I wanted to talk a little about the hauling 8-year-olds into active war zones thing, and how I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that it’s not even remotely standard practice. It seems to me it’s more likely very specifically a “those Skiratas are weird as fuck but they keep to themselves so we don’t really do anything about it” kind of a deal instead.
For years, I have been convinced that the Mandalorian Syndrome is the star wars equivalent of the Stockholm Syndrome and, generally speaking, the pathology of Mandalorian culture is a really interesting topic and an even more interesting phenomenon, as fans either do not see it or do not want to see it.
I’m glad the Republic Commando has devoted enough detail to Kala’s past to let us know that his notion of Mandalorian culture is by no means a generally accepted norm - on the contrary, it is very flawed view. At least here we can look for origin of his manipulative and strange misogynistic behavior (here, or in the trauma related to divorce with his wife?) And, unfortunately, this is where the behavior he reproduces towards his own - biological and adopted - sons and closest environment probably stems from.
(Is anyone in the Republic Commando books trauma free ??)
being a culture that spends at least half its time in full armor, constantly having a helmet on is bound to produce some differences for both mandos and clones
because people cannot see where you’re looking in a helmet so long as youre careful to keep your head in a natural position, i bet this is a common behavior with the helmet off too. aruetiise and civvies alike are both disconcerted and uncomfortable when the helmets are off but their wearer is looking around with hardly any head movement, like some kind of tactical bird of prey
mandos typically have terrible poker faces on account of their helmet usually being their poker face. clones do not have this problem overall, since kamino forced them all to learn to hide emotions out of armor.
a good hint that a clone or mando doesnt like you is if theyre forced to interact with you out of armor, but still don’t turn their head to look, move their body when they talk, and may not watch their facial expression very closely. they may be out of armor, but they’re still treating you as if they are.
since this post got found again i got more!
the brow line of a helmet changes the emotion significantly. if you are looking down, you look more aggressive because the top line of the t-visor makes a U shape. if you are looking up, you look more friendly, because the t-visor is making a ∩ shape. i use this a lot in art but i think they would be aware of it and use looking up or down accordingly to convey emotion!
other emotions have to be conveyed through body movement, not expression. just imagine a mando doing happy hand flaps. brings my heart joy! or other typical autistic stims like hopping, arm waving… (notjustautisticmandosalthoughmandaloreandautismisawholeotherpost, ifitwassociallyacceptableithinkallisticpeoplemightexpressemotionthiswaymorefrequentlyaswell)
i think the lack of facial expression may also play in to a culture where physical violence and threats are practically a part of the language- if someone can’t see when you’re getting angry, well, a hand on your blaster or knife will certainly clue them in…
i have big thoughts about mandos and sign language as well!! i don’t think din is an outlier, i think it would be very common for mandos to know sign as a second language! disability is a very accepted part of being a warrior culture, being around explosions and heavy blaster fire will make you go deaf a lot sooner. also, very handy if your comms cant be used for some reason and its too loud to yell. BUT all that to say- mandos using the sign word for their emotion to express said emotion! signing ‘frustrated frustrated frustrated’ as they search for their keys… signing ‘love love love’ as they catch up with a dear friend they haven’t seen in a long time….
So I’ve been obsessed with a little AU I’ve been working on this past week featuring the idea of Satine Kryze as the Mand’alor during the time of the Clone Wars. I really love the lore of Karen Traviss’s Mandalorian culture and thought it’d be fun to re-envision Satine as a warrior leader who isn’t interested in the war going on, and has to deal with the infighting of Death Watch, along with some of her people who are trying to profit off of the war and sacrificing their ideals and honor.
Might post more of this if there’s an interest :0
The lines alone for this took the entire length of a movie (and most of my iPad’s battery LOL), but I wanted to include as many details as possible!
Now *this* version of Satine, I’d have loved to see.
