Hi! My name's Ash. Just a 29 year old bisexual star wars nerd. Minors DNI. Currently thirsting over 1 (one) blue grand admiral. Requests OPEN. This is a side blog, so all replies, asks, and follows will come from the-ashtronaut.
Admiral* (Thrawn x Reader) A downright dirty celebration of Thrawn's promotion to admiral
Thrawn x Syndic!OC HCs a variety of head canons about how Theta and Thrawn met
Safe in my Arms *(Thrawn x Syndic!Reader) Thrawn is forced to confront his feelings towards his lover when the Ascendancy (and your safety) is threatened. Angst, smut, and fluff ensues.
Dincember 2025- Week 2: Hot Cocoa/ Sweater/ Scarf (A Day to Celebrate)
Dincember 2025
Prompt 2: Hot Cocoa/ Sweater/ Scarf
Character: Din Djarin x f!reader
Rating: T
WC: 2k
Dincember 2025 Masterlist | Main Masterlist
A/N: Week 2 of Dincember 2025. Okay, so. Two things! One: I wasn’t sure I was going to write anything for Fathoms Between/ Beyond Din and reader as part of this challenge, mainly because the more nice things I write from before the end of Fathoms Between, the more it hurts. And then I figured that’s the reason I probably should. While you don’t have to read that one shot or series before this one, if you like things that are absolutely dripping in angst, then it might be a shout. If not, just read this as a nice little stand alone story full of fluff! Two: I love this prompt because it gave me an excuse to fall *way* down a rabbit hole about the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special which, my friends, was an absolute trip. There are notes on that at the end. Also, an important thing before we begin is that hot chocolate is canon in Star Wars. With that, I hope you enjoy this, I had the most fun writing it!
Tags: Fluff, a little bit of Grumpy / Sunshine, slow burn, protective!Din, cosy read, Space Christmas.
Taglist: @djarins-cyare , @i-say-choco-you-say-ice-cream, @dotyoureyez, @carolineesnell (tagged on the main series, so thought you'd all want to be for this too!)
If you’d like to be added to or removed from this taglist, please let me know!
Divider credit: @saradika-graphics
banner mug photo credit : here
It had been a long week. At least, you think it had been a week. It was hard to tell; you’d stopped at so many planets and collected so many bounties you’d lost track of the days. Life on the Crest wasn’t usually so chaotic, and you knew it was especially bad when, in his own way, Din admitted he was tired too.
You found him, late one afternoon, sat on a crate in the hull of the ship, bounty freshly deposited in carbonite, hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees and his head hung so low you worried the helmet might slide off.
He looked up as you approached and, to your surprise, spoke first. Even more surprising was what he asked.
“If you could go anywhere in the galaxy, any planet— where would you go?”
You stared at him for a moment, hand on hip, trying not to narrow your eyes as you assessed how to answer. He seemed content to wait, which further worried you. He really was tired.
You scrolled mentally through a list of planets, considering reasoning for each one, and which would be best. You knew he wouldn’t properly rest, he never did, but you could choose one that could offer as close to respite as possible, while still feeling productive. There were a handful that came to mind, but one easily won over all the rest. It was somewhere you hadn’t been in a long time. Somewhere that would benefit you both.
“Batuu,” you finally said. “I’d go to Batuu.”
The Crest shuddered out of hyperspace and a blue and green expanse filled the viewport. As Din angled the ship around the curve of the planet, the atmosphere became more and more crowded. Civilian transports idled in holding patterns while smaller ships darted to and from the planet in tight lanes. There were a couple of stragglers towards the fringes that you were sure, as Din currently was, were weighing up just how much they wanted to stop there.
You frowned, leaning closer to the glass. You didn’t remember it ever being this busy.
Din clicked the overhead comms toggle when it began to flash, and there was a burst of static before an all-too-chipper robotic voice played over the ship’s comms.
“Incoming vessel, welcome to Batuu! Please align with approach lane four and maintain a steady descent speed. A control tower representative will assist you shortly. We hope you have a pleasant stay!”
Din tilted his helmet a fraction, enough to know that he was side-eyeing you out of his peripheral. You thought he might turn the ship around and jump back in to hyperspace— forget the entire idea and continue on the daily grind. Travel straight back to Nevarro, drop the bounties and jump helmet-first in to whatever job they gave him next. But instead, with fingers tight around the controls, he eased the Razor Crest in to the indicated lane.
There was another burst of static and the control tower crackled in.
