavy, impatient sigh. Just a slightly resigned one. Then, he dropped your clothes on the bank, and reached down to tug off his boots. You continued to tread in the water, elated at the thought that he was about to jump into the pool with you, but also pleased to take advantage of your own little strip show. 

Din pulled his thick shirt over his helmeted head. While it was still dark as hell out here, the moon gave you just enough light to see more of Din than you ever had before. You never would have imagined how beautiful his skin was. For a warrior, you pictured… well you weren't at all sure what you pictured. All you knew was the feel of him. Seeing him now, it was no wonder why he always felt so warm, despite appearing cold in all that armor. 

His skin was a tawny color, his chest smooth, inviting. The armor made him appear bigger, but there was nothing lacking in his toned arms, broad shoulders, and thick neck. You were too far away, and it was too dark to see them, but you knew there were scars peppering his skin too, like yours. You’d felt a few of them before, while exploring his skin. But considering how you felt about your own scars, you never asked him about his. 

As Din reached for the waistband of his pants, he glanced up and noticed you watching. He cocked his head to the side, disapproving. 

“You’ll still have to turn around, Y/N.”

“Oh, I know. But you’ve only ever expressed that your Creed forbids you from showing your face. You’ve never said anything about the rest of you. I think I’d like to enjoy the show as long as I can.”

As if just to spite you, Din reached for his helmet first, not his pants. 

You scoffed, turning around. “Spoil sport.”

You heard the rustling of him removing the rest of his clothes, and setting them in a pile on the ground, most likely next to your own. You stared up at the sky, listening to Din’s slight, unmodulated grunting as he pulled himself up onto the rock. After a few more seconds, you wondered if he’d need some more coaxing, but as you opened your mouth, a raucous splashing erupted behind you. The waves he created rippled around you, and you sighed in slight disappointment. You didn’t often find yourself wishing you could see more of Din than usual. But in that moment, you kind of did. You would have liked to watch him make the jump. 

Alas, you kept your back to him as he surfaced, laughing some more as he released his own string of curses about the chill of the water. 

“Amazing right?” you called back to him. He muttered under his breath as he moved closer to you, stubbornly avoiding agreeing with you about how incredible it felt to jump off the cliff. 

You glanced over towards the adjacent river. “Maybe now we should try floating the river. It doesn’t look too fast.”

“No. No- Y/N!” Din caught up your bicep as you teasingly floated in that direction, pulling you back to the shore. You laughed again, just as carefree as before. 

“Kidding! I was totally kidding.”

“Alright. You’ve had your fun. You even got me in the water. Time to get back to land and warm up.”

“I know a few ways you can warm me up without getting out of the water.”

Ew, did I really just say that? You’d always hated it when men said slimy things like that to you in the past. 

“I know a few things you can do with that mouth.”

You shuddered, and opened your mouth to backpedal that statement. But what came out insead was a small yelp as Din yanked you back, spinning you as he did so. You squeezed your eyes shut, as he must have known you would have to keep from seeing him, and then-

And then his lips were on yours. Cold, but soft, unwavering. You sighed, immediately wrapping your arms around his shoulders, pulling yourself closer, seeking his warmth. 

It was totally a ploy. You could tell that as he tried to discreetly move you back towards the bank, kissing you as a distraction. But you were both very naked, and you had a few distractions of your own. 

Din liked to be touched. Correction. Din liked to be touched by you. You slid one hand up along the back of his neck, fingers threading through his curls. Your other hand traced over his shoulder and down his arm. Those arms were wrapped around you, his hands splayed against your lower back, never going any higher than that. As you moved against him, your breasts brushing against his chest, his fingers flexed, and he drew your hips closer, almost involuntarily, like he momentarily lost focus. 

He hummed softly against your lips.

I know what you’re doing, he seemed to say.

Your retort was the tightening of your fingers in his hair. Is it working?

The brush of sand and smooth rocks against your toes said not quite. He was determined to get you out of the water, and had managed to push you back enough to be swallowed up by the cliff's shadow, solid ground teasing you, just an inch or so out of reach. 

