#thank you Ria for your incredible work

[call-sign-shark]

AAAHHHH BRUMMIE!!! Thank you for the tag, hes so cute and awkward and I’ll die for this stupid and problematic lanky thing. 🥺🖤🖤

(I’m crying, you’re using the “baby kitten” nickname. Gosh I love you.)

ARTHUR SHELBY ▸ Peaky Blinders, 5.4

[sm0lprism]

Bite-Sized (14) - A BG3 G/t Fanfic

This contains g/t (giant/tiny content) so if that isn't your thing, then I suggest you stop reading. Thank you!

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1 | Previous chapter| Series master list

Summary: Ria awakes the following morning from the events of the tiefling party to a horrendous hangover and finds herself in Astarion's tent.

Pairing: Astarion x f!borrower!oc (Tav/oc) (slow-burn)

Warnings: Suggestive, mild nudity, course language, mentions of slavery/abuse (Astarion's past/backstory).

Word count: 4.4k

Taglist: @alexcutecolly @rose7420 @empressxmachina @taters169 @feral-sins @smolgloves @smolkuriboh27 (if you want to be removed or added to the taglist, feel free to let me know!)

A pounding, almost bludgeoning pain resonated through Ria’s skull as she struggled to open her heavy eyelids. Immediately she clutched her head, feeling every single pulse as if someone was swinging a hammer at her skull. Despite the vibrating pain in her head, her body was surprisingly comfortable. This certainly felt nothing like her old tent. The surface she was lying on was incredibly soft and plush, her tiny body sinking into the luscious fabric as if she was floating on a fluffy cloud. A familiar scent quickly graced her nostrils and she breathed it in deeply. Sunny notes of citrus flooded her senses, coupled with a slight alcoholic overtone that piqued her interest.

Wait…is that…brandy? No…that’s…that’s…

Her eyelids suddenly shot open once she realised where she was, the remnants of sleep now completely gone as she turned her head over to her side. Her entire body froze over when her gaze fell on the slumbering giant that was lying directly next to her.

It was Astarion.

Her heart almost threatened to leap out of her throat once she realised her predicament. She was lying on a pillow with Astarion’s handkerchief draped over her body to act as some kind of blanket, and Astarion himself was lying right next to her. She wasn’t lying on the same pillow as him, but this was still far too close for comfort. Frantically she attempted to recall the events of last night, wondering what had she done to end up sharing his tent of all people.

What happened last night? Did…did Astarion and I…?

Red blossomed across her pale face as the very thought plagued through her mind. No, there was no possible way that anything could’ve happened between her and Astarion. But, despite her brain trying to think logically, another part of her mind began to wander elsewhere. Her gaze fell onto the pale elf’s lips and her heart began to flutter against her chest. She remembered the events of yesterday prior to the party just fine, and now that she was staring at his lips, the memory of falling in the giant cup and being pressed against his mouth flashed through her mind. Her entire body had been pushed against his lips – practically kissing her.

No, stop it! It was not a kiss! I just…fell onto his lips. That’s how gravity works.

She remembered how soft his lips had been. Her body pressed against his mouth, moments before she had fallen inside. He had been so very gentle with her, even after she had stabbed his tongue repeatedly.

Stop this right now!

Ria clasped her hands over her burning face and refused to look at the sleeping vampire. She was horrified with herself that she was having such indecent thoughts about the elf of all people. Her head was still pounding relentlessly, constantly reminding her that she had consumed so much alcohol that she still couldn’t properly remember the events of the tiefling party from last night. What had happened? She remembered speaking to Shadowheart who had kindly offered her some wine. Not long after the cleric had left, Astarion had found her. After that everything became hazy.

I need to leave. Now.

Very tentatively she slipped down the pillow until her feet hit the hard floor below. Perhaps if she was quiet enough, she could sneak out of the tent before Astarion woke up from his trance. Slowly but surely, she inched closer towards the mouth of the tent, wincing every so often as her brain reeled from the effects of her drinking from last night. Gritting her teeth, she kept on pushing forward.

Just keep on going…

“Leaving so soon? Don’t I at least get a good morning?”

The borrower’s entire body froze over as if she had been blasted with a ray of frost. Her heart almost burst out of her chest as she slowly turned her head around to look up at the smirking giant elf. Her breath hitched as she saw that he had rolled over onto his side, one hand holding his face as he leaned against his pillow, the laces of his ruffled shirt had become loose and was revealing more of his chest than what she was used to.

“My fangs are up here, darling,” Astarion’s voice chimed from above, startling Ria back to her senses.

If her face wasn’t completely red before, it certainly was now and she frantically fixed her eyes onto the floor of the tent. She couldn’t believe that Astarion had just called her out for staring and embarrassment threatened to smother her completely.

“W-what am I doing here?” she managed to choke out, her voice wavering.

“Well, after the events of last night, it made perfect sense for you to share my tent.” A very smug grin curled at the corners of his lips. “You don’t remember?”

Her heart spasmed against her ribcage. What was he implying? What had happened last night?

“N-no,” she stammered, swallowing thickly. “I don’t remember. All I remember is drinking some wine, you offered me some, and…that’s it.”

Astarion’s massive frame suddenly shifted, now looming over her even closer than before, the ground trembling from his large movements. If this had been a few weeks ago, the sight of Astarion hovering above her would’ve sent her running. But right now, it was almost as if someone had glued her to the ground as she gazed up at his giant form.

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember after all that wine you drank last night,” he hummed, wetting his lips. “I’ve never seen someone so small consume so much alcohol before.”

The rumblings from Astarion’s voice vibrated through the air and she winced as a stab of pain flared in her skull.

“I’m certainly paying for it now,” she grumbled, clutching the side of her head. “Remind me never to drink that much again.”

“Note taken,” he replied.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she steadied her gaze back at the giant vampire.

“So…um…what happened last night? Why am I here?”

“Oh, you should see the look on your face,” Astarion purred, completely ignoring her question. “It is delicious. Are you worried that events may have…transpired between us?”

Her face burned as Astarion voiced her thoughts. And what made it worse was the feeling of butterflies swarming in her stomach that refused to leave. There was no way that she should be feeling like this about the pale elf, especially considering everything that had happened, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how he had saved her life yesterday. It certainly didn’t help that he was very attractive–

Shut up! Shut up! Stop it right now!

“Oh darling, while it is adorable watching you act so flustered, I won’t hold you in suspense any longer,” he said, a devilish smirk curling at the corners of his mouth. “You can rest assured that nothing happened between us. Besides, can you imagine it? Ugh. No. You’re a borrower after all.”

Astarion’s words shouldn’t have hurt her, but for whatever reason, they did. Not that long ago she was spitting curse words at him, but now, she felt a part of her heart crumble upon hearing his response. If anything, she should’ve been relieved to hear his answer, but she wasn’t at all.

“Y-yeah, right,” she answered stiffly, trying to hide her real emotions. “And you’re a vampire. Of course nothing would happen. Besides, how would it work? I’m so…small.”

“Precisely, darling,” Astarion said. “Anyways, the real reason why you’re here is because some careless tiefling crushed your tent underfoot. I couldn’t just let you sleep out in the open by yourself.”

Ria’s eyes widened in shock upon hearing his response.

“W-wait, nobody put my tent away during the party?” she gaped, a bit horrified that if she hadn’t been with Astarion last night she would’ve been crushed in her sleep.

Astarion shrugged casually, as if he couldn’t care less. “Aren’t you happy that you were with me last night? Gods forbid what would’ve happened to you if you had stayed in your tent during the party.”

Ria swallowed thickly, a shiver running down her spine as she tried not to think too much about it. She was upset that nobody had bothered to put away her tent. Despite how kind and accommodating everyone had been to her since she had joined the group, it shocked her that nobody had thought about her small tent. She didn’t want to think about where she would be sleeping once nightfall came again now that the tent was destroyed. Exhaling deeply, she walked towards the entrance of Astarion’s tent.

“Oh, you don’t want to keep me company?” Astarion’s voice rumbled from above.

“I need to get out of here,” she answered quickly. “And I desperately need a decent bath, especially after what I went through yesterday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to ask Shadowheart if I can borrow some of her soap.”

Ria didn’t hear a word from the pale elf as she exited his tent and her eyes squinted as the morning rays of sunlight shone down on her tiny frame. It was still somewhat early, not everyone had risen yet. She assumed most of them were feeling the effects from the party last night. As if to remind her, a searing pain flared in her skull as she walked towards Shadowheart’s tent.

Perhaps I can ask Shadowheart to remove this hangover for me with her magic while I’m at it.  

As she neared the cleric’s tent, she paused as she noticed the half-elf emerge from the tent with a very happy expression painted across her features. It seemed as if Shadowheart had a very good night. The half-elf’s gaze quickly fell on the borrower and her smile deepened upon seeing her.

“Shar’s blessing to you, Ria.”

Ria was somewhat perplexed by the mention of Shar – she had briefly heard Shadowheart mention the name a few times, but she couldn’t recall exactly what it meant. Perhaps she would have to ask the cleric later when she wasn’t feeling so horribly hungover.

“Good morning,” she replied thickly, wincing as more pain pierced through her skull. “Did you have fun last night?”

Shadowheart’s face practically lit up upon hearing the borrower’s question. “Oh, it was wonderful. Karlach and I basically talked the entire night away, since, well, we couldn’t exactly touch each other. She mentioned that perhaps we could find some temporary ways to cool her down, so maybe I’ll be able to steal a kiss from her very soon. How was your night?”

Ria could only offer the cleric a very weak smile as her head continued to pound violently against her skull. She was happy for Shadowheart and Karlach, but she couldn’t express her full support when her head felt as if it wanted to explode.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m terribly hungover,” she murmured, her eyebrows knitting together. “I can barely remember what happened last night.”

Shadowheart’s eyes widened in concern, and the cleric immediately kneeled so that she wasn’t towering over the borrower anymore.

“Oh, that simply won’t do,” the cleric said, a green aura beginning to radiate from her hands. “Just hold still for a moment, I’ll rectify that in a second.”

Ria froze in place as Shadowheart’s index finger softly touched her forehead, magic coursing through her body as the throbbing pain in her skull gradually faded until it was completely gone.

Shadowheart retracted her finger, smiling softly at Ria.

“How do you feel now?”

“Much better, thank you.” She heaved a deep sigh of relief, thankful that the pounding feeling in her brain was gone.

“Anytime,” Shadowheart replied softly.

“I do have another favour to ask, though,” Ria quickly added. “I am in desperate need of a good bath; do you have any soap that you can spare?”

“Oh, absolutely!” Shadowheart exclaimed, quickly dipping into her tent without another word. A few moments passed and the half-elf reemerged with a bar of soap in her hand along with a clean purple handkerchief.

“I can give you a ride down to the river as well,” Shadowheart added. “There is no need for you to walk all the way over there by yourself. This’ll be much faster for you.”

Ria stared up at Shadowheart with gratitude, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

“Thank you so much, that is very kind of you.”

“This is nothing, honestly. I’m happy to help whenever you need me, okay?”

Ria had never been more thankful for a bath in her entire life. After being dunked in beer, swirled around inside Astarion’s mouth, and sprayed in blood, the feeling of cleanliness felt like a blessing from the gods themselves. She had scrubbed vigorously against her skin using a chunk of the soap that Shadowheart had provided until she was adamant that the smell of blood and beer was completely gone.

Shadowheart offered her hand to the borrower, her palm facing upwards. The cleric’s kindness almost made Ria forget about the entire tent scenario, and she eagerly climbed into her waiting hand.

***

She had also used this as a good opportunity to clean her clothes, which, at this point, were more like a bunch of rags now with how tattered they were. Her shirt and pants were thoroughly scrubbed, and were now drying in the sun on a small rock along the shore. Hopefully when she had finished her bath, they would at least be somewhat dry enough for her to wear comfortably. 

She released a sigh of contentment as the cool waters of the river rushed over her. It was a welcome change to how gross she had been feeling over the past few days. Being able to finally be clean was exactly what she needed. A few more minutes passed as she enjoyed the soothing waters of the river and massaged her fingers through her auburn locks.

As she continued to massage her scalp, a flood of memories from the tiefling party suddenly crashed through her brain like a tidal wave. It seemed since Shadowheart had cured her of her hangover, it had allowed her to tap into those foggy memories from the previous night.

Ria slowly stopped scrubbing her hair as she remembered her heartfelt talk with Astarion – the fact that he had approached her by himself and apologised for what had happened at the Goblin Camp almost made her jaw hit the ground and her chest tighten. But what shocked her most of all, was the fact that she had gotten so horrendously drunk with the pale elf that she had fallen asleep on his leg.

Oh gods…that’s why I woke up in Astarion’s tent…this is humiliating.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to bury herself alive so she wouldn’t have to show her face at camp ever again. At least none of the others – other than Astarion of course – had witnessed her drunken antics. The fact that she had allowed herself to be so vulnerable and drunk around Astarion was utterly mortifying to say the least. She knew she would never hear the end of it from the vampire spawn, and it surprised her that he hadn’t shared that detail with her when she had woken up in his tent that morning.

Perhaps I should get out now before I drown myself in the river from embarrassment.

As she began to stride towards the shoreline, she noticed the water rippling strangely. Pausing briefly, her brows furrowed as she noticed the bizarre movement.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

She sucked in a sharp breath as small earthquakes rattled the sediment beneath her feet. Someone was approaching, and quickly. Frantically scanning the area, she immediately sprinted towards the shoreline and ducked behind a large rock that was jutting out of the ground. In her haste she grabbed the handkerchief that Shadowheart had given her and wrapped it around her trembling form.

The tremors quickly became more intense with each passing second and she clapped a hand over her mouth as Astarion’s towering figure came into view. The pale elf was carrying a small rattan basket at his hip and he gently placed it on the ground near the shoreline. He seemed to be completely oblivious to Ria’s presence.  

Why did it have to be him?

Much to her astonishment, the vampire spawn began to remove his clothing. Her eyes widened as she watched him remove his ruffled shirt, revealing an expanse of toned abs, defined muscles rippling beneath his lustrous pale skin.

She knew that averting her gaze was the right thing to do, but it was almost as if she was under some hypnotic spell as she continued to watch the pale elf remove the rest of his clothing. As he peeled off his dark pants, she had to stifle a laugh as she saw Astarion’s shockingly blue underwear. Her amusement quickly faded as the bright blue underwear soon flew off, revealing his incredibly pale behind.

At this point, Ria had enough strength to tear her gaze away from his giant naked frame before she saw anything else. Her skin burned like fire as her brain attempted to process what she had just seen. Her stomach twisted into knots, the realisation that she had just willingly witnessed Astarion strip and seen things she really shouldn’t have begun to sink in. Burying her face with her hands, she pressed her back against the stone and wrapped the handkerchief around her body tighter.

At least Astarion doesn’t know I’m here. Maybe I can leave without him noticing.

As soon as the thought popped into her brain, she quickly dismissed it. If she decided to make a stealthy escape, there was a very strong chance that the vampire’s keen eyes would be able to detect her scurrying away. Perhaps if she was deathly quiet, she could wait it out until the pale elf had finished his bath and went on his way.

I could be waiting here a while…he really does care about his appearance.

Chewing on her bottom lip somewhat anxiously, she waited behind the stone as the occasional splashing noise filled the air. Time seemed to pass by longer than usual as she waited with baited breath for the elf to finish his cleaning routine.

Gods, I’m going to be here forever at this rate!

Somewhat gingerly, she decided to peek a small glance over the stone to see if Astarion was anywhere near to being done with his bath. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw his towering figure half submerged in the river, his toned and very pearly white back was now facing her. For whatever reason, she found it almost impossible to tear her gaze away from his form. Strongly defined scars were raised above his skin, a stark contrast to the pale smoothness of his back. Her brows furrowed as she stared intently at his scars. The arrangement of them seemed very deliberate as if someone had carved it strategically into his back. She squinted her eyes at his back and her jaw slacked.

The scars were written in Infernal, the language of the Hells.

When she was a child, her family lived in a home owned by a small family of tieflings just along the outskirts of Baldur’s Gate. The tieflings had many things written in Infernal and she remembered seeing some of the writing scattered around the house when she went borrowing with her father. What any of it meant though was unknown to her.

“Enjoying the show, darling?”

An icicle of terror jolted straight through her chest as Astarion’s voice pounded through her tiny eardrums. She had been so caught up with deciphering his scars, she hadn’t realised his head had turned to the side and was looking directly at her. Her entire body was washed over with utter horror as she rapidly hid back behind the stone. As she reeled in shock, the sound of water splashing filled her ears as Astarion moved around in the river.

“There’s no point pretending to act like you aren’t here. I can hear your little heartbeat pounding away after all, remember?”

Swallowing thickly, she attempted to steel herself.

“I-I was just leaving!”

She scrambled over to where her clothes were sunning on the small rock and snatched up the clothing hastily, refusing to look where Astarion was in the river, and quickly returned to her spot behind the rock so that he couldn’t see her anymore.

“I thought vampires couldn’t swim in running rivers,” she said shakily.

“Another perk from having the mind flayer parasite,” Astarion answered. “I can run through rivers, walk into homes uninvited, walk in the sun…it’s quite remarkable, really.”

“Of course, that makes sense.” She clutched her clothing to her chest and wasted little time in putting them on.

A small moment of silence passed between them. Ria could hear her own heartbeat pounding so fiercely in her eardrums that it drowned out any other noise.  

“I couldn’t help but to notice you were staring earlier,” Astarion chimed, breaking the silence. “I didn’t realise you were that smitten by me, darling. Although I can hardly blame you when I have these gods given good looks.”

Ria wanted nothing more in that moment to vanish entirely. Blood rushed to her cheeks and her skin burned with embarrassment. There was no use trying to deny it, he had caught her in the act after all for the second time that day. But perhaps she could deter the subject.

“I was only trying to decipher those scars of yours,” she said. “How did you get them?”

There was no response to her question. She couldn’t see his face as she was still hidden behind the rock, but it appeared that her question had struck a chord with him as he was silent for once.

“Astarion?” Ria called out. When she was met with nothing, she cautiously peered around the rock she was hiding behind. Astarion was still waist deep in the river, his lower regions concealed by the water, and a rather pained look was painted across his elegant features.

“You don’t have to answer, I’m sorry for prying,” she said hastily, worried that she may have resurfaced some troubled memories from his past.

“No, it’s quite alright,” Astarion answered, his face sombre. “I was a slave, kept by the Szarr family. The scars are a poem. A gift from my master, Cazador. He considered himself quite the artist and used his slaves as a canvas. He composed and carved that one over the course of a night.”

Astarion paused, his face contorted in discomfort as his eyes glazed over, seemingly lost momentarily in a dark memory of his past.

“He made a lot of revisions as he went.” His jaw clenched as the words fell out of his mouth, his playful behaviour from before had completely vanished before very eyes.

Ria’s eyes widened as she fully absorbed the weight of his words, her mouth parted slightly in shock. She would’ve never had guessed that Astarion had been – or perhaps still is – a slave. A wave of sympathy washed over her as she struggled to think of how to respond.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly, her brows furrowed. “I had no idea.”

“Oh please, I don’t want your sympathy,” Astarion scoffed. “I was his slave for 200 years of my life. I prayed to every god there was, but no one came to help. No prince in shining armour came to my aid. Of all the things that could’ve saved me, it was the mind flayers. As rotten as they are, they broke Cazador’s spell on me and I was finally able to resist his commands. Now I’ve been conveniently lost.” He peeled back his lips into a growl as his gaze hardened. “They won’t ever control me again.”

Her chest was constricted with sadness upon hearing more of his past. She wanted to offer more words of comfort, but she knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear given his previous response.

“Why did Cazador write the poem in Infernal?” she questioned.

Astarion’s eyes widened in surprise, seemingly caught off guard by her question.

“Infernal? I…who knows? The bastard was insane.” He ran his fingers through his damp curls, his gaze sharpening as he focused back onto her. “Better question is, how does a little borrower like you know the language of the Hells?”

“My family lived under the floorboards of a house full of tieflings,” she answered, a small smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. “I can’t read it though, but I know Infernal when I see it.”  

“Well, that is certainly interesting.” He massaged shampoo through his scalp before rinsing it off in the river, shaking droplets of water from his wet locks. “Now, if you are quite done staring, I would like to continue my bath.”

Scarlet blossomed across her face and she quickly spun on her heel so that she was no longer facing him.

“I told you I was planning on having a bath earlier, it’s your own fault for blundering down here when you knew I would be here too.” She sucked in a sharp breath, trying to hide her own embarrassment. It was bad enough that Astarion had already caught her staring at him when she had woken up in his tent that morning, now she had seen other parts of his body that had previously been left up to her imagination.

“I didn’t realise you were going to take so long,” Astarion responded. “Everyone is packing up camp and getting ready to move on, and it was vital that I had a decent bath before we hit the road again. Oh, what I wouldn’t do for a proper bath…”  

“Well, maybe if someone hadn’t dropped me in a tub of beer and then proceeded to stick me in their mouth, I wouldn’t have had to spend so much time cleaning myself,” she shot back.

