#ruu skirata

[mrbubblyurchin]

“No good female characters in Republic Commando” AS IF.

[mamuzzy]

Have you ever been so jealous you just spontainously combust but then your favorite person™ talks to you and everything is alright again?

[cienie-isengardu]

Skirata split logs in the yard, and fretted. In the past, he had been the one who went to war and left a family behind. Now he was the one waiting for news, and suddenly he had a much better idea of what Ilippi had gone through while they were married. Waiting was hard. Even with the latest comlinks and transponders to stay in touch-a luxury his ex-wife never had-the minutes were still long and empty, begging to be filled with the wrong kind of speculation. So this is what it's like to be the rear party. Sorry, Ilippi. I never really understood. Every time he brought the ax down on the resinwood logs, the strong scent filled his nostrils. It was probably the smell that triggered his memories again. The sweet medicinal scent of the resin reminded him of the first months of his marriage, when he was crazy about a Corellian nightclub waitress called Ilippi Jiro and he tried to teach her some essential skills of a proper Mandalorian wife-how to build a basic field shelter, a vheh'yaim, and cook over an open fire. She never did get the hang of splitting logs. He didn't care. He loved her, they had a small town house in Shuror where she never had to cook over open flames, and he never believed the fire would die in their relationship. I can go for months, a whole year even, without thinking of her at all. Now she's back as if it was only yesterday. He couldn't see a trace of her in Ruu, though. The girl was so much like himself it was unsettling. If she started showing signs of all his character flaws, it would be like living with a rebuke that he could never ignore, and he'd know why fate had decided to throw them together again.

Imperial Commando: 501st

[julyzaa]

headcanons for Kal's biological children and ex-wife

(Definitely including my ocs from the Cyare short series)

Tor, Ijaat and Ruusaan are still Mandalorian,but don't wear their armor often

They wear variations of green to honor their Corellian roots

Tor wears pine green armor with sandy gold piping. He used to have it colored the same as Kal's, but Jango had to tell him that he looked a lot like his dad.

Ijaat wears sage green with his name on the left side of his breast plate to mimic his lab coat as well as reminding everyone he is a doctor. It also looks non threatening and it helps when he has to rescue civilians in war zones

Ruusaan has forest green armor with the right pauldron painted in the colors of the Pride Flag. She occasionally attaches a two sided cape that has the pansexual pride flag on one side and the LGBTQ+ flag on the other. Needless to say she is a great favorite at every pride march and parade she goes to

Kal wasn't at Galidraan because he was enroute to Tor's wedding, but turned around halfway there when he got a distress signal. Lets say that had been his last chance at fixing things between him and his kids

Only Tor has naturally brown hair, Ruusaan and Ijaat have dark blonde hair

Only Ruusaan and Tor have blue eyes

Ijaat is part of an emergency response team that was very active during the Clone Wars

He's met every clone Kal has raised/trained

He is in a polyamory relationship with his nonbinary SO, and Kom'rk Skirata

Tor is the only cishet member of his family(excluding Kal)

He is happily married to his Haysian wife, Kim Nguyen, and is a police detective in Corellia

He has two daughters, Tam and Yen

He is the one with the most issues with Kal due to being the eldest

He doesn't forgive Kal even after proving he has changed

Ruusaan met her wife, Harriet, when she was removed by security by breaking into Harriet's boss's office during a meeting

Ruusaan's wife works as an assistant to Jango Fett's non mando wife, Viridiana

Ruusaan's best friend is Walon Vau's gay half pantoran son, Aspen Ordo, whom he had with the Pantoran Mandalorian Senator, Thembeka Ordo, who I totally made up

Aspen got Ruusaan a job as part of his mother's security detail

Ruu accidentally walks in on Etain and Darman and Venku/Kad isn't conceived which makes Etain realize that maybe they can have kids after the war...and with consent from the father of the child

Ruu and her fiance try to host a family dinner that ends with Ijaat having to patch up Tor and Ordo who while brawling broke the transparisteel coffee table

Ijaat donates his sperm so that Harriet can have a baby with Ruusaan

Ruu has a starship named Auretti

Ilippi kicked Kal’s balls when they met

Instead of wedding rings kal and Ilippi got matching tattoos, he did give her a ring,but they chose the tattoos 

The Skirata Divorce made prenups a common practice in the entire Mandalore System

Even Death Watch demands that all interfaith couples(not that they allow them) to sign a prenup

She is happily married to a paramedic whom she grew up with

Ilippi isn't dead she was just in a medically induced coma

She shows up to Ruu’s wedding rehearsal scaring the shit out of Kal

She also dated Nyreen and is still on good terms with her

Jango was one of the few Mandos who remained friends with her after she left

He also introduced Boba to her and came to her for parenting advice

She eventually adopts the commandos Kal raised and any clone she comes across because everyone deserves a family not just the select few you are in charge of

[thesummerstorms]

OC Name Thoughts of the Day:

Koa

I’m really set on Koa’s name meaning joy or joyful, despite Etain’s initial fear at discovering she was pregnant. A ward against misfortune, a token of her parents’ hopes. 

Also chosen at least in part/ early on because her parents thought it sounded pretty. 

But I don’t have an origin for it. Concordian? From Etain’s home planet? From Kast Fulier’s? After someone Etain knew once?

