Hard Contact Chapter 1: Callsigns
Aug. 5th, 2025 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamuzzy • ───────────────── •
Nobody else was going to call him by his squad nickname—Darman—again. They were all dead, he knew it. Jay, Vin, Taler. He just knew.
• ───────────────── •
A little trivia about how Darman got his name. While there is an in-universe explanation for it in Triple Zero, it’s actually an author blooper.
According to Karen Traviss's blog, Darman was named after Peter Darman, a military writer. "Darman" was used as a placeholder name until a better name could be thought of, but it was accidentally released into the public domain.
In-universe, it comes from the Dar’manda: someone without a soul.
Manda is a spiritual and philosophical concept, a way of living. It can be the collective soul of the mandalorian people. Those Mandalorians who don’t live according to the Resol’nare and ignorant to their heritage is considered a dar’manda and with it, these people don’t have place in the mandalorian afterlife. And this fate is considered worse than death.
Kal thinks, all the clones are dar’manda because they share genes with Jango Fett, they are mandalorians in blood, and yet they know nothing about their heritage and Jango doesn't want to bother to connect them with the Mandalorian culture. It's interesting that while you don't need to share blood with your clan, since there are no noble dynasties in a traditional sense, Kal goes with the bloodline mindset of THEY ARE FROM JANGO THEREFOR THEY ARE MANDOS. Kal is a fanatic regarding the Mandalorian values, but also he contradicts himself every second page in the story (exaggeration from my part), but as I see him, I think he needed a loud reason why he trains these kids as mandalorian or else he would go crazy in that facility from the guilt that he is participating something that is not better than breeding cattle to be cut down.
Now in what alcohol-induced brainfuckery made Kal give this name to Darman is still a mistery to me, but I’d like to think he regrets it ever since. I think the reason behind the naming is actually came from the same sentiment like calling the clones wetdroids or deadmen. Affection mixed with pity. Or something like when you call your cat a whore out of pure affection.
But I also love the thought that Darman probably just went along with the name for whatever reason, but most likely out of spite. Like spitting in the face of the universe itself. Have I mentioned before that I love Darman?
Manda is a spiritual and philosophical concept, a way of living. It can be the collective soul of the mandalorian people. Those Mandalorians who don’t live according to the Resol’nare and ignorant to their heritage is considered a dar’manda and with it, these people don’t have place in the mandalorian afterlife. And this fate is considered worse than death.
Kal thinks, all the clones are dar’manda because they share genes with Jango Fett, they are mandalorians in blood, and yet they know nothing about their heritage and Jango doesn't want to bother to connect them with the Mandalorian culture. It's interesting that while you don't need to share blood with your clan, since there are no noble dynasties in a traditional sense, Kal goes with the bloodline mindset of THEY ARE FROM JANGO THEREFOR THEY ARE MANDOS. Kal is a fanatic regarding the Mandalorian values, but also he contradicts himself every second page in the story (exaggeration from my part), but as I see him, I think he needed a loud reason why he trains these kids as mandalorian or else he would go crazy in that facility from the guilt that he is participating something that is not better than breeding cattle to be cut down.
Now in what alcohol-induced brainfuckery made Kal give this name to Darman is still a mistery to me, but I’d like to think he regrets it ever since. I think the reason behind the naming is actually came from the same sentiment like calling the clones wetdroids or deadmen. Affection mixed with pity. Or something like when you call your cat a whore out of pure affection.
But I also love the thought that Darman probably just went along with the name for whatever reason, but most likely out of spite. Like spitting in the face of the universe itself. Have I mentioned before that I love Darman?
CALLSIGNS IN REAL LIFE
Nicknames in the military is an existing thing. Only you won’t get badass names like Boss, or Wolffe or Rex. Nickname or mockname? Depends who's POV we are seeing. You call these callsigns btw.
Practical reason of callsign: Distinctive call signs became important when radiocommunication became a thing. It was easier for the ground controllers to identify the pilots in the heat of combat.
Feel-good reasons: It boosted morale and camaraderie. They were based on the locations you came from, psysical attributes, something that reflected personality (or the opposite), or you did something really memorable/fucked up something real bad that it ingrained itself into other's brain permanently. Or you just did something truly embarassing. I mean... why do you need enemies when you have brothers-in-arms. :D Also don't overestimate the maturity of adult people being locked up in a shared space. Age has nothing to do with maturity. Grown ass adults still laughing at dick jokes, piss jokes, and can find weird ways to entertain themselves.
Zee trivia: Military family here, and I was mostly socialized with adults from the military as a kid (hence why I lack social skills :D). They introduced me to someone who went by the name of "Gramps/Grandpa" (rough translation). I was totally in the assumption that someone would be 60+ years old man who is actually a granddad to someone, but it turned out he was like 30 at that time and he was called Gramps because his surname can be associated to old people.
Nicknames in the military is an existing thing. Only you won’t get badass names like Boss, or Wolffe or Rex. Nickname or mockname? Depends who's POV we are seeing. You call these callsigns btw.
