Tumgik
#the mandalorian x ofc
Text
Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest
Summary: First steps to friendship
A/N: Hello lovelies,
I hope everyone had a good week. I just want to put this out there as someone who works in the medical field, please be kind to doctors, nurses, technicians, receptions, and cleaning crews.
Just be kind in general. I had a rough week with a very rude patient. It might not seem like much but after a while it takes a toll. So to everyone and anyone who needs to hear this, thank you for all the hard work you do.
Love oo
Due to the past history of the OC there will be discussions alluding to past domestic abuse, please note that as it could be a trigger for some.
Warnings: discussions of lunch, trying to avoid isolation, mentions of past trauma (blink and you'll miss it), discussions of being dirty (physically), possible mud (use your imagination). If I miss any warnings, please let me know.
AO3 Link |   Words: 909 |   Previous -> Next
Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest
Tumblr media
THE CRESTWORLD
CHAPTER NINE
As we watched Taika and Misty munching away, it made me remember we needed to eat too, “Din, what do you want for lunch? There’s some leftovers from last night’s dinner or I could make us a sandwich and salad …”
“You know…” he cut her off, realizing he needed to make more of an effort with her. 
Sure she was his employee, but he was also the only person she knew out here. Cobb and Fennec were always busy in town and the surrounding areas,  and Fennec had even less time than Cobb, being Boba’s right hand. Then there was Grogu, and as fun and enjoyable he was for a little kid, it wasn’t the same as having someone around her own age to hang out with. 
He nodded to himself, resolving he needed to do better, “You did a really good job today, Ann. Looking after Bessie, milking her, noticing there was something off about her. You could’ve easily brushed it off, or not even bothered to tell me about it. But you did, and because you did, I can tell you there will be a new addition to the ranch. Nerfs have a faster gestation than most quadrupeds. We should have a new addition in a month or two depending on if it’s a bull or calf. Not to mention you fed the nunas and collected the eggs, even though I know it freaks you out a little. I even noticed that you stamped the eggs with the date, and put them away. Cleaned out the pens as best you could … before I got here.” He smirked.
I tilted my head to look at him, resting my head on my arms that were propped on the railing of the corral. I didn’t say much, simply looking at him as I narrowed my eyes at Din, “I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me, or if you’re being genuine”
He chuckled, as he glanced over to her, shaking his head. “Genuine, I’m being genuine,” he turned back to look at Taika and Misty, “plus, I owe you for this morning.” 
I smirked, focusing back on the horses, “So … does this mean, I’ll get a pay bump?”
“Ha! No.” He stood stretching, “However, I do believe, your good work today, and for my …”
“Assery?”
“That’s not even a word.”
“Words aren’t words, until you start using them more often”
Din shook his head laughing, “Anyway, I do believe this entitles you to lunch on me. How about we go into town for lunch? I know a good restaurant.”
“Oh, um … yeah, I guess…”
He hadn’t expected that reaction, “Do you not want to?” Din glanced over to her.
A thousand scenarios ran through my mind, my biggest concern was bringing danger to this small town, but … Fennec went through a lot to cover my tracks so I could make it here. I couldn’t keep hiding on the ranch like I was. I needed to stop letting my ex dictate terms. I needed to start living again. 
I closed my eyes, and reminded myself, I wasn’t that same weak girl, he initially married.
 “No. No.” I focused on the landscape before, taking in the beautiful mountains, the crisp air. I was far away from him. “I’m up for going into town. After all, I need to see more of this area, get to know the town and people. As beautiful as this ranch is, I can’t exactly be holed up here forever.”
“No. You can’t” he smiled.
 I smirked, as my eyes glanced down, looking over my dirty outfit, “Maybe I should change? Take a shower at least?” My hand subconsciously went to my forehead and hair, wiping away some of the sweat and dirt.
Din shrugged, “You can if you want to but there’s no need, we’re going to a diner, not some fancy five-star high-end Coruscant restaurant. Plus this is a farming town, we’re all used to being a little dirty.”
“Hmmm … Well, I guess, if you’re going like that” I motioned to his shirt, “then I guess I can go like this” I motioned to my less than stellar outfit.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” He looked down, sure there was dirt, hay, dust, some grass strains, and something … he hoped but wasn’t entirely sure was mud. The more he thought about it, the more he changed his opinion, “You know, now that you mention it, maybe a change of shirt wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
I chuckled, nodding in agreement, as he tried to flick a nondescript dark matter off his shirt towards me. I squealed, flinching away from him, increasing the distance between us. “Hey …” I held up my finger as I moved further away, “I’ll have you know, I have enough of my own questionable dark matter on me, I don’t need to take on yours, too.” I shouted over to him, when I was far enough away and headed back into the house.  
Din watched as she headed back to the house, slipping off her boots before she went in. 
He stood in the open glancing over to the pens, the horses grazing, and Bessie chewing away as she stood there looking at him, and he couldn’t remember a time he felt this content from cleaning the pens and grooming Taika and Misty. He shook his head, pushing his thoughts aside as he headed into the house to change.
AO3 Link |   Words: 909 |   Previous -> Next
Main Master List   |  Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest
@littlemisspascal @sprout-fics @liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24 @spicymcnuggies @lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian @tortor-mcgee @sarcasmismyonlydefense24 @chiyo13
27 notes · View notes
dindjarindiaries · 7 months
Text
Security - Chapter 67: The Capture
Tumblr media
summary: Conflict arises on Mandalore as Astra, Din, and the rest of the scouting party find themselves running into their worst nightmare.
warnings: canon-typical violence, injuries (incl. blood), references to trauma, angst, strong language
rating: T
word count: 5.546k
previous ⟸ masterlist ⟹ next
Tumblr media
chapter 67: the capture
By the next morning’s daybreak, Astra and Din have already been briefed on the new plan. The Armorer is to take the wounded and weakened survivors to the rest of the fleet on the Gauntlet while the rest, most notably their captain, bring the scouting party to the Great Forge. They’ve just helped the Armorer get the wounded aboard when the captain calls to his brethren.
“Onward, Mandalorians!” he commands. “To the Forge!”
Astra, Din, and Grogu stand alongside Bo-Katan as the glider heads further and further away from where the Gauntlet’s now taking off. There’s an ache trapped between Astra’s chest and the beskar armor that covers it. The ship is getting closer to the fleet, where the rest of the Mandalorians continue to wait for them; Where her daughter waits.
Part of Astra wishes she was on that ship right now, heading back to take Zora in her arms and never let her go.
Then the touch of Din’s hand upon her back grounds Astra to reality again, and she doesn’t regret a single effort spent helping him and his people. After all, they’re her people now, too. Astra turns her head to look up at him and the way his visor tilts at her convinces that everything will be okay. Din touches his helmet to her forehead before he steps away to lead the group back towards the rest of the scouting party.
The four of them are on the upper deck looking out at the Mandalorians gathered below when Grogu comes to Astra’s side. She turns her gaze towards him and watches the wrinkles on his tiny forehead multiply. Grogu coos, a question Astra doesn’t need to translate to answer.
Astra just smiles the best she can. Grogu closes his eyes and no later does Astra earn a strong sensation of relieving warmth in her chest. It’s too overpowering to have been caused by Grogu’s energy alone. Astra’s smile becomes more genuine when Grogu reopens his eyes and gives her a hopeful glance. She takes one of his little hands in hers and brushes her thumb over it.
“Thank you,” Astra whispers to him. She lifts her hand to brush her fingers along his ear. Grogu coos as his big brown eyes light up at her.
Astra’s almost surprised by Din taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. She turns her head towards him and finds comfort in the dark void of his visor. Din’s voice is low when he speaks to her. “I felt it, too.”
Astra smiles before her gaze falls to her feet. She hears Din’s armor rustle as he steps even closer to her side and waits patiently for her. Astra tries to piece together what she wants to say in her mind, but each one comes with an apology.
Din’s free hand presses underneath Astra’s chin to urge her to lift her head once again and face him. He keeps his gloved fingers there, encouraging her to seek refuge in him. Astra’s more than grateful to oblige. “It’s okay.” Din’s voice is so soft it crackles through his modulator. He adds a reassuring nod. “I’ve been worrying about her, too.”
Astra sighs and lets her vulnerability show for only just a moment. “Will it always be this way?”
“It will.” Din huffs with amusement and gives her hand another squeeze. “Who are we if not worriers over our loved ones?”
Astra laughs with him and closes her eyes, steadying herself with a breath. “You’re right.” She meets Din’s visor again. “She’s okay.”
“And she’ll continue to be.” Din nods once more before he lowers his hands from her and stands where he was before.
It’s not long before they’re pulled aside by Bo-Katan to discuss the Great Forge in more depth, as well as strategy for multiple contingencies. Grogu has since gone to join the other Mandalorians as they watch Paz and Axe play a board game. Astra checks up on him over her shoulder every once in a while, but what grabs everyone’s attention isn’t from Astra’s own observation. It’s from the heightened volume of Paz’s and Axe’s voices.
Din shares a look with their small group before he stands and makes his way over to the railing. Bo-Katan and Astra follow, and Astra’s close enough to Din to hear the sigh he lets out at the sight of Paz standing with his vibroblade drawn. Astra’s eyes widen as she looks up at Din, who returns her glance with a reassuring tilt of his helmet.
Astra furrows her brow at her husband. “Shouldn’t we do something about this?” she whispers to him.
Din sets a hand on her back and gestures with his helmet to the brewing fight. “Let’s wait and see.”
Astra’s attention snaps back to Paz just in time to watch Axe lunge towards him. The two go back-and-forth with pushes that quickly turn to punches. Astra’s brought back to the duel she witnessed between Din and Paz, though thankfully, the stakes are much lower for her in this one.
Once the fight has gone on longer than expected, Din exhales and lowers his hand from Astra’s back. He swings his helmet towards Bo-Katan. His voice is low when he speaks to her. “Should I step in?”
Bo-Katan shakes her head at him. “Neither side can step in.” She raises her brow at the sight in front of them. “It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
Din shifts his weight between his feet and doesn’t respond. Astra crosses her arms over her cuirass and moves herself closer to his side. Her gaze watches him rather than the fight, but when she follows where his visor is looking, she discovers the real reason for his strong unease. Right near the heart of the fight is Grogu, who wears an expression of distress within IG-12 as he watches the two Mandalorians fight.
Astra’s about to make a move to take Grogu away from the chaos when he takes the initiative of stepping directly towards it. She has to hold back a gasp when he steps between two swinging vibroblades held by the fierce warriors. She’s only a moment from activating her jetpack to make her way down to Grogu when IG-12’s arms push Paz and Axe away from each other.
Grogu’s tiny finger begins to spam the “no” button. “No. No. No. No. No.” A worried stitch sits between his enlarged and pleading eyes.
The tension leaves Astra only when Grogu’s actions get the two warriors to successfully stand down. The shame is clear on both their faces at the fact a child had to step in between them. Paz and Axe share an almost apologetic look before they walk away from each other once and for all.
With the threat to Grogu now eliminated, Astra lets herself smile in pride of their son. She glances up at Din just as he sets a gloved hand on her shoulder, the tilt of his helmet a hint to the smile that’s also shining underneath his beskar.
Her attention is drawn to Bo-Katan when the heiress speaks to them. “You taught your apprentice well.”
Din shrugs and gestures to Astra. “He didn’t learn that from me.”
Astra scoffs and nudges his armored shoulder with her own. “That’s simply not true.” She nods at Bo-Katan. “He taught Grogu very well.”
Din swings his helmet in his shyness. Astra chuckles and watches as he nods in Grogu’s direction. She turns her head and sees Grogu nodding back at him.
Astra grins at Grogu and looks up at her husband once again. “He’s ready to be an apprentice.”
Din tilts his helmet at her. “This adventure’s not over yet, rid’ika.” He softens when he glances at Grogu again. “But I agree with you.”
Astra’s about to say more when a whistle stops her from doing so. “There!” one of the survivors calls out from above them. “On the starboard bow!”
All the Mandalorians on the deck below them rise to approach the starboard bow. Concerned chatter makes its way around the ship while Astra rests her hands on the railing in front of them to get a better view. Din sets a careful hand on her back as he steps alongside her to do the same thing.
That’s when they all see the rock structures in the distance moving. The jagged rocks reveal themselves to be spikes on the back of what’s shaping up to be a massive, and no doubt dangerous, creature.
The Mandalorians prepare for battle and Din wastes no time at Astra’s side in making his way down to the lower deck. She follows him closely, her eyes widening in horror as the horizon disappears and crumbles into crashing rock. The creature emerges from it with a roar that makes the entire vessel shake.
Everyone races to take defensive positions while the survivors attempt to steer the ship away from the massive creature. Their efforts are in vain when the creature rocks the ship so hard that the Mandalorians get knocked from their feet. Din grabs Astra’s waist just in time to cushion her fall however he can.
“Abandon ship!” the survivors’ captain calls out.
Astra and Din make it back onto their feet while the others start to jetpack away, but there’s only one thought screaming in her mind. “Grogu!” she cries out in panic.
Din tries to clear a path for both of them through the masses to get to Grogu, but before they can even get close, both Paz and Axe work together to lift Grogu off the ship. Astra doesn’t have time for relief. Din takes her by the hand to lead her off the ship with him just before the creature’s tail destroys the ship in one blow. Without a helmet, Astra’s face gets hit with small pieces of the debris, causing her to lift her free arm to guard herself the best she can.
They follow the others towards the mouth of a cave. Din and Astra land just outside as the others do, but rather than going right inside, Din quickly turns to Astra and holds her face. “Find Grogu!” he urges her, raising his voice above the commotion.
Astra nods and doesn’t hesitate to comply. The warmth in her chest at the way he stays to help those behind them is overshadowed by her panic as she hops inside the cave and looks for IG-12’s tall figure. Astra doesn’t hold back her deep exhale of relief when she sees him flanked by Paz and Axe just a few paces away. She approaches him and takes IG-12 by the shoulders. “Are you okay?” she asks him.
Grogu coos in the affirmative, yet wrinkles his brow as he points at her face. Astra takes a moment to wipe her gloved fingers over a stinging part of her face and finds a small streak of blood left behind.
“I’m all right,” Astra assures her son. “It’s just from the debris.”
It’s not long before Din makes it over to them. He sets a hand on each of their shoulders. “You good?” he asks, looking between them. They both nod, but Din’s helmet tilts with dismay as he lifts a hand to the side of her head. “Your face is bleeding.”
“Just a couple of scratches.” Astra sets a hand over his. “I’m fine.”
The creature’s roar rocks the cave around them, causing everyone to brace themselves. “We’re not far,” the captain raises his voice to inform the group. “We need to go further down.”
The Mandalorians begin to follow his orders. The captain remains where he is to make sure everyone’s made it ahead. Din, Astra, and Grogu stay together as a unit while they follow the others, making their way deeper into the cave. The further they get inside, the more the rumbling subsides, promising safety in a way that makes Astra’s chest loosen just a bit more.
The twisting tunnels eventually open up into a massive clearing. The group, propped up on a tall ledge, slows as they look out at the wide-open structures in the rock. Grogu coos with curiosity behind Din and Astra as they continue to keep him shielded. Some of the Mandalorians remove their helmets as they stride ahead and observe the space around them. Astra looks up and her jaw drops open at the complexity of the structures that rise tall above their heads.
Din takes a quick glance at Paz, who’s since taken his place alongside them. “Where are we?” Din questions.
Axe becomes the one to answer. “This is what’s left of the Great Forge.” His voice is tense as he goes on. “This was once the heart of our civilization.” He pauses, and Astra exchanges a look with Din. He keeps himself close enough to her side for it to brush against his own. “But the fires have been extinguished since the bombings.”
“You lived here?” Paz asks.
“We all did,” Koska responds.
“We never left,” the captain adds. Astra watches the way he regards the space with such reverence and appreciation. “Survived by migrating along the surface until the war ended. Some tried to explore below, but none survived.”
Silence blankets the area for a moment, but it’s quickly broken by a distant whooshing. Din takes a step forward as his visor rises. “Jetpacks?”
Every head turns at Din’s words. Astra’s eyes start to widen as she spots the group of approaching fighters. “More survivors?” Axe suggests.
When they get closer, his question is answered. “Those aren’t Mandalorians,” Bo-Katan warns, setting her helmet back over her head. The group follows suit and draws their weapons. Astra’s blaster is in her hand and firing without a single moment to waste.
The armored fighters fire without hesitation at the Mandalorians, causing both Din and Astra to continue shielding Grogu with their own armor. Once they’re closer, their white armor becomes apparent, causing the group to fall upon a horrifying conclusion. “They’re Imperials!” Axe says the truth for all of them.
Din turns to Grogu and urges him behind one of the rock structures. “Take cover!” he instructs their son, who obeys without question. Astra and Din continue to remain in front of him as they counter the Imperial attack.
“How did we not run into them our first time here?” Astra asks Din, raising her voice over the firefight.
“We got lucky,” Din remarks. “It makes sense that those TIE interceptors found us on Kalevala, though.”
Their conversation is interrupted by Axe giving a warning to them all. “They’re wearing beskar armor!”
