#christmas means free time means time to post a picture or two

[leclerc-hs]

ever heard of casual? - cl16

pairing: charles leclerc x nanny!reader (fem) summary: in which true feelings are kind of shown between charles and his daughter's nanny warnings: basically smut with some plot (LOL), bad french(please correct me), not proofread, 18+!!!! word count: 1,795 author's note: i really enjoyed doing the instagram au the other day so i wanted to include some of that into part 2!!! face claim is Hailey Bieber (you can picture nanny!reader however you want I just love Hailey so I'm sorry if you don't LOL). Also not kidding like single dad Charles got me in a HEADLOCK. also this is my Christmas gift to y’all 🤍 feel free to message me your thoughts!!! I love feedback and hearing from you all

part 2 to THIS (nanny series)

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yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, yourbsf, lorenzotl, and 56,318 others yourusername a day well spent view all 2,376 comments leclerc_pascale tu es tellement adorable! bring her over now! yourusername on our way! user omg pascale commenting user I'm crying user i wish i could have her life charles_leclerc ❤️ user omg a heart?!!!??? user chill its prob for his daughter user a bit unprofessional if they date anyways yourbsf can't wait to see you tmrw! liked by yourusername

yourusername

liked by yourexbf, yourbsf, charles_leclerc, and 62,122 others yourusername got milk? view all 3,765 comments user i'm fucking screaming user she is so fucking hot. idk how charles handles it user she's not that pretty relax user does she ever even work? how is she able to be doing this user her life is a vacation yourbsf I'm DROOOOLING yourexbf 🥛🍼🐮 user isn't this her ex boyfriend? user are they back together? user did you see her friends stories? they looked cozy 👀 user i hope so. that means she wouldn't be with Charles user she is the nanny of his daughter! leave her alone!! charles_leclerc

liked by yourusername, lorenzotl, and 1,465,718 others charles_leclerc a tough few races but we gave it all we got. excited to be back home to see my girls! @vistajet view all 4,186 comments user girlS?!?? plural!!!!!! leclerc_pascale time for a haircut user LMAO user wtf girls? does he mean @/yourusername?? yourusername she's requesting you to play the piano asap!! liked by charles_leclerc and 5,392 others charles_leclerc looks like i'll have to teach you for when I'm away user OMGGGG user not him wanting to teach her piano!!!

yourbsf posted a story!

seen by arthur_leclerc, lilymhe, charles_leclerc, and 12,471 others tagged yourusername, yourexbf

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, yourexbf, landonorris, and 66,817 others yourusername about last night..... view all 1,329 comments landonorris date me please? charles_leclerc get out of her comments user LANDO SIMPING PUBLICLY user she def has most of the grid in a chokehold user CHARLES LMAO user but where is charles daughter? yourexbf such a fun night liked by charles_leclerc user they gotta be fucking or something user charles liking this. hELPPP leclerc_pascale a night deserved!

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THE ENSUING WEEKS unfolded in a hazy cascade, a whirlwind of experiences that blurred the boundaries of time. The dynamics with Charles remained poised, neither veering into awkwardness nor undergoing discernible alterations – an equilibrium that suited you perfectly. After all, you hadn’t harbored expectations of a budding relationship; rather, this interlude seemed more akin to an itch that required gentle satisfaction.

Well, it wasn’t altered, aside from the handful of orgasms he gave you before his departure for races. It felt as though the barrier between you both had fissured and ruptured beyond control, an unstoppable force. But you told yourself to keep it casual.

With Charles traveling the past few weeks for a triple header, the atmosphere between the two of you has gracefully sidestepped any foray into weighty matters. Interactions have been modest, primarily of facetimes with his daughter, and lighthearted banter via text messages. Aside from the one late night desperate and needy facetime call you had last week.

Yesterday marked a noteworthy occasion as, for the initial time in the span of weeks, you relished an entire day and evening in the company of all your friends. Pascale, in all her wisdom, insisted you merited a respite from the role of caregiver and assured that she will handle the little one for you.

A day immersed in sun and sea with close friends proved to be a much-needed respite from the past few weeks. This was complemented by an evening at the club, where pulsating beats, lively dance floors, and contagious laughter wove together, leaving behind a lasting sense of euphoria.

So, when you arrive to Charles’ apartment ready for a fun and relaxing day with him and his daughter for the first time since he left, you’re surprised to find Charles swinging the door open before you could even reach for the handle. You’re also surprised to find out that his daughter isn’t even here, and that she is still at Pascale’s.

“Où étais-tu?” Where have you been? His question was quick and short as he pulled you into the apartment, shutting the door behind you. You barely made two steps before his hand was gripping your hand, pulling you down the hall to his bedroom.

“Que veux-tu dire?” What do you mean? You were confused but didn’t refuse his touch as he pushed you to sit on the edge of his bed. “Content de te voir aussi.” Nice to see you too. Recognizing a hint of sarcasm in your tone, you conclude that adopting a bratty attitude probably wasn’t the wisest choice, especially given his apparent sour mood. 

He began restlessly pacing within the room, the muscles of his arms visible as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest in a display of frustration.

“Où est ma fille?” Where is my daughter? He was fully aware of his provocative tone. He possessed the knowledge of his daughter’s whereabouts, yet he seemed intent on provoking confrontation, eager to witness any response that might momentarily suppress the burgeoning jealousy within his chest. 

You found his accusatory tone unsettling, especially given the fact that you would never put his daughter in harm’s way. “Pascale’s. You know this.” You fought the urge to roll your eyes at him as he stood directly in front of you, a sinister gleam in his eyes as he finally made eye contact with you.

“How s’est pasée ta soirée?” How was your night? He knelt between your legs, eyes meeting yours at the same level, jaw tightly clenched. His two hands rested on each leg, fingers pressing into the skin of your thighs.

It wasn’t until then that it clicked. His behavior, all because of your night out. He knew of your ex-boyfriend from social media, but you never fully had a talk regarding him. Because why would you? This was all still very new. 

Navigating the relationship of you and your ex-boyfriend proved to be intricate, primarily owing to the longstanding history you shared since diapers. Originating as childhood best friends, a mutual decision was made to preserve the amicable bond even after the breakup. Given your shared history and overlapping friend group, the decision to maintain a friendship, sparing both parties the discomfort of awkwardness.

His hands slowly traced up the inside of your thighs, his fingers instantly contacting your lace covered center, thanks to the short, pleated skirt that adorned your body.

“Tu as passé un bon moment, hm?” Did you have a nice time? His tone was mocking. You felt yourself at a loss of words as his fingers slipped past your underwear, his thumb pressing circles directly to your clit.

You nodded slowly, delusional from how good his fingers felt on you. His other hand reached for the band of your underwear, pulling them off until they piled at your feet. His thumb, not easing up on your heated center. You let out a soft moan, leaning back on your two hands, as he pushed two fingers into you. His eyes, purely focused on watching his fingers slide in and out of you, wet and slick. 

“Rien à dire?” Nothing to say? His fingers sped up, your stomach clenching as you arched your back in complete pleasure. 

“I’m gon—fuck,” You couldn’t get complete words out. Every time you went to talk, his fingers assault on you would increase, leaving you nothing but a moaning mess on the edge of his bed.

He pulled his fingers completely out of you, letting you scream in frustration as he edged you. 

“Did you fuck him?” His words cut sharply, and the green of his eyes almost appeared black with intensity. Despite the anger he conveyed, a discernible undercurrent of vulnerability permeated his questions. It made your heart clench.

“No,” you were quick to answer. “Je ne ferais pas ça!” I wouldn’t do that!

His eyebrows furrowed as he slid his fingers back into you with urgency. “You sure?”

“Yes!” His fingers were quickly back on you, the need that bubbled deep in your stomach ready to tip over.  

It wasn’t until he shoved his head between your legs, his tongue replacing his thumb, and pressing it flat to your clit, that you were careening forward with a cry.

The assault of his tongue didn’t let up until you were pulling him by the hair on the back of his head, his mouth leaving your clit with a ‘pop’ noise. His lips were glistening as he brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking on them. 

“Tellement bien,” So good. He moaned with his eyes shut as he sucked you off his fingers, your eyes purely focused on his mouth and the hollows of his cheeks. 

Before you could even relax, he was scooping you up and flipping you over onto your stomach, and bunching your skirt high up on your waist. A harsh smack of your butt echoed off the walls of the bedroom.

“I should fuck the salope out of you,” his voice was deep with need as you heard the unzip of his jeans from behind you. His hands pressed your face into the mattress, nearly suffocating you, as he nudges his cock through your folds. But you didn’t care, the pleasure was too good.

He slid into you easily, your saturated walls slick from your previous orgasm. The burning stretch of his cock had you cry out a muffled yelp into the mattress. “Gonna take all of me, hm?”

You agree feverently, nodding your head repeatedly with a moan. “These weeks were too long huh?” He droned on, talking you through it. “Even our facetime the other night wasn’t enough?”

Thoughts of your facetime the other night surface back quickly as his hips pound into you. How you both were so needy. How he was able to make you come on your fingers just by the sound of his voice. How he commanded your body even from thousands of miles away. Yes, that’s it. Cum all over your fingers like the good girl you are.

He felt your walls clench down on him so tightly, he groaned. “The thought of fingering yourself gets you that hot and bothered?” Another harsh slap to your butt.

You begin to cry out almost pathetically, your fingers gripping onto the sheets tightly. You turn your head, Charles hands sliding from the back of your hair to your neck, still weighing you down.

“S’il te plait,” Please. You’re begging. 

“Wish I could bring you – Mon dieu – wish I could bring you with me wherever I go,” his heavy breaths were heard in between each word, as if he was struggling to keep any self-control he had left.

“But I can’t,” his voice sounds angry again. “Wouldn’t be able to leave you, can’t look at you without wanting to fuck you stupid,” He won’t shut up. Like he opened a door and can’t close it shut now. “Tu me rends fou,” Drive me crazy.

Your heart is clenching at his words. His words creating a mass of butterflies in your stomach. You can tell by the shutter of his last words that he’s close.

“Allons-y, ma cherie,” Let’s go. “That’s it,” he groans loudly as you clench around him, releasing all over him. He’s quick to pull out, releasing himself all over your backside, smearing it with the tip of his cock into you. 

He rolled over to the side of you, his chest rising and falling with each deep breath he took. The silence of the apartment was loud but comfortable as you both caught your breath.

“I don’t think I can do casual with you but I’ll try,” he mutters softly, one of his hands brushing your hair out of your face so you can truly look at him. His cheeks were rosy, the crinkles in his eyes from smiling apparent, and his hair so disheveled it made you clench your thighs together.

You roll onto your side, your hand gracing his cheek as you turn his head to look at you. “Me either,” you admit. Because truly, he was all that was ever on your mind. You didn’t want to have one foot in the door, one foot out. You wanted to be all in with him.

“Let’s just see where this goes, yeah?” He smiles, pulling you up onto his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around as your head dug into the crook of his neck. You placed gentle kisses to his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing noticeably. 

You feel his length harden from underneath you again. To which, you lift your head to see him with a smirk fully spread on his lips. You furrow your eyebrows as if to say ‘really?’.

To which he responds, “Je t’ai dit.” I told you. “Tu me rends fou.” You drive me crazy.

[californ1asnow]

Call Me Up Again - pt. 2 Mike Schmidt x Reader

Part two of All Too Well Angst!!! So much angst everyone I've decided to turn this into a miniseries, this post being the second part. I'll continue to link chapters as I post them This is also being updated on ao3 (cough cough) No warnings this time 1.9k words

Snowflakes fall silently, coating everything around them in a white dust. The wind blows with a crisp chill, nipping at all the rose-pink noses. It sends shivers down the backs of those who dare be out in this weather. The pumpkins and fake graveyard decor that had once littered every home’s front yard has long since been swapped for tinsel garlands and pine wreaths. 

The Schmidt residence beams with colored string lights and holiday music. A tall, sturdy evergreen sits patiently by the window. Its branches are decorated with years worth of homemade ornaments, ranging in all size and age from both Mike and Abby. The red skirt beneath it falls relatively empty of presents, only donning the few small ones Mike could afford to buy this year. They’re wrapped pathetically in an old birthday paper, the only wrapping Mike could find to reuse. 

Usually, the tree is so full that he’s had to store things in his closet, but that was when you were still a part of their Christmas. Stockings hung happily above the fireplace and a love so innocent it wraps the house in a warm glow. However, it’s void of that feeling now, instead Mike is left to pick up the pieces that you once fit together. Abby doesn’t understand why you don’t come over anymore, or why Mike has been so quiet lately. All she knows is that something went wrong, and now everyone is upset. She’s stopped bringing up your name in conversation when talking to Mike, because it always ends with him withdrawn and retreating to the solidarity of his room. 

That didn’t stop her from drawing you, though. Sometimes she’d sit at her desk, tears collecting in the well of her eyes, and doodle old memories of the three of you. She remembers them being happy, but by the time the crayons were set aside and the picture was finished, it was a glum mess of dark blues and frowning faces. 

After a drawing is finished she’d slip past Mike’s room, quietly tiptoeing out the front door, and make a break for the house across the street. Your house. She’d work fast, her feet carrying her quickly to and fro. It was unclear from her perspective whether you paid attention to what she’d give you, but by the time she slipped a new piece of paper underneath your door, the old one she had gifted you was gone. 

Mike was unaware of it all. 

He had found a new job in town where he could bury all his thoughts. It was working construction for a local contractor, a job that certainly wasn’t ideal but it paid better than what he’d been used to. Unfortunately, it required longer hours and ate up all his free time, meaning Abby needed a new babysitter. A job that was once happily filled by your company, now replaced with an afterschool program suggested to him from a flyer he found at work. He hated the thought of her sitting in essentially another classroom, surrounded by strangers and snotty kids, but it was his only option left. 

With a third of his paycheck dedicated to it, Abby now spends her weekdays at the nearby YMCA. 

The first time he told her about the new program didn’t go over very well. He remembers it clearly.  

“Abby please,” his irritated voice interrupts her incessant protesting, “listen, it’s the only place that can watch you.” 

“No it’s not!” She yelled at him, her finger pointing to your house across the street, “I want her back!”  

A pang of guilt struck his chest at her words. The lack of your presence has clearly been taking a toll on the both of them, but it’s the first time Abby’s ever been so vocal about it. He crossed his arms with a sigh, watching his little sister stare up at him with solemn eyes. Her lip quivering ever so slightly, evident that she’s holding back tears. 

He crouches down to her level, just like he had done to you so many nights ago, “I’m sorry,” he pleaded with her, “but she’s not coming back right now.” 

Her head shook with disbelief, stubbornly stuck in her spot, “Then make her come back.” 

–

You’re not sure when the Mike shaped hole in your heart stopped aching, but it’s significantly less sore compared to a fresh wound. That’s not to say the constant reminder of him and Abby living across the street from you doesn’t sting. It’s hard enough to ignore all his calls, but trying to get to your car while avoiding his gaze is even worse. Eventually, he gave up on contacting you by the third month of radio silence. It hurt both of you, but you knew deep down neither of you could continue functioning like how you were. 

The back and forth pull of his affection took too big of a toll on your mental well being. You can remember every moment down to the exact detail of how much you craved for him to just do something, anything. 

All those times you held him in your soft embrace whispering sweet nothings in his ear, reassuring him everything will be okay, just for him to turn around the next day and never bring it up again. Or when you’d run your warm fingers through his hair to calm him down after a panic attack, and he’d let his head rest in your lap. Words of affection dripping off his lips like a rich honey, warming you up from the inside out. Then he’d disappear for a while, claiming he needed some space to figure stuff out, all the while you’d beg and plead for him to tell you what’s on his mind, only for him to give you nothing back.You stood by him regardless though, keeping a silent promise that you’d always be there for him when he needed it, a love that was never reciprocated back. 

A long sigh escapes from you, eying the new delivery that just appeared by your door. You shuffle towards it weakly, unsure if you really wanted to torture yourself by looking at it. It’s one of those things that curiosity will drive you to do, unable to ignore it like a pedestrian passing by a car crash. The paper crinkles under your touch, unfolding it reveals the familiar childlike style of Abby’s drawings. A man drawn in green crayon frowns up at you, holding hands with an equally sad looking child. Your gaze drifts over to the other side of the paper, highlighting a person relatively similar to you standing alone with their arms crossed, angry. Your heart hurts at the sight of it, knowing that Abby is implying that you’re angry at the two of them. You shake your head quickly, trying to evade any tears that threaten to spill. It’s not fair for Abby to be caught in the middle of whatever is going on between you and Mike, and you realize that. 

The sound of your phone ringing breaks your train of thought, and when you check the caller ID your breath hitches. Standing in the middle of your living room frozen with indecisiveness, you stare at the screen while chewing on the bottom of your lip. Without thinking, you accept the call.

“Hello?” 

There’s a sound on the other end of the line, somewhere in between a choke and a gasp, and then your name is mumbled out in disbelief. 

“I didn’t think you’d actually pick up…” Mike’s voice is still a little startled, mimicking the internal panic in your chest. 

You suck in a deep, steady breath before answering, “Yeah, I didn’t think so either.” There’s a slight pause from both of you, unsure how to continue the conversation. It’s felt like years since you last heard his voice. 

“Are you…doing okay?” 

“...Yeah.” Your answer is unconvincing, but Mike doesn’t have any ground to be able to question it. So it’s left like that, timidly dangling in the air between you both. 

You hear shuffling in the background, and a smaller voice asking a question before he dismisses it. Your heart lurches thinking about how Abby is there, trying to figure out who her older brother might be on the phone with. It almost makes your cool demeanor crack, urging you back into your savior complex. 

“Uh, sorry about that,” your phone crackles back to life, “anyways, I wanted to ask you something.” 

“Oh okay.” 

“Can you,” he stops, leaving you on edge, “meet me somewhere?” 

The lack of response from you causes him to start rambling, going on about how it would be better to talk in person, and how it would be easier if you could see each other’s expressions. Soon afterwards, a string of apologies ensue, and you pinch the bridge of your nose in frustration. 

“Okay Mike. Promise me this will be worth it.”

“I promise.”

–

A young waitress stares nervously at your booth. Orders continually piling up, hungry customers giving her rude looks whenever she ignores their impatient huffs. It’s been a good thirty minutes since you first showed, and she’s checked up on you at least a handful of times by now. Mike had suggested this little diner down the street from your house, and you agreed to meet here. 

However, it seems like you’re the only one who showed up. 

