#final space season 3 update

[t34-mt]

kyhuine mount, after so long (1 year?) ive finally updated its look + their name gets an update too: kriihan in kyhuine, sometimes called mamui ("our gift") in maanul

the "beak" is actually their front teeth, each year a new layer of keratin grows on top. They might be "related" to maanul in kyhuines, by that i mean like how lemurs and humans are both from the primates family but widely different/distant from each other.

kyhuines are around 110-120 cm on average (3 feet 11 1/4 inches or whatever that works), and their mounts are around 2 meters (6 feet 6). Maanuls couldn't be able to ride them as they were almost the same size as the mounts.

kyhuine mounts are used to transport people and materials, keep livestock protected as when having one or two live alongside herd of other domesticated animals will protect them as they consider them a part of their "flock", small breeds (prob the size of a male maanul) also used as mobility assistance pet in some regions as they're easier to train for that than kitri are but they take much space so in the city of kaar'kchir it would be complicated to own one in streets while in large open villages or in semi-nomadic kyhuine villages it would be easier to have one.

They can be used as animal sacrifices in some regions, animal sacrifices aren't a thing every kyhuine population does it's mainly an eastern one. Though kriihans are rare to see in sacrifices as they're so useful for many reasons, if sacrificed it's an old individual that will be.

Late AOS, first contact, kyhuines gifted some of their mounts to maanuls, which is why maanuls might call the mounts mamui "our gifts". And while for the most part, they weren't so useful since maanuls spend their time at sea, and live at cliffs. They were useful to people who would travel out in the land like for example "botanists" or central north maanuls who are half nomadic and will travel to 2 spots per year because of season and temperatures. But they could only transport materials rather than people with the kyhuine mount.

Thus northern maanuls made their own breed, much bigger so it could transport people. Tho, they would keep many kyhuine breed ones around to just transport materials. And have several maanul breeds only to transport young tired maanuls or maanuls with mobility issues that would prevent them from walking/walking long distances when migrating, before they had mamui central north maanuls used a sort of pulled rickshaw to transport people when migrating. it is still quite common to see because not every central north colony has mounts, and in general pulled various types of rickshaws are common on altuyur.

I will try to take inspiration from the Belgian Draft Horses when i design them, a maanul's kriihan would look like a behemoth next to a kyhuine. i still don't know how saddles work, i need to figure out how a dinosaur shaped creature would ride another dinosaur/ostrich shaped creature

#updating google doc to link them now #ms paint #my art #altuyur #speculative zoology #xenofiction #worldbuilding #alien #kyhuine #2023 #artist on tumblr #txt

[theetherealbloom]

THE SILVER LINING — CH. 5

Chapter Five: Closing In

Summary: After aiding the Republic and the fall of the Empire, you left the Jedi Training Clan on Bogden 3 to help families needing medical care with the call of the Force. You are a kind, warm-hearted healer on Nevarro, treating the citizens and the bounty hunters. Imperial remnants still linger in the shadows, waiting to strike at the perfect moment. Leading you to assist the Mandalorian with rescuing the Child has led you to your biggest adventure yet.

Paring: Din Djarin x Empath!FemReader

Warnings: Violence, Age–Gap Romance, Angst, FLUFF, Eventual SMUT, Swearing, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Crying, Suggestive content, Flirting, People pleasing, Flattery, Blood, Blasters, War, Religion References, Aliens, Sith, Character Deaths, One Bed Trope, Awkward, Plot Holes

Word Count: 10k

A/N: I swear I don’t mean to take months to update! I get sidetracked so often by random things and other obsessions. I’m at a point with this story where I get lost with the timeline so then I have to reread what I wrote (try not to cringe at my writing) and then continue on writing the next chapter. Usually, I’m very organized with my outline so I don’t lose track of where I am plot-wise, but Star Wars is— it truly is something else. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! We’re one step closer to the season finale. Love you guys :>

Song: De Selby (Part 2) by Hozier

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OUTER RIM TERRITORIES, 9ABY – EVENING

It had become apparent to you that Din was touch-starved, even though he never openly admitted it. You could trace the progression of his need for physical contact, starting with subtle gestures like a comforting touch on your elbow or a gentle squeeze of your hand in public. These small interactions held unspoken messages of affection, revealing a side of Din that he rarely showed to the world.

His tactile expressions of intimacy grew more pronounced over time. Your heart skipped a beat the first time he cupped your face, his gloved hand warm against your cheek. The tenderness of that touch spoke volumes, carrying a depth of emotion that words couldn't quite capture. It was a silent promise, a reassurance that you were not alone in this unpredictable universe.

One memory stood out vividly: a day when the three of you found yourselves in a cantina on an outer rim planet. The credits Din had earned were put to practical use, securing supplies and a decent meal for all of you. While Din went to order drinks, you focused on the child, ensuring he was comfortable and fed.

Amid your care-taking, an unfamiliar man appeared, his presence casting a shadow over your booth. You regarded him with skepticism, raising an eyebrow as his words dripped with overconfidence.

"Can I help you with something?" you responded, your tone laced with a mix of caution and annoyance. The stranger's attempt at flirtation was as transparent as the space beyond the cantina's windows.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing all alone in a place like this?" he purred, his words dripping with unmistakable intent.

Suppressing an inward sigh at the sheer predictability of his approach, you let a subtle, sarcastic smile curve your lips. The galaxy had taught you to navigate these situations with a mix of wits and composure.

As the child cooed beside you, curiosity evident in his innocent eyes, you shifted your gaze back to the stranger, his overconfident demeanor oozing from every pore. Your reply was measured, tinged with a hint of dry amusement, "Clearly, I'm not alone and occupied, so if you could leave, please."

Undeterred, the stranger continued with his advances. "C'mon, baby, don't be such a priss. I'll show you a good time."

You were on the cusp of rising from your seat, ready to firmly reiterate your point when a sudden shift in the atmosphere seized the cantina's attention. It was as if the air had changed, thickened by an invisible tension. The chattering voices seemed to hush instinctively.

Amid the palpable silence, Din materialized like an imposing guardian. His presence radiated authority and raw power, his Mandalorian armor reflecting the ambient light, turning him into an almost mythical figure. His voice cut through the stillness like a blade, sharp and unyielding, "She said leave."

The room held its collective breath as the stranger's bluster crumbled in the face of Din's command. The confrontation became a silent battle of wills, one that spoke volumes without the need for further words. The stranger's retreat marked a victory for the indomitable force that Din embodied, leaving the cantina in stunned silence.

Your gaze shifted from the defeated stranger to Din, who stood there with an intensity that both reassured and electrified the room. His unspoken declaration of protection wasn't lost on you, a testament to the bond forged through shared trials and unspoken connections.

And then, with a swift shift, Din's demeanor transformed. His grip on patience loosened, and his actions spoke volumes where words had been unnecessary. In a heartbeat, he had seized the offender, the loud crack of bone echoing through the hushed cantina as the stranger's resistance was brutally halted.

Your breath caught, a sharp inhale of surprise and a hint of awe, as the resounding crack of bone filled the air. It was a stark punctuation to Din's swift and decisive intervention, a thunderous echo of authority that cut through the cantina's previous cacophony. The clatter of utensils and the discordant symphony of bowls added to the jarring chorus, a testimony to the power that had just been unleashed.

The stranger, once so assertive, now resembled a scurrying insect, his escape marked by a trail of spilled drinks and overturned stools. He disappeared into the crowded haze of the cantina, no longer a contender in this silent duel.

Throughout this confrontation, Din's gaze remained unyielding, a force of nature that had momentarily swept the establishment into a hushed reverence. As the patrons bore witness to the unassailable might he wielded, their earlier bravado had crumbled into hushed awe.

With the situation resolved, Din's attention shifted back to you, and that deep, unspoken connection that had been nurtured through shared challenges seemed to shimmer in the charged atmosphere. His gloved hand gently found yours, prompting you to rise from your booth. You cradled the child securely in your arms, his innocent eyes bearing witness to this display of protective strength.

“I could have handled it,” you spoke, your voice soft and understanding, and Din nodded, a faint hint of gratitude in his voice. “I know.”

A beat passed between you, the atmosphere laden with unspoken words. Then, Din continued, his words tinged with vulnerability, "I could not just stand there and do nothing," he said, “I would... the things I would do to ensure you and the child are safe.”

His voice trailed off, leaving the weight of his unspoken commitment hanging in the air. It was a promise forged in the crucible of their shared experiences. A vow to protect and cherish, even if it meant confronting the darkest corners of the galaxy.

You blinked, your gaze filled with understanding and affection. With a gentle hand, you reached out, placing it over his heart, and whispered, "I know. I would too."

To your surprise, he was the first one to initiate the hug. His strong arms wrapped around your waist, drawing you into an embrace that felt surprisingly warm beneath the cool, unyielding exterior of his beskar armor. You still held the child in your arms, creating an intimate tableau of unity. Surprisingly, the hard plate of his chest was comforting, the armor a symbol of his steadfast protection. In his embrace, you felt safe, secure, and trusted, as if nothing in the galaxy could harm you as long as you were in his arms.

Maybe that's why you two ended up where you are now. In the passing days and nights, your connection deepened, communicated through silent reassurances by the simple touch of an elbow or the light squeeze of his gloved hand. Din seemed to always find a reason to be near you, seeking excuses to touch and hold you, even if only for a brief moment.

There were times when you would prepare food for the three of you, and Din would just watch from a few steps away. Despite the helmet, you could feel his gaze as he observed you move around the small workspace, heating the food. You would glance over your shoulder to smile at him, and his heart would flutter wildly.

In those moments, you could see the shimmering outline of his silver aura mixing with shades of reds and maroons, a silent testament to the emotions he kept hidden behind the beskar helmet. 

The nights in the cramped bunk leave you no room to move, but you find it surprisingly comfortable, curled up together. The baby sleeps soundly in his hammock nearby, his tiny breaths filling the small space with a sense of peace.

During those nights, Din often surprises you with unspoken acts of service. He'll quietly slip out of bed, leaving you wrapped in the warmth of the blankets, and return with a cup of hot caf. He never says a word, but the gesture speaks volumes, warming not just your body but your heart as well.

Sometimes, he'll softly hum a lullaby, a hauntingly beautiful tune that you've never heard before. The melody dances in the air, soothing both you and the baby, creating a bond that goes beyond words between the three of you.

As you lie there, nestled in his arms, you can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, you've found something exceptional in the vast, unforgiving galaxy.

The peace the three of you had found seemed almost too good to be true. It was a fragile tranquility in a galaxy filled with chaos, and you knew deep down that it wouldn't last long. Still, you couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, you could carve out a small sanctuary for yourselves.

But as you entered the flight deck one day and saw the look on Din's face, you knew that the serenity was about to be shattered. Concern etched your features as you asked, "What's wrong?"

Din didn't immediately reply. Instead, he pressed a button, and a flickering hologram message of Greef Karga materialized before you. His gravelly voice filled the cockpit, delivering a message that sent a chill down your spine.

"My friend, if you are receiving this transmission, that means you are alive," Greef Karga's hologram began. "You might be surprised to hear this, but I am alive too. I guess we can call it even. A lot has happened since we last saw each other. The man who hired you is still here, and his ranks of ex-Imperial guards have grown."

The weight of those words hung heavily in the air, and you exchanged a knowing glance with Din. It seemed that your past had come back to haunt you again, and the peace you had briefly tasted was slipping through your fingers like grains of sand from Tatooine.

Greef Karga's hologram continued to flicker as he outlined the dire situation on Nevarro. His gravelly voice held a tone of urgency as he explained, "They have imposed despotic rule over my city, which has impeded the livelihood of the Guild. We consider him an enemy, but we cannot get close enough to take him out. If you would consider one last commission, I will very much make it worth your while. You have been successful so far in staving off their hunters, but they will not stop until they have their prize."

The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on you and Din. It was clear that this was no ordinary mission; it was a perilous gambit that carried immense risks. Karga's proposal hung in the air, the unspoken words echoing loudly in the confined space of the Razor Crest.

"So, here is my proposition," Karga continued. "Return to Nevarro. Bring the child as bait. I will arrange an exchange, and provide loyal Guild members as protection. Once we get near the client, you kill him, and we both get what we want. If you succeed, you keep the child and I will have your name cleared with the Guild, for a man of honor should not be forced to live in exile. I await your arrival with optimism."

The concern in your eyes didn't escape Din's notice as you voiced your doubts. "This has to be a trap, Din," you asserted, your voice tinged with worry.

Din nodded in agreement, his thoughts mirroring yours. "Possibly."

A small, determined smile graced your lips as you continued, "We're gonna need help... from our friends."

As you glanced at the sleeping Child, the gravity of the situation weighed heavily on both of you. It was a decision that would determine the course of your future and the safety of the innocent life in your care.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Din made his decision clear. Without uttering a word, he steered the Razor Crest toward the coordinates Greef Karga had provided, the ship leaping into hyperspace. The die was cast, and a treacherous path lay ahead, but the bond between you and Din, and the allies you had made along the way, offered a glimmer of hope in the darkness of uncertainty.

SORGAN, 9ABY – DAY

The Razor Crest soared over the lush tree canopy of Sorgan, its engines humming like a contented beast. As the forest gave way to an open area, Din carefully brought the ship down, landing with the grace of a seasoned pilot.

Exiting the ship, you and Din followed a worn path that led to a common house in the distance. The atmosphere was different here, far removed from the cold metal of your ship. It was a place where the rustic charm of Sorgan had found a home.

Inside the common house, the commotion caught your attention. A sizable crowd had gathered, their voices mixing with the clatter of glasses and the low hum of conversation. At the center of the room, a makeshift boxing ring had been set up.

You and Din approached the ring just as Cara Dune, faced off against a male Zabrak fighter. Cara’s movements were swift and calculated, her strikes a testament to her combat prowess. The Zabrak, equally skilled, proved to be a formidable opponent. Each of them tethered to a laser that crackled with energy. The makeshift boxing ring suddenly felt smaller, the tension palpable as the combatants engaged in a fierce battle.

As the bout reached its climax, Cara executed a flawless maneuver, pulling the Zabrak in with the tether that connected them. The Zabrak, caught off guard by her sudden tactic, found himself unable to escape her grasp.

With a swift and decisive motion, Cara forced the Zabrak to tap out, his admission of defeat ringing through the air as the laser tether fizzled out between them.

Cara's triumphant grin illuminated her features as she basked in the adulation of the crowd, her chest heaving with exertion from the intense match. With a playful twinkle in her eye, she extended a victorious finger, punctuating her declaration to the assembled spectators.

"Pay up, mudscuffers! Come on. That's mine, thank you. All right, thank you," Cara exclaimed, her voice carrying over the din of the cheering crowd. In response, several patrons begrudgingly reached into their pockets, producing credits to settle their wagers.

You, Din, and the Child entered Cara's line of sight, drawing her attention away from the crowd. Din's voice, deep and commanding, cut through the noise of the common house as he addressed her directly.

"Looking for some work?" Din inquired as he broached the subject with Cara and you all decided to take a seat and have a drink as you discussed the situation.

"It's a straightforward operation," Din elucidated to Cara, his voice low and measured. Leaning forward, he rested his left forearm on the table, his gaze unwavering as he outlined the details. “They're providing the plan and firepower. I'm the snare.” Meanwhile, you tended to the Child who fussed beside you, keeping one eye on the conversation.

"With the kid? And her?" Cara inquires, casting a glance your way.

"That's why we're reaching out to you," you respond softly, meeting Cara's gaze.

Cara sighs, weighing the risks. "I don't know. I've been advised to keep a low profile. If anyone runs my chain code, I'll be in a cell for life."

"I thought you were a veteran," Din remarks, his silver helmet catching the light as he speaks. The defeated Zabrak fighter drops a credit on the table and nods at Cara, who offers a smile. "Come back soon," she calls after him.

"I've been a lot of things since. Most of them come with a life sentence," Cara explains, her expression serious. "If I so much as board a ship registered to the New Republic, I'm—"

"We have a ship," Din interjects, his voice firm. "I can take you there and back, and there'll be a handsome reward waiting. You can live free of worry."

"I'm already free of worry, and I'm not in the mood to play soldier anymore," Cara says, taking a sip from her cup. "Especially not for some local warlord."

"He's not a local warlord," Din interjects, his voice low and with a growl. You finish the statement, your tone was distant, eyes glazed. "He's Imperial."

Cara takes a deep breath and offers a small smile as she nods. "I'm in."

INSIDE THE RAZOR CREST

OUTER RIM TERRITORIES, 9ABY – SPACE

"Does your contact need to vet me?" Cara leans against the side of the cockpit panel, her arms crossed. Din shakes his head. "Doesn't know you're coming."

Cara raises an eyebrow. "Really? That could be a problem."

"It won't. But if it is, that's his problem." Din shrugs before exiting the cockpit. You give the Child a gentle pat as he sits beside you, then follow Din down the ladder and to the weapons locker with Cara.

"Is he alright up there alone?" Cara asks, nodding towards the cockpit. 

Din nods. "Yeah." He opens the locker, the doors hissing as they slide apart. Gesturing to the array of weapons, he adds, "Pick one."

"Do you trust the contact?" Cara inquires, brows raised as she sifts through the locker's contents, a grin playing on her lips.

Din lets out a sigh. "Not particularly," he admits, his tone tinged with a hint of wariness. "He and I had a run-in last time I was there on some Guild business."

"So then why are we going?" Cara questions, her tone laced with curiosity as she glances over at Din.

"I don't have a choice," Din responds, his voice carrying a weight of resignation. He pauses, then reaches out to pull you closer to his side, anchoring you against him as he leans against the ship's panel. "You saw what happened on Sorgan. They'll keep sending hunters," he continues, his gaze steady. "The kid and her... they'll never be safe until the Imp is dead."

"And you're okay with bringing them back there?" Cara asks skeptically, a hint of concern coloring her tone. You frown slightly, your expression conveying a sense of determination as you respond, "I can take care of myself."

"What about the kid? We need someone to watch that thing," Cara remarks, gesturing towards the Child above in the cockpit. Din nods in agreement, acknowledging the need for a trustworthy guardian. "Yeah."

"You got anyone you can trust?" Cara inquires further, her gaze shifting between you and Din.

You feel Din's thumb brush over the exposed part of your hip, a comforting gesture that sends a subtle warmth rippling through your body. He hums softly, his presence enveloping you in shades of silver and grey, a reassuring aura amidst the uncertainty of the moment.

Suddenly, the ship begins to rumble, Cara stumbles, her hands reaching out to brace herself against the wall. Meanwhile, Din swiftly pulls you closer to his body, a protective instinct evident in his actions. With a gruff huff, he releases you and heads back up the ladder.

You and Cara follow Din up the ladder, only to find the Child meddling with the controls, causing the ship to thrash and rumble. Din takes charge, settling into the pilot's seat to stabilize the Razor Crest once more.

"We really need someone to watch over him," you remark, holding the Child securely in your arms while Din nods and agrees, “Yeah.”

MOISTURE FARM, ARVALA-7 — SUNSET

The Razor Crest settles on the desolate planet of Arvala-7, its rocky surface bathed in the warm hues of the setting sun. As the ramp lowers, you step out alongside Din and Cara, the hovering pram carrying the Child trailing close behind.

Your eyes fall on the Ugnaught Din mentioned, a figure named Kuiil, who greets you warmly as you make your way to his home. With a nod, you duck your head to enter the tunnel-shaped structure, eager to get to know Kuiil.

"It hasn't grown much," Kuiil remarks, his eyes fixated on the Child.

Din nods in agreement. "I think it might be a Strand-Cast."

Kuiil shakes his head slowly. "I don't think it was engineered. I've worked in the gene farms. This one looks evolved. Too ugly."

"I had a dream recently," you begin, your voice soft but earnest. "A creature like him named Yoda appeared to me… this little one is likely to be one of his kind."

Din listens intently, his gaze underneath his helmet fixed on you as you speak.

"It’s why I followed you, at first," you continue, turning to face him. "Because the last time the Empire had Force Sensitive children…" You trail off, overcome with emotion. "I just couldn’t leave him there."

Din's gauntleted hand gently clasps yours, emanating a comforting warmth that sends a tender sensation coursing through your veins. You feel a soft flush rise to your cheeks as you meet his gaze, the visor of his helmet lending an air of mystery to his expression.

Kuiil clears his throat, his gaze shifting between you and Din. "You and Din make a formidable pair," he says with a nod, his tone carrying a note of respect. "A union like yours brings strength and unity in uncertain times."

A flush of embarrassment warms your cheeks, prompting you to avert your gaze momentarily. However, Din's firm grip on your waist draws you closer to where you sat, anchoring you in his reassuring presence.

Meanwhile, Kuiil turns to Cara with a playful glint in his eye. "This one, on the other hand," he remarks, "looks like she was farmed in the Cytocaves of Nora."

You gesture toward Cara with a smile, introducing her to Kuiil. Cara responds with a nod, her own smile reflecting the camaraderie in the room.

Kuiil's eyes settle on Cara's arm, where the telltale tattoo of a Dropper catches his attention. "You were a Dropper," he observes, prompting Cara to raise an intrigued eyebrow. "Did you serve?" she inquires the Ugnaught.

Kuiil settles onto a stool, his expression taking on a thoughtful cast. "On the other side, I'm afraid," he admits. "But I'm proud to say that I paid out my clan's debt, and now I serve no one but myself."

As Kuiil speaks, the room is suddenly interrupted by the mechanical steps of an approaching figure. You glance toward the entrance and see an IG-11 droid entering, carrying a tray of steaming drinks. Instantly, both Din and Cara spring to their feet, blasters are drawn, their defensive instincts kicking in. Meanwhile, you remain seated, a mix of confusion and curiosity etched on your face.

The IG-11 droid, its metallic voice crisp and clear, breaks the tension with an unexpected offer. "Would anyone care for some tea?"

Kuiil, ever composed, raises a calming hand towards Din and Cara. "Please lower your blasters," he urges, his voice steady and assured. "He will not harm you."

"That thing is programmed to kill the baby," Din asserts, his voice tinged with anger as he keeps his blaster trained on the IG unit.

Kuiil interjects calmly as IG-11 places the tray on the table in front of you, "Not anymore. It was left behind in the wake of your destruction.”

“I found it laying where it fell. Devoid of all life. I recovered the flotsam and staked it as my own in accordance with the Charter of the New Republic. Little remained of its neural harness.” Kuiil recounted to you and you listened intently.

"Reconstruction was quite the challenge, but not impossible," Kuiil reflects, his voice carrying the weight of experience. "It had to learn everything anew. This is not a task for mere machinery. It demands patience and repetition. Day after day, I nurtured its growth with care and affirmation. And as its experiences expanded, so did its personality."

Din remains skeptical, his tone betraying his doubt as he inquires, "Is it still a hunter?"

"No," Kuiil replies firmly, "but it will defend."

As the IG-11 droid offers, “Tea?” Cara grabs the cup and takes a sip while you exchange glances with Kuiil, sensing the sincerity in his words reflected in the warm hues of the sunset. With a reassuring touch, you rise from your seat and place a hand on Din's outstretched arm, gently guiding down the blaster. "He speaks the truth," you affirm softly. "It’s okay. We’re okay."

Reluctantly, Din secures his blaster back into its holster, his tension easing slightly as he acknowledges the reassurance in your words.

"I've encountered some difficulties," Din admits as he approaches Kuiil, who is tending to the Blurrg.

Kuiil emits a thoughtful hum. "Seems like you've been managing quite well. Especially with her support," he remarks, nodding in your direction. You're engrossed in play with the Child, introducing the little one to the droid, while Cara observes with interest.

As Din watches you, bathed in the warm glow of the setting suns, he can't help but marvel at your radiance. Your smile outshines even the brightest stars in the galaxy. In that moment, he feels a profound sense of gratitude for having someone like you by his side.

A warm sensation stirs within Din as he watches you laugh at something the Child finds amusing. The primal urge to claim you as his own surges within him, an instinctual longing he struggles to suppress. Beneath his helmet, his jaw tightens as he fixates on you, momentarily lost in the intensity of his emotions. When you glance his way and offer a smile and a wave, his heart swells with longing, yearning for a world where he could have you all to himself, free from the burdens that weigh upon you both.

Swallowing hard, Din tears his gaze away, attempting to regain his composure. "That's not... that's not why we're here," he insists, his voice tinged with an edge of determination.

"I assumed as much. There must be another reason for your return," Kuiil observes with a knowing hum.

Din's voice carries a low, earnest tone as he addresses the Ugnaught. "I need your services."

"I'm retired from service," Kuiil responds, his voice measured.

Ignoring the subtle refusal, Din presses on, his words tinged with a hint of desperation. "I can pay you handsomely, Ugnaught.”

The Ugnaught, displeased by Din's persistence, harumphs. "I have a name. It is Kuiil."

Din's gaze remains unwavering as he makes his request clear. "I require someone to protect the child, Kuiil."

Kuiil shakes his head, his resolve unwavering. "I am not suited for such work. I can reprogram IG-11 for nursing and protocol duties."

Din's voice grows firmer, his tone resolute. "No. I do not want that droid anywhere near him."

"Why are you so distrustful of droids?" Kuiil asks, his tone curious yet skeptical.

Din's response is matter-of-fact. "It tried to kill him."

Kuiil nods, understanding. "It was programmed to do so. Droids are not inherently good or bad. They are neutral reflections of those who imprint them." He looks to Din, hoping to impart some sense to the Mandalorian.

Din's voice carries a distant gravity as he speaks with a serious tone. "I've seen otherwise."

"Do you trust me?" Kuiil's gravelly voice breaks the silence, his gaze steady on Din.

Din nods thoughtfully. "From what I can tell, yes."

"Then trust my work. IG-11 will join me," Kuiil asserts, his tone resolute. "And we do it not for payment, but to protect the child from Imperial slavery."

A weight seems to settle on Din's shoulders as he exhales softly. Kuiil's continues, "None will be free until the old ways are gone forever."

Din takes a moment to consider, his mind churning with the implications. Finally, he meets Kuiil's gaze and nods. "Okay."

"The blurrgs?" Din queries, a hint of confusion in his voice as Kuiil starts to walk away.

Kuiil pauses, turning back to face Din. "And the blurrgs will join me as well," he affirms, his tone carrying a sense of finality.

