#we ship and deliver like ups trucks

[thatwritererinoriordan]

@thebeaconhillhouse I appreciate your commitment to your ship of choice.

Hermione de Paula | Bridal Fall 2023

Collection: Lunar Garden

[0097linersb]

Sour Candy (m)

Pairings: Mingi x Reader

Genre: Smut

Word count: 5k~

Warnings: Very very very needy Mingi, wouldn't say exactly sub!mingi but kind of sub!mingi u know, good boi´s just very desperate. consent lines are kind of blurred in this one so pls skip if it makes u uncomfortable, this was just written in like an hour with absolutely no thoughts or grammar-checking, head empty only filled with crying whiny men <3

Follow me on twitter: wooyosgfreal <3

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“What time did Yunho say he was coming back again?” You asked for about the fourth time that afternoon. 

“In like an hour or two,” Mingi answered patiently like he did all the other times you asked before. “Bro, why do you hate me?” 

“Because you keep making me play this boring game and it really fucking sucks.” 

“That´s just because you´re bad at it.” 

“You´re literally worse than me.” 

“Maybe modernity was wrong all along, maybe women really shouldn´t be allowed to have opinions.” 

“It is a fact, not an opinion. Maybe you men should still be in planes being shipped off to war and leave us alone.” 

“Fine. Do you want to play something else, princess?” 

“Let´s play Overcooked,” You squealed.  

Mingi didn´t even groan this time when you mentioned the game you and Seonghwa were obsessing over lately, simply going back to the home screen on Yunho´s Playstation and looking for the colorful icon. He knew there was no arguing with you. 

While the game was loading, Mingi handed you the main controller and stood up, fixing his shirt that had scrunched up and stretching his back, “Set everything up, I´m gonna go find some snacks.” 

You happily did as told, driving your little animated truck towards the level you had last failed at and playing with your phone to wait for your friend, at least until your vision was blocked by said friend pushing a red plastic bag in front of your face. 

“What´s that?” You asked, already reaching into the bag and picking up one of the soft candies inside. 

Mingi simply shrugged, already chewing on one of the jellies, “Dunno, found them in the kitchen. They´re pretty good though.” 

You trusted his words, popping the candy into your mouth and waiting for the flavors to kick in - and hell you wish you didn´t. 

“Oh my god this is disgusting,” Your face contorts in distaste. 

“It´s cinnamon,” Mingi stares you down, clearly not amused.  

“Yeah, with candle wax. Ew.” 

“Just swallow it and stop being a baby.” 

“I will literally kill myself.” 

He gave you another judgmental glare and sat down next to you on the couch once again, already reaching for his third candy from hell as you forced yourself to let it slide down your throat. You handed him the main remote and picked up the secondary one, coughing to see if flowing some air into your lungs would get the taste of rotten papaya out of your mouth.  

“Maybe it´s poison that Yunho left out as a trap because you keep stealing his food.” 

“Nah, it was right on top of the counter,” He waved it off, pressing play on the game. 

“My point stands.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” 

“You´re very eloquent today.” 

“You´re very annoying today.” 

“The salmon Mingi, the fucking salmon!!” 

“I´m getting it!” 

“Bro, you gotta throw it!” 

“Fuck. I know, but if I leave the fucking rice is going to burn.” 

“I´m throwing you more rice.” 

“I don´t need it.” 

“Yes, you do. Oh my god.” 

“What I do need are some clean plates.” 

“Oh, yeah. On it.” 

“Why do you like this game?” He groaned, cleaning the sweat from his forehead and reaching for another candy in the bag. “You´re making me stress eat.” 

“Doesn´t it make you feel pumped?”  

“Yeah, pumped to punch the TV.” 

“We have one more minute, we can do it if you stop being dumb.” 

“There are literally two plates on the counter ready to go and you haven´t delivered them yet.” 

“Jeez, done. Can you slice me some tomatoes?” 

“One sec,” He answered, mouth full of yet another candy. 

“It would be faster if you would just stop eating.” 

“We´re not making it anyways, let me enjoy one thing at least.” 

And he was right: a few seconds later the TV screen was filled with the sad numbers displaying how you didn´t reach the minimum score - didn´t even come close to it in fact. 

Mingi let out his frustrations by popping the nth white jelly past his lips and you stared at him in disgust, reaching for the bag to understand what that malevolent creation even was.  

“Huh...” 

“What?” He asked. 

“Hm, I mean, this is all in German or Dutch but I´m pretty sure this word means aphrodisiac.” 

“Come again?” His mouth was hanging open mid chew, unblinking eyes staring at you. 

“Hm, yeah. Wasn´t Yunho´s friend just in Amsterdam? The one with the big smile? Maybe he brought those as a souvenir, since you know, it´s Amsterdam. Like, ‘haha look at this candy that makes you horny´.” 

“Oh, yeah. But it´s like a placebo touristy thing, right?” He laughed nervously. “Like, these won´t actually make me horny, right?” 

“Nah, I don´t think this kind of stuff works. It´s probably just for shit and giggles. Do you feel any different?” 

“I don´t know, my heart is beating faster. I think I´m going to die.” 

“Mingi, relax. Now it´s probably just because you´re nervous.” 

“No, what if there´s some kind of drug in these? I ate almost 10 of them! Oh my god I´m going to die. Am I going to overdose, Y/N? What if I start hallucinating?” 

He was being a bit overdramatic, but he did have genuine concerns. 

“Wait, let me call Yunho.” 

Mingi didn´t even hear you, too busy at his own pity party as he whined and stared at the bag´s labels like he could suddenly speak Dutch.  

“Y/N?” Yunho´s voice filled your ears. 

“Hm, hi. Sorry to bother you at work but we´ve kind of got a situation.” 

“Oh my god, did Mingi break my door playing with the bar? I already told him-” 

“No, nothing like that. Huh, do you know that candy that you left on the kitchen counter?” 

“What? No. What cand- Oh. Oh.” 

“Huh, yeah. So... Mingi found it and ate like 10 of them?” 

“Y/N.” 

“Is that bad? He´s kind of freaking out, he´s afraid there´s like drugs in them or something.” 

“There are some stimulants in them but like, in minor quantities. He won´t die because of it. But bro, bro.” 

“What?” You whined, Yunho´s tone making you anxious. 

“He had 10 of them? San had like 3 and said he was at it for hours.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, oh.” 

“So I guess these do work, huh?” 

“Haven´t tried them, but from what San says it´s some strong shit. Did you take any?” 

“Just like one, tastes like organic trash.” 

“Yeah, good. Let me know how it goes, please just stay out of my bedroom.” 

“Your bedroom? Why would- What are you trying to imply, Jeong Yunho?” 

“Oh shit, client calling. Byeee,” He laughed. “Stupid.” 

As soon as you put your phone away, Mingi stopped talking to himself like a mad man and stared at you with big hopeful eyes. 

“I have good news and bad news.” 

“Am I going to die?” 

“That´s the good news: no, you´re not. No.” 

“And what are the bad news?” 

“Apparently you will get very horny, though.” 

He froze at your words, looking down at his pants, “I don´t feel it, though.” 

“Maybe you won´t, it might be different for everyone,” You shrug, standing up and grabbing your sweater. “All I know is that I am leaving because if it does happen, that´s not a sight I want to be here for.” 

“Please no,” Mingi whined, literally throwing himself on his knees to catch your arm before you could walk away. “Don´t leave me alone here. I just ingested unknown substances, what if my body reacts badly and I actually die? What if I throw up and drown in my own puke here all alone?” 

Once again, over-dramatic but right.  

“Yeah, you´re right,” You sighed. “I would still rather die than see you with a boner so here´s what we´re gonna do: I´m locking myself in Yunho´s room and you can freely roam the apartment and do whatever you want, I´ll check up on you every few minutes. Sounds good?” 

“Yeah, ok,” Mingi agreed. 

“Also, if you´re going to like - ” You motioned vaguely towards his pants hoping he would get what you were trying to say. “Give me a heads up so I can put on some earphones.” 

“Oh my god,” He whined in shame, cheeks going flush. “Yeah, ok.” 

“Ok, good. Huh, bye,” You awkwardly waved as you made your way towards Yunho´s room. “Good luck.” 

You closed the door behind you, hearing as Mingi opened some other game back in the living room. There was not much to do in Yunho´s room so you decided to lay in bed and scroll through Tiktok until Mingi stopped thinking he was going to die and you could leave. Also, you did eat one of the candies too, so you guessed that if they did work, you would feel it as well. 

10 minutes later you still heard Mingi normally playing and cursing outside, but you still decided to yell out an “Everything good?” just to be sure. 

“Yeah!” Was his answer. 

Another 15 minutes went by, and you shot him a text. 

Not dead yet? 

Mings: Still good, I don´t think these things actually work. 

Maybe Yunho was just messing with us.  

Mings: Yeah, fucking asshole. 

You went back to watching your silly little videos, not even noticing the time passing or how everything suddenly went quiet outside. Over half an hour had gone by when your ears finally perked up at the lack of your friend´s loudness.  

You sat up in bed worried. 

You good? 

No answer. 

Mingi? 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

You were already picturing his dead body looking all stupid on Yunho´s carpet, thinking about how you were going to explain to the paramedics that he died because he ate too much horny candy.  

No, even worse: How would you explain this to his family? 

Oh, no. Not your best friend. How would you live without him? You liked teasing him and you bickered a lot but you love- 

Your little spiral of insanity was interrupted by a knock on the door and your body was finally able to move after how it had been paralyzed with fear for a few minutes. 

“Mingi?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Oh, thank god. You scared the shit out of me,” You took a deep breath in relief, staring at Yunho´s white door. “What´s up?” 

“Huh, can I come in?” 

You furrowed your eyebrows at his tone.  

Something sounded weird about this.  

“Sure,” You answered skeptically.  

Mingi opened the door and came in, head cast down and gaze not meeting your eyes. 

“What´s wrong-” You started asking worriedly, about to jump out of the bed to go check up on him before your eyes finally zeroed in on the very prominent bulge in his pants. “Song Mingi! What the fuck?” 

“I- I don´t know what to do,” His eyes finally met yours, cheeks tinted in pink and hands trembling. He looked at you like a kicked puppy.  

“And what do I have to do with it? Go deal with it yourself. Eeew, we talked about this,” You raised your hand in the air to try and block the bottom half of Mingi from your line of vision.  

“I already did,” He groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. “Twice.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah. Nothing fucking works - and also, I just can´t stop thinking about you.” 

“What?” You never heard your voice go so high before. “Nuh uh, we´re not going there. Absolutely not.” 

“I´m not happy about it either, ok?” His fingers were squeezing the corner of the door so thigh they were almost white. “Just please, help me out this once. Please.” 

Oh. 

Oh. 

Oh. 

You just prayed that the reason you started clenching around nothing was because the candy was finally kicking in and not because stupid Song Mingi was practically begging in front of you. 

“No!” You screeched, weirded out by your own sudden reaction. “This isn´t you talking, it´s just th stupid candy, you´ll regret it after it wears off -” 

“No but I won´t,” He disagreed, closing the door and rushing towards you like a madman in three large strides. 

You had never seen him like this, you never once in a million years could have gone as far as even imagining the look in his eyes right now. 

“Fuck. It´s just - your skin is so soft, you know?” Mingi pushed the covers to the side so his hand could squeeze your thigh, his knees dipping into the mattress as he crawled on top of you. You were too shocked to move away, frozen in place with your mouth open wide, not really knowing what to do as he rubbed the palm of his hands up and down your skin, squeezing it occasionally with a heavy breath like he had just reached heaven´s gate. 

“Mingi,” You warned, but your voice didn´t sound that threatening anymore. 

“Please, just once,” He breathed out, practically rubbing himself against your body like a cat in heat forcing you to slowly lie back in the bed, his hands gently guiding yours over your head as you slid down. You looked up at his glazed eyes, at the way his hands were shaking around your wrists, the way he was discreetly rutting against your thigh without even realizing he was doing it. He looked so vulnerable and frenzied – And it was doing something to you. 

“Mingi,” You whined, not even sure what you were trying to say or do. 

“You kept walking around with this white top all day,” He let out a broken groan, looking down at said top. “Your boobs look amazing in it. I just- I – Can I?” 

His begging eyes were enough to get you automatically nodding before even realizing what you were agreeing to - When you did process what he was asking for though, his right hand was already squeezing your boobs and kneading at them like his life depended on it, his calloused fingers firm on your body. You could feel how hard he was every time he subconsciously ground against you, shaky hot breaths leaving his lips and hitting the sensitive skin on the side of your neck where his plump soft lips kept lightly brushing against with every move. 

Mingi took advantage of the position, sucking against your vein and leaving pleas in the form of little kisses around your skin. His thumb played with your nipple and your hands were still abandoned on top of your head against the sheets, not sure if you would really let this happen yet - but Mingi didn´t seem to mind, too lost in worshipping you into compliance.  

“I need to fuck you. Like, right now. I´ll - I´ll make you feel good too, I promise,” The shakier and breathier his voice sounded the wetter you got. “I promise. I promise. Please. We -we don´t even need to fuck I can – I can – Let me – Just the tip- Anything-” 

“Just the tip?” 

“Yeah,” He eagerly nodded, his eyes so hopeful you could melt. 

“Ok,” You agreed, physically not being able to say no to his pleading eyes.  

“Fuck,” He groaned in surprise, not actually thinking you would agree to it - But since you did, he wasted no time and made quick work of practically ripping your cotton short down your legs in one harsh tug. “Under normal circumstances I would, you know – But, I – right now I – I can´t.” 

“It´s ok,” You assured, afraid he would actually cry if you made him wait another single second with how desperate he was. 

He hooked his finger on the bottom of your panties and pushed them to the side, not even being able to take them out. He stared at your pussy for a moment, his eyes looking even more insane than before at the sight, like he would actually growl at you. 

“Fuck,” Mingi cursed as he went out of the little trance he was in, pushing his sweater pants and boxers down in a rush - once again not even bothering with taking them all out.  

