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prolix-yuy · 1 year

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Sit on the throne with whoever 👀👀

Hmmm, whoever you say? Well then it has to be my OG boy, my favorite space husband, the tin can man himself!

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader

Position: Sit on the Throne

Word Count: 1277

Warnings: Explicit, 18+ MINORS DNI, unprotected PiV sex (don't be a fool, wrap your tool), fingering, semi-public sex.

Notes: This is a bit of a Mand'alor Din AU that I thought would be fun. Follows parts of S3 but I ignore what I feel like because we're in my sandbox now, babes. Enjoy!

“Brooding, my Mand’alor?”

Din groans when your voice drifts over his shoulder, elbows on his knees and head hanging between his shoulders. He’s focused on his hands, the phantom image of the darksaber haunting the corners of his mind. A responsibility he never wanted, but not the first.

“Don’t call me that,” he sighs, leaning back in the throne he was meant to ascend in a handful of days. Bo-Katan had been watching him with simmering distrust, but every day seemed to lessen her ire. The traditions are foreign to him, wishing for the cool anonymity of the underground tunnels he grew up in. Mand’alor the Reluctant, he was sure they’d call him.

“Just trying to get used to it myself,” you say, leaning your hip against the stone arm. Din looks up at you and tries not to choke on his tongue. It’s never enough to say you’re beautiful, or whip-smart, or resilient. You’re truly the most constant part of his heart.

“Sit with me?” he asks, reaching out for your hand. Gladly taking it, you round the throne and perch on Din’s thighs, letting him wrap his arms around and pull you close. You rest your head on his shoulder in the soft spot between his paudron and helmet. It was the first place your affections fit perfectly all that time ago, when Din Djarin was only Mando and you were only a nuisance on his ship.

“What’s troubling you?” you ask, letting your fingers burrow into the cowl around his neck. With practiced slowness you inch your fingers under the helmet and cup the back of his neck, soft strands of hair entwining and the scratch of his beard under your thumb. You only know his face by touch, and exactly how to give it to soothe your beloved.

“I’m too old for this,” he grumbles, bubbling a laugh between your lips. “Too set in my ways. Too much of the Watch, of a beroya, of anything but a leader.” He squeezes you tighter, letting the helmet rest on the crown of your head. It’s a weight you’re happy to bear.

“You have a council, and Bo-Katan. The Armorer, and Paz, even though he drives me nuts,” you list, a little of his tension easing. “And you have me,” you add just a little quieter than the rest.

“Thank the Maker, I hold your opinion in the highest regard,” Din says, and you chuff against his chest. “I do,” he protests when you snort.

“I don’t believe the Mandalorians will accept the council of an outsider,” you say, trying to hide your rueful tone. You’d been on the fringes of plans thus far, a perturbance when you enter a room. Trying not to take it personally, you’d kept to your rooms and waited for the brief moments you could steal with Din. Most were short-lived, snuffed out by sleep or pressing duties, but in the deep dark of your bedroom you could still kiss the man you loved.

“They will accept yours,” Din says, bite in his tone that zings naughty arousal up your spine. You rub your thumb soothingly along his jawline.

“I don’t need to be seen, or heard. I can serve you in other ways,” you say, the double entendre not lost on either of you. Din’s touch grows from comforting to all-encompassing, hands kneading at your thighs and hips.

“Is that so?” he says, seduction thick on his tongue. “How would you serve your Mand’alor now?”

Turning in his lap, you slide back against his hips to nestle your ass along his hardening cock.

“So you like the title now?” you tease, dragging against him as he stifles a groan.

“I like being yours,” he manages to grit out, making butterflies dance in your stomach. For a man of few words, Din always knows the ones to choose. “Can I have you here, Cyare? Right now?” He cups your mound and grinds the heel of his hand against it, palming your breast and circling your clothed nipple just the way you like it. Heat builds in your cunt, the insistent press of Din’s cock against you quieting the nerves.

“Let me serve you, my Mand’alor,” you purr out, and if he wasn’t worked up before he is now. Two thwaps of leather and he’s yanking your pants halfway down your thighs, ripping open his own to release his cock. His bare hands soothe your overheating skin, circling your clit gingerly as he nudges against you.

“Don’t know how much time we have,” he whispers before the heavy clunk of the helmet spikes your heart rate.

“Din, anyone could…” you protest, but his lips on your neck silence you.

