rate_review Reviews

Seems that I had to get quite brutal to find somebody to root at least a little for the poor boy! *lol* I wonder if it put any other fando’ade in a forgiving mood? C’mon, drop me your line!

I don’t think Skirata’s being fooled, he just understands *subtle* better than most and he wouldn’t drive Boba into panic while he has no plan himself... and he is a family guy before a henchman. And Tomoe… let’s see where the outburst of violence takes her. I doubt she want’s to be strengthened more in Jang’ika’s vicinity for the moment ;)

Now how to convince and old gdan...

Poor Bob'ika! Man, I really hope for Bob'ika's sake that Jang'ika really ISN'T dead after all. I'm not entirely sure that Jang'ika was coming to attack her, especially the way he was trying to talk to her after she attacked him. Can't blame her for jumping first considering the way Jango treated her, but I think he finally got it...just a little bit too late.

Something tells me that Bob'ika won't be waiting until he's "grown up" to come for Tom'ika. Why else would the kid go with the woman who, as far as he knows, just killed his dad? And...is that REGRET I sense from Tomoe-san as she thinks about Jang'ika's bloodied face?

Nice of Tom'ika to pull a Boushh(so to speak, obviously that was a handheld det and Tom'ika had a remote, but the principle's the same anyway :P). She thought ahead, knew that Kal'ika wouldn't let her go without considerable...persuasion. Kal might've made a good Mand'alor, but I seriously doubt this is over just yet so I'm betting it's only temporary. Tom'ika didn't check his pulse, Boba didn't see what happened, and Kal's just going by how Tom'ika's acting. She left a loose end.

At least Kal could respect her cleverness and quick learning, as well as stay calm so he could go back alive. Loose end #2. He knows where she and Boba went and bring reinforcements for getting Boba back if necessary. If Tom'ika had it in her mind to be REAL nasty, she could've killed him, destroyed Slave I, and nobody would've known where she'd gone off to with Boba.

Mm...Kal'ika's no doubt got an ace up his sleeve, and it no doubt involves Vau'ika. Wonder what his reaction will be when he hears what Tom'ika did. Impressed that she took down Mand'alor, sure, but considering how he seems to feel towards her...it'll be interesting.

As far as Jang'ika goes, he's been a brutish ass during the course of this fic, but I didn't say I wasn't rooting for him. I just rooted for Vau to end up with Tom'ika a little bit more. Certainly wasn't wanting her to kill him, even if he DID deserve to get his ass handed to him worse than what she did at the end of Parttime Job.

I doubt Skirata's fooled, nor really "convinced". He's just a little better than Jango about knowing when he's outgunned(even for a moment) and when to bash skulls and when to talk his way out of things. Tom'ika's gone with Bob'ika, but even on a planet with a lot of people, I don't think taking Mand'alor's son is going to go over very well with those back on Kamino.

Here's to hoping Jang'ika really ISN'T dead(down and probably needing a bacta tank, but hoping he's not dead) and waiting for another mind-blowing chapter! :)

In numbers, Tomoe is one inch smaller than Kal = 5’6” / 1,68m. That’s why Jango’s shirts make such nice robes for her. Not to mention Vau… she needs to lean her head back really far to look up into his face. (The size of her ego is another question...) But the average height for a woman on her on her homeworld is 1,50m. From that perspective she got a man’s height and strength. And I think her whole honor-based attitude is pretty new to Jango considering the average criminal objects of his trade and the ‘good-guys’ behavior he suffered himself. Mando’ade have a more practical, more life-affirmative attitude when it comes to honor.

Oh yes, my Jang’ika got plenty of skeletons in his closet. His favorite medicine: Work as in HUNT and KILL …not babysit or watch others train... Taking in a stray makes totally sense to me! It’s just a matter of perspective. Before he took her in, he was just doing his job. Jango’s main problem to figure a valid apology is that he simply has no bad conscience about his job. Afterwards, he just took what was on the market. He’s all “been-there-seen-that… could be worse” about it. Considering his possibilities, the simplistic concept wasn’t unlikely to work until it was crossed by that other part of his mind that could never get enough when looking for an equal. Poor boy fell in his own trap when he tried to kill two birds with one stone.

Take care of our lil sarlacc-pit's teeth ;)... And before it's over taken by our chat here I give you: A bloody Monday...

