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Fun fact I learned from playing Fire Emblem Three Houses with a Med Student- sometimes survivors of trauma and those who develop PTSD will loose all sense of taste and smell. They can still perceive texture and have preferences but they don’t actually taste anymore.

Idk if this is what happened to Corin but it’s scary how well this lines up with the oneshot about din trying to figure out what Corin likes to eat.

(So yeah fire emblem fans. Poor Dimitri eating Flayns horrifically bad food and not minding the taste is medically accurate. The more ya know)

I certainly wouldn't exclude this being a possibility at all. There are a lot of things he has to re-learn and re-experience because his brain was locked down and unable to process rather 'simple' information. His brain was in constant survival mode, so anything other than life or death situations didn't matter to him. Taste ranked looooow on his list, so yeah... definitely a possibility that it is ptsd induced!

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Having a silly little reread of my favorite fic series and I just realized- the first time Corin ever says “I’m fine” to Din is when he’s bleeding out from a gut shot and telling them to escape without him. Goddamn classic Corin. Now I’m having feelings about this series AGAIN

(Technically it’s “I’ll be fine” but eh semantics)

I am still AMAZED whenever someone manages to fight their way through the series ONCE, so imagine how floored I am to hear about re-reads! Thank you!

I'm so incredibly delighted that re-reads shows all the meticulous (ridiculous amounts) of planning that went behind this story xD Huzzah, totally worth it! :D

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LAST CHAPTER AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH

but also omg you're back hiiiii,

Aaaah, you are so kind! <3 Thank youuuuuu!

And it is on the way! I promise!! It's the time line that has to line up and there are so many to juggle here at the end T-T It has to be purrrfect! And even then, I suspect there might be a thread or two I won't be able to properly tie up, otherwise this story might go on for two more years xD xD

A tidbit to make you forgive me?

It's no surprise that the leader is working on something, sparks flying, she usually keeps busy at all hours, and Din walks over to kneel down with practiced ease with Corin following his example. Paz and Raga come to a standing halt inside the doorway.

Two seconds later, the golden helmet turns to look over at them. The t-visor first rests on Din. “You are here for the child.”

“Yes, I am.” Din replies.

The t-visor moves over to Paz and Raga. “You are here for something else.” She turns to completely face them, the hammer still in her right hand and a pair of tongs in her left. “Dez Vizla removed his helmet. He is an apostate. Exiled. You know this.”

Despite there being no real movement from the big guy, Corin catches the tension hardening Paz' frame. He definitely still cares about his father.

“We intend to travel to Mandalore.” Paz says in a flat voice. “If he bathes in the Living Waters, he can be forgiven.”

“That is The Way.” The armorer confirms.

Corin's heart jumps. So there IS a way for Din to get his life back should he regret their union. Relief and delight rushes through his veins.

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not much to say just that i’m glad your back and I’m looking forward to the finale! I’ve been reading this for so long now and I can’t believe we’ve reached the end 🥲

Well, I am honoured you still remember my name! <3 I swear, I had no idea it would take me this long to finish the final pieces and life keeps insisting on not letting me get a breath to get it done properly so it is publishable! Augh! Damn me and my perfectionism! Forgive me T_T

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You are a hero to me

(I blame this entirely on @phrenic-a and their glorious writer-baiting. It was meant to be one genre, but of course Zev can't make anything easy for me....)

-

“Ex… Uhm, excuse me? Miss?” A tiny voice says, dragging Zev’sonya out of the conversation she’s currently having with Mose about whether they should bother securing more supplies or not before heading back to the ship and away from this awfully crowded marked. She looks to her left and down, towards the source of the sound, and is both baffled and displeased to find a green, little twi’lek girl standing there and staring at her with big eyes.

“What?” Zev’sonya snaps. Why isn’t anyone looking after this girl? She can’t be more than six or seven years old? She shouldn’t be hassling dangerous strangers who could snatch her up and sell her to slavers. Her guardians deserve a punch in the mouth.

“Are you…” The girl’s gaze slides over and takes in the sight of Mose towering behind Zev’sonya.

Her eyes grow even larger and Zev’sonya reluctantly braces for the inevitable shriek of horror while silently swearing she is indeed going to punch whomever is responsible for letting this little girl wander off.

“Y-you are!” The girl declares and shifts her attention back to Zev’sonya, but with absolute delight all over her face instead of fear. “You’re Zev’sonya Lee Lewna!”

Zev’sonya blinks. She can feel Mose’s confusion as strong as her own. Putting on her gruffest face, she scans the little girl and sees (and feels) nothing out of the ordinary. She’s dressed nicely, but not like a rich kid, is skinny but not malnourished, and has a large, yellow cuddle-toy hanging from her right hand instead her holding any weapon. “How do you know my name, kid?”

The girl leans to the side and outright grins. “And you’re Mose!”

Zev’sonya looks back at him, but he just meets her gaze with his equivalent of raising an eyebrow and underlines it with a faint shrug. No help to be had there. Great. Zev’sonya turns back to the girl and puts on her stern face again. “Listen, kid, I don’t know what you want from me, but you shouldn’t be wandering around on your own.”

“I’m not.” The girl says, then points with her free hand. “They’re right over there.”

‘They’ must be her family and ‘they’ are a twi’lek man and two other little twi’lek girls. The man, clearly someone in Zev’sonya’s trade of shady business, is busy negotiating with a seller and has no idea what is happening beyond that, but the two girls next to him are clutching their own cuddle toys and are staring wide-eyed at their sister talking to strangers. The girl on the left is hugging a raggedy looking human doll while the girl on the right is squeezing a falleen doll tight.

