Hi, I'm a writer. I'm inspired by The Mandalorian. I'm also older than Grogu and I am a mom.
So for those of you who send me notes about a story I've written, thank you so much. I appreciate them all. I like to think that in sharing these stories you'll get to know me better and appreciate the Mandalorian, Grogu, Din Djarin and company even more than you do already.
My content is on AO3 at the link below. There are a lot of stories there, including a few outside of The Mandalorian frame work.
I accept writing prompts when I have the time.
I do not write content that is R-rated, considered 'smut', or is particularly explicit, mostly. Lots of other folks write in that space and have a great following. Enjoy their work. I will use tags to let folks know if I've written something a little spicier or saltier.
So have a nice day and enjoy the stories and let me know what you think and what you'd like more of. Cheers!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Grogu: Travels to a different planet or different city on Earth with his dad.
Every restaurant and food stall within a 200 mile radius: Why do I hear boss music?
Grogu thought the name of the press tour for the Mandalorian and Grogu blockbuster, best film ever, will win all the awards ever (including best actor for himself and best supporting actor for his pal Pedro), wasn't accurate. It should have been called Food-a-palooza! So much food. All of it delicious. All of it free (ha). All of it fresh. None of it actually made by Martin whats-his-name. It was amazing.
In Mexico City they fed him all of his favorites. Shrimp chips, serene ham (yum), pretzel snackies. It was like he was in Spain, Japan, and Germany all at the same time. But behind the scenes he had empanadas, tres leches, Tacos Al Pastor, and churros, which are a lot like Mandalorian Fire Stacks. Yum.
In Madrid it was kind of more of the same, but Grogu didn't mind at all. He loved the tortilla de patatas and bocadillo de calamares. He also loved going the to tapas place down the street from the venue and just hanging out eating olives and jamón.
It was too bad that this was kind of a whirl wind tour because just as he was making his way through the whole menu, his handlers found him and they were back on a jet, heading to Berlin. German food was just as good as the rest, but still different. Stew, dumplings, Currywurst. It was not the wurst, it was the best. Spicy meat logs that were perfect for a hungry actor/stunt performer on the go. And that stuff they called bier was pretty good too, right up to the point that Jon took it away from him. Uff.
Then they went to Paris. Wow. It was amazing! Tiny coffees. Huge pastries. Fresh bread. And these amazing things called Canelé. Well, if you know, you know. He would have eaten more snails and paté, but he discovered the canelé first. Grogu had no idea what any one else ate because he was just too focused on the best possible thing he'd ever had.
Now London... that was different. They didn't just eat there. They cooked. Some friend of Jon's (he knows all the Chefs) came over for a visit and they all cooked together. There are a lot of videos of that. They are a hoot. Jon's friend Jamie was very nice and it was good to watch Pedro actual try and make something. He always tells Grogu he can't cook, but he can, he just doesn't always want to. Something about the best pizza crust still being an elusive goal. Whatever. Anyway, the steak sandwich was delicious, but he didn't ever need to eat another lemon in his whole long, long, long, long, long life. Ever.
Before he even had a chance to try fish and chips or a kipper, they were heading to New York City. If you don't already know this, New York City has all the food in the world. All of it. Anything. Everything. Look it up. Grogu was almost tired of food by this point, but then they stopped at a place that served the most amazing sandwich with chicken and ham and cheese and some sort of bread and some shredded green stuff that he was assured was not a vegetable, a cousin of a vegetable, or even in the same kingdom, phylum, class, or order (or is that the other way around?) as a vegetable. Well worth the wait and fancy French name (told you they had food from everywhere).
Grogu hadn't even finished digesting that sandwich when they were back in LA doing LA things, like red carpets, interviews, photo ops, more interviews and stuff like that. Travel thousands of klicks and all you get is a lousy bag of peanuts (too close to vegetables - the word pea is right there). Fortunately for Grogu, the glorious Miss Weaver had snackies for him. They were like a concentrated form of the shrimp chips from Mexico City and that made all the difference. It also helped that Pedro doesn't really like them. Something about salt and bloat. Ha.
When they finally reached Tokyo, Grogu hadn't been sure what to expect. World cuisines actually had a lot in common with each other. There was always something like meat stuffed in bread or some other container (like ravioli, empanadas, pierogi, boa, etc.). There was always something fancy that required a lot of patience (Iberico ham and canelé). And there was always something easy to make and delicious (tortilla de patatas - so good.)
Japan did not let him down. Ramen. Sushi. Boba Teas. Yakitori. Gyoza. Amazing fresh fruit. Wow. He could have settled there, no problem.
Wow. So much food. So many places. Grogu is both tired and hungry now. Hopefully those shrimp chip bits he saved for a rainy day were still in his coverall pocket. He didn't manage to eat them all. Somehow.
