#between vau and skirata

[cienie-isengardu]

Laseema: "… Etain can’t take care of her baby, Darman doesn’t know he has a kid and I kinda lie now on a daily basis about the whole babysitting Kal’s grandson to Atin too? I feel like I’m betraying his trust but I can’t tell him I know who Kad'ika's parents are, can I? And what if Atin will hate me for this once the truth will come to light? Because Etain and Kal will tell Darman about the baby one day, right. They will tell him, RIGHT? And there is this jerk at work that won’t stop bothering me and can you believe that asshole was yesterday waiting for me outside when my shift has ended? I wish I learned how to use the knife like Atin proposed but I guess it wouldn’t help me much against that bastard; he looked like he wouldn't mind breaking my arm and, you know, do worse stuff. I KNOW, I should tell Kal but he is so busy with… whatever he is doing anyway and Jusik is on Mandalore with Fi, Ordo is already freaked out about Fi and Besany’s safety and I don’t wanna be a burden. I can’t even comm Atin because he is on a mission on the other galaxy’s side, ya know, commando stuff and even if he could comm me, I can’t tell him because I don’t wanna him be upset and distracted over something he can’t do anything about anyway. I couldn’t forgive myself if he got killed because of my problems. Pathetic, right Mird? 

Oh, did I upset you? Sorry Mird, I just needed to rant a bit but don’t worry, I will figure something out. I know what will cheer you up! What is the word Walon is always saying? Oh, right. OYA! Whatever that means Wish I know whatcha thinking right now. Something nice, I bet.

Mird: [HUNT HUNT HUNT HUNT HUNT...]

[part 2] [part 3]

[bylightofdawn]

Seeds For the Future Chapter 6

Okay AO3 did some fucky-wucky shit and I think it double-posted this chapter? IDEK. I think maybe I went to edit and pushed post and it posted it twice? I'm baffled and confused but too tired to try and figure it out tonight.

I've officially tainted AO3's tagging system forever by adding the tag Mace Windu & Myles the Mandalorian. I can now live in internet infamy forever. 🙌

[mamuzzy]

What is considered child mistreatment in Mandalorian culture (legends)?

I was inspired by this post but I didn't want to ruin a mood with my AcKcHuYaLlY vibes so I made a separate post about it.

While I agree with a sentiment of Cuy'val Dar should have rioted seeing children being mistreated, given they are a very heavily family and child centered culture, I've just recently read a few quotes from Republic Commando which made me wonder...

what is considered child mistreatment in their culture?

Because training children to be soldiers are not one. It is a perfectly normal thing to do for them.

What you will read here about: -- Potential reasons why the Cuy'val Dar didn't refuse the job -- Relationship of a Mando parent and their child: How Munin Skirata adopted Kal and with it giving him a predetermined path of life -- Little detour to the topic of how modernday parents don't include children in the household chores -- Pav-Ti and Ahsoka -- Walon Vau and Dred Priest's approach -- Kal Skirata's approach of training -- Little about Mandos and Jedi -- Sorry (not really), people. I still love Kal. -- I won't tag this as anti/pro/critical fandom fuckery. Only a Sith deaIs in absolutes.

Rest is under the cut.

Why would Cuy'val Dar accept such assignment in the first place?

So why didn't they say no? 1. Loyalty and Respect for Jango Fett 2. In need of money 3. Needed a place to hide 4. It could be HONOUR: If a mando bounty hunter accepts a job, they won't back down from it. That's why they are the best. A mandalorian either completes the job or they die in the process (see: Hard Contact). 5. Child soldiers are nothing out of place.

But the latter is debatable, depending on which bounty hunter you ask. Kal was horrified when he was presented with the facts. Scene from Triple Zero, where Kal realizes what Jango is expecting of him:

Jango Fett indeed didn't tell them the whole truth. I'm pretty sure there would have been people who would have accept it anyway. But I'm also sure most of them were conned this way.

We even know Kal's reason of accepting the job.

He didn't have any outside ties anymore that required his physical presence, so at this point he could just accept a decade long assignment.

And when he met the Nulls, he gave himself a purpose out of this nightmare. Raising these children as Mandalorians.

But where this is come from? From Kal's own buir.

Another quote about how Munin adopted Kal.

Awfully practical people. But also, compassionate. Kal is guided by the same compassion as his buir.

Overprotected children of our modern age

Family centric and child centric views are really distorted today which is about overprotecting kids from literally everything. Even from basic household chores: a parent who is too tired and impatient for their child constantly making mistakes during learning a task, so they simply take it out from the child's hand and doing it instead, because teaching them comes with much more mess to clean up, therefor more work for the parent. Children won't learn that helping out around the house can be a quality time with the parent, because most parents don't consider being together with their children a quality time. This later leads to those awful fights between a teenager who never helps around the house on their own only when asked/ordered. Children are glorified exotic pets, one task from a bucket list or worst, investments. But part of the family? Less likely. Not unconditionally.

PAV-TI AND AHSOKA

If you think about Ahsoka's backstory in the Tales of the Jedi, her mother also brought her on the hunt and made her look when she skinned the animal. Teaching her that death is a part of life and even when they take resources from the nature, they should do it with respect. Pav-Ti was already teaching her to be a part of their small community.

I think Mando culture is the same: they involve their children in their profession from early age. Probably teaching your children how to kill for money is not exactly ethical by our earthling standards. Regardless, they do it together. Little mando'ade won't go to school, they spend their time with the family and learning skills they will need if they choose the same profession and lifestyle as their parents.

PRACTICES OF VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE CUY'VAL DAR

So that's why I think that even if the members of the Cuy'Val Dar had seconds thoughts, training child soldiers are nothing out of ordinary. I can't speak for the remaining non-mando trainers what was in their mind.

But when Dred Priest and Isabeth Beau started their own little figthing rings in the guise of "preserving the old ways", it was really considered fucky even among the other mando trainers Death Watch couple-goals: torture children together <3. Dred Priest despised the clone cadets and they actually died under his care and this is one of the reason why Mij Gilamar killed Priest later in the books.

