#x factor australia

[celebswearingghost]

Rita Ora

[darlinhutchence]

SING BABY SING !

never tear us apart live in munich, 1991

[esciting]

the way the jury will eat up what andrew serves

[myhughniverse]

Kylie Minogue performed "100 Degrees" with Dannii Minogue on The "X Factor" Australia, on 24 November 2015.

[vogelmeister]

thinking about the australian cultural cringe on this sunny sunday hbu

[swiftdupes]

taylor performing on the x factor

october 20, 2014

shorts

sequin skirt in emerald from love okie // $44

[absurdthirst]

Unexpectedly Mated {Alpha!Mando x F!Omega!Reader}

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 6.1k

Warnings: Alpha/Omega dynamics, heats, denying biological needs, religious creeds, removing your helmet, jealousy, territorial aggression, fingering, first kisses, vaginal sex, rough sex, knotting, mates, marking

Comments: Forbidden to remove your helmet by Creed, Mandalorians deny their basic biological needs as Alphas and Omegas. The helmet blocks the scant of their true mate. Until an open air vent leads Mando to discover that you are his omega.

Co-written with @storiesofthefandomlovers

*** When reblogging or talking about Omegaverse, please remember that ‘a/b/o’ without the slash punctuation marks (/) is considered a slur for the Aboriginal people in Australia.

**Follow @absurdthirst-writes and turn on notifications to stay up to date on all new fics.

|| MasterList || The Mandalorian MasterList ||

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

“You must never remove your helmet.” The creed and these words drilled into you at a young age and you have never forgotten, would never be allowed to forget. The creed comes before all else. The covert comes before the individual. In a galaxy full of alphas, omegas, and betas…Mandalorians stood alone. Defying their biological status to better the covert, to keep the numbers up. You wear the helmet to not only protect your face but to keep you from recognizing your mate. The scent recognition of a mate is instant so the Mandalorian solution is to wear helmets with filters so that one can breed with anyone they prefer. Their minds are clouded with scent so the desire is the driving factor. The younglings are raised by the covert as a unit so the aim is to repopulate Mandalore. You suppress your omega urges with supplements and you’ve yet to breed. Too busy with bounty hunting alongside a certain Din Djarin. You’re drawn to him, that’s for sure, but you’ve never bred with him. He’s not interested in a family, in an ad. He wants credits. He wants to protect the foundling under his care and you’ve gone along for the ride.

“Din.” Your modulated voice calls out to him as he strides ahead of you after you reunited the frog woman with her husband. “The kid needs to eat.” You tell him, knowing you need to find the nearest cantina.

The sigh Din gives you is one of frustration and resignation. He likes the kid, he’s risked a lot to protect him, even his covert. The sins he has committed weigh heavily on his shoulders and he nods. “Come on.” He grumbles to the little one. “I know you’re hungry, we’ll get you something to eat.” Hopefully the Crest will be fixed soon. Unable to take off his helmet unless he is in his bunk is starting to frustrate him, the hermetically sealed space is starting to feel stale with the cycled air and he longs for a single breath of fresh air. He had also hoped to slip away for a moment, needing to find a medical facility to replace his implant. It had been damaged from his fight with Moff Gideon and he’s not had time to have it seen to. While he doesn’t visit a brothel or find a sexual partner often, he can feel the need to rut building up in his system. The alpha side he tries to suppress starts to bleed through his normally calm demeanor. 

You sit with the kid in the cantina, snorting when Din saves him from his own lunch and you glance around at the sailors. They mention Mandalorians and you are surprised to hear of your kind here, especially since Din wants to find them so he can help the kid return to his own planet. “Before we head off, maybe we can freshen up. I need to use the fresher and I’m sure you also want some time out of beskar.”

He groans at the idea of time outside the suit. Letting his skin breath and maybe he can work in a quick tug on his cock while he’s in the ‘fresher. “We’ll have to get rooms.” He reminds you, his head tilting towards yours. “Do you want to do that?”

You nod, “that sounds like a plan. I’m sure this one needs a nap after everything.” You say, reaching out to caress the kid’s ear. He coos at you and finishes his broth with a loud slurp. “Let’s find somewhere.” You say and throw some credits down for the broth. Din nods and you’re soon following him into the inn nearby. You are eager for a shower and some time out of the heavy beskar. Despite wearing it since you were a kid, you have always been weighed down by it. Din gets two rooms and you nod at him when he carries the now sleeping child into the room.

The child’s eyes never open, making Din chuckle quietly as he closes the pod and sets it in the corner of the room. Looking around to make sure the windows are covered before he reaches up and unlatches the edge of his helmet and groans quietly when he pulls it off his head. His hair is sweaty, but immediately the scent of the outside world is much more vivid. Making him inhale deeply and growl quietly at how good it all smells. Being an alpha as a Mandalorian was tricky, his own scent blocked by the helmet, but others could smell him. Making things difficult for him at times, especially when he cannot even walk around his own ship with his helmet unsealed because you are with him. Now, he sits on the edge of the bed, with his eyes closed and breathes deep, unaware that the vent between your two rooms has not been closed. 

You hum as you tilt your head under the water. An actual shower instead of the ‘fresher on the ship is a welcome surprise. You don’t realize the vent in your room is open so Din can smell you as your omega scent wafts through the room, warmed up from the shower and the water flowing onto your face blocks you from smelling Din.

It’s subtle at first. A teasing waft that caresses his nose and makes his cock twitch. The beautiful, heady scent of an omega. Making him groan quietly until the next wave hits him. His omega. The scent overwhelms him and he’s immediately hard, aching and desperate to claim the omega who is meant to be his mate. His mate. His eyes widen when he sees the vent opened, called to it as he follows the scent. It’s the vent that connects your room to his. You’re his mate.

You can feel a tugging in your stomach when you step out of the shower and you frown, wondering if you’re going to go into heat soon. You’ll need to get some more suppressants since you don’t have the time to spend days nesting while you are with Din. He doesn’t want you to be a needy omega holding him back from his quest. You dry off, shutting the door to the bathroom behind you and you lay down on the bed, unable to stop your hand from snaking down to rub your clit, a whimper escaping your lips.

Din snaps the vent closed. Hand curling into a fist as he pants against the shared wall. You’re his mate, his omega. His mind whirls as he tries to reconcile that new information with the stalwart and steady Mandalorian he has been bounty hunting with. He won’t deny that he wondered about fucking you before, it’s only natural that he would given how close you had been. His cock throbs as he imagines you in your armor, slowly stripping it off and walking around your room nude. Building a nest and begging him to join you. “Fuck.” He hisses.