You didn’t ask for it, but you are getting it all the same! Grogu built the Anzellan ship from his new movie, Grogu and the Mandalori… The Mandalorian and Grogu. I keep reminding him that they are a team and he keeps telling me when Pedro puts him in another movie with him he’ll believe it. Actors… Here is an image of the box, among other new LEGO kits. Many Grogus participated in this build. This is the Way!
Keep reading to follow the build! I have spoken!
Image 1. Grogu wanted his siblings to help with this build and only let their dad watch over the proceedings. Din Djarin was fine with that. He’d already told Grogu that they had just finished a bunch of other builds and needs to take a break. The Grogus did not agree, so here we are building LEGO Kit #75445 Anzellan Starship. This is one of the first kits released for The Mandalorian and Grogu movie and it was too cute to pass up.
Image 2. This kit contains six bags and one instruction book. As you’ll soon see, the bags contain a good number of small parts. Beware of long fingernails (individual studs can get stuck under them, ask me how I know) and slippery surfaces (when you pry the stud out from under your nail - it didn’t hurt - it then goes skittering off the table onto the floor which is covered with dog. She’s a cute dog but she doesn’t really like being a LEGO landing pad.)
Image 3. This is bag 1. That’s it. Just the beginning of the beginning.
Image 4. Uff. All the bricks are laid out nice and neat. This takes some up front time, but it’s well worth the investment during the build. Less hunting and more building. Oh, and less sending bricks onto the dog I mentioned. That makes Cotterpin happy as well.
Image 5. Look! It’s the base of the starship. The deck. The floor. The place where Grogu walks around and feels tall because of the Anzellans. This section went pretty fast. This is not a kit that you can readily break up and share, like some others, but if you have a small group who want to participate they can certainly form an assembly line and get this done.
Image 6. We start up where we left off, sort of. Now we have bag 2 and the instructions are set at bag 2. Important to not jump ahead or fall behind. It’s easy to miss a step or part if you don’t have a way to mark your progress. You can follow the Grogu at the bottom of the page. It’s cute even if you flip two pages at once by mistake. You can also keep track of the step numbers. That’s a bit easier and more fool proof (yes, I’m the fool in this scenario).
Image 7. Neat parts again. Now we have 2 Anzellans to help Grogu get everything in its place. Din Djarin isn’t certain why he’s still carrying the bag around. It’s too big for Lil’ Grogu and too small for the rest of them. Dank Farrik!
Image 7a. Cute!
Image 8. Wow. We have a ship with tools, displays, seats, and all sorts of other stuff. Pretty sure we could build a battle droid here if we only had all the parts!
Image 8a. Close up.
Image 9. Bag 3! Wow. We are moving right along.
Image 10. Oops! No photo of parts laying on a table top. Sorry. But, hey, here’s what we managed to build after I messed up on step 80. Some parts look a lot like each other. But most of the time those parts are just kinda the same. The fix was simple once I realized what I had done wrong. Grogu would like to emphasize that it was a ‘me’ problem and not a ‘him’ problem.
Image 11. Bag 4. Yup. It’s a bag. Next!
Image 12. Parts. Why does it always have to be parts? Duh, because we couldn’t build without them. Let’s go!
Image 13. Okay. It’s a ship with more… ship? More panels. More engines. MORE POWER! Yup! We now have four engines. Bet we can fly anywhere!
Image 14. Bag 5. ‘Nuff said.
Image 15. Ooohhh. I know what we’re going to build! The parts tell all!
Image 16. Ha! We have a cockpit canopy in place (above and below) and a hatch with a ramp and a bunch of other cool stuff. What else do you notice?
Image 17. BAG 6!!! The final bag. The end of the build is upon us! Are we in the correct frame of mind to finish this without another huge step 80 mistake? I think we are. The Grogus insist that if I mess up again they will use the Force to fix it. Maybe I’ll use it myself … if Grogu lets me. (Sigh)
Image 18. That’s a lot of parts. So much to do and so little time to do it in (not really). This build has been very nice so far, even though the tiny pieces still vex me, but Grogu says that’s my problem for having gigantic human fingers. He’s not wrong about that. I am a human and I have fingers. Maybe some tweezers would be helpful?
Image 19. TA DA! It’s Done. Complete. Finished. Over. Yippee! Sort of. This was a very nice build. The instructions are great when you follow them. No stickers to place. No single stud holding a panel a bazillion times it’s size (looking at you Razor Crest Kit #75331).
Image 19a. Close up. Very nice ship. Designed with Grogu in mind. Well… little bitty Grogu. The other three were annoyed to say the least when they realized it wasn’t going to ‘somehow’ grow bigger so they could ride around in it. I’m pretty sure Din Djarin cracked a smile at that. It’s hard to tell.
Thank you for joining me and Grogu here for the build. You can find my other stories and LEGO builds with Grogu on AO3. Look for BurnWater_13! Cheers!
Grogu wearing a shirt that depicts him peeking over his dad's helmet. The shirt reads, 'The Dadalorian, #1 in the Galaxy'. He's holding popcorn, while his dad looks over his right shoulder. Image by me. Grogu by Mattel. Din Djarin by Hot Toys. LEGO Star Wars sets are in the background.
