#resol’nare

[psyzook]

Okay so like- I’ve been wondering for awhile why nobody has tried to make being a Mandalorian a real life thing? Like how some Star Trek fans speak Klingon, and some Tolkien fans speak elvish?

Why haven’t people, I don’t know, just adopt the Mandalorian culture into their lives? Because i find the principles of Mandalorians are things that make sense and can get behind?

The Resol'nare consists of:

wearing armor,

speaking the language (mando’a),

defending oneself and family,

raising your children as Mandalorians (or at least with their morals and values),

contributing to the clan's welfare (can be adapted to family and friends),

and when called upon by the Mand'alor, rallying to their cause (can be adapted to rallying behind an idea, political view, protesting together, or the like. Just being a unit together?)

There are also more parts to being a Mandalorian that can be found on the web (like morals, values, and ideals). Why do people not just adopt the Mandalorian culture into their lives if they so choose? The culture seems respectable, and we can tweak parts of it to fit into this age and galaxy’s way of life.

If anyone knows where to find the Mandalorian Realism discord servers, please message me!

[the-blind-assassin-12]

What story are you most excited to continue writing for?

Enjoy your wine 😋

Hi Anon! Thanks for popping in! I hope you’re having a great weekend. If you celebrate any of the spring holidays, I hope they’ve been enjoyable for you!

Also idk if you’re familiar with manischewitz but it’s less “wine” and more “liquid grape jelly that gets you toasted” 😅 but I did enjoy it very much so thank you.

To answer your question, I think the story I’m most excited to continue writing - aside from Aphelion - is Survivor Blues. I feel like most of the first few chapters of that have been set up and backstory, and I’m excited to get to the meatier parts (because they’re meteorrrrrrr) of the story. There is a scene in part six that I’ve had written for about a year (!!!) which I have been very excited to finally include, and I’m looking forward to writing more of Joel and Reader getting to know one another. The spring and summer months of this story are going to be fun (for the most part) and I’m very ready to get these characters out of their winter coats and thick sweaters.

I’ve also been thinking about Ezra & Din A LOT lately, and I recently found some snippets of things I’d written for both of them that have sparked some things, so don’t be surprised if the spacemen show up soon!

If there’s anything else you are hoping to see soon, let me know! Thanks again for sending this, anon! You rock! 🤘🏻

[average-transdalorian]

Okay one more thing before I go to bed

The lack of “Samus Aran Becomes A Mandalorian” fics I have seen is a travesty

Like. First of all, the parallels between Samus experiences + Chozo culture and Mandalorian culture in general are. Very present. Samus is an orphan who was brought up by a warrior people and given a set of armor that is both better than most other armor you’ll find and spiritually significant (at least, from what I could gather), and taught how to fight to a BREATHTAKINGLY competent degree in part so she could get revenge for her slaughtered maan’aliit (original/birth family).

Add onto that what it takes to be Mandalorian: following the Resol’nare

Bajur (education): Samus has been shown to learn a LOT of different information throughout the Metroid series. From scanning shit to watching and mimicking wildlife to just being an information sponge, Samus Aran is always willing to learn. We don’t know if she’d be willing to teach a protege yet, but given how she acts about the baby Metroid (specifically in the remake of Samus Returns and in Super Metroid, I am trying to not learn more about Other M than I already know), it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that she would be willing to teach a protege.

Beskar’gam (armor): Samus’ power suit looks more similar to modern beskar’gam than some ancient sets do. Like. Some sets don’t even have a t-visor, which she *does*. She also has some variation of most Mando’ad armor technology in her power suit at some point, and like I said before, it reads to me as spiritually significant. All it’s missing is a check by a Goran to make sure it’s still in good shape and counts as beskar’gam

Aliit (family/clan): she’s gotten vengeance for her maan’aliit AND killed her dar’buir (no-longer-parent, which I most certainly class Raven Beak as), who was implied to have killed her Chozo aliit. She seems to be a clan of one now, but signs certainly point towards her taking care of her aliit when she has one

Aranov (self-defense): she is Samus fucking Aran, I do not need to elaborate

Mando’a (language): not applicable, she hasn’t had a chance to learn it

Mand’alor (leader): she’s willing to both follow and question orders, iirc. We don’t see her having a sole leader (Other M isn’t real and can’t hurt me), but I don’t think she would find following a Mand’alor to be too objectionable

TLDR: some author(s) send Samus to the GFFA and make her Mandalorian pretty please

[beanutbutterbisquick]

I think that Bo Katan is glad to be the one who “walks both ways” because she feels like she can finally do some good for her people. The others were actually okay with her helmet being off and didn’t once question the Armorer. My problem is, why didn’t they question the Armorer? Where in the world does it state that if you see a Mythosaur you “walk both ways?” Where in the world does it say there are two ways to walk? I simply believe that all along Bo Katan knew the real truth to being Mandalorian. I believe that it truly is a people, not a race, and not exactly a Creed, but a people. Individuals who came together under the Resol’nare and decided to form a people. That idea of supporting one another is so important to me because we see that clearly the Creed of the Watch is flawed. Bo Katan (and Din) were redeem by means of bathing in the Living Waters. Yet, we have the Armorer telling her to remove her helmet? And she didn’t get kicked out? She saw a Mythosaur which hell I get is a big thing, but aren’t foundlings just as sacred to the clan? Even the Armorer said so when she saved Ragnar. So how is it that Din Djarin saying goodbye to Grogu who literally WAS a foundling, and was his foundling, was kicked out and shunned? Called an apostate? Nearly died to be part of something that he believed to be so true? And yet all Bo had to do was see a Mythosaur?? And the Armorer decided that removal of her helmet, which is literally so forbidden Din was also about to die a FIRST time in s2 (IG-11 scene), was okay for Bo to do? What kind of leadership and standing does the Armorer have that she can idk, pull these sort of exceptions out of her ass like this? I don’t understand. It doesn’t feel sacred or religious it just feels confusing. I don’t feel that there is any justification for it. Genuinely. I may be wrong, and I may be seeing this as something it isn’t so I’m open to hearing interpretations but my mind is genuinely confused. Even Bo Katan was confused when the Armorer was commanding her to take her helmet off.

