#with big brother fi and Atin

[engagemythrusters]

Omega meets Omega Squad

[arliganzey]

bed chem.

Qibbu’s Hut, entertainment sector—strike team operational house—early evening, 371 days after Geonosis

So … how long does it take two squads to finish their meals in the bar?

Long enough, I think.

–

After a hot shower, Etain and Darman fall back into bed, both sated and exhausted. Darman brushes Etain’s wet hair out of her face and pulls her into his chest. As long as they were alone, he would steal as much of her as he could.

Etain takes a deep breath, memorizing the way Darman feels—the firmness of his body against hers, the strength with which he holds her, and the peaceful way his mind comes to rest. He is a glowing light, bright and warm like a campfire at full burn.

The future is as inevitable as the turning of the galaxy, but for now, Etain basks in Darman. She looks up from where she’d curled her face into his chest to find him staring at her intently.

“What?” she grins.

“I’m counting your freckles.”

“Counting my freckles? Why?”

“Someone’s got to,” he insists.

Etain giggles, running her fingers over his shoulder. “How many are there?”

“At least ten.”

They both break into a fit of laughter. Etain rolls onto Darman, lying on him like a big pillow, and stares down into his face. They’d already made love twice and three times would be too much, not to mention surely the others would be back soon.

She kisses him anyway with nothing more than a brush of her lips. “Now how many?”

“I’m up to twenty-nine.” Darman grazes her skin with his fingertips, making idle shapes along her back, and if Etain doesn’t concentrate on his mind, then she can let the randomness of his touches cause a shiver.

They keep pausing to stare at each other, and Etain continues to marvel at how different he is from his brothers. It’s in his eyes, and the way he smiles, nothing at all like Niner or Fi or Atin or any of Delta.

Darman’s head rests back onto the pillows. Etain is staring at him, and he isn’t used to someone who isn’t one of his brothers paying such close attention to him. “You don’t have to read my mind, you know. You could just ask.”

“I wasn’t—oh, Darman.” Etain sits up.

And Darman flinches, realizing he’s said something wrong based on the way she frowns. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know.” Etain smiles, a little sad to think her Jedi-ness would always be strange to Darman. “I was only admiring your eyes.”

“My eyes?” Darman’s brow knits. He thinks she’s the one with eyes worth admiring, green with flecks of amber.

“Mhm.” Etain brushes her hand over his forehead. “And your nose.” She follows the bridge of his nose. “And your lips.” Her index finger lands on his lips, one of the softest parts of him.

Darman flushes. There is a joke in there about saying he’s one of a kind. He forgets to say it as Etain traces the line of his mouth.

Her hand goes lower, down his throat, over his collarbone. When Darman locks eyes with her darkened gaze, he doesn’t have to read her mind to know what she’s thinking.

[cienie-isengardu]

My RepCom Musing: The use of “psycho” and “crazy” and similar terms

Not sure where my research will ultimately lead me as I’m still collecting data how RepCom book series treated the potential mental illness and/or the perception of the “psycho” characters - something I've been meaning to write for some time in regard to Walon Vau and Sev, but for now I would like to share a few observations made so far:

There is a visible difference in how Walon Vau and Kal Skirata approach the topic of potential mental illness of their clone commandos, which I think fits their introvert and extrovert natures well. As far as I can say, Walon in general is not talking with outsiders about his men’s mental state - he acknowledged (think) Sev is “psychotic” and lacks “the most basic social graces“ [True Colors] or confronted Scorch about his breakdown [Order 66] but we don’t see him revealing much of their traumas or how horrible was their training to anyone who wasn’t already a part of said training program (and we know that Vau and Skirata argued about that a lot). In contrast, Skirata talked surprisingly a lot to other characters about what happened to Ordo/Nulls or occasionally to Omegas, usually to explain why his sons act in this way. This happened with Etain and Obrim and even Fi, though how Ordo feels about his trauma being talked with “outsiders” is not really brought by narrative. 

Granted, both men are using different frames from what they count normal (good) - Vau is operating in the good soldier zone (as being a soldier has a special meaning for him related to his own fucked up childhood) while Skirata focuses on family life (something he failed at once and many clones may never have a chance to experience) but that is a topic for another time.

Similarly, Delta Squad and Atin(?) are rarely seen calling other characters as the psycho, especially in a negative way. Scorch did use that name for Sev, but either Deltas were in their own company or Scorch made an observation about his brother’s behavior as he was worrying about him a lot in Order 66. Frankly, as far as my research showed, Deltas did not call Walon Vau the “Old Psycho” but they did at least twice called Skirata “crazy” (True Colors and Order 66). Interestingly, the majority of “psycho” and “crazy” terms - in context of mental illness / dangerous behavior - used by clones alone in the books comes from Omega (those members originally trained by Kal) and Nulls. 

Old Psycho, as a nickname for Vau was used twice (or so I assume) by Fi and once by Mereel. Bonker Squad as a nickname for Nulls was used by Fi and Darman/Niner and Skirata who coined this term. 

  "Your buddy ... ," Darman teased.

    "Rather have him for a friend than an enemy."

    "Ooh, he likes you. Hobnobbing with ARC officers from the Bonkers Squad, eh?"

    "We have an understanding," Fi said. "I don't laugh at his skirt, and he doesn't rip my head off."

    Yes, Ordo had taken a shine to him. Fi hadn't fully understood it until Skirata had taken him to one side and explained just what had happened to Ordo and his batch on Kamino as kids. So when Fi had thrown himself on a grenade during an anti-terrorist op to smother the detonation, Ordo had marked him out as someone who'd take an awfully big risk to save comrades. Null ARCs were psychotic-bonkers, as Skirata put it-but they were unshakably loyal when the mood struck them. [Triple Zero]

 There are also variations of the “All Nulls are psychos / crazy” statement, quite often coming from Omega, Kal or Nulls themselves. Interestingly, Vau at the beginning of True Colors described them simply as hooligans (rather than psychos) and it was put in contrast to Sev and Vau’s men in general (the good soldiers) while Vau seems to be more prone to call Skirata the crazy one than Nulls. 

Also, it seems like most of the psycho/crazy statements or rumors repeated(?) started with Skirata and was adapted by his men at some point? Like:

mentioned Bonker Squad for Nulls (used solely by him and Omega)

the not best opinion about ARC even if Nulls are the psychos themselves? (“but an ARC who'd gone AWOL was-impossible. Jango Fett had raised and trained them personally, with an emphasis on absolute loyalty to the Republic. Sergeant Kal said that Jango was an unhinged shabuir, but he always stuck to his contract, and that contract had included creating a loyal, totally reliable army. Darman had heard rumors to the contrary, and the Nulls were living crazy proof that a clone soldier could be as eccentric and wayward as any random human, but nothing had ever been confirmed.) As in “Jango was an unhinged shabuir and because he trained ARCs, they are like that too” kind of logic?

And considering that Deltas do not call Walon Vau as the Old Psycho but Fi and Mereel used that nickname, I think it is safe to assume this comes from Skirata too?

Additionally, I made a working diagram - it's not fully correct, as for now I focused on looking for specific phrases (psycho and crazy, bonker or those specific moments that I remembered), but for curiosity's sake I'm posting it in regard to Nulls, Vau and Sev as they are the most prominent characters in regard to “psycho” nickname.

[cabezadeperro]

3 for Fi/Sev?

hi anon! the song was the past is a grotesque animal, by of montreal (!), so obviously i had to write something about that kind of thing. post-canon, they find sev in kashyyyk, T.

(full disclosure: i find this ship pretty hard to write, but i did my best. i hope you like it! 🙈)

---

The words are back, but now Fi finds that he has nowhere to put them. He helps Sev into the first floor fresher, Delta bumping elbows and shoulders out in the stairs and Atin standing there with his arms crossed and that face he makes sometimes that pulls his scar very tight across his cheeks and into his right eye. Fi feels himself bubbling with words, shivery with anticipation, but he bites down, fear and shame and something that might be disappointment helping him out. 

Sev lets him touch. Sev lets him take off his clothes and step into the shower to the side, stump red and hot to the touch, and Sev doesn’t look at him, jaw clenched tight and nostrils flaring now and then. He’s thin and haggard, old and scarred. His fingers are twisted, ugly things, and there’s a divot in his right bicep, and the muscle there feels too dense, wrong. 

Fi starts filling the tub in the centre of the room. He feels Sev’s eyes on him. When he looks at him over his shoulder he catches him staring from under his heavy brows, and that might be the only thing that hasn’t changed: the shape and colour of his eyes, the bitter heat in them when he looks at Fi. 

Old-Fi would have said something flirty and funny and witty, and Old-Sev would have—what? Fi thinks Sev would have insulted him and then he would have gotten all flushed and drippy and soft around the edges, and it would have been enough.

He can’t quite picture this Sev doing any of those things. He looks like something tried to have him for dinner and found him too tough, too stringy to stomach—as far as Fi knows, that might have been the case. Fi helps him up again when Sev’s done with his shower, and helps him cross the fresher towards the tub. The stairs to the side are hard to navigate, but Sev manages, jaw clenched and scowl hanging low over his dark eyes. He eyes the tub with something that’s half-way between suspicion and disdain, and then he takes a seat on the bench to the side with a bitten down groan. 

Fi watches his knotted shoulders lose some of their tension, his bowed neck wet with water and still sudsy. He could reach out, armour and all, place his hand there. 

He wants to. Five years and a brain injury later, Fi wants him so much he feels like he’s going to die from it. 

Sev turns to look at him over his shoulder, arms resting on the lip of the tub. He’s flushed and damp with steam; Fi’s sweating under his kute, and he thinks about taking it all off, leaving it on the tile, sinking in hot water and across Sev’s thighs, on his lap.

At first the grief would not let him think. It felt too big for a few hours in each other’s company, for a few clumsy kisses and an eager, sloppy blowjob in a shitty Coruscant motel, too big for his newly mended body, for his too-slow tongue and his shapeless, formless memories. When Fi pushed through the grief and into acceptance he thought he had left the want behind. 

They’re waiting for them. Gilamar’s on his way to the yaim to take a look at Sev, and Fi can hear his brothers’ voices through the locked fresher door. Fi shifts his weight on his feet, watches Sev watching him. It occurs to him that he could walk away from this, from them, from this thing they never were. He kind of wants to. 

He kind of wants Sev more.

[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!!!!

[figgiforever]

W 2022 roku na moim blogu pojawiły się 2192 posty

O 2188 postów więcej niż w 2021!

68 utworzonych postów (3%)

2124 zreblogowane posty (97%)

Najczęściej reblogowane blogi:

@mandalorian-general

@cienie-isengardu

@tusken-apologist

@clonememesfrikyeah

@corona-one

778 moich postów w 2022 miało tagi

#other people's ocs – 133 posty

#republic commando – 86 postów

#figgiverse – 61 postów

#fi my beloved – 59 postów

#my oc tiggnella – 54 posty

#art of figgi – 46 postów

#fi skirata – 36 postów

#star wars oc – 34 posty

#andor spoilers – 29 postów

#star wars – 21 postów

Najdłuższy tag: 136 znaków

#if i remember correctly it was said in books that when munin started training young kal other mandos weren't sure if kal isn't too young

Moje najpopularniejsze posty w 2022:

Nr 5

How relationship of Fi and Tiggnella started

Inspired by @mandalorian-general

DAY 1

Tiggi *comes out of the bushes to meet the rest of Omega squad on their way to rejoin with Darman*

Fi: Are you an angel?

