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lairofdragonagelore · 10 months

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Imperial Highway Columns

A compilation of what we know and what we can speculate about this pair of statues that I tagged as Female Kossith/ Desire demon /Tevinter Warrior in the lore blog.

[This post belongs to the series “Analysis and speculation of Statues”]

Where do they appear?

These statues appear few times in DAI:

In the Fade, aligned with the colossus statue of Andraste [check The Raw Fade - Part 1].

In the Hissing Wastes in what seems to be a very old ruin that we don’t know its original purpose for sure, probably as old as Fairel’s Thaig [check Hissing Wastes: Venatori main camp].

In the Emprise du Lion, where it is explicitly said that it was conserved from the original design of the Imperial Highway [check Emprise du Lion: Pools of the Sun and Sahrnia and surroundings]

And the Shattered Library, in particular at the entrance of the Inverted Ward [ check the Shattered Library; Inverted Ward]

Why they appear in those places?

If we remember the codex The Laws of Nature in the Fade, we can understand that the objects with the purpose of connection will appear in the Fade reinforcing such purpose. If the Imperial Highway helped to connect cities, it seems natural to have a reflection of it in this Shattered Library which also had a connection purpose: according to The Archivist’s words, cities were connected through records and elvhen through shared memories [let’s remember that the Shattered Library was originally too entangled with the Fade and may have some Fade-propierties such as reflecting parts of the Waking World].

That these statues appear in the Emprise du Lion is only natural and obvious: they are decorations of the ancient Imperial Highway that crossed this region.

However, the presence of these statues in the Hissing Wastes is not that clear. The map of Thedas with the Imperial Highway seems to suggest that it reached deep into this zone but somehow, it disappeared [probably due to the same event that turned this green, forest-like zone into a barren desert, more details in Hissing Wastes: Venatori main camp]. Only a small bifurcation that dies soon into the region can be seen in the map. Considering that the Fariel’s dwarves developed a surface Thaig here, and were a house focused on runes [which were used in the construction of Kirkwall, read Kirkwall history and design for more details], potential trade relationships with Tevinter may have been established, and therefore, makes sense for the Imperial Highway to reach this place. For reasons unknown, it disappeared. Or as we see it in the game, they are underground, covered by sand.

Lore and design

I think that a reliable piece of lore we can grab for these statues is the one presented in Emprise du Lion: These statues are Tevinter-made, and are, in fact, the columns that have been decorating the Imperial Highway since a long time ago.

It’s true that DAO showed to us a different Highway, a lot simpler, but I guess we can agree that the engine limitations worked against them.

So, if they are Tevinter-made, this means that the iconography they show belong to an ancient Tevinter perspective. This gives us the context in which we should be placing them: Ancient Tevinter, even though we know very little about it. Let’s try to analyse each of them.

The man holding the sword

The statue of the Tevinter Warrior has the following details:

Thanks to World of Thedas and Art of Inquisition books, we know that this figure--and that helm in particular--represents a Tevinter Warrior. There is also a chance for it to represent a Venatori warrior in particular. Since Venatori are extremist nationalists, their symbols are deeply entangled with Tevinter iconography so it is always difficult to separate what’s Venatori from what it is national design.

His helmet has a spike that reminds Andraste’s helm as well. In the Fade they are aligned in a way that the game suggests the player to make that connection. But we also know that Mythal and Andraste are linked in the same fashion through a single-spiked helm, so the fact that a Tevinter warrior wears this helmet has equal chances to represent him as honouring Andraste or an Old God/Great Dragon as Mythal was.

A snake surrounds him.

His figure rests against a structure which is filled with thorns or spikes similar to the object I called “Tevinter artefact with spikes”.

On his back, he has more or less 10 skulls and long bones aligned as if he were resting against a backrest chair made of them.

He holds a sword which hilt looks like a face in a triangular shape. It is not clear to me if this figure represents the Archon or something else. It may also be related to the dragon-like single face we find in Nation Art: Tevinter.

In fact, that sword is the representation of Hessarian’s sword with which he killed Andraste out of mercy. We can see it in detail in the triptych I analysed in Andrastian Design: Tapestry and Tryptich. That the Tevinter warrior is holding the same sword related to the death of Andraste, may relate him to the Archon Hessarian, but also to the conversion that Tevinter had in that old time to the Andrastian’s Faith. If this Tevinter warrior represents a Venatori, as the books of Art and World of Thedas seem to suggest, it would be used as a symbol of the sword that killed Andraste who put in danger the faith of the Old Gods [we spoke about the context of Andraste’s Exalted March on Tevinter in the post “The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light”]. What annoys me of this interpretation is that we are assuming this sword is related to Andraste in a time when Andraste was still not born. The Imperial Highway had been developed long time before she began the Prophet of the Maker, so this sword should be related to Tevinter ancient symbols and not recent ones. So I’m assuming it may represent a national symbol of power of an Archon, or his hierarchy, therefore, it makes sense for Hessarian to use it during the burning of Andraste. What a I mean is, maybe this sword is an Archon symbol of power [as it is his rings] and it is as ancient as Tevinter itself.

If this sword represents the power or the hierarchy of an Archon, the fact that it is present in these statues implies that the Tevinter/Venatori Warrior is, in fact, an Archon. Or may represent the military power at the hands of the Archon in the Ancient Tevinter. As we can see, it’s not clear why this sword, with such a strong symbolism, is here and what it represents.

It’s also curious that the replica of this sword in DA2 [ Blade of Mercy], has nothing to do with this design.

The horned woman, or female kossith or potential desire demon

She has horns. They don’t look like the same kind of horns we have seen in desire demons, which are longer and go backwards and then forward and have some complexity in their design. In fact, the base of her horns look more similar to Qunari’s [look at the Arishok]. These horns also look a bit similar to the ones we saw in the Viddasala or in the Tamassran in the comic. This is one of the main reasons why I always tended to think in it as a Kossith, and not a demon.

She has pointy ears, which again, it’s not the design of the desire demons. I like to highlight that the fact that desire demons have rounded ears is not only present in DAO, but in DA2 [check the visuals of Xebenkeck, who shares their design]. It was in DA2 where the qunari began to show pointy ears. And it became a fact since in DAI and comics we have the reinforcement of these ears. Of course, Sten never had this design because DAO struggled with the design of the Qunari, their horns, and helms.

On her chest and solar plexus there are thick lines that look like veins (of lyrium?). The symbol on her chest resembles the symbol on the chest we found on the main Old God statue in DAO during the Dalish origin [of course, we have to consier the limitations of that old engine]. To me it looks like a sketchy dragon shape. It may, potentially, have some relatinoship with the design of some Vallaslins [specially the ones related to Dirthamen and Falon’Din, which makes sense if we remember that this statue in DAO represents Falon’Din. More details in Dalish Camp and Dalish Origin and Humanoid Dirthamen]

Her neck, head, and left shoulder show some tendrils or texture similar to the one that chastely covers her breasts.

The "thing” around her horns and ears look very similar to the red cord that the Viddasala wears. To me, it is not clear if the statue has some decorative cords there, or it’s part of the strange textures attached to different parts of her body, or it’s a relief that belongs to her horns.

There is a long object that comes out from her legs. It seems to be a snake with a rhomboid scale pattern. It’s not clear if that snake covers her or is being born from her.

Her figure rests against a structure which is filled with thorns or spikes similar to the ones in the object I called “Tevinter artefact with spikes”.

Elements common to both

They are not two different statues put together, but one; each of them resting on the back of the other and wrapped with the same snake. Both rest their backs against an element with spikes [a thorny thick vine?] that resembles a lot the spikes of a Tevinter artefact I called “Tevinter artefact with spikes”. I never could speculate its function.

The snake keeps them in place and wrapped. The snake seem to come out from her groin, so there is meaning in it: she may be giving birth to the Snake, which wraps and keeps in place her figure and the Tevinter Warrior’s. A potential interpretation is that she represents the “Mother of Tevinter”, as important as the military army of Tevinter in the development of the Empire. Or she is deeply “entangled” with the military army of Tevinter [bound spells? Sacrifice for Blood Magic? Slavery?]

Since the snake comes from her and restrains both figures to one another, another interpretation is that through her, Tevinter may have acquired the ability of “binding spells” for military, expansionist purposes considering how much this magic is related to demons, Kossith, Tevinter, and blood magic mixed with Dragons and/or reptiles [check the implications of Tevinter having potentially created the race of the Qunari in Tevinter Mosaics, or the potential of having bound Hakkon to a Dragon in Frostback Basin [DLC]: Ancient Tevinter presence, Speculation].

Both figures are only directly associated with the codex Judicael's Crossing in Emprise du Lion: “Judicael's Crossing's structural supports bear architectural and decorative elements that mimic those of the ancient Tevinter highway it replaced. One can see their like several miles away in the archways rising above the village of Sahrnia. The Andrastian statues that decorate the walkway, however, are entirely Orlesian in style.” This is the main source I use to assume these statues belong to the Imperial Highway as decorative columns that support it. And I trust that the resconstruction of the archways preserved the statues since their reflection in the Fade are exactly the same.

Thanks to the excavation in Hissing Wastes: Venatori main camp, we can relate this pair of statues to the lids of Razikale Ceremony lid and the Horned warrior holding a sword lid too. I already did a long analysis of these lids, and related them to elvhenan in the post Razikale Ceremony and Dumat’s Warrior tablets. They seem to coincide with the hypothesis I’ve been working on for a while in the comic section of the blog, where I have the impression that Tevinter worshipped their own version of ancient gods which Elvhenan worshipped before becaming divine through the stealing of power from Dragons and/or Titans.

Thanks to the Shattered Library; Inverted Ward, we can see their base: they seem to stay onto a small mountain/hill decorated with skulls.

Speculation section

Considering we established already that this pair of statues are of Tevinter origin, more precisely, related to the Imperial Highway, we should be able to develop speculations within the context of the Ancient Tevinter. My goal is to explain what they may represent that gave Tevinter so much pride to repeat it in each column that decorated the Highway all across Thedas.

Two things are of importance to keep in mind when we analyse this:

This is from the time of Ancient Tevinter. The construction of the Imperial Highway was made a long time before the First Blight. We know that part of the stone used to built it was mined by slaves in Emerius [the old name that used to have Kirkwall, details in Kirkwall history and design].

The Highway was used to deliver supplies to far away Tevinter outposts [like in Frostback Basin [DLC]: Razikale’s Reach], as well as to extend their imperial power over the South and to favour businesses with Dwarves.

Speculation 1: She represents a desire demon or a Forbidden One, and the snake that she is giving birth is a representation of how deals with demons helped Tevinter to become an expansionist empire [ check the myth of the Chantry in Threonides 6 from Chant of Light - Part 1, and codices found in Kirkwall, detailed in the post Tarohne, the Fell Grimoire, and Xebenkeck], but also “restrained” or locked it into the deal that was made. The snake may also represent the powerful magic of binding demon that Tevinter used to have and abuse. This magic can be seen in Corypheus and his deep knowledge of how to bind demons to Grey Warden and control the Wardens in the processs.

The Tevinter Warrior represents Tevinter military power, which became more powerful as they added the knowledge of the blood magic school that these demons taught them. It was also thanks to this magic/deal that Tevinter developed into a sucessful expansionist empire up to the First Blight. The Tevinter Warrior may also represent a Venatori, implying that this radical group existed since ancient times [I don’t think we have lore to support this interpretation, however]

PROS

The man in the sculpture represents a generic Tevinter Warrior, mostly a symbol of the military power of an expansionist Empire. We must remember these sculptures appear in the Imperial Highway which was a construction that allowed Tevinter to expand and conquer the South and deliver supplies to its outposts. It was through the military aspect that Tevinter invaded and slaved the Alamarri tribes spread all over the South region. So, it makes sense for the main means that allowed the expansion to be represented in a construction that connected the Empire with the invaded regions. This interpretation about the Tevinter Warrior is valid for both speculations.

If she is a demon, it makes sense for her to appear in Tevinter iconography, since we know with some degree of reliability that humans learnt complex Blood magic from demons [read Tarohne, the Fell Grimoire, and Xebenkeck] but we also know that this magic may come from the Elvhenan. We also know that, from all the nations of Thedas, Tevinter is the main one using this school of magic in a regular, yet non-open, way. That she is represented in the Highway may be a symbol of power, a symbol of how she was the means that allowed all what represents the Tevinter Warrior to have power to conquer almost all Thedas in ancient times.

