#grogu who is pretty much just thriving: :)

[byfulcrums]

luke is single handedly fixing the mandalorian-jedi bad blood (((by kissing din))) and ezra is single handedly making it worse again (((by calling grogu baby yoda)))

[burnwater13]

Grogu was fascinated by starship design. From the small single person fighters and scout ships to the huge transports and industrial processing  centers, they all spoke to him. Mostly they said, wow, should resources have really been used this way? And then they said, we never thought anyone other than humans would fly us. Finally they said, sure if just one critical component fails the whole thing fails, but what of it? 

Okay, okay. They didn’t really talk to him like that but they did make him worry that the people who designed them weren’t always thinking about what the occupants needed. They didn’t even think about what the droids and mechs needed. That was a big cause for concern because it was pretty apparent to Grogu that the Imps, former or otherwise, didn’t like doing maintenance work and avoided it whenever possible. When you realized that their ships weren’t designed for maintenance it became much more understandable when they fell out of the sky like a rock. 

Now, Moff Gideon’s ship hadn’t done that. At least, not yet. But Grogu was pretty sure it would. Look at that thing! All sorts of angles and harsh planes. Nothing natural about it all.  It was just an engine, a cockpit and a couple of wings. Hurt anyone of those systems and the whole things fails. That wasn’t good design! Nope. It wasn’t. 

Now good design would have answered the question, what are we trying to do here? Then a bunch of things would have been recorded. Need to be able to fly in planetary atmosphere on a repeated basis. Need to be able to fly in the vacuum of space, also on a repeated basis. Need to… what? Hold cargo?, hold people? The choices there were pretty limited. Most cargo didn’t need life support systems, but all people did and some cargo did, other wise you wouldn’t have Rancors living on more than one planet.

Grogu laughed at that. He could just imagine the person designing the space craft that needed to move rancors from Dathomir to Tatooine. 

“Hmmmm, let’s see. You need to move twenty full grown Rancors, from here to uh… where? Tatooine. That’s a dessert planet. Rancors can’t thrive there. Oh, you want them for ‘pets’? And you’ll build them an appropriate enrichment center underground to keep them from getting sun and wind burned there? Well, I’m not really concerned about that, but does the ship need to remain on the planet for any length of time? After all designing for a jungle’s level of heat and humidity for a quick trip there is very different than designing for a holding facility that will be utilized until the proper enrichment center is constructed.”

Grogu laughed again. The voice in his head was kind of a cross between the Client’s and Greef Karga. Two men who had very specific ideas about what looked good and what was necessary. Then his dad’s voice popped into his head.

“Listen, what do you have available right now? I can make them cold if I have to.”

Yup, there was always someone willing to do the thing a completely different way. Didn’t make it better or worse. Just different. You needed to pay attention to those people because sometimes their ideas were great, but other times their ideas, well, they weren’t the thing any other designer would want to underwrite. Like the time Din Djarin used the N-1 to help Greef Karga put in a new entryway arch for Nevarro City. 

The old arch had been damaged by pirates, not Moff Gideon this time. High Magistrate Karga had been able to get a new one fabricated, but he didn’t have a crane, a work sled, or even the mechs to help with it. Grogu considered that just a problem that you had when you didn’t plan far enough ahead, but the High Magistrate managed to spin out a tale of woe that got Grogu’s dad to say,  “Let me help you out.”

Well, first they tried to just use Din’s flight pack. Grogu found that fascinating. But as much as they tried different rigging set ups and lengths and types of ropes and materials, Grogu was pretty sure that no matter what Din tried the arch only lifted up a 2 tenths of a meter. No where near far enough for it to be properly installed. 

Then, some of the other Mandos came over to help but that didn’t work either. They kept bumping into each other, getting burned, flying in the wrong direction. Din Djarin sent them home. Then he offered to use the N-1. 

Grogu could have told him that the N-1 wasn’t designed for that sort of work. He could have told him that heat of the exhaust would melt the strongest cable they had. He could have told him that hover mode in that ship caused a lot of vibration that could affect the foundations that had been created for the archway. But he didn’t. He was too busy healing the various injuries for the Mandos who helped earlier. 

So he wasn’t on hand to watch them attach the durasteel cable. He wasn’t there to remind them to put the thrust on it’s lowest setting. He was mostly sad that he missed being there to see Din position the archway and watch it fall onto the foundations and see them crumble into dust and the archway sink deeply into the ground. 

But he did see the finished product and leaned next to it and asked his dad to take a vid. The Mandalorian refused and stomped off. Grogu wondered what was bugging him. The  design was perfect. It was exactly the right height for Grogu to lean against and rest his hand on the ‘Welcome to Nevarro City’.  It looked great next to him.

[davnittbraes]

OK HERE WE GO you’re speaking my language now - someone wants to psychoanalyze one of my bbys? YAS I will GLADLY join in this rant though warning: I will be making a LOT of statements that are backed by absolutely NO education on these subjects or experience beyond obsessing over fictional characters for 30+ years.