“Many walk another path,” he says, dragging his cock through your folds. “Maybe I can too.”

The implication of Din’s words distract from his thick length splitting you open, a loud whine bringing his hand to cover your mouth.

“Cyare, be quiet for me. I don’t want them to see you stretched on my cock. That’s for me, and me alone.”

He punches up into your noisy cunt, wet slaps and heavy breathing echoing through the great hall. Bracing your hands on the throne, you meet his thrusts, fingers slipping over your lips and dipping into your mouth. Every time he buries inside you, stars erupt, explode into glittering constellations across your vision. His fingers are sloppy on your clit, panting in your ear and whispering how good you feel around him, how precious you are, strings of words in Mando’a you can’t understand except for cyare, and kar’ta.

“Can I fill you up, Cyare?” he rasps, strokes getting shorter and his fingers frantic.

“Please, Din,” you gasp, back bending like a bow before your pleasure snaps. He guides your hips to buck against him as he pounds into your quivering cunt, spilling his seed as he moans brokenly into your skin.

Slumping back into the uncomfortable throne, Din takes you with him. You’re a little stiff against him, making his bare hands wander.

“Was that okay?” he asks, sudden very aware of how exposed you both are, half clothed and without his helmet. You lace your fingers with his, taking a deep breath.

“Did you mean it? You want to walk both paths?” you ask, and it clutches at Din’s heart. He presses a kiss to your shoulder, engulfing you in his arms.

“Maybe one day. But not yet. There’s still much I’m not ready to meet without all I’ve known protecting me,” he says. You nod, reaching up to stroke along his cheek. He melts into your touch, kissing the palm of your hand.

Once you’ve redressed, Din’s helmet replaced and your clothes straightened, he cups your mound again.

“Keep me inside until I come to you tonight?” he asks, making you shudder and give him a sultry smile. Then you leave, and he’s alone with his thoughts again. Well, not the same thoughts. Some new ones.

First, that in a few days he’s to ascend the throne, and all that comes with taking a station he’s never wanted.

Then, that he would rather not do it alone.

The night before his coronation, he will lead you to one of the gardens those who remained tended so carefully. Among the flowers of a world he would soon rule, he would ask you to be his riduur, and remove his helmet. The first to see his face would be you, whether or not he chooses to walk both paths one day. And you would walk the path with him, beside him, The Reluctant and the Resilient, exactly how it should be.

END

LJ’s Bangathon 2023

#din djarin x female reader #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x f!reader #mando x reader #mando x you #mandalorian x you #mandalorian x reader #mandalorian x female reader #the mandalorian x f!reader #the mandalorian x female reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian fanfiction #prolix fics

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swinging-through-the-stars · 1 year

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Okay, Sith!Luke au sounds incredible!!! I haz questions

What's Din's whole perspective on things? Is he (like canon) blissfully unaware of who and what Luke is? Does he know and just not care? Is he just doing anything to protect Grogu, only to realize that the 'teacher' is very dangerous but has also imprinted on Din just as much as Din has fallen for him?

What about Grogu? Does he understand the darkness in Luke? Is he averse to it? Or does he go all in on the dark side to protect his dad?

OOOOHHH YES YES YES I'd LOVE to get into Din and Grogu stuff! (I'm realizing this will be another long one so there's your warning lol)

As for Din --

In my AU, after the Death Star blows up in 0 ABY, Luke begins to take personal undercover missions to continue undermining the Empire. To stay anonymous, he hires an untraceable mercenary that doesn't ask questions and is also not fond of the Empire - this is where Din Djarin comes in. (Din doesn't have a lot developed pre-Mando season 1 other than he's been bounty-hunting - and before that - taking mercenary jobs for a while, so why not utilize that for a story I want?) While working with Luke in this time period, Din has absolutely no idea who Luke is other than he carries a "red laser-sword" and doesn't show his face. He knows Luke as The Stranger, and for a few years takes jobs from Luke since he pays very well (that Empire money eh). Din is vaguely aware that his jobs have small impacts on the war against the Empire, so he is fine with complying, especially since they are relatively low-risk.

Things take a turn in 4 ABY when Luke hires Din to rescue Han Solo from Jabba's Palace. (one of the few pieces of fic I finished -- FREE SOLO) In this mission, Din sees Luke's face, learns his name (however doesn't recognize it from anywhere), and learns that he KNOWS specific people that a key to the rebellion (Lando, Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca). The whole ordeal puts Din in more trouble than he bargains for. Luke declares an end to their business relationship because of this and cuts Din off, but it doesn't kill Din's festering curiosity as to who Luke is. He doesn't pursue further, but that curiosity lingers until they meet again.