Ria still had her back turned to him, but she could feel in the air that he was rolling his eyes.

“The fact of the matter is that you’re still here,” he said. “I never took you for a voyeur, but I suppose we’ve both learned something new about each other.”

“I’m leaving!” Ria began to stride very quickly towards the direction of camp, not daring to look over her shoulder as her skin burned as hot as Karlach’s engine. “And I am not into voyeurism!”  

“Whatever you say, darling.”

[thefrogdalorian]

The Best of Both Worlds - Chapter Three

Din Djarin x Female Reader Modern!AU

❁ Series Masterlist ❁ My Masterlist ❁ Read on AO3 ❁

Word Count: 8323 Rating: General Summary: Your internet bestie arrives in preparation for the Star Wars convention you will attend together. Everything is set for the greatest weekend of your life! Until you arrive at the con and find yourself overwhelmed by all the crowds and noise. At least you have numerous incredibly realistic Mando cosplays to distract you from how stressed you feel, and there's one in particular which is uncannily accurate... Content Warnings: Reader struggles to eat due to nerves and feels anxious due to crowds. Also, not sure if it's really a warning, but there's some allusions to fandom discourse in this one, particularly how men in the SW fandom can behave towards women. So warning for fandom wank, I guess, but reader goes off on them ;) Author's Note: A very long update, wow. Honestly, this chapter was semi-autobiographical lmao. It was my exact response to how busy SWC was last year, even down to hiding under the stairs! Except I did not have a cool internet bestie (just my uncool irl bestie), nor did I stand up and speak in a panel like reader does. I did however see many amazing cosplays and the picture of the Din cosplayer is one I took there! :) Hope you like this one. Not sure for how long me updating every two days will last, but my mind is fully focused on this story for the moment, so who knows! Thank you once again to the wonderful @suresnips for being my beta! Couldn't do it without you ♡

3. This Is Why (I Don't Leave The House) [Reader's POV]

You could scarcely believe that the person you had spent so many hours of your life gushing over The Mandalorian with online, was really here with you in your little flat. Ria had arrived a few hours ago and you two had instantly gotten along famously. Somehow, it was as though you had always known her, even though this was the first time you were actually meeting in person. 

You had left your flat earlier in the evening with a mix of trepidation in the pit of your stomach and overwhelming excitement crackling like electricity as it coursed through your veins. The prospect of finally meeting someone who meant so much to you was both daunting and exhilarating. There were so many things that could go wrong, since you had never spent any time together in person and were unsure of your dynamic in that sense. There was pressure, too, particularly bearing the distance Ria had travelled from the U.S. in mind, plus the money you had both spent on ForceCon tickets. 

It was a big deal for you to invite someone over to your flat to stay with you like this. From morning until evening, the two of you would be in each other’s presence constantly. At least it was only for five nights… Ria was leaving first thing Tuesday morning as you had to get straight back to work. You quieted your nerves with the thought of how brief her visit would be, until a notification lit up your phone and made your stomach drop:

[thisistheslay]: 18:36: I’M HEREEEEEE!!!! 

Ria must be here at the station. You searched around frantically for her, trying to spot her amongst all the commuters that were barreling through the station. You realised, then, that you had no idea how tall she was compared to your own height. That was something you had never needed to know online. Finally, you spotted the brown hair and thick black glasses that you instantly recognised as your internet best friend’s, making her way towards the barrier and the incredible weekend of nerdy fun that lay before the two of you.

After approximately five seconds of being in each other’s presence, you knew that all your fears were unfounded. 

As Ria had fumbled with her phone to make the contactless payment and make her way through the gates, the way her face had lit up at the sight of you instantly allayed your anxiety. The bone-crushing hug she had pulled you into had helped too, it was hard to believe she was actually here with you. This hug was for all of the hard days you had endured, separated by many miles when the two of you had just wished you could wrap the other in your arms and be there for them. 

It struck you how poised Ria was in real life, too. At the end of the day, the two of you shared a pretty nerdy hobby, it would have been understandable if she was quiet and a little nerdy. But here your internet best friend was, pushing her way through the busy rush hour crowds and throwing the death glares of the commuters, mainly old men in suits, who had glared at the two of you for daring to embrace in the middle of the station hall and block their way from making it to the next tube. 

It always baffled you to witness how eager people were to push and shove their way through others for the sake of arriving at their destination just two or three minutes earlier. Somewhere along the way, it felt as though a basic human kindness had been lost in how Londoners seemed to interact with each other when it came to public transport. 

But that was a gripe for another time. Your best friend was here, you would not let anyone ruin that. As you emerged from the station and onto the street, you found at a loss for what to say, other than asking about her flight. Luckily, Ria filled the gap in conversation by incessantly babbling about her travels here and the shady characters she had encountered during her two layovers, as she chatted all the way back to your flat. All the guilt you had felt at having her make her own way here – you had wanted to meet her at the airport but work had prevented you from getting away on time – vanished as you saw how much confidence she possessed. Her bubbliness was almost overwhelming, you could scarcely get a word in edgeways. But secretly you were glad of it; ordinarily you found that you were a little awkward in the presence of people you had just met as you adjusted to their presence and their energy. Ria more than compensated for your social shortcomings and fortunately, your dynamic appeared as though it would translate from online into the real world.

Ria burst into your flat after you had met her at the station, full of enthusiasm, lighting every corner of your abode with the warmth and humour that had always been present online. It was incredible how much energy she had actually, considering the fact she had just endured a transatlantic flight. You marvelled at her energy levels, considering you felt exhausted after merely going to the shops. It was so amazing to have her here with you, though. 

You had laughed before meeting her about how bizarre it was that internet friends always seemed to know the most intimate details about your life, in a way that you never felt comfortable sharing with real life friends… but you had never seen each other’s legs! Yet, now Ria was here, legs and all. 

The two of you were inflating the air mattress for Ria to sleep on, keen to get an early night after so much travelling and how early the two of you would need to be up to make your way to the Dockside Convention Centre for the Con the following morning. You positioned the air mattress underneath the TV, on which you had just spent hours watching your favourite episodes of the show that had brought the two of you together. Of course, you had only intended to watch one episode. But with Mando, there was no such thing as only one episode. Once you started, you just couldn’t stop and you had ended up watching most of the second season. Both you and Ria agreed that the second half of it was incredible, but it was a bit of a slow start. Overall the pair of you preferred the first season, which was a pretty popular consensus amongst fans.

Ria had no qualms about her sleeping arrangements. London was an extortionate city at the best of times, but accommodation when ForceCon was in town – especially close to the convention centre – had meant that your offer to allow Ria to stay in your flat was the only way she had been able to afford to come. It was a debt to you that Ria was grateful for. You didn’t see it as any kind of debt though, you knew she would do the same for you. 

Plus, there was no way you could not offer to help her. If something as ridiculous as actually encountering Mando happened, she would never be able to forgive you if she was not by your side.

Ria had always been your closest friend since you had first met her online and you were so relieved that there had been no hint of awkwardness between the two of you. Ria had made herself right at home, and you had struggled to believe as the chatter and laughter continued that this was genuinely the first time the two of you had ever met in person. 

You watched in awe as Ria moved around your flat, her brown hair which she usually wore in a bob, now tied up ready to sleep. The glasses with thick-black frames were still on her face, a sure sign she would be scrolling on her phone, probably replying to people on her wildly popular blog, before she finally got some sleep. 

Now that she had changed into the tank top and shorts that she would sleep in, you could see more of the extensive tattoo collection she possessed, including a few Mandalorian tattoos. There was an outline of Mando’s helmet that was so well-done, it made you want to rush out to the nearest tattoo shop and get one for yourself. You knew there would be tattoo artists at the Con too, but you also knew you would inevitably chicken out.

With her confident nature and collection of tattoos, you were both in awe of, and utterly intimidated by your best friend. You thought, as you watched her climb onto the air mattress with a giggle, as it tossed her around, that Ria seemed so much older than you even though she was actually eighteen months younger! But that was the bizarre thing about being in your mid twenties, people either seemed to be fully formed adults or still more like teenagers. There was rarely any inbetween. 

You shouldn’t have been surprised that the two of you had gotten along so well. After all, you and Ria shared a similar sense of humour, had a similar taste in music (that wasn’t the Mandalorian soundtrack) and a love of books that had allowed your friendship to blossom into something more than purely an entirely Mando-centric friendship that you felt like you shared with some of your other online friends. It wasn’t as though the friendships were shallow or that you didn’t get on with them or anything, but you had just not spoken more deeply about other parts of your lives in the same way as you had to Ria.

“How’s the air mattress?” You asked with a smirk as you watched Ria toss and turn as the unpredictable surface tossed her around.

“It’s fine! Just a bit lively but honestly now I’m lay down, it’s super comfortable. I’ll be asleep in no time,” Ria smiled.

“Good,” You nodded. “Still can’t believe you’re really here. I thought about this moment for months but now it’s actually here, it’s surreal,”

“I can’t believe I’m here either. In this flat, which I’ve seen so many times on FaceTime. It feels so weird in the best way!” Ria laughed. “We’re going to have the best time this weekend.”

“We are. It’ll be incredible,” You breathed, trying to contain your excitement so that you would actually be able to get some sleep. The thought of being surrounded by so many fellow Star Wars nerds was electrifying.

“And don’t forget that panel tomorrow, when we finally meet Mando!” Ria exclaimed. “I’m sure he’s going to fall in love with me at first sight.”

“In your dreams, Ria,” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Goodnight, see you bright and early in the morning.”

“Goodnight bestie, I need to get my beauty sleep for Mando,” Ria added with a wink.

You shook your head with a grin on your face as you made your way into your bedroom, still utterly bemused by Ria’s utter conviction that the two of you were somehow going to encounter the man who was sworn to complete secrecy. You kind of admired Ria’s utterly unshakable confidence in the matter, even if it was a little delusional. At the end of the day, though, you knew it was all lighthearted. She wasn’t the type of person to try to hack into CCTV cameras or bribe the doctors and nurses at the hospital where a suspiciously-realistic cosplayer had surprised sick children. Ria loved The Mandalorian a great deal, but she also had other hobbies and interests. 

As you tried your best to convince your body that it really needed to sleep before the Con tomorrow, you were struck by how surreal this all felt. Tomorrow, you would travel to what would become, for the next few days, the nerd centre of the world. It was an event that you had dreamt of going to for years, where all of the latest Star Wars projects were announced. Yet, you had never imagined it would be possible to attend, due to how expensive a trip abroad would be. Luckily though, ForceCon travelled around regularly and the stars had aligned to make this possible for you. When it had been announced that the next one would be held in London, you knew you had to do whatever it took to be there.

After almost an entire year of anticipation, you knew that in just a few short hours you would be there, at the event where everyone who was anyone in the Star Wars world and the people who admired them were to be found. 

There was just one exception, though. Mando would never get to see how much the fans appreciated him. Keeping his identity a secret meant that he would never be able to feel the amount of love that fans held for him. Your heart constricted as you thought about it. Even though you had tried in vain to convince yourself that you didn’t really care that much about not knowing who he was, you thought it sad that the man, who was so beloved by people young and old, might never know how truly appreciated he was. You just hoped that one day, on his own terms, he would allow himself to feel some of it. 

It was a thought that lulled you off into sleep, underneath the large poster of Season One that hung above your single bed.

The familiar sound of the opening theme to The Mandalorian jolted you awake. With its rhythmic drum beat and melodic bass recorder, it was really the perfect alarm. What wasn’t so perfect, however, was the ungodly hour at which it had interrupted the peaceful slumber you were enjoying. You fumbled around, bleary-eyed in the early-morning light as your hand felt around the nightstand to turn it off, frustrated at being awoken. Until you remembered precisely why you were awake at five in the morning.

For a second you lay there and closed your eyes, attempting to compose yourself and stop the fluttering in your stomach as the realisation dawned upon you: It was ForceCon day!

Finally, after months and months of anticipation, you would finally get to have one of the best weekends of your life. The big day was finally here and you and Ria did not want to miss a single second of time there, hence the early start. The venue for the Con, the Dockside Convention Centre, was a considerable distance from the outskirts of the city where you lived in your rented flat, which somehow fell within your budget despite how close it was to the tube station. 

The journey to the convention centre was even further than your daily commute to the museum where you worked. The thought of a journey that would take upwards of an hour to start your day, before you had even contended with the crowds at the convention, was slightly distressing to you. But you knew that with Ria by your side, there was no doubt that you would be able to get through it.

Getting up at five meant that you had ample time to get ready for the event. Your outfit was comfortable and practical but still showed your nerdy side. It had been somewhat of a project for you in the run up to the convention, with a denim jacket that you had walked past in a shop window and fell in love with, decorated with various iron-on patches that were a nod to your favourite characters. You coupled it with a comfortable pair of black jeans that weren’t too tight – a must when doing as much walking as you were about to do this weekend – and your trusty favourite pair of shoes. 

You wandered into the main room of your flat, quietly watching as Ria sat on the small couch and expertly applied the finishing touches to her make-up. Suddenly, she snapped the handheld mirror shut and turned to face you.

“Are you ready for the greatest weekend of our lives?!” Ria asked enthusiastically.

“Yes… but no… but yes!” You exclaimed, still unsure how to process the rush of emotions that you were feeling about the day ahead.

“Let me just fill my water bottle up and then I’m ready,” Ria said as she jumped up from the couch and grabbed the titanium bottle that was covered with various Star Wars characters.You chuckled at that. Despite how effortlessly cool your friend seemed to most people, even you, it was reassuring to know that at heart, Ria was still a nerd.

After one last check that you both had your passes for the event, you grabbed the backpacks you had carefully packed the previous evening, between episodes of The Mandalorian, and headed out, to where a weekend of nerd heaven awaited. 

Waking up so early had meant that the two of you could take your time getting ready and then head out to the convention before the main rush hour began on the tube. Much as you loved your sleep and wanted to feel well-rested, being able to avoid the worst of the crowds was a deeply appealing prospect. Plus, you would have a chance to stop for breakfast closer to the convention hall and eat food that wasn’t horrendously overpriced. 

But as you sat there, staring at the sandwich you had ordered and barely taken a few bites of, you seemed to have a mental block when it came to actually finishing the thing. You wanted to, you knew you needed to get some food in your body to give yourself the fuel for contending with the crowds at the convention. Try as you might, though, your mind was not onboard.

“Too nervous?” Ria asked with a knowing smirk as she munched on some fruit.

“I guess,” You shrugged, feeling as though your stomach had tied itself into knots and was attempting to strangle itself. 

“You can always bring it with you. We’ll probably have to get in line and wait around for a while before we go inside. Perhaps you’ll feel like eating then,” Ria suggested.

“Yeah, good idea,” You smiled, suddenly feeling immensely relieved that you had someone else here with you. “I don’t know how I’d do this without you, Ria. Thank you.”

The two of you left the cafe with your takeout coffee cups and finally headed towards the convention centre. As you made your way towards the crowds of people, your stomach dropped as you noticed just how busy things were going to be. For the first few hundred feet, things weren’t too bad as you were sent down what appeared to be a wide, service road, built into the side of the convention centre with the masses of people who were all heading in the same direction as you.

You stuck to the side of the walkway, where you could see the roads and city below, and feel the fresh air on your face over the barrier that bordered one side of the walkway. As long as you could still see daylight and the crowds were moving, you were fine. Slightly stressed, but you could cope. 

However, the sight that greeted you at the end of the walkway was like something from your worst nightmares. It was your first glimpse inside the packed convention hall, where you had been so certain that you would have the greatest weekend of your life. But if it involved walking into something as stressful as the sight before you, you were not so sure that it would be the incredible experience you had built it up to be in your head.

As far as you could see, in the biggest room you had ever stepped foot in, there was an endless sea of people. The space was enormous and industrial, with a black floor and white sliding doors at the far left end that opened sporadically to let attendees into the main hall. You felt sick as you looked at it, you couldn’t survive more than a few minutes in that space, especially without knowing how long you would be there for. But no one you encountered appeared to have any idea as to how long you would be in this space. You were just glad that you had arrived a little before the doors to the con opened.

You had expected that, given that ForceCon was officially endorsed by Lucasfilm, it would at least be professionally organised. Instead, though, it seemed as though there were a small number of stressed out volunteers responsible for herding the attendees into a series of pens, with no security or leadership in sight. The poor workers looked incredibly stressed and overwhelmed by the influx of people.

“Ria, I don’t know if I can do this.” You mumbled when you noticed the crowd of people that you were being swept towards as the volunteers motioned for you to fill one of the pens. It seemed as though it would never end, as far as your eyes could see there were people. You felt panic rising in your chest, how were you ever going to get out of here?

“Just breathe, bestie. Breathe.” Ria said, placing her hand upon your back soothingly. “This won’t last forever, it’ll all be worth it. Think about the Mando cosplays! Look, there’s one over there!”

But it was no use. Not even the greatest Mandalorian cosplay in the galaxy would be able to comfort you now. Panic was rising in your chest, you felt overwhelmed by being stuck between two metal barriers in a pen full of people.

You tried your best to focus on her words as you took a seat on the cold, hard floor of the hall. The buzzing in your head was back, it grew louder and louder. You shut your eyes and stared at the floor, hands covering your ears as you willed time to go faster.

“Won’t be long now. I promise,” Ria said reassuringly.

How was she always so calm and composed when you felt as though the world was ending over a few people in a room together? It seemed almost unfair. But you knew that Ria would not want you to feel bad, she just wanted to make sure that you were going to be alright.

Mercifully, before too long, the con opened and you eventually began to move out of the enormous room. At that moment, you felt excitement bubbling up in the pit of your stomach as it dawned on you that you were about to enter Star Wars heaven. You glanced for the first time at the various incredible cosplays that surrounded you, in awe of the hours each person had dedicated to their craft.

Any relief you felt was short-lived, though. The main hallway was not much better. You couldn’t move, or stop to think. The crowd continued plodding down the hall towards a destination unknown. You were sure it was the busiest place you had ever been in your entire life. 

“Just keep swimming, swimming,” You chanted to yourself under your breath as a way to soothe yourself. 

You took deep breaths and concentrated on the rhythmic thudding of your feet as you stared up the ceiling and continued on your way. You instantly felt lighter, the beginnings of a smile traced across your features when you looked up and saw a giant poster of Mando hanging from the ceiling. If you could just make it to him, you would be most of the way down the corridor and then you would almost be at your destination: the main hall.

Focusing on the Mando poster helped and before you knew it, you were there, surrounded by a dizzying variety of stalls selling more Star Wars merch than you had ever seen gathered together in one place in your entire life. You thought you had a pretty impressive collection yourself – having a proper, adult salary had made it easier to give into your whims and purchase a variety of collectibles – but this was really something else. 

You were like a kid in a candy shop, mouth open as you wandered from stall to stall, taking in the wares of the various vendors. You felt like Mando the first time he visited Tatooine. He had wandered around just like you were, amazed by the variety of produce on display. Unlike Mando, though, you were unable to get even remotely close to the stalls. There was a throng of people gathered at each one. You were not the least bit assertive in crowds, you had no desire to engage in a battle with your elbows through a gaggle of fellow nerds for some slightly-overpriced collectibles.

“Shall we find somewhere to sit and catch our breath before the panel?” Ria asked, sensing your discomfort. For someone that you had only met face-to-face the previous evening, she was more perceptive than some people who had known you for years.

You headed out of the main hall, desperate to find any relief from the overwhelming noises and sounds that the thousands of people crammed inside the Dockside Convention Centre were currently creating. The first place that you noticed was a staircase. You ducked under the metal bar that surrounded the bottom of it and flopped down unceremoniously on the floor, finally feeling your nerves begin to settle as there was a physical barrier between you and the rest of humanity for the time being. Things suddenly felt a lot quieter and more manageable as the buzzing in your head began to subside. Ria sat opposite you, her blue eyes looking into yours concernedly.

“Ria, I’m sorry I’m such a nervous wreck. It’s just… it’s so much busier than I was expecting.” You admitted.

“Girl, shut up. This place is crazy. Like, the craziest place I have ever been in my entire life. I suffer with this shit too.” Ria admitted. “I think I’m just running on, like, the adrenaline of thinking about Mando being at that panel.” 

“Ria, he’s not going to be at the panel!” You laughed. “Please stop being delusional!” 

“Sure, there he is right now!” Ria giggled breathlessly as she pointed towards the main hallway, which had emptied somewhat since you had fought your way through it just a few minutes ago.

