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#mandalorian snowflake
dindjarindiaries · 4 months
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Dincember 2023 - December 1: Snow
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character: Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)
prompt: Snow
main masterlist • dincember masterlist
⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙
The poncho was a valiant shield against the unprecedented chill of the planet. Flakes of snow fell all around, nearly making the horizon a blur in its beautiful haze. It was pretty to look at, but damn, was it cold.
You held one half-gloved hand out in a vain effort to catch some of the snowflakes, and it wasn't the first time you'd done it. This time, however, it earned your companion's attention. "You're acting like you've never seen snow before." Din's voice was full of amusement rather than judgement.
You smiled and closed your fist, looking to see if anything was left in it. There were only a few droplets of water. "I haven't."
Din's helmet snapped towards you. He huffed and shook his head. "That's funny."
You raised your brow and turned to look at him. "I'm being serious."
Din tilted his helmet. His visor gave you a disbelieving once-over. "How?"
You let out a laugh out that. "What do you mean, 'how?'" You gestured back with your head and nudged his arm with your own. "Not everyone has an antique gunship that can take them wherever they want."
Din chuckled, his visor watching his boots leave tracks in the snow. "Sorry. I just..." He lifted the palm of his gloved hand to gesture to you, but then he stopped, as if lost. "I figured a great mechanic would have gotten around the galaxy more."
You smiled again at that and drew yourself closer to his side. "Mechanics become great by fixing ships," you gestured to your belt, "not flying them."
Din gave his helmet another quick tilt. "Fair point." His visor looked to the way ahead again while you focused on the flurries of snow. Still, even as you continued to try to catch the snow, you could somehow sense his gaze on you. "Do you like it?"
You gave him a quick glance. "The snow?" When Din nodded, you shrugged. "I think. It's really cold."
"It is." Din's visor gave you a once-over again, but that time, it was more concerned than before. "Are you warm enough?"
You nodded, beaming. "This poncho's thicker than it looks."
Din raised a gloved hand, politely asking for yours. You set yours into his, though he just held it between his thumb and fingertips as he turned it over. "We need to get you a pair of full gloves."
"I probably could've brought my working gloves instead, but..." you shrugged again, "I guess I didn't really think about it until now."
Din shook his helmet and set his hand on your upper back. "That's all right. I'm sure they'll have some at the marketplace."
The warmth his words and his actions brought your chest was more sufficient than any type of clothing or accessory could ever be. You looked at him and saw a snowflake stuck to his visor, causing you to lift your fingers to gently wipe it away. "Thank you."
Din brushed his thumb over your back. "Thank you." He lowered his hand and stopped in his tracks for a moment. You paused alongside him, raising your brow in confusion. Din bent down and collected some of the fallen snow in his gloved hands, pushing it together until he held something out to you. "Here."
You took it, amazed at how compact it was. "A snowball?"
Din stepped back and lifted his arms. "Go ahead."
"And do what?"
"Throw it."
You let out a terse laugh of disbelief. "At you?"
Din sighed and set his hands on his hips. "You're missing your opportunity, cyar'ika."
Just as he finished getting the words out, you made the throw, causing the snow to hit Din's cuirass and explode in every direction. You laughed as he looked down the best he could with his helmet and assessed the damage. You stepped up to help him brush away the remnants of the snow.
"Was it fun?" Din's tone was both hopeful and amused.
You smiled at him and nodded. "But next time," you held his helmet between your hands, "you won't be ready for it."
Din huffed, amused, and gave your wrists a squeeze before he lowered your hands. "Well, we have to get you some warmer gloves to make those snowballs, first."
You let him keep you close to his side and tried to hide your smile. "Sure."
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softpascalito · 4 months
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Presents - Pedro Pascal Characters Headcanons
Summary: Which presents do the Pedro boys give you for Christmas? I have some ideas.
Relationships: Joel Miller x Reader, Javier Peña x Reader, Dieter Bravo x Reader, Din Djarin x Reader Tags/Warnings: Non-explicit smut, Fluff, Headcanons
notes: some more headcanons for you darlings <3
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
Joel Miller
Joel is actually surprisingly good at giving presents. He'll pay extra attention to what you're saying or what you may need in the weeks before Christmas.
During patrol, he keeps an eye out for your favorite foods and products, storing them away into his backpack to add them to the ever-growing list of presents for you.
He prefers giving to getting, even though he's always more than thankful when it comes to his own presents. But nothing beats the look his loved ones get in their eyes when they unwrap a present from him and it's just the perfect one, showing just how well Joel knows them.
Come Christmas Eve, there's at least half a dozen small packages waiting under the Christmas Tree for you. Joel loves to spoil you.
He gets creative as well, making use of his woodworking skill to add a few more personal gifts to the pile, carving you small figurines of your favorite animals.
Javier Peña
Javi gets lost at least three times while he visits the mall to go Christmas shopping. He does not like the over-crowded stores at all but he knows he needs to find something that let's you know just how much you mean to him.
When asked about his own wishes for Christmas, he only asked for a pack of Malboros (needless to say, he gets a few packs AND a proper present).
He's about to pick out a frangrance that seems like you'd like it when he runs into Connie. She instantly sees that he looks like a fucking lost puppy in between all the products and options and takes pity.
She helps him pick out a few things you'll actually like and even reminds him to grab some wrapping paper. She also promises to not tell you about her helping out a little bit.
You're blown away by the gifts he picked for you, trying not to show how surprised you are he actually knew what to pick.
At the DEA's Christmas Party, you run into Connie. She just winks when you ask her if she'd been helping Javi. You both never tell him.
Dieter Bravo
Dieter thinks about whether or not to get you drugs (he doesn't).
He loves giving gifts that he knows will benefit him as much as they do you- something for your shared apartment or something for you to wear.
There's a cozy sweater and a hat from your favorite brand under the Christmas Tree, but there is also some more ... naughty clothing.
You like dressing up a little for Dieter, teasing him more than once throughout Christmas-time by suggesting to get one of those little red and white outfits that would perfectly highlight your figure.
He gets you a few, unable to decide on just one when he begins to imagine how good you'd look in them.
Dieter and you both name the white lace one as your favorite, detailed with little, glittering snowflakes all over the fabric.
Needless to say, the rest of the presents dont get unwrapped until the second day of Christmas.
Din Djarin
Din is absolutely lost when it comes to presents. The two of you are inseperable, which doesn't really make secretly buying something easier.
The opportunity presents itself when you decide to shop for some new clothes and he gets a little while to himself.
A Mandalorian wandering around the aroma and lotion shop turns heads but Din can't bring himself to care. He tries a few items, holding them below his helmet so that he can take a whiff.
He settles on a set of lotions and creams that smell refreshing, a note of pine in them. You always prefer the wooded planets to the desert ones so he hopes that it's a safe pick.
You love it more than he expects - and he does too. For the next few weeks, his entire ship seems to smell like the store did, fresh and gentle, and you seem surrounded by the scents he got you. It begins to smell like home.
He insists, as soon as you have used the bottles up, to go back and get you new ones, stocking up on the lotions and soaps and oils. If you ever leave, he tells himself, he'll at least remember the smell.
(You never leave).
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danaewrites · 1 month
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Helmet Over Heels
part i: the winter of our discontent
din djarin x reader // read it on AO3
word count: 3.8k
summary:  When your path literally collides with a beskar-covered Mandalorian one night, neither of you expect how that meeting will irreversibly change the trajectory of your lives. 
You’re pulled into his powerful orbit, agreeing to take care of his son in exchange for adventure and freedom– when he’s not off hunting bounties and inadvertently saving villages in need, that is. It’s the perfect plan. Or it would be, if only your quiet crush on the man would stop growing into something more with every hour you spend together. There’s no way he’d ever feel the same, right?
And Din? Well, he’s been trying (and failing) to convince himself that he’s not completely helmet over heels for you since day one. But a Mandalorian can only repress his emotions for so long…
(This fic takes place sometime after Season 2. Din’s back on his bounty-hunting business with a Razor Crest that was never destroyed and an adorable green sidekick who won’t stop chewing on its wires.)
tags: strangers to friends to lovers, slow-ish burn, nicknames, touch-starved din djarin and fem!reader, canon-compliant through season 2 and then Jesus takes the wheel :P
author's notes:
hello and welcome to my first ever mando fic!! i binged the entirety of the first two seasons in a week to get me through tedious internship work and accidentally fell in love with our favorite space dad and his cute green child along the way. oops (i regret nothing)
with the outline i currently have for this fic, it’ll be around 11-12 chapters, although that’s likely to grow as we get deeper into the story. the posting schedule might be anywhere from once a week to once a month, but this wip *will* be finished.
the second chapter's scheduled to upload next week as a little treat for y'all, so if you want to catch it then hit that follow button or ask to be added to my taglist! ;)
read it all here: part i, part ii, part iii coming soon!
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You watched the last of tonight’s drunken patrons stumble out of the cantina and into the bitter Nath night with a relieved sigh. Wiping your hands on the stained apron tied around your waist, you fished a set of bronze keys out of a tiny pocket and began your nightly walk around the perimeter of the bar, locking doors and pulling down rusty shutters as you went. The cantina was silent aside from your quiet shuffling– a welcome reprieve from its usual crowded bustle and chatter so hectic you could barely hear your own thoughts. 
You hummed softly as you adjusted booths back to their original positions and swept crumbs off of battered tabletops, wishing that the small holospeaker at the edge of the room hadn’t been broken in a recent bar fight. Swaying to its pre-Imperial oldies throughout your long, exhausting shifts had been one of the only perks of working in this run-down cantina, but without the soothing ambience of music, a chill threatened to sink into your bones and paralyze you with the deep depression this side of the planet seemed to have succumbed to.
You never planned to stay here for as long as you had. No one really did, except for criminals who knew that no one would willingly come here to search for them and locals who had never known anything else. Nath might have been charming, once– all soft snowflakes and peaceful walks under sepia-toned streetlights– but that was before the Empire had destroyed every semblance of comfort and culture and replaced them with brutalist brick structures that were already crumbling under the weight of their makers’ crimes. The fear lingered long after the Imps had finally left the post, reflected in the sad eyes of the fishmongers’ children and the way one would be hard-pressed to find a factory worker who didn’t spend his nights nursing a bottle and the ghosts of blaster scars across his back.
You had your own scars, of course, but you still held out hope that things would change and you’d make it out of here– although that hope was gradually diminishing as off-world shuttles visited less and less frequently and the permanent winter worsened. Five years ago, you’d been unceremoniously dropped off at the town’s dingy port, forced to land after your shuttle to Corellia was damaged by an unexpected detour through an asteroid field. You’d taken the cantina job thinking you’d only stay long enough to pay for passage on an outgoing ship, but soon learned that any shuttle risking the terrible weather to land here would also charge an exorbitant boarding price– one that would take you years to afford with the meager pay you received. And your tentative plan of stowing away on a spice freighter and sneaking off once it arrived at its destination (you weren’t picky about where, so long as it wasn’t Nath) was tempered by the increasingly likelihood that you’d get blown to pieces the minute you entered space by one of the pirate gangs that ruled the atmosphere these days. So– you were stuck here, at least for now.
The smell of something burning in the back of the cantina drew you out of your thoughts. Cursing, you raced to the kitchen, where your dinner was quickly blackening on the stove. Kriff. You shut off the burner, staring at the charred mess before you for a few seconds before dejectedly scraping it into an almost-overflowing trash bin. Well, there went your plan to eat quickly and head to your tiny flat before the storm outside worsened. Your rental pod had barely enough space for your bed and a miniscule bathroom, so you had to use the cantina kitchen if you wanted to stay fed– but the stove here was so old, it took half an hour longer than usual to cook anything. You resigned yourself to another night sleeping in a booth, since the flurry outside would prevent you from navigating your way home safely. 
You sliced up a few vegetables and set them to simmer in a pot with the last of the herbed broth and sandseed noodles from today’s lunch special, glancing at the bin next to you. It was probably a good idea to take out the foul-smelling waste before you were sealed in next to it all night. Wrinkling your nose at the unappealing scraps of food threatening to fall off the top of the pile, you hefted the bin up and maneuvered it through the back door of the cantina, being careful not to stain your apron any more than it already was. The harsh winds nipped at every sliver of exposed skin and dusted your hair with a pearlescent sheen of snow, making you wish you’d thought to slip on something warmer than your thin blouse and trousers before leaving the protection of the kitchen.
You navigated through the blizzard to the end of the dark alleyway behind the cantina, your path lit only by two buzzing lamps at each end of the narrow corridor. You scrunched your face up against the cold, willing yourself to keep walking despite your extremely limited night vision. Just a few more steps, and then you’d be free of your compostable burden for the night. You turned the corner, stepping to the left where you knew the trash compactor was, and immediately collided with a giant hunk of metal.
Said hunk of metal cursed loudly as it stumbled head-first over the garbage bin you’d dropped in shock after the impact, falling forward into the snow. “Dank ferrik!” 
Your eyes grew wide as the glow of the flickering streetlights illuminated the very-much-alive Mandalorian lying in front of you. It was just your luck that you’d managed to potentially injure the kind of warrior you’d only heard about in hushed rumors, or at least someone who was wearing the armor of one. Okay, injure was a strong word, but all that cold, hard beskar couldn’t be very comfortable to fall on despite the protection it offered. 
“Stars, I’m so sorry, let me–” 
You reached forward, stretching out a hand to help the Mandalorian up when a small green head suddenly popped up out of a tawny bag slung across their side. You yelped in surprise, losing your balance on the icy road and toppling forward. You winced, bracing yourself and preparing for the inevitable impact– except right as you were about to hit the ground, one steel-clad arm shot out to grab your wrist while the other steadied your hips. You gasped at the warmth of the unexpected contact, pulse quickening as you stared at the–man? person?–beneath you, the only thing preventing you from a nasty collection of bruises appearing across your side tomorrow. 
A deep baritone sounded from the helmet– likely modulated, from the slightly grainy tone. “Are you alright?”
Definitely a man, then. You pointedly ignored the butterflies that stirred to life in your stomach at the sound of his voice, praying that he would attribute your shiver to the cold and nothing more. Stars, this was getting more embarrassing by the minute. You tucked away the thought, making a note to do some serious soul-searching later on about the depth of your touch-starvation and its potential impact on your mental state. 
You gave a quick nod, muttering your thanks and carefully rolling to the side as you dusted clumps of snow off of your trousers. You looked up at him to see him gently picking up the little green creature you’d been so startled by earlier and tucking it back into the bag, pulling his cloak over its head to shield it from the chill. That was… rather cute, actually. You thought Mandalorians were supposed to be scary fighters, dedicated to nothing but their Creed, but this one was clearly fond of the small thing clinging to him. You couldn’t blame him; the green creature’s big ears and bug eyes were adorably endearing. 
The cold winds picked up pace, and you wondered why anyone would be out here during such a storm as you got to your feet. Anyone local would have sought shelter hours ago, and no freighter would dare to land in such conditions. 
“Are you... lost?” You tentatively asked. “Can I help you find someone?”
The Mandalorian remained silent for several long seconds, helmet tilted slightly. Whatever he saw in your face seemed to have settled well with him, and he released a quiet huff through the modulator.
“I need to get food. For my son,” he eventually admitted, gesturing to the baby peeking up at you. 
“Oh!” You brightened up considerably as you remembered the flavorful soup you’d started earlier. “Well– I work in a cantina back there,” you said, pointing behind you at the rusted door that led to the kitchen.
“We’re technically closed right now, but I’m sure I can work something out.” You winked at the curious child, smiling as he let out a happy babble. 
The Mandalorian’s helmet hadn’t moved from its focus in your direction, and you suddenly felt nervous. Which seemed stupid, because–yeah, it felt intense, but was he even looking at you from behind the dark visor of his helmet? For all you knew, he was making the most ridiculous expression at you behind all that beskar and you’d never know. The absurd thought made you snicker softly. If no one could see your face, you’d definitely act goofy at people all the time.
The Mandalorian’s head tilted slightly, and whoops, he’d definitely noticed your little moment now if he hadn’t been paying attention before. Your face reddened and you quickly gestured for him to follow you as you unlocked the door to the kitchen, relieved when you heard the soft clink of his armor come through the doorway behind you.