Kuiil turns once more and continues on his way, leaving Din standing there with a contemplative expression. As he disappears from sight, his parting words linger. "I have spoken."

INSIDE THE RAZOR CREST

OUTER RIM TERRITORIES, 9ABY – SPACE

After securing the blurrgs in the Razor Crest's cargo hold, Din takes control of the ship's controls, steering it towards Nevarro. With the ship set on autopilot, you and he descend the ladder into the cargo hold, where the Child sits in his hovering pram, eyes wide with curiosity as he emits a soft cooing sound.

As you assist Kuiil with feeding the blurrgs, your attention is drawn to the sounds of grunting nearby. Slowly turning, you find Cara and Din engaged in an arm wrestle, their muscles straining against each other in the dim light of the cargo hold. Despite the intense competition, they appear evenly matched.

As you observe Din's impressive display of strength, a flutter of excitement stirs within you, mingled with a hint of something more intimate. His determination and power are undeniably captivating, igniting a subtle thrill that courses through your veins.

"I got you, Mando," Cara declares with a huff, her voice laced with determination.

Din's response is confident as ever. "Care to double the bet?" he challenges, his voice resonating with a subtle intensity. You catch a glimpse of his gaze behind the visor, sensing his determination.

Intense heat rises to your cheeks at the sound of his gruff grunt, the raw energy of the moment heightening your anticipation. You’ve been buzzing with anticipation for weeks.

But the heat fizzes out as a moment of panic grips you as Cara struggles, her hand dropping abruptly from the arm wrestling match. It startles both you and Din, prompting him to rise to his feet with urgency.

As you rush over to the Child, you hear Din's firm voice addressing the little one. "No! No, no! Stop! We're friends, we're friends. Cara is my friend!" he asserts, his tone authoritative.

Stretching out your hand, you tap into the Force, attempting to gently ease the Child's grasp on Cara. Gradually, the tension dissipates, and you release your hold on the Force, feeling a wave of relief wash over you. Eager breaths escape your lips, leaving you slightly winded from the unexpected exertion.

Cara gestures toward the Child and voices her concern, "That is not okay!"

"Hmm. Very curious," Kuiil remarks, his gaze shifting to you and the Child.

"Curious? It almost killed me!" Cara exclaims, her alarm evident.

"The story you told me of the mudhorn now makes more sense," Kuiil adds.

"Mudhorn?" You interject, your curiosity piqued. You glance over at Din, who has now moved closer to you, checking to ensure you're okay as you still catch your breath from the ordeal.

"What is it?" Din inquires Kuiil while keeping you close by his side.

"What it is, I don't know. But what it does, this… This I've heard rumors of," Kuiil replies.

Cara shoots the Ugnaught a skeptical glance. "What? When you worked for the Empire?"

Kuiil stands his ground, his tone resolute. "When I was sold to the Empire, in indentured servitude."

"Yet somehow, you walk free," Cara retorts with a scoff, rising to her feet. But Kuiil remains unfazed. "I bought my freedom through the skill of my hands and the labor of three of your human lifetimes. Do not cast doubt upon what I am nor whom I shall serve."

As the swirling colors of intense emotions overwhelm your senses, you feel a surge of turbulence within. It's a challenge to maintain composure, especially given your empathic abilities.

Sensing your discomfort, Din's demeanor softens, a rare glimpse of tenderness shining through. In a voice touched with kindness, he addresses Kuiil, "Tell you what. I could really use your craftwork right now. Can you pad this container so the child can sleep better?"

Kuiil acknowledges the request with a nod, his expression solemn. "I shall fabricate a better one. Then perhaps this Dropper can see how one can win their freedom with the skill of one's hands."

With purposeful movements, Kuiil sets to work, the hum of machinery filling the space as sparks fly from the welding gun. Meanwhile, the Child observes with wide-eyed curiosity. Feeling Din's comforting touch on your lower back, he guides you back up the ladder toward the cockpit.

You move to take a seat on a nearby chair, but before you can settle, Din swiftly pivots from his pilot chair. His strong hands encircle your waist, pulling you onto his lap in a single fluid motion. You emit a surprised yelp as you find yourself seated sideways, legs draped over his, and your head nestled against the cool surface of his beskar pauldron. Instinctively, you loop your arms around his neck to maintain your balance.

"Din! Cara could walk in any second," you whisper urgently.

He responds with a nonchalant hum. "She won't mind."

"But—"

"You seemed winded earlier, using your..." Din's voice trails off as he adjusts a few controls, and you finish his thought, "The Force?"

"Yes," he confirms.

You release a sigh and reach up to lightly touch the side of his helmet, wishing you could see beyond the reflective visor. "Din, I'm alright. It just took me by surprise. Later, I'll speak with the kid about using the Force responsibly. It's something we need to ensure he understands."

As you utter the word "we," something ignites within Din's chest. The notion of you wanting to stand by his side, to be integrated into his clan, strengthens his need to claim you as his own, to initiate the formal courtship.

With a gentle movement, he leans his helmet closer, as he uses his left gloved hand to hold the back of your neck, bringing your forehead to rest against his. The warmth of your skin contrasts with the cool touch of his beskar armor. You instinctively close your eyes, sharing a moment akin to the gesture known as the keldabe kiss.

You emit a soft sound, unable to suppress it as you sense him gently squeeze the back of your neck, expressing his desire to draw nearer. Din gruffly murmurs, "Soon, Cyar'ika. Soon."

"You better be fully clothed in there, I'm coming in!" Cara's voice echoes through the ship before the doors hiss open and shut, signaling her entrance. She finds you still seated on Din's lap, a sheepish expression on your face.

Wide-eyed, you attempt to slide off Din's lap, but he pulls you closer in a tighter grip. Your embarrassment intensifies, your cheeks burning as Cara smirks at you. Wanting to hide, you bury your face between Din's neck and shoulder, the heat of the moment igniting a mix of desire and embarrassment throughout your body.

Cara meticulously cleans her blaster as she addresses both of you, "So, we're heading to Nevarro?"

Din, still seated with you on his lap, engages in the conversation, "Have you been there before?"

"No," Cara responds, settling into her seat with the blaster and a rag in hand. "We lost a lot of our forces there. The city's dug in pretty deep. No cover when you drop in. It stayed in Empire control 'till the end of the war.”

Din nods in acknowledgment. "The warlord we're taking out was an Imperial officer.”

Cara's curiosity piques. "What station?"

Din turns his chair, keeping you snugly in his hold, as he explains, "Hard to tell. No insignia anymore.”

You attempt to wriggle out of his grasp once more, but his arm around your midsection keeps you firmly in place.

"We took out the safehouse when we snatched the kid." Din continues, his tone grave. "More Imps have reinforced since.” 

Apologies for the oversight. Here's the revised text, retaining the original dialogue:

"There's something more going on," Cara remarks as she begins to clean a different rifle.

"Maybe. We'll find out more when we land," Din replies, his gaze fixed on the controls.

The doors hiss open, and IG-11 steps inside, its robotic voice announcing, "I have prepared second meal. Would you care to be served here or below?"

"I'm not hungry," Din says flatly.

The IG-11 leaves.

Cara's chuckle echoes lightly in the cockpit. "You got a real thing for droids, don't you?" she teases.

Din's voice remains monotone as he responds, his helmet reflecting the dim light. "I got a real thing for that droid."

"The Ugnaught said he rewired it," Cara mentions, her tone casual.

Din shakes his head, his expression hidden behind the helmet. "That droid was designed to kill things. I don't care how much wiring he replaced. It goes against its nature."

Cara's departing words linger in the air as she heads back down to the cargo hold, leaving you and Din alone once more.

A hushed quiet falls between you, the hum of the ship's engines filling the space. You break the silence, the words catching in your throat. "We need to get ready..."

Din's voice is soft, barely above a whisper. "Just let me hold you a little longer, Cyar'ika," he murmurs, his tone laden with affection. You meet his gaze, feeling a warmth spread through you, and with a quiet nod, you reply, "Okay."

NEVARRO, 9ABY – DUSK

The Razor Crest descends into a desolate corner of Nevarro, the distant hum of its engines fading as it settles on the uneven terrain. Your pulse quickens, the rhythm echoing in your ears as you adjust the cloak robe to conceal your lightsaber, keeping it out of sight.

The four of you dismount the ship, perched atop blurrgs, and spot Greef Karga approaching, accompanied by three other bounty hunters including a human, Nikto, and a Trandoshan. He strides toward your party, a mix of urgency and caution in his steps. "Sorry for the remote rendezvous, Mando, but things have gotten complicated since you were last here,” he says, coming to a halt a few paces away.

As he surveys the group, Greef Karga remarks, "It appears that introductions are in order. It seems we've both provided a security detail," His gaze shifts to Cara. "I'd suggest the shock trooper stays back to guard the ship. These lava fields are swarming with Jawas."

"She's coming with us," you assert firmly.

"But the town is now run by ex-Empire. If a Rebel Dropper is with us, they'll all get their hackles up," Greef Karga argues, attempting to dissuade you.

"She's coming," Din insists.

Greef Karga grudgingly relents. "Fine," he seethes, then relents once more with a resigned sigh. "Fine." Gesturing to Cara, he adds, "Just cover your tattoo. No need to draw unnecessary attention."

"Now, where's the little one?" Karga inquires. Din activates a button on his bracer, causing the hovering pram to glide forward, its hatch hissing open. Greef Karga leans in to inspect the Child, drawing uneasy gazes from the group. Fingers hover near blasters as tension mounts, and you clench your jaw.

"So, this little bogwing is what all the fuss was about. What a precious little creature. I can see why you didn't want to harm a hair on its wrinkled little head," Greef Karga remarks, lifting the Child briefly before returning it to the hovering pram. Din swiftly closes the hatch with another press of his bracer, bringing the pram back to his side.

As the group prepares to embark on their journey across the lava fields of Nevarro, Greef Karga lays out the plan. "Well, I'm glad this matter will be put to rest once and for all. The sun drops fast on Nevarro. We can walk for a spell, camp out at the riverbank, then make our way into town at first light," he explains. You nod in agreement as your group rides the blurrgs, ready to traverse the treacherous terrain.

NEVARRO, 9ABY — EVENING

As the group settles in for the night, a campfire crackles, casting flickering light on the surrounding faces. You find a spot on the ground, seated cross-legged like the others. Positioned between Din and the Child, Kuiil patiently feeds the young one while you quietly finish your meal.

Across the fire, the three bounty hunters sit, their faces illuminated by the dancing flames. With a keen sense, you observe them, your empathic force powers awakening to perceive shades of darkness and red, hinting at hidden motives and deceit.

As you unconsciously shift closer to Din, preparing to whisper your observations, Greef Karga's voice cuts through the quiet night. He gazes at the Child, remarking, "I guess the little bugger's a carnivore. Never seen anything like it. They were ready to pay a king's ransom for that thing. Must be for some kind of highfalutin menagerie."

"Let's go over the plan again," Din interjects, brushing off Karga's comments.

“We three enter the common house. We show the client the bait. We join him at the table. And you kill him,” Greef Karga explains matter-of-factly, as if it's the simplest thing in the world.

Din quickly follows up, “Tell me about his reinforcements.”

“They're all ex-Empire. As soon as they lose their paycheck, poof, they'll all scatter,” Greef Karga replies nonchalantly.

“And what if they don't?” You press further.

“They will,” Greef Karga asserts confidently.

Din shakes his head, “That's not good enough.”

Greef Karga sighs heavily, “If, for argument's sake, a few of them don't realize that I'm their best path to alternative employment and they elect to react impulsively, then these three fine Guild Hunters, along with that battle-hardened shock trooper, and your Jedi will cut down anyone who bucks.”

“I’m a medic, not a Jedi,” you mumble with a clenched jaw.

“How many will there be?” Din asks Greef Karga.

“No more than four,” Karga replies as he rises from his seated position, heading over to the large piece of meat roasting over the campfire. He reaches out to grab a piece, confidently stating, “He travels with, at most, a Fire Team. Trust me. Nothing can go wrong.”

However, his confidence is shattered as a large beast emerges from the darkness. It's a species of winged, predatory reptavians native to Nevarro. With a large wingspan, scaly and dry skin, and a dragon-like appearance, these reptavians have a pointed snout, a mouth filled with sharp teeth, and two brownish eyes.

One of the reptavians swoops down, sinking its teeth into Greef's arm, eliciting a pained grunt from him. Chaos erupts as blaster fire fills the air, echoing against the rocky terrain. Each member of the group takes aim, firing at the winged assailants with precision.

With swift movements, the Mandalorian secures the Child in his hovering pram, shielding the youngling from harm. Meanwhile, you ignite your lightsaber, its vibrant purple hue casting an eerie glow in the dim light. Swinging it fiercely, you fend off the winged creatures with determined strikes.

Amidst the commotion, a blurrg and a Trandoshan bounty hunter fall victim to the creatures' relentless onslaught. As one of the reptavians swoops down to snatch another blurrg, it meets its demise in a barrage of blaster fire, falling lifeless to the ground. Unfortunately, in the chaos, a blurrg is accidentally struck by friendly fire.

After the Mandalorian's flamethrower repels the winged creatures, a tense silence settles over the group, broken only by the occasional groan of pain from Greef Karga. As the dust settles and the smoke clears, everyone remains on edge, waiting to see if the creatures will return.

Moving swiftly, Kuiil rushes to Greef's side, his concern evident in the furrow of his brow. "He's hurt badly," Kuiil announces, his voice tinged with worry.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. Ow!" Greef insists through gritted teeth, his bravado failing to mask his discomfort. You kneel beside him, your focus on assessing his injury. The deep bite mark left by the reptavians catches your attention, and you speak with authority, "Hold still."

"They got you good," you murmur, your focus still fixed on the deep wound.

"How bad, Cyar'ika?" Din's voice comes from behind you as you work.

"Bad. The poison's spreading fast," you reply, urgency lacing your tone as you inject Greef Karga with a pen, hoping it will slow the venom's progress.

"So this... This is how it happens," Greef Karga says between labored breaths.

Cara rolls her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic."

"I need another medpac! Got any other medpacs?" you urgently call out.

“Anyone? I'm guessing that's a ‘no’,” you say with a huff, frustration creeping into your voice. You glance back at his arm, noting the venom's continued spread. “It's still spreading. This isn't working.”

“Get this thing outta here,” Cara exclaims, prompting you to realize that the Child had approached unnoticed.

Observing the Child, Kuiil interjects, “Wait.”

The Child extends his tiny green hand and places it atop Greef Karga’s arm. With a wince, Karga cries out, “He's trying to eat me!”

You sense it too—the subtle hum of the Force emanating from the Child. With each focused use, the Child begins to harness his abilities, channeling them to gradually heal Greef Karga’s arm, leaving no trace of a scar. Witnessing such skill from one so young fills you with awe; Force Healing of this magnitude is exceedingly rare. A collective exhale fills the air, each member of the group seemingly sharing in the astonishment of witnessing such a miraculous feat.

NEVARRO, 9ABY – DAWN

As the sun begins to ascend, casting a dim light across the rugged landscape, the group presses onward. Smoke billows from the small volcanic vents scattered throughout the rocky terrain of Nevarro. An uneasy silence envelops the group, with Greef Karga's companions forging ahead, leaving you, Din, Cara, and Kuiil to tread quietly behind on foot, the Ugnaught trailing along atop the last remaining blurrg.

Cara speaks softly, directing her question to both you and Din. "You think they're having second thoughts?"

Din responds in a hushed tone, his voice barely audible. "Could be. I need your eyes."

"I'm watching," Cara confirms with a nod.

An hour later, your group arrives at the outskirts of Nevarro, with Greef Karga leading the way and you, Din, and Cara close behind. "I guess this is it," Greef Karga remarks, gazing out at the view. But something tugs at your gut, a feeling that something isn't right.

Before you can react, Greef abruptly turns around and fires at his associates, sending them collapsing lifeless to the ground. The sudden violence startles you, Din, and Cara. They swiftly unholster their blasters, aiming them at Greef Karga, while you grasp your saber hilt, activating it in readiness to deflect any blaster fire.

Din and Cara keep their blasters trained on Greef Karga, who raises his hands in surrender. "There's something you should know," he confesses as he ensures that both the bounty hunters are truly dead and kicks away their blasters. "The plan was to kill you and take the kid. But after what happened last night, I couldn't go through with it."

Your brow furrows as you listen to Karga's plea. "Go on," he continues, "You can gun me down here and now, and it wouldn't violate the Code. But if you do, this child will never be safe."

Cara grits her teeth and shoots Karga a scowl. "We'll take our chances," she asserts firmly.

"The Imperial client is obsessed with obtaining this asset. You tried to run, but where did it get you?" Greef Karga reasons, causing Cara to grow more agitated. "This is ridiculous," she tells Din.

"Perhaps you should let him speak," Kuiil interjects calmly, while you maintain a steady gaze on Greef Karga.

Karga points out, "Listen, we three need the client to be eliminated. Let me take the child to him and then you two…"

"No," Din interrupts firmly.

Cara clenches her jaw, her blaster aimed at Greef Karga. "Let's just kill him and get outta here," she suggests, her frustration evident.

You feel the Force connecting you through your empathic powers, sensing the true colors of Greef Karga. Taking a deep breath and deactivating your saber, you speak up. "He's right."

Din lowers his blaster, while Cara hisses in disbelief, "What are you doing?"

"As long as the Imp lives, he'll send hunters after the child," Din explains to Cara, who responds with a warning, "It's a trap."

"Bring me," Din suddenly interjects.

"What?" you exclaim, taken aback, while Greef Karga echoes, "Bring you?"

"Tell him you captured me. Get me close to him and I'll kill him," Din states with determination, and Karga nods, “That's a good idea. Give me your blaster.”

As Din hands over his blaster, it prompts you to protest as you take a step closer to him. "No! Hold on, it should be me. Bring me instead," you insist.

Din begins, "Cyar'ika—"

You sharply turn your head to face Greef Karga. "Do they know?"

Greef Karga begins to respond, but you cut him off, your voice tense with urgency. "Do. They. Know?"

"Yes," he confirms.

"Okay," you swallow, your mind racing through the options and landing on a decision. "You bring me in. Say that Cara captured me and convinced Mando to trade me instead of the Child." You then hand over your saber hilt to Greef Karga who pockets it.

"No. Absolutely not. You are going back to the ship with Kuiil and the Child," Din interjects, his tone firm.

"But without her or the Child, none of this works!" Karga exclaims, trying to reason.

"I’m going with you," you assert, stepping closer to Din. As he meets your gaze through his visor, you see the conflict in his eyes. He starts to protest, but you cut him off with a whispered plea, "I am going with you, and there is nothing you could say to convince me otherwise. We face these things together." You reach out and touch the side of his helmet, feeling the cool metal beneath your palm as you press your foreheads together. "Let me be there for you, like you were for me. Please."

Din hesitates, visibly conflicted. Finally, he lets out a shaky exhale. "Maker help me. Fine, fine. But you listen to me, alright? When I tell you to run, you run. Got it?"

You nod, determination in your eyes. "Okay."

Din grunts out his plan. "Kuiil, ride back to the Razor Crest with the child and seal yourself in. Once you're inside, engage ground security protocols. Nothing on this planet will breach those doors."

"Here's a comlink," Kuiil says, handing Din the device. "I will keep the child safe."

Kuiil looks at Cara and advises, "Don't forget to cover your stripes."

"Let's go," Din nods, prompting everyone to prepare. He turns to you, offering a pair of silver binders. You secure your hands in front of him, feeling a flush of embarrassment at the familiar sensation of the cuffs.

With a click, your hands are bound, and he asks softly, "Not too tight?"

Feeling playful, you respond with a cheeky grin, "You could make it tighter."

There's a warmth in his chest, almost like laughter. His mouth quirks into a smirk. "Cyar'ika, you are going to be the death of me."

You freeze, sensing the shift in his demeanor beneath the helmet. It's almost like awe or something.

"What?" he asks, catching your reaction.

"You're smiling, I can tell by your voice," you note, smiling yourself. Your eyes meet the visor of his helmet, and his skin prickles with awareness.

Suddenly, he wants you a lot closer. In his lap. Straddling him, maybe. Your hands in his hair, and his in yours. But there's no time for that. You clear your throat, breaking the moment, and gesture toward Greef Karga, who is waiting for the other pair of stun cuffs to restrain Din.

Din regains his composure, walking over to Greef Karga to be cuffed. As he does, Cara conceals her tattooed arm with a cloth, and Kuiil picks up the Child from the hovering pram. With your group heading in opposite directions, you hope fervently that everything will go according to plan.

NEVARRO, 9ABY — DAY

Greef and Cara escort the bound Mandalorian, you, and the hovering pram toward the town. At the gate, they come across two scout troopers riding 74-Z speeder bikes.

"Chain code?" one of the Scout Troopers demands, eyeing Greef Karga suspiciously.

Greef nods toward you and Din. "I have a gift for the boss."

The Scout Trooper repeats, "Chain code?" with insistence. Reluctantly, Greef retrieves his card and hands it over.

The Scout Trooper scans Greef's card. "I'll give you 20 credits for the helmet," he offers, eyeing the Mandalorian's helmet.

Greef lets out a fake laugh. "Ha-ha! Not a chance. That's going on my wall."

Din leans in to Karga, whispering, "On your wall?" Greef shoots him a pointed look. "Go with it."

"Go ahead," the Scout Trooper says, returning Greef's card. The group proceeds forward into town.

Cara gives Greef a sharp look. "You said four. There are more than four troopers."

Greef explains quietly, "Four guarding the client. Many more here in town. Things got really heated once Mando crashed the safehouse."

Cara suggests, "Slip him his blaster."

Greef shakes his head. "Not yet."

You approach the cantina's entrance, Greef Karga announcing, "Here we are." As the door slides open, the once bustling space is now eerily empty, save for the watchful eyes of the stormtroopers stationed inside, their presence unsettling.

Greef nods towards the troopers. "You see? Four." He then leads you and Din towards the Client, gesturing towards both of you. "Look what I brought you. As promised."

The Client moves closer to Din, his fingers tracing the intricate patterns of Din's beskar chest plate. "What exquisite craftsmanship. It's remarkable how beautiful beskar can be when forged by its ancestral artisans."

Your expression twists in disgust as you watch the Client touch Din's armor. Then, the Client's attention shifts to you, his hand reaching out to grab your face. You meet his gaze with a defiant glare as he remarks, "Ah, the Jedi. Word travels fast whenever your kind is spotted." His tone drips with disdain. "What a waste."

As the Client releases your face, you feel a surge of revulsion. Sensing Din's simmering anger, you brace yourself.

"Can I offer you a libation to celebrate the closing of our shared narrative?" the Client proposes to Greef Karga, who accepts with a nod.

An RA-7 protocol droid sets to work at the bar, preparing drinks for Greef and the Client. Gesturing towards a nearby booth, the Client invites, "Please, have a seat."

As you take your place, the Client begins, "It's regrettable that your people suffered so. Just as in this situation, it was all avoidable."

He turns his attention to Din. "Why did Mandalore resist our expansion? The Empire enhances every system it touches." You let out a derisive scoff, prompting the Client to continue, undeterred. "Judge by any metric. Safety, prosperity, trade, opportunity, peace. Compare Imperial rule to what is happening now. Look outside." He gestures towards the window. "Is the world more peaceful since the revolution? I see nothing but death and chaos."

You grit your teeth and suppress a retort, sensing the Client's emotions swirling before you, a dark maelstrom of black and red hues.

"I would like to see the baby," the Client requests.

Greef Karga clears his throat. "Uh... It's asleep."

"We'll all be quiet. Open the pram," the Client insists, narrowing his eyes. You swallow nervously, feeling a sense of unease. But before the situation can escalate, a stormtrooper approaches the Client and murmurs something discreetly. The Client stands abruptly. "Don't think me to be rude. I must take this call."

A stormtrooper sets up a holoprojector as the Client strides over to it. Under the table, Greef Karga discreetly unbinds his restraints, while Din swiftly does the same for you, his hands deftly removing the cuffs. "Give me the blaster and her saber hilt," he instructs Karga, his tone firm.

"You get one shot," Greef Karga reminds Din as he hands over your saber hilt. Din passes it to you with a determined nod.

Cara leans in close, her voice barely a whisper. "This is bad. You said four."

"Well, there are more. What can I tell you?" Greef Karga replies quietly.

A tense moment hangs in the air, and you sense a shift in the atmosphere. Before you can react, gunfire erupts from outside the cantina, catching everyone off guard. The shots strike the Client and his stormtroopers, sending them sprawling to the ground. Instinctively, you, the Mandalorian, Cara, and Greef dive behind a nearby table for cover. Amidst the chaos, the RA-7 protocol droid is caught in the crossfire and falls to the ground, incapacitated.

Taking cover behind various pillars, you, the Mandalorian, Cara, and Greef cautiously assess the situation. Through the shattered windows of the cantina, a line of death troopers becomes visible, their ominous presence sending a chill down your spine. As if that weren't enough, an Imperial Troop Transport rolls onto the scene, unloading a squad of stormtroopers, further escalating the situation.

"Four stormtroopers?" Cara scoffs, her expression darkening. "This is bad."

The Mandalorian quickly contacts Kuiil via comlink, his voice urgent. "Kuiil? Are you back at the ship yet?" After a tense moment of silence, he presses, "Are you there? Do you copy?"

"Yes!" Kuiil's voice crackles through the comlink.

Din wastes no time. "Are you back at the ship yet?"

"Not yet," Kuiil replies.

"Get back to the ship and get the kid out of here. We're pinned down!" Din's command is sharp and resolute.

The roar of engines interrupts the chaos, drawing your attention outside. An Outland TIE fighter swoops into view, its retractable solar collectors gleaming in the sunlight. The Imperial officer emerges from the cockpit, clad in full black attire, his cape billowing dramatically in the wind. His voice carries over the commotion as he declares, "You have something I want."

"Who's this guy?" Cara asks, her confusion evident.

"You may think you have some idea of what you are in possession of, but you do not," the officer asserts ominously.

"Kuiil, are you back at the ship yet? They're onto us!" Din urgently tries to reach Kuiil through the comlink.

No response.

Din attempts again, growing increasingly desperate. "Kuiil, come in!"

Still, there's silence.