“Razor Crest, you are cleared for approach,” the voice said, brisk and exasperated. “Be advised, Black Spire space port is nearing capacity. The only bay available for your craft is RM-34.”
Din paused.
“The only bay?” He said, but the tower had already clicked off, no doubt to direct the next ship.
You frowned, glancing around at the lanes of traffic and realised all of a sudden why it might be so busy.
“Oh, stars,” you breathed, leaning forward to click through the console display until it showed the Galactic Standard date. “Din, it’s Life Day.”
The silence that followed was… telling.
You could hear the noisy bustle of the festivities beyond before the ramp even lowered. Voices overlapped in a cheerful hum, punctuated by distant tinkling music. Not even Din’s reluctance to climb down from the cockpit could dampen your excitement. You’d heard about Life Day celebrations since you were a teen, through stories heard in passing from other travellers, like fairytales. You had never been in the right place at the right time to experience it in person, and never thought you would be.
The ramp hissed and began to lower. Warm air rushed in, tinged with spices and vanilla.
You didn’t wait, darting out as soon as the walkway stilled against the ground.
The last time you had been on Batuu was long before you’d met Din. The Outpost was busy, sure, but this was something else. A faint, unexpected ache flickered in your chest at the memory of why you had last passed through, but you shook it off. You didn’t want to think about that. This was not the time, and today was not the day.
You stopped halfway down the ramp and glanced back. Din appeared in the doorway, helmet moving slowly one way and then the next over the crowd. When he looked down at you, you waited, sure he was about to tell you to get back on the ship.
Instead, he shrugged in a way that said: we’re here now, what the hell.
Travellers were funnelled toward the gate to the Outpost in steady streams by uniformed port assistants. So coordinated it was a touch unnerving, every one of them wore the same wide, fixed smile, bright and welcoming and just a little too forced.
You leaned in toward Din as you were shepherded along with the rest of the crowd, grateful for his solid mass. He adjusted without comment, shifting his weight to keep you from being jostled.
You veered off from the crowd as soon as you were through the gate, eager to step out for a breather. Even with Din’s shielding presence, after weeks on deserted planets and days alone on the ship, it was a lot. You took a deep breath of sweet air and glanced around, trying to get your bearings from any nearby landmarks.
Din stayed close to you, even out of the crowd. He tilted his head toward you and you nodded, answering his silent question. You were fine, it was just so busy.
A service droid rolled toward you, and Din’s hand shot out across you instinctively. You glanced up at him with a raised brow and he lowered it back to his side as quickly as he’d raised it.
“Welcome to the Black Spire Outpost Life Day celebration!” The droid chirped, before a shimmering holo-map appeared above it. “Let me guide you to the festivities! May I assist—”
“No.” Din cut the droid off before turning to you. “I thought Black Spire was a smuggler stronghold.”
You laughed. “It is! Smugglers love to celebrate peace and freedom, too, I guess.”
He gave a scoff through the modulator, but you barely registered it. You were busy trying to take it all in. Holo-projections danced above the crowd— a scene of the frosted forests of Kashyyyk, the sacred tree glowing with crystalline orbs. Lights strung around the perimeter twinkled like captured stars through the flap of red and green banners, embroidered with gold thread that glinted when it moved. The hum of the crowd was exciting, now that you weren’t stuck in the middle of it, and the sound of children’s laughter rang out, settling something unexpectedly bittersweet in the pit of your stomach.
Everything around you was a flurry of motion and colour, and for all the overwhelming chaos, the joy threaded through it all was palpable.
“I’ve never seen a Life Day celebration before,” you said, tone laced with awe. “This is … so much more than I thought it would be.”
Din sighed, watching the service droid trundle away. He looked at you for a long moment before his posture shifted and he gave another huff.
“C’mon,” you urged, nudging an elbow toward him. “Let’s go see what all the fuss is about. You might even have fun.”
You weren’t sure the Mandalorian had ever participated in anything that qualified as fun, at least by most standards. Still— there was a first time for everything.
Din had already calculated three exits and mapped a getaway strategy, but it didn’t take long before he realised he wouldn’t need any of them.
Despite the volume of people and Black Spire’s reputation, there was no danger here. Not today, anyway.
Everything was drenched in a saccharine sweetness; merriment layered so thick it was almost cloying. The air was charged with an oddly cheerful energy he’d never experienced before. Like you, he’d never seen a Life Day celebration in person. Unlike you, he’d never wanted to.