Alright, time for some more drastic measures. 

Your next kiss came a little harder, tongue flicking out to tease his, to taste him. Your fingers against his arm crept down along his side, then ghosted over his stomach, lower, and lower, until-

Din’s teeth caught your bottom lip, nipping you sharply as he flinched back, hissing. You stroked the length of him once again and he seemed to hold his breath in response, anticipating, already growing hard despite the frigid temperature. When you wrapped your fingers around him completely, he breathed out a soft curse, the word not one of the basic language. 

Mando’a, you’d come to find out over the last few months. When he swore or muttered under his breath in a different language, he was speaking Mando’a. He’d taught you a few words, but he’d also been teaching you many other languages, so sometimes you had to pick through the different files in your brain to decipher what he was saying. 

Back to the matter at hand-- so to speak-- you brushed your lips against his strained neck as he tried and failed to regain his focus, and slowly, oh-so-painfully slow, you slid your grip over him. Long, steady strokes that made his fingers dig deeper into the skin at your waist, restraining with all his might from bucking his hips against your hand. 

The thing about Din was that he was such a deliberate, controlled man. Every move he made was calculated, every reaction thought out. He didn’t rush things, or at least didn’t like to. When he lost control of a situation, he’d try to think five steps ahead, and if he couldn’t, he would at least execute his next step as efficiently as possible and move from there. It was how he overcame fighters or adversaries that were better than him, and how he kept a level head in tense situations. 

So attempting to undo this man was a battle. One you’d been winning more and more over the last few months. And when you did win, when Din finally snapped and let go of all that control-- like jumping off a cliff with you-- that victory was so delicious, so intoxicating-

Just thinking about it sent a burning jolt of desire through you, and you squeezed him, just a little bit tighter, the rhythm of your strokes wavering, just slightly, and that did it. That unraveled him.  

He growled, and his fingers dug so hard into your hips that you gasped. His superior height must have given him the extra length needed for steady footing on the sandy floor, for he straightened, hoisting you up without more than a slight grunt of effort. You wrapped your legs around him in response. No teetering or sinking, except he did move forward. You hadn’t realized how close you’d been to the cliff face until your back was brushing against it, rough, but not enough to cause any real pain. Din supported you with a hand gripping the back of your thigh, and the other positioned on the rock behind you. 

He kissed you again, hard, lips bruising. You returned it in kind, thighs squeezing his sides, hands on either side of his face, sighing, and gasping- and then moaning as he pushed into you. You were taken aback by how rough it was, the water tricking you into thinking it would have been smoother, easier. But it was the opposite, and you threw your head back, crying out as he thrust into you again. 

Oh gods!

Din groaned, dropping his forehead against your collar bone as he moved against you. Water sloshed with each thrust, but it was no longer cold. Nothing was cold. This- this was wildfire, and hard, and blinding. Din wasn’t even sure he remembered where he was, just that he was with you, and that every inch of his skin that was touching yours was coursing with electricity, his senses in overdrive. 

You brushed your fingers against his cheek, and he lifted his face to meet your lips once again. In that kiss he felt the desire to be closer, push deeper. He slid his hand over your thigh, tracing the skin down to your knee, then hooked his arm under your leg, giving him a slightly different angle, allowing him to drive further into you. You whimpered into his mouth, your fingers digging into his shoulders, clinging to him as if he was your lifeline. It wasn’t long before you were trembling beneath him, your walls constricting around him so tightly that he saw stars. Your climax came on a broken gasp, and Din helped you ride that as long as possible. And then all it took for him was your hand, laid tenderly against his cheek, your forehead against his, your noses brushing as you breathed his name, the sound so quiet, it was almost carried away by the river. 

The two of you hung there, as if suspended in a brief pause of time as the euphoria faded into something softer. Din kissed you again, his movements slow and tender. You tried to smoothly extricate yourself from him, and when he didn’t have to support you anymore, his hands moved up to cup either side of your face, savoring the sweetly lethargic kiss. 