CONS

That the Tevinter Warrior may represent an ancient Venatori seems unlikely, because we don’t have any proof of this group and its activity in ancient ruins, and we explored a lot of them in Western Approach and Hissing Wastes. We don’t know how old Venatori are.

Design counter-argument: If she is a demon, her ears are pointy, which is not the case of desire demons [the kind of demon she resembles the most]. Her horns also differ a lot from the ones that desire demons have.

As I was corrected in the comments, it is true that Tevinter not always hid its use of blood magic [related to the cult of the Old Gods/dragons] and demons. However, when the nation converted to the Andrastian faith, after Andraste’s death, it turned into a “secret” that only happened within closed door. In this case, one would expect images of demons as prolific as the images of Dragons in Ancient Tevinter ruins or Tevinter design/style. However, so far I know, I never saw Tevinter art related to demons, since they may have been seen mostly as Corypheus sees them [implied in the way Corypheus taught Venatori and Grey Warden to bind themselves to them]: mere tools to use, pretty much as the elvhen slaves, which also have no central position in any piece of Tevinter art we saw. So I still think it is odd for Tevinter to openly represent a “dischargeable tool”, something with no value to them, in the Highway, so openly [especially because we have no other examples of demon representations in Tevinter art too].

Speculation 2: The Tevinter Warrior representation holds the same as in the previous speculation. What I change in this second attempt to explain these statues is the female figure: She is a Qunari or a prototype of a Qunari, aka a Kossith, who was used in the development and creation of the Tevinter empire, in the same way as Tevinter Warriors in their military army.

PROS

Her horns and pointy ears are closer to what we have seen in the Qunari design since DA2 than to a desire demon design.

We have been hinted by some characters along the games that Kossith existed and may have been a bit different to the modern Qunari.

Lore-wise, we know that Tevinter used Qunari as slaves and sacrifices in ancient times, according to the Tevinter Mosaics. They were so proud of them that the Qunari ancestors were depicted in these mosaics [in particular in “Sacrifice”] with the detailed face of important magisters.

Through the Tevinter Mosaics, we had speculated that the Qunari seem to be a crafted race by Tevinter [details in Frostback Mountains: Somewhere North], with the purpose of being powerful sacrifices and strong slaves. As such, they may have been, in the beginning, a symbol of what Tevinter could do with its deep knowledge of the arcane, and therefore, a craft they were proud of. Something happened later that made this pride vanish, hence the “corrections” or erasure of horns in these Mosaics. Corypheus also shouts to a Qunari Inquisitor “your race was a mistake”, which seems to fit this idea of Tevinter being proud of their creation but then, after some unknown event [rebellion?], feeling shame of it.

Also, if the Qunari were depicted in the Mosaics without shame [until later, where some horns were erased and appeared some signs of disapproval about them] it makes sense for them to appear in the Highway. As a [potentially] crafted race they were proud of, which helped them to acquire power for expansion and conquer.

CONS

The presentation of the qunari in the Tevinter Mosaics has been done after the First Blight or so [we assume this because the set of mosaics also depict scenes of the Chant of Light and the Magisters being burnt, so the event of stepping into the Black City may have happened after this artist made these mosaics, and also after the blame on Tevinter about the spread of the Blight was installed in the population]. The Imperial Highway is older than the Blights, so the only speculation we can make to keep things consistent is that Qunari [or Kossith] were immensely important in the development of Tevinter since the time of the Neomerian empire but, for some reason, the only old depict we have of them is the one presented in these mosaics. Maybe in DA4, travelling to Tevinter, we will have access to ancient Tevinter information that may enlighten this speculation.

#Analysis and speculation of Statues #Female Kossith/ Desire demon /Tevinter Warrior #imperial highway

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ghostofskywalker · 10 months

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oooh please tell us ab your clone oc!! i just saw ur post ab making his ct number I’d love to hear more!

of course!! i now have 3 oc's to share and i was going to post about all of them anyway, so here they are!!

the helmet drawings still need to be colored but everything else about them is done :) hopefully the pictures are visible, i have a very light hand when drawing

CT-2808: “Getaway”

Medic of the 989th Battalion

The running joke is that if you injure yourself doing something stupid, you better “get away”

His CT number is the last digit of the kudo count of my four favorite fics i’ve written (one from each fandom that has been a principle one of mine at some point: marvel, agent carter, star wars, and the x files!)

Asexual, willing to date but doesn’t see the point in it because they’re at war

Has a tattoo on the back of his right shoulder that says “the best of times, the worst of crimes” in aurebesh

Won’t tell anyone the story behind it - Ricochet is the only one who knows because he was there for it all

Has a fairly simple helmet design, a few accents around the bottom half of the helmet, along with the medic symbol at the top

Impulsive only when drunk

Big fan of karaoke night at 79’s

Likes fruity drinks, his brothers tease him for it

Loyal, compassionate, and kind

Dry humor when you least expect it

Has a candy connection on Coruscant, has a stash to give to his brothers when they’re recovering from particularly dangerous wounds

CT-2714: “Ricochet”

ARC Trooper of the 989th Battalion

His CT number is the last digit of the kudo count of my second four favorite fics i’ve written (from the same four fandoms!)

Bisexual

In the nicest way possible, this man is a little bit of a slut (but we love him for it)

Talks a big game about himself, but secretly is a big softie when it comes to love

Likes to paint his nails when they’re on leave

Can outdrink every other trooper in the battalion

Preferred weapon is two pistols

Kama is teal with white swirl patterns, color scheme matches the armor of the battalion

The best person to have with you in case of a crisis, he can always come up with some kind of solution

Has a bad habit of ending up in the medbay with random injuries

Sleeps like the dead, not even a droid attack can wake him up

Gets his name from the way his mind moves between thoughts, is likely a bit ADHD

Scared of needles, Getaway keeps trying to convince him to get a tattoo

Jedi General Vera Callisto

i didn't like the star wars picrews i found, so i used a random one i did like, here's vera in some civvie clothes :)

Human, with dark brown hair and purple eyes

Grew up with Obi Wan, helped train Anakin

Originally from Alderaan

Studied under Plo Koon, friends with the Wolfpack because of this

Wields two green lightsabers

Powerful warrior, but would rather spend her days in the Jedi Archives

Served as a General in charge of the Coruscant Guard until the 989th was formed, and then her service was required on the front lines

Makes friends with every clone she meets instantly, she likes to give the men in her battalion little trinkets from markets if she gets to travel

Compassionate, kind, caring, and tired of the war

Likes to paint her nails with Ricochet

Lesbian

all her troops are trying to set her up with one of the bartender’s at 79’s

They’re kind of convinced that the no attachments thing just means you can’t have children and she’s tired of correcting them at this point, so she just rolls with it.

okay, maybe she actually does think the bartender at 79’s is cute, but don’t say anything!!!

#ghostofskywalker.oc #i love them sm i hope everyone else does too!!#daisy 🌊

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jennadknowsbest-blog · 2 years

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This Mandalorian Rey Kenobi(Kryze) design serves as an ode to the two legacies she’s apart of in @arbor_draws’s “Force Awakens” AU fan fiction.

Helmet: Though the helmet is a “Nite Owl” styled helmet, the fulcrum markings serve as an ode to her mom, Ahsoka and her Jedi routes that she was apart of along with her paternal grandfather, Obi-Wan. The typical Clan Kryze signet serves as an ode to her paternal clan, Clan Kryze while the peace calla lilies are a nod to her paternal grandmother, Duchess Satine. In this head canon, Rey inherited the armor from her late grandmother, via, grand-aunt Bo-Katan Kryze.

Armor: For the armor design, I went with a typical Nite Owl-styled design. For example, I added the Clan Kryze signet on her shoulder pads while I added Ahsoka’s fulcrum symbol on to her chest piece. Originally, I wanted to include the Jedi Order symbol on to the left side of the shoulder armor but then, I felt that would be a little too much so, I added a second Kryze signet in its place.

Belt: It’s a typical Jedi-styled belt with a Mandalorian-styled grid to support it. It also contains two holsters to help Rey carry her weapons around.

Weapons: Though she uses her Death-Watch-styled gauntlets in battle, she primarily uses two different light sabers. One is Ahsoka’s twin fulcrum light sabers and the other is of course, the Dark Saber.

Color Scheme: From my observation of the Clan Kryze warriors from the shows, I found that almost all of them have a blue and grey color scheme for their armor. When I looked up the color meaning in both Legends and Disney canon, I saw that blue symbolizes reliability while grey symbolizes mourning a loved one. This makes sense when you take Clan Kryze’s history into consideration like how Satine and Bo-Katan lost their parents, and several of their people in the Clan Wars on Mandalore, Clan Kryze getting kicked off Mandalore after Satine declared pacifism following the said war, Bo-Katan loosing her sister and other unfortunate events that took place afterwards. At the same time, this clan managed to overcome a lot of hurdles along the way and continued to fight for Mandalore’s freedom.

I hope when I start cosplaying Rey next year that I get to add this AU design along with her canon look.

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gasha40k · 1 year

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I’ve been crazy busy with general “Normal Human” stuff as of late so I haven’t had much time to work on models. This is becoming increasingly common and while I’m kind of frustrated that I can’t physically interact with the hobby as frequently as I’d like, being forced to slow down is kind of fun, and I’m certainly beginning to appreciate it. Because I have such little time to dedicate towards physical projects, I’ve been filling in those gaps with conceptual stuff like writing, reading, and lots of planning.

And speaking of lots of planning, the Thunderbearers continue to take shape in my weird pulsating brain. I’ve got a lot of schemes cooking up for my custom Chapter! But before we can get into the cool ideas, we need a solid foundation to work off of.

“Nos tempestas sumus, Brother.”

That foundation comes in the form of a newly updated heraldry sheet that I probably spent way too long on. Let’s illustrate some of the differences between the new sheet and our old one, pictured below for posterity.

The most immediately noticeable change is the shift in armor color. Instead of a bland bright grey like the original sheet, the Thunderbearers are now sporting a considerably darker, more verdant color, represented by a palette swap from Citadel’s Mechanicus Standard Grey to Vallejo’s Military Green. This is because the Thunderbearers were never really supposed to be that bright, but when I started painting I settled on Mechanicus Standard Grey because Citadel’s range lacks an equivalent to Military Green, and for some reason I was really intent on using only Citadel paints when I first started.

Nowadays, however, I care a lot less about trivial shit like that, so I’ve decided to finally make the swap to a color more akin to the one from the progenitor Dawn of War marine.

The shoulder heraldry has also been changed up a bit now that I’ve figured out the Chapter organization a little more. At base, every marine has one white shoulder pad, whereas officers have golden trim on their pauldron. Veterans have two white shoulder pads and a white backpack, with veteran officers having two trimmed pauldrons.

Moving on, the original Thunderbearers symbol struck me as kind of bland, but most importantly, it didn’t look very good against a grey shoulder pad. After a few mock-ups I’ve decided on a new one. Coloring the bolt white helps it stand out against both the background reticle and the pauldron, and it calls attention to the lightning as the centerpiece of the symbol. Finally, adding a circle to the reticle makes it look much more like an actual reticle, but the chaos star influence isn’t lost.

Anyways, enough about a colored png. Outside of conceptual bullshit like this, I’ve been working on another special Captain model.

Here he is so far: 10th Captain Vanion Sullist, Master of Reconnaissance, member of the Chaplaincy, and Priest of the Divine Kill. Sullist is both a Captain and an acting member of the Thunderbearers Chaplaincy. Sullist is one of the Chapter’s holiest warriors, and an unquestionably legendary sniper. Sullist is also the Chaplain responsible for the moral foundation of the Thunderbearers stealth and reconnaissance troops, guiding those Astartes that prefer precise fury over overwhelming firepower.

You can tell he’s a Chaplain by the excessive amounts of purity seals!

I’m going to give him an Eliminator arm of some capacity and then I think he’ll be about done. Painting scheme wise, his armor will be black like a Chaplain, and a skull will be painted over his beaky helmet to invoke the image of a Chaplain. On the tabletop he’ll be run as a Phobos Captain.

To conclude, things are slow but dense. I’ve also been doing a good amount of work on the Crusade. I’ll post a bit of an update regarding that soon.