Sena Ruus (Ysenya Elyan)

Based on my decision that sen is the Mando’a root for “travel”, stemming from “bird”, I decided that my Socorran-Mandalorian OC, Sena Ruus, got her name in part because her nomadic clan traditions consider the bird/travel root to make it lucky

Her birth name, which she still uses on and off on Socorro is “Ysenya” is a rooted in a very archaic form of the old Corellian word for “River”, but has since come to mean something like “reservoir” or “oasis”. Given the importance of water on a desert planet like Socorro, “Ysenya” is also considered a “lucky” name

Ys’ika, while a plausible nickname, was a little difficult for at least one of her parents to pronounce, as was Seny’ika. They still called her Ysa, her Socorroan pet name, but her Mando’a form became Sen’ika.

One of Sena’s mother’s cousins (Mav’s mother) mistook this nickname for meaning that Ysenya was named the traditional nomadic Mando’a name “Sena”, and called her variants of this for some time before Sena’s parents caught on and attempted to correct her. 

Sena, however, took a shine to the name. It was enough like her old one that she wasn’t abandoning her identity so much as translating it while still giving herself distance from the tragedies of Socorro. It was a second dose of luck in the face of that  same loss, the first good portent she’d seen connected to her own future in a while. And being called  “little bird” across several languages by her family began to seem strangely...appealing.

She asked to formally change her name when she was officially adopted, and uses Sena primarily with non-Socorran non-Mandalorian aruetii. But her family still calls her Ysa and Sen’ika fairly accurately, her on and off-again girlfriend calls her exclusively Ysa in private settings, and she uses Ysenya and Sena both on Socorro depending on what role she’s taking on.

[oldtestleper]

If you're still doing the FMK thing: Ruu, Jilka, Laseema

fuck: Jilka.I love her take-no-shit personality, and I think she’d be a fun one-night stand. Maybe it would help her to relax and blow off some steam for a bit.

marry: Laseema. She’s so cute and sweet, and remember that time she threatened a guy with a knife for touching her? God I love her so much.

kill: Ruu. She deserves a long, happy life with Jilka and Corr somewhere far away from Kal Skirata, but I guess all she gets is to be far away from Kal. Permanently.

[propheticfire]

Okay but… WHAT HAPPENED TO CLAN SKIRATA? DID KAL MARRY NY? WHAT ABOUT JILKA AND CORR? RUU AND COV? HOW DID CAPTAIN MAZE ADJUST? DID DARMAN AND NINER MAKE IT BACK TO MANDALORE? DID THEY TAKE REDE WITH THEM? DID DELTA SQUAD GET OUT FROM UNDER IMPERIAL COMMAND? DID THEY MAKE IT TO SAFETY WITH OMEGA? DID ANY OF THE CLONES GET THE ANTI-RAPID AGING CURE? WHAT HAPPENED TO SEV??

[mamuzzy]

This blurb was born from a conversation where we talked about how no one is there for Kal to counter, oppose or punish him for his decisions and deeds therefore the author favors him over the characters who are critical about him.

Mind that, this wasn't meant to go after anyone, just my observations about the character I deeply love.

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY OPPOSING KAL SKIRATA part 1.

HIS FAMILY FROM THE PAST

If we see this as some dramaturgy aspect, Kal already got his punishment and judgement from others, but that happened in the past. By the time we see Kal in Triple Zero, he is already at his redemption arc!

Long rambling about Kal Skirata under the cut.

Kal lives a life that is not suitable for a family that requires all parents to be at home, and from the narrative, it's really similiar to the military families in real life.

When they say, he was never home, usually they don't mean that the children and the wife never saw him. It's more likely, he was at home for months or two and then went after a bounty. Difference is, in peace time you usually know when will your soldier husband return, but as a bounty hunter, I think it's unpredictable when you will see your family again, or in family pov, when you will see your husband or father again. There was a sentence I think, where it was stated Ilippi at first enjoyed being a wife of a famous bounty hunter and it was pure love at first (you know: sounds cool in theory, but actually having a soldier-boyfriend/girlfriend demand sacrifices), and probably the money was good (couples and families with children often staying together for financial safety eventhough they both know it's not working).

The two oldest boy had time to understand what is happening between Kal and Ilippi. The oldest boy was 8 when their divorce happened - that's the time when Kal wanted to take the boy with him to hunt.

Thinking about a lot about Ruu, and I think she already raised in an environment where she barely seen her father but was too young for understand how that affected the rest of the family.

Now if the boys already had hate for their father, it was because of the mother's influence. I think this is a perfectly valid women representation. Not the one, people want to see in fiction, but valid and real. Also real, because Ilippy decided this life is not for her and her children. Kal and Ilippy had cultural clashing many times. She realized that she doesn't want this for herself and left. And this is something people in bad relationship usually doesn't have the strenght to do it. Ilippy is fucking valid.

But I also understand Kal too, because he had an expectation how he will raise his children but chose the bad partner for it. Their relationship never was about "them", there was either Kal's way or Ilippy's way. Their expectations never matched. Yet Kal never ceased to love his wife or biological children, he financially supported them until his sons disowned him as well because he couldn't be there for them when Ilippy died (I think it happened when Kal was already on Kamino).

Kal got his punishment by being disowned by his wife and later the boys too. There was a scene in the 501, where he thought about his part marriage and started to understand her ex-wife better. Kal tries to redeem himself by giving everything to his boys he couldn't give to his biological family. He really sucks at it, he makes dire mistakes, but he is trying.

(To be continued with more blurb about the relationship between Kal Skirata and Walon Vau, Nulls and the Commandos he raised. And Darman himself. Maybe Ny too.)

