#Origins: Clan Wren

[ferretrade]

have we talked about how sabine's armor in live action, while better than everyone else's, is a real glow down??? give me more color, more whimsy

[stars-n-spice]

I Said it Gets Better (We Both Know I’m Lying)

I keep letting you down // There’s no denying // I love you, I’m trying

Word Count: 4.9k Warnings: N/A Summary: Khea questions her reckless decision. Mitcan is along for the ride. Things are only getting more difficult.

It wasn’t long before Khea realized that maybe what she was doing was a bad idea. 

Typically, spur of the moment decisions to steal one of your clan’s ships and take it to confront a terrorist group in search of your zealot older brother weren’t good ones, but at the moment it seemed like the right thing to do. 

However, those decisions were usually okay so long as you made it on your own, but unfortunately for Khea, Fate threw a wrench in her plans in the form of Mitcan, who had stowed away on her ship, not wanting her to do this alone. 

“What the kriff are you doing here?!” 

“What do you mean?! What are you doing here?!” 

Khea held a hand to her chest as she looked over to where Mitcan had crammed himself between two cases of explosives while she recovered from falling over and being startled out of her wits. So she was nervous and on edge. Sue her. 

“What do you mean, ‘what are you doing here?!’ What does it look like I’m doing?” Khea questioned as she scrambled back onto her feet, her ears burning red in embarrassment. She huffed and fixed herself up as Mitcan looked around the hull of the ship with a small frown, as if seriously considering her question.

“Uh, seems like you’re making a bad decision,” he finally answered, his eyes finding Khea with a look that should’ve been reserved for disappointed mothers. A look Khea knew well, but for some reason it hurt more coming from Mitcan. 

“I know what I’m doing,” she grumbled, folding her arms across her chest as she looked away from him, trying not to let it show that he was somewhat right and she was a liar. 

To be fair, up until she found her little stowaway, everything was going as it should’ve been going. So if anything, this was his fault.

“Are you stuck?” She then asked, mildly changing the subject as she glanced back at him with the tilt of her head; watching as Mitcan struggled to get out from between the two crates that were squishing him. 

“No,” came his swift reply, huffing as he took a turn at being defensive.

Khea rolled her eyes and watched him struggle for a few more seconds before she walked over with a sigh. Carefully, she grabbed his arms and tugged him out of his hiding place. Mitcan thankfully didn’t protest and after a few good tugs, Khea managed to get him out. She nearly fell over in the process, but Mitcan grabbed her wrist and balanced her back out, setting her down on her feet.

“Thanks,” Khea muttered as she let go of his arm. 

“Mmh, thank you,” Mitcan replied with a nod as he dusted himself off and stretched out a little, his joints cracking and making Khea raise an eyebrow in response. 

“How long were you stuck in there?” She asked, her expression one of mild worry and amusement. 

“How long was I hiding in there?” Mitcan corrected, “since you took off.” He answered with a frown, looking over at her and getting an eye roll in response. 

“What are you doing anyways, Khea?” he asked, his voice suddenly just above a whisper and making Khea’s amusement fade away. 

She almost pushed him back between the crates, but she resisted and instead flared her nostrils and picked at the straps of her gloves as she looked away from him. 

For a moment a silence filled the hull, save for the quiet hum of the engine as they drifted through the stars.

Like most times, when silence would fill their ears, Mitcan broke through the silence–braver than most. 

“You’re going after Jovaz, aren’t you?” he whispered, his voice sounding more like a statement than a question. 

Khea bit the insides of her cheeks before letting out a small groan.

“Why did you ask what I was doing if you already knew?” She asked, her voice almost a childish whine or grumble as she shifted awkwardly on her feet.

“Khea, are you going after Jovaz?” Mitcan repeated, ignoring her comment. 

Khea tensed and forced herself to look up at Mitcan. Stars, she hated having to look up at him. Why’d he have to go and grow up?

“Someone has to,” she replied, her words coming out a little harsher than she meant them to. 

Mitcan frowned and opened his mouth for a second before he seemed to reconsider and closed it. That only made Khea curious; from the look in Mitcan’s eyes it wasn’t clear if he wanted to agree or disagree with her on that statement. Even despite all the bantha poodoo Jovaz gave Mitcan growing up, Khea knew Mitcan still cared about him. On some level. That was just the curse of being brothers. 

“What?” Khea questioned, not bothering to bite back the frustration in her voice. 

“You think we should be like our buirs and do nothing about it?” She asked, her voice taunting and making Mitcan frown even more. 

“That’s not-”

Khea cut him off; “I’m done sitting on my sorry sheb and pretending that everything is fine. What kind of aliit just abandons one of their members?” 

Mitcan sighed, knowing better than to point out that technically Jovaz left them first. He knew she was acting out of guilt, afterall, she was the only one who Jovaz personally approached about leaving so Mitcan knew that she felt bad for not being able to do more to make him stay. But she seemed to be the only one who seemed to not realize that there wasn’t anything more that she could’ve done. 

“So I’m going to do something about it,” Khea announced, “Since nobody else is going to.” “Yes, but what are you going to do about it?” Mitcan asked, talking quickly so that he wouldn’t be interrupted again. 

“Are you going to talk to him? Is that it?” He questioned, tilting his head down towards her with a frown. He wasn’t exactly chastising her and her lack of a solid plan, but it sure felt like it. And Khea wasn’t too happy to be reminded that she was winging all of this, making her chances of success all the least likely. 

“Khea,” Mitcan started, taking a small step towards her, “I-i need to know–were you planning on bringing Jovaz back?” Khea opened her mouth to protest and answer, ‘Of course’ but Mitcan cut her off. 

“–or were you going to join him?” 

READ THE REST ON Ao3!

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[ljpynn]

Updated my reference sheet for my Mandalorian OC! It's wild how much has changed and how much has stayed the same since I first started drawing her nearly two years ago.

[r0gerr0ger]

More thoughts about Satine’s pacifism…

So I read this post the other day that suggested Satine’s period of rule was just a blip in Mandalore’s history, that she only maintained power because she’d won it in battle, and that Mandalorians were glad to return to their traditionalist ways and… it just really irked me.

Because that’s not true at all??

