#Batu is trying his best to Dad okay?

[theskylarkin]

Event: AU-gust 2021

Prompt: Dancing

Fandom: Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Rating: G

Genre: Dance/Dance Parent AU (Mundane Modern Setting, Humans Only, No Items)

Characters: Batu, Tani, Nella, Evan, Roland, Mausinger, some Evermore citizen cameos

Pairings: None

Vague Spoilers for the Lost Lord DLC

Warnings: None

Acknowledgments: Thank you to @little-boats-writes / little_boats_on_a_lake for beta reading!

Summary: There was a new face at dance class when Batu dropped his daughter off. Two new faces, in fact.

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Star Wars Wednesday

Spoilers for The Mandalorian season 2 below! (Putting a warning up top because when I tried to filter the spoiler tag it only filtered half the content 😂)

[[MORE]]

"Hey, Grogu. What's that you've got there?"

The toddler held up a drool covered pendant and burbled sadly.

Luke clicked his tongue and sat down next to his youngest -- and simultaneously oldest -- student. "Oh! I know what that is! It's- it's-"

He snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name.

"Mythosaur! That's what it is. The mythosaur. Did your um...your dad send it with you? Something to remember your family?"

Grogu's lower lip wobbled and his eyes grew teary. He held the pendant to his forehead, mimicking the way Din had touched his helmet to his head when he almost gave him to Ahsoka.

"Buir!" Grogu sniffled.

Immediately, Luke lifted the toddler into his arms. He bounced him soothingly, whispering comforting things.

"I know, buddy, I know," he sighed. "You have a lot of fear, don't you? Well you know what? It's okay to be scared. As long as you don't let it control how you act, y'know? The first time you leave for school is always scary."

He leaned back to smile at Grogu.

"Most kids feel like this. Promise. But when I have to go on missions, or when the holidays come, guess what? I call your dad, and he comes right back to get you until it's time for school again."

Grogu's ears perked up. "Batu?" he asked.

"Really," Luke said. "And you can call him whenever you want! He's your dad, little one." His face fell, and almost more to himself than to Grogu he murmured, "I know what it's like to miss your family."

Grogu gripped the front of Luke's tunic and stared up at him.

Talk! he projected happily into Luke's mind. Talk Buir! Need go talk go go Sky go talk Buir!

The tears stopped as if by magic. Grogu squirmed in Luke's arms, reaching stubby little fingers towards the comlink on his belt. He squinted and stretched, and finally gave up and used the Force to yank it into his hand.

Luke burst out laughing. Grogu ignored him and tried his best to activate the comlink without much success.

"Okay, okay. Hold on, kiddo. He's still on that cruiser, right? Gimme a sec."

______________☆☆☆________________

"We've got a signal coming in from...Luke Skywalker?" Koska Reeves frowned thoughtfully up at Din. "Something about the kid?"

Immediately, the new Manda'lor moved to the console. "Put him through!"

Did something happen to the kid? Is Grogu okay? I shouldn't have let him go alone-!

At first, the projection didn't appear to show anything. There was a jumble of noise and dizzying images. Then suddenly they were looking straight up the nose of a giggly toddler.

"Ew." said the Jedi's muffled voice.

"Ew!" Grogu repeated gleefully.

It was Grogu. It was really Grogu! Din's heart swelled even as the giggle sent a little pang through his chest. He had recorded a message for Din! But...why was the projector pointed up the baby's nose?

"Sorry about the unsolicited sinus pics," Luke said sheepishly, "Grogu said he wanted to send a message to his dad. Grogu, do you want to tell your dad what you did today?"

The hologram shifted to one bright eye. "Buir! Buiiiiiiir!!"

"Yeah! You started asking for your dad today!"

Bo-Katan's face softened into something startled, but pleased. "I didn't know he could speak our language!" She paused. "Actually, I didn't know he could speak at all."

"He didn't before," Din croaked.

Din was not at all ashamed to admit that he shed a few tears under his helmet. Grogu's first words, and they were for him.

