#star wars rebels fanfiction | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

autumnwoodsdreamer · 4 days

Text

Shadows Dancing on the Walls

After a spate of reunions, discoveries, and adventures aplenty, the crew has earned some well-deserved shore leave.

They take advantage of the peace and quiet to lay the past to rest and prepare to navigate a new future together.

Part 5 of Lift a Sail

Chapter One: The Brothers

. . . . .

Summary: On a quiet morning, Din reflects on the months gone by, all that’s changed and all that is still to change…

Rating: General

Words: 3225

Characters: Din Djarin, Ezra Bridger

Relationships: Din Djarin & Ezra Bridger, Din Djarin/Sabine Wren (mentioned)

Note: This will make a lot more sense if you’ve read the previous instalments, but I ain’t the boss of you. I mean, I’ve jumped in and read later parts of series and ended up loving them, so… you know… *shrugs* each to his own.

This doesn’t comply with Mandalorian season 3 or the Ahsoka series.

[Read on ao3]

. . . . .

We were born beneath the same endless sky

And I left California far behind

‘Cause in a dream I grew old in your eyes

And I’ve been trying to find you all this time

—“Shadows” by Ed Prosek

. . . . .

Dawn crept soft and shy on the horizon, polishing the water’s surface into a mirror while dabbing the faintest of shadows in the dimpled sand of the shore.

Brisk air kissed Din’s skin as he jogged, the sun still too far, too slow to chase the night’s chill away. The exertion had brewed his blood warm and worn the sleep-stiffness out of his muscles, his heart pumped full and hard and healthy, but his lungs constricted against the cold air and reluctance tugged in his stomach when he looked out at the shallow sea.

Winter was close.

At this same hour just a few weeks ago, the sun had already crested the eastern hills; now, it was like it was too tired to wake.

Din knew how it felt.

He enjoyed these early morning excursions: jogging up and down the beach then jumping into the water, swimming out to the floating dock anchored in the middle of the estuary, lounging for a while before swimming back and heading home to wake Grogu, help Marida with the breakfast, and get the day under way. But the routine that had been envigorating two months ago now wobbled on the border between unpleasant and downright unbearable.

He would rather have stayed in bed, warm and lazy until Grogu bugged him to get up.

And he would have… had it not been for Ezra.

He jogged alongside him. His younger brother could lap him, easily, but he purposely didn’t; he matched his pace and stuck to his side so they could either talk or share the silence.

This routine was theirs together: a sliver of the day where it was just the two of them. This was the time they talked, the time they caught up with all they had missed of each other’s lives. Din strove to make it happen every day and he guarded it just as jealously as Ezra did.

After a lap up and down the shoreline, they stopped and stretched. Then, as had become custom, Ezra pulled off his shirt, dropped it on the sand and rushed into the water, plunging in while Din waded hesitantly up to his knees before bracing and then diving in.

The water had a harsh bite to it that shocked his system. His muscles locked against it and his heart pounded as the electric ice leeched into his limbs. But the instant and complete immersion forced tolerance and fuelled a nice adrenaline rush.

Mechanically, he swam.

With sleek strokes and kicks precise and powerful, he pulled and pushed himself through the water. He turned his head to suck in a breath before ducking, exhaling under the water, and pushing another stroke forward, never losing momentum or rhythm.

His mind was silent for those few moments that it was just the water and the goal. He poured his all into it but still he couldn’t reach Ezra’s side.

He took off like a shot and charged across the channel inhumanly fast.

Even at full health, Din couldn’t keep up with him, and it wasn’t merely for the fact he was eight years his senior: no one could keep up with Ezra.

It was a Force thing, apparently. As well as the extraordinary powers the Jedi possessed, the Force enhanced their natural abilities. Ezra was faster, stronger, and more durable than a human should be.

On a purely creature level, Din envied that.

It had taken him all these months to rebuild his strength and stamina after the fight with the Darktroopers and Gideon and even today he felt the effects still. Something in his back had never come fully right and probably never would, and when it flared up—either from something understandable such as over-exertion or something mundane and frankly irrational like a change in weather—he could have anything from mere hours of discomfort to all-out days of pain, stiffness, and numbness. Ezra, however, had recovered from his afflictions in full (though, to be fair, their injuries weren’t identical: Din had been brutally and bluntly beaten whereas Ezra had been severely malnourished and blood-drained—neither condition had been pleasant but the recovery road was somewhat different).

Just looking at Ezra, one couldn’t see what he had gone through.

He looked well, he looked happy, life carried on and he was here, he was home.

But Din saw the scars, as did the others.

Ezra enjoyed being around people but there were moments where he seemed to hit some kind of limit even he didn’t register until, suddenly, it was all too much; suddenly, he had to be alone. Then he would excuse himself—usually silently—and slip out, vanishing like a shadow. He would wander the shoreline or haunt the plains; often times, he absconded to the old LothNet Comm Tower: Sabine’s former residence which had since become something between an unofficial memorial and a storage unit.

Once, Din had found him, at Kanan’s suggestion, in a cave.

“I didn’t mean to,” Ezra had said before Din spoke, his confession spilling out and echoing lowly off the stone walls carved and painted by hands long dead. “I didn’t want to, but… I’ve become a creature of solitude.”

Din never felt as much of a kinship with his brother as he did in that moment.

The others understood.