You placed your hands on your hips, surveying the dimly lit cantina and deciding to lead the duo to a worn table close to the bar. It looked unassuming, but the chairs were the comfiest in the cantina and you figured the baby would appreciate something softer than the coarse bag he’d been in. 
Once they’d gotten settled in, you set about finding a mug of blue milk for the kid and some water for the Mandalorian. You brought the drinks over to the pair, hiding a smile at how eagerly the little green baby reached for his. 
“You’re pretty thirsty, huh?” You observed as the baby slurped up the cerulean beverage. Shooting the tall, beskar-clad man a glance out of the corner of your eye, you continued, “Must have been quite the trip. Most people don’t usually travel to this side of the galaxy for vacation.”
To your disappointment, the Mandalorian remained as still and stoic as ever. Well, that just wouldn’t do. He was your first visitor in years from anywhere outside of Nath, and you were absolutely not letting him leave without getting a bit of juicy detail on life outside of your current drudgery. You decided to go for another angle.
“You know, kids need good role models in their lives. Ones that show them how to socialize with others and communicate. Display generosity of the loquacious sort, even.” You shrugged innocently in your best attempt to mimic the overly casual air the old women at the tea shop always used before passive-aggressively attempting to set you up with their stay-at-home-nephews. “Never too late to start.”
You got the distinct feeling that he was laughing at you under that helmet. Rude. Huffing, you sat down across the table from him and crossed your arms, trying to guess where under his visor his eyes were. Once you were half-confident that you’d found the spot, you stared intensely at it with your most intimidating expression. Which wasn’t saying much, seeing as you had the firepower of a soggy Lothkitten and probably came off as more desperate than anything. 
“Isn’t there some sort of honor code for Mandalorians? One that includes being noble to strangers and whatnot?” 
No response. Argh. 
“Well, I’d consider it pretty noble to provide a lonely soul such as myself with a bit of storytelling entertainment on this frigid evenin–”
Your final attempt at prying some information out of the armored man was interrupted by the sound of the kitchen timer beeping increasingly louder and louder until you were sure the whole cantina was vibrating with the tinny noise.
“KRIFF, not again!” 
You bolted out of your seat towards the kitchen, but not before you heard a thinly disguised huff of amusement coming out of the modulator. Okay, he was definitely laughing at you. 
Once you’d successfully saved the soup from imminent destruction-via-cursed-stove and somewhat regained your pride, you finally made your way back to the table with three steaming bowls of noodles. You placed the smallest one in front of the child, who cooed happily and immediately began plopping his hands in the bowl. The Mandalorian huffed in exasperation and began prying little green fingers out of the bowl. “Hey. Quit that, we talked about this,” he grumbled. You winced as broth sloshed out of the bowl, landing dangerously close to the baby’s tunic. The kid’s lower lip started to tremble, a blaring warning sign that a tantrum was going to occur in approximately ten seconds if he wasn’t distracted from his current petulant state. 
“Oh– hey, bug, don’t do that,” you said as both father and son turned to look at you. You leaned closer to the wide-eyed baby and pointed to his bowl. “That’s pretty hard to scoop up, yeah? Look, there are easier ways to eat it,” you explained as you brought the bowl up to your lips and raised an eyebrow, hoping that he would do the same. The kid blinked up at you for several long seconds before turning to his father with outstretched hands. The Mandalorian sighed, but held up the dish as requested. You hid a smile behind your bowl at the sight.
“Good job! Okay, now we’re going to try something fun–” You mimed slurping up the soup with a silly face at the baby, who burbled something incomprehensible in response but finally followed your example and focused on his food.
When you were sure that the baby’s clothes were no longer in danger of being drenched by broth– and by extension, frozen stiff whenever the pair headed back into the storm–you quietly tucked into your own meal, closing your eyes at the warm memories the comforting flavours brought. Not for the first time, you missed the earthy smell and placid weather of your homeworld, a stark contrast to this icy prison of a planet. 
“You are… good with him.” 
Your eyes darted up to find the Mandalorian’s helmet angled directly at you. Your face heated at the observation and you gave a small laugh, willing yourself to resist fidgeting under his gaze.
“I– thank you, I’ve always liked kids. Used to volunteer in the nursery back home, actually, before the Empire stole every resource from it they could.” 
Your eyes widened with sudden realization. “You’re not Imperial, are you?”
The Mandalorian scoffed vehemently, the most emotion he’d displayed since he’d fallen back in the alley. “No.”
Well, that answered a few questions at least. You were prepared to move on from the conversation when he hesitantly spoke, “My ship ran into a few… asteroids. Is there a mechanic nearby?”
You set down your spoon, thinking. The closest asteroid field was four solar systems away and almost entirely inaccessible if one was traveling through hyperspace, so the likelihood that he’d truly run into one was small. In that case, he probably had damage from some kind of fight— seeing as the average pacifist wouldn’t need that much armor— and would want someone reliable who wasn’t going to ask questions about laser-sized holes in his ship’s hull.
He hadn’t tried to kill or rob you yet, so you figured his personal tussles were none of your business and decided to give him an honest recommendation. You directed him to a small mechanical hub close to the ice huts where there were few ships and even fewer nosy citizens. “The owner, Sanna, is the best in town,” you admitted. “I haven’t had the chance to visit her personally, but she’s known for being very discreet.”
He nodded, entering the coordinates you’d given him into some sort of device on his wrist. You tried to contain your pleased expression at correctly guessing his reason for being on Nath. And it had only taken you… well, four tries, but that was better than nothing! 
“What is your price?”
You blinked, confused. “My price?”
There was that increasingly frequent head tilt again. His helmet tipped forward, scanning you. “For the food. And information.” He clarified slowly. 
“Oh,” you spoke, surprised. “It’s okay, I was making dinner for myself anyway. And you’d have found out the location of the mechanic from someone else eventually,” you shrugged. 
You couldn’t see his face, but from the disbelieving tone of his voice you imagined his eyebrows to be raised. “Not many people would turn down credits.” 
You winced, reminded of your costly dream to get off-world, but there was no way you’d accept this stranger’s money for such a small favor when he had a kid he needed to provide for. “Yeah, well. Guess I’m not most people,” you laughed sheepishly. 
The Mandalorian muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like no, you definitely are not. You squinted at him accusingly.
“Hey, you better not be making fun of my interrogation tactics, metal man.” You leaned forward to poke his soup bowl emphatically. Hm, that was strange– he hadn’t so much as touched it. Did Mandalorians follow some kind of special diet? You resolved to look that up the next time you had access to a datapad.
“Wouldn’t dream of doing that to a lonely soul like yourself.” He responded dryly.
You gasped in mock offense, forgetting your previous train of thought and internally groaning that he’d remembered that part of your disastrous attempt to weasel information out of him. Yeesh. Not your most eloquent moment. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you cared,” you shot back in the most syrupy-sweet tone you could muster.
The kid grinned up at you with sharp teeth and blew a soupy bubble towards your face in response. You smiled down at him, adding, “But if you really want to repay me, then bring me back a good story about this little guy the next time you crash land through a— what did you call it? Asteroid field.” You highly doubted the duo would ever willingly return, but if making a deal gave this man peace of mind to know his imaginary debt was settled in some future way then so be it. 
The lights in the cantina began to flicker and you got up with a frown, walking over to the electrical box behind the bar. The dull grey display, crammed with incomprehensibly labelled switches and flashing lights that would give anyone a headache, alerted you that the main generator had been depleted of power. You scrambled over to a window, prying open the shutters a crack only to be met with a dark swirl of snow that completely obscured your view of the street. Stars, the storm had worsened quickly— there was absolutely no chance you were making it home tonight. You slammed the shutter closed and turned around with a grimace that didn’t go unnoticed by the Mandalorian.
“What is it?” He questioned, modulated voice growing wary at the expression on your face.
“We’re running out of power, the main generator’s down from the storm so these lights are going to have to shut off soon. I think there’s enough in the emergency generator to heat the cantina through the night, though.” You hesitated, not sure how to break the bad news. “Unfortunately, the weather is— unmanageable. You’re not making it out of here to the mechanic’s until the blizzard lets up.” 
He didn’t respond for a few seconds, so you continued talking. “I was.. planning on sleeping here tonight.” You muttered, trying to think of a plan. You glanced at the sleepy child resting on the Mandalorian’s beskar chest plate. “I usually keep a couple blankets here for that reason— pretty sure there’s enough to cover the baby, but you might need to be okay with sharing.” 
You worried your bottom lip between your teeth, searching your memory for where the emergency supplies were kept. Kriff. How were you supposed to know that you’d be snowed in, and with guests no less? Your grumpy boss really should have put instructions for this type of situation in the closing shift directions instead of the usual “sweep the floors” or your personal favorite: “if the customer creates a corpse, they gotta clean it up themselves”.
The Mandalorian interrupted your musings with a firm, “No need,” gesturing to the charcoal cloak fastened around his pauldrons. You eyed it dubiously, but supposed that the material looked thick enough. That was probably to your benefit, anyway, since you were something of a notorious blanket hog and didn’t think he’d take kindly to having his sheets ripped off him in the dead of night. That seemed like a quick way to wake up with more bruises than you went to sleep with.
“Well— alright then,” you sighed at last, tossing the smaller of your blankets to the man and tucking the other into the side of a nearby booth. “I’ll shut off the lights in a moment. Refresher’s that way, if you need it,” you pointed to the end of a dimly lit hall. The Mandalorian nodded once, then returned his attention to carefully cocooning the child in his lap. You set to work fluffing up your own makeshift bed, folding the cleanest dishtowel you could find into a pillow before trudging over to the light switch and enveloping the room in darkness. 
Quietly feeling your way back to your booth, your eyes adjusted to the pitch-black little by little. You pulled your hair out of its messy updo and curled up on the seat, body slowly relaxing. It was strange, hearing the muffled rhythm of breaths coming from lungs that weren’t your own, but oddly soothing in its own way. 
“G’night,” you mumbled, half-asleep already, consciousness swirled down the psychological drain by the overpowering storm raging outside. The lull-and-hitch of the baby’s soft snores echoing off of solid beskar set you drifting off to sleep faster than you had as a child, so lost to the world that you were sure you dreamed the quiet, belated whisper that sounded back to you.
taglist: @magpiencrow @that-kid143 @lilly-aliyah @itmustbegreattobecalledtheitgirl
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read on: part ii, part iii coming soon!
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thebookbutterfly · 10 months
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°•. Din Djarin .•°
Fan fiction recommendations from BB’s Bookshelf. All my favourite Din Djarin works in one place. Disclaimer: I am aware that most people refer to Mando as ‘Din’ but as it is canonically his last name I prefer to call him Djarin. Also with maybe the exception of one or two fics none of the works recommended here depict Djarin breaking his creed ( I just don’t like it). Anyway, please enjoy! ☺️
⭐️ = One of my favourites
ONESHOTS:
🦋 Beautiful [Fluff] Translating for a Tusken raider leaves Mando no other option than to be vulnerable. You tell him just how much he means to you. << Female Reader >> ⭐️
🦋 Injured [Fluff, Hurt/Comfort] After Mando is injured you refuse to leave his side. He is a little loopy on bacta shots and confesses things to you like the sweetie he is. << Female Reader >>
🦋 Breathe [Fluff, Angst] You think Djarin wants another woman, he thinks you want the safety that comes from being away from him. Both of you are wrong. Very fluffy ending. << Female Reader, Brief Miscommunication >>
🦋 His [Fluff] Djarin has just come home from a long hunt. Exhausted, he finds the heater broken and you in his bed. << Female Reader, Allusions to Sex >>
🦋His World [Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff] When the Crest explodes, seemingly with you in it, Djarin’s universe falls apart. AKA Din Djarin thinks that you died, you’re delighted to inform him you didn’t. << Female Reader >>
🦋 Conceal [Hurt/Comfort] Din Djarin was a master at hiding his injuries, that’s why he’d always discover yours. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 skin [Fluff] You love it when Din Djarin touches you, but after working outside in the snow all day his hands are freezing. Domestic fluff with pregnant reader. << Female Reader, Pregnancy >>
🦋 My Riduur [Fluff] Of course Mando feels a little jealous when someone is flirting with his riduur. As a Mandalorian he can’t kiss you but he has other ways to stake his claim. << Female Reader >>
🦋 Snowflakes In Your Hair [Fluff] You have never seen snow before, so Mando takes you to Ando Prime to experience it for the first time. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 That’s Not My Name [Fluff] You find out that you have actually been calling ‘Din’ by his surname all along. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Asleep Together [Fluff] Djarin can’t find Grogu, until he finds you asleep with him. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 touching Din [Fluff, Slight Angst] Din Djarin loves being touched and you love touching him. Touch starved Djarin getting the love he needs. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Haircut [Fluff] Mando hadn’t cut his hair in a while. When your fingers brushed through the pieces that stuck out from the edge of his helmet, he found that he didn’t mind. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Meeting the Family [Fluff] Mando takes you to meet the covert for the first time and introduces you as his riduur. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Language Barrier [Fluff] You hadn’t found the right moment to tell Mando that you were fluent in Mando’a, and now it was too late to mention casually. You finally tell him when he confesses to you under his breath. << Female Reader, Allusions to Sex >>
🦋 Significant [Fluff] Djarin has been calling you riduur for months. You finally find out what it means and get more than you bargained for. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Offer [Fluff] Din Djarin is absolutely sure that you know that he is courting you. He wants to make the offer formally anyway. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Warm Sand, Soft Hands [Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort] After Djarin’s stunt with the Great Krayt Dragon, you were furious and scared. Right up until you realised why he did it. << Gender Neutral Reader, Injury >>
🦋 Common Mistake [Fluff, Hurt/Comfort] You had accidentally stabbed yourself with a knife. Embarrassment aside you didn’t want to be a burden and hid the injury. Mando takes care of you. << Female Reader >>
🦋 Distracting [Fluff] Mando removes his beskar in front of you for the first time. Safe to say that it is terribly distracting. << Female Reader >>
🦋 Kiss [Fluff] Curious, you ask Djarin if he has ever kissed anyone before, secretly hoping to be his first. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Good [Hurt/Comfort, Slight Angst] Din Djarin was the only person you ever told about your weakness, and yet he wasn’t “good enough” to shield you from it. << Female Reader, Drowning >>
🦋 Blood Loss [Fluff, Hurt/Comfort] Mando comes back from collecting his bounty injured. You take care of him. << Female Reader >>
🦋 Jealousy [Fluff] Vanth keeps you company while Mando is out running errands. He gets flirty and Djarin decides to reveal that you are his riduur. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
🦋 Rumble [Fluff] Djarin comforts you during a thunderstorm. << Female Reader >>
SERIES:
🦋 Orbit: Part 1 (Body Warmth), Part 2 (Battle Scars), Part 3 (Bruised Skin) [Fluff, Hurt/Comfort] You and Din Djarin had been orbiting one another for a long time. Sharing a space, sharing warmth and sharing skin. Mega Fluff with a healthy dose of “Who did this to you?” << Gender Neutral Reader, Injury >>
🦋 Not Like This, Not You [Angst, Hurt Comfort, Fluff] After being captured by Moff Gideon, Djarin is forced to break his creed and show his face to you. You are devastated but both of you are determined to escape. << Female Reader, Violence >> ⭐️
🦋 In Sickness and In Health: Part 1 (In Sickness), Part 2 (In Health) [Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Fluff] The time when the kid got sick and the time you caught the same illness from him. << Gender Neutral Reader >>
DRABBLES:
🦋 Bacta Patch [Fluff, Hurt/Comfort] Mando stops by your store to discover that you’re hurt. He decides to fix that. With a healthy dose of ‘Who did this to you?’ << Gender Neutral Reader >>
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thefrogdalorian · 3 months
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Dincember Day 18: Snowflake
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Word Count: 1280 Rating: General Summary: As Din stands by the window, watching the snow fall outside your cabin in the mountain paradise he brought you to for a vacation, he reveals a hilarious memory of his first encounter with snow to you. One that you are keen not to let him forget in a hurry. Content Warnings: None! Author's Note: Did anyone spot the Alzoc III reference? Ahh. I just want to know WHAT HE DID!! This was a gloriously indulgent space himbo fanfic and I regret nothing. Love imagining Din as a damsel. Hope you enjoyed!