And oh fuck. 

His cock was so hard you could imagine how it actually hurt; it throbbed against the skin of his abdomen without even being touched, looking swollen and angry with all the veins surrounding it - And man were you glad you agreed on just the tip because there was just no way that would fit without a lot of preparation first. Even with how wet you were right now. Who knew? 

Mingi leaned on top of you once again, one arm supporting the weight of his body in between your legs as he gently guided his dick up and down your folds, his eyes closing at the feeling, a violent shiver taking over his thighs and up his spine with a loud groan.  

Like he had absolutely no control over his body, Mingi positioned himself against your entrance, slowly pushing just a little bit in as promised. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” His groans sounded so raw against your ear as he cursed over the initial resistance of your walls, his forehead meeting your neck to try and ground himself. 

You even let a moan out yourself because this was absolute madness, it felt insane. Your whole body was buzzing like you were electrified, your fingers ached to scratch Mingi´s back and pull him all the way in - Damn, those candies were good.  

And you only had one. 

“Y/N, fuck,” Mingi gasped as he started moving his hips in shallow little thrusts so he wouldn´t break your agreement. “Ah - Ah. I can´t think strai - You´re so pretty. Fuck, fuck.” 

His lips met your neck once again, messy kisses full of saliva and teeth as he shuddered on top of you, leaving marks that would soon turn purple. You could feel how tense every single muscle in his body was as he fought against himself to not rut deeper into you every time he moved, and you were biting onto your lip so hard to keep the noises inside that you could taste blood.  

“Thank you, thank you,” You shivered at the way cold air hit your neck when Mingi pulled back a bit to look you in the eye, “Can I go ah- a little deeper, please? Just a little. It feels so good, I need ah- more. Fuck.” 

“Mingi.” 

“Please,” He cried out and you just couldn´t believe the sight in front of you. 

Tall big strong Song Mingi with the deep voice, reduced to a disheveled delirious mess. His ashy blond hair rumpled, his cheeks burning pink and skin glistening with sweat, his pupils huge and shiny and he just looked so disheartened that it was breaking your heart to not let him just use you however he wanted.  

“I need you,” He agonized, his right arm clinging onto your shoulder like you would run away from him if you could, so out of it that he was already pushing deeper into you without even noticing, eyes shut so tightly at the sensation of your walls around him. “Please, please, please, please,” It was like a mantra. 

He was far gone. 

And kind of so were you. 

You whine in pain and raspy moans left Mingi´s soft lips every time he thrust back into you, hitting farther each time, “I´m sorry, baby. I´m sorry. You can take it right? Ah – Just a bit more, I promise. Fuck. I´m almost ah- in. Why do you smell so good? It´s driving me ah – insane.” 

It hurt, it did hurt, but you also didn´t seem to mind that he was practically splitting you open when his voice sounded this pretty apologizing for it. 

The speed and strength of his hips started picking up to match his urgency, his plush lips were open so captivatingly and his weight was now supported by both arms so he could pistol into you. He didn´t have a specific angle or rhythm to it, his moves were strictly instinctual and carnal, your nails finally finding your way down his back to keep yourself anchored to reality. 

“You´re so so so beautiful, fuck. Your lips - can´t stop thinking about them around my ah- cock. Will you show me?”  

You loved how broken his voice sounded. 

“Yeah, baby. Whatever you want.” 

He shuddered once again at your words, “I´m so close.” 

“Me too,” You nodded, still doing your very best to not let noises of pleasure escape past your lips – and kind of failing. 

“Let me hear you,” Mingi growls, managing to somehow snake his hand in between your bodies to start drawing quick circles on your clit. “Please, I love your voice.” 

You wouldn´t be able to hold back even if you wanted to.  

His chaotic rhythm had an appeal of its own, every broken moan that left his mouth drew you closer to the edge until you finally reached it. Your vision went black, nails digging into Mingi´s biceps so harshly you would feel bad for it later, every muscle in your body tightening as it all washed over you in a devastating wave, leaving your body in the form of gasps and breathy moans. 

“Oh my god, fuck,” Mingi cursed at the way your walls were clenching so tightly around him. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

He wouldn´t slow down and you were still coming down from your high, twitching with the aftershocks as the oversensitivity quickly began to rise, but you decided to ignore it the best you couldand push through it - you could tell Mingi was close anyway with the way his thrusts became even more erratic, and his voice went up with every moan.  

You were mesmerized by his glossy unfocused eyes, the frown on his forehead, so frantic to get what he needed by ramming into you. He looked so pretty like this, you wanted to destroy him-  

Wow. 

Wait. 

Now where did that come from? 

“Shit, I´m gonna- Fuck, fuck.” 

You watched as his whole body froze for a second before violently shaking, his eyes shot so tightly he was probably seeing white as he continued thrusting into you to ride his orgasm to the end as you felt something warm hitting your walls. And his moans, oh his moans – I mean, you were not deaf, you had always been well-aware that Mingi had an attractive voice, but to hear it like this, so raw and relieved, was truly something else. 

Mingi let out one last broken cry as he slowly stopped moving, dropping his weight on top of you to catch his breath, chest heaving up and down against your ribcage as his muscles continued twitching here and there. You took advantage of the moment to get yourself together too, stabilizing your breathing and trying to figure out what the hell just happened as you two went down, but you also kind of expected Mingi to say something or try to joke around a bit to lessen the burden of the fact that the two of you just fucked - and when he didn´t, well, you started getting worried. 

You were mustering up the courage to say something after the two minutes of silence when the last thing you expected to happen, happened.  

Your eyes were blown wide, “Mingi-” 

“I can´t stop, I´m sorry-” He whined, his still rock-solid cock now slowly moving inside of you once again, rutting into you like he had absolutely no control over himself. 

He was still hard? 

Wasn´t this like his third time already? 

His whole body was shaking in overstimulation but he wouldn´t stop grinding into you, “I´m sorry.” 

“Mingi,” You tried pulling away from him thinking that´s what he was asking for. 

“No, don´t. Ah- Need you,” He desperately grabbed onto your thighs and wrapped them around his hips, your chests flushed against each other's as he hid his forehead on your neck to keep fucking deep into you. Literal whines of pain were leaving his lips, it was like he was an animal incapable of rational thoughts, and it was making you feel dizzy. 

“Mingi, love. You´re going to hurt yourself.” 

“No, feels so ah- Just one more,” He moaned, body shuddering. His whines got you clenching involuntarily around him, suddenly realizing you were kind of close to the edge already. “Please.” 

You felt a strong bite on your shoulder disguising a groan, the animalistic act crashed with how smoothly he was sliding in and out of you, but it also showed how deranged he was at the moment. You tightened your thighs around Mingi´s hips and pulled at the hair on his nape, not bothering with trying to cover up your moans anymore. 

Mingi took the action as permission and started gradually moving his hips faster, broken little whines getting louder and more frequent each second until he was once again supported by both his arms and pistoling into you.  

“I can´t - I can´t,” His voice was so shaky, so broken. “I - Please.” 

And then your whole world stopped as you watched the first tear roll down Mingi´s cheek. 

You were mesmerized, you wanted to frame it.  

“It hurts,” He whimpered, another tear falling, followed by another and then another.  

“You´re almost there,” You cooed, deciding to be useful to the poor giant man breaking down on top of you. “Aren´t you? So close.” 

Mingi nodded, blinking harshly to clear his vision which resulted in more tears running down his face. You just couldn´t help supporting your weight onto your elbow so you could lean up and hold his jaw, kissing the salty traces across his cheeks until his face was clean. He immediately started shaking, moans growing whinier and choppier, his thrusts started losing their patterns as he plowed into you like his life depended on it, entering a mental state he never knew existed before. 

His right hand grabbed your thigh with enough force to bruise it badly as he came for what you imagined was the fourth time in an hour, holding you so close that you could feel his cock hitting impossible places deep inside of you. Mingi was breathing so hard you were kind of worried for his well-being but the noises leaving his lips assured you he was feeling pleasure at least as his nose found its place on your neck once again. 

“Feeling better?” You asked once he had calmed down a little. 

“Kind of,” He pushed back to look at you with a low chuckle, his eyes looking a tad bit saner already. “But I also kind of need to eat you out.” 

You felt his dick twitch inside of you at his own words and how the fuck was that even possible? 

A painful whimper left his lips at the slight stimulation, already way past oversensitive, “Please?” 

 He had the nerve to pout. 

[allthelovehes]

Hardware Store Hookup*

Summary: Y/N just broke up with her boyfriend and kicked him out, she is redecorating her apartment and the guy who works at the hardware store just has something special to him.

Pairing: Harry x reader

Word count: 4.7K

Warnings: Smut!! Protected sex tho, oral female receiving, p in v.

Taglist: @justmystyles @bitchybabyharry @harrysslut7 @swiftmendeshoran @lucasandharold @harrysbabycherry @htaylor18 @rose-garden-dreamz @myalovesharry @mellamolayla @hsonlyangelxo @yousunshineyoutempter @heartateasee @blueheisenbergtragedy @bikestyles @bohemianrhapsody86 @cherrylovers-world @harrys-littlefreak Let me know if you want to be added to my taglist! 🤗

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A/N:  Ugh, these two are so cute and loving. Makes me wanna paint my house and find Harry at my hardware store.

Setting down the last box of his belongings in the entryway of her apartment building. Y/N feels bittersweet. This building has been their home for the last two years, but the second she found out he cheated on her she was packing up all his shit and moving him out.

“I don't understand why you won't just listen to me! We can work this out!”

“I'm done talking to you, Michael.” She responds, her voice void of emotion. “The apartment is in my name, and I'm paying the bills, you're out.”

Michael huffs and walks around her as if he's going to leave, but turns around and comes right back. She can feel his eyes boring into her and her skin crawls. He's trying to play the victim and she can't stand it.

“Fine, you know what? Just... just fuck it, Y/N. I don't even want to live with you, you're an ugly bitch anyways. I can find someone prettier and younger to take care of me than some fat cow.”

“You're an asshole, Michael. I never want to see your face again.” She replies, opening the door and pointing outside.

“Fuck you!” He spits, picks up his boxes and leaves.

She watches as he gets into his truck and pulls out of the parking spot before she goes inside and closes the door. As soon as she locks it she collapses on the floor and bursts into tears. A year ago Michael was her knight in shining armour, her soulmate, the love of her life. Now she wants to erase his entire existence from her memory.

***

A couple of months pass and Y/N feels like it's finally time to transform their home into her own. The couch was a gift from her parents when they moved in together and it's not even comfortable. It's also stained and ratty and she's ready to get rid of it. She's browsing Pinterest when a couch catches her eye, it's white and has a tufted back. It looks beautiful, so she clicks on the website and begins filling her cart with things for her new interior.

Shipping the pieces takes quite some time as they get delivered by truck and they schedule an appointment with you to make sure you're home. Still, three more weeks until her furniture is supposed to be delivered, so she decides to make most of the time in between and visits the hardware store for some paint.

The hardware store is surprisingly quiet and she has the aisle to herself. There are dozens of different brands of paint and it's overwhelming, let's not even get started about all the different colour options. She has an idea in mind, something warm, inviting and calming. Something that feels like home.

“Can I help you?” A voice says behind her and she startles, almost dropping the cans of paint she picked out.

“Ah, yes! Please!” She chuckles, turning around and looking at the man behind her.

He's tall, very tall, and wearing a navy blue polo. He has a nametag, 'Harry' written across it. He's got curly, dark brown hair, and his face is handsome and symmetrical. The thing that stands out to her the most are his eyes, they're a soft green, almost grey and they remind her of the sea. His lips look soft and pouty and she can't stop staring.

“You seem lost.” Harry smirks.

“Yeah, a bit, actually.” She chuckles. “I need paint for my apartment and I don't really know how much I'm gonna need or where to start. I just wanna do my bedroom and the living room.”

“Well, first, let's start by picking out a colour. Do you have an idea of what you want?”

“Oh, um, yeah!” She smiles, grabbing her phone and showing him her Pinterest board. “Something like this.”

“Ah, I see. A warm colour, that's good. And what are you painting over?”

“Well, right now it's a cream colour.” She explains, following him through the aisles as he looks at paint cards.

“Okay, so we'll probably want to stick with a neutral colour for the living room, because the natural light changes a lot. Here.” He hands her a warm yellow coloured paint card, “This one would look great, it's warm and it will compliment the furniture.”

“I love it.”

“And your bedroom, we'll do something more daring, because that's more of a personal space.” Harry smirks at her. “I think something darker to add some mystery, but with a pop of colour would look great, like maybe a navy wall with a bright coloured accent piece.”

“I have a yellow throw I'm planning on using. That's good contrasting colour, right?”

“Yes! Exactly! You can use the yellow throw to really add some warmth, especially during winter, and the blue to contrast that and create some depth.”

“That sounds great.” She smiles, her excitement growing. Harry is charming and his excitement for her project is contagious. “I can't wait.”

“Let's head over to the paint mixer, yeah?”

They walk towards the back of the store, where the mixing area is located. During their walk Harry asks her what her more about the wall sizes so he knows how much she'll need. She tells him everything he needs to know and Harry gets to work. The heavy paint buckets cause his muscles to flex and his biceps bulge. He's definitely a looker and she can't help but blush and tries to turn her attention elsewhere.

“There we go.” He smiles. “Let's go get some painting supplies and we'll ring you up, yeah?”

“Perfect.”

“How are you planning on doing this?”

“Hm?”

“The painting.” He chuckles. “Are you planning on doing it yourself or are you hiring a painter?”

“Oh, I'll do it myself, it's only the two rooms, right? I can handle that.”

“You can, absolutely.” Harry grins. “You're brave. Most women hire painters to do that sort of thing, or their boyfriends.”

“Oh, well, I don't have a boyfriend. I guess I'm just doing this all myself.”

“That's admirable. I wish more women were like you, not afraid of getting their hands dirty. You're going to be fine.”

“I hope so.”

“Trust me, you'll do great. And if you need any advice you know where to find me. I'll be glad to help.”

