#make Mandalore great again

[padawansuggest]

I just fucking KNOW Death Watch used Make Mandalore Great Again as a slogan at some point I just KNOW it

[soul-reapr]

I'm still really happy with the "I'm so sorry" custom obi wan I painted a while back

[tarre-was-right]

ROUND ONE: MATCH-UP EIGHT

Remember, this is NOT about who would win in a fight. This is about who makes the best leader for Mandalore as a whole.

Explanation post

Seeding

Propaganda below the cut! You can submit more on this post and I will reblog it back to here!

ALPHA-17

@ihuntmonsters: He’s uhhh super badass and sexy and kicks ass and is really awesome and I’m in love with him Perfect propaganda yes. He shall lead Mandalore

Anon: He's pretty good with training children! He is very good at inspiring loyalty! He is very willing to go after sith lords with just his teeth if he has to!

Anon: Vote for Alpha he’s got Cody’s thighs, Fox’s tits and Wolffe’s ass. He’s also a DILF, if you consider the shebse squad/command batch headcanons. And who wouldn’t want a Mand'alor like that?

Anon: Alpha-17 would be a great mandolorian leader I mean look at those Pecs! What else do u need in a leader?

Anon: HERES WHY ALPHA-17 FOR THE WIN: HE WILL ASSASSINATE ALL OF THE OTHER POLITICAL FIGURES WHICH MEANS DEAD SKEVY SHEEVY PALPATINE AND WHO DOESNT WANT THAT?

Anon: What a guy. I love him so much. He's such an asshole. Alpha-17 was part of the second test batch of clones of Jango Fett, one of a group of 100, and as such he was trained directly by Jango Fett in the art of war; these early batches who had more contact with their Mandalorian trainers are commonly considered to have a stronger claim to 'Mandalorian-ness' because of this exposure and learning experience than clones from the later, larger batches

Anon: Propaganda for Alpha 17: tall

Anon: Alpha-17 should rule Mandalore because a good king doesn’t want the power of the throne and he does not want that at all. also he’s the funniest choice. might have the skills to not get killed by maul

JANGO FETT

Anon: Jango became Mand'alor (according to Legends) at the tender age of 15 immediately after the death of his adopted father Jaster Mereel. While another of Mereel's men (Montross) made a grab for the position Jango brought up the betrayal Montross had done to Mereel causing the older man's death. The other Haat Mando'ade fell in behind Jango as he had become Jaster's Legacy. He led the Haat Mando'ade for 8 years and seemed prosperous. - And then Galidraan happened, between poisoned information and tensions being high between the Jedi and Mandalorians it only took a spark for it all to be blown to hell.

Anon: Jango was trained to be Jaster's successor to the title of Mand'alor from the time he was adopted at about 8 years of age, following the death of his blood family - when Jaster was killed, Jango was chosen by their people to step into the role despite being a young teenager at the time, suggesting that he was already known to be a good leader, and one who had earned their loyalty and trust over even Jaster's formerly-trusted second-in-command - while his time in the position was short, he did seem to command great loyalty and respect from his followers, although his focus seemed to have been more on their faction's mercenary work than on serving as a ruler or even cultural figurehead for the people of Mandalore at large - regardless, Tor Vizsla saw him as enough of a threat to his own claim to the throne to seek his swift removal from the political field - even after having disappeared from the field of politics for years following the incident at Galidraan, many Mandalorians still answered his call to come and serve as trainers for the GAR, suggesting that they took his claim seriously as well

Anon: Jango Fett, while a man of many mistakes, inherited the role of Mando'alor from Jaster and tried to do the same as he did: honour their past, move forward and provide for their people - He took care of Montross and tried his best to protect the people who followed him, to make sure they had a future and didn't fall apart and get scattered to the winds again.

@lightsaberwieldingdalek: I mean. Jango’s got the best brand recognition? Absolutely everyone for centuries with recognise the Jango Fett look, and that army that Jango was kinda sort of responsible for did conquer at least half the galaxy, just…. Not in the name of mandalore

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

The Impact of Tech's Death: Was it necessary? Was it in vain? Why did Tech have to die?

Disclaimer: This will be a very emotion fueled rant and I'm sorry if my personal feelings get in the way. I love my boys, but there are times when I just sit there and shake my head. I do my best to understand their circumstances, but sometimes the Crosshair girlie in me really can't make sense of things.

The short answer: NO, it wasn't necessary. With S3 now behind us and my rewatch of S2 at its conclusion, it hit me just how little weight Tech's death had on the overall plot.

Let's breakdown the finale a bit:

The lead up: Tech found out that his long-lost brother Crosshair was captured by the Empire and sent to a shady place where no good was to come. He also discovers that Crosshair sent a distress message, warning his brothers to hide. Realizing that Crosshair was in danger, Tech decided to rally the others on a mission to find and track Hemlock's ship, hoping it would lead him back to his brother. The mission is a complete failure, with Tech being forced to sacrifice himself in order to save his family.

The Aftermath: the Batch is discovered by Hemlock, Omega is captured, Hunter cuts his losses, and Crosshair remains a prisoner

Here's the part that really messed with me: Tech's death DID NOT affect Hemlock's capture of Omega and it DID NOT change the ability to track the ship. The only impact it had was that Hunter decided to cut his losses and pull an early retirement. And even when Hunter is like "we're going to get Omega back," he doesn't mention Crosshair once.

Tech died to save Crosshair. Period.

(and the others I know, but this mission wouldn't have happened if Cross wasn't in trouble)

Which brings us to S3 where Tech is hardly mentioned, Crosshair himself is never shown on-screen learning of what happened, and there is no moment where anyone (except maybe Cross) processes their feelings about it. Why kill off a beloved character when their demise has almost no impact on anything? The only thing it really impacts is the speed of which things get done and Crosshair's mental health. It makes no sense. I think there was an interview where DBB said they tried to keep Tech alive, but couldn't write a script where that was the case. Ok? Then go back and talk some more about the plot. Or if you can't avoid killing him off, then show the characters processing it or why Tech's death mattered. The cynical side of me says Tech died in vain. I'm being brutally honest here. Tech could've survived and Cid would still sell out the Batch and Saw's detonators would still destroy the ship and tracker. From a story POV, it's pretty bad when a main character's death barely leaves an impact.

In CW, Fives' death enabled Rex and Ahsoka (and Maul by extension) to all survive Order 66. Satine's death led to Mandalore being thrown into chaos, thus leading to the Siege of Mandalore.

In Rebels, Kanan's death crippled Thrawn's Tie-defender project, made Pryce look bad, and taught Ezra important lessons about sacrifice. For Hera, we got to see her grieve the loss of her lover. Kanan's death mattered. Also, the buildup to Kanan's sacrifice was him becoming Caleb Dume again after everything he went through.

The buildup to Tech's death was great too because it was about the Batch trying to find Crosshair. And while the mission is a failure, it showed that they were willing to go back for someone they lost. They hadn't given up on him. But everything after falls pretty flat and only makes Tech's death even sadder.

Why did Tech have to die? Because he probably would've found Tantiss a lot quicker than everyone else. I really think that's the case and that's pretty bad writing if you ask me. I still love TBB immensely, but I'm willing to call it out when it falls short.

