Thank You For Feeding This Brainworm!

Thank you for feeding this brainworm!

Sorry about Stone :( I feel like we need more stories about him disappearing, there's so much untapped potential..

Unlike his brothers, Marshall Commander Fox hadn't suffered a single scar on his regulation perfect face over the whole course of the war

The GAR's system armies returned to Coruscant to reunite with those who survived the war that had come to an abrupt break after High General Windu had decapitated the Chancellor to rescue General Skywalker. Suddenly the heart of the republic was flooded by men who had lost everything but themselves to protect it. Men who were trying to recognize their brothers in scarred faces and warm voices.

Fox had always been adamant about wearing his distinctive red armor. His bucket was the only face he'd ever shown to natborns and GAR troopers planetside Triple Zero alike.

The only sentients who had consciously looked into Fox eyes during the years of war shared on Coruscant were those on duty with the Guard. It was not like there was anything special to see, all his features were picture perfect according to the regs set up for the alpha CCs on Kamino. Not a single scar or hair out of place, no glint in his eyes and no personality to his curt responses.

Wolffe didn't recognize his little brother in the man standing in front of him. He didn't know that this was how Fox had been able to wear a thousand faces on Coruscant. That after Commander Stone had vanished during a prison riot one year into the war the Guard had never been able to retrieve his body, only his armor. That since then it had been Fox or Thorn who had worn it. Or how the Marshall Commander still desperately wished he had been the one wearing the SIC armor on an escort mission to Scipio. Wolffe didn't know the recently promoted Guard commander, a young CC named Thire, was way more experienced than his mission profiles let on.

Wolffe didn't know what Fox had not told him. He did not know how every single scar lighting into his brothers body had faded without medical attention. How the pure pain etched into the smooth skin over and over had made Fox numb. There was no sign or proof of what he had suffered. So Wolffe just handed the package he was tasked to deliver over to the blank version of Fox that Triple Zero had spat into his face, his cybernatic eye trying to catch any sign of what thoughts ran through the other's mind. It was one of the first times he could look into Fox eyes with no visor in between. He still came up empty.

A quiet "Thank you Commander" was all Wolffe got when Fox carefully accepted the bundled item with two hands and retreated into the empty room he and Thire had been assigned to. Wolffe wanted to scream at the door closing in front of his face. He just kept staring at it in silence.

Looking at the package didn't give away much about it's origins to Fox. It was a pathetic thing honestly, something small, not bigger than a pauldron but flat, and wrapped in old rags looking like some destroyed fabric from prison blacks. Fox hands began to tremble slightlyat the familiar smell. He carefully turned the bundle around.

There's a small piece of flimsi stuck to the back. Fox recognized the chicken scribble without reading the words. He knew it from thousands of little annotations that had been stuck to his data pads over the last years. He could not bring himself to decipher it.

Fox slowly unwrapped the item. The sharp edges would have cut into his skin if not for the gloves he was wearing. Thire had not yet convinced him to leave more than his bucket on the armor stack in the room.

Fox blinked at the shard in his hand. His own eyes stared back at him. His brothers' eyes stared back at him. His face looked like a million other faces on this force forsaken planet. He could be anyone, there were no actual scars on his skin that had been burned by lightning countless times.

But the face looking back at him was distorted by a single crack in the makeshift mirror, running straight along his nose and down to his left jaw. It was Thorn who was looking back at him. Thorn whose armor had been destroyed on Scipio. Thorn who had carried him through the pain and desperation when they had lost Stone. Thorn who he had trusted the most, whom he he had loved more than any other brother even his own batch. Thorn who had died kriffing a tenday before the war ended. It was Thorn's scar carefully etched into this small unpposio shard.

Fox clutched it like a a lifeline. His breathing started to rasp. Desperate for a word from the brother he had lost he tried to concentrate on the message that had been attached to the fabric. But the flimsi didn't offer any explanation, just two questions stealing more air from his lungs.

