#bo katan is one of those characters I wish I knew more about

[saphizzle]

Aunt Bo-Katan babysitting duty while the Mand’alor is on Official Business

I’m always delighted by Din’s complete and seemingly random willingness to let people he’s only just met babysit Grogu, and I.. Just needed an excuse to draw her armor :))

#the mandalorian #baby grogu #bo katan kryze #star wars #grogu #mandalorian #my art #digital art #bo katan is one of those characters I wish I knew more about #mayhaps its time to watch more series #but mostly #her armor fucks severely and I like to draw it

[titikawai]

Fanfic : Mind Games 1/?

I just couldn’t wait till wednesday and has to come up with my own version of  Chapter 24. ENJOY 

Summary:

[Post chapter 23, speculation for chapter 24]

After Din is captured, he is forced to face his worst fears and realises how much he cares about the ones he loves. Bo-Katan is left alone to watch over Grogu and does everything in her power to reunite with the one she secretly loves.

Chapter Text

As he was thrown into the briefing room, Din heard the sound of the heavy door slamming shut behind him. He looked around, taking in his new surroundings. The room was small and dark. He tried to move, but he was restrained, his arms and legs bound in heavy shackles.

He looked around for any possible exit or weak point in the room, but everything seemed to be tightly secured. The walls were made of reinforced steel, and the door was guarded by two imposing darktroopers. The ceiling was high, and he couldn't see any vents or access panels he could use to escape.

Din cursed himself for not being more vigilant and getting caught by Moff Gideon's forces.

His thoughts drifted to Grogu and Bo-Katan and he couldn't help but wonder if they were safe. He hoped that they weren't caught up in the mess that he had found himself in. Din knew that Bo-Katan was a capable warrior, but he also knew that the galaxy was a dangerous place, and he couldn't help but worry about her and the Child.

Din had never called Grogu his son, but he knew in his heart that he was. The bond that they had shared during their travels had been unbreakable, and he had grown to care for the child deeply. He had become a father figure to him, teaching him the ways of the Mandalorian and protecting him from harm. The thought of the innocent being caught up in the violence of the galaxy made his heart ache. Din remembered the time when he had first met Grogu, how the child had looked up at him with those big, innocent eyes, and how he had felt a deep sense of responsibility to protect him. He wished that he had told Grogu how much he loved him. He wished that he had been able to show the child how much he cared. He knew that his actions had spoken louder than his words, but he still wished that he had expressed his feelings more directly. Din had always been a man of few words, but he realized now that sometimes words were important. Sometimes they could convey feelings that actions couldn't. He wished that he had told the child that he was proud of him, that he loved him like a son. But it was too late now, he was probably going to die soon and Grogu was gone. He would never have the chance to tell him how he felt.

And then there was Bo-Katan, the fierce warrior who had become his ally in the fight against the Empire, had taught him much about the Mandalorian way of life. Her bravery and leadership had earned his respect and admiration. He had made an oath to serve her until her song was written. He had admired her strength and character from the moment he met her. Din regretted not telling her how much he cared for her, how much he admired her. He wished he had told her how he loved the way her red hair flowed in the wind, how he respected her determination to reclaim the Mandalorian throne. Din's thoughts were filled with memories of his time with her. He remembered the way they had fought together, side by side, against their enemies. He remembered how she had helped him to protect Grogu. Din had always thought of himself as a lone ranger, a man who never needed anyone else in his life. As he stood there, he felt a warmth spreading through him, a feeling of love and devotion that he had never felt before. He realized how wrong he had been. He missed Bo-Katan more than anything. He longed for her more than he had ever longed for anything in his life. Din closed his eyes and tried to imagine the redhead standing in front of him. He imagined her smile, her laugh, her touch. He felt his heart beat faster. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, imagining himself standing before her, pouring out his heart in a way he had never done before. Alone with his thoughts, Din realized that he had been a fool. He had been so focused on carrying out his duties that he had never taken the time to truly express his feelings to the one person who meant everything to him. Now, it was too late.

Suddenly, the door to the briefing room creaked open and in walked Moff Gideon, flanked by two Beskar-armored Darktroopers. He was wearing his signature black Beskar armor, and his cape flowed behind him as he strode across the cell. The Mandalorian stood up, ready to fight, but the shackles held him in place.

"Greetings, Din Djarin," Gideon said with a cold smile. "I trust your accommodations are to your liking?"

Din didn't respond. He knew better than to engage in conversation with Gideon.

"What do you want from me?" he growled.

"I have a proposition for you," Moff Gideon continued. "You see, I need your help. I need to find Luke Skywalker, and I believe you know where he's hiding. The fate of the galaxy rests on his capture."

Din glared at him. "I don't know."

Gideon scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me, Mandalorian. I have my sources. I know you recuperated the child from him not too long ago."

Din remained defiant. "Luke Skywalker is a Jedi. He won't be found unless he wants to be."

Gideon raised an eyebrow. " You underestimate the reach of the Empire, Din. We have our ways of finding what we want."

Din remained silent, he was trapped, with no way out.

"I'll never betray Luke Skywalker. Do your worst, Moff. I won't break." he said.

Gideon's expression darkened. "I see you are not willing to cooperate. That's a shame. I had hoped to make this easy for both of us. You see, I've dealt with Mandalorians before. They're a stubborn bunch, but they all have their weaknesses."

Suddenly, the cell door opened, and two darktroopers marched in, their blasters ready.

"Take him to the lab," Gideon ordered. "We'll get what we need from him, one way or another."

Din was roughly dragged from his cell and taken down a long, winding hallway. He could feel the eyes of the darktroopers on him, and he knew that he was in for a rough time.

As they entered the lab, Din saw rows of strange machines and equipment, all designed for one purpose: torture. He shuddered.

Gideon walked up to Din, a sinister grin on his face. "I'm afraid you leave me no choice. You will give me what I want, or you will suffer the consequences."

Haut du formulaire

"I mean that I can make you tell me anything I want," Gideon replied. "I have access to the latest interrogation technology, and I have a team of experts who know how to extract information from even the most stubborn of prisoners."

Din felt a wave of fear wash over him, but he refused to show any sign of weakness. "I won't tell you anything," he said, his voice steady.

Gideon's smile faded. "Very well. But I warn you, Mandalorian. The longer you resist, the more painful the interrogation will be."

He stood in front of Din, a sinister smile spreading across his face. The Mandalorian was kneeling on the ground, his head bowed in defiance. He knew that breaking Din's spirit was not going to be easy, but he was determined to do it.

"You know, Mando, ever since you took off your helmet in front of the green kid, I've been curious about your face," Gideon said, his voice dripping with contempt. "I imagine it's quite disfigured, considering the scars you must have earned during your time as a bounty hunter.”

Without warning, Gideon reached out and snatched the helmet from Din's head, his face soon revealed to the cold, harsh light of the cell.

Din felt exposed, vulnerable, dishonored as he became, once again, an apostate. Moff Gideon knew that removing a Mandalorian's helmet was a grave insult, but he relished the opportunity to humiliate his captive.

"You think this armour makes you invincible, Mandalorian?" Gideon sneered, , his voice dripping with disdain. He was holding the helmet aloft, turning it over in his hands. "But now look at you. Helpless and vulnerable… This helmet is nothing more than a symbol of your misguided beliefs."

Din gritted his teeth, his fists clenched at his sides. He knew that Gideon was trying to provoke him, to make him react emotionally. But he refused to give in to the Moff's twisted games.

"You don't understand the way of the Mandalore," Din growled, his voice low and menacing.

Gideon laughed, tossing the helmet aside with a clatter.

"You think you're so honorable, so righteous," he said. "But you're nothing more than a pawn in a much larger game."

Din said nothing, but he could feel the weight of Gideon's gaze upon him.

"You are not like the other captives I've had," Gideon said. "You Mandalorians are a unique breed. You are trained to resist interrogation. But I have ways of breaking even the strongest of warriors. And make no mistake, Mandalorian, I will stop at nothing to get what I want."

Din remained silent, but he could feel a flicker of fear in his chest. He knew that Gideon was capable of terrible things, and he feared what the he might do to him.

"You see, Mando, I know your weakness," Gideon said, his voice low and menacing. "I know what you care about most. And I will use that against you to get what I want."

"I will never tell you anything," Din said firmly.

Gideon smiled coldly. "We shall see," he said. "I have a few... peculiar methods that I think might work on you."

Moff Gideon looked at Din with a sly smile on his face, his eyes glinting with a dangerous energy. “Let me introduce you to one of the Empire's latest toy" he said, motioning to a large machine in the corner of the room.

Din eyed the machine warily, wondering what kind of torture device it could be.

"It's a brain scanner," Gideon said, sensing Din's apprehension. "It can read your thoughts and bring out your worst fears. And then we can use those fears against you."

Din's heart rate increased as he imagined what kind of horrors the machine could unleash. He watched in horror as Moff Gideon flicked a switch, and the brain scanner hummed to life. The Mandalorian felt a pang of fear deep in his chest. The darktroopers led him over to a sinister-looking chair. He could see the straps and electrodes that were waiting for him.

He tried to resist as they strapped him in, but the darktroopers were too strong. They pushed him down onto the chair and fastened the restraints around his arms, legs, and chest.

He could feel the cold metal of the electrodes against his skin, and he winced as they tightened the straps around his head.

He tried to remain calm and focused, but he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that whatever memories or emotions the machine dredged up would be overwhelming, and he wasn't sure how long he could hold out.

As the machine began to scan his brain, he felt a strange sensation wash over him. At first, it was like a dull ache, a faint throbbing at the base of his skull. But then it intensified, until it felt like a white-hot poker had been plunged into his brain.

He cried out in agony, but there was no relief. The machine continued to probe deeper and deeper, pulling forth memories and emotions that he had long since buried.

It was like nothing he had ever experienced before - a searing pain that seemed to emanate from the very core of his being.

His mind was filled with flashes of memories - his time in the covert, his battles against the Empire, his encounters with Moff Gideon and the darktroopers. But there were other memories too - painful, personal memories that he had tried to bury deep inside himself.

As the machine continued to scan his brain, Din's vision blurred as a wave of dizziness overtook him. Suddenly, he was transported to a memory from his childhood, one that he had tried to forget for years. He was back in the small village on Aq Vetina, where he had grown up with his parents.

As he looked around, he saw his mother and father walking towards him, smiling warmly. But the smile quickly faded from their faces as a group of B2 droids appeared out of nowhere, brandishing blasters.

Din's heart raced as he watched the scene play out before him, helpless to do anything. He saw the droids gun down his parents in cold blood, leaving him alone in the world, just as he had seen so many times before in his recurring dreams. He could feel the pain and the sorrow all over again, just as if it was happening for the first time.

"No!" Din shouted, his voice cracking with emotion. "Stop it! Please!"

He cried out in anguish, trying to shut out the memory and the pain it brought. But the machine kept going, pulling more and more memories from his mind. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of emotions, unable to escape.

Moff Gideon watched coldly as Din writhed in agony. "You see, your Mandalorian armour cannot protect you from this kind of pain," he said, a cruel smile on his face. "But I have a way to end this suffering. Just tell me where Luke Skywalker is hiding, and I will turn off the machine."

Din gritted his teeth, fighting back against the pain and the fear. He knew that if he gave in to Gideon, it would mean betraying everything he stood for. "I will never tell you," he spat out through gritted teeth.

Gideon watched, pleased with the results. "You see, Mando," he said, "this is just the beginning.”

After a few more minutes of interrogation, Din body went limp, and he passed out from the intense emotional pain inflicted by the brain scanner.

"He's still alive, right?" Moff Gideon asked one of the darktroopers.

"Yes sir, his vitals are stable," the trooper replied.

"Good," Moff Gideon said with a nod. "Leave him be for now. We'll resume the interrogation later. And please, take some blood from our guest," he said coldly. "We may need it for cloning purposes later."