Astra watches Din’s demeanor change even more at those words. His body tenses with volatile anger that Astra doesn’t dare try to control. Wearing beskar without bathing in the Living Waters or taking the Creed is a violation Din takes very seriously. His first meeting with Cobb Vanth proved that.
But this truth also creates a dangerous problem: These Imperials won’t be taken down nearly as easily as the typical stormtrooper.
“We’re pinned down,” Din calls out. “We need backup.”
“I can make a run for the fleet and get us reinforcements,” Axe volunteers.
“No, it’s too far,” Bo-Katan insists.
“I can make it,” Axe assures her. “It’s our only shot at taking the planet back.”
And staying alive, Astra holds her tongue.
“There’s a split in the ceiling there,” Paz observes. “I’ll lay down cover.”
Din and Astra provide extra support as Axe makes his run. He successfully flies his way out of the cave, providing Astra with a moment of relief. It turns to thick dread when a realization falls upon her. “How will he communicate with the fleet?” Astra asks Din. “The atmosphere’s still cutting us off.”
Din tilts his helmet. “Then he’ll fly through it.”
Astra’s brow lifts in disbelief. “Will he make it?”
Din dodges a blaster bolt and reciprocates the blast. “We’ll find out.”
Astra takes a glance around to see more and more Mandalorians falling at the endless rain of blaster fire. The Imperials still have the high ground and the advantage of moving around more easily. Some of them even start to land on the cliff the Mandalorians are pinned to, overpowering them in a way that makes fear claw at Astra’s chest for the first time in too long.
One Imperial tries to fly directly at Din, Astra, and Grogu, but Din doesn’t hesitate to approach him first. He uses a single arm to tackle the trooper to the ground before blasting him over and over again. It’s only when the trooper’s motionless that Din returns to Astra’s side.
“This isn’t a sustainable position,” Astra tells him, her voice strained with worry. “We’re way too exposed here. They’ll pick us off way before backup arrives.”
“I know,” Din agrees. “But…”
He pauses when a shocking shift starts to turn in the tide of the firefight. The Imperials start to fall back, sprinting away from the Forge and the attacking Mandalorians. “They’re retreating!” Paz confirms the sight Astra still can’t bring herself to believe.
“Advance!” Bo-Katan commands the group. She leads the way into the tunnel the Imperial troopers have started to escape through.
“For Mandalore!” some of the group starts to call out while they file behind Bo-Katan.
Din turns around to face Grogu. “Okay, kid,” he’s gentle yet urgent with his words. “You’ve gotta keep up.”
Grogu nods, and the three of them take off without another word. Astra stays at Din’s side with Grogu close behind them, following the lead of the rest of the group. The more they go on, the more Astra notices Din preparing to advance to the front. As badly as she wants to join him, she forces herself to listen to her motherly instincts. “Din,” she calls for him, earning his attention even as they continue to run. “Go ahead to the front. I’ll stay back with Grogu.”
Din gives her a quick glance. “Are you sure?”
Astra offers him a nod and the best smile she can manage. “I’m sure. That’s where you’re needed.” She takes his free hand and gives it a quick squeeze. “Be careful.”
“You too.” Din lifts their entwined hands to his cuirass. “Ni kar’tayl—.”
“—Gar darasuum.” Astra finishes with a fond nod of her head. Din releases her hand and sprints his way to the front, causing Astra to steady herself with a breath as she glances at Grogu. “You’re doing great, ad’ika! Stay with me, okay?”
Grogu nods and keeps IG-12 in stride with her. The tunnel transforms from a cutout in the rock structure to an Imperial-reinforced walkway. The structures alongside them remind Astra all too well of Star Destroyers and light cruisers, like the one she’d once been imprisoned on. She keeps Grogu close at her side and buries her worries in favor of shooting at any of the lingering Imperials. Astra doesn’t have much work to do with Din plowing through them at the front, using his body as a shield. She’s struck with the conflicting feelings of admiration for his strength and worry.
It’s not long before the tunnel at last opens up into an expansive space where the Imperials start to take flight with their jetpacks once again. The group continues to shoot after them, but stops with nowhere left to go. Astra struggles to see from where she stands in the group, but when the group stops shooting in favor of looking around, her stomach drops with dread. All she really needs to see is the collection of TIE fighters docked above their heads to understand what’s happening.
“It’s a trap,” Astra breathes to herself in disbelief.
“What is this place?” Bo-Katan asks aloud.
A hiss from behind them confirms that a blast door’s just locked them inside. Astra’s body finally catches up to her mind as she starts trying to fight her way to the front. “It’s a trap!” she exclaims. Her blood turns to ice when she notices where the threshold of the next blast door is.
And Din’s standing on the other side of it.
“Din!” Astra cries out. “It’s a trap!”
Din whips his head around to face her, but it’s too late. Astra gets to the blast door just as it falls, causing her to run right into it. Her body shakes with a mixture of anger and fear so intense that it consumes her. There’s no way for her to get to him. “It’s an ambush!” Din says the words that only make Astra’s heart fall even more. Now, she’s forced to watch as the Imperials descend upon Din and the other three Mandalorians he’s trapped with.
They’re outnumbered, with no cover and no way for the rest of the group to get to them. “No,” Astra chokes the word out, looking away from the sight only to search the walls for a control panel. “Is there a panel?” She’s in denial the more she goes on. “There has to be a way.”
Astra’s attention is drawn from the things around her when the light of the flames from Din’s gauntlet light up the small space. He’s fighting for his life, and she’s being forced to watch in the cruelest way. The other Mandalorians alongside him have already fallen in defeat, leaving just Din with at least eight Imperials advancing on him.
Astra bangs her fist on the transparisteel of the blast door. “Din!” she calls out. She doesn’t know what else to do or to say. Her body’s in fight or flight and it only intensifies the closer the Imperials get to her husband. The others are still joining Astra in her efforts to take down the blast door somehow, but it’s an impossible task.
One of the Imperials catches Din’s wrist with a fibercord whip. He tries to shoot them down, but there’s too many other troopers to worry about. Astra hits the transparisteel with both her fists, now, the adrenaline masking the ache her desperate actions create. She hits it with all her strength, watching as another fibercord whip catches Din by his neck and pulls him back.
“Din!” Astra’s well aware of the fact her calls for him won’t do anything, but she can’t stop herself. She pulls her fist back to give the transparisteel a full-powered punch, repeating the action over and over again until the skin of her knuckles even underneath her glove goes raw.
Din’s flamethrower stops when his second wrist is caught, leaving him defenseless once and for all. He doesn’t stop fighting even as the Imperials cross over each other to pin Din’s arms against his chest. Astra can only see red when they start forcing Din to his knees, and she’s quick to reach for her vibroblade. She brings her arm back with the intention of hitting the weapon hard enough against the transparisteel to break it, but the motion’s stopped by someone’s grip behind her. Astra fights it until they start to speak to her.
“No,” IG-12’s voice pleads with her. Astra turns her head to face their son, whose expression is just as devastated as Astra’s own. “No.” Grogu lets out a desperate coo, as if he’s begging for her to stop.
Astra nods at him, the action as numb as the sheathing of her vibroblade. She turns back to the sight of Din through the door, who’s now been fully forced to the ground. Bo-Katan sets a hand on Astra’s shoulder, but she can barely sense it. Her attention’s been drawn to someone who’s just landed a few paces away from Din, dressed head-to-toe in black beskar. Their helmet is decorated with red accents and sparse black spikes.
“Disarm him,” their modulated voice demands.
Din struggles against the two Imperials at his sides as they pull whatever weaponry they can away from him. His jetpack and blaster get thrown aside, along with his vibroblade and all of his whistling birds. Astra hasn’t felt this helpless since she watched the cyborg do the very same thing to him.
She should’ve listened to Din’s warning about returning to Mandalore.
The figure in black approaches Din in a sinister stride. Astra’s gloved hands curl up into fists, with one stinging from all of her desperate punches. Once they stop, they tear their helmet from their head, revealing their identity and making Astra’s heart sink into the depths of her being.
Moff Gideon. Moff fucking Gideon.
Astra tries to make another move for the transparisteel, but both Bo-Katan and IG-12 hold her back. Her chest is heaving from anger, desperation, and trauma. She hasn’t seen this man ever since he tried to kill both her and Grogu, and now, he’s taking her husband. Even the blast door between them doesn’t hide Din’s own growl as he’s forced to look up at Gideon.
“Thank you for gathering the Mandalorians into one place,” Gideon begins. Bo-Katan’s hand lowers from Astra as she stares him down through her visor. “You were a talented people, but your time has passed. However, as you can see,” Gideon lifts his arms to show off his armor, “Mandalore will live on in me.”
Astra can’t look away from Din, who once again tries to fight the Imperials’ group on him. They keep him pinned down.
“Thanks to your planet’s rich resources,” Gideon goes on, “I have created the next generation Dark Trooper suit forged from beskar alloy.”
He walks even closer to Din, until he’s standing right in front of him. Astra has to fight her hardest not to try to break through the door once again. Gideon looks at Din as he continues. 
“And the most impressive improvement is that it has me in it. You see, every society has something to offer.” Gideon looks up at Bo-Katan through the transparisteel. “The cloners. The Jedi.” Grogu coos in sadness behind Astra. “And even the Mandalorians.”
The group starts to rustle with unrest and volatile anger at Gideon’s vile words.
“By aggregating the best of each, I will create an army that will bring order to the galaxy.” Astra sees Din trembling with the same fury as herself. “Why don’t we take your fleet off the board while we still have the element of surprise?”
Just when Astra thought it couldn’t get any worse, her own breath goes sour in her lungs. Zora. Din must fall upon the same realization, because now, he won’t stop fighting to free himself.
“Activate the interceptors and bombers,” Gideon orders.
“No!” Bo-Katan gasps in panic.
The Imperials are quick in preparing themselves to get to their ships. Gideon smirks in pure delight and victory. “In but a few moments,” he states, “the Purge of Mandalore will be complete.”
Astra stumbles back a step, her mind now plagued with thoughts she can’t begin to process. Zora was supposed to be safe with the fleet. We thought this through so many times. Astra’s caught by IG-12, and she turns to look at Grogu again. Despite the horrors at hand, Grogu offers her a reassuring look, as if he’s trying to convince her that Zora will be okay. Astra maintains her strength for him and focuses back on Gideon and Din, her anger once again taking precedence.
“It looks like I’m not the only one with new armor,” Gideon says, his gaze now meeting Astra’s own. “Did they give you that after what happened when we last met, Princess?”
Astra sneers at him. “Fuck you.”
Gideon raises his brow, amused. “What a vulgar thing for someone of your rank to say.” Gideon’s gaze falls to Din. “Is that the mouth you kiss?”
“Proudly,” Din doesn’t hesitate to answer.
Gideon begins to smirk at him. “Makes sense with how quickly your family’s grown.”
Din’s voice is a growl more hostile than Astra’s ever heard him before. “Don’t you fucking dare talk about my family.”
“Trust me, we’ll have plenty of time to talk about them.” Gideon nods at the Imperials at Din’s sides. “Take him to the debriefing room.”
The Imperials close in on Din to lift him from the ground and drag him away. Din doesn’t stop fighting even once. Astra wants to do the same, but she also doesn’t want to give Gideon the satisfaction. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in a lame attempt to calm the wave of rage that crashes against her over and over again.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Bo-Katan speaks up.
Gideon turns from where he’s been watching over Din’s removal to meet Bo’s visor. “Bo-Katan.” His voice is light with amusement as he goes on. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
Bo-Katan takes a threatening step closer to the blast door. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Gideon smiles. “Let’s stop the pleasantries, shall we?” His smile drops as he starts to approach the door. “I believe this is the part where you return the Darksaber to its rightful owner.”
Gideon stops and stares Bo-Katan down. She lifts the Darksaber in her hand as if she’s teasing him.
“Now, surrender the Darksaber, and tell these people that this planet is mine.”
Bo-Katan looks over at Astra. She nods at their ally, her patience just as worn as the Mandalorian leader’s. Bo then nods at Paz, who speaks on their behalf. “This is the Way.”
Astra stays at Paz’s side when he leads the group in firing their weapons. She extends her blaster and fires while Bo-Katan makes her way to the door behind them and starts to cut a way out with the Darksaber. “Open the blast doors,” Gideon orders. “Kill them.”
Gideon sets his helmet over his head and flies away just as the blast door opens. Astra watches him and raises her voice loud enough over the firefight for him to hear her. “Coward!” She focuses on protecting Grogu while also making a vicious attack on any Imperial she can reach, using a fluid rotation of her blaster, her vibroblade, and her fibercord whip.
There’s a trail of at least three Imperial troopers at Astra’s feet by the time Bo-Katan gives her command. “Move out!”
“Move out!” the Mandalorians echo.
“Fall back!” Paz insists. “I’ll cover the rear!”
Astra’s tempted to keep killing as many Imperials as she can grab, but for Grogu’s sake, she takes him by the arm and urges them towards Bo-Katan. “Go, go, go!” the Mandalorians continue to call out. They climb out of the circular hole Bo’s carved one-by-one, reentering the tunnel. Astra urges Grogu out before herself.
While they wait for Bo-Katan and Paz, Astra pulls Grogu aside and holds IG-12 by the shoulders. “Grogu, ad’ika,” she says, her voice breathless but certain, “your father and your sister need our help. We need to be at our best for them. Okay?”
Grogu nods, cooing to agree with her. He closes his eyes for a moment before he points towards the direction in which they took Din.
“Can you sense where your father is?” Grogu nods once again. Astra sighs in determination and nods. “Good. Very good.” She starts to deflate and glances over her shoulder at the thought of her daughter.
Bo-Katan’s approach keeps Astra from going on. “Come on,” Bo urges the two of them. “We have to go.”
Astra wrinkles her brow, but obeys the command. “Where’s Paz?”
Bo-Katan’s helmet stiffens. “He’s not coming.”
Astra grabs Bo-Katan by the arm. “What do you mean, he’s not coming?”
Bo-Katan holsters one of her blasters to take a gentle grasp on Astra’s wrist. “He’s sacrificing himself for us. I tried to convince him not to.”
Astra’s gaze falls to the floor. She swallows hard and can barely speak past the lump in her throat. “So many losses.”
“I concur.” Bo-Katan and Astra move forward with Grogu at their side. Bo continues to glance over at Astra. “If you two want to go after Din, you should do it now.”
Astra wants to fall apart just at the sound of his name, but she keeps herself strong. “But, Zora…” Astra can’t make it past her name. The look she gives Bo-Katan is nothing short of desperate.
“We’ll take care of the fleet, including your daughter,” Bo assures her with a firm hand upon her armored shoulder. “Go get your husband.”
Astra takes a deep breath and nods. “Thank you, Bo-Katan.”
Bo returns the gesture. “This is the Way.”
Astra somehow manages to smile at her. “This is the Way.” She wastes no time as she focuses her attention on her son. “Are you ready, Grogu?”
Grogu nods, his brow now etched with pure determination. Astra offers him the smile she’d shown Bo-Katan and lifts her blaster.
“Lead the way.”
Grogu closes his eyes and does what she says, his IG-12 suit using an impressive amount of speed as he takes Astra to wherever Din’s being held. All she can do is focus on him and pray to the stars that they’re not too late.
Tumblr media
previous ⟸ masterlist ⟹ next
33 notes · View notes
celartzee · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
Happy Valentines Days, folks!💖
📍Naboo
(those are millaflowers)
89 notes · View notes
amiedala · 2 months
Text
SOMETHING HOLY MASTERLIST
Tumblr media
— MAIN MASTERLIST | AO3
SUMMARY: “Mine,” Din is saying like a prayer, “you’re mine.”
There’s a desperation to it, an undercurrent, and Nova unhinges her mouth as Din watches, hard and desperate pressed against her, so desperate that it burns through their clothes. A hymnal, he’s singing, with nothing but the same syllables. It’s desperate, pleading. More than piety. Like a zealot, for her, only for her. Like Novalise is something holy.
— Mandalorians. Jedi. Rebels. The conclusion to the epic love story across the stars—with desecration and divinity in equal measure.
Something Holy is in-progress. Updates release on Saturdays (as frequently as possible) at 7:30 pm EST.
CHAPTER 1: Start at the Beginning
CHAPTER 2: Fault Line
CHAPTER 3: Dangerous Things
CHAPTER 4: Wreckage
CHAPTER 5: The Ghost
CHAPTER 6: Pulse
CHAPTER 7: No Mercy
10 notes · View notes
hunnythebee · 1 year
Text
Stow Away
Chapter 3: Hiding in Plain Sight
A tense day on Nevarro followed by an evening with a different kind of tension. Is she crossing a line or is he?
Warnings: NSFW, NSFT, mentions of trauma, PTSD, crying, cursing, voyeurism, masturbation
Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 | Masterlist
Tumblr media
A/N: So I changed up a few things in this chapter. First, it explores third person omniscient territory, giving us a glimpse into our Mando's thoughts as well as the MC. From here on out I intend to include more glimpses into his mind and emotions as well.