Also, let’s note that the Armorer has always stated that their way is the True Way. Hence Din feeling the need to die (literally got attacked by that mech eyeball and then nearly drowned!!) to become redeemed. While Bo Katan has always identified as a Mandalorian and not because she follows the Creed or the Resol’nare to the T but that was her home, Mandalore was her home, her planet, and she had always seen each and everyone one of the people on that planet as a Mandalorian. She had simply felt that her sisters pacifist beliefs took away from their warrior heritage. (It’s a mess, okay, yes, Bo Katans previous lifestyle and manner of handling her beliefs were very messy I am aware) but she never once looked at Din and thought he was an imposter. But when she had removed her helmet, Din was immediately like, give me that armor, because he didn’t believe that she was a real Mandalorian simply because she had removed her helmet. That’s how deep his beliefs were. That’s how deep they had been when he encountered Cobb. And now after all this the helmet removal is okay???

Like I said. Im open to others opinions. Literally. But please don’t come at me with anger. Im not angry about anything I’m simply confused.

[mock-arts]

Bonus for @popjeckdoom’s fic “Bonds of Beskar”, for the @swbigbang

This is just Cody, separated out from the cover, since he came out really handsome lol

Bonus bonus: the stained glass window that pretty much got covered up. The stained glass has the resol’nare in :)

[fearmypaintbrush]

Sometimes my brain reminds me that, out of all the mandos who tried to put to words what it means to be a mando, you have the original resol’nare aka the 6 actions, which inspired the canons of honor, which in turn was inspiration for Tor Vizla’s Kyr’tsad (Death Watch) Manifesto, and Jaster Mereel’s Ori’ramikade (Supercommando) Codex.

And I think about the LENGTH differences between a single phrase of six core values, a group of canons, a manifesto and a codex. Like, I can’t stress enough that the reason we don’t have a canon Supercommando codex is because a codex is an entire book, a compilation of rules, lists, values, and priorities grouped together, organized, and put into book form.

And I think of the man who, upon seeing corruption right in front of him in the system he was apart of, his first response is to kill the superior officer who was apart of that corruption. Then when he’s been kicked out for killing a superior, and he sees that the corruption and injustice and dishonesty spread far beyond the Journeyman Protectors of Concord Dawn, that its everywhere in the galaxy, his response then is to write a fucking book.

[furious-blueberry0]

Mandalorian Government (All Is Well AU)

Finally managed to make some sense of this old post and change some things, so here is how Mandalore works in my AU!

Enjoy:

First of all, the citizens: 

To be considered a citizen of age, and so have the right to vote, it depends on when and how you became a Mandalorian:

If you are born mandalorian in a mandalorian family, or have been adopted as a child, all you have to do is complete the Verd’goten and continue following the Resol’nare.

If you became a mandalorian as an adult or over the age for the Verd’goten, you have to follow the Resol’nare, and you’ll get the right to vote after being a mandalorian for 5 years.

When you reach the age of 60, you can still vote, but you cannot run for any kind of political office.

There are three main bodies in this government:

The Assembly

The Council

The Governors

The Assembly is formed by 30 elements, and with the two Governors they are 32.

To be elected as a member you have to be a citizen of age, so the standard mandalorian citizen can be elected if they're at least 13 years old (since that’s the age of the Verd’goten), but not if they’re over 60. It’s rare to see mandalorians under the age of 18 actually be elected, but some actually managed it.

Obviously the non-human species that have different life spans will have different rules, with their years equating to the human ones. 

Each of the nine planets of the Mandalorian System runs elections to choose three mandalorians to represent the planet in the Assembly.

Not only the citizens of the planets can run for elections, but also those who live on their moons, which is a bit tricky for the planets of Bonagal and Shukut, who have 34 and 30 moons, but they seem to manage just fine.

Only one member per Clan can run for election, and more often than not, they are elected based more on the power of their names than their actual worth as a candidate. 

But this doesn’t preclude the way to those who come from less known Clans, who are sometimes even preferred by the citizens, because they are considered more part of the people, and not spoiled kids of powerful families.

This way we have 27 members elected. 

The other 3 are chosen by the Assembly, and are the representatives of the Three Houses: House Vizsla, House Kast and House Kryze.

This was a rule made  to avoid internal conflicts, so that the Houses could not complain about losing power or not being represented in the government. They have the same power as the other members of the Assembly, no more, no less.

For each member their tenure lasts 20 years, with the exception, for example, that if a member is elected when they’re 50 then their tenure will only last 10 years, if elected at 45 it will only last 15 years and so on.

They can decide to withdraw from their position, but only after 5 years of service. 

Their position can be taken away with a Vote-of-No-Confidence, who can be called by any individual that brings enough evidence to show their reasoning about the vote.

If any of this happens, their planet is given three months to redo a new election for a new member, if this is not done then the Assembly can choose a new member on their own.

The Council doesn’t have actual political power, their position is more honorary than anything else, they are there to give advice and suggestions to the Assembly and the Governors, but their voice has no power in the actual decision making.

It’s made up of 6 elders, elected by the Assembly, with tenure for life, and to be part of it you need to be at least 60 years old.

Most of the time they are former members of the Assembly, who cannot be re-elected there, and so they are given this position. There have been cases in which some of those elected never held political tenure, but they are rare.

They too can lose their position, but this can be decided only by a Vote-of-No-Confidence made and voted by the Assembly.

The citizens have no say on the Council, since they have no power and are only used as advice givers.

The Governors are the heads of state of the Mandalorian System.

They are chosen with an election done across all the planets of the system, and are voted by only the citizens of age.

To run for the election they need to be at least 20 years old, and anyone from any Clan or House can do so.

Their tenure lasts ten years, and the decade of the Mandalorian calendar in which they governed has the name of the two Governors (for example: the decade of Satine and Arla is called “The Years of Fett and Kryze”)

When one becomes a Governor, they have to wear a purple cloak, to signify their status as head of state, and distinguish them from the rest of the Assembly.