#warhammer 40k #miniatures #building #kitbash #loreposting #adeptus astartes #thunderbearers

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cienie-isengardu · 2 years

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JF:OS/My RepCom Musing: Mandalorian armor color scheme

(The majority of conclusion about Mandalorian armor color scheme was in fact written ages ago as a way to analyze mandalorian traditions through different eras.This is in fact a translated and shortened version)

Though the Republic Commando book series likes to empathize how Mandalorians pick the colors of their armor either for the meaning of said color (black for justice, gold for revenge for example) or for the solely aesthetic reasons (what they like) it is not exactly true for bigger groups (clans?) that operate as organized military, like those from Jango Fett: Open Seasons.

Tor Vizsla’s Death Watch and Jaster Mereel’s True Mandalorians came from the same mandalorian mercenary community. Despite the extreme different ideology, both groups followed the same armor color code for military ranks and hierarchy among their respective groups.

(The Original) LEADERS

Tor and Jaster both wore black/dark armors with red elements such as cape, shoulder pads (with specific sign on it). Vizsla was never shown in a helmet, but there is a possibility that his viewfinder border would have a red color, similar to Jaster’s one.

Squad Commander (Jango)

When young Fett was finally allowed to lead his own squad, his armor had a green color but the same as Mereel, the viewfinder border was painted red. Additionally, the forearm protectors were also red/red-ish, in contrast to his squad members. Only shoulder and knee pads were yellow and the vast majority, if not all of his teammates, wore those in the same color. Also, no different color of cape for Jango and his men.

During the mission on Korda IV, Jaster’s warriors were divided into three different groups, all represented by specific symbols visible on their breastplates:

Jango and serving under him the “foot soldiers” had red circle

Jaster Mereel and the Headhunter Company had yellow / gold diamond

Montross and his Vertigo Company - Mandalorians with jetpacks (flying experiences) had a red rectangle / square

It is also worth noting that soldiers had such markings also on their shoulder pads, like it can be seen in the example below with Mereel's subordinates and the characteristic full yellow diamonds.

During Jango’s first mission as squad leader, his most likely second-in-command was Silas, whose blue color of viewfinder border (man in the middle) varied from Jango’s leadership red (on right) and common trooper’s yellow-ish one (on left).

After Jaster’s death and Fett's promotion to Mandalore,

Jango’s armor changed. The same as his mentor, armor plates and jumpsuit had black/dark color with red elements such as viewfinder border, cape and shoulder pads. Jango had adittionally red forearm protectors.

(During that time, the appearance of Tor’s armor and gear did not change that much)

Seconds-in-command

For Jaster it was Montross who seemed to fulfill this important role (at least until he betrayed the True Mandalorian’s leader on Korda) while the unnamed Death Watch member killed by young Jango in the first issue was the closest to being Tor’s right hand as far as comics showed us.

The common color for seconds in command is blue, as was seen with their viewfinder border (at least in case of Montross), cape and shoulder pads.

Surprisingly, in the next issues, the story did not introduce anyone of a similar meaning in regard to Tor, while on Galidraan, Jango’s second in command was most likely Myles, as he was the one Mandalorian soldier Fett asked for raport at the end of their mission and whom tried to contact with to warn his men about Jedi.

Myles’s armor color schemes however vary a bit from Montross and the unnamed Death Watch member with the yellow shoulder pads. This specific combination of blue viewfinder and yellow shoulder pads is something actually seen with Sylas, Jango’s second-in-command during his first mission as squad leader. Still, as Myles’s blue cape is still visible, I do think his color scheme puts him in a higher place in hierarchy, with possibility he simply took over the duties of Jango’s previous second in command killed in action or True Mandalorians upgraded their ranks insignia.

Common troopers

Since the story is focused on Jango & True Mandalorians, it is hard to tell anything specific about Death Watch’s ranks, but we can see some generalizations in case of soldiers of both groups.

Jaster Mereel (and later, Jango Fett)’s men

The most common color between “low ranks” is green and yellow elements of armor and blue-ish or gray jumpsuit.

Some have capes (but not red or blue), some do not wear them at all. Despite the fairly same colors, we can observe different symbols on the armor - just like in the situation from Korda VI discussed earlier, it was a 'system' for dividing soldiers into appropriate companies, but soldiers also have specific marks (maybe some clan, 'lucky' markings or 'medals' for campaigns and character traits, e.g. bravery or courage?)

Tor Vizsla’s men

Similar like Mereel’s mercenaries, the common soldiers of Death Watch wear toned down colors like gray and green, often with yellow viewfinder borders. Same as their opponents, not everyone wears capes and when they do, those are rarely in red or blue colors. In Jango Fett: Open Seasons their color was usually in green/gray-ish tone. Some, like Tor Vizsla himself, have the Death Watch mark on their armor plates.

Conclusion from Jango Fett: Open Seasons:

I’m aware that characteristic colors were given to main characters of the comics so the reader could easily follow them in the large group of armored soldiers. But the colored ranks play the same purpose in-universe for the common soldiers.

My crossover conclusion between JF:OS and Republic Commando book series is that, if Vau, Skirata and others mandalorian training sargeants from Kamino in fact served under Jaster Mereel and/or Jango Fett, their armor plates color scheme should be similar to those of True Mandalorians from the comics during that period of their life.

(Also, books like say the Mandalorians did not have their own army which to be fair is not true, what Jaster and Jango lead for years was an army. Maybe not the biggest one but still an organized military unit, which at least two companies and one company may vary from a few dozen to 200 soldiers, which their own ships and one big mother ship (base) and most likely supplies and armory, since all soldiers had access to the same equipment.)

#star wars #true mandalorians #death watch #mandalorian armors #mandalorian culture #My RepCom musing #jango fett: open seasons #as much as i love individual take on person's armor #i love more true mandalorians and death watch color schemed ranks #depending on their rank in TM #kal skirata #and #walon vau should serve under jaster and/or jango wearing colors similar to these seen in comics

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chernobog13 · 1 year

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THE INTRUDER IS THE ENEMY OF G.I. JOE!

As the original G.I. Joe line was dying a slow death in the mid-1970s, Hasbro was desperate to breathe new life into what had once been its flagship product. The (relative) realism that had been the Hallmark of G.I. Joe was replaced by science fiction with the introduction of Mike Power: Atomic Man, and by superheroes with the arrival of Bulletman the Human Bullet.

In 1976 Hasbro released the very first enemy of G.I. Joe, The Intruders! Despite their caveman-like appearance, The Intruders were intelligent, super-strong aliens from outer space intent on conquering Earth. Only the Super Adventure Team (Eagle Eye G.I. Joe, Mike Power, and Bulletman) had any hope of stopping them!.

The Intruders came in two versions: a bearded, gold armored commander, and the clean-shaven, silver armored warrior. For some unknown reason, they had Thor’s helmet as the symbol on their chest.

As is quite obvious from the photos, these figures were unlike any G.I. Joe figure that had ever come before.

Not only were they shorter than other G.I. Joe figures, The Intruders had very limited articulation as well.

Their arms swiveled at the shoulders, the legs swiveled at the hips, and the head turned at the base of the neck. That was a real step down from the rest of the line.

However, like nearly every toy released in that era, the Intruders had a gimmick: press the button in their back and their arms would close around another figure in their “Crusher Grip,” as demonstrated in the comic below.

Sadly, the arrival of The Intruders on Earth was not enough to reverse the steadily sagging sales pf G.I. Joe. Later that same year, Hasbro pulled the plug on the original G.I. Joe line.

I never had The Intruder, nor did I know anyone who did. I wouldn’t have wanted one anyhow because there were more than a few guys in my high school who looked exactly like this (complete with the wife beaters they wore to school year-round).

youtube

#G.I Joe #The Intruders #G.I. Joe Adventure Team #Hasbro #action figures #toys

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hondoohnakasrankings · 1 year

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Inspiration behind the first trilogy

An important aspect of this franchise is that it has many references and inspiration from both real events and other movies and series of the genre.

Firstly I will get into its cinematographic inspirations and influences. The more famous ones are Flash Gordon (photo 1) and Buck Rogers (photo 2) which were famous science fiction and space opera television series of the time. Originally, the idea that became A New Hope was a remake of the 1930's Flash Gordon as a movie. As you can see in the second series, the costumes are reminiscent of many attires of Leia mostly and Padme as well in all white. He was inspired as well by the science fiction movies that were running in his youth, but he wanted to do something different, aimed at younger people, less dark but still as entertaining.

Another source of inspiration are the works of Japanese director Akire Kurosawe, and most specifically the 1958 movie The Hidden Fortress, which inspired the plot and some character. Even Darth Vader's helmet resembles that of a samurai.

If you want to read more on the topic there are some great articles on Wookipedia. There is probably much more to mention about inspiration but those were the major ones.

Secondly, there is the historical inspirations and allusions. First off this is one of my favorite fun facts, Leia's iconic buns are inspired by Pancho Villa "soldaderas" from Mexico. Carrie Fisher had to wanting to portray a strong independent heroine and these revolutionary ladies were a perfect choice. Although it was not a practical hairstyle and not used during the Mexican Revolution it was the inspiration from the phots that were taken, and I believe the message is the all that matters.

On a grimmer note however, the rest of the story is mainly based on conflicts that have happened in history. Like mentioned in a previous post, the dyad of Empire and Rebels mirrors the American forces against Vietnam forces from the 1950s-80s conflict. The USA have also a similar path to that of the empire; they started as a revolution for separation from a colonial group or alliance of sort (Dooku's Separatists and England), then they ruled themselves, but the political system is a bit off and less democratic then they would like it to seem. Then they go to war with states or planets that do not agree with their doctrines ( Like the Cold War or the Vietnam War compared to the bombing of Leia's planet Alderaan).

there are other aspects that are more visual. For instance we have the Jedi, which can be compared to the a mix of samurai and Shaolin monks but also Templar Knights both are warrior monks that wear simple robes, that want peace to thrive. Although they are supposed to not take a side like the shaolin monks, they end up inevitably taking sides with the Republics against the Separatist and the Sith. Like the Templar they originally took vows of austerity, devotion and moral purity and were eventually purged by a ruler who saw them as a threat.

Another visual and historical reference is in this next scene. Overall the Empire has a lot of Nazi symbolism, from the rise of Palpatine, the frustration of the separatist, the implementation of a new armed force (stormtroopers) when it was not really allowed. The costumes of the Stormtroopers and most importantly the hate and authoritarianism of the two regimes.

This scene, also mirrors massive Nazi rallies in Nuremberg with the troops at attention watching their leaders.

If you want to read more on the topic there is this articlehttps://www.history.com/news/the-real-history-that-inspired-star-wars

Overall Star Wars takes a lot of inspiration from real world conflicts and peoples in order to offer a critique of authoritarian orders. Although some fans misread this critique more often then one would think, it is still a very important message, even if the Empire might look impressive.

#star wars #george lucas #history #wookieepedia #leia #darth vader

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uitonki · 2 years

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Selfcontrol japanese kanji

Eventually some evolved into daimyo, or feudal lords who ruled specific territories independently of the central government. As the Imperial Court grew weaker, local governors grew more powerful. Over time, the nobility had trouble maintaining centralized control of the nation, and began “outsourcing” military, administrative, and tax collecting duties to former rivals who acted like regional governors. This service ethic spawned the roots of samurai nobility, both social and spiritual. The word samurai originally meant “one who serves,” and referred to men of noble birth assigned to guard members of the Imperial Court. Or was he? A Brief History of the Samurai Lacking physical strength and fighting skills, he naturally chose to rely on wits rather than weapons, on strategy over swords. But he differed from his contemporaries in seeking to overcome his adversaries peaceably, through negotiation and alliance building rather than through brute force. Hideyoshi was driven by a burning desire to succeed as a samurai. For generations of men, Hideyoshi became the ultimate underdog hero: a symbol of the possibility of reinventing oneself as a man and rising, Horatio Alger fashion, from rags to riches. Born the weakling son of a poor farmer at a time when martial prowess or entry to the priesthood were the only ways for an ambitious commoner to escape a life of backbreaking farm toil, he rose from poverty to rule a mighty nation and command hundreds of thousands of samurai warriors. Hideyoshi’s true story has inspired countless novels, plays, movies - even video games - for more than four centuries. Ultimately he became the supreme ruler of all Japan - the first peasant ever to rise to the absolute height of power - and unified a nation torn apart by more than a hundred years of civil strife. Driven by a relentless desire to transcend his peasant roots, Hideyoshi went on to become Nobunaga’s loyal protégé and right-hand man. His name was Hideyoshi, and on that fateful spring evening in the year 1553, the brash young warlord Nobunaga hired him as a sandal-bearer. He longed to become the epitome of refined manhood - a samurai - but nothing in the demeanor of this five-foot-tall, one-hundred-ten-pound boy could possibly have foretold the astounding destiny awaiting him. A peasant wandered the countryside alone, seeking his fortune, without a coin in his pocket. It was a time of carnage and darkness: the Age of Wars, when the land was torn by bloodshed and the only law was the law of the sword. When I managed to speak, my voice was clear and steady, and I drew courage with each syllable. Raising my head just enough to brave a glance at the demonic figure, I saw him staring at me, like a hawk poised to seize a mouse in its talons. My fate-and though I didn’t know it then, the fate of all of Japan -rested on my answer. My mouth had gone dry, as parched as a man dying of thirst. I tried to speak and managed only a faint croak. I could not see his face but there was no mistaking the authority in his growling tone, nor the hint of mockery in his question. You wish to serve me?” Silhouetted against the blue-black sky, the horse-mounted samurai with the horned helmet towered over me like a demon as I knelt in the dirt before him. Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Tim Clark.