Link to read on AO3 | My Dincember Masterlist
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The heat emanating from the lit fire at your side warmed you despite the cold outside. The comforting sounds of the wood logs crackling and the happy coos of the child opposite you,who you were currently engaged in a game of peek-a-boo with, filled your ears. Din was standing by the window, observing the picturesque landscape outside the little cabin he had brought you and Grogu to for a well-deserved break. It was a perfect familial scene.
But you could not stop stealing glances at the figure standing by the window. Din seemed utterly captivated by the view outside the cabin. Sure, it was wondrous to see so much snow on the ground, especially coming from the lava planet of Nevarro. Yet, you were curious why Din seemed unable to move, transfixed by the landscape. 
As it transpired, you did not have to wonder for much longer as Din called your name softly to summon you over to the window where he had been standing statuesque while you had played with Grogu. As you walked over to the window, Grogu in your arms, you noticed the flurries of snow falling outside that were apparently what Din had been quietly watching. The cabin’s location, nestled in the mountain peaks, made the sight all the more stunning. It was the perfect festive scene and you felt almost as if you were looking at a painting rather than something that really lay just outside your cabin.
There was already a lot of snow on the ground when you arrived in this mountainous paradise, but standing here by the window was the first time you had the privilege to witness it falling since you had journeyed here. You completely understood now why Din had stood there, utterly transfixed by the sight. You wanted to do the same, to stand there and watch the snowflakes flutter to the ground. Each snowflake was so perfectly formed that it was almost difficult to believe that this was a natural occurrence.
“Wow, Din. It's incredible,” You breathed as you admired the sight, standing by Din’s side in front of the window. “Look at all the snowflakes, Grogu,” You said to the child nestled in your arms as you pointed outside the window. Grogu gave a happy coo in response and you silently wondered whether he had ever seen snow before. 
“It's beautiful, isn't it,” Din said admiringly, moving his head to look at you. He smiled at you as he complimented the snow’s appearance and for a moment, you were unsure whether he was referring to the snow's beauty or your own. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”
“Neither have I,” Din admitted, turning back to face the snow, the look of childlike awe returning to his face as he did so.
“I wonder if Grogu has ever seen snow before,” You pondered, finally vocalising your train of thought. 
“I wonder too, though he’s older than both of us,” Din shrugged. “He’s probably seen so much more of the galaxy than either of us have.”
“That’s true,” You said, leaning down to kiss the wrinkled forehead of the child that you tended to forget was actually older than you. It was a strange fact that you tried not to think too deeply about.
“Did I ever tell you about the first time I saw snow?” Din asked, looking at you with a smirk on his face. 
“No, what happened?” You asked, intrigued by the apparently comical memory that had been provoked in Din by something as simple as falling snow.
“I did the most Mandalorian thing possible,” Din said, raising an eyebrow. “I used a weapon and tried to fight it.” 
“Fight it?!” You exclaimed, once again reminded by how ridiculous your favourite Mandalorian could be sometimes.                                             
“Yes. In my defence, I had never seen snow before; it never fell on my home planet, the climate was too warm. Then the moon where I was raised, Concordia, I’m not sure whether it was part of the seasons there. We were hiding most of the year, certainly in the colder months, in a cave complex, so there was no opportunity to see the weather,” Din explained. Suddenly his fear of snow seemed more understandable, you sometimes forgot how sheltered he had been for the first part of his life. “Anyway, when I left Concordia as a teenager to forge my own path in the galaxy, I ended up working with a few other mercenaries. They were far older and more well travelled than I was, but they were impressed by my fighting abilities. I was simultaneously terrified of them while also trying to impress them. They told me so many lies about things and I just believed them because I had no reason to distrust them. My upbringing was so sheltered.” 
“Aw, Din,” You said sympathetically, your heart constricting at the thought of him having the bantha fodder taken out of him. He had come so far, you sometimes forgot about the frightened boy he must once have been.
“This particular job took us to a planet that was much colder than anywhere I had ever been. I remember being absolutely fascinated by the destination of our quarry. Except halfway through, this white thing that I had never seen before came falling from the sky. I assumed it was ash or something, perhaps from an explosion. Whatever it was, I was terrified. I rolled over and hid in the undergrowth. They all thought it was hilarious, but no one told me what was going on. Then, when I finally emerged, I tried to melt some of it with my flamethrower,” Din admitted with an embarrassed sigh.
You wanted to be sympathetic to his struggles, to the way he had embarrassed himself in front of the band of mercenaries that he was clearly trying to impress by coming across as a tough warrior. But the way Din told the story, you were beside yourself with laughter, falling about yourself at the memory.
“Oh Din,” You said, still breathless from the laughter. “I’m so sorry for laughing but that is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. They thought they had secured this tough Mandalorian warrior to be part of their crew, imagine their surprise when they saw you terrified of snow!”
“Well, I did earn their respect eventually on another snowy planet…” Din said, something dark briefly flashing across his features, a reminder of the man he had once been, long before you had ever met them. Then his features softened and he glanced away from the window, back to you. “It’s nice to be back on one now, to enjoy the surroundings. Especially to be here with you,” Din said quietly. The man with the unbelievably gentle side that you knew was back. 
“I couldn’t agree more,” You smiled at Din, but you weren’t going to let him forget his humiliating story easily. “Are you still scared of snow now?”
Din just rolled his eyes at you, shaking his head and smirking. He knew that you would not stop reminding him of his embarrassing snow-related past for the rest of the time you spent on this planet. You knew that he wouldn’t mind, either. It was a huge step for him to open up and admit these things and you were so proud of the progress he had made in that regard.
But it didn’t mean you would ever stop laughing at the mental image of this man, feared throughout the galaxy due to his formidable reputation as a bounty hunter, who had once been terrified of something so dainty as a snowflake. 
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fuckyeahdindjarin · 11 months
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Fuck Yeah 2222 Sleepover
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The stars have aligned - my husband is out of town until next week, and I just hit 2222 followers (such a neat number!), so what better time to have a sleepover with my fictional husbands? Thank you everyone for my recent follower milestone, I've enjoyed interacting with new readers so much! I hope there's something fun for everyone who wants to get involved in this sleepover.
AU Drabble Requests
Joel Miller x college neighbour AU (requested by @worhols)
Jack Daniels x tattoo parlour AU (requested by @lunapascal)
Dieter Bravo x roommates AU (requested by @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog)
Dieter Bravo x library AU (requested by @commander-writergirl)
Frankie Morales x stripper AU (requested by @meveispunk)
Jack Daniels x pirate AU (requested by @psychedelic-ink)
Frankie Morales x soulmates AU (requested by anon and @pimosworld)
Headcanon Requests
Consent!Dieter's tattoos (requested by @julesonrecord)
Palomino!Jack's guilty pleasures (requested by @miss-mandalorian)
Palomino!Jack and horses (requested by @shirks-all-responsibilities)
Palomino!Jack is king of the two step (sent in by @vermillionwinter)
Palomino!Jack and Grays!Frankie: what action of theirs is most beloved by someone close to them that they're not aware of? (requested by @ohsomightypeaches)
Palomino!Jack/Consent!Dieter/Grays!Frankie's allergies (requested by @fireproofmarta)
Moodboard Requests
Grays (requested by @psychedelic-ink)
Palomino VI - Mustang (requested by @imaswellkid)
Butter (requested by @nothoughtsjustmeds)
Jack Daniels x tattoo parlour AU (no one requested it, I made it lol)
Song Recs
Palomino: Carrying Your Love With Me (sent in by @vermillionwinter)
Palomino: a playlist (!!!) created by lovely Britt @vermillionwinter. I am obsessed and I'm listening to it while I write Palomino ❤️
All posts are tagged fuckyeah2222sleepover. Thank you for getting involved everyone, it's been so much fun!❤️
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groguspicklejar · 1 year
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The Monster Within [Chapter Nine]
Summary: You're not oblivious to how you're drawing closer and closer to the Mandalorian and you don't mind it. The comfortable peace between you and him and Beetle sustains you, even when there's turmoil in this new world you happen to land on.
Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!reader
Warnings: extremely soft!Din, fluff, slight Angst, flashbacks, mantions of Brexlee, mentions of Saros, Din and Grogu being cute, one kiss, reader being a great mom to Grogu, mentions of gang wars, one unexpected and unpleasant surprise, Din speaking Mando’a.
Word Count: 8.8k (holy fuck)
A/N: You guys are just the best of the best of the best with the asks🥺 and the love and support❤️💐 It took me a hell of a long time to write this when I've been going through the most at college and there were times when I was tempted to just give up on this entirely but it's you guys who kept me going and for that, I love you for it❤️❤️❤️❤️ also, this chapter was mostly a set up for the numerous asks you guys dropped into the picklejar, which will be fulfilled very soon
Please leave a like, comment and reblog❤️
Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight
Beloved Masterlist
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gif by @joseph-quinns
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Din reckons that tundra planets were probably your favourite. That’s only if they weren’t astronomically cold enough to freeze a cup of water into ice after a few minutes. This one, a barely habitable moon of some gas giant in the outer rim that orbited a red dwarf star, was mildly cold. And bustling with life.
The absolute glee on your face when you stepped outside and found a winter wonderland nearly knocked him down a few pegs. The vast frozen sea of white and the falling specks, the same that peppered the trees and rocks and wildlife, their wonder was nothing compared to your beauty, to your grace.
"I haven't gotten to see this much snow in my lifetime." you spoke with quiet awe in your eyes and a slow smile that made his chest sieze for a solid minute. "It's so beautiful, Mando…"
"It is…" he agreed.
But his gaze was fixed solely on you.
You walked side by side with him in a marketplace, looking at the food and trinkets they had to offer. Din swears he’s never seen you beam so brightly at the sight of snowflakes and he couldn’t complain about how you might get sick when you were so happy to be out of the Razer Crest. But he did want to make sure that you stayed warm at all times. You’re carrying fruits in two medium-sized paper bags and you put both of them in your bag. He wants to ask you if he could carry them but you don’t seem to be the least bit bothered by the weight.
“Are you sure you’re not cold?” he asked for the fifth time that day as you were staring at the textiles laid out in one stall.
He was ready to buy them for you, whether you were going to ask him or not. He would give you anything and everything that your heart desires. All you have to do is ask. You don’t. He watches you buy three different textiles with your own credits.
He’s not going to lie. He’s slightly disappointed that you don’t need him all that much here.
“Mando, I have at least three layers on and brought two heating pads.” you said, turning to face him. “One of which is keeping the baby warm and toasty in his pram. We’re both fine.”
He suppressed a sigh. Although he enjoyed the smile etched on your face, worry gnawed at his chest as you walked ahead of him. He just doesn’t want you or the kid catching a cold. The pod that housed said kid floated beside him, closed and sealed the sleeping baby away from the frigid climate.
Din watched your enthusiasm guide you from one stall to the next. He followed you blindly, revelling in the sweetness of your voice and your smile seemingly melting the snow around your feet as you moved. The twinkle in your eyes was something akin to the light reflecting off a river in the cover of darkness. He looks at you and sees a bird taking flight, finally free of its stifling cage.
Din feels a joyful sense of pride when he realizes how you and the kid seem to bloom under his care. How you and Beetle are happier with him than anywhere else. He remembers feeling the same with his parents before they died. How there were always smiles and it means he must be doing something right.
He never thought, after losing one family, that he’d find another. Not like surrounding himself with fellow Mandalorians who shared the same ideals and passions with him. No, this was different. This was you, Beetle and Din. His own little clan.
He’s staring at you as you gush about the earrings hanging from the beam of the small jewellery booth, admiring how you could not seem to hold back your delight. The earrings, a pair of long golden chains and halfway down their length were each a crescent moon and sun; both shapes had a blue crystal in the middle. 
He instantly thinks of the ink hidden in your boot. The urge to ask about it lodges in his throat. Then another thought whispers to him sweetly, quiet, yet his mind already hones in on it above the voices of the crowd.
What if you have other tattoos?
He slams the door on the ebbing curiosity and refocuses on the pair of earrings. They’d suit you. He thinks you’re going to buy them, but the golden chains slip away from the curve of your elegant fingers and you’re already looking elsewhere. 
“Oh, that stall looks promising.” you grinned, pointing to an enclosure right down the narrow road and immediately headed over there.  “Hello.”
He silently tells himself to revisit the small booth later.
Din was glancing around when noticed someone looking at you as you were conversing with the stall owner. He shifts his head to make it seem as if he didn’t spot the guy before stepping behind you, placing a hand on the small of your back.
A simmering rage sparks to life, determined to shield you from the bounty hunter's view, from all harm. Din silently vows that the man won't get anywhere near you or the kid under any circumstances. He doesn’t care which atrocity he’s going to have to commit. Another brush with the Guild won’t be good for either one of you.
He wanted nothing more than to go back to the Crest and slip back into the bunk with you pressed to his side. More so to get away from the prying eyes that tracked you from afar.
You’ve already been through too much too soon with Saros and Toro. He doesn’t want this one getting close to you. So if Din manages to get rid of him before you even suspect anything, all the better.
“Do you think Beetle will like this one?” You hold up two stuffed animals, then glanced at another one on the vendor. “Or maybe he’d want the green one because… well, you know…”
“We wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two and he’d get all smug about it.” he snorts, glancing at the floating pod next to him. “We’ll take the brown bear.”
You held up the stuffed toy with a slight giggle, examining it. “Mando, I’m pretty sure it’s an Ewok.” 
“A what?” he blanked.
Din can’t, for the life of him, remember what the hell an Ewok is because he’s too stunned by how beautiful your smile is. You were just so excited, so bubbly, it made his heart swell and ache. He can’t remember anything to form a coherent sentence. Not with how you look like something out of a fairytale.
He should really focus on the looming threat. He should. You’re far too much of a distraction and if he doesn’t get you someplace safe soon, it’s going to hinder him from doing what he needs to do.
“They’re a lot like Jawas.” you clarified, and thankfully you turned your back to him because only then could he finally breathe. “Only, they don’t steal as much and they’re a lot more adorable. Twice as hairy, however.”
He managed to respond, “How come I keep getting stuck with Jawas?”
If there's one species in this cosmos that came close to how much he hated droids, it would be Jawas. And no, it wasn't just because they took apart his ship when he wasn't looking, but more so for the fact that they made him bargain for those stolen parts and made him face a raging Mudhorn.
“Bad luck, I’d assume.” you laugh and hold the toy to your chest, the same way you would hold the child. “Or because Ewoks aren't common in the universe.”
The other bounty hunter hasn’t moved any closer. Not while he knows that there’s a Mandalorian keeping watch of his mark. Din is both glad and disheartened that the enemy knows what he’s up against. The element of surprise would’ve been an added advantage, but he’ll have to make do with what he already has.
And he needs to get you out of the way first.
“Come on.” He walks behind you, his hand returning to the small of your back to urge you forward.
He doesn’t want to alarm you. Not when you were brimming with molten sunshine that radiated within you. But you seem to be catching on to his change in demeanour as you glance up at him. “Mando?”
“We still haven’t talked about why you were avoiding me on Tatooine.”
He’s deliberately shifting the conversation so he doesn’t have to explain why he’s rushing you to the nearest lodging. Yet the way your shoulders twitch and you look ahead makes him question whether or not that was the right choice.
“I wasn’t avoiding you.” you mumble.
“Yes, you were.” he counters, grabbing your waist to shift as you both turn a corner and into a narrow alleyway. “You were upset with me and I’d like to know why.”
He doesn’t like the way you tense, how you seem to look anywhere but his direction. “I don’t think it matters.”
“It does.” Din said, looking down at you. “You were upset and I don’t like that. I don’t want you thinking it’s okay to let people hurt your feelings.”
He keeps moving you forward until the walls of the buildings on either side of you come to an end and all three of you are on an entirely new street. He takes notice of his strides, not too slow for the enemy to catch up but not too fast that you might trip on your own feet and land face first on the ice.
The moment he’s sure the bounty hunter can’t see the two of you, plus the floating pod that follows closely behind, he takes your hand and pulls you into the crowd. Then he ducks into another dark alley while strategizing how to deal with this potential nemesis once you and the kid are out of harm’s way.
The Razer Crest is a no-go. It’s too far. There’s no guarantee that the enemy won’t try to instigate a fight when you’re close by. He can’t leave you and the kid out in the open either. If there’s one hunter here, there might be more.