Tiggi *in dirty, frayed, oversized clothes, covered in mud and other things you don't want to know about*: Sure, if angels look like demons.

Fi *grins*: Better Jedi-Demon than Separatist-Angel, right?

Tiggi *smirks*: I like this idiot.

DAY 2

Fi: Here, have some cold remains of the merlie stew.

That's it. That's how it was.

12 notek (opublikowanych w 5 sierpnia 2022)

Nr 4

Recently I’ve been busy so didn’t draw or post much, because a big change is happening in my life. But I’ve been doodling using this some of my OCs that I didn’t draw or even think about them in a long time.

So here are: Ka’ra, Parjir, twins Tal and Tar - children of Atin and Laseema; Jatne - first child of Makke and Kad, first grandchild of Fi and Tiggi.

12 notek (opublikowanych w 29 września 2022)

Nr 3

Day 4 prompt: "forced apart" of Republic Commando Week 2022 @officialrepcomm ( a bit late but I wanted to color it )

Fi wearing Hokan's armor on Mandalore, being apart from his brothers, missing them so much. Inspiration from Imperial Commando novel:

Przeczytaj całość

12 notek (opublikowanych w 27 sierpnia 2022)

Nr 2

Day 1 prompt "Boys will be boys" of Republic Commando Week 2022 @officialrepcomm

On Quiilura when Fi talks too much and Darman already wants to protect his girlfriend Etain.

Inspiration:

Przeczytaj całość

22 notki (opublikowane w 22 sierpnia 2022)

Mój post nr 1 w 2022

Did I really say something about snow yesterday?

31 notek (opublikowanych w 18 listopada 2022)

Zobacz Przegląd roku 2022 już teraz →

[clonewarslover55]

I really like your delta squad headcanons, can you do the same with omega squad please, both SFW and NSFW? ^^

Of course!! My Omega boys need love too!! I made sure to include Corr, even though he wasn’t an “Original member.” 

Also! You can find the Delta Squad relationship headcanons here!

And you can find the Null’s relationship headcanons here!! 

Omega squad relationship headcanons 

Niner 

SFW

Niner is a pretty quiet guy so you won’t know he likes you right away 

He’ll give you looks and be more attentive to you, but he isn’t too obvious 

It would take him forever to ask you out, because he’s secretly shy 

So you’d have to ask him out probably

Once you two get into a relationship he opens up some more 

It takes time, of course, but he opens up eventually

His brothers quickly notice that Niner is suddenly happy and not bemused for once 

So they quickly learn about you, without Niner wanting them to

They’ll randomly show up at your house and Niner is like, “They followed me here. They’re my brothers.” In the most unamused voice you’ve ever heard come from that man

That’s saying a lot, because he always has a bored tone of voice 

Niner of course puts his brothers and duties first 

So he doesn’t see you as much as he wants 

Whenever he comes back from his long Commando missions he makes sure to make up for being away

When he can’t see you he always makes the Nulls check on you 

Mereel is no longer allowed to see you because he keeps flirting and trying to give you scary weapons he stole

The others still give you weapons though 

Sometimes Niner brings you little trinkets or flowers

He always brings sweets, more so for himself then you. He doesn’t tell you that though 

His brothers attempt to be his wingmen, or at least Fi does

Fi is very bad at it, so Niner doesn’t get any better at flirting 

Speaking of flirting. Niner is terrible at it. 

Mereel, the flirting God, tries to help him and even he fails 

Niner’s flirting includes awkward stuttering compliments 

If you fight in the war you get, “You fight good…” Then an awkward shoulder pat 

If you flirt with him or try to seduce his pants right off it it’ll work too we

His dark cheeks will grow darker as he blushes like an idiot 

He isn’t the jealous type, he’s incredibly patient 

He is wonderful at keeping a mask of false emotion on, it’s how he bottles up his emotions 

Niner will talk to you now and then about his issues, but he not often 

His PTSD is terrible, so it will take time for him to talk about it 

Niner will try to take you out on dates and such, but he isn’t big on PDA 

So most dates might just be him cooking dinner for you at your apartment 

Speaking of cooking? He’s amazing at it 

Niner will often talk about Kal Skirata, his eyes lighting up 

Of course one day you’ll meet Kal, who’s Niner’s adoptive father

Niner, like all clones, is very touch starved

He will not admit it. But cuddles are a MUST 

Especially after he has nightmares 

Once Niner falls in love with you, you’ll never forget 

He’ll love you with all of his heart, no matter what 

NSFW

This boy has no experience 

He knows how to have sex obviously, but he’s never done it 

So you’ll have to show him the ropes (Ha ha bondage pun) 

Niner is secretly shy, so you’ll have to help him with that 

Once he gets some experience with you he ruins you 

Niner is a very very fast learner, so once he learns what makes you tick he never forgets 

If you bring up your kinks, he’ll just shrug and be like, “let’s do it.” 

He literally will do anything, he just doesn’t give a fuck anymore 

So whatever you want to do, he’ll do 

Besides public sex. He’s scared he’ll get caught

Niner will not admit he’s kinky, but he is 

You learn right off the bat that he has a giant breeding kink (Like all clones)

He hates it when he can’t cum inside of you. He feels the need to fill you up 

Niner enjoys blowjobs, of course, but he rarely will let you finish him off 

He loves watching you swallow his load and all, but he’d rather breed you 

Niner will do quickies, but he’d rather draw the night of pleasure out

Once he gets experience he learns that he loves making you cum till you nearly pass out 

Niner has amazing patience, like you have no idea how he’s so patience 

So he will dedicate the whole night to your pleasure, and your pleasure only 

You won’t be able to walk the next day but he takes pride in that 

Niner will mark you up, so everyone knows that you’re his 

He doesn’t ever act jealous or that possessive but he is 

If you mark him up he shows it off, especially in the showers 

When his brothers question the marks he just shrugs

He keeps your intimate moments between the two of you, they don’t need to know

Niner is amazing at aftercare, he makes sure to clean you both up 

The night always ends with you falling asleep in the arms of your big Commando sergeant 

Darman 

SFW

Darman is probably the shyest of the group

But once he falls for you, he falls hard 

It’s completely obvious when he begins liking you 

He might nervously ask you out to dinner or something 

Then invite his brothers because he doesn’t want to be too obvious 

His brothers don’t show up because they know what’s up 

Once you two begin dating Darman is wrapped around your finger 

Darman is a huge sweetheart and spoils you with love 

He brings you trinkets and such from missions 

He always brings sweets for you both 

He also will bring you flowers, but on rare occasions 

Darman can’t flirt worth shit either 

Fi and the Null’s try their hardest to help him 

But it only makes him worse 

He’s somehow a worse flirt than Niner. 

If you flirt with Darman and try to woo him some, he will instantly be a blushing mess 

Ever seen a big bad Commando blush like an idiot and hide his face? It’s adorable 

Commando’s, of course, are away for longer periods of time then regular troopers 

So he can’t see you as much as he wishes to 

He also makes the Null’s check on you, and he doesn’t mind that they give you weapons and spoil you 

Obviously he loves his brothers! They’ll always come first in his eyes 

When he tells you about Kal Skirata, he asks if you want to meet him 

He grins like a fool as you meet his father 

He makes sure to spoil you extra, especially after missions 

He tries to cook you dinner, but fails 

Darman tries to be romantic, and he really isn’t 

He will take you out to dinner though! He loves going out to places with you 

He’s nervous about PDA but as long as you’re not a Jedi he’ll do it 

Darman bottles up his emotions well, but he is always willing to talk to you about them 

He gets jealous, but never acts on it 

He is a very chill and relaxed man, so he never really gets angry 

Darman is kind of clingy though 

He’s very touch starved, so he loves the attention 

Especially cuddles!!

Once he falls in love with you he says it first 

He falls in love very quickly by the way 

He’ll love you till the end of his days 

NSFW

This shy boy has no experience 

Please help him and show him how to do stuff 

Like all clones, he’s a very fast learner 

So he learns how to turn you into a moaning mess fairly quickly 

Darman loves hearing you make noises, so he becomes a huge tease 

He has great patience, so it takes a lot of effort on your end to turn him into a mess

When you explain kinks to him he has no idea about any of them 

He’s willing to try most things though! 

Darman is pretty shy, so he won’t really tell you what he wants to try 

When you two try things out, you quickly learn he’s kinky 

You also learn that he’s a switch, but primarily a bottom 

Darman likes pretty much anything 

He won’t fuck in public though, it makes him nervous 

He’s a sweetheart and a giver, so he always makes it about your pleasure 

You’ll cum till you pass out with Darman 

So he loves to take it slow

He loves giving oral, but isn’t the biggest fan of receiving it 

He has a breeding kink, so he’d much rather cum deep inside of you 

Darman always asks if he can cum inside of you, because he’s polite like that 

He doesn’t like quickies, he doesn’t have enough time to tease you 

Darman loves his intimate nights with you! He always makes sure to end them with you asleep in his big strong arms 

Atin 

SFW

Kal Skirata didn’t teach his Commando’s shit about romance 

Luckily for Atin, he was trained by Walon Vau. Who made sure they knew about romance 

Atin is very quiet, and always seems like an outsider from the others 

When he gets a crush on you he tries to avoid you because of FeeliNGS

Once he gets over that, he eventually asks you out 

Atin tries to be a huge hardass, but he’s really a simp 

He’ll act like he doesn’t like you that much, when he’s already in love with you 

Once you begin dating he spends as much time as possible with you 

His brothers obviously come first, but you’re still one of his first priorities 

Atin is obviously very damaged from Vau’s training, the many many scars prove that 

You two will have to be dating for a while before he even begins to tell you what happened to him

Atin has a lot of baggage and hates to talk about it, so you’ll have to gain his trust 

Unlike his brothers, Atin can actually flirt pretty well 

He’s smooth as hell and knows it 

The large white scar that runs from under his eye to the opposite side of his mouth makes him more attractive 

And oh boy does he know it 

When he’s away on missions he comms you a lot and tries to stay in contact with you 

He doesn’t make the Null’s watch you while he’s away, he knows you’ll be fine 

Atin may seem dead inside and extremely burdened, but he has a sense of humor 

He jokes now and then, but he isn’t a jokester like Fi 

He is pretty romantic as well, he often plans cute little romantic things for the two of you 

When he cooks dinner it isn’t the best, but it isn’t terrible 

Atin doesn’t give a fuck, so he’ll do PDA 

Sometimes he may bring you little trinkets from missions, but not often 

He shows his love with his actions, not by showering you with gifts 

Being an extremely burdened by dark thoughts and a terrible past, he has nightmares a lot 

Cuddle him and just constantly remind him that he is safe in your arms 

When Atin falls in love with you he won’t say it first, but you can tell immediately by his actions 

Once he falls in love with you, he falls hard. 

