Hi Airlock! For the OC asks... Could I please ask these for both Cobalt AND Taar?? (Even after all this time, Cobalt and Taar are still on my mind. The image in my head of Cobalt grabbing Taar's belt will NEVER leave me 🥺🫠🫠🫠)
👻 - What’s their biggest fear?
💭 - What do they think about the most?
💫 - What are/were their plans for “after the War”?
Thank you so much!!
Hi hi! :D
Cobalt's biggest fear is letting people down. Which, you can imagine, happens frequently. This isn't something he can avoid. It's a constant, prickling anxiety and reality for him. He will let people down. He will fail people. All because of what 4844 did to him. Part of his healing and growth post war as Koda's Padawan is learning to appropriately place the blame on 4844 and being kinder to himself. He learns to mitigate people's expectations of him, which he wasn't free/able to do as a trooper. A lot of his healing comes directly from Koda's lack of expectations. Every advancement and achievement Cobalt makes under Koda's instruction is usually a surprise to both of them and celebrated as such.
Taar's biggest fear is for Cobalt's well being. Post war, he's not nearly as tangled up in Cobalt's safety, but he still insists he accompany Koda, Synth, and Cobalt when they're out doing Jedi stuff even though he doesn't technically have to. Taar's seen enough Jedi self-sacrificial shenanigans from Koda that he doesn't want Cobalt to get the wrong sort of idea about ideal Jedi behavior. (LOL) Taar and Synth hold the brain cells on these outings. u-u Taar's going to go prematurely gray, even with the accelerated aging corrected.
Cobalt thinks about a lot of things. During the war, he thought about his batch-mates, his squad, and would obsessively reread manuals and orders and briefings to make sure he was going to remember everything he needed to know for missions and battles. (And would still forget.) After the war, he constantly overworks himself to learn Koda's instructions in the Force, and lightsaber forms, being excessively studious and making other Jedi jealous of Koda's "model student". Except Cobalt struggles to remember everything he learns, so there are often bizarre gaps in his information. He trains his body hard, so his muscles remember what his mind can't. Koda isn't hard on Cobalt, and often encourages him to take breaks because the mind has to rest.
Taar, as one of Koda's lieutenants, thinks more strategy, more logic, and is more concerned about getting things done rather than remembering information. During the war, Taar's mostly business. He's not cold, but he's definitely calculating, methodical, and distant. Accustomed to losing soldiers, and being frustrated with Cobalt's memory problems. Those frustrations eventually give way to over-protection and reassigning Cobalt to assist Koda directly instead of being in more immediate danger where his memory causes other people to be killed. Post war he keeps himself occupied by helping Cobalt learn Jedi stuff and assisting Synth with the logistics of Koda's research. Being more methodical, he balances Synth's recklessness.
After the war, at least talking about the Invictus AU here and not Adrift on Celestial Seas, Cobalt is Koda's Padawan! Koda is a descendant of Sith pure bloods and has concerns he may eventually fall to the Dark side like all his ancestors. Before the war he primarily worked in research and history, trying to find out as much as he could about the psychology of the Sith vs. the history of his own family. It begins to become a bit of an obsession during the war, as the death and loss and pain begin to overwhelm him, but thankfully Synth is able to help him see how his obsession with avoiding becoming a Sith is actually causing him to creep closer to the Dark (like a self-fullfilling prophecy of sorts). Koda doesn't fall, and takes Cobalt as his Padawan, and the four of them travel the galaxy expanding on Koda's research into Sith history. It means they come into contact with a lot of dark, evil things, but post war, the four of them are extremely well equipped to mentally handle whatever the Dark wants to throw in their path.
Becoming a Jedi allows Cobalt to stay in touch with his batch-mates, and sticking with Cobalt gives Taar a life he never dreamed he'd get to have. It's not nearly as peaceful as he expected a Jedi's life to be, so he's glad he and Synth are around to keep their two Jedi out of harm's way.