Second, finally diving into some smut. I'm excited for that, but I am also a complete plot-whore so it's definitely going to be plot with porn.
And last but not least, I have officially given the MC a name. I hadn't intended on naming her, but I couldn't help it, it just kind of happened.
Hope you enjoy and I look for to seeing you all next week for chapter 4!
It had been awhile since he left. He took the kid with him so she has the whole ship to herself. She searched around for a good hiding spot, which there really weren’t any. Then she had a brilliant idea. She rooted around in her sack and pulled out her hooded cowl and engineer goggles.
Perfect.
She removed a panel on the outside of the Crest and began to do idle busy work. She tucked her hair completely into the hood and pulled the mask up, with the goggles covering the remaining exposed portion of her face no distinguishable features were left visible. She was deep in the panel when two bounty hunters approached the ship.
“What’re you doing here?” The taller one asked, resting a hand on his blaster.
“Workin',” she kept her words short. “You?”
He laughed gruffly, “Workin’”
The two men boarded the Crest. Her hand was violently shaking, but she hid it by throwing them back into work. The two reappeared a minute later, with the carbonite slabs floating gracefully between them. 
“Enjoy your 'work' little lady,” the other said, his voice making her skin crawl.
She swallowed hard and nodded to them. The nod made a small strand of hair peek out from the hood. Her hair was truly her most recognizable feature, it was colored to look like a nabooian sunset, a gradient from purple to orange. The small strand was a blaring siren, begging to be noticed, but lucky for her they’re backs were already turned to her. She quickly tucked the strand back in and shoved her head into the ship compartment. Once their gravelly footsteps receded, she hustled back onto the ship and closed the ramp behind her. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she crumpled to the cold floor, allowing her emotions to pour out. A sob echoed through the quiet hull. She let her tears flow. Mando didn’t remind her of him. But those men, those hunters did. After the tears slowed she took a few deep breaths. Just in time too, because the gangplank lowered, and the Mandalorian boarded the ship. She wiped away at her eyes, hoping her breakdown wasn’t too apparent on her face.
It was.
Mando noticed immediately. Her nose was pink, her eyes were swollen and red. Her cheeks still had faint tear stains on them. He felt a protectiveness come over him. He wanted to ask who had done this to her. He wanted to make them pay. More than anything he wanted to pull her in and make her feel okay. All of this ran through his head as he simply stood there, staring at her.
She can never know. He warned himself.
“H–How’d it go?” She asked, wanting to break the silence.
“The usual.” His voice sounded so distant. Realistically, he was just lost in thought.
“The…usual?” she questioned.
“Got my payment. Got more bounties.”
“Ah. The usual. Got it.” She began to walk towards her cot, but he stopped her in her tracks with his next words.
“I brought food.”
“You… brought food?” She echoed.
He silently held up a satchel, burstin with assorted produce and meats.
“You brought food.” She said once more, feeling a sense of safety nudge at her heart.
He handed her the satchel, and she examined it closely.
“Hmm… I know exactly what to make from this,” and she left for the galley. He remained cemented to the spot. Silently swearing to himself to learn why she had been crying and to never let it happen again.
A few hours later, they were in orbit of Nevarro and she was putting the finishing touches on a roast. They hadn’t spoken since he had given her the food, she had plunged herself into cooking. It was mostly an attempt to recover from the flashbacks of earlier, and it mostly worked. 
She shouted out of the galley up at the cockpit, “Food’s ready! Come get it while it’s hot!” 
She fixed the three of them plates, and set one plate down at the spot he usually sat in. She and Grogu took the seat that they had been in before, their backs to the seat he would take. Grogu was already finished by the time she heard Mando’s boots hit the floor. She had, unwittingly, waited for him to start eating. She heard his helmet depressurize and she started to eat her meal with him. She nearly choked when she heard a sound from where the Mandalorian sat. He had taken a bite and moaned. He kriffing moaned, and it made her freeze completely. She couldn’t see it, but he had frozen too. Shocked by his own involuntary noise. He knew she had heard it, because he heard her gag on her food. Heat crossed his face and he was never more thankful for the Creed than in that moment.
They ate the remainder of the food in complete silence. He collected the plates when they were finished, and she put the now sleeping child to bed. She was closing the crib when he reappeared. His visor was fixed on her and it sent a shiver through her body.
“I liked it.” He spoke abruptly.
“Hmm?” She asked as she slumped back down into her seat.
“The food. I liked it.”
“I bet.” The tease slipped out before she could process what she was saying. Her whole body tensed.
“What was that?” He asked, taking a step toward her.
She stood and moved backward, “N–nothing. I’m glad you liked it.” The nerves caused her voice to quiver slightly.
He stalked closer. “That’s not what you said.”
She tried to turn, wanting to hide in the 'fresher, but his hand snatched her wrist and pulled her to the wall. Pinning her between him and the cool durasteel. Her heart was thundering in her ears. She should have felt scared but this was different. Less threatening. Probably because he wasn’t holding a blaster to her this time.
“What. Did. You. Say.” He was impossibly close now. He smelled like her blanket.
No… she thought, the blanket smells like him.
She steadied herself for a moment and committed to the teasing.
“I said, ‘I bet.’ As in I bet you liked my cooking. At least it sure sounded like you were enjoying it.”
He hovered for a moment. He was contemplating something. She assumed he was debating whether to smack her for taunting him or not. In reality he was contemplating her. Her body. Her face. How good she would feel when he– 
Stop!
His internal voice screamed. And he finally released her, quickly leaving for his bunk. The door hissed shut behind him before she even had a chance to move. She slid to the floor. She was dazed and confused by the bizarre interaction that had just occured between her and the Mandalorian. He didn't seem angry. In fact he had seemed... Excited. A heat settled low in her body, which she elected to ignore.
That's absurd. No way was that what had been happening.
She shook the thoughts out of her head and finally stood up from the floor. She still wanted to shower before bed. The scent of ash and smoke was clinging to her hair and she craved the scent of the soap. She didn't take long, focusing mainly on her hair. She stepped out into the hull and the quiet was deafening. All she could hear was the soft breathing of the child on the other side and... She froze.
She heard a moan. Before tonight she wouldn't have been able to place it but now she knew exactly what she was hearing. She was planted to the spot. Not moving. Not breathing.
Another moan ripped through the quiet.
Her eyes found his door, lit dimly by the light of the refresher. The warmth she had felt earlier returned, this time it was less bearable. Her body moved without her willing it to, and she found herself in front of his door. She wasn't sure what she was doing there. This was a private moment. An intimate moment she wasn't supposed to bear witness to, yet she couldn't keep herself from listening. She chewed her lip for a moment and wrestled with herself internally.
After a moment of contemplation, she pressed her ear to the door. She wanted to hear more. His moans were hot and it had been so long since she had been a part of anyone's pleasure, so she indulged.
The moaning was expected, as were the whispered curses. What she hadn't expected was what he groaned out as his orgasm slammed into him.
"Jomira..."
She stumbled back. That was her name. He was moaning her name. Her heart raced as she rushed back to her cot and quickly climbed under the covers. His voice echoed in her mind.
Impossible. I just imagined it. That's all. Still...
She pressed her thighs together. Her arousal had reached a fever pitch and it was becoming a problem. She reached over and shut the child's crib. Then she slipped her hand below her waist band. She was soaked. Her pussy. Her thighs. Imagined or not, he had an effect on her that she could not deny.
She pressed her middle finger to her swollen bundle, working it in slow, precise circles. She whimpered quietly and covered her mouth quickly with her free hand. She continued working herself closer to release. She could feel it, she was on the precipice. Just as it poured over her the door to the Mandalorian's bunk slid open. She jumped, throwing the hand that had been covering her mouth over her eyes, burying her face in her elbow. The hand that had been working so desperately for her release was trapped between her legs. Her orgasm made her throb against her fingers, the ruined release causing her cunt to clench and spasm.
Neither she nor Mando moved. She took a deep, slow breath, feigning sleep. She prayed to the Maker that he hadn't seen her, that he would just assume she was asleep and leave. After another beat, she heard his boots move. They ascended the ladder, followed by the cockpit door hissing open and then shut.
She let out a sigh and removed her arm from her eyes and her hand from her pants. Her heart rate slowed finally, and her eyes began to feel heavy. Sleep fell heavy onto her body and she knocked out quickly. She dreamt of him that night.
Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 | Masterlist
71 notes · View notes
imtryingmybeskar · 2 years
Text
So....this is from an ask from @galacticgraffiti that has taken me SO LONG to do. I apologise. Have some unbeta'd filth.
Din Djarin X unnamed OFC.
CW for Dom! Din, restraining with cuffs, fingering, light choking, unprotected p in v sex (wrap it up please!), spanking, messy blow job, playing with cum.
Based on the prompt "How does it feel not to get your way?" Word count: 5560
Tumblr media
Restraint
"So...bounty hunter."
The tone was dismissive, mocking, even hostile to Din's ears and if this had been any other situation he would have walked away, but not before issuing the most deadly and serious of threats masked in the most polite of tones.
Instead he answered in a smooth voice, in what he hoped was a voice that exuded confidence and competence. "That is one of my roles, yes."
"I don't like bounty hunters," came the immediate answer. "I don't trust bounty hunters."
All a once, Din's patience was at an end. This interview had already taken up far too much of his time. He had other places to be, and he certainly had no intention of sitting here to be insulted further.
"Then I suppose I'm not the kind of person you're looking for to take this job," he replied as he stood. "Good luck in your search."
He had just about made it to the door when he was recalled. Of course, they hired him. Who was going to pass up the chance of a Mandalorian bodyguard for the week?
*** *** ***
"But I don't NEED a bodyguard! I'm twenty kriffing five! Not a little kid!"
His helmet successfully masked Din's unimpressed look. Twenty five but she acted like a teen with toddler tantrums. Din himself wasn't much older, but the helmet disguised that too. Rich people were weird. This woman was paying for her daughter and her friends to party on Zeltros for a week, going so far as to hire out the top two levels of an extremely exclusive hotel for them, including the penthouse suite. She was a successful businesswoman and indulged her daughter in everything and anything. But from what he could glean from their (shouted) conversation, she had caused an inordinate amount of property damage at the club where her twenty fourth birthday party was held, so Din had been hired as a glorified babysitter this year. Something which the birthday girl was apparently extremely displeased with. Her mother had brought him along at the very last minute, presumably so there would be fewer arguments, though the screaming match they were starting to engage in was drawing more than a few looks from the hotel staff that had gathered to greet them.
"He's staying. Deal with it. If you manage to keep the damage under fifty thousand credits this time, I'll reconsider this arrangement next year." The girl huffed and rolled her eyes, her face a picture of sulkiness. The woman dragged her into a hug, the girl's folded arms knocking against her chest roughly. "Be good," she pleaded. After she released her daughter, she gave him a sour, meaningful look before she departed, the message that she was Din's problem now written clearly across her face. Before she had even gotten into her personal shuttle, the girl had turned back to her friends and began loudly mocking her mother. They traipsed across the private hangar floor toward the elevator to the penthouse, treating Din as if he wasn't even there. That was fine by him. He was there to make sure they didn't kill themselves or each other. That was about as far as his responsibility went. He had been thoroughly briefed on the security arrangements and knew that the hotel had drafted in additional bodies to cater to the woman's orders. There were guards stationed at every stairwell and lift and more at each entrance and exit to street level. The party wasn't going anywhere.
Not that they needed to, mused Din. There was enough booze, food and drugs there to keep anyone happy. Two private chefs, chambermaids, DJs, a very famous Core Drive band, someone to operate the holo-projector for the private cinema and even a sommelier were also on hand to cater to any whim that might arise. Well...almost any whim. He had it on good authority that some of the drugs available focused and enhanced the libido as a secondary effect, and unless the girls were exclusively into each other, he was a little concerned about what would happen if that need arose.
He needn't have worried. The DJs had been specially chosen for their...additional attributes. And the five band members were also more than willing to provide those sorts of services. He himself had been flirted with by one of the birthday girl's friends once, but he had merely stared impassively at her until she stopped touching him and instead began hurling insults about his sexual prowess (or lack thereof). For five days Din really had very little to do, except to break up the occasional brawls between the inebriated women, who would inevitably declare their love for their opponent within five minutes of trying to punch their lights out anyway. It was one of the easier ways he had made money - he was almost surplus to requirements.
The night before they were due to depart - the night of her actual birthday - it began to fall apart pretty early on. A game of truth or dare devolved into someone accusing someone else of stealing a past boyfriend, and that degenerated into an ugly, drawn out argument - a week of drugs and alcohol having honed the atmosphere into something bitter and volatile. Din dutifully separated the squalling women, then the band members distracted some of them, one staggered off to a bedroom with both DJs, and a few of them took various bottles of alcohol and departed for the darkened room that was being used as the cinema. Din heaved a sigh of relief and threw himself into one of the comfortable chairs. He was so wrapped up in thoughts of his reward for completing this frankly irritating assignment that he didn't hear it at first. But the sound of quiet sobbing slowly seeped into his sphere of attention and he stood again, looking for the source.
The birthday girl was sitting behind one of the large corner couches, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, her back heaving with her crying. Din stared at her impassively. He shouldn't get involved. Whatever was going on with her really wasn't his problem. All he had to do was to last for another nine hours and then he would get his credits. Then he could go and make money the old fashioned way, the way he felt most comfortable. Hunting, stalking, taking quarry down in a storm of fists and blaster fire. Who cared about some rich brat anyway? He settled back into his seat and began to mentally take apart and polish his armour and weapons. He had been unable to indulge the ritual properly the whole time he had been here. Even though he had been provided with his own room, the partying was near-constant. Someone was always up and causing some sort of ruckus, so he hadn't had much downtime. Besides, he hadn't wanted to take his armour off for too long whilst here. He needed to maintain his image as an imposing, unmovable force in order to maintain some sort of order. It had been easier just to keep everything on.
Thigh guards first. Left and then right. Unbuckle them at the back, bottom and top. Check the fastenings for any weaknesses. Clean the-
The sobbing grew louder behind him. He studiously ignored it and tried again.
Bandolier. Check all ammo and ensure any depleted is replaced. Make sure the padding at the shoulder is intact-
A muffled scream of frustration, clearly buried into her knees and Din sighed in resignation. He stood again and made his way over to where she was huddled.
"What's wrong?" he demanded abruptly, his voice made raspy by the encoder within his helmet. She startled and looked up at him and he suddenly saw how young she looked under her attitude and the once flawless but now streaked make up.
"Nothing," she pouted, the word automatically falling from her lips.
Din hesitated for the briefest of moments before heaving himself down next to her on the floor and resting his back against the couch. "Clearly that's not true. Its your birthday, you should be with them, having fun." He gestured aimlessly toward where some of her friends had exited. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say because her face scrunched up again and fat tears poured from her eyes as she howled into her arms which were crossed over her knees.
He knew he shouldn't have gotten involved. His patience was already paper thin with this whole situation.
"Look, I'm trying to help you," he said loudly over her crying.
She looked up at him again, a mixture of disgust and disbelief on her tear-streaked face. "How could you help me?" she enquired, her voice so laced with venom he debated walking out of the hotel there and then.
"How can I know that," he retorted, an edge of sarcasm to his words, "if you won't tell me what's wrong in the first place?"
She gaped for a moment, her tears seeming to dry up in the face of the logic of his statement. Then she shook her head, her lips pursing in an exaggerated expression of displeasure. "They are the problem," she confessed, waving in the same vague direction he just had. "Kriffing mudscuffing Huttspawn the lot of them! It's my birthday, and they've done nothing but whine and moan and complain and then Jista had the nerve to steal the drummer of the band. She knew I wanted him and she still went after him and its my birthday and they've abandoned me and they're all so stupid...and...and...I hate them all!" She began to sob into her arms again, but to Din's ears it sounded far more performative this time around.
"Sounds like you got the friends you deserve," Din said, shrugging.
She whirled to face him, immediately furious. "Excuse me?" she hissed.
He shrugged his indifference at her rage. "Maybe if you were a little nicer, you would be hanging out with better people," he reiterated.
"How kriffing dare you," she screamed. Her hand raised and came down, the intention to hit him clear, but Din caught her arm, more to save her from injuring herself on his armour than because he feared her tiny act of violence. "Let go of me!" she squealed. Din held fast, not enough to hurt her, but enough that she couldn't move. She raised the other arm to try to hit him again and he caught that one too. He suddenly realised he was up on his knees and staring down at her while both of her hands were now pinned above her head. The display of dominance was unintentional but it was there, and without any further warning, the mood shifted - the air charged with something far different than it had been mere seconds ago.
"Let me go," she said again, much more softly and without any bite behind the words. Her chest was heaving under the thin silk of her dress, but she hadn't exerted herself that much, he thought. Must be from something else. He allowed himself a small satisfied smile behind the helmet and continued to hold her hands above her head.