“Thank you, Harry.” She says. Harry loves that she calls him by his name that she clearly read off his name tag. “I appreciate it.”

“It's my pleasure, darling. Let's get you checked out.” Harry gives her a small wink and they head to the counter. He helps her lift all the heavy items onto the conveyor belt so his colleague can scan them. He normally wouldn't give this much attention to a customer, but he's drawn to her, she's different.

Y/N notices him staring as they load her purchases onto the conveyor belt and it makes her blush. She can't help but look at him and the way his lips move as he talks. They look soft and she can't help but imagine what kissing him would be like.

“Will that be all, miss?” His colleague asks, snapping her out of her daydream.

“Um, yes. Yes, thank you.” She smiles, handing her her debit card.

“I'll bring these to your car.” Harry says, lifting two buckets of paint and carrying them outside.

“Oh, thank you!” She smiles, grabbing the other bucket and following him. She knows he's giving her some kind of special treatment as he shouldn't be doing this, but she isn't complaining. She's not complaining at all.

He sets down the buckets next to her car, and she unlocks the trunk so he can place them inside. He turns around and looks at her. He wants to say something, anything, to her, but he doesn't know what.

“Do you have a card or something? So I can contact you if I have any questions?” She speaks up, feeling brave.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” Harry grins, reaching behind him and pulling out a small note block. He scribbles down his name, phone number and writes hardware store employee underneath as if it's an official business card. He rips off the piece of paper and hands it over with a goofy grin on his face. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Harry.” She chuckles. “I'm Y/N, by the way.”

“It's lovely to meet you, Y/N.”

“Likewise.” She grins. “Well, I have to get going. I still have to buy a few more things.”

“Of course.” He nods. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” She smiles, getting into her car and driving off.

As soon as she's out of sight, Harry lets out a sigh and heads back into the hardware store.

“Hey, mate.” His colleague says. “What was that all about?”

“What was what about?”

“Don't act stupid. I've never seen you give special attention to a customer.”

“Shut up.” Harry chuckles, walking towards the back room. “It was nothing, I was just being nice.”

“Uhuh.”

Harry sighs, rolling his eyes as he starts to put away some equipment. He has no idea why he's so intrigued by her, she was just a normal customer, right? He thinks back to the way she blushed when he spoke, and the way she fiddled with her hands. Maybe he's just imagining things, but he's definitely got a soft spot for her. ***

She's spent the last few days painting the walls of her bedroom, as a darker colour needs multiple layers and drying times. It's finally time to paint the living room and she's excited. She's picked out the perfect colour and the weather is cooperating so she can leave the windows open.

She's put on her favourite music and has a cup of tea next to her as she paints. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she's wearing sweatpants and a sports bra. She's enjoying herself, and the room looks great so far. The colour is a bit darker than what she expected but she doesn't hate it. It's warm, and inviting and she's happy.

After a few hours her back and arms start hurting, so she decides to take a break. She grabs her phone and takes a picture of the wall and posts it in the family group chat.

She scrolls through her Instagram feed when she suddenly remembers the card that Harry gave her. She pulls it out of her pocket and enters his number in her contacts. She debates on whether or not she should send him a message, but decides to do it anyway.

Y/N Hey Harry, it's Y/N, the girl from the hardware store. I've finished my bedroom and I'm doing the living room now. The colour looks amazing, thanks again for helping me pick it out.

She sends the text and immediately puts her phone down. She can't believe she just did that. Did she sound desperate? Did she sound too eager? Is he going to reply? She's got no clue, and it's killing her.

“Get a grip, Y/N.” She whispers to herself. She shakes her head and grabs her cup of tea, taking a sip. She looks back at her wall and sighs, she's got a long day ahead of her.

The sun is slowly starting to set, and Y/N has just finished the wall. Her hair is still up in a bun and she's sweaty, but she's happy with the result. The walls look amazing, the colour is beautiful and she can't wait to show her parents tomorrow.

Her phone vibrates, and she grabs it to check the notification. It's a text from Harry.

Harry I'm so glad to hear that, love! I bet the colour looks lovely with the sun setting right now.

She can't believe he called her 'love' in a text, it's insane. He barely even knows her. But his message is sweet and cute and she's smiling like an idiot.

Y/N You'll have to come and check it out for yourself.

She stares at her phone screen for what feels like an eternity. She can't believe she just flirted with him. She's not even sure if he's single, and if he is, does he like her? He could be interested in someone else, or he could even be straight for all she knows.

Harry Are you inviting me over?

Y/N I'm not stopping you.

Her heart is pounding and her hands are shaking. She's definitely overstepping, but she's hoping it won't scare him off.

Harry I leave work in about 10 minutes. What's your address?

“Shit.”

Y/N Oh, it's 27B, Parkview Apartments.

Harry Be there in 20.

“Fuck!”

She can't believe he's actually coming over. She runs over to her bathroom and quickly brushes her hair and her teeth. Her apartment is a mess, and she's not wearing any makeup. She looks terrible and he's going to be here any second.

“Calm down.” She whispers to herself.

She walks out of the bathroom and starts cleaning up the living room. There are paint supplies everywhere, and she wants the place to look at least a little presentable.

A few minutes later she hears the doorbell and her heart almost leaps out of her chest.

“Coming!” She yells, rushing over to the front door and opening it.

“Hey.” Harry grins.

“Hi.” She smiles. “Please, come in.”

Harry steps inside and closes the door behind him. She looks stunning, despite the fact that she's wearing sweatpants and a messy bun, which makes him feel a little overdressed.

“Your apartment looks nice.”

“Thank you.” She replies, closing the window. “It's a bit of a mess right now, but I'm working on it.”

“Don't worry about it, I understand.”

“Um, would you like something to drink? Some water or beer or something?”

“A beer would be great, thanks.”

“Alright.” She nods, walking over to the fridge and pulling out two cold beers.

Harry sits down on the couch and watches her. She's got a few paint stains on her pants and her sports bra and he finds it endearing. He can tell that she's trying hard, and he's definitely charmed by her.

“Here you go.” She smiles, handing him a beer.

“Cheers.” He says, clinking his bottle against hers.

“To your apartment looking better than ever.”

“Cheers.” She smiles. “And to the man who helped make that possible.”

They both take a sip and stare at each other for a few seconds. Y/N has a feeling that something might happen, but she's not sure if it's the right thing.

“So.” Harry starts, clearing his throat. “What are you going to do now that the painting is done?”

“Oh, well, I'm still planning on doing a few other things.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. I've ordered a new couch, and I'm thinking of getting a new rug.” She answers before Harry moves closer to her.

“So, you don't mind getting this couch a little dirty?” He asks her. Harry is blunt, but he feels the way she's looking at her. It's almost as if she's undressing him with her eyes, he can see the desire sparkling in them.

“Dirty how?”

“You know what I mean, love.” Harry smirks, taking another swig from his beer. Y/N doesn't know what has gotten into her. Normally she's not like this, not at all, but she wants him, badly. She's been craving him since the moment she saw him, and she's tired of denying herself.

“Yes.” She whispers. Harry doesn't reply, instead, he leans in and captures her lips with his own. The kiss is intense, full of lust and hunger. Y/N has been waiting for this and she's not going to waste the opportunity. The last couple of months with Michael have been stale, she's been missing this exciting feeling deep within her.

Harry pulls her closer and kisses her harder, his hands wandering over her body. Y/N moans into the kiss and straddles him. He grabs her hips and pushes her down on him, creating delicious friction between them. Y/N can feel him growing harder and his bulge pressing against her core. She wants him, and she wants him now. Harry breaks the kiss, and Y/N whimpers at the loss.

“You're a very good kisser.” He murmurs. “Are you always this good, or am I just lucky?”

“I don't know, maybe you're just lucky.” She teases, grinding down on his cock.

“Mmm.” Harry hums, leaning forward and kissing her again. This time, the kiss is even more passionate. Y/N wraps her arms around his neck and deepens the kiss, running her fingers through his hair. She pulls on it and Harry groans, his hands moving to her ass and squeezing it.

“Fuck, you feel good.” He mutters against her lips, squeezing her ass again.

“You too.” She mumbles, leaning down and kissing his neck. Harry groans as she starts sucking on his skin, leaving a trail of love bites. He knows that they'll be visible tomorrow and that his colleagues will have a field day. But he doesn't care, he loves it. He loves the fact that he's been claimed by her.

He spins her full body around in his lap, so her back is flush against his chest and his face is buried in the crook of her neck. His hands move up her stomach and under her sports bra. He cups her breasts and pinches her nipples between his fingers, making her whimper.

“You're so beautiful.” He mumbles, his lips pressed against her neck. She places her hands on his knees and grinds down on his cock, loving the feeling of him underneath her.

“Fuck.” Harry groans, thrusting his hips up, meeting her movements. “You're so fucking hot, you know that?”

“I'm aware of the effect I have on you.”

“Oh yeah?” He smirks, pulling her hair and forcing her to expose her neck.

“Yeah.” She reaches behind her to unclasp her sports bra and lets it fall to the floor.

“Fuck, look at you.” Harry grunts, grabbing her breast and squeezing it. Y/N throws her head back and moans. “Look at these perfect tits.”

He continues to massage her breast, teasing her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. Y/N arches her back, pushing her breast further into his hand.

“That feels so good.” She whines.

“Mhm.” He hums, licking a stripe up her neck. He loves the way her skin tastes, sweet and salty. He can't get enough. He sucks on her earlobe, one of his hands sliding down her body and slipping into her pants. He finds her clit, and two of his fingers circle it, making her gasp.

“Oh god.”

“Do you like that?” He asks her, continuing his movements because he already knows the answer.

“Yes.”

“You're so wet, baby.” Harry smirks

“Mmm.” She whimpers, grinding her hips into his fingers.

“I can't wait to be inside you.” He growls, his fingers dipping lower and sliding into her.

“Fuck.” She hisses, her nails digging into his legs.

“That's it, baby, let me hear you.” Harry grunts, pumping his fingers in and out of her. He curls them and hits the perfect spot, making her cry out in pleasure. Her walls are spongey and tight around him, making him impatient. But the thought of feeling her come all over his hand is more than enough for him to keep focussed. He wants her to leak all over his hand, to make a mess for him and only him.

“Oh fuck, please, more.” She whines, her thighs trembling. She's never felt this way before, the way he touches her, the way he makes her feel is intoxicating. She loves how she's still half-clothed, and yet, he's managed to make her feel exposed. She's not ashamed of the noises she's making, but she's definitely enjoying the way he's making her feel.

“More what, baby?” Harry asks, his lips grazing her ear moaning softly to send shivers running down her spine.

“More of you.”

“Oh, I'll give you more, baby. Just be patient.”

“Yes.” She cries out, feeling her orgasm approaching. She knows it's close, and she wants it, badly. Her hips start grinding down on his hand, her movements becoming faster and less controlled. Harry continues to pump his fingers into her, his thumb rubbing her clit, making her body shake.

“Oh, fuck.” She gasps, her walls tightening around him. She comes, squirting all over his hand. Harry moans, his dick twitching as he feels her squirt.

“Holy fuck.” Harry moans, watching the mess she's made. “That's so fucking hot.”

“Harry...”

“Mmm.” He hums, as he picks her up and roughly lies her down on her back. He grabs the waistband of her now completely soaked sweatpants and pull them down her legs, throwing them to the side. He does the same with her panties. He gets rid of his own shirt, revealing his toned body. Y/N is taken aback, he's got some tattoos, which is not something she expected. But it suits him, and it's hot.

“Look at you, such a pretty pussy.” He hums, admiring her dripping wet cunt. She's glistening and his mouth waters at the sight.

“Stop staring.” She chuckles.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” He laughs. “Would you prefer if I did this?”

“Do what- fuck!” Y/N exclaims, as Harry suddenly leans down and sucks her clit between his lips. He places his big hands on the inside of her thighs to keep her legs nice and open for him. He is relentless, his tongue licking a strip up her cunt, making her squirm and cry out. He laps up her juices, enjoying every second of it.

“Fuck, Harry!”

“That's it, baby.” Harry groans, sending vibrations through her body. She's gripping the couch, her knuckles turning white. It's an overwhelming feeling to have him eat her out so eagerly right after she came all over his hand. She doesn't know how much more she can take.

When she first met him, she never would have guessed Harry would have been this skilled. The way his tongue moves along her pussy, his lips sucking and licking her clit and the way his fingers dig into her thighs is making her dizzy. She knows she's going to come soon, and she's not sure if she's ready for that.

“Mmhmm, yes.” She moans, her back arching. She grabs a fistful of his hair and holds on to it, pushing his head further down. He takes it as a sign and doubles his efforts, his tongue moving even faster and deeper.

“Oh fuck, yes, right there!” She cries out, her toes curling as her orgasm hits her. It's intense and makes her see stars. Her whole body trembles as her muscles contract, and her mind goes blank.

“Jesus, you taste so good.” Harry groans, as he carefully licks her clean. He gets up and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Harry catches his breath and he looks down at the sweet girl in front of him. She is completely wrecked, and he's not even done with her yet.

“You okay?”

“Mhm.”

“Good.” He smiles, standing up and removing his pants and boxers. His cock is hard and leaking precum. He's long and thick, and Y/N can't wait to have it inside of her.

“Fuck.” She mumbles at the sight, a bit too loud. She's certain Harry heard her even though she didn't intend for him to hear it.

“What's that, love?” Harry grins, his cock throbbing.

“Nothing.”

“No, I want to hear you say it.” He insists, his eyes locked on hers.

“You're big.”

“Yeah?”

“And hard.”

“For you.”

“Fuck me.”

“Your wish is my command, love.” Harry laughs. He grabs his wallet from his pants and pulls out a condom, ripping the package open and sliding the condom down his shaft.

“Come here.” She tells him. He obeys and walks towards her, getting down on his knees in front of the couch. He leans forward and kisses her passionately, his hands cupping her face. He slowly pulls away, his eyes locking with hers.