“Even you?” he hears you over his own calculative thoughts.
Din halts his movements. He looks at you and something twinges in his chest when he catches the sad expression on your face. He fights overwhelming the urge to drop to his knees and beg you not to fret, to tell you that you never have to worry about a damn thing from him.
What silly thoughts run through your mind. Don’t you know by now? That he’d rather die than hurt you in any possible way. That he’d give anything to watch you smile for the rest of his life.
“Especially me.” He turns to you, backing you up against the wall. He’s rewarded with a small gasp before he takes your hands in his.  “I meant what I said before. I’m not that lowlife who made your life hell on Nevarro. If you want to yell at me, that’s fine. If you want to hit me, that’s also fine.” 
He hopes you know that he means every word.
The softness in your eyes is what does it for him. When you look at him like that, with so much vulnerability, yet without the fear. He feels honoured that you would allow him to see this side of you. This part that no one else should ever get to witness because they are unworthy, because they wouldn’t know what it truly means.
“Though I wouldn’t recommend it because my armour might break your hands.”
A laugh escaped you before you could hold it back. He smiles too, your mirth ever so contagious. You lean your head on his chest plate and sigh. Din can’t help but grasp the back of your neck with one hand and still keep holding your hand with the other.
He was right not to warn you of that hunter. He likes the closeness, the way it just feels so natural. He likes how you’re so at ease with him in this strange world. Unaware of the dangers that lurk, blissful of the horrors they bring.
There's a hunter out there looking for you and Din is here, taking all the spare seconds he has to hold you. Maker, if you knew the power you have over him…
“What did I do wrong, ner cyra’ika?” he asks softly. “Please tell me so I can make it right.”
You were silent for a minute. He listens to your steady breathing, counting them. Then you pull away to look up at him. “You wanted to leave us on Sorgan.” Your sorrowful gaze shifts down, bringing his heart to the floor with it. “Do we mean that little to you, Mando?”
The quiet misery crippled him. Crushed him to the very core. He couldn't stand how you believed it so easily. Since the covert, you and the kid have become his sole purpose. His reason for fighting through this accursed life, when he would’ve otherwise faded into its background with enough time.
The covert, yes, did keep him alive and happy for a while. But the slow routine of catching one quarry to the next, wandering the universe alone, becomes old. He enjoyed the thrill of it when he first began, but years of that made him grow wary. He doesn’t think he’s felt this alive since he’s met you or the kid.
He might have not explicitly told you this but…
You both mean everything to him.
“No, of course not.” he breathes out. “I said–”
You shake your head. “I know you said it was for the best and that it would be easier for all of us that way, but it still upsets me.”
“That was before a bounty hunter nearly killed the kid.”
“I know that.” you quickly chip in, your voice fading lower as you speak. “I was upset because I don’t want to be away from you.”
His chest throbs with something unspoken. Something in him soars high and bursts like fireworks at your confession. He's already cooking his finger under your chin when you attempt to look down. “You’ve treated me with kindness and respect from the day we met without demanding much in return. In fact, you don’t expect anything in return.”
He doesn't comprehend how anyone has the gall to hurt you like this. Making you think that you're undeserving of respect, compassion, love–
How could anyone not give you the love you deserve?
The question bites into the back of his head. Claw its way into his throat and he has trouble restraining it before it tears out of his mouth.
“Kindness isn’t a commodity.” he simply states. “It is not right to expect something for basic decency.”
It's the brief surprise, followed by sadness sinking into your features that does him in. Almost like you never knew that universal fact. Almost as if you were vehemently denied it.
Your shoulders drop and so does your gaze. “Brexlee didn’t seem to think so.” 
Din's heart breaks for you. And a simmering rage seeps out of the gaping wound, taking root into his blood like a nasty virus that won't stop until it completely takes control of him. He should've killed that scugrat when he had the chance. This injustice, letting that lowlife hurt you is on Din and he will wear that shame for the rest of his life.
“I’m sorry for saying that you are anything like him, I just– I’m constantly on edge and I keep waiting for you to suddenly lash out and change into the monster that he is because you’ve made me feel safe all this time.” Your thumb and index finger are pinching the pinkie on your other hand with shoulders drawn in as your quiet voice rings true. “One minute you were leaving us on Sorgan, you want to drag us to the ship. It’s the sudden shock of it all that made me afraid of what else to expect from you.”
Oh.
Now it made sense. Why you were so miffed when he practically dragged you out of Sorgan. The silent treatment, the unspoken refusal when he wanted to touch you, the way you just didn't want to have anything to do within. You were shutting him out as a way of defending yourself. You must've been so scared of him…
“Oh, Cyare...” He can't help the urge to cup your cheeks in his gloved hands. “Is that why you kept me at arm’s length?”
Maker, he's so dense. He should've been more considerate after what you've been through. He should’ve known–
“I’m sorry.” you whisper, the whisper not unlike a physical manifestation of self-depreciation and it carves a piece of him out.
“It’s okay.” he asserted gently. “I understand now that I should speak to you before giving you whiplash.”
A lesson learned from the agony sticking to his heart like a thousand needles because of your cold indifference. He never wants to deal with you giving him the silent treatment for something so easily avoidable. He never wants you to think you have to keep yourself safe from him in any way.
He cups your cheeks, urging you to look up. When you do, he adds, “But you don’t have to fear me, okay? I would never hurt you for expressing how you feel or pointing out my mistakes.”
You were silent for a moment, observing him. He was unsure of what to say next. Then you did something he didn’t expect
You embraced him.
Din doesn't think he's ever been so stunned in his entire life. He's stiff as the ice coating the moon they were on. Mind frazzled and heart sputtering because you were hugging him. He feels more like a teenage virgin than a Mandalorian with hundreds of kills in his belt.
“Thank you…” He thinks your voice, soft as it was, rang his Beskar like someone pounded a mallet on his helmet. “Really, Mando…”
His arms slowly enclose your figure and he holds you close. At that moment, beyond the people of the snowy town, beyond the lurking bounty hunter, Din felt absolute peace.
He feels his purpose. The need to protect, to care for, to love pays off. Serving him well as it serves you. The happiness you feel seeps through his Beskar, warming him in the icy climate from the inside out. For a minute, he thinks he can understand how stars are born. The collapse of a nebula, small parts of him swirling, bouncing from one end of the galaxy to the other until you. The force to be reckoned with. The spark of something that beacons and blooms and burns for all of time, for all that is.
Through no fault of his own does it all happen. And it happens slowly, like the gradual formation of a mountain. Yet it happens so fast like the epic strike of lightning. A star is born in the darkness and all the darkness in the bright light.
In the light, your light, as well as Beetle’s, he doesn’t feel as lonely. He’s no longer a whisper in the vast galaxy, but an echo reaching the far worlds beyond. He doesn’t think he’ll give that up for anything. For anyone.
You pull away, the cold nipping away at him once more. He almost drags you back against him before he hears you ask, “And what does that mean?” Your face scrunches up as you try to speak the words, “N–ner–”
He’s already blushing when he tells you. “Ner cyra’ika.”
Your lips part when you take in the words and a second passes when you try again. “Ner cyra’ika.”
It shouldn’t have sounded as delightful as it did. His tongue, the language that forms his most baser thoughts. Mando’a shouldn’t sound as good as it does on in your mouth, but Din feels heat rush from his head all the way to his toes and he swears something in his brain severely malfunctions.
He almost wasn’t aware of the sharp breath he inhales as soon as you say it.
“It means…” he clears his throat as his head tilts downward and away from your curious gaze. “My darling.”
There is silence that eats away at him. A bomb he waits for to explode in his face. It’s your light chuckle that cracks through his awaiting breath.
Your hands frame his helmet and this time, it’s you that shifts his gaze upward. He catches your warm smile. “You’re quite the charmer underneath all that Beskar, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
He was sure you knew that he was smiling under that helmet. Bonus points if his face was flushed for getting caught.
All too suddenly, you leaned in. Close enough until your lips meet the cold helm of Beskar. Under your kiss, his entire body stiffens like a statue. He holds still. It's unclear that he's inhaling air after you heard the sharp hitch in his breath. Almost as if he had just been shocked or stabbed.
He can see it in your eyes. It exhilarates you. The element of surprise that caught him off guard. Just this once, you hold power over him and you relish how it weakens his impenetrable composure. You say nothing as you turn to walk ahead of him. He almost doesn’t see the way you’re biting your lip to restrain a ridiculously wide grin.
His feet feel like an enormous weight of Beskar has been tied to them, dragging in the snow. His knees are weak and he barely has enough strength left to keep them from falling to the ground. And now he’s certain of a startling revelation that smacks him in the face.
You’re twice as menacing as the kid. You’re just better at hiding it.
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You try not to let the air fill your head to the point of exploding when you come to terms with the fact that he called you his darling. The words follow you for the rest of your time in the market.
Ner cyra'ika.
His darling.
His.
You’re not an idiot. You know the implication to what that means. Now you’re entirely sure that Cyare is another term of endearment and he’s been calling you that since forever. It suddenly becomes clearer that when the Mandalorian said he cares for you, he means it. More than you thought you knew.
You remember asking what Cyare means, but you might have fallen asleep before he got the chance to tell you the meaning. For now, it’s a term of endearment. Question is… which one?
You nurse these little words close to your heart. Once upon a time, you thought it was fragile. Right now, with the way it pulses at the vibration of the Mandalorian’s modulated baritone and the way it flutters under his gentle touch, you think it has become foolish. More foolish than when you were on Nevarro.
Because after all you’ve been through with one man, how can it stand to beat for another so soon, and so easily? That’s an easy answer; The vast differences between the two.
But it still doesn’t make it any less ridiculously daunting.
You’re still trying to hold back a grin as you remember the way he just froze when you kissed him. Even if you were scared, frightened right down to nearly trembling, you enjoyed his reaction. You wonder what would happen if you did it again. What he would do.
You’re checking on Beetle as the Mandalorian is buying something two vendors down. The baby will probably wake up soon. You wonder if he’s seen snow before. You have no doubt that he’ll be excited to see it as you were.
The last time you saw this much snow was on your way out of your father’s reach. One of the planets you landed on was just like this. You were sad to leave, wishing that you could’ve settled down there at least.
Now the sadness is no more. If you had stayed there, you could’ve wound back into your father’s clutches or worse. You never would’ve met Beetle or the Mandalorian. You don’t think you want to go back to a life without either one of them.
Eventually, the Mandalorian decided the three of you should settle into an inn.
You all had to cross a small bridge to reach the line of inns, lodges, and motels on the other side of the river separating them and the marketplace. Then you came across a small crowd gathered near the other side of the bridge as you neared the end of it.
“What happened here?” you asked one of the locals as you felt the Mandalorian’s hand on your lower back.
You’ve come to learn a few small details about the Mandalorian.
One: He’s extremely protective. That is often paired off with the incessant need to show strength. He’s not wrong to do so. After all, the more intimidating he is, the less likely people will bother him or who he’s with. It works well in your favour and if you’re being honest with yourself, you enjoy the way some people stare in awe of him.
The second thing, however, is a direct effect of the first one.  As much as you like the way people are vividly aware of the Mandalorian’s presence, you’re not overly fond of the fear he strikes in the hearts of regular, innocent people. You can count at least four times you’ve been negotiating –very calmly– with sellers, who have instantly flinched and quickly agreed to your suggested price when the Mandalorian appeared behind you and made it clear that he’s with you.
Your question was answered. By the boy being dragged out of the icy river. He was placed on his side first. From where you stood, you could almost see his face. He might have been a teenager. His pale skin was now almost as white as snow. But it’s his age that strikes you the most. He’s young. Too young to be dead.
A male Sullustan answers you, not even taking the time to look at you. He was too focused on the corpse. “He wanted to know if it was possible to die by jumping into ice cold water.”
And lastly, the Mandalorian’s humour might possibly be drier than the Dune Sea of Tatooine.
“Looks like he was right.” says another local, a green Rodian.
“Dead right.” Mando quietly adds beside you.
You shot him an incredulous look, smacking his arm. You swear he’s holding back laughter underneath that helmet. However, the mirth between you and him quickly fizzled out when the Marshal, a female Pantoran, speaks up for all to hear. “Except he didn’t die of hypothermia.”
It was the dark veins cross-crossing around from his neck, all the way to his eyes that startled you. You stifle a gasp, backing into the Mandalorian.
The Deputy, a male human, stood up from beside the dead boy and adjusted his hat. “He was poisoned.” He glances at the Marshal with a grim expression. “Third one this month.”
Murmurs break out of the crowd all around you and the Mandalorian. You move closer to him, nearly overwhelmed by their collective shock and grief. You don’t want to think about the first time you saw a corpse. One you had put in the Razer Crest.
It’s not the boy’s face staring back at you. It’s Saros. His pale blue skin haunts you. Cold, lifeless eyes remind you of your misdeed. Of your baser instinct. Your will to live. The bounty on your head looms ominously, reminding you that there will always be death surrounding you wherever you go.
“Poor boy…” one townsfolk whispers beside you, putting her green fingers over her lips with tears lining her eyes.
“Come on.” The Mandalorian cautiously places his hands on your waist and slowly steers you away from the gruesome sight. “Let’s find somewhere to stay for the night before you catch a cold.”
You couldn’t find your voice. Even if you did, disagreeing is the last thing you’d do.
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The inn was warmer than he expected. Not a lot of people in it, despite it being large but cosy. He asked for one room when he checked in, ignoring your mortification when the innkeeper grinned brightly and said “one key for the lovely couple” and ushered you to room thirty-five on the upper level of the building.
The room itself was spacious and rightfully so. He paid a lot of credits to make sure you and the kid don’t feel cooped up in one area. He’s sure you both had enough of that on the Razer Crest. The innkeeper also mentioned something about a library downstairs, so you might be able to entertain yourself and the kid there if the room became too stale.
You’ll both be safe here. It’ll be fine. Din doesn’t like letting you or the kid out of his sight for too long, but there was someone out there who’s probably waiting to snatch one or both of you if the opportunity arises. So that problem needs to be dealt with first, before it escalates into something irreversible.
He suppresses a shudder when he thinks about helplessly watching as either one of you is being dragged away from him. The image sends a nasty pang in his chest and he shoves it down before it gets the better of him.
You cast a curious glance at him when he picks up his pulse rifle. “Where are you going?”
“I just remembered that I need to find ammunition for my pulse rifle.” He hates lying to you, despite the fact that it is to protect you. “I’ll be back soon.”
When he turns, he’s met with uncertainty in your eyes. You’re tense, ready to burst with whatever it is that wants to claw its way out of your mouth, but you’re keeping it at bay. He sees it all too clearly.
“Hey…” He reaches for your shoulders, hoping the weight of his hands will be of some comfort to you. “I’m not leaving you and the kid on some strange planet. Believe me when I say I will come back, okay?”
“Okay…” you quietly replied, nodding. Your eyes shift away from his visor. “Sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?” he asks, genuinely clueless. When you don’t answer him, he gently urges, “Tell me, Cyare…”
For burdening him with your insecurities. Insignificant little things that should be of no concern at all. For thinking he wouldn’t come back after all that he’s done to protect you both. It will take time for you to get used to the fact that this bounty hunter, the Mandalorian, tied himself so tightly to your life and would kill anyone who tries to cut him out of it.
It will take even longer to get used to the fact that he would never willingly hurt you.
“I just…” you shake your head and look at him, smiling thinly. “Be safe out there.”
You mean it with all your heart. His gloved hand cups your cheek in silent response. The quiet moment shared echoes into your soul. You wish the kid was awake for this too, but you don’t want him to be cranky for the rest of the day if you attempt to wake him up now.
“Stay inside and lock the door.” the Mandalorian tells you. “Don’t let anyone in for anything until I get back.”
You nod.
“I’ll come back for you.” he repeats one last time before he takes his leave.
You sigh deeply and sit on the bed, wondering why he had to take your heart with him.
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The Mandalorian came back about two hours after sunset, grunting in pain. You were startled to learn that he ran into a bounty hunter.
"Spotted him at the market." he confessed while you were patching up the gash on his palm.
"What?!" You stop pulling on the bandage you had been wrapping around his hand. "And you didn't think to tell me then?!"