Luke and Din meet again in a way that mirrors the end of Season 2 of Mando (because I thought it was a fun idea, and YES I have managed to write that out too -- SHADOW ON THE BRIDGE). This is where Din learns that Luke is not only a Sith, but the EMPEROR of the Neo Empire. I've been (ever so slowly) updating the fic of the aftermath of that, where Din meets with Luke again and where they begin to have those conversations of what will happen to Grogu.

In this next fic - First Steps into Darkness - I do want to explore how Din takes up the mantle of Mand'alor and how he uses his previous relationship with Luke to rebuild his world and also create an alliance to further push the Imperial Remnant threat out of the galaxy. Din deals with opinions about this from all sides, from Bo-Katan who has a difficult time trusting Luke, to Din's Clan that are between against and neutral on the matter. (Also keep in mind that I've been planning this part of the story before Mando S3 -- I do use some aspects of S3 but also very much divert from it).

What keeps Din coming back to Luke is ultimately his curiosity, both in Luke's abilities as a leader/negotiator and in him being this mysterious entity. Luke's fervor for his religion, his quest for familial answers, his internal battle of identity -- these are all things that Din relates to. (Luke's a bit more of a hot mess than Din is but -- you know, they have commonalities that they can lean on).

I also really like the concept of the Darksaber having its own sort of Force sentience to the point where Din has to work with it (it's a little like Haunted!Din but instead of outright possession it's more like -- Venom, or something like that, where they work together). Having Luke as a resource to navigate that territory further connects the two.

Needless to say, despite what rumors and warnings Din has been given, he doesn't understand why the "Dark Side" of the Force is considered the "bad" Force and why the "Light Side" is considered the "good". Perhaps it's because he's only really interacted with Luke, and perhaps it's because Mandalorians have a checkered history with getting along with "Light Side" Jedi users as well. His perspective could be biased or he probably just believes that Luke is not what others want to make him seem. Either way, the fact that Luke is a Sith doesn't necessarily make Din distrust him outright, especially since he's the only one that will agree to help hone Grogu's powers.

OKAY, ONTO GROGU -- YEAH THERE'S MORE --

Since's Luke's appearance in rescuing them from Gideon's Cruiser, Grogu is INTRIGUED with Luke and the pull to the Dark Side. In his little mind, Luke is powerful, really cool, and can make Gideon pee his pants -- of course he sees that and goes "ooh I wanna be like that guy".

First Steps into Darkness, while I mentioned will go into some of Din's story, will ultimately be a focus on Grogu (when I eventually finish it lol). I think child characters (especially cute bait like Grogu) often get the short end of the stick in terms of development, and it's SUCH a missed opportunity in my eyes. Children have very simple and blunt observations, and they SOAK up the world around them -- putting the mess of Sith Luke and through GROGU'S perspective is so fun to me.

Luke is not afraid of teaching Grogu, but he's afraid of Grogu idolizing him like HE did Vader. Despite Luke's attachment to his father, Vader was -- NOT really the best father, and deep down Luke knows that and is afraid. He keeps a distance from Grogu that Grogu is always trying to close. Grogu knows that Luke is just a teacher and that he's often not very personable with him. But Grogu sees how Luke's power has the ability to protect, he sees something in him like did with Din (who was also not very warm at first). Grogu believes that if he learns what Luke knows, he can too can become that protector that can stop wars and help those he cares about.

Grogu also continues to learn from Din about Mandalorian culture, so he isn't completely split between one or the other -- in fact, Luke encourages Din to keep sharing his roots with his son. The teachings of both Mandalorians and Sith are eventually the teachings that shape Grogu's perspective on loyalty, emotions, power, and so on. He's observant as hell, so he soaks everything up like a SPONGE.

And let's be honest, the Grogu realizing he could learn some tricks that maybe the Jedi forbade sounds a bit fun to him. He is still a kid after all.

Sorrynotsorry that was long -- I love talking about these concepts, and honestly answering these questions is helping me type out my thoughts to use as reference later. It's getting me fired up to keep writing and editing too.

Thank you again for the questions @just-prime -- I hope you found this interesting!!

