#I'm like the opposite of Din basically

[pardis-dhyai]

Hello! Before I request, I just have some words for you: I find your writing to be truly awesome, and I love it so much! You also seem like such a sweet person. Also please do take as long as you need on my request—anyways, onto the request!

May I request an Al-Haitham x GN!Chubby!Reader who’s been gone from him for a long while for work purposes and they finally get reunited? I just think it’d be really cute if he and the reader just instantly ran toward each other and just had a longggg hug after not seeing each other for a while. Basically just very very wholesome! :)

I’m sorry if this was too specific and wordy I just think you’re really cool ahhhhh— I hope I didn’t put anything in here that goes against your rules, thank you!!

hello. you are extremely kind--thank you for your very nice words. i continue to be surprised that people think i'm a nice person, lol. i hope i did your request justice--it's a really sweet prompt.

also as an aside about update schedules--my posts will continue to be sporadic. undergoing more intensive medical bullshit and am constantly tired. my apologies.

reunited

characters featured: al-haitham

pronouns used: none--second person perspective.

warnings: physical touch as comfort, public displays of affection, self indulgent if you squint, reader calls al-haitham "baby" as a pet name

notes: written with a chubby reader in mind. intentionally nebulous modern au. will work if you aren't chubby. also, if you like my work, feel free to leave me a tip if you want and are able!

he'd checked his watch several times in the past five minutes. it was still 14:34 just as it had been the last few times he'd checked, regrettably. he was not an impatient man--quite the opposite, in fact--but it had been four months, two days, fifteen hours, twenty minutes, and 36 seconds (and counting!) since he had seen you last. he supported you and your career without question, but that didn't make the time spent without your warmth next to him in bed any easier.

a tortuous 3 minutes later, he finally saw you. you looked tired as you made it past the security checkpoint sign, rolling your carry-on behind you with the noise cancelling headphones he had gifted you before you left snugly protecting your ears from the din of the airport.

his legs moved of their own accord, so desperate to get close to you that he forgot his usual hesitance to show affection in public.

your eyes landed on him, and dull exhaustion turned into an expression he could only describe as coming home.

his arms were around you before either of you could say a word, al-haitham huffing in annoyance as some people around you let some "awws" and "how cutes" slip.

"hi," you laughed, returning his embrace. "couldn't even wait until the baggage claim, huh?"

"no," he grumbled. he just squeezed you tighter, fingers sinking slightly into your flesh as he took a deep breath. to his surprise, he was on the verge of tears. "welcome home."

to top it all off, to his chagrin, you noticed the thickness of his voice. "thank you, baby. you're allowed to cry if you want to, you know."

he just made another noncommittal sound against your skin, leaning into your one free hand that made its way to his hair. after you stroked his hair a few times and he felt he was under control enough, he straightened back to his full height. "here. let me take something to carry. tell me all about how your work went while we wait for your bag."

you were truly missed. it was obvious even to those who weren't well accustomed to al-haitham's mannerisms. as you made your way to the baggage claim hand in hand, you couldn't help but feel warm.

#genshin impact x chubby reader #genshin x chubby reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #al haitham #alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #al haitham x reader #house of daena

[narcosmx]

being the arellano baby and being into ismael "mayo" zambada would include

got covid after nearly 3 years of dodging sick children and watched narcos mexico all over again... as you do

anyways here we are again with my absolute obsession with being in the arellano-felix family

the stranglehold this family has on me is absolutely astonishing

okay but hear me out, being ramon's T W IN

T W I N

and this could go one of two ways; being ramon's literal identical, his partner in cirme, the moment when the both of you get this twinkle in your eye everyone in tijuana should be afraid

oR OR OR the complete opposite like ramon is like looks like a cinnmaon roll, would kill you and you're the is a cinnamon roll is a cinnamon roll one

completely and utterly seperated from the family business, don't want to get you involved until ...

okay so i am going to go with the being the opposite to ramon, being the sweet as pie, doe eyed, glue to this family... the apple of benjamin's eye and ramon's light and acknowledgement that he could be better you're basically the same person anyways

i am just imagining that scene in season 2 when ramon is walking around listening to his cd player or walkman or whatever

and you doing the same thing bopping to some fucking early luis miguel and dancing through the house

GOD YOU BRING SO MUCH LIGHT INTO THIS HOME

preppy fresa princess

so it's not like they kick you the fuck out when business is happening, you're around and moving through life but listening... always listening

when people come around for business you observe and notice people, usually don't peak your interest they don't get more than a kiss on the cheek and a faint smile before you skip off bringing a levity to situations that benjamin would always take advantage of

until you see this ruggedly handsome man making his way through tijuana

can you just imagine with me if you will, coming down the staircase in the arellano-felix home, just your polished pretty self and you walk through the corridor of the dinning room and see someone new sitting at the dinning room table

you giving him this curious doe eyed look with a soft smile and mayo getting all nervous kill me

he like gets to his feet real fast, takes off his hat and bows his head a little like "buenos dias, herm

osa" and he's just looking at you like you're an absolute gem literally like this delicate little flower

and benjamin walks in and is like "mayo, mi hermanita. nena, mayo" and you literally have to snap out of your little trance and walk over to mayo to give him your customary kiss on the cheeck and i just him holding your hand loosly when you come over to kiss him

HIM KISSING THE BACK OF YOUR HAND lightly before you scamper off mostly in embarrassment because you couldn't squeak a word out

ramon coming up behind you giving you a knowing look as you communicate in pure twin telepathy, averting your eyes immediately because if you don't literally he will read your mind

crying at you muddling around the kitchen, wandering around pretending to do something as you walk past the walkway to the dinning room every 5 minutes to look at mayo and exchange these little smiles :( :(

you making something for them fucking idk why im imagining you making something like your abuelas agua de melon and bringing it over to them

and bringing it over all excited and benjamin is just doing that soft adoring smile, ramon is like fuck yeah aguas frescas and and mayo just whispers "gracias, princesa"

i just i just at the end of the meeting when they're saying goodbyes, you pop in and are like "benja, you invited mayo to dina's wedding right ?" batting eyelashes

benjamin being like oh yeah yeah come celebrate with us

and and you come to say goodbye to mayo and you're giving him a kiss on the cheek and he's like "nos vemos pronto, mi angel"

and you're left standing like heart eyes

and i'm dying, enedina coming up being you and being like "close your mouth, mija, you'll let flies in" and tickling your sides because twin telepathy may be a thing but your older sister knows you better than you know yourself

and so now the wedding you've been buzzing about for the past like year is now all you can freaking think about because you get to see mayo again and maybe steal a second away from your brothers

listen, the wedding day, you're walking down the aisle as one of the bridesmaids and you're like not so sneakily looking for mayo good lord

he flashes you the sweetest smile, he's looking at you like your his fucking bride and i

you turn redder than the dress you're fucking wearing

for the first time in a long time your like can we get this over with so we can fucking party

and and next time i'll write a whole mayo at the wedding thing and i ahh

#ismael el mayo zambada #narcos mexico #narcos mexico fanfiction #narcos mexico imagine #el mayo x reader #benjamin arellano felix #ramon arellano felix

[merchantziro]

The Legend of Zelda AU Concept

I'm thinking of calling it something like "Destiny Spin?" Idk

Basically Link, Zelda, and Ganon remain as their respective bearers of the Triforces of Courage, Wisdom, and Power. But between reincarnations and such they tend to swap around roles as hero, assistant/princess, and villain.

Like in one life it's Link saving Zelda from Ganon, the next has Zelda saving Ganon from Link, and then it could be Zelda saving Link from Ganon before Ganon saving Link from Zelda. Mainly whatever suits Din, Nayru, and Farore's fancy as they make their chosen heroes a game, maybe a bet by Din to see whose hero will actually conquer Hyrule.

Of course they all still retain most of their original personalities across their different incarnations of good, evil, and royalty and still retain their Triforces, thus their methods are different because of that.

Example: Ganon uses his Triforce of Power as a Hero to battle monsters to basically just brute force his way to victory and through puzzles. Zelda is the opposite with her Triforce of Wisdom, using strategy and brains as a hero to easily solve puzzles and such and often outwit her opponent. Meanwhile Link is considered a balance between the two, being competent enough at solving puzzles but also no stronger to just battling foes in straight up combat.

Sometimes during long extended times of peace, they would be reincarnated as royalty and/or knights and get to enjoy the peace. On rare occasions, a new evil would arrive and force all three of the Triforce bearers to become legendary heroes together as a team of three. But only once have the gods allowed all three to become reincarnated as the villains, and they'll never let it happen again.

Bonus points if they all get their own legendary weapons they get to use between lives regardless of being good or evil (complete with the weapons being often corrupted to be used by them in the latter case.)

Link retaining his Master Sword, Zelda probably getting her Bow of Light, and Ganon... I'm thinking maybe a Trident of his own like a few versions of him use, because Link already called dibs on the sword.

But yeah basically every Zelda game and so on but Link, Zelda, and Ganon swap places every game and it gets confusing for the people of Hyrule while the goddesses are laughing.

#princess zelda #legend of zelda #link (loz) #loz au #alternative universe #ganondorf #loz ganon #loz zelda #loz link #destiny spin #au idea #au concept

[masterjedilenawrites]

hellooooo!! 1 and 16 for the ask game? with all the violence you would like to inflict >:)

Hiiiii! 👋 Ooh boy, these are good ones. Put up your dukes, I've got things to say! (unless you agree, then let's fight off the haters together lol)

the character everyone gets wrong

I'm going off the beaten path of clones (a bit) for this one... Boba Fett.

Now, to be fair, this character has been all over the place in canon. There's gaps in his story. There's legends stuff that some people still mix in to things. So I get how there's different takes or preferences or whatever. This is my take, and I'm throwing fists with both fandom and canon material equally (I'm looking at you Book of Boba Fett...)

Basically, long story short, I think the Mandalorian/Din Djarin stole a lot of Boba Fett's characterization. There is a delicate balance to Fett, where you need to play into the ruthless, faceless, mysterious bounty hunter with sick fight scenes and pithy one-liners... while also allowing for some quiet but meaningful moments of growth or change. And Din took all of that, which meant Boba's characterization had to be redirected elsewhere in canon.

And I see a lot more of the fandom latching on to that new direction instead of the characterization he started with prior to all the new shows and storylines. It's almost the opposite to the problem I have with Wolffe fics; there's too much fluffy tenderness and not enough toughness/badassery. Personally, I just don't care for it and will stick to the Boba Fett I've known since I first got into Star Wars over a decade ago.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

I can understand the why behind most things, even if they aren't my cup of tea. But, one thing I do struggle to understand... mermaid AUs. What is the appeal there?? Of all the half-animal hybrids, why fish? How do you keep a character in-character when they have to swim around to get anything done? That just seems like it'd change a person. I sure would be a different person if I didn't have legs or a shirt and had to swim against tides and seaweed and whatever else is lurking down in the ocean. *shudders*

Good on anyone who likes them I guess, but I don get iiiiiiit. :/

#star wars #fandom #ask game #choose violence #pow pow #shots fired #sorry to anyone who likes soft fluffy boba #or mermaids #or even boba fett as a mermaid #in MY book... #...of Boba Fett.... #he's a lot different #thanks for the ask orbital-mirror!