“I told them we might meet you one day! This is so awesome!” The little run-away declares with raw glee.

Zev’sonya shakes her head and scoffs. Not only does this little shrimp know her and Mose’s names, which is weird enough by itself, but she actually wanted to meet them? Is she crazy? “Why?”

“Because…” Now the girl finally lowers her gaze for a moment, suddenly a little shy, but it doesn’t last for long. She flicks her dark eyes up again and now they are beaming with awe. “I wanna grow up and be just like you one day!”

Zev’sonya feels like the kid just slapped her face. Yeah, must be crazy. She considers backing up in case it is contagious. Maybe it is brain-rot? Must be something serious, definitely. “What?”

“The Pyle heist! The Julita caper! The Aand sting! The Silver holdup!” The girl blurts out, increasingly excited. “They were all you.” A sharp gulp of breath is all she has time for before rambling on. “My dad goes away for work a lot of the time, but he always comes back with stories about you. When I was little, I didn’t think a twi’lek girl could be captain of a crew, but he said I was wrong and that’s when he told me about Zev’sonya Lee Lewna. The Pirate Queen! And Mose, her best friend and second in command!”

That’s when Zev’sonya notices that the stuffed doll the girl is holding on to is not something she’s seen for sale at any marked she’s been to. It is a home-made creation; a yellow hutt with brown stripes and big eyes. It is quite raggedy from being brought along to wherever this kid goes. For some reason, the sight of the clear replica of Mose makes Zev’sonya’s heart clench.

“All my sisters do is talk about meeting a prince and getting married and living in his castle, but they also claim that there are no nice hutts, so you know they’re stupidheads. I don’t wanna marry a prince, I wanna be a pirate, like you.” The girl declares with gusto. She swings her doll forward and holds it up for her to see. “I only have Hose right now. But one day I’ll run into a hutt who is nice, like Mose, and they will be on my crew and we’ll go on adventures all over the Galaxy..”

Zev’sonya has no idea what to say to that. Her brain is spinning at how unreal the situation is.

Lowering the toy, the girl tilts her head and studies the blaster hanging by Zev’sonya’s hip before she scans the blades strapped to her thighs. “My dad won’t let me shoot one yet, but I’m really good with my slingshot.”

“That’s… nice.” Zev’sonya awkwardly mumbles. She hears a quiet rumble of amusement from behind her and Mose is clearly handling this better than she is. But that’s because he’s nice and she isn’t! She’s no role-model. She’s a result of a cruel Galaxy. This kid shouldn’t-

“Is it true you even have a human on your crew now?” The little fiend seems far more shocked by this than Zev’sonya travelling around with a hutt by her side.

“Ye-es….” Zev’sonya replies, not sure why she is giving her answers instead of directions back to her family or spraying her with water to make her go away. How does she know about Leo too?!

“Hey, would you mind…” The girl starts, digging into her own pocket for something that she pulls up with a triumphant look on her face. “Signing this?”

The shocks keeps on coming today because Zev’sonya finds herself looking at the unrolling of a wanted poster of her and Mose. It’s an old one. Three or four years ago? That is really not a flattering picture of her. Yikes. Does she really look like that? She's never leaving the ship again.

Mose chortles from behind her.

Ok, this must be some kind of weird dream. Has to be. This can’t be real. No way.

When all Zev’sonya does is stare, the girl gives the poster a brief, suggestive shake.

“Sure.” Mose says, reaching by Zev’sonya and taking the poster to sign it.

Zev’sonya half-turns to stare at him with no small amount of disbelief that only grows when she sees the smile he’s trying in vain to fight off. He’s far too amused by this. Once he’s scribbled down his letters on the holo-surface, he hands it to her with an expectant look on his face.

Scowling, Zev’sonya hesitates for only half a second before signing it and turning to hand it back to the girl. “Here.”

“Thank you!” She says, beaming even more brightly despite how it shouldn’t be possible.

“Sure.” Zev’sonya clears her throat. “Now, go back to your father and don’t wander off again. Okay?”

“Okay.” The girl declares with zero hesitation and endless cheerfulness. “But when I get a little older, can I come work for you? Mom says I should focus on my dancing or singing, but that’s boring, so can I? Pretty please? Can I?”

Trying hard to ignore the long, rumbling chuckle she hears from Mose, Zev’sonya crosses her arms. “Give it ten to fifteen years, if you still feel the same, sure.” She doubts she’ll see this kid again, but there is still something about her that prods Zev’sonya to say the next words. “Just remember, being a twi’lek doesn’t mean you have to sing and dance. You do what you want to do with your life. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even your mother. You can be whatever you put your mind to.”

Despite how it shouldn’t be possible, the girl’s face grow even brighter with happiness. “I’m going to be just like you!”

Wait, no t-that is not what she meant, absolutely not, but the girl takes off running towards her father and sisters before Zev’sonya can correct her. Then, after the cretin is reunited with her sisters, pointing towards her and Mose and clearly bragging, Zev’sonya spins around to leave in a hurry as their father finally catches on to something happening behind him and turns to investigate. Time to get back to the ship.

Mose is still chuckling when she stalks by him.

“Shut up.” Zev’sonya growls. Her face burns.

Mose outrights laughs.

“I will stab you in the eye!” She threatens, in vain as it has no effect whatsoever.

Back at the ship, Nohr is waiting by the open ramp. The nikto is standing guard and seems very ready for them to leave. He’s the impatient one on the crew. “We good to go?”