They too can have their power taken by a Vote-of-No-Confidence, that can be called by any individual that brings enough evidence to show their reasoning about the vote, but this happens only if at least 25 members of the Assembly vote against the Governor.

No, challenging one of the Governors to a duel to the death will not give you their position of power, but it will give you the chance to get your ass beaten and obliterated by all the 30 members of the Assembly for even suggesting such a stupid idea.

extra random info:

Mandalore is not part of the Republic, but the System decided to at least maintain a good relationship between the two, and every ten years, they invite emissaries of the Republic to the Celebration of the election of the new Governors. 

More often than not the emissaries they send are Jedi, as if the Republic was testing them to see if they cared more about their current peace, or the war of the past. But for now no mandalorian ever attacked verbally or physically any of the Jedi sent there, or at least, none of the Jedi ever said anything about it in their reports, so who knows.

[anxiousotters]

Last Name: Kenobi sounds amazing! Are the married clones following Mandalorian marriage vows? One of my favorite headcannons is that the reason marriage is not allowed among the order is because of the way wedding vows have you put your duty to your spouse above all other duties. The Jedi can’t do that without breaking their oaths… but since Mandalorian vows already take into account a higher level of duty (usually to the Resol’nare, but it could work for the Force too), they could potentially work out!

Do Obi-Wan and Cody get fake/real Mando-married while still pining to belatedly validate the paperwork Cody already filled out? Or do they wait until after feelings have been disclosed?

Ask about my WIPs

That’s so kind of you to say and thank you sm for the ask!! Last Name: Kenobi keeps dodging my every attempt to write it, but it can’t run from me forever (Ricky when I catch you Ricky…)

As for your question, yes! I love riduurok, and as of right now those will be the vows used in the fic. In all honesty I don’t know as much about Jedi culture as I’d like, but my understanding is that marriage isn’t outright forbidden, it’s a Jedi’s personal decision/ an assessment of their ability to keep a relationship within the bounds of love (and not fall into possessive, controlling attachment). I don’t think Cody and Obi-Wan have an issue putting duty before love or letting go when the time comes, but yes, the riduurok provides some flexibility with that

Now, do they talk about their feelings? Does that lead to the exchanging of vows? Or does Cody get into legal trouble and he and Obi-Wan have to get fake married in order to keep him out of jail for tax fraud?

We’ll just have to wait and see 👀

[constantlymisspelled]

3 - Adoption Law as it currently stands

[Text in image is as below]

i) The Legal Definition of Foundling;

a) A foundling by definition is a child or young person who’s either cannot be located, are not safe to return to, are deceased, have lost parental rights, or is otherwise an orphan. b) A foundling can only be adopted when all possible kin are declared unfit or show no interest in raising said child. c) If another member of the child’s family claims to be acting as guardian, but does not meet Galactic or Mandalorian Parent Guardian Standards, the Child will be available for adoption.

ii) Foundling Procedure;

a) When a Foundling is discovered, they are to be taken first to the Clan Armourer to ascertain their fit with the clan. b) If a Foundling has been found by a Mandalorian who is unable to legally act as a parent, they can place the Foundling in Clan Care. c) After the Goran has seen to the child, they are to go through appropriate medical and legal clearance in order to create a medical profile and procure the best form of education for the child in question.

[Text in image is as below]

iii) Disownment of Parent;

a) A child – adopted, biological, or otherwise – can disown a parent at any age. b) Disowning a parent requires witness from either a Goran, a Journeyman Protector, or a Clan Alor of relevant standing. c) Disowning a parent can be for a variety of reasons, such as abuse, negligence, the parent being declared Dar’manda, or for differences in views and values. For example, if the parent attempts to force the child into a marriage, into a specific political leaning or agenda, or to lay down their armour, arms or give up their religion. d) Disownment of a parent cannot occur due to criminal action on behalf of the child. For example, a child can not steal from a dependent member of their clan, and disown their parent to escape criminal responsibility.

iv) Community Adoption;

a) In the case of a foundling or adoptee who cannot accept a parent for psychological reasons, or refuses to accept new parents upon the deceased, or lost previous parents, a communal adoption can be made. b) Communal adoptions can include

[Text in image is as below]

v) Adoption regarding criminal activities

a) In the event of a parent being under arrest, or having been charged and incarcerated. b) In the event of a child who has previously been convicted of a crime c) In the event of a parent have been previously incarcerated, charged, or suspected of a crime.

vi) Adoption regarding marital conditions;

a) Adoption of a partner’s children can be confirmed before a marriage is settled upon. b) When a married Mandalorian wishes to adopt a child, their partners, as long as there is no Separation filed, will be automatically upgraded to at least guardianship status. c) Children from previous marriages, if the Mando’ade in question is adopting more, will be considered equally as much the Mando’ade’s children. d) Marrying a non-Mandalorian who has children can automatically qualify their children for a full Mandalorian education, regardless of whether or not their parent swears the resol’nare.

[Text in image is as below]

vii) Adoption Consent;

a) If the child is over the standard age of thirteen, or verdgoten equivalent of their species, a verbal, written, or recorded consent must be filed for their adoption to be recognised. In the case of illiterate, non-verbal, or non-seeing Mando’ade, a Goran can be contacted to make the official note of the adoption, and becomes signatory for both parties. This Goran then must be contacted if the child decides to disown a parent, or acknowledge another parent. If the Goran in question is deceased, or declared Dar’manda, another Goran, or even a Journeyman Protector can be used in clause. b) A child cannot be re-adopted by a disowned parent once that parent has been declared as disowned. c) A child must be awake at the time of adoption, even for those below the age of consent, and must not be under the effects of mind-altering substances, reactionary drugs, or Force Related Suppressants.

[As always, any thoughts, comments or criticism is welcome. As you know, this is the draft!!]