When we meet Satine in TCW, it’s super clear that she was very popular, and a good ruler. In only 15-20 years, she’s restored Sundari to prosperity, and is a city that appears very wealthy with a satisfied population. She herself is very invested in her people, helps directly with social and political matters. She’s managed to rebuild worlds and cities devastated by war and environmental issues.

There’s never any kind of explanation exactly as to her style of rule. Certainly she’s not a constitutional monarch but there is a prime minister and council, and regional governors, so she’s no autocrat. This suggests democracy, and her people thus voting for continued pacifist policies/leaders.

(We also only see issues/events occur that in any society would involve leaders, regardless of how much a role they play in politics)

I mean sure, it’s the capital city and we don’t really see anywhere else. And there’s also corruption, hunger, terrorism, etc.- but a lot of the latter issues are because of outside forces (galactic war and the sith) that she does remarkably well, in my opinion, to combat for several years.

So already that’s a lot of evidence to suggest pacifism/modernism was widely popular amongst Mandalorians and not just a blip.

(Also, she may have come to power through battle, but this suggests there was an incredibly strong military and public force behind her ascendancy to the throne in order to win a civil war that had been waging essentially for decades- therefore illustrating mandalorians wanted pacifism, and she didn’t just usurp her position)

Then to the suggestion they were glad to return to their military ways…

People often use the state of Mandalore in Rebels/The Mandalorian to argue that the warrior culture was a more natural and preferred one among Mandalorians.

But this isn’t what we see at all.

We return to Mandalore in Rebels like 17/18 years after we last saw it in TCW. In this time, an extremist clan and the empire have been ruling the system.

We’ve seen the scale and ability of the empire’s propaganda missions already- erasing or changing history, destroying entire races- particularly with the jedi.

Alongside a ruler encouraging/forcing his people to re-embrace their martial past, of course it’s going to appear as if Mandalorian society has returned to its ‘original’ state of violence and warfare.

And yet, even though it’s gone back to clan warfare and endless, unnecessary fighting, that’s not what the people want at all.

Even though the Mandalorians we meet in Rebels are characterised as especially traditional (clan wren allied with death watch; fenn rau fought alongside the republic and later the empire, going against satine’s political status) they are never actually fighting for a return to their martial past.

Instead, the whole storyline is about uniting Mandalorians, pushing out the oppressive empire, ending the civil wars, etc.

Sure, they want to retain more of their martial culture than Satine did, but perhaps here is where we can argue that Sundari was a bit of an exception by being so especially modernist, whereas other planets and communities still retained many elements of their warrior culture- such as wearing the armour- even if not engaging in warfare.

Again, there is a similar storyline in The Mandalorian season 3- despite the fact that this is about the most extreme group of Mandalorians. It’s still about uniting together, rebuilding their world, ending war and violence among each other, protecting each other.

Therefore, I think it’s clear that actually, even if not to quite the same degree (but then, it’s likely this would come later once the last 2 decades of military propaganda had been overcome) Mandalorians didn’t want to retain their military past, but wanted to move in a more pacifist direction.

The only thing I have some issue arguing against is what we see in TCW when Satine is overthrown, where the masses really quickly switch to supporting death watch/Vizsla.

I’ve talked here about why this may be the case but even many of my arguments on that post don’t properly explain why a city that in previous seasons we saw offering mass support for satine and prospering under pacifism, suddenly turned so against her.

Really, I put this down to TCW being, in the end, a show aimed at younger audiences, and needing to get the point across clearly and dramatically that death watch and maul had manipulated people, and that’s why it seems so out of place.

(Does anyone have more to say on this than me? I’d find other’s perspective on this, whatever that perspective is, really interesting)

Either way, it’s made continually clear that Satine’s rule was far from a blip in Mandalorian history, or that Mandalorians only ever barely tolerated her.

Their martial society was a thing of the past. People were sick of it. Satine won the clan wars for a reason, and was a very effective ruler for many years until events outside her control (that frankly would have negatively impacted even the most golden ruler) meant she fell from power.

Had there not been the clone war or the sith, she would undoubtedly have continued to rule, and mandalore continued to stay pacifist.

(I also think it’s a shame we never saw more of mandalorian society during Satine’s rule. We only focus on her and other political rulers at that time, and when we later return to mandalore it’s all from the perspective of either extremists like din djarin and his sect, or again more political leaders/rulers that have an especially militaristic past.)

[wildcardjoey]

Anita jean!

ANITAT JEAN!!!

Alright so the Little Wren AU is basically just 'Bruce manages to find Anita after she fakes her death' and she actually does become his first sidekick. She isn't a fighter, Bruce puts her under three layers of armor, and she basically fills a mage and healer role with first aid (mostly for civilians and criminals) and the virtual reality gas drug, the use of which allows batman to remain a cryptid for far longer.

Anita also takes longer to get the hang of grappling hooks because she's less coordinated than even Tim but she does get them probably not too long after Dick comes to the manner since the two can train together. Her inability to use grappling hooks when she first enters the field is why The Whirly-Bat was made, named The Hummingbird in this au because it's Anita's and was named before Dick was adopted into the family and took a bat-gimmick to every piece of equipment in the cave. Before he joined the team, Bruce and Anita were work shopping names for a lot of their stuff but hadn't come to decisions for most of them, so Dick still gets to do that, but not for Anita's Hummingbird.

Rather than the dynamic duo, this au has either a tritastic trio of Batman, Wren, and Robin, or the dynamic duo is seen as Wren and Robin, as Batman's sidekicks. When Tim ends up at the manner, Anita basically tells him he's too tactical to be Robin and gives him the Wren mantle, which she either had already left behind or was in the process of considering it. Steph ends ends up becoming his paired Robin, for much longer than Canon.

Steph initiating that plan that required Matches Malone probably still happens, but with Anita's help she's able to salvage it, but it opens up an entirely new set of problems because at that point Anita was already on the verge of discovering The Court of Owls (because their one give away was a nursery rhyme and she wanted to find out it's origin because it's her hobby) and now The Court sees the bat clan take control of the city basically in it's entirety so those two things combined make The Court release the elite talons. A temporary alliance with The League of Assassins and the timely first arrival of Cass in the city means they just barely manage to win. This is also the family's first introduction to Damian and a recently resurrected Jason is probably also there, but dressed like the rest of the assassins so he isn't recognized.