“We’re leaving.” Zev’sonya declares as she marches into the ship with Mose right behind her. “Now.”

The ramp starts closing behind them and Zev’sonya knows she should head up to the cockpit and have Bea’tah initiate take-off right away, but on the way she has to walk by the door to her quarters and she can’t help the way her gaze lingers on it.

“Lorda.” Mose says, now all quiet and gentle, stopping by the door. “I’ll head up. You go in.”

Zev’sonya pauses and glares at him.

Mose nods. His eyes are too mild. “You are the captain, Lorda. I know. You decide.” He’s indulging her bad temper and they both know it. “But I can handle the ship and you should check up on him.”

Hesitating, Zev’sonya is torn between her usual dislike of being told what to do and the fact that she actually wants to go inside that room. What happened earlier had left her with a knot in her belly, and now that twi’lek kid has made her head a mess too…

“Go.” Mose encourages. “I got this.”

She does not doubt that for a second. She trusts him without a shadow of a doubt and because of that, she can allow herself to be weak this one time. Zev’sonya exhales and gives in. “Fine.”

Mose nods again, relieved. “Good.” He shuffles by her. “It’s a seventeen hour journey to our next stop, remember? You might as well get some rest while you’re in there.”

“Mind my ship, not my business.” Zev’sonya snipes, uncomfortable. Mose is always looking out for her despite how she’s supposed to keep him safe. A captain watches over her crew, not the other way around. Mose never seems to get that into his head.

“Yes, Lorda.” He replies with ease, clearly not intending to heed her words at all. And people call her the stubborn one?

Stepping inside the room, Zev’sonya leans back against the door and pauses for a bit to take in the sight that greets her.

Lying on his back, arms by his sides, Leo is still fast asleep on the bed. As expected. As he should be. This morning’s attack had come out of nowhere and for several seconds that had felt like years, Zev’sonya had been convinced that the medicine had suddenly stopped working and that he would die in front of her. She had not felt so afraid and helpless since Mose was poisoned.

Taking a deep breath, Zev’sonya pushes herself away from the door and walks over to sit down next to Leo. He looks pale, but peaceful. No fear. Nothing like during the incident. He’s breathing deep and slow. She takes his hand in hers and forces herself to smile. “You’re going to be so angry when you hear you missed out on meeting someone as crazy as you.” His hand is warm and the contact feels reassuring so she places her other hand over his. “This twi’lek kid, she came right up to me and Mose and started talking to us. No sense of self-preservation.” Zev’sonya breathes a faint laugh of reluctant admiration. “No brain.” She shakes her head, weirdly… flattered? “You would have liked her. She said…”

- I wanna grow up and be just like you one day!

While Zev’sonya knows she’s anything but a role model, the idea that a twi’lek girl might break free from the booth others want to put her in, or even give a deserving hutt a chance because she heard stories about Zev’sonya and Mose, it is dangerously uplifting. And though the girl has horrible taste in heroes and the odds stacked high against her even before she starts her journey, Zev’sonya hopes she makes it. She really hopes she makes it.

Hmm, Leo is going to be a dreadful nightmare when he hears about this. (He won’t hear it from her but Mose is definitely going to tell him. Those two love to conspire against her.) His old nickname is going to be used a lot. “She said something crazy.” Zev’sonya says, easing down to lie next to the sleeping Leo. Everything in her wants to curl up close, wrap herself around him, place her head on his chest and listen to him breathe, but she only allows herself to hold on to his hand. It’s not much, but it’s more than what she’s allowed herself in the past. “You’re going to love it.”

The ship gently shudders as they take off and head towards the stars. Technically it is barely mid-day where they are right now, but the standard time teller tells Zev’sonya the ship will swap to night-mode soon and she realizes Mose must have known as he told her to get some rest. The different time zones between parsecs, even between some planets, can leave a traveller severely sleep deprived if one is not careful and that could get you killed in Zev’sonya’s line of work.

Fine. Sleep it is. For purely practical reasons.

Zev’sonya absently runs her index finger back and forth over Leo’s warm hand as she quietly starts listing up names of people she’s never met, except for one. Even if she’d been ignorant of Hauroko’s fate, Zev’sonya would have known it is souls Leo has lost from the grief she feels radiating from him every evening when he speaks their names. She suspects it is his way of keeping them alive in memory at least and as he won’t be able to tonight, Zev’sonya will keep them alive for him.

Zev’sonya Lee Lewna is not a hero. She’s not even a good person. But she is curled up next to one.

-

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper #zev'sonya #leo aka leave-it #the one-shots start coming and they don't stop coming #someone please take the internet away from me #leave-it aka leo #dat song tho #Youtube

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I hope you are having a great day.

After such a wonderful message, how could I not? Thank you so much! :D

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Keep up, Raga

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper

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Leave Him Alone

“I'm sorry.” Zev sighs, plopping some snacks into her mouth from the container she had secured from the first food stall they had encountered.

This was meant to be a quick trip into the village to pick up some supplies and then just head back to the cabin where Mose is waiting with Junior (Neither of them do well in the cold.) and Grogu, but things just got more complicated.

“It's fine.” Din sighs as well. He had known bringing Leave-it along, not just her and Corin, would mean there would be a lot of talking, he just hadn't anticipated the blond making it his personal mission to speak to just about every soul in the village.