"Can you acknowledge that I live? That we lived?"

Fox armor clattered when he fell to his knees. A high keen tore from his throat before he began to weep loudly.

Wolffe overrode the door lock and ran to his little brother.

The cracked mirror resembles Thorn's facial scars to a t. It is wrapped in a piece of fabric of the same kind Stone wore on prison duty the day he died. It still smells like prison. Fox mourns the brothers who can only live on in his memory because Thire hasn't been around long enough. I wish this piece turned out different but I could not find the right words. Maybe I'll rewrite it one day. Inspired by @howdidthisevenhappenanyway's post on how Lichtenberg figures actually fade over time and this post by @cc-tens

Thinking about Bly's armor reflecting sunbeams during golden hours on a crowded dirty plaza

Usually Bly would comm Fox to get a second opinion on resolving hostage situations swiftly and with no to minimum casualties, especially those like the one he was facing now: situated in a densely populated area, surrounded by thousands of unaware civvies.

This however wasn't an option right now.

His youngest batcher hadn't bothered to pick up his call over the official lines, which definitely was a first and frankly a bit worrying. That man was always on duty and never willingly passed on an opportunity to gather intel on missions he shouldn't even know existed. Nor on collecting blackmail on his fellow commanders to "ask" for a favor or two in an unknown future. It wasn't like they would deny reasonable requests from other units but what exactly did Fox need all those extra rations for? He would leave a message in their private chat later.

Right now time was of essence and it was slipping through his fingers, so with a sigh Bly decided to try the line of another brother he knew was also very versed in crowd regulation and conducting missions while staying under the civvies' radar: Ponds. What he didn't account for was his oldest brother not picking up as well. A bit frustrated he opened his HUD and shot a quick message to the full group chat. He'd really prefer a second opinion, if possible not disturbing his general.

[open channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

5052: anyone available rn <80:18>

5052: whatever just call asap <80:81>

[close channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

Why did he have a bad feeling about this? He caught a sudden commotion at the corner of his field of view and turned is attention towards his men standing close to the area. Galle was trying to calm down a natborn gesturing around but clearly didn't succeed in his placating attempts. They seemed to be agitated by the sight of clone troopers lingering planetside for no apparent reason. Just when Bly decided to ask his Lieutenant to evacuate the plaza in front of the building they were about to move in on a call patched through on his internal comm:

[connected]

"Marshall Commander, we need you to stay put and not interfere. Don't try to enter the building, it will trigger the detonation before you can recover the hostages."

[disconnected]

Why the frick was a very young very familiar voice in his ear and how did they know about his current situation.

[alert from channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

8826: you better tell me you found Boba. got a report about Ponds waking up from a forced nap but nobody's seen the kid <88:34>

[close alerts]

Bly's bad feeling quickly evolved into a tight knot in his stomach and the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He signed for Galle to wrap up his conversation and come over.

"Commander?"

"I need you to keep an eye on the situation on the plaza. Don't enter the building unless I tell you to. The General won't be happy if we kark this up, I got intel there's bombs inside and children involved. No heroic actions, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. For now just keep entertaining the locals. Maybe you can actually get some info to evaluate further."

He could feel the other narrowing his eyes at him through the visor before nodding and turning to resume his post. Bly scrolled through the contacts on his HUD before landing on [bitesized].

[connected]

"Why the kriff are you here, how do you know I am here and how did manage to leave 000 without a chaincode trail.."

"Sorry Bly.. I didn't exactly plan on leaving Coruscant, really! But it was either playing stow away on that shitty G9 rigger or letting the Weequay who knocked Ponds out vanish into space.. Also I can see your markings from three levels above with how low the suns are. It looks pretty."

"Kid you're supposed to call Fox or whoever is available planetside when something happens! You must not go after someone thrice your size while you're unarmed and on probation!"

"It's kinda hard to call someone who is unconscious."

"Boba.."