The darktroopers hesitated for a moment, glancing at Din's unconscious form strapped to the torture chair.

"Sir, is that really necessary?" one of them asked tentatively.

Moff Gideon's eyes narrowed. "Do not question my orders," he warned. "The subject has exceptional fighting abilities. Imagine having an army of warriors like him at our disposal."

The darktroopers nodded silently and approached Din with a needle. Despite his unconscious state, his body still tensed in response to the pain of the blood being drawn.

Once they had taken the sample, they retreated to a corner of the room to store it in a secure container.

With that, Moff Gideon turned and left the room, the darktroopers following in his wake.

Din still lay unconscious on the torture chair, his chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths. As the minutes ticked by, he began to stir, his eyes fluttering open and his head pounding with the aftermath of the brain scan. He tried to remember what had happened, but his mind was a blur of pain and confusion.

He shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He knew he couldn't let the Empire break him, no matter what they did to him.

#dinbo

[torilaa]

So, here’s my review of Mandalorian S3 E2 - spoilers below. Overall better then the last episode…

So I liked this episode waaay more than the first. I actually wished they skipped that first episode because…what relevant plot points were even in it? The droid restoration quest was irrelevant and replaced with an astromech. The only useful scene in the first episode was Din’s visit to Bo Katan to ask for her help which could have been fit into the second episode before Din went to Mandalore or something. What I’m saying is the pacing is kinda messy there. I’m sure the droid or the pirates might be relevant eventually but I only know that because it’s a tv show and there are more episodes to come. There had to have been a better way to include them if they were going to be relevant later…

Bo Katan was my favorite part of this episode. I’m glad she was sorta growing out of the angst a bit. She had “grouchy-Luke Skywalker” vibes for a long while…though it makes more sense that she would have those vibes honestly after losing the dark saber. Again. It might also help that I love Katee Sackhoff as an actress and I like her portrayal. Also she’s a well rounded character with flaws and strengths which is a major plus for me.

Din kinda…bumbled around this episode xD. I think he’s really out of his element which is kinda ironic given he’s on the Mandalorian home world. I liked his scenes with Bo—I like that they’re sorta getting along.

Grogu did have relevance by saving his dad from cyborg eye thing by recruiting Bo Katan. No one can say no to his cuteness and Din knew this from experience lol. Also I’m surprised Bo didn’t make a big deal about using the dark saber to save Din…maybe it’ll be mentioned in the next episode. It was sorta brushed aside.

Not surprised by the mythosaur honestly it was heavily foreshadowed. Though I wonder how it’ll factor into the show. Maybe as Mandalorian recruitment propaganda to gather the clans and stuff? It would be cool to see Mandalore revitalized as Bo’s redemption. Just some thoughts.

#the mandalorian season three spoilers #torilaa talks #star wars

[bedlamsbard]

All right, reactions to Mando 2.05, “The Jedi”, in...semi-coherent form. Spoilers, obvs. I hated this episode, so keep scrolling now if you don’t want to see negativity.  This is not in any kind of order except stream-of-conscious.

again, I reiterate, spoilers.

again, I reiterate, this is REALLY negative.

Rosario Dawson...yikes.

how...did Bo-Katan know that Ahsoka was on Corvus? are they in contact? since when? Ahsoka seems to have been on Corvus for long enough to be a nuisance to the Magistrate (Morgan Elsbeth), but normally Ahsoka is very efficient and she just...really does not seem to be here? I did not get the impression she was planning on sticking around for any period of time.

(the same could be true for Frog Lady and Bo-Katan on Trask several episodes back. that wasn’t a convert, that was three Mandalorians hanging around the port in cloaks. I guess they could be doing that on the regular, but? would the Empire not then be more worried about being attacked by Mandalorians?)

there was only ever a very, very slim chance that I was going to be happy with any translation of Ahsoka from animation to live action.  I am on record as thinking that animation is the medium for Star Wars and that live action is always going to be a weaker medium than animation and that a lot of things that can be done in animation just cannot be translated to live action in any meaningful form.  I knew Ahsoka’s fighting style couldn’t translate to live action convincingly (here’s what I said about the mo-capped duel in TCW); it never occurred to me that they couldn’t pull off TOGRUTA given that Shaak Ti, you know, exists, and also there are so many excellent Ahsoka cosplayers.

(Consider KM Creations’ excellent silicone lekku (S7), which have beautiful movement; the cosplayer behind that is CallMeSnips and her epilogue prototype is from SWCC is in there somewhere.  I think Rei Kennex’s are latex (you can tell they don’t have much movement) but at least they’re the right length.  I think Ahsoka94′s are also latex (again with the movement); this is her Mortis vision grown-up Ahsoka.)

AND YES, THE LEKKU/MONTRALS WERE A DEAL-BREAKER FOR ME.

I feel very “you have made your bed and now you have to die in it” about that -- apparently the reasoning is for stunts and movement, but for me here’s the thing: her lekku length wasn’t optional.  This is not the equivalent of changing a hair style, which some people seem to think (believe me, I have read so many hot takes); this is like...I’m trying to think of a good comparison.  Like putting Peter Mayhew or Joonas Suotamo in a wig because Chewie’s head was too hard for the actor to see out of, or giving them normal human hands because they can’t grip with the Wookiee hands.

Also your main character wears a helmet at all times that (if it’s anything like my Mandalorian helmet) is pretty poor visibility and full body armor and THIS was your breaking point for stunts?

Ahsoka’s lekku and montrals grow as she ages. These are about S7 length; as @reena-jenkins put it, THEY DE-AGED HER HEAD.  Ahsoka fans coming in know this.  PEOPLE SAW THE REBELS EPILOGUE.

I wonder how many of the people being self-righteous about being totally fine about Ahsoka’s lekku are the same people who claim that Katee Sackhoff is too young to play Bo-Katan.

this also puts them in a weird position in regards to the inevitable merchandise: do they go with normal Ahsoka from TCW and Rebels, the one everyone is familiar with, or do they go with these stunted lekku?

(I can’t believe they’re going to make Her Universe sell merch with this Ahsoka on it. it’s not going to happen but I wish HU was going to be petty enough to not sell any nu!Ahsoka merch.)

Here is some nice art of how Ahsoka’s lekku and montral should have looked.

hoo boy were those prosthetics also just Bad.

“but the stunts” buddy I’m sure Pedro Pascal and his various stunt doubles aren’t having a great time in full armor with almost no visibility either

if you’re going to put the character in, do it right

YOU CAN’T CHEAT

look, I am really, really aural -- the best example I can give is that even though intellectually I know that Matt Lanter and Hayden Christensen both play Anakin Skywalker, I literally cannot parse them as both being the same Anakin Skywalker and for that reason TCW and the PT don’t exist for the same continuity for me.  (This also goes for Ewan McGregor and James Arnold Taylor, Natalie Portman and Cat Taber, and Samuel L. Jackson and TC Carson. I can kinda cope with the multiple Palpatine VAs. Yes, the decision to use Hayden and Sam in Ahsoka’s vision in “Shattered,” even blending into Matt’s voice from Hayden’s, threw me so badly I couldn’t take the vision seriously.)  Ashley Eckstein has a very distinctive voice, and moreover has been the only person to ever voice Ahsoka up to this point (even in the Ahsoka novel audiobook). Barring a MIRACLE I was never going to be able to parse another actress’s voice as Ahsoka’s, solely because of how my brain works.

I could probably have parsed someone else’s face because animated Ahsoka is pretty stylized but the voice thing is a huge problem for me because of how aural I am.

(I say this but when Squadrons did a more live action-style Hera -- knowing they mo-capped Vanessa Marshall I think they used Vanessa’s face for Hera’s, which is also what it looks like on the revised art and face sculpt for the Black Series Hera -- I kind of had a meltdown about it (for...weird reasons). And that was the same VA.)

(The timeskip between TCW and Rogue One, then Rebels, probably saved Saw Gerrera for me here, but he was also never a main character.)

can you believe that Sam Witwer’s Maul got more live action respect than Ashley Eckstein’s Ahsoka

I love Sam’s Maul but wow

this is particularly jarring because Dave Filoni and Ashley Eckstein always seemed like they were friends? I realize that this gets skewed by how little of their actual lives we see online, but that is the vibe that I’ve gotten from interviews and social media posts.

can you believe that TROS gave more respect to Ashley Eckstein’s Ahsoka than Dave Filoni’s Mando episode did (here is her statement on TROS.)

back in March, when the Dawson casting rumors first dropped (or leaked, as the case may be), Ashley posted a statement about it saying that she was not involved in The Mandalorian. she has over the years been very vocal about desperately wanting to play live-action Ahsoka, who is a character solely associated with her up until today, and honestly this just breaks my heart.

I am not the massive Ashley Eckstein fan that many Ahsoka fans are, but I have never heard anything bad about her (I saw her at my hotel at SWCC while I was waiting for my roommate to arrive! that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to her, a distance of about six feet), and I really desperately hope that someone told her about this beforehand and she didn’t find out from watching the episode.

Also, while I’m here talking about Ashley Eckstein, the characterization here was extremely off, in that specific way that happens when a writer/director is working with their absolute favorite character, DAVE FILONI. I do trust Ashley to course-correct Dave on Ahsoka (in the same way we’ve heard about Sam Witwer pushing back on people about Maul), and that...was not happening here.  (I think Katee Sachoff said something similar to this about Bo-Katan in her interview last week, as well.)

how did you get Bo-Katan so right and Ahsoka so wrong

look, Dave Filoni is truly living up to George Lucas’s legacy in that he can story tell pretty well but he’s not actually that great at nitty-gritty of writing and directing. (none of the really good TCW episodes are his.)

this episode made me think of A Friend in Need (which he directed) which is not, like, a BAD episode but quite notoriously includes the Bo-Katan ass-slap and also Ahsoka beheading four Mandalorians at once.

it also includes a helpless village of oppressed and exploited Asian-coded civilians who are there mostly as background scenery so the bad guys can be bad and the heroes can feel righteous

I’ll come back to that one

the level of violence in this episode was...weird. honestly, too high? in a way that probably would not have registered if it was anyone but Ahsoka. look, I am an animated shows person. I know TCW and Rebels inside and out. I know that neither one is particularly shy about killing off faceless bad guys (though if you watch Rebels S1 compared to Rebels S4 they really dial back the amount of fatal violence the main characters commit in the last season, lol).  But this felt off for Ahsoka in a way I can’t really articulate.

why is Ahsoka attacking a random Mandalorian (her allies are Mandalorians!) who is walking through the woods WITH A BABY? WITHOUT WARNING?

part of that is just her movement -- when they animated her for TCW back in 2008, they made a deliberate decision to give her mannerisms and movement and a fighting style that a human can’t do because she isn’t human and animation can do that. which means that they hobbled themselves when they came to translating her to live action because uh a human can’t do that.

something about her lightsaber blades looked really, really wrong and I can’t put my finger on what. it’s like they just used the illuminated blades of the stunt sabers but didn’t do the extra CGI that the films do? I don’t know.

Ahsoka did a LOT of dramatic posing and what WAS that?

