#i love TCW and also Satine Kryze

[mytardisisparked]

Can you imagine if you were a smuggler on the black market, unloading your evil wares on Mandalore, and then the freaking Duchess of Mandalore herself shows up to arrest you personally??????

[tomicaleto]

if you're taking the reverse trope writing prompts - strangers to enemies plz?

Hi anon! Here you go!

REVERSE TROPE WRITING PROMPTS

Strangers to enemies

This is an AU where Anakin goes to rescue Satine instead of Obi-Wan. If you wanna know more of how that happened, I would love to answer it!

Disclaimer: I don't recall if Anakin and Maul met during TCW but in this AU they haven't, enjoy!

“You are not Kenobi…” Anakin glared at Maul sitting on the Mandalorian throne. Around them, most Death Watch members that had been standing guard were knocked out, some even dead after trying to stop Anakin from confronting the Sith. 

Kneeling next to the throne, the duchess, her hair in disarray, probably from being thrown into prison and her escape attempt, her outfit, once elegant and regal, dirty and thorn at the hem of her dress. She had dark bags under her eyes, her appearance gaunt compared to the last time Anakin had seen her. 

“Release the duchess, Sith,” Anakin spit out, lightsaber humming at his side. From Maul’s other side, Savage took a step forward, his own lightsaber ready but the blade shed. Maul raised a hand and his brother stopped. 

Maul’s bloodshot eyes evaluated Anakin, from the stolen Mandalorian armour to his lightsaber to his face. “I remember you.” He hissed. “You were but a nasty, little pest, following that Jedi.” Anakin only braced himself. “Should have run you over when I had the chance.” He moved his hand, pointing two fingers at Anakin.  Savage immediately thrust himself against Anakin, who crouched down to avoid the massive Zabrak before swiftly kicking back, managing to land it on Savage’s back and make him stumble. 

He jumped forwards, swinging his lightsaber towards Maul, who swiftly avoided it and turned on the black saber. But Anakin had successfully put himself where he wanted, between the Sith and the duchess. Maul measured him, giving Savage enough time to recover and turn around.  As both Sith readied to charge forwards, Anakin changed the lightsaber to his other hand and quickly grabbed the duchess by the waist. Without wasting any minute, he ran towards the closest picture window and kicked the glass, jumping to the city below.  He readjusted himself and the duchess and turned his head towards the broken glass, where both Sith seethed as he fell. “Master Kenobi sends his regards!” He taunted, as the Sith finally left his sight and he focused on slowing down their fall into the underbelly of Sundari, Maul’s furious roar vaguely reaching their ears. 

Thank you for asking!

[duchess-of-mandalore]

I have read a very unique theories that the actual child of Satine and Obi is Bo-Katan and not Korkie! That is why Obi didn’t know a thing about a “sister” and the fact that Bo is way younger than Satine.

What do you think about it?

Hi, piccola! Thanks for asking! Unfortunately, I fear I will make you regret it because I can offer no encouragement or enjoyment of this theory. In fact, I think it's a load of poodoo.

Ironically, you may have originally heard of the theory from me. I made a post that did some good numbers on Twitter and tumblr, but it was meant sarcastically, and I'll explain why.

The only reason it exists is that Jon Favreau decided The Mandalorian would be set all the way in 9/10 ABY. Season 1 premiered and then Katee Sackhoff gave Dave Filoni the idea to include her as live-action Bo-Katan in Season 2. Katee (starting in her early 30s) voiced Bo-Katan in TCW. When she first appeared, the story was in the year 20 BBY. That means there are 30 years in between her first appearance in The Clone Wars and her first appearance in The Mandalorian.

I understand why you said, "Bo is way younger than Satine." Katee actually said the same thing. She's the one who estimated that Bo is about "47 to 51" (like I wrote in that Twitter post). But that's not how Bo-Katan was designed. Dave Filoni designed Bo and Satine to be twins or very close to twins. In 2013, Filoni made several comments about how in his mind, something formative happened in Bo and Satine's backstories when they were both six years old.

So if they're twins, how old are the Kryze sisters?

Obi-Wan Kenobi is 38 years old at the end of The Clone Wars. Satine is close to his age because we know that they fell in love while they were on the run for a year. Thus Bo must also be in her mid-late 30s in TCW. And that's how it was *always* presented ... until The Mandalorian (In Rebels they added prominent forehead wrinkles to her design in the assumption that she was in her 50s, and that's only set in 1 BBY).

Plus, it also makes zero sense because if Satine is in her late 30s and Bo-Katan is 20 years younger (to make the Bo-Katan Kenobi theory possible), then this line is pretty dumb.

"There was a time when we weren't enemies. Remember when I was 30 and you were 10?"

Silly.

There are other reasons why the Young Bo theory falls apart, like the fact that Satine's father is killed before she meets Obi-Wan, but in The Mandalorian, Bo-Katan recalls that her father was with her when she swore the Creed. So she can't actually be that much younger than Satine. There is simply no way that she is not at least 60 years old in The Mandalorian, and given that I subscribe to the Kryze Twins assumption, I lean more toward her being about 68 or so.

All that is to say that I definitely don't subscribe to either the Young Bo theory or the Bo-Katan Kenobi theory and truly wish that there were no basis for either one, even if that means wishing Katee (who's awesome) never showed up as Bo (who's awesome) in The Mandalorian.

And it really makes me sad that in the name of justifying having Katee play her character 30 years into the future (and erasing all mention of Satine), they have now implicitly deprived Satine of having her sister in her life in all her years growing up. Satine is a character who already has so few canon relationships, and they removed her only living family member from her generation. It just makes me sad on Satine's behalf and Bo-Katan's behalf as well.

[separatist-apologist]

Hi MB!

I hope you had a wonderful May 4th!!

I’ve just recently gotten into StarsWars (specifically the clone wars) and have discovered Obi Wan and Satine. Are you a big fan of them?

Is Satine only in the clone wars or are there also books that she is in? And what are your favorite Obi wan books?

If you do ship them are there any fics that you have read that you recommend?

I consulted @melting-houses-of-gold for this list, anon- anyone looking for a SW fanfic rec should ABSOLUTELY hit her up (AND FOLLOW HER), she is a compendium of knowledge!

Had You Said The Word by @velidewrites:

*crawls out of delusion box* But what if Satine DIDN'T die?

OR

TCW Season 5 Episode 16 reimagined to spare our feelings and simp for Dark Side!Obi Wan.

a map toward honor by @/galateagalvanized:

"Wait, I’m sorry, Satine, did you—did you steal two million clones?”

“‘Steal’, Obi-Wan? You can’t steal free-willed people." Satine laughs. "No, my dear. Kal sent me the access codes for every landing pad, door, and defense network the Kaminoans had, and we shut it all down. I don’t think even their automatic toilets were working by the time we walked through their front doors. After that, well. We had a nice chat with the clones, and we killed every single Kaminoan that tried to stop any of us from walking back out.”

Or: Satine steals some clones, steals a Jedi, and saves the universe. This is the way.

Morning Star by @/kurenaino: this is a series, so check out each work for the summary

The Jedi And His Duchess by @/sulis57:

Satine Kryze is a pacifist because of the Mandalorian civil war. But the idea first takes root in her mind after watching something terrible happen to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The story of how Obi-Wan and Satine fell in love when they were young, and how their feelings reemerged when they reconnected during the Clone Wars.

Told in dual timelines. Graphic Violence. Takes place pre Phantom Menace/post Clone Wars episode Duchess of Mandalore.

“Calm yourself, young one.” Qui-Gon’s large hands stroked her cheekbones. “Where is Obi-Wan?”

She stared at him with wild eyes, tears still running down her face. “They took him.”

Qui-Gon’s look changed instantly, his features fell as fear gripped his heart. “Where?”

“Down the mountain, by the river.”

“Who was it?”

“Five bounty hunters. Obi-Wan could sense them coming. He told me to run.” Her chin began to tremble. “But I heard him scream so I went back.”

Only Hope by @/tessiete: Another series, again check out the individual summaries!

She Said The Word by @/the_obiwan_for_me:

In one universe, Jedi padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi is not asked to stay by the love of his life, Duchess Satine Kryze. We all know how that story goes.