"How does it feel not to get your way?" he rasped. The tracks of tears were still visible on her cheeks, but there was defiance and determination in her eyes, a look that grew more intense at his words, and it gave him the beginnings of warm tingles down his spine. "Have you ever been told "No" in your life?" The question was rhetorical, he knew she had not and that this situation was new to her. But apparently not displeasing according to the sensors in his helmet. Her heart rate had increased massively since he had pinned her. He slowly leaned closer to her and her eyes widened as she took in the bulk of his form. "Brat," he whispered next to her ear.
Her exhalation of breath was tinged with excitement. "How dare you?" she demanded again, no force behind that repetition either.
Din settled back on his heels and looked down at her again. "Do you really want me to let you go?" he asked, a lazy smile tinging his words. Her eyes grew even wider, and her mouth fell open a little as she considered the implication of what he was saying.
"What's the alternative?" she queried, and he admired how her voice was unwavering.
"That I teach you how to behave," he replied, not missing the way she shifted and rubbed her thighs together at his words.
She leant toward him, as far as her pinned arms would allow. "And what would that mean?" she asked, her voice now low with a throbbing want.
He made a growling noise through his helmet and quick as a flash had dragged her to a standing position, his height and bulk dwarfing her below him. He continued to hold her wrists above her head, easily trapped her with one gloved hand, while the other trailed softly down her face, her neck, the side of her breast, making her draw in a hitching breath. "It would mean that you are going to be sore," he vowed.
She raked her gaze over him approvingly. "Promises," she breathed, a smile now catching the side of her lips.
"Armour stays on," he murmured.
"Oh, I hope so," she rejoined, and Din smirked as her eyes caught on his semi hard cock now starting to bulge his flight suit.
"Strip," he commanded as he released her wrists, and his arousal grew as she did as she was told immediately, unashamed of her bared breasts, courting his gaze as she stood there. Her own arousal was evident on her underwear, a darkened stain across the silky material. He placed his hands on her hips, spun her roughly and pressed on her back so she was bent over the couch. He curved over her body, mimicking the pose she was in, allowing her to feel the iron girth of him against her backside. "The first lesson," he husked beside her ear, "is about restraint. You have none." One hand trailed down her spine, making her shiver under his touch.
"Y-yes I do," she whispered defiantly.
Din huffed a laugh. "No," he insisted. "You don't. But that's okay. You'll learn." He straightened behind her, his finger now trailing down to hook her underwear to one side. He could see how wet she was from here, the lips of her cunt glistening invitingly with her arousal. He stroked softly down over her, making her whimper a little as he passed over her clit. "I'll make you come," he promised, his voice barely more than a whisper now. "I'll make you come on my fingers and on my cock. But first, you have to be quiet." He ripped the glove from his hand before pushing the tip of one finger inside of her and she gasped out at the intrusion. "I said," Din repeated softly, as he pushed further inside, "Be. Quiet."
She obeyed, only a tiny whine escaping her as he sheathed to the knuckle. "Good," he smiled. "That's good." Without further warning he spanked her, not terribly hard, but enough for her to make a startled noise. Din tutted and slowly moved his finger in and out of her. "For every time you make a noise, I'm going to add another spank," he promised her. "Let's see if you can make it to ten, shall we?" She was breathing heavily, trying to keep quiet, and turned her head slightly to nod at him. "Good girl," he purred and pressed against her walls, knowing he had found what he was looking for when her knees trembled against him. He set a slow pace, pumping his finger in and out, in and out, sliding over that spot inside of her.
Slap.
She betrayed nothing. He struck across her cheek again a little harder.
Slap!
Her cunt clenched slightly around his finger as the blow landed and he ramped it up yet again.
SLAP.
Her hands fisted in the material of the couch cushions. He was nearly at the sweet spot of walking the line between pleasure and pain for her, he could feel her whole body beginning to tense beneath him.
SLAP!
An exhalation of breath from her, but no noise. Her restraint was admirable, her desire to reap the reward of her silence intensely arousing and Din's cock was now fully hard and begging for attention at how completely he had her at his mercy, but he ignored it in favour of spanking her once more, the sensors in his helmet telling him that the imprint of his hand on her skin was beginning to heat with every swat.
SLAP!
Her legs trembled a little under her from the force of him, but she did not make a sound. Instead she turned to look at him as much as she could, her eyes full of mischief and lust and invitation and he lost a little of his own restraint the next time.
SLAP!
She ground back on his finger and the next time he withdrew, he added a second and began to pump a little faster, a little harder. He only heard the soft moan that came from deep inside of her and that she successfully bit back because of his sensors. He upped the ante.
SLAP!
He twisted his fingers within her, angling so that his thumb could swipe her wetness over her clit. Circling, circling, circling until he could feel her tensing around him again, trying to chase down what he was so expertly teasing her with.
SLAP!
As he began to pass his thumb over her clit in earnest, her knees almost gave way and he pressed himself more firmly against her, trapping her between his broad frame and the couch. His thigh guards pressed against her now-sore cheek as he continued to slide his fingers in and out of her body, the cool metal no doubt providing minor relief from the stinging slaps he had bestowed. Couldn't have that, he thought as he moved back slightly.
SLAP!
She nearly cried out. He could feel the noise forcing its way up her body. Instead she turned and bit down hard on the meat of her bicep. He could see how the sweat was beginning to sheen on her skin - on her back and on her forehead as she half turned to him again. He had to admit he was impressed. He never thought this spoilt brat would have any kind of tenacity in this way. Although, he had already witnessed her stubbornness so he shouldn't have been that surprised.
SLAP!
With the last slap, it rocked her, sent her body jolting against the couch and he could see how her back was heaving with the intensity of her breath. He returned to pumping his fingers in and out at that maddening slow pace, and the frustration from her as her orgasm began to recede was almost palpable.
"Good girl," he soothed, stroking over the place he had recently been so forceful with. "You did so well. I'm going to make you come now. And I want you to be as loud as you want." He leaned over her back again to whisper to her. "Show those "friends" of yours the good time you're having here."
He redoubled his efforts, his fingers sliding in and out of her and his thumb stroking over her clit in devastating tight little circles. His other hand crept up her body and around, hefting her tit in his hand, pinching her nipple between thumb and forefinger. She moaned, the vibrations sinking through his breastplate and shooting to his cock which was now decidedly cramped within his trousers, the friction of the material against it absolutely not enough. Din rumbled a grunt and groped her more forcefully. He could feel she was close, her body tensing underneath him again, her breath coming in panting little groans. "Yes...fuck...right there, right there," she whined and he felt her clamp around his fingers, the strong muscles of her core rippling around his fingers, soaking him with her slick.
She had no time to recover before he was spinning her on the spot and lifting her up. Her legs automatically came to cross behind him, caging him to her, her heat and wetness a wicked and undeniable invitation against his crotch. Her face was blissed out, a true smile gracing her lips. She was beautiful when she wasn't pouting and whinging, he thought. He set her down on the huge, expensive dining table which was at a convenient height, and stroked his hands down her body, feeling the softness of her skin underneath the ungloved one.
"The next lesson is about control," he informed her quietly, his voice at a pitch both dangerous and full of heat. "Specifically, relinquishing it." He pulled the cuffs he used for quarries from his belt and held them up where she could see. "Specifically you relinquishing it."
Her eyes darted from the cuffs to his visor to where his erection strained painfully at the seams of his flight suit and back to his visor before she spoke. "What are you going to do?" she asked, curiosity rather than fear evidenced in her tone.
"Me telling you defeats the purpose of the lesson," he chided. "Are you going to be a good girl for me?"
She leaned forward to run her hand down his armour, inching lower toward his cock. "And what's in it for me if I am?" she asked in a sultry tone.
He said nothing, merely jangled the cuffs gently in her direction and jerked his hips away from her touch once she got too close to his crotch. She raised an eyebrow and pouted, clearly judging whether or not he could be as good to her with his cock as he was with his hands. Finally she acquiesced with a tiny smile and held out her wrists. He slapped the cuffs on her and tightened them to a point that was just the wrong side of uncomfortable. Then he spun her on the table so her back was to him.
"Lie down," he commanded. She hesitated for a micro second before obeying, looking up at him upside down with a fiery curiosity, her bound hands resting heavily on her stomach. "I was going to fuck you," Din announced casually. "But since you keep questioning me instead of obeying, you can take me down your throat." Her eyes sparkled at his words, and by the way her tongue came involuntarily to wet her lip, he could tell she wanted it as much as he did.
He unzipped his flight suit, finally released his erection from its confinement and pumped himself lazily a few times inches above her face. "Let's see how good you can make me feel," he challenged.
She rose to it. Stars, her tongue was talented. The faintest of touches against his tip at first, then a slow, warm drag down his underside and back up, sloppy kisses interspersed with her licking. And when she took the head of him inside her mouth and softly sucked at it, he had to bite back the moan trying to force its way up from his chest. He had to be silent, maintain control of this. A task which became much harder when she slowly, slowly inched down his length, taking him all, opening her throat to allow him greater access...She moaned around his cock and squeezed her thighs together for relief as his hands landed upon her tits, stabilising himself to thrust softly into her mouth. She moaned again, a wanton sound, a delicious vibration that ran through him. He thrust a little more insistently and she took it, his cock sliding down her throat as he fucked her mouth. A tingling sensation pooled in his stomach and he released her chest and slowly pulled away. He didn't want to come yet. He really did want to fuck her first.
She lay there, gazing at him upside down with lust in her eyes, drool over her lips and chin that she hadn't yet attempted to wipe away. He indicated that she should sit up with a gesture of his hand and he cradled her face and wiped her down with the leather of his glove, his thumb running softly over her face, catching on her lower lip. He leant closer to her, so close that her breath began to fog the visor of his helmet as he spoke.
"Your third lesson is about obedience," he announced, his voice a quiet husk. "I'm going to fuck you now, and you will only come when I say so. Do you understand me?" She nodded and he allowed his gloved hand to slip lower, over the elegant expanse of her neck. He held her there, not squeezing - not yet - but the whimper that escaped her fed his ego, showed him she felt the coiled strength within him and it excited her. "I need your words for this. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," she rasped, her voice a little choked even though his hand was merely resting on her skin.
"Good," Din smirked, using his other arm to circle around her waist and yank her closer to the edge of the table. He stroked down the crease of her thigh until it met the resistance of her silken underwear where he slowly ripped it from her body, the sound of tearing fabric devastatingly loud in the quiet of the room.
"Hey!" she exclaimed indignantly. "They were worth more than you make in a month, Mando."
He regarded her in silence, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly as he did. He looked until she began to squirm a little uncomfortably under the black T of his visor and then and only then did he grip her neck with a little force. "Manners," he rasped lazily. "Manners, brat. Mind them, or I won't let you come at all."
Though the look she gave him was defiant, she remained silent. He could see that she was still wet, evidence of her arousal on the lips of her cunt and the hair there, and even on the inside of her thighs as she opened her legs wider to welcome him. "Put me inside of you," he ordered and she obeyed, grasping his damp, heavy cock and positioning it. Her fingers didn't quite meet around his girth, he would have to be gentle at first. He pushed inside of her slowly, just until the head of him popped inside. The effect was instantaneous - her head rolled back on her shoulders, eyes closed, bliss written upon her face.
"M-maker," she gasped. Inside his helmet, Din was biting his lip as he tried his best not to loudly and fervently agree. She was squeezing him, the tight clutch of her cunt warm and inviting and it took all of his discipline not to thrust forward and fuck himself violently into her. Slowly, slowly. Make the pleasure stretch. He fed himself into her inch by inch, her bound hands scrabbling uselessly at his breastplate as he did so. He understood - she was trying to find something to ground her, to see her through the dizzying opening steps they were performing. But he wanted her to lie back, so she could be more comfortable and to see her spread below him fully. When he gave the command, she sighed a little before complying, stretching out on the table, her hands now raised above her head. Kriff, she was pretty. Her tits were stretched upward by the placement of her arms and he had an overwhelming desire to suck on her nipples. Shame, really. Instead he focused on where he was spearing her, his hips now flush against her, his cock fully inside. He gave an experimental short thrust, making sure she was comfortable. The sighing moan he received in return told him that she was more than. He gripped her legs, hooked them over his waist and pulled her down further on to him, the tight warmth around him making him see stars behind his visor.
And then he fucked her. Short, sharp thrusts turned into long, punishing strokes and she mewled and whined and cursed and moaned. Given her penchant for dramatics, she wasn't as loud as he had been expecting, but he didn't mind because it was real. He could clearly see the pleasure his cock was delivering written all over her body - in her furrowed brow, her lax mouth, the way her legs caged him in, willing him deeper, deeper.
"Harder," she groaned, and he obliged, grabbing her around her hips and lifting her slightly so he could pound into that sweet spot he had found with his fingers before. Her head tipped back, eyes closed, exhaling breathy moans and one hand found its way to her neck again as the other supported her.
"Nuh uh," Din said, his words coming out clipped from the force of his thrusts. "You don't come until I tell you to remember." He squeezed her throat gently, just to remind her who was in charge. Her eyes snapped open and she looked at him above her, her gaze betraying how close she was.
"That...isn't...helping," she panted out and Din's mouth twitched in the shadow of a smile within his beskar.
"You like it like this?" he asked, punctuating his question by gripping her throat a little tighter for a little longer before relaxing his hold. She nodded fervently, and bit her lip, her eyes watering a little at the sensations he was bestowing upon her. "Hmmm...good to know," he purred, as he fucked into her even harder. He could feel the telltale skittering beginning at the base of his spine, the heat wrapping itself around his pelvis. She was close, he could feel it in the way she was even wetter, the trail of her slick escaping where their bodies met to pool on the table where his bare knuckle was skating through it as he supported her.
Not yet.
His gloved hand released her neck and trailed down to her tits where he pinched her nipple, causing her to squirm in his arms, and utter a curse loudly. He slapped over the hardened bud almost lazily, first one side and then the other and she ground down even further on his cock. He wanted to bite her, mark her flawless skin with his imprint over and over and over, taste the salt tang of her sweat upon his tongue and the thought made him drive into her even harder.
Not yet.
He gripped her thighs bruisingly, pushing her knees back up to her chest and almost folding her in half and there! The reaction he had been looking for. She gave a humming whine and her eyes rolled back into her head as she whispered a mantra over and over. "Yes, stars, yes, right there, don't stop, don't stop..."
His own pleasure glowed, burnt brighter and he allowed the filth to fall from his mouth in words that were half growled. "When I say so, you can come. And then, I'm going to come all over your pretty tits. And then youre going to clean me up with that gorgeous mouth of yours. Do. You. Understand?"
The last three words were punctuated by sharply snapping hips, deep thrusts that had her wailing to the ceiling. "Yes, yes Mando, yes!"
"Come," he commanded and the tenuous thread of her control snapped as she allowed her body to let go, to tense and ripple around his cock, milking him as she sobbed her pleasure to the ceiling. He didn't let up his brutal pace for a moment, pounding deep into her as her increased wetness squelched around his cock, speeding his own end ever nearer...
He withdrew and pumped himself three, four, five times before he was coming too. The first jet landed on her stomach, the next on her tits, and when he raised his eyes to her face and realised her mouth was open to receive him he stretched forward, managing to splash the last of his spend on to her tongue before he was wrung out. She smiled at him, satiated, yet still mischievous and he couldn't tear his eyes from her mouth as he scooped his cum on to his gloved finger and she sucked it off. Again, again, until she was clean of him.
Breathless, they regarded each other, both quite unashamed of their respective states of undress. She pointedly cleared her throat and brought the cuffs in front of her, the request for him to remove them clear.
He huffed a laugh within his visor. "Oh I don't think so. I'm not done taming you yet." He could feel the heated lust at the prospect of having her again begin to cloud his thoughts as he added, "I still think you could stand to be a little more polite, a little less bratty. I'm going to teach you some manners, little girl. And so our next lesson will be concerning punishment."
Taglist - @thisshipwillsail316 @prostitute-robot-from-the-future @elegantduckturtle @dihra-vesa @midwesternwitchery @just-here-for-the-moment @eri16 @readsalot73 @littlemisspascal @princessxkenobi @harriedandharassed @pagannightwitch @tentacruels @kirsteng42 @literallydontlook
136 notes · View notes
wild-karrde · 6 months
Note
Hi! I saw your fandom rec post and wanted to submit a thing. This is a self rec, by the way! So it's on Ao3, under the pseud Star Princess, and it's a 7 part fanfic series for The Mandalorian. It does feature my own oc as a main character and inserts her into the main plot of the show (plus includes my own plotline in the seventh part). The link isn't working, so the series is called The Mandalorian and the Alkavarian (I'll DM the link to you).
I wrote this series into existence for over a year, and it made me really happy. It also inspired me to watch other Star Wars shows (Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch) and now I'm planning fics for those shows too! The Mandalorian and this fic series essentially made me into a big old Star Wars nerd, and I really want to share the story with other people. If it's easier, I have a masterpost pinned on my blog page!
It's not NSFW but does include mentions of more mature themes (a glance at the tags will probably give you an idea?)
Anyway, I think this is a really cool thing you're doing, and I'm excited to see the other recs you get.
