#my mando stuff

[holmes-ja]

Combining the full body helm and ear protectors produces a Grogu that is not only yeetable, but can be used as a blunt weapon

[singsofecho]

echo as a Mando from a self-indulgent au <3

[valar-did-me-wrong]

I love you Gil-galad writers but I am craving for an OC smut that is not his betrothed & I can't seem to find any 👀

(please help)

I need that huge ass man to get down & dirty with a random person.. no marital bond, no royal status (no immortality? even better!!) just absolute debauchery!

I think he deserves some dirty dirty fun & we deserve to read him having it 🙊👀🫶🏽

[marstrait]

force user x mandalorian is the superior trope.

[flyawaybluebirdie]

Finally taking advantage of some downtime to get around to watching the mandalorian, and can I just say, I am HERE for din and his absolutely hilarious vibe that oscillates wildly between "tooka caught in headlights" and "every bit of scum from here to the outer rim's most favourite punching bag" at any given moment.

Inspired by this absolutely iconic shot of boba that I thought suited din FAR too well to simply pass up:

[pilot-boi]

Sometimes the kiddo has nightmares. Luckily his family is there to help out

Commission for @freshmiraclecheesecake! They wanted more Mando AU, so here we are :]

[Buy Me A Ko-Fi]

[angelcqre]

Mando!141 AU HCs Before I Start Writing

> crossposted from @charliemwrites ‘ lovely server

Soap is your typical mando. Fully customized kit, wanton usage of explosives, constantly cursing up a storm. Frequently on fire. His kit has been modified to allow for more motion with a flex breastplate and braces on the vambraces to allow for him to elbow a bitch. Armor colors are orange and green - a lust for life and duty. His beskar is inherited from a long line of ancestors, and he takes exceptionally good care of it. Concord Dawn prior to glassing.

Gaz is a bit more 'passing' as non-mando. Wears the breastplate, gauntlets, boots, typically tends to have his bucket off but whether that's because he can win more people over with his smile than his blaster is his own little secret. Coruscanti accent, quick with his blaster but can also wield vibroblades pretty adequately. BIG on the jetpacks. blue and green armor - reliability and duty. Got his kit from his great uncle when he retired and Gaz was, like, 14.

Ghost doesn't take his bucket off. Ever. At some point manages to get the darksaber - does not hold on to it. Dry, pops jokes every so often but otherwise kind of looms, speaks almost entirely in mando'a to his vod and it sounds real intimidating but if u understand what he's saying it's just like. the fucking tank joke. black and white armor - justice and fresh starts to commemorate his new life serving as a bounty hunter maybe? Full kit akin to ARC troopers in the clone wars with a big dark cloak thrown over top because he's dramatic. Has cobbled together the beskar over the years, didn't start out with a full kit but quickly earned it beating the shit out of scumbag mandos.

Price tends to have his bucket off about as much as he has it on - 50/50 split, mostly because it's easier to pretend he's not exasperated when he has his bucket on and his vocoder going. Green, light green and brown - duty, a desire for peace, and valor. Earned his beskar piece by piece. Directs his vod in mando'a because not a lot of people speak it which gives them a tactical advantage, but won't do it when they're not in the field like Soap or Ghost will because he considers it kind of rude.

[greenestkite]

I would love to know more about Jedi Mandalorian Culture Exchange!! the premise is SO good

HII ITS BEEN A WHILE!!! BUT HERE IS STUFF!!

((lore below the break bc theres a whole lot of it))

Big Overarching Worldbuilding Stuff

No Dral’han/Mandalorian Excision

^ Tensions between Mandos and Jedi are less intense thouh still prelevant,

Jango doesn’t clone himself, so Cody, Rex & any other clones i add, are either jango’s kids, arla’s kids or various other cousins and relations

Cody & Obi-Wan are around 17-18 i think?

