#and of course losing mandalore with it

[stayininmylane]

Me last week, only having watched The Mandalorian, the OG Trilogy, the Sequel Trilogy, and Rogue 1: Dang I was hoping for that arc about Din being a capable leader to get resolved better....but I'm glad Bo is the leader in his stead! She messed up that one time with Moff Gideon—and I figured everyone would be a bit more mad about it—but now she gets to unite everyone under refreshed & competent leadership while Din gets to keep his kid and his episodic adventures. All's well that ends well!

Me now, knowing Bo's involvement in Death Watch:

[phoenixyfriend]

Mandalore's Royal Concubine AU

HI

INSANE THOUGHT

YOU KNOW THAT POPULAR AU WHERE MANDALORE IS ITS OWN EMPIRE AND WHENEVER IT TAKES OVER A PLACE IT BRAINWASHES THE CAPTURED REBELS INTO BEING LOYAL CITIZENS (yes I know it's called the Integration AU)

I want one of those where you keep hearing about The Emperor but it's Plagueis, and you hear about Maul and Tyrannus and so on.

And then like ten chapters in you run into Jaster (40-ish) and the mistress he got after taking over Naboo, a 25yo Sheev Palpatine.

Dolled up and ostensibly brainwashed and known to have the Force but not any known ties to the Sith, he's just DAINTY and likes Naboo fashion and the readers are constantly hunting for The Truth. Is he a Sith that was successfully brainwashed? Biding his time? Looking to break away from Mandalore with Naboo but not a Sith? Working against the protagonist because he IS loyal to Jaster? Etc

A lot of the stuff you see people do to Obi-Wan, tbh.

Concubine Palpatine...

Also, if we go a bit down the line and instead have it with 50s-Jaster and early-40s bedwarmer Palpatine, we can have the protagonist that's meeting him for the first time be early teens Obi-Wan.

Palpatine has been in Jaster's bed for like. Twenty years by that point lol.

WAIT NO. NOT JUST A CONCUBINE. THE MAN'S A WAR PRIZE TWKYMSKTZKGZ

Palpatine, being Force-Sensitive and politically important, had led a resistance against Mandalore In His Youth, but failed. May be a Sith plot to infiltrate that went sour when the brainwashing actually worked? May have been a Sith plot that failed because nobody expected Sidious to LOSE and now they've washed their hands of him. May have just been a generally shitty Force-Sensitive but unaffiliated with the Sith because Naboo was on the other side of the galaxy from the Sith Empire? I don't know and neither do the readers.

Suggested by @threebea:

Either way he wants to do terrible things to Plagueis, either for his own revenge or on behalf of his husband

Subplot people trying to say Obi-Wan is their love child and could potentially steal the throne because Sheev is also a redhead (it's not true) but dealing with both assassins and they're trying to pull power way from Mereel

Obi-Wan: .... I'm not how is this even a rumour!?

It's because like satine and he for whatever reason used Palpatine as a cover somehow when they were teens and it has 'evidence' that there's a connection

Sheev "didn't want his child treated like he was and gave him up/smuggled him away" (sad sob story)

Obi-Wan: now both Mandalorians and Sith want to kill me for potential throne stealing, and I mean I'm a Jedi, they already wanted to kill me. but this feels more personal somehow

Sheev: ......... (Does not even like Obi-Wan and owed Duke Kryze a favour or Kryze was his ally before his death or w/e)

(Sheev brainwashed or not will absolutely use this tho)

I think there's also potential in 22yo Jango trying to "adopt" Obi-Wan (against the kid's wishes, of course) and explaining away the Palpatine situation with "stay away from him, he's always plotting."

"I thought you said he was successfully integrated."

"He was! But... you know those stories about evil stepmothers? And conniving concubines? He's... both. So just stay away."

Obi-Wan so maybe he's not integrated and he's an ally (no no he is not)

I also think it would be funny if the integration DID work and DID make Palpatine loyal to Jaster, but 80% of his non-sex actions result in "please stop helping me" because the methods are always way outside what even integration-happy Mandalore is comfortable with.

Fully corrupt, but for Jaster

Palpatine is having some palace intrigue and poisoning officials

Jaster: wait no

He's full on Dowager Empress vibes but he's not even married to the guy, nor is the guy dead.

All the political intrigue and skill of the prequels but. As a royal concubine.

Should definitely have beef with Jango for whatever reason

Jango: my childhood was a nightmare because of that man ><

But Palpatine covered himself way too well for it to be proven.

That's why he's 'adotping' Obi-Wan! Needs a force sensitive that he controls (that Palpatine doesn't have access to).

God, he DEFINITELY wanted to send Jango to boarding school. I don't think Jango ACTUALLY got sent away, but Palpatine probably managed a few Summer Sleep-Away Camps.

Palpatine: so you can be perfect for your father

Palpatine: (and get out of my hair ... Maybe have an accident that would be swell)

I want him to have pet Mandalorian peacocks. Drive home the absurdity.

I've decided this AU also has a primary plot about a Mysterious Stranger that keeps showing up to help Obi-Wan (actually help, not Jango's "help") and it's implied to be a member of the lineage, like Qui-Gon or Xanatos or something. Obi-Wan begs to be his padawan, before even knowing exactly who it is. And then, it is revealed to be! A time-traveller! Anakin, but as an adult! He hasn't even been born yet!

And then! The second twist behind the twist! Is that Anakin is not from the future but from a future, specifically! Canonverse RotS!

Ahsoka may or may not have been pulled along. And/or Rex.

Fuck it, maybe even Padmé with the twins?

Generally, all their important future knowledge, must notably that Palpatine is Sidious! Is useless.

Everything is just Too Different.

And in the middle of all that shit, Obi-Wan is introduced to the boogeyman of Anakin's nightmares, a Mandalorian concubine.

[wannab-urs]

Pedro Pascal Character Fic Recs | Vol 46

AO3 | Kofi | Main Masterlist | The Spreadsheet Masterlist

Dave York

Pitch Black - Dave series by @whataperfectwasteoftime

Dave York is a DIA operative by day, and a contract killer by night. When he has a chance encounter with an innocent bystander on the stairs and chooses to save her from a band of rival mercenaries, will he be able to stop himself from getting too involved?

Gun mention, references to murder, blood, mercenaries, implied violence, oral sex (f receiving), fingering, unprotected PIV sex (they did have the talk but it was AFTER and pls don’t do that)

Under False Pretenses - Dave series by @joelalorian

A challenging mission, whirlwind marriage, and an unexpected yet captivating stepdaughter push Dave York to the brink as secrets, feelings, and loyalties collide.

Stepdad trope. Unspecified age gap but I imagine a lil' baby one of about 5 to 10 years. Soft, yet sexy and intense Dave, several twists, Russian spy ring causing trouble, action, angst, deception, fluff, humor, a puppy(!), a variety of SMUT. Mentions of cancer and being a widower. No use of y/n. Dave will give reader a nickname based on his perception of her. First handful of chapters are a slow burn, then it's game on! Individual chapters will have specific warnings when applicable.

Yes Ma'am - Dave one shot by @sizzlingcloudmentality

life goes sideways and Dave is close to snapping. he needs professional help. aka let himself be dominated and be at the receiving end for once. good thing he has your number.

sub-ish!Dave (how sub can a born dom be?), dominatrix!reader, no use of y/n, reader is able-bodied, Dave is a good husband and father™️, Molly throwing up, slight humiliation (the boy being called dummy <3), slight ball torture, (guided) masturbation (m), finger sucking, petnames (ma'am, good boy, love), cum eating, slight shoe worship, dick+pussy pronouns, reader wears lipstick, nail polish and stilettos, squint and you miss unprotected PinV

Dave/Others

Looking - Marcus P/Dave one shot by @mothandpidgeon

Although you're married, Marcus Pike takes you up on your proposition. Your husband, Dave, doesn't mind if you sleep with other men...if he can watch.

voyeurism, oral sex, (highly unadvisable) unprotected sex, cum play, threesome, spanking

Dieter Bravo

Movin' in a technicolor beat - Dieter one shot by @quinnnfabrgay-writes

Dieter comes in your mouth. You come in his. You make out. That's the plot.

straight up smut, oral (both), fingering, gratuitous cum worship, cum play

Din Djarin

Prisoner - Din series by @almostempty

this time our fav bounty hunter is the bounty and you're on a mission to capture him and claim your reward

my interpretation of pre-canon younger din djarin aka as they said in the 1991 action/thriller classic Point Break he's "young, dumb, and full of cum" aka moody reckless and virile din, some canon typical violence, one (1) tranquilizer injected by needle, dirty talkin' din, bulge riding, opposite of a virgin kink if u squint? mayhaps a filthy whore kink? (dubcon to come in part two bc of course i would, sub!din djarin will also be coming in part two)

Din/Others

Breaking Down Walls Din/Dio one shot by @crowandmousewritingco (mouse)

Dio doesn't lose fights, but what happens when he does.

dio gets his ass beat, emotions, fluff

At his side (in his bed) - Din/Paz one shot by @hauntedhowlett

They call you the whore of Mandalore. Nothing more than the woman at side of the ruler of New Mandalore, Din Djarin, a pretty little prize that he likes to share with with his General Commander, Paz Vizsla. Mandalorians have always been good at keeping their secrets.

explicit language, writer considers din his first name, alternate universe - Mand’alor din djarin, use of Mando’a, threesome (MFM), degradation kink, pet names (sweet AND derogatory), explicit breeding kink, spitroasting, unprotected p in v, oral sex (m&f receiving), come play, semi-public sex, dom/sub undertones, bratty reader, fingering, no plot just smut.

Frankie Morales

She comes first - Frankie series by @just-here-for-the-moment

You're on the hunt for a man to dom and you come across Frankie

Femdom; Frankie is brand new to SSC (safe/sane/consensual) BDSM; characters drink alcohol; curse words and vulgar language (all the good stuff you expect from one of my smutfics); eventual smut; lots and lots and lots of talking about BDSM limits (but I tried to make it hot).

Frankie/Others

Non-standard Issue - Frankie/Ezra one shot by @bonezone44

Ezra and Frankie stay behind while the other Triple Frontier boys go out.

D/s, bondage, lacy undies, oral (m), lovingly degrading dirty talk (Ezra is a mess)

Javier Peña

A New Year's Distraction - Javi P one shot by @lotusbxtch

Javi doesn't realize that you've got a surprise waiting for him at home.

PWP let’s be real lol, secret established relationship, foul language, (1) suggestive note, mentions of food and alcohol, foodplay, consumption of alcohol, mention of masturbation, brief masturbation, brief sex toy usage, spitting, squirting, oral sex (f receiving), unprotected PIV sex (wrap it up people), creampie, (1) pussy slap, Spanish nicknames and phrases, (1) use of the word 'slut' (but Reader is into it)

Without a Reward - Javi P one shot by @pedgito

Javier's a creature of habit, a man of opportunity, and you were unlucky enough to find him when he's at his most desperate.

informant!reader, set through beginning of season 3 narcos to end, angst, smut, involvement with the cali cartel, paying for info and sex, javier's a gentleman i swear, gratuitous smut, jealous!javi, protected/unprotected piv, creampies, oral (f receiving), some vague violence toward the end, happy ending

Javi P/Others

Baby, I'm-a Want You - Javi/Joel series by @pertovar

javier peña has been doing this a long time. he's really good at his job. joel miller? not so much. he started doing this to get some extra cash to support his daughters. what happens when they're supposed to do a scene together? aka, the au where javier and joel are gay porn stars~

unprotected p in a, oral, fingering, ass eating, use of plugs, gay terminology (bear, twink, etc), handjobs, blowjobs, swearing, smoking

Joel Miller

My paramour, my evermore - Joel one shot by @schnarfer

Joel Miller is the loss of your life

Knights and Kings AU, sort of GOT adjacent but no dragons, VERY heavy on the angst, infidelity (reader is married & there are mentions of her children), grown up Sarah, allusion to smut, Joel miller’s filthy mouth, mentions of death, so much longing, a kiss. Always fleabag coded.