[cienie-isengardu]

My RepCom Musing: Men in kitchen... or lack of thereof

With more than twenty mouths to feed, meals at Kyrimorut had now acquired an industrial scale. The complex was more than a house. It was yaim-part barracks, part hotel, part married quarters, part farmhouse, the archetypal Mandalorian clan home. They were lucky that Laseema, Atin's Twi'lek wife, had worked in a restaurant and so could manage a kitchen. She knew all the complicated stuff about portion sizes and making sure everything was ready at the same time. Ny was happy to take orders from her.

Imperial Commando: 501st

I’m trying very hard to remember that this paragraph shows us the Ny’s POV but even then this does not put men of the RC series in a good light. I’m sorry but oh so genius NULLs who can create a complicated programs presumably based on mathematical algorithms to steal incredible amount of money from banks and who can pilot a hybrid of space and submarine ship just by reading manual couldn’t figure out how to deal with portion sizes or cooking two things at the same time? Even working together, in pairs or ya know, all the six super soldiers putting their big brain to use? I’m sorry, Mandalorian veterans who are soldiers and part of the army all their lives aren’t capable of going into the kitchen to make a proper meal for their family because 20 people to feed is such a horrible and difficult task? Laseema is awesome, sure, but she didn’t married Atin to be tied to kitchen because men apparently are fucking useless in this homestead. Not to mention she worked as waitress and sex-worker dancer, not as cook which is a huge difference between serving food and preparing it.

And yeah, Ny may just assume the Skirata clan is lucky to have Laseema to take care of things because feeding so many people is hard and she is doing so well, but I think it could be much easier if the men actually deign to come to help. Because when it comes to cooking meals, it is Laseema, Besany, Jilka, Ruu Skirata, Ny (on her own choice to help) and even Arla Fett:

In the kitchen, Vau, Uthan, and Gilamar sat at the table watching the holonews, while Besany and Jilka helped Arla serve up the meals. It was the first time Arla had joined them. She looked lost, but then a kitchen was a chaotic, noisy place after years in a padded cell.

Like, SERIOUSLY? I’m so angry I’m willing to quote all the moments when our female characters are mentioned closely tied to kitchen and cooking just to prove this point.

The only two (three) men I’m willing to give some slack are:

ATIN

Who gutted and most likely scraped the fish scales for Laseema:

Ny was surprised by the rebuke, but Jilka didn't snap back. She went on chopping, eyes fixed on the table. Atin came in carrying a plastoid bowl full of gleaming freshly caught fish.

"Kaminoans eat fish, don't they?" he said, as if he was having second thoughts. "I never asked back in Tipoca. We didn't eat with them."

Laseema picked up a fish by its tail. "Did you gut them properly?"

"Of course I did. And it's going to take me ages to get the smell off my hands."

"You're a darling. Now all I need is some gihaal stock to poach them in."

CORR

Corr poked his head around the kitchen door. Ny wondered if Jilka could tell all the clones apart yet.

"Can I hide in here, please, ladies?" He gave them his best cheeky-boy smile and swaggered in. "The atmosphere's a bit intense out there. Aiwha-bait alert."

"Since when does the kitchen have a FEMALES ONLY sign outside?" Jilka asked. "Make yourself useful, soldier."

Corr winked, took the knife from her hand, and began chopping with surprising speed and skill. The more surprising thing was that she let him.

and

"Who's for more eggs?" Corr yelled over the hubbub. He'd volunteered for kitchen detail with Ny this week, probably to impress Jilka, and Ordo decided it was working. She watched Corr when she thought he wasn't looking. "Make the most of these. The nuna can't keep up with you greedy shab'ikase. It'll be boiled mealgrain until they start laying again."

(and yeah, the first mention of Corr’s help was about him trying to hide in kitchen to avoid a tense atmosphere created by Kal meeting a Kaminoan Jedi survivor of Purge and later, he tried to impress Jilka but he at least was in the kitchen helping ladies)

and honorable mention of WALON VAU:

While Besany wrestled with dough, and Scout and Ruu sliced the haunch of shatual that Mird and Vau had hunted, Ny made igatli from scratch, following a recipe on a datapad propped on the kitchen table.

And yes, Fi, Parja and Corr hunted too and generally all members of the clan clan helped with fishing, but the text at least strongly suggests that Scout and Ruu got not so much as a hunted animal to deal with, but skinned (and gutted?) one so the meat is ready to be portioned for a meal or preserved to eat in the future.

That is. The three men who are apparently reliable. And surprise, surprise none of them is Kal or trained from start Kal’s boys. Geez.

[cienie-isengardu]

My RepCom Musing: Arla Fett and Death Watch

or: what the IC:501st could (should) give us but didn’t.

One of my biggest problems with the Republic Commando book series is the lack of presenting different point of views in regard to groups the main heroes (or more precisely, main Mandalorian ex-training sergeants) disliked or outright hated. Obviously, the Jedi Order was an usual target for critique with little counter-arguments, especially from Jedi characters themselves. And yes, Etain and Jusik Bardan had right to feel negative about it too, although I will not lie, there is something concerning how Jusik couldn’t stay in Order due to disagreement of its politics and use of clones but threw away any regard for law or morality that was so important to him in the first place (the reason for quitting) to be one of Skirata’s boys. 

Like the Jedi, Death Watch did not get a fair chance to present its values or actual similarity to generally presented mandalorian society. The Hard Contact had Ghez Hokan, the alleged member of said organization, said to be so brutal he was kicked out from Death Watch itself but who was both competent soldier and interestingly our first source of informations about Mandalorians before Kal Skirata and Walon Vau entered the series for good. Especially in regard to admiration for Jango Fett (who presumably should be his enemy). But of course, then came Order 66 and for whatever reason Hokan’s allegiance was retconned. Instead the Death Watch was represented by Dred Priest, who was described as a man that ran a fighting club on Kamino because of which clone trainees got seriously injured and some died(?). Vau was also presented as a sergeant who brutalized his commandos (and was the boogeyman to some characters in second book), but I guess it is more forgiven since Vau did it to “raise survivors” and through the storyline we could see him soften somehow toward his - and Kal’s - boys, while Dred was allowing the fighting for… his own amusement? Or at least, Mij drew such a picture, since Dred showed up and spoke for what? A one chapter overall just to be killed?

