#even as they complain about the sheer amount of training they're still doing it with him

[meanderfall]

it's been weeks since i watched the episode but im still thinking about I, Monster, and how Raphael stopped Michelangelo and Donatello from interfering in that fight because Leonardo has "got more than one monster to work out of his system."

Raph is honestly just so good at reading and understanding Leo when he's not doing good, and is pretty much always there to support him with his actions.

So this moment is both so sweet to me bc Raph, in this moment, got the closest to understanding the shape of what Leo is struggling with and is trying so hard to support him and help him work through it, but it's also heartbreaking to me bc it isn't enough. In any other season before this, this moment probably would've been what Leo needed to shake off what's troubling him, but it isn't bc what's happening goes much deeper than any of them know how to deal with or help.

[kvothe-kingkiller]

I'm not the best writer when it comes to writing convincing essays or whatever, but I'm going to give this a go because it's something that I've thought for a long time that I've never seen anyone really acknowledge unless I bring it up first. (also I am sick and don't really want to do much editing here, just rambles, so good luck)

I think that when most (not all, but most) people get salty about 'modern art', they are not salty about the things people think they are salty about. When they say "this isn't art", theres an important bit that they're not articulating. What I think most of them mean is "this isn't art that should be in a museum." "this isn't art that should cost this much" "this isn't art that should be getting this kind of recognition". And there is a huge difference between that and just saying "this isn't art"

Firstly, all of the arguments about why modern art is in fact art straight up....don't apply. They don't address the problem, they don't answer the question. This isn't really anyone's fault per se, given that it is addressing the literal statement, it's just I think most people aren't actually thinking that literal statement.

So then what do they really mean? Like I said, I think they're trying to articulate why they're frustrated that this art is in a museum when "they could do it". So when you say "okay then, you do it" that doesn't address the core issue, which is "but why is this getting recognition for it, and I would get none" because yes, unless they are famous, they would get Zero recognition for it. Nobody would be lining up to buy their art, no one would ask to put it in a museum. Best place they can hope to have this displayed is a fridge door.

When you look at a piece of fine art, most can see the amount of effort put into it. They see how much training it took to get there, they see how much time it took to put those strokes on that canvas and they can go "yeah, that took skill, that took effort, not everyone can do that. it deserves recognition". And a lot of modern art does take skill, it's just skill that isn't easily noticeable to the average viewer, such as rothko's color fields, they do take a lot of skill and effort, you just can't see it if you don't know. But a lot of modern art that people complain about isn't something that has skill that's not recognized, it just requires very little technical skill at all (not a condemnation, btw).

When you're talking about something 'anyone can do' that piece's value is often not a recognition of skill, or even of the message, it's a recognition of a name. It's similar to having a gucci bag because it's a gucci bag, not because you care remotely about the bag. Yes, art isn't displayed because of how much effort went into it, but it's a huge industry that many many people are making money through from sheer name recognition alone.

Like that one painting of that one artist's (I forget which artist and my cursory google isnt finding it, but also its just an example) where it got replicated and sold to a bunch of people for a large amount of money so they could all have something that had a small chance of being a genuine painting by the artist, that's an excellent example of the fact that a lot of the gallery-level art world is Entirely about the name, not about the piece itself. If someone just made that painting but didn't say it could be from the artist, then who cares?

If you go to ringo starr's art website (https://www.ringostarrart.com/) then you can see that some of his work, especially his older work, is of that category of stuff that many people would say "I could do that" to. For instance, these two? 1,400 and 6,000 pounds respectively for a PRINT of these from his website

....okay this one I kinda enjoy.

but still. 2,000 pounds for a print.

All of this is possible because he's ringo fucking starr, he can sell his paintings for whatever he wants. If I tried to sell those for that much, I'd be laughed out of the room. All of it is just clout, it's just how big your name is and how much you can use that as leverage.

This is not to say that other forms of art don't also have this issue, they do, especially with people devaluing creative works so much today. But you could probably get a few commissions if you sell realistic art or do commissions of people's characters, while you Cannot get any money trying to sell stuff like ringos art unless you already have an audience who will buy it.