You fall asleep naked on the bed after making yourself cum, relieving the ache in your stomach, enjoying being out of your beskar. You sleep until there’s a knock on the door and you groan, waking up and immediately grabbing your helmet to slide it onto your head. “It’s time to go.” Din says and you call out, “no problem. I’ll get ready and be right out.”

You redress in your beskar, your stomach still aching but you decide you’ll seek out some suppressants later. Opening the door, you find Din standing there with the kid. “Morning buddy.” You coo to the child and look up at Din who looks tense. “Everything okay?” You ask him, tilting your helmet. 

You know that Din can be all business but there’s something off about him. You ignore it and follow Din down the hall to find the sailors who are granting you passage on their boat to find the Mandalorians that are apparently on the planet. Later on, you admire the water as the raft moves along, glancing at Din who is stiff, well, stiffer than normal. “Are you sure you’re okay?” You ask softly, the sailors moving around behind you.

“Let me go!” You growl in anger, swinging your arm to fling a sailor into the water. Using your strength to try and untangle yourself from the ropes when Din and the child are in danger and that’s when they appear: the Mandalorians.

The redhead who introduced herself as Bo Katan shakes her head. “I’ve heard of your sect of the religion but Maker…I didn’t know how far it went in controlling its followers. On Mandalore, we wish for alphas and omegas to find their mate, it makes for stronger bonds, stronger families. We don’t - that is not something we dictate.” You swallow harshly as her words, feeling a tugging in your stomach that makes you want to lean towards Din but you push that aside. “You can remove your helmet and you would not be dar'manda.” Bo Katan explains and you’re so tempted.

Din stands up, angry at them for tempting him, tempting you. He shakes his head. “You are not mandalorian.” He growls, reaching down and takes your arm to pull you to your feet. “We are leaving.” He tells you, turning and striding away from the group angrily. 

You let Din guide you out of the cantina and you sigh, “Din. Slow down. Maybe…maybe they are telling the truth. As Mandalorians, we are denying our biological need. We are denying nature itself. Why? What- what good is it?” You ask him, the child in the pouch nestled against his hip.

“What good is it?” Din stops and spins around, crowding you slightly and even though you cannot smell it, pheromones pour off of him in heavy waves. All this talk of mates and finding out you are his has him desperate to claim you. To take what is his. “The Creed. That is what good it is. Our secrecy is our survival. We. Do. Not. Remove. Our. Helmets.” 

You shake your helmet, stumbling back away from him. “I do not want to breed with whomever the armorer tells me to. I want to find my mate. I want to feel complete.” You yell, quickly flicking the lock to your helmet and you waste no time lifting it off of your head in public for the first time since you were twelve. It hits you immediately. His scent. He’s an alpha. Your alpha. “You- oh Maker. Alpha.” You address him, your stomach twisting with sudden need for him.

Din hisses, his body jerking at the tone of your voice, the submissive nature of it. Calling to him. His hands curl into fists and he moves, shielding you from any eyes that could possibly see your face. “Put your helmet on.” He demands roughly, knowing that he cannot do this right now. He cannot have this conversation with you in the middle of a spaceport. 

Your lower lip trembles, feeling the rejection, and you shove your helmet back on your head, flicking the lock and his scent is replaced with fresh air through the filter. “Clearly you do not wish to have me as your omega so I am going to go back to the cantina. Perhaps another alpha can help with my heat.” You didn’t get a chance to pick up suppressants and the scent of your alpha has your stomach twisting with the sudden heat, the urge to mate and be claimed by him has you sweating already. You need to be touched and as much as you wish for it to be him, it’s obvious that he doesn’t want that. You spin on your heel before he can answer to make your way back into the cantina.

Growling, Din watches you walk off. Sighing when he knows he cannot follow you. The child is still beside him, looking up and cooing at him as if to tell him that he had fucked up. “Come on kid.” He grunts, turning and walking away from you even though his entire body is screaming to follow you. “I need to find someone to watch you.” He knows he cannot have a conversation with you around the kid, around anyone. He needs to find another room, then he will bring you back for a talk. 

You want to take off your helmet and down a spotchka or five, but Din’s command to not remove your helmet is ringing in your ears. You sit at the bar when you feel a presence next to you. “What’s a Mandalorian omega doing all alone?” He asks and you snort, “I haven’t got an alpha.” You state despite your chest aching, knowing you have an alpha but he doesn’t want you. On your walk to the cantina, you realized that Din didn’t question being your alpha. Which means he must’ve taken his helmet off at some point and found out. You wonder how long he’s known. Why he had kept it from you. “That’s good news for me, sweetheart. I’ve never been with a Mandalorian before and it smells like you might be needing an alpha at any moment.” He says, leaning closer and your stomach pangs with the beginning of a heat. 

“I- I ran out of suppressants.” You confess, turning towards him despite everything in you wanting to run to find Din.

The Frog Lady had agreed to watch the baby, leaving Din to go back to the little inn where you had stayed last night and get another room. He knows that he owes you a conversation, a real conversation and he cannot do that in public. Once he has the key, Din tucks it into his belt and sets off for the cantina. He knows you are angry at him, hurt. He wants to give you time to cool down for a moment, to think rationally again. To remember your creed so both of you can agree that nothing will happen until you can find the armorer again and speak with her. Striding confidently towards the seedy little bar, he is sure that it would work. 

You giggle when the alpha leans in, telling you a joke about Jawas and you are distracted for a moment from talking about your heat. He offers to buy you a drink but you decline, not wanting to take your helmet off, but it’s nice to talk to someone without them just giving you a grunt as an answer. You unconsciously lean closer to the alpha, your body heated as your biological need threatens to overwhelm you.

Walking into the bar, Din unlocks his helmet, unsealing it so he can smell you. Attraction and arousal, pouring from you and he follows the scent. Finding you sitting at the bar, another alpha leaning in, obviously interested in touching you, fucking you. The need to protect you roars to life in his chest and his alpha nature  rips through his self control. Moving quickly to you, barely resisting the urge to pull his blaster on the cocksure alpha who is grinning at his mate. “Get the fuck away from her.” He growls, shoving between the two of you and puffing up his chest, towering over the other man and trying to be as intimidating as possible.