Anita herself, which is what this au is actually about, is going to be depicted as better adjusted due to not living her life since she was, like, eight alone and eventually dedicated to revenge. She has hyperfixations on birds, nursery rhymes, programming, and tech and is an excellent detective. I already mentioned she's less coordinated starting out but that doesn't mean she's weak, she'd probably be able to beat Dick in a fight when he first gets to the manor since he's at that point just a gymnast but she's been training as a martial artist for like six months at that point.

Speaking of Dick, I really look forward to writing their banter. They are going to be so sassy to each other but very protective of each other. Almost as much as they're both protective of every one younger siblings, which, and seeing some of your posts this may be disappointing, isn't going to be terribly long. Finding a way to fit every obscure batfam character in is for my other dc au, the same one that my ruleset for Claire's powers is for, but I do have Calvin, Charlie, and and Dana (Talon, Misfit, and Strike) as sure-shows for Little Wren.

Long-Term, the au's story-arc will focus on the eventual take down of The Parliament of Owls as the main antagonists, as it feels fitting for an Anita Jean focused story for previously stated Nursery Rhyme related reasons, although I do also plan for The League to be taken down due to Tim still having his globetrotting adventure and then the batfam actually capitalizing on it.

Edit for Addendum: the first paragraph makes it sound like Anita never fights, I should clarify that her role on the team does evolve as she gets older and Bruce becomes more lenient.

[kaxtwenty]

I think the thing I like the most about Mandalorians is how much it sucks to be one.

Like, the older I get the more I understand Satine. Any society that revolves around fighting and conquest as much Mandalorian society tends to suck to live in.

Pretty much every major Mando character has this moment where they’re just like, “Why are we like this?” And it feels real in a way that few bits of SW lore ever come close to.

To gloss over it a bit. Nearly every planet they’ve inhabited has been glassed 1-12 times. The foundling system, while cool, has its roots in slavery and forced assimilation (which can still be seen in some cases). Pretty much every major clan or house are the descendants of people who were forced to assimilate to Mandalorian society (not even that far back in Clan Wren’s case). They fought so much that the original Mandalorian race, the Taung, went extinct.

And to top it all off the literal inception of their entire culture was when they saw a planet full of Kaiju and one guy decided they should subjugate and hunt them to extinction. Which is to say nothing of all the civil wars their whole feudalistic house/clan system practically encourages; along with the ever lingering question of how often do Mandos who aren't soldiers get to have full citizenship?

Hell, there was one time a Mandalorian straight up became a Jedi, ruled as Mand’alor only to have his kids steal his saber from the Jedi Temple and use it as a symbol of violence and supremacy.

I’ve always liked to think of Mandalorians as the sort of “wildcard” faction of Star Wars. They can be either the heroes or the villains and vary wildly in how they fulfill those roles, you never quite know what you’re gonna get with them on an individual level. But just about every one of them has had to confront their history and how it affects them now. And their views are often informed their upbringing and different experiences.

There's this constant through line of characters trying to reinvent what it means to be Mandalorian, all of them coming to their own conclusions, usually with the help of a Jedi or two.

Idk, I wouldn't say I'm an expert on Mandalorians or anything (I'm much more of a Jedi guy), but I got a lot of thoughts about them and how their current culture is informed by their history of imperialistic warfare.

"I think... I think I need something more than killing and fighting in my life." - Canderous Ordo

[jessicas-pi]

📙 📕 please?

OOOO ok since you sent two I'm gonna give you two AUs--a short one and a long one!

the short AU idea is one I call Hi, You've Reached The New Republic. How Can I Help You?

It's based on the premise that, at the end of TRoS, Ben doesn't die. He lives and joins the good guys! But he did a lot of bad stuff, so he's going to be punished. Originally he gets sentenced to death, but Rey is sad about that, and so Poe and Finn step in because Rey Cannot Be Sad. But, also, they understandably resent the bad stuff he did, and they're allowed to be a little petty, as a treat. So they suggest Ben be sentenced to a fate worse than death.

And by "fate worse than death," I mean customer service.

So now Ben works for the New New Republic, answering phones, and he has to deal with all the garbage that customer service workers get, and at this point, Rey's Not Mad Just Disappointed face is the only thing keeping him from turning evil again. Force Ghost Anakin Shenanakins optional.

the other AU I have in mind is a crossover based on Crooked House, which is an Agatha Christie novel! It's long so i'm putting it beneath a cut.

SO, when I read Crooked House, I got like half a chapter in and was absolutely OVERWHELMED by the sabezra vibes from the main couple. It's like, guy meets girl, guy is in love with girl, girl reciprocates, guy goes off to war for a few years, guy and girl are reunited. also, girl has an absolutely insane family where literally anyone could be a suspect in a murder.

ANYWAY i immediately came up with an AU, as one does. I call it Crooked Clan.

I haven't decided if I want this AU to be set in our world in the past, in the canon star wars universe, or in a star-warsy-yet-vintagey universe that is different from canon. I'm thinking the third option probably.

So, the idea is that Sabine's clan isn't ruled by her mother, but by her grandmother, who also owns the Darksaber. Sabine and Ezra are friends in this AU--which happens in a universe where Order 66 was never a thing--despite Ezra being a Jedi and Sabine being Mandalorian. They've known each other since their teenage years, like in canon, and they're very close.

When Sabine is about 22, her grandmother dies under mysterious circumstances, and Sabine asks Ezra to come help her. Ostensibly as moral support, but she actually suspects there was foul play. Ezra agrees immediately because he would do anything for her.

it becomes clear soon that there WAS foul play. The obvious suspect is Gar Saxon, Ursa's distant cousin, who invited himself into their home and is known to be ruthless with a dislike for the Wrens. And due to a technicality, he would become ruler of Clan Wren unless the previous Countess specifically left it to someone else. And the will Sabine's grandmother supposedly made is missing.

But, one-by-one, it becomes clear that everyone in Sabine's family is suspect.