[the-beskar-alchemist]

Here we go again with my recap ramblings! Had to do a bit of nip/tuck for this one, it’s a bit lengthy.

My opinions, as I've stated before, are based on my limited knowledge of the Star Wars universe. I have NOT seen anything outside of the movie franchise, so please bear with me...

- First off I would like to express my appreciation for this episode going balls-to-the-wall with Ashoka, instead of spending an unnecessary amount of time working towards her introduction. Considering we spent two episodes just GETTING to her, the fact that it was like "BAM! There she is!" was very refreshing.

- Also I would like to thank Filoni for establishing her badassery UP FRONT, instead of having her do some sort of "Surprise! These are my special skills!" maneuver. The concept hit home on the first try, and it hit HARD.

- I know people are iffy with Rosario Dawson (I'm not that caught up on her to know the details myself), but she does bring a certain......presence, I guess......to this episode, but just as the character, not really HER specifically.  She seems more powerful when she's silent, versus when she speaks, her portrayal of the dialogue seems kinda monotone for my taste honestly. (I think it's worth mentioning that, while I understand people wish for Ashley, it would involve "black face" makeup on some levels to achieve Ashoka's skin-tone, I don't think it would've worked, no matter how skilled the makeup artists are)

- The ghastly forest makes me think of the lighting technique they used for The Half Blood Prince film

- As I've said, I have not seen the Clone Wars series, so I'm not familiar with Ashoka's animated fighting techniques, but I do love how practical she is with the lightsabers in a dark setting, turning them off to avoid too much attention, and only turning them back on right when she's ready to attack to really take her enemies off guard

- Din narrating to the baby has me in my feels a bit, this dude is really going through the motions isn't he? He's trying so hard to keep it together, acting like he's fine that his whole world is about to change in a way he's not fully prepared to handle.

- Can we take a moment to discuss how observant the baby is? He may not know about circuitry to help with ship maintenance, but he has the wherewithal to know when he's headed to a place that's potentially harmful. Episode 7 in season 1, when Din mentions going back to Nevarro? The baby immediately tries to adjust the ships trajectory to avoid going to a place of which his only memories consist of him being experimented on and possibly almost killed. And NOW? Now he recognizes that the name of the planet Din is taking him to will be where they separate, so OF COURSE his first instinct is to, not only avoid leaving Din's side at the pilot's seat, but to also seek out one of the few tangible objects that brings him comfort: THE METAL BALL FROM THE LEVER........baby boi is so smart, we do not give him enough credit

- Baby REALLY didn't want to leave his papa.......also DIN LET HIM KEEP THE BALL PLS

- Din walking through the town reminded me of the Two Towers when the party arrived at Rohan and Gimli was like "You'll find more cheer in a graveyard"

- I have to wonder what was going through Din's mind upon seeing the prisoners in the electric cages. I'm sure he was disgusted, but everything presented in this series is VERY deliberate, ergo Din was meant to see this to IMMEDIATELY establish that this magistrate was someone he wouldn't want to be allied with, a feat that could've been established with the intro into the town alone, but it seems that the best way to really drive home just how terrible these people are is voyeurism.

- The town versus inside the magistrates gated home? Night and day. The contrast is intriguing, how "dead" the town looks but inside the second gate there's life, somewhat flourishing.

- If Din KNEW that the magistrate was referring to Ashoka, than he basically tricked her into helping him find her under the guise of making a deal. If not, than he figured it out during their first fight upon seeing how she maneuvered around him. Either way, we stan one smart cookie.

- Lang reminds me of Number Two from the Austin Powers series

- BATU BATU BATU BATU

- I love the fact that Din is including the baby in his bounty hunting process, not just telling him they've reached the coordinates, but also letting him know to start looking, IT'S BRING YOUR SON TO WORK DAY......(but like EVERYday for him tho.....)

