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fayes-fics · 9 months

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Moments: 'Twas The Nights Before Christmas...

Moments Masterpost

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x fem!reader

Summary: It’s Christmas, and once again, the Bridgerton clan are gathering at Aubrey Hall to celebrate together. However, all Benedict can think about is conceiving a fifth child... if only he and his wife can get a moment of privacy.

Warnings: 18+ smut, minors DNI, semi-public sex, vaginal sex, breeding kink. Fluff & humour, thwarted intimacy, kids being kids, Viscounts being Viscounts.

Word Count: 2.6k

Author’s Note: Sorry this is about 2 weeks late, but here is the latest festive one-shot for Moments. It is set 6 years after the main story/their marriage and is based on an idea from the lovely @colettebronte (Request: Benedict and Reader want some adult alone time but keep getting interrupted/foiled because of holidays, family, and SO MANY KIDS), who also beta read an early version. I hope you all enjoy <3

23rd December, 11:04pm

“Was your evening agreeable, Mrs Bridgerton?” His voice is silky as he trails hot kisses down your throat.

“You know it was,” you reply, hand sinking into his lush hair, directing his lips where you want them as he smirks knowingly against your skin. He always enjoys it when you lead him, pushing into his warm body, clad only in a white ruffled shirt and trousers.

This is you finding a moment of intimacy with your husband as you get ready for bed in your guest room in Aubrey Hall. It’s two days before Christmas, and the entire Bridgerton clan have gathered at the family’s country seat to celebrate the holiday, a large house now packed with many children. You and Benedict are here with your brood of four.

Just as your fingers toy with the buttons on his shirt and his land on the bow of your gown…

“Mummy, I cannot sleep,” a little voice cuts in from across the room.

You twist around to see your youngest, two-year-old Thomas, standing in the doorway, his little fist clinging to the door handle at head height.

“One moment, lovely,” you call, watching him nod drowsily and toddle back into the adjoining nursery.

You bury your forehead into Benedict’s shoulder, knowing the possible romantic interlude is lost but unwilling to admit it out loud.

“Why do you have to be so damn handsome?” you grouse.

You feel his quiet laugh quaking his body as much as you hear it. “Thank you, my love. But that seems a non sequitur to this particular dilemma?”

“Quite the contrary,” you counter, raising your head. “We would not have these offspring interrupting us if I could resist you,” you sigh, shooting him a mock pout.

He breaks into a full belly laugh that creases his whole face. “How about I deal with the children I am responsible for, and you get some well-deserved rest, hmm?” he suggests chivalrously, nuzzling your cheek.

“You know, such wonderous things make me open to persuasion about more children, Mr Bridgerton,” you jest lightheartedly, swatting his bicep playfully.

His responding chuckle is rich. “Why do you think I do it, Mrs Bridgerton?” he hums, his lips grazing your temple, his flirtatious tone causing that flutter low in your belly. He has been quite enthused by the idea of a fifth child for a while now.

“Mummyyyyyy,” Thomas reappears at the door, his tone more whiney this time.

“You get Daddy this time, Thomas,” Benedict responds over your shoulder, releasing his hold on you, walking over to the doorway and hauling his infant son into his arms. “I hope I prove an acceptable substitute; Mummy needs to rest. Now, how about a Christmassy bedtime story…?”

Before he disappears into the nursery, Benedict shoots you a devoted but heated look that makes you want to strip him bare.

—

24th December, 7:14am

“Good morning, beautiful,” Benedict breathes into your ear as you awaken.

Last you remember, when you stirred in the early hours, you were alone in the bed. You had padded to the nursery and clutched your chest at the sight of Benedict, and the little ones all curled up on a mass of pillows and blankets on the fireplace rug, just visible in the ember glow, an open book in his hand. After a few beats of staring at the adorable pile of sleeping Bridgertons, you closed the door quietly and snuck back to bed. He must have awoken at some subsequent point and joined you.

“Good morning,” your reply is scratchy from sleep, burrowing back into your husband's embrace, reluctant to throw off the covers just yet.

“I think I would like to persuade you this morning…” his opening gambit as his hand slides down over your thin silk nightgown, rucking the hem up your thighs.

“To do what?” you obfuscate, an unseen smile toying on your lips. You know precisely what he refers to, but you want to see how he will broach it.

“I do believe you may be amenable to more children, my love,” he rumbles into the nape of your neck, dropping a kiss there as his warm fingertips swirl on your thigh.

“Am I?” you feign ignorance, that smile growing wider, a flush spreading through your being at how your husband can be when babymaking is on the cards. “But this is not a family wedding, and that is your usual milieu,” you tease, flipping over to capture a brief, chaste kiss.

“A family gathering is close enough,” he counters over your lips, then swallows your noise of bemused derision with a passionate kiss that has you arching up and pulling him on top of you as your tongues tangle.

“IS IT CHRISTMAS?!?”

Amelia barges through the nursery door, a ball of enthusiasm and jumping excitement.

“I thought I locked that blasted door...” Benedict grumbles tacitly over your cupid's bow as you giggle.

“Not today, Amelia, that is tomorrow,” you respond placatingly, turning your head to look at her and stroking your husband’s arm as he sighs deeply into your neck, knowing your intimate moment is gone.

Your tiny entertainer climbs onto the bed as your husband rolls away defeated, a triumphant look on her face as she claims a prime spot among her favourite audience, her parents.

Isobel then appears in the nursery doorway holding Thomas’ hand. “It is only fair we get to join too,” she appeals.

“Fine, yes, come join us, my sweet,” Benedict calls genially if a touch reluctant.

“I brought the story, Daddy,” Isobel adds as all three settle between you, handing over the book he had been reading the previous night. “I thought you and Mummy could read the rest to us; we do so need to know how it ends, do we not…?”

Amelia and Thomas nod along, enthused, and you have the creeping suspicion your children have somehow conspired to get their way. Especially when eldest James wanders in and casually perches at the end of the bed, a lopsided smirk identical to Benedict’s as he pointedly gestures for you both to begin reading.

“I do believe we may have been hoodwinked by our children,” you sidebar quietly to your husband as he opens the book to locate where he had left off.

“I suspect so,” he responds sotto voce, but there is such contentment in his tone as he surveys the gaggle of children filling your bed—you just know he could not be any happier about it.

—

24th December, 9:57pm

You are taking some fresh air on the terrace after another busy family day, rounded off with a convivial dinner when strong arms wrap around your middle.

“The children are in bed, sleeping this time. Should we resume our plans?” he rumbles as he pulls you back into his solid frame.

You scoff bemused. “Here on the terrace? Where any of the family could wander out?”

“You didn't seem to mind all those years ago when you were pregnant with Isobel,” he points out, both of your eyes cutting off to the pillar where, indeed, you had taken your husband into your mouth right there after the family Christmas dinner.

“You cannot hold me responsible for my behaviour when I am pregnant; you know how I get,” you shoot back, lacing your fingers with his hand at your waist and swaying gently.

“Oh, I think it simply delightful. Why do you think I want you pregnant again, my love? Hmmm? We could take a walk somewhere. Perhaps the woods?” His voice is low and skitters over your collarbone pitched at that cadence he knows always makes you weak.

“‘Tis late December and close to freezing,” you point out feebly, your reticence ebbing as his warm lips land on your shoulder, right by the neckline of your dress.

“I will keep you warm,” he vows, sucking your skin insistently, a damp heat that invariably ignites a flame in your gut.

“You are so very persuasive, husband,” you mutter, pushing your bottom back against the nascent swelling in his britches and guiding one of his hands from your waist up to your mouth, kissing his knuckles.

“I do so enjoy persuading you,” he purrs before opening his mouth wider and gently grazing the edge of his teeth over your flesh, your arm reaching up to wrap around his neck, grinding back against him insistently now and sucking his fingertips into your mouth.

“Benedict! I was wonde….” the Viscount’s voice rings out.

Anthony bustles onto the terrace but stops short at the sight of you both in an ardent cinch. You immediately slide away from your husband but know it’s too late, both of your clothing slightly dishevelled and a bloom on the top of your collarbone from your husband’s zealous attentions, your saliva glistening on Benedict's fingers.

“Sorry…”Anthony stumbles, his cheeks heating at the obvious interruption.

“I apologise, my lord,” you lower your head, embarrassed.

“Perhaps it would be wise to keep your… amorous activities… to more private spaces,” he chastises gently, recovering.

“Was that not you and Kate I saw against the stable wall yesterday?” Benedict challenges, wrapping his arm around your waist, defiantly pulling you back into him, his tone full of sibling goading.

Anthony flushes claret red. “Well… I…” You can feel Benedict smirking as his older brother flounders. “That is no matter. But I wish to discuss something with you if you do not mind,” he finishes pointedly with a brusque nod, firmly changing the topic.

Sensing there is something Anthony would like to broach now, you twist your head to whisper to Benedict. “It sounds as if it would be best you do as your brother wishes, my love. We will resume later, I promise,” you pledge, your voice intentionally laden.

“I do believe you are right, as ever,” he concurs reticently, squeezing your waist. “I shall see you anon,” his whisper thrillingly auspicious.

—

25th December, 2:17am

“Do you think the Viscount will mind?” You murmur, your lips on his ear as you rise and fall. Pressing yourself into him as much as possible.

“That we are fucking in his dining room in the dead of night?” Benedict checks, his hands banded around your waist, encouraging your movements. The moonlight streams through the large windows, throwing everything into sharp relief, the room bathed in streaks of light and shadow.

You giggle and gently teeth the shell of his ear, slightly breathy with exertion. “Yes.”

“Yes, I think he will mind,” he chuckles, splaying his large hand wide, hooking his thumb onto your clit even as his fingers crest your hips. It makes you groan loudly, your hardened nipples dragging against his chest, adding to the sensation as you ride his cock. “But I say this is apt payback for his interruption earlier. So make all the noise you want, darling.”

“He can watch for all I care,” you stutter, leaning away from him and grasping the large, sturdy banquet table behind your back, using it as leverage to fuck him harder.

Benedict groans at the idea you would fuck him even with an audience. His eyes are on your face as you look down, watching his solid cock disappear inside you by the pale glow of the room. It’s a sight you always enjoy, feeling him push you open inside as you sink.