Moderate amounts of Dai Bendu and Mando’a bc im enthralled by the con langs

PLOT STUFF

Its gonna have two parts, the first for when the mandalorians are at the temple, and the second is when the jedi are on mandalore

the format of each part is gonna have two main segments, day-to-day life, and a mission/adventure of some sort

PART 1: In the Jedi Temple (vague notes)

cody going with obi-wan to classes

helping teach younger padawan and initiate classes

sparring & learning shii-cho/other lightsaber forms

going to the archives

visiting little keldabe/ coruscant (possibly running into Satine?)

sneaking out to,,, a club??? or somewhere they probably shouldnt be

Part 1: On a Jedi Mission

Obi-Wan and cody are separated from qui-gon (bc of course they are)

Cody has a utility belt with like,,, anything you could possibly need (bacta, rations, a game) ((Obi-Wan plans to invest in a similar belt situation as soon as theyre back on coruscant))

Part 2: On Mandalore

visiting the markets

Clan vizsla causing shenanigans (they didn't want the exchange to happen) ((Death Watch is not quite so much of a thing, and what is present is entire divorced from clan vizsla in the public eye)) (((they have plans to take over at some point but its going slowly bc Jaster is very competent)))

Obi-Wan gives advice about deal with the republic and political double speak, and learns a scary amount about Aggressive Negotiations

SNIPPET (hanging out in the room of a thousand fountains)

“So,” Cody asked, “Is this all you do? Go to classes, teach the ikaade how to float things, and sneak out?”

Obi-Wan, who was laying back in the grass, snorted, “This past month has never happened to me before. Usually I’d have maybe a week between missions.”

“A week? That’s it?” Cody tried to imagine that—only a week of downtime—but couldn’t. “How does your council let that happen? And your jaieh?”

“Qui-Gon is the reason we’re sent out so often. He’s one of the best negotiators in hostile political situations. He’d certainly prefer more downtime, mostly for my sake, but there’s no feasible way for that to happen in the current climate of the Republic. The Senate claims his skills are in too high of a demand.”

Cody tried to breath through the outrage on Obi-Wan’s behalf—and the other Jedi. “And if you’re injured?” It came out sharper than intended.

“Well of course if one of us is injured we have enough time to recover," Obi-Wan said, "But I’m not in the habit of calling time in the Halls of Healing ‘downtime.’”

Cody settled himself back against the tree. “Fair enough,” he said as he watched Obi-Wan for a minute. The Jedi had relaxed and closed his eyes. His auburn hair was spread out in a halo, with various twigs and greenery stuck from the hours they had spent sneaking through the bushes playing hide and seek with the Krayt clan initiates.

Obi-Wan looked over, “Cody?”

Cody had definitely been staring longer than generally considered appropriate. “Fuck the Senate,” Cody finally said, after another pause.

Obi-Wan’s face spasmed in the I’m trying to not smile because I don’t think it’s allowed way he often did, “I couldn't agree more, Cody.”

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

The Many Names of Peace (pt.2/?): Compassion

Inspired by Why We Did Nothing by BairnSidhe

Part I | Part II

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Genocide (discussed). The Dral'han/Excision is mentioned and spoken about for a few paragraphs.

Child murder (discussed). Padawan hunting is haunts the narrative, and one of the victims was the main character's brother.

Corpse desecration (mentioned). Padawan braids and beads are found in Mandalorian art and stolen Lightsabers are carried on belts.

Missing children (discussed). A Master and a very young Padawan have disappeared in a high risk field post.

"But… still" Terith swallows hard, shaking their head. They don't like it, but they understand where the Jetiise of that time were coming from. But the present… "The Dral'han was a time long ago, and you offer much to nearly everyone else. Yet you never reach that benevolent hand toward Mandalore. You've never even tried to repair what they destroyed." 

Terith has seen Manda'yaim. They know how much damage the Dral'han did to the planet. They know many people died, they know entire Clans were wiped out from existance. Sometimes, they wonder how many of the dead had nobody left to say the Remembrances for them.

The Jetiise did nothing. Even if Terith can understand why, it doesn't absolve them. A genocide, the blood of a people, is on their hands.

"We will." Zahara responds, with the easy confidence that comes from faith in her people, from the knowledge of what they have done to help everybody, even those who hurt them.

"That claim has been unfounded so far, Jetii" Terith shoots back, not as angry as before but still furious over the lack of action from those who are supposed to be the guardians of peace and justice. "Despite every petition for aid and reconciliation, despite Mand'alor after Mand'alor swallowing their pride for the sake of their people. Of course people call you heartless, why shouldn't they, when you show no sign of that compassion you claim to uphold? I bet you don't even consider Mandalore beyond History lessons on the barbarians from the Outer Rim."

