#ilippi skirata

[cienie-isengardu]

Tor was thirty-nine now. Maybe he even had grandchildren. That was possible, if he'd been Mandalorian and married very young as Mando'ade did; but his mother wouldn't have allowed that. Ilippi thought the beskar'gam was dashing when she married Skirata, but his long absences on deployment started to wear on her with three small kids to care for, and then she hit the big cultural wall-Tor was coming up on eight years old and Skirata wanted to do as all Mando fathers did to take his son to train and fight alongside him for five years. Skirata could picture Ilippi now, five-year-old Ruusaan and six-year-old Ijaat clinging to her legs, crying, while she yelled that no baby boy of hers was going to war. From that argument - and she shouldn't have yelled like that, not in front of the kids - their marriage went rapidly downhill. The next time he came home on leave, the kids were with her parents on Corellia, and she told him she wanted a divorce.

Republic Commando: Order 66

[cuminhoid]

how it started: jango getting railed where it ended up:

For the first few years, Kal hadn’t really gone out of his way to help Jango transition to life with the Haat’ade (a feeling Il’buir shared)...

[mamuzzy]

THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTUALLY OPPOSING KAL SKIRATA part 2.

HIS FAMILY FROM THE PAST - Continuation

I've got a couple of response from @mysticaltora8276 and I decided that Ilippi's and Kal's relationship deserves another round to talk about because that's what the original post was about.

What you will find here now: - Dissecting Kal's and Ilippi's relationship even more but now with quotes from the books. - Me confirming the existing misogyny integrated into Karen Traviss' mando lore (I never doubted. I just wanted to find my own answers in this debate instead of choosing existing sides). - No. I still don't hate Kal. You can still love a character while not agreeing with their actions.

More under the cut.

One of my interesting observation about the antis and "critical thinkers" that while they think they are protecting the women of Repcomm with claw and blood, they are the ones who write them off as "cardboard characters with no soul and own will".

Starting from Ilippy. I thought I emphasised enough how badass was for her to divorce from Kal when she felt she can't adjust to this lifestyle, and wanted to protect her children from the warrior's life.

And it suddenly clicked.

Holy shit, it's 2024. Divorcing from your husband is not a big deal anymore!!!! CAN YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE THIS??? O_____O

(this wasn't a sarcasm.)

Today, divorcing from your husband when you are abused, or neglected, you fear for your children, or bored or you realize after years of marriage that you just don't click is totally a normal thing today and doesn't come with social stigma anymore (in better places). You can even get an official distancing-order.

But people often forget that it wasn't always like this. And remember when these books were written. Hard Contact came out in 2004.

I can't talk about other countries, only the post-soviet ones, but in the 80's-90's, it was still considered shameful for women to initiate divorce from their husband, no matter whether she was treated bad, the whole neighbourhood knew she was treated bad, relatives very much aware that the wife was treated bad. They blamed women for not putting up the whims of the husband. Blamed by women and men as well.

Hungarian poetry is actually full of ballads, how the wives were forced to kill their husbands to save themselves from abusive relationships or forced marriage because divorce wasn't an option: it was, but then you were shamed by your whole community. Shamed by women and men as well.

One of the other thing, that really changed is the time when you get married. Today is also considered normal to marry and have a kid at age 30+, while couples of from my parents generation usually married at age 18-19. And Kal and Ilippi also married rather young, which is also the part of Karen Traviss's mandalorian culture, but can be a mirror about old generational couples of real life.

I looked up the definition of misogyny (my own experience is one thing but I'm not going to traumadump here):

Misogyny (/mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/) is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. An example of misogyny is violence against women, which includes domestic violence and, in its most extreme forms, misogynist terrorism and femicide. Misogyny also often operates through sexual harassment, coercion, and psychological techniques aimed at controlling women, and by legally or socially excluding women from full citizenship. In some cases, misogyny rewards women for accepting an inferior status. (From wikipedia)

In this definition, IN OUR HUMAN EARTHLING STANDARDS keeping Ilippi in lower social status as a wife in a secluded place where she was expected to raise their children and wait for her husband without any other option (they lived in the middle of nowhere, no neighbours, no cities around for her to spend time or work or getting friends), yes, it is misogyny.

Only Ilippi had options: embracing the mandalorian culture and became a warriorwife, asking Kal to teach her, maybe joining him later.

ASSUMPTION HERE: I don't think Kal really knew how to handle a non-mando girl. I don't think they really talked about their future as a mando couple. Ilippi worked as a waitress and probably at that time it was a good idea to be a wife of a mercenary. Two young people met, fell in love, and later they realized, their expectations hadn't met. I don't think Ilippi was really interested becoming a fighterwife just as Kal wasn't interested leaving the mercenary life and his own culture behind. But also: here is the confimation of mando couples marrying young from Order 66. But also that Ilippi first found Kal and his profession attractive in her eyes.

Their serious arguments started when the possibility came up that Kal wanted to bring the children along with him.

This is a snippet from True Colors when they talk about the responsibilties of a mandowife.

Ordo is making a (rather sexist) joke, so how reilable this information can be is very much debatable. If he says it's nothing hard for a jedi, than it is probably very hard and tiresome for a civilian like Ilippi.

SPECULATION: I can imagine that sometimes Mandowife gets up, now it's her turn to go out and make some money and the husband stays home with the children. -> But because the conversation above it can be interpreted many ways, it's hard to say what exactly was their duty.

Before you kill me for using mandowife here mandoWIFE there instead of riduur...

One of my problem with Karen Traviss' Mandalorian lore, that the whole culture and social expectations were supposed to be completely gender neutral. Can you handle yourself as a warrior? You are a mando. That's it. But here, there are inbuilt gender expectations and roles. -> By the definition of the misogyny above, this is one, because mandalorian women are still bound by the stereotypes of the patriarchal role of a women in a heteronormative family.

Ok, back to Ilippi.

Now this is the first scene Ilippi first mentioned in Triple Zero. I fail to see how she was treated bad by the narrative or Kal or Jango.

Ilippi decided this life is not for her. Ilippi didn't wanted the mandalorian life for her and for their children. She didn't want to assimiliate. She realized these people are wackos and she has to get out as soon as possible before Kal really take their children to war. And she did.