[Back to main Codex]

[psyzook]

brb, I’m currently obsessed with Jaster Mereel. Like- he is so fucking pure. I mean, he’s a DILF, a nerd, and sort of awkward?!? 😫 bitch, everyone wants a piece of him

[findmeabowloftrash-blog]

OKAY NOW I’M CURIOUS

In an all out fight, personal feelings about fighting aside, who would win: An Undertale skeleton (Sans/Papyrus/Gaster) or a human Mandalorian (without a jetpack)?

(not THE Mandalorian, just a random one. Presumably one who actually lives by the Resol’nare and not Death Watch’s take on it. A classic Mando, pre-Empire)

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:

in favor of skeletons:

Actual Magic That Can Canonically Pass Through Objects (cyan magic) might legitimately beat beskar, especially since cyan magic requires you to hold still or else take damage (don’t discount this, it’s a valid point)

Even if not, beskar is great but there are often open spots that could be impaled with magical bones

Magic bones/bullets are presumably summoned, they don’t have the travel time of a blaster bolt/other airborne thing (so they’re harder to dodge and can come from any direction)

Gaster blasters that just?? Incinerate you??? Beskar still gets hot. (Though that does beg the question of whether the blast is heat or just. magical destructive energy.)

Has no internal organs to hit; might be able to come apart to some degree with minumal negative repercussions

Can break the rules of combat/the universe, could take advantage of a Mandalorian’s strict morals about an honorable fight

For it to be an all-out fight, you’d have to REALLY push the skeleton, so there’d be some desperation. For the Mandalorian it’s just a Tuesday.

No SAVE or magic healing items, so the Mando can’t just memorize their bullet patterns and try again after dying or heal mid-battle

in favor of Mandalorians:

Armor, obviously. Especially helmet.

Lifelong combat training, fights often

Gravity magic might not be a big deal since they knowing how to fight Force wielders (though usually it’s Jedi, who, tbf, don’t usually throw their opponents around with their powers)

Humans are just. Straight up more powerful than monsters in UT lore

Probably has killed people so fairly high EXP (though not necessarily LV, that depends more on their mindset)

Don’t need to be genre-savvy when you have 500 hidden weapons

Reblog for sample size, I really want to see people’s takes. Feel free to explain your choice in the tags or replies!

[the-blind-assassin-12]

What Can Still Be Known

A/N: This is my submission for @wannab-urs Hozier Drabble Challenge... which I meant to have finished weeks ago, but since it's May the 4th, today seems like a good time to post it even if it is later than I originally planned. Thank you so much to Gin for putting this together! I love music prompts, so this was right up my alley. I can't wait to catch up on the other stories written for this event! Make sure you all go check them out, too! You can find them here.

Prompt: My song was Butchered Tongue from the album Unreal, Unearth, and my character was Din. I was delighted to get this prompt, because that song speaks to my soul. It's melancholic and beautiful, and I think it fits Din so damn well, so I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: angst, mentions of canon typical violence, mention of death of parents/family, you know, Mandalorian stuff.

Word Count: 3,545 (oops.)

Summary: Din doesn't remember much about his parents or his life with them... but that doesn't stop him from wishing it were different.

Nevarro’s sun burned bright and hot as Din crossed the scrubby stretch of flatlands that separated the town from the Mandalorian encampment. Shifting the crate he carried under one arm, he tilted his head down to where Grogu hopped along beside him, using the Force to propel himself every few steps to accommodate for his father’s much longer stride. The sight, along with the string of happy gurgles and babbles spilling from the kid’s mouth, made a smile sprout beneath the man’s helmet. 

“It’s good to be back, isn’t it buddy?” 

Grogu looked up at him and squealed happily, nodding and pointing one clawed finger at the semi-permanent settlement growing closer with every step they took. 

Though the efforts to reclaim their homeworld had been successful, a small group of Mandalorians remained on Nevarro during the rebuilding process on Mandalore - mainly those responsible for teaching and raising the foundlings and other young children that were not yet ready to start their trials. There were two combat instructors, two teachers whose focus was on the tenants of the Resol’nare, one additional teacher who was responsible for teaching Mando’a, as well as a dozen or so students and their guardians. Eventually they’d all join the rest of their people on Mandalore, but until things were more solidly settled there, Nevarro was as safe an option for an outpost as could be found in the Outer Rim. 

Din chuckled. “I’m sure your friends will be happy to see you again, too.” 

That response sent the kid bouncing with excitement, hopping high enough so that he could fit in a flip before touching down again, the rondel and small pauldron he wore clinging together like chimes with his motion. 

“Go ahead,” Din urged him, jutting his chin out in front of him. “You don’t have to wait for me. I’ll be right behind -” But the child was gone before the last word left his lips. He sighed and shook his head in amusement. “-You.” He watched through the tinted screen of his visor as Grogu darted towards the sparring grounds, no doubt in search of Ragnar.  

It had been a few months since they’d been back on Nevarro, Din busy taking Grogu through his apprenticeship, teaching him skills that he would need in order to move on in his training. Tracking, hunting, navigation, survival, negotiation, just to name a few. Every lesson took them to a different planet, some of them coming with the added bonus of coinciding with a bounty or paid favor. The most recent one, a lesson in tracking on Rodia, had resulted in uncovering a stash of beskar ingots that had been defaced with an Imperial stamp. 

Immediately after finishing up on Rodia - Din showing Grogu how to incapacitate an enemy without killing them - they’d taken the recovered beskar back to the Armorer on Mandalore, so that she could fashion it into new pieces for the foundlings. It was strange, but good, to see the glass encrusted planet so teeming with life. It was a relief to know that what his people had fought for for so long, what so many had given their lives for, was finally secure. Finally theirs. 

But despite the fact that the Mandalorian people finally had a safe place to call home, Din had yet to feel that sort of connection with the planet. Unlike Bo-Katan, he hadn’t been born there, nor had he spent any time there as a child. He’d heard stories about what the Great Forge had been like in its glory, how lush the gardens of Sundari had been long ago. But to him, a foundling Child of the Watch who had never set foot on Mandalore until he was a grown man, they’d always felt like stories about some fictional, far off place. He wondered if that would change, if he would ever feel at home in a place that brought him no nostalgia or warmth. 

