#repcomm meta

[ranahan]

Trying the Republic Commando novels again,

spoilers under the cut!

At first I was really skeeved by both the pregnancy storyline and Kal’s character (he’s great as a fictional character, but man, what a piece of work). But now I’m starting to question why these elements were chosen for the story. What questions is the reader invited to ask? Is it just the author’s own biases showing, or are these elements there for a purpose?

I find the choice of Etain’s pregnancy storyline and her reasoning of “giving Darman a future” interesting. The “my line and legacy will continue after me” is a natborn concept. Would clones even attach similar sentiments to reproduction? I think not. If you shared your genetic code with millions of others, would you feel it was tied to your individuality, or would it feel more like common property? Would it be a part of what makes you, you—or would you find the part that’s not genetic more important? Would giving it to a child be an act of tying you together, or would the act of raising them (like you were trained by your training sergeant or brothers) be more salient?

Is this a purposeful “cultural” misunderstanding from the author’s part? I’d find that an interesting angle to explore, but since the pregnancy is hidden, we don’t get Darman’s thoughts on the matter (at least as far as I’ve gotten so far). Or is it simply a misunderstanding the purpose of which is to illustrate the clones’ position and other people making all the decisions concerning them, even outside the military life (Etain’s to get pregnant on purpose; Kal’s to not tell Darman)? Is the whole point of the plot line that there are no civilian lives and freedoms for the clones? Or is it just the author’s own biases showing through?

Similarly, I’m starting to wonder whether the whole point of Kal’s character isn’t that even the clones’ own father figure controls all their choices? It’s repeatedly emphasised how Kal doesn’t like and refuses to share information, makes one-sided decisions all the time, and bullies around everyone from jedi generals to his own sons until he gets what he thinks is best. He’s a control freak who can’t deal with letting other people make their own choices.

I was first disappointed that even the story that was supposed to be told “from the point of view of the disposable grunts,” actually centred on a pregnant Jedi and a rogue natborn sergeant. But now I’m wondering if the point of these characters isn’t to tell something about the clones? Military fiction after all sometimes does include relationship subplots, to explore how serving in the military affects the soldiers’ relationships and lives beyond the military. So are Etain and Kal serving the same function here, only because the soldiers in question are clones without rights, it works out a bit differently?

I don’t know. I hope I’m getting on the right track here, and not giving too generous an interpretation to the books, because I really wanted to like them (military fiction! in SW!) but then to my surprise didn’t. So I’m trying again with a bit more deliberate engagement with the elements that bothered me the first time. 🤔

[verpineshatterrifle]

by the way female characters with no military training or experience actively assuming vital support roles while the experienced and trained soldiers who happen to be male because most of the soldier characters were cloned from a dude isn't misogynistic

i dont understand what the hell people want. did they want besany (who accepted a blaster and used it to start a siege in a hospital room to save fi's life) to go along on the mission to recover dar and niner from coruscant? for Diversity?? do they want her to magically gain combat skills instead of using her existing management abilities to take charge of what amounts to a small army when things go to shit and the typical leading figures are down for the count??

do they want laseema to take up marksmanship and provide covering fire?? was getting good with knives and gaining self confidence and a support network that allowed her to threaten a man who tried to hit on her not good enough? is her skill at being able to manage a kitchen and feed several dozen people multiple times a day, a skill highly valued by other characters, worthless to these people

do people want ny, an old woman, who is voluntarily assuming a LOT of risk to help both jedi and clones who are being harmed by this war, to like... kill somebody?? to not bake cookies as an act of love because that... idk somehow undermines everything else about her???

is it that rav and parja, the two female characters who grew up mandalorian, also aren't actively participating in shooting people??? why would it be misogynistic for them to be the ones who are building the safe haven to be used as an escape network for slave soldiers.

did they want etain to do MORE fighting than she already does?? like her entire character and arc is a complete landmine but you do have a woman involved in the military if that's the only benchmark for 'is it sexist' you've got

like why do people want the female characters to go help shoot people so bad. why is most of them finding a useful support role less valuable to people than the guys who go do the shooting. did you miss that a huge point of repcomm is that the war is like. Bad. and most of the characters would rather not be participating but have no choice. and it's having terrible effects on the people on the front lines. why do you want civilian women to get themselves voluntarily involved in that

[ahsokahearteyes]

On some Jedi/Clone relationships:

So I’m going through all my bookmarks ahead of starting True Colors and I ran into this fun one in Hard Contact:

It was just so jarring at this point to know where they end up and see this “shared trauma” description because, well, absolutely.

Sure they had a meet-cute, to a degree,

and I found Darman’s faith in her as a driving force for her success and his interest to be sweet. But the trauma of their critical mission on Qiilura and first kills in action is also the basis of this bond. Not that Darman would probably notice given *gestures vaguely at the state of clone childhood*

I felt a little guilty about reading the book with my ship-brain turned on after reading those lines about the irrevocable bond of shared trauma. But it makes for an interesting dynamic, so much that I realized I have seen it before and been powerless not to ship…

I watched TCW S7 and Rebels in rapid succession (last year maybe?) and was devastated about how long Ahsoka and Rex had been apart and was definitely filling those gaps in time in with ship-brain before that.

I didn’t ever think about it that way until the season finale when they only had each other at the end of all the Order 66 devastation (while I think they held equal power and footing before then between Rex’s experience and bio age vs Ahsoka’s force powers and hierarchical military position over him, she was still baby, so no). Not saying that’s why anyone else chooses to ship but damn, the siege of Mandalore, Order 66, and the potential joint healing in the rebellion era really flipped that switch for me. There is so much love there, that is undeniable in canon, but it feels like the exceptional horror of the shared experience they had with Rex fighting Order 66 and them losing everyone else to it made me more inclined to view a potential for romance too.

So yeah. I’m a little unsettled now that I think about both ships together and rexsoka foundations, but who am I to deny fictional characters some comfort? Trauma-bond ships, am I right?