“He's just...” Zev gestures vaguely towards where Leave-it and Corin are in deep conversation with some stranger. “Weird. Always have to talk to strangers. He got invited to some baby's naming ceremony last week after speaking to the parents for about ten minutes. I honestly can't take him anywhere.” She rummages around in the container for more treats. Din battles against a smile. They are such complete opposites, her and Leave-it, but somehow it works. Judging by how much she's been eating these last two days, things appear to have worked really well between them. She hasn't said anything about anything, but Din is still willing to bet credits on there being some good news real soon. “Seriously, it's fine.”

Which it is. A bit time consuming, but fine. The trouble emerges when Leave-it and Corin come trotting back over, all excited, to tell them they had just been invited to join in on some big sporting event that takes place on a frozen lake.

Zev'sonya scowls and chews. Din is about to veto the entire thing until he sees the excitement in Corin's eyes and the gorgeous smile that reveals just how much he wants to go to this thing. Great. How is he supposed to say no to that?

He can't.

Which is why Din Djarin finds himself standing next to a frozen lake with a very annoyed twi'lek by his side, while the love of his life and his obnoxiously cheerful friend are attaching skates to their feet to join the people already warming up on the ice.

“Push-over.” Zev'sonya mutters.

“I didn't hear you tell your boyfriend no.” Din mutters back, skilfully ignoring Zev’sonya’s scowl.

Down on the frozen lake, Leave-it shows he's not a lost cause on skates, unlike Din. He's clearly not completely comfortable at first, a little awkward as he moves but improving by the second, and soon he's skating around with a confidence and skill Din has yet to achieve even after an embarrassing amount of tutoring.

Corin, on the other hand, is moving with such talent and grace that Din can't help but to wonder if he'd come rushing out of his poor mother on skates. He’s outshining everyone on the ice and he’s not even trying to impress anyone. If anything, Corin looks relaxed and is just having fun hanging around with Leave-it.

The game is silly and pointless. Six souls on each team, each person with a sturdy stick in their hands, trying to smack a small, black rock across a line about a meter long on either side of the lake.

If not for the bright grin on Corin's face as he skates next to Leave-it, Din would have found this a complete waste of time. That smile makes it worth it, though. That smile is perfection.

Once the game starts and the battle for the rock commences, it doesn't take long before the opposing team realizes what Din had already concluded; Corin is the biggest threat to their victory.

While there follows plenty of bickering over the rock, shoulders knocking against shoulders and the volume of voices rising along with their tempers, Din isn't too worried at first. In the fighting pit at the Covert, tempers always flared during their games as well. Then everything changes.

Corin is racing up the ice, tapping the rock along with his stick, when one man comes rushing in from the left. This one ignores going after the rock entirely and instead, with the determination of a hammerhead corvette, he body-slams into Corin with all of his might.

Din’s entire body jolts as Corin goes flying through the air, slams back down onto the ice and slides a good distance before coming to a halt. Pushing himself up on his arms, Corin shakes his head, as if to shake off the shock and dizziness, while Leave-it rushes to his side to check on him along with a couple of others from their team.

Din takes a step forward, about to call Corin off the ice, but it's too late as the crazy man is already up on his skates again and is sliding over to rejoin the game. He appears unharmed by the attack, though Din doesn't trust that for one second and scans Corin as he moves for any signs of discomfort. He knows only too well that Corin will ignore broken bones rather than inconvenience anyone, thinking a silly game being far more important than his own well-being. If Corin's shoulder droops, like when he broke his collarbone, or if he tries to keep his weight off a leg to ease hidden pain, or anything like that, Din will march over and physically drag Corin off the ice.

It’s not long before there is a new attempt at knocking Corin over. The same guy rushes twoards Corin with every intention of body slamming him into next week and it happens so fast that Din can't do anything to stop it.

Luckily, Corin must have anticipated this and he’s ready for it. When the guy charges at him, Corin turns, twists his body out of the way, and watches as his attacker flies by and nearly ends up face-first into the massive snowbank that circles the lake. Unfortunately, Din doesn't get to feel relief because he sees a second guy rushing at Corin's back with the intent of knocking him over while he’s distracted, but Corin once again merely turns and lets the idiot fly by him, even gives him a little wave. Now Din smirks and actually relaxes. A little. Corin's got this.

Despite several more attempts, no one comes close to even touching Corin. He side-steps, twists and slides out of their path with hardly any effort and mouth-watering elegance. If anything, he seems amused.

Din does the mistake of relaxing. Which is of course when bad luck strikes.

Once the players realize they can’t break any of Corin’s bones, they unleash their anger on the easier target: Leave-it, the other outsider. He’s nowhere near as fast or smooth on the skates and so he has no chance to dodge the guy now rushing at him.

Din flinches at the impact. It’s not as harsh as when that first guy hit Corin, but it is plenty hard enough to knock Leave-it over and for him to hit the ice with a yelp. Din looks over at Zev’sonya, who watches with a frown until Leave-it is back up on his skates and grinning at the fussing Corin before turning her attention back to her snacks. It appears that she’s a lot less worried than Din.

Minutes later, they knock the blond over again. Corin quickly skates over and helps Leave-it back up. Minutes after that, the opposing team knock him over a third time.

Kneeling next to Leave-it, who is gesturing that he’s fine, Corin slowly turns his gaze towards where the opposing team are huddling together with smugness radiating off them.

Corin is too far away for Din to see his eyes clearly, but he does see how Corin lowers his chin and how his shoulders tense up as his muscles tighten and bulge.

“Uh oh.” Din mumbles.

“What?” Zev’sonya asks.

“They just made Corin angry.”