As follows:

Ursa, Sabine's mother, who was supposed to inherit rulership of the clan

Alrich, Sabine's father, who would willingly do anything for his wife

Tristan, Sabine's brother, who was ruthlessly bullied by his grandmother and openly hated her

Eris (an OC), Sabine's aunt and Ursa's older sister, who was disinherited less than a month ago for her supposed "madness"

Bo-Katan, a family friend who turns out to have previously been associated with a terrorist organization known as Death Watch

and finally, Sabine herself becomes suspect, when her grandmother's will finally resurfaces, and she learns that the rulership of the clan--along with the Darksaber--was left to her.

I haven't worked out ALL the details yet, but I have a LOT of vibes in my head, and... yeah, that's the ramble! There may be more someday! But I make no guarantees!

Thank you for the ask!! :D

[better-call-mau1]

sooo i'm curious about Nephews (And Nieces) Of Inexplicable Origin.... (Is it possibly what I think it is?? 😆)

Thanks for the ask! It most certainly is!!! 🤪😁 I had to go back and find our reblog chain with @that-one-loth-cat which started with your “Bo-Katan’s Obitine Flashbacks” (and this Satine & Sabine incorrect quote)…but yeah, the ‘nephew’ in question is Korkie, and the ‘niece’ is a Sabezra kiddo. 😉 The fic chronicles Bo’s saltiness over Satine passing off Korkie as her nephew, and she eventually gets to hit Ursa with an I told you so! that’s about 20-25 years in the making.

I didn’t have too much of this written when you sent the ask a few days ago, but I couldn’t help myself, so I finished the whole first scene. 😅

And fair warning, this snippet is from the POV of young Death Watch Bo-Katan, so there’s a fair amount of Star Wars cursing, i.e. variations of ‘kark’ and ‘kriff’. (Also, I gave Korkie a real name since ‘Korkie’ feels like a nickname. I’m not sold on it, though…might post a poll with a bunch of different candidates for what ‘Korkie’ could be short for.)

(Link to the WIP list for the ask game.)

“And then she had the audacity to call him her nephew! Her nephew! That’s how she decided to explain the baby she brought back with her! It doesn’t make any kriffing sense. I’m her only sister — her only sibling — so how do you think that made me look?”

Bo growled into her cup of tihaar and, rather brashly, swallowed down the rest in three fierce gulps. Her throat ached and eyes threatened to water, but not so badly that it blunted her ire over the red-haired little karker Satine introduced to her years ago.

Not that he was such a little karker anymore — Korkelan would be twelve now, and Bo wondered if he’d managed to connect the dots (of which there were only two, his ‘aunt’ and her Jedi protector), that had taken her all of five seconds to connect herself. The whole affair was more suspicious than a Jawa in a droid bar, and she had no doubt that it would explode in Clan Kryze’s face someday.

Glancing up, Bo found that her friend didn’t seem to be all that concerned with the not-so-inexplicable origins of her nephew.

Handle pinched between forefinger and thumb, Ursa bent her spoon back, preparing to catapult a red lentil across the banquet table. “One moment,” she murmured, squinting in the dim lighting of the tent. Slumped low in her chair to remain inconspicuous, she waited for the Saxon brothers to take their seats at the other end, each with a fresh cup of tihaar — one of the few tastes of Mandalore they still enjoyed on Carlac.

The head of the spoon sprang from her fingers, sending the lentil hurling across the table, soaring over Pre Vizsla’s bald head, and plunging right into Gar Saxon’s drink with a PLOP!

For a few long seconds, he stared down at the floaty in his cup. Stunned confusion morphed into disgust (as if a mynok had flown into the tent and taken a kriff on his plate), which simmered into a blind rage directed at the most likely culprit:

Skinny, slimy, pretentious Tiber.

“Aruetyc upstart,” Gar growled — and before the younger Saxon could utter a word of self-defense, his arm shot across the table and grabbed him by the collar of his bodyglove, lifting him off his feet and heaving him to the other side of the tent like a sack of joguns.

Ursa snickered in delight, sinking back and crossing her arms while watching the Brawn of Clan Saxon march over to the Brains and clobber him like a rabid rancor.

“I’m sure Count Saxon sleeps well at night knowing his clan’s future is in the hands of those two kriffhead di’kuts.”

Twirling her dinner knife, Bo leaned forward, planting her elbows on the table.

“Well, if you don’t want the future of Clan Wren to be in even worse shape, you should take my story as a warning. Anywhere you go in the galaxy these days, there are philanderering Jedi Knights preying on honest, Forge-going Mando girls. They whip out their lightsabers and put on a show with their perverse telekinetic shenanigans, and next thing you know, your sister is carrying around a ‘nephew.’ All it takes is one romantic jetpack ride. Mark my words.”

Ursa pried her attention away from the one-sided brawl to give Bo a flat, unconvinced look.

“Right. I’ll start worrying about Sab’ika going on romantic jetpack rides with unscrupulous Jedi boys when she can chew solid food.”

[jonny-r217]

Love how Dave covered all his bases with Sabine.

• “The Force resides in all living beings” directly from Lucas/A New Hope

• Sabine Wren of House Wren, Clan Vizsla - as in descended from Tarr Vizsla the first/last Mandalorian to be a Jedi and also created the DarkSaber.

• Kanan’s teachings and training during Trials of The DarkSaber

• Trained for years with the apprentice of one of the most unconventional Jedi ever

• Just for good measure- trapped on a planet that clearly has HEAVY connections to The Force and the origins of those who first wielded it.

And you’re mad she finally made a connection with The Force??

[yukipri]

Following from your tags on the Galidraan post, there's actually a canon(-ish) source that states that the Darksabre was chosen by VIZSLA as their symbol of the Mand'alor: Tor Vizsla's in-universe Ba'jurne Kyr'tsad Mando'ad, which is included at the end of the real-world book, The Bounty Hunter Code. Direct quote is: "To ensure we would be led by the most powerful, we decreed that any could challenge the Secret Mand'alor for leadership of Death Watch. And, as our symbol of authority, we chose the Darksaber, an ancient weapon liberated from the Jedi long ago." (Please ignore my editing in the image.)