This is how their divorce went (Order 66)

Ilippi was never deprived from choices. She literally took the kids when Kal was away and Kal returned to an empty home. If she was really held in lower social status, and her rights and feelings weren't respected at all, Kal could have go and forced her to come back without her consent. Or simply do honor-killing like many cultures and religions do in real life where misogyny isn't just making sexist jokes (like the Ordo conversation), but the whole family will actually hunt you down for leaving your husband.

Kal respected this choice. Does he deserve a praise for it? Probably not. This is how it should be: respecting others.

But also this confirms that Kal never stopped supporting financially his family.

And lastly I wanted to add this one because I really loved this conversation:

Kamino was the point were Kal actually cut himself from his family entirely. Not before. Kal had a chance to reconnect with his biological children when he got the news from Jango (though it's debatable, my speculation is that Kal would have been killed if he had left Kamino before the contract's end). He choose the Nulls and the commandos under his care.

But this is also interesting that in the Mando culture when your wife is divorcing from you, you, the husband are to blame: a switched-mirror to the formerly mentioned real life example of how divorcing from your husband is shameful as a woman. If you fail as a parent, as a husband, you fail as a human being.

ABOUT THE CHILD SOLDIER DEBATE: if you need the author to spoonfeed you with the narrative that explicitly condems the existence of childsoldiers, the problem is not with the media, the problem is with you.

IN CONCLUSION: Ilippy is still a fucking badass. Kal loved his family. Kal respected Ilippy and her choice. Real life misogyny integrated into the mando culture spotted which is - obviously - affected Kal too.

HOOOOooooooOOOooOoooOoly shit, that was a ride. Because I partially touched to topic about his sons, I think my next post will be about Tor, Ijaat and Ruusaan.

If you actually read through all this blurb, in one hand KUDOS TO YOU, on the other hand, you can expect something like this from me when I actually start to my blogging about the books.

[roseaesynstylae]

Star Wars: Republic Commando: Triple Zero, Chapter 1, Part 1

"Kal Skirata had committed the biggest mistake of his life, and he'd made some pretty big ones in his time."

It's begun. Kal Skirata is here.

Also, considering Kal's track record throughout this series, "mistakes" might not be the right word to use.

"No, this wasn't happening.

Inside the transparent tubes there was fluid, and within it there was movement.

It took him several minutes of staring and refocusing on one of the tubes to realize there was a body in there, and it was alive. In fact, there was a body in every tube: row upon row of tiny bodies, children's bodies. Babies.

'Fierfek,' he said aloud.

He thought he'd come to this Force-forsaken hole to train commandos. Now he knew he'd stepped into a nightmare."

I will confess: When I first read this section, I thought I might actually like Kal Skirata, just a little bit. Then I read the rest of the book and I realized, no, this guy is an asshole. But he is at his most sympathetic at the very beginning of this novel. If any fanfic writers out there want to rewrite him to be more likable, this bit is what you should build off of.

"Skirata knew from day one that he wouldn't like Kaminoans.

Their cold yellow eyes troubled him, and he didn't care for their arrogance, either. They stared at his limping gait and asked if he minded being defective."

To be fair to Kal, Kaminoans are pretty damn hard to like. And I too would be upset if someone looked at an injury I got and went "Are you okay with being damaged?"

However, Kal using the word arrogance is almost funny. Pot calling the kettle black, anyone?

"Jango slowed down tactfully. 'So, Ilippi threw you out?'

'Yeah.' His wife wasn't Mandalorian. He'd hoped she'd embraced the culture, but she didn't: she always hated seeing her old man go off to someone else's war. The fights began when he wanted to take their two sons into battle with him. They were eight years old, old enough to start learning their trade; but she refused, and soon Ilippi and the boys and his daughter were no longer waiting when he returned from the latest war. Ilippi divorced him the Mando way, same as they'd married, on a brief, solemn, private vow. A contract was a contract, written or not."

Okay. Um, I'm just going to list a few things.

Did you discuss this with her at all before you got married? I kind of get the impression that you just assumed she'd go along with it.

Eight years old? If Kal actually has the gall to say anything about child soldiers going forward, I'm going to explode.

Why do you sound surprised that she first left your ass and then divorced you? From what I'm hearing, you royally fucked up your marriage.

It's a Man's World: 1 (for Kal's assumption that his wife would just go along with him)

Mando-Shilling: 1 (why yes, child soldiers are fine and peachy if they're Mandalorian child soldiers)

"'Don't your sons talk to you any longer?'

'Not often.' So I failed as a father. Don't rub it in."

Considering how much you fail as a father in this very book, I am, in fact, going to rub it in.

"'Ko Sai said something wasn't quite right with the first test batch of clones,' said Jango, ushering Skirata ahead of him into another room."

*Looks over at the "the Bad Batch are the other half of the Nulls" theory that has consumed my brain and led me to reading this series in the first place* *Looks over at the fact that the Bad Batch are defective or "not quite right"* Continue.

(All GIFs in this chapter will from now on be TBB GIFs.)

Is This The Bad Batch?: 1

"'I always believe in being honest about setbacks in a program. We value the Jedi Council as a customer.'

'I have nothing to do with the Jedi,' said Jango. 'I'm only a consultant on military matters.'

Oh, Skirata thought. Jedi. Great."

(All and any unhappy Echo expressions, regardless of the actual context, are perfect for this.)

The nicest thing that has ever come out of Kal Skirata's mouth regarding the Jedi Order.

Jedi-Bashing: 1

"'Chief Scientist Ko Sai apologizes, as do I,' said Orun Wa. 'Six units did not survive incubation, but these developed normally and appeared to meet specifications, so they have undergone some flash-instruction and trials. Unfortunately, psychological testing indicates that they are simply too unreliable and fail to meet the personality profile requited.'

'Which is?' said Jango.

'That they can carry out orders.'"

First, every time we learn more about the Nulls, I'm going to point out the parallels to the Bad Batch and shamelessly propel my theory (mostly to make myself feel better). Second, have a little serotonin boost!

