We as a society don’t talk about Mr. Ping (Po’s goose dad) and how bad his taste is women is, like why did he get with a pirate lord and a serial killer, is there a you must have killed at least this many people to date him filter on or something? Like at this point I ship Po’s dads together out of desperation to not give Po a serial killer as a step parent
God I'm legit frothing at the mouth thinking about my reply to this comment again tho
Like. Such an interesting aspect of the clones is that they did have their childhoods taken from them. It isn't the same as a species that develops at double the speed of humans! Cause they ARE humans. Which absolutely does not mean that they are adult sized children. They are adults. They think like adults. They are developmentally, physically and psychologically adults: but they are not the they would have been, people with a whole well adjusted childhood behind them.
Which I think is frankly a fascinating thing to explore. It's a great metaphor. When looking at things like: if anyone bothered to ask, could they have consented to their place in the army? Which. Yes. On an individual basis they absolutely could. They are adults, they deserve the autonomy to make that decision and have it accepted, even if the choice they make isn't necessarily the one that another sentient with a different childhood might have made in their position. They can consent. But is it informed consent? Well no. They've kinda been brainwashed. Ethically, you're on unsteady territory there in asking them to choose when you know what their answer is going to be. Does that mean you shouldn't ask? Hell no! Of course you should ask. Does that mean you shouldn't accept their decision? Of course not! They're adults and it's their life.
The only way to approach this ethically would be to give them all the information beforehand and hope that they're as informed as possible. But really. Whatever you do, it isn't really right. The ethical thing is for noone to be in this position in the first place. This isn't ethical unless the clones did have childhoods and were not programmed to WANT to die for the republic and you don't have to ask them under those circumstances, because you've conscripted your army in a normal way.
Anyway my comment (and the fic) kinda went about this in looking at things from a Jedi perspective. Mace is asking. What the fuck do you do in that circumstance? Army has been raised and created in a horrible way, you had no idea and couldn't stop it and now they're being delivered to you. How do you do right by them? You can't! Certainly not as Jedi. Theyre in a ethical trap. They can only try their best but whatever they do, they are promoting the fucked up system that put these men in that position in the first place. Even if they could walk away from the republic (highly debatable) You either leave them to fend for themselves knowing there will be a huge loss of life, or you go in to war alongside them, hoping that in doing so you can smooth the way for them. Hoping that you'll figure out how to free them soon. Hoping that you can save as many of their lives as possible.
Like wow. Terrible situation to be in for anyone. No way you're getting out of that one without betraying them in some way. But for the jedi? Who rely on a philosophy that promotes the importance of all sentient life, to stop them falling and pretty much losing themselves to a mystic power that's gonna do all it can to turn them in to a time bomb, destroying themselves and hurting as many ppl as possible on the way out. Like I can't think of a less conflicting ethical dilemma for them to find themselves in. The war destroys the Jedi. If Palpatine was patient he wouldn't have needed order 66. They were never getting out of that alive. The war broke them, it was in complete opposition to their philosophy and they were tearing themselves apart from the inside.
Anyway this is my comment:
"It is!!! I think this is such a key way that its really hard for anyone to do right by them and be fair. They are adults, it wouldn't be fair to force them in to the life of a child. Or to patronise them. But in the same hand, they shouldn't be adults, something was taken from them and it's not fair to just ignore the fact that their childhoods were stolen from them. They aren't the people they'd be if they got to live those childhoods, but they aren't children either. They think like adults, they feel like adults; but adults that grew in to adults without the learning potential that a proper childhood provides.
It's an extreme, but it's an extreme of an issue that's unfortunately common irl. As an adult whose childhood didn't give you what what you needed, you are innately aware that you lost something that you can never get back. You can make the most out of who you are now, but without a time machine, you'll never have the childhood you should have had. And that, I think is something that Jaster himself is very aware of. When Mace tells him this, he knows the weight of it and he immediately knows that for the clones, it's so much worse.
Like I don't think it should be understated that the whole situation with the clones and the Jedi being asked to lead them was like perfect Jedi torture. It's a complete moral quandary and every way betrays their philosophy. The clones were slaves. They were born to be soldiers, trained from birth, their entire lives built around this war they didn't choose. But it was all they knew. They were indoctrinated in to that life from birth. Had the Jedi found a way to free them, I honestly think the vast majority of the clones would have been offended. They had been raised to believe their life's meaning was to fight for the jedi. They wanted to. It may not have been an informed decision, but, they did want it.