“You're beautiful.” He murmurs.

“I bet you say that to all the girls who need help at the hardware store.” She teases.

“Oh, shut up.” He laughs, kissing her again. He positions himself, his tip pressing against her entrance. He can't wait to feel her, to be inside of her. Y/N's breathing heavily, her heart racing. He teases her by slowly pushing his tip up and down her folds before slowly pushing it into her. Just the tiniest bit to make her all needy and whiney.

“Please.”

“Patience, baby.” He whispers, his lips inches from hers. He keeps teasing her, his tip rubbing her clit. Y/N moans and her hips buck, trying to get him to push his dick inside of her. But he makes sure to not give in to her desires just yet. He pushes back into her, a little bit further this time, his tip disappearing inside her. But he doesn't go any further, and Y/N lets out a frustrated grunt.

“What's the matter, love?” He smirks, his hand slowly trailing up her stomach and resting on her breast. As he rubs his cock on her clit, his hand squeezes her breast and he starts sucking on her neck.

“You know exactly what's wrong, you fucking tease.”

“Oh, do I?” He chuckles, his hand squeezing her breast again, this time a little bit rougher.

“Yes.” She moans, arching her back. “Please, Harry, stop teasing me.”

“Alright.” He whispers, his lips brushing against her ear. He slowly thrusts into her, filling her up completely. He stills his hips, letting her adjust to his size. She moans, her hands resting on his hips, urging him to move. He complies and begins to rock his hips, pulling almost all the way out before pushing back in.

“Fuck.” Harry groans, his pace increasing. Y/N's walls tighten around him and her nails dig into his hips, as she tries to pull him even deeper.

“That's it, baby.” He growls, his cock sliding in and out of her easily. “You feel so good, baby. So fucking good.”

“You're so big.” She gasps, her eyes closed and her mouth agape. He groans, his hips slamming into her. His fingers find her clit, and he starts rubbing her. Y/N whimpers, her toes curling as his fingers and his cock bring her closer to the edge.

“Yes, baby.” Harry grunts, his free hand cupping her breast, his fingers tweaking her nipple. It's sending sparks of pleasure throughout her body.

“Oh god, fuck!” Y/N moans, her hips bucking, and her walls tightening around him. “Fuck, I'm gonna come.”

“Oh, baby.” He whispers, his voice dripping with lust.

“Shit.” Y/N gasps, her eyes flying open as her third orgasm washes over her. Her whole body is trembling, her muscles contracting. Harry feels her clench around his cock, and he knows that it won't be long before he comes too.

“Fuck.” He grunts, his thrusts getting sloppier. He curses under his breath as he pulls his cock out of her. He quickly rips the condom off and strokes his cock, coming all over her stomach.

“Fuck.”

They're both catching their breaths, both still riding their high. They look at each other and share a laugh.

“I've made a mess.”

“It's okay, my couch was a mess to begin with. We just made it messier.”

“Fair point.” He chuckles, leaning in and kissing her. “This was...fun.”

“Yeah, it was.” She says, her fingers running through his curls.

“How about we go and get cleaned up in the shower and then we can have a proper drink?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Y/N's never had a one-night stand like this. Normally they are rushed and messy. This was different. It was sensual, erotic, and passionate. And she didn't feel bad about it. It felt natural like she was meant to do this. Like she was supposed to have a fling with the hot guy at the hardware store. She's never believed in fate, but maybe this is what it feels like.

[pagesfromthevoid]

Cowboy Like Me | d.d. | 9

Din Djarin x princess!reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Kidnapping. Angst. Lol

Author’s Note: ✨Woops✨

Series Mastlist | Talk to Me!

The Taken

“Where did you get this?” The Armorer asked, holding the circlet in her hands carefully.

“The princess I saved –it belongs to her.”

Din had left her and the child on Sorgan, simply explaining that he had to take care of something back on Nevarro. She questioned him, asking if she could come, but he promised he would be quick. It was a little over three days worth of travel between Sorgan and Nevarro, so she was skeptical of him. Din had reassured her that it was nothing bad; that what he was doing was for her. But what he needed to do was important.

Which is what brought him before the Armorer of his people, with her circlet. She had insisted she didn’t want it anymore after he revealed what it was made of. He wasn’t sure where she got beskar steel, but she wasn’t opposed to him taking it. It’s rightfully yours, she had said. Do whatever you see fit with it. 

“How curious,” the Armorer murmured, examining the piece. “I made this many years ago.”

Din’s brow furrowed and he stepped forward. “What do you mean, you made it?”

The Armorer looked to him, holding the faded gold piece out to look at. “Our covert was attacked, long before we settled on Nevarro,” she explained, moving next to lay the piece in the flames. “I had been overcome, and the enemy was prepared to kill. But a young man –no older than your princess, I am sure –saved me. I owed him a debt. Yet…All he asked of me was to make him something that would grow with his child.”

“And so you made the circlet.”

“And grow with her it did.” She nodded once, watching as the metal melted down slowly. “You do know what it means to present a weapon to someone, correct?”

“I do.”

The Armorer watched him before taking the molten steel from the flame and moving it to the forge. “Then I will make it into what you ask. Your signet will be imprinted into the blade.” Din nodded once, watching as she poured it into the shape of a dagger. “Your clan of two will become three.”

“Thank you.”

*****

“Well?”

“Well what?” Calisto snapped, tapping her nails against the control panel of her ship, glaring at the screen. 

Silas Credence stood in the doorway, hands behind his back. Calisto wanted him out of her hair, but she couldn’t risk another death so close to her. The Senate was already whispering about her husband’s sudden passing; assuming things. Silas was simply lucky that Calisto wasn’t willing to risk her freedom yet. 

“Have you located my bride or not?” 

Calisto breathed heavily through her nose, nostrils flaring. Perhaps handing her only daughter off to the man was in bad taste, but it was the only thing he wanted in return for handing over Senex’s seat in the Senate. Besides, the little chit should have been patient and just waited him out. He was a frail thing, probably about to keel over at any point. 

But no. The princess just had to make things difficult and run. And then, as if that wasn’t inconvenient enough, she had to find herself with a Mandalorian of all people. 

Calisto didn’t particularly want to deal with a Mandalorian, though she also didn’t think he’d take so long in delivering her daughter. She was under the impression that Mandalorians followed through on their deals; honor and all that. But a little over a month had passed, and Calisto was starting to grow impatient. 

Her droids had been entirely useless. And when she made contact with that fool Karga on Nevarro, he didn’t have any follow up information about the bounty. Just that a Mandalorian took it up and left several weeks ago. 

She decided that if this was going to be done soon, and done right, she would have to damn well do it herself. 

“I have her located, yes.”

Some backwater planet in the Outer Rim planets, Sorgan, was where her daughter had ended up. Calisto loathed the idea of trucking through woods and farmlands —she avoided it when her husband did it —but if that’s where her child was, that was where Calisto would go. 

“We will be landing on Sorgan in an hour,” Calisto explained, moving away from the panel to stand in front of the window of the ship. “Let me locate her and talk sense into her. If she sees you, she will run again.”

“You should have taught her what her purpose was long before me,” Silas hissed, standing beside her now. “Even if she was not intended for me, no one worth their snuff wants a wife that bites.”

“You brought that upon yourself,” Calisto sneered. “I told you to leave her be until your wedding night. It is bad enough you do not leave her ladies alone.”

“It is my right —,”

“Shut up, Credence.” 

The old man snapped his mouth shut, narrowing his eyes at her. But he did not argue. 

*****

She sat on her knees at the edge of the water, shaking out a basket of krill. Omera was chatting with her idly, explaining the history of the village. There was always something new to be learned, and she appreciated that Omera was willing to teach her. However, she was a bit distracted. Din had returned from his side quest early on that morning, having greeted her with a soft hello and his forehead pressed against hers. When she had asked what he was doing, he simply turned her around and tied the fabric around her eyes and kissed her.

“You and Mando seem very happy here,” Omera commented, smiling at her. “Happy together. And the child seems to adore you.”

She looked at her hands for a moment, admiring the dirt under her nails and the wrinkles that had developed from the water. Her cheeks felt hot as she thought of Din, and the way they spent their time together. Back to the kiss they shared that morning. The way his mouth felt on hers –which was only heightened by the fact she couldn’t see him when he kissed her. The other night, when he had her slip into her gown again, she felt powerful with him on his knees in front of her. And the thought of that alone made her chest tighten.

“I…he’s kind to me,” she admitted, glancing at him for a moment before she looked back at her hands. “I think he might ask –,”

“Oh please, don’t say those words. It’ll only break your heart more.”

Omera whipped around, but she stared in horror at the water in front of her. Her blood ran cold as she slowly looked over her shoulder. Calisto stepped forward —Grogu in her arms. Omera moved to stand, to introduce herself, but she shot her arm out to stop the widow. She stood instead, slowly rising from the ground, eyes on Grogu who looked confused as he reached out for her. 

“Mother,” she greeted, tone stern and dare she say, intimidating. “Give me the child.”

Din had turned from the villagers, hand on his blaster. But she motioned for him to stop, sending him a sideways glance as he slowly stepped towards the two. Omera looked between the three of them, eyes wide.

“Why? Have you taken in a ward in the month that you have played runaway?”

“He has nothing to do with me running from you,” she seethed, taking a half step forward. “Let him go.”

Calisto pressed a finely manicured nail into Grogu’s belly, causing the baby to giggle. Calisto feigned a motherly smile —the same she would use to placate her daughter when she was young. She knew her mother well enough that she wouldn’t hurt a baby; not intentionally. She was a cruel woman, but not that cruel. But Din was seething, she could practically feel his anger radiating. 

“No, no. You are right, he does not,” her mother hummed, looking at Grogu with utter disinterest. “I wonder where this maternal instinct of yours came from.”

“Certainly not you,” she sneered, narrowing her eyes. “Give him to the Mandalorian.”

Her mother hummed again, slowly turning her gaze to Din, who was standing close behind her now. “On one condition.”

She closed her eyes, biting her tongue. She knew the condition; of course she knew. And Din knew too –she felt him tense up behind her, hand frozen on her lower back. Calisto wanted her home —needed her to fulfill the bargain she made with Credence. There was never any escape for her, and there never would be. Din was right to stay paranoid.

“Fine. But give me the baby first.”

“Oh, absolutely not,” Calisto hissed, rolling her eyes. “If you think I trust you, then you are sorely mistaken, child. Bring the Mandalorian; he will get the baby when you are secured in the ship.”

She glanced back at Din, who was standing still behind her, no doubt determining every way he could kill Calisto where she stood.

“Come now, child. Am I not being fair? I am a woman of my word —you know that.”

“Even when your word harms your own child?”

“I never said my words were good. Just that I honor them. And I gave Silas Credence my word that he would have a wife.” Calisto stepped forward, reaching out to grab her by the arm and yank her forward. Din tried to intervene, but she pushed him back. Her mother’s voice was low, drenched in venom as Calisto got into her face. “You have embarrassed me. You could have had anyone you wanted —you could have hired that bounty hunter as your guard and kept him around until Credence died. Maker above, you could have bedded him while Credence was alive for all I care. But you were stupid, and impulsive. And now you have lost both your freedom and your fool Mandalorian.”

She tried to pull herself free, but her mother always had a painfully iron grip. There was a reason she rarely caused trouble as a child —her mother was the one who punished her. A very quick lesson was learned the first time she disobeyed. It was one of those moments that showed her who her mother really was. But she did not show her fear; she would never give her mother that satisfaction. 

“At least give him the credits he earned,” she argued, practically being dragged through the village. “At least do that.”

Calisto let out a nasty scoff, shaking her head. “Why, pray tell, would I give him anything?”

“He didn’t kill me when I offered to pay him to.”

“Yet he stole you away, breaking the Guild’s rules,” her mother reminded her, looking over her shoulder at Din, who was hot on their heels. The smile on her face screamed wicked. “I should have him executed for kidnapping the Princess of Senex.”

Quickly, she shook her head, digging her heels into the ground, trying to stop. “I gave him everything I had,” she lied, looking up at her mother. “I told him it was half; I promised him the other half when I found refuge. You cannot blame the man for trying to make more than the original bounty.”

Calisto eyed her closely, shoving her forward towards the Senex ship. For a moment, Calisto considered her options, looking between the baby and the hunter. Then she pushed her daughter up into the hull and set the baby on the ground. She knew her daughter was lying; knew well that Din had helped her escape. But Calisto didn’t care enough about the whole ordeal to keep arguing with the little chit in her hold.

“Take it,” she ordered Din, then pulled a small pouch from the pocket of her cloak. She threw it beside Grogu. “I will say this once, and only once. The moment you are found on Senex, I will raze this entire planet —and everyone on it.”

Din scooped Grogu up into his arms, trying to console the child who was now sobbing for his princess. As the door of the ship shut, she locked eyes with Din —but there was no fear to be seen. She stood tall as she shut into the ship. A handful of the villagers stood back as the ship’s engines ignited and took off, taking his princess with it. Grogu cried out, reaching out. 

Omera stepped forward, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Mando, I –,”

“Have the villagers load the Crest for me,” he ordered, turning away and storming his way towards his own ship. There was nowhere in the galaxy that Calisto of Senex could hide from him –he would find her, he would end her. And he would save the woman he loved.

“Let’s go save our princess, kid.”