Zev’sonya squints with the effort of trying to see what Corin’s face looks like. “I didn’t think he could get angry over a game.”

“Trust me.” Din says. “They could go after him and knock him down all day and he wouldn’t be bothered, but once they go after someone he cares about… I almost feel sorry for them.”

“I don’t.” Zev’sonya says, indeed without an ounce of sympathy in her voice. “I hope Corin breaks their legs.” She slowly cracks something between her teeth that sounds scarily like bones breaking.

Ah. A slight smile tugs at Din’s lips. Not less worried than Din after all, just better at hiding it.

The game starts up again, but this time Corin is the one ignoring the black rock and makes no attempts at scoring points. Instead he skates nearby Leave-it in what others might think is a purely whimsical way until one guy does the mistake of rushing at the blond with every intent of knocking him down.

Corin turns, faster than anyone should be able to on skates, speeds up, hunches forward and slams his shoulder into the guy so hard that both Din and Zev’sonya flinch. The impact is so violent it stops the man as if he’d run straight into a wall, his feet fly high while his upper body go down like a lead weight. The landing is so brutal his ancestors probably feel it too.

Zev’sonya lets out a low cackle of mean satisfaction when the guy has to be helped back up on his feet. Din, on the other hand, keeps his gaze on Corin, who nonchalantly skates around like nothing happened without straying too far from Leave-it or taking his eyes off the opposite team. Oh, he is seriously pissed off. Those guys have no idea what they’ve unleashed. Dank farrik, Corin is hot when he’s angry like this. Watching him destroy that guy without mercy, he’s gorgeous. Most people who have met Corin once upon a time would describe him as amiable to the point of being an easy push-over, but he’s showing a very different side to himself at the moment. One that Din loves. Right now, Corin looks ready to knock your teeth out if you challenge him.

The next man trying to knock Leave-it down fails to see Corin’s approach, but he certainly feels it when Corin grabs a hold of his shoulders and spins around to fling him face first into the snowbank on the left. Idiot number three who charges at Leave-it eats the ice hard when Corin comes up behind him and swings the stick with all of his might at his ankles. It takes a little while before someone tries to knock Leave-it down again after that, but once he scores two points for his team the tempers flare and one moron can’t help himself and rushes towards the blond.

“Mistake.” Zev’sonya observes,

“Big mistake.” Din agrees, while hoping she doesn’t pick up on the rasp in his voice due to how his throat is snaring up with the urge to admire out loud how hot Corin is right now.

“Down, boy.” Zev’sonya mumbles with a slight grin.

She heard. Dammit. Din clears his throat a little awkwardly, but still savours the ruthless way Corin slams into a guy with all of his considerable strength and no fear. Magnificent. Mandokarla. So karking Mandokarla. This is what he knows is hiding behind Corin’s peaceful front and Din love it when idiots are corrected for mistaking his kar’ta’s kindness for weakness. Just because Corin prefers not to beat the shit out of people, it doesn’t mean he’s not able to if he feels like it.

It almost makes Din a little sad when there are no more attempts to challenge Corin’s defence of his friend. Leave-it gets to skate around freely, oblivious to the ominous presence of his self proclaimed bodyguard hovering nearby, ready to interfere with anyone going after him.

Not trusting things to not go wrong, Din lets out a sigh of relief when the game is finally over. Corin and Leave-it’s team win 16-2. After a quick celebration with their team-mates, the two make their way over to Din and Zev’sonya, who choose to wait at a safe distance from clingy strangers.

“We won!” Leave-it declares with a laugh, one arm around Corin and the other punching the air.

“Congratulations.” Din says, eyes dwelling on Corin and loving how happy he looks.

“We saw.” Zev’sonya drawls.

“Don’t you wanna kiss the most important player on the ice?” Leave-it counters, leaning towards Zev’sonya with a suggestive grin and waggling eyebrows. “I mean, I must have scored ten or eleven of those points.”

“Yeah.” Zev’sonya says, raising an eyebrow to underline her sardonic look. “Because Corin beat up anyone who got in your way.”

“What?” Leave-it huffs. “No!” He looks over at Din. “Tell her that’s not true.”

Corin sends Din a tense look that begs for him to lie so Leave-it can go on smiling like he is.

Din purses his lips for a brief moment, considering his options, before replying. “I think you scored twelve of them, actually. That’s what I counted, anyway.”

“See?!” Leave-it exclaims with delight, only to have Zev’sonya roll her eyes and walk away which of course makes him hurry after her. “Zev, baby, twelve points. That’s awesome. I’m awesome! We should celebrate. Lucky you to be married to a genius. I’m kinda jealous. Zev. Hey, Zev. Wait up!”

Din smirks. Not a lie, no revealing of Corin’s actions, the perfect distraction for the guy famous for his lack of attention span. Raga would have been proud.

Corin inches over to stand next to Din as they watch the two walk away, speaking in a quiet voice: “Thank you.”

Din grunts, then turns to face him.

Offering a nervous smile, Corin shrugs. “I got a little carried away, I know. I’m sorry. I just… There was no reason to go after him like that. They were just doing it because they couldn’t get me; hurting him because they couldn’t hurt me, and I… got angry.”

“Furious.” Din corrects him a little absently.

Corin nods and lowers his gaze, appearing outwardly submissive, yet there is an unmistakable undertone of quiet, hard defiance in his voice as he speaks. “It was just game, I know, okay? I acted like an idiot, I realize that, but they were hurting him and I-”

“You.” Din reaches up and cups his gorgeous face between his hands to make him look up again. Din loses himself in those mesmerizing eyes as if the barrier of the HUD does not exist. “Were magnificent out there. Strong. Gorgeous. I could have watched you for days.”