🪐 - What’s their favorite planet that they’ve been on? for Sicle? :)
The answer will probably surprise you! His favorite planet was Umbara. Of course Umbara sucked in terms of combat, but the planet itself, not so much.
I have the thought that Obi-wan's natural curiosity and the Jedi acceptance of many cultural influences rubs off on the clones who work directly with him. Since Sicle is part of Ghost Company, he would be within that group of clones most exposed to Obi-wan's, and the Jedi, way of thinking.
The fascinating tech, the moody atmosphere and what it takes to survive/thrive on Umbara, all things that Sicle found interesting/neat. The planet sticks in his mind. He did some research on its history in what little spare time he had, just to keep his mind occupied (and for tactical purposes of course).
If Bisk or Toast ask him about cool places he's been, he'll start with Umbara.
Hello!! I’ve been loving your writing and works, and I am slowly devouring them!!! (I’m trying to pace myself or I’ll finish them and then I’ll be immensely sad.)(and I will comment!! It will just. Take me a few time). I have so many things I love in your series!!! Can I pick your mind on some of them? I am trying my hand at doodling and would like to use as much of your vision as possible (no promises on when and what will be done, but I’m trying!)
Feel free to reply to any, all or none of these questions! (I don’t want to bother!)
All the medics have storytelling names - Myth, Lore, Saga, Fable - and then there’s Ollie. Is there a reason why he doesn’t quite overlap? I really like his vibe, and does the team work well as a group? (Well. We know Saga is worked *around*, but still!!)(also I really like him, so much🫡❤️) Do any of the medics have specific scars or tattoos? Also, would Saga be bulkier than, say, Myth? (Given his batch?) Does he have the same paler speck of iris as Vaughn’s, besides the white streak? Would you say it’s more a faint piebaldism?
Also!! I’m also so curious about Birva, Stone, Thire - any details? Any specific haircuts? Would Thorn have blond curls (like many fandom depictions) in the Invictus au? And Treeble (💔❤️) has pitch black eyes - across the white as well? And would he have any other details, or is there a stark contrast between a regulation haircut and his eyes?
Ohh, did the Astra squad (Dawn, Dusk, Twilight, etc) pick names together or adopted them starting from a single theme??? 🤩
And do you have any faceclaims for Meerva and Ireana?? And Embree? (Aside from his purple vertical pupil eyes and silver hair). Or any details that you want to share about them??? (Btw, I love Riyo, would you say you see her as the canonical appearance? Or is there something you’d call out as Invictus specific? Wasn’t there a mention of her training to support Fox’s weight?)
Also, last but not least, I love the Zombie squad to pieces (all old and new members!!). Is there any specific feature from any of them you’d like to call out, aside from each of their prosthetics? By the way, would Barriss wear pieces of clone armour, or still her Jedi outfit only???
Once again thank you for the universe, apologies for the many questions, and my best vibes of all types!! 🥳🥳🥳💯💯💯 have a great rest of the week!! 🎉🎉🎉
Hello, this took me forever to answer. I love getting questions. I love getting comments. Thank you for having fun!
Don’t worry about pacing yourself if you can’t resist. I have no plans to stop writing fic any time soon. Just depends on time management and pain levels. I’m so happy to hear how much you enjoy my writing. I say it a lot, but I mean it every time. Knowing people like my stories is encouraging and a nice reminder that I’m not just shouting emotionally into the void. You can absolutely pick my brain about anything. (The joke around here is that I have a tack and string board with all my plotting and character information and thematic threads. In reality it’s just a lot of notes and my poor brain being used like a beaten up filing cabinet.) I love seeing fanart of fanfic (I feel like most of us do though so…).
Onto your questions!