You had fully intended to make another jibe about Ria being delusional, but when you turned your head, the sight caused all coherent thoughts to leave your brain. You were transfixed at the sight before you. It was as though you had suddenly been transported a long time ago to a galaxy far, far away. The most incredible cosplay you had ever laid eyes upon was heading straight towards you. The armour itself was immaculate, the details on it really looked as if they were forged out of Beskar by a Mandalorian armourer. Of course you knew that screen realistic cosplays existed, you had obviously seen the viral footage of a Mando cosplayer visiting a children’s hospital a few months ago. But it was more than the armour that made your entire world pause on its axis. It was the way this cosplayer carried himself: the self-assured, confident swagger that you would recognise anywhere. The way his hands were held at his side, somewhere between relaxed and tensed, ready to put his finger on the trigger at a moment’s notice. For one brief, fleeting second: you could have sworn that the real Mando was actually walking towards you.

“Wow… that’s…” You stuttered, failing to find words that could capture your feelings towards the sight before you. 

“Um, excuse me! I’m the one who gets called delusional and obsessed with Mando, but look at you!” Ria said with a knowing smirk, clearly where words had failed��� your face had betrayed you. “You’re getting flustered over a cosplay!”

You couldn’t even deny it. You were feeling more than a little flustered. It was the first time you had ever seen a Mandalorian in real life. Nothing could have prepared you for it, the presence that the man had, even from this distance. Watching the way he carried himself as he had swaggered down the main hallway had been intoxicating to behold. It was also the way with his T-visor, that you never knew exactly where his eyes were trained. They could be right on you or they could be looking right past you, you would never know. As far as you were concerned, he had picked you out from the crowd, his eyes focusing on you and only you as he walked down the hall. It was an electrifying thought, you felt little bolts of electricity all over your skin. You had half a mind to run up to him and beg him to bring you in warm or cold, he could decide, you really weren’t fussy. 

“Hellooooooo, bestie!” Ria said sarcastically, waving her hand in front of your eye line, which was still trailed off into the distance where the cosplayer had disappeared into the crowd. “Anyone home?” 

“Sorry.” You said, shyly. Now that the Mando cosplay had walked past, you had sadly realised that he was not making a bee-line for you to sweep you off your feet, you felt a little embarrassed. “I just couldn’t stop staring. That was an amazing cosplay.” 

“It was. Or maybe… it was really him!” Ria said, throwing her arms like a conspiracy theorist gif that your groupchat had sent one too many times. 

You both collapsed into full belly laughter at that. Ria was so devoted to the bit at this point that you just went along with it. You silently called a truce: you would stop calling her delusional, it was a fun joke that had distracted your anxious brain from the throngs of people that surrounded you, just beyond the metal railing of your refuge under the stairs. Despite the distraction, they had not magically disappeared.

“The Mando panel isn’t for a couple hours yet. Is there anything you want to do beforehand?” Ria asked, once the two of you had finally stopped laughing. 

“Uh. I don’t know. We could go and have a look around, find where the stages are maybe and then have lunch?” You suggested, not feeling like working your way through the hordes of people by the stalls again. 

So Ria and you did exactly that, getting your bearings and orienting yourself in the massive convention hall. There seemed to be so much to see and do, you were so grateful in that moment that you had splurged on four day passes. It would probably take you four days to walk around the entire thing! Your exploration of the centre meant that by the time the panel came around, you were grateful that you would be able to sit down, you were more than ready to rest your tired, achy legs. 

As you made your way into the room where the panel would be held, you went out of your way to thank the staff on the door. You knew most of the people who worked here were volunteers and a lot of the panel goers were looking straight through them. Manners cost nothing though, a simple “thanks” and a smile and nod were enough to make someone feel valued when they perhaps felt as though they were doing a thankless task. You couldn’t understand why more people wouldn’t take just two seconds to say thank you.

Your heart was thundering as you took a seat in the hall. For a strange moment, you felt as though you were back in a lecture at University. Everyone sizing each other up, wondering where to sit – should they leave a gap or get close to others, maybe strike up a conversation? Personally, you wanted to place as much distance between yourself and others as humanly possible and the thought of speaking to strangers made you freeze up in terror. But Ria, ever the extrovert, was quite happy to strike up a conversation with the guys next to you. 

They were fans of Mando, but you could tell pretty quickly that they were casuals. They did not have the deeper love for the show that you and Ria held. After a few minutes of sitting around, the people who were hosting the panel emerged, walking down the gap between the neatly-arranged chairs to take a seat on the long table that sat on a raised platform so everyone in the room was able to get a good view of them. The room was long but narrow and you and Ria were sitting around 10 rows back. As you glanced behind you, you realised that it had filled up rather quickly. You were glad that you had been here well ahead of the scheduled start time to ensure you got a good seat.

The guys running the panel began messing around with their laptops so they could get the powerpoint they had created on the screen. They were certainly not what you were expecting for this panel. You had expected it to be on a bigger stage, with more fanfare. But it was actually just a small panel hidden away at the back of the convention centre, up a flight of stairs that people might have missed. You had wondered, momentarily, whether you should get up and leave… Yet something was telling you to remain seated and stay. Just because it hadn’t been what you were expecting, didn’t necessarily mean it was going to be a bad thing. The audience seemed to be friendly too, a combination of people who you hoped would ask some thought-provoking questions and wouldn’t turn this all into baseless speculation over who the actor behind Mando really was.

When it got started, though, it soon transpired that this was not going to be the discussion you thought it was. The guys running the panel were sharing their views about Mando as though it was one of the online Star Wars podcasts that you avoided like the plague. There was little room for audience participation. The chair of the panel, a man with a backwards baseball cap on, which was slightly cringeworthy considering he must have been pushing fifty, was called Jeff. 

Jeff was very American, thrashing his limbs around exaggeratedly, imitating Mando’s fight style as his voice got quicker and higher pitched in enthusiasm for the tough warrior. Jeff and his colleagues were definitely the kind of people who watched The Mandalorian just to see him fight bad guys and kill them in cool, new ways. Obviously you enjoyed that too, but there was really so much more to the show and the character than just fighting. You wished that they could see that too, especially considering they were running a damn panel about it!

You were so utterly tuned out by their incessant ramblings that you turned your head towards the back of the room to indulge in a bit of people watching. Principally, to see if the two guys on your row that Ria had chatted to before the panel began were as bored as you were. It seemed that even they were utterly uninterested in Jeff and his buddies. You found that your relative boredom was mirrored on the expressions of numerous others in the room who were just as unenthused by Jeff and co’s surface-level analysis of the show you all loved. You felt at that moment that if you and Ria had somehow been able to lead a panel it would have been much more exciting.

You would have actually introduced some nuance and character analysis as the title of the panel had suggested would happen. Ria’s wild theory that this would be the place that Mando would reveal himself to the world had soon gone out of the window, too. Out of all the places in the world that he could choose (or not) to finally reveal his identity, a room tucked away in the far corner of the Dockside Convention Centre did not seem the most likely.

But your stomach dropped in the familiar way that it had when you were crouched underneath the staircase, catching your breath after the bedlam of entering the Con. 

It was him. 

The same cosplayer was back. 

He was sitting on the last seat in the row, two rows behind and opposite you, perfectly straight with his shoulders back, hands resting on his knees. It was almost uncanny, the way he held himself… it was so much like the way you had witnessed Mando sit so many times on the show. When he visited cantinas or sat in his ship, Mando held himself in an uncannily similar position.

You shook your head, mentally telling yourself to snap out of it – you were being ridiculous! If Ria was thinking these thoughts, you would tell her to stop being crazy. You were usually the grounded, rational one. For even you to be getting caught up in such delusional thinking, well that was truly concerning. Perhaps it was thanks to the early start and crowds. Either way, it seemed as though you were really losing it. 

You blamed it on Mando, all logical thought went straight out of your brain when it came to him. Of course the best Mando cosplayers would be here at this con. It wasn’t really him, but it sure was uncanny how realistic both the cosplay and way he sat was. Extremely uncanny. You didn’t have time to dwell on it, though… because Jeff was asking a question to the audience. One that you were keen to answer honestly and defend the character that you loved so much, with as much ferocity as if he was really listening to your every word.

“So, finally, we wanted to leave a few minutes for discussion about what the character of Mando means to all of you, here. You must be pretty big fans of the show to have found us all the way back up here!” Jeff joked, to a few laughs from the room.

You had gotten the sense since you had walked into this panel that Jeff and his buddies viewed everyone here with a baseline level of contempt. It was something that you couldn’t quite place your finger on, but you felt as though if a person did not entirely agree with his point of view, then he was not impressed by them.It was a shame, really, you loved hearing the opinions of others. Even if you didn’t agree with them, you always found out something new about yourself. 

Jeff had only just finished speaking, and already there was a steady stream of people flocking to queue at the microphone positioned in the aisle. There was nothing on earth that could motivate you to go up there, so you sat, with your arms folded, and leaned back into your chair. This would all be over in a few minutes. Then there would be a hopefully much more interesting panel about historical parallels with Star Wars, something you were truly interested in, that you wanted to check out with Ria. 

The first few audience comments were pretty dull. You disagreed with all of them almost entirely as they again reduced the concept of understanding a character to things such as seeing a face and knowing a name. Jeff just responded hollowly, thanking the speakers for their thoughts. But it did not provoke any deeper discussions like you had been hoping for. 

That was certainly a disappointment, but it was not a reason for you to lose your temper. You just felt slightly numb to the whole experience, wishing it was over as soon as possible and already plotting your route to the next panel. It was dull, but inoffensive.

That was, until the next two speakers boiled your blood with their assumptions and cruel jibes.

“When I first started watching The Mandalorian I loved it. I really thought Star Wars was back!” A man in a Darth Vader hoodie, who was probably in his late thirties, said proudly as he echoed the empty talking points that you had heard over and over since The Mandalorian premiered. You scoffed and rolled your eyes. This guy was clearly someone who thought that Star Wars was all bad now. He probably bought into all the theories that his precious sci-fi franchise had been ruined by women. He continued his tirade: “But now, it’s just the same thing every week. A hollow, emotionless tin can man strutting around from planet to planet, taking guys out. Like, it was cool the first few times but it’s just getting boring now. We need to see his face!” 

Your blood was slowly boiling as you heard all of these hollow criticisms of the show you loved so much. It truly upset you that a place you had believed would be full of fellow fans who would be eager to enthuse about the show alongside you and Ria had been nothing of the sort. Instead of the welcoming, open-minded environment you had expected, things had been wildly different, as the next speaker was about to prove once again. 

The next man who spoke had long brown hair. He was dressed in a Mando t-shirt and jeans. 

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the show and all. But I just feel like we don’t know that much about Mando. It’s as if we, as an audience, are being held back from connecting with him fully because of some diva’s selfish demands to keep his identity hidden!” The man exclaimed. Several people laughed and applauded. He was probably around your age but it stunned you how drastically different your opinions on the show could be. Perhaps he spent his time online in different circles than you. In fact, you were almost certain that you had seen these conspiracy theories about Mando’s actor pushed by people who swore it as the gospel truth, even though there was absolutely no proof of it. But he was not done yet, levelling a final cruel jab at the actor who played Mando: “Seriously, the guy who plays him must be such an asshole. Imagine having to work with that guy!” 

Your head was burning… that was too much. Once people got personal about the actor too, that did it for you. It was one thing to criticise the show, but to level insults towards the person behind the character, who clearly did not want his business in the public eye, was enough to compel you to speak up. 

Before you really knew what you were doing, you had somehow risen from your seat, stumbled over a few bags and outstretched legs and now stood in front of the microphone. Jeff looked at you expectantly, the eyes of everyone in the room were on you. Suddenly the gravity of what you were about to do had dawned on you, you felt your pulse thundering in your ears. But then you remembered what the previous guy had said about Mando, and you opened your mouth to launch into a passionate defence of your favourite fictional character of all time.

“I think tying Mando’s identity to his name and face is a pretty narrow way of viewing how we can understand who someone truly is inside and what exactly motivates them. I mean, I think I’ve connected to his character pretty well without ever seeing his face or knowing his real name. That’s because Mando has proved time and time again what kind of man he is. The way he has risked his life multiple times to rid the galaxy of threats and evil shows that he is committed to securing a brighter future, even if he is not around to see it. This man is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Sure, we don’t know his name or face or a lot about his origins, but I think to us, that should prove that he has nothing but noble intentions. That human side of the man beneath all of the armour allows us to connect to him on a far deeper level than just seeing a face and learning a name ever could.”

Jeff began to thank you for your thoughts, using the same hollow phrases that he had used for every previous speaker, but you were not done yet. For the reason you had stood up to speak was not only motivated by the way people had spoken about Mando, the character. It was not just accusations against the fictional man that you were here to refute, but also the way that they had tried to turn on the man beneath the Beskar.

“Also, I know no one outside this room will probably ever hear what had been said at this panel, but I think attacking the character of the man who portrays Mando, simply because he wants privacy, is unfair. I think we should always talk about people, online and publicly, as though they can read or hear what we say. We don’t know why he won’t say who he is, but I trust that he has his reasons. Even then, he doesn’t need to have a good reason,” You argued passionately, noticing how the trembling in your voice had ceased the more you spoke. “Everyone is entitled to their privacy for the simple fact of wanting to be private. I just think that we see Mando go from planet to planet, connecting with locals and communicating with them respectfully. He leaves every place better than he found it… I wish more people would take those lessons from the show, too, rather than how skilled Mando is at fighting and killing,” You made a pointed effort to look straight at Jeff as you made that last quip about his fighting skills, but he just stayed slumped in his seat, hand resting under his chin, looking utterly bored. Your words had done nothing to get through to him.

You walked back to your seat, head down, trembling. Speaking that much in public had been a lot more than you would ever have expected yourself to be able to handle. Ria was staring at you dumbfounded, her mouth open in shock.

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Ria asked, astonished.

“I… uh….” You stuttered.

“Look, I knew you loved Mando, but that was insane!” Ria whispered excitedly, while beaming at you. “You defended him as if he was a real person, like he was actually here in the room! That was awesome, beyond badass! He’d be so proud of you, bestie.”

“Thank you.” You whispered, face suddenly feeling hot. You were sure you were visibly shaking after your public outburst. But it had been worth it, you had meant every word.

A few more people offered their thoughts but your head was still buzzing with the emotional exertion of public speaking, so you did not pay them much mind, even if they still repeated the same old tired arguments about Mando that you had just tried to argue against. 

Finally, Jeff drew things to a close and then it was time for everyone to leave. He had invited people to come and speak to him at the front after the panel if they wished to, but you were definitely not going to be taking him up on that offer. You had believed that anyone given such an incredible opportunity to speak about something they loved at an event as prestigious as ForceCon would be nothing less than delighted. But clearly, you were mistaken. Jeff had seemed utterly bored throughout the panel, not least when people he did not agree with had spoken. You were not a fan of him and his backwards baseball cap in the slightest. 

As the panel ended and people began to filter out, you glanced around to where the incredible cosplayer had been sitting. But it seemed that while you had been distracted by your emotional state after speaking so publicly, he had already made his way out. You were disappointed, you wanted to compliment him on his cosplay and maybe even get a picture with him.

Just being in his presence twice had been intoxicating, you had been unable to look away from him. When you saw him, it really felt like you were actually in the world of The Mandalorian. You had a strong desire to be near him again, but you were too late. The man was apparently long gone. But you didn’t want to dwell on that and ruin the rest of your experience. You still had three more days here. So it was time to get over your disappointment, even though you were still kicking yourself for not pointing him out to Ria.

As you made your way down to the main hall of the convention centre, you couldn’t help but feel your chest swell with pride when you remembered how you had spoken in such a surprisingly eloquent manner at the panel. It had really been so many steps out of your comfort zone, but you had proved to yourself that you could do it. This entire weekend, really, was out of your comfort zone. But so far, you were matching every hurdle before you. 

Perhaps speaking up at the panel would be the start of a new, more confident you. A you that was unafraid to stand up for what she believed in.

But then, the idea of a simple panel at a sci-fi convention being some sort of life changing experience was surely an absurd notion.

Wasn’t it?

Next Chapter

Taglist: @toxic-seduction

[laroserie]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𖥻 luxiem with a sick darling

— characters : all of luxiem minus ike eveland ( vox akuma , luca kaneshiro , shu yamino , mysta rias )

— content : x gender neutral reader , romantic , fluff , the reader is called pet names , the reader is was a cold / something alike , vox threaten to strangle the reader with a scarf

— authors note : been sick lately. ( i apologize if anyone is ooc , didn't include ike because i have no clues of how he could act / do with a sick significant other, most likely take care of them at the best of his ability i.e get them meds and foods / water as well as blankies and that the most he could do and i don't know how to develop that )

— vox akuma , he could probably nag you then take care of you.

' you see ? that why i told you to wear a scarf ! i knew you could get sick ', he could go on for a while about how he warned you but you just couldn't listen to him and how next time you better wear the scarf or he was going to strangle you with it. He could most likely after his nagging session go right to taking care of you, after all how can he, your fantastic boyfriend let his miserable partner suffering all alone thought your sickness. He will make you drink soup, whether you like it or not ( he will try to make it to your liking as best as he can ). He could also insist on you staying in bed, not wanting you to move a single muscles, ' if you move and get any sicker how could i, your wonderful, incredible boyfriend will be able to resit wanting to touch you huh ? And if i do touch you i will also get sick and if i get sick, we will be both sick is that what you wa–...nt ? ' the chances are you felt asleep while he was going on and on about how you should just be a good little human and stay in bed. If that happen Vox will just sigh whisper to himself about how he must resist your cuteness and he will let you rest in the bedroom.

— luca kaneshiro, he could get sick with you.

Lucas will try to take care of you but his knowledge of 'how to care for my sick partner' is quite limited so he will think that the best way to get you up and running again is ... so cuddle you, kiss you and give you the most love he can. Which could be a good idea if that didn't end up in the mafia boss getting exactly sick like you the next day. You can try to protest and argue with him, that ' i'm really happy you still want to kiss me and hug me when i feel like slob but if you do, Lucas you will get sick too ', his only response will be 'babyy ... if i kiss you you will feel better right you always say my kisses help ... or may you lied ?? YOU LIED TO ME ? ' ... yeah you better accept his cuddles even if it end up in the both of you being sick or you having to take care of him the next day if you suddenly got better, but be prepared for a 'see honey? my kisses worked !! you aren't sick anymore ... maybe you should kiss me ! i won't be sick anymore that way ! ' ( don't )

— shu yamino, he could let you alone in it.

He doesn't want to abandon you to your sickness but the sorcerer doesn't want to get sick too. Don't get him wrong, he will get you medicines, foods, water, blankets and all that stuff, he just won't stay in the same room as you. He will send you text all thought the day to make up for it, it can range for a 100 words text about how he love you to a picture of a cute cat and a message with it saying ' look at the cat. ', he will send you messages about what he is doing. He may even try to make chicken broth for you ! ( he will take a picture of it and send it to you with a ' i'm a real malewife right babe ' text ). He will also most likely tidy up your house for you while your sick, he want you to not have to stress about cleaning up right after getting out of the sickness.

— mysta rias, he could try to take care of you and fail

Mysta will for sure try to take care of you but fail miserably. 'SWEETIE I GOT THE GOODS ( the meds )' '... Mysta thoses aren't the good ones ... but thanks you' or 'i made soup !' and it look burn, which is surprising you didn't know soup could burn but seem like you really do learn everyday. At some point between the burned soups and nearly ending you by putting too many blankets on you, the detective will realise that he is not made for taking care of you like that. But he won't give up ! His second plan is to try to make you think of anythings but being sick, if you have enough energy he will make you play somes lighthearted video games together, if not he will opt with watching a movie and for once he will let you choose which one you want to watch 'Are you really really reaaaaally sure you want to watch that ? ... You know what don't answer sure lets watch that you're sick you choose but next time i'm sick i better get movie choice right !' he will make you pinky promise that. Talking about getting sick, Mysta will most likely fell ill too soon after you, he doesn't restrict from holding you, kissing you on the cheek, holding your hands even if you are sick so be ready to take care of a sick fox soon enough.

[vivid-ink]

you're literally my favourite author and i didn't even realise it?? like i've read your story about naia and neteyam, and i LOVE IT SM !! i didn't even know it was you who wrote it, and then love shack?? you are incredible

Hello my lovely! I'm your favourite author?😭😚 Thank you so much. Your support means the world! I'm super stoked you loved Neteyam & Naia's story in 'To Know You Again'. It's a very sweet and romantic series.

Neteyam & Neyomi's journey in 'The Love Shack' was probably much more passionate in comparison. 🥵😉 But I put a lot of love into all my works; there's Neteyam & Ria in 'Violet Eyes', as well as Neteyam & Seyla in 'Show Me & Teach Me'.

Check out my Masterlist HERE for all of them.