Corin’s eyes flash with surprise and his lips part a little in a way that makes heat lick up Din’s spine. Yeah, his kar’ta still has no clue in regards to the effect he has on him and Din is starting to think he might never get it. Though, that might not be a bad thing, considering how enticing Corin looks all flustered when Din has to spell it out for him. “Din…”

Breathing a soft laugh, Din decides not to tease him today. He draws a final and lingering caress along Corin’s jawline before letting go and ordering the heat to leave his blood. “You protected your brother. As a Mandalorian should. You did good, okay?”

Corin smiles as the anxiousness leaves his body, but his gaze never leaves Din. Actually, there is something in his mesmerizing eyes that keeps a stubborn ember of fire alive in Din’s veins. “Does that mean I get a reward?”

Din struggles to swallow. Behave. He might mean something platonic. “Sure. What do you want?”

Corin’s smile widens a tiny fraction. There is nothing platonic about what’s on his mind, for sure. “I’ll tell you later.” He abruptly turns to follow the others. “Let’s get back to the ship before Zev’sonya decides to leave us behind and makes us walk back to the cabin.”

Din takes a deep, deep breath, before he follows with a faint laugh. Ice skating with sticks is officially his new favourite sport. It is definitely not a waste of time after all.

Maybe there is some way to get Corin a semi-regular spot on the local team?

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper #corin the storm trooper #din djarin #zev'sonya #leave-it aka leo

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She

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper #zev'sonya #someone please take the internet away from me #i made a thing

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It started out the mandalorian, his son and the storm trooper. Now it's the mandalorian, his son, his ex-storm-trooper-co-parent-boyfriend-fiance-look-it's-complicated, their mandalorian family, more family they adopted along the way, assorted ducklings + a inconvenient force ghost, and I find that beautiful.

Hahaha, that is the PERFECT description for the series! xD I should just trade my tired old text with your words, because, yeah, that sums up the Mandorin journey to perfection! xD I'm so glad you're enjoying and thank you so much for sharing! I really appreciate it!!

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LADY. I DID IT. 🥳🥳🥳 I FINALLY POSTED A NEW CHAPTER OF HUNGER GAMES MANDORIN AU. 🥳🥳🥳

Thank you so so so much for encouraging me even after all these years. I know I've said it before, but damn it, I'll say it again: Your support means the world to me, seriously. I would have given up if it wasn't for you and Ace...(and all 2.5 people out there who are still reading my fic) 😭❤️

As always. I eagerly await your final chapters. Much love to you, my friend! 🤗🥰

As I told you, watching the new Hunger Games movie, I was thinking about your fic all the time. I kept imaging how you would turn a Mandorin twist on things and it made the movie even better xD Ah, you do make things better with your awesome ideas! And it has been my honour to have you want to use your skills on my characters! I honestly CANNOT WAIT to read the entire thing!

*insert Kermit flailing gif*

Thank YOU for being you, for granting us your fic and for your patience! <3 <3 <3

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The tell-tale heart

It’s the first night together after Corin had reclaimed Din and the little bean from Tiem’s clutches. Despite doing little but resting all day, Corin still feels beat up and sore, which means he’s deep asleep in Din’s arms when it happens.

Din shoots up into a sitting position and half-flails as if trying to reach something he can’t see. Equally as sudden, the light is switched on and it floods the bedroom with horrible brightness, blinding Corin and leaving him horribly unprepared for Din diving down to grab a hold of his face and touching it with almost a bit of desperation.

“Are you okay?” Din blurts out.

Horribly confused, having no idea what is happening, Corin stares at his reflection in the t-visor and nods as much as the hands will let him.

“You’re okay?” Din demands to know, even though Corin just confirmed he was and Din can easily see for himself. He touches Corin’s face some more. “You’re really okay?” His hands are shaking.

“I’m… fine.” Corin offers with some hesitation and a lot of concern. “Are you?” What is going on?!

Din is out of breath, sounds more breathless than after hunting down a tricky bounty, and it isn’t just his hands that are shaking, it is his entire body. And he can’t stop touching Corin’s face. “You’re okay. You’re not... You’re... You’re okay.”

And that is when Corin’s brain finally activates and puts the pieces together. “Did you… dream?” About him dying. He can only imagine what Din had gone through yesterday being blind and helpless while Raga and Paz had tried to jump-start Corin’s stupid heart, not once but twice. If the roles had been reversed, Corin would be having nightmares too.

Din doesn’t answer the question, just keeps studying his face a bit longer before switching focus and gently places his fingers to Corin’s chest, where the bones had been broken due to the efforts to save his life.

Seeing how distraught Din is, Corin has to do something. Say something? But what? Words are weak against the horrors of the night, he knows by personal experience, but there has to be something he can do? Especially as it is Corin’s fault that Din is traumatized like this. How can he convince him his heart is fine now? Din won’t believe him if he simply says he’s fine. How can- Wait. Maybe if he…

“Din.” Corin moves up to ease the reluctant Din into lying down again. “I’m okay. I promise.” He settles on his back and manoeuvres Din to rest his head on his chest. “I’m okay. Adjust your settings and listen to what’s under your head; my heart is working just fine. Listen to my heart beating. Can you hear it?”

Din sluggishly presses something on the side of his helmet not resting against Corin’s skin and adjusts his position a little so his head is on top of where Corin’s heart is going nice and strong.