———

Taglist (CLOSED): @r4iner @sgt-morgan @mingeniee @darling1darling @teriolan-blog @venusfalling @double—take @sunshine96 @demisexuallover @mxtokko @ellesvoid @waddafaknik @c-ms1ut @kokoirne @sl-ut @munsons-queen @intense-sneezing @geekrenaissance @dancealongthelightofday @tizylish @ruleroftides @aheadfullofsteverogers

[corviiids]

back in your asks unfortunately you can’t get rid of me. i’m going to keep enablign you.

you bringing up the kr version of hurricane and the martyr complex light has in it is great bc what fascinates me about hurricane as a song is how radically different it is in different languages? as we all know in the manga light has this horrible visceral reaction to what he’s done. he looks like he’s gonna be sick when he has that guy hit by a truck. when ryuk turns up he admits that he’s been losing weight and barely sleeping. but the musicals differ so massively in how light is portrayed? because in english light seems to have this very strong sense of justice from the start - in where is the justice he denounces the corporations corrupting the legal system and asks “how can we turn away and say that’s just the way things are?” and then in hurricane he hardly seems upset at all by what he’s done. he seems vaguely surprised at how easy it was and then turns around and sings about how he’s got this insanely strong, perfect, untraceable power that he’s going to use to deliver righteous retribution. BUT then the jp versions of witj and hurricane are much less certain and light seems more horrified and then hopeful. the focus is on creating a perfect world, not necessarily punishment. he’s more a glass half full kinda guy. and then it changes AGAIN in the kr. it’s so fascinating he is a completely different version of himself in all three versions and i just need to ask. what are your opinions on this. am i making this up. do you understand how my brain is firing

you are NOT making this up and i DO understand how your brain is firing. listen. listen. in that same post about light/achilles (intertextual comparison not ship) (although?) and prompted by a response from someone else cool i reposted these tweets (which you have literally just seen because i shoved them at you but ill post them again so everyone can see)

to me it is like, very key that every iteration of light yagami SEEMS really different. in their behaviour, their values, what it takes to push them to acting and how they react, etc - obv you've brought up light as he appears in the three most well known languages the musical exists in, but i also am a huge fan of comparing his animanga self (already two different iterations to an extent) with the tv drama, which has maybe the most distinctive version of light out of all of them and which i BELIEVE? drew criticism? but i am not 100% because i was not here for this because i watched death note for the first time in fucking february. because i am hip with the kids. #rad

anyway this is part of a much larger ramble of mine that i am not really doing justice here but i actually really like that that version of light is so incredibly different - and yet he really isnt, somehow, because he ends up not only at the same ending but recognisable as the same person. that's what i think is so interesting! these differences are undeniably there and they're BIG - as you said, between musicals he ranges from being a vengeful guy on a power trip to being an idealist with a martyr complex, and you'd think those are two totally different sets of core values. between animanga vs tv drama he goes from being this cool and collected hyper prepared cynical idealist to being a depressed nihilist who's working extremely hard to shed his own ability so he doesn't have to deal with the pain of caring. again, these seem, and factually are, completely different sets of values.

and yet they're actually perfectly reconcilable. every iteration of light no matter how distinct and no matter how much their core values seem to oppose or contradict each other ends up reconciling into the same guy partway through the story, where all of these different directions he's been going in all converge. his priorities even out - regardless of if it was the power trip that came first or the desire for the perfect world, they balance ultimately and coexist. regardless of whether his idealism led him to bitter radicalisation or nihilism, they also balance ultimately and coexist. is light affected by his first murder? yes - how does it show it? that differs, but none of the lights are actually deluded enough to think that murder is good. they all think it's bad but defensible and justifiable and then visibly cope with that fact in different ways. light looks like a VERY different man depending on which of his values are being pushed to the fore in a given interpretation, but all that really does is serve to spell out exactly how complex he is internally once you watch them all converge at around similar points in the story, even when at the barest and most uncharitable interpretation he just looks like a maniacal serial killer with a delusional god complex. this is why i like him so much unfortunately

also none of this applies to netflix light who is irreconcilable and irredeemable. and white

[emergency-vehicle]

‼️‼️ EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS ‼️‼️

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE SAYBROOK-ARROWSMITH FIRE PROTECTION UNIT

Hi everyone! As all of you are aware, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee have been devistated by Hurricane Helene. This is an incredibly important event for many, many reasons, and one that brings great grief to my heart.

I am Appalachian, though currently I live in Illinois, and it breaks my heart that I cannot be there to support my community during its darkest hours. But, that does not mean I can't do something about it.

One of my coworkers volunteers with a fire department up here, and I just spoke with the fire chief. Their goal is to help the Chimney Rock Fire Department get new supplies, trucks and equipment to help in the rebuilding process, along with bringing supplies for the community.

They have had such an outpouring of support from other departments that they are trying to get ahold of semis in order to bring everything they've been given! And that is where we come in: Every dollar towards this endeavor helps. Every donation to this project helps rebuild communities in Appalachia that should have never had to endure such terrible conditions. I will spare you my rant, but the short of it is: Appalachians are people, deserving of support. They cannot do this alone, and it is up to us to support them however we can.

With that in mind, I've decided to open my commissions. Every dollar I make off these commissions will be going to the fire department. If I continue to make commissions after the trip, the fire department has assured me they will send the money where it needs to go in order to help the community of Chimney Rock.

If you CANNOT support, that's okay! I totally understand. I was in the very same boat until recently. What you CAN do is reblog this to all your blogs and spread the word as much as possible. Appalachia needs all of us to begin to heal.

SO! Let's Talk Commissions

First up: Art Commissions

Pictured under the cut is my regular commissions sheet. Also pictured is some of my other work that has special pricing. Let me explain.

Paintings: I will run a special on them, 75 dollars for a fully rendered painting (normally they start at 175). Additional characters will be 30 dollars each.

Cell Art: Send me a photo that you would like to have done, and I will work on a color palette with you. These will cost 75 dollars.

‼️HALF MUST BE PAID UP FRONT AND THE OTHER HALF WILL BE PAID AFTER THE FINALIZED SKETCH‼️

WHAT IM WILLING TO DO:

OCs (must have an image of them OR a detailed description)

Characters from ANY fandom (NOTE: I normally draw humanoids. I'm still learning the ins and outs of drawing mechs. This is to say that if you want something non humanoid, i will gladly take it, but it WILL take longer)

Ships

Landscapes and Nature

Animals

Furries (this will add 10 dollars to the final price because I struggle greatly with furries)

Anything else I'm missing is negotiable, just know depending on what it is, I reserve the right to add 10 dollars to the final price

WHAT IM NOT WILLING TO DO:

NSFW

Gore

Body Horror

Incest

Zoophilia

Xenophilia

Underage shit

Second Up: Fic Commissions

Fanfiction is going to be more strict in terms of what I can and cannot do, simply because I want to ensure that I can deliver a quality product to you and not butcher your favourite characters. I will link my AO3 after this paragraph. There isn't much there yet, but I feel like it is a good sample of my writing style.

PRICES:

500-1.5k words: 10 dollars

1.6k-2.5k words: 20 dollars

2.6k-3.5k words: 30 dollars

3.6k-4k+ words: 40 dollars

The price will be agreed and paid before I start writing. If I accidentally go above the agreed upon word limit, there will be no extra charge.

FANDOMS:

Transformers One

Transformers Prime

Stardew Valley

Red Dead Redemption 1/2

Yakuza

Wolf 359

Welcome to Nightvale

Assassins Creed: Valhalla, 3, and the Ezio Trilogy

X-Men (Specifically First Class, Apocalypse, Days of Future Past, The Last Stand, and Dark Phoenix)

Bluelock

Demon Slayer

Blue Eye Samurai

WHAT IM WILLING TO DO:

SFW fics

Fluff

Most tropes, will be discussed when discussing the commission itself

NSFW fics (there are some kinks I am unwilling to do, we can discuss these in private) (‼️ YOU MUST BE ABLE TO ENSURE TO ME THAT YOU ARE 18+ ‼️ I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE IF I AM SUSPICIOUS OF YOU LYING ABOUT YOUR AGE. just a disclaimer)

Major character death, major injuries, the angstiest shit you can think of

Song fics (i love these)

Horror

Ships

THINGS IM NOT WILLING TO DO:

Dub-con/non-con

Underage nsfw

OCs

Zoophilia

Xenophilia

AUs

Incest

Alright! I think that about sums it up!

‼️AGAIN! If you cannot contribute monitarily, you CAN contribute by spreading the word. EVERY single dollar helps this endeavor, and all of it will be going to heal my home.‼️

I cannot express enough gratitude to every single person who has done something to help Appalachia, nor can I express the grief that weighs heavy on my heart every single day. Appalachia is defined by its strong communities and its insistence to survive against all odds. It will survive this, but we must do what we can to help.

And, as always,

[carionto]

Space Truckin'

Freight transport! The lifeblood of all modern civilizations and the backbone of the Galaxy.

Trade routes, supply chains, relocation efforts, deployment actions - everything rests on the shoulders of the transport class vessels. Well, within their bowels, but that's a less sexy phrase. Or when they haul larger things externally and have extra engines and hyper drives inside instead, does that become a horse metaphor now? Or an ox pulling a... uhh, that farm equipment before we had tractors, um...

Anyway.

There's billions of transports of literally every size and shape constantly buzzing about the Galaxy delivering perishables, non-perishables that the still existing copyright laws prevent from being printed near the destination instead, and people, who technically count as perishables, but due to other laws get their own category.

Where was I?

So, most of these are fully automated and do very basic food and other consumables runs, and require maintenance maybe once a century at most. Human ones need them once a year, since their hyperdrives don't need a stopover at a charging station, but run the tiny risk of CATACLYSMIC FAILURE BECAUSE THEY RUN ON MINIATURE STARS THAT BY NATURE CONSTANTLY EXPLODE BUT IT'S OKAY THE HUMANS SAY THEY HAVE FAILSAFES AND THOSE ONLY HAVE A 3/100000 FAILURE RATE THEMSELVES AS IF THAT'S BETTER THAN THE BIG FAT ZERO THE REST OF THE GALAXY HAS AS STANDARD!!!

Ahem.

What I was trying to get at is - Humans are nostalgic for a lot of things. Everyone has personal memories and collective history they cherish dearly, but Humans often tend to try and bring it back to life, regardless of the impracticality.

There is this one group of transports, who call themselves the "Space Truckers" and their vessels have...

wheels with tires

let that sink in

no really

actual rubber tires with air-filled liners and everything

in space

and they insist on landing on them

yes they are stupidly overengineered and can in fact hold up a ship that weighs four million tons and the inner liner air pressure is perfectly fine at around 700 atmospheres

because they can

oh and a few of them look like this

but are a lot bigger

like the size of a small city

the biggest tire is 382 meters in diameter

and yes, the biggest "truck" is called Optimus Prime and they blast Deep Purple songs all the time

and no, I don't know if it can transform

they say it can't, but I don't believe Humans when they say they "can't" do something

they always figure out a way to do it

fucking Humans

[lover-of-mine]

I was reading some of your spies comments. And decided to take a few hours to just watch Buddie and Tommy scenes. And it was interesting because while I completely ignored them, I now understand why they are pissed.

As a Buddie shipper, S7 was actually 10/10, no notes, fully recommend. We were served in every aspect behind the scenes and in interviews. And we ate every scene!!!! It was Buddie at perfection, really. In turn after the wedding. When I saw the medal ceremony, I just sighed. Then, in the finale, the whole time, I was getting excited maybe it was cut. But no, there it was.

After re-watching, I remembered 2 things. During speculation, they swore that the desert scene was going to be BT go Karting (remember they thought it was his truck), and they thought he had a big Maddie scene. And one was Bobby, and the other was JLH acknowledging yeah, sure I sat behind him. Also, there was a Hen, Karen, and Tommy scene cut, right? No big declaration of what their relationship even was. Hooking up, situationship nothing.

And back to the dinner scene when I view it from them. We had a heavy buddie family moment. That leads to Buddie at the hospital together. Then, when the danger is gone awkward dinner. Then, it ends with a heavy Buddie scene. It wasn't even placed at the end of the episode. A total throw-away scene.

I mean I guess I get why they are so salty now??

Imma be honest with you, after the 706 kiss, I was kinda expecting Tommy to have Taylor's level of involvement in the plot, especially after we saw he was at the station for 709, I was fully bracing myself for an episode like 411 focused on building their connection. I was always in the "Buck is not the one in the desert" speculation, so I wasn't thinking about the go-karting, but I was ready to admit it would make sense. Make them go on a date, make something go wrong, bond through first responder effort, kinda like how Buck and Taylor bond through detective work. And then he was barely there. I feel like even our initial speculation where Buck would leave a date because of the crisis with Chris would've been better for the relationship because that type of situation would force the relationship to be defined in some way. The dinner is just there to remind us of how bad Gerrard is. It's 57 seconds that add no definition to the relationship, it just lets us know they are still hanging out, there's no touching, no declaration about what they are. And it's completely buried by the weight of the buddie scenes. Buck and Eddie were being partners and co-parents and there was this tiny scene that's mostly there to remind the audience of who Gerrard is rather than to actually build their relationship because all they got is a really weird-toned scene that makes Tommy seem very dismissive of Buck's feelings. Again. When I was doing the math on how much screentime they had I was legit shocked. Because they had 4 minutes in 7b. The kiss scene in 704 has 4 and a half minutes. The kiss scene alone is more screentime than he had in the rest of the season. He made it known Buck is bisexual, he helped Buck come out and then he vanished into the fog. People got so caught up in the way 911 had a canon m/m ship involving a main character that they built a fantasy on what the relationship would look like, even more so considering the space we had between 704 and 706 that upped everyone's expectations and a lot of these people just kept doubling down because they were in too deep to walk themselves out when the show didn't deliver. What do they actually have? Two kisses, two and a half dates and kink joke? All that after being told the relationship was "thriving"? Even the interview with Oliver and Lou didn't deliver. And at some point, people need to accept they were prompting what Lou was saying in those cameos, especially now that well dried up. Them being mad makes a lot of sense. But, obviously, we're the delusional ones because our ship, uh *check notes* hasn't kissed?

[primus-why]

More on the MegOp-centric Orion Pax arc we deserved 😤

Okay but imagine during the Orion Pax arc in TFP if it lasted longer. Imagine if Orion started to get to know some of the Vehicons (or even another large truck like Breakdown?) and would periodically hang out with them in the mess hall during fuel breaks.

Imagine, if you will, that Orion had also taken the time to research his own frame schematics. The change from his old frame was visibly obvious, but what other secrets did it hold? Turns out he is well-stocked with weapons, and has an increased stamina to accommodate them. Clearly, he is built for battle and for hauling large loads, no longer a mere archivist. And because of this, he thinks he could be doing more to help out Megatron and their cause...