Dave can’t direct live action, that’s what that was

since when can you canonically convey that much information mind to mind

are Ahsoka and Grogu a dyad in the Force (I know the answer is no but also: what? what was happening?)

the only people we’ve seen who can do that sort of thing are Quinlan Vos and Cal Kestis, who both have the rare talent for telemetry, and even that’s not mind to mind communication, that’s touching a thing and going “YIKES”

you are telling me that Ahsoka Tano, whom six months ago we saw take on Darth Maul, a whole barrage of Mandalorian warriors, and her entire clone trooper battalion and walk away without a scratch, had to work up a sweat fighting one woman with a spear

you do know that we all saw TCW and Rebels right

and here’s the problem! this episode makes zero sense if you HAVE seen TCW and Rebels because (1) she doesn’t look right (2) she doesn’t fight right (3) timelines? we’ve never heard of them? (4) is Thrawn back? did you find the Chimaera? (you all do remember that Ezra and Thrawn aren’t out there alone and are in fact with a 40,000 man crewed star destroyer right) (5) did you NOT find them? (6) are you even looking? (7) this is supposed to be AFTER the Rebels epilogue unless you’ve decided to take advantage of that specific ending scene not being super specifically dated and if it’s before IT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE! because I desperately hate that epilogue and its implications EVEN AS IT IS! (8) why would you call this episode “The Jedi” when since 2013 Ahsoka’s whole thing has been not being a Jedi

to be fair I’m pretty sure S7 tried very hard to course correct that but unfortunately, they could not because the rest of canon exists

are you still trying to deny me grown Ahsoka and Rex when we know you got Temuera back for a five second shot of Boba

to be fair I would have the same aural problems with Temuera voicing Rex because that’s Dee Bradley Baker as far as I’m concerned (I reiterate that this is because of how my brain process character and sound, not anythign else)

if you haven’t seen TCW and Rebels this is a random Jedi wandering around for no specific reason namedropping a completely random person who has no prior significance unless it’s going to turn up later

this entire show has consisted of namedropping random people and things with no prior significance within the show itself and it remains entirely unclear whether they’re ever going to have significance within the show itself

look, I can buy Ahsoka not wanting to train the kid both for her stated reasons and for some implied stuff from earlier on in canon (the kids in the Ahsoka novel, the babies from Future of the Force), even what happened with Ezra, and obviously she has Plans and cannot haul a baby around with her when that baby is going to be a baby for an indeterminate amount of time

which honestly is something that ought to come up because even if Ahsoka wanted to train the kid by the time she grew old and died he might, if we were very lucky, have advanced to being essentially a pre-teen and then would be on his own again? this is also true for Din.

lol sure go cast yourself out into the Force, I’m sure there’s absolutely not a single darksider still wandering around the galaxy who might perk up at “ooh, free apprentice!”

I’m literally starting to think that this show takes place in an alternate universe where Luke and Leia either don’t exist or died at some point in the OT

me, baffled, last season: you’re telling me Cara Dune, Alderaanian, had never heard of the Jedi? was she not keeping up with whatever Leia Organa was doing? was the Rebel Alliance actually big enough that PEOPLE IN IT HADN’T HEARD OF LUKE SKYWALKER?

what...is Luke doing right now. isn’t he training Leia?

WHAT HAS AHSOKA BEEN DOING FOR TEN YEARS are we seriously supposed to believe she peaced out of the Rebel Alliance after Malachor and whatever the hell they’re going to make that out to be (honestly at this point I’m betting on “they will never touch it”)

does or does Ahsoka not know that Luke exists

hoo boy can you just see them trying to cast a younger Luke, or do you think they’d CGI de-age Mark Hamill?

oh yeah let’s go through this again in a season with someone else playing young Luke, let’s, I’m not emotionally invested in that so I’m prepared to be entertained

hasn’t Sebastian Stan been floated (even if just on Twitter) for young Luke?

why are these not-imperials on this planet. what are they doing here. what’s the point.

 why is the planet...being burned? I was half-expecting, like, normal deforestation (in terms of logging for lumber) but I’m also a bit ??? about this.

since when is beskar resistant to lightsabers, I thought cortosis was the only thing that was? whatever, it’s new canon, they can do whatever they want. (ETA: apparently that’s been true for a while; I am more a Jedi person than a Mandalorian one as far as the EU goes and my Mandalorian lore is my weakest point.)

dear god were these fight scenes bad

I did spot Morai and I appreciated the tookas

okay, I am taking the next thing out of bullet points because I was really, really upset by it, and as an Asian-American woman it affects me directly.

I was really, really shaken by the use of village of (space) Asian people who were portrayed solely as background victims to be tortured and exploited.  Star Wars has a long history of Orientalism, and some of it I can look away from and some of I can’t.  Mando especially has a very bad track record with its treatment of Asian characters (Fennec Shand), and in recent years the rest of Star Wars live action has also been pretty bad about it; I will never forget how shaken and upset I was by Paige Tico’s death at the beginning of TLJ, and Rose’s sidelining in TROS was a lot to deal with. There has also been some pretty appalling anti-Asian racism from the Mandalorian fandom that I have seen in regards towards casting rumors about Sabine (which brought me to the point of tears as recently as yesterday).

I had been braced for Rosario Dawson Ahsoka because it’s been rumored for so long, if never officially confirmed by Lucasfilm, and after they pulled the original VA for Leia from Resistance a few years ago (without ever making an official statement but it was after she made really dismissive statements during the Kavanaugh hearings) I was still really hoping they’d pull Dawson for the transphobic assault allegations, or that the rumors were false, or...something.  I was not expecting the way that they treated the Asian civilian population here.  I kept hoping that there was going to be something, and it’s like they kept almost going there with Governor Wing (you want to make either his name or his position clear in the actual episode, maybe?) but then kept pulling back, which just made the whole population victims that had to be rescued by outsiders. And exploited, and tortured, and abused in general.

And yes, I’m aware the Magistrate/Morgan Elsbeth is an Asian-American woman.  That doesn’t make it better?  Since Ahsoka presumably kills her offscreen?

(Also Diana Lee Inosanto is a stunt performer and a fight choreographer, why is that fight scene so wooden, damn.)

okay back to bullet points to wrap up

I realize I haven’t said much about Din and the kid and that’s because they didn’t...do...much? I guess if you’re actually invested in them “YAY HE HAS FEELINGS” is a major thing but I’m not

I have flashes of being invested in Din, but the problem is that I never know what the hell this show is doing because it’s all over the place.  We are 5/8 of the way into season 2 and I have no idea what it’s trying to do: they keep setting stuff up and then not doing anything with it. I can make vague predictions based on what’s set up and based on my knowledge of canon, but this show is so weirdly set up and paced that I can never tell if they’re something for A Reason, for the lulz, or for the Aesthetic.

I feel extremely vindicated by the revelation a few weeks ago that Din grew up in a cult but I also straight-up feel like I spent the past year being gaslighted about what Mandalorians were, and that’s...not a great feeling. Do I think that the show is going to do anything with that? Fuck, I don’t know. I hope so. I know what I’d do as a writer. But I can’t predict anything they’re doing and that makes me really uneasy.

jeez, at least when George Lucas was making Star Wars you knew he was doing it to entertain himself and tell a specific story rather than constantly having to go back and wonder what story lines got compromised for a project down the road.

like, is this why they did mo-cap Ahsoka in S7, to brace us for live action Ahsoka here? I know they had already filmed Mando S2 before S1 came out. WHY THEY DIDN’T THEY REUSE LAUREN MARY KIM AS AHSOKA’S STUNT DOUBLE THEN? it’s not like she hasn’t stunted in Mando before?

if this was supposed to be a backdoor pilot to a Rebels sequel...I will flip a table

I enjoyed the Bad Batch eps in TCW S7 but knowing that there’s going to be a Bad Batch show I’m now wondering if they’re only in S7 to backdoor pilot that show

how far back does this go? did they put the Legacy of Mandalore story line in Rebels S4 solely to set up for this? especially considering that that’s the one thing in S4 that actually has saga weight and then they immediately got rid of everything it accomplished to set up for this?

I presume that this is the reason they refused to release the turnaround for Ahsoka’s epilogue look two years ago. apparently it doesn’t matter given they changed her entire epilogue color scheme and also her lekku and personality.

Look -- at the end of the day, there was only about a 2% chance I was ever going to like this episode, but I was holding out for it nevertheless. I do get surprised from time to time! I liked the Bo-Katan episode! This was, however, a hot mess. And yes: a lot of the things that bother me are not going to bother other people. (I haven’t seen anyone comment on the Asian villagers, for example.)

#just so there is no doubt: I HATED THIS EPISODE #the mandalorian spoilers #bedlam watches the mandalorian #mando the jedi

[ladyrynofsunnydale]

Bo-Katan Week Day 1 / Childhood/Younger Years

Title: End of One Era, Beginning of Another

Rating: T

Summary: It’s the start of the Great Clan Wars and Bo-Katan and Satine have had to flee Mandalore. While Bo-Katan is willing to fight for her sister, Satine instead wishes to follow their parents’ belief in peace. With their parents dead, they are all the family each other has left. Is that enough to keep them together?

Author’s Note: Day 1 of Bo-Katan Week! I am so excited to be writing fanfiction again, especially about one of my favorite Star Wars characters! For Day 1 I decided to go with the alternate prompt of Childhood/Younger Years. Hope you enjoy! Mando’a translations at the bottom.

Click Here or on Keep Reading for the story!

Tagging: @bokatanweek

Ever since she’d heard the Republic had contacted them about sending Jedi guards, Bo-Katan could not keep still. As an avid student of Mandalorian military history, she knew the history between Mandalore and the Republic and their Jedi. Their war had left Mandalore a wasteland. And now they wanted to send them here to protect them? More likely they wanted to send them here to control Mandalore.

Bo stormed into Satine’s office and dramatically flung herself on one of the chairs.

“Who do they think they are?”

Satine sighed. She was sitting behind a scarred wooden desk, datapads littered around her, with the setting sun warming her back and causing her blonde hair to almost glow. Absentmindedly tugging on her long braid, she glanced up at Bo then struggled to focus back on the datapad in her hand.

“Who’re you talking about Bo?”

“The Republic! Who do they think they are, sending Jedi here?!” The anger was impressive on her ten-year-old face as she scowled at the desk, her arms crossed over her chest.

“They just reached out to us. They’re not sending any Jedi,” Satine answered, closing her eyes to rub her temples. “Just like I told you this morning.”

“But they could! What if they decide to just send the Jedi anyways? Do you know that they put a Jedi regent on Pijal for eight years?! I bet that is what they want to do here.”

“I’m old enough to not need a regent Bo.” Satine was now staring fixedly at the data pad in her hand. “And how did you hear about Pijal anyways? I thought you were supposed to be doing school work?” she glanced up at Bo, her brows pinched together. Bo shrugged, looking down at her lap.

“I did some school work. Then I got bored.”

“Of course you did,” Satine grumbled under her breath. Bo could be an amazing student. She could tell you the most obscure facts about Mandalorian history, tell you who ruled which clan when, but gods forbid you ask her to study something she wasn’t interested in.

“You know,” Bo started, looking up at Satine and sitting up straighter in her chair. “We wouldn’t need aruetii protection if we just stood up for ourselves.”

Satine put the datapad down and gave Bo a severe look.

“We’re trying to show Mandalore a new future, Bo, where everything doesn’t have to be settled by warfare.”

“But Satine!” Bo exclaimed. “They attacked first! This is defense!” Bo had always looked up to her older sister, but she never quite understood her pacifism. Once she’d been old enough to understand, she’d wanted to put on their family’s beskar’gam and take up arms against those who threatened her family. Be a true Mando’ad. She could defend Satine, she knew, even if her sister didn’t want to fight.

“Violence begets violence. It’s not the way.”

“The Protectors have weapons!” Bo said, pointing at the two Protectors currently flanking the office door.

“The Protectors are here to protect us,” Satine responded, exasperation filling her voice.

“Well I don’t need protection,” Bo said confidently. “I’m a verd. Just like Ba’buir.”

“Ba’buir died at thirty during a clan dispute!” Satine finally snapped. “And since then Mom and Buir have worked hard to show Mandalore that violence just gets good people killed!”

The room went silent as Bo went completely still, staring at her sister. Shame passed over Satine’s face.

“Well Mom and Buir are dead. So a fat lot of good that did them,” Bo said, standing up and running for the door.

“Bo!” Satine called, rounding the desk, but Bo was already gone.

“We’ll send someone after her,” one of the Protectors said, and Satine nodded and sank into the chair Bo had just vacated, her head in her hands.

Bo didn’t stop until she’d reached the storage room beside the armory. She found the darkest corner of the room and slid down the wall, hugging her knees to her chest while wiping the back of her hand against her nose and willing herself not to cry. Verda did not cry.