#sithlukeau #sith luke skywalker #dinluke #din djarin #grogu #thank you for the ask

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phoenixyfriend · 1 year

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Y'know I've learned so much random SW lore from this blog. One thing I've been thinking about is the darksaber. Fanfics made it out to be this ancient weapon that has decided Mandalore's leader for centuries and that everyone agrees with it but no, Pre? Tor? vizala or whoever his face was just ransacked the jedi temple a few years back and decided it made him the leader cuz tarre was his ancestor.

How many people even acknowledge that rule outside of Death Watch?

But then it got me thinking about a little AU. What if the sword was sentient or haunted and it wasn't very happy about being taken from its resting place? What if it cursed the user or Mandalore and it would only lift until it got returned? A fun family adventure where whoever gets the darksaber goes on a journey to return the darksaber to the jedi temple and learns important moral lessons like: Don't grave rob.

(As I said, please no long things on anon.)

The Darksaber was created circa 1050 BBY, and then stolen less than twenty years later, since it occurred prior to 1032 BBY.

So the Vizsla did steal it, but it wasn't in Tor or Pre's time; rather, it was over 900 years prior. There are centuries of precedent for the saber playing this role, even though it belongs to the Jedi. We have no reason to believe anything other than "Tarre chose to leave his lightsaber to the Jedi, because it's a Jedi object, and probably left something distinctly Mandalorian, like his armor, to his place of birth."

#phoenix answers asks #star wars #darksaber #tarre vizsla

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loveoaths · 2 years

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au where maul’s dead ass is haunting the darksaber and his ghost becomes din’s advisor but only because whatever maul tells him to do din does the opposite. din becomes the most successful mand’alor of all time. maul is furious AND takes credit for din’s success in the same breath.

#then they have ghost sex. send tweet.#darth maul #din djarin #walkie talkie.

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captainkappa · 1 year

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Fic Stats Meme

Rules: Give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and your fic with the least amount of words. Thank you @urisarang for the tag!

I cheesed it but only for one of them, but this was fun!

Most Hits:

there's a place for you here (4909 hits) The Mandalorian - DinCobb where they meet post s2 and Din is now Mand'alor

Second Most Kudos:

On the House (431 kudoses) The Book of Boba Fett - BobaDin where Boba is the one that picks Din up at Peli's hanger in episode

Third Most Comments:

Twist the Knife, Take a Life (26 comment threads) The Mandalorian - DinLuke with the 'haunted darksaber' but Luke is the only one affected by it

Fourth Most Bookmarks:

come buy, come buy (59 bookmarks (based on stats page)) Dimension 20: A Court of Fey and Flowers - RueHob Alternate Meeting AU where they meet in the Goblin Market first

Fifth Most Words:

Memento Mori Leaves a Debt (7548 words) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Post-movie, Death is captured

Least Amount of Words:

Chained (144 words) Thrilling Intent - Ashien Pirate AU

No pressure tags to @steine-druff @theydjarin @theropodtheroblogs (and anyone else who wants to play!)

#thank god. a fic tag that doesnt require actively writing fic ^^; been in a dry spell fandom and writing wise #tag game #my fanfic

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direwolfrules · 2 years

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3 Mandos and A Baby AU: The Death of Pre Vizsla

This was one of the first things I ever thought of for this AU and I don’t think you guys get just how much of a chokehold this has had on me.

Pre seizes control of Mandalore for all of a week before the Four Stooges and the Cadets launch their countercoup. It’s a big, bloody battle raging in the skies and in the streets. Pure and utter chaos, Ursa and Amis blow up all the things, Fenn and his team bust out Patrok Ru-Saxon and his Protectors for extra troops, Bo laments how she’s only good at war, all while Alrich busts Satine out of jail.

So, there’s a massive final confrontation in the throne room, and Korkie and Pre duel for the Darksaber. Pre is using the Darksaber, obviously, and Korkie’s using a beskad. It’s impressive and epic and Korkie nearly dies like seven times but he manages to get a good hit in on Pre Vizsla and disarm him.

It ends with Korkie standing over Pre’s body and everyone but a few holdouts bows to him (notes are made to deal with them later).

Then, a day later Pre wakes up, limbs tied up and in an unfamiliar room. Korkie didn’t kill him, he just did an admirable job making it look like he did. Korkie’s a smart kid, and there’s no way he could ignore the bruises his aunt Bo showed up with sometimes, the horror and disgust in her presence whenever Vizsla was mentioned, and the whispers of the ghosts. Adonai had been very plain on what he wanted to do to the leader of Death Watch, and why he wanted to do it.