Fast forward a bit, and Orion decides he wants to help move some of the energon ore that has been mined that day while on a fuel break. He assures the other Vehicons that it's no trouble at all before stepping through the ground bridge to the mine.

Suddenly, as if lured to their location, the Autobots arrive and make a direct assault on the mines! Orion ducks behind a part of the cave, preparing to online his weapons and defend his comrades...

... only to find that he can't!

His processor races, trying different commands to release the weapons, but they won't engage. A pair of Vehicons spot him while hiding in a similar spot, and they urge Orion to run back to the bridge.

"We'll cover you!" One of them says, just as the other steps out of their hiding spot to return fire.

Orion doesn't really get a chance to answer. He didn't want to leave without them, so he doesn't move right away. In that moment of hesitation, he watches as the other Vehicon is struck by blaster fire, and their companion steps out to pick up where they left off.

Orion is moving before he even realizes it. As other Vehicons pull back to retreat to the bridge, Orion moves across to reach the wounded Vehicon and their companion, who is now one of the last Cons still providing cover fire.

"Pax!" They say, "You need to get outta here! Megatron will--"

"-- Not without you! I won't leave a fellow Decepticon behind." And he means it. Orion doesn't care that he can't activate his weapons, he can still bring the wounded to safety.

Just as he scoops up the fallen Vehicon, some blaster fire catches the remaining Vehicon on the arm, grazing them and coming extremely close to Orion. He feels something shift, and before he knows what he's doing he's pointing one of his servos in the direction of the blast...

... only, it's not just a servo! He's got a blaster now too!

Orion acts on instinct, providing some additional cover fire while he and the rest of the Vehicons eventually escape. Once back, he delivers the Vehicon in his arms to the medbay and they thank him, their voice full of awe.

(Once out of audial range Knock Out advises the Vehicon to not let Lord Megatron catch them looking at Orion like that, as he doesn't tolerate "challengers" of any kind. 🙃)

Orion of course gets an audial-full from Megatron on how he is not to go into battle. It's far too dangerous! And Orion agrees somewhat-- he explains that he's learned of his weapons schematics, but since his servo transformed back after they returned to the ship he hasn't been able to re-engage the blaster.

"Perhaps... you could train me? To use my weapons, this frame more effectively?" says Orion. He sighs, "... I just want to help."

"And you are helping." Megatron assures him, "We need that database decoded--"

"-- Soundwave can do it just as well, yet he enters the field from time to time." Orion pouts, which is an expression Megatron hasn't seen in a very long time.

The silver mech chuckles. "Soundwave was a gladiator. His frame might be different than it once was, but as you say-- he's effective."

Orion slumps in defeat.

"Tell you what," says Megatron, "if you reach a point where you can reliably engage and disengage your weaponry on command, I will train you in the basics of combat."

Orion perks up at that, looking more determined.

"I'll get there. I promise, Megatron-- I won't let you down."

Megatron holds his gaze, smiling softly, "I know. You never disappoint, Orion."

Fast forward again. Orion is talking to the Vehicons about built-in weaponry (since they have blasters in their arms similar to his own schematics.) He still can't seem to do it on command, however.

One of them suggests he recreates the circumstances that brought it out the first time. (Another helpfully reminds everyone that would involve Orion facing down angry Autobots, which isn't likely to happen since Megatron has banned him from leaving the Nemesis until he's combat-ready.)

Orion offers to let them fire upon him in one of the training rooms, to which they all vehemently refuse.

"If Lord Megatron heard you were in the medbay because we shot you?? He'd snuff our sparks!"

Then one of them proposes that perhaps it wasn't actually blaster fire that caused them to activate, simply the encroaching threat.

"What if all Orion has to do is convince his frame he's in danger?"

After some more thought, they put a plan into action a couple days later: Orion will jump from the highest level of the engine room, and the threat of impact will cause his weapons to engage. He will study his frame's reaction in a controlled environment, ideally being able to remember how it feels to engage his weaponry, and therefore would be able to (in theory) recreate that feeling. Of course, before he hits the ground one of the flight frames will catch him, or at the very least slow his fall so he's not hurt too badly. It's brilliant! What could possibly go wrong?

After gathering some courage, Orion finally takes the leap, careful to study his internal reactions along the way.

"So... aren't you gonna go after him?" He hears one of the Vehicons above him say.

"What?!? I thought you were gonna--"

Wait... what?

Oh scrap. Scrap!! They're not flight frames! He's falling to his death for real!!

Orion scrambles for purchase on the sides of the smooth walls, to no avail. Sparks fly off his servos as he tries desperately to slow his fall in any way he can, knowing no one is coming to save him.

Suddenly, he spots a maintenance team emerging on the ground floor below, clearly there to do a routine inspection.

"Look out!!" Orion yells, "Move out of the way!!" He would hate to see anyone get sent to the medbay due to his own foolishness...!

Just as the Vehicons scramble back from whence they came, another figure emerges casually sipping energon, entirely unphased by the commotion.

"Megatron! Watch out!" As Orion calls out to his friend, he can spot the exact moment Megatron recognizes him. The silver mech's optics flare to their widest setting and he drops his cube, spilling precious fuel on the ground. His arms move up, as if to catch him...

... just then a ground bridge appears below Orion, which he goes through immediately (not that he had much of a choice in the matter.) When he comes out the other side, he discovers he is... falling upward?? And significantly closer to the ground from where he last left off, at that. Soon gravity takes hold and he falls back down again, but not nearly as drastically. With his descent successfully slowed, the bridges wink out of existence as quickly as they came, and Megatron swiftly catches him.

"Yes. Thank you, Soundwave." The silver mech says into his comm before turning to the mech in his arms, "Orion, what in the Pits possessed you to jump down the main engine shaft?!?!"

"I-I... uh..." was all Orion could manage to stutter. His processor was still overwhelmed, having just narrowly avoided a painful injury or worse.

Among his racing thoughts, an unbidden memory file queued up-- one where Megatronus was holding him in a similar fashion during one of his many visits to Kaon. The gladiator had literally swept him off his pedes, insisting he carry Orion the rest of the way to their destination, lest the archivist get too tired. Orion knew he could have protested-- he wasn't tired in the least-- but he wanted... by Primus, how he had wanted to be close to Megatronus...

Back in reality, the parallels of the situation sunk in, and Orion felt a blush creep onto his faceplates-- again, not unlike that particular memory. He had been smaller then, much easier to excuse being picked up by his larger companion, but now his frame was bigger and stronger. It should have been embarrassing. There was no reason to be carried, so he had accepted early on that there was no chance of repeating such an indulgence. Yet, here and now, Megatron was holding him; he had caught him, and Primus below it's like he was an archivist again, back when he weighed practically nothing to the gladiator--

"... I'm sorry." He said lamely, acutely aware of all the optics on him now. His blush deepened, wishing not for the first time he could hide behind the facemask that came with his new frame. "There's no excuse, I was being foolish. It won't happen again."

Megatron regarded him for a moment. "Your servos..." he eventually said, and Orion finally noticed just how badly he had scraped up his digits.

He let out a hiss as he flexed, inspecting the damage. "Right... I should probably visit the medbay." He made a move to get down, but Megatron simply readjusted his grip and turned around.

"Uh... Megatron?"

"I'll see to it you get there." Said the silver mech, like it was the easiest, most logical thing for him to do in the world.

"... Oh. Thank you, I... but I can still walk." He huffed out an awkward laugh, "Besides, I think we can agree I've troubled you enough for one day."

Megatron stopped walking and looked at him.

"Do you... want me to put you down?"

Surely he doesn't mean... he's not actually giving him the choice, is he??

"I-it's just that... I don't want you to strain yourself! I'm not as light as I used to be..." Orion couldn't bear to meet Megatron's optics, because he feared his friend might see right through him.

But the silver mech simply shrugged, "You're not that heavy. I don't mind." He paused for a moment, as if waiting for something.

"... If that's your only objection, then..." and with that he continued down the hall, making sure he took the long way to the medbay.

Megatron continued to steal glances at Orion when he could, noticing his flushed faceplates.

'... Cute.' He thought. 'Reminds me of that time I picked him up in Kaon. He blushed nicely then, too.'

Eventually the mech in his arms relaxed enough to rest his helm on his chassis with a small sigh, making his spark flip. However he was still aware of his archivist's bleeding servos, and the fact that Orion would probably start to wonder why he hadn't called for another bridge into the medbay. Megatron stayed his course, but picked up the pace a little.

'Forgive my indulgences, Orion... I want to stay by your side just a little longer...'

[atanx]

Since I've been replaying Subnautica recently, I've been thinking more about Below Zero.

From what I've seen, people tend to give Below Zero more shit than I think it deserves. Now, out of the two games I would very much say that Subnautica is my favourite, but I think comparing the two games is a bad idea in general because of how fundamentally different they are.

The premise of Subnautica is that you're a janitor whose spaceship crashed on an alien planet, leaving you as the only survivor when you wake up 8 hours after the crash. You aren't prepared for this. You're all alone. And you have been infected by a bakteria with a killcount in the billions. You know nothing at all about this world. This sets up real terror, helplessness and the knowledge that even if someone were coming to save you, they would experience the same fate as the rest of your ship's crew. You're not stranded on 4546B BY CHOICE.

Below Zero however, is drastically different. You have gone to great lengths to willingly smuggle yourself onto the planet to find out just what happened to your sister to cause her death. You come very much prepared and you're more than willing to face all the risks. You can also theoretically leave at any point. All you'd have to do is show yourself to Alterra and they would probably escort you to a prison themselves. You do not get infected. You are also not alone.

This willingness and initiative in Below Zero is a huge detractor from the terror of it all. And it is why I think a comparison is unfair.

(Also, you have a Truck. In Below Zero. And Truck-kun is there, ready to deal massive damage for you! Honestly I think it's way too OP. Fucking Shadow Leviathans become nothing more than a NUISANCE. But well, it fits with the theme of the game.)

All in all, Below Zero had nice environments, nice creatures, nice gameplay, a better base building system and some pretty intruiging storylines!

In my opinion, the endgame is pretty lacklustre. Any terror I felt regarding leviathans or the like abated very quickly, even though I have barely 30h in Below Zero. Meanwhile, going to the Aurora in Subnautica still scares the shit out of me 80h in.

Although I have to mention here that some of the familiarity you build up in Subnautica carries over. You can never get the same experience as playing Subnautica for the first time ever again. Because now you've already experienced it once.

Below Zero isn't really a worse game for not being able to do this, though. It's a good game, it's just... not as memorable. Because Subnautica is truly special. From its stellar soundtrack to its satisfying gameplay and moving story and setting, Subnautica is a fucking masterpiece. Sure, it has its flaws, but they're more charming than detracting. To me.

And it's unfair to expect anything else to deliver the same experience. Because nothing can.

And when comparing Below Zero to Subnautica, so many cool things lose their shine in its shadow. I still vividly remember jamming out in the seatruck to Diving In Too Deep from Nerdout. The story of that one old wreck that managed to survive by distracting the big gun was some really good writing. The frozen leviathan terrified me so hard even though I knew it wasn't going to come alive. Robin and Al-An's conversations are genuinely interesting an entertaining. The kelp area is really cool and the oxygen flowers are such a good gameplay change! Sam's storyline hit me right in the feels! MARGUERIT. The ice worm hit me straight off of my snowfox and down a cliff so I had to run the rest of the way. The research crew are also lovely characters!

There are a lot of things to love about Below Zero and we shouldn't let them pale by judging the game with standards Subnautica lifted to the fucking moon <3

[mariacallous]

On September 10, Washington confirmed that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. With more weapons suited for hitting closer targets, Moscow can now conserve its longer-range missiles for deeper strikes into Ukrainian territory. And Western officials don’t expect this shipment to be the last. However, escalating tensions in the Middle East could push Tehran to prioritize keeping its arsenal at home. Journalists from the independent outlet iStories investigated the types of weapons Iran is sending to Russia and their potential impact on the war in Ukraine. Meduza shares an abridged English-language version of their reporting.

In early September, The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. and European officials, reported that Iran had delivered around 200 ballistic missiles to Russia. One official warned that this shipment likely wouldn’t be the last.

According to the Financial Times, the missiles — Fath-360s with a range of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles) — were transported via the Caspian Sea. Sky News published a photo of a Russian ship said to have delivered the missiles to Port Olya, near the city of Astrakhan, on September 4. The ship traveled from Iran with its transponder switched off, concealing its movements.

On September 10, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Russia had received Iranian Fath-360 missiles, estimating that Moscow could begin using them in Ukraine within weeks. Dozens of Russian soldiers have already undergone training in Iran.

Along with the missiles, Russia will also require Iranian launchers, explains Fabian Hinz, a missile and drone expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The Russian military currently lacks launchers compatible with the Fath-360. In Iran, these systems are often mounted on commercial trucks, and they could be transported to Russia via large cargo planes or by sea.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied sending missiles to Russia. However, Iranian lawmaker Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani acknowledged the shipments, stating: “We have to barter for our needs, including importing soybeans and wheat. Part of the barter involves sending missiles, and another part involves sending military drones to Russia.”

No adequate defense

The Fath-360 has a range similar to Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air missiles, which the Russian military has used to target Ukrainian front-line and border cities such as Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Pokrovsk, and Kostiantynivka, as well as military installations. When striking ground positions, both the S-300 and Fath-360 follow a ballistic trajectory.

Russia also deploys Iskander-M ballistic missiles against targets within the S-300’s range. The Iskander-M is more accurate and has a maximum range of about 500 kilometers (311 miles). With the addition of Fath-360s, Moscow can now conserve its Iskander-M missiles for long-range strikes. Iranian short-range ballistic missiles are known for their precision, and the Fath-360 is no exception, according to IISS’s Fabian Hinz. The missile is equipped with satellite navigation and is likely outfitted with electronic warfare countermeasures. Ukrainian military expert and Reserve Major Oleksiy Hetman believes the Fath-360 is more accurate than Russia’s S-300.