A part of him hoped that it would. Because it wasn’t just Mandalore that he felt that absence of connection to. It was everywhere he went. A side-effect of losing every home he’d ever had, it turned out, was not knowing where your roots would grow if they could grow anywhere they chose. 

He knew he had a home once. A true home, one where he could have collected a whole life’s worth of memories, enough of them so that when he returned there they’d all come rushing to fill his heart with warmth and welcome. He knew he had a family before the Tribe had become that for him, too. A mother and father who loved him so fiercely that they sacrificed their own lives to save his. When he closed his eyes and concentrated hard enough, he could still find their faces. His father’s was easier to recall because he himself wore so many of the same features. Every time he saw his own reflection he was reminded of the man who carried him through the battlefield that their village had become. 

His mother’s face was more difficult to recall in detail, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten her. He remembered her thick, dark hair and the way it curled at her shoulders. He remembered the texture of the red robes she wore, remembered tracing the intricate pattern of woven stitching on the cuffs of her sleeves with the tips of his fingers. He couldn’t be sure, but he had the thought that he must have remembered these things because she was the one who comforted him when he was hurt, sad or scared. That what he really recalled when he thought of his mother was the feeling of safety and warmth that her embrace provided. 

He remembered the tone of her voice, soothing but strong. His father’s was full and confident and always sounded like a smile was about to appear. He remembered that the two of them sang often. Sometimes he’d be hit with a snippet of a melody, the lyrics lost, turned to dust and ash like the rest of his homeworld, but he’d find himself humming and realize that it was one of the songs his parents used to sing. 

The forgotten lyrics were only a small part of a larger loss, though. They were written in a language that had died when the population of Aq Vetina had been snuffed out. So he could remember his parents’ voices. He could remember the melodies they sang. But the things they said, the words they used, the meaning behind them? All of that was gone. For all the languages and means of communication he did know, the first one he’d ever heard and learned escaped him. And in all of his travels since leaving his homeworld in the arms of an armored stranger that had become his Buir, Din had never met anyone who spoke his native tongue. 

It made him wonder if anyone else had survived the attack on his home that day, or if he was the last living member of a completely slain culture. 

Before he could ruminate on that thought for too long, though, Azil, one of the combat instructors, saw him walking towards the sparring grounds and waved him over. “Olarom, Djarin!” He pointed at the crate Din carried, tilting his helmeted-head in question. “Gifts from home?” 

The contents of the box shifted as Din handed it over, newly cast cuiresses ringing together in answer to Azil’s inquiry. “New beskar,” Din responded with a nod. “Freshly forged on Mandalore,” he added in answer to Azil’s question about where it came from. “I was told to deliver them to you for distribution to your students.” 

Azil set the crate down and clapped one gloved hand to Din’s shoulder. “Vor entye, vod.” 

Returning the gesture, Din did the same. “This is the Way.” 

“This is the Way,” Azil echoed, and then immediately set about unpacking the box of armor, sorting it by size, leaving Din to see where Grogu had gone. 

It didn’t take long for him to find his son. The long, green ears were a giveaway, sure. But so was the small crowd of other children gathered around to watch him levitate a black chunk of volcanic rock while Ragnar Vizsla practiced blasting it with training darts. With each successful hit, the other kids would cheer, a collective sound of amazement coming from them each time Grogu managed to evade the blast by redirecting the rock. 

Din stood watching for a few moments, silently appreciative that these children had this opportunity to laugh and learn and grow together somewhere open and safe and free. He could remember playing similar training games and showing off new skills with the few other children in his covert, though then it was all done underground, in hiding. But he couldn’t recall the kinds of games he might have played with friends in his village. If there were any nursery rhymes or tall tales he might have known once, they’d long since faded from his memory. 

It made him wonder if he’d eventually forget what little he could remember about his native culture. Would he lose it piece by piece? Until not even a familiar tune or the color red or his own reflection sparked any feeling? He hoped not, but it seemed inevitable. 

At least, it had. 

Suddenly - from a different group of children than the one gathered around Grogu, much to Din’s relief - a small child went darting by his boots, arms outstretched in front of her, the distinct sound of sniffles and cries trailing after her. Turning away from the training grounds, he watched as the child was scooped up by a woman who had just stepped out of one of the tents. He assumed that whatever sent the girl running was just the result of one of the other kids being a little too rough. Or perhaps one of Nevarro’s reptilian species had frightened the child. Either way, it was clear that there was no real danger and that the woman had things under control, so he started to turn back towards Grogu and Ragnar’s shenanigans. 

But then he overheard the woman begin to soothe the young girl in her arms. 

“Ny mo yariin, necta.” 

It stopped him in his tracks and sent his head swiveling back in the direction it came from. His heart pounded beneath the elongated diamond stamped into the center of his chestplate as he felt something unlock in his memory. 

He’d heard those same words before. So long ago that he was stunned when he recognized the phrase. So long ago that the meaning behind them was lost. But he knew they were spoken to him as comfort. He knew that they were words steeped in love. He watched the way the woman cradled the child to her armored chest, his eyes catching on the piece of red fabric that was pinned to the cowl of her flight suit. 

No matter how impossible it seemed that the words he’d just heard had survived what a whole settlement of people hadn’t, no matter how unlikely it was that it was there of all places that he’d heard it, no matter how slim the odds were that the tattered scarlet linen was the same fabric that he remembered from his home, Din found himself drawn to her. 

To you. 

—  —  — 

You were rewiring the com device in your helmet when you heard Tira’s cry. 

Though you knew that she was probably fine - there were dozens of other Mandalorian adults present in the settlement, and you knew that none of them would allow any real harm to come to the children - you immediately set your work down and stepped outside, senses heightened. But as soon as you saw her running towards you, you relaxed. She wasn’t hurt or being chased. She’d likely just been knocked over by one of the bigger kids while they played one of their games. Tira was small, but didn’t like to be told that. And since her older brother had begun his trials and wasn’t there as often to make sure she didn’t get pushed around by the others, she’d been having trouble adjusting. 