“Do you like what you see?” He murmurs his voice buttery, his thumb on your clit circling more insistently now.

You tear your eyes away from the hypnotic sight and raise your head to meet his hooded, amorous gaze. “Always,” you affirm.

It’s a daring thing to do in the early hours of Christmas Day while the rest of the gathered Bridgerton clan sleeps. But after two days of thwarted intimacy, this was almost inevitable.

You had retired as Anthony detained Benedict in his study discussing business matters. However, you awoke thirsty sometime after midnight and came downstairs for a drink. Benedict had followed soon after and found you—sipping a glass of water and staring out across the moonlit grounds.

One kiss led to another and another, and then you were both peeling off nightwear. The look on his face as you pushed him into a dining chair and straddled his lap was priceless. And now here you are. Riding him with your feet hooked onto the crossbar of the chair gives you the leverage you need to go so hard that the sturdy chair squeaks in objection.

He utters words of encouragement as you tighten your arms around him and sit back upright, wanting to feel all his skin against yours.

“What shall we call this child?” he murmurs. “Perhaps Joy as it is Christmas?”

“We cannot conceive a child here!” you protest huskily, even as an excited quiver wracks your frame, so very needy after so many denied attempts at intimacy since you arrived.

“Oh yes, we bloody can,” he growls and surges his hips upwards, his cock grazing so deep you go limp at the sensation of being plundered so thoroughly.

“What if it is a boy?” you gasp as he takes over, his grip on your hips vicelike as he lifts you and then pulls you back down into his lap in forceful strokes.

“Noel, of course,” he chimes, jubilant, not missing a beat with his movements.

You just nod weakly, too drunk on the sensations coursing in your body to disagree. His mouth is back on that same spot he bothered earlier, no doubt leaving a dark mark you already know he won't care for you to conceal. He loves it when you bear his love bites, even in front of his family.

“Unhook your feet,” he mumbles, and as you do so, he stands up, still buried inside you and lays your back upon the table.

Then it's a blur of swallowed moans and dewy skin as he fucks you hard, your nails scraping down his back as his hands band under your shoulders, tugging your whole being down onto his cock relentlessly, the table now squeaking louder than the chair had.

You babble a litany of encouraging words into his hair and hold on tight, your heels digging into his rear, skating the edge of that enthralling abyss that is so addictive.

“Come for me, my love,” he pleads, those fingers back between your bodies, catching your clit. And then you are away, breaking and tumbling over the edge, trying desperately to muffle your ecstatic cries, face buried in his neck as your whole body spasms and bliss radiates out from where you clench hard around his cock.

His movements become erratic, and his grasp on you so tight before he growls and freezes, a groan wracking his body, his seed spilling deep inside as you still float away, writhing under him as he pins you down.

And, a few minutes later, after re-dressing, you both creep back upstairs to your room, giggling and wrapped in each other's arms, grateful it seems no one has stirred (yes, not even a mouse) on this magical night before Christmas.

Some Moments are indeed best uninterrupted.

Benedict taglist: @makaylan @foreverlonginguniverse @iboopedyournose @aintnuthinbutahounddog @severewobblerlightdragon @writergirl-2001 @heeyyyou @enichole445 @enchantedbytomandhenry @ambitionspassionscoffee @chaoticcalzoneranchsports @nikaprincessofkattegat @baebee35 @crowleysqueenofhell @fiction-is-life @lilacbeesworld @angels17324 @broooookiecrisp @queen-of-the-misfit-toys @eleanor-bradstreet @divaanya @musicismyoxygen84 @benedictspaintbrush @miindfucked @sorryallonsy @cayt0123 @hottytoddyhistory @truly-dionysus @fictionalmenloversblog @zinzysstuff @malpalgalz @panhoeofmanyfandoms @kinokomoonshine @causeimissu @delehosies @m-rae23 @last-sheep @kmc1989 @desert-fern @starkeylover @corpseoftrees-queen @magical-spit @bunnyweasley23 @how-many-stars-in-the-sky @amygdtjhddzvb @sya-skies @balladynaaa

#benedict bridgerton fanfiction #benedict bridgerton #benedict bridgerton smut #benedict bridgerton fluff #benedict bridgerton imagine #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton #bridgerton smut #bridgerton fluff #bridgerton imagine #benedict bridgerton x reader #benedict bridgerton x female reader #benedict bridgerton x you #benedict bridgerton x y/n #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x female reader #bridgerton x you #bridgerton x y/n

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tgmsunmontue · 10 days

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Saga of Solitude 12/21

Nepo!Baby Bradley and his life at USNA and afterwards. DADT fully in force. IceMav AU. (Begun prior to 'It's not who you know' - the non-angsty version). (Side Hangster, which is ALSO angsty).

PROLOGUE (He remembers)

HANGSTER FIRST MEETING (Lonely Nights - set 2009)

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

ONE (2000) TWO (2001) THREE (2002) FOUR (2003) FIVE (2004) SIX (2005) SEVEN (2006) EIGHT (2007) NINE (2008) TEN (2009) ELEVEN (2010)

CHAPTER TWELVE (2011) - Jake Seresin Interlude (OUCH)

He’s got his wings.

He can’t be kicked out of the Navy for being gay.

Life is good.

It could be better of course, and he’s not sure if being deployed for the first time as a naval aviator on the same carrier as Bradley Bradshaw is a good or bad thing. Bradley has been here since before Christmas and Jake had done a little double take when he’d caught sight of him, wishing he’d paid a little more attention to the ship manifest. Lesson learnt for next time and every time after that.

Annoyingly everyone seems to fucking love him, he’s friendly and gregarious, not seemingly caring about duty or rank all while looking fucking gorgeous. Jake knows what he looks like naked, when he comes, what he looks like when he’s fucking Jake and what he looks like when Jake’s fucking him. He knows his fixation probably isn’t healthy but he can’t help it. He wonders if maybe things have changed, now that DADT has been repealed. If the short and sharp non-conversation they’d exchanged at Corpus Christi would have a different outcome now, with the changes that are coming. A part of him is desperate to know and the same part is terrified that the answer will be the same.

No.

Not interested.

Not interested in a repeat.

Not interested in friendship.

Not interested in, heaven forbid, a relationship.

Shut down before he could even raise the subject in the briefest of moments when Bradley had even acknowledged Jake’s existence.

Fuck him.

… … …

“They make a cute couple huh?”

“Who?” Jake asks, because he’d just been watching Bradley. Again.

“Bradshaw and Trace. They deny it of course, but they spend their leaves together when they align, don’t hold back posting photos together, and know each other’s families, what there is of it anyway. Been tight since USNA and then they went through flight school together.”

Jake clenches his jaw, because he’d put money on Bradley and Trace being nothing more than friends, but Sandy is holding out his phone and then he’s looking at Natasha Trace’s private Facebook page. Photos of her with Bradley, them dressed in what is clearly a couples outfit for Halloween from last year, Woody and Jesse from Toy Story and that’s what he looks like with no moustache. Huh. He swallows down the anger and pain, forces himself to smile and nod. Okay, he’d still put money on it, but not a lot of money. He passes the phone back.

“Cute, yeah.”

… … …

“Class of 2010, you’ve been invited to dinner with a special guest. He is here simply as a guest, however please try and remember to be on your best behavior. Your actions do reflect the US Navy.”

Jake isn’t sure why his year has been singled out, there are only three of them on the carrier who are fresh out of flight school, but maybe that’s the whole point. He sits at the table for the evening meal and makes small talk with the others as well as Admiral Kazansky, whose eyes are sharp and assessing. Jake feels a little like he’s on trial but the same questions are also directed at the others and Kazansky always offers up little amusing anecdotes from his own days and it’s nice, for all that it’s a meal with the brass.

“Lieutenant Seresin, it was nice to meet you. Take care of yourself.”

“Of course sir. Nice to meet you too.”

He’s then asked to take Admiral Kazansky to the rec room, which he dutifully does. Fortunately he doesn’t seem to want to grill Jake further, almost making a beeline to where Bradshaw is sitting, although Bradshaw for once is looking pissed about something, and it seems more aimed at the Admiral than at Jake, which makes a nice change. Jake sidles around the side of the room to where Sandy is working out, knows Sandy was at flight school with both Bradshaw and Trace, so might actually know the answer to his question.

“What’s with Admiral Kazansky and Bradshaw?”

“Oh. I think his dad flew with him? Or… there was something. Family friends maybe? You know how the Navy can get.”

Yeah. Jake does know and he’s also heard rumors linking Bradshaw to Maverick Mitchell, which somehow seems even more ridiculous than him somehow calling Admiral Kazansky a family friend. God, he has no idea what is true and what isn’t about him anymore. Every part of their weekend together had felt… real. Genuine. It had been so good and it had given him so much hope that maybe he’d find someone like that to spend the rest of his life with. And then he’d been introduced to the other side of Bradley Bradshaw.

It still hurts.

… … …

He gets put on a training exercise with Bradley and god he can fly. They’re all good, you don’t become an aviator by being mediocre but Bradley is… he flies easy as breathing and just watching him gets Jake hard. It’s kind of embarrassing and he takes his time doing post-flight checks, talks with the crew on deck about maintenance and hopes to avoid seeing Bradley in person, which shouldn’t be hard to do considering Bradley seems to assist by also actively avoiding him.

He finally lets his guard down, the locker room deserted and quiet, he’s got his boots off and flight suit around his waist when he hears footsteps. Then there are hands on him, Bradley’s hands, his eye darker than usual and fixated on Jake’s face, on his lips. He can feel his hands pushing at his flight suit, a hand slipping inside to rub his cock, which never went down fully and Jake groans into the pressure, the confidence of Bradley’s grip on him.

“Jesus Jake… you look so good out there.”

He doesn’t know what to say, what to do, this complete three-sixty in his attitude is dizzying and then Bradley is on his knees in front of him, sucking him down and Jake doesn’t even have time to react before there’s tight-hot-sucking-pressure and he shoves his hand into his mouth and bites down on the fleshy part of his thumb muscle hard. He has no idea if there is anyone else in the locker room, it had been empty when he arrived. Or how close they are to being interrupted, this is the most reckless and stupid thing he’s ever done, and he wasn’t even trying or angling for it. Doesn’t even know if this changes anything. Suspects it doesn’t but he isn’t strong enough to raise any objection, not when it feels so good and exactly what he needs right now.