(The whole text of the Ba'jure Kyr'tsad Mando'ad is on google sites: https://sites.google.com/view/bajurne-kyrtsad-mandoad/title-page)

Yep, I have that book, it's actually a really fun reference, all the books in that series are! <3

But yup, see, this is another part where I see how Legends doesn't quite match up with current canon. The info in this book is Legends, specifically Legends as published in 2013. But in New Canon, given how the Darksaber is treated in Rebels and now in the Mandalorian, I feel like it being solely the symbol of "the Secret Mand'alor" is kinda BS—it's much more treated as the symbol of ALL of Mandalore.

Of course, one could interpret all of this through the lens that Clan Wren is part of House Vizsla so all of Sabine's story is biased (I'm still not happy they made that association...), and Bo-Katan used to serve Pre so of course she's got Vizsla bias, and Din was rescued by Death Watch + Paz is in his covert so presumably his covert also has strong Vizsla/Death Watch bias.

New canon is so incredibly Vizsla/Death-Watch centric, perhaps "Vizsla's Mand'alor" is the only Mand'alor that matters anymore. Which. Ugh. But kinda feels that way.

Anyway, while it isn't based on anything official, I do feel like if the Darksaber existed when Open Seasons was written, there might have been some more history with it there. Because keep in mind, even though they're both Legends, Open Seasons still predates the Code book by over a decade, and much of Legends isn't consistent.

My own take is that IF we go by the premise that the Darksaber is the symbol of the rightful leader of all of Mandalore and NOT just Death Watch, then it should make sense that at different points of time between the Darksaber becoming the symbol and the "present," it would have passed between different clans, especially since modern Death Watch is an extremist terrorist organization that has not been depicted as being the rightful anything tbh.

Therefore to me, the Darksaber is more interesting if it's a neutral symbol planetary leadership, which may have originated from Tarre Vizsla, someone who is not synonymous with Death Watch of the Clone Wars~onwards eras. Vizsla may claim that it's only a symbol of them and their Mand'alor, but again then that makes a distinction between that and a leader who unifies all of Mandalore.

It's more interesting if Jaster and Jango once had the Darksaber and were recognized as leaders, and perhaps that too was part of why Tor Vizsla was so determined to take them down, if he felt they were unfit to wield it. His underhanded tactics in getting rid of them would then mean that he didn't win the saber in fair combat, which means that when Pre presumably inherited it, its current presence in his family isn't rightful in the first place, and perhaps he never knew. That then leads to the question of whether any current claim to the Darksaber is legitimate if the last true wielder was taken down by Vizsla manipulating Jedi from the shadows, never lifting a finger himself. That kind of moral debate of honor, of understanding the messy past of Mandalore...that kind of juicy drama, I am all for.

To be clear, I'm biased, and none of the above is me saying "this is the right way to interpret this media." This is just how I, personally, am choosing to internalize it. I don't like Death Watch and don't think they have been depicted as honorable in ANY media they're in. It does not make any narrative sense, at least to me, to put them on a weird pedestal while stripping Boba, Jango, Jaster, and the other True Mandalorians of all historical and cultural relevance. IF the Darksaber is a symbol solely of Vizsla leadership, then I cannot imagine WHY anyone would want to make it into a cool fun symbol to build a franchise around and give to a hero character. So I'm hoping that canon will eventually lean a bit towards my personal interpretation, even though I have little faith that it will.

If it doesn't, eh, that's alright! I'm more than capable of making my own lil stories and entertaining myself!

Anyway, this response went a bit longer than I expected but yeah, those are my thoughts on the Darksaber and how I've personally chosen to combine Legends + New Canon!

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

[stars-n-spice]

But You Won't Understand (All the Things That I Am)

all my fibers say to run away // count my little scars, I’ve got dozens down inside // I come complete and invincible behind my dirty imbecile

Word Count: 5.7k Warnings: N/A Summary: Khea makes a decision. One that's nothing short of reckless.

It had been nearly two years since Jovaz had approached Khea with the proposal of running away with him to Concordia to join the Kyr'tsad, only for her to refuse. Since then, Khea hadn’t seen or heard from Jovaz and feared that she might not ever see or hear from him ever again. 

That thought was just one of the few things that kept her up at night, tossing and turning in bed with the too thin blankets as she begged her conscience to shut up for once and grant her sleep. Never once had sleep come easy to her. Especially not now in the quiet steel dorms of the Academy where her thoughts seemed to echo within the walls that seemed to be suffocating her slowly as the nights dragged on. 

She tried to tell herself that Jovaz and his whereabouts were the least of her worries. Afterall, she was so close to being top of her class, to proving to everyone she could be her brother, but better. She had worked so hard to get to where she was and she was determined to keep it that way and not let her thoughts on her brother deter her from making a lasting impression on the Academy. 

Deep down though, when the nights were especially dark and lonely, she couldn’t help but wonder why she was doing all of this. Why was she trying so hard to please, to impress, to shock and awe when she could just retreat out of the spotlight? On the surface, she chalked it up to being stubborn as hell but she knew that wasn’t it, at least not completely. 

No, deep down, Khea knew that she was doing this to try and make amends; to try and fix what Jovaz had broken. She was picking up his pieces in the aftermath of his departure and was hastily trying to glue them back together by bringing pride and honor to her Clan. By showing her parents they shouldn’t worry about what was becoming of their oldest because they had her and she would succeed in the ways that Jovaz hadn’t. By showing the Academy she was more than her brother who had run off the moment he had the chance to. By showing Mitcan a good example of an older sibling and hopefully take some of the pressure off of him as he navigated his first years at the Academy. 

Khea knew, deep down, she was only trying as hard as she was to clean up an image and put on a front. She almost wanted to make it seem like Jovaz never existed in the first place, but it was hard to when his presence still lingered in the Academy and haunted their Clan’s stronghold’s halls. 

She couldn’t help but feel guilty for doing so, for trying to erase the brother she cared so dearly for and the moment she realized that’s what she was doing, the shame and guilt was so much she didn’t do anything but sulk in her dorm for two days. During that time, she thought everything over, reflecting on all the years she spent with her brother before he just up and gave all of that away. 