Walon Vau wasn't introduced to mando values until he ran away from home as an adult, but his abusive upbringing shaped his worldview on how he trained the cadets. Strict codes and harsh punishments. He had his regrets of it later.

From O66, Walon Vau to Kal Skirata

Love has many shapes. Vau wanted them to survive because he loved them. But loving them and treating them good/bad is not the same.

We know about Kal that he taught by experience. He never gave an assignment to his cadets before he first showed them how to do it.

And then we have these notorious parts of him regarding the clones which can be interpreted so many ways but often used as the evidence as child abuse:

And this one also:

(sometimes I throw my brain outtaaa windoooOOooOooOow what people call abusive these days...)

What is my stance about this particular passage? I think he didn't abuse the clones. He wanted them to survive too. He wanted to make it easier for them which was really hard considering the circumstances. He wanted to be a father to the clones like Munin was to him.

We saw the differences between Omega Squad and Delta Squad. The Delta first left Walon Vau behind because they were ordered to do so. Delta left Sev behind because they were ordered to do so. As far as we know, no one deserted from the Empire from Vau's commandos. They remained loyal to the Republic/Empire. Darman could have been with his son and with Clan Skirata but he choose to remain with Niner in the Empire. He remained loyal not the empire, not even Kal Skirata but his brother. Just like Kal thaught them.

What makes them different from the jedi and at the same time so similiar?

The Jedi seek out force sensitive children to teach them how to control this power within them and make sure, they won't use it for personal gain. And later, when they grow up, they will do the same.

Mandos take pity over war orphans (usually that's the case), take them into their clan of soldiers and they teach them a profession and one day, they can do the same.

Both faction are doing it, guided by the same principle: COMPASSION.

Jedi are practicing compassion toward every living, while Mando compassion is just much more personal on the individual level.

Dialogue from Imperial Commando between Arligan Zey and Kal Skirata. I think this baby stealing prejudice comes from that force sensitive children are separated from their parents and all this goes against the family centric view of the mandalorians where family is above all and the children are only safe with their families.

In conclusion...

My personal take after this little research that Mando trainers didn't abuse children, not in their own mandalorian standards. I say this because of Dred Priest who was condemned for actually hurting his cadets, forcing them to fight against each other, and lots of them actually died.

After the failed experiences with the Nulls, the kaminoans and trainers didn't expose the clones to live rounds and bombs until so much later, that's why the commandos and Alpha-class ARCs feel much more balanced in their phyche.

I think Walon Vau abused his cadets but he justified it with love.

Kal made them to do horrible exercises and said a lot of shitty things to the clones (though I think it's kind of like when you call your cat a whore out of affection) but overall he tried to make their suffering bearable.

[roseaesynstylae]

So, the idea of the Bad Batch (minus Echo, plus Emerie) being the other half of the Nulls has consumed my goddamn mind. Therefore, as you do when an idea takes up residence in your frontal lobe for the foreseeable future, here's some headcanons.

The Bad Batch (except for Echo and Omega, who have no clue what's going on) hate the Nulls. As in, "murder on sight" hate them. From an in-universe perspective, there could be a myriad of reasons, ranging from feelings of abandonment to resentment over them having a better life. From a writer's standpoint, it's because I love me some good old familial dysfunction and angst.

The more...unhinged...tendencies the Nulls are known for manifests in the Bad Batch more as "let's jump off this cliff and use explosives to direct our fall!" and less as "hey, check out my new skin gloves!" Of course, if you push them too far, it's a different story. In order of least to most likely to pull a "lemme turn you into an art installation," it's Omega, Wrecker, Hunter, Crosshair, and Tech. Omega wouldn't do that, at least not at this point in her life. Wrecker, when enraged, goes for the just-hit-them solution. Hunter's a decent human being and usually wouldn't do something like that...Unless his kid's been kidnapped by a crazy Imperial doctor for the fifteenth time, on which point he starts becoming a little deranged. Crosshair hovers close to the line but wouldn't do it to someone unprovoked. Tech is a special case, in that he has to be pushed, but when he is, the results make the rest of the Nulls go "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST."

The Nulls want to reunite with their lost siblings and build a relationship, but that's kind of hard to do when said siblings (except Omega) keep trying to kill them on sight and none of them were built for intricate and deeply complicated emotional issues. Still, they persist. Eventually, they could probably get to the level of "awkward conversations" but it'll take a lot of work.

The Bad Batch have what makes the Nulls superior to regular clone troopers, plus their unique enhancements (which in this version are less defects and more Nala Se picking an attribute for each of them and cranking it up to 11). They feel that it makes them better than the Nulls, something they're not shy about expressing.

Emerie is the same height as her estranged (I can't think of a word that applies to this specific situation but this one will do) brothers, because I stan a tall queen.

Nala Se is smug as hell whenever she sees Orun Wa. "CT-9904 just broke all records for accuracy, CT-9902 discovered a new element, CT-9903 crushed beskar like it was paper, and CT-9901 tracked a man through five systems and a solar storm. What are your clones doing, again?"

There is no understating the sheer "wtf" that goes through the Nulls' heads when they first see Omega. But, of course, this is Omega. Imagine the cutest image of her you've seen, fanart or canon. That's what the Nulls see when they meet her. Unsurprisingly, the Nulls, who got the Mandalorian gene to adopt anything that isn't nailed down, go from "wtf" to "so smol 🥰" in roughly a minute.

Kal Skirata is in the corner. His attempt to interact with the Bad Batch did not go well. He casually calls Hunter "son," as he does with various characters, and the resulting explosion puts a thermal detonator to shame. Since it's clear that his presence is not making things better, he's sort of just in the corner.