Teacher's Pet - Joel one shot by @javiscigarette

25 years old, anxiety-ridden, and still a virgin, you ask your friend Joel for advice on your upcoming date. But you're more of a...hands-on learner. And he's more than happy to help.

PWP, unbalanced power dynamics, virgin!reader, neighbor/bff/more experienced! Joel, age gap, first kiss, virginity loss, fingering, oral (f receiving), frequent check-ins, soo much banter and Joel is a menace also so soft and sweet

That's the way road dogs do it - Joel series by @joelsdagger

on a night out with friends, you run into someone from your past.

[no-outbreak au], big girthy age gap [reader is in her 20’s, joel is 50’s], alcohol consumption, allusions to cheating [not by joel or reader], no sarah or ellie but joel has a son, joel has tattoos and is a biker, pet names [darlin’, baby, kiddo], sexualization of the term kiddo [from the deepest darkest pits of my soul…idfc], a little bit of humiliation, panty sniffing, a teensy bit of fingering, a little manhandling, pervy!joel [he’s also a little fucked up and really unhinged but so am i so whateva], pussy pronouns, dirty talk [umm it gets weird lol], daddy kink, degradation, semi-public sex, rough unprotected p in v sex, mirror sex, hair pulling, dubcon [joel takes pictures of her that she doesn’t verbally consent to], smidgen of angst [ofc bc it’s me], creampie, body marking/writing [use of a pen], soft!joel, reader wears a skirt, has hair, wears makeup, and has two tattoos that are described within the story

BDSMaid - Joel series @mountainsandmayhem

After recently graduating from university, your best friend offers you a job cleaning luxury homes for clients you’ll never know. It’s only temporary and a good way to save money for when you go back to get your law degree. That’s what you’re promised at least. Easy. Simple. Mundane. That is, until one of your clients is home and everything that you felt was missing in your life starts to fall into place. This goes against the NDA you signed and you could get fired. Or worse, you could fall in love.

In order to avoid spoilers I will not be warning you of everything. This story will contain sexually explicit material around the world of BDSM. Please remember that even with the age gap between Joel and Reader, they are both legal and consenting adults. Note: Reader is fully described to be a small white girl with freckles, but she is unnamed and the story is in second person. It's worth the read even if you don't fit that description, IMO

[beskarfrog]

Okay, so we all agree that Luke having to marry Mand’alor Din for political reasons is a quality au. What if Luke accidentally gets politically engaged to some other planetary leader instead?

Let’s say that perhaps his connection to Leia automatically made him a candidate for diplomatic marriage, especially after Leia and Han get married. Maybe it was a major clause in the funding for his Jedi school, but Luke didn’t really think they’d ever actually marry him off. For the sake of the au, let’s also disregard bits of TBOBF and Mando S3. 

Luke’s been building his school on Ossus, Grogu is enjoying Jedi training, and there are a couple other students. And perhaps, Din actually becomes Mand’alor and retakes Mandalorian space. Maybe he visits the Jedi school pretty often to see his son and get away from politics.

Luke can really sympathize with having the weight of the universe and a glowing sword tossed at you with no warning. So maybe he and Din become friends after a while and maybe that friendship becomes something different. There start being blushes when someone gets pinned in a spar, falling asleep together on the couch after dinner, running around after the younglings constantly. Din visits as often as he can and has about made up his mind to just ask Luke if he would consider moving the Jedi school to Concordia so they’d at least be in the same star system most days, if not on the same planet.

That's when Luke gets an urgent holocall from Leia, informing him that he’s just been engaged to some bigwig princess as part of a treaty with a rich planet the New Republic has been courting. Luke is absolutely panicking to Din, going on about how the terms of the treaty basically forbid him from keeping his school. He’s looked at his funding agreement with the New Republic and he can’t get out of it without losing money unless he’s already married to someone.

And then Din thinks of the most beautiful solution to both of their problems. Everyone else thinks that they’re already a couple, as much as Din has denied it. Bo-Katan has been harassing him for months about spending so much time off-world to go see his little family. Mandalore could really use a trade agreement with the New Republic.

The next logical step is, of course, for Din to propose in the middle of Luke’s kitchen while his Jedi friend is struggling not to go into a dark spiral about losing his school funding. It's simple, really. They just have to get married right that moment, which would fix the school funding issue. Luke moves the school to the Mandalore system so Din can see him and the kids all the time without giving Bo-Katan a new gray streak. And Mandalore probably gets a trade agreement out of it. What’s not to like?

Luke is so stunned he accidentally pours the calming tea he was making directly onto the kitchen floor.

[vodika-vibes]

Congratulations on your 650 followers Vodika! I bring you a request. May I please have a fairy tale AU with Jango Fett. Jango is the king of Mandalore and he hires you as his son's caretaker. As you spend more time with Boba and Jango the two of you fall in love with one another and even though you are just a commoner and Jango can have any woman he wants all Jango wants is to marry you and make you his queen.

Once again congratulations Vodika! I look forward to reading all of your requests once they are finished ❤️

Cin Vhetin

Summary: After losing your well-paying career as an in-home nanny due to a lie, you’re forced to move in with your older sister just to make ends meet. You’re about to give up on ever finding another job when your sister brings you an opportunity that you can’t turn down.

Pairing: Jango Fett x F!Reader

Word Count: 2958

Prompt: Fairy Tale AU

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Alright, I've had this mostly written for days now, I just couldn't get the final section to come out right. But I'm finally happy with it! So I hope you like it!

“I’m home~”

You look up from where you’re putting the finishing touches on tonight's dinner as your sister waltzes into the kitchen, a broad grin on her face. “Welcome back,” You greet tiredly, “You’re in a good mood, Rayne.”

“Of course I am, I got to see my future husband-”

“You mean the one who doesn’t know you exist? That future husband?”

“Hush, stop raining on my parade.” She spins around the kitchen, as though she’s still a teenager and not a woman nearing forty. “Anyway, I saw my beloved. And we had a conversation.”

“Oh?”

“He asked me if I wanted two loaves of bread or if one would be enough for tonight.”

“Sis, that isn’t talking, that’s him doing his job.” You counter with a roll of your eyes, “But continue.”

“It’s a step up.” She huffs as she stops spinning and flings her arms around your shoulders in a tight hug, “But, much more importantly. I signed you up for an interview at the palace tomorrow.”

“You what?!” You spin and glare at her, “An interview for what?”

“Don’t freak out,” She says as she jabs her finger in your face, “I’m doing you a favor.”

“Rayne!”

She rolls her eyes, “As you know, King Jango now has an infant son, and he needs a skilled nanny for Prince Boba. And you, my darling baby sister, are a skilled nanny and governess.” 

“Yeah, aside from the fact that I was fired from my last job.”

“Okay, so you weren’t fired because of anything you did, first of all. Those people lied about you and ruined your reputation, and this is an excellent way to repair that.” Rayne says as she places her hands on her hips, “Also, I know you’re doing your best to get a job and everyone is denying you because of the rumors, but I really think that this is the way to go.”

“If I get denied because of this lie—”

“You won’t,” Rayne reassures. “Your skill speaks for itself. And the King is rumored to be a discerning man.” She places her hands on your shoulders, “Will you go?”

You sigh, “Yeah. Okay.”

She squeals and flings her arms around you, “Oh, you won’t regret this, I know it.” Rayne releases you and claps her hands in front of her face, “Now, your interview is at the end of the day tomorrow, do you have a proper outfit to wear? I know you prefer your tunics, leggings, and boots. But do you have any skirts?”

“You know I don’t.” You say with a sigh, “I have a nice tunic and leggings that I can wear tomorrow. It’ll be fine.” Rayne opens her mouth to say something, but you cut her off, “I know you’re worried, but my clothes will be fine.”

She sighs and folds her arms, “I know, I know. I just…you’ve been so unhappy since you lost your last job. I’ve been worried.”

You make a face, “Well, the rumors weren’t kind to me, Rayne.”

“No, they weren’t.” She takes your hands and squeezes them, “I’ll leave you to your cooking, alright? I need to tend to the garden and then get cleaned up. Call me when dinner is done?”

“I always do.”

Rayne smiles at you and turns to leave the room, and then she pauses and looks at you, “Vod’ika,” you start at the familiar word falling from her lips, “Our buir’e would be proud of the woman you’ve become. I know I am.”

Your face heats and you avert your gaze, “You think so?”

“I know so.” Rayne hurries over to you and presses a light kiss to your temple. “Now, I do have to tend to the garden. Are you good?”

You smile at her, “Yeah. I’m good.” You watch as she leaves the room and then turn your attention back to the meal you’re preparing. You are so lucky that your sister is such an amazing person.  You’re never going to be able to pay her back.

The next day, your sister walks you to the palace, where you join the veritable army of other women who have applied for the position. “Are you sure you don’t want me to wait?” Rayne asks as she tucks some hair out of your face, “I don’t mind.”

“I’m sure. You have better things to do than wait hours for me to finish my interview, Rayne. And I know you have some things you need to do.”

“Well, yes-”

“Don’t worry about me.” You reassure her, “I’ll be okay. I’ve done this before after all.”

Rayne sighs, “Alright. I’ll see you this evening then. I love you.”

“Love you too.” You watch as Rayne hurries into the crowd and you settle back to wait for your turn. You know it’ll be a long wait.

King of Mandalore, Jango Fett, leans back in his chair as the most recent interviewee is escorted from the room. He pinches the bridge of his nose as he tries to stem the growing migraine.

“Well, this is going splendidly,” Miles notes dryly, “Half of those women have never seen a child, and the other half would be bad fits for living in the palace.”

Jango grunts, and then drops his hand, “You heard the woman who claims that children need a firm hand?”

“Oh yes,” Miles’ smile isn’t nice, “I made a note of that.”

“How many more?”

“Just the one,” Miles replies.

“And what do we know about her?”

“She’s quite the talented nanny,” He replies, “Has been caring for children since she was a child, used to Nanny for the Kryze clan.”

Jango lifts his head, “Used to?”

“There were some allegations of inappropriate behavior. Rumors and hearsay, mostly. Though, there are quite a few notes here, from a lot of people, indicating that those rumors and allegations are nothing more than lies.”

“Shocking, someone from the Kryze family lying.”

“Hm, if only we could power your kingdom with sarcasm-” Miles counters, just as sarcastically.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jango glances at the peacefully slumbering Boba, and then looks at Miles, “Well, we might as well get this over with. Call her in.”

Miles nods, once, and leaves the room.

He’s gone for almost five minutes, though Jango knows that’s because Miles is doing his pre-screening. Something that he started after the second woman let slip that she was looking for a title and a crown.

Honestly, he’s never going to get used to these leeches. Being a member of the royal family is hardly worth all that.

He sits up when the door opens, and Miles steps into the room, looking very smug. Trailing behind him is a young woman. Her hair is neatly pulled out of her face, and her clothes are neat, but don’t hang overly loose.

And, unlike most everyone else, her gaze skips right over him to focus on Boba. 

That, by itself, moves her to the top of the list.

“The last applicant, your Majesty,” Miles says with a gesture towards the young woman, and then he bows and leaves the room.

“His name is Boba,” Jango says, “He’s only a couple of weeks old.”

The corners of her lips turn down thoughtfully, “Forgive me for saying so, but having such a young baby around so many people is not safe for him.” 

Jango leans back in his seat, and a small smirk plays on his lips. Negative reputation or not, his estimation of her is going higher and higher. “I haven’t been allowing anyone to hold him.”