"I promise I had nothing to do with it! The idiot clearly misjudged the dosage he used to drug Fox cause he is still out cold. We're currently alone in here. I can't get closer but I can't see any blood on him or any major injury.. though it's hard to tell with that kriffing red armor. Wait.. hold on a seond. I think Fox is waking up."

[disconnected]

[open channel <g4r/cc/000/17ahpla?>]

5052: Boba is with Fox <103:09>

5052: Fox is one of the hostages I am supposed to retrieve <103:17>

...

3636: who is wearing Fox armor at my General's meeting with the Chancellor

[attached holocall_100:44] <105:58>

Even though he's beyond tired Thire instantly clocks that Wolffe's miniscule head tilt means the Commander of the 104th realized he's just a stand in pretending to be Fox. Thire's posture doesn't change at all.

Also thinking about Fox red armor hiding blood stains all to well. Clones helping clones and eventually saving themselves is my brand of happy rn

Meeting Cal - Star Wars Jedi : Fallen Order (PS5)

Fox is trading classified information and his brothers indulge the high prices probably because they love him

Even though they barely saw him, Fox was actually the most sought after little brother in the command batch for several reasons:

Not only was he still adorable to his barely older brothers as they still noticed the same stubborn curl of hair not sticking to the regulation style and the curiosity fueling every very intentional move under all his gruff and overworked exterior, he was also the most experienced in solving civil conflicts.

Contrary to the GAR being deployed wherever necessary, his corps stationed on Cruscant dealt with living (in most cases) breathing sentients of all shapes, forms and in various states of coexisting on a day to day basis. The Corries might not have been as efficient in fighting clankers, couldn't identify the typical formations and moves as fast, but much like their Marshall Commander they were patient and exceptionally well trained in reading social context clues.

Subsequently they were the clones with the vastest knowledge on how to not offend, peacefully interact with and even more importantly protect civilians. The Corries operated on a completely different scale when it came to navigating politically or culturally charged conflicts. One could say what Fox lacked in social skills needed to bond on a personal level, he made up for tenfold on a professional level. He keept tabs on everyone who owed him a favor and never ever ended up in debt to a brother. This put him in a position of being able to unofficially request parts of the other corps' rations and medical supplies even though he was the one who should have the easiest access to all resources available to the clone army.

Bacara has been watching this spiel go on for almost two years by now. He's one of the few who had only dealt in the Guard's currency of datachits for physical resources once. Information about the Outer Dim was hard to come by even for the Guard. He's also sure he paid a bit more than strictly necessary. Sure, it had been his own fault for not striking a better deal, but he wondered if the other commanders were actually oblivious to Fox subtle manipulation tactics or if they just liked him enough to indulge his antics. It's not like Fox was unlikeable. He never asked for truly unreasonable amounts in exchange for admittedly very valuable and not seldom crucial information on their next mission targets. But the Corries still took all they could get.

The Marshall Commander of the Galactic Marines was pretty sure the Guard got their info by spying on the Senators. He and Neyo mused their brothers on Coruscant had to be pretty close to some of the biggest assholes in the galaxy to be privy to those details. No politician would be dumb enough to carelessly discuss highly confidential tactics and locations in the corridors of the Senate building or the official meetings their brothers guarded, right? After all the Corries were no aides expected to be present all the time to bend to the Senator's every wishes, they only provided security where necessary.

Bacara wasn't very close to any of the commanders and wouldn't consider them friends per se, except for Neyo. The 21st was currently on their first and very limited shore leave after more than eleven months in the Outer Rim. His troops only returned to Coruscant for a classified mission for Mundi to run planetside. They all respected their General, but nobody was really interested in the Jedi duties the Cerean cited for their impromptu stay. What his men were actually interested in was stocking up on perishable and therefore rarely available foods and getting a drink at 79's. So that's where he currently found himself nursing some spotchka in a small booth in a corner. Nobody would dare to cause serious trouble and risk ending up in the drunk tanks or worse confined to their own cots back on the ship as long as he's present.