Seemingly every time, why was it the sound of his name one your lips that did it, that pushed him over the edge? You somehow always managed to put so much in just that one syllable, it was maddening. You said his name like it meant something, like you cherished it, like a prayer, and that would forever be his undoing. 

And then the cold started to seep in.

“Will you get out of the water now?” Din asked. 

You scoffed. 

“You did not just do that to get me out of the water.” 

When he merely shrugged, you swatted his arm and turned towards the bank, eyes opening now to navigate your way. 

“If that was the play, all you had to say was that we’d do it in the tent.”

“Who’s saying that we won’t still?”

You quickly scrambled out of the pool and Din laughed. You closed your eyes and turned, waiting for him and smiling at the sound.

“Here,” Din said as he caught up to you. Your clothes found their way into your arms, and you were sure Din was grabbing his own as he said, “Lead, so you can see where you’re going. I’ll follow.”

You did as you were told. You turning your back to him, as you had done earlier while stripping and making your way to the pool, was a testament to how far the two of you had come together. Six months ago, you would have argued, falling back to be the follower. For one thing, you hadn’t trusted him yet, and for another, you used to go out of your way to hide your scars from him.

However, as the two of you grew closer, you slowly got used to it; letting him see that part of you, just as he was getting used to being around you without his armor. Din saw those scars now, your back a maze of them. They criss-crossed over each other in a mess of ruined flesh. Lashings. He knew they’d come from lashings. He’d almost witnessed new ones about to be made the day you’d finally killed your tormentor. Having initially seen your scars that day as Meck and Gurn ripped your shirt open, watching Rhet prepare to add to them, hearing the words Thasar used to crush you, and seeing the absolute emptiness in your eyes, he’d been only a breath away from vaporizing every last one of them.

Din tucked his clothes under one arm, then caught you around the middle with the other. He bent down, and kissed one of the bigger scars, starting just at the base of your neck. You jumped, gasping in surprise, more from the gesture than the touch of his lips on your back. But you didn’t tense. Another landmark, to show just how far you’d come. 

“Sorry,” Din murmured, stepping back. “Couldn’t resist.”

You hovered there for a moment, dazed, unable to put to words what that had just felt like. When Din gave your hip a gentle push, you scampered forward, back towards the camp. 

Still slightly disoriented, you muttered the only thing that your brain could register, and that was, “Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold.” You quickly stepped up to the fire that was barely smoldering now and said, “Fire?”

“Tent.”

“R-right. Tent.”

You unzipped the flap and clambered inside the nearly pitch black tent. Din followed as you scuttled over to your pack, dropping your clothes and digging through it to find a towel. Din did the same on his side, turning on the lamp as he did so. 

“Careful,” he said, referring to the light in case you happened to turn in his direction. You hummed an affirmation and quickly dried yourself, shivering as the cold sank into your skin. After a moment, another towel landed on your head, covering your eyes. 

“Come here,” Din sighed, though his tone hinted at a smile on his lips. You turned towards him, repressing shudders as he worked the towel through your hair. You couldn’t quite manage to silence your chattering teeth, though.

“That’s what you get for jumping into a river at night.”

“It was so worth it,” you countered, smirking. You could just imagine him shaking his head, but really, his eyes were skimming over your still naked form as he thought, Okay, it was a little worth it. 

When Din finished drying your hair as best he could, he reached for the lamp, extinguishing it. You were both still so cold, so you quickly burrowed into the nest of blankets. You blindly searched until you found Din’s hand, and he pulled you close, tucking your head under his chin as you buried your cold nose against his neck. He shuddered, arms wrapping around you, legs tangling with yours. 

You grew drowsy as you started to warm up, and you were just starting to doze when you felt Din’s thumb slowly glide up and down your right arm, tracing the scar there. The one Xi’an had given you. As if he could sense your attention on it, he stopped.

“Is this alright?” he asked, relaying an unspoken question. You understood his sudden hesitation and nodded. 

“It’s fine. It’s not as bad as the other ones.”

You thought back to before, though, when he’d kissed one of those other scars, and you hadn’t arched away from his touch. You wondered why he’d done that, and why you sort of wished he’d do it again. 