In another, she said the word.

How is the galaxy effected when the great Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi never existed?

What does a galaxy torn to pieces look like with family man/consort to the Mandalorian Duchess Obi-Wan Kenobi in it?

[aspoonfuloffiction]

The choice to make Lizzo a Duchess of an independent outer rim planet that she’s successfully worked to reform after a war by introducing democracy, society, and art as opposed to violence. Bringing her home into a new age of prosperity and development. But in doing so her planet’s own military and policing system was significantly weakened and weapons were not allowed within its domed city walls. Where she chooses to exile, with the promise of potential future forgiveness, to the planet’s moon rather than punish a dude traditionally. (Also she’s in love with an outsider that isn’t super welcome on her planet because of his past in a group involved in the destruction of her home)

…that’s gotta be deliberate right? I know this show is bizarrely averse to saying her name but to me Satine was ever present in the episode essentially this episode in 40 some minutes basically blazes through the entire Mandalore arc on TCW. It illustrates both the sky high achievements and deep pitfalls of Satine’s New Mandalorian government through Plazir-15…hell Plazir-15 even LOOKS like Clone Wars era Sundari

Lizzo (I know the character has a name but she’s Lizzo to me) IS Satine.

I just can’t tell if I like this very obvious allusion or if it makes me even angrier about the exclusion of Satine Kryze. Because there’s literally NO WAY Bo-Katan wouldn’t immediately be reminded of Satine and Sundari this episode…

[impossibleprincess35]

Hello, I'm watching the clone wars again. and it had not caught my attention satine kryze until now, could you explain to me about his personality and character. Thank you for reading

Hi there!

Factually, Satine Kryze is the Duchess of Mandalore, and she is a pacifist, representing the New Mandalorians who have turned from the violent ways of their past. Without bias, it's pretty safe to say that she has a relatively high approval rating among her people, and she has done some incredible work rebuilding Mandalore following years of civil war among her people. Famously, Satine does not align Mandalore with the Republic or the Separatists in the Clone Wars, and instead, forms the Council of Neutral Systems, for other leaders who also eschew taking sides in the conflict. She is the daughter of a warlord (Duke Adonai Kryze, though other than his name, we know little of), and she has a sister, Bo-Katan Kryze, and a nephew, Korkie Kryze.

There are lots of little crumbs of information that Dave Filoni, Pablo Hidalgo, and one or two others involved in the making of "The Clone Wars" have dropped over the years in regards to things such as the age difference between Satine and Bo-Katan, and if there is another Kryze sibling to explain the nephew (who, it has been confirmed, is not Bo-Katan's child), but basically, nothing is established as canon, so we're all out there theorizing our asses off. :)

Also, when she was younger, she was put in the protection of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, for a year. During this time, she and Obi-Wan fell in love, but they went their separate ways, choosing Mandalore and the Jedi Order over each other. (It's canon that she nicknamed him "Ben." Also, a big fan theory is that Korkie Kryze is actually Obi-Wan's son, but it's not canon, so.. *shrugs*)

All this being said, Satine's fascinating. She's haughty, she's ill-tempered, she's snippy, but she's also compassionate and she's scrappy. She loves Mandalore fiercely, enough to take principled stances that make her unpopular with the rest of the galaxy, and she shows mercy to even domestic terrorists who bomb her city.

In my humble opinion, she is a vastly complex character that deserves so much more exploration, but because there's very little about her in canon aside from her episodes in TCW and a few small mentions in books, most of what you'll find is fandom content.

But those who love her love her dearly, and those who hate her really fucking hate her, and you'll find most people feel strongly one way or the other.

Thanks for the ask and I hope this helps! If not, or if you have anything further, don't hesitate to reach out! I'm happy to answer/help/guide you in the right direction! :)

[gffa]

Hey Lumi! I've been loving your Bo-Katan commentary and have appreciated the way you make connections to previous content from Clone Wars and Rebels, pointing out lots of things I would have missed otherwise! So I hope you don't mind a lore question. Has Bo-Katan ever been referred to as a "princess" before this episode? I was confused when she said that, since Satine was a Duchess, and I hadn't ever gotten the impression that Mandalore was a strict hereditary monarchy, but that the houses would rise and fall. I got nothing from reading Wookiepedia so I'm hoping you can shed some light!

Hi! Thank you, I'm glad the Bo-Katan commentary has been entertaining! I have to admit, I've fallen back in love with Mean Wife, she is so mean and so great! Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to help much with the Mandalorian stuff because there's really not a lot about it in canon. Legends probably covered a bunch of stuff, but The Mandalorian is not part of the Legends continuity, so who knows what Favreau is going to do with this. I'm not sure we really know how Mandalore's royalty situation worked out, why Satine was Duchess instead of Queen, if there's a functional difference, if it's one of those situations like where Padme was Queen of Naboo, but it was an elected position, that maybe terms don't mean the same thing in Star Wars as they do in our universe, and "Duchess" means "Queen" to them, etc. All of that is speculation! I did get the impression that Satine's position was hereditary because she came into that position when she was very young, given the age she and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were on the run, but if she'd been elected, she wouldn't still be Duchess and she probably would have been more popular at that time. But also because House Kryze was established as a thing (like House Vizsla) in TCW, which is hereditary as well, if we're going by how long House Vizsla has history all the way back to at least Tarre Vizsla. But a lot of that is based on the vibes I got from how characters acted and how there was nothing mentioned of rises and falls or elections, like Pre Vizsla didn't become the Duke of Mandalore, instead it fell to the Prime Minister that he was puppet mastering, despite that Pre was from House Vizsla, which has a long, long history with Mandalore. So, the "Princess" line threw me, but I'm just assuming that, yeah, the Kryze family was royalty and that we're not meant to take "Princess" super literally in a 1:1 relation to our own world or that maybe she was Princess of Kalevala, but Duchess/Duke was a separate role that a person from House Kryze inherited. (And should have passed to Bo-Katan on Satine's death, but the political upheaval on Mandalore was too chaotic and they weren't willing to rally around Bo-Katan at the time.) Really, though, it's impossible to say, we don't know nearly enough about canon to say what the term "Princess" means or if Favreau doesn't care and just threw it in there because it sounded good. Never underestimate the power of something sounding good. XD

[an-old-lady]

Just ran into your blog for the first time after seeing the ask you answered with Padme's outfits, and you are amazing. You know those sugar cookies where people go all out and draw stuff on them with frosting. You know the vibe you get when you enter a kitchen that's been recently doing that? It feels like that. Cozy, but not in a sleeping-in way, but cozy in an "I'm 8 and I spent the last 8 hours playing out in the summer sun with my friends and now we're inside and our parents made cookies and we're playing with dolls on the floor of my childhood living room while the grownups are talking in the dining room and nothing bad has happened to me yet" way. Does that make sense?

ANYWAY, the question I had for you is are you thinking about doing outfits for those in TCW? I've seen you do Rex, but I'm wondering if you've been planning on drawing other characters because, if I'm not mistaken, Satine Kryze is the only Star Wars character based on a real-world leader. I wonder how someone based on the Elizabethan era would look in you're art style, since one can clearly see the Queen Elizabeth references in the last two outfits Satine wore in the Lawless arc (especially the dress version before she was imprisoned)

Love your art style XOXO

First of all, wow idk what to say, thank you so much! 💕😭

Also, thanks for bringing Satine to my attention, because I hadn't considered her! Ugh, now I wanna draw something with her and Obi-Wan!!!

And she would have Galadriel vibes FOR SURE.

[scottysketches]

About the Blog ~

>> Commissions are currently closed.

Hey there!

I’m Scotty, a queer writer and artist from the UK.

My primary fandoms that I write for are Mass Effect, Dragon Age Inquisition / The Veilguard, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Assassin’s Creed Revelations / Odyssey, however I do also occasionally dip my toes into other Assassin’s Creed titles, Final Fantasy XV, RWBY, Thunderbirds Are Go (2015 reboot), Doctor Who (and its various spin-offs) and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Most of my fanart will revolve around my various iterations of Commander Shepard and Pathfinder Ryder (Mass Effect trilogy / Mass Effect Andromeda) and my Inquisitors (Dragon Age Inquisition) and Rooks (Dragon Age: The Veilguard).