Bradley doesn’t seem to want to draw it out at all, and it’s not a problem, he just lets himself come as quickly as possible, without any teasing or prolonged buildup, doesn’t need it when it’s so risky and also it’s Bradley’s hands and mouth on him. Asshole. He comes so fucking hard it’s almost painful, and he refuses to think about how the last time he had an orgasm with someone else it was also fucking Bradley Bradshaw. Then Bradley is kissing him, Jake can taste himself and tries not to pull a face, although Bradley is clearly not paying attention, his hand rapidly moving on his own cock and Jake doesn’t have the wherewithal to gather the energy or motivation to help, just watches with half-lidded eyes as Bradley comes all over his stomach.

For the briefest of moments the only sound is their breathing, hard and rasping, then Bradley kisses him again, short and sharp and then mutters about needing a shower and leaves him standing there until he shakes himself out of the stupor of shock and also goes to have a shower. He chooses the cubicle the furthest away and stays under the water until his skin goes wrinkly.

As he suspected would be the case when he gets to the mess hall, Bradley is back to ignoring him.

… … …

His next shore leave he finds someone to take to bed, doesn’t care that it’s not Bradley, just needs to replace the memory of his hands and mouth on him with someone else’s.

It doesn’t work.

… … …

Bradley leaves the carrier and it’s like a weight has lifted but he also finds he still thinks about him too often. Wants to know if he’s safe and wishes he didn’t care so damned much. Javy is there instead though, which is far better and that at least helps ease some of his general unease. Of course the rumors start that he and Javy are more than friends, finally unafraid of showing their love or whatever bullshit the rumor mill is churning out. Javy just rolls his eyes and jokes, says they’re going to get married for the benefits and Jake forces himself to laugh and play along and not wonder how his life could be different.

THIRTEEN (2012)

#Saga of Solitude #IceMav #Top Gun Maverick fanfiction #Hangster

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shepherds-of-haven · 1 year

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SHEPHERDS OF HAVEN ALPHA PREVIEW UPDATE [08/25/23]

The Shepherds of Haven alpha preview has been updated here!

Note: This is not the same thing as the public demo, which is available for everyone and covers the first four chapters of the game: the alpha preview is the early access version available to Patrons and testers!

TOTAL WORDCOUNT: 1,008,716 WORDS WITHOUT CODE

WHAT’S NEW:

12,000 words of new content!

The official end of Chapter 8.5! Next month will kick off Chapter 9!

New Commander activity in your day off hub!

New Blade character interlude! Potentially beat him in a sparring bout (though the methods you use will have to be dirty)! For the Blademancers: straddle him?????

Please be sure to read the specific developer notes on Patreon for more info, as well as check the Incomplete Routes Guide linked in the alpha build post if you have questions about how to proceed through the alpha build!

(Also AAAAAAAAA we broke one million words!!! 🎉❗️😱😭 !!!!!!! I am now officially the author of a 1 million word project... and you are now officially the readers and supporters of a game that's 1 million words long! 🥹 Thank you for being a part of this journey! 💖)

WHAT’S NEXT:

I did start Trouble and Shery's next day off interludes, but couldn't finish them in time to publish this month in any seemly or sensical manner. They will probably roll out next month, along with the start of Chapter 9! A surprise guest is going to be a huge part of the next chapter... I wonder if anyone has guessed who it is yet... XD

I really hope you enjoy! I hope to hear and see your thoughts, and that you have a very happy weekend and end to your August! 💛

#update #Shepherds of Haven #alpha build #alpha preview #alpha update #spoilers #mild #chapter 8.5 #Patreon

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novantinuum · 1 month

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Which one is knowing, loving, being? Is that one about the blorbo Steven?

Yessss ahahah, this is the one with the Gem Steven design I won't shut up about on discord XD

(thank you for taking my bait and asking me about this fiUSHKFNSUGJH my evil plan worked)

E eeeeee *cracks knuckles* time to RAMBLE! I am so excited about this one, lmaooo. If you're wondering where all my "Crack the Paragon update progress" energy went these past few months, I am so sorry besties- but it got funneled to this project instead. I need to finish this goddamn fic by the end of the year like I need air.

The tl;dr of it all is that this story is my adult human!Steven/gem!Steven/Connie propaganda piece, and also a place to explore my personal take on how Steven works like,,, biologically,,, as a bizarre hybrid of two beings who are fused but also Not Really. Certainly not in the way fusion works for OTHER people.

Mind you, this fic is very NSFW, as will be the snippit I share- so the rest of my rambles will go under a cut. You have been warned.

Okay, so the broad strokes. This one's gonna be 4 chapters-

Chapter one will focus on a recently married 23 yr old Steven heading out to Rose's Room so he can work through some mental bullshit regarding the split he experienced as a kid. That trauma still lingers all these years later, and there's still so much he doesn't fully understand about... about what happened. About being outright cleaved in two. He ends up having the Room conjure a cloud version of his Gem half- the most unfamiliar and alien one of the two, to him- so he can try and talk out his confusions.

Chapter two features Steven nosediving into an obsession over an impulsive kiss he shared with that friggin' cloud version of his Gem half, and one thing kinda just leads to another, and well- said obsession ends with his component halves briefly split apart so they can fuckin' bang to work through whatever crunchy ass emotions they've got all stewed up in there. Progress wise, I am at this part of the fic right now, and I am having a lot of fun making this segment as "emotions and stimuli all mixed together" and intentionally confusing as I can. I am taking the depiction of "split POV" we had in Change Your Mind VERY seriously and literally, because I haven't seen too many writers dare to try.

Chapter three is mostly like, an interlude chapter- it's the aftermath of chapter two, where a confused and sheepish Steven opens up to his wife Connie about what he just experienced. In my head, my version of Steven is VERY demisexual, so he's like... just as "huh" as anyone else about what just took place. He and Connie talk shit out, and then Connie is basically like "baby. sweetheart. love of my life. why the HELL would you rip out your own gem like that, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, why would you ever do that when i'm not here to help you if things went wrong??" By the end of the convo though, Steven extends an open invitation for Connie to join in at some point and enjoy some intimacy as the three of them, both of his component halves and her.

Chapter four is entirely about that precise encounter, both the planning and the actual sex. The broad purpose I have in mind here is to showcase how such an encounter is something that's innately healing for them as a couple, in the way they get to re-contextualize this scenario in tones of love and trust and willful choice... as opposed to the horrid experience of being ripped apart by another's hand. I also just want them to get WEIRD about it, because like. Come on. Steven's half-alien. He (and the organic and Gem who combine to MAKE him) deserves to be weird about himself and the way he interacts with his own sexuality. And you just KNOW Connie would be into that. There is a lot of genital shapeshifting here, and they have a fucking great time.

I have overtly had the extremely general sketch of this idea floating around in my head since 2019, but never had the guts to actually tackle it until now. Now, though... I've actually gotten some practice with writing smut and feel confident in my ability to swing these scenes in the way I envision them, AND I finally have a circle of people who are down to talk about Steven being really goddamn weird about himself lmafo. Like, it's 2024, I'm allowed to ship selfcest if I want, fuck you.

But yes, chapter 1 is already done at 5.3K words, and I've got a solid 7.4K on chapter 2 (and rising.) For my actual WIP share, here is a snippit I recently wrote for chapter 4, working ahead a bit-

“So this is your idea of a big finale, huh?” he says with an impish smirk as he reads the last item on the list, a healthy dose of humor lightening his words. “Both of them fucking like rabid animals in heat as you merely lounge on the bed and watch?” “Oh, shut up,” she bites back, unable to even look her dear husband in the eye as she clunks her head down on the kitchen table, her cheeks burning like she’s destined to crumble to cinders amidst her own personal inferno of runaway lust. But Steven, damn that ridiculous man, won’t let her live this down. Ugh. Of course he wouldn’t. “Now, tell me… how long have you been secretly dreaming of this scenario?” She groans, mumbling her shameful little response straight into the table mat. “Only like… every other night since I saw you fall apart…” His rumbly chuckle— brimming with unquestioned warmth and just a tinge of bashfulness at the sheer risqué inanity of this never-before-spoken revelation— rings loud and clear, coating the whole room in its dense, chocolatey tenor. “What?” Connie whines as she snaps upright, her hands fidgeting on the table in the throes of such excruciating embarrassment. “What exactly’s so funny about that? I’m being very brave and vulnerable about this, you know!” He raises a placating hand, pushing himself through the final notes of his laughter before moving to respond. “Sorry, sorry, I promise I’m not making fun, it’s just— I guess you never really struck me as the, uh… the voyeuristic type?” “Does that… bother you?” she frowns, tilting her head a little. “The idea of me just… watching? I— it’s only a suggestion, we can always take it off, if you—” “No, I’m okay with it. Depending on how we set things up, I think it could be pretty hot. In fact…” Steven grabs for a pencil, and— waggling his eyebrows at her— begins to write one last line on their collective beat sheet. “I actually have a little idea of my own that I think would be fun to try out during this…”

#nova rambles #ask meme #2024 is my selfcest supporting era

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something-tofightfor · 1 year

Text

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!

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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.

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pagerunner-j · 2 months

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The Long Road Home: the story so far

And now, a whole lotta fic links.

I might be cheating a bit with this post, seeing as the inception of this series predated any particular theme months, and the stories haven’t been written specifically to prompts. But since I’ve cranked out over 160,000 words of fic about these crazy kids since March (how? help), and I just completed a story arc with the installment I posted this past Tuesday, @tentoorosemonth2024 seems as good an excuse as any to share the lot of them.

SO.

The series at large: The Long Road Home

Following the arrival of Rose and Tentoo in their new world, the development of their relationship with each other, and the adventures and dangers they start to face as a new family. The series was named after its first chapter, in large part because names are hard and I wasn’t expecting to keep going like this, but here we are. Begins mostly as a romance. The plot whacks me over the head soon thereafter. Includes, so far:

The Long Road Home (M, 24,500 words)

Rose and Tentoo, getting to understand each other, trust each other, and eventually love each other, on the way home from Bad Wolf Bay.

Featuring a long-overdue family road trip, deleted scenes turning into essential plot, existential crises, asides from Jackie Tyler, the wrong Beatles, inappropriate ways to answer room service, and your author shamelessly abusing the limits of touch telepathy.