Is This The Bad Batch?: 2

"'We could do with a few wild cards,' Jango said carefully, moving between Skirata and the Kaminoan. 'It's good to have some surprises up your sleeve for the enemy. What are these kids really like? And how old are they?'

'Nearly two years growth. Highly intelligent, deviant, disturbed -- and uncommandable.'"

Quoth the Tech, "We're more deviant that defective."

"Ordo was doing pretty well for a four-year-old soldier,

They could learn to be heroes tomorrow. Tonight they needed to be children, reassured that the storm was not a battlefield, and so nothing to fear.

[...]

'It's okay, Ord'ika,' he said softly. 'I'm here, son. I'm here."

This is the most likable Kal Skirata is going to be. It's all downhill from here, guys.

I'm splitting this into two parts, so the jump to present day will be in the next post.

Jedi-Bashing: 1

Mando-Shilling: 1

It's a Man's World: 1

Shut The Fuck Up, Kal: 0

Deltas, Move Out: 0

Mird, My Beloved: 0

Is This The Bad Batch?: 2

Main Post

[elisemscott1122]

Different Mandalorian Houses (Canon and Legends):

modern day, only Canon clans:

* House Viszla

- Tarre Viszla - creator of the Dark Saber

- Pre Viszla (Death Watch Leader)

- Paz Viszla (Children of the Watch)

- Ragnar (Children of the Watch)

* House Kryze:

- Bo-Katan Kryze (Nite Owl)

- Satine Kryze (during clone wars, Duchess of Mandalore. New age)

- Korkie Kryze

- (Bo-Katan’s father, mentioned in The Mandalorian show season 3)

* House Kast

- Rook Kast

- Veraslayan Kast

* Clan Wren: (first loyal to the Empire)

- Sabine Wren (Ghost Crew, Rebels)

- Ursa Wren

- Tristan Wren

- Alrich Wren

* Clan Saxon: (loyal to the Empire)

- Gar Saxon (killed by Ursa Wren)

- Tiber Saxon

* Clan Eldar

* Clan Rook (vassal of House Kast)

- Rook Kast

- Tayari Rook

* Clan Awaud: (eventually rebel alliance ties)

- Nam Beroya (leader)

- Vera Beroya (leader)

- Aga Awaud

* Clan Mudhorn

- Din Djarin

- Din Grogu

Legends clans/dissolved clans:

* Clan Keldau

* Clan Bralor

- Neth Bralor (leader)

- Jogo

- Rav Bralor (hired by Jango Fett to train the clone armies)

* Clan Cadera

- Jicoln Cadera (leader)

- Torian Cadera (leader)

* Clan Beviin

- Dinua Jeban (adopted)

* Clan Beroya (tied to clan Awaud later on)

* Clan Carid

- Baltan Carid

* Clan Deshra

* Clan Detta

- Suvar Detta

- Cham Detta

* Clan Kaja

- Kaja Honn (leader&founder)

* Clan Chorn

* Esok’s Clan

- Esok

* Clan Farr

- Ceta Farr

- Yenko Farr

* Clan Fett (mainly legends)

- Jango Fett

- Boba Fett

- Cassus Fett

- Arla Fett

- Sintas Vel

- Ailyn Fett

- Makin Marec

- Mirta Gev

- Vorten Fett

- Khomo Fett

- Melvin Fett

*Clone Troopers were not considered a part of clan Fett although they shared Jango Fett’s DNA*

* Clan Gedyc

- Lorka Gedyc (once head of Death Watch)

* Clan Ha’arangir (named after Mandalorian war God Kad Ha’ariangir)

- Kur Ha’arangir (leader)

* Clan Itera

* Clan Jeban

- Dinua Jeban

- Briika Jeban

* Clan Jendri

* Clan Jennis

* Clan Kelborn

- Merrk Kelborn

* Clan Keldau

* Clan Lok

- Artus Lok

- Mirli Lok

* Clan Lone

- Zadik Lone

- Akaavi Spar (left her clan to be with Lone)

* Clan Ordo

- Canderous Ordo

- Chernan Ordo

- Jekiah Ordo

* Clan Priest

- Dred Priest

* Clan Rodarch

* Clan Shale

- Arla Shale

* Clan Sharrat

- Kassor Quade

* Clan Skirata

- Kal Skirata

- Munin Skirata

- Ruusaan Skirata

- Jaing Skirata

- Ilippi Skirata

- Tor Skirata

- Ijaat Skirata

- Kad Skirata

(Adopted)

- Jedi Bardan Jusik

- Jedi Etain Tur-Mukan

- Omega Squad- Niner Skirata, Atin Skirata, Darman Skirata, Fi Skirat

- the Nulls

* Clan Sornell

- Koblus “Ko” Sornell

- Haarm

- Gheedor

- Two unnamed Sornell children, and expecting one

* Clan Spar

- Akavvi Spar

* Clan Tenau

* Clan Varad

- Mavrix Varad

- Tyrus Brokenblade

* Clan Vevut

- Novoc Vevut

- Ghes Orade

- Mirta Gev

* Clan Nerak

- Ballag (leader)

[ihavearandom]

Has anyone written a fic where Kal Skirata’s kids get some actual closure with how their parents split?

Or like an AU where Illipi is able to give Kal a piece of her mind so he stops going “mY nOn MaNdO wIfE jUsT dIdNt UnDeRsTaNd Me”

Just any AU where Illipi, Tor, Ijaat, and/or Ruusaan gets to have some kind of talk with Kal and get to straighten stuff out and give Kal a reality check on how he treated them before he left.

I’m already in the middle of writing a thing but I wanna know if anyone else has done anything with them.

[jacensolodjo]

Kal Skirata: Well, you know. Mando boys will be boys.

Ilippi Jiro, probably: Mando boys will take consequences for their actions like anyone else. Bye. 

[repcommquotes]

My greatest disappointment is that Kal’s ex-wife is dead because I desperately wanted her to come into the picture and tell him right where to put some of his outlandish ideas. 

I need Ilippi Skirata showing up and roasting Kal while being the non-mandalorian viewpoint that clearly had the strength of character to not be pushed around by Kal’s big, bad, mando routine. 