This does somewhat lead into a discussion of how art curators pick which artists are 'good' somewhat arbitrarily, but that's a whole other post.

Doing art for 'yourself' vs for other people or money is also a whole other post, one which I've actually seen quite a lot on here. But suffice to say if your response to all of this is 'just make art for yourself! Why do you need recognition?' then maybe go find some of those posts. It's not bad to want recognition, and it's not bad to question why that guy is getting much more recognition for the exact same thing you're doing just because he has a bunch of rich friends who are able to host fancy parties and go 'hmm. yes this is good art.' (not that all modern artists had rich friends, but they did almost all get Extremely lucky in some shape or another that led to them now being widely accepted as good artists).

You cannot make a living off modern art unless you're well known, and if you happen to be well known already, you could likely make a living off modern art without having any experience, and that's what a lot of people hate about modern art, even if they don't articulate it. While some would, most wouldn't say "my five year old could do that" to someone's personal piece that they made themselves and hung up in their home, or that their friend made and gave to them. They say that about the pieces bought for thousands of dollars or millions of dollars.

And I don't want people to think that I do hate modern art, I don't (though this is tumblr, so I'm pissing on the poor just by writing this). I don't hate any of the famous modern artists, I don't think modern art isn't art. I do hate the industry that says their art is suddenly worth something just because some rich fuckers somewhere decided they should be, and anything I tried to do in a similar vein, original or not, would be better suited to sit in a coffee shop and continuously marked down and never sold.

So next time you say "so why don't you make it", maybe ask yourself if you would buy it.

[sleepytime-fics]

Whatever You Do, Don’t Get Attached - Chapter 1

Warnings: minor kidnapping, injury

Summary: You just wanted to get through the day. Why did your friends dare everyone to try that fruit?

Maybe it had chemicals that made you hallucinate. Yeah, that has to be right. There's no way that you're in a kids show about mutant turtle teens that just so happen to be trained in ninjitsu. Yeah. Definitely.

But life liked to throw curveballs at you. And now you're stuck. Now all you have to do is not get attached. Because they're not real.

And maybe.... You're not real anymore, either...

Previous 💚 Next

The past few days have been… interesting to say the least.

Yes, you're thankful that Dale and his mom took you in oh so kindly. But… that was probably the best thing that happened to you all week.

First of all, it turns out everyone was just as short as they seemed in the show. While you're thankful that you've seemed to have gotten shorter, you were still 5'6", also known as still taller than seemingly ¾ of the NYC population. So, even if you weren't panicking about literally everything about your current situation, you'd still stick out like a sore thumb.

After you'd woken up on your first official morning in 2-dimensional hell, you were greeted with the fact that you'd have to enroll in school. Because you simply had to. Doesn't matter you knew nearly everything you'd have to learn that year, you still had to take it. Dale's mother was at least kind enough to help you shop (or at least give you money to, she didn't want you spending the money you already had, bless her soul.)

While out shopping, you were floored by the sheer amount of variety the shopping mall offered. Punk? Had that. Cottagecore? There’s a store for that. Literally any way you wanted to dress, you could. You looked like a kid in a candy store, trying on clothes after clothes after clothes.

After choosing your (incredible) wardrobe, you decided to work on gathering some school supplies. It’s not like you had much of a choice, seeing as though it was kinda decided without you. It seemed so much duller, even if everything was so vibrant your eyes wanted to melt out. It was most likely because school was just that draining, that it affected even perfect-world fictional 2D teenagers too.

When you returned to the apartment, Parker, Dale’s mother, had told you that you’d have only 2 more days of no school because apparently the school was ‘excited for a new student’. You were pretty sure this was just a punishment for bull-shitting your way through your last school year though. So after eating a love-filled meal, you immediately flopped down on the couch with a groan and fell asleep.

On the third day, Parker suggested that you tag along with Dale on his way to school so that you’d know your way, and then you could explore before returning. Now if this were the real world, you would’ve sworn she’d wanted you dead. Fortunately, this was a cartoon world. Meaning New York was much more safe than the real one, if you ignore the literal supervillains.

