#i looked down and saw the prams one after the other

[ech0light]

being able to continue dreams once youre somewhat half awake is all fun and games until you manage to scare yourself fully awake and have to calm yourself down afterwards

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

A FRESH START [20]

Din Djarin x F!Reader

Warnings: description of injuries, language, spoilers for S3 The Mandalorian, mentions of death experiences, anxiety, PTSD references

Word Count: 5,066

Updates every Thursday

#20: SHORT STICK BEARS HIS WRATH

.

"you can't heal if you pretend you're not hurt." -aliza grace

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Grogu had a habit of making friends wherever he went. So, it didn’t surprise Din to see that a bulk of Ari’s crew were gushing over his son and offering him different things to play with. After parking the N1 and walking to the address Ari messaged him, what looked like an old fighting gym, he entered to see a small group of people surrounding Grogu who stood on the table and babbled. They listened intently, cooed back to him, and offered him a variety of objects to either eat or play with.

Din’s eyes landed on Ari who was sitting in a desk chair, feet kicked up and ankles crossed, while frowning at the sight. When her gaze drifted toward him she blew out an annoyed breath of air. “Finally. Can you please take your son and go? It seems while he’s around my crew is,” Ari turned to yell out the next words at the people surrounding Grogu, “Incapable of doing their kriffing jobs!”

“The stressors of running a criminal empire.” Din snorted.

“Aw, you think my little show is an empire?” Ari grinned impishly. “That’s cute. I appreciate it, but I don’t think I’ve reached that level of notoriety yet.”

“Yeah, well, I have faith in you.”

Din knew her main skill set was in smuggling. He assumed that’s what she was still doing, just branching out and roping others in. Still, Din wasn’t too worried about breaking up her party or shining a spotlight down on her. Of all the evil Din had seen in the galaxy, Ari was harmless. Well, mostly harmless.

“Hey boss, can we keep it?” A large man turned and pointed to Grogu who had his hands up in the air as he babbled about a story.

“Him, you idiot.” Ari corrected. “It’s Mando’s son.”

“Oh, sorry.” The man replied. “Can we keep him?”

“See what I mean? Useless.” Ari scoffed. Din called out for Grogu who took the time to gather up all the snacks being offered to him then jumped into his pram to drift over. Ari crossed her arms and snapped for the others to get back to their jobs. They gradually drifted away. She looked at him. “So? How’s the doc?”

Din tilted his head. “Left him thirty minutes outside the city to crawl back.”

“That all?”

“I may have…” Din chose his words carefully. “Stacked the odds against him.” Ari chuckled in amusement and he nodded. “I need you to keep an eye on that for me.”

“How so?”

“Make sure there’s a corpse, and if there isn’t,” Din shrugged nonchalantly, “Make one.”

The request rolled off his tongue as if he were in Nevarro going to his neighbor’s house to ask for some sugar. Din saw no issue in his request. If he wasn’t on such a time crunch in his eagerness to return to you then he’d stick around and double check for himself. 

Ari nodded. “Alright. I’m counting that as two favors now though. So, you owe me.” Din dragged his helmeted gaze to look at her and raised an eyebrow in skepticism as if she’d be able to see. Ari read the tone enough to snicker. “Fine. Fine. We’re even then.”

“Deal.”

“So,” Ari whistled, “If you and your ‘not wife’ ever tie the knot will I get invited to the wedding? Do Mandalorians have weddings?” 

“Stop talking.” Din shook his head and turned to leave. He chuckled under his breath. Grogu followed after him⏤ the child’s cheeks full of some local dessert. Great, now he’d be bouncing around the cockpit of the N1 for Maker knows how long.

Ari called a good-bye after him as he left. “Nice seeing you too, Mando! Safe travels!”

Nima told you not to freak out. Her exact words had been, ‘Alright, everything is okay and you are safe and it’s all going to be fine but you need to know this’. Your first horrific thought was that the news would somehow involve your boys. It had been a knee jerk fear that filled your entire soul with dread. Then Nima followed it up with, ‘Kurt’s trial was put on hold’.

And, as wild as it was, you felt relief. That had been your initial reaction. Before Nevarro, hearing those words would have made you immediately throw up. But in this situation, all you could think was how grateful you were that the bad news didn’t involve Din or Grogu.

“I’m sorry.” Nima murmured and you could see how devastated she was to share this news with you. She was the kind of person who felt every emotion she had so deeply. It’s why she was so lively and bubbly as her day to day happiness shined through. However, in moments like this, it broke your heart to see her so empathetic to your own pain. “I went back and forth on telling you, but you made me swear to update you on any news I thought was important and this seemed important. Plus, I didn’t want you to hear on accident from somewhere else or⏤”

“Nima.” You reached out to squeeze her arm and gave her a smile. “It’s okay. Thank you for telling me.” The longer the news lingered in your mind the more it began to unravel your sense of peace. “What happened? Do we know why?”

She shook her head. “They won’t report it yet. Just that it’s delayed.”

Could trials be delayed right in the middle of it? You didn’t know a lot about law or the system surrounding it. Nima was rambling about something or another, trying to bring you comfort, but your thoughts drifted away. You wished Din were here. That wasn’t a surprising thought. Every single day since they left, multiple times a day really, you’d see something or think of something that made you crave their presence more than the baseline. Just yesterday you bought a bag of Grogu’s favorite blue cookies from the sandwich shop just for the hell of it. 

You heard your name, mumbled in concern, and your focus snapped back to Nima who was staring at you as if she was waiting for you to crumble. Slowly, you could feel the edges of your nerves beginning to fray, but that’s what work was for right? Distract you from all those dangerous thoughts and fears.

“Seriously. I am okay.” You reassured her once more. “This stays between us, right?”

“Of course.”

Your day carried on as if the news hadn't been shared with you. It would be the one day you wanted to keep busy that all of Nevarro decided to be the picture perfect definition of health. It was in part due to the droid being repaired which took off a lot of lower level urgent cases rather than emergent and it even saw some people with active conditions routinely. That would be it's primary purpose until the new guy that Karga hired eventually got out here.

When you went home for the night, you had only been moving around the kitchen for a few minutes, getting dinner ready, when your com rang for a holocall. You set your armband on the island counter to stand and answer. Grogu’s face immediately filled the entire screen with a loud ‘Ma!’ which pulled a laugh out of you. You needed that. 

“Grogu, share.” Din replied though you could only barely see him behind Grogu’s face.

“No.” Grogu replied simply before he began to babble about his day. He was getting better at expressing himself every day and you were picking up on words like ‘new friends’, ‘more food’, and even something that sounded like he was trying to tell you there was someone he didn’t like. Din sighed loudly, but you could hear the amusement in his tone.

“Uh huh.” You nodded your head, giving the little green boy your full attention, “Tell Ma all about it, baby.” It wasn’t until a solid five to ten minutes later that Grogu was appeased with the amount of attention from you that he was willing to share with his father. He wiggled out of the camera’s space so you could actually see Din, and the boy waved with a quick ‘Love Ma!’. You actually felt your heart tighten in your chest. “Love you too, baby.”

Grogu crawled away, probably to stir up trouble where he could find it on the small ship, and you bit back tears. The longer you sat with the news about Kurt the more you felt wired and anxious. Getting to talk to Grogu and see the cheerful boy made a world of difference.

“Mama’s boy.” You heard Din mutter with a chuckle while watching Grogu crawl away to wherever he went. His gaze quickly focused back on you and he let out a soft sigh. “Ner kar’ta. How was your day?”

“It was fine.” You leaned against the counter.

For the next half hour, you and Din talked about anything and everything. He told you about how the rest of his trip on that Outer Rim planet went, and he told you he dealt with Daelar. Din didn’t give you details on the specific, but you found that you didn’t really need them. You didn’t really care. Then you told him about your day, but gradually the two of you got off topic and trailed on about other things. Din was speaking, you could hear the sound of his comforting voice, but you found yourself accidentally zoning out. Your mind not falling into a specific thought, but just drifting away. It wasn’t until the third time that Din called out to you that you realized he had been doing so in the first place.

“Hm? Sorry.” You shook your head.

Even through a holocall, halfway across the galaxy, you could see the worry that Din wore. He had shifted forward in his seat, elbows on his knees, and there was a tension in his shoulders. If that didn’t give him away then the tilt in his head and the tone of his voice did. “What’s wrong? You’re troubled.” He didn’t ask if you were troubled. He just knew you were. “Tell me. Are you okay?”

“I am. I promise.” You replied. The last thing you wanted to do was worry him. Knowing Din, if you told him about Kurt he would do something drastic like immediately come back to Nevarro. Which, on one hand, was tempting, but it would just mean he’d need to leave again. Plus, you knew how important this mission was to him. You were not going to intercede with your own issues and drama. So, you decided on a lie of omission. “This afternoon there had been a patient with a chronic illness I didn’t remember much of. He was also Rodian and their anatomy is a blur to me. So, it was a lot of research and just working on the fly and I guess my brain just won’t let it go. I’m second guessing myself.”

Din’s entire body relaxed, but he stayed leaned over so he was closer to the camera⏤ closer to you. “Don’t. You’re incredible at what you do and immensely clever when you need to think on the spot.” You felt your cheeks warm at his blatant complements. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the greatest physician in the galaxy.”

You snorted. “Right. And that’s your totally unbiased opinion.” Din nodded. “All that medical knowledge you have makes you an expert in that decision.”

“I have twenty plus years of working a cautery, thank you.” Din replied with a chuckle.

“Yes. Obviously, so qualified.”

“Fine.” Din’s voice took a teasing edge. “You’re the best physician in all of Nevarro. Is that better?”

You let out a loud laugh and just as it had eased your anxious heart with Grogu, Din settled your soul as well.  Din was immensely proud of himself. You could see the smug air about him even through the holocall. When your laughter died down, you rested your chin on your hand to hold up your head.

“I miss you.” You mumbled.

Din sighed. “I miss you too, ner kar’ta. But it won’t be much longer.” You perked up. “I am stopping to speak to an…old friend.” The way he said the words made you doubt that this person was an actual friend⏤ or that the relationship was tumultuous at best. “Then on to Mandalore.”

A soft smile filled your features at the news. 

“Ma! Ma!” Grogu was yelling again as he tried to get into the picture.

Din scooped the boy up to set him on his laugh and playfully scolded. “You had your turn, ad’ika. It’s my turn with Ma.”

“No. Me.” Grogu argued.

You watched in amusement as Din continued to tease Grogu into a silly argument on who got to have your attention. Maker, you needed them back soon.

Ever since Nima shared the news about Kurt, nightmares plagued you. It was an odd mix of past and future. Some nights Kurt would be carving into you, telling you that you didn’t deserve to live, and other nights you’d have to watch helplessly as he hurt Din and Grogu.

You preferred the nights where Kurt made you bleed.

That added to the fact that while on Mandalore Din was not going to be able to call you due to interference really distracted you. Sleep deprived and anxiety riddled while working in a clinic with medical tools was not the ideal combination. The bacta tank needed refreshing in case of emergencies and during a quiet moment in the office you had told Aayla you planned to get it done. It was dirty work, cleaning the bacta filters, but you didn’t mind it. You hoped forward motion, keeping yourself busy, would keep you awake and sane.

So, when your hand slipped on the mechanism, causing the thick filter door to slam shut on your hand, it had been entirely your own fault.

"Fuck!" You screamed in agony as you felt the bones in your fingers snap. Blinded by the panic, your natural instinct was to try to pull your hand out, but the door was closed too tight for it to budge. All it did was send sharp, lightning strikes of pain shooting up your arm.

Aayla was by your side in an instant and she was shouting commands or reassurances at you, but your mind was in a fog. Maybe it was the pain or the exhaustion, but your body slumped forward onto the bacta tank as your vision went black.

It came back seconds later, but you didn’t feel the same. Rather than pain, you felt the telltale sign of something running through your veins to bring you relief. You were also now lying on a cot rather than standing over the bacta tank.

“What are we supposed to do when the doctor needs a doctor?” Mayfeld scoffed. You couldn't see him from where you laid, but his voice was easily recognizable. So was Vanth’s who replied.

“Use the droid.”

“The droid? That’s your solution? Let the kriffing droid work on the woman Mando is head over heels for?” Mayfeld cried. “He’s better about the damn things, but if he heard about this he’d come back to Nevarro just to kill us. Then he’d somehow save our asses from the brink of death just so he can kill us again.” 

You groaned and all your words came out groggily, “Stop talking. Both of you.” There was the sound of steps and suddenly it was Vanth’s face in your vision grinning down at you. “Why are you in here again?”

“Well, because the doc went and got her hand jammed up in some machinery.” Vanth replied. His words reminded you of the injury and you lifted your left hand to see a splint wrapped around your last three fingers. The ring finger was the worst, but all three were discolored and swollen. Vanth’s teasing tone switched to sincerity. “How’re you feeling, little lady?”

“Drugged.” You complained and rubbed your face with your good hand. The lack of pain was nice, but you hated how certain strong medications could make you feel.

“Yeah,” Mayfeld chimed, “That’s the e-bacta shot we gave you.”

“E-bacta??” You scoffed. “Where the hell did you get the e-bacta and why did you bring it into my clinic? That shit is illegal for a reason.” This version of bacta was so potent and strong that it was only one step down from spice, really. Addictive as hell and hard to keep from degrading. “Why did you do that?”

Vanth pointed at your broken hand. “Because that looks kriffing miserable. We’d put you in the tank altogether just to be cautious but we had to break the damn thing to get you unlodged from it.”

“Shit.” You forced yourself to sit up and the room spun. Both men reached out to steady you. “The tank is broken??”

Mayfeld snorted. “Yeah, and so is your hand. Focus on that instead.”

You rubbed your face in a poor attempt to gain some clarity. “Please tell me no one told Mando.”

Maybe he’d still be on Mandalore and there’d be no service for someone to tell him you got hurt. This was just like a few days ago when you learned about Kurt. You couldn’t make Din worry. He needed to focus on his own task and not be thinking about you.

“Told Mando?” Mayfeld cried. “Nobody wants to make the call and tell the indestructible tin can that we let his girl get hurt.”

Vanth shrugged. “We were gonna draw straws later. Us, Karga, Nima, Peli. Short stick has to bear his wrath.” He grinned at you. “But now that you’re up and talking, little lady, looks like we don’t need to do that.”

Mayfeld nodded and pointed at the man. “Yeah, good point. She should tell him. He won’t kill her.”

“Either stop talking or give me more e-bacta.” You grumbled.

Ignoring the well meaning but overbearing men, you cradled your broken hand in your lap. The splint on your hand was decent. You’d need something more permanent, but for a patch job it was solid. The sound of doors sliding open made you glance up to see Aayla fluttering in. She put her hands on her hips with a solid attempt of intimidation.

“I already chased out Nima. Now you two, as well?” 

The men glanced at you and you tilted your head and added. “Go. Don’t tell Mando.” As they neared the door you called out one last time. “And…thanks, guys.”

You did appreciate them and how much they cared. Even if some of that caring just came from a healthy fear of Din. Not that you thought Din would actually hurt either man. They were friends and this had very clearly been your fault.

“Did you do this?” You pointed to your hand and Aayla nodded with a sheepish grin. “It’s good. It’s really good, Aayla.” The woman beamed at your praise and you chuckled. “Did you get any scans yet?”

“Yes. We did.” She brought over a datapad and opened up the program that held all the imaging. You took it from her to look over your own scans and winced. Dank farrik. Hairline fractures on your pinky and middle finger, and an actual break in your ring finger. No wonder you blacked out. “Do we need to get you to a facility? Does your finger need surgical correction?”

You praised her line of thought then shook her head. “The fracture will heal itself once splinted. In order to test the tendons I need the swelling to go down just a bit so I can try moving my finger.”

Aayla stepped away and then returned with a cream and some ice. She got you situated on the cot and lifted the bed so you could lay back without being entirely flat. She was going to be a good doctor one day. After she went through school and all that. You leaned your head against the pillow and shut your eyes. It would be best for you to get some solid shut eye while the e-bacta was in your system. 

Since reaching Mandalore, everything had happened fast. Back to back to back, Din had what should have been considered one of the worst days of his life. Nearly dying three times qualified as a terrible day. However, Din was not dead. More than just not dead, he was redeemed. 

Din Djarin was no longer an Apostate.

He was Mandalorian once more.

That alone could make this a wonderful day, but the knowledge that this meant he could proceed in pursuing you was overwhelming. If he thought about it for too long it’d send him to his knees. The first thing he wanted to do was call you, but that plan was derailed when Imps bombed Bo Katan’s home. Considering the woman had saved his life, and watched Grogu when he was unable, the least he could do was get her to safety. Maybe the covert wasn’t the best place for Bo Katan Kryze, but Din needed to go there anyway so why not use it as a shelter.

As Nima liked to say: two porgs, one blaster.

When everything had settled, the first thing he did was find a quiet spot to call you. Grogu was passed out in his arms and Bo Katan was sitting not too far away in contemplation.

“You alright?” Din questioned.

Bo hummed. “Suppose so. Not how I expected this day to go, but…”

“I’m sorry. About your home.” 

“...Thank you.” Bo said after a beat of hesitation.

Din could tell she was still in distress. Lost in her thoughts. He could’ve pressed further, attempt to help her some more, but it would have to wait. If Din didn’t talk to you right now he’d burst. The excitement of being redeemed mingled with the knowledge that for a brief moment today he thought everything had been over. 

He activated the holocall and leaned against the cave wall. 

When your face appeared on the screen, Din sighed in relief. Being trapped on Mandalore, sending Grogu away, your face had been the last one he thought of. “Ner kar’ta.” He breathed out. Din didn’t even care that Bo was only a few feet away and able to hear his entire conversation. “You are…”

He was going to call her a sight for sore eyes, but you looked more than exhausted. Something was wrong. Your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes and you didn’t have that same glow that Din admired. Before he could question, you spoke, “You can call! That means you’re not on Mandalore anymore, right? How’d it go?”

“I am redeemed.” Din said with pride and despite how tired you look the smile you wore brightened in excitement. You cried out about how happy you were for him and how proud and how much you missed him and couldn’t wait to see him. Hearing that praise from you was somehow better than hearing the Armorer confirm he was no longer an Apostate. Din shook his head, deciding to steer right back to his concern, “You look terrible, ner kar’ta.”

You forced a chuckle. “Exactly what a girl wants to hear.”

“You are the most stunning woman I have ever known, and every day I get to see you, bask in your beauty,  is a blessing I am undeserving of.” Din said sincerely and he watched your face twist in mild embarrassment. Your smile turning cute and sheepish. He grew serious once more. “But right now, you look ill. Hurt. So I will ask again," Din shook his head, "What. Is. Going. On?”

You twisted your lips, weighing pros and cons, and then with a sigh you lifted your right hand so it came into the screen’s view. Din’s eyes widened at the swollen and discolored look of your fingers wrapped in a makeshift split. 

“Me’bana!? Cuyir gar o'r aaray??” Din barked. Grogu stirred briefly in his arms. “Pehea rucuyir gar shupur'yc!?”

“I don’t speak Mando’a, honey.” You sighed with a small amused smile.

If Din wasn’t so caught off guard and worried about the state of your hand, the nickname that fell from your lips so easily would have made him flush in warmth. Din shook his head. “Are you alright?? What happened?”

“It was stupid.” You shook your head. “Cleaning the bacta tank, I slipped up. Got my hand caught in the filter door.” That wasn’t like you. Typically, you were very cautious and careful with your work. “It looks worse than it actually is, I swear. The swelling has gone down a lot.”

Din narrowed his eyes at your wording. “How much time has passed? When did this happen, ner kar’ta?”

“...Yesterday?” You said it like it was a question.

“Ner kar’ta.”

“Yesterday morning.” You confirmed sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You were on Mandalore. No service.”