Zahara can't help it. She chuckles. The Mandalorian doesn't know, cannot imagine how wrong they are. But this time it's only ignorance, and ignorance can be fixed.

Delahm, kyii leo’yth.

"It's actually a favorite assignment for young Jedi Service Corps members" the kage Jedi says wryly. "How to save you, when you exist so close to destruction every day. It's used to teach problem solving, since there are a million ways to do it. I'm not a Service Corps member so I'll admit my knowledge is limited, but according to my… friends, the Corps have been collecting the best ideas for… over seven hundred and sixty years, actually."

Under their buy'ce, Terith's jaw drops. They try to speak, but it only comes out as a wordless sound of disbelief.

"We don't just consider your suffering, we have plans to end it, and we will." Zahara adds, seeing as the Mandalorian is too surprised and confused to interrupt her. Then she shrugs, there are more decisions involved than she has power over —the Senate will have the final say. "One day. Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe?!" Terith demands. "You Jetiise get some sort of sick pleasure of having the keys to saving my people and do nothing to help us out, all for some grudge against long dead Mando'ade?!"

"Who said 'long dead'?!" Zahara snarls, feeling the familiar sharp cold of fury curling in her stomach, her mind conjuring the memory of a light snuffed out, and a familiar braid hanging from a different set of armor.

The Mandalorian's fury swirls in the Force, and it takes all of Zahara's willpower to ignore it. Her mental shields will be metaphorical splinters at this rate. She grits her teeth and slowly breathes in and out.

Kai’an. Soo’yth, kyii kai’an. Bexlyth, kyii maijah.

"If we stood by once because our lives and memories are long, yes, it was petty, cruel and beneath us" Zahara agrees easily. It was wrong and, even if she understands their reaction emotionally, the Shadow will make no attempt to justify it. Unfortunately, there is the milodon in the room yet to adress, and it seems like Terith will not get it until she spells it out for them. "But is pettiness, is it cruelty, to protect our people now? From very real and current threats?

"We will give you the plans, we will give you our aid, we will grant you our forgiveness and friendship" Zahara places her right hand over her heart, in the kage gesture of oath taking. "We will give you everything… when the hunts, murders and desecrations stop."

"Wait. Wait. What do you mean when they stop?!" Terith questions, fighting against rising horror. "The Jetii hunts happened centuries ago…!"

"Two of my Siblings are dead at Mandalorian hands" Zahara cuts them off. Fire burns in her eyes as she remembers the desecrations she's seen, the braids and beads decorating tapestries, the Lightsabers hanging from unworthy belts. She understands ignorance, but she will not let this armored aristocrat dictate a rewrite her of people's tragedy. The kage Jedi will not allow Terith to look away from what their people have done. "The most recent Mandalorian murders of Jedi were mere months ago."

The Jetii steps foward, and Terith takes a step back. The most recent. Two vod dead at the hands of Mando'ade. She makes no more attempts to approach them, but Terith isn't fooled. They know the rumors of Jetiise being able to kill people with their minds. Even without armor, even without weapons —although they doubt she doesn't carry a kad'au, since all Jetiise seem to—, even tied up and blindfolded, the near-human Jetii is one of, if not the, most dangerous being in the area.

"You only draw breath because I don't see braids or beads decorating your armor" Zahara says slowly, wanting to make sure the message sinks in. "Thus I'm going to assume you've killed no younglings of my people, at least recently. As a show of kindness and goodwill. Like I've said before, Jedi are merciful."

There's an explosion close by. The building shakes, and Zahara pulls herself out of her memories. She's not here to get justice that borders on revenge —if it isn't outright—, she's here to find the missing Jaieh-Padawan pair that got caught in the crossfire of her homeplanet's war.

"If you, or any with you, have harmed the Knight or, Force forbid, the missing youngling I'm trying to find" she whispers, so low Terith's buy'ce almost doesn't pick it up, "I'm going to, without a care for the Code against murder and revenge and the Republic restrictions on my people, tear you apart limb from limb."

"Wait. Wait. There's an adiika in this mess?!" Terith exclaims in alarm. "What happened?!"