Heck yeah! I love everything about this! We don't always get a lot of Mando fics on FF, so I am HYPED that you've sent your series in! Vasara's past seems so heartbreaking, but I love the thought of seeing how she fits in with Din and Grogu. And I'm so glad that you got inspired to watch other shows (I say this as someone that writes for a LOT of TCW/TBB characters). Thanks so much for sending this in!
Link
Participate in Fandom Friday to show your favorite creators from this week some love! :)
2 notes · View notes
totallywizard · 1 year
Text
Lucky Stars (2)
Here's the second chapter of this story (because I've found new motivation to keep writing it).
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what direction this is going in story-wise, I mainly just have a lot of ideas that I need to pick and choose from in a way that makes sense. I guess we'll see where this road leads!
This chapter takes place sometime during early season two (except for a brief part at the end, after the page break).
Warnings: Nothing to worry about (I think).
Tumblr media
CHAPTER II: Crossed Paths
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Believe it or not, Canto Bight had a library.
And why in the galaxy would a city like Canto Bight, a playground for the wealthy, have something as tame and mediocre as a library?
Well, not all of the city’s buildings could be casinos, ractracks, cantinas, clubs, resorts, and hotels.
Nova, understandably, was shocked to learn such a thing. In fact, she’d refused to believe that this library actually existed until she was standing right outside its ornate glass doors. It was there, alright---and just like everything else in that chaotic city, it was way too extravagant.
It was without a doubt the fanciest library she’d ever seen. The place was so lavish that it didn’t even look like a library from the outside. She’d of course prefer this place’s extensive archives to some one-room, run-down old shop, but still…the whole thing was ridiculous. She was surprised that there wasn’t a sabacc table to be seen in the whole building.
She’d decided to revisit a different approach to her “finding my brother” problem. Instead of finding a solution through the Force and other means, which hadn’t been working so far, perhaps there was a solution to be found in lore and scientific facts? If she learned all she could about purrgil and hyperspace travel, then maybe she’d get closer to figuring out where he could be. At the very least she might figure out, conceivably, how far into space it was possible to go in those very specific conditions.
A part of her was afraid of what she would find. But she had to look.
And why a library on Catonica, of all places? Well…it had been the closest system at the time. She wasn’t sure she had the patience to go all the way to Coruscant for this, and even if she did, she’d already been to more archives there than she could count.
At the moment, Nova was walking through a wide, busy street in search of an inn. After spending nearly all day in Canto Bight’s library staring at datapads and monitors, she was more than ready for a good night’s rest. She’d actually remained here longer than she’d originally intended, hence the need to find suitable lodging for the night—something cheap, but still with a decent bunk to collapse into.
Even in a heavily crowded city such as this, Nova wasn’t too concerned with there being no available rooms---at least, not at the small inns. The majority of beings that came here were elite and wealthy in at least some capacity, and so would flock to the fancy hotels and resorts that were on every street corner. That left the smaller, not-so-grand inns more accessible to those with fewer credits (like her).
But since there were so many expensive hotels around, local inns were a bit few and far between. The problem wasn't a lack of places to stay, but in actually finding a cheap one.
Nova was trying to navigate through the mess of neon signs that littered every wall and building. She read each one, trying to find a place labeling itself as anything resembling an inn. Staring at such bright lights after staring at screens and holos all day practically guaranteed that she’d get a headache later, but what choice did she have?
The signs seemed to go on forever, and the same words were repeated too many times to count. Shop… Shop… Club… Fortune teller… Club… Br--- Yikes, that was definitely not a family-friendly place… Another shop… Speeder vendor…
“Outta the way!”
The outcry was loud enough to be clearly heard over the buzz of chatter filling the busy street, and therefore drew most of the attention. Nova stopped walking and turned toward where it had emanated (and was honestly glad for any reason to stop staring at those stupid neon signs). She was mildly surprised to see a blue-ish Rodian shoving his way through the people in the street, clearly running from something. He didn’t look completely terrified of whatever he was running from, but he did have a sort of cocky demeanor about him. Seeing others being shoved out of his way, people began to move from his path.
“Too quick for you, bounty hunter!” he shouted behind him as he ran.
Yeah, definitely cocky.
A bounty being chased through the streets of Canto Bight was nothing new. As Nova understood it, it actually happened quite often. Bounties probably thought they could get lost in a city like this, making it really hard for their enemies to find them.
The bounty hunter the Rodian had been jeering at was quick to appear around the same corner he’d come from. When Nova caught sight of him, she immediately did a double-take.
It was that shiny Mandalorian! The one from Alun.
Well, it was possible it was someone else---but what other Mandalorian had she ever met with beskar armor that shiny and new? His presence felt familiar, too.
Nova found herself glad to see him. If he was here, then his little green Yoda-child couldn’t be far behind, right? The possibility of seeing the child again made her lips quirk upward.
The Mandalorian, taller and bigger than the scrawny Rodian he chased, was quickly closing in on his quarry. Nova found herself intently watching it unfold, on the edge of her imaginary seat. Once the crowds had cleared enough and the space between them was clear, the Mandalorian threw out his arm. A whipcord shot out of his vambrace, heading right for the Rodian’s legs.
Nova thought the Rodian was done for, but apparently he was ready for it. Just as the whipcord was about to wrap around his legs, the Rodian pushed a button on his wrist cuff. Immediately, small boosters activated on his boots--rocket boots, apparently--and he was launched up into the air. The whipcord wrapped around open air, and the Rodian laughed from where he was hovering several feet off the ground.
“Hah!” he laughed. “Missed me!”
What Nova ended up doing next was purely an act of instinct. With a subtle wave of her hand at her side, she used the pull of the Force to grab hold of one of the boosters of the Rodian’s rocket boots. A small flick of her wrist, and the thing was crushed.
The booster immediately died, and the mechanism began sparking. With only one boot working now, it was more of a hindrance than an asset, and the Rodian was quickly thrown off balance. He went lurching to the left, crying out as the one booster propelled him sideways in the air. He made to land as soon as he could, although it was difficult with the one working boot constantly tripping him up.
By the time he’d managed to touch the ground again--collapsing more than landing--the Mandalorian was waiting for him. He quickly grabbed and detained the Rodian, successfully capturing his bounty. Some enthusiastic onlookers even applauded him.
It all happened so fast. Nova had reacted before her mind could catch up with what she was doing. She’d just…felt this overwhelming instinct to help, and the Force took over. It certainly wasn’t the first time it had happened, and would no-doubt not be the last.
Still, Nova didn’t wish to draw any attention. As much as a part of her wanted to speak to the shiny Mandalorian again–as visiting with him might mean she’d get to see the little green guy–she knew it would be safest if she just left unseen. Nobody had noticed her use of the Force, or any connection between her and the Rodian’s sudden bad luck. She wanted to keep it that way. The Empire’s remnants were on her scent. In a heavily populated world such as this, who knew how many informants they might have? You never knew where they could be nowadays. Plus, according to her intel, there was that new organization that’d recently formed that put up the front of being a science research group but in reality had been commissioned by a Moff and didn’t want anybody to know it so that the Empire could secretly operate through them---
Yeah, time to go.
So as the Mandalorian handled his quarry–he seemed to be handing him off to the local authorities, perhaps they’d offered a reward to hunt the Rodian down–Nova turned and quietly slipped away before she could be noticed.
Or, well…she tried to.
Nova only made it a few steps toward the next bright neon sign when she heard a very familiar coo. Even though the ambient crowded-street noise was slowly returning, she could still make out that little sound. Turning, she looked down and saw none other than the green wrinkly Yoda-child waddling over to her as fast as his little feet could carry him. She sensed recognition and excitement from him, and it did well to warm her heart. Despite being noticed before she could slip away, she had to smile as she saw the child again.
Oh well, she thought, conceding. “Hey, green bean!” she enthusiastically greeted him. 
As soon as she knelt down to his level, he came barreling into her outstretched hands. He was all too happy to be swept up into her arms again, cooing and giggling as she dramatically hoisted him upward when she stood. She could clearly feel the joy coming off of him in waves.
“Have to admit, I hoped I’d get to see you again,” she admitted to the child.
The green child let out a small cry, as if agreeing with her.
Nova chuckled. “You ran off from your Mandalorian again, bug,” she told him, stating a fact rather than scolding. “You know you’re not supposed to do that.”
Just like the first time, the Yoda-esque child seemed pretty unbothered by it. As she finished speaking, Nova looked up to find the Mandalorian in question. She spotted him and his shiny armor just in time to see him frantically swinging his helmeted head around, searching for his missing kid. Nova had to hold back an amused snort at the funny sight. She stayed put, and he quickly found them where she stood on the side of the street. Immediately, he made a beeline toward them.
“Oh look, here he comes,” Nova announced to the green child staring up at her. “Somebody’s in trouble, and I know it’s not me.”
The child merely blinked, tilting his head. Still very unconcerned.
She was struck with deja vu as the Mandalorian purposefully strode over to her, though it wasn’t quite the angry stomping it had been during their first encounter. The colorful lights from the neon signs hanging around reflected off of his incredibly shiny beskar, making him look like some sort of deadly disco ball. A floating pram hovered closely behind him, which Nova could only guess belonged to the green child in her arms.
Nova offered the Mandalorian a friendly smile as he halted in front of her, even though she was already reluctant to let go of the wrinkly child she’d just picked up. “Hi,” she greeted him. “You probably don’t remember me—”
“I do,” the Mandalorian interrupted, nodding his head once.
Nova blinked. She was pleasantly surprised that he recognized her, despite only meeting each other once before. She didn’t consider herself to be all that memorable—unless of course, she had her lightsaber out. That usually stuck in people’s memories pretty well.
“Your little one must have remembered me, too,” she stated, smiling down at the wide-eyed child in her arms. “Ran right up to me just like the first time.”
He sensed me is more like it, she thought to herself.
“He climbed out of his pram,” the Mandalorian guessed, sounding only a little annoyed. Nova guessed that he’d probably already gotten onto the child for doing so multiple times. “He knows he’s not supposed to do that.”
She chuckled. “Kids will listen only until their priorities change.”
The child let out an absentminded coo, staring up at Nova with those incredibly innocent eyes of his. It was definitely a face you couldn’t stay mad at for long, no matter what crime he’d committed.
“Well,” Nova conceded, turning her gaze back to the Mandalorian, “you’re probably busy, so I’ll just let you two be on your way.” As much as she wanted to keep holding the green Yoda-child forever, she knew that he belonged with his guardian.
Nova began to hand him over, but it seemed the child had other ideas. Immediately, he latched his tiny claws onto her arm and started to make little indignant noises of protest. It seemed as though she wasn’t the only one reluctant to part again.
“Come on, green bean,” Nova chided. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
The pointy-eared child still fussed, refusing to let go. The Mandalorian reached out to try and pry him from her arms, but that only made it worse. The child latched on harder, and his protestful noises turned into sobs.
“Dank farrik,” the Mandalorian cursed. “He’s never fussed this much.”
Nova was just as confused as he was. Well, maybe she had a little more information. The child and her had both connected through the Force the first time they met, and that connection felt even stronger now that they were reunited. But she was still unclear as to why the child didn’t want to leave her arms so badly. Did he just want to be near a kindred spirit? Did he sense something in her?
“I have no idea why,” was what Nova said. She struggled to pry the green child off her arm so the Mandalorian could take him, but the kid was just too clingy and slippery.
As the child continued to loudly fuss, more and more random passersby stopped to stare at them. Eventually, the Mandalorian grew tired of it all and let go of the child, taking a step back. “Alright, alright.”
When the Mandalorian gave up trying to grab his child and Nova stopped trying to hand him over, he immediately calmed down. He smiled up at Nova and happily cooed, abruptly shifting from upset to content. He still gripped onto her arms.
“You’re a stubborn one,” Nova stated, smiling despite herself. She met the Mandalorian’s helmeted gaze, feeling guilty for unintentionally causing this problem. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he liked me that much.”
The Mandalorian sighed. “Not your fault.” His dark visor was pointed at his little green charge. Nova couldn’t see his face, but she was almost sure he was glaring.
“Maybe you can lure him away with food,” Nova suggested, only half joking. She studied herself, looking down at her belt and its pockets. “I think I have a ration bar stowed away somewhere…”
Nova had already shifted the child into one arm and had begun rifling through her pockets before the Mandalorian spoke again. “I was going to take him to get some dinner. He won’t be letting me take him from you anytime soon, so…” He paused. He seemed hesitant, almost. Shy? No, Mandalorians weren’t shy. “You could…come with us?”
Nova was surprised by his offer—but pleasantly so. Getting to hang out with a Mandalorian and his adorable, green, wrinkly child? Nova had been on her own for so long now that secretly she was itching for companionship. After all, she’d never really been alone her whole life. Technically she never was really alone, but traveling by herself for a year now made her realize that this was the longest she’d ever been on her own.
Her first instinct was to say yes, but of course her polite side urged her to make sure it was really okay. “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose---”
“You’re not.” The Mandalorian was quick in his reply. Perhaps too quick? He seemed to make himself backtrack a little. “I mean…the cantina’s right over there…and the womp rat really does need to eat soon or he’ll get crankier than he already is…”
Nova looked down to meet the green child’s gaze as he spoke. He gazed up at her with those giant, dark eyes, seemingly pleading and just way too darn adorable for her to refuse.
“Okay,” she agreed, trying to keep her voice level but struggling to contain her excitement. “Yeah, that would be nice.”
The Mandalorian nodded. He paused for a moment then stepped back, wordlessly turned, and began walking off. Nova took the cue and immediately followed him, the little one still safely tucked in her arms. He had this big close-mouthed grin on his face, happy that he was getting his way. He cooed up at her, and she shook her head, more amused than anything.
This certainly wasn’t what she’d been expecting to happen tonight. Just minutes earlier, all she’d wanted was to find a quiet room to herself and a bunk to collapse into. Now the fatigue previously creeping into her bones had been forgotten, replaced with excited anticipation for a dinner with…
What exactly could she call the Mandalorian and his little green ward? Her acquaintances? Peers? …Friends? No.
Well, good company at any rate.
The Mandalorian seemed to know his way around the bustling Canto Bight streets far better than Nova did (which only made sense—she’d never been here before). She was happy to be able to turn off her mental navigation for a while and allow him to lead her to wherever they were going. Eventually, they turned down a quieter street and he stopped in front of a rather friendly-looking establishment. Friendly for Canto Bight, anyway.
Before Nova knew it, the Mandalorian had led her inside and was making their way to a booth in the back corner, where there was a little more privacy. Nova soon understood why: as they entered, tons of eyes had turned toward the shiny, intimidating, armored figure entering the cantina. The poor guy probably had people staring at him wherever he went. No wonder he wanted a secluded spot to sit.
He seemed otherwise unbothered by it. It was hard to tell with the helmet on.
This whole thing sounded like the beginning of a funny joke. A Mandalorian and a Jedi walk into a cantina… Nova bit back a smile at the thought.
Nova sat down at the table her newfound acquaintance had chosen, the child still tucked in her arms. The Mandalorian sat down across from them, and the empty pram remained floating at his side. Almost immediately after sitting down, a droid wheeled up to them.
“Welcome!” it cheerfully greeted. “What may I get you this evening?”
Nova hadn’t had any time to do more than glance at the rather expansive menu hanging above the bar nearby. Before she could politely ask the droid for some time to peruse her options, the Mandalorian spoke up first.
“Two bone broths,” he stated.
“Right away.” The droid wheeled away, as quickly as it had arrived.
The Mandalorian turned his attention back to her, his helmet tilting. “I, uh…hope that’s okay,” he said in a much less sure tone.
Nova smiled to ease his doubts, shaking her head. “That’ll be just fine.” Honestly, she was a little relieved he’d ordered for her. The cantina’s menu was huge, chock-full of things she’d never heard of, and she was only just realizing how hungry she was. Certainly too hungry to waste several minutes trying to decide what she wanted to eat.
A thought struck her, and she frowned. “Wait, you only ordered two,” she pointed out.
He nodded to confirm. “One for the kid, one for you.”
“You’re not eating?” Nova couldn’t understand. Why would he invite her to dine with them, but then order nothing for himself? “Come on, you must be starving after chasing down that Rodian for Maker-knows-how-long.” It wasn’t fair if he wouldn’t even get to eat.
“It’s okay,” the Mandalorian assured her. He seemed very okay with the prospect of not eating dinner. As if he were…used to it? “I’m not hungry.”
Nova sensed that was a lie, but let it be. “If you’re sure,” she replied. If he didn’t want to partake in a meal for reasons of his own, then it was no business of hers. Even though it bugged her.
So, he…wouldn’t be taking his helmet off, then. Strangely, Nova found herself just the slightest bit disappointed. She’d been mildly curious about what this mysterious lone Mandalorian looked like beneath his shiny beskar helm. Then again, if he didn’t want to expose his face in a heavily crowded cantina in a seedy city like Canto Bight, then she couldn’t blame him one bit.
She was just too used to Mandalorians removing their helmets all the time, apparently.
Nova and the Mandalorian found themselves in the midst of a slightly awkward silence then. It would take time for their food to arrive. Nova figured she could occupy herself by making faces at the green child in her arms, but at the same time she didn’t want to just sit in silence until the food arrived. So, as she listened to the child’s cooing and pretended to understand what he was saying, she also wracked her brain for a conversation starter. Mostly because the Mandalorian sitting in front of her didn’t seem like the type to initiate conversation. At all.
