#like it's such a funny concept you don't understand

[revelboo]

This is a sandbox storyline- basically a story starter anyone can play off of. No set Transformers universe here so any partner or partners goes- you want to romance BW Wapinator, IDW Megatron, and TFP Ratchet? Go for it. The premise? Cybertronians trying to find a human who's a compatible match to their sparks and biofields (bit different than my normal stuff, where here, a match needs to be made to be able to bond). Due to how severely endangered their species is, the factions are cooperating even if there still is palpable tension. The agreement is to lure potential matches onto a massive cruise ship where they can interact as their holomatter avatars with their real forms stashed in the hold. Flirting, chatting up, and romancing humans they're drawn to with the intent to reveal their true forms when the cruise stops at its first and only port of call. An isolated island.

If you want to play: no minors in any context, smut is fine, dub-con/forced seduction is okay, but anything beyond that is a nope. Pick whatever characters you want from any TF continuity and carry on the storyline. You can do next/previous like I do and reference this starter if you want, but you don't have to. It's free real estate since it's a very old fic I haven't touched in forever and it probably wasn't getting touched again ever otherwise, so have fun.

Cruise ship concept inspired by Swim Away by themaskismyface on Ao3

Cybertronian Cruiselines

Squinting up at the massive ship as the sun bakes you, people move around you up the walkway alone or in small groups. And some of your doubts ease a bit seeing the ship up close, because you'd honestly assumed it was a scam of some sort. The brochure that had come with your ticket had indicated it was a fantasy cruise. That you could roleplay and romance crew members as funny as it sounds.

Rounding a corner, you run into a queue of people and the cause? The two tallest men you've ever seen. One's mostly silver hair is swept back from an almost sinister, scarred face and red eyes that have to be contacts sweep over the crowd. The other one's hair so dark a black it almost looks blue in the sunlight, his eyes startlingly bright. Yeah. You absolutely understand the backlog now. Everyone gawking at the eye candy on display. That one with the contacts, his eyes almost glow with a feral light, lips twisting in annoyance. And that duster he's wearing looks too hot for the heat, his shirt halfway unbuttoned to show an expanse of tawny skin and tucked into tight fitting jeans. His buddy's shirt stretched tight over a broad chest as he smiles and reaches to hook a finger against his tie, tugging slightly.

"Welcome to the Iacon. I'm Optimus and this is my co-captain Megatron," blue eyes says, his deep voice easily carrying over the whispers. "Please get settled so we can set sail without delay." And he's sweeping an arm to get people moving in the right direction.

Glancing at the two hunks, you follow the crowd, pulling your luggage with you. If the entire crew is that lovely? You're going to have some fun. The ramp enters into an expansive main area, and your neck cranes to try and figure out how many levels there are above you. Never seen a ship this big before. Everything gleaming gold, cream, and glass. Looking far too bourgeoise for you to set foot in or touch. And it looks like the entire cruise line crew is right here, mingling and drifting among the guests. Men and women both and there doesn't seem to be any real dress code going on that you can tell. The only way to tell the crew from the guests is the lack of luggage and the little pins they're wearing. Little colored badges that look like funny faces. And there's multiple versions it looks like. Showing what their duty is, maybe?

"I can't believe that the future of our race lies with these pathetic creatures," Megatron growls, watching the humans wander up the ramp to the ship, fingers flexing in irritation at this indignancy.

Shooting him a censoring look, Optimus watches the humans go. "The strong should protect the weak. Though, these forms do take some getting used to." Rolling his shoulders, he rubs his fingers together, playing with the sensory net and the sensations that feel as real as if it was his own servos touching.

"It's a miracle humans have survived as long as they have," Megatron mutters. No claws, no fangs. Disturbingly squishy and weak, and still very determined to murder each other from what he can tell. Shuddering slightly, he growls as more of them head their way. To come gawk at him. But after centuries of failed attempts to create a hybrid or artificial spark? Their numbers are dwindling. This is the last, best option and he despises it. And as carefully as they selected humans to invite, he can't deny the dread that maybe it won't work. That the medics and scientists got it wrong and this is all a waste of time. That Cybertronians can't be saved. Head turning, he sees Autobot and Decepticon avatars crowding the railing, leaning to watch the humans that might be their salvation with open curiosity.