[izzyovercoffee]

Let’s talk about Ilippi Skirata Jiro

Ilippi, the ex-wife of Kal Skirata, and often a woman who holds a contentious position in fandom by virtue of being Kal Skirata’s dead ex-wife who left him.

She somehow manages to exist in all of the wonderful spaces that ex-wives tend to inhabit:

just didn’t try hard enough to understand him, ie a bad wife

drained him of his money

left him for just no discernible reason 

blamed as the cause of his biological sons divorcing him

Here’s the thing ... fandom often flagrantly overlooks what he, himself, admits to have done and caused Ilippi grief. And I’m here to put these things together in a way you can understand and see as the red flags that they are.

So. Let’s get started.

First, I want to talk about what Kal literally says in the novels.

Kal fell in love with Ilippi, and Ilippi fell in love with Kal. That’s indisputable. 

But love isn’t enough to maintain a marriage. Here’s a list of what Kal admits to doing, and being:

she never really embraced the culture, but he still

moved her to a mandalorian town as soon as they were married 

he left for long periods at a time to fight in someone else’s war

he wasn’t there for Ilippi when she needed him, including being away for long periods to leave her to raise 3 young children alone

he couldn’t understand nor empathize with her

she never argued nor fought with him until he expressed intent to bring his son to fight with him on the front lines 

They look like innocent misunderstandings in a list to people who aren’t aware of what these bullet points really ... indicate together (except that last one ... like, don’t defend that last one, seriously). For those who are aware, though ... these are all red flags of an unequal marriage doomed to fail AT BEST. (at worst ... well.) 

I understand wanting to paint the picture of the marriage of a soldier in active duty. I do. And I understand wanting to sympathize with that image. I do. But, ... spouses of people in active duty have access to resources and support. They have support systems and support groups, and a community.

That’s just not the situation that was Kal and Ilippi’s failed marriage.

Ilippi did not have any support, at all.

“What are you talking about, Izzy?” Let me show you. (This goes under a cut due to how long it’s gotten, complete with quotes from the text.)

The sweet medicinal scent of the resin reminded [Kal] 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.

--- Imperial Commando: 501st, pp 125

The emphasized indicates that as soon as they married, they moved away.

Shuror is a small rural mandalorian town located in Mandalorian space, in the middle of what could be described as forest country.

Ilippi is Corellian. She grew up on a city planet, and her entire family (that we know of) lived on Corellia.

Corellia is located in The Core. Shuror is in the Outer Rim.

There is no easy way for Ilippi’s family to see her, or her them, in this situation. There’s no way for them to be involved with their grandchildren. There’s no way for her to seek support from them if she needs it.

In addition to not being in easy reach of support from her family, she also never took to being a mandalorian. 

[Kal’s] wife wasn’t Mandalorian. He’d hoped she would embrace the culture, but she didn’t ....

--- Republic Commando: Triple Zero, pp 12

Even after all the years of marriage, which at that point was at least eight years of living in Shuror, she was still explicitly stated to not be mandalorian.

Mandalorians, as much as I love them as a people, are not kind to outsiders. For someone to live among them for as long as she did and not become mandalorian by assimilation points to her being  isolated, at best. The community did not, or could not, do more than the bare minimum to support her because of her status as a perpetual outsider, if they supported her at all. 

And, most likely? They didn’t.

So. To reiterate: Kal moved a city girl from Corellian space, in the core, to the Outer Rim --- to an isolated town in the middle of nowhere, immediately after they married.

For those of you who don’t know ... this is a huge red flag. Regardless of how you feel about Kal personally, none of the above puts Ilippi in a good position. 

It makes life very difficult for her when it doesn’t need to be, and when it never needed to be. 

The next point makes the above worse, because not only was Ilippi fresh out of the city and dropped into the country, completely out of her depth and in need of support in adjusting to the new environment ... but Kal then left her, for long periods at a time, to fight in wars.

Kal, her only support when she was in Shuror, left her alone.

Ilippi thought the beskar’gam was dashing when she married Skirata, but his long absences on deployment started to wear on her with three small kids to care for ....

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 105

I don’t know if you know, but raising even one small child takes loads of energy. It is difficult, beyond difficult, and help? Is sorely needed. And that’s just for one small child.

Ilippi had three children, and they were all close in age. Tor at age 7 coming on 8, Ijaat age 6, Ruusan age 5. All of them roughly one to two, maybe three, years apart. Children, at these ages, are very active. Very energetic. And get into all kinds of trouble.

And Ilippi was, essentially, a single mother raising three children with Kal occasionally present, by his own admission. And Kal knew it was difficult. He knew that she struggled with it. 

But not only did she struggle with it, so did he.

Skirata knew that Darman might never arrive home, throw his kit bag on the hall floor, and sob on his wife’s shoulder, relieved and grateful and swearing it would be his last tour of duty.

--- Republic Commando: Triple Zero, pp 271

This is in Kal’s POV chapter, and the way this is framed, is what Kal believes is normal --- and we can assume that it is normal for him. This is how he views married life, this is what “wife” means, to him.

The tragedy of this is that, for Kal, war is all he ever knew ... but even if that’s the case, even if he could never change his ways, he did not have to isolate Ilippi the way he did.  

The simple solution would have been to stay on or move back to Corellia, to let her parents help her raise their children. They could have moved into a mandalorian neighborhood on Corellia if a mandalorian connection was absolutely needed, or moved to a port city on Mandalore that would have been more comfortable and open to outsiders.

Kal, himself, never mentioned having any family in Shuror. There are no reasons, no explanations, no ties for them to move to a mandalorian town. 

She was unhappy. An aruetti in a mandalorian town? There was no way Ilippi could ever have felt welcome, no matter how long she lived there. But, byKal’s own words, she never fought with him ... until he threatened their children.

Now, understand, from Kal’s point of view that’s not what he’s doing. But from a rational person’s point of view? He absolutely is threatening the life and welfare of her children --- that, again, by his own admission, he was often absent from helping in raising them. 

The fights began when [Kal] wanted to take their two sons into battle with him. They were eight years old, old enough to start learning their trade; but she refused, and soon Ilippi and the boys and his daughter were no longer waiting when he returned from the latest war.