But they didn’t know…

They knew what it was like to divorce yourself from society, to become an agent, a purpose, a role, setting aside not just wants and aspirations but even your own identity to achieve a goal. They knew sacrifice, they knew exile, they knew facelessness, but they hadn’t had to do it alone—completely, totally, irrevocably alone: no Rebellion, no crew, no partner, no friends, no company, no connections, no one to reach out to, no one to rely on, nothing to come back home to—for years on end.

Din knew.

He knew because that was the very thing he had done to become the Tribe’s beroya.

It was the reason he was such a good beroya.

So he hadn’t said anything, just sat down on the cold ground beside his brother and kept him company while they both quietly, privately grieved themselves.

A Jedi who had wandered and patrolled Wild Space and a Mandalorian who had trudged through the fringes of the Outer Rim, both alone, both providers and protectors in their own ways, neither a person themselves. It wasn’t an easy thing to climb out of, to reclaim your name and plant roots and weave connections, to hold on… to keep holding on.

So, yes, Din supposed it would be nice to heal quickly.

But even a Jedi couldn’t heal themselves…

By the time Din reached the dock, Ezra was already up there.

Treading water, Din drew a breath and blew out sharply as salt water streamed down his nose into his mouth; tersely, he scraped a hand over his face and pushed his hair back out of his eyes.

Reluctance sank within him as he craned his neck to peer up the ladder bolted to the side of the bobbing platform. Climbing up would mean leaving the water which would mean exposing himself to the air and losing what little, relative warmth he had tricked his body into trusting existed here, below the surface.

With a silent, deflating sigh, he reached up, grabbed the lowest rung and hauled himself up, careful not to plant his feet on the submerged portion of the dock, having already sliced his foot not once, not twice but three times on the barnacles.

Water cascaded off his form as he climbed and the cold didn’t hesitate to scrape at his skin.

The rungs were already painted with streaks of icy seawater. The culprit lay on the platform on his back, legs dangling over the side, hands threaded under his head as he sunned himself like a smug little lizard on a nice warm rock. The fact his hair had already begun drying was almost obnoxious.

He didn’t open his eyes as the dock swayed from Din’s arrival but a corner of his smile stretched and deepened.

(Din didn’t know where the impulse arose from but for a few seconds he highly considered rocking the platform on purpose, finding the prospect of seeing Ezra tumble back into the cold water highly appealing.)

(He didn’t do it and he wouldn’t.)

(Not without just cause, of course…)

Din climbed up and stood.

He twisted the hem of his shirt and wrung out as much excess water as he could without taking the thing off. It probably would’ve been better to leave it off entirely but he was uncomfortable enough as it was with the sleeves stopping before his elbows, to say nothing of the shorts he had had to compromise on.

He leaned slightly, enough that the water streaming from wringing out his shirt fell just beside Ezra’s head, splashing and spitting on his face.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, turning his head away and shielding his face with his hands, the indignation ruined by a laugh.

“Sorry. Didn’t see you,” Din said without even an attempt at an apologetic tone.

Ezra wiped the stray drops of water off his face, flicked the drops at Din and then resumed his relaxed position.

Idly, Din hitched his hands on his hips as he swept his gaze over the water, the sun faint and gentle on his back, his core working to keep his balance on the swaying platform.

The Azadis’ house—the house he, Ezra, and Grogu had taken residence in since their return—lay behind him, everyone inside still fast asleep. Before him, on the horizon, the city rose into the pale sky, white spire buildings growing up, catching light then tapering down towards the gilded plains in clusters of homes that spread out and away from each other the further they travelled.

His sights lingered and wandered but fell, inevitably, certainly, on one house in particular.

Visually, it didn’t stand out from its neighbours: warm sandstone walls, a flat roof rimmed with a parapet and topped with a slanted, cloth shade, sun-coloured spire roses climbing the sides of the house as well as the fence. It had direct access to the beach like all its neighbours, like the Azadis’, but unlike the Azadis’ home, the yard was much bigger, much more level, and it kept a pool.

“You gonna go?”

“Hmm? Say something?”

Lazily, Ezra batted Din’s calf with the back of his hand, his eyes still closed. “I know you heard me.”

Din said nothing.

He glanced one last time at the house on the other side of the shore and smothered a bloom of irrational disappointment when he couldn’t glimpse anything but a quiet house. He shook his head as if to reset his thoughts and clambered down onto the dock, coming to sit beside his brother, facing the open sea.

He didn’t know what he expected. It wasn’t like he had any reasonable foundation to believe he’d see some kind of hint, some sign, a message, an answer…

“Could swim over. Go have a cup of caf, warm up, then swim back,” Ezra proposed, idly. He left a space open for a response; when none came, he cracked his eyes open and glanced to Din, eyebrows lifted. “Or I could stay right here and you could swim over, go have a cup of caf and warm up… with Sabine.”

Unbidden, Din found his head turning, his gaze drifting back to the house across the water.

He couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted.

The prospect was a hook—invisible but curved just so as to catch, to snag, to dig in deep and hold his desires. The string lay over the distance, undaunted by obstacles, and the other end resided now permanently in her hands.

They had talked.

They had to; something had shifted between them and it wasn’t the kind of thing either of them felt right ignoring—though inexperienced, they were neither of them fools and they weren’t the kind of people to leave something so important unnamed.