First of all, bless you for typing a transcript, the mixture of sounds in the video were too much for me so I wouldn’t have been able to scream my nonsense into the void without it (some might call that more of a curse than a blessing but we’ll just let them scroll past us 😉)

Second of all just to get this out of the way, I LOVE that they mentioned the episode where Din removes his helmet - it wasn’t specified but I’m assuming it was The Believer, given how they described it. Because not only was it a big moment for Din, but it was a perfect example of Pedrito’s incredible acting, all those micro-expressions and the way he still holds himself as if he’s still wearing a helmet because Din is so used to wearing one and the general aura of UnCoMfOrTaBlE that he’s radiating - 😙

All of those points about PTSD and trauma and the signs that Din shows - yes 100% agree BUT I think we can dive even deeper into that. Not only did Din lose his parents at a young age but they died PROTECTING him. I imagine that adds a pretty thick layer of guilt to his trauma, something I believe drives him to cut off personal relationships even more so than his adoption into a religious orthodox group. He struggles with the concept that he’s worthy of personal relationships in the first place, even being worthy of people caring for him - because that was taken away from him at one point - and likely also the knowledge that the last people who were emotionally close to him died. There’s a part of him that would want to keep others at a distance, to keep them safe.

Speaking of The Tribe, I agree with most points in the transcript BUT I don’t think they’re as strict with personal relationships as many people seem to believe. This is just my interpretation but remember, The Tribe are Mandalorians, a culture practically defined by loyalty to their own, regardless of clan infighting or political upheavals. Look at the Resol’nare, the tenets that Mandalorians live their life by (The Way of the Mandalore is just a very strict observance of the Resol’nare.) Two out of the six tenets are focused on clan welfare - defend your family and contribute to the clan’s overall well-being. That to me doesn’t speak of a group that discourages personal relationships.

If anything, I think relationships are of extreme importance to The Tribe - they’re entire lives revolve around ensuring the survival of their people, and as their numbers are respectively small compared to other populations I think they encourage emotional connection (though it should be noted likely only with each other, not with non-Mandalorians) instead of shunning it in order to ensure their people thrive. They would know the value of the tenets, of sticking together for survival, it would have to be a central part of their societal structure. We even see Din actively living those tenets when he donates the remaining beskar from Grogu’s bounty to the Foundlings (contribute to the clan’s well-being) and we see the others adhere to them when they break cover to help Din escape with Grogu (defend your family.)

I think the perception of The Tribe as cold, uncaring people comes from the interpretation that a culture who hides their faces must be emotionally stunted and dismissive of, or even abusive toward, the individual and therefore a child such as Din when he first joined them. I just don’t think this is the case with Mandalorians - they’re known for being fiery and hot-tempered while also stubbornly refusing to address their emotional pain (see: Sabine Wren) but personally that doesn’t quite translate to a culture that dismisses the importance of nurturing children. “The Foundlings are the future,” right? Children are held to the utmost importance with this group - ok sure maybe that’s primarily driven by the intent to preserve their culture, which requires at least a population net growth, but I believe there is a strong desire to foster and nurture those who have no one else to care for them.

Think of that scene in the first season, I can’t remember what episode but we see a quick shot of The Tribe - there’s children running around playing, adults going about their day to day. It’s a scene that evokes peaceful domesticity and shows us an active, healthy community. If the people in that scene weren’t wearing head to toe armour, it would be no different than similar scenes from the Sorgan episode and I have yet to see someone expounding on the cruel exclusivity and strict social rules of Omera’s village. So while The Tribe may seem cold and uncaring to people from the outside, I don’t think the evidence is there to support that assumption.

“BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HELMET THING, DAVNITT??? Seems pretty cruel that The Tribe is so strict on removing your helmet - even to the point of one completely losing status if they remove it. WHAT ABOUT THAT PART, HUH??”

Ok. Yes. Being unable to remove his helmet without essentially being kicked out of the club can be perceived as very inhibitory to developing personal connections. And we’re not given a lot of background on why The Tribe is so strict on this rule, but I have a lil theory that it began as a way of protecting the individual identities of a vulnerable population in order to ensure no one was compromised, and over time became an integral part of their survival. But ultimately, being unable to see the face of people you care about does not wholly and completely prevent you from emotionally connecting with them. I’m not about to dive into real world examples that I have absolutely no business speaking about, but I’m sure if you think for a moment you’ll see there are many cultures, societies and relationships on our little planet that we can draw parallels to.

ANYWHO, back to our Space Husband and in summary of the rambling above, I think Din’s personal trauma is more responsible for his lack of emotional bonds with others, more so than his time with The Tribe.

Ok so all of that being said, now we get to Din’s relationship with Grogu, and THAT is where his character gets really interesting. In my extremely humble and unfounded opinion, Din Djarin is one of the most fascinating characters to come out of popular media because of the CONTRASTS - we see this proficient and highly skilled bounty hunter who wears near-mythical armour and checks many of the boxes of the Paladin archetype (I see you, Filoni) and he comes with this incredible emotion-driven backstory with pivotal moments centred around trauma and loss. Then they throw an equally traumatized, physically vulnerable character in the mix and we get to watch both of them learn to trust other people again. Din and Grogu’s relationship is so interesting in its relatability - every single human being who has ever lived and ever will live has experienced emotional trauma in some way, and we inherently want to achieve happiness despite it. So to watch two characters who carry the weight of heavy, dark pasts find that happiness in each other? The penultimate human desire.

Not only that, but the similarities between them are so beautiful - we know very little about Grogu but I think we can safely assume he either lost his parents or was taken from them and brought to the Jedi for training, as many Force-sensitive children were at that time. And then Order 66 happened and he had to watch those people who had become his surrogate family be destroyed and scattered across the galaxy? Very close to our Din’s origin story, right? That kind of trauma creates a sense of unease, instability and distrust in a person, which I think they touched on a bit with the Ahsoka episode but Grogu clearly demonstrates in his unwillingness to use the Force at first and risk giving himself away as someone with valuable powers, not knowing who he could trust. And of course we see it with Din in how he interacts with… pretty much everyone 😆.