And it hurt to reflect, by the stars, it hurt. Khea spent those two nights clutching her pillow, tears running down her face and body trembling as she wondered if she was the reason why he went away. Wondering if she had been better, maybe Jovaz would’ve wanted to stick around her. Wondering if she should’ve done more to keep him around and convince him to stay. Wondering if maybe…just maybe she should’ve gone with him.

After that, Khea continued to attempt to stay at the top of her class, doing what she could to come up on top as the strong, capable, fearless, and ruthless Mandalorian the Academy hoped to make her into. The kind Jovaz would’ve been proud of. Though now it wasn’t to pick up the pieces and hide what had been broken, but to train herself to be ready to go off and find Jovaz; bring him back and fix things for real. 

She did what she could and earned praise and acknowledgement from mentors and peers, but as satisfying as all of that felt, it wasn’t enough. She wanted, needed, to hear that praise from Jovaz. She didn’t want the praise from her teachers who only knew the side she presented to them as a student. She didn’t want the acknowledgement from fellow classmates who only said the things they said to not seem jealous or to try and get in good cohorts with her in hopes of elevating themselves. No, she wanted to hear it from her brother. Hell, she wanted to hear it from her mother. 

But when did the galaxy ever give her the things she wanted?

“Kriff this,” Khea growled under her breath as she kicked over the wastebin in frustration before angrily throwing her desk chair aside as well; making a mess of her dorm. 

She’d just finished with her training for the day, her body exhausted from the extensive drills and her mind consumed with that feeling of dissatisfaction as another day went by with her feeling out of place and misunderstood. 

She knew it was stupid of her to feel this way, to be wallowing in self-pity as everyone praised and complimented her for her hard-work and her growing skills but she couldn’t help but feel like it was all superficial. They would never understand, never fully grasp why she was doing what she was doing. She knew that she wouldn’t have been treated like this if Jovaz was still around, if she didn’t try as hard as she did to prove a point. She knew that behind her back they all whispered and compared her to her brothers; how she wasn’t nearly as good as the ultimate warrior Jovaz and how she couldn’t possibly compare to the sweetheart Mitcan. She knew they were saying things to make her happy, saying all the things she wanted to hear. Nobody ever told her what she needed to hear. 

It was frustrating as hell and everytime she came back to her dorms and her mask cracked and crumbled away, a nagging voice in the back of her mind urged her to leave it all behind because at the end of it all; it was pointless. They’d never understand. 

She was sick and tired of it all, and all she wanted was to finally get away from everyone and everything. It was why she loved her breaks so much, even if back at home Jovaz still haunted her, but at least when she was home she didn’t have to deal with the superficial or double-bladed words of her teachers and peers. Instead she had to deal with her stoic mother who never gave her praise for anything she did after Jovaz left, her father whose praise was out of pity, though well meaning, and her brother’s, who Khea felt wasn’t the same as the praise that would’ve come from Jovaz. 

It wasn’t much of an improvement, but it was home. 

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[tewwor]

STATS .

Name: Mirai ( future ) Sasaki ( wren )

Age: Early 30s

Height: tba

Gender & sexuality: non-binary ; they/them & bisexual

Occupation: Jujutsu Tech counselor

Fc: tba

CURSED TECHNIQUES & ABILITIES .

1st-8th century: By the use of hand signs and evocation, Mirai is able to mimic the powers of a kitsune on a scale of one tail to eight. Repercussions of the Sasaki's curse start to take hold after the 5th century technique is unlocked. The changes will be minute, but once the 7th - 8th century technique are used, there will be permanent alterations, i.e., longer fangs and claws, patches of fur, other foxlike features. Not the mention, the paranoia and immense sense of danger that takes hold of their mind after using the latter techniques ( explained below ). General variations & uses of abilities include: shapeshifting, fox-fire ( sometimes lightning ), illusions, possession, flight, invisibility, dream manifestation.

Millennium: Mirai gains the capability to utilize the power of a tenko. All aforementioned abilities are at it's most powerful with this technique with the addition of being able to grant a single boon and clairvoyance. Their family's generational curse is sure to take effect once this technique is completed for a long duration.

HISTORY .

The Sasaki lineage was originally a family of shamans. One ancestor was tasked to exorcise a person accused of kitsune tsuki ( possession of a kitsune ). Little did the shaman know, the victim had purposely called the kitsune to possess them and didn't want the being exorcised like the rest of their family prayed for. Thus, the ritual was far too intense and the kistune wasn't driven out of the human body. Instead, the person placed a curse with their dying breath; one so powerful that it rooted itself for generations to come .

The curse forces any Sasaki descendants with an innate curse technique to revolve around kitsune physiology. Despite how powerful this may seem, there's a drawback. The more often and powerful the technique, the higher risk there is to slowly become more curse than human. Once a certain threshold of power is crossed, they will be locked in the possessed's last moments full of primitive fear — very much akin to an animal being backed into a corner just prior to death.

Understanding the gravity of the curse, the initial ancestor was quick-witted enough to form a binding vow with the higher echelon of jujutsu society. All of the Sasaki clan will offer their services in trade for protection, but if any of their kind is to lose themselves and transform too far — they are subjected to immediate execution. Due to this, many of Mirai's relatives have chosen to pursue a path that doesn't require the use of their cursed technique frequently. That being said, there have been accounts where the occasional ancestor trained to become a high / almost special grade sorcerer.

Growing up, Mirai was fairly secluded from society as a whole. They were homeschooled, taught and honed to uphold the traditions of the Sasaki household. Their parents were open and upfront about their family curse to help equip them for any obstacles they might face in the future.

Coincidentally, they happened upon a grisly car accident near their family home. They saw Yuma try to resuscitate his brother in vain. Saw how the high grade curse that caused the accident rear up to kill the young boy. Thus, Mirai interfered despite knowing the irreversible repercussions of using their cursed techniques. Due to this, they acquired permanent fangs, claws, and pointy ears from the interference.

After the ordeal, the two of them grew close. And it's because of their desire to be support Yuma's mental health after the fact, that Mirai decided to pursue the path of school counselor.

MISC. FACTS .

Interests: Nature

Dislikes: Dogs

Many of their ancestors that had a cursed technique always died in the same manner that matched the exorcism.