It didn’t help that less than a year ago, she and Maj had lost both of their parents in the battle to retake Mandalore, which is how the children had come to be in your care. 

As a former foundling yourself, you were more than willing to step in and raise them as your own, just as the Mandalorian who rescued you the day your village was attacked and your parents were killed would have done had he not been able to reunite you with your kin. You’d been brought to Corellia, where your mother’s sister lived with her family, and they’d taken you in and raised you instead. It wasn’t until you became an adult that you rejoined the Mandalorians and took the Creed, choosing to commit your life to the very people who had saved it. 

But though you mainly spoke Galactic Basic and were muddling your way through learning Mando’a, it was still your first language that came to you when you scooped a sniffling Tira into your arms and cradled her to your armored chest. It was still the words your parents - and then your aunt - had spoken to you when you’d been hurt or scared that you used to comfort the girl. 

“Ny mo yariin, necta.” 

You’re safe with me, sweet one.

You knew Tira and Maj didn’t speak Aquitto. They only knew the meaning of that one phrase because you’d taught it to them. And since your aunt had passed away, you knew that you were possibly the only person left in the galaxy who would even recognize it let alone speak it. As far as you knew, there hadn’t been any other survivors from your village that day. It struck you that every time you spoke it could be the last time it was ever uttered. 

Pushing that thought from your mind, you focused on Tira, kissing her cheek and letting her clutch at the sculpted pin that held a piece of red fabric - a remnant of the hooded robe you’d been wearing the day you were rescued on Aq Vetina - in place on your cowl. The pin had belonged to your mother, the woman pressing it into your hand before disappearing to go try to fight off the monstrous machines with the rest of the village. As a child you would trace the design on it with your fingertip whenever she held you, whenever she made the same promise you were making Tira. 

“Ny mo yariin, necta.” 

By the time you’d said it a second time, the girl had stopped crying. The words themselves weren’t magic, but the sentiment in them was. Even if they were the last scraps of the Aquitto language to live on, you hoped that one day Tira or Maj would pass them along to a child who needed to hear them, too.

Whatever had brought on the sudden storm of tears had passed, and Tira wriggled in your hold as she caught sight of some of the other children watching as the Jedi foundling levitated chunky rocks for Ragnar to blast with darts. You chuckled at her eagerness to get back out there with the big kids. “Okay, necta. But watch out for yourself, got it?” You set her back on the ground, stooping down to her level and ruffling her hair. “I know you’re a tough one, but you still have to be careful.” 

She nodded enthusiastically, telling you that she would be, and then she was gone, scurrying back across the crusty flatland towards the other kids. When you stood back up, you were met with the dark visor of Din Djarin - a man you’d never personally met, but who you’d heard a great deal about from the others in the settlement on Nevarro. You knew he was the Jedi foundling’s adoptive father. You knew he had previously wielded the Darksaber and that he was instrumental in helping Bo-Katan Kryze and the others take back Mandalore. You knew that he was responsible for reclaiming the beskar that your armor had been forged from. 

– – – 

“Oh, hello,” you greeted him, a small laugh in your voice that he figured was a result of the way he’d caught you off guard. You lifted a hand and reflexively tucked the piece of red fabric at your collar into place. “It’s Din, right?”

“Yes. Din Djarin. I’m sorry I don’t know your name, I-” 

You waved him off and introduced yourself. Smiling, you pointed in the direction that the little one you’d just set down had run off in. “That’s your son over there, isn’t it? Tira was excited to see him.” 

Din turned his head to follow your finger, though he didn’t need to look to know that you were indicating Grogu. “It is,” he confirmed, facing you again with a small shrug. “He likes to show off.” 

You laughed at that. “I would too, if I could do what he can.” 

“He’s a special kid,” Din replied, and you smiled again. 

“He is.” You nodded, and it was clear to him that you were still unsure of why he had approached you. “Is there-”

“Can I ask you something?” He tilted his head, hidden eyes fixed on the fabric at your neck - and on the sculpted pin that held it in place, the designs so familiar to him he could feel them on his fingers. 

You furrowed your brow, expression turning serious. “Of course. Not sure if I’ll be able to help you with it, but-” You held your hands up, palms to the sky. “Ask away.” 

“The words you just spoke to that little girl… Tira?” You nodded so he went on. “How do you know that language?” 

He watched your eyes widen with your blink. “You… You’re familiar with Aquitto?” 

Din sighed, giving a slight shake of his head. “I didn’t even remember what it was called, but… Yes. Or, that phrase, anyway. How do you know it?”

You let out a breath. “I… I was born on Aq Vetina. It was the language my parents spoke. It…” Again your fingers came up to the pin and the fabric that it secured. “It was my first language. I was lucky that my aunt knew it, too, or else I would have forgotten it completely after our village was destroyed and-” Something dawned on you and your eyes widened again. “You said you were familiar with it?” He nodded. “How?” 

You asked the question in a way that made him think you already knew the answer, but you needed - or wanted - to hear him say it. So he did. “Same as you. I was born there. It was my parents’ language. But I haven’t heard it spoken since the day droids raided our home.” He blinked, somewhat stunned that only moments before he had been mourning the loss of his native language and culture only to find a source of it right in front of him. “I didn’t know there were other survivors.” 

Your mouth fell open slightly as you stared up into the visor that hid his eyes from view. When you spoke again it was quiet, your words equally full of disbelief. “Neither did I.” Your lips twitched into a small smile despite the way your eyes had started to water. “I’m glad we were both wrong, Din.” 

“I am, too.” He felt a tightening in his chest, but it was unlike anything he felt before. It wasn’t from sorrow or anxiety, it wasn’t to alert him to a threat or caused by regret. It felt more like a connection forming - like meeting you had brought him closer to his own heart somehow. Instantly, a thousand questions popped into his mind for you, and he imagined you might have had some for him as well. But there was one thing he needed to know first. “Can you tell me what it means? What you said to Tira? My… I think my parents used to say it to me, and…” He trailed off, waiting for your response. 