This blog contains/discusses 18+ & NSFW content.

Feel free to follow / ask / message / chill here if:

You enjoy people holding up blorbos like they’re comparing different paint swatches in a hardware store

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Move on if:

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I’m always happy to receive writing prompts and ideas, but there’s no guarantee if/when I’ll fill it, as I have to be in The Zone for the creative juices to flow properly. So if you do send something but don’t see a response, I haven’t forgotten! I just need to be in the right space for it.

Tags/Links of note:

#scotty’s words – My writing

#scotty’s art – My art

#scotty’s answers – Answers to asks

#kassnat – Everything to do with the Kassandra/Natakas pairing from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Legacy of the First Blade DLC)

#obitine – Everything to do with the Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze pairing from Star Wars: The Clone Wars

#otp: endless affection - Everything to do with the Ezio Auditore/Sofia Sartor pairing from Assassin's Creed Revelations

#otp: swift and cunning - Everything to do with the Maha'anon Lavellan* (Inquisitor Lavellan)/Scout Lace Harding (unofficial) romance from Dragon Age Inquisition

#otp: so excited he set the curtains on fire - Everything to do with the Dorian Pavus/The Iron Bull pairing from Dragon Age Inquisition

#otp: the darling dead - Everything to do with the Jirell Ingellvar* (my trans masc elf Mourn Watch Rook)/Emmrich Volkarin pairing from Dragon Age: The Veilguard

My AO3 account – where I publish my longer-form writing/fanfiction

My BioLink

My Main Ships:

(Ships written in bold are the ones I write the most)

Mass Effect:

Shepard/Liara T’Soni (Original Trilogy) Male Shepard/Tali’Zorah vas Normandy (OT) Male Shepard/Miranda Lawson (OT) Male Shepard/Samara (OT) Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian (OT) Female Shepard/Thane Krios (OT) Female Shepard/Jack (OT) Garrus Vakarian/Tali’Zorah vas Normandy (OT) Jeff "Joker" Moreau/EDI (OT) Male Ryder/Cora Harper (Andromeda) Trans Male Ryder (Aspen Ryder*)/Vetra Nyx (A) Ryder/Jaal Ama Darav (A) Female Ryder/Suvi Anwar (A)

Dragon Age:

Male Warden/Morrigan (Origins) Female Warden/Alistair Theirin (O) Inquisitor (Maha'anon Lavellan*)/Scout Lace Harding (Inquisition) Male Inquisitor/Dorian Pavus (I) Male Inquisitor/Cassandra Pentaghast (I) Dorian Pavus/The Iron Bull (I) Blackwall/Josephine Montilyet (I) Varric Tethras/Cassandra Pentaghast (I) Trans Male Elf Rook (Jirell Ingellvar*)/Emmrich Volkarin (Veilguard) Lucanis Dellamorte/Neve Gallus (V) Antoine/Evka (V)

Star Wars:

Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze (The Clone Wars) Obi-Wan Kenobi/Quinlan Vos (TCW) Anakin Skywalker/Padme Amidala (Prequel Trilogy, TCW) Ahsoka Tano/Lux Bonteri (TCW) Korkie Kryze/Amis (TCW) Korkie Kryze/Original Female Character (post-Order 66) (TCW) Cal Kestis/Nightsister Merrin (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor) Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla (Rebels) Garazeb Orrelios/Alexsandr Kallus (Rebels) Leia Organa/Han Solo (Original Trilogy, Sequel Trilogy) Luke Skywalker/Mara Jade (Legends) Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker (The Mandalorian)

Assassin’s Creed:

Ezio Auditore/Sofia Sartor (Revelations) Jacob Frye/Ned Wynert (Syndicate) Evie Frye/Henry Green (S) Bayek/Aya (Origins) Kassandra/Natakas (Odyssey, Legacy of the First Blade DLC) Kassandra/Alkibiades (Od) Alexios/Alkibiades (Od) Alexios/Lykaon (Od) Myrinne/Xenia (Od) Eivor (male & female)/Randvi (Valhalla)

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase, Trials of Apollo):

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase (PJO, HoO, MC) Grover Underwood/Juniper (PJO, HoO) Nico di Angelo/Will Solace (HoO, ToA) Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis (HoO, ToA) Frank Zhang/Hazel Levesque (HoO, ToA) Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro (MC)

Other fandoms:

Ignis Scientia/Original Male Character [i.e. Comrades avatar] (Final Fantasy XV) Noctis Lucis Caelum/Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (FFXV) Prompto Argentum/Aranea Highwind (FFXV) Noctis Lucis Caelum/Prompto Argentum (unrequited) (FFXV) Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long (RWBY) Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY) Nora Valkyrie/Lie Ren (RWBY) Qrow Branwen/Winter Schnee (RWBY) Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi (RWBY) Weiss Schnee/Jaune Arc (RWBY) Ruby Rose/Oscar Pine (RWBY) Jaune Arc/Neptune Vasilias (RWBY) Gordon Tracy/Penelope Creighton-Ward (Thunderbirds Are Go - 2015 reboot) Alan Tracy/Tanusha "Kayo" Kyrano (TAG) Virgil Tracy/Hiram "Brains" Hackenbacker (TAG) John Tracy/bagels (crack ship) (TAG) Robert Crawley/Cora Crawley (Downton Abbey) Mary Crawley/Matthew Crawley (DA) Edith Crawley/Michael Gregson (DA) Edith Crawley/Bertie Pelham (DA) Sybil Crawley/Tom Branson (DA) Tom Branson/Lucy Smith (DA) Rose MacClare/Atticus Aldridge (DA) Isobel Crawley/Richard Merton (DA) Charles Carson/Elsie Hughes (DA) John Bates/Anna Bates (DA) Joseph Molesley/Phyllis Baxter (DA) Daisy Robinson/Andrew Parker (DA) 9th Doctor/Rose Tyler (Doctor Who) 10th Doctor/Rose Tyler (DW) 11th Doctor/River Song (DW) 12th Doctor/River Song (DW) Amy Pond/Rory Williams (DW) Madame Vastra/Jenny Flint (DW) Luke Smith/Sanjay (The Sarah Jane Adventures) Clyde Langer/Rani Chandra (SJA) Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (Torchwood) Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato (T) Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams (T) Sonic the Hedgehog/Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog) Sonic the Hedgehog/Shadow the Hedgehog (STH) Miles "Tails" Prower/Cream the Rabbit (STH) Knuckles the Echidna/Rouge the Bat (STH) Shadow the Hedgehog/Rouge the Bat (STH) Vector the Crocodile/Vanilla the Rabbit (STH) Vector the Crocodile/Espio the Chameleon (STH) Silver the Hedgehog/Blaze the Cat (STH)

[radiosummons]

Love these notes @yamineftis lol I find Bo Katan very interesting as a character, in that I'm always wondering whether the reason I like her so much is either A) because I can enjoy seeing a flawed character so desperately trying to assert their idea of what their destiny should be/look like while the narrative continues to suggest something else ... or whether B) the writers just aren't as committed to seeing a flawed character's arc through and are simply writing them as an obstacle for another character they prefer.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just a thought I constantly have whenever I engage with any piece of media with this particular set up).

I do very much subscribe to the idea that the Mandalorians lost faith in her. Whether that was due solely in part to her inability to measure up to their standards, follow up on some promises she made, etc or simply because the Mandalore Bo Katan is fighting for ... just no longer exists.

Bo Katan, to me, is sort of a tragic figure. She seems to consistently hold onto a version of Mandalore that she rememebers and is desperately trying to get everyone else to remember, too. Just like her sister, everything Bo does, she believes is just in doing so. Or at the very least, that everything she's been through has to mean something. Because otherwise, what was the point of it all?

(more meta/thoughts under the cut)

Now while I don't agree with how certain aspects of TCW/Rebels (the minor bits that I've seen)/The Mandalorian choose to handle Bo Katan or Satine ... I can see what the writers were going for; depicting two extremely different reactions to tradegy, where one sibling chooses the path of complete nonviolence and the other of absolute violence.