Your back is pressed against the uncomfortable foam board of your seat, a leg bobbing rapidly out of habit. You pick at the pills on your sweatshirt sleeve, trying to avert your gaze from the sympathetic waitress. Prior to your predicament, she had asked if you were dining alone, and you told her no. However, It’s starting to look like you just might be. With anger bubbling inside of you, a voice in the back of your head is saying you should have seen this coming. It’s so typical of Mike to make promises that he’s unwilling to keep. 

The air smells like grease, mostly from the old fryers sitting in the back of the kitchen. Oil bubbling and brooding in their tanks, waiting for someone to drop a morsel of food so it could shrivel in the scalding lard. Stomach stirring with disgust, a wave of nausea washes over you. It’s unclear exactly what’s causing it, you’d like to give credit to the sleazy restaurant, but something deep down points to the lack of a certain person’s company. 

You keep your attention trained on the dwindling heat of your coffee. Both corners of your mouth scrunch downwards at the smooth ceramic now held in your cold hands. When did watching a cup of coffee become so interesting? 

“Would you like some more?” The sweet but timid waitress asks you, now back at her spot beside your table.  

A joyless smile flashes across your face, a futile attempt at masking your dejection. Pushing the cup forward, silently accepting a fresh refill from her kettle. 

“He’s not worth it.” She adds, tipping off your mug. Her eyes refuse to meet yours as she does so, and you are thankful for that fact. 

“No,” you respond back, “he never is, I guess.” Your voice is shaky, as are the hands that are folded in your lap. 

Mike is not worth the years of being hurt and pushed away. Not worth the tears that fall after coming home from a night spent at his house, inconsolably sobbing because you know no matter what you do it leads back to the same thing. To give up all your time, love, and patience just to receive nothing in exchange. 

It’s not worth the unrequited love. 

“Can I have the check please?” You ask quietly, still avoiding the gaze of the girl next you. 

Her head shakes with pity, fingers wrapping around the arm of the kettle, “it’s on the house.”

TAGLIST - @wriothesleysbimbo @psbc @victimsofadownn @that1lxnlybxch @callsignwidow

[sy-on-boy]

(Potentially) new information from the Spy x Family exhibit book!

Okay, I’ve done some digging around and not gonna lie, some information in there has me excited. I can’t read Japanese so I took photos and put them through translate, so it’s not the most accurate, and please take this post with a grain of salt. Here we go!

Translations are more than welcome! Feel free to use these photos and feel free to DM me for clearer photos. I would also love to know what this all means haha. Japanese “raw” text is taken from Google translate and may be inaccurate to what is actually shown in the photos.

✩ The SxF world apparently has no Christmas!

I’ve heard claims of it, and here’s a picture I took.

“遠藤達哉先生 コメント

こちらは冬の休載イラスト です。 電飾一個一個を北斗 神拳ばりに連打して描きま した。 クリスマスっぽい雰 囲気を出していますが、 『SPY×FAMILY』の世界に クリスマスはありません。”

Google translate tells me that there’s no Christmas in the SxF world but he tried to create a Christmas-like atmosphere? Not sure but it would align with other people’s claims.

✩ Yuri apparently had a girlfriend in a rough draft!

This is Endo’s handwriting so the machine can’t recognise the words easily, but I think the woman in the bottom of Yuri’s sheet is his “girlfriend”? And Google translate tells me she’s Yuri’s “weakness” and Twilight might use her against Yuri / take advantage of the girlfriend? This is a very interesting idea that didn’t get used in canon (yet?). I think in canon, Yuri is popular but he’s too devoted to his sister. A new significant other of a prominent character would shake things up. Especially when it comes to Yuri, a member of the SSS.

By the way, Yuri’s potential designs are kind of cool. I like the ponytail.

✩ Apparently “Oscar” was one of Twilight’s potential names! + Early Twilight designs

I think we know Yor was originally short for Yorlanda (this is in the upper sheet). There’s a whole list of names beside Twilight and the name Oscar オスカー appeared frequently. There are also more names that I can’t decipher.

✩ Designs of some potential WISE agents! (And early Fiona)

Fiona’s sheet (next to Yuri’s) was titled “WISE spy (female)” and now we have a sheet titled “WISE spy (male)”. Was Fiona a placeholder spy that made it to the main cast? Or will this “male spy” end up having significance too? The two smaller heads at the left are apparently Twilight’s associates. Also, a Melinda sketch. Not gonna lie, the male spy feels kinda cute. Hope he’s not completely scrapped.

✩ Endo’s interview!

I feel like I should put this earlier but I was distracted with the Christmas / Yuri’s potential girlfriend thing. This is at the very end of the book. Apparently Endo was influenced by the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This interview was apparently taken in March 2023. I think it’s fairly important so I’ll wait for a proper translation before saying anything else.

✩ Comments on Donovan, Melinda, Redacted, and Sylvia!

These two pages are together and I found it significant because Endo discusses the SxF themes. (My notes are not direct translations.) Apparently:

Sylvia’s scene in Mission 20 is Endo’s favourite scene, and he was looking at materials related to war for a long time and wondered if he could make use of it. [JP below]

とてもお気に入りのシーンです。 「SPY×FAMILY」の連載とは関係無し 昔から戦争に関する資料は色々見て いたので、多少はこの作品にも活かせ ているのかなーと。

Donovan’s statement of “in the end, people will never understand each other” (rough paraphrase) is the theme of the work. And Endo wanted to create a feeling of Donovan being the final boss. He didn’t plan on arranging it from the beginning, but he thinks the Desmonds are a good contrast to the Forgers. (Does this mean the Forgers think people will understand each other?) [JP below]

作品のテーマでもあるセリフ ですね。 少しでもドノバンの ラスボス感を醸し出せればい いなーと思いながら描きまし た。最初から意図して配置し たわけではないですが、デス モンド家はフォージャーと 良い対比になっているのかな と思います

The chapters on Twilight’s past coincided with the anime so Endo thought it was a good idea to explore Twilight’s past. [JP below]

アニメが始まるタイミングな のもあって、黄昏〉という人 物を掘り下げる良い機会かな と思い過去編を入れました。 あまり重たくなりすぎないよ うに、でも伝えたいことは最低限伝えられるように、自分 なりにバランスを取って描い たつもりです。

Melinda is described as “friendly” (?) even though she is dignified. A positive description of Melinda… interesting. What’s also interesting is that after she learns that Yor is the mother of the child who got into a fight with Damian, she “shows interest”. Melinda, what do you want with Anya? [JP below]

ダミアンの母で、東国元首相夫人。気品に溢れつ つも、気さくな性格。 ヨルが息子と喧嘩したアー ニャの母親と知り、興味を示している。

I personally think these two pages contain hints about the mystery of the featured characters and would love to know what it means :D

✩ Early Yor and Bond!

There’s a lot more Yor but again the image limit is constricting me. I really like the Bond designs, they’re funny and he’s just a chonky little boi :)

✩ Comments on the panel of Twilight’s head in Yor’s lap!

“珍しいイチャイチャシーンです。 ヨルさん は一年中酔っ払ってればいいのに”

Which apparently means: “a rare flirting (?) scene, I wish Yor was drunk all year long”

?!??! Twiyor?!! Hello!! I cannot resist mentioning this one, this is one of my favourite Twiyor / SxF scenes. Are we gonna get more drunk Yor? More Twiyor? More flirting? I’m excited now.

I’ve reached the image limit, so here’s all for this post for now! Translations are totally welcome and again I would love to know what this all means. I’m sorry if I accidentally said misleading information, so please tell me so I can correct it. Once again, don’t take my words as complete fact. The Yuri girlfriend thing is really surprising to me haha.

[richiehugs]

Some of you might have been wondering what has happened to Giorgos and his updates.

On the one hand, I didn't have much free-time to organize. On the other hand, there was really nothing to give you an update about. But here is a little update with some more "successfull" screenshots.

So, he reached his peak of 95 kilos / 210 or so pounds in mid May. But, he was planning to do a trip to the monastery on the Athos Peninsula. He had the trip on the last days of May, walking for hours under the scarching Greek sun, with little food and no alcohol near. Looks like he rapidly lost 5 kilos / 10-12 pounds, reaching his "ideal" weight of 90 kilos / 200 pounds. The first four pictures are from early June, around this weight.

Then, he found himself a new job and passion - construction. That's right, he started to work at his father's housing company, building houses and apartements with his two hands. He also had to move to Athens, but he keeps visiting home back to his village on the Peloponnese. Pictures 5-6 are from this time, late June-early July. New environment, without mama's cooking, and the little time to eat made him lose another 5 kilos / 10 pounds, falling back to 85 kilos / 188-190 pounds. Then he vanished from socials (I thought he had a love affair, but he stayed single whatever happened).

The last four screens are rather recent (mid July). He seems to have accomodated to the new environment, seems to have figured things out, and I'm positive he got confident enough to "care about his body" some more. He is allegedly still 85 kilos, he looks kinda proud of his weight loss (he brags about him to anyone calling him fatty - 10 kilos in less than two month is still quite impressive - I'm afraid he gets too cocky about it and will keep up "dieting"), but he still won't give up on the belly.

To be honest, his ten kilo weight loss hardly shows. Of course, that belly would look a lot softer and a lot more like Giorgos, but he still has a lot of it. He has finally found himself a passion, and hopefully it's just a question of time till the late-night gyro-runs start to show. It's also the middle of the hottest summer ever recorded in Greece, and don't forget that he is a physical worker now - I actually find it surprising he didn't go lower than where he is now, and that he is still looking out of shape. Somehow his muscles don't seem to develop, maybe because of the inappropriate diet he is following.

And you know what this means? Instability. He has no balance. His body knows that it can't go lower and has to keep storing the amount of bodyfat he is having. And I'm counting on that as soon as summer is over, his hunger will grow (as people are bilogically installed to craving less energy during the summer and more in the winter). As we know him, he won't probably be able to hold himself back, especially during the holidays. You remember how he ballooned up to 95 kilos before Christmas? And he didn't even care.

Anyway, this might mean less updates until something interesting happens (e.g. no more constructions for a while / going back to a sedentary lifestyle, getting homemade meals, probably a girlfriend who can cook for him?). I still have some "material" to post if anyone is interested but it would take some time and patience to make it publishable.

[tboywriter]

Crush | Angus Tully x reader

pictures not mine, edit is mine gender neutral reader edited: no (might edit in future) warnings: angst(?), swearing, drinking/drunkenness, weirdly-written pov, disappointed "parents", idrk summary: Angus and reader are both pining but all it takes is a little alcohol to fix that. -> Hunham isn't fired, reader goes to Barton a/n: I'm so glad the internet loves this man as much as I do. This movie got me to write again so I'm just glad for that. I might post more for him, idk. Let me know if you want some shorter stuff. I tried to capture Angus's dorkiness but IDK how well that turned out, LOL!

♡ ♡ ♡

“God, that was so nerve-wracking!”

“Really?” He smirked. “You didn’t look nervous when you were up there practically singing your heart out.”

“I mean it! My heart’s going so fast! Here, feel it.” Before he could process what you meant you had already grabbed his hand and stuck it flat against your chest. He could feel the thumping, rhythmically beating faster than usual, but mostly he was fixated on his hand being pressed against your body. His eyes widened a little, staring at your hand that still held his, his mouth parted ever so slightly. 

His face became flushed as you rambled on about the presentation and how you worried about how it might affect your grade. He envied you in that moment, able to be so normal about something as intimate as this. He wanted to move his hand lower, feel more of your chest, but instead you released his hand and he returned it to his side. 

You didn’t notice how quiet he was, trying to stop his mind from going to places he didn’t want you to know about. He nodded along whenever you looked up at him and laughed when you laughed but his eyes flitted between your neck and your lips. 

He noticed he was walking at some point, didn’t even realize he was moving until you stopped in front of the door to your room. You walked inside, turning when he didn’t follow. “Coming in?”

He shook his head, effectively shaking his wandering mind free of dirty thoughts. “Yeah, yeah. What are we doing?”

“I don’t know,” You sigh, flopping on the bed. “What do you want to do?” He stood awkwardly beside you, his hands in his pockets. Laughing, you pat the spot next to you. “Relax, what are you so on edge for?” Right. This wasn’t something unusual. You two often came to each other’s rooms and lounged around. 

He didn’t smile back but he could feel his cheeks heating up. He only hoped you wouldn’t notice– “You okay?” You sat up, leaning against the headboard and staring into his eyes as he sat down across from you. 

“Yeah, sorry, my mind is somewhere else.”

“Yeah? Where else?” You tilted your head slightly, like a puppy diligently listening to their owner.

“Nowhere.” You didn’t press, you never did. He’d tell you if he really wanted to, no sense in annoying him about it. After that fateful Christmas break that brought you two together, though, you couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about his dad every time he began to stare off into space.

You’d met because of circumstance. The only two ‘holdovers’ left at Barton academy. Angus’s parents couldn’t be contacted and you couldn’t stand the thought of spending three weeks with the biggest jerk in school. It’d be much nicer to spend the weeks alone, reading in your room– or studying as Mr. Hunham originally governed. Instead you got to, albeit unintentionally, sort out your trauma together. Who knew Librium was such a popular drug?

“You wanna go see if Mary’s got the Match Game on? I kind of just want to sit on the couch.” He nodded.  

Mary was in fact in front of the TV and Mr. Hunham, a bit unexpectedly, was too. They shared the couch facing the screen although sat on each of the ends, as far away from each other as possible. Mary and Mr. Hunham both liked their respective routines: Mary’s was to relax each night with game shows and Hunham’s to be alone… somewhere. 

You and Angus entered the room silently and sat on the adjacent couch, considerably closer than the two adults. Angus grabbed a pillow and handed it to you before grabbing one for himself and hugging it. He leaned back into the cushions, tired eyes lazing towards the television. You had a similar approach, putting the pillow on the arm rest and lying down, legs tucked in. 

When you woke up, you were just as you were when you first sat down. Only now there was a blanket draped over you. You peeked over the blanket to see where Angus had taken up the same position you had on the opposite armrest. He was rubbing his eyes currently, only just have woken up himself.

He winced as he stood up and stretched out. You smiled, his long legs must hurt from being curled into that awkward position all night. 

Mary walked in, fully dressed in her uniform. “Good, you two are up. I didn’t want to have to wake you. Hurry back to your rooms, it’s already 7:15.” You glanced at the clock to confirm. 

“Shit!” Angus exclaimed but then rescinded under Mary’s disapproving gaze. “Breakfast is in fifteen minutes. Mary, why didn’t you wake us up last night?”

She put a hand on her hip. “Why should that be my job? Anyways, I fell asleep too. Only one who didn’t was Hunham who was gone when I woke up.” 

“Fair point.” Turning to you, Angus got caught in his own tracks. He meant to quip a ‘let’s go’ and begin to head back but he was instead met by you, still leaning against the pillow with slightly tousled hair and half-open eyes. 

Mary had left at this point, leaving the two of you to awkwardly stare at one another for a couple moments. You broke it by standing up next to him, slowly and steadily. “Guess we should get ready for breakfast, huh?”

“Yeah. Uh, yeah.”

♡

After breakfast, you and Angus didn’t see each other until your Laws and Government class. He usually sat in the back corner, unseen and unheard, but you preferred the front so you could pay better attention. Instead, a compromise was made, and the two of you now sat in the center of the room. 

The teacher of the class was a highly pompous and old-fashioned old man. His hair was stark white and his cheeks and nose glowed red. He’d almost look like Santa Claus if it weren’t for his contant scowl. Worst of all, he hated uniqueness. If you didn��t kiss up to his highly conservative values then you weren’t getting an A. And you needed an A. 

He was handing back the scores from the oral presentations you had the day prior. The one that made your heart jump out of your chest and into Angus’s unexpecting hands. You both looked at each other, making reassuring eye contact before flipping the papers. He smiled, B+. You, on the other hand, couldn’t be more disappointed. C-? What was the point of putting a minus when anything under a C was failing? You shrank back into your chair, never having got a failing grade before. 

You stuffed the paper in your bag, not caring that it crumpled. Angus reached over and placed his hand on your knee. He didn’t say anything but you appreciated the gesture. He knew how much your grades meant to you. You stuck your tongue out at him and his decent grade but he knew you meant well.

♡

You didn’t usually drink, but tonight was the exception. Was it dramatic to be drinking due to a bad grade? Yes. Did that stop you from taking up Teddy Kountze’s offer to go to an off-campus party? No. Yeah, maybe it was a bad idea to accept the offer of the guy who was a constant ass to you and your best friend, but when he asked you were already in a bad mood. You didn’t even have to interact with him there, just confiscate all the free alcohol and get comfortable on the couch. 

And so you did. When you walked into the house you said ‘hi’ to a couple people you knew and then ran to the kitchen. The smell hit you immediately, there was no second guessing what everyone was drinking. God, people really like this stuff? Whatever, it’s just one night. 

“Angus Tully, call for you.” A teacher Angus didn’t recognize had knocked on his door at nearly five to one in the morning. He groaned, trudging down the hall to the nearest phone. Getting a call was already rare for him but one at one at one a.m. was out of the question. It was even more surprising when he heard the voice of the person on the other end. 

“Tully?”

“Kountze?”

“Thank God, can you get down here?” 

“I already told you, I don’t want to come to your stupid-ass party. Shouldn’t it be ending soon, anyway?”

Teddy groaned. “I don’t want you to come and hang out, I want you to come and pick up (Y/n).”

“(Y/n)? What’re they doing there?”

“I don’t know, man. Just come get them. I don’t know how much he drank but he’s been passed out on the couch for hours. Every time I try to wake him up he just kicks me.” Angus laughed. “Just get him out of here, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Give me twenty minutes.”

Angus didn’t have a car but he knew someone who did. He knocked on the door to the teacher’s lounge where he knew Mr. Hunham would probably be watching TV with Mary. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Mary yelled for him to come in. 

Mr. Hunham nodded. “Mr. Tully.”

“Hello, Angus. You didn’t come all the way down here just to watch TV with us, did you? Usually you’re not alone.”

“I didn’t, actually. I was hoping I could get a ride, (Y/n)’s drunk and needs a ride home.”

Mary frowned. “(Y/n)? I didn’t think they were the type.”

Angus just shrugged. “Usually he’s not but he’s been talking to Teddy Kountze more. I think he’s the instigator here.” He stuffed his hands into his front pocket, shrugging. 