Then we have his girlfriend, Isabet Reau, who is known for speaking about Mandalorians returning to times of their glory. Like her boyfriend, Dred, most things we know about her comes from Mij who hated both with passion but they did not get any special focus as real characters. Ironically, Kal Skirata talked or thought about how Mandalorians should reunite and become one strong nation. So spoke also his biological daughter, Ruusan (“Don’t you think it’s time we started fighting for our own interests?” Ruu took the mug out of her father’s hand and peered into it as if checking up on him. “I’m not saying this guy’s right, but being at every aruetii’s beck and call and doing the dying for them doesn’t sound smart to me. Look at this world. It’s dirt-poor. That’s not much to show for the lives we’ve spent on shoring up other governments.”) and apparently this sentiment run deep enough in the family that Venku “Kad” Skirata at some point became the leader of a political faction who wanted to see a resurgence of the Mandalorian people (and even demands it from Mandalore Boba Fett). And by this also means making Mandalore strong in political and economic sense. So maybe not really a return to the Mandalorian Empire but for sure closer to it than farther since both visions demand from Mandalorians to have a solid economy like own production of weapons and food and standing army.

We have also Arla Fett, who was taken by Death Watch warriors who killed her family at Concord Dawn and at some point, presumably due to Mandalorian Stockholm Syndrome, became one of them, only to end in hospital for the mentally ill, from where she was abducted by clan Skirata and if IC would sequel, her memory would be wiped out on her wish and Arla would married her captor (Jusik).

And here is a thing: by using Death Watch as only boogeyman to main characters, we don’t only lost a chance to actually explore the complex nature of mandalorian society from different perspective but also, by examining the similarity between the “good” and “bad” Mandalorians we actually could have a solid critique of them all as a contrast to the overwhelming glorification of Skirata growing with each book. Even more! This could create a possibility for Kal to see his own - or in general, mandalorian culture’s - faults mirrored in action by Death Watch (taking in Arla) and maybe finally get some understanding of his own traumas, especially related to how he was trained by Muunin Skirata.

(There is something ironic that Jango and Arla Fett, though separated and taken by opposite sides of conflict, were allowed to keep their names and connection to their biological family. Jango didn’t need to take Jaster Mereel’s surname to be treated as son and apparently Death Watch did not keep Arla in the dark about the fact her younger brother survived. Meanwhile Kal Skirata’s “adoption” started with Muunin - intentionally or not -  erasing his identity by taking away his name and giving new, despite the boy's protest. 

"You can do all kinds of things when you're wearing armor that ordinary folks can't do, Kal."

Munin called him Kal. In the man's own language, it had something to do with knives and stabbing. Munin had nicknamed him Kal because Falin had tried to stab him with the three-sided knife when they first met; the Mandalorian seemed to think it was funny, and hadn't been angry at all. But Munin fed him, and didn't hurt him, and in the weeks since Falin had been part of the mercenary camp, he'd felt better even if he wasn't happy.

Sometimes Munin called him Kal'ika. The mercenaries told him it meant "little blade," and showed that Munin was fond of him.

"I'm Falin," he said at last. "My name's Falin." But he was already forgetting who Falin was. His home in Kuat City seemed like a dream mostly forgotten when he woke up, more a feeling than a memory. His family had moved to Surcaris while his father did engineering stuff on the new KDY warships there. "I don't want another name."

Munin ate with him. When he wasn't shouting, he was actually a kind man, but he could never take Papa's place. "Starting over can be a good thing, Kal'ika. You can't change the past or other folks, but you can always change yourself, and that changes your future." [Order 66]

And what kid wouldn’t finally gave up after a year or so of such treatment? And yes, Munin comforted him and was kind, unless he was pushing 7 years old past the boy’s limits and insults to the point other Mandalorian asked if he was trying to kill the kid. And somehow, somehow Vau brutality always set Kal in the wrong way and not for the first time I wonder how much it was just Skirata’s empathy toward clones and how much his own trauma?)

And here comes the main point of my thesis. Arla Fett’s subplot had one of the greatest potential to explore but sadly, the opportunity, as with most subplots in regard to female characters, was brutally dumped. Because we could see the parallels between her and Jango by learning more about her life under (presumably) Tor Vizsla’s leadership or we could have an actual storyline dealing with survivor of traumatic events coming with terms with what happened (instead of the easy solution of “wipe out memory with Force” and marry her to another male character, when so many heroes of the story assumed she was repeadly raped and/or brutalized). Or actually make Arla Fett the die-hard Death Watch member who wanted to return to the only family she knew and had at this point in life. But above everything else, we could explore the parallels between Arla’s introduction to Death Watch AND Kal Skirata’s introduction into mandalorian life and maybe, just maybe finally got more objective view of Mandalorian culture, when people attempt murder or kill ‘cause they hate each other’s guts and there is no one out there to control it since everything revolve around “the law of stronger (clan)”, or how they take orphaned kids into their clans and don’t ask if said kids even want to be Mandalorians themselves (or, as Kal did to his biological sons, decided to make them soldiers at age of 8), they just put them for long-termed “assimilation” and even brutal training to the point Mandalorian Stockholm Syndrome kicks on good. How they don’t mind killing people for money or for their own (political?) goals. 