#Selfcontrol japanese kanji

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where-is-caithe · 3 years

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so based almost entirely on what the other symbols for classes look like, these are my guesses.

#gw2 #gw2 spoilers #eod spoilers #class speculation #my engineer guess has me the most like what the hell is this #BUT it looks like either 2 daggers OR a double bladed axe #and either of those would be SICK #no idea what the warrior one is gonna be but i looked up the meaning to like #oni and hannyu masks and it talks a lot about strength and protection which has me #laser eyes #ALSO #the warrior one is like! the original warrior symbol is a helmet and THAT is a face #so #we'll see if im wrong but i hope im not

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whiskeynwriting · 3 years

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Mine

Din Djarin x Female Reader

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Word count: 3.7k

Warnings: 18+ (minors DNI) dirty talk, praise kink, breeding kink, slight degradation, Dom!Din, choking (once), vaginal fingering, anal fingering, oral sex (m and f receiving), vaginal sex, rough sex.

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A/N: oof this got away from me LOL.

I wrote this a HOT minute ago, so I may cringe while reading back on it. Who knows, lmao. Also, this is just a one-shot. It’s not related to the Blurred Lines Series.

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Din Djarin Masterlist

Join My Taglist!

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You walk down through the bazaar and into the covert you’ve called home for years now, back from an exhausting hunt and hoping to be able to rest among your tribe. Although you did not take the Mandalorian creed, you are welcomed here with open arms. All because you had caught the eye of a Mandalorian.

Walking down the stairs, you continue on through the halls as you walk toward the main common space. Small children run by you, covered by their shrunken helmets. They giggle while grasping their necklaces, proud to have a symbol of the great Mythosaur with them always. This was something you admired, and you too had one of these necklaces, the only symbol you were allowed to bear to link you to your tribe. Looking at your own adornment, you’re reminded of the incredible sadness that fills you each night you are away from your husband. But you had wanted this. You insist, every now and then, to go off on a mission of your own. After all, you still had the Mando’a spirit, you were not simply a riduur to one. And now that you were done catching your bounty, you decided to come back to the covert and wait for him to return from his own adventure.

You sat down on one of the tables in the common area, setting your bag beside you and letting your hair down. At this particular covert, you were the only non-Mandalorian riduur. Because you were able to show your face and wear clothes that fit your body quite nicely, you often caught the eye of others. Before finding Din, you met Paz. He was the original reason that you were accepted into the covert. He was a heavy infantry warrior that stayed on the planet, particularly within the city. He was not a bounty hunter like your riduur. You had admired Paz’s internal need to stay close to his tribe and build a home here, a family here.

Paz caught your attention with his large frame and intriguing combat style. He was incredibly tall, and the armor that adorned him displayed his large muscles nicely. Paz was attracted to the swiftness of your fighting skills, your incomparable beauty to any other in the parsec, and your flirtatious personality. He was loud, boisterous, and liked to show off. And damn, did it impress you when he did. Defending the covert, his home, his tribe, nothing turned you on more. The way Paz’s muscles flexed when he came, the way you’d grab his v-line with every thrust into your mouth, was more than desirable. But you wanted more, and you didn’t love him. He had asked you to become his riduur, and you declined.

Din came back to the covert after you had ended your relationship with Paz. He had been gone for years; bounty hunting was all he knew. When he did decide to come back to the covert, though, the energy between the two of you was undeniable. He was quiet, but when he did speak, it sent shivers down your spine. There was nothing more you wanted than to make him moan, to hear his beautiful voice speak more and more; forcing sounds out of him from pleasure, sounds that would be only for you.

After seeing you fight and watching you in the bazaar, Din had asked if you’d like to join him and the child on his ship. He claimed he could use the extra security and help when it came to the child and hunting bounties, and you were more than thrilled to accept. You didn’t feel comfortable staying at the covert anymore, anyways. Not with Paz there.

While deep in your thoughts, you don’t even notice Paz step over and sit down in front of you. You look up and see the man in the dark blue and silver armor directly in your line of sight. Though you can’t see his eyes, you can feel his stare.

“You know...” he starts, “I thought a riduurouk meant you’d join your mate for life. Seems to me like Djarin has better things to do, what with him being gone for so long.”

Your roll your eyes. You know Paz is just trying to get a rise out of you. When you were together, most of your sexual encounters began this way. He has no idea of the arrangement you’ve made with Din about occasionally hunting your own bounties, nor does he have the right to. Before you can respond, you hear a low, steady voice behind you.

“Five days doesn’t seem to be too long for her.”

You turn around to see your mate standing in the doorway to the common space. His Beskar armor shining, his fists tight, and his stance firm. A smile breaks across your face and he reaches a hand out to you.

“Riduur.” He beckons you over, and you leap up from the bench and into his arms. His grip on you is tight as you nuzzle into his neck, but you can tell his visor is fixed on Paz. You break the hug to look up at him, and then over to Paz as you hear him get up and walk over to you.

“If I had made you my riduur, you’d never be left alone.” He grumbles, stepping closer toward you. He is inches away from your face, and you can’t help but let out a small breath. The way he towered over you had always made your heat ache.

“You don’t miss me, mesh’la?” He reaches up to grab your chin. It seems this was Din’s breaking point. He reaches over to grab Paz’s wrist, bending his entire arm backward. He throws Paz to the ground in one quick motion, with a grunt that makes you squeeze your thighs together. Though Paz was much bigger than Din, Din was stealthier, smarter, quicker.

“Touch her again and she’ll be the last woman you ever see."

As you and your Mandalorian walk down the hallway, making your way out of the bazaar and back to the Crest, you can’t help but replay the incident in your mind. Din’s strength, his possessiveness, is something you always craved, and something you desperately missed when apart from him. The way he dominated you was better than any past lover. You can see his chest heaving, his fists still clenched as you walk beside him.

“Come here.” He says to you. He leads you down a corridor off to the left. Once in the dark hallway, he grabs your shoulder and shoves you against the wall. His hands explore your body as he pushes himself against you. You always loved when he manhandled you like this. Din knew how to be gentle and rough, and you absolutely loved it.

“Baby,” you gasp as he cups your tits, grinding his hips into yours. Your arms fly around his neck as you press your forehead to where his would be on his helmet. He slides his hands down your back, and grabs at your ass.

“You are mine.” He growls out harshly, and you nod your head in agreement. “Say it.” He spits out through gritted teeth.

“I’m yours, Din.” You say breathlessly.

“Mine.” He repeats.

His rugged breathing picks up and he slides his hand farther down your backside. He slips a hand under your panties and continues down toward your puckered hole. His other hand reaches around to the front of you, diving in and immediately shoving two fingers into your tight cunt, making you gasp. You lift a leg up to wrap around his waist, giving his fingers better access as you move with his hand. While he pumps his fingers into you, he begins tracing your tight ring of muscles with the other. Slowly, he inserts one finger. You whine as he wiggles it once it’s fully inside your ass, smirking at the feel of his talented digits.

“You like that, cyar’ika?” He asks, and all you can do is nod your head frantically as you grab onto his armor. “I’ve missed these tight holes.” He grunts out, steadily pumping his fingers into you. You cry out when his fingers curl to hit that delicious spot inside your pussy.

“Shhh mesh’la, we wouldn’t want anyone to hear you.” You bite your lip as he continues, “Unless you want the whole covert to hear me dominating you. Making you mine, my little slut.” He continues to grind against your thigh as his gloved fingers work themselves into you.

“Fuck, Din.” You throw your head back. You loved when he spoke to you like this. “I want more,” you say breathlessly, “I want you.” All at once, he rips his fingers out of you, making you whine in protest. He smacks your ass, making you jump as he growls, “Get your ass back to the ship.”

Back on the ship, you see the foundling’s pram is closed, assuming this means he is sleeping. Even though it was two hours before his bedtime, you weren’t surprised. You knew Din wanted to have you anywhere he could, everywhere he could. You missed your little Grogu, but you’d spend time with him soon enough.

“Strip.” He orders sternly behind you, his rough command making you turn around to face him. Smirking, you slowly lift your top over your head, throwing it to the side. You lean down to slip your black pants down your legs, undoing your boots and taking them off as well in the process. Standing in your underwear, you saunter over to him. You place a hand on his cuirass as you whisper with a smirk, “I can’t wait to feel you to fill me up.” A groan escapes through his modulator and he grabs your thighs, lifting you up as he carries you towards his bunk. You squeal and wrap your hands around his neck, making him chuckle beneath you.

He throws you down onto your now shared cot, quickly tearing his Beskar off of his body. You sigh as he lifts his helmet. The face of your riduur was something you always saw as a beautiful masterpiece. Within seconds his teeth are on your thigh, ripping off your panties. He unhooks your bra and tosses it aside. Now fully exposed, you lift your legs so you can plant your feet on the bed, showing him your dripping pussy. He groans, a sound heard without the filter of his modulator. You feel his large hands roughly grab your ankles as he shoves your legs open farther. He crawls over you and hovers his lips above yours. You bring your hands up to his face and clash your lips together. He moans into the kiss and his tongue forces itself into your mouth. You suck on it, licking up the taste of him, making him moan in desire. He pulls away, biting your lip as he begins to make his way back down to your heat. Hovering just above your soaking wet cunt, he inhales deeply.

“Fuck cyar’ika. I missed this needy cunt. Your smell is incredible... and you taste even better.”

With the last words falling out of his mouth, he licks a long stripe up your folds, making you whine. He continues to lick you like a frozen treat until you’re wiggling underneath him. He laps at the wetness leaking from your folds, sighing deeply at your tangy taste, making you squirm beneath him. His arm comes up to wrap itself around your hips and lower stomach to keep you in place. He moves up to your clit and sucks harshly while dancing his tongue quickly over your throbbing nub. Two fingers come up to shove themselves into your wanting cunt, eagerly pumping into you. You cry out at the sensation, jerking your hips up as much as you can under his heavy arm.

“Din, fuck!” You cry out, throwing your hands onto his head to tug at his long, chocolate locks. He moans into your pussy, the sound and vibrations driving you over the edge. You cry out his name as your lover laps up your juices as they soak his face and drip onto the sheets below. His fingers ride you through your high, eventually pulling them back out. He brings his digits up to his mouth as his tongue licks and sucks your cum off his fingers, making you pant out an incredibly needy moan.

“Sit up, cyar’ika. Gonna fuck your throat.” He says gruffly. You immediately crawl over to him, eager to take his length in your mouth. He starts pumping his cock, and you open your mouth and stick your tongue out for him.

“Good girl,” you hear the grin in his voice as you stare at his length. You knew this is what he loved, seeing your open mouth, ready to swallow him. While you leaned forward on the cot, he stood at its edge and set his heavy cock on your tongue, groaning when you lapped up his dripping precum.

“Use me.” You beg, “Use me to make yourself cum.” He moans happily and grabs the back of your head. With one quick thrust, he shoves his cock into your mouth. You shove down the reaction your gag reflex brings and open your mouth for him as best you can.

“Take me,” he pants, “take all of me.” He thrusts into your mouth until he bottoms out inside your throat.

