"Oh yeah, we have an outdoor Corgi, he just gets so bored cooped up inside all day. He knows to stay off the road. Don't worry, he's way too smart for coyotes and the neighbor's know to look out when they drive past."
"Us? Oh, of *course* our Dachshund sleeps inside- we just let him out in the morning and make sure he comes back for dinner. He just does his own thing, no worries."
"Um, you know it's not humane to keep a chihuahua confined to an apartment? They're dogs, they're natural predators. They need to experience hunting behaviors or they get depressed. No we don't leash ours, he absolutely hates it, we just let him come and go whenever."
Yall get how fucking stupid that sounds, right? So stop letting your goddamn cats get eaten and attacked and infected and hit by cars
A toddler would probably love full unattended access to the neighborhood too, but we don't do that either, do we
It's 2026, "keep your damn pet in a house or in your view" should not be controversial
Everybody has been talking about the sniff moment or the inhale moment in the dance. Who do I need to thank for this stroke of genius?
You need to thank Dónal for that. It was all him. (x)
like nothing can be underrated anymore. it HAS to be a success. cartoons have to either be spongebob level successes with immediate marketing or they're shelved a season or two in.
Movies have such inflated budgets that they NEED to break a billion in the box office just to make back what they cost. Anything less than a blockbuster smash is turned into a tax write-off.
a single triple A video game can destroy an entire studio if it doesn't meet expectations, which are already lofty enough as it is.
and everything has to appeal to the widest demographic possible, which can mean sterilizing anything creative about the work so it becomes as palatable as possible.
a huge problem across artistic industries right now is that we're losing the mid-list. It used to be normal for a publishing house (or a move studio!) to have their small projects, their mid-size projects, and their HUGE projects, with the understanding that the HUGE projects were going to help pay for the mid-size and small projects, which would give those works and creators time to find/build their audiences. But we're seeing this toxic wave towards the disappearance of the mid-list for exactly this reason—the ONLY things that exist are small, because they fail to break out, or HUGE, because they manage to break out. And Very few projects are ever going to become HUGE in any industry!!! That's not how sales or people or artistic movements work!!!
here's an interesting essay about this exact issue in the publishing industry. Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Threads also talks about this a lot, which is where I've learned a bunch of stuff.
A Gift- in which Din gets you a gift to thank you for helping out on the ship and for not being mad when Grogu chews up your art supplies. Maintaining artistic hobbies in space is hard guys!
Banter - You work at a pub and The Mandalorian becomes a semi-sporadic regular who you wish would turn up everyday
You work at a pub, and most people are just okay but you have a favourite set of customers who come in every so often...and one of them has a very nice voice.
Chapter 1 of...some...
A close shift today. Your manager had taken all the openings so rather than being up early and cleaning with headphones before the lunchtime rush, you were due to be in late, ushering out the last drunken men clinging to their pints, trying to bribe you with credits so they could stay longer. Some of them did this nearly everyday, others were visitors. All of them were rejected to various levels of anger or drunkeness.
You were already eyeing what needed to be cleaned. The scum on the tables, the spilt drinks in the corner. X-ray eyes looked past the people at the bar asking for the usual drinks to scan out any parts that might be a health hazard. Luckily today, none so far. Everyone seemed in pretty good spirits and relatively calm demeanors. A seemingly simple shift as far as working at a pub that was pretty central to the various happenings could be.
You were glad that it was a day where you could clean the bar whilst people drank without having glasses slammed down immediately. The weather was nice and you vaguely remembered some sort of festival that was taking up the day- a community celebration thing with stalls and singing. So most were at that, likely drinking triple the price and burning in the heat. You couldn't lie and say you weren't envious, there were some wood carvers and metal workers around the area that you wanted to get some pieces from. If you could get away with chasing out the stragglers a bit early you could catch the end of it and maybe get a good deal. But that depended on who turned up later this evening.