“It means, ‘You’re safe with me, sweet one.’” You smiled again. “It literally translates to ‘You’re in my heart’ though. It’s… It’s what you say to the people you love most.” 

Just then, Grogu and Tira came tearing over, Din bending down to pick up his son and you settling your hand on the little girl’s head as she clung to your side. “Hey, Buddy. Remember when I told you about my parents and what I remembered about where I came from?” 

“Patu.” His head moved up and down, ears flapping with his nod. 

“Well, this lady comes from the same place that I do, and she just taught me how to say something in my old language. You wanna hear it?” 

“Patu!” He spread his clawed fingers over Din’s chestplate. 

Din looked over at you - at the warm smile on your face as you smoothed the little girl’s play-ruffled hair and gave him an encouraging nod - and then back down at Grogu. “Ny mo yariin, necta.” 

.

.

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[average-transdalorian]

Instagram comments be sensible challenge (never beaten)

To be Mandalorian is to follow a specific set of tenets (the Resol’nare). Jango did follow the Resol’nare for much of his life. Boba never did. “Only family can see you without your helmet” is one specific sect’s interpretation of the “armor” tenet, and does not (and should not) hold true for all Mandalorians. Whether or not he was a clone is entirely irrelevant to Boba being Mando’ad

Boba is not Mandalorian because he chooses not to be. The clones are not Mandalorian because (with the exception of the Nulls and maybe some RCs) nobody told them how they could be (this is an atrocity, to be clear. They have every right to be Mando’ad, and they should be told that). Again, helmet wearing is one specific sect’s rule, and applies to neither of the Fetts. Allowing himself to be cloned didn’t make Jango dar’manda (although his treatment of the clones almost certainly did), but being a clone isn’t what makes Boba not a Mandalorian. The Fett clan was well known in history (Cassus Fett, anybody?), Almev’s just a bitch and a liar. I have no clue what d.massive rent is trying to say tbh

Copyguybri is right, Boba doesn’t question anybody else’s legitimacy as Mando’ad because he himself is not one. Being Mandalorian isn’t just being a Supercommando (although Jango and Boba probably both still counted as supercommandos). Genetics don’t mean shit for Mandalorians; aliit ori’shya tal’din (family is more than blood) and gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori’wadaasla (bloodline is not important, you as a parent is most important) are two Mandalorian proverbs for a reason; the first species to be Mandalorian is extinct, but Mandalorians still live

[ranahan]

Mandalorian soul(s) & Mando’a words for them

So have you noticed how Mando’a has three different words for a soul or a spirit: manda, kar’am, and runi?

Warnings for lots of speculation and headcanons about Mandalorian religion and spirituality.

What is a soul?

First of all, I want to note that cultures around the world have very different ideas of what the soul is. The Christian idea of an immortal soul that goes to heaven after the body dies is hardly the only or even the most prevalent one. Many cultures believe there are many different kinds of souls and that humans have more than one soul.

I was going to draw examples from earthly cultures and religions, but I just put about 50 posts in my drafts folder and I want to publish this before it disappears in that black hole where no information escapes from. Suffice it to say that people have really different takes on what a soul is. Seriously, look up some examples. Blow your mind a bit.

GFFA of course also has the Force, so who knows what kinds of Force traditions Mandalorians have if any, and how those would affect their views of souls and spirituality. I recently reblogged Izzy’s interesting headcanons about Mandalorians and the Force, if anyone is in need of inspiration.

*maan- ‘original’ & Manda

In the canon dictionary, this root on its own is an adjective:

maan (adj): original, first

That’s “original, first” in the sense of “genuine, true” and given the derivations, the root *maan- at least probably also carries the meaning of “inherent, intrinsic, innate”.

*maan- also appears in words like:

veman (adj): real, genuine

Probably from *vut- ‘special’ + maan. “Really original”.

ramaan (n): death (a neutral term)

Probably from *ram- ‘attack’ + maan, “the original attack(er)” or ram + an, “one who attacks all”. Could be either. I’m more partial to the latter etymology, but I’m putting ramaan here just in case.

I believe that the element *mand- that appears in lots of words like mando, manda, and their derivations, is etymologically maan-ad, which has lost an unstressed vowel. This carries the meaning of ‘first person, original person’ or as a plural, “first/original people” which is actually what a number of earthly peoples call themselves. Like that’s a very, very common etymology for the name of your own tribe.

So I reconstruct *maanad (or the same with a short vowel, *manad) as an archaic word with the meaning of “a mandalorian”. I also reconstruct it with a second meaning of “true self, innate self, inner self”, or a soul in that sense. So then…

manda (n): collective soul

…could be an archaic plural of manad-a, with a lost syllable in the middle which is a really common pattern in Mando’a. Mando’a uses plural as a way to form collective concepts, so this is “all Mandalorian souls”.

So when you have gai bal manda, “name and soul”, or kir’manir ‘to adopt, give a soul to someone’, the soul here is specifically the Mandalorian soul, a partaking of the shared identity.

Kir’manir could also be glossed as “to give an origin”, which in Mandalorian terms is exactly what you are doing when you adopt someone: you take them in as a part of your clan. For Mandalorians who don’t care about bloodlines, this is just as legitimate a tie as being born into a clan: in both cases, you become a part of the shared ancestry and heritage.

This is a headcanon, but the picture I get of Mandalorians is that anyone can be a Mandalorian (if you have mandokar, literally “Mandalorian heart”)—but no one can be a Mandalorian without a clan (it’s in the Resol’nare & and in words like kir’manir). You need to get adopted in order to convert and become a Mandalorian. You need to have a clan to hold up the basic tenets of being a mando’ad. You need to be adopted in order to share in the web of souls that make up the manda. This is a really interesting dichotomy. It makes Mandalorians kind of into an ethnic religion like Judaism, only you don’t need to be born as a Mandalorian, only be adopted as one.

In fact, I think that adopting your biological children is really common if not the norm. If you view the gai bal manda in the light of giving the child a soul and a tie-in to the manda, then gai bal manda is to Mandalorians what baptism is to Christians. You can’t go to the Christian heaven without a baptism, and you can’t reach the manda without gai bal manda. I imagine this is where the fanon of adopting dead children so they don’t have to wander eternally comes from (someone hit me with a name; who came up with that? I love it!).