Their leave to Coruscant was scheduled on short notice. He didn't tell the other commanders about it because they wouldn't be at the homefront long enough to organize a meet up for batchers from different corps anyways.

So Bacara didn't expect to see anyone tonight. But even in the half darkness of the bar the very distinctive red of the local Marshall Commander's armor caught his eye instantly. Bacara was well aware the Guard always knee who was staying on Coruscant (he was pretty sure Fox also knew exactly where the others' deployments led them to and who of the commanders was currently sporting an injury grave enough to be reported to their medics and for what reason).

Fox seemed to notice him as well but took his time talking to a natborn Bacara didn't recognize nor care for before sauntering over to the only other clone still wearing a full kit except for the buckets. Bacara resigned himself to a conversation undoubtedly more suited to be held with a sober mindset but seeing the glasses the red armored man carried and the three empty glasses already stacked on his table it was a little late for that, wasn't it?

"Commander, it's a pleasure to see you and your men in our humble abode after such a long time."

Fox voice was smooth and even though he looked exhausted his smile actually reached his eyes. That's not something Bacara had seen often on his fellow Marshall Commander. He's also sporting some barely noticable fine scars and Bacara can't tell for sure what caused those.

"I'll make sure my men won't bother you. We're only planetside for two days anyways."

Fox nodded as he held out both glasses for Bacara to chose from. For a split moment his hands seemed to be a bit unsteady but maybe Bacara's eyes played tricks on him in the dim lights of the bar because the movement was gone in the blink of an eye. He took the smaller drink and held the glass out for a cheer. Fox clinked their glasses but instead of the usual Mando'a used by the commanders he cheered in crisp Concordian.

Bacara blinked. Oh so that's why everyone happily played along with Fox little games. That cold hearted idiot actually cared about them. So even the rational leader of the Galactic Marines being well aware of Fox coaxing him into a slightly unbalanced deal couldn't find it in him to say no too much. Nobody needed to know that he also decided to join the line of GAR commanders sending the Guard even more supplies than they asked for.

I don't know if Concordian actually has a different word for Mando'a "K'oyacyi" and if the Journeyman Protector training Bacara would have any incentive to use it in front of cadets but in this AU Bacara feels valued by Fox acknowledging his ever so slightly different cultural background as well as giving him the opportunity which drink to chose

Logbook entry #1

I'm still struggling if using past or present tense for fanfic drabbles makes more sense to me. Consequently I always feel like editing when rereading them after a day or two

I usually post on a whim because inspiration mostly strikes when I should probably get some sleep.

Using the Tumblr drafts as a brain dump doesn't help organizing any thoughts for coherent story telling.

Maybe I could cross post on AO3? Idk why but AO3 feels intimidating to share on. So many tags. Such a low level of polish to my drabbles.

What if reading other people's works unknowingly led to me writing a very similiar idea?

How does one write a convincing story arc with motives and climax, it's all just feels and moods to me while I'm actually a very clear T person.

Btw really appreciate anyone reading and sharing thoughts on my brainworms THANK YOU hope they're worth your time! Communication on social media is hard lol.

Currently reading a lot of Coruscant Guard fics

What if upon receiving info about their assigned positions the whole command batch came up with a strategy of regularly switching posts while on Coruscant.

Initially it's to provide cover for the expected medical emergencies (because Coruscant is safe) or if they'll be in need of different talents for specific long-term missions. Cause even after receiving the same standard training, all of them have specialized in different areas. Not enough to be noticed by outsiders since the batchers know how to secretly provide info and apply eachother's shared knowledge immediately.