[fire-on-fuel]

actually on the topic of battle stims I know theyre a minor detail but there's no way that whole deal doesn't add an extra tortuous tick to the horrors of war tally chart. Coming down with only canteen water and those fuck ass rations as landing gear is already rough and then you add in not being able to risk sleeping/rest, post-combat stress crash, ignoring health risks to redose cause carrying on is non negotiable, etc. and if you make it through the reward is tweaking it out of your system in a freezing laat/i. even if they're the smoothest long acting designer pills there's something uniquely nightmarish about the fact it's in your body playing with the basic functions- there's no way to real-time compartmentalize how it feels to breathe and how your blood moves. Idk. Me personally I'd be deepthroating my DC in about 5 seconds

[mamuzzy]

Hey dear :D can you tell us about your headcanons on Jango training the Alphas ? :D

I finally got here to answer this ask. <3

And ooooh boy do I have??? Only angsty ones, love.

I use RepComm lore as a base of my headcanons, just to make clear in what continuity I'm creating in. And that means: NO INHIBITOR CHIPS.

The whole idea of the Clone Army revolves around one thing ultimately: to completely exterminate the jedi. To create an army that is ready for the decisive moment of taking down the enemies of the Sith without the jedi even noticing what is coming at them.

The trainers of course didn't know that this is the ultimate goal of the army, but they knew they had to train a whole army for a future war that who knows when will come. They had be loyal. And they had to be effective.

Every trainer had different approach:

Kal Skirata used love and insisted on the importance of comradeship which ultimately didn't necesserily made his commandos loyal to the Republic, but to each other.

Walon Vau used harsh discipline and insisted on the importance to make his commandos remember: they are superior than others and they have the most important mission in their life. Nothing awaits them outside because they have everything they need: their duty. Vau's trainees remained loyal even after the regime change.

And then we have the Alpha ARC Troopers trained by Jango Fett.

The Alpha ARCs in their mind are the unaltered version of Jango Fett. 100 copy of Jango Fett with their brain remained untouched (compared to the Nulls who's brain was tampered with). Meaning, the Alpha's undying loyalty to the Republic is not pre-programmed, it is not in their genes. It is conditioned with traditional methods: And that is FEAR.

More under the cut

Jango Fett didn't care about the clones and I will sparta-kick everyone from this hill who tries to fight me. I don't have a single worldbuilding where Jango was a "good daddy" for the Clones. He was a great, loving and caring father to Boba and Boba alone.

For him, the clones are products, but also they are part of his agenda: Even he dies, there will be millions of Jango Fetts who will fulfill his revenge of killing off all the Jedi.

The books often mention that Jango was a sociopath (meaning he is on the spectrum of ASPD), and this template was able to make the clones to be so effective. His brain is just built different and wasn't cluttered with moral based inhibitions. That's why I think that Jango wasn't actually a sadist who enjoyed tormenting his trainees - The Alphas - out of joy and personal amusement. It served the purpose, it was all pragmatic.

There wasn't any more description what was Alpha's training like on Kamino but these little snippets of lores made my brain go brrrrrrr about the theories. If the Alphas - THE ALPHAS!!!! - were scared of Jango it could mean that their training included something that gave a reason to fear him.

We know that he installed his own commands into the Alphas such us destroying the Clone Facility in case of Separatist attack on Kamino which Alpha-17 almost fulfilled. But also, being unquestionably loyal to the Jedi. For me, these commands weren't installed. I truly love the unaltered brain-Alphas.

-- Physical pain --

When you are in the military and under training, the line between educational violence and actual physical abuse is very thin. Insubordination had to be punished. Jango had to make sure that the Alphas remain loyal despite not having the same inhibitions like the rest of the clones, so there must have been exercises where he tested how far the Alphas would go to fullfill their duties, achieve victory, enforce an order, AT ALL COST.

They had to put through physical hell, pushed over their limits, pushed over their thresholds and beyond. If caught crying, if caught showing pain, if caught showing the single muscle of questioning Jango's orders, they had to be punished. They weren't made to compete with each other, but they also couldn't protect each other publicly when Jango punished the Alphas for insubordination. They had to watch. They had to learn from it.

The Alphas found secret ways to communicate with each other. To find comfort in each other in one way or another. Oh they knew the concept of love and caring. They watched Jango and Boba from the distance. The reassuring words. The caring touches of a father. They watched how the Nulls were running to their precious sergeant for comfort when hurt. They were very much aware that this is not something they would get.

-- RECONDITION: THE ULTIMATE DEATH --

The Alphas needed only one case of serious insubordination to learn their places and that was Alpha-Ø2. He was truly an independent mind and free-thinker, a true inspiration to thrive for individualism in the sea of Jango Fetts. Spar refused to comply and refused to sworn loyalty to "a republic" which he didn't knew.

And one day Alpha-Ø2 disappeared. Only to return without his memories. Returning without his fiery temper, without his free-spirit... and without any knowledge of how he used to love his Alpha-brothers dearly.

The brainwashing of the Alphas were so much successful later in time, when Alpha-Ø2 - called now Spar - actually deserted at age 8, two years before Geonosis, most of the Alphas felt disgust just by thinking about him - they had to.

Alphas had to believe that Spar was the utter disgrace to the Republic, otherwise it would mean, that they were actually treated wrong.

They had no idea that Spar's desertion was orchestrated by Mij Gilamar and Jango Fett himself after Spar regained his memories - probably the only mercy Jango showed for a clone.

-- Jango had to find the perfect balance --

The Kaminoans wanted soldiers who are independent thinkers but still loyal. Completely supressing their individualism wasn't an option, learned from Spar's case.

What the Alphas did in their non-existent freetime wasn't his business. But the Alphas had to drop everything that is them, when Jango ordered them to do so.