It also really pisses me off as a Crosshair fan that Hunter just completely throws him under the bus. I will let my biases speak for me because it really bothers me and I'm sorry if you disagree. I value your opinion too. I don't know if Hunter subconsciously blamed Crosshair for Tech's demise, but I would've felt a whole lot better if he decided to honor Tech's wish of saving him. Hunter was always going to go after Omega, so why not add Crosshair to the mix? Was it because he still thought Crosshair could be lying? I understand cutting his losses in the moment due to the pain of losing Tech. I get that 100%. But after, he just doesn't bother to think about Crosshair. Would he even have gone after Crosshair if the original last-minute retirement plan came to fruition? Crosshair suffered immensely and who knows what would've happened if he just got left there with no one coming for him. Tech was the only one who supported Operation: Rescue Crosshair. No one else suggested that idea except him. (I know Omega also supports it, but I'm talking about the boys). Yes, I know I'm being harsh and perhaps unfair, but it hurts ok? I know Hunter has no clue what's going on with Crosshair.

But here's why it bothers me so much outside of Crosshair getting the short end of the stick again: It makes Tech's death feel even more in vain because the reason for why Tech died is just forgotten about.

Let that sink in. Tech's death doesn't leave ANY lasting impact on the plot post-incident.

It makes even more frustrated and just heartbroken because of how cruel and unfair losing Tech really was. Had we gotten more time of the Batch processing emotions or taking something meaningful away from it, then that's different. But no. That's not what we got and I am heartbroken by it. At minimum, we should've gotten one scene in S3 where Crosshair (or anyone really) talks about it in a meaningful way. (No, "CF99 died with Tech" doesn't count). Yes, Tech's legacy can be seen through Omega's actions but that's not enough.

All and all, the only real weight Tech's death had was on Crosshair's mental health. And even then, it's only implied instead of said straight out. If Tech hadn't died, then Crosshair probably wouldn't have decided to enact Plan 99. (Or he would've due to other reasons).

In conclusion: Tech never had to die nor should he have died.

[stealingpotatoes]

just watched mando s3 it’s great that we TOTALLY had a whole season about din coming to grips with being mand’alor & life without grogu and about dueteragonist bo-katan coming to realise she was only trying to lead mand’alor bc of her sister not bc she thought she was the best leader. and the whole season centred around the theme of accepting who you really are even if you’re certain you’re something else and was about how heroes and leaders can come from anywhere, they don’t have to come from a special bloodline (a sorta thesis against the skywalker saga) and about the uniting power of grief and oppression. isn’t it great we had that instead of a season with no plot 

isn’t it great that there were no mando cameos in tbobf and mando season 3 started with him on a bounty, cringefailing at using the darksaber and stabbing himself but he did the job and got paid in a nubian starfighter (he wanted a razor crest but he’s injured so he doesnt argue much) which he then used to find his covert on the canyon planet. then he revealed to the armorer and paz that he had the darksaber which after some time leads to paz duelling din for the saber (without telling the others bc they dont know din has it) and din wins but its revealed he took his helmet off. he’s made apostate IN FRONT OF EVERYONE (EVERYONE!!) with only one IMPOSSIBLE chance of redemption (nobody can go to mandalore anymore!!) and has to leave and now has nothing — no child, no clan. so he does the only thing he can think to and goes to a green planet we’ve never seen before. he lands safely but still injured from his fight with Paz and not fully healed from the original injury he passes out. and the episode ends with a kid running over and telling another kid to call master skywalker

and sure episode 2 was the fanservice episode but its disney! we have to expect a marketable plushie cameo episode — except of course that didn’t mean it wasn’t plot relevant! din wakes up and we realise he’s at luke’s jedi academy and this is great n stuff we finally get to see luke in his prime teaching a whole bunch of students! and we get to see grogu happy and having fun with his kind (which makes din happy but miss his own covert). luke notices din has a saber himself (despite it being well-hidden — luke can sense it) and din admits he can’t use it and that he doesnt think it even belongs to him while luke shows him saber forms (but pretends its for his own training and not din’s bc din refuses to learn). they have a discussion and din reveals he came here bc he got kicked out and has no way to redeem himself bc there are no mines left and even then the planet’s poisonous. luke spouts some jedi stuff asking din if he’s certain and says blind certainty is the enemies of hope and progress or whatever (setting up the larger theme of identity certainty in the season). luke also points out that if they imps r there then they have to have some way of getting around the environment they caused. inspired and knowing grogu is safe here, din is ready to go redeem himself on mandalore. he says he’ll come to see grogu again and luke makes it clear that while attachments can’t get in front of duty, din is always welcome here <3 

episode 3 of course had din go to the ruins of mandalore to redeem himself, inspired by luke’s words about certainty he goes to the ruins of sundari, where he knows there was once living waters (the other option is the one surviving and imperial-controlled city, but he’s not that dumb). also bc the imps only hang around the cities so that must be where it's survivable. there’s some imperials about the edge of the city (not many) and he does have to subtly fight them but he gets spotted. he wins but he’s panicking bc during the fight his breathing system got hit but then he notices a plant growing. and he realises he’s not dying — the air isn’t poisonous anymore or whatever! so he turns off his failing life support and goes to the city. he explores the city and finds many remnants of mandalorian culture there in the small parts that survived. ash-covered murals, mostly-burnt toys, something that could have once been a palace. he finds a memorial to a duchess satine kryze and thinks huh like bo katan? (because of course the show wouldn’t ignore bo’s motivations) anyway after some slow but meaningful exploring (its quietness eerie, unlike the quietness of the previous stealth section) he manages to make his way below the city. he finds the mines, reads the inscription and then goes in. except of course its no longer shallow and he falls and he falls and he realises well fuck he’s gonna die. his life support got hit earlier and he doesnt have his jetpack he’s going to sink. but then in the darkness, a great looming eye opens and before din knows it, SOMETHING is throwing him out that sinking water. it had to have been a freak current right? he was hallucinating. surely a MYTHOSAUR didn’t just save him… those are all dead, only to return with a new age of mandalore! he shakes his head, ignores it, and collects the water with something new to bring to his people

episode 4 reintroduced us to old fan favourite bo katan in her depression girl era bc din shows up to her empty palace ready to help her take back mandalore… only to find her in a depression pit and— oh my god is she drunk??! she drops that her ppl left her bc she didn’t have the darksaber and din’s looking at the depression pit like. right. bc of the darksaber. he briefly tries to convince her to fight him for it but she’s like no you’ll throw the fight it won’t be true comba— oh no! explosion nearby bc looks like din wasn’t as careful as he thought and the imperials followed him to bo’s place so both of them have to fucking skeet outta there and bo’s home’s destroyed so din’s like hey come on let’s go to my people we can take back mandalore with them or smthn. so they head back to the covert, din reveals he’s no longer apostate and that mandalore isnt cursed it’s breathable + you can successfully walk on the surface now. this is however interrupted by a beast showing up and trying to kill some ppl. it almost kills paz’s son but din kills the beast first in his starfighter. anyway back to the conversation (now within the cave) and din’s trying to convince his clan that they can take back mandalore (with bo as leader) but none of them want to follow her or risk what few numbers they have left. dejected, din and bo make to leave again, but paz follows them out and is like ?? din you literally have the darksaber why didn’t you use it to get at least SOME of them to follow you and din’s like i don’t want people to follow me bc of a legend, if they follow me it has to be bc they want to and paz and bo r internally like wow damn. anyway paz then says he’ll always fight w din if needed bc he saved his son but if he wants the people to follow him they should try get some of the other clans to help so it looks less dangerous. so bo and din leave on their quest. also throughout this episode, we’re introduced to some random civilian in the reintegration program. its implied they worked with gideon and that they’re preparing for something, but we don’t get much more than that. 