“Can you hear that? I’m right here with you, Din.” Corin whispers. “Just listen to my heart. I’m fi-” No, he can’t use that phrase. That would probably just set Din off again. “I’m okay, Din. Everything is okay.”

Din shudders, curls a little closer and hugs him a little tighter. He doesn’t say anything, but Corin’s stupid suggestion does seem to help as he slowly relaxes and keeps listening to the sound of the steady heartbeat until it carries him back to sleep, and luckily the bad dreams stay away after that.

Until the next night. Though, this time Corin knows what to do and Din listens to the sound of his heartbeat again until the dread leaves his body once more and he can drift back to sleep.

Eventually the nightmares start to fade as the incident grow more distant, more time goes by between the bad dreams until they go away entirely, but after a stressful day Din will still occasionally rest his head on Corin’s chest and listen to his heartbeat for his own enigmatic reasons.

Corin doesn’t mind. At all.

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper #corin valentis #din djarin #the one shots start coming and they don't stop coming

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Macero meets his future son-in-law

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper #corin the storm trooper #din djarin #someone please take the internet away from me #i made a thing

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Re-reading the entirety of your Mandorin series in preparation. I’m not ready, my liege.

- Ort

Aaah, my dearest Ort <3 You are, as always, too kind! I am not worthy of your kindness and your patience T-T If only I had your skills!

I'm tinkering with the epilogue, which is at about 70%, so I promise there will be an update! I swear! And hopefully it will bring some feels... <3

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Hi, Lady Irina! Maybe you already answered this, but I was wondering if you ever thought of adapting you work to publish? Like it was done with 'a landscape with a blur of conquerors' (now Hurricane Wars). Anyway, love your work!

Hello there! I'm so sorry for my super-late reply. Life grabbed a hold of me and has kept me hostage for ages... T-T

First of all, I am sooo incredibly honoured that you'd even think about me in even the general vicinity of Hurricane Wars. I've never thought of adapting my story simply because I honestly didn't think it would be good enough. I am my own worst critic and I'm still struggling to believe that anyone would want to read my clumsy efforts at writing a story for free....

Thank you with all my heart for your message. Just knowing that someone thinks my story could get published is enough to get me through the roughest of days. Thank you!

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Woooo!

I actually finished the last chapter of Time To Say Goodbye tonight! As impossible as that sounds xD Now, there is just the mess of an epilogue to fix, sow together and turn into something worth reading. For those still wanting to read the ending to Din and Corin's journey; hang in there! And to celebrate; a small snippet!

-

“I can teach you how to use that.” Raga suddenly says and Corin's attention flutters over to her and finds she's talking to Barthor, who is still clutching his new jetpack. Behind them, Paz is busy examining his own gift, lost in whatever he's discovering there.

“There are no words in any known or forgotten language that can truly express how strongly that is not going to happen.” Barthor replies, sounding like having Raga teach him how to use the jetpack is his worst nightmare.

“I can help you.” Din offers, far too innocently to be anything but scary.

“Also a hard no.” Barthor grumbles. “I've seen you with a jetpack. I've broken enough bones in my life time, thanks.”

Din huffs with offense while Raga laughs and Corin observes them with a weird sense of envy. It must have been wonderful to grow up in the Covert with other children instead of being alone and having to constantly move between all sorts of army bases and space stations.

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper

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It's just a nightmare

It's a stupid thing that triggers it. A stupid, STUPID thing. And of course it is Corin's fault.

He's making dinner and gets distracted by Grogu. He completely forgets about the food until the stench of burning meat reaches his nose and reminds him with a jolt. Running back into the kitchen, Corin grabs the frying pan and mindlessly yanks it away from the heat. The intense smell of the charred remains hits him hard, makes forgotten memories stir, and causes him to abruptly drop the pan into the sink. The loud sound of metal slamming into metal combined with Din unexpectedly barging into the kitchen rather noisily to find the source of the fire makes Corin's entire body freeze. His brain lights up with blind panic for several seconds.

“Corin?” Din calls out for him, almost a little cautiously, as he takes a step closer. “Corin, are you okay?”

His heart is racing as if he's in some kind of horrible danger, which makes no kind of sense. Corin gulps for air. “I'm fine.” He mumbles, trying to pull himself together. He's acting like an idiot. “I, uh, I...” Corin clears his throat. “I burned dinner. Sorry.”

“I wasn't hungry anyway.” Din half-heartedly jokes, inching closer like he's approaching a skittish animal. “You didn't get burned, though, right?”

Corin swallows, slowly regaining control of his body again in time for him to lift his hand and look down to see the red skin where he'd held the pan. A bit of bad luck. “Nothing a little bacta can't fix.”

Din takes a hold of his hand, studies the damage done, and sighs.

A worried coo reveals the presence of the little bean. He's standing in the doorway, looking over at them with concern all over his adorable face.

“I'll fix him up, Grogu.” Din replies. “I'll look after him, I promise.”

Corin swallows down a wave of nausea. That smell... “I'm...” That smell and some loud sounds shouldn't be enough to reduce him like this. He should be stronger than this. “I'm fine.” “Yeah. I know.” Din doesn't sound convinced. He just sounds sad.

That should have been the end of it. The bacta heals Corin's hand and Din manages to make dinner that isn't set ablaze and tastes really good. Corin cuddles and rocks the little bean into a peaceful sleep. It's a stupid moment caused by his own stupid negligence, harmless and forgotten by the time Corin crawls into bed, settles on his side and Din wraps his arms around him from behind. They fall asleep curled up together. It makes absolutely no sense why, instead of sweet dreams, a horrible nightmare rages through Corin's brain, filling him with screams and blood and shadows, until he jolts awake with a gasp and his heart now racing so fast it physically hurts.