The first time was a few days after their return from Wild Space. The celebration had finally calmed and life and routine was beckoning but before they fell into any of that, while they still dwelled in that sliver of wonderful unreality wherein bravery came naturally, they went for a walk. They set out late noon and didn’t return until well into twilight.

She had asked, point blank, if the keldabe they had shared in the galley after the mission on Lyris meant anything.

His heart both plummeted and raced.

It had meant… it had meant so much more than he ever knew he had the capacity or right to experience. He thought it was the moment he declared (albeit without words) that he loved her in a very specific way—a way he never believed he would get to love anyone. But just because it meant all that to him did not mean it meant the same to her.

He didn’t know how to say that; just having the question raised confronted him, running his voice off.

All he could say was a plain and simple “Yes.”

And he didn’t breathe until she nodded and smiled like he had chased a hurricane away. “Good,” she said. “I thought so.”

Once sure they were on the same page, it became easier to write the rest—practically effortless. The case wasn’t so surprising as was its succinctness.

He loved her; she loved him.

But too much had happened in too little time; too much was different, too much had yet to settle. Not only had Ezra come home but so had Kanan and he and Hera faced the challenge of reformatting their whole life together with not just Jacen but now little Depa to factor in, too. Besides all that, Din still had to establish normalcy and routine for Grogu.

So they decided to wait, let things between them breathe while everything else around them grew into shape.

And, gradually, that had happened.

Kanan and Hera had decided to put the Ghost in storage and put themselves in a house (rented, of course; planting roots wasn’t something either of them were confident in). They chose a spot closer to the sea and the fields than the city proper: as a Nautolan, Depa was amphibious, and while her species was comfortable enough on land, water played a major part in their development; and the fields served perfectly as practise space for Jacen whose long-awaited training had now officially begun with his father and Ezra as his teachers.

Sabine lived with them. No one forced her to, no one insisted, but everyone was glad she had accepted Kanan and Hera’s offer to come and stay with them.

Grogu had no shortage of babysitters and teachers and friends—their crew initially, yes, but it wasn’t long before he fostered acquaintances with the neighbourhood children as well. It was through those acquaintances that Din had inadvertently found work: it began with one neighbour’s broken speeder and spiralled until the Azadis’ garage had become something of an unofficial repair shop. Now he had a steady stream of odd jobs fixing everything from vehicles to caf machines—anything people brought him.

Life had a very comfortable semblance of permanency now.

But Din knew it wasn’t set in stone.

The shape of things at present allowed for a change but obligations and duties, prior engagements and unfinished business loomed on the horizon, lurking further into view each day—they still had to find the Tribe, make sure they were okay, do whatever necessary to make things okay for them, and the New Republic wanted them to help in their mission to clear out Imperial remnants infecting the Outer Rim. It wouldn’t be right to avert their gaze and cover their ears, ignore the demands of duty just because they wanted this storybook life to continue indefinitely.

Still.

He wanted it.

He wanted to be with her.

They were already family in the way the Azadis and the Jarrus-Syndullas were their family but he wanted something more than that, something different, something… well, permanent.

He had searched himself long and hard, he had thought and considered and weighed the matter as carefully as any pivotal, life-changing decision warranted, and he was sure—he was as sure as when he took on his armour, he was as sure as when he adopted Grogu as his son.

He was sure… but that didn’t mean he wasn’t scared.

“You’re rather unquiet this morning,” Ezra observed.

Din sighed, his breath falling out longer and heavier than he expected, bowing his back and dragging his shoulders down. “Just… working things out,” he muttered.

“Yeah? And you getting anywhere with that?”

“Not as far as I’d like.”

Ezra hummed; Din felt the gentle reverberation rather than heard the sound, just like he felt the water lapping at the platform or the crisp morning breeze but didn’t hear them. The only thing he could hear clearly were the seabirds squawking to their brethren as they floated by overhead in a scattered formation.

A single seabird peeled away and spiraled down, coming to land on the dock.

Din turned his head to track it. It looked like an ornament for a moment as it just stood there, still and silent, black gem eyes unblinking. Then its head twitched and cocked to the side, getting a better visual of Ezra before scampering over.

Ezra knew it was there without opening his eyes. He moved his hand out, fluttering his fingers softly and the seabird hopped closer, bright orange webbed feet splashing in the shallow pools of saltwater littering the deck. It twitched its painted head as it looked from the proffered hand to the serene face, then, without deliberation, it ducked its head and rubbed its crown against Ezra’s knuckles.

This was a daily occurrence, Din had discovered. And not just birds—everything from Loth-cats to livestock, mounts to mice were attracted to Ezra. He couldn’t walk down the street without some critter popping out and trailing after him like he was some sort of celebrity amongst the animal kingdom.

Content with the attention granted, the seabird flew off, leaving the brothers be.

Taking and releasing a breath, Din laid down on the dock just as his brother had except his arms rested one at his side, the other slung over his middle. He gazed up at the sky until the soft, hazy hues of lavender painted over his thoughts.

There were no clouds or stars decorating the sky anymore, just the twin moons—they had done their job, lighting the world all through the night, now they could rest from their vigil and enjoy the day.

The sun had finally made it over the buildings.

In the distance, a sailboat veered away from the jetty, bow aimed towards the channel opening. Absently, Din wondered if they were leaving or coming home… or that inexplicable but not uncommon blend of both at the same time.