(I hope it avoided major holes. If those scenes don't work, I'd be seriously stuck)

Oh, that folding fan isn’t much as a weapon, just a harmless dance prop everybody can see up close and she might even give away to a good customer. Larger than the standard model, but no metal spires or so… and definitely not the solid rod fake-fan-type. She was using that fan in peaceful daily live, remember? Now that simple thing has become a way to stay in touch a more civilized past.

Jango admitting a mistake = long way to go. Fetts are the best, they don’t make mistakes! But I’m afraid will take more than an explanation… and an “Ooups, sorry” won’t cut it with Tomoe, either. Some creativity would be in order. I agree, the age gap is the smallest problem. Jango doesn’t see many problems anyway, and Tomoe’s too pissed to care about a 10-15 years detail. From her point of view, his major fault is that he’s still alive.

Not enough fluid in that pit for an dianoga. Prudii’s problem was that one can’t really puke in a helmet but need it down there to filter the foul gases… *uagh* another good reason why this story belongs into the adult section.

Not that scene *lol* I assume corridors and class-rooms are monitored… wherever clones are kept basically - not where the Nulls can reach (that would be everywhere). The med-bay is under the surveillance of the med-droid. Sergeants’ training room and private quarters are not included in the system, but with so many bored bounty hunters around, you never know who’s spying at whom. I assume that Vau has a good overview and the possibility to scan for active circuits (if that wasn’t fried by Mereel’s EMP)… But then, it sounds like a plot-bunny... I’ll think about it… poor Ordo.

*yay* Got that saved and everything’s fine. Took me some time to pull the data back together, but no more losses. I’m so happy :D It practically writes itself in the moment and I have written up a couple of chapters for headstart.

So here’s another background chapter before we up the stakes…

Oh, I could just cry right now...I had a wonderful review set up and completely lost it! *whimper* I'm hoping I can remember all the points I was bringing up and what I said.

I think the first part was that I wanted to correct my assumption about Tom'ika's origins. Samurai-descended, it seems(judging from Jango's observations of her sword-use and his snooping around), but I sense she may actually be geisha, considering her use of the fans. I've heard fans can be used as weapons, but with Tom'ika, that's not the case especially when, as you said, it was in peacetime on her world.

Jang'ika would have done well to listen more closely to Tom'ika's "bedtime stories" instead of privately mooning over her while she told them to his son. Bob'ika's learning about culture and military tactics and probably doesn't even realize it. If Jango had listened, he probably would have learned a thing or two himself and found another way to approach her instead of being such a brute. :P I adore Jang'ika, but you write his brutish side so well in these fics. :9

The story she told the other Cuy'val really spoke of her situation with Jango. Let's hope Jang'ika listens when she finally tells it to Boba, see if he understands the meaning of the story. And Kitsune! My favorite mystical creature! I've read this story in a book before, but Tom'ika tells it MUCH better than any book I've read ever could. Well done!

Of course, her efforts are well-rewarded when Llats tells her about Mandalorian history(abbreviated, but it's still history). With little effort, she managed to get plenty of information about Mandalorian culture without raising suspicion from the other Cuy'val to help her understand them. And then there's the Res'ol Nare, which, while not much of an explanation, is at least a start to help her understand Jang'ika's behavior towards her and her child, which I debate if it's even HIS at all.

I'm suspecting that the gentleman Jango caught her with and brought back to his wife in the early chapters of Parttime Job was either a very good customer of Tom'ika's, or her danna(ok, I admit it, I've been reading Memoirs of A Geisha recently :P). It would explain a lot about her mannerisms, the fans, the captivating storyteling, the etiquette, and what she said in one chapter to Jango about there being proper protocols for approaching her for the purpose he took her for, rather than outright kidnapping her.

Feel free to correct me on that, but if I'm right in that assumption, it would explain a lot about her actions and way of thinking. If the assumption's right, you wrote it so well, like Traviss herself, leaving these little hints here and there that almost seem unimportant until they all fit together later in the story. Which leaves the reader(or at least me :P) kicking themselves for missing such details until it comes together and they realize how easy it was to spot them.