"In a few moments, it will be mine," the officer threatens, his tone dripping with menace.

"Kuiil! Do you copy? Kuiil!" Din's voice echoes with urgency.

"It means more to me than you will ever know," the officer adds, his words sending a chill down your spine.

"Kuiil! Are you there? Come in, Kuiil. Kuiil, come in," Din pleads desperately.

"Kuiil? Are you there? Do you copy? Kuiil? Kuiil!"

TAGLIST: @wastingspaces @avengersheart @lunatic1012 @keepingupwiththeskywalkers @mxltifxnd0m @syviiss @luckyzipperscissorsbat @avengersheart @dins-riduur-anthe @lizlil @n7cje @scoliobean @ofmusesandsecrets

#din djarin x reader #din djarin fluff #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin x y/n #din djarin x fem!reader #din djarin x female reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x empath!reader #din djarin x forcesensitive!reader #ethereal writes #thesilverliningch5 #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian rewrite #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian fic #the mandalorian #the mandaloria/reader #pedro pascal x reader

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 54

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

all i want for christmas by tusslee

“Listen,” Lance squeezes Keith’s fingers in his hands, “I’m as bad at this as you probably are and this is going to be really cheesy, but that’s the way I was raised and I know I act like an idiot around pretty girls, but I’m an even bigger idiot around you. Go ahead and try to guess why that is. No, actually don't do that."

this one is gonna be an xmas special!! even though im writing this before halloween lol. anyways. this was so cute!! lance being all stressed about what he should get keith bc he's all in love w him any everything. so real.

2. You're Here (Where You Should Be) by @blue-wanderer

"And if you’re worried about the cameras just take care of them.” “Take care—! Take care of them? With what, Keith?” “I don’t know?” Keith asks, busily testing his foothold in the gate and generally ignoring the rising storm cloud of ire behind him. “With a gun?” “A gun? This isn’t some sort of black ops storming an enemy base thing! This is a Christmas tree thing!” “I don’t see a difference? You’re the sharpshooter. Shoot out the cameras.” “Let me just pull a gun out of my ass, Keith!” “OK, problem solved,” Keith agrees, taking another step up the gate. “Nothing is solved you dumb country space redneck!”

Or Keith and Lance may be disasters at decorating, but Christmas still manages to work its magic on them.

i bookmarked this like a year ago and let me tell you all i needed to hear was dumb country space redneck and i was hooked 😭😭 and it lived up to the name fr. hate the canon ending? want lance to not be a farmer while still acknowledging his struggles with homesickness? want some whipped keith and meddlesome kosmo? want some cheesy xmas feels? click ahead!

3. make my wish come true by angelbolt

“A world where one has to fight for custody of one’s boyfriend is a godless one,” Lance muttered, slumping so he was leaning against Hunk. Shiro exchanged some final words with Kolivan before the screen blipped out. Ah yes, the ideal Christmas Eve: long boring talks and war meetings. Wonderful. ❆❅❆ keith comes home for christmas.

fun game idea: take a shot every time you see a klance xmas fic with a mariah carey lyric. lol. ANYWAYS yall know me and established relationship + early season dynamics!! i am obsessed!! and this fic delivers!! grumpy lance pov who just wants the rest of the world to fuck off for a couple days so he can have his bf around. he's such a voice of the people

4. i'll be home for christmas by @thespacenico

A severe bout of winter weather threatens to stop Shiro from making it home for his first Christmas with Keith. Shiro is ready to do whatever it takes to keep his promise.

okay this one is from darcy's i've got you brother, which i am obsessed with and have cried over several times, and which just recently updated! this fic is so cute and a adashi with young keith always fucking gets to me, man. they're just so. shiro being so desperately determined to keep his promise to young keith who has had so many promises broken that he doesnt even expect shiro to try. but is happy that he does. sobbing.

5. the greatest gift of all by dumpsterdiva

Keith’s mouth hung open for a few seconds before he stammered, “D-do you really mean that?” Lance looked a bit sheepish as he said, “I… It’s crazy, right? I mean, it’s way too soon. You know I was kidding.” Keith straightened up. “Well, I’m not. Marry me.” “What?!” “You heard me, you coward. Marry me.” “That’s the worst proposal ever!” “Worse than you threatening me with marriage so I would stop talking about how amazing you are?”

YOU GUYS KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT PROPOSAL FICS. i feel ksjbskdbqjdbqwlwd about them. okay. and throw in a christmas setting??? and banter?? and a MODERN AU?? i am doing my best, people. this fic had me shoving a pillow into my face and screaming.

that’s it for today!! happy holidays! merry christmas!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

#i like them being gay and stupid and soft and surrounded by xmas lights #its so healing to me #keith puts the rizz in christmas btw #vld #voltron #lance #lance mcclain #keith #keith kogane #fully almost wrote keith mcclain #u know what??? #keith mcclain #best kind of accident #keith would so do that by accident #like on a mission report or something #GASP okay i was looking for a fic tonight #well the tonight i am writing this which is october 27th. i wonder if ill actually do it lol #established klance #fic rec #fic rec friday #christmas #blade keith #soft keith #longpost #soft lance #soft klance #broganes #shiro #takashi shirogane #keith & shiro

[dragongirltongue]

New Pinned post <3

Hi there, the name is Zelda, or one of like, 20 other names that may or may not be listed somewhere around here. If you know a name I go by that isn't findable here don't use it. <3

I'm bigender which is made up of girl and fem6oy, as such I use she/her and sometimes he/him pronouns when I'm feeling fem6oy enough <3

I'm in my 30s, not getting more specific than that until I decide it's not true enough to change it, don't try to find my exact age as I don't like sharing that information publicly, I don't even update it on my birthday <3

I'm a polyamorous bisexual voraphile freak and if you're over 18 you're welcome to talk to me about how much of a freak I am. I love to flirt and encourage it. Also happy to share my Other Blog with anyone interested, again as long as you're of age. <3

I'm a film graduate and currently working on doing something with that experience as well as working on a superhero comic and a 2D zelda style game. Feel free to bug me about any of those I love to discuss writing and media and want to encourage media literacy. <3

I'm also an ex-jehovahs witness and as a result I'm hugely into the holiday season in a very against my old god kinda way. Also big into sinning <3

Also I'm like, a dragon in probably an otherkin/thetadelta kinda way, like, it's core to who I am and how I understand myself so yeah. Despite this my fursona is a fox, the dragon in my icon is literally me <3

I also draw sometimes and when I do it'll be posted to @dragongirldrawings but always reblogged here too.

Also I'm a member of a plural system, feel free to check out the rest of the system over here @haven-sys <3

Further on the identity weirdness I'm an imaginary friend for the person who used to inhabit this body, they've been gone for like, over 20 years so it's not really relevant but I have started embracing my nature as a fictional creation, it's comforting.

So yeah that's me, hiii I love you all <3

this post is specifically a6out tum6lr user Zelda dragongirltongue

DNI list under the read more.

lmao imagine if I actually made one of those finally, that's how you'd know I've been replaced with an evil clone or something.

That being said if you're looking at my blog to send me an ask or dm about what someone gets off to please understand unless they're actively hurting someone I rly don't care. I have a lot of ignored and blocked anons about this.

This goes double if the person you're trying to alert me to is trans femme, we don't play that game here, especially given that I know I've been targetted for things as simple as engaging in vore the wrong way for some people or whatever.

Like, I just want to make it clear I rly don't give a fuck what another adult does in the bedroom, I rly don't care if the bedroom happens to include their blog and I rly don't care if they like to flirt about it with other adults on this website.

Also if your pinned post is a callout for anyone about anything it's likely to set off my paranoia around you, which is to say I will not be able to trust you if this is the case even if it's for someone who's actually a danger to a community, like, actively.

Like, this ain't a moral stance or anything, it's a mental health thing. I see that you want to make your first point of contact into a crosshair on someone else I'm gonna be scared you're gonna aim at me next even if it's completely reasonable that you'd never find anything objectionable with me. It scares me and I'm gonna spend every interaction walking on egg shells around you cos what if you're digging for dirt, like, I got no way of knowing.

Anyway as the opening joke implies I don't see any worth in having a list of things to not interact with me over cos the lived experience on this planet is so full of nuance and I've formed deem friendships with people who'd probably have avoided me if I had a DNI and they cared about it.

I think DNIs are dumb but this feels like a space to talk about some general limits on what I'm gonna put up with on this website. I'm just here for a good time with other freaks, anything else is optional. If you want to drag me into your discourse at this point then I guess this is whre I ask you to Do Not Interact. To anyone else, I love yall <3

If you've been directed here after sending an ask my way please apologize for wasting my time [here]

tl;dr DNIs are dumb but don't drag me into your personal grievances with others.

this post is still specifically a6out tum6lr user Zelda dragongirltongue

#6aaah #last updated dec 16

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

My memory is terrible so I wanted to do a breakdown of my stuff every once in a while. Might be monthly, might be whenever I feel like it.

BL - Currently Watching

7 Days Before Valentine [11/12] - Unlike some other shows, this one is actually getting better towards the end. I appreciate that Sunshine did some self reflection and became a better human being and I really enjoy the visuals here. Also, 7 days before valentine we will watch the finale, so that's neat.

Cherry Magic Th [7/12]– I like what the thai version is doing with the source material, I think they are being really smart and I'm so happy I got to watch the shopping date and the helicopter ride that were missing from the japanese live action.

Cherry Magic Anime [4/12]– I'm enjoying all the parallels way too much. Part of me wishes that it had stayed closer to the manga but since I get that also from Thailand, I can't complain.

Cooking Crush [9/12]– My expectations weren’t as low as maybe other people because I'm a OffGun fan but I am enjoying this show way more than I thought. It’s so refreshing to see good communication and well rounded characters that are given the space to work stuff out and be honest with each other. I feel for Samsee, cause, been there.

Dead Friend Forever [6/12]– this show continues to surprise me every week. I’m a big horror and slasher fan so for the premise alone I was gonna watch it. But I’m liking the way they chose to structure this story, moving from the slasher bit to the past at that moment was really smart. The visuals are so strong in this and I’m enjoying the communal murdering impulses towards the original friend group.

Ossan's Love Returns [3/12] - It’s chaos but the kind that only Japan can get away with for me. That season opener alone would’ve made me stop watching if it wasn’t for that. But the thing about these characters for me is that they get to be this ridiculous because it’s all grounded in such heart and kindness towards each other. It's a balancing act that only Japan can deliver at this level.

Playboyy [10/14] – I applaud the effort to make something new and out of the bl box, I think the show is trying to talk about interesting things and there are moments where the visuals are very strong. However, the acting is the weakest part of the whole thing and so I cannot connect to the characters, which leaves the whole experience kinda empty for me.

Although I Love You, and You? [3/10]- Japan my beloved. What’s there to say? Sakae is my new favourite boy and I’m really enjoying these two bridging the gap in their personalities.

The Sign [10/12]– Phaya and Tharn are delightful. Yai is the bestest boy ever. But there’s too many loose threads considering we only have 2 episodes left. There’s still to much going on and the investigation part of it just seems too disconnected for me to care. I really hope they're not counting on a special or a second season to wrap this up.

BL - Finished

Last Twilight – No need to repeat myself. here and here

Love for Love's Sake - What a wonderful surprise this was. Yeo Woon is one of the most adorable characters of all time and I seriously cannot handle it. From the beginning there was always a cloud over the whole story and I think in the end it all came together really well, to give us a happy ending that feels earned. Also really appreciated the way the story dealt with the triangle. Most of the time I hate them with a passion so I was really happy that Sang Won didn't just disappear and stayed in the group and kept teasing Yeo Woon. And now I'm just suppose to move on?

Night Dream – I liked the beginning a lot, but, as it’s becoming increasingly frequent, it dipped as it approached the end and although I liked how it finished I wasn’t a fan of the path to get there. Time skip once again not used well.

Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun - I have not seen the finale yet but I didn't want to wait so I might update this post when I watch it. However, Toki is my favourite boy, and I just want him to be happy.

VIP Only – Cute but ultimately forgettable.

Rose Watches OJBL

So this month I started my journey into older jbl stuff in order to have a bigger understanding of the landscape and what came before. With the help of the amazing @twig-tea I've started this journey with 2 films: Ai no Kotodama (2008) - Such a wonderful way to start this adventure. Really enjoyed this film. Without spoiling it, I understand that the beginning of the film might turn some people off of it but I think it's actually really smart and purposeful. I would definitely recommend it.

No Touching At All (2014) - Also really enjoyed this one. The direction is really interesting I thought. I feel it's all very intentional and it reflects very well the characters state of mind.

And because Cherry Magic opened the anime gates I also watched:

Given (2019) - This is SO GOOD. This show rewired my brain. Just now I was listening to THE SONG and I got emotional again. Every once in a while I enter this mindset where I feel like nothing that I watch can surprise me anymore. Then I watched this show. My thoughts after watching can be found here.

Not BL - Watched this month

The Killing Vote Taxi Driver 2 Vigilante Fermat no Ryori

Well, that's it I guess. Now I have to go and make some Love for Love's Sake gifs because I just can't move on and need to live there a little longer. Speaking of gifs, I'm always happy to take gif requests so let me know.

💜💜💜

#rose rambles #rosy watchlist #7 days before valentine #love for love's sake #pit babe the series #playboyy the series #although i love you and you #cherry magic th #cherry magic anime #no touching at all #Ai no Kotodama #given anime #the sign #ossan's love #cooking crush #multi bl #Rose Watches OJBL

[alonetimelover]

Action! - part 4 - Social Media

Pairings: ex!Harry Styles x Director!Reader x Joseph Quinn

Warnings: swearing, drug mention (in harry's song)

Summary: A walk through aftermath of Harry and YN's break up, new woman, new man, some drama, new albums, lots of love.

ynupdates

part 1 part 2 part 3 series masterlist

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♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by hArrysbutterfly, stupdates and 4 716 others

ynupdates For the first time in months(!!!) we have an update! YN with Taylor Swift in YN's cabin. They're celebrating evermore release! | credit: florencepugh

ps. please don't jump to conclusions because you see a man next to yn, we don't know who he is, so let's not assume

view all 2 716

hArrysbutterfly finally! I was so worried about her! I understand she needs space after everything *cough* WB *cough* but it's so nice to see her being with people she loves

ynmymama i hope she's happy and staying healthy

ynsmybestie we know the man, at least UK fans know him

⤷ ynshands tell me!!!!

⤷ynsmybestie he's Joseph Quinn he played in Dickensian, Miserables or Catherine The Great (some BBC shows that UK folks know well) he's rumoured to be in stranger things also

taylors22 guys please tell me I'm not delusional and few songs are about yn and harry

⤷ynupdates i hear it too! I didn't want to make a post about it (because people are just cruel) but I hear it!

⤷ynsmybestie im not the biggest fan of taylor but im going to listen to this (tell me which songs, please)

⤷taylors22 well, the whole album is a masterpiece but! I think that gold rush, 'tis the damn season, tolerate it or (maybe) evermore are about yn and harry

⤷taylors22 those are just my assumptions after little deep down into harry and yn's update accounts. im not saying it's 100% about them, just to be clear

⤷ynsmybestie of course!! i've listened to a few and man... gold rush is about them 100% I mean, internet loves this guy

harryupdates so good to see her again!

harrysmylife i miss yn and harry so so much:(((

⤷ ynsmybestie well, sad to burst you bubnle but they weren't very happy together

⤷ harrysmylife and how do you know that??

⤷ ynsmybestie they (celebrityupdates) have a whole article about it, apparently someone close to yn and harry spilled the beans and said too much about our babies

⤷ hArrysbutterfly bestie!!! spill the tea please

⤷ ynsmybestie basically harry fell out of love, at the end only yn cared about their relationship and he didn't have the balls to end it earlier. all in all he moved on while still being in a relationship with yn

⤷ harrysupdates well, let's not believe everything that person said, we don't know if that was someone actually close to yn or harry. we need to accept their decision of ending the relationship. however it happened shouldn't be our concern.

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2021

yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by harryupdates, ynsmymama, joekeery, mayahawke, gatenm123, noahschnapp and 5 917 061 others

yourinstagram hi, hey, hello! we're halfway through the script of st4, so I thought ill give you guys some insight (i hope Duffer brothers won't sue me). it's not some insight, im literally giving you shirtless Joe Keery, please appreciate it.

ps. we are here without masks but we are staying safe. we're vaccinated and we're tested every day. please stay safe wherever you are in the world!

view all 11 927 comments

ynsmybestie Joe???? 🤤 you're spoiling as bestie!

⤷yourinstagram i try, i try

⤷ynsmybestie jskdbsjis OMFGSIS

joekeery you're making my DM's blow up

⤷yourinstagram sorry! i really am!

⤷mayahawke youre not, are you?

⤷ yourinstagram shhh!

noahschnapp BYLER 👨‍❤️‍👨

ynshands doing god's work, yn! thank you!

ynupdates Joe Quinn as the new character??? I love it. why no one talks about him?

⤷ yourinstagram im wondering the same

⤷ ynsmybestie we will talk about him, bestie. we will.

harrysmoustache posting at the same time as THE photos

⤷ ynshands what photos????

⤷ harrysmoustache harry and olivia w went to jeff's wedding together (hand in hand and all that!!)

⤷ynshands so after months of those secret photos its finally confirmed? jesus

⤷ harryskiwi yeah, they first were photographed like day or two after yn and harry's break up?? its been a while

⤷ harrysmoustache about six months, WILD (pun intended)

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ynupdates

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by harryupdates, ynsmymama and 9 617 others

ynupdates YN with Joseph Quinn out in Atlanta celebrating the end of shooting season 4 of Stranger Things. Joe Keery and his girlfriend were seen joining them.

view all 2 827 comments

ynsmybestie OMFG!!!! they look so good! 🤤

ynsmymama yn wearing Jo's jacket in those two pics? so cute

harryskiwi she looks so good! that silk dress?? damn, yn 🔥

ynshands sir? your hand? 😳 all those British, curly men falling for yn, i understand you

⤷ ynsmybestie also him feeding her? jesus...

hater55 moving on so quickly?

hater71 new guy again?

hater03 another one?

ynshands okay, why do y'all hate on her? moving on so quickly? a year after ending her last relationship is quickly? what was then Harry's doings with moving on days after breaking up? you people really love to hate on a woman just because she's happy with a new man

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2022

yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by florencepugh, tchalamet, annetwist, gemmastyles, taylorswift, harrystyles and 7 617 817 others

yourinstagram with this year coming to the end, small photo dump with my favourite moments from 2021. this year was the one when i had my saddest and happiest moments. i hope 2022 will be our year.

one - i think it was during the last week of shooting st4, im a simple girl - i see a beautiful sky, i take a photo

two - you guys know the masterpiece that dirty dancing is? we did it.

three - ❤

four - find yourself a man that reads your recomendations. seven husbands of evelyn hugo finished, mans search for meaning next

five - yes he does the cooking, yes he does the cleaning 🍕

six - ❤️

seven - florence's birthday!!!! can you see how gorgeous she looks?? my, my, my, im drooling 🤤

eight - R.I.P. Dom Pérignon

nine - ❤️

view all 761 996 comments

florencepugh my birthday one of the highlights of your year??? i love you so much, beautiful. see you at the party!

⤷yourinstagram see you, beauty!

tchalamet chérie! when you're happy, i'm happy

⤷yourinstagram stop flirting, Timothée

⤷tchalamet joe, give yn her phone

⤷yourinstagram who?

⤷tchalamet yn calls me timmy, joe. you gave yourself up, mate. give her the phone

⤷yourinstagram no. ❤️

⤷ynsmybestie they're the funniest

annetwist happy new year, darling! ❤️

⤷yourinstagram thank you, annie! the happiest for you

taylorswift can i write an album about you?

⤷yourinstagram i thought you already had one??🍂

⤷ynsmybestie bestie are you confirming evermore being about you????

gemmastyles we need to meet up, yn!

⤷yourinstagram text me the date and im all yours, babe

ynsmymama her still being close to anne and gemma? while having a whole new man? also harry lurking, we see you👀

ynsmysoulmate can we talk about how she started posting more about herself and her life after dumping Jeff's ass and getting new manager??? im so here for it. Ronnie Coleman im your number1 fan

⤷ ynsmymama so true! i feel like she really wants to share her happy memories with us and jeff didn't let her, Ronnie is like her bestie and let's her decide whatever she thinks is best for her

⤷ haarrysmoustache jeff was doing with yn what he does with harry, minimal social media + public spottings

⤷ harrysbtch buuut, harry said himself that he doesn't like social media and tries to avoid it as much as possible (he's now all over it with olivia but who am I to judge???)

⤷ ynsmymama oh, that might be it. yn said in one of her interviews that she didn't mind social media because she learnt how to deal with it (and that interview was in 2019, while still being managed by Jeff)

harrysbtch photos of Joseph???? recreating THE ICONIC scene from one of her favourite films?? she has her own jonny castle

⤷ ynsmysoulmate and he reads her recommendations? cooks and cleans? man, when i tell you i feel weak in the knees, im not lying. 🥵

⤷ynsmybestie she just needs joseph to dress up as him or danny zuko for halloween and she's probably done for 😭

taylor22 Dom Pérignon ???? champagne problems??

⤷ ynsmybestie if champagne problems is about yn and harry im dead 💔

harrysbtch also, harry are you sure you wanted to like this post???

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harrystyles

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by harryupdates, annetwist, oliviawilde, harrysmama, ynsmybestie and 8 817 716 others

harrystyles Harry's House. May 20th.

view all 187 666 comments

oliviawilde ❤️

harryupdates the king is back!

annetwist cannot wait, my boy! x

ynsmybestie okay, so how many songs about yn, hmm?

ynsmymama i hope you're not going to bring more drama between you and yn after this album is released

⤷harryskiwi imo id love for him to have a song about her. we only got a few in fine line

⤷ynsmymama maybe, i just dont want it to affect yn and joe

harrystyles ALSO my new song As It Was - out on April 1st, H

⤷haarrysmoustache the promotion! so true💀

⤷harryupdates harry, please make a post about it

⤷harrysheadphones well, it's few days later and he didn't, he really doesn't care 😭

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josephquinn

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by yourinstagram, joekeery, mayahawke, sadiesink, noahschnapp, milliebobbybrown, harrystyles, tchalamet and 2 716 615 others

josephquinn Stranger Things Season 4. Thank you for a warm welcome in this beautiful family. It's an absolute honor to join you. Season 4 on Netflix on May 27th. See you then.

view all 65 827 comments

yourinstagram look 👏 at 👏 you! what a dream. what a man.

⤷ josephquinn dream man?

⤷yourinstagram you're damn right

joekeery look at him, all dressed up. where's your denim vest?

⤷josephquinn give it back, robber

mayahawke im sorry, who did you play? i don't think i know you from set

⤷yourinstagram maya, eddie cut his hair

⤷mayahawke oh! right, those puppy eyes seem familiar

sadiesink 🎸

yourinstagram okay, guys. let's stop bullying joe. he's pouting on the couch

⤷ josephquinn i'm not pouting!

⤷ ynsmybestie well, yn's story is telling something different

ynupdates he's so fine

ynsmymama what a pretty man you are, mr quinn

ynshands can we talk about how they were constantly looking at each other while being on teh carpet??? the winks? smirks? they're so in love

⤷harryupdates im so anxious because we said the same about h

⤷ynshands well, let's not talk about him. joe's the man now

⤷ harryupdates well, he just liked this post...

⤷ ynshands WHAT?!