Jango hated every form of authority and realized that the Alphas inherited this trait for his disdain. So he used this train in them to be more effective as advisors for the Jedi. The Alphas had to make sure the Jedi survive until the critical point after all.

Alpha-17 is the smartest of them and the closest thing they had for Spar, which made him always walking on thin ice.

Tavo and Sull, lovebirds.

Maze had knowledge of wide variety of things due to reading forbidden literature that wasn't their in their curriculum.

Fordo communicated only through sign language due to trauma, and his closest friends learned too so they can speak to each other. He only spoke when Jango ordered him to do so.

They were smart enough to know what is was truly considered disobedience. And that was going against the Republic and Jango. If they comply to these rules, they will be safe.

-- ALPHA vs NULL conflict --

Jango always had to remind the Alphas that they were expected to be better than their precedessors, the Nulls. If they fail to meet with the standards, they won't have "a kal skirata" to save them from recondition.

Alpha-Ø2 sure didn't have.

The Alphas after a while didn't need outside motivation to be obedient and loyal. Because they were meant to be everything the Nulls couldn't be. Seeing the examples with their own eyes, how chaotic the Nulls were, how the Nulls as children were actually unruly and sadistic toward the kaminoan technicians, how they disobeyed everyone who was not Kal Skirata, they finally saw what is expected from them: BE BETTER THAN THEM.

And they finally found their positive reassurance on their own. How to take pride in being the true servants of the Republic. Only the Nulls didn't give a shit about this rivalry. They didn't care about Jango or the Alphas or being better than the Alphas.

Being obedient without question was totally against he Alphas nature but they tried. They tried fucking hard.

Alphas: We are the perfect soldiers of the Republic because we are obedient, well-behaved, and we don't cause trouble to our trainers unlike you.

Nulls: We are perfect soldiers because Kal'buir said so, nyenyenyeeeee!!!

Indeed. That Alpha's didn't have "a kal skirata" in their life to tell them they are enough. That they are perfect. That they do the best. Because their best was never enough.

And they weren't enough.

The Alpha ARCs deemed to be failure in the end and their template genes weren't put in to mass-production. When the deployment to Geonosis began, they realized that they weren't meant to be used in the battle and it almost broke them.

Despite their effort and hard work, the Alphas still deemed a failure. Unpredictable, unruly, and because they didn't have any inhibition in them, the Kaminoan didn't trust that they would fulfill their roles. Alphas had to watch the Nulls leave to Geonosis while they were put into stasis.

They didn't have "a kal skirata" to save them from this fate. They didn't have Jango Fett, he wasn't there at all.

They were all alone.

-- Did Jango's approach work? --

My answer is: no.

Despite the conditioning, the Alphas had wide-variety of reactions to the Republic, to the Jedi, and Order 66.

Some were able to shake down the effects of the conditioning, and realized that this dead man won't come after them from the grave to punish them for disobedience.

Some Alpha deserted and died by the hands of Clone Assassins sent after them during the Clone Wars.

Some Alpha remained loyal to Jango's orders, the Republic and then the Empire, training the new generation of soldiers.

Some Alpha went into hiding and became bounty hunters.

Ultimately, how they interacted with the world around them as individual and how the environment treated them decided their own fate.

[trudemaethien]

i was looking for that meta about the acronym of the repcomm SOB (Special Operations Battalion) unit that i could have sworn @fox-trot wrote and coming up with a whole lot of great posts but not the one i was trying to find. anyone know what im talking about?

[arliganzey]

Some GAR HQ Zey thoughts in no particular order:

In addition to the blue lapis desk and bantha leather chairs, Zey’s office also has a small sofa and table up against the wall. It’s meant to be for less formal, private meetings but Zey doesn’t have many of those (if at all). This is referred to by Maze and Zey as the “nap couch” because it’s where they take 20 minute power naps. Those two can probably count on one hand the number of times they’ve seen their actual beds since the start of the war.

When Maze says Zey “makes caf” it should probably be clear that the tapcaf machine actually makes the caf--it's one of those 'put cup down and push button' machines. But Zey has taken it upon himself to make sure the tapcaf machine is up and running, like actually cleaning the machine when the 'clean' light goes on instead of ignoring it and hoping for the best like everyone else does.

It’s also Zey who gets a mini conservator put in and stocked with milk/cream/etc and actual mugs in addition to the to go cups. He gets good caf instead of GAR issue, but he keeps it on the down low because he feels bad he can’t distribute the good caf more widely in the field. GAR HQ just has “the mysteriously good caf.”

Zey’s love language is serving caf. It's always been his thing, making sure there's caf out for visitors, and now that there's a war on, he still makes a point of it.

[azure-cygni]

Y E S

Frik YESSS!!! liek--- Fi could have easily been this silly lil side character in the series, the one bearing the comic relief and lighthearted banter- the goofy one™ etc, etc— BUT 👏 HE👏 WAS👏 GIVEN👏SO MUCH👏 MORE👏THAN👏THAT!!

Fi was given so much depth to his character and motivations that I feel like he became his own main character in my eyes, I enjoyed how much we explored the plot through his perspective, it's an absolute refreshing delight as a reader 🥺💙🖤✨✨ he's got so much heart and hidden frustrations and ambitions, what a guy!!

Fi is such a fantastic fucking character. Top 3 Star Wars blorbos of all time to me. What if there was a guy known best for his ability to make jokes and have fun even in the most high-pressure situations, whose level of exuberance translates into every emotion so he also has a temper that flares hot and bright, especially in defense of his brothers. A character who is quickly, devotedly loyal and ready to throw hands for a squadmate he’s only known for weeks. Who nurses deeply the devastating trauma and grief and guilt of being the only surviving member of his original squad of brothers. A clone who, despite seeming to an outsider be the most well-adjusted, just under the surface has a longing for a life of civilian normalcy that he knows he can never achieve as a clone who was only made to fight a bloody endless war that has already taken everything from him— but he still wants it so badly he aches, and he feels guilty for that, too. Whose want and his grief and his guilt is a raw wound but his love tempers it. Who listens to house music. Really loudly.