episode 5 is the bo episode, this is where we explore her character, have her arc, and ya know really cover her motivations (bc disney would NEVER make it so her motivation is invisible unless you’d seen two other tv shows). din and bo head to where her clan is. they just want to see the clan but they end up being dragged into a b-plot about helping the local pacifist duchess (& duke). din tries to say no but bo-katan says smthn abt diplomacy. this quest initially doesn’t seem plot relevant but throughout bo opens up about her own pacifist duchess sister and she comes to realise how much of this quest has been about trying to live up to satine and not bc she thinks herself the best mand’alor. the thing she said abt diplomacy earlier, she reveals, is just a quote from her sister. anyway they’re finally able to go to bo’s old clan and she, now reinvigorated in accepting and knowing who she is and what she wants (no longer depression girl) challenges axe for leadership of the clan. she wins and in a speech is like we’re gonna retake unpoisonous mandalore by uniting the clans!! most agree but theyre like HOW are we supposed to convince the other clans? and it descends into insane yelling UNTIL a low hum and a black-white light falls over the group. silence falls. everyone looks on. high above his head, din is holding the darksaber (proudly!!) and he’s like we’ll unite them with this. but axe has to constantly be chatting shit and getting up from the floor where he got his ass whipped he’s like really???? you wanna follow him???? he doesn’t even have any mandalorian blood in him!!! and bo makes a great speech about blood doesn’t make a good leader what makes a good leader is knowing when to use your power. and then she’s like he is my mand’alor amen and kneels before him. everyone else follows and din awkwardly stands there still not fully accepting his role 

episode 6 was the great prep episode. we start with din and bo helping and getting a new tribe on their side and heading back to Concordia we realise they’ve got this HUGEEEE war camp of mandalorians!! there are so many clans with them now (except one, which din is really missing)!!!!! this episode mostly focuses on mandalorian culture and them training/ planning and din and bo trying to keep the clans from biting each other’s heads off. but this is interrupted when a small group of imperials try to pre-attack them (like they did w bo’s palace) but the mandos all manage to fight back and take them down, which then leads to a whole speech from din and bo about how mandalorians are all fighting but theyre united now in their grief and with this they can fight the empire. the b-plot of the episode comes back to that random civilian from episode 4 and whoomp turns out their plan was to BREAK MOFF GIDEON OUT OF JAIL!! shitttt!!!! oh no!! he’s back now, that’s gonna make their very decent plan to take back mandalore harder but they dont knowww (irony!)

episodes 7 and 8 were the battle of mandalore, woo! it had to be two episodes because it’s a taking whole occupied planet and not a single base, a pretty damn difficult task that definitely can’t be done by two single clans in like 40 minutes! there’s all those mini tiny bases scattered throughout the planet on the ruins (like din encountered in episode 3) AND more importantly there’s the one domed city that the imperials kept alive as their main base — which means they have to be careful, bc they can’t do any sort of aerial assault or great deal of damage to the imperials without also destroying the one surviving place for them to live. so the plan is smaller strike teams to go the bases plopped around the planet as a distraction and to stop reinforcements to the city while the main force surround the city and take it. the first city team (with din and bo) has to open up all the ports and stuff to allow the HUGE armies to get in. unfortunately this is in the main imp base in the centre of the city so they have to get there. (they’d prefer 2 strike teams but they can only spare 1) MOST of the mini-bases r meanwhile being successfully captured. the strike team gets to the centre to de-activate the port shielding n stuff and GASP! IT’S GIDEON!! FROM JAIL!! and he’s surrounded by fucking MANDO STORMTROOPERS and IN BESKAR ARMOUR oh no!! ambush!! he knew they’d have to go here to allow a full-scale assault! the small strike team at sundari also gets captured bc there were some mandotroopers there (they increased security post episode 3). episode 7 ends on a cliffhanger bc all seems lost and the strike team’s surrounded 

episode 8 starts straight off the cliffhanger and oh no they’re all gonna die gasp WHEN BAM fighting noises elsewhere, everyone’s confused, when paz’s voice crackles over din’s comm like hey bro! BC DIN’S CLAN FINALLY SHOWED UP TO HELP AND THEY WERE ABLE TO MAKE THAT SECOND STRIKE TEAM and in the confusion din & bo’s team take out the mandotroopers, gideon gets away. din and paz and the armorer come face to face and paz calls him mand’alor or smthn bc he’s also accepted it and they’re like woo let’s go now we can fight fr!! din heads to help lead the battle ig but bo’s like nah i have to end gideon for what he did to our planet. and din’s like well he’s wearing beskar armour so you’ll need this and gives her his beskar spear WHICH IS SYMBOLIC BC he’s finally giving up his other weapon and is going to solely use the darksaber!! he’s accepted who he is and is going to lead their ppl!! so yeah instead of having din fight gideon, who he already beat once, bo fights him and its incredibly cathartic. at sundari that strike team who got captured is also not looking great but MYTHOSAUR EX MACHINA COMES AND FUCKS UP THE IMPERIALS THERE (its returned!!). so big battle and gideon’s down and the darksaber DOESN’T get destroyed yay! afterwards they all vibe and they go to the forge and the armorer relights it and they proclaim din mand’alor fr and he accepts it and throne. sure he's still a BIT uneasy (mand'alor the reluctant anyone?) but he's not saying NOO now loll. yayyy!! AND THEN final scene is din returns to the jedi academy like hii thanks for ur advice u were right being blindly certain abt stuff is meh and leaves no room for hope. uh could i show grogu mandalore i promise i’ll bring him right back and it ends on din showing grogu the planet finally bc thats cute and fanservice

anyway isn’t it great this is exactly what happened, it’s all canon and definitely not the stealingpotatoes sequels canon continuity rewrite! 

[now-you-sound-like-a-jedi]

Clone Wars AU where everything is the exact same except Pre Vizsla wears a little "Make Mandalore Great Again" hat instead of a helmet so no one mistakes him for the good guy this time

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

Even in her villain era Bo Katan's goal or desire wasn't to rule Mandalore. Back then she wasn't seeking the throne, and was happy enough to be lieutenant. On a very basic level she's just a patriot, in her youth she though that meant making mandalore great again mandalore needed to be a military power and pacifism was weakening them etc. Afterwards, when mandalore was occupied and leadership of the resistance fell to her, her goal was their independence, and she expressed a certain amount of insecurity about actually ruling, though she tried to step up.

Now in The Mandalorian it's not like there's some big competition for the throne going on, not really. She'd been trying to sell the scattered survivors on the big idea of returning to their home planet and rebuilding, and that's... it, mostly. This isn't game of thrones. If Din had taken up her cause as well as the sword I honestly think she would have backed him, he just wasn't interested.

[thewriterowl]

Chapter Twelve: Two Years Later

Luke’s self-promised timeframe for his father is coming to an end and it does not seem like Anakin Skywalker is ready to break free from the grasp of Palpatine nor the Dark-side. Now fearing for his own safety, unable to trust his father, fourteen-year-old Luke does something thought to be impossible that changes the whole of the Force itself...a change that may become uncontrollable and more dangerous than originally believed.

Running into familiar, and unfamiliar, faces in the next step of his journey, Luke's own sanity is starting to fray as he questions every move he makes and realizes the depth of depravity the Empire will take to find him.

--

Moonlight is BACK! It feels so great to be doing this fic again. Ghosts will get a small break as I re-evaluate how I want it to go (since it was supposed to be 15 chapters but looking like 20...again; how do I always do that??) and I can get on to my beloved massive pet-project.

Big shout out to @feralsunspotandtincan for helping me a bit with the insanity that is Mandalore/Mandalorian--things. You really helped with that!

I hope you all are excited to be back in this and enjoy! Let me know what you think! :D

[fellthemarvelous]

Pre Vizsla, leader of the Death Watch (aka Make Mandalore Great Again), telling Satine Kryze to take it as a compliment that someone really powerful is trying to commit acts of violence against her is just so...typical. Powerful man threatened by powerful woman believes she should consider it flattering that someone wants to end her life.