The rest of Clan Skirata, and associates, are staying out of this. Gilamar and Vau took one look and retreated to the bar because they know better than to get involved. Everyone else witnessed one of the less acrimonious encounters and collectively decided that they are not jumping into the emotional equivalent of a pit of rabid wolverines.

Echo is the go-between. He does not want to be the go-between. But he's the only neutral party in this thing aside from Omega, and the rest of the Batch don't trust the Nulls with her.

Spare a though for 99. He raised four of these guys, often with the aid of leashes. Truly, he is an unsung hero of the Clone Wars

[ranahan]

I just read the Republic Commando: Hard Contact and Republic Commando: Triple Zero novels by Karen Traviss. Republic Commando is Legends now, but here are a few points that struck me about arguments I’ve seen go back and forth here on tumblr. Spoilers for the books!

Several mentions of entire batches of brothers “disappearing” for minor variances & clones being more afraid of the kaminoans than their training sergeants. Kal Skirata drunkenly breaking into tears over the poor boys. Very clear that in Traviss’s books, clones were being decommissioned.

Several mentions of clones dying in live fire exercises on Kamino before being deployed & the training sergeants standing by and doing nothing.

There’s a blurb of a retired commando, chronological age 23, biological age 60. Again, in Traviss’s books, the artificial ageing doesn’t stop when the clones reach adulthood. The main characters are also described as visibly ageing between the two books.

Pretty chilling description of the kind of brainwashing that you believe because you don’t have any reason not to when your entire life so far has lined up with it. I would completely believe these boys could execute Order 66 without the chips & all I could do would be to empathise with them.

Troopers telling their concerned jedi to not worry their pretty little head about what happens to dead troopers. Later a reinforcing mention of no bodybags needed in the GAR.

Vau nearly killing a trooper in training & making the troopers beat each other into a pulp in training.

So again, Republic Commando are Legends now but if anyone wonders where the fandom got the idea that these things happen, here’s your answer. They aren’t fandom inventions.

Other notes and personal opinions:

I mostly enjoyed Hard Contact. There were some bits near the end that fell a little flat, but overall an enjoyable military action/military science fiction novel.

Triple Zero on the other hand, not so much. The pregnancy storyline was just icky. Both in how Etain herself makes it her entire raison d’être, how she makes it the reason for why Darman now has a future, and the lack of consent on Darman’s part. She intentionally gets pregnant without ever discussing anything with him (they’ve been together for two whole weeks at this point), whether he wants kids at all, wants them with her, wants them in the middle of a war, or sees having children in the same light as she does. She’s had the most superficial of introductions to Mandalorian culture and has no idea whether or to what degree the clones or Darman as an individual share those notions—given that they probably have an understandably complicated relationship with Mandalorian culture and especially the notions of children, parents, and legacy. For all we know at this point in the series she could have completely misconstrued the whole thing. But there she goes, and decides that this is how she will fix everything and give Darman a future: a genetic legacy to outlive him.

The force-accelerated pregnancy reads like a bad fan fiction and the whole “go undercover to hide the pregnancy” reads like a Victorian novel.

Etain feels like an odd choice for a point of view character in a military science fiction story. She’s aggressively the-girl-next-door, pointedly unremarkable and ordinary. I guess the point is that readers could have a regular person’s point of view, with which to contrast the commando mindset, and to whom things can be naturally explained without infodumping. But it goes overboard and makes her seem incompetent and immature, so you start wondering what the hell is she even doing in the story or on a battlefield or what does anyone see in her.

There are sexist attitudes straight from the planet Earth. It’s in men and females, how Etain and other female characters are seen through their sex first and other characteristics second, and how they are always “other” in comparison to men. But it’s not just the women, it’s young men—the clones—too where I get this vibe. It’s very bioessentialist. There seems to be this underlying thread of pairing up and reproducing being the most valuable thing a person can do with their life. Which again, seems like an odd choice for a thematic storyline in a military science fiction novel. Like, this is not what it said on the tin.

Some of the tactical/counterterrorism side in Triple Zero feels inauthentic to me as well. There’s too much being bad boys for shock value and too little professional soldiering for my tastes anyway. But I don’t kick in doors professionally so what do I know.

No sense of numbers for galactic economy. Exhibit A: Qiilura.

Lastly, fandom: can we get more Corr? This is an EOD trooper who gets both of his hands blown off early in the war, gets stuck in a logistics centre duty while waiting for better prosthetics, still determined to get back into action to fight alongside his brothers, gets accidentally adopted by some commandos, and makes a career change from disabling fiddly explosives to kicking in doors. A round of appreciation for Corr!

[liontalon1]

So Delta’s fates thus far:

Scorch: Got between pissed off buire and child, i really don’t know how he was expecting that to go.

Sev: Sitting on a beach with Tech sipping fruity cocktails with little umbrellas.

Boss & Fixer: AWOL? MIA? Did they desert to find Sev? Are they running around with Vau or Skirata’s bunch? Are they still with the Empire? It seemed like all the commandos were at Tantiss (unless that place that Gregor was at is still up and running).

[thelightismine]

having recently re-read the Republic Commando books for the fiftieth time (but the first time as a proper adult), amongst many other things that jumped out at me this time, I've been pondering the Many Failings of Kal Skirata™ - and one thing that kept me awake the other night was the realisation that...it takes Kal ages between adopting Ordo and the rest of his brothers, right??

So I went back and did the math. Kal adopts Ordo in True Colours, soon after rescuing Vau on Mygeeto, at 471 days after the Battle of Geonosis (ABG). An excerpt from the scene below:

"I never adopted you formally," Skirata said. It had been bothering him in recent days, ever since he began to think of the war as having a definite timescale. "Any of you." "Does that matter?" Skirata now felt that it did. No Mando'ad would nitpick over the bond between him and his boys, and as far as the Republic was concerned clones didn't even qualify as people, but his plans to give them a decent future had now become very, very specific. [...] "Yes," he said. He reached to grasp Ordo's hand and recited the short, no-frills gai bal manda - "name and soul," all it took to unpick history and give a child a new parentage. Mandalorians were habitual adopters. Bloodlines were just medical detail. "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Ordo." Ordo stared at their clasped hands for a moment. He had a crushing grip. "I've been your son since the day you first saved my life, Buir." "I think you boys did the saving," Skirata said. "I don't want to imagine where I'd be without you." Skirata was now busy hating himself for not doing this before, not making the ultimate commitment, and he fretted about his five other Nulls scattered around the galaxy.