Understandings and Ultimatums (M, 6,800 words)

An interlude following The Long Road Home, in which Rose and Tentoo, temporarily staying with Rose's parents, maybe start getting a little carried away with each other. And Pete's got a few words to say to the Doctor about it. Oops.

Featuring badly timed father-daughter check-ins, the Doctor continuing to come to terms with having a whole lot less a in his sexuality these days, a children's toy as a conversation starter, Rose getting alternately irritated and turned on by possessive men, and absolutely everybody complaining about London real estate.

At the Threshold (T, 8,500 words)

Rose and Tentoo find themselves facing a number of major life decisions. Some aren't quite yet decided upon...but some important ones are coming together at last.

Featuring the joys of house hunting, the tricky question of names, pointed motherly advice, Time Lord talents at work, gratuitous Shakespeare geekery, ongoing telepathy shenanigans, and life-changing phone calls happening at really inconvenient times.

Four Ceremonies (T, 21,800 words)

A home claimed, a seed planted, a commitment made, and promises spoken.

Rose and Tentoo on the road to marriage...and a few other, perhaps even more significant things.

Entanglements (M, 21,000 words)

Rose and the Doctor may have found a good life together, but that doesn't mean all their worries--or their past traumas--have gone away quite yet.

In which the emotional rent comes due, some painful stories are revealed, risky levels of intimacy are reached, a good number of unsettling memories and dreams unfold, and Rose finds her way to the solution for a tricky problem with their TARDIS...but that might come with a certain cost, too, and it might not only be hers to pay.

Featuring Rose, Tentoo, and...well, Ten, too.

Coming to Light (E, 6,500 words)

A Long Road Home interlude, in which Rose and Tentoo take that trip to Barcelona (the Pete's World version, anyway), discover the alien weirdness behind one of this city's strangest neighborhoods, and then, inspired by that day's escapades, make good on both the rating of the story and the verb choice in the title.

...hey, they're having a nice time on their holidays, who am I to argue.

The House Among the Briars (M, 22,300 words)

Go big or never go home.

In which Rose and Tentoo finally discover the secret of the house where they've been living, but get stranded in separate dimensions in the process. To find their way back to each other, they might have to confront parts of themselves that they might not want to have to accept. For the Doctor, it's the rage he's been warned about virtually ever since he first came to be. And for Rose, it might be something even more dangerous, and a whole lot stranger.

Because it might be time for a certain bad wolf to come back out to play...

The Wolves in the Woods (T, 48,300 words)

Rose and Tentoo have secrets. Torchwood has questions. Everything is about to come to a head one way or another, especially if the director of interdimensional research at Torchwood gets her way.

And Rose and the Doctor are going to have to figure out how to stop her, before she lays a claim on their growing TARDIS...or on the two of them themselves.

#doctor who #fic #tentoorosemonth2024 #timepetals #tentoorose

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idiotcoward · 1 year

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Agriculture - Agriculture Well here it is! The long awaited first release from the LA based black metal project Agriculture. Agriculture has been building up steam from pre-release reviews and commendations from metal blogs, critics, magazines, the whole lot. This album, at least in my circles, had a lot of hype. Even had a whole meme associated with the band: "I love the spiritual sound of ecstatic black metal by the band Agriculture" and it's pretty good! First off, a lot of black metal fans will shit on anything blackgaze-esc. Anything that even has the smallest whiff of Deafheaven or Liturgy is considered "Not Kvlt" or "poser shit" and frankly a lot of those people think that way because they're more invested in the aesthetic of music, how it makes them look to others, how it makes them feel, then they are about pushing forward the genre. Listening to the same four Norwegian black metal bands from the 90's isn't KVLT. Listening to endless repeats of the same tired BM tropes just reminds me of a Satanic version of Greta Van Fleet, and that is an ATROCIOUS thing to be similar to. Not too mention, all too often, these "TRUE BLACK METAL KVLT BANDS" are just Nazi Black Metal. From Burzum to Deathspell Omega. It's just Nazi shit. Agriculture on the other hand really dives deep into the blackgaze genre. Really pushing against what people expect when they turn on a black metal album. There is an interlude that is just a man singing over guitars. There are trumpet and jazz-esc sections. I mean there's still a shit ton of tremelo picking and high pitched screaming but it's black metal you know. There are definitely moments where it all works and it all felt so incredibly epic. Those emotional highs that I got listening to Liturgy or Deafheaven, but, at least on the first listen, I came away thinking "Yup. Kinda what I thought it would be." Not that that's a bad thing just, I wasn't blown away. The instrumentation was good, the singing was good, just... maybe it just didn't click for me. I'm excited to give it another listen and see if maybe I'll pick up on more nuances in a different context or mood. If so maybe I'll revisit my thoughts. But for now I think it's fine. If you really like this kinda music you'll absolutely love this, but for me, I'll probably just listen to some more liturgy.

#now listening #album recs #metal #Shoegaze #Blackgaze #Black metal #Experimental Metal #Experimental Black Metal #Metal Recs #New Metal #New Music #Music Review #Alternative Music #Agriculture #Post Metal #Avant Garde music #Avant Garde Metal

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my-shields-are-down · 2 years

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Karaoke #2 - Because Tim loves 80s Classic New Wave

“OK OK OK! Thank you Luna and Wade for that weird but really excellent version of “Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton! Tim - you have a very… um… eclectic list of songs for our singers to choose from, did you make it this random on purpose?” Angela asks of the tipsy and relaxed birthday boy. “Why don’t you come up on stage for the Grand Finale?”

The MidWilshire crew + friends had packed the karaoke/burger joint on Sunset and had basically taken it over for Tim’s surprise birthday celebration.

For the past three weeks, Nyla, Lucy and Angela had been asking Tim’s friends and family about his favorite songs. Rachel, Isobel and Genny had come through with most of the songs on the diverse song list. But it was Tim himself who provided the last two songs of the evening, the ones that Lucy heard him sing in the shower or when he was cooking and cleaning - when he thought he was alone.

Everyone by now knew that Lucy was a phenomenal singer, so Angela waited a few minutes for everyone to refresh their drink, come back inside, or take a last minute bio break. Angela told the crowd her favorite Tim birthday story from when they were rookies and had to arrest the second largest pumpkin farmer for smuggling cocaine in his pumpkins at the County Fair and then had to break up a pie fight that broke out during the pie eating contest. Their shops had smelled of blueberries and pumpkin for weeks.

Backstage, Lucy was once again thanking her very special guest star for coming out for this party and going over the timing of her entrance during the first song and then discussing the harmonies Lucy would sing during the second song. Once they had it figured out, Lucy waved to Angela who came back to check on Lucy and was immediately star-struck by her guest. Lucy laughed and told Angela this is what happens when you delegate - you miss out on some kick-ass connections.

Thankfully, Angela pulled herself together and walked back onstage. She asked for the lights to be dimmed and turned to Tim and said, “happy birthday. Please welcome to the stage - The newly minted Lucy Bradford!”

Lucy stepped on stage and waved to the crowd, then leaned down and kissed her husband and said to him, “because you love classic 80s new wave, this one’s for you.”

The synthesizer began to play and the older members of the crowd who knew either the original version or the more recent remake started cheering and clapping. Tim’s eyes lock on Lucy as he beginsto sing along…

“funny how I find myself, in love with you

If I could buy my reasoning, I'd pay to lose, one half won't do

I've asked myself, how much do you, commit yourself?

It's my life, don't you forget, It's my life, it never ends (it never ends)”

During the very brief interlude before the second verse starts, Lucy turns to the audience and says, “Please welcome to the stage, my new best friend, Mrs…..”

+++++++++++

By total random chance, one of the cases Lucy had helped crack several months ago had closed and the evidence from an upstart “bling ring” where celebrity pooches were having their diamond encrusted accessories stolen needed to be returned to the animal owners. Her second to last return after listening to Harrison Ford regale her and Aaron with baby beagle stories from the set of the last Indiana Jones movie, was to the woman standing next to her on stage. Her blonde labracorgidoodle mutt had a four carat collar returned and she and Lucy hit it off instantly, probably because the dog loved Lucy on sight. When the woman asked to be called if there was any thing she could ever do, Lucy immediately thought of this night 11 months later. Lucy had checked with Wade, IA and HR to make sure she wasn’t going to be accused of accepting kickbacks or anything and got the all clear.

+++++++++

Lucy turns to the audience and says, “Please welcome to the stage, my new best friend, Mrs. Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani!” The crowd roars and Tim’s jaw drops to the floor of the stage.

He swivels on his bar stool so fast his Burger King crown almost falls off - and there before him in motocross pants, red checkered vans and a black/red “No Doubt” T-shirt stands the only woman he would ever consider leaving his wife for. Tim’s face morphs into a dreamy, yet bashful smile and his cheeks turn pink as Gwen leans over and kisses his cheek before stepping around him to finish singing It’s My Life - the version she and her band No Doubt made famous in 2003 - 20 years after the original version by Talk Talk burst onto radios everywhere.

Once done, Gwen leads the crowd in a rousing version of “Happy Birthday” to Tim who smiles and hugs Lucy close to him. Then Lucy nods to Gwen who says, “I hear this is your favorite song, so I dedicate it to you from Lucy.”

As the opening notes of “Don’t Speak” begin to play, Tim begins to cry. He’s overwhelmed with emotions watching his favorite singer, sing his favorite song with his absolute favorite person. Their voices blending beautifully during the song’s melancholic verses and chorus. He realizes this whole restaurant is full of people who love him (well they love Gwen right now) but they love him too. He never imagined a life with this much joy and love before Lucy came around. If this moment is a glimpse of his future with Lucy? He’ll take it and then some. He pulls Lucy close as the song ends and nods to Gwen. He nuzzles Lucy’s neck and whispers “best birthday ever.”

#chenford #tim bradford #lucy chen #the rookie #tim x lucy #i love them #ask andrea #one word gets you one shot #version 2 = karaoke #i'm in chenford withdrawal #things that are awesome #is the hiatus over yet #andrea writes #talk talk #bryan ferry #no doubt #gwen stefani #I met gwen stefani in san diego at a garage band contest

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kitkatt0430 · 5 months

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So having only watched the mess that was Armageddon from Flash S8, I've mostly gotten my info about that season second hand and none of it really puts me in a rush to see the season despite the return of Ronnie (expect not really) and a heroic version of Eobard showing up.