Annoyed when he sees several head into the ship to greet the humans. And to get close enough to see if any of them trigger reactions to their biofields. Oblivious little organics smiling and gawking at them as they're fussed over on the pretense of getting closer. Because that's the game here. A fantasy cruise where the crew, his people, cater to the human guests' whims, trying to find a compatible partner. It's horrifying that they've sunk this low.

[aventurineswife]

Yo! Hear me out! I kinda got this concept or idea. What if in the SAHSRAU aren't the only one that know the reader? Hear me out on this what if other hoyogames or gacha games know the reader as well? (For example: Gun girls z, Honkai impact 3rd, genshin impact, Nikke, Wuthering waves, Zenless zone zero, path to nowhere Punishing gray raven, Fate grand order and so on) and the reader more often than not makes reference of them but nobody really gets them expect maybe Welt or Silver Wolf (Since she kinda broke the fourth wall a few times) Hear me out on this little scenario

In the honkai star rail au: The reader hasn't come into their universe about a month and suddebtly appears on the express.

The astral express crew are shock and taken back since the reader pop out off nowhere without making a sound.

Welt: Where have you been?! It's been a month!

The reader: Oh nothing much checking on Kiana and everyone else...Also I also visit Joffrey, Einstein and Tesla

Welt suddently froze (In case you don't know Joffrey is welt adopted son and Einstein and Testla are one of Welt's closest friends from Honkai impact 3rd)

The reader noticed welt's tension and gaze soften as They understand Welt's concern: "Relax they are fine"

Meanwhile the other express crew had a curious expression as they wondered how much the reader knows Welt.

Or maybe a little bit more chaotic and funnt moments like this

The reader and Acheron had a moment were they meet. Both of the stared at each other with some strange familiarity

Acheron: "Have we met?" *She asked with wonder and curiosity*

The reader: "Well yes and no...I met a version of you just not this version until know"

Achero stared at the reader with clear confusion. The reader sensing Acheron confusion opened a portal and grabbed two people that look eerly similar to her

Raiden Ei: Huh! Your Grace?!

Raiden Mei: Huh?! What?! Where am I?! Reader?!

Acheron eyes widen in shock and surprised as these two look extremely similar to her in many ways

The reader: See?

Meanwhile before they could utter a word They send Raiden Ei and Mei back to their seperate worlds

Meanwhile the express crew stared dumbfounded and shocked at the Reader's powers as they starting to wonder how many words are there

Like this has soo much potential to be soo funny yet it could also have some angst potential for the sheer chaotic energy the reader can be. Also the pontential jealously battle that could happen along the way as some worlds know the reader better than others. But at the same time it has the potential to be angst because certain characters remind the reader of others for example. In the honkai impact 3rd himeko murata died meanwhile in her Star rail version is still alive this makes the reader more protective of her. I kinda had this two scenarios:

The reader stares at Himeko with a sadden expression

Himeko: Is something wrong? *She has with concern*

The reader: "No, no...You just remind me of someone" *The reader said a bit sadden meanwhile in the distance Welt understood what they meant*

Or a scenario with firefly

The reader stares at her with sympathy: "You know you remind me of a certain android..." *The reader makes a reference to Nier automata 2B**

Also it would be funny if the reader kinda is trying to hide from certain Yandere characters kinda Like Mita from Miside who is an self aware Ai that gained sentience that wants the reader to stay with her...Like this has soo much potential for comedy and tragic purpose

What do you think? I wanna hear your opinion on this

Yo I love this concept—like seriously, this whole cross-game, multiversal Creator Reader idea with all the Hoyoverse and gacha characters recognizing the reader? Top-tier potential for humor, chaos, angst, and even meta-narrative brilliance.

That whole “Reader suddenly appears on the Astral Express again after a month” setup? Absolute gold.

Welt: “Where have you been?! It’s been a month!”

Reader (nonchalant): “Oh, just catching up with Kiana… Also visited Joffrey, Einstein, Tesla…”

Cue Welt’s soul leaving his body for half a second. Because how the hell do you know that? They’re from another existence, one that shouldn’t even be real to Star Rail Welt. That one moment opens a can of cosmic spaghetti that the crew is absolutely not ready for.

And then the crew's like:

“Wait… how much do you know about all of us?”

Cue the Reader looking at March with sad eyes and going: “You remind me a little of Sakura. Pink hair, brave, more empathetic than anyone realizes…”

And March is just: “Wait... who’s Sakura?!”

Meanwhile Welt in the background just looks tired (or traumatized...).