Thank you for taking the time to reach out. Sharing my writing with all of you brings me such joy. 💜💜💜

[rarepairnation]

hi abby!! you love talking abt your fics? well, as it happens, i LOVE listening to people talk abt their fics *high-fives you* so hereee u go: 8, 17, 23, 24, 33 and 40 :)

hiiii ria thank you <333 [high fives you back] this is a beautiful synergy we are living...sorry this took me several days i just kept not having a shareable last line. for every we're so back there is always an it's so over. we're here now and that's what matters LOL

8. share the last line that you wrote

you have kept me waiting, my lord steward, she says when his footsteps stop, his reflection hovering just out of reach of her mirror.

well this is NOT umbar fic OR condolences congratulations. one day i will learn to finish one thing before i start another. but it is set in a slightly alternate version of the same reality. this is the crazy forty years later everyone lives au where aragorn is king and denethor is his steward and finduilas is actually the one running the place. it’s just an excuse for me to write “what if we made our healthy loving political marriage a messier and more political v-shape because you just HAD to officially get back together with your situationship from when you were 25 and oh he just HAPPENS to be the king.” they are shockingly functional about it (i do not know if i could call it healthy. but it is Incredibly High-Functioning and They Are Having Fun. so who am i to stop them!). conceptually/vibes-wise this is the result of my mind stirring around "their wives know the steward serves the king, and sometimes that goes beyond matters of state" (like truly...WHOA boy. that knocked me flat. @bretwalda-lamnguin i WILL respond to that post eventually i have things to say they just have to marinate a little longer) + regent!finduilas as a concept and an Energy + finduilas's general pure concentrated "i can fix him" beam + also going on a tangent off of anna @potatoesandsunshine's "our marriage is already bad enough what if we ruined someone else's life with it" theory. and this came out.

17. what is your favourite trope to write

NAMES AND TITLES AND MANNERS OF ADDRESS BABY!!! that shit is like drugs for me. whenever i'm messing around with it i feel like i am at the very height of caring about and understanding my own work i KNOW that sounds obnoxious as hell but like. aghhhhh. im in there THINKING. about specifically when and where and how one manner of address might shift to another and whether that is different inside the narration and out loud and what each name and title means in which situation. yeah im normal about hierarchies why do you ask.

23. where do you usually write

my beloved local coffeeshop down the street from my apartment! i am there as i write this. my regular barista often makes fun of me bc he sees me running for the train in the morning bc i am perpetually late for work. unfortunately the earliest i can make it out of the house in the evening is 7 and they close at 9 but it’s a good two hours. then it’s off to my friends’ apartment (they’re my downstairs neighbours i basically also live there) for like another two hours. yeah i do this every day. i am aware i am insane but it is the only way i get anything done.

24. which fic do you think is your funniest

hmm. i feel like im not often intending to be particularly funny. wait no its definitely open arms. “sokka, panicking: you like guys!” is literally in the description. i wrote it bc of a shitpost. WOW that is possibly the throwback of all time. that’s like the first fic i wrote back when i started getting really Good at writing because i was wildly hyperfixated on avatar and it was covid and i wrote 100k in a year. well well well

33. which of your fic titles is your favourite

ok i did do this one but im gonna give a runner up. TO THE VERY DEAR MEMORY OF [ ] is a personal fave for sure bc it's. idk nontraditional? well it's based off of this image and it took me a long time of testing different things before i figured out a way to appropriately represent that erasure of the name on the headstone by the water...the sensation that there Used to be something there, that there was Supposed to be something there, but all that is left is the water. and i'm very pleased by the effect of the brackets and how it looks on the ao3 page. it just brings me a lot of joy to let myself kind of fuck around and do whatever i think is cool. im trying so so so hard to internalize "get weird with it!" and its the baby steps out here.

40. pick one of your fics and share a quote to go with it (not a quote from the fic, but an outside quote that fits)

ooh ok a throwback. race for a hurricane (speaking of the titles/names/manners of address trope this is my BEST execution of it) + "the french have a saying: the fate of glass is to break. maybe the fate of spies is to just fade away. but with any luck, we leave something behind" -spectre, 2015. im getting that last line tattooed someday.

fic writer asks

[ssreeder]

hi again! im reading the 6th chapter of ITF right now and, ofc, im just bursting into tears, i just can't tell how much I was touched by the scenes where our beloved uncle iroh bitterly finds out about zuko, and then reunites with him in prison... that's too mUCH

but, fortunately, that's not what im talking about. because while i was reading RIA, i was listening to billy talent 🥴 again and couldn't help but notice that their track "cure for the enemy" perfectly illustrates everything that zuko and sokka were going through. that's really fucked up i know. i am both horrified and delighted by how the songs i listened to while reading fit PERFECTLY into their relationship. it already hurts me to listen to my playlist later. (PS I love your playlists, but we have slightly different tastes, however, i find this a great opportunity to show you, as an author, how your readers and fans feel!)

so... im devastated but really happy with your work. you're INCREDIBLE !!!!!

please enjoy my hurtful music taste 🥹💗

Hiiii!!! Omg I love your taste in music! I have a few of your recs on a playlist I listen to & every time they pop up I think of you! It’s awesome you’re getting caught up!!

Yeah Iroh & Zukos reunion was an emotional one haha you know I love the dramatics haha. <3

Yes!!!! That song does really capture the RIA vibe with the boys. Thanks for always expanding my taste in music!!! Enjoy the rest of ITF!!

[riality-check]

It’s very late for me but I’m finally doing the same thing everyone else did and making a sappy little new year’s post because a) why not and b) I realized I actually do have things to say!

Here goes nothing.

I fell face first into Moon Knight when it came out in March-May. It was my first big fixation in over a year, and I was so excited to be passionate about something again. It got me back into writing fic after months and months away from doing it, and it pushed me to write outside of my comfort zone and create what honestly might be my best work to date.

I wish I’d spent a little more time with it before Stranger Things, but. Oh, Stranger Things.

I remember watching volume 2, debating for a good three weeks if I should write for yet another fandom, saying “screw it, I should do what makes me happy,” and hitting post on Black Velvet. Then I wrote Backer, and then putting out Eddie’s first time before I went out for dinner on my birthday.

I snuck off to the bathroom to read those early comments, in absolute awe that people were liking something I was so nervous to post.

And then I joined the Fruity Four Server, made more friends than I ever thought I would make, kept writing fic, and really haven’t looked back since.

2022 was a weird year in a good way. In a lot of ways, it was a year that signaled finality in my personal life; I graduated and became an adult. 2022 felt like an endpoint. It was the goal. And I didn’t really know what to do with myself beyond it.

But 2022 also saw me at my dream school. It saw me making and solidifying friendships. It saw me writing a novel’s worth of words. It saw me pushing the boundaries of what I thought I could write and finding solace in other people’s heads. It saw me writing gift fics and participating in events. It saw me trying out a long fic again. It saw me making friends and collaborating and finding a badass, close community online for the first time.

I started writing fic two years ago because I was lonely. If Ria from then could see Ria now, I don’t think she’d believe all the comments and kudos or the overwhelming amount of people who bother to read what she writes.

So, thanks to everyone who sees this. No, really, everyone! Whether you’re a follower or a mutual or someone who doesn’t follow me back, or if this is your first time seeing my url, thank you! You’ve made my 2022 absolutely incredible, and I hope I’ve had a fraction of that impact on you.

Here’s to continuing to kick ass and take names in 2023 (and please don’t feel bad if you aren’t tagged, I’m gonna be repeatedly editing this as I remember more people!!)

@stevethehairington @thefreakandthehair @henderdads @starrystevie @hammity-hammer @punkharringtxn @hexmionegranger @reindeerrobin @thedeadromantics @rougenancy @toburnup @eddieunbanished @bonitabreezy @horsegirleddiemunson @withacapitalp @komiraidon @usaigi @nostalgicbones @maxinemaxmayfield @ruthofrhythm @kostaskostaskostas @legitcookie @beesreadbooks @kickassfu @infinite-orangepeel @annethecatdetective @twelvexclara @eriquin @steddielations @trashpocket @gothbat99 @kkpwnall @willowworkswithwords @letterfromvienna @thekingandthejester @singmeyoursimpsong @mira-jadeamethyst @babygirl-jonathanbyers @eddiehashands @stevesbipanic @flashyysins @courtjestermunson @aringofsalt @veestrikesback @andsometimesgoldcanstay @emchant3d @rejectofsociety

[thecontumacious]

I know your not accepting request, but like I'm just gonna put it here anyways and maybe if your finished with the current ones this can be the first one in the next batch 👉👈.

Ike x Reader:

So you know how ike is very seiso right, Imagine reader is the epitome of the "Scary dog privileges" and imagine Luxiem meet up and Ike brings Reader who is kinda awkward on the back but intimidates the boys despite literally being the shortest among the group. (Imagine that cliche scene where theres an sunshine and rainbow character infront and there's someone intimidating in the back)

The Sweetest Thing Alive

pairing: Ike Eveland x GN!Reader

a/n: oh u little rebel~ be sure to wait for when reqs open when you want to send something in next time okay? an author can only handle so many at a time kjshjk tbh, this was super challenging to write but i hope u enjoy what i've come up for you anyway~

you are sweet and kind, always looking out for your friends and family

you helped whenever they asked for help and they trust you a lot as a close comrade

but your face always betrayed this inner persona, so it’s often quite the opposite when it came to first impressions

except for ike

you were a senior staff at nijisanji en, a reliable one at that and always looking out for your niji co workers

because of aforementioned scary dog privileges and the seniority you hold at the company, there’s a reason why luxiem the newbies had to be a bit careful around you ╭( ๐_๐)╮

especially after hearing some rumors saying you were incredibly hard on people and generally is a big loner, not wanting to work with anyone that much

but then there was a huge project within nijisanji en that required all hands on deck, of course you as senior and responsible staff had to be involved along with luxiem with their growing success

on the first meeting, luxiem had all the more reason to literally be walking on egg shells around you

the scary dog privileges man( ⚆ _ ⚆ )

mysta is shaking under his desk, vox had to zip his unseiso mouth, luca losing all ability to say pog and shu having no such commentary

but ike was the only one who hadn’t been affected by your outside demeanor

in fact, though he had heard from his co workers how terrifying you were, ike was the first to see through those and admire you for your achievements as senior staff

out of all the senpais he had, you were the one he respected the most

you were responsible, reliable, skilled!

befitting of becoming senior eh?

POGGGG ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ̀ˋ

continuation utc!

ike strives to be like you, which is why when he got to meet you for the first time, he wasn’t shaking under his desk, nor did he have the obligation to zip his mouth shut

i think it’s pretty obvious by now that ike is attracted to people he looks up to or someone who impresses him in a way

lowkey simp hello?

and when it came to projects directly in contact with you aye

ike really really got to see how you were in person

man was intimidated not because of the rumored scary dog privileges, more so again because of your seniority in the field

who was he a newbie in the face of you ;-;

“hello, y/n. it’s nice to meet you formally for the first time,” ike smiles through the camera

you nod, giving him a smile back

he fell right through for you

isn’t that right tho? the scarier one looks, the prettier their true colors are?

at least that’s what ike thinks when he first saw you smile so prettily 💙

“it’s nice to meet you too, ike. i’ll be in your care for this project,” you respond politely

“i-i’ll be in your care too! thank you!”

you were the senior how dare thou say that -`д´-

just kidding, ike liked you for it anyways

the entire time working on this project, there really was no reason for everyone to be so afraid of you

when the first project meeting with you was over, luxiem came back asking ike as though he just went through a death sentence

Mysta Rias [NIJISANJI EN]: DUDE HOW WAS IT

Shu Yamino [NIJISANJI EN]: yo were they as scary as they looked??

Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: i remember how i couldn’t even say anything the first time on a company call with them

Luca Kaneshiro [NIJISANJI EN]: they look so cold and mean...

Ike Eveland [NIJISANJI EN]: u guys are overreacting. they weren’t like that at all.

Ike Eveland [NIJISANJI EN]: they’re actually rly nice and polite. why are u so afraid of them?

Mysta Rias [NIJISANJI EN]: JVAUSHWI THEY HAD THE VIBES THEY COULD KILL IF SOMEONE JUST LOOKED THEIR WAY

Luca Kaneshiro [NIJISANJI EN]: i’m gonna have to agree with mysta

ike roll his eyes and doesn’t humor his friends anymore, instead logging off to rest for the day

that was how ike was the only exception and well

came to be how it is between you two now <3

you worked together so well, ike got to see even more of your good qualities and just how much he looks forward to working on projects with you more (even tho you’re staff)

ike is very comfortable with you is all and the workflow is just really nice to be around, especially since ike is the type to bury himself in his work so that meant seeing and consulting with you more

and the feeling was mutual!

obviously

ike was very responsible with time. he always loved to pitch in new ideas and made sure everything was right by asking the sufficient questions and specific details

ah, imagine the office romance with this man (´つヮ⊂)

just stay your caviar toast from the microwave okay buddy?

anyway

it was when ike finally got the courage to ask you out on a simple and totally not cliche coffee date to “work on something irl”

“hey, y/n, it’s nice to see you,” ike greets upon meeting you in the designated cafe, comfy, cozy and of course very cliche for first dates

“hey, ike,” you respond to him, taking a seat. “did you order already?”

“no, i just got here. i’ll order for you!” ike stands immediately before asking, “what would you like? i’ll pay, it’s fine.”

“oh come on now, i’ll pay too!”

he stops you with a soft smile, “it’s alright. i was the one who invited you here, it’s only right i treat you.”

with a sigh, you nod and inform him of your preferred drink

ike comes back, with his drink and yours before sitting down to start working again

and believe me when i say ike was so so tempted by your smell to hold your hand when it kept brushing his so many times

would he be doing this again with you in the future?

or will he potentially ruin everything you and him had?

… he was already here, best to do it now, right?

“hey, y/n?”

“hm?” you look up at him from your laptop, smiling. his heart skips a bit, one because of you and the other out of panic

just spit it out, ike. you can do it. like a bandaid, just rip it off.

“y/n, i really like you. a lot,” he doesn’t even look at you because of how messed up he was!

poor guy

“wh-what do you mean, ike?” you nervously laugh

well duh, your successful co worker of a friend just said he liked you.

of course you liked him

just with other 300k people on the internet as well bUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT(ノ￣□￣)ノ ~┻━┻

so many people were even too scared to approach you sometimes, to have someone come up to you without doing any of that was nice for a change

and now you have the internet’s cutest streamer confessing to you

ike’s face is red, one you made sure was definitely not because of the heat or any other environmental factor for that matter

he takes a deep breath, “not just as a friend. i like you, as more than that. i feel comfortable around you. i want to be around you b-because you make me happy and feel like i can be myself around you.”

did he say too much? he probably said too much.

too much for you to handle, that is (♡´艸`)

to the people around you, it might’ve looked like a somewhat casual work conversation, but it mattered a great deal

the silence is uncomfortably long and just before ike decides to conclude his feelings aren’t reciprocated, you lightly brush your fingers over his with a pink face but smiling gratefully

“i feel the same, ike.”

and now, imagine ike relaying what happened that day to his luxiem friends

Luca Kaneshiro [NIJISANJI EN]: POG IKE AND Y/N

Vox Akuma [NIJISANJI EN]: that’s some manpower you have ike

Mysta Rias [NIJISANJI EN]: yeah dude who tf does that

Mysta Rias [NIJISANJI EN]: and y/n of all people?????

Shu Yamino [NIJISANJI EN]: no offense to u or y/n tho ike, but uh

Shu Yamino [NIJISANJI EN]: what do u see in them?

ike rolls his eyes behind the screen

Ike Eveland [NIJISANJI EN]: u guys are too prejudiced because of the rumors

Ike Eveland [NIJISANJI EN]: i’m telling u they’re actually really nice and sweet

Ike Eveland [NIJISANJI EN]: how about this, i’ll introduce u to them and u’ll see what i mean

and that was how he got here, with your hand in his waiting in a restaurant for vox, mysta, shu and luca

actually, not only were the luxiem boys nervous, you too were slightly anxious

“eh? why are you nervous?” ike asks you, bringing your sweating hand against his lips in an attempt to calm you down

you shake your head, “i know i kinda intimidate them, you know? i’m sure they’re all nice people but… yeah. i don’t want them to be uncomfortable…”

ah you kind and gentle soul :(

ike smiles, pulling you close to press a kiss to your temple for even more reassurance, “you have nothing to worry about. it’s their fault they choose to be scared first. but no matter what happens, i still think you’re the sweetest and kindest person i’ve ever met, y/n.”

when you pull away, vox is the first to arrive, followed by luca, shu and finally mysta

as ike suspected, luca and mysta seemed to be a bit more reserved at your presence but he’ll make sure there’s nothing to worry about

“y/n-senpai, good to meet you!” vox greets you first, and just like that, your scary dog privileges are stripped clean and all there is the person ike truly sees

you give the demon a bright and friendly smile, extending your hand, “hello, vox. there’s no need for you to call me senpai.”

vox chuckles, nodding. “duly noted.”

shu steps up next, seemingly more relaxed as he beamed politely, “hey, y/n. it’s nice to meet you!”

“hi, shu! i dropped by your last stream and you did good!”

at the compliment from his senior, shu laughs bashfully, a light pink to his cheeks. “th-thanks!”

ike turns to you, his heart beginning to ease into itself as he watches you acquaint yourself with his friends

nervous as you were earlier, you could handle things so well with them

onto the lion and fox (ง •̀_•́)ง

almost comically, mysta pushes luca ahead so that he’s forced to come face to face with you first

ike spares mysta a demonic glare, to which the detective cowers at

“h-hey, y/n. it’s so good to finally meet you in person like this!” luca brings a hand to the back of his head, grinning nervously.

you giggle, “it’s nice to see you in person as well, luca. i’m glad you could make it today. you must be busy being the leader of a syndicate.”

the blonde only shakes his head, “no, no. i could definitely make time. ike was really excited to introduce you to us and well, i didn’t want to turn that down, you know?”

“you’re such a good friend, luca!”

after that, luca finally lets himself loose upon seeing what ike meant when describing about you so fondly

“thanks! anything for my friends!” luca grins

at this, the effects have already spread to all of luxiem

vox and shu have settled in pretty well, luca finding himself a new deez nuts victim friend and even clown mysta finally sees no reason to be scared of you

he steps towards you on his own with a shy smile as he offers you his hand in greeting

“hey, y/n. it’s nice to see you,” mysta says

you beam in return, “of course, mysta. and i you. i didn’t scare you that much, did i?”

mysta is quick to turn red, his friends laughing at his foolery. “w-well, only at first!! i know you’re really cool though.”

“i’m just kidding, but i’m glad you think so.”

ike says to his four friends, “see what did i tell you guys? aren’t they the sweetest things alive? you guys really did overreact.”

vox sighs, “look we’re sorry okay?”

ike rolls his eyes, “you should be apologizing to y/n, don’t you think?”

“w-well, there’s no need for that, ike. really…”

ike: ༽◺_◿༼

luxiem: (ﾟДﾟ；∬

you: (*^﹏^*)

no demons, sorcerers, mafia bosses or detectives were harmed during the process of this meeting, promise!

the entire night, it felt as though you had been friends for so long

vox’s rather unseiso mouth starts to break out again (getting quite the bonks from ike but you didn’t mind), mysta and luca are back to being their loud and eccentric selves and shu just joining right behind with his true memer soul

as you and ike took leave first, with him being a gentleman to take you home, luxiem can genuinely see how you make ike so happy

yeah, sure, they might’ve been wary of you at first but that was their fault, they realized

but now, while taking it slow, they can accept you into their family, especially if it meant making ike happy <3

Masterlist!

[alicent-targaryen]

Hi Ria! Don’t know if you’re request are open but can I request a gifset for Arthur Shelby during the last episode of season 3? 🥹 a few ideas: I love the scene when he walks in the train station. Or the one he is waiting with John for making the train explode. Thank you for your incredible work!

Hello, dear! Yes, I'd love to post some more Arthur for you. I'll do it soon 🩵 And thanks for the love!

[lovecolibri]

Things that did NOT Spark Joy-4x13

I already know this is gonna be long and incredibly salty so that’s your warning! Not much is going to escape my wrath here so if you just want to continue revealing in all the good, happy, Malex wedding feels, that post is here. Otherwise, click the read more at your own risk because this is messy, and I’m going full salt gremlin! And that’s not even including the stuff I forgot, or had notes about and was just too tired to bother with today. Don’t say you weren’t warned! One final time friends!

Link to previous episode posts: 4x01, 4x02, 4x03, 4x04, 4x05, 4x06, 4x07, 4x08, 4x09, 4x10, 4x11, 4x12

Where to even fucking start? 

A character having flashbacks to the tragic death of another character are all well and good, but we a) have to care about that other character, and b) they have to have been dead for like, at least a little bit. Ending last episode with Tezca dying for some reason, only to immediately start this one with Isobel flashing back to losing someone they just found out wasn’t their mortal enemy was...a bit much and in an episode where so much needed to happen, it felt like a waste of time. We were all there, we know she died. It JUST happened. 

We went 3 seasons without a single mention of The Blue Flame and we for sure could have gone a 4th. Never before seen power from the one alien NOTORIOUS for having zero control? Some fancy thing only Jones had but yet we never saw Jones use or mention? We didn’t need it considering the series STARTED with Max taking out the whole power grid for the town with his lack of control. If they wanted him to give up his powers because he was a danger to Liz, that scene of him losing his temper and impaling her with something would have been enough.