--- Republic Commando: Triple Zero, pp 13

and

[Ilippi] hit the big cultural wall—Tor was coming up on eight years old, and Skirata wanted to do as all Mando fathers did, to take his son to train and fight alongside him for five years.

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 105

“Isn’t she overreacting, Izzy?” You might ask. I would argue ... maybe if it was anyone else and not Kal, maybe. But Kal never shied away, in any of the above passages nor the one I’m about to quote, exactly where he tended to fight, where he intended to take them.

“Where are you?” [Tor] asked. “Who’s—oh, wow, that’s the Republic army.”

“They’re clone troops,” Skirata said. My boys, too. “I’m on the front line.”

“You always were.”

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 105

He fully intended to take small children with him into active warzones, to fight with him on the front lines.

Not to be culturally insensitive but war is no place for children. It doesn’t matter how capable you think they are, it doesn’t matter what culture is in the forefront here ... the fact is, an active warzone is not a place to raise a child.

Significant emotional, physical, and mental development occurs in the ages before ten years old --- and then upon hitting ten, even more important development occurs. War, and the trauma of war and constant fighting, significantly impedes that development and causes long-lasting issues.

And that very knowledge is specifically stated to be things that the clones are unfairly dealing with. Yet, it’s framed as unfair for Ilippi to react like she did when Kal made it clear he intended to take Tor with him to the front lines.

Verd’goten is a coming of age test. But nothing about the verd’goten lists war as a requirement. 

To be clear: Ilippi never fought with Kal until Kal directly threatened the life of one of her children. And yes, it is a threat on his life. Realize that Ilippi is still a civilian with values from The Core, where children don’t have to be soldiers until they’re old enough to make that choice for themselves. Not to have that choice made for them by the person who is supposed to be their parent.

Trust me, I understand where Kal is coming from. But just because I understand where he’s coming from doesn’t make Kal any less wrong. Not all mandalorians commit their children to war. To assume that that’s the only way to come of age is ... a tragedy. For the child, and the parent who thinks it.

I also want to revisit how Kal remembers that moment, because it is important how it’s remembered, too.

Skirata could picture Ilippi now, five-year-old Ruusaan and six-year-old Ijaat clinging to her legs, crying, while she yelled that no baby boy of hers was going to war. From that argument—and she shouldn’t have yelled like that, not in front of the kids—their marriage went rapidly downhill. The next time he came home on leave, the kids were with her parents on Corellia, and she told him she wanted a divorce.

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 105

From the bolded, you can tell that Kal just ... doesn’t understand why she reacted as strongly as she did. To frame it as if she was being irrationally emotional, as if her reaction was too extreme for his request, shows that Kal fundamentally doesn’t understand Ilippi as a person. 

On a fundamental level, Kal doesn’t know Ilippi. 

And, on a fundamental level, Kal doesn’t know himself. 

But Ilippi clearly knows Kal. Kal, for all his apparent sensibility, is someone to be described often as stubborn. Once his mind is set, it is difficult to get him to change it. That’s in his nature, in his character, and who he is.

And Ilippi knows this. She knows how he is, and knows that he’s stubborn.

If Kal brings it up once, that he intends to bring Tor to the front lines with him, then not only does he intend to do that to Tor, but also Ijaat, and then Ruusan. And Ilippi, in a mandalorian town, surrounded by a culture that is in support of Kal, has no power to stop him. 

And when her children are threatened, and only when they were threatened, did she suddenly fight him --- and fight him with such an extreme reaction that he wasn’t expecting it and couldn’t empathize.

But, again, to reiterate:

Ilippi was isolated in a town she couldn’t fit in with

surrounded by people that would always view her as an outsider

raised three young children close in age mostly without Kal’s help

with no support system and no one else to rely on

for eight years

To say that this wasn’t an expected or rational response of Ilippi would be to be blind to neglect and isolation, and have no empathy with a single parent trying to raise three children without help.

Kal is a big part of this communication problem. Often he left, came back, made empty promises to never leave, only to go back on his word and do so. On top of that, he could not empathize with her.

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.

--- Imperial Commando: 501st, pp 125

By Kal’s own admission, Ilippi never had a way to contact him if she needed him --- or him to contact her to let her know he was okay. It was, literally, a luxury she never had. 

Long absences, with no way to know if he would ever come home. Eight years of this. Three children to explain that no, she didn’t know when they would see their buir again, and no, she couldn’t comm him to check up.

But also, that’s eight long years to go with Kal being married to a woman he fundamentally did not understand and could not empathize with. He didn’t even realize that waiting was hard. And Ilippi still stuck with him, for manda knows what reason, up until she couldn’t for the safety of their children. 

And even then, even after, Kal still couldn’t see that that was the reason that broke them apart. To Kal, Ilippi was acting irrationally. He did not even try to consider why she reacted the way she did. 

I would have raised you smarter, son .... Please don’t let [Ruusan] be a mercenary. I wasn’t there to teach her how to stay alive.

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 106

He genuinely believes he would have raised them better, smarter, wiser, capable. And for all we know, he may be right. But even now, thirty years later, he’s still incapable of understanding how and why Ilippi didn’t see it that way.

“But Izzy! She drained him dry, took every last credit he had!”

Well ... yes and no.

Here’s the thing: Kal NEVER, not once, anywhere, ever mentioned that she asked for his credits. To rephrase, Ilippi never asked for his credits. She asked for a divorce, but that doesn’t mean credits. The way mandalorian marriages work is different than what we do. And with Kal being the way he is, remembering slights as he does, for him to never mention that she asked ...

Isn’t that a little weird of a detail to leave out if she literally drained him dry? Isn’t that a thing he should have said, at least once?

But anyway, moving on from that point ... child support is a real thing. She had three children to raise as a single parent on Corellia. That was, quite literally, the least that Kal could do. 

And it was, literally, the least he did.

“That’s not fair, Izzy, she already divorced him.” And?

Listen. Ilippi gave him eight years to sort out his bull shit. She gave him eight years of her life trying to make things work on his terms. And it’s very clear from Kal’s point of view that that didn’t work out --- but it’s also very clear that Kal never, not once, tried to make things work on her terms. It was always his way, or no way.