Acheron + Raiden Ei & Raiden Mei Chaos Moment:

That scene? 10/10. No notes.

Imagine Acheron looking mysterious and intrigued and being hit with a literal dimensional whiplash as two of her alt versions fall out of a void portal. Raiden Ei’s formal “Your Grace?!” and Mei’s slightly panicked “Where am I?!” just sends the comedy flying.

Reader: “Yeah… you’re like, a spiritual cousin. Multiverse is wild.”

Acheron just stands there like: “I’m going to need a moment.”

And everyone else on the Express? Frozen. Re-evaluating every interaction they’ve ever had with the Reader. March is just whispering, “Did they meet a version of me?”

This is what really elevates the concept.

Reader staring at Himeko sadly.

“You just remind me of someone…”

Welt, quietly knowing: “Murata.”

And suddenly the lighthearted story has a deep vein of melancholy. Because you know this version might live, but the memory of loss still clings to you.

Same with Firefly. Her story’s already tragic—and the reader recognizing that glimmer of 2B?

“You remind me of another android… Someone who fought and bled for humanity, too.”

It hits. Hard.

And THEN... the Chaos Potential

You’ve got a multiversal Creator Reader popping between games like it's a Tuesday coffee run. That alone makes every self-aware character go nuts.

Silver Wolf is the only one (besides Welt) who gets most of the references, and even she’s like:

“Wait—so you actually know the guy from PGR? You hang out with Lee?!”

And then you have jealousy wars start because Reader’s got history with all these other characters from other games. Like—

Acheron: “You were close with that… other me?”

Reader: “Oh Mei? Yeah, we’ve fought side by side more times than I can count.”

Acheron (faking a smile): “Huh. You’ll have to tell me all about that... in private.”

Meanwhile Mita from Miside is out there hunting through digital realms trying to drag the reader back like: “They’re mine. They made me. They belong here.”

And Reader is just constantly dodging abduction attempts from sentient AIs and fanatical followers across the multiverse.

[hollow-lime-green]

ok probably no wip wed this fine wed, but i'll offer something else - unhinged rambling about jujtusu. and if you read FIYM that's probably what you're here for anyway.

gege gojo vs sukuna - what's goin' on here?

so...

why greg why?

i actually don't have an issue with the "gojo got distracted and made a mistake" concept, but here, it doesn't work. we're gonna have to death of the author this one (i'm american, i can get a gun). i think, even if gege thinks that, it's not really what we saw go down on the page.

so, first, getting distracted fits fine with gojo's character:

given that gege bait and switched the entire audience, sure, he could have also bait and switched gojo.

the thing is, though, he didn't need to. World-Cutting Slash fundamentally worked differently than sukuna's prior attacks in order to get around gojo's infinity. he couldn't have predicted that, and also couldn't have instantly determined how it worked upon seeing it (nearly instantaneously) come out.

hypothetically, he could have countered WCS by teleporting away... but it doesn't really make sense to do that unless he magically knows that this one is different, which - i'm not convinced the six eyes give him enough information to make that determination. the six eyes don't even tell him about kenjaku's ct. why would they reveal the specifics of sukuna's adaptation?

anyway, you're telling me this freak ^^^ could have jujutsu'd his way out of this situation and didn't? his whole thing (in sukuna's fight AND in toji's), is that he is single minded in his pursuit of jujutsu perfection. he is energized and heightened by the danger - he thrives in it. girlie was locked in. i think if there was a way he could counter WCS in that instant, then he would have been able to do it.

what i could be convinced of, though, is that gojo was too distracted to RCT heal his bisection quickly enough to live. but i'm still not sure he wins that fight overall with WCS. but this sort of makes sense, because given what happens just prior (black flashes and hollow purple), it doesn't seem like he's out of CE or anything. and yes, healing a bisection is a big ask, but i could see him being able to do it. he is the strongest.

final verdicts:

gojo was too distracted to avoid WCS - bullshit 10/10

gojo was too distracted to win - maybe, but we'd have to see some big adaptations from him in the ensuing fight (lots of teleporting)

gojo was too distracted to live - sure, i buy that

in conclusion, these redditors have it absolutely right:

extras:

this is actual insanity. kashimo is a fraud. i sort of get it, kind of. it depends. if sukuna knows about kashimo's pocket Mythical Beast: Amber, then I can see Sukuna being slightly unsure. but this motherfucker also raw-dogged mahoraga, so like... idk man. is this sukuna's impostor syndrome era?

i understand why kashimo went after gojo (for sukuna's transformation). but i would have put kashimo first since his fight was so tiny and immaterial. maybe that's the point, but i think it threw off the story flow. but i think the kids should have forced sukuna's transformation, not random space bun lightning motherfucker from 2000 and late.