“You’re a funny little boy,” Nova told the child as he motioned around with his hands. “I hope you’re not always this mischievous for your Mandalorian.” She half-directed the comment at said Mandalorian in the hopes that it would get him to speak.
After a brief moment, she found that her efforts were successful. “He behaves, from time to time,” the Mandalorian admitted. “When he feels like it.”
Nova smiled. “Not when I’m around, apparently.”
The conversation could’ve naturally ended there, short and sweet. She was happy she’d even got the Mandalorian to respond at all. Just because they were dining together didn’t mean that she expected him to chat with her the whole time. But he didn’t seem to mind…and she had to admit, she was curious about more than a few things.
She decided to try and press her luck a little. She turned her head to better face the Mandalorian, her hands still occupying the child as she did. “So…how did you two end up together, anyway?”
The Mandalorian didn’t answer right away. The longer the silence stretched on, the more Nova began to worry that she’d overstepped. He deserved his privacy, she didn’t want to pry…
Eventually, he replied, “It’s complicated.”
“I guessed as much,” she said. Quickly, she added, “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.” She felt a little bad for putting him on the spot, so she elected to go back to playing with the little green child. If he wanted to answer her, that was his decision. If not, then Nova would just have to ignore her curiosity.
She estimated that it was a full three minutes before the Mandalorian chose to speak again. When he did, she turned her attention back to him, attempting to mask her pleasant surprise.
“He was a bounty,” the Mandalorian revealed. His words made Nova immediately stop what she was doing. “I…rescued him.”
Nova’s mouth gaped open a little bit, and she shut it as soon as she was aware. Glancing back down at the child, she was met with his large, dark, innocent eyes and gap-toothed grin. This child was a bounty?
She scowled. “What slimy piece of worm-ridden filth would put a bounty on a sweet child like this?”
The unspoken question: Why?
The Mandalorian folded his arms over his chest. “He’s…special.”
That made Nova freeze a little. Did… Did he know? Did he know about the child’s…abilities? She’d assumed that since he was Mandalorian (and a very traditional one, from what she knew of him thus far), there was no way he’d allow a Force-sensitive child to travel with him. But…then again, she knew quite a few Mandalorians who didn’t hate Jedi. In fact, her best friend was a Mandalorian. Could this Mandalorian know that the child was Force-sensitive and…be perfectly okay with it?
It was possible. That certainly was what Nova hoped was the case. But…if somehow he didn’t know, then she didn’t want to be the one to reveal it to him. As before, she had no intention of ruining the good thing this child had going for him.
Nova changed the subject before the silence became awkward. She asked another question that came to mind. “Is he your foundling?”
“...Yes.” The Mandalorian seemed a little caught off guard. “You…know about foundlings?”
She grinned at him. “Believe it or not, I actually know quite a bit about Mandalorian culture.”
The Mandalorian seemed to accept this. “My creed says that until I can return him to his own kind, I am…his father.”
Nova could hear the emotion accompanying his voice. She could tell he felt a little daunted by the role, but…definitely not opposed. His visor tilted downward toward his little green charge. The child seemed to sense the eyes on him, and met the Mandalorian’s gaze. He cooed at him, and Nova thought she heard a faint chuckle emerge from the helmeted head. 
The sight warmed her heart. “He seems to like you very much,” she observed, sending a warm smile the Mandalorian’s way. “I think you’re doing a good job.”
The dark visor settled on her again. Without seeing his eyes, it was hard to tell what he was thinking at the moment. Unable to maintain contact with his helmet’s gaze, she turned her attention back to the child. He was still looking at his Mandalorian, so maybe while he was occupied she could…
She ever so slowly tried setting him down on the table so that the Mandalorian might be able to pick him up. But alas, as soon as he realized what she was doing he let out an indignant coo, latching back onto her arm and fussing until she stopped.
“Nope, okay, still don’t want to be put down.” Nova sighed. It’d been worth a shot, right? The child stared up at her with those…infuriatingly innocent eyes of his. “Maybe when your food gets here,” she mused. She was still supportive of her theory that only food would get him to move at this point.
As the child settled back into her arms, Nova glanced around the crowded cantina. It was busy here tonight. No wonder their food was taking so long. 
The Mandalorian sat silently across from her, stoic as ever. She mentally debated with herself. Should she try to talk with him more, or just leave him be?
Her want for socialization eventually won out. “Well,” she began, “since I interrogated you, feel free to ask me something. If you want.”
She mentally facepalmed. Eloquent, as always. Why was she acting so awkward? She was usually much more put-together. Maybe the apparent strong Force connection to the child was throwing her off.
“What, uh…”
Nova was startled by the sudden speech from the Mandalorian, having not really expected him to actually find something to ask her. As soon as she focused her attention on him again, he found the words to speak.
“What...brings you to a planet like this?” was the question he came up with.
For some reason, it made Nova chuckle. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat. “I definitely don’t seem like the type, right?” she confirmed. “I’m not. Honestly, I considered buying some fancier clothes for myself just so that I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb.” She chuckled again, a bit more composed this time. Then she paused, contemplating. He’d been honest with her so far (she could sense that) so the least she could do was be honest with him. Even if bringing up the subject would only make her unhappy again… “I came to visit their holo library. I…” Come on. Spit it out. Remember not to mention his name. “I’m searching for my brother.”
She didn’t have to be Force-sensitive to see that those words had grabbed the Mandalorian’s attention more effectively than anything else she’d said to him that night. “Your brother?” he pressed.
“Mm-hmm,” Nova said with a brief nod. Keep the story simple, girl. “My older brother. He…disappeared…years ago. I have no idea where he went or if he’s even still there, but…” She sighed. “I do know that I’ll never stop looking until I find him.”
The Mandalorian didn’t respond at first. Nova was glad. It gave her a chance to shove her creeping sadness away and focus on the present. She’d grown a whole lot better at that over the many years since her brother had vanished.
And then, the Mandalorian responded. “How do you know that he’s—?”
“I know.” She cut him off before he had a chance to finish.
Nova hadn’t meant to be snappy, but she couldn’t help it. She was so tired of being met with any sort of doubt and opposition about her brother still being alive after all these years. They couldn’t understand it, but she knew. She could feel it. The Force hadn’t lied to her thus far, and she had no reason to believe that it was lying to her about this. Anytime somebody tried to question it, she wouldn’t hear it.
She still felt bad about the way she’d responded. It’d created an awkward silence between her and the Mandalorian, worse than when they’d first sat down. Ashamed, she looked away from the face of his helmet, wishing for a way to dispel the suddenly tense atmosphere.
Luckily, the Force decided to grant her wish as the droid waiter from before zoomed up to them. It set down two steaming bowls of bone broth in the center of the table, not spilling a drop.
“Here you go!” the droid cheerfully announced. “Enjoy!”
As the waiter droid left them alone again, Nova swiftly took the opportunity to change the subject. She held up the child in her arm, tugging one of the bowls toward him with her free hand. “Hey look, bug! Food’s here.”
The sight and smell of hot food was what finally did it. The wrinkly green child eagerly clambered out of her arms and onto the table, all but attacking the bowl of bone broth.
“Aha!” Nova exclaimed in triumph, watching the child eat with a grin. “I knew food would do the trick.”
The child spared a brief moment to let out a happy coo before diving back into the depths of the bowl. It made Nova laugh.
Inevitably, the Mandalorian spoke up again. “Hey, I didn’t mean to…upset you,” he uttered. It wasn’t an insensitive comment by any means; it merely sounded like he was having trouble finding the right words.
Nova sighed, giving him a small smile she hoped was reassuring. “It’s okay,” she urged. “You didn’t upset me. You were just curious.” She shrugged in spite of herself. “Trust me, I’ve had plenty of doubts and plenty of time to sulk and think about it. I can’t explain it, I’m just…really, really sure.”
The Mandalorian nodded at her reply, and they left it at that. He gently nudged the remaining bowl of broth in her direction, reminding her it was there. She’d honestly forgotten all about it until now. She shot him a thankful grin, tugging the bowl to her. One sniff of its contents and her stomach let her know how hungry she actually was.
Nova didn’t eat her bone broth quite as fast as the child, but she still felt like she was downing it pretty quickly. As with the fried gorg from their first meeting, the child was practically inhaling his meal. She had to pause every once in a while to let a smile break loose at the sight of it.
She let out a relieved sigh once her bowl was empty, feeling satisfied. “I think I needed that,” she softly admitted.
The child sat back on his haunches, his bowl practically licked clean. He let out a small belch that frankly was more cute than repulsive.
“I think he did, too,” the Mandalorian added, amusement in his tone.
Nova grinned at the unexpected comment.
Their rather attentive droid waiter chose that moment to come wheeling back to their table, this time with the check. As it read off the total, Nova immediately went digging in her pack that sat on the floor next to her.
“I’ve got it,” she announced.
But as she moved to pay, the Mandalorian was moving, too. “No, you don’t need to do that,” he insisted, reaching into his belt. “I’ll—”
Nova shook her head. “Really, it’s no big deal—”
“Let me—”
“I can—”
They both stopped, realizing that they were now talking over each other. Nova saw how ridiculous their bickering was, and chuckled at how things had escalated. She couldn’t be sure, but as she was laughing she thought she saw the Mandalorian’s shoulders briefly shake, as if he were laughing, too.
Finally, Nova proposed, “We’ll split it.”
The Mandalorian nodded his assent.
Both Nova and the Mandalorian handed the droid equal amounts of credits. As it wheeled away for the third time, the Mandalorian took the chance to swiftly pluck his foundling off the table and bring him into his arms, lest the whole issue that started it all happen again. Thankfully now that he’d eaten, the child was growing sleepy. His blinks were getting slower and his long ears were drooping, so this time he didn’t put up a fight as the Mandalorian grabbed him and set him down in his pram.
Before Nova knew it, they were leaving the cantina and walking back out into the glowing neon night. She turned to face the Mandalorian, lingering for a moment as she thought of something to say.
“Well…” she began. “Thank you. I’ve been on my own for a while now, and…” She trailed off, knowing he’d probably be uninterested. “That was nice.”
The Mandalorian nodded. “Thanks for…putting up with him,” he replied, gesturing down to his drowsy foundling.
Nova smiled down at the wrinkly green child, who was very desperately trying to keep his eyes open. “He’s just too kriffing cute. I can’t resist.”
There was a beat in the conversation. Nova tried to decide whether to let it end or find something else to say.
“It was…good to see you again,” came out of her mouth, mildly surprising herself.
The Mandalorian was quiet for a moment, then responded with a nod. “You too.”
Short response. Nova took the hint, knowing that he probably wanted to get off this crazy planet. She did, too—as soon as she finally got some sleep.
“You probably want to get going,” she said with a smile. “You two take care. Perhaps I’ll run into you again sometime?”
The Mandalorian’s reply, again, was brief. “Perhaps.”
Nova cleared her throat. Don’t overstay your welcome, she mentally scolded herself. “Alright, well…” Being very eloquent once again. “Have a good night. May the Force be with you.”
And before she could blabber out any more fluff or nonsense, she spun on her heel and, with one last friendly wave back at the unlikely duo, walked off in the direction she’d been heading before.
She could only hope that a cheap inn still had a vacancy.
~~~~~
Din halted in the doorway of the magistrate’s office, releasing a deep sigh.
This wasn’t where he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be hurtling through hyperspace to a planet called Tython, not back here on Nevarro.
After finally locating and meeting a Jedi, a woman called Ahsoka Tano, Din had finally been on the right track to getting the kid--Grogu, he reminded himself with an upward twitch of his lips--back to his own kind. She could not train Grogu herself, but she’d been able to point them in the right direction. On a planet called Tython, Grogu would be able to--apparently--get in contact with other Jedi. Somehow.
Din didn’t quite fully understand it all, but he knew all that he needed to know. He knew where to bring Grogu, knew the right path to take. Which is why he should be landing on Tython right now.
Unfortunately, with all the traveling and planet-hopping they’d been doing lately, credits were running dangerously low. Din needed money for fuel, rations---essentials that made travel impossible if you didn’t have them. He’d done the math, and he was loath to admit that they wouldn’t be getting very far at all if he didn’t get some more credits. He really didn’t want to take the time for it, but it was probably the smart thing to do. Who knows where his journey to find Grogu’s people would take them next after Tython?
And so, he was here on Nevarro. Begrudgingly.
“Mando!”
The joyful voice of Greef Karga greeted Din as he stepped inside the office. He strode out from the back room, his arms spread wide in a welcoming manner.
“I didn’t expect you back so soon,” Karga remarked with a grin.
“I’m in need of a quick bounty,” Din curtly informed him.
Karga moved his hands to rest on his hips, giving Din a knowing look. “Low on funds, huh?” He paused to give Din a chance to respond, but seemed unsurprised when it didn’t happen. “No problem! I’ve got plenty of bounties on the board, and you’ve got your pick of them.”
He began to lead Din further into the office, but then halted as he seemed to remember something. He turned back to him, holding up a finger.
“Actually,” Karga interjected, “I have something special. A high-profile bounty popped up a couple weeks ago, and it’s quickly reached the top of every guild’s list. I’ve been saving it just for you.” He began to head for his desk again. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Din held in another sigh as he followed him. “I said I needed something quick.” He really didn’t have the time to spend a long week tracking down a dangerous, highly elusive bounty. He only wanted to spare a day or two, maybe three, catching an easy quarry with a decent enough reward.
“Ah, I think you’ll change your mind once I show you the price tag,” Karga assured him.
Din knew that he wasn’t going to deter Karga from wasting time showing him this supposed “special bounty,” so he decided that it was best to just humor the man and get it over with. Perhaps if Din wasn’t currently in the process of trying to reunite Grogu with the Jedi, then he’d be more interested.
The two sat across from each other at Karga’s desk. Karga opened the top drawer on his side and pulled out a bounty puck. He held it up for Din to see before setting it down on the table. After a dramatic pause, he tapped the face of the puck. The blue bounty hologram sprang to life, featuring a name, a reward amount, and a face.
A familiar face.
Din froze, going rigid in his seat. The face of the bounty stared at him, and the sight of it overcame him with mild shock. It was a face he’d only seen a couple times, but it was one he couldn’t forget if he tried, thanks in no small part to his foundling. Despite not really knowing the person the face belonged to all that well, it was someone he’d never imagined would appear on a bounty puck.
So what in Maker's name was she doing on a bounty puck?
Karga was completely oblivious to Din’s grim reaction, smirking like he was presenting the Mandalorian with a generous gift.
“Her name is Nova,” he introduced. “Nova Bridger.”
7 notes · View notes
sheerfreesia007 · 1 year
Text
Flufftober #7
Title: Flufftober #7
Fandom: The Mandalorian
Pairing: The Mandalorian x OFC
Author: @sheerfreesia007​
Words: 1,022
Prompt: Movie Marathon
Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale, @phoenixhalliwell, @linkpk88, @weirdowithnobeardo, @athalien
Author Notes: Mando! I’m a big Star Wars fan so this was inevitable and I love the Mandalorian.
Gif Credit: @venushasvixens
Tumblr media
    It was the third day since he had left to collect a bounty. He had parked the Razor Crest on some planet that was covered with dense marshland and left you and the child there while he went out to catch his bounty. You didn’t know what type of being this bounty was and usually the Mandalorian never divulged to you the situation until it was already over with. This was the normal routine for the three of you and now it was like second nature for you.
    You would normally use this time with the child to clean the Razor Crest from top to cotton. The child sometimes made it easy for you to get the ship up to a standard that you were proud of but most of the time he was usually underfoot and made your cleaning routine difficult and nearly impossible. Once the cleaning was done you would then pull out all the toys that you had bought for the child on your travels and play with him before it was lunchtime. You had quickly learned all of the games that the child loved and enjoyed to play around the ship. 
    After lunch it was nap time for the two of you and once the child woke it was time for a few lessons that you could remember from your time in school. You took pride in being able to teach the child new things about life. And the fact that he was quick to pick up on your teachings made you even more proud to be his teacher. The two of you had even found a new way to communicate with each other that was specific to just the two of you.
    And now as you set up the hole on to play a movie for the two of you, you idly wondered when Mando was going to show back up and whether or not he was alright. You would hate to think that he was somewhere hurt without any help or way to get back to the Razor Crest. But you had promised him that you would stay on the Razor Crest with the child and you would keep to your word. You were just getting ready to settle in with the child when the Razor Crest bay door began to open. Pausing the movie you helped the little guy down and you both went to wait for the Mandalorian at the top of the ramp.
    You grabbed the first aid kit out of habit and stood next to the child as you watched Mando come into view. You sucked in a harsh breath when your eyes landed on the Beskar clad warrior like you always did. Just the sight of the Mandalorian was able to make you stop in your tracks but the fact that the warrior had chosen you to help care for the child and keep his ship together made your heart sputter in record time. You couldn’t think of a way to thank the Mandalorian enough for helping you get off your godforsaken home planet so you cared for the child with the utmost care and made sure to keep the ship clean and well tended to.