“Corin?” Din whispers from behind him.

“I'm fine.” Corin forces the words out between numb lips. He's still curled up on his side with Din behind him, which is good because that means Din can't see his face. Corin already ruined dinner today, he's not going to ruin Din's sleep as well. It was just a nightmare, after all. Not memories. Just a nightmare. There was nothing familiar about it. Just random horror. A nightmare. Bad luck. “Did I wake you? Sorry. Go back to sleep.”

“You're safe.” Din tells him instead of asking him anything. There is a light touch to Corin's shoulder. “You're here, with me, with us. You're safe, Corin.”

Corin nods, a jerky and too eager movement. “I know. I'm fine. I'm sorry.” Or, he will be fine. His heart just needs to stop racing like crazy and the dread needs to uncoil from his belly. It will pass because it always does. He's had countless nightmares before after all. It's just a nightmare.

Din strokes Corin's arm in a soothing gesture. “You're safe.” He repeats rather than contradicting Corin's words. He doesn't sound angry or annoyed, proving yet again he's among the kindest souls in the Galaxy. “Everything is okay, I promise you. You're safe now.”

Eventually Corin's breathing returns to normal and his heart calms too under Din's gentle touch and words. He tries to keep as quiet and as still as possible so not to disturb Din any more that night. Din needs his rest. But despite knowing it was just a bad dream, Corin can't get himself to close his eyes and go back to sleep. He's haunted by some irrational dread that the nightmare might start up again. There are outlines of screams removed from his brain, voices he tells himself are random or made up, and then there is that damn smell... It's been over half a day since he burned the food and yet Corin swears the smell still lingers in his nose. He stares into the darkness of their bedroom.

A couple of minutes later, Din breaks the silence with a quiet question; “Do you want to back to sleep?”

Corin hesitates. He doesn't want to make Din worry, but he simply cannot lie to him. “No.” He whispers apologetically, knowing this means Din won't sleep either because he is that good of a man.

“Okay.” Din says, still without a trace of anger or irritation. He sits up and gets out of bed, reaching out a hand towards Corin. “Come on.”

Sitting up, Corin frowns confused. “What?”

“Come.” Din wiggles his fingers and when Corin takes it, he makes him leave the bed and follow him out of the room.

“Din?” Corin asks, increasingly confused as he trails after his Mandalorian.

“I'm making you some warm tea.” Din says, with ease, as if it no big deal to do this in the middle of the night because your partner is a weak creature who can't even get sleeping right.

However, not even guilt and self-loathing stand a chance against the feelings Din brings out in him when they sit on opposite sides in the widow sill of the warm living room and look out the window. Outside they can barely make out the snowflakes, quietly falling amidst the calm darkness, while steam rises from the cup between Corin's hands. No words are spoken. Din doesn't ask him about the nightmare or try to distract him with other topics, merely sits with him in silence with nothing but their ankles touching as the sill isn't really made to fit two grown men.

Corin's gaze shifts from the snow falling outside the window over to rest on Din and his heart glows with how much he loves this man. Din is so kind, patient and selfless that not even bad luck stands a chance against him. Deprived of his sleep, Din should be annoyed, he has every right to be, but he's not. He seems perfectly content to just sit there with him, in serene silence, watching the snow fall.

And that is how, long after the tea is gone, Corin finally relaxes, the phantom smell goes away, and his eyelids grow heavy. So very heavy.

“Back to bed?” Din asks, his voice a quiet, warm caress.

Corin manages a drowsy smile and nods. He can sleep now.

“Okay.” Din gets up and surprises him yet again by backing up to him and crouching down a little. “Hop on.”

Even if he wasn't half-asleep, Corin suspects he would have been every bit as confused. Is Din seriously offering him a piggyback ride? His lips tug at a smile. “Din...” It's Corin's brain that is messed up, there's nothing wrong with his legs.

“I would carry you back bridal style, but you're heavy and I'm too tired.” Din says with a slight grin in his words.

Corin huffs a laugh. “I can walk, Din.”

“I know you can.” Din replies, but doesn't straighten up. “Now, jump on.”

Corin hesitates, as usual, torn between not wanting to burden Din further, quite literally, and the childish urge to accept the offer. He remembers when Din had carried him on his back at the Covert and how surprised he had been at meeting Din's more playful side. He really loves that side of him.

It's silly, they're too old to be acting like this, yet... Corin fights against a smile as he does as Din asks. “Don't blame me if you ruin your back.”

“You're not 'that' heavy.” Din snorts, hoisting him a little and getting a good grip on Corin's thighs with his capable hands.

Corin grins and slides his arms around him, partially to hold on and partially to simply hug him. Corin 'is' heavy, he's far from Liita-sized, but Din is strong, in so many ways, which is probably why Din carries him, physically and more, without any problem. Corin rests his cheek to Din's shoulder and smiles.

Maybe one day Corin will be able to face the root of the nightmares, maybe one day he'll be able to tell Din about them, but right now he convinces himself it was nothing but made up horrors from his stupid brain and savors Din's warm, solid presence and knows he's safe.

There are no more bad dreams that night.

#the mandalorian his son and the storm trooper #din djarin #corin the storm trooper #the one-shots starts coming and won't stop coming #ptsd fic