To see the two of them coming together and learning to trust again is wonderfully poignant.

Well @shirks-all-responsibilities, you didn’t ask for an entire essay on this but I think you knew what you were in for when you tagged me 😂

Our Mandalorian comes in at about the 10 minute mark.

Poor thing has trauma and can't commit to deep relationships.

[mando-abs]

Caged Inn (Series)

Chapter 1: New Greetings

Next Chapter | Series Masterlist | General Masterlist | Taglist

Pairing: Din Djarin x f!reader

Rating: 18+ (only bc it might get steamy later, but also minors dni w/ my blog in general)

WC: 2.3k

Summary: An assumingly unreadable and broad mandalorian comes to stay at your inn. Will this be your chance to confide in someone? Or will the town and your overbearing feelings for the newcomer get to him first?

A/N: This takes place sometime after season 2, but forget about the whole mand'alor mumbo jumbo. It'll save me and the plot the headache, trust me. Also, let's just believe the Razor Crest survived as well. Okay? Good. But Grogu is still at Jedi Camp.

Planting these moon pansies was a mistake. You shouldn’t have brought it up to Clyde. Honestly, you don’t know why you put in any effort to spruce up the inn at all. Sure, it’s mostly cathartic, and it’s not like you're going to find much else work in this Maker-forsaken town. And it’s not like your lanky sleeze of a boss is going to help. If it’s anyone who’s running things around here, it’s you. Your pockets have never reflected that though. So, here you are, attempting to clear this infestation of vines trying to suffocate your delicate flowers.

Moon pansies do just fine on their own. They thrive under any light, only need watering two or three times a week, and acclimate to any weather (except during cases of extreme heat or cold). They do not, however, take kindly to weeds. It’s still a bit of a mystery why they’re so finicky about their flower bed mates, but the results are clear. The flowers just give up when weeds are present and let them take over.

Oh, but the beautiful glow they emit at night, bright blue luminescence for all to see. That’s why you planted them along the path to the inn in the first place. Unassuming pretty flowers during the day, bold and magnificent wonders of the galaxy at night. You hoped it would attract what few travelers you get this time of year to stop by and stay the night, but the only thing it seems to draw out is the sweat and dirt accumulating on your overalls. You can’t imagine how dirty these gardening gloves have gotten your pant legs after wiping away dirt out of habit. If these flowers did attract the guests you wanted, maybe they would raise enough chatter about how hard you worked out here, make Clyde feel like an ass, and inadvertently get him off his ass to do something for once.

When a large shadow comes beside the particular pair of pansies you’re working on, you didn’t realize at the time how much your prayers were truly answered. A tall Mandalorian stands over you with his head turned to the side almost in quiet reverie, most of his body reflecting the midday sun around the shadow he’s created. You place your pruner and trowel off to the side and squint up at the spectacle traveler. You remind yourself to give your warmest customer service smile. The last thing you want is another potential customer to be turned off and away from you.

“Hello! What brings you here?” Was that too condescending? Honestly, the simplest job all day… This snaps the Mandalorian back into posture, his gear hanging near his shoulders rattling. You raise a hand up in reassurance. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I just…” you sigh and recompose yourself. You respond again more toned down, “How may I help you?”

The Mandalorian looks up at the inn and back down at your crouching form. “Does this lodging have a vacancy?”

Oh wow. For as large the stature of this Mandalorian is, his voice shouldn’t catch you off guard as much as it is right now. How can a sound so gentle come out from metal so rigid?

You clear your throat. “You’re in luck! All we have are vacancies - it's slow season.” Your subconscious decides it’s time for a break from gardening as it takes off your gloves for you. All of your focus goes into observing the new guest. Not that there’s much to see other than steel, but his whole body almost takes up your field of vision. It makes you wonder what he looks like if he shed his armor, how sturdy his frame would be, how large his proportions go…

You stand up and shake any remaining dirt (and intrusive thoughts). When you look back at the Mandalorian, he’s shuffling back to give you some room and readjusting his grip on his gear. It’s quite a bit, and it looks heavy. You toss whatever distractions away from the forefront of your head and fully hone in on assistant mode.

“I’m sorry, let me help you with that.” You begin to reach for one of his bags when he pulls his shoulder back.

“Please, I’m fine, but thank you.”

You raise your eyebrows and nod your head moderately. “No, I insist -“ but you continue on, and your eyes zero in on the “rod” the Mandalorian is using to carry his items. It’s a weapon, a large one and he’s packing some serious heat. Ok - better choice of words next time.

“I apologize but it’s business policy to not allow unlicensed weapons on the property. If you want to bring in that rifle, we have to file your registration papers.”

The Mandalorian looks at the wooden lodging and then faces you again. “Is this your inn?”

You raise an eyebrow and cross your arms. “Call me an assistant manager.”

“Do assistant managers normally dig up flower beds?”

Oh, so he’s got jokes, huh? It didn’t seem like he was trying to be condescending by tone of voice, but he’s certainly poking the lexu with a stick. Still, it doesn’t prevent you from smiling. “This one does, yes.”

He tries reaching out with his hand, but immediately resists due to the imbalance on his shoulders. He sighs. “I don’t mean any harm to you or your establishment. I do not have any licenses for any of my weapons. However, these weapons are an extension of my beliefs. I need them.”

You look him up and down (not that you already haven’t - just trying act loose and unbothered by the admission to having multiple weapons on hand). He doesn’t sound like a killer, but killers don’t have to sound rough to be rough.