Because Death Watch and True Mandalorian may have different goals and approach to what they are and should be, but ultimately, they all came from the same culture and were shaped by the same traditions, faith, mindset. Going on how Death Watch are the worst scum but not presenting much to support this claim (as in, letting us see their POV instead of forcing us to rely solely what main heroes think) while praising Kal and his clan for doing similar stuff, just for “good reason” makes the overtone of the Mandalorian culture, the glorification so… hypocritical.

To be clear, Death Watch is a brutal and dangerous group with a specific mindset but all Mandalorians are brutal and dangerous to outsiders if it fits their goals. And I would like the books actually to examine the similarities and differences, to give us as much as possible objective view on Mandalorians and to actually use Arla Fett in meaningful way by expanding our knowledge about her and Jango’s past or generally about Tor and Jaster’s conflict or at least let her to heal and find peace without making a survivor of trauma another “wife” to make one of favorite boys a happy man.

[cienie-isengardu]

"I know we couldn't leave her in the asylum," Ruu said, "but did anyone think how the poor woman would feel about being surrounded by strange men in Mando armor?" "But we're not the Death Watch," Besany said. She'd fallen into the role of alpha female by virtue of being Ordo's wife. "We're not the ones who killed her family." - Imperial Commando: 501st

This quote is one of the reasons why the entire Republic Commando book series makes me so furious when I’m not focused on Vau, Mird, Deltas or Atin. The female characters, while having a lot of potential to develop, are ultimately not treated with respect by the narrative or even by some male characters, and it is not about an existing conflict of interest that has arisen between them. I mean the moments where Besany is described as Alpha Female (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean in alleged gender neutral mandalorian society) leading other women when men aren't around. Not because, as a former agent of the Republic Treasury Audit Division, she had the appropriate abilities to do so, such as keeping a cool head in difficult situations (established in TZ and TC), self-confidence or even ordinary kindness when she took someone under her wing, so that this person would feel accepted / safe in a new - not always friendly - environment (as in the case of Corr). Instead, she is called the Alpha Female and is the leader "by virtue of being Ordo's wife". Which, excuse me, is shitty reason as hell. Disrespectful toward her as a person and toward other women whose supposed role and worth is now based on their husbands' social hierarchy? Like what, Laseema wouldn’t be a good leader in times of need because Atin is not the favorite son of Skirata? Or Etain, if she survived, because of Darman’s position in Kal’s list of fav boys?  That is the logic of the narrative?

(I mean, there is a chance I'm reading it wrongly, and Besany simply felt she need take charge at what is happening as a way to help Ordo, as the gesture of sharing the burden of responsibility but the text doesn't frame it that way for me.)

And what is even more irking? The whole narrative oh, she is the Alpha Female! Look how awesome she is, when being put in charge! But then never even seen anywhere truly close the "war council" that makes all vital decisions? You know, the one mentioned by book as "The usual war council was assembled-Skirata, Vau, Gilamar, Ordo's brothers, and Jusik." Sure, so great fucking Alpha Female, the queen of kitchen or whatever she is doing now in between the rare moments when IC: 501st remember she exist still. Riiiight.

(Just to be clear, Skirata, Vau and Gilamar, as the Mando veterans and the most experienced men make perfect sense and in truth, a lot of major issues were usually discussed/argued between Kal and Walon first and foremost, with input from Ordo and Jusik. But their decisions were affecting all the members of the clan, especially in regard to Jedi. But if being Ordo’s wife by virtue puts her in charge - or demands from her to act as leader, then her lack there is really disturbing. Even Ruu Skirata talked more about mandalorian politics with her dad than Besany doing anything more prominent than being in the kitchen and watching when boys played? I admit, I may be missing something important so feel free to correct me as I’m lately doing research focused mainly at Vau and his “kids” (including Mird) so Besanny could slip away from my memory. But regardless I think my point will still stand, as women of RepCom deserve better than being gutted out of their previous established traits and sadly turned into mindless wives or waiting to be married with another clone / Jusik (don’t even let me start about Arla Fett 😡)

[cienie-isengardu]

Why do you think Jango Fett hired Dred Priest and Isabet Reau, even tho they were suspected death watch sympathizers? I cant imagine the Commandos they trained would be happy to be serving under jedi...

Before I will talk about Priest and Reau, I think is worth to point that no Mandalorian training commandos was overly fond of Jedi or Republic.  Not all commandos / ARC liked to work with Jedi, some were disappointed by their force-sensitive commanders, but I doubt Dred and Isabet personal hate/dislike, even if passed down to their trainees, would make soldiers disobey the orders coming from Jedi. Frankly, commandos get along & work the best with their own brothers, but that is just the way they were raised. Personal feelings will not get in the way, they are too professional for that.

As for the major ask, here we go:

The Imperial Commando: 501’st raised this topic in one of talk between Ordo and Mij Gilamar:

“What was Jango doing recruiting them? He had more reason to hate the Death Watch than anybody.”

“Priest and Reau weren’t exactly card-carrying members. Jango thought they were all talk. He only cared about results.”

But I think the matter was more complicated than that.

Jango Fett hired one hundred people - the best soldiers, tacticians, sappers, communicators, survival experts - to train future Republic Commandos, but managed to get only 75 Mandalorians. Due to Jango Fett: Open Season comics, we know that many friends / associates / allies of Jango were interrogated - and most likely killed afterwards, like Silas - by Dooku during his “research” about Fett’s past, so the limited number of people to choose from influenced the decision to some degree. 