[doodle-list]

I'm genuinely So sad about the path Mando is taking like. I enjoyed some moments of course, but the way they're completely taking the spot light from Din's and Grogu's relationship (which is the literal premise of the show and what got me into it in the first place) to focus on another character we had little to no connection with in the previous seasons, and also make her completely let go of her past goals for what? To become an ambassador of something she wasn't even apart of??? Also completely ignoring her past and turning her into this shallow innocent princess. Sorry for the rant, I'm just really sad about the new season

No dont be! You’re so valid for that and I agree completely :/

A lot of people have already put it into words better but season 3 baring all shitty writing just doesnt feel like The Mandalorian anymore

The main part of the show of din and grogus relationship is just not there anymore, and the fact that we spent two seasons building up these really lovable characters that had so much more potential and places to go and just dulled them into a purely merchandising object and a cardboard cutout yes man is so disappointing

I got into the mandalorian for the characters because I love character driven stories. I can’t care less about bigger plots on their own and the new season being this wide galaxy thing insgead of a funky show where we get to see this guy politely fail to decline every side quest ever and try and take care of his son, I just. Dont care anymore

Like nothing about season 3 feels character focused. Sure bo katan is There but all her flaws and faults that make her an interesting character get brushed under the rug and completely ignored in favor of propping her up to be this sympathetic hero, even though we canonically have evidence of the complete opposite. There is no attempt to even give her character development so when she gets the sabre handed to her Again, the expectation that her rule is going to work this time is just poor writing

Its basically that phrase “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”

I just feel like the writers this season somehow are completely unaware of their characters and how they would act in situations. It feels like they created the plot first are forcing the characters to complete their checklist of wants with complete disregard of whether it makes sense for them to do it at all

Season 2 gave us really wholesome moments between Din and Grogu and I dont think I’m wrong for saying that we all expected the latter to increase as seasons and episodes went by

They clearly understand that we all love Din since they baited us in the promotional material so I literally cannot fathom why they decided to nix the direction they were going to for practically a completely different story

The story of a man who’s trying to find his place in the world and learns to become a father is just not there anymore. And that just… sucks

And well, this probably sounds really nit picky to some or like “why are you so focused on this shlt just enjoy the show and have fun” but when you love the show for two reasons only (din and din and grogus relationship) its very very hard to like something that has so blatantly carelessly pushed that aspect aside. And when you’re not interested in whats happening because the reason you love the show isnt treated well, you kinda start to see all the flaws behind the curtains

#this is such a opinion vomit im sorry #Din has been my comfort character since s1 and im very passionate about storytelling hfjvjd #the mandalorian #mandalorian critical #mandalorian season three #just thoughts #oh and dont even get me started on dinbo 💀 #or hows s3 is supposed to show mandalorian culture #but they literally do it so poorly #like yall have a whole ass language thats just sitting there #??? #ok the latter is more important bc the first one is just a personal thing #but come on can we drop the allo typical nuclear family bull #you do not need a partner to be happy #nor does a family need a mother and a father to feel complete

[oonajaeadira]

OBVIOUSLY I want to know about EVERYTHING!

I did see the asks for your Javier and Joel WIPS...

But I mean? LMR?? PLZ ALWAYS!!!

Branded??? 😭

Moar about Alpha Javi!??!🥺🥺🥺

GTTT? 😏

TAROT OBERYN!?!?!?!!??! dskrjdjsjdbdbxdjdyspdbfcj

But there is one... I think I know nothing- NOTHING about... which idk

I haven't looked it up-

But that might be illegal...

Anyway how about-

I’ll Leave a Light On

💚

(gif by pascalsky)

Lookit you asking about all of them without asking about all of them!

I mean, I said what I said about some already. But for you? Multi-tidbits!

Well, with LMR, it's mostly Din and LB being on opposite sides of the wastes, Din going toe to toe with Bo and LB dealing with Cobb and Uli-ah. Obviously busytimes is in my way on that, but I might as well let season 3 get into me and stir my heart up to get me going on that one.

With Branded...I think I can comfortably say I'm on hiatus on that one. I finally know where that one's going next, but I really need greasy writing wheels to get at that one. Meaning I need to be on a roll so it goes easier. That one's a heavy machine for me and once I stop it's hard to get going again. But those two are also coming up on a brief separation...

Alpha!Javi. It's coming along. It will be longer than I expected, hence my needing to postpone it. Here's another peek:

There is a slight lull in the greetings and you can feel your face burning, your stomach tying itself into knots. If you could stop yourself–clap your hand over your gland–you would, but it would make your instinctual discomfort more obvious by adding gesture to scent. Instead, you avoid looking at Lucas directly, show submissiveness, hope that it fades and he retreats.

Beside you, Javi’s chest rumbles.

It’s only there a moment–a fraction of a second–before he awkwardly coughs into his fist, stopping the growl and then pounding on his chest like he’s trying to dislodge a bad swallow. But it’s enough to earn a surprised glance from you and a stern look from the elder Mr. Gutierrez.

I'll Leave a Light On is the follow up to Light Only Shows You Where the Shadows Are. All I'm going to say about that one is... Sweetmeats already gave Max an invite into her home and that doesn't wear off. She's basically borderless now. And his eyes glow in the dark.

.

wip tag game

#tag games #ask games

[russeliarat]

Any Zelda headcanons about the adjacent countries that are always vaguely implied to exist, but rarely are shown? Not counting Gerudo and Zora etc who are vassal states with minor territories at BEST. I'm obsessed with that stuff just off the Hyrule map. There could be anything out there

I've always imagined Hyrule's outer borders to be incredibly treacherous. Think an ocean full of storms and tornadoes, mountains too cold and frigid to cross the gap etc. Because of this, certain parts of Hyrule are unable to sustain mortal life for everyone and its quite clear that very few have ever left or arrived in Hyrule. Think the void out and invisible wall areas right at the edge of BotW's map. Not many like to come to Hyrule anyway considering the constant wars and danger.

I like to imagine that Hyrule is actually an island country rather than something that's in the middle of a continent, but isn't too far away from other countries. Basically Hyrule and the next country over is a little further apart than England and France. I'm only really familiar with Labrynna, Holodrum, and Hytopia, but I'll give it a shot for the others.

Labrynna is the next country over the sea, and is generally quite peaceful. Its a mostly silent country given that most others are rife with war and infighting. Labrynna places a special focus culturally on music and time, as most of its folk lore and mythology surround it. Like other countries apart from Hyrule, Labrynna has its own version of a creation myth, which calls itself 'the land of the Goddess Nayru', as well as calling Hyrule 'the land of the Goddess Farore' and Holodrum 'the land of the Goddess Din'. Because of this, Labrynna has a long-since forgotten peace treaty with Hyrule and Holodrum and has a form of allyship similar to the UN, 'if another country fights against you, I'll give you my protection, and vice versa.' Though, because of how peaceful Labrynna is, it was forgotten within a few generations, especially since Hyrule and Holodrum are more prone to infighting than anything else. There's a particularly well-known legend in Labrynna surrounding Nayru's oracle, which functions similarly to Hyrule's hero. Though its a very dangerous title as those looking for trouble often take to harmful methods to get what they want out of the oracle every blue moon.

Holodrum is quite the opposite however. Its a very turbulent country and full of extremes. The seasons change impossibly regularly and their mountains are far colder and their beaches and volcanoes far hotter than any other country's landmasses. Holodrum is very hard to live in as a result and survives off of imports to and from other countries like Labrynna because of established trade deals and allyships. Like Hyrule, not many like to live in Holodrum because of the country's consistent survivalist mentality, which poses a lot of danger to others life. Holodrumians will do anything to survive, including stealing, murder, and assault towards others. But despite this, the country has a rich history full of dramas that would get any historian salivating in both fear and excitement. The people are often united by song and dance in trying times and festivals are often held to keep up spirits despite shifty eyes and suspicious glances behind backs. If a single person could travel to and from Hyrule with ease, it would be a Holodrumian.

Hytopia is a very large country in the coastal region of a large continent, though the cities are small and rural areas wide. Usually, this is because of monster infestations in uninhabited areas though there are a few who choose to live outside city and village borders. Most of the architecture in the unknown forests and seas contain ancient ruins and settlements and even puzzles that have been long abandoned by Hytopians, created by a race much similar to the Zonai from Hyrule who has now faded away with time. Hytopia is most known for its textiles and the quality of their clothing, but not much else. Most known how to see from childhood and build upon that skill for many years of their lives. The quality of fabric is so wide-spread and open, that pure silk and tulle and cotton are relatively low-priced and common compared to other countries. Its known as a vain country by some from the focus on appearance and clothing, yet cannot fathom how wealthy the common man is in Hytopia while their country continues to give a lot of money for their fabric and clothing imports. Though, it has very little influence as works almost as a small piece of royalty rules over certain cities instead of say mayors.

New Hyrule is a special scenario where Hyrule technically finds beginnings as an empire in the adult timeline, claiming another country for itself. New Hyrule obviously came about because of Hyrule's disastrous flooding and the heightened dangers of the ocean. New Hyrule is one of the most technologically advanced countries of its time with steam trains that span the entire country in merely a few decades after its discovery. Despite this, the country is very wide and flat and doesn't have much of interest around as its really a abandoned country picked up by another abandoned country. These trains have a lot of cultural significance to New Hyruleans as its a very important part of life to get anywhere in the country. New Hyrule does also tell of the legends of old, of heroes and princesses fighting against evil, yet the curse of the Triforce had been broken and so New Hyrule technically is a peaceful country without civil war.

I feel like you should know that I've only played up to a certain amount of the Oracle games and I haven't played much of Spirit Tracks yet, so I'm a bit shaky with its lore, but I could tell you every detail about Hytopia lol.

#ask russ

[alissaming]

Top Ten Favorite Legend of Zelda Games

Since I'm huge Legend of Zelda fan, I decided to do my personal top ten Legend of Zelda games. I'll even briefly go into why. Some quick rules on this. Some are the same from my last top ten. In fact, most are. If it's basically the same game with a different name, with no real gameplay differences, it'll be considered the same level. I must have at least played the game, though finishing is not required, as I sometimes have trouble finishing games like this due to my playstyle frequently getting me killed. I will do another honorable mentions, and I may even eventually talk about the game that isn't making even the honorable mentions that I've played. No, Zelda 1, 2, and 3 will not be making this list as I've never played them.

10. Oracle of Season/Ages It's basically the same game, but one has time travel. You're saving either Nayru or Din, and defeating the badguy. I think one's supposed to come after the other and the two complement each other some how, but they're still basically the same game. And it's really easy to accidently do something wrong and make the game unplayable without starting over.

9. Minish Cap. There's a reason this game made it this low. Despite it being actually a fun game with a fun concept, there's Ezlo, the cursed mage/person that will be Link's very annoying hat for the whole game. Ezlo is supposed to be your Navi of the game. He's supposed to give helpful hints, but he doesn't. Instead he says the same stuff over and over and over like "go to this area." And you go to the area and all he says is to go to the area. So no real clues on what to do. Ugh.

8. Majora's Mask. So before I get a ton of hate on the placement of this game, it has nothing to do with the graphics. I tend to greatly dislike games with time crunches, so the three day time limit always stressed me out, even though I could rewind whenever I wanted. I was always afraid that I wasn't going to get to where I needed to go and get even one area done in three days.

7. Twilight Princess. This is another good game with lots of good game play, but while I really like it, I like other games more. Actually, I think if not for the occasionally really dark colors, it would be a lot more enjoyable. But it's really dark, even in Hyrule proper.

6. Skyward Sword. So this game, I actually debated putting higher because the story is amazing, the graphics are incredible, the music is wonderful, and the friendship between Link and Zelda is very believable, unlike Minish Cap where Zelda just kinda declares us friends and we just kinda go along with it. Unfortunately, while I tend ot like Fi, I agree she can be extremely annoying. Add to that inconsistent controls, and difficulty aiming, and you can see why the game made it so low.

5. Link Between Worlds. Alright, you could argue that Link to the past also goes here, because it's kinda the same idea, just one Link travels between worlds and the other travels through time. However, while they seem to have a similar idea, I'm not sure I'd agree that they're basically the same game with a different play style. For one thing, there seems to be a new villain intent on releasing Gannon. Though he claims he only seeks beauty. The other world is an alternate reality of Hyrule called Lorule where everything is opposite of Hyrule. Everyone's unpleasant, the hero is a coward and they have no Triforce, so their world is falling apart and losing hope. Ravio is a fun character, and his shop makes it possible to take on the dungeons for the princesses in whatever order you want, though his stuff is super expensive, even to rent. I highly recommend you buy ASAP.