But he is being honest. Honesty is hard to come by this millennium. Honest or not, you still give him the run down any suspicious guests receive.

“You’re a Mandalorian, right?” you inquire, keeping your composure still while becoming stone faced. Intimidation. Not your best feat by far, but it usually picks off the randos that show up at your door. You don’t consider running away any suspicious characters count toward any reprimands both from Clyde or your inner critic.

“Yes. They call me Mando,” he responds without any tone or infliction.

You inch a bit closer. It’s hard to tell if he’s put up a shield too or if he’s always this stone cold. “If what I’ve heard from the stories is true, you’re not far from the truth. But tell me Mando, why do you carry so much fire power?”

“It’s for my occupation.”

Closer. “Occupation?”

“Bounty Hunter.”

Even closer, almost touching him. You look into his visor, searching for his eyes and praying you lock onto them. “You got a keen eye there, Mando?”

“Sharp.”

He hasn’t broken once (not that you could tell or that you’re incredibly intimidating, but you guess that’s a reason for the armor, proving another point of his admissions). “Tell you what. I’ll allow you to stay as long as you keep those weapons out of sight from my boss. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“And in exchange, I will keep your secret by accepting your credits - and a story.” You smile back at him, relaxing your stance.

Mando moves his head back, the first movement he’s made in a hot minute. “A story?”

You step away from him to clear up the dizzying space you’ve created between the two of you. You could hardly take much more of it yourself without your heart going into crisis. You’ll take his small break as a victory. Little as it is, but hey, it’s something. “Yeah! It gets kinda boring around here and I have a good feeling you’re sitting on a great one…or twelve.” You poke the middle of his chest plate, square in the diamond.

“I’m not the talking type.”

You giggle as you make the first move for the both of you to start walking toward the inn. “I never pegged that you were! But I do believe it’s nothing a Mandalorian can’t handle,” you say playfully with your voice a bit higher to tease.

“Alright, it’s a deal.”

Hahaha! Nothing like a bruised mandalorian’s ego to make a victory so sweet. But, did you manage to pressure him into friendly conversation? He didn’t put up that much of a fight. Maybe he’s actually interested in talking with you, let alone sparing some time to sit with you. Was that a smile you could hear in his voice just then? You’re thinking way too much into things. He needs a place to rest, and with his load, he’s got to spend it somewhere. Seriously, you gotta stop it with the innuendos.

As the two of you approach the inn, you quickly jump ahead to unlock the door to swiftly usher the (presumably) exhausted mandalorian in.

“Sorry, my boss usually takes off mornings and afternoons to rest and wander about to the village. I have to lock up if I’m out.”

Mando looks back to you and follows your movement behind the wooden concierge desk off to the leftmost wall. “I don’t remember seeing a village on my way here.”

You try to speak up to let your voice carry over to the mandalorian as you face the wall of room keys to search for the best room. “Oh, well, the surrounding forests can get a bit dense in patches. It’s further up the river, east.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to check it out.”

After you turn around, you give a singsong sigh and a closed smile to him. It’s after a beat that you realize you can’t give Mando his room key due to his preoccupied hands and that he needs assistance.

“Oh! Let me show you to your room.”

You scramble over to the mandalorian and make way down the hall only to stop at the room closest to the corner on the right. You unlock the door with the metal room key and pan out your hand to welcome Mando into his new room. He wastes no time in moving in to settle his things off his shoulders and onto the mattress with a large thud.

“Corner rooms give you just enough extra space compared to the other rooms. But don’t tell Clyde I told you that or else he’d charge extra. Just figured you’d like the added room, gives you more hiding spots.” You wink at him.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

There’s that politeness again. Are you imagining things? Is this real? Is this a setup from Clyde to see if you’re actually doing your job? In which case, you are definitely not. Not that you would care. Not really. Not deep down. You try not to let the comments or threats from anyone get to you anymore. You know your worth in your own right, and you’ve grown despite the conditions, in spite of them. But, maybe this rough-on-the-edges mandalorian standing in front of you knows your worth, too. Maybe the legends left out an important detail. Just maybe, there’s something more…

“Is everything okay?” Mando chimes in your thoughts.

It’s now that you realize you’ve been staring at him and his belongings for way too long. Even the mandalorian seems to feel awkward. He keeps flexing his fingers and making them into impossibly tight fists. Maker, you’ve got to say something!

“Have you ever killed a man?” you ask Mando with the blankest, doe-eyed expression on your face. You immediately cringe at your own first line of defense dialogue. Nice going…

Mando chuckles and places his thumbs to hug his belt. You dare not follow your gaze with them. “Do you always ask this to your guests?”

You nervously laugh and bring your hand to the back of your neck. “Only the interesting ones.”

“Right. Well,” Mando steps closer to reach for the side of the door while looking at your face, “I guess you’ll have to find out at story time.” You break his eye contact for a moment to catch a peak at his irresistible yet fully clothed and armored bicep hanging mere inches from you as he closes in. He has to be teasing at this point. Why else would he be torturing you so?

“Yeah. Right.” You fumble out into the hallway, making breathy attempts at a laugh to try to salvage whatever cool remains in you. “Well, I’ll be at the front desk if you need me. Rest easy.”

“You, too, sen’ika.” Mando comfortably replies as he nods and slowly shuts the door.