Din tilted his head, “You tried to hide it at the start of this conversation. If I didn’t press, would you have told me about your accident?” You pressed your lips together and winced. Din blew out a breath of air. “Dank farrik. Ner kar’ta…” 

“I didn’t want to worry you.” You said softly with a frown.

Din shook his head again, keeping his voice firm. “I need to know these things.” The thought that you were injured was staggering, but knowing you could be hurt and keep it from him? All he wanted in life was to protect you. Take care of you. “You need to tell me⏤”

“Why?” Bo suddenly called out loud enough that your face morphed into confusion at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. “Did you tell her about how you nearly died three times today?”

Din flinched and your jaw popped open. The exhaustion seemed to be wiped away and replaced with a mix of anger and shock. “You what!?” Din began to speak but you cut him off. “You nearly died today!? Din! What the hell is the mystery voice talking about!?”

“Well, it wasn’t⏤”

“You were gonna scold me about my broken hand and not mention multiple near death experiences??” Din winced. That was a fair point. He didn’t see it from that side. The sight of your discolored and swollen digits had blinded him about every other detail of the day. “Din Djarin⏤ Do you have a middle name? I want to yell your entire name at you but⏤ never mind. Just⏤ Maker! Are you alright? Are you safe? Is Grogu⏤”

Din cut in, “Yes. To all of it. Grogu is safe,” He lifted his arm enough that she could see the snoozing boy, “I am safe, I am okay. In fact, I am less injured than you are right now.” He sighed. “And, you’re right. That wasn’t fair of me. I just… I panicked.”

Your gaze softened but the concern remained. “Yeah. I guess… As long as you guys are safe.”

“We are, and we’ll be home soon.” Din promised. Your lips twitched up into a smile. “Who is taking care of you right now?”

You chuckled. “Uh, me?”

Din hummed in displeasure. He should be there to help you⏤ to take care of you. It killed him to be this far from you. A part of him wanted to stand up right now and fly home, but he needed to talk to the Armorer tomorrow. He needed to have something forged.

“Maybe you should stay with Nima…”

“I can take care of myself, Din.” You grinned. “I’m the greatest doctor in the galaxy, remember?” Din chuckled under his breath. “You really are okay, though?”

Din nodded. “I swear to you, ner kar’ta.”

They only spoke for a few more moments because Din was adamant you go to bed even though it wasn’t very late in Nevarro. You just looked so exhausted. Maybe he’d talk to Karga about a vacation. If they got the new physician to move to Nevarro then the city could afford to spare you for a few days. Vanth could stay a little while longer to cover for him. Din just wanted to take you somewhere nice⏤ somewhere relaxing. Though he should probably focus on actually courting you before he starts thinking of honeymoon options.

When the holocall ended, Din glanced over at Bo who simply tilted her head at him. He scoffed, “Really?”

“Seemed like pertinent information.”

“Your hand still looks like shit.”

You glanced up at Nima with a tight lipped smile. “A little rude considering I saved your hand.” She snickered. She wasn’t wrong. The swelling had improved but the bruising still looked Maker awful. Though, with Aayla’s help you were able to get a real splint on it. “I thought you were bringing me lunch.”

“I thought you were going to come with me to lunch.” She argued.

Luckily, the clinic wasn’t busy. So you shrugged out of your white coat, leaving you in just your scrubs, and then followed Nima who was leading the way with a bounce. There had been no further news on the Kurt situation which left you in turmoil. However, Nima had been doing her best to distract you and anytime anxiety did try to wash over you, you just reminded yourself that your boys would be home in the next 48 hours or so. 

“The Razor Crest project is going so well.” Nima clapped her hands. “I mean, we’re still missing some key pieces, but Peli and I are nearly done with the engine rebuild. Can you believe that?” You hummed in interest. It’d be nice to see it eventually. The Crest was such a strong presence in so many of Din’s story and Grogu’s pictures. Obviously, this wasn’t the exact same. Version 2.0, but still. “Peli said⏤”

The sound of a low rumble filled the air. As you, Nima, and all the other citizens standing outside paused to listen to the sound, a large shade began to cover the city. As if the sun was being blocked out. You looked up and your eyes widened at the sight of a huge ship.

“Shit. That’s a Corsair.” Nima mumbled in shock. Just as the words left her mouth, an alarm began to blare loudly and the voice of a droid called for evacuation to the lava fields. You didn't even have a spare second to panic because that’s when blaster fire rained down on Nevarro.

mando'a translations

ner kar'ata: my heart Me'bana?: What happened? Cuyir gar o'r aaray?: Are you in pain? Pehea rucuyir gar shupur'yc?: How were you injuried?

taglist:

@aheadfullofsteverogers @yyiikes @kneelforloki @c-ms1ut @sgt-morgan @luthienaliceisilra @fawn-kitten @missbabyjay @coldlamaspersonspy @dilfsaremyfavourite @jamesbuckybarnes @yorkeylover @teawrites01 @emily-roberts @djarinxore @impala1967666 @shelbyteller @faithrenner @dindjarindude @dankfarrick29 @rh1nestonecowg1rl @garbo-lesbo @anythingforattention @tearfulsolace @onceinamando @catharinaroxastova @uwu-i-purple-you @modiddys-blog @stagerightlauren @mini-bees @xxinvisblexx @adoringanakin @sagegreensensei @spidey-3 @sydney-1209 @thepascalofus @hrtsforpascal @banana-lol @daybleedsintonightfall11 @lil-dragon-draws @guccistardust @ideajpeg @harriedandharassed @leithatnight @elfamosotoga @damnzelsoul @the-anchored-sailor-girl @morks-watermelon @katelynmarieyt @taylorann2013 @chonkercatto @dheet @liadamerondjarin @fallinallinmendes @missdicaprio @jennaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa @alphaash99 @djarinsmixtape @pcrushinnerd @closedaddition @thelovelyhann @harrys-sunflower-bakery @mayaaaaah @theway-thisis

[topazy]

Teen spirit

Pairing: Carl Grimes × reader, Maggie Greene × sister reader

Warnings: Swearing, blood and violence

Chapter: 6.01

You try your best to pay no mind to those staring while you explore the different streets of Alexandria. Carl doesn’t seem to notice as he pushes Judith in her pram, or if he does, he doesn't let on. The first few weeks in your new home have been hard on everyone. Noah was dead. While on a supply run, he was torn to shreds by walkers. A few others had died, including Jessie’s husband Pete, whom Rick shot for killing Deanna’s husband, which resulted in your group getting the cold shoulder from a lot of people who had lived in Alexandria since the beginning, and they no longer thought your people belonged in their home.

“I’m glad Maggie isn’t making you go anymore.”

Since Carl was no longer going to ‘school' Maggie said you didn’t need to either, on the condition you help out with different chores, one of them being looking after Judith. “Me too,” you say, leaning down and tickling the baby’s cheek. “It means I get to hang out with my favorite girl.”

“Carl, Hope.”

You turn to see Father Gabriel walking over. Maggie had overheard him telling Deanna that your people were dangerous and shouldn’t be allowed in the community a few nights prior, so it was surprising he would speak to any of you.

Carl’s tone is sharp. “What?”

“You heard what I told Deanna about your group.”

“What is it you want?” You ask.

“It was about me, not you or your group. I know that now.” Gabriel admits, “I want to help. You tried to reach me back at my church, but I’m ready to learn now.”

“I think you need to tell everybody.”

The older man’s eyes gloss over slightly. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

Carl starts to push the pram again, but strops and sighs. “Come by around three. We’ll start with the machete.”

When Gabriel is out of earshot, you say, “That was nice of you.”

He shrugs, “Suppose we gotta keep being nice to each other since we are all going to be living together. Besides, I think he’s still struggling with what happened at his church.”

You smile softly. Carl has always remained kind to others, even when he’s angry. “Yeah, I think you're right.”

—

“Hope, Hope!”

Hearing your name being called, followed by a thumping noise coming from the bathroom door, you turn off the water and go to step out, but slip on the shower, stubbing your toes on it and letting out a string of curse words.

The banging continues. “Hope! Hope! You need to get out of there now!”

Hearing the urgency in Carl’s voice, you grab a towel, and you step behind the door and open it a crack to hear him say, “What’s going on?”

“We are being attacked; you gotta help me keep Judith and Enid safe.”

The fear in his voice causes your heart to start beating faster and faster. Scrambling, you start pulling clothes on, doing your best to ignore the blood coming from your toe. When you open the door, you see Carl looking towards the staircase, directly at the front door, one hand tightly wrapped around his gun. Hearing you flinch while putting shoes on, his gaze jumps between you and the door. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” you lie, trying your best not to whine in pain as you tie the laces on the dirty, worn-out white converse. “Who’s attacking us?”

“I’m not sure. They climbed the wall and just started killing people. Enid saw a man kill Shelly with a machete. They are worse than the dead.”

A large part of your new community, including Rick, Michonne, Daryl, and Abraham, had left Alexandria to lead a herd of walkers away, meaning you were lacking fighters to defend your home. At least you still had Carol, Rosita, Maggie...

“God, Maggie!” You hold onto the banister and pull yourself up. “I need to find her.”

“You can’t go out there; it’s not safe.”

“But she’s my sister.” Tears well up in your eyes. “I can’t lose her too! I’ve just lost Beth; I can’t, I can’t.”

Attempting to comfort you, Carl holds you and places his hands on your shoulders. “Maggie is one of the strongest people I know; she will make it. I promise.”

You knew Carl couldn’t promise you that, but you needed to pull it together because right now nothing was more important than keeping Judith safe. You wipe away a fallen tear. “Okay, let’s do this.”

—

When you went downstairs, Enid informed you that the group invading Alexandria was called the Wolves. It wasn’t clear what they actually wanted; some members of the Wolves were looting houses, and the others were tossing petrol bombs and destroying everything they could.

Sitting back to back in the hallway, watching the front and back doors while Enid kept an eye from upstairs, Judith slept blissfully unaware of all the chaos going on in her crib.

Hearing a loud noise, you flinch. “What was that?”

“It sounds like a car horn.”

You chew on your bottom lips, and the blast of the horn would draw any nearby dead to the scene. “This is just going to keep getting worse, isn’t it?”

“No, my dad will be back soon, along with everybody else, and we will all be fine.”

You let out a deep sigh. You didn’t want to be so negative, but the fear of something bad happening to those you loved weighed heavily on you. Slowly, you look away from the back door and face Carl’s head. A few seconds pass before you lean in and kiss him on the cheek, “Thank you.”

He blushes, and you return to watching the back door. You’re unsure of how long you will wait for something to happen when Carl jumps to his feet and runs out of the front door.

You catch a glimpse of a wolf chasing Ron. Just as you reach the front door, Carl shoots the man in the leg and aims his gun at him, but the wolf tearfully starts begging for his life and for help with his leg. You watch in horror as Carl hesitantly lowers his weapon, and the wolf viciously grabs the barrel of his gun. You sprint to them and pull the trigger, shooting the man in the head.

You just killed someone.

You offer Carl your hand and help pull him to his feet. “Oh shit, your foot.”

You look down and see blood soaking through your shoe. Gulping down, you say. “It’s fine. Ron, you need to come inside with us now.”

“Come on, man, it’s not safe out here.”

Ron thinks it over as you go back towards the house, with a slight limp in your step, and Ron goes to follow but spots Enid in the doorway and storms off.

—

Carol came by to check on you, Carl, and Judith. She informed you that they had taken one of the men prisoner, but the rest of his group had either run off or been killed. You were even more thankful when she told you your sister was fine.

“Thank God,” you say sincerely.

Carol smiles at you and says, “I’m glad you kids are alright. I’m going to go let Maggie know you are here; she was looking for you.”

Just as she leaves, Carl comes back into the room with a first-aid kit in one hand and a note in the other. “Enid’s gone; she left a note sharing, ‘Just survive somehow.’”

He sits on the edge of the couch. You go to grab the first-aid bag from him, but Carl keeps a tight hold of it. You roll your eyes playfully at him and say, “I can do it myself.”

Carl gives you a doubtful look. “You won’t do it right because you’ll not want it to hurt.”

He had a point.

After you were sure there was no more immediate danger, you removed your shoe and sock to assess the damage you had done coming out of the shower, and to your disgust, one of your toes had bruises and was swollen, and one of the nails had split, causing the bleeding.

Not wanting to seem like a big baby, you bit down on your tongue as Carl cleaned your foot and wrapped your toes together with a bandage.

“You know, I really could have done it myself.”

He shrugs. “I know, but I don’t mind. I remember watching my mom bandage a woman called Jacqui’s foot up after she tripped and fell in camp one day.”

“What happened to Jacqui?” You ask curiously, since you hadn’t heard him mention her before.

“She killed herself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“She had given up.” Carl shakes his head. “I sometimes think about the camp I stayed in when the outbreak first started and miss it. The day my dad found us was probably the best day of my life.”

“I miss the farm; I miss my daddy.” Feeling your eyes start to tear up again, you pat at Carl’s hand. “But if you hadn’t left that camp, then we never would have met.”

You sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments, then Carl moves closer to you, saying, “Thank you. For saving me.”

“Don’t thank me; you would have done the same thing.”

Closing your eyes, you try to push the memory of what happened to the back of your mind. You take a sharp intake of breath when you feel Carl press his lips against yours lightly. He pulls away after a few seconds and says, “I…I… shouldn’t have...”

You kiss him back. You remain lip-locked with Carl, your best friend, until someone clears their throat. You jump back, and Carl stands up, his face flushed red with embarrassment. “Hi Maggie,” he says nervously. “I’m just going to go and check on Judith.”

Maggie has a wide grin on her face; she found it amusing how awkward you looked. “I came as soon as Carol told me where you were; she said you'd hurt your foot.”

“I hurt it earlier, but it’s fine now.”

“Really?” She sits down on the edge of the table across from you. “Carol said it was bleeding and bruised.”

“It was, but Carl bandaged it.”

“With his mouth?” She laughs.

“Don’t.”

Maggie tries her best to hide her growing smile with her hand. “Okay, so I gotta ask, do you know how protection works?”

“Yes.”

“You sure? Because I remember what it’s like to be a teenager with raging hormones. You are both smart kids, but you’re almost nearly sixteen.”

Heat rushes to your face. “Oh my god, Maggie, seriously?”

“Hope, I’m being deadly serious. This is an important subject, and I just need to know how much you learned before.“

You cut her off. “Of course I know how babies are made. Why the sudden interest in my sexual education, aside from trying to embarrass me to death?”

“I’m pregnant.”

[spectorgram]

celebration

din djarin x f! reader summary: din finds out it’s your birthday. notes: pure fluff, maybe a little suggestive at the end word count: 1.9k

“Where’re we off to this time, Mando?” you asked as he returned to the Razor Crest, a tracking puck in hand. The Child squealed upon his arrival, wiggling in your arms and reaching for his father. You chuckled softly and handed him off to Mando.

“Naboo,” he replied, holding the Child on his hip. “The quarry’s stolen from some powerful people.” The puck projected an image of a slight woman, hair long and lank, and her eyes sunken in. “Darmari Gilvale.”

“Let’s head off then!” Mando nodded and you two made your way to the cockpit. He strapped the kid into his seat behind the two of you, and you settled into the co-pilot seat.

The stars whirled past you as you flew through the galaxy. Luckily, Naboo wasn’t terribly far — no need for hyperdrive. As you cruised along, Mando asked, “Are you excited to go back?”

You can’t believe he remembered. You had mentioned it in passing that you lived in Naboo for a while before you had made your way to Tatooine, where Mando had met you while you worked with Peli. “Yeah,” you replied, smiling at him. “It’ll be great to feel a planet with moisture.”

You heard him let out a breathy laugh through the vocoder and you felt your cheeks heat a little. You weren’t really sure when you had started falling for Mando. You hadn’t even seen his face, for Maker’s sake, but it didn’t matter. You knew who he was — reliable, sturdy, and kind, something few people in the universe really were. You knew how you felt, but unfortunately, you never knew what he was thinking or what to make of moments that seemed like they held some meaning. Little, lingering touches, when he looked at you from behind his helmet for a moment longer.

You landed in Naboo rather quickly, stopping in one of the open, grassy fields just outside the city you had once lived in. As you exited the ship, the Child in your arms, you sucked in a greedy breath of air. Naboo always smelled so fresh and clean, perpetually breezy and temperate, a nice contrast from arid Tatooine.

On every planet you stopped in, you liked to stretch your legs before Mando had you go back inside so you and the Child would be safe while he went after a quarry. “How long do you think it’ll take?” you asked.

“Not long,” he answered. “Said she headed into the forests here, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. I’ll probably be back before sundown.”

“Stay safe, Mando.” He nodded and went to head off into the forest ahead of him when you both heard a loud rumble. Mando glanced back at you, and you stared down at the kid. How could someone so tiny produce that big a sound?

“Someone’s hungry,” you said and Mando nodded. “Let’s go into the city, get a quick bite to eat, and then you can hunt the quarry.” With another nod, the three of you turned in the other direction and made your way to the city.

The city was just as you remembered, lively and bustling. You pointed right and said, “There’s a nice cantina there that serves good bone broth.”

“Sounds perfect,” Mando said, taking the lead this time. The cantina was buzzing with conversation, patrons chatting over drinks and warm meals. There was a lull when you all stepped inside, customers turning to gawk at the Mandalorian. As you settled into a table, people seemed to lose interest as they resumed whatever they were doing beforehand. You lifted the Child from his pram, situating him between you and Mando. You pet the top of the Child’s head as he stood on the seat, straining to see over the tabletop.

You heard someone call your name, and you grinned when you saw Celgra approaching you, hands on her hips. “As I live and breathe,” she said, beaming at you. “Haven’t seen or heard from you since you took off for Tatooine!”

“Sorry, things have been a little hectic.”

She waved you off. “I get it, don’t worry.” Celgra noticed Mando and the Child and she raised an eyebrow at you, half-questioning, half-suggestive. “Who’re these fine folk? Your husband and kid?”

“No, no!” you replied quickly, glancing at Mando who was staring straight at you. “No, this Mando and that’s the Child — they’ve been my traveling companions.”

“I see,” Celgra said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Mando just nodded and she turned her attention to the Child. He smiled and cooed at her, and she said, “Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing? Need a highchair for him?”

“Actually,” you said, “that would be great.”

“Let me first take your orders and then I’ll get to it.”

You ordered one of their salads and Mando got some bone broth for the Child. “Nothing for you?” Celgra asked Mando and he shook his head.

“Can we also get some broth to go?”

“Of course!” Celgra chirped, “I’ll be back with that highchair.”

She turned to leave and then she seemed to remember something, adding, “I almost forgot — happy birthday!”

You laughed a little, “Can’t believe you remember that.”

“Mind like a steel trap,” she said with a wink and she went off to go get your orders and the chair.

Mando turned to you. “You didn’t tell me it was your birthday.”

“It’s not important,” you said. “Seriously, I haven’t celebrated it in forever.” It was true. When you left Naboo and went to Tatooine, you never brought up your birthday to Peli. You weren’t lying when you said it wasn’t super important to you — it was just a marker of time, like any other day.

Still, Mando seemed almost… guilty that he didn’t say anything. “If I’d known…”

“Mando.” You reached across the table and placed your hand over his. His helmet followed the gesture. “I’m totally okay. Really.”

He didn’t seem quite convinced, but he dropped the subject for now as Celgra returned with the highchair. You strapped the Child into it, and he seemed satisfied now being able to see the whole cantina.

“Happy birthday,” Mando said, and your heart fluttered a little.

You offered him a soft smile. “Thanks, Mando.”

Celgra came back shortly after with your orders, handing you a baggie with a container of broth in it. You and the Child finished your food, and your little group made your way back to the Crest. “Stay safe,” you told Mando again as you started to head into the Crest.