In regards to the Coruscant Guard medics having names like Myth, Saga, and so on, and then having others named Exvy and Ollie, the main difference is Myth, Saga, Lore, and Fable are all ranked officers, while Exvy and Ollie are “junior medics”. Other medics in the Guard are Zip (a field medic), Lyric, and Epithet. The CG medics do work well together. Saga has standards higher than the Kaminoans, so most of the medics who’ve been there a while know this. If they do their job as ordered/expected and don’t get in his way, Saga won’t have a negative opinion of them. He won’t be positive, either, but he won’t yell at them. Saga’s major frustrations come in the form of shiny new medics trained on simulations rather than real flesh and blood and bone. That being said, only Myth goes out of his way to be active friends with Saga. Saga deals with a lot of horrifying stuff and isolating himself isn’t good for Saga, let alone the rest of the team that has to put up with him. Fable, being a member of the Zombie Squad, really only works with Myth (because Myth is the only medic who knows about Fox’s zombies).
Saga is slightly bulkier than the other clones. Vaughn is too, yes, because of their experimental batch. And you’re correct. They do have a slight piebaldism that causes the white streak of hair and the fleck in the eyebrow/eye. Every member of their batch had the same mutation.
Fable is the only medic I’ve specifically noted scars for. He was badly burned. He has no hair (no eyebrows either). Where he’s scarred, he can’t sweat, and wears his full kit all the time to help regulate his body temperature. It’s why he’s one of the Zombies. Zip, as a field medic, probably has some battle scars. He’s a member of Thire’s squad and they get into lots of trouble. I imagine he’s been shot a number of times and probably stabbed even more. They do a lot of extractions.
Fox handles any and all work relating to Palpatine. On Fox’s part, it’s because he subconsciously (through the Force) knows something’s not right with Palpatine. He doesn’t trust him. He doesn’t like him. And he always feels awful around him despite how nice Palpatine actually is to him. On Palpatine’s part, he favors Fox. When Fox is caught having a stash of illegally obtained credits, Palpatine does what he can to give him the benefit of the doubt. When he sees Fox contemplating throwing himself into the Senate rotunda (as a Sith, he delights in Fox’s misery) he attempts to console Fox by distracting him. He doesn’t usually have the responsibility of protecting Palpatine (that’s more an innate part of his job) because Palpatine is protected personally by the Red Guard, and further by the Senate Guard.
Fox’s actual job, however, is counter intelligence and keeping targeted persons safe. He organizes protection details, escorts people from one place to another on Coruscant. He designs missions to take out CIS operations when he finds them. This does mean he keeps Maze in the loop, though Maze and Arligan are more a centralized hub for offworld intelligence. They are often a target of the CIS so Fox has to keep them in the loop. He busts espionage operations, terror operations, slave organizations because the other two often use the third to cover their tracks, money launderers, etc. Fox works with immigration, the local police, there are so many things on his shoulders. Fox keeps everything about his appearance regulation. The less attention he draws to himself, the better. That being said, his paint stands out the most while the majority of the Guard all have the same paint pattern. This is to make Fox the target of the public’s ire and protect individual clones from targeted harm.
Stone is the primary off-world escort for important people. He’s calm, patient, and methodical. When he’s on Coruscant, he usually takes over escort duty for Fox. His troopers typically live longer than most members of the Coruscant Guard and are therefore older than most of the Guard. That said, when a mission goes south, Stone is more likely to lose all his men at once (see the CW episode with Jar Jar Binks). Most escorts are so carefully planned out that nothing goes wrong, and if it does, the person they’re protecting doesn’t know until after the fact. When you’re in a protection detail, you have “circles” of protection. Stone is usually the innermost circle with the protectee. Blunt, a member of the Zombie Squad, lost his lower jaw during one of these missions. Stone keeps his head shaved (so if he doesn’t have a helmet, his hair can’t be grabbed in close combat). He has an Aurebesh numerical tattoo “58” above his left temple, a reference to his CC number 5869 (although in his CW render, it’s definitely a 63, but apparently it’s supposed to be 58). His hair, including his eyebrows, are going gray.