"Hooch please, m'lady!" One of your regulars, an older man who said his name was "Johnny Boy- don't forget the boy!" Turned up as usual at 12 on the dot. He was always pleasant if not loud. Always called drinks "hooch" and always sat at the end of the bar so he could watch the room and watch whatever was on the view screen. He was pleasant and piped up whenever there was a rude customer or someone trying to push their luck. He had the drunken wisdom paired with a good sense of humour that made him one of your favourite customers. You poured him his Ale and a cup of water, half a pint in a separate glass and a packet of crisps. Just as he liked.
On slower days you would take down all the bottles and clean the glass cabinets, throw out the old drinks and clean up the bottles. Organise them by colour or type. You liked to keep some of the fancier bottles, the mermaid shaped ones or the amber glass. Sometimes you would take them home and other times you would use them at the pub for decoration. As you polished the liquor bottles you glanced at the top jar, empty. It had been getting quite strained money wise in the last few months. The manager felt it too and was getting stressed, thinking of ways to entice people in. He was working later, tucked away in one of the booths with papers on plans to make it less of a men's club and more of a upscale place.
"Three pints please!" Someone asked. A new face. Three young engineers, red faced and sweaty. You poured the drinks, took the payment and went back to the bottles. They didn't want to chat, and neither did you. Not today. You had seen there was a letter from The Interstellar Collections Limited in your manager's pile of paperwork. Now your mind was plagued with the thought of potentially being jobless before the month ended. You looked at some of the job boards but there were only calls for engineers, manual workers on ships, captains. Nothing that you had in your skillset. Your friend Kay said you could come to her ship if the worst came to worst. She did have a cute new companion too- a Merqaal called Nix. It did sound inviting, and you did have a bit of cabin fever.
Johnny Boy had ventured over to the gambling table, wanting to play a game with the older men, and you watched as he sat down and introduced himself. Your shoulders were stiff until you saw them welcome him with smiles.
"He's not here today?" A familiar voice asked in a near whisper. A familiar voice that made your chest squeeze. You pulled out the straws that you had ordered from one of the metal workers. You had them hidden under the bar until he came back. If he came back.
The Mandalorian- the only Mandalorian- you had met or seen around here- pulled up a stool, pushing one aside to make way for Grogu in his little spaceship. You grinned at him and opened a bag of freeze-dried squid for him to snack on, pouring the food into a bowl and chucking the wrapper in the bin. You started to tie up the bag and threw it down the chute- a blessing of an installation by an engineer who really liked the manager's collection of rare wines. Now you didn't have to go down into the basement until the end of the day to put the bin out.
"No he's here, he's at the table," you gestured to the old men playing cards, Johnny Boy with his hand on another man's shoulder telling him a story from his "Captain Days". The Mandalorian chuckled, the sound reverberating on his helmet. He took out a few credits to cover the snacks for Grogu but you waved your hand.
"On the house." You said, cleaning off some dishes and pulling a cup for him. You saw his head tilt in the reflection of the mirror, and then turn to scan the place when a roar erupted (over the game showing) and flick back to you.
"Manager ordered in some Ne'tra gal. Pulled some strings to get it shipped in. Do you want some? I hid a bottle in case you came back again."
"I can't-" he started, presumably thinking you had forgotten about the rule. Actually it was the thing you remembered the first few times him and Grogu stopped by and you had been convincing your manager to let you add on to the orders for ages until finally, after The Mandalorian visited the pub a few more times, he relented and let you take over. Ducking below the bar you pulled out the metal straws and popped one in the glass, grinning.
"I got these from one of the metal workers. They've got the logo on which manager liked enough to let me order a dozen." The Mandalorian examined the straw for a while, twirling it in his hands and running a gloved finger over the inscribed logo.
"I remembered. Don't worry." You added and you heard a very faint sigh from him.
"Thank you." He said after a while, and you both stared at each other for a short moment- well you at the reflection of yourself.
"So, you want that drink?"
"What are we celebrating?" He asked, his tone lighter. Grogu let out a frustrated gurgle as he finished the last of his snacks and you reached for another bag and pulled out a pen to write out another one on the "house order" list. Mando put his hand over yours and pulled out the credits.