A marriage, a successful marriage, requires compromise. It requires communication. It requires empathy, and sacrifice. Ilippi sacrificed everything. Kal ... didn’t. 

Kal didn’t sacrifice anything. Yes, he put his life on the line again and again. He repeatedly went to war as his method of living. But the thing is that that’s not sacrifice. It’s not.

Sacrifice is moving back to Corellia, so that Ilippi would still have contact with her parents and her friends who could help with the kids when he wasn’t there.

Sacrifice is facing the fact that being away for long periods of time to leave Ilippi to raise three children without help is detrimental to Ilippi’s well-being, Kal’s well-being, and the children’s well-being. 

Sacrifice is accepting that Ilippi suffered alone and that he needed to find a way to stay with her and help her when she needed him, and help the kids because they needed him. Children need their parents at that age.

Even if it meant giving up fighting on the front lines and finding a different way.

That’s what sacrifice would have been, on Kal’s end.

Furthermore ... Kal continued to send credits, but he never talks of even trying to be in their lives as they were growing up. For him, it’s a simple situation: wife divorced him, therefore don’t try to stay in touch with his children.

But like ... life is not like that. Joint custody is a thing. And just because he couldn’t take them with him to war on the front lines doesn’t mean he couldn’t try to be in their lives, or even that he didn’t deserve to be in their lives.

But at no point, anywhere, in any of the novels, does Kal even mention it.

We get a lot of commentary on how Ilippi took his money, but never that Kal tried to stay in their lives and was rebuffed by Ilippi. In fact ... it’s the opposite.

Kal didn’t try to be a father to his own children after Ilippi left. That was something that should have been a responsibility to him, something that should have been important to him ... and he just ... didn’t.

The next time he came home on leave, the kids were with her parents on Corellia, and she told him she wanted a divorce.

It took thirty seconds, Mando-style—a short oath to wed, and a shorter one to part. Skirata handed her all his earnings and left for another war.

Every credit. Every credit I didn’t absolutely need to survive, until the day I left for Kamino. Then I was dead and gone.

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 105

Kal is a martyr for giving up his credits, but Kal never gave up his time or effort for actually being involved in the rearing part of child rearing. And the sympathy we’re meant to feel for him is ... it isn’t deserved. It just isn’t.

“Don’t your sons talk to you any longer?”

“Not often.” So I failed as a father. Don’t rub it in. “Obviously they don’t share the Mando outlook on life any more than their mother does.”

--- Republic Commando: Triple Zero, pp 12

They don’t talk to him. Never how he tried to talk to them and was rebuffed, or rejected. He never, not once, even brings up that kind of thought --- but him giving Ilippi all of his credits comes up in at least three separate occasions, and in one of them it’s framed as if she bled him dry.

Note again that, not once, anywhere, did he ever mention that she asked for credits. With Kal being the way he is, remembering slights as he does ... he never, not once, says that she asked him for credits. Only that he gave them to her. Only that he gave her every last credits.

Like ... Kal, to his biological children, is the absent father. He’s the guy who wants to be a father in theory, but just wasn’t mature enough to be one in actuality, and used his profession as an excuse to why he couldn’t be there --- not once trying to change, but expecting Ilippi to pick up the slack, because that’s what a “good mandalorian wife” should be doing.

And when he couldn’t use his profession as an excuse, Ilippi provided one for him with the divorce.

“But what about his sons! They divorced him! That’s obviously Ilippi’s fault, right?” No, actually ... no.

His children did not divorce him until years later, when they were already adults and Ilippi was dying, and Kal was already on Kamino.

That’s many, many years later.

Passage first:

“But that’s the good thing about being Mando. If you don’t get the family you want, you can go and choose one yourself.” [Kal] looked suddenly older and very sad, small, crushed by time. “You going to tell her? Okay, Etain, my sons disowned me. In Mandalorian law, children can legally disown a parent who’s shamed them, but it’s rare. My sons left with their mother when we split up, and when I disappeared to Kamino and they couldn’t locate me, they declared me dar’buir. No longer a father.”

“Oh my. Oh, I’m sorry.” Etain knew how serious that would be for a Mando’ad. “You found that out when you left Kamino?”

“No. Jango brought the news back that they were looking for me about ... oh, four years in? Three maybe? I forget. Two sons and a daughter. Tor, Ijaat, and Ruusaan.”

“Why were they looking for you?”

“My ex-wife died. They wanted me to know.”

“Oh ...”

“Yeah.”

“But you could have told them where you were at the time. Jango could have talked to them.”

“And?”

“You could have made your peace with them.”

“And?”

“Kal, you could have explained to them somehow and stopped it.”

“And reveal we had an army in training? And compromise my lads’ safety? Never. And not a word to any of the boys, you hear? It’s the only thing I ever kept from them.” 

--- Republic Commando: Triple Zero, pp 217-218

I want you to understand something about this passage: it’s framed specifically to make Kal the martyr, and it’s truly a tragedy. 

But here’s the thing: Ilippi died. And the way Tor speaks about it...

“I just want you to know we’re sorry. It was about Mama, that’s all. We just wanted you to be there when she was dying.”

--- Republic Commando: Order 66, pp 106

She was dying, and there was time for him to go to see her before she passed, had he been in a position to do so. The tragedy isn’t that he wasn’t --- the tragedy was he hadn’t even tried to explain why he couldn’t. 

Tor, Ijaat, and Ruusan’s mother --- the sole parent to raise them, because by Kal’s own admission he was rarely there when they were growing up --- died. And Kal had disappeared. 

To rephrase: Kal was not there when they needed him most. 

I know. Kal had a hard decision to make, and he knew his children could survive on their own. But his sons choosing to disown him? Is not because of Ilippi or her “influence,” or in any way her fault. What she did was die. And what Kal did was abandon his children.

It was a hard decision, but he still abandoned them. Explanations, or not. And they don’t know that --- and they never learned that, because he never chose to tell them, even after the start of the war. 

Whether or not he felt it was his place to explain to them his absence, it doesn’t matter. He made his choice, and that choice has repercussions. Don’t make excuses for Kal. He’s an adult.

And don’t blame Ilippi for something she couldn’t control because all she did was have the audacity to protect her children and then die.