Hunham scoffed. “That boy is a devil.” 

“Oh, shush. He’s just a kid.” Mary scolded. “... even if he is a little asshole.” 

They shared a laugh, followed by Mr. Hunham groaning as he stood. “Alright, I’ll drive. But I'm staying in the car. And tell him not to vomit on my seats.” 

Angus nodded, following his teacher out. “Yes, sir!”

When they arrived Mr. Hunham parked on the street, right out front. Angus got out onto the lawn. “I’ll be right back.” Hunham nodded. 

He saw Teddy first. Teddy just scowled and pointed to a room to the right. You were exactly where Kountze said you would be, passed out on the couch. You had a bottle of something in your arms, snugly held tight against your body. Angus pulled that out first and set it on the table across from you. You grumbled softly, missing the feeling of having something in your arms, and shot your leg out to kick who you thought was Kountze. 

Luckily Angus was just out of reach and laughed in response. “(Y/n), time to wake up.” You lifted your hand to shoo him away but he persisted. “Come on,” he shook you softly. “Let’s go. Mr. Hunham’s outside.” That woke you up.

“Mr. Hunham?” Your eyes got wide. “What’s he doing here?” You sat up and Angus sat next to you, keeping you upright after a bit of sudden dizziness.

“He’s our ride.”

“I’m a bit embarrassed.” You put your flushed face in your hands, leaning your elbows on your knees.

“I’m sure he won’t judge you… Maybe just a little disappointed.” He laughed, standing back up and holding his hand out.

“No, I’m embarrassed with myself. I shouldn't have drank.” Your slurring was becoming more apparent now and Angus was sure you’d start crying if you stayed here any longer. 

“How much did you have to drink?”

You knit your eyebrows together and frowned, obviously starting to get a bit grumpy. “I don’t know. Three? Four?” 

“What? Bottles?”

“Cups.” You nodded towards a red solo on the table.

“Cups?” He laughed. “That’s it?”

You sighed, grabbing his hand and standing up. He couldn’t help notice the way you didn’t let go. Chests almost pressed together from the tight space. “Yeah, It’s my first time.” He breathed in sharply, eyes floating down.

“Really? You’ve never drank before? Mary was right about you.” 

You slapped his arm half-heartedly. “Mary knows too? Who else did you tell!?” He broke from the spell and began to lead you towards the door.

He smiled. “Only the whole school.” You groaned in response.

When you got outside, Mr. Hunham rolled down the window to begin his speech before you even had the chance to get to the car. Angus opened the door to the backseat and helped you in but you grabbed his arm when he began to back up. You tugged ever so slightly and he gave in to the weak show of force, climbing into the backseat with you. You didn’t put up a fight but neither did he. 

“... this isn’t the way to go about life. When you get to my age you…” You nodded along to whatever Mr. Hunham was saying, occasionally adding in an ‘I know,’ ‘You’re right,’ or ‘I’m sorry.’ Angus sat a bit stiffly next to you. You still had his arm in yours, hugging it as you had with the bottle. 

♡

He dropped you onto the edge of your bed before falling down beside you with a groan. He needed a moment before he went back to his room. You, slightly more awake now, slung your legs across Angus’s chest in an awkward L-shape. He let you stay like that for a moment, catching his breath and savoring this while he could. 

“Angus?” You asked softly, tilting your head to peer down at him. 

“Yeah?” He pushed your legs back off the side of the bed so he could kneel beside you and help you take your shoes off. 

“You’re so pretty, do you know that?” He paused, staring across at you, obviously shocked. Your face, though, was completely indifferent. “I mean it, you’re so beautiful. You’ve got perfect hair and perfect skin and perfect eyes. I don’t get it. You must know, right? I hope you know.”

“I-” He tried to speak but what would he say? He was still knelt down, desperately watching your face– which was still staring back innocently. Without thinking, he crawled onto the bed next to you, leaning up against the headboard. You adjusted, too, so you could continue staring at him, head on the pillow. He felt a bit hot under your gaze but he basked in the attention, he only wished he knew how to respond to make this last. To get you to look at him like this forever.  

“God! You’re just so perfect! I don’t tell you that enough but I do think it. A lot. You’re just so pretty…” 

“I don’t think you’ve ever told me.” 

He could see the fatigue slowly taking over your eyes as you kept going. “You’ve got this dopey smile,” You saw his face turn. “Not a bad dopey! Cute-dopey. It’s the kind of smile that makes me want to smile too.” Absent-mindedly you began to reach up to touch his lips, stopping centimeters from contact.

“Um, thank you.” God, that’s what he came up with? 

You giggled, though.“You’re welcome.” 

“I think you’re pretty too. I’ve been staring at the back of your head since I got to Barton. And then when Christmas break happened I was pissed I didn’t get to go home, sure, but man I was so excited when I found out you were staying too. I’m glad I get to see more of you than your hair now.”

“You’re lying.” You accused him but you were smiling. 

“I’m not, I swear!” He couldn’t help but smile too. 

“You can’t have been looking at me since you moved here because I’ve been looking at you since you moved here. And before Christmas, I don’t think we made eye contact once.” 

“Believe what you want,” He laughed. “I’m telling the truth.”

You sighed, brushed him off wistfully, and went back to longing. You spoke as if you’d forgotten the previous few exchanges. Perhaps you had. “I wish I could look at you all the time. I wish I could touch your face and your hair whenever I wanted. I wish I could–” You abruptly stopped and stared him down. Angus had to remind himself again that you were out of it. You looked as if you were trying to make a decision but the alcohol was making it impossible to choose. Angus leaned forward a bit, almost unwillingly. He hardly even noticed his movements until your fingers finally touched his face.

Your eyes flickered down, his did too. Slowly you brushed against his bottom lip. He parted his mouth slightly, cheeks becoming more red by the second. You moved onto his top lip before brushing his cheek. His eyes hadn’t left your mouth. Pulling your hand back slightly you looked up to his messy curls. Reaching up, you grabbed the hair at the back of his neck, running your hands through it. He had to stop himself from making any noise. 

“And you’ve got these big brown eyes, they’re really pretty, you know. I feel all shy when you look at me… like in the way you are now.” You sighed deeply, as if the weight of the world were on your shoulders. “God, Angus. I think I love you.” 

It took everything in him to not swoop down and kiss you right then. He was glad you were drunk so you wouldn’t remember his bright red face, but he also couldn’t help but wish your confession had been a sober one. His mouth was stuck in a small ‘o’ before he realized you were waiting for an answer. “I don’t think this is the right time.”

You cut him off before he could clarify. “What do you mean? Are you dating someone else…? I’ll wait.” Your words made him sputter out a short laugh but your face was nothing but serious. 

“That’s not what I meant. I–” 

You frowned. “Then, what do you mean?”

“I mean,” He brushed some hair from your eyes. “You’re drunk and probably won't remember any of this in the morning. How about you tell me again when you aren’t inebriated?”  

You grabbed his hand, holding it close to your chest. “Why? What if I forget? It hurts too much not to tell you…”

“I won’t forget.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll remind you.” 

He kissed you on the forehead, needing something to tide him over until he could act the way he truly wanted to. You curled up on your side before looking at him expectantly. He blushed and compiled, lying down next to you but leaving a couple inches between your two bodies. 

He heard you laugh and move closer. He let out something between a moan and a gasp and you smirked in victory. Still, though, he wasn’t close enough. You reached out and grabbed his hand, setting it on your waist. 

“You never told me,” You leaned into his chest. “Do you like me back?” You sounded like a middle schooler talking to their playground crush. Angus was almost unable to respond from the grin that trapped his face. 

“Isn’t it obvious? Of course I’m in love with you too.”

[tnbsecretsanta]

Welcome to the Advent Calendar 2024!

Didn't make it to Secret Santa due to lack of time? Don't worry! This year, there will be a complementary event called "Advent Calendar" where you can spread your love for the series without sticking to a schedule!

What is an Advent Calendar? Traditionally, an advent calendar is a special type of calendar that counts down the days until Christmas Day, starting from 1st December.

How do I participate? Simply create a Tumblr or Twitter post with the activity indicated for the day and use the tag #TnBAdvent24, and we'll reblog/retweet it!

Do I have to participate every day? No! The point of this side event is for you to spread your love for the series without the pressure of a schedule like in the Secret Santa! You can participate any day you want: one, two, ten, all of them! Your choice!

Can I participate in the side event if I joined the Secret Santa? Yes! This event is entirely free, so that you can participate at your leisure.

If I missed an activity from a previous day, can I still post it? Yes! Just use the tag we'll reblog/retweet it! We just suggest that you don't use an activity scheduled for a later date and wait until the indicated day to publish it.

Happy creating!

See below the cut for the text version of the activities indicated

1st - Start reading a Fanfic (emphasis on start, no need to finish it the same day)

2nd - Create a NEXT power

3rd - Which Proverb would make for a good episode title?

4th - Share your favorite piece of official art

5th - Post a WIP (This can be any work-in-progress related to T&B, a merch collection, a shrine, a cosplay, art, MMD video, ita bag, progress of your read-through of the manga, that stuff!)

6th - Share your Favorite Tiger & Bunny-related song (This means any song made for Tiger & Bunny specifically, including character songs and music used in the episodes and credits)

7th - Re-watch any episode of Tiger & Bunny (and then feel free to post a review of it)

8th - What do you want Tiger & Bunny to collab with next? (Collaboration in this context is a collab with another property, such as a company like Sanrio, a store chain like 7-11, restaurant/fast food chains, games, and similar)

9th - Make a fancast for a hypothetical Live Action Adaptation of Tiger & Bunny

10th - Share a headcanon - new or old - that you have

11th - Share an instance of "Tiger & Bunny Spotting" you've seen IRL (T&B Spotting is seeing things like their colours or associated animals-theming in unexpected places. Pets can count for this; If it's not your pet, ask for permission before posting.)

12th - Come up with a food or drink themed around a character. Actually making it is entirely optional!

13th - Come up with an 'Alternate Universe' (AU) plot. You don't have to write anything beyond a plot synopsis or roles.

14th - Ramble about your favorite character or pairing!

15th - Share either a "hidden Gem" fic, or your favourite fanfic! Maybe it's both?

16th - Pitch a Season 3 or Third Movie plot

17th - Post a meme you really like, or make a meme from scratch

18th - Share your favorite OR your most wanted piece of Tiger & Bunny Merchandise

19th - Tell us about your favorite Villain

20th - Picture/Write about yourself as if you lived in Sternbild

21st - Assign a song you like to a character or a pairing

22nd - Share your favorite piece of fanart! Make sure to credit the artist, or repost the art directly through reblog or retweet or similar features.

23rd - Share your favorite piece of trivia about any Tiger & Bunny character

24th - Tell us what Tiger & Bunny means to you

25th - Free Day! Happy Holidays!

[sammyunhinged]

Would It Be Different…?

Mature | WIP | 4/10 chapters posted | Read on Ao3

When Maddie accidentally lets it spill that there’s a betting pool about when Buck and Eddie will get together, the two of them hatch a plan. The goal: prank their team, win the bet, and get payback for their friends conspiring behind their backs.

Featuring: fake dating, embarrassing flirting, Hen and Chimney having a bet, mutual pining, requited love that neither of them know is requited, our fave idiots in love being idiots in love, and eventual smut

“What??” Buck and Eddie stared at Maddie across Eddie’s living room. Buck already had a look of near-offense plastered on his face. His mouth was parted and his expression hard. Eddie, on the other hand, was mostly…confused. No, that wasn’t the word. He was surprised and a little amused but not confused, exactly.

“Um…” Maddie’s eyes widened, and she flushed red, matching the chair she was sitting in.

“What do you mean they have a bet?” Buck pressed on, putting his elbow onto the armrest of the couch so he was leaning toward her.

Maddie sighed. “There’s a bet,” she began slowly, “about when you will get together.”

“Together?” Eddie raised his eyebrows.

She nodded shortly. “Together,” she confirmed.

“Like together together?” Buck asked though Eddie didn’t think it was necessary. It was very clear what she meant.

“Yes.”

“Right.” Buck leaned back into Eddie’s couch, molding perfectly into the cushions as they gave in under his weight. “Why would they think they we’re ” — Buck gestured between them — “going to get together?”

Eddie didn’t think that question was necessary either. To him, it was pretty obvious why they would think that. It was always “Buck and Eddie” just like it was “Hen and Karen” or “Bobby and Athena” or “Maddie and Chimney.” They got treated like the fourth couple of the group, always paired off during game nights and invited to things that in any other situation would be like a double or triple date. And Eddie wasn’t an idiot, he knew they were closer than most friends. Buck wasn’t an idiot either, of course, but Eddie had been thinking a lot more about their relationship than usual recently, things Buck had probably never thought about.

Frank had been having him take apart the big things, like a wall, one brick at a time. At first, it was just, of course we’re closer than normal, most friends haven’t been through what we’ve been through . Then it was the will and the panic attacks and Shannon, and fuck, I’m in love aren’t I?

In his free time, Eddie fixated on the small things, which he picked apart and broke open bit by bit. Like the fact they both had toothbrushes at each other’s apartments. And they knew each other’s coffee orders perfectly, even down to the tiny seasonal changes and new obsessions (like Buck discovered salted vanilla lattes two weeks ago and hasn’t stopped drinking them). And they texted each other every minute they were apart because it made them feel like they were doing everything together. Things he knew individually might be normal for two grown best friends, but together painted a different picture, a picture of domesticity, stability, and commitment.

Maddie seemed to think the answer to that question was obvious too because she just blinked at Buck silently.

“Right,” Buck said again, sighing, apparently accepting it was a dumb question. “But a bet? Seriously? A bet makes it seem like they think we will actually end up together.”

Maddie shrugged. “I think it’s mostly a joke,” she said. “The bet’s just in case it happens. As a possible scenario.”

“How do they even make bets about when we’ll get together?” Buck went on, “Are people making bets like ‘oh in winter of 2026—’”

“No, no,” Maddie cut him off, stifling a smile. “Nobody would win then. It’s vaguer than that. There’s bets on holidays, Christmas or Thanksgiving. There’s bets on your birthdays. Or on vaguer things like after one of you gets hurt or after a break-up. Things like that.”

“Chimney told you about this?” Buck asked, and Maddie was quiet for just a second too long. Buck gaped at her. “Are you seriously in on this, Maddie?”

All Eddie could do is laugh.

Keep reading on Ao3

[yawn-junn]

☆Up All Night - Bang Chan☆

☆Special thanks too: Anon, Bang Chan, Stray Kids

☆Note: I'm so sorry again I thought it'd have more free time sense everyone is focused on the holidays but due to personal matters this is coming out late but thank you Anon I hope you have an amazing Christmas (first post messed up)

☆TW: kissing :

☆Taglist: @mxlly143 - @jisvngc0re1

☆Prompt: Slow Dancin' & Romancin'

12-13-23

Listening to Christmas music in the background as you watched the snow fall out the window, waiting for your boyfriend, Chan to come back home from practice, you weren't sure how long you spent at the window, too lost in your own thoughts.

Focused on the outside you didn't hear Chan open the front door, or call out for you, he walked into the living room semi worried, all his worries and thoughts washed away as he seen you sitting next to the window, wrapped in a big fluffy blanket a cup of hot cocoa next to you, soft holiday music playing in the back, quickly pulling out his phone, he snapped a picture of you setting it as his wallpaper he finally walked up to you.

Putting his hand on your shoulder, slightly scaring you "oh, I'm sorry" he giggled finding your reaction cute, your shocked expression faded into a soft warm smile, "I was waiting for you" you said softly offering him a drink of your cooled hot cocoa, "but it's so late" he sighed looking at the time, "I told you not to stay up this late anymore, even if it's waiting for me you'll rot your brain" Chan chuckled lightly tapping the top of your head.

"How rich coming from someone who doesn't even know the meaning of sleep" you joked, Chan laughed, pulling you up by your arm, "what, no I sleep way more than you do" Chan laughed, your eyes slightly widened as you laughed in disbelief "mhm and those suit cases under your eyes are enough proof of that" you said calling him out, Chan faked offence putting his hand over his heart.

"You've wounded me" he said in a dramatic tone, giggling you decided to play along "oh no, how ever shall I fix what I've done" you said pretending to think, Chan laughed wrapping his arms around your waist, swaying you with him to the beat of the Christmas song.

The two of you swayed for almost 30 minutes enjoying each other's presence, sharing kisses every now and then, when you looked at Chan and noticed somehow between now and the last kiss you shared has fallen asleep, you smiled as his head lulled on to your shoulder as more of his bodyweight went on to you, eventually he became to heavy so you unfortunately woke him up, making sure he was awake enough to make it to the bed and sleep there.

[lovebvni]

Pink Pick-A-Pile (from 08.28.2022)

LMFAOOA IDK WHY I USED THIS PICTURE!!

but before reading, please realize when i made this, i was in a My Hero Academia reality shifting community. Currently, I am no active there, so if you find these posts,,, yes they were me. LMFAOOAOAO and some of this blog has been edited for my sanity.

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│ᵒᵖᵉⁿⁱⁿᵍ ᵐᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ...

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[ 🖊 ] created ⋮ 27.8.22

[  ] published ⋮  27.8.22

˚₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳❥ ꒰ ⌨ ✰ Arsyn   ⋆  ⁱˢ ᵗʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ··· ꒱ | ೃ࿔₊•

┊       ⋆     welcome to my blog !

┊     °

hi lovelies!! changing what i did last time for a pick a pile, im going to be doing a more motivational one!

by no means does it mean im going to be all nice, im just going to praise you and all that you and all you’re doing. its just gonna be less about WHAT and more about HOW you can change it and also motivating you to do more/what other things you can do to help you shift faster (if you’re still working to your first attempt) or how you can positively change your shifting journey. also you guys know i can be kind of blunt and then the alice in wonderland tarot is BRUTAL but im using the White Numen deck this time (which honestly is my nsfw deck LFMAJSUHNTE BUT I WANT AN EXCUSE TO USE THEM FOR A PICK A PILE!!!)

breathe in...

and out...

now please, pick a pile or two

Pile 1

Hello pile 1 and welcome to your reading!!

confirmation for this pile: 1111, angel numbers, reunions, supernatural dr, stability, not changing ‘im not seeing results’, pisces, water signs, christmas/yule, holidays, “its just out my reach”, unstable perspectives, cows, animals, outdoors

cards: the hanged man, knight of cups (r), six of wands, ace of swords

not even gonna lie, at first i got 11 cards.., i shuffled the 11 i got to make this pile smaller so i dont drain myself during the first pile jaoishtioeh

this pile is in either a state of waiting or a state of wanting change. you’re waiting for it and you’re working on it but its almost tiring? maybe you’re loosing the hope, motivation, the fire under your ass because of this waiting. i just remember that one blog that said that sometimes shifting is like a waiting game, i feel like thats the place you guys are right now.

in the kindest way possible, your emotions are out of wack. i feel a lot of stress, anger, hurt and just instability in emotions. maybe doing shadow work, vent art, sharing your feelings, poetry, etc. dont avoid these feelings because once you confront them and move on with life, it will be much easier.

again with being creative and venting in a not natural (?) way, ace of swords and six of wands is kinda like a ‘yeah do this.’ a nod in the right direction. being creative and changing the way you develop and think about things will help you a lot. you got this babes! you’ll get the big change you want when you start thinking outside the box. dont do the things you always used to do, but change the way you approach them and how you look at things. glass half full not half empty.

thank you pile one! i hope this resonates!! 