Saving Iskander-M missiles for deeper strikes into Ukraine is likely a critical issue for the Russian military. Ukrainian military estimates suggest that as of May, Russia had around 200 Iskander-M missiles and was producing about 40 per month. Russia’s acquisition of Hwasong-11 missiles from North Korea, which started last year, also hints at a potential shortage. The Hwasong-11, a close equivalent to the Iskander-M, has been in use by Russian forces since December, although the Ukrainian authorities report that about half of these missiles prematurely detonate mid-air. This summer, Russia used at least one North Korean missile manufactured in 2024, indicating that supplies from Pyongyang are ongoing, according to the U.K.-based investigative group Conflict Armament Research. 

The effectiveness of the Fath-360 will largely depend on how well operators can coordinate with intelligence units, as real-time target data will be crucial for swift strikes. But while Iranian missiles don’t introduce entirely new capabilities to Russia’s arsenal, their sheer numbers could still play a significant role in the conflict, Hinz notes.

There’s little hope that Ukraine’s air defenses will be able to intercept a significant number of Fath-360s. The country lacks sufficient systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, and deploying them within the Fath-360’s range is extremely risky. Since the full-scale invasion began, Ukrainian forces have managed to shoot down only 19 of the 3,000 S-300 and S-400 missiles fired by Russia, according to an August report from Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Iran’s arsenal

The Iranian military has both cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges spanning several hundred to several thousand kilometers, according to reports from Western analysts published in 2024. However, reliable and up-to-date information about the exact number of missiles or Iran’s production capabilities remains elusive.

In 2022, U.S. General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. stated that Iran had approximately 3,000 ballistic missiles and had been heavily investing in their development for the previous five to seven years. Production has certainly increased since then, but it’s unclear exactly how many missiles Iran can produce monthly or annually, says Fabian Hinz from IISS.

Iran’s ballistic missiles can be broadly divided into two categories. The first includes expensive, difficult-to-produce munitions with ranges exceeding 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), capable of reaching Israel. In April 2024, Iran launched around 120 such missiles in a large-scale strike on Israel. In August, Israeli and Western officials expected another round of strikes in retaliation for the killings of a Hezbollah commander and the head of Hamas’s political bureau, though this hasn’t happened yet.

If Iran continues or expands its missile shipments to Russia, Moscow is likely to receive mostly short-range munitions. In addition to the Fath-360, Iran has missiles with ranges of 300, 500, 700, and around 1,000 kilometers. Tehran has used some of these missiles to target Islamic State positions in Syria and U.S. military bases in Qatar and the UAE. While some missed their targets, Hinz notes that overall, their accuracy is high.

Still, Iran may hesitate to part with even small quantities of these missiles. With the rising threat of a major conflict in the Middle East, Iran needs to maintain a stockpile of ballistic missiles for potential strikes on U.S. military bases. To hit targets in Kuwait and Qatar, Tehran would require missiles with ranges of at least 300 kilometers, and for the UAE, a minimum of 500 kilometers.

Reports of Iranian missile shipments to Russia first surfaced in Western media in February. At the time, there were speculations that Iran had sent Moscow Fateh-100 ballistic missiles (with a range of up to 300 kilometers) and Zolfaghar missiles (up to 700 kilometers). However, no confirmed evidence of their use in Ukraine has emerged so far. Hinz suggests that Iran’s decision to supply shorter-range munitions to Russia is tied to escalating tensions in the Middle East and its own growing military needs.

* * *

In response to Iran’s missile deliveries to Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the transfer a “sharp escalation,” while the U.K., Germany, and France issued a joint statement describing it as a “direct threat to European security.”

On September 11, just a day after the U.S. officially confirmed the missile deliveries, Blinken and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Ukraine’s top priority is lifting restrictions on the use of long-range Western weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. According to Bloomberg, Zelensky presented a plan outlining these strikes over the coming months.

After Russia’s summer offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, the U.S. authorized Ukraine to use Western weapons against military targets in Russian border areas. Now, according to Politico, the White House is close to expanding the permitted strike zone.

[keep-the-wolves-close]

Steady Heart

Chapter 36: Brother

* Pairing: Slow-burn Kayce Dutton x OFC Stella Daniels

* Rating: M

* Warnings: language, death, delivering death notice

* Word count: 1,302ish

I would love to give credits to @dameronscopilot and @deanscroissant for being sounding boards for me during this whole process, giving outsider insight, being cheerleaders, and allowing me to screech at them about things that have happened during the writing process. I seriously couldn't have gotten this far without y'all.

Author's note: I hope everyone is enjoying so far! I hope you love this chapter as well! This is shorter than normal, but it made sense to break it up like this because of the heaviness that comes with the next chapter. Y’all are about to hate me lmao.

Jimmy and Stella were up on a flatbed unloading hay while Jamie put it in the barn. Cowboy sat off to the side cleaning his tack.

“Hey if you’re not gonna help, could you at least get outta the way?” Jimmy groaned, picking up another bale. “Explain this day-working thing to me. Because it seems to me like you live here now, but you only work when we move cows, and we already shipped out all the fuckin’ cows. So, what? Now you just get paid to do nothing?”

“That about sums it up.” Cowboy answered.

“Hey Jamie? Tell your dad I’m a day worker now.”

Jamie laughed and picked up another bale. “I think my father just forgot that he’s still here.”

“So now you’re gonna run and remind him?” Cowboy asked.

“Not my place.”

“You know Jamie, of all the dipshits in this outfit, you just might be alright.” Jamie and Stella laughed.

The cops pulled up. Stella frowned and called out to Jamie. “Jame!” He jogged out hearing Stella’s urgency.

He asked her, “what?” He scowled as he followed her pointed finger toward the cops. “Everyone stay here.”

Jamie moved around the flatbed and took his gloves off. “Commander, he’s up at the house.”

“I’m not here to see John. Lookin’ for Jimmy Hurdstrom.” Stella frowned again, trying to figure out what the commander could be looking for Jimmy for. The two of them jumped down from the flatbed.

Commander Ramsay spotted Jimmy and began moving toward him and Stella. Jamie asked, “um, what’s he being charged with?”

“Not being charged with anything.” Ramsay’s tone changed. “Jimmy.”

Jimmy looked at Jamie and he gave him a nod of approval. Ramsay walked Jimmy off to the side, away from everyone.

“It’s bad news. We found your grandfather this morning.”

“Found him? What do you mean?” Jimmy stepped forward. Stella stepped up behind him.

“It seems he’d been assaulted recently. And it appears a blood vessel in his brain ruptured as a result and he had a stroke and… I’m sorry.” Jimmy started hyperventilating. Stella placed her hand on his shoulder trying to keep him grounded. “Were you aware of this assault? Know anyone who would want to hurt him? He have a disagreement with anyone?” Commander Ramsay questioned quickly. Jimmy shook his head numbly. “You think of something, you let me know. We need to go to the coroner’s office and sign some paperwork. I’m sorry for your loss.” Commander Ramsay walked back to his vehicle.

Jamie raced over to Jimmy and Stella. “Jaybird, it’ll be okay. We’ll help you with whatever you need.” He looked at Stella but stared right through her.

“They killed him. I paid and they still killed him.”

Her jaw dropped. “What?”

“I fucking paid and they still fucking killed him.” Jimmy yelled and pulled free of her grasp running off.

Stella and Jamie followed behind him to make sure he didn’t do anything too irrational. They stood behind him while he beat a tree relentlessly. She looked out to the horizon as the wranglers who were out prepping for the winter came cantering up.

“What the hell is he doing?” Kayce asked, glancing at Rip.

“C’mon.” Rip directed.

The men galloped up to them and Rip slid off his horse. He paced up to Jimmy as he stormed past everyone.

Rip grabbed Jimmy by the jacket. “What’re you doing?”

“I need a truck.”

“Hey, tell me what happened.” They fumbled with each other’s arms as Jimmy tried to fight his way past. “Hey, hey, Jimmy, hey hey. What just happened?”

“They killed him. They killed him and it’s my fault.” Jimmy struggled to get Rip off of him.

“Who did, Jimmy? Talk to me.” Rip glanced at the rest of the men waiting in the wings. “Lloyd, Lloyd, go on.” Lloyd moved everyone by.

Rip forced Jimmy to move away from the remaining group. “C’mere, c’mere.” Rip grabbed Jimmy by the jacket and forced Jimmy to face him. “Hey. Go on and tell me what happened. What happened.”

“I owed money.”

“So they beat your old man to make you pay.”

“Yeah.”

“Why’d you owe money?” Jimmy didn’t answer. “Why’d you owe them money, Jimmy?”

“My past life.”

“You owe anyone else from the past?” Jimmy shook his head. “Okay gimme the rifle.”

“I’m gonna finish this.”

“Hey! You look at me. You finish it like this, you end up in fuckin’ prison for the rest of your life. I’m gonna show you how to get rid of problems so they don’t become new problems. You hear me? Now hand me the rifle.” Jimmy shoved the rifle at Rip. “Hey, c’mere.” Rip hugged Jimmy partially and patted his back. “Go inside. Let me talk to Kayce.”

Stella looked up at Kayce with sad eyes as she answered his unspoken question. “Someone killed his grandfather.”

“Fuck.” Kayce placed his hands on his hips and watch Rip tread over to them.

Rip stepped up to Kayce and Stella. “We need to take care of this tonight.”

Kayce objected. “We got a lot going on right now. May have to wait.”

“Kayce, you know we can’t do that.” Stella pushed back. “We’re literally all he has. He’s our brother now, and we’re our brother’s keeper.”

Rip shrugged. “I’m fine with waitin’, but he ain’t. Then we’re gonna have to clean up that fuckin’ mess too.”

“Yeah. We do it tonight.”

••

“Stella!”

She whipped her head in John’s direction. “Yessir?”

“I’ve got some broodmare paperwork for you to fill out up at the house. A couple contracts for studs for you to take a look at too.”

Stella’s eyes lit up like fire. “Of course I’ll look at them!” That job that was mentioned to her was finally coming back around.

Inside John’s office, she sat behind his desk and poured over the stud contracts in front of her. Metallicat, Bet Hesa Cat, Once In A Blu Boon; names that made her mouth salivate. These were studs she’d only ever dreamed of. John observed her closely.

“So what do ya think?”

She blew out a breath and sat back in the chair, crossing her legs at the knee. “I mean, these are some great studs sir. Definitely bred to do what we need. But they’re show horses. Are we going the show route first?”

“Travis thinks it would help get us proven a little bit faster.”

“One thing that would help us is if we bought a couple mares that have been big earners that are strictly broodmares now. But that’s gonna be a pretty penny.”

Kayce spied his dad and Stella putting their heads together. He was amazed at the way they worked together when Stella didn’t want to murder him. He wondered if this was what people saw when he and Stella worked on a problem. He cleared his throat. Both Stella and John looked up at him over their glasses. He smirked at the similarity.

He walked over to Stella and leaned down to kiss her cheek quickly. “Hey. Whatcha workin’ on?”

“Some of this broodmare and stud stuff. My actual job title here.” Stella laughed.

“Finally,” he shot a look at his dad and then focused back on Stella. “Where’s Tate?”

She adjusted her glasses and hummed. “He’s in his room, but grandpa was just about to go spend time with him. Isn’t that right John?”

He took his cue to leave. “Yeah, I need to go talk to him about his horse.”

Kayce and Stella watched him head off for his grandson. Kayce adjusted his black jacket. “I swear he gets more affection in one day than we got in our entire childhood.”

“Speak the truth, Kace.” She huffed out a laugh. “But it probably explains why we are the way we are.” She took in his outfit. “Where you headed?”

“That thing with Jimmy.”

Stella stood to meet him. He ducked his head and kissed her multiple times. She laughed at him and pulled back. “Listen, I know it has to be done. Just be careful, okay? Come home to me.”

“I will. Every time.” He kissed her again.

“Who’s all going with you?”

“Your brother, Rip and Lloyd.”

“Please keep everyone safe too.”

“We got each other’s backs.”

“Since Tate is with your dad, I’m gonna go take Abigail out for a ride. It’s been too long since I’ve been on her.” She picked her jacket off the back of John’s chair.

“Just don’t go too far out, okay sugar?”

“Yessir.” She smiled and kissed him.

[frangipanilove]

"Home" is North o’clock

Through this entire first season on TWDDD we’ve seen Daryl on a mission to find a way to get back home. He’s been desperately searching for a functioning radio in every episode, and has managed to stay laser focused on traveling north, to find a way home. Despite constantly getting sidetracked along the way, he’s now nearing Le Havre, where the people of Union of Hope have promised to help him find a ship to America.

In TWDDD 1x5 Deux Amours we see Daryl, Laurent and Azlan make their way up the river, heading north, to The Nest. We get to know Azlan, whose story involves a tragic loss which took away his reason to live.

We also heard how a clock represented a turning point for him. It saved his life, he explains, and gave him a purpose to live. I took one look at that clock and realized it was the French equivalent to Beth’s DC spoon from 4x12 Still.

I’ve written a lot about the intersection between Sirius symbolism and North Star symbolism (here and here), and once again, in TWDDD Deux Amours, we see a representation of how “north” represents “home”.

In TWD season 5 we saw it explained by Carl to Judith; that if you’re lost at night, just find the North Star, it’s at the end of the Little Dipper:

Of course we all remember Beth picking up the DC spoon/Little Dipper in Still…

Daryls entire time in France has revolved around traveling north, to the place called The Nest, where he’ll deliver Laurent and get a ticket to a trans-Atlantic cruise in return.

When Azlan dies he gives the clock to Daryl, tells him to follow the river north, until they arrive at the place depicted on the clock, The Nest (which in reality is Mont Saint Michel). When Genet’s people catch up to Daryl and Laurent, Daryl gives the clock to Laurent and instructs him to follow the river until he sees The Nest.