[abstractppsychopomp]

┃➤ARC trooper Jesse and why he matters so much to me

Jesse is one of those characters we know so little about, that we can make up about them anything we want. Like with almost every clone.

Like many other clones in The Clone Wars, Jesse is seen only in a few battles and arcs, that tell us just what we need to know about him to feel bad when he inevitably dies, since clones are doomed in this franchise one way or another.

And what really treated us with a bunch of interesting characters and development arcs was, of course, the Umbara arc, where Jesse is one of the clones who rebels against Krell's unsuccessful strategies and his disregard of their lives, who gets almost executed by his own brothers because of it and survives to see Krell's death.

There are many little things that make us love him, first of all his acts of disobedience.

At first, as audience we can't really justify Krell's decisions with 'It's war, and sacrifices are to be made" like some of the characters who are soldiers do, so we can't help but wish that they would not follow his orders, and Jesse is one of the first ones to do so, with Fives and Hardcase- who we know for a fact Jesse has known for a long time, since Hardcase was there back when they met the clone deserter on Saleucami. Hardcase dies, but they respect his sacrifice.

The clones' loyalty is not to the Republic, or at least not as much as how they wrote it. They serve the Republic and they fight this war because without them the war would be lost, since they're the only thing fighting the Separatists. And, of course, because they were made to do so. They were created for this, and this is what they know. Their life is long enough that they will fight as long as the Republic (as the Sith) needs, and then they will die, maybe thirty-five years after their birth, and it will be like they never existed.

This was the plan behind their creation, and this happens in the Star Wars canon timeline.

What they know, other than war, are each other, and Hardcase's last words are "Live to fight another day". Funny that it isn't "Fight to live another day", but it's merely because they don't live, they fight. They weren't made to know anything other than fighting, not even living. They don't have to survive a battle so that they can live and be in peace, but because after one fight there's always another.

But by fighting they still survive, and they can save another clone.

With his sacrifice Hardcase saves his brothers, and even Jesse, and they "let him die" because they would do just the same.

"I'm only doing it because I don't like him", this is how Jesse tries to justify his insubordination. Humor is his way of deflecting and coping. Hardcase replies to this with "I'm only doing this for fun", which is just incompatible with what he does at the end and proves that the reason why he did it is was to save his brothers- just like Jesse, who cracked a joke like him but almost died all the same.

So he loves his brothers, and he wants to win the battles he fights, forced or not, and he has a sense of humor- which is great, since we all love some good humor.

He loses it, facing his brothers ready to execute him, but we know he has it, Fives said it.

He's loyal, just like Hardcase, just like every other clone. To whom?

The first answer could be the Republic.

Jesse has a Republic crest tattooed on his head, and also has it painted on his helmet, so of course he isn't neutral regarding the Republic.

But, and here I am with what could be called headcanons, but they're necessary because this show didn't care about clones as much as it should have (don't talk money, if you want to talk money a show about clones could make Star Wars great again).

Jesse is not loyal to the Republic.

What truly made me fall in love with him was the Siege of Mandalore, because we know that he's part of a group of soldiers way younger than him.

He is the personification of the "only one left" trope.

Because we know that, of the 501st clones we got to know and love, he, with Kix and Rex, is the only one left.

Fives, Hardcase, Tup, Dogma, they're all dead, and Echo is with the Bad Batch.

Jesse is a first generation. He's probably been around since Geonosis, as long as Rex, and by this point he still paints his helmet the same way.

How probable is it that, for all that time- and remember clones age twice as fast as humans, so three years are not only three years for him, he was loyal to the Republic, never changing his paint, always loyal, always dedicated?

The clones' loyalty is to their brothers.

Jesse may have been once loyal to the Republic, when he was forced into fighting a war after a life spent hearing that war was what he was made for, but after living out of Kamino for three years?

You know Plato's allegory of the Cave? This is the same.

If you want to believe that the clones were at any point loyal to the Republic, it's almost impossible for them to have still cared for it after having a chance to see, know and understand how the Republic doesn't deserve their loyalty. Not the Republic who bought them and thinks of them as non-sentients, and uses them to fight a senseless war.

To mark himself with the crest, forever, is to be loyal to the point of not only sacrificing himself, but sacrifice others, like what a good General like Krell was supposed to do, which Jesse does, but not of his own volition.

Now to his death.

Jesse dies, trying to kill Ahsoka. Obeying a order he couldn't disobey, controlled by a chip he didn't know the existence of, taking out with him so many of his brothers.

When he sacrifices himself to kill the enemy of the Republic, he does it because he's been forced to. He wouldn't have done it, without the chip.

Jesse is loyal to a fault.

We see it with Ahsoka, and with Anakin, and with Rex.

Do you really think that, had the order come without the chip influencing him, he would have tried to kill Ahsoka with Rex on the line? Rex, who he'd fought with for three years, who he protected so harshly with the Bad Batch, who's his brother?

He is loyal to a fault, just not to the Republic.

Maybe he got that tattoo and later realized how wrong he'd been to do it as he realizes that they're all glorified slaves, and as he goes on fighting for someone who owns him he paints his helmet always the same way almost as a joke, since we know he has humor. They own him, after all, so why not mark himself with their symbol forever? ┃

[illuminatedquill]

Ghost Stories 06

Feat. Ursa Wren + The Ghost crew

Story Summary: The Ghost lands on Krownest for a brief resupply and also to visit Sabine, who chose to remain with her family to help marshal the Mandalorian forces against Imperial rule on Mandalore. Ursa Wren, Sabine's mother, comes onboard the Ghost to formally introduce herself to her daughter's friends.

The bitter chill of Krownest's morning air greeted Ursa Wren as she stepped outside the fortress walls of her home. Even with a heating unit installed into her custom-made beskar armor, the cold still found a way to seep through. Despite having spent a lifetime living on the frigid planet that her ancestral clan called home, she never could get used to the freezing temperatures.

In the legends of Clan Wren, the world had once been a beautiful, thriving green planet, filled with lush forests and bountiful lakes. But then a great battle had taken place, between her ancestor, Princess Lenora, and a great witch that had come to steal something precious from her. The fight had scarred the planet's ecosystem, somehow plunging Krownest into an endless winter.

Krownest's unhospitable climate made it good for a few things, she admitted. It made Clan Wren a particularly formidable force, even among the fabled Mandalorian warrior caste. Surviving out here, in the frozen tundra was a rite of passage for any warrior on Krownest: you had to be resourceful, quick to adapt, and possess sheer force of will to battle against the elements.

There was also the added benefit of making any potential ground invasion a suicidal venture. Whoever was foolish enough to attempt found themselves wishing for the swift death by a Wren, instead of the slow freezing hell they would find themselves resigned to from the planet's unforgiving nature. Flying was also hazardous, since the erratic changes in weather could freeze fuel lines in vulnerable space craft or decrease visibility so drastically that all a pilot could see was a wall of white ice and sleet before slamming into a mountain side.

Finally, because of the constant blizzards and storms, it rendered most scanners commonly in use by the galaxy useless - which meant that Krownest was an excellent place to hide contraband, ranging from different types of medicines to various weapons of war, from prying eyes.

It was for this last reason that they had received visitors on this day. Sipping at a mug of freshly brewed caf, with a splash of honey added, Ursa stared at the old freighter docked in their landing bay below.

The Ghost. Its crew made of an eclectic team of rebels, comprised of a Twi'lek, two Jedi, a Lasat, a homicidal astromech unit and, formerly, her daughter, Sabine.