Pile 2

hello pile 2! and welcome to your pile

heres confirmation:  burning bridges, coming to an end, breaking negative cycles, “i know how it is”, not trustworthy, being pissed off and arrogant, 555, spiritual connection (soulmates, twin flames, etc), 888,666, snakes

cards: Temperance, the hierophant (r), 10 of wands (r), the lovers

okay wow the first thing i have to say is so many major arcana cards - literally i thought the would ALL be major

this pile seems burnt out in a way (no pun intended based on the pile image) and you need to find a way to light your flame again. dont give up, and dont be scared to ask for help. if you’re struggling with spiritual beliefs/shifting/your journey PLEASE ask for help. dont cry in silence. break free from any cycle you’ve been in. cleanse your energy and the energies around you. break ties with people who aren’t helping you in any way. who are negative in your life. hold your ground and speak what you think and know is right. dont let someone else control and manipulate you in any way. be powerful, because you are. you’re in control.

with temperance and the lovers coming out i feel like this is almost why you’re shifting/what keeps moving you to shift. its moving into your god/goddess energy. being that powerful being you are. being assertive and knowing what is right for you. when you’re shifting/thinking about shifting/making an attempt remember why you started. remember your past self and who you want to be in the future, and who you want to surround yourself with. the people? are they different? know how to control and change the situation if you need it. you got this okay? you’ll see who you want to see and be who you want to be.

thank you pile 2! i hope this resonated

Pile 3

hi pile 3!! literally accidently typed 333 so anyways

confirmation: 333, childhood, hello kitty, red, actions speak louder than words but its more about the effect on you life rather than what they did, water, ocean, 555, penguins

cards: five of wands (r), three of pentacles (r), death (r), the chariot, five of wands

okay first things first we have 3 reversed cards and thats like kinda?? because pile 3, accidently typing 333 and three of pentacles?? but lets move on

you’re moving away from hardships and being stuck in your own head and coming to terms and being at peace with your cr/or. you’re letting go of the things that made it bad and accepting them as memories and just things to hold on to and never let go of. more about the people than what they did.

are your goals not written out pile 3 and your true intentions behind them? or are you just not working to them? you may know your goals and not work to them, are you burnt out? take a break then! take care of yourself. you guys are the stubborn time but you need to listen to me when i say TAKE A BREAK ITS FOR THE BETTER! you may even shift on your break. you need to take a moment and be still because it will actually boost you forwards in the long run. sometime taking breaks helps you move forward. being able to take time and relight your candle. this will lead you to a peaceful and good ending. you can see the shore and you’re about to pull up.

honestly five of wands seems out of place to me, i ask spirit to give me cards in a way thats comprehensive and makes sense with the cards near/around it. it represents rivalry, conflict in a way. maybe spirit is saying on this break fix your relationship with someone, stop fighting and going back and forth. hold your ground, agree to disagree, and let go. also shifting isnt a race or competition, so dont rush it or you can get thrown off course.

thank you pile 3! i hope this resonated

Pile 4

confirmation: water, water signs, oceans, harmony, boobies , feet?? IN WATER??, “the universe must have divined this” - dove cameron’s ‘boyfriend’, bo burnham, “i gotta get out of here”, deities, blue, white, red, AMERICA

cards: two of wands, four of cups, six of swords, three of cups

okay so something i noticed right off the bat is there is a LOT of water i mean even in a card that supposedly represents air signs, shes in a boat in the water. anyways you guys are PLANNING unlike the last pile, you guys have a set out plan, goals, and reasoning. now you have a decision to make, are you going to look to external sources or work with yourself? i was called to get an oracle card bc you guys are different.

I got two cards actually, a time to give rather than take, new moon in virgo and a time for healing balsmic moon. so these cards, surprisingly, are saying the same thing. a change is coming, it may seem like its slow but its coming. i promise, and it will be surprising when it happens.

back again to tarot, because i actually only got to one card(!!) you guys are reevaluating and reflecting, i feel like you have been for a while, thinking and dwelling on the things you can change, have changed, and how far you’ve come (NOT GOODBYE BY BO BURNHAM COMING ON IM DONE walks out door ok im back.. but anyways) stop romanizing everything and look at it in worse case scenario vs best case. the best case was already stated, now look at it as the worst thing that can happen. make that like the fuel for your flame and dont let it hold you back, let it drive you forward. this is where six of swords comes in, you ARE moving forward and you will keep moving forward the more you do. you will heal (ORACLE!!) and you are healing. six of swords can also be interpreted as an escape. maybe shifting is an escape for you?

for the last card, 3 of cups is all about harmony, friendships and community.

i know a lot of people (AND I MEAN A LOT OF PEOPLE) have left the MHA shifting community recently, but keep close to the ones you need/have made an impact on you. maybe they’re leaving/have left but yk what you do? ask around. search and find. it reminds me of a bible verse “ask and you shall gain” or something like that. keep close to those who help you, keep the positive in your life not the negative. keep friends close okay? and talk to them, dont let go.

okay pile 4!! thats it, hope this resonated and you have a great day! also little side note, throughout writing this pick a pile i saw the lovers. so that may be important to some of you. im not putting it in confirmation because if you get this far down that means something for you.

[wlwcatalogue]

Female Queer Icons of Hong Kong // Yam Kim Fai (任劍輝) and Pak Suet Sin (白雪仙)

Photo 1: Promotional photo for 1955 contemporary movie The Model and the Car (玉女香車) (no video available) (Source: LCSD Museum Collection Search Portal)

Photo 4: Photo from Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe's 1958 trip

Photo 5: Photo from a 1962 newspaper feature on Yam, Pak, and others at their (?) summer villa in Central, Hong Kong

Photo 6: Christmas celebrations with Yam, Pak, and their protégés of the Chor Fung Ming Troupe

Far and away the most iconic duo in Cantonese opera, Yam Kim Fai (任劍輝) and Pak Suet Sin (白雪仙) – commonly referred to simply as Yam-Pak (任白) – were famed for their partnership both on and off the stage… Click below to learn more!

Edit on 28/07/2023: Updated to link to a photo of the entrance to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum’s Pop Culture 60+ exhibit, and to add information regarding Yam and Pak's marriage status.

Iconic? How?

Yam-Pak are the face of Cantonese opera; you can't talk about the latter without mentioning the former. It's to the point where a gigantic picture of them graces the entrance to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum’s permanent exhibition on Hong Kong pop culture’s evolution across the past 60 years (“Hong Kong Pop 60+”) - they are the first thing you see upon entering!

Best known as the originators - with Yam playing the male leads and Pak the female leads - of five masterpieces of Cantonese opera, namely:

1. Princess Cheung Ping (帝女花) 2. The Legend of the Purple Hairpin (紫釵記) 3. The Dream Tryst in the Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭驚夢) 4. The Reincarnation of Lady Plum Blossom (再世紅梅記) 5. Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom (蝶影紅梨記) (Note: Princess Cheung Ping, Purple Hairpin, and Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom were made into abridged movie versions, with the Sin Fung Ming troupe members reprising their roles from the theatre productions. Also, the "Fragrant Sacrifice" (香夭) duet from Princess Cheung Ping (movie clip) is one of - if not the most - famous songs in Cantonese opera.)

Yam and Pak were the leading pair and co-founders of the legendary Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe (仙鳳鳴劇團; 1956-1961), which is widely held to have pushed Cantonese opera forward as an artform due to Pak and scriptwriter Tong Tik Sang’s (唐滌生) emphasis on poetic libretti and adapting source material from Chinese literature and history. (Note: it has been common practice since the 1930's for Cantonese opera troupes to be founded by key actor(s).)

They were also very active in the Hong Kong film industry in the 1950's, being paired in over 40 movies together across roughly 8 years. One of those – the aforementioned Butterfly and Red Pear Blossom (蝶影紅梨記) – is the sole Cantonese opera movie on the Hong Kong Film Archive’s 100-Must See Hong Kong Movies list (IMDB list / archived version of the official PDF). It's a well-deserved inclusion - check out this beautifully-shot dance scene.

Even their post-retirement activities had a significant effect on the industry! In the early 1960’s, they held auditions for prospective students and provided - for free - systematic, hands-on training to those who passed; Yam and Pak even hired other veterans to teach skills they personally were not as familiar with. Prior to this, apprentices were expected to learn primarily from observing their masters, and to pay handsomely for the privilege. Yam-Pak’s methods proved exceedingly effective: the Chor Fung Ming Opera Troupe (雛鳳鳴劇團; 1963-1992) starring their apprentices reigned supreme in the 1970’s-1980’s. Following this success, Cantonese opera institutes - most notably the major 1900s-era guild, the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong (八和會館) - started to offer systematic coaching to young hopefuls in the 1980's.

Okay, so why are they queer icons specifically?

The lazy answer is that they're queer icons because nearly all of Yam's roles were male, so Gender is involved by default, and since most hit Cantonese operas of the time were romances, that means you get to see two female actors performing being in love onscreen (and also on stage, but there aren't any video recordings from back then). So far, so Takarazuka Revue.

Female actors playing male roles in Cantonese opera To give some context, each Cantonese opera performer specialises in one of four major role-types, and Yam was a sung (生) - i.e. an actor specialised in playing standard male roles. Female sung were fairly common in the 1910's-1930's due to women being banned from performing with men during that period, but when the ban lifted in the mid-1930's, many troupes shifted towards cis-casting. Yam was pretty much the only one whose popularity survived the transition. Just take a look at the huge number of Cantonese opera movies produced during the 1950’s-1960’s – you’ll be hard-pressed to find a female sung other than Yam, let alone one with top billing. Happily, thanks to Yam's immense popularity, her profilic film career (over 300 movies!), and the prominence of Sin Fung Ming works in the Cantonese opera canon, there has been a resurgence in female sung which endures to this day. Two noteworthy examples are Yam's protégé Sabrina Lee/ Loong Kim Sang (龍劍笙) - a star in her own right - and Joyce Koi/ Koi Ming Fai (蓋鳴暉), one of the biggest names still active in the industry. (Note: perhaps due to cinema being more "realistic" in nature, Yam's early movies often involved her playing female characters cross-dressing as men, including in some Cantonese opera movies. However, she received increasingly more male roles as her fame grew, and from the mid-1950's onwards she was playing male characters onscreen nearly exclusively-- even in non-Cantonese opera movies! See Photo 1 above.)

What sets Yam and Pak apart is that they were particularly known for their chemistry. Long before Sin Fung Ming's formation in 1956, the advertising copy for their first Cantonese opera movie together - Frolicking with a Pretty Maid in the Wineshop (酒樓戲鳳, 1952) - declared "Only this movie has Yam-Pak flirting on the silver screen" (source - 華僑日報 1952/05/23-26). And indeed, they were popular for their flirtatious duets: their Cantonese opera works invariably contained at least one, and such scenes made it into some of non-Cantonese opera (i.e. "contemporary") movies too. In fact, there are not one but two contemporary movies where Yam and Pak's characters are not paired up and yet still sing a duet together in such a way that their significant other(s) become convinced that the two are in romantically interested in each other - see 1952's Lovesick (為情顛倒) and 1956's The Happy Hall (滿堂吉慶) - a weirdly specific situation which doesn't crop up in the other, non-Yam-Pak movies I have seen.

Speaking of contemporary movies, let's talk about a certain plotline that keeps cropping up in works featuring the both of them and where Yam plays a woman! Six of the eleven movies which fit that criteria involve Yam's character cross-dressing as a man (a common characteristic across Yam's handful of female roles), and Pak's character falling for her. Nothing ever comes of it, of course, but, um. It was certainly a trend. Actually, even their very first movie together - 1951's Lucky Strike (福至心靈) - falls into this category.

Such storylines, and the emphasis on their chemistry, are particularly interesting given that both Yam and Pak remained ostensibly unmarried throughout. This was unusual for female performers of their stature, who tended to wed in their twenties, often to fellow-actors or wealthy men (e.g. Hung Sin Nui/紅線女, Fong Yim Fun/芳艷芬, and Tang Pik Wan/鄧碧雲)... In contrast, by the time Yam-Pak retired from the stage in 1961, they were both over 30 years old and without husbands.

Also, did I mention they were popularly believed to be living together? There doesn't seem to be any conclusive evidence either way... although it's a little strange that separate newspaper pictorials depicting "Yam at home" and "Pak at home" seem to be of the same location... however what is conclusive is that they did spent a lot of time together offstage. Pak has talked about how when they had no guests over, Yam would watch TV by herself while Pak was in the living room (source - p93), and protégé Mandy Fung/ Mui Suet Sze (梅雪詩) has said that Pak would sometimes cook for Yam at home (source - 03:53~). They would also celebrate birthdays, New Year's, and Christmas together (see Photo 6 for an example of the latter).

Shortly after Yam's passing in 1989, Pak set up the Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin Charitable Foundation (任白慈善基金) to support the arts and provide welfare for the elderly. In 1996, Pak made a large donation to Hong Kong University, resulting in one of the buildings being renamed Yam Pak Building (任白樓) in thanks (source).

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to DM me or send an ask if you have any questions, or are just interested in learning more.

If you made it here, have this bonus piece of trivia - Yam and Pak were also well-acquainted with Hong Kong's preeminent queer icon, Leslie Cheung (張國榮), who was a massive fan of theirs. Sadly there don't seem to be any pictures of them before Yam's passing, but here's one of Pak (centre) having afternoon tea with Cheung (left) and his long-term romantic partner Daffy Tong (唐鶴德) (right) at the Cova cafe in the Pacific Place shopping mall.

[wanderingblindly]

Liquid!!! Sending you a ⭐️ to yap about (of course) Cheating at Bingo and Other Christmas Traditions - my beloved!! I adore her and you! 🤍

Hello my angel!!! I don’t think I’ve talked about Cheating at Bingo in a loooooong time, so this should be fun! Thank you for asking 💖💖

I’ll talk about one real scene and one scene that didn’t end up happening:

1. The bingo scene actually wasn’t in the original plan

In the beginning, when I was still figuring out what role Celeste was going to play in this fic, I didn’t even have bingo on the radar.

I pictured Celeste going out to lunch with Rita — some regularly scheduled thing, so Charles wouldn’t bat an eye — without telling him that Max would be there. Basically, she was going to set Max and Charles up on a surprise date by kicking them to their own table, just like she did during bingo night.

I didn’t end up going with this plan for two reasons. First, I thought it would be harder to write a conversation that was interesting and natural without some sort of… outside activity. Just sitting in a restaurant can be kind of boring if you don’t already have a rapport with the other character (see: the opening scene lol). Secondly, I didn’t think Celeste — for all her scheming — would want to ambush Charles like that. Something about it felt more mean-spirited than her other antics.

In the end, I loved the bingo scene. It was a really fun way to show some other sides of their personalities and make them feel more well-rounded.

2. I wanted to write their ice skating date

In my outline that I wrote… halfway through the fic (leave me alone, I was struggling). Here’s that:

Charles wasn’t meant to invite Max over for Christmas during the Christmas tree decorating, mostly because the Christmas tree decorating scene was meant to happen earlier in December (per this timeline). After sitting on it for a bit, I realized that the ice skating date would feel…. Redundant after the Christmas tree farm “”date””.

Obviously, I moved things around. The sappy Christmas tradition between Charles’s grandparents was entirely unplanned — that just came to me while I was writing. It’s loosely based on a part of my real life (my step mother loves holiday crystals), but otherwise it was just a stroke on inspiration!!

I’m glad I took it the direction I did. I think the symbolism in that scene (max holding the crystals, hanging The Wedding Bells, etc all feels so intimate and lovely).

3. The final time skip scene was written moments before I hit post

I finished writing this fic at night, and told myself I’d post it first thing in the morning. After giving it a cursory reread, I realized it just felt… off. Something about it wasn’t giving hallmark to the utmost degree, and I would not let that stand.

It, again, was an unplanned moment of inspiration. After looking back at the above outline, I realized I could still sneak in the “what the fuck was our first date??” conversation, which I loved. For such a Charles-centric fic, I wanted to slip in moments where it was clear that Max was just as infatuated with him — and thinking you were on an unspoken date, being that optimistic? Yeah, that’s exactly what I needed.

I actually hadn’t reread this fic since I posted it, I’m really pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Thank you for the ask darling 💖💖

If you’ve made it this far, please feel free to ask me about any of my works!

[hlficlibrary]

HL FIC LIBRARY ✤ AUTHOR REC

AO3: jacaranda_bloom

Tumblr: @jacaranda-bloom

STATS:

✤ Number of fics: 64

✤ Posting Since: 2018

TOP 5 FICS:

1️⃣ In A Twinkling (E, 89k)

Louis’ Nan just wants him to be happy, to settle down with a nice boy, and bring him around for Christmas.

Louis is too busy with his career to bother about relationships, but in an attempt to appease his Nan, he sends her photoshopped pictures of him and his pretend boyfriend, Harry. The fact that the man in the pictures is none other than Harry Styles, world famous Gucci model—and recurrent star of Louis’ fantasies—is irrelevant. It’s not like their paths will ever cross…

So it comes as somewhat of a surprise when Louis returns home for Christmas and walks into his Nan’s sitting room only to find the real-life Harry Styles happily chatting away with the grey-haired ladies of his Nan’s Crochet Circle.

Featuring Niall and Liam as Louis’ childhood friends, Harry as the painfully perfect man of Louis’ dreams, Zayn as Harry’s very protective best mate, Louis’ Nan as a well-meaning matchmaker, and Louis as a guy who thinks he’s happy with his life, until a certain someone shows him what he’s been missing.