Yuma still feels immense guilt about the situation and thinks he owes Mirai his life. To which they disagree wholeheartedly and always pushes back saying they were fully aware of the consequences before taking action.

VERSES .

Main — jjk: Has been working as JJT counselor for a few years.

Main — modern day: tba.

[lozriftsintime]

Touching Darkness

October 4: Night/Dark (Linktober)

What's a hero of Hyrule to do when they're tossed away by the people they protected, forcefully separated from those who accepted them, and watched their only remaining family member pass on? Why try and rip open the fabric of time of course? Our hero wants desperately to find her way back to her Kit and Wren. Coming across her Dark counterpart while searching for a way was not in the cards, but maybe this isn't as bad as it originally seemed.

Rank 2 in the Whump Scale (check series description for scale)

Malon could admit, if only to herself, that she might have gone a little off the deep end recently. Being banished from Ordon, and then Hyrule as a whole, for being different than she used to be. And for being unwilling to give up the magic she’d learned during her adventure, magic that Midna had taught her, was bad enough to start. But she hadn’t had much time to mourn all of that (let alone finish mourning the loss of the woman she’d fallen for during their travels) before she’d been sent spiraling into another time and met her Kit.

Things had been good there, once she’d settled in. Traveling around with her Kit, and later with Wren as well, had been amazing. And they’d even made themselves a home in Hateno Village. She’d been allowed to rest and heal with people who understood if she was down or needed to be alone occasionally. And people who had no issues with her magic. Heck, Wren and Makeela had even started training in their own magic with her! It had been about as close to perfect as she had ever hoped to find.

And then the Yiga Clan had to go and mess things up.

Getting stabbed through the chest and pinned to the ground like some sort of twisted bug was not an experience Malon wanted to repeat any time soon, that was for sure. And, at first, she’d been grateful for being allowed to survive the experience, but that was before she’d started his adventure in trying to find her way back.

Malon could admit that she spent more time than she had originally planned deep in the Gerudo Desert, but after working up the courage to visit her clan for the first time since she was twelve, she’d found out that her grandmother had been nearing the end of her life. Malon couldn’t just leave her like that, so she had stuck around for the next two years. She’d spent that time helping her grandmother out however she could and also re-familiarizing herself with the culture and customs of her clan. She even made sure to write down many of the stories and legends that were shared among her people, wanting to be able to share them with Makeela and the other Gerudo once she got back to that time.

But then, her grandmother finally passed away. Malon stuck around long enough to help with the funeral rights and make sure her clan was settling back into their proper rhythm of life. Then she gathered up her supplies and set off once more. By that point, she’d had plenty of time to think about where she would go in hopes of learning what she needed to know. So she went.

Read the rest Here

[roadtoduskvt]

~~ LORE DUMP TIME ~~

Since I'm not streaming today and cancelled yesterday due to spoons, I'd like to talk a little more about the conlang my system and I use for our Vtuber lore! ------------------------------------- For those that may not know my/our content, on streams and whatnot, in our lore there's a concept called "Dream Ushers". This is the name of just one of the types people with access to understanding dreams and similar concepts like imagination by actively interacting with them. "Dream Walker" doesn't really cut it as a title, as they can do more that simply walk in dreams, but also interact with them, helping to bring lucid dreaming and even help aid the dreamer in trying to understand what their dream may be implying regarding any tasks the dreamer may need to do. Anyone on Earth can become a Dream Usher, including animals, plants, and paranormal entities. So yes, mythical creatures and pets can be Dream Ushers, too! In fact, given any sentient life can become a Dream Usher, many can shapeshift between humanoid, anthro, and full floral or faunal forms (It's not common to have both a floral and faunal form). So, needless to say, therian identities are especially understood and welcome among Dream Ushers and their culture. Dream Ushers have been around for quite a while, with their languages -- the Temoremal languages, which includes Standard Reim -- being heavily influenced by the languages the Ushers spoke in their original communities such as Anglo-Saxon, Classical Latin, Archaic Irish, Old Japanese, and Old Finnish. As the population of Dream Ushers began to grow, a specific subculture of Dream Ushers began to adhere to their own culture as they took residence in the realm their powers granted them access to: Kayanerye, or the "Realm of Sleep". Kayanerye sits with Kayanewu -- the "Realm of Clouds" -- as realms in Gaydrogsela -- or the "Sky Domains" -- a specific plane of existence that Dream Ushers have access to. Earth and our solar systems exist in Kayamoraþ -- or the "Realm of the Planets" -- in Gaydrogroye, the "Dream Domains". Dream Ushers are able to cross dimensions as they are effectively seen as entities of both Gaydrogsela and Gaydrogroye. Because of this, even Dream ushers need to rely on others for help with sleep and self-understanding. As such, the Dream Usher culture held where we -- the Terarbal System -- reside, does its best to be mental health-, trauma-, and advocacy-informed, thus a lot of terms related to mental health and disability are vital in Standard Reim. It's to the point where many idioms and other cultural phrases actually relate heavily to mental health experiences, whether seen secularly or spiritually.

The Dream Ushers actually work in collaboration with the Nightmares, a people loosely, and arguably falsely, labelled as "Dream Demons" among some Reim speakers. The Nightmares reside in Gaydrogdenhoq -- the "Shadow Domains", and specialise in catharsis and release. More specifically, for example, the Nukter Clan focus on "negative" niches to help to destigmatise the perception of participating in horror games, creepypastas, and more while promoting a more healthy concept and perception of emotions and hobbies rather than seeing them as "good" versus "bad". As the Terarbal System and the Nukter Clan are seen as leaders in their respective communities, the two collectives wrote the Duality Treaty to solidify their collaboration in honour of the relationships formed between them, namely Wren of the Terarbals and Serenity of the Nukters. This led to the growth of collaboration between them, and also more relationships between them, such as between their respective heads Road and Magnus. This lore is in collaboration with our partner system the Nukter Clan, AKA Nebulas_NoctisVT. If you haven't heard of them, check them out on Twitch and YouTube, too! ------------------------------------- Hope everyone liked this! If you want some more context on Standard Reim as a language, you can check out the "Vtuber Conlang Showcase Series - Reim" on YouTube! It's a slow process to get videos out for the language, but at the moment we're mostly focusing on the grammar and syntax of the language, but I've been tempted to make some episodes afterwards talking about the culture and some of the idioms and taboos related to Standard Reim and the Remal languages. Feel free to ask any questions if you need me/us to explain anything regarding the lore! :D /gen

Road (he/him)

[dark-elf-writes]

Before Exaltation of Heroes had the theme of being forced into something bigger than yourself, it was originally going to be more heavily related to faith and it still echoes a lot when I think about Raven, Lark, and Wren.