Her mouth twitched. These were the people who had housed her daughter - her heir - for the past several years. She had spent time with the two Jedi and, from what she could tell, they had earned her daughter's trust and loyalty.

Enough to defy me and the Empire, she thought with no small amount of bitterness.

She knew how suspicious Sabine could be towards people, which said volumes about how deeply she cared for the people on that ship if she would defend them against her own flesh and blood.

But, then again, she was the reason why Sabine was so slow to trust others in the first place.

Tristan, her youngest, appeared by her side. "Good morning, Mother," he murmured.

Ursa nodded at him. "Same to you. I take it Sabine is already onboard with her friends?" she asked.

The ghost of a smile played on his lips. "Never seen her move so fast. They hadn't even landed yet when she bolted from the war room."

Ursa felt her mouth twitch again. Is this jealousy? she wondered.

Tristan glanced at her. "Do you wish to meet them?"

Ursa sipped again at her caf, contemplating. "I'm not sure if that's wise. Sabine would most likely disapprove."

Her son turned to her fully, his expression intensely curious.

Ursa eyed him, feeling unnerved by his stare. "What?" she demanded.

"You're scared," he observed. "That's a first."

She almost spat out her caf. "Scared? Of what?"

Tristan pointed at the freighter. "Scared of them. Sabine's friends. You're afraid that they're really better than us."

She glared at him. "That is nonsense. Strike the thought from your mind, young man. We are Sabine's true family."

He shook his head sadly. "It's not like that, Mother. Not for Sabine. It's not 'us versus them' to her."

Ursa arched an imperious eyebrow at her son. "Oh? And what is the truth of it, then?"

Tristan gave her a pointed look. "You'd know that if you actually talked to her."

She glowered at him. "I am losing my patience," she growled.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "We're all family to Sabine," he said quietly. "All of us - and them, too. She wouldn't replace us anymore than she would with them."

Ursa fell quiet, his words twisting their way through her gut.

"There was no trade, Mother. Her family just got bigger, that's all," he pointed out.

She studied her youngest for a long moment - and then smiled. Reaching out with a hand, she fondly ruffled his hair. "When did you grow up to be so wise, my beautiful boy?" she asked.

He grinned at her in a disarmingly boyish manner, breaking through the normally serious outlook that was the default expression for Tristan. "Are you going to meet them?" he asked.

Ursa sighed. "I suppose so," she said reluctantly. "If anything, just to be a good host."

"You'll turn on that famous Clan Wren charm, I hope," he teased.

She swatted a hand at him in annoyance.

The hatch was closed when she arrived a few minutes later. Steeling herself to whatever encounters she was about to experience inside the ship, she knocked loudly on the steel frame.

For a few tense seconds, nothing mattered. Then a speaker blared with an unfamiliar voice: "Who's there?"

Ursa replied, "This is Ursa Wren, Sabine's mother. I wish to come inside, if that's alright."

Another pause. Then: "Uh, hang on just a second. I'll open the hatch."

She stepped back a few paces. The hatch opened with a pneumatic wheeze, lowering into a ramp for her to step into the freighter. Standing in the entrance was a large Lasat, dressed in a modified combat suit for his stature, staring at her with a curious expression.

Fo a few moments they just exchanged a look; two warriors, both from dying cultures, sizing each other up.

Ursa broke the silence first. "A pleasure to meet you, Garazeb Orrelios."

The Lasat blinked at her and then did something surprising - he bowed, if somewhat clumsily. It was a formal gesture of respect; one he clearly hadn't done in quite some time, she observed.

"I extend the same greeting to you, Lady Wren," Orrelios replied.

She studied him some more. "Sabine told me you were once a captain for your people's Royal Guard."

"That is correct, Countess," confirmed Orrelios. "I am familiar with royalty."

Ursa smiled. "I am not royalty. My title is simply an inheritance. I am no Queen."

"But you bear yourself with as much regality and grace as any royal subject," Orrelios observed. "And you have done much to earn the title several times over, despite the title being inherited."

She blinked. "Did Sabine talk about me?"

The Lasat shook his head. "No. But I see it in the way she conducts herself. Your daughter wears her surname with pride and steel, just like her mother."

She was touched. The Lasat had a rough appearance, but he spoke with no small amount of heart and authenticity. It wasn't hard to see why Sabine regarded him so highly.

Ursa bowed to him in return. "May I come aboard, Captain?"

"You may," he replied. "And please - call me Zeb."

Zeb, as Ursa now called him, gave her a brief tour of the freighter. She was surprised at how roomy it was, despite the sheer number of supplies crammed inside. The Lasat rarely had to duck down to enter a hallway or room, and walked with the ease of someone who was comfortable with their accommodations. Ursa rarely travelled on ships, preferring the commonly used Fang fighters that were synonymous with Mandalorian culture as a vehicle of transport.

When she first saw the ship at a distance some time ago, her first reaction was to be appalled that her daughter called such a place home for some time. Now, looking around at all the different customizations and obvious care taken into the ship's interior, she began to realize that Sabine might have felt more at home here than back at the fortress of Clan Wren.

How many hallways had she walked down only to spot a doodle on a wall? Sabine's artwork popped up everywhere she looked. On Krownest, her daughter had kept her art kept within the pages of a sketchbook only.

These friends, Ursa began to realize, have not only physically returned my daughter to me. They have also brought her back to herself.

Finally, they came to the communal room. Stepping inside, she saw two figures sitting at a table: one was the familiar face of Kanan Jarrus, one of the Jedi that had accompanied Sabine when she first returned home. The other was a green-skinned Twi'lek woman, similar in age to Jarrus, wearing an orange flight uniform that had seen its fair share of usage.

Jarrus had his arm draped around the Twi'lek's shoulders, his head reclined as though dozing. The Twi'lek - Hera Syndulla, Ursa now recalled - was concentrating on a data-pad, reading intently what was on the screen.

As they entered the room, the Jedi sat up - his partially masked face turned in their direction. "Zeb," he said cautiously. "You've brought a guest."

Hera looked up. Ursa was taken aback at how blue those eyes of hers were - it felt like they were piercing right through her.

"Hello," replied Ursa. "We've met before, Master Jedi."

Jarrus nodded respectfully towards her. "I remember, Countess. This is the captain of our modest little crew - Hera Syndulla."

She extended her hand, which Syndulla grasped firmly. Ursa felt her respect towards the Twi'lek rise several more notches at the strength in her grip. There's steel in her, she remarked.

"Pleasure to meet you at last," Syndulla said politely. "I see where Sabine gets . . . well, everything."

Ursa snorted. "Is that a good or bad thing?"

The Twi'lek's face split into a warm smile. "A little bit of both. Are you here for her? I can call her up, if you like."

She paused for a moment, thinking about what she should say.

Finally, she simply said, "I just wanted to say thank you. For Sabine."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Jarrus smile a little. Syndulla looked surprised and asked, "For Sabine? Why?"

"Everyone here on this ship . . . you restored her to herself. I thought I had lost my daughter forever," Ursa replied, fighting to keep the quiver from her voice. "Not just in a physical sense, but in who she was before everything went wrong."

Syndulla shared a look with Jarrus. Next to her, Zeb scratched idly at his head. Ursa heard a loud sniff from his direction.

"Sabine has inherited much from you, Ursa," Jarrus said firmly. "We may have helped Sabine find her way back to you, but it's only because she had the strength to persevere through whatever challenges the galaxy threw at her. And that incredible strength comes from you."

"And there were quite a lot of challenges," Zeb agreed. "Feels like it was practically every week, in fact."

"Families are complicated," Syndulla added. "Believe me. I know."

Ursa said wryly, "Our family is certainly no exception to that. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am to you all for giving Sabine a home. A place where she can be herself."