He’d heard of it, sure, knew it was all about family, peace and harmony. Over the years, they hadn’t exactly been things that he had any reason to celebrate. Glimpses of its traditions, flashes of red robes and snippets of gathered happy families eating, drinking and laughing, had always seemed just a little too familiar to be anything other than unsettling, so he’d avoided it.
The only thing that had stopped him lifting the Crest back in to the atmosphere and away from it all was the look on your face when you turned on the ramp. It had soothed the aches in his bones and renewed his energy in a way he didn’t think was possible.
It was just what he needed, so he let you lead the way; kept you from being jostled, shielded anything that would have diminished your joy.
Reluctant to re-join the masses, you’d drifted away from the densest part of the crowd. The press of bodies had eased and stalls began to line the path.
Fabric canopies were hung from rough stone walls above tables overflowing with clothing; knitted scarves and sweaters stitched with glimmering patterns and symbols that pulsed faintly when touched. Other stalls displayed trinkets, toys that hovered and spun, and some that played jingling music, loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of other sounds. Beyond those were tables laden with food and drink; offerings from every corner of the Galaxy, some that even Din had to admit he’d never seen before.
You slowed every few steps, marvelling at each small display. The colours danced across your wide eyes and lights shimmered in your hair, making it glow. Din followed without comment, matching your pace, cataloguing each new look of wonder that crossed your features, enjoying how each one eased a little more weight from his shoulders.
When you finally stopped and looked back at him, smile wide, he became aware of a dull ache in his cheek. He realised, with a flicker of disbelief, that he’d been smiling too. He hadn’t even noticed.
Your nose led you to a stall that smelled of toasted nuts and warm spices and something altogether different. A vendor was decanting steaming ladles of liquid from a boiler in to cups, topping them with swirls of whipped cream.
“Hot chocolate?” They offered with a warm smile.
You started to search your pockets for spare credits, but Din dropped the money in to the vendor’s hand before you could even blink.
You glanced at him, and he only shrugged. He looked lighter than before, and if you had to guess, you would have said he might even have been smiling under that helmet.
The vendor handed you the cup and you stepped aside. Din’s hand brushed the small of your back as he guided you past others queueing behind you. You didn’t even realise he’d done it until the warmth lingered once his touch was gone.
Clear of anyone else, beneath the arched doorway of a shuttered shop, you took a careful sip, making sure not to get any cream on your nose. The sound of distant carols drifted by on the breeze, loud enough that it must have been a huge number of people singing all at once.
Din tilted his head toward you.
“How is it?”
“It’s really good,” you said, grinning. “Very sweet. Sort of milky. I think there’s some spice in there too. Hard to tell. It’s hot either way.”
He chuckled. You gripped the mug with both hands, and told yourself it was to savour the warmth and not to keep from reaching out to touch him.
“Thank you,” you said, after another sip. “This is really nice.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, “It is.”
While you knew the moment wouldn’t last, you were eager to stay in it as long as you could. It didn’t matter where in the Galaxy you ended up; together with Din was fast becoming your favourite place to be.
Notes:
Oh, I had so much fun writing this. Like I said, read as a stand alone it's 'awww' and read in conjunction with Fathoms Between/ Beyond it's more "arghhhh :( :("
Firstly, things that I was surprised were canon in SW- hot chocolate and vanilla. More surprisingly is that they have the same name and not some spacey version.
Vanilla is noted on Wookiepedia to be a flavouring substance and is cited as both canon and legends. There is something called ‘orchid bean extract’, but it’s either or, really.
Hot chocolate was first introduced to SW by Timothy Zahn in the 1991novel Heir to the Empire and can apparently contain a sliver of tang bark (cinnamon), a drop of vanilla and a dollop of mallow paste (aka marshmallow) on top. Luke Skywalker loved hot chocolate so much that he kept a secret stash of pods on the Millennium Falcon. Black Spire Hot Chocolate is available from Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo and Ronto Roasters, which can both be visited IRL if you happen to be anywhere near Disneyland.
Okay, so. Life Day. Celebrated on the 17th of November, it stems from the the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. It is a Wookie celebration of family, love and togetherness and, according to (recent) canon, has been adopted as a celebration throughout the Galaxy and is, of course, the Star Wars answer to Christmas.
The fact that this Holiday Special was released before The Empire Strikes Back and is the official introduction of Boba Fett is truly insane to me. It was poorly received (understatement of the century) and was never rebroadcast or released in any official capacity, except for the cartoon that featured Boba Fett (“The Story of the Faithful Wookie” - available as of April 2021)
It can be found in the depths of the internet if you care to look for it. Personally, I can only handle a certain amount of cringe before I want to curl in to a ball and die, so I haven’t watched all of it. I have, however, watched Carrie Fisher sing the closing carol (called A Day to Celebrate) which is actually quite lovely. So lovely, in fact, that I used it as the title of this fic.