Happy May the 4th Be With You! Here is chapter 27 of Grogu and the Loth Wolf Puppy.
Chapter 27. Hellos and Good byes
After everything it took to reach Lothal and all the work they had planned for their arrival on the planet that was both fascinating and really, quite boring. The trip from orbit to their landing spot was a good example of the boring part.
Fields of grain as far as the eye could see, dotted with interesting towers, connected to compact vertical towns and cities (you could only tell the difference between them based on their diameters), and almost no visible sign of water. No ponds. No lakes. No streams. No seas. At least not on the ‘inhabited’ part of Lothal.
The ‘uninhabited’ part was called that because the Empire had done all it could to destroy what had been a center of free thinking and freedom loving people and they absolutely didn’t want anything like that in their empire. Little did they know, that very space housed a few things they never found or understood. One was an old Sith temple. Old before the time of any Sith Grogu ever knew of or met. The other was something, or rather, someone, far more surprising. A member of the Brethren of Tzura. Ta’lan’s mother. Shay Vizsla. A Mandalorian who had ceased to follow the way of the Mand’alor almost from birth.
Grogu hadn’t expected his ba’buir to meet them at their landing site. He hadn’t expected her to bring the entire pack of Loth wolves to meet them either. Nor had he expected her to already have two Wookiees traveling with her. It was like she had already read his entire ‘To Do’ list and got it all done just so she could spend time with T’ad and Ka’ra. That just didn’t seem right! Dank farrik.
“Din Djarin you look well. I think that is a good sign. I have brought Tyrr and Griind with me, so you may discuss with them which Wookiees have caught your interest. They have been aiding me in caring for the forests here, but I can spare them to pursue better work.”
Huh? These weren’t the Wookiees his dad needed to find? Good? Or not? Dang. Grogu couldn’t really decide if it was good or bad. What if these Wookiees didn’t want those other two to be returned to Kashyyyk? He didn’t think his ba’buir would really want his dad’s arms ripped off, but Shay Vizsla wasn’t a very straight forward person on a good day. Grogu didn’t know if this was a good day or not.
“Grogu, I see you there, thinking. Don’t be shy or too introspective. The wolves are here to meet you. I suggest you go on a run with them and get a feel for what they need and what they want from you. T’ad, Ka’ra and my daughter may regale me with your many adventures while we are apart just this little bit longer.”
Huh? Uff. Grogu should have expected all of that. Ta’lan had always told him that her mother never let an opportunity to plan and practice with the Force disappear from view. Instead of two, roughly equal parties, they would have three very unequal parties doing three different things. Was that really the best way for this to be done?
“Grogu, it’s alright. I’ve met Tyrr and Gryynd when I was on Corellia. No one’s going to be tearing anyones’ arms off. I promise.”
Grogu sighed with relief, but was mildly surprised that Ka’ra didn’t put her floaty in that water. She was the one who had been convinced that was the only possible outcome.
“It would be very difficult for you to care for my daughter if that occurred Din Djarin. Now, Ka’ra, we have much to do and I expect that you will be my very best helper. Nomino Nau’ur, you must keep your mother in check for me. She of course wishes to do everything all at once and that is not work this time. Ask her many questions and slow her down for me. I am not as young as I once was.”
Grogu tried not to laugh at his ba’buir’s blatant appeal for assistance that she absolutely didn’t need. The best he could do was turn it into a cross between a cough and a sneeze. It felt as bad as it sounded, but he did it willingly.
“Mother, you haven’t changed. Come along T’ad. Grogu must join the pack and learn their ways, while your father makes amends. I think you and I should make some sweet biscuits while your sister tries to pry all the knowledge of Force from her grandmother before the others return to us. They will all need something to sustain them.”
What?! Grogu was going to miss out on baking the one thing his mom really loved making other than caf?
“Worry not little one. We taught her that recipe. We add other things to it that you will enjoy more.”
The large white Loth wolf spoke in its deep low voice and startled Grogu for an instant. Fluffy was right. Grogu had his own mission to complete and now was the time to start.
“Sorry. Distracted. Not my plan.”
The wolf chuckled in a way that probably made the humans nervous but Grogu appreciated it’s sound. Growly, almost a bark, partly a whine, really a song. It was delightful to him.
“That is the way of life, my friend. Here. The pup will be your transport. We don’t have far to go, but it will go faster this way.”
Pup? The Pup! Yippee! After all the travel and turmoil and replanning, the pup that would join their family was right there! How did Grogu even manage to miss them? This was the whole purpose of the trip after all.
“Ad’ika, you have had many things on your mind and you have been far less selfish than you imagine. Enjoy your time with the pack.”
Grogu grinned at his mom’s words. She hadn’t said them out loud, but he’d heard them. It was true that the Brethren were always connected. This was definitely the Way.