[countessofbiscuit]

Hi! Loved your write up on Republic Intel and GAR special forces.

My question is where do Shadow Clone Troopers fit into your headcanon TOE? The intial backstory for the shadow troopers have them as the brainchild of Armand Isard, future director of Imperial Intelligence, to supplement the dwindling number of ARC'S and Republic Commandos and give Republic Intel its own clones (Though Covert Ops Clones would later be mentioned as belonging to Intel)

But later sources say the Shadow Clones are part of the Special Operations Brigade with no mention of their ties to Republic Intel. For the purposes of my own fic, I had the Shadow Clones transfered to being under SOB as a bueractuc win Palps threw Zeys way ( Palps: I have to play nice with the Jedi till it's time to kill them all Isard, just deal with it )

Anyway curious for your thoughts and keep up the good work!

Hey there! Chuffed to hear someone digested that meta in full :D

The short answer is, shadow troopers don’t fit anywhere in my scheme because I never encountered them organically in media outside Wookieepedia, and they didn’t have enough in-universe “critical mass” for me to give them much consideration.

If I had to give Isard/REPINT a clone Ground Branch, however, I’d just scrub the shadow troopers concept and give them the covert troopers, whom I have spent some time thinking about because yeah, they make a significant appearance in RepComm. As you headcanon, leveraging control of über-elite units is definitely something Palpatine would and could do, given all the institutional power he wields (not just ... weird political sithly influence).

Clone assassins Moz and Olun were trained by Prudii; no Null would have trained crack killers for REPINT and they didn’t do anything unwillingly. For this reason, I’d been imagining them as a hyper-secretive command within CLONINT à la JSOC that got handed to REPINT — the inverse of what you’ve headcanoned, essentially. JFK excised the paramilitary capabilities of the CIA and handed them to the DOD in 1961, which was surprising at the time because it gave the US military power to conduct covert action during peacetime. At the height of the Clone Wars, Palpatine would not have found it difficult to answer anyone who dared ask — or who even knew — why the civilian foreign intel department (the more established organization, with a 100% natborn, non-Jedi leadership) might benefit from being able to take direct, clone-trained, clandestine action should, say, elements of the clone army become compromised. That could obviously get very messy … which is exactly what plays in out in True Colors.

I guess it comes down to what media one wants to privilege in building out their SW bureaucracy, what one’s fic needs, and where you want to place accountability for the internal open season on clone deserters (because it was a lot higher up than Zey, whether or not he was privy to it). At the end of the day, I believe it was Palpatine, behind movable walls of plausible deniability.

Thanks for the ask; I enjoyed chewing over this stuff again and will definitely be thinking about it anew as I finish a current re-read of RepComm.

[mamuzzy]

I only wanted to answer in reblog but it got so long i decided to make a separate post. But it had me thinking about media consumerism and how it could affect the open-mindedness for different shows soooo...

Here is a guide to...

HOW TO GET SOMEONE TRAPPED IN THE CLONE HELL

... not entirely a guide but more like an observation.

If we want to look at the problem with the fast-paced media consumer viewpoint, I think starting with the Bad Batch it's actually not a bad idea for someone who never watched Star Wars animated media before. It's sad but cartoons, animations can repulse people to watch things because they link them to child stories, something only a child would watch, also most of the people prefer live action instead of animated stuff. Especially if the said movie/series is quite old. cont. under the cut...

There could be a reason why people are not interested in clones

If a friend, family member, boyfriend/girlfriend/whatever only saw the movies and were not interested in TCW before, had not seen it as a child on TV, they will probably have prejudice against the clones. - They weren't the main characters in the movies therefor we have not seen them interacting that much with the main cast. - But even if you don't know star wars, you will probably know the clones for Order 66, white armored assholes who murdered the jedi aka good guys. And when the movies came out, inhibitor chips weren't in the picture. ---> this observations came while watching TCW with my dad who didn't like the clones because for this exact same reason: the clones basicly serve antagonist without question in a world where rules were set: jedi are good, sith are evil. -> I don't care that it is more complex that. It is what was shown. While he enjoyed the clone-centric episodes, he still stood at his point. They killed the jedi. End of story. - People have different interests :'(((((((

THE CLONE WARS 2003

Why do I recommend this first.