Practical reason of callsign: Distinctive call signs became important when radiocommunication became a thing. It was easier for the ground controllers to identify the pilots in the heat of combat.
Feel-good reasons: It boosted morale and camaraderie. They were based on the locations you came from, psysical attributes, something that reflected personality (or the opposite), or you did something really memorable/fucked up something real bad that it ingrained itself into other's brain permanently. Or you just did something truly embarassing. I mean... why do you need enemies when you have brothers-in-arms. :D Also don't overestimate the maturity of adult people being locked up in a shared space. Age has nothing to do with maturity. Grown ass adults still laughing at dick jokes, piss jokes, and can find weird ways to entertain themselves.
Zee trivia: Military family here, and I was mostly socialized with adults from the military as a kid (hence why I lack social skills :D). They introduced me to someone who went by the name of "Gramps/Grandpa" (rough translation). I was totally in the assumption that someone would be 60+ years old man who is actually a granddad to someone, but it turned out he was like 30 at that time and he was called Gramps because his surname can be associated to old people.
CLONE CALLSIGNS
Now back to THE CLONES and their callsigns:
Echo - He got his name because the others found him annoying that he always repeated orders. He didn't appreciate it at first.
Cutup - His training sergeant named him, because he made joke out of everything.
Dogma - Now we don't know if he someone gave this name for him, or he chose it, the definition of his name describes what he does in the whole Umbara arc. Anakin describes him as someone very rigid.
Hardcase - He describes himself as hyperactive due to his malfunctioning growth chamber and he got this name because of his unruly behaviour.
Tup - I'm very interested HOW EXACTLY got this name because it's either a siege weapon, or ram (male sheep). You call male sheeps "tup" in UK.
Scorch - He burned his and Sergeant Vau's eyebrows down during training so Vau named him after that.
Boss - He broke Sergeant Vau's arm. (What's with the Delta Squad making their sergeant proud by mutilating him??? :DDD)
Darman - Sergeant Skirata called him like that, which is actually a mandalorian slur - Dar'manda, someone without a soul.
Atin - I don't remember if Vau gave him this name or his squadmates, but Atin is a mandalorian word for being stubborn, which is depending on context can have positive or negative meaning. <-- EDIT: Got a correction that in Mandalorian Atin is mainly positive trait compared to how we use in basic.
Sicko - The Omega Squad's pilot who was known to do risky stunts while flying. <- EDIT: Got a correction, I remembered his name wrong.
Bly - Alpha-17 gave this name for him, this is what we know. Now look at Legends!Bly and please tell me this is actually a "would no hurt a fly" person. (a good example when you giving a name based on personality, but being ironic about it).
It would be interesting to go behind every clone name and brainstorming about how they got their badass attribute names with the mentality of the real military. :D
Now back to THE CLONES and their callsigns:
Echo - He got his name because the others found him annoying that he always repeated orders. He didn't appreciate it at first.
Cutup - His training sergeant named him, because he made joke out of everything.
Dogma - Now we don't know if he someone gave this name for him, or he chose it, the definition of his name describes what he does in the whole Umbara arc. Anakin describes him as someone very rigid.
Hardcase - He describes himself as hyperactive due to his malfunctioning growth chamber and he got this name because of his unruly behaviour.
Tup - I'm very interested HOW EXACTLY got this name because it's either a siege weapon, or ram (male sheep). You call male sheeps "tup" in UK.
Scorch - He burned his and Sergeant Vau's eyebrows down during training so Vau named him after that.
Boss - He broke Sergeant Vau's arm. (What's with the Delta Squad making their sergeant proud by mutilating him??? :DDD)
Darman - Sergeant Skirata called him like that, which is actually a mandalorian slur - Dar'manda, someone without a soul.
Sicko - The Omega Squad's pilot who was known to do risky stunts while flying. <- EDIT: Got a correction, I remembered his name wrong.
Bly - Alpha-17 gave this name for him, this is what we know. Now look at Legends!Bly and please tell me this is actually a "would no hurt a fly" person. (a good example when you giving a name based on personality, but being ironic about it).
It would be interesting to go behind every clone name and brainstorming about how they got their badass attribute names with the mentality of the real military. :D
no subject
Date: 2025-08-08 11:35 pm (UTC)you absolutely nailed it with Atin, and frankly i hadn't even thought about the noble ladder-climbing socially but that'd absolutely be a carry-over from Vau's days in Irmenu. Try as he might to shed all of those hateful memories, but he wouldn't be able to get rid of everything.
(god, you know, I *should* remember about there being or not being closure but I truly don't, it's been a literal decade x) we'll find out with your reread! )
in a way -- it's fascinating seeing how both of the sergeants are hypocritical -- and it's *where* their hypocrisies are that reveals so much about how they train their kiddos. reminds me of a quote that every parent leaves a mark on their kid, even if it's only a small crack versus a shatter.