“That’s it pretty girl, my good girl.” He sighs happily. A strangled groan comes from his throat as your tongue moves underneath the weight of his thick cock. He holds your head there for a moment before he can’t seem to take it any longer. Your warrior quickly finds a devastating pace as he deeply fucks your throat. Each thrust brings loud, squelching sounds to bounce off the ship’s metal walls. The sound of you gagging on his cock was something he craved.

“Riduur,” he groans, “ner Riduur... mine to claim,” he continues grunting harshly. “Your throat is mine to fuck. Your sweet cunt... fuck... mine to bury myself into.”

You loved when he was this dominant over you. You can tell he’s close. His hips begin to stutter, and you take this opportunity to moan against his length, helping his climax along. With a few harsh thrusts, his hot cum shoots down your throat. The thick white ropes bringing a familiar musky taste to your tongue that you desperately missed. He thrusts lazily into your mouth as he rides out his high. You swallow all of him, his cock, his cum... you were his. His grip on your head and hair loosens as he leans back to he take his cock out of your mouth. You smirk and lick your lips.

“I missed your taste,” you tell him. He suddenly grabs your jaw, running his thumb over your bottom lip.

“You are perfect,” he growls, inches from your face. Your tongue comes out to lick his thumb, and a short breath escapes from his mouth.

“How do you want me?” You innocently ask.

He grabbed your wrists, pulling you forward off of the cot. Your feet fumble to the floor before being shoved down onto the ground, onto your knees. He leans you forward so you rest yourself on your elbows, sticking your ass high up into the air. You knew he loved to see it. His breathing picked up behind you as you did so. He takes a handful of your ass and squeezes it, then slaps it harshly. He chuckles darkly when a yelp escapes your lips.

“I can be gentle... or I can make you beg.” He states, rubbing his hands over your ass, spreading your cheeks widely. You hum in appreciation, the act of him spreading you open makes your pussy drip with desire. He sees your wetness drip down onto the cold, metal floor of his ship.

“Cyar’ika...” he moans. A hand leaves your ass as he reaches down to gather some of the wetness between your folds. You hear him eagerly suck on his fingers before saying, “I think you need to beg me for it.”

“Please,” you immediately plead. “Please Din. Make me yours, claim me, riduur. Please. I need your cock.” He hums, satisfied with your pleas. He takes his thick length and lines it at your entrance. Slowly, he slides himself forward so that your pussy engulfs his tip.

“Please,” you whisper. With that, he shoves himself into you, pushing you forward with his weight. His cock splits you open deliciously, a feeling that never grows old. He continues to spread your ass cheeks apart as he begins to slowly pump himself into you.

“Look at you, your tight, needy holes. Begging to be filled. What about this one mesh’la?” He asks as he presses a finger on your tight ring of muscles. “Does this one need to be filled, too?” He questions, amusement in his voice. You whimper and nod your head, eager to have him fill you in every way he can.

“I said beg.” He demands, his stern voice making you gasp. When you can’t catch your breath quick enough to respond, he shoves a quick, forceful thrust deep inside you with a loud grunt, shoving you forward once more.

“Din! Finger me, finger my asshole. Please, please... I need to feel more of you.” You plead with him.

He loves when you beg, and always gives in when you do so properly. Dominating you like this makes his cock twitch inside your tight cunt. He slips a finger into you, all the way to his last knuckle, making a satisfied sigh come from your mouth. He wiggles his finger in a circle as he pumps his finger in and out of you. As his finger picks up it’s pace, so do his hips. Eventually, he removes his finger, making you whine.

“Tell me what you want, what you need.” His demand clearly telling you he needed to hear this nickname again.

“Din,” you gasp, “finger me.”

With that, he shoves his thumb inside your ass as his hips continue with a devastatingly deep pace. His other hand grips your hip as he drives into you.

“Good girl.” He praises you, making another wave of pleasure wash over you. You loved being his good girl.

“Din! Yes, yes. Don’t stop!” You cry out. You start to bounce your ass back against him, making him growl at your promiscuous act.

“Love your sweet cunt,” he grunts out, “your ass is so tight. I might have to start fucking this hole, too.” You cry out, his words pushing you closer to your release. “I want to feel your wet cunt cum on my cock.” He claims as he shifts his hips. Driving back into you, he immediately finds your g-spot. You grasp for anything you can to try to steady yourself as your climax comes closer and closer. You claw at the steel floor as he relentlessly fucks into you, continuously moving his thumb inside your ass.

“Cum.” He demands in a low growl, pushing you over the edge. You wail as waves of pleasure rush over you as his hips continue to pump into you at a devastating pace.

“That’s it,” he coos, “That’s it pretty girl, cum on my cock.”

He doesn’t stop as you come down from your high, panting breathlessly as he claims what is his. He rips his thumb from your ass to grip onto your hip as he begins to reach his own high.

“Fuck.” He pants out, gripping your hips with a tightness that is sure to leave bruises. You continue to bounce your ass against his cock.

“Baby,” you whine, “fill me up. I want to feel your hot cum inside me.”

“Yeah? You want to be bred, sweet girl?”

“Yes!”

“Bred by your riduur, your warrior. Carrying my child.” He continues to grunt, his hips stuttering as he speaks. He leans down the grab the nape of your neck, pulling you up to him, pressing his chest to your back. You gasp and your hands fly to his arm.

“Tell me you’re mine.” He demands. “Say it.”

“I am yours, my riduur.” You smirk. A strangled cry comes from his throat as he pumps his hot seed into you, flooding your womb. You moan out at the sensation as he holds your body close to his. You love feeling his hot breath against your neck as he rides out his high, grinding his hips into you. He nuzzles his nose into your cheek, and you turn your head to kiss him deeply.

He finally stills, resting back on his heels as he guides you to lean further against him. His hands slide along your body to gently cup your breasts as your tongues continue to dance in each other’s mouths. Breaking the kiss, you both catch your breath. He lifts you up, making his softening cock slide out of you. He sets you on the ground and stands, only to lean down and pick you back up. He places you on his cot and wraps his cape around your shoulders. Your heart flutters at the sentiment as you stare up at him. He puts on his clothes, aside from his Beskar, as he leans down to kiss you. Cupping your jaw gently, he tells you, “I love you. I missed you so much.” You grab his shoulders and lean back into the bunk, inviting him to slide on top of you. You wrap your legs around his waist and put your hands against his cheeks.

“I love you so much, Din. I always miss you when we’re apart.” He smiles softly at your words and leans down to give you a soft kiss.

“Do you truly worry about me entertaining others? I am always yours, whether we are together or apart. Our vows state this, my love.” You reassure him. He leans his forehead against yours.

“I know, cyar’ika.” He sighs out, grinning devilishly before you. “I just love to claim you.”

Thank you for reading <3

If you liked this fic, check out my Blurred Lines Series (;

General Taglist: @anaaaispunk @dihra-vesa @sweetangel0069 @coaaster @pepascalhoe @evyiione

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clonewarsarchives · 2 years

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THE ART OF MANDALORE (#116, APR 2010)

The Mandalorians’ debut in Star Wars: The Clone Wars has proved to be a huge talking point for fans of the saga. When Lucasfilm held a special screening of “The Mandalore Plot” for fans, Supervising Director Dave Filoni took time to talk about the design choices made on the show.

THE MANDALORIANS

George Lucas’ original idea was that the Mandalorians were super-commandos, a precursor to the stormtroopers from the Clone Wars era. You could see that in all of Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston’s early sketches of Mandalorians, so George really was taking us back to that original root, now that he had The Clone Wars as a series to actually tell this story and use them as super-commandos.

If they were colored white, they would be like the clones, so George wanted them to be clad in blue and black. We had the old Boba Fett symbol on Pre Vizsla’s back and I said, “No.” I wanted the Death Watch symbol, the correct symbol. They don’t have gadgetry at this stage. That’s someplace for them to go to resemble more of what writer Haden Blackman had with his original Death Watch in the Dark Horse Comics.

The helmet that we had designed was based much more on Boba’s actual proportions. It’s pretty squat if you look at the picture, very boxy. But Kilian Plunkett [Star Wars: The Clone Wars concept artist] had a really good idea that we should stretch it out a little bit to make it a little bit funkier, a little longer.

PRE VIZSLA

For Pre Vizsla, we just wanted something that called him out as the leader. We took the range finder off his helmet. It was an effort to make Boba Fett cooler, and Jango cooler, and Rex cooler. I didn’t want kids to be confused, because he would really took like Rex with a range finder. So we simplified it down; we distilled the helmet to its essence, and a trident is always a good symbol. When we did that we didn’t know about the Death Watch logo. I found that one day going through some material and thought, Wow, that’s a coincidence.

When you have a leader, it’s always important that he stands out from everybody else. For the clone commanders, we can get into any military reason we would like as to why they look like they do. The reality is they look like they do so that kids know that they’re the ones in charge. It’s like the question of why does that one sandtrooper have an orange pauldron? You can create all kinds of lore about that, but the reality is cinematically, you know that this is the guy who calls the shots.

THE DUCHESS SATINE

I thought it would be great to get a blonde girl in Star Wars! Satine’s genesis as a look came from an abandoned Padmé design lain McCaig had done for The Phantom Menace. Every now and then when we have a story pitch, George will take images out of this old binder he has, and he’ll hand it over, and he’ll say, ‘This is Satine.’ I’ll say, ‘Well it looks like an old abandoned Padmé design,’ and he’ll say, ‘Yeah, but now it’s Satine.’ I likened her to Cate Blanchett.

MANDALORE

One of the first things George said when we started discussing these episodes was that Mandalore was going to be a large desolate planet of white sand with these cube-like buildings on it. At one point I didn’t even have the buildings quite square enough. The big capital city didn’t look enough like a giant city, so we made it a dome with little cubes on it, but it’s kind of a Moebius-influenced design, very desolate and barren. It’s all that remains after the wars have happened and everything has been laid to waste. George also wanted to see through layers of glass. You can see characters underneath and above the glass.

I talked to Kilian Plunkett about having the look of the Boba armor, kind of emblematic, in all the windows and all the designs, so you get those shapes that show up like a piece of his armor. That idea—that they are warriors—is embedded in the very architecture, because it’s strong.

MANDALORIAN SHIPS

I always liked Star Wars ships that had some kind of re-orienting wing. When Slave I took off and it was different in the air than it was on the ground, I was like: Oh, that’s so cool! And the B-wing has little wings, and it’s getting rotated. I love that stuff! So we had this weird orienting wing, where it can fly sideways and straight up and down, and when it lands its wings tilt right up.

THE DARKSABER

The darksaber carried by Pre Vizsla was originally a vibroblade. Initially there was no sword fight with Pre Vizsla in the script. He had to have a fight, and he had to have a saber, but he couldn’t have a lightsaber because I know it’s a contentious thing when any character who is not a Jedi carries a lightsaber.

George watched it and said, “No way. There’s no way that there would be a weapon shaped like a sword that could counter a lightsaber blade. If you do that, a lightsaber isn’t special, and then why wouldn’t the Jedi also be using those things? It doesn’t make any sense.”

He later worked it out that he wanted it to be a darksaber, and it would have a black blade with a white edge. George said that the back-story was that the darksaber was taken from the Jedi Temple during the days of the Old Republic. I think it’s unique and it’s going to make an awesome eFX replica darksaber. I promised Jon Favreau (Pre Vizsla) as soon as they make one he gets one, so I hope they do!

#Mandalore #Mandalorians #magazine ref #Season 2 #212 #insider #i1116 #character #vehicle #Death Watch #Satine Kryze #Pre Viszla #crew #the clone wars

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laikaflash · 2 years

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Dead-serious analysis of converging themes in Sophitia’s character design (and Elysium)

For a character whose entire story involves ancient Greek deities, Sophitia Alexandra has quite a bit of angelic imagery about her. This can be seen even in her move list where among names like “Olympus Shower” and “Dawn of Eos”, there’s “Angel Step” and “Seraphim Punisher”. I wasn’t about to make an exhaustive list for this point, but the latter two aren’t the only instances of this theme, as you’ll see in this one from Soul Calibur VI.

(Source: Soul Calibur Wikia.)

I haven’t managed to find the original source of this very compressed render, but I include it because it illustrates my point. This is Sophitia’s Soul Blade design with wings added, and it’s one point where the themes overlap. Considering that and the character’s backstory, you could make the case that this was made with the goddess Nike in mind.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons. The photo is in the public domain.)