You gasp at Din’s sudden appearance and you stand up from your stool. “Alpha.” You place your hand on Din’s chest plate to keep him back from the other alpha. 

“Hey buddy. Me and this omega were talking.” The alpha says and you wince under your helmet, knowing that he needs to shut up before he gets a blaster in the face. 

“Din, just leave him.” You huff, pissed that he is dictating what you can and can’t do.

“My omega.” Din growls, his hand inches away from his blaster and he stares hard at the man from behind his visor. “Move away.” He warns but the man scoffs and doesn’t look impressed. 

“She doesn’t seem taken. She seems like she’s real interested in getting to know me. ‘Bout to go into heat, needs an alpha buried in her cunt, knotting her.”

His words make you wince as you know Din, any alpha, wouldn’t allow them to speak about their omega that way. “It’s obvious you haven’t claimed her. What’s wrong, Mando? Not got the balls to do what needs to be done. She doesn’t smell like you. She smells wet. She smells ready for a cock. Clearly you aren’t enough for her. She wants to get fucked.” The alpha smirks, pushing Din’s buttons even more.

Din’s hand shoots out, wrapping it around the other alpha’s throat and squeezing harshly. Enjoying the way his pheromones immediately turned to ones of distress and his eyes bulge while his blue skin turns purple as the airways are cut off by the pressure of Din’s hand. “My omega.” Din rasps out, voice dangerously low and threatening. “Mine. Not yours. Mine.” The urge to kill him is clouding his thoughts, to demonstrate that you are his. That he would protect you.

“Alpha. Alpha. Don’t. He’s not worth it. I’m yours. I’m yours.” You promise Din, knowing that fact deep within your bones but you’re still furious with him. You place your hands on his chest plate, your helmet tilted towards his, “please. Just take me back to the inn. Don’t do this.”

Slowly, Din relaxes his fingers and lets go. Getting immense satisfaction when the other alpha gasps for air and immediately grabs his throat. He grabs your hands and ducks his shoulder down, hauling you over his shoulder like he would a bounty. Ignoring your shrieks as he storms out of the cantina with you.

You are shocked that Din is carrying you back to the inn and, you can admit to yourself, turned on by the primal display. "Din. Put me down!" You demand but he ignores you until he's in front of the room he had gotten for you. Finally putting you down. "I can't believe you did that." You shake your helmet and he opens the door.

 "Inside." He demands and you obey him immediately, stepping into the room. Din steps into the room, letting the door close and locking it behind him. “You were going to let him touch you?” He demands, pissed off that you were searching for someone, despite the fact that he had not immediately claimed you.

You feel defiant now despite being alone with your alpha. "I was. I am going into heat. If you didn’t touch me, I needed to find another alpha to satisfy my needs." You declare despite knowing that no one would give you what you need from Din. 

“You’ve worked through heats before.” Din growls, remembering how he had heard your whimpering cries from your bunk as you used your toys. It had been hard to deal with, when he hadn’t known he was your alpha. Wanting to offer you his cock the entire time, but he had respected your need for privacy. “Why not this time?”

“Because - because I wanted to feel wanted. I wanted someone to touch me who wanted to touch me, to make me feel something. I know you already knew I was your omega. You weren’t shocked when I found out you were my alpha. You didn’t - you didn’t sound surprised at all. How long have you known?” You ask, crossing your arms.

He leans back from you, surprised that you are attacking him and not liking it. “I-“ he huffs, rolling his eyes under his helmet and sighs. “Yesterday.” He admits quietly. “The vents between our rooms weren't closed. I-I smelled you when I took my helmet off.”

You are placated when you find out it was only yesterday but you’re still hurt that he didn’t tell you. “I didn’t smell you yesterday. I - I was showering and I -” You frown under the helmet. “You weren’t going to tell me, were you?”

“I- we-“ Din shakes his head. “You know what Mandalorians do.” He reasons with you. “The Armorer aligns breeding partners. I-“ He bites his lip under his helmet and sighs. “I was going to ask the Armorer for you, to be paired with you when we find them again.”

You understand where he is coming from but you feel frustrated by him. "Din. We - we are mates. What we have is...it's more than the creed. It's more than just breeding. It's how it is supposed to be. It's primal and raw. We are mates. Destined for each other and you've been by my side for so long yet neither of us knew what the other was meant to be. I want - I want you. I need you. Fuck the creed. Fuck the Armorer. You're my alpha and I - I want you. No matter what the consequences are." You say, "but if you don't want that - want me - I will leave. I'll go back to the covert and you can finish your quest alone."

He wants to argue against your comments, his heart twisting when he hears you say you would walk away. “Always wanted you.” He confesses quietly, breathing deeply and soaking in your scent. “Since the second week together. Watching you wipe the floor with that Twi.” He snorts, smirking slightly under his helmet. “Wanted you all the time.”

You chuckle, remembering that fight when you were both so much younger. You step towards him, "I have always wanted you. Always imagined you when I was in my nest." You confess softly, "I think I knew, unconsciously, that I was yours."

“I thought about you a lot.” Din confesses, taking a deep breath as he remembers what Bo Katan had said about mates being able to reveal their faces to each other. He takes a deep breath and reaches up to slowly start sliding his helmet off.

Your eyes widen under your helmet as Din exposes his face to you and you get your first look at his handsome face. "Maker. You are -" You can see him tense with anxiety and you reach up with your gloved hand to cup his cheek. "Mesh'la." You tell him, unable to tear your eyes away from those beautiful brown eyes. "Do you - you can remove my helmet...if you want."

He’s proud that you find him appealing. His one glimpse of you too fleeting for his own liking, finding you mesh’la as well. “I want to see you, omega.” He hums as he slowly reaches for your helmet. “My omega. My mate.”

You’re nervous for him to fully look at you without your helmets on, and your heart pounds beneath your chest plate. You bite your lip when your eyes meet his without the pixelated visor screen and his brown eyes soften. “Din. Alpha.” You murmur, watching him as he stares at you.

“Mesh’la.” He murmurs softly, staring into your eyes and feeling his cock harden beneath his flight suit as he smells and sees you clearly for the first time. He groans your name. “Omega.”

You ache for him, your heat curling in your stomach, and you wonder what he wants, if he still wants to wait until you return to the covert. “I don’t know what you want from me right now. Do you want us to put our helmets back on and continue on like this never happened until we return to the Armorer?” You ask, a little breathless.