“Well, that’s something I suppose.” She finally turns her gaze to him and offers a shallow, but respectful curtsy. “I apologize, then.”

“There’s no need for that.” Jango scans her thoughtfully. She is young, but she looks tired. And her clothes hang on her, as though she’s recently lost a lot of weight. Or the clothes used to belong to someone else. “You were looking out for my son.”

He picks up her resume and motions for her to take a seat, which she does.

“I have your resume here,” He says, “And, honestly, I have a hard time believing that you don’t already have a job. Nannying since you were a teenager. A qualified governess in your own right. You’ve nannied for some very big names over the years. The most recent being the Kryze clan.”

“That’s all accurate, yes.” She replies, though her lips tighten at the mention of her previous employers. 

Jango sets the resume down on the table, “Based on your qualifications, you’re more than qualified for the job.” he says lightly, “But, understand, Boba is my only son. So I have to ask about these rumors-”

She winces and her shoulders curl in on her, “What would you like to know?”

There’s something like resigned defeat in her voice, and Jango finds himself not liking it. “What happened?”

Absently she rolls the hem of her sleeve between her fingers, “I was hired as the Nanny and Governess for Korkir Kryze three months before he was born.” She explains quietly, “I prepared the nursery, made sure that the house had everything it needed, and when he was born, I was the first one to hold him. I don’t think the Duke or the Duchess ever held him.” 

“Go on.”

“I can’t remember a single instance of his parents ever being in the same room as Korkie for longer than it took for a photo op or a meal.” She continues, “When he started talking, he called me mom. The Duchess…” She trails off, “She wasn’t happy about it.” She finally says.

“They fired you.”

“And spread rumors that I was a Noble Hunter and that I tried to seduce the Duke.” She bristles slightly, “I would never. I have enough self-respect to not try and poach from another woman-”

Jango holds up a hand, “Peace.”

She quells, though she still looks very unhappy.

“What happened after you were fired?”

“I moved in with my sister, it’s where I’ve been living.”

Jango nods thoughtfully, “This position comes with a series of rooms in the palace,” He explains, you also get two days off a week, days that you can set. You will be responsible for Boba during the day when I’m working, but you’ll only need to take him in the early mornings, evenings, or at night if I’m indisposed for some reason.”

She blinks at him, “Wait, you mean-?”

He smiles, “The position is yours, we’ll work out the rest of the hard details a bit later.”

“Thank you!”

His smile widens, “Would you like to hold Boba?”

She immediately walks over to the infant and allows Jango to place him in her arms. He watches as she adjusts his weight with the ease of someone who’s been caring for children for a long time.

“Time for the grand tour,” Jango says, “Follow me please.”

You settle into your new routine with ease. King Jango is a fine father and an even better man. He never treats you as if you’re less than him, and he listens to you if you say that there’s something wrong with Boba, or if you note that something needs to be changed.

In the 6 months that you’ve worked for him, you come to realize that you’ve never been as comfortable working for a family as you do when working for the King.

And yes, there is something of a small crush there. But you would never dream of risking your job in the hopes of catching his eye.

At 6 months old, Boba can roll over in both directions, and he babbles, though he still isn’t quite at the talking stage. More importantly, he’s learned stranger anxiety. Luckily, you’re not a stranger and he reaches for you as often as he reaches for his father.

Right now, though, Boba’s asleep in his crib and you’re organizing his nursery.

It’s one of the few nights where Jango isn’t able to put Boba down for the night, though, knowing the King, he’ll pop in as soon as he’s done in his meeting.

And, true to your expectations, half an hour later the nursery door opens. 

The King offers you a tired smile, and then walks over to the crib to peer down at the baby, “How was he today?”

“A little grumpy.” You reply, “But he settled around noon time.”

“That’s good.” You watch as Jango smoothes a curl off of Boba’s forehead, “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to put him down for the night.”

“It happens,” You reply lightly, you slip a couple more diapers into the drawer, and then you glance at him, “It’s been happening a lot these last couple of weeks.” You note, almost absently.

It’s an offer for him to confide in you if he wants.

Jango sighs, “It has, yes.” He falls silent for a moment, “I know I only hired you to take care of Boba, but it’d be nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who’s not involved.”

You finish folding Boba’s clothes and put them in the dresser before you turn to look at him, “I’m always happy to listen, Jango.” You make sure the baby monitor is on, and then follow him out of Boba’s nursery and into Jango’s suites.

You sink onto one of the plush couches as he offers you a glass of juice, before he sits next to you, “The Council, and Miles, are pushing me to get married.” Jango says.

“I wasn’t aware that you had a partner,” You note thoughtfully as you take a sip of the juice and set the cup on the table.

“I don’t. That’s the problem.”

“You’re the King, if you want them to stop just tell them.”

“Sadly, it doesn’t work like that. They have lists of women who might be interested in marrying me, but—” He shakes his head.

“But you’re not interested.”

“I’m not blind, I’m well aware that I could have any noblewoman that I wanted. The problem is that I don’t want any of them.”

“May I ask why not?” You ask, curious.

“Boba.”

You exhale slowly, “Okay, that’s fair.”

“Plus, I have no interest in firing you. And the last thing I want is to put you in another situation like the Kryze situation.”

“That’s kind of you, Jango. But I really shouldn’t be a consideration in this.”

“Why not? You’re basically Boba’s mother at this point.”

You laugh softly, “That’s going to get me in trouble, I know it.”

Jango leans back for a moment, his dark eyes scanning you, “I lied.”

“About?”

“Not wanting any woman specifically.” Jango clarifies, “There’s one woman I’m interested in.”

“Okay, so you should talk to her.”

“I am.”

“Oh. Oh!” Your face heats and you press your hands against your cheeks, “Me. You mean me.”

Jango chuckles softly, though there’s nothing unkind there, “I do mean you.”

“But I’m just a nanny.”

“So? My parents were farmers, it was my adoptive dad who made me King.” Jango shifts on the couch so that his knees are almost touching you, “Boba loves you. And you’ve managed to keep me sane these last six months.”

“I don’t know anything about ruling a kingdom.”

“You don’t have to, that will remain my job.” Jango’s warm fingers brush against your cheek, “Tell me you’re not interested, and I’ll never mention it again.”

You stare at him, “I just…why me?”

“Because you’re you. Because the idea of you not being in my life makes me miserable.” Jango’s fingers slide across your lips.

“People will make assumptions—”

“Let them. So long as we both know the truth,” Jango leans in, his lips hovering just over yours, “You are the one I want. The only one I want.”

A soft sigh falls from your lips, “Jango—”

You’re not able to finish your thought, as his lips catch yours in a gentle, almost chaste, kiss. Your hands come up to lightly press against his cheeks, and then one of your hands slides to card through his curls.

Jango releases a low groan, the kiss deepening as he leans you back, so you’re lying on the couch and he’s supporting his weight on his elbows. He lightly nips your lower lip and then soothes the sore spot with his tongue.

You don’t mean to release the breathy whine at the feel of his teeth against you, but you do, and Jango practically collapses on you with a deep appreciative moan.

His lips move to your throat, and you gasp when he bites down on the sensitive skin located there, intent on leaving a mark.

You know that he would keep going and that you would let him when the baby monitor releases a little noise, and you both still at the sound of Boba waking up. 

He stares down at you, and you blink up at him, “I need to go get him,” You whisper. 

“Yeah.” Jango kisses you one more time, “We’ll have to continue this later. If you want?”

“Well,” You smile at him shyly, “I wouldn’t say no.”

He flashes an eager, and boyish, grin. “I can’t wait,” Jango murmurs as he climbs off of you and allows you to grab the baby monitor to hurry to the nursery.

And, when Jango joins you in the nursery half an hour later and wraps himself around you to watch you take care of Boba, you’re really not surprised. Just like you’re not surprised when his arms slide tightly around your waist and he holds you tightly.

You know that it’ll be a change, being in a relationship with the King. But you find yourself excited about the change, rather than anxious.

[thewriterowl]

Hi! It's me again, I've had a terrible day and reading one of your fics has brightened my day a bit, and with them I was able to distract myself thinking about the following ideas:

1. The Mandalorians somehow survive the Great Purge. And the Jedi manage to break away from the Republic, so two stranded and disowned societies in the galaxy come together to try to form one. The problem is that the Jedi are all omegas, and the Mandalorians are either Alphas or Betas. So imagine a story where the Mandalorians go wild when they see their omegas threatened with having to go to the front lines of a war, instead of being on their planet, safe and full of their children. And obviously a Dark! Din.

2. This one is more Angst, but I can see Din and Lukr having a really big argument, so big that Luke decides to go to Naboo for a few days to think things over. And when Din wakes up the next day, with a clearer mind, and realizes that Luke is not there, he goes absolutely crazy. And he starts to take off the special forces from Mandalore to get his consort back. Meanwhile, Luke, after thinking things over, decides to talk to Din one last time, at least to see if they are going to break up, at least end on good terms. When Luke returns to the palace, he finds himself in a Mandalorian council meeting about to declare war on HIM. Din is so happy to see him that he runs up to him and spins him around in his arms and kisses him.

Hello again! I am always happy to answer some asks and see if I can provide some cheer! I'm sorry things have been a bit sucky. I hope things are getting better!

Dark-Alpha-Din is so good. We need more of that in life, honestly. Omega-Luke and the rest of the Jedi trying to survive in a still very war-torn galaxy and meeting up with the surviving Mandalorian army and things get a bit awkward on the battlefield. Luke, only a young twenty-something, is very unsure how to handle this large warrior intruding a bit in the fight and seeming trying to slaughter the Empire and nab Luke. In fact, it was happening in a lot of situations across the battle. It would make for such a story for Mandalorian events; of meeting, fighting beside, protecting, and finally bringing their Omegas home. Jedi, who are just chill guys, are like "uh...can we get back to the war for the balance of everything now or...?" And of course, Din is absolutely obsessed.

AND

YES. I love when they get into arguments and something happens to Luke and Din is losing his ever loving mind because of it. He is trying to find Luke, terrified that something has happened and he's forever lost him because he lost control over his temper, and then Luke comes back in to try and talk and now Luke is getting kisses all over his face in front of everyone.

He would be so confused. But happy, he thinks.

[lightasthesun]

Imagine surviving the war only to lose most of the people closest to you.

The Woman that once upon a time held your heart in her hands.

The Girl that you loved like a daughter and whose death would ultimately lead to you losing your only brother.

•

In this universe, the river of time flows differently. Each step, each choice, and each poignant moment in its stream drift slightly off course.

It starts like this:

When Ahsoka and Bo-Katan ask the Jedi Order for aid in freeing Mandalore from Darth Maul's grasp and finally putting an end to the former Sith's reign, Obi-Wan does not ignore their call for help. Satine's ghost still haunts his nightmares, and it's the look on her sister's face, along with the redheads snarling accusations and Ahsoka's distant demeanor, that cause his typically composed exterior to splinter.

Through the cracks in his shields, a presence slips in – wild and tumultuous, yet practically radiant in its brilliance.

Days, months, weeks and even years later Obi-Wan will wish he'd taken a little longer to cradle her presence close.

It ends like this:

Anakin with Windu on the Invisible Hand. A incapacitated Sith in custody and another, more vile, more cunning, more sinister, choosing the wrong moment to reveal himself. A twist of fate. A long lost friend showing signs of old loyalty. Lightning. Screams. Hurt and Betrayal. The Chosen One as he was meant to be without terrors of the night influencing his most damning decision. Red clashing with purple, with blue. Red, blue, purple, blue, red, purple— A head rolls. The cackling stops.

For a moment, Peace.

A bond, frail at the edges but oh so resilient, crafted amidst blaster fire and silly nicknames and bets made on the battlefield, breaks—

Anakin screams.