4. Ocarina of Time. This is the first Legend of Zelda game I ever played. And when I was very young (I think 10 or so) I could not get past Goma, the spider boss of the Deku tree. Yeah, seriously. Now, I can beat the game no problem. The updaged graphics in the 3DS version are actually much more appealing, the music is good, and it's just a good game. You feel close to most, if not all the major side characters and truly dislike Gannondorf, like a proper villain.

3. Breath of the Wild. This is the most recent Legend of Zelda game, aside from the Warriors games. The graphics are beautiful, and the world is fun to explore. The main reason it's not higher is the weapons and shields. They all break, and you can only carry so many. Heck, even the Master Sword can break if you use it against what the game classifies as the "wrong enemies" though in the case of the Master Sword breakage isn't permanent, it just needs to recharge then it's back. But it is a bit ridiculous that the most iconic sword of the Legend of Zelda franchise can break. Everything else? Sure, as long as some of the stronger swords take longer.

2. Wind Waker. This game is gorgeous. I mean, for an obviously cell shaded games. The story is really good and sailing the seas is SO much fun. The music is wonderful. It's too bad the final boss is so hard to beat

Now before I reveal the top Legend of Zelda game, here are the honorable mentions. Link to the Past, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.

Link's Awakening. Yes, it's just a dream, but that's the point of the game. And honestly the updated release for the Switch was so much fun. It really played into the dream aspect with the characters looking like toys rather than real people, the edges of the screen being slightly blurry, and it really makes you feel bad for doing what you're doing. I love this game, becasue it really makes you feel the consequenses of your actions. Throughout the game, the enemies are constantly telling you that if you wake the Wind Fish, which is the only way to escape the island, you will destroy the island and kill everyone living there. Monsters will include you, as they seem to believe you are a figment of the Wind Fish's imagination. You have a choice here. Keep playing and destroy everything on this island, including the poeple you met here, or don't and be stuck on the island in a dream. The ending is really heartbreaking too. This is one game where I really don't blame the monsters at all. This is their home, and they know they'll effectively die when the Wind Fish wakes up. No wonder they're all unhappy when you come to wake it up.

[oflgtfol]

thoughts on bo katan? .aside from all the debate about her cult comments I actually really like her. not as a person but I like to hate her, I think she makes a good antagonist to Din in the story since they are very different types of mandalorians and her manipulative behavior contrast Din who always prided himself on being honest. her actress pulls it off perfectly to for me. I’m excited to see their interactions hopefully though they don’t act like Bo is completely in the right about Din’s group I want her getting a reality check and realizing her faults or her going out as a real threat to him.

yeah i agree with pretty much everything here! i think "i like to hate her" is a great way to sum it up

i tend to lean more towards outright negative feelings for her but i think that's mostly influenced by her fans. i truly am so terribly annoyed when people act like she's right, especially in regards to like, literally anything about din. her "religious zealot" comment in chapter 11 has been the bane of my existence by single-handedly fuelling the god forsaken cult discourse - and y'know, instead of people acknowledging that that comment came from a deeply flawed character with biases of her own, who demonstrates that her word shouldn't be taken at face value in the very first episode she appears in for The Mandalorian, fans instead do the exact opposite and act like it's objective truth. din's in a cult because well, bo-katan said so! like you really think Little Ms. Terrorist has objective opinions about who is and is not a valid mandalorian?

and i'm like, forever terrified of canon giving further proof to that, or somehow spinning her to be in the right all along. i hold to it that even if canon winds up saying that din WAS in a cult, i'm going to die on this hill that we had no way of knowing for sure until whenever it's revealed, and i will always judge the people who acted like it was done and dusted. maybe it's petty of me, sure, whatever, but like. honest to god why would you act like bo-katan provides an unbiased eyewitness testimony in order to use it as primary evidence for your cult theory??? i will forever judge you people for that regardless of how things shape up later in the show

i am all for basic nuance in fictional narratives. i think people need to understand that characters can be unreliable narrators and not everything a character says is an honest reflection of the truth within that universe. is that not so much more complex and narratively rich? is that not so much more interesting and fun to watch? to have to piece together the honest reflection of the truth from a bunch of unreliable accounts? to have to actually do some deeper thinking about the show you're watching, rather than just blindly watching and taking everything at face value????? so it seriously boggles my mind when people WANT to flatten canon into this boring mess in order to justify din being in a cult, which further weirds me out because why do you WANT him to be in a cult so badly? why do you WANT din's whole life to be a lie? why are you so adamantly opposed to the very foundation of the core beliefs + ethics of the main character you claim to adore?

so i think, given the space to be a proper antagonist, she is a GREAT one. she really does offer a unique alternate perspective of mandalorian identity that is so cool to contrast with din's, so long as both are presented as equally valid. din's group was wrong for trying to claim that their way is the only way - but bo-katan is also wrong for automatically dismissing their way. they're all wrong, they're all mandalorians. they have to get along if they ever want a chance to reunite mandalore (which i'm assuming is the plot for s3). din has obviously already taken steps to become more open-minded - in fact, in chapter 11 itself, he gets over their difference in creeds fairly quickly!!! - but bo-katan's obviously still got some work to do of her own to get over all that, if she ever does at all

#ask #Anonymous #mando posting #i havent even watched tcw/rebels so i dont even know what kinda shit she get up to pre-mando LMAO.... #all i know is that she's a domestic terrorist #which makes her judgments of din's group so funny like ok ma'am !!!!! #anyway if you ever ask my 'thoughts on x' i am incapable of responding with anything other than an essay #i have so many thoughts about why din's group is Like That. ahgh #especially in contrast with bo-katan . #must resist going on that tangent in this post........

[shadesofrainbowsblog]

My eyes are wide open , immediately my brain got activated sensing the temperature in the room. It's ice cold. I heard the thunder roaring " What made him blow up ? And why is he furious today?" It's cats and dogs again.

I made my bed and open the curtains, It's pouring. I'm a real Pluviophile! I love and enjoy the wonderful smell of the air after rain. I tilted up my head to view the skies. Sky oh sky! you're a stunning bonny artist of your own who creates magic with colors and today, " Why are you sad? Or Is it joy that you cry?"

I broke up from my jouska mode , grabbed my towel to freshen up. I came out with wet hairs and found my way to the kitchen, I toweled my hairs and turned on the coffee machine . I need that little rush you get after your first sip of strong coffee. They said you can be anything so I decided to be cafinated.

I walked towards the radio, turned it on and volumed it , I've become Lisztomania recently and it's another way to relax your mind. Melodies on the air ..hmm right song selection for a rainy day, I swiftly shaked my body and moved towards the fridge door to look at the menu list. I grinned "geez it's my favorite breakfast" scrambled eggs, sausages and bread toast.

Turned off the stove , sipped my coffee and took my plate to the dinning, as I was about to sit I noticed radiant from my phone screen ," oh shit I must have for gotten to charge it again !" Plucked the charger and left it on its stand .

Said my prayers and grateful for being here for another day in my chapter called life.

Breakfast is the most enjoyable meal of the day . Someone quoted "Literature and breakfast are both slow " so I have no rush having it especially today when it's my off day. The view out of the window was so beautiful, no vehicles in the road

It was peaceful from ear pollutions..my eyes caught up with the beautiful curtains hanging on the opposite apartment window

"96" movie song was airing in the background, "perfect timing" my heart said. Current trending song , an Indian music director composed it spicying with the noise of the whale reminding us on a fantasy fairly tale " whale and the bird". To my way of thoughts I wonder if anyone has or have composed a music with the rhythm of rain? Anyways what's the gender of the sky?

Girl ! Girl Girl break up with your thoughts, the day has just begun.

My Morning routine completed.. I feel relaxed now.Daily routines are common to- do in their everyday life's where some forgets to add in their list as it a basic routine. Its time and energy ladies ..I walked towards the window to see the updates on the cat's and dogs forecast , rain stopped but we are still surrounded by dark clouds . My eyes got locked to a pair of eyes opposite of my apartment..a guy looking at me as I was ..our gazed locked..is he a pluviophile like me? But, he's looking sad , I wonder why. The apartment opposite mine was vacant for such a long time , didn't realize there was a new tenant till I noticed the beautiful curtains early morning . Does he live alone or with a family?? " Oh girl...stop it don't be a busybody." My mind voice broke me up from my curiosity. We r still looking at each other and that ran a chill in my back spine ..I got nervous.I walked backwards to my couch , sat and pick my novel which took me like ages to complete. I am recovering from a reading slump.. Hopeful I can finish it without any excuses..I've challenged myself to read 1 chapter a day.I started from the page I left weeks before, my mind wonder to the guy at the window, his eyes " why was he looking lost could say sad in a way . he's upset because of the rain?

Loud knock at my door woke me ...I felt asleep on the couch ! Great job girl ! I rushed to the door as the person might just make a hole on my door from knocking.. I peep through the hole as I was asking " who is it? ", It's the delivery guy. I received it with my sleepy face , its my crystal ink pen set ..got it at last after a long wait . I jumped on the couch again and tried to be focus on the same page I started , i dozed off again and that made me skipped lunch "Was the story that much lagging or I'm lack of sleep"? I looked at the clock on the wall it will be dawn soon ..I walked towards the fridge where I have my meal planner for this week , and i forgot the menu for tonight "its ramen"". Easy-peasy so I decided to shower first . I want to have a long hot shower but it will be late for dinner then , my mind was again wondering to that pair of eyes ... Those eyes just attracted my attention , I shook the thoughts off .

I walked toward the hall and turn on the lights as it was dark , wow! I love the ambience of my living room ...purple , blue n red cool colors which gives an incredible vibes on a chill day .I lit up the candle ..its butter vanilla flavor.. One of my favourite and has an amazing smell ..I turned on the radio on and went to my kitchen to prep my dinner . I added sausages, green spinach and egg in it. Ramen is best served with kimchi . After having my dinner , I cleaned up the kitchen washed the dishes and tied up the rubbish to be taken out , its already 20:00 , I'll throw the rubbish and just go for a walk to the nearest park to digest my food and also get my steps goal for the day achieved.I followed the pathway to the park , spotlights are lighting the place as the moonlight isn't bright enough today , I was looking for a bench to rest my legs , I got one which was not occupied, I touch to see if its wet , it wasn't. the wind was blowing in my direction, my hairs are happy and dancing to the rhythme of the wind , I tried to hold them in tag and tie them up as its covering most of my face . I looked around and there's those eyes again staring at me from my opposite bench ..I froze ..

Those surrounding lights made his eyes so attractive in mine ..- limerence

Limerence- the state of being infatuated with another person

[communistkenobi-archive]

i'm predicting boba will counsel din about both his identity as a mandalorian and his role as a reluctant leader in the next two episodes. i'm not crazy about din as mandalore since that just seems like the opposite of what he would want, but wielding the darksaber basically guarantees leadership of some sort. i also think this is why they gave him a ship with no living quarters - he'll be living on-planet somewhere uniting various mandalorian clans instead of living out of his ship. thoughts?

I really hope we get some insight into how boba feels about his heritage and identity as a mando, yeah. Like they’ve been teasing it a bit with Kamino flashbacks but I want an actual conversation.

Also yeah he’s either gonna be living on Tatooine or on that Halo space station or something idk. I’m hoping he finds a bigger ship at least but we’ll see

#bobf.txt #bobf spoilers #questions in spaaace

[tortilla-of-courage]

Okay! Essay incoming!

I guess the first thing to talk about is sorting.

There's the Golden Goddesses (Din, Nayru, Farore)

The Guardian Goddesses (Hylia, Lolia, the goddess of time)

Minor Gods (SkSw's dragons, the Great Deku Tree, Jabu Jabu, etc.)

And Lesser Gods (Great Fairies, Satori, etc.)

Minor Gods and Lesser Gods are both categories of mortal gods. These gods can die, as seen by the Great Deku Tree in OoT. Think, the ancient norse pantheon. Those are gods that can die.

The Golden Goddesses and Guardian Gods are immortal gods, where no mater what damage is done to their physical form they still live. Think, the ancient grecoroman pantheons. Those gods can't die.