You can always say it's made by the same guy who made Samurai Jack. Strategically speaking Clone Wars 2003 would be a good starting point despite not being canon anymore because TCW is adapting some of the stories shown here. It recaps well what happened between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Also this is the first media where Asajj Ventress and Grievous were introduced, and where you can actually see Grievous in his prime, an absolutely terrifying foe who actually can mop the floor with the jedi. Lots of jedi were introduced here which later also appeared in TCW. Why is this important: Having familiarity with the characters shown in memorable scenes helps that you will recognise them later in other media. Like... Hey it's the jedi dude who stripped in the middle of a fight! Hey, aren't these the same guys who mutated an entire village out of fun who kidnapped Echo??? And so on. TIME: 25 x 5 minutes episodes full of action so it keeps up the interest, and... FORDO. 5 minutes of full clone badassery. While TCW emphasises on the theme that the clones are living, feeling human beings who can die exactly like a human, in CW2003 they are shown like really the badass super soldiers (especially the ARC Troopers) who were bred for war. How much time it takes an episode to watch is an important factor. Because someone who binge watches 10 x 1 hour long netflix series under one day without sleep, drink, eat is not a guarantee that they will be able to sit through 133 x 22 minutes episodes. The sheer numbers will scare them away, nobody has a time watch 133 episodes when you can watch like... 5 different series instead! STORY TELLING COMPARED TO TCW: CW2003 goes for mostly visual story telling instead of talking. It's suspenseful, it's scenic, it's extreme, sometimes silly (rocket-launcher clone in the elevator with zero fuck given is still my favorite) but it's guarantee that you will remember. TCW episodes are varying from episodic to two-to-four episode arcs, it has silly comic relief episodes, it has serious dark episodes, obligatory beach episode, obligatory valentine day episode, obligatory school festival episodes obligatory-just kidding lol , so the lenght of one story can be varying, so is the quality of them. So unless you have a hyperfixation, or are a completionist, or interested enough, the episodes - in psychologycal term -, won't urge you the continue. Because in one 22 minutes episode you got a complete story without cliffhanger it won't make you think, because all the questions asked in the beginning of the episode was answered at the end. It won't rush you to continue, because you know that probably the next episode will be about an entire different conflict. You can stop anytime without the feeling of "just one more episode, just one more episode". Also, it doesn't help that you know how the story will end if you saw Revenge of the Sith. The forementioned uglyness... It took me years to finish TCW. I hated when it came out back in 2009 despite loving Star Wars and CW2003 and only after a decade picked up my interest again, it still took me years to finish it anyway. Back then, I really hated how everything got quickly 3D in neglection of 2D. But can't say it's ugly because it's old, it was ugly when it came out! You really have to force yourself to accept how it looks until you are fine with it, because your eyes got used to it. Also some episodes were boring, not entertaining, I just lost interest and only came back later to continue and I even forgot what happened before. I can't remember most of the arc expect those I was interested in to rewatch it again in the last years. Yes, the quality will improve. Season 7 is beautiful. The visuals of Bad Batch is also beautiful. But between season 6 and season 7, years passed.

THE BAD BATCH

Why do I recommend TBB for someone who ain't got time for shit™:

- TBB season are 16 episodes long. It's friendlier than 133 number wise. - There are only a few main characters to follow. It's important because when there are a large cast of characters, it's easy to get confused who is who and with literal CLONES as main characters, it's hard to distinguish them from each other. I know I can distinguished them, because I'm so fixated on them that every single verbal and non-verbal gesture they make will shoot me into outer space. - The Batch uses popular character tropes, different looks, different voices and tones, so they are recognisable, therefore, you will remember them for the rest of the show. So it will be a chance that you will fall for at least one member of the batch. And then you'll be thirsting mess over one character and eventually you'll be staning all of them, and eventually you will seek out more contents,fanfics, fanarts, headcanons with them that will attract TCW characters or events as well that will lead further deep down into the clone-hell. --> You can start showing the Bad Batch arc TCW where Jesse, Kix, Rex, Cody is also present, so there are plenty of topic and characters to talk about later. Also... Who is this Echo guy, how did he end up here? You can show the Domino Squad episodes, Kamino arc, citadel arc... - This could be a double-edge sword, but TBB are shown resemblance to Delta Squad, Omega Squad and Null ARC troopers. You know Delta Squad from the Video Game, Republic Commando, while the Omegas and Nulls are the main characters of the book series with the same name by Karen Traviss. I say it's double edged, because without these fantastic characters we wouldn't have The Bad Batch, but also I can understand the fans who wanted the Deltas adapted properly instead. - In season 1, the "fillers" add to the story and the characters as well and they won't get episodic-amnesia. (they may have TCW amnesia though... yes, I look at you Echo.) - In Season 1, there is a clear conflict which shadow always lingers even if the plot of the episode does not directly touches it. - Returning characters from TCW like Rex and Gregor could make the consumer ask the questions: who are these guys and why are they important? Rex is cute, is there more episodes with him? Oh yes, my dear prey friend, there is a whole series about him. - I only say season 1 because I'm not entirely satisfied how season 2 were handled while I enjoyed the first one. My hyperfixation for TCW last year literally started with Bad Batch. The trailer was so misleadingly awesome I wanted to watch it before season 2 would come out, but I wanted to finish TCW first (finally!). Season 6 and Season 7 were basicly binge watch and it got me interested again in the previous seasons too.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS 2008 (movie)

Why do I recommend this before TCW - It has Fox - Because sitting through a one-night movie is still easier than watching 133 episodes while maintaining the same quality of the show. - It has Fox - It shows the story how Ahsoka is introduced as Anakin's padawan the first time and we get a glimpse of their initial relationship and dynamic. - It has Fox - Basicly two arc in one movie but the introduced characters stay the same the entire time so you have time to get to know them, recognise them, and later you can remember them. - It has Fox - It has Fox.

TALES OF THE JEDI

It has that one episodes with the clones where they train Ahsoka. Possible questions could be asked: wtf happens at the END? Where is the rest of it? You can instantly show the last arc of season 7. Which would lead to another questions: wtf are the mandalorians, why Maul is here, wtf happening with Rex during O66, why is he hesitating to shoot Ahsoka? Now you can show the Chip conspiracy ARC with Fives! This Fives is a nice guy, is there more episodes of him? Oh boy~

And if they are interested in watching TCW with you..

- Watching together as spending time together usually helps. I think discord also has a function where you can stream movies to others. - You don't have to watch it in the exact order the episodes came out - Show arcs. There are lot of clone centric arcs. I literally collected all the episodes where Echo and Fives are present. --> Dad remembered Echo the whole time and he felt sorry for him. I showed the episodes in such order that his story could be followed easely. ------------- I know. I get it. Every episode is awesome. Every character is awesome. They are. They are all blorbos. They are our blorbos.

[azure-cygni]

Prev tags:

I wanted to talk a little about the hauling 8-year-olds into active war zones thing, and how I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that it’s not even remotely standard practice. It seems to me it’s more likely very specifically a “those Skiratas are weird as fuck but they keep to themselves so we don’t really do anything about it” kind of a deal instead. 

Prime evidence: Munin.

