Index All Helmet, No Head - The Mandalorian Discussion Group and Index---New stories, new discussion--9/2!

I guess people just like lurking.

 

Okay, actually in checking up on the different eras for Mandalorians (in preperation for writing my submission to the challenge ), I've seen some of the different armor types.

The Crusader armor looks very cool, but is it practical in the modern galaxy?

The Neo-Crusader I lked because it tends to remind me of Camelot, and ancient knights on a quest...

The Death Watch armor doesn't look all that different from the Protector's armor, save the helmets design. Going with my favorite, I'd have to go with the Protectors, not just becuase of the familiarity, but because of "modern technology" the armor is fitted with so many neat toys and gadgets...some hidden.

The only downfall, is that they all tend to look alike, save for the different colors and patterns.

 

I just got my hands on the Knights of the Old Republic comic(you can't find any in my country so it takes a while for me to get my hands on the latest stuff). The one were Zayne runs into Mandos. I never knew the mandos of that era had such diverse armor. After playing KotOR 1 and 2, I somehow assumed they wore the armor I saw in those two games.

 

Everybody please check the newest addition to the Index, Opening Salvo by Darth_Garak!

One week to go for the challenge. If needed, I can stretch the deadline to Dec. 23rd.

 

Well I finished the challange. I don't know if I managed to remain within the boundries of the challange so I beg you all to keep in mind the fact that is my first challenge. Anyway even if I ran amok, I still hope you like the story and have fun reading it...I know I did when I wrote it.

Holding the Line

PS: hope you like the Opening Salvo as well.Thank you.

 

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[b][color=#dd0000]ANNOUNCEMENT![/color][/b]

[blockquote]Since we got only one entry yet, I'm moving the deadline to [b]January 13th[/b]. I also would come with a new Discussion topic, but due to the lack of activity, I think it's useless.[/blockquote][hr]

 

The lack of activity is kinda dissapointing, honestly.

 

Dude! Don't do that...I've actually had to re-write most of mine (twice) because I "stupidly" forgot to include a non-mando'a. Hopefully it will be up tommorrow or Sat.

sorry.
I can't wait to get a moment to read Darth_Garak's stories too.

I wouldn't mind seeing another discussion topic. I really like this thread because I'm anxious to learn more about Mandalorians - which, excluding Karen Traviss novels - I'm sadly lacking in knowledge of.

I know threads have cycles in which they are popular (especially based on the most recent EU novel), but please, don't let this thread fall by the way like Good Guys Wear White...
Don't let this thread die!

 

There was no need to! I never said something about the need for non-Mandos! And I wasn't criticizing you, vod, in case you felt addressed.

Aye, ale!


If anybody has a good topic for discussion in mind, feel free to PM me!

 

You're right, you didn't say that...but for some reason when I re-read the challenge, the OC mustn't be a Mando for some reason jumped out at me and drilled a sceptic run-off into my brain.

stoopid ale...

I've actually got a question. How do they choose the new Mand'alor? Does one claim the "throne", is he/she elected? It is just assumed so and so is next in line? Is it a case of young lion vs old lion?

It doesn't affect my fic, just curious.

 

I have no idea how they select the new Mandalor. I can't wait to read your fic. I'm waiting for some more feedback on mine right now.

 

My humblest apologies ner'vod, after much procrastinating, constant distactions and several poor re-writes; I'm coming in just under the wire.

To Be Mando

If you decide to run another challenge, I will definatly jump right on it. It doesn't exactly "fit" the challenge, but you can penalize me however you see fit.

Bravo to Darth_Garak's submission by the way, what a great read!

 

Alright, so this is it.... two entries for a challenge with more than two months time... I was expecting... more.

I'd be really close to abandon this thread, but I'm giving it a last go, thanks to ale's pleads some time ago...

NEW DISCUSSION TOPIC 01/14/07
This month's (or year's? ) topic is about the current Mandalore, ruler of clans, leader of the Mandalorian Supercommandos: Boba Fett. What do you guys think about his position (does he earn it?) and the way he treats his people (he doesn't even speak their language...)? There are of course things he doesn't do so good, but then again, he also has many good traits (morale-pusher for the troops, as one example)... so, just start off and express your thoughts about the clone-turned-bounty-hunter-stayed-bounty-hunter-turned-Mandalore!

 

To my knowledge, it was never covered exactly how Boba became the Mand'alor...probably a majority decision/coercion to get him to do it.