Here's something we know for a fact: Hyrule and Lorule are mirror images of each other, with their own triforce. Meaning that the Golden Goddesses made at least two separate worlds, thus two separate triforces. I like to believe they actually made three worlds, one for each of them.

Lorule was Din's world. Hyrule was Nayru's world. And Termina is Farore's world.

Each of these worlds was given a Guardian Goddess to watch over the triforce, and these Guardian Goddesses have roughly the same sphere with a focus on one part of them. Protection, Light/Magic, and Time.

(Note, sphere is a term I stole from tes, it basically just means 'What the god rules over/what they're the god of')

Lolia, Lorule's Guardian Goddess, is a goddess of Protection.

Hylia, Hyrule's Guardain Goddess, is a goddess of Light/Magic.

Termina's Goddess of Time (henceforth called Termanius or Terma because it's lees typing), is, well, she's Termina's Guardian Goddess and her sphere is obvious.

There's the small issue though in that Protection and Light/Magic are both active forces, whereas Time is a passive force. This means the Terma is a more passive goddess compared to her sisters (Hylia and Lolia). So I imagine she was given a second god to act where she couldn't. Enter Fierce Deity, a war god, who falls under the same banner of Guardian God without being a Guardian Goddess. He's both equal and servant to Termanius.

Demise falls into his own category, he's a Demon God. A deity that is both demon and god.

He's, in my interpretation, a god of chaos. But specifically Chaos-Before-Order.

Lorule and Termina also had Demon God's who ruled over chaos. Majora is Chaos as the opposite of Order, and Ruin (the name we gave Lorule's Demon God) is Chaos as a lack of Order.

They are what was before the Golden Goddesses created the worlds. What was before there was a was. And they are mad about there being something there now.

The other Major Gods couldn't help Hylia because it was a coordinated attack on all three realms. Lolia and the Termanius/Fierce Deity pair were busy fighting their own wars and the Golden Goddesses had already screwed off.

The Minor and Lesser Gods are, well, mortal. They are very much able to die. The dragons had a more important role for the future, and the other gods didn't have the skill or power to help. Or they might not have existed yet even. I mean, I don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure SkSw doesn't have a Great Deku Tree (correct me if I'm wrong). But even if he did already exist, he's a tree.

It's very possible that the other gods didn't help Hylia not because they didn't want to, but because they couldn't. And who knows, maybe a few Lower Gods DID try to help, and died in the battle. They are mortal after all.

I, uh, I also at one point wrote a fic detailing what I think happened in Termina and why no one knows Terma's name and how FD ended up in the mask. I posted it a while ago and can reblog it and tag you if you want to read it.

-Attllhak

okay first of all, this was an amazing and very interesting read, thank you so much for sharing

second - the worlds and their protector Deities being created in Threes, like the Goddesses themselves, would make so much sense?? I love the idea of Termina being Farore's world, and Terma and the FD being its protector deities. I just... yes. all of this. yes.

the coordinated attack being the reason they couldn't help is also so good?? Att your brain is huge

#also i'd love to read the fic!!!! #i adore this kind of worldbuilding #i've reread this like 3 times i love it #also no there's no deku tree in skyward sword #just the big tree in faron woods that resembles it #tortilla asks #attllhak #long post

[amiedala]

SOMETHING DEEPER

CHAPTER 3: Without Armor

RATING: Explicit (18+ ONLY!!!)

WARNINGS: sexual content, violence

SUMMARY: “You’re an excellent leader. Tell me what to do.”

“Nova—”

“Prove it,” she whispers, her voice barely air. Her blood is pumping so heavily in her ears that her own words sound distorted, like they’re under a waterfall. “Show me you’re a good leader. Because I believe you are, but I know you have to prove it to believe it.”

“This isn’t what this place was made for.”

Nova stops, her forehead pressed against his. Everything in this strange arena is quiet except for their breathing, an urgent pulsing in the cold, dark night. “So fighting is sacred to Mandalorians,” she breathes, feeling the airlocks that keep Din’s helmet secure around his face hiss. He doesn’t move, letting her lift off his helmet, to have him without his armor. “You’re sacred to me. Every inch of you.”

If you're a newcomer, my fic "Something More" is the first installment of this story! <3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: hello hello my friends!!! this is where i offer a deep, massive apology for Chapter 3 coming out a week later than it was supposed to. i was traveling to visit my best friend who lives states away, then my family had a slew of emergencies and crises, then i was too drained with a flareup of pain to write a single word. writing SD is literally my happy place, and being forced to take an unplanned break was painful and hard. this chapter isn't as long as i wanted it to be (i'm so sorry for that as well!!!) but i think it's as fleshed out as i can get it, because, as usual, Big Things Are Coming. thank you so so much for being patient with me in my hasty, largely unexplained absence, and i hope you LOVE this week's chapter!! <3

*

Hoth really shouldn’t feel warm and welcoming. The climate is horrible, temperatures that drop to dangerous lows, the ice that breaks and shifts and opens into the gaping maw of the planet’s icy interior. It’s a wasteland, white-blind and horrible, but the small Rebel base located in the heart of the planet is enough to keep Nova’s heart anchored here, even when she’s parsecs away.

Landing Kicker isn’t an issue. The second they descend onto the landing pad, a small crew of the mechanics Nova spent most of her brief stint here with racing towards the underbelly. Nova waves at them, pointing over the noise at the makeshift patch on the mainline of fuel, and they nod, enclosing on the issue in a matter of seconds.

Din’s tense. Nova’s eyes roam over the silhouette of his impressive, taut body, knowing that most of what’s underneath the beskar is in fighting mode, ready to expel energy like a hurricane whenever he faces the opposition. He tilts the visor over at her, and Nova offers a tiny smile, her heart kicking an arrhythmic beat against her chest. She’s trying her best to not look relieved that she’s here and not on Mandalore, but she knows she’s a horrible liar and that her body is full of betrayal. When the airlock doors hiss open and the two of them are beckoned into the insulated hollow of the Rebel base, Wedge is there waiting. Behind him, like a silent sentinel, stands Bo-Katan, her owl-painted blue helmet obscuring the expression on her face.

“Rebel girl,” Wedge calls, and something cold in Nova’s heart thaws. His arms are strong and purposeful, and he envelops Din’s hand with that same warmth and vigor, nodding at him. Bo-Katan doesn’t move an inch, her pristine hands folded behind her back, every muscle in her body the same kind of tight and purposeful as Din’s are, Mandalorian strong. “Welcome back.”

“It’s—” Nova inhales, eyes flicking, uncertain, over at Bo-Katan, “good…to be back. I wish it was under better circumstances, but—”

“You’re Andromeda Maluev,” Bo-Katan interrupts, and the mention of her old name sends a spike straight through Nova’s chest, puncturing on scar tissue that’s never fully healed. “Aren’t you?”

Nova swallows, running her tongue over her bottom lip. “I was,” she answers, finally, voice far away and small. “Why do you ask?”

Bo-Katan gestures with her head, a tiny movement, and then she’s turning on her beskar heel to move towards the war room. Silently, Nova and Din follow behind her and Wedge, Nova’s heart still hammering, erratic. The space is smaller than the giant one on Mandalore, but because it’s empty except for the four of them, it seems massive. Dangerous. Lonely.

Nova steps up to the holotable, twisting her tongue behind her teeth, trying to remain calm. The mention of her old name, twice in less than a week, feels like shrapnel. It reminds her of everything she’s been running from for a decade—her parents’ deaths, Jacterr Calican, the Empire, the resurrected evil in the First Order—and it sits sourly in her stomach as Bo-Katan presses buttons on the holotable. When the image of Nova comes up—so much younger than she feels now, dark hair long against her back, her features glitched and glittering in the hologram projected towards the ceiling—she winces at it. Beneath her portrait, her name is written in Basic: ANDROMEDA MALUEV. AGE: 26. CRIMES: EVADING CAPTURE, MURDER, AIDING AND ABETTING CRIMINALS. It’s bold and terrifying and Nova can’t look away. The word MURDER, screaming at her in capital letters, is too much to bear. She swallows, throat dry, blood rushing in her ears. It’s such a dangerous, horrible thing that it takes Nova a minute to read anything beneath the portrait of a girl she hasn’t been in years, but when she finally gets past the roadblock—MURDER, MURDER, MURDER—she sees a price on her head.

“Five million credits?” she asks, her voice rocketing through three octaves in her disbelief. The word credits cracks down the middle, incredulous. She presses a hand to her mouth, flattening her fingers flush against her face, trying to steady herself. “Why—why is the bounty so high?”

“That’s not from the First Order,” Wedge starts, gently, but he’s interrupted by Bo-Katan’s knife of an arm, cutting up between him and Nova. She jabs a long, gloved finger at the script underneath Nova’s image and her bounty, and Nova blinks hard, trying to get her brain to focus on what the words say.

“Novalise,” Bo-Katan says, her voice clipped, “you’re wanted alive or dead. Do you see that?” She enunciates her point with her finger again, stabbing it on the shimmering blue words reflected in front of them. “This is from the fucking Guild.”

“Easy,” Din cuts in, the word hard in the air. He steps forward, knocking Bo-Katan’s angry hand out of where it’s shaking in Nova’s face. “Take it the fuck down, Bo-Katan, or I will do it for you.”

“The—Guild?” Nova asks, trying to make all of the moving parts fit right in her brain. “I—I don’t understand. The Bounty Hunters’ Guild? The one that Greef Karga runs? I—I’m wanted? Why?”

“You’re not,” Din interrupts, his voice clipped and intense. Nova shuffles to the side as Din steps towards the holotable, magnifying the strange text. “It’s not Karga’s Guild. And you,” he adds, shoulders tossed back, facing Bo-Katan, “had no right to yell at her with those theatrics. Save that for the enemy.”

Nova can’t see Bo-Katan’s face, hidden under the blue beskar of her helmet, but she knows that Bo-Katan is glaring daggers at the both of them. Nova swallows again, trying to keep her heart rate steady, her racing mind calm, but she just keeps seeing the word MURDER flash before her eyes. Din’s saying something else, and she can’t concentrate, turning her body away from the three of them, staring off at the ice that makes up every corner of this room, clear and dangerous. She closes her eyes—MURDER, MURDER, MURDER—and opens them again, just as rapidly.

Inhaling shakily, Nova starts counting the deaths she’s been responsible for on her long, shaking fingers. Her skin, usually so warm and radiant, is fallow and pallid in the low light. Her thumb sticks up first, wearing Jacterr’s name. It wasn’t intentional, she tries to console herself, but her hands are still quivering. It was an accident. She didn’t mean for the lightsaber to ignite. She didn’t even know she had the power to do that, let alone use it as a weapon. It was self-defense, killing him before he had the chance to kill her. And then there were all of the faceless troopers in the TIE fighters she shot at when trying to get out alive. For years, hordes of them, shooting back at them before they had the chance to blow her to smithereens or capture her for something worse. You’ve never shot first, Nova tries to reason with herself, eyes focused on the outline of her boots, old and worn, warm against the icy floor of the room she’s standing in. It was all self-defense.

Except, that tiny little voice in the back of her mind whispers, insidious and awful, you killed Xi’an all on your own. Nova’s heart hangs heavy in her chest, like it’s on trial. She tries to inhale, but there’s no air in this ridiculous ice block of a room, and everything is purple and wounded, the imprint of Xi’an’s cold, dead body embedded on the back of her eyelids. That could be argued as self-defense, too, Nova tries to rationalize, but the reminder of the bullet that hit her wicked body head-on is still so horrible in her head. Logically, Nova knows that the only reason that she shot and killed Xi’an was because Din would have died if it weren’t for that bullet, and that Xi’an hurt her husband in ways she’d never felt fully comfortable asking about, but it’s still a dead body on her hands. Her gorgeous, terrible, radiant, shaking hands.