- Okay but like LOGICALLY I KNEW THAT BESKAR CANNOT BE DAMAGED BY A LIGHTSABER BUT MY HEART STOPPED FOR A SECOND

- DIN PACING LIKE A NERVOUS DAD IN THE DOCTORS OFFICE, POOR BABY

- I have to wonder how the baby "talks" via the Force, is it full "sentences"? Clipped "sentences"? Or is it kinda like Renesmee from Twilight where she "inserted" visuals into another person's head? I know they can "feel" each other's thoughts, but I've always wondered exactly HOW they "feel" them...

- I understand people are a little put-off by the lekku, and that cosplayers have done it "better", but we have to remember that cosplayers aren't doing (multiple) fight scenes, the head-piece has to be practical in its design, as well as authentic. There are stunt-doubles, and having to create multiple versions that not only can withstand constant movement, but also won't break easily. Not to mention when you try to do a live-action based off an animated series, it almost ALWAYS looks "wrong" on some levels (live-action anime? it's awkward af, no matter how hard you try...)

- About the Grogu controversy: I'm on the fence, but will most likely come to love/appreciate the name. Is it within the realm of what I was expecting? Nope. Is it possible that we are ALL projecting our own ideas of what name the baby "should" have had, so much so that almost ANY name they would've given him would've sounded "wrong"? VERY distinctive possibility......this is Star Wars after all, names are meant to sound "weird".  Grogu sounds like a Star Wars kind of name, in fact it's kinda fitting for a species that looks reptilian-ish

- THE BABY HEARING DIN SAY HIS NAME FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE WHIPLASH IN THAT HEAD-TURN, BUT LIKE.....I love the slight parallels to Grogu's and Din's name-arc: They both went DECADES without hearing their own names, and the reveal's are so contrasting, Din hears his name during a time when he's in danger, the baby hears his while having a heart-to-heart. I'm curious about how Din was feeling in this moment, thinking about how long Grogu must've gone without hearing his own name, and how Din longs to have someone say HIS name with an almost reverent tone

- YODA NAME-DROP.....but also Grogu looked at Ashoka when she said the name, I wonder if he knew Yoda

- Some people have mentioned Ashoka's lekku not being long enough for her age, I'm wondering if they compensated with the "wrinkles" in it? Can lekku have wrinkles?

- Grogu trying to be good for his papa, but also NOT wanting to use his powers because he KNOWS it would mean that papa has to leave him (and Din's little head tilt to get him to cooperate) I JUST....I CAN'T

- Ashoka telling Din to connect with Grogu, and Din shifting around all like "LOOK ITS BAD ENOUGH I HAVE TO LEAVE MY SON WITH YOU, CAN YOU NOT MAKE THIS HARDER FOR ME???"

- FATHER AND SON GAME OF CATCH AND DIN'S EXCITEMENT WHEN GROGU CAUGHT THE METAL BALL, MY OVARIES CANNOT TAKE THIS MUCH FLUFF

- Subtle Anakin reference, given what happened to the younglings after he went dark, it's a good thing Grogu was taken.......but by WHO???

- Din calling the lightsabers "laser swords" and Ashoka's little grin like, she WANTED to correct him, but she was enjoying Din's dorkyness???

- Din trusted her enough to let her borrow his pauldron??? I HAD A MOMENT

- DIN GUNSLINGER DJARIN

- Did my eyes fucking DECEIVE ME?? DID ASHOKA CUT THE SPEAR IN HALF????? Like this is the second time I'm watching this, the first time I noticed it I was like "No fucking WAY", but I'm seeing it AGAIN, IT WASN'T A TRICK OF THE EYE....so beskar is only lightsaber RESISTANT??

- Lang vs Din was like Johnny Ringo vs Doc Holliday, "You're no daisy!"

- More name-dropping. Did Ashoka kill Elsbeth? They never show her after the exchange.

- Din could've jetpacked his way back to the ship, but chose to walk instead. The way he avoids actually waking up Grogu at first, holding him for a bit, then taking the time to get him ready. Din baby who are you fooling? You're not ready, and you never will be.