"Let me cover this one." He said and you nodded. His hands were warm, as if he had been outside all day.
"No problem. Well I'm assuming that since you're here," you pulled out the wine and started to pour it "it's because you had another bounty, and usually that's a success, right?" You slid the glass to him and smiled as a couple, youngish entered the bar and came to you.
"Um. Can we have two...two of those?" The younger boy pointed to the wine. You examined his face- he had some faint scarring from acne and a light shadow. The two of them must have been no more than 23. You glanced to Mando who shook his hand behind his glass.
Turning back to the couple you smiled again. "That's a pretty strong wine. Like kick you off your feet strong. Is that what you were going for?" You asked. You didn't like to question orders unless needed and judging by their giggles and the nervous hand clutching, you guessed they were on their first date. The boy looked surprised.
"Oh no! Definitely not. Um maybe something else then, um..."
"I would recommend this one." You pulled out a softer wine, a peach coloured drink with minimal bubbles. "It's got a savoury base but a little bit of sweetness. Bit of bubbles but not too much and it's not too strong but still has a kick." The pair looked more relaxed and you finished the transaction and watched them head to a corner booth. People loved the corner booths. Hidden away. Private.
The corner booth was where you first met The Mandalorian. He was sat with Grogu on the leather chairs, watching him play with the placemats and roll a metal ball on the table. He rolled it until it fell off the table and to the bar where you nearly tripped on it. You picked it up, thinking you had broken something in the pub and scanned to find the source until you saw a gloved hand raise from the shadows.
"Sorry. He is irritable today." The Mandalorian said.
"It's ok. Can I get you guys anything to drink? Food? Colouring?" Grogu began to grab at the pens in your apron and you pulled out some crayons and got him set up with a scrap menu. Immediately he crushed one down to the end of the nib but eventually got used to the tools.
"Um. Just a stew for him." You wrote down his order to send to the cook.
"Nothing for you?" He shook his head.
"Ok one stew for this little guy coming up."
The next time The Mandalorian and Grogu appeared he was cornered by Johnny Boy who joined them in the booth. He told them his usual recount of stories over his hooch and water. You came over when you saw his water was empty to switch it for a new one with ice.
"Oh look who it is! Y/N my favourite!" Johnny Boy tapped your arm as you grabbed his empty glass and replaced the water.
"I always have water with my hooch. Don't want to get too drunk! And she always replaces it when it's empty." Johnny tapped you, his eyes closing as he smiled. He was getting tired quicker these days.
"Seems like a good idea." The Mandalorian hummed, leaning back in the booth, his arms across either side. He was covered in armour but the softer parts hinted at strong muscles under the beskar.
"Now. This gentleman, Y/N, is a Mandalorian. Have you met a Mandalorian before?" Johnny entered "education mode". He loved to tell you new things and was delighted when you didn't know something so he could be the one to enlighten you.
"I can't say I ever have." You said. He parted the seat next to him and you checked the bar (empty) before sitting down with them.
"Now they are an ancient race, really ancient. They have the most wonderful armour made of beskar." You looked to the man, who nodded.
"But this gentleman is from the Children of The Watch- so he doesn't take his helmet off, ever! Completely anonymous to the world!" Johnny clapped his hands. He was delighted at a new face with an even more interesting background. You could tell he was reveling in grilling this customer to find out more.
"He is also rebuilding his armour to be full beskar! Fascinating really!" You nodded along as Johnny told you his story. At some point he disappeared to go to the bathroom and you were left with Grogu playing with the rings on your hand and The Mandalorian watching you both from the other side of the table.
"Hey, be careful!" He said as Grogu tried to pull one off your finger. You took a different one off and gave it to him instead.
"You don't have to give him it. He knows the word no."
"It's ok, that one I think turned my finger green, so he can have that to play with." You showed him the pinky which now had a green ring around the knuckle.
"It's no beskar." The Mandalorian replied, making you chuckle.