Of course it doesn't work out because:

- Some Jedi unexpectedly pay way more attention to their commanders and men. General Kenobi spots Cody in the mess and goes to sit at the same table. Even when the clones switch around he recognizes everyone instantly, so Cody is staying on The Negotiator permanently. One of the best things coming out of this is the opportunity to meet up with Captain Rex and the 501st

- Wolffe sustains an injury that they won't be able to cover like they usually do with other tattoos or scars and after losing almost all of the 104th decides to stay and rebuild his battalion with a very protective General Koon

- Ponds is finds himself suddenly taking over responsibility for the most feral kid in the galaxy. He sometimes wonders if Boba distracting Sing before she could actually shoot him was an elaborate ploy to get a better chance to kill General Windu himself or if the boy actually cared about his not-brothers (Boba cares a lot)

- Bly cannot for the life of him stand motionless during another debate in the Senate without going crazy cause he just cares too much about every honest voice being silenced by corruption and greed. His general also seems to watch him closer than others do and he takes the chance to try to learn more about the war efforts from the perspective of the Jedi council

- Bacara, Monnk, Gree and Neyo are on missions taking them to the other side of the galaxy, so far away that they barely make it back to Coruscant. They can't even enter the batchers' secret communication channels most of the times

- Which leaves Fox to become the "permanent" Marshall Commander of the Corries. He guesses it's only fair because more than half of the awards and decorations on the wall of the office were rewarded for his actions. The other half are mostly thanks to Thorn and Bacara being reckless but highly competent idiots

- Thire, Stone and Thorn joke they got stuck with the most uptight of the batch but later realize that Fox strict approach is keeping their men relatively safe. Cause Fox realized very quickly that Coruscant is in fact not safe

- Everyone else takes a whole lot longer to catch on to the not so subtle dangers stretching their claws from the very inside of the Republic's heart, especially with the Guard starting to drift apart from the GAR silently. It takes the CMOs meeting and drinking too much moonshine to finally connect the dots of why the communication lines went mostly dead

- Cody immediately starts strategizing for escape scenarios and researches uninhibited planets. He needs to survive any possible scenario so he can reunite his brothers. His general notices. Rex does as well

- Wolffe is furious and the wolfpack starts finishing their rescue missions in record time to get to the homefront as quickly as possible. He stops drinking alone like he sometimes did and starts accompanying all of his actions with softer words than usual. His general notices

- Ponds is shocked and starts taking to the shinys more. He also asks Boba about his point of view cause the boy definitely notices things a grown man doesn't. He starts sending regular updates about the developments of the general public's moods and tries to find ways to engage in a positive way with the natborns to bring attention to the men fighting a war for them. His general notices

- Bly is sad and starts reading up on all political and especially civil rights debates he can get his hands on. His general notices and asks her master if he has more intel on current developments in all parts of the galaxy. General Vos hasn't been on Coruscant since the start of the second year of war but draws the conclusion he should dig deeper into the heart of the republic

- Bacara is seething and keeps perfecting his already optimized battle plans. The marines train to annihilate droids by hand. He also keeps stocking up on medical equipment. His general doesn't notice

- Neyo doesn't acknowledge feeling anything. He starts tinkering again. He's looking for ways to design communication and transportation devices from all the droid scrap they usually leave behind on the battlefield. He even learns Jawaese. His general doesn't notice

- Monnk and Gree are determined. They comm eachother and start researching on how to survive long term in unknown environments and writing guides on how to identify edibles plants, safe water supplies, how to test for breathable atmosphere and which species like to live in symbiotic or peaceful ways with humanoids. They mask it as personal interest. Their generals notice

- Fox is panicking. He needs to find a new way to keep Hound from being decommissioned for Grizzer peeing in front of a senator's door the second after a natborn noticed their carefully crafted loop hole to switch designations of fallen brothers for the ones they could still save in the official documentations the Guard issues. He hasn't slept or eaten in two days as his comm blinks with the notification of a General striding through the Guard's front door like he belonged among the Corries. He has no time to deal with whatever the Jedi council wants from them but Thire is already on the brink of breaking down scanning data pads for a new loop hole so he grabs his helmet and runs to stop the force user from asking his questions at the wrong time. Not-his general notices

No idea for an actual plot. Just wanted to think about some hurt/comfort and competent clone commanders being brothers before being soldiers