•

On Mandalore the last chess piece falls with a Padawans last sacrifice.

First, Maul taunts. Maul laughs. Maul feeds on rage, on grief and hurt and terror, terror, terror. He's stronger here. Less controlled too, but while his greed costs him his head, his strength costs Obi-Wan the centerpiece of his lineage.

Obi-Wan holds his daughter as she bleeds out in his arms. His shoulders shake but he does not cry. His eyes burn but he does not weep. His lips twitch but he does not sob. He holds Ahsoka much the same way he held Satine only months before.

“No, not you too.”

Something flickers inside his mind, once, twice. It grows ever dimmer and Ahsoka's grip on his shoulder, ever weaker. A feeble voice inside his mind, It's okay. It doesn't hurt. I'll be okay, Master.

But this time no reassurance, no hand to his cheek, no last confession, nothing, will temper the anger slowly rising in tandem with his grief. He needs a medic. He needs a medic, now. Where's —

Cody!

Obi-Wan doesn't like the expression on the face of his slowly approaching Commander. The furrow of his brow, the emotion in his eyes. He doesn't like that Cody has taken off his helmet and reaches out to hold Obi-Wan by his shoulder as if he knows Obi-Wan needs the physical support, as if Ahsoka is going to —

“Master—”

Obi-Wan turns his eyes back on his Grandpadawan. Hers are barely open, her lips smeared with blood. Obi-Wans eyes catch on the red trailing down her chin and the length of her throat.

Ahsoka catches his eyes and smiles. She tugs on their bond the way she had always done before a battle, up until her last assignment on Caito Neimodia.

She tugs once, twice, three times. His heart squeezes painfully in his chest. He tugs back three times.

He does cry then. For the life she will never have. For the peace she will never experience. For the war she fought and whose final victory she will never reap. For the girl he learned to love as his own.

And even in her last moment, even in pain, even after Hurt and Miscommunication, and Betrayal born out of insecurity and misjudgment, she still worries for others first. For him.

You're safe. You're all sa—

He shushes her. Tired amusement tingles across their bond.

Then,

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.

You are forgiven, Obi-Wan.

Exhale. The light winks out and as their bond shatters his last remaining one pulls tight with white hot agony.

Cody is all that keeps Obi-Wan upright right then and there.

•

The war is over. They won. So many dead. His lineage torn asunder.

Ahsoka is dead. Anakin won't speak to him. Qui-Gon is dead. Dooku is imprisoned.

Here the river of time finds a stream parallel to the one we know.

Obi-Wan and Yoda at the end of things.

[illuminatedquill]

Sabine Wren & Ahsoka Tano (Quick Analysis)

Fear is The Path

Alright, let's get into it.

For this post we're going to take a look into the Master/Apprentice relationship between Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren. Specifically, I'm going to be looking into why Ahsoka felt it necessary to walk away from Sabine's training as a Jedi.

In Ahsoka, we're pointed to a major historical event known as the Great Purge of Mandalore being the catalyst; the Empire carpet bombing the planet surface, killing millions of Mandalorians, scattering the remaining survivors to the stars and, for Sabine, causing the loss of her entire family: Alrich Wren (father), Countess Ursa Wren (mother), and Tristan Wren (brother).

Ahsoka, for reasons only known to herself, abandoned Sabine's Jedi training shortly after this event. We're given some insight via Huyang in Ahsoka 1x08, however:

Huyang: Ahsoka became afraid that Sabine was training to be a Jedi for the wrong reasons after what happened on Mandalore. Ezra: Which was? Huyang: At the end of the war, the Empire purged the entire surface of the planet, killing hundreds of thousands. Ezra: Her family? Huyang: Were all lost, sadly. At the time, Ahsoka felt that if Sabine unlocked her potential, she would become dangerous.

However, it's clear that Huyang doesn't have the full picture of the fallout between Ahsoka and Sabine. Sabine herself only has her own warped view of why Ahsoka left, as evidenced by Baylan's manipulation in Ahsoka 1x04:

Baylan: I know you feel that Ezra Bridger is the only family you have left. Your family died on Mandalore . . . because your Master didn't trust you.

Piecing together the, admittedly, few clues we have paints the picture that Ahsoka prevented Sabine from helping her family during the Purge - which led to their deaths.

It's understandable that Sabine would have been outraged; both at the loss of her family, her people, her way of life and also at her Master who, for whatever reason, did not want Sabine present on Mandalore to save her family.

Until Dave Filoni reveals the exact details of what happened during that event, we're left with speculation. My personal take is simply this: Ahsoka did not want Sabine to die alongside her family. It's what makes the most amount of sense to me.

Ahsoka cares about Sabine, like any Master would do for their student.

So - Sabine loses everything and begins to take steps towards a turn to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering, as Master Yoda says. Ahsoka, sensing this dark rage bloom in her student, decides to stop the training out of fear that Sabine becomes another Vader.

Except. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Because Ahsoka Tano is who she is.

Ahsoka survived her own Purge. The fall of the Jedi Order, her home, and the institution that she pledged most of her life to, the only family she had ever known.

Ahsoka knows this pain. She is, arguably, the best suited to steer Sabine away from a potential turn to the Dark Side after her student loses everything in the same way that she did.

Actress Rosario Dawson - and backed up by the hat man himself - has stated that Ahsoka has had plenty of opportunities to turn to the Dark Side. She's fought through two Galactic Civil Wars, seen everyone she loved die, and has been betrayed by the people she fought so hard to protect.

And, yet, Ahsoka Tano never turned. She stayed on her path, long and winding as it may be, and continued to serve the Light in the best way she knew how.

At some point, she takes on Sabine as a Padawan, seeing echoes of Anakin in her. Yes, there's the anger and the recklessness there that makes Ahsoka uneasy, but that's always been a part of Sabine's character. It's nothing new. She decided to take Sabine Wren as her apprentice, anyway, and it worked fine until the Purge.

So, what happened? What changed? What was the growing darkness in her Padawan that convinced Ahsoka Tano that the best course of action was to abandon the Jedi training - abandon Sabine entirely - at a time when she needed counseling the most?

Attachment. Sabine's attachment to Ezra.

Dave Filoni and the actress for Sabine Wren, the fantastic Natasha Liu Bordizzo, have both pointed out that there are echoes of Anakin in Sabine. In separate interviews, both spoke about the anger and recklessness in Sabine - but, more interesting, they did not acknowledge the major factor in Anakin's downfall.

Anakin's attachment to his loved ones. His inability to let go.

It's bizarre that they didn't talk about this and I suspect that it's on purpose. Because that is arguably the biggest reason why Anakin fell to the Dark Side. The anger and the recklessness were all symptoms of this larger issue for Anakin Skywalker.

And Ahsoka Tano sensed the same in Sabine Wren.

Let's look at evidence from another Filoni series, The Mandalorian. From episode 2x05, The Jedi, when Ahsoka is re-introduced into the Star Wars universe.

There's a pivotal moment when she meets Grogu and Force communes with him to get a sense of his history.

She senses "great fear and anger" in him at the beginning; it makes her wary, of course, but it doesn't seem to perturb her.

However, when Din asks if she can teach him, Ahsoka flatly rejects the idea for this reason:

What she says is vitally important:

Ahsoka: His attachment to you makes him vulnerable to his fears. His anger. Din: All the more reason to train him. Ahsoka: No. I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight. To the best of us.

That's where Ahsoka draws the line in the sand; it's not the anger that scares her - it's Grogu's attachment to Din.

And, mind you, the timeline of this episode occurs after Ahsoka and Sabine had their split. So, even though she's clearly referencing Anakin here, I don't doubt that Sabine is also on her mind.

Think about it. Sabine has just lost everything - except for Ezra. The anger is something Ahsoka can deal with, but Sabine's attachment to Ezra is not; she knows it's the primary reason for Anakin's downfall and she was powerless to stop it.

That's what drives Ahsoka away. That is what scares her. She couldn't be there for Anakin, was blind to what was happening; and now, it's happening with Sabine.

The only path Ahsoka can see forward is to leave Sabine; prevent her Padawan from reaching full potential. It's an awful course to take and it leaves Sabine stranded, feeling alone, at a time when she needed mentorship and guidance the most.

But it's all Ahsoka can think of. She cares about Sabine and is too blinded by her own fears to believe in her own ability to stop Sabine from falling into the same darkness that took Anakin.

Sabine only has Ezra now with Ahsoka gone. He's the only one she can save now, the only one she can do anything for. The loss of her family has caused her attachment, her feelings for Ezra, to sharpen into something deadly: possessiveness. The exact feeling that Jedi warned against.

Why didn't Ahsoka stop this from happening earlier?

Because this is Sabine and Ezra; we know Sabine and Ezra were close, as did Ahsoka. It's probable that Sabine's feelings were gradually heading in this direction and the Purge just gave it a decisive push to the inevitable conclusion.

Ahsoka, also, presumably knew how Sabine felt the entire time and didn't want to have an honest talk with her Padawan about it.

Because it's Sabine and Ahsoka herself was still operating under the influence of Anakin's legacy as Vader; she was scared to bring it out into the open, because she didn't know what to do if her fears were confirmed about Sabine's feelings.

I mean, it's obvious that this isn't the first time they've probably talked about this, as evidenced by this scene in Ahsoka 1x04:

Ahsoka knows. She comes the closest in this scene, out of everyone else in Sabine's life, to directly confront Sabine about her true feelings for her old friend.

She knows that there's more going on underneath the surface of Sabine regarding her feelings towards Ezra. It's not a conversation she wants to have in this moment (just look at the body language), but there's no other choice - not with the stakes this high.

There is no way that this is the first time Ahsoka has broached the subject about Ezra with her Padawan and, knowing Sabine, she probably walked away from every attempt a little more worried.

But Ahsoka refused to really have that open conversation with Sabine, settling only for these half-hearted comments and, in doing so, set up her student for failure. Sabine was unprepared; had no way of being vigilant towards her worst enemy - herself.

Ahsoka's actions, caused by fear of herself and Anakin's legacy, left Sabine vulnerable to her feelings.

They had been growing all this time and now, with no one to temper them, were allowed to become something more - something dangerous.

The Purge happened. Sabine's family died. Her people died. Mandalore was lost.

After that, Sabine had nothing left to lose. Her attachment to Ezra, her love for him - it made her vulnerable to her fear. Just as Ahsoka feared it would.

Sabine couldn't lose Ezra. Her love for him - her fear of losing him, like her family - dictated that no sacrifice was too great; no cost, too high.

And Baylan used it as the perfect weapon against her. "Do it. For Ezra."

We know the rest.

Sabine gambled. The galaxy lost.

Fear won.

[abstractppsychopomp]

┃➤ARC trooper Jesse and why he matters so much to me

Jesse is one of those characters we know so little about, that we can make up about them anything we want. Like with almost every clone.

Like many other clones in The Clone Wars, Jesse is seen only in a few battles and arcs, that tell us just what we need to know about him to feel bad when he inevitably dies, since clones are doomed in this franchise one way or another.

And what really treated us with a bunch of interesting characters and development arcs was, of course, the Umbara arc, where Jesse is one of the clones who rebels against Krell's unsuccessful strategies and his disregard of their lives, who gets almost executed by his own brothers because of it and survives to see Krell's death.

There are many little things that make us love him, first of all his acts of disobedience.

At first, as audience we can't really justify Krell's decisions with 'It's war, and sacrifices are to be made" like some of the characters who are soldiers do, so we can't help but wish that they would not follow his orders, and Jesse is one of the first ones to do so, with Fives and Hardcase- who we know for a fact Jesse has known for a long time, since Hardcase was there back when they met the clone deserter on Saleucami. Hardcase dies, but they respect his sacrifice.