Every. Single. Flashback to Oasis or after the crash has not made sense with any other flashback to the point where I wish they wouldn’t have bothered. Remember when Max was chained up and we wanted to know more? I take it back. Tell me less. Then I wouldn’t have to question how TF an entire planet’s ecosystem runs on crystals that only one evil man with a special gift no one else has ever had, has the power to bring life to.

Clyde is The Worst and I’d rather have had Jones, or had Jones NOT be totally mad-with-power evil and had Jesse/the US Military be the final big bads, or Evil Tezca the shapeshifter, or literally anything else. We didn’t need a Dollar Store Jones knockoff.

ALEX JUST DISAPPEARS BETWEEN ONE SCENE AND THE NEXT WITH NO EXPLANATION. And when we DO get something, of course it’s not about ALEX, or has him asleep in a bed in the background, or includes MICHAEL being allowed to worry about Alex and his healing and refusing to leave Alex’s side. The man was dying of radiation poisoning but sure that’s something that can just entirely happen off screen while Michael gets wrapped up in other things without a single glance back. Thank goodness we didn’t waste time on Alex possibly dying before he and Michael get the chance to get married so they could make room for more m*ria scenes 🙄 

If they knew the star map was broken and they had time, why didn’t they just...take the console away from the portal and hide it somewhere? Borrow a truck from Deep Sky and have someone (m*ria, so they could make sure she was looking “useful” but it would get her out of the fucking way for once) drive it TF out of town as far and as fast as they could? Then use Bonnie’s powers to take away Clyde’s or something instead of just leaving it there and waiting for him to come back. And if their plan didn’t work, oh well! Guess another planet trying to put itself back together for the past 75 years is going to be pulverized for the sake of one dudes ego! But we tried and it’s the thought that counts! 🙄

Maybe instead of sitting around flipping through a magazine, m*ria could be the one helping Liz and researching stuff? Instead of the man who nearly just died and is supposed to be resting? But she wouldn’t get anything out of it so I guess not. 

Love how Kyle has to thank HER for saving Isobel, and not Michael who figured out what they could get from the roots of the burned trees to mimic the fruit fuel, not Max who helped capture Clyde and held off the storm, and then healed the land when they needed something from it, not Dallas who used his gifts to get the fuel back, no mention of Tezca who sacrificed herself to help talk Max through what he needed to do, nope! It’s definitely all down to m*ria learning astral projection in half an hour to get info they could have easily could have had happen a different way. Isobel is our mindscaper, she could have gotten the info to Kyle to solidify their connection and give us some Kybel crumbs, but then what would m*ria have to do? 

And then, turns out, she can’t help find Rosa whose grave she went to every day for a decade but can’t be bothered with now that she’s breathing, because she’s too “drawn” to Dallas to focus on anyone else?! Give me a break 🙄🙄🙄 First of all, finding a childhood friend who is in danger and needs your help should be enough to get you to quit focusing on the new dick you’re trying to hop on, second of all, the show has spent how long forcing all these other characters to praise the ground she walks on as she’s actively being selfish and awful to them, only for her to be unable to help her “best friend” in her time of desperate need because she doesn’t feel “safe” with anyone else but Dallas? Okay. That tracks. Had to invent something for her to do to have another 5 extra scenes this episode instead of giving us a scene of Kyle and Michael talking about how Alex, ya know, the one who was DYING, is doing. Soooo glad we made more time for this instead. 🙄

Clyde and now Shivani are holed up in yet another abandoned church! Who knew Roswell had so many! It feels like just earlier this season they were mentioning the one abandoned church that everyone knew about so that had to be the one they were looking for! 🙄 Season 1 was the multiple bunkers, season 2 was the season of bunkers and barns, 3 was barns and caves, this season was caves and abandoned churches. Everyone and their mother got one! Maybe if they hadn’t spent all that money on having a dozen new caves and bunkers and barns and churches they could have paid for more time using the Crashdown set so every other scene didn’t have to happen in the bar.

Love that the tech guru who is super duper into medical equipment because of trying to save her daughter doesn’t know what the machine Clyde brought was, but somehow magically learned bioengineering because “pod mist”. Also, Clyde....extracted Rosa’s...powers? From her blood? Her frequency powers magically heal alien crystals by...injecting them? With her distilled blood? From some ancient looking earth machine? That was not built to distill alien powers? I can’t.....

 Why did we have to lose Kyle for multiple episodes looking for Allie in Mexico with Eduardo when all it took was a single call from Liz to bring her back? Did...we not think of trying that before? But then the narrative would have had to care about Kyle and use him, maybe for things outside of Liz or Isobel, and we can’t have that.

Liz of course immediately blabs about the existence of aliens to yet another veritable stranger since she hasn’t seen Allie in years, without the approval of anyone who is actually an alien. Remember season 1 when everyone was deathly afraid of anyone finding out their secret? I wish they had kept some of that vibe.

I peripherally feel bad for Shivani, she just wanted to save her daughter, but after eating up so much screentime this season I’m just too tired to really care. We got more effort and screentime put into saving this random girl that they didn’t even end up saving than into finding and saving Alex. What a fucking waste.

 Remember when there was so much speculation fic after season 2 when Alex got with Forrest that season 3 would have Michael getting the chance to go to Oasis and either getting there and the angst of having to watch him leave maybe in the finale, or him having to choose between going, or having to miss the chance to go in order to save Alex? Every single fic, drabble, and speculation was better than anything they tried to do this season about Michael being “torn”. Because at this point it was never a question of if he would leave Alex or not. There were never any stakes, no either/or situation, either Michael chose to go and took Alex with him, or he chose to say with Alex. Or possibly chose to go but not sure if Alex would be able to survive, but it would have been with Alex’s full support and their relationship being fine. They kept trying to have dramatic scenes about Michael feeling guilty about wanting to go but none of them ever landed because there were no stakes! Alex wouldn’t tell him “no” about going, he’d offer to come and if he couldn’t come, he’d wait for Michael and they’d have a mushy scene about it and figure out a way to communicate while Michael was gone. I will never understand the writers insistence on trying to drum up drama out of nothing when they already HAD plenty of drama with Malex that they kept starting and never following through on!

Reiterating how stupid this m*ria/Dallas plot is, crammed into the finale and taking up time when we could have been learning more about Alex’s healing and having Kybel scenes. This won’t be the last time I mention this, but I got to yet another m*ria scene in my episode notes and I honestly can’t believe I made it through watching this whole episode. Dallas left anyway! Why try to build up this relationship now instead of focusing on Kybel who got built up off and on all season only to get totally shafted in the finale?!

Classic villain mistake. Clyde threw Michael and Bonnie, why didn’t he throw Dallas too? Or just snap their necks and move on with his day? It’d be very in character for who they decided Clyde was going to be like, 4 episodes ago. So is he super smart and sooo powerful, or incompetent? As always with these writers, the answer is “it depends on what we need for the scene.”

I cannot express how utterly stupid this thing is with the console needing a sprinkling of fruit juice to work is. We already talked about the giant tree in a shed covered in alien fruit that no one found for 75 years even though everyone supposedly knew about the abandoned church in front of it. But lets talk about why TF we need it anyways when we’ve had 3 seasons about aliens and tech working on electricity and the little electric charges Liz found studying their blood and WHY TF DOESN’T THE CONSOLE NEED AN ALIEN HANDPRINT OR SOMETHING TO RUN?! How much time was wasted this season on this alien fruit that we did not need to spend time on?!

 Why did they show Liz shooting a plunger syringe at Clyde? Him getting stuck with the needle wouldn’t do anything, you have to push the plunger! Unless they were expecting it to break on impact and hope he was dosed enough? Same with the one hidden in her sleeve where should couldn’t have pressed the plunger! 

Why did the whole mark show up on his palm? He had the brand on his shoulder before and it had to be burned into him in that shape! A needle stick “reversing” his mark removal should either have it showing back up in the same place, or not show up in that shape at all because that was the shape of the brand and the thing stopping him was the alien glass in the brand. Then again, at this point, just typing this out, I’ve clearly thought more about this plotline than the writers ever did.

m*ria has barely spoken to Max this entire series but sure, SHE’S the one who should be having this talk with Max. The ONLY reason they had to have her be the one to talk to him, is to have her offer to astral project across multiple galaxies to peek at Oasis because that’s apparently a thing she can do now! Even though a couple hours ago she could even look for her best friend in the same town without having Dallas next to her (also, how did the one Liz couldn’t even tell was alien when she first checked, be more powerful than any of the ACTUAL aliens? Oh right, because the writers had to keep inventing ways to make her useful because she’s utterly superfluous to the narrative), and then they didn’t even show us that scene, only told us about it later! Again, ISOBEL is the one with the mind powers. They couldn’t have opened the portal and had Isobel stand in front of it and put out some feelers or something? Right, because that would once again leave m*ria with nothing at all to do.

 I’ve already talked at length about how utterly disgusting it was to have m*ria not only a part of the wedding, but the only one to have a full conversation with Alex in this episode besides the incredibly short one he had with Michael during the reception, but it cannot be stressed enough what a slap in the face this choice was. Her comments about him being against marriage as a teen are tone deaf considering he COUDLN’T legally get married at that time (who wants to bet he said that one of the times she was trying to make a pact with him that they’d marry each other if they weren’t with someone by like, 30 or something?) She has hurt him so many times and in so many ways while acting like she never did anything wrong and Alex has never been allowed to be upset, or hurt, or even TALK about his feelings about what she did. So having her here in this moment instead of Kyle who we have seen being actively supportive of Alex and Michael for 3 full seasons now, and who we just saw being the ONLY one to encourage Michael in going after Alex and making sure Michael didn’t lose hope as well as (apparently, since we didn’t see or hear about it) saving Alex’s life earlier that same day, is ridiculous! At least if it was Liz who we have been begging to have more scenes with Alex it would be someone who has done about as much to support Alex as m*ria has (nothing) while NOT hurting him nearly as much. Or we could have had Greg (since Alex getting kidnapped for some reason did NOT result in meeting Mindy and Clay Manes or even bringing back either brother we’ve already met) but OH NO, that would be awkward for poor m*ria and we can’t have her feeling uncomfortable at a wedding that has nothing to do with her! 🙄🙄🙄 So the entire conversation is one tone deaf comment, then making everything about her and her love life, with NOTHING about being supportive of him and Michael and the wedding he’s about to have. Par for the fucking course with her. 

It says a lot too of who they wanted to be the center of attention at the wedding given everyone else is in muted colors, Isobel, Liz and Rosa are all in funeral-ish BLACK for some reason, while they put m*ria in the loudest most visible color possible. But this wedding is about Malex. For sure. That’s why instead of watching them dance or hearing their vows, we had to suffer through m*ria trying to get with Dallas. Did she go call Greg on their way to the wedding or is still still putting it off? Probably smart since Dallas is leaving and we all know she’s gotta be with SOMEONE at all times. Maybe Dallas will come back for the Echo wedding and she’ll be able to make that one about her relationship drama too!

Isobel makes the comment that Sanders stuck by Michael through all of his screwups proving the writers STILL do not understand how Michael’s actions were a front to keep people from looking too closely at what he was hiding, a trauma response, and a lot of it to protect Max and especially Isobel. And they don’t understand that Walt LOVES Michael and did what any parent worth their salt would do, and loved Michael as best he could through everything Michael did. 

THEY SKIPPED THE WEDDING. Yeah, we get a bit of it in a montage later but NO VOWS, no hearing the pronouncement of “you may kiss the groom”, no hearing them whisper something sweet to each other when one looks like they might be loosing their composure, NOTHING. Just a montage where we have to watch fucking m*ria walk Alex down the aisle instead of seeing Alex up there with his best man Kyle, the childhood friend he lost and then found again, and MICHAEL who has been looking for a family since the start of the show getting walked down by his siblings and dad. Talk about undercutting your own narrative!

Also, given Alex was just dying and spent weeks on his prosthetic in an alien hellscape, is there a reason they couldn’t be bothered to remember his disability and put him in a wheelchair for the ceremony and let Michael be walked to him? Let Alex be a little self-conscious because this isn’t how he wanted the wedding to go and Michael reminding him that he loves ALL of Alex and his disability IS going to change things about their lives but Michael is ready for all that and he’s getting to marry Alex so who cares about literally anything that happens on the way to that being a legal fact for them! 

The gazebo has been an Echo thing since prom, while Alex randomly brought it up this season. Why not have them get married at the junkyard under that metal trellis we saw during their big "I want to know who you are" moment? Or at Foster Ranch? Or out in the desert where they used to park? Or the drive-in? Or the reservation so his mom and at least one brother could come? Or their own fucking backyard??? Why have it in a place that holds NO significance for them across 4 seasons of the show?

The joke Michael makes about being made into an “honest man” is not only gross in all contexts of it ever being used for any couple across all time, ever, it’s also extra ridiculous here considering Michael has canonically said he’s been dreaming of marrying Alex since he was a teen! This is all he has wanted for over a decade! He then goes on to make a quip about embarrassing Alex over the years, AGAIN proving the writers don’t know anything about these characters because Alex wasn’t ashamed of Michael. Alex was SCARED after his dad committed a hate crime against them and maimed Michael for life (baring alien healing)!! He thought that Michael's acting out and not going to school was HIS FAULT. He was worried when he came back that if Jesse caught a whiff of Michael doing something illegal he would have an excuse to go after Michael and if Alex was associating with him, could have gotten Alex in trouble with the military because of his security clearance. You know, the job that pays for Alex’s medical benefits because he’s disabled? He was terrified as he learned more of what his dad had been doing literally experimenting on aliens, that he could make Michael disappear into his lab and keeping distance kept Michael safe. But the writers would have to care about Alex outside of how his existence affects Michael sooo we get this instead.

 For some reason, while Vlamburn are inventing what love looks like on the dance floor, we’re stuck watching m*ria being forced into the center of everyone’s attention again because this wedding was never going to be about MALEX. Poor Dallas does not deserve any of this. I’m glad he left to Oasis. I’m sure she’ll have a new boyfriend by the time he gets back (or Greg if she hasn’t broken up with him yet), but maybe he’ll find a nice alien who isn’t narcissistic, selfish, and manipulative.

Looks like Bonnie is going to have to learn to deal with rude, grabby handed racists while being paid who knows what under the table since she technically doesn’t exist. I’m sure m*ria is thrilled to save some money on her taxes by not reporting any of that. Bonnie will surely love the kind of clients that frequent The Pony and will in no way be traumatized by them. 🙄

We could have seen a soft morning after for Malex that gets interrupted by Isobel again, but with a far happier conclusion, them loading the car with their packed bags, then going to see Max off before driving out of town at sunrise. Instead, once again, the big Malex moment takes place on a dark, deserted street. Yeah, the truck is decked out with a sign and cans, but there is no one to see them driving off. Them leaving the Crashdown in the morning, driving through a bustling Roswell morning and off into the bright sunrise would have hit better than a deserted street in the middle of the night. It’s literally the same as the s3 finale, with them alone on the street in the dark.

Ending the series with the main couple apart?! Not filming a second ending for if they got canceled where Liz hops into the portal after Max?! Having the last scene being Max again putting what he wants on hold to do what he thinks is expected of him which is NOT growth, and Liz crying and utterly alone at the portal because they didn’t have Malex and Kybel at least standing by to offer their goodbyes and support Liz? WHY?? How is that in any capacity a satisfying ending? The show started by telling us Liz left alone when they had planned to go together and then they spent a decade apart. Why would it not end it with Max being the one to leave, and Liz deciding to go with him to look at alien oceans?!

Max looks exactly like Jones! Did...did anyone plan for the people of Oasis to just...kill him on sight?! He really said, I look exactly like their behated dictator, oh well! and jumped in without a plan. If only Michael had been allowed to jump into a hole without a plan OH WAIT! Because he was doing it to rescue the love of his life, and because it was Michael about Alex it was wrong. But this is Max so of course it’s the right thing to do without giving a second thought or leaving any time to research and plan.

Unanswered Questions! (Just the big ones from this season because if I have to think about the unanswered questions from the show as a whole, I will lose my mind)

What was The Alighting? And how did they figure out a woman who wasn’t even born yet when they went into their pods was the key to bringing it?

What exactly was Ophiuchus? Prophecy? Religion? Hoax made up by Jones? 

What happened to Alex’s necklace? Dallas picked it up, but later m*ria saw it still down there. Why was it there? 

How was Alex part of Jones’s contingency plan?

What happened to Heath?! He said he came to see what was going on with Dallas and yet we never once got to see him interact with Dallas or any other mention that he was updated on what happened to his friend!

[thefrogdalorian]

The Best of Both Worlds - Chapter Five

Din Djarin x Female Reader Modern!AU

❁ Series Masterlist ❁ My Masterlist ❁ Read on AO3 ❁

Word Count:  13,028 (!!) Rating: General Summary:  Being back in the real world and returning to work after an incredible weekend at the convention where you had so many fun experiences is taking its toll on you. The thought of collapsing on your couch in front of The Mandalorian is the only thing keeping you going. However, the universe has other plans for you. News of an out-of-hours tour for a private client that you are asked to lead almost sends you over the edge, but when you finally meet the man, he is the opposite of what you were expecting. Weirdly, he seems familiar... Content Warnings: Reader deals with some depressing thoughts and has a panic attack. Past sexual harassment of reader is mentioned but not specified or described in detail. Also I got a bit political with this one in terms of being a British Museum hater, but not sure that should be a warning when it's a pretty logical train of thought. Author's Note:  Wow. This was an absolute MONSTER of a chapter and now over a third of the total word count so far! I have to give massive thanks to my beta @suresnips for making it through such a long chapter. My brain had melted after editing it and your feedback helped so much! As you read, you'll understand why it was so long. I knew it was going to be long when I came to edit it yesterday as it was already approx. 6k. Well, I more than doubled that, ha. I don't know if it's obvious but I'm a HUGE history nerd. However, I've only been to the British Museum once (for like an hour), and I was so disappointed with it. It truly is just full of things we looted and it did not me feel an ounce of patriotism, I was pretty disgusted. So I used reader as a mouthpiece for me! Also not sure if anyone remembers the absolute legend(s) who stole things from the museum but perhaps in this universe, it was our dear reader [for legal reasons this is a joke]. All the exhibits mentioned are real things in the collection and I'll link some information about them if anyone is curious: The Sutton Hoo helmet, Dürer's Rhinoceros, Lewis chessmen, Rosetta Stone Well, that's enough nerdiness for one A/N. Really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading and for all the kind words so far, it means the world to meeeeeee!! If you're enjoying it, please don't be shy! I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

5. He's So Tall (And Handsome As Hell) [Reader's POV]

The first few days back in your routine after the convention had ended and Ria had gone home had been so desolate and depressing that it was difficult to make it through the day without bursting into tears. Real life could not compare to how incredible ForceCon had been. It was as though, for that long weekend, you had left the real world and inhabited the Star Wars galaxy. You wanted to stay there forever. Until you had been forced back down to earth with a devastating thud once the Dockside Convention Centre’s doors had closed for the final time on Monday afternoon. 

You were grieving so many different aspects of the entire experience. You missed everything. Primarily, of course, you missed your best friend who was now a continent away, separated from you by an entire ocean. But you also missed the electric atmosphere that came with knowing everyone, no matter their age or where they came from, was there for one reason and had been united by their passion for the same thing as you. It was an incredibly special feeling to know that you were ultimately united with everyone you interacted with through your shared love of Star Wars. You felt as though you had taken for granted the amazing talks and stalls, just hearing people discuss their passions had been enthralling. And of course, you missed the cosplays. Not walking past multiple incredible Mandos every day was taking some getting used to. Being back in the real world was disappointing, uninspiring and lonely, and you were thoroughly miserable.

Things were not getting any easier as each day this week had seemed harder than the last. Mercifully, though, it was finally Friday and you only had a few more hours to keep it together at work before you would have an entire weekend to yourself that would consist of just you, your comfiest clothes and endless episodes of The Mandalorian. You had already rewatched it twice through this week, the series you so adored had once again been a crutch in your most desperate hour of need. Watching Mando traverse the galaxy had once again helped you to present to the world as a functioning human being, despite how awful you had felt every day.

Usually, you at least made it back home first before you completely fell apart and the weight of your emotions became too much for you to bear. Today, however, you had been unsuccessful in managing to keep a lid on your emotions and had practically sprinted to your favoured hiding spot – a bathroom in a back corner of the third floor – to finally fall apart. You felt slightly pathetic as you sat on the toilet and stared at the lockscreen of your phone, feeling the hot tears scorch your cheeks. It was the photo you had taken with the incredibly realistic Mandalorian cosplayer that you were sure was the same one from the panel. He had been incredibly kind, offering to take another photo with you, despite how flustered you were. You felt like you had embarrassed yourself in front of him, babbling about a cosplay competition that he was likely fully aware of, given how incredible his costume was. You were stunned when he stopped you from walking away so that he could pose properly and Ria could snap an even better photo of you. It was an incredibly kind gesture from a stranger and was something you could have imagined Mando himself doing in the show. As well as how realistic the cosplay was and the way he had moved that sent your pulse racing, the man had even sounded like Mando. The resemblance was truly uncanny.