"You all talk with her so easily," she said. "I wish I knew how to do that."

Jarrus shared a look with Syndulla, a faint smile playing on both their faces. "Well," Jarrus said, "it helps if you talk to her."

Ursa frowned. "I do talk with her," she replied.

"Not the way Sabine tells it," Zeb pointed out. "You talk at her. That's different."

She thought about it. "Oh," was all she said.

Syndulla interjected, "Although, with Sabine, it is difficult to hold a conversation with her at times. Especially when she's upset."

"That happens a lot when we talk," Ursa replied dryly.

Jarrus chuckled. "We've had our fair share of that, too."

"How do you get her to speak openly then?"

"How do we get her to lower her guard, you mean?" asked Syndulla.

Ursa nodded.

Syndulla smiled. "Lower your own, first."

Ursa paused outside the door of her daughter's room; inside she could hear a pair of voices, loud enough to be heard through the metal.

One of them was certainly Sabine - and the other one was . . .

She leaned in close, straining to listen.

" . . . long have you had these bandaged like this, goober?" That was Sabine.

"Uh. A few days, I think." This voice belonged to Ezra Bridger - the young Jedi who was close to her daughter.

"You're supposed to change out the bandages," said her daughter, sounding annoyed. Annoyed . . . and worried.

Ursa narrowed her eyes, thinking.

"Oh. Right," came the hesitant reply. "Anyway, how are things with your family?"

"They're fine, Ezra," said Sabine impatiently. "And don't change the subject. How did you get hurt? Those Jedi senses of yours getting rusty?"

"Stormtrooper snuck up behind me during a firefight. I'm . . . I'm still getting used to you not being there to have my back anymore," Bridger replied quietly.

"Oh," was all her daughter said.

There was an uncomfortable pause. "I didn't mean it like that, Sabine," Bridger said hastily. "I meant - "

"I know what you meant," replied her daughter quietly. "It's okay."

Ursa, entranced by what she was hearing from her daughter's voice, leaned in closer to better hear the conversation -

The door slid open.

She almost fell straight onto her face, catching her balance at the last second.

Ursa looked up to see the two of them look horror-struck at her sudden presence, sitting close together on the bottom bunk of a two-bed configuration. Sabine, staring at her with wide eyes, exclaimed, "Mother!"

Bridger, on the other hand, abruptly stood up, banging his head on the top bed's underside. He yelped with pain, clutching at the top of his head.

It was then that Ursa immediately noticed that the young man was shirtless. A medical bandage, presumably applied recently by her daughter, was visible on his upper arm.

A-ha, she thought.

Straightening up quickly, Ursa said, "Hello, Sabine."

"W - what are you doing here?" Sabine sputtered. Her eyes were flitting nervously between her and Bridger.

"Just came to formally introduce myself to your friends," Ursa replied.

Bridger, to his credit, recovered with haste. Standing ramrod straight, a lump on his head, he stuck out his hand. "Hello, Mrs. Wren!" he said in a squeaky voice. "It's a privilege to meet you again."

Ursa stared at the young man, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "Why are you shirtless in my daughter's room?"

She glanced at Sabine. "This is your room, correct? That is what the others told me."

Bridger took a small side-step to position himself between Ursa and her daughter. Despite the situation, a smile threatened to crack through her stern facade. The boy was brave, she had to give him that.

"It is, Mrs. Wren - "

"Countess Wren," she corrected.

"Countess Wren," continued Bridger, his face coloring to an alarming shade of red. "Yes, this is Sabine's room. I was just - uh - we were just - you have to understand, I'm not usually shirtless when I'm alone with Sabine in her - her room."

It was like watching a train wreck. Bridger stumbled through the final words of his statement, his eyes widening with embarrassment as he realized in real time how what was spilling out of his mouth did not help clarify the situation at all.

Amused, Ursa let the silence hang thickly after his words. "Why are you not shirtless in your own room, then?" she asked, her voice whisper soft.

The young Jedi turned to look at Sabine, who had buried her face into her hands. He would not find help there, it was clear.

With a loud gulp, he looked back at Ursa. "This isn't what it, uh, looks like," he said lamely. "I mean, your daughter and I - we're just friends."

"Indeed," observed Ursa. She glanced at Sabine, who still was hiding her face. "Friends who seem comfortable enough to be semi-naked with one another."

"Yes," said Bridger, not picking up on the sarcasm. He looked relieved. "And this isn't even the worst Sabine has seen because one time I fell into a thorn bush and it was all over my legs, so she's seen way more - "

Sabine's face finally snapped up. "Ezra! Please, stop making it worse for yourself and just get out."

The young man froze at her daughter's voice, blinked several times in quick succession, and then quickly acquiesced to her command. Grabbing his shirt, he scampered out.

Leaving Ursa alone with her daughter. Sabine let out an exasperated sigh and laid back onto the bed.

Ursa took in the sight of her daughter's bedroom, drinking in the colorful art displayed all over the walls. "He's certainly a handful," she commented, finally allowing a smile.

Sabine snorted. "I take it that he won't be strangled then?" she asked.

"Not today, no. I was listening outside. I know you were tending to his wounds."

Her daughter peered up at her. "You're not upset? Really?"

Ursa shrugged and sat down next to her. "He's your friend. You care about him. And I'm grateful to him for bringing you back to me."

Sabine sat up and looked at her thoughtfully. "So am I," she said.

"Do you miss him?" Ursa asked suddenly.

Sabine looked away. "Yeah," she admitted. "I miss him. I miss everybody on the Ghost."

Ursa studied her. "You could go back to them," she said quietly. "If you wanted to."

Her daughter's face snapped back to hers, eyes wide. She could see the gears turning behind those eyes, considering. Ursa saw a conflicting array of emotions warring for control in Sabine's expression.

Finally, Sabine shook her head. "Someday, I'll go back," she answered. "But my place is with you. I've been running away for too long."

Ursa reached out and enveloped her daughter into a hug. Sabine froze and then melted into her embrace. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity.

"I should have said this before," whispered Ursa, "but thank you for coming back, cyare. Despite all that has happened between us."

Sabine squeezed her tightly. "We are family, Mother. I will always come when you call."

Ursa smiled and then released Sabine from her grasp to look at her.

My how she's grown into a beautiful young woman, she thought. How much have I missed with my stubborn pride.

Blinking away the tears, Ursa sought to change the subject. "So, you and Bridger. You're really just friends?"

Sabine's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink, but her expression remained neutral. "Yeah. Been that way for a while now."

"I noticed the wound was located on the upper part of his arm."

Her daughter frowned. " Yes. Why?"

Ursa gave Sabine a sly look. "Doesn't seem necessary to remove his whole shirt for that, I would think."

Now her daughter's cheeks were definitely a rosier shade of pink. She cast her eyes down and shrugged. "I was just, uh, being thorough. Ezra's clumsy with medical stuff. I wanted to ensure he didn't miss any other wounds."

"Uh-huh," said Ursa. "Sure."

Sabine looked at her, expression defiant. "What?" she demanded.

Ursa just grinned and ruffled her daughter's hair fondly.

[happy-beeeps]

Day 8: flame

Summary: A quiet moment by the fire gives Din a moment to tell you how he feels :)

WC: 730

Warnings: discussion of death, weirdly emotional sorry guys, sort of hurt comfort

A/N: I’m doing dincember on my own schedule and yall are gonna LIKE IT (jk I actually feel so bad but alas I have 3 jobs and all 3 are in peak season rn love you guys)

Grogu is happily toddling in front of you, arms out to his side, taking small steps forward. He’s worn out from an afternoon of chasing butterflies after one landed on his nose, and you can tell from the scrunched up face he makes that he’s fighting sleep.