This relief from the ruins of Euphesus (near Selçuk in Turkey) shows Nike, the personification of victory, in flight with a wreath in her hand. Come to think of it, this one reminds me a lot of Sophitia’s design in Soul Calibur III.

Here she’s wearing a wreath, a symbol of victory, as though to say “I have triumphed before and I can do it again”. She appears to be at mid-run, and with her swift movements in the games proper, the Nike motif is a natural fit. (It wasn’t until I worked on this bit that I noticed what was going on with the dress in both images. I leave it to the readers to decide to what end that similarity was a happy accident on Namco’s part.)

I only have so much to go on where Nike is concerned, but I think this is as good a spot as any to mention that she was closely identified with Athena. The following excerpt from the Byzantine encyclopedia Suda nicely sums it up:

"Nike Athena : Alternatively [she stands] allegorically for the notion that even winning is completely dependent on thought; for thought contributes to victory, but being thoughtless and impetuous while fighting leads to defeat. When she has wings she symbolizes that aspect of the mind that is sharp and, so to speak, swift-winged; but when she is depicted without wings she represents that aspect of it that is peaceful and quiet and civil, that by which the things of the earth flourish, a boon of which the pomegranate in her right hand is a representation. Just as the helmet in her left [is a representation] of battle. Thus she has the same capability as Athena."

(Retrieved from Theoi.com. Emphasis mine.)

While Sophitia starts off on a mission from Hephaestus, Soul Blade mentions her praying to “Pallas Athena”. Suffice it to say that in 16th century Athens, she’d be quite alone doing so, if anything. (Let’s be real: the series shies away from the fact that the ancient Greek religion died out long before the Ottomans were a thing.) But at the end of the day, her story starts because Soul Edge was powerful enough to attract the attention of the Olympian gods, and out of all the characters seeking the sword in Soul Blade, she’s the only one that knows it’s evil from the get-go. She destroys half of it, almost at the cost of her life, with even a shard stuck in her chest as though to remind her that the sword is far from done for.

Now, here’s why I brought up the angel imagery earlier:

Okay, that was one of the reasons. In Soul Calibur V, Elysium embraces the angel motif. As noted in New Legends of Project Soul, “Elysium’s design is meant to convey the divinity and grace of a goddess, but also a merciless apathy.” In story, this is the form that the spirit of Soul Calibur itself takes to manipulate Sophitia’s son Patroklos, who tries to live up to her legacy as a holy warrior (the operative word being “tries”, but that’s neither here nor there). It probably helped that the name Elysium comes from the paradisic realm of the ancient Greek afterlife reserved for heroes, but I digress.

Sophitia sought to purify those cursed by Soul Edge out of a sense of altruism, whereas Elysium’s ultimate goal is (at the risk of sounding a little Jungian) to bring order into a world afflicted by its counterpart’s chaos, regardless of who suffers in the process. Soul Calibur itself (and by extension, Soul Edge) is not tied to any god, has a will of its own, and is far from a compassionate being, its spirit’s angelic form is in contrast to Inferno’s fiery and monstrous one (and, well, the latter is named after Hell). Even so, Elysium’s guise is just that.

Tangents aside, you’ve probably inferred from the image of winged Nike that the angel comparison wasn’t much of a leap. Judging by the aforementioned setting, I think Sophitia would not be unfamiliar with at least the idea of angels, and that’s where I think the overlapping motifs work. In her efforts to cleanse Soul Edge’s evil, she desires to save people from it, going as far as to help Siegfried even with the knowledge that he was once Soul Edge’s wielder. That is where I see something of a guardian angel in her, and I like to think it ties into her surname Alexandra, which means “protector of mankind”. Sophitia fights not only at the behest of the gods, but on behalf of humanity.

P.S.: I omitted her story in Soul Calibur IV, since that was more about the lengths she went to save her daughter’s life because Soul Edge doesn’t give anyone a break. And apparently, her mother is named after Nike, but I couldn’t think of how to bring that up aside from an “oh, by the way...” I just feel like it could be short for something, but that one’s for the fanfics.

Last minute note before posting: I can’t believe it only just occurred to me that Sophitia was never shown with both a wreath and wings.

#soul calibur #sophitia alexandra #soul blade #soul edge #elysium #analysis #long post #i wasn't even going to title this but i felt i had to #don't mind the post date; this is not a joke #the fickle tech gods delayed the making of this post #and i don't always have the spoons to write these #webp be damned #i've been meaning to write a fic about sophitia growing up with stories of the gods but it just hasn't worked out for me yet #god i hate jung #it was either that or an off reference and i'm a sucker for punishment

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oonajaeadira · 3 years

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Beskar: Bestowed

Rating: T

Fandom: The Mandalorian

A/N: So earlier today, @a-aristippus posted this heart-wrenchingly beautiful piece of Mando art and as a big fan of The Armorer, I was inspired to write the thoughts it brought up in me. (Thank you for the inspo!!!)

I also wanted to give myself a little challenge--as a notoriously slow writer, I set myself a time-limit to see if I could get it out in one sitting.

(While this is not necessarily a part of Losing My Religion, it follows my same idea of Din, so it can certainly be taken as a point of history.)

Please go take a look at the original post!!!

Summary: Din meets the Armorer. Din takes the oath.

TAGLIST: you can always request to be on the taglist for this or any of my work. If you’d like to be on taglists for upcoming fic, please sign up here –> TAGLIST

MASTERLIST

________________________________________________

The Boy does not want to leave the freighter. He buries his face in the Warrior’s neck. But once they are on solid ground, he feels himself lowered to his feet.

“Come, ad’ika,” the Warrior urges him. “You are going to have to walk on your own in this place. Don’t be afraid. I’m with you. Here.” The Warrior kneels down and unclips a holster holding a compact blaster from his boot, then winds the stays around the Boy’s belt. “All Mandalorians carry weapons. If you carry one too, they will treat you with respect. Not because you can use it yet--don’t touch. The symbol has its own strength. But eventually, you must be the one with the strength to give the symbol its power. Come.”

This place is green. His home had been beige and brown. The people there wore soft things in bright colors. But not so here.

All of these people are warriors. All of them helmeted, in hard armor, with weapons on hips and slung around shoulders; blasters, blades, hydraulic contraptions. The Boy sees no faces like his, no eyes that speak feelings without using words, no winks, no smiles. Looking up to cowled chins disappearing into metal, he can’t read expressions when a blackened T visors tip down toward him, tilting to one side. He holds the hand of the blue and grey Warrior as others speak to his tall companion, pointing down pathways and corridors, through doors and out into undergrowth, to a rough, low stone building.

The Boy doesn’t want to enter at first.

There is something burning inside, he can feel the heat, see blue flames. But the Warrior drops his hand and walks in ahead of him, turning at the door to say, “There’s nothing to be afraid of here, I promise you. But I won’t make you enter. If you choose to stay, you will have to enter on your own.”

And then he disappears into the darkness.

There is a breeze shifting the trees around the boy, lazily waving the tall grass at his knees. A heavy rhythm of insects wakes him to the feeling of seasonal warmth, and all at once, the Boy feels a heaviness lifting, as if some force has relinquished control of his body and senses back to him again. He is truly seeing the colors of the world again--what world is this?--suddenly logging the memory of everything that has happened between that droid and now--

--a hand coming out of the brightness. Looking over a shoulder as the ground got further away. A ship full of warriors. A flight through space--

--like a holo in fast-forward, slamming him into the present.

And now, a doorway. The darkness and burning beyond. But the fire is controlled, a column of blue. Why again is he frightened? There had been reason to be frightened before this, reason to be frightened of everything behind him. Going forward is preferable to returning to what had lately come to pass.

For a moment after he enters, all he can see is the sharp column of blue rising up through a vent in the roof. He hears two voices before he sees their owners--one is the deep thrum of the blue and grey Warrior. The other is a woman, helmeted, formal, her consonants clear and crisp through her modulator.

“This is the foundling from Aq Vetina?”

“This is him.”

“And you will not take him as your own?”

“I am not matched and have no riduur to help me raise him. With the growing threat of Separatist attacks, I’m needed on the battlefield. I thought perhaps he could be trained in the Corps.”

“He seems strong enough, but he is young.”

“He hasn’t wept or spoken. But he is healthy.”

“What is your name, Foundling?”

As his eyes adjust to the darkness, the Boy--now the Foundling--finds the figure and armor of the Warrior first, a familiar outline in the dim light.

The features of the second warrior materialize slowly, as if her measured way of speaking requires she be revealed just as systematically. The warm glow of bronze-gold, the angled visor, a ring of stunted spikes like a modest diadem, shining brighter and brighter out of the dark. She’s bundled up even in the heat of the fire--fur and leather and padded gloves. Had the Foundling seen her all at once in the daylight, he might have hidden from her primal appearance, but here in the glimmer of the forge light she seems like a protector spirit, a benevolent goddess come to bestow eternal gifts.

The Foundling has found his voice. “Are you a queen?”

He imagines a small spark, a twinkle in the eye of her visor to match the amusement in her voice. “I am an Armorer. And you were asked a question, Foundling.”

“Din. Din Djarin, ma’am.”

“I see. And what makes you think I am a queen? Is it the tools in my belt? The soot on my apron? What do you see, Din Djarin?”

“Your helmet looks like a crown.”

“You like my helmet.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How would you like to wear something similar?”

The Foundling looks to The Warrior, standing straight and tall. He sees protection and salvation, the strength to vanquish killer droids, the ability to fly. He has never thought much about what he might be when he grows up, spends so much time chasing other children through the streets of his town that he hadn’t even thought about growing up at all. But now those streets were gone. The other children too. Growing up is suddenly all he has left and he has a swiftly developing awareness of what it is he wants that to be.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My helmet belonged once to my grandmother. And he,” she nods to The Warrior, “inherited his from his uncle.” Turning to a workspace beside her, she lifts a silver dome, an intimidating visage of power and authority. “But armor can be forged anew for those who have no clan, for those who choose to walk the way of the Mandalor.”

The Armorer kneels down to the Foundling, holding the helmet out to him. “What do you think of this one?”

He stares into the visor and imagines he sees eyes behind it. Someone strong. Someone who could protect him and protect others. Someone who would never let a droid hurt a child or kill their parents or anyone ever again. Without realizing that he’s taken it in his hands, he marvels at how cool and smooth the metal is to the touch, how dark the visor is. He likes the shape, the sunken cheeks, the ridge that runs over the top.

“You made this?” he asks her.

“I did. I have made many similar to it and I hope to make many more. Do you like it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Perhaps you would want one of your own someday.”

The Foundling can not take his eyes away from the future warrior in his hands. “Yes, ma’am.”

________________

She watches closely.

If he has fear, he hides it well. If he has fear, he is pushing against it smoothly and expertly. He is a survivor. Is surviving. He has been prey, but can he learn to be the hunter? The blaster at his side rides lightly, naturally, he hasn’t once fiddled with it, hardly pays attention to it, already just another part of him. A curious child. Soft spoken. Mannered. Listens well. His eyes are bright with fascination as he studies the helmet. He is already finding his destiny.

This is the Way.

“Well then, Din Djarin. Welcome home.”

__________________

It is the Warrior--now the Benefactor--who supplies the funds for the Foundling’s first helmet and the weaponry he will need for his training in the Fighting Corps.

It is the Armorer who recommends him to the Corps Commanders and secures his placement there.

It is the Foundling who forces himself to get used to his first helmet. It’s clunky, awkward and too big on his scrawny frame. He learns to walk in a way that doesn’t set it wobbling. When the other kids in his clutch take theirs off for a breather or to scratch an itch or eat something sweet, he keeps his in place, denying himself simple comforts, forcing himself to accept his new identity.

He is determined to grow into it, both in body and in belief.

_________________

The Armorer watches closely.

She observes how the Foundling--now the Cadet--rises through the ranks, learns quickly, takes orders seriously. Perhaps sometimes too seriously. She informs the Benefactor of his progress and suggests that the Cadet might benefit from some encouragement. She smiles knowingly under her helmet when the Benefactor gives him piloting lessons, teaches him how to rewire a hyperdrive, or uses his own jetpack to train him in the Rising Phoenix.

But, most importantly, she knows that the bond allows a sense of honor in both of them, someone to be a model for, someone to look up to, someone to be proud of and bestow pride upon.