- DIN STICKING HIS FINGERS OUT TO LET GROGU HOLD HIS HAND

- Ashoka knows okay?? She KNOWS that Din and Grogu are meant to stay together

- Din calling out Ashoka for trying to weasel out of the deal vs calling out Bo-Katan for changing the deal: No malice in his voice, he barely put up a fight, then sounded relieved after she gave him an alternative, one that could lead to the baby deciding NOT to become like the Jedi and instead choosing to remain with this buir

[defiant-firefly]

Trying to figure out the NNK2 protagonists relationships with each other

LONG POST

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

So it was the early hours of the morning a little while ago and the Ni No Kuni Discord chat started talking about the second game’s lack of character building or relationship building between the main protagonists.

Turns out, the best way to learn their relationships is through their reactions to each other dying in battle. Since I already had the game open, research has been conducted and in case you were curious, here’s what we found.

Evan’s Reactions:

When Evan reacts to Roland dying, he sounds like he wants to run and help, but is still pretty sure he’ll be okay. He still has everyone else, right? Or at least, that’s what he’s clearly trying to convince himself.

When Tani dies he sounds just a little more dismayed. As if he’s just lost a sibling or something.

When Batu dies, he sounds a little angry. Almost like he can’t believe he’s down when he was supposed to protect him. Yet a little frightened at the same time. Only a little though. And only if you squint.

When Leander dies, he’s dismayed, as if he’s questioning everything but is still a annoyed that he’s outliving all the adults like this.

Now if you notice, he’s gotten gradually more emotional as we’ve gone through everyone so it stands to reason that when Bracken dies, it’s the end of the world. Like, she was probably the last person to fall, hence why he’s so alarmed when she does.

Roland’s Reactions:

When Evan dies, he seems like he would jump in to protect him if he felt he needed to. But mainly it sounds like an ‘Oh shit’ moment.

For Tani he doesn’t really seem to know how to say her name. ‘Tchani’ is definitely not right. He honestly sounds like she’s not at the forefront of his mind. More important things, ya know? She’s only dead after all. He does seem a little concerned though. I’m leaning towards that concern being aimed at Tani but he could also be worrying how Batu is gonna kill him when he finds out.

Roland doesn’t know Batu’s name and instead shouts Betu. Not at all concerned I don’t think. More of a ‘Oh that happened’ moment.

Now Leander at least gets a bit more of a reaction. He’s clearly more concerned here bit still a little distracted with probably not dying himself.

With Bracken now dead he sounds a little exasperated and a little alarmed that he’s now probably by himself on the battlefield.

Tani’s Reactions:

Evan dying sounds like a big ‘I told you so moment’ but she is clearly still about to save his whiskers.

For Roland, she’s clearly not that concerned. Probably more annoyed that he’s out already.

Batu isn’t referred to as her dad, just ‘Boss’. She sounds a little concerned but probably knows fully well he’ll be fiiiiine.  Probably…

Leander dies, and she’s angry at him for being a useless bean. He was sent by Nerea to protect them and he can’t do that from beyond the heckin grave.

For Bracken, she seems like she can’t quite believe she’s been beat. She also sounds a little betrayed so I guess there’s some friendship going on there.

Batu’s reactions:

When Evan dies it’s almost like he knew this was going to happen but did nothing to stop it cause the kid’ll never learn otherwise. He also shouts ‘Evan lad!’ instead of just his name.

Despite how Roland doesn’t even know his name, Batu seems either baffled and freaked out, or startled and confused. As if someone just went quiet on the phone all of a sudden.

For Tani, Batu shouts either ‘Heal girlie!’ or ‘Here girlie!’ and sounds more like a strict mentor teaching a student. Probably can’t teach a corpse to stand up and fight Batu. 10 outta 10 for parenting and trying though.

For Leander, he sounds like he just lost a crewmate but also annoyed that he didn’t step in and save the noodle before he probably get nixed and tossed out the window.

Batu holds the ‘R’ in Bracken’s name as long as he heckin can and I’m 99% sure that’s to prove a point. He sounds alarmed and actually stricken that she’s gone down but slightly victorious. Obviously, these two are constantly competing over practically everything. If they aren’t, who even are they?