And having re-read this section in detail, it now baffles me even further that it takes him - wait for it - ANOTHER YEAR AND ~THREE MONTHS to adopt the other five Nulls??

Yes, that's correct. Kal adopts the other five Nulls in Order 66, in the scene where they all come together 'on screen' for the first time, which is set 940 days ABG. That is 469 days after he formally adopted Ordo.

At the time KT wrote these books, according to Legends, one standard year is 368 days, with 12 months of 30 days each. If I've crunched correctly, Kal adopts the other five Nulls roughly fifteen and a half months later than Ordo.

And OHHHH:

The meal was as much a rare celebration as a meeting, and the Nulls even had a few glasses of Chandrilan wine. "I should have done this many years ago, adi'ke." Skirata raised his glass. "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad - Mereel, Jaing, Kom'rk, A'den, Prudii. There. It's formal, legal. You're my sons and heirs." "And we won't bankrupt you," Jaing muttered. "Not with the amount you're skimming, ner vod," Mereel said raising his glass in return. "Thank you, Buir'ika. An honor." At least one cause for guilt had been lifted from Ordo's shoulders. He was no longer the only Null formally adopted by Skirata. It was a legal detail, nothing more, but Ordo didn't want to be singled out as the favorite. He already felt he had a far easier time than his brothers.

what do you MEAN you just went on and forgot to do it, despite seeing them and speaking to them regularly for over a year, Kal?! yikes

Reading this back again, all I could think was - poor Ordo. It's explicitly stated here that he had been feeling and still feels guilty. Imagine living with the knowledge that your father had only formally adopted you, and not the other five of your closest brothers, for OVER A YEAR- (I will keep yelling it I'm not over it)

When they all make jokes about him being the Number One Son. When they all tease him for being the favourite. How do you think this knowledge affected Ordo’s relationship with his brothers?? Not wanting to mention it?? Do you think he ever did?? How do you think they reacted if they knew he was already adopted prior to this??

Not to mention, how does Kal not see this as something that might cause an issue for Ordo?? With how much he loves him??

I find their reactions interesting, because if they didn't know, they play it very cool. I'm leaning towards they did know, Ordo didn't just sit on this knowledge for over a year, maybe couldn't - because otherwise, why is no one asking why Kal left him out of the list? Why is their only reaction calm pleasantries?

Possibly because they don't care about formal adoption that much - it's worth noting Ordo's reaction is also to kind of brush it all away: "I've been your son since the day you first saved my life, Buir."

(I think it also opens up a bigger discussion about Ordo's role within his brothers as...almost a shield between Kal and his brothers, able to take the brunt of Kal's...manipulations to spare them the same attention - I wonder if they don't care as much about their adoptive status because it doesn't mean nearly as much to them as it does to Kal, because Kal doesn't rule them as much as he'd like to think he does. It’s interesting how Ordo is both uncomfortable with the position as Number One Son but also sees its…strategic value?? He states earlier in the scene that he'll swap drafts with Kom'rk because it's "his turn" to explore the Outer Rim, but as far as we know, he never actually does this - despite missing each other dearly, often, do the other Nulls willingly take missions that get them away from Kal? Which is why Ordo is almost never shown being anywhere that Kal isn't? Also the irony that so many people laugh at Maze for being a highly trained ARC being "wasted" in an office job, but Ordo also as far as we see never does anything flashier, nothing that couldn't be handled by a less superior officer, nothing that's far from Kal's side...)

ANYWAY

I’m just baffled as to how Kal didn’t think immediately after adopting Ordo “and now the other five” - my man, what took you so long?? If you love them all as you say you do??

HMMMM

[thebisexualmandalorian]

Inviting controversy by asking a controversial question which you may feel free to ignore but. Thoughts on Karen Traviss' Star Wars books, from the old EU? I assume you've got Opinions

BOY DO I

I'll probably forget to include everything, but I've gone on an hour long Rant before and I'll do it again lmao

Okay, so the good. There is good in these books and I'll drag it out with teeth and claws if I have to.

I love Kal Skirata. You can crucify me for that if you want to, but as a daddy issues having bitch, I want him to be my dad. He's a wonderfully flawed character, and he owns up to those flaws. He's made mistakes and he's grown and he knows he isn't perfect but by god, he'll try for his boys. He fights tooth and nail to protect them from what he can, and what he can't, he'll go through hell with them (literally, I can't remember the exact wording, but it's said in Hard Contact I believe, that any training he puts his men through, he does it himself first). He's overprotective because there's so much he can't protect them from, and it's clear that he loves them with all his heart.

The clone and GAR and Mando culture building. This is a grayer area for me because there is a lot of internalized bullshit KT is dealing with that I'll talk about later, but! We wouldn't have nearly the background we do for these cultures without her books. I love most of what she did with it, from the military worldbuilding to the Mandalorian culture and the different facets of it we see through the eyes of different characters. And the language! Mando'a isn't a heavily developed conlang, but the tools are there, and it makes sense within the world. And we have music! We have songs.

I love the characters. There are gray areas, no one is perfect, and they all get down and dirty when things call for it. They love each other deeply and make good and bad decisions, they're realistic. The relationships are tender and gentle, and I love the interactions between everyone, the loyalty and the devotion, and the overarching feeling of grief because we know how this ends.

The clones! I love them! They are wonderful and well developed, and I love hearing their thoughts on everything, and their bond with one another and those around them. I'm not coherent about this one because I think about them for five seconds and start making high pitched noises like an overexcited dog.