Zahara sighs, feeling all the anger leave her as quickly as it came. The unexpected reaction from the Mandalorian has knocked all the fight out of her. So, she falls back on the same base all Jedi rely on: the sharing of knowledge.

"A long story involving a Master taking in a youngling older than usual despite the Republic's restrictions, which started a chain reaction of massive proportions" Zahara doesn't say what the massive proportions are. One would need to be a Jedi and have all the details, otherwise they'd find it ridiculous. She's a Jedi and knows the details and still finds it ridiculous. "Said chain reaction led to the Master getting killed in the middle of a war and his grieving Padawan being Knighted in a rush in order to raise and train the youngling."

Terith's heart goes out for the adiika and their cabur. Poor Jet'verd, promoted too soon after the death of their mentor and having to take care of a grieving and lost ad.

"Somehow, this led to the Jaieh-Padawan pair being sent to mediate a corporate dispute on this kriffing planet in the middle of a war, which is not a training post, it's a high risk field post" the Jetii goes on, and her worry for the missing adiika is genuine. "Particularly because of its proximity to space marked as Knight and Master only, because our Padawans, our younglings, don't come back."

"You mean Mandalorian space" Terith says, and there's something in their voice. Not acceptance or understanding, but… resignation. A willingness not to question the Jedi's experiences.

"Yeah" Zahara agrees, "I do."

(Notes under the cut)

Dai Bendu

Delahm, kyii leo’yth — ignorance, yet knowledge

Kai'an — inner balance, inner peace

Soo’yth, kyii kai’an — emotion, yet peace

Bexlyth, kyii maijah — passion, yet serenity

Mando'a

Jetiise — Jedi (plural)

Jetii — Jedi (singular)

Manda'yaim — lit. "Home of the Mandalorian soul", planet Mandalore

Buy'ce — helmet

Mando'ade — Mandalorians. Lit "children of Mandalore"

Kad'au — Lightsaber

Adiika — child, kid, someone under thirteen.

Cabur — guardian, person who's taking care of a child but isn't their parent.

Dral'han is the orbital bombardment of Mandalore, done by the Republic in roughly 800BBY. As Terith says, entire Clans were wiped out from existance. They understand why the Jedi didn't do anything (in fact, they're self-aware enough to know they'd do worse), but they're still angry, rightfully so. Zahara knows it too, makes no attempt to justify it, and explains that most Jedi know it was fucked up and are making plans for reparations.

Terith: *says Mandalorians have attempted reconciliation, that the Mandalorians who kill Jedi Padawans are all dead and that Jedi don't consider the Mandalorians' plight* Zahara: Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong.

Zahara means her enishee and Padawan-sibling. She stumbles over the words because there is no good translation in Basic.

"Over seven hundred and sixty years" AKA since the Dral'han.

Milodons are huge, insect-like animals native to Quarzite, the kages' home planet. Kage Warriors often use them as mounts. And, because kage memory is Like That, Zahara has fond memories of riding a milodon as a toddler. Like most other Jedi, Zahara is very close to the culture she was born in and has incorporated many Kage Warrior traditions into her life (now I'll have brain-rot about this fictional culture we know literally nothing about in order to flesh out Zahara more, yay!).

The right hand over the heart (left side of the chest for kages, humans and kiffars, varies in other species) is the kage gesture of oath taking. However, it's also a Mandalorian salute. Terith is a bit confused, but easily and correctly guesses it's a gesture of oath taking, but incorrectly assumes it's a Jedi one.

"We will help you once we are sure you won't murder our children" is not exactly an unreasonable demand. Unfortunately, many Mandalorians don't know it's still happening because bigots and Jedi hunters have learned to hide their…hobbies. So, to them, it looks like the Jedi still hold a grudge for something that happened (under their point of view, remember different species have widely different lifespans and memories) a long time ago. It's common in fanfiction to depict Mandalorians as diverse, but in the many canonical sources I've checked (Disney and Legends), while there has been alien ancestry mentioned (which isn't a feat considering the size of the galaxy), those considered Mandalorians are nearly always human. It's weird. So I've decided that there are multiple species among Mandalorians, but most of them are near-humans (trogutas, zabraks, twi'leks, kiffars, kages, etc), not netis, kel dors or whatever species Yoda is, so they don't have members of long-lived species that lived through the Excision or the New Sith Wars, unlike the Jedi who do have first hand accounts.