2️⃣ When Tomorrow Comes (E, 11k)

When Louis and Niall are partnered up to complete a project on Omega scents and how they effect the nesting behaviours of Alphas, little does Louis know that the course of his life is about to be forever altered.

OR the one where Louis is an Omega who has been keeping himself pure for his Alpha, Harry is a traditional Alpha focusing on his studies while he waits to find his bondmate, and Niall is a sneaky bastard who keeps borrowing Louis’ clothes and never returning them.

3️⃣ Love, Ever After (E, 20k)

One would assume that the charismatic omega in charge of the local matchmaking service would have found a mate and settled down ages ago. His clients, in fact, are always a bit surprised when they come to learn that Louis is still single. But Louis doesn’t mind, not really. His standards are just high; he is happy holding out for his alpha, his soulmate, and chooses to not waste his time with anyone else, despite what his friends might think.

That is, until his best mate from uni drags him out of bed far too early on a Saturday morning after a night of drinking to go to a farmers market, of all places. It’s there that he proceeds to make an utter fool of himself in front of the hottest alpha he has ever laid eyes on. There’s truly no coming back from that, is there?

OR The one where omega Louis makes love matches, alpha Harry makes cheese, and meddling friends might finally make their dreams of finding their soulmate come true.

4️⃣ Player (E, 28k)

Louis’ job should be simple. Harry Styles, one of the top ranking tennis players in the world, is every publicist's perfect client. He’s charismatic, enigmatic, and fit as fuck. The darling of the media, a national treasure, and a sponsor's wet dream. He’s also a goofball with the kindest heart, sweet, and polite, and singularly focused on achieving his goals.

There are just two minor problems. Firstly, Louis' debilitating crush on said client. And secondly, Harry has just accidentally Instagrammed a picture of his dick to his 18 million followers. So no, Louis’ job is anything but simple.

OR the one where Louis is Harry’s highly strung publicist and has a thing for his client, Harry is an international sports star and has a thing for his publicist, Liam and Zayn have a thing for each other, and Niall wishes everyone would just get their shit together.

5️⃣ Wild Hearts Run Free (E, 42k)

Harry is an alpha who is harbouring a dark secret, one that has forced him into self-imposed isolation, far from civilization and far from temptation.

Louis is an omega who has fought the predispositions of his secondary gender his whole life and suddenly finds himself cast aside by his beta partner, leaving him to question his place in the world.

When fate and Mother Nature conspire to trap the two strangers together, will Harry’s worst fears be proven, or will Louis find a way to break down his walls and lead him into the light?

HIDDEN GEM:

💎 Surprise Me, Space Boy (E, 7k)

Louis is a solo officer on Space Station Zeta and the isolation can present many challenges, not least of which is that it’s really bloody hard to date. He’s pinning his hopes on that changing with a fellow solo officer, Harry, from a neigbouring station who gives great banter and has a gorgeous smile. Maybe online dating has its benefits after all?

OR The Space Wank Fic.

[haddonfieldwhore]

sparks fly - will borgen (2)

will borgen x fem!reader (part social media)

summary: you bring you favourite player a birthday gift at a kraken practice

warnings: this is pure delusion lol enjoy, fluff 🧸 please pretend the game on dec.20th was at home not in california

word count: 1.3k (this is part 2 )

❥ click here for part one

9:46am - you

you came back downstairs dressed and feeling refreshed after your shower, grabbing your phone off the counter getting your shoes on. you had a few errands to run, and if you wanted to be home in time to watch the game tonight, you wanted to get a move on.

since it was close to christmas, you hated how busy it was downtown, but you always loved how they decorated the trees, snapping a quick picture and posting it to your story. you admired the passing buildings from the backseat of the uber you were in, when your phone buzzed in your lap. your eyes almost fell out of your skull as you saw what the notification was. once again, you had to check a few times to convince yourself that it truly was the real will borgen messaging you, and you pinched yourself as you typed out each reply.

he didn’t reply as fast this time, and you tried not to look insane to your driver as you checked your phone every 10 seconds. finally, a reply came through, but it only left you more bewildered.

he had sent you a ticket to the game? you couldn’t fathom why, but you weren’t going to say no when your favourite player was saying he wanted you there; that he wanted to see you. the game wasn’t until later that evening, giving you plenty of time to both get ready, and overthink everything about the situation.

•

6:21pm - you

you still felt like this was all a dream, even as you arrived at the arena and got to your seat, in the lower 100s section near the net that the kraken would shoot on twice during the game. you felt bad, wondering how much the ticket had cost, but you were pretty sure the players got a few tickets for free, so you hoped that was the case.

the kraken won in the end, leaving you feeling even more on cloud 9 as you walked up to the concession area of the arena. you were getting ready to leave, when you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.

you felt like you were going crazy, wondering what made you so special to deserve all of this happening to you. nervousness grew in the pit of your stomach - you had never hung out with a professional hockey player before. what would you talk about? what if you made a fool of yourself? he must have sensed your hesitance somehow, because after a minute of you not replying, another message came through.

if someone had told you 24 hours ago that you would be texting with, never mind getting coffee with will borgen, you would have laughed in their face. but somehow, you wondered if he had also felt that little spark between the two of you at the iceplex, and that’s why this was all happening. it sounded a little too fantastical for you, but you would believe anything at this point.

you got to the starbucks, the restaurant part being mostly empty, just a few people in line for takeout. you sat at a table in the corner, waiting anxiously.

as promised, 20 minutes later, you saw will sneak past the two people still in line, and over to your table.

“hey, thanks for waiting,” he smiled shyly, and you smiled back at him. how could he be nervous right now? you wondered.

“no problem. you’re really you,” you laughed softly, and he chuckled.

“yea, did you think i wasn’t?”

“a tiny part of me did. the ticket kinda convinced me but this is …. a little insane.”

“in a good way?” he asked nervously.

“will, of course i mean in a good way. i just … why me?” you fiddled with your hands in your lap, picking at your fingernails.

“why not you?”

“i mean i’m just me and you’re.. you.”

“you realize that makes no sense right?” he laughed, and you couldn’t help but giggle. despite how nervous you were, you felt more and more comfortable in his presence.

“you know what i mean.”

“you know, matty actually had to convince me to work up the nerve to message you.” you looked up at him, surprised.

“really?” you asked in disbelief. “do the other guys know-“

“no just him. he doesn’t know we’re together right now but he convinced me to invite you to the game.”

“well thank him for me then,” you laughed. “should we get drinks?” will nodded, and the two of you went to the counter to order. will insisted on paying for the drinks despite your protests, and he asked if you wanted to walk around the arena.

“you’re not worried about people seeing you?”

“no, most people are gone anyway even if i did.” as he took a sip of his drink, you smiled, noticing a familiar string of blue beads around /,” you smiled, holding his wrist softly to admire it on him.

“yeah, this really pretty girl gave it to me for my birthday,” he said, sliding his hand into yours and licking your fingers together. you blushed slightly as you walked hand in hand around the arena, will showing you around and explaining different things about the game. it had only been about half an hour, but you felt like you had known eachother for years.

•

matty beniers was walking out of the arena, having stayed a little later than usual after the game. as he looked down the hall, he noticed you and will walking the other way, smiling to himself as he walked to his car.

“he actually did it,” he thought to himself, proud of his friend for taking his advice. he ran into yamamoto who was also just leaving.

“hey, borgy’s not with you?” he asked, and matty shook his head.

“he had a few things to do tonight,” matty lied, not wanting to be the one to tell the guys about will and his potential new girl.

“i guess we’re celebrating his birthday without him then,” kailer laughed, and patty pushed him gently towards the door.

“more cake for us.”

•

10:51pm - you

“so did you enjoy your birthday?” you asked, laughing as will swung your joined hands back and forth between you slightly.

“yes, but i think i might have enjoyed today more,” he smiled. “it is getting late though and i don’t want to keep you here forever. do you have a ride home?”

“yeah, it is. i can take an uber-“

“i could drive you if you want?” he offered, and you smiled.

“if it’s not a bother- thank you.”

after a short drive, will pulled up outside your apartment, and you felt sad to be saying goodbye. what if he didn’t want to see you again?

“i would invite you up, but i really wasn’t prepared to have guests so the place is a mess. and it’s pretty late so you probably want to get home and-“

“it’s okay,” he laughed at your rambling. “next time. we fly to anaheim for a few days but i’d like to see you when i get back- if you want to i mean,” it was his turn to ramble, the fact that he was also a little nervous made you feel more at ease somehow.

“yeah, i would really like that,” you smiled. “i’ll be cheering you guys on from home.”

“thanks,” he replied, but looked like he wanted to say something else. “…can i kiss you goodnight?” he asked, and your face got warm, but you nodded. he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours softly. the taste of coffee on his tongue was sweet, and you found yourself wanting to kiss him again as he pulled away, but you didn’t.

“i’ll text you tomorrow?” he offered, and you nodded, getting out of the car and wishing him goodnight. he waited in his car to make sure you got in the building safely, and you sighed happily, a huge smile on your face as you rose the elevator up to your floor.

you just hoped the next few days went by fast.

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

[something-tofightfor]

Competing For Christmas 10: Last Christmas

Pairing: Modern Din Djarin x Female Reader

Word Count: 11,170

Rating: E - but not all the way through. 

Summary: 

Making plans for the future means telling the people you care about what’s going on ... how will they take it? Mandalorian traditions are new to you, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no place for them alongside your own holiday celebrations.

Author’s notes:

I’ll keep it simple here - this is it. This story has come to an end, and I’m so happy with what I’ve written and the story I’ve told for these two. Thank you for giving this version of Din a chance, and for sticking around throughout the whole thing.  More gratitude at the end if you want to read it - I’ll let you get to reading now. 

** Mando’a translation at the end of the chapter. **

Questions, concerns, comments? My inbox is open!

To get alerted when I post new chapters/stories, follow @somethingtofightfor-shares and turn on post notifications - you can also ask to be added to my tag list (link in bio or at the top of my taglist reblog)

Masterlist  / Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5.1 / Part 5.2 / Din’s POV Interlude / Part 6.1 / Part 6.2 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 

You were more nervous than you wanted to admit as the two of you stepped toward your parents’ front door the following morning. 

It wasn’t because you were unsure of Din. It was because you knew that no matter how much trust your family had in you to do what was best for yourself, what you were about to tell them you had planned was not going to be what they wanted to hear. And I get it, but … 

“You alright?” Din’s fingers were laced with yours, the man squeezing your hand tightly as he spoke. “You just got really stiff, and -”

“I’ll be ok. It’s just going to be a lot for them to take in, and …” You sighed. “And it’ll probably be a lot of questions for you.” 

“I can handle it.” He leaned over, kissing the side of your head. “Believe it or not, I’m a pro at diffusing difficult situations when I’ve got the proper motivation.” You believed him, and even though you were still worried, you were thankful that you wouldn’t have to face the truth alone. 

Raising your free hand, you settled it on the doorknob, taking a deep breath. “Here goes nothing, Din.” 

— 

The first half of the day went well, and your family seemed to love the man. 

After explaining that his presence was a last minute decision thanks to a change of his original plans, he’d joined in on the festivities.

Din participated in the white elephant game with one of the extra gifts your mother always bought and wrapped, and himself into conversations as often as he could, charming your father with endless pictures of Grogu. He sat back and watched as the three of you exchanged gifts, and the smile didn’t leave his face the entire time, even though you could see that the situation made him a little uneasy. Is it because he isn’t participating, or because he sees … that this is so important to us? 

You didn’t know - and planned on asking as soon as you could. But it would need to wait, because as the day want on, things shifted - and your parents increased their focus on getting to know the man sitting beside you.

They asked him a few questions but nothing too personal, even though you knew that they wanted to. And to his credit, Din answered each one candidly, explaining that he’d grown up not knowing his parents and under the care of Mandalore’s foster system, that he’d been in school until his mid 20’s, participated in military training, and had only decided to experience what life was like in Mistletoe much later on, once he’d taken care of most of his immediate responsibilities. 

He told the truth but not the entire truth each time he spoke, since you’d decided that you weren’t going to say anything about leaving until after dinner.  That way … if they get upset, I won’t have ruined the whole holiday. 

The doorbell rang later that afternoon while the four of you were sitting around and watching a movie, and Din’s eyes immediately went to it. You calmed him with one hand on his arm, leaning over to let him know what was going on. “Just my aunt and uncle. They always stop over on their way home from his sister’s.” He nodded, taking a breath and relaxing his shoulders. 

When Din turned his head to speak quietly into your ear, you felt goosebumps rise on your arms, the warmth of his breath on your skin making you shiver. “So will they be here when … we tell them?” Yeah. You nodded, lips pressed together. I hope that’s ok. “Alright.” 

“She’s the one that asked where you were last night.” You nudged him, smiling. “Wondered why I didn’t bring you, so I’m sure she’s going to be -”

“Oh, so he is here.” Your aunt Carol stepped into the room, busy unwinding her scarf from around her neck. “Jess, come meet the new guy.” You rolled your eyes, sighing. He’s got to know that’s not how I introduced him. “We’ve heard a lot about you.” She stepped closer and Din pushed to his feet, extending his hand and nodding as he took hers - and then her husband’s, introducing himself. “Din. That’s an unusual name. Is it short for something?”

“It isn’t.” He smiled, shrugging. “Where I’m from, we usually take on a name from our family’s history, as a way to honor the past. Din’s … well, I don’t really know the whole story behind it, but it -” He was flustered and so you interjected, reaching up to tug on his hand and urge him to sit down next to you. 

“Aunt Carol’s nosy but she means well, I promise.” The woman scoffed, sinking onto the loveseat without looking away from the two of you. “I’m going to go and get a drink, does anyone need anything?” Din raised an eyebrow, his eyes flicking toward the kitchen. “Is it time?” 

“I think it is.” He stood again, extending his hand and helping you to your feet before turning to face the rest of your family. “We brought a traditional Mandalorian drink for everyone to try, if you’d like.” 

“Is it alcohol?” Carol leaned forward, her smile widening. “Because I love trying new -”

“It is.” He smiled, nodding once. “We’ll get it ready and then bring it out to all of you.” Your parents agreed, too, shooing you out of the room. So they can talk about him, I’m sure. When you and Din were alone in the kitchen, you took a few seconds to compose yourself, gripping the edge of the counter and taking a deep breath as you leaned over the sink. “We can still wait to tell them,” he started, stepping close and settling a hand on your back. “I know what you said last night, but -”

“Din, I’m leaving in like 48 hours. They need to know.” You looked up at him, giving him a tight smile. “Their reaction won’t change my mind about going with you, but I’m … I’m worried they won’t support it entirely, and -” And I’d like them to.

“Oh, they won’t.” He laughed quietly, heading for the refrigerator. “What parents would? We weren’t close until a few weeks ago, and now you’re just … leaving to go across an ocean with me?” He uncorked the jug as you reached for glasses and set them on the counter, eyeing Din as he lifted the neck to his nose and inhaled. “This is a good batch.” He sighed. “I’d expect nothing less from Boba, though.” 

“I’m excited to try it. Can you tell me what to expect?” It was changing the subject, but that was fine with you. I don’t want to think about the fact that before Thanksgiving, we didn’t even really know each other

“About that.” He wet his lips, pouring two fingers of the drink into a glass and setting the bottle down. “It’s tradition for …” He sighed. “This is kind of strange so please forgive me.” Din reached for the glass and picked it up, turning to face you. “It’s tradition for Mandalorians to share spotchka when they’re …” He paused. “Courting.” 

“Mandalorians or the Mand’alor?” Because if it’s all Mandalorians, that’s one thing … but if it’s just royalty … Swallowing hard, you chewed on your lower lip. “Because -”

“The Mand’alor. And I know I’m not that yet, but I’d… I’d like to do this right …with you.” Oh, Din. He’d told you that he couldn’t offer you anything concrete, and yet he was willing to participate in a sacred tradition with you - and that meant a lot. He’s got to know it. He has to realize it, especially if I do. 

“Ok.” You nodded. “Ok, so how do we…” You trailed off as he lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip before holding the remaining liquid out to you. You took it and did the same, keeping your gaze on him. 3 … 2 … 1…. 

You didn’t know what to expect, but the spotchka was sweet as you first sipped it, your eyes widening at the taste. Oh, that’s not … that’s not bad. Taking a larger drink, you smiled with a full mouth, raising an eyebrow before you swallowed, setting the glass down on the countertop. Din’s grin grew, the man reaching out with one hand to swipe his thumb over your lower lip, his eyes bright. “Did you like it?” Ok, we’re definitely going to have to talk about this later. I need him to understand how much it meant to me.  

“I did.” You looked at the jug. “It wasn’t what I expected, though. Is it … is it supposed to be salty? It’s sweet, too, but there’s a little bit of -”

“It is.”  He busied himself with rinsing the glass you’d used and re-corking the bottle. “It’s brewed with seawater, which adds the brine, but there’s also fruit in the mix.” He waited until you’d put the glasses onto a tray to continue as you walked back toward where your family was. “Each batch is a little different, depending on when and where it’s made, but it’s the same general taste.” 

You set the tray down on the table and Din did the same with the bottle. Everyone leaned forward, ooh-ing at the color of the bright blue liquid, but it was your mother that spoke first, keeping her eyes on Din as he poured. “Are we celebrating something? This feels like we’re celebrating something, and I don’t mean Christmas.” 

Din didn’t falter in his movement, finishing the pour and beginning to hand the glasses out, one at a time. But you weren’t as easily able to hide your reaction, a slight frown crossing your father’s features at your brief wince. “We are.” You took a deep breath as you accepted the second to last glass from Din, glancing over at the man before you looked at your parents. “We -”

“Are you pregnant?” Your aunt spoke first, narrowing her eyes. “No, that’s not it, you’re drinking today, and you drank last night, so -” 

“I’m not pregnant. I promise.” Laughing, you held up the glass and looked around the room. “It’s nothing like that, but …” With another look at Din - the man nodding so quickly you almost missed it - you continued. “We’re celebrating Christmas and … the fact that Din is going to be named as the Mand’alor next week when he goes home.” 

The room was silent - and then it wasn’t, your uncle cutting in as he leaned closer. “Can you repeat that?” 

“Drink first and then we will.” Din’s tone was steady, the man gesturing with his spotchka. “It’s better to drink it right after pouring.” 