Thorn most often fills Fox’s roles when Fox is unable. His men are often held in reserve for reinforcements, to fill in the gaps, and perform regular patrolling of the Federal District (though each commanders’ men fill patrol roles). (Twilight’s squad, for example, serves under Thorn’s direct command.) This is why Thorn can “give up” Captains Nevo and Packs to follow Fox around and help him. Thorn is typically on base, while Fox is usually at the Senate. Lieutenant Birva is also technically under the auspices of Thorn’s authority, protecting the “underground” of the Federal District specifically (sewage, water treatment, power systems, communications). Though Fox has authority over all troopers within the Guard regardless of which commander they serve under. Thorn’s hair is blonde, like popular fanon, and extremely “fluffy” is how Fox describes it. Thorn doesn’t like people touching it though. I’ve seen a lot of fanon give Thorn a sunny disposition to juxtapose Fox, but I chose to go a more charismatic route where he’s amicable with basically everyone (Fox is a bit jealous of how easily Thorn can schmooze). Thorn’s charisma sometimes makes people forget just how deadly he is. Thorn has a temper that once engaged is not easily cooled.
Thire is the youngest. Originally a lieutenant and promoted to commander. Zero was meant to ship from Geonosis to Coruscant with Fox as the fourth commander, but his injuries prevented him from ever returning to duty. Commander Wynut took his place. Wynut fell from a building during an altercation with an assassin and broke his pelvis and spine. Fox was able to save his life and he became part of the Zombie Squad, but this meant Thire, upon his return to Coruscant after his mission with Yoda, was immediately promoted to Wynut’s position. Thire’s work primarily revolves around cleanup, hostage negotiation, rescue, and extractions. He oversees people like Toast (the CG medical examiner/mortician). His men go after slavers, traffickers, etc., but they also handle riots, protests, and assist the local police. (This is why Toast has riot gear even though he’s technically a medic.) Thire also has the softest exterior of the four commanders, which is helpful when working with refugees, children, and people who are terrified. He’s the most emotive in front of the others while Stone, Thorn, and Fox will keep their emotions locked down until they’re alone. In order of expressing emotions it goes Thire, Thorn, Stone, Fox. Fox does actively encourage the rest of the troopers to express their emotions to him, and to the medics, but he also has to maintain some composure so the men trust that they can rely on him. Fox will cry in empathy with anyone who’s already crying. Thire keeps his hair regulation cut, though Thorn has tried to get him to grow it out. He managed to let it grow for a week before he couldn’t stand how it tickled his ears and cut it again. Thire keeps all of Fox’s medals and awards in his desk, but forces Fox to wear them to events. Thire was injured during his mission with Yoda, and ought to have been decommissioned, but Yoda never reported the injury to the GAR and the medics downplayed the injury in their reports. Thire has a permanent limp and it causes him problems on missions where he has to run or exert himself. Zip, being his squad’s field medic, is overprotective of Thire and reminds him constantly to be careful. Post war, Thire has a cane.
Treeble starts the war with regulation hair, but as the story goes, his hair grows and by now he has long hair, past his shoulders. He usually leaves it down. When he has to wear armor, he has it braided. His eyes, both sclera and iris, are black. He doesn’t have any tattoos, just scars. Notably, the lightsaber scar from being cut from shoulder to hip by Ventress. He also has self-harm scars on his wrists, thighs, and upper arms. There’s an older scar on his left cheek where Krell punched him in the face, splitting his skin open.
Birva has a cog of the Republic tattoo on his ass and keeps his hair regulation. Post war he’s a bit lost, but maybe Treeble will run into him.
Twilight’s squad members were named by Fox. None of them had names when they lost the trooper Dawn replaced, so Fox gave them names. The trooper Dawn replaced was posthumously named Horizon. Dawn is of course replaced by Bri (Brilliance) who already had his name. The joke (dark humor) in the squad is that Horizon’s position is cursed because he died, then Dawn “died”, and now they tease Bri about it.
For Meerla, Ireana, and Embree, I don’t have face claims. I have sketches of them, but no way to upload them to the internet. If I ever get a way to upload them I will.