Leander reactions:

When Evan dies Leander sounds as though he’s completely loyal to him and all but knows for a fact the entirety of Evermore is going to be out for his blood unless he does something. He also sounds like he very much expected this to happen but still didn’t exactly want it to.

For Roland he sounds as though his plans have just fell through. Like ‘Roland no! That wasn’t part of the plan!’ it’s a real, ‘Oh shit’ moment.

For Tani he’s clearly distressed. He’s definitely a tad concerned but his voice gives me the impression he’s far more afraid of the consequences of when Batu finds out what happened. Batu will probably decapitate him and he knows it.

Speaking of Batu, when he falls it’s a real ‘wtf’ moment. He sounds vaguely angry, as if he’s just been left alone to make sure Tani makes it home in one piece or something but he mainly seems a little befuddled on how he outlived a literal ogre.

For Bracken he genuinely seems concerned for her sake rather than his own. Probably because Zip probably couldn’t kill him if he tried. He seems like he wants to help but as if he knows he has to deal with his own killer hamsters before he can deal with whatever took her out.

Bracken’s reactions:

The moment Evan dies, Bracken sounds like she’s using his name to alert everyone and commands them to take action. As if she’s telling the rest of the team what’s happened before actually reacting to it on an emotional level.

The reaction to Roland is perfect to be honest. She genuinely sounds like she’s yelling at some lazy git that decided to take a nap rather than a guy that just got knocked out. Honestly, every time he falls I get the feeling she gets annoyed with him afterwards for not helping and nobody can really tell if she’s serious or not.

For Tani she sounds a little hurried, as if she wants to deal with her own evil robot attackers before she can get rid of Tani’s. She sounds like these two have some solidarity going on since her voice is almost like she cares for her wellbeing.

For Batu she sounds like she kinda can’t believe he died to someone other than herself. It’s more of a ‘How in the world did that happen?’ than actual concern for him. She also sounds as if she’s wondering why he does this all the time, like she does with Roland.

Finally, for Leander she sounds mildly worried about him and a little freaked he’s gone down probably.

In short:

Evan cares about everyone but knows he has more than Roland to rely on.

Roland is an emotionless twit that doesn’t know half the team’s names.

Tani is a big middle finger to everyone but is at least friendly with Bracken.

Batu is basically everyone’s caring father but has a need to be better than the only other axe-swinger.

Leander is scared 99% of the time because if he loses anyone, someone will hunt him down.

Bracken is sick of this shit.

Oh and to save anyone else who’s interested the hassle of looking for all the lines they shout here’s a really crap, yet handy video for ya’ll to use.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gwmqdg9ouf5h9d2/Character%20Death%20Reactions.mp4?dl=0

[goosewool]

I want to be not awful at something...

I’m okay at writing, my drawings are mediocre at best, my musical skills are nonexistent, I can’t sing, I’m bad at football (soccer) and basketball, I’m only decent at catching (in baseball and softball, my archery is probably worse (it’s literally been weeks because of my shoulder), I’m okay at maths but I hate it, I’m pretty good with animals but that’s not going to do me any good, I’m decent at cooking but not great, my acting is only good sometimes, I’m not strong enough for stage crew anymore, I’m really bad at writing analytical stuff, I’m good at everything science related but I don’t like it much (sorry Mike), I can’t run fast or swim fast and every time I try and say something nice about myself in front of someone they just point out someone that’s better than me and I hate it so much because yeah I know that I know someone who is 13 and became a published author at 12 and can play anything from memory without sheet music ever and can draw super realistically with no effort and I know the seventh grader that lives down the street is better at football than I am and I know that everyone in my creative writing class is better than I am and I know that all the middle schoolers are smarter and faster and more athletic than I am and I know that the other trumpet player in my band class is better than I am and I know that Jacob is better and maths and science than I am and I know that Issac and Chloe are better at acting than I am and I know that Clara and Pippa are better at sports than I am and I know that Clara and Malia are better at stage crew stuff than I am and I know that Matthew is better at writing analytical essays than I am and I know that Jacob could destroy me in any video game and I know that my dad is a better cook than I am and I know that my mum is better at baking and I know that Landon and Olivia are faster than I am and I know that Haynes could destroy me in football and I know that I’m too quiet and I know that everyone gets better grades than I do and I know that I should be nicer and I know that I should be able to tell that something is a joke and I know that I should be less sensitive and I know that I show just put more effort in and I know that I should just speak up more and I know that I’m disappointing everyone including myself and I know that I’ll never get into Cornell and I know that I’ll never get anywhere in life if I’m a writer and I know that I should just shut up about fandoms and I know that I’m probably just going to have a boring job and I know that I’m not good enough at anything to get anywhere in life and I know that I’m an idiot and I know that I have no social skills and I know that I waste too much time and I know that I procrastinate too much and I know that I dress weird and I know that my hair sucks and I know that no one loves me and I know that even the dogs don’t love me and I know that I’m just a waste of space