“I g—I gotta go,” Nova mumbles, and then her feet are carrying her out of the war room, into the hallway. They’ve put up more insulation since the time she lived here for a few weeks, when Din and Grogu left her and the world stopped turning, but the recognition of it barely registers in Nova’s mind as she sprints through the empty hallways, picking up her feet so that they don’t tangle in the loose generator wires curled across the floor. It only takes a few more turns, and then she’s through the airlock, back out into the frozen climate of Hoth’s exterior, her heart hammering something horrible, her pulse erratic, her blood pressure high and dangerous. Slowly, she sinks onto the frozen ground, right outside of the door, pressing her bare hands into the snow, trying to calm anything back to its usual resting place.

It’s freezing out here. Nova’s still in her outfit from Ahch-To, and even though her pants are lightweight and the cold cuts straight through, she’s not getting wet from the snow. Her upper body is slightly warmer, fabric of her shirt protective, the shawl wound tightly over her shoulders, flapping slightly in the wind.

“Nova,” a voice behind her cuts through the silence, and Nova turns at the sound of her name, breath stuck somewhere between her chest and her mouth. Din’s standing there, tall and stately. “Are you okay?” he asks, and the timbre of his voice makes it very clear that he knows full well that she’s not okay.

“Why?” she manages, and then she’s being hauled to her feet, Din’s gloved hands warm and steady around her waist. “Why is there a bounty on my head—alive or dead?” She blinks against a loose lock of hair blowing in her face, and before she can react to it, Din’s already tucking it gently behind her ear. “I thought the Order wanted me—”

“I don’t know,” Din interrupts gently. “I don’t know why you have any of these charges on your head, or why there’s a bounty at all. Gideon and everyone we’ve interacted with associated with the First Order always insisted that you would work for them, not that you were to be eliminated. I don’t know who put the charges out there, but we’re going to fix it. I’m never going to let anyone touch you.”

Nova looks straight up at the visor, swaying slightly in the frosty breeze. Her head hurts. Her scar aches. The pressure that’s constantly blossoming on her shoulder blades feels incredibly heavy, and even though the wind is frozen through, it makes her heart burn for Ahch-To—its gorgeous greenness, its holy ground—and Nova just stares at her own, unhinged reflection in Din’s helmet.

Her teeth press down onto her bottom lip before she can muster up the strength to speak. One of Din’s gloved hands is pressed protectively against the small of her back, and the other is holding her right cheek, a fortification, a promise. Nova looks desperately into the visor, trying to see straight through to Din’s brown eyes. Her voice is barely there when she’s able to talk. “How?”

Bo-Katan’s helmet is off by the time Nova feels stable enough to walk back inside. The airlock door hisses shut behind them, and Wedge is the one that Nova catches first. He’s outfitted in his regular orange jumpsuit, but the spark that usually burns behind his eyes is replaced by a sadness that Nova’s never seen before. He offers her a small smile, beckoning into the room, but she knows his mind is racing just as quickly as hers is, and when she looks at the holotable, the horrible image of her isn’t projected anymore. She inhales once, exhales, and tries to coax her heart back to a normal rhythm.

“Novalise—”

“It’s okay,” Nova whispers, nodding in Bo-Katan’s direction without looking at her. “You—you were right to call us here. I’m just…” she trails off, a small glint of light catching the stone on her ring finger, and she sighs. “I was taken by surprise. That was—I wasn’t expecting it. I know the First Order wants me. I know that my…powers, however mysterious as they are, make me valuable, and that makes me dangerous. But I don’t understand who wants me dead if it’s not the people we’ve been running from for the last year.”

Bo-Katan steps forward, uncrossing her lean, muscled arms. Silently, she pulls up the shimmering holograms again, but this time, Nova’s bounty doesn’t come up. It’s not anything recognizable until Bo-Katan points to a blue, rotating sphere. “I think,” she finally says, her tone unreadable, “that whoever put this bounty up on you wants your face out there in a bigger capacity than what it already is. You’re known in the Alliance, obviously, and now you’re known on Mandalore.” She stabs her finger at the hologram of the planet, rotating in silence. “And you’re wanted by the First Order, for whatever horrible plans they have next. But whoever this other force is—”

Nova holds up a hand, and, miraculously, Bo-Katan stops talking. “They want me to be a martyr,” she whispers, and all three of them look over at her with various expressions of disbelief. Din’s face is still hidden underneath his helmet, but Nova knows exactly what the contours of his features look like right now. Wedge’s worry lines deepen, dark and troubled. Bo-Katan raises one sculpted eyebrow, but her eyes focus on Nova’s like she knows it’s the truth.

“What did Luke say?” Wedge asks, finally.

“I don’t see how that’s relevant right now,” Bo-Katan interjects, but Wedge holds up a hand. It’s so sharp in contrast to his usual easygoing demeanor that her mouth snaps back shut.

“Nova’s a Jedi,” Wedge continues, eyes drifting to the lightsaber hanging off her belt. “Or at least she’s going to be,” he amends, “so she’s rare. One of three still existing that I know of, so that makes her incredibly important. Luke has been off on his own the last few years, trying to piece back the history of the Jedi that got lost or erased in the war. And that’s the Skywalker family lightsaber she has right there,” Wedge continues, nodding again at Nova’s belt loop, “so I know she went to go see him. What did he say, rebel girl?” he asks again, and Nova exhales lowly through the tiny gap of her open mouth.

“He knows something is coming,” Nova manages, finally. “He wanted—he wanted me to stay and train. He’s trying to locate all of the remaining Jedi in the galaxy, to try and rebuild what got destroyed. And,” she continues, exhaling, “he told me that what died may not stay dead.”

“Well,” Bo-Katan interjects, huffing, “that’s incredibly cryptic and entirely unhelpful.”

“Don’t start,” Wedge snaps, an edge to his voice. “Did he mean Gideon?”

Nova slowly shakes her head. It’s the truth, even though, to Bo-Katan’s point, Luke was being cryptic when he gave her that particularly sage warning. It’s not Gideon. Luke was talking about something deeper. “No,” she whispers, finally. “He meant someone—or something—much worse.”

Bo-Katan raises another eyebrow, a scorn so distasteful it makes waves on her face. “Yet another cryptic and unhelpful point, Novalise.”

Din steps forward before the expression on Nova’s face even changes. Bo-Katan Kryze doesn’t cower much, but she sure as hell shrinks underneath Din’s stance. He’s all anger, electric wires running currents throughout his entire tense body. Even the beskar pales in comparison to his rage. His hand slips to his own waistline, and Bo-Katan’s startled eyes glaze over the Darksaber before she backs down.

Nova has no idea how to diffuse this situation. Maybe Din’s right, maybe she is an expert at getting out of things, but the mountain crushing down on top of her shoulders just keeps growing bigger and bigger. Soon, it’ll be the size of Mandalore, and then she’ll have two planets to try and keep balanced on her already aching back. Nova rubs at the sore spot between her eyebrows, trying to worry out the knot that’s been growing in intensity there.

Bo-Katan’s talking again. Nova registers it, faintly, in the back of her mind. She’s long since grown tired of running, but right now, all her legs want to do is make a break for it. She’s exhausted and frozen in place and so unsteady on her feet. All Nova craves right now, this very second, is to lay back down in the piles of frigid snow outside and let it cool down her body right to the core. Din’s voice is angry, direct, curling in waves through the modulator, and when Nova whips back around to face the three of them, somehow, miraculously, they all grow silent.

“They want me to be a martyr,” Nova repeats, her voice barely anything in the chill of the chamber. Wedge’s thick eyebrow raises, his careful eyes searching over her face, trying to find her angle. “I’m not going to be. But I’m also not going to sit and wait on Mandalore for them to come find me, whoever they are. I’m not going to make it easy for them. Besides,” she finishes, eyes locking on Din’s, even under the obscurity of his helmet, “I’m a Rebel. Laying low isn’t in my blood.”

“Maybe,” Bo-Katan says, and there’s a razor’s edge to her already sharp voice. Something is wrong, Nova knows that, because underneath all of that icy venom, there’s a tremble that ricochets through her words. “But you’re forgetting something. You aren’t just a Rebel anymore. You’re the queen of a planet—”

“I’m a figurehead,” Nova spits back, exasperated. Maker above, her head is seriously killing her. Somewhere, distantly, she aches for the quiet crush of hyperspace, the dazzle, the glimmer, the flair of it all. Out there, running didn’t feel like running. And out there, home actually felt like home. “I’m nothing. I’m married to the Mand’alor, that’s it. I don’t rule. I don’t interact with anybody but the two of you. I wear Mandalore colored clothes, sometimes I’m in the war room, but most of the time, I’m staring up at the sky, and I can’t see the stars. I cannot see,” she continues, her voice unhinging into something desperate, “a single star from the planet’s surface. Bo-Katan, Mandalore is a ghost town. There’s only a handful of people left. Why did you battle Din for power in the first place,” she finishes, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, “if this was all that it was for?”

The room is silent. Nova can barely see straight, her eyes burning with the tears she’s trying to hold back. Bo-Katan looks like she’s been wounded—not pissed off, not royally wronged—wounded. Hurt. It’s written in the fracture lines of her face, and even though she’s been cold and hostile and a pain in everyone’s asses, Nova aches knowing she put them there. “Because,” Bo-Katan says, finally, and her voice isn’t icy anymore. It’s flat. Monotonous. “I love Mandalore. And I wanted something more.”

Nova inhales shakily, letting her shoulders round, clutching her arms around herself. The shawl wrapped around her upper body has fallen down to her shoulders, her loose hair flying in curls around her face. She’s exhausted. Behind her, she can feel Din stepping forward, his presence like a locus, an orbiting star. She staggers backward, mouth struck open, unable to conjure any words to fix this. “Bo-Katan—”

“Maybe I was wrong,” Bo-Katan interrupts, and her regular permafrost is back. “Maybe I was wrong about you. You’re right. You’re not a ruler. You’re a figurehead, Andromeda.” Nova recoils as if Bo-Katan slapped her. Slapping her would be better, actually, because the gut punch that comes with the stab of her old name is almost too much to bear. “And you’re sure as hell not a Mandalorian.”

Nova closes her eyes at the impact, but Din shoves his body forward, the whoosh of the Darksaber igniting in his hand before Nova can react. When she finally opens them, Din is standing like the warrior he is, like the bounty hunter he used to be. The horrible, flickering blade is up in front of Bo-Katan, an inch from her throat.

“I agreed to do this job because you insisted. I only promised to follow through if you were in my corner.” Din’s hand doesn’t waver once. Nova watches, horrified, as the terrible blade crackles and hisses in the low, cold light. “You intentionally disrespecting my wife is the opposite of being in my corner. If you ever,” he continues, and Nova can hear the grit of his teeth through the modulator, “use that name to refer to her again, those words will be your last. Do you understand me?”

Bo-Katan stares up at him, all malice. “You’re playing with fire.”

“Believe me,” Din spits, voice even and dangerous, “you haven’t been burned by me yet.”

Finally, she steps down, jutting her chin downward in a very reluctant nod. “Maybe you’re not a Mandalorian,” she concedes, staring back at Nova. Nova’s frozen to the spot, arms hugged tightly against her chest, knees shaking from the proverbial impact, “but Mandalore is still your home. For now, at least. And until we figure out who’s after you, that’s where you’ll stay. No Rebel missions. No alone time out in the stars.” She stares up at Din. “You wanted me in your corner? Fine. But your corner is on Mandalore, and Mandalore only.”

“I can’t do that,” Nova manages, quietly, her teeth aching in her mouth. “I need to train, Bo-Katan, I—I need to go see Grogu, I’m a commander in the Alliance, I cannot be grounded on a planet indefinitely, not with the entire galaxy on the brink of another war, not while there are two groups of people who want me dead or to be their slave—”

“Your home,” Bo-Katan interjects, her eyes dangerous behind her solid voice, “is on Mandalore now. What better place to protect you than a planet full of born and bred warriors?”