She didn’t know how long she sat there until there was a knock at the door and Fenn Rau stuck his head in.

Fenn was young, maybe a little older than Satine, and Bo really liked him. He was funny and was one of the few Protectors who didn’t treat her like a little girl. He’d even taught her how to shoot a blaster and don armor, behind Satine’s back of course.

“Hello, Bo-Katan,” he said, stepping into the room.

“I’m not going back,” Bo said petulantly, sniffing and wiping at her nose again. She picked up a fallen spare droid part and launched it across the room. “I hate this place!” Fenn walked in and closed the door behind him before coming to sit beside Bo, leaving about an arm’s length between them. “I just want to go home,” Bo said softly, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“I know, verd’ika,” Fenn said gently, leaning his head up against the wall. “I miss home too.”

Fenn pulled something out of one of the pouches on his belt and began messing with it. Bo lifted her head off of her knees and watched him before scooting closer.

“What is that?” she asked.

“A puzzle box. You have to align everything quite right,” he said, twisting the beskar box in his hand around, “and then,” and the box popped open.

“Ooh!” Bo exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “May I try?”

Fenn nodded, putting the box back together and twisting it a few times before handing it over. Bo eagerly took it and turned it around and around in her hands, looking at every detail, before gingerly twisting it. After a few minutes she pulled at it and…nothing happened.

“Dank farrik,” she grunted and Fenn hid a smile behind his hand.

“Language,” he said.

With her head still bowed over the box she looked up at him from under her sharp red brows.

“Haar’chak,” she deadpanned. Fenn shook his head as she went back at it. She kept at it, all her focus on the tiny box, mumbling to herself when she’d pull at it fruitlessly, until finally he heard the click and when she pulled it opened. She whooped in triumph, her yell reverberating off the walls and Fenn smiled at her proudly. Turning the pieces over in her hands she took the time to examine the inner mechanisms.

“You know, your sister didn’t mean to snap at you,” he said softly. Bo didn’t react for a few minutes, just turning the box around and around in her hands. She then sighed and reached the box back out to him.

“I know. I just…miss them.”

Fenn remained silent, staring at the box in Bo’s small hand. He reached over and closed her hand around it.

“You keep it.” She looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded.

“Keep it safe for me.”

Bo kept staring at the box, her eyes narrowed in thought. She then gently placed the box in one of the pouches on her belt and reached into another pouch, pulling out a leaf-shaped piece of metal. She weighed it in her hand, watching the way the light bounced off the beskar, before holding it out to Fenn.

“A trade,” she said. “I’ll keep your box safe if you keep this safe for me.”

Fenn gently reached out and took the offered leaf. Turning it over, he inspected the etchings and detail. He could see Bo-Katan’s work in it, and her initials on the back.

“When did you make this?”

“Before we left the palace. It’ll bring you luck.”

“Are you sure?” Fenn asked, meeting Bo’s eyes. She nodded resolutely. “I promise to keep it safe for you.”

Standing, he offered his hand and she took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Side by side they left the storage room and headed down the hall.

Satine and Bo hugged when Fenn brought her back, but Bo didn’t bring up the Republic or the Jedi again.

A week later she stood next to Satine as they waited for Prime Minister Rogaar who’d just landed outside the compound. Her tunic was scratchy and uncomfortable and she kept pulling at it and shifting around. She didn’t know what the big deal was. She’d met Minister Rogaar before.

The compound doors opened and Minister Rogaar, flanked by a couple guards and two of his aides, walked through. He was a large man, older with gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard, with kind light blue eyes. Walking towards them he smiled widely.

“Your grace, it is so good to see you safe,” he boomed and Satine smiled back at him, inclining her head.

“It’s good to see you as well, Minister. I appreciate you coming.”

Sorrow filled the minister’s eyes as he nodded.

“Of course, my dear, of course. And Lady Bo-Katan, it is good to see you again!” he said, turning to Bo-Katan and brightening. Bo inclined her head stiffly.

“Minister.”

Rogaar looked back up at Satine and Bo noticed his smile slipped again.

“I come with some news. Shall we?” Satine nodded and began leading the way to her office when she paused and turned to Fenn, one of the Protectors behind them.

“Rau, do you mind taking Bo-Katan to the library? She has lessons she needs to attend to.”

“What?” Bo exclaimed, and all eyes turned to her. “I’m coming too!”

“No, Bo-Katan, we talked about this.”

“No YOU talked about this. I want to be a part of this too!”

“This is not something you need to concern yourself with. And you have lessons. Mom and Buir would want you to keep up your education.”

Bo opened her mouth to retort but Fenn turned her around and guided her down the hall.

“I’ve got her, your Grace,” he said.

Bo, surprisingly, allowed herself to be guided and just glared at Satine as she walked away.

“I’m sorry about that,” Satine said, leading the way again. “This all has been…tough on her.”

“And not just her, I am sure,” Rogaar said and Satine glanced away.

“It has not been easy.” Satine said and her shoulders sagged.

Bo was quiet at dinner, pushing her food around her plate. She wondered what Satine and Rogaar had been talking about and what was happening down on Mandalore. Did they discuss the Republic’s offer? They were currently discussing the weather on Concordia.

“So, Bo-Katan,” Rogaar suddenly said and Bo looked up. “I’ve heard you enjoy playing dejarik.” Bo’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! It’s the best game! Do you play?”

Rogaar nodded.

“Indeed I do, though it has been a while.”

“Can we play after dinner?” she asked, sitting up straighter in her chair. Rogaar smiled at her and shrugged.

“I’d be willing,” he said, then looked at Satine. Bo quickly turned her attention to Satine too and she smiled and softened her rigid posture.

“But you have to finish your food first,” she said. Bo scarfed down her food and waited impatiently for everyone else to finish before leading the way into one of the sitting rooms where a circular dejarik board was set up in the corner. She wasted no time turning on the table and choosing her characters, Rogaar sitting across from her and choosing his own.

The game started out civilly, Bo trying to determine Rogaar’s strategy, but once she got her pieces where she wanted them she attacked ruthlessly, her face screwed in concentration. Rogaar’s look changed from one of pleasant amusement to one of intense focus as he tried to counter Bo’s increasingly aggressive moves. Satine couldn’t help but smile at how quickly Bo was taking down Rogaar’s pieces and at one point leaned down beside her.

“Hey, hey, go easy on him,” she said quietly. Bo stopped and looked up at her, an unconvinced look on her face.

“I’m ten. He’s the minister of Mandalore. He’s fine.”

Rogaar started laughing, his laughs deep and booming and Satine stood up, shaking her head, though a large smile was on her face. Finally the game was over with Bo having two pieces remaining.

“Well, my lady,” Rogaar said, chuckling and shaking his head. “I don’t believe I have ever been that soundly beaten. You are quite good.”

Bo smiled broadly at the praise then turned to look over her shoulder at Satine.

“Wanna play?”

Satine’s heart soared. Since a week ago when she’d snapped at Bo, Bo’d been standoffish to her. To be honest, she missed her sister’s fire the last few days, but she looked over to Rogaar first.

“Oh, I am quite done. She’s too good for me.” He quickly stood and vacated his seat so Satine could replace him, so she heartily agreed. Both sisters quickly went about picking their characters and Bo grinned devilishly at Satine while Satine smirked back at her.

“Oh, you’re going down Bo,” she said.

The fun game quickly devolved into a competitive sibling war.

“You can’t do that!” Bo shouted as one of Satine’s pieces took out one of Bo’s.

“Yes I can! Look, see!” Satine responded, showing Bo the piece’s stats.

“There’s no way that’s right.”

“Yeah, well, it’s on here, so…”

Bo slammed the controls and moved one of her pieces, countering one of Satine’s and trapped it against one of her other pieces.

“Hey!” Satine shouted as her piece was slammed to the board.

“I can play dirty too!” Bo said, her face screwed in concentration.

Both sisters moved pieces rapidly here, there, clashing them against each other, until Satine had one piece left and Bo’s two descended on it. As Bo’s piece picked it up and slammed it to the board, Bo stood up and let out a war whoop that had one of the Protectors stationed outside poking their head in. Satine laughed.

“Well, I concede Bo. You’ve gotten too good for me.”

Rogaar shook his head, looking over the board and at Bo’s characters’ stats.

“You did better than me!” he said.

“Don’t mess with Kryzes and dejarik, sir,” one of the Protectors said and Rogaar looked over to him.

“You couldn't have told me this before?”

Bo then yawned and Satine looked at the chronometer.

“I think we will be retiring. Thank you for a lovely evening, Minister Rogaar.”

“Good night, your Grace, my lady,” he said before Satine and Bo-Katan departed for their rooms.

Satine had just finished tying off her braid when she heard a soft knock on her door. Padding over and looking through the view hole, she saw Bo and quickly opened the door to reveal her younger sister standing there, dressed for sleep.

“May I come in?” she asked, unusually shy. Satine stepped aside and nodded, worry creasing her eyebrows. Bo stepped in and looked around, her fingers fiddling with the bottom of her sleep shirt, before meeting Satine’s eyes. “I’m sorry for being so difficult this last week,” she said and Satine had to really listen to hear every word. Satine shook her head at her little sister and led her over to her couch and sat her down.

“No, Bo, I’m sorry for snapping at you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Bo sat there quietly, twisting her fingers in her lap.

“I miss Mom and Buir.”

Satine smiled sadly and pulled Bo into a hug.

“I do too, vod’ika.”

Bo let herself be held then pulled back.

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

“Of course,” Satine responded and led Bo into her room, tucking herself and Bo under the covers. “Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, Bo.”

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, Satine.”

A week later and Satine was in the study going over possible safe houses with Minister Rogaar when the first explosions went off. At first, she stared dumbly out the window at the blasts of light and explosions that were visible outside. Then she was being dragged to her feet and out the door by her Head of Security, Lars.

“Get her to safety,” he directed to the two Protectors that were outside the door, pulling out his blasters and preparing to block the hallway. Satine felt one of them, Ca’tra, she thought her name was, grab her arm and start to lead her towards the hangar when a sickening thought struck her and she dug her heels in.

“Bo!” she yelled. “She’s in the library!”

Lars traded a glum glance with Rogaar and Satine tried to pull herself free, but Ca’tra held her firmly.

“We have to get you to safety, your grace,” she said.

“I’m not leaving her! Bo!” she screamed futilely, fighting against the Protector. At that moment Fenn ran into the hallway, skidding to a halt, alone. “Rau! Where’s Bo?!”

“It…it was my day off.”

“Carlson is with her,” Lars finally supplied and pulled out his comm. Fenn turned to Satine.

“I’ll go get her,” he said, but Lars stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Stay with the Duchess. Carlson,” he called into his comm. “Carlson, do you read me?”

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at the comm.

“Ay sir, I read you. We’re ok here. Bo-Katan and I are headed for the hangar.”

A sigh of relief echoed around the room.

“Jax, Riss, I want you to meet Carlson and help him bring the Lady Bo-Katan safely to the hangar,” Lars added into the comm.

“Copy that, sir,” a female voice replied and Lars turned to Satine.

“We’ll get her there safely. Go your Grace.”

Satine looked hesitantly from Lars to Fenn to Rogaar and finally nodded and let herself be led down the hallway, Rogaar and another Protector following. Fenn hesitated.

“Go with her Rau.”

“But sir,” he started to protest.

“Go. Carlson, Jax, and Riss are more than capable of getting the girl there safely. The Duchess needs you. Now go!”

Fenn nodded and with one last reluctant look towards the library he followed Satine.

The hallways around the library were filled with smoke and the too close sounds of explosions and blasterfire. Bo was letting herself be dragged down the hallway to the hanger, Carlson’s long strides covering much more ground than her small legs ever could. They were turning into the back of the compound when a thought hit her.

“Buir’s beskar’gam!” she shouted, digging her feet in and stopping.