Even though your brain and stomach is guttering with embarrassment as you fast walk down the hall on your way back to the desk, your heart can’t help but soar at the thought of learning more about your patron. It’s highly ridiculous that you would even entertain the thought of sitting down with a potential murder. But hey, he’s a bounty hunter. It’s not like you can blame the guy. You know full well his line of work can get choppy from time to time, and jobs in this galaxy are hard to come by. You guess what you're most interested in is a clean slate. Someone who you have no clue about, and someone who doesn’t know about you. You get the first say in your story. Nobody else. And yet, so does he.

As you prop your head in your hands and stare out the windows to the meticulously kept flowers up front, you begin to finally indulge in what you want for yourself and not what others want from you. Things may be starting to finally get interesting around here.

A/N: Sorry if it’s a bit rushed at the end, but I just really want to get this out in the open. Also, Din called reader “little bird” at the end if you were wondering what that meant. Hopefully, I can get to writing the next chapter in the next week or so instead of a month or so. Thank you all for being so nice and encouraging. It means a lot. As God as my witness, my new year’s resolution is uploading more writing on this blog. Hope you all enjoy!

Tags: @moodsare @mindidjarin @samanthacookieone @paintlavillered @mswarriorbabe80

[lordabovehelpme]

A Day Spent Alone- Din Djarin x Reader

(This amazing moodboard is done by the wonderful @jedi-jesi !!! Seriously, I love this girl. She’s amaze balls!)

A/n: So here is the next chapter to Days filled with Love. I hope you all enjoy it. Please consider reblogging and leaving a comment, I love hearing what you all have to say. It makes my day! :)

You can find the first part here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Nervously, you rub over your beskar covered husband.

“We’re going to be fine.”

“Are you sure. Okay so don’t forget the twins diaper bag, it has all the bottles. I pumped every second I could, so you should have more than enough for them. Also, make sure-”

“Cyare,” Grabbing your wrists, he holds your hands still. “We are going to be fine. Stop stressing about it. We will only be gone for a day and a half at most.”

“Remind me why I can’t come.”

“Because you do too much and need some alone time.”

“But I like family time!” Pouting you lean into his body.

His hands release your own and move to rub your back. “I know you do, but everyone needs a day to themselves. Look at me.” Lifting your chin you peer into his visor. “We will be back tomorrow aftertoon and nothing is going to happen while we are gone. Okay?” Nodding you look down at your feet. “Come on mesh’la, I need to hear you say it. Okay?”

“Okay.” You can’t mask the sorrow in your voice, even when the introvert in you screams out in delight.

He raises his helmet from his head and presses one last kiss to your lips. It’s not a fast lustful kiss, but rather a timeless portrayal of his devotion to you. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Glaning up from his chest and over his shoulder, you watch your five kids wait for their father on the Crest. “Tell them I love them.”

“I will, but they already know it.” Giving you one last kiss, he rips himself from your hold and walks over to his ship.

All six of your family members wave their goodbyes and the ramp closes, making your heart long to run after them and demand them to never leave your sight again.

The crest rises slowly and shakily from the ground and you smile. Myles must be flying it.

Recently, Din decided that Myles is old enough to fly his own jet and that at the covert “three year olds were learning to fly so he is more than old enough.” You just raised an eyebrow and didn’t think much of it, yet here you are, watching your son fly the Crest.

Finally, the crest zooms off into the sky and your home becomes silent. What once was a yard filled with laughter and children has become a field of swaying grass. The only sound to comfort you is the soft laps of water that meet the shore.

Well, now what?

You have absolutely no idea what to do. Usually there is at least one kid in your arms while you are cooking some meal. You’re not complaining, you love being a mother, it’s just that… you’re always busy.

“Oh I know! I’ll catch up on that book I never finished!”

Rushing inside you plop yourself down on the couch under a nice fuzzy blanket, you open the book to the last page you read.

***

Finally closing the book after having finished it, you look up. Waves crash on the shore as the moon paints shimmers on the water.

A yawn takes over your senses and you're suddenly made aware of how long you've been sitting in the same position. Stretching your legs out, you lift the blanket from your form.

Walking into the kitchen you reach into the fridge and grab the patter of cut fruit your husband has left you. A note rests on the very front.

Cyar’ika- stop worrying and go take a bubble bath. You’ll find a new present on the toilet for when you finish. I love you.

Smiling to yourself, you carefully pin the note to the appliance with a magnet. It fits in perfectly with all the artwork and grocery lists that cover the once wihte fridge.

Taking the platter you walk into the bathroom that is connected to yours and Din’s room. Turning the hot water on, you look at the toilet. On it, rests fancy and expensive perfumes for the water and oils for your skin.

There’s a smaller container that when taken a closer look at, it reveals itself as the facemask you’ve been wanting to try. Another note in his quick chicken scratch handwriting waits for your attention.

Mesh’la- Yeah, I know crazy. I actually pay attention to your skin care. I picked these perfumes out because I know they will work wonders with your already sweet scent. In the closet, you’ll find my last gift. I would recommend going to grab it now. I love you.

Giggling, you practically skip over to your closet. Opening the doors a brand new fuzzy robe hangs in front. You practically moan at how soft it is. Hung underneath it is a new pair of pajamas, loose and silky, just how you like them. On the hanger rests another note.

Cyare- You probably have the biggest smile right now, and I wish I was there to kiss it off your face. But tonight is a night about you. Just you. No kids begging for your attention and no “whiny grumpy tin can” either. Enjoy your time alone. I love you so much. P.S. I want to see you in these pajamas when I get home.

Setting his note on your dresser you grab the clothes from their hanger and bring them into the bathroom with you. The scent of lavender and honey floods the tiled room as you pour the perfumes into the steaming water.