The descriptions are so deliciously visceral, and I love reading them.

The bad:

Another unpopular opinion: I loathe Vau. Hate him utterly. He's a good character but a deeply horrible man, and this might be my trauma talking but it's my opinion and I'll die on this goddamn hill. He's verbally and physically abusive, and sees absolutely no consequences (or even reproach) for it in the narrative, aside from Kal breaking his nose, and he deserved so much worse than that.

The misogyny. Oh, Karen honey. That internalized misogyny got you good, huh? The blatant way she treats Etain and Besany through the mouths of other characters is... oof. There's a little bit of reversal, but it's still pretty bad. Even though they're "not like other girls," it's pretty obvious that Karen has a lot of issues with womanhood. It was the 2000s, so I'll let some of it be with the caveat that the 2000s were pretty damn misogynistic in general, but goddamn. Also, on that note, she seems to be fighting herself on whether Mandos have a gender neutral society or not? Like, she'll say on one page that there's no difference between men and women, and then go on to say that men go out and fight but women stay to guard the home and raise the kids. I am putting my head in my hands.

On a related note, Karen is the Jedi who hurt you in the room with us right now? Why do you hate the Jedi so damn much? It doesn't make any sense in the story and it doesn't make sense on a metatextual level. Bro, are you good?

Anyway! Yes! I have many opinions about this book series and I'm sure I forgot to cover everything! Please feel free to ask more questions!

[din-djarins-riduur]

The Bad Batch Episode III : Solitary Clone & Republic Commando Parallels

*Spoilers for the books*

—————————————————

I really loved this episode, not only because it revolves around Crosshair, but because it parallels so much with the clone trooper Darman from The Republic Commando Series.

First, not only was this memorial striking and also a replica of the Vietnam War Memorial, but for those who read the RP books, this can also be a homage to the Mandalorian tradition of saying a dead loved one’s name every day in order to keep their existence alive even after death. In the books, Darman does this for two brothers that he had accidentally killed in self defense. It tortured him, but he knew saying their names everyday was the right thing to do. There is also a scene in the books where Walon Vau and Kal Skirata say the names of every dead trooper that they had trained. If I remember correctly, the list takes them about two hours to say, but for Mandalorians it is worth it.

Now, I can’t say this was the creators’ intention when designing this memorial, but the mood and the list of names that go on and on really reminded me of that.

Next, I wanted to talk about the similarities between Crosshair and Cody and that of Darman and Niner. In the books, Darman wants to stay with the Empire and kill every Jedi that he can in order to avenge his dead wife. This scares Niner and without needed time, Niner quickly realizes that the Empire is not what it seems. Like Niner, Cody also sees the true intent of the Empire and wants to go AWOL.

In the RP series, Niner and Darman even attempt to escape Coruscant, but right before they can board the ship, Darman chooses to stay, believing that his duty is to rid the galaxy of all remaining Jedi. Like Darman, Crosshair also feels compelled to stay, feeling that his only purpose in life is to finish his missions and prove himself to his superiors.

Also the freaking depression that both Crosshair and Darman go through literally rips at my heart. When I was reading the books, I felt so devastated for Darman. The poor man literally watched his wife die right in front of him and he was so traumatized by it that he would mentally tell himself that it didn’t happen to him but to someone else. He would act like a completely different person, referring to himself in his mind as “Not-Darman” all while wanting to die, unable to stand the thought of living his life without Etain. He even forgets that he has a son for while, knowing that if he acknowledged the fact that it would only cause him more pain because it reminded him of the life that got ripped out of his hands.

Like Darman, Crosshair is also going through depression. He looks as if he barely sleeps, stares up at the ceiling, mind racing with thought and reflection. His room is dark and small. He eats his meals alone, but chooses to sit with others because subconsciously he’s desperate for brotherhood. He feels as through everything has been ripped from him and therefore acts like a complete shell of himself to try and get rid of his feelings of regret, anger, and betrayal.

The truth is though, is that neither Darman or Crosshair are able to fool themselves. Eventually, they realize what has happened to them and soon enough start to doubt the Empire that they’re serving and the meanings of their lives.

In the RC books, this revelation comes to Darman when a squad brother of his shoots himself in the bathroom. The suicide shocks him so much that he starts to realize that he can’t continue life the way he had been. And for Crosshair, his revelation comes from Cody’s words, being told that unlike the droids, they’re able to think and make choices, and as consequence have to live with said choices.

Anyways, that’s what I was thinking and feeling while watching this episode and I hope that for the fans of The Republic Commando books that this satisfies your quench and niche thoughts and parallels.

[kats-chaotic-wonderland]

Hey guys new Commando squad just dropped!!

Leviathan Squad

Commander Shae "Demagolka" Shereshoy

RC-0666 Imp: squad leader

RC-0667 Oni: Fire Support/SAW

RC-8537 Kappa: Scuba, originally/Medic (NOT BY CHOICE)

RC-0668 Indigo: Tech specialist/ weapon mechanic

RC-0669 Raak: Flame trooper

LEVIATHAN SQUAD:

Shae Shereshoy: Mandalorian trainer in her early twenties. She is a rebel at heart with no permanent clan. Usually “couch hopping” between Kal Skirata, Walon Vau and Jango Fett. Punk designs and weaponry, she specializes in CQC, preferring her three-sided cortosis blades and slug thrower.

Imp: Imp is the Squad Leader of Leviathan. He is well rounded and uncomplicated. The most “straight forward” of the group, but still fairly unhinged, very protective of Kappa.

Oni: The largest of the squad, and uses a heavy repeater cannon as his main weapon. Each barrel is made of a different material can cycle alternate rounds for different purposes.

Indigo: The squad technician. He oversees the crews gear and is prone to performing “unregulated” modifications without telling them.