“Merry Christmas, everyone.” There were murmurs of the same in return, and as all of you drained the small amount of liquid Din had poured, you mentally cursed yourself. That wasn’t slick. I could have done that better. I could have - 

“What’s a Mand…alore?” Your mother frowned, setting the empty glass down. “That was a very good drink, but… going home? That seems like -”

“The Mand’alor is my country’s version of a king or queen.” Din straightened his shoulders. “And your daughter is correct in saying that as of next week, my plans to formally fill the role will be announced.” He took a breath. “A good friend of mine currently holds the position, and he’s stepping down, so it’s my turn.” You reached over, squeezing his knee. “And that means that I’m headed back home in the next few days to make those plans.” 

“But the two of you are …” Your father leaned back in his chair, staring at Din. “How are you here right now if you’ve got such a responsibility?” 

“This - my time in Mistletoe - wasn’t ever going to be permanent.” Din set his glass down, shaking his head. “I was supposed to be here until later this year, and then go back, but … circumstances have changed, and I need to go back sooner. I came here to enjoy my last little bit of freedom before I take the title, and things … well, they didn’t go as planned.” Din lowered his head briefly and then raised it, making sure to make eye contact with each of your parents in turn. “Your daughter asking me to be her partner for this competition wasn’t part of my plan, but now … now it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.” 

He wasn’t lying - you knew that he wouldn’t dare, and you inhaled sharply at his words, your fingers tightening against his knee, even as your mother leaned forward, opening her mouth to speak. One of the best things? But it’s only been a few weeks, it … “So you’re just going to… what? Have your fun here and then leave? The two of you seem very close. My daughter isn’t just going to -”

“Mom.” You glanced up at the ceiling, sighing. “Din and I are close. We’ve worked together since he got here, but we only really got to know each other after James and I broke up. We’re still… in the process, but, yeah. He’s leaving. And I’m …” Din’s hand covered yours, the man silently letting you know that he was there. “I’m going with him.” 

The room was silent, four pairs of eyes focused on you and Din, and for the first time, you felt true fear as you waited to see what they’d say. They have to understand, at least somewhat. They have to know that this isn’t just a crazy decision. 

“When are you leaving?” Your mother spoke first, the fingers of one hand twisting the end of her sweater’s sleeve. “If he’s announcing so soon, then it has to be before he does, right? What about your job?” 

“My plan is to leave the morning of the 27th.” Din cleared his throat, meeting the woman’s gaze straight on. “There are some … things that have come up that make it necessary for me to go back as soon as possible. There’s a plane on the way here for me right now.” 

“That man… the one that came up to you at the carnival the other night.” Your aunt took a breath, letting it out in a slow sigh. “Was that -”

“It was. That’s the current Mand’alor and my closest friend. He came here to bring me home, but I couldn’t … I couldn’t go without being honest with her.” Din reached for your hand, his head turning enough that he could look at you. “I care about your daughter. But I want to show her where I’m from before we make any long term decisions.” Your father stayed silent, his arms crossed, and you had no idea what to say in response. Something. Anything. 

“I’m leaving with Din and then I’ll be home in time to go back to work on the 5th.” You circled your thumb over Din’s knuckle, the warmth of his skin calming. “And then … then we might have some things to talk about.” It was the easiest way to explain things to them - telling them that you were going but the first trip was going to be a short one, that you were definitely coming back, that that day wouldn’t be the last time they saw you for the foreseeable future. “Besides, I haven’t been on vacation in a long time, and going somewhere for New Year’s Eve will be nice.” 

“Well I’m happy for you.” Carol held up a hand, her smile widening. “It sounds like fun. And congratulations, Din, on the new title. It sounds like -”

“Can I talk to you?” Your mother stood, pointing toward the kitchen. “Alone?” With a deep sigh, you agreed, standing. Din gave your hand one final squeeze and then dropped it, clearing his throat. 

You heard him begin to tell your family members more about Mandalore and himself as you and the woman excused yourself into the other room. It was apparent that she was fighting back emotions as you made your way to the small table, but you had no idea what she was going to say - or how you’d reply. 

She sat first, clasping her hands together and staring at them, and when she finally spoke, you were shocked to hear how incredulous she sounded, her tone sharper than you remembered her ever using with you before. “You’re telling us on Christmas that this man, this coworker of yours is actually next in line to become the king of a country that no one’s ever heard of?”

It was difficult to keep your voice even, but your desire to make her understand outweighed the part of you that wanted to lash out. “Yeah, mom. He was here for the last little bit of time he’ll have to himself before he takes over for Boba. He decided to leave Mandalore and see what else was out there, and… he ended up here.”

“And you knew this? But you didn’t say anything earlier? Why? Why didn’t you tell us?” She blinked a few times, her eyes filled with tears when she met yours. “Why did you lie?” It hurt that she thought you’d been lying to her, but the truth was probably going to hurt more. Because it’s unbelievable. 

“No. I didn’t know.” You covered your face with your hands. “Mom, I had no idea about any of this until the night of the snowman event. I just thought he was some guy that moved here. When he finally told me, I didn’t … I didn’t believe it either. But then I looked into it, and it’s all true. I met Boba and Din explained more about Mandalore and his position. It’s all happening fast, and I know it. But it feels right. It feels … good.” 

“You just broke up with James what, two months ago?” She scoffed. “And now you’re already getting ready to leave with some man you barely know? Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t have moved from Mistletoe with James? So why now? Why with Din?” 

She was making valid points, and even though hearing them stung, you stayed strong, flattening both hands on the table.

“Because James wanted me to move without any certainty for the future. He said he wasn’t ready to marry me or plan a life with me, but I needed to be ready to move as soon as he found an opportunity.” You rolled your eyes. “Din offered me a choice. He asked me to go with him. And he was honest about the fact that it might not work out after I see what being with him means after he takes over.” You reached out, touching the back of one of her hands. “I know it’s fast, and I know you probably think I’m an idiot. Maybe I am. But I wouldn’t have agreed to go if I didn’t … if I didn’t think that we …” 

You didn’t know exactly what to say - or even how to articulate what you were feeling. If I say that I think I love him, she’ll lose it.  “You own a house. You have a good job. Your friends and family and life are here. Are you just going to leave all that for him? You’ve known this man for less than a year, and have been … are you even dating? You’ve been dating him for less than two months, and… where is Mandalore? I’ve never even heard of it.” 

“We’re not at that point yet. I’m just going to visit for a week. No one’s talking about me quitting or selling a house or leaving for good.” Yet. There was a lump in your throat, but you cleared it away, swallowing. “I don’t care what his title is. He’s a good guy, Mom. Smart. Funny. Nice. And this isn’t an ideal situation because of timing, but if I just let him go and pretend like I don’t care, or it doesn’t bother me? I’ll regret it.” Your eyes filled with tears and you brought the back of the hand that wasn’t holding hers up to press it against your lips, biting down on one knuckle. “I wouldn’t ever forgive myself for letting him walk away.” 

“Then don’t.” She pulled her hand from yours and flattened both of them on the tabletop, letting out a deep sigh. “If that’s really how you feel, you can’t ignore it. You’ve seemed … happier since the competition started, and if you care about him as much as it seems like you do, then…” She tilted her head back and swore, her eyes on the ceiling. “Then we can’t stop you. All I can do is tell you to be realistic about the way this might work out.” 

“I know.” You felt relief - and at the sound of laughter from the other room, your eyebrows rose, your gaze drifting from your mother and to the doorway. Well that sounds promising. You’d thought that your father would be the one that Din had to work hard to win over, but you’d been wrong. It’ll be fine. “He’s a great guy, Mom. You should see him with Grogu.” 

“Well maybe sometime I will.” She stood, staring at you before she placed both hands on her hips. “If he comes back.” He will. He has to. He’ll have to pack. But you didn’t say anything else, instead giving her a smile and a nod. 

“Thank you for understanding.” Biting your lower lip, you pointed at the doorway. “Want to go back in there?” 

— 

You stayed at your parents’ for another hour and a half, the six of you talking in the living room for almost the whole time. Din filled your relatives in on the proper protocol in case anyone asked questions about you, telling them to use their best judgment about what they revealed. It might not even come to that, though. If Bo-Katan is going to try and make me look bad, she could talk to James, and… 

There would be a difficult adjustment period ahead for everyone involved, even if you and Din decided that continuing things between you wasn’t the right call. And we’ll deal with it as it comes. That’s all we can do. 

Din sat in the passenger seat as you drove, the man’s elbow resting against the windowsill. “That went well.” He sighed. “Better than I expected it to, anyway.” 

“Really?” You stopped at a red light, turning your head to look at him. “My mom all but begged me not to go with you when she and I were in the kitchen because I don’t know you well enough to make that kind of decision.” He smiled, the dimple in his cheek deep. 

“How’d you convince her?” His other hand was on your knee,the man’s palm covering most of it. “Your dad was surprisingly … receptive to the idea of you coming with me, which isn’t what I thought would happen.” As you started driving again, the tires spinning briefly on the slushy street, you sighed out an agreement.

“I told her that I know that this isn’t a typical situation, but that if I let you go back to Mandalore without seeing what could happen with us, I’d regret it. And that even if it is a mistake because it doesn’t work out and I get hurt… it’s my mistake to make.” Dropping one hand to rest on top of his, you squeezed. “Our mistake to make.” 

“It’s not a mistake.” He spoke so quietly that you almost didn’t hear him, but it was impossible to ignore the way he flipped his hand over, linking your fingers together. “But I’d regret it, too.” 

Both of you were silent the final few minutes it took to get to his house - but Din didn’t let go of your hand until you were parked, headlights shining against the closed garage. “I can come in for a little while, Din, but I need to go home and pack. I have to figure out what to bring with me, and put a hold on my mail, and -” He nodded, reaching up to brush his fingertips over your chin. “There’s a lot to do and I know I have all day tomorrow, but I don’t want to forget anything.” 

“We do have stores in Mandalore.” He arched a brow. “Lots of them, actually.” He leaned in. “Some of them even sell clothes.” You laughed at that, the sound bursting out as you rolled your eyes. “But I get it.” Jerking his chin toward the house, Din wet his lips. “Let’s go inside. I’ve gotta let the womp rat out, and I’m going to need you to tell me what to do with that tree since we’re going to be gone and it’s going to die, so…” 

I didn’t even think of that. You got out of the car, locking it as the two of you headed for the front door. The sound of Grogu’s excited barks from inside made you grin, and the moment you stepped into the hallway, he made sure you knew how happy he was that you were back. 

Din let him out into the yard while you took your coat and shoes off, your fingertips trailing along the wall as you headed for the kitchen. “You’ll probably want to put the tree outside tomorrow, Din. Take the lights and ornaments off, and then set the tree out on the deck, unless you want to come back to it and have pine needles all over the floor.” Stopping next to the table, you eyed the shape of the tree, though it wasn’t plugged in. “I can help you tonight if you want, it won’t take long.” 

“We just put it up.” He stepped behind you, arms going around your upper body and pulling you back and against him. “Will it be alright if I just unplug it? I don’t mind cleaning up the needles, but taking it all apart now just seems … unnecessary.” 

“If you want.” Sighing, you closed your eyes and focused on the way his breathing felt, the rise and fall of his chest steady. “I just wanted to warn you since you’ve never had a tree before.” With a low hum, you turned in his arms to face him, one hand rising to touch his cheek. “Thank you for today. Thank you for going. Thank you for being so -” 

That was as far as you got, Din’s mouth meeting yours to silence you mid-sentence. You kissed him without hesitation, the hand at his cheek sliding back so that you could grip his hair. It wasn’t a deep kiss, but it was familiar, the man’s lips closing around your lower one and drawing it between them, the tip of his tongue pressed against it before he backed off. 

“You don’t have to thank me, but you’re welcome.” He smiled, hands landing on your biceps and squeezing. “I’m going to go let him in, and then you can give him his present, ok? I moved both of them downstairs.” I’d like that. He gave you a final squeeze and then let go, stepping away and then toward the door. You followed, letting Din head to the sliding door as you looked for the wrapped presents.

They were sitting on a small table next to the couch, but before you picked them up, you switched the tree on, the tiny lights twinkling from between the branches. I wish I had more to give him, this seems… like nothing. At the sound of Grogu yipping, you turned your attention to the door. You watched as the dog ran inside, shaking his entire body to fling off lingering snowflakes. “Does it ever snow in Mandalore, Din?” Grinning, you pointed at his tiny body. “Because I think he’d mss it if it didn’t.” 

“Sometimes.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Nothing like this, though. You’d have to go a couple hours away from the bigger cities to find real snow, so maybe that’s what we’ll do next year.” Grogu sniffed at your legs, nudging into them a few times. “He does really seem to like it, though.” Wait a minute. 

“You said he saw snow last summer, though?” Din nodded as he turned away from you, taking the few steps toward the fireplace before he knelt down in front of it, beginning to prep logs inside. “So does that mean you didn’t go to -”

“I went back to Mandalore, but we weren’t at the palace the whole time. Boba has … I guess you could call it a summer place, but really, it’s just where he goes when he needs some time away. It’s probably where he’ll end up after he steps down, actually.” He crinkled up a few pieces of newspaper, stuffing them between the wood. “He and I - and Grogu - went last summer to have some privacy, and there were a couple inches of snow in a few places.” Makes sense. 

Din used a long lighter to ignite the paper, staying put while he made sure that the logs were going to catch. When he was satisfied, he stood and wiped his hands on his thighs, looking at you. “You did that fast. I’m impressed.” 

“One of my many skills.” He grinned. “Figured it would be nice to have it going even if you’re not staying long.” It was nice - the crackling flames paired with the lights and the hint of pine in the air reminded you of many previous holidays. But this one, I’m with … him. “Going to grab those?” He pointed at the gifts. 

“Oh. Yeah.” Shaking your head, you reached for the table, picking up Grogu’s present and then stacking Din’s atop it before you moved to sit on the couch - much like you had the first time you visited. “You didn’t seen too worried about him getting into anything at the street fair, so I just … grabbed a little of everything.” Din sat next to you, snapping his fingers to get the dog’s attention. But he didn’t call out to him, instead turning his head toward you and lifting a brow. Oh, he wants me to… “Grogu, come.”  

“K’olar.” Leaning over so that he could whisper it into your ear, you felt his lips move against your skin. “K’olar.” 

“K’olar, Grogu.” Heart pounding, you tried to pronounce the word the same way he did, and were rewarded with an immediate response, the dog closing the distance to you before he lowered himself into a sitting position by your feet - head cocked to the side and his tongue lolling out of his mouth. “Well aren’t you cute.” 

Your smile grew as you pulled the bow off of the colored plastic around the basket, the dog’s head tilted enough to follow the movement. His tail began to wag the second the contents became visible - and when he could smell them better. But he stayed put, tail thumping against the floor.

“You’re going to spoil him.” Din leaned forward, eyeing the basket. “Where did -” You took the ball out first, holding it up and letting Grogu sniff it before you set it on the table.

“Went to Peli’s store. She had everything there. But,” you continued as you dug deeper into the basket, fingers closing around the bag of jerky. “I got him stuff that she recommended. More of those frogs. Some jerky. A big bone.” You held that up, your smile growing as Grogu got to his feet, his excitement apparent as he shuffled back and forth in place. “It’s all honestly just snacks and one toy, but -” Grogu sniffed the bone, his tongue appearing as he licked it once. “Can I let him have it?” Din nodded and you held it out closer, Grogu’s mouth opening so that he could close his teeth around the treat. “There you go, pal.” 

You let go, eyes on him as he carried it across the room and plopped down in front of the tree, getting comfortable as he dug into what he’d just been given. “He’s very food motivated.” Din rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m just glad he likes it.” The two of you watched the dog for a few seconds, but then you reached forward and began to repack the basket, lingering on the rounded surface of the sphere. “Will you have room to take all of his stuff with you? I didn’t know when you’d be leaving when I bought this, and -”

“Yes.” Din’s hand settled on your leg, his touch comforting. “Plenty of room. I could take everything in this house that wasn’t furniture, and I’d still have room on the plane.” He paused. “I probably should have told you that before. You can bring whatever you want with you, too. As much as you need.” Good to know. 

As the moment of truth drew closer, you realized that you were nervous for Din to open his gift. 

What you bought had felt right at the time, but the more you thought about it, the more you were unsure. He might not even want it.  “So.” Clearing your throat, you reached for Din’s present, using both hands to lift the box. “I didn’t want to do too much, because I didn’t want … I don’t know. I didn’t want it to seem like I was trying too hard, but …” Just do it. “Here. Merry Christmas, Din.” 

He took the box from your hands and set it atop his thighs, the tips of his fingers running over the silver paper. “Did you wrap this?” Murmuring a yes, you took a deep breath as you watched him undo the ribbon, carefully pulling it to the side. It was silver - like the paper - but there was an iridescent sheen to it that made it look darker, and you’d chosen it because it reminded you of his jacket. But if I tell him, that’ll be weird. 

“What is this?” He stared over at you, wide eyed after pulling the paper off and opening the box beneath it to reveal the filled stocking, his name embellished on the cuff of it in festive, plaid fabric. “This is…”

“It’s a Christmas tradition. Mostly for kids, but I thought that since you’ve never had one, this would…” He traced the stitched-on letters of his name, Din’s lips curving upward and into a smile. “I just hope you like it.” 

“I already do.” He set the box and lid aside and then dipped his fingers into the stocking, lifting the smaller wrapped box out first. “Should I open this now, or wait?” 

“That can be last.” Wetting your lips, you gestured with one hand. “Go ahead and look through the other stuff.” 

Over the next few minutes, Din worked through the contents of the stocking methodically. He took his time with each item, laughing at the novelty socks that were printed with the lights and exclaiming over the snacks and gift card, even as you rolled your eyes and said that it was kind of pointless since you’d be leaving so soon. 

“Maybe we can stop on the way to the airport.” He turned his head to look at you, reaching up to scratch the side of his head. “And it’ll be perfect when I come back to pack the rest of this place up.” 

“You’re coming back to do that?” It surprised you - you figured he’d have someone to come and do it, especially with the increased visibility of being named as Boba’s successor. “You’ll have the time?” 

Din sighed, opening the tin of mints and popping one into his mouth before he spoke again. “Yes to both.” He paused again, frowning as he stared at Grogu, who was still chewing diligently on the large bone. “I won’t be back here for long, but there’s … a process that I’ll follow after my name is announced. It’ll probably be six months before I’m … before I become Mand’alor, if not longer.” I didn’t realize that it would be that long. “I’ll be able to come back. I might have security with me, but …” He looked around the room. “I’ll get to come back to Mistletoe to finish a few things.” 