As you sat there, clutching your phone, you were contemplating texting Ria. You knew that she would always have a comforting word of advice for you. But you also knew she was thousands of miles away, dealing with returning to work herself and overcoming jet lag. You didn’t want to bother her, so you took deep breaths and squeezed your eyes shut as you attempted to regain your composure so that you were in a position to face the world again. You thought back to the sequence of events that explained how you found yourself locked in a deserted toilet in the back corner of the offices of the museum, attempting to compose yourself before you faced the world once again. 

It had been an awful day and you briefly wondered if you were in fact cursed. The weather had been miserable and rainy that morning, you were greeted with grey skies as you stepped out of your flat. You had learnt from your mishap the previous week though, and actually remembered to wear a coat. But that was where things stopped going right for you. Your tube line had been slightly delayed, resulting in it being even more crowded than usual when one arrived and you eventually boarded. The walk to work had been uneventful, aside from being slightly frustrated by the miserable British weather, but at least you had remembered your headphones so the soothing sounds of the Mando soundtrack could transport you to a distant galaxy.

You arrived at work, grumbling as you removed your headphones and were forced to face the real world. Ever since you walked through the ornate doors into the beautiful old building that you worked in, it felt as though everyone you encountered there had been conspiring against you to make your day as hellish as possible. It was one thing after another and before you knew it, you were at breaking point.

It seemed that today, everything had gone poorly. Your coworker, Tom, whom you had always had pleasant – if a little one-dimensional – chats about The Mandalorian with, was being a little off about your attendance at the con. When you arrived at the office, he approached your desk and asked you questions about the con and the jacket you had made, having seen it on your Instagram. At first, he had seemed genuinely interested but before long they veered into the condescending and that, in addition to the smug smirk on his face, made you feel intensely self-conscious. It reminded you of when the popular kids at High School would pick on the uncool kids, like you, for their enjoyment. As though your increasing uncomfortableness was a game to them. Tom's behaviour transported you back through the years to emotions that you never wanted to visit. Luckily, unlike in High School, this time you had somewhat stood up for yourself and asked him to leave you alone so that you could focus on your work. 

After successfully getting Tom to leave you alone, there were various tasks to be completed. You had taken two days of vacation time for the con and despite how little you had missed, it still meant there was inevitably a backlog to catch up on. It meant communicating with annoying co-workers. After a weekend surrounded by people who just got you in the way people at the con had, it was incredibly frustrating to be back amongst ‘normal,’ people.

Unsurprisingly, you had found that you were able to hold more conversations with people when you were all there for a common reason. It was less daunting somehow, if the conversation fizzled out you had Star Wars to lean back on. Now, though, there was none of that. You had to make small talk with real people. Deal with their needs. Day after day. Working in a museum had been your dream job throughout High School and University. You had lofty dreams of curating your own exhibitions. An ambition that was, as yet, to be realised. Though you would not give up.

Instead of designing exhibitions, you had found yourself giving the occasional tours to school children and manning the information desk for any visitor questions. It was a more people-facing job than you had intended. Which was a shame because you loved the collection, but you hated people. You could stand for hours and talk about the intricacies of an Anglo-Saxon helmet, but making small talk with visitors was beyond you.

Which is why you found the thought of delivering an intimate guided tour to a rich asshole tonight deeply upsetting, despite the brave face you had attempted to put on when your manager had delivered the distressing news.

“We need you to stay late tonight. A client has booked an after-hours visit.” Julie, your manager informed you when you were taking your first break of the day in the staff canteen.

“Who are they? Rich? Famous? Single?” you replied jokingly. It had been a humorous reflex, designed to hide your true feelings about the situation. You were proud of yourself, despite the buzzing that you suddenly felt rising in your head.

Julie just rolled her eyes and smiled. She was well used to your sense of humour by now, she knew you weren’t seriously going to attempt to start anything inappropriate with the visitor. Besides, most of the time you hated them and reverted to insulting them in ways too subtle for them to grasp.

“Very funny,” Julie deadpanned. “You can leave to get some food and have a break after your shift, but be back here and ready to meet him at six.”

“Okay,” You sighed and nodded slightly. There was no point in getting mad at Julie, you knew these kinds of things were not her decision but came from the museum higher-ups who scheduled such tours and requested certain employees. You knew you should see it as a compliment that you were frequently requested, but instead, you saw it as a burden and something to be resented rather than celebrated. 

Then Julie gave you a name – it was Dan or something? You couldn’t even remember – but your head was spinning with too many thoughts and trying to process the news, to be in a position to absorb any of the information your manager was telling you. 

After Julie had finished speaking, you promptly excused yourself from the canteen and ran to your preferred hiding place when the world got too much – an old, enormous single toilet tucked away behind a staircase on the third floor, where no one ever bothered to go. There were far more conveniently situated toilets throughout the building than this particular one, with its heavy wooden black door, complete with brass handle, and plumbing that did not appear to have been updated since the Victorian Era. 

But for you, it was a haven. A perfect place to deal with your emotions towards the whole situation. You were more than a little frustrated at the news, which was how you had probably come across to Julie. In fact, as you sat there in the toilet fighting back tears, you would say that you were devastated. It was so cruel; the one thing that had been keeping you going, the thought of comfortable clothes and Mando, something so simple, had almost been in your grasp. You could almost feel the soft blankets that you would burrow yourself underneath on your sofa, only to hear that for reasons beyond your control, you were going to have to wait even longer. It all felt so unfair.

All you had wanted to do after such a difficult week was return home, change into comfortable pyjamas and sloth out on the couch in front of an episode of The Mandalorian. Instead, you had to babysit some rich asshole who was inconsiderate enough to hire out an entire museum like this, without any care whatsoever for the workers’ wellbeing. I mean, if it was Beyoncé or someone, you would understand their need for privacy. But some random guy you had never heard of, an absolute Z-lister? Well, you hadn’t met him yet, but you already thought that he was pathetic and selfish. 

The whole system was inherently unjust. These private visits forced museum staff, who were barely on a salary above minimum wage, to stay behind after hours just to accommodate their whims. It sickened you to think about the sums of money that would be exchanged. Dan Nobody – or whatever his name was – was throwing tens of thousands of pounds at the museum to accommodate his enormous ego, all the while you would never see a penny of. It boiled your blood with how unfair it all was.

With your desolation now replaced with defiance, you made your way back to your office to continue the work that you desperately needed to catch up on. You sighed as your footsteps echoed through the wide corridors of the stunning old building. It was an absolute honour to work in such a beautiful place where history surrounded you and you knew how fortunate you were in that sense. But it would be a lie to say that you were completely happy with the realities of working for such an institution. As much as excitement had fuelled your first few months working here… now, disillusionment lingered around every corner. Gone was the bright-eyed, enthusiastic girl who had strolled in here straight out of University, feeling as though the world was at her feet because she had just prevailed during a tough application process and would now have the opportunity to work with the largest permanent collection of any museum in the entire world. Instead, she had been replaced with a more cynical woman who felt disenchanted by the surroundings which had once excited her so deeply.

After returning to your office, you spent the rest of your day busy catching up with your work, albeit with a knot of dread in your stomach about the prospect of having to put on a smile and greet yet another out-of-touch, obscenely wealthy man. You really hoped he wasn’t another creep. Unfortunately, you had encountered more than enough of them for one lifetime. Inevitably, every few months, some minor royal or businessman with more money than sense would book out your museum and due to your knowledge and enthusiasm, you were usually selected to be their guide. You had long suspected it was certain other traits which made you a desirable tour guide, though. For instance, you thought it strange that your colleague Tom never got chosen for the tours despite the fact the two of you had started at the museum at a similar time, so had a similar position and level of experience. But Tom was never selected, and neither were pretty much any of your male colleagues. No, it always seemed to be the younger female workers who were chosen to show the wealthy men around the museum. 

You loathed every single last one of them. You had never met a single one who you didn’t want to throttle within approximately five seconds of meeting them. You knew whenever you walked up to them what you were in store for, as they leered at you with their toothy grins and always pulled you in for a hug and kiss on both cheeks. It made you feel like just another exhibit for them to gawk at, not the intensely knowledgeable human being that you were. They always dressed the same way too, in ghastly chinos and loafers. They selected the kinds of outfits that made sure any onlooker could tell just by how they dressed, the extent of their personal fortunes. You hated every single last one of them. 

It felt so wrong to you that these people – who probably had some connection, not too far back in their family tree, to the atrocities that led to the museum possessing such an extensive collection in the first place – could pay obscene amounts of money to close off an entire museum that was usually free to enter. That money would be much better spent in other places. And every single last one of them had always treated the young female staff as though they were a package deal. They seemed to have the impression that the money they had spent entitled them to sexually harass the staff. So, you weren’t exactly looking forward to when six o’clock rolled around and you would have to endure another creep.

For the rest of the day, you were somewhat grateful that you had things to catch up on. Oh sure, it was dull archival work with difficult colleagues, but it was better than having too much time to think about the horrors that awaited you in the form of a golden pinky-ring-wearing asshole at the end of the day. Plus, it gave you a chance to charge your social battery in preparation for the tour that night.

But the end of your shift at five finally rolled around and you had an hour to grab some food after the museum shut and eat before you had to meet the client at six. You thought, bitterly, as you marched down the steps that at the same time you would have to be entertaining a rich creep, you could have been well on your way home to sprawl out on the sofa in front of The Mandalorian. Unfortunately, the universe was really out to get you today. Mando would have to wait.

As you stood inside the noodle shop around the corner from the museum, waiting for your order to be freshly cooked by the friendly owner who knew your order off by heart by now – such was the frequency of your trips here – you took your phone out of your pocket to message Ria. You hadn’t heard from her all day and you just wanted to vent to her, not expecting her to reply immediately as although it was early afternoon for her and you were sure she’d be awake, she would still be adjusting to jet lag after flying over to London for the convention and probably working herself.

[ilovemando] 17:16 ugh ria i have to work late tonight. some rich asshole has booked out the museum for a private tour

Fortunately, the ellipses popped up to indicate that Ria was typing an immediate reply. You breathed a sigh of relief, absolutely thrilled that you had some virtual company in your hour of need.

[thisistheslay] 17:17: Nooooo bestie I’m so sorry! Do you get paid overtime?

[ilovemando] 17:18: yeah but that’s not the point. i just want to go home and watch my comfort episode on the couch. post-con depression is hitting hard :(

[thisistheslay] 17:18: Don’t worry, The Foundlings will still be waiting for you when you get back! I’m sure seeing Mando protecting those kids will cheer you up, even if it’s the thousandth time you’ve seen it!

You began to tap out a reply, but your order number was called before you could send the message. After grabbing your bag of noodles, you tapped out a one-handed reply:

[ilovemando] 17:26: soz was collecting my noodles lmao. but ur right i guess. i just want to watch it NOW. i wanna see my man kicking butt to protect a class of Mandalorian kids, not deal with some old creepy rich guy who thinks renting out the museum also entitles him to sexually harass me. ugh. Mando wouldn’t treat me like that!! sorry for the rant. hope ur jet lag is getting better. miss u :(((

[thisistheslay] 17:29: Awww that sounds awful. I wish I could be there for you and give you a big hug. Let me know how it goes, yeah? You can call me when you’re done on the way home if you want to rant. I’ll be thinking of you. I love you, you got this! &lt;3  

[ilovemando] 17:21: thanks ria. love you too &lt;3

After reading and replying to Ria’s soothing message, you put your phone away as you walked back to the museum. You wanted some peace and quiet and sought out one of the break rooms to eat your food in and mentally prepare for the evening ahead. Fortunately, the museum had almost entirely cleared out of both visitors and staff by the time you made it back and you were able to enjoy your food in peace. 

Ria’s words had definitely comforted you, but your heart ached at how much you missed her. You knew that you were incredibly lucky to have a friendship like the one you shared, even if it meant that you couldn’t always be physically close to her. Remembering how you had sobbed on the platform before you put her on the tube to the airport as you were forced to say goodbye almost made you cry again. Then, Ria hit you with a lovely quote: “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” It had made you cry harder, but when she revealed it was borrowed from Winnie the Pooh, your tears had turned to full-on laughter. Trust Ria to pull that one out at that moment! 

You smiled at that memory. At her sense of humour and how she always seemed to know the right words to say to you at precisely the right time. She was always there to build you up when you were feeling down, and boost your confidence when you needed it and in happier times, she was there to share in them too. All that, despite the distance. You missed her terribly. In some ways, you felt as though it might have been easier if your online friendship did not translate to the real world and things could have just fizzled out instead. Then again, you couldn’t imagine your life without Ria in it. Despite the distance, at least you could keep in regular contact thanks to the power of the internet. You were so grateful that she had been there to help talk you through the nervousness you felt about the upcoming guided tour.

You mindlessly scrolled through various social media apps on your phone as you watched the minutes tick by towards six p.m., looking at various pictures of Mando in an attempt to steady your nerves. You looked through all the messages that you had missed in the group chat, too. Although the second season of The Mandalorian had only finished airing in January, it appeared from various rumours that the third season was already in production. The details were always scant and anyone with any meaningful involvement in it was surely sworn to secrecy on account of the need to hide Mando’s identity. But a source had seemingly confirmed that production was beginning at The Volume, the studios that lay just a few miles outside of London. 

The timing of the news really could not have come at a better moment for you. It was something to focus on and to look forward to. Although this tour would inevitably be as awful as those that had gone before, it would soon be over and you would be able to join in with all the excitement and theorising with your group of friends over what lay in store for Mando in season three.

So, with a mixture of emotions, you left the break room and made your way through the lofty halls of the museum towards the entrance. You were both bursting with excitement at the knowledge that somewhere – only a few miles from here – the next season of your favourite show was currently being filmed and filled with and trepidation for the ghastly man that you were certain you were about to encounter, You braced yourself for the awful man you were sure you would be tasked with showing around the museum. You were trying your best to stay calm but you were absolutely dreading the tour. You were not in any mood to engage with people, let alone a complete stranger, today. 

As you neared the front entrance, you cast your mind back to the previous Saturday. Particularly, to the way you had stood up so passionately to defend Mando at the awful panel at ForceCon. See, you could do things, even in the face of idiots. You were a capable person. You would survive this.

But when you entered the entrance hall of the museum, you found that the man you were to give a tour to was unlike anything you had been expecting. Firstly, you noticed that he was not in the standard chinos and loafer uniform of the aristocracy. In fact, he was dressed rather casually, although still smart, in a high-necked brown jumper with dark brown trousers that almost matched the turtleneck sweater in shade. You noticed that he had brown boots on, too. The guy must really have a thing for brown. Then you noticed how uncomfortable the man seemed. He had not seen you yet, but he was standing there, glancing around the hall somewhat nervously, his fist clenching and unclenching at his side. But there was something else about him that you found intriguing… because the man you were to give a tour to had a child at his feet.

You were surprised to see such a young child; he couldn’t have been more than two or three years old, clinging to the man’s leg. Even though he had initially seemed different from all the others, now you found that the sight of such a small child brought out feelings of resentment from inside you. You thought about what a waste of money it was, to book out an entire museum for just him and a child that would never remember it. But you were still intrigued at what his story was and in particular, why he seemed so anxious.

You were so transfixed by the sight of the man you were to give the tour to, that you almost didn’t even notice the fact that he was standing next to one of your friends. Mo was one of the few people you actually liked at the museum and the two of you always had conversations whenever your paths crossed. You shared similar interests and humour. Mo was about your age and was always open to your rants about the museum, given his background as the son of immigrants from Pakistan. You found him a breath of fresh air, even if he still hadn’t watched Mando, despite you repeatedly nagging him to.

As you had closed the last few steps between you, though, the man did something you found rather odd. He gave you a strange look, almost a scowl, before rapidly looking away and focusing on anything else in the museum other than your impending presence next to him.

“Hi, Mo,” you smiled at him cheerfully, in an attempt to diffuse whatever tension the sight of you had evoked for the man. Suddenly, you felt immensely grateful that he would be somewhere in the vicinity during your tour. Mo nodded at you as you stepped forward and introduced yourself. “Hello, nice to meet you. I’ll be your tour guide around the museum tonight. Dan, was it?”

But the man did not say a word. He just stood there gawping at you, eyes wide and mouth opened slightly as his brown eyes remained fixed on your face. You were a little unnerved, not least because of the strange look he had given you as you approached. For a brief moment, a look of recognition flashed across his features. But you were certain that you had never seen this man before in your entire life. You would remember if you had, you were sure of that. He was incredibly handsome, probably at least ten years older than you and presumably married, judging by the baby he had with him. Bizarrely, you felt as though the pressure was off, even though it wasn’t like a simple museum tour was going to be the start of a great love story or anything. Besides, regardless of how attractive you found him, this man was strictly off-limits; it would be completely improper to start anything having met at work like this.

The man finally seemed to shake himself out of whatever stupor he appeared to have fallen into and finally introduced himself.

“Oh! Uh, hi. No, not Dan. My name is Din… Din Djarin,” Din explained as he offered his hand to you, which you took and shook slowly.

The warmth of Din’s enormous hand as it engulfed yours, dwarfing your smaller hand as your fingers touched his palm and felt the rough calluses there sent a chill down your spine. There was an unmistakable shock of something there, caused by the feeling of his skin against yours. You tilted your chin up to look at his face as your joined hands hovered in mid-air.

You were first taken in by how brown Din’s eyes were as they gazed at you as your hands slowly stopped moving together. They were deep and warm, the colour of the wood panelling in some of the oldest rooms here in the museum. His prominent nose was perhaps his most striking feature. It was aquiline and achingly beautiful, it reminded you of some of the sculptures the museum had of Roman Emperors. Din unquestionably had movie-star good looks, but without being unapproachable in his attractiveness. Yet, you were still absolutely captivated and intimidated by him. As your eyes continued to traverse his face, you noticed too that he had a neatly trimmed moustache underneath his stunning nose. There was slightly patchy stubble dotted along his defined jawline and high cheekbones, too. But the moustache was captivating, sat as it was atop his plush lips… lips that looked so soft and inviting…

Woah! You were going too far. You dropped Din’s hand abruptly and cleared your throat as you mentally berated yourself for staring at the lips of a guy you didn’t even know – a visitor, no less! A visitor who you were about to give a tour of the museum to, a visitor who had brought his young son. It was beyond inappropriate.

“Pleasure to meet you Mr Djarin. I’m looking forward to showing you around all of the wonderful exhibitions we are so lucky to have here,” you smiled, attempting to ignore both the heat you felt on your cheeks and the confused expression on Mo’s face.

Upon hearing your voice again, Din looked slightly taken aback and that look that you had momentarily witnessed flash across his features, as though he remembered you from somewhere, returned. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the recognition was gone from his face, replaced with a stern scowl. His brows pointed firmly downwards, along with his lips that were oh, so plush. A little wrinkle in the centre of his browline above his nose suddenly became prominent, which showed his age. You thought it was cute and ached to smooth it out with your fingertips. 

For heaven’s sake! You really needed to get a grip, it was ridiculous to be pining like a little lost puppy over a man you had just met. Especially one who seemed to have an aversion to you on the scale that Din clearly did. 

You stood there, heart pounding as the scowl did not fade from his features as quickly as you hoped it might. Whatever problem Din had with your presence was lingering. Great, he doesn’t like me, you thought. How had you already messed it up? Usually, you at least managed to hold it together for a few minutes before the mask slipped and your disdain for the rich assholes became obvious. But this was a new record, even for you. The two of you had barely spoken. And you actually didn’t hate this guy, you were more intrigued by him than disgusted, even if he was behaving a little strangely in your presence.

You were just about to offer to get Din a different tour guide and apologise profusely for whatever it was about your existence that was so off-putting when he finally opened his mouth and spoke.

“Please, you don’t have to call me Mr Djarin. Just Din is fine,” Din said, brown eyes widening as he suddenly snapped out of whatever trance he had been in. Then, he nodded his head – causing a few brown curls to fall over his eyes – and added: “This is my son, Grogu. I don’t know if you were expecting him and I hope he isn’t too young for the tour, but wherever I go, he goes.”

“Aww, he’s adorable!” you exclaimed, unable to help yourself despite your usual disdain for children. You crouched down so you were eye-level with Grogu to greet him properly too. “Hello there, Grogu,” you whispered softly.

The little boy was dressed in a green onesie and his dark curly hair peeked out from underneath the matching green hood. You noticed too, now that you were closer, that he was fiddling with a shiny metallic ball, clutched tightly in his hand. It was a pretty unusual outfit for a museum tour, but you did not judge either of them. You noticed that Grogu seemed a little nervous, as he stood there, unmoving with a blank expression and contemplated you. The biggest brown eyes that you had ever seen in your entire life were staring right back at you, traversing their way across your face.