“I cannot pretend I haven’t seen your face, smelled you.” Din groans, his eyes nearly closing in pain when a wave of arousal drifts over him. “I- you’re mine.” He growls again. “You are going into heat, I will take care of you.”

You whimper at his words, your body starting to get overheated with need. “Alpha.” You gasp, starting to work on removing your beskar, needing to feel the air on your hot skin. “I need you.” You pant, efficiently stripping down until you’re in your bra band and panties, boots kicked aside and you slide your hand into your panties, needing to rub your clit for some relief.

“Omega.” He growls, body tense and he steps forward, his need to touch you and take care of you nearly overwhelming his rational sense. He is about to touch you, still completely dressed in his armor except for his helmet. When he sees his gloves, he stops. “Get on the bed.” He orders, starting to strip down himself. Needing to press his skin to yours. “I will make sure you don’t need your fingers. You can have mine.”

You obey his order, shifting to lay down on the bed after reluctantly pulling your fingers out of your panties, and you watch him strip off. “Alpha. You are - you’re mesh’la.” You say, sitting up on your elbows to watch him, seeing the scars from blasters that grazed the vulnerable spots in his beskar and you want to kiss every one of them.

His own groan is one of pride and need, seeing you squirming on the bed, waiting for him. His omega, needy and wet. His hand wraps around his cock and he slowly starts to jerk himself. “You are mesh’la, cyar’ika.” He hums, eyes dark and full of lust. The waves of need and want roll off of you and mix with his own desire to fill the room. “My sweet little, omega. Wanting my cock, needing my knot.”

His voice, unmodulated, makes you shiver, and you watch him with wide eyes. “Yours, alpha.” You promise, reaching behind you to unclip your bra band, tossing it onto the floor to expose your tits to his gaze as he pumps his cock. You are aching for him. “Please. Alpha. I need your touch.”

He’s heard it before. The needy begging and calling to his alpha, but never from his mate. Growling, he scrambles onto the bed, one hand grabbing your breast while the other rips your panties off effortlessly.

You cry out in satisfaction as he quickly pushes two thick digits inside of you. “Yesss.” You hiss, feeling the ache assuage slightly with his digits curling deep inside of you. “Fuck, Din. Alpha. Yes.” You whine, tilting your head towards his.

It will be the first time he’s kissed anyone and it’s fitting that it’s his mate. His lips come crashing down against yours roughly as he curls his fingers inside you. Unskilled, he relies on what he had imagined doing, watching holo vids and jerking off when he was alone in his bunk. His tongue pushing into your mouth when you moan and he makes a feral sound of pleasure of his own.

You moan into his mouth, tangling your tongue with his and it’s unskilled but passionate. Your hands tangle in his hair, tugging slightly and you feel his cock twitch against your thigh. You’ve both had sex before, neither of you have kissed and it’s clumsy but you soon get the hang of it.

He feels like he doesn’t want to ever stop kissing you. Pumping his fingers deep inside your quivering cunt, he groans and rocks his hips against your belly. Loving how eagerly you respond to me.

You pant into his mouth, getting closer to orgasm with the way his fingers pump into you. "Alpha. I'm gonna- you're gonna make me - fuck!" You cry into his mouth as you clamp down on his digits, the ache in your belly satiated for a moment.

The first orgasm from his omega nearly makes him cum untouched. Din moans your name as he works you through the way your walls clench and your juices soak his hand. Pleasured pheromones pour off of you and he ducks his head down to press his tongue to your scent gland.

Feeling his tongue on your scent gland has you whining his name and your nails dig into his back, wanting him to bite you but he won’t until he’s ready. “I need you inside of me. Please, alpha.” You beg, gently pushing him off of you so you can shift onto your hands and knees for him.

Din growls, loving the submissive display, looking at your dripping cunt as you move to your hands and knees. Showing him how badly you need him. “My omega is eager.” He groans, slapping your ass and squeezing your hips as he throbs. He knows this first time will be rough. You know it too. Taking his cock on his hand, he shuffles forward and notches it at your entrance. Hissing when he snaps his hips forward ruthlessly and buries himself deep in your cunt.

Your breath is immediately pushed from your lungs and you gasp as he stretches you out. You fall forward onto your elbows and squeeze your eyes shut as he doesn’t hesitate to start moving inside of you. It’s rough and your body feels like it’s on fire. “Yes! Oh fuck, yes! Alpha. I- shit.” You curse, cunt fluttering around his cock.

You’re perfect around him. Gloriously tight and taking every harsh thrust with a choked moan as he starts to hammer into you. Need and the instinct to give you every piece of himself has him gripping your hips like you might get away from him and rocking deep to push up against your womb.

You grip the sheets beneath you, your cheek pressed against them as he pushes into you over and over again. “Fuck. Oh fuck Din.” You pant, thighs starting to shake as he pushes you closer and closer to orgasm with every harsh rock of his hips.

Suddenly, Din stops. Circling his hips as he lifts your and grinds into you. He was going to cum and he wants to make sure that you are satisfied before he gives into any of his own needs. “Fuck, omega, you are so perfect.” He grunts out, panting as he feels you squeeze him. “Are you going to be a good girl and take my knot? Let me breed you one day?”

You whine, deep from your throat. “Yesss. I’ll let you- have as many as you want, alpha. I want to be good for you. Want you to be happy.” You pant, thighs shaking still as he grinds deep and his hand spreads wide until his thumb is pressing against your clit.

“Good girl.” He growls out, twitching inside you. He’s imagined breeding you before, many times, even before knowing you were his omega. Hoping that working with you would cause the armorer to place you together to breed. It was why he let you on his ship. “Fuck, I- you feel so good ‘mega. So fucking tight around my cock.”

Your nails dig into the sheets and you are desperate for him to make you cum. The fire in your belly is burning and sweat beads on your forehead. “Alpha. Please.” You whine, grinding yourself back onto him. “I need - need to cum. It burns.” You almost sob with need.

“It’s okay,” he coos, rubbing your clit as he starts rocking into you again. “Your alpha is going to take care of you. Make sure your little cunt is happy by the time you leave this bed.”

You grind back onto him, his hips still not moving as he rubs your clit, and you practically sob with relief when you cum. Clamping down on his cock, you moan his name, his designation, and soak him. “Yessss.” You hiss, thighs violating shaking as you ride your high.

“Fuck.” He groans, his hands tightening on you as he feels you cum around him. “It’s so good, cyar’ika. My omega.”