The clones' loyalty is not to the Republic, or at least not as much as how they wrote it. They serve the Republic and they fight this war because without them the war would be lost, since they're the only thing fighting the Separatists. And, of course, because they were made to do so. They were created for this, and this is what they know. Their life is long enough that they will fight as long as the Republic (as the Sith) needs, and then they will die, maybe thirty-five years after their birth, and it will be like they never existed.

This was the plan behind their creation, and this happens in the Star Wars canon timeline.

What they know, other than war, are each other, and Hardcase's last words are "Live to fight another day". Funny that it isn't "Fight to live another day", but it's merely because they don't live, they fight. They weren't made to know anything other than fighting, not even living. They don't have to survive a battle so that they can live and be in peace, but because after one fight there's always another.

But by fighting they still survive, and they can save another clone.

With his sacrifice Hardcase saves his brothers, and even Jesse, and they "let him die" because they would do just the same.

"I'm only doing it because I don't like him", this is how Jesse tries to justify his insubordination. Humor is his way of deflecting and coping. Hardcase replies to this with "I'm only doing this for fun", which is just incompatible with what he does at the end and proves that the reason why he did it is was to save his brothers- just like Jesse, who cracked a joke like him but almost died all the same.

So he loves his brothers, and he wants to win the battles he fights, forced or not, and he has a sense of humor- which is great, since we all love some good humor.

He loses it, facing his brothers ready to execute him, but we know he has it, Fives said it.

He's loyal, just like Hardcase, just like every other clone. To whom?

The first answer could be the Republic.

Jesse has a Republic crest tattooed on his head, and also has it painted on his helmet, so of course he isn't neutral regarding the Republic.

But, and here I am with what could be called headcanons, but they're necessary because this show didn't care about clones as much as it should have (don't talk money, if you want to talk money a show about clones could make Star Wars great again).

Jesse is not loyal to the Republic.

What truly made me fall in love with him was the Siege of Mandalore, because we know that he's part of a group of soldiers way younger than him.

He is the personification of the "only one left" trope.

Because we know that, of the 501st clones we got to know and love, he, with Kix and Rex, is the only one left.

Fives, Hardcase, Tup, Dogma, they're all dead, and Echo is with the Bad Batch.

Jesse is a first generation. He's probably been around since Geonosis, as long as Rex, and by this point he still paints his helmet the same way.

How probable is it that, for all that time- and remember clones age twice as fast as humans, so three years are not only three years for him, he was loyal to the Republic, never changing his paint, always loyal, always dedicated?

The clones' loyalty is to their brothers.

Jesse may have been once loyal to the Republic, when he was forced into fighting a war after a life spent hearing that war was what he was made for, but after living out of Kamino for three years?

You know Plato's allegory of the Cave? This is the same.

If you want to believe that the clones were at any point loyal to the Republic, it's almost impossible for them to have still cared for it after having a chance to see, know and understand how the Republic doesn't deserve their loyalty. Not the Republic who bought them and thinks of them as non-sentients, and uses them to fight a senseless war.

To mark himself with the crest, forever, is to be loyal to the point of not only sacrificing himself, but sacrifice others, like what a good General like Krell was supposed to do, which Jesse does, but not of his own volition.

Now to his death.

Jesse dies, trying to kill Ahsoka. Obeying a order he couldn't disobey, controlled by a chip he didn't know the existence of, taking out with him so many of his brothers.

When he sacrifices himself to kill the enemy of the Republic, he does it because he's been forced to. He wouldn't have done it, without the chip.

Jesse is loyal to a fault.

We see it with Ahsoka, and with Anakin, and with Rex.

Do you really think that, had the order come without the chip influencing him, he would have tried to kill Ahsoka with Rex on the line? Rex, who he'd fought with for three years, who he protected so harshly with the Bad Batch, who's his brother?

He is loyal to a fault, just not to the Republic.

Maybe he got that tattoo and later realized how wrong he'd been to do it as he realizes that they're all glorified slaves, and as he goes on fighting for someone who owns him he paints his helmet always the same way almost as a joke, since we know he has humor. They own him, after all, so why not mark himself with their symbol forever? ┃

[impossibleprincess35]

Asphodel | ch 56

[Excerpt:]

“If Republic forces come to your aid, it will break treaties that are nearly 100 years old and we will effectively be drawn into yet another war,” Obi-Wan countered sternly as he considered the matter.

Audaciously, Bo-Katan shrugged and smirked at him as she remarked, just like a Mandalorian, “What’s one more?”

Obi-Wan turned from the holo-table and took a deep breath, steadying the frustration that was growing within him as she made light of conflict as though it was a game and not a matter of life and death.

Anakin remarked in a snide tone of voice, “Well, we’re not finished with our first one yet. Asking us to commit to another conflict? It’s not up to us. We can’t make that call.”

Across the holo-table’s glowing screens, Ahsoka made a face and both Obi-Wan and Anakin witnessed it. It was snide and disapproving, and it was clear that the padawan they both knew was long gone; and in her place was a young adult, riddled with resentment and distrust.

The tension was building and by the way Bo-Katan shifted her weight between her feet nervously, Obi-Wan could tell that the situation was reaching a boiling point. He looked at her and calmly stated, “Anakin is right. I am one of twelve voices and I do not have the authority to speak for the Jedi Council, but I will advise them of this development, and it will be up to them to pursue the Republic for their approval.”

Bo-Katan watched as Obi-Wan turned to walk away, and desperation took over as she exclaimed, “There’s no time!”

He turned to stare at her, silent and stoic, and she wondered what her sister could have ever seen in him.

“Maul’s influence on Mandalore is destroying my people!” Bo shouted. “He tried to murder their ruler, my sister! You were there! You witnessed it! I watched you carry her body from the palace, panicking that you would lose her! Doesn’t she mean anything to you?!”

There had been no formal reports submitted to the Jedi Council as Obi-Wan’s mission to save Satine in Sundari had been a willful dereliction of duty, and as such, Anakin and Ahsoka only knew what he had disclosed to them. In careful phrases and minimal words, Obi-Wan had explained the situation as briefly as possible, and he had purposefully left out the horror of what had explicitly happened in the Grand Salon.

It was bad enough that Obi-Wan and Satine had survived it, but to relive it in conversation was something he could not take.

In their minds, both Anakin and Ahsoka pictured their master and grandmaster in a state they had never witnessed. Instead of calm and level-headed, perhaps cheeky and sarcastic, they could only imagine him in a hysterical state, frantic and hopeless, with the Duchess of Mandalore dying in his grasp, and they were silenced by the gravity of such an image.

But in the training room, in light of Bo-Katan’s outburst, Obi-Wan would not give her the satisfaction of a vengeful response as he looked at her and said calmly, “She did, and still does, but I cannot allow my feelings to cloud my judgment. The Council will decide what our course of action will be.”

Throwing her helmet to the ground in anger, Bo-Katan raged, “And how did the Council decide when my sister’s life was on the line? Did the Council decide right then, or did you have to take matters into your own hands?!”

Ahsoka reached out to touch Bo-Katan’s forearm as a means to anchor her in reality with rational thought.

Bo rejected her attempt, shaking off her grasp, and as she stared at Obi-Wan, she yelled in a state of hopelessness, “If you hesitate, you will be letting an outsider ruin all that my sister worked for!”

Obi-Wan wanted to judge her harshly, but she was desperate for help, and he surmised that she was incapable of asking for it with diplomacy and humility. He inhaled deeply, so deeply that his ribcage stung from the usual aches and pains that accompanied battle, and he said slowly, “The way you speak of your sister, one might forget that you put her in the position of seeking help from an outsider like me in the first place.”

--

Chapter 56 is up.

[lieutenant-teach]

Oversaturating current SW media with certain characters leads to these characters becoming annoying, which leads to my disliking them. Mainly it’s about Filoni’s faves Rex and Ahsoka.

Rex seems to be the only really important clone – most action includes him; of course, he survives until the Battle of Endor and fights alongside Luke Skywalker and the Rebels. The others – well, one short cameo in a single episode, and be happy he isn’t killed. WTF happened to Cody? Howzer? Where was Wolffe during the Battle of Endor? What happened to Echo since he wasn’t in Rebels? They could retcon Fox – that’s the guy who isn’t new, but absolutely not explored! But noo, let’s stick to the luckiest clone ever – Rex! Of course, it was him who was de-chipped and didn’t lose his time within the Empire! Of course, it was him who started the Clone rebellion! (btw, what happened to it?) He even has more scenes with Obi-Wan than Cody! Come on, it’s not even logical!

But Rex is at least nice and likable when he’s on screen. And it’s impossible to say the same about Ahsoka.

She was all right in first seasons. Buuut then Filoni and Co HAD TO write the Wrong Jedi arc. Of course, Jedi are so political – it’s clear Anakin was right not to trust them! Of course, Ahsoka becomes the author’s mouthpiece to bash the Jedi. And of course, she continues to bash them 10 years after the Battle of Endor. She’s THE ideal the Jedi should’ve strived to be. Sabine’s attachment to Ezra? Heck yes! Don’t worry, people of our galaxy will make smth up to oppose Thrawn again. Don’t forget about her perfect Master who taught her everything a Jedi should know! Of course, she’s among the greatest Jedi to call for Rey – and quite possibly, still alive by then! And of course, she’ll appear in Rebels to have a cool fight with Vader, in The Mandalorian for cameo sake, she’ll get her own series where she meets her Master again and is even watched by him! Even his children didn’t get such grace.

Not so honorable mention – Bo-Katan Kryze, infamous for her reclaiming Mandalore thrice at least and failing twice of them, hijacking Din Djarin’s series and being portrayed as a perfect Mandalorian Princess (who despises clones, but who cares about them anymore, right, Filoni?) Obviously she’ll appear in an upcoming ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ movie to represent Mandalore (leaving Din the be a shiny babysitter for a main cute comic relief in the face of Grogu).

Seriously, Filoni did with them the same thing that unexperienced ficwriters do – their OCs are the best and most influential ever. Kinda reeks of Mary Sue-ism a bit. I’d think a ‘real writer’ would know better than unprofessional fans and wouldn’t stick his faves everywhere possible up to rewriting the narrative.

[burnwater13]

Image of Grogu using the Force to arrange his clothes in his room when he's in a hurry. Pencil sketch on off white paper by my daughter.

Grogu was trying to organize his stuff when he heard the knock at the cabin’s door. He really hoped that it was just a messenger dropping something off or a friend stopping by to say ‘hello there’ and then leaving to go to their own home. He really didn’t want to be interrupted. He was right in the middle of things and if his dad saw his room right at that moment he’d probably tap his foot so hard his helmet would pop right off. 

Now that was a funny image! Grogu wished his drawing materials weren’t on the other side of the room because he would have loved to just stop for a moment, sketch that image, and then get right back to the work in front of him. He knew that keeping his supplies, equipment, possessions and other stuff in good order was the Mandalorian thing to do. He also knew it was the Jedi thing to do. It just didn’t happen to be a normal sort of Grogu thing to do. 

Oh, he tried every day to put things back where they belonged and to make sure that wherever that was, it kept the stuff from getting damaged or misplaced or simply forgotten about entirely. You’d think that when your whole collection of Mandalorian armor was just two pieces that you couldn’t lose, forget, or misplace it. But that would be wrong. Grogu was very spontaneous and very adept at quick decision making. That turned out to not be the best combination when it came to establishing a routine organizational system. Go figure.

For example, they had visited Greef Karga the previous afternoon and when they returned from that visit Grogu had another sketch pad, some more markers, and a pocket full of snacks that his dad hadn’t noticed him collecting. Given those conditions, the first thing Grogu decided to manage was securing the snacks. His dad didn’t like him eating in his hammock or eating between meals or forgetting about food and letting it age. If Din Djarin caught him with the stuff he’d take it away, put it in some sort of proper container and then store it in a cabinet or the preserver and Grogu would have to negotiate with his dad to get access to it. Uff.