Czytaj dalej

[kungfuslipper]

Something I’ll never shut up about in my writing is that Sev has a lot of feelings, but he’s a professional at hiding them. He learned early on not to show anything that could be used against him. Doing that gave him a different problem, though, which is comparatively easier to handle: being relentlessly teased about being a psychopath.

“Ah.” Jusik sighed.

“Any sign of what killed him, Scorch?”

“Let’s ask Sev. He’s a dead-body-ologist.”

Sev, feeling embarrassed by his reaction, examined the bones. The left arm came off in his hand. “Yep, he’s dead all right.”

Scorch sucked his teeth noisily. It was extra-amplified in the scuba trooper helmets. “Sure you don’t want a second opinion, Doc?”

“Nah, I’m prepared to go out on a limb.”

Why is Sev more sensitive to criticism and abuse than his brothers? Because he does have ‘weaknesses’ they don’t have.

He also isn’t aware that he puts up a frightening front, and gets confused and frustrated when people find him intimidating.

(Now I’m going to swerve into Fi/Sev ok?)

Fi doesn’t, though, so Sev is all whatisthis I have to actually contend with genuine interaction? Fi can see through me ohnoohno but wait he actually likes me and I like him back I mean I can’t stand him he’s so mushy and open and dangerous I can’t keep my walls up around him * pushes Fi away *.

But like it or not, the effect Fi has on him is like someone reaching in and giving his heart a little massage. There’s no way, ultimately, for him to say no to that. So if I give him the chance to be at Fi’s bedside after Gaftikar you better believe he will be affected by it.

Quotes are from Republic Commando: True Colors, ch 13, kindle edition, Karen Traviss, 2007

[leias-left-hair-bun-again]

I saw somewhere that you headcanon Ordo as being Autistic, and like… I headcanon that same thing sgahsgsg. I was curious, however, as to what specific things he does that made you think that? (Also, it autocorrected Ordo to Oreo and just agahsdn I’m done lol)

:DDD oh boy oh boy this is the exact kind of ask that makes my brain go brrrrr it is just so happifying when people ask you questions instead of you just dumping a bunch of words in their lap unasked for and hoping they wanted to hear them in the first place XD ahem anyways hold up i've gotta breathe before i answer this i'm so excited

okay so i'm actually. going to tag @trashcanmando bc she actually has Intelligent Things to say about this XD and also she was the person who brought up the idea and made me realize that that's what i'd been thinking the whole time. but for me - like i alluded to, idk if i ever explicitly think 'oh ordo is autistic' when i'm reading the books, but like. there's just this underlying feeling of connection i have with him in a way that i don't have with the other characters. he's so blunt and practical and has such a hard time with - i mean there's two things that happen when i was first introduced to him that i vibed with so hard the first is

ordo just walloping maze in the face twice in a row and walking out of the building like it's no big deal and bardan have to sit there next to him and go 'um ordo that was...kind of a lot' and ordo just doesn't get it (also when maze comes back later and wallops ordo and ordo is just completely poker-faced and 'yeah that's fair' about it - anyways) and the second is

ordo getting flirted with and having exactly 0 clue that that's what's happening but being uncomfortably aware that something weird is going on with the waitress - and the way kal reacted by making light of the situation and easing ordo away from it teasingly - that is what my mum does with me in so. many. social situation where i don't know what's going on and start panicking

oh and bonus was him bodyslamming fi with, again, 0 facial expression beforehand XD idk, just put him next to atin, who has a similar temperament, and there's just - something a little different about ordo that goes beyond 'stoic and quiet', to my mind at least

and i mean those are just first impressions, but there are so many other little things - him proposing to besany and then immediately going 'okay let's get married right now' with 0 facial expressions or indication that he cares at all. and then there's details like how his brothers don't care as much about having their helmets off around strangers, but ordo doesn't like it at all. and just the way he's described as not smiling or understanding that he needs to smile, or that he needs to, you know, talk. and the way he has to be helped in new social situations and also doesn't seem to do a very good job with figuring out how to apply the rules across different situations - and he also doesn't seem to notice physical appearances the way other people do, if i'm honest; not just in the way he sees besany

he's just....he's different; he thrives in situations where he knows what is expected of him and feels like he understands what the parameters are, but take him out of his comfort zone and he has so much more difficulty adapting to the changes and new rules than his brothers do...also he often seems pretty uncomfortable with emotions but not in sev’s ‘i am a hard tough soldier and you’d better remember it’ way, more in a ‘i have no idea what to do here’ way (see: everything surrounding the Drama with etain and darman and also every time etain tries to get him to actually talk about his feelings or his childhood)

basically i relate very hard to him in very specific ways, so i just. vibe XD i would love to hear your thoughts, anon!!!!

[tiend]

I didn't want to hijack/derail countessofbiscuit's post about opinions regarding Codywan, but another thing for me--and this is actually much less about Codywan than it is about certain writing choices in clone/Jedi ships--is that I like seeing clones as the heroes of their own story, as actors who effect change for themselves without needing to appeal to a more powerful person as though they're helpless to do something themselves. I understand that there's some amount of fulfilling the wish for a more ideal world/a monumental righting of wrongs in writing something where a Jedi is made to understand 'slavery = bad' through their relationship with one of their soldiers, then becoming an unrelenting moral crusader on behalf of all clones, but a lot about that dynamic really does not do it for me. (I could probably articulate why but it might take me a few days to separate out all the threads of that tapestry.)

Come to think of it, a reason I like Republic Commando so much is that it very much does not do that. The decisions our characters make don't have a sweeping impact that upends the entire system--they don't have the power to do that individually--but they do make their own, meaningful choices with what they do have the power to do, even if it's just on the level of "throw my dress blues into a trash compactor and walk off base never to be seen by the wider world again."

[izzyovercoffee]

Thinking about it more though... what would that have actually looked like? For the Nulls to meet a ghost of Kal’s sordid past, a memory he worked hard to outrun only for her to haunt his present, alive and well? Fulfilled in a life worth living without him beside her? How would the Nulls have reacted to meeting Ilippi Skirata Jiro?