NSFW 

Atin doesn’t have much experience 

But it doesn’t show at all 

He’s amazing right off the bat, you hardly have to teach him anything 

He learns all of your favorite spots and such almost immediately 

Atin makes sure to turn you into a mess pretty quickly 

He loves being a huge tease, but he isn’t as patient as the others 

So he doesn’t tease you for too long 

He’s willing to try really anything 

Atin is kinky and will openly admit it 

He will always make your deepest darkest desires come true 

He will do it anytime, anywhere. Atin does not give a flying fuck 

He may seem completely dominant, but he’s actually a switch 

When you get dominant he doesn’t last long at all 

Please top this man if you want to see him moan like a bitch in heat(Pegging or just a good ride.)

!Anal! 

Atin is covered in scars, mainly from the sword of Walon Vau 

If you trace his scars he immediately melts 

He loves it rough, but he is a slut for some soft sex 

Like all clones, he has a breeding kink 

He never really acts on it unless you’re into being breed 

Atin is surprisingly good at giving oral

He loves giving oral, but he especially loves receiving it 

Atin loves making you beg and such, but he’ll do quickies. He just doesn’t enjoy them that much 

He loves aftercare! He loves cleaning you up while you try to remember your name 

Especially nice warm baths or showers!! He just feels that they’re so intimate 

When you fall asleep, you fall asleep in the big strong scarred arms of your favorite Commando 

Fi 

SFW

Fi never shuts his mouth. Ever. 

If you like quiet men look the other way 

Fi is full of terrible cheesy jokes that are actually hilarious 

He never really takes anything seriously either 

Once he gets a crush on you, you’ll know immediately 

He’ll shamelessly flirt with you constantly 

He’ll ask you out for drinks after a few days of terrible jokes and bad flirting 

Fi will fall pretty hard for you, and fast. 

Once you two begin dating he will still flirt and be hilarious 

He thinks he’s smooth but he isn’t. He’s just terribly cheesy 

Fi is surprisingly romantic! He always plans cute little dates for the two of you 

No matter if it’s going out for dinner, or just a simple movie night at your apartment. 

Just don’t let him make dinner, he will start a fire 

You found this out the hard way of course 

He’ll always make the date unforgettable 

He is totally for PDA. It makes him feel like he has a normal life 

Fi is a big sweetheart, and he tries to spoil you 

Fi always brings you home little trinkets from his missions

He loves bringing you sweets! He has a giant sweet tooth, so he always has sweets on him

Fi loves his brothers, and tells you about them often 

He brags about you constantly to his brothers to irritate him 

He also shows off to you, a lot 

When he’s away for awhile he tries to comm you every now and then 

He is a little clingy, so when he finally gets back to you he showers you in affection 

He always tries his hardest to make up for being away for so long 

The Null’s check on you now and then while Fi is gone

Fi covers up his pain and emotions with humor, and it’s kind of obvious 

All he wants is a normal life, and he can never have that. Often you’ll see him staring at families, sadness in his eyes 

He hates talking about his problems, so it will take a lot for him to finally talk to you about his pain 

Like his brothers, he obviously worships Kal SKirata. 

Once you two have been dating for a while you finally meet Kal 

Once Fi falls in love with you, you’re stuck with him forever 

For the love of god please snuggle this boy 

He needs the cuddles 

His brothers quickly become your friends

Fi will always love you, no matter what 

NSFW

Fi doesn’t have experience, so you’ll have to teach him things 

He learns quickly, so it doesn’t take him long to memorize every part of you 

He never takes anything seriously, including sex 

He doesn’t shut his mouth ever. Even during sex

Fi will seem all serious for a while, then he’ll say or do something hilarious 

He is pretty decent at dirty talk 

He loves PDA! It gives him a thrill 

He is a massive tease!! in public especially 

Fi likes it when you beg for him to finally fuck you 

He’s open to trying most things 

So if you’re kinky, so is Fi 

He is a switch, like all clones, but he enjoys being topped more 

Fi thinks you look the best when you’re on top of him

He is amazing at giving oral, so be prepared for that 

He enjoys receiving it, but he’d much rather cum deep inside of you 

Fi never really acts on his breeding kink unless you like being bred 

If you like being bred he’ll cum inside you every chance he gets 

Fi will do quickies and such, but he’d rather have time for intimacy 

He is a huge slut for intimacy 

So Fi prepares soft slow sex over fast and rough 

He still enjoys the rough moments though!!

Fi is great at aftercare, he loves cleaning you two up

He snuggles up to you as you two drift off, his strong arms wrapped tightly around you 

Corr

SFW

Corr was stuck with a shitty desk job when he lost his hands

It made him pretty depressed and such, because he missed his bomb squad brothers 

Once he joins the Omega Squad he perks up immediately!! 

He missed the front lines, and it’s obvious 

If you begin dating him before he joins the Omega’s, you’ll see him every night 

Because he’s stuck on coruscant till the GAR gives him good prosthetic hands

Once he joins the Omega Squad you don’t see him as much, but he comms you often 

Corr loves staying in touch with you, so he’s always comming you 

He doesn’t get good prosthetic hands for quite a while, like after he joins the Omega’s 

When he gets them he shows them off, visibly excited like a child would be 

Corr keeps the fake skin off his prosthetic hands, because he thinks the metal looks cool

He makes you meet the Omega's and the Null’s 

They all love you instantly 

He’s been on Coruscant long enough to not give a shit about PDA 

So he brings you everywhere he can, he loves going out with you!

Corr is a generally cheerful man, you rarely see him down 

He loves telling you about his new Commando missions!! Even if they’re classified 

Corr is the biggest sweetheart in the GAR, he constantly spoils you 

He’ll always bring you flowers or little things he carved from wood or bone 

He spoils you with affection too! He’s always down for cuddles

He is constantly kissing your forehead and knuckles

Corr is actually super romantic! At his old desk job the women there helped learn the way of romance 

Sometimes he’ll cook you dinner, or bake you something! He is an amazing cook 

Corr is a flirt, but he’s smooth as can be 

Mereel trained him in the art of seducing the pants right off of people

So Corr is amazing at it!! 

He winks at you All. The. Time.  

It’s his thing 

Corr obviously has issues and severe PTSD. But what clone doesn’t?

He is 100% willing to talk about it though!! 

Once he can trust you he tells you really everything 

Corr is just super loving, and he makes sure you know that you’re loved every chance he gets 

NSFW

Mereel taught Corr the in’s and out’s of people 

So he knows what he’s doing 

You wouldn’t expect this sweetheart to have that much experience 

So you’re very surprised at how quickly he brings you to an orgasm 

Corr use to be on the bomb squad, he is very patient 

This makes him a huge tease!! He loves watching you writhe beneath him

He also loves drawing as many orgasms from you as possible 

He has very quick moving hands, but since they’re prosthetic they’re not as good as the originals would be 

He often apologies for his metal hands, saying his real fingers were so much better 

If you like temperature play he’ll use his cold metal hands on you 

Corr is kinky as hell, and you learn that pretty quickly 

He brings up the conversation, so he can learn what you’re into 

Whatever you want to try he’ll totally try!! He’s very willing 

Corr will do it anytime, anywhere

He also has no shame, so keep that in mind 

Corr is a switch, so he doesn’t care who's in charge 

Please pegg this man 

He doesn’t have a preferred speed, it all depends on his mood 

So he is totally down for quickies! 

Mereel taught Corr how to dirty talk like a fucking king 

He can make you cum with just his words 

Corr has a breeding kink, but won’t do anything about it unless you’re into that 

He loves giving and receiving oral! 

This man will give you oral every chance he gets, he loves your taste 

Corr is such a sweetie! He loves worshipping you during aftercare 

He loves the intimacy of it all 

Corr loves falling asleep with your limbs entangled with his 

[youngcheesecaketale]

Clonetober #20 Clones and Their Jedis 1/10

In this story, I’m going to tell you guys about each Battalion and their Jedi(s). I will also tell you guys about one of the Commandos and His Jedi “WIFE.” So…..saying that. I’m going to tell you about the Commandos first.

The Clone Commandos were one of the most POWERFUL and ELITE types of Clones. Their mission tasks were to CONVERT INFILTRATION, SABOTAGE, DEMOLITION and ASSASSINATION. The Clone Commandos and Jedi I’m going to talk about one of the Clone Commandos “Darman Skirata” and his Jedi “WIFE Etain Tur-Mukan.” Darman Skirata first met Etain Tur-Mukan when he and his “OMEGA SQUAD” were going to the planet “Qiilura” to destroy a bio-weapon facility. They had Jedi Master “Kast Fulier” and his Padawan “Etain Tur-Mukan” to help them DESTROY THE BIO-WEAPON FACILITY. Master Kast Fulier and his Padawan Etain Tur-Mukan went to Qiilura to get more information about the BIO-WEAPON FACILITY. 

Darman and his OMEGA SQUAD were waiting for Master Kast Fulier to arrive so they could get started with their mission. When Master Kast’s ship landed, he came out with his Padawan Etain Tur-Mukan. Darman was head over heels when he first saw her when she got off the ship and started walking with her Master as they went to meet the Commandos. When Master Kast introduced his Padawan Etain Tur-Mukan, Darman couldn’t speak when she asked him what his name was. Darman said, “I’m Bio. No Sorry...I’m Ah….” As he was trying to say his name when one of his Clone Commando Brother “Niner” came up and said, “Hey Ms Etain Tur-Mukan. My name is Niner and this is my Baby Brother Darman.” Etain then asked Niner this, “Is...Darman OK? He looks like he’s having a SEIZURE.” Niner looked at Darman then turned to Etain and said, “Oh his fine. He just gets nervous meeting new people plus, it’s been awhile since he met ....” Niner was going to say “PRETTY WOMAN” when Darman got out of his daydream and said out loud, “MET A JEDI PADAWAN.” Etain said this, “OK…..Well it��s nice to meet you guys. I’m excited to work with you guys. Master Kast told me about you guys. I GUYS are much BIGGER than what I thought. You guys are even BIGGER than a REGULAR CLONE. Even though they are taller than me. It must be because of your guys armor that makes you guys like BIG. I always LOVE tall men. I mean I like…..Oh. Sorry. I hear Master Kast is calling me. BYE.” After they see her leave, Niner elbows him saying, “I think she LIKES YOU. “ Darman told his Brother to “SHUT UP.”