And I admit, I'm still trying to piece together an alt take on the season that would have enticed me to watch after Armageddon. Just as a thought exercise for now, but it could easily be for fanfic purposes later.

Setting aside the first five episodes of the season, the only four things I hear about when people talk about S8 is that the episode focused on Nora & Bart is cute, the Ronnie psych-out plot was rushed, nothing really happens with the Iris time sickness plot until the end of the season, and the heroic Eobard plot (where Eobard gets one of Barry's love interests from the comics and also the face-ripping off thing that comics!Eobard did to comics!Barry) was also rushed. And it seems like the biggest problem the season had was pacing.

I am... not surprised.

So according the Arrow wiki, S8 was broken up into three main arcs. Armageddon, Death Revisited, and It's All Negative. There's a two episode interlude between the first two arcs, and a three episode interlude between the second and third arcs.

I'd have to say, looking over the plot summaries for Death Revisited, they spent too much time foreshadowing and not enough time focused on Ronnie & Caitlin & Frost. If the heart of the story line is supposed to be Caitlin's grief over Ronnie being dug back up and the sisterly love that's grown between Caitlin and Frost, then they needed to commit to it and build those two aspects of the storyline up first.

If the interlude were cut down to just one episode, then we keep Impulsive Excessive Disorder as the post-Armageddon breather but end it with a teaser about Eobard Thawne (Matt edition) showing up in present day Central City, found by Meena. With the third arc foreshadowed as being a result of XS and Impulse's time travel, the second arc starts. It also takes the second arc from six episodes to seven.

Cutting out Marcus, Caitlin's quickly forgotten about boyfriend would probably help with the pacing a lot more too. Instead Caitlin's issues with Frost/Mark become the very valid point that Mark hasn't actually done anything to earn Caitlin's trust, but also jealousy because she's reminded of what she had with Ronnie. Underscored by Caitlin having started dreaming about Ronnie lately and flashbacks to her relationship with him when she sees Frost out with Mark. The three of them wind up looking into a recent death of one of Caitlin's colleagues - and friends - who'd recently been on the same panel as Caitlin at the science & tech conference from the Armageddon arc. This winds up being their first encounter with the Black Flame, which Frost notes rather uncomfortably seems drawn to Caitlin.

By the end of the episode Mark would have demonstrated that he really is trying to be a better person, not just to earn Caitlin's trust but because it's what he wants for himself. And Caitlin having a heart to heart with Frost about how their relationship as sisters is what helped Caitlin overcome her heartache over losing Ronnie and move on with her life, though she's not sure she'll ever truly stop grieving him entirely - the episode stinger would have the black flame appearing in somewhere in Central City with Ronnie stepping out of it.

The next episode, Caitlin's seeing Ronnie everywhere while the Black Flame goes after more people. Frost is concerned about Caitlin's mental well being and when the episode culminates in Ronnie showing up 'for real' and asking for Caitlin's help in stabilizing him without Martin, Frost is very suspicious. But the entire team helps Caitlin reprogram the quantum splicer to help him return to normal. Afterwards all his scans show Ronnie as being a perfectly normal human. Caitlin is elated and kisses him, but Frost is worried that's still not Ronnie, which she confides in Mark.

The third episode has Ronnie creating a rift between Caitlin and Frost as he needs Caitlin's entire focus to be on him. Her love for Frost and her friends is a problem but Frost in particular is holding Caitlin back. As far as he's concerned, anyway.

Frost would probably be the one to figure out that Ronnie was actually the source of the Black Flame in the fourth episode but by the time she figures it out, Caitlin's already left to spend time alone with "Ronnie" forcing the team to look for her frantically. Episode five would have Caitlin learn the truth but by then she's been 'poisoned' by her proximity to 'Ronnie' and her rekindled love for him having given Deathstorm the in he needed to start transforming her into another of his kind. By the time the team finds them, Caitlin has accidentally manifested black flames herself.

Episode 6 would focus on Ronnie and Frost's fight over Caitlin with Caitlin ultimately choosing Frost but in doing so the transformation she's going through begins to kill her. If Deathstorm can't have Caitlin, no one will.

Episode 7, Frost knowingly risks dying to save Caitlin. As she puts it to Mark, she was created from to protect Caitlin but has become so much more. Because Caitlin loved her, Frost became her own person and has learned to live for herself. She no longer sees protecting Caitlin as an obligation to run from, but a choice she makes out of love. When Frost dies after absorbing the hellfrost powers as well as Deathstorm's powers, she's seemingly absorbed back into Caitlin. Which would make Caitlin's certainty that Frost is alive within her later on make more sense.

The next interlude is the funeral for Frost but from there I'm not sure where to go. Iris' time sickness never totally made sense and I still think it should have been wrapped up as part of Armageddon.

Obviously Eobard would get introduced a lot sooner and take part in several episodes proving himself as a hero, only to make it more tragic when EoWells either intentionally or unintentionally utilizes his more heroic self to facilitate his return for the season finale.

#fic ideas #the flash #fanfiction #the mess that is season 8

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foodfightnovelization · 1 year

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Chapter 24: Analysis and Discussion

So here we are at Chapter 24, finally at the end of this novelization. It's been a wild ride, right? From different dialogue, to entirely new characters, to scenes that weren't in the final film at all, this has been SO much more enjoyable than watching the actual movie. The changes made in the novelization add so much to the story, and a lot of what I didn't like about the movie was either changed or left out entirely. I hope you enjoyed reading about it and reading along with me, because I sure loved writing about it. With all that said and done, let's see how this story ends, right?

Hairy Hold finally shows up to join the Resistance...after everything's already over, of course. Dex congratulates everyone on a job well done, but tells them they still have a lot of work to do- the store opens in just four hours. It's then that Dr Nustrix shows up and says he's created an antidote that should bring all the Ikes they lost back to life. He spritzes Polar Penguin with it and he wakes up, as if he were just in a deep sleep the entire time. The only difference here between the novelization and the movie's version of events is the additional line from Dex about their store opening in 4 hours, which is pretty minor but does remind us there's still work to be done as well as the nature of Marketropolis' existence.

Polar says he knew Dex would save him, and Sunshine tells Dex how proud he deserves to be, jumping into his arms and throwing a raisin in the air for him to catch in his mouth. Dan lampshades how everything really turned out perfect in the end, and Dex finally pulls the engagement ring from his pocket (remember, from when he was going to propose to Sunshine right at the beginning of the story?) and she instantly says yes, the whole store cheering as the two finally kiss. Dan almost starts crying until he notices Sweet Cakes giving him a flirty look, and realizes he might be getting some action too. This scene is once again the same across both the novelization and the movie, with the exception of the brief exchange between Dan and Sweet Cakes at the end. So, this is the second-to-last page, and with only one more to go, you'd THINK things would stay the same and the novelization wouldn't end in a completely different way to the movie, right? Well, good guess but you'd actually be wrong!

We cut to the next morning, back in the supermarket. Mr Leonard looks around and sees burnt, destroyed Brand X products littering the floor and is mortified until he notices all the colorful, familiar products are back on their shelves, everything back the way it should be. He's suitably puzzled, thinking this must be some sort of dream.

A month later, he's helping a customer load groceries into her cart, with all the products at the top of the bag being ones we're now familiar with- Kaptain Krispy chips, Polar Pleasures ice cream, and Twinkleton toothpaste. As she leaves, a large delivery truck pulls up- but this time it's a shipment Mr Leonard's excitedly been expecting for a while now. He opens the box and pulls out a brand new box of cereal- "New and Improved Cinnamon Sleuth Cereal- Now with Sunshine Goodness Raisins".

So, uh...YEAH. This is COMPLETELY different from how the movie ends, and it's a total last-second left turn. For context, in the movie after Dex proposes to Sunshine, we cut to their wedding at the Copbanana. It's being ordained by a rabbi, and Dex stomps on a carton of milk before he and Sunshine kiss. Dr Nustrix is shocked by this, and loudly exclaims "Dex is JEWISH?" as the credits start rolling, interrupted several times by brief interludes showing all the Ikes having fun at Dex and Sunshine's wedding. There are literally no similarities AT ALL to compare between these two endings, it's crazy how completely different in tone and content they are.

I VASTLY prefer the novelization's ending, however. It's way more toned-down, with a quiet scene of Mr Leonard being baffled by what happened to his store overnight, like he finally gets a hint that something more is going on behind the doors of his supermarket after it closes, a brief wink toward the world of Marketropolis he'll never see. Although we lose the revelation of Dex being Jewish (losing out on some much-needed representation), the much more subtle implication that Dex and Sunshine are now married by showing a Cinnamon Sleuth box with Sunshine Goodness raisins now in the mix is a much sweeter and genuinely endearing way for the story to end. It does raise some questions about how marriage works in Marketropolis- for instance, if Mr Clean marries Charlie Tuna, do the two products combine and release an all-purpose cleaner that smells like fish?

Regardless, it's a lovely ending to the story, and I really hope everyone enjoyed reading along with me. I definitely enjoyed combing through this and talking about all the changes made, and I absolutely consider Foodfight! The Junior Novelization to be a far superior version of the story. Of course, a lot of that is likely down to the novelization being based on an earlier version of script and so the writers also deserve a share of the credit for that, but without this novelization we may have never even got to know what that early script was like!

Now that I've finished going through the novelization in its entirety, I'll put it up on the Internet Archive for everyone to read whenever they want- after all, this is the only copy known to exist, and I want to make sure it's properly preserved. Thank you again to anyone who's been reading this blog and joining me on this journey, I'm honored to have shared this experience with you. I mean, how often do you get to read the only copy of a book known to exist, share it with the entire world, AND unravel a huge part of the tangled web of mysteries behind the production of Foodfight!?

I'll update this blog again when I've uploaded the book to the Internet Archive, but for now this is Tiffany Amber, signing off!