Shrugging off your clothes you step one foot into the water, perfect temperature. Your other foot follows and soon your chest is under the surface. Every muscle relaxes and you lean your head back, allowing a long overdue sigh to be released.

***

Birds chirp and sing as the sun rises. Your eyelids flutter open and your heart swells at the thought of your family coming home today.

Walking down the stairs, the house is bright and the various indoor plants you have seem more alive than ever. Looking out the large window of the living room, light dances over the lake’s surface.

You can still hardly believe that this land belongs to your family. No more flying around with the Crest being your only home. No more cramped sleeping quarters with no room to spread your limbs. No more crappy camping stove.

Now you’re a woman with two stoves! And a house that has more windows than you’ve ever seen before. And a place to call home for your family to thrive.

***

You’ve spent all morning laying on the beach and soaking the sun up. Where could they be?

It’s too quiet without them running around, it was nice at first, but now you miss their voices.

As if on cue, the Crest flys over the horizon and you gasp. Your heart jumps and a smile breaks out onto your face. Rushing out the door, you wait for your family to arrive.

Slowly, the ship lands and you can see Myles on Din’s lap in the cockpit. His little hands grasp the yoke and under his helmet you know his eyebrows are scrunched together in concentration.

As the feet touch the ground, the hatch clicks and starts to fall. “MOMMY!” Reeza yells out and she jumps down from the hatch. Her little feet carry her as fast as she can over to you.

Falling onto your knees and opening your arms, she slams into your embrace. Your arms wrap around her and cradle her further into your hold.

“Mommy I missed you!”

“I missed you too sweetheart.”

“GAH!” Looking up you watch as Grogu scurries down the opened hatch and runs over to you. As fast as he can, he makes his way over to you.

Opening one of your arms, you scoop him up and pull him into the hug you and Reeza are sharing.

“MOM! Did you see me? Dad let me fly!” Myles emerges from the ship and also runs into your open arms, helmet left on the ground.

“I did see you, you did great! I’m so proud of you!”

“I HAVE TO USE THE POTTY!” Reeza yells out before wiggling from your embrace and rushing into the house.

Laughing you just tuck Myles and Grogu further into your neck. “I missed you guys so much.”

“Did you have fun by yourself Mommy?”

“You know, I really didn’t. It was nice but having you guys in my arms beats anything else.”

Myles leans back, his eyes scan over your face, searching and analyzing your facial expressions. His eyebrows knit together and he just offers you a nod before leaning back into your arms. A gesture so uniquely your husbands there is no doubt in your mind that he is his child.

“I love you Mommy.”

“Love you too.” Pressing a kiss to Grogu’s head you smile, “Love you both so much.” His large eyes are closed as his little fingers grasp at your shirt.

After a minute they decide that they’ve hugged you too long and squirm from your embrace, rushing into the house. You can only smile wider and laugh as Grogu follows his brothers every step. If only Myles knew how much his siblings adored and looked up to him.

“Where's my hug and kiss?”

Gasping you look up. There, standing tall as ever, is your husband with a twin in each arm. Isabet is curled against his chest as she sleeps, you’ve never met a child who can sleep as much as she can.

In the other arm Tobbi coos and babbles while his arms reach out for you. However, when Din walks closer you realize his arms aim more towards your chest. His little golden eyes are trained on the low cut of your shirt. Giggling you notice how your husband has the same greedy look at your exposed flesh.

Taking your son from his arms his little fingernails scratch at your neckline and he babbles. “You’d think I never fed the little womp rat.”

“He just takes after his father.” You brush away Tobbi’s tuff of brown curls and press kiss after kiss to his face. He giggles and it makes your heart swell with love.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hmm, never full and always wanting a peak at my boob? Sounds pretty similar to me.” Wide eyed, your husband stops his hand midair as it was making way towards one of your mounds. Laughing, you lean up and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He growls and grabs your chin, forcing you to meet his lips. “Missed you too much,” he moves to nip at your jaw, “love you so much.”

It’s hard to stop your smile as his scruff tickles your skin and just from the absolute overwhelming feeling of being adored.

Isabet stirs and one of her eyes open. “Mmm… ma… mama!” Her arms fly in the air and she is suddenly wide awake.

Both you and Din freeze, your eyes meet and you share the unspoken question of, “Did she just?”

“MAMA!” Isabets small arms raise and her eyes tear up. Your husband lifts her so she is right in front of your face.

You attack her with kisses and your own eyes tear up. “Yes! Mama! That’s me!” Ticking her tiny tummy her frustrated tears turn into giggles.

“Good job, adi’ka, yes this is Mama. Can you say Dada?”

She turns her little head and gives him the meanest scowl you’ve ever seen. But when she turns back to you, her face lights up and a smile forms again. Your husband scoffs.

“Oh don’t be jealous, both Myles and Reeza said your name first.”

Taking both twins into your arms, you smile as Din wraps his arms around you. “I’m not jealous.” He says in his very obviously jealous voice.

“Mm hmm, okay. Whatever you say.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Part: Snow Day

Goodness, I love them all so much. If you haven’t been able to tell yet, Isabet may or may not be based off of Pero Tovar and I love it. She’s my favorite little grump of a child. 

I hope you guys liked it! 

As always, feedback is always appreciated. 

Love, Lordy :) 

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Taglist: @ficthots @along-the-lines-of-space @jedi-jesi @coldlilheart​ 

If you want to be added/ removed from my taglist- just give me a holler! :)

[ooops-i-arted]

A part of the reason why I'm so mad that Luke too Grogu from Din is because Grogu still needs Din. I looked up what you're supposed to do with a traumatized infant for writing fanfic, and all of the reliable sources say that the worst thing you can do is separate the child from their caregiver or parent! Granted, Din doesn't know a whole lot about children, but STILL.