As they traveled, they found a spot where they could camp for the night. Etain has never camped outside before but she was always ready to try new things. They had “Fi” set up the tents and “Atin '' was going to make dinner while Niner talked with Master Kast about the plans. Atin told Etain and Darman to get some firewood because Niner told Atin that they both LOVE EACH OTHER. Also, Niner and the other Clone Commandos (except for Darman) placed a bet on when they saw Darman and Etain kiss each other. They both agreed as they were going to collect some wood. Both Etain and Darman asked questions to one another as they were collecting wood. When they headed back, Etain slipped on a rock while she was crossing the river and fell into the cold water and Darman had just crossed it. He turned around when he heard a splash and saw Etain sitting in the shallow river. He dropped the wood on the ground and ran to go help her. As he did, he slipped on a rock and also fell into the river. Both of them were laughing at each other. Darman got up and helped Etain who was soaked to the bone. As he was helping her up, she told him that she “might have” sprained her ankle. When Darman heard that, he IMMEDIATELY called on his comlink and asked Fi & Atin to come help because Etain sprained her ankle. They rushed over to see Darman hold Etain in his arms and started walking back to camp so THOSE 2 could bring the fire wood. Once they were back, Darman brought her to one of the tents so Niner could look at her ankle. Niner told her to change into her other clothes. Etain agreed and asked Darman to bring her backpack that had her spare clothes in it. Once he got it, he went to the tent and put his arm through the opening to hand her backpack without seeing her. He feared that he would be seeing her with no clothes on. Etain told him that it was OK to come into the tent and that she didn’t start undressing and also, she COULDN’T REACH her backpack because of her ankle.

Darman took a deep breath in and went into the tent to hand her her backpack. Before he was about to leave, she stopped him and asked him if he would help her. Darman asked her, “Do..do you think that it would be OK if I helped you? I mean would Master Kast be OK with me helping you..? Before he was about to finish, Etain grabbed his hand and whispered to him saying, “He will SOON know if YOU DON’T KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN. Now are you just going to stand there and watch me get cold or are you going to help me?!” Darman nodded and helped her get undressed.

Once she was done, Darman poked his head out to make sure the coast was clear for him to exit the tent so NO ONE would know that he helped her get undressed. After the coast was clear, he told Etain that he was going to get Niner to look when Etain grabbed his hand and said, “I’m so...I’m sorry. I lied that I sprained my ankle. I lied about it because when I first saw you, I fell in love with you and I wanted you to carry me.” Darman said, “I felt the same way about you too. Except for the part of you carrying ME. I think I would be too heavy for you to carry me! ” Both laugh. Darman was about to take off his helmet to give Etain a kiss when they heard Atin yelling that dinner was ready. He put his helmet back on and told Etain that they should get some food. Etain nodded with a somewhat sad face but when she left the tent, she put on a smile as if nothing ever happened. Once everyone got their plate of food. The Clone Commandos took off their helmets. Etain started to stare at Darman as he lifted his helmet off. Once he lifted it up, Darman opened his beautiful eyes and made eye contact with Etain. When Etain saw his eyes, she fainted. Darman dropped his plate and was able to catch her before she hit the ground. Darman held her as she was waking up. Niner and the others looked at her and asked if she was OK. She told them that she was OK. Darman slowly lifted her up as he fed and gave her some water. She felt much better knowing that he was the one she was looking for. A MAN who cared about her health and loved her. 

As they all sat by the campfire and were eating, Niner whispered to Master Kast Fulier while everyone was busy eating, saying that Darman has a crush on Etain and Etain has a crush on Darman. Master Kast nodded. He then whispered to Niner and told him that he knew that they were in love. He also told him that they would make a perfect couple. Once Niner heard that, he told Master Kast that they should get Darman and Etain to fall in love and that they should get married. Master Kast said that they should because he was not going to take care of his Padawan FOREVER and wanted her to be happy with the person she loves no matter what the Jedi Rules say about no marriage. Niner nodded and told him his plan. Master Kast nodded and agreed.

Niner told everyone where they were assigned to sleep. He told Atin and Fi to sleep in this tent while he and Master Kast sleep in the other. He told Darman and Etain that “somehow” they forgot to bring a tent for Etain to sleep in and “suggested” that THEY should sleep together by the campfire. Both Darman and Etain were both looking at each other and agreed to. Etain sleep a few feet from Darman. Darman saw that she was shaking and told her that he would keep her warm. Etain nodded and started to come closer to Darman. He took off his armor and motioned her to come closer. Etain laid on his chest as Darman put a blanket over both of them. Etain gave him a kiss on the lips out of nowhere and told him thank you. Darman gives her a kiss back and says that you are welcome.

I know this isn’t how the REAL STORY GOES but like I said before. THIS IS MY STORY AND I CAN DECIDE WHAT I WANT IN MY STORY! So saying that, they finished the missing, Darman and Etain went to get married in THE WAY OF AN MANDALORIAN WAY. Then Etain was pregnant with Darman’s child and after a few months, their son was born. They named him “Venku Skirata” and they all lived happily ever after since Order 66 NEVER HAPPENED. The End.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you guys like it. Please let me know how you liked my story. I will write #2 of his story but with other Clones and their Jedis. 

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 6)

CW: Series typical sexist description, I guess. 

TL;DR Recap:  Birhan attempts to chase Etain away but is dissuaded by Jinart. Darman is puzzled by nature and also severely sleep deprived. Hokan is sexist and Uthan is introduced.

Starting Kal Count: 7. Ending Kal Count: 10.

We immediately open the chapter with another Kal quote. And not even an interesting one. But that ups the Kal Count to 8.

The scene we start with though is from Etain’s pov. Birhan our vaguely contemptuous farmer, is throwing clods of dirt at Etain and telling her to “GTFO because this is all your fault” essentially. 

(Etain plays the scape goat a lot. It’s a trend. Realistically though, he’s afraid of what Hokan will do if he’s found sheltering her, given the “militia” burned people and their livelihoods last chapter.)

Etain still has no idea who Jinart is, but Jinart tells Birhan he’s being stupid. Etain tries and fails to mind influence him with yet another quote about Etain’s lack of control over the Force when it’s most needed. Jinart shoves Birhan around a bit and tries again to persuade him by basically telling him he can either get murdered by the Republic or keep Etain as a kind of human MiracleGro:

This quote is one of the big reasons that I headcanon that Etain was never really going to be happy as a mercenary farmer’s wife living in rural Mandalore with Kal, or happy in a rural/agricultural setting, period. Her strongest associations with agricultural life are the AgriCorps and Qiilura- failure and trauma. The narrative flat out tells us “agriculture spelled failure”. 

And while that might be resolved eventually with a character arc (that she doesn’t get) ag life flat out doesn’t provide the sense of purpose that Etain is so desperate for. There’s nothing dishonorable about farming, but Etain sees it as “life on a backwater planet, talking to grain” and through out the series she strives for the opportunity to make a real difference to other people. Misguidedly at times, I’ll admit, but I don’t think she could have ever been content with what was being offered.

Anyway, Jinart steers Etain back in the direction of the barn. Etain is getting understandably paranoid, but there’s some narration in this scene I just don’t get?

I have SO MANY THOUGHTS about this scene. Enough that I’ll probably make a separate post later. I’m trying to keep my posts brief, I really am, but I pull so much from these couple of pages for Etain.

My first thought is that it’s really, really fucking weird to put Etain’s digression about Jedi values of anti-attachment here, relative to this barn...as opposed to like, idk, a reflection on her life versus the clones’ later. 

Of fucking course the barn isn’t home. It’s a place she’s been hiding from people who want to kill, torture, or rape her while behind enemy lines on a military mission and the owner of the barn just directly threatened her, if ineffectively. “No loves, no attachments” well, yeah, you’re surrounded by enemies and your teacher was just tortured to death. “At least it wouldn’t be hard to tear herself away from here.” Well, no shit. Was that ever even a realistic option?

Then we immediately get the highlighted exchange with Jinart, and again, I’m repeatedly struck by how differently Omega’s grief versus Etain’s is frame. I’m not saying that Etain’s statement is wrong, or even out of character necessarily. 

But it’s super detached, again. Granted, the clones don’t spend time weeping on screen. But their grief at losing their respective squads is brought up repeatedly. The prologue and most of the first chapter are either Darman realizing he’ll never see his squad again or Niner and Fi’s heartbreaking conversation about it. It plays into Niner’s repeated fears for Darman and his anger with Atin. It plays in to Atin’s seeming callousness towards Darman. Etain has a scene later where she asks Darman if he misses his brothers, and he goes quiet and hurt and the weight of the scene rightly falls on her like a hammer.

While Etain... I’m not saying it doesn’t affect her actions; it very visibly affects her paranoia. But it’s never handled quite like grief, if that makes sense? At least not after the initial death.

Speaking of paranoia... Jinart really has no call to be offended that Etain is suspicious, given what’s happened to Etain over the last several weeks and the fact that Jinart spends much of the rest of the novel insinuating she’s naive and useless. Etain has every right to be paranoid, all things considered. But then we get this contradictory mess of a conversation:

The soothing bit doesn’t make sense to me. But I’m biased because I dislike Jinart based on the whole scope of the series. And again Etain grieving and feeling alone and hating being alone in grief makes sense, but the framing of this quote is super weird. Especially as the farmers haven’t demonstrated and “home”-like behavior or even family loyalties on screen.

But we’re finally moving on from this huge ass rant about this scene as we open onto Darman crawling through an open field with his kit and generally being overwhelmed by the sheer openness of everything+ the physical strain when he’s already wounded and exhausted. During the course of this, it comes up that Dar is still desperately hungry, so he starts thinking about what wildlife might be edible, and then about Kal and uj cake.

Kal Count is increased to 9.

Darman is exhausted and fatigued, and most of the section, while interesting, can just be boiled down to him trying to motivate himself to keep going because he’s terrified he’ll miss the rendezvous with the rest of Omega Squad. The same kind of bird that brought down his ship in the first place eats the remote he was using to scout ahead, so he swears at it. There’s another mention of Kal teaching them to build defensive fortifications which ups the Kal Count to 10.

But there’s also a fair bit of fascination as he’s experiencing nature for the first time. He takes his helmet off to smell the breeze, soaks in the stream, and is captivated by his first view of the daywings, which makes you think he is kind of a small-details guy. 

...Dar....

anyway, he falls asleep eventually without much more of note happening in this section. We move to Ghez Hokan introducing the reader to Separatist scientist and would-be creator of the anti-clone bio weapon, Qail Ovolot Uthan. 

I appreciate Uthan a lot as a character, despite her later handling in Imperial Commando: 501st, but this particular introduction still makes me cringe.

I legitimately can’t tell if this is how Traviss thinks of this character, or if this is deliberate characterization of Hokan via his descriptions of Uthan, but ugh.

Hokan: She knows I can’t be seduced, but she still wants to seduce me!

Ugh. The man is also way caught up his own ass in terms of what he thinks other people think of him. He doesn’t want to sit in Uthan’s brocaded chair because it’s “too decadent” but does it anyway because otherwise he would be addressing her while standing like a servant. Dude, you need some therapy. What’s the Mando expression? All helmet, no head?

Anyway, I really, really like Uthan here actually. She’s super ruthless, and even if she’s not a great person, ruthless and somewhat ammoral female characters are a fun rarity. I wish that KT could have kept it up throughout the series rather than making her into “bitter lonely career woman”, but look how casually she decides her work is threatened and then which of her associates she needs to cooly dispose of to prevent that happening:

The smartest thought Hokan has had so far is the recognition that if she’ll arrange to dispose of Ankkit, she’ll do the same to him, honestly. But when Uthan sees him hesitate, she goes right for the kill and presses just the right button to utterly manipulate him. He even recognizes it, but is unable to not be convinced.