It is the Armorer who takes in cast off-beskar--those traded in for better pieces or found unidentified on the battlefield--and forges them back to shape to supply a set for him.

It is this mismatched armor he wears when he is graduated early to Soldier, not only because of his prowess, but because the galaxy is at war and will not wait for more training. He wears it confidently and well, having grown into the helmet years ago now, and it allows his skills to shine even brighter on the battlefield as he rips through Separatist forces like a vibroblade through flesh.

While the Soldier fights briefly yet gloriously in the Mandalorian forces, tragedy strikes when the Benefactor falls in a battle which comes to be known in songs and tributes as The Night of a Thousand Tears. Running head on into the wall of e-web blasters, his body is torn apart. Not all of it is found. The Soldier has barely enough time to find and lay what remains of his father figure into the mass grave, to collect what armor he can. By all rights, he is allowed to remove the man’s helmet and take it with him, provided he otherwise covers the face before burial.

The Soldier looks for the first, last, and only time upon the face of the man who lifted him to safety and gave him a path to follow. It is a good face. A brave face. It holds honor even in death.

And Din will strive to continue to make him proud.

What follows that Night is destruction and genocide. Those who remain huddle together and the Armorer gathers who she can, waiting longer than might be safe--waiting especially for the return of the Soldier--before the group makes their escape and retreats to the shadows.

_________________

Some time later, the Soldier is summoned to the sewer forge.

He takes a seat at the low table and waits. He is patient.

The Armorer takes her time, finishing repairs on a breastplate for a member of the Tribe. A hiss fills the air as she plunges it into a cold bath to set the form. Then, laying it aside, she opens her cabinet, retrieves an item, and sets herself across from him.

“Tell me, Din Djarin,” she says, holding a shining silver beskar helmet out to him, “what do you think of this one?”

He stares into the visor and sees the confidence of the man it is meant for. Someone strong. Someone who could protect himself and protect others. Someone who would find a way to provide for those around him. Without realizing that he’s taken it in his gloved hands, he marvels at her workmanship, how she’s improved over the years even though she was already so skilled when he met her. He takes a moment to recognize that he has the experience to see that growth and difference now. He likes the shape, the sunken cheeks, the ridge that runs over the top.

“You made this.”

“It has been reforged. From a helmet you knew well. This is a great honor.”

The Soldier cannot take his eyes away from the past warrior in his hands. He suddenly knows why he was asked to come. And when the Armorer speaks, he must do his best to find his voice and make the Benefactor proud.

“Strength is life.”

Din swallows. Fills his lungs with air. “For the strong have the right to rule.”

“Honor is life.”

He pushes to control the burn in his throat. “For with no honor, one may as well be dead.”

“Loyalty is life.”

“For without one’s clan,” he fights a hitch in his voice, “one has no purpose.”

“Death is life.”

His eyes flicker back to the helmet in his hands. “One should die as they have lived.”

“This is the Way.”

There is no other ceremony, except the Armorer rising to walk behind him. She stands at the entrance to the forge chamber, facing away from him, giving him both privacy from her gaze and protection from anyone entering. There are others of the Tribe in the sewers passing by, challenging each other to a friendly grapple, children running and giggling under their own new helmets.

The Soldier--now the Mandalorian--removes the old foundling helmet and replaces it with something shinier, infinitely more precious, a symbol of the man he feels he is meant to be.

Years later, when he lifts the beskar to face his own foundling, it is this he will remember.

Even the Armorer would understand. She would understand that the discipline makes the Mandalorian, not the other way around.

The symbol has its own strength. But eventually, you must be the one with the strength to give the symbol its power.

When he does what must be done, what his heart and strength and loyalty leads him to do, the Mandalorian--still the Mandalorian--will replace his helmet and continue on, Creed unbroken. Belief in place. Honor intact.

This is the Way.

________________

MASTERLIST

#mandalorian #mandalorian fanfic #mandalorian fanfiction #mando fanfic #din djarin #the armorer #art as writing prompt #mandalorian fanart #soft din #soft!din #baby's first drabble

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the-blind-assassin-12 · 3 years

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Kar’taylir Darasuum

AN ESSAY ON LOVE IN MANDALORIAN CULTURE

A/N: This post has been a long time coming and I am SORRY for that. The lovely @darkmist111 wanted to know more about courtship and romance as it pertains to the world of Resol’nare, and well... I sort of got carried away with research and head cannons and... well, you’ll see.

Quick links: Resol’nare // Hokan’yc // Mando’a Dictionary

WC: 2.3k

Warnings: mentions of violence, death - they are a culture of warriors, my friends, it’s unavoidable.

thank you so much for this ask and for your patience while i worked on it! oh boy buckle up here we go:

Courtship

Courtship in Mandalorian culture is often a very short time period. Relationships move quickly from one stage to the next, because Mandalorians know better than many cultures that tomorrow is never promised. That being said, they don’t just pair off indiscriminately, and while physical appearance holds little to no weight in terms of attraction, there are other things that do certainly tip the scales.

For someone like Din, brought up in an extremely strict covert with an adherence to The Way of the Mandalore that leaves very little room for interpretation, the most attractive trait a person can have is skill as a fighter. Knowing that the person they are pledging their soul to is capable of not only watching their six in battle, but protecting themselves and any children that might be in the family (foundlings or otherwise) is extremely important to Mandalorians. As such, many courtships begin while Mandos are in the final stages of training, when they begin to leave the covert to go on missions. (See Hokan’yc for Din’s story of young love at this stage in his life, and meet Aashi Zurn, the Mando who bested him in the sparring chamber and won his heart in the process.)

Trust and loyalty are extremely important to Mandalorians when seeking a partner. Marriage in Mandalorian culture is meant to be forever- eternal- as Mandalorians believe that their souls live on after death, and remain connected to their loved ones until the end of time. Depending on the level of anonymity the individuals in question choose as a lifestyle (i.e. helmets on at all times or removed in front of others, names known or unknown), Mandalorians might show their trust in a partner by telling them something personal about themselves, something that they would normally keep a secret either out of pride or protection. This is usually returned in kind, a sort of exchanging of secrets that begins the binding of their two souls together that will continue throughout their relationship so that if/when they choose to marry, they are speaking the truth when they say that they know one another- in a way that no one else ever will.

Some small ways that Mandalorians will show affection or appreciation for one another during their courtship and long into their relationship (because Mandalorians don’t just fall in love and settle, they keep falling deeper into it, letting it grow stronger) include: helping them clean their armor or weapons, tending to any aches and pains from old injuries- most Mandalorians make their own herbal salves that they use to soothe inflammation or to help heal scarring, and sharing from your own personal blend to provide comfort for your partner goes a long way. (This will come up in more than one way in Resol’nare, so look out for that in the future.) sharing or preparing a favorite meal, and in the event that they really want to emphasize their feelings, they will give a piece of their own armor to their partner, showing that they are ready to view them as a part of themselves, ready to protect them with their own life if necessary.

The tradition of wearing the armor of their beloved comes from ancient times, when a Mandalorian fell in love with another who was a member of an enemy clan and had been captured by her people. To protect her lover from those who would kill them on sight just based on the sigil or coloring of their armor, she traded some of her plates with some of theirs so that they could escape unnoticed. Once two Mandalorians are wed, not even blood feuds between clans can come between them, so the exchanging of armor became seen as a sort of intention to marry for many Mandalorians.

Because Mandalorian culture takes root in various other cultures, some traditions from those other cultures cross over into theirs. For example, while no Mandalorian would ever make the mistake of asking a woman’s father for her hand in marriage and Mandalorian women are seen as complete equals and therefore able to make their own choices when it comes to their partners, some clans will still partake in common practices like introducing their intended to their family or announcing their engagement to their families and loved ones before making it known to others in the community. While jewlery is extremely uncommon in Mandalorian culture (unless it is functional, such as a beskar collar style necklace) engagement tokens like pendants engraved with the two names or rings either without stones, or rings with low profile stones inlaid into the bands- in some cases a gemstone will be embedded within the metal on the underside of the band, where it makes contact with the finger- are considered standard in most other cultures, so they are sometimes still exchanged but are in no way necessary to solidify an engagement or an intent to marry.

Marriage

The actual vows exchanged between Mandalorians are short and to the point, and there is no required ceremony, no officiant or witness needed, no record keeping of any sort, so the actual wedding is usually done just between the two individuals in private. Traditionally they are as follows:

"Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde" which translates to "We are one when together, we are one when parted, we will share all, we will raise warriors."

Once the vows are said, the marriage is official and the Riduurok bond is forged and must be acknowledged and respected by all Mandalorians.

Newlyweds will lift the helmet of their spouse once the vows have been sworn so that they may be sealed more intimately. In the case of Mandalorians who keep their faces hidden, this may be the first time that one or both of them sees the other without their helmet. In other cases, the removal of their riduur’s armor is merely symbolic.

Although there are no formalities that need to happen in order to legitimize a marriage, there are of course some traditions and rituals that are completed which Mandalorians believe safeguard and strengthen their bond with their spouse. These include getting specific tattoos, and adding each other’s sigil to armor or weapons.

Riduurok Tattoos

Tattooing is an important part of Mandalorian culture. Regardless of their culture of origin, where they come from, or how they choose to interpret the Creed, it is rare to come across an adult Mandalorian with no tattoos. Even the New Mandalorians under Satine’s pacifist regime continued to carry on tattooing, though not as extensively or ritualistically as the more orthodox communities like the one that Din, Paz and The Armorer come from. For them it was done more for decorative purposes. Though their designs still pay homage to shapes and motifs that are meaningful to all Mandalorians, they also include more aesthetic design elements such as florals, vines or stars.

Typically a Warrior will receive their first tattoo when they complete their training at thirteen; a thick black chevron shaped cuff on their left bicep. This symbolizes that they are part of the larger Tribe of Mandalorians outside of their own clans, and serves to remind them of the duty that they have to protect all Mandalorians. They have to look at it each time they don or remove their armor, and in the abhorrent event that they are stripped of their armor in defeat, the ink serves as symbolic beskar so that they remain protected in the afterlife. Bands and chevrons are added to symbolize achievements in battle or heroic action to protect their covert.(Din has five bands on his left arm, the latest one just below his elbow- his first when he completed mandatory training at 13, his second when he completed additional elite training, his third when helped relocate the covert to Nevarro- see Hokan’yc- his original covert was located on Dantooine- his fourth when he was injured protecting a group of foundlings, and the fifth after claiming the Darksaber. He would absolutely have more bands had he not spent so much time away from the covert. He absolutely will have more bands by the time Resol’nare ends.) For Mandalorians who live a long life or are extremely skilled fighters, it is not uncommon for these bands to cover the entire arm from mid bicep to wrist. If more space is needed, another chain of bands is added to the left thigh ranging downwards. It is said that no Mandalorian has ever completely covered their entire left side, simply because in a war-based culture, life expectancy is cut short.

Mythosaur skulls, clan signets, troop affiliations and words or short phrases in Mando’a are also typical designs that Mandalorians may choose to have done. The Mythosaur is usually tattooed on the back while the right bicep is where Mandalorians will honor their families in their chosen way. Usually it is by adding their clan signet, names of loved ones or parents, or even symbols or patterns that are significant to their culture of origin. ( Navina has a tattoo on her right arm to pay tribute to her mother’s- who was a foundling- culture. It will be revealed in an upcoming chapter so that is all that I can say about that! Din also has the Mythosaur skull inside of a triangle on the right side of his chest, and his Mudhorn signet on his right shoulder.)

Riduurok tattoos are placed on the left side or center of the chest, over the individual’s heart, and are done as soon as possible after marriage vows are sworn. Taking the shape of the Kar'ta Beskar, Mandalorians personalize them by adding their spouse’s name in Mando’a in the empty space in the middle of the design. Like the arm bands, these are also meant to symbolize armor of sorts. They represent the way that married couples remain connected no matter if they are together or apart; that they are one, an integral part of the other, even in death. They also signify the strength gained through marriage, as well as the protection a Mandalorian vows to provide for their partner. Love is seen as something that fortifies, never weakens, and that is represented in this tattoo as well.