Llats was smart to not outright say what he's thinking about why Fett did what he did, just to keep it from getting back to Mand'alor, but I think he and the others know exactly why. It's just a matter of finding the right person or right way to get someone to tell her. That may unfortunately have to be Jango, who I'm starting to think really believes he adopted her, where to Tom'ika, it's just glorified slavery. Which isn't far off, really, Jango just needs to be reminded of that.

If Tom'ika gets more history out of Llats, she could, in that subtle, gentle way of hers, remind Jango that his actions with her aren't much better than those of the Death Watchman he took revenge on years earlier. A bit below the belt, perhaps, but Jang'ika could stand to get a dose of reality to bring him back to it and get him to stop thinking with, well, the wrong part of his anatomy. :P

I have to wonder what sort of poetry Tom'ika's going to come up with...and what sort of bet Is'ika has going on with Dred. Nice flirtation between those two, by the way.

Ahh, there...I think I remembered most of what I lost. *shakes head* I'll have to remember to be more careful next time, find another way to write up these reviews and THEN post them so I don't lose another. Hate to lose a good review, especially one for such a good author like yourself.

Yes, Jango's not about to outright admit a mistake. He has to get it grilled into his head the hard way that he made one in the first place. A "please" in his request for her to listen to him tell his story is a start, but yes, definitely a good long while before he admits he messed up. Sorry will help, but definitely not enough to fix things where Tom'ika's concerned. So would an explanation, but Jango definitely has a lot more to do to fix the mess he made. These small steps help, but don't fix it.

Provided Tom'ika doesn't outright KILL him before the story's end(or herself, considering how close she's come on more than one occasion), I can only imagine that nothing less than letting her go and not having to see him again would really do anything to fix it.

I was close in where/how Ord'ika monitored the exchange between Tom'ika and Llats. I suspected it was either the Nulls or Vau who swiped/erased the data from the droid to keep it from getting back to Jango. The Nulls get EVERYWHERE(nobody's safe, lol), and I imagine Vau has his ways of keeping an eye on Tom'ika that doesn't involve hacking into her anklet's signal like Rav and Is'ika.

Hopefully I'll have time to work on the next bit of Eyes of a Predator for you this week. With any luck, Monday will be the busiest and I'll be free after that. *crosses fingers* Can't wait for the next chapter! Sure brightens up my day! :)

Ouch! Maybe I should have added the disclaimer ‘don’t try that at home’?! Loosing stuff hurts! (((HUGS))) I’m so sorry...

I’m glad I get the stories right, because I merely sum up what I find online and try to bring in some logic and action... taking my freedoms, sometimes. I hope nobody considers the stuff authentic! After all we are in “Long time ago, in a galaxy far away...” Different story for Boba tonight. Tomoe knows how afraid the kid is to be left alone, so she would NEVER tell him the Kitsune-story. His dad is another topic. No mercy there!

Let’s hope that Llats efforts protect me from being grilled by Mando-Fans again *lol* To be fair, I’m pretty sure that the Cuy’val Dar would have straightened things out by now if Jango wasn’t constantly poking in all the wrong places. By now, “all bucket - no brain” would probably be common use, but then, you just don’t say that with the boss around the corner. Hey, if Karen writes sociopath, who am I NOT to detail in that direction? O:-) I’m not sure if one could adopt one’s own mate? It doesn’t seem to be a necessity after all, since Ilippi stayed aruetii for a lifetime and Kal's pretty traditional otherwise.

Remember Tomoe didn’t pull out her fan to chase a bounty hunter with some fancy moves. She had a razor sharp blade hidden right next to her peace-time working instrument and she would have uses her hands, feet and body in case she lost that... there was simply no need for a nasty folding-fan version there. Consider that everybody has a fan where she comes from, not just entertainer. (entertaining-fans are just a little bigger) - Save an off-worlder like Oniro maybe, since they are pretty clumsy about everything and used AC. Good customer... uhm... I’m sure she managed to made him feel so. But danna? No definitely not. It will be explained later why. *I’m such a tease*
(not a big fan of Memoirs of a Geisha btw.)

And yeah... Vau has it’s ways... and Mird! *grins*

Back to update 6.1:
Who thinks that Jang'ika gets it?