“Xi’an got me too, one time,” Din said quietly. 

“What?” you blanched, almost jumping up to look at him. 

His fingers trailed back up your arm, running along the scar, before reaching your hand, cupping the back of it in his. Slowly, he dragged your right hand over to the skin between his shoulder and collar, and your fingers ghosted over a small section of puckered skin. 

“One of her knives found this spot here, right where my chestplate ends.”

You were silent, letting him tell you the story of his scar. Though, the thought of Xi’an and one of her knives being that close to his heart sent your insides roiling, that familiar rage bubbling up. Sensing the change in you, Din pushed on, this time guiding your hand up to his chin. 

“This was pre-helmet. Took a pretty bad hit during training and landed on my face. Split my chin open and broke my nose.”

You’d guessed that his nose had been broken at one point in his life. Considering this, while you’d always respected his Creed, you found that you were actually feeling grateful for his ever present helmet now, especially considering how many hits you’ve seen him take in the last six months alone.

Din continued to guide your hand, taking you on a tour of his scars, and there was something just so intimate about it. So vulnerable. 

I know your scars make you feel exposed, a physical reminder of the pain they had all caused you, inside and out. So let me show you mine.

There were a few on his arms, one on his collar bone, and a couple from narrow misses around his abdomen. When he slid your hand over one on his left side, your fingers grazing over what must have once been a large gash just under his pectoral, you sucked in a breath with a strange mixture of excitement and trepidation. 

“I have one there too.” This time, you took his hand, and led him to your left side, letting him feel the raised skin just below your breast. He carefully traced the length of it, finding that it wrapped around your side, blending into the scars on your back. 

When Din paused, not wanting to push you, you whispered, “It’s okay.”

However, he didn’t continue along your back, but simply brought his thumb back along the scar on your side. After a measured pause, he gently pushed you back into the nest of blankets, then lowered his head, and pressed his lips against the scar. 

Your heart skipped and your exhale was a shuddering sigh as you watched, unable to see more than the outline of Din’s curly hair. He kissed it again, this time brushing his knuckles along the side of your breast. You didn’t dare speak as he finished, his lips trailing upward along the hill of sensitive skin before catching your taut nipple between his teeth. 

This time, it was your turn to snap. You shoved against him, rolling. Din chuckled as you crawled on top of him, but the sound died away as you leaned down and kissed him. And then, you took your time kissing his scars.

---

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[hopelikethemoon]

moving in (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: moving in  Rating: PG-13 Length: 1900 Warnings: None, aside from angst. Javi POV. Notes: You can find the Maybe Today, Maybe Forever Timeline here. Set “Today” and “Maybe Forever” Summary: Javier moves in. 

Taglist:  @grapemama  @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito @rogrsnbarnes@thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow @hiscyarika @plexflexico @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted @randomness501 @fioccodineveautunnale @roxypeanut @just-add-butter @snivellusim @amarvelousmandalorian @lukesrighthand @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​

Ever since he left Laredo, Javier had lived alone. 

There had been plenty of women who had crossed through his threshold, but none of them had stayed past the night. And for a long time, that had been fine by him. Until the one woman he wanted to stay hadn’t. 

For a brief three month period after that night, his relationship with his apartment changed. It didn’t feel right to let an interloper into the space — to let someone else lay where she had laid. To see someone else’s hair fanned out across his sheets. 

When the DEA hoodwinked him into fucking another informant for vital and ultimately useless information — he’d convinced her to take him back to hers. Because he didn’t want to tarnish the memory he had preserved in his apartment. For a very fleeting moment he had finally had what he wanted. The woman who had plagued his thoughts for years. 

The reason his apartment no longer felt like home. His furniture remained there, but everything else had been shifted into her apartment. Sure, he had an apartment to keep up the ruse with the DEA — but his home was in an apartment with his girls.

There was no way of knowing if it would last. He wanted it to, desperately, but he was cautious to push his luck. Relationships had never been an area he excelled at and it was the one thing he had to sort out on his feet. Screw the DEA and the demands that came with a pound of flesh — he had all he needed between her and Josie. 