"Two of my Siblings are dead at Mandalorian hands" Drovan her crechemate is the first "sibling" of Zahara's killed by Mandalorians. The other (who hasn't come up yet) is Feemor. Feemor was registered as a Watchman and a Finder, although he was actually a Shadow, and adored kids. His death kickstarts a chain reaction of events of epic, galactic-wide proportions, so any details will be spoilers (Zahara says siblings because there is no good word in Basic to describe Jedi relationships She once claimed Basic sucks as a teenager and hasn't backed down since)

For the record, I'd like to state the Battle of Galindraan has already happened here. I want to state that, despite common fandom misconception, the Mandalorians shot first. While the Jedi had their Lightsabers drawn (perfectly reasonable considering the Mandalorians are enemies nearly as ancient as the Sith), they were a fair distance away and couldn't attack unless they were reflecting blaster shots ie. self defense.

"Armored aristocrat". This misunderstanding is a result of a cultural miscommunication. In the past (when Tarre Vizla was alive and Jedi-Mandalorian relationships were "enemy of my enemy" rather than complete animosity), only those born in important Houses (Vizla, Wren and Kryze) could afford a full beskar armor (those Houses have a few hundred people each). Beskar is, after all, rare and expensive. This is why Zahara assumes Terith is from a noble House, which in her mind translates to "aristocratic bastard". However, the gorane decided, at some point when the Houses' influence had dimmed, to dilute and alloy beskar with other more common and less expensive metals, both to make their jobs easier and to give more people armor. This, paired with the recent trend of passing down armor through families, most Mandalorians have their own beskar'gam instead of just the kar'ta (heart of the armor, where the sigil representing Clan and faction is).

To add to the above point, choosing to make Wren and Vizla important Houses was because, in TCW, it's mentioned that most people want Satine as a ruler and are in favor of, at least, most of her policies and reforms, but the warrior elite hates her guts (which implies most Mandalorians aren't actually warriors, unlike what fanon seems to believe, only the elite can be warriors).

Said warrior elite founded Death Watch to commit terrorism and scare the people enough that they'd accept them ruling with an iron fist. Death Watch members are basically privileged nobles and aristocrats throwing a temper tantrum because they can't get away with being assholes anymore.

The mission to Quarzite was supposed to be simple and easy enough for a young Knight and their very young Padawan. But the Senate is careless with Jedi lives, and sends them on missions understaffed or with faulty intel every other time. A missing Padawan, particularly a Padawan as young as the one missing, is cause for alarm. Hence why Zahara was pulled from the investigation of Feemor's murder and sent to find the missing Knight and Padawan. The Council isn't very optimistic, but they want to have corpses to burn, Lightsabers and kybers to honor them and some consolation of knowing what happened to them.

In case it wasn't clear, the Knight and Padawan that went missing in the middle of a warzone are Obi-Wan and Anakin. Because of course they are, it's Obi-Wan and Anakin we're talking about.

The war Zahara mentions is the one between kages and belugans. The belugans have been subjugating the kages for centuries, and the kages fighting back caused the start of a war. Anakin and Obi-Wan were supposed to negotiate a standard and boring corporate dispute between two belugan corporations. However, Anakin is beginning to learn bad behaviors (mainly from Palpatine) and decided to do something stupidly reckless.

"Somehow". Indeed, the Jedi have no fucking idea of how all those events even fit together. Then they realize Obi-Wan and Anakin are members of Yoda's line and go "yeah that makes sense." Feemor is the only sane one in that crazy lineage, and he's a fucking Shadow that busts slave rings in his downtime!

[darlin-djarin]

the mando fandom is so dead it's genuinely saddening to see. season 3 really got us all turned off. i barely see any mando content on my dash anymore, and that's like- the whole reason why i started the blog in the first place. honestly depressing and disturbing

[holmes-ja]

I give you...the Mermandalorian.

[splashtail]

I'm on my way to Miami and evacuating the hurricane. but im begging you guys to have my family and my coworkers in your best wishes right now

[eri-pl]

Silm Advent Calendar 3: the Wise

"This I cannot tell thee."