The trip with Dale wasn’t… bad, per say… It was just a bit uncomfortable being shoved up next to an acquaintance at best by a bunch of strangers on the NYC subway, but you couldn’t complain much. When the two of you arrived at the school, it was almost disturbing at how clean the outside looked. You briefly wondered if school really was tiring out these teenagers after all, but you turned and left before you let yourself think too hard on that.

Exploring wasn’t too bad, you were thankful for the lack of muggers in the alleyways. Everything was so bright and happy, but still just as busy as real New York City. You dodged and weaved through crowds on the sidewalk, gawking at all the sights to see. Everything looked so pristine and clean-cut, like a ‘glass half-full’ version. Street vendors had lines going around blocks, and performers had piles upon piles of cash in their respective instrument cases. Even good ole’ Lady Liberty looked like she just had a fresh coat of copper-green paint put on her.

While you had noticed a theft going on, it was just the Foot Clan stealing paper. At least you figured out what part of the series you’re in. You began to call out, telling someone to call the authorities, but you were caught by Foot Lieutenant. Instead of acting like a normal thief though, he kinda just glared at you. You glared back, about to call out again when he started to make paper origami. Remembering that not only would this make a villain, but it would also absolutely kick your ass, you swiftly backed off. You’d like to keep your second chance at life a little longer, thank you very much.

Now you are on the fourth day of being in this weird cartoon version of Earth. You wake up with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Glancing over at the clock on the wall, you see it reads 8:48 am. Deciding it’s a good enough time to start the day, you throw your blanket off of you to force yourself to wake up. After laying there for a good five minutes, you finally get up, walking over to the bathroom to freshen up. You quickly hop into the shower, making sure to keep the water on the colder side so as to not rack up the nice lady’s bills.

After stepping out of the shower, drying off and putting on some clothes, you go back into the bathroom to finish up. You splash your face with lukewarm water, washing your face with a cleansing soap. As you were putting on some face lotion, a sweet voice came through the door.

“Are you hungry, sweetie?” Parker’s voice sang. You smile to yourself, glad to have been lucky enough to end up in her home.

“Yeah, but don’t feel like you have to make me breakfast!” You quickly reply, rubbing in the face lotion. You rinse off the extra, drying your hand on the hand towel hanging off the wall.

“Oh, don’t worry! I’ve already got breakfast made, hun!” Parker continued, “Dale already left for school a while ago, but I re-heated some leftovers for you!” You could practically feel her smile through the closed door, she’s so sweet.

You open the bathroom door, walking quickly to the kitchen where Parker was finishing up plating your breakfast.

“Now I have to go, so eat as much as you like! Enjoy, dear!” Parker said, grabbing her purse off of the table. You thank her graciously, waving her off as she exited the apartment. The food was delicious, as always. As you eat, you try to plan out your day. Since it's the last free day you have, you decide to try and explore the city more, and possibly get a few ‘thank you’ gifts as well.

Once you finish up, you wash off everything you used, as well as every other dirty dish. By the time you finally leave the apartment, it’s already 10 am. Better late than never , you think, making you have everything you need before locking the apartment door behind you.

Descending the complex’s stairs, you pull out the tiny map that you snagged from a vendor’s station. The map only has a few things marked on it, mainly tourist attractions, but you already have a plan on how to use it. After finding the closest attraction to the apartment complex, you simply highlighted the route to the gray square that represented your building. You smirk to yourself, proud of your innovation skills.

As you opened the door to the outside world, a gentle breeze hit your face. You smile, as the weather couldn’t possibly be more pleasant. You gently tuck the map back into your pocket, making your way towards the main road. The bustling city almost intimidated you, but you nod as you remember your path back. You quickly fell in line with the local New York citizens, letting the wave of the crowd guide you. You glanced around as you walked, admiring how the buildings towered over you and the other pedestrians.