You slump into the sheets, the burning dissipating for a moment so you can catch your breath and Din’s fingers dig into your hips. “Alpha. Maker, I need - I want you to knot me. Please. Fuck me hard.” You beg breathlessly.

“Yes, yes, my ‘mega can take it.” He growls proudly. “Take my cock and beg for more.” As he starts to thrust harder, it feels like he’s going to beat the bed through the wall, knocking the headboard against the panel with a loud clang every time he pushes deep.

“I can take it. I want more. Always want more. Please baby. Fuck me. Fuck me harder, Alpha.” You demand, your hands coming out to stop yourself from being squashed against the headboard.

He wants to bite you, to mark you as his even though no one would ever see your marks except him. His secret claim on you under your armor. His hisses out your name and manages to increase his frantic pace. “Fuck, fuck, Dank ferik.”

You whine his name, “Alpha. Oh Maker. You - it’s - oh shit. Shit. Shit.” You wail as you cum again, clamping down on his cock and gushing around him, feeling his knot starting to catch and you know he’s close. “Cum. Cum for me.” You beg breathlessly, reaching back to touch his hand on your hip.

Din collapses on top of you, Pushing you down to the bed, hips never stopping as he drives into you again and again. Fucking you into the bed as if that was his singular focus in life. “Gonna, gonna cum.” He grunts out, warning you. “K-knot you.”

“Do it. Fuck, I need it. Need it, Alpha.” You beg and he pushes deep just as his knot catches, his seed painting your walls with spurt after spurt. You whine in pleasure, feeling satisfied and you tilt your neck. “Make me yours, Din.”

The audible pop of his knot slipping into you releases a feral growl from deep in his chest. Unable to stop himself, his face turns towards your neck and his teeth sink into your scent gland. Marking you as his irrevocably.

You cum again from the pleasure of being tamed and from him knotting you. You sigh into the sheets when Din licks the mark he left on your skin. “I love you.” You confess, “even before I found out you’re my alpha. I’ve always loved you.” You confess with your eyes closed.

Din sighs softly and even though he could not pull away from you because of his knot, he wraps his arms around you to keep you close. “I had hoped the armorer would pair us together.” He confesses quietly. “That's why I let you join my crew.”

He shifts onto his side and you curl back into his chest, “whatever happens…it’s you and me and the kid. Even if we have to leave the covert. I would like to keep you, to keep you safe.” You promise him and he leans in to nuzzle your neck.

“Kar’ta.” He murmurs, feeling like he is complete for the first time since his nature was revealed. His other half is in his arms and he wants nothing more than to keep you there. “Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome.” He whispers softly, wondering if you will repeat the wedding vows back to him. “Mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde.”

You smile and squeeze his forearm. “Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome. Mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde.” You repeat back, turning your head to look at him, “riduur.” You whisper, kissing his jaw, “my riduur.”

“Riduur.” His spouse. You are married to him now, his - both by your nature and by your religion. “I will keep you and the child safe.” He vows, his hand sliding down to your stomach. “And any who follow.”

You kiss his lips softly, smiling against him as you place your hand over his on your stomach. “We will face whatever we need to face together. My riduur. My alpha. And when we are ready, I’ll happily have your children. Maybe we can settle on Navarro. Get a little cottage and live a peaceful life together.” You vocalize the dream you’ve had for years.

“That would be good.” He knows that it might never happen, but he wishes for it. “First we must finish our quest.” He hopes to find the armorer again and have you declared a clan of three. It will take some time, but you have time. Both of you have implants to prevent a child and his knotted cock twitches inside you as he thinks about filling you with his baby.

“Finish the quest.” You agree, “then we have the rest of our lives together. I love you, Din Djarin. My alpha.” You murmur, kissing his jaw again. “Whatever happens, we will face it together as mates. As partners.” You promise, unsure of the road ahead but you will be together, connected as one, and you will ensure the child’s safety. This is the way.

[currentfications]

Ocean Eyes | Part 1

Pairing: Bada Lee x Producer!Reader

Synopsis: You’re the newest member to Jam Republic Agency’s South Korean branch, starting next week as a music producer. You’ve arrived a few weeks in advance to settle into the area, and was advised by the agency to stop by JustJerk to greet another fellow member, famous choreographer Bada Lee.

Warnings: Swearing

AN: Recently relocated to this blog, hope you enjoy the read!

Previous | Next

Standing in front of the building, you take a deep breath and hope that the heart throb dancer you’ve seen on the dance show is as down to earth as Latrice have previously mentioned. Knowing that they are still filming the final few episodes of Street Women Fighter 2 and the possibility that the team’s schedule is jam packed, you crossed your fingers that you’ve arrived at a good time for a quick hello.

Walking into the reception area, you were greeted by the receptionist and stated your reasons of visit, along with a few administrative details. Once that is completed, you waited in front of the elevator, quickly checking your outfit. You’re wearing a turtleneck and an oversized coat, skirts with an opaque black tights underneath. Almost every inch of your skin was covered, a lesson you’ve learned during your visit to Akanen in Japan - people tend to stare a lot when you have this amount of tattoos, little artwork you’ve collected like stickers all over your body. Then there’s the intimidation factor, where people tend to find you inapprochable; you’ve decided to cover up a little for your first meet up with your agency member.

You noticed a loose shoelace right before the elevator arrived and squat down to lace up your platform boots - a signature piece on you that you never leave home without, a relic you take from your past life in Australia. The elevator dinged and you straightened yourself up to walk in.

The metal doors opened up to seven girls already inside, presumably coming up from the parking lot. Your eyes widen as you recognised the members of BEBE looking back at you, pausing their chatter to give you a polite nod. Initially planning on greeting the group leader in their studio, the sudden encounter took you by surprise. You entered the elevator with the girls and returned the greeting, only to promptly turn around to press on a random floor button. The doors closed and a moment of awkward silence filled the room.

When the elevator next opened up you excused yourself from the situation, “Have a great day lovely ladies,” came out of your mouth as you contemplated between ‘great day’ and ‘lovely day’, you marched down the corridor as the metal door slams behind you, trying to maintain your composure. As soon as the elevator moved on to the other floors you squatted down near the corridor, trying to bury your face from the encounter. You pulled out your phone to text the other Jam Republic dancer for a rant.

Y/N: LATRICE I COULDNT DO ITTTTT

Latrice: Wdym are u still standing in front of the building?