"I didn't want to alarm you–" he tried to tell you, but you were already sighing in frustration. He speaks your name.
"I'm not some fragile doll, Mando." you declare, choosing to focus on his wound. "There's no need to be overprotective. If there's a threat, I'd like to be aware of it."
The lack of his response almost bothers you while you continue your movements. You tried not to make the loth too tight, not too loose, lest it comes off and allows more blood to pour out. It wouldn't do him any good to fight with an infected hand.
In all this, you failed to notice Beetle climbing onto the bed. He'd clawed his way up the blankets and it was only when you heard his little whine when you saw him crawling onto the Mandalorian's lap. The man didn't seem to mind him and opted to scratch the child's petal ear.
The child purred, closing his eyes in appreciation. His father's hand upped his cheek as he yawned softly. You watched the tender exchange, your heart melting at the sight.
"Noted." His voice conceded. "I'm sorry, Cyare."
You almost hate him. He makes it so difficult to stay cross at him when he does things like this. Your heart skips two beats when he calls you that. He constantly reminds you that he's not made of Beskar, that there's something far more valuable underneath.
"It's fine." you shrug after a beat while putting away the medkit. "Don't do it again."
You're almost tempted to kiss his cheek again when you sense the regret in his tone. If only to show him that you're not as upset as he thinks, while also craving that reaction he gave earlier at the alley.
Instead, you don't look at him when you ask, "So what did you do to him?"
His helmet tilts. "Do you really wanna know?"
Actually, you don't. The gory details might haunt you for the rest of the night. You sigh, "You should get some sleep."
Beetle whimpers when you pry him from the Mandalorian, and your heart breaks because you have to separate them if they're both going to get a good night's sleep. You quietly rub his back until he nestles into your chest.
"What about you?" His dark visor trails your movements as you shift to the edge of the bed.
You kiss Beetle's wrinkled head. "Still have to put him to sleep." 
He hummed in response and allowed you to slide off the bed. He watches you as you slowly pace around the room while humming a lullaby. The baby's claws that we're latched onto your long sleeved shirt gradually loosen, until you know that he's fallen asleep.
You notice the Mandalorian now settled on the bed. The only thing that had come off were his boots and gloves. He didn't bother taking off his armour, but you weren't going to comment on it. He was probably exhausted from his hunt. Best to let him sleep.
His breaths were slow, calm. You watch as his chestplate rises and falls in a steady rhythm. It was odd. The way his body relaxed. It was like watching a predator sleep, its sharp claws retracted and teeth hidden in the confines of its mouth. You almost can't believe the same predator had been gently cradling a baby's cheek in his palm.
A walking contradiction, you had concluded all those weeks ago. That sentiment doesn't seem to ever change no matter how much time passes.
You carefully place the child in his floating pod and activate his heating pad. Then you debate whether or not you want to close the pod just to let him breathe some fresh air as he numbers away. But the thought of a looming threat stealing him in the night makes you think otherwise. You close it.
You check if the door is locked before going back to the bed. It's unclear to you if the Mandalorian is really asleep as you cautiously crawl onto the surface. The two of you never really discussed sleeping arrangements, though you figured it didn't matter.
Considering you both slept on the same bed on Sorgan, but this wasn't that. He was obligated to lay next to you at the time because of your fragile state of mind. You wanted to ask him if you should sleep on the floor instead if he was uncomfortable with being next to you this time, but…
You huff and press your head against the pillow instead. The throw that had been at the edge of the bed was now pulled to your chin. Your back was turned to him as you put some distance between you and the Mandalorian.
It didn't take long for sleep to claim you.
You were slowly woken up by the howling wind outside. A blizzard in the night. It didn't frighten you. In some strange way, it was calming.
But then your mind registers an arm wrapped tightly against your waist over the blanket. And the hard mass of warmth pressed behind you. It doesn't take you long to realize it was him. Your mind was too hazy to emulate your body's reaction of embarrassment. You smiled and let the sound of his steady breathing lull you back to sleep.
The three of you spent a couple of days here.
Mando came and went periodically while you and Beetle bundled up in your room. You only went out to grab a few things here and there from the Razer crest from where it's been landed.
Mostly food and water because you don't trust anything edible here. Not after putting some thought into the poisoned boy in the river. You don't want to accidentally kill yourself, Mando or an innocent baby who is completely reliant on the both of you.
You were relieved when he didn't invalidate you by saying you were making a big deal of things. He agreed with you wholeheartedly.
The Mandalorian would always accompany you. He doesn't trust anyone in this town and it is understandable. You appreciate the speeder he hires to help you carry some of the things, even when you tell him that he shouldn't be wasting necessary credits.
"You shouldn't be carrying so many things, Cyare." He would always insist. "Now climb on. I want us to come back before the sun sets."
He'd already placed Beetle in front like he always did. You press your lips together and sit behind him. You wrapped your arms around his torso and press your face against his back as the speeder takes off.
This might be your favourite part about your day.
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“Peekaboo!”
Gurgled laughter follows after you uncover your eyes. Gleeful deep brown eyes stare back at you when you do it again.
“Peekaboo!” 
More giggles fill the room and the child’s infectious joy brightens your damp mood.
You try not to think about the Mandalorian’s sudden and odd departure and shift your attention to the baby. It wasn’t hard to do so because he was just so adorable. 
Five minutes after the Mandalorian left, Beetle woke up crying. You spent time calming him down because he must’ve been frightened by the unfamiliar surroundings and you can’t blame him for that.
“Wanna see what your papa and I got for you?” You drag one of the paper bags you were carrying earlier at the market and pull the stuffed toy out. “Look! Do you like it?”
You’re certain that he does because he squeals ecstatically at the miniature replica of an Ewok with a toothy grin as you hand it to him. Your heart melts as he hugs it tightly like it’s his oldest friend and you laugh at the fact that he’s the exact size of the toy.
True to your word, you and Beetle stayed inside your room. However, the little guy was fascinated by the falling flecks of snow, so you opened the window so he could get a better look at them.
He squealed gleefully when he caught a snowflake in his green hand, but was thoroughly confused when he opened his palm and found nothing but moisture.
“It’s water, little one.” you explained, even though you’re not sure he understands. “Water takes a different form when it gets cold. Then it changes back when it gains warmth, see?”
You managed to catch a rather large snowflake and showed it to him while it began to melt on your hand. He cooed at the sight and as expected, he was unable to resist poking it. Then another one landed on his nose and caused him to sneeze. You laughed when he patted his cheeks as another one fell closely past his face.
When you looked down, right ahead, you catch the Mandalorian’s gaze. He was standing in front of the Pantoran woman, the town’s Marshal. Along with the Deputy. It wasn’t that long since Mando left the room and you already miss his steady presence.
They were talking. What about? You’re not sure. The Marshal glances up and sees you and you restrain the urge to take Beetle and shrink away from her stoic gaze. The Deputy spots you too and unlike his superior, he sends a friendly wave. Which you return with a nervous smile and nod.
The Mandalorian turns his head to both of them and he says something you can’t quite hear. The Marshal responds and it seems like Mando doesn’t like it because he becomes even tenser than he had been up until that point.
He gives you both a nod in return and turns to walk further into the thick snow with the Marshal following him, while the Deputy heads into the inn.
You don’t know what to make of the interaction and you hope it has nothing to do with what you saw at the bridge.
Eventually, you and Beetle ventured into the library. Which, you reckoned, might have been the best decision you could’ve made. Books line the walls of the warmed room. Fiction, mystery, history, languages, everything you could possibly dream of. All of them were arranged accordingly in what you noticed was alphabetical order. A few people are already sitting at the tables and two more are looking for something to read on the fiction shelves.
“I’ve never seen this many books in one place…” you whispered to Beetle.
He cooed in response, his tiny arms raising high at the sight. He wanted to touch every single one of them and you giggled at him. You couldn’t agree more with the little one as you headed further inside, inhaling the heavy scent of books.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” You turned at the feminine voice.
Right in the middle of the room was the reception area, where the librarian was sitting. Or what you think is the librarian?
A younger Pantoran female. Her blue skin strikes out so brightly against the brown background of the library, and its books. She’s in a pair of jeans and a knitted sweater that makes you wish you had one. Her kind smile welcomed you.
“Very.” you finally answered her, smiling back.
“I’m Zan.” she extended her hand and you told her your name and introduced her to Beetle when he reached out to her. “Nice to see another book lover like myself. Maker knows there aren’t that many in this town.”
“That’s a shame. You have quite the collection.” you say. “If it were up to me, I’d spend my entire life in here.”
“At least one of us gets to do that.” Her giggle catches on to Beetle while he’s holding onto her finger with his little claws. She looks at him, scratching his ear. “Maybe your mommy will borrow one and read you a bedtime story later, hmm?”
Before you have the chance to reply to that, someone enters the room and comes over to her desk. You try not to flinch at the blue lekku when you spot them. The male Twi’lek makes your heart race for all the wrong reasons. 
He's lean. Much like Saros. Tall, too. Towers over you the way he did and you remember the way you finished when Saros used that to his advantage to corner you into the corner of the cockpit.
For the first time in so long, you dig deep into the lessons that your father's nannies had drilled into you. Etiquette. Composure. To be the perfect lady. Years of all that knowledge come into play. You keep a cool face as you look away from him.
“Hey, Zan.” he chirps as he places a few stacks of books in front of her.
“Morning, Erud.” she smiles at him and gets working. “Wow, you’re done already?”
The Twi’lek greets you and you nod back before you head over to the fictional books. The two converse as your fingers glaze over a few you’ve seen before and you pick out one that you never got the chance to read. And another one for Beetle.
“You want me to read this one for you, Beetle?” you ask him and let his claws run over the cover of the book. He babbles enthusiastically and you chuckle. “Alright then. Alice In Wonderland, it is.”
Unfortunately, the Twi’lek is leaning on the desk when you decide to head back. He looked disturbed.
“I never liked Ace, but…” Erud trails off, shaking his head. “For him to be the next one? Don’t think I could’ve that one coming.”
Zan huffed sharply, slamming the book on her desk. The sound echoed through the library, starting some of the people who were there, but she doesn’t seem to care. “I swear if another one turns up, I’m leaving this Maker-Forsaken planet.”
He was poisoned.
Third one this month.
Dead eyes staring back at you. The boy in the river. Saros. Lifeless.
Yet his hands are still gripping your neck. He’s still pushing you against the metal door inside the cockpit of the Razer Crest and he’s not going to stop until you submit and give up–
You shake off the chill in your spine with a shudder and force yourself to move. As you did, you recognize one of the people sitting at a table as the Deputy. Human male. Well built into his clothes, a dark brown jacket, pants and boots. He wears a knitted green scarf around his neck and you notice matching gloves beside the stack of books in front of him. Dark skin and curly hair with eyes to match his warm aura. He smiles at you as you pass by and you smile back before he’s back to reading.
“How long do you think the next one arrives?” Erud asks cynically and is met with the Pantoran’s blank stare.
“Forgive me for asking, but…” Your steps slow down and come to a stop as you approach them. They both looked at you. “What has been going on?”
They cast each other a long glance before one of them sighs. This was one touchy subject and neither one of them seemed to want to even have it on their minds at the moment. You get the distinct feeling that it has been going on for far too long.
“No one knows.” Erud was the first one to answer. Your eyes struggle not to glance at his fangs as he explains everything. “A few months ago, there was a war between two rival gangs. The fall of the Empire loosened its ties on our home and it was the people, criminal and citizen alike, who worked together to drive the remaining Imps out.”
But it left a power vacuum. The war wasn’t over for the people of this town. The criminals, rival gangs fought to take control of the land and especially, the factory located at the near outskirts of the town. Many of them were vanquished or disbanded, until only two remained.
“Then the Marshal’s son got caught in the crossfire and he was killed. That was when the people had enough and fought the gangs to drive them out of the town.” he continued, his voice taking a solemn dive. “It was quiet for about two months before the first body appeared in the river.”
An old woman, Twi’lek. A town elder. His maternal grandmother, his only living relative. Taken from him when he had just reached adulthood and he was so excited to celebrate with her. Your heart breaks for him. She was already nearing the end of her life but the surprise didn’t come from her death, but rather from how she came to die. Not from old age. But poisoning.
Her forest green skin had been found with dark streaks, like roots branching up from her neck to her face. Just like the boy you saw earlier. All of the people who were found in the river shared a similar fate. Each one is progressively younger than the last.
“We don’t know what the poison is or where it's coming from.” Zan added when Erud sealed his lips shut from the grief and rage that threatened to consume him. “Only that it is being used to pick us off one by one. That boy you saw today? He was barely twenty-one years old.”
Your eyes widened.
“The next one will most likely be a child.” Erud spat and you flinched at his sharp tone. “Someone’s child.”
You hugged Beetle closer, discomforted by all of this. He wiggled in your arms and you’re keenly aware of how vulnerable he is. Death by poison is not the way to go. For anyone. Especially for a child. A baby.
You have to leave this place as soon as possible. You don’t think you can stomach eating or drinking anything that comes from this land. It’s probably irrational, considering what they’ve told you. If it were raiders, you might consider staying.
But this isn’t like what happened on Sorgan. Poison is subtle. It’s not something you can see and instantly counter against like a knife or a blaster. It could take hours or minutes to have to deal with a dose of poison once it is in your system and maybe by then, it’ll be too late to act. The list of victims is slowly being crossed out by age but you can’t even consider feeding anything to Beetle because what if–
“I saw the Marshal talking to your Mandalorian.” Erud nods to you, shaking you out of your thoughts. “Think he might stick around and help put a stop to whatever’s going on?”
“I…” you choke down your words.
First of all, he's not–
He's not your Mandalorian.
That implies that you're in a relationship with him and last you checked, you're not. Yes, you take care of his child and his ship when you're in space. And yes, you make sure they both eat healthily and you sleep next to the larger of the two. And yes, Mando calls you these little terms of endearment that make your heart flutter and burst.
But neither one of you ever touched on the subject of explicitly labelling yourselves as a couple. So yes, it would be safer to assume that you're not.
But secondly...
Maker, you don’t want to say the truth. That you hope he’s not taking the job. But you’re low on credits and the ship needs fuel and restocking. Taking the job is the smart thing to do. But Mando’s love for Beetle runs deep. Even if you need to stop and replenish on this cursed world, you don’t think he’ll be desperate enough to risk either one of you.
“I’m not sure.” was the most honest answer you could give them.
The vivid memory of one corpse then another. There was a sick monster in this town killing people and you’re not sure you want to face it. Or were you afraid you were going to have to unleash your own if push comes to shove? If you’re brought to the brink of death, how willing are you to kill for yourself? For Beetle? For the Mandalorian.
Very willing, the answer whispers to you. And it scares you.
You know, deep down, you know that you won’t hesitate to kill if the lives of the people you care about are threatened. You did once, but that didn’t stop you and now there’s a dead Twi’lek resting under the sands of Sorgan.
Then your eyes caught something much more frightening than a corpse.
George.
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dividers by @saradika reblog banner by @cafekitsune
Masterlist
Chapter Eight, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven
Taglist:
@groguspawbeans
@graciexmarvel
@thirddeadlysin
@15letthegamesbegin15
@deceiverofgodss
@blub-senpai
@ayothatsano
@astrolockley
@minky77
@rennalouise
@sofsofsposts
@jreads
@dindarasuum
@dindjarinsmut
@storyarcscribe
@fatima-marisa
@princesscy4rika
@andshewentsplat
@hello-th3r3
@janebby
@unofficialavenger90
@come-hell-or-eldren-fire
@littlemisspascal
@vanillaweirdo
@jaguarthecat
437 notes · View notes
frenchiereading · 3 months
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Life is super chaotic right now (I'm still busy buying my new place and then planning my move, etc AND the dog has been sick for almost a week, I'm quite worried and also looking at my pockets and thinking that I don't have much money to spare but what can I do) but I wanted to reflect on the year that has gone and the one coming up. It's all under the cut because it's LONG
Looking back
2023 was the year I picked up my writing pen after 2 years without doing it (and even then, it was to wrap up a WIP which had been left pending since 2017). I fell down the PP hole (I'm sure there's a joke somewhere in there @goodwithcheese could make ;) ) in August 2022 after watching the Mandalorian, which made me come back to Tumblr and discover x reader fics, something I was completely unfamiliar with before. I read my first Frankie fics in this format before even watching the movie. It took until February 2023 for me to pick up a pen and finally write my first Frankie x reader fic. I remember asking Megan about graphic design input back, she was one of the first people I reach out to in the fandom.