With his impossibly large eyes and deep bronze skin, even you who ordinarily disliked children had to admit that Grogu was a little charmer. Perhaps it was the fact that you had never really been surrounded by that many children which explained why you had never been particularly fond of them. Either way, even you had to admit: that Grogu was completely adorable. Even if he did not seem keen to acknowledge your existence in any meaningful way.

“He doesn’t always take kindly to strangers…” Din explained as you knelt there, waiting for a response that never came.

“Well, that’s fine!” you smiled at Grogu before you stood up straight. “As long as he takes kindly to museums, I’m sure we’ll have a great time together.”

“Thank you,” Din nodded and swallowed thickly, his voice full of an emotion that you could not quite place.

“How old is Grogu?” you asked, attempting to make some more small talk to put the pair of them at ease.

“He’s thirty-eight months,” Din said quietly as he looked down towards his son, who was still clutching onto Din’s calf with the hand that wasn’t grasping the metallic ball.

You usually found it obnoxious, the way parents measured their babies’ ages in months – just say he’s three! But there was something about the way Din looked at Grogu, the pride you saw there in those warm brown eyes, that stopped you from getting frustrated with him.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to have you both here. There’s no minimum or maximum age for loving history!” you said enthusiastically and then internally cringed. You had perhaps said that a little too enthusiastically to remain authentic to yourself. But part of being a good tour guide was giving your guests a little bit of a show and despite their somewhat mystifying reactions to your existence, you were eager to impress Din and Grogu. “Are there any areas that you are particularly interested in seeing? Unfortunately, the collection is so vast that we won’t have time to see it all, but if there are any specific areas of history that you are especially interested in, I’ll make sure that we see them!”

“To be honest, I don’t know that much about uhh… your history,” Din said, reaching to touch the back of his neck with his hand in a soothing motion.

“Well, you’ve come to the right place to learn!” you said reassuringly.

The man before you seemed somewhat embarrassed about his lack of knowledge, but you loved it when people came here as a blank canvas and you got to tell them about things they had never heard of before. It was one of the most satisfying parts of the job. 

Ironically too, when Din had said he did not know much about your history, the man clearly had no idea that most of this museum did not even show British history. It was an inescapable fact that you had become increasingly sickened by during your time working here. The reality of just how much of the collection had been accumulated due to violent pillaging and plundering of other nations' resources had led to you becoming increasingly disillusioned by the institution as a whole. Although the museum boasted an extensive, impressive collection… so much of it was stolen treasures from the rest of the world. 

You tried not to shy away from the fact, even though management would have been furious if they ever discovered you had brought such a truth up. So, you had to be tactful in your methods. After all, you were a firm believer that change came from within. Despite how tempted you had been to quit your job when you had first realised how little of Britain's history was here, and how the colonial past was gushed over, you had stayed, fearing that perhaps your replacement would have been ignorant to such a fact. You also remained, hoping that you could one day leave the museum in a better condition than the one you found it in.

“Enjoy the tour,” Mo nodded at Din. Then, he approached you and whispered for only you to hear: “Already gave him the stern, don’t-be-a-creep and don’t steal anything talk. Call me if you need anything,” Mo finished and handed you a walkie-talkie.

You placed the device in your pocket and smiled as Mo left, grateful that you had a good friend who would look out for you. Although it seemed that it would be unnecessary, given just how guarded your little tour party seemed.

“Right!” you exclaimed and clapped your hands together, unofficially marking the start of the tour. “If it’s okay with the pair of you, I would love to show you to the exhibition which contains the Lewis chessmen. It’s the oldest surviving chess set from the British Isles and it’s one of the most famous pieces in our collection.”

“Sounds good to me,” Din nodded with a smile as he leaned down to pick Grogu up. Then, he indicated for you to lead the way with his hand.

You kept your distance as you headed in the direction of the infamous chess set. Sometimes you would hang back and engage the guests in small talk or point out various features of the museum. But there was an unmistakable anxiousness present in both Din and Grogu, so you decided to give them space as they adjusted to their new surroundings.

You had intended to take them directly to the chess set, but then an idea struck you for how to get Grogu more engaged. Although you weren’t the biggest fan of children, the feeling did not appear to be mutual as the kids who visited the museum on school trips usually warmed to you surprisingly quickly. Grogu was proving to be somewhat more of a challenge though, but you dreamt up an idea to hopefully engage him a little more.

You stopped and turned around to face Din, who was carrying Grogu tightly in his arms so that the little boy’s chin was resting on one of his broad shoulders. Din came to a stop and glanced at you curiously.

“I know I promised I would take you to the chess set and we can still go there, but I was thinking first that we could pass through the wing which houses our Ancient Egypt collection?” you suggested. “I’m a guide for most of the school trips that visit us and it always seems to be the area that the kids most enjoy.”

“Oh. That’s very… kind of you,” Din rasped. “Thank you.”

You nodded and began walking ahead of your guests again, grateful that Din would not see the effect he was having on your ordinarily calm, composed demeanour. Although he appeared to be a man of few words, every time Din did speak, you felt the way your knees weakened. His voice was so low and gravelly, it was deep and rich. With a voice like that, you thought that it was a crime that he did not speak more often. Though you supposed, it was a good thing after all. His voice was so attractive that it was almost distracting.

Eventually, you made it to the Egyptian section of the museum. You really hoped that it would have the intended impact on Grogu, who was still utterly silent in Din’s arms. You knew that kids usually loved this exhibition most of all. There were sarcophaguses and all kinds of intricate patterns that all the school trips who visited the museum made it a priority to see. 

As you walked through the room, you gave a brief history of this wing of the museum and drew Din and Grogu’s attention to the most notable exhibit: The Rosetta Stone. Afterwards, you told them to let you know if they needed any help. Then, you kept your distance as you wanted to give Din and Grogu some privacy to explore the collection and hopefully become a bit more accustomed to their surroundings. You sensed that Din was not particularly used to museums and it was perhaps making him a little uneasy to be in one. Which made you all the more curious as to why he had organised a private tour.

You maintained your distance but still stood close enough so that you could help them if they needed it. But as you stood back to observe Din Djarin moving between the cases which housed so many ancient treasures, you were struck by the way he somehow seemed oddly familiar. Just as there had been a small flash of recognition on his face when he first saw you, you felt as though you had seen him somewhere before yourself. 

You wondered whether he was actually more famous than he was letting on. After all, he was handsome enough to be an actor or a model. Perhaps you had seen him onscreen somewhere before, even if it was only a minor role. At that moment, Din placed Grogu on the ground and the little boy began to toddle his own path through the exhibits. You observed the way Din followed him around, noticing that there was a certain swagger to the way that he moved and the way his arms swung by his sides that felt familiar. It was his gait, the way he held his arms, something about him gave you the strangest sense of déjà vu. 

But try as you might, you just could not put it all together, even though it felt like you were missing something frustratingly obvious. You felt like you were continually chasing something that was just out of reach. Finally, you felt as though you were about to piece everything together and had almost figured out just where you knew him from when Din called your name and waved you closer. It was a stark reminder that you had a job to do, after all. Din was your visitor, your guest… you needed to get a grip on your emotions.

You approached the case Din was standing in front of, he turned to you with his mouth open, he clearly wanted you to ask you about something. You had expected him to question you on the collection of ornately carved, wooden cat mummies that he was currently standing in front of. But surprisingly, despite the treasures that lay just the other side of the glass, Din’s mind was seemingly elsewhere. 

“Are you working overtime just for us?” Din said quietly, staring straight ahead at the display while Grogu toddled around at your feet.

You were utterly astounded by his audacity. You knew the rich and famous were out of touch but, holy shit! This guy was on a different level. Of course, you were working overtime! If it wasn’t for him, you would be back at home with nothing but you, Mando and lots of peace and quiet. But no, Din fucking Djarin over here had to get in the way of you and your comfort bounty hunter.

“I am,” you replied curtly.

“I hope you’re well paid for it,” Din offered, sympathetically. You were about to bite back with a sarcastic comment, but his next comment stopped you in your tracks: “This wasn’t my idea, by the way. I’m over here in London for work which means I have to spend a lot of time away from my home. It’s just my son and I,” Din continued and you noticed the way he clenched and unclenched his hands that hung by his sides into fists as he spoke. “So, my bosses like to book little excursions like this every so often to stop us from going crazy out of boredom. I just wanted you to know that. To be honest, this kind of thing sort of embarrasses me. I don’t feel good about all the trouble you’ve clearly had to go to, about you staying late and… stuff.”

“Oh…” you breathed. All the bitterness and simmering hatred that you felt for this man had completely disappeared. He was just a lonely single dad, staying far away from home. You wondered what Din’s story was and how Grogu came to be featured in it. There was blatantly a strong bond between them that went beyond words. Indeed, you had not heard the little boy utter a single word, even after being let loose in the Egyptian exhibition. You also, perhaps more selfishly, wondered whether Grogu’s mother was in the picture and whether he was adopted. But that was incredibly invasive, it was not for you to know such personal details. You were just here to show them around the museum and ensure that they had as enjoyable a time as possible. 

“I really am sorry that you had to stay extra late for us. Perhaps I can speak to my bosses and the museum and make sure that all of you, the cleaners, security and the like are fairly compensated.” Din said earnestly as he turned to look at you. His words and face were full of sincerity and you found yourself almost lost in the big brown eyes that had been slowly worming their way into your heart since the first time you had stared into them in the entrance hall.

You were stunned, not only by how physically appealing you found him – if a man could be beautiful, you would deem Din Djarin worthy of such a description – but you were also floored by the beauty of his words. You were stunned by what a humble man he appeared to be, despite the enormous wealth that was seemingly available to him. Surely, if his bosses were so exceedingly rich, then Din himself must be, too? It was hard to believe that because, despite his affluence, Din seemingly still retained his humanity and cared about ordinary people. You were absolutely bowled over by this man. He was nothing like what you had been expecting.

“Thank you for apologising but really, it’s fine. Just one of those things that I have to do. You’re uh, actually the first ever person on one of these visits who has ever acknowledged that. So, thank you, Din. It means a lot,” you smiled at him, feeling your stomach flip at the way he was staring at you. “It’s not like you’ve interrupted much anyway tonight, to be honest. Usually, I just go straight home after work. I’d be lying on the couch in front of the TV by now. But you and Grogu have been a pleasure to show around thus far,” you admitted. You were unsure why you had told Din such a thing, usually feeling embarrassed about your preference for solitude. But there was just something about that man, with his earnest brown eyes, that made you want to tell him everything about yourself. 

“I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for being such a great guide,” Din said appreciatively. And you knew he meant it. Din wasn’t speaking with the fake sincerity that so many of the other obnoxious rich clients that you were so accustomed to showing around the museum, either. It was genuine. You could tell that from the look in his eyes and how solemn his voice was that he meant every word.

“You’re welcome. If you’re ready, we can head to the next area that I'm going to show you to. It contains a stunning artefact known as the Sutton Hoo helmet and it’s perhaps the most famous artefact here that was not stolen from another country,” you observed, dryly.

Din raised his eyebrows at your statement and your heart dropped for a second, fearing that you had perhaps pushed things a step too far. After all, you knew nothing about this man’s background. Perhaps he was one of them. Before you could worry for much longer, though, he burst out laughing at your observation. You let out a sigh of relief and found yourself laughing along with him, too. His joy was infectious and the way the wrinkles showed around his eyes as they half-shut in mirth made your heart soar.

“I did notice that when I was reading the descriptions in this section,” Din nodded. “I don’t think Giza is in the UK. But it never says how the artefacts ended up here. They just act as though everything here magically appeared in London one day.” 

“Yeah, of course. It was just raining artefacts in the Victorian Era,” you rolled your eyes. “But uhh… can I just ask that if you get asked for any feedback about the tour at all… please, please don’t tell my boss I said that. We’re really not supposed to acknowledge that part of the museum’s history,” you pleaded, despite how much you felt as though you inherently trusted Din. 

“Of course I won’t,” Din promised as he shook his head, “I think it’s important to talk about it and it’s a shame if you cannot speak openly.”

“Exactly. I always think how can you not mention it, when it’s staring you right in the face? So I try to slip it in where possible whenever I give tours. I’ve made references to it in front of royalty before now, but they were too dense to notice. Didn’t get taught about what their ancestors did at their posh schools, it seems,” you admitted with a shrug, your blood boiling at the memory of how condescending the minor royals that you had never even heard of had been throughout your tour. “So that’s why I always try to talk about it, especially in future exhibitions I plan to curate. This is probably why none of my proposals have ever been selected, come to think of it. Colonialists don’t like it when you point out how many things you’ve stolen, it transpires.” you said with a wry smile

“No, they don't,” Din said, one corner of his mouth curling into a smirk as he regarded you.

For a few moments, all thoughts of where the tour was headed left your head. You felt immobilised by the way Din was staring at you. Gone was the scowl of earlier, you felt as though he was staring at you as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Not in a patronising way that you were well used to, though. He was staring at you in the same way you had witnessed so many visitors stare at the assortment of wonders in the museum: in complete awe.

“Anyway, the helmet is this way.” you said, shaking your head as you stepped out of his gaze and turned to leave the room.

Once again, you walked a few paces ahead of Din and Grogu. You didn’t trust yourself to face him at that moment because of the way that he had just looked at you. It was difficult to remain professional after that. Having someone look at you like that was something you were incredibly unused to. Perhaps you were delusional, but you were certain that Din had just gazed at you as though he was mesmerised by you, taking you in and considering you slowly. 

You suddenly felt a bit shaky after it, feeling the unmistakable thundering of your heart in your chest. Din had regarded you as if you were a beautiful artwork of some kind, rather than just the lowly museum worker that you were. It was enthralling to have someone look at you like that. You were not used to it… it had been years since your last proper relationship. But when you thought back to how your ex looked at you, you were certain you had seen that same admiration in Din’s eyes. But surely, that was ridiculous. Din was a few years older than you, possibly even married, given the child he had with him. You were probably just projecting your hopes onto a situation that was not there. It was a little bit desperate.

Mercifully, the helmet was not too far away from where you currently were in the museum and you made it there quickly enough that you did not have to dwell on the way Din looked at you for an uncomfortably long time. All you knew for certain was that the thought of him looking at you like that again was simultaneously the thing you wanted most in the world and a deeply terrifying and mortifying prospect. But there was no time for you to dwell on it or even really talk to him. There was, instead, an old helmet for you to look at and explain the history of to your visitors. 

You showed Din to the glass case it was displayed in as your heart rate somewhat returned to its normal rate. Talking about Anglo-Saxon antiques was sure to help you in getting a handle on your emotions. Fortunately, your feelings towards the Sutton Hoo helmet had never lessened, despite any more general disillusionment you felt towards the entire institution. Indeed, it was a photograph of this very helmet which had captured your imagination many years ago and sent you down a path that culminated in you working here at the museum. There was something about it that captured your imagination every time you saw it, no matter how many times you had observed it up close. Just knowing that people many centuries ago had created it and gazed upon it with their own eyes somehow made you feel closer and further away from the past than ever.

The helmet was mainly faded to a brown colour now but despite its age, it was remarkably complete. It had a cap, cheek-pieces, mask and neck-guard. The nose detail and eye holes meant one could visualise where the warrior had once placed his head. The two strips of metal that hung around and down the face piece on either side always reminded you of the tusks of an elephant. The gold strip that went from near the top of the helmet towards the nose was an indication of how ornate the helmet had once been. You, Din and Grogu – who was nestled in his father’s arms – stood there for a few quiet moments, regarding the helmet quietly.

“Incredible craftsmanship. Remarkable too, how it has survived for so long. How old is it?” Din asked. 

“We think it was made somewhere between the late sixth and early seventh centuries. So it’s well over one thousand years old, whichever way you look at it,” you explained, delighted that Din wanted you to share your expertise. “It’s a mixture of iron and tinned copper alloy. Some of the patterns have been lost but you can just make out some animals and warrior motifs. The nose and mouth-piece were cast as one and they have a silver inlay with some engraved details. It’s really a fine work and incredible to think about how old it is.”

“Fascinating, thank you,” Din said, before he leaned down and whispered proudly to his son: “See, Grogu, they didn’t make them the same way that we do.” 

You thought it was a bizarre comment, but you had no right to press Din for details, given that he had probably not intended for you to hear such a thing. Perhaps Din was involved in manufacturing military equipment, or something. You did not doubt that there was a lot of money in that line of work, enough money that would allow bosses to rent out the British Museum. 

Despite your longstanding admiration for the Sutton Hoo helmet, you found that every time you looked at it now, your mind was reminded of another helmet: the one that your favourite character wore. Since first watching the show, you found that every time you were here in the presence of the Anglo-Saxon artefact, you always thought of Mando. You marvelled each time at how people who lived so long ago possessed the technology to create such an intricate piece of art. Although much of the detailing had sadly been lost to time, it was nonetheless an incredible feat. It also made you wonder if, in the Star Wars galaxy, Mandalorian helmets were on display like this in museums just like the one you worked at. Or was the warrior race too secretive? Had anyone ever captured a Mandalorian to examine their craftsmanship? 

You were so caught up in that thought, musing over the possibility of there being an equivalent to the Sutton Hoo helmet in the Star Wars universe, that you failed to notice that at some point, while you had been explaining the helmet’s history and quietly admiring it with Din, his son had toddled off. Neither of you noticed that anything was amiss until you heard the unmistakable sound of someone rapping on the glass of one of the displays. You spun around in shock, confused and disorientated, wondering what the noise was; but Din was on it right away.

“Grogu! No!” Din exclaimed as he ran towards his son.

The sound of the metallic ball clutched in Grogu’s chubby little hands went tap tap tap as it collided with the glass case which housed one of the most significant carvings in European history.

You turned around and smiled at the sight – you couldn’t help yourself, despite the fact you probably should have been delivering a stern reprimand – as Din scooped Grogu up and held him to his chest. At some point, while you had been explaining the Sutton Hoo helmet to Din, Grogu had got seemingly bored by your lecture and wandered off to explore something he found far more interesting. 

“I’m so sorry,” Din said apologetically as you came to stand next to him.

“Oh, don’t worry. Those cases are designed to protect against chemical warfare, bullets, fires… anything you can think of,” you smiled, looking down at Grogu who seemed blissfully unaware of the panic he had just elicited in the pair of you. “An excitable toddler is no match. It isn’t like the movies, no red lasers are going to shoot out of the ceiling, I assure you.”

However, just as you were explaining you heard the unmistakable sound of hurried footsteps in the corridor outside, which probably belonged to a member of the museum’s security team as they sprinted to check what the commotion was. Grogu had probably unknowingly activated some kind of security system. The mystery security guard shouted your name and you realised it was Mo, who was clearly sizing the situation up and whether he needed to storm in, guns blazing.

“It’s fine, Mo!” You shouted in reply. “Just a little excited kiddo here, absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“Okay! Just checking!” Mo replied as his footsteps stopped. When they resumed, they grew more distant as he disappeared elsewhere in the museum.

“Thank you,” Din said appreciatively. He exhaled and turned to look at you, a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude on his face that you hadn’t made this into a big deal.

“It’s fine,” you shrugged. “You know, we don’t have too much art here in this museum. I’m surprised he was so drawn to this, I wouldn’t expect a child to like it as it's pretty much just a technical drawing and there are no colours. The art we do have is great though, although it’s nothing like the National Gallery, their collection is amazing,” you mused.

“No, but it’s still a beautiful piece. I think he just likes the look of the armour. I really am sorry about all the commotion,” Din reiterated his apology.

“Oh, really, Mr. Djarin. It’s fine,” you said reassuringly, hoping that your choice not to refer to Din by his first name would place some distance between the two of you. “The security guys just get a little jumpy after hours, that’s all.” 

“Please, I absolutely insist that you call me Din. Mr. Djarin makes me sound like an old man!” Din joked.

“Okay Din,” you giggled, but were desperate to change the subject. “You know, if Grogu is interested in art, there’s also the National Gallery, another museum here. It gets quite busy at peak times, as all museums do. The crowds particularly gather around Van Gogh’s sunflowers. I mean, I get it. He’s my favourite painter and I love that piece. But there’s so much other art that gets neglected, lonely at its expense. People just walk up to the sunflowers, snap their pictures and leave. The whole thing is very impersonal… they don’t take a second to appreciate the hours that the artist spent agonising over every little detail, you know?”

“It is a shame… that people cannot stop to appreciate beautiful things when they’re standing right in front of them…” Din’s voice had dropped to barely above a whisper as his brown eyes focused on you, smiling at you thoughtfully.

You cleared your throat and looked down, feeling the familiar warmth that came with embarrassment creep up your neck and onto your face. Your cheeks were suddenly burning. The look Din had given you when he said beautiful had made you feel slightly dizzy. You weren’t sure whether he was referring to the art or you. It made you feel slightly lightheaded. You had almost forgotten what it felt like to be spoken to like that, it had been so long since anyone had seen you in that way. 