But also! Mandalorians in general are not depicted as very religious. So I guess this is one belief, but it is probably not shared universally and perhaps not even widely. Maybe it’s an old belief, developed in the aftermath of the Mandalorian Wars, when the tie of the non-Taung to their adopted ancestors was still tenuous, and while they were moving away from the worship of the old gods, religious beliefs of all kinds were still rampant. And in the upheaval before they settled on a new canon, all kinds of beliefs and split-off religious sects sprung up left and right.

kar’am

kar’am (n): breath

Okay, not soul. But I believe this is “breath” in the sense of “spirit” (breath and spirit are connected words in many many many languages). Not breath in the sense of “to breathe” as in the bodily function (that’s haal).

So what kind of a spirit is this? Well, it’s made of two roots: *kar- ‘heart, core’ and *am- ‘change’. Heart for mandalorians is also the seat of knowledge and by extension, consciousness. Change is a loaded concept spiritually.

But the interpretation I want to go with is that change is also considered the true nature of the reality and natural world, and is thus connected to a lot of words that relate to nature and reality. The Aay’han dictionary has aman (n): nature, lit. “one who changes all” and I absolutely adore that. So kar’am would be a more bodily spirit, related to life force, vital force, vitality and physical states. So you could derive words like:

akaan’karam: morale, fighting spirit

to’karam: “together spirit”, the spirit of pulling together for a common cause.

ures kar’am: listless, lifeless

Alternatively, you could derive these form these from oya instead.

Runi

runi (n): soul (poetic only)

My best guess is that this is *run- + nominal suffix -i.

Best I can tell, there are no other words related to it in the dictionary, unless it’s related to the past prefix r’/ru’ and ruug ‘old age’, in which case the sense could be something like “the thing which has gone” as in “the soul has fled”.

So what about the definition? Traviss says “poetic only”, so which poetic sense is she referring to? English (in which the translation is given) has several:

The innate quality that makes something itself, “the soul of (something)”. I would have been tempted to go for this sense, but for me that seems like repeating *maan-. It could of course be that over the time, maan has come to mean Mandalorianness specifically, so runi has acquired this more general sense which maan had originally.

The animating principle, vital force. Already interpreted kar’am this way. And even if I scrapped that interpretation, I’d go with oya instead, not runi.

Embodiment, personification. “You are the very soul of the party.”

Psyche, “body and soul”. Does not seem very “poetic” to me?

Person. “Not a soul.”

A strong positive feeling, inspiration, passion, fervour. Hmm, in Mando’a words like that seem to be derived from oya.

A supernatural spirit.

So which sense was Traviss going for? Shab if I know.

I’ll make a part 2 with some more derived words later, but now I want to post this before going to bed.

[wantonlywindswept]

random Tribe/mando history thoughts

So you know what would be 10000 times more interesting than the Tribe being a splinter of Death Watch?

The Tribe being descended from the True Mandalorians.

(now admittedly all of my info about Mandalorian history is from wookieepedia and I could be entirely wrong about everything, so take it all with a shaker of salt etc)

Like, Woves’ disdain for Din not having any Mandalorian blood is entirely opposite of the Tribe’s ‘highest honor is saving a foundling’ thing, and DW seemed more concerned with lineages than the TM, who def at least valued foundlings (see: Jaster with Jango) enough to respect them.

And we still don’t actually know what the Creed is? Like there’s usually the assumption that it’s the Resol’nare, but that certainly doesn’t specifiy anything about keeping a helmet on all the time, and aside from foundlings being the future, I believe is the only rule actually stated in the show so far.

So what if the Tribe follows the Supercommando Codex instead/also? Being honorable and following a code of behavior seems to be a thing for them, and the helmet thing could have been added when they needed to go into hiding.

also i just have feelings about the true mandalorians okay they could have been great they would have been great they embodied mandalore as an honorable warrior culture but they were betrayed and i hate everything about it THEY DESERVED BETTER

[furious-blueberry0]

I was looking through some old google doc files, and came across this government structure I had created of the Mandalore post-Empire, for an AU I was working on at the time.

Basically Din in this AU had given the darksaber back to Luke when he went to give the gift to Grogu in TBOBF, because he had discovered that it originally was protected by the Jedi and that Vizla had stolen it from the Temple, basically saying “My Ancestor gave it to the Jedi, and now I’m here to do the same”.

I mean, this was actually a really small part of the AU, but it was fun to create, so if anyone is curious here it is:

There are two Governors on the planet

They are chosen with an election, and are voted by only the citizen of age.

Their tenure lasts ten years.

But if the Assembly does not like one or both of them, with a unanimous vote they can take away their position of power.

The Assembly is formed by eighteen elements, and with the Governors they are twenty

Their tenure lasts twenty years.

A lot of the members are from the historical families of Mandalore, or at least the few that survived, but there are also members elected from less famous other clans

To be part of the Assembly you must be at least 25 years old and maximum 60. Obviously the non-human species that have different life spans will have different rules, with their years who can equate to the human ones. 

The Council is made up of six elders with tenure for life.

To be part of it you need to be at least 60 years old.

The members are chosen by the Assembly through a vote.

Often they are former members of the Assembly, who cannot be re-elected there, and so they are given this position.

There are cases in which some were elected even if they never held political tenure, but they are rare.

The Council doesn’t actually have political power, they are there just to give advice to the Governors and the Assembly.

They can suggest reforms or make proposals, but their vote on them is not valid, only the Assembly can decide.

It’s more of an honorary position than anything else.

Then there are the Mandalorian citizens.

To be considered of age, and have the right to vote, you have to complete the Verd’goten and/or follow the Resol’nare. 

All of it depends on when the citizen became a Mandalorian, if they were a child or already an adult.

It’s their role to vote for the members of the Assembly and for the Governors, but not for the Council.

They can also make requests in front of the Assembly.