In one of the novels, I think Bloodlines, he seems to admit at being little more than a figurehead to rally around prior to the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Maybe he was offered/accepted the role due to his lineage. Jango was also a Mand'alor before Dooku had most of the Mandalorians slaughtered under Jango's command.

Perhaps Boba accepted as a way to connect more to the memory of his father, after all it has come up in his twilight years. The fact that he knows very little of his heritage paired with him living his life by Jango's words of "Being a simple man, trying to make his way in the universe." would geberally make him a poor Manod'alor. He has his flash of loyalty, but he's lived for himself (and the memeory of Jango) for so long; how can he be expected to make a proper leader - even if the Mandalorians are trying to adjust as a society.

 

This is my first ever post on these forums, so forgive any faux pas. These boards are huge and I've neglected posting before because its daunting in its immensity.

Anyway, I got out of Star Wars EU (novels, comics, etc.) when I was a teenager. I had read pretty much everything up to about 1995. Zahn Trilogy, Jedi Academic Trilogy, Black Fleet Crisis, etc. You know the drill; they're on your bookshelf, too. So I grow up, go to college, and become a snooty English major. I learned to read critically and have certain...expectations. Gaimain, Palahniuk, and Martin became my authors of choice. I got a job and had money for comic books, again. That's when I realized I should start buying comics based on the authors instead of Wolverine being on the cover. Miller, Gaimain (again), Ellis, etc.

As a lark a couple years ago I pulled a few of those old EU novels off the shelf. I needed something to read over a long weekend and I had just fond pre-teen memories of those books. Hoo-boy. I've not going to name names or bash certain books (besides it being against the CoC, I don't want to make enemies on my first post), but lets just say my nostalgia didn't match up with my current level of literary appreciation.

When I got wind of The New Jedi Order series I figured, 'why not'? Then I realized that R.A. Salvatore wrote the intro book, Vector Prime. Then I read it. Then I read it again with a red pen and ice water in my veins. Again, refer back to CoC and not making enemies. Let's just say I haven't read any other NJO novels (I know its unfair to base an entire story arc on one author, but I can hold a grudge with two handles).

Don't get me wrong, I still loved Star Wars. I sat through TPM. I was intrigued by AotC. I was satisfied with RotS. And I played heaps of the Star Wars d20 RPG. Heaps. The RPG has always kept me going. I wanted to play a clonetrooper in a game a while back and decided to do a little research. I grit my teeth and bought the (then) newly released Republic Commando: Hard Contact by Karen Traviss. If nothing else, I figured, I'd get some back story.

Wonder of wonders! A story! With characters! Characters that have distinct voices and personalties! An author with a command and obvious love of the English language! I met Karen Traviss' work with zero expectations and left with renewed hope in the EU. I liked Triple Zero even better (take that naysayers). Bloodlines gave me hope that Legacy won't be another NJO.

Man. That was just supposed to be a short expository paragraph. Huh. Long story short, I'm a Fandalorian.

Let's see...there was a point to this. Ah!

1)Discussion Topic 10/03/06: What aspects of the Mandalorians attract you most, and why do you write them?

Simply put, I enjoy the Mandalorians because they are neither Jedi or Sith. In a universe of strictly defined blacks and whites, rights and wrongs the Mandos are a comfortable and wonderfully ambivalent shade of gray. Jedi have to be serene, composed, and unattached or they go all yellow-eyed. Sith have to be two-dimensionally evil, wrathful, and hate driven or they're just...Jedi? A Mandalorian can be as violent or diplomatic as the situation dictates and still go home and be a fairly normal person. You can be a good Mandalorian even if you are a bad person (like Hokan) or a good person (like Skirata).

The fleshed out culture attracts me a lot, too. The whole nomadic Celt/Viking/Spartan citizen-warrior is so much more appealing than 'polymath monk with a laser sword'.

2)DISCUSSION TOPIC 01/14/07:

Which era and armor style do I like best? Hrmmm...good question. I'm more interested in the 'average Mandalorian' who may decide a little soldiering for whatever reason. I interpret the Cursaders, Neo-Mandalorians, Mercs, and Death Watch, True Mandos, and Protectors to be specific, self-contained companies, units, or cults. There would still be thousands of Mando'a living in clan colonies and what not scattered around the galaxy. Not every Mandalorian who put on a helme

 

I suggest that you try reading the NJO series. It's not bad actually (if you totally IGNORE what Salvatore wrote......I expected a lot more from him.....Vector Prime was....).