…

You had been walking so long that your legs burned. It was fun at first, visiting plenty of vendors, magicians, artists and such. Unfortunately for you, you had one major oversight; saving enough energy to get back… well to the apartment.

Your phone was still broken, and while you did have money it certainly wasn’t enough to get it repaired and especially not replaced. Therefore, you couldn’t call Dale or Parker to come fetch you. While taking the subways sounded appealing, just the thought of having to read all those complex routes had you sweating.

And so, you gave in and began to walk back. The sun was already setting, and it felt as though you weren’t making any progress. Just as you were about to sit on a bench to rest, a bright orange and blue blur shot past you. Dazed, you nearly completely toppled over. You had almost thought you imagined it, until you saw two large men running towards you. Very familiar men, at that.

One was bald, with warm brown skin and a tiny brown goatee. The other had curly red-orange hair tied back into a tight bun, with a long and thin mustache. Not only did they both have colored jumpsuits on, blue and red respectively, but they also carried dogs in pouches you only saw parents of babies use when they don’t want to use a stroller.

The most prominent thing about them, though, was that you couldn’t see their eyes. You felt shivers as you realized that this was the first scene of ‘Mystic Mayhem’ , something you did not want a part in.

You quickly tried to move out of the way, but they still shoved you down and out of the way. You fell with a grunt, but your eyes immediately widened as you saw your tiny map fly out of your pocket and follow the two men. You curse in your mind, quickly standing up and dusting yourself off to go chase that flying paper.

No matter how fast you ran, the paper was always just out of your reach. As the men shoved the poor civilians of New York, you sprinted right behind them. It was only when they turned into an alleyway that you literally dived to grab the map. You celebrated under your breath until you heard the men approach you. You lean up, looking up at the towering people above you. They glared, and you shrunk back. You begin to crawl backwards, hoping that they’ll ignore you.

They have to, because what if they don’t run into the turtles? You wanted absolutely nothing to do with this world, and you wanted even less to critically alter it. Sadly, this place just seemed to love to play with you, because you weren’t getting out of this situation that quickly. You gulped as the men began to discuss you.

“Baron Draxum needs a test subject, would this creature not be viable?” The blue-clad villain asked.

“They have seen far too much, we would need to dispose of them anyway.” The orange one replied.

“H-hey,” You spoke, gaining their attention once again. “I swear, I won’t tell anyone what you guys are doing. I promise, over my life.” You stutter out.

The pair exchanged glances, and you couldn’t even blink before they had you tied up and strung over the orange one’s shoulder. You try to wriggle free, but they’re far too strong.

You started to sweat as you suddenly heard familiar voices. Specifically those of Brandon Mychal Smith, Josh Brener, and Kat Graham, A.K.A. Michelangelo, Donatello, and April O’Neil A.K.A. the very group of characters you definitely did NOT want to meet.

“OOOH! HUMANS!!” You heard Raphael yell, followed by a comical zipping sound, “Initiate plan H.” he continued in a hushed voice.

“Uhm, excuse me, sirs!” You heard Leonardo say, in a horrible ‘nerd’ voice, “Can you direct us to the local Science-Fiction convention that we are currently dressed for~?”

“Snazzy Alien Turtle outfits, huh?” Michelangelo followed up with a nasally voice.

“We are just normal, typical humans who got lost in our normal… everyday human lives nailed it .” You rolled your eyes at Donatello’s attempt to cover up their identities.

“Dude, you’ve gotta make it to rehearsal.” Leonardo loudly whispered to Donatello.

“Give to me creature,” The villain in the blue jumpsuit said sternly. “How you say, pretty please? Or I’ll destroy you.”

You gulped as the orange-wearing guy flopped you onto the ground and joined his partner to intimidate the turtles. You took this as an opportunity to try and wiggle to freedom, but it was no use.

“Really? You think you’re gonna step to our friend?” Raphael asked, although it was a rhetorical question. “Rookie mistake, hoss.”

“And if you step to my friends for stepping to you… for st-stepping to me? You gonna have to s-step to me, mkay?” April managed to get out, and you noticed how she tried to pose bravely.