And now they knew. 

Now there was no mystery behind the identity of the father of her baby. The veil had been pulled back, revealing a year's worth of lies that left the director enraged. 

Javier didn’t mind being chewed up and spit out, he lived to be a thorn in the DEA’s side — but he hated how they came down on her. 

“I can unpack for you tomorrow.” She offered quietly as she held the door open as he brought up another load from the Jeep. “I don’t have anything else to do.”

Javier worked his jaw as he looked at her. “It’s not fucking fair.” He ground out, leaving a box on the counter. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow. It’s not right that they’re not coming down on us equally.”

“Don’t push it, Javi.” She warned. “I’ve still got my job. It’s just a few days.”

“A few days without pay.”

She shrugged, “It'll be nice to spend a couple days with Josie.”

He narrowed his eyes, hands going to his hips. “It’s bullshit and you know it is.”

“Javi, don’t pull any shit.” She pointed at him. “They’ll up and reassign me and then what?”

“Then I’ll quit and go wherever you are.”

“Javi.”

“You don’t expect me to just fuck off back to my apartment and keep playing this game with the DEA. Do you?” He accused her quietly. He wouldn’t blame her — honestly. “Baby, come on… after the shit they pulled today, I’m not real keen on them.”

She shook her head. “I took this job knowing that this would be the sort of petty shit they’d pull. I’m a woman in a male-dominated field. Don’t screw yourself over to play the chivalry card, Javi. I don’t need a white knight.”

“I’m not—“ Javier shook his head and turned away. “I’m not doing this,” He huffed before he headed out of the apartment to get another load from the car. 

He didn’t want to argue with her. His first evening officially living with her and he had already started a fight with her. Or the beginnings of one. And he wasn’t even trying to play the white knight or whatever bullshit she thought he was trying. He just didn’t care for the way the DEA had handled things. 

Javier was already jaded about them as it was. 

When he returned, she was unloading the milk crate filled with liquor he’d brought in earlier. “So thankful to inherit this lot.” She grinned at him, loosening the top of a whiskey bottle and taking a swig. 

Javier chuckled, lips drawn into an appreciative grin. “C’mere, I want a drink.” He gestured to her and watched the way she put a little sway in her hips. 

She took the top off again and passed it to him. Javier curled his fingers around the bottle, swallowing a mouthful, before he hooked a finger in her belt loop. “What?” 

“I’m just looking out for you, baby.” Javier drawled out. “Like a partner does.”

“Isn’t Chris your partner?”

“I’ll fucking ring his neck if I have to sit through another stakeout with him.” Javier kept his fingers curled around her belt loop as he sat the bottle aside. “I’m talking about you. The only partner aside from Steve that I give a shit about.” He curled his hand around her hip. “You’re a better agent than all of them.”

She shrugged and pursed her lips as she looked up at him, “It’s the curse of being a woman. I will never be a better agent than any of them on paper. They already knocked me back to desk duty when I got pregnant. It’s just three days. I’ll be back.” 

“How long are we going to do this?” Javier questioned, brushing his thumb over the flash of skin that peeked out from above her jeans. “How long are we going to let them lord over our relationship and career?” 

“I don’t know.” She retreated, grabbing the bottle off the counter and took another drink. 

Javier sighed heavily, dragging his fingers through his hair before rubbing at the back of his neck. “Well, let me know when you know. I’ll be ready when you’re ready.” The DEA had already taken everything he was willing to give them, maybe more than he was willing to give. But there was so much shit he didn’t know how to tell her about. Even with her, he kept up appearances — everything was status quo. But it wasn’t. He was so fucking tired of asking how high, whenever the DEA told him to jump. 

He wasn’t the man that came to Colombia. He was older now, physically and prematurely. Crushed under the weight of the shit he’d seen, the people he’d killed, the people he’d lost. He had a family now — he had a little girl who he had to think about. He couldn’t run headfirst into a firefight without thinking about what he might lose. 