He closed his eyes, pulling curtains over everything but the untethered sway and jolt of the water, the smell of sea and salt, the pale warmth of the sun, the calm presence of his brother and the no longer unpleasant chill in the air.

Author’s Note

And we’re back!

This instalment of the series is meant to be softer and slower (and shorter); more character-focussed, less plot-driven. We’ll be giving the action a break for a bit because I’ve got a bunch in store later but, for a little while, the clan and crew shall get their well-deserved break.

Mando’a

Beroya — bounty hunter

Keldabe — a tender forehead touch; Mandalorian equivalent of a kiss

🎶 chapter playlist 🎶

Shadows — Ed Prosek

West Coast Friendship — Owl City

Horizon — The National Parks

Hollow Sound — Satellite Station

You Say — Vertical Horizon

Find Yourself — Brad Paisley

Somebody Like You — Keith Urban

. . . . .

Next Chapter >>>

#din djarin #ezra bridger #the mandalorian #star wars rebels #my writing #lift a sail #shadows dancing on the walls #the mandalorian fanfiction #Star Wars rebels fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #fic #ao3

6 notes · View notes

agent-aurelie · 1 year

Link

Man, I love when a sweet, soft little fic comes together in just a few hours. It also helps when you’re deeply inspired by a piece of fan art, specifically this beauty by @strige-art.

As we are all well aware, my absolute comfort space in Star Wars is that post-A New Dawn era, and I get so excited when there is gorgeous fan art from that time period. With her permission and blessing, I wrote this fic based on Strige’s piece and gosh I hope I did it justice.

Anyway, happy Monday, Thirst Squad. Here’s something to hopefully start your week out right. Back to my cell in solitary!

P. S. I’ve only done a few of these fanart-inspiring-fanfic collaborations but I could probably be coerced into doing a few more because I really do enjoy the partnerships and I feel like everyone wins with these. So. Just putting that into the universe.

#Star Wars Rebels #Kanera #Star Wars Rebels Fic #Kanera Fic #Star Wars Rebels Fanfiction #Kanera Fanfiction #Kanan Jarrus #Hera Syndulla #Star Wars After Dark #Just Another E-Rated Fic From The Fandom's Resident Smutty One Trick Pony #Are People Still Reading These IDK?

20 notes · View notes

anakinskywalkerog · 2 years

Note

do you have any favorite anakin fics or just general star wars fics that you've read?

absolutely i can post some of my recommendations! it’s actually a bummer to me that Tumblr doesn’t have the bookmark feature like ao3, bc oftentimes i read something i like and then forget about it. these are just a few i remember off the top of my head.

also—i do occasionally read 18+ smutty fics, even though i don’t like to write them, so some on this list will be of that nature. funnily enough, though, i never read any Anakin smut. idk why. i can’t do it lol. it’s like…idk i am in love with him so i can’t read anything slightly sexual about him? who knows, man. so, sorry there isn’t more anakin stuff on this short lil list

Anakin & Obi Wan:

i love love love @stardust-kenobi’s “Reminiscence” series. very cute but also spicy and angsty

@meshlasolus’s “House of Memories” series is one of my current favs, and there’s a lot of it—if you haven’t read it yet, you’re missing out (Obi-Wan)

@anatee has written some very cute Anakin content 💕

i follow @showxmethestars for their very very cute shorter form anakin x reader posts

i’ll just link this obi-wan smut here, by the lovely @im-poe-dameron. i went and found it for you bc i read it once and never forgot it lol it did things to me

Rebels characters:

@sith-lord has written some Kallus content, and I really really love Agent Kallus 🥰

also! @mrs-ben-kenobi writes for Kallus x Reader and I love it

@asterian also writes very well for both Kallus and Kanan, my favs

this is just what i could remember right now—if you’re not on this list but i follow you, feel free to message me and i’ll boost your fics!! bc i’m sure i followed bc i read and liked them haha. and if i don’t follow you, feel free to send me your fic! i always like recommendations. 😄

104 notes · View notes

grxceful-ly · 1 year

Text

another reunion fic because i have no self control ❤️

#sabezra #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #sabine wren #ezrabine #bluebean #swr #star wars rebels fanfiction #fanfiction #ao3 #sw #hera syndulla #kanan jarrus #ezra and sabine #sabezra reunion #ahsoka #star wars

37 notes · View notes

aintinacage · 2 years

Text

Ezra is counting on Sabine, and she knows that, but could it be possible that she misunderstood what Ezra is actually counting on?

Come Back To Me

#Star Wars rebels #Star Wars rebels fanfic #star wars #star wars fanfic #star wars fanfiction #Star Wars rebels fanfiction #ezra bridger #ezra x sabine #sabine wren #Sabine wren fanfic #Ezra bridger fanfic #Sabezra #Ezbine #Lothal #swr #sw rebels #I’m counting on you

63 notes · View notes

wanderingjedihistorian · 11 months

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: Rebels Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios Characters: Alexsandr Kallus, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios Additional Tags: Mission Fic, Banter, Snark, Rebel Alexsandr Kallus, Kallus insists his impatience is all Zeb's fault, Bahryn Festival 2023, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming Series: Part 3 of Bahryn Festival 2023 Summary: 3 times Kallus wished Zeb would hurry up, and 1 time Zeb is the impatient one.