At the time, regarding the Holiday Special, (From Wikipedia) Nathan Rabin of The A.V Club wrote, “I’m not convinced the special wasn’t ultimately written and directed by a sentient bag of cocaine.”
Honestly, I’m inclined to agree.
It seems like as good a time as any to give a special shout out to the fact that Chewbacca’s son is called Lumpy.
Life Day wasn’t really acknowledged after that for a good, long while. It is however mentioned by the Mythrol bounty that Din picks up in S1 E1 of the Mandalorian. (“I was hoping to be free for Life Day. Maybe even, uh… get home to see the family.”)
Since 2019, it’s become more of a Disney park tradition, which is what inspired the setting for this little ficlet. Whilst I have never been to Galaxy's Edge/ Black Spire Outpost, I have been to Disney parks and I hope I captured at least some of the vibe here.
The last thing I will say, with complete sincerity, is that while the Holiday Special was an unmitigated disaster, I appreciate the sentiment behind it. It was a truly lovely idea executed in the worst way. And I will finish with a quote from the Young Jedi Adventures, of all things (yes, I even watched sections of those episodes for this.)
“The most important part about Life Day is being together with family and friends.”
And if that doesn’t give you the warm lumpies, I don’t know what will.
I’m off to make some hot chocolate now. Until next time!
Hi there! So sorry if you’ve already talked about this and I completely missed it, but did you remove your Thrawn stories from AO3? Your Aesthetic story is one of my all time favorites, but when I went to find it, I wasn’t able to see it in my bookmarks. Could be me missing something on AO3, but just thought I’d check. I’d love to read them again if you thought about posting elsewhere ♡
Hi @the-ashtronaut! Thank you so much for such kind words about my writing and Aesthetics. It absolutely makes my night! I'm glad you asked about it, because every once in a while someone thinks I deleted my fics but I promise you I have not (and never will). I put them all (not just the Thrawn ones) behind the AO3 login, because AO3 recommended authors do that back when AI was scouring the internet for creative writing. I didn't want my stories to be used to train ChatGPT or whatever (even if it's futile at this point) so now unfortunately they are only available to registered/logged in AO3 users.
I'm not sure why it isn't showing up in your bookmarks, but perhaps you can try again to add it? Maybe when I combined Part 1 (Conflicting Aesthetics) and Part 2 (Complementary Aesthetics) into a series, it messed things up? Please let me know if you can't access them once you are logged in, that would be weird and worrisome.
The adventures of Seta & Thrawn are still here for everyone's enjoyment, just click on those underlined words to access the series. Also in the good news camp, I have about 8500 words written of the third and final installment (not going as quickly as I hoped due to real life being insanity, but it's coming!). I hope you enjoy it when it's ready!
Also just as an aside, if anyone doesn't have an AO3 account and wants a PDF of any of my fics emailed to them, please hit me up with your email and I will make sure you have a copy forever!
I got a similar DM about this today, just a reminder that all my fic is still on AO3, just get an account/log in to read OR if you don't want to get an account, message me and I will be happy to send you the story.
Also since this post, Part 3 of the Aesthetics saga was posted :) so I hope @the-ashtronaut and everyone else has been able to catch up!
Coming back from the dead to share that my favorite Thrawn story of all time has received its third and final installment 🥲 I’ve raved about this story to pretty much every Thrawn fan I’ve ever interacted with—mutuals know how deep my love for this fic goes XD
Suffice it to say, this final piece was everything I could have hoped for and more. If you haven’t yet read the Aesthetic Saga, you simply must.
And then message me about it on here because I need more people to fangirl over it with
Emerging like a phoenix from the ashes of my hiatus to remind everyone that this edition of Thrawn: Alliances is the hottest Thrawn cover art to ever exist and my absolute favorite Thrawn to picture in fics
Emerging like a phoenix from the ashes of my hiatus to remind everyone that this edition of Thrawn: Alliances is the hottest Thrawn cover art to ever exist and my absolute favorite Thrawn to picture in fics
Stop it I have so many thoughts of an AU where Thrawn and Theta (chiss OC) get to have a little one 😭😭 and so many thoughts of another AU where Thrawn and human!reader don’t realize it’s possible for a chissxhuman hybrid pregnancy until it’s too late 😭 this beautiful art is giving me alll the feelings