(Terrible graphic made with love by me)

This particular tattoo comes directly from a Mandalorian myth predating modern record keeping. Legend has it that long ago, a Mandalorian warrior returned home from battle, eager to see his riduur after so much time away. When he arrived, however, he found only her lifeless form, the soul of the one he had tied himself to no longer inhabiting the flesh and bone of her body. She had been slain, taken from him and from their life together, and it opened in him a new capacity for rage, something far more fierce than fire. It is said that in the moment that the Mandalorian warrior saw what had happened in his absence, vengeance itself was unleashed into existence.

The warrior, fueled by this new urge, this extreme desire to avenge the death of his wife, tracked down the marauders who were responsible for her death and killed them one by one. The last of them, as he watched the Mandalorian take his accomplices’ lives, did not beg or grovel. He could see that it would do no good. Instead, he confessed that he did not think that Mandalorians had the capacity to love so deeply as to inspire such retaliation, that he did not think Mandalorians were open to things that could make them weak, things like love.

“Only fools like you would think that love makes one weak.” he spat at the man. “True love is power, it is strength- it is the joining of two into one and nothing, not even death can diminish it. But you? Death will erase your soul and before long you will be forgotten.”

The Mandalorian warrior killed the final marauder then, and as he did the pure rage that he felt upon discovering the death of his riduur quieted. Instead, he felt her presence, as though she were there to wrap her arms around him. He felt her strength enter his heart, and though he would mourn her loss immensely, he knew that she would never truly be gone, that he would always carry her and that they would reunite when his journey came to an end. As a tribute to his riduur and what she would always mean to him, the warrior etched her name over his heart in ink, encasing it in the oblong diamond shape of the Kar'ta Beskar, symbolizing that she is the source of his strength, a kind of armor that protected him from facing eternity alone. From then on, Mandalorians added the Riduurok Tattoo into their marriage rituals.

Clan Sigils

In the case that both Mandalorians have already been assigned sigils, or if they have sigils that they inherited from their own clans, they will either combine both symbols into one new one, or they will add their spouse’s sigil right beside their own on their armor and/or weapons. (In Resol’nare, Navina’s beskar kal that she inherited from her father- thanks of course to Firo- displayed the sigils of both of her parents, as well as her own name)

If only one of the two can claim a sigil as their own distinct mark, they will extend it to their spouse as they extend every part of themselves through marriage, and if neither one has been assigned a sigil, they will both take the sigil of the first one who is assigned one.

It is completely up to the individuals regarding whether or not they will choose to take their spouse’s name- the important thing is that they are under the same sign, as their sigils are yet another bond that they carry into the afterlife that helps them reunite once both have rejoined the Manda.

THANK YOU AGAIN TO @darkmist111 for this request. I had a lot of fun thinking about and writing this, and it was a great way for me to finally dive back into the world of Resol’nare. :)

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from the tags! :)

tags: @something-tofightfor @alraedesigns @pheedraws @valkblue @malionnes @gollyderek @fific7 @becs-bunker @commanderlola @greatcircle79 @cannedsoupsucks @dihra-vesa @marauderskeeper @disgruntledspacedad

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian fic #head canon #the mandalorian HCs #resol'nare #din djarin #oc: navina harsa #din djarin x navina harsa #din x navina #mando'a #courtship marriage and romance in mandalorian culture #this is an essay #with some made up myths #and some hastily made graphics thrown in for good measure #i just really love mando culture #i would swear the creed right now if given the chance #anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk #sorry not sorry for the length of one section in particular

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mefiman · 3 years

Text

Hamato Family’s First Visit to the Hidden City

Story request by @rottmntrulesall. Hope you enjoy the story, bud! ^^

"C'mon, everyone! Hurry up!" Michelangelo's impatience was obvious in his excitement. He and his siblings were finally going to show their dad's relatives for the first time to the Hidden City for two reasons; one: to view the many wonders of the other world and two: to have a formal, proper meeting with Draxum's parents. The latter part had instilled some unease into the Hamato siblings, especially Saki who was wary about stepping foot into a mysterious world and was about to see for himself the father and mother of the "monster" who altered his younger brother many years ago.

"Are you sure this place is safe?" Hamato Kenji asked. Raphael glanced at his uncle, understanding his uncle's concerns. "We've been there a lot, Uncle Kenji! We did encounter a few dangers there before but other than that, the people there don't usually attack humans unless provoked." Raph assured his uncle.

"There are a lot of places to visit like the many resorts and spas if you want to have a massage and ooh, Señor Hueso's Run of the Mill Pizza where they make one of the best pizzas! I know the manager of that place, we're amigos~" Leonardo took the chance to quip in.

"I can't wait to see Grandpa Mons again! Wait till you guys meet him yourselves, he's the nicest, sweetest grandpa you'll ever meet! He's still as strong as he's gentle!" Mikey said happily.

"I wonder if Grandma Chemia has some wicked new inventions to show me!" Donatello exclaimed.

"This would be my first time seeing my grandparents, Arachne..." Ariadne whispered to her best friend, Arachne.

"You've never seen them before?" Her friend asked.

"Once when I was a baby... I haven't seen them for years." The yokai femme told Arachne.

"Alright, kids, you've shown us all that you're excited to bring us to visit the Hidden City, Mikey, can you open the portal now?" Splinter asked.

"Sure, Dad!" Mikey got to work quickly.

Draxum felt a tinge of anxiety inside himself. He could not recall the last time he visited his creators ever since he moved out of home to pursue his alchemy researching, away from his parents' constant arguments, half of which is about their preferred methods of raising him. It was a surprise how those two still manage to live under the same roof despite their obvious clashing personalities. He guessed that they tolerated each other just for his sake. His parents had never produced any more offspring after him and one of Arachne’s parents...

"Hey, are you okay, Dad?" A female voice asked him. Draxum jolted from his pondering to find that his daughter, Poison Ivy asking him out of concern. He just gave a small smile as he ran his clawed hands over her helmet. "Am fine, just thinking about your grandparents." He assured her. He marveled how Ivy much had grown from the last time he scientifically created her with his and Lou Jitsu's DNAs; she being so tiny as a developed newborn infant growing in a liquid chamber to a young lady around the boys' ages. From what he knew later on, Splinter raised her along with the Turtles. Ivy had lived her life at first as a normal human teenager until her yokai genes started appearing. The initial discovery of her origins did shake her world but over time, she had learnt to accept and use them to assist her brothers in their adventures. She was intelligent like Draxum and his mother with his father's gentle, mature nature as well as Splinter/Lou's sassiness. She loved to study on botany and coincidently, her powers involved using vines and summoning plant like monsters at will. She recently revealed her sexuality preference as a lesbian and had a girlfriend who is a fellow classmate and witch trainee/apprentice in disguise. Both her creators and siblings were happy for her. As of now, she was cradling her younger sister, Venus de Milo was giggling and squealing as April, Ariadne and Arachne cooed and tickled her belly.

The group watched Mikey draw a symbol on the wall at an alley. Once the symbol was drawn, an open portal revealed. The Hamato siblings' mouths went ajar, not believing what they just saw. "if you think that's mind blowing, you haven't seen nothing yet!" Mikey grinned. His three other brothers and the three girls each took hold of one of their Hamato uncles and aunts's hands. The moment they all jumped into that portal, they found themselves staring at a massive part of a what seemed to be a huge city. The sky above was unlike Earth's skies; instead it was orange with some brown. The architecture of the buildings there were monster shaped with some tall, castle like structures far away from the city. There were a lot of people of all shapes, sizes, colors and appearances walking, running, passing by each other, buying their needs or doing their usual business trades. The Turtle family allowed their Hamato relatives to take in their first view around them. Saki's eyes were bulging out of his sockets, he could not believe for his life what he was seeing. Anthropomorphic, mostly consisting of animal, everyday objects, monstrous and supernatural like individuals roamed every part of the streets around him, he felt as if he was having a strange dream that defied logic! Nori on the other hand, looked right and left, taking in interesting sights that captured her attention. Underneath a calm façade, Kenji was freaking out internally at the new, foreign view. Hiroki was squealing in delight similar to a child had just discovered a world made of toys and sweets. Her twin, Hikari was a bit calmer than his sister, feeling a thrill of danger running through his veins. Last but not least, the youngest Hamato sibling, Mei's stance looked poker face yet she looked around to see if there were any Gothic like people that she can interact with. The Turtles and the girls grinned, seeing the reactions of the others.

"What do you think? Surreal, huh?" They ask.

"Amazing.."

"Fascinating..."

"I can't believe what I'm seeing..."

"Someone please tell me that I'm dreaming..." Saki mumbled, still not believing.

"No, you're not," Draxum replied, going straight to the point with an indifferent expression. "May we please hurry to my parents' house, I bet they're waiting for our arrival..."

"Oh yeah!" Mikey clapped both his hands once. "Lead the way, Draxy!"

Draxum sighed as he took the lead of the group. Along the way, there were a few whispers around and behind Draxum coming from the city people but Splinter and Ivy took hold of both his hands and gave a comforting, assuring squeeze, making him feel better. Ariadne gave her uncle a comforting hand on to his shoulder. They were soon out of the main city square to a further distance into the woods. They had to climb up a hill for a while until they reached a big mansion residing there.

"We are here at last. My childhood home..." Draxum said, looking at the grassy, serene valley below, reminiscing the times where he as a little one ran galloping around the field, cartwheeling with glee among the flowers and his sire teaching him the basics on how to defend himself the predator way. Both father and son spend their days in the early years, sparring with each other...

"Draxum, my son!" The former alchemist warrior villain snapped out of his memories to find himself being engulfed into the arms of none other than his dear, loving old father, Monsrage who brought his only son into a crushing bear hug which knocked the wind out of his lungs. "How have you been, my little baby boy? It's rare that you visit us but it's so wonderful to see you bring your family along! How delightful!" the older yokai gushed, his bushy tail wagging with unlimited enthusiasm like an excited puppy. Monsrage was rather huge and muscular with perked up, pointy ears, silky straight black hair unchanged through time and a fairly long beard to match. Like Draxum before, he wore a battle mask. He had a significant dark upperlip. His body had different shades of blue just like his son, Draxum when he was armored. Monsrage's eyes were the same like Draxum's. His feet in particular, was a noticeable difference. Unlike his wife and son, his feet were shaped like a lion's paws, fitting for him coming from a predator species.

"Father, it's great to see you... but can you please let go now? I can't breathe..." Draxum choked out, being smothered by his sire's busty chest. Monsrage immediately loosened his grip, apologizing profusely while checking to see if he had accidently broken any of his son's bones. Draxum shook his head, smiling a little. His sire had never changed all these years, still a concerned worrywart. And he bet his mother had not either...

Chemia on the other hand, was greeting the rest of the visitors with feverish energy. She was a redhead with shades of pink for her skin colour and her ears, long and drooped. Her eyes had a little twinkle in them, a part of her eccentric personality and plump, red lips. Like her husband, she wore a mask. Donnie, April, Arachne and Ivy were given a whirlwind hug the moment they came in front of her. Monsrage went back to the mansion with his son to give the new visitors, the Hamatos, April, and Arachne a warm greeting as well as welcome his beloved grandchildren with his signature bear hug and proceed to pepper their faces with smooches which they were delighted to have especially Mikey, Ariadne, Ivy and Venus. Monsrage and Chemia ushered them all into their humble abode. The Hamatos were initially skeptical about meeting Draxum's family but they were soon warmed up to them. Later on, the mansion was filled with guffaws of laughter as Monsrage showed them all baby pictures of his son which embarrased the poor warrior scientist. Donnie, April and Ivy were treated to Grandma Chemia's latest creations. Monsrage himself had a blast, playing with Venus and sparring with the Turtles and the girls. Arachne was delighted to meet her grandparents as a young adolescent, telling them about her achievements, adventures and that her own parents are doing well. The Hamatos became comfortable talking with Draxum's parents over some snack delicacies. Overall, everyone had a wonderful time at the Hidden City.

I had fun writing this! Was tiring but oh so worth it.

The Hamato siblings (minus Lou/Splinter) and Venus de Milo belong to @rottmntrulesall while Ariadne and Arachne are the OCs of @mikeykawaii/@mikey-ho. Monsrage, Chemia and Poison Ivy along with the mention of the witch girlfriend belong to me, @mefiman. I hope you don’t mind me incorporating your girls into this story, @mikeykawaii but I’ve been dying to add them in, especially Ari meeting her grandparents! ^^

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #tmnt #my art #ocs #baronjitsu #a teeny bit mentioned

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