Grogu enjoying the LEGO STAR WARS Kit #75460 New Republic X-Wing Starfighter, inspired by The Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
Grogu and the Loth Wolf Puppy
Part 25. Are we there yet?
Grogu had found that HK was on the bridge, which was a little unusual. They were in hyperspace already. Not a lot for the droid to do, when Thirty or Grogu or anyone else on The Bard was capable of taking care of it. His mom must have sent him there for a reason.
“Person known as Grogu, by what authority do you enter this space?”
Uff. HK had a habit of challenging anyone being present on the bridge with the exception of his mom. It wasn’t often that the droid noticed him when it seemed to prefer challenging his dad.
“My own. Why present?”
Two could play this silly game of who was there for what reason.
“Muun Bajir has assigned me the duty of evaluating the mechanics of this craft and I have finally reached the components in this space. The astro-mech referred to as ‘Thirty’ is currently assisting with the medical emergency involving the meat bag known as ‘Mando’.”
Grogu found the added information interesting, but not unusual. Most droids, but especially protocol droids, stuck to the exact topic they were asked to report on. HK was neither a typical droid and was far from being a protocol droid as any droid was possible of being. That was one of the many things Grogu appreciated about the former assassin/battle droid.
“Status of components here?”
Other droids would have asked for clarification, but HK never bothered with it. When questioned about that the droid often replied that it preferred not to be limited in its response due to the high quality of the data collected. Grogu had laughed at the time the tall, ancient droid had made that reply considering that what it had been reporting on at the time was the status of the grey water systems on a derelict ship they had located on Jakku.
“Of the fourteen thousand five hundred and twenty three components I have evaluated, fourteen thousand five hundred and twenty two are in perfect operating condition.”
“Status of imperfect component?”
“He is currently being evaluated by Muun Bajir and that waste of circuits Thirty.”
Ahh. Ha. Ha. Insulting his dad. Very typical of HK.
“Dad not component. Error in program. Conduct diagnostic.”
“You sound just like your mother. Clarification required.”
“Describe.”
Grogu spoke tersely as much because he was annoyed by the droid as he was annoyed at speaking Gal Basic.
“Am I to conduct diagnostic after current detail is complete or in lieu of completing current detail?”
Uff. His mom always assigned HK work that was necessary. If she had simply wanted the droid to leave them all in peace she would have shut it down. So he couldn’t just tell it to stop the work. Dank Farrik.
“When current complete. Engage silent mode, exception emergency.”
Grogu had learned that the hard way. On that same trip to Jakku, when they were retrieving a specific part from a specific ship that had been lost there during the Battle of Jakku, Ta’lan had ordered HK to engage silent mode and the droid had failed to warn them about the presence of a couple of man-beasts (imported no doubt) that had been living in the wreckage. The droid had explained that emergent changes in the environment hadn’t been excepted from the order, so it had chosen to follow it rigidly. Grogu learned that man-beasts smelled worse when they were knocked unconscious to stop their attack than they did when they were taking swipes at you with whatever was handy. He didn’t want that sort of surprise again.
With that resolved, he hoped, Grogu hopped into his pilot’s chair and began to check system status reports. Everything did look good and they would be arriving at Lothal on plan and he was glad of that. He felt like they had started the trip a lifetime ago and he knew that was silly. They had taken some side trips. They had run into a few problems. They had to replan and replan again. That was just the way life went. So far, so good.
Grogu wanted to be satisfied with where they were and what they were doing, but something was bugging him. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but it was there. He wondered if he should reach out to Ben or even Seb and see if his best friend or his most understanding ba’buir could give him a moment of their time. Maybe just telling them about his concerns would be enough?
“Youngling, you are wise to seek the advice of your friends, but why not ask your family? They are here with you.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s words echoed in Grogu’s memory and he was surprised that he hadn’t considered reaching out to one of his favorite Jedi Masters.
The event had happened before the Clone Wars even began. A Twi’lek youngling had been part of a diplomatic mission to the Jedi Temple and had sought Obi-Wan Kenobi out to ask him a question. Master Kenobi had been to Ryloth for a conference and had met the child just a few months earlier.
Grogu had been present because he had been sent to fetch something for Master Beq and was on his way back to their work space when he noticed the visitors. The youngling had turned and pointed at Grogu and commented that they had never met Grogu before. It was true. Grogu hadn’t been to Ryloth and he’d never met any Twi-lek diplomats either. But why had the youngling noticed him at all? He was just making his way through the temple as quickly as he could. No one else had noticed him.
“I see. Your parents have met more people than you know. They have been more places than you can currently imagine. They have had adventures they have never discussed with you. Perhaps, you should give them the opportunity to change that?”
Grogu could understand Obi-Wan’s point. Why would your friends understand stand something you didn’t think the people right there with you understood? It seemed silly and kind of obvious. Grogu could just talk to his mom, once his dad was feeling better. She would understand the circumstances better than Ben or Seb. He just had to be patient.