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twitter

yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 5h

okay, so... harry's house is out and i have some thoughts. im no youtuber so i didn't make a video (my phone has a broken camera, soo) but i cannot keep it to myself. i found some nice connections and im doing a thread of it here, enjoy babes (1)

10k comments 💬 67k shares 🔃 126k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 5h

music for a sushi restaurant: soo, yns hot enough to cook an egg on her, that's for sure. she loves bubblegum, especially blue! they were seen together numerous times at the sushi restaurants (2)

2k comments 💬 65k shares 🔃 125k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 5h

late night talking: yn said she broke her camera one awful day. harry posted a story of broken lenses and a box of chocolates (yns favourites!) also late night talking was yns caption to her IG story containing a screenshot from her facetime with harry (3)

2k comments 💬 65k shares 🔃 124,5k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 5h

grapejuice: so yn was so perfect for him, he said that in one of the interviews after releasing fine line. they spent a lot of time in Italy, drank wine, harry was seen buying yn flowers EVERY DAY, but now he just drinks wine - its all that is left. and he is NOT drinking dom perignon but the wine from 1982 which is the one yn was drinking with joe (her new year ig post) (4)

2,5k comments 💬 66k shares 🔃 125,8k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 4h

as it was: well, let's face it. it's not about yn. it's olivias song. that's it babes (maybe its a stunt song or whatever, dont know.) the promotion for this song says it all. he didnteven make a post about it, just a comment. (5)

3k comments 💬 62k shares 🔃 122k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 4h

daylight: so I don't think yn was doing cocaine but maybeee. i know for sure that bluebird is yn's favourite poem by charles bukowski (harrys fav writer). they were seen doing a race on bicycles. and there is a reference to adore you: ANTIDOTE that we know is about yn. its a love song, definitely. (6)

3,2k comments 💬 65,2k shares 🔃 124,9k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 4h

little freak: harry spilled beer on timothee during one of the little women cast parties, and definitely wasn't sorry (jealous son of a bitch). yn loves yoga, and has a body of a goddess! side note: i think its a beautiful song of what harry WANTS to think but definitely IS NOT doing (liking all her and Joe's pictures, stalking fanaccounts, and so on) and a statement that even though he's in a new relationship he still thinks of the old one, of yn :((( (7)

5,2k comments 💬 66,9k shares 🔃 126,2k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 4h

matilda: yn put that film on her 'ten films I cannot live without' list, saying it describes what she went through during her childhood (poor baby😞) and harry used her experience to write a song without telling her - he admitted that during his latest interview (8)

7,4k comments 💬 70,5k shares 🔃 136k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 3h

cinema: I mean???? you can argue all you want, but yn is THE director and olivia is actress/director. the song just suits yn better in my opinion. just pure filth is this song, pure filth. dirty man. (9)

11k comments 💬 61,9k shares 🔃 132,7k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 3h

daydreaming: there is no hard proof. yn apparently said 'baby, loving you is a real thing' during her speech at the oscars after party. (10)

1,8k comments 💬 58k shares 🔃 123k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 3h

keep driving: song about basically: should we still be together? connections? black and white film camera was harry's present for yn on their first anniversary. yellow sunglasses - yns iconic look in italy. the breakfast order - yns go to order while eating breakfast out of home. riot America- the attended multiple protests across america. kiss her and don't tells - they hid their relationship for months. choke her with a sea view - that one story from the yacht 🔥 (11)

16,5k comments 💬 65,9k shares 🔃 131,8k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 3h

satellite: song after the breakup. yns got a new life with joe. Hard to explain but it just a song about harry bothering yn while she's being - in harrys opinion - sAd in her relationship with joe, he's waiting for her move. i beg someone to do a BIG break down of this song, it's just a heartbreak anthem. (12)

8,6k comments 💬 66,8k shares 🔃 132,6k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 3h

boyfriends: what can I say? harrys just calling himself out. he was seen out at the pubs drunk. just a perfect song for saying 'hi, im the problem. its me, im the problem' (13)

3,2k comments 💬 61,5k shares 🔃 124,3k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 2h

love of my life: jonny is one of yn's best friends from university, yn and harry spent a week in his house to get out of all the news that had been spread about them. he admits to not knowing yn enough - it was present in the interviews he did (not knowing her favourite films or composers) (14)

4,3k comments 💬 57k shares 🔃 130,3k likes❤️

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yn and joe r my parents @ianornotbabe 2h

didn't know it was going to blow up like it did. im glad you guys liked this piece of veery shallow breakdown. its a beautiful album, grammies are waiting for this man. and i hope we'll get some answers in the future. byeeee x

4,7k comments 💬 23k shares 🔃 109k likes❤️

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harrysbtch @iheartharryandyn

bestie, this thread is a masterpiece. all the connections you've made?? couldn't do it better

788 comments 💬 2,8k shares 🔃 15k likes❤️

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harryupdates @dailydoseofharryy

i really don't know what to think about this album. there's so many songs about yn. it's cool to see him putting it out, his thoughts and feelings. but also with yn being in a relationship and having these much written about her??? i don't know if i would feel comfortable

5,1k comments 💬 13kshares 🔃 37k likes❤️

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ynupdates @dailydoseofyn

@harryupdatess harry's an artist so it was predictable that he would wrote about the experience during and after his relationship with yn. i hope it won't disturb yn an joe's relationship, they look so happy together

345 comments 💬 4,3k shares 🔃 21k likes❤️

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joeandynfann @dailydoseofjoeandyn

and here we got yn and joe being unbothered queen and king, ignoring trending on twitter and being the cause of breaking IG and twitter for some time - yn's IG story

54k comments 💬 127k shares 🔃 316k likes❤️

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instagram

celebrityupdates and enews

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by harrysmoustache, oliviashat and 173 098 others

celebrityupdates Harry Styles (28) and Joseph Quinn (29) are YN YSN's (25) respectfully past and present boyfriend. From what we know the breakup was rather ugly but now? It doesn't seem like it. On the photos you can see Harry and Joe wearing the suits from Harry's newest Gucci line HA HA HA. Is that the promotion? Or it's just another stunt relationship in the industry? Or perhaps Harry Lambert (Styles' designer and friend, as well as YN's friend) found a way to promote the fashion line he's a part of? Read more in our newest article, link in our bio.

view all 81 018 comments

enews pinned! 'Harry in his latest interview let people know that one of his favourite books is Mans Search For Meaning by Victor E. Frankl. Book that YN was recommending to Joe Quinn.'

enews pinned! 'Joe Quinn played Eddie Munson in one of the Netflix hit shows, Stranger Things. In the last episode he was playing Master Of Puppets by Metallica. The said song was taught to him by Styles' friend and bandmate, Mitch Rowland. Our source said that it caused an argument between Harry, Mitch and YN. Harry apparently was furious that his friend was still in contact with his ex girlfriend and her new best friend (at that time YN and Joe weren't together yet).'

ynupdates the suits situation is messy. i can't imagine joseph being super excited about wearing his girlfriend ex's design. it's just weird...

⤷ harryupdates expecially that Joe was super happy about wearing Gucci, and the patch on Joe's sleeve doesn't have the HA HA HA logo. maybe it's just a similar design?

⤷thejoequinnupdates joe was wearing the suit before the clothes from HA HA HA collection were being sent to their ambassadors. imo it's an early lambert's design for HA HA HA. and because yn is his friend as well he did the suit for Joe. then Harry used it for the HA HA HA. promo at its best. HA HA HA is trending and the online store has no products available. Harry played it well.

⤷ ynupdates if that's true then i feel sorry for yn, really sorry. her ex is using her current boyfriend for promo which is sick and twisted. man just move on.

ynshands we thought harry moved on while still being in a relationship with yn but we were wrong. that bitch is still in love with her...

⤷ ynsmybestie can you blame him?

⤷ ynshands bestie, im so in love with her that it's unhealthy, something close to what harry's doing tbh 💀

hArrysbtch hes a simp 😭 woah

user618 those celebrities will do anything for fame smh

user917 that's ... toxic

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text messages between YN and Harry Lambert

hrr lmbrt

hiii! i have some new suits for you and joe to try before your new movie premiere. when are you two free??

yn🐐

when did you plan to tell me you're going to dress him in the same thing as joe?

hrr lmbrt

it's not exactly the same suit, yn. joe had the cotton one and harry had a cotton+silk one. the print is also different.

yn🐐

people on the internet don't know that, lamby. they are sure joe is somehow connected to your new clothing line. they're making a lot off buzz around it.

hrry lmbrt

yn, you know how it works...

yn🐐

was he the one to propose it or was it jeff?

hrr lmbrt

i don't know, babe. got the information from above.

yn🐐

don't bullshit me, harry. you said you want to stay friends despite all the things that happened between him and I. act like a friend then, please.

hrr lmbrt

jeff's idea but harry wasn't really opposed to it

but please don't do anything you'll regret.

yn🐐

i already lost one relationship because of him. I'm not going to lose another one. I won't let him destroy my happiness again. I truly care about joe, lamby

hrr lmbrt

maybe go a little easy on harry. he's not doing well.

yn🐐

it was nice catching up, lamby. if the suits aren't or won't be part of that collections then we're free on friday.

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text messages between YN and Jeff

yn ysn

next time you plan to get under my skin use me or my name, stay away from people I love, Jeff. your way of promoting him is getting out of hand.

jeffrey

hello yn, nice hearing from you. I see you saw the suit Harry was wearing. such a nice piece of clothing, wasn't it?

yn ysn

this is the last time you're hearing from me jeff. next time it's going to be Ronnie and eventually my lawyers. your ways are too invasive for my liking. you used my name and my relationship for years, i think that's enough. stay away from Joseph, he has nothing to do with you or him.

jeffrey

I don't understand why are you so dramatic about it? it's just a suit. it's not like only we got benefit from it. your and your boy's things got promotion as well.

yn ysn

it's not just a suit. you control him well, we both know that. you can prevent him from doing what he's doing. it's unhealthy.

also, i don't need promotion like that, never did. you just think that ploting behind people's backs is the best solution. it's not.

goodbye, Jeff. like I said next time you're invading my or my partner's life you'll hear from our lawyers.

jeffrey

can't wait, yn.

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text messages between YN and Joe

yn🫀

hi, baby. i contacted lamby and jeffrey. i hope it will do the job, if not Ronnie is ready to contact them himself.

joe🎸

hello, lovie. how are you feeling?

yn🫀

to be completely honest? bad. i hate confronting people but they crossed the line. they could use my name all they want but they decided to use you and you have nothing to do with it, nothing.

joe🎸

well, im your boyfriend, that's probably enough.

yn🫀

it shouldn't be, we talked about it.

at least lamby said it was jeff's idea, just like i had thought.

enough of that, where are you coming home? i made pasta

joe🎸

im like 15 minutes away, lovie. i love you and see you soon, we'll talk about it more after the nice bath, what do you think, hmm?

yn🫀

i love you! im getting the bath bombs ready 🛀

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yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by josephquinn, tchalmet, florencepugh, harrystyles, taylorswift, ronniecoleman and 18 917 716 others

yourinstagram it was an honour to direct and star in a film like 'bones and all' is. it was also a challenge, I never thought I would take, and here i am in the film with one of the best actor out here. thank you to our whole team working on this film. thank you tchalamet, my best friend. thank you josephquinn, my love for all the tips and support and love and patience. see you in theatres, i'll be there 🦴

ps. don't ask me the colour of anything

view all 471 819 comments

tchalamet the best director and the best actress out there! what you did with and in this film is extraordinary, yn! you are the true artist. it's an honour working with you. ❤️

⤷ yourinstagram you're making me cry, timmy 🤧

florencepugh ACTRESS AND DIRECTOR many tried, just a few succeeded. yourinstagram did. such a beautiful film, such a beautiful performance by timmy and yn. love you both so so so much 💗

yourinstagram, tchalemet and 176 918 others liked this comment

josephquinn that's my girlfriend! and her sidekick ☠️

⤷ ynshands how is joe so effortlessly funny?

⤷ ynsmybestie right? jealous but funny and hot 🔥

taylorswift i already bought tickets. so proud of you all!

annetwist ❤️

ynupdates yn acting????? im so confused. i bet its a masterpiece if she had so much do do with this film

hArrysbtch timothee's shade on harry, olivia and all of that? he's fucking the best

ynsmybestie timothee finally got to kiss yn, he must be delighted

tchalemet and 41 716 others liked this comment

⤷ ynshands he's so happy 😭

⤷ joemyman joe is probably fuming 💀

⤷ harrysmoustache im sorry, WHAT?

⤷ ynsmybestie check twitter, its all over it. someone videoed a scene during the first screening of the film. they are kissing kissing 👅

harryupdates congratulations you two! its going to be oscar worthy for sure

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yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by josephquinn, tchalamet, taylorswift, florencepugh, sadiesink, annetwist and 20 172 617 others

yourinstagram three years of knowing you. one year of loving you. thank you for being with me in my lowest and my highest moments. you are my person. ❤️

view all 716 929 comments

josephquinn thank you for loving me, sweetness. i love you.

florencepugh shootout to the best couple i know

tchalamet the most beautiful couple out there

taylorswift i am writing a song about you two, there's no way

annetwist happy anniversary! ❤️

sadiesink it really is your year, eddie - i mean joseph 🎸

ynupdates sleeping on a highway tonight, thanks a lot

joemyman what a sweet, sweet couple. happy anniversary!

ynshands you beauties

harrysmoustache well, harry didn't like this one

⤷ harryupdates he did but unliked it after a few minutes

hArrysbtch i love love love

#action!universe #director!reader #harry styles #joseph quinn x reader #harry styles fake ig

[thirteens-pocket-watch]

I've decided to compile all the small pieces of information about future episodes that RTD has given in his Letter from the Showrunner segments in DWM. I've only included things that can tell us something about the episode, so stuff like Bad Wolf investigating if using a certain title is permitted hasn't been included here. I've included the issue each point was given in and I will obviously update after future issues

(Last updated 28.03.24)

2023 Specials

The Star Beast

- Contains the words westerly, pelican and dreams (584)

- Page seven contains the line "Oh, Nerys and her big mouth!" (585)

- The reconstructed opening scene made from fan recordings of filming contains lines that were cut from the final version of the episode (595)

Wild Blue Yonder

- Contains the words wild, Southampton, vegetable, Flux, bean and starlight (585)

Extra

- RTD refers to a "terrifying scene with Sue" and two celebrity historical figures in the upcoming specials (596)

- None of the specials will air on the 1st, 17th or 23rd of November (596)

Series 14/Season 1

Space Babies (Episode 1)

- Contains the words roar, Glastonbury and conquistador (589)

- The title was said aloud in Star Trek: Picard 3 (590/591)

- Scene 11 is headed as INT. CONTROL ROOM and the stage directions say "THE DOCTOR and RUBY walk in to find a cool, sleek, metal CONTROL ROOM, full of CONSOLES" (598)

The Devil's Chord (Episode 2)

- Scene 10 is set INT. CANTEEN. DAY (585)

- Contains the words Liverpool, legions and non-diagetic (586)

- The title of the episode was revealed (598)

73 Yards (Episode 4)

- Had the line "I once went to the top of the Shard" cut from the script (589)

Rogue (Episode 6)

- Page 10 contains the line "I am ruined" and it is said by a character named Emily (598)

- When talking about watching the final mix of this episode, RTD threw in the quote "Live vivisection!"

The Legend of Ruby Sunday (Episode 7)

- First line of the script is INT. COFFEE BAR, USA - DAY, 1947 (584)

Empire of Death (Episode 8)

- Contains the words kingdom, gold and Tigella (592)

- Contains the words terror, dust, pizza, Einstein, death and opera (598)

- One of the above words is also in the title (598)

Extra

- An unspecified episode had the word "sixpence" in the title before the plot about said sixpence was cut (591)

- There is a crucial scene, designated 27B, in an unspecified episode with an as-yet unannounced guest star (593)

- The aforementioned scene contains the debris of a fallen statue with an 8 foot tall head as part of the set (593)

- The last scene to be filmed for series 14 was a scene in the TARDIS in the "middle bit of the finale" (whether this is episode 7 or 8 is not specified) and the Doctor slides to the ground at some point during the scene (594)

Series 15/Season 2

Episode 1

- Scene One features none of the regular cast (600)

Episode 2

- The episode features a guest star who's been in the show before but in a different role (600)

Episode 3

- RTD mentions that Ncuti Gatwa is rehearsing with a Special Guest Star for their 13th episode. I assumed he was referring to his 13th episode with Gatwa and didn't count the anniversary specials (597)

Extra

- An unspecified episode contains the words garden, firmament and diploma (592)

- An unspecified episode contains the words radiation, moth and skiffle (597)

- The sets include a hotel, a chamber and a hospital (597)

- More sets are listed, including the UNIT OPs room, the Sundays' flat, "a set so real we could rent it out as its actual self" and an "absolute labyrinth of a set" (potentially an actual labyrinth based on a previous comment from director Makalla McPherson) (601)

- RTD confirmed that the 2025 season will not contain an episode celebrating 20 years of New Who (602)

- On the 8th March 2024, RTD claimed they were "shooting a scene that will live forever in Doctor Who history" (602)

#doctor who #doctor who magazine #rtd2 #doctor who 60th anniversary #the star beast #wild blue yonder #doctor who series 14 #doctor who series 15 #the devil's chord

[kaiowut99]

GX Finalized-Subs!106 (WIP): Drizzling Details

[trying to make a cloud pun work for a bio-related post is suffering]

Getting more work underway on finalized!106 and 107, and I wanted to take a more proper crack at translating the bio on Amon that O'Brien hands Professor Cobra as they talk early in 106. This bio actually shows up a handful of times in the first half of Season 3; the shot I used here to compile a "full" version of it is taken from 106 (hence Cobra's thumb), Manjoume pulls up the first half as he's looking him up in 111, and Amon brings it up for deletion in the first different world when they all stumble into his submarine in 121 (used for the second shot, isolated from the equivalent shot below, which I used to base the full version on), though it's super shrunken there. I actually previously translated it in my last run through Season 3, but only in its uses for 111 and 121, and I figured I'd give it a better once-over now since, looking back, I'm not too happy with some capitalization/font choices here, and I made a mistake with one of Amon's cards:

I've also transcribed the Japanese text on this, since I was actually surprised no Japanese fans managed to (text under the cut below), but from that, I updated my translation on Amon's bio and retranslated his cards in the list there, doing my best to measure things out to make sure things are evenly spaced out. The picture of Amon isn't a consideration, since I'll be masking the original picture over this edit as I work it into the video. Also decided to match Crunchyroll and use "Garam Conglomerate" vs the older "Garam Finance," especially since, with the way Manjoume talks about them in 111, they're much bigger than his family's financial group.

One thing worth noting: this lists Rain Storm as one of his Magic Cards and Diamond-Dust Cyclone as one of his Traps--but by the time he used them in 111/112, they were a Trap and Magic respectively. It's possible they were originally meant to be a Magic and Trap, but I accounted for this by properly listing DDC in Rain Storm's place (where for some reason I thought to use Wonder Cloud in my previous translation lol) and Rain Storm in DDC's place.

With this done, I'll also be doing a version to use in 111 with hyperlinks colored in, just to get it out of the way; then, I'll work it into 106 proper, into the two shots as Cobra looks at it and as he hands it back to O'Brien. But hoping it looks nicely done!

[also new Cloudian support when, some of his cards are still unreleased lol]

アモン＝ガラム イースト校チャンピオン

デュエルアカデミアイースト校2005年度総合チャンプ。 どんな相手にも即座に対応できる柔軟な思考力と、変幻自在のデッキを持つ。 ガラム財閥当主・ゴア＝ガラム氏の長子。

主力カード： オールラウンド・クラウド・デッキ

・モンスター 「雲魔物－羊雲」 「雲魔物－ニンバスマン」 「雲魔物－ゴースト・フォッグ」 「雲魔物－ポイズン・クラウド」 「雲魔物－アイ・オブ・ザ・タイフーン」

・魔法 「宝札雲」 「召喚雲」 「暴風雨」* 「大召喚雲」

・罠 「ナチュラル・ディザスター」 「蜃気楼の標的」 「ダイヤモンドダスト・サイクロン」**

*This is Rain Storm listed under his Spells, but Rain Storm turns out to be a Trap.

**This is Diamond-Dust Cyclone listed under his Traps, but it's a Spell.

#GX #yugioh gx #yugioh #ygo #ygo gx #subbing rambling #Amon Garam

[hollybell51]

In this timeline

Navigation

Trevor Holden (0115) x Philip Pearson (3326)

Travelers (2016)

Word count: 11.5K

Summary: Philip has made some bad decisions. This isn't one of them.

Content: Smut, hurt/comfort, bit of fluff (I guess?), Philip is horrendously down bad, Trevor is too, making out, hickeys, hand jobs, blow jobs, anal, fingering, dirty talk (like a tiny bit dw), Trevor calls Philip "man" during sex, top Trevor/bottom Philip in an attempt to avoid Trevor's accidental twinkification (I fear this may have backfired), (there are honestly switchy moments too so idk if I'd label it as anything other than a healthy flexible dynamic), Philip's hallucinations, the age gape is mentioned but just in passing, implied/referenced drug use (guys c'mon it's Philip), everything canon typical. This takes place after s3 e3. I may have missed some things so lemme know if I should add anything xx

Notes: Happy valentines day! What even was season 3 honestly these two are so fucking whipped for each other it's stupid. How can anyone look at them and see anything but a married couple who are deeply, disgustingly in love with each other. Honestly. I'm so upset that this got cancelled (even though I lowkey liked the ending) so my insufferable ass is probably gonna deal with that through taking matters into my own hands. Also side note this is the first time I've posted m/m so don't be too mean I actually don't really know how men work so... yeah. Shit's been rough lately, breakup and car crash in the space of two days so I actually haven't proofread this sorry (there might be mistakes but that's ok because to err to be human <3) and also I’m literally a (queer) girl and I know nothing about gay (man) sex and it shows. You have been warned.

Philip had woken that morning (morning? Or afternoon? He can’t remember. It doesn’t feel like it had been morning when he’d finally swum up out of Marcy’s sedative) with Trevor in his bed. Well, it wasn’t Trevor, not really, but it was still nice. Not Trevor was smiling at him, wriggling closer, his hand finding Philip’s and pulling it towards his chest. Philip had blinked and he had shimmered, dispersed into light, reformed. He’d blinked again and Not Trevor was gone, and then the real world was flooding in and he half wished he hadn’t woken up at all. 

It’s been happening more and more often lately. Philip looks up from the computer screens and Not Trevor is already smiling at him. Not Trevor interrupts him with a kiss as he walks past. Not Trevor pads barefoot with a towel wrapped around his waist out of the bathroom and winks as Philip watches him go. Philip kneels next to the couch to pick up a ball bearing he’d knocked off the table from under its edge and when he looks up Not Trevor’s legs are either side of him and he has his head tilted back, shirt discarded and he’s panting hard. Philip has no doubt what that particular version of himself had just been doing. On the flip side, he pushes his chair back to take a break and Not Trevor grins up at him from between his legs, he leans over Philip from behind and slides his hand down his front, braces himself against the shower wall, tells Philip to turn around and get on his hands and knees and a million other things and Philip curses the update because none of those images are ever going to leave his head. 

Philip’s not too proud to admit when he likes someone. He’s human, after all, even if some days he doesn’t feel it, and Trevor is beautiful. It’s not just his host, either, although it probably helps to have been blessed looking like that, but there’s something about what 0115 and Trevor Holden have become — Philip’s Trevor, the team’s Trevor, 0115’s own Trevor — that pulls Philip in like a magnet. His joy is addictive. His enthusiasm for life, while it sometimes grates on Philip’s considerably less enthusiastic nerves, is infectious and maybe what people say about opposites attracting each other is right. Not even opposites, really — Philip doesn’t think they’re opposites, but he knows they’re not so-called twin flames — but something about Trevor balancing Philip. Pulling him out of those particularly dark little holes he knows it’s all too easy to get stuck in. Hell, he fell into one last night.

So Philip’s been peeking into other timelines and it’s been fueling the Trevor thing and now he’s waking up and half wishing that what he’s seeing is real. He wants to reach out and grab Trevor and never let go. He wants to stay in this bed with him and never have to do another mission again and just be and let humanity save itself. But, he tells himself firmly as he swings his legs over the side of the mattress and pauses, letting his body stabilise and adjust, that is not going to happen. No amount of wishing will make it. 

Carly and Marcy have explained, as best they can, and he really does feel bad for pulling that kind of shit when they’re all under stress, when nothing feels like it’s going right for anyone and they all have their own bullshit to deal with (he knows all about that, thanks to the update), but Aleksander’s face is still on the computer screens and Philip also knows Mac and Trevor will follow through. And that is where his brain snags for the second time today. Trevor, who found him on the floor and called Marcy over, “panicked” is the word the medic used, and then took off to kill a kid — to help Mac kill a kid. Trevor has faith in the Director, in the Grand Plan, Philip knows that as well as anyone, but he still cringes at the thought of what his roommate — because calling Trevor friend doesn’t quite feel right when he’s seen what he looks like when Philip is not going to complete that thought, they’re past coworkers, and he doesn’t feel like the other guy’s teammate anymore — must be thinking and feeling and doing right now. 

But then, after a few hours of Marcy and Carly doing their best to help him and Philip doing his best not to scream or break something or walk out the door and never come back, the Messenger comes through and just like that it’s all ok again. Marcy and Carly are relieved. Philip is relieved. A massive weight has been lifted off all their shoulders, so why does he still feel so heavy? 

He walks through erasing Mac’s memory like he’s walking through a dream, manages not to stare too long at the insubstantial vision of Trevor’s hand on his knee as they take their leader back to his house and (not uncarefully) deposit him in his bed. They leave. They drive back to ops. Marcy asks if he’s alright and he nods, doesn’t miss the way she says something too quiet to make out to Trevor as she heads back to David. Carly stays for longer, cleans a gun, then makes her exit with a firm hand on Philip’s shoulder and a tight smile. Then they’re alone, and Philip is staring at the screen with a cup of something (he thinks it might be tea, but it’s not hot anymore) he doesn’t remember getting in his hand.  

He doesn’t even hear Trevor approach until the engineer sighs, settling himself next to Philip’s shoulder. 

“The mother even speaks Romanian,” he says, steaming mug cradled in his hands. 

Philip glances at him and he shrugs. “Well that’s great, I’m obviously happy about that.” And he is, he really is. The woman smiling in the photograph looks like a kind person. She doesn’t have the sharpness about her eyes that Aleksander’s previous foster parents did, and maybe the familiarity of the language will help. He knows it did when they rescued the boy in the first place. The word rescue, even just in his mind, leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He could have avoided the whole mission — putting Trevor and Mac through that — if he’d just stuck to what he was supposed to. There’s no way that this wasn’t some sick lesson. But still… “Why didn’t we start there?”

Trevor pauses before he answers, eyes still locked on the computer screen, brow furrowed. “That wasn’t the path he was on.” 

Sometimes Philip forgets how old Trevor — 0115 — is. He doesn’t act like an old man, as much as the others (Philip included) call him that and joke about it, as much as Trevor himself is open and just as willing to talk about the fact. But there are moments like these when Philip can see 0115’s plural lifetimes of experience and knowledge and wisdom poking through that barely adult face, and it catches him off guard. He’s not put off by Trevor’s age, Truth be told, he’s not sure if anything could put him off Trevor, but it can still be a little unnerving. 

“You don’t need to explain that part to me.” Philip tries not to sound annoyed, because he isn’t. Not really. “What I'm asking you is why we didn’t get a mission to change his path in the first place.” 

Again, Trevor shrugs, and on anyone else the gesture would look flippant. Not him, though. Nothing’s ever flippant with Trevor unless he wants it to be. “Maybe we did. The Director has to thread the needle on billions of possibilities happening to billions of people in a billion different places all over the world. If it seems hard to understand the steps that lead to a particular outcome, it’s because it’s literally impossible for any of us to understand that.” 

Philip can feel Trevor’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t look up. “I hate that.” 

There’s a pause, and he feels Trevor shift infinitesimally closer. “Yeah,” he says. “But you can’t argue with the results.” 

This time Philip does raise his eyes from the screen, turning in his chair to face his roommate. The other guy is perched on a filing cabinet, and Philip has the distinct urge to tell him to just get a chair. He looks a little ridiculous; elbows on his knees, feet resting against the desk (he really wants to tell him to get a chair), cup in his hands and that look that’s so sincere he’d laugh if he saw it on anyone else. It’s so… him and Philip can’t look away. 

Trevor sighs, leans forward and sets down his cup, his feet slipping off the desk as he twists to face Philip. “It wasn’t your fault,” he tells him. 

Philip shakes his head, looking away. He wishes he could believe Trevor, wishes he had just an ounce of his conviction. “It was. By definition, Trevor.” 

“You were trying to save him.” 

“And I made things worse. The Director was teaching me a lesson, I know it was. I know… I know I shouldn’t have tried to interfere.” 