“You do not intimidate us.” The man continued, “With or without your fake nerd voices.”

“That was actually my real voice.” You heard Donatello speak up.

“Well you better get intimidated!” Raphael loudly said, “‘Cuz we’re like nothing you’ve ever seen!”

“What’s wrong with my voice?” Donatello continued. And with that, the two men transformed into armored beasts. They attacked the turtles and April, and you silently tried to sneak away.

No matter what you did, you couldn’t escape. It must be something mystic , you thought as you desperately tried to free yourself. You didn’t even notice how long you were struggling, that is until one of the two grabbed you again.

You heard some gasps, but that was the most you got before you were promptly knocked out by a strong punch to the head.

…

Cold. Wet. That’s all you got from your surroundings. You fizzled in and out of consciousness, hearing what you would assume to be a raging battle. You hadn’t really woken up until the very end, when you heard a shout.

“AAAHHH- AYy! I don’t know if this but the lab is about to explode.” You heard someone say before there were screams all around. You sat up, dazed, and immediately held your head. It was throbbing, and the sounds of screaming and falling rock-

Wait… falling rock?! Oh shit oh shit oh shit , you thought, looking up, only to be met with the sight of stones about to crush you. Suddenly, there was a weight in your lap! You look down to it, and it’s Mayhem! Mayhem teleports the two of you to April.

“Little Guy! You got them!” April exclaimed happily, “Can you do your thing, and get us outta here?” She asked, while you and the four turtles beneath you were screaming. Mayhem chirped, and all seven of you were teleported just in the nick of time.

As soon as all of you were out, Michelangelo immediately began to make the portal. You stood frozen, too much in shock to do much. You only moved as April pushed you out with the others, Draxum’s lab exploding in the distance. All of you skidded as you fell to the floor, and you recognized the sound of something breaking.

“Oh no, Splinters doohickey!” Michelangelo said as all of you stood up. You heard April and the others talk, but your head was ringing too much to properly hear her. Slowly, you began to wobble your way out, using the brick wall as help. Unfortunately, the big blast of the oozesquitos flying out caused you to tumble and fall to the ground for the second time today.

“Hey, wait!” You heard someone call out behind you, and Michelangelo hopped out in front of you and offered you a hand up. You hesitated, shaking. You didn't want to join them, as fun as it might seem. What if you mess up the story? What if you change it for the worse, and Leo ends up falling to his death after Draxum throws him off the roof, or Albearto gets too violent for any of them to handle or…

Even as you stared up with uncertainty, Michelangelo remained with his hand out. Eventually, you gave in, and he helped you stand up. He, along with the others, were then subsequently flabbergasted when they saw you stand up to be taller than Leo.

“Uhm… tha-thank you…” You managed to stutter out with a slightly hoarse voice, “For uhm… getting me out of there.” You gave a weary smile to Michelangelo, letting go of his hand.

“Whaaat? Of course, we uhhh… I mean,” Mikey began to say, but quickly changed to his ‘nerd’ voice. “Of course.” He finished, and you chuckled. You turned around, and saw everybody staring at you two.

“Wha- Hey! We totally saved someone!” Raph realized with a grin. “We’re like- superheroes!”

You smiled softly at their giddiness, and silently slipped away in the direction of  Parker’s and Dale’s apartment.

Hopefully you haven’t fucked things up…

[sanstropfremir]

excited to see what you have to say about todays episode cause like the other person said, the stunts from the atz/skz/btob also looked lowkey awkward to watch lmao. i feel like the dance part cant really be judged against each other just based on how different they were. also the ikon/sf9/tbz rap performance was much more khiphop inspired while skz/atz/btob were basically "kpop group's rapline does a unit stage" if you know what i mean lmao. im curious to see if you're going to talk about the judges and how some of them were picked solely to have exposure👀 or if there might be a reasoning behind all of them (the dance girl i understand but like... okay)