Also, physiology is really interesting. Especially for children.

Children are amazing and fascinating. Just such good little beans ready to learn and thrive. <3 Even when your class spent all week driving you up the wall lol.

And yes, the most important things for a child to combat ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) is a reliable caregiver. It cannot be overstated how MASSIVE an impact even Din's well-meant, sometimes-bumbling attempts at parenting have been for Grogu. His environment is still pretty chaotic, but Din is a safe and stable presence in his life, and that's huge and we can see how Grogu is acting more mature, mischievous, and confident now that he has Din in his life.

I don't totally disagree with you because yes, ideally, the best way to handle it would be Din taking Grogu to Jedi School and helping him transition. Grogu can explore a new environment and meet new people with Din still there as his "safe space" for when he feels uncertain and needs support. That said, of everyone who could've taken him, Luke is the best. Luke is a powerful Jedi who can protect Grogu from the Empire and a compassionate person who will do his absolutely best to take care of Grogu and help him thrive. And Luke has one major leg up on Din in that he can actually communicate with Grogu through the Force. So he can sense what Grogu is feeling (scared, lonely, just missing Dad) and address it, and Grogu can sense that Luke is genuine in his desire to help. Also at least at the Jedi Temple, Grogu hopefully isn't constantly in firefights and being almost eaten by various fauna and kidnapped by Imperials. Not to knock Din, he does his best, but there simply isn't a way for him to provide a better environment for Grogu the way Luke can at this point in time.

And in the meta sense, we the audience know Luke is A Good Guy who will take good care of Grogu. The Mandalorian does a great job of appealing to all levels of Star Wars fans and pretty much anyone with a passing knowledge of Star Wars knows Luke is The Hero and The Good Guy, so we can trust him to take care of Grogu while still wallowing in All The Feelz.

Of course as a writer you gotta compact your story to make it fit the show format, so I'm guessing that's why they had Luke just take him (plus the implied cliffhanger of will they reunite, how will the characters handle this, etc). That, and Child Development/Early Childhood Education is always relegated as "just playing," "babysitting," and/or "women's work" so I highly doubt the apparently all-male writing team really knows much about it. (Yes, yes, not all men, but it's an undeniable trend in society as a whole to undervalue my job and I will not stop railing on about it until me and all of my coworkers get respect and consistently fair wages.)

[ooops-i-arted]

Child development/Dad-thoughts for Season 2 Episode 8???

Poor little guy.  He has to be so terrified and traumatized by the time we see him again - ripped away from his father by scary bad droids, threatened by Gideon and his scary black sword, weakened from using his powers and blood loss, and we don’t even know if he was awake for any medical procedures that surely would have involved his autonomy, personhood, and fears being completely ignored let alone scary ouchy needles/medical tools.  It’s hard to gauge how he’s doing since we don’t have the entire picture of what he experienced, although we can assume it had to be terrifying.  But when we see him again, he’s patiently sitting by Gideon, apparently having complete faith that Dad will come save him and defeat the bad guy.

I do feel this episode hugely dropped the ball by not showing us Grogu being reunited with Din once Gideon is defeated and Din unshackles him.  It’s such an important missing piece - last we saw Grogu was so terrified he was giving in the Dark Side and harming stormtroopers, then he’s sitting (I infer) paralyzed with fear/scared enough to be quiet and still because of Gideon, and next we see he’s tucked in Din’s arms again.  How was he feeling to be reunited with his dad?  Did Din comfort and reassure him (it would be ooc for Din not to at this point imo)?  Did he feel better knowing that Dad came for him after all?  Sure, we can infer all that, but it’s a big emotional beat that should’ve been present because it impacts The Big Grogu Moment we get later:  Grogu choosing to go with Luke.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really surprised the show went this direction since it seemed like they were setting up Din choosing to keep Grogu as his own and I have my reservations about the story going this way tbh.  But I think Luke taking Grogu (for now) does work.

Season 2 Grogu is a much happier, well-adjusted, and more mature child than Season 1 Grogu.  Season 1 Grogu was quiet, subdued; he had moments of comfort or testing limits but overall generally made himself less noticeable and was hesitant to indicate his needs or wants to anyone, even Din.  Season 2 Grogu is a much more average child; he knows he can indicate what he needs to Din and it will be provided for, even something as the simple emotional comfort of uppies; he chatters more often and isn’t afraid to be more curious, more defiant, and just express himself.  In Season 1 Grogu didn’t even ask for food - probably thinking he’d be ignored - he just caught that frog by himself; Season 2 Grogu has a loving dad who tells him “I see you’re hungry, we’ll get you some food.”  Season 1 Grogu generally just follows Din around, not wanting him out of his sight but rarely requesting interaction until the end of the season but waiting for it to be offered instead; Season 2 Grogu is always running to Din the second he needs anything.  Does trauma magically go away?  No, Grogu is still affected.  But he’s clearly healing and growing under Din’s care, and having a stable adult in the child’s life is one of the biggest things that can reduce a child being affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Grogu seems to know who Luke is, or at least recognize him as a Jedi.  My guess is he did connect with Luke during the Scotty Beam Me Up scene.  So it’s not like a stranger showed up to take him away, this is someone he has “met” and “talked to”.  And since Grogu has the Force, he can sense for sure that this is a nice person and someone who truly can teach him, which eliminates some of the guesswork you usually get when a kid meets their new teacher/a stranger.  So while it looks to Din like some random guy just showed up for his kid, there was more stuff going on below the surface that Din (and the audience) didn’t really see because It’s The Force.  So it isn’t like Grogu is being sent off with the first strange Jedi who rolls up (like on Corvus).