While Manda has been defined to be a very spiritual word (used to describe the soul of a person, divine right, collective soul, etc.) Mando has not. It’s far less frequently used as well. Mando is used to for naming the Language, Mandalorians, and Mandalorian-like behaivor (mandorkar/mandokarla).
So I think Mando, as opposed to Manda, might be a more action-focused. You speak Mando'a, you act Mandokar, you choose to be Mando'ad. Manda is a state of being, Mando is a choice.
(Also Mando might actually be Mando'a for ‘the way’? Especially since Star Wars uses a lot of Asian cultural influnces and -do in words such as Judo and Kendo can mean 'the way of’. Maybe Mando is actually two words Manda and something -do. Mando used to Man'do and whatever the -do word was became archaic to the point Mando became its own word. Idk, I’m wildy guessing at this point)
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Foundling! I think Foundling in Mando'a might be Mar'eyad or Mar'eyade. (Mar'eyla? Mar'eyl'ika?)
Mar'eyir is the verb for discover, find. Mar'eyce is “discovery, something found at last, a state of heaven”. Mar'e is an exclaimation of relief “at last!”.
So between the context of word and the general circunstances of how Mandalorians get Foundlings (war orphans from combat zones) it tracks in my brain. The relief, the joy. The potential beginnings or brief meeting before parting again (when reuniting child with thier people). I dunno, it feels right.
On that note maybe… Mar'ey'buir or something to denote Foster parent and/or 'Founder’. Something along those lines? Mostly used for clarification when dealing with multiple buire or explaining how one came to join a certain family.
I dunno, feel free to chime in and discuss. Languages aren’t my forte.
I’m kinda curious, is the armor of the mandalorians shaped the way it is because of lack of Beskar, or because it’s the best way to stay mobile while covering your vital areas?
Because they leave large amounts of their body unprotected, especially on the arms and legs, and even commonly protected areas like the neck. Compared to steel plate armor of knights and such, mandalorian armor offers significantly less protection.
So my question is this just the most cost effective way of protection given scarce Beskar iron? Or is it simply the best way for them to still be mobile while having the basic protection they need?
I wonder if Din does become Manda’lor, if he would expand his armor to include additional armor plating on the neck, arms, and legs, because he has more access to Beskar iron. Or if he would stay the same because he likes it the way it is.
I wonder about this a lot and I think a big talking point about Mandolarion Armor should not be what areas the armor protects but rather what it’s designed to protect against.
Most people in the GFFA use blasters. That means most people are trained to aim for the Head or the Chest area. The first because lethal damage almost garaunteed, the latter cause biggest target on a person. As with modern armor, the focus is on the chest and head. The two areas Mandalorian armor does… a decent job at protecting (Din’s armor really should cover more of his chest. His guts are really vulnerable. At least Boba’s armor has the excuse of not being recently and specifically designed for him).
The thing about ranged weaponry is the further away a target is the harder it is to hit your target. Arms can be lightly armored because that’s not where people are going to be aiming. Same with inner thighs.
Of course the GFFA is most famous for its laser swords but prior to TCW there were only about 10,000 people trained in their use. In a galaxy where that number is less than 1% of many planets’ populations. Jedi weren’t a drop in the bucket, they were a drop in the ocean. After Order 66, the amount of people using lightsabers is probably in the hundreds (including inquisitors and people who just have one lying around, like the darksaber), MAYBE.
Of course knives and vibroknives exist but wearing armor means they’re going to be aiming for unarmored spots. Opponents movements will be restrained to targetted areas that makes defense easier.
Add in Mandalorians are (generally) trained since kids to be one person armies capable of wiping massive amount of opponents on their own, using as well as defending, against variety of weaponry and I think Mandalorians are good.
(The flaw of comparing historical armor to Mandalorian armor is that historical armor is primarily designed to protect the user from melee combat. Mandalorians need to primarily defend against guns. They are by general GFFA standards, very over-armored.)