Latrice: Just walk in already u cowardly bitch 🥱

Y/N: I DID

Y/N: b-but they were just in the elevator and it was so cramped and so awkward and I freaked out 😭😭

Latrice: Ma’am are u telling me u were silent the whole elevator ride and followed them to the studio like a creep??

Y/N: What no I’m not an idiot wtf

Y/N: I went to a random floor instead

Latrice: Oh god you dumb cunt, I told u she’s really nice didn I?

Y/N: … yes :(

Y/N: … but they’re like really cute

Y/N: … and I was in an elevator with ALL 7 OF THEM

Y/N: Your honour it’s not my fault that I have problem talking to hot girls in an enclosed space

Latrice: boo, u whore

Y/N: Yes now come pick me up I know you and Kirsten are still in the area

On the other side of the elevator, the group exchanged a look and all started giggling. Your all black attire and looking statue, though did not help to make you any less intimidating, made quite an impression on the dancers. “Who’s that?” Sowoen was the first to break through the giggles. “I think I might’ve had a crush.” The youngest of the group twirled her hair between her fingers.

“Oh wow what about me?” The leader of the group interjected, her supple lips pouty, feigning a look of heartbreak.

Lusher lightly smacked their leader’s shoulder, “No but Sowoen is right, ‘lovely ladies?’ Damn that was smooth.” Tatter nodded and hummed along in agreement.

“Y’all see another tall hot dancer and have forgotten all about me, I see how it is.” Bada complaint and continued to fake-sulk. When the elevator opened up at their floor, your cotton candy perfume dissipated and the tall dancer found herself missing the sweet scent in the air.

Tatter side eyed her leader, “Emphasis on hot dancer, so you agree with our sentiment too huh-” her sentence was cut short by Bada poking her sides. “Attention ladies and gentlemen, Bada Lee has her eye on someone. I repeat, Ms. Lee is checking out someb-” the blonde was again attacked mercilessly by the taller girl.

“Excuse me I think I called first dib?” The youngest of the group protested. “I had eyes on mother first and I’ll fight.”

The group turned to her and all chimed in with disagreement, “Baby girl have you seen her? She’s gonna break your heart. I’ll have her instead.” The fox-eyed dancer added. The team laughed in unison as they got ready for the Performance Battle, putting aside their curiosity for the stranger.

[dreamings-free]

August 16, 2024 [excerpt]

Billboard reports that Backstreet Boy AJ McLean will host Building The Band. The show’s judges will include former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, former One Direction member Liam Payne, and ex-Pussycat Dolls leader Nicole Scherzinger. Scherzinger has already been a judge on a ton of reality shows — The Masked Singer, The Sing-Off, The X Factor — while Rowland had stints on the American and British versions of The X Factor and on The Voice Australia. Liam Payne has never judged a reality show, but One Direction were a product of their time as contestants on The X Factor.

-> full article here on stereogum.com

[spaceorphan18]

The Rogue and Gambit Project: Previously On X-Men... Rogue (Part 2)

Yeah... I can just tell this is going to be everyone's favorite entry of this project. ;)

As we move into the late-80s, everything gets just a little more complicated. There are now multiple X-Books going (thankfully, Rogue is just in Uncanny at this point), a ton of characters to service, and story lines that sprawl into big events. Rogue kind of... gets lost, a little, in the shuffle. But there are some notable things to point out -- and one big thing *coughmagnetocough* we're gonna have to address...

For the most part, during a majority of the run up until this point, Uncanny X-Men stood alone as the sole book to find the X-Men. Suddenly, there were a bunch more. New X-Men followed the younger kids. X-Factor brought back the original team. And now the books did big event crossovers! Which - has only made comics completely muddy sense! So, instead of picking out individual issues like episodes of televisions, I need to break this down a little more in chunks...

The Mutant Massacre (Uncanny X-Men 210-219)

Uncanny X-Men #213

This particular 'event' is something that is, unfortunately, going to come back later in a big way -- though for Gambit -- though that will have consequences for Rogue, too. But... we're a long way off from there. The quick summary is basically - a group of jerks called The Marauders decide to take out the Morlocks, a group of mutants who live in the sewers because they can't pass as 'normal' looking. And, of course, the X-Men need to stop them.

Rogue gets some decent panel time. But the biggest thing is that the X-Men are finally her home. Especially as the team begins to change in big ways, especially as she's a hero now, especially as she is more open about having a big heart, she takes being an X-Men seriously.

Uncanny X-Men #217

The other big thing going on is the changing team dynamics. A lot of the older faces have left the book. Storm is dealing with a loss of powers. Wolvie has his solo going on. Kitty and Nightcrawler have gone to the book Excalibur. The team feels like it's in constant flux (and will be until the somewhat reboot in the early 90s). Rogue is, thankfully, one of the constants. And because of this, we do get to see her more!

She doesn't necessarily get a ton of new character development. But she does get to have some interesting new dynamics. Psylocke is introduced! Dazzler and Longshot join the team! Havok crawls out of the woodwork to appear! And even Jubilee (though much later) makes an appearance - though Rogue has little to do with her.

The Fall of the Mutants (Uncanny X-Men 220-227)

Uncanny X-Men #222

The next 'event' is Fall of the Mutants. Through an uncanny (see what I did there) string of events, the X-Men end up in Dallas. The Adversary (a Strom villain, really) shows up and creates chaos in Dallas. In order to stop it, all of the X-Men 'die'. Except they don't - and are saved by someone called Roma (sigh, let's not get into /her/) and they can come back, but no one will know they are alive and no one will be able to see them in any kind of media. So.... basically, it's a way to keep the X-Men out of New York and away from X-Factor, because we can't have that happening too fast....

Again, not really a whole lot of single Rogue development, but she gets to do a lot of badass things, and she is on panel quite a bit.

The other thing to note is that their given a portal to go through - something called the Siege Perilous. I'm not going to pretend I fully understand what it is - but when you go through the portal, you get to be 'reset' (or you essentially die). I'm noting it now, because I'll become important later on.

Australia (Uncanny X-Men 228-238)

Uncanny X-Men #230

The X-Men end up down in Australia, hanging out there while having adventures for a while. Despite her basher attitude, Rogue becomes one of the softer members of the team. See - she's bringing a picnic to Gateway, the unspeaking Aboriginal mutant who is basically their transportation system. Ooff, comics.