“Hey, hey.” Trevor’s hand is firm and warm on Philip’s shoulder. “You tried to do what you thought was right. And yeah, it didn’t really work out, but it’s in the past. We can’t change that.” He stops, as if realising the irony of his words, then, “Nobody blames you, Philip.” 

“They should.” I do. 

Trevor is close enough that Philip can see the evening sun gilding the tips of his eyelashes, and his voice is so gentle it hurts. “What good is it gonna do now, huh? How is holding onto all that shit and dishing out blame and responsibility gonna help anyone?” 

Philip doesn’t have an answer for that, but he’s not sure if that matters. Not sure if he could speak even if he wanted to, because Trevor is still touching him and Philip must have slid his chair closer because he doesn’t remember the gap between them being this small. Trevor is searching Philip’s face, and he can practically see the cogs ticking behind his eyes — which, up close, never fail to suck Philip’s focus like a vacuum. 

“It’s not your fault. It was never going to be your fault, Philip.”

Philip swallows hard, tongue darting out over his lips. It’s too quiet and too loud all at once, and he wants to look away and he never wants the moment to end. The world is blurry, all he can see is Trevor, his skin is too tight and Trevor’s simultaneously too close and not close enough and then he is leaning the last few inches and all Philip can think is that this has to be another timeline. Things like this don’t happen to him, at least not this him, and—

Oh. Oh. 

Trevor’s lips are soft against his own, the hand that had been resting on his shoulder sliding up to hover almost hesitantly at his jaw. Philip can feel his own heart beating at a million mph, his blood rushing in his ears, and without even realising it he’s kissing Trevor back, tilting his head and pressing closer, Trevor’s skin so warm against his. 

The thing about what Philip sees — hallucinations, illusions, visions, whatever he calls them — is that he doesn’t feel it. He didn’t process the warmth of Not Trevor’s hand when it had been resting on his leg in the car or against his own that morning. He hadn’t felt the press of Not Trevor’s shoulders between his thighs, hadn’t felt the rush of breath over his skin when Not Trevor had laughed and kissed his cheek. And he certainly hadn’t felt the slick softness of Not Trevor’s tongue brushing over his lip. 

Oh, is all Philip can think again as he lets Trevor part his lips, the barest hint of his tongue sliding against his. A question. A warning. A test. Of course, the answer is yes. Philip knows in his soul that the answer will always be yes for Trevor, no matter what timeline they’re in. He feels himself sinking, floating, and when he pushes back against Trevor and slips his own tongue into his mouth, he can taste the tea he was drinking. Trevor is warm and sweet and Philip has never tasted anything so good and now his hand is moving, fingers tangling in Philip’s hair and if it weren’t for the rushing in his ears he could have sworn that Trevor gives a pleased little hum.  

Philip wants to stand, wants to crowd closer and take Trevor’s face between his hands, stand between his legs and feel the press of his body against his own. He wants to feel Trevor’s skin on his, wants him under him and on top of him and everywhere he can think of. He’s pretty sure that Trevor’s knee is blocking him from getting any closer, that and the fact that he’s still sitting in his chair. 

So, as much as it pains him to do so, Philip pulls back from Trevor’s mouth and pauses, heart still thundering, breathing hard, and looks at him. Trevor’s lips are kiss swollen and still parted, his eyes dark and locked on Philip and Philip alone. His hand doesn’t leave Philip’s hair, thumb moving in a tiny arc over the skin under his ear and he knows that even if he wasn’t a Historian, even if he wasn’t hardwired to remember everything, this moment would be ingrained in his brain forever. 

“Are you…?” Trevor starts, watching as Philip pushes himself to stand, his eyes following his every move, head tipping back. He wavers, and for a moment he’s shirtless and sweaty and his cheeks are flushed pink. Not Trevor tilts his head to the side, teeth digging into his bottom lip, and Philip blinks. His Trevor is still watching him, a hint of concern marring his face. 

Philip just nods, watching Trevor’s hand trail down over his chest, coming to rest right over his heart. He wonders if he can feel how hard it’s beating. He looks so serious and sincere, and Philip still can’t believe that this isn’t just because of the update. This is real. This is happening here and now. 

“Philip,” Trevor murmurs, voice thick. God, Philip could listen to that all day. 

He dips his head, and he’s sure that Trevor is smiling as their lips meet again. Philip is painfully aware of where his legs aren’t quite touching him, just resting either side of his hips, but that doesn’t matter because Trevor’s hand is sliding down his torso to sit feather light on his hip, not quite on the waistband of his pants but close enough that Philip feels blood rushing quickly downwards. He places  his own hands firmly either side of Trevor’s face, feels the muscle there twitch momentarily, the mechanism of Trevor’s neck and jaw sliding smoothly like well oiled machinery as he kisses him deeper, harder. His fingers curve perfectly around the back of Trevor’s neck, and this time he’s sure when he hears the little sound slip from the engineer, muffled by his own tongue. It is going to drive Philip insane. Trevor is going to drive him insane. He already is. 

“Philip,” Trevor says again, and Philip really can’t help but push closer. The edge of the filing cabinet is hard against his thighs, the metal cold through his jeans and somehow that is what brings Philip’s spiralling, out of control, too-much-too-fast brain back to the present. And then it clicks, and a stone sinks deep in his stomach. Trevor is distracting him, taking his mind off a truly terrible day because Philip did something stupid last night and Trevor found him this morning. He breaks away, breathing hard for an entirely different reason now. 

Trevor’s hands stop him from going far, his eyebrows furrowing into that familiar concerned frown. “You alright?” 

“I…” Philip stops, takes a breath, swallows. Yes, he’s alright. He’s more than alright with Trevor kissing him, with kissing Trevor. But here and now… Philip isn’t sure how to voice that. He knows Trevor wouldn’t judge him, not after Jenny. Trevor isn’t someone from the 21st, where sex is currency and intimacy is a completely separate thing. Trevor, like most from their time, knows that there’s more to it than that, he knows about Jenny because Philip has told him about Jenny and that whole mess and he trusts Trevor not to ignore all that. But…

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Trevor says, and Philip unfreezes. “I didn’t think it through. I know it’s been rough, and I don’t wanna rush you or—” 

“Are you trying to distract me?” 

Trevor stops, his frown deepens and he shakes his head. “Not really. Maybe a little.” He sighs. “I mean, I didn’t kiss you to distract you. But if I am… is that a bad thing?” He takes a deep breath, his fingers curling on Philip’s hip. “Do you want me to stop?” 

“I don’t…” He isn’t sure what he’s supposed to make of that. It’s not what he wants to hear, but it's not what he doesn’t want to hear either. Truth be told, he doesn’t even know what that is. All he knows is that Trevor means more than 21st century sex and he is in way too deep here. 

Philip does not consider himself brave. He knows people in the future who would say he is just for being here now, but the truth is, they don’t know what they’re talking about. He is not brave, he simply exists. He is a piece in a machine and there is nothing brave about that. But this is different. This is Trevor, and Trevor has always made Philip feel like more than that. Like he’s a person, and more importantly, like that person is worth something. And no, Philip doesn’t want Trevor to stop. He would be happy to live in this moment forever, and that’s the problem. Philip swallows. He will be brave. 

“I don’t want you to be a distraction.” 

Trevor draws back, a tiny wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. “What do you want me to be?”

Philip almost curses, swallows again, looks at his hands. “I want you to be you. You… You mean something to me, Trevor. I want this to mean something.” 

Philip isn’t brave enough to look back at Trevor, but he doesn’t have to be. The other guy’s hand is on his cheek, tilting his face back towards his, and when their eyes meet all Philip can see is the familiar warmth and understanding and joy that Trevor somehow carries within himself no matter what. “It does,” Trevor whispers, and kisses Philip again. 

This kiss tastes different. It has to, Philip supposes as Trevor inches forward on his perch, gripping his shoulders, his arms, his waist, his hips. Trevor really does mean something to Philip, more than he ever would have guessed he could. It’s not because of the visions, and it’s not because Trevor is kissing him now. It’s everything else. It’s Trevor bringing Philip a fastfood meal after he’d been shot. It’s the wordless hands on his shoulders when he’s the first to arrive at the garage and the last to leave. It’s the undiluted wonder and awe in his face when he looks outside. It’s the insistence that he’ll come with Philip, even if it’s because he doesn’t fully trust him — because whatever the reason, Philip likes that he doesn’t feel alone. The reminders that Philip is human, just as human as Trevor, because sometimes that is the hardest thing to remember. 

And Philip really does feel like shit for this morning. For last night, when he’d seen the mission come through and he’d sat there, frozen, and debated calling out Trevor’s name just to see another face and hear his voice, feel another person touch him and remember. But he hadn’t been brave last night. He’d run, and had left Trevor to find and clean up the mess he’d made. He feels his chest tearing apart, ripping violently right down the middle. 

“I’m sorry,” he gasps, tearing himself away from Trevor’s mouth. 

“What for?” Trevor frowns. 

Philip swallows. “Last night. This morning. All of… that.” 

The understanding is so clear in Trevor’s eyes, followed quickly by sadness that hits Philip like a punch. It resolves and shifts, and Trevor’s lips twitch into something that could be called a smile. “You scared me,” he says. 

“I know. I didn’t mean to.” An eyebrow raise at this, and Philip goes on, “I wasn’t trying to. I just… I don’t even know. I was going to tell you when it first came through but I just… I just couldn’t. You know?” 

Trevor nods, and Philip knows he means it. This is the guy who interrupted Grace Day’s TELL, for God’s sake. He doesn’t blame Philip for Aleksander. Things might get murky and complicated sometimes, but at the end of the day Trevor understands when it matters. “I wish you had,” he tells him. There’s no blame or resentment in it, just a statement of fact. “We could have worked something out together.” 

Now it’s Philip’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Worked something out?” 

“Ok,” Trevor concedes, “maybe not work something out. But you didn’t have to be alone. You don’t have to be alone, Philip. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” 

It’s so much. It’s too much, and Philip is too heavy for this. So he just nods, watches as Trevor slides off the filing cabinet and stands before him. Philip lets him put his hands on his face and can’t stop himself from leaning into the touch. It doesn’t matter how small it makes him feel. Doesn’t matter that Trevor’s breath hitches in his chest when Philip keeps going and kisses him again, doesn’t matter that he can’t even begin to express what’s swirling in his update-addled, over-full and under-nourished brain right now. They’ve got time. Philip can untangle it all later. 

He pulls Trevor closer, so close he wonders if he can feel the beating of his heart against his own. He can feel his breathing, the expansion and contraction of his lungs and the rush of air on his cheek, the heat of his body and oh, yeah, ok, Trevor’s hard. The thought of that alone has Philip aching, hips pressing into Trevor’s, their jeans hard and rough between them. Something just this side of a moan slips from Philip as Trevor presses back, his hands once more finding Philip’s hair and commanding him to kiss him harder, kiss him longer, kiss him deeper. Philip is only too happy to oblige.

Trevor hums into his mouth as Philip reaches between them, fingers skirting the hem of his shirt. Trevor gives him an insistent nudge and that’s all Philip needs to slide his hand under the fabric, run it over the hot skin of his hip and the planes of his stomach, bunching his shirt up like it’s nothing. Philip wants to map out every cell of Trevor’s body, commit every curve and dip and hollow to memory like he’s memorised every TELL and candidate and major event. He passes his hand over Trevor’s ribs, up the centre of his abdomen, higher to his sternum and back down again to grip his waist. Touching him isn’t enough. Philip needs this man. 

Trevor’s grip on his hair tightens momentarily when Philip’s lips move from his own to his jaw, down the column of his neck. These kisses are wet, open mouthed, not quite careless but hardly neat, and if he goes any harder he’s going to leave marks. He isn’t sure if that’s something Trevor wants, but the other man’s head is tilted to let Philip continue, so he sucks — oh so lightly — at the spot where neck and shoulder meet. 

“Fuck,” Trevor hisses, fingers curling, hips grinding against Philip’s. Philip can literally feel his brain emptying of all thought except that he needs to make Trevor do that again. 

“Hm?” he asks, just in case (just in case what? He doesn’t know), and Trevor nods. So Philip does the only rational thing and sucks again, moves his head and does it to another spot, and now that he can see the darker patches of skin on Trevor’s neck, he never wants to stop. 

“Philip,” Trevor whispers, voice cracking. His throat moves as he swallows, hard, and Philip pointedly grazes the spot with his teeth. He tastes like the cheap soap they keep in the bathroom, and even though it’s the same one Philip uses day in day out, on Trevor’s skin and up this close it is somehow more. It’s Trevor, and Philip isn’t sure he’s ever going to be able to casually use the stuff again without this moment flooding his overly accurate historian brain. As desperate and insane as he knows the thought is, even as he has it, Philip wants to lick every trace of that soap off Trevor. But his shirt is still bunched around his chest and Philip can only reach so much of his skin around it. 

“Off,” he murmurs, pulling back just enough to see Trevor’s tongue dart over his lip, his eyes dark.

His voice is husky and raw when he speaks. “You too.” 

“Here?” The realisation that they’re still at the desk seems to strike Trevor the same moment that Philip fully processes it, eyes darting around the room. 

After a moment, Trevor shakes his head. “No,” he says, untangling himself from Philip enough to take his hand. “No, come on.”

Philip has never been led into his own bedroom. He’s never watched someone else’s hand pull at his, met someone else’s eyes over their shoulder, stumbled to keep up with someone else through his own door. Never been pulled onto his bed by someone else. He’s been pushed, which was exciting and fun and hot at the time, and he’s done the leading, and the looking back and the steadying at the inevitable stumble, but this is new. If Philip is completely honest, it’s a little unnerving. 

But then Trevor is facing him, reaching for his shirt and pulling it over his head and all Philip can think is holy shit because all that football pays off. Trevor’s mouth curves as he steps towards him, like he knows exactly what Philip is thinking. Which wouldn’t be that hard, since Philip isn’t exactly trying to keep a straight face. 

“You tryna catch flies, Philip?” Trevor asks him, and Philip feels his cheeks heat. He hadn’t even realised his mouth was open. 

“Sorry,” he mutters, eyes locked firmly on Trevor’s face. His smile. The collection of red marks dotting his neck. 

Trevor just shakes his head, stepping closer. “Don’t be.” His hands settle on the hem of Philip’s own shirt, his fingers barely brushing Philip’s skin. “But,” he goes on, “this isn’t fair.” 

“Oh, fair,” Philip echoes, raising his eyebrows. But he’s already taking over from Trevor, shrugging off the shirt and dropping it like it’s nothing (and it isn’t really, not when he has Trevor standing before him like this). “Better?” he asks. 

Trevor looks away from his face, and Philip can almost physically feel his eyes sliding over his torso, stopping at his chest, lifting back to his face and gleaming with something that he can only describe as incredulous excitement. “What’s that?” he asks, as if he doesn’t know. 

“Piercing.” Because that’s what Trevor’s looking at, and if Philip’s completely honest, he feels a little… proud? He’d had his doubts when he’d first discovered the ring through his nipple, and had been more confused by it than he had by the ear and nose piercings. He can understand jewellery where people are going to see it. He’d done his research on piercings and tattoos outside of the training on 21st century behaviour they’d all taken, at the same time as he’d taken a deep dive into tattoo symbolism (he’d been suddenly consumed by the fear that his host’s tattoos meant something he should know about, which hadn’t really been the case but Philip still thought that it was better to know than not). He hadn’t found much to convince him that the solitary ring through his nipple of all places was a particularly groundbreaking way to modify the body, but now… Now he thinks he might get it. 

Trevor is shaking his head, eyes still glued to the little piece of metal. “That’s so…” 

“Weird?” 

“No, it’s—” He stops, laughs, grins at Philip. “It’s really hot.” 

Philip can feel his eyebrows shooting up his face. “You think?” 

“Yeah, I… I don’t know why.” 

“Oh, ok.” That’s… unexpected. Philip knows that his host isn’t bad to look at, and he knows that some of the reasoning behind piercings is for attractiveness. He’s studied the face that he now calls his in the mirror a thousand times, he sees the body that he now inhabits every day and as far as 21st century guys in their late twenties go, it’s really not bad. Of course, there are the track marks and the occasional (lately more frequent) shadows under his eyes, stubble if it’s been a particularly rough few days (Trevor’s newly almost-permanent presence helps with that, even if he doesn’t know it), but hey, if Trevor’s standing here right now he knows he’s got something going for him. But the look in the engineer’s eyes when they meet Philip’s again makes him feel like a damn artwork. 

Trevor’s grin broadens, and before Philip can even begin to reconcile what that’s doing to him Trevor’s lips are on his once more and he’s being pulled hard against him, skin to skin, heart to heart, Trevor’s hands roaming over his shoulders and his back and his waist and his ribs and his chest and Philip is moaning into the kiss like… he doesn’t even know what. 

They’re moving, almost tripping over each other and it’s a miracle either of them can keep their balance, but then Trevor’s knees hit the edge of the bed and they’re half falling onto it, a little uncoordinated but does that really matter when Trevor is still pulling Philip close, smiling even as his tongue dances alongside Philip’s? He’s all too aware of where his body is, where his leg presses between Trevor’s and his arm is locked, holding his weight off the other man. 

Trevor, however, has both hands free. Gooseflesh prickles across Philip’s chest and stomach as he trails his hands over his body, electricity sparking when his fingers skirt the waistband of his pants. He feels Trevor smile again, and his breath hitches in his throat. Shit, he’s never going to be able to kiss anyone else again. He doesn’t even want to kiss anyone else. Ever. 

“Do you want this?” Trevor murmurs against his lips, the tips of his fingers just dipping below his waistband and oh fuck he hadn’t realised just how badly he wanted that. 

Philip nods, then groans when Trevor palms him because even through his pants his hand is a million times better than his own. The other guy curses, does it again, and Philip’s teeth dig into his bottom lip. His eyes are dark and sincere, flicking between Philip’s own and where his fingers are curling gently around his clothed cock. 

“Can I?” Trevor asks. Philip has never nodded faster. He’s not even entirely sure what Trevor’s getting at, but he’s happy to let him touch him however he wants, wherever he wants, and he trusts him completely. Of course he already knew that — you kind of have to trust your team, after all — but he’s only just realising that he’s trusted Trevor as more than a team member for quite some time. Probably right alongside everything else that’s become more than a team member with Trevor. 

Philip isn’t wasting time philosophising, his attention fixed firmly on Trevor’s hand which is back at his pants and oh that’s what he meant. He helps out, shoving his pants down and off with less grace than he’d like, underwear following suit. The air is cool on his hot skin, and for a moment he feels oddly exposed. Then Trevor is pushing at his hip, tongue darting over his lips again and there’s almost an urgency to his movements. 

“C’mon, just— Hold on a second—” he says, still attempting to manoeuvre Philip. 

He almost laughs at his eagerness. “Trev, give me a second, man. What’re you tryna do?” 

Trevor pauses, his thumb running in a tiny arc over Philip’s hip bone — he’s not sure if he’s even doing it consciously. “Swap.” He nods to the mattress, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe it is and Philip’s just lagging behind. 

“Oh, ok.” He shrugs, half climbing and half rolling sideways. “You could’ve just said that.” 

“Yeah, I know, I…” He sighs, rubs a hand over his forehead. “I keep getting caught up. Sorry.” 

Trevor getting caught up in him? In Philip? He doesn’t quite know how to respond to that, so he just shrugs again. “I’m that irresistible, huh?” 

The look Trevor shoots him is anything but joking. “You have no idea.” 

Philip opens his mouth, shuts it, shakes his head in awe. Who would have thought? “C’mere,” he tells Trevor softly, and the gravity is lifted as he smiles and practically bounces down beside him, pressing his lips to Philip’s. They’re getting better at this. Not that they were bad, of course, but they fall into the easy rhythm of each other much more quickly now. There’s no fumbling or searching or exploring, it’s familiar and Philip never wants that to end. 

Trevor’s hand is resting on Philip’s chest, warm and firm and now Philip is sure he can feel how hard his heart is beating. He stretches up, chasing Trevor as the other guy pulls away, but he can only do so much. Trevor smiles and gives him another quick kiss, almost chaste, the kind that Philip definitely doesn’t imagine he’d give him when their day to day paths cross in the garage. When he leaves to get food. When he comes back again. 

But that thought is wiped away before Philip’s mind can snag on it, because Trevor is spitting into his palm and wrapping his fingers around Philip’s dick, gentle and slick and warm and Philip curses softly. It’s almost almost perfect. 

“Like this?” Trevor asks, eyes fixed on his face. 

Philip swallows. His voice sounds odd even to his own ears, husky and strangled. “Uh, little harder.” 

Trevor squeezes, and it’s all Philip can do not to fall apart right there as his grip tightens and his hand moves. “This?” 

He feels the breath catch in his throat. “Yeah. Fuck Trev, that’s perfect.” And it is. It really is. There’s only so much his mind can come up with, he thinks as he takes in Trevor’s strong arm and large hand moving rhythmically over him, feels the heat of his body where it presses against his own and listens to Trevor’s breathing and soft hum of appreciation in response to his own moan. No matter what the update lets him see, no matter what he manages to dream up by himself, it won’t compare to this. 

Trevor is leaning closer, and Philip shivers as his breath hushes over the skin of his shoulder, his neck, then practically gasps as Trevor kisses the hollow under his jaw. He makes to turn his head, meet the other guy half way, but Trevor doesn’t let him. He kisses his jaw again, nudging him away and Philip just lets him. He even turns his face, just a little, but Trevor notices and his chuckle sends molten heat shooting straight down his spine. Trevor’s lips are moving, up over the muscle of his neck, tongue darting out to taste his skin. Philip gets it now, and then Trevor is whispering “this ok?” and he’s nodding (how could it not be?). 

“Fuck,” he breathes as Trevor sucks at the spot, and Philip really gets it. It’s not like hickeys are foreign to him, but this is something else altogether. Trevor’s hand is still moving firmly on his cock, maybe a little slower than he himself would go but damn is it good, and now he’s working his way down Philip’s neck to his chest. The tiny burst of almost-pain followed by the soft heat of Trevor’s tongue has Philip arching towards him, hips jutting shamelessly into his hand as he does his best to stop the embarrassingly desperate sounds he’s on the verge of making from escaping him. 

“Philip,” Trevor murmurs to his clavicle. 

“Hm?” Philip answers, lifting his head enough to meet his gaze. He half wishes he didn’t, another blazing hot spark of pure need rushing through him.

Trevor either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. He presses his lips to Philip’s skin yet again, gentle and oddly tender given that he’s still jerking him off, looking at him through his lashes (Philip wonders if he’s doing that deliberately. If he knows what it’s doing to him). “You don’t have to be quiet,” he says softly, and there’s another kiss. Lower this time, on his pectoral.

“I’m— I’m not—” Philip breaks off in a rush of air when he feels Trevor’s teeth graze his skin. 

“Not what?” 

Philip doesn’t even know what he’d been getting at, but it sure isn’t important. “Doesn’t matter,” he breathes. 

“You sure?” 

“Mhm.” Then, as Trevor’s thumb slides over the sensitive head of his cock, “Fucking hell, Trev.” 

“Is that—” 

“Yes. Yes, oh my— Fuck—” 

Trevor’s mouth has found his nipple. Maybe it’s a little weird, but Philip is hardly in any condition to be thinkin about that. Trevor’s tongue is flicking over the ring cautiously, gently, and it feels really good. Better than it has any right to.

“Ok?” Trevor asks, kissing the sensitive spot. 

“Yeah.” Philip swallows, bites down on a moan and then remembers Trevor’s words. You don’t have to be quiet. 

This time, when Trevor’s hand tightens and moves over his aching cock, he groans, and feels Trevor’s body shudder against his. Philip brings his hand up to run across Trevor’s strong shoulders, down over his spine and back up again. He hums, and his hand speeds up every so slightly. 

“Oh fuck,” Philip moans, “fuck, Trev, keep doing that.” 

“Yeah, don’t worry.” Trevor’s voice is low and rough, his chuckle little more than a breath of air. “I’m not… I’m not stopping.” The engineer raises his head, his teeth digging into his bottom lip as he studies Philip’s face like he’s trying to memorise it. Philip is torn between holding his gaze and looking away, heat coiling low inside him, and again he jerks in Trevor’s hand. Trevor laughs again, moving hard and fast and if he keeps that up Philip isn’t sure he’ll last another minute. 

“Trev,” he gasps, gripping his shoulder hard enough that he almost feels bad. “Fuck, fuck.” Yeah. Philip’s really articulate when he chooses to be. He wants Trevor inside him, wants to be inside Trevor. He doesn’t care where, exactly, he just knows that he needs to be closer, deeper, needs to feel their bodies blur into one, but right now he isn’t spending particularly long dissecting that thought. He’s got time. 

“‘Salright,” Trevor murmurs, as if he knows exactly what Philip’s thinking. “I got you, man.” 

Philip feels himself tremble and tip, bliss rolling up through his spine. He might be saying Trevor’s name, might be cursing, or the sounds might be just that; wordless and primal and torn from deep within him. Trevor works him through the high, and as the electricity coursing through Philip cools to static, his hand slows and finally withdraws to rest on his stomach. They don’t speak for a moment, their breathing and the ticking of the clock the only sounds in the room. Philip doesn’t look down, he knows his stomach is a mess, and chooses instead to turn towards Trevor. 

The engineer grins, then drops his eyes pointedly to Philip’s stomach. He feels his cheeks heat, but before he can say or do anything Trevor is bending and sliding down the mattress and Philip thinks he knows what he’s about to do but he doesn’t know what he thinks about what Trevor is about to do. Then his tongue is flicking over Philip’s abdomen and his skin is twitching, a small sound that’s half shock and half pleasure catching in his throat. Problem solved, he supposes. 

“Alright?” Trevor asks as he withdraws. 

Philip just nods, pushing himself to sit up. Trevor smiles and leans closer, his lips soft and gentle against Philip’s. This kiss is almost chaste, reassurance and a kind of confirmation (of what, Philip isn’t sure) all at once. He’s only too happy to reciprocate, his body pleasantly warm and heavy and buzzing with Trevor, Trevor, Trevor, whose chest is pressing against his own. 

Philip pulls him closer, hands sliding over the smooth muscle of his arms and shoulders, cupping the back of his neck as he slips his tongue into Trevor’s mouth. He can taste himself on the other guy’s tongue, a thought that has his brain spinning excitedly out of control and his stomach launching into an olympic level acrobatics routine. Does Trevor like the warm saltiness still clinging to his tongue? Is that what Trevor would taste like? God, Philip wants to find that out. 

