I Am Firmly Convinced That Din Djarin Is Aro-spec And Asexual.

i am firmly convinced that din djarin is aro-spec and asexual.

(quick disclaimer: i speak for myself. not all aros and aces share my experiences with aromanticism and asexuality.)

one thing that's always struck me about din is how much he values platonic relationships. cara and kuill aren't any less important to him than omera. that's not necessarily an a-spec thing, but it's rare for straight characters on tv. it's even rarer for the focus of the show to be a platonic, father-son relationship rather than a romantic one. aro-coding? definitely.

i've also noticed that a lot of allos, especially straight allos, seem to sort people of their target genders into boxes of "potential s/o" and "not a potential s/o". even if they're happily single, there's still this idea that "i just want to be friends, but i'm fine if it evolves into something more". like, the idea of a romantic/sexual relationship is always in the back of their mind, they’re just choosing not to pursue it.

(second disclaimer: i'm not allo. all i know about allo-ness is what i've observed from the outside.)

din doesn't do that. it's like the "romantic" and "sexual" relationship boxes don't even exist for him most of the time. his only boxes are "enemy", "ally", and "friend/potential babysitter". he's never even considered that cara could be anything other than a friend. i can't describe it quite right, but this mentality towards relationship categories was one of the things that convinced me i was aroace and not just an allo who "hasn't met the right person yet".

and then there's din's relationship with omera. it didn't seem sexual to me, for one thing. second, i'm romance-repulsed, and this is the only romantic tension i've ever seen that i wasn't squicked out by and actually even liked. i just kept thinking, "if i were in a relationship, this is what it would be like." they both felt like they could be happy together, but also like their lives would still be fulfilling if they were single. no theatrics, no cheesiness, just two people who knew they could love each other if only they had the chance. but they didn't. so they moved on.

i don't know exactly what it was. it just gave me a-spec vibes.

all interpretations of din are valid. personally, i think he's asexual and some variant of aromantic - maybe grayro, maybe demi, maybe oriented aro. not sure.

even if he turns out to be a regular ol' hetero, i'm super happy with how this show is combatting amatonormativity. literally the only character in the show with an s/o is frog lady. none of the single characters are portrayed as broken or defective or missing someone. i love that i can watch this show and feel safe from aphobia. thank you, jon favreau and dave filoni.

fans: how did padme die?

george lucas: she died in childbirth

fans: oh that's so s—

george lucas: of heartbreak

fans: ...

armorer: *gives din a jetpack* when you have healed, you will begin your drills. until you know it, it will not listen to your commands

din: i understand

also din: *uses the jetpack like ten minutes later to singlehandedly blow up a spaceship while on a head injury*

still cannot get over the fact that ludwig goransson basically invented a whole new musical culture for the mandalorian. like, that soundscape just. did not exist before. bass recorder plus electric guitar?? in star wars??? who even thinks of that???? mind blown.

until things get messy

rating: g (word count 431)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31179644

Mayfeld honestly doesn’t believe the guy’ll take off his Mando armor until he’s right there with a kriffing stormtrooper helmet screwed onto his shoulders.

The guy makes himself out to be some sorta moral big shot, y’know? All that this is the Way and you start to think a guy’s serious. Not, like, a strong possibility, but it’s a maybe. It’s out there. ’Cause most people in Mayfeld’s line of work are all talk and nothing to show for it, but then here comes this guy who’s no talk and a hundred percent wicked fighting machine, who can take out four New Republic security droids all by himself without breaking a sweat. Mando’s on a level of his own. Makes Mayfeld think, maybe somebody like that doesn’t have to make concessions.

’Cause the rest of them make concessions all the time. Mayfeld sure does. He’s got a backpack full of excuses and it never runs out.

But if anyone could do it, make it through the mercenary business without stretching their conscience, it’s Mando. Mayfeld didn’t expect to find himself still breathing after he felt a presence approaching him in the prison transport hallway, much less locked up with a still-very-alive Xi’an and Burg. He would’ve pulled the trigger in a heartbeat if their shoes had been swapped. But Mando didn’t.

From a practical standpoint, their lives probably weren’t worth the idealism. Not that Mayfeld wants to be dead, but once Burg and Xi’an get out of prison they’ll track Mando down and kill him. They’ll have to be taken out of the equation sooner or later.

Everybody starts out like Mando, convinced that you’re gonna be the good one when everyone else has failed. Eventually you reach a point when you’ve got to choose between being good and being dead. But a tiny part of Mayfeld has started to think the old buckethead is invincible, started to think that maybe idealism doesn’t have consequences if you’re a Mandalorian. There’s not much that could hurt or even slow down a guy like that.

Maybe it’s naive, but Mayfeld owes his life to Mando’s code. Can’t blame him for starting to believe in the man a little.

But no. Turns out Mandalorians have their weak spots just like the rest of ’em, and this one’s is a little green kid with big ears.

When Mando turns his brand-new stormtrooper face to look at Mayfeld, there’s a clear You happy now? written all over it.

Nah. Think what you want about Mayfeld, he’s not that cold. Doesn’t make him happy to be right.

so show me where my armor ends, show me where my skin begins.

- pluto

why does every sleeping at last song fit din so perfectly???

so slowly i'm losing who i've sworn to be. a promise in pencil that years have made so hard to read. i've spent my life building walls brick by brick and bruise by bruise... a birdcage religion that whispered me to sleep.

- birdcage religion

all of a sudden, you changed my mind. pulled back the curtains a little at a time.

through the static, through the ashes we were brave. through the perils of endless narrow escapes, we’re still here. we’re still here.

- we’re still here

like. does anyone else see it? i only discovered sleeping at last today and my “din djarin vibes” playlist has already doubled in size.

though your heart is far too young to realize the unimaginable light you hold inside,

i’ll give you everything i have. i’ll teach you everything i know. i promise i’ll do better. i will always hold you close, but i will learn to let you go.

- light

YES that is EXACTLY how din feels about grogu.

now i have to write fics to go along with all these...