#daredevil dan #dex dogtective #foodfight #analysis #book review #charlie sheen #lady x #novelization #wayne brady #eva longoria #cinnamon sleuth cereal now with sunshine goodness raisins #ending

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nicoscheer · 1 year

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SCULPTURES OF ANYTHING GOES AS OPENER FOR THEIR THIRD GLASTO HEADLINER

1. Sculptures

2. Brianstorm

3. Snap

4. Chair

5. Crying lightning

6. Teddy picker (when I get bent over?!! Alex!!!) https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct4DUGpgtMn/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== (it’s rather ‘ya’ but we can pretend)

7. Cornerstone (I knew she’d understand instead of thought/she didn’t say that whooo, I just added that for you you’re welcome)

Interlude something about water by Alex on the piano (get this man his water he’s thirsty)

8. Why’d you only call me when you’re high (having mad instead of bad ideas/ plus epic pose)

Shout out by Alex for Space pictures

9. Arabella

10. Four out of five (loving butt slap for Cookie by Alex/ why don’t you come and stay with ME/ effective very effective what a night what a night, yeah man)

Smiling Alex

Angelic Alex

11. Pretty visitors (now’s me chance x3= rushing off to bowl and it’s a strike= happy little Alex jumping back on stage and then his mic was shut off for a sec there 🤣)

12. Fluorescent Adolescent (some kisses and a thank you from Alex)

Oh god he looks so baby in that picture

13. Perfect sense (another thank you 🥹)

Pouty mouth (he does look tired)

14. Do I wanna know (afterwards “astonishing”/ how are you feeling everybody *cheers* well I’m delighted about that)

15. Mardy Bum (thank you/ alright let’s leave the past behind)

16. There’d better be a mirrorball (conductor Alex at the beginning/ hey HEY at the end)

17. 505 (without Miles 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭his first note sounded so unsure/ the in ears only now getting removed gotta be a new record/ thank you for having us everybody it’s the Arctic monkeys/ so predictable I know what you’re thinking whoo)

18. Body Paint

Encore

19. I wanna be yours (Matt and backup sang and played I wanna be yours (second verse)while Alex sang STAR TREATMENT (first verse)/ thank you thank you very much) (for a second we had “Miles” there)(the Glastonbury special surprise; also genius move to reclaim IWBY from TikTok by hijacking it with TBHC)

A video of that beautiful medley

“Who are you gonna call the Martini police the who?”

20. I bet you look good on the dance floor (Matt having mic problems and some vocal ones aswell(sounded like a scratchy throat))

“We are gonna leave you now we can’t stay with you anymore but fank you for having us something tells me…something tells me that you’re gonna be okay good night”

21. R U MINE?

I mean I know it’s basically literally their normal concert playlist apart from that I wanna be yours/ star treatment medley (which was out of this world 🌚;)) but I still loved it apart from that heartbreak with 505 cause honestly don’t care what they play I’m still loving it and having a blast, great tunes great vocals an amazing night spent in front of the laptop screaming along (what if they had planned a different set list (in 2013 Alex said “that’s what we’re gonna do tonight everyone. we are gonna play some new shit. We’re gonna play some old shit. We are gonna play some things that are just Glastonbury specials, do you know what I’m saying”) but due to Alex falling sick they didn’t have time to practice so they settled for their usual setlist?) (genuinely feel sorry for Elton John and his humongous set cause i doubt that anybody can scream along on Sunday still)

And I love how all the real fans can easily agree that it was a fantastic gig while the TikTok fans and dark fruit lovers are whining in their mum’s basement how they didn’t just play do I wanna know and snap out of it in 10 different versions and how dare Alex that his voice and taste in music evolved and that they didn’t try and emulate the phenomenal, seminal career changing Glasto 2013 🤣🤣

Opening

Do I wanna know

Mardy Bum via BBCradio1

I bet you look good on the dance floor

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The BBC intern having some fun ( he’s gonna get tacos on the well reviewed taqueria of course)

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WARNING !! do not look at the comments 🤢 you don’t wanna see that shitshow that some ‘fans’ pull but I guess some people just can’t be satisfied cause their own lives are so shit that they have to lash out at whoever is available

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Rock band Arctic Monkeys’ headline set on Friday night was watched by an average of 1.5million viewers on BBC One.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct3ngjTLG7R/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuG4TRQLpjM/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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The full audio of Arctic Monkeys’ Glastonbury 2023 set

#Glastonbury 2023 #alex turner #arctic monkeys #I’m no expert but his voice sounds good so grateful he does this #he’s playing around again so I guess he’s really all fine again #why is whoever is responsible for the song titles so much slower than me 🤣#dang are there many kids in the audience (literally children)#either it’s the livestream I’m staring at or there are actually some technical difficulties with the volumes and feedbacks #and we are far into overtime surprise 🤣#Jo immediately praising them the setlist and their vocals afterwards is so real go girl #Jo just casually saying they are her babies before the set 😭#so happy that all the reports and articles so far are glorious and praising the boys to the sky how they should and deserve it #Instagram #I love R U MINE? but at the same time loathe it cause then I now it’s over and that just isn’t okay #also cool to know that måneskin watched the AM and Lana set and that Damiano met Alex (would really like to know how that went)#cause both Victoria and Damiano posted videos of it but we also have an older pic of Ethan with Miles Kane mercy #Alex Turner der hottie (my friends reply to my livestream pic of Alex)

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shepherds-of-haven · 10 months

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SHEPHERDS OF HAVEN ALPHA PREVIEW UPDATE [11/29/23]

The Shepherds of Haven alpha preview has been updated here!

TOTAL WORDCOUNT: 1,047,415 WORDS WITHOUT CODE

WHAT’S NEW:

9,000 words of new content!

Croelle, Sibella de Vespe, and... an item from an earlier chapter that you might have been wondering what to do with? 👀

A little hint of Prihine at the end if she's alive...

Play it cool like a courtier or go hogwild like the feral gremlin you've always dreamed of being: it's your choice!

WHAT’S NEXT:

At least Prihine's part of Chapter 9, plus a character interlude or some Ascendancy Festival stuff! Chapter 9 has a big politicking section coming up next, so I'm likely to take a bit of a break from that by chipping away at supplementary routes before working up the nerve to tackle the big fish--but on the other hand, I have to admit that I'm having way more fun with Croelle than I thought I would. In the books, I was like, ambivalent towards him at best, and I know I spent years telling you guys not to like him because he doesn't have to eat fruit, but you know what... now that he's fully present, I'm kind of digging him. He is rotating around in my mind and I want to pick him apart like a little bug. So we'll see where the magnetic pull is strongest next month!

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy! I look forward to seeing your thoughts, and hope you had a great Thanksgiving if you celebrated and that you have a great end to your November! 🧡🤎🦃

#Shepherds of Haven #update #alpha build #alpha preview #spoilers #heavy #chapter 9 #Patreon

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lonelywretchjervistetch · 1 year

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My DCCU Interlude: The Legion of Super-Heroes (Part 3)

Chapter Three: New Recruits

OK, now that we've tackled the original trio, let's get into the four new members I'm planning on introducing in this series: Triplicate Girl, Phantom Girl, Invisible Kid, and... Elgar Degep. IFKYK, I guess? I'll explain that last one later, but for those of you Legion fans who haven't noticed it yet...look at the name again, and it'll be pretty obvious, I think.

So, like the last entry into this essay series, I'll be going into primarily my version of these characters, rather than their complex comic book histories, at least for the most part. Additionally, most of the planets these guys come from are essentially blank slates, so I'll be making a few planetary cultures and histories from essentially scratch, with the occasional inspiration from the comics. Considering how long the last post was, let's get this done, shall we? Where do we start?

Triplicate Girl: Unique Outcast

Let's start with the planet before we get to the person, shall we? Cargg, in my universe/headcanon, is a huge planet primarily covered in an urbanized landscape. It was colonized by Winathians centuries ago. I mentioned in the Lightning Lad section of my previous essay that the colonists of Winath populated the large planet quickly by using an Infinity Serum that allowed them to duplicate themselves, and when this inevitably led to overpopulation, a genetic modifier was administered to the population, limiting or removing their abilities to duplicate.

However, this modification didn't take with the entire population, instead serving to limit a very small proportion of the population to creating only two duplicates of themselves at maximum. Seeing this as an opportunity for further colonization of the system, these genetically unique individuals left Winath, and settled on another large planet: Cargg. Here, they initially began farming the planet, but soon found that the conditions of the planet were not conducive to the same Winathian farming techniques. Instead, since the citizens were able to literally make more of themselves, they dove into industry and exports, becoming a manufacturing mecca of the solar system, and helping to supply their sister planet Winath with supplies and equipment.

So, now that we have the planet explained...what about the people?

Well, being able to split yourself into triplets definitely has some biological and sociological implications. Biologically, one would assume that a lot of food would be needed to divide, possibly making their caloric load a bit higher, and metabolisms a bit faster and more efficient in order to quickly allow and power the duplication. So, while Cragg supplies Winath with equipment, Winath supplies Cargg with food they can't make or grow themselves. Additionally, let's just say that Carggites are known for big meals and good food. Just a little bit of fun headcanon there.

Philosophically, things get more complicated. If you split yourself into three different bodies, are you still the same person, or are you officially different people until you reunite into one body? And then, if you wanna dive into spirituality, do the bodies share a single soul, or they have different ones that fuse together once reuniting. Or, are they three parts of a different soul? And this is coming from someone who isn't extremely religious, but it's definitely the sort of thing that a society made of individuals with this power would think about, y'know? So, let's actually assume that all of these schools of thought are present on Cargg, maybe even becoming parts of different religions and behaviors. Cargg could essentially be in a theological civil war, therefore, with different people ascribing to different beliefs.

But that said, one could assume that each clone would still be the same person. Even with different souls, or part of the same soul, they still come from the same person. Therefore, one can assume that the three would consider themselves to be the same person. But, of course...what if you didn't think that? What if you truly thought of yourselves as three different people, with the ability to fuse into a single person, instead of other way around? Enter Luornu Durgo.

Side note, by the way: the Legion of Super-Heroes design of Triplicate Girl, as seen above, is maybe my favorite design for the character. It's just so good, honestly. But OK, who is Luornu Durgo, in this universe? Luornu Durgo is a set of three people who happen to have the same name, and the ability to fuse into one person. And the acknowledgement of being three separate people is...odd, to most Carggites. This doesn't mean she's exiled, necessarily, just that she's an outcast in most social situations.