For the sake of time, I'm not going to get into the weeds with Satine (as there are others have done remarkably better jobs with discussing her policies/influence/impact on Mandalore than I can do atm), but I do want to mention how Bo Katan's reaction to their shared trauma sort of lead her down the path she's on.

Unlike Satine, Bo Katan believed the better way to go about "saving Mandalore" was by sticking to and doubling down on warrior Mandalorian traditions and beliefs. However, this did lead to a time when she herself becoming a dedicated member of Death Watch. A period of time which she seems to be choosing to straight up ignore (I know Favroni aren't really addressing her time in Death Watch directly as that's more of a Legends ref, but my generous take on this is that Bo Katan is ashamed of her history with Death Watch. Again, idk if that's what Favroni is actually going for so we'll see). Up until Maul killed Satine and then took the Mandalorian throne for himself, Bo Katan was a pretty loyal member.

There might have even been a time where Bo Katan didn't necessarily agree that the Darksaber should be used as a symbol of "the right to rule," but possibly saw it as a tool that could be used to help Death Watch take back Mandalore to the one she remembered.

(I'm leaning more towards this interpretation just based on how she refers to the Darksaber in TCW/Rebels/The Mandalorian, as she just doesn't seem to hold any sort of reverance for the Darksaber other than what it could do to help solidify herself as a leader).

However, once Maul claims the Darksaber, it's made clear to Bo Katan that this way of thinking is flawed as fuck. Because, clearly, using the Darksaber to choose the rightful ruler of Mandalore opens a pathway for non-Mandalorians to take over. And to Bo Katan and many other Mandalorians, this is absolutely unacceptable.

I think it's also interesting that Bo Katan is the only remaining Kryze we see consistently depicted across multiple shows. Out of everyone--her parents/her sister, Pre Vizsla/Death Watch, every Mandalorian during the civil wars and the brutal near massascre done on part by the Empire--Bo Katan survives. She's a living memory of everything Mandalore has been through. And she's one of the few still left to be able to tell of the great injustices done to the Mandalorian people, but also a reminder of the horrors that the Mandalorians inflicted on others and themselves.

However, her own people have lost faith in her. As much as Bo Katan wants to "make things right," it seems that she just can't do it. Or at the very least, she keeps going about it in the same way she's always done, never once considering that there might be another option.

Bo Katan is not an idiot. She understands why the Darksaber has value, even if she herself might not hold it in the same regard as others due. She understand the importance of symbols and of using said symbols to gain authority and respect. But she doesn't seem to know how to keep it.

My hope is that Favroni will finally give Bo Katan the opportunity to realize that there is another way. Her irritation/resignation towards the Darksaber as an authority status symbol, as well as her own personal frustration with her continued failure to unite her people is already fascinating to watch.

I would absolutely love to have Bo Katan be able to have some part in reuniting Mandalore, even if that meant she had to step back and accept someone else as the new leader of their people. It doesn't even have to be Din (although that would be a lot of fun to see, espeically considering he's from the very "cult" she has the most personal beef with). I would honestly enjoy seeing her finally come to terms with the fact that her part in Mandalore's destiny might not being the one who is leading, but maybe as someone who can aid the new Manda'lor.

The thing I fear for most is that Bo Katan just dies. It would be so absolutely frustrating and unsatisfying for her character to have gone through so much, only for her entire character arc to just end before it could be completed. I'm have no clue what Favroni has in store for her. I can only hope that they'll do her right.

Yeah I don't understand why anyone other than the children of the watch would give a shit about the darksaber. It holds no meaning to any of them.

[kenobibabe]

tfw you’re trying to escape venom-mites but you drop the duchess of mandalore and injure yourself more trying to help her

[lightasthesun]

Being a fic writer means having a pinterest folder dedicated to your characters wardrobe.

[phoenixyfriend]

So I was talking to @deniigi (Matt) about the "Kryzes bullying Mand'alors into doing their jobs" post and anyway. We have Developed A Korkie. He's regularly damseling himself in pursuit of Cute Strong Datemate.

Because, like, okay. The main thing with the Kryzes overall is that =, in Matt's words: "They're very good admins, and in the face of incompetence they rattle."

I can imagine them just hissing "You will be a FIGUREHEAD to keep people from fucking up my carefully-legislated taxation process if NOTHING ELSE."

But I don't have a solid adult Korkie! I don't! I have a few variations on him as a kid or teen, but nothing for him as an adult. I want to do more with him because I think he has the potential to be deeply weird in fun ways.

Also because I was thinking about the "Korkarius" line in Dead Peanut Gallery and the Korkie-got-politics-married in staring down the barrel of the hot sun, and I haven't really used him as a person instead of a prop outside of Skysisters and the 'let's lie to Hondo' thing.

Anyway.

Matt said:

I haven't really thought of korkie hmm. He strikes me as the kind of person who builds ships on bottles and would like to dress like a pirate every day but he's afraid of what the public will think if he shows up in a frock coat and cravat I can see his aunties indulging him shsjshs

And yes he is absolutely that kind of nerd, and I also do enjoy the idea of Bo-Katan being mildly less The Worst and deciding to just? Kidnap him for summer vacation? So she can teach him how to fight better.

But we can make it weirder!

Bo-Katan like. Buys him some ice cream and then attacks him while he has to try to keep the ice cream on the cone so he can actually finish eating it.

We don't. Really know what happened to Korkie.

It's very likely that he died when the empire glassed the planet BUT I want to believe that he ended up like. Head bureaucrat. No he's not a badass or even particularly well-known outside the system, but hey someone's got to keep an eye on agricultural subsidies and educational spending, right?

And possibly got marriage-of-convenienced For The Good Of Mandalore in a way that places him as a wistful period-drama maiden at a window, trapped in a pleasant but loveless marriage for the good of her people. (Yes, this is the part inspired a little by the earlier-referenced fic.)

It would be nice if he WERE involved in the rebellion through Sabine, I think? Like, helping surreptitiously funnel aid, smuggling refugees to safety, that sort of thing.

He has this terrible artist friend who keeps stealing him out from under the nose of his disappointed wife

But you know how Korkie is one of several young royals/nobles that gets to be damseled for Ahsoka to save?

Just play that out, trope-wise. His life is a fairytale but he's eternally stuck in the 'waiting for my prince to come' period. Someone probably put him in a tower for a few years during the imperial era and it was very 'sigh longingly by the window.'

Ahsoka keeps kidnapping him for things and he gets his thrills and then pines (I would love a story where people keep falling in love with ahsoka and she keeps ignoring it and fucking off)

He's got a well for sensitive boys. Like he's not this sad during TCW but man. Satine's death and the Empire really put a damper on everything.

Would love for him to be a full adult doing this at like 48 years old with a beard still

"Korkie, how the hell do you keep getting kidnapped? I thought you could fight better than this." "I am WAITING for my PRINCE to come but it's always YOU, Ahsoka, and you already said no." "Do you want me to leave you there next time???"

He does. Just for 5 more minutes Shskdhdidbdkd Korkie who feels some kind of way about din

Bo-Katan just "Listen I know you're not exactly looking for work right now, but I'm paying Fett to kidnap my nephew, so if you could just swoop in and 'save' him before Tano does, without mentioning I hired you to do it, that would be great."

"...what."

"It's his birthday."

"I'm more confused now than I was ten seconds ago."

Bo this would have been a very thoughtful gift when he was fifteen but your nephew is in his forties, please chill.

He still loves it He asks if she can send the mand'alor again please He got carried a little bit

I think I just like people being deeply weird about romance and their loved ones going "Yeah I mean... yeah, that's normal for them."

Korkie is so flirty with Din, who HAS been flirted with by not-fighty people before, but never a... he doesn't want to say 'a fop' but he's heard that slang before and he thinks it might apply

A FOP Sgskdhdjd Yes Perfect

It is at this point I must acknowledge that I'm mentally turning Korkie into a less-morally-questionable Tarvek Sturmvoraus.

Fashionable royalty that is very competent, but keeps getting kidnapped.