“C’mere bug,” you croon, arms outstretched as he toddles towards you. You’re reclined against Din’s chest, his arms wrapped around you as you press snuggly against him. Grogu waddles over into your outstretched hands and leans into them, the three of you seated together at the fire.

“This is… nice.” Is the first sentence Din has said in a long while, accentuating it with a gentle squeeze on your arms.

You respond by pressing your shoulders back into him more, doing your best to crane your neck up to face him. You succeed a little, your eyes catching catching the corner of his helmet and his black under covering. “Yeah, this is nice.”

He doesn’t press it further, instead moving to drag lazy circles along the sides of your arms, eliciting goosebumps even in the cold air.

There’s a few more minutes of quite, contemplative silence, accented by the babbles and murmurs of Grogu as he fights a losing battle against a long overdue sleep. In the quiet, Din speaks up again.

“Flame is a sort of religion in Mandalore.”

You twist in his arms to try and face him. “How so?” It’s rare for him to feel inclined to impart any Mandalorian wisdom on you, and you feel a bit like a child clinging to a bedtime story as he talks.

“Mandalorians are born from the great forge. If you don’t die a warriors death, it’s said you return to the great forge. To be consumed by flame.”

You watch the fire lick the logs he’s placed down, Grogu finally beginning to settle in your arms.

“That seems pretty intense.”

A beat, then, “It is.”

You’re quiet, contemplative in your response. “I don’t think I want you to die a warrior's death.”

“Thank you?” He says, with a throaty chuckle. “I don’t think I’d like it either.”

You smile up at him, tracing an outline on the side of his helmet.

“I just want you to be comforted in it. If that is the way it must be. This is the way.”

“This is the way,” you whisper, quiet. “What brought this up?”

He moves his hand to rub Grogu’s ears, then comes back to rub circles on your arms. “I’ve never had to worry about my clan before. I’ve always been alone. I work a dangerous job, I just… feel like I need to protect you two, keep you safe.”

“And you do a very good job at that.” You recline back into his chest. “But stop being so morbid.”

He laughs, quiet but heavy through his helmet. “I’ll try.”

You two sit like this for a while longer and, at some point, you drift into sleep. It’s a quiet, contemplative, sleep, the light kinda where you swear you can hear things happening around you. The kind is sleep where you don’t know you’re asleep.

Din lets you sleep, watching you and Grogu’s breath rise and fall evenly. The baby has been out for the better part of an hour, and you fell not long after him. It’s so easy to watch the two of you rest, he thinks, and doesn’t move to attempt to kick out the fire. If he can let you two get an extra wink of sleep, then he’s happy to do it.

It’s empty in the clearing you’re in, and he uses this to his advantage to life his helmet just off his mouth. He presses his lips to the side of your forehead, and the last thing you here before drifting into a heavy sleep are his words, soft and precise.

“Sleep well aliit.”

[anonymousewrites]

Clan of Three Christmas Special 2023

Father Figure! Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Teen! Reader

Mouse Note: Happy holidays! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and like this little moment for Mando and Ginger and Grogu

            “What are gifts traditional for apprentices?” asked Mando.

            The Armorer turned from the Forge to face him. “Why do you ask?”

            “It is the anniversary of when I found Grogu and (Y/N). I want to commemorate it,” said Mando simply.

            The Armorer nodded approvingly. “You have a strong bond with your Clan. That is good.” She placed her hammer down and fully focused on Mando. “So, you wish for gifts.”

            “Yes,” said Mando. “I’ve given Grogu chainmail to protect him, and (Y/N) has their remade Ushti dagger. I have not had a Clan of my own or apprentices before, so I don’t know what I should give them next.”

            The Armorer considered carefully. “Grogu is still quite young for more armor. Perhaps a game for him.”

            Mando nodded. “He would enjoy that.” He paused. “Grogu, uh, likes the silver topper of one of the levers from my old ship. It’s a simple sphere, but he’d like that.”

            The Armorer nodded. “Very well. And for (Y/N)?”

            “They have a blaster and dagger, and I don’t feel comfortable arming them more,” said Mando.

            “Their tendency to run into danger worries you,” said the Armorer in amusement.

            Mando sighed. “Yes.”

            “Then how about something to protect them?” suggested the Armorer. “A piece of armor would guard against some injuries.” She looked at the Mythosaur emblem on the wall. It reminded her that Mandalore the Great had chosen (Y/N) to guide. That was significant. “And it is time for them to start obtaining armor. They have more than earned their first piece.”

            Mando brightened but kept calm. “Yes. That would be good. I’d enjoy the honor of giving (Y/N) their first bit of Mandalorian armor.”

            The Armorer turned back to her tools. “What piece shall I craft?”

            “A gauntlet for their wrist or forearm,” said Mando. “To protect their dominant arm while they fight.”

            The Armorer nodded in approval. “This is the Way.”

            “This is the Way,” said Mando.

l

            “You’re supposed to throw it back to me, Grogu,” said (Y/N), hands on their hips as they looked at their brother.

            Grogu babbled happily, still levitating the stone in front of him. (Y/N) rolled their eyes, lifted a hand, and pulled the stone to them. Grogu squawked indignantly.

            “Relax, I’m going to toss it right back,” said (Y/N), flicking their ring and letting the rock float back to Grogu, who smiled widely upon getting to levitate it again. (Y/N) grinned but rolled their eyes. “I need practice, too.”

            “You’re supposed to be resting after our last mission,” said Mando, walking up behind them and crossing his arms.

            Grogu let the rock drop, and (Y/N) turned around without any embarrassment or guilt.

            They shrugged. “I feel fine.”

            “The last time you said that, you slept for an entire day when I finally got you to rest,” said Mando.

            “That was one time, Buir,” said (Y/N).

            “Ad’ika, we both know it was more than that,” said Mando.

            “Okay, fine, maybe it was,” said (Y/N). “Sorry.”

            “You’re not, but I’m going to accept your apology because I’m going to make you rest,” said Mando.

            “Whatever you say,” said (Y/N). They noticed the little parcels he was carrying. “What’re those?”

            Mando suddenly shifted, getting shyer. He still wasn’t used to being so soft, even if it was with his kids. And he wanted to do this right since it was an important moment.

            “They’re gifts. For you and Grogu,” said Mando. “It’s the day that I found you two first.”

            Grogu and (Y/N) were both silent.

            “Is this alright?” asked Mando.

            “You actually…You remember those things?” said (Y/N).

            “Of course. You’re the most important parts of my life,” said Mando.

            (Y/N) moved forward and hugged him tightly, and Grogu chirped and jumped up to hug him. Mando was surprised and balanced the presents before hugging them back.

            “Thank you,” said (Y/N), and Grogu babbled in agreement.

            “You haven’t even seen what I got you,” said Mando.

            “Yeah, but you care about that. What you got us doesn’t matter,” said (Y/N).

            Mando smiled beneath his helmet. “Thank you, Ad’ika.”

            (Y/N) shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I don’t still want the gift, though.”

            “I know,” said Mando with a light laugh. He held up the presents. “This one is yours, and this one is Grogu’s.”

            Before Mando could even hand them over, the parcels levitated and flew to their recipients as the force moved for them. Grogu eagerly opened his first and babbled with a grin as he held up the silver ball.

            (Y/N) smiled. “He’ll be levitating and throwing that around the whole ship.”

            Mando sighed. “I know, but it makes him happy.”

            (Y/N) opened theirs then, and their eyes widened as they lifted up the beskar gauntlet. “Is this Mandalorian armor?”