 

browwiw: Let me just say, su'cuy, ner vod. Wonderful first post, and it's great to have you aboard with us.

 

Welcome aboard, browwiw! We're honored to have a first-poster post here first...

Cool icon you got there, btw. It took me some time to realize this wasn't me posting, but someone else. You must know, I never saw this icon being used by someone else but me before I decided to switch it.

Anyway, we'll look forward to seeing more from you... maybe even some fanfic stuff?

 

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I might try a fanfic. Most of my story ideas (you guys would call them "plot bunnies") get turned into RPG scenarios and campaigns. Except for the massive amount of online roleplaying/cooperative-story telling I do, I really haven't written for writing's sake in a long while. Which is a shame since that's what I spent five years in college for. I used to write stories, essays, poetry, and screenplays all the time. I don't know if its writer's block or if I've lost my confidence. Being a lazy, self defeating, enuii consumed twenty-something doesn't help. Laziness is the writer's worst enemy. The writer is the writer's worst enemy.

I've fallen off the bike. Maybe fanfic can be my training wheels.

 

Welcome aboard & go for it browwiw!

 

While I'm thinking about it, does anybody where I can find a copy of Star Wars Insider #80 (the one with History of the Mandalorians). I have the issue with Mandalorian Culture and the one with the article on the GAR...it really bothers me I don't have the complete 'trilogy'.

 

Wer'cuy.

You can say that again...

For my part, I used to write nearly constantly here on the boards, but for most of last year I was stuck in a similar case of writer's block and unable to concentrate on writing, due, I think, to the amount of stress I was putting myself through at the time. Since then though, I've begun putting a serious amount of effort into preparing myself for college, and with that focus in my life my ability to write creatively, and concentrate on doing so, seems to be coming back now.

Maybe. In any case, I'll be extremely interested to see what you come up with. Just judging from your posts here thus far I'm quite confident whatever you decide to write will be well worth the reading.

Not sure where you could find it...

Someone could probably post the relevant information though.

 

Thanks. I think a lot of my problem is that I'm my own worst critic. A writer should never be unfailingly in love with his own work (otherwise the drafting process would never work. A professor once told me, "Sometimes we have to kill our babies"), but he shouldn't beat himself up over every sentence, either. A writer that loves his own work too much will never grow and a writer hates his work will never produce. Maybe I should just put my Nintendo DS down once in a while.

Oh, the content of the article is on wookiepedia...even with the interior art. But I want it. I am a nerd. I find validation through the completeness of my collections.

 

Well, you might want to check out the fan-made Mando Reference Guide, if you didn't already. Unfortunetly, the site seems to be down temporally, but if it goes up again, you can find a link in the first post. It's not a complete 1:1 transcript from the article, but it's close.


Anyways, on a whole new topic, I recently watched a weird documentation on (German) TV about King Arthur, and a topic addressed in that article caught my eye: The Sarmatians. We already had some discussion here about Mando culture having references to Spartan and Viking culture, but the Sarmatian culture hasn't been addressed at all (generally, I wonder why everybody knows the Spartans and the Vikings, but not the east-european elite Sarmatian tribes). Some might also know the movie King Arthur (starring Clive Owen) where Arthur's Knights (Bors, Tristan, Galahad, etc.) were portrayed as Sarmatian mercenaries loyal to Arthur alone - and in the movie, they appeared to be some kind of Delta Force of the (pre-) Middle Ages. I always found that part of the movie quite nice (say: the battles^^) and did some shallow research on them, but obviously not enough.

To cut a long story, in that docu, I found many traits the Sarmatians share with the Mandos: some sort of multi-tribal warrior culture, where origin (and language) and gender played no role, with equipment, tactics and armament way ahead of their time.

See the similarities?

This isn't really a new discussion topic, but anybody who thinks he knows the Sarmatians is free to join in.

 

To be honest, I didn't really know anything about the Sarmatians until you raised the issue, and read what little there was on Wiki, C_F.

I can see the similarities, but I guess the biggest difference I see (no expert now) was that they had many languages.

Did the various tribes speak many different languages or dialects, but still held a central language for their own? Because to me, unless they do it seems comparing them to Mando'a is unfair in that respect since the Mandalorians have a central language; and are able to speak others based on their individual origins...

I see your point on being advanced in weapons and such, but are their tribes as nomadic as the Mando claim to be?

Sorry if I'm speaking out of place, just trying to educate myself.