We know little about Isabet, but Dred was considered as a good (albeit idiot) soldier, so he met the requirements.

Then again, even with limited choices, Fett still didn’t want to hire Kal Skirata and he did so only because Walon Vau insisted. But Vau hated Death Watch above everything else, and I don’t think he would agree to work for Fett and/or get along with Priest and Reau, if they were true Death Watch sympathizers back then. 

“How do you lie to a Jedi Master?” Laseema asked. “Without him sensing it, that is?”

“I didn’t,” said Vau. “I said I’d tell him if I found Kal doing anything to help the enemy. The minute that this little shabuire opens a comlink to any former Death Watch personnel, I shall gladly turn him in.”

Skirata paused for a moment, then managed to laugh. “Do I know any?”

“No, but they’re the only group I’d really call my enemy. So I didn’t lie, and I was genuinely emotional enough for him to believe what his Force senses told him he wanted to believe.” [Order 66]

In this short passage, Vau says that Kal Skirata does not know any former members of Death Watch, so during the conflict between DW and True Mandalorians, Reau and Priest weren’t part of enemy group. So, if Jango knew them (otherwise, how he could judge if their skills are good enough to train future commandos?), they most likely were his former allies / subordinates or some freelancers whom he met over the years, right? 

Between Order 66 and 501’st, the biggest hater of Dred and Isabet is Mij Gilamar and I think his hate is only partially fueled by their Death Watch-like ideology. He is the one to say “`They had the makings of the Death Watch in them, those two. Him and that perverted secret fight club, her and that let’s-conquer-the-galaxy-again osik”. Alongside him, Ordo and Skirata were the most vocal about those two Mandalorians. Interesting, Walon Vau - for whom Death Watch is trigger to extreme hatred - did not despite them openly, at least until he saw DW badge on their armors. Then, he was all okay with killing them.

Here is the thing: was Dred and Isabet truly Death Watch sympathizers back on Kamino, or did their ideological thinking was just additional reason why Mij hated them both? Because we know he “loathed them with passion” and being “marooned indefinitely on Kamino with folks you hated on sight and nowhere to escape them” for sure did not help the situation. 

Frankly, Mij and Dred is not the first duo that fought and hated each other guts. Walon Vau, when introduced, also was seen as the psycho, cruel, bad Mandalorian; an image fueled by Skirata’s, Ordo’s and Atin’s POV yet with passing time, perception of his character has changed. So, can we be sure that Dred and Isabet were so awful? Especially since Vau and Fett could tolerate their sentiments, even if that sounded a lot like Death Watch’s ideology?

This leads me to two conclusion.

The Priest and Reau’s ideology was not really unique only to Death Watch. They wanted A) Mandalore to be great empire again, B) Mandalorian people to serve their own interest rather than fighting for foreign governments and strangers. Most likely many other Mandalorians were bitter about their past and current situation. If we take Legends and New Canon into account, this kind of sentiment actually makes sense. Death Watch may take that into extreme, but even people like Skirata - or his just-adjusting to Mandalorian life daughter - from time to time were thinking that Mandalorians shouldn’t fight for aruetii (foreigners) and doing their dirty jobs.

“I’m not arguing,” Gilamar said. “Just making it clear that if I run into Dred and he starts on that bring-back-the-good-old-days garbage, I’ll gut him. And his crazy girlfriend.”

“No reason to run into him,” Ordo said. “Unless you’re in Keldabe.”

“Don’t you think it’s time we started fighting for our own interests?” Ruu took the mug out of her father’s hand and peered into it as if checking up on him. “I’m not saying this guy’s right, but being at every aruetii’s beck and call and doing the dying for them doesn’t sound smart to me. Look at this world. It’s dirt-poor. That’s not much to show for the lives we’ve spent on shoring up other governments.”

“Good point,” Vau said. “You’re definitely a Skirata.”

That was an odd thing for Vau to say, seeing as no Mando cared much about biological parentage. It was a culture of adoption and blurred lines between offspring and in-laws.

He just means she says the same things as Kal'buir. That’s all.

If Skirata can talk/think how Mandalorians shouldn’t kill each other for foreigners’ money, like in True Colors:

Mandalorians ended up killing one another for all kinds of reasons, personal and incidental. It still didn’t make it right. The covert ops troopers sent after Sull, now these strangers-the thought of nek dogs came back to him, dog set on dog for sport, or just a killing machine to do the master’s bidding. Skirata felt it was time Mando'ade stopped being everyone’s nek.

then maybe the idea of “coming back to roots” and creating one mighty army is not so controversial? I mean, Jaster Mereel saw Mandalorians as just well-paid mercenaries, yet by leading (at least three) military units of well trained warriors he had better bargaining position to pick up missions, clients and how much money should be paid than a lone mandalorian freelancer could have. I think that last decade or so before the Clone Wars was time in which “national movements” happened in various mandalorian groups.

We may only wonder how much Priest and Reau’s ideology changed over the years, when they all were stuck on Kamino training little kids to fight for Republic/Jedi Order that no Mandalorian was overly fond of.  

There is also the little passage in Bounty Hunter Code, in which Jango commented that the Death Watch manifesto does not sound like Tor Vizsla (that Fett considered just a thug), the original leader of the group. But is something that Priest or Reau could said.

Jango could not be aware of how deep they felt about the whole “great mandalorian empire”, but either, like 501’st said, he thought they were all talk or knew, but did not care.