And that's when you really come in to difficulty with, these are adults that should be children. Because it isn't fair to tell another adult that they are wrong to want what they want and that they only want that because they don't have the experience to realise its a bad option. You can't be like 'I know what's best for you'. They are just as much of an adult as you. They are just as capable of thinking things through as you are. But in the same hand, had the clones been born in to a different life, would they still want to be soldiers? Probably not! But they are already adults by this point, their brains are developed, they can't get that childhood back. So to say 'I know that's what you want but it's only because your lack of childhood made you incapable of seeing what's right for you' would be humongously fucked up. There really isn't a way for the Jedi on the council to approach them that doesn't betray at least a part of what the clones are and I think that's important to address."
I do think it's a really interesting thing to chew on and a lot of the debate I see around it in my eyes misses the point completely. There isn't a right answer. There was never going to be a right answer. This didn't happen accidentally. Palpatine set it up to cause as much damage as possible. The clones were born betrayed and the Jedi, were fated to play a part in that, whatever they did. There was no way out.
whoops lol i wasnt expecting this post to make it far from my blog lol i was literally talking to myself and whatever 3 followers were awake at whatever time i wrote it
@cacodaemonia
but yeah i absolutely think about this all the time. thinking about this aspect of the clones is a great way to think about what makes us who we are. there are behaviours that arent useful in a soldier, that the clones exhibit anyway. they have a strong sense of identity, they enjoy expressing that with changes in hairstyle, tattoos, art, names. that isnt part of being a soldier (it can be argued that if you were creating a soldier from scratch it would be more useful for them not to have that) thats part of being human. they have a culture, they love each other and are devoted to each other, they are creative in ways that go beyond tactics and war. all of these things are so human, and yes of course theyre things that you'll find in every soldier, because most soldiers are human first. but the idea of the clones. they were custom made from birth to be perfect soldiers. The clones are soldiers first. they were made to be soldiers, not people. And yet, they are people any way! even when it isnt efficient or useful. they still love. they still dream.
if you think about the things that the kamineese didnt intend to give them, but which they have anyway. you can begin to ask 'what makes a person a person' 'what does it mean to be human'. they all had the same childhood, it was all planned, but still, they are each so different. it isnt efficient, it just is. its a thing beyond any planning. when you look at the indicidual personalities of each clone you can really begin to think about the things that make us who we are, on a miniscule scale. its a butterfly effect. they'd absolutely all see things differently, even if some opinions, some thought distortions, would be more commonplace amongst them, thanks to shared experience.
i definitely think there would be differences in how different clones saw things as they gained more experience in the greater galaxy and got to see more. the clones that stayed on kamino would 100% not see things the same as clones that spent lots of time around civilians. one of the thing that i kind of headcanon and find facinating to explore is the idea that one of the traits that the kamineese didnt intend to give them, but which their upbringing and trainining absolutely inadvertendly encouraged, is the clones all being really really curious. kamino is so structured, how could they not be curious about everything else, as soon as they come in to contact with it. i saw a book once that talked about the clones training and how they deliberately avoided teaching them things that would make them question their world view. (no poetry or history or philosophy for clones lol) and it really made me think. i absolutely think that the clones and Jango were beyond intelligent, to get to where he got to you'd have to be. to do the things that they did well, they'd have to be. and i just think, the idea of you placing a person who's that intelligent in to a galaxy thats beyond their understanding. they get off kamino and nothing is like they have imagined. the kamineese taught them war, they are at home in battle. but what about the rest of the time. what about the first time they see a parent and child? what about the first time they meet a civilian.
i think that they would want to know more, they'd want to understand, and i think that would lead to them trying to build on what they know from literally any source. talking to civilians, watching them, reading any books they come across, tv, researching things in any way they possibly can. and they are analytical, i think they'd take in whatever they could find and try to process it. i think theyd share what theyd figured out with others (and in doing so i think they'd develop some bizzare understandings of how the world works, depending on what source they managed to get their hands on. i love the idea of them having this idea of what a family is thats been built on like. a sitcom depiction of 'family'.) they are intelligent enough that i think theyd build an understanding of things built on the smallest drop of infortmation and it would be logical, to talk to them youd never imagine that theyd figured this out for themselves, but in the same hand, because this is how they are figuring stuff out, if they misundderstand somethign, they'll just run with it. i think that the rumor mill in the GAR would be wild. on the surface, it would seem like theyve got things figured, but once you go a bit deeper i think theyd have the most BIZZARE of knowledge gaps, of the kind where they dont even know theyre missing anything.