Kappa: PLEASE! I HAD TO EDIT MY OWN PROFILE! I DONT KNOW HOW I GOT HERE! IM NOT EVEN A MEDIC! FOR FORCE SAKE IM IN AN AQUATIC BATTALION! FIER’FEK SOMEONE’S COM*transmisson terminated*

Raak: A flame unit. Scorched earth policy. If it can’t burn, it’ll melt.

These were created by @the-churroguy and I for Clone Adoption Agency

[cienie-isengardu]

[bylightofdawn]

Chapter Five of Seeds for the Future is up on AO3

[mamuzzy]

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

I finally got here to answer this ask. <3

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

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

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

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

Every trainer had different approach:

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

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

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

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

More under the cut

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

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

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

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

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

-- Physical pain --

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

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

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

-- RECONDITION: THE ULTIMATE DEATH --

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

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

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

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

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

-- Jango had to find the perfect balance --

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

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

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

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

Tavo and Sull, lovebirds.

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

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

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

-- ALPHA vs NULL conflict --

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

Alpha-Ø2 sure didn't have.

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

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

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

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

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

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

And they weren't enough.

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

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

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

They were all alone.

-- Did Jango's approach work? --

My answer is: no.

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

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

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

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

Some Alpha went into hiding and became bounty hunters.

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

[roseaesynstylae]

In keeping with my firm belief that 99 is one of the Alphas, here’s some headcanons about his relationships with various Legends characters.

Alpha-17: Alpha loves his little brother and will happily pound your face in if you insult him. Fordo: He always brings 99 gifts and communicates with him while he’s on a mission. He’s not really a talkative person and 99 is well aware of it.

Spar: 99 picked up on what was going on with Spar before anyone else and got concerned. While no one’s ever come out and said it, the rest of the Alphas have their suspicions about how easily Spar snuck off of Kamino.

Mij Gilamar: 99 and Gilamar have a fairly good relationship, mainly because Gilamar is one of the few medics 99 trusts to work on him without doing any weird experiments. Walon Vau: 99 has very mixed feelings about Vau. On one hand, he hates how Vau treats his trainees and knows that they’re all going to end up traumatized and unstable. On the other, he does understand where Vau is coming from, at least on paper. He wants his brothers to survive and he gets that commandos need more intense training than average clone troopers. He just knows that Vau’s cadets are going to end up with PTSD long before they ever see a battlefield. Things are complicated by the fact that Mird, for reasons best known only to itself, has taken a liking to him, meaning that it has to come over for playdates. Between Mird and the fact that Vau is legitimately trying to toughen his cadets up so they’ll survive, 99 likes him more than certain other trainers.

Dred Priest: If 99 had the chance, he’d kill Priest without any remorse. (And Isabet Reau as well, but she and Priest are basically the same asshole.) As he can’t do that, he’ll settle for using his access to the utility control rooms to make their lives as difficult as possible.

Kal Skirata: 99 is aware that Skirata genuinely wants the Nulls to be happy and that he’s the main reason the Nulls weren’t decommissioned. 99 respects him for that (possibly connected to a certain fanfic idea that has consumed my mind), but something about the man just rubs him the wrong way. Skirata has never done anything to him, it’s just one of cases where you just dislike someone and can’t quite explain why.

The Nulls: Despite the Nulls and the Alphas having a tense relationship, 99’s never had any problems with them, outside of them knocking out the power to the science building and making his job harder. He knows that they could be a lot worse and they don’t intentionally cause him trouble. (See the parentheses for Kal Skirata.)

[mariandjarin]

Eleni Skirata Diary Part 1

My story

(Eleni Skirata picture created by Canva AI)

Being me, it is funny.

The funniest part of my life is when unexpected situations appear on it.

One of them was falling into a portal and being kidnapped by Jango Fett.

Yes, Boba's father. (Well Boba is his copy actually)

Anyways that bounty hunter kidnapped me and brought me with Count Dooku, and at the end I finished with Kal'buir.

Nothing of that was part of my plans, but it happened in that way.

So, according to Count Dooku, I am special for the things I know about Kamino, the Kaminoans, and Darth Sidious' plans, but I am just a human being.  

What is a mystery to me is that Count Dooku said, "Let her train with the Republic Commandos. Let her become one of them. If some of the Cuy´val Dar ask you why a woman like her is here, tell them she is a special part of the project that cannot be revealed to them or anybody else".

So Jango followed Count Dooku's instructions, and I started training with the Republic Commandos.

I tried to discover the secret that surrounded my person and made me so special to be capture by a Sith Lord, but I didn´t found nothing. (Well not in my republic commando training).

Being a woman surrounded by men like them is difficult because you are the only woman in the training room (without considering Kaminoan women).

My squad was just one of many that trained with Kal'buir, but he helped me a lot during the hard training routines.

I didn't have the condition to be a warrior; I used to work making clinical analyses of blood, urine, and many other substances to give the results to the doctors so they could make the diagnosis of the patients. I didn't used to like my work, but I could say it is easier than Republic Commando training.

Being a woman has its priorities. One of them is that I have my own room. My own space to decorate and sleep or take a nap when I am able to do that. Also, I have my own bathroom.

The only thing I miss a lot is my piano. I used to play a lot of piano, and composing piano songs was my favorite hobby. It's still my favorite hobby, but I haven't played the piano for a long time. 

Also, I like singing. I don't have an Adele voice, but I love singing Mando'a songs, humming the tone of them, or any other song. 

Writing stories is another of my pastimes. So as you can see, I am writing mine.

Anyways, being in Kamino has been different from my home world, where the sun was there most of the time and it looked and felt like a desert. 

The big difference here is that there is nothing more than the training room, storms, and big and violent ocean waves.

(Well handsome supersoldiers are included too).

I used to avoid dates because being the only woman here makes you more interesting to those men, but after a while, I decided to give it a try.

Even when I knew it was risky.

My first date was with a guy called Niner. He is stoic and a gentleman, but which one of these soldiers is not a gentleman?

Ok, I was talking about Niner.