See, identifying as three separate people entirely means that each of the Triplicates has a slightly different personality and interests, meaning that they can actually have different color preferences and likes/dislikes. And to most people outside of Cargg, their similarities probably outweigh their differences. But on Cargg, having any differences is weird. Not unheard of, but still weird. And so, Luornu isn't exactly comfortable in her own home.

Oh, also, another side-note: a part of me actually wanted Luornu to have the pronouns they/them because...well, triplicates. But honestly, that might be a touch confusing. Not because of the pronouns themselves (obviously, that's entirely fine), but because I'd rather not have this character use the pronouns in the plural form, rather than in the non-binary form. Although, yeah, we don't have to rule that out, either. I'm open to any opinions on that front. But, for the sake of simplicity at the moment, I'll be sticking to she/her for Triplicate Girl as a whole.

So, Luornu hears about the Legion of Super-Heroes, and decides that she'd want to tryout and join. She's not particularly interested in representing Cargg, because life has taught her that she isn't really a representative of Cargg, but she's still interested in a way to get off the planet, where she can live the three separate lives she'd like to live. And she's not necessarily against being one person, but she's definitely more comfortable split up, because she feels less limited. I feel like I may be dipping into some spiritual territory of the LGBTQ crowd here, in truth, and I am straight as an arrow, so my apologies if I'm stepping on some toes. Again, let me know if there's some perspective that you think would be valuable here.

With that, Luornu auditions for the Legion (I kinda love how it happened in Superboy #147, personally, but that's just me being a nerd), and becomes one of the new members. Over the course of the first season, her journey will be one of self-acceptance and discovery, as she greets the less-restrictive world of Earth and other planets. Her triplicates have accentuated pieces of her personality, and you can have her embrace those pieces to make her a complete person, or more complete people. But, in truth...the first season isn't Luornu's season of focus. No, no...that'll be the second season, were there to be one. And that's because I'm building up to the most important event in Luornu's life, and the reason for this characterization.

Because Luornu's way of thinking is actually somewhat correct. Carggites are (or could be) essentially three separate souls with the ability to fuse into one body, rather than the other way around. And that's discovered when one of the Triplicates is killed.

The transition from Triplicate Girl to Duo Damsel is one of the most important events of its day in comics, at least in terms of the Legion. The mad computer, Computo (yes, I know) goes rogue and kills one of the Triplicates, leaving Luornu only able to split into two bodies. Which...makes no sense. Seriously, if your superpower is splitting into three bodies, then why would you lose that ability once one of those duplicates dies? The core body, after all, is still alive...right?

Unless, of course, it was actually three separate people with the ability to fuse into one person. In that case, it makes sense that losing one of those people would make you incomplete. And Duo Damsel is quite literally a different person than Triplicate Girl. Essentially, we're talking Steven Universe rules in terms of fusion. Different combinations of duplicates make different people, with different personality traits and behaviors formed from the sum of two parts. And so, it turns out that, over time, Luornu did basically become three separate people, rather than one person who could split. And therefore, when one of them dies in a future season (or maybe between seasons, I haven't decided), we're permanently down to 2 rather than 3.

But again...that's a story for another season. For now, Luornu should be a fun and interesting character with a lot of hobbies and interests, packed into three separate bodies. Let's contrast her with the rest of the new members.

Phantom Girl: Not All There

Oh, boy, Tinya Wazzo. Here's where things get super tricky and weird, continuity-wise. Tinya has had alternate identities, power-sets, names, time-periods, species...she's a more complicated person to adapt straight, but also somewhat complicated to adapt faithfully. So, while I'm gonna start with her planet, I'm also going to start in a possibly unexpected time and place. But, to be honest, the fact that no-one has proposed what I'm about to propose has bothered me for a while. So...

The place: the States of Amerika! The time: the 21st century! At a point after the events of my modern DC universe, the planet gets visitors from another Earth entirely. The first evidence of the multiverse in my cinematic universe is NOT related to the Justice Society. No, they're actually still around, having existed since the 1950s. We'll talk about them on another occasion, I promise. Not sure when, but it will happen. But yeah, the first multiversal incursion actually comes from a group known as the Freedom Fighters.

You may know this team from the film Freedom Fighters: The Ray, or from the Crisis on Earth-X Arrowverse crossover. In the comics, they're led by Uncle Sam, the immortal embodiment of American spirit and freedom (yes, really), and they fight against the Nazi Regime in a universe where they won World War II and took over the world. You know, some real The Man in the High Castle shit. Anyway, one of the members of this team is Sandra Knight. She originally uses a black light projector to defeat people in total darkness, but later gains the ability to phase through objects as a result of multiversal travel. Her codename is...Phantom Lady. See where I'm going with this?

Phantom Lady dates back to 1940s comics, and she was drawn so provocatively that she's one of these reasons for the Comics Code back in the day, as well as the famous and horribly restrictive book Seduction of the Innocent by absolute hack Frederic Wertham. That said, though, when you think about 1940s sensibilities, and look at some of her cover art...yeah...yeah, you get it. But anyway, that aside, it's weird to me that there's never been any official ties between Phantom Lady and Phantom Girl...so let's fix that!

See, once multiversal travel is discovered, it's inevitable that somebody would attempt to traverse the multiverse themselves. So, at some point closer to the 22nd century, that's exactly what happened. After learning from the various travelers over the years, a semi-stable portal was eventually developed by Time Zero Labs, spacetime specialists and studiers of the Speed Force, as well as a descendant of STAR Labs. The first planned permanent foray onto this world, known as Beginning, sent multiple squads into this new world. The seventh, Beginning-G, would be the last squad to settle onto the planet before the portal reached instability, closing permanently. This last mission sent in multiple new colonists to meet the existing ones on the unnamed planet, bringing the number up to 100 people staffed there. But without contact, it was unknown if this colony would survive. Fast forward 150 years.

The project had been long abandoned on the main Earth. Over that time, the new residents of this Earth made a home for themselves, surviving and gaining enough supplies to try and get back home. Eventually, though, they just settled on the planet permanently, naming it after the last squad that arrived, and the laboratory that founded the mission: Beginning-G Time Zero Labs, or...Bgtzl for short. Look, that name is fucking ridiculous, and I had to come up with a crazy-ass backstory to have it make sense. And yes, I know that it's originally spells Bgztl, so you can call the labs Zero Time Labs if you want, but...eh. It's misspelled in the comics constantly.

Anyway, due to regular experimentation with portals, and the nature of the universe they had settled, these Earth colonists had changed genetically over the course of a few generations, and every single resident of the planet was now phase-shifted, with their atoms able to temporarily switch between phase states of the two universes. This is, of course, not what phase state actually is on an atomic level, but you can physics it up a little bit to make it sound good. Now, for most residents, this is temporary and requires focus. But for some gifted individuals, this is actually a fairly easy process, and can be done at will, and for extended periods of time. Enter Tinya Wazzo.

The daughter of an influential family, Tinya Wazzo is expected to enter politics, as her mother has, and as her family has done historically. As a traceable descendant of the original 100 colonists of the planet, Tinya is very much aware of her station and responsibility, but also feels pretty limited by it. So, when her mother Winema Wazzo, a delegate and popular politician in her own right, visits Earth for a diplomatic visit, a teenaged Tinya comes with her.

Tinya's immediately taken by the stark differences between Bgtzl and Earth. Understand, the universe she comes from is essentially dead, while this universe is the stuff of legends and folklore. Imagine having the ability to travel into your favorite book, and you have an idea of what Tinya feels when she comes to Earth. She also finds that, like her mother, she has little difficulty phase-shifting into this universe, and has the ability to turn intangible as a result of this ability. She can even effectively disappear by phasing back into her universe, but with the consequence of not knowing where she'll end up as a result. Still, she quickly realizes that this ability could prove useful, and she sees an opportunity to join the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Winema is, understandably, hesitant to go along with this plan. However, three things convince her. First, having a daughter acting as a superhero on Earth would look good for their family, and for Bgtzl as a whole, easing relations and building political ties. This is especially important to her as it would act against a major political rival, Sarya of Venegar. More on her, later. Second, it gives Tinya the opportunity to gain experience with multiple different peoples and cultures, which she wouldn't be able to do as easily on Bgtzl. And third, she's convinced by a political ally and friend: R.J. Brande of Earth. More on him soon.

With that, Tinya Wazzo becomes a member of the Legion of Superheroes as Phantom Girl, a name she chooses in honor of one of the first heroes to cross dimensions in this Earth's history. Over the course of the first season of the series, she'll be one of the faces of the group, acting as the face of the new Legionnaires, while still learning the cultures of Earth and the other planets she's interacting with. The daighter of a politician, she's a fairly great read of character, to a somewhat bothersome degree. Because of this, she sometimes rubs people the wrong way, and can be a bit too nosy for her own good. She'll be learning this throughout the season, but her nosy nature will come in handy in multiple ways later on. Why? Well, uh...let's get to the next Legionnaire, shall we?

Invisible Kid: Spy on Both Sides

Like I did with Lightning Lad in the last essay, I wanna pause for a second to address something. My plan is to use Lyle Norg as the Invisible Kid, rather than Jacques Foccart. Why? Well, a few reasons, but mostly because Norg has been the Invisible Kid for more comic book history than Foccart, and some versions of him are more interesting to me. Plus, without Norg, Foccart wouldn't exist as the Invisible Kid in-canon, so Norg makes sense to me. That ALSO said, though, Norg absolutely isn't race-locked into white, while Foccart is more race-locked to being Black, as he's originally from Cote d'Ivoire. In truth, there are Europeans that live on the ivory Coast, but it's definitely vast majority Black.

So, I kind of what to use the best of both worlds and make Lyle black or non-white, but that's neither here nor there. "But what about Foccart's hair", cries the savvy reader. Well, uh...that wouldn't make sense to include, anyway, since that iconic white streak in his hair comes from seeing Darkseid for the first time. So, yeah, not a huge fan of including that flourish for no reason, but I actually may have a plan on that front, anyway. So, with that, we'll assume Lyle Norg is our Invisible Kid, but I'll be using any appropriate gifs of Invisible Kid that I can find anyway. As for the planet...well, Lyle and Jacques are both from Earth, and their powers are derived from experimentation. So, instead of talking about Earth in the 31st century, let's talk about the real origin of Lyle Norg in this universe: the Science Police.