Sainte Esconde des Mystères, une confidence pour une prière
Sainte Esconde des Secrets, montre moi ce qui est caché
My comic La Langue des Vipères was released this week in bookstores in France, Belgium and Switzerland !
This beautiful trailer was created by my friends at Potto Collective : @lholmesharfang , Luc Armanet, @noctambuleur , @estellito , @nomnomsandwich , @shliten, Matthieu Chavane and Fanou Lefebvre
Just a silly photo of a cowboy Mandalorian mannequin. Photo by me.
Now for what's important! Chapter 24 of Grogu and the Loth Wolf Puppy, Dinner!
Part 24. Dinner!
Grogu was pretty happy with how things turned out. All the food was eaten. Making it hadn’t created a big mess. T’ad offered to help him clean up because T’ad liked cleaning. Ka’ra served the food because she liked presenting things. His mom smiled at him and told him it was the best meal she could recall eating. Yup. Everything was perfect. Well… almost everything.
“Djarin, if you have an upset stomach it is most likely due to a virus, not Grogu’s meal. You were right there with him and you know it was all cooked properly.”
Ta’lan was trying to sooth the Mandalorian who couldn’t stop burping for some reason. No one else was burping uncontrollably but maybe it would take longer to affect the others? Or maybe the Force didn’t let it affect them? Or maybe it was something else that the Mandalorian had eaten that none of the rest of them had.
Ka’ra was the one, as usual, who wondered if something about the meal they ate had been the problem and that’s when their dad said something like ‘Dan…urp…k Far… urp…ick’. It was actually pretty hard to tell what he said even though he wasn’t wearing his helmet.
In part it was because he was contorting his face and in part because he was trying to cover his mouth but the force of the burps kept making that harder, not easier.
Grogu almost felt bad for his dad, but Din Djarin had been right by his side when they cooked the meal. He advised. He sampled. He added more hot sauce. He tasted it again, pronounced it perfect and then let Grogu ladle the stew into bowls for of them. His dad even supervised the adding of special ingredients. Ka’ra’s bowl got thickened cream to tamp down on some of the heat. T’ad’s bowl got more hot sauce. Grogu’s bowl wasn’t touched. Ta’lan’s bowl had more veggies added to it (blech). Even his dad’s bowl got some sort of addition. What was it?
Grogu played the memory back while he watched his mom gently herd the noisy man they all loved out of the lounge and toward their cabin. Din Djarin wasn’t one to be healed by the Force if he could avoid it. He complained that he didn’t want to get used to it and get sloppy and over confident and dependent on the kindness of others. His family had laughed at that very softly. As if they weren’t going to take care of him when he had a stubbed toe or a blister from polishing the beskar too much.
Hmmm. What had the MAndalorian added to his bowl? It was a kind of white powder… Grogu had assumed it was some other hot Mandalorian spice that no one else liked because his dad didn’t say its name or comment on when or how to use it as he had with everything else they did to the other bowls of stew. But what if it was something else? Something other than another hot spice?
“Big Bro, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
It was T’ad, who was already looking at the various containers they had used to make the stew.
“Roger that.”
“Good. I noticed that you and dad did something special to everyone’s bowl. What did he do to his own bowl?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t see. Handing dishes to Ka’ra.”
Grogu and T’ad turned to look at Ka’ra.
“It was cheese.”
What? Din Djarin didn’t eat cheese. It upset his stomach. It made him… well it upset his stomach.
“Ka’ra, Dad doesn’t eat cheese. It upsets his digestive tract. He has to take those pills for it and he hates them.”
T’ad scolded his twin gently.
“Saw what I saw. Check the bottle with the blue label.”
Ka’ra pouted at them both and both he and T’ad rushed to follow her suggestion. Grogu to see if she was correct and T’ad to see if she was wrong. Grogu accepted that his siblings had this gentle rivalry when it came to knowing more about what happened at any scene they were both present at. When their mom caught them at it they were often lectured about being more balanced with one another and it wasn’t within any of their family traditions to be so competitive. Of course that’s when their dad would point out that they were still Mandalorians. Uff.
“Have it!”
Grogu held up the blue labeled container and they all looked at closely. Ka’ra was correct. It did hold cheese. A very find powered version that they all liked to sprinkle on things like toast and puffed snacks.
“Okay, but that doesn’t prove that Dad put it on his stew.”
T’ad commented as he took the bottle from Grogu and studied it.
“What was next to it? He didn’t check. Watching Grogu hand me the bowls.”
Grogu turned and looked at the rack that had held the flavored powder and noticed another bottle with a blue label. It wasn’t cheese powder. It was what his mom called ‘floof powder’. There was a chemical name on the container, a couple of them actually, but Grogu didn’t think that would help them much. They’d have to show it to Ta’lan.
“Floof powder! Oops! No wonder Dad’s burping! This stuff makes bread and cake and other baked goods floofy. I read about it in one of Mom’s lesson sets on preparing food.”