Korkie offers his Aunt Bo a choice, beskad or blaster. She chooses a beskad.

Pre Vizsla was not Korkie’s kill to claim. He was Bo’s. And as his disturbingly greasy head tumbles to the floor, everyone in the room, both living and dead, all feel a bit of relief.

Korkie’s a sweet boy, but he’s also haunted by some particularly brutal force ghosts. Sometimes his gestures showing how much he cares can be a bit…warped.

#star wars #korkie kryze #3 mandos and a baby au #bo katan kryze #star wars rebels #star wars the clone wars #satine kryze #ursa wren #amis #lagos #soniee #alrich wren #pre vizsla #adonai kryze #fenn rau #patrok ru saxon

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leofrith · 1 year

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Obligatory "Eivor!" for the ask game

well yeah of course ✨

a song that reminds me of them: borders by kalandra. every kalandra song can be about eivor if i want it bad enough 💖

what they smell like: honey and wood smoke

an otp: girl has chemistry with basically everyone. kassandra vili randvi hytham estrid etc etc. but i'm feeling some type of way about leofrith lately (lately being the last uuuuuh six months rip)

a notp: sigurd. there's a few others that i can understand but just don't particularly care for but keep away from me with that shit in particular. they're literally siblings!!!

favorite platonic/familial relationships: sigurd in the deeper version of their relationship that lives in my head. varin because eivor's relationship with her father is one of the emotional through lines of eivor's character in the main game. rosta, my darling rosta, who doesn't get as much attention as she deserves, but eivor is such a mama's girl and it makes me a bit insane. also gunnar!!! he loves her so much and is so proud of her. styrbjorn and eivor's relationship is so interesting and i wish we got to see more of it. i'm just listing everyone now. valka and eivor's relationship is so sweet and there's a kind of trust and understanding there that i don't think eivor shares with any other character.

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: i don't know if there are really any specific headcanons that i dislike? i tried to write a few responses to this but they just feel really nitpicky so i stopped 😂

the position they sleep in: when she's alone, with her back to a wall with easy access to a weapon. when she's with a trusted partner she's the little spoon because she can rest easy knowing she has someone watching her back 😭

a crossover au i’d love to see them in: accidentally have been becoming very serious about my star wars au in which mandalorian eivor comes into possession of the darksaber and starts having visions because of it (the sword's haunted--) while also trying to lead her scattered people and ally with jedi hytham and basim, who are hunting a relic of the jedi order for their own purposes. if none of this makes sense to you because you don't know or care about star wars lore then i envy you 💖 just ignore this and read the fic whenever i finish it pspspsps it's all you need i promiseeeee

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn: the berserker armour is my usual go to, but i also hate wearing it in wintery regions because eivor looks cold ahgsdfasdhf in which cases i'll usually rotate between the raven clan or mystical armor. would also wear the huldufolk armor if i had it !!!!!!

send me a character and i will answer these questions!

#i realized after reading reiver's answer to this that they ALSO said honey and wood smoke which i swear i didn't steal!!#it's about the honeyed mead and the scent of smoke that clings to her after a raid it's right there it's right theeeereee #thank you samantha!!! 💖#answer #artschoolglasses #ask games

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oflgtfol · 1 year

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so believe it or not i have several mando fics, its just that ive only ever posted fics from if love is the answer you're home series, so here's some excerpts of the unpublished ones

bobadin one-shot with aromantic din, alloromantic boba (february 2022)

bobadin slowburn long fic that i only wrote this one single scene for before giving up, aro din again but it wont be the central focus or probably even mentioned explicitly (may 2021)

intended 5+1 things for clan of two week in 2021 that i never finished (march 2021)

HAUNTED DARKSABER <3 was supposed to be short one-shot but is turning into a ~15k two-shot. my own take on the haunted darksaber au that popped up a while ago (july 2021)

also side note i have no idea why sabine gave bo-katan the darksaber, everything i see does not mention why, so that was a placeholder, and then i was talking w my classmate the other day and i finally asked why and he said pretty much that very same thing so im feeling kinda vindicated that its maybe correct...? but i havent watched it myself so i cant say for 100% sure. was planning on verifying it myself before i ever published this fic officially

also double side note i just realized it says bo was the leader of death watch which is another artifact of this being 2021 and me not knowing what the fuck was going on in star wars. too lazy to edit it right now. but i mean she was like second in command for DW right i mean not much difference other than official role title

#brot posts #mando posting

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thicctails · 8 months

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Made a lil sketchy comic for my speaking shadows au :3

put a read more bc the last panel has some potentially upsetting imagery. Its nothing extreme (at least to my standards), but if you're uncomfy with depictions of a kinda gorey body, then maybe skip this one.