I've made so many friends since (and wrote many stories and I'm so thankful I've met all of you guys through your comments or by reading your fics). I know I'm going to miss people and if your name isn't here it's not because you're not important but because my brain is a bitch (I blame antidepressants for any memory loss). You've screamed at me for things I wrote, you've let me rant about lack of interaction, self-deprecating thoughts and irl problems, I appreciate and love you so much, you're in my heart and my thoughts every single day of my life: @wildemaven @avastrasposts @msjarvis @joelsgreys @trulybetty @romanarose @rhoorl @inthedarkestnight @theanothersherlockian @tuquoquebrute @kyberblade @meveispunk @pastelnap and all the fantastic people in the Hornado Watch that get up to all sorts of shenanigans in my pocket, I love you all!
Fandom truly is about connection and finding your people and I'm so glad I've found you. I'm so glad I've found all my readers as well. I cherish every single one of your interaction, I squeal every time I get one and I want you to know you make my day brighter whenever you hit that reblog, react or ask button. I'm always open for requests or for chats and I know it can seem daunting, god knows I also hesitate to send things sometimes. But I love you and every single one of your thoughts or ideas is welcome.
In total, I've written 25 fics this year (1 for Dieter, 2 for Joel, a shit ton for Frankie). Ao3 says that 257,715 words total. I never thought I'd write so many, let alone for different characters (technically I also wrote for Javi P but that was only posted in 2024). Connections and encouragements from others are really what has made me more confident and I am so deeply grateful for my nice little corner of no drama in the fandom.
Looking forward
I don't plan on stopping to write anytime soon so here's what you can expect to see pop up at some point on this blog:
-The Shared Breaths outtakes and sequels listed in the masterlist, especially the Family Museum one when Cassie finally asks her dad what happened to her birth mom. It's the one I've been plotting in my head.
-The conclusion to Sky Drabbles, Frankie and reader going to the wedding she was invited to. It'll be entitled Champagne Snowflakes.
-I have two Din fics I want to try my hand out. A coda fic from TBOBF Episode 7 and one post season 3. I've never written for Din but I'm dying to write about his relationship with Grogu and this is the year I want to challenge myself and do it.
-Some time last month, in my pocket, @goodwithcheese and I think @maggiemayhemnj were discussing something about Frankie calling people some cute, cute names during sex and just like that, POP, there's an F/F/M PWP (with a bit of plot coz it's me) in my head. Quite deeply rooted so it has to be written.
There are more silly ideas that may get written if I can flesh them out (namely a Joel one in which reader will try to turn his scowl upside down) but most importantly, I'm going to have fun with my writing, stray from angst I think (unless plot bunnies assault me and I can't resist).
If you've made it this far, here's a forehead kiss for you and your Pedro tax
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lady-pug · 10 months
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Snowflakes In Your Hair
Summary: After the events in Nevarro, Mando believes your little group deserves a break. Once he learns you’ve never seen snow before, he decides to take you to Ando Prime to experience it for the first time, where the three of you indulge in a day filled with fun, and a life-changing realization takes place.
Pairing: Din Djarin x Reader
Word count: 3,6k
Warnings: none
Notes: I love this one, as it’s super fluffy (and honestly quite a bit self-indulgent, as there isn’t snow where I’m from so I don’t get to experience it often). I really hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. Again, if you spot any mistakes, please feel free to warn me and I'll correct it right away, and feedback is always welcome and appreciated.
This one takes place before the last one (in between seasons 1 and 2). Reader’s gender not specified.
Next part | Previous part | Masterlist | Read on AO3
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Looking out the Razor Crest’s windshield felt incredibly calming for some reason. Watching all the stars fly by, a blur of white and blue, gave you a sense of tranquility you longed for ever since you could remember. Thinking about it, everything about living on this ship, as rusty and falling apart as it was, gave you this calming feeling. Even amongst all the chaos that came with living with a former bounty hunter and his magic green foundling. You had to admit that things had gotten a little bit less stressful after Karga had called off the bounty on the kid, meaning that you and Mando no longer had to be on the run, constantly glancing over your shoulder for Guild hunters. 
Mando had been a bit off the past couple of days after the whole ordeal on Nevarro, which had left all of you battered, bruised and pretty tired. He had wanted to stay on the planet as little as possible, long enough only to give Kuiil a proper burial. Once he was healed just enough, although not entirely, he was back on his feet, finding every little unscrewed bolt on the Razor Crest to fix and keep himself occupied. When you confronted him about it, arguing that that was your job and questioning if he should be straining himself like that, his answer almost shattered your heart:
“I just-” he sighed dejectedly “I just want to feel useful.” 
From that moment on you let him do small tasks so long as he promised to take it easy.
Speaking of the Mandalorian, the man in question walked in and sat on the pilot seat, checking the coordinates, having spent the entire day fixing the heating system for the fresher. The kid on your lap stirred from his nap, as if sensing the presence of his guardian, but kept on sleeping peacefully.
“How was he?” Mando asked, tilting his helmet towards the child.
“A sweetheart, as always.” you smiled down at him “Ate all his food and let me bathe him on the sink without a fuss. He was a bit restless right before bed but nothing a story couldn’t fix.”
The man chuckled under his breath, stroking the kid’s ear carefully so as not to wake him up, before falling silent again. 
“Mando?”
He hummed in acknowledgement. 
“What’s on your mind?”
He waited for a beat, as if deep in thought.
“I’ve been thinking.” you nodded for him to continue “Maybe we should take a break.”
Your brain had a hard time processing his words.
“What?”
“We should take a break from everything. Rest for a bit.”
“But,” you protested “we have to work on finding the kid’s people.”  
“I know” he grabbed one of your hands “but after everything that happened in the last few days, and tracking the child’s kind could take a really long time, we have no idea where to even begin.” he sighed “I think you, we, deserve to rest. What do you say, Cyar’ika?”
You couldn’t help the shy grin that spread across your face. To everyone else in the galaxy, Mando might seem like a cold, ruthless hunter. Don’t get me wrong, when the situation calls for it he could be brutal. But only a select group of individuals, yourself and the kid included, got to see this side of him, caring and protective.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
Although you couldn’t see his face, you were almost sure he was smiling under the helmet, if the way he perked up was anything to go by. He swerved the pilot seat and turned towards the navigation system.
“So where are we going?” you asked him and he, in turn, swirled his seat back towards you.
“Where would you like to go?” that made you pause.
“I don’t know.” you shrugged “Wherever you take us is fine.”
He stayed silent for an unnervingly long moment before speaking again.
“We are going wherever you want to go.” you started to protest but he silenced you with a tilt of his helmet “I’ve already been all over the galaxy, you should pick our next stop.”
“But Mando-”
One of his gloved hands reached out and held one of your own softly.
“Anywhere you want,” he insisted “someplace you always wanted to visit.”
You knew there was no convincing him otherwise, that he should be the one to choose your destination. When Mando settled on something, he wouldn’t budge. So you started mentally going over the list of planets you knew, which only ended up in frustration as it led you nowhere; other than a few planets on the Outer Rim Territories in the Arkanis sector, and planets you had already visited while living on the Crest, you didn’t really know many places that would be suitable for a vacation. The galaxy was huge and you didn’t exactly have access to many holomaps growing up.
“I-I can’t really think of anything.” you glanced down, slightly embarrassed at your lack of knowledge “I don’t really know many places.”
A beat of silence followed before the Mandalorian gripped your hand tighter.
“Let’s try something different.” you glanced back at his visor and after a moment you nodded “Back when we were in Nevarro you mentioned that it was your first time seeing lava.” you tried averting your gaze again, feeling a bit childish about your previous comment, but he tugged softly at your hand to keep your eyes on him “Think about a thing you’d like to see for the first time, something you’ve never seen before, and we’ll go from there.”
That made you stop and ponder. What would you like to see in the galaxy? There were a lot of things you had never seen before.
“Growing up in Tatooine” you started, realizing he was paying close attention to what you were saying as he leaned forward in his seat “there wasn’t much to see other than sand. Sand on the ground, sandstorms. Very rarely did we get the occasional drizzle at night, but not much else. So there are a lot of things I’ve never seen. I’d love to see the ocean one day.” you paused, a small smirk hanging from your lips “But something that always puzzled me is snow.”
“Snow?” Mando chuckled, amused.
“Yeah, what even is that?!” you giggled “Imagine young me, in all my tiny glory, hearing for the first time that frozen water falls from the sky! I almost didn’t believe it.”
He laughed at that. Mando actually laughed. That was a rare sight, one you wouldn’t mind witnessing more often. 
“I can think of a few snow planets we can go.” he entered something on the navicomputer “Alzoc III is not somewhere I’d like to set foot anytime soon.”
You vaguely remember that Twi’lek, Xi’an, mentioning a job on Alzoc III, something Mando didn’t seem particularly proud of.
“How about Ando Prime?” he asked “It’s covered in snow, but normally not enough to be dangerous. We can go there first and then stop in Ando and you’ll get to see the ocean. How’s that for our vacation?”
“I’ve never heard of those places, but if you say so, I think it’s perfect.”
“Then let’s get going.”
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After a quick stop at a planet with a bustling street market in order to buy snow appropriate clothes for you and the kid, Din set the Razor Crest on course to the Ando system for the start of your little vacation. If he was being honest he was actually pretty excited about the whole trip; the idea of taking a moment to properly breath after so long on the run was an appealing one. Not only that, he’d also get to make you happy in the process (and hopefully get to witness you genuinely smile a bit, something he hadn’t seen in a while).
Recently Din had been feeling as if he was lacking. He reached out to people to help him and ended up getting them hurt or even killed when he was supposed to protect them. He blamed himself entirely for Kuiil’s death, and for putting Cara, Karga and especially you and the kid in danger. Maker, he almost died himself, if it hadn’t been for IG-11’s smart-ass programming finding a loophole in his Creed, he would have been left cold on the floor of that cantina. 
After so many failures (at least from his point of view) he wanted to finally do something good for your little group. Maybe try to bring some joy to you and the kid for once, instead of danger. 
And if he was being honest he missed you, the real you, so bright and full of life. He craved your company and yearned to see you smile after the rough couple of days you had faced together. Part of him argued that it would be best to just drop you off back in Tatooine where you would be safe, away from all this mess, away from him. Yet another, larger and much stronger part pushed him to be selfish for once and keep you where you were. For the kid’s sake. The little womp rat would miss you too much if you were gone, he thought. Yeah, it was definitely because of the kid.
So here he was, landing the Razor Crest on a patch of snow covered land on Ando Prime. Climbing down from the cockpit, he found you on the hull, having just dressed the kid up in his little puffy coat. 
“Are you both ready?” he asked, resting his hands on his hips as he waited for you to tie your boots.
“Yes, we are.” you almost squealed in excitement, but stopped short once you fully took him in “What about you?”
“What about me?” he countered back, confusion lacing his tone.
“Aren’t you going to freeze to death?”
Din felt a pleasant warmth spreading in his chest over your concern for him.
“My flightsuit is thick, and the armor has an internal heating system.” you nodded, intrigued.
After pressing a button on a side panel and coming to stand next to you before the lowering ramp, he chose to take in your reaction. The kid, safely tucked in your arms, giggled in anticipation while you worried at your bottom lip, most likely trying to contain your excitement. 
Once the ramp hit the ground, your eyes squinted due to the harsh sunlight reflected by the snow before widening in awe.
“Wow.” you whispered. Your eyes shone in wonder as you took in the sight before you. “It’s beautiful.”
Even the kid seemed enchanted by the landscape, his large eyes sparkling in amazement. Din stepped forward down the ramp onto the ground and started walking forward, but quickly turned back around once he realized you were no longer beside him. Instead you were standing at the foot of the ramp, staring at the blanket of snow as if it held the answers to all the secrets in the galaxy.
Din walked back and held his hand out towards you.
“Come on.”
You eyed him warily for a moment before one of your hands gripped his own as you held the kid close to your chest with the other arm and stepped forward. As soon as your feet touched the ground, you sank a little as the snow crunched and settled, and Din heard the smallest, quietest (and frankly the most adorable) yelp he’s ever heard.
As quickly as it appeared on your face the look of frightened surprise vanished and you started laughing.
“It’s so fluffy!” you said between huffs of laughter. 
Din chuckled under his breath as you started walking forwards on wobbling legs, never letting go of his hand. You looked positively delighted, resembling a child on Life Day’s morning. The kid wouldn’t stop giggling and wiggling his little arms towards the ground.
“Can we touch it?” you asked, a smile so wide it almost outshined the environment around you.
“I mean, it’s just water.” Din shrugged “It will probably melt in a few minutes.”
“But is it dangerous?”
“As long as you don’t stick your hand in there for too long, no, you should be fine.”
You immediately lowered the kid to the ground, who ran around trying to take in as much as he could of the white world around him. You scooped up a handful of snow and brought it to eye level so you could look at it properly.
“Mando, it’s so soft.” you crushed it in your palm, the snow seeping through between your fingers “I expected it to be somewhat like sand, but… it’s not.”
Puffs of condensation escaped through your parted lips every time you spoke, something you seemed to only just realize. You let an open-mouthed blow of air, giggling uncontrollably at the smoke coming out of your mouth.
“Come on, there’s a lot for us to see here.”
Din started walking away, but he couldn’t have taken more than a few steps when he heard more than he felt a thud on the back of his helmet. Whatever had hit him slid down onto his cowl and started seeping through the fabric, cold and wet. He could hear the kid giggling, almost like he was mocking him.
He slowly turned around to find you with both hands covering your mouth, shoulders shaking as you desperately tried to hold in your laughter.
“I-I’m sorry…!” you wheezed.
He silently stared at you for a moment, then two. The longer he stared at you, the more your amused smile started to turn into an uneasy one, worried you had somehow offended him. Another second passed before he crouched down as quick as a nexu, scooping a ball of snow and throwing it right at the center of your face. You stumbled back with a surprised scoff, rubbing the snow off your nose.
“Not fair! Your aim is much better than mine, you bounty hunter!”
“Maybe you just aren’t as good as you thought.” he mocked, trying to keep his tone stoic.
A playfully murderous look crossed your face as your eyes narrowed.
“You are so on, Mando.”
The both of you started throwing snowballs back and forth at each other, the kid sitting in the sideline between the two of you, giggling and cheering you on. Din had the upper hand, given the armor and his years of handling a blaster in his former line of work, but you also managed to get a few hits in. Your laughter warmed him up inside; this was exactly what he had wanted, to see you happy and carefree.
It all came to a halt when a snowball, clearly not thrown by you, hit Din on his pauldron. He glanced to the side to see the child with his tiny hands raised in the air.
“Hey!” Mando scowled at him playfully “Using magic is foul play, kid.” the little boy had the audacity of looking away; if he was humanoid he would probably be whistling “And, come on, you are supposed to be on my side.”
“Well, that’s probably because he likes me better.” you laughed hysterically, and Din didn’t have it in him to argue about that, given that, if he was the kid, he would pick you over himself any day. After you calmed down he spoke again.
“Come on, we have a lot to see before it gets dark.”
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After an entire day of exploring, the three of you were pretty tired, the kid more so than the rest of you. While you felt physically exhausted, this small trip had been very emotionally relaxing. Not only that but it had also been full of new experiences; you got to see snow for the first time and Din got to see you the happiest he’s probably ever seen you. Even the kid had a lot of fun exploring in the snow.
By the end of the afternoon, having seen a frozen lake, which Din absolutely did not let you walk over (“I’m not taking any chances, Cyar’ika” he had told you), frozen waterfalls and even helping the kid build a snowman (if anyone mentioned said snowman looked more like a snow-Mando, that’s nobody’s business), Din decided it was time to head back to the Crest.
“But why, we are having so much fun! Can’t we stay just a bit longer?” you begged, and he almost caved in, but he had to think of your safety first.
“We can’t, Cyar’ika.” he answered softly “It’s getting dark and the temperature is going to start lowering fast soon. No offense, but you aren’t really used to these conditions.”