            “You’re a Mandalorian,” said Mando simply. “And you’ve risked your life for us so many times that you have earned it, Ad’ika.”

            (Y/N) grinned, closed the gauntlet around their forearm, and hugged Mando again. “Thank you so much, Buir.” They were a Mandalorian. More than that though, they were Mando’s child. And that’s what meant the most.

            “Of course, Ad’ika,” said Mando, holding them close. He had his kids. That was all he needed.

Taglist:

@im-making-an-effort

@gr33n-d00dles

@alexpangender

@painstakingly-juno

@treehouse-mouse

@theurbannoodle

@pedropascalsidechick

@dmitrytherat

@dilfsaremyfavourite

[aurora-starwars]

Maybe strange request? Anakin x fem Padawan reader (platonic/familiar) who discovered a way to manipulate and control plants with the force .

I'm So Proud Of You That It Makes Me Proud Of Me

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x fem!Padawan!reader (platonic)

Summary: When reader figures out how to manipulate plants with the force, Anakin is beyond proud

Word Count: 0.5k

Warnings: none, just fluff <3333

A/n: Thank you so much for requesting! I hope this lives up to your expectations! Enjoy!

Masterlist

“Look! Look! Master!” [Name] shouted with a smile.

Anakin Skywalker had been sent on a mission with his padawan, [Name] [Last Name], to retrieve intel on the separatist droid army on a planet not far from the Mandalore system. Today marked day two of the stake-out, and himself, his padawan, and the 501st, were all more than willing to get used to the flora and fauna of the planet. The planet was naturally beautiful, and seeing as there seemed to be little to no signs of the droid army, he let his padawan run off and practice.

Anakin looked over to her with a smile at the ready, already planning to say “That’s great, young one”, sure that whatever move she had just perfected was great. But as he looked over, his smiled dropped.

Anakin always knew his padawan was talented and skilled with the force, otherwise the counsel would have never assigned [Name] to him. But as he watched the scene play out in front of him, he was beyond impressed.

[Name] had some how managed to what appears to be manipulating the plant in front of her with the force.

It was one thing to move and control the movement of objects and life around you, it was another to seemingly make a plant react in very organic ways with means of force manipulation. Anakin knew this. He knew that the force could help suggest things, but manipulation of plants! That was completely unheard of.

Anakin’s jaw was on the floor as he watched his padawan coax a night flower into opening during the day. Then he watched as [Name] moved roots from the ground and slither up to his foot before tying itself around his ankle.

[Name] couldn’t help but laugh as she made the roots pull away, causing Anakin to fall to the floor.

Anakin, who would usually be annoyed at this, couldn’t help but laugh as well. But not about how he fell, it was a shocked kind of laugh about the fact that he just witnessed his student do the impossible.

To say he was proud was an understatement.

“[Name], this-this is amazing! How did you do that?” The proud look on his face wouldn’t be wiped off for the next week.

“I don’t know, I just tried to feel the plants like you would when using the force with animals, and boom!” [Name] beamed, not even believing it herself.

“Boom is right! You know, I don’t think I tell you this enough but you are really skilled with the force.” Anakin smiled as he thought back to the skill [Name] had continuously demonstrated throughout her years as a padawan.

“You think I’m good?”

“More than good! I think, with a few years of good practice, you might just be the best!” Anakin beamed, his smile reflecting his padawan’s.

“Better than Mace Windu even.” Anakin added, smirking but keeping his voice low, as if he would appear at the mention of his name.

[Name] giggled at his comment. Anakin smiling to himself before finishing:

“You know, I am proud that you are my padawan.”

A/n: Again, a little short but I hope enjoyed it! Thank you for reading and please feel free to request, and if you do please check out the request guidelines!

Master-list

[gffa]

I was wondering if you could share your thoughts and feelings on Felonys takes over the years overall? I know a lot of people see him as this grand savior of star wars without much more to it so I wanted to hear your take on how he handles the pre-established world he writes for and the dissonance with what George Lucas established/said before

Honestly, I think a lot of Felony's appeal is that he writes a very polished story and that's appealing to audiences (no shade, I'm part of that audience!) and that he has at least given some thought to what the Force means. There are a lot of takes he has that I agree with, I still quote what he says about the characters at times, but I think he has a big central problem and that's characterization drift-slash-the inability to let go. Well, two big central problems: He also can't write/finish a narrative arc to a satisfying conclusion. I have such a hard time getting into the Mandalorian storyline because it's been told in snippets for like 10+ years now and it's never really coherently come together, it still has huge gaps in it, it doesn't have a strong narrative central theme that he sticks to, but instead told through cameos and mini-arcs in separate shows. And when you examine a lot of his work, it often doesn't hold up to scrutiny because I'm not sure he has a solid thematic throughline that's driving him--like, some of the choices he made in season 7 of TCW are baffling--Ahsoka walks right by people who need her help, then says, "In my life, when someone needs help, I help them."??? When she wants the Jedi to help Mandalore instead of Coruscant, she says the Jedi aren't helping the people who really need them, despite that Coruscant is under attack and that's where Trace and Rafa are, the characters we just spent an entire arc on?? Ahsoka and Bo-Katan want the Republic to literally invade Mandalore, this is brought up in the arc itself, and then never mentioned again because it's inconvenient and the author doesn't want to deal with the established worldbuilding?? I also don't think he knows how to end a story, like I love Ahsoka as a character, but he very much does favor her and a lot of her appearances are starting to feel like she's only there because Filoni can't resist. She just never ends, there's no conclusion to her, what's even her character arc over the course of her life after the Jedi genocide? She's obviously dealing with trauma about it and now she's looking for Ezra to find him again, but what's the character arc on a personal level? Is she still dealing with letting go of Anakin, ~30 years after it happened? Did she not put that to rest in Rebels finally? @david-talks-sw has a great post about the differences between George Lucas and Dave Filoni here, illustrating that I do think Dave misses some really key points about characters that he has personal biases against. And, you know, I'm not getting after him for that, I disagree with him and I think he's wrong about a lot of stuff that Lucas directly established, but I also think a lot of people dismiss criticism of him because, oh, he worked with George and therefore he's an extension of George! No, he's a different writer with his own strengths and weaknesses, one I think who makes very popular (often for a reason) Star Wars, but I think misses the heart a lot of times. But I also often think of that he doesn't try to see himself as the grand lord of Star Wars, either, even he himself says:

He's not the ultimate authority on Star Wars, he's just as fallible as anyone else is, and always should be. I think he made Star Wars shows that a lot of people loved, he has a very polished style, and he has given thought to the characters he loves. He just also has biases and directly conflicts with George Lucas' established story and I think that's fair to point out. Maybe you like those better, I'm not trying to talk anyone out of that, but it's still fair game for me to point out that I think he's wrong about Star Wars just as often as he's right. (And that, as time goes on and The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett became more and more of a hot mess, I grew less charitable. This is a major overview, I don't want to get too into the weeds on this, I've gone over a lot it in past meta, and it would be exhausting to dig it all up again, but basically this is why I'm on the fence about Felony. He has a lot of weaknesses as a writer and I don't find I like his strengths more than I dislike his weaknesses sometimes.)

[reluctant-mandalore]

I'm not sorry, but Din being reluctant to take up such great responsibility and learning how he can actually make such a good leader (and having it conflict with his desire to raise Grogu) is a far more interesting story than Bo-Katan trying to reunite mandalore AGAIN. We've literally been through this already. This does such a disservice to both of them as characters. Din is losing so much of the character development we have gotten for him so far, and Bo-Katan is barely gaining any by following down the same storyline she's already gotten before.

There is so much wasted potential for both of them by this season so far. It's actually so disheartening.