Even if the text would have us believe otherwise, the fact is ... Kal is to blame for his failed marriage. Kal is to blame for his sons declaring dar’buir. Kal is to blame for Ilippi leaving him, and then divorcing him.

Kal is to blame for the major relationships in his life failing. And he never learns from them! He makes the same exact mistakes --- withholds information when he shouldn’t, fails to empathize with others, fails to see from others’ point of view, fails to understand or even try to understand where anyone else is coming from or feeling. 

Everyone around him grows as a person, but Kal remains stagnant from Triple Zero through Imperial Commando, and that’s the real tragedy of his character. He cries, he grieves, he admits to fucking up --- and then he goes on and repeats the exact same mistakes, the exact same grievances, fucks up in exactly the same ways. 

And poor Ilippi had the audacity to know she, and her kids, deserved better.

[julyzaa]

I have this headcanon that Kal Skirata and Ilippi Jiro's divorce becomes the reason Mandalorian couples sign prenups before they marry.

Like 'hey, you don't want to end up losing your beskar'gam because your dumb ass forgot how divorce works' kind of thing

[clonewarslover55]

Hey! I know you are probably busy, but could I request anything (headcanons, one shot, drabble, whatever you choose) where Ilippi lives and the commandos gain a lovely Corellian step mother. Pretty please!

I’ve read the books like four times but not this past year. I completely forgot that llippi is Kal Skirata’s ex wife lol

So you want a universe where Kal doesn’t get divorced from her? Or one where they do get divorced and she just comes back later on and they get back together? 

[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

[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.)

[mamuzzy]

@ithillia you always know how to word my problems with the fandom.

It really saddens me that you can't talk about the characters without someone going karentraviss over them. I want blorbo blurbs, not worrying about the fictional character's social status based on real life and feeling shame for enjoying a FICTION.

If I had tell you that I have dealt misogyny in my past workplace or in my family, you wouldn't give half as shit than you make a fuss about fictional characters. Because I'm a real person, I'm more abstract to you than Etain, or Ilippi or Besanny. You wouldn't take me seriously, you wouldn't raise a finger for me as a person, but you would kill over fictional women you don't even respect because "they are all cardboard plates" to you and you conveniently decide who is a good woman representation and who is just "karen traviss". Fuck off with your perfect women representation!

Who the fuck are you to tell who is a good women representation???

I don't want perfect women! I want my lonely city-girl Besanny! I want my not beautiful Etain with self-esteem issues and horrible life-choices! I want my collateral damage Jilka! I want my confident badass scientist Uthan who survived in isolation for three years and who dyes her hair! I want Ruu who made up with her father after all those years! I want old snarky widow Ny to find love! I want badass Ilippi who dared to divorce from his husband when she felt it was enough! These are the women you call cardboard plates.

I want Ordo and Besanny or Fi and Parja be happy in canon, and I can make Ordo stupidly gay for his boyfriend and Fi a fuckboy in my fictions simultaneously however I want!

Seriously, you act like the author pairing up her own characters are the most sinful act a person can do, when you do the same on tumblr, shipping blorbos.

fucking hell.

I just can't take this fictional misogyny debate seriously.

...

...

Yes. I held this in for a very long time. I'm not sorry.

[mamuzzy]

-- BLORBO BLURB --

Collection of my observations, little essays using the source material, headcanons, or I'm just pissed off. Don't hesitate to send me asks or comment under the posts, if you have thoughts or you are interested in my takes about something specific! Headcanons, ships, putting a character on a mental dissecting table, etc...

So far it's just RepComm, but I'm open for conversation about TCW and TBB too.

Mind that I don't follow canon live actions shows (still sulky about Cassian Andor for Kyle Katarn-reasons) and I'm not interested in the Sequels nor any shows that are trying to build up that continuation.

Probably do a few Touken Ranbu and N.O.L.F. related post too in the future.

I don't tag and label anything with pro/anti/critical shit.

REPUBLIC COMMANDO

REPUBLIC COMMANDO AND MENTAL ILLNESSES/CONDITIONS ----- Nulls and their eidetic memory: Difference between eidetic memory and hyperthymesia and how it affects their mental health ----- Nulls and ASPD: Is "psycho" a slur?

----- Nulls and ASPD: Black & White Mentality ----- Nulls and ASPD: Kal is the Null's moral compass ----- Kal and NPD: Kal can't be the bad guy in his own story

Character and relationship studies ----- Kal Skirata & Ilippi Jiro: From Memory ----- Kal Skirata & Ilippi Jiro: More about their relationship now with quotes ----- Kal & Nulls: Nulls are very much aware he is a manipulative bastard and they are fine with it ----- Kal & Nulls: Kal and the Nulls are eachother's savior ----- Etain & Darman: Darman had everything in Etain he wanted. But Etain wanted to appease Kal. Other: ----- Women of RepComm: You really should accept that people after 30 don't need rolemodels anymore. Sure I don't. Warning: angry rant

MANDOMETA ----- Cuy'val Dar: why the Cuy'val Dar didn't riot against Jango Fett during the training, and what exactly is considered child mistreatment in Mando culture? ----- Cuy'val Dar: Additional thoughts

HEADCANONS - FANSTUFF ----- About Prudii: I tried to invent him a personality ----- About Prudii: Knowledge is pain ----- About Prudii: He is a little shit ----- About Ordo: He is highly competitive ----- Little collection of Null headcanons ----- OrdoMaze headcanon: They fight a lot ----- Religious blurb: Kal is the Devil himself

THE CLONE WARS

Anakin Skywalker and BPD: When I got diagnosed with BPD, the first fictional character I've found in the topic was Anakin Skywalker. It made me understand him and love him.