Fic + Podfic

A collaboration with @flowerparrish for @bahrynfestival Day 3 Prompt: Hurry Up

(An event we’ve known of for two whole days. Neither of us is in possession of any chill whatsoever.)

#my writing #rebels fanfiction #podfic of my fic #kalluzeb #bahrynfest2023 #star wars rebels fanfiction

10 notes · View notes

dootchster · 1 year

Text

So, what do you do when you overcome a writer's block?

Write a fic about something that completely randomly came up inside your mind while listening to some music that you've definitely not been non-stop listening to for the past week or so.

So here's me presenting: It's Nice to Have a Friend

which, if you couldn't tell from the title already, is fully inspired by taylor swift's song which coincidentally is named the same :)

#having listened to lover non-stop for the past week really put me in a mood #so i tried writing something differently this time #and i kinda like how it turned out #sabezra #star wars #star wars rebels #sabine wren #ezra bridger #star wars rebels fanfiction #my fanfic #fanfiction

12 notes · View notes

ladywren7 · 11 months

Text

Part Of Your World (or HERA!👏 IS!👏 ARIEL!👏)

By LadyWren7

DO NOT COPY/REPOST

Summary: May The 4th post!

What can I say, Ariel is my favorite princess and the new trailers inspired me🤷‍♀️😉

Maybe I'll write more of this someday, I do have a full au planned, but for now enjoy this.💖

Notes: MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU AAHHHHHHH! Also

Me 🤝 @chaoticdumbassrouge

Posting fics w princess songs on may 4th

AO3 Link

Thunder struck again and this time it hit the ship.

"Caleb, watch out!" Depa shrieked to her son before an inflamed chunk of the mast came crashing down where he stood, throwing him into the sea.

Hera, who was watching from afar, saw this and immediately dashed to his rescue.

She hurriedly swam over, hooked her arms under his, and headed to the surface. The night waters were dark, thunder threatened to strike them at every turn and debris and fire continued to rain down, but she was determined to get the man she loved to safety.

By the time they reached shore the night had turned to morning, the storm had passed, and nature was at peace again.

Hera laid Prince Caleb down on the warm sand and took a moment to admire him. The man was beautiful. His golden skin almost shone in the sunlight and the way his long brown hair that trailed down his chest and shoulders was oh so attractive. Everything about him, his face, his body, it was captivating. She thought about all the days she had seen him through his castle windows, on ships, strolling outside and how she had always yearned for more. Now she was here and she never wanted to leave his side.

Though she wished the circumstances were better, she promised herself to enjoy this opportunity because she'd likely never see him this close again. Or maybe ever, if her father found out.

From the corner of her eye, Hera noticed his fingers twitch, and for a moment she imagined slipping her hand in his, but she stopped herself. Delusions like those would only make her eventual departure more heartbreaking.

Instead she blocked the sun's blinding light with her head and gently stroked a hand down his cheek.

"What would I give to live where you are?" Hera sang to him ever so softly.

She thought about how sad she was going to be when she left and sighed as she stared down at him. A bittersweet smile took over her features. "What would I pay to stay here beside you?"

"What do I do to see you smiling at me?"

She looked beyond him and to the plains and mountains in the distance. "Where would we walk? Where would we run?"

She turned back to him. "If we could stay all day in the sun..."

The mermaid paused in surprise when suddenly the prince's eyes blinked open and his hand softly grasped hers.

He seemed to smile up at her as if in a daze or a spell. Oh he was gorgeous when he smiled.

Hera couldn't help but smile back and gently rubbed his cheek with her thumb. "Just you and me. And I could be, part of your world."

They locked eyes and she began to lean closer when she heard a man calling Caleb's name. She turned and saw a figure approaching.

It was time for her to go. To leave the man she loved and the moment they were having.

She wanted so badly to kiss him goodbye but she knew she shouldn't. The other man was only getting closer and she couldn't risk being seen.

With a heavy heart, Hera did the most painful thing she'd ever done. Pull her hand away from his.

With one last glance she dived into the water, leaving her sunken then saved prince on land. She in the water, and he on the land where the world told them they belonged.

"Caleb!" The Queen's advisior Mace called out as he walked along the shore.

He soon caught sight of the prince and ran up to him, "Your majesty, are you alright?" He asked as he got him up on his feet.

"I just saw the most beautiful woman," Caleb breathlessly replied.

Mace raised a brow. "What?"

He placed a hand on Caleb's forehead. "You must be in shock, did you hit your head?"

"No, I swear I saw someone." The prince shook Mace's hand off.

"She was right here."

Mace looked at their surroundings. "Well it doesn't look like anyone's been here but you."

Caleb continued to deny him. He did see someone. How could Mace not have? Her beauty was impossible to miss. "Yes there was, she- she was like an angel. She was radiating light off her a-and her voice."

He grabbed onto Mace's coat. "It was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

Mace stared at him for a few moments before abruptly turning and practically dragging him back to the palace. "Well, you might be seeing things but at least your alive. Let's get back to the castle, your mother is worried sick."

"But I-"

Hera gazed at the two walking away from behind a rock and sighed. She almost had it all and now he was slipping through her fingers. Despite her sadness, she found a little glimmer of hope within herself. A spark. She had a feeling, regardless if her father found out, that this wouldn't be the last time she saw him.