Nova’s heart is in her throat. It aches, pulsing and twisting and waning, like she has a knife lodged in her esophagus. “I can’t stay there indefinitely, I—I’m a Jedi—”

“No,” Bo-Katan interrupts again, “you are not. Not yet, and not until we figure out what danger the Order and these bounty hunters are to the rules of Mandalore. Besides,” she tacks on, leaning back on her heels, “Mandalorians and Jedi do not get along.” Her glance that flickers over to Din’s intimidating, awful silhouette, the Darksaber a ruthless weapon in his capable hands, is the only thing that gives away all the fear she’s tucked away under all that venom.

“Ahsoka Tano,” Nova manages, and something painful runs through the hard lines on Bo-Katan’s face. “You led us to Ahsoka. So no matter what you’re telling us right now, I know that you get along with at least one Jedi better than you think.”

Bo-Katan stares back at her. For a horrible beat, nobody breathes. Nova’s almost forgotten Wedge is still in the room until he lets out a quiet, exhausted sigh. “We’re going back to Mandalore. Wedge will run the Rebel operation from here, with people who aren’t responsible for a planet and the next collective fight of the galaxy. You leave Mandalore,” she says, and this time her gaze is trained expertly on Din’s visor, “you’re on your own.”

“Stop,” Wedge says, finally, and the singular word shatters through the tension, bringing everything down to the icy floor in one fell swoop. “Stop it. You,” he says, pointing at Bo-Katan, “were in here less than a month ago talking about unity, wanting to build something better, to protect the galaxy. I never thought we’d be close friends, Bo-Katan, but I at least thought you were on our side.” He lets the intention hang there, before turning to Din. “You are an incredible warrior, Din. I think Nova was right about you being a good leader. I think you have great potential. But I’ve seen power easily go sideways, and if you keep fighting against your own, you’re going to end up in another war. And you,” he enunciates heavily, turning on Nova, “you’re the best person I know. Kindest heart I’ve ever seen, except maybe for Luke. You’re an incredible pilot, a fantastic Rebel, and I don’t doubt for a second that you can save the galaxy from whatever evil it brings. But you’re not immortal, Nova. You’re not a saint, or a god, or anything bigger than a human being. Bo-Katan is right about one thing, and that’s you being in danger. They want you to be a martyr? Don’t let them make that a reality.” He pauses, and there’s something ancient in his eyes. “Go back to Mandalore. Work with each other, in whatever capacity that means. And when the three of you realize that we’re all in this together, no matter what threat we’re facing next, then you get to call the shots again.” He lets that hang in the air too, and it’s so heavy with genuine care, Nova’ heart breaks over itself again. “And I don’t make a habit of saying this, but may the Force be with us all.” His gaze roams over the three of them again, and Nova swallows, nodding against Wedge’s words. “We’re certainly going to need it.”

Mandalore is deadly and quiet.

It doesn’t welcome the three of them back in open arms. Bo-Katan’s ship is so much sleeker than Kicker, but Nova revels in the groan and tumble her starfighter makes when it touches down on cool, ashy earth. Her teeth are still shaking in her mouth. She has a headache, one she can feel in her jaw, right down to the bone. No one has spoken since Wedge gave his rebel rousing speech back on Hoth, and Nova knows that nothing she can manage can top that one. She’s silent in her flying, her disembarking. Slowly, she and Din trail Bo-Katan up the marble steps of the palace, and Nova can barely remember to offer her usual smile at the guards before the tall, impressive doors snap shut.

“I meant what I said,” Bo-Katan offers, finally, and there’s a wicked set in her jaw. “I can’t protect you out there. Mandalore is my home. I’m not abandoning this planet to run after the two of you and your masochistic need to save the galaxy. It’s been through enough, and I’m not going to let either of you ruin that. I meant it.”

Nova stares at her. She wants to snap back, to repeat what Wedge said, to shake some sense into Bo-Katan’s tense shoulders, but she doesn’t. She left all of her vitriol and fire back on Hoth, and she’s so incredibly tired. It’s nearly impossible to remember that DIn only took the throne a little over two weeks ago, that the ragtag group of their collected rebel fighters seemed so confident that they could stop the First Order, take down the evil lurking there, and restore peace to the galaxy. “So did I,” Nova whispers, finally, and Bo-Katan blinks uncharacteristically, a tiny slip in her usual armor before she opens her mouth again.

“We’ll talk more about this tomorrow,” Bo-Katan allows, and then she turns on her beskar heel and walks off somewhere in the dark haunt of the castle, her steps receding into nothing but dread.

Nova’s scar hurts. These days, it always seems to hurt, this horrible sucking wound that still aches, an aftershock of a trauma long gone. She sighs, long and heavy, wanting to sink into bed for a day or two and sleep all this responsibility off. She wants to be back up there in the stars, moving from planet to planet with purpose. She wants to use the lightsaber hanging from her belt. She wants to hug Grogu to her chest, to feel his tiny green body give off that special kind of warmth. She wants to lay with Din without armor, the rest of the world falling away.

When she finally manages to pull her heavy head up, Din is staring at Nova in the silence. There’s only a small strike of moonlight cutting across the strange, blue floor. He’s still wearing his helmet, but she can practically cut straight through the shield by the way she can feel his eyes piercing hers. This aches, too, such small hurts that accumulate across the map of her body.

“Come with me,” he says, finally, and when he reaches out his familiar, steady hand, she takes it.

It’s quiet in the palace, as per usual, but something about the moon striking through the windows as they move through the empty halls feels loud and haunting. Quietly, Din and Nova walk, hand in hand, past the throne room, past the staircase that leads to their massive bedroom, into the maze of corridors in the yawning belly of the beast. The amphitheatre is massive, something holy in its own right. Mandalorians treat battle like it’s divine, and the giant stadium built into their palace is made of marble and blue stone, the sky open and glittering above the arena.

“Why are we here?” Nova asks, finally, breaking the silence holding the both of them captive.

“Because,” Din answers, his voice level, leading her to the center of the ring, “this is where I won the Darksaber.”

Nova raises a dark eyebrow at him, and even though Din’s face is still obscured by the helmet, she can feel his face softening. “I know, mighty Mand’alor,” she deadpans, her own voice gentle, “I was there for the fight of the century, remember?”

“Stop it,” he interjects, but there’s no venom in his tone. She smiles, relaxing slightly, letting her aching shoulders drop. “I meant this is where it started. When we stood here, you said you thought I could be a good ruler. A fair one. Someone people would listen to.”

“I still think that,” she echoes, and Din’s fingers flutter over the makeshift hood of her shawl, dropping the blue fabric so that her hair falls loose. There shouldn’t be a breeze in here, but something rustles Nova’s long curls, letting them spiral over her right shoulder. “Actually, I know it—”

“I’m not,” Din interrupts, and Nova watches his movements, how calculated they are, how he’s pacing back and forth in the pit around her. It’s empty in here except for the two of them, but there’s some strange sense of exhibition, as if they’re being watched. “I’m not a good leader, Nova, because I’m not a leader. Bo-Katan told me Mandalore doesn’t take kindly to outsiders, but you were right earlier. This place is a ghost town. Besides the people who live and work in the palace, I’ve never seen anyone in the village. I’ve spent hours in the war room just looking at the maps, trying to figure out where all of the Mandalorians are.” He sighs, and Nova chances a half-step forward. “There aren’t any. They’ve either fled, been killed, or have left Mandalore to hide on other planets, like my covert.”

“Din,” Nova starts, but when he holds up a single gloved hand, the words die on her tongue.

“There’s nothing here left to rule,” he says, finally, like the words are both an incredible burden and the truth that sets him free. “Mandalore is gone. Whatever it used to be, whoever used to live here, what we see is all that’s left. Maybe I am meant to rule this planet full of nobody, I don’t know. Maybe this is some sort of strange...riddle that I can’t figure out. But I can’t understand why it’s so imperative for the two of us to step into these roles, to follow rules that make no sense, to try and be a leader for a planet that’s barely anything.”

Nova stares at him. A small smile winges across her lips before she even realizes why. “You don’t want to stay here,” she whispers, which is an echo of the same sentiment she’s been saying for weeks, but this time it feels like the truth laid bare. “You want to be where the fight is.”

Din’s quiet. His shoulders are still rigid. “I don’t run from things.”

“True.” Nova steps another foot towards him, her head cocked to the side, trying to puzzle out what’s happening in his head without seeing a glimpse of his face. “That’s usually my M.O.”

“Stop it,” Din whispers, but there’s no fire left in his voice. Nova studies him—his stature, his stance, the Darksaber hanging off his hip, the proverbial crown balanced over his helmet—but there’s nothing hardened there, nothing sharp, regardless of how regal he is, how his presence cuts through every room like a knife. When she’s finally close enough to touch him, her hands immediately go to his helmet, pressing her palms against the smooth, cold beskar, an invitation and a question all at once. “Novalise,” he tries, and her name sounds like something more, something deeper, something holy. Quietly, she presses her body against his, letting the coolness of the armor heat up against the soft curves of her skin. “We can’t do this in here—”

“You’re the one,” she breathes, hooking her fingers under the rim of the helmet, “who said this is our place to desecrate.”

Din’s breath comes out sharp and wicked, like he’s been impaled on her words. “And I meant it then,” he manages, as she starts to pull his helmet off, “but now all I want to do is be back out there in the stars. Not be this figurehead. Not being the leader of a dozen people who all hate my guts and want to slaughter me for the throne.”

“You are a leader,” Nova continues, pressing her body closer to his. Even through the armor, she can feel him harden against her touch, stiffening against her trousers, a sign that she’s pushing the both of them closer and closer to the edge. “You’re an excellent leader. Tell me what to do.”

“Nova—”

“Prove it,” she whispers, her voice barely air. Her blood is pumping so heavily in her ears that her own words sound distorted, like they’re under a waterfall. “Show me you’re a good leader. Because I believe you are, but I know you have to prove it to believe it.”

“This isn’t what this place was made for.”

Nova stops, her forehead pressed against his. Everything in this strange arena is quiet except for their breathing, an urgent pulsing in the cold, dark night. “So fighting is sacred to Mandalorians,” she breathes, feeling the airlocks that keep Din’s helmet secure around his face hiss. He doesn’t move, letting her lift off his helmet, to have him without his armor. “You’re sacred to me. Every inch of you.”

The sound that erupts from Din’s mouth is even more wicked as the modulator cuts off in the middle of it. Nova pulls the rest of the helmet off of his face, her eyes roaming over every single pore, trying to memorize the way he’s staring at her, half-frenzied, his eyes fluttering somewhere between pleasure and pain.

“Novalise.” Her name still sounds like a prayer. Nova doesn’t break Din’s eye contact, just drops the helmet with a clatter against the floor. It’s loud, deafening almost, but he doesn’t flinch at the sound. “You can’t say things like that to me—”

“Then stop me,” Nova counters. Her heart is hammering. She’s being a brat, she knows she is, a whiny, wheedling baby that only wants one thing, but she can’t help herself. Din’s gloved hand closes around her wrist, squeezing lightly, and even though it makes her heart skip a beat, she’s unhinged and dangerous right now. Silently, she unhinges his hand from where it’s gripping her arm and places Din’s fingers against her throat, leaning into his touch, eyes wide, inviting. “I know you. I know what you want. I know that I made a Rebel out of you, Mand’alor, but I also know that when you give people orders, they’re helpless to do anything other than follow them. You can have whatever you want. You just have to prove it.”

His eyes glint for just a moment. It’s in a flash, over almost as soon as it starts, just a nanosecond, but something glittering and dangerous sparks up behind Din’s measured brown eyes, and Nova barely has time to inhale before his grips tightens around her throat, his other hand anchoring her hips in place. It’s an exact replica of the way he’s held her a million times, but his touch still feels brand new. “I want you.”

Everything stops existing. The war, the ghost town of a planet they’re supposed to rule, the First Order, the insidious war that’s gearing up in the underbelly of the galaxy. The pressure for Din to be a ruler, the urgency of Nova becoming a Jedi, every single piece of their lives fall away. It’s devastating and divine, vivid and vivacious. “Then take me,” Nova breathes, feeling Din harden against her leg, hot and heavy even through her pant leg and the beskar that’s protecting him. “Take me, but do it without armor.”

