#this also reminds me of how much of a fucking optics win the droid army is if you think about it

[rochenn]

Do you ever think about how the vast majority of clones never had the experience of seeing the blood of their enemies? Like. How often did they shoot at non-droids? Jedi use their lightsabers, those immediately cauterize wounds. Was Umbara jarring for them? Were they surprised to see the clear transparisteel of their helmets? Had any of these men ever seen fear in their enemy’s eyes as they leveled a blaster at them? Had any of them ever had to reconcile with that thought? Did most of them feel like the war was just one big training simulation until that first moment they had to fire on a sentient (if they ever had to fire on sentients at all)?

oh THIS!! yeah i think the troops who get the most combat with sentients are pretty much the coruscant guard.

and umbara is a curious case. the 501st at least takes prisoners there (i don't remember droids ever being made prisoners), but outside of that fives and rex have no issues double-tapping umbaran soldiers who are already down.

i think when it comes down to it, the clones are all professionals. they've seen what blaster bolts and shrapnel can do (and have been doing!) to their brothers and the people they are defending, at which point the simulation effect would well and truly be gone.

that being said! there's a unique dilemma to be had here for people like the clones (who are largely perceived to be made for war, who would not exist without it) about killing people who were not made for war and who would exist without it. that's a very special sort of existential crisis.

and the ones who have shot at sentients will carry that with them one way or the other. umbara was ultimately overshadowed by the whole krell affair taking up most of the trauma, but people are people so i'd say the boys definitely remember the faces they saw behind the enemy visors. war sucks like that