“What?” Carlson whirled on her, confusion clear on his face through the opening in his helmet.

“I can’t leave it,” she said and tried to pull away, but Carlson held fast. Bo grunted and pulled to no avail until she finally reeled back and kicked Carlson in the shin. The shock caused him to drop Bo’s arm and she bolted. Recovering, he ran after her, but he quickly lost her in the smoke. He knew where she was heading and hoped he could cut her off and took another hallway, almost running into Jax and Riss.

“Where’s the girl?” Jax asked as she looked around.

“She took off on me. Pretty sure she’s headed for the armory.”

The three of them began to run in that direction but were met with a face full of blaster fire. They took cover and pulled out their blasters, returning fire.

“We don’t have time for this!” Riss shouted over the noise.

In the armory, Bo was quickly throwing all of her Buir’s armor into a bag. Once done she hefted it over her shoulder and grunted as it banged painfully on her back. It was heavy, but she gritted her teeth and ran. Ahead to her right she could hear blasterfire so she ran to the left, coughing as smoke entered her lungs. She tripped and almost went down but kept running until a dark shape blocked her path and she slid to a halt. An armored unfamiliar Mandalorian stepped out of the smoke and moved towards her. She dropped the bag on the ground and groped inside. Time slowed as the Mandalorian raised his blaster, then Bo raised hers, the one Fenn had taught her how to shoot, and fired, right at the unprotected part of his shoulder. The bolt struck true and he yelled, dropping his blaster and she shot again, hitting him in the leg and he dropped. Bo again picked up her bag and ran around him, not looking back.

Carlson, Jax, and Riss finally dispatched their attackers and arrived, limping in Carlson and Riss’s case, at the armory to find it empty.

“Dank farrik!” Carlson shouted, knocking over a stand and sending its contents flying. The Kryze armor was gone.

“She had to have headed back to the hanger,” Riss said and the three of them took the left hallway towards the other side of the compound. They passed one of the Mandalorian attackers shot and bleeding on the ground and Carlson finished him off.

“Does the Kryze girl have a blaster?” Riss asked as they ran down the hallway.

“Wouldn’t put it past her,” Carlson shouted back, but all three looked up in alarm with the sound of rending steel and the roof caved in on them.

Bo’s lungs were burning as she ran along the hallway away from the blasterfire and explosions. She then heard a large rumbling and screeching of metal behind her and turned to see a wall of dust come from one of the hallways behind. She found herself shaking but pushed herself to move. Rounding a corner, she slid to a stop and threw herself back as she heard helmeted voices up ahead and glimpsed unfamiliar Mandalorian figures round the corner and head up the hallway, the hallway she was about to take. Panic started to take her but she bit the inside of her mouth and looked to the left, to the hallway that led to the garden. Turning that way, she hiked the bag more securely over her shoulder and mapped out in her head the path from the gardens to the hanger.

Satine was beside herself just waiting in the ship. Rogaar’s aides had joined them, but his guards had remained to help the Protectors. It had been at least twenty minutes and Fenn tried to get a hold of Lars, Carlson, anybody, but to no avail. No one answered.

“We have to go back,” she said, heading for the door, but Rogaar stopped her.

“We can’t let you do that, Duchess.”

“She’s my sister!”

“I know.” He looked over her shoulder to where she knew Fenn was standing and nodded his head. She turned and Fenn was checking his blasters and heading for their landing ramp.

“I’ll find her, I promise,” he said, but as he was stepping down onto the ramp, blasterfire emptied into the hanger, pinging off the ship, and he ducked just in time to avoid a bolt headed straight for his head. Backpedaling, he hit the button to raise the ramp.

“We have to take off,” Rogaar said, heading for the cockpit.

“No!” Satine exclaimed, running after him. “We can’t! Please!” Her voice broke and she dropped her gaze away from his pitying look.

“The garden,” Fenn supplied, his face a stony mask. “We could try getting to her through there.”

Rogaar nodded and Satine looked up with hope. He tapped the pilot’s shoulder.

“Take off and try to circle back towards the garden.”

“Yes, sir,” the pilot responded and Fenn came to stand next to Satine. His face was pale and drawn and his fists were clenched as he stared out the front viewport. Satine felt the engines fire up and the ship lift then accelerate forward to the hangar opening. They cleared it and were banking back towards the compound when a huge explosion rocked the ship and propelled it forward, throwing Satine and Rogaar to the ground, Fenn barely keeping his feet. Satine cried in dismay and when she gained her footing she ran for a side viewport and sank to her knees at the sight. The compound, her and Bo’s home for the last month, was gone. She fell forward onto her hands, heaving sobs shaking her shoulders, her voice just a long drawn out wail of pain. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned, beating her fists onto the person’s armored chest as they wrapped her in their arms and just held her. Eventually the fight left her and she sagged against their body, her breaths coming in gasps, and she sank into darkness.

Bo had just made it into the garden and was circling one of the decorative metal statues when the compound behind her exploded. She threw herself into the hollow in front of the statue and could see and feel the flames as they split around the metal, red with tinges of blue and white. When she raised her head, her ears were ringing and she could see the garden was littered with debris: pieces of the wall, roof, even furniture. She saw some movement off in the distance and looked to see a ship, their royal ship, growing fainter as it rose then disappeared into the atmosphere.

No, no, no, she repeated to herself, staring at that spot in the sky. Her stomach dropped. They left her. She sank down onto the ground and curled around the bag with her dead Buir’s armor.

Mandalore’s other moon was rising when the ringing in her ears abated and she heard the crunching of boots on the debris around her. She grasped for her blaster and blearily peaked up and saw moonlight glinting off of Mandalorian armor. She fired.

“Osik!” a male voice shouted as the blaster bolt pinged harmlessly against his beskar armor. He pulled his blaster and aimed for Bo before another man came up and pushed his arm down.

“Hold your fire!” he called. Bo, exhausted, let her arm drop. The new man was wearing Mandalorian armor as well, though his was painted blue and black with a cream-colored trident above his T-visor. He looked her over through the helmet then removed it to show a young man with an angular face, bright blue eyes, and almost white blonde hair.

“You’re the younger Kryze girl, aren’t you?” he asked, coming to kneel by her. She didn’t react. “They left you, didn’t they?” She opened her mouth to deny it, then looked off into the distance where the ship had disappeared and dropped her eyes back to the ground. Anger suddenly welled up within her and she lifted her head, her eyes flashing.

“You!” she growled. “You killed my parents! You destroyed my home!” She lifted up her blaster to shoot him, but he was on her in a second, disarming her.

“I can see you are quite unlike your sister, Lady Kryze.”

“You know nothing about my sister,” she growled, spitting at the man. He wiped the spit from his face and laughed.

“You’re right. Only that she and your parents were trying to destroy our culture. Our culture that’s made us who we are for thousands of years.” He looked at the bag beside her. “What’s this?” he asked, pulling it towards him.

“Give it back!” she screeched, launching herself at him, but the other man, the one she’d shot, grabbed her from behind. She screamed and kicked, but he held firm as the other man unzipped the bag and pulled out her Buir’s helmet, emblazoned with the Kryze symbol.

“You are quite unlike your family.” He looked over her shoulder to the man holding her. “Bring her back to camp. Get her some food, water. And watch her.”

“Let me go!” Bo shrieked as he dragged her off into the night. “Satine!”

Satine came to on an unfamiliar cot in an unfamiliar room. She looked around, panicking, and then reality came crashing back down and she curled around herself and the sobs began to wrack her shoulders again. Her sister, her baby sister, who she’d vowed to protect, was gone.

“Your grace,” Fenn Rau’s soft voice broke through her sobs, but she wouldn’t raise her head. Wouldn’t look at him. She felt the cot dip and then felt his hand on her shoulder. “I’m so, so sorry.” Satine only curled tighter around herself and cried harder. Finally, she felt like she ran out of tears and gently pushed herself up. Fenn was sitting beside her, his eyes red and filled with sorrow. He broke eye contact and reached for a mug off to the side. “I thought you could use this.”

Satine gingerly reached out and took the mug from his hands, bringing it under her nose to smell. It was some herbal tea, but she couldn’t tell what. She took a sip and couldn’t really taste much either.

“Thank you,” she croaked. Her throat was raw from crying. The tea helped some.

“Here, I have something else for you,” he said and reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a piece of metal. He held it out to her and she gingerly took it. It was a brooch shaped like the leaves of the Concordia tree. “Bo gave that to me a few weeks ago,” he said, and Satine found more tears as they started slipping down her cheeks again. “I think you should have it.”

Satine fingered the piece then turned it over to see the Kryze symbol hammered there along with a B and a K.

“Thank you,” she said, meeting Fenn’s eyes. He nodded and smiled sadly at her and she collapsed against his shoulder, his arms encircling her and holding her as she cried.

Aruetti- outsider

Beskar’gam – armor

Mando’ad – Mandalorian

Verd – warrior

Ba’buir – grandparent

Buir – parent (in this case, father)

Verda – warrior (plural)’

verd’ika – little warrior (fond)

Dank farrik – generic curse word

Haar’chak – damn it

Vod’ika – little sister

Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum – I love you

Osik – shit

#bo katan kryze #bo-katan kryze #bo-katan #bo katan #bo-katan week #bo katan week #fanfiction #star wars #Duchess Satine #satine kryze #fenn rau

[mightywolves23]

Lost But Homebound Chapter Eight - Mandalore

Last chapter for this story. Would you guys like to see a sequel from Din’s point of view? Always remember... YOU ARE LOVED!!!

Word Count: 1,935

Characters: Grogu, Din Djarin, Original Characters, Bo-Katan Kryze

Summary: 

Grogu is a survivor and he wouldn't die again in this destruction. He survived twenty years of the Empire he wouldn't just die in Ben Solo's temper tantrum. But... where would he go? He remembered one home that didn't end this way. With fire and the death of his family and friends. Grogu knew he was cursed but that didn't stop him from wanting a home of his own. His buir would take care of him. Buir was strong and survived a Kryat Dragon! He could handle a Darksider if one came after them. Grogu set out to find his buir and home.

***

STORY

Grogu couldn’t sleep. He was so close to finding his buir he could almost taste it. Grogu waited in his seat as a million thoughts ran through his head. 

Would his buir be happy to see him? Would he even still love and remember him? Was Grogu a ba’vodu? Was his buir a ba’buir? Did his buir still have his toys? Grogu missed his stuffed bantha and his favorite blankie. Did Buir have a home finally? One where Grogu could play outside and catch as many frogs as he wanted? Did buir have a family other than Grogu? 

All those and many more ran through his head. More sad thoughts hit his mind. 

He hadn’t seen his buir in a long time. Did Buir even want him back? Buir did give him to Master Luke. Did Buir still love him? Does Buir even care anymore about him? 

Grogu felt tears coming on. He quickly shut down that part of thinking. He needed a new plan. He would be on Mandalore soon. He had two goals. One. Find the Mand’alor and interrogate him on where his buir is. Two. Go to his Buir and hug him tightly. 

Satisfied with his plan, Grogu anxiously waited for them to reach Mandalore. He bounced in his seat and fiddled with his hands. Grogu took a deep breath and pulled out his holo picture. He pressed the button and the familiar picture popped up on the screen. 

Grogu traced one claw over his buir’s helmet. What was his buir doing now? Did he stop being a beroya because he was too old? Like Peli stopped being a mechanic because she couldn’t work anymore? Did Buir settle down in a house with a big yard? 

Grogu closed his eyes. He could almost see it. A home with a porch and a yard. A pond was off to the side full of yummy frogs and fish. Grogu could learn to swim in it with Buir. Playing with his stuffed bantha on the porch while Buir cleaned his blasters on the table next to him. Playing hide and seek with Buir and hiding in the tall grass. 

Grogu didn’t know he was sleeping until the ship jolted out of hyperspace. Grogu yawned and climbed down from his chair. ElleDee unplugged from the charging port and PA flew to the cockpit to talk with the droid piloting. 