That T’ad! He was just like their mom. He always knew things like that, when no one else would know it. Uff!
“Better tell Mom. Come on. Now is better than later.”
Ka’ra grinned at her brothers and Grogu sighed. She was correct and the chance of her not mentioning it again and again all the way to Lothal was very close to, if not actually, zero. Better to get that started and over with as well.
“You tell. Going to bridge. Check progress.”
Grogu informed his siblings. It was one way to miss out on at least the first rendition of Ka’ra’s story telling. Grogu didn’t need to be on hand for his dad feeling even worse about making that mistake while he was trying to help Grogu take on more responsibility. The two of them could talk about it privately when the Mandalorian was finished with the burping and feeling awful. It would also show his dad and mom that he was willing to be responsible for the ship when they were all occupied with more pressing matters. That would count for something, he hoped.
i know no one on here cares, but it's so wild to watch NASA piloted launch coverage again after years of having to deal with SpaceX. They're explaining minor glitches without bullshitting about weather delays?? There's a guy holding his 2yo kid's model rocket being like "he said I could use this so it's okay. Anyway, the battery for this system is here--"
NASA: "We're going back to the Moon! We held a contest for kids to design a ZGI, a little stuffie to hang out in the cabin with the astronauts, and the astronauts got to pick their favorite one. Also, we've got a stuffie of Artemis, the cat from Sailor Moon in the main command room. Also! Did you know these five fun facts about the Moon!?"
SpaceX: "We're going to MARS because it's COOL and all the COOL tech bros are going to live there and start a COOL NEW SOCIETY! Did you see how COOL it was when we sent a car flying uncontrolled into the solar system? Our rockets are COOL RIGHT????"
^^^^^ He also does videos where he's members of heaven inventing dogs, and ones where he interviews himself as people who are potential dog owners... so you're right. It has to be the only explanation.
Grogu really didn’t want his dad to just take the box from Penny. It was her birthday and Grogu just wanted to help her celebrate it. He knew what it like to not be able to tell people the truth about yourself. Some of his truths made people afraid. Others annoyed them. How many times did he have to explain that he really, absolutely, with no doubt whatsoever, did not know who his parents were? He knew he wasn’t a clone because Kuiil said he wasn’t pretty enough. Given that was based on on Ugnaught standards Grogu didn’t take offense, but still. Not a clone.
But according to Penny, she was a clone. Of her mom, whoever that was… Grogu knew that many clones had been generated across the galaxy, but most of them were for specific purposes, like military forces, or to perform unique activities, like Clone 22 Fi, who was the twenty second clone of the musician Fi and they played to packed arenas and crashed vid streams all the time. He also knew that most not clone people were not exactly thrilled that clones had ever existed, with a few notable exceptions, like Clone 22 Fi.
“Thank you. Now I’m certain that there was mistake made in transit. Grogu was telling me about kit that had something special in it and while this kit is very nice and looks like a fun build, it doesn’t actually have that special thing. I’m sorry we messed up your birthday.”
Grogu watched his dad as he examined the kit’s box and found it kind of hard to believe his ears. The Mandalorian was lying to Penny but in a very kind, thoughtful, considerate, dad-like way. Wow. It was against the Mandalorian Creed to lie to people. Sure you could misdirect them or only tell them part of the truth, but a plain old flat out lie? Nope. That was definitely a problem.
“You two didn’t mess it up! Now someone can celebrate with me! I have cake, party hats, and floaty things, balloons? We were just about to start the celebration and now you can join me! Yippee!”
Cake! Balloons! Just the prospect of watching his dad sit there with a party hat on his helmet while they all ate cake and sang the birthday song for Penny was almost too much fun. Grogu replied to Penny’s ‘Yippee’ with one of his own.
“You owe me for this Durpin and I still want that armor.”
The Mandalorian spoke softly, but the two former Imperials seemed to understand what was required. They both fell into the new plan with no hesitation.
“Yippee! We can all celebrate Penny’s birthday together! That’s something I never thought would happen in a million years!”
Grogu nodded in agreement with Floss Plumestriker. He couldn’t have imagined this sort of outcome either, but that was definitely a sign that the Force was strange and mysterious. Something else, indeed!
An astromech, a Colonel, and a pilot walk into a museum display of Heroes of the Rebellion. An image of R2-D2 is the only piece on display.
Mini-figs are from LEGO STAR WARS kit # 75460 New Republic X-Wing Starfighter (TM).
Part 19 Something Else! (TM)
Grogu watched the three adult humans look at each other in turn. It was funny. The Mandalorian looked at Plumestriker, who looked at Durpin who looked at the Mandalorian, who looked at Durpin, who looked at Plumestriker, who looked at the Mandalorian. They looked like they were part of some sort of funny dance group just learning their routine for a talent show.
“Listen. I don’t care about clones, birthdates, and mean kids. I just want Grogu’s package back.”