#if this does well enough i might make a cleaned up version #star wars #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #star wars au #speaking shadows au #haunted omega au #haunted darksaber #ghosts #tw for potentially upsetting content #tw gore #tw horror #omega tbb #fives cw #echo tbb

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shortmage · 2 years

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AO3 wrapped!

Respond to this with what you would call the top 5 fanfics you’ve read in 2022. Any genre! Any ship! (Bonus points: if you’re a creator, make this a 5+1 and include your favorite fic you wrote in 2022!)

Then leave this in your friends’ asks too. Let’s give creators one more spotlight before the year ends, and share some of what we’ve enjoyed along the way!

oh it was hard to pick, because everything i've bookmarked is amazing work but also cause ive bookmarked 8 pages of fic on ao3 this year. throwing under a readmore to keep your dashes uncluttered and some of these are nsfw, but in no particular order:

a fucking amazing nsfw boba/cobb fic that i want to eat. it and the whole series, tbh.

this haunted darksaber bobadin fic cause i got really into the concept this past year but where the darksaber doesn't necessarily want to harm din? it's trying it's best to protect him but hey it's a ancient thing akin to the fey, it's morals are different.

this fic goes through some heavy topics so keep that in mind but it's a good read. goes through boba's relationship with vader and compares it with his relationship with din and boba has epilepsy and as a chronic illness bestie, i love when fics engage with that.

the entire sanguine series is amazing and there are fics in the series that aren't as whumpy as this one but this was another, like the previous fic, that gave me the heart clench emotions. so i would suggest the whole series but this is my standout

finally, cause im totally not biased, is the comic that was my gift from the dincobb exchange. the fic/words, the art, the whole cadence of the thing throughout makes me go heart eyes and i come back and look at it at least once a month if not more

and then, my favorite fic that i wrote this year? im gonna bend the rules and put my favorite sfw and nsfw fic's ive written this year. the first being the originally dubbed "hallmark movie au" but has come to be known as the farmer's market au:

and while i put a lot of effort and over consideration into my nsfw fics, trying to make them absolutely perfect, this public acts of fucking fic was a labor of love, lol:

#mage answers #mage writing

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madhyanas · 3 years

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a strumming of nerves

“Take it,” Din whispers, hissing between his teeth. He’s pleading. “Take it, destroy it. Anything. Just don’t leave me alone with it.”

Read this on AO3!

Characters: Din Djarin & Boba Fett

Rating: T/PG-13

Word Count: 2k

Warnings/Ratings: Post-S2. Boba Fett POV. Haunted Darksaber/Din’s Haunted AU. Sleepwalking. Implied possession. Not horror, but creepy vibes for sure.

Notes: this au was originally created by @keldabekush, @kyberpistol and others! i’m just messing around with it. good luck trying to parse through this one lads idk how it’ll go

masterlist

———

There’s a noise keeping Boba awake.

It’s a thrumming. Quiet enough to settle into the background, seep into the rocky palace walls, it’s almost innocent. He could almost mistake it for the whine of some desert gnat that snuck in underground.

Almost.

But in the months since he and his companions have settled here, lying awake and staring at the ceiling of his palace quarters has never invited such a sick feeling to his stomach. It’s not nausea — he’s well acquainted with that. Kamino, Geonosis, Coruscant, Tatooine. Nausea has followed him like a diseased shadow.

This is different. He calls it anticipation, for to hear a noise and feel fear is foolishness he’s long outgrown.

The noise doesn’t get louder. The snaked, coiled thing growing in the pit of his stomach gets heavier, and heavier.

Just as he feels he may be crushed into the soft sheets by whatever waking night-terror has decided to sit on his chest, Boba sits up. In fact, he gets out of bed, swings his legs over the edge to touch the chilly stone floor, and steps outside. He’s always preferred doing things, anyway.

There’s nothing out of the ordinary as Boba stares out into the empty throne room. Thin, slivered shadows and hollow caverns. There’s nothing besides that kriffing noise, he thinks sourly, tiredly, before he turns his head.