    The Mandalorian one of the cryo chambers floating behind with the indicator light blinking letting you know that he had caught his bounty. Your eyes darted over the Mandalorian trying to detect any sign of injury on him. You felt that you had gotten good at sensing any pain or ache that the Mandalorian tried to hide from you, almost to the point where he didn’t even have to say anything to you as you readied the first aid kit whenever you noticed his injuries. And he had thankfully stopped fussing over you tending to his wounds, that had been a hard hurtle to get over with him. He had always been a very private being what with never revealing his face due to his creed. It had finally taken him to realize that you wished him now harm or to break his creed when he had passed out after a near fatal excursion and you had taken care to treat and bandage his wounds without removing his helmet. When he had come to after you had taken care of him he had thanked you for the first time ever. But now as you found no injuries on him you waited until he and the cryo chamber had made it on the Crest before you shut the bay door.
    The Mandalorian effortlessly put the cryo chamber in storage while you put the first aid kit away and helped the child back into your bed. It was only when you were setting up the movie on the holocom that the Mandalorian made another appearance. You noticed that he had removed most of his armor and was donned in his under armor clothes that looked worn and soft. He tilted his helmet to the side as he watched you finish putting on the movie and sitting up in your bed with the child. 
    “You’re more than welcome to join us Mando.” You offered as you patted the bed on the opposite side of the child. The child cooed happily and looked over to the Mandalorian with an eagerly curious face while you settled back on your bed. You didn’t think that the Mandalorian would come and join the two of you for movie night, he normally kept to himself before bed and only right before the child fell asleep did he interact with him. Just then the Mandalorian moves and sits down on your bed on the other side of the child much to your surprise. He sits there awkwardly and you smile widely to yourself as you watch him try to sit more comfortably but he doesn’t settle until the child climbs on top of his chest and snuggles there as Mando’s arms come up to wrap around the child.
    “Not a word.” Mando says through his helmet making you smile and nod you head quickly. The three of you settle into finally watch the movie.
6 notes · View notes
imabeautifulbutterfly · 7 months
Text
Once Upon a Time on the Razor Crest
Tumblr media
AO3 Link Main Master List
THE RAZOR CREST RANCH SEVEN
Chapter 01 | Chapter 02 | Chapter 03 | Chapter 04 |
Chapter 05 | Chapter 06 | Chapter 07 | Chapter 08 |
Chapter 09 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11
THE CRESTWORLD
Chapter 01 | Chapter 02 | Chapter 03 | Chapter 04 |
Chapter 05 | Chapter 06 | Chapter 07 | Chapter 08 |
Chapter 09 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 |
Chapter 13 | Chapter 14
61 notes · View notes
backtothefanfiction · 2 years
Text
METANOIA CHAPTER ONE: RUN
Metanoia - The journey of changing one’s mind, heart, self, way of life, spiritual connection.
Summary: He’s a bounty hunter with a kid and a very particular way of life. She’s a new young senator raised on war and politics. They’re about to be thrust together on a journey that’s going to change both of their lives.
Word Count: 3.5K
Warnings: Violence, Injuries, Kidnapping. Slow burn. Original Character. Use of she pronouns. (Currently rated 15+, Mature 18+ content will be labelled as such)
A/N: I really hope you enjoy this chapter. This is my first piece on this particular blog that features an original character. I have gone back over this probably about 5 times now to correct any mistakes (particularly when it comes to tense) but if any mistakes have slipped through the cracks I do apologise. This will be quite the slow burn but I promise you all the angst and the feels will make up for it. Please let me know what you think.
Tumblr media
ONE:          RUN
Her lungs were burning; the soles of her feet sending shockwaves through her calves and up into her thighs, as they continuously pounded into the floor. She had a trickle of blood that was matting into her right eyebrow. Sweat and dirt pooled in the creases at the corners of her eyes, stinging as she squinted in the midday sun. She could barely hear their voices now over the sound of her own panting breaths and her thudding heartbeat in her ears, but she could still feel them close on her heels. She had to keep running.
The shriek of compressed plasma being fired from a blaster pierced the air, followed quickly by the sizzle of concrete. It hit the ground just next to her foot.
Her head whipped around, checking to see how far behind her assailants actually were, just as another shot was fired her way. It missed, leaving scorch marks on the wall to her right. She snapped her focus forward once again, her resolve doubled, she had to find cover.
Her eyes started to focus in on a market a couple blocks up and her arms began to pump faster, legs pounding harder into the ground, propelling herself towards it as fast as she could. She doubts they’re shooting to kill, they want her alive after all, but she’s betting that they won’t want to shoot at her and draw attention to themselves in a crowd. Especially with the risk of potentially hitting a civilian, which in turn could grab the attention of any new republic officers, who may be in the area.
There’s the sound of another blaster fire and she sneers as it burns across the top of her right arm. Her left hand instinctively reached to cover the sizzling wound, the heat radiating off her skin, pushing back with force against her fingers. She grunts as she continues to push on, running through the pain and onto the crowded market street.
She made a sharp turn, cutting between the colourful market stools, her hip colliding with the corner of a table. 
“Hey, careful!”  the merchant shouted at her as the motion dislodged a few fruits and they rolled into the street behind her; but she didn't stop. She couldn’t stop. 
The scattered fruit now obstructing the path, buys her a few precious seconds as it slows down her pursuers. She glanced back over her shoulder as they came to a halt, clumsily trying to navigate their way around the vendor who was now trying to pick up the fruit she had knocked off. She turned her head around, her eyes searching for a place to hide, whilst her ears remained alert to the commotion behind her.
“Move out the way, old man!” she heard one of the thugs say. There’s a multitude of thuds as the man shouldered the vendor out the way and the fruit dropped to the floor again.
“Hey, what’s all the rush about?!” the vendor shouted his response indignantly, his arms outstretched in distress.
She had to find cover and find it fast. She began to slow her pace at the sight of a large congregation of people standing in front of a booth, marvelling as a cook put on a show; flames and vegetables being thrown into the air. She attempted to blend into the crowd, pulling a scarf from a woman's bag that had been lazily wrapped around the satchel’s strap. She seamlessly glided it over her head, covering her distinctive bubble braided dark brown hair, streaked with pink.
She winced as she brushed past a larger gentleman, her burning skin brushing up against the coarse material of his jacket. He grunted at her and she muttered an apology before forcing her head down, continuing to move through the crowd. She listened carefully, tuning out the noise of the crowd, the sizzling of woks cooking food and vendors shouting about their best deals - listening for the shouts and rallying commands of her pursuers. 
She took a quick look to her left through one of the stalls, as a flash of short green hair and a gruff commanding voice caught her attention. “Where did she go? Has anybody got eyes on her?”
“Hey, have you seen a girl run through here?” another voice started asking members of the crowd not far behind her. “She’s got pink streaks in her hair, bright pink eyes?” 
She turned towards a booth selling accessories, swiping a pair of tinted glasses off the table. She carefully placed them over her eyes, before continuing to walk through the crowd. Her breathing was mostly under control now and as the oxygen finally settled into her body, her adrenaline dissipating, she was beginning to feel all of her body’s aches and pains. She was bruised. Her eyebrow and lip split. Her wrists were chafed raw, ribs uncomfortable, she was sure they too were bruised. She couldn’t even be sure how many days it had been since she had been taken.
It had been her first official trip to Coruscant as a senator. Despite proceedings being a little boring, everything had been going swimmingly, up until their return trip home. They had been pushed out of hyperspace, their ship quickly ambushed by pirates.
Most of her crew died in the initial blast to the side of the ship. Where the rest of them were now, she had no idea. She had tried to fight off the attackers the best she could, but it was to no use. They knew what they were after and she had quickly taken a harsh, knockout blow to the head.
When she came to, she found herself alone in a dark basement, her wrists bound, head pounding. She had no idea where she was or how long she had been out for; all she knew was that she had to get away.
She used the cover of the crowd to survey her options. She needed to find some sort of port, work out where she was and hitch a ride home. Home. Her parents were probably so worried. They had already lost one of their children. It had devastated her Mother to the point she had retired from politics. She hated to think of what she would be like, or what action she would take, if she did in fact lose both of her children.
Her arm throbbed and she decided now was probably the better time than never to stop and check it over. She quietly slipped between two of the stools; the canopies between them providing just enough cover for her to hide and buy herself a little more time.
She lifted the glasses onto the top of her head before raising her arm up to get a good look at it. She was grateful the wound was not too deep. Nothing a little bacta gel wouldn’t soothe and heal up in no time, but first she had to get to safety and away from these damn pirates.
She glanced around from her vantage point, dropping the tinted glasses back over her eyes as she looked up to the rooftops for a viable route. If she had learnt anything from growing up in a rebellion it was to find a weapon and find higher ground. Her eyes spotted an alleyway between the buildings just up ahead that she could dip down and from which, try to make an escape. ‘With any luck there’d also be a fire escape for her to climb up to the roof for a better vantage point; and hopefully work out the direction of the closest port.’ she thought to herself.
She dared to poke her head out from her cover, scanning the area for any of her assailants. She turned her head to the right, searching the faces in the crowd. Catching a flash of green hair again, she quickly pulled herself back into the safety of her cover, hoping she wasn’t spotted.
She closed her eyes, her chest swelling as she took in a deep breath, steeling herself ready for her quick get away. All she had to do was calmly walk across the way and continue to blend in.
Sharp pains shot up her legs from her heels as she began to step forward. Her lip pulled into a tight line as she attempted to brave the pain. Her body just wanted to rest but she had to keep going. ‘Just keep putting one foot in front of the other’ she encouraged herself. She kept her head low, channeling her thoughts; fighting to keep her breathing even and calm, her ears on high alert.
“There she is!” A voice bellowed out from the crowd. 
“Karabast.” She muttered to herself coming to a holt, looking up to see how far away the man was. Her fingers began to curl into fists at her sides, her heart pounding, as adrenaline began to course through her body again. 
Bolting, she ran straight for the gap between the two buildings. She could once again now hear the green haired man muttering and cursing to himself as he followed quickly on her heels, darting around the market stools to get to her.
Her legs push her into the shaded space between the two buildings, her eyes scanning for a ladder for her to climb to the roof. Nothing, just a couple of large bins and side exit doors to the buildings either side. The alleyway continued on though. She raced forward towards the end, her feet skidding as she took the path left. The green haired man closely followed, still hot on her tails, now flanked by a couple of the other goons he worked with. She whipped the scarf from her head, throwing it back in their direction as she prepared to round another corner, hoping the billowing fabric would block their vision for a few seconds and buy her just that little more time.
Her head turned back with it to check as she rounded the corner. Smack! She quickly came to a grinding halt running straight into a large wall of metal. Or was it a man? She froze, her heart pounding, a lump moving up into her throat as her eyes began to trail up the length of the man’s armoured torso; across his shiny paldron covered shoulders and then up to his helmet. Her eyes recognise the armour immediately, her feet beginning to take small shaking, tentative steps backwards. 
The growing proximity of grunting and scuffling noises behind her however; quickly had her freezing again. She decided to risk a quick glance over her shoulder to her approaching assailants, before turning her intimidated gaze back towards the looming figure blocking her path forward. She was trapped. 
Her eyes began to dart back and forth, searching for any sort of way she’d be able to get out of this; but there was none.
Her eyes fell back onto the Mandalorian, easily the greater threat of the group. She knew all about Mandalorians and their ways. Her family had long been allies to a clan of Mandalorians back in the days before Mandalore fell. She knew they deemed weapons as their religion; always had their bodies covered in near impenetrable armour. But they were honourable, maybe she could get him to go easy on her if she made herself look innocent, non threatening.
She planted herself solidly before him, looking straight up to where she assumed his eyes would be behind the visor. With her glasses slipped slightly down the bridge of her nose, she stared up at him from behind the frames with the biggest most innocent eyes she could muster. Damn he was tall; and so still, almost like a statue. She was almost a hundred percent sure she hadn’t seen him move, even the smallest amount, since she had brought them both to a grinding halt when she ran into him.
“What you gonna do now sweetheart?” came a geering voice from behind her. “You’ve got nowhere left to run.”
She hadn’t even been sure that the giant wall of armour had in fact been looking down towards her, until she saw his helmet tilt upwards slightly. It was the smallest of movements, but it changed everything. The way he seemed to now look over her, observing the pirates behind her closely, had her thinking, ‘maybe he wasn’t with them after all’.
 “Come on baby, let’s get you back.” the green haired man spoke up again, his voice both patronising and sleazy. She didn’t look back, her focus remained solidly on the Madalorian, her eyes begging, pleading, for his help. 
He continued to remain stoic. Maybe she was wrong, maybe he was hired muscle working for them after all. She could feel the pirates behind her stepping forward, closing her in. She began to panic, her breaths starting to come quickly, her head suddenly darting between all of the men now.
 She closed her eyes and attempted to focus her breathing, all the while sending up a silent prayer to help her get out of this.
When she opened them again, she turned her focus towards the pirate with the green buzzed hair. He had a scar cutting across his right eye, his left red and swollen and starting to bruise where she had headbutted him previously in her need to escape. “I’m not going back.” she challenged him, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. She would sooner die kicking and screaming than go with them.
Seeing she was bridling for a fight, the green haired man reached for his blaster, sat neatly in the dark leather holster at his side. “The Boss paid me to take extra special care of you sweetheart,” the man bolstered, choosing his words carefully, “and I’m not gonna lie, I’d sooner face your wrath than his.” He pulled the blaster out of its casing, letting it hang lazily in his hands in front of him. “So what’s it gonna be?”
“I told you,” she bridled, puffing out her chest in defiance, “I’m not going with you.”
“That’s a real shame.” The green haired thug replied with a confident tilt of his head, as he began to raise the blaster up towards her. 
She barely had a moment to process what was even happening, before a strong arm suddenly swept her behind his large form. She braced herself behind his back, as blaster fire began to ring out into the small alleyway. The shots bounced off the Mandalorian’s armour with a tinny pinging sound. When he began to charge forward towards the pirates, she began to shrink back towards the wall for cover.
She watched carefully, listening to the sounds of grunts and wails as one by one, each of the pirates were taken down. There was a loud thud as one of them was flipped over the Mandalorian’s shoulder and landed flat on his back on the ground. She watched as another tried to run, but before he even got close to the end of the alleyway, the Mandalorian shot a grappling hook from his arm. It wrapped itself around the thug's ankle and the guy wailed as the Mandalorian tugged on the line, taking the man’s legs out from underneath him, his face smashing into the ground.
Faced with certain defeat, the green haired thug began to raise his hands in a form of surrender, deciding to turn to his last line of defence, negotiation. 
“Come on man. You hand her over to us, we can make it a very lucrative deal for you.” The Mandalorian remained silent as he marched forward, coming to a stop in front of the man. She began to step back out from her cover, stepping closer to the two of them. 
From her position behind him, she couldn’t determine whether the Madalorian was considering the offer, or just trying to intimidate, his silhouette looming over the green-haired man. 
“Come on Rowan, baby.” He leaned around the Mandalorian, changing tack again, trying to talk her into going back with him one last time.
The Mandalorian’s head turned back to look at her, then back down at the man when she remained silent. The green haired man began to back away slowly, realising he was about to meet a similar fate to his friends; but the Mandalorian quickly closed the gap between them once more, matching him step for step. 
One punch. That’s all it took to knock the green haired pirate to the floor. He slumped to the ground with a thud, the Mandalorian looking down at him, making sure he wouldn’t get back up again.
 His energy turned stoic once more, as she tried to force a breathless “Thank you.” from her mouth, her chest still heaving from panic and adrenaline. She swallowed hard as he turned back to face her, trying to dismiss the lump in her throat, but it didn't move.
His form was intimidating as he began to stalk towards her, fear taking over her body once again as he marched back down the alleyway toward her. Her thoughts raced rapidly around her head. ‘She had no idea who he actually was. He may have saved her but she still had no idea why she had been snatched in the first place by the pirates. What if there was a bounty on her head? What if he was only staking his own claim on her life.’
She hurriedly turned, her legs starting to propel her forward quickly, hoping to out run him; a sudden need to get away taking over her. She managed to get half way down the small alleyway when a stinging sensation at her neck made her stop.
 Her hand raised to the spot pulling a small dart out of her neck, her muscles suddenly feeling tingly as a warmth began to ripple from the spot on her neck out to the rest of her body. Her head turned back towards him, a question in her eyes. ‘Had he just tranquilised her?’
The numb sensation in her fingertips, that had her dropping the dart and her arms going heavy as they fell to her sides, answered that for her. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, her lips fuzzy as she tried to get the words “Did you just-” out, but they came out mumbled as her eyes grew heavy, her whole body collapsing towards the floor.
He caught her in his arms, just before her body could hit the floor. Hooking his other arm underneath her knee, he hoisted her up into his arms, before beginning to walk back the original way he came. Din hadn’t thought it would have taken him too long to find Rowan Nita after her parent’s had hired him for the job; but he certainly wouldn’t have put credits on her literally running straight into his arms.