Grogu shook his head sharply. He hoped his dad understood. He didn’t want Penny to not have the package if her parents told her that it was her birthday present! It would be just as fun to him that she had for such a special occasion as having it for the party he had planned on bringing it to.
“Gro, buddy? Are you okay? Do you have a crick in your neck?”
Penny asked while offering him the small figure to examine.
“Fine. All fine. Time go.”
Grogu squeezed those words out as quickly as he could. He’d kind of hoped that only his dad would have noticed what he was doing.
“Your son is correct. It’s time for you to go. We have important things to do. Important things that a bounty hunter would never understand that dads have to deal with every day.”
Floss Plumestriker took a step to one side and hid Penny from the Mandalorian’s view. He also seemed to be trying to say something silently, but Grogu couldn’t understand him. Why not just say whatever it was out loud?
“Right? Right! Go. I’m sure someone needs you to track down a real criminal and not just a couple of dads doing their best to make sure their daughter had the best birthday possible.”
Durpin chimed in, as he also moved to hide Penny from the bounty hunter’s view.
Grogu quickly handed the small figure of a republic pilot back to Penny and trotted over to his dad. That was all settled. They would leave and pretend everything was fine because spoiling Penny’s birthday was not the Way no matter how annoying the two former Imps had been.
Grogu just hoped his stubborn Mandalorian dad would go along with it. Penny didn’t need to be hurt because her dads weren’t great at being dads.
“Young lady, could you bring the box your present came in out here? I’d like to take a look at it. This is probably a misunderstanding. Grogu’s package may still be in transit.”
Before Plumestriker, Durpin, or even Grogu could say a word, Penny chirped that ‘Of course!’, and was out of the main room like a shot.
Grogu sighed.
Plumestriker sighed.
Durpin sighed so deeply he almost fell off his feet again. Both Din Djarin and Floss Plumestriker held him up. It was Penny’s birthday after all.
“Durpin, turn in that armor. I’ve got a friend who can change your identity without you stealing one from other Mandalorians. I’m not gonna spoil the kid’s birthday, but you…”
Whatever his dad was going to say was interrupted as Penny dashed back into the room, holding the box the figure had come from. She handed it right to the Mandalorian, despite her dads trying to stop her.
Grogu standing in front of a photograph of a Pacific Sea Otter.
Chapter 23 of Grogu and the Loth Wolf Puppy
Things to do on the Way...
23. On the Way to Lothal
Grogu was glad they had finally managed to get every privy visit sorted out, everyone back on the bridge and the trip underway before any other little annoying part of reality tried to disrupt them. He wanted to get to Lothal, find his Loth Wolf pup and start the process of adopting the critter into his family.
Before they had set off on this adventure, with all its parts and stops and go’s, he’d done a lot of research on Lothal, Loth Wolves, their family and pack units, and the relative success of any other creature bonding with them in a meaningful and supportive way. Had it not been for the Brethren archives covering everything and anything that had happened in the galaxy within their range of data acquisition, Grogu doubted people would have even known that Loth Wolves weren’t just the stuff of legend. And even though they had more than zero information, many of the questions he had weren’t well or authoritatively answered.
What you feed them was pretty straightforward. Anything they wanted to eat. Same with how much exercise, how much sleep, how many baths, etc. The individual wolf determined how much they wanted, would put up with, or needed. In a lot of ways, they reminded him of Jedi younglings. They were helpless as pups or individuals. They could tell you exactly what they needed or wanted. They could also pretty much do as they pleased, because, like Jedi younglings, they were strong with the Force. But that didn’t mean they had perfect intentions or behavior. What if they wanted to run around all day and were stuck on a ship? What if what they ate made them sick? And, as far as Grogu knew, none of the ship’s privies were designed for them. What the heck was that going to be like?
He needed to discuss those issues with the elders of the pack. Respectfully and honestly. They were trusting him with a huge, literally, responsibility, and he wanted to make sure he was up to the task. That was another reason that he was a bit happier about his mom and dad taking care of the issue with the Wookiees, because he was going to have enough to do with the pup and the pack and his siblings and his ba’buir.
“Hey, Buddy. You seem kind of quiet. What’s up?”
His dad had found him pacing in the cargo bay that was going to the primary location for the pup until they sorted out all of its needs.
Grogu sighed. He didn’t want to dump his concerns on his dad’s broad Mandalorian shoulders. He was older than Din Djarin by a bit and felt like he should be able to handle this sort of thing without so much concern?, no, fretting?, no, solicitude? Yes!
“Pup deserves best.”
He hoped his dad appreciated that he considered the issue of the Wookiees to be in good hands and essentially resolved, but for locating them.
“Ah. You’re right to be concerned. It isn’t easy to learn everything you need to know about taking care of a critter you’ve never met before. And not just any critter. This one is just as special as you. You’ll hold yourself to a higher standard and that’s going to make you rethink a lot of things.”