“OK.” Closing your eyes, you nodded. “Well, then I look forward to seeing you then.” He moved closer, one arm winding around you and urging you to lean against him. “Din? What -”

“We’ve got to use that weekend getaway, right?” Really? “We won that together, and we’re using it together. I’ve never been to a brewery like that, and -”

You threw your arms around him, Din reacting with a surprised oof, though he didn’t move much, his return hug tight as you lowered your face to rest it against the crook of his neck. That’s something to look forward to. “

You thought I wasn’t going to be here for that?” He scoffed as you separated, rolling his eyes.

“I didn’t know. I figured you wouldn’t be able to. Even if you wanted to, I wasn’t sure … it would be possible.” 

“I’ll make it work.” He tilted his head to the right. “You’ll have to get used to having security, too. Probably as soon as your name is made public, actually.” What? “Just to be safe, especially with Bo-Katan as a variable, and…” That was something that you hadn’t considered, but it made sense. 

“Well if we can avoid that, I’d like to. I don’t know how well that will work out with work and …” You gestured to the room. “Life here, but if you think it’s necessary, I won’t fight you on it. I don’t think anybody here’s going to care, but you know more about this than I do.” His hand was slowly stroking up and down your arm, eyes focused on your face. For long moments, you just looked at each other, sitting in the silence of the cozy room. But he hasn’t opened his actual present. He needs to… “Din?” There was a quiet hum in reply, Din giving you a brief smile. “You still have a present to open.” 

“I do.” He didn’t move to reach for it, though. 

Instead, Din leaned forward, lips landing against the corner of your mouth and then moving in, pressing against yours and lingering. You wondered what was going on in his mind but didn’t dare to ask, because that would have meant breaking the kiss and leaning back. It would have meant ruining the moment and forcing him to explain - and you were content. Who wouldn’t be? 

You deepened the kiss then, the fingers of one hand curled against the back of his neck while the other gripped his thigh. Even though you couldn’t see it, you felt him smile as he parted his lips, the man just as eager as you. Good. That’s good. 

He withdrew first, nipping at your lower lip as he cleared his throat, and you couldn’t stop your quiet laugh, the sound changing to a contented hum as Din stared over at you. “What?” Reaching up, you touched your cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”

“I have something to tell you before I open this.” He took a deep breath, nodding. “It’s nothing bad it’s just…” Din’s eyes slid away from you and went to Grogu, yours following. The dog had given up on the bone - lowering his head to rest his chin atop it, eyes closed as he snoozed with it protectively between his paws. “I know that I said that we’ll see what happens in Mandalore and that I can’t promise you anything. I know that we… that you coming with me is just…to show you what my country is like, and so we’re together when Bo-Katan does whatever it is she’d going to do.” He paused, squeezing his eyes shut, and then Din opened them, looking down and reaching for your hands with both of his. This sounds serious. This sounds like … “But I really want you to want to stay.” 

His words - and the sincerity of his tone - hit you hard, your breath catching as his eyes met yours again. He looked younger and more vulnerable than you’d ever seen him, the crease between his brows deep. “I…” You squeezed his hands, thinking. “I wouldn’t have agreed to go with you if I didn’t think that staying was a possibility, Din.”

He relaxed slightly at the words, nodding once before you continued. “I understand what it means that you even invited me. I understand what it means that you’re going to … introduce me. But even if things were different and we were just going back to a normal situation? I’d still be taking it just as seriously. I’m going with you because of you and how I feel about you.” Tell him the whole truth. “And I know this is just a few days visit, but … I’ve thought about what might come next.”

“Next?” He shifted closer, keeping his fingers linked with yours. “What do you mean?”

“With my house, and my job, and figuring out what traveling between Mandalore and Mistletoe to visit friends and family might look like.” You sighed. “With what I would do in Mandalore while you did all of the leadership stuff, and if it’s legal for me to stay there as a non-resident, and -”

“Hey.” Din’s smile was wide, his cheeks round as his head moved slowly back and forth. “I’m glad to hear it, because I have, too.” He squeezed your left hand, the smile growing. “There are ways to make it all work, but we don’t have to figure that out yet, alright?” He leaned forward again, resting his forehead against yours. “This is just a visit. This is just to show you my life and to make sure I can keep you safe from whatever happens when your name and face go public.” He paused. “But I have the perfect set of rooms in the palace picked out for you, and a feeling that once you see Mandalore, you’ll love it.” 

It was your turn to laugh, eyes squeezed shut as you enjoyed his proximity. “Rooms in the palace, hmm? Is that where we’re staying when we go?” 

“No.” He sat back, easing his hold on your hands. “I’ll be splitting my time between the palace and my apartment while I get ready to take over, but for this week, it might be easier to keep under the radar by staying in my place and going there when we need to.” He said your name, his tone going serious again. “Boba and Fennec are working out logistics. I’ve gotten a couple messages from them today, so by the time we’re in the air, I’ll know more.” You nodded, still watching him, and then instead of answering, you reached for the wrapped package, handing it to the man. 

“Open.” He took it from you, his fingers closing around the box. “The longer you put it off, the more disappointed you’re going to be when you see what it is.” He laughed, rolling his eyes. 

“I doubt that.” Din slid one finger under the taped end of the box, carefully peeling the paper away. And he got closer to having it totally open, you felt your heartbeat quicken, teeth worrying your lower lip as you waited. “When did you get this?” 

“The day before the scavenger hunt.” You clasped your hands together, gaze flicking up and then back down. “Grogu’s were the last things I picked up, but your gift was the last actual present I bought.” 

He set the paper to the side, holding the box in one hand and reaching for it with the other, pulling the lid off. Here goes nothing. In the silence that followed you prepared yourself to explain - to tell Din why you’d chosen the gift you had. But it wasn’t necessary, Din’s grip on the box tightening before he set it down on the couch and then stood, reaching for you with both hands. 

You took them, letting Din pull you into a standing position before he bent down and picked the contents of the box up, tugging on your other hand to lead you toward the tree. He’s not saying anything. He’s … He kept silent as you stepped around Grogu, the dog opening one eye and peeking up at you, though he didn’t move. “Din?” 

It was little more than a whisper, but he slipped his hand free from yours and reached for one of the branches, pointing.  “How’s right here?” The anxiety disappeared entirely when you nodded, lifting one of your hands up to meet his. 

“Looks good to me.” You held the branch in place while Din slipped the silver ribbon around it, and then let go when he did, both of you stepping back at the same time. He slid an arm around your waist, pulling you closer - and then for long moments, you and Din just stared at the branches, both of you eyeing the new addition. 

“It looks like our cookies.” He spoke up first, his voice thick with emotion. “But the metal also looks like beskar, and -”

“It was the closest color I could find to it.” You wet your lips, tilting your head closer to his. “I did a little more research on Mandalore while I was shopping, and I know how important beskar is to you, but I couldn’t … I couldn’t find anything made of it on short notice, and -”

“You wouldn’t, especially here.” He took a deep breath, shifting in place beside you. “It’s very rare. And with the exception of our exports to the aerospace industry, beskar has to be … earned.” He pointed with his free hand, your eyes following the motion as the tiny lights bounced off of the shiny metal. “You wouldn’t have been able to engrave it like that, either. We have special forges and people that work with them that know how to manipulate the metal. The number of people that are able to to that is very small, so finding it for something like this is … almost impossible outside of Mandalore.” 

“Good to know.” You turned to face him, Din’s arm staying in place. “When we’re in Mandalore, will you show some to me?” You frowned. “Or is it all -”

“You’ve already seen and touched beskar.” Din’s smile grew, one brow arching. “The Mythosaur on Grogu’s collar is pure. It was my pendant first, but I wanted him to wear it. The royal Armorer has another one waiting for me when I get back to Mandalore, so you can come with me when I pick it up.”

“OK.” Agreeing, you blew out a breath. “I’d like that.” After a few seconds, you gestured to the tree, saying Din’s name softly. “I wanted you to have a memory of your time here, even if it was something small.” 

You’d looked through the mall for a long time that day for Din’s gift, but nothing has seemed right until you’d passed the kiosk near the food court. And normally, it would have been something you ignored as you walked by, but one of the ornament options caught your eye. 

There were three variations of snowflakes - each of them available in a variety of colors, including a gleaming silver metal. One of them was similar to the snowflake design that you’d chosen for your cookies, and the kiosk offered engraving. 

You kept it simple - First Mistletoe Christmas and the year in the center of the ornament, and then Din and Grogu’s names on two of the bottom branches, a blank one left between them to balance things out. 

“Even if you don’t have a tree next year, you can … I don’t know, keep it on a shelf in your room, and -”

“We’ll have a tree.” He leaned over, speaking directly into your ear. “And this will be the first thing I put on it … after the lights, of course.” You both laughed then, Din spinning you to face him so that he could hug you tightly again. “Thank you. It’s almost perfect.” Almost? What could - “You should have added your name to it, too.” 

You backed away from him immediately, eyes wild. “What? Why would… Din, that’s … we’re not … we weren’t…” But we are now. And we spent this whole Christmas season together, and … “It was for you and Grogu, and I thought … I didn’t know if …” 

“We can still add it.” He smiled, reaching forward to stroke his fingers over your cheek. “You gave me Christmas in the first place, Wero.” You wrinkled your nose at his use of your nickname, but nodded in agreement. If that’s what you want, ok. “I know that you said you needed to go home tonight, but … could I convince you to stay?” He tilted your head back, the frown reappearing. “You can leave early tomorrow morning to pack, but I’d really like it if you stayed here.” Din took a breath, his eyes on your face. “With us.”

The simple phrasing floored you, because you knew that with him, it was purposeful. He’d already included you in his unit with Grogu, even if at first it had just been a reflex. His invitation to Mandalore spoke volumes as to the fact that he wanted you in his life, but the use of us as a group that had previously only included him and the dog was telling. What did he called it? A clan of two? 

The decision wasn’t hard. 

“I want to stay.” You looked down, gesturing to your outfit. “I’ll have to go home tomorrow in this, because I didn’t bring anything, though. And this won’t exactly be comfortable to sleep in, but -”

“I think we can figure something out for you to sleep in.” He winked, a lopsided smile crawling up one cheek. “Or not.” You laughed loudly enough at that that Grogu’s head popped up, the dog looking between you and Din for a few seconds before he laid back down. 

“And you call me trouble, Din? I could say the same thing about you.” 

— 

On the morning of December 27th, you locked the door of your house behind you, one carry-on bag slung over your shoulder along with your purse. 

Din carried your other bag, his fingers tight around the straps. It was snowing again, the flakes light as they fell around you, and even though you were on a tight schedule, you took a few seconds to stop and glance up, smiling as the cool air kissed your cheeks. 

The closing of the SUV’s trunk drew your attention, and you watched as Din rounded the car, heading back for you. Wait, it’s not his. Why? “New car? Where’s the truck?”

“I didn’t have much choice.” He opened the door for you, shaking his head. “We’ve got a driver.” Oh. You climbed in, turning your head toward the back row of seats at the sound of Grogu’s tail thumping against them - and then slid over so that Din could get in next to you. “We’re going to that private airfield just outside of town, and I didn’t want to leave my truck there, so …” He shrugged. “A driver.” 

You leaned back against the comfortable seat just as Din’s arm slid around your shoulders, and as you backed out of the driveway, the reality of the situation set in. I’m going to Mandalore. I’m spending a week with him in his home, and I’m… You closed your eyes, turning your head toward his body. “How long is this flight anyway? I’ve been so busy packing, all I want to do is go back to sleep.” 

“Hours. Close to ten, I think. Plenty of time for you to nap.” He leaned closer, mouth moving over your ear. “There’s a bed on board.” You perked up at that, inhaling sharply. He wouldn’t have said anything unless… “You’ll be comfortable.” 

Neither of you talked much until you turned down the road to the airport, the tower and some of the planes coming into view. “I’ve never been on a private plane.” You leaned closer to the window, Din’s hand on your back. “Does Grogu get to ride with us, or does he have to be in a different area?” 

“With us. He’s got a crate that he has to be in for takeoff and landing, but he gets to roam if he wants.” Din sat straight up, too, clearing his throat. “As much as I’m not sure I want all of this, there are definitely some perks.” 

And you found that to be true only a few minutes later when the three of you made your way across the freshly cleared and salted tarmac toward the steps that led into the plane. Grogu ran up first, Din urging you to go next - and the second you stepped on board, you couldn’t hold back your response. 

“Holy shit, Din. This is …” You looked around, eyes traveling over the oversized, plush seats, small tables and screens that adorned the walls between the windows. Soft leather, thick carpet and tasteful decorations filled the plane, and at a second glance, you saw that both of your names were on the screens along with a welcome message. “Oh, man, Din. This … this is incredible. It’s beautiful, what is -”

“Good morning.” A young man stepped into the cabin from near the front of the plane, his outfit - a clean, black shirt with the Mythosaur logo on one shoulder and dark pants - standing out against the light colored interior of the plane. “If you could please stow any bags in the side drawers or in the sleeping quarters and then take your seats to prepare for takeoff, we can get underway.” He paused, holding up one finger. “I do need your passports, though, just to fill in the paperwork.”

You nodded immediately, reaching into your purse for your document before you handed it over, Din doing the same, though he handed over two booklets. Grogu’s got one too? Din tugged on your arm, urging you deeper into the plane, and as you walked through the cabin, your head was on a swivel, trying to take everything in.

There’s no way I’m going to be comfortable on a regular flight ever again. This is insane. Din shut the door behind you as you entered the bedroom, and another gasp left your lips. “This is ridiculous. A bed? A full bathroom? Din, there’s a damn shower on this -” 

He stepped forward, hands going to your waist. “I should have warned you. I’m sorry. This is …” 

“Din.” You reached up, holding a finger to his lips. “It’s going to take me a little while to process this. But.” You used your free hand to gesture around the bedroom. “It’ll be fine. Nothing you could have said would have prepared me for any of this, so don’t worry about that.” You wet your lips. “I still can’t believe I’m here, or that I get to spend a week with you there, and -”

“I can’t either.” He curled his fingers, pulling you closer. “But I’m happy.” He was dressed down - the man wearing a pair of thick sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, his hair air dried and curling over his ears. But he looked right at home in his surroundings, despite the fact that you’d never seen him in anything similar before. And Din was grinning, his excitement palpable. “And I hope you are, too.” 

“I am.” You let out a deep breath, squeezing his arms. “So kiss me, and then let’s go and sit down so we can take off, yeah?” Din contemplated your words for a few seconds and then leaned in, pulling you closer. 

“I can do that.” 

— 

He gripped your hips, staring up at you, and after only a few seconds, a smile crept over Din’s face. “You taking a break?” He dragged his thumbs slowly over your skin, his head moving to the side without him lifting it from the pillow. “Need me to -”

“Be quiet.” Circling your hips, you felt Din’s body stiffen beneath you, his stomach muscles tightening. “Just give me a second.” You took a breath and trailed your fingers up the center of his chest. “This is the first time I’ve ever had sex on a plane Din, so -”

“Me too.” You didn’t know why you’d assumed otherwise, but your eyes widened at his admission, the tips of your fingers curling inward and scraping against the skin beneath them. “But I think I like it.” He raised his hips off of the mattress, pushing deeper into you and you couldn’t bite back your moan, the sound loud, even over the quiet hum of the engines. “We should do it more often.” 

You began to rock your hips in earnest again, increasing your speed as you moved your hands into place so that you could brace yourself on his chest. Din’s legs were bent, supporting a little of your weight as you leaned back - and within seconds, you found your rhythm, Din’s hands gliding up your body and settling over your chest, fingers squeezing the muscle there. 

Watching him though hooded eyelids, you reached behind you to grip his legs, slowing your lower body down. The angle allowed him to go deep, Din sliding in and out of you with each roll of your hips. But it wasn’t until you shifted your angle again and lowered your body to take him all the way that you really began to appreciate the position, your mouth falling open in a surprised whimper. “Oh my… dank farrik, Din, you -” 

That did it - Din dropped his hands from your body and pushed into a sitting position before he reached for you again, one arm winding around your upper back, the other hand cradling the back of your skull and urging you into a deep kiss. You scrambled to wind your arms around him, too, wanting nothing more than to keep him close.

What did I do?

He licked into your mouth without restraint - fingers tightening as his tongue met yours, Din not breaking the kiss even as he eased you both back down so that his back was flat on the mattress, your upper-body weight settled against his chest. When he did eventually pull back for air, he groaned, the vibration traveling the length of his body. 

“I need to teach you more Mando’a.” So that was it. That makes sense. He kissed you again, his mouth leaving yours and then moving over to your ear before he sucked the lobe between his lips, holding it there. “Lay down. Gedet'ye. Please.” He spoke so quietly that you barely heard him, but with a quick nod, you agreed. 

Din reached between you to hold the end of the condom in place as you pulled off of him and then laid down next to the man, head turned to the right. Ok, I did what he asked… now he can… Din moved gracefully - rolling toward you and then hooking his leg over one of yours, both hands pulling you back to the center of the bed as he knelt above you.

Without speaking, he used one hand to urge the knee he wasn’t straddling into a bent position, his palm dragging over your thigh before he reached forward and grabbed a pillow with his other hand. “Lift.” You did, giving him room to slide the pillow beneath you - and once it was settled, your hips elevated, Din inched forward, moving one knee so that he was between both of your legs again. 

He lined himself up as your entrance as he laid a hand on your bent kneecap. You nodded and then dropped your gaze, watching as he slid back in - but Din didn’t give you a chance to get used to the feeling. 

Instead, he immediately picked up the pace, one hand on your hip, the other still on your knee - and when you cried out at a particularly deep thrust, he moaned, bending over and adjusting his hands so that he could take yours without stopping the motion of his hips. Holy shit. Holy shit this is … fuck. 

He slid your joined hands up the mattress and crushed his mouth to yours again, the kiss messy and almost desperate - but no less passionate. 

You hadn’t been with him more than a handful of times, but you felt as he got closer to the edge, Din’s thrusts changing in intensity so that he was almost stroking into you, and when you widened the spread of your bent legs, you gasped into his mouth, the sound turning into his name, though he swallowed it quickly, never faltering in his movement. 