Grogu focused on putting the snacks in a secure location and by the time his dad called to him that it was bath time, Grogu just threw the other items, including his rondel and beskar shirt, wherever there was room for them go, and went to the ‘fresher. The bath had been a lot of fun and very necessary and took a good deal of time. By the time he went back to his room in a fresh first layer, he didn’t remember where the beskar was. Oops. Instead he just pulled his sleep coverall on and trotted back out to the main room. 

When he woke up that morning he realized that he needed to put the beskar on because his dad had suggested, just before he went to sleep the night before, that they might go to the farmer’s market to see what new stuff was available that afternoon.  That resulted in Grogu pulling all of his stuff out from everywhere in his room just to find the two pieces of armor. They, of course, were on top of some shelves that he couldn’t access without using the Force. Apparently that was what he had done the night before because he was in such a hurry. Oops.

But now that everything was spread out, he had his armor on and was halfway through the task, a knock at the door was a bit terrifying. If he was really lucky the person would just go away. If he was sort of lucky they would just take up his dad’s time and Grogu would be able to keep working on his room without his dad even realizing that there was a problem. But if he didn’t have any luck at all, Din Djarin would walk right in and then ‘Poof’! His helmet’s flying off and he’s giving Grogu a look that would explain just exactly how much trouble he was in because they would have to make a special trip to Mandalore just so his dad could sort things out with the Creed… again.

“Grogu. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Get ready to go to the farmer’s market. We’ll be leaving as soon as I get back!”

Yippee!

Fifteen precious minutes. Grogu would just have to focus and do his best to stick to his organizational theory. Everything in its place and a place for everything that made sense. Sketch pads, markers and art supplies all together. Toys, games, stuffies, and playtime activity sets all together. First layers, coveralls, hats, gloves, scarves, boots, slippers, robes, and bath towels all together. Then sketches posted in his room. Easy peasy. 

First things first, Grogu began to put the art supplies away. That took five solid minutes. Well, there were only a few more things to do. He had ten minutes. No problem. 

Except that the toys, games, stuffies, etc. were all different sizes and none of them wanted to share space with the others, at least not without a lot of cramming and jamming. Dank Farrik! That had taken eight minutes! He only had two minutes left and the last two sets of materials were the biggest! 

He quickly reminded himself that he was a Mandalorian and a Jedi. He could do this. With a deep breath and eyes tightly shut, he reached out with the Force and focused. Things needed to go on the walls and other things needed to go in his closet and trunk. Easy. No cramming. No folding. No creasing. 

“Okay, buddy. Let’s get going. Uh… okay. Interesting. Hope this works out for you.”

What?

Grogu opened his eyes which were still tightly closed and looked around his room. Every bit of every wall was covered with clothing hanging from it, somehow, and all this drawings, sketches, and art projects were no where to be seen. The clothing had replaced the art and he hoped that art was just neatly organized in his closet. He supposed he was lucky. His dad didn’t lose his helmet over the results and that’s what really mattered, right?

[kalevalakryze]

Yhe'na Det Och'sa

Chapter 1: Viida Ke Aht

Characters: Shin Hati, Ahsoka Tano, Huyang, Background Characters Tags: Alternate Universe: Canon Divergence, Protective Ahsoka Tano, Wet Cat Shin Hati, Professor Huyang, The Force, Lightsabers Notes: Welcome to the beginning! The Shin Tano AU has been rent free in my mind for so long, and we've been putting giant amounts of work into this project. This universe will span about three acts, with act one set for the early years of Shin's training under Ahsoka Tano, all the way to the end of the empire and the first time she meets Sabine Wren. (9BBY-0BBY timelines were changed to get rid of some ick ) Act Two will focus on the relationship between wolfwren and the time before Mandalore's destruction. ( 0BBY-5ABY ) And Act Three will be focused on the Ahsoka series. ( 9-10 ABY ) Other acts will be planned as we see what direction the series will be taking. This AU would be nowhere without Gabi, please make sure you give her all the credit she deserves because without her, we would not have any of the stunning art we have already that's helped inspire this AU! @somewillwin Also big thanks to everyone in the pathfinders discord ( @mandalorianfleshenjoyer , @cmbdragon98 esp for idea bouncing and double checking asdkvn!!!!) Word Count: 4,331 AO3 Link: Here!

Bail had reached out with a request for aid, noting a tentative ally in the inner city of Ibaar. Ahsoka hadn’t known all the allies a senator could make, but if Padmé’s arsenal of folks who owed her was anything to go by, then Bail must have a whole library full of names of people who owed him. 

The streets ran rampant with poverty and starvation, just like any other world the Empire had locked its early talons into.  Vendors of various kinds set up in any available surface, patrolled heavily by Imperial units every thirty minutes with shift rotations every five hours.

It was during this fifth hour that Fulcrum stepped into the streets, hood drawn close over her head, route back to the landing pad memorized, with a dock worker nicely paid off to pass her forged documentation through the Imperial database. ‘Ahsoka Tano’ may have died with her men, but ‘Ashla Tsu’ was just a contract mechanic no one would look twice at. 

As she swept through the stalls lining the streets, hood drawn far over her eyes, allowing the Force to guide her between moving bodies, she felt something. A tingle- small, something barely noticeable, had it come before the Dark Times. Piercing blue eyes raised as her feet slowed; She hadn’t felt a pull so… innocent since The Clone Wars, since she was asked to help guide the children in their créche. 

There was a child, sensitive to the force, and foolishly, with no thought of the dangers, reaching out against her presence. Fulcrum was filled with dread at the thought; of the notion that another child could be taken for its sensitivity, and turned into the boy she had killed on Raada. 

She scanned the surroundings of the street quickly, allowing the force to guide her feet as she moved with a renewed vigor; she would have to be late meeting with the contact, and couldn't take a risk in losing another… 

Clearing her head, Ahsoka caught sight of a lanky figure draped in dirty green fabric, ducking into an alley that backtracked her entire route, too close to the Imperial offices for comfort. “Come on, kid,” The Togruta hissed to herself, turning her head and stepping behind the thick canvases used to block sunlight from the nearest stall. 

Ahsoka wasn’t as small as she used to be, her montrals set her in the taller end, almost reaching the two meter mark. Clearing the tight spaces the child had was difficult, and she found herself having to backtrack more just to keep on course. 

“Stop that kid!” A human vendor shouted, trying to fight his way around the booth as small hands darted from tattered fabric to swipe something from his table. 

Ahsoka pursued quickly, now able to move faster as the streets parted for the ‘hero’ that would help the vendor. It didn’t take long for her to catch up now, as folks ducked out of her way; even the emerging Imperial patrol left her to her devices, not worried about petty theft or some kid getting ‘what was coming to them’. 

“Stop!” Ahsoka poured suggestion into the force from a limitless reserve, brushing out against the panicked presence she felt thrumming all around her. The worn soles of the child's shoes skidded in the dust as she ground to a halt. The panic that met her in silvery blue eyes was enough to make her stop. Clutched in bony, shaking hands, Ahsoka found the crumbling contents, snagged from the vendor's trash pile; food that couldn’t have been safe for even the most resilient species, if the growth on the side was anything to go by, it certainly wasn’t fit for a human.

The child’s chest was heaving, muscles in their arms twitching as they tried to think of a way out. “Here!” Their voice was high and raspy, cracking like the dried skin on their lips as she thrusted her hands out towards Ahsoka, giving her a smell of the unpleasant odor from the mystery meal. “Please let me go,” Their eyes were watering as their weight shifted; Ahsoka did have her cornered, but folks were starting to close in; 

“Don’t eat that, it’s trash,” Ahsoka shook her head with a frown, lekku twitching as she heard feet approaching them. “Let… Let me take you to get something real, alright? Please?” She hadn’t reached out in the force like this since she lost her Master, promising her intentions and holding out the hope that the child would understand, that she wouldn’t hurt her, but they needed to move. 

The kid still didn’t budge, which, as much as she hated the reality, was smart; she was a stranger, after all. “Can I tell you a big secret?” Ahsoka knelt slowly to the ground, to be closer to the lanky child’s height. Uncertain eyes watched her the entire time, dirty fingers  still sinking into the repulsive mystery meat as if Ahsoka was trying to trick them away from what looked to be their first meal in days. 

Ahsoka could feel trepidation as it rolled down pale skin, wiry muscles tensing to run as the stranger reached into her cloak.  The lightsaber was pulled from the hidden pocket of her cloak, still knobby with scrap pieces sticking out, she needed to remember to cut them down… one day, if she had time. “Do you know what this is?” She kept her voice low as she cradled the weapon close between them, squaring her shoulders on the off chance she misjudged the sounds of troopers and citizens behind them.

The child’s head shook quickly, diminishing some of Ahsoka’s hope for making this quick. “You’re like me, and well; people like us; we carry these around to protect people who can’t do it themselves, there aren’t as many of us as there used to be, which is why I want to help you. Search your feelings, you can feel the world around you, right?”

“Mhmm…” Dirty, choppy brown hair fell into an angular face as she peered at the saber in her hands. 

“How many are coming?”

“Four troopers and seven people, they’re mad…” 

Ahsoka smiled as she shifted her weight against the ground. “Very good,” The child’s weight shifted, eyes widening at the minimal praise; The Togruta tried not to think about how much of herself could be reflected in those eyes. “If you put that down, take this, and follow me, I’ll get you a warm meal… I can help you. I want to help you.” 

The child’s eyes jumped distrustfully between the shouldn’t-be-called-food in her hands and the silver metal in Ahsoka’s palm. The food dropped to the ground in a way that made Ahsoka gag, but hey.. At least the kid had the decency to wipe her fingers off on her shirt before snatching the saber from her hand. “Hide it well.” She urged as the child tucked the saber close to her chest. “And don’t touch that button, I’ll show you why, later, I promise,” 

“Follow my lead, alright? Trust in the force,” 

Confusion laced her eyes before Ahsoka’s hand was wrapping around a thin wrist and pulling her close, careful not to move too fast or to jar the child and knock the shoto loose from wherever the child hid it. “What did I tell you about taking things that aren’t yours?” She scolded gently, allowing the girl to tuck into her side.

The young Force Sensitive played along nicely, forcing her features into something akin to shame and embarrassment. “Not to.” They grumbled, barely loud enough for the approaching shopkeepers to hear as they formed a tight semicircle around the two. 

Ahsoka turned towards their audience, facial markings furrowed in mock disappointment as she searched for the shopkeeper. “Now, what do you say?” She guided, gently squeezing her emaciated shoulder until their head rose from staring at a hole in her boots. There was a moment of terse silence as silvery eyes turned to glare at the shopkeeper they’d ‘stolen’ from. “Shin,” She called, words forming on her lips without any thought.

The now-appointed Shin’s eyes jumped up to stare at her with wide eyes and parted lips. Ahsoka cleared her throat and nodded towards the human. “Apologize.”

“I’m sorry,” Their voice was hoarse, raspy and grating now that she was speaking louder than a whisper. The poor thing was definitely going to need water, sooner than later, if the way their skin clung to bone was any indication.

“We’re sorry,” Ahsoka added, allowing Shin to tuck herself into her poncho as shame burned at their cheeks, hands tucking back into their cloak to hold onto the saber they’d been handed. 

“She’s lucky it was just trash, this time.” The vendor growled, sneering at the child and crossing his arms over his chest. “Woulda had you strung up before the sun went down, again.” 

Shin pressed closer into her side, Ahsoka could feel the way they shook against her, fear, and the growing knowledge of Kyber inside the saber no doubt reaching out to her dangerously. “I can promise it won’t happen ever again, sir. Please, if you’ll forgive us this last time?”