"I don't know when." She began climbing the rock now that he was out of earshot.

"I don't know how..."

She couldn't help but think about her father and how everything she did seemed to be something to prove to him. This time she was going to succeed, and it was going to be glorious.

"But I know somethings starting right now. Watch and you'll see..."

As she reached the top of the large rock her tail curled with excitement. "Someday I'll be..."

"Part of your world!" She belted out into the open ocean as a strong wave hit the boulder just right, creating a fan like effect around her.

She knew deep in her soul that one day, someday, she would finally show herself to Caleb and he would love her just as she loved him.

He would take her away from her father's cruel grasp and be with her for the rest of her life. He would show her the land, technology, and give her the proper names for everything she had in her treasure trove. They would walk the shore, they would go exploring, and they wouldn't care about what others thought because they would have each other.

Her life would be the one she'd always dreamed of and she couldn't wait to go and get it.

23 notes · View notes

autumnwoodsdreamer · 8 months

Text

Lift a Sail Series

With Ahsoka as mediator, Grogu makes it known that he wishes to stay with the only real family he has ever had; although surprised, Din accepts, and together they chart a new path. They set off in search of more Mandalorians while enemies continue to chase them across the galaxy. In far flung corners of the Outer Rim (and beyond), they find adventure, mystery, and danger.  But with friends, both old and new, this little clan just might find their way...

1. Lift a Sail

If he went to bed, he’d sleep, and then morning would come and they would reach Corvus, they’d find the Jedi who would of course love the child and welcome him home... and Din, his quest seen through to the end, would leave.

That’s how it had to be; he knew as much from the start.

The kid was not his. The Armorer called him a foundling, yes, but he couldn’t rightly be deemed one until it was certain his people couldn’t or wouldn’t care for him; Din was to treat him as his own until then, but nothing was set in stone...

. . . . .

The child chooses his path, and their tumultuous quest seems to reach its end.

But there are still other forces at play, hunting them down.

Their journey is far from over...

[Read on ao3]

. . . . .

2. Head Above Water

Torn far apart from each other, Din and Grogu struggle to stand their ground and hold onto hope.

They don’t have to face their darkest hours alone, however, as some unexpected allies throw their lot in to help both father and son to stay their course.

[Read on ao3]

. . . . .

3. Anchors

Reunited at last, Din and Grogu return to Lothal where they find safe harbour as they heal and rest.

Amidst the hard-earned peace and quiet, however, a new course needs to be charted and a new mystery unravels itself—one that weaves through to the earliest chapters of Din’s life…

[Read on ao3]

. . . . .

4. The Lighthouse Keeper

The journey to find Ezra Bridger and bring him home begins!

Danger, discovery, and mystery abound out in the wildest reaches of space; one can never be sure what (or who) they may find…

[Read on ao3]

#din djarin #grogu djarin #sabine wren #ezra bridger #the mandalorian #star wars rebels #clan of two #the ghost crew #the mandalorian fanfiction #star wars rebels fanfiction #fanfiction #my writing #ao3 #ao3 link #lift a sail

7 notes · View notes

candiedstardust · 2 months

Text

No Pressure Writer/Artist Game!!

Thank you bestie~ @humankarkat <3

Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell us about it. Then tag as many people as you have WIPs. If you don't write, list your art/photography WIPs!

(Bear with me, my file names are ~dumb as hell~ bc I'm ~dumb as hell~ doing great <3)

Mmeeooww

Meow whump (potentially nasty)

ch8

333 (mean)

Jedi Whump

yum yum

~cold~

New New

Sacrifice

Heaven

Smuttttt

I'm 99.99% sure most of my beloved mutuals have done this already or have been tagged, so this is my blessing to do this if you would like to <3

#This garbage is ALL kanera #2014 me is so fucking cheesed rn guys #we did it joe #kanera #my writing #swr #star wars rebels #star wars rebels fanfiction #hera syndulla #kanan jarrus #star wars #star wars fanfiction

3 notes · View notes

anakinskywalkerog · 2 years

Text

The Jedi and the Loth Rat (Episode 5)

Kanan Jarrus x Padawan!Reader

Link to Episode 4

Warnings: Nothing aside from uber angsty romantic vibes, bacta tank edition :)

Summary: Healing in a bacta tank after your rescue from the Grand Inquisitor, you reflect on your unexpected Force connection with Kanan and its consequences

Word Count: 2.5k

You had never been inside a bacta tank before, though you had imagined how it might feel: like sleep, a cooling, healing sleep, your body allowed to mend itself at an accelerated speed. The reality was a lot more uncomfortable. As you floated, suspended in the fluid that would heal your wounds, your head twitched back and forth, your eyes dancing under their lids. You were not fully unconscious, but certainly not fully conscious, either, and this in-between was a prickly, awkward feeling. Visions, sensations, and feelings passed by you, you cataloguing them, thinking them over, ruminating on your own fears and failures.