its just such a strange way to be socialised. and their shared experience and their upbringing serving as this kind of pressure chamber would only encourage a kind of echo chamber effect where they just have the STRANGEST of ideas about certain things. its just fascinating to think about. they lived for such a short time. i think considering how they'd think about things at different points in their lives, how theyd think about things after the war, if order 66 didnt happen and they were granted freedom in the end.
their ideas about things like the value of their lives would be so twisted that i think its hard to even comprehend it tbh. i always have this idea of like 'a vod knew how to die for a brother before he knew how to die for anyone else'. i think that in a lot of ways, there would be no greater honour than to die for someone, to die for a cause. but in the same hand, i dont think that they would view dying for something with nearly the same weight that anyone else would. they were raised in a life where there would always be a replacement waiting for them. the idea of a clone surviving when his brothers are all gone, i think that would be just about the worst thing that could happen to any one of them. they were made to be together. being the one to survive is just about the worst thing and yet how could you do anything but die for your brother, leaving him in that situation? and thats just their ideas about death! i could talk for pages about how i think they would feel about violence. violence is an intrinsic part of their lives, as is competition. i dont think theyd see any conflict between loving your brother, and wanting to win. violence is all they know really.
When people comment on my writing and they're like "Oml where is this plot going... Hey writer any hints??" I'm like I HAVE NO IDEA SOMEONE HUNT THE CHARACTERS DOWN AND ASK THEM I"M JUST AS SCARED AS YOU ARE
Ideas for background court drama in your fictional monarchy for flavor or humor:
King did not name his son as his heir because his son is an idiot. Said idiot son keeps trying to kill his cousin or uncle that was named as heir but keeps failing because he’s not good at this. Everyone is annoyed at the king for not imprisoning him
New political marriage in the court and the new spouse from outside the kingdom brought a chef with them that cooks weird
Some religious authority and the king keep going to war with each other and making up again like an on again off again toxic couple
Everyone thinks that one of the ladies in waiting got pregnant out of wedlock but she doesn’t even look pregnant and she keeps being like guys it’s been ten months
Someone important in the court keeps throwing really big parties that they can’t afford and people lower down on the ladder keep trying to find ways to stop them without technically disobeying them
Monks come complaining to the king that they’re not being fed enough when in fact they usually eat better than the king does
One of the servants overheard something really embarrassing and they really wanna tell someone so they’ve gotta figure out how to do that without getting in trouble
One of the members of the royal family has gotten obsessed with something (fashion trend, food, etc.) that the rest of the court hates but they have to pretend to like it or they’ll get in trouble
The queen mother (king’s mom) keeps annoyingly trying to interfere with how things are going and the king and the new queen keep running away and hiding whenever they hear her coming and it’s getting ridiculous
The king has not named an heir yet and everyone even slightly eligible for the throne keeps quietly trying to kill each other in the background while the king doesn’t notice and obliviously drinks beer and reads his newspaper
they will never convince me to take fuck out of my star wars fics. i'm fine with throwing in some kark and kriff and osik and shab whatever that's all well and good but they will have to pry the real life swear fuck from my cold dead hands. kark simply does not hit the same and canon can eat dirt when i've decided it's time for commander cody to say "what the fuck are you talking about sir" or some shit equivalent
Tumblr has got to be one of the webbed sites of all time because sometimes you log on and it seems like the entire site has gotten really into stick figure juggling and you just kind of have to shrug and accept that that's part of the furniture now
from my non-gamer pov (I'm an #ally), what this has looked like is a critical mass of maddened and delirious silksong posting for the past ~week that built to a sustained frenzied climax for about ninety minutes either side of the game's actual release, at which point everyone went absolutely dead fucking radio silent. I have not heard a single peep from any of you about what is happening in this game. no liveblogging, no screenshots, no reactions, nothing. my girlfriend emerges from her room every five-to-eight hours to intone "I've been skonging it too hard," grab a morsel of food, and withdraw to her chambers once more. Is everyone okay Are you having fun Is the silksong loud and beautiful and are you so very afraid.
For the purpose of this poll, books in the same world but not Directly sequels count. If they're grouped on Goodreads, it counts. So like, Percy Jackson but also Magnus Chase count as the same series.
titsay
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
stormborns
baratheonpilled
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