[izzyovercoffee]

Hm... hi? Sorry for any inconvenience, but I started reading RepComm (I'm at the beginning of Order 66, so I don't know if that happens later) and I can't help thinking about Tor and Ijaat meeting the Nulls, before and after they left Kal? Or if Ilippi survived, what would a meeting between the Nulls and her be like? And it made me realize that characters who don't like Kal are either just quoted or never appear or are dead or are framed as wrong and reading this is such an exercise in patience

ps: btw, love your meta! that's what made me want to read RepComm, to be honest, and sorry for the english, it's not my first language 

I’m so sorry it took me so long to reply!!! THANK YOU FOR THE ASK. And also, just thank you. Truly, thank you. I wasn’t sure if people still read the meta out there or not, but I’m glad that you enjoyed them!! also your english was beautiful, I understood what you said perfectly

but also LMAO at: 

reading this is such an exercise in patience 

I TRULY FEEL THIS IN MY HEART OF HEARTS

Even after all this time, I still LOVE the Republic Commando books. I do---but rereading them is definitely an exercise in patience, now that I see all the problems and the glaring inconsistencies. But I still see the good parts, even great parts, and I keep coming back to them lmao 

BUT TO CIRCLE BACK--- 

I can't help thinking about Tor and Ijaat meeting the Nulls, before and after they left Kal? Or if Ilippi survived, what would a meeting between the Nulls and her be like?

I also think about these things a lot lmao

I’m often torn on the idea of the Nulls meeting Tor and Ijaat, or the Nulls meeting Ilippi if she had survived her illness. The way Prudii talks about her, in Order 66, makes me feel that they’ve internalized the bitterness and the resentment that Kal very likely felt early, early on in their development when he was young, and broke, and alone on Kamino surrounded by people who hated him. 

Kal has long since softened (on her, on his marriage failing, on his biological children disowning him), since he defends her against Prudii’s statements, but the sad truth is that the Nulls learned that bitterness and that resentment from him, originally---as they were raised and trained by him. It’s truly hard to say how they would have reacted in meeting her, and I feel like all of the Nulls would have held very radically different opinions on the matter. 

But, depending on who was or wasn’t present at that meeting, and any subsequent meetings ... would likely change how they react or respond to her. With Kal present, there’s always an underlying need for them to perform in a way that would further secure his love in them (regardless of whether or not it’s “necessary,” though to a degree it is---because of the way he withholds affection when someone doesn’t do something he agrees with) versus showing their true selves, or expressing their true opinions beyond his hearing.

We saw Prudii’s, and his bitterness and resentment likely reflecting Kal’s when he was a decade younger, but I think Ordo would have been much more polite. A’den would have been curious, no doubt, but nosy. Jaing can’t help but be intimidating, even if maybe he doesn’t want to be, and Mereel can’t help but be excessively charming and warm. Kom’rk is a toss up---his choice to keep his distance from the core is one that can be read as a choice to stay as far away from Kal as possible, and it’s one that might lend Kom’rk to being kinder and far more understanding than the rest of Ilippi. 

I wonder, actually, if there would have been jokes about the one woman who tried (and failed) to “tame” Kal (as those kinds of jokes tend to go, I guess?) but if there would have been some respect there, too, for the attempt. Had Ilippi lived, had KT been less biased against her female characters, there’s an entire world of potential, just in highlighting Kal’s faults and how everyone can work around them (or how he could / should work on them). 

I mean, okay. I have obviously softened somewhat on my frustrations towards Kal as a character, and I find myself thinking a lot these days about the Kal we should have gotten, the Kal a large chunk of the fandom think we have (but don’t), and the Kal the books believe they gave us. I think about the way the books should have gone if they were faithful to the narrative arcs they started before they were derailed by excessive soap-boxing and a doubling-down to bend to biases that broke the momentum because they just didn’t make sense.

One of the major arcs being character growth---owning up to one’s faults and mistakes, and making a conscious effort to become a better version of yourself through blood, sweat, and (literal) tears.  

And maybe part of that would always be hindered, or outright cut short, because Ilippi never survived to tell her side of her mistreatment and failed marriage---and also because we were never, really, given the opportunity to hear Tor nor Ijaat’s own memories. 

I struggle to think about how Tor and Ijaat would have dealt with the Nulls. I get the feeling there would be a lot of insecurity in all of them---and a feeling of being replaced, and some lingering resentment and anger towards each other (that should be directed at Kal, but for a lot of reasons, just like in real life, would be misdirected instead to other people). 

Miscommunication is a major sore point for Kal in general---he has a huge inability to actually express his love in his actions, or clarify his intentions, which may be good, in order to separate them from his missteps, which are often terrible. Tor and Ijaat, if they’re well-adjusted men now, would find it hard to not see what being raised in that kind of environment had on the Nulls. They have a lot of issues as a result of their genetics, yes, but a lot of their lingering and prolonged mental illnesses can, in some part, also be attributed to the “affectionate abuse” Kal gave them, and I wonder if Kal’s biological sons still carried lingering emotional and mental scars from their childhood---or if they had so little direct interaction with Kal that what few moments they had were uniformly positive---and if their resentment towards him genuinely was, as they said, because he wasn’t there when Ilippi was dying from her illness.

In this scenario, actually, if Ilippi survived... would they still have divorced Kal from their lives and rejected his fatherhood entirely? All of that hinged on him not being present, him being away at Kamino, during her very last days. 

So much of this also undermines the idea of Kal’s control over the Nulls, and the rest of the clan. If Ilippi not only survived, but thrived, away from him? If Tor and Ijaat are living full and fulfilling lives without him in it? If Ruusaan never “needed” to be rescued in the way that she was? They all would have stood as examples of a life beyond making personal choices and decisions that were dictated by him, and would have, at the very least, been a life that could stand in direct comparison and be just as messy and complicated as real life tends to be. 

also WOW i really .... uhhh I really got away from the point here. I am so sorry LMAO I GOT CARRIED AWAY. IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME since I got to ramble about repcomm, and I really fixate on a lot of the missed opportunities these days, because there are SO MANY. But I guess that’s what fic is for, right?

RIGHT???

Absolutely no pressure, BUT if you do decide to write fic about this, or do your own meta or exploration, I am ALWAYS excited to see what people come up with. I haven’t really been on tumblr that much lately, but I see now that The Mandalorian is out there and people are discovering (or rediscovering) Republic Commando, there’s a wealth of new stuff out there I desperately need to catch up on.

ANYWAY LMAO I’M SORRY I RAMBLE SO MUCH I JUST! THESE QUESTIONS ARE SO GOOD. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE ASK. 

And I hope this find you well, ner vod.