You saw happy memories too, of course. You saw moments from your childhood, blurry impressions of your real parents. Your mind replayed interactions with Kanan, both real and imagined. You saw Kanan teaching you how to hold a lightsaber; you saw the look in his eyes when you had first chosen to return to the Ghost, handing him back his weapon, accepting his offer of training and becoming his padawan; you saw the crew sitting in the main hull of the ship, watching Hera and Sabine play holochess, remembered the feeling of happiness and belonging you had felt in that moment. You saw imagined realities, realities you knew even in partial consciousness could never be real. You saw Kanan taking your hand in his, kissing your fingers; you saw his face leaning toward yours, closer and closer, his eyes shutting slowly, like the dimming of a light switch; you saw him clearly in front of you, kneeling, the words 'I love you, Y/N' shaping his lips. You knew these were false images, and yet you savored them, allowed your body to experience the emotions as if they were real.

But your fear permeated everything; the memories of the reality you had faced invaded your happy visions. The torture you had endured. Your body twitched in the bacta tank, discomfort moving your head back and forth. The moment your Force presence had combined with Kanan's more wholly than ever before, even though you had been half a galaxy apart. The moment you both had recognized your feelings for him, as if they were laid out on a table in front of you, as if you were both examining them from above. Kanan's fear and confusion. The rejection you felt from within your own mind stung even through your delusions, your body moving through the bacta fluid, trying to process the truth. The truth was that Kanan was repulsed by your feelings, afraid of them. The truth was, now that he knew you loved him, it would ruin your relationship forever—now that he knew, he would never be able to train you. You would never become a true Jedi. He would abandon you, out of embarrassment, or integrity, or necessity. You knew he cared for you, but only in the capacity as a mentor. You knew he thought only of his Jedi commitment, thought only of training you in the lost ways of the Jedi Order, and you had failed to commit to his ideals. You had spat in the face of everything he held dear to him—of everything he had lost when Order 66 had been declared.

The guilt you felt pitched you back and forth, and as you processed this from within your bacta slumber, the feeling you felt first and foremost was grief. Grief for the wound your failure would cause in Kanan; grief for the time you had shared together, time that was certainly now coming to an end.

Kanan stood next to the bacta tank, pacing around the medical station, unable to keep still. His fear and terror at the thought of losing you had slowly faded. Once you'd arrived at the rebel base on Atollon, and Kanan had rushed you into the bacta tank, he'd known you would survive. He felt your presence growing stronger and stronger as he watched your figure, clad in a white one-piece form-fitting tank suit, with shorts and thin shoulder straps that exposed all of the wounds on your arms. He saw your fingernails slowly re-growing, the bruises on your face, arms and legs starting to fade in the healing liquid. He watched you writhe around, your hair floating behind you, saw your eyelids moving so quickly, and he wished he could calm you, wished he could reach out with the Force and soothe your presence, but he held back. He didn't want to use the Force to try to connect with you, fearing that he might once again intrude upon your thoughts, become an invader into your already troubled mind. A mind that had been through torture, and pain. He continued his pacing.

What to say to you when you awoke, he didn't know. As his terror and dread had faded, a sharp anxiety had taken their place. As he paced, he struggled through it all in his mind. The idea that you might...that maybe you could...he still couldn't bring himself to think it through fully to its conclusion, the idea that you might feel for him the way he felt for you. But complicating that sharp stab of excitement and fear was the agony he had felt when inside your mind, the agony he felt radiating off you now as you struggled in the bacta tank. It didn't make sense to him. Why were you in such pain at the thought of him? Could it be that you blamed him for your capture, blamed him for the torture you had endured? You should—it had been all his fault that he'd failed to catch you, all his fault that you had been taken prisoner. Kanan felt his own guilt move swiftly through him, and clung to the Force, trying to calm himself, to think clearly, as a Jedi should. He would make it up to you, no matter what he needed to do. He would do whatever you asked. He would be there, present for you in whatever way you needed. He would help you to heal. He would discover the reason for your feelings of sadness and shame, dispel all of your negative feelings, make you feel safe with him again. He would repent for his failures. He would make sure nothing ever happened to you—make sure the Grand Inquisitor was never able to hurt you again.

From within the tank you began to regain your senses. You felt your breath growing stronger. Your skin recognized where it was—that it was wet. You felt the breathing mask against your face, understood the flow of oxygen to your lungs. You regained control of your hands, felt your face for the bruises and cuts, but there were none. Your eyes shot open.

You flailed, pushing yourself to the surface of the tank, pressing at the top of it to open. As if willed by the Force, or else because it was being operated by someone outside the tank, the lid opened, allowing you to put your hands on the sides of the tank and propel yourself out of the liquid. You moved the mask off your face, removing it entirely, breathing in true air, looking around. As you had suspected, as part of you had already known, Kanan was standing beneath the tank, looking up at you, reaching out with his hand to help you down. Breathing rapidly, you pulled yourself out, ignoring the gesture of his hand more out of clumsiness than anything, struggling as you were to regain feeling in your muscles as you climbed down the ladder adjacent to the tank. When you reached the ground, Kanan handed you a large brown robe, a garment you recognized as one of his own. A warm feeling inside you jumped a bit, your stomach turning over as you took the robe from him and pressed it against your face, drying your eyes. The robe was clean, dry, and warm, the thick material soothing to your wet skin. You donned the robe, suddenly realizing how exposed you had been in your tank suit, the thin white fabric hugging your body. To your relief, you saw all signs of injury gone, and you hugged the robe around your wet form, shivering.