You're gonna keep me busy all week with all these updates! :)

Small chapter, but a lovely one nonetheless. Komachi-san sounds an awful lot like our Tomoe, absolutely lovely, but smart and tough beneath such loveliness. Loved Boba's reaction to the thought of praying for sunshine on Kamino. The Kaminiise are happy, but Bob'ika's a human boy and wants to play in the warm sun instead of the cold rain. Can't blame him that. It's finally starting to warm up where I live. Was a long, rainy spring here, so I can understand how he feels. :)

Poor Deepgrass though! Pined away for her! Brave man, pity she was too hard-hearted to see how much he really loved her and she paid for it. Here's to hoping Jang'ika gets it, indeed, lest he end up the same way.

Oh, and such a lovely poem, too. Reminds me of a Mando proverb; "He who writes, remains." Looks like Tom'ika got that down all right. :)

I bet Tom'ika would've danced Komachi-san's role wonderfully. But...too tall that she had to stand in for Deepgrass? If I may, how tall is she compared to the 6' Jango to be considered "too tall"?

At least she's given both Boba and Jango(if he can get over his stubbornness to really take her advice for once) something to think about before her next story. I'm thinking that despite Jango's bold words at the end, the dead DO come back to haunt a man like him. Not so much as ghosts, perse, but as memories. Something tells me Jang'ika's got something going on in his past besides the Death Watch and Mandalorians that is haunting him and won't go away.

But what? I'm betting we'll find out shortly, won't we? :)

*chuckles* It's ok. It sucks to lose stuff, but I just redid the review as quickly as I could once I calmed down from the shock of realizing the first one was gone. Figured I'd remember it better while it was fresh. (((HUGS))) Here's to hoping we neither one lose any MORE of our fics/reviews!

As far as whether or not the stories are authentic, your guess is as good as mine. I have a few mythology books, a couple of Japanese fairytale books I picked up from a Japanese department store my hubby and I visited on our honeymoon and have been into Japanese culture for most of my life(including learning to speak the language in college), so you're doing a good job as far as I'm concerned. Even if they're not completely authentic, they're lovely tales nonetheless.

LMAO, yes, "all bucket, no brain" indeed fits Jango in this particular story. Tom'ika needs to bring him down a notch or two to remind him that Mand'alor is still human after all.

What I meant by Jango believing he'd "adopted" Tom'ika wasn't quite in the literal sense(seeing as how they're both obviously adults), but in the sense of taking in a stray. Not sure if that really makes sense at all, but that's what I meant by that. He thinks he's taken in a "stray", where Tomoe-san was happy right where she was and sees it as nothing more than glorified slavery. She's free from having to spend all her time with Jango, but she's still trapped on Kamino and that's not a helluva lot better. Jang'ika, much as I adore him, is just looking for excuses for his behavior here.

As far as Kal'ika and Ilippi...well, heh, look where that landed them. Unfortunately didn't work out. But I sense Tomoe-san's a bit tougher despite her cultured behavior than Ilip'ika was.

Well, at least we'll get an explanation to Oniro and Tom'ika. Considering he's an offworlder, yeah, danna is definitely out of the question. Tease you might be, but I look forward to the explanation. And her origins! Sometimes she comes across as the descendant of samurai, but other times(particularly during her storytelling), she comes across as a geisha quite accustomed to telling stories and getting the attention of men(which she does quite well! First Jang'ika, now Vau, Llats and Dred!).

I'll probably be contemplating(and rereading the chapter with Tomoe-san's meditation and Moro) the next part of Predator. Despite a few other projects tugging at me, I think Mird's on the verge of giving me a nip if I don't pay attention to it soon. ;P

Excellent work as always! Look forward to more! :)

*chuckles* Kal'ika knows Jango all too well. Yes, indeed, beskar'gam is good for hiding...certain reactions, albeit probably a bit uncomfortably. XD Bob'ika obviously enjoyed the story(as did I...Tom'ika's such a good storyteller) and the fans were a nice touch. Although I have to say, those are just as much weapon as story prop. Debating if Jang'ika caught this or not. :P

And speaking of dear Jang'ika...it seems we can teach an old strill new tricks. Still intimidating as ever, he's at least seeming to learn a bit from Vau'ika and learn some semblance of manners. Of course, he's probably got reason for being so polite with Tom'ika and I'm sure we'll find out soon, too. ;)

Clumsy Jang'ika may be, but Tom'ika finally got an answer behind at least some of his reasons for his actions at any rate. It almost sounds like he's trying to tell her something I recall Boba(adult version, obviously) saying to another lady in another fic; "I'm not good with women." Jang'ika's probably not going to outright admit it, but he seems to be trying anyway. Tom'ika got a "please" out of him. Perhaps with a little bit more work, she'll get a "sorry" out of him as well.