Murky green eyes danced between the two women, and the plastoid armored stormtroopers all around them; their fingers hadn’t gone to their blasters yet, but Ahsoka had felt the squad leader unhook a set of binders from his belt. “Hrrng. Fine. But if she comes back and does it again, I’ll make sure whatever the courts decide next sticks.” 

Ahsoka’s montrals twitched with the sharp inhale and the quiet sound that they tried to hide. Wrapping the corner of her poncho around the small child, Ahsoka nodded curtly. “Thank you for your mercy.” She did her best to appeal to whatever sense of masculinity he wanted, just trying to get Shin away from them as fast as possible. The crowd parted for the woman and her embarrassed child, not a soul stepped forward to inquire about her intentions, though several did remark about the odor from the lump of meat that now sat in the dirt. 

Once they were clear of the crowd, Ahsoka allowed her hand to drop from their shoulder; their conflicting feelings were tangible in the force, but there was no time, not when their stomach rumbled, and the chrono on her wrist was ticking dangerously close to ‘too late to reasonably reach out’. 

The Cantina she’d swept Shin into was small, one she’d scoped out the entire morning thus far; one way in, with several ways out through access tunnels running beneath the foundation, butler doors built into walls and floors that made for easy restocking for the staff, and an easy escape into the basement and beyond for a Rebel. Her contact would be inside, no doubt enjoying a meal or a drink of their own. She just needed to order and pay, and get Shin set up somewhere she would be able to keep an eye on them.

“Hey,” She whispered as the child crowded into her again at the intensity of the crowd, leading the girl over to a smaller booth. It certainly was no place for a child, but she was running out of options, and way out of her element here. “Get whatever you want,” The child’s mouth parted; Ahsoka knew what was going to come out of her mouth before her vocal chords even rumbled. “Not alcohol,” She settled into the seat across from Shin, allowing her eyes to sift through the muggy atmosphere around them to find her contact.

There were voices close by, but tuned to the back of her mind as a member of the considerably small waitstaff approached. Shin stumbled over the words as she ordered, but thankfully, they’d found at least one person on this blasted planet with the manners to not be mean to a child. “I’ll take the same,” With no idea of what Shin ordered, but too entrenched in her work to tear away to look over anything.

There, back booth, a too-clean glass held in dainty fingers, golden rings circling each digit, with his sleeves pulled sloppily over his hands to cover the expensive jewelry. A newbie, which in many cases, was dangerous. She’d have to play this one carefully. 

“Who are you?” Shin asked at last, hands wrapped around blue tinted glass of water, sipping slowly at it as she looked at her strange savior, trying to read what they could see, and to decipher whatever the Force was showing them, if the hesitantly probing presence was anything to go by. 

“Right now, my name is Ashla,” Ahsoka leaned back in her seat, finally getting a good look at the child when she wasn’t in fight or flight mode. “I never got your name,” She smiled sheepishly and leaned forward, offering her unwavering attention. 

“I didn’t..” The child shrunk under her gaze, dirty fingertips picking at the lip of her glass as she tried to form words. “I didn’t have one, until…” Her cheeks darkened and Ahsoka understood. 

“Well. D’you like Shin?”

Their head nodded quickly, grateful for the interference, and the name. Ahsoka reached across the table, settling her elbow against the smooth stone as she extended her hand. “Well then,  it’s nice to meet you, Shin,” 

Her hand was small and cold in Ahsoka’s, the Togruta had to resist the urge to wrap her fingers around theirs to warm it up, not wanting to cross any boundaries that had gone unspoken thus far. 

Ahsoka kept her hand still at the prod of fingertips against the hardened skin on her palms, silvery eyes studied the lines in her hand in fascination as they compared their hand to her much larger one. 

Shin’s study was broken moments later with hot plates being set on the table. Blue noodles piled onto both plates with a suspiciously chunky sauce all over. “It’s cu..” Their brows furrowed as they stumbled on the words. “Cru…” Huffing, Shin leaned back in her seat, determined to get the word right before trying again. A jagged fingernail traced the letters into the stone table, mouthing out the syllables as they went. “Crupa,” 

“Very good,” Ahsoka’s lips twitched at the instant relief on Shin’s face, nodding her head once in acknowledgement, before the girl was awkwardly grabbing the fork and digging in. It certainly wasn’t the worst meal Ahsoka’s ever had, GAR ration bars really were not fit for a carnivore’s consumption, and while she’d long gotten used to the discomfort of food not fit for her species, the poultry managed to offer some true nutritional value. 

“Sometimes, they let me come in and clean up after they close, and Drell gives me some leftovers,” The child spoke through a mouthful of noodles, forcing themselves to slow at the rise of Ahsoka’s facial markings. 

Any other conversation faded into silence under the necessity of food. Ahsoka kept her montrals perked and at the ready, listening in to the senator’s quiet grumblings to gauge his annoyance. When he seemed to be getting ready to leave, Ahsoka rose. “Shin,” She called quietly, as the child fought to gather the last noodle onto her utensil. “You know how I told you people like us help people? I have someone I need to step away and talk to for a moment.”

Silver eyes widened in a way that made Ahsoka’s heart hurt, she could feel the way the child prepared to be cast away again. “Can I count on you to make it to my ship yourself?”

Shin nodded their head quickly as they slid from their seat, hands tucking into the worn brown fabric around their shoulders, reaching for the Shoto to offer back to its rightful owner. “You’ll give it back to me at the ship, yeah?” Ahsoka’s lips pulled into a warm smile as a hesitant hand rested on their shoulder once more. “Remember, don’t take anything that isn’t yours, without permission; And if the droid says anything, tell him you’re waiting on me, and show him the thing I gave you,” 

Ahsoka could feel the sense of responsibility as it ebbed into the small child, gently pushing on their shoulder, towards the door; she’d have to hope that her instructions were clear. She watched the bob of choppy brown hair as the child dodged other patrons, heading for the door under Ahsoka’s watchful gaze. 

At last, she turned her attention to the senator in the booth, brushing her fingers down the wrinkles of her cloak with a soft sigh. “This is where the fun begins…”

Small feet padded up the ramp of the shuttle, nervously twisting the fabric of her cloak up in her fingers. Dock workers stared at her in confusion the whole way up, used to seeing kids like her trying to sneak off world in hopeful cargo ships; It had to work for the others she’d grown up with, they never came back to Ibaar after securing passage for themselves. 

Not only did she have no recollection of being somewhere so clean, it was giant, like it had been built specifically for beings as big or bigger than Ashla. Or… Shin glanced down at her shoes as she came to a stop at the top of the ramp - mauve she was just small. 

There was a rustling in a closed off room to the side, Shin watched the durasteel door carefully, tucking her hands back into her cover to wrap around the metal cylinder she’d been trusted with; Ashla told her someone would be here, a droid? She didn’t know any binary, but she’d promised the droid would understand if she showed it the item. 

There was something special about it, and the way it thrummed where she gripped it in both hands, as if there was something reaching out to her, like Ashla had. Something… that understood? There were intricacies she didn’t know how to explain, couldn’t even begin to imagine the complexity of the kyber inside, or the journey it had been on to heal from the abuse it had suffered at the hands of someone… Dark. 

“Who’s there?” A robotic voice called out, freezing every spindly muscle in the child’s frame as heavy metal feet thudded against the cold floor. The door slid open with a hiss; dull silver eyes met glowing yellow, both being's heads cocking to the side. “You’re not supposed to be in here,” 

Fear ignited in her veins like a fire, thin fingers curled around the cold metal in her hands, thrusting it in front of herself as a beam of white sprung forth the moment her finger ghosted over the button. The droid moved as if startled, springing back as Shin gripped the hilt with both hands, arms already shaking with the exertion on underdeveloped muscle to keep the blade from dropping; she didn’t know what this thing was, but she could smell the ozone burning around the bright light, and feel the heat where it scorched the air around her. 

“You are going to hurt yourself!” He scolded, vocal chips screeching as he attempted to step around the blade, growing frustrated as the child turned to keep him in front of her. “Or me!” 

Huyang was at a loss in terms of what to do about the situation. A local kid stumbles onto his ship with one of Ahsoka’s lightsaber, and then threatens him with it! A Jedi would never-

“Tighten your stance,” He instructed sharply, there was no use in letting the kid lob off an arm while they waited for Ahsoka to return, hopefully soon. “Don’t lock your knees, but you can’t just hold it like some kind of a toy. The lightsaber is the lifeline of a Jedi, for thousands of generations before you.”

Shin followed his instruction, finding the saber easier to keep up when she wasn’t too lose in some areas and unmoving in others. Their brows furrowed as they watched the strange droid. “Who are you?” They rasped, nostrils flaring as the droid stepped closer. 

“Lightsaber architect and designer of the Jedi order. I contain a record of every lightsaber ever made, and the Jedi who fashioned them.” He explained quickly. 

“Ashla made this herself?”

“Ash-” Huyang paused; if he could get a headache, he knew he would have one by now. “Yes, she did. Where is Lady Tano at now?” 

“What’s a Jedi?” Shin butted in, nose scrunching in telltale avoidance; they had no idea where Ashla went, and that was worrying, what if she was secretly Empire or a pirate, or;

The droid sombered, his demeanor changing in a split second. “There was a time, not so long ago, when all knew of the Jedi. They were keepers of the peace for the citizens of the republic,” 

Shin’s arms lowered, the white of the blade disengaging back into the clunky hilt as she listened. “What’s a republic?” 

The servos in his neck whirred and clicked as his head snapped up to stare at her in disbelief. “Take a seat, youngling, we have much to discuss,” 

Ahsoka stepped back onto the shuttle with a sigh, shedding her cloak the moment the ramp was closed. Huyang was sitting at the table, holo novels projecting above them as he read aloud. 

Shin was sitting on their knees, elbows braced on the table as she stared up at slow-moving projections, stories of the Jedi that Ahsoka had even learned once, so many years ago. 

“The Unifying Force is a vast cosmic power. You may not sense it yet, but with patience and insight, you will. The Force is the stars and galaxies, the rippling surface of space and time. It is the whisper in the night that tells you your destiny… Make no mistake, young Shin; The Force does have a Will, and it is the will of the force that you are here today,” He explained to the attentive child, looking almost warmly at the youngling as they soaked up his stories. 

The Togruta settled her shoulder against a wall, watching the way silver-blue eyes danced across the different lines of the hologram committing the lines of the ancient Jedi crest to memory. Ahsoka allowed her mind to push out then, reaching into the howling of the force that was Shin’s unique presence, something playful and teasing, met with a familiarity that had the child spinning in their seat and poking their head up and over the top. “Ahsoka!”

The woman’s facial marking rose in Huyang’s direction as she pushed off the wall and stepped closer. “Try as you might, Lady Tano, you cannot hide from who you are, especially if you intend to take this youngling on as your Padawan,” He explained himself as he rose from his seat to greet her. 

“Huyang,” 

Seeming to sense her indecisiveness, the droid cut her off. “Apprentice, then. I often forget that you do not identify as a Jedi, despite your numerous accomplishments,”

Rolling her eyes at him, Ahsoka spotted her shoto on the table, using the force to call it back into her hand and watching as Shin’s eyes went wide at such a display. “Thank you for keeping this safe for me, Shin,” Their head nodded quickly as they rose from their bench.

“Did you get what you came for?” The youngling asked as her old boots hit the ground, following Ahsoka as she led the way to the cockpit, with Huyang following behind.

Patting the pouch hidden under her cloak, the older woman nodded. “And then some,” 

Settling down into the pilots seat with Huyang perching in his own seat beside her, Shin stayed awkwardly between them. “That’s right,,, you’re too small right now,” She thought out loud, bringing her first to her chin in a way reminiscent of her Grand Master Obi-Wan as she thought of the best way to get through orbital turbulence without jostling the small and brittle human around too much. 