"How are you feeling?" Kanan asked anxiously, looking you over. His gaze overwhelmed you. You felt too exposed, and not physically. You felt him watching your face as your insides squirmed. You didn’t know how to answer his question. You wanted so badly to look at Kanan, to take all of him in—how you’d missed him—but a quick glance at his eyes made your cheeks burn and your eyes water, with shame, fear, embarrassment. The realities you had remembered while floating in the bacta tank rang through your mind: how you’d failed him, failed his teachings. His rejection was more than you could take right now. You felt raw, as if the inquisitors had rubbed your soul against sandpaper until all that was left was the layer underneath, the layer without any external protection.

“Better,” you replied simply, still avoiding his eyes, focusing your gaze on the bacta tank, remembering the happy imaginings your brain had created inside it, the alternate endings where Kanan loved you. It was a lie, all of it, your own mind comforting itself when it needed to heal. Coming back to reality now was gut wrenching. As happy as you were to see him again, to be in his presence, to be back here with your family, to be safe from the pain—you bit your lip, using the pressure to remind yourself of reality. Nothing could be the same, now. Not ever again.

You felt Kanan’s Force presence, felt him watching you with fear. That he was afraid of your feelings made your cheeks burn hotter. You would not make him talk about it with you. You would not force your presence on him at all. Of course he was afraid to confront what you had both seen—of course he didn't want to see the love in your eyes, just as you didn't want to see the rejection in his. He did care for you, as a student, as family—you knew this. You knew he didn't want to have to speak his rejection aloud, that he didn't want to have to see the hurt in your eyes.

“That’s good,” Kanan said, pushing with the Force and trying to dispel your worries, trying to comfort you. He put his hand on your shoulder. Though he had made this very platonic gesture to you plenty of times, his touch sent through you the feeling of an electric shock, almost as bad as those given to you while you were being tortured. You started, your whole body seizing up, and you shoved his hand off reflexively. Through the Force you felt him understanding that he had caused you pain, and felt his fear and guilt course through you, intensified by his stinging wound at your rebuff. You didn't understand. You couldn’t help it. You had to look at him.

“Y/N”, Kanan said in a broken voice, meeting your eyes, “I—“

“Y/N!” Sabine’s voice shocked you both as she entered the medical bay. You both turned. Sabine ran forward, grabbing you into a tight hug, tucking her neck around your shoulder.

“I was so worried. I’m so glad you’re back, and you’re safe.” You melted into her hug, thankful for the feeling of her presence, letting it give you strength. You noticed that her touch did not cause you any pain, and you knew that Kanan noticed too, feeling his anguish grow through the Force.

“I’m sorry, Kanan,” Sabine said, breaking her grip and pulling away, turning to him. “Hera needs you aboard. It’s urgent. She’ll brief us on the way.”

“What?” Kanan asked sharply, seemingly trying to pull himself out of a daze. Now that he was facing Sabine, you were able to fully look at him, and you saw that he looked terrible. His face looked like he hadn’t slept in days, his eyes red with large dark circles underneath them. He was almost shaking, a bit jittery seeming, nothing like his usual self, the calming, strong presence you had come to know.

“I can’t leave now. I need to stay with Y/N.” He turned back to you, and the quick moment of eye contact was overwhelming. There was so much you wanted to say, but you felt terrified of even looking at him.

“I’m fine,” you interjected, turning to Sabine. “I‘ll join you. What’s the mission?”

Sabine sucked in a breath, looking from you to Kanan, hearing between the lines. She turned back to you.

“Fulcrum has vital information for us—about the Empire’s plans for Lothal. We don’t know what it is, but it’s been made clear it could turn the tides for the planet, entirely. We need to retrieve the intel from Fulcrum personally—she doesn’t trust sending it via transmission. It could be intercepted.” Sabine was good under pressure, and good at concealing her true thoughts. Though she wasn't Force sensitive, she had a knack for understanding things left unsaid. Though she saw that there was something going on here, for now she focused on the practical, and you were grateful. You wanted—you needed the distraction.

“Great,” you said, turning around and looking for your clothes, your boots, your lightsaber. “Just give me a minute, and I’ll—“

Kanan opened his mouth to protest, but Sabine beat him to it. “Absolutely not,” she told you, placing a gentle hand on your arm. “You’re under strict orders from Hera to stay here. You need rest, Y/N. You underwent some very serious trauma, to your body, and to your— ”

“But Sabine—“

“Those are your orders, Y/N,” Kanan said, and the sudden formality in his voice shocked you. You turned back to him, gaping, trying to understand this sudden shift, trying to convince him to allow you to go, but this time he was the one avoiding your gaze. "Let's go," he said to Sabine, walking toward the door without another word to you.

"It's a simple mission," Sabine told you bracingly, looking a bit confused at Kanan's change in demeanor. "Get some rest." She gave you a small smile, and turned to follow Kanan. You watched them walk away, feeling a tug inside of you, wrenching you forward, your Force presence reaching out toward the one you had just worked so hard to block out.

“Kanan—“ you said weakly.

He stopped, turning back to you. You saw the briefest look of pain flash across his face. “I’ll be back soon, Y/N.”

You wanted to tell him that the Force would be with him, that it would be with all of them, but the words got lost in your throat as you watched him walk away.

************************************************************************

Episode 6 is posted!! :)

The Jedi and the Loth Rat Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8

divider credit @djarrex

tags: @orangehightops @jedi-archives

60 notes · View notes