He was right, of course. You were just a couple degrees away from starting to shiver, the cold wind crawling up your spine. And you had to think about the kid too. You sighed.
“Let’s get going then.”
As you bent down to pick the kid up before you started making the track back, Din felt a twinge of guilt for cutting your fun short.
“Tomorrow, I’ll take you to Ando so you can see the ocean” you seemed to perk up at that “I promise.”
You, seemingly satisfied with his answer, agreed to go back. 
Dusk was just beginning to settle when, almost halfway back, Din felt you shaking his arm frantically, trying to get his attention. 
“Mando, Mando, look!” you pointed up “It’s snowing!”
Small snowflakes were slowly but steadily falling from the sky, being deposited on any surface they could find. Some fell on the kid’s nose, making him sneeze; others on his ears, tickling them. And some fell on you, covering your hair and clothes in tiny white specks.
You were beaming; there was no other way to describe it. As Din looked at you, he couldn’t help but find you absolutely gorgeous; sporting the biggest and most radiant smile he had ever seen anyone give, your eyes sparkled as you looked up at the falling snow, snowflakes scattered on your head like a crown, making you glow.
He was startled out of his trance by you suddenly turning to face him.
“Thank you, Mando.” you spoke dreamily, leaving him confused.
“For what?”
“For doing this, bringing me, us, here.” you cupped your hand in front of you and observed as some snowflakes fell on your open palm “Just- thank you.”
Din felt that same warm feeling spreading on his chest as he stared at you. 
“It was nothing, Cyar’ika. Really.”
With that you smiled at him and resumed your walk, you and the kid occasionally trying to catch the falling ice with your hands (and sometimes with your tongue). A few minutes passed by in silence while Din gathered the courage to ask you something that had been on his mind for a while now.
“Hey, Cyar’ika?” 
You hummed in acknowledgement.
“Why do you call me Mando?”
That made you stop in your tracks. 
“What?”
“Why do you still call me Mando?”
“That’s how you told me to address you. How you introduce yourself to everyone.” you answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy.
“I know but-” he sighed “You already know my name, my real name. Why do you keep calling me Mando?”
You looked at the horizon for a moment, as if deep in thought, before answering him truthfully.
“You didn’t give me your name.” he tilted his helmet, confused for a second before you continued “Moff Gideon was the one who revealed your name that day, not you. I assumed that, like with your face, your Creed doesn’t allow you to share your name, and Gideon disclosing it like that was an invasion of your privacy. So I thought it was better to just stick to calling you Mando.”
You resumed walking as his brain processed this piece of information you had just given him. And then it hit him like a railspeeder. He looked at you again and it was like seeing you for the first time. You were still you, smiling down at the kid in your arms, snowflakes in your hair, but at the same time it was as if you were an entirely different person. He was seeing you in a whole new light, and as that warm feeling started taking place in his chest again, he could finally give it a name.
Din was in love with you.
How hadn’t he realized it sooner? It was so obvious: you were absolutely perfect, at least in his eyes. You took care of the kid as if he was your own, you were an excellent fighter, putting your life on the line to protect the kid (and sometimes even Din), and you showed concern over Din's well being, even when he sometimes pushed you away (not to mention you were extremely respectful of his Creed, going out of your way so he was comfortable and could take his helmet off in private). In the end, you were perfect because you were you.
Your voice calling out for him was what snapped him out of his own thoughts. He noticed you were several meters away, you and the kid staring confusedly at him. He quickly jogged to catch up with you, and you started walking side by side in silence again. After a few minutes, he spoke up again.
“Cyar’ika?”
“Yes, Mando?”
A beat passed before he spoke so softly it was almost a whisper.
“You can call me Din.” he said, before quickly adding “If you want.”
A moment passed before you smiled softly at him.
“Alright.” your smile grew some more “Thank you, Din.”
He smiled under the helmet, liking the way his name sounded falling from your lips.
Din.
He could get used to that.
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haydanakin · 1 year
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Can we please just fire Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy now. I'm so tired of Padme and Naboo erasure. Both of them are important to Star Wars! And I hate the foreshadowing of the ST. The ST should've never happened at all. Screw JJ Abrams and Rian whatever his last name is.
ANYWAYS, the Jedi Order is reborn, and Luke is guiding the new Jedi. The New Republic has formed, and the galaxy is recovering from years of darkness from the Empire. What are sequels again? Idk. Sequels don't exist. I just see a new golden era in the galaxy.
If you're wondering, anon is responding to this post
Part I - Dave Filoni I will say Dave Filoni under the direction of George Lucas gave us amazing stuff-- Ahsoka Tano, Rex, Fives, Echo, Jesse, expansion of Order 66, the Clone Wars themselves. But him on his own? Not so great.
Ahsoka's walkabout in s7 was boring, the two sisters had potential but blundered in the execution. The BadBatch arc in s7 featured super amazing Anakin, and I did like the whole 'rescue Echo' plot line, but the Bad Batch as a TV show… I have some criticisms of it.
I like the ' what happens to the Clones after the Empire forms? They've served their purpose-- are they still relevant?' story line. It would be a great one to explore with normal clones. In fact, following Cody around, a clone who did participate in Order 66 and had his mind taken over, would've been a novel experience.
Instead we get genetically enhanced clones who don't have programing chips cause they're special snowflakes and don't partake in Order 66 bc they're special. Getting to see their side of Order 66 really brought nothing-- it's the same as the Jedi. Why are the clones turning against the Jedi? No one knows! It's rinse and repeat watered down version of ROTS, and i'd much prefer watching that movie over the first two episodes of TBB.
I will also give credit-- Dave Filoni and Favereau gave me The Mandalorian. A side character who doesn't know he's the main character just trying to make his way in the larger GFFA. He's a normal guy with a job. Then new dad has to deal with his adopted kid having Wizard powers. ME Likey. It's similar to Andor in down to earth, not life and death, Jedi/Sith fate of the Galaxy type of thing. It's what normal life would've been like in GFFA.
Third season and some of second season haven't felt like that though. Din keeps meeting all these famous people that are tied of in the 'Fate of the Galaxy' --Bo Katan, Ahsoka, Boba Fett, Cad Bane, Luke fucking Skywalker-- instead of more normal people. I do appreciate the smallness of season 1-- we had Peli, and Omera, and Karga. Characters not known to the larger galaxy, but still important in their own right.
Part II- Female Characters
Star Wars has never appreciated or loved it's female characters with the exception of Princess Leia. Original Trilogy follows Luke-- male character, who with the help of an older male character, goes and finds another male character pilot to help them infiltrate a small moon space ship full of male characters.
There are exactly TWO female speaking characters in A New Hope and one gets kriffed off to 'enhance male pain'.
Now, by nature of the story, Padme Amidala get shafted before she was even ever named or created -- Luke was raised by his aunt and uncle so something must have happened to his mother. She is 'unknown mother' defined only relationship with her son and then later to her husband.
It's not until the Phantom Menace when she gets her own storyline, that is little to non effected by her relationship to Anakin. She's a queen who has someone invade her planet, and with the help of two Jedi and the Gungan People, saves the day.
Anakin helps of course, by first winning them enough credits to get off tattooine, and second by blowing up the control ship, but both situations could be solved without Anakin. He becomes the unnecessary character-- his introducution is so low-key you don't realize the story is about him until Revenge of the Sith. He's a supporting side character in both Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
Both prequel movies that don't feature Anakin as protagonist or antagonist are hated by a large majority of SW fans, and usually because of the crime of not being perfect. Jar Jar Binks is just as annoying as C-3PO imo, but because the protagonist of TPM is Padme Amidala, the movie is hated, as opposed to ANH which features Luke.
Padme's fate was written before she even had a chance to exist, and therefore has no agency. I've seen others label her as weak, pointless, lame, because she dies of a broken heart, 'oh why didn't she live for her children' SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE OKAY. George had already killed her by then, she can't live for her children when the author has decided otherwise. The nature of a prequel is it must narratively co-exist with the story already told. Padme must die or be removed from the picture so that Luke can be raised by his Aunt and Uncle. Anakin must fall to the Dark-Side so that he can be Darth Vader and do a heel-face turn at the end of ROTJ. the end has already been written. The beginning must fall in line.
Getting back on topic. Fathers are mentioned in The Mandalorian- which makes sense since it's about a Father and his Son. oh wait that's seems that's what Star Wars is about. Prequels were Anakin picking which father-figure he wanted to follow. Luke saving his Father. Din Djarin adopting a son with magic powers.
But Bo-Katan mentions her father TWICE and her sister doesn't even get a mention. Even though Bo was there at Satine's death, and the reason Bo left death watch and stood up to Maul. When Satine died, Mandalore split and fractured and any attempt of restoring mandalore just resulted in more fracturing and shattering.
In Obi-Wan Kenobi not mentioning Padme was criminal. The whole reason Anakin fell was to save her. Her daughter and son were featured prominently and her name didn't come up once besides two vague mentions.
SW needs to treat it's female characters better. Right now Leia is still the only one that's almost universally loved by the fans. Even Bo Katan has issues. By not acknowledging her past and mistakes and death watch , instead of making her a stronger character, the writers have made her weak. Making mistakes and learning from them and growing from them are what causes her to be relatable. So far, Mando S3 has been rushing her redemption process. They're having her reunite Mandalore, but she hasn't atoned or made up for her failings in the past.
It was her involvement in Death Watch that lead to her sisters death, and the writers essentially ignoring that and trying to hide it is lazy and the antithesis to character growth.
Part III - Disney's Anti- Prequel campaign.
The sequel trilogy… is problematic. While trying to emulate and give us the 'star wars' feeling again, all the films did was undermine the finale of the original trilogy.
What was Darth Vader's return to the light for if we're just going to bring back Palpatine? What was the point of Luke's rejection of the darkside and declaring himself a Jedi in the face of evil itself, if we're just going to have him become a hermit on a planet because he gave up? What was the point of the Alliance to Restore the Republic if we're just going to blow it up because it's corrupt?
The problem with trying to avoid the prequel trilogy is the sequel trilogy just became the prequel trilogy. Hear me out.
We have a corrupt Republic that is destroyed by an Empire. A Jedi student falls to the Dark Side and serves the Empire. A desert dwelling person with magical powers is told that they are the key to saving the galaxy. Am i talking about the Prequel Trilogy or the Sequel Trilogy?
The difference is the prequel trilogy was planned. From start to finish, no half baked retconning or switching directions (both original and sequel trilogies suffered from this) George Lucas had the entire prequels laid out. Their largest crime I believe is in writing/dialogue-- not the plot. It's complicated-- how does a republic turn into an empire? How does a Jedi Knight become a sith? How does the Jedi Order become extinct? Through War and Careful Planning. So while the prequels are not perfect, their world building brought much needed light and explanation to the Original Trilogy. It answered questions, but the answers were not what everyone liked.
They wanted the Republic to be conquered by an outside Empire, not for it to be one and the same. Fans wanted Anakin to be strong and heroic, and not a man who is crippled by self-doubt and his greatest failure is his greatest strength- his breath and depth of love.
The sequel trilogy should've been the struggle of not repeating the same mistakes. Of avoiding the past not repeating it. Of Luke not giving up and not becoming Obi-Wan. Of Han not becoming Qui-Gon Jinn or Ben Skywalker not becoming Darth Vader. Or Rey being her own self and not being Luke 2.0 aka finding out that her grandfather is evil just like Luke found out that his father was evil.
Star Wars is was the first to suffer from Disney's new nostalgia machine where live action play by play of beloved animated movies are created without souls; and sequels that are just the same story retold with the next generation. 'Happily Ever After The End' no longer exists, the hope of a happy ending destroyed with the next sequel announcement. Where does it end Disney? When you've wrung the last love and enjoyment out of your original titles? When consumers no longer go to the movies to see your new Frankenstein movie? When catering Fan Service is no longer profitable?
Disney's addiction to sequels and reboots found it's first home in Star Wars Sequel Trilogy and continues in the rest of the Star Wars universe. What is Boba Fett if not a sequel to Mandalorian? What is Ahsoka if not a sequel to Rebels? What is Obi-Wan Kenobi if not a sequel to the Prequel Trilogy? What is Andor if not a prequel to Rogue one?
The Mandalorian didn't start out that way. Was it in the same universe? yes and so by nature it makes it a sequel. But there were new original characters and an original story. Now it's become a sequel and a prequel; the connecting link instead of a stand alone.
So yes anon, Padme and Satine deserve better. But you know what? We deserve better too.
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ladydorian05 · 7 months
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Rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.
Was tagged by @hippolotamus @wikiangela @thewolvesof1998 @wildlife4life, Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I seriously need to pick up the pace with my wips
Most hits Fic:
-When life tears you asunder, but you're not alone: (stranger things,
Max & Eddie, siblings dynamic) Co-written with @made-ofmemories Billy was a pretty shitty brother, there was no denying it, but Max still finds herself mourning for the sibling relationship they never got to have. With him gone she thinks so are her chances of ever having the big brother figure she’s always wanted. Then in a turn of events that she never saw coming, Eddie Munson waltzes into her life. Or more like, almost runs her over.
Most kudos: (The second one with most Kudos is also When life tears you asunder, so this is the most Kudos one)
-Too busy being yours to fall for someone new: Buddie Co-written with @made-ofmemories (we tend to enthuse each other with fic ideas and end up writing together a lot :3)
Natalia helps Buck pick a couch for his apartment, but when the wrong one gets delivered he starts to think maybe it's some kind of cosmic sign from the universe.
Determined to not let his best friend mope to death, Eddie decides it's time that he helps Buck find a couch so that he can stop associating a piece of furniture with the success or failure of his romantic relationships.
And he does, Buck finds the one.
Third Most comments:
Mornings in bed: (Ronance)
She’s an active person, a busy body, and her interests also demand for her to be constantly on the move, but she loves days like this when she can stay home. It’s cold outside, they’ll probably get the first snow of the season by next week, but she’s warm. She’s oh so warm laying in bed, there’s the weight of an arm around her torso and a leg draped over her hip. How can she feel anything but warmth when she’s in the arms of her Robin.
Fourth most bookmarks:
Kissing his neck: (The mandalorian, gn reader insert)
Kissing his neck and finding out he’s really sensitive there:
You’re both inside the cockpit, the baby peacefully sleeping inside his pram in the cargo hold, he just activated the hyperspace stretching his arms to the front and cracking his neck, when you noticed the strip of skin between his helmet and the high neck of his tunic.
Fifth most words:
A life in retrospection: (Kinsman, Agent Whiskey/Female reader)
He couldn’t believe this was his life now.
He thought as he watched, through a window from the inside of his warm home, as the snowflakes fell outside.
Couldn’t believe he was capable of feeling such happiness again, not after everything he’s had to live through.
A few years ago, he almost committed the biggest mistake of his entire existence, condemning millions of people just because of his trauma. Good thing a pair of gentlemen helped knock some sense into him. Literally. And god bless Champ for giving him a second chance, since then, his life had been filled with second chances.
Fic with the least words:
Eparavur takisit - Apologise: (Pure Angst, no comfort. Din Djarin/gn reader)
“No, no…no, no, please no. Cyare…Cyare please…” Din’s broken voice came through his helmet. “Please don’t leave me, please, I need you.” He knew in his mind you couldn’t hear him, not anymore.
No pressure tags:
@made-ofmemories @your-catfish-friend @diazblunt @loserdiaz @alyxmastershipper @crowleywasagryffindor and anyone who wants to do it!
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dindjarindiaries · 3 months
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Dincember - December 18: Snowflake
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character: Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)
prompt: Snowflake
main masterlist • dincember masterlist
⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙
"It's freezing." You barred your teeth against the wind and held the fur-lined poncho even tighter around yourself. "Please tell me it's not much longer."
Din's gloved hand found your back as he guided you ahead. "It's not much longer."
You exhaled a deep sigh of relief, causing your breath to fog up around you. "Thank the stars."
His thumb brushed over the material of your poncho, a gesture so sweet it felt as if it was done on your skin. "I'm sorry. I didn't know about the storm." Din's helmet glanced over at you, his visor giving you a quick once-over in concern. "I won't let this happen again."
You smiled, despite the cruelty of the planet's cold chill. "It's okay." Your tone became laced with more amusement. "You can make up for it by helping me get warm when we get there."