“I’ll do my best,” he said and you startled a little. He never really replied to your request, only giving you nods. You watched him turn and head towards the forest, trying and failing to not admire the broad expanse of his back or the self-assured swagger to his walk.

The Child giggled in your arms, staring up at you as if he knew what you were thinking, and you gave him a playful frown. “Hush.”

Evening had arrived, and there was still no sign of the Mandalorian. As you and the Child munched on some rations stored in the ship, the take-out bone broth you had gotten Mando sitting untouched in his seat, you glanced anxiously out of the Crest’s front window. He said he’d be back by sundown; your detour into the city’s cantina hadn’t been long, so where was he?

Another fifteen minutes went by and you were pacing the cockpit, chewing on your lip and rambling to the Child, who — from the furrow of his little brow — seemed equally concerned. “He’s totally fine, right?” you asked. “He said it would be an easy job, so maybe he just got lost?” The Child gave you a slow blink and you sighed, “You’re right that doesn’t seem very Mando-like, does it?” You looked out the window again, the sky hued in indigo and fading sunset orange. “Dank farrik.”

The whoosh of the door to the Crest sounded and you glanced at the Child. It could be Mando, or it could be some intruder. It wouldn’t be the first time some had tried to ambush you here. Grabbing your blaster, you crept out of the cockpit and into the hull. Taking careful, deliberate steps, you made your way towards the door.

Relief flooded you as you saw Mando dragging the unconscious quarry behind him, hauling her towards the carbonite freezer. He stuffed her in, freezing her in the block. There was something in his other hand that you couldn’t make out.

He finally turned to see you, looking at the blaster in your hand. “Were you going to shoot me with that?” he asked, sounding mildly amused.

“Didn’t know who was coming into the ship.”

He nodded and you took a deep breath. “Where were you?” you asked, finally letting your frustration and worry out. “I— we were so worried about you! You said that this wasn’t going to go beyond sundown and yet here we are, and it’s evening! Kriff, Mando, what hap—”

He lifted up the unidentified object in his hand, and replied quietly, “I went back into the city.”

You gawked at him. “With the quarry?”

He snorted, “No, left her knocked out and tied to a tree at the edge of the forest.”

You blinked at him and decided to ask, “Why’d you go back?”

He motioned for you to step into the cockpit, where the Child had managed to pull himself up into Mando’s pilot seat, trying to break open the container of bone broth. “Hey,” you chided, picking him up despite his squirming and wiggling, “that’s for your dad, bud.”

“You got that for me?”

You nodded. “Since you can’t take off your helmet, I just thought…”

You wondered if he was smiling at you when he said, “Thank you. I appreciate that.” Then, he handed you the bag. “It’s for you.”

You tilted your head curiously, opening up the bag to find two small boxes. You took out the bigger of the two parcels and opened it, staring down at the small cake that had ‘Happy Birthday’ written out in icing on it. “Mando,” you said softly, “you didn’t have to.”

“I know. I wanted to.” He motioned to the small box. “That’s for your birthday too.”

“Mando…” You opened it up, gaping at the opalescent pendant winking back at you. You looked at him. “This is… this is so thoughtful.” You weighed the necklace in your hand and stood, placing the cake on your seat behind you.

You drew the necklace up to your throat, and then Mando said, “Let me.” He took it gently from you and moved behind you. His fingers, gloveless, brushed against your nape and you shivered involuntarily. When had he taken them off? You had seen Mando’s hands bare only once before, and you were never quite able to shake the image of them — big and square, long tapered fingers, golden skin. They were strong and reliable, just like your Mando.

You gulped as he secured the delicate clasp, feeling the cool press of the pendant against your clavicle. He didn’t move as you slowly turned to face him, staring up at his helmet. “Mando…” you breathed out.

“Din,” he said softly. “My name is Din.”

“Din.” You savored the single syllable on your tongue.

He rested the forehead of his helmet against your own and murmured out, “Briikase gote'tuur, cyar’ika.”

Translations: Briikase gote'tuur — happy birthday Cyar’ika — darling, sweetheart

[autistpride]

Autism Acceptance

BOOKSHOP AU

Prompt day 5: April 5

Word count: 1219

@wolfstarmicrofic

Remus walked down Station Hill trying hard to keep his overwhelm in check.

Lily was supposed to meet him at the train station when his train arrived but she got called into work on her day off. Something about a kids game day that needed to be prepared for. When Lily had texted him that she wouldn’t be able to meet him, Remus had immediately started to panic. Lily must have been able to tell, or she just knew him well enough by now, that she followed her message up with the exact address and a screen shot from Google Maps with the walking route Remus would need to take to make it to the Waterstones she worked at.

Remus had plugged that route into his phone that he wore on his Autistic AF lanyard and listened to the directions as he went.

Remus wore his headphones over one ear and left the other uncovered to listen to his surroundings. Remus turned left onto St. Andrew’s as the voice in his earphones called out to him, pulling his small rolling suitcase along behind him while his free hand spun the bright pink fidget spinner he always carried with him.

He passed by the bus depot and picked up his pace as a group of guys behind him walked the same direction as him. He knew he was likely overreacting. This was just a bigger city than he was used to and he knew he was an easy target because he was obviously new to the area and appearing to not be paying attention.

He hadn’t anticipated having to parade through what felt like the entire town dressed in the rainbow jumper his mum had excitedly knitted for him his first pride after he came out.

As soon as he entered the shopping plaza he exhaled and slowed down. Remus knew that generally speaking, he was safer in the throngs of people out doing their shopping, eating at Nandos, and just meandering about in the warmer spring weather.

He passed a few shops that he was vaguely interested in, reminded himself that he needed to purchase some new socks later if he could remember when he saw the sign for the clothing store, and made a left to continue on his journey.

There nestled snugly between two other store fronts was the biggest bookstore he had ever seen. Remus knew it wasn’t even the largest one. Lily had told him about one of the others that was much larger, but he couldn't imagine that when he had this glorious two story bookstore literally steps away.

Remus just stared at the building in awe before entering the shop. Remus didn’t know where to look, books sat on tables in the centre of the room and shelf after shelf covered the walls. Even the stairs had books stacked on them!

Remus wandered through the building, eyes darting back and forth before an employee made his way over to him. Remus let out a gasp. The man was tall with lean muscles. His button-up rolled up, a tattoo of a wolf howling at the moon on his forearm. Wispy curls framed his face, but the majority of his dark hair was pulled up into a messy bun.

“Can I help you find something?” The man asked, stepping closer to Remus as a woman with a pram tried to squeeze behind him.

Remus tried to take a step back as he shook his head no, forgetting his suitcase behind him and falling comically backwards over it and into the stacks behind him.

“Oh shite!” The man yelped “Are you okay? I’m so sorry mate!” The man said before rambling about how clumsy he was at times and how it often annoyed his coworkers as he crowded Remus to try to help him up.

Remus’ breaths came in shallow panting breaths, all sound in his ears a sudden buzzing, as he rose to his feet and ran through the shop until he found a secluded corner somewhere upstairs and sank to the floor, knees to his chest.

Remus had no idea how long he was there before soft grey eyes and dark hair were in front of him. The man from before didn’t speak, he didn’t try to touch him nor try to make him talk. He just gave him a bright smile and then sat next to Remus.

After a time, Remus lifted his head up and looked around, realising the light in just the area they were in was turned down and the man from before was still sitting quietly next to him.

The man offered Remus a smile and waved his fingers when he noticed Remus was looking at him. Remus buried his face in his knees and groaned.

A chuckle escaped the other man before he whispered, “You don't have to be embarrassed. I’m sorry I overstimulated you Remus.”

Remus’ head popped up quickly at the sound of his name whispered on this man's lips and his cheeks flushed at the brief thought of hearing his name said in the same way but for another reason.

Remus was grateful the man seemed oblivious to his thoughts as he continued speaking. “I’m Sirius. I work here with your friend Lily. You’re safe here, with me.” Sirius gave Remus another smile and then rose to his feet and left.

Remus didn’t see Sirius for the rest of the evening. Eventually Lily approached him and told him she was off and guided him back down and out the employee door and to her vehicle parked in the lot.

Remus thought of Sirius after that, often, more than he would care to admit. If Lily noticed anything she didn’t call him out on it. Remus spent all of the hours Lily had to work in one section or another of the shop. Sirius seemed scheduled just as often and around the same hours as he was frequently spotted by Remus stocking books, helping people find the titles they searched for, and reading stories to the little kids in the children's section.

Sirius wasn’t hard to spot, he was loud and energetic. His friendly tone filled the shop and the kids gravitated to him. He seemed to know the kids by name and asked about their days and exchanged some good natured ribbing with some of the preteen boys.

But everytime Sirius was free, he somehow always found Remus and sat with him. Sirius would whisper to Remus, speaking of everything and nothing, and Remus listened happily until Sirius had to return to work.

On his last day, Remus followed Lily back into the Waterstone’s, a take away tea in hand. He waved bye to Lily and began to wander around, before slowly making his way back to the very first section he explored. The one at the top, hidden near the back. The one he ran to his first time in. As he made his way over he spotted Sirius, sitting down in position all too familiar to Remus. Remus slowly knelt down in front of Sirius and offered him a small smile. Sirius gave him a watery smile back.

Remus set the tea down onto the floor and slowly wrapped his arms around Sirius. “I’m Remus. It’s okay Sirius. You’re safe here with me.”

[gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot]

Chapter 12 Nemo dat quot non habet (No one gives what they do not have) - Cartagena Part 2

I am so sorry for the lateness. Writer's block is a bitch and... well, you know.

Taglist: @glitterypirateduck @letsreadallday @jamesrifftapes @mmyrrhh @sofasoap

My beloved sister @mmyrrhh deserves double the mention because it was because of her push that I could finally finish this... and it got too long to fit in one part, so expect another, I hope smaller, later this week.

Warnings: None, just stupid awkward fluff.

Previous / Masterlist / Next

The day had started with a sour mood for everyone, that was true.

Now, in the late hours of the afternoon, strolling around the ruins of the… Roman Neighbourhood or whatever it was called, it seemed everyone’s mood had improved.

To be honest, Simon had conflicting feelings about undercover operations. On the one hand, he hated them. Being in the open, without the protection of his team, without Price, without visible weapons, without gear.

Without Ghost. As naked as you can be. Pretending to be normal.

On the other hand, he liked the normality. The day-to-day life. Waking up, having a nice cuppa in the balcony of their rented apartment before going down to the nearest café to have proper breakfast. Driving from one place to another, walking to one place or another, sitting down somewhere random to have lunch, just… living.

The light banter, the laughter, Christine’s thigh pressed against his underneath the table. Pretending to be normal.

And now, walking around the open air museum during the late hours of the afternoon, following Gabi, Johnny and Christine, and listening to their endless chatter about this and that, he thought that maybe he could get used to it. To being normal.

If only he deserved it.

‘‘Am starving!’’ Johnny complained, with his arms wrapped around Gabi’s slim waist and pretending to bite her shoulder after moving the strap of her sundress, making her squeal. ‘‘When are we eating?’’

‘‘After we finish the visit, you cheeky idiot’’ Gabi laughed, patting his cheek when he grumbled against her neck something about perishing from starvation. ‘‘You ate two steaks not even three hours ago!’’

‘‘As if that could keep satisfied that pit he has for stomach’’ Christine commented idly, busy taking photos of a mosaic with her mobile phone. Simon stood silently beside her, waiting patiently. She stopped everywhere to take photos of the ruins. A column here, a mosaic there, part of a road, the remains of a house. He just waited, enjoying the quiet hum coming from her, almost drowned by the chatter of the rest of the people visiting the site. She was wearing her mask again because of the crowd, but the happy light in her eyes made up for everything.

‘‘Ah’ll haf ye keen tha…’’

‘‘English, MacTavish’’ Simon grumbled, but when Christine looked up at him saw by the wrinkles around his eyes that he was grinning under his own mask. And she could hear a chuckle when the Scot swore at him and Gabi started to chide him about it.

They walked after the happy couple, in comfortable silence, to the next section of the open air museum. Some people looked at them strangely, and Christine ended up giggling quietly, which made Simon look down at her.

‘‘What?’’

‘‘Nothing, it’s just… funny’’ She shrugged, moving slightly to avoid being bumped into by a small family pushing a pram. ‘‘They are walking in front, all lovey-dovey, and we are following them, with masks on, as if we were the bodyguards or something. People are looking at us weirdly’’

‘‘Bodyguards’’ Simon grunted, earning another giggle from her. ‘‘I’d sooner sell him out to the highest bidder’’

‘‘No, you wouldn’t’’ Christine laughed, nudging lightly his forearm with her elbow, and he rumbled a laugh under his mask. No, he wouldn’t. He would protect Johnny until his last drop of blood. As he’d do for any of the 141, past or present.

‘‘I would’’ He insisted, just so she would laugh again, ignoring the people that moved away to avoid crashing into him. She moved a bit to walk behind him to do the same, with her quiet chuckle.

‘‘No, you wouldn’t!’’

Simon shook his head, still grinning like a fool underneath the fabric. Why was it so easy to just…

His train of thought was harshly interrupted when a rowdy group of young men – in their early twenties, he thought – crossed their path, coming from the museum section they were walking to. Laughing and chatting loudly, not really paying attention to where they were going or who they were bumping into. By the looks and language, Brit tourists.

Johnny was swift to move Gabi away, scowling at them when one of the tourists almost stepped on her feet, but the lad didn’t even notice. Too busy with the mates, maybe even too tipsy in spite of the early hour.

Without thinking, when they were almost upon them, Simon’s right hand darted out and grabbed Christine’s left wrist, pushing her behind him, allowing them to pass. One or two looked up at him, blinking and their faces falling at the dark, cold look in his brown eyes, but they had the sensible thought of just rushing past.

Satisfied, he continued walking, and it wasn’t after some steps that he realized what he had done, and a cold, piercing sense of fear formed a knot in his throat and gut. He grabbed her hand. Without permission or even thinking. What if she was triggered. Hell, he was tempted to tear his hand away as if bitten by a venomous snake, feeling the soft skin of a woman under his fingers and palm for the first time in… he didn’t even remember.

The moment he relaxed his fingers, opening them to release her wrist, her fingers slid softly along his palm, until they were intertwined with his. Her nimble, delicate fingers laced with his rough, calloused ones. Hands that had strangled one man to death together.

Simon almost didn’t dare to look down at her, feeling the heat in his face and his ears burning and for a moment missing the full balaclava, but he couldn’t help it. Christine was looking away, seemingly interested in a wall mosaic as they walked following Gabi and Johnny, but what he could see of her face was red. As a strawberry. Like he was sure his own face was.

But the corners of her eyes told him she was smiling, and that made him feel stupid, and weak… and good.

Half an hour later, Johnny’s hunger was out of control, or that was what he declared dramatically to Gabi, assuring her he was on the verge of starving. Gabi rolled her eyes, not buying it in the slightest, but decided that they better get going and find somewhere to eat, or she’d have a mutiny in her hands.

‘‘Let’s go find Simon and Christine and ask them if we should go find somewhere to have dinner…’’

‘‘Aye, we should’’

She rolled her eyes again, smiling at Johnny’s eager tone, and allowed him to pull from her hand towards one of the last rooms of the museum. She could have sworn she had seen them going in there, and once they stepped inside, her eyes fell instantly on the tall, burly man holding…

Gabi blinked, and then started excitedly shaking Johnny’s hand, and grabbed his arm with her free hand,.

‘‘Johnny!’’ She whispered, with a wide grin. ‘‘Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, look, look, look!’’

‘‘Wha… what is it, what’s…?’’ Johnny looked in the direction she was pointing, startled, and his own jaw fell agape.

Ghost and Riot. Simon and Christine. Holding hands.

She seemed to be deep into one of her lengthy explanations about whatever, gesticulating with her right hand and pointing here and there… but her left hand was engulfed by Simon’s enormous hand, their fingers intertwined, for the little he could see.

‘‘Fuck, fuck, take a photo’’ Johnny fumbled in his pocket, trying to get his phone out, while Gabi gasped and tried to stop him. ‘‘Gaz ain’t gonna believe it’’

‘‘What do you mean take a photo?? If they catch you, you are dead’’ She hissed, looking at the other… couple? discreetly.

‘‘Everyone else is watching… aww shite’’ He grumbled when in that precise moment that he managed to take his phone out and unlock it, Simon and Christine turned around and walked towards them, with her still talking and gesticulating with her free hand, and him looking down at her, listening, with his other hand in his pocket.

‘‘They look so cute’’ Gabi smiled, resting her head for a moment against Johnny’s arm, sliding her own hand in his. He smiled as well, thinking that maybe cute wasn’t the term he’d use to describe his friends to their face, and returned the phone to his pocket, squeezing her fingers affectionately.

‘‘Sorry, you must be hungry, I lost track of time’’ Christine apologized once they were standing in front of them, still holding hands with Simon. Johnny noticed with amazement that they didn’t even seem to be aware of it. ‘‘I mean, it’s early by Spanish standards but we can go look for somewhere to have dinner’’

‘‘And then clubbing!’’ Gabi giggled, and Christine rolled her eyes.

‘‘Tomorrow we kinda have something important to do, as much as you’d like to think we’re really on holiday…’’

‘‘Dinner first, then we talk’’ Johnny tugged from Gabi’s hand, ignoring his girlfriend’s giggles, and raised an eyebrow while staring at Simon. The bastard looked totally ignorant of what him and Christine were doing. ‘‘So… wanna tell me something or what’’

Simon looked down at him, his dark brown eyes soft for once. For fuck’s sake, he even seemed… content. As much as he could look like it, with his face half covered, but Johnny could count with the fingers of one hand the times he had seen Simon’s eyes without the cold, guarded look.

‘‘I guess we should tell you’’ Simon shrugged, with his usual deadpan, gruff voice, and that made Johnny’s curiosity get the best of him.

‘‘Tell me what?’’

‘‘I don’t know if you’ll be able to stomach it, Johnny’’ Christine followed Simon’s lead, her voice just as deadpan. Both bastards looked absolutely serious and Johnny felt cold sweat.

‘‘Out with it, what the fuck have you done’’

‘‘Got married yesterday’’ Simon commented, cool as a cucumber, and next to him, Christine nodded. Gabi gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand. Johnny felt a chill running down his spine.

‘‘What’’

‘‘In Benidorm, when we went to change the SUV and buy knives… I’m sorry, Johnny’’ Christine sighed, her blue eyes looking up at her friend with something that seemed half amusement and half seriousness. ‘‘We saw one of those chapels where you can get married right away and…’’

‘‘Yer…!’’ Johnny shouted, shaking off Gabi’s hand and starting to wildly wiggle one finger right under Christine’s nose, ignoring the looks of the passers-by. ‘‘Ye fucken’ asstards! Yer pullin’ ma leg! Ye’d never!’’

‘‘I’m sorry, Johnny…’’ She tried to maintain the deadpan tone, but she couldn’t. Her blue eyes sparkled with glee and she giggled while he kept wiggling his finger under her nose, sputtering with his thick Scottish accent to the point that none of them understood what he was complaining about. Then, he turned his attention to Simon and his smug look.

‘‘Yer gonna get it. Am her man of honour and ye won’t take that off meh!’’

‘‘Boys, boys…’’ Gabi grabbed Christine’s arm and forcefully pried her away from Simon and towards the exit, both of them laughing. ‘‘I swear, they’re like little kids…’’

‘‘Man of honour, with gown and all that? Or that skirt you Scots wear?’’ Simon chuckled, shaking his head, and even indulged in carefully nudging Johnny’s shoulder with his fist. Awkwardly. Sincerely. The way Johnny’s anger vanished and how his baby blue eyes lit up made Simon feel good.