In an ideal world, in an actual scene or situation where they would’ve encountered each other, I wonder if Ilippi would have seen the wear under Ordo’s eyes---from exhaustion, from stress, from managing too much on too little---and seen a reflection of her younger self. Would the hurt and the isolation of her younger years speak to the same struggles that Ordo feels in his constant and endless management of Kal’s movements in and around his brothers? Could she have reached him in a way Kal couldn’t, and ease his anxiety, or soothe the weeping wound that whispered he would never be good enough, that somehow Kal will soon one day see it like Ordo knows it, buried under the formless anger and defiance of a child carted to the flames? 

Ilippi could not know where that insecurity stems from, but she would understand why it continues to live.

I wonder if Ilippi could have seen the very same charm in Mereel that was what drew her to Kal in the first place, and yet also see the sharpened edge hidden beneath it. To see the invisible rope pulled taut around his throat as time threatened to run out before he could finish out the path Kal put him on, if he could save his brothers before the war took him? Would she see right through the easy jokes and reflexive deflection and cut into the core of it all, and in doing so, untangle the noose of his desperation?

If she could outlive Kal’s expectations, and thrive beyond them, then so wouldn’t Mereel?

Would that Ilippi had lived and visited them during the war, what would she have shared with Prudii? Would she have bothered, would she have tried to correct him on that anger and that resentment he carried for Kal? How would that conversation have gone, when she instead reminded him he doesn’t need that added burden? He carries too much on his shoulders, as it is, and he’s long since passed his breaking point. 

Would she have told him of the bitter loneliness and the isolation she suffered as she struggled to raise her children alone---removed from all familial support and friendships broken by distance? Would she have related to him that bitter resentment and that biting loneliness that she undoubtedly sees in him---not the favorite son, not the oldest, and forbidden from ever making meaningful connections because his “job” demands it of him? How terrible it must be, that he can never stop moving, that he visits a different planet, a different system, a different sector, every week---and because of a demand of constant movement he never truly consented to, he’s condemned to a solitude he chafes under?

If Ilippi were to meet Jaing, would she flinch from his sharp-toothed grin and the violence he carries in his shoulders? Would she move away from the anger that fuels him, turn away from his attempt at charm---a facsimile, an echo of what his brother perfectly captures and what he can’t seem to emulate---or would she find that, in and of itself, charming? It is true that she once saw Kal’s dark sides and sharp edges attractive, alluring, charming---even if it lead her to emotional ruin and a heartbreak she never fully healed from. 

Older, and wiser now, she would see the hurt for what it was. She would see the knife behind his eyes and guide him to understanding that he doesn’t have to carry it in silence, that in silence that very blade cuts him deepest of all, and that she sees him for who he is as a whole, not for the parts that encompass the pain he’s done or that’s been done to him.

I like to imagine that Ilippi is charming, and that when she meets A’den---A’den who is deeply sociable, if bitingly sarcastic, and holds a humor as dry as sand---she would share with him the memories of Kal when he was young, and angry, and unfairly charming on the days when he was good? 

But A’den hates to be lied to, and I doubt Ilippi would have reason to lie, whether outright or by omission. Not all days were good, not all memories kind, and I wonder---would she have also shared with A’den the bad days, the days she could not bear, the days that mounted until they outnumbered the good and she realized to protect her children they would have to leave?

Worse, though---would A’den find someone in her that could see what he saw in Kal, that he dared not bring up nor say out loud, even when he worked to circumvent Kal at every turn? Would he realize, through brief connections and conversations, that no matter who Kal tied the metaphorical knot with, the brutal storm he carried unchanging within him would invariably hurt the people he’s closest to? Would he realize that no matter how hard he tried, finding someone to “take care of” Kal would inevitably lead to heartbreak?

And now, speaking of heartbreak, I wonder if through that thread, would Ilippi find a connection with Kom’rk? She chafed under isolation forced upon her when she agreed to marry Kal---but Kom’rk chose isolation, chooses it even still. Kom’rk has to be forced to return home, begged by his brothers and convinced to trade for something worthwhile, for something worth more than the cost of returning to the Core---and, by extension, Kal’s side. Is it a point of humor, even, or a sore point of pain that, when pressed, triggers laughter (or else it triggers tears), and in that connection understands why Kom’rk always chooses to stay far, far away?

Something relatable, in the pragmatism of it all---to avoid conflict entirely, too tired, or spent, or burned out, to face it with someone who would always remain a stone, for better or worse. 

If only Ilippi Jiro had lived, would the Nulls have been given an opportunity to peer into a past through the lens of another. They’ve always been so terribly curious, proclaimed deviant for their defiance and condemned to die early, would they have been able to resist that very same temptation, that very same curiosity, to learn something new?

I honestly don’t think so. 

[countessofbiscuit]

REPINT, CLONINT, RSOD ... *sobs in acronym*

“If it was Zey,” Vau said carefully, “the chakaar should have told us they were operating on the same turf as Omega simply for everyone’s safety.” “Covert ops get tasked by the regular GAR as well as SO, Walon.” .... “Then again maybe it was Republic Intelligence.” [Vau] (True Colors, Chap 8)

When originally hammering together headcanons for how the GAR is organized and where it sits within the wider state system of the Republic, I followed up kaasknot’s GAR org meta with a post about military intelligence and SOF. My conception of the relationship between SOF, Republic Intelligence (REPINT), and Clone Intelligence (CLONINT) has evolved since then. Instead of subordinating CLONINT to REPINT (as I’d initially done), I have divorced the two again — reinforced by a few pointed mentions of REPINT in the drama surrounding Spar and Sull in True Colors — and I have further separated the special forces brigade out from underneath CLONINT, massaging Karen Traviss’s image of it as a Republic answer to US SOCOM. I am not an inventive character; where possible, I try to respect canonical structures and systems, while wearing realist-tinted glasses. (Forgive me for being American and thus largely drawing on American examples.) Updated meta as follows:

Republic Intelligence = the Republic CIA; the civilian foreign intelligence branch of the Republic, which reports to Republic Strategic Command. In Legends, REPINT is solidly a military intelligence department (although Repcomm doesn’t really bear this out), but I prefer its new canon description. Palpatine’s close pal Armand Isard had the unique privilege of being both the Director of Republic Intelligence and Director of the Senate Bureau of Intelligence (Republic FBI — ‘domestic’ intelligence and security) throughout the Clone Wars, which is shady enough. REPINT comes in for its fair share of skepticism by the protags in Repcomm — which makes sense, since it reads like the CIA’s wet dream, in a world where they got to retain and beef up their own paramilitary forces (rather than simply direct and advise DoD assets): Sull and Vau wonder if the clone assassins sent to kill Spar weren’t sent by REPINT; Prudii suggests REPINT are cooking Sep strength numbers for Palpatine’s purposes; Valaqil warns Besany that REPINT are observing her (adding that these people aren’t "Skirata’s men") — which I believe we are supposed to read as particularly unnerving because the CIA is not statutorily permitted to spy on its own citizens (a directive it has overstepped on many occasions, and indeed, been empowered to do by things like the Patriot Act). Is REPINT overstepping here? Or have they never been bound by law from domestic surveillance? Pick your poison. Regardless, there's a sense that REPINT are the Chancellor's hidden hand, while CLONINT might favor clone units as customers.

One could assume that responsibility for covert action (in the sense of tasking, not culpability, which must always remain somewhat indeterminate), was historically assigned to REPINT and perhaps the ex-Judicials who preferred ~aggressively direct negotiation~, but they are forced to share the pie with the Special Operations Brigade when conflict breaks out.

Clone Intelligence = the Republic DIA; the military intelligence branch of the Republic DoD, overseen by the Director of Special Operations; the nebulous body to which the Nulls theoretically belong (the “Clone Intelligence” namedrop in RotS refers to Jaing and Kom’rk positively identifying Grievous on Utapau). Typically, MILINT agencies answer to the Minister/Secretary of Defense; since the Chancellor (apparently) occupies this revived post at the time of TCW, the Director of CLONINT (see below) reports to him — indeed, it works best for a proto-fascist state when there are as few blockers between the collectors of classified information and its ultimate recipient … which for Sheevy P’s grand purposes, would not be the Jedi Order.

(I figure there was a bit of a stink between the Jedi Council and the Chancellor, plastered over for like a day by that paragon of diplomacy Anakin Skywalker, over the reporting lines for CLONINT – the Council had assumed that CLONINT reported to them, while Anakin made the point that as Supreme Commander of the Republic Military, Palpatine was entitled to intelligence directly and CLONINT were perfectly free to bypass the Council.)

Republic Special Operations Directorate (RSOD)* = SOCOM, UKSF, etc., the combined special forces arms, with the MILINT bolt-on in the form of CLONINT. *This is my headcanoned name for the SOBDE command, our valiant lads in Katarn, who spend much of the books regarding themselves as something external to the GAR, because they are – they sit within a somewhat different branch. And given how rogue JSOC-y Traviss writes her favored units and characters, and the hints of interservice beef throughout the novels, I am also happy to silo them away.

While Repcomm centers commandos and Alpha ARCs in the SOB, I headcanon that Advanced Recon Commandos (e.g. Fives and Echo) and Advanced Recon Force Scouts (e.g. Boil and Waxer) also fall under this operational service, distinct from the Republic Navy and GAR, although SO combatants join and operate with RN and GAR units.

There are Jedi associated with the SOB: Iri Camas and Arligan Zey. Canon is a little contradictory on the relationship between Zey and Camas, both of whom are in command of Special Operations “brigades” at the start of the war, with Camas holding the title of ‘Director of Special Forces’, to be replaced (?) at some point by Zey. @kaasknot and I had a bit of fun cleaning this up. In the end, Camas was given a slight title change — Director of Special Operations — and kept as head of RSOD throughout, with the added bonus of CLONINT; given the staggering losses of Republic commandos in the first few months of the war, it’s not difficult to imagine the SO “brigades” are merged under Zey as Director of Special Forces, who then falls under Camas’s command, with a more operational than intelligence focus. (Whichever nameless Jedi was relieved of command of the weaker brigade probably got handed a GAR command instead :| ) Giving Camas the intelligence step-up also gives him a reason to be less present in the Repcomm narrative as it progresses, and his allegiance split with Zey that is shown so brutally in Impcomm: Camas remains a key liaison with the Jedi Council.

Given the scope of Camas’s office, we gave him a Marshal Commander XO, CC-2067 “Reaper” to do all the real work and put the fear of Fett into REPINT cadets where necessary. (Somehow Alpha-30 landed himself a desk job as Zey’s attaché, but Reaper doesn’t goad him about it – they should’ve promoted the Alpha plank and he knows it.) (Cody and Reaper are on pretty good terms; Reaper lets Cody play with his bad batches, and there’s enough AOR distance between the two that who-outranks-who doesn't really come up.)

IRL (at least in the US and UK), oversight — to say nothing of civilian oversight — of SOF commands is infamously poor, and I see no reason to make it any better in crumbling Republic. So the DSO reports to the same non-existent Minister/Secretary of Defense … in this case, the Supreme Chancellor or some minion in his office.

Another clone unit with a unique relationship to the Republic intelligence franchise would be the Coruscant Guard, given its protective remit and its subordinate Diplomatic Escort Group. I haven’t solidified my thoughts on whether they conduct their own threat identification/analysis/mitigation etc., or if that’s done by CLONINT/REPINT analysts who outsource operations accordingly. But the internal security apparatus, especially on Coruscant, is probably best left to another post.