"That must be pretty heavy if it's made of fancy metal? Right?" You asked.
"You get used to it." He replied.
"I'm y/n by the way." You reached out a hand. He shook it, and Grogu clasped onto one of the rings making a pile in.
Since he became a spontaneous regular, Mando and Grogu joined the bar with Johnny. He was a bit more chatty and a bit more social than before. Still stoic and reserved but he would banter with you given the chance.
Whenever you and Mando joked around it would make your heart skip. Not many people who came in were anyone who was your type- this was a mostly older men establishment after all- and the few that did never really stayed long enough to build any sort of relationship- romantic or not. There were one or two of the engineers who had regular routes who stopped by every few months who were attractive and flirted sometimes but usually it was pretty... uneventful.
Mando though, he was...interesting. He seemed confident but very reserved. He wasn't cocky or rude. On the contrary he was very respectful and between him and Johnny Boy you didn't need to worry so much about boisterous customers- not when Mando had a blaster which he wouldn't shy away from showing them if needed.
You glanced back to him, and saw he was enjoying using the straw and having a drink for once. He was laughing along with Johnny Boy and Grogu was playing with your old ring again. Mando saw you looking and nodded his chin as if to say thank you.
Your eyes wandered to the young couple at the booth. They had started off on opposite sides of the table but after a few hours, a few more drinks and lots more talking they had sunken into the same side.
"They're lucky you saved them the embarrassment of the wine." Mando said.
"Well, technically it was you. I'm not an expert on Mandalorian beverages- or many for that matter." His head tilted.
"I don't drink. I just give recommendations based on my customers and what I've heard. But I did put in a word to my manager to see if he could source some Mandalorian drinks."
"Could have fooled me." He replied.
"We like to treat our guests well here. So I try to keep them semi-functioning."
"Isn't that the standard for most pubs?"
"You'd be surprised. We have personalised cut-offs for some regulars. Speaking of, pass me your glass."
"You want a bet?" He bit back, making you grin. It was easy to provoke him into banter. At first he was reluctant but since he got used to you and Johnny and the occasional visit from the manager, Mando was a bit more relaxed.
"Do you want him behind the bar?" You pointed to Grogu who had fallen asleep, crumbs around his face. Mando shook his head.
"We should get going. I have another mission tomorrow."
"More credits?"
"A lot more credits." He nodded.
"Ok so drinks on you tomorrow evening?" You looked to Johnny and he nodded.
"If you're good."
"Me or the kid?"
"Both of you."
"I'm always well behaved I don't know what you are talking about." You slid another packet of squid to Mando who shook his head.
"I couldn't. Won't you get in trouble?"
"It's fine. I added extra onto the order when manager was chatting about some whiskey he wanted. He won't notice."
"Thank you." Mando said, sincerely. You smiled, an ache in your chest as you wondered when he would next be back. You briefly looked him up and down, taking in the details in case he was gone again for months.
"What?"
"New piece." You pointed to the arm plates. "They look good."
i commend your body to the stars
[ get it as a print here! ]
[ID: A Project Hail Mary illustration. The artwork consists of a 5x7 grid, with smaller illustrations inside the squares. The smaller illustrations include: the xenonite Tau Ceti system; the Hail Mary drawn across three blocks; Grace’s bicycle helmet; Adrian’s green auroras; the Blip-C capsule; the crocheted Earth; the small xenonite figure; Rocky drawn across three blocks; the Petrova Line; the rainbow from Grace’s blanket; the shoreline on Erid; the Taumoeba collector; the green Skittles pack; and Astrophage as seen through a microscope. The squares differ in background colors. There are “empty” squares that reveal Grace on a red-orange background from beneath the small illustrations, only his side profile visible. He’s smiling softly. The overall artwork has an off-white background. The text above the grid reads “PROJECT HAIL MARY” and the text below it reads “LIFE IS REASON.” There are stars at each corner of the artwork. END ID]
"crows will gather when your heart cracks" @softgatorade - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