Why? Finrod shouldn't have asked, but here — where thinking and asking were the same — he could not help it. He'd lost so many friends, Mannish friends (mostly not even at his own fault, surprisingly) and all what Andreth had told him was so comforting, it fit so well, it did feel like truth, and yet, to have a clear answer, even a small bit of it—

"Tis not a knowledge meant for the Eldar," said Lord Námo.

But why? Because it did not concern them? And yet it did. There was more time until it would matter, but it would. He knew so little. They all knew so little, despite the tomes of philosophy that had been written during the Long Peace, despite having learned from the Valar, despite calling themselves "the Wise" they knew so very little about anything that would matter in the end.

Even on the small scale… Lord Námo had told him that Beren survived. But what about his quest?

"Their quest. They shall go together from now on."

But L��thien— childish, laughing, precious Lúthien, who had danced in the forest, and tumbled down the hills! Will she— Can she— How terrible shall it be?

"Thou asketh many questions. But this one I can answer. They shall win the Silmaril, and Elu Thingol shall receive his price and his doom."

Doom. So the sons of Feanor would slay them all in the end? Finrod's brave friend, his sweet cousin—an impossible victory only to perish because of it?

"See, this is the trouble with giving you answers. They only lead to more questions. Not by the sons of Feanor shall they perish, but perish they shall indeed. And what comes after—this I do not know." There was a hint of satisfaction in Lord Námo's words.

Finrod should feel sorry for having so many questions, or at least uneasy for frustrating a Vala. And yet, he could not help but pity the poor, sweet Lúthien, who often used to say so many words with so little thought, and yet it would not be true to call her less wise than any of the Noldor. It was simply a different kind of wisdom. Loving every flower, wishing to catch a star and wear it—

The wave of Lord Námo's attention—his thoughts touching Finrod's in common wonder—was bright, but not painful. Everything was silent—a silence of minds pondering half-understood premonitions that can't be yet put to words.

A memory of Lúthien wishing to see world's most beautiful treasure, to catch a star and wear it as a trinket—And she would.

Time passed in strange currents unlike in the lands of the living, and on the edges of Finrod's attention, tapestries grew.

Lúthien wishing to have a love as great as her parent's but somehow greater, a love that songs would be sang about—And she had.

The tapestries became tangled and strange.

No, not tangled. Interwoven with others, and pins of silver and gold kept from unraveling the loops that waited to connect to events yet unwoven.

Lúthien wishing to find something beyond what even her mother could deram of—

Unsaid, half-understood like a Mannish dream and yet more like a waking world seen from within a dream—

Finrod wished that he had eyes so that they could be wet with tears. He wished that his voice could tremble and he would say that (after he had this moment now, after he'd seen Lord Námo (surprised?) listening to him—to him!) he would not question why Men are given (fragments, shadows, tangled threads of) an answer and the Elves nothing.

There was beauty in that, even if lined with sadness.

But he was dead and there was no voice to break, no eyes to tear up. All his thoughts were bare, and many of them did not make him as wise as names would have it.

"Still, you are much less of a fool than most of the wise. But I must go now." Lord Námo did not have Finrod's limitations, and his voice—mind or not—trembled. "She is here, seeking to say farewells to her love."

[andysgallerys]

Some stuff....

[singsofecho]

Having trouble adapting to new tablet, you're getting sketchbook page and sticky notes

[corellianhounds]

The Concept of Names

Media: The Mandalorian

Word Count: 1.1k

Rating: Gen.

Warnings: None

Summary: Titles and the history of nicknames are always interesting things. What somebody calls themself is as indicative of their character as what they call other people. Names are important not just for when they’re used, but who they’re used around.

Mando rarely uses given names. They’re simply omitted when speaking to someone directly unless it’s necessary to get their attention or introduce them to others. It’s a holdover from every covert he’s been a part of. For a group of nomads who are threatened every day with death for a stranger’s want of their armor, their names and faces are kept secret in order to keep outsiders from identifying them, matching their identities to the group and risking their lives as well. The Way of the Mandalor has become a guarded culture, proud but closed to outsiders. Names are kept safe, spoken in secret and in the safety of their own numbers. Their secrecy is their survival.