also, i have to ask if you watched rtk and if you'd feel comfortable sharing who you think should've won/if the boyz deserved it? as a deobi i know its not that big of a deal but i was lowkey proud and stunned by them during rtk and while i think they're doing good on kingdom too, their performances became way too overwhelming/doesn't leave an impression after for my little brain 🙃 i love them tho. also not that you care but i wish they would represent more their full dance line, because juyeon is doing amazing but it can be mentally and physically tiring to be the ONE guy who does all the dance and center parts, like do it as a trio or smt dont push it all on him while there are ten others on the team

i hope you enjoyed my (very) long review and my apparently literally opposite opinions from everyone else! that’s a lie they’re not opposite, i'm just looking at very different things. thank you for also clocking that the performance stages were two different styles! i'm fairly certain the rankings arent out yet for that stage at least, so i'm not envious of the judges having to decide between two performances that are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum. also i did make a mistake in my review, i just watched the first half of the episode and they do in fact call it the dance stage, so that’s on me. my point still stands though, group dancing is still dancing.

as far as the judges go........why are we upset about them.....? honestly they all seem fine to me. i mean, i can understand people being pressed about s*ju because they make people mad by just existing, apparently, but that doesnt negate the fact that they have nearly two decades of experience in the industry. if they arent going to have changmin do any judging than they might as well get some other sm vets, since yanno, they did kinda establish the industry (sm, not s*ju. although s*ju is the first kpop group i ever remember hearing way back in like, 2008. in canada. before having a personal device with internet access. sooooooo). and i mean, we all have opinions on the separation of art and artist and everyone can draw their own boundaries of who they choose to consume the work of, and that’s valid. i have lots of those lines too. but you can’t deny the sheer amount of experience, and shindong is a director and music video producer, so he ain’t stupid. i dont see any problems with having a lineup of some idol veterans, a frankly incredible choreographer, and some producers. oh wait, are people mad about the rookies????? why are people mad about the rookies?????????????? huh????????????? have people forgotten that rookies spend literal YEARS training before they even debut??? they’re not incompetent, they’re members of the industry that have worked hard to be there and have valid opinions and abilities to recognize what they think is good?? also.......what’s wrong with doing something for exposure? how do you think groups get popular in the first place? fuck, the prize for kingdom is a variety/reality show! which is exposure! you know that’s how arts marketing works, right? if you want people to listen to your music, you have to advertise it to people. you need an audience. if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it sell thousands of albums? thousands of tickets? why are you invalidating artists on the basis of wanting more exposure? are you worried they’re not going to ‘judge fairly’??? you know none of these groups' reputations are going to be hurt by their placement in the show, right. these are all high level groups already, with established brand rep. THEY are doing this show for exposure too. is this what people are complaining about on twitter?? so every stan account promoting fancams and comeback dates under hit tweets has to delete them now because artists aren’t allowed to do anything for exposure anymore. ?????? am i too old??? what happened to make people think that exposure was bad???

i have only watched the stages from rtk, and not while the show was airing, so i dont really have any context for the show as a whole. do i think they deserved to win? i dont really think anyone ‘deserves’ to win a competition show, but they did produce a couple of phenomenal stages, so was i surprised? no. personally i would have picked pentagon because they had the best vocals and also they took a few more conceptual risks that paid off really well. their cover of follow is a fantastic remake and honestly we need more dramatic remakes like that, ones that really change up the sound. i made a couple of conclusions about tbz in my episode four review that are relevant here (they’re at the end of the tbz section). although tbz are good performers, the problem is theyre trying to showcase those skills by being heavily conceptual, but their creative team is ALL over the place and nothing is landing. I dont think they’re doing terrible in kingdom, they’re doing very well, but their creative team is not providing them with a stable conceptual base. i know i make designing sound relatively simple, but it's not at all. i'm just smart and very good at my job. there are a lot of mediocre designers out there, and tbz just do not have a good creative team for kingdom. and i do actually think it's a shame that they’re fronting juyeon so much, because one of their strengths IS their group work. they have a more of a contemporary flavour than most other groups at the moment and they can do some really sharp synchronization that should to be seen more. i wish they had actually done group work for the performance stage, because we’ve already seen juyeon do a solo stage, plus he has solos in all the stages. give him a break and let the others have a chance to do something at least.