What?! That wasn’t what Grogu really wanted to hear from his dad. He wanted the Mandalorian to just say that everything would be find, good, and even great. How hard could it be? They’d worked with all sorts of critters! Bantha, eopies, massif’s, and the rancor! How could Din Djarin forget the good work they’d done with that critter?
“Grogu, I’m not saying this won’t work out great. You are the best person for this. You understand critters, you are strong with the Force, and you’ll have a lot of help from T’ad, Ka’ra, and your mom and I. I just want you to know what you’re up against.”
His dad was kneeling next to him and Grogu wondered what was up with that. Had Din Djarin noticed that he was outraged or was just trying to be more consoling? Maybe all that meditation before they left Kashyyyk had done something to the stoic warrior…
“Buddy. I just want you to remember, when you’re cleaning this space after the pup makes a mess, that you volunteered for this duty. You are perfectly capable of seeing it through and I’m proud of you. Now, how about you join me in the galley and help make our next meal? You’re going to have to get used to cooking for the pup. You may as well start practicing on your siblings.”
Uff! Grogu had forgotten about that. Sort of. He knew the Loth Wolf pup would need food. He just expected that it would eat ration packs, or kibble that they could pick up on Lothal. What if it only liked freeze dried froglets? Wow. That would be tough to deal with. And, it was also clear that his Mandalorian Bounty Hunter dad had not forgotten what it had been like to Mand’alor for those few days that Bo-Katan was indisposed. His dad had decided how the pup was going to be fed and now Grogu knew it was his job. Yippee?
“Don’t worry. T’ad is a lot more like your mom than you give him credit for and Ka’ra likes anything I like. Whatever you make, I’ll eat and that means she’ll eat it too. I just want you to get used to the extra demands on your time and your energy level. That was the hardest lesson I learned when I became your dad. You sleep less than I do, you eat more than I do, and your digestive tract, well…. Let’s just say it took a while to get used to the sound of a whole frog being broken down to its component parts.”
Wow. Grogu had thought that the hardest thing for his dad to get a handle on was his ability to reach into his own throat to remove something he had really, really, wanted to eat. Grogu could tell that the Mandalorian’s breathing got a little faster and the sound of his eyes squeezing shut was something to marvel at.
“Roger that!”
There really wasn’t anything else to say. His dad was right. Grogu needed to learn how to take care of someone other than himself and using his siblings as test subjects was ideal. After all they couldn’t refuse to be part of his family. It was too late for that. A Loth Wolf pup could still say no and Grogu didn’t want that to happen under any circumstances.
The box of LEGO Star Wars kit #75460 New Republic X-Wing Star Fighter TM. This kit features characters from the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie!
Part 18. of Something Else! (TM)
“You! What are you doing here?!”
Apparently Floss Plumestriker remembered the Mandalorian, which wasn’t really that strange. The armor was pretty striking and even the strange, ‘friendly’ voice didn’t change the fact that Grogu’s dad had pretty definitively stopped the two men from messing around on Zoh. Grogu hadn’t expected Plumestriker to wearing a floral house dress with some sort of clogs. It was nothing like an Imperial uniform.
“I came here to find my son’s packages that you seem to have taken possession of. This doesn’t have to be anything other than a simple delivery mistake for the sake of your daughter and my son.”
Wow. It was like the Mandalorian had taken diplomacy lessons without telling Grogu about it.
“How do you know about my daughter? You leave her out of this!”
Plumestriker took a step forward and brandished a sponge at Grogu’s dad. Grogu would have laughed when he noticed the suds that had been on the sponge splat on the middle of his dad’s cuirass, under normal circumstances, but these were anything but normal. Din Djarin would be fussing over the spots that caused for days.
“Listen, FLOSS, I am happy to leave her out of this if you just return the package that you or your pal there took. Grogu earned the money for that kit and he wanted to share it with his friends, including your daughter. So just give it back and we’ll be on our way.”
Grogu would have looked at Plumestriker, but two other things happened at that moment. First, Durpin began to groan and hold his head and Penny came running it to the room holding a tiny figure of a Jedi. Being a well trained Jedi Grogu immediately trotted over to his friend to make sure that she was okay, rather than help her dad to his feet, because both his dad and Floss Plumestriker were doing that with differing effects.
Every time the Mandalorian took Durpin’s arm the poor man fainted partially and Plumestriker had a hard time holding him up. Thump, uff, thump, uff, thump, ‘Stop helping me!’.
Grogu watched his dad take a step back as Penny showed him the figure from her new kit.
“Hey Gro! It’s great to see you! I didn’t expect you to know it was my birthday today! My dads don’t like to tell people because then they might figure out that I’m not as old as I act. Some folks aren’t super nice about finding out that I’m a clone of my mom. I know you understand, but other kids can be mean.”
Grogu wasn’t sure why she knew that about him, but he was grateful. He didn’t have a lot of friends and it was good to have ones that trusted you with important stuff like that.
“Penelope! What have we told you about talking about the cloning program? You don’t want everyone accusing you of being the Emperor’s clone, do you?”