The ship finally landed what seemed like ages later. Grogu lowered the ramp and stepped out onto the ground. 

He instantly froze. A vaguely familiar armored Mandalorian stood at the bottom. 

“Hello, Grogu. You’ve certainly led everyone on a merry little chase.” 

What was her name? All Grogu could remember when he last saw her was red. Was her name Red? 

“Where’s my Buir?” Grogu demanded. 

If Red was surprised at Grogu’s speech ability she didn’t show it. She just tilted her head at him. “Halfway home from Coruscant by now, I’d imagine.” 

Grogu frowned. Buir hated the Core worlds. Why was he on Coruscant? 

“Come with me Foundling. I have had a meal prepared for you.” Red raised an eyebrow at ElleDee when the droid rolled in front of Grogu with its electro prod extended threateningly. 

“Designation: LD-3 Protect Designation: Child Grogu. Imprison him = Designation: Unknown Organic will regret it.” ElleDee moved its prod closer. 

“Lord Grogu, will not be harmed. I have many capabilities you do not wish to experience, Unknown Organic.” PA whirred up to Red’s face. A little arm full of knives extended from PA’s body. 

“Lord Grogu?” Red snorted. “The Mand’alor will love that. This way, Grogu.” Red didn’t seem to mind the droids’ threats. 

Grogu followed Red into a huge palace. This couldn’t be where Buir lived, right? 

Grogu was led to a massive kitchen. Red made a motion to pick him up but ElleDee zoomed between them and beeped out something not very nice to Red. 

Grogu sighed and used the Force to jump up into a chair. Red placed a special seat on the chair so he was level with the table. 

“I’m afraid we are fresh out of frogs and lizards but the Mand’alor did say you liked meat. It’s not fresh but here.” Red laid out a plate full of bite-sized pieces of cooked meat. A small bowl filled with broth sat next to the plate. 

Grogu reached for a piece and started eating. Quiet fell in the room until Red’s comm began beeping shrillingly. 

Red rolled her eyes before picking up the comm. “Yes, Mand’alor?” 

“Is he there? Please tell me he’s there and alright. We lost him on Corellia and then Boba picked up a trace of him on Coruscant and we saw his ship take off.” 

That was Buir’s voice! He sounded tired like he had gone days without sleep and his voice was a little raspier but that was Buir! 

Grogu teared up. He wanted to call for him so badly but Grogu wanted his buir to know he could speak in person. 

“He’s here and relatively unharmed. I will have someone give him a bath because frankly, he smells and I will have a medic look over him shortly.” Red spoke more to Buir but Grogu didn’t hear. 

Did he smell? He knew it had been a week or so since he last had a bath. The night before the attack happened on Yavin 4. Traveling across the galaxy did not make for easy bath times. 

Was he injured? His feet did hurt after Mustafar. Maybe they would have something for him. Grogu only wanted his buir to take care of him though. 

“Let me see him.” Buir was demanding. 

Red turned the holo screen to face him. 

Grogu stared. That was Buir but not Buir. Buir’s face had a few more wrinkles. His hair looked to be a different color at his temples. He wasn’t wearing his helmet. Buir’s helmet was gone. 

Grogu whined in distress. What happened to his Buir? Was… was Buir no longer a Mandalorian? He wasn’t wearing his helmet. What happened to his helmet? 

“Hey, Ad’ika. I’m almost home. I’m coming back, ad’ika. I… we will talk more there. Are you okay?” Buir watched him carefully. 

Grogu felt tears welling up. He wanted to cry his name so bad but the thought of Buir’s joy at hearing him speak for the first time held him back. 

“Don’t cry ad’ika. I’ll be home in an hour. We can see each other then.” Buir’s hand came up and he wiped at his face. “Bo-Katan. Take care of him. I’ll be back soon.” 

Who was Bo-Katan? 

“Will do, Mand’alor.” Bo-Katan hung up the comm. “Are you done eating?” 

Grogu grabbed his bowl and slurped down the soup. It wasn’t his favorite but it might be a close second. This sound made the same mouth sing and eyes water that Buir gave him with those yucky rations. 

Grogu finished the bowl. He jumped down from the table and took off running. He needed to find a place to hide from Bo-Katan until Buir came back. 

“Wait! Grogu!” Grogu vanished down the hall with PA and ElleDee behind him. Pounding footsteps raced after him. 

“Scatter,” Grogu whispered to his droids. 

They complained but Grogu ducked into a room while ElleDee and PA went straight. The footsteps pounded after the droids. 

Grogu sighed in relief when it all went quiet. Grogu waited for a few minutes before peeking his head out from the pantry he found himself in. 

Grogu headed down the hall in the opposite direction of ElleDee and PA. Grogu wandered until he came across a familiar scent. He pushed open the door to see a bedroom. It smelled like Buir. 

Grogu’s feet were hurting really badly. Grogu climbed up into the bed that smelled like Buir. He laid back on the blankets and stared up at the ceiling. 

A few ships landed outside the palace but Grogu ignored them. His feet ached. He wasn’t going anywhere. 

A long time later voices came outside the door. 

“I’m sorry, Mand’alor. We caught the droids that came with him but Grogu wasn’t with them. We don’t know where-” 

The doors to Buir’s rooms slammed open. 

Grogu jumped and sat up. 

A figure was frozen in the doorway. “Ad’ika?” 

Grogu let the tears he was holding back fall. “Buir!” he wailed. 

That made Buir freeze. Grogu whined and stood up. He hobbled his way over to the shocked human. 

“Buir!” Grogu called again. He held out his arms as tears rolled down his cheeks. 

Buir unfroze and picked him up. Grogu tucked his face into his favorite space in the entire galaxy. His Buir’s chest plate. 

Grogu let loose all he was feeling. “Buir.” he sobbed. “Don’t make me go away again.” 

“Oh, Grogu.” Buir hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry, Ad’ika. I’m so sorry.” 

Grogu sniffled. He finally found him. He finally found his buir. He wasn’t going away ever again. Not for a long time. Grogu finally felt at home in his buir’s arms. 

Grogu pulled back a few minutes later. “I missed you, Buir.” 

A hand softly rubbed his ears and Grogu leaned into his touch. Grogu sighed softly. He missed this. 

“Why don’t we get you into a bath, get you looked over by a medic, and then we can sit here and you can tell me about your adventure,” Buir murmured and began moving to the huge fresher. 

“Hunt,” Grogu told him. “Not adventure. Hunt.” 

“A hunt, huh? A hunt that involved pirates and Wookiees and droids?” Buir turned on the water with one hand. 

Grogu’s eyes went wide. “How did you know?” 

“I was right behind you, ad’ika. The whole way.” Buir stripped him of his clothes and set him in the warm water. 

Grogu hissed when his feet touched the bottom. He raised his feet above the water and toppled over into the bath with a splash. 

Buir sighed deeply. “I’ve got you, ad’ika. We will get your feet looked after when you are clean.” 

Grogu was soon scrubbed clean, feet bandaged, and cuddled on his buir’s lap in his bed. 

“Why don’t you tell me what you have been up to and I can tell you about my hunt for you?” Buir smoothed his hand over Grogu’s freshly washed ears. 

Grogu leaned his head against Buir’s side. He told his story of finding ElleDee and his hunt across the galaxy for his buir. 

Buir listened to everything Grogu said. “That seems like a really big hunt, Grogu. I’m proud of you.” 

Scuffles came at the door before ElleDee and PA barged in. 

“Designation: Child Grogu: Happy. Primary Purpose: Mind Healing: Fulfilled. Secondary Purpose: Find BuirDad: Fulfilled. Tertiary Purpose: switching to Primary Purpose. Primary Purpose: Guard Designation: Child Grogu activated.” ElleDee rolled over to the bed and took up its guard position. 

“My Lord Grogu, do you wish to keep me on? I make an excellent guard.” PA hovered over Grogu. 

“Grogu? What’s with the droids?” Buir waved his hand at PA who was examining him. 

“ElleDee and PA want to be my guards. Can they stay Buir? Please? They have nowhere else to go.” Grogu held out his arm and PA settled on it. 

Buir sighed. “Alright. They can stay. I can’t turn away anyone who has no place to go.” 

“Yes! Vor’e Buir.” Grogu hugged Buir’s arm as best as he could. 

“Excellent. Renaming Unknown Organic to Lord Buir.” PA flew over to the window and sat down on the sill. 

Grogu leaned back into Buir’s arms. His family was finally all together. Grogu was home. 

#star wars #mandalorian and grogu #the mandalorian #grogu point of view #grogu #post the mandalorian #trauma #healing #aftermath of ben solo's turn to the dark side #luke's school #stories #fanfic #lost but homebound

[sullustangin]

That Episode

Watched the most recent episode of Boba Fett.  Yes, he is not seen much.  However, this is the final build-up for whatever comes in the last episode.  We saw this previously on the Mandalorian, when Boba, Fennec, Cara, Bo Katan, and Moff Gideon came together in the finale (after checking in with Karga, Ashoka, and Bill Burr’s character) ... and then we got Luke as the deus ex machina which changed the trajectory of SW media in general (Bad Batch, Boba, other items on the way).  I’d anticipate a similar moment -- and this is not the end of Boba Fett.  I think he will be back in guest star capacities as well as another season of his series.  

I hope Max Rebo is ok.  Goddamn ice cream maker.

And in regard to that final scene: 

Note:  Attachments go by Lucas’ definition - things you cannot let go of, things that you wish to possess and control; things you would do anything to keep safe.  The negative feelings that come with not having. 

Luke himself says that Grogu misses the Mandalorian and that his heart may not be in this.  Luke isn’t sure if Grogu wants to be a Jedi. If Grogu hadn’t experienced the sack of the Temple, maybe his path would be much clearer. 

We often forget, because Grogu presents as a toddler, that he’s at least 50 years old.  He doesn’t communicate like humans and near-humans do.  Is his species like that normally, or is the speech delay because of trauma?  We don’t know, since we’ve only encountered a few of the Yoda species in SW media, all of which were adults minus Grogu.  We shouldn’t assume that he’s thinking like a toddler child, even though he appears as one.  He also seems to be much chattier through the Force, which is how he communicates with Ashoka and Luke.

Luke has to give Grogu the choice now, honestly.  He had life with Mando for over a year.  We can assume months, if not a year, has passed since Grogu went with Luke. He’s experienced life as both Mandalorian and Jedi.  Now he has to choose, because the two life philosophies could not be more different.  It’ll do more harm for him to linger and not be sure.

That said, one of the things I have issue with the fandom and its reaction over this is ... yes, it’s always been a hard choice for a child to make.  What do you think happened before?   How do you think younglings came to the Temple?  

Actually, it’s a bit worse than that. 

One of the features of the Jedi Order, in theory, is that it is a voluntary membership; the Sith would force anyone with any talent into their academies (at least in the Old Republic).  People leave the Jedi Order, as Ashoka did, without concern of being hunted down.

However, there is... a grey area in my opinion when it comes to children, particularly in the late Republic era (Anakin’s time).  We see very young children in the charge of the Jedi, and the Clone Wars tv series gets into how a child goes from their natal family to the Jedi.  It’s a matter wherein the parents has to choose what’s best for the child -- what would be a better life -- but also sacrifice the close relationship they would have with their child to ensure that. 

How much say did a child have about whether they went to the Jedi?  Unsure.  Those who were left to the Jedi as infants just sort of went, “Ok, this is my life” because they knew nothing else.  Obi Wan himself went to the Temple at age 3, which was considered ‘old’.  According to Ultimate Star Wars, Force-Sensitive children by the late Republic were identified within six months of birth and the parents gave them over to the Temple then.  These children didn’t have ‘attachments’ to their parents since they couldn’t remember them.