Barriss actually wears civilian clothes/light body armor (at Slick’s insistence) at the moment, as she doesn’t feel she is a Jedi and clone armor doesn’t fit her. Barriss, Slick, and Dogma currently work with Commander Knockout and Howzer tracking down clones who were being experimented on by the CIS due to their Force sensitivity. As part of this, Slick is also searching for a way to restore Barriss’ connection to the Force. Fable returns to the clone colony with Meerla and Zero after the war. He’s interested in Meerla’s older brother, Erol, who appears in Auribus Teneo Lupum. Wynut, Blunt, and Zipper remain on Coruscant because they like Coruscant and Bail pushes a number of programs through to assist clone veterans. Each of the Zombies is reinstated as valid clone troopers once the war is over. Clones in the colony have the option of being reinstated, but most don’t on Fox’s warning until after Thorn concludes his investigation of High Command.
Hi Airlock! :D Are there any scenes or ideas for any of your fics that you LOVED, but they just didn't fit with the feel or current direction of the story, so you couldn't use them? Would you be able to share any with us? And what do you do with those cut scenes and ideas that didn't fit?
AND/OR... Have you ever ADDED a spur-of-the-moment scene that surprised you or wasn't originally planned? If so, could you please share?
Thank you so much!!!!
There aren't really any specific scenes that come to mind that had to be cut that didn't work. Usually when I cut something from a fic it's because the flow is wrong and the scene ends up being reused later; sometimes exactly the same as it was, sometimes with different characters, sometimes the dialogue gets slightly changed if the plot points have changed.
As for adding things...
While I start writing fics with a general idea and outline, the bulk of the story is written on the fly. I then have to keep notes for myself and reread fics a lot to make sure all the details are straight. (We joke about my notes being the tack and string board like the meme, but it's more like a series of spread sheets and word docs that I rifle through whenever my brain forgets something.)
Sometimes I table entire fics, such as Infragilis Et Tenera (Riyo centric fic) because I'm not sure about the idea yet.
But, if I've posted a chapter of a fic, I intend to finish it, it's just I have brain worms for another project instead. The Wooley fic I have is fully outlined, but I haven't worked on it because I'm scared of writing Obi-wan LOL. Et Cum Sola isn't finished because I'm rotating it around like a rotisserie chicken in my mind, but it refuses to stop running pink when I poke it with a fork. :/
lsghskghdk Loses train of thought.
Ahem. Yeah, stuff that gets cut ends up somewhere else. Stuff that gets added is most stuff, actually, because an outline is only a guide. Even super detailed ones. :D There's so much I want to write, but there's just not enough time!!! (This week I'm working 8 days in a row ;-; I've written one sentence of fic this week.)
Hi, for the 50 OTP Things, could I please ask about the very sweet couple Blitz/Scope (AAaaa I've only known them for a short while, but I LUF them 😍), for your choice between any (or some, or all, if you feel up to it 🤭) of these?
2. Who is the big spoon/ Who is the little spoon?
3. Who hogs the cover/ Who loves to cuddle?
4. Who wakes the other one up with kisses?
8. Who sleeps in their underwear (or naked)/ Who sleeps in their pajamas?
Thank you so much! 🫶🏻
akhfskghs Hello!! =D
2. Who is the big spoon/Who is the little spoon?
Blitz prefers to be the big spoon, wrapping around Scope and practically smothering him with cuddles. However, Scope gets to be the big spoon more often than you'd think. He likes to cradle Blitz's head on his chest and pat his hair while they snuggle.
3. Who hogs the cover/Who loves to cuddle?
Once they're off Kamino and Scope stops denying things he wants, Scope is a blanket hog for sure. He overheats easily, but he always wants a blanket. The more the merrier, for the cozy/comfy appeal. The blankets usually end up in a tangled heap at the foot of the bed/couch or on the floor. Blitz is fine without a blanket. As for who loves to cuddle, they both do. Their relationship is based on a long term friendship, so cuddling, spending time together, etc. are huge for them.
4. Who wakes the other one up with kisses?
Blitz wakes Scope up with kisses. Depending on his mood, the kisses vary from a chaste, affectionate greeting, to depraved and desperate. Scope would wake Blitz up with kisses, except Blitz always wakes up before him.