[thesaucepack-blog]

Hey y'all first post on here I absolutely love the prequel era and the clones and as awesome as The Clone Wars is I've always wished we got to see more of them in live action on the big screen so I've been working on a movie pitch about Commander Cody and his life and legacy after Order 66, especially since he's an awesome character with not a lot of real canon closure. Here's what I've got:

Basic Synopsis: Commander Cody, now in charge of stormtrooper training on Kamino after the fall of the Republic, along with Stormtrooper Boil find an old message from Captain Rex, informing them of his findings concerning the inhibitor chips in their heads. It leads them on a path to the realization of the true evil of the Empire and their role in serving that evil.

_______________________

Plot Basics:

Cody is the head of the training facilities at Kamino. He is in charge of preparing all new human recruits for the Stormtrooper Imperial Army now that the cloning program has stopped. The movie opens with a scene of the men training in a hardcore simulation. They fail, and Cody complains to superiors that the human recruits are inferior to his clone brothers.

After being shut down and scolded/threatened, he walks away from the holocaster angry and a flashback fades in. A Clone War battle. Clones bravely attacking multiple battle droids at once as blaster fire erupts through the sky. He jolts from his sleep suddenly as the flashback ends. Cue monotonous day by day training and rain walks and general sucky position.

Cody and ARC Stormtrooper Boil (not entirely sure if arc troopers were still a thing after the clone wars but my idea is that he was promoted to an ARC trooper near the end of the war and remained that rank as a stormtrooper), who is back from an assignment to help finish training of a new group of ready to go soldiers, talk in a mess hall. Cody is frustrated with the lack of loyalty and patriotism and sheer skill these men possess. Boil agrees and tells him of several men he lost in the last assignment including a few of his last clone brothers because of their badness. Cody knows he lacks a certain amount of loyalty and respect from his men but doesn't care. In his opinion they haven't earned any reason for him to treat them well.

Cody and one of the few remaining ARC Stormtrooper Clones, Boil, launch on a quest to discover the control chips in their brains. It's triggered when Cody stumbles upon a message from Rex after he discovers the secret about the chips himself. The sudden shock of the situation triggers feelings of bitterness in Cody towards the growing Empire and resentment of his actions in taking down the Republic. He eventually convinces Boil of this as well and the two do their best to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy. "Don't you see Boil?! We were used! We were manufactured in a labratory for a war that was over from the beginning and we didn't even know it. The Separatists may have lost the war but look at us now. Look at The Empire. The Republic lost too. We're fighting for a cause that no longer exists."

They manage to sneak into a medical facility and remove their chips. Immediately after removing them all of Cody's feelings towards his old Jedi general come flooding back. He collapses to the floor overwhelmed with grief.

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The movie will follow along two plotlines, Cody and Boils search for the truth about the Empire and the clones part in it's creation, and several flashbacks showing different parts of Cody's life; his training with ARC Trooper 17, Rex, and other clone commanders, where he first met Obi-Wan and their bond was born; the battle where he gained his scar; and several of him on a specially recruited task force of clones to help Vader hunt down remaining Jedi. It'll show his initial reactions after ordering the death of Kenobi and how him and other clones are no longer haunted by the nightmares of the potential future like Tup and Fives (which I believe are nightmares of order 66 caused by the chips in their heads), but nightmares of what's happened, and the deaths and betrayals that have occurred by their hands. Meanwhile in the present Cody and Boil discover the true nature of everything that has occurred and what they've done, who they've killed, the terrible things they've been forced to do, and immediately begin to plan revenge. They sabotage the base and provide a way for the rebels to launch their attack on Kamino that's been pictured in video games before. They're discovered whole doing so, and Boil gives his life defending Cody from the men they trained together so Cody can pull the last switch and give the rebellion a way in. As the building around him comes crashing down, Cody surveys the scene calmly, at peace for the first time in his life. "For the Republic. For the General. For my brothers."

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