We had our time together. Meeting each other. Sharing pastimes, and yes, I know you want to know if there were some kisses. There were, but most of them were short, and they finished as soon as they started.

It is not allowed to date between comrades, but there is a moment in which you get bored and can't deny your nature. For Niner, well, he didn't know how to take that.

Everything ended two months later. Everyone was ready to ask for the second date, but I didn't want a second date. Niner stole my heart. If he wasn't ready. I decided to wait.

And it was okay until I met Sev from Delta Squad.

There were many stories about Delta Squad. 

Those Republic Commandos were trained by Walon Vau, the mando who has a strill with many privileges, but most of them disturb the inner peace of those around him.  

Well, Sev wasn´t the break rules guy, but we hid our relationship too well until Sergeant Vau discovered us.

That wasn't good. He gave Sev a fight that I won't ever forget. Sev and I were planning to get married, so you can imagine how well our relationship was, but after Vau discovered us, I was reassigned to be a rat lab from the Kaminoanis.

I still have my own room, but I can't go to see any of the boys, or they could be in trouble because of me, and by trouble I mean being killed. 

So, I can't see Kal´buir or the Nulls. I can't even answer their messages. It is like I am in a kind of prison prepared just for me.   

I miss all of them so much. 

Sev is still giving me gifts with love notes in secret. They just appear in my room. Maybe Lord Mirdalan is helping him. (Ok, that would be weird, but please, that strill is smart. All of them are smart). 

Even when this time I have had only for myself has been difficult, I have discovered that I can use the force, and I am very good at it!

Maybe that is what Kamionans, Count Dooku, and Dark Sidious were waiting for when I could use the force, but how? As their sith apprentice?   

I am not interested in those guys, but they could say something like, "We are going to kill your family if you don't do that."

In that case, I will need to use Plan B: Find me and make me do it if you can.

Where would I escape?, I don´t know yet, maybe I could go to the Jedi temple and train in their ways, but that could be difficult for the Jedi because I will involve them in my trouble.

Anyway, today I received a letter with an assigment. It says I am going to be part of...

Clone Force 99?!

Ok, I wasn't expecting that, but to tell you the truth, Darth Sidious and his plans always have a purpose.

Those clones are different to the other groups.

Let´s see what we can learn from each other and I will try to discover what is my part in Darth Sidious plans. (Without killing my new squad).

[hawthornsword]

help i want to hear about like... all your wips. but if i have to choose a couple to ask about, tell me a little about loyalty as a love language, the last daughters of house mereel, boba/ahsoka variations, cody reconditioned during rako hardeen, and/or stewjoni knitting au??

Hoo boy, I am happy to share about all of these, so this is gonna be long.

The Last Daughters of House Mereel.

This is an alternate universe where Kal Skirata, Walon Vau, and Mij Gilamar were with Jango's Haat Mando'ade before Galidraan. (Please note I have not finished reading the Republic Commando books and these fellas will likely not be written even remotely in character.) Galidraan happened the same, but these three didn't die because they weren't there. Where were they?

Well, Kal's daughter Ruusan ran away from her mom's home because she wants to be a Mando warrior like dad, so he had to take her and go talk to her mom about custody stuff.

Walon meanwhile was in love with that princess on his home planet who had beem imprisoned in some fanatical religious cult's monastery. I decided they had a kid too, and when Walon discovered this, he goes home to try again to rescue his princess and their kid. Sadly he does not rescue his love, but he does get his little girl Mitzli.

And finally we have Mij. Mij married a Mandalorian woman named Tani and then she was murdered at some point. He vowed vengeance. And he absolutely hates Priest and Reau and Death Watch. So I'm saying they had two daughters, Peyton and Jonah, before Tani was murdered by Death Watch. I've decided she was a Viszla, but a True Mandalorian that hated Death Watch. And Peyton is born Force Sensitive. Tani thought this was a sign that they could return to the glory days of Tarre Viszla, the Mandalorian Jedi, healing the rift between their peoples, and wanted to send Peyton to the Jedi temple to be trained. The Death Watch Viszlas hated Tani since she left them for the Haat Mando'ade. Mij promised Tani as she died that he'd send Peyton to the Jedi, however, he didn't actually want to so when he takes her, he explains that it was her mother's wish not his, and he wants yearly visits to check on her and to call her. He also doesn't mention the fact they're Mandalorian. So Peyton does get raised as both Mando and Jedi, but she and her dad and sister are the only ones who know it. When Galidraan happens, Mij is gone on one of his yearly visits.

So when Jango gets around to recruiting the the three men to Kamino, they bring their daughters. They're contractually obligated to keep their work secret, and the girls live in a different area so theoretically they shouldn't ever find out what's going on. Even when Kal adopts the nulls, according to the Kaminoans they're supposed to stay with the other clones and simply be trained by Kal.

So when the girls get to Kamino their ages range from 17 to 11. Boba is 2, and they babysit.

Now Peyton was supposed to be with the Jedi, right? Well, Mij asked her what she wanted to do and the Force guided her to go to Kamino too, so she hasn't quit but she's essentially told the Jedi she needed extended leave of absence. (Remember Jango and the others still don't know she's a Jedi padawan.)

It doesn't take the girls long to sneak around Kamino and discover what shady business uncle Jango has been up to, and they do not like it. So they decide they're going to try to fix it all.

Ruusaan grows up to be a scary badass warrior, Mitzli is an electrical engineer, Jonah is a doctor, and Peyton does digital forensics (she's a hacker but she gotta have a day job.) These will all be conveniently plot relevant jobs.

There's going to be a very comedic reveal at some point when Jango realizes Peyton is a Jedi, when the Jedi realize Peyton is a Mandalorian, and when all the dads realize they had terrible opsec for that decade on Kamino because their kids have been undermining the war since they were teenagers.

And finally, where this story all initially started, and where it will probably eventually end, was the Corrie Guard Commanders trying to convince Fox to take a night off and get him laid. Which leads to him meeting this charming and mysterious girl Peyton at 79s.