He stares at her, just for a second, and despite knowing that she has her husband wrapped around her pinky finger, Nova’s own eyes widen, heartbeat quickening, worried she took it a step too far. When Din’s hands disappear from her body, a panicked apology is already trying to hurtle its way out of her mouth, but Din doesn’t break eye contact. His hands pull the armor off of his body, letting each piece clatter at his feet like it’s nothing. Nova’s breath has barely been returned to her lungs by the time that Din’s finished undressing, standing in front of her with nothing but his underclothes, Mandalorian blue, and then he slams himself into her, knocking both of them back a few steps with the centrifugal force. Her knees buckle as she lets herself be swept away, wind knocked right back out through the hollow of her open mouth, Din’s hands purposeful and intentional.

Nova’s pretty sure she’s seen Din this vibrant before, this full of desire, but the way he devours her means something deeper. It’s desperate, and yearning, and haunting, leaving his mark all over her body to be worn as a prize later. His lips trail down her jaw, his teeth sinking into her skin, tongue licking out a symphony on the pulse points he’s expertly mapped over the last year. “Din,” she manages, before his name is sucked straight out of her mouth, and his hands twist and writhe underneath the clothes she’s wearing.

Almost as immediately as he started, his mouth disappears. Nova’s eyes flutter open, trying to find where Din retracted himself to, and his large hands, suddenly bare of the gloves he was wearing just a second ago, grasp onto her face. She inhales sharply as he grabs her, the force of his grip puckering her lips up. Nova feels like putty in his hands, like she’s buzzing. “You want me without armor, cyar’ika?” he asks. Din’s voice is so low, it rumbles straight through her, everything between her legs a hurricane. “You want me to be a ruler?”

Wordlessly Nova nods, trying to coax air back into her lungs. “Yes,” she manages.

There’s something torrential in the low blaze of Din’s eyes. Nova thinks she’s still standing, that he’s keeping her upright, but honestly, she can’t tell. The only thing she’s focused on is the darkened outline of his gorgeous face, the flash of his eyes. “Then I want you like that, too,” Din breathes, yanking the shawl right off of her shoulder. Nova’s hair springs out from underneath it, ricocheting against her face as Din grasps her cheeks, pulling her forehead against his. “No armor. Submissive to what I say.”

Nova gasps, nodding against Din’s touch, and when he tears her clothes off of her, she doesn’t even try to tell him she needs them intact. It’s just fabric. It doesn’t matter, not when his hands can burn against her. When they sink down to the floor of the amphitheatre, kissing so hard their teeth knock together, nothing else exists anymore. It’s just Nova and Din and the stars they’re under, just like always.

The ground is cold against her back, but the second Din pulls his pants down and gets on top of her, the chill is immediately forgotten. Nova stares up at Din, trying to map every single inch of his face, even though she’s already memorized it, even though he’s shown it to the rest of the planet, it still feels so incredibly divine. He’s inhaling sharply, and when she flutters his eyelashes up at him, she nods. Permission. It’s just a second, wordless, but he understands. Usually, Nova wants foreplay, to be kissed, to have every single inch of her body blessed by the man she loves, but that’s not necessary tonight. When he pushes inside of her, hard and warm and huge, she gasps against the pressure. It’s devastating. It’s perfect. It’s hot and heavy and loud, and the force of how Din’s fucking her makes her head slam back agaisnt the floor. Before she can mutter a single word, one of his hands comes up underneath her skull, creating a barrier against Nova and the marble. She lifts her hips, locking her ankles around Din, trying to keep herself in the place he needs her, eyes rolling back in her head.

Somewhere, something devious whispers to her that she’s being used, but right now, Nova doesn’t even care. Every inch of her body is screaming out for Din’s, and every place where he’s touching her feels sacred, complete.

“Nova,” he whispers, and she’s a hymn, a prayer, something deeper than herself in this strange, makeshift place of worship. She wants to talk, to reassure him that she’s here, but then Din’s mouth is back against her lips, ravenous, unyielding. It’s everything. It’s dark in here, and still eerily quiet, and for the first time, she’s unabashed about filling this space up with their noise. It feels like a rite of passage, something divine, especially when Din licks his vows into her mouth, murmuring in Mando’a, swearing in Basic, and his other hand finds the curve of Nova’s hips, lifting her up so he can fuck deeper into her. Suddenly, every single insidious thought evaporates, her hand fluttering down across her stomach to reach her clit.

“Din,” she manages, breathy and disconnected, and immediately, his expert hand knocks hers away, replacing her touch with vigor. Before Nova even has a chance to adjust to his pressure, he’s pushing her over the edge, her oragasm quick and loud, deafening and ecstatic.

“Wait for me,” he grunts, his mouth back on her neck, and Nova’s eyes are flooding with collapsing stars, her ears buzzing, and she wants to apologize that she’s beating him there but when he’s touching her like that, she doesn’t even care. But then Din breaks away from her, angling his hips to slam deeper and deeper into Nova, and his lips tear off her neck, knocking their foreheads together. “Now,” he orders, and his voice is low and commanding, and that alone sends Nova through the roof.

Din grunts as he’s about to cum, writhes into her like it’s the last time that he’ll ever get to touch her. Usually, he pulls out soon afterward, rolls over on his back beside her, but tonight, he just grabs onto Nova’s jaw and stays pulsing in her. Every time his cock twitches with the aftershock, it extends Nova’s own orgasm, and she lets herself be held there, not wanting to move.

“I could,” she starts, panting.

“Stay here forever,” Din finishes, his voice barely anything at all. “I know.”

For what feels like lightyears, they stay together, a tangle of limbs and warmth, trying to catch their collective breaths. Slowly, the rest of the world filters back in, and the quiet, starry darkness of the amphitheatre doesn’t feel desecrated. It feels used, for something better than it was designed for, at that, and Nova feels her heartbeat pound down to a regular rhythm before she lets Din lay down beside her, both of them exhausted, staring up at the ceiling.

“I meant it,” Nova finally says, closing her eyes to feel the hum of her own voice in her throat. One hand is tracing the outline of her scar, the other is tangled up in the discarded shawl that Din thankfully did not eviscerate. “When I said you were a good leader. I think you’re a great one, Din Djarin, and even though I want to be out there.” Nova trails off, gesturing at the ceiling painted with stars, “if staying put means you get to do that, I’ll stay right here. I’ll be a Mandalorian.”

Din’s quiet. Nova doesn’t dare to move, because she knows the significance of what she just said, the crushing weight of it. “I meant it, too,” he whispers, finally. “When I said I’d follow you anywhere.”

Nova inhales sharply, finally turning her head to search her husband’s eyes. “I know,” she murmurs, eyebrows furrowing down the middle. “And I believe you. But what do you want?”

Din’s face is entirely unreadable. Nova counts the beats of her heart as they sit there in the silence, trying to encourage him without saying a single thing.

“You.”

Nova inhales, wetting her mouth with her tongue. “What else do you want?”

Din stares at her, moving only to press the open palm of his bare hand against her cheek. “I want you without armor, too,” he whispers, and then pulls both of them to their feet. Nova knows there’s more to that sentence, but she’s fighting sleep, and she doesn’t want to put pressure on more points than either of them can take. Wordlessly, they redress, and Nova follows Din out of the eerie amphitheatre, out of the maze of tunnels, back to the first floor where the giant war room sits, beskar throne impenetrable at the highest point. She wraps her shawl tighter around ehr shoulders, all the warmth that sex gave them blown away by the startling reality of the situation. Without a word, Din presses the ignition to the holotable, and the strange, blue, fractured image of Nova ten years ago illuminates.

She inhales sharply, her old reflection a sucker punch. Din grabs her hand, and Nova squeezes it, trying to stare at herself head on, without flinching.

“I want to kill off Andromeda Maluev and everyone who’s after her,” Din breathes, his voice so much louder without the barrier of the helmet and the modulator. “I don’t want to rule this planet and ignore the war that’s coming while there are people out there who want you.”

“Din—”

“Listen to me,” Din whispers, grabbing Nova’s face in his hands, and she turns away from her painful reflection, letting him become the only thing she orbits, even if it’s only for a second, even if it’s only for now. “You are Novalise Djarin. I’m not going to let anyone take that away from you.”

Nova’s green eyes flood with tears. Above them, above the mist and fog and haze that hangs over Mandalore like an omen, her stars are sparkling and clear. She inhales, focusing her blurry gaze on her husband, something concrete, something real. “What does that mean?” she whispers, and Din’s right hand goes to her right hip, purposefully knocking into the Skywalker family lightsaber, and Nova’s sharp inhale comes out stuttered.

Din’s eyes are a promise, a prayer. His bare hand smoothes back over her cheek, and something dangerous and pulsing inside of Nova suddenly quiets. “It means,” he says, guiding her own hand down to the weapon hanging from her hip, “that we do what Mandalorians do best. We’ll take it one day at a time,” he continues, and Nova nods, “but we’re going do what we do best. All of us.”

“What are you—?”

“I’m saying,” Din sighs, pointing up through the domed ceiling, and Nova strains her eyes to look through the clouds to the stars above, pulsing and flickering with the promises they’ve made to each other, “that Bo-Katan is going to protect Mandalore, Luke is going to train our kid, Boba and Fennec are going to avenge, Cara’s going to forcefully keep the peace, Karga’s going to figure out who put the bounty on your head, Wedge is going to rally the troops, and you and I are going to save the galaxy.”

There’s a smile on Nova’s face before can register everything Din’s saying. “Din—”

“You’re the only one who gets me without armor,” Din whispers into her ear, and Nova feels the giant door sliding open behind them. She’s going to turn around to yell at Bo-Katan that it’s not the morning yet, and that she just wants one tiny minute of happiness before returning to the weight pressing down on all of their shoulders, but multiple voices filter into the throne room, and Nova lets Din pull her up the steps onto the dais, watching as the space fills up with the people who still make up Mandalore. Bo-Katan raises her chin at them, but something’s replaced the fear and vitriol in her eyes. Din lets his helmet clatter on the floor, the noise loud enough for the rest of the hushed noise in the room to fall quiet. Nova swallows, staring out to the scene of people gathered in front of them, trying to look like a leader, like someone trustworthy. “We’re going to fight,” Din promises, his voice full and honest, a vow, and then he turns to face the people he rules in the center of the room. “Let’s get started.”

*

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*

I HOPE YOU LOVED IT!!! writing this story is truly my biggest joy, and getting to share it with all of you is priceless! i lovelovelove talking to you about your theories and comments and questions, so please leave them below or send me them on tumblr (amiedala)! i think i am finally back on track, so CHAPTER FOUR WILL BE UP SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, AT 7:30 PM EST!!!

i love you all, have a lovely week (hopefully with fall weather coming your way)!!! <3

xoxo, amelie

#SOMETHING DEEPER FANFIC #SOMETHING DEEPER #SOMETHING MORE #SOMETHING MORE UPDATE #SOMETHING MORE FANFIC #DIN DJARIN X READER #DIN DJARIN X YOU #DIN DJARIN X FEMALE READER #DIN DJARIN X ORIGINAL CHARACTER #DIN DJARIN X ORIGINAL FEMALE CHARACTER #DIN DJARIN X OC #THE MANDALORIAN X YOU #THE MANDALORIAN X READER #THE MANDALORIAN X FEMALE READER #THE MANDALORIAN X ORIGINAL CHARACTER #THE MANDALORIAN X OC #DIN X NOVA #DINOVA #NOVALISE #MANDO X READER #MANDO X YOU #MANDO X OC #MANDO X ORIGINAL CHARACTER #MANDO X ORIGINAL FEMALE CHARACTER #PEDRO PASCAL #PEDRO PASCAL CHARACTER #PEDRO PASCAL FANFICTION #STAR WARS FANFICTION #THE MANDALORIAN FANFICTION #DIN DJARIN SMUT

[softieskywalker]

I honestly think it's fine for Luke to make the mistake of trying to be like the old Jedi (if that is what is happening, to me it read as Luke offering Grogu the same choice Yoda gave him to see what he will do) just because having an entire legacy on you has to be hard. If they wanted to show that he almost went that way, then simply realized that it doesn't follow his convictions and that he wants to make the New Order better, I'd be okay with that.