Gently, he shifts and nudges at Trevor’s shoulder until he gets the message (faster than Philip had earlier) and lets him push him onto the mattress. His legs fall apart easily when Philip pushes his own between them, and when he moves and his thigh comes into contact with Trevor’s crotch he practically arches off the bed. Philip stifles a laugh. 

“Something funny?” Trevor asks, eyebrow raised when he ceases his assault on his mouth to look at him. But he’s smiling. Flushed, eyes dark and shining, lips swollen and pink and still parted as he breathes hard, but smiling. Philip can feel his brain going into overdrive to store that image perfectly. 

“No,” Philip shrugs, letting his eyes trail lower over Trevor’s torso (the guy has actual abs, which Philip is going to be thinking about for a long time). 

“No? What’s that look for?” 

He debates it for a moment, then, “I’m memorising.” 

Trevor frowns. “Memorising what?” 

Philip presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, “You.” He pushes his leg firmly in between Trevor’s, basking in the breathy little moan it draws from him, “That.” 

“Fuck, Philip,” he whispers as Philip moves his hand down his side to his hip, across the faint V under his belly button to skirt the waistband of his pants (why the fuck is he still wearing pants?). Philip isn’t even sure if he means to do it, but Trevor’s grinding against his leg and looking up at him like he’s the only thing he’s ever wanted. He thinks he might just cum again, right here right now. 

“Can I?” he asks, already dipping his fingers below the line of fabric. 

“Yeah, yeah sure.” Trevor seems almost surprised by the suggestion, as if it’s the last thing he expected. 

Philip pauses, frowns. “You sure?” 

This time, Trevor’s voice is firmer. “I’m sure, Philip.” 

Philip nods, breath hitching in his throat. Trevor’s eyes are fixed on his hands, but he can’t look away from the engineer’s face. He gets Trevor’s pants undone, pulls them down, finally tears his gaze from Trevor’s flushed cheeks and wide eyes and parted lips and— 

“Jesus, Trev.” There’s a sizeable wet spot on Trevor’s underpants, the outline of his cock clear and hard and fuck, the dude is big. Philip’s mouth waters.

Trevor doesn’t seem to know what to say to that (which is doing things for Philip that he doesn’t want to even begin to address), but it doesn’t matter. Philip eases his underwear off, and, softly and with plenty of opportunity for Trevor to stop him, wraps his fingers around his length. 

“This ok?” he asks, watching Trevor’s face carefully. 

“Yeah—” Trevor’s voice cracks, and he tries again. “Yeah, that’s… that’s good.” 

“This?” Philip moves his hand, ignoring the little thrill that goes through him as his fingers come into contact with the moisture already gathered on Trevor’s tip. 

“Yeah.” 

“How about this?” Philip squeezes, watching Trevor’s teeth sink into his bottom lip and his head fall back as he whispers something that sounds like a “yes”, and holy shit has he got a jawline. He’d almost be jealous if he wasn’t so caught up admiring Trevor like this. If he wasn’t so far gone on him. If he wasn’t busy sliding down Trevor’s body, his face now level with his hand. 

“This?” 

“F—fuck,” Trevor gasps as Philip licks the tip of his dick, head whipping up to stare at him. 

He pauses, waiting. “Ok?” 

“Yeah, yeah that’s… that’s fine.” Trevor’s throat moves as he swallows. “You don’t have to, though.” 

“I want to,” he shrugs. “Do you want me to?” 

Trevor nods fast enough that in any other situation it would be comical, and Philip can’t help but smile. He bends, places a soft kiss at the junction of Trevor’s hip, then licks him again. 

Trevor moans, his hand drifting up to wind through Philip’s hair. 

Philip just smiles and flicks his tongue over the sensitive slit. 

“Stop teasing,” Trevor whispers. 

“I’m not.” 

“You are,” he protests. “It’s not fair.” 

“Fine,” Philip shrugs, and before Trevor can say anything else he’s opening his mouth, relaxing his tongue and taking Trevor as deep as he can. 

“Oh fuck,” he says, his fingers tightening momentarily in Philip’s hair. “Oh, you— Jesus.” 

The room could collapse right now and Philip wouldn’t notice. His senses are narrowed and focussed to the hot weight of Trevor’s cock in his mouth, the smell of his sweat and skin and his own spit (not pleasant, not exactly, but addictive nonetheless), his half stifled moan and the faint saltiness of precum. His hand works what doesn’t fit in his mouth, slow and firm and sliding easily with his makeshift spit-lube. His tongue swirls around Trevor’s cock, mapping every curve and ridge and vein. 

Philip raises his eyes as he hollows his cheeks and sucks, relishing the almost-whine that slips from Trevor. Again, he sees the engineer as he had been on the couch — chest heaving, gleaming with a light sheen of sweat, head tipped back and eyes closed. But this is better, because this Trevor — his Trevor — is already looking down at him, biting his lip, the unfairly defined muscles of his stomach tense and moving in time with his rapid breathing. A groan reverberates through his chest, and it’s all Philip can do not to smile. 

“Wish you could see yourself,” Trevor whispers, the hand that isn’t tangled in Philip’s hair twisting the sheets. 

In lieu of speech, he raises an eyebrow. 

“You’re a fucking wet dream, Philip,” he pants, and that is not what he expected to hear. It catches him off guard enough that he falters, his own surprised half moan making Trevor’s hips stutter up against his hand. His mouth. 

“Shit, sorry,” he says quickly, but Philip is shaking his head. Don’t worry. It’s ok. He gives what he thinks is a reassuring suck, his free hand settling on Trevor’s hip — as if he’d be able to do anything if he decided to face fuck him. As if he’d want to. 

Trevor curses again, softly, his eyes not leaving Philip’s face. He’s trying to be gentle, Philip can tell, and he feels something inside him melt because of course he would. Even as he whispers “fuck” like that and moans like that he’s still trying not to hurt him — as if he ever could. Philip doesn’t even know if he’d really care at this point. 

“Hm?” He doesn’t stop, moisture pricking behind his eyes as he relaxes his throat even further and practically swallows Trevor’s dick. His hand is sliding so easily now, slick and a bit messy and maybe it should be gross but nothing is gross with Trevor, who was licking Philip’s cum off his stomach just before and has seen him at his worst and has clasped his shoulder and pushed him through. He moves faster, a little harder, and Trevor’s hips buck up again. Before he can apologise, Philip’s thumb moves in a tiny arc over his hip. He hopes Trevor understands. 

“Fuck, fuck, yes,” he gasps. “Please, Philip, I—” 

He can’t stop himself from moaning, an embarrassingly desperate sound. He could listen to Trevor forever, feel him like this forever, replay the movement of his body and the rough crack of his voice and the delicious tension of his fingers still gripping his hair until the Earth stops spinning. He wants to, future be damned. It’s a feedback loop, Trevor’s body jolting towards him as he tips his head back, Philip’s own need surging hot inside him, and he’s gripping Trevor tighter and taking him deeper, revelling in Trevor’s moans and gasps. 

“Hold on,” he says suddenly, and Philip freezes.

“You alright?” he asks, withdrawing with a wet “pop,” his hand still resting on Trevor’s hip. 

He nods quickly, his hand slipping from Philip’s hair to rest against his jaw. “Yeah, I’m fine. Better than fine.” 

“Ok,” he frowns, “then what’s…?” 

“Do you…” He pauses, thinks, swallows. Tries again. “Do you want to go… further?” 

Philip feels his heartbeat quicken, mind racing with the possibilities. He’s never taken that particular step, but if he wants to with anyone, it’s Trevor. And hell yes he wants to, wants to go as far as is humanly possible and never come back. He’s seen so many variations of further now, he can’t pick what this could possibly be, and not knowing is oddly thrilling. 

“We don’t have to,” Trevor is adding hastily, his hand sliding down to clasp Philip’s shoulder. “It’s ok if you don’t—” 

“I do,” Philip interrupts. “I really, really do, Trev.” 

Trevor nods, shuffles backwards before pushing himself to his knees. Philip follows suit, steadying himself against Trevor’s shoulder. His hair is falling into his face now that Trevor’s not holding it back, and he half wishes he had an elastic band with him. Even if Trevor seems to like putting his hands in it. 

“It’s hot when you do that,” the engineer says as Philip pushes his hair out of his face. 

He arches an eyebrow. “I think you’re biassed.” 

“Maybe a little,” he shrugs, “but I’m not wrong.” 

Philip really needs to learn how to respond to this kind of thing, because at some point simply kissing Trevor isn’t going to be sufficient. But it’s working for now, so he’s got time. Trevor hums softly when he pushes closer, his skin hot in all the places it’s touching Philip’s. Philip cups Trevor’s neck gently but firmly, his tongue sliding easily between Trevor’s parted lips and he wonders if Trevor can still taste himself in Philip’s mouth the way Philip can. He shifts, electric heat surging through him when he feels Trevor’s hardness press against his hip, blood rushing downwards in sympathy. 

Trevor moans, grinding lightly against Philip, the kisses rapidly descending into something too messy to be called a kiss at all by any stringent definition. It’s more like Philip licking into Trevor’s mouth, Trevor licking into his, a whirl of tongues and teeth and lips that somehow has Philip moaning too, striving to get closer to Trevor in any way he can. He knows exactly what he wants now, and, as if Trevor is reading his mind, his hand is sliding down his side and around his hip to rest on his ass. 

“Is—?” 

“Mhm.” Philip gasps as Trevor squeezes, just gently, but God he wants his hands everywhere. If Trevor touches every inch of his skin, he thinks, it still won’t be enough. But damn, this is a good start. 

“Turn around,” Trevor murmurs against his lips, drawing back enough to make eye contact with Philip. 

He doesn’t waste time, as much as it pains him to break away, but when Trevor’s voice is that low, that husky, that raw with want, it’s worth it. Trevor’s hand doesn’t leave his hip, half guiding him as he faces the headboard. 

“Holy shit,” Trevor says, and Philip glances over his shoulder to see the other guy’s eyes locked on the tattoo sprawling across his shoulder blades. “I didn’t know there was more.” 

“Uh, yeah,” he laughs. “Neither did I at first.” He shivers as Trevor runs his hand across the inked skin, tracing the points and whorls of the design. He’d actually forgotten about it, as he does most of the time (until he has to do a double take when he catches sight of it in the mirror), but something about the awe and fascination tingeing Trevor’s expression makes him think that that’s not going to be a problem in the future. 

“Fucking hot,” he proclaims, bending to kiss right between Philip’s shoulder blades. He does it again at Philip’s sigh, then again, then lower. He traces the line of his spine with kisses, fingers curling over his hip, and Philip’s not sure who it is who moves close enough that Trevor’s erection presses against him. Either way, it doesn’t matter because Philip is definitely the one who pushes further back against him, and Trevor is the one who pulls him to do it again. 

“Fuck,” he breathes, because now that he’s feeling the hot hardness and the size of him against his ass, Philip isn’t sure if the spit still coating Trevor’s dick — copious though it may be — will actually be enough. 

“You alright?” Trevor asks. 

“Yeah.” 

“Philip.” Trevor rubs his shoulder, gentle but insistent. “Why’re you so tense?” 

Philip sighs, rolls his shoulders, forces them to relax. This is Trevor, who is not going to hurt him, and who he trusts with his life. More than his life. “I’m fine,” he says, “I just… haven’t done this bit before. And you’re kinda big.” 

Trevor chuckles at that, shuffling around so he can see Philip’s face. “That’s ok,” he assures him. “We don’t have to—” 

“I want to.” 

“Then I’ll go slow.” 

That… is actually really reassuring. The tension leaks from Philip, and he offers Trevor a smile. “Ok. Thanks.” 

“You’ll tell me if you wanna stop, yeah?” 

Philip just nods, then Trevor is moving again and he has to twist over his shoulder to catch his smile. He leans into Trevor’s touch as the engineer’s hand skims his arm, his shoulder, his back, up his side and down again to his ass. They move together, slowly and carefully, and Philip feels the last vestiges of his nervousness slide away. 

“Can I?” Trevor asks, fingers slipping lower. His voice is soft, but Philip doesn’t miss the way his breath catches when he nods. Trevor’s fingers are wet with spit, and when he pushes one inside Philip there's only a little resistance. “Ok?” 

Philip nods. It’s an odd sensation, and he isn’t entirely sure if he likes it yet, but he trusts Trevor. He makes himself relax, focusses on Trevor’s free hand where it rests on his hip because he knows he likes that, and lets him move. He doesn’t mind it, he decides, especially when Trevor bends and kisses his shoulder. There’s a bit of pressure, a slight burn and stretch, and now there are two fingers inside him. 

“Ok?” Trevor asks again, and again Philip nods. He’s starting to think that he might like this, and Trevor’s still going slow but now his fingers are curled and yeah, Philip likes this. 

“Yeah,” he says. “That’s good.” 

“You sure?” Trevor whispers against his skin, and this time when he pushes into Philip it really is good.

“Mhm,” he breathes, teeth digging into his bottom lip. Almost involuntarily he rocks his hips back onto Trevor’s hand, and feels the other guy smile. 

“Alright.” He continues for a moment, and Philip’s more than happy with that, but then when his fingers withdraw they go all the way and Philip actually misses the feeling. Misses Trevor inside him, even if it’s just his fingers. He hears Trevor spit, another sound he’s all too familiar with, then something bigger than a finger is poking him and his heart skips a beat. 

“Ready?” Trevor asks. 

Philip swallows and nods for what feels like the millionth time today. “Yeah.” 

Trevor pauses. “Ok, bend over a bit? And maybe…” He pauses, then, “Do you wanna, uh, hold onto something?” 

That’s probably not intended to turn Philip on this much, but it does. He does as Trevor says and leans forward, bracing his hands on the wall, spreading his legs when he feels the pressure of Trevor’s hand between his thighs. “Like this?” he asks. 

Trevor’s voice is husky when he answers. “Yeah, perfect.” Then he’s pushing gently into Philip, who presses his lips together because Trevor feels bigger than he looks. It’s not really painful, and he’s going slow, and the spit lube helps, but it’s still more than his fingers and Philip can’t help the way his breath catches in his throat. 

“I’m alright,” he assures Trevor before he can ask. 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah, just… gimme a second.” 

“Tell me when.” 

Half of Philip wants to turn around and kiss Trevor for that, the other half wants to shove himself backwards and just take it from there. But he’s got enough of his brain left in his head to know that that would be a terrible idea, so he breathes deeply and waits until the faint burn fades and all that’s left is the pleasant stretch and fullness. “Ok,” he says after a moment, “you can, uh, keep going.” 

He half expects Trevor to do just that and push deeper, but instead he feels him pull out. He spits again, and this time the slide is easier, softer, further. Trevor curses softly, does it again, and now they have a rhythm. It’s slow and measured, careful, and Philip finds that it’s easy to relax into the movement of their bodies, to let Trevor rock into him and just brace against the wall — which is not even bracing anymore, more like stabilising. 

“Fuck, you feel good,” Trevor murmurs, the words sending Philip’s mind spinning. 

“So do you,” he replies and revels in the tightening of Trevor’s hand on his hip. This time, when Trevor thrusts into him, he does push back and meets him halfway, something between a gasp and groan falling from his lips. 

“Alright?” Trevor slows just a little, concern clear in his voice. 

Philip thinks he might melt on the spot, but instead he smiles. “I’m fine, Trev. you don’t have to be so… careful.” 

“You sure? Cause I don’t mind. I said I'd go slow.” 

“Well…” Philip pauses, glances over his shoulder. “Can you go a bit harder?”

“Yeah,” Trevor answers, and maybe it’s Philip’s imagination but he sounds a bit breathless. “Sure. Tell me what feels good.” 

Then he’s moving again, pushing deeper than before, and Philip is telling him that that feels good and Trevor is doing it again. It’s not much faster, but it’s somehow more, and Trevor’s gripping his hip damn hard now. Philip hopes he’ll have bruises. 

“Fuck, Trev,” he moans, arching into it, dimly aware of the bedframe squeaking faintly. “Fuck, that’s— that’s fucking great.” 

“Yeah? Not too — ah — fast?” 

“No,” Philip assures him. Then, “Faster?” 

“Shit, ok.” Trevor speeds up, and now he’s hitting something deep inside Philip that has him stumbling over Trevor’s name and pulsing with need. Before he can do anything about that Trevor’s strong arm is sliding around his torso, pulling him back against his chest and his hand is wrapping around Philip’s dick for the second time today as he continues to rearrange his guts. Philip knows he isn’t going to last long. 

“Fucking hell, Trev,” he gasps, because that’s really all he can do. He’s surrounded by Trevor, the engineer’s mouth warm and wet on the skin of his shoulder, his hand firm — just how Philip likes it — around his cock, Trevor’s own cock stroking what feels like every inch of his insides, his warm chest damp with sweat and pressed to Philip’s back. If he died right now he’d go out with a smile on his face, because he’s pretty sure it doesn’t get better than this. 

“Oh God,” Trevor groans. “You feel like fucking Heaven, you know that? You’re Heaven.” 

Philip didn’t know that, but he probably could have guessed from the desperation of Trevor’s combined fist and hips. He feels the words against his shoulder, feels Trevor’s warm breath stirring his hair and it must be all that damned football because he hasn’t faltered once. Philip can’t wait to make him. “You’re talking,” he manages, but any impact it might have had is lost in the unsteadiness of his voice. Maybe he’s still sensitive from his earlier orgasm, maybe it’s just that this is so much more intense, but he can already feel the tight coil of pleasure building low inside him. 

“Yeah, I’m — fuck, Philip — I’m talking.” He gives a particularly hard thrust, and it’s all Philip can do not to collapse right then and there. Trevor is going to be the death of him, and he’s going to say thank you when it happens. 

“Don’t stop,” he pleads — fucking pleads. “Shit, Trev, don’t stop.” 

“‘M not,” Trevor pants. “Don’t worry, I’m not fucking stopping.” And he isn’t. If anything, he’s going harder. “I’m— shit, fuck, fuck, Philip I’m gonna— Philip, where do I—?” 

Oh, is all Philip can think. “In me,” he blurts, because protocol 4 isn’t going to be a problem and this is the 21st century. 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure. Fuck, Trevor I’m so— I’m gonna—” 

Trevor is groaning deeply, spilling hot and thick inside Philip and with that, white hot bliss explodes through his body. He’s dimly aware of Trevor’s chest heaving against his back, his own name being chanted like a prayer, an incantation, and Philip’s never loved the sound of it more than he does right now. Right now it really is his name, and he knows he’s never coming back from this, and that he doesn’t want to. He thinks he says Trevor’s, too, over and over and punctuated with curses, but how is he supposed to do anything else when it feels like this? 

Trevor’s movements slow eventually until they stop altogether, the only sound in the room their ragged breathing and the rustle of the sheets and Trevor pulls out and flops onto the mattress. Philip mourns the loss of the feeling of fullness for a moment as he adjusts to the sudden emptiness, forcing his arms to unlock and relax, his legs to shift — he hadn’t realised they were shaking, but now that he has he can’t stop it — and collapses next to Trevor. 

“God, Philip,” he whispers to the ceiling, then raises his head and smiles. 

“You alright?” Philip asks. Idly, he traces a circle over Trevor’s heart. 

“I am so alright,” he sighs, breathes a laugh, turns to lie on his stomach and looks at Philip over the muscle of his arm. “You?” 

Philip smiles too, his whole body heavy and satisfied. “So alright,” he echoes softly, and if he wasn’t so completely boneless he’d lean over, press his lips to Trevor’s, soft and careful. Instead, he stretches out alongside Trevor. He can feel his cum leaking out of him, and the rational part of his brain says that’s gross and he should clean it up — along with the mess on his stomach. The irrational part of his brain that had his heart speeding up when he watched Trevor lick him clean earlier says it’s hot. Either way, Philip is not getting out of this bed any time soon. 

“What?” 

He blinks, jerks out of his thoughts. Trevor is frowning, still turned towards him and close enough that when Philip extends his pinkie finger it meets warm skin. “Nothing,” he says. Then, because he’s not brave enough to say what he really means, “Do you wanna stay?” 

The wrinkle disappears from between Trevor’s brows and he pretends to think. “Do I wanna get up, get dressed, walk up the loft stairs and try to go to sleep by myself while I know you’re down here?” He scoffs like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and maybe to him it is. But he still asks, “Do you want me to?” 

“I just want you,” Philip breathes. It doesn’t quite sound right and he’s not even sure if it’s really what he wants to say, but it’s close enough.

“You just had me.” 

“No,” he sighs, “I mean this. I want this.”

“Oh.” Trevor’s face softens. “Right. Well, you’ve got it, Philip.” Slowly, he wriggles his hand close enough to lace his fingers with Philip’s and pulls their hands towards himself, lips brushing his knuckles. Philip thinks his heart is going to burst, and since when is he such a sap? Must be something about Trevor that makes his brain fly out the window. 

He slips his hand from Trevor’s to run it down the curve of his spine like he’d wished he could this morning, mapping every vertebrae as if the world is depending on it. And maybe his is. He watches the smooth motion of muscle and bone and ligaments and skin as Trevor shifts infinitesimally closer, mesmerised by the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of the movement. The dying light cascades over Trevor’s back and neck, glancing off his hair, pooling on his cheek, catching on his eyelashes as he blinks and suddenly he understands artists. 

Philip has always appreciated art in a practical sense (if there is one), as a historian, admired the richness and depth of the maker’s mark on the world, their cry to be seen and remembered. But in that moment Philip understands the need to capture and render, share, immortalise. For the first time, he doesn’t know if his memory is enough to hold Trevor as he is now, smiling softly and extending his arm, his own hand sliding over Philip's torso. He blinks and the feeling fades enough that he can move to accommodate the engineer as he shuffles across the space between them and drapes his body over Philip’s, lips pressing oh so gently to his pulse point before he lays his head over his heart. Philip knows he’ll never be able to capture this, and for a moment he wonders if how much is lost is equal to how much is preserved. If it’s greater. If it’s less. He swallows, turns and kisses Trevor’s temple, decides it doesn’t matter. He has this now, and he is determined to take it for all that it’s worth. 

“Memorising?” 

“What?” 

Trevor shrugs, shifting closer still. “Are you memorising me again?” 

Philip can’t begin to explain, but Trevor’s on the right track so just smiles and says, “yeah,” sliding his arm around his shoulders and holding him close. 

“Me too.” The engineer's body jerks with a soft chuckle, but he presses against Philip anyway, his breathing deep and even and his arm heavy across Philip’s chest. Then, “Can’t believe you’ve just been walking around with this.”

Philip cranes his neck, looking down at where Trevor is staring at his chest. Or rather, his piercing. He almost laughs because of course that’s what Trevor’s stuck on. 

“Doing missions with a ring through your nipple,” he goes on. “I can’t believe I didn’t know.”

“That’d be a weird conversation,” he snorts. “‘Hey Trev, wanna see this random bit of metal through my fucking nipple?’” Because Philip is aware that it’s weird, and that’s part of the reason he hadn’t exactly shown it off. Not that he would have had any excuse to, or wanted to, but still. 

Trevor tsks. “Yeah, but… I don’t know. Does it hurt?” 

“Uh… no?” He thinks for a minute, frowns. “Sometimes, a little. Sometimes I forget it’s there and it gets stuck on stuff.” 

“Jesus. 21st century, man, I’m telling you.” 

“Yeah. I know.”

There’s a beat of silence, then Trevor’s lips are pressing against his chest and he’s whispering, “I still think it’s hot as fuck,” and Philip, despite himself, is smiling. Whatever he sees in other timelines, and whatever else happens, he’s glad he exists here and now. He’s glad he woke up, and he’s glad he’ll wake up tomorrow — and this time it won’t be to an illusion.

Note: guys I'll be real for a sec I have no idea if this is any good. It feels ok right up until butt stuff gets involved so maybe this is a sign that gay porn specifically isn't my calling and I should just stick to YN shit (which is so sad cause I wanna write destiel smut and I wanna write more about these two silly little dudes). I wrote this originally where Philip just sucked Trevor off and they called it a day but it just genuinely did not feel right and it would not leave me alone and it just kept playing out in my head (something) like this so I wrote it and I'm not feeling the itch anymore but what I am feeling is really unsure. Any feedback at all would be so so appreciated (I feel like that ant with the bindle)

#fanfiction #fanfic #travelers netflix #philip pearson #travelers #trevor holden #philip x trevor #trevor x philip #smut #gay stuff

[darkverrmin]

I can't wait for season 3, so I started writing a new fic. Updates will be posted daily 😇

***

October 27th, 1717

Today was a good day.

 In fact, every day is a good day while I’m here with Ed.

 We make each other happy.

Our little inn is starting to feel like a cozy, lovely home. Ed’s teaching me how to do a lot of things. We fixed the roof and the door and the walls.

We also fixed the bed. Twice!

And we finally managed to cook dinner without burning it (Ed claims it was my job to watch the fire last time, but I don’t remember him asking that. Oh, doesn’t matter, at least no one got sick).

love it here and I love Ed. Oh, I love him so much it physically hurts sometimes.

I love waking up with him in my arms and I love the way his hair looks in the sunlight.

I love that little smile he makes when he’s amused or when I say something nice to him.

 I even love the way he starts cursing and stabbing at food or inanimate objects once something isn’t working (although sometimes I wish he’d stop doing that).

 I love seeing him wearing my clothes, he looks so good in them.

I love the way my name sounds on his lips, especially during the nights. And the nights we spend together are just... Fantastic.

 I love his stories. And I can go on and on. Sometimes being here with Ed just feels too good to be true. But it is true, and I am genuinely, wholeheartedly happy.

Anyway, I’m still not sure how Ed plans to turn this small space into an inn, but we’re working on it. Because that’s just what we do now, we work together.