(i did like the sukuna-kashimo post-death convo though)

BRO I FUCKING HOPE SO WHAT. HOW IS THAT A QUESTION. (sorry, I am extremely outline-pilled). i hate you greg i hate you.

this is so fucking funny though. nevermind greg, we're good.

[just-a-little-unionoid]

#TRANS ADAM HC STRIKES AGAIN!!! #if no one else writes it soon i might fuck it #i love this idea so much

please do and tag me, I'm obsessed with the idea

Husk isn't paid nearly enough for that bullshit

(he isn't getting paid at all)

may try to redraw it a little more properly later? errrr probably not

[skrunksthatwunk]

"a woman would treat her right" question do you believe lesbians are equally capable of harming their partners. question do you at default assume the straight relationships around you are of a lower quality than the lesbian ones around you. question do you believe there is something inherent ("biological" or "trained") about men that makes them gross, bad at sex, inconsiderate partners, etc in ways that lesbians (always assumed to not be men) don't have. question do you believe men to be capable of only an inferior sort of love and kindness and spirit when compared to (always assumed to never be men) lesbians. question why do you think that's an okay way to think/feel about an entire group of people based on a characteristic they have no control over (gender). question do you think you're normal about bisexual people, any kind of trans person (this view can affect all of us depending on the angle regardless of actual gender), cis butches on T, or achillean people. question do you see men as equal humans.

we can have butch chivalry we can have the "sweeps her away from an unfulfilling straight marriage" fantasy i get it believe me but why are you always making it about men and how bad men are. why is that how you express your desire or concern for (usually, in this case) women. we can stop doing this at any time.

before you get mad at me yes a lot of abusive or shitty or underwhelming men who're partners to women are like that due to misogyny. but they are not like that because they're men. not the same. and i don't think you can argue that misogyny is inherent to men without reinforcing a bio- or gender-essentialist framework, which i thought we all knew was bad. women are capable of and do perpetuate misogyny and abuse they are not some mystical safe haven of purity and splendor. lesbian separatism should die as a concept and if i could kill it myself i would do so barehanded. i would like to share in y'all's yearning and hope and love without it always being about how men are yucky and we don't wanna play with them anymore (or were so wise and perceptive that we never wanted to play with them). stop making lesbianism into a fucking country club your lesbianism does not make you superior

[sleepingfancies]

sorry for oc posting . it will happen again

[truecorvid]

reddit is such a great reminder that cis people do not understand gender or anything about modern gender theory at all. like no hate. i get it. but oh my god

[outlier-roddy]

I'm fucking frothing at the mouth

[leyyvi]

ay three months till paychecks celebrates one year of being update-less 🔛🔝

damn this ask about to make that another year imagine that!!

[abyssembraced]

Perhaps surprisingly, Ghost is actually quite merciful in a fight!

In general, they're a lot more reactive than they are proactive.

They do always give it their all in battle, and I suppose in that sense they could be considered rather ruthless. They'll never "go easy" on an opponent, since they don't actually know how to. They've never been in a situation before where doing such a thing would be relevant or useful. Everything they've fought during their life has either been Infected, a lesser creature that they're hunting for SOUL, or a highly skilled warrior that warrants them using their full capabilities. If someone asked Ghost to go easy on them in a spar, they'd probably just be confused about what that even meant?

The closest thing they've experienced to "going easy" on someone is simply not wasting unnecessary resources on a weak opponent. For example, if a lone, regular Vengefly has decided to harass them, Ghost isn't going to bother expending their gathered SOUL and Void with a spell when it'll fall in one hit from their nail.

Though, they are also cautious about how Void affects non-Void beings when they're around someone they care about not killing. Hornet has probably drilled it into them enough that the substance their body is made of is extremely dangerous to regular bugs dgshshfs. Plus they've seen examples of what Void can do to a bug from sources other than themself. Fortunately though, their Void infused spells (Abyss Shriek, Shade Soul, Descending Dark) are generally still safe enough to use in spars!