‘‘Ye’ll find out, ye bastard, ye’ll be at the altar!’’ He saw with satisfaction a flash of surprise on his friend’s eyes, that quickly turned into something else. Something darker, and sadder, and that he didn’t quite like. He cleared his throat. ‘‘But first, dinner’’

‘‘Dinner’’ Simon nodded, both of them following the two women. Before reaching them though, he looked away from Johnny, awkwardly. ‘‘I thought you’d be mad at not being my best man’’

Johnny almost stopped in his tracks, his eyes boring a hole into Simon’s broad back as he continued walking. Then, he rushed to his side, almost tempted to shove him.

‘‘Thought that’d be Price’s place’’

‘‘Well…’’ Simon cleared his throat. Twice. Still awkwardly looking away and feeling the heat in his ears, and Johnny’s eyes still on him. Laughing, no doubt. ‘‘That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want you there’’

‘‘Oh, ah will be’’ Johnny laughed, and slapped Simon’s back with such force that it resonated in the museum entrance and made people look at them. Even Gabi and Christine looked back briefly before continuing walking to go outside. ‘‘I’m her man of honour’’

Simon grunted and rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile underneath the mask.

‘‘You’re going too fast’’

‘‘Ye’were holding hands’’ Johnny laughed and tried to grab his wrist, only to be swatted away firmly. ‘‘Given how the two of ye are, that’s practically a…’’

‘‘Shut the fuck up’’ The Lieutenant hissed, but didn’t really look angry. ‘‘We were blending in. We looked like your bodyguards. We’re supposed to be two couples on holidays’’

‘‘Sure, sure, if that helps ye sleep…’’

‘‘I can hold your hand instead’’ Simon looked down at his friend, and winked. Winked. ‘‘Or I could hold your neck and throttle you until you wipe that stupid smirk off your face’’

‘‘And here ah thought we had something’’ Johnny pretended to sigh, and smiled when his answer was one of Simon’s deep, rumbling chuckles. ‘‘Come on mate, we’re gonna have a nice night today, ah jus’ feel it’’

‘‘Are you talking to your penis, MacTavish?’’ Simon teased, almost feeling scared of how good he felt. Carefree, playful, even giddy. Normal. Damned undercover missions. Never knew what to expect or how to act.

Walking beside him while following their women down the street, Johnny snorted, with his wide, joyful grin. Life was being good.

‘‘Nope, but ah sure am talking to a dick!’’

[melancholicheart]

All This Time- Chapter 1

cw: trans male pregnancy (mentioned), angst

“Creepin’ Jesus I wish someone told me how expensive this shit is.” A sigh.

“Stop swearing!” A small voice snipes.

“Sorry, love.”

Johnny isn’t wrong though, if someone had told him how expensive kids stuff was, specifically the school uniform and supplies, he might’ve accepted that offer to move back home.

He turns his nose up at the thought, he’s an independent person and he sure as shit doesn’t need his mother breathing down his neck over his parenting techniques.

“Papa look at the baba!”

Johnny follows his daughters gaze to a tiny child in a pram, the small boy grasping at his feet and pulling his socks off.

Johnny chuckles, “You used to be that little, y’know?”

A scoff, “Nae way Pa’, I big!”

“You are now, yeah, but you used to be so tiny. I still have your newborn outfit, the one I took you home in, I’ll show you when we’re home.”

“Don’t believe ya’ Pops.” She says indignantly.

Johnny chuckles. He’ll sure show her!

He pays for the astonishingly priced clothes and shoes for his girl, holding her hand with one hand and the bag of clothes with the other, heading back to the car to go home.

“I wan’ try!” She shrieks when Johnny goes to buckle her in, him taking a step back to let his daughter attempt it herself before securing her into her car seat.

Johnny gets into the front seat, heading towards home when he flicks a gaze at his daughter. She looks troubled.

“Elizabeth, babe, are you okay?” He asks, turning the radio down so he can hear her.

She nods and toys with her fingers, “Yeah Papa- s’just. School’s soon, yeah?”

“Yes, next month, are you nervous?” He asks.

She shakes her head, “I just- I wanted Daddy to come.”

Johnnys heart breaks. No, it crumples into tiny shreds and leaks out of his chest like blood from a bullet wound, “Oh Lizzie, love, I’m sorry. If he could come, I’m positive he would be here.”

She sniffs, “Wanna meet him.”

“I know, I want you to meet him too. Someday soon, darling, okay?”

Elizabeth nods, toying with the belt around her shoulders and leaving the conversation there.

They arrive home soon after.

Johnny carries his daughter inside, slung over his hip as he drags the worlds most expensive shopping inside in his free hand.

Opening the door is a struggle but soon he is inside their small two bed apartment.

He sends Elizabeth upstairs, asking her to take her new clothes and shoes up to her room.

Johnny sits on the couch with a thud, thoughts of Simon whirring around his mind. He eyes his lacklustre apartment, thinking back to the deal he and Simon had made.

‘You always have a place here, Si’

‘And if you move?’

‘I swear to stay here for at least five years, love, so don’t forget about it.’

He massages tension from behind his eyes, groaning in his own pity. Four years have passed, no word from Simon. No word from anyone. For all he knows, Simon could be- he grimaces.

Never did he imagine his love life being so pitiful that he’d still worry for a man he hasn’t seen for four years whilst raising the daughter he has no idea about.

Another groan.

Johnny grabs the box from beneath his coffee table, containing his photo album and a bunch of loose photos, equipment for tacking the pictures in and expensive pens for writing under the photos. Beneath it are all the letters he sent to Simon, envelopes taped back together with big, red ‘Return to Sender’ print on the front.

He flicks it open and stares at the very first photo, his beautiful daughter, the day she was born.

He laboured alone (for sixteen painful hours) before she was finally born (via an emergency c-section, nonetheless) on October 26th at 9:15AM. One of the wonderful nurses he had took photos of him meeting her for the first time.

Johnny hated seeing himself in some of them, his face red and tears streaming down his cheeks, but it was all worth it just to see her.

Elizabeth Ada MacTavish was a curious baby, staring at her Father intently the second she saw him, and immediately her first came down on his bare chest, holding onto him with her screwed fists.

Johnny smiles at the photo, running his finger over it, before flicking to the next page where there’s a photo of him and Simon.

The only photo, in fact, of him and Simon, and beneath it is written: Made it to The Big City! (Manchester)

Johnny chuckles at Simon’s scribble next to the photo and almost jumps out of his skin when there’s a knock at the door.

Living in an apartment means most deliveries are left in his own mailbox downstairs so it isn’t often that the door sounds.

He jumps to his feet and rushes to the door in case it’s his Landlord or the Receptionist out front (her name is Sarah, both their girls are the same age and she lives in the block too, they are quite good friends at this point).

As he swings it open without a care in the world, his previously liquified heart nearly pours out of his mouth with the guest beyond the door.

“Hi Johnny.” Simon Riley says. Maskless, clad in black, and with a loose bandage around his wrist. He has a slope to his posture, be it shame or hurt, Johnny isn’t sure.

What he is sure of though, is the growing sound of footsteps and the thundering of his daughter racing to find her Papa.

Johnny turns to the side, cutting off Simon who was soon to speak again, in an attempt to stop his daughter.

“Elizabeth, sweetheart, wait a sec!” Johnny shouts, louder than intended when a small body careers into his side, brown curly hair bobbing at her shoulders when she crashes into his leg.

She looks at Simon and Simon looks at her. They both look like they’re figuring something out for just a moment before Elizabeth yells:

“Daddy!”

[amenders93]

Molly Growing Up

Now that Rocky and Ginger have a new baby, it doesn't take them long to give us a glimpse of a happy family. Molly is definitely the most adorable little chick anyone has ever seen and her parents absolutely love her so much. However, as we, her parents and their friends learn later on, our little island princess certainly has a mind of her own. She somehow manages to get herself into one scrape after another. Sometimes it's really cute, but other times, it's nerve-wracking. But I have to admit, the scenes with Molly growing up are some of the cutest 🥰🥰🥰.

To begin with, we see Rocky and Ginger taking baby Molly out for a stroll through the village in her little baby carriage (or pram as they say in England). While Ginger pushes the pram, Rocky is trying to get his daughter's attention by shaking her rattle; they're really enjoying their time with her. Molly is looking out of her pram, smiling and cooing as all babies do at all things new to them in the outside world. She then notices the rattle her daddy is shaking and reaches out to grab it. Doing so, she smiles sweetly up at her parents who smile back at her proudly. We then see the rattle being tossed over the parents' heads and now their backs are turned from the pram.

While Rocky bends down to pick it up with Ginger watching him, Molly then jiggles her pram which makes it start to roll down a slope. Rocky and Ginger notice this and chases after the out-of-control pram as it whizzes out of the village and into the woods, with Molly shouting "Whee!" all the way. The terrified parents continue to race after their daughter until they come upon a horrible sight - the pram has fallen onto its side! At first they're scared but then relieved to see Molly come out, not only unharmed, but walking for the first time. Even I was terrified then relieved when I first saw this. Talk about your lucky baby chick 🐥. Baby Molly continues to walk with the biggest smile of her cute little face as her parents happily watch. That's the first scrape, but it's only just the beginning of more to come 😥.

Fast forward to Molly now as a toddler, with very little sense of danger. She is practicing walking on a low beam like a tight-rope with her parents following right behind her with encouragement. However, before Rocky and Ginger could stop her, Molly clambers onto some crates and gets onto the conveyor belt of Mac's harvesting machine. As Rocky and Ginger look on with worry, their toddler daughter climbs higher and higher until she reaches the top, right past her Auntie Mac who's on a ladder. Our Scottish hen watches Molly jump off the conveyor belt and is so worried about her niece that she falls off her ladder trying to reach out for her. But don't worry - Molly is still one lucky chick. Instead of getting hurt, she bounces off Fowler's hammock, which was just below the machine, and lands right into a little jumper that Babs has just knitted while sitting close by. All the while, Mac lands safely in the hammock with Fowler spilled onto the ground after missing it when Molly bounced off it. Rocky, Ginger, Mac and Fowler watch Molly land into the jumper that her Auntie Babs knitted. Maybe she should keep that jumper as a reminder of that day, not just because it looks cute on her 🥰.

Now that Molly has become a little more rambunctious, Rocky and Ginger think it's best to put their toddler into an enclosed play area where she can't get into more trouble. In fact, Bunty builds one made from Mac's calculations, with Molly inside it, smiling sweetly at her parents who reciprocate. Babs then comes out offering everyone some freshly made tea and biscuits. With her parents' and aunts' backs turned, Molly then busts out a spoon she had hidden behind her back and tunnels her way out of her playpen. Hearing noise behind them, everyone turns to see a gaping hole where Molly once stood with dirt coming out. Rocky and Ginger laugh nervously at this, seeing that their daughter may be cute but she's going to be a real handful now.

Fast forward again to Molly now as a young child, always looking for new adventures. She climbs out of another hole she just dug in a garden and runs down to a dock where Rocky is meeting with Nick and Fetcher, who visit once a month to bring supplies from the mainland to the island. Molly is used to watching her uncles sail to and from the mainland on their raft, wondering where they were going. Today, she's going to find out. When Rocky wasn't looking, Molly hops onto the raft and sails away with her uncles. She waves goodbye to her daddy, who can't believe his eyes! Now he has to go retrieve his young daughter and bring her back home.

Next we see Ginger in their front yard lying in a lawn chair with a drink in her hand, enjoying the sunshine. Up comes Rocky, dripping wet and exhausted, carrying Molly on his shoulder. Rocky and Ginger Moment Alert!!!😍 As Molly scampers off into the house, Ginger chuckles at her husband's appearance. Rocky notices this and shakes himself dry, showering his wife to get even. Ginger retaliates by playfully tossing her drink onto him and Rocky ends up chasing her with a bucket of water. Our happily married chickens still have that spark they had from the first film, only more playful, and they certainly find ways to keep their relationship alive🥰🥰.

You can see that whole scene on this link here: https://www.tumblr.com/floridianfireflyfaith/738550565751095296/this-little-moment-for-them-made-me-so-happy

Now both dripping wet and laughing together, the island king and queen walk back to the house to bump into their daughter, who is now 11 years old and a little bit taller now too. How can one grow that much in just a few seconds?🤷🏼‍♀️ Rocky and Ginger cannot believe how big Molly has gotten. Anyway, Molly bids her parents goodbye and runs along to her special spot. As our island princess runs, she greets other chickens along the way and they all greet her back. Obviously they all love Molly but not as much as her parents do, I bet. Her special spot is a tall tree that she climbs effortlessly with grace and agility like an acrobat at the way to top, which is her own special lookout area. I bet she gets her agility from her father since he was a circus performer.

Molly looks out to the mainland in the horizon, which stretched as far as the eye could see. The older that Molly got, the more curious she got. She had never left the island in her life and was desperate to know what lay beyond their small world. She just had to know what else is out there, far from their island home. Our island princess then spots her mother down below and gets an idea into her head. Molly climbs down to greet Ginger who is picking blueberries, who then affectionately greets her daughter back. She then sees her father down at the dock meeting with Nick and Fetcher again. She greets them too, calling Nick and Fetcher "uncle" in the process. Rocky and Nick both smile but Fetcher starts to crumble, his eyes filling with tears. The taller rat is surprised that Molly called him "Uncle Fetcher". Nick tries to calm his partner but it's obvious that he feels the same way that Fetcher does. Usually those rats are hard-hearted but now that Molly considers them part of her family too, they crumble and burst into tears. Rocky rolls his eyes at this.

Molly then goes ahead with her idea. She asks her mother if they could go over to the other side of the water. Ginger stops what she's doing and glances nervously at the mainland. Suddenly images came to her head - her being stuck behind the barbed fence, the terrifying Mrs. Tweedy holding her dreaded axe, that wicked woman swinging it at our island queen. Obviously she is suffering from PTSD after all the trauma she endured. She shuddered just thinking about it. Ginger tries to brush this off by saying there's nothing over on the mainland for them. However, Molly debates this by saying that the stuff Nick and Fetcher bring to the island comes from the mainland and is for them. Ginger didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily though, Rocky arrived carrying an empty jam jar and a magnifying glass. Our island king greets his wife and our island queen tells her husband that their princess is asking about going off the island. Rocky notices the worried look on Ginger's face and then decides to divert his daughter by asking her if she wants to see the world's coolest invention. At first, Molly is hesitant but then agrees.

The Rhodes family goes up the hill to see an extremely cool thing. Ginger and Molly watch as Rocky places a metal lid onto a wooden stump, sprinkles some kernels of corn onto it and puts a glass jar over the top of them. He then ties the magnifying glass to a stick and angles it so the glass catches a beam of sunlight and directs it onto the jar. Soon things begin to heat up inside the jar and the corn starts to pop. Molly is fascinated by this trick. Peering at the popping corn, she asks her father what it is, who responds that it's only the answer to all life's problems - popcorn. Our island family then all enjoy the popcorn and look at the view of their lovely village, feeling content that life doesn't get better than this. I agree 100%. After all that Rocky, Ginger and the rest of the chickens have been through, they deserve to have a good life away from humans. And now that Rocky and Ginger have Molly, their life is now complete and their happily ever after will last forever.🐓🐔🐥❤️

This happy feeling along with the peace and quiet of the island is then shattered by the sound of loud thumps in the distant. Rocky, Ginger and Molly look to a bank where the sounds are coming from. Our island queen rushes up the bank and looks out into a clearing. In the distance, she could hear the sound of buzzing chainsaws and see a row of trees falling one by one with those same loud thumps. That could only mean one thing to Ginger - humans were close by and they're cutting down trees on the mainland. She's suddenly snapped out of her scared daze when she hears her daughter asking her, "What is it?" Ginger tries to hide her fear from Molly, brightly saying that it's nothing to worry about. She smiles at her daughter but gives her husband a worried look. Rocky knows his wife pretty well; Ginger was worried - it looked as if the humans were building a new road. But for what...and why? Now here's where the real story starts to come along.

[smol4bluengine]

It was time for Gordon's check- up with Mr. Ramsfield. Sir and Lady Hatt walked up to the Ramsfield's office, Lady Hatt pushing Gordon's pram.

"Are you excited for your visit with Mr. Ramsfield today Gordon"? Sir Topham Hatt asked.

"Mhm." Baby Gordon simply replied.

"Is everything okay Gordon? You haven't been your usual happy self lately." Lady Hatt said.

"Boiwer ache." Baby Gordon replied.

"Poor dear, don't worry once we're done with Mr. Ramsfield, we'll head over the steam works and Victor can make you feel all better, okay"? Lady Hatt asked.

"Otay". Baby Gordon said.

Unbeknownst to everyone except Gordon, the baby engine had been hiding that he had regained his big engine memories quite some time ago. However, Gordon was loving his life as a baby engine and had planned on purposefully failing the big test to remain as a baby engine, but the weight of guilt had been getting to Gordon.

The Hatt family entered Mr. Ramsfield's office.

"Hello Sir and Lady Hatt and hey there little guy! How is everyone doing"? Mr. Ramsfield asked.

"We're doing fine thank you, but poor Gordon here has been having some nasty boiler ache lately." Sir Topham Hatt responded.

"I'm sorry you're going through that Gordon. I'll try to get through our meet up as fast as possible so that your mommy and daddy can focus on making you feel better, okay"? Mr. Ramsfield asked.

"Otay, mista Wamsfeeld." Baby Gordon agreed.

With that, Mr. Ramsfield began his examination. He first started by asking Baby Gordon some simple questions like asking him how he was doing, did anything exciting happened during the week, and reciting the alphabet and numbers. Finally, Mr. Ramsfield had Sir Topham Hatt place Baby Gordon down on the baby engine track he set out for some play time. On the track were some toys: stuffed animals, soft blocks, toy freight, and toy passenger cars.

Gordon stood at the switches looking at the two trains. The weight of guilt crushing him as Lady Hatt asked Gordon what he would like to play with.

A bad memory flashed in Gordon's mind, one where his mentor had him locked in a dark shed for weeks after he saw Gordon returning to the sheds singing happily while hauling a heavy goods train and giving a friendly whistle to passengers waiting on the platform.

"Please professor let me out, it's too dark and scary! I'm sorry I took a goods train, I just wanted to be useful"! A young green Gordon cried.

Young Gordon couldn't see a thing in the shed, he feared a monster would gobble him up or worse, he'd be forgotten in there forever. By the time his professor let him out, Gordon had lost count of how long he'd been locked up.

Before him stood his mentor, the engine was only a bit smaller than Gordon, but the way he had Gordon cowering in the corner, one would've mistaken the professor for being a Union Pacific Big Boy. The professor looked at the young express engine in disgust.

"Get out." He spoke.

"W..what"? Gordon stuttered.

"You've been bought by another railway, meaning you don't belong here anymore. Get out." The professor said bluntly.

Without another word Gordon rushed out of the sheds as soon as his crew got him up to steam.

As Gordon made his way to the big station, he passed by the smaller engines who immediately fled to hide once they saw the young big engine approaching. Gordon wheeshed sadly as he watched the small station pilot cower behind a short train of coal cars, but it wasn't just Gordon they were hiding from. From the other side of the tracks a group of three young big engines steamed up, pushing any small engine who hadn't been fast enough to move out of the bigger engines way. Gordon hoped they wouldn't notice him as he pulled into the station.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here"? Came one of the big engines.

"Looks like they finally let the big crybaby out, what a shame, we were enjoying the peace and quiet away from your obsessive sobbing." Said another.

"Wah, waaah! I'm Gordon and I don't have a single friend! Wah"! The third taunted.

"Not even those silly little engines want to be friends with a weirdo like me"! Mocked the second.

"PATHETIC"! The big engines laughed.

Gordon fought the urge to cry as he struggled to speak.