She tells him that the clones are clones of Jango Fett. And of course he goes all Death Watch and Mandalorian Honor about it.

Honestly, Hokan. And then we finish the chapter with the thing that really makes me question his intelligence:

“To make them proper men again?”

this is the third time I’ve said it.... but how the fuck do you think viruses work, Hokan?

Honestly.

[filmfanatix]

ROSA ROSAL. Filipino film companies in the 1950s were cashing in on the popularity of Hollywood stars that the more an actress resembles a Hollywood leading lady, the more chances she will have of getting good movie roles. Such was the case for Rosa Rosal or Florence Lansang Danon in real life, for she resembled Hollywood star and wi-fi inventor, Hedy Lamarr. They first tried her on for size in contra-vida roles but she proved to be too big and too talented for them. Wikipedia records her film career as follows:

The Nolasco Brothers Studio cast Rosal in Fort Santiago (1946). Her screen name was taken from the Tagalog words for "rose" and "gardenia". In 1947, Rosal was cast opposite Leopoldo Salcedo in Kamagong (1947). Her performance drew the attention of the other major film studios, and she was signed to a contract with LVN Pictures by the studio head, Doña Sisang de Leon. She was cast by LVN Pictures in her first starring role in the 1949 film Biglang Yaman.

Throughout the 1950s, Rosal starred in costume dramas such as Prinsipe Amante sa Rubitanya (1951), and in such neo-realist dramas as Lamberto Avellana's Anak Dalita (1956), Tony Santos's Badjao (1956), and Manuel Silos's Biyaya ng Lupa (1959), which she cites as the best film she has ever made. For her role in Anak Dalita, Rosal would receive a citation from President Ramon Magsaysay. She was named FAMAS Best Actress in 1955 for Sonny Boy, and would be nominated for three other times, for Dagohoy (1953), Biyaya ng Lupa, and Ang Lahat ng Ito Pati na ang Langit (1989).

Notwithstanding her serious roles, Rosal would become best known in the 1950s for her daring appearances in film. She had no qualms appearing onscreen in bathing suits, engaging in kissing scenes or in playing villainous roles. Offscreen, Rosal led a quiet and private life. She enrolled in night classes at the Cosmopolitan Colleges and obtained a degree in Business Administration in 1954. She was married briefly in 1957 to an American pilot, Walter Gayda, with whom she had a child, Toni Rose, who later became a television host.

In the 1960s, Rosal became one of the first leading Filipino actors to appear regularly on television. She was a fixture on Cecille Guidote Alvarez's dramatic series Balintataw on ABC-5 (now TV5). In the 1970s, Rosal starred in Iyan ang Misis Ko, a family-oriented sitcom with Ronald Remy. In 1976, Rosal would also appear in Behn Cervantes's Sakada, a film which was banned by the martial law government of President Ferdinand Marcos but which found its way into campuses during the martial law years thus gaining a foothold among the young members of the movement to oust Marcos.

Humanitarian. To the young generation she is perhaps known as the former national director of Philippine Red Cross a post she held with much aplomb, earning her a Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1999 for her efforts. In fact it was then President Magsaysay who first offered her a job in his cabinet, the equivalent of today's Secretary of the Dept. of Social Welfare but she declined the offer opting instead to pursue what was then her burgeoning film career.

In 2010, tragedy struck the home of Rosa Rosal when her grandson, Edward James Lim, fell off the balcony of their 4th floor condo. "Masakit sa amin, pero we have to face reality. Ang Panginoon ang nagbigay buhay sa atin, at siya rin naman ang puwedeng kumuha nito sa atin," Rosal said afterwards in an interview.

[sandratabra-blog]

Am vazut toate filmele din franciza Fast and Furious si, dupa ce s-a intamplat cu Paul Walker, speram sa nu mai continue. Am spus cateva cuvinte despre asta aici. Insa a venit 2017 si a adus inca un film din serie. Ma gandeam sa nu il vad, dar ideea ca Helen Mirren a avut un rol mi-a trezit curiozitatea. Ma uitam la Red 2 cand mi-am amintit de ea si m-am intrebat care ar putea fi rolul ei. Ce ar fi putut sa faca? Cum ar fi putut sa se integreze in echipa unor nebuni care conduc de parca sunt una cu masinile? Pentru o secunda, mi-am amintit ca Jason Statham a jucat in Fast and Furious 6 si cum amandoi sunt englezi si varstele sunt potrivite, ea ar putea fi mama lui. Mi-am zis ca e un gand prea nebun ca sa fie asa.

La inceput filmul mi s-a parut mult mai slab decat celelalte. Singura parte interesanta era cearta continua intre Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) si Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), acestia intrecandu-se in fraze ciudate, menite sa faca pe fiecare sa para mai grozav si mai dur decat celalalt. In rest, cei din echipa obisnuita, pareau cam iesiti din rol, nefiind prea convingatori in timpul scenelor. O mare surpriza a fost Charlize Theron in rolul lui Cipher, o programatoare cibernetica cu un plan nemilos pentru lume. Duritatea ei, combinata cu calmul constant, indiferent de ce se intampla, au creat un personaj interpretat excelent.

Povestea este una destul de simpla si un pic ciudata. Din cate imi amintesc eu din ultimul film, Dominic si Elena nu au fost cu adevarat impreuna, ci doar au avut o chimie foarte buna. Asa ca aparitia unui fiu al lui Dominic mi s-a parut putin cam ciudata. Apoi vine faza cu omul rau care vrea sa obtina dominatia nucleara asupra lumii si deja este o poveste cam plictisitoare. Insa ce mi-a placut a fost faptul ca totul s-a bazat pe tehnologia avansata si pe exploatarea dezavantajelor existentei ei. Dintr-o data ne este clar cat de usor este pentru o singura persoana sa aiba controlul simultan si de la distanta asupra a 1000 de masini de ultima generatie in mijlocul unei metropole. Folosirea cipurilor din masini pentru a prelua controlul asupra lor mi-a amintit de un scandal de acum cativa ani in care o mare companie din industria autovehiculelor a fost fortata sa retraga softul cu care functiona computerul de bord dupa ce un grup de hackeri a reusit sa-l sparga, preluand controlul total asupra masinii. Acum, sincer, nu cred ca este chiar atat de usor precum pare in film sa fie preluat controlul asupra unui autovehicul prin simplul hack al cipului din interiorul masinii. Cred ca este mai greu si nu cred ca se poate simultan cu sute de masini folosind doar cateva linii de cod. In orice caz, este folosita ideea cu scopul de a crea un efect bombastic si cam asta se si intampla. Scenele respective sunt uluitoare, inclusiv prin folosirea unghiurilor de filmare.

In general, actiunea filmului merge pe o linie constanta si cumva plictisitoare, chiar cu toate cascadoriile din prima jumatate. Apoi, cand incepe infruntarea, lucrurile incep sa devina interesante. Reintra in scena Deckard Shaw, inviat din morti, alaturi de fratele sau, Owen (Luke Evans). Cei doi au o misiune clara: sa preia si sa tina in siguranta copilul lui Dominic. Aici scenele sunt alternate cu alte scene in care se explica cum se face ca Deckard nu a murit si cu scenele in care restul echipei se lupta in continuare cu echipele lui Cipher. Plus niste elemente marunte, cum ar fi cateva rachete si un submarin :))

Mi-a placut enorm partea aceasta parte, pentru ca scenele cu Helen Mirren si Jason Statham au fost fabuloase. Ea este intr-adevar mama lui si il convinge sa il ia in misiune si pe fratele lui. Cum anume, este greu de povestit, trebuie privit. Pot sa spun ca implica cateva lacrimi, o palma peste fata lui si cateva fraze stil mafiot (“nimeni nu se pune cu familia noastra” si asa mai departe). Apoi vine partea in care Deckard trebuie sa se lupte cu oamenii lui Cipher in timp ce are grija de copil. Iarasi, Statham este fenomenal, cum imbina lupta cu cinci deodata cu momentele in care ii zambeste copilului si vorbeste cu el in mod adorabil, asa cum vorbeste oricine cu un bebelus. Despre scenele cu echipa, in afara de folosirea tehnicii slow motion in momente-cheie, mai nimic nu iese in evidenta. Sunt cam aceleasi combinatii de cascadorii, doar ca totul se intampla pe gheata, cu rachete zburand in dreptul masinilor fiecaruia si apoi un submarin care iese la suprafata pentru a sparge gheata si a-i pune in pericol. De notat ca momentul exploziei finale, in care Dominic este in afara masinii sale si ceilalti il flancheaza cu vehiculele lor pentru ca el sa nu fie atins de flacarile rezultate este total incorect. Nici o persoana nu ar fi putut fi protejata in realitate, daca toata explozia era la acelasi nivel, cu flacarile venind direct catre ei. Plus ca nici macar filmul nu contrazice total realitatea, pentru ca echipa, impartita in cateva masini, este ingrijorata putin ca nu vor rezista masinile la flacarile extreme. De aici vine intrebarea fireasca: cum ar fi putut Dominic sa supravietuiasca?

Dupa ce se termina totul, echipa este pe un acoperis de bloc, la o masa, cam ca in stilul fiecarui final din serie. Dominic mai spune cate ceva despre cat de importanta este familia si apoi totul se termina cu bine, dar mereu cu micul element care prevesteste urmatorul film. De data aceasta, aflam ca Cipher este undeva in Atena, dar ca nu prezinta un pericol imediat (deci mai poate astepta un an-doi pana se lanseaza partea a noua).

Ah, si, cel mai important, Dominic alege primul nume al copilului, acesta fiind, bineinteles, “Bryan”.

Este un film mai slab decat cele dinainte, nu prin lipsa lui Paul Walker, ci prin simpla lungire a povestii. Din pacate, fiecare moment in care este cat de cat bun nu are nimic de-a face cu Vin Diesel si cu restul echipei. Insa trebuie sa recunosc ca as revedea filmul numai pentru a doua jumatate, cu scenele cu Jason Statham si cu scena in care, in sfarsit, Charlize Theron isi pierde mintile si incepe sa tipe, nemai fiind un personaj imperturbabil.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’ve watched all the films from the “Fast and Furious” franchise and, after what happened to Paul Walker, I was hoping they would stop. I wrote about it a little here. But 2017 came and with it came another film in the series. I thought about not watching it, but the idea of Helen Mirren acting in it made me very curious. I was watching RED 2 when I remembered about her role in “The Fate of the Furious” and I started wondering who could she be in it? What could she do? How would she fit in a movie with a mad people driving fast cars? For a second, I remembered that Jason Statham was in “Fast and Furious 6”, that they’re both British and since their ages are right, she would his mother in the film. I said to myself that that’s a far too crazy thought.