Someone is standing in the hallway.

Danger.

At first he doesn’t believe it. A simple silhouette that Boba can barely make out in the dark. Something about it doesn’t quite seem real, as if that same waking night-terror hasn’t yet been rubbed from his eyes. Boba blinks. Its outline is blurry, encircled by a slim ring of darkness and seeming to shift in and out of focus. Moonlight doesn’t touch the shape, doesn’t even creep near.

Boba doesn’t approach either. Not even when he recognises the figure. The shoulders, the stance. He can feel in his bones that in the inky blackness hides a scruffy jaw and sad, weathered eyes. “Djarin?”

Din does not respond. He continues to stand there, staring silently down at the floor, which throws the figure’s identity into question because Din is polite to a fault. Fennec had laughed about it when they’d first met the man; a bounty hunter with manners.

What’s wrong with the figure, Boba realises, is that it’s still. Too still. He squints. His eyes aren’t what they used to be, and it’s dark, but he doesn’t think ‘Din’ is… breathing.

The very wrongness of the situation has his fingers twitching for a weapon that isn’t there.

Boba is beginning to think he should have carried a blaster.

“Din,” he calls, more urgently. “What are you doing?”

Silence, again. A sudden gust of wind whistles outside the window, churning sand against rocky architecture. It scrapes.

Boba’s frown deepens. This isn’t right.

The figure then turns — though that isn’t the right word for the movement. It’s a kind of swaying, as if the body can’t quite settle its centre of gravity and settles for a light, weightless bobbing around a fixed point. Almost like dangling. There is no rustling of cloth, no scrape of foot against sandstone floor.

Against his better judgement, Boba glances down. Both of the figure’s feet are flat on the ground.

Of course, his rational mind whispers. What were you expecting?

This ‘Din’, still standing at the other end of the hallway, now faces him directly. And gripped tightly in his left hand is the source of that infernal thrumming.

The Darksaber. Ignited and ready for battle, as it always has been.

Now, technically, pointed at Boba. The figure doesn’t turn away. The light it gives off is sickly, splattering Din’s shirt with the same strange, inverse not-glow the blade itself emanates.

It reminds him of a fish, of all things. One he’d read about, so many years ago. The type that suckers in prey with a shining, blinding light.

A throb in his temple makes itself known, winding the tension in his spine even tighter. When did the thrumming get so loud? It’s everywhere; it bites up his legs and punctures the soft spots between his ribs. A clawed hand crushing a spoilt fruit in its grasp.

Boba clenches his fists to stop himself from covering his ears, nails biting into the flesh of his palms. The sound is more piercing this time, with purpose and deadly aim.

Thick, oozing cold settles in his gut. There is only one possible target in this room.

It gets louder. And louder. It ebbs and flows like the tide but so much more vicious. It doesn’t stop; the noise simmers and bubbles and rings in his ears, resounding through the hallway so strongly it shakes his teeth to the tender, aching nerves and pounds at the insides of his skull. It’s swarming out from behind his eyes and it doesn’t stop, why can’t it stop — the Darksaber swings upwards, ready to strike the final blow — why is this happening he should take it—

“Din!”

The figure flinches. Boba’s shout is as good as a bullet. His shoulders heave with staggering breaths. His heartbeat pulses jaggedly at his throat and he’s panting; a cold, thin sheen of sweat is draped over the back of his neck.

The Darksaber is held high above Boba’s head. The crest of a wave, frozen. Then the blade retreats with a quiet whoosh before the hilt clatters to the ground. That’s the only reason Boba realises the thrumming has stopped.

It still doesn’t feel fixed. Nothing does.

The figure stumbles forward and Din’s haggard face is suddenly awash in a sliver of moonlight. He’s a puppet cut down from his strings, crumpling to the ground.

Boba is there to catch him. As it will be.

“Easy. What happened?” he questions gruffly, too preoccupied with checking the other man over for injuries to hear just how hoarse his voice is.

But whatever state he’s in, Din is worse. He stares at some point on Boba’s shoulder with glazed, unfocused eyes. The man is sweating buckets. “I... I don’t know.”

Din’s voice is soft, as Boba has come to expect, though not reassuring. It crackles and bursts to suggest there’s mucus sitting in his airways, spitting and popping like rotting fat thrown out to sizzle on Tatooine street corners.