"I...I got sold to...to another railway..." Gordon struggled to speak.

"Yes, to a railway of failures."One said.

"I heard their controller fell for a silly trick and bought some sort of sick chimera of an engine." Third said.

"A rather perfect fit for a big baby like yourself." The first said smuggly as they pierced deeply into Gordon's soul.

By now a few tears had managed to escape Gordon's eyes as the bit smaller big engines passed him.

When he managed to calm down, his builders arrived to instruct the big engine to head to London, where he would meet his new controller at King's Cross. Gordon just hoped he could make some friends on this railway and maybe, just maybe, he could have a family with siblings and a mother and father like he always wanted.

Back in the present, Baby Gordon could no longer hold in his emotions and began to whail.

"ME WIED!!!!!!!!! ME WEMEMBA BEIN BIG"!!!!!!!!!!! Baby Gordon admited.

The adults in the room were shocked as Gordon continued to cry.

"Me sowwy! Me no wanna be big! Too scawy! Too many inny ouchies"! Gordon cried.

The baby engine feared and awaited the out lash from a very crossed Sir Topham Hatt. Instead, Mr. Ramsfield spoke.

"I understand." Mr. Ramsfield told Gordon and the still processing Hatt's.

The watery eyed engine looked up towards the younger man as he knelt down to the best of his abilities to be on Gordon's level.

"Engine phycology is just now starting to be seen as a serious issue and yet there have been many, many engines ever since "The Rocket's" era that are in need of help. I don't know what happened in your past Gordon and I can't imagine how scared you must have felt telling us you remember being big, but know that the place where you are right now is a safe area for you to be you and to talk about anything you need to talk about." Mr. Ramsfield gently spoke to the little engine.

Gordon felt the soft rubs on his boiler from Sir and Lady Hatt.

"Gordon, does being a baby engine make you truly happy"? Sir Topham Hatt asked.

"Yes." Gordon responded.

"Then I don't want you to change alright? If being a baby engine makes you the best version of you then you are a really useful engine." Sir Topham Hatt told the baby engine.

"Dada"! Baby Gordon cried happily as Hatt's held their little blue baby engine close.

[foxgirl95]

Back Into The Fray CH.4: A Night on Nowhere

Chapter Description: !!Time skip!! Post-Season One-Pre-Season Two

Reuniting on Port Nowhere, Mando needs a friend and a well deserved nap.

AO3 Link

<< Previous Chapter - Next Chapter>>

First Chapter

After the events of Nevarro, The Mandalorian was tired, very tired. For the first time in over a cycle, he wasn't running from anyone. Not from his past, not the other bounty hunters, and not those damned imps. He needed a break but as that was true so was the fact he had a kid to take care of. As much as he came to care for the little guy he cursed the magic or whatever it was that gave him boundless energy. Searching for the Jedi was not going well either, it seemed that just like him very few people knew what they even were in the first place. So frustration was another emotion he had to add to his current state. He knew what he needed, to find other Mandalorians. If his Armorer knew the stories and songs of the time when the two races had been at odds that meant someone else had to have heard them as well. He’d hit a wall there too, it seemed his people were even rarer than he thought. However, there was one place that crossed his mind but that was a den of rather unsavory individuals. Then again that's what some people have said about him too. Normally he wouldn't hesitate in this kind of decision but now he had to consider his foundling’s safety. He wrestled with the idea but in the end, it was the only lead he had. So as he brought the Razor Crest out of hyperspace slowly approached his next destination, Port Nowhere. The spaceport had been around for as long as anyone alive could remember drifting aimlessly through space and it had always been where the outside galaxy had no hold. He pulled his ship into one of the decks and disembarked onto the artificial streets, the floating pram of his founding following behind.

Already knowing where to start as he walked up to the first bar in his path. The Mandalorian could hear a crowd inside shout excitedly and he walked in to find all the patrons surrounding what he presumed to be a table from how tightly they were gathered. They all cheered until the crowd parted and a drunk Rodian fell back from their chair onto the floor. “The woman wins!!!” One man shouted as the crowd went wild with a mix of cheers and groans. A particular few were genuinely angered at their loss. The winner stood up on her chair above them and Mando had to do a double take. He almost didn’t believe it but that bright pink hair and those emerald green eyes confirmed it “Alright everyone, credits in the bag! C’mon, let’s go!” The woman shouted holding her drawstring purse open to the crowd as they dumped a collection of currency into it. He could hear the beeping of her droid at her feet before a reluctant patron was shocked into giving up his money. As the crowd started to clear he noted the stack of shot glasses on the table wondering just exactly how drunk she may be. Finally finding his voice, the Mandalorian called out to her “Anai…?” Immediately her head snapped in his direction and the look of confusion on her face was soon replaced with a bright smile “Mando?!” Delighted to see the man she nimbly jumped down, showing no change from her usual demeanor, holding her arm out to him repeating the same gesture from the last time they parted “What are you doing on Nowhere?” She asked to which Mando shrugged “I could ask you the same question.” Anai smirked as she put her hands on her hips, “Touché.” Her droid, Racket if Mando remembered right, was surprisingly just as excited to see them as she was. He circled the group happily letting out a series of happy beeps and whistles as the child poked his head out of the pram. Anai reached out to the little one bringing him close to her chest in a soft hug “Oh and I missed you so much cutie!” She nuzzled him lightly.

Turning back to Mando she nodded her head towards a booth along the wall where he saw her backpack resting on one of the seats “Come sit with me?” He gestured for her to lead the way as they both took a seat across from one another “I heard about something interesting that went down on Navarro.” Anai stated as she placed the child on the table between them “About some leftover imps and a Mandalorian?” She leaned forward, her arms crossed on the tabletop. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with you, would it?” Mando shrugged tipping his head to the side as if to say “I’m not gonna confirm or deny”

“Maker Mando…” Anai took his reaction as a yes, cursing under her breath “Well Dank Farrik, why wasn’t I invited? Taking on imps? I would’ve been all over that!” Her stained lips formed a pout now upset she had missed out. He again shrugged, “Actually you were. I went back to Ukio, but you were already gone.” Her pink-dyed eyebrows raised “Oh…so I guess you saw the mess I left behind then?” She sighed, pulling her hands up to rub her temples. “He deserved it, karillja…” Mando noted the way her tone changed from its usual playfulness to genuine anger “What happened?” He asked, feeling his fists tighten against his leg in anticipation. “Kriffing creep made a move on me, I said no and he didn’t like that. So we tussled, I may have let that boy on Tatooine get the jump on me but I wasn’t about to let that happen again.” She paused leaning back in her seat “I got him good, took what Racket and I were owed, jumped the next ship out of orbit, and then we got dumped here.” She gestured to their surroundings as she spoke, the droid parked next to her grunting in anger. The woman smiled and reached out to pat Racket’s head lightly, instantly calming him “Don’t go blowing your circuits over that guy, he’s not worth it.”

“I should’ve killed him.” The modulated voice of Mando suddenly interjected. Anai raised an eyebrow “What?” There was a long pause, Mando didn’t even seem to realize he had said that out loud “I…uh…” he spoke awkwardly wanting to disappear into his seat in embarrassment. The child between them swiveled his head back and forth cooing curiously at what was going to happen. “Mando?” Anai’s voice snapped his view back to her “Did you do something to him?” He started bouncing his leg under the table debating on telling her the truth. The Mandalorian watched as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him, her tone now serious “Better tell me now before it comes back to bite me in the ass.” She had a point there, who knew what his actions would lead to? “I shot him.” He suddenly blurted out to which Anai slammed her hands against the table causing the little one to fall on his rump “YOU SHO-“ she stopped herself as the heads of the other patrons turned towards their table. She sat back in her seat and took a deep breath before calmly continuing “You shot him?” She asked, Mando nodding to confirm. Anai was at a loss as she asked him “Why? He wasn’t even worth an imps ammunition let alone yours. What possessed you to do that?”

“He tried to buy me, knew about me being with the guild, and was willing to pay me to bring you back to him.” The green-eyed woman sat there stunned with a look of disgust slowly clouding her features “Oh? Well yeah, now I’m glad you shot him. Should’ve led with that.”

Her attention was grabbed by the child on the table who pouted in her direction, probably a little peeved about being knocked to his rump a moment ago. The woman’s features instantly softened “Aw! I’m so sorry little one!” She reached over pulling the child into her side like a mock hug “Did I make you fall? I’m sorry.” The way her voice sounded so sickeningly sweet as she spoke to his foundling irked Mando a bit. It reminded him of how those snooty people in the inner rim spoke to their pets. “You like children.” He spoke again as the two across from him settled into their new position. Anai shot an indiscernible glance his way before nodding “Yeah I guess, I spent a good chunk of my early life raising a few.” Mando wasn’t expecting that. “You’ve had your own?” The woman scoffed into a laugh as she shook her head “Oh Maker no.” She huffed “No where I come from it’s customary to help raise the children in your village.” The man nodded in understanding “The planet of Noneya?” He teased earning him a smirk from across the table “The very same.” After a quiet moment, Mando watched Anai as she lightly stroked one of the child’s ears. She was so touchy with his foundling that it made his mind wonder what it would be like to be in that position, to be held or have his hair lightly stroked and soothed by another. “You never answered my question Mando”, Her voice brought him back to reality, those bright green eyes of hers watching him curiously “What are you doing in Nowhere? It’s not a job is it?” He shook his head “Not a job, I’ve been tasked with returning the foundling to his people.” Anai nodded as she started putting the pieces together “Okay, and Nowhere can be a good place to get that information. Well for the right price in most cases.” Mando knew that all too well with all his prior underworld dealings “My people have stories of others like him, I’m hoping to start with finding other Mandalorians.” The woman let out a sympathetic sigh, “Well, I haven’t seen any besides you since I got here.” He’d figured that too “Is there anyone you know here that just might have? Or at least have access to that information?” She looked down at the table as she drummed her fingers against it in thought “Actually…Yeah,” Anai and her droid locked gazes for a moment before facing him again “There is a guy.” The Mandalorian noted a slight hesitancy in her voice “Do you consider him reliable?” That question earned him a scoff “Are you kidding? Hell no, but he’s all I’ve got for you and he owes me.” She reached over pulling her backpack up onto her shoulder “C’mon, I’ll show you the way.”

They both stood, Anai placing the child back in his pram before heading onto the streets once again. Walking behind his guide the beskar-clad man was able to give her a once over noting a new belt and a small blaster adorning her waist. He mused the thought that the woman was slowly replacing what little of an arsenal she might’ve once owned. She led their little troop through the winding pathways, the area becoming more and more devoid of people. Mando was starting to feel that familiar tug at the back of his mind as they approached a building surrounded by an abundance of droid parts “Who is this contact of yours, again?” The woman turned back to him with a smirk “Getting nervous Mando?” She laughed lightly “Don’t worry, this guy’s a nut for droids but they’re just trophies, none of them function anymore.” She lifted a tarp covering the doorway and a blaster shot suddenly hit the wall next to it. Racket screamed out in surprise as the Mandalorian grabbed Anai’s arm dragging her behind him and pulling out his weapon “And a lousy shot too.” She quipped from behind the shield of beskar. “I’d step right back out of my home if I were you!” A male voice called out from the darkness “Naj Koresh!” The woman called back “It’s Anai! So stop shooting and get your Abyssin butt out here!” *Koresh..?* Mando was certain he had heard that name before but he couldn’t quite place it. He didn’t have much time to think about it either as a portly cyclops emerged from the shadows, the arm of a droid modified into a blaster in his hands “Oh! It’s you girl…and a Mandalorian…” He tossed his blaster on a nearby counter and put his hands on his hips. “You’ll have to forgive me, after our last encounter I've been a little on edge.” Anai ducked under Mando’s raised arm stepping in front of him “I came to collect Naj.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke “We need information.”

The shorter of the two crossed his arms as well “I don’t know if you’ve noticed girl.” He spoke with a spiteful tone “But I am in the business of droids, not information.” His eye traveled past the woman to Racket coming into the entranceway. “My offer still stands, I’d be more than happy to-'' Anai raised a hand quickly cutting him off “Forget it, my astromech is not for sale and never will be.” She grabbed the front of his shirt roughly pulling him up toward her level. “And don’t forget what I said would happen, if you ever tried to steal him from me again.” Mando watched the interaction silently, figuring it  wasn’t any of his business. Anai shoved the Abyssin back as she let him go “Now, I know you have connections all over the outer rim and I know you hear things.” Naj huffed while fixing the front of his shirt “And just what exactly is this information you think I’ve heard?”

“Mandalorians.” Mando spoke bluntly as he took a step closer “We are trying to locate more of my kind.” The portly alien huffed “More Mando’s? You don’t seem to be aware but you’re a dying breed young man.”

“Either you know something or you don’t,” The green-eyed woman interjected “Which is it?” Naj gave her a look before nervously scratching his rounded belly “Well, I have not seen or heard of anyone head to toe in beskar. But my cousin has recently mentioned the sighting of one.” Anai cocked her head to the side “Cousin? Is he on Nowhere too?” Naj shook his head “No girl, he’s a planetside type. Got a whole big operation and everything, he’s so busy most of the time it’s a miracle to hear from him in the first place.” Mando exchanged a look with his female companion stating “So I’m guessing a quick call is out of the question.” Of course, it was, why would it not be? “I can give you coordinates and put in a good word for you, but if I’m honest…” The balding alien gestured to the pram floating beside the Mandalorian “It’s not really a place you wanna bring a kid.”

“The child is in my care,” Mando spoke bluntly with a roughness lacing his tone “He does not leave my side.”

His words of warning worked to great effect as he towered over the cyclops who shifted nervously in his shadow. He finally stepped back towards the entrance catching sight of Anai out of the corner of his eyes, having to stop himself from stumbling over his feet as he saw her lips creep up into a soft smile. What was she doing to him? Mando had been questioning such things since the last time they parted. He even questioned the possibility of her being Jedi too. Maybe it was some weird thing they could do, to fill people with thoughts and emotions they normally wouldn’t have. It was like the kid all over again as if something was slowly creeping its way through his body slipping past what he thought was an impenetrable wall of beskar that surrounded him. *No.* He couldn’t let it happen again, his foundling as one thing he was a defenseless kid, Anai was an adult and very capable of helping herself. Besides, he had learned his lesson the last time he decided to play that game. The Mandalorian was suddenly brought back from the frantic thoughts as he felt a tug at his sleeve. His visor snapped in that direction to meet with the curious green of Anai who was currently pinching the fabric of his sleeve to get his attention. “You alright there Mando?” She cocked her head to the side curiously as her eyes searched his being for any signs of distress “Racket’s got your heading, let’s get out of here. This place is starting to give me the creeps.” He watched as she walked past him and stood his ground for a moment. The Mandalorian was about to go against his better judgment and he hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be a mistake.

On their way back towards civilization, the two adults remained utterly silent much to the disappointment of the little one who floated in the parm between them. Mando had continued to internally contemplate what he should do about Anai when he felt the unmistakable sense of danger creeping up his back. All of his senses were now on full alert, and that was when he heard it, the sound of boots behind them. The Mandalorian used his peripheral vision to check the woman beside him whose features held no indication if she had felt it as well she looked utterly calm. As they continued along he also happened to notice shadows on the opposite ends of the alleyways they passed by. They were approaching a blind corner, someone would be waiting, he was sure of it. As predicted when they got close enough the towering figure of a Chargrian male walked into their path holding a blaster toward them. Mando recognized him as one of the unlucky patrons from the bar, the very one who Racket had shocked into giving up his credits “Remember me?” He stared down Anai and her droid as he spoke almost completely ignoring the Mandalorian. The man stepped forward as the group who had been following them began to close in “I don’t know how you did it girl, but you cheated me and my friends out of our credits.” Two men started approaching closer from behind Racket whimpered and shuddered as he rolled closer to his master. “Now then, we’ll be taking back the money you stole and maybe we’ll let you and your friends live.” As they got closer Mando’s hand went to his holster, loudly clicking the safety off causing the ones closest to him to stop in their tracks. His other hand pulled his foundling's pram closer as his helmet smoothly swiveled to each of them. His lips parted to speak but he was quickly cut off by the sound of…laughter?

The laughter was of a wicked nature; it caused an air of spite and ridicule to encircle all those in its vicinity. It was cold enough to send a shock through one’s system and for the Mandalorian, it ran through him twice when he realized it was coming from beside him. He looked over to his companion to confirm and sure enough, Anai was holding her stomach with one hand while the other hovered over her mouth. “The kriff are you laughing about?” The horned man bellowed, shoving the muzzle of his blaster towards her “You think this is funny? Are you making fun of me?” After taking a moment to finally compose herself the pink-haired woman looked up at the taller alien “Yeah, I am.” She stated coolly even the usual brightness of her eyes was gone now shadowed by, Mando could feel that creeping feeling from before icily climbing up his spine. This was wrong, this was not the Anai he had come to know. His thoughts were brought to a halt as the woman spoke again “Look at you, you showed up with your little army and everything. Did you feel so intimidated by me and my friend here that you needed backup?” She sighed and shrugged her backpack off her shoulders, “Alright if you want it so badly you can have the money.”  Anai dug into the pack producing her purse as the contents inside jingled around “Geez there’s a lot in here. How are you guys gonna split all this?” The assailants looked at each other in questioning before turning to their leader as she continued “I mean you could all get your credits back but what about the rest? Someone here is bound to walk away with more than everyone else…Then again…” Her attention went straight to the man in front of her “Maybe that’ll be your fee for being head of the whole operation?” *Oh. So that’s what she was up to*, he watched as the others in the enemy party started to turn to each other. He could practically hear the cogs in their heads turning as their thoughts turned to greed. Luckily the towering male in front of them paid them no mind.

Anai held her purse out to the leader “Here, hope it was worth all the trouble.” As the Chargrain lifted his hand when one of his lackeys came up and snatched the bag making a run for it “Hey! Come back here traitor!” The leader barked as he turned on his heel and ran after the lackey, the others joining in the chase. Mando watched with some amusement before once again feeling a tug on his sleeve, “Quick!” Anai commanded as she pulled him towards the alleyway “Before they realize there are only bolts in that bag.” She was already pushing the giggling foundling’s pram in that direction and Racket had taken off leading them down a new route. The Mandalorian couldn’t help but chuckle as he quickly followed after them through the maze of alleys and back roads avoiding the main route back to the hangar. It may have taken longer but they arrived safely to where The Razorcrest was parked, Mando taking a moment to make sure they truly weren’t followed. His gaze then went to the woman standing next to him “They’re going to come back for you.” He stated to which she only smirked “You think I don’t know that?” Once again she didn’t seem all that worried about having to face them. He was worried though, he didn’t want to leave her here to face them on her own, and he didn’t want to leave her to die in this place. “Come with us. Help me complete my quest.” The Mandalorian spoke in an almost pleading tone, surprising Anai as she stared up at him before her features melted into a sympathetic smile “I’m a package deal remember?” She gestured to Racket “We can’t ask that of you.” The astromech sighed sympathetically in agreement. “I…I’ve been re-evaluating.” He admitted, “There was a droid who changed my perspective and I’m starting to see that there’s a lot more to them than I initially believed.” He heard a huff of laughter from Anai as the next sentence flowed from her tongue “We had a saying in the rebellion,…never underestimate a droid.” That familiar brightness of her eyes returned as she spoke, much to the armored man’s relief. He reached a hand to usher her towards the ship when suddenly a bolt of blaster fire ricocheted off his pauldron making them both jump in surprise. The lackeys from before were running up to them blasters drawn and shooting “GO! Get to the ship!” Mando ordered Anai pushing her and the child’s pram towards The Crest luckily she complied as he drew his blaster returning fire. He managed to take down two of them before they took cover behind some crates, he too ducking behind some machinery close to the ramp.