So the navigational themes are strong around both the clock and Beth’s DC spoon. The DC spoon for obvious reasons; the North Star is at the end of the Little Dipper, as Carl explained. The North Star will help you find your way, it’s a compass in the sky.

Azlan’s clock on the other hand, is pretty much a regular compass, in that clocks can be used as compasses. I’m not making that up, a clock can be used as a compass. That is an actual thing that people do.

Basically, what we’re seeing here is that Azlan’s clock is synonymous with Beth’s DC spoon.

And remember how all of Daryl’s efforts of getting to the north involves constantly searching for functioning radios? He’s been talking about radios non stop since he washed ashore in Marseille.

Well, in 1x5 we finally saw him get a hold of a radio. It was in a flashback from right before he was taken aboard the French Research Vessel of Horror, where we also saw a character randomly named Grady!?!???

Totally side-eying that, particularly because we also met another dude named Juno, which @wdway brilliantly recognized as a reference to the Alaska state capital Juneau! Which, again, ties right into the north symbolism because of this license plate from 5x16 Conquer:

That’s the Big Dipper and Polaris (North Star) there on the Alaska state flag!

And remember how I in this post from last week talked about how tptb sometimes uses silly word plays as symbolism? Words and phrases that phonetically sound similar? Like serious/Sirius, beer/bear, Monet/money and the classic Del Arno Foods/"there are no foods"… (which was interestingly also taken from 5x16 Conquer, where we saw the Wolves luring walkers into trailer trucks, in a perfect parallel to what we saw in Daryl’s flashback from Maine,..)

Yeah, speaking of phonetical similarities...

In TWD 10x17 Home Sweet Home we heard Beth's name for the first time in a very long time...

Maggie has no reason to believe that Beth isn't dead so I wouldnt worry about that part. What's interesting is what she's calling her sister; Bethie!

If I was ever instructed to find a name that phonetically sounds like Bethie...

...Bessy sure as hell would be among my top contenders...

Bessy, as in the name the radio operator has assigned to his radio...

I have talked about how radios are Sirius symbolism, right? (that's a rhetorical question, I have talked about it ad nauseum)

And I think I have explained that Sirius means "return/resurrection/coming back" a couple of times as well...

Bessie the Radio sure seems to be well tuned into the symbolism around "returns" and people "coming back"...

You’re free to do with that as you please...👀

[ciboriaadastra]

Having a thought about how the amount of wealth Bruce comes into and then amasses for himself changed over the decades of Batman media, and the reason he's beeen scaled up to be so impossibly wealthy is probably because cities and companies in DC lore are analogs to real life places and companies.

Wayne Enterprises probably reflects how homogenous American multinational corporations are now, where a single company can make and distribute almost all consumer goods because it has bought out/merged hundreds of smaller companies + purchased everything it needed from the ground up so it does not depend on many others besides itself.

Just something that crossed my mind when I was looking up what WE actually does and the Fandom (bleh) wiki listed so many branches. Wayne Shipping? Wayne Foods? Like...is this Amazon and Bruce is now Bezos? Wayne Entertainment? He's also Disney? Wayne Electronics? This is Apple? Wayne Aerospace? Boeing??? Bruce is trying to be in control of and monitor every single means of production and every production line fr

Feel like that should influence how people view Wayne Enterprises and Bruce himself. Steadily creeping in and taking root in every industry. People get curious about a new construction project in the city, but once it's revealed to be a Wayne Tower it's filling people with dread. Though, it was a long time coming...everything you order online comes in a box with a W on the tape delivered to your address in a black as night truck with a giant W emblazoned on the side. The meds in your cabinet were produced under Wayne Pharmaceuticals. The cable and streaming services were recently bought by Wayne Entertainment. The Wayne Foundation started offering scholarships at the major college campuses. Your phone is Wayne tech. Your car was built with Wayne Steel. Soon the hospitals will be all Wayne Medical, your insurance company bought out. The local newspapers and stations will be bought up. The libraries. The clinics. The orphanages. The schools. The grocery store. You're never going to scrub that b ig soulless W out of your head. The way the logo looks like the head of a pitchfork, ready to stab and capture the intended prey.

Thinking about how Wayne Medical seems so innocuous in what it does except for the bit on how Bruce has access to every person in Gotham's medical records, because he can access the Wayne Medical databases and use that information to track suspects. And the thing is WE does not just exist in Gotham, it's a multinational corporation with bases in major cities not just in the U.S. but around the world. This man has millions of people's medical records easily accessible to him which feels both extremely unethical and extremely illegal. Not that civilians can prove he can and does access those records though.

[hood-ex]

How did you like mutant mayhem? who was your fav

Loved it!! I had SO much fun watching it!!

The turtles getting their groceries from shipping containers/trucks?? Brilliant! Love that take!

I was pressed when I read that Leo was going to have a crush on April, but I actually didn't mind it in this case. (Even though I 100% prefer for them to just be best friend's/family and would never want to see April with any of them). Like Leo being such a nerd made it work plus April didn't show any interest in him, so it didn't bug me like I thought it would. Now if they try to turn that into something in the future then we're gonna have a problem, but it being a one-sided thing that Leo will hopefully grow out of (quickly!) is fine.

Speaking of April, I LOVE this version of April, and I love how they switched up the reporter thing a bit with her being super anxious to be on air bc it made way for some character progression. I do tend to prefer her being quite a bit older than the turtles, but I feel like her being a teen like them works in this universe.

Also, I love it when Leo is characterized as a nerd who says cringey/nerdy things sometimes and they delivered on that beautifully here with his speeches. It's veryyy 2k12 Leo vibes. Fucking loved it. Especially loved it when Leo actually had an amazing rousing speech during the Superfly fight scene and then after Raph complimented him on it, Leo started geeking out about how cool he sounded LOL. Obsessed.

"GO NINJA, GO NINJA, GO!" I started screaming when this started playing!! Secret of the Ooze reference let's gooo!

The milking... THE MILKING... the nipples and the milking!! Mikey and Raph got milked!! That running joke killed me. Also, since Mikey got milked first, I couldn't help but compare that to 2k3 when Bishop was going to use a saw to cut into Mikey's carapace while all the other bros had to watch. Althouuugh... ngl, I kinda wish Raph had gone a little more berserk over Mikey getting milked since he's so protective, but I understand they were trying to keep the mood light even though... it was... a torture scene... so uhhh... anyway.

"6 N' THE MORNIN' POLICE AT MY DOOR!!" 😂

"He's molly-whopping me!" LMFAO I was wheezing

All the bros singing BTS for Donnie's sake, and Donnie being like, "You guys don't even know the words..." HAAA

I love it in every iteration when Splinter gets involved to save his boys and this time was no different. Hell yeah feral rat dad!!

Mikey and Mondo Gecko, hell yes!! Bro, when the explosion rocked all the turtles and Mikey was disoriented?? The way his eyes looked after that?? Yeees!

THEIR SHELLS CRACKED 😱😱😱!! That "I'm gonna crack you like pistachios" joke killed me though

WHEN THE NEW YORKERS STARTED HELPING THEM TAKE DOWN SUPERFLY YESSSS LET'S GOOOO!!

Mikey or whoever telling Raph he needed therapy ALSKDJA

All the mutants living in the sewers with the turtles?? Full House vibes!! With Bebop and Rocksteady there idk kinda weird but I guess it works for this version of them.

I could not with their high school fits like 😭 April please take them shopping 😭

All in all, I thought it was super fun and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. There was still kiiinda more of a Leo focus this time around, but it wasn't nearly as much as the Rise movie, so I'm glad it felt more balanced between each brother (and thank god we didn't have to sit through another Leo vs. Raph type of beef thing).

I think in terms of characterization, Leo was definitely characterized the best and felt IC. I feel like there could've been a bit more development for Donnie, Raph, and Mikey. Donnie had his anime/kpop thing, Raph had his love for violence, and then Mikey... there wasn't anything super defining about him other than maybe the fact that he signed up for the improv team try outs. But honestly, I'm not that mad at it because I'm sure they'll get more fleshed out in the TV show that's coming in the future. Now that they're attending school, I do kinda hope that Donnie takes some kinda robotics/woodworking/science classes because I'd love to see him develop the skills he's always depicted with.

As for my fav, I mean, it should be noted that Mikey is always my guy and that I'm usually going to focus on him the most in every scene, but other than him, I'd say Leo. I also really enjoyed April, Splinter, and Superfly though.

[jediofbooksandsnacks]

Sunset to midday: Shinkane in daylight

So this screenshot is the thing that made me finally put together this post:

Cuz where is Kogami? On a balcony. And it looks like it is after dark, which makes the Inner Nerd in me go Squee! because they might be playing this into the overall parallels of balconies and sunlight that make this post tick.

The sunlight--or lack thereof--reflects their feelings in specific Shinkane scenes. Now, it’s not all Shinkane scenes, of course, and if I missed anything, please let me know.

Thanks for prodding me to finish this, @shikkokans​. It took me A LONG WHILE, and I kept forgetting to post it for a long time (RIP me) but! Here it is.

So, my other disclaimer: this is a Shinkane blog. Other PP ships are of course Very Cool and Very Awesome and Very Sexy, but Shinkane is, of course, the lens I am going to use to light this up, just like how Kogami lights his smokes. Cool? Cool.😊 

Also, in this analysis, Akane roughly equals sunlight and Kogami roughly equals shadow. Akane is highlighted by the colors of sun and Kogami is highlighted by the colors of the night.

Akane learns about Kogami’s fall from high-paid Inspector to super-depressed Enforcer about a third of the way through Season 1. Here she is, standing on the afternoon balcony* as Gino delivers the news:

The skyline here has a lot of yellow, but some purple / pink is JUST (and I mean just) visible in the bottom left corner as the early afternoon creeps on. Keep that in mind for later.

Some Shit Happens, and Kogami breaks his promise to her to be a detective and escapes to kill Makishima. And here she is, in the Middle of All That Shit, reading his goodbye letter as early evening (i think of this as about 5 pm? golden hour, I guess?) sets in across the city:

It’s yellow, yes, and blue, and the purple is creeping in on the right side. Much more colorful than the last instance, yes? Look at how Akane is enveloped in shadow in this shot, too, as she comes to terms with his betrayal. Also: Goddammit, Kogami.

Akane is Absolutely Not Giving Up, so she makes it her mission to track him down. More Shit Happens and she succeeds, but in a way that smashes her faith in her own constructed society. Thanks, a bunch, Sibyl System. (To recap, she made a promise to not tell anyone about the fact that she is dealing with a collection of unhinged brains to save Kogami’s life. Now, Akane doesn’t read to me a character to break her promises, but who knows? Also, I wouldn't extend that same courtesy to the System.) When she finds Kogami, Akane works with him to try and bring down Makishima, even though their perspectives don’t necessarily align. As this happens, the sun begins to set across the valley.

It does not go super well for her.

There is some gold left in the sky and in the hyper oat field, all below the various pinks and reds of the setting sun. (This is also the scene where we see Kogami’s concern for her reflected in his eyes.) Kogami almost loses his shit when he sees her clinging to the back of that truck. When he reaches her after the crash and calms himself down, he leaves her on the tarmac. Then, he takes back Masaoka’s gun and looks at Akane. Then, he gives chase. As the sun sets, Kogami catches up to and shoots Makishima, forcing them (read: Shinkane) into darkness.

(Also: romantic or platonic, tell me that’s not love.)

The next time she tracks him down, it’s blue blue blue at the movie’s midnight. (Reminder that Kogami = shadows, yes?)

She is seen here, practicing Romeo, oh Romeo on this balcony. (I kid.) There is no way Kogami is coming back to Japan, of course. But she still had to try.

Also, as a side note, in the beginning of S1 the show features her walking behind him and quite specifically looking for his advice. In this, her back is to him while he looks to her for advice, a reversal of their usual positions. (Development baby!) Even here, Akane is facing the pale light of the moon while he is in the gloomy background.

So, the next screenshot is from Sinners of the System. We get a reflective Kogami, here, staring at the rising sun:

Again, notice the purple and the pink pushing away the deep blue of midnight. The light of Akane versus his midnight dark is excellent character development. (Also, this is the shot that started this whole deal, since the color palate is so similar to other Shinkane-focused scenes, so here we are.) My own super lame joke is that this is him realizing the dawn of his own feelings for Akane; but don’t be me, dudes. Take it as you will.

So, he agrees to go back to Japan at the end of Sinners, only to find Akane locked up in a detention center, making this the case of the worst Uno reverse card in history. The audience (me; I’m the audience) has no idea why she is in the detention center, but there she is.

This was . . . not the reunion Kogami had in mind. The only light here is faded and yellow and artificial and a pale imitation of the sunlight (which brings to mind their PP movie meeting on the midnight balcony; but this is somehow worse . . . and hey, check out those iron bars stationed between them). Kogami is the one in the light, here, an interesting reversal on the theme. Keep in mind that they don’t face each other in this scene, until the very end.

But with some finagling from Homura, Akane is eventually released. Here is what she sees to greet her:

Akane escapes the shadows of the detention center to a lovely afternoon:

Now she can finally face him in the full sunlight, one on one, to tell him . . . they are getting lunch. I mean, Kogami is surprised, too. (Her top looks like a heart, here, and to think of who she is with . . . either way, SUPER cute.) But, considering that she is the new Statutory Enforcer, it’s still nice to return to normal for just a little while with one of her favorite people.

Kogami obliges.*

So there you go: the track of the sun mirroring their developing relationship.

I’m nervous and excited to find out what happened / what will happen between them when the next part releases, and I’ll be hanging on for all 30 of those seconds. Until then, thanks for reading! 😊

*A lot of this happens on balconies . . . like in that famous scene from that play . . . and if you couple that with Target: Juliette from the film . . . it makes me SUPER nervous, is all I’m saying.

*So in English "going out to eat” can be understood in two ways. One is clear, the other is NSFW. Now, I don’t know Japanese or have any idea if this is at all or in any way intentional. But in my headcanon, they are indulging in some NSFW fine dining.