There are, of course, late bloomers or children/adults that don’t make contact with the Jedi until later in life.  Some are enthusiastically in, as we see several times on the planet Tython in SWTOR.  Sometimes, older children had hesitations, as we saw in Anakin and also as we see in Bastila Shan from KOTOR.  She felt like her mother used the Jedi to ‘get her out of the way’ so she could monopolize her husband’s (Bastila’s father’s) attention.  That’s something an older child would perceive -- not a small one. Both of them wanted to be Jedi, but... they still had feelings that compromised that (jealousy, regret, etc).  By the time of the late Republic, we see the Jedi order hesitant in taking such children that, and perhaps rightly so:  Bastila and Anakin both fell to the Dark Side.

What about children that would fit into Grogu’s perceived developmental bracket -- age 2ish to 6ish?  Did Obi Wan himself say ‘ok’?  Or was that his parents’ call, whoever they were? 

Grogu doesn’t have anyone left in the galaxy except the Mandalorian.  He could be a great Jedi if he just got rid of that one attachment...but the Mandalorian was always the one who treated him well long before he understood how powerful he could be.  Grogu is a Foundling to Dinn, no matter his potential or trajectory: someone to be cared for and protected, not necessarily trained or molded. 

And Luke doesn’t want to see Grogu fall to the Dark Side.  He’d rather let him go be a Mandalorian than an unwilling Jedi.  It’s a heavy choice for a child to make.  Luke is the last of his kind.  Grogu would grow the order... but there has to be a choice.  Would it have been ‘easier’ to pretend the Mandalorian’s gift doesn’t exist?  Would it be easier to forbid contact?  Sure. 

But Luke probably learned a few things about his father and grandmother.  So Grogu has the choice Anakin did not, simply because Anakin truly had no other option than the Jedi; his mother was not a free woman, and Tatooine was a hellhole.  Grogu has a loving parent.  Luke can see that. 

That’s why Grogu has to make the choice.  He does have options. 

#the book of boba fett #the book of boba fett spoilers #the mandalorian #grogu #baby yoda #luke skywalker #dinn djarin

[tessaliagrey]

Bo’s redemption - or the lack thereof

Every time we get an episode of Star Wars that has Bo-Katan in it, tumblr is full of everything from “OMG I love her, she’s the coolest and sooo badass!” to “OMG I hate her, she’s a terrorist!”. And I might say you are all right.

One of the things that comes up periodically is Bo-Katan’s redemtion - or the lack thereof - depending on how you see her character in general (see above).

In my opinion, Bo has no real redemption arc. And I don’t think we’ll ever get one. As to why, I think it helps to retrace her steps...as far as we as viewers know them.

The first time we see her in mid-season four of TCW, she is a faceless (literally) Death Watch lieutenant on Carlac. She slaps Ahsoka’s ass, burns down a town, helps kill the townspeople and tries to kill Ahsoka and Lux Bontari as they escape. And she seems to have fun doing all that. Yep, solid terrorist. And I’m not budging on that. There is nothing “badass” about that. It’s just wrong.

The first time we see her as an independent character is during the Lawless arc. She’s still fully emerged in Death Watch. And even though she might not think of getting Maul to “help” is a good idea (I think she really thinks that Sith are no better than Jedi), she stands by Vizsla’s decision to join forces with him.

But that is also the part where we begin to see that while she is loyal to Vizsla, she is also probably one of very few people who are allowed to contradict him. Maybe not publicly, but at least bewteen the two of them. She tells Vizsla to his face that she thinks joinging forces with Maul and Savage is a bad idea. But she seems to trust Vizsla so much that only a few words from him are needed to quench her fears; at least for the time being.

But the longer this allience between Maul and Death Watch lasts, the more worried she gets. She sees that Vizsla is loosing his grip on the situation. But her trust in him seems to be unbreakable. Even when he says that “Maul will soon be dead alongside the duchess”, she doesn’t say anything. She just smirks. He tells her to her face that her sister will die at the end, and she doesn’t say anything. (As to why, we can only speculate, and that’s not what I want to get into right now.)

And then, for a few days maybe, everything looks like it all panned out the way she wanted. Maul and her sister are imprisoned, a “true” Mandalorian rules, and the people will find their way back to the warrior faith that was still openly practiced until the beginning of Satine’s rule after the civil war.

But then, everything changes. And quickly. Maul escapes his prison and challenges Vizsla to a duel, which he naturally accepts (he might just run himself through with the Dark Saber if he didn’t). And loses. He dies; unceremoniously, broken and defeated. And only then, only in those last few moments of Vizsla’s life, does Bo-Katan realize that it was all for nothing. That her vision of Mandalore will not come to pass. That it ended in one swift motion of a black blade.

Maul declares himself ruler of Mandalore, and a not unsignificant part of Death Watch bows down to him. Bo rejects his rule - not because he killed Vizsla, which Bo is visibly shocked by - but because “no outsider will ever rule Mandalore”. She and others loyal to her, like the Nite Owls, make a run for it and escape the palace.

She then teams up with her nephew Korkie (How the hell did they get in touch?) to rescue Satine (Why? We never learn that!), and Bo seriously tries to save her sister’s life. But they are overpowered by Maul’s Death Watch loyalists and barely escape while Satine is recaptured as bait for Obi-Wan.

We don’t know where Bo was when Maul killed Satine or how she learned about her sister’s death. The next time we see her, she and her Nite Owls rescue Obi-Wan from being imprisoned and help him escape, asking him to tell the Republic what happened, even if it meant a Republic invasion of Mandalore. The reason she gives is that “Maul will die. But Mandalore will survive.” Why she wants Maul dead; if it is because he killed her sister, because he killed Vizsla or because he’s - from her POV - the reason it all failed, we never learn. Maybe, in the end, it is a combination of all three. But that is speculation.

Well, the Republic doesn’t get a move on when it comes to Mandalore and it takes the unlikely alliance of Bo-Katan and Ahsoka to get Anakin and Obi-Wan to agree. Again, all we really know is that Bo wants Maul off Mandalore, preferably in pieces. She brings up Satine to goad Obi-Wan into helping her, but we still don’t know if she actually grieves/grieved for her sister, or more for a lost ideal of Mandalore.

Well, the siege of Mandalore finally happens, and by the end, Bo is left in charge as regent. It is also the only time we hear any words of regret from her. “I wish I was good at something other than war.”

After that we have a nice 17 year gap in Bo’s story, and anything we know about that time comes down to hearsay. We learn that she was betrayed by Clan Saxon (who had followed Maul) and had to flee Sundari. We get the feeling that Fenn Rau as a protector knew her personally around the time of her regency, but we don’t really know that for sure.

But something in the past seventeen years did change in Bo-Katan. Well, it is quite some time to reflect on your actions and choices. We get the feeling that she did learn to understand her sister’s motives, though they will never be hers. And that she can recognize what her sister acomplished as a leader. She’s a lot more considerate of other people’s positions. But we never hear a word of regret for what she did during the Clone Wars, for being part of Death Watch. And maybe that is because there simply is no regret. Bo-Katan as a person might be a lot calmer and a lot more considerate, but her ideals of what Mandalore should be, of what it stands for and what it means to be Mandalorian, haven’t changed.

Bo-Katan may have matured; grown as a person. She does try to do right by her people. But there is no redemption. We might like the way her character is portrayed in Rebels and The Mandalorian, and we might even wish for her to be redeemed, but quite honestly: How?

No, I’m afraid we will have to live with our conflicting views of Lady Bo-Katan of House Kryze, where we love her and hate her, but can’t get around her. And face it, people, we wouldn’t want it any other way.

#Bo-Katan Kryze #bo katan kryze #Bo-katan #Bo Katan #the mandalorian #the mandalorian spoilers #star wars #star wars tcw #star wars rebels #death watch #mandalore #have I tagged every possible way to spell bo-katan? #Maybe #or maybe not #who knows

[pretchatta]

@cameoamalthea made a post about Bo-Katan and I have Many Thoughts, but for ease of reading I’ve put my response here under the read more! (warning: spoilers for the whole of season 2 of The Mandalorian)

Why Ahsoka still supports Bo-Katan is a GREAT question (that I actually started thinking about earlier today), but first, I want to talk about the rest of Bo's past - she is NOT a good person. She's definitely a Yasha Greyjoy, believing in the conquering, predatory supremacy of the Mandalorians, and something I'm exploring in a fic series I'm currently writing is how she came to be that way.

I think it was mentioned somewhere that Satine's father was Duke of Mandalore before she was Duchess, and it was him who started the pacifist New Mandalorian government. I don't know if this is a hereditary-monarchy kinda situation or more democratic, but my interpretation is "there are sort of royal families and even though there technically are elections, it's always Clan Kryze or Vizsla or similar who get elected". My headcanon is that Satine was the eldest child and so groomed to take the throne, while Bo was sort of pushed to the side in very typical second-child fashion. So she grew up with a fair amount of internalised resentment towards her family, and then at some point fell in with some more traditional Mandalorians, and from there it was all too easy to oppose her father and sister and everything they stood for.

So, she believes Mandalorians are top-of-the-food-chain warriors, and that it's perfectly okay to burn villages, kill helpless people, and smack the butt of any skinny torgruta kid who shows up unannounced. She's a Bad Person. She’s also so committed to this ideology that she’s willing to team up with a former Sith and a bunch of criminals to get what she wants. But then Maul kills Vizsla, and declares himself leader of Death Watch and Mandalore, and this is her limit - as you said, not because he's bad, but because he's not Mandalorian. (It was at this point that I, as an audience member, really started to like her - the cool female lieutennant is standing up to a bad guy! And it's for a reason that isn't "this is morally wrong and I have developed a conscience"! I love that, because after a while that does get a bit boring.) So now she's fighting Maul, and we know the Jedi are also fighting Maul, so it makes perfect sense for them to team up against their common enemy who is far stronger than each of them.

I then think that during the Siege of Mandalore she has a bit of an internal crisis. Before, when the Shadow Collective were pretending to invade so Death Watch could save the day, yes there were Mandalorians being hurt, but it was all under control, it was just a pretend invasion, after all. Now, however, everything is much more real - the war is now on Mandalore, her home, and it's hurting her people, and there's nothing she can do to stop it without more fighting. It's actually partly her fault, because she was part of Death Watch, and they set this whole thing in motion. So she then sees Ahsoka, who is committed to peace, take out Maul with no casualties (up until this point, most if not all of the Maul fights she's seen either involve decapitation or lots of explosions - if she'd tried to take him, a lot of people would have died in the fight, both soldiers and innocents). She's also been part of the desperate fighting in the streets, and I think she's finally starting to realise that maybe Satine was right - their people can't take much more of this, because they're going to destroy themselves. Maybe they should think about less combative ways to rule themselves? She says “I wish I was good at something other than war” and then “My sister tried that. I never understood her idealism” and I always thought there was an unsaid “until now” at the end of that second one - she wants to be what Mandalore needs, and she’s realising that might not be a warrior.

But for now, they need to get through this, and that means fighting off the crime syndicates that are literally in their streets, that means accepting the help of the Republic and its soldiers, and it eventually means Bo-Katan herself taking up the position of ruler of Mandalore. We know that doesn’t last long, because Saxon and the Empire rise up to take it from her, but then Sabine finds the Darksaber and unifies the clans. Bo says “I had my chance to rule, and I failed. I am not my sister. I am not the leader you seek” - she’s definitely done some reflecting on maybe-Satine-was-right-after-all, and starting to realise how badly she’s messed up. But as you say, Sabine and the other clans push her into accepting the Darksaber and the throne.

