#gresham house

Gresham House anon! 💖 Okay first of all. My heart! This is some top tier angst content you are bringing me here 👀 🥺 I think if this happened to Din, I can imagine him then travelling to earlier years so that he could discreetly observe her when she was a child, and at significant events in her life: Graduating university or starting her first job... We know what a proud father figure he is, right? 🥺 But of course he would be watching from a distance and always sure to keep himself hidden from view somehow.

I also think (because I am a massive sap and a big baby) that if he ever struggled to get back to her in the 1930s, he would go see his most trusted mechanic, dear Peli Motto, and pay every credit it took to have her fix that glitch, even if it meant allowing every droid in the place to work on it. I think Peli would probably rag him a little and pester him to know what's so special about 1930s Earth anyway, huh? But he'd do that Sassy Mando thing where he kinda turns his head slowly and cocks it to one side, all attitude, like he did to Cara Dune when she suggested he wanted to settle down with Omera. And Peli would just hold up her hands Alright, alright, and fix it up for him and then take all his money.

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“I do love it when you smile. Even though I can’t see. I can hear it. And it makes me happy. To know that you’re happy. Or relaxed, at least. It’s all I want, you know.”

He’s quiet for a long time. You’ve mostly learned to read his silences but this one feels different. When at last he speaks, it’s slow and deliberate. As though he’s testing the weight of each word before he says it.

“Things have changed since I last came here. I’ve shown my face to someone. Someone I… someone who’s very important to me,” he says. “And I want to show you. If you’d like that.”

“I should like that a great deal,” you tell him slowly. “But—”

He lifts his hand to his helmet and you catch his wrist before he reaches it. Before he does anything he might regret. “Wait. Are you really sure? You’re certain it’s alright?”

He gives you one of his nods.

“Let me—here, I’ll give you some room.” You transfer yourself from his lap to the mattress.

And then, unbelievably, Din hooks his thumb under the base of his helmet and slowly pushes it half way up his face, revealing to you his mouth, and a strong, unshaven jaw. He holds it there, seeming to hesitate.

“Have you changed your mind?” Or shall I dim the light?”

“Yes. The light. Thank you.”

His voice is different. Unaffected by whatever mechanism the helmet employs to alter it. Your heart begins to race at the sound of it, and at the sight of his teeth, his lips, his moustache. He has a moustache. And his jaw. His dear, stoic jaw.

You get up and lower the jet on the gaslight, watching his shoulders soften as the light changes. He waits for you to return to the bed, and once you’re seated beside him, he pushes the helmet the rest of the way off and places it carefully on your bedside table.

“You’re very handsome.”

The words are inadequate - he is the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen - but they draw a soft smile from him nonetheless.

He takes you by the waist and pulls you closer. “Come here,” he murmurs, “I want to kiss you.”

Hiii TWP! 😍 what a treat to see you in my inbox 💕

This section is from my Din Djarin one shot Gresham House.

Oh man, this part was SO HARD to write. Poor @alwaysbethewest had to listen to me moan and whinge and complain about it every single day while I was writing this one shot. Aside from the smut, this was the thing that gave me the most trouble in this fic.

A little behind the scenes context here - I think Din first met Boarding House Proprietress some time before the events of Season One (I do have some thoughts on the circumstances of this...) but clearly, Din was unable to visit her while he was caring for Grogu. Hence their emotional reunion in this fic.

So when Din says Things have changed since I last came here. I’ve shown my face to someone. Someone I… someone who’s very important to me, he is referring to Grogu. I hoped that, for any readers who deduced this, his comparison with Grogu and his desire to also show her his face, would imply the strength of his feelings for Boarding House Proprietress.  

I felt a lot of pressure to honour the seriousness of this moment and to show that the helmet removal was still a difficult thing for him to do - he can't just whip it off. So balancing his vulnerability, while still maintaining his power and stoicism, had me tearing my hair out tbh. 

I also wanted to do justice to the excitement and enthusiasm she would feel here, while making it clear that she was not pressuring him at all.

And I felt extra pressure on that last point because the whole time I was writing this fic I kept worrying that readers would dislike her for some reason. She is quite different from most of the characters/readers that are paired with Din and I felt insecure about this.

All in all it was a really delicate dynamic to write. 

And then it was just really hard to describe the mechanics of the helmet removal in a way that was dramatic and emotional and interesting. Kind of like writing an orgasm, which is another thing that gives me a massive bloody headache and another thing that @alwaysbethewest has to listen to me complain about on the reg 😅😅

One of my favourite lines in this fic is when she tells him “You’re very handsome.” That was my little reward to myself for managing to write that passage lol. I just want him to know how beautiful he is 😌

While scouting for a recent shoot with The Steele Group Sotheby’s International Realty, agent Robb Moss sent us to the “Gresham House” as a possible location for their shoot!  We pulled up and were in awe of this magnificent house.  The homeowner invited us in and we took a tour of the historical home. We learned a lot about this special house and were very lucky to have had a private tour. It is for sale and we are envious of whoever becomes the next steward of this important home! 

 "Gresham House," is a stately 1906 neoclassical mansion sited on a 1.48 acre corner lot in historic Ginter Park. Designed by renowned architect, D. Wiley Anderson, this one-of-a kind home exudes grandeur with its granite construction & magnificent details. With over 8,000 square feet, the main house features 6 bedrooms & 4 1/2 baths. The massive, wood-paneled entrance hall leads to an incredible winding staircase, and to the right, a handsome library with original glass-front bookcases & a fireplace flanked by leaded-glass palladium windows. Two parlors, a banquet-sized dining room with fireplace, a large tiled conservatory and a gourmet, eat-in kitchen complete the first level. Four bedrooms, an office & laundry room are located on the 2nd floor. The third floor features a massive ballroom or billiards room, 2 additional bedrooms and two full baths. The property also includes the original detached carriage house, which has been converted to 4 income-producing apartments. By all standards, this offering represents one of the most notable landmarks in the greater Richmond area.

Grand Staircase of Gresham House in Galveston aka The Bishop's Palace

Built: 1887-1892.

Architect: Nicholas Clayton.

Photo by Galveston Historical Foundation.