It took some work, and much less than standard modifications that would have made Echo have an aneurysm, Shin was soon buckled just behind Huyang, bundled in seatbelts, with their feet dangling off the floor comedically. 

“Have you ever been to space before, Young Shin?” Huyang questioned as the pair went through their checklist. 

“Nuh-uh,” 

“I do suggest holding on, I am aware of who trained Lady Tano to fly, it is quite wild.”

“You’re being dramatic again, Huyang,” Ahsoka shook her head as she powered up the engines and engaged the thrusters. “Next stop, Alderaan,” 

As their ship sprung into the sky, Shin stared out of the viewport, watching the world and the life they’d known begin to slowly slink away into nothingness before focusing on the fast approach of space. Their small form strained against the safety belts where they leaned forward against them, taking in the moons and the stars in absolute awe, blind to the woman at the controls, purposely going slow to give the youngling the time they needed to observe as she prepped the hyperdrive. 

Blues and purples mirrored in their eyes as they started their breach of hyperspace, as big as saucers with their mouth agape. There was no doubt in Ahsoka’s mind that they were unable to feel the force, in this moment, she could feel them as they reached out to grasp at the unifying cosmic power around them and felt the way it permeated all things, from the galaxies they passed in a flash of light, to the droid in front of them, and even to the smallest strip of durasteel that flaked from the tail of the ship into the void the further they traveled. 

If there was one reason to be proud of what they were doing, for Huyang and Ahsoka to see the effect even their smallest actions could have, both would bet money that nothing less than the absolute fall of the empire would ever come to top this.

TIMELINE 10 ABY: 9 ABY: Ahsoka Series/Mandalore S3 8 ABY: 7 ABY: 6 ABY: 5 ABY: Mandalore is destroyed, Sabine Wren leaves Ahsoka and Shin Tano 4 ABY: 3 ABY: 2 ABY: 1 ABY: 0 ABY: Battle of Yavin, Ahsoka Tano returns to take Sabine Wren under her wing 1 BBY: Rebels S4 End, Ezra Bridger goes to Peridea 2 BBY: Rebels S3 3 BBY: 4 BBY: Rebels S2, Ahsoka Tano 'dies' (returns to this timeline/Malachor upon 1 BBY revival by Ezra Bridger) 5 BBY: Rebels S1 (Fulcrum works with Ghost crew + reveals only Ahsoka Tano, Shin Hati continues to work intel + on the ground BTS with Ahsoka Tano) 6 BBY: 7 BBY: 8 BBY: 9 BBY: Ahsoka Novel End | Ahsoka Tano finds and takes in 7 year old Shin Hati 10 BBY: Ahsoka Novel Start 11 BBY: 12 BBY: 13 BBY: 14 BBY: 15 BBY: 16 BBY: Shin Hati/Tano is Born 17 BBY: 18 BBY: 19 BBY: Order 66 | Ezra Bridger is Born 20 BBY: 21 BBY: Sabine Wren is born 22 BBY: Clone Wars Starts 36 BBY: Ahsoka Tano Born 41 BBY: Anakin Skywalker Born 57 BBY: Obi-Wan Kenobi Born Togruti Translations Yhe'na Det Och'sa - Survive The Stars Viida Ke Aht - Time To Rest

[sithfox]

August of Whump - Day 24

Prompts: humiliation / gilded cage / jewelry

Fox lounges on the steps before the throne, his golden jewelry and clothing a striking contrast to the blood-red carpet spilling down and across the receiving hall. He's all dressed up today, some important visitors coming that his Sith wants to show him off to. His clothes are buttery soft and revealing, his jewelry heavy and filled with trackers and electronodes and who knows what else.

Things could be worse. He's technically a hostage, kept to ensure the Mandalorian Empire abides by their treaties with the Sith. His first few weeks had been miserable, kept in a reinforced cell with nothing to do but bodyweight exercises—Fox was not going to lose his skills during this indefinite vacation from his duties as a Prince of Mandalore. He'd caught the eye of a Sith noble who'd offered him a deal: be his pretty little arm candy and military advisor and in exchange be allowed to move freely around the palace and grounds. The Kiffar had barely finished speaking before Fox had agreed, absolutely losing his grip on reality after only a few weeks of isolation.

He could feel the weight of the man's attention whenever they were in the same room, sometimes even when they weren't. He doesn't know much about the Force, just that it's a powerful enough weapon to keep the Sith in control of a significant chunk of the galaxy—that it can twist the mind. But his Sith hasn't made any moves, just leered at him in his draping silks and dragged his fingertips along Fox's exposed skin as he asked his opinion on skirmishes with the Republic.

His Sith stalks into the room, leonine in his movements in a way that leaves Fox's mouth dry. He's very aware of the power dynamics here—he's not stupid. But the Sith is attractive, Fox has eyes, and he's had a distressing number of dreams about the man that he wakes from hard and wanting.

He stops at the foot of the stairs, dragging his eyes over Fox before he graces him with what passes for a smile here: a baring of teeth with a hint of amusement in the eyes. "Foxy, you look delectable. You ready to greet our guests?"

Fox nods, expression controlled. "Of course I am. You asked me to be." The Sith likes it when he plays along, acts like he's notjust here because he's a painfully effective tool for keeping his father in line.

His Sith settles on his throne, grinning. The doors swing wide and Fox almost chokes on his own tongue. Their honored guests are his father and his two oldest brothers, Cody and Wolffe, all dressed in gleaming armor, expressions horrified when they land on Fox in his golden chains. He swallows down his protest—please, not in front of my brothers—he knows better than to speak up; the Sith will just draw the meeting out to prolong his humiliation.

Long fingers pet across his hair, mocking—and comforting.

On ao3

[kanerallels]

@fairytale-lights tagged me in a fic writer interview game, so let's roll! Thanks for the tag!!

How many works do you have on AO3? 86, which I am indeed losing my mind about

What's your total AO3 word count? 750,882

Your top five stories by kudos/likes:

Catch (a Chenford one shot)

And So The Adoption Begins (one of my earlier Steve Miller Au fics)

Shattering Glass And Gunshots (my Chenford time loop au! Super proud of that one)

Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair (Kanej soulmate au. The first fic of mine to get over 100 kudos!)

Birthdays Are Overrated, Anyways (just a fun SWR one shot!)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes I do!! Very, very slowly, but I love getting responded to, so I like to reciprocate that. No one look at how many unresponded to comments are in my inbox (it's 100+)

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? Oh definitely "What Is A Legacy?" I generally don't write many stories with sad endings (usually just the middle or beginning) but this one. Definitely was lol

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? I write a lot of happy stories lol. Ummm oh chapter two of my 2022 Kanera Week fic was incredibly soft and sweet. But "The First Minute I Saw Her" is a really good ending too! Plus it was HIGHLY cathartic for me to write

Do you write crossovers? You know I used to think it was cringe and now I'm obsessed with them. Haven't posted too many, though. In my defense a bunch of my favorite female characters don't have enough friends who aren't their love interests, and I have a bunch of drama shows set in the modern US. What, am I not supposed to imagine they're all friends?

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Luckily not that I'm aware of! There's always the chance it happened and I just didn't realize it was hate, but I think that's unlikely

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? No

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Don't think so!

Have you ever had a fic translated? Actually I gave someone permission to translate my Foxiyo fic into Russian once!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! A few times with an IRL friend, and it was really fun

What's your all time favorite ship? Kanera, of course! Close seconds would be Anne and Gilbert, Saville and Galen, and Henry and Bess McCord!

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will? Man I hate to abandon a WIP. Part of me is worried that's how Kanereoke is gonna go, honestly. But I have people invested so I can't give in. Plus I committed to this one really funny bit to do with it and I have to follow through. So probably this happiness au fic involving a war on Mandalore and Hera and Sabine getting stuck there, so Kanan and Ezra have to sneak onto the planet to save them and also Obi-Wan is secretly married to Satine and Ezra finds his kyber crystal on Mandalore.

What are your writing strengths? I do a good run on sentence! In all seriousness I think I'm pretty good at dialogue, and I generally manage to keep people fairly in character!

What are your writing weaknesses? I do a good run on sentence! Also writing action sequences for sure, and about half a dozen other things I am forgetting at present.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fics? I'm always afraid I'll mess something up, so I haven't done it often. Other than Mando'a, which I am still afraid of messing up lol

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? The idea of a Brettsey While You Were Sleeping au haunts my dreams

What's your favorite fic you've written? Oh that's hard. The first few that come to mind I haven't actually published, so I can't choose those. I'm really proud of everything I've written in the Steve Miller Au, and "Shattering Glass And Gunshots" is something that's turned out super well!

Tagging with no pressure @singswan-springswan @ana-cantskywalker @undying-lilies @kazoosandfannypacks and anyone else who sees this and wants to play!!

[aroacedindjarin]

I know so many people have said this already and in much more coherent ways than I can but the way luke was depicted in tbobf (and im not just talking about the uncanny valley cgi… why did they not just recast him orz) makes me so frustrated even now. Especially now. Maybe i’m just a delusional dinluker but i really really believe that luke skywalker needed to be in the mandalorian season3.

I cannot believe luke skywalker would make grogu choose between his dad and becoming a jedi. It is just so explicitly ooc for him. I’m reading the destiny path comic right now and there are so many pages that show luke struggling with the worry that he can’t be a Jedi because he can’t let go of his attachments to his friends. and i know this is a core theme of luke as a character, it’s not new, but the comic is just so explicit about it and goes into depth in a way that it doesn’t have time to explore on screen

It explores luke’s worry about disappointing yoda when he left dagobah to go help leia and han in cloud city, and how he feels about ben and yoda refusing to talk to him anymore or help him through the force because he didn’t make his jedi training a priority above everything and everyone else, like a Selfless Jedi should. and grogu goes through the literal exact same thing. and luke reacts in the exact same way yoda and ben did to him?

In the comic, the radio silence from his teachers eats at him so badly and adds to the struggle he’s going through after finding out Vader is his father and losing his hand. He feels abandoned and afraid and, even though these feelings lead him to realise he can make his own way as a jedi, I just don’t think he’d inflict the same thing on grogu. Even if i were to look at it from a perspective of luke being forced to make his own way without his teachers made him a stronger jedi - so maybe he’s doing the same for grogu?

After all, I know grogu is such a young child so I also understand the series tries to come at it from the angle of respecting a child’s wants and needs, not forcing him to commit to training if he doesn’t want to. But I just don’t understand why luke couldn’t join grogu every now and then. Teach him some jedi stuff on the weekends. They make it seem like luke has nothing better to do anyways, he’s got droids building his school for him and seems to spend his days entirely with grogu anyway. If he went back to tatooine with grogu at the end of tbobf, i just think there would have been so much to explore between luke and literally any of the characters. din and boba specifically of course but if that led to luke in mando s3 there could’ve been so much potential.

Perhaps they just needed a reason for a big emotional scene for grogu to choose his path and his destiny. Perhaps they couldn’t put luke skywalker in the show too much for fear of throwing off the sequels. There’s the argument that luke already had his screen time and, trust me, I also hate the re-usual of existing characters to the point where they’re wringed out of any substance and have been so fleshed-out and developed it’s almost grotesque to force them to stay in the show any longer. but star wars doesnt have a problem with that for so many other characters anyway.

I just wanted to see grogu growing up to be both a Mandalorian and a Jedi. It would’ve been so perfect with the Mand’alor Din storyline too. Grogu, the son of the Ruler of Mandalore and the student of the strongest Jedi in the galaxy, the start of a new generation and so much foundation to explore between Mandalorians and Jedi!!!!!!!