Din huffed at that, creating a small puff of fog underneath the bottom of his visor. You frowned, wiping a gloved finger on the frosted-over armor covering his shoulder.
"Maybe you're the one who needs to be warmed up."
Din kept himself close enough to your side to brush against you with each step. "It's safe to say we both do." He guided the two of you around a corner in the small town and pointed towards a dimly-lit building in the distance. "There." His hand found your back again as he led you forward. "The inn."
You took a deep breath as a shiver ran through you, causing Din to bring himself even closer to you. Your teeth chattered all the way until you got inside, the warmth of the inn embracing you like the best kind of hug. You closed your eyes and indulged in it as Din approached the counter.
"One room, please." Din's voice was as polite as ever, with not a single trace of the cold affecting him whatsoever. He received the key and set forth the necessary amount of credits. "Thank you."
Din led the way to the room and stepped in first, inspecting the room for safety before he helped you inside as well. He eased you down to sit on top of the bed before he removed his helmet and his gloves, his hands - somehow still warm - holding the sides of your face as his furrowed brow inspected you.
"Hold on." Gently, Din lifted his fingers to brush over your eyelid. Your lashes fluttered until Din pulled his hand away and nodded. "There." His thumb brushed under your eye. "Sorry. There was a snowflake."
You laughed at that. "Well, thanks." You leaned into his touch. "I'm surprised it didn't melt."
Din huffed. "No. It was still in tact." He took in a breath, hesitating in shyness before going on. "It was pretty."
You softened at that. "Pretty?"
Din nodded, his shyness fading in favor of a warm smile. "Yeah." His hands held your shoulders as he gently eased you towards him in an embrace that was already better than the warmth at the inn that had first greeted you.
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thecyndimistuff · 1 year
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The bad batch show cannot work without pre-existing content because The Bad Batch is literally a ripoff of the Republic Commandos novels, nobody can change my mind. The Bad Batch are just cheap copies of some clones from Republic Commandos without the Mandalorian heritage, upbringing and, you know, good development. Echo is Corr, Hunter is a mix between Ordo and Boss, Tech is Prudii, Wrecker is (maybe) a mix between Atin, Scorch and Sev, Omega is Venku, and Crosshair is Darman but he's with the empire because he's a bitch instead of because he stayed behind to save an injured clone.
I want to say yes bc on the surface yes they are a ripoff of stuff like delta squad and repcomm and such. But at the same time I still feel like that’s giving them too much credit bc they really are just flat caricatures of dave filoni’s favorite dudebro actors and characters like Rambo and Clint Eastwood.
There is nothing to them. Each are just flat 2-dimensional puppets of a single character trait. Leader Guy, Smart Guy, Destructive Guy, Snivelling Snarky Killer Guy, and levelheaded straightman who fills in the gaps of whatever else the plot needs.
And lets not forget Special Snowflake Child who’s only trait is being a Child but not in a way that was unique or endearing like Grogu.
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idungoofed · 1 year
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Dincember Day 20 - Snowman
DinxGn!reader
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Word count: 860+
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“Now for the finishing touches!” You announce to Grogu as you turn to the snow-child you’d made, hanging a pair of green socks on the twigs on either side of the snowy head for ears.
“You can put the eyes on, kid!” You say putting a small stone on each of his tiny green hands, and lift the cooing child up so he can reach.
Once placed, you set Grogu back on the frozen ground and each take a step back to admire your joint efforts.
“What do you think, kid?” You ask, looking down at him.
“Patuu!”
“Yeah, you’re right - best snow child ever!” You say with a wink.
While you’re standing there, fat white flakes start drifting down from the clouded sky. “Oh! It’s snowing again!” You exclaim, throwing your arms out, spinning in a small circle. Grogu copying your action next to you.
As you turn you notice you weren’t alone with the child. Din stood on the ramp, one hand on his hip while the other cradles his helmet, his face bare due to your isolated location.
“Repairs are done. Are neither of you col-“ he cuts himself off as his eyes travel to the snow-child behind you, and raises his eye brow. “Are those my socks?”
You reach a hand out to flick one of the socks, causing it to sway on the twig. “Oh, you mean snow-Grogu’s ears?” You ask, face the picture of innocence. “I don’t know they might be, they were just hanging around the Crest… in your clothes draw.” You can’t help the smirk that makes its way across your face.
Din rolls his eyes, shaking his head but you can see him fighting to keep his own mouth set in a hard line.
You shrug and skip over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck, looking into his soft brown eyes. “Don’t worry, we made a snow Mandalorian too.” You say sweetly, gesturing over your shoulder.
His eyes land on the two large stacked snow balls next to the snow-child. “It… doesn’t have a head.” Din says, his brow knitting together as he looks back down at you still pressed against his chest.
“Needed the finishing touch.” You say, placing a kiss on his pouting lips while your hands travelled down and take his helmet from his grasp.
Twisting out of Dins arms, you walk over to the half finished snow man, and gently place the helmet on top. Then, tugging Dins leather gloves out from your pocket where you’d stashed them you hang them onto the end of the branches you’d stuck in the torso earlier.
You hear a sigh from behind you and a muttered, “Was wondering where they went…”
“So this is what you two have been up to for the past hour?” Din asks, looking incredulously between you and Grogu.
“Not exactly” You admit, crouching down to grab one of the snow balls you’d hidden behind the snow man. “I’ve also been showing the kid how to make THESE!” You lob the snow ball at Din, which flies through the air and explodes against his pommel.
Din gapes at you, eyes wide with shock as he looks from his frosty shoulder back to you, when slowly a wicked grin spreads across his face.
“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.” He says, voice a low rasp.
You giggle-scream as Din breaks into a sprint towards you. Your attempt to run away is futile- his long legs covering the ground between you in no time.
You feel his strong arms wrap around your waist before being yanked down onto the cold ground.
Din caged you under his body, grabbing your arms and pulls them above your head, securing them there in one large hand. With the other he scoops up snow and stuffs it down your top, causing you to howl as the the ice makes contact with your bare skin.
“M-mercy! Mercy” you call between laughter and screams.
As you lay beneath him, Din can’t help but marvel at how beautiful you look. Your cheeks and tip of your nose are flushed pink against the cold, the snow beneath and scattered in your hair make you look ethereal. Your eyes, framed with snowflakes caught in your lashes shine with joy and love as you as you meet his.
Din’s hand that held yours captive lets go, traveling down your arms, around the shell of your ear, hands skimming along your jawline. “So beautiful mesh’la” he murmurs as he brings his lips down to yours.
With your now free hands you bring them up to Dins face. He hisses when you do, grabbing your hands. “Cold.” Before brushing his lips against yours once more.
A soft coo sounds from beside you, and you both turn to look at Grogu who had wondered over to where you lay, snow flakes sticking to the fine fluff on his wrinkled head.
Din rolls off you, standing and holds a hand out to help you up. Once on your feet you scoop the child into your arms.
“Come on, kid, let’s go inside and get warmed up.” You say, following your Mandalorian back inside the crest.
____
Thanks for reading! 💕🎄
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❄️ December Writing Challenge ❄️
Day 1. Snowball/Snowperson
Pairing: Din Djarin x GN!Reader Words: 910 Warnings: none
December Writing Challenge 2022 masterlist
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You fly down to the landing area with a thud, wheels bouncing off dirty sludge before finally resting on duracrete, allowing you a slow but uneasy stop. Glancing to your left you spot the N-1 starfighter already landed, a small green face with dark wide eyes peeking through the window in your direction. You offer a little wave and see his face light up in excitement before a look of mild discontent at being pulled away into the lap of his father. You unclip your safety belt and pop open the lid to climb out, glad to see that most of the snow had been cleared away by a flight team.
“That looked bumpy,” came a tinny greeting as the Mandalorian saunters towards you empty-handed.
“Where is he?” Ignoring his comment you step around the armoured man to see Grogu, your favourite green baby, waddling towards you with raised arms. You hurry forward and lift him off the cold, wet floor. “His toes will be cold, Din!” you chastise, levelling his helmet with a half-hearted glare. 
“He wouldn’t let me carry him. He wanted you,” he replies with a huff. You can’t help but smirk. The kid had quickly grown attached since you met him a little over a cycle ago, saving him from what you thought was a jungle rancor going for a bite of the small creature when actually it turned out he was taming the beast. One exploded rancor later and you ended up following him and his dad on an adventure that never ended.
You fell in step with Din and finally came to the town you were looking for. The snow from earlier had settled thick on the roofs, but there was a clear path through the street to follow. Din leads the way towards a cantina just as a flurry of snowflakes start to fall, making you shiver and instinctively hold Grogu close to your chest.
It’s not much warmer inside. The door’s left open as an invitation to passersby yet the room is empty apart from the Mythrol man behind the bar and a group of travellers in the corner nursing cups of steaming milk. 
“I’ll get you and the kid some broth. Take a seat.” You choose a corner table, hoping the curve of the walls will provide protection from the worst of the falling temperatures. Peaking through the window you can see the snow worsening but the towns children hahaved left their homes to run and play up and down the street. Their cries of laughter and shrieks of surprise when hit with snowballs are muffled through the thick transparisteel, yet they still have you distracted until you hear your name being called with insistence.
Din arrives at your table holding a bowl of broth in each hand, his helmeted head swerving back and forth as if he has a swarm of bees inside.
“What is it?” Your heartbeat has risen whilst your body stills, preparing for a fight to break out or a blizzard of bullets to fly through the cantina.
“Where’s Grogu?”
You frown. But he was just-. You scan the area; where he should be: your arms, the seats, the table; where he was: the doorway, near the bar; where he couldn’t possibly be: the other side of the room, around Din, even the ceiling. You stay calm. He can’t have gone far. Din wasn’t gone for long and the kid only has little feet. You breathe steadily and reach over to remove the bowls from Din, placing them on the table before standing up.
“No one came by the table, I know that much, so he must have wandered off.” You hope you sound convincing. You don’t realise you’re holding your breath until you see Din’s shoulders drop an almost indecipherable amount (when you can’t see someones facial features you learn other ways to read their emotions). You nod and start your search, physically going over the areas you glanced over in your earlier panic. 
“Wait,” you hear Din speak, rushing over to the bar where he stands. 
“Why?” you ask, trying to figure out what he’s thinking when you see him point a gloved finger towards the open door.
You can’t see anything at first, but now that you’re looking in their direction you can hear the childrens laughter a lot louder than before. Snowballs fly through the air towards their intended targets, a few children huddle behind makeshift barricades of food crates pushed up against lampposts, others were making people out of snow and giving them scarves and mittens to make them lifelike. 
And finally you see what had gotten Dins attention: Grogu patting the tummy of a snowy creation, with two kids helping to make a snow version of him. They place dark pebbles where the eyes would be, a cream blanket goes around the bottom snowball to make Grogu’s tunic, and over-the-top big triangular paper cones are wedged into the side of the head to make his ears. 
You stifle a giggle as you watch the kids present the finished piece to Grogu who looks at it with a twist of his head, as though not sure what to make of it, before squealing in delight. 
“He’s just being a kid,” Din whispers wistfully. You give his hand a light squeeze in comfort. You both bask in the rare moment of Grogu being nothing but a child because these moments never last forever. 
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whiteberryx · 3 months
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tidings of comfort and joy
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for @storiesofsvu's holiday bingo! this scenario has Plagued Me for weeks and now it's finally done. a lot of effort for sub-1000 words, but whatever.
thanks to @allergictocanon for validating Alex's favourite. :) G, Alex/JJ, fluffier than a litter of kittens.
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In the kitchen, Alex gently stirred the pot of milk on the stove, making sure it didn’t burn. It was Christmas Eve, and the occasion called for hot chocolate and movies in front of a roaring fire before bedtime. The opening credits to Star Wars were discernible, though barely; the loud whoops of two young boys and the voice of a woman fruitlessly trying to quiet the boys some were much more audible. 
It had taken them a long time to get here, but Alex had been willing to wait years for an evening like this. 
Turning off the heat, Alex then divided the milk up into four mugs, already loaded with Swiss Miss powder. The idea of making real hot chocolate had appealed when she first thought of the idea, but once Alex had realized the richness of real chocolate wouldn’t compare to the novelty of tiny marshmallows in the beverage, she’d picked up three boxes on the grocery run. She stirred the last mug, put them all on a tray, and carried it out to the living room.
JJ looked up at her as she set the tray on the coffee table. “You got the kind with tiny marshmallows, right?”
Alex sniffed, teasing the other woman. “Of course,” she said, pretending to be affronted that any other kind existed.
Henry and Michael had abandoned their toys by the tree and grabbed their mugs. “Thank you!” both boys chirped before settling into their child-sized bean bag chairs in front of the television.
Alex plopped on the couch, ready to settle in. JJ joined her, nestling into her side with her hands wrapped around her own mug. “I can’t believe you watched the series every Christmas,” she murmured, not wanting to distract the boys from watching.
“It was something I could do even if I wasn’t home for the holidays,” Alex replied quietly. She’d spent her fair share of Christmases alone, after leaving Kansas City but before meeting James. She’d thought she’d need to pick up the tradition again, but now, it seemed like new traditions were on the horizon.
Something about the time of year made her feel a bit more hopeful than usual, or so she told herself.
Alex kept half an eye on JJ and the boys during the movie. The boys had fallen asleep watching the movie a few months ago, but then Alex had introduced them to The Mandalorian, and now they were completely hooked on the Star Wars universe. Rapt, the boys stayed awake the whole time, gleeful at the end during the medal presentation.
When the credits rolled, Micheal turned around and looked at Alex and JJ on the couch. “What about Grogu?” he asked. The baby alien was his favourite, unsurprisingly.
Alex smiled. “You’ll see him soon, I promise,” she said. 
JJ stood, putting the now-empty mugs on the tray to take to the kitchen. “Time to brush your teeth, boys. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner Christmas will be here.” 
Alex shook her head. “One thing, first,” she said, ignoring JJ’s questioning expression. She gestured to the tree, where she and JJ had already put out some of the presents for tomorrow. Unbeknownst to JJ, however, she’d also snuck in a surprise for her and the boys, tucked towards the back. “Michael, Henry, there’s something for each of you in the snowflake paper. There’s also one for your mom. Could you get them, please?”
Delighted at the prospect of getting to open a surprise early, the boys hurried to the tree and found their gifts, plus JJ’s. Henry handed it to JJ, who accepted it, still confused. “Alex, I thought–”
Alex shook her head. “Open it,” she urged. 
Henry and Michael didn’t need telling twice. The boys ripped through the wrapping paper, while JJ took a more sedate approach. Michael managed to open his first. “Grogu!” he exclaimed, holding up the long-sleeved tee shirt, a large print of the baby alien on the front. A pair of gray and green flannel pants also emerged from the ruins of the paper.
Meanwhile, Henry was cheering as his own set was revealed – his shirt had a large Storm Trooper helmet graphic, paired with a black white pair of checkered bottoms. 
JJ smiled as she pulled out her own set from the package, her own top featuring Princess Leia with grey plaid bottoms. “Please tell me you–”
“Of course,” Alex said, pulling her sweatshirt off to reveal a blue and white R2-D2 shirt. She knew her new blue plaid pants wouldn’t have attracted much attention, but now with everyone with their own set, they made a lot more sense. 
Alex was about to ask how the boys liked their gift, but when she turned to look at them, they were both already wearing their new pyjamas. A lump appeared in Alex’s throat as she took in their matching grins, and she swallowed before allowing herself a smile. “You two look great,” she said.
JJ nodded in agreement, snapping a quick candid with her phone. “Time to get cleaned up,” she reminded them. 
“But I’m not–” Michael started to whine.
“Christmas can’t come if you don’t sleep,” JJ said, and though he pouted, Michael went to the bathroom without further protest, Henry following.
Once they were alone, JJ turned to Alex. 
The older woman didn’t trust herself to say anything. The moment had pushed years of hopes, regrets and well-guarded dreams to the surface, and now that she was in the thick of it, she couldn’t do anything but try to keep herself together.
On cue, JJ pulled Alex to her, hugging her tightly and resting her forehead on Alex’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” Alex murmured, blinking away sudden tears. It wasn’t what she wanted to say, but JJ just squeezed her tighter.
“We love you so much,” JJ said quietly.
Alex couldn’t respond, but she knew she understood. 
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