He chanced a glance down at her as he continued to walk back in the direction of the port and his ship. She was pretty beneath the scuffs and bruises that covered her face. He was almost sorry that he had had to tranquilise her, as he thought back to her eyes looking up at him when she had first run into him. They were unlike any eyes he had seen before in the whole galaxy; and he had been to a lot of places. They were bright magenta, matching the streaks in her hair, save for this one streak. Hidden deep in the mess of her braids, a single streak of white blonde.
She jostled slightly in his arms as his fingers reached for the buttons on his vembrance as the Razor Crest came back into view. Her head lulled to the side and he spotted just behind her left ear, a small white crescent moon. The edges of it were too natural to be a tattoo. No it was definitely a birthmark.
His boots stomped onto the ship. There was a small curious coo as he turned towards the small compartment that held his cot and the kids hammock. The shutter was open and a pair of big dark eyes and even bigger green ears followed his movements closely as he made his way through the hull. The baby garbled as he placed the sleeping girl down on the cot beneath him.
He shifted her carefully onto the mattress so that she wasn’t leaning on the arm he had noted had clearly taken a hit from a blaster. His fingers reached for a cushion, long been pushed to the side. He gently lifted the back of her head, slotting the small pillow beneath it. He found himself pausing to look at her once again, now that she was settled and out of his arms. He observed closer the features of her form. The sharpness of her Father’s nose. Softness of her Mother’s cheeks and lips.
Another curious coo from the kid, broke him from his observations. ‘Don’t get attached.’ Din berated himself.
“Come along kid.” He sighed as he reached his hands up to lift the baby from his hammock, before walking them both away from the sleeping girl.
-------------------
As always, I apologise if your link doesn’t work properly and if you want to be added to the tag list for the next chapter just pop it in writing for me 😁
@fangirl-316 @doommommy @gadsgikklesen @thestillhalcyon @fadingspyhandswagon @managerie76 @lexisgraceh @my-life-as-a-bird @asunshinestateofmind @rav3n-pascal22 @worshipcircle01 @mandofury @reinedragon @166869 @writer-not-writing-help @gbunny-03 @butatbesticansayimnotsad
18 notes · View notes
Text
Chapter 2 Remember My Name
Din Djarin X OFC
The winds howled a deathly growl.
Sand blasted from every directed, causing her vision to blur in the sweltering sun.
The deadly suns of Tatooine reflected a dark almost crimson like sunray from her armor.
She could feel the pools of sweat lapping underneath her flight suit, as each breath she took became a task.
Her throat felt raw, she could taste the sands of the desert grinding into her teeth each time she took a sip of water from her skins.
She hated Tatooine, the damn planet was covered in nothing but sand and more sand, and she felt sand in places she never wanted to feel sand.
Damn, she really needed a shower.
But most importantly she really missed the comfort of her ship.
She hated the heat and hated the sand.
But she had a job.
And she was never one to turn away from killing those who did wrong.
With a heavy sigh, the Hunter readjusted her thigh holster, gripping her blaster a little tighter.
But the Hunter didn’t budge.
Wiping a sweaty palm across her brow, she refocused her attention across the Dune Sands that laid before her.
Her target was close.
The informant had been clear on the whereabouts of recent raiders attacks that left villages and townspeople with little to nothing but the clothes on their back.
The Hunter was ready to kill.
Pulling the black cowl from around her neck over her face as the gust of wind grew harsher; pulling sand and dirt into the sky and made her way deeper into the desert.
-
“Welcome traveler!” The Cantina owner, an older gentlemen stood inside the bar, cleaning a glass as the Hunter made her way in.
The Cantina was small, mostly empty, save for a few; the informant had told her the raiders took over the Cantina, the owner was at a gun point most nights.
The Hunter took notice of the owner’s stance; he was stiff in the shoulders, tense, his eyes were wide with fear, but his smile did not reach; forced.
He was a hostage in his own home.
Most of the patrons in the Cantina had taken interest in The Hunter; once loud spoken conversations were now whispers as their eyes lingered on her beautiful form.
She made her way to the counter, pulling the cowl from her face brushing strays of dark crimson hair from her eyes.
She smiled brightly at the owner, “Hi handsome, I was just passing through. Could I bother you for a drink of some water? My speeder is broken down some ways back and it’s going to be awhile before someone can come pick me up?”
“Sure dear,” he poured a glass of cold water, handing her the glass.
“Thank you,” she took a long refreshing drink, eyeing the bar owner.
The water felt cool to the touch, as if she could just dive right in.
She felt the creeping presence lingering in the back of her mind before he even stood.
“What’s a pretty girl like you, doing out here all by yourself?” A voice spoke out from behind her.
She didn’t respond.
She took another long gulp.
The Bar Owner was growing frantic; she could see his eyes growing wide as the sound of chairs scrapping across wood echoed.
“Look Miss, you need to leave,” The Bar Owner pleaded, fearful for the young woman.
“Oh no she doesn’t,” the same voice answered, growing closer, “You see, it’s been so long since we have seen such a beauty like this, I think we might just keep her here for ourselves, and teach her a lesson.”
She finished the glass, “Could you refill this for me handsome? This will only take a moment.”
She turned around eyeing the group of men, leaning against the counter.
“So, what’s this I hear you’re going to teach me a lesson?” She pushed herself off the counter.
“You- “
His words were cut short as she withdrew her blasters from their holsters. The sounds of gunfire echoed loud inside the Cantina; the screams of The Raiders rang heavily on deaf ears as each one fell.
Minutes passed in agonizing silence as she surveyed the damaged.
Most of the Raiders didn’t have a chance to reach for their weapon, and most of the damage she could pay for.
“Please don’t kill me,” a whimper whispered in the mist of bodies.
“Seems I missed one,” she walked over the bleeding bodies, eyeing the man with the mouth from before. She recalled words from her Informants that he was a murderer, a rapist, a lowlife who stole from those who worked for their livings.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you? Tell me why I shouldn’t enjoy listening to you chock on your own blood?” Her blaster was raised, pointed at his head, the smell of blood and iron was heavy around her.
The thrill of the kill.
“Because you’re a Bounty Hunter! You don’t have a puck for me! I made sure to pay off the hunters who had a puck, no one will come looking for me! So why even bother when you won’t get a credit for me?”
She eyed the Raider; feeling the weight of his words seem meaningless to her, she didn’t care who or what they were, she didn’t care what species they were, or how many credits filled her pouch, all she wanted was justice for the lives of those he took.
“But you don’t have anything on me! You think you’ll get far little girl? I’ve got men everywhere, who will tear you to pieces!” He tried to defend himself.
The woman laughed; a deep belly laughed.
The Raider thought she had gone crazy, moving slightly to relive some pressure from the open wound bleeding freely from his belly, only for more blood to pool beneath him.
“You have no idea, do you? Do you honestly think, I’m a Bounty Hunter… Oh no, you see I’m something far worse… I’m the one people look for to take out the trash… To kill the monsters that lurk beneath beds.” She smiled, wide; her teeth gleaming from ear to ear.
Each word dripped with malice.
Poison laced.
“You are a murderer! You rape, murder, steal, and live off those who fight to survive… And you think you have a right to live? Have you ever heard of the stories of The Ice Queen?”
The Raider went silent.
“A Pirate Captain turned slave who killed her owner; who flies across the galaxy seeking vengeance for the wrong done to her? During her time, she kills those who have done wrong to others.”
“You can’t be her? The Stories said she was killed.” He backed away slowly, flinching as the wound opened more, slipping on the blood pooling deep on the floor.
She stepped forward, putting her blaster back; withdrawing her viroblade, it shimmered brightly in the cantina light, “How rude of me,” she kneeled in the pool of blood, eyeing the dying man as a look of pure chaos filled her two different colored eyes, “Where are my manners? You see in those stories, they call me Ghost, I was once the fearless Pirate Queen who sailed across the galaxy killing scumbags like you… and now it’s time for my payment.”
“Your payment?” He coughed up a blob of blood, struggling to breathe.
“Your death.”
-
Ghost wiped the blood on her cape.
“What a mess,” she huffed.
Turning towards the Cantina owner, she was met with a stunned silence.
“Sorry about the mess,” she reached into her bag strapped across her body, tossing several credits on the counter, “This should cover the damage, right?”
The owner looked down at the credits, with his mouth dropped open, Ghost got to work dragging the dead bodies outside burning them in a dug-out pit.
“Who are you?” The owner stepped outside the Cantina as Ghost finished setting the bodies ablaze.
Ghost turned to the old man, giving him a sad smile, she began walking towards the way she started, “No one, I’m just a simple traveler.”
-
Nevarro
She stood there.
Eyeing the entrance from a distance, as she spotted the Stormtroopers guarding Nevarro City.
Odd.
What happened in all those years? Ghost knew she couldn’t simply walk up to them and through the streets. She had become a wanted criminal against The Empire, a target; a pirate seeking out prey. Not that it truly mattered anymore anyways. She just hoped in the years since the accident, that the Covert still managed to survive.
Racing back to the small ship she landed just outside the city limits; she gathered a change of clothes and weapons. She would wait till nightfall. Stealth had always been on her side. Ghost was slim, wiry, and flexible. She moved with grace and ease through the shadows undetected by the remaining guard Stormtroopers, as if she never existed. She entered the long since abandoned tunnels that had once been filled with her fellow Mandalorians and foundlings, the air was thick with a musty stale smell of old water and in the distance, she could smell the lava rivers fumes flowing deep into the channels of darkness. It was as if they up and left.
“Shit,” she whispered under her breath, she didn’t like this. Though, she had lived in recent years in silence… She craved the voice of another, the sound of children’s laughter… The weapons of her Creed being forged; anything. She moved through the tunnels out of memory, her hands grazing over stone walls, keeping count of each step she took, having traveled these halls hundreds of times. With him… She shook her head of the memory, the lingering taste of it haunting her for years.
But this was no time to dwell in sorrow… She needed to find people who had seen him, she needed answers. As she moved deeper into the tunnels, the darkness began to fill her vision and she suddenly missed her helmet more than anything; a source of light would be nice right about now.
“Whoever lingers in the shadows,” a voice called out into the darkness.
She knew that voice. Stopping in her tracks, she could feel her heart beating in her chest, her blood was on fire, and suddenly she felt so exposed. The Armorer was their Leader, a person they followed in every sense; a guardian in their darkest of times, a guide for each foundling to follow into the Creed.
But many years had passed since Ghost had stepped foot inside these walls. And she was a different person now. And her armor; maker her lifeline, her connection to her religion. Her armor was on her ship off world for safe keeping.
And her helmet…the one thing she had been sworn to never take off in front of another; was taken off by force after she was betrayed.
After she was left for dead. People had seen her face. For her to wear her armor again she would have had to kill those people.
But those people who had found her after she had escaped the clutches of death were women and children. And though her hands were dripping in blood. She would never raise a blaster to a child. So, she kept her armor off.
“If you wish for death, come closer…” The voice went on, as a soft crimson light danced in the faint distance.
“I am not an enemy,” Ghost spoke, “It’s me,” she walked further down the tunnel until the crimson light became a bright guide. She stepped into the room, coming face to face with the golden armored Mandalorian.
“How is this possible?”
The Armorer sat across from her.
“I was betrayed,” Ghost looked down at her hands, tugging on the sleeve of her duster, scratching at the indention mark on her left finger.
“Who betrayed you? Tell me everything, start from the beginning, so that I can understand what happened… These past few years have not kind to you, I can see memories of years past haunt you...”
“I was sent out on a hunt with members of the guild, and as well as one of our own… Gray had requested to join us. I knew how much he wanted to be a Hunter like…”
“Your Riduur and yourself,” she whispered. Ghost sighed nodding slightly, taking a sharp breath, she willed herself to remain calm… There was so much at stake, she needed to find him… She couldn’t break.
Not yet.
“What happened?”
“We were sent out to Nal Hutta for a Bounty, when we arrived, we were surrounded by members of a group of Raiders, they call themselves Adenn A’den. The leader of their group claimed to be a former Mandalorian, though I’m not for certain if I believe him or not, but he was bloodthirsty and vengeful. Apparently Gray and other members of the Guild had been sending him messages, and sold me out… They wanted my beskar, they wanted my weapons and access to my ship; I spent over a year living in a cage… I watched as they burned down villages, raping, killing and slaughtering men, women, and children… It wasn’t until his second in command made a grave mistake, that he let me out of my cage and told me I was to prove my worth… So, I killed in his name in order to survive… I was his second in command for the better part of a year before I finally found his weakness and waited for him to let his guard down… There was a group of mercenaries he was working with, who had brought in a group of girls. They were beaten, broken and when I watched as the scumbag tried to force himself onto a young woman, I couldn’t take it anymore… So, I killed every single bastard that dared to enter those chambers…” She told her story to The Armorer, as much as she could remember.
The bodies she left in her wake of monsters and madness.
How the story that built around her went from a soft whisper to a loud roar.
How she became known as The Pirate Captain Ghost.
The Armorer was silent as she listened to each, and every word Ghost said. “I had heard whispers of a rouge Pirate who flew through the galaxy leaving destruction in her wake, never once seeking coin from the misfortunate… Your payment was justice, and you laid waste the vial that walk this galaxy.”
“I do not claim that my actions were always just. When I was finally able to escape, and had made a name for myself, I never truly realized just how far from home I truly was… I didn’t even know where I was, no one I had crossed had even heard of Mandalorians, or even Nevarro… So, I traveled, and did what I could to survive, but every single day I tried to get word out to the Covert… to him, and prayed that by some chance, I may see him again, and when I finally found myself back within familiar territory… I had created such a name for myself and these stories about myself were so unjust and filled with such fantasies, I had to lay low, I couldn’t bring that kind of trouble to him… so when I arrived on Nevarro just a few years ago and he was right there, I ran…like a fucking coward, I couldn’t even face my own husband…”
The Golden Armored Mandalorian sighed heavily, feeling the weight of her words weigh heavily between them, “By Creed I have seen your face… By Creed, you should kill me…”
Ghost shook her head, “I just want to find my husband…”
“But I swore an oath to them, to keep you safe…” her voice was barely a whisper, as if she hadn’t heard Ghost.
Ghost gave The Armorer a look, but she went on; she had lingered too long, she had put herself and The Armorer in danger by being here. “I know I have no right to be here, by right I am no longer a Mandalorian. I have tried reaching out to him, but I can’t find him, and I fear the worst… People have seen my face, but those people were women and child, and they were what saved my life, I do not regret putting down my armor, but now I am asking for your help… please.”
“I understand.”
“You…” Her heart clenched as she watched the Armorer gather materials, bringing them towards the blue flame.
“I will craft you an armor that shall protect you in the days to come… Though by Creed you are no longer a Mandalorian, this was not your doing…”
“Thank you.”
“While I build your armor, replenish your supplies… There is trouble in the path ahead, it will not be an easy task, so take what you can and do not falter.”
“What happened here?” Ghost filled her bag with ammunition.
“Din Djarin happened.”
1 note · View note
puchosdementa · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
5K notes · View notes
sandzlib · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media
Fanfic | Din Djarin/Female OC | Mature
He had scarcely ever pitied a bounty, but it was almost impossible not to pity her, chained to a wall, beaten to a pulp, and wearing nothing but a jacket much too big for her. How long had she been there? How many times had they hit her and raped her? His blood had boiled at the thought. He had done many reprehensible things during his lifetime but raping or beating a helpless being weren't on the list. The thought of it sickened him.
Read on AO3
1 note · View note
ledgersmountain · 1 year
Text
And that's why i don't like reading fanfics or imagines with real life people, especially smut or stuff like that, not anymore bc it's just... weird
I don't see a problem with fictional characters because, obviously, they don't exist, but writing a scenario where a real person, who has a family, a job, relationships, etc, fucking you or doing whatever, is already absurd to me (my opinion)
It seems that people see these public figures as an object and not as a REAL person that should be respected.
Edit: if pedro already feels uncomfortable with some thirsty tweets about his person imagine the fanfics
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
5K notes · View notes
wild-karrde · 9 months
Note
#Fandom Friday 💖
I want to mention my dear Kathi @june-girl-86
For more than two years now she puts time and effort into her series "The Burden of Responsibility" (Din Djarin x fem! OC)
In (up to now) 53 chapters she describes Din Djarin's way to being the ruler of Mandalore. And no matter if it's a canonical character like Ashoka, Bo-Katan or well yes Din, or the many many OC she invented... Kathi brings them to life in a magical way.
BTW for those who are interested... I am sure she's willing to share the story in German too. Am I right? 😏
OOOOOOOOH I LOVE FICS THAT EXPLORE THIS PART OF DIN'S LIFE. (Which is admittedly why I wrote one haha). But I've always thought that after giving up Grogu, there were so many different directions his character can go. And this seems like such a wonderful direction to take it. LET THE MAN FALL IN LOVE. LET HIM GO ON ADVENTURES WITH HIS LOVE INTEREST. I'm all about it hehe. Thanks for the rec!
Participate in Fandom Friday to show your favorite creators from this week some love! :)
2 notes · View notes