Anai along with the child and Racket had managed to scramble to the hull, Mando felt some relief at least in there they were covered. That was until he heard the sound of a struggle, the woman was fighting someone and he heard the telltale cry of distress from his kid. Panic set into his chest, he needed to get in there, he had to save them! He didn’t get much time to think about how to get in there because the next thing he knew she was thrown from the ship landing at the bottom of the ramp with an audible thud. As she groaned in pain the Chargrain leader sauntered down, a prideful smile brimming across his face. Anai pulled her blaster as he came near but the horned alien used one of his strong arms to knock it from her grasp as well as backhanding her cheek in the same motion. Now on her back, the larger man pinned her to the ground with the weight of his heavy boot on her chest “You think you can make a fool out of me?” He questioned her angrily as he leaned forward adding more weight and making her gasp for air. The Mandalorian leveled his blaster at the other man’s horned head “Let her go.” His voice was calm and commanding “Or else.” The leader just chuckled though before raising his blaster towards the ship “Shoot at me Mando and my men open fire on your brat.” Anai’s head snapped to Mando the wide-eyed expression on her face. There was so little he could do, and he cursed himself for it. “Merichetara-“ The gasping words of the woman finally reached his ears, “Forget me,” She begged “The kid…more important.” Mando tightened his grip on his blaster, she was right he couldn’t risk it. “Shut up!” The other man shouted as he shoved his foot under her chin “What’s it gonna be Mando?!” He turned to the beskar-clad man as Anai desperately tried to grab her blaster that was just out of reach, her fingers just barely grazing the grip.

Then suddenly she felt the weight lift from her body. The woman turned her gaze back to her attacker only to find that he was floating right over her. Panic and confusion set as she looked around to confirm everyone else was seeing this too. Her eyes now landed on the small green being at the top of the ship's ramp. There stood the child, his arm outstretched and his features wrinkled in focus. She stared for a moment before she was drawn back to herself hearing her name echo against the walls “Anai, move!” The Mandalorian called out, and in a split second she rolled out from under the man grabbing her blaster, turning to see him unceremoniously drop to the ground. This was it she took the shot, twice for good measure. Then in a flurry, she was grabbed up by the back of her leather jacket and hauled to her feet as she was pushed towards the ship “Go! Now!” Mando shouted his voice pushing her forward as she ran up the ramp scooping the now sleeping child into her arm and scrambled up the ladder. She didn’t even hear the gunfight behind her, she was way too panicked to answer any of the questions Racket asked as she ran to the passenger seat quickly strapping herself in. Her mind was running on autopilot barely registering the Mandalorian as he passed her, starting up the ship and getting them the hell out of there. It wasn’t until they were safely in hyperspace that her eyes finally tore themselves from her feet to stare into the T-visored helmet of Mando that the one question her lips dared to form came.

“What the hell was that?!”

All graphics by: @saradika-graphics

[ghostlytales]

Could This Be the Black Monk of Pontefract?

A paranormal-obsessed mum claims the infamous Black Monk of Pontefract could have photobombed her mirror selfie - after she spotted a sinister 'face' lurking behind her in the haunted house. Beth Jade spent a night in what's dubbed one of the UK's spookiest homes, 30 East Drive, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, to contact the phantom many claim haunts its rooms.

The 29-year-old has since revealed images shot through a full-length mirror which she believes contains a ghostly face that could be the dreaded Black Monk at the top of the stairs. Her frightening snaps show a spooky silhouette with 'chiselled cheekbones and flaring nostrils' gazing down from inside a toy pram.

The mum-of-three claims the doll that was sitting inside had been removed by her 24-year-old sister Casey Lee earlier in the night to 'entice spirits'. Beth only spotted the 'encounter' when she got home the next day but admits if she'd seen it while still in the house she'd have insisted on leaving.

The Black Monk of Pontefract is believed to have caused what some call 'the UK's most violent haunting' where a family say they were terrorised after moving into 30 East Drive during 1966. Parents-of-two Jean and Joe Pritchard claim they saw the monk numerous times - even floating over their bed.

Infamous home at 30 East Drive

They said lights were turned off and on, pictures were slashed, furniture disappeared and heavy breathing could be heard throughout the house. Facebook users were left stunned by the images, with some calling them 'the best photos they've seen' at the house and others feeling 'creeped out' from just looking at them.

Beth, from Halton, Leeds, said: "I'm looking directly up at this thing but I didn't see it at the time. It definitely looks like a face. I can see the nostrils open, I can see eyes, really chiselled cheekbones, and if you zoom in closer you can see pupils.

"It could be the Black Monk, but I don't know what he's meant to look like. Some people said it could be a demon. I didn't know I'd caught it until I'd got home. I was looking through the pictures and listening to videos to see if I could hear anything, then I saw the top of the stairs and thought 'that didn't look right'.

I wondered if it was the doll, but my sister removed the doll from the pram earlier that night to entice a spirit. If I'd have reviewed that photo in the house I would have been so scared. I couldn't sleep in there so I would have woken everyone up and told them I'm not staying.

"I didn't realise how good it was until I put it on Facebook. I saw the comments and realised it's a really good photo. After the things I've experienced I'm 100% a believer in the paranormal. I think that's why I wasn't as shocked as other people have been about these. I'm more intrigued than scared by them."

Beth says her fascination with discovering paranormal activity began when she and her friends played with an ouija board at just 13 years old. She says she's researched the Black Monk and visited to 'see what all the fuss was about', however she was left disappointed by the lack of violent activity during the night.

[kermodeiiii]

Forgive Your Heart

Chapter 6: First informant

Summary: Mando needs help finding more of his people, you didn't realize how valuable he was.

A/N:Almost positive I already used this GIF but screw it

Masterlist

You startled awake, the child was gone from your lap, you nearly panicked thinking he had fallen off you in his slumber. Then you realized you had already landed, the cockpit was pitch black aside from the various control lights. As you stood, feeling against the wall to the door of the cockpit you mumbled incoherent curses for not waking you up sooner, you made your way down the ladder and into the hold of the Razor Crest. Mando stood there with the child in his pram, the ramp touched down on the planet's surface as you spoke up.

“Planning on leaving me?”

“You looked like you needed the rest.”

You walked closer standing to the side of the kids pram, petting his fuzzy head “Well, I’m up, so let’s go”

Mando didn’t say anything as he started walking, the planet was dark, eerie in its silence. You followed after him the child training next to you. The only thing separating the town from the rest of the planet was its poorly lit street lights, and the red eyed monsters that lurked in the shadows. You were still unsure of where exactly you were going but you trusted Mando wouldn’t intentionally put the child in danger. You soon came up to a building guarded by a Twi’lek. Mando stated his business.

“I’m here to see Gor Koresh.”

His eyes moving from the Mandalorian, to you, then the child that cooed up at him. Something didn’t feel right as the Twi’lek opened the door.

“Enjoy the fights.”

Mando was the first to walk in, and you quickly followed, the childs pram trailing you. As you stepped foot into the building you could feel the blood lust in the air, it sapped your energy from you, the smell of blood and sweat filled your nostrils. What kind of place is this? There was a ring in front of the hallway with two creatures fighting inside, you couldn’t make out their species but they fought brutally, their heavy weaponry clashed together as they fought. It almost reminded you of home. You never really understood this kind of thing, why people cheered as they watched others get hurt or killed. Mando stalked past the crowd, the kid looked uneasy as one of the green men fell to the floor, you blocked his line of sight with your body, giving him a reassuring smile. People yelled and screamed as the creature got back up on his feet, it was getting a bit too brutal even for your taste, you knew they couldn’t keep this up for much longer. Mando took a seat next to who you assumed was Gor Koresh.

“You know this is no place for a child, or a lady.”

“Wherever I go, they go.”

You rolled your eyes at his comment but kept your mouth shut, you knew he needed this info to get to more Mandalorians.

“So I’ve heard.”

The fight continued in front of you, their heavy axes giving off powerful waves of sound as the battled.

“I’ve been quested to bring him to his kind. If I can locate other Mandalorians, they can help guide me. I’m told you know where to find them.”

You saw the child still watched the fight, Koresh was right, this is no place for a child, you turned the pram to face away from the ring.

“It’s uncouth to talk business immediately. Just enjoy the entertainment.”

The child coos, hearing their weapons clash again and again, the same green man that got knocked down when you first came in was knocked down once more.

“Bah! My Gamorrean’s not doing well. Kill him! Finish him!”

You gripped the side of the kids pram so tight your knuckled started changing shades, how could he be so careless of anothers life? It made your blood boil as more people started shouting the same thing, you had to keep your composure, you had to stay calm for the kid. The Gamorrean, still standing, strikes down, almost finishing his opponent before he rolled away.

“You gamble, Mando?”

“Not when it can be avoided.”

Koresh chuckles “Well, I’ll bet you the information you seek that this Gamorrean’s going to die within the next minute and a half. And all you have to put up in exchange is your shiny beskar armor.”

Your head turned, staring at the one eyed man, did he really think that was going to happen? The Mandalorian did the same, staring him down through his visor.

“I’m prepared to pay you for the information. I’m not leaving my fate up to chance.”

The Gamorrean reeled his axe back, ready to strike again. Something was wrong here.

“Nor am I.” Koresh took out a blaster and shot the Gamorrean in the chest; he fell backwards onto the floor. Blasters were pointed at you and Mando before you could blink. You counted five in total, two pointed at you and three at Mando, that was their mistake though.

Koresh chickled again, “Thank you, for coming to me. Normally, I have to seek out remnants of you Mandalorians in your hidden hives, to harvest your precious shiny shells.” another chuckle as he continues to threaten to peel it off mandos corpse.

“Tell me where the Mandalorians are, and I’ll walk out of here without killing you.”

“Thought you said you weren’t a gambler.”

You saw Mando clench his fist, small lights emitting from his forearm, you closed the childs pram.

“I’m not.”

The blasters pointed at your head fell to the ground after Mando launched his attack, but there were more than just those five. The Gamorrean left in the ring jumped over the ropes missing you and Mando, one of the gamblers wrapped his arms around you and lifted you off the floor, you were really getting tired of being manhandled. You swung your legs up and down, using the momentum to throw the man over your shoulder, you pulled a small pipe out from your belt, when you swung it downwards it extended into a full spear. The man was uncoordinated on his attacks; it was easy to dodge him, with every missed punch he stumbled forward, you couldn’t help but play with him a bit. You sweeped the end of your spear under his feet making him fall face first onto the hard floor, while you were playing around Mando was taking on the Twi’lek and another gambler. This was child's play for him and it was obvious, however he showed them no mercy, there was purpose with every move he made.

Out of the corner of your eye you could see Gor Koresh escaping, and if you saw it the Mandalorian did too. It was time to leave, taking that sharp end of your spear you plunged it into the man's back, Mando did the same, sinking his knife into his opponent's chest. You both made it out of the building, watching as Koresh made a pathetic escape attempt. But Mando wasn’t about to let that happen, he shot a wire out his armor wrapping it around Koresh's legs, tripping him. Mando dragged him towards one of the street lights, swinging the wire over its arch and pulling him to hang by his feet then tying it off. You tucked your spear back into your belt as it retracted.

“All right, stop, stop! I’ll tell you where he is. But you must give me your word you wont kill me.” You could hear the stain in his voice, you stood next to mando glaring down at this repulsive excuse for a man.

“I promise you will not die by my hand. Now where is the Mandalorian you know of.”

“Tatooine.”

“What?”

“The Mando I know of, is on Tatooine.”

“I’ve spent much time on Tatooine. I've never seen a Mandalorian there.”

The man continues to struggle trying to convince Mando there is, in fact, another Mandalorian on Tatooine. He even tells the name of the city, swearing on his life that he’s in Mos Pelgo.

“Tatooine it is then.”

You both begin to walk away, the childs still closed pram following next to you, Koresh is begging Mando to not leave him, telling him he can’t be left like this. You turn around pointing your blaster at the light.

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

You fire, sending the street into almost total darkness, the red eyed creatures start surrounding him, growling as he screams. As the three of you return to the Razor Crest you opened the childs pram and scooped him out, holding him against your chest. You hated that he had to see that kind of violence, the kind that you grew up with, it wasn’t fair to him. He cooed, grabbing your attention, Eat.

“Hungry huh? Let’s fix that.”

Mando watched as you set him down on one of the crates in the belly of the ship.

“How can you tell he’s hungry?”

“Can’t you hear his little stomach growling? It’s like an engine!” You lied

You grabbed something for the kid to eat out of the cooling unit and making your way back over to him. Mando went up the ladder to fly you to your next destination, as you fed the kid he gargled and smiled at you. It wasn’t right to lie to him, but what else could you do, he would never believe you. You felt the ship lift off from the planet and out of the atmosphere, you’d have to tell him eventually…

[cevans-is-classic]

Chapter One: Lost Stars

Read the beginning of their journey here: Galaxy Eyes.

“I have a way of tracking them, but I’ll need help. Gal was running from something when we first met — someone who would hurt them. I ask for help, Lady Kryze.” 

Prolouge Chapter Two

When Din Djarin introduced Bo to you, it followed the tail end of a long week and even longer lifetime. Mud covered Grogu from top to bottom and Din Djarin looked like he dove in after him and there you were. Your eyebrow raised, not in challenge, not in a showboating way, but with familiarity. 

“You’re-” 

“Yes.” You’d stepped forwards with a stretching smile pulling at your cheeks, “And you Lady Kryze are beautiful. I can see your strength.” Those eyes — those star filled eyes that made you feel weightless — they were beaming at Bo with unabashed adoration. 

Din Djarin snorted. 

“Gal, remember the talk about personal space?” Those eyes dimmed for a second. 

“I apologize.” You stepped back, smile still in place. You walked backwards towards Din Djarin, tipping your fingers on the top of Grogu’s pram. 

Bo looked at Din Djarin and waited. The other Mando’ade took a step forward, “Karga asked me to protect them.”

“I heard the message.” 

Din Djarin shifted his feet before looking over his shoulder and back at Bo. “I have to take a job from Teva and-” 

You tapped his elbow. “We’re here to ask for help. I can’t go with him this time, and he’s fearful of leaving me alone.” 

Bo huffed, “Sure,” She looked at you with her own wide eyes, “Nice to meet you.”

-

“We took a job on a bounty in the north quadrant. An outer planet that populates farmers and a few small towns. We stopped for something to eat and this bounty hunter came after us, well, after Gal. We took care of it. Both the bounty and the jumper. Well,” Din Djarin held his hand up, “I have a way of tracking them.” He lifted a small controller in his palm.

Bo frowned, “Do you think they know-” 

“I dont know.” Bo felt the ice coming off him. 

Grogu looked worse for wear as well, his eyes sad, filled with tears. His ears drooped and his fists stayed balled around the sleeve of his coverings. Bo watched both her friends, took in their appearances, their standings, wondering if this is something Din Djarin needs to take on. 

It might be too much-

Bo nodded, “Alright, what’s the timeline?” 

Din Djarin froze up. “We left a day ago and returned tonight.” 

Bo took a breath. “They’re missing?” 

Din Djarin lifted his chin. “This isn’t one of their trips. At first it seemed so, but Gal would let us know if they went off somewhere. I found no physical signs of an ambush or attack, which is why I think-” He stopped for a beat, “I think they knew this was going to happen.”

“Why wouldn’t they tell you about it?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he thanked Bo for her help, lifted Grogu onto his hip and disappeared into the ship. 

Bo watched until they were out of sight then turned back around to gaze at the stars, “Whatever happened, Gal, you need to be okay. I’m not ready for him to be this sullen all the time.” 

-

The planet the tracker led them to was desolate. There was no sign of life and the environment was heavy with cloying air.

The armor weighed him down with every step he made. Each one drew him closer to you — he hoped. A dark piece inside him knew better, though. 

He’d felt the pressure of blood rushing through his body as the tracker beeped. Grogu followed behind him, staying silent. Djarin looked over his shoulder to check on his son and saw his eyes closed tight. 

He was reaching out to you.

Finding the tracker took hours and when they reached the location — The tracker was there but you were not. 

 The small chip sat in a pool of drying blood and an indention in the rock beneath it showed someone tried to destroy it. 

Grogu made a distressed noise when he saw it.

An ache inside his chest cracked open and a familiar burning feeling spread through his blood. He felt it when his parents closed the hatch, when he watched Grogu disappear with Skywalker. 

It melted down his torso, growing warmer and covering his body. 

They’re gone. The thought whispered in his ear. 

Djarin marched back to the ship with Grogu beside him and a blade cutting his heart.

-

It’d been two days since they discovered the discarded tracker, twenty-four hours since Djarin let himself rest. His mind twisting, turning, remembering what Grogu looked like hooked up to machines; the feral look you had when he first met you. 

He’d grown used to the order in which you did things. You never left home unless you were certain — unless it’s safe — and when you did, Bo was always a step behind you. 

This. 

This was different. 

Djarin left even after you asked him to stay. 

He left. 

He left, and it burned a hole in his stomach and coated his throat with acid when he swallowed. He left you. You asked him, held his forehead to yours and he promised He’d be okay — then left. 

Djarin also knew you’d be upset with him if you knew this guilt and fear were warring inside his chest. You’d remind him this isn’t his fault. The agreement was to provide protection not to protect, and once again, Djarin wants to remind you it’s the same thing.

He grew complacent. 

Safe. 

Over 24 hours of no sleep — Bo smacked his hand away from the controls, pointed towards the bunks and glowered until he moved.

Grogu curled up next to him, gripping his green coveralls — holding his metal ball to his chest. 

He felt tears burn his eyes.

There’s a piece of their family missing.

If they hurt you- 

If- if they- his eyes closed.

-

The sky was clear, the stars visible even with the sun over the horizon, and he saw Mandalore in the distance. He reached out to touch it, stretching his finger as far as he could. 

Almost there. 

“Din Djarin.”

He dropped his hand, spinning around in surprise. You were there, in front of him, and he was bare before you. His helmet gone, yellow and orange robe wrapping around his legs in a tangling brush of wind.

You tilted your head, “Or not.”

“Gal-” Djarin rushed forward, aiming to grip your arms, but fell short when he saw the bruising around your neck. His fingers lift to hover over them, trace them with his thumb, wondering who could ever hurt such you. 

“Who hurt you?”

Your hand came up to grab his, wrapping your fingers around his own and pulling them to your lips. “This dream will end soon. I need you to listen-”

How could he? Someone hurt you. There are stress lines along your eyes and mouth, bruising around your throat. Someone was hurting you and he could do nothing about it. 

“Gal, who is doing this?”

You kiss his knuckles, “I saw something, Din Djarin, and I want to tell you,” another kiss, “but they’re watching, always watching. My Mandalorian, beautiful Cyar.” 

He folded his other hand over yours, marveling at the skin to skin contact warming his palm, “I’m coming for you.” 

“Shh.” You rested your cheek over your entwined hands. “There’s someone you must find before you can find me. She’s a friend — you know her as Re — she’ll be able to tell you what you need to know to fight him, but Din Djarin, please, if you try to fight him alone.” Tears fell as you faded.

“Fight who-” Djarin’s fingers slipped through your cheek. The image of you distorted, fading away until you were gone. 

Leaving Djarin standing there with his hand in the air.

-

When he showed up on Mandalore asking for help, Bo-Katan didn’t think twice before getting into the Gauntlet and taking off. Djarin knows she’s aware of how important you are — not just to him.

She’s now the one asking a lot of questions from someone with no answers. 

“They appeared in your dream.” She didn’t look away from the monitor. The repetitive beep dragging through the stars to find where they can jump.

“They’ve done it before with Grogu. I think it’s the force. It wasn’t long enough to give actual information except for this place. Gal said we needed to look for a woman named Re. She’s meant to help us.” 