8. Who sleeps in their underwear/naked/Who sleeps in their pajamas?
On Kamino, Scope usually sleeps in his underwear and Blitz sleeps in his blacks. Once they leave Kamino, both of them sleep naked and wear pajamas when they wind down for the night/once they wake up in the morning. Similar to the blankets and being cozy/comfortable, once they leave Kamino they both start allowing themselves to explore things they like.
My favorite line of dialogue from this fic was NEC ASPERA TERRENT? What inspired it?
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much! I hope you’re doing lovely!
"I am reviewing the Chapters recently and the words “It’s better than Clone.” broke me all over again, said by Commander/CC-2772! These words meant so much to me, as being a clone brings pride and a sense of belonging and community to many brothers (and siblings), but this was corrupted by so many in their lives. What inspired this line and what did that mean to you."
Hi hi, thank you for clarifying and being patient with me <3
Saga and Com's conversation here in regards to the name Com wants to use is a pretty rough scene. You're right, being a clone ought to be a source of pride and belonging for both of them, but considering what Com has been through, those positive connotations have been stripped away from him.
Krell called him Clone as an insult. Krell twisted the word and berated him for being a clone, for punished him for doing his job well, and brought only negative associations with the name.
Saga's own sense of belonging is pretty mangled up too. His batch was culled. He's spent the war primarily on Coruscant patching up nearly dead soldiers for an ungrateful populace where "clone" is said in the same sentence as "meat droid" and "ethics violation".
For Com (2772) "clone" is a reminder of everything awful he's survived. For Saga, "clone" is the spit behind the Coruscantis' teeth. So the name Com chooses "Com" short for "Commander" is the last bit of dignity and honor he thinks he has any claim to ~because~ Sage continues to address him as Commander. He shortens it to just Com because it's been so long since he's led any soldiers, he thinks he doesn't deserve the respect.
I think if any other clone were having this discussion with Com, he would choose a better name, but Saga is grim and grumpy, and not very creative. Personally, I would have named Com after the liquid death drug they have to use to alleviate his pain. Who knows, maybe as he recovers he'll change his name again to something that truly suits him.
As for a favorite line of mine... it's actually a favorite scene from Invictus Chapter 25:
"Down in sewers below the Senate, a vile man flees the wrath of the Coruscant Guard, the 501st, the 187th, along with the self-named Contingent of the Undead. Disfigured and unable to speak, he runs for what remains of his life.
But his allies are too few. His carefully laid plans, fragile. His manipulation of Skywalker, not enough. Too many threads left un-pulled. Too many dominoes left standing.
With a cry, he raises his lightsaber as he turns a corner. An ARC trooper he remembers by the distinct “5” tattooed on his face blocks his way, unafraid. His blaster whines. “Fuck you, Chancellor.”
All it takes is one shot.
Far above, the wind howls and rain begins to pour."
For the salty ask: how about #11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?
I guess I don't know who fandom's unpopular characters are.
Lack of screen time usually means I have over 100k in fic writing about them (Fox).
The more popular a character, the less likely I am to write them (Ahsoka, Anakin, Rex).
I think the most "popular" character (in any substantial amount) I've written is maybe Howzer.
4. Do you have a NOTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*
Ah, it's not so much a NOTP as a squick. I don't enjoy Satine/Obi-wan nor Quinlan/Fox. I think both are pretty popular. They're fine ships, I just don't enjoy them. I enjoy Satine & Obi-wan (the platonic option) but I don't enjoy Quinlan & Fox. Why? IDK. I feel like Quinlan isn't on Coruscant as much as fanon puts him there? (And I have an entire Fox/Riyo AU lol, so it makes sense I wouldn't enjoy Fox as much with other characters.) With Satine... she's a powerhouse of a character, and I don't think her and Obi-wan align very well (which for some people makes them interesting) but I prefer her tenacity and intelligence as a lonely motif.
9. Most disliked character; why?
The Bad Batch and Omega because of bad character designs and writing. That being said, I still love them because they're clones.