I am now thinking about Din receiving these letters and anonymous saves in weird situations and when he asks who sent so-and-so to give him a hand, he is just told "a benefactor"

Korkie sending him heavily-armed backup as a 'token of favor' like a handkerchief to a knight

Ahsoka is egging him on because this is the funniest romantic drama she's seen in years.

I want Luke getting annoyed with Leia trying to micromanage his wardrobe for an event, so he goes to Ahsoka, and she's like "I mean I've got a solution, if you're okay with middle-aged bisexual fancyboys talking about how they may or may not be related to Obi-Wan while they complain at you about how nobody goes around saving damsels properly anymore."

(Luke catches on the Obi-Wan part and agrees just for that.)

I think Ahsoka definitely spent some time "hiding out" on Korkie's couch as Fulcrum during early imperial era.

They developed a habit of overdramatically calling each other 'darling' and 'my dear' and 'old friend' in a perfect imitations of Obi-Wan and Satine because it made things hurt a little less.

I think korkie should continue to claim that he's obi-wans heir And I think force ghost obi-wan should have a post-death heart attack when he learns of it

I do also like including Satine in the "darksaber haunted by past Mand'alors" thing because I find it funny and also thing it would be EXTRA funny for Satine and Obi-Wan's ghosts to be making out in a corner while Luke and Din try desperately to ignore them.

Luke and Din trying to ignore the dead flirting going on behind him because their full attention is needed to cope with ahsoka being useless while korkie heaps praise on Din for things that are inconsequential

[mandalorianchronicles]

Thanks for mentioning these, but I'm still not sure how anything you added actually contradicts anything here.

1) This timeline doesn't say that the surface of Mandalore was destroyed in the Annihilation 700 years ago. Sabine stated in Rebels that the surface was destroyed before she was born and it never had a chance to regrow. "This is what continuous war has done to my home."

2) Anything before 2014 isn't canon, so I don't see how a book published in 2012 claiming that Satine founded the New Mandalorians in any way affects what is written here. Neither are canon, but The Clone Wars suggests that the New Mandalorians had been around for quite a long time, unless we are expected to believe that a teenage daughter of a fighting warlord just singlehandedly transformed her whole society in 17 years.

3) The timeline says the Darksaber was forged around 1100 BBY. Wookiepedia says on the canon page that it was forged in 1050 BBY, but I haven't vetted their source. Every source I have on Tarre Vizsla puts him living at that time though, so it all lines up. The Darksaber was stolen in 1032 BBY when the Temple was raided. Rebels dialogue states the following:

Kanan: I didn't know Mandalorians developed a type of lightsaber.

Fenn: We didn't. This was one of a kind. Legend tells that it was created over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. After his passing, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple.

None of that contradicts this timeline. 1100-1050 BBY was "over a thousand years ago".

4) Everything we have heard recently from the Mandalorian also backs up this account. Bo-Katan confirmed that her father was a warlord and died in the Great Clan Wars (since that was the last conflict during Bo's lifetime). Boba's chain code showed Jango was adopted by Jaster Mereel. Nothing in TCW or Rebels contradicts this either.

So again, I'm aware it's not canon. But unless Disney puts out something that directly contradicts all of this, I'm going to assume it's accurate. I'm also aware that Tor Vizsla is a "jaded" historian, so the Republic "installing" the New Mandalorians might not be as accurate as the people on Mandalore simply got tired of the fighting and people with ideas influenced by democracy began to gain power. But it's the timing of it that is more important. It really doesn't make sense for the New Mandalorians to have just sprouted overnight being founded by Satine Kryze at the end of the Great Clan Wars. She might have reformed them into a purely pacifist sect, but there had to be a sizeable group of non-warrior Mandalorians on Mandalore for her to assume leadership of.

I'll look up that short story though...I love a good Kenobi read.

Mandalorian History 101

The following is a simplified timeline of all the major events in Mandalorian history leading up to The Clone Wars. This is compiled from the section of The Bounty Hunter Code dealing with Death Watch and Mandalorian history. It is copywrite 2014, the first year of the new canon. Though the book is not included in Disney canon, it was published after TCW episodes dealing Death Watch and not been refuted by anything in current canon, so there is no reason to believe it is not accurate. 

approx. 7000 BBY - The Taung race (Progenitors of present day Mandalorians) cleanse Mandalorian space of its inhabitants and lay down roots

approx. 4000 BBY - Mandalorians fight alongside the Sith in the Great Sith War, but are betrayed - Mand’alor the Ultimate opens up the creed to their slaves and conquered people because their race is dying out - They begin a campaign for galactic conquest called The Onlaught, but it was more to fill out their ranks with new recruits - They are defeated by the Republic and the Mandalorians lay low for a time

approx. 1100 BBY - Mand’alor the Uniter brought the best and brightest Mandalorians from the throughout the galaxy home - Warriors ruled, protecting the artisans, manufacturers, and laborers who supported them, and the vassals and servants who supported them in turn - The Darksaber is forged by Tarre Vizsla (the only Mandalorian to become a Jedi)

approx. 700 BBY - Mandalorians begin to stir again and the Jedi take up arms, nearly wiped them out in the “Annihilation” - The New Mandalorians who rejected the warrior ways gain power when the Republic installed them in the government - The Aka’liit (The Mandalorian Faithful to the warrior way) lived in the shadows, giving the allegiance to the True Mandalores they appointed

approx. 200 BBY - There is a split among the Faithful – some wanted to conquer any potential threats while others argued against starting wars and living by more peaceful means

approx. 60 BBY - The Faithful chose Jaster Mereel as the True Mandalore, who wanted to implement honorable rules of conduct for all Mandalorians on how they earn wealth by bounty hunting or the red trade - Tor Vizsla, who dreamed of Mandalorians returning to their roots as conquerors, split away and formed the Death Watch, becoming the Secret Mandalore. The Death Watch used the Darksaber (an heirloom of House Vizsla) as a symbol of their authority and made a decree than anyone could challenge the Secret Mandalore for leadership and “win” the Darksaber*

52 BBY - Tor Vizsla killed the True Mandalore, Jaster Mereel - Jango Fett’s adopted father

44 BBY - The Death Watch tricked the Jedi into eliminating the True Mandalorians for them

approx. 44-39 BBY - The Great Clan Wars take place within the ranks of the The Faithful - Adonai Kryze is killed in battle - Duchess Satine Kryze of the New Mandalorians assumes the throne of Mandalore - Tor Vizsla is killed by Jango Fett in 42 BBY - The Darksaber is entrusted to Pre Vizsla, governor of Concordia and the new Secret Mandalore of Death Watch, who takes in Bo-Katan Kryze as his protege

Since the Great Clan Wars take place after the True Mandalorians are wiped out, we know that Adonai Kryze was not part of their ranks. The following quote from Tor Vizsla concerning the Kryze family suggests that Adonai was one of his men, or was at least revered by him. Considering that Tor dies shortly after this is written, it’s not a big leap to see how Bo-Katan came to be on Concordia with Pre Vizsla, his successor. 

“Meanwhile, centuries of New Mandalorian lies had left the Mando’ade weak and soft. One of my kinswomen, the Duchess Satine Kryze, had been sent offworld as a child by her father, a mighy clan warlord, and she fell prey to the lies of the Jedi. After father perished in the Great Clan Wars, she betrayed his memory by becoming the leader of the New Mandalorians. Aided by Jedi tricks, she became the newest Anti-Mandalore, whereupon the exhausted Mando’ade flocked to her banner. Some of our warriors were exiled to the moon Concordia. Others – myself included – slipped away to resume the ba’slan shev’la.” - Tor Vizsla

* The decree that one could become Mand’alor by winning the Darksaber in combat from the current Mand’alor was an invention of Death Watch (in canon and legends), so it suggests a strong tie between Death Watch and the Children of the Watch that the latter is so hung up on this “tradition” when it’s only been a thing for about 70-75 years. 

[twilightofthe]

Satine for Character Opinion Bingo!

Skhdkdhdkdk you wanted me to break my brain explaining this one huh

Ok so she’s one of the most interesting potential characters in TCW and in general just like, y’all her backstory and political position and the story behind it and her relationship with her sister and the rest of her family?!?!?