“They told you all this in a dream?” 

“Yes.”

They stared at each other for several beats, then Bo- Katan nodded. 

“This is the way.” 

Djarin nods back, “This is the way.” 

Grogu made a noise from his perch on Bo Katan’s lap. He looked up at Djarin and gave him a quick sharp nod. 

Tears burned his eyes. 

The radar beeps. 

Bo looked at the map. “We’re close, but I don’t recognize this planet.” 

Djarin moved to see the screen better, his finger tracking the star points. His eyebrows scrunched together — the coordinates match, but he doesn’t understand why they’d lead them here.

“Its Eusix — it used to be a base for the Imps before one of the first rebellion waves took it out. It’s not a large planet, but there are some life forms. I had a bounty here once years ago.” 

Djarin eyed the flight path, tracing the flight path’s trajectory with his finger all the way to the red and white planet the signal stopped at.

“This is where they said to go?” Bo Katan looked over her shoulder at him. 

“They said there was someone we needed to talk with who’ll help.” 

“Do you have an idea where we need to land?”

Djarin bit his lip, “There. That’s about ten miles from the nearest populace. Gal said she’d be in the thickest part.” 

“By the looks of it, I think it’s all the thickest part.” She raised a brow at him. 

“Not appreciated.” 

“You have no sense of humor, Din Djarin. Fix it.” 

He didn’t respond.

Grogu made a noise beside them. He lifted his hand in the air, holding it high enough that the metal ball floated between him and the floor. 

Djarin moved to pick him up when he gurgled once more, then huffed, “Mata.” The ball rose higher. 

“What if Grogu can try to reach them? If Gal can use the force to find you-”

“We use it to find them.” He finished.

Grogu’s face turned into a determined mask. 

“You two stay back. Grogu needs time to Go that deep, and he needs protection. If anything happens-”

“Protect Grogu.”

“Protect Grogu.” 

They landed. 

-

For the life of him, he’s lost with no idea what’s he’s doing  — that’s never stopped him before — this time is different, though. Every step he made brought him closer to a way of finding you. 

He will find you.

The planet is near desolate, which means anything could come out from the shadows or break free from the ground. 

Small critters would scamper in front of him from time to time, turning to peer beady eyes his way or whipping a tail in defense before he continues on. 

Where was he even going? 

The sun’s warm, too warm, heat hammering down and surrounding him in thick humidity. The clearing they’d landed in long since disappeared from view. Trees closing around him, a bluish light breaking through the branches. 

He’s pulling all of this out of his ass — if he’s being honest — but he knows to follow the growth of the forest. 

“She lives in the thick.” Djarin mumbles to himself. 

Couldn’t she live somewhere easier to get to — somewhere cooler?

Beskar was light — Djarin grew accustomed to the sweltering feeling of his coverings — but it wasn’t conducive to water clogged air. 

He should take a moment to rethink his plan, eat something, stop this ever revolving wheel of worry and panic inside his chest. 

He’d noticed the trees were growing closer together. His boots sinking into the moist dirt. He stopped to get his bearings when something snapped beside him.

Djarin spins around, blasters out, ready to jump when a med droid emerges from the foliage and makes its way towards him. 

He leveled the blaster at the Droid. “Stop.” 

The Droid froze, “I am M.E.D-346, I’m your guide to my master.” 

He cooked his head to the side. “Why would an Imperial officer send a Droid to guide me?” 

The Droid seemed offended, “My Master does not serve the empire.”

“Yeah?” He looked the Droid up and down, took in the disheveled appearance, rusted joints, a paint splash across its arms where the Imperial print should be. 

He looked closer at Droid, taking in the scuffed white marking along its head. “You belong to Ashha.” 

“Correction, I belong to Master Ritu who loans me to Medic Ashha on occasions.” 

“But you’re a med droid, yes?” 

“This is correct.” It motioned to the blaster. “Please, refrain from shooting me.” 

Djarin didn’t put his weapon away. He did lower it to his side, though. The Droid took that as ‘good enough’ and turned around, beginning to walk back the way it came. 

Djarin followed.

Pedro Pascal is here!

Masterlist One and Masterlist Two

[manygalaxiesinone]

My Favorite Disgaea Characters (and why they're so awesome!)

((Taking a small break from the Disgaea 7 DLC Episodes to talk about this. Now that I finished Disgaea 7's main story, I feel like it's time to get into who are my actual favorite characters in the franchise. Unlike when I talked about my least favorite when I only covered one per game, here I'll go over multiple characters across multiple titles, but still in no particular ranking order.

Let's start off with who everyone already knows would be featured on this list, Adell. I've always been a fan of this guy ever since the original Disgaea 2 and seeing him in other titles practically a guaranteed way to put a smile on my face (as well as my money taken away). One of the things that really won me over is his awesome moveset across the games, especially the ever evolving vulcan blaze (although it's not quite as awesome in D6 and D7 right now). Combine that with his evilities and you got one of the most broken playable characters in the titles. In terms of personality, he's one of the more serious characters in a franchise known for its chaos, which is interesting since he's meant as NIS parody take on a Shonen Protagonist, though granted even he has his moments. Always does his best to keep his promise no matter the cost and does whatever he can to help provide for his family, in my eyes Adell is number 1.

Next up is the main character of Disgaea 5, Killia. NIS literally designed Killia to be Adell's polar opposite in terms of both personality and element. So instead of a passionate, hot blooded individual, we have someone who's more calm, cool, and collected, representing his ice element... unless if we're talking about cooking. Like Adell, he's one of the more serious characters in this series, and he's often self conscious about it, often questioning on what he could do to stand out more, which I find hilarious. But I think what really won me over though is the fact that despite his backstory, he doesn't come across as too edgy for my liking. He's more like a cool older brother that's willing to help out if he needs to, but at the same time will put his foot down when he notices shenanigans.

The fact that it took until Disgaea RPG to come out to finally get Demon Lord Hanako again is criminal in my opinion. Regular Hanako is alright, but the Demon Lord version of her from the future is no joke. We're talking about someone powerful enough to take on both Gig and Pram at the same time with help from other fighters like Ash, Almaz, Sapphire, and Dark Eclair! I need to know what Etna did to her to make her this broken in 10 years!

Speaking of Sapphire Rhodonite, she is without a doubt one of my favorite princesses in all of gaming. Don't get me wrong, so far I haven't met anyone that topped Sonia Blanche from Shining Resonance yet, but Sapphire is up there. This lady is a powerhouse that got so sick of watching everyone die for her that she trained herself to become a killing machine to protect her kingdom. Out of all the soldiers in her kingdom, she ended up having a crush on a regular guardsman because he was the only one who still saw some humanity in her after her mother died. She wasted no time and married said guardsman at the end of the game! Willingly goes after overlords herself just to make sure they don't get the chance to kidnap her later down the line! She a keeper!

Might as well jump straight to Disgaea 7 to talk about another powerhouse baddie being Higan! When she first appeared in the game, she gave the game's Void Dark look alike 1000 years of death before taking off with his infernal treasure, which is a spear. Keep in mind, she's primarily a swordmaster that taught Fuji almost everything she knew and started using spears just because she was bored. Infernal Treasures pick their wielders and she just got accepted right off the bat. She eats so many sweets every day, she basically puts Stocking Anarchy on fraud alert. She's this game's definition of tough love, as while she's aggressive and extreme when it comes to fighting and training, she's also looking out for the best for her peers. Plus that scene where she wins back cash for the party is hilarious and makes me wonder how fast she would clear Sae's Palace if she was in Persona 5.

Mr Champloo has always been my absolute favorite character in Disgaea 3. When it comes to characters that turn cooking into a way of life, before there was Killia, we had this guy. Once again, the fact that Champloo and Killia never had a cooking battle to this day is beyond criminal! Come ON NIS! You give us a cooking battle between Fenrich and Pirilika and not this absolute gold mine waiting to happen?! I do love his relationship with Almaz in 3 as the reason Almaz calls him master is because he's helping Almaz on his path to become a better person in his own way. He's not teaching Almaz how to cook, but he's using cooking metaphors to get his point across.

Yukimaru's another character I really want to see more of in later titles. Yeah, I know she and Fubuki got a cameo in 7, but that ain't enough! Fun fact, Yukimaru in her Kimono outfit during the Sardine Festival event was the reason why I started playing Disgaea RPG in the first place. I just love how sweet and polite she is, a trained ninja given a mission to kill an overlord but doesn't like fighting unless she has to. Yet her Xeno version is Xeno Flonne's right hand girl and her top assassin! It would be cool to have Yukimaru go around acting like a bodyguard to Adell and Rozalin considering she swore her blade to them.

Out of the original Disgaea Trio, Flonne has to be my personal favorite. She doesn't let rumors that she hears in Celestia cloud her judgement when it comes to meeting new people. She goes out of her way to learn about them and experience their culture herself. Even in areas where she thinks she's the expert at like love, she's still learning as evident when Laharl's mother explained why she doesn't hug and say goodbye to him before she reincarnates into her new life, or when Don Joaquin told her that his spirit can move on despite losing to Laharl because he didn't hold back in their battle. Her overworking Artina as an archangel does need to be stopped though. Honestly, part of me wished NIS went with the idea of keeping Flonne in the Netherworld and have her work as a teacher to young demons instead of her becoming an angel again.

Pirilika is adorable in every sense of the word, I swear. She's basically the Disgaea 7 version of flonne considering that she's a massive otaku and her willingness to see the good everyone around her. It's also thanks to her that we know what happens when you spoil your prinnies. You basically de-combat them where they have to take on secretary like roles in order to atone for their sins and potentially make them targets of envious prinnies. Valvatorez would not approve. That being said, I don't think I've ever seen or heard about a CEO this innocent. She doesn't splurge her money to everyone as bad as Misedor (though she's definitely up there), she does go out of her way to make sure everyone is taken care of and treats everyone to her own cooking. I'd work for her in a heartbeat.

And sticking with Disgaea 7 is Ceefore. Yeah, all 3 of the leading ladies in this game were hits for me. At first, she reminded me of Yuffie from Final Fantasy 7, considering that she started off helping out the main party, only to ditch them later on because she was helping out her home. At the end of the day, she's just an eccentric otaku who wants to make some friends after spending most of her life isolated in Celestia since she can see spirits that others can't. I'm convinced that her giving masks that turns everyone into prinnies was a reference to Shido's palace in Persona 5, but I could be wrong. She is a phantom thief after all. Her ultimate skill is more busted than Pleinair's because it has infinite range! Any stage with a boss will be cleared in seconds the moment she activates it. Kinda wish they gave her a persona to really bring it home.

And these are just a few of my personal favorites in the series so far. Who are yours?))

[dreamcorechild]

*~! Papa Urogi !~* [A Au Hantengu clone story.] PART 3

Synopsis: Urogi has decided to take the triplets out on their first stroll around the city of Tokyo, what will they see and what paths will they take for their family bonds to grow stronger?

Part 2: here

Urogi points at the huge tall buildings and the beautiful sights around the city, trying to show all the lovely things that he has seen before to his little babies and to make them feel as happy and excited as he was. He can't wait to show them all the other places in the city that he finds interesting, and then to bring them back home for some more nap time and play time.

"Ah, do you like this place so far, little demons..?~"

Moriko and Haruki giggled, Tsukasa was looking around. He saw how big the building's were.

"Aww, poor little Tsukasa.. You still have so much to discover.."

Urogi bends his huge and tall body down so that he can be more close to the little Moon Angel, caressing him gently and sweetly and letting him see everything more closely. He can't wait to teach his sweet little ones all about the huge city, showing them one new thing after the other.

"Look up at the sky, little one.. I'm sure you've never seen the sky look like that before, right..?"

"All these clouds and the sun shining so brightly.. It really is beautiful, isn't it..?"

Urogi smiles sweetly at little Tsukasa, hoping that he would be enjoying seeing the big sights of a big city. He wants his little ones to learn and to see every beautiful and lovely thing that they can, and he wants them to have all the fun they can in their lives and to enjoy everything that they experience.

Moriko and Haruki looked around from their baby pram's. They glance over at a long bullet train speeding through the bridge. They pointed their little tiny baby arms. Wondering what it was.

"Awww, what a great eye that you have there, little Moriko and Haruki! You can see things very well already, can't you? It looks like you have a pretty sharp intuition as well, even at such a young age~"

Urogi grins, proud to see his little ones so curious and excited about the world around them.

"That's a bullet train, little ones. It's very fast and it can bring us from one place to another very quickly. What a clever way to travel~"

Tsukasa slowly peeked his little baby head. Seeing the storming shinkansen at high speeds. he let out big cry, seemingly scared of the eye-catching train from a far distance.

"Aww, little Tsukasa.. Are you scared of the big train?"

Urogi caresses little Tsukasa gently and lovingly, trying to soothe his little baby boy and to show him that the train is nothing to be afraid of.

"Don't be afraid, little one.. These trains are very fast, but they are also very safe and you can't get hurt on them~"

"Shooo.. Shooo.. It's okay, little one.. The train can't hurt you.. It's just a very fast way of travelling. Come here.."

Urogi pulls little Tsukasa closer to him, giving him a kiss on his forehead and holding him close to his chest to offer him some comfort and reassurance.

"Don't cry, my Moonlight baby.. Daddy is here to protect you and to keep you safe and happy. Nobody will hurt you with me around, okay~?"

Tsukasa felt safe in his papa's arms. He felt very clingy to Urogi.

"There you go, little Tsukasa. Can you feel how safe you are in my arms? Nobody can hurt you or do anything to you while you are with me."

Urogi holds little Tsukasa gently close as he speaks to him in a sweet and loving way, feeling truly blessed to have been given the chance to be the proud papa of these little demons.

"You are my little moonlight baby, and I will protect you and keep you safe from everything that might scare you or endanger you. Okay~?"

"Aww, you must just love all that attention that I'm giving you! That's okay, little one.. I have all the time in the world for you and all your siblings.."

Urogi smiles cheerfully as he lifts up little Tsukasa and puts him on his head again, walking slowly underneath the beautiful blossom trees. He can't get enough of all the attention that little Tsukasa gives him and how much the little demon seems to love being cared for and loved by his new papa.

"Oh, look at that! A blossom petal landed on your head, little Haruki! It's so beautiful.."

Urogi removes the petal carefully and gently from little Haruki's head, caressing him gently with his long talons.

"Are you enjoying the walk so far, my little demon babies? Do you like seeing all the pretty sights of this beautiful and very interesting city?"

Urogi smiles brightly as he gently places the blossom petal in one of his talons, then lifts it up so that Moriko can see it closely from her place in the baby pram.

"Look, Moriko! A blossom petal just fell all the way from the sky! Isn't that the most amazing thing, little Angel of the Earth? It was like someone sent it all the way from Heaven just to see you and to let you know how beautiful you are~"

Urogi grins happily and lovingly at Moriko, feeling so excited to see that sweet little smile and to hear those lovely giggles again. He caresses her gently and lovingly in the pram.

"That's it, little sunshine! You look so lovely when you smile and laugh like that, don't you?"

Urogi chuckles warmly and he begins to look around again to see if there are any other interesting things to show Moriko and the other two little Sun and Moon demons.

Urogi turns slightly in their direction, watching a group of young and energetic students with curiosity.

"Look, look over there! Did you see those boys and girls over there? They're high school students, little ones. In Japan, all the students have to wear the same kind of school uniforms. It's something that's very common in Japan and in many other countries around the world."

"Do you want to see your daddy's school uniform from when I was in high school? It looks very different from yours because I went to school in a western country, hehe~"

Urogi grins and chuckles happily at them as they giggle at his little joke about his western school uniform.

"So, little ones, do you still want to go to school and learn lots of different things when you get bigger? I'm sure that you would do very well and learn many new things!"

"But you have to take good care of your baby teeth~ If you don't, then they won't fall out for your big adult teeth to grow. And if that happens, then you won't be able to chew your nice, delicious food very well, hehe."

Just then. The Earth baby Moriko stomach grumbles.. She was getting hungry, she let out a cry. For attention and perfection.

"Oh, little sunshine, you're hungry? But we're not home yet, are we? We can't have any food or a snack now, can we?"

Urogi chuckles and then carries little Moriko into his arms, gently rocking her back and forth in his talons as he continues to walk.

"It'll be time for dinner soon, little one.. We just have to get back to your home and then you can have lots of yummy food to fill your hungry little tummy~"

Urogi smiles warmly as little Moriko stops crying and falls silent again, feeling happy to have comforted her a little.

"Don't worry, little sunshine! We'll be home soon, and then you can have lots of nice things to eat! But we can't eat food in the middle of the street.. We have to wait until we get home or to a place where we're allowed to have food, okay?"

"Aww, I can't wait to see you all well-fed and happy again, little ones! I want you to always feel safe and loved!"

"Oh, little ones, look at all the stores around here, and even these vending machines here~"

Urogi points at the vending machines and smiles happily, feeling excited to see the different drinks that he can choose from when he visits Tokyo.

"In a lot of stores here in Japan, they sell lots of things that you might not see anywhere else in the world. And you can also find so many different kinds of drinks or snacks from these vending machines~! You should definitely try at least one drink from these vending machines at some point, little ones!"

Just then. A car sped past them. splashing them with mucky puddle water.

"Eek! Aiya! That car just splashed us all with dirty puddle water, little ones~"

Urogi quickly stands next to the baby prams to make sure that it didn't splash on any of the little ones, looking very annoyed and upset at the car that drove by so quickly and recklessly.

"Bad car! Bad car!"

Urogi gives the car a scary glare and lets out a hissing sound, making it obvious that he is very cross with the car who almost hurt his precious little demons.

"Puddle water isn't nice and clean.. It is filled with all sorts of dirty things and dirt that can be very bad for your body, little ones~"

Urogi looks at little Tsukasa, Moriko and Haruki to make sure that they didn't get any puddle water in their mouths and that they were all safe and unharmed. He was worried about them and wanted to make sure that they were all protected from getting sick or infected.

Urogi stops and looks over at a restroom, smiling brightly when he sees the bathroom sign.

"Look! There's a restroom around here! Maybe we should go in and wash the dirty and dirty puddle water off of our clothes and bodies so we'll be nice and clean again!"

Urogi carries little Moriko over his shoulder and pushes the pram with little Tsukasa and little Haruki into the restroom.

"Wait a minute, little ones.. Daddy has to go in first and make sure that everything is okay before we go in together, okay?"

Urogi walks into the restroom and looks around for any signs of danger or anything suspicious. He wants the little ones to wash up and be safe in here, so he needs to make sure that there's nothing that could hurt them inside here.

"Okay! It looks safe in here, little ones! Let's all go in together now~"

Urogi carefully walks into the restroom with little Moriko on his shoulder and the pram with little Tsukasa and little Haruki inside.

Urogi grins and caresses little Moriko as he sits her down on the baby changer, making her feel comfortable and relaxed. He brings out the clean wipes and some towels to help them all wash up.

"Okay, little angel, daddy's going to clean your face first, okay~?"

Urogi is very gentle and loving as he washes little Moriko's face with the clean wipes and water, making her feel fresh and nice.

"Good girl~"

"Aww, little sunshine.. That towel is tickling you isn't it? It feels funny and nice, doesn't it?"

Urogi caresses little Moriko and her little giggle with a smile, continuing to clean the little angel of the Earth and making her feel happy as she enjoys being clean and all the attention that her new papa gives her.

Urogi starts washing little Tsukasa next, being very careful and gentle with him as he wipes the dirt off his little body with the fresh wipes and warm water.

"Aww, you're so cute and tiny, little demon boy! You must love being so nice and clean again, don't you? Yes, you do!"

Urogi smiles thoughtfully as little Tsukasa starts giggling and being really ticklish from the towel rubbing against his little baby body. He starts making fun little noises and showing his small and sharp teeth, loving the attention that he is getting.