In the sense that, you know, we've all been at a point where we almost disregarded personal convictions in the face of something seemingly bigger than us? And what makes a difference is the choice you make in the end. Luke trying to emulate things from the old Order even though it doesn't follow what he believes, then actively changing it to what he truly wants the new one to be, would be an okay path to take (for me).

I really doubt this is what's happening though! It did feel like Luke was just emulating Yoda, but he would be down for Grogu's choice being basically both. I don't think it's possible, for the narrative itself, to go any other way; that's why we're getting so much info on the Darksaber and its significance, on Tarre Vizsla, on the apparent hatred between Jedi and Mandalorian, on how much their views differ.

Din says that for the Mandalorians, Family is everything, and the Jedi are opposite for cutting off their bonds—and yet he leaves Grogu behind because he believes that is what's best for the kid. After everything we've seen so far, the way they keep pushing these differences, it only makes sense for the narrative to be working towards a collaboration between the New Order and the Mandalorians, with Grogu at its center.

My point is that whether or not Luke is being serious about the Choice, the end result will still be the same, which is that he will find the bridge between Mandalorians and Jedi through Grogu.

... We'll see tomorrow, or in Mandalorian S3 I suppose. But I personally think it's best to wait before casting judgement, even if you think that Luke should never even consider keeping Grogu away from his family (which is also fair!! I don't mind it if they do it right, but Luke's entire thing should still be hope and change and being a breath of fresh air, being different than what led to Anakin's fall, so yeah).

very sorry for the long rant, have a good day and week, FEEL FREE TO IGNORE THIS, IT IS DAMN LONG-

i'm with you, it's just... so many of these things are what they're desperately trying to analyze from the text and not what's actually there. idk. i'm scared for tomorrow. maybe everything will be fine and we spent an entire week panicking for nothing. maybe it's going to be even worse. maybe they don't even answer these questions and just move on to boba (as they should) and we have to wait for mando season 3 to get answers. i guess we'll know in a few hours......... 😬

#inbox

[thewriterowl]

To be honest one of the main reason I had a crush on Luke is because of his eyes.

But I have a thing for bond guys with blue eyes.

Probably because I'm just like Din, dark hair, brown/green (the color of the mud basically) eyes.

Opposites attract.

Come on, I challenge anyone not to get lost in Luke's eyes.

Luke really has such pretty eyes. Those are such a pretty pale blue and are just intense and easy to swoon over.

Im dark hair and eyes as well...so I can understand why Luke, being so opposite would be attractive to you. He's just siiiiigh, so lovely

(but my attraction is on Pedro alone lol)

#owl inbox

[thatonegirljessy99]

Loving Myself and You (part 2)

Word Count: +2,000

Warnings: none

Summery: Tsukishima and Y/N have been something for a little while how. What were they exactly, definitely more then friends, but not even close to being together. You finally have had it with whatever this is and decide it is time to move on and put yourself first. So with Tsukishima out of the way, how will you progress with the friendships you never really got to form?

Part 1

*********************

Saying that the first week was easy was a complete and utter lie. Kageyama and Hinata had found you on the second day back at school, crying in the hallway quietly to yourself on your way back from the bathroom. Tsukishima had only called you once in the past four days but the fact that he seemed so unbothered by what had happened was what was making you cry from pure rage.

At first the two boys were a bit confused since they were unaware of what had been going on, but after taking you up to the roof to get some fresh air and a round of milk boxes provided by Kageyama, you filled them in on the situation-ship you had been in with Tsukishima. How for almost the whole last year Tsukishima and you had been seeing each other in secret, meeting after your respective practices and hanging out on the weekends going on small dates, having dinner at each others houses, the late night calls, the random texts, and the jealousy whenever someone of the opposite gender spoke to the other.

“Wow, I would have never guessed that Tsukki was in a relationship,” Hinata stared at you in shock.

“Yeah, well, I don’t know if I would call that a relationship. Only a jerk would keep a girl hidden like that. I don’t even remember seeing you at any games,” Kageyama pointed out as he finished his juice box, sighing as he leaned against the wall.

“That is because of my busy schedule with dance and Tsukishima not wanting anyone to catch on to us,” you sighed before laying down on the floor to look at the clouds floating by slowly,” He is a jerk… but that jerk has a soft side I have been lucky enough to see for most of my life. I mean we have always gone to the same school so I have been able to see all sides of Tsukishima. The dummy even had me believing that whatever we had was a real relationship.”

The rest of that conversation was just Hinata laying down next to you while Kageyama sat down so his back was still against the wall, Hinata and you pointing at clouds and saying what they looked like between spells of silence.

After that day it was rare to see you alone anymore during class. Hinata did his best to stay by your side whenever possible to make sure you were okay, sometimes just sitting next to you while you did your class work, other times dragging Kageyama along to grab lunch with you. It worked in brightening up your day at school but it didn’t help too much for your mind after dance practice. But that was most of your day being taken care of.

Eventually it just became part of your routine to hang out with Hinata and Kageyama during the school day, Daichi and Sugawara joining you three for lunch on the roof from time to time. It was nice, you actually were able to finally get to know the people you had been forbidden from seeing basically before. After dance practice you would find one or two of them waiting for you outside to walk you home. Yachi and Asahi even became a part of your little circle at some point, Yachi hanging out with you after dance so you could do homework together and having her sleep over so she wouldn't have to head home so late.

It got to the point that you were so happy you could hardly think about being upset with Tsukishima, especially on opening night of your ballet show. You hadn’t seen the team come into the hall right as the lights went down, all of them rushing from practice, Kiyoko helping them fix their dress shirts as they took their seats. After the show you were a little sad, smiling still, as the dancers were received by their friends. You sighed thinking it would just be your parents waiting for you with their little bouquet of white roses for you. 

Instead, when you walked into the center of the reception hall you gasped seeing the team chatting up your parents, Nishinoya and Hinata complementing your mom on her dress, everyone rushed over to you with small bouquets of flowers. Normally it was just your parents that would greet you after performances, don’t get me wrong it was great, but the feeling of having all your friends there made it feel like this was your first time performing all over again. Your heart almost felt like it would burst from how much joy you felt when you went home to see that your mom had made a big meal after Hinata and Yachi reached out to your parents to see if everyone could join you guys after the performance for dinner.

It was weird seeing so many people in your small house. Everyone was laughing and praying your dads cooking, everyone kept making a big deal about how perfect you were on stage, Kageyama being impressed at how all the dancers could dance on their toes, everyone spread out on the couch, table, and floor since there wasn't enough chairs at your dinner table for a whole volleyball team. Everything was great until someone knocked on the door causing you to get up from the table to open it. 

"So I guess I'm no longer invited to these events?" Tsukishima glared down at you as you mentally prepared yourself for the apology you'd have to give your family and friends for what's about to happen.

"You mean practice ended early enough for you to care? Nice. Next time try changing into a nice shirt before coming over, yeah?" You smiled, your eyes glaring right back at the tall blond before opening the door all the way so he could see inside," as you can see, I don't think you would have gotten in trouble for wanting to cut practice a little short for a friend."

The room was silent behind you, no one moving as the tension radiated from where you and Tsukishima stood.

"They are my teamma-"

"They are my friends Tsukki," you smirked as you saw his eye twitch," what's wrong? You don't need to worry about people getting the wrong idea about us."

"You know, when you said you would clean up for us I figured it's because you weren't interested in going to her show, I didn't think you would be rude enough to ruin her dinner," Kageyama spoke up from his spot on the couch.

"I live in this neighborhood, idiot. I was just walking by and saw I didn't get invited to dinner," Tsukishima snorted, you pinch your nose with annoyance at his presents.

"Look Tsukishima, as much as I hate having you near me, it would be nice if you tried to not be a complete ass to my guests in my parents house. So, you have seen who is here, and now you can see your way back to the other side of the neighborhood, unless you would like my dad to give you a ride so you don't get lost," you smiled bitterly, knowing that if you really needed him to, your dad would step in.

Instead you heard some people move behind you and were a little surprised to here voices come from so close to you once they finally spoke.

"Actually Y/N, we can show him back to his place. It's getting a bit late and we should probably be heading out anyway," Daichi smiled at you, placing a hand on your shoulder so you could step aside to let him out. He gave you a quick hug and looked at Tanaka and Asahi who did the same, Tanaka yelling at your dad to thank him for the meal.

"Alright Tsukki, time to talk about how not to treat a girl, especially one that has her temper," Tanaka started up loudly as the three boys began to walk away.

You laughed a little as you closed the door to see everyone still just staring at you.

"Are you okay honey?" Your mom asked coming over to hug you.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom. You know dads temper, always getting me in trouble," you laughed patter her back as you hugged her back for reassurance.

"My temper? You mean your mothers temper. There is a reason she runs the house," your dad chucked, the tension finally fading away in the room as everyone started to chit chat again. 

It wasn't too long after when everyone started to help clean up before heading out for the night. Suga and Nishinoya took the trash out with them after thanking your parents for letting them come over, Yachi, Kiyoko, and Hinata all helped with the dishes before they left, and everyone else just helped straighten up the living room and dinning room before leaving. The last one there after your parents had said their good nights and headed off to bed was Kageyama.

You were both just sitting on the couch watching a movie at your request. Well…. Maybe not request, maybe whining was a better word to describe it. Everyone was already leaving but you wanted to stay up a bit longer and watch a movie so you chose Kageyama as your victim.

"What are we even watching," he mumbled as he looked at you getting comfortable in the corner of the couch.

"I don't know, I really just still feel really hyper from tonight. It was a great show and, if I'm being totally honest, I didn't expect all of you to be there and it kinda made me really happy. Ya know?" You laughed, smiling at him widely.

"Yeah, you seemed pretty happy tonight," he smiled back before getting up and pulling a small box out of his pocket," oh, I almost forgot. Um, my mom said I should bring you a present since this was my first time coming over and seeing you dance."

You looked a little confused as he handed you the box, but you smiled regardless before opening it to see a silver necklace with a small pearl hanging off the chain.

"My sister was the one to help me pick it out," he admitted, looking away a bit embarrassed.

"Aww, I really like Kageyama. Thank you," you smiled a bit sheepishly," although I'm not sure if I can wear it while on stage."

It was just then that Kageyama realized he had never seen you wear any jewelry other than the props you had during the show.

"Why would you only wear it on stage? I think it would look nice on you any day," he asked, a bit confused.

"I don't know, I just don't think I have the looks to try and wear jewelry other than when I have makeup on. Why do you think I always have the same look for school? Hair in a bun, regular uniform with no extra stuff. I'm just meh off stage," you shrugged, starting to feel a bit weird talking about yourself.

“I think you are amazing on and off stage… I mean you work just as hard as we do with school and dance and everything.”

A smile spread across your face as you looked at the necklace and then at Kageyama.

“That’s really sweet of you to say, I mean, I try my best. I know it costs my parents a lot of money for me to be able to do what I love so I try to do my best,” you sighed before looking back at the clock.

“Hey, Kageyama, it's getting really late. Do you want me to ask my parents if you can sleep on the couch-”

“No, no, it’s okay. I can still walk home. It isn’t too far from here,” he chuckled, walking over to the door with his bag,” tell your parents I say thank you for letting me come over for dinner.”

“Yeah, of course! Thanks for coming to my perfo-”

Your sentence didn’t even get the chance to get out before your vision went blurry and your fel backwards before Kageyama could catch you. Your head slammed on the hardwood floor, Kageyama rushing to your side as he screamed for your parents to get up.

Good thing there was no school tomorrow or practice.

#haikyu #haikyuu!! #hinata #kageyama #haikyuu tsukki #Loving Myself and You #Tenaka #Daichi #Sugawara