I’m just going to name names of everyone that’s made me feel like a piece of shit multiple times (sometimes for literally four years)

Jacob, Olivia, Landon, Pippa, Clara, Summer, Batu, Alex, Yuno, Nate, Sophia/Sophie (forgot her name), Isabella, Sadie, Lena, Sarah, Alexis, Alexa, Celeste, Brooke, my dad, my mum, Trent, Scotty, Mrs Chaddick (the only time I’m naming a teacher’s last name because fuck her), Haynes, Emari, Henry (i think that’s his name), that other asshole that Trent and Scotty were friends with, Racist Josh (there are several and some of them are decent), Daniel, Daniel (yes two Daniels), and literally all of the “popular” kids from sixth grade

Btw not all of these people did it on purpose (the first Daniel, Haynes, Sadie, and Lena are in the clear)

Some of them deserve to go rot in hell (Summer, Sophie/Sophia, Emari, Racist Josh, Celeste, Alexis, Alexa, Trent, Scotty, that teacher I mentioned, Henry, and the popular kids)

Why did some of you spend years making me feel worse than I already felt?

Honestly seeing how many people hate/dislike me just makes me want to die

I don’t know if I’ll make it through tonight

I’m sorry

I love you all

Bye for now

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Star Wars Wednesday

Just like last week, spoilers for The Mandalorian season two

"I can't believe you talked me into this."

Cara leaned back in the pilot's seat, wearing that same smirk she always had. The one that said "I knew you'd do it". The one that said "Learn to have a little fun!" The one that said "Admit it, you're a pushover, Din Djarin."

"I can't believe you didn't think of this before!" Cara teased.

[[MORE]]

"The kid is training, and training is school, right? Kid needs school supplies. Styluses. Lunch box. Things like that."

Din looked over his shoulder at the small bundle on the floor behind him. "Maybe..." he murmured.

Cara frowned. "Hey, quit." There was no bite in her words. There never was when they talked about Grogu: she knew better than most that some subjects weren't to be taken lightly. "He's gonna want to see you. That kid adores you."

"He...he belongs with the Jedi," Din said, if only to convince himself not to snatch up his boy and never stop running. "Not the..."

He couldn't bring himself to say "Not the Mandalorians".

Cara adjusted the coordinates minutely, then swiveled sideways in her seat. She leaned forward, elbows on her thighs, and raised her eyebrows at the morose Mandalorian.

"So...there have never been any Mandalorian Jedi? Ever?"

The "no" was already on Din's lips before the weight of the Darksaber on his hip called it into question. Could such a thing exist? One who followed both the Creed of the Mandalorians and whatever Creed the Jedi lived by?

Could Grogu be one?

And was it selfish of him to hope the child might be?

They landed on Yavin IV with little difficulty. Din hadn't expected them to be that close by! It certainly made a difference to know that Grogu wouldn't be far from Mandalore after all.