What brings me to the second point. Jango changed a lot between Jaster Mereel’s death and agreeing to be DNA donor for Great Army of Republic. Especially after Galidraan. He agreed to work for Dooku, because the man promised to destroy Jedi Order. And as much as Jango hated Death Watch, ultimately he hated Jedi even more. So, he could be as well aware that Priest and Reau were at heart Death Watch sympathizers, but did not care. He needed the best soldiers to train an army to eliminate Jedi - the ultimately enemy of all Mandalorians - once and for good.

“Now do you see? Do you?“ Vau hissed the sibilant like escaping steam. Mird cowered on the floor, whining softly. “I’m sick to death of your sentimental twaddle about Jango betraying us by letting Kamino use his genes. He did it to stop the Jedi. He did it to create an army strong enough to bring them down. You drone on about the injustice of unelected elites, my little working-class hero-well, now they’re gone. Yes, it cost our boys’ lives, but the Jedi are gone, gone, gone. And they won’t be killing Mandalorians again, not for a long time. Maybe never.”

And here comes my, most likely, unpopular opinion: I don’t think Fett cared much for the ideology. He hated Vizsla and DW, because they killed his family and mentor. He lead True Mandalorians because he cared for Jaster Mereel and tried his best to carry on his legacy. But in the end, somehow, in some ironic way, Jango adapted Tor Vizsla’s ruthless determination to achieve his goal. If to destroy Jedi Order he needed to sacrifice milions of his own clones and deal with two Death Watch sympathizers, so be it.

[thesummerstorms]

So I really, really love Dar/Etain inheriting a Nar Shaddaa safehouse from Mereel and getting the fuck out of Kal’s abusive mopeville hut Kyrimorut

but at the same time the thing I really, really love about Mandalorians is their extended family network and the way their clans are close knit to the point where “no child is ever an orphan”, etc, etc. Just generally, that extended family in your daily life supporting you thing. And even if they make new networks and contacts, I don’t want them to be isolated from their family forever.

In the old RP group we never did decide if there was ever a reunification of the clan after it splinters in Kal’s hands, but even if there isn’t I’ve been brainstorming different reasons for Omega + a few others to end up on Nar Shaddaa because I’m weak

(also, for those actively looking for an out, it actually becomes much easier for them once Etain and Dar are out and have a safe, secure, and secret foothold to regroup at somewhere else. so thanks to Mereel’s hypothetical corpse, I guess?)

anyway, some characters/reasoning beneath the cut, and if anyone has suggestions as to improving characterization, I’m always open. these are not my specialty characters. you know who my specialty characters are.

So starting off with the easiest: 

Niner

Now don’t get me wrong, I feel like Niner, whose big key drives are loyalty and duty, is going to have an extremely difficult time leaving Kal behind. He might even be last. But I think his relationship with Dar post-IC (having basically held him together through a major break down) might be a factor, plus Atin and Vau, and other things, but that’s a separate post

Niner is probably the easiest for me to see ending up on Nar Shaddaa simply because he already has family there. We don’t really see him end up with specific plans for his life and he’s not firmly attached to anyone besides his brothers- but he wants to be where his brothers are.

And again, I kind of feel he has a special relationship with Dar post IC? He’d want to be with all his brothers if possible (and I’m about to come up with reasons for them to be there too), but I don’t think settling down in Dar’s spare room “as a stop gap” when he finally breaks down and follows the rest of Omega out is out of character. Then getting used to being in Kad and Dar’s lives again, being relied on. He may or may not stay in that extra room, but even if he isn’t I think he’d be near by? And tbh to me as someone ace the idea of being with someone closeknit platonically is really appealing though I don’t have that relationship with my own brothers.

Plus, he’s one I’d really like to see plugged into a larger Mandalorian framework, and since Manda’yaim is not an option, seeing him become a linchpin in the underlying structure of the Mandalorian sector would be really satisfying. Nar Shaddaa might be a chaotic mess, but I’d like to see him integrating into the wheels that keep the Mandos going, of his own volition this time, and finding a purpose he chose in it.

Jilka/Ruu/Corr

Okay, so I had a little too much fun with this one and I honestly think they might be part timers, but... listen, Jilka has the chops to hack all sorts of financial networks. Her girlfriend Ruu has done lots of merc work before. What’s to stop Jilka from pulling a Nate Ford, choosing a really scummy target on Nar Shaddaa, and basically going all Leverage/Shadow Broker to establish her own fortune independent of Kal Skirata, helping people in the mean time? 

Jilka is a mastermind, hacker, AND grifter. 

Ruu is the Eliot Spencer, eventually. Gets surprisingly good at being back up tactician, as she’s got a touch of that ruthless pragmatic streak herself.

Corr, however he’s attached to this threesome, is the hardware specialist turned thief bc you know what a knowledge of complex wiring does to security systems once he’s read enough specialty tech manuals? Also, Mereel showed him the SW equivalent of Parker’s gear once. Also, back up pretty grifter :)

They rotate in and out of Nar Shaddaa and have their own place, bc they do take other jobs off-world, go visit Besany maybe, etc, etc but they’re still there when they’re on world, and Koa thinks Jilka’s sarcasm is hilarious

Weird Nate Ford-Jilka parallel in her getting used to being PART of the underground and/or constantly surrounded by Mandos? Idk

Sometimes Jilka draws Besany, Etain and Laseema all in bc yes pls

Fi

This one is  one of the weakest, honestly, so you know, feedback away. But he did explicitly like the open spaces and the thrill of Coruscant. When he finally made it to Mandalore, he missed the city. Enter, Nar Shaddaa, giant city where he has family 

Also, I don’t really ship Parja/Fi so, potentially can also find cute Mandalorian boyfriend? eventually adopt kids with Mandalorian husband?