“Baby,” He reached out and curled his fingers around her forearm, trailing them down until he could brush his thumb over the faint green bruise that was left on her skin from where he’d held her too tightly after Daniel had been shot. “I want to think about the future. You, me, Josie…” 

“I never thought I’d see the day that you’d be thinking about your future.” She said lightly, brushing her fingers over his cheek. “You’ve always been very ‘live for today’.” 

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly. The words he wanted to say to her got stuck in the back of his throat. They were words that carried grief and regret. Pain that she had never meant to saddle him with. “I just know it’s with you.”

Her lashes fluttered and her expression sobered. “I know it’s with you too.” She whispered, her hand falling away from his cheek to squeeze his shoulder three times. “If I can, I want to see this through. We’ve started going after the Cali Cartel and I want to see them stopped.” 

“It’s the long game, baby.” Javier clicked his tongue against his teeth. “And I don’t see either of us sticking around that long.” He gestured vaguely towards the window. “Is Colombia really where you want to raise Josie?”

“No.” She wrapped her arms around herself and turned her back to him. “I’m not ready for this conversation, Javi. Not yet.” She glanced back over her shoulder at him, “We just told everyone about us. You’re moving in. Let’s take this one step at a time.”

Javier set his jaw hard and nodded. His eyes flickered towards the boxes that still needed to be unpacked. “Wanna go to bed?” He questioned. 

She nodded slowly, “Yeah. I’m tired.” 

——

By the time the sun was streaming through the bedroom window, Javier was already out of the bed and getting dressed for work. He could hear her and singing to Josie in the kitchen while she worked on breakfast and it made his heart clench in his chest. This was the life he wanted. It was just a little hard to remind himself that it was the life he deserved. 

Javier tucked his sunglasses into the front of his shirt as he strolled out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. “There’s my girls.” He drawled out, stepping in behind her to press a quick kiss to her cheek, before he moved towards Josie, scooping her out of her carrier. 

“I thought you were going to sleep past your alarm,” She remarked as she sat a plate of biscuits down on the table. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I noticed.” Javier sighed, before he showered Josie with kisses, reveling in the little gurgles and giggles that escaped her. “You okay?”

“Couldn’t shut my brain off last night.” She shrugged a shoulder as she sat down across from him at the table. “I’m sorry about everything…”

“You haven’t got a damn thing to apologize for.” Javier gritted out, before softening his expression as he looked down at Josie. “It’s just three days, right?” He glanced up at her, catching the flicker of emotion she tried to mask. “Baby—”

“Don’t.” She shook her head. “I don’t regret it. Telling them.” A faint smile played over her lips. “We don’t have to hide what we have anymore.” 

Javier nodded slowly, nestling Josie against his chest as he reached for a biscuit. He tore off a piece, popping it into his mouth. “I’ll try to get off early.”

Her lips parted like she intended to fight him on it, but she thought better of it. “Thank you, Javi. I really am looking forward to spending the whole day with her.” 

“You’re pissed off, aren’t you?”

“So pissed off.” She laughed. “I thought if I slept on it, I wouldn’t be so pissed off, but…” She shook her head. “Those sons of bitches.” She pushed her hair back and huffed. “Putting me in time out for three days like a naughty toddler.” 

Javier smirked a little as he took another bite of his biscuit. “Your mommy was downplaying her feelings last night,” He remarked to Josie as she blinked up at him, watching him eat. “I bet you’re going to hear all sorts of rants today.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she knows you’re one of the few good men out there.” She quipped, smiling fondly at him. He made a face at that. “Don’t argue with me.” She warned. 

He held his free hand up in mock-surrender. “I had no plans to.” Even though he rarely felt like one of the good ones. Hell, even she had waited three months to even tell him she was pregnant because she had been convinced that he wasn’t one of the good ones. Maybe he was getting there, but he wasn’t there yet. 

“Hey, Javi—”

“Hmm?” He looked up from Josie, staring across the table. “What is it baby?”

“I love you.”

His heart still fluttered at those words. “I love you too.” Javier knew he didn’t deserve her love, but he was greedy and he needed it. He needed both of them. This little life he’d managed to carve out of pain and hell was all that he needed.