op this is such an astounding idea. oh my god. someone write more about this before i do it myself-
What if Grogu’s been doing the “These are not the droids you’re looking for” thing to Din this entire time?
Gen. 275 words
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Grogu’s been nudging Din’s mind with the Force to make him more inclined to feel protective of him since the moment IG-11 was about to shoot him.
The spell breaks a bit after Grogu is incapacitated by the effort it took to rescue Din from the Mudhorn, which is why he’s able to trade the baby for the camtono of Beskar. But that lingering look Grogu gives him as the pram is led out of the room by Dr Pershing? That’s Grogu saying You will not leave me here, and hoping it’s strong enough to stick.
So Din can’t stop thinking about the kid. Breaks Guild protocol by asking what will become of him. Puts his Covert at risk by going back for him and goes on the run for months with him. And the rest is history.
But maybe, eventually, Din has a moment of clarity. He stops in the middle of what he’s doing one day and looks around at the modest collection of baby stuff he’s accumulated inside the Razor Crest. It’s so incongruous to the way his life used to be that it momentarily pulls him out of it.
He blinks down at the baby in his arms like he’s coming out of a dream. “What… what am I doing?”
But then Grogu waves his little hand at him, cooing—Don’t think about it! We were about to get lunch, remember Dad?—and Din just stares at him for an unbearably long moment, helmet inscrutable, as Grogu wills his brain to reset back into Parent Mode.
Until finally Din sighs, “Right… lunch time,” and Grogu knows it worked.
And that’s that.