Now I (finally) come to Ahsoka. Ahsoka saw Death Watch Bo - she directly saw her burning the village, and she also saw the effects Death Watch’s attempts at taking over had on Mandalore when she went to help weed out corruption in Sundari. Yes, a lot of it was due to the war, but a lot of those problems were definitely exacerbated by Death Watch’s actions and presence. Ahsoka then teamed up with her to fight Maul - ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ - and on my first watch I didn’t think much of her saying “I’ve learned from the best, including you.” I was too busy thinking “yeah, Bo-Katan IS the best!” but on my second watch - why does Ahsoka think she’s ‘the best’? Did she see something that we, the audience, did not? The Clone Wars didn’t show us any scenes with just Ahsoka and Bo before the fighting started - perhaps they had a conversation where Ahsoka confronted Bo about the terrible things in her past, and Bo explained that she was misguided and regretted it and was trying to do what was best for her people now. That would make sense.

Because then, in The Mandalorian, Bo directs Din to Ahsoka (edit: and she does it very specifically, too - usually in Star Wars you get a system, maybe a planet, but Bo knows the exact city). Why would she even know where Ahsoka is? They didn’t interact in the Rebels arc. From what we see of Ahsoka, Tython Corvus isn’t even her permanent residence, she’s just there to help one village tiny city and get information out of someone. So why does Bo have very recent information on her location? The only answer is that they must be allies who share that information willingly. And since the character of Ahsoka is Good, her allies must also be - unless they’ve made another temporary arrangement to team up and defeat a common enemy. But Bo is hunting Gideon and Ahsoka is hunting Thrawn (I am unbelievably excited) so they’re apparently on different quests. Which means... they must be friends.

In the episode The Heiress, Bo acts pretty okay. Yeah, she calls Din’s way of life a cult and is kinda rude about it, but it’s in response to him literally telling her she’s not a Mandalorian as, like, the first thing he says to her, and there are a lot of people out there who are rude and dismissive of someone’s way of life/upbringing without being Inherently Evil and Bad. Her motivations in that episode are: save a fellow Mandalorian, who might also be able to help her find and fight Gideon, and find and fight Gideon. She’s not interested in helping Din on his side-quest to reunite a child with his people - she feels the struggle for Mandalore is more important than one child. 

In the episode The Rescue, however, she definitely goes out of her way to insult Boba and Jango completely unneccessary. Maybe she has a valid reason to dislike clones? I don’t think it would have anything to do with the Republic/Empire’s takeover of Mandalore - that wasn’t the clones’ fault*. She asked for Republic help, and then it was Palpatine and Saxon who kept them there. However, other than that, I don’t think she did much wrong? She still has the single-minded determination to duel Gideon and retake the Darksaber, which she might feel a need to do this time around because she has to prove - to herself, to Mandalore, to everyone - that she’s worthy of it. But for her, even though she’s accepted that maybe pacifism is okay, Mandalore is still pretty high up on her priority list, so it comes ahead of Din, Grogu and the New Republic.

So future seasons have a lot to answer for:

Why is Ahsoka willingly allied with Bo-Katan, given that Bo has never done anything objectively good/anything that wasn’t motivated by a need to see Mandalore ruled by Mandalorians wearing beskar?

Why does Bo hate the Fetts so much?

How will Bo handle Din having possession of the Darksaber now?

(edit: the below was added after posting)

* Why I don’t think it’s the clones’ fault: Bo knew what she was doing when she invited the Republic to help her retake Mandalore. Obi-Wan specifically asked her about it, and she said she would deal with it later. She knew that by using Republic gunships and clones the Senate would take an interest in Mandalore, and it would be seen as Mandalore allying itself with the Republic. When the Republic then became the Empire, the clones would either have simply continued serving the Senate - formerly Republic, now Imperial - or been decommissioned, in which case the Senate would have sent an alternative force to represent its interests. Unless there’s a specific mention of this in canon that I’m missing, the clones would only have been following orders from the Senate, and that would have been very clear to the Mandalorians. Any betrayal of Mandalore came from the Empire not leaving after Maul was defeated, not the clones spontaneously deciding that now the Republic was gone, they’re free men, they can choose between Mandalore and the Empire, and they choose the Empire.

Bo specifically has it out for Jango and Boba for some reason. I think she knows who Boba is, and that he’s not just any clone - I’ve seen several posts on this but the most obvious is that Boba was a pretty high-profile bounty hunter in the OT who she must have heard of. I think it’s something around how she percieves Jango’s Mandalorian-ness, his status as Boba’s father and the process of cloning in general, and therefore Boba’s claim to any Mandalorian armour, heritage and identity.

#bo katan kryze #the mandalorian #mando spoiler #cameoamalthea #tcw #rebels #coraposting

[ladyrynofsunnydale]

Bo-Katan Week Day 6/ Bo-Katan and Korkie

Title: Mandalorians are Stronger Together

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Relationships: Bo-Katan Kryze & Korkie Kryze, Bo-Katan Kryze & Satine Kryze, Korkie Kryze & Satine Kryze, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze

Additional Tags: Post-Episode: s05e16 The Lawless, Family, Korkie Kryze is a Kenobi, Korkie Kryze Needs a Hug

Summary: Satine is dead and there was nothing Bo-Katan could do about it, and she needs to tell Korkie. An Aunt and a nephew who haven’t spent more than a day together are now all the immediate family each other has left.

Author’s Note: Happy Day 6 of Bo-Katan Week! Yeah, I just keep putting poor Bo-Katan in these heart wrenching situations. I can’t help it. She needs happiness, but my brain keeps churning out these. I was excited to write this as I love the thought of Korkie and Bo-Katan getting to know each other and developing a relationship, though unfortunately that all occurs after Satine, their connecting factor, is dead. Tragic from the beginning.

Warnings for loss and hurt

Tagging: @bokatanweek

Click on the link above to read or read down below

Bo-Katan watched the boy out of the corner of her eye. Korkie. Her nephew. Officially on his paperwork he was the son of one of her and Satine’s closest cousins and his wife. Unofficially, however, there was no way he was not Satine and Obi-Wan’s son.

Recognizing that Mandalore was a lost cause with the commandos she had, Bo had fled Sundari, leaving a few of her most trusted commandos to keep watch on Almec and Maul, though Maul had mysteriously disappeared. She’d left Korkie with some of her commandos on Kalevala when she’d gone back to Sundari to try to free Satine once again. She’d had high hopes for the Jedi when he’d shown up, but…it was not to be. Returning to Kalevala, Korkie was the first to greet her when she’d descended from her starfighter, his eyes filled with hope. She’d met them and shook her head and had tried to walk away, but Korkie jogged to keep up with her and grabbed her arm. Bo had almost growled and pulled her arm away.

“What happened? Auntie? Is she…?”

“She’s dead, Korkie.” Her words had been clipped and short, masking any emotion, and Korkie had stopped dead in his tracks.

“Dead?” she’d heard him say, and she had finally stopped and turned. “What…what happened?” Tears were filling his eyes, and Bo had clenched her jaw to keep any tears from forming in her own.

“Maul. He used her to bait Kenobi, then he killed her.”

“And you didn’t do anything?!” Korkie shouted, rage filling his eyes.

“There was nothing I could do Korkie! The throne room is designed to be impregnable.”

“You didn’t care about her at all! You just wanted to use her!”

“Don’t you dare tell me what I feel!” Bo had snapped back, striding back to Korkie and poking him in the chest with her finger. “You have no idea! No idea!”

Korkie had glared at her then turn and stormed off. Bo was shaking and to her shame she found she was way too close to crying. She’d stormed her way to Axe Woves, who’d she’d left in charge of the commandos she’d left behind, and demanded a report.

But now here she was, silently eating dinner, and she couldn’t help but stare at her nephew. His words had stung. When she was younger, Satine had been her world. She’d idolized her. After their parents had been murdered she and Satine had been separated, and she’d been scooped up by Death Watch. Her world had never been the same again. But in all that time, despite telling herself over and over that she hated Satine and her regime, she’d still loved her. Pre callously talking about killing her had cut her to the bone, but she’d gone along with it. She had hoped that maybe she could figure out a way to spare her sister. But in the end, Satine’s fate hadn’t even been in Pre’s hands.

She could see the tear tracks on Korkie’s face. He was off to the side, away from her other commandos, and his shoulders were hunched like he was trying to ward off a blow. Bo sighed and stood, walking over to him and sitting down on the log next to him.

“I’m sorry, Korkie.”

Korkie looked up and she could see more unshed tears in his eyes.

“No, I’m sorry Bo-Katan. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you.”

Bo bumped his shoulder with hers.

“We’re Kryzes. Lashing out is what we do best.”

That earned her at least a little smile.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Korkie said, his voice sounding so lost. “She’s been there for me for as long as I can remember.” He turned to Bo. “Were you two close?”

“When I was younger? Extremely. She was my big sister. She hung the moons and stars in the sky and I would have followed her anywhere.” Korkie smiled sadly at that.

“What happened?”

“The Civil War. And Death Watch.”

“Auntie,” Korkie began, his voice shaking, “Auntie wasn’t trying to destroy Mandalore. She was trying to make it better, safer.”

“And look where that got her,” Bo snapped and Korkie recoiled, though he gazed at her steadily. There was no way that Korkie was not Kenobi’s son.

“She wasn’t the one who attacked Mandalore with crime syndicates.”

Bo wanted to snap back at him, and she felt the heat of anger rising in her chest. What did he know? What did he know of what Death Watch was trying to do? They were protecting Mandalorian culture that had survived thousands of years. But she paused and glanced around at her commandos. Very few of them who were loyal to Mandalore and not Maul remained. Maul’s plans would strip Mandalore and destroy the planet better than Satine ever could have. Is this what Death Watch had led to? In her mind’s eye she saw the wasteland that was Mandalore’s landscape. Was warfare any better?

She glanced at him and noticed he didn’t have any food.

“Did you eat?”

“I’m not hungry,” he stated.

“You need to eat Korkie.”

“You’re not in charge of me, Bo-Katan.”

Bo opened her mouth to retort, her anger rising again, and bit back her reply. Standing she headed to where the food was being handed out and collected a ration and headed back to Korkie.

“Here. Eat.”

“I told you I’m not hungry.”

“Well, Satine would want you to eat. So eat.”

Korkie hesitantly took the ration and stared at it. With a sigh he slowly began eating, chewing for much longer than he needed.

“You need to swallow too.”

He glared at her, but swallowed. They sat in silence, Korkie slowly finishing his ration, both staring out into the gloomy darkness that was Kalevala in winter.

“This is the first time I’ve been off Mandalore since I was born,” Korkie said, and Bo looked at him. “Not quite what I was hoping for.”

“Kalevala isn’t exactly the prettiest planet.”

“That’s not what I meant.” They sat in silence again before Korkie once again broke it. “Did you know my parents?” he asked and Bo bit her inner lip. Every good lie had a grain of truth in it. Did she know the people who on his records were said to be his parents? Vaguely. She thinks she met them once when she was 6 when she had to go to their wedding. It was a very boring wedding. They seemed nice enough? Their deaths were one of the first of the Great Clan Wars. She remembered that. But Satine and Obi-Wan? Yes she knew them. Admittedly not very well, but she knew them.

“Yes,” she answered simply. “You remind me a lot of them,” she answered truthfully. He met her eyes and she saw the longing in his eyes. “You have your mother’s kindness and fire. And your father’s patience.”

“I wish I could have known them,” he said sadly and Bo’s heart softened for him. “Auntie Satine was the only family I had. The only family I really needed to be honest.”

“She was a good person,” Bo said, nodding. She glanced around and back to him. “You’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you like.” Korkie looked up at her.

“And if I don’t want to stay?”

“Then you don’t have to. But Korkie, those of us loyal to Mandalore, we’re a small lot.” A realization came to her like a knife to her gut. “We should stay together. Mandalorians are stronger together.”

“I’ll think about it,” Korkie said, and Bo nodded and stood, placing her hand on his shoulder. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but closed it. Instead she squeezed his shoulder and nodded at him, and he nodded back.

Walking away she had one thought. She’d failed Satine, but she wouldn’t fail Mandalore. Or Satine’s son.

#bo katan week #bo katan kryze #bo-katan kryze #korkie kryze #korkie kenobi #korkie is a kenobi #satine kryze #post lawless #fanfiction