"Teeheehee! The towel monster is coming to tickle you, little demon boy~! You better watch out, it's going to attack your little baby belly and you're going to laugh lots from the tickling, yes you are~"

Urogi can't help but laugh and smile excitedly as he plays the little game with little Tsukasa. He loves to see his little demon boy happy and smiling, as he plays fun little games like this.

Urogi begins to wash little Haruki next with warm, fresh water and clean wipes. He smiles warmly at the little angel of the Sun as he cleans and makes sure that he is nice and clean.

"Aww, little sunshine. Isn't it nice to be nice and clean again? Come here, little one, come and cuddle with papa~"

Urogi makes a funny little face at little Haruki and begins to make cute little noises to make him laugh and be amused as well.

Urogi holds little Haruki in his talons and carries him close to his chest, caressing him gently and lovingly. He looks at the little sun angel and grins happily, feeling very happy to have these three little angels in his life and to give them all the love and care that he can.

"Aww, little Haruki, I love my little sunshine so much.. Papa will always be here for you! Forever and ever.."

Urogi smiles and then carries little Haruki back to the pram with little Moriko and little Tsukasa.

"Okay, little ones, we're going to walk to the Tokyo Rainbow Bridge now! Are you all excited, little ones?"

Urogi walks out of the restroom and back onto the busy and crowded street outside, pushing the pram with little Moriko, Haruki and little Tsukasa inside.

"Look, these people are all so busy and in such a hurry, but we have all the time in the world to get to the Rainbow Bridge, don't we?"

"But we can't just walk in the middle of the busy road now, remember? We have to wait until the green man tells us that it's safe to cross the road?"

"Then we walk on the pedestrian bridge and there we can stop for a little while and show you guys something very amazing~"

"And we'll also take some nice and fun pictures of you guys on the Rainbow Bridge! Won't that be fun, little ones?"

Urogi grins excitedly as he sees the iconic Tokyo Rainbow Bridge come into view in the distance, feeling happy and excited to bring his new little babies there and to have some fun memories together.

Urogi picks up the triplets and lifts them up high over his shoulders so that they can see the Rainbow Bridge properly.

"See the rainbow bridge, little ones? It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

Urogi gently rock the triplets back and forth, holding them high over his shoulders so that they can see the bridge from their high vantage point and so that they can all be safe there.

"Do you want to take some pictures there, little ones? It's going to be a lot of fun!"

Urogi smiles happily as he looks at all the joy and happiness on the little faces of the triplets, feeling proud and happy to be their new papa and to take them to cool and amazing places.

"Are you looking forward to seeing more fun things in Japan, little ones? We still have lots of other places to visit and see, you know?"

Baby Tsukasa looked at the billboards. Showing some anime characters advertising different brand products.

"Ooo, look at those billboards, little angel of the moon! They're advertising very popular Japanese cartoons and comics called 'anime'."

Urogi carries little Tsukasa closer to his chest as he keeps moving along on the pedestrian bridge, pointing out the various billboards on the sides as they walk.

"See those cute drawings on the billboards and magazines? They're the characters from these shows and comics. They're very popular here in Japan and in other countries around the world!"

"You see those cute little drawings of the pretty boys and girls, little ones? That's called 'manga' and it's another popular thing here in Japan and in other countries around the world."

"It's where we get the stories from, little ones. Then the story is turned into anime or cartoons and then people can buy the comics and books to read them at home, you see."

"Look, little demon boy, here's a manga and anime character that looks like you!"

Urogi points at one of the billboards with another little demon boy on it.

"Aww, little demon boy! I bet you love seeing yourself in anime and manga, don't you?"

Urogi can't help but grin and feel very proud as he watches little Tsukasa's little hands clapping happily and the little demon boy giggling excitedly to see himself on the billboards.

"You're so popular, little one! You should have your own fan club some day~ And there are so many interesting things we can do here in Japan!"

Urogi suddenly slips and falls down onto the pavement next to the railing of the bridge, landing hard on his butt with a loud OW!

He holds his now hurting ass and grits his teeth in pain.

"Grrrr. Ouch. My bum hurts now.. I never told you, little ones, but I also have an old tail bone injury from all the times I fell on my ass when I used to work with the former upper moons.."

Urogi rubs his sore ass as he gets back onto his feet and then carries on walking with the baby pram again.

Urogi chuckles and grins as he hears little Moriko, little Haruki and little Tsukasa laughing at him and as he realises how funny it must've looked for them to see their new papa fall down on his ass so badly.

"You little devils~! Stop laughing at me, okay?"

Urogi begins to laugh himself as he keeps pushing the pram along and tries to put the embarrassment and pain of his little fall behind him for now.

"Okay, little ones. Look over there! Do you see that big building? It's called 'Tokyo Tower', and it's very iconic to the city of Tokyo!"

Urogi stops the pram and shows the triplets the Tokyo Tower that they can see in the distance. He points it out to them and shows them the tall, beautiful skyscraper that is so well-known around the world, feeling happy to see it.

Urogi puts the triplets on his shoulders and lifts them up again so that they can all appreciate and take in the beauty of the Tokyo Tower in all its glory.

"Isn't it beautiful, little ones? Every night it lights up and shines and everyone who comes to visit Tokyo or sees it from outside in Japan can see exactly where it is!"

Urogi smiles brightly and points again at the Tokyo Tower, feeling happy and excited to share it with his precious little angels. He feels so lucky and blessed to be their new papa and to have them in his life.

Urogi quickly picks Little Moriko back up and hugs her gently as soon as he hears her crying, feeling very worried about her.

"Shhh, sunshine. It's okay. Papa is here. What's the matter, little one? Are you scared of the night or the bright lights? It's alright, don't worry. I'll always protect you and care for you, little one."

Urogi continues to hold little Moriko in his talons as he carries on pushing the pram along and tries to sooth her by gently stroking her little head and back.

"Little one, look up there, there's a big star in the sky. It's called the North Star and they use it to help with navigation because it's always there, shining bright in the sky at night! When you see that star, that's a sign that it's nice and safe outside now for you to walk and play!"

Little Moriko feels calmer as she looks up at the sky and watches the North Star shining brightly, feeling comforted by her papa's kind explanations.

"Look, little ones! Can you see that big town on the map? It's called Shibuya and it's a very famous and busy town in Tokyo. It's got lots and lots of amazing things and places that we can visit one day!"

Urogi smiles and points to Shibuya on the map, feeling excited and happy to see it and to bring little Moriko and her little siblings there one day.

"See that big crossing there in Shibuya? It's called 'Shibuya Scramble Crossing' and it's one of the most famous crossings in the world!"

...

...

...

"Aww, little Haruki, I bet you're hungry, aren't you?"

Urogi chuckles and rubs little Haruki's belly gently as he looks at the pacifier in his mouth.

"Do you like using your little pacifier? Is it nice and soft? Does it make you feel good?"

Urogi felt his tummy rummy rumble. He forgot to eat when he took the little ones outside. Also, he forgot to feed the little ones to.

"Okay, little demon boy. Well, your little papa is very hungry too. I had to spend a lot of time pushing the pram around and bringing you to nice places without getting to eat much, you know?"

"Do you want to go eat something now? Let's go and have some lunch at one of the restaurants in Shibuya, okay?"

The demon babies were happy. they love food. Tsukasa was so excited that he cried.

"Haha, little angel of the moon! Aren't you happy to hear that we're going to go eat some lunch now?

"Papa is hungry too and has been pushing your pram around for a while so we can all visit lots of fun and amazing places."

"Let's go and find some lunch now, okay?"

Urogi smiles and carries little Tsukasa once again in his talons, carrying all the little demon siblings along with him as they all go to find some lunch at one of the restaurants in Shibuya.

"Okay, we're almost at the restaurant now, little ones. So, just hang on and we'll be there in no time! Papa is hungry too and can't wait to have some nice food."

Urogi carries the little ones in his talons and brings them along, looking for something nice to eat as he looks carefully around them and observes what type of cuisine is offered in the restaurants in Shibuya.

"Sushi..! Sushi sounds delicious. Would you like to have some sushi for lunch, little ones? That would be nice and I'd love to eat some myself too!"

Urogi walks inside the sushi restaurant and carries the three triplets along with him to a table. He then places little Moriko and little Haruki into child size high chairs and puts little Tsukasa next to them in his stroller.

"There we go. Now, papa is going to order some nice sushi for all of us!"

"Hmm, it looks like they have a variety of different types of sushi here.. Let's see. Ah, this sushi selection looks very nice. It comes with 10 pieces, and they all look really delicious. We'll have that one for now."

Urogi closes the menu and turns to the waiter who comes over to him quickly.

"I'll take one serving of the sushi selection, please."

"Oh, and can I also get some water for the little ones? They might want to drink something too."

The waitress nodded. She skated on some roller skates. coming back with water inside baby bottle's.

"Aww, aren't these baby bottles so cute and special? Look, little ones!"

Urogi holds the bottle for little Tsukasa and shows the triplets the cute bottle.

"Can I feed you something, little moonlight? Here, open your mouth!"

Little Tsukasa opens his mouth and grabs the bottle, taking a few drinks from the bottle as little Moriko and little Haruki watch him curiously.

"Aww, little moonlight. You're such a good little demon boy, aren't you?"

Urogi gently caresses little Tsukasa's little head as he gently lifts him to give him another sip of the water.

"Now, little ones, do you want to eat some sushi with me, too? Papa wants to enjoy some nice and delicious sushi on your first visit to Shibuya!"

The tray of sushi's arrived. Urogi got the chopsticks ready. Licking his lips with joy.

"My Oh my!~ Papa is so hungry!"

With that, he brings the small plate of sushi close to the high chair, feeling glad that he finally has some food to eat after pushing around the pram for so long.

"Okay, little angels, this sushi looks really nice, so I'm going to take my first bite now!"

Urogi picks up a piece of sushi and brings it to his mouth, feeling very hungry as he bites into it and enjoys the delicious taste.

"Ahh, this sushi is so good!"

Urogi grins and swallows his food, feeling very happy to finally have some delicious sushi in his stomach after pushing the pram around for so long and after waiting patiently for lunch.

"Okay, little ones, do you want to try a piece too? I bet you'll love it!"

Moriko opened her baby mouth. only showing her small baby teeth.

"Aww, look at those little teeth, little Moriko! Don't you want to try some sushi?"

Urogi feeds little Moriko a piece of sushi, holding it up close to her mouth. She takes it and chews gently on the piece of sushi, enjoying the yummy taste of the raw fish inside.

"Mmm, that's right, little Sunshine! You're loving the sushi, aren't you?"

"Oh, little angel of the Earth. You're just so precious!"

Urogi laughs happily as he feeds another piece of sushi to Moriko, feeling very happy to see her enjoying her lunch now after her crying earlier.

"There we go, little ones. Here comes another piece for each one of you."

Urogi feeds little Haruki and little Tsukasa more sushi pieces, watching them happily eat the delicious food as he eats his own as well.

"Aren't you three lovely little demon babies? Papa is so happy to see you enjoying your sushi together with him!"

Tsukasa then coughed.

"Ooh, little Tsukasa?"

Urogi pauses eating his own sushi and sets his chopsticks down, turning around and looking at little Tsukasa.

"Did you like your sushi?"

When he hears little Tsukasa coughing and sees him needing a back pat, he stands up and bends down a bit to pick up little Tsukasa in his talons.

"Oh, little demon boy, are you okay? Would you like me to pat your back?"

"Come here, I'll pat your back little guy.."

Urogi picks up little Tsukasa and gently pats his back to help him stop coughing and crying, feeling proud that he's doing these fatherly things to take care of his sweet little demon son.

"It's okay, little sunshine~ Papa will pat your back a little bit more. You'll feel better in no time!"

Urogi smiles and gently pats little Tsukasa's back again. It seems to be helping a bit and the little demon boy starts to calm down.

"Aww, look at little Haruki! That's a big belch for such a tiny demon boy!"

Urogi chuckles to himself and puts little Haruki back down onto his seat, feeling proud as he sees his precious little ones growing bigger and stronger each day.

Urogi smiles and begins to eat the rest of his sushi while still holding little Moriko in his talons, feeling very happy to have made this lovely lunch time a nice and fun experience for his little demon babies.

"Oh, look at that. Papa hasn't even realised how much time has already past!"

Urogi quickly finishes the rest of his sushi and turns to look at his little ones.

"Now, little ones, it looks like it's already getting late for you to be out on a walk.."

Urogi stands up and picks little Moriko and little Tsukasa up with his talons and then carries the stroller with little Haruki inside it.

"Let's go home to the mansion. It's time for a lullaby and then sleepy time!"

"Aww, little ones, it seems like you're feeling very sleepy now, huh?"

Urogi gently carries little Moriko and little Tsukasa in his talons as he pushes the stroller with little Haruki in it, feeling very happy as he watches his little demon babies yawning and feeling sleepy at the end of their fun and exciting day in Shibuya.

"Let's go home and get to sleep on time now, little devil babies, so that you'll be nice and strong and healthy tomorrow when we go on another fun adventure together~"

Urogi sings a traditional Japanese nursery song in a soft, gentle and soothing singing voice as he pushes the stroller and makes his way home. The song he sings is one that his own brothers used to sing to him when he was a small baby, making it very special to him and reminding him of his own childhood.

"Little demons, little angels, time to say goodbye~

Let's go home and go to sleep so that your little eyes are nice and happy and healthy and shining,

We'll meet tomorrow in our dreams, just you and me!"

"Let's go home to our mansion, our castle, our fortress~ To our sweet home where you can rest and sleep so well~

To where we'll be together and have our own fun family, little angels!

Let's go home now to our castle!"

Urogi continues to sing as he pushes the stroller up to the massive and impressive gates of the mansion with little Tsukasa and little Moriko sitting in his talons, looking at their new home and feeling excited to come inside and see their new bed and bedroom.

"Ahhh, our lovely home! Look, little ones! Just a few more steps and we'll be inside and at peace again!"

Urogi grins and continues pushing the stroller forward as they approach the gates of the mansion, feeling proud and happy to have come up with such a lovely song for his little family of triplets to hear and enjoy.

Urogi carries the sleeping demons triplets gently in his arms, taking care not to wake them up as he carries them upstairs and walks into their newly decorated bedroom with his three adorable little ones sleeping together in their cots.

"Look at how cute they are, laying on their soft little cots!"

Urogi smiles and bends down a bit to take little Moriko in his talons. He kisses her on her head and gently places her down onto her cot next to little Tsukasa and little Haruki.

"Aww, little ones.. Sleep well. Tomorrow will be a new day full of lots of interesting things to experience and enjoy!"

Urogi smiles and gently strokes little Tsukasa's little head and back as he puts little Moriko and little Haruki into their cots next to him. He closes their curtains around them to block out any bright lights and distractions then turns off the lights in the room, feeling happy as he settles little Moriko and her little brothers down for a restful sleep in their comfy and soft cots.

As Urogi walked to his bed. He stubbed his toe again on the table.

"Ouch! Darn it.."

Urogi yells out in pain and swears at himself as it is not the first time he stubbed his toe on the same table he had put next to his bed on purpose to make him be careful of it. He groans and rubs his foot, feeling slightly frustrated and annoyed as he goes over to his bed and prepares to go to bed himself after his tiring day out with his little demon triplets.

"Well, it's time for papa to rest now too."

Urogi turns on his side and sleeps next to his precious little demon babies, feeling happy to have made it safely back home with them and to have successfully taken them for a nice and interesting adventure during the day.

[burnwater13]

Image from The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 5, The Jedi, Din Djarin is standing on Corvus, outside of Calodan, he is wearing the soft cloth bag to hold Grogu who is not seen in the image.

Caption reads: As long as the Imp lives, he'll send hunters after the Child. It is from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 7, The Reckoning

Do you do this to people? Do you talk about them when they are right there, instead of talking to them? Why? Why do you do that? Isn’t it rude? Isn’t it just a bit presumptuous? Shouldn’t you show that other person some respect and concern? Apparently not if you’re a Mandalorian or a Drop Trooper or a Bounty Hunter Guild Boss. 

Grogu was fed up with that. He guessed that they really didn’t mean any harm, but still… it was annoying and he was really tired of being annoyed by people who thought they knew best. And not just that day. Any day. Everyday!

Even when he was at the Jedi Temple that sort of thing annoyed him. “Grogu must learn that on his own, Obi-Wan. A child no more is he.” Master Yoda, Grogu was right there when you were telling Master Obi-Wan that helping Grogu with a stuck zipper was something he shouldn’t ask for help in fixing.

Wasn’t that the wrong message and the wrong person to convey it to? Shouldn’t the Jedi Master have told him “Grogu, a child no more are you. Fix your own clothes you must.” Then Grogu could have explained that the zipper that needed to be fixed was on the back of his coverall and it was stuck in the up position so he couldn’t get out of the silly thing. Master Obi-Wan was just doing what any good person would have done who waiting in line at the privies. (It had been a fiber heavy day at the dinning hall). 

Then there was that time when Ian had asked Grogu to help him practice lifting things with the Force. Grogu had been happy to help. What he hadn’t know at the time was the Ian wanted Grogu to lift him up so he could get Master Windu’s lightsaber off the top of the cabinet in the philosophy classroom in the middle of the night. Apparently the Jedi Master had worked out that it had been the one room he never saw Ian enter at any time and thought it was a good place to secure his lightsaber. But Grogu was very familiar with that room. He liked to go there to meditate and take the occasional nap. No one bothered him while he was there. 

So shouldn’t Master Windu have said “Grogu, please put Ian back on the ground. I need to talk to him about privacy and boundaries.” Nope. Not at all. Instead he barked, “Ian get down from there right now!” Ian had just laughed and Grogu found himself in a Force mediated wrestling match with Master Windu. After that he was barred from entering the philosophy classroom and that just wasn’t fair. Grogu was pretty sure that the tall Jedi Master was just being a poor sport about losing the wrestling match.

Grogu could go on and on. People not looking at him when he asked for a holobook and instead, asking the person behind him what he’d said. The same thing at the dinning hall. People always asked someone else to pick up Grogu’s tray or to bring it to him in the first place. He hadn’t dropped his food on people in literally years and still they addressed their comments to Ian or Master Beq. Uff.

Then, the Mandalorian did the same sort of thing. Talked to Kuiil about him like he wasn’t sitting right there in the floaty chair, pram thing. It was so annoying. Okay, okay. Both Kuiil and the bounty hunter spoke Gal Basic and Grogu did not. Did not speak it. He understood it just fine. He could have communicated with them in another language but no. Neither of them seemed to know his language and no one gave him a datapad to use so he could just write it out. It was so frustrating. 

Now here they were, just outside of Nevarro City, just the five of them. Kuiil, Cara Dune, Greef Karga, the Mandalorian and himself. The other two hunters were gone. Karga had decided that they were surplus to requirement and poof! And now his protector, who had gone to so much trouble to save him the Nikto gang and the Imps, was saying that they were stuck until Moff Gideon was permanently addressed. 

So, instead of consulting directly with Grogu, they talked to each other about him. It was so annoying. And it had caused so much trouble. After all, if they had taken a moment to ask him what he thought they should do, he would have been happy to explain how good he was at convincing people to forget all about him. Or, he would have convinced Moff Gideon that he was really looking for a couple of droids and not Grogu and the tall bounty hunter. He’d learned that trick from Master Obi-Wan and he had wanted to try it out on someone who really annoyed him. Maybe next time.

Image and caption from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 7, The Reckoning

Caption reads: As long as the Imp lives, he'll send hunters after the child. Din Djarin standing on Nevarro, just outside of Nevarro City, with Grogu in the floating pram, talking to Cara Dune who is pointing her weapon at Greef Karga in the foreground. Kuiil is out of frame.