For all intents and purposes, the Science Police are the cops of Earth's future, and act either in opposition or in cautious conjunction with the Legion, depending on the series. My version of the Science Police will function much like modern authorities, but will also have the jurisdiction of today's FBI and CIA, to a certain degree. Essentially, the world government of the 31st Century Earth fuses its authoritative and intelligence agencies into divisions of a single organization. So, the NuMetropolis Division of the Science Police is one of the stronger street divisions, and is monitored by a larger regional arm, run by Director Ryna Norg, an anti-superhero authority figure who is fiercely protective of her only child, Lyle.

Lyle is a brilliant young man, and wants to bring the "science" back into the Science Police with his talents. An inventor, gadgeteer, and amateur chemist, Lyle believes that the police could learn something from the superheroes of Earth's past. This means that not only can they use powers smartly and tactically, but that they can serve as a powerful symbol of right across the planet. But Ryna is a traditionalist, and stereotypically disapproves of any vigilantes who believe themselves above the law. So, to prove his point, Lyle Norg is able to use various skills to create a synthetic Infinity Serum, using data from an old IS from early in the technology's development. This unfinished serum, known as IS-Blank, was meant to be an invisibility serum, and was based on a 20th century experiment by controversial scientist Chadwick Ellis.

Lyle, however, figured out the problem. Using connections of his mother's, and academically, Lyle was able to procure data-files of genetic material from Arthur Light, Roy G. Bivolo, and government agent Stan Silver. This information was used to manipulate synthetic genetic material and the Ellis formula, in order to give the user the ability to bend the light around them, rather than simply become transparent. And so, the new IS-Blank was formed. But what to do with it? And what's worth, Ryna gets word of her son's machinations, and has questions of her own to answer.

This serum becomes a serious argument for Ryna, especially considering the fact that the Legion has just begun to show up, irritating Ryna and inspiring Lyle in equal measure. But Ryna, being a smart cop, offers a compromise. Lyle can continue his work, but in the service of the Science Police, who will infiltrate the Legion and take them down from the inside. Lyle agrees to do those, but then offers a condition of his own. And before his mother can stop him, he administers the serum to himself.

And from there, the deal is reluctantly made. Lyle, as a teenager, is a natural choice to infiltrate the Legion, and is sent in to report back to the Science Police about their identities, interests, and potential criminal activity. The information gathered here is meant to take down the Legion from the inside out. But obviously, Lyle doesn't quite agree with these plans. Still, he'll go into this as a spy, and naturally suspicious of the Legion and their leaders. Like Tinya, he's the son of an authority figure, and is good at observing people and gathering information on them. However, unlike Tinya, Lyle is quiet and fairly shy, and seems to naturally disappear into the background even without the serum.

And so, Lyle Norg will be our stealth agent for the Legion, and his arc throughout the first season is to slowly turn against the Science Police, and potentially discover their own corruption using his gifts of invisibility. Oh, and he'll also turn against the Legion briefly when he attempts to expose the other spy in the organization. See, at least Lyle sort of wants the Legion to be a good thing, and he's working for an Earth-born organization. But he's not the only one whose interests may be counter to the Legion's goals.

Oh, and one more thing before I forget! Lyle is gay. Making that fully canon, because it's been hinted at in the comics, but never confirmed. This won't really come to the forefront significantly in the first season, but it'll ideally be inserted organically into the nature of this universe and series. In the second or third season, his boyfriend will be revealed in the form of Chemical King AKA Condo Arlik, his semi-canon love interest in the comics. But that's a future conversation, of course. For now, let's get to the last featured Legionnaire.

Elgar Degep: Uh...Who?

In the comics...uh...hold up, this isn't a character from the comics. At least, that name definitely isn't from the comics. When we meet Elgar, they'll introduce themselves as the Earth-born descendant of one of Earth's most prominent heroes of the 21st century, Elongated Man. This is made obvious by their ability to elongate themselves and distort their shape significantly. Their flexibility and versatility will be their main asset, and they'll be a force to reckon with in some instances. However, they won't come to the Legion on their own. They'll actually be appointed to the Legion as a favor to a mysterious major benefactor. And at this point...IYKYK.

But here's the thing. We won't get the reveals there until close to the end of the first season. I'm talking the beginning of the last third, when some of the true enemies of the season begin to reveal themselves, and Elgar reverts to their TRUE form after a particular heavy battle. And for the sake of keeping things a little secretive, I won't reveal their full backstory here. But I will introduce the basics, and reintroduce this character. Hold on, lemme just unscramble that name pretty quick.

Chameleon: Master of Disguise

Yeah, this might have been a little obvious to most, but it's still an interesting twist to those not in the know, hopefully! Reep Daggle, AKA Chameleon, is one of the most iconic members of the Legion, as well as the center of some of their most interesting political struggles. Why? Well, as usual, let's talk about the planet he comes from: Durla. This'll mostly be about my version of the planet, but keep in mind that Durla is a planet of shapeshifters, and therefore often persecuted by others. It's also one of the most fleshed-out planets of any planet in the 31st century DC Universe...kinda.

And it all starts with what else...but a nuclear apocalypse.

The Six-Minute War was the end of the world once before Durla. History was lost, knowledge destroyed, and the planet was plunged into the Stone Age. The previous civilization was dead., and emerging from the shadows would be a new life form altogether. The history of those who would become known as "Durlans" has been lost to time. Some historians believe they were descended from mutants that survived the blast. Some believe they were parasitic lifeforms, replacing and mimicking the original Durlan survivors before killing them off. And some believe the Six-Minute War never happened, and Durlans have always been like this. But the real answer?

My version of Durlans are essentially a cellular syncytium of a species. What I mean by that is that every single one of their cells can be controlled by their sentience to act in whatever shape they desire. And this came about long before the Six-Minute War happened. A strain of sentient virus, developed in a laboratory on a nearby planet, escaped and infected a traveler from Durla. This virus, still primitive in its sentience, spread throughout the planet and infected the entire planet. But in reality, the disease caused by the virus was...well, harmless. The strain itself would continue to be developed on the original planet, treated with radiation treatments until it became a hyper-intelligent sentient virus, called Despotellis. But that story continues with somebody else entirely, once the rogue ring-wielder Sinestro enters the picture...

A story for a later day. Back on Durla, things proceed are politically tense. The history is dodgy, but essentially, the planet devours itself in a world war. In the process, nukes are thrown, and the ensuing destruction bathes the planet in ionizing radiation, and destroys the Durlan civilization. And this radiation also activates the virus. See, this virus, having lived in the cells of many Durlans, essentially integrated its own genome into their cells. This, in turn, gives the cells a primitive sentience, like the virus. However, once the cells are united into one organism, they can act together to rearrange themselves and change their physiology.

Once the radiation kicked in, the cells of the surviving Durlans got the trigger they needed, and this sentience finally kicked in through the bodies of these Durlans...at the cost of their memories. Yup, we're talking worldwide amnesia for any of the survivors. These were, essentially, new organisms with the ability to shapeshift, and the civilization they carved was tribal and primitive in nature. With the lack of resources, thanks the the loss of the previous world, Durla would never stray far from this path, and they wouldn't really desire to. Meanwhile, news of the Durlan plight spread from world-to-world, and rumors of disease and destruction plague them for centuries afterwards. This, combined with their newly discovered ability to shapeshift, makes them a widely disparaged and discriminated-against people. And that's why Cham disguises themselves at first.

But why does Chameleon leave Durla? Oh, and I'm calling them Chameleon (rather than Chameleon Boy) for obvious reasons. For God's sake, they're a shape-shifter from a culture of shape-shifters; what use is gender for a shape-shifter, y'know? Anyway, Reed Daggle is born to a spiritual leader of Durla, one of the Shadow Speakers that rule a major tribe of the planet. Their other parent is unknown to Cham, as they contracted a disease known as the Yorggian Fever, and was exiled from the tribe before Reep's birth, where they likely died. And again, IYKYK. Reep was expected to follow in the Speaker's footsteps, but discovered a different path.

See, Reep's other parent had detailed notes about the world outside of Durla, having found themselves there once or twice. This filled Reep with interest about that world, and they longed to explore it. They also believed, as their other parent did, that the lost history of Durla may be present on Earth. And so, wanting to see the world outside, Reep managed to separate himself from their tribe, and left Durla on a transport ship. In doing so, they saw much of the world, as well as the deep dislike of Durlans across the galaxy. They also saw great suffering, and pledged to help as many people as they could under different guises. However, this failed once arriving on Earth, where Reep was caught as a Durlan and reported for questioning and quarantine, as Durlans are not trusted by...well, anyone. It's bad.

The arrest of a Durlan gets the attention of R.J. Brande, an Earth-born billionaire and pioneer. Through his assistant and confidante, Marla Latham, Brande gets in contact with Reep and offers his assistance. This is because Brande is a Durlan, having had his appearance frozen in one form decades prior due to a disease. What neither Reep or Brande know is that Brande is actually Reep's other parent. Which, to those in the know, is not a surprise. Still, Brande is, at this point, in the midst of setting up the Legion of Super-Heroes with his funding, and has Marla take care of Reep.

Over time on Earth, Reep learns the language and culture (Durlans are very adaptable by design), and becomes enamored with Earth superheroes, particularly Plastic Man and Elongated Man, whose powers he can actually mimic. This gives Marla an idea, and she suggests that Reep be recommended for the Legion. But, given the unpredictable attitude that people across the galaxies have about Durlans, all parties involve agree that a disguise is required. Hence, "Elgar Degep" is born (the Daggle name is a known one in government circles).

And so, "Elgar" is welcomed onto the Legion. Obviously, their story will involve their secret identity, but will also involve their drive to help their own people, especially during a time in the show where the United Planets is working on expansion, and Durla is one of the worlds worth consideration. So, yeah, a lot on Reep's shoulders.

And with that, our main characters are set! Now comes the next question: what's the main source of conflict for the first season? Well, I've mentioned that a bit in the first portion of this essay series, but now I'll go into it. It'll happen on two fronts, physical and political. Physical's an interesting question, but political...hoo boy, political is where the real villains are. Right, Madame President?

See you in Part Four!

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