The beginning of the movie seemed rather bad compared to the others in the same series. The only interesting part is when Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) keep arguing, each of them describing themselves to be better than the other one, using awkward, but kind of funny sentences. The members of the regular team, seemed a bit out of their roles and didn’t offer a convincing interpretation. A lovely surprise was Charlize Theron, in the role of Cipher, a ruthless cyber programmer with an unmerciful plan for the world. Her harshness, combined with a constant calm no matter what was happening, led to a very well interpreted character.

The plot is rather simple and a little bit weird. As far as I remember from the last film, Dominic and Elena weren’t truly together, they only shared a good chemistry. So the fact that she had his son seemed to me a bit strange. Then there’s the idea about the bad guy wanting to achieve nuclear domination over the world and you got yourself a boring film plot. I loved the fact that it was all based on the very advanced technology and on the exploitation of its disadvantages. It shows us how easy it is for a single person to control simultaneously from a distance 1000 new-generation cars in the middle of a metropolis. Taking over control of a car using its chip reminded me of the scandal that broke out a few years ago when a group of hackers took over the control of a car by hacking the soft it was using, forcing the company to retrieve that version of the software. To be honest, I don’t think it’s as easy as it looks in the film to take control over a car by simply hacking the chip installed in it. I think it is more difficult and I’m not sure you can do it simultaneously using a few code lines. Either way, the idea is meant to create a bombastic effect and it certainly does that. The scenes are amazing, including due to the usage of the shooting angles.

Generally, the action is constant and boring, even with all the stunts used in the first half. Then, when the big showdown begins, things start to get interesting. Deckard Shaw returns from the dead alongside his brother, Owen (Luke Evans) and the two have a clear mission: to free Dom’s son and keep him safe. Here, the scenes are alternated with the scenes in which it is explained how come Deckard didn’t die. Plus a few insignificant elements, like a few missiles and a submarine :))

I loved this part of the movie due to the scenes shared by Helen Mirren and Jason Statham. They’re brilliant. She is his mother and she convinces him to take his brother alongside of him in the mission. It’s hard to tell how she does that, you have to watch it. I can say it involves a few tears, a slap on his face and a few mafia-style sentences like “nobody messes with our family” and so on. Then there’s the part where Deckard has to fight Cipher’s men while taking care of the baby. Once again, Statham is phenomenal due to his way of combining the moments in which he has to be serious to fight those guys with the moment in which he has to be very calm and funny so the child won’t be scared by what is going on. As for the scene in which the crew fights Cipher’s people, apart fro m the slow motion technique used in key moments, nothing really stands out. The same stunts, only that this time they’re on ice, missiles are flying toward their cars and then a submarine comes to the surface to break the ice and endanger everyone. One important thing, the final explosion, where Dominic is out of his car and the others create a shelter with their cars, is completely fake, because in real life, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to survive in those conditions, especially since even those inside their cars are slightly worried that they won’t make it due to the huge blast and heat. So how could Dominic have survived?!

When everything is over, the crew is up on a roof, having a meal together, like every ending so far. As usual, Dominic says a few words about how important family is, everything ends well, but there is that small element that announces the next film. This time, we find out that Cipher is in Athens, but she doesn’t pose a major threat (so she can wait a year or two until the ninth installment).

Oh, and Dominic names his son “Bryan”. Naturally…

It is a bad film compared to the previous ones, not because Paul Walker is missing, but simply because the story unnecessarily prolonged. Unfortunately, each good moment in it has nothing to do with Vin Diesel and the regular crew. But, I have to admit that I would watch the film again, just to see Statham’s scenes with the baby and the scene in which Charlize Theron’s character looses her mind and starts screaming, breaking all that calm that surrounded her up until that point.

Regia: / Directed by: F. Gary Gray

Scenariul: / Written by: Chris Morgan

Distributia: / Cast: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Scott Eastwood, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju

The Fate of the Furious / Furios si iute 8 (2017) Am vazut toate filmele din franciza Fast and Furious si, dupa ce s-a intamplat cu Paul Walker, speram sa nu mai continue.

[cienie-isengardu]

My RepCom Musing: HC vs TZ?

As was pointed out to me in regard to previous Jango Fett and Walon Vau meta that Atin’s first squad died during training on Kamino (my bad for not checking the first book, obviously) I went to recheck the two sources and to be honest, I’m a bit confused by the feeling of divergence between Hard Contact and Triple Zero. And also wonder how the squads were refilled on Kamino when one of them lost its member(s). 

Right now I’m trying to figure out did somehow the number of Atin’s brothers killed before he became part of Omega were forgotten and/or retconned?

In Hard Contact Atin said:

"I've been the last man left standing in two squads now."

 "Oh." Silence. Niner prompted: "Want to tell me how?"

"First squad tried to rescue me on a live range exercise. I didn't need rescuing. Not that badly, anyway."

What means Vau lost overall six (or seven?) men from the first day to the Battle of Geonosis - Atin’s three brothers on Kamino and another three (or four?) brothers in the first battle.

I’m putting the numbers in doubt because where did these 3 new brothers come from if all the other Vau’s teams survived in full to the beginning of the war? Did they come from different batches trained by other instructor(s)? In that case, wouldn’t it make more sense to take a singular Atin and add him to someone else than one of Vau’s team? Skirata lost four trainees during training including Niner’s squad losing one member at some point. Of course, I’m talking here strictly theoretically as the books did not give us any solid timeline for those two incidents but it seems more logical to add one Atin somewhere when a squad needed refilling (like Niner’s pod needed) than gave Vau three clones that weren’t from start trained by him and thus could fail to meet the man’s requirements and/or lacked the skills and mindset the other Vau’s trainees already had. Thus becoming the weakest link.

Which is why I wonder if Atin could be added as fifth member to one of Vau’s squads and thus losing not three but four brothers on Geonosis. Especially if at the time when his original brothers died, there was no squad needing the refilling?

(Additionally, if Atin’s three new brothers weren’t commandos at all but chosen from between common troopers and added to the commando program when cadets were already advanced in their practical education, it could explain why Vau was so hard on Atin and presumably his whole squad. As in pushing them to not stand out from the whole batch’s level of the skills?)

But then in Triple Zero nor Vau nor Sev acknowledged this loss of 6 commandos?

"Here we go," Skirata said, all contempt. "He's going to tell you that his father beat the osik out of him and it made a man of him. Never did him any harm, no sir."

  "I've lost just three men out of my batch, Kal. That tells me a lot about my methods."

 "So I lost fourteen. You making a point?"

 "You made yours soft. They don't have that killer edge."

Additionally important quotes about Kal’s KIA boys, all from TZ:

I started with one hundred and four trainees, plus my Null lads, and now I've got ninety commandos left.

Not counting Nulls, Kal had under his watch 104 men (26 squads). One year after the Battle of Geonosis he had 90 men. But he also said to Etain that four commandos died during training on Kamino:

I lost four of my batch in training accidents, and - some of those were even down to me, my rifle, my realism.

So, when Kal says he lost 14 men, he included those killed during training and later in the war. Either Vau and Kal had a pretty big misunderstanding here or TZ!Vau lost only three people in total. Of course, Atin didn’t need to start as originally one of Vau’s men - what could explain why they count different the number of their losses -  but if all Walon’s squads were complete, there was no need to transfer Atin as the fifth member, right?

Sev also suggests that only Atin’s pod lost people. Not his pods, the plural version. One pod. And Fi, who knew in HC about Atin’s killed in action two squads did not correct or mention the original one either?

    "Look, what is this thing with Vau?" Fi pulled Sev out into the walkway again, and they jogged back to the speeder they'd left a block away. "I know he had a reputation for beating the stuffing out of trainees, but why are you ready to gut Atin?"

    "Atin's sworn he'll kill Vau."

    Fi almost stopped dead.

    "Atin? Old don't-interrupt-me-I'm-working-on-a-really-interesting-circuit? Our At'ika?"

    "Seriously?" Sev asked.

    "Yeah, sometimes I get serious. It happens?'

    "Okay. Atin's pod was the only one that ever lost men!"

    "Geonosis. Ruined Vau's clean record?"

    "It's not that simple. Atin was doing that survivor guilt thing when he got back, and Vau just focused him a bit."

    Odd: Skirata hadn't been around when Fi returned from Geonosis. But he'd worry about that later. "That explains the scar on his face."

    "You got it."

and even True Colors seems going with that version:

    Scorch grabbed a plate of seedbreads and slapped them on a table to mark his territory. Few of the other commandos sat near Delta at mealtimes because they were one of the last complete squads who'd been decanted together in Tipoca City and stayed together this far. Heavy casualties in the early days of the war-Sev hated himself for believing all that guff about Jedi being invincible military geniuses- meant that most commando squads had been re-formed at least once and just didn't have that extra cohesion that Delta did, Sev was sure. All but one of Vau's squads had stayed in one piece; he might have been a savage instructor, but it was all for their own good. He said so. It was true.

Even Etain, again in Triple Zero, has “forgotten” this particular detail?

Etain could hear the shower running in the 'fresher. She could also see Atin wandering around, eyes fixed in defocus on the grubby carpet as if he was rehearsing a speech in his head, and he was trailing a disturbance in the Force that felt like the aftermath of a battle. She'd felt Atin's raw grief on Qiilura, the pain at losing his original brothers at Geonosis, and she could taste the dark depths in him all too easily.

It could be just a bad choice of words on Etain (author)’s part but Atin’s brothers who died on Geonosis weren’t the original ones. Something Etain knew, as she was told by Niner in Hard Contact:

"All beings are individuals, and their essence in the Force reflects that. The act of living makes us different, and in that way you're like twins, only more so. Atin's very different. What happened to him to make him so burdened?"

[...]

"Atin was the only survivor of his first squad, then he was reassigned and lost all three brothers in action again," Niner said. "He feels guilty." 

"Poor man," she said. "Does he talk about it?"

 "Not much."

(Niner’s statement that Atin’s lost another three brothers seems to counter my wondering if he could be added as fifth member to one of Vau’s squad but since Atin did not talk much about that subject, Niner could simply assume the number as all known to him squads were made by only four-members)

So… is it just me or did the author somehow have forgotten how many brothers Atin lost and the survival guilt that played a big part of Atin’s characterization in first book suddenly was changed into Atin’s wish for revenge on Vau for abuse in another? And as a final result, Vau was turned away from HC!strict/grim instructor into TZ!abusive bastard just for drama (and possibly to present Kal in a better light)? Especially since Hard Contact did not present any solid hints Atin hated his former sergeant’s guts but about that I’m gonna talk hopefully  soon.

[cabezadeperro]

Darman/Sev + 4?

— MandalorianBrainWeasel

hi pax!!! the song was rober frost, by mal blum. 580w. dar and kal argue about kad, and dar decides to leave kyrimorut.

Now I'm looking at the ground because I don't want you to leave / I know it's co-dependent / But I think it's kind of sweet / Out of every person in this city / I could ever meet / Leaving feels like losing / But I'm learning what I need

Kad’s stuff is already in the bags by the door. Dar rubs at his mouth and looks around the small room one last time. The wide bed under the row of thin, slit-like windows; the wardrobe by the opposite wall; the place where Kad’s cot used to be. He shifts his weight and breathes in, breathes out, and then he crosses the room towards the open wardrobe doors and starts pulling out clothes from the first drawer.