Raven had always thought there was no place for any god in the Alienage. Fuck the Creators for abandoning the People. Fuck the Maker for fucking off and letting his faithful commit atrocity after atrocity in his name. Fuck waiting around and praying to ears that weren’t listening when she had two daggers and enough Rage to make a demon falter. The closest she comes to faith is in the midst of battle with her hands stained red and the scream of her muscles as she pushed herself just a little farther. She leads Leliana to her alter of blood and death, and together the two of them paint the world red. (She wishes, as years pass and the singing in her head starts to get louder and louder, that she had never dragged Leliana down this road. That she had let her Nightingale hold onto kindness and forgiveness even if Raven could not.)

Lark had never been religious. There had simply been no time. They were the oldest child, the one keeping everyone out of trouble with their quick wit and quicker tongue. They stood as mother and father, as devoted child, as teacher, as protector, as distraction. In everything they had to be there was simply no space to go with Bethany to the Chantry and sing the hymns. (They regret it. Maker they regret it. If they had been able to steal even one more moment with Bethany maybe the absence wouldn’t still feel like it was tearing them apart.) even after getting to Kirkwall there had been no time, and no safety, for them to spend much time in the chantry. They remember Saemus’ blood spreading over the floor, remember Anders’ plea for them to distract the Grand Cleric, remembers the ringing in their ears that couldn’t quite drown out their sobs as they drove the blade into Anders’ heart. They wonder if it was pity or kindness that made Sebastian not laugh in their face when they went to him in the rubble of the life they had tried to build and asked him to teach them how to pray.

Wren had always had a… complicated relationship with the Creators. Before their magic had manifested they had listened to every story, every song, to do her part in preserving what little their people had left. When their magic came in a storm of lightning after getting caught with a few other children in the clan by a group of human poachers looking for the Halla, they learned that their gods had long since abandoned them. Why else would they allow the clan to turn on them? The unwanted fourth mage. Why else would her keeper think to get their attention by sacrificing a child? Why else would they have been branded with something that was supposed to be an honor with so much hate that it had taken four hunters to hold them down? After clan Lavellan had saved them and welcomed them in with open arms they had started to wonder if maybe, just maybe, they hadn’t been completely abandoned by the gods. Then came the Conclave. Then came the anchor. Then came the second brand in the name of a god they didn’t believe in. Maybe their old keeper had been right after all. Maybe Wren was cursed.

[contentment-of-cats]

Fic dump.

Things Said Over Whiskey (968 words) by cathouse_mary Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Wullf Yularen, Gilad Pellaeon Additional Tags: Drinking, Gossip Summary: Two old navy men in a bar ten years after RTS.

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Care (73764 words) by cathouse_mary Chapters: 25/? Fandom: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017), Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars Legends: Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Relationships to be added, Pellaeon/Marinith, Pyrondi & Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Thrawn/Pyrondi Characters: Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Pyrondi (Star Wars), Hammerly (Star Wars), Gilad Pellaeon, Albus Marinith, Voss Parck, Dagon Niriz, Lomar (Star Wars), Agral (Star Wars), Original Imperial Characters (Star Wars), Original Female Imperial Character(s) Additional Tags: Being Lost, post-Lothal, Whump, injuries, Emotional Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Blankets, No Beta We Die Like Clones Summary: The 7th fleet is decimated, lost, and trying to survive being abandoned in deep space. Thrawn is recovering from his injuries, his officer corps dead or injured.

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Love's Sucker Punch (1526 words) by cathouse_mary Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017), Star Wars Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Ilyana Pyrondi/Artur Tagge Characters: Original Imperial Characters (Star Wars) Additional Tags: These Idiots Summary: Artur Tagge meets the most infernal pest.

This is a fanfic of a fanfic of a fanfic - the fanfic of my fanfic is below and I am cocreator because we FAFO this thing.

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Pyro's Pyrotechnic Love Life (27258 words) by cathouse_mary, Aeon_2407 Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017), Star Wars: Rebels Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Hammerly/Pyrondi (Star Wars), Ilyana Pyrondi/Artur Tagge, Karyn Faro/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Agral/Yve (Star Wars), Ezra Bridger/Sabine Wren, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla, Alrich Wren/Ursa Wren Characters: Original Characters, Artur Tagge, Pyrondi (Star Wars), Hammerly (Star Wars), Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Karyn Faro, Gilad Pellaeon, Agral (Star Wars), Lomar (Star Wars), Yve (Star Wars), Woldar (Star Wars), Cassio Tagge, Domina Tagge, Lapin Tagge, Original Imperial Characters (Star Wars), Original Stormtrooper Character(s) (Star Wars), Chimaera Crew Members (Star Wars), Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, C1-10P | Chopper, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Ursa Wren, Alrich Wren, Tristan Wren, Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader, Wilhuff Tarkin, Conan Antonio Motti, Wullf Yularen, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, The Force (Star Wars) Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Chimaera means family, Sorta angsty at the beginning, but a lot more fluffy and funny later, I promise, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Everyone Is Gay, The Mandalorian Darksaber (Star Wars), Canto Bight | Capital City of Cantonica (Star Wars), Planet Krownest (Star Wars), Clan Wren (Star Wars), Unresolved Romantic Tension, Romantic Angst, Everyone Needs Therapy, Especially Artur, Established Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Karyn Faro, Established Hammerly/Pyrondi, Force Visions (Star Wars), The World Between Worlds (Star Wars), Alternate Timelines, Blood and Injury, Violence, Child Abandonment, House of Tagge Summary: What is it about the obscenely rich yet kind and funny officers that has Pyro gravitating to them her entire love life? Luckily, there were only two so far that fit the criteria. And her ex is transferring to the Chimaera. Not too bad. Right?