Y’all this is a woman who grew up in a society that runs itself on conflict, in the middle of a civil war that fractured planets, and seized control of a war-torn planet peacefully at the age of what had to be 18 or younger after being hunted for sport for a year. She looked at a stiff conservative culture that was literally destroying her planet and went “and nobody’s seen a problem with literally any of this? How about no.” And she TRIED TO CHANGE THINGS TO HELP PEOPLE. ALL SHE WANTED WAS TO SAVE LIVES. Was she good at ruling? Actually fucking debatably, she managed to hold her position for at least 20 years when we’ve seen just how fucking easy it is to depose her when she actually lost the Will of the people. She ruled by POPULARITY because otherwise Death Watch would have did a coup so much fucking earlier. Was she a good ruler? Not ultimately, no, she was traumatized and overtrusting and naïve, took her radicalism to a dangerous level to herself and her people and it brought her downfall. But she fuckgin tried and she cared so, so much. And also her personality is my absolute favorite of “stubborn firebrand shakes stick at god as he floods them”. She is absolutely completely alone because in order to get where she is all her loved ones have either died or must take second place to her ambitions and sense of duty. She’s angry, god, she’s so fucking angry at society for being unfair and unkind, a bitch and she doesn’t care about being nice even if she is kind and she’s hypocritical and messy and flawed and so very beautifully human— if the narrative would fucking LET her be.

But the narrative doesn’t care. To the writers and the narrative, this is just Obi Wan Kenobi’s Love Interest, she’s twice as smart as him and thrice as perfect and their powers combined make them better than Anidala in every way uwu. She’s a cute Easter egg for a scandalous lovechild. She’s a sad almost 40 year old woman hung up on the guy she dated for a year in high school. She cries at his funeral because Anakin isn’t allowed to, she’s a Feminist(TM) but also the absolute perfect damsel in distress by design for Obi Wan to swoop in and save until he can’t. Her sister who was separated from her and estranged to the point of trying to murder her isn’t introduced until AFTER she dies. The story she needs to fully explore her character cannot be fit into her minor minor minor role in TCW, hell, there’s not enough space in the story to give her a proper shake as Obi Wan’s Comphet Girlfriend. She’s Obi Wan’s cute little what if nuclear family possibility who’s also better and purer in every way than Padmé even though PADMÉ actually won against her attempted coup

Nobody understands or should be trusted with Satine Kryze except for me also she’s asexual and demiromantic because so am I and THAT makes more sense for her character than “grown ass woman patiently waiting and virgin loyal to her junior prom date”

Thems the rules, that’s just how it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[captainsway]

Satine Kryze, the New Mandalorians, and Fandom Misconception of Mandalorian Culture

If you’re a fan of Mandalorians and like to read fanfiction, you’ve probably read at some point that the New Mandalorians have committed ‘cultural genocide’. That Satine Kryze is a fanatic who is doing everything she can to destroy Mandalorian culture and that she has a watered down version of what it means to be a Mandalorian. And I’m here to tell you that this simply isn’t true.

This is going to be a long read. I will go into the history of Mandalore, what it means to be Mandalorian, as well as how it relates to our own history, so please, buckle in. Also, I will state that there are spoilers for The Clone Wars and season 2 of The Mandalorian.

Most of what we know about Mandalorians is from Karen Traviss and her Mandalorian books - she wrote many books about Boba Fett and even about a lot of clone troopers during and after the war. She’s also well known for starting the creation of Mando’a, the spoken Mandalorian language. However, Karen Traviss is also well known for hating the New Mandalorians and even the Jedi. She has (TW here) equated Jedi ‘apologists’ to slave owners and N*zis. She has been a big name for Star Wars for going into Mandalorian history and culture, however, she has a lot of discourse surrounding her and how she interacts with fans including the fact that she apparently doesn’t even read other Star Wars books that aren’t her own. A lot of people have seemed to have taken her rhetoric about Jedi and Mandalorians as fact, even though she is one author and has written from an extremely biased position of refusing to understand Jedi beliefs and the fact Palpatine, the Separatists, and the Senate were to blame for a lot of what happened in the clone wars. The Jedi were conscripted and refusing to understand that is what leads to ‘Jedi were slave owners’ rhetoric. However, that is a completely different conversation and not relevant to this post about Mandalore.

A lot of Mandalorian culture is from the Legends books. They have a long standing history of war, conquering, and allying themselves with the Sith. They started out as a group from Coruscant called the Taungs who were driven out by the native humans and became nomadic until conquering the planet they called Mandalore after their warlord. They continued their Mandalorian empire until the Sith wars and the Mandalorian wars, the latter of which was the time of Revan and the KOTOR games. I personally haven’t played KOTOR and don’t know enough about that point in Mandalorian history, but I do know that there were many wars, genocides, and violence. It was after the planet Mandalore was devastated by the Jedi Order and the Republic and turned into a barren desert that couldn’t sustain life, that the cultures began to shift and the major factions known as the True Mandalorians, Death Watch, and the New Mandalorians came to be. 

(Mandalore after the Mandalorian Excision at the hands of the Republic (Legends) or their own civil wars (TCW). The Mandalorians used biodomes to sustain life on the planet.)

According to Wookiepedia from the Legends (ie, not canon) era, the Republic established a government, but the New Mandalorians were a break off of that. They didn’t follow the Republic nor did they love it, but they did believe in non-violence and peace. They followed the Kryze family who maintained the Duchy in Sundari on the planet Mandalore. Sundari was the capitol alongside Keldabe, the former being for the New Mandalorians while Keldabe was for the planet Mandalore. Many people had left the planet after the devastation to more lush planets or moons, such as Concord Dawn. Satine Kryze herself was from Kalevala, another toxic desert planet in the Mandalorian sector who relocated to Sundari. She was born to a warrior clan and grew up in the culture, but wished to move past that for peace. There was another person from Kalevala who maintained the royalty and also became a senator for the Republic, but he mostly represented the planet itself. 

Again, a lot of this history and the ‘New Mandalorians stemming from the Republic installed government’ is from Legends; some of which Karen Traviss wrote, some of which is written from Boba Fett’s perspective (for example, calling the New Mandalorians ‘Faithless’ was from The Bounty Hunter Code and written from the perspective of Boba Fett. This should be taken with a grain of salt from an unreliable narrator viewpoint.) The Clone Wars show, which is where the New Mandalorians first physically appeared, states that they formed after the civil war to rebuild Mandalore, without interference from the Republic. Any violent Mandalorians were exiled to Concordia except the Protectors who were sworn to protect the Concord Dawn system. How anti-Mandalorian can Satine truly be if the Protectors swore to also protect her and the New Mandalorians? Also, any Mandalorian was free to leave Concordia as ‘Old Mandalorians’, but they had no desire for revenge because there was no reason to do so. They were free to maintain their beliefs and practices as long as it wasn’t on the planet Mandalore where the New Mandalorians kept their main city.

There’s a severe misconception as to what it means to be Mandalorian. I’ve heard arguments that you must follow the Resol’nare, the Six Actions, in order to be Mandalorian. However, I argue that there are many ways to be Mandalorian, that it’s a difference with species/race/ethnicity, religion, and culture. You can be born into Mandalorian space and be Mandalorian. You can follow a specific culture or creed and be Mandalorian. You can be adopted by a Mandalorian and raised by then and be Mandalorian. Just as there’s no one way to be a certain ethnicity or race in our world, there’s no one true way to be a Mandalorian. Jango Fett was born on Concord Dawn, in Mandalorian space. His parents were farmers. Even if he never was adopted by Jaster Mereel and became the Mand’alor of the True Mandalorians, he still would’ve been Mandalorian, just like his family. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘no true Scotsman’ and I believe it applies to Mandalorians as well.

However, let’s go with the argument that the Resol’nare makes someone a Mandalorian. The argument is that Satine Kryze doesn’t follow this and that is what makes her an agent of cultural genocide. The Resol’nare states:

Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, our leader. 

Reminder that the Resol’nare was created by Karen Traviss, who we spoke about earlier. Also, the Wookiepedia Legends page for the New Mandalorians states that they’ve broken from the Resol’nare (again, thank you Traviss), but it’s more that they don’t follow a Mand’alor, rather than none of the actions. Let’s break this down and see how Satine Kryze does follow the Resol’nare.