He doesn’t owe that many things. A few changes of clothes, thick socks, a funny shirt Fi found somewhere. One of Etain’s soft undershirts, left in Kyrimorut many years ago, still soft, so impossibly small. It doesn’t smell like her, not anymore, but sometimes Dar likes to pretend it does. 

The room’s very quiet, and so is the corridor right outside: Dar’s own sigh is so loud he fancies he can hear it echo. Everyone else is in the kitchen, or in the main room of the farm, or outside: they’re either hiding from him or from Kal. 

Dar pauses. He stands there for a beat, opening and closing his fists, eyes closed and jaw clenched tight. 

He hates his own anger. He isn’t quite sure if it always turned him so cold and cruel and brittle, but now it does, and it disgusts him, it scares him, it’s ugly and awful and he hates that it’s also useful. 

The door hinges squeak. Dar blinks at the empty wardrobe and turns on his heel. He feels his scowl freeze and then crack in two. He tilts his head in question.

“Sev? Where’s Kad?” he asks.

Sev licks his lips. He stays by the door, big scarred hand hanging onto the frame, and shifts his weight.

“With Laseema,” he rasps in answer. Dar feels something unclench inside his chest. “They’re outside.”

Dar exhales in relief. He watches Sev while he steps further into the room, closing the door at his back with infinite care. 

Atin was the first to leave; in retrospect, they all should have seen it coming. 

For a beat, they just stare at each other, and then Sev looks down and away. He’s still wearing his coat, and there’s melting snow on his shoulders, and his hair’s wet. His ungloved hands are red, the knobbly knuckles obvious and scarred under the thin skin of his fingers. Dar swallows and looks away from Sev’s hands, feeling dumb and lost and young, Etain’s shirt still hanging from his own. 

He carefully folds it in half with the ease of practice, and then crosses the room and places it inside his bag. 

“Something wrong?” he makes himself say. Sev blinks, shrugs, scowls. He presses his lips together and tugs at his wild curls and then he’s already opening the door, already leaving, flushed and awkward, dark eyes troubled, and Dar’s black rage fizzles and dims. “Sev, what—?”

“‘S nothing,” Sev grumbles, but he stays by the door, looking out at the corridor. “Nothing important.”

Dar scowls. He opens his mouth, and Sev sighs, frustrated. 

“You said you had to leave,” he reminds Darman, and he’s right, and Darman hates that he is. 

“You could come with us,” Dar tells him without thinking. Sev blinks at him and then looks away, scoffing. Dar scowls. “I mean it.”

“I know,” Sev says. He smiles, tiny and there and just that tiny bit bitter.

He does, but whatever reason—his brothers, Vau, Sev’s own—he won’t.

Or: not yet.

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 13)

CW: mentions of past attempted sexual assault & dealing with the attacker, mind influence/control

TL:DR Recap: Darman and Etain are finally reunited with the rest of Omega. Unfortunately, Guta-Nay is also there. Etain and the squad develop a plan, but it involves sending Guta-Nay to his death.

Beginning Kal Count: 24 Ending Kal Count: 25

We open with what’s honestly one of my favorite exchanges between Niner and Fi, and I can’t resist screenshotting it right off the bat:

“Hey, Sarge, I’m being positive.”

“Are you on drugs?”

Fi noticing that Niner is on edge and offering to swap and Niner being too stubborn to do it,even though he specifically hates doing that exact job.

They’re still dragging Guta-Nay around with the, which unfortunately means this chapter is whenI have to start dealing with him. But even as Niner tries to press him for more info, Guta-Nay is too stupid to give it. Even when Niner plays charades to get his point across.

Atin sens up a remote to scout ahead of them, and they accidentally end up spying on Darman, who aims a gun at the remote but luckily refrains from shooting it.

I legitimately can’t tell you why I love that scene. I just do. Anyway, within five minutes they finally, finally rendezvous with Darman and Etain. Etain is having a hard time adjusting to actually seeing Niner, Fi, and Atin, even though intellectually she already knew that Darman was clone. Fi makes a joke about Guta-Nay smelling bad. Etain asks for Omega’s names. Someone was about to introduce themselves as a CC (clone commander) rather than an RC (Republic Commando) again, but she cuts them off.

Darman was the first one to break the rule with Jusik, but he’s been embarrassed every time it comes up, and it clearly now embarrasses him to break the taboo around his squad, even if Etain’s been calling him by his name for a while. Social conditioning is intense. However, this time Fi and Niner introduce themselves as well, where as I think last time it was just Atin.

... unfortunately, I now have to deal with Guta-Nay.

Again, Etain’s meant to be Jedi, yes, but 1000% percent not blaming her for the reaction. I just /love/ how seeing Guta-Nay, who she explicitly calls a rapist and who attempted to attack her, gets to be the trigger for her to be ashamed of her emotions, restrained by one of the male characters (even if it is Dar and he doesn’t know the context) and Niner’s comment about Guta-Nay being useful sends her immediately into a self worth spiral as she ... is she supposed to be comparing herself to Guta-Nay here? Or is this just a reaction because the two emotional triggers are intertwined from this whole experience, or..?

Anyway, isn’t it great? /sarcasm

(Hat tip to Dar for being bold enough to grab a Jedi’s arm while they have their lightsaber ignited, I guess, though.)

Can I... can I just mention that on one hand, I can make a Watsonian interpretation for why Etain’s reaction to being told the person who tried to rape her might have useful information might be for her brain to jump to waiting for Darman to tell her how much he despises her... but on the other hand, I don’t care and I hate Traviss intensely for setting this scene up this way?

But, in what’s going to be pretty typical Etain fashion from this point in the series on, that sense of worthlessness drives her pretty much immediately to action. She asks Niner what information they need, and then sits Guta Nay down across from her, and waits until they’ve both calmed down. And then she immediately sets to using Force-persuasion to convince Guta-Nay to talk. This time, unlike when he was chasing her, she doesn’t struggle with it at all.

side note, there is a kind of sweet moment with Atin and Darman that I like, but it’s weirdly placed- breaks up the rest of the moment from Etain’s pov:

Then we switch to Niner’s pov, probably because Etain is busy with the Weequay and no one actually wants to hear him talk, least of all me as a reader, and also KT needs an opportunity for Omega to be doubtful of Etain.

Niner hates scruffy rig. Darman actually does clean his deecee when nervous; it isn’t just a weird innuendo that someone had to point out to me. Darman pulls out the holomaps that Etain... stole? I just realized I have no idea where she got them. But she’s been guarding them this whole time. He proceeds to praise her, unprompted, but Niner has already been told by Jinart that Etain is useless, so he’s skeptical.

Kal Count of 25. Dar just kind of regrets opening his mouth, I think, and wishes his brother would back off. But he does want to try to defend Etain, even if he’s had his own doubts before this point. So first he tries the standard defense, then when Niner isn’t content with that, he does his best. But Niner is freaked out by Jedi Mind Influence, not reassured like Darman was in the escape scene. I’m not really sure what to even make about “human females” and the fact that KT really needs to drive home that, after being behind enemy lines for three months, Etain has no sex appeal.

There’s also that word “emaciated” again.

Finally, Etain finishes her interrogation. She briefly mistakes Niner for Dar, but immediately corrects herself by saying “Of course, you’re Niner.” She reports on what little she can and offers to try to summon Jinart with the Force.

This is actually a scene that will be recounted again- apparently Darman will tell Kal about it at some point between leaving Qiilura and seeing Etain again in Triple Zero. Skipping a bit ahead, but:

Listen, the thought up Darman telling Kal all about the Jedi he absolutely Doesn’t Have a Crush On, maybe enthusiastically, maybe shyly, should make me smile, except given how Kal will treat their relationship in that book and the things he’ll accuse Etain of, it just makes me sad.

Anyway, I’m digressing. This is clearly a big moment for Niner, and he’s surprised that Etain can tell that Atin has been hurt in particular. I don’t entirely get why Traviss goes back and forth on what motivations/emotions Etain can sense to what strength (say like... her not being able to feel Darman’s grief for Theta squad versus immediately feeling Atin’s grief for his TWO former squads plus the Vau abuse we technically don’t know about till next book.) But I’m always going to rule in favor of her being stronger at Force sense because it’s really her signature Force ability, and Traviss has a bad habit of lowering her ability levels out of nowhere so she can be yelled at.

Niner explains what happened to Atin, and Etain expresses sympathy, and promises to see if there’s a way she can help. She specifically mentions Force encouragement, which makes me a little uncomfortable and which she decides by the next novel never to use again without permission. But Niner, despite his worry a few paragraphs ago, is favorably impressed.

We timeskip and go back to Etain’s point of view then. The commandos notice someone approaching, but it’s only Jinart.

Niner is the member of Omega who gets picked on for being straightlaced, but ngl, I relate to him a lot in this book.

Jinart lets them know that while Hokan is trying to bluff them into thinking Uthan is in the villa, she’s actually back in the facility, which makes me wonder what the point of all those Hokan POV scenes were. They start trying to brainstorm how to get into the facility, which has no extra exits or conspicuous vents because it’s meant to secure a bioweapon, and realize that they’ll still have to deal with the droids in the villa anyway, as close as they are. 

So they decide to try and smuggle in a bomb to take out the villa droids pre-preemptively because Hokan has already (for reason I still don’t understand) filled the basement there with explosives, In order to make it worth while, they want Hokan to think they’ve really fallen for his trick and are headed for the villa only, and thus to put most of the droids there.

A) Shut up,Jinart, you don’t get to be bitter.

B) Etain is already falling into that pragmatism thing. And I don’t think she’s wrong here. But she’s going to have more trouble actually doing it than she thinks.

And then it’s finally time to find out the origin of the gurlanin. Jinart reveals that Qiilura is her homeworld and that the settlers have destroyed her habitat without knowing the gurlanin were there, so she wants all of them, but especially the Trade Federation. Etain says she’ll make sure the Republic follows through, and Jinart threatens- “make sure you do” because the gurlanin are good at being everywhere. It’s foreshadowing for the next three books, of course, which all involve plot points with the gurlanin, as much as I wish I could be rid of them.

So they set about convincing Guta-Nay that there’s another squad and they intend to all attack the villa, except he’s so stupid they barely need to act. We get this really, really, really terrible line from Etain’s point of view:

Listen, this is where I’m drawing a line with this whole thing, Traviss. Because making the rapist who attempted to harm your main character from a race “so stupid that they can barely communicate functionally with humans and are all prone to drinking and criminality” wasn’t bad enough, we now get “the rapist is a monstrous child who isn’t able to control himself or understand that other people have feelings” which is the most bullshit thing in a series FULL of bullshit. No. Fuck that.

On the other hand, we do get one of my top five favorite scenes in the whole book, one of the few moments where Atin and Etain get to have a friendship, and something I really, really, really wish had been built on in later books.

Atin: Making my explosives neatly is WORTH the possibility of getting shot in the ass.