It was somewhat alarming to you, too, how quickly you felt comfortable around Din. Perhaps it was watching his interactions with Grogu but, despite his broad shoulders and muscular frame, there was an undeniable gentleness to him. It had been a long time since you had opened up to anyone as easily as you had to Din. Oh sure, you were only explaining that you sometimes enjoyed looking at art at a certain gallery and that you liked to lounge around in front of the TV. They weren’t your deepest, most intimate secrets or anything. But for someone who took so long to feel comfortable around others, it said something about how at ease you felt with Din that you were able to tell him these little things about yourself so soon after meeting him.

“Yes… it’s a shame,” you eventually agreed. “Anyway, sorry for going on a rant about selfish gallery-goers. Would you like me to tell you more about the artwork?” you asked, remembering what you were being paid for and attempting to steer the conversation back towards something that you were infinitely more comfortable with – historical artefacts.

“That would be great, thank you,” Din nodded as he placed Grogu down.

“The piece that captured Grogu’s imagination, as it transpires, is one of the most important carvings in European history. It’s a woodcut of a rhinoceros created by a German painter called Albrecht Dürer in 1515, who never even saw the beast. He carved it based on a description from an Indian writer,” You explained as you launched into a passionate lecture about the history of Dürer’s rhino, the two pairs of big brown eyes that belonged Din and Grogu watching you intently. “Clearly, the carving is not wholly accurate, as the rhinoceros looks as though it has plates of armour on its body, rather than the skin anyone from modern times knows that rhinos actually possess. But it was the best they could do. I always find it astonishing that people from such a long time ago were able to create such intricate pieces of art,” you marvelled, hoping to fill Din and Grogu with the same sense of wonderment that you felt when you thought about the past.

Sometimes, you felt embarrassed about the extensive knowledge that you possessed, that you could always launch into such detailed lectures at a moment’s notice. There were so many people in your past who had viewed your knowledge as patronising arrogance on your part, distorted by their inadequacies to believe that you were showing off somehow and attempting to make them feel inferior. But you were not, you were just passionate and enthusiastic about the world that surrounded you, particularly the past. You enjoyed sharing that passion and knowledge with other people. It was never born out of a desire to make them feel bad for what they did not know, but to help them to learn something new and perhaps open their minds.

But you felt none of that embarrassment as you concluded your lecture, still being watched intently by Din and Grogu: “As you can imagine, this would influence perceptions of rhinoceros for centuries, even though it was not accurate. Would be pretty cool if rhinos wore armour though, wouldn’t it, Grogu?” You finished, smiling at the little boy who had listened to you so patiently.

“Thank you for that. I’m sure Grogu would agree, he likes…. Uh… armour,” Din said, reaching up to squeeze the back of his neck again, just as he had done shortly after you met in the entrance hall.

You smiled and nodded, appreciating the praise. But Din’s comment about the armour stood out to you, especially when you considered what he had said to Grogu about the Sutton Hoo helmet earlier. You were beginning to feel more certain now that Din probably had something to do with weapons, somehow. Perhaps it was his main line of work, or perhaps he was one of those enthusiasts who reenacted battles in his spare time… now that was a funny image.

But Din continued speaking before you could dwell on the comment any longer: “Grogu really likes animals too. I think he likes them more than the art and history aspect, as interesting as they were,” Din remarked.

“Oh, there’s a zoo here in London, you know? I think it has some rhinos, but if he likes animals perhaps it would be a nice day out for the two of you. I haven’t been for a while, usually, it’s full of tourists, but if I get a day off and it’s not the summer, I do like hanging out there,” you admitted.

“I would love to visit sometime, hopefully, Grogu and I can find the time while we’re over here,” Din said, touching his chin as if he were deep in thought.

“Yes, it’s definitely worth a visit. A lot of people seem surprised that London has such an impressive zoo with animals from all around the world. It often gets overlooked in favour of all the more touristy sights. You know, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and shopping on Oxford Street. And don’t get me wrong, I do love going to those places from time to time. It never ceases to amaze me that I live in the capital city, you know. But I think there is just as much value to be gained from getting out in nature and exploring the natural beauty our world has to offer,” you said, thoughtfully.

“Me too. A lot of nature can be so… beautiful.” Din breathed, that look was back again as he used that word once more.

You felt that familiar skin-warming sensation creep back up your neck again and gazed down at the floor, moving away from his penetrating gaze as you invited them to follow you to look at some more of the collection. You roamed around the exhibition with the two of them for a little bit longer after you felt that you had spent enough time looking at the carving of the rhinoceros.

Eventually, after quickly looking at some of the art from the Arab world that was in the collection, it was time for you to draw the tour to a close. You ushered Din and Grogu back down the grand stone staircase in the main, airy room that was still lit naturally despite the late hour. It was late June so the sun did not sit till late, though the sunlight that streamed down in the day had begun to dim now. 

Din’s brown hair and eyes looked golden in the sunset light, his eyes were glowing almost the colour of honey. He was stunning. You couldn’t believe how much you found yourself enthralled by this man, even though you had just met him. Throughout the tour, you had both connected over history and your shared values. It was nothing too deep though and you were only operating in a professional capacity, but it was pathetic how much you already felt drawn to him. You needed to get over yourself. 

Fortunately, you soon would as you were about to say goodbye. You knew in your heart of hearts that, much as you had enjoyed your time spent with him, once you said your goodbyes and he left through the door with Grogu, that would be the very last you would ever see of Din Djarin. 

“Thank you for being such an incredible guide,” Din said, reaching out to shake your hand again. “Grogu and I had the best time.”

You could barely choke out a reply. You wondered whether Din had felt the same spark of electricity that you felt when he had taken his hand in yours. His skin was surprisingly smooth and warm; if you weren’t completely deluding yourself, you swore that his hand lingered on yours a beat longer than it had when you had introduced yourself to him. Even though you had both left your hands on each other for a near-uncomfortably long amount of time even then. Din looked directly into your eyes, the brown of his irises was now flecked with golden streaks. You wanted to lose yourself in those eyes. What a shame you had to part.

“It was my pleasure. I hope you learnt something new on the tour, something that you take with you always,” you smiled, still looking into his eyes. “Enjoy the remainder of your time here in the UK.”

Din thanked you one last time and even got Grogu to wave to you. Then he was gone, his footsteps echoing off the marble floors and tall ceilings. You were left there in his wake. This enigmatic man, with kind brown eyes and brown curly hair, had been so kind to you despite all your expectations to the contrary. You knew that you would never cross paths with him again and that thought pained you somewhere deep inside. You felt as though Din had brought something to your life that you had not realised you were missing. What a loss, a loss of a man that you barely even knew.

Still, you consoled yourself with the thought that at least you had your comfy couch and endless episodes of The Mandalorian to go back to. Your favourite show would always be there for you. Mando would never leave you standing there, pining for him. It was ridiculous! You shook your head, trying to pull yourself out of the trance that Din had just left you in. You needed to get home before it was too late.

You grabbed your belongings from the office and finally began to head for home, several hours later than you had been anticipating but still grateful that at least the tour had not been an utter disaster. Perhaps that would have been better, though, you mused. Rather than leaving you with such a twisted, tangled mess of feelings.

To distract yourself from the impossibly noisy drunken teenagers who were heading for a night out – suddenly making you feel ancient – you passed your time on the journey home with your nose buried into your phone, texting Ria about the man you had just given a tour to.

[ilovemando] 20:42 - RIAAAAA i just showed the hottest guy around the museum for a private tour. dreamy brown eyes, deep voice, tall, broad shoulders. he was older though and had a kid but i think he called me beautiful at one point? dgsdhgs maybe i’m delulu but wow he was fucking HOT i am yearning

You stared around the carriage absentmindedly, waiting for Ria to reply as you wished your noise-cancelling headphones could make everyone disappear, especially the drunk dickheads on your train. Fortunately, Ria was chronically online and you didn’t have to wait too long for her to reply.

[thisistheslay] 20:44 - Omg bestie!!! Did anything else happen, do you think you’ll see him again? A private tour though ugh. Eat the rich!!

[ilovemando] 20:47 - nahhh i cant see him again, didnt get his number. would’ve been unprofessional lmao. we just spoke quite a lot, i guess. it felt more relaxed than a lot of the tours i gave recently actually. he was really sweet. works a good job so thats how he got the tour… not rich arsehole vibes at all. fuck im crushing on a man i’ll never see again. pain

[thisistheslay] 20:49 - I mean, better than crushing on someone who doesn’t even exist? 

You threw your head back and snorted. That was a low blow, but probably deserved.

[ilovemando] 20:50 - RIA??????? UNCALLED FOR!!

[thisistheslay] 20:51 - Sorry, sorry. I know Mando is real to you.

[ilovemando] 20:51 - ur damn right he is lmao. gonna watch the foundlings when i get back. if no one else got me, i know mando got me… can i get an amen

[thisistheslay] 20:53 - AMEN! The only man who deserves rights.

[ilovemando] 20:54 - so true bestie. anyway gonna put my phone away and stare out of the window for the rest of the journey and listen to the mando soundtrack while imagining we’re flying through space in the razor crest together…. im so mentally stable. ill live text u my mental breakdown when watching the foundlings when i get home :))))

[thisistheslay] 20:56 - Hahah you really are, very healthy behaviour. Please do, I’ll look forward to it, work is dragginggggg

You smiled and put your phone in your pocket, doing exactly as you said. As far above you, the dense city turned into lush suburbia, you were elsewhere. Not even on this earth as you daydreamed about Mando next to you.

You almost missed your stop, such was the vividness of your daydream. You wished you could escape to that fantasy world and stop pining for a man you hardly knew. The time you had spent with Din had been the happiest you had felt since the convention since Ria had left. But it had been fleeting, temporary and now you were heading back to reality which, for you, was lying on your couch on a Friday night, watching your comfort episode of Mando for the billionth time. 

You sighed deeply as you lay there, watching the episode. It was unhealthy to compare a fictional character to reality and you knew that. But you just wished that more men could be like Mando. You adored the way he took such good care of the children. He was so empathetic, and protective; so sworn to his duty that he got himself into precarious situations multiple times throughout the episode to protect the foundlings, who were strangers to him. But Mando did it without hesitation, without anger. He was just a good man.

You couldn’t help but be reminded of the interactions you had seen between Din and Grogu. There you were, again! Caught up yearning for a much older man that you were never going to see again. This episode was meant to distract you from him and replace your newfound pining for a real, unattainable man with a familiar yearning for a fictional man who was even more unattainable because he wasn’t real. But instead, everything you saw of Mando was causing you to think of Din. It had not been the evening you had planned.

You had expected to watch more episodes, perhaps having a mini binge. You always intended to stop after one episode, of course. But the reality was quite different. You found yourself unable to stop, no matter how hard you tried as the story always gripped you. You always found Mando’s presence familiar and comforting and you had watched an entire season in one sitting before. 

But tonight, you actually did stop after just one episode. You were too distracted to enjoy it properly so when the episode finished, you headed to your room. That night, you fell asleep underneath The Mandalorian poster above your bed, trying to replace thoughts of the brown eyes and brown curls of Din Djarin by thinking about Mando and the way he took care of those children. Trying to replace memories of the tall, broad-shouldered man you had shown around the museum with thoughts of a hulking tin can man with a confident strut who was prepared to give his all to make the galaxy a better place. 

Little did you know whichever way you thought about it, you were fantasising about the same man.

Next Chapter

Taglist: @toxic-seduction @survivingandenduring

[goldenkirstein]

hello raf!!! first off, I wanna say that I love your blog and your fics. tysm for sharing them with us you are incredibly talented!

second, do you have other blog/moot recommendations for users who write for jean x reader? I wanna follow all of you you're all so amazing!

only if you can! :) have a nice night!

hi nonnie !! ty for the kind words!! yes i do, some of these are my moots, some are not but regardless they are all incredibly talented writers. there are so so so many writers that have jean fics, but i chose these ones because they have more than a few jean x reader !! these are also just based on my preferences, so if there is a writer not included here, i apologize !!

Please read all of these authors rules/dni’s as ik a few of them interact or post dark content and are 18+ blogs !! respect writers and their rules !!

@whats-her-quirk - what can i say that hasn’t been said, literally the reason i write on here and responsible for the first jean x reader fic i ever read, i love june. Absolutely phenomal, so fucking cool and talented. her writing makes me happy, to put it simply.

my fave fic: midnight ride & below freezing

@jean-does-not-have-a-horseface - the username speaks for itself, again i read her fics when i still was a ghost blog so i am quite sentimental lol, i think she might be working on a jean rockstar au series, im not sure tho, but regardless just a super talented writer !!

my fave fic: sketches of you

@welcometotheclubhoe - jay, oh my god, i love them and their blog, all of their jean fics are so. fucking. amazing. like chef’s kiss, have me sweating, screaming and crying, genuinely need to take a five minute break to walk around my room and contemplate the meaning of life. so yeah, jay’s a jeanius (shhhh i know its cringe)

@bakugohoex - a fellow jean simp, ria is not only the sweetest but just so fucking good at writing jean, fluff, angst and smut, her brain is so big because she’s responsible for one my favourite jean series and playlist tbh ahem:

my fave fic: stay & put on a show

@mikaberries - Mika is also one of the first aot writer blogs I followed, I found her first on tiktok and then followed here. super fucking talented, idk how she does it tbh. also just an all around good person and very sweet, I have nothing but respect and praise for her and her work.

my fave fic: innocent & car quickie

my fave fic: unrequited series

@fiaficsxo - i love fia and her writing, she is so talented and just an absolute gem. she also happens to be another fellow jean simp, which i love ffhkjhg. but fr her jean smut leaves me sweating. 

my fave fic: jersey girl

@seraphdreams - title of blog: jean love club. thats it. what more can i say. ceo of jean simping and being just remarkable, like honestly, seraph was the first one who popped into my mind when i read ur ask nonnie. do me a favour and read all of their jean fics, you will become enlightened.

my fave fic: mornings w/ jean & face sitting

@alert-arlert - genuinely adore ryn, for their writing and their presence here, i really love their headcanons for jean and honestly aside from fics, i really do get happy when i see them on my dash, coolest person ever omg, follow them for the vibes and the amazing writing

my fave fic: jean relationship hc’s & nsfw alphabet

@odmlevis: riz my loveeeee, so talented and so amazing, top notch writing and top notch person, i admire her so much, made me fall in love with fuckboy jean what more can i sayyyyy

my fave fic: jean + friends to lovers & falling in love w/ fuckboy jean

@dancingazaleas - crazy fucking talented, i cannot believe that i can just go to their blog and read for free. like i astral projected when i first read their work, transcended planes, i was dr. strange for like three minutes, thats what sorrels writing did to me. so go forth nonnie, unlock the secrets of the universe.

my fave fic: primrose & obedience (includes eren n mikasa)

@jarmeen: i love jas, they are sooooooo cool and their writing is just next level. just a super sweet individual, and helloooo read the title of their blog, and then read it again because they are right and everyone should go read their works !!

my fave fic: see you again

@valxeren: dilf jean. thats it. two words. deserves the nobel prize just for writing those fics, tbh tht shit changed my life, i was wandering my dashboard lost and unmotivated and then val graced me with dilf jean and im a better person now

my fave fic: clandestine

@kirschtienz: aman makes me happy, i love her, and her writing so much, if i were to choose a piece of writing to hug, it would be hers. i could go for days just praising her and still wouldn’t be enough, like the way she writes is just incredible

my fave fic: frats with benefits

@emepe: i thought to myself one day, hmm it would be nice to have friends to lovers fics for jean, and then tumblr said raf, baby, let me show u something and they pointed me towards mimi and said here is the answer to all your prayers. idk how to thank tumblr but fr only two chapters in and IM HOOKED. go read nonnie, goooo.

my fave fic: you and me and nothing more (includes eren)

i have realized that a good handful of these are smutty bshdsbhbf sorry not sorry. again, im so sorry if i missed anyone these are the writers that i could think of at the moment, and if you yourself are a writer then know that i love you and respect youuuu !!

happy reading nonnie :)

[vivid-ink]

1, 2, 10, 16, 19 for the ask game, babe 💞🤗

Hello my lovely! 😚 Thanks for your 'ask'.

Favourite work I've written - Hands down, absolutely 'Violet Eyes'. I'm incredibly proud of this narrative that my crazy brain cooked up. It's an original Neteyam x OC AU that is set 7 years after ATWOW & realistically explores what the life of the Na'vi could be like as well as Neteyam's life if he'd lived. It's dramatic, sexy, suspenseful, angsty... a real good mix of everything really and I love that it touched as many people as it did. Neteyam & Ria's story is VERY SPECIAL to me. 💜

2. Least favourite work I've written - Ooh this is a tough one to answer for me. I put a lot of time and effort into all my pieces, and I love them all in their own way. I try to make my works as different as possible so they're unique. I don't really have one that I actively dislike? Perhaps the one that has been the quietest in the fandom in terms of interaction is 'Show Me & Teach Me' with Neteyam x Reader (Seyla).

10. If I could have any of my works become real, which would it be? - I've only posted my Avatar works on here, so they're all set on Pandora anyway. 😊But I love the sexiness and the mischief of Neteyam & Lo'ak in 'The Love Shack'. Imagine a secret hideout where the two brothers play with you in the woods... 🥵 Yeah, this one.

16. Any big projects in the works? - No, not currently. I'm taking a wee break from writing at the moment. I posted a lot wordcount in the last year and my muse is finally deciding to take a rest it seems. I do still have some ideas floating about, particularly around exploring Neteyam's time during ATWOW at Awa'atlu and the things he may have gotten up to (based on this previous post of mine). Nothing formally on paper yet though.

19. Last thing you read? - I've been enjoying the 'Liar, Liar' series by @oakbuggy most recently. As for a non-Avatar work, I'm currently making my way through 'Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'.

[stevethehairington]

2, 12, and 17 for the fanfic writers ask game?

thank you for the ask ria!! 💕

2. What fanfic do you wish you got more response on?

oh! in general, i wish the few wlw and gen fics i've written would have gotten more of a response. i think it's such a bummer how those kinds of fics don't get as much attention as mlm fics because they are just as important!! just as good!! just as fulfilling to read!!

with regards to the stranger things fics i've posted so far, i do wish that my nancy coming out to steve fic, harlow gold, got more of a response. i mean, it has picked up a bit since i've posted it (things were moving verrrry slowly for it when i first posted it), but i really like how that one turned out and it's a very important story to me, so it would have been nice if it hit a bit more yknow?

12. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

yes!!!! i always always always respond to comments!! it may take me some time to do so, but i always will sit down and reply to every single comment i get on a fic!! the way i see it is, if someone took the time to leave a comment on my fic i want to show them gratitude for it! because comments seriously mean the WORLD to me, like those babies are my lifeblood. i 100% read back through the comments i've gotten sometimes because they just make me so happy and make me feel like i'm doing something right with my writing!! so, yes, absolutely, 100%!!

17. Are there any writers and/of stories that you consider an influence?

i answered this question here, and i 100% stand by that answer. but i will also actually answer this a little more directly too lol and list a few of the writers whose works and styles and themes especially influence me. this is by absolutely no means an exhaustive list, there are so so many more that i love greatly and dearly and am very influenced by but these are just a few i thought of off the top of my head. (they are all st writers, i should add, since that is my current fixation, but there have been writers from all the fandoms i've been in that have influence me greatly!!)

anyways, the list:

adure my beloved, toedenandbackagain, thewestwinged, aidaronan, anniebibananie, birthdaycandles, and, of course, alligator_writes aka YOU RIA bc your writing is AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL and EVOCATIVE and i learn something from every single fic of yours i read and i love them all so much 🥺💕

also a very special shoutout to my main slice thekardemomme because she is my soulmate and my forever writer bestie and my ride or die, and her writing is truly incredible too, like to the point that i will read anything she puts out even if i'm not in that fandom!! and she influences me every single day, both as a fic writer and as a person💕

for the fanfic writer ask game!

[ssreeder]

heyy ssreedyy

soo this is my first time on tumblr so i have no idea how to use this buuut I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR FICS AHHHH!!!! and i LOOVE long chapters!!! Don't you dare cut anything out when I'm absolutely obsessed with and living of of every single word of the new chapters for the 2 to 3 weeks of wating for the next chapter.

byebye love your writing!!

eventhough you`re a little cruel

and also are you going to write anything about azula? I reaally fcking need a redemption arc for her shes my favourite character and doesnt deserve what happened to her;(

You are beautiful for stopping by to tell me to keep writing long ass chapters!! I appreciate it because the next one is 18.3k HA HA HA…. Oops.

As for Azula, she will be introduced on the last chapter of this book we are in right now. I love her character & I think she is incredibly intelligent & very complex… but I also try to keep the characters as canon as I can unless I serve them up some trauma or changed events influence them.

I can’t say that Zuko’s death would or would not make her change her canon course… so I guess we will have to see.

But I will always love Azula, no matter what she chooses <3