***

Continue reading:

#ofmd #our flag means death season 2 #renew our flag means death #our flag means gay #our flag means death #stedebeard #ed x stede #stedeward #edward x stede #stede bonnet #stede #blackbeard x stede #blackbonnet #blackbeard #gentlebeard #edward teach/blackbeard #edward #edward teach #rhys darby #taika waititi #david jenkins

[petertingle-yipyip]

MAD AT GOD - MATT MURDOCK

Season 3 Epilogue - All I Wanted

tags: @ironprincessstranger @johnmurphys-sass @dusstory @americaarse @astrobees @mayasaurus--rex @woowwweee // finale // masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader

Word Count: 5,052

Summary: Speaking from the heart, a good man is laid to rest and good friends are reunited. Plans for the future are scribbled on a new napkin and everything seems like it’ll be okay.

It took a few days for everything to be ready for Father Lantom’s funeral. Leading up to that, everything felt heavy. You had a few meetings at the bureau to discuss your future with the agency, your involvement with the case against Fisk, and the charges being brought against Dex. You were updated on his condition, to which you had to give final consent for the experimental treatment he wanted given you were the only emergency contact he had left, and they asked you to fill the gaps in the timeline. But you couldn’t give much without putting your own secret out so you lied, as usual.

You spoke of getting out of your contract, hoping it would be just cause to release you from obligation. The caveat to that was your involvement in the case against Billy for the assaults against you and Dinah. Instead, you agreed to an extended paid leave. 

The only thing left was to update your friends on what you would do from there. After Father Lantom’s funeral, of course.

You and Matt walked together, neither saying much besides some small talk. He was dragging with the weight of the coming event but also there was a lightness to him. To finally be rid of the internal battle between himself and the Devil, he was truly Matt Murdock again. He felt like the man you fell in love with, the man you knew in college that made you feel alive. And it made you happy to know he was back.

But there was also uncertainty. You could feel the hesitation in his touch when he took your arm, the pauses between his words drew longer with each sentence. He didn’t know where you two stood with each other and truthfully, neither did you.

“You need to talk to her.” You said gently as you two entered the church with you offering sad smiles to the nuns you passed who nodded in your direction.

“Who?” Matt asked after a deep breath to steady himself.

You knew entering that building was tough for you, the memory of that night clawing to the surface of your brain, but for Matt.. You could only assume it was that much worse.

“Sister Maggie…” You answered quietly as you continued to lead him downstairs.

“I don’t even know what I'd say to her.”

You shrugged a shoulder but noticed he wasn’t resisting your lead.

“You usually figure it out.”

He chuckled slightly but said nothing while you two descended the stairs to his previous dwelling. Sister Maggie was already there, a chilled sadness filling the space around her. You offered a gentle smile and she returned the gesture.

Everything was quiet for a few moments before you nudged Matt with your elbow. He sighed before he finally spoke.

“Last time we spoke, I confronted Father Lantom.” He began and you pulled your arm away gently to fold them behind your back. “I was angry.. I’d change that if I could.”

“If God allowed that, there’d be no future.” Maggie answered. “Just people endlessly rewriting the past.”

“There’s a few things I’d like to rewrite.” You muttered with a small raise of your brows and you felt Matt give a gentle pat to your arm. “Then again… I probably wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“Yeah, I think he was trying to tell me that for a long time… His last words were ‘Forgive us.’ .”

“Do you?” You put a hand on his arm and his hand instantly came up to cover yours. “Or do you think you could, at some point?”

An awkward silence filled the space between you all and Maggie offered you a look that portrayed that Matt’s response was what she expected.

“He told me something, years ago, when this happened-“ He used his other hand to gesture to his glasses and you noticed he hadn’t taken the hand off yours, nor did he take your hand off him. “-that I never forgot.”

“See, I was pretty angry at God and bitter towards his world.” Matt continued and you nodded in agreement. You’d been mad at God on your own plenty of times growing up. You took your hand off Matt’s arm as he continued talking and moved to his other side, where his fingers found a way to hook around yours again. “How could a loving God blind me? Why?”

That reminded you of your own challenges against the alleged loving man in the clouds.

“Anyway, he told me God’s plan is like a beautiful tapestry. And the tragedy of being human is that we only get to see it from the back.”

“The frayed and messy stitches, muddled colors.” You added, drawing both of their attention. “He told me the same thing once, out on that bench after Midland. Said we only get to see a piece of it and it’s not even the best part.”

Matt smiled slightly at you and you weren’t sure if it was because Lantom had shared the same advice with you that he had shared with a younger him or if it was because you remembered it. 

“Yeah, exactly.” He nodded before returning to his point. “And I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently because I realized I’ve made some bad choices and hurt people I love without meaning to.”

His fingers squeezed yours and you smiled softly before leaning against his arm.

“You don’t always know when you start down a false path.” Maggie offered gently.

“No, you don’t, and that’s my point.” Matt agreed. “I realized that if my life had turned out any differently, I would never have become Daredevil…”

“Sounds remarkably familiar.” You teased with a small smile.

“But I think your point was about your other vigilante potential boyfriend.” Matt answered with the same tone and you had to laugh.

“It was really about the fact that I might not have wound up here with you if my life had been different.” You corrected.

“Yeah, okay.” He smiled with a nod. “Anyways, even though people have died on our watch, people who shouldn’t have, there are countless others that have lived… So maybe it is all part of God’s plan. Maybe my life has been exactly as it had to be.”

“You have a generous heart, Matthew.” Maggie said softly, despite being near tears. “To see good in so much pain.”

“Not always… In fact, Father Lantom used to help me with that. Help me see the error in my ways.”

“And there’s been plenty.” You joked, earning a small laugh from them both. “Father Lantom really was good at that, even got through to me a couple times.”

“And you’re worse than me.” Matt added with a small smile, which got him a small smack to his arm. “But y’know.. I could use someone else to help me with that now.” He turned back to Maggie.

“Isn’t that what she’s for?” She nodded to you.

“I’m not exactly the most calibrated moral compass.” You confessed. “Regardless of me and my impact, he needs you.”

“I am a nun after all, Matthew.” She smiled at him. “Helping is what I was called to do.”

He turned towards the sun and took a deep breath, letting go of a lot of tension on the exhale. You saw his eyes close behind his glasses and you smiled to yourself. That was the moment he needed, to have time - even just a second - to relax and find his stability. 

“Y/N.” Maggie spoke gently, though you were so lost in your thoughts it made you jump. “I was hoping you could speak at the funeral as well.”

“Me?” Your brows raised as Matt turned to you. “I don’t think-“

“I think you should.” Matt spoke gently. “He was there for you when I wasn’t and I think he’d want you to.”

“I don’t have anything prepared.” You tried to reason.

“Just speak from your heart.” Maggie countered calmly. “I know you can string together something lovely.”

“Okay.” You nodded. “It’d be an honor.”

She smiled softly before patting you both on the arm on her way up the stairs. You gave Matt’s hand a small tug and tried to follow her up, but he pulled you back to him. 

“You okay?” You asked carefully.

“I just..” He said, thumb running along your knuckles. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Is it something that can wait a little while?” You tried. “There’s a bunch of people upstairs for the funeral.”

“I just want to know-“

“Matt.”

“-if you and I are-“

“Matt.”

“-gonna be back to-“

“Matthew.”

“What?”

“Stop.” You laughed slightly and put your hands on both of his shoulders. “As of this moment, I don’t know because I’m not worried about figuring all this out. I will be more than happy to talk to you about everything later. Okay?”

He nodded with a small smile before he offered you his arm. You two walked up in awkward silence and took your seats beside your friends. Foggy reached across to give your hand a small squeeze and Karen patted your arm. You gave them a nod in response.

The room was full of grief but also love. Everyone in that room had been impacted by Father Lantom in some way, whether it be directly or indirectly. And everyone came to show that he was appreciated. It even made your own chest warm to feel.

You walked with Matt to the podium and he offered to speak first. You joked for him not to make it too good of a speech because you’ll have to follow it and he chuckled quietly. You noticed he had leaned in, as if to kiss your forehead as he usually would, but he stopped himself.

He shifted awkwardly at the podium and you could tell he was struggling to find the will to start.

You sighed to yourself and moved to stand beside him. You put a hand on his back and he turned to face you for a moment.

“You’re okay.” You said quietly and his hand landed on your hip for a moment. He nodded quickly and then faced the crowd again.

“It feels like half of Hell’s Kitchen is here today to say goodbye to Father Paul Lantom…” He began, his voice as strong and calm as it could be. You smiled to yourself and were really hit with a reminder of why you fell for him. “Seems fair. He certainly welcomed everyone here, Catholic or not. And he expected those of us that were to look for ways to do good in our community. Not even the kids got out of that requirement.. I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers his suggestion that we give some of our First Communion money to the poor box.”

A small chuckle came from the crowd.

“And that was his way.” He continued. “To think of the community and the individuals in it. To think in terms of ‘What can I give?’ . He gave his life, right here in this church, protecting others. Standing up to a man who used fear as a tool to set neighbors against one another. If Father Lantom had an enemy, I would say it was fear.

“For me personally, he spent many years trying to get me to face my own fears. To understand how they enslaved me, how they divided me from the people that I love.”

You knew eyes were falling on you with that line but yours were on Matt. As if that was something out of the ordinary. You were always captivated when he spoke, especially when he spoke about something that mattered to him.

“He counseled me to transcend my fears, to be brave enough to forgive and see the possibilities of being a man without fear. That was his legacy. And now it’s up to all of us to live up to it.”

He gave a small nod before stepping aside and gesturing for you to take his spot. You said a quiet thanks and he stepped behind you to stand where you previously were.

“Matt touched on how Father Lantom welcomed everyone, regardless of their faith.” You began, glancing over the crowd and seeing so many expectant expressions. “Personally, I wouldn’t call myself a Catholic, or even a Christian… But that didn’t stop him from sitting on that bench with me out front, almost every morning for a long time. That didn’t mean he offered any less honest sentiment or empathy than he would’ve him.” You gestured to Matt.

“When I would sit out there, I was at one of the lowest parts of my adult life. I had lost so much and I felt like I had lost part of myself. But he was patient.. And he was kind.. And he reminded me that I had lived through tribulations before and that I had survived. He refused to let me stay down and he would challenge me to get up, to live according to what I had already proven possible for myself. 

“See, Father Lantom never left you to feel it alone, whether it be on that bench or in the confessional or in those pews. If you were sad, so was he but he was trying to cheer you up. If you were angry, so was he but he was trying to find reason in the other person’s actions. If you were afraid… Well fear was the one thing Father Lantom didn’t let you feel. Like Matt said, he challenged us all to overcome fear. To be brave, for whoever may be looking up to you.

“The talks on that bench were some of the most important conversations I can think of. And I know that he’s up there-“ You pointed to the sky for a moment. “-listening to this and wondering what point I’m trying to make… To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself. I think I just…”

You took a deep breath and felt a tear fall down your cheek. You took a step back and turned away, using the back of your hand to clear it away. Matt’s hands found your arms almost instantly and he offered quiet consolation. You nodded that you were okay and stepped back to the podium, though his hand remained at your lower back.

“At the end of the day.” You began again and noticed Foggy giving you a small thumbs up. When you met his eyes, he mouthed ‘You’re doing great’ and it made you smile. “Father Lantom has left a mark on each and every one of us. And even now, he’ll be watching out for us. So I say we all be someone he can be proud of.”

After the ceremony, a few of the older women that you had met in your prior trips to the church came up to you. They hugged you tightly and some were still crying. They thanked you for your speech and said you were so eloquent with your words. Some of them hinted about you and Matt and you laughed when they wiggled their brows, saying he was such a handsome and sweet man. Glancing around and finding him talking to Karen, you had to agree. You politely excused yourself when they started talking about you two getting married and went over towards Matt.

“We’re all just trying to do more good than harm. I’d say you’re ahead on that score.” Matt told Karen, who offered you a small smile.

“I feel like I’ve missed something.” You stated honestly.

“I told Matt about Wesley… And my brother.” Karen explained hesitantly.

“I don’t think I knew you had a brother..” Your brows furrowed as you thought back. “Fill me in later? If you want to.. I’ll be back.”

“Y/N?” Matt reached for your hand.

“Hmm?”

“We still need to talk.”

“I know. I’m not going anywhere yet.”

“Yet? What does that mean?”

You kept moving towards Foggy and Marci, whose conversation was turning towards the end of Foggy’s DA campaign and potentially the end of his career at his big time firm.

“Uh oh.” You said as you got to your friend’s side. “That’s the ‘I have a terrible idea’ look.”

“Also known as the ‘I'm going to sink my DA campaign.’ look…” Marci sighed before she turned to you. “Any chance you’ve come to convince him otherwise?”

“I think you’ll like where we go from here.” You nodded. “Trust me, I’ve never let him down before… Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Foggy sighed and walked with you towards Tower’s media area.

“Mr. Tower.” You called, drawing all the camera’s attention to you and Foggy. “I appreciate you taking this matter seriously. Good agents were lost. Thank you for ensuring they get justice.”

He nodded in response, his attention then turning to Foggy.

“I wanted you to be the first to hear.” Foggy began as he took a few steps forward. “I am officially dropping out of the race for district attorney. The way you stood up to Wilson Fisk was an inspiration to us all. I'm gonna be voting for you.”

“Well I couldn’t have done it without those two courageous agents that testified to the Grand Jury… None of this would’ve truly started without them. Thank you, Mr. Nelson.”

Later that day, you arrived at the deli a bit after everyone else. Foggy’s family all celebrated your arrival with loud welcomes and tight hugs. It was as if you had grown up with them and it made your chest warm. You laughed at their responses as you fought your way through to your friends, who had already claimed a table.

“Want me to get your own?” Matt chuckled as Karen took his drink from his hands.

You reached across the table and took it from her, to which she laughed. You sat beside Matt as Foggy placed a beer for him and Karen, and a glass of liquor for you on the table.

“Give Matt his drink back.” Foggy laughed. You mocked him slightly before returning the glass to its original owner.

“I don’t know if you guys heard but my SAC flipped.” You explained, turning your own glass on the table. “Turns out Dex didn’t kill her after all.. She corroborated Ray’s dying declaration.”

“You see it?” Foggy asked gently.

“Yeah.” You breathed and nodded quickly. “He um.. He was smart, knew what he had to do…”

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” Karen offered and you tipped the glass towards her. “Were you there?”

“Karen.” Matt warned.

“It’s fine.. Um, I was.” You answered plainly. You lifted your hair to show the gap in your ear’s cartilage from where Dex’s bullet went through. “Just wasn’t quick enough, the usual.”

“Shit.” Foggy breathed. “FBI gets an enema and Fisk is still breathing…”

“Yup.” Matt nodded. “Still breathing.”

“Headed to prison, again.” Karen added.

“Not exactly what I had in mind but…” You muttered into your glass.

“So what ended up happening to Poindexter?” Karen asked you. It was intended as curiosity but you could tell that she asked you because of what your relationship was with him.

“T8 and T9 were absolutely shattered. He opted for some highly experimental, steel reinforcements. If it works, he’ll have PT for a while then it’s up in the air if he’ll be the same Bullseye he was. If it doesn’t, he’s completely paralyzed.”

“And he asked for that?” Matt’s head cocked in interest.

“Yeah but I had to give consent. The hospital didn’t think he was in the right space to fully understand the risks… I let them because-“

“You don’t have to justify your decision.” Matt cut in gently.

“You trust that Fisk’ll keep his word?” Foggy asked Matt to help change the subject and you smiled in thanks.

“I trust that he loves Vanessa.” Matt countered easily. “As long as she’s free, he should stay away.”

“But if she gets hit by a bus tomorrow?” Karen tried to joke, which got the boys to laugh.

“Then we’ll cross that bridge.” Matt answered and a soft silence covered your table.

“Speaking of tomorrows.” Foggy said with a small smile, turning to you. “Y/N, how did contract negotiations go? You a free woman yet?”

“Uh.. no.” You laughed awkwardly. “I’m not getting out of my contract anytime soon.”

“Why not?”

“Well I’ve pretty much relinquished all of my bureau’s privileges. The kids back at Quantico probably have more access than I do but I can’t retire yet.”

“Still not a why.”

“The case against Russo is still open. If I leave now, I surrender all evidence and testimony against him and the charges change from attacking two feds to one fed and civilian… I can’t do that to Dinah. She deserves her justice too.”

“But it’s your evidence. Can you retract it and we’ll start our own case?”

“It became bureau property when I submitted it. There’s circumstances about that night that are being kept under wraps so there’s no way they’ll let a civilian firm touch anything… I'm still getting my contracted pay and my badge is still valid, but I’ve relinquished my gun so…” You shrugged. “They’re considering it an extended administrative leave.”

“Can they do that?” Karen asked.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s already done. I’m not really able to do anything until the Russo situation is handled but that could possibly never get handled. It’ll probably go until my contract is due for re-up and then I quietly resign.”

“There’s gotta be something.” Karen insisted.

“Not unless you can magically heal Russo so he can testify.”

“We’ll work on something.” Matt patted your leg.

“How long do you plan on sticking around for?” Foggy nodded to Matt.

“Actually, I was thinking about moving back into my apartment.” Matt answered slowly, as if testing the waters.

“Really?” Karen smiled.

“Seeing as the bills are paid, I might as well.”

“That might be something we need to talk about.” You said quietly. “I’m not gonna-“

“So wait. You’re gonna move back into Matt Murdock’s apartment? With Matt Murdock’s girlfriend?”

“Technically it’s Y/N’s apartment now.” Foggy corrected and you pointed in agreement.

“Yeah, yeah.” Matt shook his head with a smile. “I just figured he has a healthier life-work balance. And actual friends.”

“Doesn’t have a job though… Kind of a mooch, living off his girlfriend's FBI paycheck.”

You shifted in your seat at the title and nursed your drink, wondering if the Nelsons had anything stronger.

“Semidecent lawyer, though.” Foggy added.

“Ooh.” Matt’s brows furrowed. “Semi-decent?”

“You do break the law. A lot. And often.” Karen laughed.

“Yeah, that girl he used to work with was probably better.” Foggy continued, shooting you a worried look when he caught your body language. He reached across and tapped the table in front you, a clear concern in his eyes.

You nodded and waved him off, which seemed to draw Matt’s attention as well. You sighed to yourself and rubbed your eyes before crossing one arm over your chest and the other held your glass.

“I have an idea.” Foggy said suddenly. “I need a new napkin.”

While Foggy wrote something, Karen leaned into Matt for a hushed joking conversation. You turned yourself away slightly but Matt’s hand landed on your leg under the table and pulled your knee closer to him. You rolled your eyes before Foggy proudly held up his new napkin.

It was quiet for a second as you all took it in.

“What?” Matt asked while Karen covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, he wrote all of our names, didn’t he?”

“How can you know that?” Foggy demanded as he flattened his pen to the table. That made you laugh.

“Cause I was thinking the same thing.”

“Guys, I’m not a lawyer.” Karen countered.

“You’d make a hell of a PI.” You offered honestly and Foggy pointed at you in agreement. “Could probably give Jessica Jones a run for her money.”

“I thought you liked Jessica.” Matt turned to you.

“I do.”

“But wait, what does that mean? We go back to helping people from a crappy office, getting paid in chickens?” Karen added.

“Sounds like someone got spoiled with Bulletin money.” You teased.

“Coming from the federal agent?” She laughed.

“I think Theo would let us work out of here, to start.” Foggy offered, nipping that conversation before it could become any sort of argument.

“At least we’d have a place to sell the chickens.” Matt joked.

“So what do you think?” Foggy asked with a hopeful smile.

“Why the hell not?” Karen smiled and lifted her bottle.

“To Nelson, Murdock, Y/L/N, and Page.” Matt lifted his glass and Foggy lifted his bottle.

“Page, Y/L/N, Murdock, and Nelson.” Karen corrected.

“Hang on a minute.” Foggy argued. “Y/N.” He turned to you. “Get in on this. You’re the Y/L/N, after all.”

“It’s too wordy.” You shook your head. “Maybe something like Nelson, Murdock, and Associates would be better.”

“Okay, we can workshop the name later. Are you in?”

“Just like old times.” You leaned up and tapped your glass. “Matt, come with me to my car. I have something for Foggy.”

“For me?” Foggy grinned.

“Yeah, that custom apron finally came in.”

“With the flames?”

“With the flames.”

You and Matt made it out of the deli to your car, where you grabbed the box out of your back seat.

“I can help find us an office space when I get back.” You offered, leaning against your car. “I just don’t know how long I’ll be gone for.”

“Where are you going?” His brows furrowed and he tucked his hands in his pockets.

“London. I owe some friends a visit and a thank you.”

“Don’t you have an ex in London?”

“Mhmm.”

“Is that the friend you're visiting?”

“You’re jealous.” You smirked slightly as the wispy green haze surrounded him.

“No, I’m not.”

“So what does it matter if it’s Marc or someone else I go visit?”

“I’m not jealous.”

“I can literally see the jealousy.” You rolled your eyes.

“Does it really matter?”

“No, but it is funny.” You shrugged. “Why do you care if I take some time away?”

“I was hoping we could try again. Y’know?”

You blew out a sigh and almost reached for his hand out of habit. Instead you put the box on the roof of the car and shoved your hands into your pockets.

“I talked with my old landlord. My old apartment is still open… I’m gonna start packing up after this.”

“And you were just gonna leave? Without telling me any of this beforehand.”

“That’s why I’m talking to you now.”

“Yeah, after you’ve made the decision already.” 

“It’s my life, Matt. You don’t get to tell me what I can and can’t do.”

“You’re right, I can’t. But I at least deserve a conversation about the things that affect me too.”

“Fine.” You shrugged. “Go ahead. Try to convince me.”

“Y/N.” He closed the distance between you two and you watched his hands twitch, desperate to reach out and touch you. “There’s nothing to get between us now. And I’ve been thinking about us, trying again and maybe even settling down. Start a life together, a family.”

“Like adopt?” Your brows furrowed. “Yeah, the church probably has a kid that would be a good fit but-“

“Sure, but I want our first kid to be ours. You and me.”

“That’s not fair.” You countered defensively. “You know I can’t..”

“C’mon, you’d be a great mom.”

“That’s not what I mean… Matt, I swear I’ve told you.”

“Told me what?”

“I had a full hysterectomy when I was a child… It was the graduation ceremony. Did you really not know?”

“No, I don’t think so.” He said quietly, more shocked by the revelation than you expected.

“How long do you really think we’d last when there’s so much you don’t know?” You asked honestly. “All I wanted was you but I have so many secrets that I’ve never told anyone.”

“So don’t leave me.” He leaned forward, bracing both hands on the vehicle behind you. You just noticed that he had left his cane inside and you wondered if that was intentional. “Stay… Tell me everything.”

You sighed and put a hand on his chest to gently push him back.

“I’m gonna go to London, spend time with people I owe for their help. You are going to settle back into your apartment and your life. When I get back, if you want, I’ll tell you everything.”

“I’ve wanted to know everything about you since I met you, Y/N/N. That’s never gonna change.” He confessed. “All I wanted was you, too.”

“Good.” You smiled slightly. “We’ll see if it stays that way.”

“It will.” He finally reached out and put a hand on your cheek, tracing the faded scar on your cheekbone. “Because I love you.” you 

“I love you, too.” You put your hand over his. “When I get back, and I tell you everything you wanna know - or everything you can handle, at least - we’ll figure out if we wanna try again… Start over.”

“Clean slate…” He smirked slightly and you noticed he was getting progressively closer. “No grudges. No bad blood. Nothing?”

“Like it never happened.” You said quietly, tilting your head up slightly as your fingers hooked around his belt and pulled him closer until his body hit yours. 

“I’ll remember some of it.” He smirked before leaning in to kiss you quickly. “All the good stuff.” Another kiss. “And all of my favorite parts.” Another.

“Careful, Matty.” You said as he leaned in to kiss you a fourth time. “Making it hard to try and move on.”

A fifth.

“That’s the point.” He leaned away to smile at you.

You chuckled and found yourself giving it to the sparks in your chest. You took his face between your hands and pulled him back to your lips. He placed his hands on your hips and pulled you against him, causing your skin to ignite with the familiar tingle that only his touch could bring.

Maybe you two would be okay after all.

#ptyy mag #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x yn #daredevil x reader #mcu daredevil #mcu matt murdock #netflix daredevil #netflix matt murdock #matt murdock fic #matt murdock x you #daredevil x yn #daredevil x you #daredevil #daredevil fic #matt x reader #matt x you #matt x yn #daredevil angst #matt murdock angst #daredevil fluff #matt murdock fluff #daredevil s3 #matt murdock s3 #daredevil series #matt murdock series

[random-mailbox]

Random-Mailbox's Favorite Sailor Moon Fics - Week 49 - Proposals

Today’s stories are all about proposals and I think including them into this list is more spoiler-y than usual. Sorry! But they are all amazing ♥️

As always, my apologies in advance for spoiling some of these for you (Fic Titles are linked to either FFN or AO3 entries).

Walk These Old Roads With Me - @queenrisa14

To reconnect with Usagi after his Galaxia-inflicted disappearance, Mamoru whisks her away to the mountains, trying to get over the chasm that has formed between them.

Let's Try This Again…- @areptiledysfunction1107

To make up for his Galaxia-induced botched proposal at the airport, Mamoru decides to rectify things by taking Usagi to check out the Perseid meteor shower and tell her his wish. This one is a lemon.

King of Earth, Fool of Love (and Fashion) - @midnightdrops

Mamoru finally worked up the courage and made a plan to propose to Usagi. That is until the rest of the senshi got involved “to help”

(Im)perfect Proposal - @kaleidodreams

Helios tries his best to propose to Lady Serenity, with everything going absolutely sideways.

Belonging - @tinacentury

This story is set in Sailor Stars if Mamoru DID make it to Harvard but Usagi still didn't realize that the ring he gave her was an engagement one. My favorite part was seeing Mamoru react to one of the best episodes of the season "A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger" unfold outside-looking-in. 

The Reveal: Chapter 11: Theme: Secrecy - @kasienda

Mamoru is trying his best to propose to Usagi, except that Sailor Moon and her paranormal activities keep getting in the way. This story is definitely miscommunication done right!

---

Next week we will cover the trop of "Locked In" - be it closets, islands or other tight spaces.