And Tom'ika's not without her barbs as well. She politely accepted his offer of explanation(seeing as how he DID ask nicely this time for once), but she's not about to let him forget he's still got a lot to atone for.

*chuckles* At least the Nulls seem to learn quicker than their progenitor. I'm betting Kal'ika straightened things out about what she was doing to help him and between that and his neck hurting, he'd rather risk putting himself in a position to get his neck broke than put up with that. I'm sure their trust of her(at least in this instance) says something about her patience and kindness. Jang'ika and certain Cuy'vul could stand to learn from that as well. ;)

Speaking of garbage-compactor diving...any dianoga? XD I'm guessing poor Prud'ika saw worse than dianoga down there.

Interesting that Ord'ika was watching the monitors after his brothers bailed. He no doubt saw the scene with Tom'ika and Llats, then Tom'ika and Vau. Something tells me Kal'ika has ammo on Vau, not that it would take much to get his hackled raised where Wal'ika is concerned.

LOL! Apparently Mer'ika at least seems to have a Jango-ish libido. He's thankfully much more polite to not say anything about it, lest he embarrass them both. XD

Sorry it took so long for me to get a review in. Been another busy week for me. Yes, Rav can't be everywhere all at once. Lucky there's others like Isabet and Vau to step in when necessary, but of course, even as many Cuy'val as there are, Tipoca's a big place and Jango I'm sure knows it better than poor Tom'ika.

She sure knows how to wrap men around her fingers and get them all fired up on each other. In Skirata and Vau's case, though, it doesn't take much at this point. *smirk* I'm aware of the rough age difference between Vau and Tom'ika, but to be fair, lol, Jango's not much better in that respect and I doubt such an age gap would matter to a Mando'ad anyway. :P I'm still rooting for Vau and Tom'ika at any rate. I adore Jang'ika, but Wal'ika and the others don't get enough screen time for my tastes.

Ouchie on the comp-crash. Hate when that happens. Occasionally happens on a Mac, even. I've lost parts of chapters before and at one point mysteriously lost an entire chapter to another story on my previous computer without any real explanation for it. I've become rather rabid in backing up anything I write as a result, be it on multiple memory chips or over onto my laptop(that gets toted EVERYWHERE with me, lol). Glad you only lost a little of the chapter.

Here's to hoping there's no more crashes for you while I wait for you to post your next chapter!

Yay, Rav is a vigilant girl for sure - pity she can’t be everywhere at once. Yeah, that’s what Tom'ika was playing on (Jango vs. Llats, Kal vs. Vau... the rest takes sides and *boom*) but don’t space our poor Llats before we get to know him a little better ;) and Vau... uhm... he’s still Ol’Psycho – you do realise that he’s about twice Tom’ikas age?...

You can mind read *smirks* but I can foresee the future - thanks to the force I posted two chapters last weekend instead of the usual one, loosing only the 5.3 in a PC-crash and not the extra-fat 5.2 ... Afterwards I reconstructed the 5.3 from the shards I had in the back-up. Here it is – I'm happy to announce that I’m back in the swing again. Poor Jango *snickers* - but: no spoilers...

Enjoy!

Thanks for the picture! Look at those rosy six paws on the tiny cub, they are the cutest thing!

*lol* Kick shebse IS a game for Bob’ika... enough serious time for him later. Mereel...BINGO Are you mind-reading again?! And Vau – pissed of course... I’ll post that now, before somebody gets the idea we aren’t doing this for real. The last chappy was merely a smutty lemon-shorty for writer’s enjoyment anyway.

“Don’t you knock?” Uhm.. she doesn’t want Jango to knock unless it’s with his head against the opposite corridor wall after she kicked him out. And since she can’t do that, she went for the next best thing *evil grin* No I don’t think that he can go on like that, either. His suppressed feelings exceeded critical mass some time ago and it’s a concentrated, self-preserving obsession even his strong mind can’t moderate.

The question is... can Tomoe and the rest of the crew?