---

Boba/Ahsoka variations Essentially I keep having a ton of different ideas of Boba and Ahsoka time traveling back from during the imperial/rebellion era to when they were kids/teens to try to fix things. Sometimes it's on accident, sometimes it's on purpose. Usually they go back to during the development of the clones, but once it's all the way back to Galidraan. Sometimes they're friends, sometimes they were still enemies, in the middle of a fight, Boba trying to collect the bounty on Ahsoka. Sometimes, they say that's why they're fighting but it's actually more complicated than that - in that officially speaking that's still the case, but at some point they hooked up and Boba is still pissed because he thought it was more but turns out she's still hung up on Rex.

Sometimes the whole thing takes place from Jango's perspective and he's awkwardly watching his ten year old have a lover's quarrel with this 14 year old togruta who just appeared from nowhere, which makes it more believable but no kess awful when your kid tells you he's a time traveler.

I haven't decided which version I like best yet.

---

Cody reconditioned during the Rako Hardeen arc

This one was actually @eclipsesilverwolf's idea but she said it was too sad for her to write so I promised to do it for her.

Essentially Cody and Obi-Wan were already deeply in love when the Rako Hardeen arc happened, and Cody is absolutely fucked up with grief. Like he's non-functional. (Which, probably would never happen honestly, because it's Cody, who does his duty just like Obi-Wan, but just go with it for the sake of the drama.) Whatever natborn or Jedi is in charge of the 212th while Obi-Wan is gone (dare I change the timeline and say Krell?) finds this unacceptable and sends Cody to be reconditioned.

So when Obi-Wan comes home, it's to a Cody who doesn't remember him at all. Obi-Wan is furious, of course. Poor Cody is just confused as to why the new guy is so friendly and sad and sometimes reaches out to touch him like they're close. Hebhas to go on his brothers telling him about hiw things used to be, but even theu didn't know the extent of the relationship, and now they've beek under Krell's leadership, so Cody is so unsure of this Kenobi guy. So they're having to learn each other all over again and navigate this newly unbalanced relationship. Obi-Wan offers to use the Force to help Cody remember, but he doesn't trust Obi-Wan anymore, so he says no.

There are several more severely angsty plot things I may have happen before it all resolves, but it will have an eventual happy; I'm incapable of doing otherwise.

---

Stewjoni Knitting au

This was inspired by a discord conversation about Waxer/Boil Month prompts, but this ended up being more Codywan than Waxer/Boil. We'll see if I can get enough of it done in time to give W/B their own separate part.

The Separatists shoot down the 212th and the venator crashes on Stewjon. Stewjon is independent, not Republic, and isolationist. They refuse to contact the Republic, but as soon as they realize Obi-Wan is one of them they're super friendly otherwise. They say they'll repair the venator if the 212th helps them throw the Separatists off their planet first.

Obi-Wan's family is actually contacted and immediately comes to meet him. (They proudly gave him to the Jedi knowing he'd be happy and well cared for with them, and also gave the Jedi their contact info. If Obi-Wan ever needed it or wanted to come home he was welcome.

Now, Obi-Wan knew something of his birth culture but it was mostly secondhand knowledge through reading in the temple archives. It isn't a complete cultural education. One thing he's picked up though is knitting. It's meditative and provides something to always do with his hands, much like Anakin's tinkering. He pretty much always has his knitting with him. And he knows his clan colors and patterns. Actually that's why the 212th is that color - its Obi-Wan's color. Obi-Wan gifts pretty much everything he makes to people. There are near-strangers and acquaintances and dearest friends throughout the galaxy with Obi-Wan's knitting. He lets the Force guide him on what yarns and patterns to use and what to gift to who when, but he almost always uses yarn he imports directly from Stewjon. It's rare and highly prized for it's beautiful metallic sheen, and only a small amount is exported. Stewjoni citizens away from home get first dibs on the exports.

This yarn not only looks metallic but actually is. The sheep on stewjon developed armored wool to protect against a certain predator. Once spun up and knit or felted, it works as a pretty decent armored garment too. Cody keeps trying to get Obi-Wan into armor. Obi-Wan insists he doesn't need it, but never bothers to explain why. He and Cody get into a situation where Cody's armor gets badly damaged and Obi-Wan gives him a piece of his clothing and finally explains its armored nature. He never takes it back, and Cody continues to wear it under his armor. Obi-Wan likes knowing he's helping keep Cody safe, even when he's not beside him.

Many members of the 212th have been gifted knit items by the time they crash on Stewjon.

When Obi-Wan's family meets the 212th, they are delighted by all the new members of their family. Obi-Wan is confused. The family asks why he's confused. He asks what they mean by family. They explain that the 212th wearing Kenobi colors/patterns means they're family by Stewjoni standards, and they thought Obi-Wan had been marrying/adopting all these troopers. Obi-Wan explains he didn't know that's what the cultural significance was, and they say that's fine, they're still happy to have them anyway. They say it still counts as legal on Stewjon whether Obi-Wan knew it or not.

Now, since they've accepted the clones into the Kenobi clan, and they find out their whole situation, they immediately are against the Republic for illegally enslaving citizens of Stewjon.

Meanwhile, Cody and Obi-Wan are a little bit freaking out about the fact that giving Stewjoni knitting is basically equivalent of Mandalorian armor exchanges of betrothal. They found out separately from one another, so Obi-Wan determines that this is fine, Cody has his heart it's true, but Obi-Wan will never say anything because he's committed to the Jedi. It's just a private love he'll carry in his heart. It's fine. Cody however, assuming that Obi-Wan knew exactly what he was doing when he gave him the armorweave, decides he must give Obi-Wan something in return which leads to a whole subplot about getting beskar armor.

Meanwhile, Boil is learning to knit in the background so he can give something to Waxer, and Waxer is communing with the beasts and has probably decided he wants to he a sheep farmer.