Perhaps it is reassuring, then, to be holding his friend so limp in his arms like this. Because Boba knows what blood in the lungs sounds like, and the distinct lack of it anywhere in the musty hallway finally brings his racing pulse something close to calm.

Boba makes a slow, calculated move to rise from the floor and lift the other man with him, but Din flinches when he feels Boba’s shoulders tense. A flinch that dissolves into faint tremors wracking his body, which Boba is loath to ignore, but it also clears the fog from his gaze somewhat.

“I’m—” Din clears his throat and forces out a hard, sharp breath. “I’m fine.” He looks Boba in the eye. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

“No, you’re not,” Boba returns dryly, though he can’t deny the weight that slips from his chest. Breathing, talking. Even with the tremors leaching from Din’s bones into his own, they’re good signs.

Din cracks a weak smile, which comes out more as a grimace. In any case, it doesn’t matter when it’s wiped away almost immediately as Din glances to the side.

Boba looks too. Next to the wall, the discarded hilt of the Darksaber stares back.

“Fett,” Din says gravely, keeping his eyes trained on the weapon. So gravely in fact, that Boba’s hackles rise. He’s speaking as if— as if his life depends on it.

“What?”

The fingers on Boba’s shoulder dig in tightly. “Take it,” Din whispers, hissing between his teeth. He’s pleading. “Take it, destroy it. Anything. Just don’t leave me alone with it.”

Boba is not a man easily surprised. But there is something inherently sickening in the crease of Din’s brow, anxious and abandoned. So much about all this is wrong.

He’s pallid, Boba realises. Din is shivering and sickly and sweaty like he’s in the slump of a fever. He’s still staring at that damned saber.

In the dark, they’re both kneeling on the ground. They are kneeling, technically, before the Darksaber itself.

And with a stubborn set of his jaw, Boba makes a decision.

He swings Din up from the ground, maintaining a stable hold on both arms and looping one round his own neck before either of them can topple back down.

“Right,” Boba barks, and Din’s head snaps up. “You’re going to get some sleep. And you’re leaving that blasted thing here.” His voice leaves no room for discussion.

As he marches them back to Din’s quarters, taking careful stock of any acute weaknesses in the other man’s posture and satisfied to find none for now, Din’s gaze remains forward. It latches onto the door with sharp, quiet focus, and the sight could make Boba grin.

The haunted look in his eyes is new territory. But determination; that, Boba can work with.

Walls of granite and sandstone are taller at night, it seems. Boba gets the fleeting sense that they’re boxed in on either side, in such narrow walkways, then shuns the thought. The palace is his territory. He has nothing to fear, here.

Still, he makes his way around the corners a touch quicker than before.

By the time they’ve gotten to Din’s door, neither of them have looked back once. It’s illogical, he knows. But they both look straight ahead without fail. As if that would keep the thrumming at bay. As if they feel the silence is any better.

Din takes a moment to push himself upright, testing his balance. “Thank you,” he says quietly. It’s sincere, which Boba can respect. He just doesn’t know what it’s for.

Settling on a nod, Boba suggests, “I’ll keep it in my quarters.” The empty sword still lies in the other corridor. “We’ll… figure things out in the morning.”

Din’s mouth flattens into a pained line, and a muscle jumps uncomfortably at his temple. Here, with a little more light, Boba can see the bags etched under the man’s eyes. He’s struck with the impression that this… sleepwalking, for lack of a better term, is not a recent development.

“Yeah,” Din mumbles. “In the morning.”

He eyes his cot as a starving man would a feast, but lingers at the boundary.

When Din speaks, Boba almost regrets waiting to hear it.

“I don’t know what it’s doing to me.”

The words are uttered with a familiar, resigned shame that drips to the floor. It puddles around Din in viscous trails, drooping his shoulders and shutting his eyes. Weighing him down for longer than a night, clearly.

“I don’t know anymore, Fett. Sometimes I can hear it talking to me. Talking. I think I might—” He wheezes out a sigh, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes as if to purge whatever he sees there.

A moment to collect himself, drag all the pieces together with string and a loose knot. Then, in a quiet, ragged voice, Din confesses, “I think I’m going insane.”

False platitudes have never come easily to Boba, and they don’t start now. His jaw is slack as he searches for the words, anything to fill that chasm, until he realises there aren’t any.

So he doesn’t say anything at all, save for a slow, sympathetic hand on Din’s shoulder. He stands with his friend.

And in the dark of the palace, Boba wonders if Din might be right.

———

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