People are addressed by title or rank more often than not, as much out of respect as it is for giving context as to why one is addressing another. The Armorer is addressed as Smith, Alor, Matriarch: are you in her forge to discuss armor, ordnance, or clan name? ‘Armory’ describes weapons as much as it does heraldry, therefore she is Armorer or Smith or Forgemaster. The latter is especially applicable when you are her student and apprentice.

Are you there with questions of culture or religion? The term for leader is spoken in Mando’a for a reason.

Matriarch is for when you have problems of a personal kind. She is a civil leader, not just a religious one. She may be the oldest, or she may be the member of the covert who has been there the longest and therefore knows the history and dynamics of the group the best. She may be the most experienced. The key to being a good leader is knowing how best to utilize other people’s skills, and it pays to know who is in conflict with who. The bounty hunter and the infantryman have butted heads ever since they were children having to share the same living space and attention of the adults: there is a saying that goes “My brother and I are against each other, but against the outsider we are united,” and it has never rung as true as when it is applied to them. She knows the ways they fight against each other, and she knows how they will fight when side by side, therefore it is up to her to determine what duties are given to each. Matriarch is what she hears from family members of both blood and bond.

Karga’s surname acts as his title the same way Vizsla’s acts as his. Karga and Mando are on civil terms, but they had a business relationship first, and the habit stuck once they became enemies, then allies, then friends. Mando’s past with Vizsla is much the same, though theirs has been less a linear progression of change and more a mix of all three, depending on the day.

IG-11 was IG unit and droid for the longest time, both spoken with derision. IG is the closest thing to a name Mando could call him, and though it is the colloquial for all units bearing the same designation, he says it the same way every Mandalorian is shortened to Mando.

Cara is more of a friend than he’s had in a long time, and she told him once that her fellow soldiers were the ones to address her by rank and surname, and though they’ve fought side by side and she’s dragged him from the line of fire more than once, she insists on her first name to him, shortened. Mando complies.

Peli and Kuill, Omera and Winta, those who felt they had nothing to hide from him gave him their first names, and Din uses them only when necessary. That same holdover habit of keeping people safe— He doesn’t know who those names are safe to be spoken around, and he won’t compromise their safety on accident.

Fennec has plenty she keeps hidden from him, but she keeps plenty hidden from everybody— He’s not special. Fennec Shand made a name for herself though, and there’s a reason he knew it even before they crossed paths.

Toro Calican introduced himself by full name, proud and bold. He said when he became a bounty hunter he was making a name for himself. When Mando discovers it’s not the one his family gave him, he continues to use the one Calican gave when they first met regardless. There are any number of reasons a man will distance himself from his family name, and Mando’s not in the business of asking why.

There are any number of reasons a man will adhere to his family name too. Mando didn’t know of Boba Fett before their paths crossed for the first time, but to see it embedded in the Fallen Mandalorian armor he’d carried across desert and stars alike was proof enough for Mando to relinquish it. Mandalorians come from all different backgrounds, and it’s one’s character that defines them more than any claim to an ancestor’s title. Fett proved himself more than capable and willing to aid Mando in his fight against the Imperials, proving once again that even quarreling Mandalorians can be united against outsiders. Of anybody he’s encountered staking a claim to Mandalorian armor, Fett was by far the most honest and straightforward when dealing his terms to Din.

“I’m a simple man making my way through the galaxy,” Fett had said. “Like my father before me.”

Bo-Katan may consider herself a Mandalorian by heritage, but Mando feels no need to pay respect to her lineage based on the deceitful and scathing shadow she casts from it. What’s a princess without land or people? What’s a Mandalorian without honor?

Cobb Vanth is The Marshal, a title he respects because that is what those in town call Vanth and he’s never heard contempt behind it from them. The Governor of Calodan is likewise called Governor, and in the universe where the Mandalorian speaks to Ahsoka he addresses her as Jedi, until her insistence that she is one no longer has him change it to Swordmaster.

In the universe where he speaks to Luke, Luke doesn’t mind being called Jedi, the same way he doesn’t mind just being called Luke. Despite the role he had in the history of ending the war, he feels he’s just as much a farm boy as he is a war general, a son of Owen and Beru as much as a son of Padmé and Anakin. His last name tends to draw attention though, so the first will suffice.

To the child he says kid, womp rat, buddy. The nicknames gradually become warmer and more familiar, until at last he knows his given name, and after that he says Grogu, softly and only to him.