Might rotate in and out and meet up with Parja at Levet’s place occasionally though, bc I do Brotp them, but like... only for so long as the Imperial invasion of Mandalore isn’t scanning for all the Fett clones

Mereel

Okay, so he left them the safehouse and current headcanon is that when he shows up alive, he shows up at Etain’s door bc it was his safe house. He recovers there, and honestly, it would be pretty rude to kick him out of his own place? considering he wasn’t even actually dead he probably still owns it? but anyway Etain and the kids love Mereel?

Only Ranah God knows where he’s actually gonna be at any given time, since he doesn’t like to settle and he does eventually have a second private place in a different sector no one knows about bc he’s that person who needs fall backs and boundaries...

but, like, if he’s on Nar Shaddaa, there’s also a considerable chance he’s parked on Etain’s couch. he shows up at two AM with a black eye, caffa icecream, and glitter and everyone just accepts it. may or may not have Etain keeping a room for him after he recovers and moves out bc I still don’t know the actual fucking layout of this safehouse/apartment

Atin/Laseema

This one is a bit *hand-wavey-gesture* honestly? 

I think I’m torn because on one hand all the “so sad they can’t have kids so saad” bs from Traviss made me pissy and made me headcanon they don’t want kids but take fulfillment from being in a clan where children are present? 

at the same time, Laseema just got away from Hutts and Atin strikes me as kinda a woodsy guy who wouldn’t necessarily enjoy another city planet? (idk where I’m getting that impression tbh)

then again, Laseema outwitting the Hutts with Jilka would be 👌also Laseema getting to reconnect with other Twi’leks who have been in her position and build a network or resources and outreach?

Or as a Rebel leader and Nar Shaddaa is where she goes dark when the Imperials are too close?

I’m dragging literally everyone else in Omega back one way or another so

[thesummerstorms]

Darman and Fi for the character meme?

Darman

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

I mean, as much time as time as I spend writing from Etain’s POV.... strong bias

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

... Darman is such a Hufflepuff it hurts.

best quality: Dude is caring af about his people, and the way he checks in all the time with Etain and with his brothers and actively works to understand them and help them...

worst quality: He has, uh, some negative perspectives from Kal (ex. his talk about the “bonkers” squad) to unlearn, his protectiveness is possibly conditioned to something unhealthy

ship them with:  Etain!!! I’m still trying to figure out though (since I consider him demisexual and demiromantic) whether he would ever be involved in a poly relationship with her if that happened, or if if it happened it would be more of a V

brotp them with: all of Omega, but especially Niner. Mereel (Mereel pls help him). Him chilling with Levet would be cool. 

needs to stay away from: *conducts Hallelujah-chorus singing Kal* Also, the Empire. 

misc. thoughts:

Fi

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

best quality: loyalty

worst quality: not so much worst as in he’s to blame for it, but what gives him the most grief is his despair and lack of self-certainty

ship them with:  I’m not a huge shipper of this, but I can generally see Fi/Sev? Or a nice person not tied to the GAR or Skiratas at all in any way. But not Parja.

brotp them with: Omega, especially Atin. Parja. Ruu. I would like him and Jusik but I don’t like Jusik after Triple Zero.

needs to stay away from: *foghorn blast* Kal.

misc. thoughts: 👍

[thesummerstorms]

Character ask: Etain, Ruu, Parja? (you'll have to use your imagination for hotness levels I guess lmao)

Etain is answered here

Ruu

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

canon is “what purpose does this even have for the plot”, but my headcanoned Ruu I like, although she’s... plot divergent

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

I imagine Ruu as just being really, really... average, honestly? Not super conventionally attractive, not super conventionally ugly, wears make up sometimes, works out, resting bitch face. normal person. 

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

Her ambition in this case being to live the life that’s true to her, but she’s not really drawn to high concepts like knowledge or justice or honor for the hell of them and she doesn’t love and accept everyone. She wants the freedom to make her own way and live authentically to her own self. 

At first she mistakenly thinks Kal is the answer, but that was... projection? Deflection? She’s stuck between Mando and Corellian and has to do a lot of realizing re: Kal, and it’s a hard bit of personal growth

best quality: Her resilience, tenacity, and authenticity 

worst quality: Her temper, restlessness, occasional brittleness

ship them with:  Dating Jilka, in a poly relationship with Jilka and Corr. (And maybe others are involved down the line? My Ruu is a lesbian though.)

brotp them with: Corr, Etain eventually bc that would be neat and I also want to give her all the friends. Besany -who is initially certain Ruu hates her but actually has a lot of her respect and who gets to know her better as she becomes involved with Jilka- and Ordo - who she butts heads with, but comes to accept as family-

needs to stay away from: okay, but everyone needs to stay away from Kal

misc. thoughts: she had so much potential, but I’m having to fanon it in

Parja

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

canon Parja is not developed enough to have feelings about except to rage at plot, plot divergent headcanon Parja I like

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

I ithink Parja’s actually really attractive probably???

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff 

best quality: Determination, willingness to call out bullshit

worst quality: Commits too quickly and gets in over her head, has a hard time letting things go.

ship them with:  Not Fi.

brotp them with: A host of genuine friends of different genders who are not part of nor have associations with Clan Skirata, and who she refuses to cut ties to just for “Security concerns”. Laseema. Fi, because a BroTP where she helps him work through his feelings actually would have been wonderful. Atin, because they bond over precise, fiddly electrical work. 

needs to stay away from: okay, but everyone needs to stay away from Kal

misc. thoughts: she was so underutilized and her plot so nonsensical; we have to to save her