This era is kind of setting up two things - Inferno (which we'll get to in a second) and The X-Tinction agenda. Rogue ends up getting a mini-arc here with Wolverine, where the two of them end up in Genosha -- an island where mutants are basically chained up and caged. Unfortunately, it's implied that Rogue got a little ruffed up during her stay, thought at least Claremont (I think it was him) came out and said that she was not sexually assaulted here. Ooff, comics again. But Uncanny X-Men 235-238 has some great Rogue (and Wolverine) in it. Because of this, though, the Carol Danvers Psyche kinda takes over for a while, and Rogue becomes buried.

Inferno (Uncanny X-Men 239-243)

Uncanny X-Men #240

I need to take a second and talk about how during a lot of this run Dazzler and Rogue remain at odds with each other. Part of it has to do with their past, but part of it is over... Longshot. Ooff, girl needs to have a real romantic interest and fast... ;) Also, can we take a second to appreciate how 80s that outfit is?

Uncanny X-Men #242

Out of all the late 80s events, Inferno is my favorite. It's the batshit crazy tale of an ex-wife who wants to get revenge on her ex-husband, who left her for his dead girlfriend, and decides to take down an entire city by making a deal with a demon, while using her own child as a hostage. It's bonkers. But we're not here to discuss the many loves of Scott Summers ;)

Honestly, Rogue doesn't do a whole lot in this one. She gets to knock some people out. She gets knocked out. And... that's about it. Still a great read though.

Through the Siege Perilous (Uncanny X-Men 244-247)

Uncanny X-Men #246

Rogue doesn't really get to last long in a post-Inferno world. She gets to waffle a little between Carol and her own psyche. This practically gets me because the entire time she's been around so far she only has kissed to steal people's powers. Never a kiss for love. And it's a shame they were going to kill her off without letting her get one.

Uncanny X-Men #247

During a fight with Master Mold, Rogue gets tied up and sucked into the Siege Perilous, where she essential dies. And that's it! That's her story. The end...

Kinda sucky, right? Not exactly a satisfying way to end her.

Well... an entire year is going to go by in the real world before she gets to come back...

Before get to her return, though, I would like to say this. There are a ton of great panels and moments that I didn't document for this project. I really do recommend, if you have the time and means, going through and reading all of Claremont's original run. There are some really fantastic stories - that hold up relatively well all things considered. And while the Rogue development is slightly stagnant, our girl gets some truly wonderful things to do. It's definitely a full on recommendation from me.

The Savage Land (Uncanny X-Men #269, 274-275)

Rogue Pre- and Post-Siege Perilous

Alright, so let's talk about what happened in that year. The X-Office was beginning to change. Chris Claremont was beginning to near the end of his iconic run. The 80s faded into the 90s. Artist (and infamous) Jim Lee was taking over the book. The style changed - and everyone got to be a bit more sexified. The line up became really messy as there was a new X-Men team nearly every issue. And a rather handsome thief from New Orleans made his debut. (But we aren't going to talk about that yet ;))

Uncanny X-Men #269

Rogue returned through the Siege Perilous buck naked (seriously) and clean slated. All the voices in her head were gone, all her extra powers were erased, and, some would say, she got a new personality.

She was still sassy and brassy but now we got to add demure sexpot into the mix, who wears skimpy clothing even though she still can't touch anyone. And -- this is somewhat a set up for what happens next.

But first... some context. After Rogue makes it back from the Siege Perilous (and after some stuff with the Shadow King) the Carol Psyche was ripped from her own and two bodies emerged out. The not real Carol attacked Rogue and Rogue made her escape through Gateway, and ended up -- not in Genosha where the rest of the X-Men were dealing with the X-Tinction Agenda crossover (Rogue gets to sit that one out) nor out in space where the X-Men will land next, but in the Savage Land.

And you know who's waiting down there to help her out?

Y'all knew this was coming guys...

Magneto.

Buckle in, kids, we're about to talk about Rogneto.

Uncanny X-Men #274

Fun fact: This is the first issue where Rogue and Gambit are in the same issue. However, Remy is out in space while Rogue is suck in Antarctica with Magneto. And, look guys, none of this is that bad...

When Rogue first arrives down in the Savage Land, she is pursued by the clone/body/psyche of Carol, who is trying to kill her. Magneto stops Carol and outright kills her. He also kinda kills other people, too. Great start for this romance, right?

/

Uncanny X-Men #274

Anyway, he supposedly helps her heal (and eventually she'll get her Carol powers back - but at least not with the added Carol personality.) And apparently there's some kind of spark? I mean, honestly, to me it looks like he's hurting her, but their both mostly naked so this is hot, right?

Unfortunately, while this "spark" isn't anything compared to the raging fire that's about to happen in a few issues, it's going to have an effect that won't fully be put out until a bazillion years later in X-Men Legacy. And, well, this is a part of her story.

Uncanny X-Men #274

There's really not much that happens in this issue other than these panels that I'm showing you. We get a lot of inner monologue from Erik, but really nothing to show what Rogue is feeling. I realize there's a kind of grooming aspect you could place on it here, but this all happens over days, and I barely think it's any time to make any sort of real connection good or bad? It's just kind of here... being awkward...

And you know, admittedly, that bottom right panel is very pretty. That's probably the nicest thing I'll say about something Rogneto related.

Uncanny X-Men #275

For anyone who wanted Rogue with a naked Magneto, here ya go! ;)

Uncanny X-Men #275

There is a whole plot that I've been kind of ignoring - about Zaladane and her bonkers plan to take over the Savage Land. No need to worry - Magneto is going to murder her, too. And thus we get to see the biggest issue with Rogue and Magneto. They honestly have nothing in common. Sure - Rogue was a villain for a short time, and I could (maybe?) buy it back then, but all of this feels like they wanted to give Magneto a hot chick to hang off him for a few issues. Their ideologies are just too different for this to ever make any real sense.

And if that's your thing? Sure go for it - I'll never tell anyone who or what to ship. But it does nothing for me. (Sorry :/)

Uncanny X-Men #275

And this is where it ends. Really guys, I showed you all the big hits, there's nothing, really, that happens with Rogneto during this except the alleged 'spark'. Oh, and the fact that Magneto was fine letting Rogue die while he dealt with other things. Romance for the ages guys.

Magneto is going to go back to being a villain. And Rogue is going to make her way to Muir Island, where her life is about to really, really change.... ;)

But first, let's talk about Gambit...