The first one is easy: Education. In one of the episodes of The Clone Wars, it focused on the school in Sundari: 

Satine’s own nephew, Korkie Kryze, attended and the main focus was to raise new leaders for Mandalore. The entire episode revolved around the students and Ahsoka Tano uncovering a corruption plot to destabilise the New Mandalorians by Almec, who later joined forces with Death Watch. Also, one of the forefronts of the New Mandalorians is technological advancement. They put their studies and trade into engineering and technology as well as transportation (Legends, established by Traviss).

The second, armour. This is a sticking point for a lot of anti-New Mandalorian fans who believe that Satine Kryze makes Mandalorians give up their armour.

This is a picture of Satine Kryze, Prime Minister Almec, as well as Korkie Kryze in the background. Look at the two people in the middle. See what they’re wearing? These are Mandalorian Royal Guards and they wear armour. New Mandalorians literally had a police unit called the Mandalorian Guards who wore armour, so this is kind of a moot point, showing fanon they are wrong about this. A lot of the Royal Guards were made from the afore mentioned Mandalorian Protectors.

Just because many New Mandalorians chose not to wear armour, doesn’t mean they were not allowed to wear it. One could try and argue that only the police and guards are allowed to wear armour, but the fact of the matter is: there’s still armour for the New Mandalorians. Also, interesting note but all the cadets from The Academy had the Iron Heart, which is a symbol more commonly seen on Mandalorian armour. I think it’s safe to say that is an easy adaption of the culture.

Also in that vein is the ‘self defence’ idea. There’s a lot of belief that the New Mandalorians have no means of defending themselves, that they shun every form of violence. As I’ve just shown, that’s clearly false. They use batons, stun guns, and even hand to hand combat in order to defend themselves. The Royal Guard used force staffs in order to deflect blaster fire, very similar to how the Jedi use their sabers. Even Satine Kryze has used non-lethal weapons of her own:

In the episode mentioned before, The Academy, it is shown that you don’t need guns or lightsabers to defeat your enemies and protect others. Ahsoka didn’t have her lightsaber and yet her and the cadets (including Korkie Kryze) managed to save Satine and uncover the criminal black market on Mandalore. People like to say that New Mandalorians’ creed of ‘no lethal weapons’ means they’re defenceless or ‘erasing culture’, but we’ll get into why this is a misconception with even deeper concerns later.

‘Our tribe’ is easy. The New Mandalorians follow a specific creed of non-violence and they follow that in deference to Satine Kryze, who we can even claim is ‘our leader’ as well. Each creed follows their own leader: the True Mandalorians followed Jaster Mereel and later Jango Fett, Death Watch followed Tor and Pre Vizsla, and the New Mandalorians followed Satine Kryze. All three can claim tribe and leader. 

As for ‘our language’, as mentioned, Karen Traviss had originated the spoken language. Mando’a is rarely spoken in the animated series and is more shown in writing. The written language has been sparked once more by season 2 of The Mandalorian. A lot of fanon claims that Satine Kryze erases the language of Mandalore and forces Mandalorians to stop reading or speaking it, a very common cultural genocide against indigenous people. However, this is also false. It’s shown that there’s written forms in several of The Clone Wars episodes, and Satine Kryze herself even speaks it to a Death Watch bomber, click this link for proof and the translations. The written form was actually made by Philip Metschan when asked by George Lucas for Jango Fett, thus there was very little translation into actual Mando’a and why it’s a fan theory that there’s different dialects of it.

(New Mandalorian console from The Academy with written Mando’a.)

Thus, we can safely say that the New Mandalorians do follow a lot of Mandalorian culture that fans say they do not. I’ve also seen many fans say that ‘weapons is their religion’, quoting Din Djarin from The Mandalorian from season 1. However, in season 2, Din is questioning his beliefs as he meets more and more Mandalorians and finding he’s not one of the few remaining. It’s a fascinating study into diaspora and finding one’s culture, but it appears that some people are not also following along. Din has left behind many things he thought were truly Mandalorian - he’s left his people, he’s lost his home, and he’s even removed his helmet in front of others for the love of his child. After he met Bo-Katan Kryze (Satine’s sister who joined Death Watch), he’s been questioning his beliefs and what his place is in the galaxy. We’re finding he’s from a specific zealous sect of Mandalorians, but that doesn’t make him less Mandalorian. He was a foundling (we don’t know if he’s from Mandalorian space), and he’s taken in his own foundling. Mandalorian fans like to say that love of children makes a Mandalorian, so why must weapons and war make one and not love and peace? Mandalorians can love their children and tribe and still be Mandalorian. Weapons and war is what leads to cultural death and that is what the New Mandalorians are trying to prevent.

It’s a bit concerning that this fanon has been so pervasive throughout fandom. It may have originated with Karen Traviss or not, but it has been stated in many fanfic that Satine Kryze is committing ‘cultural genocide’ and has a ‘watered down version’ of Mandalorian culture. It’s so pervasive that people actually believe that Death Watch is better than the New Mandalorians. Death Watch came to be because of the True Mandalorians in Legends and the Mandalorian civil war in canon. In Legends and new canon (via The Mandalorian), Jaster Mereel made the Supercommando Codex, outlining a new structure for Mandalorians to also move past wars. He believed that Mandalorians should become bounty hunters and soldiers for hire instead of fighting amongst themselves. Tor Vizsla took offence to this and created Death Watch who believed in Mandalorian superiority. They wanted to go back to the Mandalorian empire and stoke war amongst the sector. Death Watch repeatedly worked to destabilise the New Mandalorian rule, to the point where Pre Vizsla, Tor Vizsla’s son, was the governor of Concordia, pretending to be an ally to Satine Kryze while he was secretly working with Dooku and the Separatists.

Death Watch committed many atrocities and acts of terrorism. They bombed civilians at a memorial for peace, and after Vizsla was ousted as governor of Concordia for being the Death Watch leader, one of his first acts was to enslave the women of the Ming Po tribe from the planet Carlac. When the men tried to save them and make Death Watch go away, Vizsla ordered the women dead and the town destroyed. 

(Satine and Obi-wan witnessing Death Watch’s terrorist bombing.)

(The Ming Po people, who are obviously Asian coded.)

Their entire group of people were based on Asian cultures and it’s uncomfortable as an Asian to see people redeem or idolise Pre Vizsla and Death Watch. He committed mass murder genocide against them after enslaving and terrorising them. 

(Carlac, where the Ming Po tribe lived. Note the building structures, the gate which resembles a Japanese torii, and the trees which resemble cherry blossom trees.)

Pre Vizsla and his fanaticism with Death Watch is what directly led to the destabilisation of Mandalore. He teamed with Darth Maul to lead a coup against Satine Kryze and an army to Sundari which led to Satine’s and Pre’s own death. Maul installed Almec as Prime Minister and Mandalore was under civil war once again. This continued until Rebels when Bo-Katan Kryze was given the dark saber by Sabine Wren and she became Mand’alor; unfortunately, the Empire destabilised Mandalore again and that’s what led to the events in The Mandalorian show. Fanon continuously believing that the New Mandalorians’ bids for peace led to cultural genocide is what leads to believing actual genocide is better. Even if people understand Death Watch is bad, there’s a false equivalence saying ‘New Mandalorians and Death Watch are just as bad’ which, again, we’ll get into later.

(Obi-Wan Kenobi arriving on Sundari to save Satine Kryze during the coup.)

Another claim against the cultural genocide argument is the fact that Satine and the New Mandalorians kept artwork of Mandalore’s violent history. They are in no way erasing their past, but instead keeping it as a reminder of what they need to move past.

Murals of Mandalorians killing Jedi and other people. The second is in the Sundari palace where Satine resides. People like to claim this is hypocritical, but it’s meant to show that they are not forgetting their past. That peace is what they must aim for lest they go back to their violent ways.