The changed position meant that with each motion, he was dragging the dampened curls at his base and on his lower belly over your sensitive skin, the heat from your bodies radiating between you. I’m going to come like this. I’m going to … he’s… 

You were determined to get Din off before yourself, though, and after another low moan, you broke the kiss, turning your head to the side so that you could whisper into his ear, the man’s roots damp when you moved one hand up and tangled your fingers into his hair. “Right there, Din. Yes. Please.” You sighed, racking your brain, and then you hummed. “Gedet’ye.” 

He cried out - the sound louder than any that you’d previously made, and when his hips stuttered, you weren’t surprised. Din came with a series of quick, powerful thrusts of his hips, emptying inside of you as he mouthed along the top of your shoulder and the curve where your neck met your collarbone, the edges of his teeth scraping over the thin skin. 

You felt his teeth - but weren’t worried that he’d leave marks or actually hurt you, especially when Din pulled his mouth away and mumbled your name, releasing his hold on one hand to put it back between your bodies. What is he… 

That question was answered only moments later, when he backed his hips off enough so that he was still inside of you, but there was room for his hand between your bodies, fingers working deftly to pull you past the point of no return, too. “Din.”

You rocked your hips upward, seeking more friction and pressure from his hand, and when you got it, you nodded, the fabric of the pillowcase crinkling beneath your head as you turned it to the side, eyes squeezed shut. 

“No, come on. Look at me.” He sighed, thumb continuing to circle over your skin. “Let me see you.” You made eye contact with him, Din’s expression in the low light of the bedroom cabin easy to read. He looked satisfied and content, the spark of desire in his eyes turning your core into liquid metal, and that was all it took. 

You came hard around him, your knees locking into place against his hips as your back arched off of the bed, one hand fisting the blankets and the other curled tight against the top of Din’s thigh. You held his gaze for as long as you could, wanting to give him what he’d asked for, but when he didn’t stop the motion of his fingers, you had to close your eyes, mouth falling open as your muscles tightened a second time - surprising both of you. 

“Fuck, Din.” When you were finally able to speak, your voice was shaky, both eyes cracking open as he eased away from you, his hand the last thing to leave your body almost as though he was unwilling to stop touching you. “How am I supposed to get up after that?”

“Not sure.” He stretched out next to you, one arm rising to cover his eyes as he pushed his shoulders back and resettled his hips, causing the mattress to shift. “But I don’t know that I can get out of bed, either.” 

You both needed to - you needed to clean yourselves up and then get dressed, to make yourselves presentable for landing, to have a final conversation about what was expected of you once you were on the ground. But I don’t want to. I just want to…

Instead of climbing out of the bed, you rolled toward Din, draping your arm across his chest and nuzzling against the side of his neck. “Well then let’s stay here for a few minutes, alright?” 

He mumbled something that you couldn’t make out, and as your breathing calmed, his did, too - Din’s chest rising and falling, his head turning toward yours so that his chin rested against your forehead. Just a few minutes, and then we’ll get dressed and go back out into the main section of the plane. 

— 

But you woke hours later, the lights in the room dimmed, and Din still sleeping next to you. Whoops. 

With one final deep breath, you rolled away from him and toward the edge of the bed, swinging your feet onto the floor. There was a throw blanket on the ground and you reached for it, holding it up to cover your chest before reaching out to push the blinds up, not knowing what to expect. 

It wasn’t just clouds that you could see - there were lights, too, pinpricks of gold and silver far below you. It wasn’t like flying over the United States, where everything looked like a grid, cities and towns connected by winding highways and arranged in haphazard patterns until you got close to the big ones. 

What was beneath you were multiple brightly light places, each of them arranged into neat, well-illuminated circles. There were smaller bursts of color between them, your eyes moving between the geometric shapes and the scattered lights, lips parted. It’s beautiful. There’s so much open space, I wonder where we are. I - 

You felt him moving before he said anything to you. Din wrapped himself around you from behind, the skin of his broad chest warm against your back. “We fell asleep.” He spoke as he settled his chin on your shoulder, arms tight around your body. “And we…” He trailed off, and when he continued his sentence, you understood why. “There it is.” 

He tilted his chin down and kissed your shoulder again, one hand slipping beneath the blanket to splay his fingers across your abdomen, the man’s hold almost possessive. You knew the answer, but asked anyway. “Din? Is that …” 

“That’s Mandalore. You’ll be able to see Sundari in a few minutes. We’re home.” 

— 

Gedet'ye = please

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Tag list coming soon!

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Thank yous: 

When I started this story thanks to a reader vote last year, I thought I’d be able to wrap it up pretty quickly - but as is the case with most of my stuff, that turned out to be untrue, and here we are 8 months later and finally getting a true ending. 

I’m going to miss these two (three, because I cannot forget about Grogu) - but I’m definitely open to revisiting them in the future, so if you have questions or thoughts or ideas, please feel free to send them over! 

I want to thank everyone that took the time to read, comment, reblog or message me about this story. It was so much fun to talk with you about it, and I hope you’re satisfied with this ending - and that you all feel that it’s ‘right’ for them. 

Thank you to the people that let me bounce plot points and ideas off of them - especially @the-blind-assassin-12, who was INSTRUMENTAL in many BKK decisions and choices for Grogu. 

Thank you to the people that made artwork for this - @valkblue​ and @guiltypleasure-art​ specifically, because those pieces were perfect. 

I don’t know that I can top this one with the 2023 Christmas story on this blog - but I’ll definitely try. Thank all of you endlessly for the support throughout this story and all of my others. I love you all very much. 

[ril-sillyart1st]

The Flarelyn family (family tree and lore)

inspired by darkland-blood post.

here's a close ups if the picture is still quite blurry:

not sure how to start this but I'll start with Watts' and Crusher's life then the others next. (Well not everyone actually)

Crusher:

In a nutshell: basically Crusher having a really bad life then mets Blaze, beefs with him for a while before Pickle decided to hosted a second team truck challenge to excuse himself to ship Crusher and Blaze together which both ended having some feelings for each other and then marriage and baby stuff.

The whole story: Crusher Thunderstorm Jonesilyn or Crusher for short had a rough childhood, he was still a girl in that time. His older sister, Hurricane was the parents favorite child. Jinrai Yua Jonesilyn or Grammy used to live with Raijin Jonesilyn (Crusher's father) and Rumbler Thorin Jonesilyn (Crusher's mother) for now because she and her wife, Peruchyu are having a rough time with their relationship. While living with them she noticed how Crusher is not in a good place with his family, Grammy helped him by taking good care of him and moved to her house instead, Crusher's parents did know about Grammy taking Crusher away from them for his own but the parents didn't care less about it. Grammy and Peruchyu are still having rough time but it was slowly going well now. Grammy did all she can to make her grandson happy.

After Crusher passed through high school, he and Grammy decided to live in America permanently for their own goods and Peruchyu can't come with them because she was having a hard time moving to a far place and she was fine all by herself.

In college, Crusher met Maritime Catrina or Gas Guzzler, both were transgender. At first their relationship was simple until Maritime started being a livestreamer and uses Crusher for views, overall she's was a toxic 🐶. Good thing Pickle is here to help him get out of this toxic relationship with Maritime.

Pickle met Crusher at second year of college. He and Pickle would hang out almost everyday when they have free time. Crusher didn't get physical transition but gets voice therapy instead, he was absolutely fine and happy the way he looks but his voice was the only thing that made him feel off.

After both finished college, the canon story begins.

All the scars on both of his front sides came from getting scratched by the cave (in "Defeat The Cheat").

After all the chaotic happened to both him and Blaze in the second truck challenge, that's where the two started to have some feelings for each other. And also let's just say in my AU and HC that all the bad episodes are in the past and good Crusher being happy with Blaze episodes are the present.

At first Crusher was in denial when it comes to having a crush on Blaze on Defeat the Cheat but in The Big Balloon Rescue, Crusher was starting to feel more comfortable with Blaze.

Their hint of flirting at first was just gazing into each others eyes but the longer the relationship goes the closer they got. The gang knew this all because of Pickle! Watts being second.

In Christmas (A Blazing Amazing Christmas), after the work is done with Santa and delivering the gifts and everyone was back at Axle City Crusher was about to confess his feelings for Blaze but Blaze did it first then Crusher also did it right after Blaze it.

Blaze and Crusher got married at the age of 28-29, Crusher took Blaze's last name not because he thinks he's the woman of the relationship but because his last name associated of his past trauma. Crusher had Fiar, his daughter at 29 and Blaze was 31. And that's the end of The Flarelyn story.

Also some things to add:

★ past Crusher used to question himself whether he's Genderfluid or trans. He used to be a drag queen when he's still in his mean era. After awhile he sticks to identifying as both a trans man and Genderfluid who still likes to wear feminine clothes sometimes. No one in Axle City had problem with him being queer because everyone in the city were queer as well.

★ Before all the marriage and baby stuff, Crusher used to be a child psychologist or child therapist (not sure which one but y'all get my point ig) before retiring as racer instead. He still sometimes helps children and gives advice to parents and children.

Hurricane:

When Hurricane was younger she was very spoiled and was careless about her sibling or cousin. The older she got maybe Hurricane wasn't a careless truck at all, she was raised by her parents wrong, she didn't know any better at all as child, although she still beefs with Crusher and Watts most of the time but she's slowly, very slowly kinda recovering from it but it obviously will take a long time for now. She lives own home but still in Japan of course. She has anger issues and other mental health issues.

Hurricane has neutral feelings towards Fiar other than just a silent glare look on her face. Hurricane also doesn't like Blaze but pretends to like him to prevent get in trouble even though everyone knows that she's an absolute 🐶.

Raijin and Rumbler:

Their relationship is quite toxic at the start of their relationship. Both get along and not get along with each other. Raijin almost 💀 from an accident but Rumbler did help him once.

Watts:

Nothing much bad happened to her other than she moved to America at 23 years old to start her life there as a independent truck. She is older than her cousins (Crusher and Hurricane) and Watts was the first one to moved to America before Crusher. Watts has three polyamorous parents, she got her electric tires from Turbyne VoltFluxyan (Watts’ 1st father, the yellow one), she got some of her personality from Nova VoltFluxyan (Watts' 2nd father, the light purple) and her non-binary mother, Zipciye VoltFluxyan was the one who obviously gave birth to her. You might be wondering how this works? Basically the two fathers gave the 🌊 to Zipciye at the same time.

Watts and Starla started their relationship at the beginning of the canon universe, when Blaze met Watts and all that stuff. Starla and Watts consider the farm animals as their children.

When Watts heard about Crusher was pregnant, she was happy to have niece (not sure if that's the right word to used). Watts loves babysitting Fiar when Blaze and Crusher are busy with something that she can't be associated with.

Watts and Starla got their first kiss on Valentine's Day Rescue thanks to Crusher and Blaze with Fiar as well, the fam were helping Watts on trying to make the first move.

Blaze:

Nothing too bad happened to him but I'll still tell some lore about him. When Blaze was younger and didn't have Sparkle yet, he and his parents used to lived in South Korea for quite some time before moving to America instead. No bad reason, they just want to move somewhere else new. He knows more Korean than Spanish. And also in first grade of school, Blaze cries when he gets slightly hurt, even a small paper cut. No one knows this secret besides his family and his other family. Another thing is that Blaze doesn't know how to roller skate and it's quite sheepish for him because he knows how to ice skate but doesn't how to roller skate.

Blaze come out as bisexual at 14 years old to his parents at pride Month because he knew he's parents were also queer and they were obviously proud of him to tell them that. At 16, he came out as Non-binary to everyone this time, not just his family.

Also in third grade he was quite of troublemaker.

Speedrick:

Rick lives in a wealthy family and is very popular at the time when Blaze wasn't around yet (in other words he's still in college). Speederick's mom is original a monster truck just like the rest of her family. Rick's mom met her husband at a building that both used to work somewhere at VelocityVille.

He's kinda jealous now that his cousin, Blaze and his whole family are more popular than him and his own parents when Blaze becomes a monster machine racer.

Lmao that's all now, time to play Roblox again and not draw for a month. /hj

[joyswonderland1108]

Koomibruary?

Well hello there Loves 💜 i seem to be officially back (i guess?) well i’m no longer really busy so i guess i have more time for my blog now. Though the first long post i shared was just me ranting but hey, sue me. 

Anygays, i don’t think i have much to say as i’ve been expressing my excitement through dms with my friends so like, i poured the whole energy in there but i thought i would still have my fair share of talk about the koominology that happened the past few days. I mean..

Army : Hel- Jungkook : I need Jimin here right NEOW!! Right this instant! Jimin-ssi come over!  

I mean damn boy okay chill no one is going to kidnap your Jimin-ssi (can’t promise tho wassup) I mean would you look at his face lighting up when he spotted Jimin in the comments

(Credits to Dalto on Twitter for the picture) 

Please that was so fucking adorable felt like opening a Christmas gift. Besides all that i was really happy to see my two babies after a while, hearing from them, seeing them interact with us (Though i won’t say it enough but we really don’t deserve them they’re way too nice considering the shit Army pull towards them) but nonetheless i was happy to see them

Just look at them LOOK!

Now going back to JK’s live precisely the “Chicken live” i know most people were excited about him asking Jimin to come over like second nature (and i was too) but i want to point out at something else, precisely this: 

Now, i don’t even think you need to be Korean or understand Korean to get the point. The way he dropped them honorifics and the tone he used to tell Jimin to take care of himself or well to be healthy, I- FSDHJSDHFDHG!!!!!! My brain stopped braining and i was outside that day i couldn’t even properly scream to the world that THIS was such a boyfriend behavior like.. JEON JUNGKOOK!!!! 

Again, talking about each other on their lives, complimenting each other’s songs, etc.. Okay i see you. With that i wanna talk about some points, well as best as i can i’m really bad at organizing those so if i forgot to mention anything feel free to remind me.

Jimin is busy, JK is not :

From the past contents and their lives we basically understand that Jimin have been really busy preparing to drop his Album now confirmed to be in March rather than February (Someone is getting in trouble for that previous article tho) and well just because we’re assuming that he’s already done with the tracks it doesn’t mean he’s done with everything so understandable, that boy is very busy lately, so far he has been working in silence for a long time but it’s starting to come to the surface now. 

For JK, he already told us back in his Qatar live that he didn’t have any upcoming schedules, he was enjoying his free time, doing his meat tours, maybe spending time with his family, and doing other things 👀. Anygays, he yet again confirmed during his last lives that for now he wasn’t working on his album, that he mostly stays at home, doing nothing, yada yada. 

Why did i even mention the obvious? Well we both know how some people want to discredit their bond so badly that they come up with any kind of excuse for how Jimin and JK are “distant”. Sorry to break it to you Suzan but their schedules are very obviously different and even married people have that issue when the schedules don’t match. 🙄

Jikook won’t be doing lives from home

I guess we’ve all established by now that JK would be doing his lives from Brunnen and Jimin would be doing his lives from the studio. Even before you click on the live notification you already know what to expect, though JK gave us a new background during his last live but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. 

Again for the fools out there who think that JK lives in Brunnen.. I feel bad for you, with that logic Jimin lives in the studio as well. These two are very private and it’s smart of them to be it really, considering how people seem to be unhappy about every other detail about them, i feel like it’s only logic to not want to show not one bit of their actual living spaces. 

Back to back lives

When i asked the Universe for a Jikook live i should’ve been more specific as in, a Jikook live, with both of them physically in the same place, in the same frame Universe-nim!  제발 😭

I’m not complaining tho that is the closest thing to a Jikook live (or selca) we’re getting like.. 

🤷‍♀️

Although it had me wondering do they just play eenie meenie miney mo to decide who goes first or? 

JK’s entourage seem to know Jimin on a different level

Does that even make sense saying it like that? But to explain it better, i’m taking the example of JK’s coach Tommy, when he talked about Hobi yes he of course knows Hobi who doesn’t but he also talked about him as in someone he knows as JK’s best friend and band mate that he saw before maybe once or twice or on rare occasions anyways.

Whereas with Jimin, it’s like coach Tommy is used to seeing Jimin, used to have him there, not just once or twice but on multiple occasions and well considering how Tommy is JK’s coach (unless i’m missing a detail here), it means that Jimin accompanied him many many times before to the point where Jimin is basically friendly with him too. 

Jimin’s reaction or behavior towards JK’s boldness 

Here i meant the difference between last year and this year. Remember how back in beginning of 2022, JK was starting to be a bit bolder about Jimin just really putting it out there that he will keep on holding onto Jimin, that Jimin is his, that he did go see Jimin in his room and hugged, giving him the finger hearts on stage, etc.. And Jimin seemed to be setting some limits to how much was okay to show (I’m not even sure how to put it but i hope my point was clear)

But this year, i mean listen i feel like Jimin just threw the limits out of the window cause while last year he was okay with the forehead “kiss” moment he also shook his head no after JK gave him the heart finger like.. Jimin-ssi, i’m pretty sure JK taking a chunk out of your peach and your foreheads kissing is way bolder than that small gesture but i guess the quota for boldness was over for that day lol 

As i said this year Jimin seems to just go for it, commenting under his baby’s live that he’s cute, that he wants to tie his hair back neatly (don’t get me started on the cute fanarts OMG), calling him baby again, that he wants JK to grow and protect him, etc.. I mean damn i expected everything but this honestly like yes nothing new, just Jikook Jikooking but i didn’t expect it to be so explosive (Not complaining give me more)

Which had me thinking, were they maybe testing the waters back from September? All the cute lil comments Jimin posted about JK and that whole “Army are waiting for an answer 🙄” during the Busan live, i’m just speculating of course but who knows.

I’m just glad that whatever is going on now, means that they don’t give a fuck anymore about what people think and as long as they’re not doing anything that would be scandalous to some people’s eyes, they should be allowed to interact freely without having haters weight on them with their hateful comments and their twisted narratives. 

And as always, haters will hate no matter what

Whether these two interact or not really haters will always find a thing to complain about and find a way to twist shit to fit their own narrative. I mean from my yesterday post you could already tell, a whole ass mistranslation because they can’t accept facts, and are we even surprised that the people defending the “translator” are part of the cult? No not really. 

People will always try to discredit their bond no matter what so they might as well just not give a fuck about them and do what they see as fit for now, i mean if they’re going to stop doing this and that to please a bunch of hateful rats.. I’d rather they virtually flip the bird on us all and do their thing!

I guess that was all i had to say? I don’t know i literally wrote the points i could think about on a bloc note not even sure if i got everything, lemme know if i skipped anything. Take care 💜