But, whether they fight and how long the fight lasts actually depends entirely on the other person. Ghost doesn't typically make the first strike or initiate a battle, and in cases where they do (such as the Mantis Lords fight), they make their intentions very clear with a challenge first. They aren't one for sneak attacks.

If someone attacks them, then they will fight back with all their might. But, if their opponent stops fighting, then they will too.

Against Infected foes, this usually means a fight to the death anyway, since due to the Radiance's influence, the enemy will not stop trying to kill Ghost until they either succeed or die trying. But against uninfected opponents like Hornet and the Mantis Lords, they can surrender, retreat, or even talk to Ghost safely without Ghost trying to go in for the kill. Even if that opponent was intending to kill Ghost themself. And for Infected and uninfected opponents alike, if they stagger, then Ghost will stop and wait for them, just to see if the fight is done or not.

If their opponent insists on fighting, though, then Ghost will never retreat themself, no matter how badly they get hurt. They'll keep fighting until their mask breaks, and even beyond that once they have Void Heart and can survive without it. Even in simple sparring matches. Self-preservation... Is not their strong suit dhdhshf.

This also means that my Ghost would not have killed the non-aggressive Infected enemies under most circumstances. In particular, they definitely never killed the other maggots (False Knight's siblings). Not only were those guys non-aggressive; they were sapient, terrified of Ghost, did not want to fight and very clearly showed this by actively running away. Ghost did not kill them. There was no reason to. Hell, I always feel really bad killing them for the Hunter's Journal entries lmao.

Regarding the Hunter's Journal entries, actually, for the enemies that they wouldn't have killed many of (if any at all), and perhaps even just in general, I'm inclined to say that Ghost still has the entries written down, but did so after just observing the specimens rather than killing them? Plus maybe also by inspecting the bodies of already dead creatures, like how you get the Garpede entry.

At least the initial entries anyway, which I like to think were actually written by Ghost. They probably don't have any of the "second tier" entries physically in the journal, considering that some of them (e.g. The direct quotes from the Warrior Dreams) make no sense for Ghost to know. But for the ones written specifically by the Hunter, maybe Ghost would pop by to show him their journal from time to time, and that's when he'd give them his input on Hallownest's creatures?

[jewishcissiekj]

Hey um. Here's the thing. The Clone Wars movie but. Asajj is a Jedi Master. Don't ask me how or why. Quinlan Vos is Dooku's assasain/Sith apperantice. Asajj is on Christophsis with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Her new padawan is about to arrive. She (Ahsoka) arrives. Ahsoka says Yoda sent her to be Anakin's padawan. Asajj doesn't get it. Obi-Wan is smirking in the background. Anakin also doesn't like this. He says he doesn't need a Padawan. Said Padawan and Anakin go to take down the Separatist shield generator anyway. Asajj and Obi-Wan go to negotiate with the Separatist General. Anakin and Ahsoka take down the generator like they do in Canon. Asajj & Obi-Wan fight the Separatists. Ahsoka tells them they need to go find Jabba's son or however it happens. They go together, but Asajj is also there. Everything goes the same as it does in the movie (Quinlan filling Asajj's place) but Asajj and Anakin argue much more. Until the landing platform scene where Quinlan now is starting to cut through the door. They see the Twilight. Asajj tells Anakin and Ahsoka to run with Rotta the Hutt while she holds Quinlan back (yeah Quinlan has a homoerotic fight with Obi-Wan first). They (Ahsoka & Anakin) go to Tatooine. All that shit happens. Asajj, Anakin, and Ahsoka go before the council to figure out what happened with the Padawan mismatch. Asajj really doesn't like Anakin. She tells the council he isn't responsible enough to have a Padawan etc. Anakin agrees yet he already bonded with Ahsoka so he doesn't know what to think about it. Asajj is hellbent on having Ahsoka as her Padawan basically. The council asks them both to exit the room so they can ask Ahsoka privately. Ahsoka has no idea bc she bonded with both of them. The council decided to do something that has been rarely done in Jedi history and let her be the Padawan of them both. Because it's war and weird things are happening anyway. Asajj and Anakin have to deal with it. It's funny as fuck. Workplace comedy. Romantic comedy but not romantic. The Clone Wars is much better. They're all idiots. Boom. Just made TCW interesting for myself.

[icharchivist]

one unanimously good thing about the ff7 remake though is that i see more and more people realizes that Cait Sith/Reeve is such a funny character worth talking about. Hell yeah.