I have also seen people say that the New Mandalorians are ‘white supremacist’ and that has coloured their beliefs of them. I agree that I recoiled in disgust when I saw the shot of the lackluster New Mandalorians in their full white, blond hair, blue eyed glory. However, that is an animation choice and not the fault of the actual New Mandalorians. Most Death Watch people who are shown are also white with blond hair and blue eyes. In fact, Satine was a politician who often hosted several non-human species and negotiated with them. 

(Scenes from TCW episode ‘The Voyage of Temptation’ with Satine Kryze and Obi-wan Kenobi with aliens and humans of various colour and shape. In this episode, Death Watch attacked the ship.)

You do know who did have a problem with aliens? Death Watch. From The Bounty Hunter’s Code, written in part by Jason Fry, there is this:

(Picture taken from the book by a user on discord. Thank you again!)

It states that Mandalorians in Death Watch must have ‘human faces’ and that non humans are ‘outsiders’ and ‘beast species’. Very reminiscent of anti-immigration views and general racism against black and brown people. And yet, there is a general belief that Death Watch is not racist because of the Wren family from Rebels where Sabine Wren is a clear person of colour. Hopefully, readers can tell what an allegory is at this point.

A problem I believe is that there’s a severe lack of understanding on what cultural genocide truly means. It’s defined as ‘acts and measures undertaken to destroy nations' or ethnic groups' culture through spiritual, national, and cultural destruction.’ As proven, Satine and the New Mandalorians have their own beliefs, but they do not destroy their history; instead they adapt them to what they believe the future is aiming for. They do not suppress nor destroy language, or artwork, or historical propaganda. They cannot be colonisers as they live on Mandalore themselves. They exile people, yes, but the people on Concordia had representation who Satine listened to and trusted before he was revealed to be a terrorist. The Mandalore system is big with multiple planets and habitable moons, and Old Mandalorians were free to build their lives anywhere in the system or galaxy, as long as it wasn’t on the planet Mandalore near the New Mandalorians. 

Going back to the ‘Republic installed the New Mandalorians’ take, it is canon that Satine Kryze and the New Mandalorians resisted the Republic’s attempts to install a military occupation in Mandalorian space. Vizsla committed terrorist acts and attempted assassinations to murder Satine and he was backed by the CIS to create disorder on Mandalore. Joining the Republic at least peripherally had allowed the New Mandalorians to maintain trade and peace for their people, but when war came, they stuck to their beliefs and created a neutral system. In fact, the Republic cutting off trade, food, and supplies was essentially attempting to blackmail the New Mandalorians to participate in a war. Also, sending the Jedi isn’t a sign of Republic approval; even in The Phantom Menace, the Republic wouldn’t do anything for Naboo and Qui-gon Jinn and Obi-wan Kenobi were only sent as a favour to the then Chancellor Vallorum to investigate what was going on. The Jedi served the galaxy, even if their allegiance and oath was to the Republic, and that includes Mandalorian space.

(Qui-gon Jinn and Obi-wan Kenobi protecting Satine Kryze.)

I do understand why it’s awful to see a group of white people with the same model types to preach about peace and non-violence, especially when the only other known Mandalorian at the time is a brown man. However, that I will fully put on Dave Filoni’s shoulders as he wanted to make the Mandalorians closer to Nordic Vikings (something I believe was mentioned to him by Lucas). The Mandalorians may have been inspired and influenced by other cultures, but for The Clone Wars, it reminds me of and reflects the current state of USA. The USA has a long history of wars, genocide, and violence. It started with white colonists killing and enslaving indigenous people and black people and has continued to be the leader in military and police funding in the world. And yet, whenever people wish to progress past that (for example, enact gun safety laws, defund the military and the police, enact healthcare, remove racist symbols), there are people who claim that they’re trying to ‘take American history away’ or ‘take our rights away’, etc. It’s what has lead to the state the country is in now. 

I find it highly disturbing that fandom is hating on New Mandalorians and claiming it’s cultural genocide. It equates to modern times and how people like to claim that ‘liberals’ are trying to ‘take America’s guns’ because we’re tired of war, police brutality, and school shootings. Because we want laws to remove guns from safe spaces and make it harder to obtain weapons. This isn’t cultural genocide. This is progression of society. On January 6th, 2021, we saw an attempted coup where right wingers stormed the American capitol, live fire was shot and a woman killed, where they were actively looking for Democratic congress people to hold them hostage and possibly kill them. I maintain that fiction reflects reality and this is true in this case. The New Mandalorians wish for peace and do not wish for violent weapons in their space and enact laws to do that. However, the galaxy is bigger than America and Old Mandalorians can go anywhere else in the galaxy or even the Mandalorian system. Several countries have enacted anti-gun laws and prevent weapons from being in the hands of violent people. We have labelled white supremacists as domestic terrorists and remove statues of names of slave owners and other awful historical people. I ask you this: how is what the New Mandalorians doing any different? If it’s because you believe the propaganda from Traviss (and Jason Fry, don’t think I don’t see you), then you need to reevaluate your source. It is not a bad thing to see violence and wish to move past that and instead focus your resources to innovation, humanitarian efforts, and, yes, pacifism.

I mentioned earlier that people like to equate Death Watch and the New Mandalorians. It’s generally like how people say ‘Antifa is just the same as fascism’. In fact, I saw a comment on a fic that generally says something similar:

Name removed and the fic will not be mentioned, but it equates the New Mandalorians and Death Watch to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her other POC congresspeople who wish to help people, and literal terrorists. Honestly, there’s a lot to unpack from this singular comment and I’m not sure I have the energy to do so. Death Watch isn’t like ‘Islamic’ terrorists. They’re like the white supremacist terrorists we see in the USA who planted bombs around various political buildings because they wanted violence against the Democratic party. This comment is just shitty victim blaming and promotion of violence. Pacifism isn’t ‘dangerous’. It isn’t ‘suicide’. It’s an ideal we should actively strive for.

I’m tired of seeing writers and fans say that the New Mandalorians commit cultural genocide. I’m tired of the misunderstanding and the attack on pacifism and the refusal to believe that peace is an option. It may not be feasible in the universe of Star Wars, but in that case, it’s not feasible for the USA and our own long history of war and we might as well give up. I ask that you at least do some research on the New Mandalorians before writing them and if you refuse to do so, then at least tag your fic as AUs and not actual canon fact. It’s the same with the Jedi and the propaganda that is passed along for them; you’re believing anti-New Mandalorian authors who aren’t accepted as canon. And for fuck’s sake, every time you praise Death Watch and say that they’re good, or that Pre Vizsla is an alright guy and redeemable, or that Obi-wan Kenobi of all people think that Mandalorians are better off being warmongers, then you’re wasting my time and helping spread bad (and, yes, racist) takes.

EDIT: Since this is still going around, I’m going to add that 1) there are very prominent Maori pacifist groups that are still being oppressed. The Mandos have a lot of Maori influence because of Temuera Morrison and it’s great that he’s bringing his culture to Star Wars, but the greater Mandalorian cultures are *not* based on them. Whether it’s TCW or Karen Traviss, none of the writers had the authority to make Mandos Maori (and Traviss very obviously fetishised them). 2) People keep claiming ‘pacifism is something governments can claim to oppress others!’ and yeah, it can be an excuse, but very often it’s an authoritarian government, *not* a pacifistic government. Do you know what happens to actual pacifistic governments? Groups? They get attacked and genocided. It’s literally what happened to the New Mandos in TCW. They were attacked and killed and their way of life was obliterated thanks to Death Watch and Maul. They weren’t forcing their way of life on the greater Mandalorian population and honestly? Stop acting like *pacifism is bad*. There are legit pacifists out there and people have *constantly* been actively against war all throughout history and they’ve been *murdered* for it. Recall what happened to Vietnam War protestors??? Recall the smear campaign against France for not getting involved in the Iraqi War??? The New Mandos can reflect any point of history in the real world. Acting otherwise is *your problem*. Can pacifism be used poorly? Yes, mostly when you’re ignoring the plights of others around you in the name of pacifism. Are the New Mandos an actual good example of pacifism? No, and no one would claim it would be and I blame that solely on the shit writing of TCW where war is treated like a game half the time. But acting like pacifism as a whole or pacifistic governments or ideals is bad is fucked up and wildly dismissive of the large number of real pacifists.