Grogu certainly doesn’t act afraid of Luke or anything other than friendly.  The only issue is separating from his beloved dad.  Grogu will not go unless the person he loves and trusts most in the entire world says it’s okay for him to do so.  He goes up to the screen and almost seems like he wants Din to look and show him “This is an okay guy.  Look he kills things just like you, Dad.” before pointing and trying to get the adults to open the door.  And I definitely got the impression Grogu is calling or otherwise trying to commune with Luke through the Force, telling him “Hey we’re on the bridge, come save us and meet my Dad.”  So Grogu is open and willing to start interacting with Luke - as long as it’s okay with Din.  (And Din in turn trusts Grogu enough to open the doors when Grogu says it’s cool, this guy is okay.)

The #1 thing that makes Luke taking Grogu work for me is that everyone’s consent is involved.  Grogu may be a small child who still needs an adult guardian and guidance in his life but that doesn’t mean he should be carted around without taking his feelings into consideration.  This isn’t like a few episodes ago, where Din tried to hand Grogu over without really seeing if Grogu or Ahsoka were okay with it.  Luke addresses Grogu directly and treats him like a person, accepting that Grogu needs to be involved in this decision; Luke also addresses Din’s worries and even speaks up on Grogu’s behalf (”He wants your permission”).  Grogu is clearly open to the idea of going with Luke - if he didn’t want to, Luke would certainly say so - but also wants to make sure Din is okay with it.  And while Din balks at first, once he realizes that Luke can offer Grogu the training he can’t, he gives Grogu permission to go and even gives him a special good-bye so that Grogu knows how much he means to Din.  And the face-touch seemed to me, at least, to be Grogu saying, Don’t worry Dad, it���s okay to try and reassure him.  And Din tells him in turn “Don’t be afraid.”  The separation is hard, but Din and Grogu both realize that Grogu needs to be trained to use his powers safely.  They’re willing to do what’s right, even when it’s hard, which takes a lot of emotional maturity.  Grogu has certainly grown indeed.

Realistically this probably should’ve taken a lot more time - Din going with Luke to help transition Grogu - but 1. this is a tv show and 2. this is still better than small children usually get in media anyway, since people tend to lump anyone under age 5 as “cute and/or annoying prop for the adult characters.”  Also, we the audience know Luke (the real one, not the OOC Rian Jackoff version).  We know Luke is compassionate and kind and will take good care of Grogu.  If Grogu is troubled by leaving his beloved dad, Luke will do his best to guide Grogu through it, and I personally think that if Grogu ultimately decided this wasn’t for him and wanted Dad?  Luke would pack him up in the X-wing and fly him right to Din.  So ymmv but Luke training Grogu works for me and I think Grogu is in good hands.

I don’t wanna super go into The Discourse but since I know it’s gonna come up in the fandom and since I am a big Jedi fan, I’ll briefly address the whole No Attachments/Jedi Attitudes thing:

No Attachments refers to No Possessiveness, not You Can’t Love Anyone.  The Jedi don’t discourage compassion and love and even family ties, just the whole I’d Commit Genocide For My Loved One (looking at you, Anakin).  This post specifically refutes the comments Filoni made in the Making the Mandalorian show and goes into it way better than I could, if you’re interested.  I’ll just pull out this George Lucas quote: “But [Anakin] has become attached to his mother and he will become attached to Padme and these things are, for a Jedi, who needs to have a clear mind and not be influenced by threats to their attachments, a dangerous situation.”  So Grogu loving and caring about Din isn’t an issue - it’s only an issue when he’s willing to harm and endanger others over it (like choking Cara) or when he becomes so afraid he lashes out without thinking (the stormtrooper free-for-all).

Which is why it’s so important Grogu be trained by someone who knows and understands the power he has.  Even if Grogu still decides not to be a Jedi, he needs to know how to control himself and his power so he doesn’t hurt anyone.

Jedi are allowed contact with family and embrace their original cultures as shown throughout Star Wars media.  There’s no reason to think Luke will snatch Grogu and never let him and Din see each other again even if Luke did follow the prequel Jedi completely (which he didn’t in Legends anyway, which honestly makes more sense to me since so much Jedi knowledge was lost/destroyed by the Empire).

People have always been allowed to leave the Jedi Order.  If Grogu or Din decide “Nope, can’t do this, I want him back” Luke would 100% support them making a decision that works for both of them.

We follow Anakin and Revan because they’re interesting characters and because conflict makes good stories.  The Jedi Order didn’t work for them but most Jedi seem pretty well-adjusted so... I don’t tend to think Anakin is really the baseline we should be going by, y’know?  Grogu has past trauma but he’s been with people who care for him and listen to him.  And not to knock Din at all, but Luke being able to communicate with Grogu is a huge advantage and will actually probably be really good for Grogu.  So I think Grogu is in good hands and won’t be Ruined Forever by training as a Jedi.

And of course Din says they’ll meet again.  He promised.  (And Din & Grogu are Disney’s chief moneymaking duo these days, you want to make your audience worry about your dream team, not break them up permanently.)  So I think Grogu will be reunited with his beloved dad.  And while the parting was certainly heartbreaking, for now he’s in good hands who will help him continue to grow and thrive.