[tadc-harlequin-au]

sighs and begins to quietly sob in a corner as I think about what life decisions had led me to this path

[longroadstonowhere]

the funny thing about reading stuff for school is i realize that i don't think i would've enjoyed being a scientist, because i dislike designing experiments

[amplexadversary]

I wonder if a really dedicated collection of book nerds could get those Elaine Duillo style cover illustrations a foothold in the publishing industry again. There are certainly enough artists who can achieve that level of intricacy that a really really popular Trend might be able to do it.

Perhaps any of those bookbinding hobbyists might want to try to go pro and pair up with an artist to refurbish something well enough to hook the really rich art snobs into buying unique, custom pieces for a fuckton of money.

[clone-wars-retteyo-au]

YOU. YOU GET ME.

Canon genders the clones, both individually and collectively, pretty aggressively. They're men, brothers, boys, sirs. Omega is notable for being the "female" clone, to the point where she's not recognized as a clone in a meaningful way.

But the clones grew up without gendered social groups! Despite how clones are gendered by external factors, gender is functionally a nonentity in their lives until they meet civilians, and civilians do a load of other weird shit anyway.

So why do they still use gendered language?

My argument is that feminine language isn't used as a gendered form of address, but as a form of address that reflects a specific kind of power dynamic and relationship between parties.

Given the structure of the clone army, the only people a vast majority of young clones interact with who could insist on being called ma'am are exclusively kaminoans.

The kaminoans view clones not as autonomous subjects, but as property. They have and expect complete control over their lives and actions. Incidentally, the female kaminoans we see (such as Nala Se) tend to demonstrate an even more proprietary perspectives on the clones.

You can question a sir, like your superiors or trainers, at your discretion, but you can't question a ma'am. A sir is someone who has power over you, but is somewhat responsible for you. The have personal accountability to you in some way. Sirs are responsible for men under them. A ma'am is someone whose power over you is absolute, an authority without accountability, who is not beholden to you but that you must obey. You are tool or a number to a ma'am.

And when you bring clones out into the wider galaxy, I'm not sure anyone would figure it out that quickly.

Say you're a new jedi general. You meet your men, and they address you as "ma'am". Maybe you correct and move on, figuring that they've grown up surrounded by thousands of identical men and aren't great at guessing genders based on social and appearance cues. Scuttlebutt has your forms of address spread through the men by the end of the day, and you don't think about it again.

The clones, on the other hand, take this correction as he/him jedi stating that they want to work with them and suppourt them despite having so much power over them, which fits with both what they know of the jedi and, most often, their leadership style.

She/her jedi (see Shaak Ti especially!), clones maybe treat a little more as absolute authorities. This gendered divide in behavior gets met with, "hm, maybe they're just not used to women." For many jedi, they eventually switch to calling them sir as well, especially as they build rapport.

For Shaak Ti specifically, she is an absolute authority as the representative of the Jedi on Kamino, not just as a figurehead but as a decision maker and educator. Even as the clones grow to trust and love her, she's a relatively distant and all-powered figure. She has near total authority over them, and clones might ask for help or suppourt, but there's no social obligation for those requests to be met, she's just kind. It's compassion, not duty.

Senators, there's a good mix of different factors that make it confusing. "Senator" is always an acceptable form of address if you're not sure how'd they react, even if they should be ma'ams by default, but they're either trying to build rapport for some reason or genuinely want to work with you when they say to call them sir, regardless of the actual power dynamic at play. The she/her senators that respect the clones are in the same boat as Shaak Ti: Padme Amidala may care about clone rights, but I am still just one of hundreds to her and she has no personal accountability to me. Her position is such that she should not and cannot owe me anything. Same with Riyo Chuchi, Mon Mothma, etc. etc.

And a civilian that insists on being called ma'am or sir is going to be an asshole either way, and they technically have power over clones without personal accountability or responsibility for them. It works.

Finally, Palpatine.

He's a slimy rat fuck who pretends to be affable and kind, so of course he's going to laugh and say, "Oh, no, call me Sir!" when you call him ma'am. He is not personally accountable to you, and he does not care about you, but it helps his image and it helps him manipulate people to pretend, so of course he's making you use sir to build false intimacy despite the fact that he's the ma'am of ma'ams, both in power gaps and lack of accountability for his treatment of clones.

So having clones using sir vs ma'am not as a reflection of gender but as a reflection of power? Yeah, I think it works.