[the-tortured-artists-department]

TS Outfit Madness: Round 1, Matchup 26

Be sure to follow tsoutfitmadness for all upcoming polls! I really appreciate all reblogs! It helps get a bigger sample size for each poll & always keeps things more exciting 🫶🏼

For the duration of this tournament, I will be running a contest where you simply need to fill out this Google Form after you vote.

[darlinhutchence]

INXS DAY (2/3) the 1987 release of kick saw inxs' rise to immense popularity. this allowed michael hutchence to branch off into another project—max q—and the band to explode in their 1991 wembley show during the x-factor tour.

[onthisdayts]

ON THIS DAY — October 20, 2014 — 9 years ago

The X Factor Australia

[thislovintime]

(Photo 1) Rehearsals for the Australia and Japan tour, 1968; (photos 2 & 3) 1970s, photographer unnamed.

1970s:

Q: "When you left that project [The Monkees], was it just the foresight of seeing a sinking ship, and you thought it was time to bail? Peter Tork: "No, I had no idea [whether] it was going to die or not. I didn’t have enough experience to consider the question. Obviously in retrospect the TV show was the driving factor for everything! And without the TV show the thing was nothing. But basically no. I just wanted out because I didn’t like hanging out with those guys primarily because of the music aspect of things. You know, we did the 'HEADQUARTERS' thing and Micky said that he didn’t want to do it again, what he said was 'You can’t go back,' which was pure self-history, and just all a joke. Micky just says what comes to mind when he doesn’t want to do something. He will not tell you why, and all he’ll do is just throw up a lot of smoke. Davy on the other hand said that he didn’t want to do it because he was just banging a tambourine. We’re doing fifty seven takes of the same song working on arrangements. He’s got his part down take number two! And he was sick of banging a tambourine while the rest of us hassled over our parts, and he said his arm couldn’t take it (laughs). He didn’t want to do it anymore, and so you couldn’t argue with that. Mike wants to be the boss, basically Mike is 'my way, or the highway' and there’s no room for discussion in his cosmos. And Mike basically didn’t want to join the group. He wanted to be in charge, and all I ever wanted was to be a member of a group. And after 'Headquarters' we had this moment when we tried it out and it worked okay more or less, but we didn’t seem to have whatever it took to sustain it. So I quit to pursue music for better or for worse and of course nothing was heard from me again for twenty or thirty years or something." Q: "A lot of people followed every move you made though." PT: They may have but you know, some of my great musical triumphs in between time were on fairly small scales. I tore the house down in Fairfax California..." Q: "Fairfax!" PT: "Fairfax! I lived in the Fairfax area… actually San Anselmo, but Fairfax was the base. I was in the Fairfax street choir, and I worked at the Sleeping Lady Cafe. I was in a group called Asiola [sic - Osceola] with the late Chuck Vincent, and we played the ballrooms from time to time. I tore the house down when I played the Sleeping Lady one time with just a pick-up band… tore it up. It was great! You know, but it was a small scale triumph and I didn’t know how to parlay that into anything more significant." Q: "Did you ever record any of that stuff?" PT: "I did make one tape. I don’t have a copy of it though anymore." Q: "No?" PT: "I don’t have a copy of it anymore." Q: "There goes the anthology." PT: "Yep. (laughs)" - steve-escobar dot com

"[Peter] was a really good musician and I remember him playing at the Lady. […] I’ve heard some of his live stuff on tape that he did at the Sleeping Lady and was blown away by how great he really was as a musician.” - Marla Hunt Hanson, Facebook, January 3, 2021 (x)

More about the Sleeping Lady, and Peter's gigs there (including some ads from 1973, in an older post.

[rjzimmerman]

Firefighters From Around the World Headed to Canada to Battle Wildfires. (New York Times)

Hundreds of firefighters fought an intense blaze on Friday in Jasper, Alberta, as wildfires turned the picturesque town into a hell-scape of flame-licked treetops and buildings burned to ash.

Two fast moving blazes attacked the town from the north and south, forcing 25,000 people to evacuate earlier in the week, and merged into one massive conflagration.

The extent of the devastation remains unknown, but officials said on Thursday that firefighters were rushing to save what they could of the historic town that lies within Jasper National Park in Alberta. As much as half of the town, one official said, may have been destroyed.

Parks Canada, the country’s national parks agency, estimated on Thursday night that nearly 140 square miles of the park had been destroyed by the fire.

At a news conference on Thursday, Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta, fought back tears when describing the scenic beauty of the town and park. “We don’t know particularly which structures have been damaged and which ones have been destroyed, but that is going to be a significant rebuild,” she said.

Jasper National Park, which is popular with hikers attracted by its pristine natural beauty and expansive trails, is home to over 50 species of mammals, including elk and grizzly bears. An evacuation order is currently in place for the park and its website said new visitors would be banned from entering until at least Aug. 6.

Cooler temperatures and some rain provided momentary relief on Thursday, Parks Canada said in a statement on X. Those factors, the organization said, “will likely keep fire behavior low for the next 72 hours.”

Over 400 firefighters from as far away as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand were headed to help battle the fires, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Thursday.

Though wildfires in Canada have been less extensive this year than last, there are still scores of wildfires burning, primarily in the western part of the country.

Pierre Martel, the director of the national fire management program at Parks Canada, said lightning strikes late on Monday, combined with drought conditions and strong winds, contributed to starting a fire that he described as “a monster,” during a news briefing on Thursday.

[pynkhues]

general homophobia

If Sam is bi or something along those lines, that seems like it might have been a particularly difficult place/way to grow up?

(x)

I don't want to speculate on his sexuality, anon, especially given he's in a relationship, but i will say that I'm three years younger than him, and have had two friends hospitalised through homophobic hate crimes in rural Australia in my adulthood, one of whom was even in a 'straight' relationship at the time (he's bi and was dating a woman, but was perceived to be gay by this particular group of men).

I do think change is happening, but idk, I can only speak for myself, and I'm bi, and it's virtually a non-factor for me in Melbourne, but I think I would need to be in a serious relationship to openly reveal that part of myself in some other parts of the country. That said, I also never lived rurally, I just worked or visited family there, so for me I'm also operating with general passing-through safety logic.

It's impossible for any of us to say what Sam's experiences are, and I would never seek to. I think the point of these last couple of posts is just maybe to provide a little bit of context to the environment here that he's been borne out of.