#Star Wars: The Clone Wars

[ominouspuff]

No Man Left Behind / Something Worth Dying For

REQUESTS / BLOG EVENT

Request from @razzbberry - Palette #1 - Alpha-17, Cody - Death of the Cynic in Me

Notes and close-ups beneath the cut!

Notes: I think Seventeen would, both subconsciously and consciously, keep his cynicism as long as possible. It’s how he thinks the world works, but it’s also a survival tool. It’d be a very, very slow death.

It’s put to the test with Cody — not because Cody is special among his fellow clones, but because he’s one of the first that bothers to fight Seventeen on his own terms. The argument is always the same. Cody wants to talk about what he hopes to be, someday, after he is a soldier. Seventeen thinks he’s stupid to think that’s possible, or that he’d be capable. Cody knows it, and he, might not be. Seventeen thinks it’s even more stupid, in that case; what a waste of energy.

It develops. When they’re older, and in the thick of war, one day Cody risks his life for the chance to save a brother that was going to die anyway. Seventeen yells at him for fifteen minutes once he’s conscious about luck and stupidity and the trouble it’s causing Seventeen and the false hope it’s engendering in others. Cody says he can disagree all he likes, but he doesn’t give a fig, respectfully. Seventeen thinks Cody can go try to get blown up again, if he thinks so.

There’s no point fighting for a better tomorrow; they’re bought and paid for to fight for something else, FOR someone else. Seventeen is prepared for being fodder, as a result. He’s prepared for unfairness and the bleak life that they’re living. Instead he watches as Cody defeats odds time and time again, somehow managing to balance being an exceptional military leader with a secondary war to live for something more, running himself ragged and — inexplicably — gaining ground. Each of those little victories are a little death for Seventeen’s cynicism; a chipping away. A little seed of Cody’s brand of hope takes root, awkward and begrudging, fond and tentative.

Then Order 66 happens. Cody’s efforts for a better life are in vain, and Cody himself-

Cody may never know that Seventeen was right abut just how helpless they were. Now he only knows that Seventeen is a traitor, apparently, because Seventeen — for once in his life — was the lucky one and his chip malfunctioned.

And Seventeen could say ‘I told you so’. He could rest, vindicated and resigned, in the fact that every dream Cody built up and everything he thought was worth dying for is pointless, now — as he always suspected it would be.

But it isn’t fair, even by Seventeen’s standards.

“What are you doing,” Rex will rasp, caught in a strange role reversal as Seventeen paints an armor set with Cody’s golden colors. “He’s not coming back, Seventeen. He can’t. It’s pointless to keep going after him, you need to stop.”

“No,” Seventeen will answer, unbothered, “I don’t think I will.”

“We can’t — we can’t keep hoping,” Rex says, because he means he will probably have a breakdown if he imagines there is even a pitiful possibility he could save his brothers and then have to turn away from that scrappy chance for the greater good and Rebellion, and all that. “We’ve got to move on.”

“Go on.” Seventeen will invite sincerely, one brow raised because he knows Rex better than that.

“Do you want him to shoot you?” Rex will finally yell, all knotted up at the thought of losing Seventeen too, even though it’s funny because Seventeen was never kind to Rex.

“He can try,” Seventeen will say, touching up the last of the paint. He will stand, wiping his fingers, and pick up his pack. “See you when we get back, then.”

Alt version:

[galaxygolfergirl]

Is this a meme

[dam-bluecookies]

This scene changed me

[star-wars-shitposts]

someone had to teach the clones sex ed and our options are aliens, space monks, and some bounty hunters who were game to cut ties with friends and family for 10 years with no explanation (excellent at healthy relationships)

[incorrectstarwarsquotess]

Anakin, after briefing another one of his insane plans: Thoughts?

Ahsoka: And prayers. Holy shit.

[billykcplan]

ANAKIN & AHSOKA ↪ star wars: the clone wars ↪ ahsoka

[sinfulsalutations]

sweet sweet denial

[teenageoaffireknight]

anakin and ahsoka

[artbypockets]

"Uh... the Force?"

Anakin doesn't know either 😬

[literallyjustanerd]

i think they should be allowed to make fashion choices, i just don't think all of those choices would be wise

or: how social media came to be blocked within The Resolute's airspace

(kix can be a little goth. as a treat.)

[rexxdjarin]

you know what though…Vader had no implicit reason to dislike the remaining clones in the galaxy, unlike a lot of the rest of the empire. in his mind, they were still his men. they helped him rid the galaxy of the Jedi (in his twisted mind he was ok with it being against their will as long as it served his, which is 😬) but imagine…

When Vader goes back for the 501st after the events of order 66 and revenge of the sith, Rex is absolutely no where to be found. He never returns from his mission on Mandalore. Neither does ahsoka.

We see at the end of the clone wars that Vader must’ve conducted some kind of search for them. That’s why he turns up on the moon where their ship crashed. In Ahsoka’s case, we should probably assume he was trying to hunt her down like the rest of the Jedi.

But in Rex’s case….Vader has no reason to suspect he would’ve “turned against him.” And now imagine him showing up on that moon and seeing the bodies of Torrent company buried in the snow, their helmets serving as grave markers for someone to mourn the loss of their individual lives. And Rex’s helmet just isn’t there.

Vader has to assume that Rex is the one who lived to bury his brothers.

And Vader very well might have spent the next hmm idk 30 years or so of his remaining life searching for maybe the only person that, in his mind, never betrayed him and was never his enemy (as far as he knew.)

And after hopelessly spending all that time looking for his clone captain he settles for continuously hiring Boba Fett because he is the closest Vader could ever come to hearing his last remaining friend’s voice again.

[ominouspuff]

Fwoom (intimidatingly)

[tattycoram]

Fives, walking by casually: Rex

Rex: Fives

Jesse, following Fives: Captain

Rex: Jesse

Hardcase, following Jesse: Cap

Rex: Hardcase

Echo, looking sheepish: Captain

Rex: Echo

Rex: *stops walking*

Rex:

Rex: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO

[silverdragonoid]

You cannot stop me

[themistymountainscold]

finally made another

[incorrectstarwarsquotess]

Ahsoka: There’s a monster under my bed and it’s really ugly.

Anakin, from the bottom bunk: Honestly, fuck you.