Atin walks her through all the squad’s tech, first letting her hold his deecee and look through the scope, then when she asks letting her try on his helmet and talking her through the HUD. He’s skeptical the whole time, but also, it takes some trust and patience to talk the commander who you are dubious knows her stuff through all of your personal kit. But Atin is the tech guy, and this is his wheelhouse and he shows her that patience. He also talks to her about the (perceived, not necessarily accurate) differences between ARCs, commandos, and troopers as he understands it.

I’m still not comfortable with the Force aspect of this, but it’s walked back in the next book. Atin fumbing the wire and pretending to focus hard because he’s embarrassed. And Etain is very touchy feely- I lose track of how many times in this series she grabs or pats or reaches for someone’s arm or hugs them or kisses them on the cheek.

Then we get to the part that’s actually my favorite:

It’s just... really nice? Seeing Etain get a little bit of respect and a little bit of friendship and feeling it in return? I will never be over the fact that it’s thrown away after this book. In fact, I can’t remember if she and Atin ever speak to each other again.

Eventually they finish up and Etain alternates between trying to sleep and trying to see if Guta-Nay has left yet. A couple of watches change. Fi attempts to feed her and is turned down. And Etain realizes she’s going to have to make Guta-Nay run, directly use Force persuasion to make him want to go back to Hokan, when he’s trusting the Republic to keep its word and not kill him.

It’s a good thing the chapter ends here, because honestly there’s gonna be so much bullshit to unpack in the next chapter, and I’m too tired for that.

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 14)

CW: typical violence, hint of off-screen murder to happen. pretty light in this chapter, comparatively. 

TL;DR Recap: Uthan reveals that, actually, she’s been lying to Hokan about how much danger her virus still poses to non clones, and he expresses the desire to kill her. Omega, Jinart, and Etain strategize. Hokan murders Guta-Nay.

Beginning Kal Count: 25 Ending Kal Count: 26

We open with Uthan and Hokan. Uthan is pissed because she and her staff have been moved back and forth more than once for Hokan’s ruse. Hokan is fretting while he looks at the plans for her facility and its defensive drawbacks, but convinces himself he’s fooled the enemy enough they’ll attack the villa anyway. Uthan wants to evacuate her work, but with no communications and a Republic ship in orbit, Hokan decides they’re digging in. He challenges Uthan, because she was the one who designed the facility in the first place...

which is when she finally admits it was designed to her worry about things getting out.

I mean, I really don’t know what you expect when you’re guarding a scientist who’s still in very early stages of creating a biogenic weapon. If it was more targeted than this, they would have already rolled it out. But we established already that Hokan doesn’t really have a grasp on how viruses work. Still, he doesn’t take it well.

“The fact that he was dealing with a woman was the only thing that made him hesitate” UGH. At this point I have to decide that Traviss is purposefully writing him as a sexist, if only for my own sanity. And to be fair, she has had Omega say multiple times now that they have no problems shooting old women.

I will say Uthan has some guts. She’s shaking because she’s afraid and that’s sensible, but she absolutely doesn’t back down. I like a lot of what this character could have been, had Traviss not later thrown it out a window. 

Also, Hokan is going to have to eventually find a solution to being disappointed that isn’t just shooting the nearest staff member. Manager from hell. Hokan and Uthan continue to spar verbally for a bit about the fact that they’re sitting on a metaphorical bomb and that he wants to keep her separate from her staff and the virus to spread out the chances of losing the project. Then the officer who Hokan had kill the last guy who he disliked comes in, having brought in Guta-Nay as a prisoner. It’s against orders, but Hokan decides to hear him out.

We cut to the next scene, which is from Niner’s point of view, and has lots of little Dar/Etain foreshadowing bits I like. The squad, Jinart, and Etain are planning their next move. At the moment they’re trying to decide what to do with their gear because despite bringing it all with them, it’s become more than they can carry. Atin is very insistent about his Trandoshan weapons.

Atin, love...

Niner is fretting about only having the four commandos to carry all the equipment through tight spaces and accidentally getting stuck. Etain insists she share the burden, but Niner is skeptical and privately asks Darman for an opinion over the squad’s helmet link.

They go on to talk about plans A and B, what’s possible if they can set off an explosion in a villa versus if they have to do a split attack. Etain notes that both plans sound difficult and someone tells her the odds were never good. She also is worried that she won’t be of use against the droids, which is when Atin-

This is the moment that gets us Etain and her LJ-50 (tiny general, massive rifle) for the rest of the series, and honestly, my heart. Admittedly, from what I remember of the Republic Commando game and can confirm from the Wiki, and LJ-50 concussion rifle and the Trandoshan array blaster (technically speaking a  Accelerated Charged Particle Array Gun) aren’t the same. The LJ-50 is, well, a concussion rifle. The array blaster? Is a shot gun.

LJ 50, which honestly looks weird in this picture: 

Array Blaster:

BUT, we also will get this quote in Triple Zero:

So... I think maybe it’s a continuity error? But any which way, I’d forgotten that the “very competent gentleman” in this particular case was actually Atin. And you know what? Fuck it. Next time I have a chance to work a friendship between them into a fic, I’m doing it. Also... I wonder if Darman ever brings this up with Atin later, while he’s watching his girlfriend haul around a rifle that’s almost as big as she is.

Okay, okay, I promise, I’m moving on from Etain and her giant guns armaments rifles & shotguns. 

They keep talking plans, and Fi is pretty dismissive of Etain. But to be fair, he doesn’t have the context Dar does to understand the real scope of what she’s trying to offer. Meanwhile, Niner is just trying to keep him from digging a hole with his mouth. Attempt One:

And attempt two:

Niner is gonna spend the rest of these books being the responsible but aggrieved big brother desperately hoping his squad will stay out of trouble, or at least be polite and well-dressed. In this moment, he just wants Fi not to get them in trouble with the Jedi. I kind of love it.

Jinart agrees to smuggle some explosives in her pouch into the villa, so they all head that way back together up to a certain point to prep. Etain hangs close to Darman the entire way, which worries Niner.

I mean, my shipper goggles for Etain and Dar aside, it’s rational that she stick the closest to Darman and feel the friendliest to him, since they’ve spent a few days together and saved each other a few times and she only just met everyone else the night before? Also, Kal Count just increased to 26, a lot of Niner’s worries about saying the wrong thing to a Jedi are explained, and I wonder how the Kaminoans felt about Kal undermining their Jedi-are-demigods campaign. 

Niner spends most of this chapter worrying about Etain as a complication in some way, shape, or form and talking about her behind her back. I’m prickly on Etain’s behalf because I’m biased, so I don’t like the slight conditional to Dar’s defense here - “Physically, anyway”- but I acknowledge it makes sense plot wise, and that Etain hasn’t had a chance to prove herself to the rest of Omega yet. And I kind of love Dar defending her with “If she drops, it’ll be because she’s dead.” Atin is the designated stubborn one, but Etain is also ori’atin’la.

Jinart heads off with the explosives, Niner starts to break out the food and wants to ask Etain’s permission/opinion on using up all their rations now rather than saving them for a time after the mission when they’ll be too busy or dead to need them, But Darman cuts him off.

Again, Darman and Etain have gotten to know and read one another pretty quickly. Niner is, as always, a skeptic.

We cut back to Hokan.

Hokan: *is about to commit brutal murder*

Also Hokan: *is distracted wondering how lightsabers work*

Guta-Nay proceeds to feed the false intel to Hokan that the squad gave him about having two squads of commandos and a Jedi who are all targeting the villa. The Trandoshan slaver accompanying him volunteers to help so that he can go back to selling off the Qiilurans, and Hokan accepts. Hokan asks if Guta-Nay knows anything else about the commandos and isn’t expecting much, except then Guta-Nay describes the clones armor, which Hokan takes as a description of Mandalorian armor.

Hokan is not thrilled by the revelation about the clones, and starts to question some of the bullshit Uthan has fed him about them being “docile” and generally dependent and mindless. But one of his officers suggests that as there’s a Jedi with the squad, maybe the Jedi is the tactician. More importantly, the squad has just screwed their own plan.

Rather than being convinced they’ll attack the villa, Hokan decides that if they have enough forces, they’ll definitely attack the villa and the facility both. Work just got harder for Omega. Finally, as promised, Hokan kills Guta-Nay with Fulier’s lightsaber, which sets us up for Chapter 15.

I hate Chapter 15. It’s my least favorite in the book.

[thesummerstorms]

For the soft headcannons, Niner or Mereel, if you're still doing them.

Niner

what they smell like

I kind of imagine Niner as one of those people who will deal with whatever smells he has to in the field, but always buys the unscented soaps/laundry detergents/etc out of choice. You can sometimes smell the things he's been snacking on though

what their favorite smells in the world are

Leather, fresh baked bread

what pajamas they wear/what they wear to sleep in

Fatigues or whatever is standard issue in the barracks, a pair of really old but conspicuously not ratty sweat pants otherwise.

my favorite ship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

I headcanon Niner as for sure ace...

Haven't decided though if I think he's fully aromantic or if he's just so demi/grey-aro that it's gonna take a lighting strike THROUGH a rainbow during a hurricane to strike even the most minor romantic interest. Or if he just doesn't get romantic attraction.

Anyway, ace and somewhere on the aro spectrum enough to feel different from his brothers/worry about ending up alone when everyone is paired off.

my favorite friendship (if applicable) and a cute hc about them

Okay but this is legitimately such a hard ask because I love his different relationships with each of Omega. From his frustrated big brother act with Fi, to his gradual acceptance of Atin that includes "we will all jump Delta squad TOGETHER for u but u have to be honest with us", to him being the only thing keeping Dar standing in ImpComm. He's a really great brother, okay?

So when he gets home with Dar after modified, Etain lives ImpComm, he's fully expecting most of the attention to be on Dar because Darman's the one who's a knife's edge from collapse and needs the attention, and also the one who has a not-dead-after-all wife and a baby waiting for him, and Niner views himself as kind of incidental in light of that.

Except he's really surprised when Atin hugs him tightly and just kind of refuses to let go for a solid minute, and Corr makes a wry observation comparing Niner's new spine to his metal hands but can't hide how teary he is about it when he grabs Niner's hand supposedly to shake it, and Fi has a whole shabla cake waiting, Niner's favorite kind. And Darman takes a moment from his emotional reunion with Kad and Etain to thank Niner for keeping him alive, voice so low and tear-broken Niner is almost worried.

No matter what Niner fears, will probably continue to fear, their family growing doesn't mean he's being pushed out of it.

a song that reminds me of them

none at the moment.

what animal i think they would be if they were an animal

This is really stereotypical, but some sort of pack-oriented canine.

what position they sleep in

Flat on his back with an arm under his pillow and a blanket or pillow balled up under his knees.

their favorite drink

  berry flavored fizzade, not that he will ever, EVER admit that to anyone

a gift i would give them if i could

a quiet afternoon with just him and Omega doing some sort of craft or hobby that even commandos can't make dangerous, where he's reassured that his brothers are always going to want him around, even as they explore the world outside the army