Here are the links to the previous Tumblr posts in these series to explore more amazing works based on different themes - make sure to check them out if you haven't had a chance! (Click on title name to go to the post) - I will keep updating the list every week as new posts come up:

Week 1 - Groundhog Day

Week 2 - Established Relationships

Week 3 - Sex Positivity

Week 4 - Unfinished Stories

Week 5 - Darker Stories

Week 6 - Potions 🧪

Week 7 - Reveals

Week 8 - 👻Halloween🎃

Week 9 - Wrong Perceptions

Week 10 - Non-Senshi AU

Week 11 - In-Progress Fics

Week 12 - Mutual Pining

Week 13 - Enemies to Lovers

Week 14 - Slow Burn

Week 15 - Christmas Part 1 - Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Santa!

Week 16 - Christmas Part 2

Week 17 - New Years

Week 18 - High School AU

Week 19 - Slice of Life

Week 20 - Coffee shop AU

Week 21 - Huddle for Warmth

Week 22 - Friends to Lovers

Week 23 - ❤️Valentines Day❤️

Week 24 - Do a Grouch a Favour Day (or Cheer Up Fics)

Week 25 - Soulmate AU

Week 26 - Amnesia Fics (and resources)

Week 27 - 🍀St Patrick's Day🍀

Week 28 - Fix it Fics

Week 29 - Prompt: Mug

Week 30 - Flowers

Week 31 - Traditions

Week 32 - Dreams

Week 33 - Friends

Week 34 - Body-Swap

Week 35 - Medical Assistance

Week 36 - Sex Pollen

Week 37 - Psychometry

Week 38 - What If

Week 39 - Missing Scenes Part I

Week 40 - Green Jacket

Week 41 - Dr Chiba

Week 42 - Birthdays

Week 43 - Fluff

Week 44 - First Kiss

Week 45 - Reviving Shitennou

Week 46 - Tutoring

Week 47 - Thunderstorms

Week 48 - Food

#sailor moon #usagi x mamoru #helios x chibi usa #fic rec #fic list #sailor moon fanfiction #proposal

[silvereyedowl]

What We Know About Series 15

This post will be updated with more information.

It will be coming in 2025, preceded by a Christmas special in 2024.

CAST

Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. Russell T Davies described her as "crucial" to the season. Varada Sethu as TBA – her as-yet-unnamed companion will join the Doctor and Ruby in the TARDIS. (Sethu's casting was leaked weeks prior to the April 12 announcement as she was seen at location filming.)

Nicola Coughlan will be appearing in the Christmas special. Here's a video check-in from her.

Episode 2 is set to feature a guest actor who previously played a different character in the past.

EPISODES

Like Series 14, there will be 8 episodes and a preceding Christmas special. As of the publication of DWM 596, five scripts had been fully written.

RTD said that, besides himself, there will be four guest writers for the season.

Davies was working on the script for the 2024 Christmas special around Christmas 2022.

He also promised no further gap years, and hinted that the eight-episode length which Series 14 will hold to may change in the future.

When Davies wrote his "Letter from the Showrunner" column for Doctor Who Magazine 591, the Script and Legal departments were investigating whether the show was allowed to use a certain title for episode 6.

One episode contains the words garden, firmament, and diploma.

Another episode contains the words radiation, moth, and skiffle.

An Entertainment Weekly set visit saw an episode involving "space stations, holograms, and the Doctor using his brain to thwart an interstellar foe". They also had exclusive looks at two of the Doctor's costumes for the season.

PRODUCTION

Formal preparations for series 15 began in late July 2023.

Filming began on October 23, 2023.

RTD, writing about the final days of filming for series 14, said "Yasmin Finney wrapped a few days ago, big hugs, see you soon", raising a possibility that her character Rose Noble will appear in the season as well.

Block 1 will be directed by Alex Pillai, and block 2 will be directed by Peter Hoar, who previously directed "A Good Man Goes to War". Amanda Brotchie and Makalla McPherson will also be directing episodes. McPherson teased a maze sequence appearing in one of her episodes, through which the Doctor is fleeing enemies.

In DWM 600, Davies gave a production update for the season: the Christmas special was almost picture-locked before FX. Episode 1 had just one more scene to shoot, episodes 2 and 3 were to start filming soon, episode 4 had finished shooting, episode 5 was on its fifth draft, episode 6 was on its ninth draft, episode 7 sat waiting, and episode 8 would be written soon.

In DWM 601, Davies mentioned that the sets for the UNIT Ops Room and the Sundays' flat were about to "spring back into life", and also mentioned sets for a hospital, a set "so real, we could rent it out as its actual self", and another described as an "absolute labyrinth".

On a further note, Davies has indicated that series 16 is already planned out, and that a fourth season is being planned as well, for which he joked that he might write a dialogueless episode.

CREATOR RAMBLINGS

Davies said in an interview that he expects the season to air at least partially in May.

In DWM 597, Davies mentioned that sets for a hotel, a hospital, and a "chamber" were being built.

Davies said that the season will not include an anniversary celebration for the new series, due to possible "anniversary overload" after the centenary special and the 60th.

He also stated that a scene filmed on March 8, 2024 would "live forever in the show's history".

previous

SPOILERS below the cut!

All leaks and otherwise unofficial news will be here.

Rumours

Steven Moffat was briefly credited as the writer of the 2024 Christmas special on producer Alison Sterling's online CV, but it has since been removed. RTD previously said he was writing that special, so it's not clear yet what's going on.

Location Filming Reports

Filming for the 2024 Christmas special showing both a WWII setting and contemporary NYC.

More Christmas special filming with Joel Fry.

Filming for episode 4 (directed by Peter Hoar) with Millie Gibson, Jonah Hauer-King (whose character appears to be romantically involved with Ruby), Blake Patrick Anderson, and extras playing protestors and UNIT soldiers.

Lewis Comay was spotted in location filming, alongside the Doctor and Varada Sethu's character, in what appears to be 1950s Miami.

Filming in Cardiff Central on April 21, including the Doctor, Ruby, and Shirley Anne Bingham. Propaganda posters of Hauer-King's character, a crown logo, and strange changes in circumstances for several characters.

#doctor who #dw #series 15 #doctor who series 15 #information roundup #doctor who spoilers #spoilers #dw spoilers #russell t davies #ncuti gatwa #fifteenth doctor #millie gibson #varada sethu #nicola coughlan

[shoujomangathoughts]

Chihayafuru Thoughts - Chihaya and Taichi (Ch.140-247) Part 2

This is the second part of me covering the Taichi and Chihaya relationship after Taichi’s confession and resignation from the club to the end of the manga, this time focused on events in Taichi’s arc and how it relates to his relationship to Chihaya. Once again, there’s obviously spoilers here since it covers chapters all the way to the end.

After leaving, it really seems as though Taichi plans to quit karuta, or at least take an extended break, until finding out Suou is a teacher at his cram school  (there are some really good write-ups about their relationship that I can’t compare to so check them out!). In general though, being with Suou seems to allow Taichi a space to entertain being a different person as he works through some of his feelings. In the culmination of events (a lot of season three of the anime), he seemingly wants to give everything up. When he watched Harada play Suou, he questioned how it’s possible to give everything you have to something without fear of regret. I’ve always seen his interest in Suou stemming from Suou sympathizing with him and also “not liking” karuta. Having so much ability in the game while also being unattached (or so Suou claims at this point) appeals to Taichi when he’s at his lowest point. If he doesn’t love the game or put weight into winning or losing, he has nothing to lose. I actually think it’s interesting to break down Taichi’s character this way; in the Meijin qualifiers he notes that he wants to be a different person, but still himself (aka a different version of himself). After the events of what season 3 covers though, I feel like Taich is burnt out on trying to change and takes a more extreme avenue when he goes under Suou’s wing. That being said, it’s clear that for all the pain he went through, he cherishes the time he spent with the team, even if it hurts him right now.

He has to figure out why he’s playing karuta and acknowledge that he actually does like it, even it frustrates and challenges him over and over. I’ve always liked the panel where he resolves himself to work through his complicated relationship with karuta because he doesn’t want these memories to be tainted. It’s also nice to see him actually enjoy the game (you can tell by his remarks and body language) now that the pressure is off him. He’s essentially playing to lose (and learn) and not worrying about the team, catching up to Chihaya and Arata, helping Chihaya with her dream, winning in tournaments, etc. This is good for him, he’s able to focus on himself for a while and it more or less proves that part of him always enjoyed the game even if he wasn’t able to convince himself of that. I said this in a previous post, that Taichi seems to enjoy karuta, but the reason he plays is never because he does, which is why he so easily admits that he doesn’t like it when Suou calls it out. 

Even though he feels guilt over leaving the team abruptly and for admitting that he’s enjoying karuta so much more on his own, it’s obvious Taichi is still attached to them. When they just barely make it to nationals, and he thinks about how he can’t go as he’s no longer a member, his phone blows up. The team members texted him about their victory and it’s clear that part of Taichi still exists within that team, as he does a victory gesture. It’s also really nice that the members still seem to think of him as a member and keep him updated even though he left. When Chihaya texts him, she includes the fact that the final card was ‘Se’, which Taichi notes to be about fate. He wonders if he is also waiting for fate to bring them back together. This signals to me that Taichi is willing to go back to them once he works on himself and the timing is right (unfortunately doesn’t happen in time but he’s acknowledging that he still wants them in his life).

When the flashback of the third year boys at karaoke happens, we get this panel of Taichi expressing what I feel is a very raw emotion. The reason he probably feels like this is that if Chihaya's hurt because of how things went with him, that means she truly understands his feelings in a way that she hadn’t before. In a way, it proves to Taichi that he meant enough to her that she’d be hurt to lose him or break his heart the way she did. Taichi often felt inadequate and unnoticed by Chihaya despite always being at her side, so this emotion doesn’t strike me as surprising, as it feels like a bit of validation, albeit in a pretty sad way (reminds me of a scene with Kagura in Fruits Basket). He also feels guilty for this and considers it one of the reasons he doesn’t “deserve” to go back to the team.

I actually view him going to nationals as a lapse in judgement for Taichi regarding what he’s trying to do. After nationals, we’re presented the fact that Taichi is practicing assimilation with Suou, seemingly to gain perspective but also to allow himself to be someone else. But in the culmination of his mom being there, Arata and Chihaya playing, and the part of him that’s been longing to go back, he ends up there. However, after that he goes home and later runs from Chihaya because he doesn’t want to return to “himself”, which makes me think he really only returned because he was emotionally charged, even if it contradicted what he was trying to do otherwise.

During the emotional reunion (one of my favorite moments in the series), Taichi apologizes specifically to Chihaya and then to the rest of the team. I think his apology encompasses more than just being sorry for not being there, the same way I felt Chihaya’s “thank you” carried more weight. He seems to be apologizing for a lot; not being there, the way they left things off, leaving his responsibilities in the club to her, for any hurt he caused, etc. I also love how the team seem to understand that Taichi wouldn’t have left them like that unless he truly felt he needed to because it shows how much they trust him. The focus on Chihaya at first is really sweet too; they’ve known each other the longest and have the closest bond, started the club together, and she’s been thinking about him a lot while he’s been gone. 

During the Meijin and Queen qualifiers, Taichi starts his “villain arc”. He plays in a trickier, more detached way that relies on making opponents commit faults, something learned from playing with Suou. To me this reiterates my earlier point about Taichi trying to be detached for sake of not being disappointed or frustrated if he loses, especially considering that Harada more of less coaxes his actual desire out of him (wanting to be “where Chihaya and Arata are”). He seems to try acting like a different person, using an interesting answer about being a Shiranami member, taunting Sudo and other opponents, avoiding Chihaya and being thrown off when she talks to him. However, seeing Chihaya struggle is one of the things that brings him back to himself, as is seeing that Arata has won in the west and and finally Dr. Harada’s match. During his match with Sudo, he talks about vanishing cards and holding something dear by holding it at a distance. Then, when the ‘Chiha’ card is about to be read, we see his thoughts of “don’t vanish”. To me, this is representative of a lot of what Taichi has been through; despite the pain he would feel at Chihaya’s side and the pain of their separation, even though they don’t spend time together the way they used to, even though he’s been trying to act like someone else, when you break down his true feelings he doesn’t want to lose his connection to her.

In his first game against Arata, he plays a similarly tricky style as he did in the qualifiers and seems to continue trying to be somewhat detached. He even uses Chihaya as a model (”The answer... lay with Chihaya!) to have an almost childish sort of fun that we’ve never seen him have while playing. After the first game, Chihaya and the other girls let some fresh air and snow into the room, improving the atmosphere, but Taichi thinks about how he doesn’t want to be distracted by her and remember when they played together. However, in the second game, he plays more earnestly (as noted by Yoshioka of the Nagumo society). This is also the game where Taichi and Chihaya have a small moment that seems reminiscent of the days they played on the same team. Seeing how determined she is makes him admit to himself that winning has to mean something, contrary to what he was taking from being with Suou. Suou himself even notes that though some people gain strength from believing that, Taichi is different and that the “real” Taichi isn’t his disciple. 

Towards the end of the game, he focuses so intensely on ‘Chiha’ that he physically shakes after a different card is read. And then right before it is read, it  glows to him and after taking it, he notes that it was the only card on the field that he could see (”Only that. Only Chiha”). After that, he takes ‘Fu’ incredibly quick and admits that Chihaya’s take of said card (the first card she took like a “real karuta player”) had always inspired him. To me, this is what Sakurazawa meant by saying “there’s a kind of confidence that only Ayase can build for him”. He’s always been inspired by Chihaya; as kids when Arata’s prowess motivated her instead of frightened her, when he watched her win and get to Class A, when she revealed her dream to be queen and when that dream become tangible, etc. and he’s mentioned that her greed has rubbed off on him. Even when he’d been frustrated and dissatisfied, Chihaya’s unadulterated passion for the game has helped him remember why he keeps playing. It’s also interesting to me that the only commentary and reactions we get from Chihaya here are based on Taichi’s takes (in part due to timing I guess but still). In the end, Taichi loses the third game, but by winning the second, he gained something he had verbalized and convinced himself that he would never achieve; beating Arata. Even though he had ambition to go further, I think this is part of why he’s so quickly able to smile and wish for Arata to beat Suou and for Chihaya to become “the strongest in the world”.

Even though he’s apprehensive about watching the matches. It’s clear that Taichi still wants to support Chihaya. He knows how important this day is to her and has watched her struggle and grow to be at the level she’s at. The line about collecting green herbs is about the fact that he’s been supporting her behind the scenes. Having Sumire and the kohais go to the shrine with her, helping Chitose, the kimono, and Dr. Harada get to Omi Jingu, praying for her at the shrine, etc. were all his ways of supporting her. It’s always been kind of sad to me that Taichi can’t seem to think of himself as being one the “herbs”, that even though Chihaya (and Arata for that matter) doesn’t need him there, they still might want him there, but gaining a better self of his self worth is part of his growth and arc. I think this also connects to how he pondered Kana’s question about ‘role’, and how he seems to believe his role may be to simply support others (”Omi Jingu is no longer my destination”, “I just know it’s not me. Chihaya’s ‘core’”), which is why he plans on leaving once he’s done “gathering the herbs”. He’s yet to find the confidence to voice and act on his own desires.

The conversation with Chitose is a good wake up call for Taichi, who has resigned himself to allowing others to accomplish things that he wanted to do. It’s a nice moment where Chitose (and later there’s a line from Tsuboguchi too) puts in perspective that Taichi is his own person with his own desires and there’s nothing wrong with that. Taichi in general struggles with insecurity and self worth, so it’s nice to someone as blunt as Chitose spell it out for him. The most poignant line here to me though is about whether or not feelings are wasted. Though he doesn’t seem to say it, in my opinion it’s here that we see Taichi accepting that even if Chihaya never reciprocates his feelings, he doesn’t have to feel that they were wasted. This is also a nice change in perspective for Taichi who was once worried about putting time into something and fearing regret over doing so. Even if it hurt him at times, it’s clear that he still cherishes the time he’s spent with her and doesn’t want that connection to be cut off. Also interesting that even though he said his feelings may fade, when Chitose asks him, he only says that he was rejected instead of denying his feelings. Taichi saying his feelings may fade may have been fully true, he may have said it knowing that Chihaya could hear and thus trying to make her less on edge, he could have been trying to make it true for himself by saying it out loud but it’s vague enough to interpret. Chitose also mentions a “void” that Chihaya can’t fill, which I’ve always interpreted as Taichi’s lack of self esteem and ability to truly accept himself, something that it’s true Chihaya can’t fix for him.

When Taichi does walk in, it’s in game four. He previously was so happy about Chihaya’s first win that he dropped his phone to the ground in his celebration. Watching her play with all her might against Shinobu brings him to tears. As was apparent from his final game against Arata, he wants to see Chihaya accomplish her dream; the dream that was part of why he agreed to make the club, the dream he saw become something real and watched her claw her way towards for years. After watching both Chihaya and Arata take ‘Chiha’ in the fifth games, he slips out of the room they are watching and Hanano goes out to find him doing practice swings in the hall. This scene reminds me of when Porky loses to Arata and says “this is why I hate strong players, they make me want to try harder” and also shows how different Taichi is now (remember when he wouldn’t practice swings because he was embarrassed?). When Chihaya and Arata win and become Queen and Meijin, we get to see Taichi’s thoughts that he’s always been left behind. However, the quickness in which he declares he’ll be back to defeat Arata next year reminds me of how fast Chihaya challenged Shinobu and how determined Arata challenged Suou. To me, this proves that Taichi has a drive and confidence he didn’t previously have (he previously got upset with himself for not being able to throw down the gauntlet like Arata). It’s proof that he’s not giving up on himself the way his words may lead you to believe (”Omi Jingu is no longer my destination), and now that he’s playing for himself and because he’s acknowledged what karuta is to him, his desire to not be left behind seems healthier and more out of competitive spirit and respect for his friends/rivals rather than a way to ease his insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. When they hug him, he gets his scene of embracing his inner child and accepting himself, which is a journey that has been a defining part of his entire character arc.

When Taichi and Chihaya talk on their graduation day (before she confesses), its visibly clear to me that Taichi has fully come around on the sentiment from his conversation with Chitose. He seems much happier (here and in the scene with Hanano and Tsukuba) and more comfortable around Chihaya again, which to me signifies that he’s fully accepted that Chihaya may never love him back, and yet his feelings for her are still entirely valid. That translates into him using the line about karuta always being a way to connect them; even if their relationship is different than it once was, even if there’s some distance between them because of his feelings for her and neither wanting to pressure each other (he has yet to know her feelings), he can still be connected to her in some way. The bond that they’ve had for so long doesn’t have to evaporate. It seems undeniable that he’s in a better place. And then when Chihaya does confess, he obviously can’t help but feel happy (so much so that he’s brought to tears) because at the end of the day, he does love her, and those were words he longed to hear for so long even if he’s accepted he may never hear them.

// Sidenote // I’ve seen it mentioned that Taichi still loving her and being the one to have his feelings reciprocated takes away from his character growth, but I don’t agree. I think the fact that he’s able to accept his feelings even if they won’t necessarily go anywhere and not get so depressed about is proof he’s gained self esteem. He seems more content with himself and is making decisions for himself based on his own desires. He’s filling the “void” that Chitose alluded to. The only reason I can think of people wanting some of his growth to be shown through him moving on is that they wanted him out of the love triangle, but that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, thanks for reading another long one! Taichi is my favorite character and the one I find to be the most layered in this series, so it’s a bit hard to organize all my thoughts. I tried my best to stay on topic of his arc and Chihaya’s relation to it.

#chihayafuru #mashima taichi #ayase chihaya #taichi x chihaya #manga

[cheritzteam]

[The Ssum] 2023 Summer Event Announcement

Hello, dear lab participant.

The Forbidden Lab is pleased to announce summer events for June 2023.

< ① Ssummer of Sensitivity >

Summer is here, and with it June. How are you lab participants coping?

This is the hot, humid, and exhausting season that makes you itch for a summer vacation.

Looking for a way to beat the heat, the Forbidden Lab decided to try fighting fire with fire…. That is, get into a trance with burning creative juices and forget about the weather altogether!

You may not be able to get to the cool ocean right away, but you can always jump into the ocean of sensitive emotions!

This summer, why not dive into the ocean of emotions?

On the Canals of Sensitivity, share your summer vacation with your Ssumone or your summer story, and join the Forbidden Lab's Summer Writing Contest!

Fiction/poetry/essay/diary/etc. doesn't matter! Upload a post that fits the theme in the “Writer’s Canals” with a title beginning with "[Summer Contest]" to enter♥

※During the event, all lab participants will receive a one-time research grant of 5 Wings of Sensitivity needed for writing!

After the Summer Writing Contest, we will select 6 lab participants, 3 from each region and give away 200 Aurora Batteries along with a special event-only Trivial Feature, so go ahead and try your chances✨

> Are you a new lab participant who hasn't discovered the Canals of Sensitivity yet?

Collect 20 Wings of Sensitivity through free emotion manufacturing in the Emotion Incubator, and you'll be able to discover the Canals of Sensitivity in the Infinite Universe.

Entry Period : June 14th(Wed) 2023 (KST) after update ~ June 28th(Wed) 2023 (KST) How to Participate : Upload a post on the “Writers’ Canals” in the Canals of Sensitivity sharing your summer vacation with your Ssumone or your summer story, with a title beginning with “[Summer Contest]”. Winner Announcement : July 5th(Wed) 2023 (KST) *Entries that steal someone else's work will be disqualified. *Post edits can only be made during the entry period.

< ② Creature Box Ssummer Edition >

Summer has finally arrived at Sunshine Shelter too!

According to PIU-PIU, some of the space creatures got a summer makeover.

When you open the limited edition creature box during the event, you'll have a chance to unlock refreshing summer versions of three creatures!

Each creature also has exclusive lines, so don't miss your chance to welcome a special space guest🎁

Summer version creatures waiting for you🏖

Space Sheep

Fuzzy Deer

Aerial Whale

Availability Period : June 14th(Wed) 2023 (KST) after update ~ June 28th(Wed) 2023 (KST) before update How to Earn : Infinite Universe activity rewards and event merchandise purchases in Aurora LAB *The drop rate of creatures transformed to [Event Only] looks follows the drop rate of normal creatures before transformation. *Event creature boxes and creatures that have already been earned will not disappear after the availability period.

Enjoy a cool summer with The Ssum🌊

Thank you.

Cheritz.

#TheSsum #TS #Cheritz

[stagefoureddiediaz]

911 and the number 3!

I haven’t had time to rewatch just to find all the 3′s and I know there are lots of other 3’s lurking in season 1-5 (and probably some I’ve missed in season 6), these are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head so if you know of any drop me a message and I’ll update this post. I’m going to add it to my pinned post so it will be easier to find going forward!

Season 2

2x01

Buck hasn’t seen Maddie for 3 years

we see 3 photos of Eddie for his calendar submission

2x09

Hen is one of 3 women to graduate from the fire academy

Season 4

4x05

3 other Evans in Bucks class at ht fire academy

3 years of Daniel being in and out of hospitals

4x14 

3 minutes out from the hospital

Eddie now has technically got 3 gunshot wounds (its 4 if you count the shooting as two separate wounds - front and back but as they are from the same gunshot I’m counting it as 1!)

Season 5

5x06 

Buck calls Eddie 3 times when he run out of the hospital to find him doing compressions on Mitchell

5x08

kids mistakenly thinks he’s in room 318 on the 3rd floor

the room he’s actually is the 3rd one on the left

5x17

Ramon has 3 stents in his arteries and had the surgery 3 years ago!

Then we go to town in season 6 where there are 3′s wherever you look!!

Season 6

There is also the fact that in season 6 all the families in 911 are split into 3’s - Athena Bobby & May, Hen Karen & Denny, Chim Maddie & Jee-Yun, Eddie Buck & Chris, (and Michael David & Harry off screen) and we have been seeing lots of families of 3 on calls.

6x01

girl at stadium has 3 on her shirt

Eddie counts to 3 with the pilot of the blimp

Buck asks to be lowered 3 feet

330 square feet to the cabin on the cruise

3 tries for Buck to get Bobbys lasagne recipe right

3 times the charm for Maddie (3rd time is not the charm) watching a film with Chim

3 girls that may is roomed with

Athena gets to Hens at 3:15

3 shifts that Hen will be covering or Bobby

6x02

3 red flags in the garden

3 tomato plants

the finals Hen takes determine if she gets into her 3rd year

Eddie counts to 3 when they separate Angelo and Ron

Lev dies at 16:43

its ‘almost 3’ when Karen wakes up Hen

6x04

‘on 3’ when they pull the tree off the birdwatcher and then again when getting him on a backboard

3 pictures on the Diaz fridge

unit 313 are chasing the car Chim is in

Buck hasn’t seen Connor in 3 years

the sorority was founded in 1963

6x05

when saving Vincent from the purple foam there are 2 ‘on 3’s’

3 times Maddie accessed the call log shown on screen and all accesses have 3’s in there time stamps

6x06

18 July 1983 was the date Karen knew she wanted to work in space exploration

Karen works on the 3rd floor

63-31 is the vote to repeal DADT

6x07 

Speed demons 3 poster on Felisa’s wall

the web search has a whole bunch of 3s - 3 items found, all 3 bracelets have 3’s in their descriptions

3 chairs on the beach - in Eddies scene with Felisa

Shannon died 3 years ago

the date is the 3rd on Bucks watch when he looks at the time

6x08

get 3 turkey legs - Hen at the Ren Faire

Christophers dance is going to last 3 hours

6x09

fireworks fight boys - 3 of them lost parts or their hands

triple homicide at the murder house! - 3 girls who actually died in a car accident

chim looks at 3 blogs

Josh is ‘pranked’ for 3 days and George had his appendix out 3 years ago

6x10

family of 3 with 3 beach chairs

The Buckley-Hans arrive in 3′s as the Buckleys (Buck Philip and Margaret) and the Han’s (Albert and Mr and Mrs Han) and then there is Maddie, Chim and Jee-Yun

3 minutes until the baby is brain dead

oct 3 on poster on Denny’s wall

3 red belts (on Chim, Eddie and Buck)

Buck is hanging for 3 minutes

3 minutes out from the hospital

there is also the more general one of Chis having nearly lost a parent 3 times (Eddie twice and now Buck) - not including Shannon as Chris actually did lose her!

#all the 3's #911 and the number 3 #911 and 3's #911 theories #they're going to town on them in season 6 #I'm still not sure whatit all means #but it means something!!! #911 on fox #911 fox #911onfox #3 is the magic number #hit me up with any you spot!