They were directed by several New Republic officers to an upper level of what Cara said was an ancient temple, surrounded by jungle. It was warm and humid, but not unpleasantly so. The croaking of amphibian creatures in the trees made Din smile under his helmet.

"Hope none of those are poisonous," he remarked, gesturing toward the trees.

The man escorting them -- Din had seen his face on a bounty puck once, he was sure of it -- grimaced. "To most animals here, they are. To certain tridactyl toddlers though..."

Cara snorted. "How many did he eat?"

The man groaned. "Four. Five if you count the one he tried to give to my kid."

Han smirked despite himself when the Mandalorian behind him immediately said, "Urgh. I'm sorry, he does that. Is yours training here too?"

"Not training, no." Han led them towards an open courtyard like place. "We decided not to start that until he's five. Little bandit can't even sit up on his own yet. Luke just babysits when Leia and I both have to work."

"Hey Han! Over here!" The familiar voice of the Jedi echoed from a shady corner beside a tree.

Han. Han Solo! That's where Din had seen his face before! Well. Probably for the best that Boba was busy on Tatooine, then. Solo and friends had taken his fellow Mandalorian's honoring of his contract...rather personally. And Fett had the scars to prove it. For all that he thought the man would probably say something to the effect of "it was just business", Din still didn't think putting him in the same room as Han Kriffing Solo was a good idea.

Any further contemplation of men with prices on their heads crumbled into silence when Din heard a familiar squeal. He dropped to his knees on instinct, just in time to catch Grogu as he tripped on the hem of his little blue robe and fell headfirst into Din's hands.

"Grogu!" Din gasped around the lump in his throat.

"Buir!" Grogu laughed from upside down, though it really sounded more like "Bweeoo!"

Quickly, Din turned the toddler right side up and examined him for injuries. He didn't look hurt, but he did have a large smudge of dirt across his cheek, and dirty handprints all over his clothes. The mythosaur pendant had gotten a little tangled around the zipper on the front, and Din realized that Grogu's robe was just a human infant's sleep sack that someone had cut a hole for feet in.

Luke Skywalker sat on the grass with a three or four month old human baby in his lap. Din guessed that must have been Solo's child. Grogu was pointing at him and babbling incoherently. Din nodded seriously.

"Yes, yes he is a baby."

"Bee bee bee. Batu."

"No, not like the tadpole babies at all, you're right."

He had no idea if Grogu was actually talking about the tadpole child he'd bonded with, but he'd made similar sounds then, hadn't he?

"Grogu."

Grogu's head snapped back to face Din. His ears perked up, and his eyes shone. That threatened to undo Din there and then, but somehow he kept his composure.

"I brought you something to help you while you learn."

Immediately the toddler started looking around. "Buir? Buir?"

Cara held up the bundle Din had purchased from a Lurmen outfitters shop. A tiny red satchel, perfect for smaller species, hung from her fingertips. As soon as Grogu saw the yellow and brown frog pattern on the front pocket, he hooted with delight and reached for it.

"Hang on, short stuff," Cara laughed, "There's more!" She opened the bag and pulled out a pack of short, chunky, styluses in many colors. "Your dad thought you'd like coloring."

Luke laughed softly. "Oh he certainly seems to like his colors. Guess why we had to improvise new clothes?"

Gently bouncing his son in his arms, oblivious to Solo's bewildered look, Din asked the Jedi the question he almost didn't want the answer to.

"What...what happened to his romper?"

Luke winced. "Um."

Behind them, Han started laughing.

"Okay, so-" Luke ran a hand through his hair. "Part of being a Jedi is accepting when you make mistakes and learning from them. Case in point, Force strong toddlers and open jars of finger paint actually...aren't the great idea I'd thought they were..."

Almost completely inaudibly he added, "andalittlebitgotinhiseye,pleasedon'tbemad!"

Grogu flailed his arms up and then down with enthusiasm, trying to show his Buir exactly what he'd done with the paint.

"Yeah," the Manda'lor sighed, perfectly content, "That sounds like my kid."